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rubra-wav · 2 months

Note

YES YAY YAY YOUR REQUESTS ARE OPEN AGAIN

There was a post a while a back you did where it was a toriel like reader and you mentioned Lucifer becoming your ‘adopted husband’.

PLEASE WRITE ONE ABOUT THAT - aGOUNG FROM PLATONIC TO ROMANTIC WOULD BE AMAZING (or platonic is just fine but I WOULD LOVE ANY VERSION OF THIS SM)

Fem reader I’d love but also I don’t mind if it’s gn reader just. THE CONCEPT OF HIM BECOMING ADOPTED HUSBAND FO SOMEONE SUPER CARETAKING OR LIKE TORIEL IS SUCH A CUTE IDEA

Lucifer x reader - 'Adopted husband'

<< [ Part 1 ]

A/N Plsssss I'm so happy you were so excited for this to be written anon hsjsjdjsj

Cw: SFW, gn!reader, platonic to romantic, hurt/comfort - fluff ensues after depressing stuff, mutually awkward confession, suggestive type territory at one point

- You handle his daughter behind the counter of the kitchen with such care as you put the finishing touches on the baked goods you are bringing out, all the while animatedly talking about things he doesn't know of or understand.

- You, someone who is not even her parent, is acting all so maternal and close to his daughter.

- The gaping hole in his heart aches at the sight.

- He's filled with jealousy and despair that he allowed his daughter to drift so far away from him that she'd had the time to attach to someone else to fill what assuredly existed to Charlie about him and her mother as well.

- But he can't even bring himself to be angry at you.

- You greet him kindly and oh-so warmly. Unlike Alastor, it's clear that you truly care for his daughter like a parent. There doesn't seem to be a bad intentioned bone in your body about his daughter's attachment to you.

- The whole exchange he feels all too distant. Feels like he's just intruding on you and Charlie - an outsider to his own daughter.

- He says goodbye after a cordial afternoon tea, but as he goes to leave he finds himself stopped by you.

- He's snapped out of his depressing reverie as you looked him in the eyes very seriously, hand gently holding his arm.

- "I want to say, I'm not trying to steal her away from you," you preface before your brow furrows. "From what she's told me, you weren't okay either after Lilith left. You weren't okay for a while."

- Lucifer opens his mouth to speak as a conflicting mixture of embarrassment and feeling truly seen for the first time in thousands of years well up in him, but he stops and goes bright red as you pull him into a tight hug.

- His heart goes crazy in his chest, and he fights but can't stop the way tears well up in his eyes. He crumples against you and rests his head on your shoulder.

- Thank God it was a less popular hallway to travel down where you two had some privacy because crying against the stranger who had become a caretaker to his daughter would be a lot even for him.

- After a couple of seconds, you pull back much to his disappointment and tell him with a sympathetic but also stern expression that you wanted him to play more of a real role in Charlie's life alongside you, and that you'd be willing to help him through what he was dealing with in the process.

- And well, he of course agreed.

- It really did not take long at all for him to fall in love with you. It wasn't a slow process.

- He watched how you bridged the gap between him and Charlie, caring for her like Lilith should have and also caring for him like Lilith should have and was stumbling head over heels almost instantly.

- In the days spent with you, he basked in your platonic care of him, gentle encouragement, validation, and helping him take care of himself better where he'd ignored it.

- In the nights, though, he stayed up at night sleeplessly, heart longing desperately for more with you. Thinking about what it would be like to kiss you, what it would be like to cuddle up to you with no sense of it just being in a friendly way, and above all; if you felt the same way.

- He had it bad, and he was terrified.

- His past history of love didn't exactly end well. He fell head first hard, and then they turned out bad in the end. Left him all alone and beaten down.

- This of course changed, however.

- You had proposed a picnic with him and Charlie in a place that was relatively untouched by hell's disgusting burning flesh stench and pollution in the middle of a field.

- The sun had shone brightly on you as you sat on a red checkered rug, not too hot but not cold either.

- At one point, Charlie ran after a group of butterflies with patterns she had never seen before.

- You two were left alone to leisurely munch on buttery biscuits as playful banter was exchanged.

- You laced your fingers together in your lap as you smiled softly at him. Lucifer animatedly discussed something he was trying to make to help demons become more redeemable to push them towards the hotel.

- You normally would just have listened, nodding along, but something slipped out impulsively instead. "You're so cute."

- Lucifer choked on his words, already rosy cheeks darkening further. "I-" Lucifer stuttered.

- He watched you fumble over your words, mutually embarrassed and shocked at what you had blurted out. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me-"

- "I think you are too!" Lucifer exclaimed.

- You felt yourself somewhat awkwardly go quiet. You'd come to admire him as he had you, but you didn't wish to push further just in case it really was just him wanting someone like a spouse.

- "I like you a lot (name). And I uh- I have for a long time. I want you to be closer to you-" Lucifer fumbled over his words, adrenaline making his brain stupid.

- "Would you marry me?" He choked awkwardly, panicking.

- You snickered in disbelief, putting a hand over your mouth to keep from openly laughing.

- "Wait, no- that's not - would you be my actual spouse- wait, uh, that's not right either-" Lucifer was just getting more and more flustered, various iterations of marriage requests tumbling from his mouth like word vomit as he grew more embarrassed.

- It came to an abrupt end, however, as you pressed your lips to his gently, closing the space between you.

- Lucifer's hands flew up to your shoulders as if to tether himself as his mind went fully blank as your lips softly moved against his, prompting his heart rate to absolutely sky-rocket.

- You slowly pulled back from him, noticing that he wasn't reciprocating at all and feared you'd made an error in kissing him.

- Your instinct to apologise was stopped short however, as you noticed he had the most pathetic, lovesick expression on his face possible.

- "Please." He whispered, eyes half lidded and red eyes blown out massively.

- You didn't need a second longer to fulfil that request as you pressed your lips against his with a soft giggle, tumbling backwards onto the picnic rug as his arms wrapped around your shoulders to squeeze you closer to him.

- The kiss was slow and deeply passionate despite how gentle it was.

- Lucifer sighed into your mouth as he attempted to deepen the kiss, tongue running over your bottom lip.

- You didn't reciprocate, however, as you watched Charlie come back from the corner of your eye, looking at you two with absolute beaming glee.

- Your hand moved to grip his arm slightly to try to alert him to stop trying to take it further, but that proved the wrong move as he gasped slightly and his wings quickly unfurled from his back.

- You pushed him off before he could misread your body language anymore, him looking somewhat disappointed, but then let out a shocked "Oh!" As he quickly scrambled up off of you at the sight of his gawking daughter watching.

- You looked at him with an arched brow, somewhat amused at his sudden dilemma.

- Thankfully, Charlie didn't pick up on where the exchange was going for her father.

- "Finally! I've been waiting for so long!" She cried happily, clapping her hands together.

- Lucifer awkwardly recovered, face practically burning in embarrassment as he fought to compose him and bring his wings back into his back with a cough.

- Charlie excitedly exclaimed about how long she'd been waiting for the two of you to finally become not just friends as the both of you went to start packing up the picnic stuff while barely making eye contact outside of stealing shy glances at one-another.

- It was very evident that both of you felt the same about each other, and it really was hard to deny the perfection a relationship would be with Lucifer and yourself.

- You really were like a missing parent to his daughter, and you were like a missing lover to Lucifer - yet so much more than just filling up the place Lilith left.

- You weren't a replacement. You were the one. He was sure of it this time.

- And yeah, sometime down the line, he would marry you.

I was sweating trying not to make Undertale references throughout this (I had to stop myself from pulling a 'it filled him with determination' so bad lmfao)

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel lucifer #hazbin hotel lucifer x reader #lucifer #lucifer x reader #hazbin hotel lucifer headcanon #lucifer headcanons

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pilot-boi · 3 months

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How specifically do Ren and Nora react when Jaune finishes his story of being the Rusted Knight?

His brother looks tired.

It’s the only thing Ren can think as he listens to Jaune and team RWBY explain what happened. The words are just washing over him, he’s listening but he’s not hearing. He can’t stop staring at his brother.

It was back in Beacon when they first called each other that, and Ren said it partially out of jest. Partially to get Jaune to leave so he could put a gods damned shirt on.

It wasn’t until he was standing next to a screaming-crying Nora and he could see the petals of his own grief swirling in the air where there once was a portal that he really realized what it meant to have a brother.

His brother looks tired.

He’s tall, and he’s confident, and he’s sure of himself, and he looks like a strong wind might bowl him over. There are white streaks in his hair, and his eyes hold an age that Ren has only seen in Oscar’s too-old eyes.

Jaune’s hands won’t stop shaking. Ren can see it, even though his brother is clearly trying to hide it. He keeps clearing his throat when he speaks, looking faintly surprised every time his own voice exits his mouth.

“-and then we were in Vacuo, and you guys found us,” Jaune finishes. His smile is the same as Ren remembers, blinding and sheepish in equal measure.

Ruby is talking about something, but Ren can’t stop staring at Jaune.

He’s never known Nora to be so quiet.

His brother is staring at him.

“Can I…” Jaune interrupts Ruby. “Can I just have some time with my team?” Ruby doesn’t even blink, just nods. The rest of her team follow her out of the room.

Then it’s just the three of them. In a silence so tense he could cut it with his father’s blade.

Jaune is just standing there. He reaches up to brush something out of his eyes, finds nothing there, and drops his hand back to his side. He doesn’t invite them to sit, he doesn’t even sit himself.

It’s like he’s forgotten how to be a person.

“I…” Jaune’s voice creaks into the silence, he trails of. He clears his throat, frowning. Tries his voice on again, like an old coat that hasn’t been worn in years. “I’m sorry I didn’t…” Shakes his head again. “I really missed you guys.”

Ren nods absently. Nora is stiff at his side, her hand as cold as the Solitas tundra in his grasp.

“Were you safe?” Ren asks.

Jaune shrugs, grinning sheepishly. “Mostly,” he concedes, and that’s probably as good as they’re going to get. Bright smile or not, Jaune seems more fragile now than even his spiral in Mistral.

“Were you happy?” And Nora’s hand tightens in his grasp.

Jaune’s eyes widen, and his hand twitches at his side. Ren wonders why he doesn’t grab his sash.

When his brother hesitates further, a shuttered look crossing his face, Ren blinks into gray scale.

Conflict, grief, confusion, joy, rage, sorrow, pain, pain, pain

“I was the Rusted Knight,” Jaune says, stiff as the armor of his title. “It didn’t matter if I was happy.” If I die buying them time it’s worth it, they’re the ones that matter.

“But were you happy??” Nora asks. Her voice is steady, calm, but her whole arm is shaking in Ren’s grip. Scars from lightning cracking across her shoulders, echoing white streaks in his brother’s hair.

Oh the way a person is marked by thinking they’re only worth what they can do for others.

Was he happier? Did he wish he was still there? Did he not want to come back? He was the hero he always wanted to be, a literal beacon of valor and bravery. He was making a difference.

Ren always preferred the Cat, personally, (and how that stings now) but the Rusted Knight was adored. In the books scrounged from drop-offs, and the storytime sessions in libraries, every kid cheered and wept for the brave and cheerful knight. You couldn’t find a better storybook role model than him.

How cruel that his brother had to crumble to dust for the character to exist.

“I was alone,” Jaune creaks eventually, voice as rusty as his armor, as if that’s enough of an answer.

And from anyone else it wouldn’t be. But from his brother, who lives and dies for the people he cares about, no sentence could be more telling.

#rwby #jaune arc #lie ren #nora valkyrie #mine #asks #canoncorps #my writing #healing rust au

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why4anne · 6 months

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Money Power Glory

Pairing: Charles Leclerc x Reader

Category: Mafia! au

Part: 2/?

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings: Stalking, drugging, kidnapping

Summary: When you accidentally found yourself in the middle of a mafia show down you had no idea that your life was about to change, forever. For better or for worse.

Masterlist

The days that followed the gala were a whirlwind of emotions and contemplation. Charles Leclerc's unexpected presence in your life had left you in a state of curiosity and caution. You couldn't deny the magnetic pull between you, but the dangers and secrets that lurked beneath the surface still weighed heavily on your mind.

You found yourself torn between the intrigue of Charles's world and the desire to lead a simple and safe life. Yet, as each day passed, you couldn't escape the lingering thoughts of that fateful night and the green eyed man who had played a pivotal role in it.

It was on a quiet evening, you were sitting on the couch in your cozy apartment, when your phone buzzed, breaking the stillness of your thoughts. The message was simple, yet it sent a shiver down your spine: "Meet me at Hotel de Paris tomorrow at 8 PM - Charles."

The message was oddly straight forward and cryptic, but it held an air of urgency that you couldn't ignore. It was an invitation that you knew you couldn't decline, not when you had already been drawn into this intricate web of secrets.

The following evening, you arrived at the luxurious restaurant in the hotel, a charming and dimly lit establishment that overlooked the glamorous heart of Monaco. The atmosphere was serene, a stark contrast to the chaos and danger you had encountered in Monaco as of late.

Charles was already there, seated at a secluded table near the window. His gaze lifted as you entered, and a warm smile graced his lips. He stood, kissing your cheek and pulling out a chair for you, a silent gesture that spoke of both respect and courtesy with an underlying tone of flirtatiousness.

"You came," Charles remarked, his green eyes locked onto yours as you took your seat.

You nodded, your curiosity once again piqued. "Your message left me with no other choice, Charles. What's this about?"

Charles leaned in closer, his voice a low murmur. "I wanted to talk to you, away from the prying eyes of the gala. I felt we needed a more private setting."

“We’re literally in one of the most popular restaurants in all of Monaco. I doubt we will be able to speak privately here.” You pointed out the obvious, but as you looked around you, you noticed that all of the other tables are empty.

“Don’t worry about that, love. I bought out the entire restaurant and the staff have all been paid off, they won’t bother us” He said nonchalantly, as if it was no big deal.

“How is that even possible? This place is booked up for weeks in advance” You were flabbergasted at his confession. How could one person just shut down one of the best restaurants in Monaco?

“I know people” He brushed off the entire situation “Now, we have matters to discuss.”

Your heart raced as he spoke, your apprehension growing with each passing second. "What matters, Charles?"

He sighed, his gaze clouded with a mix of emotions. "The world I live in, Y/N, it's not as simple as it may seem. Monaco may be a paradise, but it's also a web of power, secrets, and danger. I need you to understand that what happened on the night we met was not a one-time occurrence and you being there put you on the map for some very dangerous people, myself included."

The weight of his words settled over you, and you couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding. "What are you involved in, Charles? You're telling me that our paths crossing put me in danger from god knows what?."

Charles hesitated, as if choosing his words carefully. "I come from a family with a long history in... certain aspects of Monaco. The incident that night was a result of longstanding conflicts, and I'm afraid those conflicts are far from over."

The air grew heavy with unspoken truths, and you couldn't help but wonder if you were in over your head. The world Charles inhabited was far from the idyllic paradise you had envisioned when you first arrived in Monaco. You thought that you would be living the dream, attending your dream university located in the most luxurious country in the world. Yet, here you were, somehow caught up in criminal activities.

"Y/N, I won't lie to you. Being associated with me can be dangerous. But I’m also the only one who wants to protect you from that danger. I want you to understand the choices you're making."

You swallowed hard, your mind a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. The allure of Charles's world, mixed with the dangers it presented, left you in a state of uncertainty. "What do you want from me, Charles? Why are you involving me in all of this?"

Charles reached out, his hand gently brushing yours. "I don't want you to be a pawn in a dangerous game, Y/N. I want you to have a choice, a say in how you want to be a part of my life. If you want to walk away, you will be in constant danger. But if you choose to stay, I'll do everything in my power to protect you."

The sincerity in his words was undeniable, and the way he looked at you, his eyes filled with a mixture of longing and vulnerability, tugged at your heartstrings. You couldn't deny the connection between the two of you, a connection that had brought you into the heart of Monaco's secrets.

"I need time, Charles," you finally admitted, your voice tinged with uncertainty. "I need time to process all of this, to understand what I'm getting into."

Charles nodded, a sense of relief in his eyes. "That's all I ask, Y/N. Take all the time you need, and remember that I'm here, waiting for your decision."

Five days later you were yet to notice the black car with the Leclerc monogram parked near your apartment complex. Or the amount of men dressed in black that were present in every place you went. After all, they were trained for this, to stay in the shadows, lurking, never getting caught.

You had no idea that Charles saying that you have any choice in this matter whatsoever was a big fat lie. He was giving you the illusion of choice and you were about to make the wrong one.

You liked your life as it were, you were studying in the country of your dreams, at the university you’ve always wanted to attend. You didn’t know what exactly would happen if you agreed to Charles’ terms but you were quite sure that you could kiss goodbye to your current level of freedom. You had made your choice, now it was time to tell Charles.

‘Can we talk?’ You took up your phone and sent him a message, sitting on the couch as you waited for his response.

‘Tonight, same place and time’ Was all that he sent back. You stared at the screen for longer than you would like to admit. The longer you stare the more you wanted to change your mind, but you knew you had to turn him down. You were not about to live in a sheltered box for the rest of your life, not when you were so close to fulfilling your dreams.

8 PM rolled around faster than you would’ve liked and you felt your pulse starting to pick up the moment you stepped into the lavish restaurant once more. There he sat, in his black suit, his hair perfectly styled and his intense green gaze following your every move.

“Good evening Y/N” He said as you got close enough, getting up in order to pull out the chair for you. “What is your decision?” He asked once you got seated and had ordered a glass of wine, the expensive kind, per his request.

“Charles, you’ve been very generous with me and I want to thank you for the offer but I have to decline.” You started, and before he could answer you continued. “I understand that there is a… risk, but I don’t want to live in a bubble. I am living my dream right now and I can’t lose that.” You explained, looking into his green eyes. Yet, you missed how his gaze turned cold, calculating. This was not the answer he wanted and he always gets what he wants.

“I see…” He finally said, his voice soft as honey, expertly masking his true feelings and intentions. “I understand and respect your choice, I’ll let you live your life on your terms.” He was lying straight through his teeth, he was not about to let you go that easily. You were his from the moment you stayed with him after he got shot, you just didn’t know it yet.

“Thank you for understanding, Charles” You smiled and placed your hand over the back of his.

“Of course” He nodded and turned his hand upwards, caressing his thumb along yours. “Well, let’s not waste this night on the boring stuff. What do you want to order?” He changed the subject and motioned for one of the waiters to come over with a menu. You happily took the menu and after a while you decided on their famous pasta.

“Good choice” Charles pointed out. “I’ll have the same dish” He told the waiter.

The night went on, the two of you making small talk and getting to know each other. Which seemed unnecessary, seeing as you probably won't see him again after tonight, but still, it was nice. You missed the way his jaw clenched and the geers turned in his head, forming a plan on how to make you agree to let him protect you.

“It was nice meeting you” Charles said as he walked you back to your cab.

“It was nice meeting you too” You smiled and got into the car. “Thank you for the dinner and good luck with everything”

“The same to you Y/N. If you ever need me, just ask” He reassured you.

“I will” You answered before he closed the door and all you could do was look back at him as the cab drove off into the night. Your eyes meeting for what you assumed would be the last time. Oh, how wrong you were, if he will have it his way, which he always does, you will be in his arms sooner rather than later.

Four months go by and Charles and his world was but a distant memory in the back of your mind. Only resurfacing when you walk by the restaurants where you would meet up. You moved on with your life, going to class, spending time around Monaco, but Charles did not. All he had done since that night four months ago was figuring out a way to make you his. To have you at his side and now he had finally come up with a plan to do just that.

The sun was setting as you walked along the streets of Monaco on your way back to your apartment. The bag on your shoulder was heavy with coursebooks and notepads but it was nothing you weren’t used to. You would like to say that you’re kicking ass at university but reality was that university was kicking your ass. After barely getting a passing grade on your last exam you’d decided to pull an allnighter in order to catch up.

The sound of your shoes hitting the asphalt beneath you was the only thing that could be heard in the young night. The sky was painted in a beautiful shade of pink and you smiled to yourself as you decided to put your airpods in and listen to some music in order to romanticize your life a little. You happily strolled along the sidewalk as the music tuned out the outside world and felt a smile spreading on your lips. You didn’t even notice as two masked men appeared from the shadows of an alleyway, too far gone in your own thoughts to pay attention as the two looming figures got closer and closer.

You didn’t even have time to scream before a hand wrapped itself around your mouth, cutting any and all sound off before anyone could hear your cry for help. Not that anyone would’ve either way, the street was completely dead, not a soul in sight, no one around to save you.

You thrashed and fought in a trivial attempt to free yourself from the man’s grasp. Your heart was in your throat and the adrenaline was pumping through your veins but he was just too strong for you.

You fought even harder when you saw the other man pull out a napkin from his pocket, drenching it in some form of liquid.

‘Oh fuck, they’re going to drug me’ You thought in panic as he slowly put it against your mouth and nose. You tried to hold your breath but it only lasted for so long. You took a breath, trying to keep it shallow but you could feel the effects of whatever you’d just breathed in.

Your vision started to blur around the edges as you fought to remain conscious. Your attempts were for nothing and you could feel yourself slipping into darkness.

“The target is secure” The man that wasn’t holding you said into an intercom. You felt yourself being picked up and carried away before you fully succumbed to sleep.

‘What the actual fuck just happened?’ Was the last thing you thought before blacking out.

#charles leclerc x reader #money power glory au!#charles leclerc #f1 fanfic #f1 x reader #charles leclerc fanfic #f1 #charles leclerc x female reader #formula 1 #formula one #charles leclerc x you #mafia au #Charles Leclerc Mafia #Charles Leclerc Mafia au #mafia! charles leclerc #charles leclerc fic

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starryalpacasstuff · 5 months

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Last Twilight Ep 8; Thoughts

We're at the 2/3 mark of the show, and the episode honestly felt surreal. Last Twilight is continuing to parallel iconic moments of Bad Buddy, this time with running away and scenes on the beach. However, it never feels like it's boring or repetitive, because while the parallels are clear, the shows are also distinct. It's clear that the characters in the two shows are pushed by different things.

I was yelling at the screen when I realized Mhok and Day were going off on their own, because ditching Night = recipe for disater (he'd obviously call Day's mom!?!)

But then this happened, and I had to pause and take a moment, now that my fears had been resolved. We know so little about Night, and yet so much. Understanding his character requires a lot of reading in between the lines, and until we know what happened between the brothers, the picture won't be complete. I did, in fact, breathe a huge sigh of relief when I realized that Night was in on it, because while Mhok and Day are capable of handling themselves, if Day's mother found out, we all know that it wouldn't make for a pretty situation.

Which calls in something else I'm curious about. Is Day really naive enough to believe that they can ditch Night with no consequences? Or is there some trust left in Day, that Night will let them go. Has he figured that Night is likely in on it, and is choosing to remain quiet?

There's a number of possibilities, and I'm curious to see how it plays out. It's highly likely that his anxiousness to get away from Night, and trust in Mhok meant that the though simply hasn't crossed his mind too.

On that topic, if we rewind to the beginning of the ep

I just love how much Day trusts Mhok. It's obvious, but I felt it was worth pointing out. Mhok tells Day that there's no one there, and Day accepts. Mhok having played the caregiver role for Day for so long is definitely the main reason for this, and it's beautiful to watch.

Speaking of transparency in their relationship, can I take a moment to talk about just how much I loved this scene? Mhok was upset about the prank, and Day wasn't taking it seriously. Mhok could have clammed up, creating tension between the two. It would even be expected, given his role as Day's caretaker and the 'put Day first' mentality that we've seen so far. But he doesn't, and oh my god, this calls for aplause. He calls Day out on it, and gives Day a taste of his own medicine. And, this is something that perfectly shows that things are not the same now that they're boyfriends. Mhok gets more agency, more say, because he's one half of the relationship. I've said thia before about the subversion of faen fatale, and I'll say it again; Last Twilight has a very strong identity as a show, and a very strong grasp on what it's doing. Time and time again, it has shown us opportunities that it could have taken to create drama, and veered in the opposite direction entirely. The subversion is intentional, and clearly so.

While we're talking about characters standing up for their feelings..

I feel like someone should create a masterpost of everything we know about Night, and we can add on every bit of new info we get and compare it to the rest, because everything tells us so little yet so much. It seems that Night is still willing to push against Day's hatred. But of course, he's more willing to allow Day to live happily, as we see him letting the two go off on their own. It seems that every time Night does something for Day, he prefers to do it anonymously, such as showing up to the race. We've seen that he's accepted the villain image. Is this why he seems keen on upholding that villain image in front of Day, while helping him behind his back? P'Aof isn't one to write conflict for small or petty reason, so I'm starting to be more and more convinced that Night genuinely did something wrong to Day. He regrets it, but he also knows he can't take it back or heal their bond, so he's simply keeping the status quo, helping his brother behind his back, while only allowing himself to be selfish on occasion, like this one. I'm so intrigued by Night and his mannerisms, his actions.

Back tracking a bit again, (this is a mess)

This scene was a pivotal moment. I've previously mentioned that Day was living in a fantasy, and I've also briefly touched on Day's sence of normalcy in a post, how he was relying on things to go back to 'normal' and how he's been able to build a new normal with Mhok. He'd get the transplant eventually, and things would go back to 'normal'. Mhok helped Day redefine his 'normal', but the hope that his sight would return one day was still present. Here, it's shattered. Up till now, Day was living his life as if he were biding his time till he got his eyesight back. Now he's going to be living as if he has to wrap up a lifetime of memories in three months. He's feeling as though time is running out.

I think this is one of the first times I've seen Day talk back to his mom, which is fair, because it's ingrained in asian kids to not talk back to your elders. Day is, in the end, a rich kid. On top of that, he has a single mom. 1+1=2, Day didn't get to see much of his mom growing up. @waitmyturtles talked about this a bit in a post, mentioning how Day's mom's career always came first. She didn't have time to attend a game because she had an event, she couldn't come to school for something because she had a meeting, etc etc. (I don't know how much of an age gap there is between Day and Night, but anyone thinking that Night had to fill in on occasion..?) He's making a jab at his mom, that she's far to busy to be there with him for stuff, and she's far too overprotective to let another be there with him for it. Again, typical rich family dysfunction. Day and his mother's dynamic will be an interesting thing to watch as the episodes progress, that's for sure.

Alright, onto the last one

When I'm not sure if there's a deeper meaning behind a scene, music is always a great clue that there is something greater behind it. As episodes progress, we've seen Day slowly reassimilate himself in society. This is such an important theme, because being a part of and engaging with society is a huge part of asian culture. I view this dance as a sort of culmination of the progress that Day has made over time with Mhok. Would the Day at the beginning of the series have danced with a stranger at a party while having worse eyesight that before? No way in hell. Also, paying respect and interactling with older people is, again, a HUGE part of asian culture, so this was essentially the perfect way to depict this culmination. When the first episode had aired, @twig-tea had first introduced in a post the theme of liminality in Last Twilight. One of the definitions given was "of, relating to, or being an intermediate state, phase, or condition : IN-BETWEEN, TRANSITIONAL". Since Mhok entered Day's life, he's been in a liminal (transitional) state, as he moves closer to rejoing society. In this scene, we see what I'd like to say is the end of this liminal state. Of course, this isn't to say that Day is no longer in a state of liminality. Liminality presents itself in various ways throughout the show. This is simply a culmination of Day and Mhok's efforts to reintegrate Day into society. While the battle is far from over; disable people often find themselves outcasted and removed from society; it's a sign of hope, a sign of growth, a sign that their efforts have a result.

#every week these posts keep getting longer #and i dont know what to do about it #this show is brilliant #last twilight #last twilight the series #last twilight meta

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popironrye · 2 months

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Michael is a Great character and Star Deserves more than she gets.

While the 4 main vamp bois in 1987 'The Lost Boys' get plenty of pretty equal love from the fandom (and many also love Michael) but I don't see the same love extended to Star and many people criticize the both of them. So I just want to set the record straight. I don't trust people who hate on Michael and Star. There I said it!

Let's start with Star since she's the easier one to talk about.

o The biggest criticism I see for Star is people say she's forgettable, one note, and reduced to Michael's love interest. (This is especially bad in shipping spaces for people who ship Michael with the male members of the lost boys) While it's true Star doesn't get a lot to do in the film, she has about as much if not more screentime and speaking roles as the other lost boys like Marko, Paul, and especially Dwayne. Her biggest crime is being in a story that isn't solely about her, but that's ok! She works in the role she has, which is the main reason why Michael goes through everything he does in the movie. Would it have been better if she had a bigger impact in the climax? Sure but with Michael, Sam, and the Frog brothers having that many characters fighting back against the vampires would get pretty cluttered. Also, having Star not vamp out is criminal. I wanted to see Star with the vamp eyes and fangs.

Speaking of playing a role aside Michael! o Michael gets a lot of flack for making stupid decisions and never asking questions or communicating. God forbid characters have flaws and a movie have conflict to get the plot moving. I love Michael's character. It's something I relate to honestly. People seem to forget that Michael is only 18. Moving several hours away from his home state, leaving behind any friends, coworkers, and family behind to live in a new place with his recently divorced mother. A broken family on top of having to adjust to a new place to live. Yes, he's horny for Star the minute he sees her but it goes beyond her when David and the boys show up. Michael is desperate to be a part of a group. He has no friends and the only family he's hanging out with is his significantly younger brother. I personally don't see Michael going through everything he did just for a chance to hook up with Star. Hell, after he (admittedly stupidly) decks David in the face and gets invited back to the hotel, Star is standing in the distance while Michael is being persuaded by David. If this was truly about competing with David for Star's affection, why is Michael chilling with them. Eating dinner with them, and then accepting the bottle. David drives the point home to the audience and to Michael. "Be one of us." We of course know he's referring to being a vampire but to Michael he's being offered a spot in the gang. He's being peer pressured into being apart of their group, and he doesn't say no because he wants that. Speaking of, people also point the blood drinking scene as Michael not listening to Star and making a stupid decision. He doesn't even ask what's in the bottle before he swigs it. I've already said that characters having flaws is not an issue but really think about it. Yeah, the group is weird but say you were in Michael's shoes. Someone hands you a bottle to drink and another person says it's blood. Would you believe them? Michael knows at this point that David is messing with him. What with the maggots instead of rice and worms instead of noodles, proven to be something Michael saw but then seeing what he saw wasn't real. So you got an 18 year old with no friends surrounded by a group chanting his name, of course he drinks the blood. He had no reason to believe David gave him actual blood to drink.

And I think that about covers it. You can say I'm biased, but idc. Let me know your thoughts!

#the lost boys #the lost boys 1987 #star tlb #star the lost boys #michael tlb #michael the lost boys #discourse #discuss #film discourse #share your thoughts #character analysis

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invested-in-your-future · 6 days

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What was it exactly that ruined RWBY after volume 3? Was it the death of the author or the creators simply lost touch with their work?

I think I talked about the changes and issues within the narrative before, so I'll just stick to the overall problems with the shift from V3 to V4.

Honestly? The author's passing might have an impact, but it shouldn't have this level of impact.

It's easy to attribute all the success to Monty and just pretend the show was doomed without him. Then why did V3 still come out extremely good? Clearly, there was still talent here - Dillon Goo carried V3 fights on his back, and the story continued - nothing instantly fell apart.

And yet the show did fall apart.

So, what happened?

Were they blindsided by Monty's passing? Were they too inexperienced? Did the hard shift in direction destroy the show's setting? How about the employee burnout?

In reality, I think it's a combination of all of those and more.

They were caught off-guard.

No matter how big Monty's actual role was, people at RT are still human beings.

Death of a friend can turn one's life upside down and fast - understandably, the company would struggle to continue after losing someone so integral to their identity back then.

The way Volume 4 is structured instantly shows that the rest of the staff got blindsided by having to continue the show - V4 is designed to spin its wheels, buying them time while they try to figure out what to do. It's averse to any characterization for the lead four or any change in status quo, and even the lore bits we DO get during V4 are very vague (because the showrunners have no idea what to do).

You can literally imagine them all running around behind the scenes frantically trying to see how they can pick up from where v3 left off and delaying, delaying, delaying.

The issue, however, is that at some point, that kind of stalling becomes their whole MO rather than a temporary thing.

The show effectively stalls any sort of payoff for anything from the first three volumes, shying away from addressing anything within its original identity.

After a while, it's not like they didn't have time to figure things out or turn things around yet - it's that they decided this stalling issue works fine as-is - even as far as V9.

The relationships never quite progress - Blake and Yang have been in limbo since V3, for example.

The characters never progress or regress - how many times did the show "hint" at Ruby's distress for years, promise Blake's growth, or have Yang on the verge of some big moment of self-reflection?

It's not even JUST that it shifted away from its original identity as a contemporary tech-fantasy show - while it absolutely DID do that, the issue is that the showrunners have no idea what shape the show's identity OR aesthetic should take OR how to do it.

The show just stalls because it works even if viewers start to dwindle, and they don't have to do anything that would "alienate" people (Like, let's say, addressing the elephant in the room that is Yang and Blake).

A staggering amount of effort is made to NOT progress things and to have characters go through all these locations without really changing at all.

Things happen but not really.

What did Ruby's journey from Patch to Mistral accomplish for her as a character? What did Blake's journey to Menagerie accomplish? How about Yang's journey to find her offscreen bandit mother? How about Weiss getting taken back by her father?

Nothing.

What did the conflict in Atlas accomplish? Were characters affected or changed in any way? Did Weiss finally have her story arc? Did Ruby face herself?

Nothing.

You could literally change up the end of V3 with them dropping into the future of Vacuo and you wouldn't miss a single story beat.

We don't know MORE about the world OR the characters, really - the dumb Brother Gods plotline revelations can be summed up in half an episode.

Mistral's fate, Vale's fate, Atlas falling? That can be done offscreen - it's not like the show hasn't already offscreened far more important things

Of course, the show DIDN'T just skip that padding so it still has to get the major story beats in as everyone moves through locations.

But those story beats happen in the weirdest way possible.

Why?

There is ego involved, yes.

Miles didn't have to add up the brother gods subplot he had dreamt up one day.

Miles didn't have to keep pushing Jaune into the front of the show at the cost of the actual leads.

It's no secret that the show would always work this way where one of the people involved would posit an idea of how they think something could be cool if it happened - Monty was pretty notable for wanting to have Raven fight Team JNPR in the Fall of Beacon for example, and he refused to elaborate.

Is it so surprising someone like Miles or Kerry would want to "add their own touch"? So what if those ideas clashed with literally everything in the setting before - be it narratively or aesthetically?

But there was something else that changed.

Before V4 the people involved would come up with something and then work it into the plot. While imperfect, there was a possibility of a somewhat healthy dynamic where, with, likely, actual pushback between those involved - Monty never did get his "Raven fights everyone" scene after all, no matter how cool it could have been.

After V3 that dynamic was gone, obviously.

The creative element of the show fell apart, but Miles and co seemed to keep going like nothing happened - and at some point rather than a bunch of people discussing possible paths for the show, it turned into a situation where Miles or someone else would propose an idea and then it would happen.

As the show grew in scope so did the necessity for actually making those desired elements fit into the story. It was no longer about "hey we can't really justify Raven randomly showing up and fighting team JNPR" - there were Kingdoms and multiple locations and dozens of characters involved now.

They just lost their friend who proposed the show in the first place, they struggled to make the show continue and they were clearly inexperienced running something as big as this.

Yet instead of growing, learning, or hiring people, they seem to have been content with just dumping what Miles wanted into the show without worrying about narrative structure, set-ups, payoffs, characterization, and so on.

The weird medieval aesthetic of various locations no longer fits the contemporary modern setting of the first three Volumes? So what.

The magicky ridiculous cheese of brother gods was the polar opposite of a more grounded setting before it? So what.

The decision to not show actual character progression and growth that could be Yang's recovery arc because "it was boring"? This would make any writer or college professor scream because that's now how you characterization, that's not how you do pay off or ANYTHING, but yet again -so what?

Why?

They were unwilling to learn and to accept critique.

Listening to staff commentary for the show (even before Monty's passing) there's one thought that would persist - "Wow, they sure sound content and prideful with not knowing their things and just going with the flow."

RT drank their own Kool-Aid - "Oh we are just a small indie group of friends - look how scuffed our production and decision-making is."

It was impossible not to notice back then - people would point that out all the time.

Yet instead of improving and changing and learning and, honestly, growing up, Miles or someone else would just throw some backhanded remark and continue.

A group of amateur film-makers can grow and develop, but RT were so proud of their status as being this industry underdog where it's just a group of friends(despite that not being the case for YEARS at that point), that they were unwilling to make necessary changes in their work culture, approach or, well, anything.

I keep coming back to Miles watching Land of Lustrous and going "Oh, I don't get it." and that's it - there's no self-betterment or willingness to "get it" showcased and that's emblematic of RT culture as a whole.

Whether there was talent in the company (there was), it wouldn't matter if people at the top would stomp their feet and refuse to learn or improve. Even V9 staff had quite a few talented animators involved - did not help.

They were too caught up in the "youtube machinima bro culture" RT's size had long since grown out of.

They were "a bunch of friends, just a bunch of indie amateur people creating content", and they were proud of it and of how scuffed everything was.

So what if at that scale of the company, the culture would end up creating genuine issues with power dynamics, harassment, over-work, inefficient production, employee burnout, resource wasting, and so on?

The working conditions drove away most of the talent they had left over the course of next few years.

(Un)Surprisingly being stuck in a frathouse mentality lasting decades is a really good motivator for actual talented people within the company to quit and work elsewhere. Who would have thought?

One logical path forward would be to hire actual industry professionals, right? They could have created a writer's room, hired management experts, a proper HR department, hired sensitivity readers, outsourced researching various topics, etc, right? Miles and Co could keep pretending to be auteurs while competent people would get paid to do what needs to be done and course-correct them.

Easy, right?

Well.

They were unwilling to hire professionals.

Reminder that it took RT till around Atlas arc to have anything resembling a writers' room, they still refused to hire actual sensitivity readers to ensure they don't end up writing something blatantly ableist or just outright all-around problematic.

In the cases where professionals were involved, the people in charge just ignored all suggestions (otherwise Volume 8 and 9 would have been stopped at brainstorming phase and changed - I refuse to believe no one took a look at it and said "this will crash harder than Genlock Season Two")

I have no doubts people at the core of RT wanted to honor their friend's legacy and make right by them, but...

If "everything was fine" and who they were was fine and no critique mattered then why change anything or listen to outside voices?

And thus they continued.

Overall

It's a mix of variety of issues, really. It's actually kind of fascinating RT managed to have so many things go wrong.

#rwby #rwde #ruby rose #yang xiao long #rwby analysis #rooster teeth

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ntaras · 7 months

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Bi-Han Analysis

Though the primary focus of this analysis is Bi-Han, I also do analyze Kuai Liang a bit. This analysis is also mostly for me to put my general thoughts together, so the formatting is a bit hard to read and messy.

This analysis is not written with the datamined dlc story in mind, so for the love of god do not bring that up if you want to respond to this post. I also hate the way the brothers and the Sub-Zero vs. Scorpion rivalry was presented, but I’m writing this analysis with an attempt at avoiding placing criticism in the center (because I do have a lot of criticism that does conflict with this analysis.)

Also, this is not meant to prove Bi-Han as “not evil”, because no, he isn’t, but he’s still an antagonist who’s making very bad choices. Also I talk about my own speculation regarding Bi-Han’s relationship with his father, and I want to make clear that I’m not trying to paint their father in a bad light because he is not canonically presented as abusive or evil. It comes off like that, but that’s not my intention. I’m too lazy to rewrite that portion of the analysis so this is just a heads up.

Bi-Han is a walking self-sabotaging tragedy, and with Kuai Liang as Scorpion, they were doomed from the start for their relationship to shatter. You have the eldest brother: Sub-Zero, who feels forced into submission and forced to conceal his “true worth”. You have the younger brother: Scorpion, who watches his older brother be consumed by his desperation to be something, and stands unsure of how to help him.

Bi-Han’s desire for power is the highlight of his character. His and the Lin Kuei’s role as Earthrealm’s defenders isn’t something that satisfies him- it isn’t something that shows his worth. He thinks he’s worth more than simply hiding in the shadows, waiting, and waiting for threats to emerge. Defending Earthrealm brings him no value, but perhaps taking part in ruling it would give him value (Sub-Zero: “You wield the power I aspire to be” Sindel: “Too bad you’re unfit for it, Sub-Zero.”) He wants to bring the Lin Kuei to the light, show that his clan is deserving of power. (From his bio: “Under his leadership, the Lin Kuei will come out of the shadows and fight for its place as one of Earthrealm’s great nations.”)

I’m really emphasizing the word “shadow”. It’s an obvious reference to Noob Saibot, and it seems like the story is going for the route that Bi-Han is already someone in the dark, yet he doesn’t view himself to be in the dark. (Scorpion: “A shadow’s fallen on your soul.” Sub-Zero: “No, brother. I’ve seen the light.”) As the darkness envelops Bi-Han, he can only see that darkness as the light.

Bi-Han refuses to see himself in the wrong, and even says his ambition is confused for evil. (Ashrah: “There are many in the Netherrealm just like you.” Sub-Zero: “You conflate ambition with evil, Ashrah.”) That dialogue also implies that Bi-Han does not believe he will end up in the Netherrealm for his actions, because he doesn’t view himself or his actions as “evil”. Everything he’s done has been for the better- has been for the good of the Lin Kuei.

I wondered why Bi-Han was so loyal to the Lin Kuei in this timeline, as in previous timelines Bi-Han’s loyalty to his clan was because he was kidnapped by that clan, and conditioned to be their warrior (but still agreed to help Raiden and save Earthrealm.) So why is Bi-Han so loyal to the Lin Kuei in this timeline?

This is more speculation than an analysis I can support with hard evidence, but if you’re asking what I personally think, I’d like the case to be that there was something deeper going on. That somehow, his father put so much pressure on Bi-Han (not intentional pressure) as the future Grandmaster and a protector of Earthrealm, Bi-Han ending up warping that role as “protector of Earthrealm” into his own desire for the Lin Kuei to show all their true ability is to not defend Earthrealm- but govern Earthrealm. Why must their efforts go unrecognized if their role is so important? Also this plays into his role as the first born son, the eldest child who ends up being the one responsible for their younger siblings. As the eldest, he knows what is best for his siblings. As Grandmaster, he knows what is best for the Lin Kuei.

All the dialogue regarding their father paints him in a good light- even dialogue from Bi-Han. Bi-Han never once accuses his father as being abusive in some manner, but only as weak and lacking vision. So, there is no denying that he was a good man, but he’s still a man of mistakes, such as being the man indirectly responsible for the murder of Tomas’s family. The fact that that murder happened in the first place does raise a lot of questions about the inner workings of the Lin Kuei and how their father led the Lin Kuei.

It does feel like their father’s death is still not fully revealed. His death is only referred to as an “accident” and not delved into further besides Bi-Han allowing him to die. (Scorpion: “I want to see the moment my father died.” Geras: “You are not ready to receive that knowledge.”) That could mean that there is more to his death, Kuai Liang isn’t ready to see that moment because he’d get all raged up, or it could mean nothing because that’s how a lot of dialogue is.

The way their father led the Lin Kuei- and how the Lin Kuei has always been in this new era, was by teaching them to be submissive (to follow rather than lead.) And in Bi-Han’s eyes: weak.

The fact that Bi-Han didn’t kill his father, but instead let him die, is fascinating. We can also compare that act, to how Bi-Han is submissive to Liu Kang until he’s away from Liu Kang and listens to Shang Tsung. ALSO, it’s interesting how Bi-Han doesn’t listen to Shang Tsung’s offer until he is in chains. Even if he let his father die, Bi-Han still was loyal to Liu Kang nor did he change the Lin Kuei in any way (we also do not know how recently their father died, so he may have not even had the time yet to drastically change the Lin Kuei on his own, but I think that’s besides the point). He aches for the right moment to “step up”- to separate himself from what he believes binds him.

We see Liu Kang keep Bi-Han from being “too antagonistic”. After Liu Kang calls Bi-Han and Kuai Liang over in chapter 1, we see Bi-Han get hostile towards Kung Lao and try to advance towards him, but is stopped by Liu Kang. He glances at Liu Kang, wanting to bark back, but keeps quiet. In chapter 2, Liu Kang looks at Bi-Han when he yells “enough!” and Bi-Han quickly bows in apology.

He keeps that loyalty to Liu Kang, until he is physically in chains, until he is physically shackled. He does not want to be prisoner to that loyalty of submission anymore.

His submission to his father’s ruling of the Lin Kuei and Liu Kang’s Godhood is something he doesn’t want, because he feels like he is worth more than submission. He doesn’t want to be treated “so lowly".” He wants recognition for his skills- he’s eager to show himself off and prove that yes, he is a warrior.

If Liu Kang had chosen Bi-Han to be champion, then mayhaps this desire for power and self-sabotage Bi-Han participates in would have been avoided. However, it’s understandable why Liu Kang didn’t choose Bi-Han to be champion despite clearly having the talent to be one: Bi-Han always dies at a tournament. He didn’t want to risk Bi-Han’s death, and then the resurrection of Noob Saibot (or a falling out between Kuai Liang- Scorpion- and Bi-Han that resulted in Kuai Liang killing Bi-Han). But, it seems Bi-Han set himself down that dark path anyways.

Now, onto Kuai Liang and a brief look into the relationship between the three brothers.

The story fails at showing us that the three brothers do care about each other, but it’s just barely there.

In Kuai Liang’s bio, it states two things: “...though he took pride in knowing that his brother, Sub-Zero, would succeed their father as the Lin Kuei's Grandmaster.” and “...he fears that may one day have to battle his brother for control of the Lin Kuei’s legacy.” He views Bi-Han as Grandmaster with pride, and is scared of having to fight him- scared of choosing duty over his brother.

Kuai Liang verbally tells Bi-Han multiple times to “watch himself”- reminding Bi-Han of his duty (honoring their father) and questioning Bi-Han’s roughness with Johnny Cage. You do see Kuai Liang keeping an eye out on Bi-Han (as he states later in the game, he was aware of Bi-Han’s frustrations). Kuai Liang doesn’t even mind Bi-Han’s ambitions, as evident in the scene where they enter the treasure chamber. “There will be spoils in this war,” says Bi-Han as Kuai Liang does not chastise him for wanting those “spoils”, but responds with “let us win it first, brother.”

If I’m being honest, I don’t even think Bi-Han was referring to the actual treasure as “spoils”, but rather the glory that treasure holds. Bi-Han doesn’t really have a desire for treasure, especially a bunch of coins, so I couldn’t really view him as having an actual desire for some coins and gems. And I think Kuai Liang’s response was him answering Bi-Han’s hidden desires- that Bi-Han can achieve his desire to “shine” after they finish their job. For Bi-Han to achieve his ambitions, he must earn it first.

Up until the reveal of Bi-Han letting their father die, Kuai Liang is incredibly patient with Bi-Han.

Regarding Tomas and Bi-Han’s relationship: Bi-Han doesn’t hate Tomas! Their relationship is complex with Tomas being the youngest brother and being adopted into the family, but it’s not wrong to say Bi-Han does care about him (as clearly evident by the “You are both unharmed?” comment).

I really do think Bi-Han being the eldest sibling is important to his character. It’s a role that brings him frustration as he cannot get his younger siblings to listen to him (them “abandoning” him and the LIn Kuei), and loses control over them. His anger is harsh towards Tomas, as is “what he gets” for being the younger brother, yet Tomas still cares for Bi-Han despite Bi-Han stating Tomas is not Lin Kuei.

Bi-Han, in all his cruelness and frustration, cares about his brothers. And they care about Bi-Han. It’s evident in the fact that the brothers are so adamant on being the ones to kill/capture the other, not allowing anyone else “the privilege”. They are deeply hurt by the others' betrayal, and any hatred that comes from them is out of a broken heart.

Kuai Liang did try to kill Bi-Han. After Bi-Han reveals that he allowed their father to die, Kuai Liang loses it, and knocks Bi-Han down, and you see him raise his chains ready to kill Bi-Han. Kuai Liang would have regretted it. He was in a moment of seering, blind rage, allowing his emotions to fully take over him. You know he would have regretted it, because in their confrontation outside the temple, Kuai Liang doesn’t kill Bi-Han. And if I’m being honest, I don’t even think that Kuai Liang knew he almost killed Bi-Han.

“You are my Grandmaster no longer.” Not, “you are my brother no longer.” Kuai Liang disowns Bi-Han as his leader, but not as his brother. Even if Bi-Han shed his own brother’s blood, Kuai Liang cannot truly renounce his own blood. It’s their bond and their curse as brothers- as Sub-Zero and Scorpion: they are forever connected by rivalry and siblinghood.

Their love is deep, but their hatred is even deeper. But is it not the same when it comes to siblings? Is that cruelty not the same as a loving embrace?

#mortal kombat #sub-zero #bi-han #kuai liang #i have more to say but i’ve been holding this off for a week #so you get general thoughts on bi-han #also i was going to add my criticism about the writing and how they wrote the brothers and their story but that’s a whole other can of worms

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cienie-isengardu · 3 months

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[MK1] Bi-Han & Kuai Liang. Good brother? Evil brother? Nah, just different reactions to trauma, part 3

part 1, part 2

The previous part helped me lay a ground to establish the main difference between Kuai Liang and Bi-Han. Scorpion, as a dedicated follower of father and Liu Kang’s authority is what I had called the Believer. He does not question the nature of Lin Kuei duty, as he built his life around it. Bi-Han on another hand is definitely a Questioner, as he questions and undermines not only the wisdom of Fire God or even his own father but also the reasons why his clan should serve Earthrealm in the first place as he sees such servitude as enslavement. So one brother follows orders of those he considers to be his superiors while the other, the same as all know to us major cryomancers, has a rocky relationship with authority.

Being the sons of Grandmaster definitely influenced their life by how they were raised, because beside the hardship of physical training they, as heirs, needed to be prepared for their future duties to the clan. As the eldest, such additional education was aimed primarily on Bi-Han, and depending on how big is the age gap between brothers, he could be more involved into clan politics - and in result more aware of the inner working of Lin Kuei and the unrest of his people than Kuai Liang or Tomas were. I will expand this thought soon, for now let's talk about the Grandmaster and Mother, as the first authority figures that shaped and influenced both brothers.

FATHER

There is no doubt that their father played a great role in shaping Kuai Liang and he meant a lot to the younger brother. During story mode we had 6 main scenes in which Lin Kuei brothers interacted with each other:

waiting together for Liu Kang

before infiltrating Fortress

after Bi-Han defeated Nitara and Ermac

before brothers separated to carry on their parts of mission

Bi-Han’s betrayal

the second confrontation between brothers that lead to Kuai Liang and Bi-Han fight + Kuai Liang and Tomas talking over unconscious body of Sub-Zero

Out of 6 examples, four was focused on the ideological conflict between Sub-Zero and his brothers - and in all of those scenes, Kuai Liang was talking about father in one way or another

“His teaching did not pass with him. They should still guide us." “We must honor his vision Bi-Han." “Bi-Han!! How could you?! Father would turn in his grave if he saw this!" "We must chart a new course. One that both honors our Father's legacy and serves Earthrealm."

but outside the importance of father and his teaching, had almost nothing meaningful to say in the presented interactions. What is frankly a pretty alarming detail. Not only because Kuai Liang barely interacted with Tomas before he needed his support (6th interaction scene), but also he does not contribute much to the mission - the only one time he does say anything relative to the job at hand is when Smoke is out of the picture.

In contrast, Bi-Han and Smoke talked about how to process the mission on two separate occasions - before and during infiltrating the fortress, even though Tomas is the least battle experienced out of the three brothers (confirmed by his BIO and the falling scene) and the one about whom frustrated Bi-Han said to not have Lin Kuei blood.

And this is very surprising choice of creators, as it was Kuai Liang to whom other characters will look up for leadership during battle to close the portals, so A) he doesn’t lack the skills and self-confidence to lead a mission and B) he was no afraid of Bi-Han nor Tomas as he spoke his mind openly around his brothers.

For the majority of Bi-Han’s chapter, literally all Scorpion has to say was to critique Sub-Zero even for things not worth the scorn[1] or bring father into discussion despite perfectly knowing this will only frustrate his elder brother more.

Again for contrast, during the same chapter Bi-Han spoke of things not related to his father or ambitious plans for Lin Kuei’s future. As in:

discussing mission with Smoke on two different occasions

enjoying the fight for his own personal reasons (glory, testing his skills against worth opponents)

childhood memory - hearing the stories about Nitara’s people as a child

Sub-Zero’s chapter alone gives us a good hint of differences between Bi-Han and Kuai Liang. Scorpion is all about father and tradition to the point he barely interact with Smoke despite his own assurance “We may not share blood, but we are brothers” and has little to nothing nice or supportive to say to his elder brother despite their close bond (as provided by intro dialogues: Kuai Liang believing their bond couldn’t be broken and Bi-Han wishing to rule with Kuai Liang at his side).

In all fairness there is something almost fanatical in the way Scorpion acted at this point in story mode and it would be easy to claim this blind-like dedication to father is what Kuai Liang was at the core. However, like I said in the previous part, the same as Bi-Han’s behavior was influenced by emotion out of his control, the frustration we were told by Scorpion and shown through Sub-Zero’s angry gesticulation, the same assumption should be made for Kuai Liang. The best hint comes from the interaction between brothers before they attempted climbing on the wall.

Sub-Zero: “We must find a less guarded section before attempting an ascent. Finally we face a worthy foe. Victory will bring us glory." Scorpion: “Glory? We fight for duty." Sub-Zero: “Does our Father's ghost possess you? All I hear is his voice."

Saying someone is possessed is a strong way to emphasize how a person is acting differently than usual. By Bi-Han’s frustrated reaction we can assume that the way Kuai Liang behave and speak mimic the behavior of their parent - and if Sub-Zero was constantly rebuked by father the way he is rebuked by his younger brother over everything, whatever big or small matter, it could be the origin of his growing frustration.

However we need to keep in mind that Kuai Liang was deeply affected by the unexpected death of their father, so this event could influence the way he interacted with his brothers, especially with Bi-Han. There is no reason to doubt they were once close, but I think the moment when Kuai Liang lost not just a parent but the most important authority figure, he started treating father’s wisdom not as just a guidance but some sort of Sacred Laws he - and his brothers - needs to follow to the letter.

At first in story mode Kuai Liang only says “His teaching did not pass with him. They should still guide us” to which Bi-Han replies that father’s wisdom can guide them but not “shackle” (limiting). But the more conflict escalates, the more Scorpion insists “We must honor his vision Bi-Han” yet he does not provide any real argument why they must do it actually. Like yes, sons should respect their father and be obedient while tradition is an important part of one’s culture, but Kuai Liang never goes out of his way to provide any example of what is good about that wisdom in the first place.

In contrast, the more tense became their interaction, the more vocal Bi-Han was about why he reject their father’s teaching:

Sub-Zero: "Vision is what he lacked. He was blind to our superiority. We settle for defending Earthrealm when we could help lead it."

and later, at his breaking point,

Sub-Zero:"He was doddering old fool! He did us a favor, having that accident. And I was right to let him die.[...] Father had doomed the Lin Kuei to mediocrity. Now we will achieve greatness."

At the same time, despite the harsh criticism toward father and considering his death as “favor” done to Lin Kuei (brothers) and having no regrets for letting him die, Sub-Zero’s relationship with his parent is not so one sided as it may look at the first glance.

Through intro dialogues, Bi-Han still considers his father a foolish, short sighted man

Scorpion: Father would be ashamed of you. Sub-Zero: Only because he lacked vision.

and

Smoke: Father wanted us to be brothers. Sub-Zero: Yet another of the old man's foolish dreams.

Sub-Zero: My father was a fool to follow you. Liu Kang: He wisely honored Earthrealm with his service.

but at the same time he does not completely reject the notion of the father’s greatness

Sindel: I knew your father. He was a great man. Sub-Zero: Yet he never understood the Lin Kuei's potential.

or that the man’s wisdom had some merit

Sub-Zero: Father was right about one thing: never trust a sorcerer. Quan Chi: Truly, he was a wise man.

nor Sub-Zero's action was motivated by hate or spite

Reiko: Is it true: you let your father die? Sub-Zero: What war's ever been won without losses?

Ashrah: What kind of son betrays his father? Sub-Zero: One who sees his father's time has passed.

(And there is something really weird how Reiko bothers to ask Bi-Han about his father’s death yet Fire Lord, who praised the previous Grandmaster as a wise man to serve Earthrealm, has nothing to say about the matter? No anger, no rebuke, not even a simple comment for what Bi-Han did? When he expressed regret on various occasions for the ill fate of Sindel and her husband? I guess this could add to the pile of reasons why Bi-Han resents Liu Kang’s authority for not treating his Lin Kuei allies with the same or similar level of respect he express toward Outworld Royal Family).

Scorpion in his intro dialogues does not question father’s authority at all. He does speak about him with

Sindel

Scorpion: Your husband's murder haunted my father. Sindel: All those close to Jerrod were devastated.

and

Sindel: Both your parents were excellent fighters. Scorpion: I can only hope to live up to their example.

Geras

Scorpion: I want to see the moment my father died. Geras: You are not ready to receive that knowledge.

and Bi-Han (“Father would be ashamed of you”) however I didn’t find any example he directly mentioned father to Smoke, who, like Sub-Zero, had a more complicated relationship with the man[2].

He also expressed to Johnny and his mirror match burning anger at Bi-Han for father’s death:

Johnny Cage: Bi-Han's got you all fired up, eh? Scorpion: He'll burn for betraying my father.

and

Scorpion: I won't be consumed by vengeance. Scorpion: How can your father's death not burn you?

This fierce reaction to father’s death is understandable, as Scorpion’s Bio said,

Like his cherished father, Scorpion is dedicated to the Lin Kuei and its defense of Earthrealm. When his father died, Scorpion was bereft.

Now, let’s focus on the choice of words. According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, bereft means:

suffering the death of a loved one but also being deprived or lacking something needed, wanted, or expected.

Which is why I think the loss of a father is for Kuai Liang something more than just missing a beloved parent. He also lost the guidance that was constant in his life since he was a little kid and he tries to fill the emptiness by honoring and in result, mimicking the authority figure he built his life around.

Kuai Liang’s character theme is HONOR

and as much as it is about his integrity and loyalty to father’s teaching (protecting Earthrealm), I think this is also a keyword to what Scorpion dedicated his life: to honoring the past but only through father’s idea of tradition, duty or his legacy[3].

Story mode: "We must honor his vision Bi-Han."

and

Story mode: "We must chart a new course. One that both honors our Father's legacy and serves Earthrealm."

and

Smoke: With you as grandmaster, our new clan will flourish. Scorpion: Only if we honor tradition.

If we agree that Father was the authority Kuai Liang followed and built his life around, then he did not just lose a parent but also a central part of his world, a source of comfort and security. And Bi-Han, the closest remaining blood-relative, the eldest sibling is NOT PROVIDING THE NEEDED COMFORT and/or STABILITY because Sub-Zero does not follow father’s teaching anymore and slowly is building his life around different values and goals than were accepted by previous Grandmaster.

Which is why I believe Kuai Liang so desperately clings to it, and honors the man’s teaching like it is some sort of sacred code and can’t anymore interact with elder brother the way they used to. Because he is afraid to lose the last connection to cherished father - if Bi-Han casts away their father’s teaching, they will be forgotten with passing time and then lost forever. And the dislike of changes father would not approve and fear of being forced to act against his own brother are part of Scorpion’s BIO:

[...] he took pride in knowing that his brother, Sub-Zero, would succeed their father as the Lin Kuei's grandmaster. But Sub-Zero's unprecedented moves to cast off the Lin Kuei's traditional duties have frozen Scorpion's enthusiasm. He fears that one day he may have to battle his brother for control of the Lin Kuei's legacy.

- even if Bi-Han prior to his betrayal scene did not do anything that cast off the tradition. We could hear him talking about his ambitions to change Lin Kuei, but only between his closest family and never openly questioning or challenging Liu Kang’s authority. Like yes, Bi-Han was frustrated and lacked patience for back talks of Kung Lao who still didn’t figure out Lin Kuei pulled out their punches and acted violently once Johnny grabbed his arm - and how much it was a learned reflex to respond with violence and a simple excuse to hit him is up to debate. But each time Liu Kang got involved in the “conflict” Sub-Zero fell back to his place and obeyed. The same as he did not argue about the mission he and his brother undertook on Fire Lord’s order.

As the story mode provides, the clan was more than ready to reject the past because only Kuai Liang and Tomas refused to follow Sub-Zero’s leadership. Which speaks a lot both about Lin Kuei as a society and Kuai Liang’s dedication for tradition and father. The story mode really made him look to be in the minority in that matter. To the point that he openly admitted to Smoke how small are chances for him to replace Bi-Han as the Grandmaster even though he is the second in line to that title:

Smoke: “What are you doing? Once he's exposed, won't you be made Grandmaster?" Scorpion: "You forget Cyrax and Sektor. Their loyalty to Bi-Han is absolute. They'll sooner abet his corruption than follow me."

At his breaking point, Bi-Han explained to brother he lied about father’s death because

"[...] you couldn't, and still can't, face the truth. Father had doomed the Lin Kuei to mediocrity. Now we will achieve greatness."

what is of course a very subjective opinion, but considering how sources presented Kuai Liang and how narrow-minded he can be, especially during mourning father, I’m willing to give Sub-Zero some benefit of doubt. Not if father worsened the Lin Kuei situation or not, but about Scorpion and his inability or lack of will to face the truth. Lin Kuei has changed and Bi-Han alone is not the source of problem, because he is the clan leader for relative short period of time while the whole clan rejected the centuries old traditions honored by Kuai Liang’s father despite knowing it puts them on the collide course against Liu Kang, Earthrealm and Outworld. What is more, just because the previous Grandmaster died, it does not erase all the older members who served Earthrealm longer that Bi-Han or Kuai Liang lived and they too support Bi-Han’s independence streak as far as sources implies. Would they reject Sub-Zero if they knew about his part in Grandmaster’s death? Maybe or maybe not, all depending how long and how deeply the dissatisfaction about the Lin Kuei situation runs. Something that Kuai Liang may not be aware of - or quite the opposite, he was in fact painfully aware about it and this is why he feared Sub-Zero's desire for change, because he knew the clan will gladly support it.

The same as for tradition, brothers have a different approach to their father and what he symbolizes in their life. For Kuai Liang the man was a cherished family member and moral guide, the first and final authority while for Bi-Han a source of frustration and limitation. Understandable then, they have an opposite reaction to his death, one is heartbroken and the other sees it as an opportunity for his own growth and realization of ambitious plans.

The Lin Kuei brothers’ feelings for mother though are drastically different matter and this will be the subject of the next part.

SIDENOTES

[1] The best example happened here:

Sub-Zero: “We must find a less guarded section before attempting an ascent. Finally we face a worthy foe. Victory will bring us glory." Scorpion: “Glory? We fight for duty."

as Bi-Han can’t even express the joy he finds in fighting without Kuai Liang cut in and bring it down again to duty and in the wider perspective what father trained them for. An excitement that in itself is not inherently a bad thing, especially since the Sub-Zero’s quotes after losing the fight against Nitara or Ermac shows how Bi-Han would graciously accept defeat and praise his enemy (“You are a superb adversary. More than worth the wait” and “You are as formidable as promised. Let’s continue.” respectively) thus his attitude is about something different than bloodthirst or fun. Sub-Zero was warned about the danger Nitara and Ermac posed:

childhood stories about Lin Kuei's effort against Nitara’s people: “As a boy I heard tales of battles against your kind.”

Liu Kang’s warning about Ermac: “You are Quan Chi’s creation. Liu Kang warned about you. I had hoped for the chance to battle your dark magic.”

and so Bi-Han hoped to face worthy opponents against whom he could test his skills. And though it may sound selfish, we can’t forget that Sub-Zero was raised as a warrior - only facing strong opponents and overcoming the danger allow a warrior to make progress. Lin Kuei warriors were always striving for perfection, and if this mindset did not change in Liu Kang’s timeline, it is understandable why the prospect of facing danger after years of idleness pleased the Grandmaster.

Bi-Han looking out for a chance to perfect his abilities, wishing to test himself and earning a recognition for fighting skills he dedicated his whole life doesn’t sound as something deserving such a negative reaction. Especially since Bi-Han at this point has never done anything that put the mission or his brothers at risk. And though he was frustrated about his and Lin Kuei's situation, it never stopped him from doing his duty - until the capture and Shang Tsung’s offer scene. An offer he wouldn’t be otherwise interested to listen to, as was seen during his fight with sorcerer

and Sub-Zero’s intention to eliminate the enemy for good (even if Liu Kang clearly said to capture the sorcerer not to kill him).

This leads me to think Kuai Liang’s rebuke was uncalled for but also supports my feeling mentioned in the previous part - Scorpion did not enjoy fighting but was doing it because tradition (father) demanded that from him.

[2] Tomas’ complicated feelings toward Lin Kuei Father are rooted in his trauma - it was Grandmaster’s own people who killed his mother and twin sister. As much as an adult Tomas respect his adoptive parent and maybe even became emotionally close with he man over the years, there is still something in the way he spoke about the past events that indicates it was not always the case - and maybe he still feels some resentment to the man that at least indirectly destroyed his childhood

Kitana: You are Kuai Liang's adopted brother? Smoke: His father's honor demanded that he take me in.

and

Reptile: Lucky for you, Kuai Liang's father took you in. Smoke: It didn't feel that way at the time.

And I guess this is just the nature of intro dialogues, but it feels off to me that when Tomas is talking with non Lin Kuei characters, the father is always connected down solely to Kuai Liang (and not for example to both brothers) and Tomas never corrects them or say anything implying that despite not sharing the same blood, the man became his father too. There is also something to say how Tomas twice brought father in his dialogues with Bi-Han:

Smoke: Father wanted us to be brothers. Sub-Zero: Yet another of the old man's foolish dreams.

and

Sub-Zero: You were never truly one of us. Smoke: Were Father here, he would disagree.

None of the brothers adds “my” or “our” father - and Bi-Han could do so, if he didn’t consider Tomas part of the family. Interestingly Sub-Zero only once said “my father” in his intro dialogues and between the three brothers, Sub-Zero's ones revolve the most around the man (I counted 8 separate, direct intro dialogues), while Kuai Liang does not talk directly about father with Tomas at all in their pre-fighting interactions. Which is quite surprising, considering how important father is to Kuai Liang and how often Smoke brought the man’s authority in story mode and intros.

[3] At this point I think it is not the burning anger that Kuai Liang shares with the original Scorpion that should concern other characters (and us), but his “blind” clinging to the past that brought Hanzo Hasashi a lot of suffering and made him an easy target for manipulations. Now, I know this may sound too harsh, especially at such an early stage of exploring a new timeline and having no clue what is NRS’ final goal for his character development but hear me out. Kuai Liang’s Shirai Ryu is not an improved version of Lin Kuei, but it's replacement. For now Scorpion needs to find and train willing adepts to secure Earthrealm and his new clan’s safety, so it’s understandable his focus is set on the most urgent matters at hand, but if he is not willing to closely examine past and question it - be it father’s teaching or what lead Lin Kuei to follow rebellious Sub-Zero than following their traditional duties, he will recreate the system that objectively speaking is unfair to people born into it. As far as we know, Lin Kuei members weren’t paid for their dutiful service, they lived in isolation and secret, forced their children to endure hardship since childhood to turn them into superb soldiers (tools) so Liu Kang’s Earthrealm could be safe and sound and even in times of peace, the warriors could die for unspecified reasons that aren’t related to natural death out of old age (presumably what happened to mother). There is much more to talk about, so I’m gonna leave this matter for another part. Just signaling that Kuai Liang’s fierce loyalty to father (past) can be as dangerous as Bi-Han rejecting it.

#mortal kombat #bi han #kuai liang #tomas vrbada #sub zero #scorpion #smoke #lin kuei #my analysis #that kinda get out of control #sorry folks as much as i'm dying to talk about lin kuei bros' mother i needed to cut the text here #as it something around 9-10 pages already lol #i won't lie writing about pyromancer kuai liang is so painful and i tried my best to not be harsh on him #for being so narrow minded character that like barely provides any arguments or explaination for his cause #especially in contrast to bi han who though is painted as the “powe hungry brother” he has some good points and at least give me #something to work on and analyze #while kuai is mainly father this tradition that #and it is so weird bi han and tomas have more intro dialogues about father than kuai liang and tomas have #it is not character flaws nor their fault just storyline and how story is structured and so on #but it is so weird sometimes #i'm here for scorpion being affected by grief over father and fear how the world he knows is falling apart to explain why brothers #were so frustrated and bad at communication #the same way i feel bi han's frustration influenced his behaviour

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utilitycaster · 10 months

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The wildest part about people being mad on Imogen's behalf is Imogen herself understood Keyleth's position in spite of her own wishful thinking, helps acquire the blue flowers for her, was the first to acknowledge the Changebringer's help, and the first to say "I'm sorry" to Orym losing more of his people. I'm really baffled to read these "Orym is manipulative" takes and that it was dangerous of Keyleth to validate his anger. Do you think it goes back to the god stuff, or is it just Imodna?

I think a little of column A, little of column B, little of several other things. Since I've been on the "hey could we consider that Imogen and Laudna are adult women who are responsible for their own actions" train for over a year, the specific "Imogen can be mean-spirited as well as unintentionally insensitive" train since at least this past February, and the "Orym is correct and Bor'Dor signed his own death warrant by casting Vitriolic Sphere at a group of people who were not violent towards him" train for a month, let's break it down.

There are a small handful of people in the fandom who just really hate Liam. Per a very salty rant I put into my drafts shortly after 3x63 to describe this type of person, it is a small, scattered, bizarre group of people who for no apparent reason have decided to be foaming-at-the-mouth levels of furious because, as far as I can tell, a nerdy Gen X-er dad who went to Tisch is kind of corny sometimes. Anyway nothing he does will ever sit well with them so we can ignore them forever. Moving on.

Some is Imodna; I thought the whole issue of Imogen and Laudna as agency-less infants against a cruel world would have been ameliorated by them entering a canon relationship (one currently compatible with the 2013 Pinterest board vibes of fanon no less) but it appears to have not been the case. For more on this, see this still relevant post and, while I personally haven't ever written something up, there's just, again, a complete black hole of empathy from a segment of the fandom when it comes to any of the other characters; my post from this morning about Imogen as compared to Caleb touches upon it. You know the Far Side cartoon where a guy is talking to his dog and the dog only recognizes a small handful of words? I feel this is similar, like, they see that Imogen wanted one thing and Orym and Keyleth wanted another thing that wasn't even, as you point out, terribly incompatible, and then the "well if not thing Imogen wants and not 100% deferential to her then BAD BAD BAD" attitude kicked in.

But I do think, in the end, a lot of it does come back to if not the gods exactly, the idea that the Vanguard is, unmistakably, the enemy. They are not the revolution here to usher in a new era of rule by the people. Keyleth is not here to raze Vasselheim to the ground but to have a diplomatic discussion; neither is she here to grant any leniency to the woman who attacked Vax regardless of her connection to Imogen. And she finds the idea of a world without the gods, regardless of her own personal feelings, to be one to be avoided. [sidebar: I hope we get Matt on 4SD; I am wondering, after the one-two-three punch of Hevestro, the Raven Queen, and Keyleth all placing a heavy thumb on the scale opposing the Vanguard if he did not expect the party to be as conflicted about the role of the gods and is trying to wind up an argument that I think as of last episode reached the end of its useful life.] When you couple that with Orym's positive attitude towards the gods, that explains the animosity towards him.

The undermining of Orym's position over the past few episodes has always been one of emotion. First he was not objective - as if anyone else was objective! As if any moral decision is ever 100% objective! We all have biases! What kind of early 2000s atheist forum shit are you on to claim perfect rationality that conveniently matches the ideas that apparently came to you in a godless vision? It's insane. Then it was his grief; grief makes you irrational (unless you're Imogen grieving Laudna, in which case you are objectively right at all times, even as you shout down every other suggestion, beseech Laudna's first murderer, not a month later consider the potential validity of the her second, and try to to undo her immutable past) and remember, moral decisions must be made by the rational. Then it was his impatience (nevermind that Imogen has absolutely no patience). And now it's his anger, and he's apparently been manipulating the party the whole time by...having suggestions for the group which he mentions, and openly stating what he was feeling and what he wanted, and not intuiting that Laudna reawoke Delilah with his approximately no magical ability and then encouraging her to finish a job she had started herself. Because god Rational Objective Conceptual Being forbid women do anything; it is the role of the man to protect their fragile souls from all consequences.

Even more generally I think a lot of people- not just in this fandom, though certainly within this fandom - are terrified of anger. Like, they think they like it - they say they love barbarians (though rage is its own beast and I think very different from the anger Orym and Keyleth exhibit) but most of the discussion of them tends to veer more into angst, and most players of barbarians are often exploring emotions like grief, self-pity (as Ashton says), or frustration just as much if not more so than anger. I think a lot of people perceive anger as this awful thing inside them to be controlled and denied, or alternately to only be let out for whatever they think is a sufficiently righteous cause, and instead sit in an increasingly toxic stew of simmering resentment and conflict avoidance until they begin to think this is not just normal but aspirational - anything but that awful beast they call anger. It's not new in discussions of Keyleth, and it's not limited to her and Orym; I can point to nearly every single character who has had even the slightest of outbursts - even something as mild and controlled as Orym's whispered profanity or less - and I promise you there's been pearl-clutching for every single one of them.

Anyway, you make great points! One of the things that struck me about this episode and prompted my frustration and my post earlier today is that Imogen has changed. I think she's been mulling over Liliana since her appeals to her during the Key's activation were unsuccessful; she hesitantly told Chetney when he asked in Uthodurn that yes, if Liliana's death is necessary, she understands; and I think seeing the utter devastation and pain that was inflicted on Keyleth brought it into focus. She was much more open to FCG and the coin as well. And, you know, if one had embraced Imogen's moral ambiguity in the leadup to the solstice, and the possibility that she could betray the party, instead of shouting that down? Then one could see this as a beautiful moment of growth for Imogen. One could, in fact, if one was so inclined, attribute it to her new sense of ease thanks to her circlet, or even to her nascent romantic relationship. If one, of course, had wholeheartedly embraced Imogen's past moral ambiguity and the possibility of her betrayal.

#answered #Anonymous #critical role spoilers #critical role #long post

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jyndor · 3 months

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oh my god

a show written by white us americans for us american kids, while often spot on with its anti-imperialism, is not actually the end all be all for how occupied and marginalized peoples can respond to their oppression and genocide. weirdo.

full disclosure I have my problems with the portrayals of jet and hama for this exact reason that i have previously written about here. because ultimately the gaang represent "good" resistance - mostly defensive/nonviolent. jet represents "bad" resistance, namely violent property damage that would have caused civilian casualties if sokka hadn't warned them. and hama, who thanking this op didn't bring up, is supposed to show how trauma can make a person do terrible things but really it just feels like a racist, misogynistic way to both sides colonialism and imperialism.

now unless I'm misremembering the story (I am not) that episode took place in the earth kingdom. why were those innocent fire nation civilians so close to the valley that jet was trying to protect? why was he worried about them encroaching on that valley enough to destroy the dam?

because they were settlers. the fire nation was trying to defeat and occupy the entire world, of course their settlers weren't just innocent civilians, they played a role like all settlers do in all conflicts. and jet and his freedom fighters were all displaced by the fire nation. they were refugees.

in the end, the gaang may have their problems with jet's tactics but they still mourn him and understand that he is RESISTING oppression, and not that he is the same as his oppressor.

katara is UNIQUELY empathetic and decent at times. during the painted lady, she makes it clear that she wants the liberation of ALL - including her oppressors who are also victimized by fire nation imperialism (and capitalism lbr). she sees the class dynamics in the fire nation, sees how they harm the villagers of jang hui. how the military industrial complex poisons fire nation citizens - literally. the problem is that they are happy to take her help when they think she is one of them, but when she reveals herself to be a waterbender, they turn away from her in their racist, xenophobic disgust.

the truth is that katara's form of universal liberatory politics is just one form of resistance against oppression. sometimes atla veers into making it seem like the only acceptable form of resistance, which is quite convenient for the white us americans who wrote the show.

one of atla's main ideas is that imperialism harms everyone, including the beneficiaries of imperialism. it was also written in the early to mid 2000s during the so-called war on terrorism, and with a us american audience in mind. so no I am not surprised that jet isn't seen in a totally positive light, nor am I surprised that the fire nation is occasionally presented in a "not all fire nation" way. it still posits that those innocent civilians are racist/colonizers and frankly complicit in many ways for what the fire nation is doing abroad.

this is why jet isn't a villain, he's just a complicated character. why he is made a martyr. why katara mourns him even if she's angry with him.

as for whether or not katara would condemn hamas... I'm not sure it matters. movements regularly have infighting and disagreements on tactics. even so, atla is a TV show. palestine is a real place with real people who have tried all kinds of forms of resistance. nothing is ever good enough for supporters of the settler colonial project of israel because the point is never, ever to live together in peace. two state solution? where do you see that in atla? if ANYTHING the show calls for pluralism and freedom of movement for all. for an end to nation states and nationalism, as well as preservation of all cultures. liberation for all.

I can't speak to the mess of the comics or lok because I don't care about those but if we're just talking about atla... come on. it's free palestine.

also nice false equivalency between the free palestine movement as a whole and hamas, which is just one part of the movement. racist dipshit genocide apologist.

#the text does not support this bullshit but okay #imagine being a zionist fan of atla 😭😭😭😭#atla #free palestine #anti-zionism #avatar: the last airbender #meta #racism #jet is not the bad guy #long post

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haileyywrites · 1 year

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-> The boy and the familiar walk hand in hand through the many trials of life. While the boy falters the familiar is there to steady and pick him up should he stumble. Even as he joins those who would use him and loses himself to his anger. Even when he almost becomes a false god...

-> No pronouns or gender mentioned for reader! Kunikuzushi & Scaramouche! Can be read as platonic or romantic! Reader is a kitsune familiar! Likely not cannon lore for kitsune, I'm just writing stuff for fun with little to no research lol Scara sleeps in this - I don't think he canonically needs sleep!

Kitsune are regarded highly in Inazuma, they have are a big part in it's culture and history. Those that have special abilities like shape shifting into humans are seen as protectors and powerful beings worthy of respect. While they are mischievous and sassy beings some mortals throughout history have been fortunate enough to have one become their familiar - their eternal protector. Most known familiar would be Lady Yae Miko as the Raiden Shogun's familiar, it was a role of great importance and honor to them both.

These days kitsune are mostly the same as any other wildlife, though the humans are still very respectful towards them. Due to this respect they have grown used to the humans and live hand in hand with them. You yourself tended to stay away from human kind and live amongst the wilderness with the wild kitsune. Such a life was more fitting to you, as you were one of the last of your kind. Other than servitude you saw no reason to live among the mortals who would barely live a century while you would live countless of them. And you saw no reason to serve a mortal eternally due to this. Why would you waste your protection to someone of no real importance within the grand scheme of things? If you were to serve someone it would have to be someone of importance equal to the Shogun - it was something you believed to never happen, as who could live up to such a standard?

Life always found a way it seemed as whether it was fate, destiny or even karma... A boy made boy the Shogun herself stood right before you with his big round eyes full of tears. How could you not go to his aid and wipe his tears away tenderly when he looked at you like that? You were in no way heartless after all. He was so pure and a product of a real god, so you deemed him to be the one you had sworn to serve - the only one you felt was worthy of your eternal loyalty. There during the night with a full moon and a sky filled with millions of stars, you swore to always be by his side as his loyal protector bound to him spiritually. With your vision you could create shields strong enough to withstand just about anything. Perhaps not the mighty Musou no Hitotachi, but that's what your body was there for should he ever be threatened by it.

He never treated you like he was your master though. Perhaps it was because he didn't know how to, but he tended to treat you more like a friend than a protector... You didn't mind this, but it was strange to be treated like an actual person when all your life you had been prepared to be treated like shield or an extension of another. Much like he was design to be, he was conflicted on whether he wanted to live as a normal human or if he wanted to chase his destiny as holder of a Gnosis. You would following him down any path he took with loyalty, but you would never neglect to tell him your true feelings or opinion on the matter. Especially when he joined the Fatui. You didn't trust them in the slightest, but you followed him without question.

Over the years with the Fatui he grew cold and cruel, though he clearly treated you better than others - he still wasn't the boy you once swore your eternal loyalty to. You were less than pleased to see his change and the direction he was going in, the relationship you had grown over centuries was slowly straining. He would barely acknowledge your presence or even talk to you anymore, likely due to any conversation leading to a fight no matter what. He would never hurt you no matter how heated the fights became, he would simply storm out or shut down. The Fatui knew his past and were clearly using his anger to add fuel to fire while you were trying to keep it contained, he just couldn't see that or though he was smarter than all of them.

“Haah... You used to be so cute a some centuries ago. Holding my onto me every step we took and while you slept you would cuddle my fluffy tail while I sang you to sleep. Now you're so serious and boring.” You sighed loudly as your tail swayed side to side lazily.

“Boring? I'm boring?! I'm trying to aquire a Gnosis that belongs to me so I can become a god and you call me boring!” He turned to face you as you stared at him boredly on top of his unused bed.

“Childish is more like what you're sounding like now. When is this going to end?” You chuckled dryly.

“You! You know what? Leave! I don't want to see you anymore.” He shouted while almost shaking from anger.

“If you wish so, but I'm bound to you eternally so I won't be far. I'll come running should you call for me.” Your smile did not falter as you rolled off of the bed, even after you heard him scoff.

Fighting or trying to reason with him never worked and you were honestly tired of it by now, but you wouldn't let him forget how you dissaproved. You gave up and made sure to pick up his white Harbinger coat - that he neglected to use, from the backrest of his chair before venturing out to the cold hallways of the Zapolyarny Palace. Scaramouche took notice of this and his eyes softened the tiniest amount before he burried his face back into the piled of papers littering his desk. It was clear he wasn't truly concentrating on them, he was just trying his best to ignore your presence. You glanced at him one last time before closing the heavy door to his chambers behind you.

You wrapped the coat tightly around your shoulders as you reached the coldness of the outside, though you had long since grown accustomed to the harsh weather in Snezhnaya - staying warm was always ideal to you. The air felt very crispy and fresh, but every deep breath burned your lungs. Still, you couldn't help shivering every once in a while, but it felt good to do something other than sleep all day or watch Scaramouche work endlessly. It didn't take long before a snake came slithering from the snow...

“What is it?” You didn't even glance in his general direction as you let out a loud sigh. The utter distaste was quite evident in your voice.

“How very nice to see you as well, always so radiant.” He chuckled as a smirk grew on his lips.

“I thought you weren't one for pleasantries, Doctor. Spit it out or leave me be.” You finally faced him with a harsh glare. Your ears stiffened along with your tail.

“I was hoping you would hear my request again after our last conversation ended sourly. I would like to once again ask you to visit my laboratory, should you find time. I have far better uses for you than he.” His disgusting smirk only grew making his sharp teeth visible.

“Ha! I'm afraid I'm not so easily persuaded and frankly I'm quite insulted by your incessant suggestions. You could never understand the bond he and I share.” You scoffed.

He said nothing more. His smirk never quite left his face, but it had clearly shrunk after your speech. It wasn't like you to get this emotional, but his mere presence made you irritated beyond measure! His voice made your ears ring and the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Assuming you would abandon your eternally sworn duty and loyalty to Kunikuzushi - for him was beyond insulting. Yet no matter how many times you rejected him he would always just offer it again and again... He was clearly doing it to try to get a rise out of you and it was working without fail.

You sighed heavily before turning to trace your snowy steps back to the palace - you just made sure the Doctor was not going the same way and thankfully he seemed to be going in the opposite direction. You've had enough of him and the outside for today, or forever... You couldn't wait till Scaramouche decided it was time to leave this hell hole. You didn't bother knocking before entering your shared room, inside you looked around the quiet and dull space before you spotted him laying on his desk deep asleep. You sighed before taking off the coat you borrowed and layed it on his sleeping figure. Staring at him peacefully asleep you couldn't resist pushing aside some of his stray indigo stands from his forehead.

“Sometimes I worry the boy I swore my loyalty to long ago is truly gone and I'm just holding onto an empty promise. But then I look at you during times like these and there he is....” You quietly muttered to yourself.

“If only you could see yourself the way I see you. Perhaps then you would understand that you are so much more than a vessel to another's power... That is what you once taught me.” He taught you to be human, treated you like one instead of the shield and willing sacrifice you promised to be.

You would never break your oath to him. Even if your physical body were to perish, you would still protect him from the beyond. That is how strong the oath of a familiar is. If he were to die? You would not choose another even if you were able to. Your destiny was to serve someone powerful and important, you had once deemed him to be the one. Your opinion has not changed, Kunikuzushi deserves your protection more than any other being could and you would continue to protect him until neither of you no longer existed within this realm of life. You would follow him to the ends of the earth, back and beyond - but you would not do so without complaint.

You could only hope that your words reached him somehow and that he would actually listen to them. But with the Gnosis he had so long sought out for in his grasp he only spiralled down further.... The betrayal of the Fatui was inevitable and to be expected, you couldn't be happier to be rid of them. Your only concern was why they chose not to stop him before he managed to run off with it or had yet to come after him. Not that you would have let them lay a finger on him, but it was still suspicious. It did not help that the Doctor was so willingly helping him ascend to the god he seeked to become. Again, Scaramouche believed himself to be smarter than the Doctor and the he was the one using him.

Lesser Lord Kusanali was young and weak, with only a few believers. But she was still a real god. A god her people locked away and hoped to forget, they couldn't see her potential and thus gripped onto the first sign of creating their own god - despite how blasphemous it was. She would invade your dreams to observe and talk to you at times, probably because you stood out amongst the crazed sages and the to be god. You did not require sleep it was something to pass the time with, it was almost as if you wished for her to greet you once you closed your eyes.

She never questioned your loyalty to Kunikuzushi, only your inaction even when you were hurt by him and his change. She was subtly trying to make you question him more than you already did. You could see through her intentions, yet they didn't seem or feel malicious. More like she was genuinely curious or maybe even cared... She could read you like an open book while in your conscience and could easily highlight all your worries and doubts, but she also saw the love you held for him despite all that had happened to you both. Somehow she seemed to trust you enough to tell you about the traveler and their plans of rescuing her by stopping the Balladeer.

“I will never do anything against him, nor will I allow for him to be harmed... But I will not stop you or the traveler from ending this madness. So I beg you, save him.” You begged with tears burning in your eyes.

The small Archon walked before you and motioned for you to kneel down to her level, had the situation been different you would have scoffed at her or perhaps felt offended. But not now, as you simoly followed her request and fell onto your knees. Her small hands cupped your cheeks tenderly as her thumbs wiped away the tears you shed. Her bright and green eyes were full of empathy for you, her smile never wavered as she allowed you to cry your fill. The Academia was full of complete fools to not respect and worship their true deity - who despite being locked away for hundreds of years was still so bright and kind to those who did not deserve a drop of it... They did not deserve her in the slightest, but they needed her more than anything.

“You have waited a long time to let these tears fall, haven't you?” It wasn't a question as much as it was a statement, one which she knew the answer to.

She would keep her promise when she was set free and so did you. You did not interfere in the battle as Scaramouche had told you not to. He was now a god and thus did not need anyone's protection, including yours. His god form was well enough made to sustain the heavy blows dealt by the traveler, it was the only thing you could actually praise the Doctor and the Sage's for. Not that you would ever say it out loud, of course! As such he was physically completely unharmed by the tedious battle, but when the Dendro Archon reached out for the source of his power - the Gnosis of his creator, you could do nothing but watch as he desperately reached out for it... After it rested on the Archon's hand the cords connecting him to his robotic form snapped and he fell down.

He did not move an inch to stop or soften his fall and nor did the traveler or the Archon, not that you could blame either of them. In an instant you teleported under him and you caught him safely in your protective arms before he could touch the ground. His eyes were lifeless and distant, as if he wasn't present in that moment. His body laid limp and pliant in your arms as you cradled him on your lap. Your fingers began treading through his silky locks out of instinct with your tail covering his form - much like you had done countless times in the past to soothe him. You could almost forget everything that had happened recently as you held him...

"It's okay, I've got you. Just close your eyes..." He did as you asked.

You began to humm a song you knew by heart while still brushing his hair with your fingers, it something that always comforted you and him during difficult times. You would sign to him during your travels long ago, usually when he had to sleep. It had been a long time since either of you last sang it, especially to him... It didn't take him long to seemingly fall asleep in your comforting embrace with your soothing voice echoing around the large room. You looked up to see the traveler and Nahida watching you from a distance, their eyes held pity in them.

"I've got him... Thank you." You looked at the Archon with sincere gaze.

She knew he would be safe with you and thus turned back to the Gnosis she was holding. You paid no mind to what they were doing, as your only focus was holding him in your arms. It had been so long since he'd allowed you to do so... You could only hope the Archon would show some kindness or even pity when punishing him for his actions, even though he did not deserve it. Like you had told her before, you wouldn't allow for him to be hurt, but he did deserve the consequences of his actions. But you would be there by his side during that too. Perhaps this defeat would finally help him move on from his obsession, maybe you could set out to travel again one day...

A/N: This story is kind of all over the place, I'm sorry :( I want to keep my posting consistently so I'm just throwing this out now. I have so many unfinished fics and haven't had time to write lately - I apologetice <3

Feel free to point out errors and like or reblog!

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spacedlexi · 4 months

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Wait, people think Carver is the best TWDG villain?? I always thought he was basic as hell, and the fact that he was beefing with an 11-years old girl... Now Stranger on the other hand was great, he was super intimidating and off-putting and I was genuinely so scared he would hurt Clementine. I also liked Minnie for the same reasons (she was so creepy/off-putting), but I still think Stranger is the best villain bc he had a great setup while Minnie was kind of a secondary villain. But going back to Lilly/Carver, I also definitely prefer Lilly over Carver even though neither are my favorite... And now I'm kind of curious how you would rank the rest of the TWDG villains? 🤔

carver being the best villain is a sentiment ive heard for years 😭 im sure its coming from the "S2 is the best season" crowd tho which i also dont agree with 💀

the stranger is an effective villain. hes not exactly the typical villain type people expect. but hes very unsettling and him stalking clementine for who even knows how long through the walkie talkie is 🤢 he really makes me feel sick. she was using that talkie to deal with the loss of her parents, and this fucking creep took advantage of that so hard he was able to convince her to trust him. ugh he makes me feel so gross. and think of all the guilt clem must have about that situation. trusting this freak to help her find her parents, when if she had just stayed then lee wouldnt have gotten bit looking for her, and her parents were already dead the entire time anyway. oof. theres no way that isnt one of the biggest regrets of her life

carver is fine. i definitely think his character wouldve made more sense if they put kenny in that role instead. that way theres less "i am a grown man beefing with an 11 year old" and more "this is a child i helped look out for once, and im gonna make sure shes raised Right". but i agree that carver as he is is just over the top. overly villainous to the point of it being a little comical. like when villains are all tough like that my reaction is usually "god i WISH youd fucking kill me already so i dont have to hear your bullshit anymore do you know how GOOFY you sound??". if it was kenny in that role i definitely think they wouldve been able to tone it back a bit, and him "having a good side" wouldve been way more believable. as he is carver is kind of one note

joan.... definitely the weakest of the bunch. i dont really have much to say about her. david isnt even technically a villain but i definitely saw him as the better antagonist for the season. i mean hes definitely a villain in clems eyes. and is a constant semi-antagonist towards javi throughout the whole season. joans just kinda.. there.. doing things behind the scenes to cause conflict until the final confrontation. and then she can just disappear... okay

i like the way the antagonists work in S4. theres more of a discussion around what actually makes someone a villain and the difference between a person who fucked up and made (very horrible) mistakes, and a person who is straight up a threat. and i like that it connects back to the idea of lee and his murder of that senator. did he do something horrible? yes. did he destroy his relationship to his family? yes. does he regret what he did? i think so. and he definitely has guilt about his fucked up relationship with his wife. in S1 they mention how non-guilty people got sent to prison all the time. while lee is Definitely a murderer, we get to see over the season that hes a good guy who just wanted a family and in a moment of rage and betrayal did something he can never take back. this is why i never hated marlon. did he fuck up and do horrible things? of course. but he was a scared fucked up teen leading a group of other scared fucked up teens. he knows he fucked up, and continued fucking up to cover for his previous fuck ups lol. but he can be talked down. its a shame it ends the way it does, but i really like being able to teach aj the difference between people like marlon and people like lilly

lilly takes that kenny/carver idea and applies it to a clementine that has grown up and has been looking out for herself (and baby aj) for years now, instead of the 11 year old trying to figure shit out she was in S2. shes too old for lilly to be able to sway her in a way she couldve been more susceptible to in S2, and when lilly finally realizes this she just turns her attention to aj instead, seeing the potential in him (a potential clem does NOT want aj to live up to, wanting him to get to be a kid and not just a survivor, let alone a killer). lilly is fun because you can see in her that she WANTS clementine on her side, and throughout the season progressively realizes that its just never going to happen. both lilly AND clem come to the realization that this person they once considered family is beyond reason, their views too different, and so the fighting begins. their fight at the end of EP3 really feels like a "so its finally come to this" moment for both of them, their final fight. i always shoot her.

whats interesting about minnie is seeing her evolve from secondary antagonist in EP3 to straight up primary villain in EP4. the things shes done, the way shes been broken. she becomes her own downfall, seeing herself as someone beyond redemption. that this is just who she is now, its how things have to be. because if they didnt have to be this way? well then theres a lot more guilt she'd have to deal with. yelling at her in EP4 to just STOP FOR THE LOVE OF GOD YOU DONT HAVE TO DO THIS ANYMORE but she has been changed (in her eyes) so irreparably that she cant see any other option. and she progressively sees clem as the one who fucked everything up for her, instead of accepting that it could all finally be OVER. after killing sophie, the delta was all she had left. it cant have all been for nothing. and so she blames clem for taking it all away from her, even tho clem is just trying to protect her family. the family that used to be minnies. and so in her rage she gets bit. something else that she couldve avoided. but shes just too lost to her own downward spiral, unable to be reasoned with. by that point she just wants it all to be Over. and she wants to take tenn with her so she can finally pretend things can all go back to the way they used to be. her, sophie, tenn, and their parents all together again, where no more bad things have to happen to them. shes super tragic and i love her for that. and i love how she holds this dark mirror up to clem. clem struggles to let go of her past too, and the guilt she has over the things shes done and people shes hurt. and that if she cant learn to let go and move on she could get lost to it the same way minnie did. theres a reason clem is so quick to accept her fate, but shes finally able to leave that guilt holding her to her past behind in that barn. and she returns to ericson a much happier and lighter person, so much weight finally lifted from her shoulders. its finally over for her too

so yeah. my fave villains are definitely the S4 ones due to their nuance and layers. then the stranger, then carver, then joan. if i had to put david on this list he'd probably be above carver. but thats mainly because he has more nuance than carver ever did

#S4 addressing themes of rehabilitation makes me sooo happy #twdg #long as post be upon you #replies with lexi #incognito

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