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katakaluptastrophy · 5 months

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What do the Fifth House actually do?

Sure, yes, ghosts and tradition and the Heart of the Emperor, and Watchers Over the River - but none of those things give you the kind of assets that mean you can dress your cavalier in a coat that "probably cost more than the Ninth House had in its coffers" for a dinner party.

It's made clear very early on that the Fifth are a power to be reckoned with. When they first receive the letter about the Lyctoral pilgrimage, Gideon assumes it would be on the Third or Fifth. Harrow, meanwhile, has frequently-repeated anxieties about the Ninth being subsumed by the Third or Fifth, to the point that she worries that the anniversary party invitation may be an attempt to wipe out the other Houses. Teacher describes the Fifth's relationship with the Fourth as "hegemonic". The Fifth loom so large in the cultural imagination, they even inform the name of the made up porn magazine that Gideon offers to Crux.

The links between the Third and the Fifth that both Gideon and Harrow make seem to reflect both the fact that these two Houses have particular power and influence, but also that they frequently cooperate. Judith writes about the close cooperation of the Second, Third, and Fifth, a relationship which becomes a source of tension as the scions seek to establish authority after the Fifth are murdered. Judith says:

“The Fifth are dead. I take authority for the Fifth. I say we need military intervention, and we need it right now. As the highest-ranked Cohort officer present, that decision falls to me.” “A Cohort captain,” said Naberius, “don’t rank higher than a Third official.” “I’m very much afraid that it does, Tern.” “Prince Tern, if you please,” said Ianthe.

Which makes it sound as though Abigail might technically have been considered the highest ranking person at Canaan House (likely because she was head of her House and not an heir in waiting like Judith or Coronabeth), and that following her death there is some question as to whether the Second or the Third should take control, but notably no suggestion that anyone else might.

We know what the Second do: they are the leaders of the Cohort and the Bureau, the military and intelligence that forms the core of imperial expansion. Most of the information that we get about the other Houses talks only about their cultural or ritual roles in the empire - we get very little in the way of gritty details of what happens outside of the Dominicus system.

We know a little bit about what the Third does - according to Tor they are cultural trendsetters and players in soft power, but the one detail we get in GTN itself is revealing: when Gideon imagines her glorious future in the Cohort, one of the assignments she considers boring is the prospect of being "in some foreign city babysitting some Third governor." Which makes it sound rather like the Second are conquering the planets and the Third are then running them. But the books are even lighter in details about what the Fifth do, beyond ghosts and manners.

However, there is one suggestive detail: an important topic in HTN is stele travel - the necromantic FTL used by the Nine Houses. And Mercymorn, in describing a stele, specifically states that Fifth House adepts are required for their construction. Which rather makes it sound like the Fifth have a monopoly on the manufacturer of the technology required for FTL travel. Now that in and of itself could be the basis of their enormous wealth - selling aerospace tech to an ever expansionist military is probably quite lucrative.

But there's another element of House imperialism that only gets mentioned in passing that doesn't seem to be entirely accounted for, which Judith describes in As Yet Unsent:

"Their other line of attack is the business contracts. They claim that the services asked of them by the Emperor were set down in lifetime contracts by previous generations, who assumed the contracts would be terminated upon the Emperor’s death."

There are obviously some unanswered questions about the imperialist project of the Nine Houses - both Augustine and Coronabeth question quite why it works the way it does - but from the above it sounds like in many respects it functions exactly as you would expect an empire to: as a vehicle for the exploitation of others' resources.

Perhaps the Cohort themselves administer these business contracts. Perhaps they fall under the purview of the Third House planetary governors. But if you're exporting resources from the living planets of your empire to the mostly desolate planets of the Dominicus system, you're going to need some FTL ships and a whole lot of bureaucracy.

And if there's one other detail that we get about the Fifth, it's that there is something significant about the political power of their bureaucracy. As Judith puts it: "Quinn himself is a Fifth House bureaucrat with all that entails."

Are the Second, Third, and Fifth so close and so powerful because they form the bedrock of the empire: the conquest, control, and exploitation of planets beyond the Dominicus system?

#the locked tomb #tlt #abigail pent #magnus quinn #judith deuteros #coronabeth tridentarius #the fifth house #the third house #the second house #We regret to inform you that spreadsheets dad is maybe running the necromantic East India Company

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thetrashthatsmilesback · 3 days

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Watcher, Capitalism, and the Petite (Petty) Bourgeois

So the whole Watcher controversy has revealed an interesting misunderstanding of what constitutes "the rich" or capitalist beliefs. The major theme that arose during the controversy was the sense that Shane in particular had gone against his previously stated leftist beliefs - that he had, for all these years, taken up a humorous aesthetic of anti-capitalism without actually believing in what he was saying. I believe that this is due to a breakdown in definitions as they become spread to the general public. Dissemination of information is a good thing, and I would never argue against it, but one problem which arises from concepts spreading to large groups without context is that often the actual meanings break down until they are vastly different from their original, academic denotation. This is, I believe, what happened with the phrase “eat the rich” and its current colloquial usage.

I want to preface this with the fact that nothing I am about to say applies exclusively to Watcher, or that the Watcher staff have done anything wrong or misrepresented themselves. I also don’t think that the Watcher fanbase is wrong at all – the situation just happened to spawn arguments both in defense of and critique of the Watcher team which indicated, in my opinion, that an understanding of “the rich” in a capitalist society is not well understood. Disclaimers out of the way, let’s get into this.

During the controversy, two major sides arose – those who had begun to see the Watcher crew (in particular Steven, Ryan, and Shane) as “the rich” or ruling class in a capitalist setting, and those who argued against this by arguing that as Watcher is a small business, and not the upper 1%, they are not included in the definition of “the rich” expressed by leftists. I want to focus in on the counter-argument that Watcher being a small business just trying to survive means that they are not considered “the rich.”

In Marxist theory, there is a small group called the “petite” or “petty bourgeoisie.” This group is defined as those who both own and contribute to the means of production – aka, small business owners. Marx himself wrote little about the petite bourgeoisie, predominantly referencing them in passing in his essays The Class Struggles in France, 1848-1850 and very briefly in The Communist Manifesto. He does happen to criticize this group in the little writing he did on it, “Marx derides what he sees as the petit-bourgeois self-delusion that, because it combines both employment and ownership of the means of production, it somehow represents the solution to the class struggle. This class was progressive in a limited sense, as witnessed by its claims at various times for co-operatives, credit institutions, and progressive taxation, as a consequence of felt oppression at the hands of the bourgeoisie. However, these were (in terms of the Marxist view of history) strictly limited demands, just as the ideological representatives of this class have been constrained by their own problems and solutions” (“Petite Bourgeoisie - Oxford Reference”).

Now, it is very important to note that team “Watcher is a small business” aren’t completely wrong in their positioning of Watcher’s attempt to raise more revenue as Not Evil Capitalism. Marx’s belief was that eventually the Petite Bourgeoisie would be pushed into the proletariat class. I also am not positive that Watcher is a classical small business – they very well could be a worker co-op. A worker co-op is a business where the workers have ownership of the company, and significant representation on the board of directors(“What Is A Worker Cooperative? – U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives”). While some criticism of worker co-ops from a communist or socialist view exist, they are generally seen as a more socialist approach to the typical small business model.

I couldn’t find direct confirmation that Watcher is a co-op. One point against them being one is the use of titles such as CEO and Owner, but these designations could simply be for tax and paperwork reasons. Watcher is an objectively small company, they have between 25 and 30 workers, and most people cite them currently having 27 workers, but in the past they have employed interns and I am unsure of if they currently have interns on board so I am going to stick to the range. It would be incredibly easy to have a worker co-op with 25-30 people, you wouldn’t even need voted representatives; everyone could just be on the board and contribute to decisions. I figured the next best approach would be to see what the roles on Watcher’s shows are – if Steven, Shane, and Ryan contribute significantly rather than just showing up and looking pretty on camera, then there is a good chance they might be functioning as a worker co-op more than a traditional business or small business.

To do this, I decided to look at Watcher’s largest show for each co-owner. This means Ghost Files, Mystery Files, Puppet History, and Steven’s food series. These numbers broke down as follows:

Ghost Files: Ryan is listed as a Creator on all Ghost Files videos. Ghost Files Debriefs do not have writers, so that role will not be held against them on those videos. Ryan and Shane were listed as a Host and an Executive Producer on all videos, but neither ever held a Writer, Editor, or Sound Mixing role.

Mystery Files: Ryan and Shane were listed as a Host and an Executive Producer on all videos, but neither ever held a Writer, Editor, or Sound Mixing role.

Puppet History: Shane is listed as a Creator on all Puppet History videos. He is listed as a Host on all videos, an Executive Producer on all videos, Writer on 4 videos, and never held an Editor or Sound Mixing role.

Steven’s Food Series: Steven is listed as a Host and an Executive Producer on all videos, but neither ever held an Editor, or Sound Mixing role. This show does not require a writer so this will not be held against him.

*Do take these numbers with a grain of salt, I wrote this while in class so its possible that I missed something.*

Looking at those numbers, the main three do predominantly just film, but I don’t want to devalue the work that goes into being on camera. They are still generating capital by acting, I simply wanted to clear up confusion I had due to seeing people say they edited every Ghost Files video. From what I can see, they don’t do the editing, but as executive producers they likely have to review every video before it goes out. I also still can’t fully come to a conclusion on if the company can be considered a worker co-op, but I believe it is a standard small business – aka, the petite bourgeoisie.

All of that leads to the final point – the way that people only began to view the three lead Watcher members/founding members as “the rich” after the announcement of the streaming platform shows the way that leftist theory has become divorced from some of its meaning. I saw several people arguing “you guys can’t recognize the rich”/”you guys would attack doctors and lawyers under the guise of eating the rich,” and yes its true that doctors who work in hospitals are proletariat, but if a doctor opens a private practice or a lawyer opens a private firm, does that render them more bourgeoisie or more proletariat? At what point do the petite bourgeoisie become a part of those who we disavow? I don’t actually have answers to these questions, and I’m sure people much smarter than me or better versed in economics have written on this (one source I found that seemed good while I was skimming it despite its age is this one https://www.jstor.org/stable/2083291?seq=3 ). I didn’t make this point to argue one point over the other on whether Watcher counts as “the rich,” but more to focus on the way that term gets used. The argument could be made that we could have started questioning Shane’s anti-capitalist beliefs the moment he helped start a company, but we didn’t. We only started to criticize him on the basis of hypocrisy after the announcement and its out of touch comments. This raises so many questions about how we use the term “the rich” now – does it refer to anyone we dislike who is financially stable? Has the term become completely divorced from its original meaning? Or were we being hypocrites all along? Has Watcher Entertainment always been incongruent with Shane’s implied political beliefs? Is there a certain point at which the petite bourgeoisie become a part of the financial aristocracy? Or is that term only relegated to the industrial bourgeoisie, is it reserved exclusively for those in financial positions that no artisan could ever hope to reach?

Is it possible that both arguments are correct regarding the Watcher boys, and all other members of small business ownership and management positions? That they are both “the rich” but not a part of the proper bourgeoisie?

I don’t know. I find it fascinating though.

#watcher #ghoul boys #watcher entertainment #ryan bergara #steven lim #shane madej #watcher tv #we are watcher #this is really my distracted musings #its probably not very coherent #like i said #i am in class #meta #i guess???

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beautifulpersonpeach · 10 months

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For the Anon who sent a follow up ask on Jimin’s vocals and how people talk about HYBE groups in general.

You linked to a malicious gallery I’d rather not share here. I’ve talked about this over and over so I only care to give an abridged reply.

When I say I personally don’t take k-pop stans seriously, I’m not saying that because I don’t care about the hate thrown at BTS and Jimin.

Here’s three key things I believe about k-pop stans in general after being in this space for a good decade and some change:

1. For most of them, what they don’t understand, they hate. It’s really that simple. And because k-pop has been dominated and shaped by the customs, music, and stylistic choices of the Big3 for decades, before BTS upended everything, a typical k-pop stan has been literally raised, (for lack of a better word), to consume certain types of music and in particular ways.

Even the culture of streaming and chart watching, believe it or not, didn’t start with ARMYs. ARMYs aren’t even the worst expression I’ve seen of it. It started with fans of Big3 groups. SM stans were notorious chart watchers and still are. They moved massive numbers in sales (mass bought) for that singular purpose as far back as 2009. YG stans perfected streaming on YouTube before BTS had their first win, and would lord those titles over any other group. And none of those behaviours have disappeared, they just stopped being loud about it after BTS had taken any record *they* considered important. It’s why so many of them are salivating at the thought of Fifty Fifty getting a Grammy nomination and win, regardless of the fact BTS is the reason k-pop is being considered for that calibre of American awards to begin with. It’s why I laugh when I see k-pop fans say ARMYs are obsessed with charts and that streaming is unpaid fan labour etc, because that’s clearly more indicative of the stan experience of those k-pop fans than anything ARMYs are doing given the absolute numbers in the fandom. ARMY as a fandom has more in common with Swifties than they do with Exols, Blinks or Carats for example, and would be pulling Taylor Swift numbers if the fandom weren’t penalized for doing the same things Swifties do. And better too.

Like, I might as well be saying water is wet when I say *nobody* is more chart conscious than a k-pop stan. But these stans cannot understand why BTS exists, why BTS is at the top of a hierarchy *they* designed… why Jimin’s vocals which sounds nothing like their famed “SM vocals” is a key defining reason for the biggest k-pop group in the world being so. Till today, after all the studies, essays, thinkpieces, k-pop stans cannot understand why BTS is so successful they’ve single-handedly built the largest k-pop conglomerate in history to the point the capitalizations of the Big3 *combined* is only a fraction of HYBE. They can’t understand it, so they hate it.

Anything deviates from the norm is met with ridicule and hate. It’s like an immuno-response to anything they feel threatens their idea of k-pop as they’ve previously understood it. And like I keep saying, that very behavior is structurally supported by the companies.

2. Like many people on the internet, most k-pop stans have no idea what they’re talking about. As a general rule, by the time you’ve read something about BTS on Reddit, it’s been regurgitated previously by k-pop stans on Naver, Quora and Twitter. And before you’ve seen something on Tumblr, people have been overdoing it on Reddit. Nearly all the narratives about all the companies and most groups in this space, I’ve seen at least 20 times each. Each new wave of k-pop stans absorb these narratives perhaps without realizing it, and even the few who attempt to critically dissect them in *discourse*, rely very heavily on other narratives that do the same.

It’s how not too long ago I saw a blogger I later learned was known for her critical discourse, drawing connections between Jimin, Bang PD, and Scooter Braun for their poor treatment of women, without realizing the quotes she was attributing to Jimin, actually came from Taemin on a Korean radio show, and there was more substantial proof demonstrating Lee Sooman’s misogyny and religious ties, than anything a corporate relationship between Hybe, Jimin, and Scooter showed. But what she was saying, whether she realized it or not, came from a naver blog taken down in 2020 that made that initial mistranslation (or false attribution). Like, she just heard that shit somewhere and was doing discourse on it here like it was fact. But people already inclined to think HYBE = bad, BTS + women = weird, or Jimin = ????, will be inclined to believe that, *whether it makes sense or not*. For example, on another occasion where I saw two bloggers make a similar theory re: BTS must view women poorly because HYBE bought Scooter Braun’s company, to which I pointed out how ridiculous guilt by association was. To drive home that point, it was only after I asked how ridiculous that logic would be if they applied it to Taemin (who they biased and who has actually made worrying comments on women in interviews, though I don’t believe he holds those views now) and his relationship with Lee Sooman which has strengthened over the years by all appearances, it’s only then they saw a problem with guilt by association, though, even at the most basic level that argument never had any logical basis.

So like, most of the people in k-pop spaces frankly shitpost 24/7/365/6. Most of what counts for *Discourse* is essentially recycled theories indulged in by people frustrated with something/one else, presented in neutral academic language, proper punctuation or narrated in a monotone voice (in podcasts or video essays).

I can count on two hands the number of times I’ve seen a truly original idea in k-pop circles. And at the same time, this means I’ve seen what counts for hate too many times for it to have any bite.

3. BTS can take care of themselves. Let them receive the criticism. Let them be ridiculed. This might be harsh to hear, but I think it’s not our place to stop it, unless it’s abuse that makes *our own fan experience less pleasant*. Clean up your spaces for yourself first, not because you’re trying to save Yoongi, Jungkook, or Jimin from qrts on a tweet. Unless it’s abuse, then report and block the abuser on principle. BTS were hated from the jump, but were still celebrated by most k-pop stans until they became too big for the rules of this space to hurt them. I’m not being dramatic when I say the existence of BTS alone upsets the whole ordained balance in k-pop.

BTS have explicitly detailed their experience. And have said they’ve intentionally chosen to play the game their way. Listen to them.

Get used to the idea of what it means to be a fan of BTS. Make sure you understand it. The boys are talented, driven, virtuosic artists, and complicated people too with very human vices. The music they make is just plain good and deserves to be celebrated anywhere anytime. They’re also a group that’s unlikely to ever be fully accepted anywhere, if their track record so far is any indication and because they choose to go about things in ways a lot of people will never get.

Such as the manti who just walked into my inbox asking me why *HYBE doesn’t give RM and Jimin more than two MVs when NewJeans gets six. Aside from the fact that HYBE has nothing to do with how BigHit manages their artist, same with Ador, please remember who you claim to support.

The boys will be back in 2026, and they’ll be ready to shake things up even more than they’ve done in the last 10 years. I have no idea what that will look like, I don’t even know if I’ll like the changes/direction. What I will be doing though, is ready to have the time of my life with the music and performances they create for the people who value them.

#I know I said I’d write the abridged version but I hope this is exhaustive enough so I never have to go over this again #jimin #park jimin #BTS #Bangtan #kpop #kpop music #fandom behaviour #fandom discourse #bts army #BTS fandom #kpop stans

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theozilla · 6 months

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I stayed up late last night finishing the Pluto anime (I watched the English dub; I am planning on rewatching it in Japanese and the German dub eventually) and now I am putting down my thoughts after having slept on them.

Urasawa’s Pluto is one of my favorite manga (and comics) of all time, so I was very invested at the prospect of it getting an anime adaption (regardless of the fact that I expected I would end up, and still do, preferring the manga as the best way to experience the story). Anyways, overall, the Pluto anime is a great anime and a good adaption. The animation was very good, though I agree with the common criticisms that parts of it could have had better compositing. I do have a few criticisms of it as an adaptation though, critiques that go beyond the standard practice of shortening, slightly modifying, and cutting of (less plot-essential) dialogue and scenes that come when an anime adapts a manga (especially text and plot dense ones). I essentially have three major/not-insignificant criticisms of how the story got adapted (though I am quite aware that the cause of these shortcomings may be more due to the anime production just not having the time and/or resources to do so, than being deliberate creative choices).

My first criticism is the fact that in the manga Gesicht and Brau-1589 did end up exchanging memory chips (this happens at the end of volume 2 in the manga, which is roughly analogous to what episodes 2 and/or 3 of the anime adapted). Cutting that plot point from the anime is a significant story loss IMO as it was an essential step in Gesicht’s character arc, specifically him slowly realizing that parts of his memory were erased. It also diminishes the effectiveness of Brau-1589’s character as not only does it further explain and justify why Brau considered himself and Gesicht to be two of a kind (i.e., Brau was able to notice and discern Gesicht’s erased memories) it also removes narrative parallel/“rhyming” of how Atom had previously read Gesicht’s memory chip and is implied to have picked-up on the same erased memories as well. Also not getting to hear Brau-1589 do the haunting line of "500 Zeus a body" voiced-acted is a crying shame.

Secondly, the choice to cut out the various scenes Dr. Roosevelt, the immobile super-computer A.I., and the President of the not!USA, from the first half of the story was a mistake. In the manga, by volume 2, the audience is supposed to be explicitly clued-in to the fact that Dr. Roosevelt and the President are directly involved the serial murder conspiracy (with the how and why still being unknown). Not having this context established before the second half of the story in the anime I would imagine makes the later scenes of Dr. Roosevelt and the President that do get adapted much more confusing and random for an anime-only watcher. It also diminishes the greater connective and overarching themes of the narrative, particularly the ones critical of the USA and Neo-imperialism (which I cynically wonder if that was one of the reasons said scenes were cut). Excising the earlier Dr. Roosevelt scenes and references to it, as well as the parallels with Brau-1589 (and the theme of robots feeling hatred and other extreme emotions), brings down the quality of the character and thematic writing in general as well.

And finally, a few adaptation choices done in the final eighth episode, I feel brought down the quality of the climax. Beginning with the least significant one, but still important IMO, was the cutting of Doctor Tenma and Professor Hoffman’s scene at Gesicht’s grave. Besides it further elucidating the themes of the narrative, it’s also just a loss in terms of giving a bookend to Hoffman’s role in the narrative and his relationship with Gesicht. Next, is the anime’s decision to make Bora completely non-verbal when Atom and Pluto confront him during the climax. In the manga, the intelligence of Goji/“Abullah” was still present, which not only made the climax more emotionally engaging, but it also specifically made Pluto/Sahad coming to terms with the ghost of his father much more effective as well. Lastly, and my biggest issue with how episode 8 adapted volume 8, was the choice to have Atom remembering Gesicht’s final words and the flashback that reveals how Gesicht found the robot child he and his wife adopted, occur in the middle of the scene where Professor Ochanomizu witnesses Atom picking up a snail and showing how he still has his humanity intact after being revived in the way that he was. In the manga said scenes occurred right before Atom is about to deliver a killing blow to Pluto (and are subsequently intercut with the remainder of the climax). The way the anime rearranges the contents of volume 8 in episode 8 really messes up the flow, particularly the emotional flow, of the story’s climax and makes it less engaging and effective as a concluding experience.

Anyways, despite those three major areas I took issue with, I still really enjoyed the Pluto anime and consider it to be a great work overall. Though I still recommend the manga as the best and proper way to experience the story.

#theozilla blurbs #Naoki Urasawa #Pluto #Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka #Naoki Urasawa's Pluto #spoilers #Netflix anime #media review

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warwickroyals · 1 year

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beginning - previous - next

Woooo, wooo, social commentary on the shallow nature of royal "feminism" woooooo!

[IRENE] Women’s History Month is a time for us to celebrate female achievement and honour all the women in our lives who have inspired, guided, and encouraged us through their contributions to society. Now, before I leave you all today, I would like to share a personal anecdote.

[IRENE] In 1975, I gave birth to my daughter, the first princess born to a reigning

monarch in just over a hundred and fifteen years. I felt deflated. After seven years of marriage, I still hadn’t provided crown and country with a long-desired male heir.

[IRENE] After the birth, my mother-in-law, the late Queen Katherine, warned me against producing princesses in abundance. At the time I thought her cruel but I later came to understand that she was simply reflecting the social standards of her time. In the 1970s, institutionalized misogyny was rampant.

[IRENE] It was a societal malaise that targeted all women, regardless of social standing. Generations of princesses were raised in a culture where they felt unwanted. This is why I feel compelled to express gratitude to the women within my own family.

[IRENE] Over the years, I have increasingly relied on their support.

[NEWS ARTICLE] Princess Jack, 53, raises eyebrows in little black dress with daring neckline

[IRENE] I have also been inspired by their intelligence, loyalty, and the steadfast dedication with which they carry out their public duties.

[NEWS ARTICLE] Is a royal test-tube baby imminent? Royal watchers debate over Duchess Shelby’s barely there bump

[IRENE] In particular, my daughter and daughters-in-law have become non-negotiable supporters to The King and I.

[IRENE] I am so grateful for them and sincerely hope that you all value them not just as princesses, but as people

[NEWS ARTICLE] It can be done! Princess Tatiana delivers flawless curtsey in pants

[IRENE] To alter a famous quote, behind every great woman are several other great women.

[IRENE] Thank you

[TAMSEY] At this year’s GirlUp summit, Her Majesty was very personal, very candid, something that’s not new for her, and I think she hinted at this during her speech, but would you support a change to Sunderland’s succession laws so that an elder daughter could inherit the throne over a younger brother?

[JAQUELINE] Jaqueline, I see you giving me eyes right now. Yeah, well, it would be a matter for Parliament to decide, and it would depend on several factors, but if that is something the people support, it should be at least be considered.

[TAMSEY] Is it a personal matter for you? In 1976, Parliament removed laws prohibiting women from inheriting the throne, but stopped short at instating absolute primogeniture. Such an act would have created you heiress apparent.

[JAQUELINE] No, and I’d rather not speculate on that, out of respect for my late brother.

[JAQUELINE] I am grateful that I had the opportunity to live my life on my own terms, I think if anyone were to inherit between the two of us, it would be him. He was the one best suited for job—Tatiana, I don’t know if you want to talk about the younger generation, but for me that discussion is over.

[TAMSEY] Yes, Tatiana, I would love to hear your perspective. At the time being you have no grandchildren in line for the throne, but in the future would you support a change being made to accommodate your descendants?

[TATIANA] Um, yes, as Jack said, uh, I would support any changes Parliament would bring forth. A more equal system can’t be wrong. We discussed it early in our marriage, actually, but it wasn’t a priority at the time.

[SHELBY] Of course it wasn’t a priority, you never had a daughter.

[SHELBY] Apologies for butting in [LAUGHS]

[TAMSY] It’s okay!

[SHELBY] But yes, I do think personal experience is important and you can’t fully resonate with these issues until you actually bring a daughter into this world and that’s why I’m so grateful and resonate so deeply with Her Majesty sharing . . .

[TATIANA, thinking] Bitch.

#warwick.story #chapter three #sim: tamsy #ts4 #ts4 story #ts4 storytelling #ts4 legacy #ts4 royal legacy #ts4 edit #ts4 screenshots #ts4 royalty #ts4 monarchy #ch: irene #ch: jacqueline #ch: shelby #ch: tatiana #✨

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92fs · 2 months

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I’m curious about how you’d write/work with Matt’s character in that case. I rarely see anybody talk about his fanon characterization with an actual critical lense rather than people just complaining about his presence in general.

Thank you for giving me a reason to complain, I'll put it under read more:

First, I don't think Matt is an unnecessary character. I see how anime-watchers might think that considering his cut-down screentime, but manga isn't much better either. Still, I don't think he's an unneeded character. I think he was written in at a later stage of plot development and then he wasn't really properly added into the story.

Let's assume I'm dealing with the plot of DN how we know it. How I would fix the issue of Matt's written off/killed off character? I'd take what we have in the manga and amplify it, then develop his individual self a little more.

So, Matt's given a very particular role. He's Mello's right hand, practically. But we barely see it even though I do not believe Mello would let go of his first/only friend so easliy. For all the talk about how Matt was "written in so Mello isn't lonely", there's barely any fucking interaction between the two.

Changes that I would make to canon Matt:

1. Write Matt into more scenes at Wammy's.

Childhood-teenagehood are important phases in a story that spans over nearly three decades in the manga (if we count additional one-shots). Seeing more of Matt at that stage would be detrimental to his idea as a character.

2. Actually let him interact with Mello at a near-constant basis in adulthood.

They are implied to be close yet there are only so many scenes of them interacting in canon. I really fail to believe Mello wouldn't have a plan for Matt to leave the orphanage and contact him. Matt should be actively there from the beginning of Mello's arc.

3. Give him at least one-two private scenes with Near.

Near is one of the prisms through whom we learn about other characters: he narrates L, Light, Mello from perspectives that no one else has. He'd be vital to help narrate Matt, but we don't even know what he thinks about him.

4. Let him have a memory-sequence/flashback in at least one chapter where we learn how he felt about being next if Near and Mello die.

When you think about it, if not for Mello's thinking, Near would have died. Matt was next in line. I know that fandom doesn't give his intelligence credit for SOME reason, but there clearly were at least a couple dozens kids at the orphanage at the time of their stay. He was next if Near died, too. I'm actually incredibly curious to know how he felt about it, how he would have dealt with Light. Matt is so elusive, not unlike blunt Near or brash Mello - or direct L. I genuinely wonder what he would have done if he was next L. If he even wanted to.

Comment here: I know he died before them, but I think it was a kill-off. Plus, he had plenty of time to consider his chances before.

5. Maybe let the reader hear his thoughts on L. It can even be indirect, through Mello's voice.

We know that Mello sees L as an ideal to become. That Near first doesn't care much, but then grows curious about L's result-matters kind of approach. What did Matt think? Did he know about Mello's meeting with L (if we consider LABB canon)? Did he share his passions? Did he feels suspicious? Did he not care? Is he even apathetic?

6. Show the reader his individual interests outside of being Mello's assistant.

This reminds me a little bit too much of cases when a girl character is characterized primarily through being someone's girlfriend first and her own person second. This shit is tiring. We know what Mello is outside of Near. We know what Near is outside of Mello. Where the fuck is Matt's personality? Why do we know of the SPK members and the Police Department more than we know of someone in similar position? We know he's quiet and avoidant, and seems to joke to handle stress. What else?

Overall, I would add depth to him. But, this is about expanding on scarce canon. Fanon-wise, I would give him a spine. We know nothing about him in the years of Mello's absense from the picture, and he apparently did not stay in contact with Near. How did he get where he was? I doubt that Mello would carry anyone if they couldn't handle themselves, so clearly Matt's not his lap dog. He's his own character, and a damn adult too. I don't like the headcanons of him being that pathetic submissive dog that needs guidance. I think he's fine on his own.

#DN #death note #mail jeevas

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boundlss · 9 days

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hc + 🌇, hc + 🎡, hc + ⏳ for Yanna!

hc + 🌇 for a headcanon about morning- or evening rituals

actually this is something i had put some thought into even before this question was asked in case anyone in the campaign ever decided to visit yanna at his home. which, um, he does HAVE a home of his own, it's just never came up for obvious reasons. i think most people actually tend to view yanna the way elementary and middle students view their teachers---that is to say, the perception is that he's just someone who IS places.

but i digress!

yanna has a fairly luxurious home and his rituals tend to reflect that. he doesn't have any particular nighttime rituals and is actually usually very early to bed, but he wakes up VERY early in the morning---around four, so before the sun is even out---and takes a pretty long bath every single morning. then he'll dedicate some time to praying, which he actually has a room dedicated to. despite his status as a high priest he does most of his personal worship in private, as i don't think he views his JOB as particularly important to him from a spiritual and religious perspective, but he does have that kind of attachment to the watcher itself.

until recently, he spent some time every morning meeting with tyrenelle, who is also a hellishly early riser, to discuss current events and political plans, which is to say tyrenelle discussed political plans and yanna recieved and agreed to them. then he'd enter the church as the sun was rising and prepare for whatever was arranged to happen that day.

at nighttime, usually all he does is his personal care routine, which is very important to him. sort of. it's less that he cares about looking good and more that he knows that his position is more advantageous to tyrenelle if he's always looking the part of the beautifully etherial high priest. after taking over tyrenelle's position as the acting governor he hasn't really had time to do this, which is actually a big worry of his, but he ALSO hasn't been making nearly as many public appearances...

hc + 🎡 for a hobby-themed headcanon

i don't want to go the boring route and say yanna doesn't really have any hobbies, but... um. well. yanna doesn't really particularly have any hobbies. at least not ones he does only for the sake of his own enjoymemt.

he's interested in calligraphy and actually has very good penmanship and generally high quality items, but that's more connected to his thing about appearances than just something that's personal for him. it would probably benefit him to have a hobby, but it's just not something he's considered due to reasons of time and also necessity, since a lot of his recent life has been an unhealthy devotion to tyrenelle and his plans.

it might even end up being a serious source of frustration and despair for yanna that he doesn't really have anything like that by which he can define himself outside of his work and his worship of the watcher.

hc + ⏳ for a time-themed headcanon

yanna has the same long life most elves do as a shadar-kai, but he's only recently begun to consider what that actually means for him. he, um... well, to put a long story short, he'd spent a lot of his life being generally apathetic due to a previous close connection with the shadowfell, which in my campaign is more adjacent to 'limbo' than anything. there's a not-insignificant "doorway" to it under a very culturally important location in ephelion, which is actually where yanna is from, but anyway i digress.

his personal connection with it had sapped away what it meant to 'live' for a long time, and so for him a lot of his earliest days were sort of spent in a stupor that made them pass faster than they might have for anyone without that connection. it wasn't until about two centuries ago, when he met and was subsequently severed from the shadowfell's hold over him by tyrenelle, that he begun to percieve the passage of time as ordinary creatures did. but that didn't actually register to him until he began to see the lifespans of beings he'd considered himself close to play out in their entirety while he didn't change at all.

i think he's a little scared of time in that way. it sometimes makes him wish he had never been freed from his apathy, because it does distress him a little to see time's passage clearly in the people around him.

headcanons. / accepting.

#um. this one got away from me.#muse: yanna lazaros #starwonderz

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canon-transgender-virgil · 2 years

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Patton has a brother and it's the Orange Side: A Theory

Hey, yall remember that one Sanders Sides fic I released that was like "ha ha what if Patton is related to the Orange Side?"

I think I can actually prove it.

(This is fairly long so the theory is under the cut):

First and foremost (this is what most of the theory hangs on)

THE FAMILY TREE

If you're an avid watcher of the show, you'll remember that in Why Do We Get Out of Bed in the Morning, Roman shows us a "family tree". This includes, most notably, Roman himself and Patton (which, while I'm aware that he's probably only on the tree at all because they wanted to continue the gag of "Patton is Thomas's dad", I find incredibly interesting considering that Patton isn't in the video at all - his portrait is there to show something).

For reference, here is this family tree:

As many an early theorist noticed when this video came out, Roman has a line extending off to the right of his portrait - if you weren't aware, this means that the people connected to the line are siblings.

This was later proven canon as, five videos later, who should reveal themselves but Remus (Roman's twin brother).

But notice anything interesting?

That's right: Patton has a line going off to his left, meaning he too has a sibling.

"But Calvin!" I hear you say, "What if his brother is just Janus, what if-"

Hush and let me explain.

Thomas and the team, as we’re all well aware, are generally very lenient when it comes to shipping the Sides - Thomas has stated that he views it as self-love so generally he doesn’t mind it.

However, he has stated that RemRom (romantic Roman and Remus [blarg]) makes him extremely uncomfortable because they are canonically twins.

And, in the Roleslaying With Roman livestream a few months ago, Alex and Brei stated that they wouldn’t allow people to ship Youngblood and Roman together if they knew that they were planning on them being revealed to be siblings. I imagine Thomas is in the same boat when it comes to his own characters.

Meaning that this unknown brother of Patton’s has not been introduced into the series just yet (that is to say, it’s highly highly unlikely that his brother is, say, Janus).

So, with all the other sides eliminated, who does this leave but the Orange Side?

And no, I have more proof!

As many people have theorized, Orange is likely representative of negative emotions (primarily anger, given the nature of the scenes that the color orange primarily dominated - the opening live action scene for Putting Others First, the top of the stairs in Learning New Things About Ourselves, and Logan's eyes in Working Through Intrusive Thoughts).

I think it's important to note here that just about every character in this show has expressed some form of visible anger and/or frustration before, and I'd list the most obvious examples but they are all extremely obvious (except maybe Remus, who we've only really seen get frustrated over Thomas not falling for his traps, but I digress).

There is only one main character we have never actually seen get mad or angry or any other intense wrath-filled emotion at anyone: Patton.

Which on its own is odd because, again, every other character, including C!Thomas, we have seen get mad before.

But it's even more odd when you take into consideration just how abnormal it is that the metaphysical embodiment of emotions has never been shown to be angry? Like, why? Why haven't we seen Patton... angry? Especially considering that anger is an emotion.

Not to mention that Patton tends to be one of, if not the first person in the show to actually start accepting the "Dark Sides" (first with Virgil, then with Janus). He's sympathetic towards them (or, towards Virgil at least) even before he was given a reason to.

Something else I thought was interesting (but not necessarily hard evidence towards the theory) is that Patton is the only "Light Side" to canonically have an animal trait, like the "Dark Sides" do.

Also, if one of my other Orange Side theories is right and Orange's real name is Judas, it would kind of make sense that Patton is related to him. I mean, Patton is definitely full of that ol' Catholic Guilt TM, so it would sort of track to have his brother be named after the dude who sold out Jesus (and also kind of fitting for Patton himself, now that I think about it).

So there you have it: my theory as to why Patton and the Orange Side seem so closely linked together is that they're simply siblings.

#it's incredibly likely that I've already shared this theory but honestly I need to share it again lskdjfssdf #sanders sides #thomas sanders #ts remus #ts logan #ts roman #ts virgil #ts patton #ts janus #ts orange side #orange side #orange side theory #orange sanders #sanders sides theory #i probably have more evidence to support this but it's literally midnight rn and im so tired so it'll have to wait #sanders sides theories #orange side theories #patton sanders theory #patton sanders theories

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astraeus-moon · 11 months

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@melchinafan Sorry for the late ish response I feel kinda sick so it took me a while longer to organize my thoughts. Also here we fucking go apologies for no read more sins I am on mobile

And no I haven't seen those ign articles! More canon info to add to my hordes! And Jacob :( sad baby girl. I'll probably post those (The screenshots of the new info) later for easy access for others

Your point on all 4 of heros being effected makes me wonder if Grave lock girls magic has sort of an area of effect or if the alpha vampires magic is a double edged sword in positively affecting the heros

And ooooo I didn't know there were other blood remnants that came in dif forms makes me wonder if they are somewhat similar to the alpha vamp remnants bc I think i remember it being mentioned somewhere the vial also had psychic residue?? Could not be I'm just losing it but eh. And the psychic residue perhaps being in the blood/body? And that's why it alters you?

And yeah I agree! I think that we don't carry them into the fight just to crack open the door and sort of wave a red flag at a bull sort of way

And then when the alpha vampire dies we get the remnant imbued with a bit of that vamps specific magic

And yeah perhaps using the skulls almost a psychic lockpick if those chosen had been imbued with some of the alphas powers (referring to the trickle down effect you noticed, Vampire mlm is a concept that will be lodged in my brain now)

The biggest one for Bellwether not giving a shit I believe was a piece of dialog that said like "once we get out of here do you think they'll drop a nuke on this place" which made me laugh bc I audibly went just like resident evil grqt2h3 which despite some of the negative reviews comparisons to other games the lack of resident evil with vampires is making me laugh (I mean it in a positive way I'm very attached to RE)

Plus I don't think a privately funded not so small military/mercanary group is gonna lose sleep over a "few" civilian casualties (especially not when you can write em off as vampire deaths when it comes down to it)

Yeah I agree! One of my main grievances was I wish that side quest/mini bosses got more diversity and watchers idk if those are miniboss types as I think they go down p easy (but like I said can't/haven't played the game so I could be wrong) they seem closer to the mutated cultists than "true" vampires

And totally get you on lore one of my other favorite games is destiny 2 and holy shit the amount of environmental storytelling/lore is so strong they have a fan run website to compile it all so I totally get you.

And ooo I'm always looking for new games to watch/obsess over so I'll have to check it out

And yeah unfortunately the people I watched wernt too into grave lock collecting and the only 100 locations video I've found doesn't play em in full

And yeah with Addison I won't spoil it but holy shit he was the worst one too me I wrote out/expanded on the house of Echos mission so I was rewatching and it ended up being 4k words but also it was woof. I almost wish they swapped the order of the map start out in the second way with the other 2 then work into the 1st area for the hollow man

Yeah my sort of interpretation (both in how I'm writing and general fun) is that his Ravens outlines + his guns lock on are from that eye but a fun thing I had was giving them all like the way things are highlighted blue for you to grab some of the psychic residue as most of the psychic energy we see (barring layla) tend to be a pale blue - teal(?) Ish color and it was just funny to me that the highlights for important objects were similar

I agree with vampires probably having night vision as they are supposed to be a sort of apex predator so night vision fits with the whole can't go in the sun. It does make me wonder if Jacob would run into issues in direct sunlight with that eye time to invest in sunglasses my guy

And yeah I hadn't considered the psychic spaces as like stronger spaces where the trance is louder, bc in my thoughts I think the trance is a seperate but adjacent magic thing to what turned them into vampires

It definitely seems like the magic sort of got them all or bolstered abilities in some way and come on we both know that devs def smart enough to crack teleportation lmaooo necessity is the mother of invention and all that. But I do think that magic and science go hand in hand (destiny 2 is so great for that reason aswell because so much of what looks like magic can be kinda turned into science)

I think Remis ult is pure video game but healing it would make sense if it gave out a sort of opposite end of the spectrum vampire healing and helped you regenerate by like tapping into that magic that's settled in you or the vials/remnants

yeah we don't know how the healing actually works as you don't regen health unless you find medpacks which leads me to believe you do have to needle and thread it up instead of magic video game heal as explained in dishonored or prey

And yeah I'm assuming vamp regen at best at worst, you should uhhhh probably got get that looked at bud and yeah blood as fuel is a good idea even if it was connected or disconnected

And yeah the tissues, I'd imagine a wash cloth would be slightly more useful than tissues but eh and yeah sort of a gunk goop dripping thing (ie Eris Morn from destiny with her hive eyes)

And yeah! I think to be a bloodbag/sin eater it also I think is slightly voluntary(?) As the sin eaters are like that. And the blood bags seem pretty eager so maybe the most devoted cultists get turned into em

And yeah I'm uncertain bc I remember for one of the missions Jacob has a line like "but slitting the throat of your neighbor to get in." Or smth like that it's been awhile

And yeah vampire mlm, and yeah definitely maybe the more sacrifices brought in = higher chance of getting turned

I think it's a bit of both as we see with the alphas they were all real shitty people beforehand and yknow being willing to kill others to further your own gain definitely fits under "bloodsucker" (derogatory) in my mind lmao

And I think that's why Jason got away was bc hes not a bad person and was rather selfless hence but still also perhaps shaped by the intent of the person giving you magic (jacobs raven, laylas telekinesis which is something other higher up vampires can do as weve seen with the sea) But also made to shape you're own natural abilities remis healing, devs gadgets :) especially in those latter two cases where they wernt forced really to have the powers

The slow boil is soooo intresting to me bc like where were they? Like in the nests psychic spaces and just coming out to feed plus with the size of the alphas I think that'd kick up a fuss

I think probably a but of both, as drug trials/medical research like aevum was doing was bound to test on mice at least and upon observing the effects may have worked there way up to humans but huge fucking claw marks are probably vampires especially from what we've seen they are extraordinarily wasteful with animals perhaps both as food and ensuring surviving humans can't get it

And birds + animals disappearing evokes a similar feeling of when animals tend to dip before natural disasters because there senses and instincts are so much stronger than ours but also vampires killing them because they couldn't go after people yet

also lmao yeah like idk where tf they were going with that like was the plan to eventually move out of redfall or use it like a home base or smth bc you kill the animals and the people you're gonna have to start eating each other

And yeah I have to imagine at least one cultist was wincing and didn't voice it but was very much like aw come on guys

And yeah! Idk if it's ever explained if vampires exclusively have to eat blood/meat or can eat other things aswell

And oh my God don't get me started on the impacts of introducing a fuck ton of apex predators into your ecosystem and food chain not to mention if other animals mutated and are breeding. Like just removing Wolves from Yellowstone was enough to fuck over the ecosystem I can imagine something on this scale plus the probably intense growth from the decomp rates of bodies.. anyone in an environmental science field would be tearing their hair out (specifically my own redfall oc whose a park ranger is not having a great time with that)

You would have to build ground up essentially as trying a top down approach would fuck up the few remaining secondary and primary consumers (obligatory environmental science rant over)

They all def do the trance def is giving hive mind vibes aswell as a removal of emotional/rational thinking makes me wonder if the blood trance heightens base instincts/hunting drive or aggression like with animals being aggressive and shit being fucked

And oh def, bc each of the bosses has there own space but the nests aswell which makes me wonder if vampires have their own allegiances or a nest is like a pack

And yeah hindsights 20/20 and yeah fears a hell of a motivator and cults pray on scared lonely people with no other options and yeah in too deep

I haven't! Unfortunately I haven't watched a dev playthrough and there's not too many multiplaythroughs on YouTube but I'll inform you if I come across any! And as for rough speculation on mothman physique(?) I think leathery makes sense from someone as logical as dev since it glides so it being similar to a bat or moth it almost makes me think of point pleasants.. intresting... statue of the mothman to say the least...

And yeah woof the scientists sure as hell are doing some malpractice although I'd admire arkanes commitment to fuck the rich with them being consistent enemies. And yeah sorry this got Hella long

#txt #wolf barks #redfall meta #redfall #but yeah i fucking love this game its lodged in my brain #can you tell i was a bane upon my english teachers #they either loved or hated me either way i was not shutting the fuck up #tysm talking to me about this tho!!!#im normal about video games

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hitodama89 · 1 year

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Eurovision 2023

Hoo boy what a contest we had this year! Germany perfectly predicted the mood with their song title "Blood & Glitter"; first it was the latter and after the announcement of the winner it has been the former. Sweden won with a very professional and totally bland performance with a landslide of jury votes that were basically impossible to beat with audience votes... Which was suspiciously convenient considering 2024 will be an ABBA anniversary year. Watchers have been quite upset, and the most upset of them all have been Finnish people, because for the first time since Lordi our performance was hugely loved all around the world! What did we send to the contest then? Well...

Käärijä - Cha Cha Cha | Finland

We sent a green gremlin who was pretty much the exact opposite of everything Sweden represented. Käärijä was pretty much an unknown artist before this, he sang in his native language, his show was absolutely bonkers and the song was very non-traditional for Eurovision. And he very much won over audience's hearts despite placing second in the actual contest! I personally have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the song, but boy would've I still preferred it to win over that world's most calculated entry Sweden sent to compete.

Sudden Lights - Aijā | Latvia

Moving on to the entries I myself liked the best. I had a pretty good year as only one of my faves, Latvia, was dropped out in the semi-finals. Their song was a really nice mix of slower and more energetic parts, but maybe what costed them their place in the finals was the beginning, which was in my opinion the weakest part of the song.

Alessandra - Queen of Kings | Norway

Norway's song was generally well liked in Finland and I was pretty fond of it, too. The viking-like sea shanty vibes were just amazing!

Teya & Salena - Who The Hell Is Edgar? | Austria

This year there were several wacky songs and shows and many of them even hid an important message into their music. I liked pretty much all of them, but my favorite was Austria's criticism of the measly sums of money creative people often get from their work.

Alika - Bridges | Estonia

Melancholic songs are a difficult genre in Eurovision, as it's really hard to grasp the audience's attention with them when many other shows are full of pyrotechnics and lights and flashy colors. But despite all that I really adored Estonia's wistful song and their self-playing piano!

Voyager - Promise | Australia

There were also a few rock entries in the contest and it was pretty difficult to choose which one I liked better, Germany or Australia, but in the end I chose the latter. It's a real shame (and in my opinion weird, too) that neither of them got much points in the finals.

Pasha Parfeni - Soarele şi Luna | Moldova

While rock music is pretty common in the contest by this point, what I never expected was that "weird forest rave" was also going to be a genre that we are going to return several times to! I am not complaining though, as I absolutely loved Moldova's contribution to the collection. It was definitely one of my favorites from this year.

Luke Black - Samo Mi Se Spava | Serbia

My number on fave this time around came from Serbia. To me it had it all: song that sounded haunting and original, really interesting game-like show elements and extremely relatable lyrics. The song was basically about "the world is burning and I just wish I could sleep forever" and like yeah, me too Serbia, me too.

#eurovision #eurovision 2023 #euroviisut #eurovision evaluation #long post #rambling

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fluffykitteninabox · 2 years

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Season 6 intro analysis (that somehow turned into a Hawks rant, sorry about that):

So the new intro looks amazing.

Everyone is shaded like All Might and i wonder if that's supposed to mean something..

also this is like poorly written and stuff because I'm not good at this kind thing. I call it analysis but it's more me trying to stitch my thoughts together and probably failing. If someone wants to add things to make it more coherent or complete destroy my stupid theories they can...

Also also tumblr is doing that thing again where it posts my unfinished drafts but at least this time it's almost done so I'll just edit it like this instead of deleting it

ALSO ALSO ALSO SPOILERS FOR ANIME ONLY WATCHERS I GUESS (because only one episode is out at the moment and I talk about stuff that'll be in future episodes)

Am I doing this right? Should I tag season 6 spoilers if the episode is not out yet? Or is it still considered manga spoiler?

The way All Might is drawn is supposed to represent the old style comic books, and the contrast between him and the other characters shows how he's kind of an unreachable ideal.

This intro looks more like those old style comic books with the style of animation they chose. There's even shots that are divided like manga panels and there's words used as sound effects like "thud" and "rrmmmbll" for the shaking ground and "boom" for Bakugou's explosions

I mean look at the very first shot and tell me this doesn't look like an old comic book to you:

Look at this dramatic shading:

I wanted to say that the use of this type of shading maybe shows how our heroes are getting closer to that ideal that All Might represents (specifically I'm talking about the main trio).

But they show a lot of other characters with the same shading, including Hawks and Endeavor, who are nothing like All Might.

I read somewhere (i don't remember who wrote it but i think it was someone here on tumblr) that in my hero academia there's this idea of the passing of the torch from the older generation to the newer one. And that All Might and AFO both represent how heroes and villains were in old comic books. There's more of a black and white morality. Good vs pure evil. And that Deku and Tomura represent the new generation where the line of good and evil is more blurred.

I'm not explaining it well but i hope you get the point.

So maybe the All Might type shading is supposed to represent them getting closer to him, but in a bad way??

The heroes are the ones initiating the violence in this arc. And I'm not saying this is a bad thing, they need to stop the potato bastard after all. But they abuse their power and try to solve a problem that is in the grey zone with black and white morality. I'm talking about Hawks here (yes others abuse their power too but this is like the big thing that happens in this arc so I'm using it as an example).

Heroes aren't supposed to kill, and yet Hawks murders Twice because he is the hero and Twice is the villain. He justifies it by saying it's for the greater good and that Twice was too dangerous to be left alive, but the audience knows that that's bullshit. Or at least the ones with a brain know!

Twice is not "pure evil", he's anything but that. If he hadn't died he would probably be the easiest LOV member to save because he doesn't want to be a villain. Twice didn't have a personal motivation for revenge. All he wanted was companionship and for the world to not treat him like shit. You would just need to show him proof that you wanted to help him get rehabilitated and the most important part, extend the offer for help to his friends.

It would have been literally so easy!

But Hawks chooses not to do that and instead stabs an unarmed person in the back while he was trying to run away.

So yeah my conclusion is that the shading represents the characters acting with that black and white morality mindset that i mentioned above. They're taking steps backwards into the past in a way, by allowing the labels of hero and villain to cloud their judgment.

But at some point in the intro the dramatic shading stops and the rest uses the normal animation we usually see in the show. A bit like the gif i used above that transitions from the vintage style logo to the new one.

That's also when we start seeing group shots instead of characters standing alone. Kind of how after All Might's retirement heroes started working in teams. No one person can solve the problem but if they work together they can.

Maybe that's them realising that the way they were handling things was not working so it's time to try something new.

I want to emphasise this shot of the kids taken straight from the manga:

Again because old generation passing the torch to the new generation and all that. Our kids have spent the past 5 seasons learning and growing and now they'll become greater heroes than the ones that came before them. They represent the future.

Also I'm doing this completely out of order since tumblr decided to be a little shit today. I want to go back to this shot i used in the beginning but this is a few seconds after:

Something something about them coming out of the shadows, and looking all determined like that. Shonen protagonist mid battle energy boost because they thought about their friends (maybe). It still looks stylized because of the colours but the shading is less dramatic now.

There's one last thing I want to mention. There's this one shot that stands out apart from all the rest:

Dabi looks... blurry for some reason. His colors bleed outside the lines. It's kind of like when you use too much water with watercolors and it starts spreading everywhere without control.

Literally everything else in this intro looks super crisp and HD except him. But it's not in a bad way like usual. Bones has a habit of fucking up Dabi's design, but this looks more like a stylistic choice.

I don't know exactly what this is supposed to symbolise. Maybe the fact that he feels separate from everyone else because his real self is dead to the world. Or maybe it's that thing i read somewhere (again I don't remember who wrote this sorry) Dabi is a character that is stuck in the past,so maybe that has something to do with it. I don't know... someone with better skills at analysing stuff like this can maybe figure it out.

#mha #mha season 6 #all might #izuku mydoria #bakugou katsuki #shouto todoroki #toya todoroki #mha hawks #mha twice

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ask-teamplayer · 1 year

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hey cora has anyone annoyed you by saying the legend of kora

CORA: That's a new one, actually.

CORA: It's not very original, though. I don't think I've watched the legend of Korra before. I hear it has a mark in cartoon lesbian representation, but the overall storytelling is inherently flawed especially considered to Avatar itself.

CORA: Maybe it's why I haven't heard it. Not worth the watch?

FATE: People said that about Steven Universe too. Hell, people tried to say that about fucking She-Ra, which apparently was really good. Frankly I think a lot of our generation is overcritical of gay representation in cartoons because, I don't know, internalized issues?

FATE: I've seen people treat media with important representation like that as irredeemable garbage. You have to keep an eye out and come to your own conclusions, because it's hard to tell what's in good faith. A lot of the more discourse-y side of Tumblr and Twitter are dis-trustworthy with cartoon rep most of the time.

CORA: I don't think media having gay representation means it shouldn't be subject to criticism, Fate.

CORA: There are questionable plot beats in SU, for example. It's themes around genocide and redemption of corrupt political figures, for example, is something that makes a lot of watchers uncomfortable. There were a lot of rushed and uncomfortably written parts of the show that are worth the scrutiny.

FATE: Yeah, but I don't see anyone criticizing other cartoons without standout gay representation. Even people who are gay and allies seem to have more of a vendetta against media that includes people like them. I don't know what their standards are for shows with standout lesbian kisses and weddings and shit.

FATE: Don't you dare criticize SU being rushed, because I kept up with that as a little kid, and they definitely cut back a LOT of the episodes because of the gay wedding. They were rushing to put it to a stop because they were bold with their representation!

CORA: I understand your point, but a troubled production doesn't excuse narratively questionable plot decisions. I have nothing but empathy for the people who created such bold and important work, but there are aspects worthy of criticism, and I believe it's bad faith to treat everyone who critically examines media with gay representation as doing it for homophobic reasons.

FATE: Okay, for one, I feel like you're completely disregarding the point I'm making, which is that implicit bias exists and is a pervasive issue in the cartoon criticism community,

RONIN: ARE YOU TWO FUCKING ARGUING ABOUT CARTOONS AGAIN.

CORA: .....No.

#cora #fate #ronin #ask #kireaqueen

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the-loststone · 1 year

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Turkish Dramas I Watched In Order of Love to Didn't Love Part 2

Part 1 | Part 2

I promised myself that when I found a show that I like better than Halka, I'd make a new list. Also I was running out of room in my tags for the last list. So please reference Part 1.

Also please be aware that this list has spoilers! So be prepared. I will typically mark when I reveal a spoiler.

Söz

This review is longer than I thought but I have so much to say about this. I have a longer review linked.

So, what can I say about this show. I previously said that Halka was my favorite show and while I still maintain it is an amazing show, Soz has completely knocked it out of the park. I mean, yes, it is a very patriotic show that is obviously military propaganda, but . . . I mean, sign me up for the military!!! This show was amazing. The acting of the main cast was phenomenal. Tolga Saritas moves into my list of favorite actors. His character Yavus is simply the best. I don't know how to describe besides the fact that he has his shit together. You know how many shows (too many) are about lead characters who don't have their shit together, and then there's that side character who acts as a mentor to the lead character because they do have their shit together, even when they are going through drama. Well Yavus is that side character, except the show is about him and he's the male lead. And I am so happy. So happy we have characters who are competent!! Even when he's losing his shit he's doing it competently! I'm just praising the lord that this man has a brain!!! The other characters (the rest of the team and the girls) add so much to the show. They have story lines, I'm interested in their development and growth. The action was staged but I loved it, and most of it was good! Every episode had an action scene in it, and I don't think I was ever bored by it. And that's another point... this is a long show... and I wasn't bored. I'm shocked. Generally I get very tired by a show (especially considering I'm a binge watcher) but nope, I stayed invested. They did storytelling so well. Balancing gravity, humor, victory, and defeat very well. The death scenes (of which there are multiple so don't go thinking plot armor protects everyone) are so important and acted so well. I was literally a puddle.

Some parts, not gonna lie, were a bit confusing. Especially the ending there. But still so worth it!

Anyways, I'm genuinely upset that this show isn't more popular. It was amazing! I love it! I highly recommend it. (Tolga Saritas has joined Serkan Cayoglu as one of my favorite turkish actors). I will say, that I did like season 1 and 2 a bit more, not because of any shipping drama, but because I can't get enough of Tolga in a uniform 😉.

Çukur

I LOVE MAFIA DRAMAS! And this one takes the cake! It was one of the best dramas I have seen. The main character, Yamac, is perfectly characterized by Aras Bulut Iynemli. (I've only seen a couple of his works but after this show, he's moved into my list of favorite actors). He played so well, completely embodies his character, every emotion is so raw and passionate. He's amazing! Yamac is the youngest of a mafia family, who ran away when he was 18 and is forced to return upon the death of his brother and the hospitalization of his father. From there we see his character shine. It is shown how intelligent he is. He went to college, but it's not just mentioned, but shown! He uses his intelligence. HE'S SO SMART! As a chemist and engineer he loves to blow things up and we see that. As the youngest brother, he loves to play with his older brothers and he has a very playful and childish side. We see his kindness and his love. Is he a criminal, yes. But a competent criminal with a heart of gold and the ability to forgive almost anyone and the patience of a saint. But it's not just him; the portrayals of his family members are done amazingly as well. Each relationship is distinct and I just... I love it. I love his relationships with his brothers: from the support, to the betrayals, to the forgiveness. Throughout the series we see their connection and bond. We see the friendships between other characters. Some of my favorites are Medet and Salih, Celansu and Meke, Yamac and Alico, and Kemal and Metin. My other favorite relationship (and this isn't about shipping wars) is Sena and Yamac. They were my favorite couple. And I won't say any spoilers, but just know that she's my favorite and she has such a presence in the show, whether or not she's in the scene.

Throughout the seasons, we also see how all the characters develop. All of the brothers change, especially Yamac who has to deal with the most and is burdened the most. We see him go from a young man who was happy and in love with his wife and just married and completely unburdened, to a man who is crazed, lost half his family in some of the most traumatic ways, burdened by the pressure to protect the rest while dodging bullets flying at him at all sides (and most of the time getting hit), to a man who's holding on to what's left and trying to rebuild.

I love him, and I love this show, and I can't recommend this enough. The show is very much centered around family. The first season is about betrayals, the second about regret and forgiveness, the third is about madness/insanity, and the fourth was about healing (towards the end at least).

The soundtrack of this show goes down as one of my absolute favorite soundtracks. The music is a character in this show. As a musician, Yamac uses it as an entrance, he's very much a showman. And it shows his crazy side. Speaking of crazy sides, this show has some of the best fight scenes ever done. Very well played and acted. Please please please watch! Longer review linked!

Günesin Kizlari

This was so soapy, I have bubbles coming out of my mouth. I kid you not, I love this so much. It was a great show. Not gonna lie, going in, I thought it was going to be light, but I was waaaayyy off. It was heavy! That was some heavy heavy drama. I LOVED IT! Okay, to start I'm going to say Hande and Tolga are everything! They had the best chemistry I've seen them have compared to other shows they're in so far. I need them to act together in something else! Selin and Ali were my favorite couple; I don't know how, but somehow, at some point, they were the most functional compared to the other couples on screen. I was so surprised because these two are ridiculous. But I love them. They had the best relationship, (fun fact, the movie that they were referencing when playing their game is a French movie called "Jeux D'enfant" or Love me if you Dare, which is amazing too and deserves to be watched) and they were so cute together. Their scenes were everything to me. The characters were great. The kids were hilarious and dramatic and most of the time I was wondering what brain cells they even had to rub together to get ideas out. The adults were the most toxic, dysfunctional people I've seen in a minute. Every adult, even Gunes, was problematic! (And I say even Gunes because there were so many moments, but one that stands out to me is in episode 26, while this kid is reeling from his entire life being a lie, she goes up to him and is like "your dad feels really bad right now, you should talk to him and help him." like no! No!!!) It was ridiculous. Episodes 16 and 17 were obviously my favorite, and every scene with Ali and Selin being cute. I like that there are actual obstacles in everyone's way, especially the kids (since the adults are the obstacles in most cases).

The music was banger! Loved it! The cinematography was kind of shit, which was annoying. Very old fashioned and low cost production type of camera work, especially in the beginning.

Godspeed

This made me cry. I genuinely did not expect that twist at the end there. I mean, it made perfect sense and I don't know why I didn't see it but... Anyway. Tolga and Engin do an amazing job in this.

Baba

Once again watching a show for Tolga Saritas. I'll say he makes it worthwhile. Baba was a good show, it had a complex story line that was focused on family. Love a father has for his sons, love a father has for his daughter, love a brother has for his sister, love children have for their parents. These themes stayed central to the story line. It was a good show, although I will say that season 1 was better than season 2 (and generally just made more sense). The first season is about a middle-class family entering the class of obscene wealth, and how one son is the only one who can keep them from failing, and all the obstacles in his way. Then season 2 is about how despite all his efforts, the family is now in extreme poverty, and once again the son is tasked with leading his family and the rest of the community.

I noticed, and love, that Tolga Saritas has never played a bad character in the shows I've seen him in. Whoever is his agent does a good job of picking projects for him. I hope to see the trend continue. His character, Kadir, is a great man, who loves his family and is willing to do anything to help people. He is acted wonderfully and has amazing chemistry with his costar Haluk, who plays his father. Their relationship is a big draw to the series.

Religion is also a big aspect of this show, and how it serves as a tool for justice and consequence. I enjoyed that they used it to make people accountable for their actions. Good show overall.

Senden Daha Guzel

A good story. Very cute actors. They had a good chemistry that was very fluffy. It was a simple story. There wasn't much going on or need to put any thought in it. A good little short to pass the time.

Ask 101 (Love 101)

This was cute. I watched it mainly for the Yargi pairing but the kids storylines were cute as well. I found the second season much better than the first. It was very short for a dizi, so I recommend it as a palate cleanser or something to watch when bored. The cast was filled with exceptional actors. The soundtrack was good too. Overall, I'm pleased with this show.

Miracle in Cell No. 7

Remake of a Korean Movie by the same name. Both movies are perfect for sobbing your heart out. Admittedly, the Turkish version does end on a happier note than the Korean version, but both are full of heart-wrenching moments. About a man with mental disabilities who gets sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit. He and his daughter are the miracles in the cell. Very moving story. Absolutely recommend, both versions!

Içerde

I saw this one after Cukur. Aras had impressed me so much that I wanted to watch his other works as well. I'll say that he still is one of the best aspects of the show. Him and Cagatay. They played very well and had excellent chemistry. I think I would have liked it more if they had more scenes together. They had great stories separately but we took forever to get to the reveal and they had so little time together, I felt like there was a missed chance to show off their chemistry, which was really the highlight of the show. Because they were crazy alone, but they were completely chaotic together. These two were crackheads.

Also, what is it with the shows I've watched recently fridging the love interest!!! Why?!?! They need to stop! It upsets me.

I think my biggest criticism with this show is that there is a lot of over acting. Sometimes they'll say things and I'll just be thinking that it's a little ridiculous. Also it went on a little too long. But otherwise, a worthwhile series to watch. Great plot! Mert is a great anti-hero and Sarp is a great hero. I was heartbroken for Mert for a lot of the series but also I was rooting against him for the most part what with him being on the wrong side. But anyway, great series.

Son Yaz

Good show. Not bad. I think what bothered me the most is that there was a naïveté to the characters in the mafia that shouldn’t have been there if they were born in the mafia. I mean, other mafia shows, the characters knew not to trust anyone, and that everyone was out to kill them. And on the off chance that they did trust someone, they were smarter than them so they could counter. But here, the characters are all stupid and trusting. I’m just like… you dumb dumbs. DUMMIES!! WHY!?! Who’s got the braincells here. Maybe Soner? Sometimes? No. That’s not right either. Selim most of the time, but try as I might, couldn’t like him that much. I tried, I genuinely tried to be on board with him, but he was so complicated in a way that was not appealing, mainly because he was an absent father and an overbearing one at the same time, while also having a very narrow view of the world that didn’t allow for other people’s points of view. It sucks because he was the only remotely competent one there.

That’s another problem. These dummies are so dumb, all their plans are stupid. How did they get this far in life? I say this with love. I mean, it was part of their charisma I guess. They were young, so being stupid is excusable. It’s not like I’m putting them on the same level as Yamac Kocovali from Cukur or something. That guy was in his late 20s at the start of the series and he was smart. Also that series was much more liberal about murder. These kids are just dumb and there’s the stakes are pretty much just being imprisoned. Understandable since it’s not about being in the mafia but trying to get out of it.

Okay, but besides them being so stupid, their relationships were cute. Naz and Soner were adorable and I love them. Yagmur and Akgun were chaotic little beans who I love so much. They are both so impulsive in different ways. Yagmur is straightforward with her emotions while Akgun is PANIC! EMOTIONS!

Season 2 was definitely better to me. I really liked the darker turn it went to. Good series. Not a bad watch. But it was canceled so the ending is full of plot holes and loose ends.

UFO

A good movie. It had a nice premise and I enjoyed the actors. I watched it for Mert and it was well worth it. A good little palate cleanser. Not a lot to say about it, but it was worth checking out.

In Good Hands

A good movie. Had an unexpected twist at the end that was very clever. I enjoyed it. Don't have a lot to say about it considering it was only an hour and a half. Heartily recommend as a palate cleanser.

Yali Çapkini

Ongoing while I'm writing this. I dropped it at around episode 17, but I might come back to it if I see that there is an improvement in the characters. Cinematography, acting, music, are all good, but I had to drop because I don't like any of the characters and I'm constantly frustrated by them. I'm sorry, it's not that I don't like them, it's that I don't like that they are the main characters. If Ferit and Seyran weren't the lead couple, I think I would be much more entertained by them, because I wouldn't have to see the consequences of their (Ferit's) actions. But I do see, and Ferit is such a dumbass. If he weren't the lead, I could just call him a himbo and be done with it. But he is the lead so I have say that he's a narcissist, inconsiderate, and immature to boot. So... you see my struggle. I want to like him so much because Mert plays him so well, and he is so charming and good-looking, but, unfortunately, he's a dick. I want to come back to this show when he improves as a character. To be fair, a lot of the situations that happen are not his fault, but he does not make the situation better in a lot of the cases. So I hope they have a time lapse where he improves himself over a course of years and then reunites with his wife or something, or he just is a better character in another 10 episodes. I'll check up on it.

Oh Belinda

Honestly I skipped through most of this movie trying to get to the end. It wasn't terrible but I also didn't really feel the vibe of it.

EGO

I am so sad that I didn't like this. I gave up around episode 9 and I can understand why it was such a short show. It's so complicated. I really could not understand the plot lines at all. Everyone was so toxic and destructive. I love the lead actors and had seen them together in Carpisma where they had such great chemistry but it was the same problem as Carpisma where the plot couldn't save them. Like, the plot buried their natural chemistry. I'm so sorry for it. Just a really boring, complicated show. Not for me unfortunately.

Üç Kiz Kardes

I gave up. I'm sorry but this was just too ridiculous for me. And I'm sorry for it because it's a beautiful show. Like the actors are beautiful, the set is beautiful, the cinematography, the music. Lovely show. Honestly, the plot is not bad, like as in there is a good story in there, but it's . . . how do I put this . . . not well executed. I don't believe the love story, because it's scattered, the parents are either too evil or too good, or too oblivious. The sisters are naive. The boyfriends are either assholes (except Serdar, who's an angel and the only one I rooted for). I gave up at episode 15. I couldn't anymore. Sadly. Maybe someone else will like it. But it wasn't for me.

Duy Beni

Uhhh... this was interesting, in the way that watching a car crash is interesting. These kids are in desperate need of therapy. All of them. None of them are likable. The only person worth rooting for is the mom. Everyone is ridiculous 95.5% of the time. I mean, the main characters aren't even on screen. They have, like, 5% screen time together. Which is a really missed opportunity because they are crazy attractive and have good chemistry. I'm just... no. I started this because I was looking for Gunesi Beklereken (which I can't find anywhere) and this was on it's recommended page and people have said it was good, but I'm just. Not for me I guess. It was way too melo. No one really deserves any sympathy, a lot of problems could have been solved if they just hadn't been so ridiculous. I want to feel bad for the leads, but even then I'm just exhausted by them half the time. The love story was hard to believe because the lead actors didn't have any screen time. Sorry I couldn't like it.

Safir

The amount of disappointment I feel for this drama is incredible. It had the potential to be so good. The casting was great. The acting was good. The scenery and film was perfect. But the plot collapsed! I mean. It was so bad! I disagreed with every choice that was made and I ended hating nearly every character. That's hard to do. Ates is the only character I ended up still liking, and it was mostly out of spite at the end too because I hated every other character who kept f*cking with him so much. I HATE Yaman. I loath him. I think he is the worst character ever and the fact that Feraye stayed obsessed with him in the end. I mean, girl?! This is so dumb of you. You know at this point, they are both so infuriating, they deserve each other. I was justifying her in the beginning because she was going through some emotional stuff, but I cannot support her choices. And just... this is all I can say about this show. It was disappointing. The show could have been great, and it flopped. It flopped hard!

Ferhat Ile Sirin

I didn't understand. I thought it was going to be a love triangle, and it sort of was, but then it went off a deep end and I just didn't understand what happened in the end. Ended on a weird note, probably because it was cancelled. Tolga was the only good thing about it. I mean, the acting and everything was fine, and ignoring the incomprehensible plot it was okay. But . . . yeah... not a worth it watch unless you're doing it for a specific actor like I was.

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vivacissimx · 1 year

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what do you say to rhaegar antis who support the greens and aegon ii (a canon rapist)? it seems very hypocritical to me

sorry for the late reply—it's not hypocritical. it's fairly clear to me that the person in question is a contrarian when it comes to asoiaf, as in prefers to explore stories from the POV of the characters treated as villains or even entirely ignored due to their distance from the actual narrative.

reading/rewriting stories from a separate perspective than intended to be read isn't some new invention. milton wrote paradise lost with a heavy dose of sympathy for satan in the 17th century. sometimes it's done really well (madeleine miller's circe) and sometimes it's cringe as fuck (that movie where dalmations killed cruella de vil's mom)

there is of course the ghost of rhaegar that lingers throughout asoiaf, with daenerys particularly but also with ned, barristan, tyrion, jaime, cersei, maester aemon—i'd also point out brienne's journey through the crownlands/riverlands as connected to rhaegar/targaryen legacy (for better or worse) in general—and at some point jon. lyanna similarly with a few characters like ned, arya, bran, randomly theon (it's not random it's important!!!), once again at some point jon.

there is a feeling for some that rhaegar's wife elia & their children who were murdered despicably are unfairly shafted because they have far less connection to the overall narrative/ the 'main' characters therefore reading the rhaegar and lyanna stories from the POV of elia/the dornish is more interesting or valid or good. personally i disagree, & heavily disagree with the idea that the heart of the dorne storyline is elia martell (imo it is arianne and HER unique struggles as a female heir that will hold weight on the overall story), but to each their own.

with the dance of the dragons, meh, it's extremely clear that in this conflict the greens are the side we are meant to condemn, that they represent the entropy of old ways of thinking and how they can only destroy progress, never create future. the show adaptation is tasked with bringing nuance into this story to make it compelling. for some watchers what they've been presented with is enough for them to least argue that the greens have a fair point and should be heard out. once again to each their own.

nuance is ofc crucial to analysis. as a rhaegar enjoyer myself i don't think him innocent in the start of robert's rebellion as much as 'motivated by the information he had at the time, he took a calculated risk only for the stakes to become drastically different through a series of events not foreseeable by anyone.' ironically i think reading rhaegar from the center of elia/dorne erases some of the nuance actually important to the plot, because it's simply not relevant from that particular POV. i'd say the same if we are looking at arianne's queenmaker plot through the lens of myrcella, or heaven forbid, CERSEI

as for the greens i just personally don't care enough about the story to care about the bad guy's feelings lol. it's prologue. within that, aegon ii, to me, is a detestable misogynist who violently murders his sister rhaenyra and tortures baela. that's enough, thanks, check please! from the outside i will say this: it's interesting to me that the characters who receive "nuance" are the characters who act in ways that preserve the social order, rather than those who disrupt it. look at laenor! does he deserve a nuanced analysis considering he's one of the only exampled we get of a queer character navigating a heteropatriarchy? when he (hotd version) abandons his family despite displaying love for them, can we reasonably understand that being forced to live in close quarters with criston cole, the murderer of laenor's lover joffrey lonmouth, causes him to snap? is it popularly argued that rhaenyra having 3 children with harwin is as much a result of rhaenyra's desperation/desire for agency as it is laenor's depression? laenor is not a main character and he's also not a pretty white woman but if we are doing contrarian readings... yfm? ok cool. that's all i got

#asks #rhaegar targaryen #aegon ii targaryen #text

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