#2) appeared in we will be reunited which is Very important | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

randomimaginesideas · 2 months

Text

Let me rage part 2

Summary; Finally reunited Valtor and (Y/n) can get back to conquer the magic dimension. (Y/N) gets to meet the Trix and shows why she is Valtor’s right hand. Deciding to infiltrate Alfea she meets the Winx, and becomes an important player in this battle.

This work is also published on AO3 under my username Acourtoffanficsandfeelings, if you prefer to read it there.

Continuation of Together again, and second part of let me rage.

A/N; First, I am incredibly sorry for the delay. I was having an intense writer's block for a certain part in this chapter and didn’t really know how to continue.

It seems that to this day Valtor is still a beloved character, and this fic still gets kudos, and comments. And that motivates me to write. So even if it has taken a while I hope I’ve managed to write a chapter you’re all very happy to read, as I did my best to make it as long as possible to make it up to you guys. While writing this chapter I concluded that this part of the series will be 3 chapters instead of the original two, as I felt it would have the story flow more.

Also because I hope this way to fetch out the character of the reader more, to give her some emotions, and struggles, while still remaining an badass amazing villain lover. And to show you some more moments between Valtor and (Y/N).

So I want to thank everybody again for sticking around,and reading this after my long absence, and if you just found the fic and this was already out when you found my fic, I hope you also enjoy everything that I’ve written so far.

Monday morning. Idle chatter could be heard filling the classroom as some of the Alfea students were waiting for their new teacher to make an appearance. A teacher who was ten minutes late. When the wooden doors started to creak, and announced the arrival of somebody the chatter slowly faded out, and silence filled the room. “Sorry class, I know I’m late, but as I’m sure some of you would agree with me, this school can be quite a maze.” The students, including the famous Winx, watched as the new teacher made her way towards the desk, and placed her bag on it before turning around to face her students. “Hello class, I’m Professor Whiteshade, and I am your new teacher specialized in Enchantix.”

While she was introducing herself (Y/N) could feel the eyes of the students observing her. They took in the white floor length dress that she wore, with the black belt across her waist. She could feel their eyes looking at her blond hair that was so pale it almost looked white when the lights hit it in a certain spot. It had been pulled into an intricate bun to keep the hair out of her face. (Y/N) didn't like the look she had currently on, but there have been worse faces she had turned into.

One of the students raised her hand, gaining (Y/N)’s attention who smiled at her. “Yes,-” She glanced down at one of the papers on her desk, pretending not to have seen Bloom before. Valtor had shown her some of the winx in his scrying orb and explained the most important facts she needed to know: like the fact that Bloom was the fairy of the dragon flame. “Bloom, is it?” The red head nodded, before asking her question. “Not to be rude professor, but why are we now suddenly getting this extra class in our curriculum?”

“Not rude at all, and an understandable question at that. I understand you’re not looking forward to more homework, so I will try to keep it at a minimum. As you all are well aware there is a new threat trying to conquer the magic dimension.” (Y/N) voice got serious as she looked across the room, seeing multiple defeated faces of the fairies who’s home had been affected by Valtor. A good person would have felt bad when she looked at those faces, but (Y/N) knew that sometimes things had to be destroyed for a new world to rise again. A world in which she and Valtor ruled the magic dimension.

“Headmistress Feragonda has asked me to come to Alfea, and teach and guide you students as you learn more about Enchantix in these troubling times. From the information I’ve gotten, two of you have already received your Enchantix.” (Y/N)’s eyes found those of Aisha and Stella, whom she gave a reassuring smile. “You should be proud of yourselves for earning your Enchantix, despite how grave the situation was in which you’ve gotten them.” (Y/N) focused on the class again. Aisha’s and Stella’s expression grew dark as (Y/N) could see the memories of those moments come back to the girls.

“Enchantix isn’t easily gained, it requires great sacrifice. I know of fairies who’ve nearly died in their efforts to earn their Enchantix. And sometimes you need to sacrifice your own happiness and choose to do what’s right because not everything that makes you happy is right.”

~~~

“Are you sure this is the only way?” (Y/n) asked as she looked at the beaten and locked up form of professor Whiteshade, who was currently lying unconscious on the floor. “You know that there is nobody I trust more with this than you.” (Y/N) felt Valtor place his hands on her shoulders as he stood behind her. The two of them were standing in front of Whiteshade’s cell, which was located one floor above Griffins, where Valtor had told her his plan regarding Alfea. “We need to have an inside source, and find the hall of enchantment. They will notice if I or the Trix slip by but they won’t notice you.” (Y/N) rolled her eyes, knowing he was right, but not really agreeing with the plan.

“I’ve only just returned to you, and you wish to have me leave again.” She muttered, feeling rejected. Valtor quickly turned her around, guiding her by her shoulders. One of his hands grabbed her chin gently between two fingers, and tilted her head up. “That is a cruel thing to say, for you know that is not my intention. I’ve missed you with all my heart, and I dislike this plan as much as you do, but there is nobody I trust more with this than you. And the sooner this is over with, the sooner you can return to me.” Valtor said as he looked into her eyes, and pressed a brief kiss on (Y/N)’s lips.

A sigh left her lips afterwards as she enjoyed the closeness between them for a moment, knowing that she would have to part from it again so soon, and then she relented. “Alright, I’ll do it.” Valtor smiled at her as he slowly released her from his hold. (Y/N) turned to look at the real professor Whiteshade again, as she whispered a spell, closing her eyes. As soon as the spell had crossed her lips the shadows around them in the room seemed to twist and turn as they started to glide across her body. Through the glimpses of shadow Valtor could see her clothing change from the black dress she wore to a red sundress. Her (Y/H/C) turned into the lightest of blondes. And when the shadows moved away, and (Y/N) opened her eyes, even her eye color had changed.

She looked almost identical to the professor Whiteshade in the cell, only the trained eye would spot the differences. A mole that wasn’t there where it usually was, a scar that wasn’t there, perhaps a bit more weight on the arms or legs. (Y/N) had always been able to manipulate the shadows, to make things seem different from what actually, but only small things like books, trinkets or furniture. But during her years with Valtor he had taught her to think bigger, to practice her spells, and now she was almost able to place the spell on almost anything. For everything in the shadows is not what it seems.

~~~

It had been two weeks since (Y/N) had arrived at Alfea and she was annoyed. She knew she was doing important work for Valtor, passing along information from the room of enhancement to Valtor, but those types of things took time. It turned out that Alfea had finally invested in a librarian who took her work seriously. Although it wasn’t difficult for (Y/N) to charm Barbatea, and learn all about the library. But it also meant that Barbatea knew every nook and cranny, and would know it if things disappeared. So (Y/N) was forced to make copies of some of the lesser important spells, and tried to find substitutes for the more important books and scrolls. (Y/N) was particularly proud of the erotic romance novel she had managed to look like an ancient spell book. Now she just hoped that nobody would open the book.

After spending seventeen years as a statue, her powers were still on the weaker side. Each week she felt her power grow, and Valtor had helped her by sharing his power. But from the moment she had woken up she had used her magic continuously. Pretending to be Griffin when anybody would try to contact her to keep up the appearance that Cloud Tower was still standing. Or that one time they had intercepted a call from Feragonda to King Radius to ask how things were regarding the fountain, and King Radius had replied that; everything was quiet but they would keep an eye out for anything strange and notify her when they did. And now, (Y/N) had to continue to keep up the appearance as professor Whiteshade, and keep the illusions of the books going even if she wasn’t anywhere near them.

And on top of all that she had to actually teach the students something about Enchantix. The first couple of days (Y/N) had mostly placed the focus on introductions in the class, and to Enchanctix, telling what she knew of Enchantix, but she was running out of information. So one day she had made a parkour course for her Enchantix students, before letting them race the others. To make the students see how much stronger they would become if they earned Enchantix, and why it came with such a heavy price.

But the thing that kept (Y/N) going was the fact that she knew Valtor was growing stronger every time she sent him something through the shadows. And Valtor also seemed to know when to say something to her, even when he couldn’t speak with her.

~~~

It was dark in the library, most of the Alfea students were in bed, as were most of its teachers. Barbatea had just wished (Y/N) goodnight, after (Y/N) had promised the librarian she would lock up behind her, but just wanted to research one more thing before her class tomorrow. (Y/N) had turned off the lights, preferring the light from the moon shining through the windows. (Y/N) always waited half an hour after everybody had left to make sure that Barbatea wouldn’t just reappear.

When the half hour had passed (Y/N) slowly rose from the chair she had been vacating, and she closed the book she had been reading. From her bag, which was filled with her students' homework to keep up appearances, she grabbed a gardening book that she had taken from the greenhouse earlier today. After placing it on the table right next to the one she had been reading previously, she placed her hands on top of the books, one on each. (Y/N) closed her eyes, and tried to focus. “Mirror image.” She whispered as she felt her magic move beneath her hands. The headache that had been slowly growing bigger these past week, grew stronger with the new spell she casted.

When (Y/N) opened her eyes she let out a sigh of frustration. It almost looked like the spell had only taken half effect. The title of the spellbook had been transferred to the gardening book, but the flowery cover could still be seen underneath.

(Y/N) lifted her head to look at the ceiling as she took another deep breath, trying to soothe the headache, and focus on the shadows she was already controlling. Her image of professor Whiteshade, and covers of around fifteen books she was trying to keep up, while focusing on creating a new one. If she focused, she could feel the shadow connecting the books together, although weak as it was, it was there. (Y/N) tried to imagine Valtor standing behind her, his hands on her shoulders, placing a kiss on her lips as she had her head tilted backwards. And his words he had whispered to her long ago that fateful day; that she was strong, that she was capable of anything, as long as she remained by his side.

“I miss you.” (Y/N) confessed to the quiet library, with only the moonlight and the shadows as her company. It had been two weeks of no contact with either Valtor or the Trix. And after only a week with Valtor,before she had gone to Alfea, after being stuck in stone for seventeen years felt like a short time to be together again. But (Y/N) also knew that they would have all the time in the world together once Valtor and her conquer the magic dimension.

Thinking with their end goal in mind (Y/N) returned her attention back to her task at hand. “Mirror image.” She said again, and this time when she opened her eyes, she had two identical books. Or at least when you didn’t look too closely. Perhaps a tear wasn’t in the place it always was, and maybe the letter R was a different font but didn’t look out of place at first glance.

(Y/N) stood up and placed the duplicate copy back in the place it belonged, before grabbing the original and walking to a shadowed corner of the library, a place where the moonlight didn’t reach. (Y/N) squatted down and waved her hand, the shadows twisting underneath into a calm whirlpool of shadows. She imagined Cloud Tower, more specially Valtor’s desk, next to the scrying orb as she pushed the book into the shadows, and dropped it.

(Y/N) stood back up again, and went to turn around when she heard a small thunk, and something hitting her ankle. The shadows had gone quiet again, no longer moving as their mistress had no longer any use of them. But that wasn’t what caught (Y/N)’s attention, for she had expected them to be quiet. No, on the ground near her ankle she saw a small circle with something sticking out of it.

After picking it up, (Y/N) made her way towards the window. In the moonlight she saw she was holding onto a ring with a small note attached to it. Before (Y/N) studied the ring she opened up the note. It was a small letter, one that would sometimes have been tied to the foot of a bird. The only message on it was; As promised. Two days.

(Y/N) turned her attention towards the ring. It was a ring that was on the wider side. The first thing that caught her attention was how blue it was. When she looked closer she recognized the blue to be some type of coral, from andros more specifically. The whole inside of the ring was made of polished blue coral, the sides inlaid with gold to give it a more delicate effect. A smile came on (Y/N)’s face as she brought the ring to her chest and held it there for a moment.

Seventeen years ago Valtor had promised her all the jewelry her heart desired when they were rulers of the magic dimension. (Y/N) had mentioned how her sister had gotten a ring from Andros, which had used coral instead of diamonds, and how she had always wanted a ring like that. And how some corals from Andros were worth more than some of the most expensive diamonds. So that was why her sister only had one small part of her ring infused with the coral. In response Valtor had promised she would have the most beautiful ring of Andros one day, even prettier than her sisters.

(Y/N) remembered how Aisha hadn’t been in class today as there was another attack on Andros. Seemed like Valtor had remembered his promise. With a smile (Y/N) placed the ring around her, or rather professor Whiteshade’s, finger. She tore up the paper and threw it in the trash, making sure nobody would be able to read it, and even then it couldn’t be traced back to her. With renewed strength (Y/N) made her way out of the library, and towards her bedroom.

~~~

That had been two days ago. It was now Saturday, and everybody, teachers and students, were free to do as they pleased today. But (Y/N) had been on edge the whole day, just waiting for something to happen. She kept herself busy by making sure all her shadows were still where she needed them to be, and keeping her head ache to a minimum. But she did all that from the solitude of her bedroom. (Y/N) was in the habit of keeping her curtains almost closed, not a fan of the burning daylight.

Her attention was pulled when the small streak of light that came from the crack in between the curtains turned dark. Opening her curtains she could see storm clouds gathering above Alfea as it started to rain. If (Y/N) hadn’t suspected something was amiss, the fact that the magic barrier was going up was a definite sign.

Relief and excitement coursed through (Y/N)’s body. Relief that her stay in Alfea would finally be over, and excitement to know the future that will be waiting for them. (Y/N) stepped out of her room and ran into professor Palladium and professor Wizgiz who had also been residing in their chambers. The tree of them ran up towards one of the rooftops, knowing that Faragonda had gone there to activate the barrier. “Miss Faragonda!” Professor Palladium called out to her, gaining her attention.

“Brace yourself. The lighting is bewitched, and clearly the work of Valtor.” Faragonda warned them as she turned to look back in the sky. Up in the storm clouds the mark of Valtor had appeared, whenever the lighting struck it grew brighter. Faragonda turned her attention back to the professors at her side. “Keep your eyes open, be prepared,-” “Look, he’s using the witches from Cloud Tower.” Professor Wizgiz said, pointing towards the storm cloud. Professor Wizgiz was right. From the storm clouds, they’re hands outstretched came the lighting that had previously been in the clouds. The lighting struck the magical barrier, and with Valtor controlling them the magic of the witches was a lot stronger than they’d normally had, making the barrier fall apart.

Faragonda turned back around to face her colleagues. “Alright, get the girls. They’ll need our help, and we’ll need theirs.” Faragonda said with confidence before she was hit with lighting from behind. Luckily with everything going on it just seemed like professor Whiteshade stepped away from the blast to protect herself, and certainly not because she didn’t feel the need to catch the headmistress. (Y/N) had to give credit where credit was due, and Faragonda quickly got back up again. “Alright, you two,-” Faragonda looked in the direction of the professor's Palladium and Wizgiz. “Gather all the fairies and prepare for battle.” The two professors ran off as the barrier fully broke, and tiny glittering pieces fell down the sky.

Then Faragonda looked professor Whiteshade in the eyes. “Go to the library and don’t let any of the information get into the wrong hands.” (Y/N) turned to walk towards the library when she heard Faragonda call out her lover’s name, which made her stop in her tracks. Faragonda was way too focused on Valtor who came down from the sky to notice that she had stopped.

Valtor landed with two feet on the ground, arms folded together in front of his chest. “We meet again, Faragonda, it has been a while.” Valtor smiled as he tilted his head slightly sideways, almost as if he pitied the woman standing in front of him. “You’ve grown old.” He added chuckling. For the briefest of moments (Y/N) saw his eyes go over Faragonda’s shoulder in her direction, before returning towards the furious headmistress.

“You’ve bewitched the girls from Cloud Tower.” She accused before throwing a spell at him in her anger. Valtor managed to easily catch the spell with his hand, before throwing it back in Faragonda’s direction, which managed to hit her in the chest. Faragonda flew backwards towards the edge of the roof, hitting the brick wall. She landed close to (Y/N), who was now calmly inspecting the spectacle. Now that Faragonda could see that professor Whiteshade had remained standing, (Y/N) could see the clogs in her head turning. “I’ve always been known to be rather persuasive.” Valtor said, walking closer towards them as (Y/N) slowly started to make his way towards him. “No, no!” Faragonda muttered, almost shocked, as realization slowly started to dawn on her. “Or should I say, we are very persuasive.”

“I suppose we are.” (Y/N) chuckled, as she let herself drop the image of professor Whiteshade for a moment. With each blink of Faragonda’s eyes a different person was standing next to Valtor. One moment in her place stood the professor, then Griffin, and then King Radius , and with the next blink shadows circled around the woman standing next to Valtor, revealing the woman lying behind the shadows, beneath all the false faces she created. A smile on her lips that Faragonda knew all too well from many years ago, then the professor was back in place but the smile still remained. “Well, as fun as this little reunion is, I was under strict orders to make sure the information in the library would not fall under the wrong hands.” (Y/N) told Valtor, who matched the smile on her face.

“Well then, you better get going. Faragonda and I have a lot of catching up to do anyway.”

#imagine #imagine valtor #valtor x reader #winx club valtor #valtor imagine #winx valtor #winx baltor #baltor #winx club #canon divergence

39 notes · View notes

sporkberries · 1 year

Text

Tim Drake and Red robin

Aka the whole identity problem.

So there’s a lot of discussion over Tim and what identity he is going to take up- this is by no means recent, it's been going on for over a decade. So for a lot of people who are newer to comics I want to explain why Red Robin isn’t really an option as a permanent identity for Tim, and what Red Robin means to Tim personally

So first off, for expositions sake, Tim didn’t create Red Robin. The costume nor the identity. It originated in the Kingdom Come Storyline and belonged to Dick Grayson

(Dick Grayson, Earth-22) Honestly i don’t want to get into the can of worms of Kingdom Come and it’s not that important to my point so just know this is where Red Robin comes from.

Okay now the first appearance of Red Robin in Main Continuity was in Countdown to Final Crisis where the mantle was taken by * drum roll*

Countdown #14 Jason Todd!! This is also not very important because Jason mainly does multiverse shenanigans that isnt important to my overall point. I just find it very funny that Jason was Red Robin before Tim. Also he kills an alternate universe version of the joker- Good for him!

Now into the stuff that actually affects Tim and why he chooses to don the Red Robin Mantle in the first place-towards the end of Tim’s robin run. Where we see Red Robin stalking Tim around Gotham.

Red Robin in Robin(1993) #177 This Red Robin ends up being Ulysses Armstrong( a gang leader and recurring baddie from Tim’s Robin run) and to say the least he does some not very nice things!! Said things including luring Tim into a warehouse and blowing him up(what is up with robins and warehouses seriously?) anyways looking good tim!

Robin(1993) #181

After this injury Tim wears the Red Robin cowl to hide/protect his identity while he takes care of Ulysses. And in the ensuing fight a bunch of children get blow up- it’s great and definitely good for our protagonists declining mental health, Now for a bit more exposition after this incident Tim helps break Jason out of prison who then dons a cringe batman suit and kills a shit ton of people- the infamous Battle For The Cowl storylines ensues. With Dick Grayson taking the mantle of Batman and Damian Wayne being gifted the Robin mantle. Though Dick wasn’t wrong to do this(which is a whole other thing to argue about) it upset Tim and he needed a new costume to wear on his quest to bring Bruce back. He chooses Red Robin, as it’s an identity he considers dirty and disconnected from both his previous titles and the rest of his family.

Red Robin(2009) #1

Tim is at a VERY dark place in his life during the Red Robin run. A lot of fanon characterizes Tim as pretty depressed and sad and almost all of that stems from this period of time exclusively- and it makes sense. Tim underwent a series of very serious and brutal losses under a pretty short period of time( Steph[briefly],his dad, Conner, Bart, and Bruce all dying). And though pretty much everyone was right to doubt him about the whole Bruce being alive thing that rejection definitely didn’t help things. For Tim Red Robin offers a sort of outlet he doesn’t have to be Tim he doesn’t have to necessarily be a good person he just needs to do what needs to be done( I’d argue for the beginning of Red Robin that’s his main philosophy)

Red Robin(2009) #2

Red Robin(2009) #4

In Adventure Comics(2009) #3 Tim reunites with Conner while he’s in Paris, where in Conner says this

Conner knows Tim better than anyone, keep that word Punishment in mind. As it comes back up again in** Red Robin(2009) #9**

And okay this being brought up again is a joke but i still think its true. Tim IS punishing himself. He hates he situation he’s in he hates that he can’t save anyone he hates that he keeps making the wrong decisions(having the children be near the bombs, helping Jason get out of prison, and basically everything that’s happened in Red Robin as well) Tim IS a good person and he has a very strong moral compass- so betraying any aspect of his conscience- pretending to be someone he’s not HURTS him.

At the end of Red Robin(2009) Tim tries to kill Captain Boomerang, the man who killed his father( see: identity crisis) , or he very nearly tries to anyways. He wants to kill him, HE IS ABOUT TO KILL HIM. but he doesn’t.

Red Robin(2009) #26

Tim is at a crossroads. He’s hurting but he still WANTS to be good. He ends up doing the right thing but is that what Tim wants? Tim is changing he’s not Robin anymore he’s becoming his own person his own individual.

So you may ask, what happens after this? Does Tim figure out who he wants to be? Does he make a decision? HAHA silly you!! NO!! Dc resets the whole universe, retcons Tim’s backstory erases all his character development then un-retcons his backstory etc etc leaving Tim Drake in character limbo for essentially a DECADE.

So all this backstory withstanding why do I think Red Robin is a bad choice for Tim as an identity(discounting the fact he’s not even RR anymore but just robin which is stupid and also dumb) ? Well Red Robin was never MEANT to be permanent- Red Robin was a temporary means to end, a tool to get to his destination. I see Red Robin as a chrysalis of sorts. Tim as Robin was the caterpillar, red robin was the chrysalis and his next identity would be who he becomes, or rather who he DECIDES to be. Having Red Robin as Tim’s main identity is a disservice to his character but also doesn’t allow him to complete his arc. Tim doesn’t have an identity he chose and wanted for himself; he hasn't even moved on from ROBIN. In order to develop as a character Tim NEEDS to discover an identity for himself, abandoning the robin mantle entirely.

I think there is hope, a lot of Tim’s content since and including Urban Legends have been largely about him discovering himself and searching for his identity. Let’s just hope DC actually follows through.

#this was inspired by a poll i saw where people were voting for what tims identity should be and somehow Red Robin had the second most amount #of votes #boggles my mind #Tim Drake #Tim Drake Meta #Red Robin #Robin #Batman #dc #spork says stuff #long post

287 notes · View notes

probablyhuntersmom · 7 months

Note

For the sleepover ask game, share some owl house headcanons about what happened during the time skip. As many as you'd like. :)

Ayyy finally answering this, friend! Sorry that it took centuries to get to!

The one thing I don't shut up about is Hunter's ensuing depression after Belos's death, contrary to the Hollywood kind of ending where everything becomes sunny and everyone can easily move on. We would see the stuff that a therapist would tick the checkboxes for in a mental status exam: slowing down psychomotor-wise e.g. slower speech, flat moods which are the unsettling polar opposite to the earnest emotional expression we love him so much for, distracted attention span, less tidy appearance, and he'd be sleeping excessively for some time. (full mental health meta on this subject here: link) Camila would be making sure he has plenty of movies to watch on the couch so that he isn't locking himself too much in the basement T_T Darius would be monitoring how he helps to rebuild the Isles so that he doesn't overexert himself.

Amity, the twins and Alador would go for walks to the store, in the woods etc, and this bonding time in restoring their relationships would be so important.

Luz's two main challenges would be: 1. becoming more aware of the domino effect of teaching Philip the light glyph spell in the timepool, especially now that everyone is coming out of survival mode, 2. the guilt surrounding Flapjack...I don't think she'd just move on from puppet!Hunter's words "And then I lost him, helping you. But you still get to have your own palisman?!" God this makes me wonder...what was it that the Hexsquad went through in their minds which led to the beautiful decision to get their red tattoos together? I'm gonna sniffle, jfc.

Gus might be the first person to broach the subject of Flapjack again, since he verbally put the same subject out in the open in For the Future (working with Willow, who took the flyer derby photo off the wall to show to Hunter and trying to reach out to him). It's also in line with how he was the first one to express sadness after they became trapped in the human realm i.e. he broke down crying right away. I love this about him whereby he may excel in Illusion magic but he gets down to the truth right away.

Willow is utterly exhausted and there's still some remaining upset from her breakdown about how much she missed her dads, shouldered things on her own and kept things bottled up. She approaches Camila not long after they leave The Collector's Palace to say that Camila was right, and to say thank you. And she needs a bit of space alone for the upset feelings to run their course.

Mattholomule has more surprises up his sleeve for Gus, lol. Gus just doesn't stop being flabbergasted.

The first person to say anything to Kikimora, who is moping and stewing away somewhere, is of course Luz.

Luz and Hunter more or less switch places emotionally if you compare their TTT and WaD demeanors (in FtF, they were both under somewhat similar emotional strain, in their own arcs). In TTT, Luz was very far from her vibrant self, ruminated on her guilt and slowed down so much, while Hunter was on the move: excitedly exploring his self and interests while being in his comfort zone of wanting to help others (he still had the capacity to do so!). Luz wasn't out exploring and connecting with others: she was in the dark prison of depression. If we flip this for the pre-timeskip era: Hunter would slow down by gradually running out of steam to even help others, and isolate himself before getting better...struggling with the absence of Flapjack and Belos, being frozen in time in terms of this bereavement. While Luz, 1. became unfrozen from her long-term bereavement by beginning to accept that her dad and Papa Titan were gone (an emotional place which Hunter simply cannot reach until many months later), 2. was reunited with Eda and King and on the same page as Camila, and would be on the move seeing what she can do to contribute for the Isles. There is a parallel between both of them wrestling with guilt: Luz's guilt about how her encounter with young Philip led to Belos's regime, Hunter's about the impact of his actions as the Golden Guard.

God this one is tough to lay out in clear detail but...the sleeping arrangements for the Hexsquad during the first few nights...emotions catching up to them...I really wonder what it was, and who would want more of their own space and not trouble others (yet definitely not being at peace with whatever was going through their minds) versus who expressed their need to not be alone at night.. Maybe Luz wanted to be with Eda, Raine and King in the Owl House, Amity would have her space back in Blight Manor, and we have Willow, Gus and Darius extending invitations to Hunter. There's no way I can predict which choice Hunter made, coz he may have gone with an arrangement that would've left the others concerned. Whether he obliged out of politeness or was firm enough to say that he didn't want to burden them...hard to tell. OMT, what if he slept alone BUT the palismen secretly huddled by his side in the night like in this beautiful fanart which is one of my faves??: link

Contrary to Hunter, Vee's response to Belos's death would be far simpler closure because she had zero attachment to Belos. Hell, she wasn't raised by him for an entire childhood. And while she would've had some survivor's guilt, we know that the other basilisks eventually came back to life, unlike (ughhhhh) the Grimwalkers who can't be brought back. These are the clues as to how Vee could open up more, smile brightly, and begin to explore the big wide world around her:

Which means she would've definitely been an important influence for Hunter's recovery.

Like...

How long till he could freely smile again? Camilaaaaa...take care of your three precious kids.

These are the first headcanons that came to mind. Might reblog this and add more over time. Thanks for the ask :)

#loz's ask box #toh s3 headcanons #the owl house #answers for ask games

58 notes · View notes

terriblegam2r · 3 months

Text

With the premiere of the first episode of The Ones Who Live fast approaching, I want to sneak in my final theory!:

In the picture posted above we see Rick wearing what appears to be a ball chain necklace. This is the first time we have seen Rick wear a necklace of any kind, so it must be really important for him to be wearing it, even when he’s relaxing in his bed (possibly waking up from sleep) in his little apartment at the CR.

The only two things I believe it can be are either 1) it’s a dog tag for the CRM, or 2) and the most likely option, it’s a necklace that’s holding something important to Rick. My guess is that it’s option 2 - it’s a ball chain necklace with something on it, and that something is the wedding ring to his relationship with Michonne (and possibly the same exact ring Michonne has been wearing ever since he got captured).

The only accessories Rick has worn has been his watch (which I guess can be important in the apocalypse to know roughly when the sun is going to set so it doesn’t matter that there was no explanation for that, or there was and I forgot), and his wedding ring to Lori (which he took off before he got into a relationship with Michonne). So again, for Andy (and Gimple and Danai) to have Rick wear a necklace in TOWL has to be very significant for the character, and that is exactly why I believe he has his wedding ring to Michonne on it.

The biggest reason I believe this is -

[Spoilers Ahead]

Rick gets his left hand cut off (most likely in his first few months of being at the CR). The left hand is of course the hand you wear your wedding ring on (after the first trailer dropped, it’s finally been made official that Rick and Michonne are indeed husband and wife, so it is only fitting that rings accompany the relationship don’t you think?), and since he can’t wear his wedding ring on his hand, putting it on a necklace makes perfect sense.

From leaked set pics we know Michonne eventually infiltrates and finds Rick at the CR and possibly stays in his apartment while they try to figure out how to escape. In the trailers we see Michonne wearing her necklace with the ring on it (that I now believe is the wedding ring to Rick and not Rick’s wedding ring to Lori, which I previously believed) with her armor before she gets into the CR, but in scenes where she’s ditched her armor and is in regular clothing we don’t see her wearing her necklace anymore, so there’s a chance she could have given the ring back to Rick and he wears it on the necklace since he can’t put it on his nonexistent hand. Michonne has worn his wedding ring around her neck for years, it would only be fitting (and poetic in a media sense) if Rick did the same after they reunited. I also have a feeling Michonne is with Rick in the top picture. It would explain why he looks so happy :’).

Of course it could be a dog tag, but I highly doubt it is because we haven’t see any CRM soldier wear one. Also, the last place Rick wants to be is at the CR and fighting in their wars and conflicts. Don’t you think he wouldn’t want to wear that thing all day if he didn’t have to and would want to take it off as soon as he gets in his apartment where he can finally be alone and have the freedom to take off all the things that remind him of his kidnappers and the reason why he can’t be with his family? He hates that place, why tf would he even want to wear their dog tag to bed? Highly unlikely if you know anything about Rick’s character.

#richonne #twd #the walking dead #the ones who live #towl #the walking dead: the ones who live #seriously though it makes the most sense #specifically if you know about spoilers

27 notes · View notes

afeelgoodblog · 2 years

Text

Top 7 Best News of Last Week - May 30, 2022

🐋 — A lot of animal news this week. Which is amazing :D

1. Church of Scotland to allow same-sex marriages

The Church of Scotland has voted to allow clergy to conduct same-sex marriages for the first time. It means same-sex couples will be able to marry in church in services conducted by ministers.

The Presbyterian denomination is preparing new suggested liturgy to bless same-sex marriages as well as guidance for the change in church law.

2. Cosmetic surgery adverts targeting teenagers banned

Adverts for cosmetic procedures are now banned from targeting under-18s in the UK.

The new rules apply to all media and cover procedures that are designed to change a person’s physical appearance — including breast augmentation or reduction, “tummy tucks”, eyelid surgery, nose reshaping, and facelifts. The ban also covers teeth whitening products, skin rejuvenation and injectable treatments, chemical peels and dermal fillers.

3. Spanish parliament approves ‘only yes means yes’ consent bill

This is really important, because sexual assault survivors will no longer have to prove violence was used against them.

The new bill defines consent as an explicit expression of a person’s will, making it clear that silence or passivity do not equal consent. Non-consensual sex can be considered aggression and subject to prison terms of up to 15 years.

4. Oklahoma City Zoo announces pregnancy of critically endangered Sumatran tiger

The Oklahoma City Zoo announced that its female Sumatran tiger, Lola, is pregnant and due to give birth this summer.

“This pregnancy is great news for Sumatran tigers and we are anxiously awaiting Lola’s due date,” said Tyler Boyd, OKC Zoo’s curator of carnivores. “Through our involvement with the AZA’s SSP for Sumatran tigers, the OKC Zoo is helping strengthen their population while further raising awareness for the conservation of this incredible species and its habitat.”

5. Spanish diver saves 12-metre humpback whale in ‘daring’ rescue mission

The whale was stuck in a fishing net. The weakened whale had been spotted by a ship about three miles off the eastern coast of Mallorca, prompting Palma de Mallorca’s Aquarium marine rescue centre into action.

Watch the video of the rescue here:

youtube

6. A video from Florida Fish and Wildlife shows a panther kitten being reunited with her mom.

The panther came to check out the kitten cries, but couldn’t rescue it. Good human opened the cage off screen. Mom panther stuck around long enough to let kitten wander out. Then mom panther and kitten wandered off into the night. Very sweet!!

youtube

7. Wild mammals making comeback in Europe

. . .

That's it for this week. Until next week, You can follow me on twitter. Also, I have a newsletter :)

Subscribe here to receive a collection of wholesome news every week in your inbox :D

#best news of last week #Youtube

527 notes · View notes

meenawrites · 6 months

Text

Seo Yul Deep Dive–Part 2

SO I am back while in class but the professor's not here yet so whatever.

I've clearly been browsing the Seo Yul tag here and I've seen some opinions that really shock me so I hope I can address them here and in future posts.

First of all, we start Part 2 with Yul finally returning from Seoho Fortress after having been forced to leave three years ago.

Guys, he has been SUFFERING from this blood parasite FOR THREE YEARS! So of course, he looks kind of sickly when he arrives. I honestly don't know how he's been holding in there this long.

We also find out that So-I, despite being able to escape now that the blood parasite is no longer in her, is actually opting to stay Jin Mu's little puppet or pawn and let him believe she still has the blood parasite all so she can continue to receive medicine for said parasite and send it to Yul, which is kind of heartbreaking actually and kind of redeeming for her character. (I have a lot to say about her but that may be for another post, we'll see).

So Seo Yul comes back to Daeho Fortress, reunites with his friends, and it's like something clicks back into place for our favorite trio.

We know that Danggu was feeling kind of uncomfortable with Uk not because of the ice stone exactly but he just doesn't know how to talk to him with everything that happened three years ago weighing on their shoulders; which is fair, it was A LOT. But as soon as Yul comes back, it's like they all know how to act together once again.

I really wanted to point this out because I think traditionally a lot of people might find Yul's character kind of boring because of how quiet and strict he is with himself AND HE'S NOT. And we can see that by how his mere presence brings the trio back together, that they start to talk and joke around again as soon as he just makes an appearance. It really highlights how core he is to their friendship, not just an accessory. Yes, his two friends are louder and more lively than him, but because Seo Yul is so quiet and reserved, when he does choose to make a joke or tease it has that much more impact. To top it off you can just FEEL how much he loves his friends and I really think these are two main factors in why Uk and Danggu love him so much. Seo Yul is central to their group, always has been, and he has been looking out for Danggu and Uk his entire life.

Moving on though, we have Seo Yul meeting Jin Buyeon/Naksu, and all of their interactions in the show (prior to him finding out she's Naksu) are ADORABLE! I think they really highlighted once more that Yul and Naksu would always gravitate towards each other in some way because their relationship/bond goes way deeper than anything romantic.

Like yes Yul's care for Naksu has always had a romantic connotation, but his regard for her went way deeper than that. I don't quite know how to articulate it but I think overall he really respected and cared about her as a PERSON just with romantic undertones, not necessarily an all consuming romance. And I think Naksu feels the same way. There is something in Yul that brings her comfort and she likes spending time with him, but it's also never been precisely defined that she loves him romantically. Again, I think there are definitely romantic undertones, even on Naksu's side (made clear by how often she emphasizes how handsome he is) but I think above all her regard for Yul is a lot deeper and purer than that. He is someone who gave her shiny and happy memories in the midst of a life that was anything but happy. This kid showed her that people CAN be unconditionally kind, that people could still be good at a time I think was very important for her, and I think frankly Seo Yul does that for a lot of people. He just constantly reminds people in his attitude and actions that unconditional kindness and care does still exist and he's a prime example of that.

So yes they gravitate towards each other again without remembering the other for a while and it's precious to watch. They frankly just enjoy each other's company, and I absolutely love the scene of them agreeing to be "foolish friends". Might do a whole other post on that scene but yeah.

Let's move on to the agony of Yul's character arc this season.

As we know, the aftermath of the tragedy of season 1 DEEPLY affected Yul. He has no idea that Naksu/Mudeok was controlled into going wild and killing so many people. All he knows is that she went wild, killed Jang Uk and ruined Danggu and Choyeon's happiness. It's his ultimate failure in his point of view. It's been drilled into him that soul shifters are unnatural, that they will inevitably cause great harm, but he elected to ignore that not only for Naksu's sake but also for Jang Uk's sake. He had been watching over her actions all of season 1 both because he cannot stay away from her but also probably to ascertain whether she would really be a threat.

And right when he'd made the decision to leave her alone, to let her and Jang Uk be happy, that maybe the absolute rules he's been taught to believe in unconditionally can be broken, everything he'd feared in letting Naksu/Mudeok continue to live came true.

So OBVIOUSLY he's consumed with guilt. Because he knew exactly who she was for so long, knew that she was a soul shifter, knew the risks and his duties that weigh so heavily upon him, but elected to ignore them for his own feelings, his own moral compass that for once was disagreeing with this set of absolute rules he abides by. And in his view, everyone he loves has paid for his inaction and his decision to let her be.

Like just think about it from his POV, he feels like it's all his fault, especially more so because we know that Yul (and literally every adult around him) holds himself to a very high standard, so his guilt is just that much more intense.

This is why he's letting himself die silently by the blood parasite. This is why he never took the medication even though his pain throughout the last three years must have been so so bad. Because he feels like he deserves it. He's punishing himself, and he thinks he should die for the role he played in the tragedy of season 1.

Yul is someone who feels everything very deeply, and from the way he takes everything upon himself, we can infer that Yul's never had anyone who actually takes care of HIS inner world and HIS feelings. We don't know much about his parents, but from the few family members we have seen –his aunt and uncle – no one seems to care much for him and his feelings. Reinforced by the fact that he's the only heir and the way all the adults treat him, I have to believe that Yul grew up largely having to take care of himself in the emotional aspect. An he grew up, emphasis was heavily put on responsibility and duty as the next head of the Seo family. Combine that with what usually happens with children who act more mature and are more obedient than others -> adults LOVE you. And for someone like Yul who I have to believe didn't really have that emotional support that any child should have from their parents and adults in their life, I think that was just more incentive to cling to this good boy title of his, to foster his absolutist sense of morality that he was being taught, and striving to be as responsible as possible.

That's where his self-flagelating attitude comes from, and that's the kind of background we can infer from the way he acts and reasons through his feelings.

So yes, he was going to let himself die no matter how stupid that is because he thought it was only right.

When he discovers that Jin Buyeon is really Naksu but without her memories, he's in moral agony once again. Because on the one hand he is so so happy she is still alive, but on the other, all that trauma from what happened when she went wild last season is brought right back to the surface (as if he isn't constantly thinking about it already).

And we can see that in the scene where upon discovering it, he just hugs her and asks to stay like that for a while. He cannot believe she is standing in front of him but he is also deeply sad because he feels like she and Uk are destined for tragedy once again (especially with him again not knowing that Mudeok/Naksu was hypnotized last season into going wild, it now feels like an inevitability, a certified truth that the tragedy will repeat itself eventually).

And this time, Uk DOESN'T KNOW. So in Yul's mind, he thinks that that's better, that this is an opportunity afforded him to correct his mistake from last season, and again take care of everyone else's happiness aside from his own.

This combined with how sick he is from the blood parasite I believe largely contribute to his plan to kill Jin Buyeon/Naksu in Danhyangeok. But he also cannot live knowing he did that to her and also Jang Uk. He feels like this is the right choice for everyone's future happiness in the long term, but it will destroy him. So instead of killing her and then just waiting to die, he plans to kill both of them. Infuriating from the viewer's side but totally understandable from his perspective and disposition.

But then we have So-I who is ready to do anything to save Yul, and he ends up being not only discovered but on the verge of death. And So-I dies trying to protect him. Once again, he's just in moral agony because someone has died for him when he was resolute on killing himself. He thought that would be the best course of action for everyone, was convinced, but then someone new dies specifically for him and he's in distress again. What is the right choice? What should I have done?

And when Uk comes to his rescue and grabs him by the back of his neck, we can see just how in despair he is. His "I'm sorry" to Uk is an apology not for dying here and needing to be rescued but for so many other things. For his inaction last season, for having run like a coward to Seoho Fortress for 3 years (in his opinion), for knowing that Jin Buyeon is Naksu and not being able to tell him, for knowing who she is and not being able to protect Uk from pain at her side. For so many things and it's so so heartbreaking.

When Yul is healed and saved, he honestly just doesn't even know what to do anymore, what the right thing to do is. Jin Buyeon/Naksu has saved him, which then makes him feel guilty for planning to kill her in the first place. But he also can't see any way out of a repeat tragedy. Basically his moral compass is going haywire.

Side note: we were totally robbed of the trio reuniting with Seo Yul and then scolding him for being an idiot. Might fuck around and write another Missing Scene oneshot for that.

But then he finds out that Naksu's soul is going to disappear anyway. And he's again conflicted (I swear my man can never catch a break). On the one hand, he's very sad that Naksu is going to disappear out of this world, just gone without ever having been happy. On the other hand, he's relieved because he thinks that with her disappearance no tragedy will occur. Furthermore, the body will be returning to the soul of its original owner which is morally correct by all standards.

So all he can hope for now is for Naksu to be happy with the time she has left with the person she loves. He even goes and threatens Jin Hogyeong (which is not something he would ever normally do) just to give her the chance to be happy with the time she has left. (I'm sobbing yall, I love him).

But then, thanks to Heo Yunok (was very upset with her this season), that all goes to shit because she exposes Naksu right when Uk is finally admitting he's fallen for Jin Buyeon/Naksu, that she's finally going to be happy. And now she remembers everything and how she essentially screwed up the happiness of not only the love of her life Jang Uk (who she LITERALLY KILLED like I can't imagine having to deal with that) but also everyone else she cared about. So she decides to distance herself.

And Seo Yul is just there talking to both of them like won't you use your disappearance as an excuse to be together? Even for a little while? Because damn it they deserve to be happy and they're both so dear to him. And he's just sad once again because the world seems intent on hurting these two people he loves so much.

Now lowkey this is where I feel like the writers kind of failed Seo Yul. Take this with a grain of salt though because they had a limited amount of episodes, so all things considered, they did a great job.

But after all his suffering, Seo Yul didn't really get an emotional payoff. Like yes we see him become in charge of the training center in Songrim and he's going to institute a new and fairer system for training mages. But what really would have been good for him and his character would be for it to be pounded into his head how much his friends care about him, how he doesn't have to suffer alone, how he's not guilty of everything he feels guilty of. For someone to recognize finally how much of a burden he has on his shoulders and show him that he doesn't have to shoulder it alone.

I don't think I'm articulating this properly, but I wanted and needed everyone important to Yul to step up after him almost dying to knock some sense into him, to realize how truly fucked up it is for someone to feel so responsible and guilty and self-sacrificing as to just be willing to die in silence. That's why a scene where Danggu and Uk scold the shit out of him would have been necessary, should definitely have happened. He needs some emotional healing and to realize that people in his life are ready to be aggressively there for him.

Just after this incident, his friends constantly coming to check up on him. Like are you good? Your feelings aren't going crazy, right? You don't feel irrationally guilty for something out of your control, right?

I lowkey have way more to say about Yul and his relationship with other people but that's for a different post.

All in all, I'm super glad that Seo Yul found his own path at the end of the season. I think reforming Jeojjingak (if that's what it's called) is his own way of paving the future so that people like Cho Yeon and So-I who had unlucky lots in life have more of a fair chance in the future.

I clearly love this character A LOT.

Congrats to anyone who actually made it this far.

#alchemy of souls #jang uk #Seo Yul #Seo Yul rants #My boy deserves the world #Let him be happy #Seo Yul thoughts #Meena's thoughts #Meena's posts #Seo Yul Deep Dive #alchemy of souls: light and shadow #jang uk x naksu #Naksu #Cho Yeon #Mudeok #Jin Buyeon #park dang gu

23 notes · View notes

raayllum · 2 years

Text

S4 Trailer Timeline Breakdown

Let’s do this + spoilers for all of episode one from the twitter thread at SDCC.

4x01 is Callum’s birthday and Viren’s revival day. It establishes Callum waiting on a book of rune translations from Lux Aurea, likely to try to decipher more about the mirror. Ezran states that Zubeia and Zym will be arriving in Katolis, and Janai proposes to Amaya. She accepts. Out on the balcony, Callum looks up at the moon and we see that he is still in love with Rayla.

Thus, things that are from 4x01 are as follows:

Any scene with Claudia and Viren in the cave

Ezran’s council meeting

Janai and Amaya looking at each other happily

The failed birthday party

Callum out on the balcony

Then we move into what I’ll call 4x02 territory:

Phyrrah (red dragon from s2 and s3) as well as Zubeia arriving in Katolis for Ezran’s meeting.

Which doesn’t go especially well, as Ezran makes this speech in the Valley of Graves, likely because 1) it’s big enough to house Zubeia, who’s there, and 2) because it was on her orders that Harrow died, and Ezran is trying to bridge that gap / hurt (since the gift he had made for Zubeia, maybe even by Callum, has seemingly been vandalized) and it’s sunset. This probably isn’t the very next day since it would take time even for a dragon to fly, so it could be up to a week later post-4x01, say.

Also in the early days we see Terry seemingly having braided Claudia’s hair, which she has for the majority of the rest of the trailer / season, even if they seem to be somewhere more metal than Storm Spire-y. I’m guessing they start out in Drakewood and then work their way across.

Also likely in 4x02 is the scene with Amaya with the Sunfire elves, including Janai and her future brother-in-law, Prince Karim.

A human is about to be punished, possibly due to stealing a Sunfire artefact (hence bandages wrapped around burned hands) with Janai supposed to dole out traditional Sunfire punishment. I think given the shot misdirect and Amaya’s worry, Janai will choose to free and spare the human, prompting her brother’s ire and kicking off their political plotline for S4.

On that note, the lack of crowd in the shot below while still having spectators make me think that perhaps Karim has challenged Janai to a one-on-one combat duel for the throne and ‘fate’ of their people. In the far left we see who appears to be Miyana under the mask, part of the Six Horns, who was revealed at SDCC 2021.

Then, post-4x02 we have what seems to be what I’m going to call the Ibis Time Thread, as it / his staff / Callum having his staff is one of the clearest through lines the trailer has. We see him and Claudia squaring off in what seems to be the Storm Spire, as it was the last place Viren’s staff was and that seems to be what they’re fighting over, and Claudia’s hair is braided back.

Then we see Claudia and Ibis having a second encounter in a different space. It may be another part of the same area (just without the gold coins) as a continuation of the first fight, or another encounter entirely. It seems Aaravos has had her wait until now to retrieve her father’s staff, given that her hair is braided and half white in both shots.

This means that Claudia needs Viren’s staff, likely as a component for Aaravos to get out of his mirror. If one of Aaravos’ former gifts / relics can be an important component in freeing him, it seems that can be doubly so for the Cube as the Key of Aaravos. (We’ll circle more back to Aaravos’ bits later.)

Sometime after the fight with Claudia, we see the kids holding what’s clearly a funeral for Ibis, with Callum conducting one of the spells and holding Ibis’ staff.

However, arguably the most important piece of information here (to me) is that Rayla is with the three boys in this shot, and with her little pet creature, Stella, on her shoulder. This means from this point on in the season (likely mid-S4) Rayla has not only reunited with the boys but possibly travelled with them from Katolis to the Storm Spire again.

Here we see Zym at what appears to be the Great Gates (possibly to Rex Igenous’ chambers, the Earth dragon at the very end of the trailer) and in Ez and Zym’s poster, so it seems that while the group is there, it’s mostly centred on the young king and his platonic soulmate.

Possibly in their path to get to Rex Igneous, we see Callum use his scarf to douse the light (maybe light attracts the creatures) which is easier said than done when Bait is a glow toad, and this kicks off the battle there with Callum using lightning to protect his little friend.

We also know that Rayla is with the boys and what appears to be a smaller Earthblood child here, since we can see the three fold of her tunic as well as her hip-thigh pouch that holds Stella as Zym flies up to seemingly call a bit of a lightning storm to protect his friends.

Soren, however, is most notably absent (maybe stuck in another area, like the one with the rocks in his solo shot?). Rayla also has both her blades!

Zubeia getting pissed on her baby’s behalf and when we see those creatures earlier, Callum has Ibis’ staff with him and Ezran. This means either they’re not friendly at first and Zubeia steps in / destroys them, or that she gets them to settle down and the boys manage to have a conversation. Again, we know presumably as soon as Callum gets his staff, any scene where he has that is also one that Rayla will be in (just about).

Then of course, we have Rayla showing in Katolis with Stella in tow, who quickly grabs the cube and has an affinity with the Star arcanum (given that her name literally means “star,” too) in a perfect parallel of when she and Callum first met. That more than anything makes me think this is real rather than an illusion, but I wonder what’s made Rayla feel safe enough to come back - what proof has she found of Viren’s death after all this time, after all?

Then we have a shot of her outrunning some kind of drake-riding Earthblood elf and with her pouch, but it’s void of Stella. She seems to be purposefully baiting him and trying to create some kind of diversion.

Some very keen eyed people have pointed out that she’ll likely fall after this clip, as one of her hands (her one that used to have the binding, I think) slipped and missed slightly, meaning she’ll dangle and then hoist herself up.

It also makes me wonder, what, exactly, Rayla has found to convince her to come back to Katolis. She’d need irrefutable proof Viren was dead and she could’ve found the empty chrysalis, but she probably would’ve assumed as a result that Viren had simply chosen to leave it. So I’ll be curious as how that gets explained and addressed.

I also think that because she’s seemingly 1) fine and 2) returning of her own accord for their first reunion at least, Callum will be pretty furious with her because he’ll have room to be furious at her. Whether that’ll be in their first scene together or a bit later remains to be seen.

Finally I want to address the few remaining trailer shots / scenes I haven’t so far, namely:

An eye i think might belong to Rex Igneous and a wider shot of his hoard that matches where we see Ibis and Claudia initially fighting. It’s also hard to tell in the shot below but it almost looks like maybe it isn’t the trio and/or the two groups are together, with Ezran almost standing by Viren (as he’s the main figure we’ve seen clothed distinctly in all white) even if it’s a bit too blurry to tell entirely.

There are also the shots of Aaravos blowing a kiss at the camera, the aforementioned Callum as a pawn with the cube shot, the shot of Aaravos being displeased, and Callum cradling Rayla’s blades. I wondered if, after the Viren as a pawn clip, if the person as a pawn might change in every episode’s intro in S4. Now I wonder if we’ll get three mini arcs: the first with Viren as the pawn, and then the second and third arcs with Claudia and Callum as the pawn in some kind of order (like the key art, since “everything is going according to plan” for Aaravos). I could also see it changing every episode and then having the final episode intro being Aaravos blowing the kiss with the mirror shattering while he sits calmly (we’ve never seen him sit before) as it felt very winkwink nudgenudge to the audience.

We know that whatever vexes Aaravos cannot be permanent, since he gets out of the mirror this season 100%. I’m also curious, if Callum and Rayla reunite fairly early on, what Callum is doing dark magic for. I still think he’ll have to build a connection with Aaravos before she comes back, but maybe not, even if the light-dark symbolism we’re getting supports it: Callum is angry, alone, and enshrouded with darkness, whereas Rayla’s head is haloed by the moon, giving her more positive light connotations (the way the show always has).

I do think though that the near the end of the season, perhaps while trying to stop Aaravos or something else with Ezran, Rayla will be forcefully dragged away from her blades, and Cube Hostage Exchange Theory (Callum exchanging the cube to Aaravos for her life) could happen, as it was always an “end of the season / final arc” specific prediction over the season as a whole.

Unless Rayla is an illusion carried by Aaravos through little Stella for the season long term, only to reveal the real Rayla all along has been having a truly terrible time (maybe Callum thinking something with Rayla is wrong, the others write him off as letting his hurt feelings cloud his judgement)... there still has to be a Narrative reason for Rayla’s absence to be relevant. I don’t think she would’ve come back if there was a significant problem (she wants to keep Callum safe from dying for her) and we know they are separated again with their aged up designs...

Something circa, “I just got her back, I am not losing her again” before he hands it over, per se.

And I think that’s everything, but I’m sure I’ll update / add even more thoughts as I go along, with only a little over three weeks before s4 airs! Aaah

214 notes · View notes

sirdust · 3 months

Note

THOUGHTS ON THE FINALE?? bc it was a lot for suuree

| any thoughts on the last 2 episodes??? i sure do have mine i was like wth throughout the whole thing😭 |

apologies for the radio silence 🫡 i've been busy and also not very enthusiastic about discussing this show, lol. been in the process of packing up my autism and moving it over to transformers.

anyways sure i'll give my thoughts.

as my friend who i was watching the eps with said during ep7, "this version of hazbin hotel where women exist is a lot more interesting"

ep7 was probably the most tolerable character-wise even though it suffered from the same general pacing problems that we saw throughout the rest of the season. charlie felt like an actual character who experienced inner turmoil, and while i didn't like "out for love" very much as a song, the sequence itself was solid. carmilla badly needed more presence in the story for how much they treated her as an important character, though.

i'll also say that i think rosie is the most likable character in the show period. she has a cute design and a charismatic personality, and i wish she had shown up earlier. it was weird that she and alastor acted as if they had just reunited when they saw each other in ep3, though.

the final battle was disappointing all around for both obvious and non-obvious reasons. vaggie badly needed a big heroic moment, but she was fighting lute (who simply does not feel like a real threat) for so much of it that her actions during that part of the episode had very little impact. especially since she was the one to figure out how angels can be killed in ep7 (which was admittedly a plot point that did not need to exist, aside from it facilitating charlie and alastor's deal, but i digress).

i also am pretty miffed that charlie only got one or two good hits in on adam before needing to be saved by lucifer. it was like they couldn't decide whether they wanted to do a team-up or to give lucifer a moment showing off how powerful he is to be able to fight adam one-on-one.

i don't know if there's anything for me to say about what they did to pent that hasn't already been said. i doubt he's going to be relevant in s2, but even if he is, i really don't care. it's baffling incompetent to treat a character death as a comedy beat one moment and then dramatic the next. it winds up not making me feel anything at all. (and on a pettier note, i hate his redesign.)

i've never been huge on adam. his character had potential but was continually wasted in favor of being another shallow commentary on toxic masculinity (which is much too prevalent in spindlehorse shows, i'd argue. the issue isn't with the thematic choice but how vapid the execution is). i'm also hung up on the fact that he's clearly meant to look like alex brightman, but the writers have lucifer make a fat joke about his appearance. fatphobia in these shows has always been an elephant in the room but i feel that this crosses some sort of line.

i don't think i have much else to say? i could go more in-depth of course but i'd have to refresh my memory and i don't have the time or desire to rewatch any part of the season right now. i've gotten pretty much all of my gripes with the show as it stands out of my system.

this blog will likely continue to get some use in the future, but i'll probably be increasingly inactive on here. the silver lining of all this is that hazbin's success may, if nothing else, help pave the way for execs greenlighting more queer animation, but we'll have to wait and see. here's to better shows being made in the future though 🥂

ETA: oh and i've been calling twist villain lilith since 2019 but i have nothing else to say about that.

#asks #anon

7 notes · View notes

butterflydm · 2 years

Text

rand & min: a self-fulfilling prophecy?

So, we’re told in text, by Min, that her viewings always come true. She definitely believes it. But the evidence we get in text is somewhat more fuzzy.

It seems to me that there are four broad categories of Min’s viewings:

Sure, seems like a legit prophetic viewing.

Requires some massaging of the events to make it fit the viewing.

Viewing only seems to come true because of active work by Min, or someone she has told about the viewing.

Viewing fails to come true but Min has forgotten about it and doesn’t mention the failure. (note: I do believe that, out of world, we are supposed to believe Min’s viewings are infallible and chalk up any changes in events to a mistake/changed mind by the author but I am noting this for completion’s sake)

Categories #1 & #2 are definitely the largest and I would definitely say that Min’s viewings are mostly reliable. Category #3 is actually the one that I find the most interesting. How much do Min’s viewings rely on her active participation to come true?

Because, for someone who firmly believes that fate is inevitable and there’s no point in fighting against it, Min shares her viewings and acts on them quite frequently (she’s always saying that she hates sharing her viewings but she also shares them constantly, so she’s another of the characters who lies a lot to herself, which is common with WoT characters). And a big example of that is her relationship with Rand.

In my reread, I’ve noticed that Min does not appear to love Rand ‘for’ any particular reason except that she’s certain that she is destined to love Rand due to her own viewing.

After having double-checking through her PoVs in the books, this is a sampling of her comments as she ‘falls in love’ but before they actually reunite in LoC:

Light, I don’t want to fall in love with a man that I’ve only met once, and a farmboy at that.

She goes on for a WHILE about how he isn’t the type of man she finds attractive while following the Pattern’s bidding to take care of him after the battle in Falme. She has one positive comment about him: he has silky hair. Two, I suppose, if you include, “you’re not bad-looking.” A glowing endorsement!

She compares the upcoming love square as “flies caught in a spiderweb”.

“I don’t know if I want you to choose me.”

She blames her being in Tar Valon in TSR as ‘doing fool things for a fool man’ (Rand has neither asked her to go nor even is aware that she has gone to the White Tower).

She blames him for her own choices: The Light burn Rand al’Thor for getting me into this.

Siuan: “Yet you do love him.” Min: “I don’t have any choice.”

re: being in a dress - Was this how Rand wanted her? Would he actually see her, if she wore dresses and simpered at him like a brainless chit?

There’s a whole tirade about how it’s his fault that she’s wearing a dress right now, despite it explicitly being Siuan’s fault. And she makes assumptions that he’s “staring at some Tairen woman with half her bosom exposed at this very minute”.

She wished they had never learned she was in love with Rand al’Thor. Sometimes she wished she had never learned it. A man who barely knew she was alive, a man like that. What he was no longer seemed as important as the fact that he had never looked at her twice, but it was all of a piece, really.

Burn him, if I’d never met him, I wouldn’t be in this pickle!

re: Leane flirting - If I could do that to one particular man, I’d be more than satisfied.

Now she was thinking about changing what she was, for a man.

She wished she knew how to make Rand look at her like those men were looking at Leane.

What she saw was always true. It always happened. She knew the same way that she had known the first time she saw Rand al’Thor that she would fall desperately, helplessly in love with him, the same way she had known she would have to share him with two other women.

-but she still had a personal goal. Making a man who had never looked at her twice fall in love with her before he went mad. Maybe she was as mad as he was destined to be.

Rand bloody al’Thor. Fall in love with a man, and you ended up doing laundry, even if it did belong to another man. When she marched into the kitchen to demand a washtub and hot water, she was snarling every bit as much as Siuan.

You’ll be whatever you think he wants you to be.

Before they meet up again in LoC, she doesn’t seem to know very much about him except that he was a shepherd (when she dislikes country-related things) and he’s “not bad-looking”, yet she constantly blames him for her own choices and makes assumptions about his personality that don’t match what the readers have seen in his behavior. Despite spending a winter in the same place in between TGH and TDR, she doesn’t appear to know him at all as a person. In all of her PoV chapters before they finally reunite in LoC, she’s named one positive quality about him: he has silky hair. That’s it. That’s all she’s got.

Yet she is so convinced that she is destined to love him -- desperately and helplessly -- that she talks herself into leaping into love without having a single reason for actually being attracted to Rand as a person (either physically or his personality).

All so that she can hurry on with: a. making him to love her back and b. clearing a path for herself by his side. Very pragmatic but not terribly romantic.

Now, again, from a pragmatic point of view, her actions do make sense -- she believes absolutely in her viewings and her viewings have told her that these three specific women will fall in love with Rand but she doesn’t know whether or not he will love them back. Obviously, being desperately in love with someone who doesn’t love you back kinda sucks.

But if Min had had all her other viewings but not the one about Rand’s three beautiful women, would she have considered herself ‘in love’ with him enough to go to him in LoC? The only reason she has given at this point for loving him is the viewing. How would her actions have been different if she hadn’t had the viewing and would they have ever ‘fallen in love’ at all?

We know that Rand is attracted to her, as well as to Elayne and Aviendha, because we have a sneak peek into his dreams. But we also know, because of his own destiny, that Rand doesn’t view himself as a desirable figure to get involved with and would never make the first move. And lots of people are attracted to people that they never actually pursue. Being attracted doesn’t inevitably lead to a relationship.

How would Min’s actions have been different if she hadn’t had that viewing?

She might not have tried to get close to Elayne if she didn’t have an extra reason to do so. Either way, Elayne wouldn’t have heard anything about needing to ‘share’ her husband but still would have learned of the idea of ‘sister-wives’ from Aviendha in TDR (so Elayne and Aviendha would still be on a relatively similar path if Min’s viewing were removed; I actually have Some Thoughts about Aviendha’s silver rings visions as well but the vibes on that are overall more positive because it actually pushes her away from Rand for quite a while and she’s forced to begrudgingly admit she likes him after being in his company for a book and a half. I think that it’s likely Aviendha and Rand actually could have gone through basically the same emotional journey in TSR/TFOH even if she hadn’t seen him in the silver rings at all).

Her love for Rand does feel to me like it was created by Min’s viewing, an odd little time-travel-esque paradox. She loves him because she saw that she would love him, but never actually does the emotional work of ‘falling in love’ with him.

In terms of ‘out of world’ reasoning (Doylist) for why Min has the viewing about Rand’s three women, I think it was likely the author trying to make it so that the reader wouldn’t be surprised by Rand ending up with all three women.

But it does (unintentionally, I assume) give a gloss of ruthless pragmatism to Min’s character, the way she is so focused on getting Rand to fall in love with her because she is certain that she’s destined to love him (there’s a strong Min/Mat comparison to be made in this regard, but I will get there in a few more books lol) rather than exploring her own heart and seeing if she actually DOES love him or if she can go against her own viewing. Instead, she takes it as a given and goes from there.

#wot reread #lord of chaos #this slots in here #wot meta #wot book spoilers #wot spoilers #rand al'thor #min farshaw #wheel of time #wot #a mental exercise on viewings and forcing fate to happen #anyway this is all very much about book!min #i think that the show has an excellent chance of improving the rand x min relationship #and have already started doing so by removing Min's attempt to sabotage Rand's relationship with Egwene #next step: don't have her subtly trying to manipulate elayne into accepting a poly relationship #let that be something elayne actually wants on her own!

56 notes · View notes

eldritch-thrumming · 4 months

Note

I'm a cis het female, but I'm always trying to learn and be an ally. My lesbian niece is a Gaylor, so I'm at least passingly familiar with some of the ways people thought her music was queer coded.

But I'm interested in why you personally feel betrayed by Taylor.

(It might seem obvious from someone with your subject position, but I'm confused as an outsider. A debunked theory doesn't seem to be enough... Has she been actively homophobic? Tried googling and it was a shitshow.)

gonna preface this by saying sorry to my mutuals and followers who hate t*ylor sw*ft--i already lost like ten followers for posting about this lol

for anyone curious, this is the nyt article i'm referencing and this is the response planted in cnn.

if you're at all familiar with the online fandom, then you know that there's a stark divide between fans that consider themselves "hetlors" and fans that consider themselves "gaylors." the gaylor camp is focused on queer readings of her music, uncovering what they consider to be queer flagging, and making references and connections between taylor and other gay artists. the hetlor camp is focused on spreading violent homophobia in gaylor's comments. i personally consider myself a part of the gaylor community because of my interest in doing queer readings of mainstream media, even though i personally don't believe that t*ylor sw*ft herself is gay and i don't really care one way or another--her personal identity doesn't affect the way i choose to interpret and read her music.

HOWEVER, it's important to point out that t*ylor has made many, many, many overt references to queer artists and queer culture--whether she's gay or not, it's dishonest and a rejection of her work to deny that she's made these references. here are some examples:

the song "ivy." many fans have speculated about the references of the album evermore to the themes of dickinson's poetry, specifically the song "ivy." this has been a long-time fan theory, doubly fueled by the fact that evermore dropped on dickinson's birthday. t*ylor seems to have confirmed this theory by allowing the use of the song in the show dickinson, when emily and sue reunite after a big fight and the publication of one of emily's poems (i don't watch the show, so sorry abt some narrative details here lol).

2. dedicating a performance to loie fuller. during the rep tour, taylor dedicated her performance of the song "dress"--largely consider one of her queerest songs--to fuller, a gay choreographer and dancer.

3. on the eras tour, she plays dusty springfield's "you don't own me" directly before she comes on stage. springfield was pretty openly bisexual for the 1960s and made quite a few statements about being with women. in 1990, she released her thirteenth studio album titled reputation, with black and white cover art. there are also some 1989 tv/dusty springfield color references in the cds.

4. she references the lakes poets. she published the song "the lakes" as a bonus track on folklore, which is a clear reference to the lakes poets, especially wordsworth, who was gay.

5. she made herself the gay sheriff of gay town.

6. she posted a picture to her own insta with a friendship bracelet that very clearly said "PROUD" with the colors of the bi flag. she wears the bi flag in her hair in the YNTCD music video where, again, she makes herself the gay sheriff of gay town.

7. she explicitly states "gay pride makes me, me" in the making of the ME! music video (i want to say this is in the Miss Americana documentary, but i honestly don't remember)

8. she has used the phrase "hairpin drop" in two separate songs. the phrasing first appears in "rwylm," a bonus track on evermore, where she sings "i swear you could hear a hairpin drop"--"dropping hairpins" is a historical phrase in the queer community that means dropping hints that you're a part of the community. now this one i've always been iffy on, but i think the intention is undeniable when we get to the midnights 3am track "the great war" where she returns to this phrasing. the lyrics in "the great war" is "finger on my hairpin trigger"--there's no way this is a mistake with the way that the fandom went so crazy over the phrasing in "rwylm." she herself has repeatedly referenced the online community and she's very aware of the conversations her fans are having--there's no way she didn't know we were talking about this. using the phrasing a second time by changing the traditional phrase ("hair trigger" and "you could hear a pin drop" are the traditional phrases) is undeniably intentional.

ok so. these are JUST the references that have been overt, explicit, and very clearly intentionally reference queer culture, queer history, and established queer flagging.

what's really important here is that the nyt article outlines these references, which are confirmed, among others made in taylor swift's public performances and published artwork, including lyrics and album ephemera. no where in the article does the author speculate on individual muses of any song or posit an opinion about her personal relationships. the article is focused on the gay fans and the ways we have built a community with each other through lyrical analysis and interpretation.

the important thing to note about t*ylor sw*ft is that she very rarely makes explicit public statements about anything published about her or any rumors about her in the press. that's why there was so much uproar about tree paine (her publicist) directly addressing the rumors that deuxmoi is perpetuating about a marriage to joe alwyn--because it's not normal. instead, she tends to speak more covertly through showing up places with people (for example, she went to dinner with sophie turner after the news of their divorce broke), making references through her style (wearing the color of a current era or the next era coming up), releasing new music (she addressed the matty healy scandal by releasing a song with ice spice and having her join the tour for one night!).

so with that being said, unless and until taylor or tree comments openly about either of these articles, we have to understand the cnn response as her opinion and coming from her camp. (i currently think this came from her father, as he's been very heavy handed in her pr lately.)

if you actually read the nyt article, there's literally nothing wrong with it. so to frame this opinion piece as "dismaying," "invasive," and "inappropriate" is capitalizing on established homophobic tropes about the queer community. why is it "dismaying" to be mistaken for a gay person? why is it invasive to read someone's work and say "hmm, there's a blatant queer reference here, i wonder if she's trying to tell us something." "i wonder if this person is gay" is a morally neutral statement. this response in cnn has given her straight fans license to go after her gay fans even harder than they did before. some of my mutuals and friends have been getting death threats, one has been doxxed previously and i'm worried it will happen again, and our comments are being inundated with slurs.

the reason i feel personally betrayed by taylor is because she has repeatedly capitalized off of my community as outlined above (and again, these are only the references that have been confirmed--there are plenty more ("dear reader," "paris," "hits different," "cowboy like me," "dress," "seven," "this is me trying," "high infidelity," "maroon," i could literally go on and on) and then allows the media and her fans to drag us through the mud and frame our community as aggressive, invasive, and repeatedly sexualize us by insisting that our sexuality and community is solely about who we fuck. if i get called gross, disgusting, or invasive one more time for stating that "bet i could still melt your world, argumentative antithetical dream girl" is gay, i will literally fucking lose it.

you cannot repeatedly and routinely reference openly gay artists in your work and then become "dismayed" when your gay fans recognize those references and begin to make connections. if you're a real ally, you would see nothing wrong with being perceived as gay. because there's nothing wrong with being gay! she has built her career off of autobiographical, confessional style writing and the interactions of fans speculating on who songs might be about. i'm old enough to remember the liner notes that revealed who each song was about! you can't foster that type of relationship with your fans and then turn around and get upset with them for caring about this stuff and recognizing patterns.

so i'm just kind of over it. and i'm over her being a billionaire climate criminal who emits 1900x the global average of carbon in tons and getting away with it. i'm over her remaining silent on palestine and allowing her film to be shown in israel. she cannot simultaneously be a mastermind genius business woman and also a billionaire bound by contracts and lyrical phrasing that she has no control over. the fandom sucks and she sucks for not defending us despite using her "allyship" for monetary gain, regardless of her personal identity. the gay community has taken enough hits from her and her fans, i'm done and i'm out.

ETA: i know this reads as angry in some places and that's because i am angry, but totally not at you, anon. i know you were asking this question in good faith, i'm just still in my feelings about this and dodging so much hate on tiktok.

3 notes · View notes

rebelwriter99 · 1 year

Text

Force help us all.

And here goes nothing. This one will need a TLDR.

Well Crosshair appeared. And I did cry. A lot. So that stayed true the whole season. Yaaaay. *Sobs quietly* My poor assistance dog has been so confused about why I keep crying today, he’s been very worried bless him and keeps climbing on me and licking my face. I love him very much and felt he deserved a sentence for his kindly helping paw.

I will be treating the finale as a single episode because anyone who didn’t go immediately from episode 15 into 16 you are lying.

So. Deep Breaths. Tech.

I will be assuming he is gone. I have read a lot of convincing arguments that he is not-but I will leave those to others. I will be writing as though he has died in the permanent sense.

I knew someone was going to die. It’s season 2 and Filoni is writing it. Hunter played Kanan and got captured and then they all escaped in S1. Big goal in mind in S2 (defeat Inquisitors vs Reunite Batch), someone is going to end up in dire straits to save the others. I thought it might be Cross, more likely Cody. And then it was Tech. I did not see any of that plot line coming. Saw Garrera and a plot inconvenient explosion were the smallest surprise. I was expecting them to make it to Mount Tantiss. Apparently not yet.

But the way Tech died is important to me. It sounds silly when I write it, but I’m autistic (and so is Tech I will die on that particular hill) and most autistic characters in stories of this genre (fantasy or sci-fi) get infantilised. They then tend to get killed in front of the proper heroes by the villain to show that the villain is evil. They’ll look rather sweet and innocent and meek and say something haunting and that’ll be that. If they do something brave it’s always played off that they don’t fully understand how dangerous what they’re doing is, or how heroic they really are. Not Tech. Tech fully understands what he’s risking. He knew the second he climbed out of that cable car he might not make it back. He nearly fell at least twice before he chose to fall. Not one moment in the whole show do we ever doubt that Tech is an adult, who is fully capable of understanding risk (and often advises caution) even if he computes it a bit differently, and mature enough to know completely what that sacrifice means. He, as an autistic character, demonstrated what it was to him to adjust to not having someone around, to having to cope with change. His knows this will hurt his family-but he has to do everything he can to save them. He, as an autistic character, got something akin to a romantic subplot-which you never really see. The way Tech is-it’s never painted as being ‘in the way’ of anything. He’s different-and that just is. Everyone completely accepts that about him. And until I looked back I didn’t realise quite how rare and refreshing it was to see that-because it’s written so well. And wether we get any more of Tech or not-I will always be grateful for what we did get to see of him. His character will always be special to me for what he represents-that people like me can exist in Star Wars, and in the galaxy far far away-we are simply ourselves and nobody really bats an eye.

And most importantly-it was his choice. You could write that scene nearly identically and have it just be an accident-but it was his choice. Clones don’t get many of those in life. And Tech, over the course of two seasons, has increasingly been learning to make his own. He’s stopped quite noticeably looking to Hunter for a nod before he does things. For a Clone, death is an occupational hazard. They view sacrifice through the lens of the war dominated life they lead and to them laying down your life to save your squad-I think that’s what many of them would choose if they had to. And the rest of the batch would definitely have died without Tech’s choice. Perhaps even, indirectly, Crosshair, who may have been tortured until he lost his life before the Empire found Omega. Tech’s last words I also thought were a lovely parallel to ‘good soldiers follow orders’. Tech chose defiance to save his family-he’s undeniably one of the best soldiers of the republic and yet ‘since when do we follow orders?’. Again-the emphasis on choice. It makes it feel like the end of the ‘Order 66 Era’ to me. We’ve gone from Clones forced en mass to kill those they loved and protected, to one Clone freely deciding to die to save the family they love and would do anything to protect. From the first moments the Republic became the Empire, right the way through to Stormtroopers almost completely replacing clones, and the first sign of major projects of the Empire starting to take shape. What happens next feels less like it’s going to be dictated by the galaxy-though the Empire will certainly be more oppressive than ever, what happens next is up to them now.

And Speaking of the Empire-the villain I now hate more than I ever hated Umbridge and Mrs Coulter as a child combined (which is saying something). Dr Hemlock.

He needs to die. In a way that Thrawn really didn’t-uncharted space was fine, he just needed a comeuppance. However, this particular foul being needs to cease to exist.

He is also the perfect villain. An incredibly creepy, secretive genetics researcher who doesn’t see his ‘test subjects’ as fully human is the villain in a story about Clones who are thinly veiled disability representation, currently exploring their own individual humanity, and were introduced to show the power of difference? Hell yes someone thought that through. And then said-hmmm yes Dr deadly poison. Then everyone will definitely know he’s an evil scientist! (It’s not like it wasn’t obvious as soon as he’d talked for longer than 5mins!). I await being immensely satisfied when everything he’s ever worked for burns to a crisp. Along with him.

For forces sake when he threw Tech’s goggles at Hunter’s feet. I was screaming. Hunter’s face. And when he puts down his blaster to pick them up. Hunter has chosen his squad. He’s not a soldier anymore, not really, he’s going to do whatever he has to do to get his family safe and keep them that way. I expect he’s going to go from being a bit more ‘go with the flow’ this season, to rather more ‘completely feral’ next season. And he will have Wrecker with him-who looks like he’s got some complex emotional development of his own to do. Gods it’s heartbreaking watching anyone grieve but poor Wrecker-I think he’ll blame himself. While oddly Hunter will be doing the same thing. Echo is going to have to be sensible I think-nobody else is going to be.

I am so excited for season 3. Really hoping we don’t have to wait a similar what felt like an age as last time. I love these characters. I’m yet to watch anything Filoni has written that didn’t have an immensely satisfying (if bittersweet) ending that made all the heartbreak worth it so I hope that’s where we’re going. Until then.

Vode An. Always. 🌟

TLDR: Force that hurt. Tech will always be an immensely important part of why I love Star Wars and The Bad Batch so much for so many reasons. Next season is going to be crazy. And if the Star Wars of equivalent of a creepy ableist medical researcher working for an authoritarian government imprisoning everyone doesn’t die horribly and have all his work destroyed I may riot.

#star wars #the bad batch #clone force 99 #tbb spoilers #the bad batch spoilers #well that was a long ramble but I think the grief is processed now at least #if anyone wants me to write any more please do just ask #otherwise I’ll assume that’s far too long as it is!

10 notes · View notes

doomalade · 1 year

Note

Would you like to elaborate on Yang being the real protagonist? I kind of like the idea and I am highly intrigued.

Hello and yes I would!

Most people would say that Ruby is the protagonist, I mean the show is kinda named after her.

But I think that Yang is more involved in the plot and has much more development and interest about her. I’ll breakdown why I think that volume by volume.

V1: Yang is accepted into Beacon, this is very exciting for her especially since Ruby has also been accepted. Yang is excited for her little sister and reassures her that Ruby will love it at Beacon. She has confidence in Ruby, including her leadership skills but still worries for how her sister is adjusting. Jaundice happens, now getting to the important part. With Blake revealing she’s a Faunus and running away, Yang is actively helping out to find Blake while confronting Weiss about her bigotry. Ruby is having her fun times with Penny but Yang is actively attempting to solve the conflict of finding Blake and making Weiss apologize for what she said.

V2: Yang starts to take an even more active role this Volume with RWBY trying to find leads on the White Fang. She goes to Junior’s Bar to get info on Roman’s involvement last Volume which also calls back nicely to the Yellow trailer. Meanwhile Ruby was just kinda hanging out with Weiss. RWBY bring down the mech and stop Roman before Neo appears and gets Roman out before he’s arrested. Before the dance, Yang would be the one to talk to Blake about not letting her goal of stopping Roman and the White Fang destroy her. Once more, Ruby is just hanging out with Weiss. Yang reveals more about her character along with Summer and Raven. Ruby has only really been seen at Summer’s grave, but Yang seems to remember Summer and be deeply affected by losing two mothers. (Also I will die on the hill that is “Red Like Roses II is a Yang song”) During the train fight, Yang gets a nemesis in Neo, and further mystery is grown about Raven. Not to forget the maybe sorta no longer canon post credit scene that had Raven talking to Yang. Not any hints of Summer being alive with Ruby. Raven and Yang.

V3: It’s Yang that progresses through the Vytal Tournament, not Ruby. Yang is the one that 1v2s FNKI, and gains nemesis #2, Mercury. She’s framed by Emerald and has to come to terms with not being believed and eliminated from the tournament. During the Fall, Yang searches frantically for Ruby but ends up going to Blake where we get the scene of Adam cutting off her arm. Ruby makes it out of the Fall with a headache, Yang lost an arm. This restarts Yang’s hero journey going into V4.

V4 is Yang’s Call To Action, Refusal of Call, Mentor, and Crossing the Threshold. While Ruby has adventures with JNR, Nora and Ren take center stage for character development. Yang struggles with her PTSD and learning how to live with her disability. The Call to Action is Yang’s robotic arm, but she promptly Refuses the Call and gives into her depressive episode. As the Volume progresses, Tai serves as her Mentor and pushes her to get out of the house and find Ruby. This is the Crossing the Threshold.

V5 is Yang and Raven’s volume. Ruby might be giving Oscar inspirational speeches but this Volume sees Yang completing her mission and tracking down Raven. Yang finds Raven, reunites with Weiss, and is given what is arguably the most important advice in the show. Always question others so you can make your own choices. This applies to Ozma, and the concept of Oz’s magic, war against Salem, and reincarnation are all revealed to Yang. Ruby only gets a bit of magic and the reincarnation. At the Battle of Haven, Yang is the one to chase after Raven and confront her about being a coward. Yang completes her arc with Raven and is the one to walk out of the vault with the Lamp.

I’ll try to get to V6-8 later but that’s all I have for now.

#rwby #rwde #yang xiao long

15 notes · View notes

argentvive · 8 months

Text

The Wheel of Time - Season 2, Ep 1

The Wheel of Time is back! Let's see if the series is still incorporating literary alchemy. (I've not read the books, so I'm looking at the TV series only.)

In Episode 2, Egwane and Nyneave are at Aes Sedai school, where they're working mostly as domestic drudges--until they have a key lesson from Alanna about the "five threads of the One Power." The goal of their training is to learn to harness--"channel"--the One Power.

Is this alchemy? Usually you have the Four Elements coming together to create the One (the One Ring in Lord of the Rings, the Chosen One in Harry Potter, etc., etc.). The Four Elements in alchemy are fire, air, earth, and water, but in the WOT universe a fifth element, spirit, is added. Spirit is also a concept in alchemy, but it generally appears in the trio of soul-spirit-body. So it's not clear what Robert Jordan is going for here.

It's true that in Chinese alchemy there are also five elements, but they are fire, earth, water, metal, and wood. So it doesn't seem as if Jordan is using that model.

The next part of Allana's lesson is to show the novices how to weave the elements of water and earth together to create a filter to purify a muddy glass of water. They can't leave the lesson until they've drunk their, hopefully, clear glass. First, I wonder if it's a coincidence that the two elements they are working with--water and earth--correspond to Mercury/argentvive, the Female Principle of the Work. (Fire and air correspond to Sulphur, the Male Principle.) The Aes Sedai are of course all Female. More important, though, the novices are being taught an essential skill of alchemy, to purify physical matter. A typical medieval alchemist starts with a rock, which he or she subjects to repeated cycles of solve et coagula (dissolve and congeal). In WOT the Aes Sedai achieve purification in a pretty different way, by creating a sieve or filter, which is called a weave. Jordan is being quite inventive here: he preserves the essential alchemical process--purification-- but creates a distinctive process.

Moving on to Moraine and Lan, we see that they remain estranged, Moraine having blocked their bond and Lan's access to her thoughts. Separation is a standard stage in Ripley's Twelve Gates (steps) of the alchemical process. But if that's what Jordan is doing, then we should expect Moraine and Lan to be reunited. As I wrote before, it was very atypical for their Chemical Wedding to have occurred to early in the story--before it began actually--so I'm not sure where Jordan can take their story from here.

#wheel of time #four elements #alchemy #robert jordan #weave #separation #george ripley #twelve gates #solve et coagula

3 notes · View notes

laxmiree · 2 years

Text

MLQC Season 2 Chapter 28 - Lucien’s part Translation (Part 1)

⚠️ SPOILER ALERT ⚠️

This post contains a VERY HEAVY SPOILER for the chapter that has not been released in EN yet! Feel free to notify me if there are any mistakes in the translation~

IMPORTANT!!! to fully understand the story, prior knowledge of previous S2 chapters are needed. Before, I made a short summary that explain those chapters. I hope this can help :D

As the light at his fingertips became brighter, the pain in his back slowly intensified, but he didn’t really care.

He heard the girl sigh softly and couldn't help but laugh.

It seems a long time ago that the two were simply discussing and worrying in this way.

No NW, no Special Task Force, no CORE, just her and him.

Lucien’s previous chapter-> [Here]

[Chapter 28-1]

MC walked into Mondlicht bar to see a man standing behind the bar. MC asked him if Kiro has been preparing for today’s event for a long time. The ‘Manager’ replied that Kiro know better than anyone what he was doing.

After walking out of Mondlicht, she met the mysterious little boy. The little boy told him that people memories are began to awake, it just that some people will dismiss it as pointless dream. Only people who care about those memories that will eventually remember. The little boy gave her another hint about CORE “Maybe it’s not that you need it… but it needs you more.”.

Meanwhile, in NW office, Xiao Yue, still sus of Lucien, was asking someone to compile a record of the CORE bullet gene recognition experiment that Lucien did back in S2 ch 20.

[Chapter 28-2]

In an NW office, Xiao Yue and Lucien discuss the recent internal leak of confidential information. They planned to use Lucien as a ‘bait’ to lure the hidden ‘spy’. Lucien will act as the NW final experiment leader only in name, but he won’t participate. In exchange of Lucien’s specific list of spies, Xiao Yue will give him access to NW experiments information.

In MC’s company, MC told everyone to get off work, and cancelled Miracle Finder script that she had prepared earlier. While thinking about a new program “Rebuild Loveland City” plan, she decided to go for a walk, and find herself at Lucien Bioscience Research Centre. She entered the building and met Pete.

The research centre is exceptionally silent at night, with only a few scattered windows still illuminated.

I followed my memory up the stairs, and suddenly an extraordinarily familiar young man came into view, causing me to subconsciously blurt out.

MC: Pe-

Seeing the young man's puzzled gaze, I immediately stopped talking. In this restarted world, this seems to be the first time I have seen Pete.

(T/N: Yeah, me too MC. Too bad this is also the last time we saw him oof-)

He was no different than he remembered, and it looked like he was still doing research with Lucien.

MC: Pe.., this classmate, is Professor Lucien still here?

Pete: Sorry, I'm not really sure, I didn't see the professor today.

After politely explaining to me, Pete marched down the stairs without saying much.

Looking at his back, I climbed the stairs with a hidden sigh, and finally my feet stopped in front of a laboratory door.

I stared at the door quietly, and images from long ago passed before my eyes. I was the one who wanted to change the fate of my company, and I was the one who mistook Lucien for someone else based on his appearance.

The me who really was changed by my fate after pushing this door open, and the me who still reunited with him here after the do-over.

My heart, which was always flustered, quietly calmed down, and I gently brushed the doorway.

I always seem to unconsciously want an affirmative answer from Lucien's mouth.

I chuckled to myself at this feeling. After sighing softly, I decided not to waste time and went back to my office first to put together what I had thought of.

??: I've been waiting for you to knock on the door for a long time.

The moment I turned around, a soft laugh sounded from behind me and I froze as I turned back.

Lucien folded his arms across his chest and leaned sideways against the wall, gazing at me quietly.

[Chapter 28-3]

I looked at Lucien and froze a little, wondering if I was imagining things because I had been contemplating for too long.

Lucien took a step forward, his gaze lowered, revealing a faint tiredness, and his usually clean clothes were slightly dusty.

Thinking about the grand words I told to him last time, I suddenly felt a little nervous in front of him.

MC: Why are you… here?

Lucien: Where is this place?

MC: Lucien Bioscience Research Centre?

Lucien: Since this is the Lucien Bioscience Research Centre, why do you think I'm here?

Lucien: I should be the one that asking you, what are you doing here at this late hour?

MC: ….

I pursed my lips, feeling as if I was being a bit silly.

I quietly swept a glance at Lucien in front of me. He was wearing a white lab coat and looked no different from his usual self.

But compared to the Special Task Force and NW's Professor Lucien, the Lucien in front of me makes me a little stunned.

Lucien: If you just want to come and stare at me, maybe we can find a room to sit in first, don't you think?

Lucien's voice sounded again, and I hastily scrambled back to him, mustering my courage.

MC: Actually… I have some ideas for the new episode of Miracle Finder and would like to hear if you have any opinions… After all, you’re still my program consultant.

I said these words with some hesitation, after all this reason sounded particularly far-fetched.

Too much has happened between us, and those complex and patchy traces have long been etched.

Maybe he'll reject me, I thought.

Who knows Lucien's eyes blinked gently and the smile on his face seemed to relax a bit.

Lucien: Let's go to my office, there's a blackboard for you to use.

I handed Lucien my notebook and stood in front of the blackboard.

For a moment I seemed to go back to a long time ago, to when we were simply producer and program consultant.

Lucien: Let's get started.

He leaned back in his chair with a relaxed look, his face slightly weary as he looked back at me.

He's just my program consultant now, nothing more.

I took a deep breath and picked up the chalk.

MC: For the new show project, I want to position it in post- ‘New Year’s Eve Change Incident’.

(T/N: New Year’s Eve Change Incident is something that happened 4 years before the S2 start. Not much is known about it except the fact that it’s an incident that involved a majority of evolvers who staged a riot; that it was a cover for something ‘big’ and Gavin was working on investigating it.)

So basically, MC proposed that in her plan of ‘Rebuild Loveland City’ program, she plans to show balance between ordinary people and evolver by showing how some people behaved after New Year’s Eve Change Incident. She pointed out that even the incident caused mass panic, Loveland City eventually got into stable phase. Well, at least before hunter game happened.

Lucien pointed out two problems in her idea. First of all, compared to current chaos in Loveland city (Hunter game etc.), ‘New Year’s Eve Change Incident’ was ultimately a local event, something that’s far smaller than what’s happening right now. And two, the audience may not be able to accept the analogy because of how different it is. Which can lead to them not catching the main idea, or worse made them think they can’t do the same thing.

Lucien: MC, do you think an 'ideal city' should belong to Evolver, or to ordinary people? Or maybe both sides can coexist peacefully?

Lucien picked up two different pens and placed them on the table.

MC: …I don’t know.

I looked at the two pens in silence and felt that something that had always been in the back of my mind was beginning to become clear.

Lucien: And do you think that the vast majority of people in the Loveland City have their own answers?

He chuckled softly in the face of my silence and picked up one of the signature pens to lean it against the other.

Lucien: I think many people these days lack the ability to make independent and autonomous judgments.

Lucien: The information and words they see every day are enough for them to make judgments that they think are coming from them.

Lucien: If you want to influence a group of people and get them to accept your point of view, you have to join them first.

I froze and watched as Lucien pulled out a fountain pen and laid it across the side of his signature pens.

Lucien: Go ahead and imagine how they see it, not with the intention of 'telling' or 'educating' them. Rather, let them make 'their own choices' because of the images they see.

MC: What you mean is…

Lucien's words don't seem to be solving the issue he mentioned, but rather to work around it.

MC: The gap between the change of New Year's Eve Incident and the present situation is not important; What important is to show a more specific person.

The New Year's Eve change is ultimately just a backdrop; it's the effort people put into crossing the divide and fear that matters to the show.

Not looking down from on high, but seeing the same perspective as people.

I stared blankly at Lucien and suddenly had the feeling that he always had an unchanged expression on his face when facing me.

Answered my questions carefully, gave me space to think, and pushed me forward.

(T/N: it’s really Lucien’s style :””…)

MC: I will re-select the right subject, thank you, Lucien.

Lucien: MC, this show will definitely be deterred in no small way.

MC: I know, but I don't care.

I straightened my chest toward him and felt some of the emotions that had been obliterated by the silence slowly flowing back into my body.

Maybe I haven't found my own answer yet, but I know exactly what I should do now.

I also want to take this opportunity to try to find my answer.

MC: I will put together a formal program plan.

I took a step and looked up again at the notebook he had marked.

MC: Lucien, if this program plan goes well, can I invite you to participate in the shooting?

Maybe the atmosphere was just too nostalgic, or maybe I knew I could get some answers from being around Lucien.

He seemed stunned to hear my invitation, I don't know if he was thinking or silently declined.

MC: But if you've got a lot going on…

Lucien: I'm in.

MC: Really!

Lucien: Go for it, MC classmate.

[Chapter 28-5]

The next day MC communicated her idea to her colleagues and they all unanimously decided to start over. When she took out a script, she found a woman’s profile in a thick file. The woman’s son seems to have disappeared and she’s been looking for him. It turns out that he’s the gravity boy from S2 chapter 3.

MC first shooting place is the hospital where Evolver can get treated.

A few days later, I arrived at the entrance of a hospital with my film crew, and Lucien was already waiting there.

He was wearing a clean suit, and the dappled light fell on his eyes, making him look extraordinarily gentle and elegant.

Our first location was the hospital where Lucien and I had visited to treat Evolver.

As I walked into the hospital, I kept reviewing the shooting plan and interview script in my mind, as if it was my first time doing a show.

But I knew that this uneasiness must not be shown, otherwise it would affect my colleagues in the shooting team.

I could only try hard to swallow this anxiety until my somewhat stiff fingertips were gently held.

Lucien: Your steps are too stiff.

Lucien leaned and whispered next to my ear, I glanced at him rigidly to see a smile in his eyes.

Lucien: You have a good plan, no need to be so nervous. Just do it the way you want it to be done.

My footsteps stopped at the door of the dean's room, and with a gentle knock, the door was opened slowly.

Lucien's hand fell on my back, and with a gentle pat, instantly dispelled all the doubts and hesitations screaming in my mind.

Lucien: Go ahead.

MC interviewed the Hospital’s Director. The director told her about the origin of the hospital. It was a small clinic at first, but the news spread about a clinic that can help evolver and it grew to be what it is now.

Director: Whether it is Evolver or ordinary people, everyone will get sick. Is not that what doctors for? To treat illnesses?

MC: But I remember when many people were boycotting Evolver and even wanted to drive them out of Loveland city.

Director: It's true that the glass of our clinic has been smashed several times. But then what? We’ve done nothing wrong.

The sunlight diffused behind the old man; his of wrinkled faces filled with determination.

Director: Some people smashed our glass, but others sent us anonymous donations, in tens, in hundreds, in hundreds of thousands… Some people opposed us, and some joined us.

MC: Do you ever regret it?

Director: No. I'm glad that I made that choice in the first place.

The spring breeze was unbearably soft as Lucien and I walked quietly along the hospital paths.

The remaining camera crew followed the established plan for patient interviews and candid shots.

MC: Lucien, how do you think Director Zou turned a small clinic into a large hospital?

Lucien: Probably because he is very determined.

MC: A strong belief that all people should have the opportunity to be treated?

Lucien: It's more than that.

Lucien looked up at the patients and doctors passing through the corridors.

Lucien: What he's doing can't be done by one person. He needs to reach out to others, get people on board, and have that belief be continually expanded.

Lucien: Just like that little clinic slowly became the size it is now.

He curved the corners of his mouth and his eyes were flowing with waves of light.

Lucien: MC, who do you think was the person that first spread the word about a clinic that could treat Evolver?

I froze, the leaves rustling as a name subconsciously swept to my lips. The moment it was about to slip out, I met Lucien's unspoken gaze.

Lucien: You have to escape out of sight, or you’ll also get caught up in the mess.

(T/N: Thanks @/endless-season for helping me translate this sentence lol.)

As soon as the words left his mouth, he instantly pushed me away.

MC: What…

A short, icy arrow suddenly passed through the gap between our fingertips and nailed hard to the ground, like a warning.

Lucien: Looks like your shooting schedule was leaked.

He said that as he pulled me into a run, the cold and short arrows fell at our feet every now and then.

MC: Lucien, not in the hospital!

We looked at each other and quickly ran out of the hospital gates and escaped into the park forest across the street from the hospital.

How can someone attack in such public view?

I was a bit incredulous, but I didn't dare to stop, dodging the short arrows while thinking of countermeasures.

MC: Lucien, could it be an Evolver?

Lucien: It's not important.

His fingertips coalesced a sharp icicle, and after pausing for a moment with him gazing towards his back, he raised an icy smile.

He sent the icicle in a slanting direction, and the moment it was thrown out, Lucien's body suddenly took a step to the left, as if avoiding something.

The muffled sound of something heavy dropping on the ground is faintly heard in the distance, followed by rapid rattling footsteps fading away.

The woods regained their silence, leaving only the sound of the breeze sweeping through the fresh leaves.

I knew someone would stop the show from being filmed, but I didn't expect it to be so radical.

Lucien seemed to sense what I was thinking and brushed my hair, which was a bit messy.

Lucien: From the beginning, I warned you that this path would not be easy. Now it's just the beginning, you still have a chance to stop.

He looked calm, but with a little probing in his eyes.

MC: No, I have no reason to quit. I acknowledge that I misjudged the opposition to the program and I will be more careful next time.

Lucien's eyes were stained with a hint of a smile again, his hand reached into his pocket, and before he could speak, the phone rang suddenly.

He gave me a deep look and I immediately understood that this was probably not a call that I could hear.

At this moment, Lucien is not just a program consultant for my company.

MC: I'll go ahead and see if they're safe, and we'll meet at the hospital gate later.

Without waiting for his reply, I turned around and ran back toward the hospital.

Fortunately, no one else was attacked, and I sighed with relief.

To be on the safe side, I went to say hello to Director Zou again, telling him that he must always be careful these days.

Finally, after confirming with the teams that everything was shot, I told them to rush to the next location while I waited in front of the hospital.

There was just a late arrival of Lucien.

For some reason, my heart was particularly uneasy and I always felt that something was wrong.

As if echoing my deepest worry, my phone suddenly rang and it was Lucien.

MC: Lucien! Are you okay?!

Lucien: What can possibly happen to me anyway.

The voice on the phone carries a bit of a chuckle, as if the worry I just had was just me being silly.

Lucien: It was just a call from the Research Centre, and there was some temporary problem. So, I'm going to leave for a while.

[Chapter 28-6]

The cold and faint light illuminates the shabby bathroom, the sink is so dry that only a layer of gray water stain remains, and the light bulb flickers on and off, shining on the missing tiles.

Lucien leaned against the sink; his originally clean suit stained with blood.

Behind him is a filthy glass, reflected a faintly visible blood stains hiding a horrific wound that spread across a large portion of his back.

The girl's worried voice came to his ears, making his cold gaze soften a little.

He answered her question swimmingly, his gaze flicking aside - two small figures moving a few steps closer in the shadows.

MC: Is it a very troublesome problem?

Lucien: Still within manageable limits.

Lucien tried to control his voice, but there was some lightness coming from the soles of his feet and a stealthy rustling sound coming from where the marble met by the sink.

The figure in the shadows stretched out his hand, and the world seemed to have shed its gravity a little under the flickering points of light at his fingertips.

Lucien simply raised the corners of his mouth disdainfully, and his fingertips lit up with an extremely similar light.

MC: Lucien, I just told Director about the attack and asked him to be careful as well.

Lucien: Since you decided not to stop, you have to consider the impact on others.

The girl's voice seemed a little distressed, and even though he wasn't in front of her, he could still picture her frowning slightly.

As the light at his fingertips became brighter and brighter, the pain in his back slowly intensified, but he didn’t really care.

The person in the shadows was clearly not skilled in the use of this power, and the range of gravity he affected was sustained throughout the bathroom-

But this also affects the companion beside him, another figure raised their arm, fingers in the shape of a pistol, but hesitated to attack.

Two repulsive forces were playing at the same time, but Lucien's face was unchanged, quietly examining them.

MC: What if I get more people involved in the filming process? Like an outdoor show with more viewers.

Lucien: In the current situation, magnifying the opposition is also a way to oppose it. When things go wrong, the consequences could be worse.

He heard the girl sigh softly and couldn't help but laugh.

It seems a long time ago that the two were simply discussing and worrying in this way.

No NW, no Special Task Force, no CORE, just her and him.

This feeling unexpectedly made him a little nostalgic.

Although the two figures in the shadows were a constant reminder that now was not the time to relax, he couldn't help but feel happy.

This attitude seemed to sting them.

The moment one of them brought his fingertips down, the force that always opposed him abruptly disappeared and invisible projectiles like bullets ran towards him in the blink of an eye

Lucien's finger waved into the air, and a transparent barrier was erected, blocking the invisible shots in the distance, causing a violent muffled sound.

MC: Hmm? I think I heard something strange. Have you arrived at the Research Centre?

Lucien: Yeah, it's okay. It's just the sound of the lab equipment.

MC: Then I'll think about it, you get to work first! Don't forget to rest!

MC: I… will find ways to try not to cause trouble for others.

The girl's breathless but still firm words made him arched his eyebrows.

Lucien hung up the phone and slowly stood up.

Lucien: Since you dare to appear in front of me, you should have already made up your mind.

Lucien rubbed the wet blood on his hands, and immediately more intense shooting came at him.

While Lucien put up the barrier, the other person fiercely stretched out his hands, tightening his brow as if trying to try to converge his power in a smaller area.

Lucien felt a tremendous repulsive force from above, he subconsciously slightly bent his knee, and put one knee against the ground.

Seeing the surprise from the two of them, Lucien smiled slightly.

The next second the ice pick he condensed in his hand was abruptly thrown out, scratching the side neck of a person, leaving a faint blood mark.

The figure panicked, the power stopped abruptly, Lucien's fingertips suddenly lit up-

A huge and precise gravity comes down in a counterattack, pressing the two of them to the ground when they are caught off guard.

Lucien slowly walked over with a cold gaze and looked down to see the faces of the two people more clearly

A boy and a girl, two children, seemingly around ten years old, struggling constantly on the ground, their empty eyes filled with fear and anger.

Lucien: Are you two the spies?

The light bulb behind Lucien wavered again and there was an instant flash of weird light at the corner.

On the way to the next filming location, I kept thinking about Lucien's words.

It shouldn’t bring trouble or even danger to the subject because of the shooting.

I looked around cautiously, people were coming and going in front of me, and I felt skittish even for a moment.

Looking at the shooting plan in my hand, an idea suddenly flashed through my mind.

I immediately rushed to the planned shooting location, took a camera from the cameraman and turned around to inform the filming team.

MC: Three teams will now go to the three locations for tomorrow's shoot. No need to pick up the details, take the minor parts first.

Now that MC shooting schedule has been leaked, MC was running a race against the people who want to stop her. She rescheduled everything, so that the filming can be done before those people find out about it. It was a tiring day for her.

The stars had hung in the sky at some point, and I was walking down the street with my camera.

The phone rang, and when I saw the word "Lucien", I picked it up excitedly.

Lucien: Did the shoot go well?

MC: Lucien, I adjusted my shooting schedule to shoot the later interviewee first, and it went well!

The soft laughter of approval came from my ears and made me feel like I had made a smart decision.

MC: I met so many people, heard so many stories, and captured so many images.

Lucien: And do you like the ‘Loveland city’ in their eyes?

I lifted my head to the sky, and a faint flash of a shooting star cut through the starry night, giving me immense peace of mind.

MC: I like it very much.

The world became silent for a while, as if something was quietly sprouting.

(T/N: SOBBING)

MC: I'm trying to get a head start on putting together today's material, so maybe it will help with tomorrow's shoot!

Lucien: I'm also going to sort out some data. Although at home, I think tonight will be a fulfilling night for both of us.

It was late at night when I returned to the office, but I didn't feel the least bit tired and concentrated on selecting all the shots.

When I returned to my senses, it was already morning.

After a big yawn and a stretch, I casually picked up my phone and decided to go downstairs for a walk.

Who knows, as soon as I came out of the gate, blinding flashing lights came into my eyes, and several strangers kept shooting at me, and I froze in place for a while.

Young man: This is the collaborator of Professor Lucien who was attacked by Evolver last night.

Young man: I heard that the show is being filmed to rebuild Loveland city, let's hear what she has to say.

Lucien was attacked by Evolver?

Next Part-> [Here]

#'just her and him' :"#mlqc lucien #mr love queen's choice #mlqc translation #mlqc spoiler #mlqc cn #mlqc #mr love lucien #mr. love queen's choice

13 notes · View notes

monarch-sparrowhawk · 2 years

Text

Sam Alexander - Legacy Characters and Their Development

Been wanting to do a mini-essay about my thoughts on Sam Alexander Nova for a long time, so here we go. Put it under the cut so as not to clog up the tag feed. Warning there will be lots of tangents as I am ADHD and cannot help it.

Alrighty, so as we know Sam is a relatively newer character in terms of comic books. His first debut was in Marvel Point One #1 in the Avengers vs X-Men crossover. This was back in November 2011. This would make him around 11 years old. In this short span of time(because yeah, compared to other characters Sam is still pretty young) he has had three volumes( Nova Vol 5-7), been apart of at least three team books (New Warriors 2014, All New All Different Avengers, and most recently Champions), and has had a variety of cameos and one-offs and specials, and that's not even getting into the animated stuff he's been in. While his appearances have thinned out over the years, we still see him pop in things every now and then despite not being very popular at all(this is unfortunate, but he's still my favorite at least). A good question to explore, perhaps, why is this character still keeping up appearances? Why is he being kept around?

The answer I believe lies with his creator, Jeph Loeb. He is one of the original writers for Sam, basing him off of his own son he lost to cancer back in 2006.

*moment of respectful silence*

After that, it was probably not much more than 1 or 2 years after that that Jeph was pulled into the creation of the Ultimate Spiderman Tv show. It was originally announced in 2010, which means it was definitely worked on before then, and then debuted in 2012. Jeph was one of the main creators, and he decided to pull together some admittedly underrated and kind of unknown characters for the show. But when it came to Nova, he decided to start completely from scratch. Instead of going with the original, Richard Rider, he went with his own creation, Sam. This could have been for a variety of reasons such as: Richard Rider being too similar to Peter Parker(just take a look at his origin issue and you'll see what I mean), he was just killed off in the comic books which would lead to a natural opening for a new character, etc.

These are all substantial factors to take into consideration, but combined I think Jeph saw the opportunity to honor his late son. Legacy characters happen quite frequently in comic books(pretty much the entirety of Young Avengers for example), but Sam Alexander definitely feels a bit more... personal. He not only represents a connection to another beloved comic book character, but to a real person as well. Even though Loeb didn't stay on as a writer for Sam very long, you can see in his beginning issues where he added the info about the conception of Sam as a character that this was very important to him. And Sam being important to Loeb I think is what initially drew some people in, because the kind of dedication and love that goes into a character like that doesn't go unnoticed.

So people gave Sam a shot(ignoring the anal Rich Rider fans that cropped up in the beginning, FYI you can't be a fan of Rich if you hate Sam, thems the rules) and so it went. I remember reading all the issues of Volume 5-7 as they were coming out, and when Gerry Duggan took over for quite a large portion of the original run it was magnificent. He gave Sam interesting storylines, endearing character development, and overall I think did a superb job handling the character. His writing of Sam is most definitely what made me grow fond of the character, I don't know if I would have become a fan otherwise. Unfortunately the whole Marvel Comic Universe was being rebooted so they had to wrap things up quickly with a cap at 31 issues, but he ended Volume 5 on a good note with Sam reuniting with his dad.

Then enters my least favorite volume, Volume 6. If you thought the white-washing with Sam in Volume 5 was bad, it got so much worse. Not to mention the complete 180 in personality. In the beginning(Vol 5), Sam was an asshole. There's no sugarcoating that part about his character. But I liked that. Because when you start out a character like that, the room for development is immense. And honestly, I love watching characters grow. I love watching Sam grow. Volume 6 felt like a slap in the face because I wasn't reading about Sam. I was reading the generic teenage superhero Peter Parker clone. Sam went from being impulsive and reckless to boring and dull. Not to mention the whole 'evil clone' cliche with his dad made the ending of the previous volume feel so hollow and cheap. His original supporting cast was gone(and my ship was exiled from canon, so long Carrie), and the hinted at storyline of Sam possibly being half-alien was long since buried under the rug. It was not enjoyable for me to read at all.

Moving on before I seethe in rage, let's talk a bit about Volume 7. Never have I felt more robbed that a series was canceled too early. We had some major wins. Beautiful artwork(big points for not white-washing Sam), the dynamic between Sam and Rich(they're like squabbling siblings, I love it), and the writing was heading in a promising direction. My only complaint is Carrie and Principal Philbin not returning, along with Sam being in the chess club. Sam becoming a proficient chess player is so important to me, you have no idea. The comedy potential is golden. Imagine him beating Amadeus Cho in a game. That nerd would die from the shock. Anyways, I did like Sam's personality in this. I felt like he had developed into a jerk with a heart of gold. The jerk part is more toned down from Volume 5, and he isn't the goody two shoes he was in Volume 6, we reached a good mixture. Because that is what Sam is. He's a kid with a good heart, he just doesn't always go the best way about it. Which is understandable, given that most teenagers are not very mature in the slightest. This series would have been good development for him, and I'm forever heartbroken that I will never see where it would have gone.

But circling back around to the question, even though his character isn't that popular, the right people care about him and that's what keeps him relatively in the loop. And perhaps when he gets adapted to the MCU we will see a surge in popularity, but hopefully not at the expense of destroying what was so special about Sam in the first place. Let's hope that Feige and them don't forget what Sam was originally meant to be:

A grieving father holding onto his son in the most loving and familiar way he knew how.

By doing so will keep him in some ways alive forever. It's beautiful. To any and all future MCU adaptations, please keep this in mind when it comes to Sam. Sam's a character created from grief and love, and should not be taken lightly. If you managed to read all of this, I would love to have an open discussion about Sam and the Nova comics. It's been a bit quiet around here.

#sam alexander #nova #nova comics #essay post #character analysis

18 notes · View notes