#ruthless rufus

[halchron]

sora's ask just reminded me but I figured I'd finally point out the obvious and say reno is not his real name. he grew up in an orphanage before he joined / got scouted for shinra / the turks, and thus never knew his parents and subsequently never got a name from them. not knowing what to call him, they simple called him reno and it stuck from there

#☾ ━ reno ( headcanons ). #I guess his last name in canon is sinclair but I'm just kinda ignoring that for now #but I'll keep that in my back pocket if I ever wanna make up some parents for him #but yeah idk maybe he worked like as a general employee in shinra for a couple years before getting upgraded to a turk #but I like to think that shinra was like damn this kid is ruthless and expendable lets make him a turk #so idk its one or the other #anyways I do think that reno in general kinda grew up with rufus and the others and I think that's wonderful #that's his family for real even if none of them will admit to it

[queensconquest]

also that scene always makes me laugh a little bc rufus really here like "Fear not. You haven’t lost a point.”

YET

and then immediately hits him.

#〉the angst empress〈 — ✭ ⌜ooc⌟ #rufus is ruthless honestly #out here talking abt how to use the same team as weapons against each other #and then this #not to mention his little experiment with new spells

[rottenpumpkin13]

oooooo now you’re making me want to read the scenario you described (Rufus trying to tell Sephiroth he owns him and making him snap.) that sounds absolutely delicious

I tried my best!

• The air in the boardroom that evening is heavy enough to prompt Lazard to loosen his tie before it suffocates him. The board of directors—along with Sephiroth, Lazard, and Tseng—convened urgently following the sudden demise of President Shinra and the takeover of Rufus.

• Sephiroth has his reasons for despising Rufus as it is, and is not at all happy about having to take orders from him from now on.

• Rufus on the other hand is entirely motivated by ambition and a restless desire to assert his authority over everyone—but especially his late father's bastard.

• He proposes a ruthless course of action detrimental to SOLDIERs interests, so rash that it's clear to Lazard and Sephiroth what he's trying to do. Sephiroth can't keep quiet and unbothered this time. He is bothered, and he is angry for so many reasons.

• Sephiroth vehemently opposes Rufus's gross proposal. By the way his voice—usually leveled and collected—now rang angrily throughout the room, the other directors could sense the situation was bound to escalate quickly. Rufus was not one to be reprimanded by someone he deemed inferior to him.

• Sephiroth's determination to put Rufus in his place is fueled by the knowledge that Rufus was the reason why Glenn is dead. He refuses to let him harm his other friends.

• Rufus knows that Sephiroth knows. And it's his reason why he keeps quiet when Sephiroth is finished, letting the SOLDER's words sit in the air, untouched and uncured for by the rest of the room, who are waiting nervously to hear Rufus' response.

• Rufus, in turn, will come to wish he had kept quiet.

• "I own Shinra now, and by extension, I own you. Unlike Glenn, who met his fate due to disobedience, you will learn to toe the line or suffer the consequences." Rufus hums. "Much like Glenn."

• Sephiroth is enraged. He had the fire burning inside him all these years, but Rufus drenched it in gasoline. He unleashes an ugly floor of rage that tears at his throat, where no scream will come out.

• Sephiroth launches himself across the the table, hands gripping closed around Rufus's throat, cutting off his words and his breath in one swift move he had been waiting years to make.

• Chaos erupts in the room as attempts to pry Sephiroth from the president prove futile against the strength of the SOLDIER. Lazard is quick to call for reinforcements, summoning Genesis and Angeal to intervene before tragedy strikes and Sephiroth does something he'll regret.

• The aftermath for Rufus isn't pretty. Sephiroth nearly crushed his wind pipe completely and left wounds that made it impossible to talk or much less breath without aid. The doctors say he'll be fine, but each labored breath serves as a reminder of how Sephiroth is now a danger.

• And so Rufus issues an order to Hojo, commanding him to take whatever measures he can to restrain Sephiroth and make sure he never has the power to come after him ever again.

• Hojo knows his glorious experiment, and is aware that Sephiroth won't agree to restraints or control so easily—if at all. As much of an inconvenience as it is, he admires that the boy has boundaries. It's interesting. All the more opportunity to bypass them without him knowing.

• So Hojo administered sedatives under the guise of medical treatment, telling him the pills and injections are for his anxiety and stress only.

• Sephiroth doesn't regret the attack, but he is frightened by his own strength. He figures the treatment for his anxiety will help him.

• The sedatives render Sephiroth a hollow shell of his former self.

• Sephiroth's existence becomes a haze of medicated numbness, the essence of who he once was stripped from him and leaving a zombie in its place. The days blur together from him, and he has no other desire other than completing his tasks and obligations before crawling into bed.

• Genesis and Angeal refuse to let this continue. They need to find something, anything, that will pull Sephiroth out of this haze. So they turn to the topic of his origins—more specifically, his mother "Jenova"

• This leads them back to Banora, where they raid Hollander's old lab in search of any bit of information.

• There they find a photograph of a woman matching the exact description of Sephiroth's mother. Except this woman is wearing a lab coat with the name " Dr. Lucrecia Crescent"

• They're confused, and are left with more questions than they had to begin with. But this has to be Sephiroth's deceased mother. He deserves to know about this—whatever this is.

• So they present the photograph to Sephiroth, who is numb at first, until it slowly starts to come back to him. His mother, who he had thought he'd never see again. Except....

• The shock and endless questions pounding at his skull are enough to make Sephiroth gain enough consciousness to confront Hojo. He goes to him, demanding answers , demanding the truth, shoving the photographic proof in his father's face.

• Hojo makes no effort to hide anything. He reveals everything, every ugly detail that Sephiroth had always feared about himself, his existence, his humanity and subsequent lack thereof.

• The revelation of Sephiroth's true lineage plunges him into a depression punctuated by the effects of the drugs on his weak mind. But it doesn't stop him from being angry. If anything, this propels him to take action.

• Damned be Shinra, damned be Rufus and Hojo, and the lies and the very city that had become his gilded cage for so many years. He burns it all to the ground.

#ff7 #ffvii #final fantasy 7 #sephiroth #final fantasy vii #ffvii crisis core #genesis rhapsodos #ff7 crisis core #angeal hewley #professor hojo #rufus shinra

[dark-elf-writes]

We all agree that I have too many au’s right? Right?

So anyway the bodyguard thing I was talking about yesterday has grown legs and won’t leave me alone.

Pushing the timeline back a fair amount so Cloud is eighteen when he gets to Midgar and already has a solid amount of experience under his belt just from random odd jobs/monster hunting/traveling. And sometime in his odyssey to Midgar the president dies and Rufus takes over.

Now Rufus has a choice for how he can run the company and he decides the most annoying way to his father’s legacy that would still put him in a good light with the public would be to go for the family company route, meaning all the known bastards (*coughlazardcough*) are recognized and paternity tests for any suspiciously blond perspective employees become the norm.

And Cloud is immediately flagged as a possible Shinra when he eventually shows up.

A quick paternity test and not so quick total meltdown later and Cloud is presented with his new future whether he likes it or not.

Because there is no way any Shinra could be treated as someone lesser (and because Rufus would eat his own gun before he let the science department and Hojo specifically get their hands on any Shinra test subjects) Cloud can’t be in SOLDIER. But they also… don’t really know what to do with him.

He is treated as the public darling as he is the youngest Shinra Bastard currently known and he at least looks far more innocent than any of his half siblings, but other than letting him roam the Shinra building and occasionally finding him lurking in the garages tinkering with whatever motorcycles he can get his hands on there’s no real… place for him.

And then he barges into Rufus’ office with proof that Palmer is embezzling funds gained through his budding friendship with several of the engineers in the space department who took a liking to him after seeing him covered in engine grease with those big wide eyes that really couldn’t mean any harm, and Rufus realizes he is sitting on a gold mine.

Cloud is as close to a common man as any Shinra could be, has the youthful innocence look down, and is ruthless enough to offer up the head of a department on a silver platter to his older brother because and he quotes “I mean if he’s stealing from you then he’s stealing from me”

So Rufus sets Cloud to be his spy inside the company to uncover where the problems are from the bottom up undercover boss style.

The only problem?

Cloud will be gaining enemies fast once changes start rolling out and he has slipped every bodyguard he has put in the kid up to and including his Turks, and there is no way in hell he is going to assign the kid Tseng who is his.

So Rufus has to look for bodyguards elsewhere who are strong, fast, and smart enough to keep up with Cloud but who also won’t get in the way of his spying.

Enter Kunsel. Who is all but running a spy network of his own, has the enhancements to keep up with Cloud when he’s in his moods, and somehow has earned the kids loyalty after one afternoon spent in a training room.

Surely with a SOLDIER assigned to him Cloud can’t get into too much trouble right? Right?!!

#the elf talks #ff7 #just cloud bothering his brothers vibing. with reeve and engaging in a healthy dose of corporate espionage

[aethelflaedel]

this is probably really niche but. the baratheon brothers as the sons of william the conqueror???

1) the eldest son is called robert...

2) stannis as robert curthose!! firstly, robert curthose felt offended that his father (the king) gave him the freshly-conquered seat (the english throne) rather than the ancestral seat, (normandy). compare this to stannis complaining about robert giving him dragonstone (targ seat) over storm's end (ancestral seat). not to mention, both stannis and robert curthose struggled to see that they were being treated as heirs (to the seven kingdoms, to england).

3) william rufus very likely being gay and surrounding himself with young handsome knights.... WHOOO does that remind you of.

4) william rufus dies and INSTANTLY henry travels to england to be crowned ahead of any other claimants. it's giving stannis. also henry was known for being ruthless and having disputes with the church, which is stannis to a T. not to mention, henry only had one (legitimate) daughter who he named as his heir (i.e shireen)

in conclusion: the baratheon brothers are william rufus, robert curthose and henry i but in like, wonky order. also stannis is simultaneously henry AND robert curthose. I don't know too much about these three because I'm more knowledgeable about matilda onwards, but these are just the similarities I've been able to observe so far. grrm try not to write english history challenge

#robert curthose is so interesting i need to read more about him #also henry i himself #this is my niche btw so you best believe i WILL be capitalising on it #more asoiaf medieval explanations to come!! #asoiaf #robert baratheon #stannis baratheon #renly baratheon #house baratheon #miraposting

[silveragelovechild]

Mike Flanagan, creator and director of “The Fall of the House of Usher” (Netflix) is well know for casting a repertory of actors in his productions (including his wife Kate Siegal). He must have been binge watching a lot of science fiction when he was casting this new show. I count at least 7 actors in prominent roles who are well known for appearing in other scifi projects.

Mike Flanagan - Director/Writer

Annabeth Gish - She play Eliza Usher, the crazy mother, in episode one. Of course she also played Scully’s replacement Monica Reyes in the X Files.

Bruce Greenwood - He stars in the series as Roderick Usher. Of course he also played Captain Pike in the Star Trek film Reboot.

Mark Hammill - He’s the slimy family lawyer Arthur Pym. But the world knows him as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars.

Nicholas Lea - He has the recurring role of the judge in the series. Everyone remembers him as the traitorous Alex Krycek in X Files.

Mary McDonnell - She plays Madeline Usher, Roderick’s ruthless sister. She also played the President of the 12 Colonies in the Battlestar Galactica reboot.

T'Nia Miller- she plays Roderick’s deceitful daughter Victorine LaFourcade. Recently she had roles in both Foundation & Peripheral.

Michael Truco - He plays Roderick’s ruthless boss Rufus Griselda. But he also played Anders, a human freedom fighter who learns he’s one of the Final Five in Battlestar Galactica.

#netflix #the fall of the house of usher #Michael Flanagan #mark Hamill #luke skywalker #Annabeth Gish #x files #nicholas lea #battlestar galactica #michael trucco #Mary McDonnell

[cburambles]

Lil' analysis of the Rufus/ Elena scene crumbs in Rebirth

I'm doing this for fun but organize my thoughts and keep tracks of things I've noticed about them while also giving some food for thoughts if there's people interested in that ship.

Here's i'm gonna analyze the scenes.

I will later write about design & symbolism , their arcs, their personnalities, relationship & how they perceive each other ,what Rebirth add to the rest of the compilation as well what road can we can potentially expect for the story of Rufus & the Turks in part 3 in general.

The Mythril Mines scene:

Here, we get get a great way to establish her character. Elena is the one who is curious and asks questions while the others try to not think about their orders much. As someone new, she also has an unique POV as the mysteries unfold in front of her.

It's also a great way to show that her superiors don't tell her everything, which may cause problem in the future as Elena is a self-righteous & rather independant person who sometime disobey orders.

They also did a great job showcasing her ruthless side & also sublty hint what drives her.

The helicopter scene en-route for the Gold Saucer with Palmer:

Here, Elena is shown being not scared to use Rufus' authority to shut up a member of the Board. Despite the space program being shut down, we still have to remember that Elena is a new employee & that Palmer is her senior by decades & used to be a friend of Rufus' father. Despite the hierarchical difference, Elena's is pretty assertive for a new employee & doesn't hesitate to borrow Rufus' authority to have Palmer stop complaining & contesting Rufus' decision to send him there in a sassy manner.

The Gongaga proto-relic sidequest:

After you're done with one of the Gongaga VR mission in the Turks facility, Elena is shown without hesitation ushering Rufus & him acknowledging her. We see that she's not scared of him & both of seem to have a respectful & cordial relationship.

I noted the interesting composition of the shot tho.

First, they didn't have to animate this. They could just had have Rufus says his line about the player performance & then leave. But they still wanted to showcase that little moment between the two of them for some reason.

Second, the way the camera zoom-in on them while putting Rude on the foreground but almost push him out of the frame as he's watching them, as if the devs really want you to pay attention to that interaction.

Third, Elena is the rookie. Thus the one who should address Rufus directly should be her seniors. However, Rufus & Elena address each other directly, with the latter talking to him confidently.

This also happens right after we see Rufus complaining about Tseng wanting to assign him bodyguards & saying he didn't need any so you would expect he would be annoyed that the babiest Turk would try to usher him away or have him ignore her. We saw how he can get with Heidegger in Remake not calling him "Mr.President". But he doesn't.

Fourth, it's clear here there was a whole switcheroos between roles due to Reno's jpn VA passing away.

In this mission, Rude & Elena address you as if you were Reno (Rude call you partner & Elena reffer to you as "senpaï" .

Reno however, already has a lot of experiences after all this years working for the Turks. My guess is that originally, those VR missions were destined to Elena.

It makes more sense, to prepare her to what the Turks' life is. VR Rufus is also already president too. If you do well during that mission, Rufus is willing to offer you whatever you want. Would that mean he made such proposition to Elena at one point? (is this how she got her pink gun which has strangely a white belt on & black buttons & is studed with diamonds?)

The flight to the Gold Saucer with Rufus:

During that scene, we're shown that Elena is curious & independant, making her a great intelligence officer material. The second she learns about the Promised Land, she decide to study the subject in the hopes to understand it better & the significance for Shinra. She then admit that it was actually a good idea to let Aerith run around so they can follow her.

It immediately switch from her to Darkstar waking up & curiously looking at Rufus. People who played the game in english however may have missed out an interesting audio detail: In the japanese dub, you can understand the reason why Darkstar woke up as you can hear Rufus do his signature (satisfied) "hmph" and him chuckling to himself while looking at window. It's even more audible in the french version as well.

D waking up & looking at Rufus curiously make it feel like it's an unusual occurence. Maybe he's just thinking about something & laugh to himself but it's also likely the game is implying Rufus was silently listening to her.

It's interesting because he is rarely framed that way. Most of the time he's the center of the room & the conversation, leading it. He addresses his employees & doesn't give more info than what's necessary. Even with Tseng, he often has his back to him & only turn around when he needs to make a point or when something intrigue him.

Added to that, letting Aerith go to follow her was Rufus' plan. Elena basically indirectly complimented him, which could be the reason why he's chuckling to himself. We never got to see him reacting this way to someone until now. For comparison, Heidegger compliment him when he decide to fire Sister Ray during chapter 4 & he didn't get any reaction from Rufus. But he's seemingly happy to get Elena's approval?

The chapter 12 tussle & rumble with Elena, Rude & Rufus.

For a start, we have to talk about how stupid this plan is as the Turks & Rufus could have just stolen the keystone, either by using Rufus'authority or burglarize the place while Dio & Avalanche were looking away. Rufus didn't also have to be there. Shinra is on the brink of a war but he instead decide to go on a trip ( it probably took a least 1 or 2 days for them to go from Midgar & reach the GS) I may have my speculations on why he's acting this way tho.

Rude, Elena & Rufus have beef with Avalanche so we can assume they went with that plan to settle their grudge by beating the shit of each other. However, the plan at first seemed to be for only Rude & Elena to fight, not Rufus. During the battle, you can hear Rufus calling Dio. It's a scripted event that only happen when you stagger Rude or Elena during the second phase of the combat (and there's chances it is Elena due to her weaker constitution). Did Rufus get protective of the Turks, which is what pushed him to suddenly participate?

Then there's the scene where he appears in the arena. While the duel between Cloud & Rufus is the main event, it's interesting to note we just have a quick zoom out on Cloud's face to show his reaction while it lingers more on the Turks & in particular Elena. There's a quick scene where Tseng calm down an excited & likely worried for his master, D. Then it switch to Elena asking what he's doing. Rufus notice her as his head turns toward her.

Elena is the most on focus while Rude in the background is blurred.

And we get this kind of smile from Rufus who's still looking at her while waving to the public. He looks softer than usual.

Then his face immediately switch to this when he turns to Cloud.

He answering her by making a show of himself. And then it's switch again to an annoyed & worried Elena. Once again, she's the point of focus while Rude is blurred.

Rufus then tell them to go join Tseng. And here we can see that he's addressing Elena (when he should address Rude) directly as his eyes are turned toward her & then turns back to Cloud while Elena can't help herself but emit a defeated sigh.

Here we're seeing that she stays herself around Rufus, trying to contest his decisions & everything. Not scared of him & not scared to show her annoyance at her boss' dumbass behavior.

Added to that, Cloud is seen asking the two party members who fought with him until now to leave him for that 1 on 1 fight. One of these two party members always turns out to be one of his love interests.

Once again, we're shown he actually pays attention to Elena, thought Rebirth is actually not the only time this happens. That whole exchange remind me of that moment between Reno & Rude in TKAA:

Which could explain as well Rude's reaction to Cloud being like "oh, poor you!" when Rufus is revealed to be alive in Advent Children. The game weigh even more on the idea that Rufus is emotionnally immature and insecure. Like Evan.

And Rufus' attitude is pretty Evan like in the way he takes risks while Elena is often compared to Kyrie by the fandom. Elena & Kyrie are fierce, morally ambiguous women who cause trouble to their group but also can be shown to be level-headed at times. Kyrie also chide & tries to confront Evan about his reckless side. Both of them could almost be considered as darker versions of these two characters. If the brothers have similar tastes in term of potential partners, well…

I think it's also interesting to note that Rufus is far more pissed about losing than during the first duel in Remake, added with Cloud poking at his insecurities.

The departure to the temple of the ancients:

This is a really interesting scene as it's a great way to show the group dynamic & Elena's potential importance after the company's crumble post- Meteorfall. Here, Elena is shown openly critisizing Rufus' decision to send them & a nice chunk of the army to the Temple of the Ancients, knowing the risks.

Rude, Reno & Tseng are shown being fine going along with whatever orders Rufus give them while Elena has her doubts & interrogations and rightfully so. Sending so many people there is a reckless move & she ended up being proven right. ( I could go on a tangent on how Elena could be a great partner to him due to the way she questions things. There's a difference between loyalty & sycophanty. And from the first scene with the Board or even Sister ray, what he needs is loyal people with enough backbone to challenge & give him the right advices. Which is what Elena represents)

However this were my beef with the english localization is coming in & how people who rely on it may have missed some nuances to the whole exchange:

In the eng version, she goes on how Rufus accompagnying the expedition is a bad idea but on brand with his character.

However in the jpn & french localization when Rude tells her Rufus is coming with them, Elena ask what he means & Reno says it's expected of him/it's not surprising. Elena says it's dangerous but that also that she doesn't dislike Rufus' decision to come with them, which is peak tsundere attitude.

While I think her eng VA did a great job overall, the direction also constantly make her sounds aggressive, even during moments when she's not.

So yeah the first version is just a statement on Rufus' behavior.

The second version give nuance on how Elena perceive Rufus. Yes, it's dangerous for him to do that but it also help her settle down a bit. She likes the fact he is participating in this.

It's also a great way to show why he has so much sway with the Turks, as Reno, Rude & Elena enjoy some of thrills that come with the job and Rufus is the same.

The compilation always frustrated me with the way their relationship has interesting tidbits but was often glossed over. I was surprised with the way Rebirth depicted these two as I considered myself lucky if we actually got them together in the same frame but we instead got a few interactions & them reacting to each other in a way that is pretty informative about their own characters but also how their dynamic would work.

It's pretty close of the interpretation I had always had for Ruiri/Rulena/Rufena: the type of ship that belong in the power couple category, similar opposites who challenge each other in a way that support them due to their strong personnalities & position while navigating thru their professional & personnal life with a fun dynamic to boot.

#cb's rambling #rufus shinra #elena ff7 #elena #elena of the turks #ff7 rebirth #ff7 rebirth spoilers #ff7r spoilers #ruiri #rufena #rulena

[tsukuyomiland]

Playing Rebirth, random ramblings. SPOILERS

-I missed Nanaki laughing his ass off while watching Cloud doing the military routine in front of Rufus

-Losing the first prize you get a scene way funnier than winning it

- How can be Yuffie be so out of character and so in character at the same time

-Cloud having the time of his life while commanding the military parade was a funny touch. Knowing his story you know that this is the highest he has been in military ranking and he is seizing it

-It's so evident they're trying to solve plotholes that have been exposed on the internet for 20 years, only to get again to the original plot using some opportune excuse but for it causing even MORE plotholes

-Aeris and Tifa have been always best friends, I will never understand why people insist in making them rivals. This game does nothing but to show that they are the best partners in crime and I LOVE IT

-Hardcore gamers use to remember this game as an epic drama, but it isn't. It was a reflection of the 90's anime tastes at the time, and that meant a lot of anime-styled comedy. Glad they tried to keep this constant comedy-driven script somehow, even if the graphics don't help

-I hate Ester's redesign

-Cloud is way nicer here

-I hate Rufus is getting a "goodification" in order to make him more suitable to his sequel self. Rufus wasn't never intended to survive FFVII, the novel was a very later idea, but in the original Rufus was a calculating and ruthless dictator with a thirst for power and he was a clear and threatening antagonist, who in the end got blasted by his own ambition. Now they're trying to clean his image to make him sympathetic.

-Also I hate how the later idea of the Turks being extremely loyal to Shinra is being implemented here. The funny thing about the Turks was that they only worked for their salary. They didn't have any personal grudge against the protagonists and they don't even fight them when they are on vacations and they make their last encounter completely optional, because they have no reason to really fight them more than the money they get from doing their job. Turks were never the extremely loyal dogs they are now. The previous idea was way more original and genuine.

#spoilers #ffvii #ffvii rebirth #final fantasy vii rebirth #ffvii rebirth spoilers

[casterixe]

Being the President of ShinRa Power Company calls for a ruthless bodyguard.

This is my FF7 Oc, Cas. She's a 1st Class SOLDIER who now spends her time guarding and doing the bidding of Rufus Shinra. I hope to have a character sheet for her soon.

#ff7 #oc #final fantasy vii #final fantasy 7 #rufus shinra #final fantasy #final fantasy vii remake #final fantasy 7 remake #final fantasy oc #Cas #i made cas #i love them together #i hope you like her #ff7 rebirth #ff7 remake #ffvii remake #ffviir #ffvii rebirth #ffvii

[takenbynumbers]

reeve for the ask game 🙏

sexuality hc: turksexual anyone that could kick his ass.

gender hc: cis-masc. looks great in a kilt though.

a ship that i have: tseeve. i am ride or die for them. but i am also fond of reevince.

a brotp: reeve/barret and cloud/reeve.

a notp: thanks to an ex-friend, reeve/rufus. ruined forever.

random hc: scarlet introduced him to the world of BDSM through a series of one-night stands while he was in college. another hc i have is that his inspire works similarly to materia use in-universe, and it's slowly chipping away at his life-essence every time he essentially breathes life into one of his creations.

general opinion: reeve is one of the few actual daddies in the game and one day, people will realise that and stop calling zack and seph 'daddy'. he's such a pathetic wet kitten while being one of the most ruthless characters in the game. duplicitous, conniving, entirely too clever and altruistic...what's not to love?

#character ask game

[fiercynn]

was in bed all day so i watched the entirety of the fall of the house of usher. i'm mixed about it overall, but i think it may have actually been the best plot-wise of the mike flanagan shows i've seen?

spoilers for all the mike flanagan tv shows except the midnight club (which i started and was intrigued by, but fizzled out on when i found out it had been cancelled) beneath the cut

my problem with both hill house and bly manor is that i think that plot-wise, they set up interesting stories and then can't stick the landing and go out with a whimper out at the end. they do an okay job with emotional arcs, but you can't entirely divorce the emotional journey from the bones of the story - at least, not in these kinds of stories - so the plot still matters, i think.

(imo midnight mass does not do that, it tells exactly the story it wants to tell and constructs it decently; i just found that story really boring lol.)

so while i think bly manor was still the most enjoyable of the shows to watch, the fall of the house of usher might be the best in my book at plot, and i enjoyed the way it used poe stories amd poetry with its own twists on them. and i think with a few changes could have been really good overall! here's what i would have changed:

less racism. i mean it was probably average amount of racist for both a flanagan show and, generally, a majority-white cast & crew american show, and i know the whole thing was about how horrible rich people are, but there was still so much casual racism, sigh

like 40% less monologuing. i know, i know, that's flanagan's whole deal, but it's still too much even when it's performed by actors as enjoyable as bruce greenwood and carla gugino, and isn't all about catholicism (sorry midnight mass fans)

pretty early on i thought that the reveal about what happened on new year's 1980 would be madeline and roderick killing rufus griswold. but then after roderick betrayed auguste at the deposition i was like "wait no that's too obvious, they must have killed annabel to keep her quiet about roderick's perjury" and honestly i think that would have been a better twist??? like even the bells they were hearing behind the wall made sense to me because her name was annabel! and it would have been a murder roderick felt guilty about on a personal level, and it might have made sense that he would take the deal from verna if her pitch was "you already sacrificed your wife who you loved. don't you want to make it worth it by having some certainty for you and your children for at least a number of decades?" so i was bored when my original predictable guess was right. i guess it fit better with the cask of amontillado to have it be rufus but still, less compelling

the scene with arthur showing pictures of verna throughout history was SO silly and hamfisted, i'm sorry. also the lemons speech, the worst kind of example of a flanagan monologue which thinks it's brilliant and is just...goofy

i thought maybe there was going to be a twist where lenore didn't die because her mom had actually cheated on freddie and i was upset that didn't happen :( i know it was meant to be a lesson, that roderick and madeline's deal had to apply even to the not-horrible members of the family, but i still hated it! sigh

i thought that both lulu wilson (child madeline) and willa fitzgerald (mid-20s madeline) did a much better job with the character than mary mcdonnell (senior madeline). idk something about her just didn't seem as ruthless and collected and cold?

also not a change exactly but why did no one comment on the fact that roderick and madeline usher, who are twins, one of whom was married at the time, decided to do a couples' costume as jay gatsby and daisy buchanan for new year's 1980. why

#the fall of the house of usher #mike flanagan #original

[marksman-ofthe-mist]

something of an (player-)oc master-post?

info on them beneath the cut cos I HAVE THE CHANCE!!!!! hear about my BLORBOS, BOY.

CASSIUS TUREVER-

listen to cassius by foals lol. lol . lol :-) lol. no relation

Jazz agent :-)

OBIE OBIEEEE OBIE my friend OBIE 's his companion ...

left-handed in more ways than one

he was originally just some guitarist guy until i decided i was gonna just like MAKE HIM in LOATHING. which was the best thing I could've done. it was either CASSIUS in MY LOATHING GAMES or err (checks notes) milo.....murphy.......... because i couldn't think of a better name. not related to the show i swear. it just came to me

he's british . dearly sorry or whatever i dont know . low-class, came to america 'for jobs' at age like 19. in 1922

HE'S NOT ACTUALLY SHADOW TAINTED (or at least in any substantial amount) WOULD YOU BELIEVE ME IF I SAID THE SHADOW STUFF IN HIS HAIR ACTUALLY CAME BEFORE I EVEN KNEW ABOUT SHADOW TAINT???? your honour i thought it would be cool . and it is . lol

fun fact about the stuff in his hair that was actually supposed to have been caused by terrence's accounting but now I have no idea. literally your honour it looks cool

ALFIE ACHIVUNTER-

Cheese wizard!

Barker (pre-taint)

Alphonse-gator (mid/post-taint)

average muscle, high mysticality, and like a 1 in moxie at all times ever

his last name is a portmanteau of achievement and hunter but i keep misspelling it as archivunter . maybe it could instead be archive and hunter but that doesn't make sense? anyway

hey alfie gullible's written on the ceili- hey yeah it does aw now i'm mad (in the shadow-tainted way . he's supposed to be my shadow-tainted guy except He Is Not Evil . He is just full of Madness . Knowledge of the unknowable or whatever you know? yeah)

he's worry. just look at him

CHARLIE HOLLOWAY-

fraternal twin

former bean-slinger, switched with Sylvester and became a snake-oiler

honourable :-)!

absolutely TERRIFIED of dying . more specifically of old age . that's why he found this clock of never-aging-ever*. it's pretty cool . does not look a day over 25 (or so)

more on this. if he played the sims i think he would pass out at the sight of the grim reaper (HALF SILLY?)

*ACTUALLY FUN FACT. it's more like never-changing-ever in the sense of he never gets sleepy nor hungry nor anything of that sort anymore. lol . if he got a cut he wouldn't bleed either

THOUGH despite all of that he'd quite literally turn to dust à la Maxwell Don't Starve if the clock got taken away somehow......

SYLVESTER HOLLOWAY-

guess . is this man a twin ? i have no idea . absolutely no idea (FRATERNAL TWIN)

former snake-oiler, switched with Charlie and became a bean-slinger

Pardner is Doc Alice . half the reason why he swapped classes w Charlie probably

neither honourable nor ruthless . lol

TBH HE'S THE LESS COOL BROTHER IN SO MANY WAYS I DONT HAVE MUCH TO SAY ON HIM. he's like. the shy one the one who never smiles ever the cautious one . but he IS there I GUESS

Mon Frère is a funny little mix of Sylvester and Charlie . I'm mentioning this cos I feel sooooo smart for it . instead of forgetting one and misremembering the other Rufus misremembered them BOTH and MUSHED THEM TOGETHER I GUESS. though that's specific to myyyyyyyy little loathing thingy . yeah

........SORRY IF THIS IS UTTERLY UNREADABLE? BY THE BY?

#so sorry for like . idk . image spam I DIDN'T REALISE #THERE'D BE #THREE (BIG) PICTURES??? #uuu it'd be 5 but i'm not including cockerel in here since his ref isn't formatted the same #nor am i including wattson in this HE SHOULD BE HERE BY ALL MEANS #BUT... BUT HE'S..... ERRR HE'S TOO OUT OF THE WAY? #same w cockerel just a wee #wattson's not a player character . cockerel is . but . not for SoL #maybe wattson will get his own post. for funsies #ocs #charlie mode #sylvester mode #cassius mode #alfie mode #shadows over loathing #loathing games

[mariacallous]

The opioid crisis — and the family that helped birth it — has inspired a number of books, documentaries, and TV shows, many of which aim to highlight the suffering caused by Purdue Pharma's criminally reckless marketing and promotion of OxyContin. In Netflix's The Fall of the House of Usher, however, Haunting honcho Mike Flanagan uses the works of Edgar Allen Poe to explore how moral and physical rot consumes the all-powerful (and fictional) family behind a sinister drug empire. Like Succession reinterpreted by the world's foremost author of Poe fan fiction, Usher is a Gothic-tinged horror lark that's more superficial than Flanagan's previous work but still delivers some creepy chills.

Fortunato Pharmaceuticals CEO Roderick Usher (Bruce Greenwood) has six children (by five different mothers), and when Usher begins, all of them are dead. The series is told in flashback, as a broken and ailing Roderick delivers his "confession" to Auguste Dupin (Carl Lumbly), a federal prosecutor who has been trying unsuccessfully for decades to bring down the Usher family's corrupt drug company. As a violent storm lashes the night outside, the two longtime enemies face off inside the dilapidated remains of the home where Usher and his brilliant sister, Madeline (Mary McDonnell), spent much of their very unhappy childhood. Over the course of eight hour-long episodes, Roderick eventually reveals the true reason his children met their ends — as visions of their mutilated corpses appear to torment him without warning.

Usher is packed with clever Poe Easter eggs. Roderick's children — incompetent eldest child Frederick (Henry Thomas), icy wellness entrepreneur Tamerlane (Samantha Sloyan), shamelessly ambitious medical engineer Victorine (T'Nia Miller), drug-addled man about town Napoleon (Rahul Kohli), ruthless family publicist Camille (Kate Siegel), and hedonistic youngest child Prospero (Sauriyan Sapkota) — share their names with notable Poe characters. Two other key players, cruel Fortunato execs Mr. Longfellow (Robert Longstreet) and Rufus Griswold (Michael Trucco), are named after poets Poe had personal beef with. And Madeline's lifelong quest to develop an AI algorithm that would bring users "virtual immortality" echoes Poe's obsession with (and fear of) death.

In his most famous short stories and poems, Poe wrote of people being brought down by greed and paranoia, addiction and violence, sometimes a senseless need for revenge. The Usher family is beset with each of these maladies, though their chief desire is to secure a life of complete comfort, which they do by amassing a fortune built on the pain of others. Young Madeline (Willa Fitzgerald) and Roderick (Zach Gilford) are launched on their path of moral decay by Verna (Carla Gugino), a mysterious demon who has built a successful career out of entrapping human "clients" by catering to — and then punishing them for — their inherent selfishness.

The poison apples don't fall far from the tree, and one by one Roderick's adult children destroy themselves in the name of avarice and glory. The Ushers and those in their orbit succumb to agonizing fates featuring many of Poe's greatest hits: Madness, mania, paralysis, and of course, premature burial. Each of Roderick's offspring gets a showcase episode that culminates in a grimly creative set-piece death — which is kinda fun, but it also, unfortunately, takes the place of true character development.

Fewer kids (and fewer scenes devoted to characters quoting Poe's verse) would have allowed for more time spent establishing who the children were as people, making their downfalls more poetic. Instead, they are all various shades of "good riddance" awful. The series spends the most time with Frederick, dubbed "Froderick" by his scornful siblings who dismiss him as a joke and daddy's number one suck-up. Thomas is wonderfully entertaining as the jittery, hapless Usher heir whose creeping suspicions about his wife (Crystal Balint) lead him to exact horribly unjustified and macabre revenge.

The cast, many of them members of Flanagan's Netflix repertoire, is dependably strong. Trucco brings a sleazy menace to Rufus, an arrogant boor who underestimates how far Madeline and Roderick will go to usurp him. Mark Hamill infuses Arthur Pym, the family's ruthless and unflappable attorney/fixer, with unexpected empathy, and Gugino delivers many a masterful monologue as Verna, who excoriates the various victims in her smooth and silky whisper. (Alas, her showdown with Madeline, an impeccably frosty and formidable force in McConnell's hands, is far too brief.)

The strong performances help sustain Usher in its sloggier stretches, though I still maintain that all streaming series should decide how many episodes they'll need per season and then subtract at least one. Flanagan's latest may not be his best (I'll save that spot for Midnight Mass), but it did give me an actual nightmare, one in which I was keeping my brother's severed head in a cardboard box — very much against his will, I should add. Poe would almost certainly approve. Grade: B

[thecloudstan]

Rufus and Cloud have very honest and frank communications in the bedroom. One of their rules that is that whenever they're apart, they're not allowed to pleasure themselves (no sir, Rufus is the ONLY ONE who can do that) and if they break the rule, they're in for a long night of ruthless teasing and bondage (can this even be considered a HC when Rufus canonly says he wants to collar/muzzle and dominate Cloud in Rebirth? XD XD XD).

Rufus' overt dominance becomes a little more casual over time, but his love of it is always there. I mean...I imagine he'd be a lot happier once they're reunited if Cloud is all pent up and ready to jump his bones. Just more of an excuse for him to exercise some of that overt dominance if he's in the mood 😌

#stanswers #Anonymous #rufus shinra #cloud strife #ruclo #strifra #rukura #NTYC #Next Time You Call #fic: next time you call

[schleckermaul]

sometimes i do think about it. you know. break in reim's arms after he faints in barma's mansion, having used too much of his power. rufus barma, the man who knows everything, asking reim. asking reim. if he knew about break's past. did you know anything about this seal? and reim caught break's body as he fell. with the seal revealed, with the truth of break's past as a killer laid bare. did you know anything about this seal? the pain on reim's face when he says no. no. (i'm his closest friend, and i didn't know about this.) and his master, the man who knows everything, had to ask the plainest of servants. the implications of that. rufus barma is a ruthless man, and reim is his personal servant, his family having served the barmas for generations, his grandfather the duke's closest friend. but his relationship to break? it's off limits. rufus is aware that reim has loyalties both with the barma household and the rainsworths. he clearly doesn't like it, considering he struck reim for stepping between break and his master as they were fighting. step aside if you're not going to help. did you know anything about this seal? the line reim balances, between staying true to his master, keeping his faith in rufus barma, and the undeniable bond he has with xerxes break and sharon rainsworth. he stepped between them, knowing what could happen. to protect break. he gives break his coat when he wakes up again, to cover up the seal. to protect him. reim sees break's weakness, and all he wants is to help him, so much so that that's his last thought when he activates march hare's powers. i have to help xerx. the both of them see the truest version of each other, at odds only because break can't handle being seen. and yet, reim sees. and when break starts dying, he asks. hey, reim. you see me as i am. am i still alive? and reim replies, of course you are, idiot.

#& — ooc . #uuuh all this to say #reim and break relationship analysis incoming soon #once i. finally post my gilbert and break one lmao

[kiveriah]

Azure Gleam - Dimitri

We get to see how a Dimitri with a present support network can be a good king since early on, and he could have reached a similar path in 3H if he had the same opportunities, I stand by that.

Pre-timeskip Dimitri is the same, the only thing that changes is that he was crowned sooner and those who were keeping their distance (Rodrigue and Matthias, Lambert’s best friends) are suddenly by his side, supporting him with more than thoughts. 

Plus all of the Blue lions leave the academy and follow him, expanding his support network even further. Unlike 3 houses in which everyone kept him at bay, they were closer than any other house, yes, but only Mercedes called him by his name, the others either was love or respect always refer to him by his title (or worse). 

Felix and Rufus are the worst offenders. Rufus was one of the people responsible for the Tragedy of Duscur and manages to kill his brother but to his regret Dimitri survives. And then he claims he is ‘scared’ of him since he was a child. He continues to taunt him until his death.

All of his family is either dead (Lambert, his mother) or has betrayed him (Rufus, Patricia/Anselma and Edelgard*). Rodrigue, Felix, Matthias, Sylvain, and Ingrid kept their distance.

But when they need to defeat Rufus all come to aid him and STAY with him as their king. The two most important changes are:

Rodrigue drops his title but helps him with Duscur (second father figure)

Felix becomes the duke and tries to advice him (rekindle their friendship but he stills calls him out, thing the others still have a little trouble doing)

We get to see Dimitri become more open, sharing the burden and trusting the Blue lions. Even if he is still plagued by his ghosts he now holding tight to the living. We reach a similar Dimitri than the one we get to see at the end of Azure Moon which makes me wonder, had he had a support network (he knew he could go back to) in 3 Houses how he did here, would his fate had been any different?

Bonus:

We already had hints in 3Houses about how the lost his eye and why he is so ruthless with Randolph but it is nice(? to get a confirmation in 3Hopes also.

See how Dimitri acts in 3 Houses after getting captured, tortured and threatened (with Dedue / possibly Rodrigue), he tried to follow the same modus operandi as his trauma VS in 3 Hopes he willingly gave himself as a hostage and what Cordelia is threatening him with.

We know Dimitri parrots what other think of him. When his uncle or Felix call him beast/boar he does not deny it, he never pushes back. He accepts all criticism at face value. This is the way he reacts with words and I think this is the way he reacts with actions, he is just parroting or recreating what he went through. It show how when the others took the first step to help him he open up/trust did too.

#3 hopes #azure gleam #fe3h meta #dimitri alexandre blaiddyd #fire emblem #fe3h #three hopes spoilers #fire emblem three hopes spoiler #more like random rambles barely stitched together #but #im sure someone with more braincells than i will do a write up lie this soon