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oldshrewsburyian · 3 years

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I have too many feelings about an action movie (an essay by me)

Alternate title of this essay: oh, I really am a sucker for a found family trope.

Alternate alternate title of this essay: all I wanted was a Friday night in front of a semi-mindless movie featuring attractive people and lots of explosions and now I’m emotionally attached.

So, uh, if you want to read my emotional and somewhat spoiler-y overthinking about War (2019), read on. And if you, too, like movies that don’t think too much about physics but extol those who are more or less pure of heart and unerringly true of steel (or Walther PPK, or whatever top secret spies are using these days) I’d recommend it as an evening’s entertainment. This movie is a whole bunch of tropes in a trench coat, and I became very invested in it.

I’m partly annoyed about this, because I said to myself “Do I want to watch a movie that has a poster featuring men, guns, and cars? Probably not, even if the synopsis does feature interesting Conflicts of Loyalty.” And then its big dance number kept cropping up in the workout videos I’m doing and, well, here I am, trying not to write fic about it.

The thing is... this movie just leans into the ridiculousness of, say, Brosnan-era Bond, coupled with the underlying seriousness of purpose of Connery-era Bond (minus the imperialism, obviously.) There’s some wuxia influence as well; this happens:

And I’m into it! I can see the tropes coming, and this does not detract from my enjoyment. The Big Bad Guys are going to detonate a rocket, rendering an entire subcontinent vulnerable to terrorists and neo-imperial incursions? I respond to the dramatic close-ups of the launch preparations with an ohoho, knowing that our hero is going to make a dramatic entrance (this expectation is not disappointed.)

Part of my irrational and defensive affection for this movie comes from the fact that it has a) interesting flashbacks and narrative subversions that keep viewers alert for multiple possible interpretations of events, as in, say, The Russia House b) an international contractor of dodgy deals whose surname is... Contractor. It seems to perceive no internal contradiction in these things. I respect its endearing self-confidence. Also it has motorcycle chases through a number of the most picturesque streets of Lisbon, and who doesn’t like motorcycle chases through the most picturesque streets of Lisbon? Malta, Morocco, and the waterways of Kerala are also included among our dramatic backdrops, along with the forests and ice sheets of the actual Arctic Circle, because why not?

But. But. Most of my feelings are anchored to the characters and how they are charmingly individualized versions of their tropes, and how this movie overstuffed with explosions and shootouts hints at, actually, quite nuanced backstory for them all?

There’s the kindly-mannered colonel who is very sober and serious in his desk job, but is not positioned as a joyless rule-follower. Nope, he’s just a man who cares about the agents under his supervision! and also listens to them and respects their judgment! but he might be a traitor to the government! Angst!

The Team-as-Family: there’s the dark horse observer who gets everybody drinks; there’s the pair with fraternal energy who get into dance-offs and joke about which celebrities they want to date. There is, to my delight, the woman of the team™, who is also their computer genius. She’s good with a gun, even better with laptops, and quite competent in recognizing poisons. And yes, she needs all these skills. The team members lead stressful lives. But anyway: she is doe-eyed and steely and loyal and I love her very much. She gets married to a man who is never previously mentioned, and I really want to know their dating story. She seems radiantly happy, so good for her. (Her teammates show up late because of near-death experiences and her boss makes a “you’re a great human and you look amazing” gesture at her. I said “aww” out loud.)

The Deuteragonist: he’s devout, he loves his mom, and he happens to be extremely good at Beating People Up. He also has an absolutely overwhelming case of hero-worship when it comes to the protagonist... who killed his father. It’s complicated. And whether it was reading The Three Musketeers at an impressionable age or something else, I do love a complicated hero-worship relationship.

The Love Interest: look, as a feminist consumer of action movies, my expectations are subterranean. But while her role in the film is basically to be a civilian asset and perform an extremely catchy dance number, she is also a firmly assertive person! She has rejected the expectations of her patriarchal family in order to undertake an unconventional career! She has chosen to raise her daughter as a single mom! She has friends! She hustles, and sets boundaries with creepy businessmen, and also sets boundaries with our hero. Whom she also tells off. And, surprisingly, he lets her?? My usual experience with action films has women apologizing for telling the protagonists off, or at least relenting into a melting embrace after he expresses contrition, if not amendment of life. But here, she just... yells at him, and he does not even open his mouth to defend himself. He also lets her make an autonomous decision which could scupper his international mission (effectively proving that she has become far more than a civilian asset and that he is an emotional disaster, but more on that later.) And she does, while telling him to examine his life and his choices! The hero, who is very bad at doing things like having normal conversations, transparently adores her.

The Protagonist: look, this whole entire man is a disaster. At least James Bond is self-aware and pretends to have a life! This guy lets his team decompress by drinking beers around a campfire, while nursing his broken bones in front of a spreadsheet on one monitor and a radar display on the other. At one point The Love Interest tells him that she doesn’t trust him because he thinks and behaves like a martyr, and... she’s right and she should say it! Another protagonist might have a tragic backstory™, but this man just appears fully formed with an overwhelming sense of responsibility and absolutely no sense of how to build a life for himself. And he’s middle-aged! You can see the moment in the final showdown where he realizes that he’s not going to win this by being stronger or faster than his younger opponent; that he’ll always be just a little too late to block the blow, or see it before it happens. So he moves to outsmart his opponent instead (while also refusing to accept an advantage of being armed while his opponent isn’t. In possibly-related news, he’s very concussed. Did I mention that this man is a disaster?) Also, he just... unofficially adopts his Love Interest’s kid. I spent a good five minutes being incredulous that, while hunted by his own government and its opponents simultaneously, he would take time out to mentor, entertain, and treat a small girl. I’m now trying to imagine the conversation that he had with the nuns of her conventual boarding school. This conversation apparently convinced them that a sun- and windburned man with visible scars and panther-like alertness was a trustworthy friend of the family. Anyway, I support Disaster Man and his intersecting forcibly-adopted found families very much.

#found family ftw #war (2019)#i just want escapist action fantasy in these trying times #is a tag that i have #bollywood #there's a point where the grim and greying special ops expert #with bullet scars and the fatalism of a martyr #shows up at a kids' soccer game with water and snacks as well as quasi-paternal advice???#it's the water and snacks that really get me #that is a man who thinks ahead and wants the people in his life to be well-hydrated #sense of self-preservation: zero #caretaking instincts: off the charts

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headspacedad · 4 years

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Hear me out: Shiro is basically the John Wick of the Voltron universe. He's the Champion, an undefeated gladiator and basically became the boogie man of the Galra ever since his escape. Haggar aside, its why they were so keen to get him back into custody. This 'weak' little primitive was just THAT terrifying! There's even horror stories passed around by Galra commanders and they had to be watered down because the truth would so thoroughly demoralize the troops.

I read a comment somewhere recently that Shiro was basically in an entirely different show from everyone else on VLD and in a way I kinda agree. Which isn’t saying he didn’t belong or fit into VLD and its universe and its team. But rather that there was So Much going on with his character that was much more Adult than what was going on with almost everyone else. (before I get jumped, yes, other character’s dealt with ‘adult’ themes and some of them were obviously more ‘adult’ with their arcs/issues than others (no matter what the EPs belatedly put in about her supposed age range). But Shiro’s whole story was just so much darker and more involved than most, perhaps especially the parts of his story we didn’t get to see but just heard about via other characters or brief flashbacks. Frankly from his Garrison days onward, from whatever sparked his need to mentor younger kids to his dreams after the Calypso that drove him onward to what made him not just the best pilot in the Garrison, ‘legendary’ in fact, but even saw him wearing what looks like some kind of award pin on his uniform. So much of Shiro’s backstory hints at a much more mature underlying story, and the fact that we only get bits of it from others comments and never actual visuals of any of it doesn’t do anything to detract from that feeling.

When you look at it, here Shiro was, some nobody race from a backwater planet at the edge of the universe, smaller than just about every other alien, no claws, no fangs, no outer protective shell, not even any extra arms or legs. Who not only holds his own in what we see is a brutal and unfair spectacle sport to the death for over a year but also ‘gives others hope’ and is seen as someone to be trusted without question or hesitation from his fellow prisoners even after he’s disappeared for an unknown amount of time only to show back up in entirely different gear (like its possible they recognized him from his voice alone considering he was wearing his helmet the entire time). Haggar talks about him as if he was a special interest/project of hers that she put some serious time/effort into (and apparently made literal hundreds of clones of).

And we never get any backstory or even explanation for any of it beyond a few early flashbacks and comments by other side characters.

Which brings me to your point that Shiro must have been absolutely shit inducing terrifying to a specific group of aliens and utter inspiration and reassurance to another. All at the same time. We see how racist some of the Galra military are when it comes to Lotor. And before Lotor there was this tiny nobody alien that held his own for over a year against whatever it was they threw at him. Shiro was literally the dark horse and that had to piss off and terrify a certain section of the Galra population (and some of their allies) to no end. Because you don’t inspire hope in the downtrodden unless they’re watching you stick it to the oppressor on a regular enough basis that its obviously a habit they can count on. And the downtrodden don’t trust you and your orders without hesitation unless you’ve proved in the past that you’ll do what’s best for them no matter what the cost. And to me that’s a huge part of what makes Shiro such a wonderful character - that he’s a nightmare and goes for the throat shot in his fights without hesitation - and yet he’s very obviously also such a caring and caretaking character when it comes to those he sees need it.

And all of his story is told in the dark so that we only get hints of it as canon.

Fuck a VLD remake. I just want The Adventure of Shiro (and the Shiros (and Sven and that Slav can make regular guest appearances). There was a whole story going on behind the scenes of VLD when it came to Shiro. I’d like to see that story instead please (told by better writers).

#vld #voltron #shiro #takashi shirogane #all shiros are good shiros #eight salt #i guess #I'm still bitter that the writers threw away so much potential #just because the EPs had a petty grudge hate0n for the character #Anonymous

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undertaker1827 · 4 years

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Hello! I hope you're doing well ✨ I was wondering if you have any Othello headcanons? Could be fluff, or basically anything. He's my second fave. shinigami (first is Grelle 🥺) and I just like reading other people's thoughts or headcanons for him ❤️ thank u

Greetings! I am well thank you and hope you are too! Of course you can (I love Othello and Grell, they’re both so awesome) and sorry this took so long!

Masterlist

I see Othello as quite a confident person

He may not seem it at first glance, especially when in comparison to personalities like Grell and Undertaker, but I think he’s quietly confident in his own way

That said, completely different story when it involves his S/O

I suspect he gets all blushy and a bit nervous the first time he asks them out on a date (assuming they didn’t get in there first)

Probably quite a bit of hesitation and should I hold their hand? I mean, I want to, but would they mind? Should I ask or would that ruin the atmosphere?

To be honest, you’ll probably end up making the fist move in that sense

Once he realises its okay with you though, all that nervousness is going to go out the window

He’ll walk you back to your place, likely give you a goodbye kiss on the cheek

He’ll get more comfortable with you the longer you two go out together

More little touches just to keep a bit of contact, more hugs

He probably kissed you first as well

Othello is definitely introverted, but not to the point of trying to avoid company or being nervous around others

I’d probably call him a charismatic, confident introvert

He’s obviously very clever - I wouldn’t be surprised if he came up with some of the forensics techniques used by Dispatch, purely because he went to use the original methods then thought ‘there’s a better way of doing this’

He has a real passion for science, beyond just work

He’s probably the person who sits in the canteen purely to tell other people about new discoveries he’s made (other people being Grell, albeit begrudgingly and because wherever she goes, Othello manages to be there)

That’s only when he has time to, though

Most of the time, he stays in the lab to carry on working

I have a headcanon that all the reapers are literally surviving on coffee and he is no exception

He’s always so energetic, so I kind of picture him as the kid who sits in the back of the class drinking a flask of black coffee mixed with some sort of energy drink

Sleep schedule? What’s that? For that matter, what’s sleep in general?

Likely dozes off at his desk more than he ever actually goes to bed

Even when he’s at home, I think he falls asleep in his armchair/on the sofa more often than anything else

Night owl and early bird all in one sleep deprived, caffeine fuelled package

His house is probably an extension of his lab though

Like, home experiments, making stuff that explodes out of whatever happens to be lurking in his cupboards

Research everywhere

Papers piled on the coffee table, important things to remember pinned to the walls, kitchen counters covered in stuff

Generally very cluttered and untidy, I suspect

Food-wise, I think Othello is either the sort of person who eats like one sandwich at lunch and that’s it, OR he looks like the kind of person who only eats one sandwich at lunch but he actually eats everything all the time

In all honesty, he’s probably the second one

I see him as someone who snacks constantly as well, rather than eating many full/balanced meals

I mean he’s a reaper, he can absolutely get away with doing that and nobody is going to stop him (his own body included)

Othello finds the human world interesting, certainly, but probably more in the ‘ultimate science experiment’ kind of way

Humans are very interesting to him, certainly not something to be frowned upon, but again likely because he’s very curious about them

Really, the thing that would make him very happy is to just corner a human of any variety and full out grill them on the human world and their life in it

He wants to know everything. Literally everything

That said, he would also be open to having a human S/O

I mean it’s probably illegal (according to Dispatch) but as long as he’s careful and quiet about it, then what does it matter?

It’s certainly not going to detract from his work or work ethic

In fact, his S/O would be really helpful in him understanding their world better

He doesn’t get down there very often (though he makes far more effort to see his S/O) so he doesn’t get to carry out field research very often

With a human S/O, he has his very own personal tour guide

It’s great!!

And if the S/O other also enjoys science or is a scientist themselves, this dude is absolutely smitten

AND THEN if they willingly help him carry out research/provide him with information, he is going to be in love foreverrr

Othello might not be as bold and ‘out there’ as some of the reapers, but he is still involved in the social aspect (such as it is) of working at Dispatch

He rocked up to the Christmas party wearing the most hideous jumper he could find - a reindeer with a flashing nose - and antlers with tinsel wrapper around them on his head

Grell, dressed only in her finest, was utterly appalled by the display, which really only made it funnier for Othello

He does wear more normal things if he’s going out for after-work drinks though

A lot of the forensics division go out together on a fairly regular basis (for how irregular their schedules are), with the occasional reaper from admin, assuming they’re incredibly bored and don’t mind everyone talking science for the whole evening

As a kind of overall picture, I see Othello as the incredibly smart professor with multiple PhD’s who rocks up to lectures with steaming instant noodles in hand wearing something incredibly scruffy and who only tells his students his first name

#black butler othello x reader #othello x reader #othello #black butler othello #black butler #kuroshitsuji #black butler x reader #kuroshitsuji x reader #kuroshitsuji othello #kuroshitsuji othello x reader #headcanon #othello headcanon #black butler reader inserts #kind of #black butler reapers

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alizrak · 4 years

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Chaos Rising Review (Spoilers under the cut)

Non-spoiler review:

Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy (Book I: Chaos Rising) is a fascinating new book by Timothy Zahn that takes us on a journey between the “present” and flashbacks, looking at Thrawn’s early days starting with the Academy. It’s an examination of how these experiences slowly serve to build him up as the character we have come to know in the newer “Imperial Trilogy”, as seen in Thrawn 2017, Thrawn: Alliances, and Thrawn: Treason.

“The peace of the Ascendancy, a beacon of calm and stability, is shattered after a daring attack on the Chiss capital that leaves no trace of the enemy. Baffled, the Ascendancy dispatches one of its brightest young military officers to root out the unseen assailants. A recruit born of no title, but adopted into the powerful family of the Mitth and given the name Thrawn.

With the might of the Expansionary Fleet at his back, and the aid of his comrade Admiral Ar'alani, answers begin to fall into place. But as Thrawn's first command probes deeper into the vast stretch of space his people call the Chaos, he realizes that the mission he has been given is not what it seems. And the threat to the Ascendancy is only just beginning.”

For me, this book has become a personal favorite on par with Thrawn (2017), and it does so by bringing an amazing cast of characters to life in the galaxy far, far away. Learning about them and how they interact with Thrawn and each other is the book’s greatest strength.

The way the Chiss culture is explored here feels fresh and gives the Ascendancy a life of its own. There is a tug of war going on between the military and the civilian side of their society, something I was looking for beyond the conflict of the Empire and the Rebels/Republic. This also means the Ascendancy has a “complicated” relationship with Thrawn that adds to what we already know is his weakness… politics.

For newcomers, this is a great starting point. You’ll get to the core of who Thrawn is and why he behaves the way he does during the “Imperial Trilogy”. There’s still a very marked difference between this Thrawn and the Rebels version, which makes me appreciate the books even more. You’ll root for these characters and wish things turn out well for them because we know that getting swept up in Thrawn’s plans can be a very dangerous proposition.

Thrawn’s genius still shines through during the battles and while we know he survives these encounters, there are consequences and repercussions for each of his victories and for the people around him. In any case, while you can obviously expect math and physics to play a big part during the battles, this might be the story with the most HEART of all the Thrawn books. There are moments of joy, sadness, fear, confusion, and a fair amount of HOPE, things we don’t always get from a Thrawn-centric story. It affected me deeply and I read it again as soon as I finished. Hopefully, you’ll feel the same way.

I'm so grateful to Zahn for writing this story and I can’t wait to see where it goes in books two and three. I highly recommend this book!

9/10

SPOILER REVIEW:

From the very beginning, I was swept up in the emotions of the story, something I was not expecting. The memories of young Thrawn getting thrown into the politics of the Mitth and the struggles of being a Navigator from Thalias surprised me by how much my heart hurt for them. And yet, there’s always a hint of hope and that reminder that someone in the universe does care, bringing a smile to my face.

Seeing a socially awkward Thrawn fumble his way through, even with his fellow Chiss, and trying to find his place in the world is a real treat. As someone who constantly checks herself about not rambling on about my interests, because I fear I’ll upset people or they’ll think I’m weird, it made me really identify with this younger version.

For the characters, the one I loved maybe the most was Che'ri, the nine year old navigator assigned to the Springhawk, providing us the point of view of a sky-walker. It can be difficult to read sometimes, how these children are experiencing their situation and the people around them in a very distinct way. I really felt her anxiety, her loneliness, her fear, and her hope. Zahn did a wonderful job with her and those with “Third Sight” Force abilities.

And speaking of Che’ri, we learn that she was the pilot who was with Thrawn during his adventure with Anakin Skywalker in Alliances! Experiencing that first encounter with the future Darth Vader, from Thrawn's and Che'ri's POV, was perfect and very sweet. I’m so glad that we get confirmation that Thrawn is actually very understanding and patient when it comes to kids. Indeed, he looks for ways to encourage them, to become the best version of themselves, as he’s helping anyone willing to learn.

The other equally important character is former sky-walker and Che’ri’s caregiver, Thalias. I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical of Thalias at first when she’s introduced to us as an adult. I loved her first encounter with Thrawn as a child inone of the “memories” chapters, but I worried for her grown-up version. I was starting to fear Zahn was setting her up just to be a romantic interest for Thrawn, and while it didn’t happen in this book, I still see the potential for that later on, especially when her goal becomes supporting Thrawn. And while it was a rocky start for me, I did come to like and appreciate her, giving us perhaps the most “humane” face of the Chiss so far. She became a favorite for me.

There was a bit about gender roles being a little too on the nose for me. It wasn't so much that it detracted from the story, but it was noticeable enough to make me raise an eyebrow once or twice. In any case, it was amazing to see how Thrawn is surrounded by capable women. The Empire Trilogy was a bit lacking with this, only having a few important females actually engaged with the main plot (Pryce, Faro, etc), but Chaos Rising was seriously an improvement.

And for people waiting for Thrass or Formbi, we don't exactly get to see them. There's one single mention confirming Thrass died but no other comment about him being Thrawn's brother or what transpired in the Vagaari incident. Instead, Thrawn mentions he believes he had a navigator older sister when he was very young and she was taken away. My mind was blown. No name was given, but I'm sure she will come up in some of the next books.

There is a callback to Outbound Flight, specifically Thrass and Thrawn’s iconic exchange about his wish to help people outside the Ascendancy. This time, Ar’alani is the one explaining they can’t do that, but she promises to support him if he gets high enough as an Aristrocra to change their policies from the inside. I think in general this sets an amazing precedent. You know me. I can't help but think about how this could influence future stories with Ezra and Thrawn. To see Thrawn's accomplishments and need to help others, even if he's forbidden to do so as well as how he risked his career again and again, going out of his way to stop these attacks, made me hopeful. I feel it resonates with what Ezra went through and reinforces in me the idea that the middle way he's looking for is them working together.

Going back to the book, while I felt the main villain (Yiv, the Merciful) was quite scary... there was something missing to make him truly memorable to me. I still can't place my finger on it. I'll need to read the book again to make a better judgement about him. In this case, I was not reading the book because Yiv felt compelling, but more about how Thrawn and company were reacting to him. And speaking of villains, the book ends with the reveal of a new enemy... but just like with Yiv, I felt disconnected from him. We only got a few lines from that one, so I can't tell for sure what to expect from him, but it seems like another guy in a long list of warlords that Thrawn will defeat. Which makes me wonder if we will get any female rivals in the following book.

In general, I loved the book. I loved the characters. I loved their struggles and how they get to solve these problems. Thrawn always has a card up his sleeve, but there will surely be repercussions for what he did at the end. We know not everyone is happy with him… but I can’t wait to find out what else he will do. In a way, this book would work as a stand-alone story if it wasn’t for that reveal at the end, so I believe anyone could grab it and have a great time.

#chaos rising #thrawn ascendancy #star wars #thrawn #review #spoilers #spoiler #chaos rising spoiler #thrawn ascendancy spoiler

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gascon-en-exil · 4 years

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what are the best dating sims

My sample size for dating sims - and here I mean only gay dating sims, of course, only comes up to around four depending on how you count, as well as one I haven’t played but know enough about through fandom osmosis to not think very highly of it. I’m probably not therefore the most reliable source for recommendations. Even so:

Coming out on Top: Overall the strongest entry on this list, with the most content (porn and otherwise), entertaining writing, and a clean if not always incredibly inspired art style. No voice acting, but as indicated below that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I could probably do a long multi-part review of CooT at some point if I ever picked up the game again, because there’s a lot going on here.

Chess of Blades: Did a two-part review on it here and here. Basically it’s the one most similar to Fire Emblem which obviously appeals to me, as well as being the one with the least amount of actual gameplay and as such more like a visual novel with variable outcomes. The writing is pretty good, the soundtrack is excellent, the visuals and voice acting have their ups and downs, and all in all it was a worthwhile experience despite not being quite as polished as CooT or as substantial in terms of content. I’ve since also looked into developer Argent Games’s other projects a little more; Your Dry Delight is quick and non-explicit but fine enough for a free game, but I never got into their darker games (like the latest one involving vampires) as the aesthetic puts me off too much.

To Trust an Incubus: Played it despite my general disinterest in sci-fi. Visuals and voice acting are on about the same inconsistent level as CoB (fun fact: the VAs for one of the love interests also voices Revali in Breath of the Wild), but there are far more endings including a staggering variety of bad endings as well as several poly configurations. It’s all a bit too unintuitive how to get all of them without paying extra for the guide though, and even though of all the games on this list this one has the most ethically dubious premise (half-naked aliens seduce horny main character with pheromones/mind control, porn ensues) it’s also oddly preachy about its sketchier elements to the point that it can detract from the fantasy sometimes. No one plays an erotic visual novel for extended lectures on consent, the dodgy nature of office romances, etc.

Dream Daddy: The one I haven’t actually played, but everyone was talking about it back when it came out and I rolled my eyes over the very idea. Everything I’ve seen of it looks fun enough for a light-hearted (but not explicit, what the hell?) gay dating sim, but it willfully misunderstands the concept of a gay daddy to instead make a ceaseless number of dad jokes and place the player character - the “dadsona,” how obnoxious - in the weirdly specific situation of being a literal father looking to date other literal fathers. Oh, and the kids are important characters to varying extents, because that’s not weird. This seems like exactly the sort of cloyingly tame concept a group of straight male developers would come up with...which was apparently the case. At least there’s trans (male) rep, if that matters to you.

#Coming out on Top #Chess of Blades #To Trust an Incubus #Dream Daddy

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makeste · 4 years

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I just took that Bakugou introspection as Horikoshi's way of telling the audience that yes Bakugou can keep up with OP Deku because there has been so much muttering across the fanbase that Bakugou won't be able to. I don't see the melodrama of Bakugou only seeing his strength as a means to keep up with Deku or that his pride is problematic. I think him having an idea for his hero names means he knows what his strength is for. He's always been strong as a person (when Deku was not) (pt1)

Losing his quirk doesn't need to be the gateway to force him to develop the kindness and consideration he's already been showing, nor would it be karmatic balance between him and Deku- especially when any scenario that takes his quirk benches him from the story or cheapens the stakes by him getting it back relatively fast. Deku's 15 years of quirklessness can't be balanced. Additionally, Bakugou only lost in the story when he was too close minded to learn, once open minded he started to (pt2)

grow. It doesn't send out a good message, if after all that growth he still gets punished. His declaration of spirit to not lose, be it to Shigaraki or Deku is not a bad thing, he is the underdog with an indominable will and he is declaring his spirit as the symbol of victory. Bakugou may lose his quirk, I don't know, but your reasons I disagree with because we interpret those panels differently. They give the audience a point of reference to guage Bakugou's ability.

you make some excellent points, anon! and you see, it’s strange, because up until this chapter and his monologue, I was in full agreement with most of what you’re saying -- that he’s already figured out all of that hero biz, that he’s already in the process of sorting his shit out on his own, and that Horikoshi is simply waiting for the right moment to finally show it.

but after reading his internal dialogue in this chapter, I’m just not so sure anymore.

in the past I’ve done a lot of guesswork on Kacchan’s thought processes based on his subtle little actions and microexpressions, and on what we’ve already been told about his character thus far. I call it “guesswork”, though, because it very much is that, because we so rarely get an actual glimpse into his head to see what he is really thinking. so when Horikoshi actually does give us one of those rare glimpses, I’m inclined to pay very close attention, and prepared to make any necessary adjustments to my current understanding of his character if need be. he is very, very complicated, and despite my spending an absurd percentage of my free time analyzing him up and down and front to back, that absolutely doesn’t mean that any of those analyses are actually right, lols. I’m constantly updating my internal databank of Kacchan knowledge both from interactions with the rest of the fandom, and -- when Horikoshi actually deigns to give us some new information -- from the canon itself.

anyway! so when I read this chapter and saw Kacchan yet again comparing his progress to Deku’s in his head, and thinking -- even now, even in the moments right before an intense battle!! -- only about his rivalry and about keeping up, that immediately set me to updating my mental bakuwiki in regards to his current character growth status. so he definitely has his hero name picked out already, we know that much. and so presumably has thus already figured out what kind of hero he wants to be. right? right.

and yet he still apparently has not revealed the new name to anyone. even after three months. like yeah, we get it, you made a promise to tell Jeanist first, etc. fair enough, but still! it’s an interesting bit of hesitation to take note of. and then there’s also the matter of Horikoshi’s interview from back in December (which I’ll link in a comment once this is posted), where he talked a lot about Bakugou and made a point of saying that his character growth wasn’t done yet, and that he still needs to apologize to Deku. which is as good a confirmation as any that such an apology is indeed forthcoming.

so why, then, does it seem like we’re still no closer to that moment, even after Kacchan seemingly had a mysterious epiphany at the end of the internship arc, and even after we subsequently went through a three month time jump? Kacchan isn’t one to be slow about it when he decides to make progress. his growth in all other aspects has come by leaps and bounds. and yet when it comes to his relationship with Deku -- his friendship with Deku, except that he still can’t bring himself to acknowledge that’s what it is, and insists on thinking of it as only a rivalry -- it seems like he reached a certain point, and then just... stalled. like he’s not willing to go any further past this. and there are many reasons for why that may be the case. but at the root of all of them is pride.

and I’m not saying he needs to give up that pride, because that’s a huge and very important part of who he is. you said his declaration of spirit not to lose isn’t a bad thing, and I agree. but that doesn’t always make it a good thing either, and I don’t want to get so swept up in my love of the character that I start refusing to acknowledge the downsides of that trademark pride as well. pride, like anything else, is nuanced. it can be both good and bad. it’s good when it motivates you and pushes you to do your best and to achieve your goals. but it’s bad when it makes you inflexible, and when it prevents you from taking actions which would benefit you and others, just because doing so would mean humbling yourself in a way that is scary and which feels like it runs counter to your ultimate goals. because you want to be someone who always wins. and so any time you do experience a loss, you go through an entire mini-crisis, because it feels like your very purpose in life is being threatened.

I don’t know if “problematic” is the word I would use for this aspect of him. I feel like that word is fairly overused, especially in fandom, and now has certain connotations of “this is objectively bad behavior which should be called out and shunned.” and I don’t think that’s the case at all when it comes to Kacchan’s pride. he’s already learned how to put it aside in order to work with others and save others. and that’s great! he already is a great hero by this point, imo. if Horikoshi decided to just end his character arc here and not take it any further, I would actually be just fine with that.

but I think that there is still the potential for more. I think that we are still not done here yet. because this manga consistently surprises and amazes me with the way it goes the extra mile when it comes to character development. Kacchan and Deku didn’t have to reconcile their differences and learn to respect one another after only 120 chapters (I say “only” in a very sincere and not sarcastic sense here, because that really is an insanely short timeframe compared to most other manga). but they did. Endeavor didn’t have to see the error of his ways and decide that he wanted to become a better person, and he definitely didn’t have to be shown apologizing and admitting his wrongdoings and even going so far as to back out of his family’s lives for their sakes and even build them a house so they could move on apart from him. but he did! and that’s insane, you guys. name me another series that goes that hard in trying to redeem a guy whom virtually every single member of this fandom would have once described as ultimately devoid of any redeeming qualities. I can’t think of any.

but BnHA is just like that. it goes hard. it doesn’t back off. nothing about its character arcs is remotely half-assed. and so if a character is showing signs that they are still angling for more growth? that there are still things they need to learn? then I’m inclined to think we are going to roll up our sleeves and get that growth, one way or another.

this story consistently amazes me because whenever I look at a certain aspect of a character’s development and say to myself, “oh hey, that’s pretty awesome, even if it’s still not ideal,” Horikoshi goes and nudges it down another notch towards being ideal. like, the dude just doesn’t settle. and so that’s one of the reasons why I’m convinced this is a very real and even likely possibility. because this kind of development, to me, would be very, very, very close to my ideal. is it strictly necessary? absolutely not. would it fucking blow my mind as a development, however? I kinda think it would, ngl.

-- that is, with the one addendum that since I do love my son very dearly, I wouldn’t want it to actually be permanent. so in order to be truly ideal, such an arc would also have to include a way for him to climb back up again after experiencing that fall. which some might find contrived or “cheap”, as you put it. but that’s a risk I’m very selfishly and biasedly game for all the same, lol. I am more than willing to occasionally suspend my sense of disbelief in the name of character development, and honestly, I don’t actually think it would cheapen the stakes in any way, because just because Kacchan’s main character status gives him cool perks like a one-time get-out-of-losing-your-quirk-for-free card doesn’t mean the same would apply towards anybody else. and for that matter, it wouldn’t detract from whatever soul searching Kacchan does during that period while he fully believes that he will be quirkless for the rest of his life, either. it doesn’t have to be permanent in order to have a permanent impact.

lastly, in regards to it balancing things out between him and Deku, I don’t mean that Kacchan becoming quirkless would (a) be some sort of necessary and deserved punishment for him, or (b) be even remotely equivalent in any kind of way to what Deku experienced while growing up. that is very obviously not the case, and I can’t stand that kind of thinking, that redemption is only about punishment. maybe “karmic” isn’t the word I should have used then; I meant it as a way of signifying something spiritual in the push-pull balance between the two of them, not in the “what goes around comes around you were a jerk and now you’ll finally understand what it feels like” sense of the word. that’s a big yikes, lol. so yeah, just to clarify that part of it!

what I mean by balance is that it would serve as a catalyst to Kacchan finally being able to understand Deku’s side of it. finally being able to see things from the point of view of his rival-friend who’s had the exact opposite arc as him in terms of what he had to do and go through and learn and unlearn to get this far. it would serve as a means of finally bridging that one last gap of understanding between them. it would bring things back into balance because it would bring them back into balance, by giving them the push to finally mend that one last broken part of their former friendship. the part that’s still untouched by both of them, because they’re both afraid of disrupting the current semi-stable truce that they have now in their relationship. even if it’s not perfect. not, if you’ll pardon my use of the word yet again, ideal.

tl;dr I see Bakugou’s introspection as being a lead-in to something potentially game-changing both because I want it to be, and because, as strange as it may seem, the manga has conditioned me to think this way now. to have expectations. to anticipate more depth, more growth. so it may be the case that in this instance I’ve taken those expectations too far and I need to temper them back down and swing them in a less angsty, more traditionally shounen direction. and like I said, if that does wind up being the case, I won’t be upset.

but maybe, just maybe though, this manga will in fact go there once again. if for no other reason than that it can. “Horikoshi really went and did that” is a sentence I’ve gotten very used to typing since I started reading this manga. and so, well, let’s just wait and see.

#bnha 275 #bakugou katsuki #midoriya izuku #bakudeku #bnha meta #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha #asks #anon asks #long post #because tumblr is being a giant @&$^)! and I'm not sure that the 'read more' function is working in the way it's supposed to be working #so if not I apologize!#my bad #quirkless!bakugou #bakugou meta

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aer-in-wanderland · 3 years

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I know there are no such thing as a perfect drama well maybe there are depends on one's taste. Anyways, out of all the plotholes in tale of the nine tailed what bothered you the most? I mean the thing that you can't really ignored in the storyline?

Hmm this is an interesting one. I feel like my objectivity is being tested here haha. First off, your question assumes that there was a plot hole big enough that I really couldn’t ignore it, and also that there were many of them. To be honest though, I’m not entirely sure I agree. I’ll start by saying this:

Was TotNT a perfect drama? Definitely not. I’d probably have to agree with you that there’s no such thing. But, was I (possibly overly) emotionally invested in the story and characters? Absolutely. So that tells me that - for me personally at least - there wasn’t a plot hole that I felt was big enough that it undermined or detracted from the central premise or characters.

That being said, I think the biggest plot hole for me centered around Ji Ah’s parents.

They returned Gulliver’s Travels-style after 21 years, un-aged, to find their daughter had grown up in their absence, and they’re not only perfectly well adjusted, they don’t think to question the supernatural nature of that experience? I don’t think so. If Ji Ah was going to read her coworkers in on everything, I don’t understand why she couldn’t do the same for her parents. Not to mention, they’ve been legally declared dead, and even if they wanted to appeal that fact, they’re 21 years younger than they should be according to their birth records. What kind of lives are they going to be able to lead? It’s not as if they can spend their lives stuck at home, having limited contact with other people and only leaving the house when strictly necessary. Oh wait. (Hello, 2020)

On the other hand, from a narrative perspective, Ji Ah not getting her parents back would have been even more problematic. Their return was the driving motivation and source of conflict for her character at the start of the show, and it was also, later on, something Yeon promised to help her achieve. So to not get them back would have undermined both of our leads. Starting around episode 6 or 7, though, I half-anticipated that Ji Ah would get her parents back from within the ggwari (I actually called that one), only to have them expire because of supernatural Reasons. Why? Because not having them in the picture would be the narratively easy (read: lazy) choice. So I was glad that the show didn’t go the lazy route, but disappointed that they left that plot thread hanging. As far as plot holes go though, it wasn’t so egregious that some additional explanation or scenes couldn’t have resolved it, and it was peripheral enough to the central conflict by that point (Ji Ah and Yeon’s battle with Imoogi), that I was able to just move on.

Other things I might point to that don’t quite constitute plot holes but that niggled at me include: how and why Imoogi (or part of him) came to be sealed on Eohwa Island in the 1950s; why Rang had an eunhye debt to Sajang when he wasn’t actually mortally wounded (is it a perception thing?); the manner and timing of Yeon and Rang’s ‘reincarnations’; how exactly Yeon came to reclaim his powers 6 years later.

But these are all things that might still be resolved/explained. They just weren’t explained within the course of the series. I think the term ‘plot hole’ often gets over- or misused to describe anything viewers find unsatisfactory, but in order for something to be an out-and-out plot hole, it has to either somehow fundamentally undermine the central conflict/premise (like the eagles in LotR), or be unexplainable through any feat of twisted logic (like the ending of Healer (2014), which I still love anyway).

With that in mind, on the whole, I thought the show was admirably plotted. There were certainly plot points that I might have written differently or have liked to be fleshed out more, but that’s not the same thing as being a plot hole. As a rule, the larger the scale of the story, the larger the scale of the potential plot hole. It’s much easier for a story to be tightly plotted when it operates in the small-scale everyday. TotNT was working on a cosmic, gods-and-monsters, karmic good vs. karmic evil scale, and that’s about as big as it gets.

Conversely, I found myself impressed with the writer’s attention to detail on more than one occasion. Everything foreshadowed followed through to its promised conclusion, and the groundwork for all of the major twists had been subtly and cunningly laid out earlier in the series. The lead characters also managed to grow while still retaining character continuity, which is rarer than you might think. The one thing I’m still not over is Rang’s death, which I think could have easily gone another way, but I understand what the writer was doing there even if I don’t necessarily agree with it.

Finally, there are a few ‘unanswered questions’ like the ones I listed above that I’ve seen people complain about that actually have been answered, either within the show and they just somehow missed it, or outside the show but just not in English (ex. in the backstory collections tvn published, actor interviews, etc.). I’ve done my best to make those available, but obviously, you’d have to care enough to seek them out, and I understand that not everyone does.

As usual, this was probably more of an answer than you were looking for, but if you follow me, you’re hopefully used to that by now. ;)

#tale of the nine tailed #kdrama #ask #totnt #totnt ask #구미호뎐 #plot holes #no such thing as a perfect drama

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ladyknight33 · 4 years

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Hero of Numbani: A Review

So I finally got around to reading this book. In short it is cute. Written for grade school children much like Efi, age 12. A lovely dip into the Overwatch world for fans of the game by bringing in in-game interactions and voice lines. If you play the game you immediately get the characters’s voices in your head because of them. Also prolific use of current lore, mainly by way of the Overwatch Cookbook. The favorite foods of the characters liberally referred to throughout the pages.

The protagonist Efi is adorable in trying to balance the life of a genius with life as a child. The story is as much about this struggle as it is about the building of Orisa. The transformation and teaching of an OR-15 “Idina” is the catalyst for Efi’s growth as an individual. Without spoiling too much of the plot, Efi and her friends navigate the struggles of relationships, both with family and friends. The lessons learned are important for young people to learn early and this book allows its readers to experience such turmoil and joy across its pages.

Forewarning, I’m going to get a little critical here on out.

While I enjoyed the attempt to expand Overwatch Lore and develop their characters with a backstory, it generally felt stilted. My initial takeaway thoughts were on why the Overwatch animated shorts and comics felt approachable to all ages but the Overwatch prose/short stories felt limited to school age children.

My personal opinion, probably from reading too much epic fantasy by Robert Jordan and Elizabeth Haydon, was that the world Drayden wrote for Numbani relies heavily on the reader having played the game and experienced the Numbani map. Very little description is given to fill in the non Overwatch fan of this world

Perhaps my favorite piece of description was for Efi’s iconic look. Drayden took the time to try to put into words the African clothing for us non-African readers. Trying to describe ethnic clothing for people who have never seen it before and have no idea what the items of dress are called is complicated and time consuming. I appreciate the effort and it will take me a few more readings to really understand what the items of dress actually look like. But for Efi, Drayden did more than that. She explained the personal history of each item Efi wears in the above picture. It gives the reader a clear sense Efi’s personality and what’s important to her. This is all for a purpose within the plot, but I felt these descriptions were among her best in the story.

Perhaps the most complicated part of writing is the pacing of the plot and warring with character development. Obviously Efi and Orisa are the protagonists and it is their growth that is most important to the story. The side characters such as Efi’s friends felt more like a list of names. While reading the story, I did not get a good sense of their personality or even their physical description. Efi’s cousin Dayo got the most attention of the group for his use of a cane and spectacular costume sense. Yet as a three demential character even he seems lacking.

This is easily justified by the story length and target audience. I’m clearly not part of the target audience. I read in-depth and get discouraged when reading works I cannot get lost in. For the target audience, this is appropriate but not challenging in its use of English. Again, I’m comparing my childhood favorites of Brian Jacques and Mickey Zucker Reichert to a totally different genre. Do not let it detract from the enjoyment of the Drayden’s story.

Another difficulty is making “baby” characters interesting. Both Efi and Orisa are children. They do not have the long complicated backstories that most of the Overwatch characters have. We’re reading their adventures as they happen. Nor do they fall easily into a hero trope. They do not have a lot of experience to draw upon, so we get to read about their mistakes and lessons learned. Some instances don’t seem plausible, but I had to remind myself that this is a future world and Efi is a genius so the power of the suspension of disbelief must be strong.

The most troubling issue for me within this story, is how Efi does not seem to have a mentor. No guiding light beyond the collective memory of Gabrielle Adawe and the idealization of Overwatch. Efi sets out on her robotic misadventures without an elder to ask questions of. Sure this would make some of the misadventures impossible, but it also would make the world more believable.

While building Orisa, Efi’s priorities seem scattered with no real plan. This leads to multiple failures. Efi takes on an insurmountable task for anyone much less a 12 year old. It would stand to reason one lesson to be learned is not to be afraid to ask for help. I don’t think this is conveyed through this story as there are many instances where Efi assumes full responsibility for problems beyond her control or capability. Again, I’m not the author so I do not know Drayden’s decisions beyond this might not be the story she wanted to tell.

Now we cannot have a story without discussing the antagonist. In some respects the obstacles Efi overcomes is her own family’s expectations and limitations. The clear conflict comes from Doomfist. His act of stealing back his Gauntlet and destroying the OR-15s is the beginning of Efi’s story. Everything before was setting the stage.

Doomfist does not receive much “screen time” within the book. He is a background threat. He shows up, causes chaos, and remains a haunting threat into the future. Drayden tries to set up his terror by comparing it to the previous Doomfist: The Scourge and to the Omnic Crisis. All of this through Efi’s view point of the scant memories she has of her family.

The Reader may not get a true sense of the threat and danger, but Drayden does well to describe it around the lens of a child who had been shielded during the worst of the terror.

Doomfist himself is a flat character within this story. The reader knows his story from his character release, not from Drayden’s The Hero of Numbani story. Efi and her friends mention the jail break, but there is little context to it. He serves only as the grand obstacle and test of Orisa’s abilities.

Let’s not forget Lucio.

He’s like the prize inside the cereal box.

If Efi were ever to have a mentor, Lucio is a great fit. She idolizes him. Drayden wonderfully gets inside the mind of a “tween” to show how captivated she is about the music icon. He is the voice of reason and encouragement Efi needed through this whole story.

Lucio shows up much like a guest star. We get a greater sense of his character and personality through his interactions with Efi. Yet we are still left to develop out sense of him from the gameplay.

His purpose within this story is that of a “fairy-godmother.” To give the protagonists exactly what they need at exactly the right moment. This is a very useful tool in writing. Here I do not feel like it was well disguised at all. Time constraints or author’s choice; it is not a bad placement or use of character. Just not my preferred.

If you have made it this far, thank you.

In short this story is cute and an easy summer read. It has all the charm of a child’s cartoon show. (Netflix, if you’re listening, this would be an excellent addition to your animated line of shows. I’d love to see it in the vein of the animated short for Doomfist’s reveal.) The dynamic of these over the top characters are perfect for the small screen. The brightly colored and exquisite atmosphere of Numani deserves center stage.

Even with the heavy use of in-game dialogue and voice interactions rather than new developments, this story was worth the read. Not the masterpiece or lore rich epic I’m hoping for. Stylistically cute. A shout out to fans, but not a gateway to non-fans. If you read this book, you must have prior knowledge of the characters and setting from the game and character releases.

All that said, I do hope there are more stories. The listing of The Hero of Numabi as Overwatch #1 gives me hope. I would love to see more lore rich stories that can stand alone without relying heavily on game play, where every other sentence seems like it is borrowed from the game.

Efi and Orisa may seem like periphery characters now, but they hold promise to boost the Overwatch world.

Side note: I love the original Overwatch cast. But reading this story has made me want to see more Lucio in the future. Lucio feels like he could be the leader Overwatch needs and deserves in order to bring it back into respectful prominence.

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onewomancitadel · 10 months

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I think what people really mean by Twitter being 2015!Tumblr is that the age demographic of Tumblr has changed (based on polls, I think the age group with the biggest user size is early-mid twenties), a lot of shitstirrers left for Twitter in the Purge of 2018, a lot of guys who used Tumblr for p*rn also left in 2018 (seriously, when I interacted with a guy at uni once who wanted in my pants I mentioned Tumblr because I am socially inept and he was like, oh the website for p*rn? *smirk* and I was like no I use it for my Reylos... he was wearing a Star Wars t-shirt, it's a long story) and obviously in general anybody else who used it for that reason also left, but you know exactly what sort of demographic I'm talking about - far be it from me to unturn that stone, I understand it's a mixed issue - and then overall you've got the fact that Tumblr is slightly better than it was, but it's not perfect.

I do think platform culture influences the way people interact with each other, and there are definitely ways you can fit somebody's interaction patterns into a typology - but the style of detraction you might see in Reddit comments is exactly the stuff you see on Twitter and it is the thing you encounter on Tumblr. Because Tumblr allows you to run your own personal blog, though, you have much more control over your interaction style. If Reddit is a free debate space, Tumblr is curated by comparison.

But it's also just a human nature thing lol. There are plenty of teenagers who have growing up to do on here (I was one of them) and you see a lot more on platforms popular with teenagers (Tik Tok, Twitter, Instagram) which changes the site culture. But I also think that teenagers need their own space to be edgy and get the angst out of the way. It's just much harder to do that when the platforms they're on also encourage putting your face, name, where you live etc. on it.

I find it a fascinating question because I don't think the Internet is wholly iredeemable and clearly we get some joy out of it - the things which concern me about the Internet have parts to do with social media and some not. I want to know what it is that makes Tumblr a pleasant site to use for hobbyist purposes. I can write longform posts, and consider topics which interest me, and curate my experience - by in large the the site has a slightly more mature userbase...

I also had on my mind recently how hard it is to write posts where you have people coming to you with the worst interpretation of what you've said. I think I am starting to accept again that I can't control that and people will read into what I'm saying because that's what they're looking for. That's something which still happens on Tumblr. It's a product of the Internet medium where it's very hard to clarify something you've said the way you could mid-conversation, and the fact that generally people are quite defensive. It feels like a combative space at times.

The real point I'm sort of trying to make is that like, part of what makes Tumblr a good platform is a consequence of its medium - it's a microblogging website - and part of it is a consequence of the userbase evolving. But I also think that loyal userbase is a consequence of what it offers in contrast to what others don't. Equally, issues with Tumblr aren't necessarily specific to platform, and I'd go so far as to venture that to be true of other social media websites. It's just very apparent that there are very bad decisions being made with them killing all user goodwill and reason to use them, but the myopic eye of short-term gains does not care for long-term growth and stability. It's a pretty sobering realisation to know that most of those guys up there think you're as dumb as a rock and will just take what you get. It's not some big conspiracy. They just think their site users are dumb. It's a pretty haunting and narrow view of humanity lol. There is no honour in it and yeah, it is actually nonsensical even from the view of a capitalist philosophy, because why would you willingly kill something with great brand and cultural foothold? Why would you abandon something that makes the platform what it is? This goes for Tumblr with its changes to the dashboard from Following (seeing things your followers post) to For You (algorithm).

#I censored the word p*rn because of Tumblr search #sorry about that #stirring the pot #I'm sorry I just find this stuff interesting because so much of it is actually very new #but I also find it interesting where it mimics IRL social dynamics and/or supplements it #I'm thinking of Heraclitus leaving fragments of his philosophy in the temples #where he intentionally wrote it so that it would be opaque except to men who practised philosophy #that's why his aphorisms are the way they are #afaik. don't quote me as a professional source. this is from a few years back lol

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happymeishappylife · 4 years

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DC CW Shows

I finally caught up on all the DC Universe shows. Quite an accomplishment for me considering I was 2 seasons behind. It feels good to finally get caught up to speed, but some of them are starting to feel like chores getting through them, rather than fun entertainment. A concern that gets amplified by the fact that the producers want to add on 2 more shows to the line up. So I felt like it was a good idea to breakdown my thoughts on each of the shows and what I liked/didn’t like. Plus then I will break down my thoughts on Crisis, because I have a lot of them. I’ll also rank these as I go as far as which ones I liked best, beginning with least to best. So let’s begin:

#7 - The Flash

I used to love this show so much. The first two seasons were a lot of fun and I loved all the characters so much. Thanks to the writing though, I can’t honestly say I don’t like this show much at all anymore and that’s kinda sad. Part of the reason is it became soooo angsty. Like the reason The Flash was great, was it was the antithesis to the angst on Arrow which made it so refreshing to watch. Now it’s like everyone must suffer some sort of pain over the tiniest things or worse, they become entrapped in characters and situations like its been haunting them for years when it only got introduced a couple episodes ago. At this point the only characters I care about are Caitlyn/Frost, Joe and Cecile West, Wally (when he’s on, which is like never), and Ralph. And that’s painful that Hartley won’t be returning to fill that role anymore because he was the only one who still could joke and laugh around like old Team Flash.

Season 5: Overall season 5 had a pretty solid storyline despite some of the angsty writing. After a while though I got pretty sick of fighting Chicada over and over again, especially Grace’s version. My one big pet peeve with it though was the relationship of Nora to Barry and Iris. I’m sorry. I can’t honestly picture any 20-30 something meeting their adult daughter and automatically assuming the role of an actual parent and treating her like a preteen. That always felt super weird and uncomfortable. Not to mention it happened almost automatically with little to no hang ups on ‘is this really our kid? Should we trust her?’ Plus then it created angst between Barry and Iris which I’m really over at this point in the series because their relationship was never my favorite to begin with.

Season 6: A hot mess. Granted, because of Crisis and Covid-19, the season probably didn’t get a fair chance to play out to it’s full potential. But cutting the season into two arcs didn’t do it any justice. Especially because instead of having character growth, I felt like a lot of the characters regressed. Take Barry for instance. The whole first part of the season is him prepping/training the team to take over for him after Crisis since he believes he is going to die. Only when he doesn’t, he assumes the role of leader still without actually leading. He stops telling his team members key details and putting aside the fact he killed the speed force, he stopped being a hero. The whole fight scene with Mirror-Iris, was so bizarre to watch. Yes, Barry would never hurt the real Iris, but she’s not and instead he just stands there and gets stabbed over and over, crying at the end that she’s not there. It’s really hard to watch.

#6 - Arrow

Arrow used to be in my top 3 slots as last I left it. The storylines were still on point. But leading up to Crisis and the show ending, there were some things that worked for me and some that didn’t. Still, kudos to the team for standing their ground and saying that we’ve told all we can tell, let’s put this show to bed and give it a close it deserves. It made the ending super emotional, but at the same time satisfying despite, Oliver’s death in the universe. My only complaint is the fact that the producers can’t put it fully to bed and now want to reboot Arrow all over again with Mia and the canaries. Don’t get me wrong watching strong women take more of the leading roles is awesome, but not to tell and retell the same storylines.

Season 7: The first half of the season when Oliver was in Iron Heights was not my favorite. Mainly because as it continues to develop it was like all the reasons he got put in Iron Heights to begin with no longer mattered. Diaz is still on the lose, he’s still playing his games in prison, and really what was the point? Now the second half of the season where we focus on his rehabilitation into society and working with the SCPD to track and take down his sister Emiko, was actually good. Too bad it got horribly overshadowed by a time travel flash-forward storyline to introduce and make us care about Mia.

Season 8: Obviously this season was the closeout season and the season leading up to Crisis. But I liked the way they treated it. They gave cameo spots and guest starring spots to former faces like Thea (she’s still freaking awesome), Tommy, Moira, and even Merlyn came back. My only complaint was that all of sudden we did have another time travel situation on our hands to meet our future kids. Thankfully I felt Arrow overall took that development better than the Flash, which since that was only a couple episodes and not a season, says something about the writing. Plus the post-Crisis pilot for the Green Arrow and Canaries felt a little out of place given everything that happened and a little insulting.

#5 - Supergirl

There’s parts of Supergirl I still absolutely love to pieces and the writing that are still doing it the justice that started the show by telling storylines of not only heroism, but commentary on today’s events to help push for progress. I love the whole cast of characters and think the acting has been great. My only complaint is with Season 5 and the fact that the show is beginning to find its tipping point of being less than stellar. I mean, I still enjoy it, but it’s beginning to show its where and tear so I’m worried what’s going to happen as it continues forward. Especially as it gets hyperfixated on Lex Luthor, who don’t get me wrong is a fabulous villain, but isn’t that Superman’s arch nemesis, not Supergirl’s?

Season 4: What a great commentary to tell throughout the season that parallels the feelings and conversations being had about immigration in our own world. I thought the idea of the Alien Amnesty Act squaring off against Ben Lockwood and his Agents of Liberty was not only great commentary but great story telling. I also loved that we got to introduce Nia Nall into the series because she’s fantastic and has become one of my favorite characters. I even love the twist reveal of how Ben Lockwood isn’t the enemy, it’s really Lex Luthor and his communist Supergirl clone. Plus Jon Crier plays an amazing Lex Luthor.

Season 5: Don’t get me wrong, the stakes and the storylines with Leviathan and Obsidian North, I do think are important and worth telling, but they detracted from the main storyline that developed at the end of last season which was Lena and Kara’s new relationship. Yes, it was still hit on and explored, but by far that was the storyline I was interested in seeing the most, not Ramah Khan or Virtual Reality horror stories. Also, while I like Lex, thanks to his antics during Crisis, the second half of the season felt hijacked and became this witch hunt. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t wait to see what he and Lillian are doing, but I wish it played out more in the shadows and less of the actual screen time. I’m also glad Lena is back on Kara’s side again. But Brainy better not be dead! He’s one of my favorites even if his motives during this season were hard to watch.

#4 - Batwoman

I actually really, really, really liked Batwoman’s first season. Getting to know the badass that is Kate Kane and watch the horror’s of Gotham play out week to week was such a refreshing change of pace. After all, The Flash and Supergirl are undeniably heroes and must carry those burdens(?) as they fight for truth and justice. And Oliver was a vigilante, but while he took down drug lords, weapons dealers, etc. the stakes of being a vigilante in Star City is nothing compared to wearing the cape in Gotham. I loved the cast and seeing the stories play out of their past and how they connect to each other and also how some of them discover who Batwoman is, was fantastic. Even as creepy as Alice is, I enjoyed seeing the performance of the completely unhinged and psychotic villain take the stage to play out her twisted fantasies. I also appreciate the openness that Kate brought to being an out and proud lesbian, even revealing her super identity to a teenager to prove that it does get better and lesbians can be awesome is super freaking powerful. I even like that with the shortened season, it didn’t feel like we got robbed of an awesome storyline, but now we get to why this ranks fourth on my list instead of higher: Ruby Rose left the show and we get a whole new Batwoman. I get that this is out of the hands of the producers and the writers and I am super sad to see her go. But its hard not to feel like we lost a whole season of introduction and development to just reset and begin again. I’m not sure how they will handle it, but I do hope that a lot of the cast stays and stays in their roles. Especially Luke and Mary who are a great team. Mary is also like my all time, instant-favorite character because not only is she super wicked smart, but she has so much humanity in her so I hope she still continues on the show.

#3 - Stargirl

Yes, yes, this show is still airing which is why I can’t speak to the overall season arc in finality yet, but I absolutely have been loving this first season. Again, what a refreshing new reality to step into and what a great new storyline to pursue. This rag-tag group of teenagers becoming the new Justice Society of America is a fun telling and already, the stakes of the Injustice Society are so high! Like I was expecting that it was going to be like the other shows where slowly by slowly we meet all the bad guys in different seasons, but instead it feels a little flipped since we don’t have all our new heroes on the stage yet. Still I love Courtney and her relationship with Pat as she discovers these secrets of his past and their new home of Blue Valley. I love her recruiting reasoning to bring Yolanda and Rick into this crazy plan and even her acceptance of Beth becoming the new Doctor Midnight. Plus, the show keeps surprising me because on one hand, giving these teenagers these powers to help them redeem their self esteem is a great storyline, which is why I was expecting them to force us to like Cindy since the beginning of that episode was leading up to maybe becoming friends with her, but no. Turns out she is the super bitch and super villain of the show and that’s kinda awesome. Also I like how because their teenagers, their secret identities aren’t really that secret, which makes it’s kinda fun, but also dangerous. We’ll see how the last 3 episodes play out, but I can’t wait.

#2 - Black Lightening

Talk about real gritty, dark, and powerful storytelling. I enjoyed the first season, but these last two have been a real punch in the gut in good ways and the writers have been outdoing themselves to provide heartfelt, real, honest emotions and discussions to the world of superheroes, compared to the other shows. And it’s hard, but the gruesome nature of the show also highlights some of the real struggles going on in the Freeland Community which of course highlights the issues in our own world around the Black Community. The whole spinal chord ripping scene will haunt me forever and not only because they keep replaying it, but because of how insane that was. The cast is also great and I love that at the end of Season 3, it’s not just a family of super heroes, but a group of powerful metas squaring off against the government and the most dangerous threat of all so far: Gravedigger. Gives me goose bumps just thinking about it.

Season 2: Now that the whole family knows the stakes of what they have gotten themselves into with Tobias and revealing the girls have power, I love the way we got introduced to the ASA and the pod kids as a menial threat while still struggling to take down the perceived ‘bigger threat’ that is Tobias. Jennifer also having trouble coming to terms with her powers and how to use them I think was a great way to explore that not everyone wants to be a superhero, especially in antithesis to Nyssa who is a full on badass as Thunder and Blackbird. Watching Khalil’s story in this go from obedient lap dog to a runaway and finally a victim of Tobias’ violence was hard, but I felt was justified throughout and made him that character you want to root for, even when not everything he’s done has been great.

Season 3: What a harsh turn of direction. A full on occupation of Freeland, house arrest, killings on the street, and an underground railroad of metas or suspected metas completely changed the tune of this show. Watching each of the Peirces struggle to find out who the ASA is, what their doing, if their actions are justified and if the Marcovian threat was real was really fascinating to watch. The showdown with the Marcovians too with a whole team behind them was also a nice change of pace, even if their mission didn’t end the way they expected. I think the amplified stakes though of what happened and what’s to come will continue to develop into an incredible show, minus one now big problem I have, but I will detail that out below when we talk about Crisis.

#1 - Legends of Tomorrow

You can fight me, but Legends of Tomorrow is the best goddamn shown on this network for one simple fact: They don’t take themselves seriously. There is no real angst and because of that it makes the adventures so fun and so hilarious that its such a great break from all of the other shows. Plus, because they keep swapping new and old cast members into the show, it always feels new. Kinda that Doctor Who spirit, which I love. That and because there are hardly any rules to a time travelling group of heroes who don’t really want to be heroes, you get ridiculously themed episodes like Bollywood Musical or TV Crossovers. It is what makes the show a total blast.

Season 4: As the team gears up to track down magical creatures throughout history, you get the introduction of permanent team member, John Constantine who I freaking love for his cool, aloof character and yet sarcastic and sassy contrast to the sunshine and bro-squad that is Ray and Nate. I also love that the season not only was about capturing these magical creatures, but fully rehabilitating Norah Dhark into a good guy now accidentally turned fairy godmother. To be honest, I definitely did not see that one coming. I like that fighting the demon lord also helped transition the show from Season 4 to 5 to fight hell spawn creatures. Quite a leap from the original Legends concept, but again that’s what makes this show so fresh.

Season 5: Part of the other fun of Legends is getting to see old characters get reinvented. I loved the storyline with Charlie and her reveal to be Clothos, one of the 3 fate sisters and the reason the ancient loom got destroyed. I also loved Tala Ashe’s portrayal of Zari in a different timeline because the difference between tech-geek, super smart Zari and social influencer extraordinaire Zari were well done. Plus we got another awesome bro-squad member in Behrad who I hope sticks around for a while. The only bummer was saying goodbye to Ray Palmer. Ray has been one of my favorite characters in the Arrow-verse and seeing his exit was sad and partly because I think it could have been handled better. Like don’t get me wrong, seeing him have to get approval from Damian Dhark to marry Nora was entertaining and I’m glad he isn’t dead like Dr. Stein or Leonard Snart, but I just feel like the exit was a bit rushed. The good news is, it opens the door for Ray to return and I hope we get to seem in the future.

Alright...... To end this long spiel, let’s talk about Crisis on Infinite Earths and what that now means for all these shows. Because unfortunately.... it can’t be ignored. And I’m sorry to sound pessimistic, but to be honest, Crisis wasn’t my favorite story and was too hyped for the end result.

The only show who came out better for Crisis, in my opinion, was Arrow. Mainly because the story of Oliver’s last sacrifice to reboot the universe was the only one that made complete sense and doesn’t complicate the show after it happens. Granted it could be because it was used as the show’s exit, but still. I used to love crossover episodes and getting the whole team together, but now because there is soooo much going on in each show and such a large cast, these big multi-night and multi-universe shows just feel scattered because you are constantly hopping around and between each of the characters and all the individual storylines don’t matter. Like remember when Barry and Oliver would actually talk about what they were up against? Miss that. That and Oliver, Barry, and Kara stole the show even when it was other shows turn to shine. Like Kate was hardly in it, even in her own episode and the Legends weren’t in it at all. It was just Sara and Ray which was disappointing because as Crisis was their season opener, you missed a real chance to have the Legends save the day. Don’t get my wrong, there were some great moments during crisis and I liked the nod to past versions of the DC characters, including Brandon Routh getting to play Superman again, but overall it just made chaos for things that don’t make sense post-crisis.

Like yay, all our favorite heroes are in one place and created the justice league to help each other, but once Crisis is over, nope sorry, no one can be bothered to borrow a hero friend. Like that makes sense for some shows, Batwoman for instance isn’t that close to everyone and her storyline is so rooted in her own family drama, that ignoring the other supers made sense. The Flash’s stakes weren’t high enough to involve anyone else, so fine. And Legends of course travel through time and so aren’t around, fine. But Supergirl’s takedown of a longstanding secret group of people capable of bending Earth’s elements to create catastrophic events, isn’t enough to at least reach out to Cisco or Luke for help tracking them? That seems underwhelming. Plus where are the aliens in all the other cities now? Or the metas in National City? That’s a pet peeve, but more so because of the biggest twist in Crisis:

Pulling Black Lightening into the Arrowverse. Like the shows writers and producers, I think Black Lightening works better outside the Arrowverse which was the intent and goal from the get go. Pulling Jefferson Pierce’s family and world into the same Earth as all the other shows, no longer makes the shows storytelling as strong and maybe it was because this was a last minute decision, but there is just no justification post Crisis as to why they had to come in. I mean, The Flash and Black Lightening have metas related issues, you would think that alone would be a prime source of teaming up. Especially when Cisco goes out on a worldwide quest to document metas, you’re telling me skipped over Freeland? And where’s our favorite Kyrptonian to fight for truth, justice, and the American way as Freeland is being occupied by the ASA? Oh, what too busy going after Lex Luthor? Sorry, I’m not buying that Kara Danvers ignores racial injustice. Like I get that maybe it was a way to be able to use Black Lightening later in cross-over events, but the fallout from bringing them in this season with everything going on is a huge mistake in my opinion. And heck, having shows exist outside each other is probably a good thing. Too many and these crossover events don’t feel fun anymore, they just feel chaotic. I think I’m with the Legends on this one: the crossovers aren’t worth it anymore.

#cw dc universe #thoughts #reactions #legends of tomorrow #black lightening #stargirl #batwoman #supergirl #arrow #the flash #crisis on infinite earths

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thelogicalghost · 4 years

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Thoughts on “Heathers”

For various reasons I’ve recently both watched Heathers the movie and listened to the soundtrack of Heathers the Musical (and saw some blurry clips of in-between-song parts) and the contrast between them is, to me, fascinating.

I’m going to try to keep this vague in case I inspire anyone else to go watch either; the movie’s currently on Hulu (though I’ve seen it on Netflix so I suspect it comes and goes on both) and several artists have made unbelievably amazing animatics for the soundtrack on Youtube (in particular szin, whose Hamilton animatics are DIVINE, did a few for Heathers). The quick primer: the movie came out in 1989 while the musical went through several years of progress before hitting Off-Broadway in 2014. The musical keeps the movie’s 1989 setting, but since the movie took pains to keep itself from being dated, both manage to feel current and relevant.

It’s actually easier, I think, to explain the movie contrasted to the musical, rather than the other way around. The musical makes many small but time-saving cuts to make the story and characters fit more easily into the molds required for a mainstream musical. The protagonist is instantly relatable to anyone who disliked high school: she’s an intelligent, hopeful teenager at the mercy of puberty and her peers. She has a compelling arc with several musical motifs that show her change through the show. Several other minor characters get their own solo songs and minor arcs, making the cast feel like tangible people, but the focus is on the protagonist’s decisions, her peers’ reactions, and the consequences that ensue.

The movie is far more complex. There are some ... interesting choice of writing, directing, and cinematography that, while often startling, are almost always emotionally impactful. It’s not afraid to leave us in awkward silence or linger on seemingly unimportant moments. The movie lets people and things and moments exist and shows them to us as they are, which results in something that feels more genuine. The protagonist doesn’t feel quite so relatable initially, as we first see her having pretty much surrendered to a system she knows is toxic. The antagonist doesn’t really get any redemption in the end. It’s much less clean and clear-cut. Where the musical’s protagonist is a victim of systemic toxicity, someone who we see has a conscience that leads her to resist and then fight against those systems, the movie’s protagonist is a product of those systems who has to fight her own indoctrination and wins by rejecting those systems entirely. The latter is, to me, ultimately more compelling. (Though this is not to diminish the strength of the former, especially in this day and age: any narrative that ends with the protagonist leading their peers to reject systemic toxicity gets a gold star in my book.)

[[[[[[SPOILER WARNING, SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN EITHER - The biggest moment that proves to me that the movie is more compelling is during the scene that, in the musical, is covered by the reprise of “Dead Girl Walking.” In the musical the return of that song is obviously supposed to highlight how she’s grown and how her priorities have changed, but the more I thought about it, the less that moment worked for me. Musical!Veronica never truly wanted to hurt anyone beyond a harmless prank. Even writing the note to Martha in the beginning made her feel guilty. Her bravery was also shown right from the beginning in “Beautiful.” She may have faltered and kept secrets but she was always going to try to stop J.D. Meanwhile, Movie!Veronica was indoctrinated. She didn’t like what J.D. was doing, but saving Heather from suicide was the first real sign of active resistance against the events unfolding around her. Hell, when they wake up after the “double suicide,” Veronica’s first instinct is to hurt herself, which is a clear sign that she feels so helpless to do anything about the emotional turmoil inside her all she can do is try to lessen that turmoil and/or punish herself. Movie!Veronica in scene 1 would have stayed home and watched the school explode from a distance. It took growth and change to give her the confidence, ability, and strength to stop J.D., not because she cared so much about the school, but because she was rejecting both the school hierarchy and his war against it. Her freedom, at the end, is from both. OKAY SPOILERS ARE OVER NOW THANK YOU]]]]]

It’s also notable in this kind of story that the heightened suspension of disbelief that comes with a musical actually detracts from the reality of the story. Don’t get me wrong, I love musicals. Some of the songs on this soundtrack hit me pretty hard in the feels. (What do the kids say these days? It ‘slaps’?) But musicals have an inherent suspension of disbelief because we’re aware that, to some extent, what we’re seeing isn’t actually happening. The entire high school senior class isn’t actually singing in perfect harmony. That gives us a layer of separation from the events of the story. Sometimes that’s good. For Heathers, I think it keeps the viewer safe from the ugliness and discomfort that’s intended to be conveyed in the movie. (Unfortunately the movie itself sometimes breaks that immersion with a few effects and props that feel a bit comedic, especially to modern viewers used to more realistic effects. But it’s only a few moments that mostly get obscured by quick cuts and good makeup work.)

I will also freely admit that the movie suffers for its artistic intent. The tropes and arcs that make mainstream narratives work are mainstream for a reason. The movie is also trying to deconstruct high school movie tropes, some of which no longer exist, and there are definitely cast members who are less convincing than others, and cuts that made me pause and rewind to figure out what had just happened. It’s definitely not perfect. The musical gets to update not only by cutting some weird dated plot points but also by eliminating a few moments that might make a modern audience say “yikes.” (Am I doing the slang right? I’m over thirty, go easy on me.)

I guess my conclusion to all of this is to say: I think both versions have merit. I think if you enjoy one, you should check out the other, because I think their messages seem similar but work very differently. Most of all, I think it’s an interesting look at how almost the exact same story can feel drastically different having been converted to a different medium, changing in ways that can’t simply be summarized as “better” or “worse.”

(Also the movie has young Winona Rider and Christian Slater, so. Uh. Yeah. If you just want to see some unfairly gorgeous people, go watch the movie.)

((Also also the tv series is TERRIBLE do not watch))

#heathers #thoughts #movie vs musical #media is message #more of my weird analyses

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neuxue · 4 years

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Wheel of Time liveblogging: Towers of Midnight Prologue (part 2)

Questions of morality and how to handle traps, with your hosts Graendal and Galad.

Well hello there, Graendal, fancy seeing you alive.

The goblet had been crafted with drops of blood caught in a ring pattern within the crystal.

I have a need.

I mean, I’d be drinking tea or maybe even hot chocolate out of that goblet rather than wine but that does nothing to change the fact that I need it. Villains, man. You can always rely on them for the aesthetics.

“We should be doing something” Aran’gar said

I’m not sure precisely why this is so absurdly funny to me, but it’s some combination of a) the real world being in quarantine right now, b) villains lounging in a villainous lair like ‘should we be… fucking shit up or something? Or can we really just take a moment to be All About the Aesthetic?’ and c) an oddly self-aware statement from a fictional character who realises that something is amiss if they’re not contributing to the plot.

Oh we’re still in Natrin’s Barrow, so this is before the er. Utter collapse of Rand’s moral scruples and near-destruction of the Pattern and associated fireworks.

Also, Aran’gar, when you fled the rebels, what the fuck gave you the idea that coming to Graendal as a refugee – alliance or no alliance – was a good plan? She will eat you for breakfast, and whether that’s literal or euphemistic probably makes no difference to the fact that ultimately, you will suffer for it.

Life was about feeling. Touches on your skin, both passionate and icy. Anything other than the normal, the average, the lukewarm.

I like this for the way it is both opposite to and yet weirdly the same as Semirhage’s perspective. The difference is mostly whether it is directed outwards or inwards.

And I also like it for the way it plays on how Graendal deals with subtlety versus ostentation. The way she so completely performs that ostentation and lack of subtlety and plays to the extremes, and it’s not entirely performative but it also serves the purpose of masking her capacity for great subtlety and control.

Listen. There’s a lot to dislike about Graendal, yes, but at the end of the day she fascinates me. She’s just such an intricate villain, for all that on the surface she could be played as scenery-chewing and flat. Because there’s something beneath that, and it all serves a purpose. She makes ‘all about the aesthetic’ into a legitimate strategy, without actually detracting from the aesthetic, and it’s just very… disturbingly cool.

Aran’gar is still trying to have a conversation as if she thinks she and Graendal are on the same level. How adorable.

“Excitement is best viewed from a distance,” Graendal said.

And yet life is about feeling, but somehow those are not mutually exclusive, and have I mentioned Graendal is fascinating to me?

I think… I know, I’m just rambling my way into this, but I think one of the things I enjoy most about her is that, for all that she has these different layers and apparent opposites and allows herself to be viewed one way when in reality there’s far more to it, none of it feels like pretence. It’s not like she’s putting on a false front, pretending to be totally absorbed in aesthetics and pleasure, because I think that part of her is genuine. But so is the scheming, and the love of order, and the subtlety. None of it is her pretending, but together it’s a more complex picture than most manage to grasp, and so they just see the surface level of it, and she’s happy to let them. But it’s different to crafting a mask – she’s not really hiding her true motives or her true self; people just may not be able to piece together exactly what that is. Because she’s a rather complicated person, for all that she seems simplistic in her over-the-top presentation.

Is it terrible that I would quite like her to survive this scene?

Wait what she can use the True Power? She’s using the True Power? Just beware the lifestyle inflation that goes with a promotion, Graendal.

And there were some weaves that could only be crafted by the True Power.

So speaking of the True Power… here’s the thing. Rand’s use of it was spectacular, and played such a perfectly exquisite role in his descent last book, but it doesn’t feel like that’s the end of it. That’s not the sort of bomb you drop just once for effect; those are the sorts of plot elements that come back. So… I’m curious. I have theories. Which I’ve gone into elsewhere so I’ll leave that for now.

My other immediate thought here is that Compulsion woven from the True Power and wielded by Graendal is a terrifying concept and I sort of want to see it because I’m a terrible human.

But seriously, it’s like the Domination Band in the hands of Semirhage. Sometimes you just want to give a villain their perfect tool and set them loose to wreak beautiful havoc.

(What can I say? I appreciate competence in all its forms).

Whatever the Creator could build, the Dark One could destroy.

Except the whole idea is balance, so that goes…both ways somehow. Not quite sure where I’m going with this but it’s certainly somewhere.

Meanwhile Graendal’s just using the True Power to taunt Aran’gar by almost literally poking her and saying ‘neener neener neener’ and honestly, fair.

Aran’gar and Delana began to exchange affections on the chaise.

Why is this so fucking hilarious to me?

Like okay, sit on the sofa, and one… two… three… go!

I don’t even know, but every time I look at that sentence I start laughing. Maybe it’s just that it’s such an obvious… ‘this is painfully awkward and I can’t write anything more detailed but also it’s happening on-screen so I can’t just pan to the fireplace please send help immediately, yours sincerely, Brandon Sanderson’.

Like. ‘And then sex happened but let’s just avert our eyes, shall we?’

Aran’gar continued her pleasures

I’m DYING. The awkward of writing this just bleeds through the page and it’s. Just. Kind of perfect. And honestly I sympathise. Like this genuinely captures the mood I feel whenever sex scenes turn up in movies or TV or whatever. Not awkwardness, precisely, but just a sense of like ‘okay… we’re doing this now… and we’re still doing this… um… *starts looking around the room for anything interesting*… still exchanging affections I see… ah okay good and now the scene resumes’.

Is that TMI? I feel like it’s almost the opposite of TMI but whatever, moving on.

More importantly, an alarm is going off, and Graendal sees no reason to let that interrupt Aran’gar getting off, so she just leaves.

Ah. Ramshalan. So we are indeed doing this scene from the other side. This ought to be… fun. I did wonder what it would look like from Graendal’s side, especially with Rand desperately trying to do his how-do-you-defeat-someone-smarter-than-you thing. And I’m very curious as to the outcome. Because there would be a certain beautiful awfulness in all that power and destruction, that force of light, not even achieving its aim, in the futility of catastrophe.

Wow, Ramshalan really is… a complete idiot.

But Graendal is not.

Best to be careful. Best to flee. And yet…

She hesitated. He must know pain… he must know frustration… he must know anguish. Bring these to him. You will be rewarded.

Oh, he has known those. He has known precious little else in the last two years, honestly. Though Semirhage played a more recent and telling role in that.

And Graendal’s hesitation, because for all her capacity, she is controlled, as are the rest of the Chosen and Friends of the Dark, by a selfishness none of them can quite overcome.

“Does that Aes Sedai of yours know Compulsion?”

Aran’gar shrugged. “She’s been trained in it. She’s passably skilled.” “Fetch her.”

Wow, for half a second there I thought they were talking about Egwene and was like ‘okay wow there’s one I definitely did not see coming’ but obviously it’s Delana.

Which means that the Compulsion Rand had Nynaeve detect… the Compulsion he used like a canary in a coal mine, the Compulsion whose vanishing he took as evidence of Graendal’s death, was never Graendal’s to begin with.

What an elegant move. Simple and yet perfect.

Also she can apparently see through the eyes of a dove. That’s… a new one. And don’t think I missed you using a dove, symbol of peace, for this.

The world as she saw it and a shadowed version of what the bird saw.

And I see what you did there, too.

But she’s using a dove to serve as her eyes. Not a raven or a rat but a dove, the symbol of light and peace, being used as a servant of the Shadow. Just as Rand, standing on that ridge and wielding a great force of Light, Rand, the champion of the Light, serving the Shadow’s aims even as he never turns from the side of the Light. I love it.

And yeah, she’s using Delana to craft the Compulsion. Graendal may not know exactly what Rand is planning, but she knows he’s planning something, and so she takes precautions. Which Rand knew she would, but for all his care to not underestimate her…

Would he attack? No, he wouldn’t harm women. That particular failing was an important one.

Yet at the same time she’s underestimating him.

Or rather, neither is precisely underestimating the other; they’re both just… thinking along the lines of what they perceive the other to be, and those lines are close but not quite accurate. I love watching these kinds of games play out, where it’s about thinking several moves ahead, move and countermove, trying to know what the opponent will do and ultimately it comes down to a… layering, almost, and the victor is the one who just happens to have laid the last layer. Or annihilated the gameboard; whichever comes first.

Bring him agony. Graendal could do that.

I… yeah.

Because at this point, Rand believes (believed, but relative to the timeline of this scene it’s present tense and argh this is why messy timelines frustrate me; do you know how annoying the grammar gets?) he is beyond agony, beyond feeling of any kind. He has made himself into ice and steel and cuendillar (heartstone, heart of the stone, pray that the heart of stone remembers tears…) and so he believes himself unfettered, capable of any atrocity because he has walled away the agony that would hold him back.

But for all that, what he does at Natrin’s Barrow… for all that he doesn’t let himself feel any of it, on some level it does cause him agony, and drives him further on that path that leads eventually to Tam and Ebou Dar and Dragonmount.

So really, you could say that Moridin’s statement, that ‘he must know anguish, he must know pain of heart’ is true from the perspective of the Light as much as it is from the perspective of the Shadow.

Because it is that anguish that drives him to serve the Shadow even while acting in the name of the Light… but it is also that anguish that leads him, ultimately, to the epiphany that brings him back truly to the Light he serves.

And it is letting himself feel that anguish, along with everything else he tried to push away, that allows him to do that. He must know anguish, yes, because he must learn no longer to push it aside, to allow himself to feel again, and in doing so he can be the champion of the Light as he is meant to be.

It's just a fun double meaning. Or manifold meaning, even. And I sort of wonder if Moridin knew that. It’s the kind of irony he might appreciate, to the extent that he appreciates anything.

“Something convoluted. I want al’Thor and his Aes Sedai to find the touch of a man on the mind.” That would confuse them further.

In this case she’s actually overestimating Rand (&co), but in its own way that’s just as dangerous as underestimating, in this game of each trying to outthink and outmanoeuvre one another before making their moves.

This whole seeing through a dove’s eyes is lovely on a symbolic level but does sort of strain my understanding of how magic works in this world. Ah well, we can handwave it as ‘True Power shenanigans’.

I suppose it’s not really any weirder than balefire or wolf-telepathy or Compulsion or being able to wander through someone else’s dream. Weird, where we draw our suspension of disbelief lines, and how it varies from series to series or system to system. Like, seeing through an animal’s eyes isn’t exactly uncommon in the genre; I just didn’t quite expect it in WoT specifically. No idea why.

The dove flapped out of the window. The sun was lowering behind the mountains

A symbol of peace flying into a darkening sky, a fading of the Light! (Oh, you thought I would let up on the atmospheric imagery when Sanderson took over? How naïve).

There was light up ahead. It was faint, but the dove’s eyes could easily pick out light and shadow

I MEAN. I see what you did there and I appreciate it.

I still sort of can’t believe Graendal was actually watching that whole time. It feels almost like cheating. Then again Rand obliterating half the Pattern also could be considered cheating, depending on which game we’re playing so there’s that.

I think for me it doesn’t quite cross the line into unbelievability, but some foreshadowing would have been nice for the whole seeing-through-the-eyes-of-a-dove thing. And I suppose there is some, in that we know that ravens and rats are ‘spies for the Dark One’, so maybe it’s on me for not realising that was an actual tool that the Dark One’s other servants may be able to use. But it just didn’t really seem set up that way, so I’m a bit on the fence.

The part that does work about this is that it’s Graendal being very, very good at the games she plays, just as Rand was afraid of. He knew she was clever, knew she would very likely see through any plan or strategy he created, and in a way she kind of… has. Or rather, she’s made use of something he didn’t account for, for all that his plan was also clever.

Al’Thor’s tame Aiel

There’s an excellent sort of irony in that phrasing, from one who lived in a time when the Aiel truly were nonviolent servants of the Aes Sedai.

[Nynaeve] would have to die; al’Thor relied upon her; her death would bring him pain.

Don’t you dare. It’s fine, her defeat of Moghedien was a perfect warm-up.

And after her, al’Thor’s dark-haired lover.

You’re forgetting his red-haired lover… and his sun-haired lover… but sure, let’s take Rand’s love life one at a time. That’s…fair.

He acted the same now as he had during her Age; he liked to plan, to spend time building to a crescendo of an assault.

Well, I mean, in this case, you are not wrong.

He’d brought that with him? It was nearly as bad as balefire.

About that.

Ah. And now she sees what his plan was. Hey, when Graendal thinks you’re clever, you should definitely take it as a compliment.

But it also means Graendal’s off for an impromptu holiday – but not before leaving Aran’gar and Delana shielded so that Rand’s plan will appear to succeed. Clever and ruthless and listen, I love her. I know, I know. I don’t know why I’m like this either.

She struggled to dismiss the gateway, and caught one glimpse of the horrified Aran’gar before everything behind was consumed in beautiful, pure whiteness.

The gateway vanished, leaving Graendal in darkness.

I just love the way light and dark (and gateways, actually) are played with in both iterations of this scene. Rand leaving the warm light of the gateway behind, crossing that threshold into a darkening sky. The way he is shadowed, his face in shadow, his eyes in shadow, just before he becomes a blinding, searing, awful-in-its-beauty form of pure Light with the potential to destroy the world. An enemy of the Shadow, yet surrounded by it even as he becomes light.

And now we almost bookend that, with Graendal leaving behind that white light of destruction, crossing back over a threshold and away from that scene, but she is of the Shadow and so while Rand’s gateway led him away from a warm light, this one takes her into the protection of darkness.

Balescream? That’s… a word.

A moment when creation itself howled in pain.

At the actions of the Light’s champion. The Creator’s champion. He must know anguish, and he has. And the Dragon is one with the Land, and the Land is one with the Dragon, and so it is only fitting that the Land knows that anguish as well. The entirety of creation sharing in the pain of near-undoing, brought on by but also embodied by Rand, the Dragon, its Champion, even as he embodies that Light by becoming it in that scene where he appeared more light than man.

This was a disaster.

No, she thought. I live.

And so we come to the question: do the ends justify the means, if they fail to achieve them?

It’s something WoT has played with before: Perrin torturing the Shaido and ultimately not getting any information from them comes to mind. This is just… on an even larger scale. Is the annihilation of a fortress and everyone in it, and almost the world around it, justified if it allows him to kill one of the Forsaken? If so, is it justified even if that is merely the intent, regardless of whether it succeeds or fails? What determines that justification, or lack thereof? Or is it unwarranted no matter the outcome, because the cost is too high?

(I am reminded, suddenly, of Rand in TFoH thinking that Moiraine’s apparent death and Lan’s departure was ‘a high price to pay for Lanfear’).

I just love these questions of morality and of where lines are drawn or should be drawn, precisely because they are so open-ended. And Rand’s… well, in a way it’s not even complete failure; he does kill Aran’gar if not Graendal, but that almost plays into it as well because it’s an unintended consequence. It’s not what he set out to do.

So then we add ‘if he did this to kill a specific one of the Forsaken, and she escapes but he happens by accident to kill another, does that end justify those means?’ But his failure to kill Graendal leaves that question so much more ambiguous: as if the narrative itself hesitates to fully justify or fully condemn his actions. Instead, it lets you ask yourself that question. Whereas if he had succeeded in killing her… the question can certainly still be asked, and that would still be very much part of the point, but it helps weight the scales a bit if you can say ‘well, it worked’. Whereas this… it’s entirely up to you. Was it worth it?

From Graendal to Galad? That’s a pivot.

Oh, but I love this image of Galad, the purest of the white knights, untarnished and untouchable, literally mired in a swamp.

Bitemes buzzed in the muggy air. The stench of mud and stagnant water threatened to gag him with each breath

Sometimes, you use atmosphere to highlight aspects of a character. Rand stepping out of a gateway into shadow and darkness. Every word that’s ever been written about Dragonmount. And then sometimes you place a character in an environment that is their precise opposite, and in that juxtaposition highlight those defining traits but also…push against them, I suppose. It’s a great way of showing a conflict of some kind. Galad is now the Lord Captain Commander of the Children of the Light, who are themselves corrupted. And he is fighting that corruption because it is his antithesis, but it’s so present and oppressive around him, and it makes for such an excellent contrast.

Miserable though this as, this route was the best way.

Yeah, see, I know you mean that literally, Galad, but it sort of illustrates my point. His task – redeeming the Whitecloaks, unless I massively miss my guess – is not going to be an easy one. Leading them right now can’t be pleasant. But it’s the best way to see them through this, to do the right thing. And we all know that’s what Galad is all about.

Oh, he’s going to take on Asunawa? First Valda and then Asunawa and damn it I never wanted to like Galadedrid Damodred.

Here and there the sickly greys and greens were relieved by a bright burst of tiny pink or violet flowers clustering around trickling streams. Their sudden colour was unexpected, as if someone had sprinkled drops of paint on the ground.

It was strange to find beauty in this place.

Beauty, yes, but subtlety? Hell no. But – I know I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again – I don’t care that this isn’t subtle. I love the way atmosphere and imagery can be used to this effect. Mired in a swamp with an unpleasant task to do and leading a corrupted force, but there are surprising moments of beauty and colour and promise.

His horse is called Stout and for some reason that amuses me.

This place, with its stench and biting insects, would try the best of men.

You don’t say.

And where Valda – the Lord Captain Commander before Galad – had turned out to be a murderer and a rapist.

So I mean, at least the bar is set pretty low for you there, Galad.

‘Damodred,’ Dain said softly, their boots squishing in mud, ‘perhaps we should turn back.’

NO BACK ONLY FORWARD.

CAN’T REMAKE THE PAST MUST CREATE A FUTURE.

Which Galad pretty much echoes only, you know, more eloquently.

‘But this swamp,’ Bornhald said, glancing to the side as a large serpent slid through the underbrush. ‘Our maps say we should have been out of it by now.’

‘Then surely we are near the edge.’

‘Perhaps,’ Dain said […] ‘Unless the map is in error.’

SYMBOLISM THICKER THAN THE SWAMP. I love this, I really do. I’m just laughing through this entire set of descriptions but this is just so perfectly ‘I Don’t Think You’re Only Talking About The Swamp There, Boys’ and neither of them quite realise it and it’s excellent.

Galad stepped off to the side, climbing a small hill.

While his half-brother is climbing an enormous mountain. Step it up, Galad.

Oh he’s giving an Inspiring Speech.

‘But it is on the deepest nights when light is most glorious.’

Unless it’s Choedan Kal balefire in which case… well okay, in fairness, that was also glorious, for a certain definition of the word.

‘We are hunted by those who should love us, and other pathways lead to our graves.’

Then maybe you should be worthy of their love. As for pathways leading to your graves, you know what they say about the paths of glory, right?

‘We will face this test with heads held high.’

That’s the core of it, really. It’s about choosing to fight, and knowing why you fight. It’s Rand’s epiphany in miniature. That this is going to fucking suck, but they’ll face it not because they have to but because they’re fighting for something, and because they choose to face this.

Byar wants to take a detour via the White Tower for a bit of petty destruction on their way to the Last Battle and Galad’s like nah we kind of need magic on our side. Credit where it’s due, I suppose.

‘but the Children of the Light will be leaders at the Last Battle.’

I mean, you might have to queue for that particular role, but I suppose it’s good to have ambitions.

Oh, he’s not planning to take on Asunawa, because sometimes retreat really is the better part of valour, especially when ‘retreat’ in this case is ‘turn towards a much larger battlefront for the future of the entire world’. Again, fair. And hey, look at that, Galad’s learning to prioritise.

A dead forest with sickly moss and a river full of corpses? Which battle was this? It sounds almost like the Blight, but they’re in approximately the entirely wrong place for that. Perrin’s attack on Malden, maybe? Or Tylee’s force being ambushed by Trollocs?

Galad set his jaw. ‘Can this be forded?’

‘It’s shallow, my Lord Captain Commander,’ Child Barlett said. ‘But we’ll have to watch for hidden depths.’

Not to mention hidden MEANINGS. *Finger guns*

I’m so sorry.

He hiked up his trousers as far as he could

How scandalous.

Likely a village upstream had been attacked for its food.

I think perhaps a village upstream was attacked for its Faile, but I could be wrong.

The ground is uneven! Footing is uncertain! A misstep could mean death! No additional meanings to be found here, none at all…

‘Burn those clouds. I can never tell what time it is.’

‘Four hours past midday,’ Galad said.

In which Galad has taken the Keen Mind feat. (And in which yes, I am a total fucking nerd).

Trom’s like are you sure Andor’s a good idea and Galad’s like it’s fine I have a summer home there.

Light send that Elayne held the Lion Throne. Light send that she had escaped the tangles of the Aes Sedai, though he feared the worst. There were many who would use her as a pawn, al’Thor not the least of them. She was headstrong, and that could make her easy to manipulate.

Galad, when this is all over, you and your sister need to have a talk. And you and Gawyn both need to stop underestimating her.

‘To abandon the Children now, after killing their leader, would be wrong.’

Trom smiled. ‘It’s as simple as that to you, isn’t it?’

‘It should be as simple as that to anyone.’

Galadedrid ‘what do you mean, morality is complicated’ Damodred, everyone. And this is why he continues to by turns bore and infuriate me, despite all his damn then he did dance and his fucking all his grace, turned in an instant to fluid death and fighting Valda in efforts to make me like him. I will NOT.

‘Even if we have to make alliances with the Dragon Reborn himself, we will fight.’

Yeah about that. Also I desperately want to see what happens when he learns about their, uh, relationship. Then again, having grown up in the mess that is the Damodred-Trakand family, maybe it wouldn’t even be a surprise. ‘Oh, another somewhat dysfunctional familial relationship? Yeah, sure, add it to the pile.’

Okay seriously what is with the trees here? We are way too far south for the Blight but the fact that they’re dead and fuzzed with something malignant has been brought up three times now and we all know the rule of threes in foreshadowing.

No, even his memorisation of maps will not endear me to Galad. Nor his ‘pain can be dealt with’. I refuse.

Oh look at that, it’s an ambush.

So about that whole not wanting to face Asunawa…

This march through the swamp had been suggested by his scouts. Galad could see it now; it had been a delaying tactic

And also, you know, symbolic. The traitorous scouts, loyal to the Whitecloaks under Asunawa – the corrupted Whitecloaks, those who ostensibly stand for the Light but whose deeds represent anything but – trying to drag Galad, the white knight and redeemer, through the swamp even as he tries to bring them to somewhere better, to what they should be.

Oh he’s going to try to talk to Asunawa. That’ll end well.

Asunawa was not smiling. He rarely did.

Sorry Asunawa, but Demandred’s pretty much got the market cornered on that one, and he carries it far better than you.

Oh hey, two leaders of rebel factions facing each other down? A parallel drawn between two entities – Whitecloaks and Aes Sedai – who believe themselves enemies.

‘Surely you would not ignore the rules of formal engagement?’ Galad said.

Because surely everyone is as lawful-good as you, Galad. There’s a belief that will cause you nothing but pain. But please, proceed.

And now Asunawa’s calling him Darkfriend, and this really is playing out as a parallel, of sorts, to Elaida against Egwene.

Asunawa hesitated. Naming seven thousand of the Children as Darkfriends would be ridiculous

First (semantic) blow to Galad.

‘I am no Darkfriend.’ Galad met Asunawa’s eyes.

‘Submit to my questioning and prove it.’

Oh.

That uh… is a… not entirely unappealing option, from my own perspective as a reader who enjoys far too much seeing characters put through hell, especially if they do so defiantly or as a sacrifice and anyway my point is I would not be opposed to this.

It's just that Galad, for all that he is Not My Type, is the type of character who could carry torture well. I’m just saying.

‘Tell me, do the Children of the Light surrender?’

Golever shook his head. ‘We do not. The Light will prove us victorious.’

I have to appreciate Galad’s approach here: taking the very principles of the Whitecloaks – as they are meant to be – and using them as weapons against Asunawa. Because it is, in a way, the very epitome of fighting fair. He doesn’t strike, doesn’t threaten, doesn’t even really argue. He lets Asunawa’s men, and the Whitecloaks’ own doctrine, make his arguments for him.

‘You see that I am in a predicament. To fight is to let you name us Darkfriends, but to surrender is to deny our oaths. By my honour as the Lord Captain Commander, I can accept neither option.’

In which Galad fucking Damodred catches everyone else in his moral dilemma of two things that are right, yet opposite. It is, for his character, almost annoyingly perfect.

‘Do you deny that you yourself watched me face Valda in fair combat, as prescribed by law?’

Okay okay okay you know what I love? I love that he’s fighting Asunawa, the leader of the Questioners, with questions.

Because Asunawa isn’t asking any. He’s making accusations and threats, and Galad is parrying them with questions. To Asunawa, to those who stand by him. He arms himself with questions and lets the answers make his point and that? Is brilliant.

‘But I would not call that fight fair. You drew on powers of the Shadow; I saw you standing in darkness despite the daylight, and I saw the Dragon’s Fang sprout on your forehead.’

I feel like there’s a missed opportunity in Galad’s entire character: what if he could channel? That would be so full of interesting potential. Both as an internal conflict, because how would he reconcile being a man who could channel with his utter certainty about doing what is right, but also for his entire role. The leader of the Children of the Light, who hate the ‘witches’ perhaps more than the Shadow itself…

Ah well.

‘Tell me. Is the Shadow stronger than the Light?’

Powers of the Shadow? No. Galad fights with powers of rhetoric.

But again, he’s just asking questions. Perfectly crafted questions to illustrate his point, but he’s still just asking questions of a Questioner and letting the Whitecloaks’ beliefs show him to be the one who truly holds to them. What a play.

‘You have no rights as a Darkfriend! I will parley no more with you, murderer.’ Asunawa waved a hand, and several of his Questioners drew swords.

Because they cannot face Galad’s questions. Galad asks, and they reply with swords. Because Asunawa cannot continue to hear them. He represents everything they should be, and they cannot face it, cannot let themselves recognise it, and so the draw swords and everything about this is excellent.

Asunawa would win a battle, but if Galad’s men stood their ground, it would be a costly victory. Both sides would lose thousands.

‘I will submit to you,’ Galad said. ‘On certain terms.’

You know who he reminds me of here? Loath as I am to admit it? Egwene. Facing an enemy who should be an ally, and fighting not for victory against them but for the entity they both should represent. Fighting for the cause, rather than fighting against the person. Willing even to submit, if it will bring unity and spare bloodshed. ‘I wish the Tower had a great Amyrlin in you’, Egwene said to Elaida. Neither fought for pride or for ego or for leadership – or at least, none of those things were the sole aim. Instead, they are fighting to make an organisation that should stand for the Light but has fallen into corruption and division into what it should be, what it always should have been.

And I do sort of wonder – I can’t even believe I’m saying this but HERE WE ARE – why Egwene ends up with Gawyn and not Galad after all.

‘You swear – before the Light and the Lords Captain here with you – that you will not harm, question, or otherwise condemn the men who followed me.’

There is one very glaring exception in that protection, Galad. I… assume this is intentional and I’m way more here for it than I should be. Carry on.

‘You cannot hinder the Hand of the Light in such a way! This would give them free rein to seek the Shadow!’

‘And is it only fear of Questioning that keeps us in the Light, Asunawa?’

QUESTIONING THE QUESTIONER. I’m still just not entirely over this as a rhetorical strategy – asking questions as a form of attack, sure, but it has that extra layer of being a tactic against the Questioners that just. Really hits me right in my appreciation for narrative symmetry.

‘The Dragon Reborn walks the land.’

‘Heresy!’ Asunawa said.

‘Yes,’ Galad said. ‘And truth as well.’

Oh man, that is a line. He will deny the accusations that he is a Darkfriend, but he does not deny this. Does not deny that it is heresy. But that does not make it a lie.

And Galad can accept that: can accept that even heresy must be faced, if it is the right thing to do. Heresy must be faced and accepted, if it is true. What cannot be changed must be endured, and Galad is… oddly, perhaps, not one for denial. He doesn’t try to turn from that truth, no matter what he may feel about it.

‘If we fight, we will kill good men, Child Bornhald,’ Galad said, without turning. ‘Each stroke of our swords will be a blow for the Dark One. The Children are the only true foundation that this world has left. We are needed. If my life is what is demanded to bring unity, then so be it.’

It is so very like Egwene. So very like what she said to the Aes Sedai who supported her and opposed her alike. They are not fighting for power; they are fighting because they see what is needed – and if their death rather than their ascendance can bring that, they will face that just as willingly as the responsibility of leadership.

I also had to smile a bit at the statement that the Children are the only true foundation – because that, too, echoes the Aes Sedai. If the White Tower dies, hope dies. Neither is strictly true because neither is the only force for the Light out there… but in a way that kind of conviction is needed. They just also need to maybe accept that they have some allies. Or should, at least.

WAIT WHAT ASUNAWA IS ACCEPTING THIS OFFER? OH. OKAY.

‘Take him,’ Asunawa snapped.

Yeah I’m here for it.

‘Inform them that I have taken the false Lord Captain Commander into custody, and will Question him to determine the extent of his crimes.’

Look, Galad’s far from a favourite character but there is something about him that suggests he would suffer rather beautifully and I am so sorry.

‘Return to our men; tell them what happened here, and do not let them fight or try to rescue me. That is an order.’

So very, very like Egwene here. Which almost irritates me because Egwene is one of my favourites and Galad is Not, but I have to give Galad some credit: he has made a truly valiant effort in the last few books.

Oh and just…straight to the torture. Cool. This is fine.

One forced Galad to the ground, a boot on his back, and Galad heard the metallic rasp of a knife being unsheathed.

Turns out there are two situations in which I like Galad Damodred. The first: then he did dance, all his grace turned in an instant to fluid death. The second: …this.

Also now he and Rand can have some quality fraternal bonding over their shared experiences with torture. It’ll be fun!

‘I am not a Darkfriend,’ Galad said, face pressed to the grassy earth. ‘I will never speak that lie. I walk in the Light.’

That earned him a kick to the side, then another, and another. He curled up, grunting. But the blows continued to fall.

Finally, the darkness took him.

How fitting, and awful, to follow his utter defiance here – the one thing he does deny, the one thing he does not turn into a question and the one thing he will not surrender: he is not a Darkfriend – with darkness taking him.

It’s also – again, my deepest but not entirely sincere apologies here – very much a good look on him.

Alright, I’ll see myself out.

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