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fandom-pardes · 3 years

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According to halacha, which actions are Azula liable for?

Reposted from my Tumblr.

One of my favorite ways to study Jewish texts is to take a fictional character or situation and examine it through the lens of Jewish text and tradition.

I’ve done this before with ABC’s Once Upon A Time. Now I’m going to take up this exercise again with Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Before I begin, a few things to keep in mind.

I’m not a Talmud scholar.

There is no definitive Jewish Opinion™ about any issue pertaining to halacha. Unanimous opinions on halacha are so rare that when we find one, we assume something went wrong in the process..

Azula is a morally polarizing character in AtLA fandom. Regardless of who you ask, you’re bound to get some strong opinions about exactly what she’s done, the extent to which she’s responsible for it, and what this says about her morality or lack thereof. I’m not going to rehash those arguments. I think I’ve made it clear that I care less about whether people approve of her behavior than I do about how their statements about her reinforce harmful messages about women, people of color, LGBT people and mentally ill people.

Nevertheless, she’s incredibly interesting, and studying Jewish text is fun, so here we are.

Why examine Azula’s actions through the lens of halacha?

Halacha gets a lot of flack because it comes off as excessively legalistic. But, in my opinion, that’s based on a misunderstanding of what halacha is. Usually translated as “Jewish law,” the word halacha actually comes from the root word that means “to go/walk.”

Halacha is not a collection of rules for the sake of having rules. It’s meant to take us somewhere. You can write a library of books about exactly what that is and what it means. But for the sake of simplicity, halacha is how we show that we recognize the holiness of everything in creation. So we aim to do right by one another, by the land we live in and by the creatures we share this world with.

Before we can launch into examining the halachic ramifications of the things Azula does, we need to establish some boundaries.

Only the show counts. It’s the common frame of reference universally accepted by the vast majority of fandom. Fandom’s stances on the comics, novelizations and other tie-in materials are too variable to base an analysis on.

Word of God is immaterial. While some would use the phrase Death of the Author, Jewish tradition has a more entertaining take on it. In the Talmud, there’s a dispute between Rabbi Eliezer and some of his peers. In that story, Rabbi Eliezer says that if he’s right, this or that miraculous thing would happen, and those miraculous things do happen. But the other rabbis still reject it because we don’t determine halacha by miraculous signs. Eventually, God parts the heavens and says, “Rabbi Eliezer is right.” But another rabbi responds, “The Torah is not in heaven,” meaning that the Torah was meant for human beings on earth to interpret for themselves. And God’s response? To smile and say, “My children have defeated Me.”

Now, let’s begin.

Is Azula bound by halacha?

She’s not Jewish, so no. However, all human beings are bound by the Noahide laws. For the sake of argument, let’s say that the Noahide covenant applies to all humans on all worlds. According to the Talmud (Sanhedrin 56a.24):

Since the halakhot of the descendants of Noah have been mentioned, a full discussion of the Noahide mitzvot is presented. The Sages taught in a baraita: The descendants of Noah, i.e., all of humanity, were commanded to observe seven mitzvot: The mitzva of establishing courts of judgment; and the prohibition against blessing, i.e., cursing, the name of God; and the prohibition of idol worship; and the prohibition against forbidden sexual relations; and the prohibition of bloodshed; and the prohibition of robbery; and the prohibition against eating a limb from a living animal.

What is Azula’s legal status?

In any case, we know the rules, and now we have to decide whether Azula broke them or not, right?

Not so fast.

First, we have to determine if Azula is of the appropriate legal status to be held accountable for upholding the Noahide laws. In other words: when she committed certain acts, was Azula an adult capable of making rational decisions?

Clear your mind of the idea that being an adult is the same as being a grownup. Instead, think of it as a term that defines when people can make legally binding decisions.

As far as I can tell, the Talmud doesn’t say when a gentile becomes an adult. However, we can use halacha as a guide.

Now for a warning.

If frank talk about the physical development of adolescents makes you uncomfortable, you might want to skip this next part. There’s nothing graphic or titillating about what I’m going to discuss, but if breasts and pubic hair squick you out, skip this part until I say it’s safe in bold like this.

According to halacha, a girl reaches adulthood when she’s twelve years and one day old and has two pubic hairs. Yeah, you read that right. Twelve and two pubes are the requirement. Before this point, nothing she does is legally binding, even if she’s really smart and claims to be fully aware of what she’s doing. After this point, her actions are legally binding, even if she says she had no idea what she was doing.

On the show, we see Azula in a range of ages. In “Zuko Alone,” we see her at roughly eight years old. In “The Storm,” she’s about eleven. In all the other episodes she’s in, she’s fourteen. So, from a legal standpoint, flashback!Azula is too young for her actions to be legally binding. At that point in time, the responsibility would fall to her parents.

Um, I’m not willing to speculate about the genitals of an underage cartoon character, so for the sake of argument, I’m assuming that 14-year-old Azula meets the two pubes requirement. Thus, 14-year-old Azula is responsible for her actions.

If you skipped that last part, it’s safe to continue now.

OK, we’ve established that flashback!Azula is too young for her actions to be legally binding, but in the main story, Azula is legally an adult and responsible for her actions.

We good? Alright.

Which Noahide laws does Azula actually break?

This is both easier and harder than it seems.

The laws about idol worship, cursing God, and forbidden sexual acts don’t apply to her because neither religion nor sex are portrayed as such on the show. Also, the law about establishing courts of justice is a communal obligation, not one that falls on a single individual, so that’s another one we don’t have to concern ourselves with.

That leaves the prohibitions against bloodshed, robbery and eating a limb cut from a living animal.

First up: bloodshed.

The connotation of the prohibition against bloodshed is not for general acts of violence, but actual murder.

Here’s where I think I’m going to throw a lot of people for a loop. Azula doesn’t kill anyone on the show. She tries. She comes close. She wouldn’t lose sleep over it if she did. But nobody’s dead because of her. She doesn’t even take lives as collateral damage.

One could argue that zapping Aang with lightning counts as killing, but when the Sages talk about death and dying, I assume they mean the kind where the dead stay dead, not people who are revived by magic spirit water. Furthermore, if someone’s about to kill you (and I think entering the Avatar State qualifies here), you are halachically obligated to save your own life, even if it means killing that person.

Second: robbery.

We’ll come back to that.

Third: eating a limb from a living animal.

This prohibition is often expanded to incorporate all forms of animal cruelty.

The show does portray animal cruelty. We see a prime example with the circus in “Appa’s Lost Days.”

But what about Azula? We don’t see her interact with many animals on the show, but there are two notable examples: Appa the sky bison in “Appa’s Lost Days” and Bosco the bear in “The Crossroads of Destiny.”

How does her behavior measure up? Despite her earlier behavior of terrorizing turtleducks, Azula does not harm either Appa or Bosco.

On the show, Mai and Ty Lee are seen spending time with Bosco in the throne room while the Earth King is imprisoned. So, at the very least, they treat the bear well.

So, Azula is not liable for animal cruelty.

*hands Azula her Not As Big A Jerk As She Could Have Been award*

Now, let’s revisit that prohibition against robbery.

Given the prescribed punishment (decapitation), the connotation seems to be taking the rightful property of another through violent means. That being said, the prohibition against robbery is often extended to include all sorts of theft.

This one might have some legs. On the show, does Azula take the rightful property of another, and does she use violent means to do so?

Absolutely.

A major example is stealing the clothes of the Kyoshi Warriors after defeating them in combat.

But!

The show takes place during a time of war, and the Kyoshi Warriors, as allies of the Avatar, are enemies of the Fire Nation. So does beating them up and taking their uniforms fall under the prohibition against robbery, or are the Kyoshi Warrior uniforms considered the spoils of war and thus free for the taking?

Halachically speaking, it might actually be the latter. When fighting the Kyoshi Warriors, Azula acts as a military commander during a time of war and achieves a decisive victory against an elite combat unit. Thus, she is entitled to take their stuff.

So, back to the original question: which actions does Azula commit during the show that she’s halachically liable for?

The answer, shockingly, may be: none.

On the show, we’re encouraged to think of Azula as a Very Bad Girl who does Very Bad Things. She’s calculating, ruthless and deceptive. She’s also full of herself. She’s not someone who inspires warm, fuzzy feelings in most people. But when you put her actions under the microscope, she exercises remarkable restraint compared to what she’s capable of.

Don’t worry. No one’s going to nominate her for a Nobel Peace Prize just yet. This is Azula we’re talking about. She’s not acting out of an overwhelming love for humanity. But it is interesting that despite her threats to kill, maim and destroy, she doesn’t participate in wanton destruction or wasteful loss of life.

#azula #atla meta #jewish meta

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itsclydebitches · 3 years

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Hello again! Im the tinfoil hat anon with the long ass asks and I finally had the time to read your response. Thank you, it makes my day reading your answers. I honestly just enjoyed them over a cup of coffee like a good book.

Now, the gun pointing scene I mentioned was in fact the one from the droid fight facility like the other anon suggested. But I really liked that you covered the boat scene too, I haven’t thought of it much myself and now I definitely have!

I also would like to mention I love your “candy bar” choice analogy and I 100% agree Hunter’s “invitation” to join back wasn’t welcoming in the slightest. It is very likely just an obligation as you said. Sort of “you gave us a chance, we owe you a chance too”.

And the problem with it is now I am struggling to figure out how the batch members might change their attitude toward Crosshair going forward, especially Hunter. As of right now Crosshair’s best relationship is not with his brothers but with Omega(as surprising as this is). And I think he does realize now she cared about him the most out of all of them during the short time they interacted(both 1st and last episodes). Even between themselves(not counting Omega) I find most of the bad batch members to be cold and distant to each other. They feel less like a family than Rebels for example. And they aren’t even a “found family”(a trope everyone loves) but an actual one! And I get that they’re soldiers and supposed to be tough, I don’t expect them to share all “the feels”. I just can’t put my finger on it but something feels off. I agree with your previous post, the show doesn’t do a very good job showing or even telling they love each other.

Will Hunter and co only start caring about their brother again only after he leaves the empire?(assuming he does at some point). What about Disney’s prevailing theme and message that “family always love and care for each other no matter what”? I guess it’s “family always love and care for each other but only if you’re good guys making right choices”. There is no room for mistakes or wrong decisions. In the last episode everyone form the batch seemed to have given up on Crosshair(besides Omega). For now their attitude seems to be just “you’re not our enemy” and that’s that.

I realize Crosshair is a “bad guy” and consciously made his choice(and we know it’s the wrong one) but to me it felt like he thought he didn’t even had a choice or rather became so lost and confused he actually thought he chose the empire as “the lesser evil”(as in the less shitty choice out of all the other bad ones). We as audience have the benefit to know exactly how atrocious the empire really is but maybe Crosshair still doesn’t realize that.

So what exactly must Crosshair do to get back “in their good graces” as you say? Start saving “the good guys”? Save the bad batch multiple times? There is a popular opinion on how Crosshair can redeem himself. That he eventually heroically sacrifices himself to save them. I personally REALLY hope it’s NOT what’s going to happen but I heard so many people speculating his story is set up to be redemption=death. I know you mentioned you don’t want “Vader style redemption” either. Personally I think it would be a waste of a character who has a lot of potential. And I just think that the batch kind of don’t really deserve his sacrifice(maybe save for Omega) after how they never tried to save him themselves and how they treated him overall. Maybe he will risk his life to save Omega at some point and that will “prove” to Hunter he cares? Although he has already shown he cares by saving her(even if in Crosshair’s own words it’s just so they’re “even”). And the thing is, he doesn’t need to prove that he loves them, he already did that in episode 15 and made it clear he does care. He actually went to extreme by shooting his squad to prove his loyalty. What were the moments the batch demonstrated they care about him? Hunter saying “you never were our enemy” and taking his unconscious body to safety? To me Hunter “not leaving him behind” during bombardment felt more like guilt about the last time it happened and an obligation to Crosshair for helping them with droids, rather than them showing care. And I kinda of think if that was any random civilian(or anyone other than an enemy or a threat) they would carry them out too just because that’s what good guys do and not because it’s their brother. You also mentioned that minutes later Hunter snaps at him with “if you want to stay here and die, that’s your choice” which I agree can be interpreted in different ways. And I think it’s one more point to it being an obligation that in Hunter’s eyes is fulfilled now. He corrected his mistake of leaving a brother behind and saved him this time, now his guilt won’t burden him any longer.

Anyway, I can’t wait for season 2 and I appreciate you and all the anons sharing the tinfoil hat, interacting and speculating together. Those discussions have been a lot of fun!

TLDR: How do your think the relationship between the brothers will mend or evolve in the next season? Do you think S2 will improve in portraying the batch more as a family rather than a group of mercs doing missions together? What are your thoughts on the popular idea of Crosshair’s redemption by ultimate sacrifice? As in, how likely do you think this scenario is?

Anon, that is just wonderfully hilarious to me. Ah yes, the sunrise, a good cup o' joe, and the overly long character analysis of a snarky, fictional sniper. Exactly what everyone needs in the morning! 😆

You know, TBB is far from the first show I've watched where there's an obvious, emotional conclusion the creator wants the audience to come to—the squad all love each other Very Much—yet that conclusion isn't always well supported by the text. It creates this horribly awkward situation where you're going, "Yes, I'm fully aware of what the show wanted to do, but this reading, arguably, did not end up in the story itself. So what are we talking about here? The intention, or the execution?" It's like Schrödinger's Bad Batch where the group is simultaneously Very Loving and Very Distant depending on how much meta-aspects are influencing your reading: those authorial intentions, understanding of how found family tropes should work, fluff focused fics/fan art that color our understanding of the characters, etc. And, of course, whether someone saw TCW before they watched TBB. I personally wouldn't go quite so far as to say they're "cold" towards one another—with Crosshair as an exception now—but there wasn't the level of bonding among the squad that I expected of a show called The Bad Batch. Especially compared to their arc in TCW. The other night I re-watched the season seven premiere and was struck not just by how much more the squad interacted with each other back then, but how those interactions added depth to their characters too. For example, Crosshair is the mean one, right? He's the one picking fights with the Regs? Well yeah... but it's also Wrecker. While they're trying to decide what to do with Cody injured, Jesse calls out Crosshair on his attitude—"You can't talk to Captain Rex like that!"—and Wrecker's immediate response is, "Says who?" and he hefts Jesse into the air. And then he just holds him there, clearly using his superior strength to do as he pleases, until Hunter (sounding pretty angry) tells him to put Jesse down. If Wrecker had put him into a more classically understood bullying position, like pinning him to the ground, it would probably read as less funny—less "Haha strong clone lifts Jesse up in the air!" and more "Oh shit, strong clone can do whatever the hell he wants to the Regs and few are able to stop him." It's such a quick moment, but it tells us a ton about Wrecker. That he's going to stick up for his brothers, no matter the context (Crosshair deserves to be called out). That he will gleefully assist Crosshair in bothering the Regs (something that is reinforced when he later throws the trays in the mess hall, after Hunter has already deescalated the situation). That he's likely been hurt by awful treatment from the Regs too. That he'll only listen to Hunter when it comes to backing off. Little of this work—that interplay among the squad that shows us new sides to them other than basic things like "Wrecker is the nice, happy brother"—exists in TBB.

Or, at least, little exists after Omega becomes an official member of the squad.

Because, as said previously, she becomes the focus. I don't mean that as a total criticism. As established, I love Omega. But if we're talking about why the squad can feel so distant from each other, I think she's the root cause, simply because the story became all about her relationships with the Batch, rather than the Batch's relationships with each other. Having dived headfirst into reading and writing fic, it occurred to me just how many of the bonding moments we love, the sort of stuff we'll see repeated in fics because we understand that this is where the story's emotional center is, are given to Omega in canon:

Someone is hurt and in need of comfort. Omega's emotional state is the focus + moments like her being worried over Hunter getting shot.

Someone needs to learn a new skill. Echo teaches Omega how to use her bow.

Someone reveals a skill they never knew they had before. Omega is a strategic genius and plays her last game with Hunter.

Someone is in serious danger and in need of rescue. Omega rescues the group from the slavers + is the most vocal about rescuing Hunter. (Which, again, is a pretty sharp contrast to the whole Crosshair situation.) Omega, in turn, needs rescuing from things like the decommission conveyor belt.

Similarly, someone is kidnapped and in need of rescue. Omega is kidnapped twice by bounty hunters and the Batch goes after her.

Someone saves another's life. Omega saves Crosshair from drowning.

Someone does something super sweet for another. Wrecker gives Omega her room. Omega gives Wrecker Lula.

A cute tradition is established between characters. Wrecker has his popcorn-esque candy sharing with Omega.

Someone hurts someone else and has to ask forgiveness. Wrecker is upset about nearly shooting Omega and they have that sweet moment together.

Note that most of these examples could have occurred between other Batch members, but didn't. Someone could have created a space for Echo on the ship too. Wrecker also could have apologized to Tech for choking him, etc. It's not that those moments shouldn't happen with Omega, just that there should be more of a balance across the whole season, especially for a show supposedly focused on the original squad. Additionally, it's not that cute bonding moments between the rest of the Batch don't exist. I love Hunter selling Echo off as a droid. I love Wrecker and Tech bickering while fixing the ship. I love the tug-of-war to save Wrecker from the sea monster. Yes, we do have moments... it's just that comparatively it feels pretty skewed in Omega's direction.

So, as a VERY long-winded way of answering your question, I think we need to fix the above in order to tackle Crosshair's redemption in season two. Now that we've had a full season focused on Omega, we need to strike a better balance among the rest of the squad moving forward. We need to re-established the "obvious" conclusion that the rest of the Batch loves Crosshair and that's done (in part) by establishing their love for one another too. To my mind, both goals go hand-in-hand, especially since you can develop their relationship with Crosshair and their relationships with each other simultaneously. Imagine if instead of just having Wrecker somewhat comically admit that he misses Crosshair (like he's dead and they can't go get him??), he and Tech had a serious conversation about why they can't get him back yet, despite very much wanting to. Imagine if Echo, the one who was rescued against all odds, got to scream at Hunter to go get Crosshair like Omega screamed at them to go back for Hunter. Imagine if we'd gotten more than a tiny arc in TCW to establish the Batch's dynamic with each other, providing a foundation for how they would each react to Crosshair's absence. Instead, what little we've got in TBB about Crosshair's relationship with his brothers is filtered through Omega: Omega's embarrassment that she knocked over Crosshair's case, Omega treating Crosshair's comm link like a toy, Omega's quest to save Hunter that just happened to involve Crosshair along the way.

Obviously, at this point we can't fix how the first season did things, but I think we can start patching over these issues in season two. It would be jarring—we'd still be 100% correct to ask where this "Brothers love you, support you, and will endlessly fight for you" theme was for Crosshair's entire time under the Empire's thumb... but I'd take an about-face into something better than not getting any improvement at all. It is frustrating though, especially for a show that I otherwise really, really enjoyed. For me, the issue isn't so much that the show made a mistake (since no show is perfect), but that the mistake is attached to such a foundational part of the franchise. Not just in terms of "SW is about hope and forgiveness" but the specific relationship most clones have with each other: a willingness to go above and beyond for their brothers. The focus on Omega aside, it's hard to believe in the family dynamic when one member of the family was so quickly and easily dismissed. I couldn't get invested in Hunter's rescue as much as I should have because rather than going, "Yes!! Save your brother!!!" my brain just kept going, "Lol where was this energy for Crosshair?" It messes with your reading of the whole story, so in order to fix that mistake going forward, we need to start seeing the bonds that only sometimes exist in season one. Show the guys expressing love for one another more consistently (in whatever way that might be—as you say, soldiers don't have to be all touchy-feely. Give us more moments like Wrecker supporting his brothers' bad habits) and then extend that to Crosshair. Which brother is going to demand that they fight for him? Which brother is going to acknowledge that they never tried to save him? Which brother is going to question this iffy statement about the chip? In order to buy into the family theme, Omega can't be the only one doing that emotional work.

Ideally, I wouldn't want Crosshair to go out of his way to prove that he's a good guy now. I mean, I obviously want him to stop helping the Empire and such, duh lol, but I'm personally not looking for a bunch of Extra Good Things directed at the Batch as a requirement for forgiveness. Simply because that would reinforce the idea that they're 100% Crosshair's victims, Crosshair is 100% the bad guy, and he's the only one who needs to do any work to fix this situation. Crosshair needs to stop doing bad things (working for Empire). But the Batch needs to start doing good things too (reaching out to him). Especially since Crosshair made a good play already, only to be met with glares and distrust. He saved Omega! And AZI! And none of them cared. So am I (is Crosshair) supposed to believe that saving one of their lives again will result in a different reaction? That doesn't make much sense. And no, his own life wasn't at risk when he did that, but does every antagonist need to die/nearly die to prove they're worth fighting for? As you say, he's already shown that he loves them, far more than they've shown the reverse. Every time Crosshair hurt them (attacking) it was while he was under the chip's influence. In contrast, the group has no "I was being controlled" excuse for when they hurt him (abandonment). Season two needs to acknowledge the Batch's responsibility in all this—and acknowledge that they're all victims of the Empire—in order to figure out an appropriate arc for Crosshair's redemption.

Right now, the issue is not Crosshair loving his brothers, the issue is how Crosshair chooses to express that love: trying to keep them safe and giving them a purpose in life by joining the organization that's clearly going to dominate the galaxy. The only way to fix that, now that his offer has been rejected, is for him to realize that a life on the run from the Empire, together, is a better option for everyone. And the only way for that to happen is for the Batch to seriously offer him a place with them again. They need to make the first move here. They need to fight for him. And yeah, I totally get that a lot of people don't like that because it's not "fair." He's the bad guy. He's with the fascist allegory. He's killed people and has therefore lost any right to compassion and effort from the good guys... but if that's the case, then we just have to accept that (within the story-world, not from a writing perspective) Crosshair is unlikely to ever come back from this. When people reach that kind of low, they rarely pull themselves out on their own. They need other people to help them do that. Help them a lot. But with the exception of Omega's reminder—which Crosshair can't believe due to how everyone else has treated him—they leave him alone and seem to expect him to fix himself first, then he gets their support. It needs to be the other way around. Support is what would allow him to become a good guy again, not "Well, you'll get our love when you're good again, not before." That's unlikely to occur and, as discussed, it doesn't take into account things like this bad guy life being forced on Crosshair at the start. If the story really wanted this to be a matter of ideological differences... then make it about ideological differences. Let Crosshair leave of his own free will, right at the start. Don't enslave him for half the season, have him realize he was abandoned, imply all that brainwashing, give him no realistic way out, and then punish him for not doing the right thing. This isn't a situation where someone went bad for the hell of it—the story isn't asking us to feel compassion for, say, the Admiral—it's a situation where Crosshair was controlled and now can't see a way out. That context allows for the Batch, the good guys, to fight for him without the audience thinking the show is just excusing that behavior. They should have been fighting from the start, but since they didn't, I hope we at least start seeing that in season two.

Ultimately though... I don't really expect all of the above. The more balanced dynamics and having the Batch fight for Crosshair rather than Crosshair going it alone... I wouldn't want to bet any money on us getting it, just because these are things that should have been established in season one and would have been more easy to pull off in season one. (If the Batch wouldn't fight for Crosshair while he was literally under the Empire's control, why would they fight now when he's supposedly acting of his own free will? It's backwards in terms of the emotional effort involved.) But again, it could happen! I'd be very pleased if it did happen, despite the jarring change. I don't want to make it sound like I think they're going to write off Crosshair entirely. Far from it, I think there are too many details like his sad looks for that, to say nothing of Omega's compassion. But the execution of getting him on Team Good Guys again might be preeeetty bumpy. I expect it to revolve around Crosshair's sins and Crosshair's redemption, even if what I would like is balancing that with Crosshair's loss of agency, the Batch's mistakes, and their own redemption towards him.

Honestly though, I just hope that whatever happens happens soon. It's a personal preference, absolutely, but after a season of Crosshair as the antagonist, I'm ready for him to be back with the group, making the Empire (and bounty hunters) the primary enemy. Whether his return happens through a mutual acknowledgement of mistakes, or through Crosshair being depicted as the only one in the wrong who has to do something big to be forgiven... just get him back with the squad lol. Because if the writing isn't going to delve into that nuance, then the longer he remains unforgiven, the longer some of us have to watch a series while going, "Wait, wait, wait, I really don't agree with how you're painting this picture."

#TBB #The Bad Batch #SW #Star Wars #mymetas #long post

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sepublic · 4 years

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Productively Handling an Issue

A while back, I got an ask where an Anon felt like Luz deserved some degree of punishment for the book report incident, even if the Reality Camp WAS a bit much. I’ve also noticed some discussion of the potential danger of what Luz did. And thinking about it… Here are my thoughts, and how this connects to the show’s recurring themes as a whole;

I do agree that what Luz did WAS a mistake… But to me, it seemed like a fairly innocent and innocuous mistake. Definitely the worst thing she had done up until that point, but otherwise… Not something that needed too much punishment? Maybe even none at all… At the very least, the Reality Camp was going overboard.

It’s worth noting that those snakes are definitely Luz’s pets. Camila alludes to Luz having ‘reptilian’ friends… Not to mention, she and Principal Hal don’t bat an eye at Luz bringing the snake to the meeting and holding it in her bare hand! The implication is obviously that the snakes are Luz’s pets, and considering the kind of person Camila is… I doubt she’d let Luz have dangerous snakes as pets- At the very least, no more dangerous than a dog or a cat would be. Like I said; Her and Hal are completely fine with Luz bringing her snake to the meeting, in her bare hand; They don’t expect it to hurt them or Luz, and obviously this expectation is transmitted to Luz. To Luz, if her mother lets her have the pet snakes, then clearly they’re not dangerous; And if they’re safe for Luz, then surely they’re safe for other kids as well!

Luz probably disregarded the snakes biting other students’ hair as them just ‘playing’… Which DOES point to the snakes being mostly harmless. Let’s be real here, a cockroach crawling onto a person wouldn’t actually hurt them, but it’d definitely freak them out and make them act as if they were bitten… I speak from experience, and as someone who thinks roaches are low-key interesting creatures no less!

But of course, that’s still rather negligent on Luz’s part to disregard how other kids may feel. At the same time though –especially when one considers how she’s coded as ADHD- I’m willing to give her some slack because it really DID seem like a genuine, honest mistake… That Luz figured that if her mom and Hal were fine with Luz handling these snakes, what’s so different about other kids handling them? Definitely a mistake, but I think one that Luz merely needed to be informed of, rather than punished for.

Then there’s the fireworks… ALSO dangerous and wrong, but- Luz isn’t exactly a criminal (at least not yet she wasn’t). Last I checked, you can’t buy fireworks without being an adult –or at least older than Luz was- so this points to the fireworks being something that was already at home, and thereby accessible to her. Not trying to shift the blame towards Camila, mind you… I do agree that Luz did a genuine mistake, and Camila is a single, working-class nurse and likely away from home a lot, just so she can keep her kid fed. I can’t entirely blame Camila for not remembering to tell Luz that even if the fireworks are accessible in their home, they’re not to be toyed around with.

We don’t exactly know what Luz’s plans were, but I assume she planned to set them off outside. I don’t think she was hell-bent on setting the fireworks off, no matter what; She seems willing to stop when Hal and Camila indicate they’re a bad idea, so it’s likely that Luz just did not realize that they canbe that dangerous. I wouldn’t so much say that Luz was actively, apathetically disregarding the safety of others, as she was simply caught up in the idea of doing something that could dazzle and impress her classmates.

Again, that isn’t to say that Luz DIDN’T mess up… She made mistakes, let’s be real here! But the thing is… She really didn’t seem to know better, and when Camila and Hal DO tell Luz to stop; She readily agrees! Obviously they brought up the Reality Camp as a punishment beforehand, but based on what we see of Luz’s personality afterwards –even if one takes character development into account- I doubt she needed to be threatened in order to agree with changing her behavior.

In fact, I’m not sure if Luz even needed to be punished; At the very least, her ‘punishment’ would be something that focuses on rectifying the situation with those students her pets harassed. She’s not like Lilith, who willingly took chances with Luz’s life and risked it during her final duel with Eda, even if she probably thought Luz wouldn’t actually die! By contrast, Luz didn’t intentionally overlook the safety of her classmates, because she never realized/considered there was any danger to begin with… Impulsive, but understandable given her ADHD-coding, and certainly not dumb nor apathetic!

I think something very important to remember is that Luz does promise to change her behavior, to not make the same mistakes again! She really was willing to respond to criticism; Which makes it all the more painful when the snake, beyond Luz’s control, attacks Hal. That scene was honestly very uncomfortable to me; Luz didn’t even get the chance to change her behavior, to fix things, before she got punished! Luz immediately being sent to the Reality Camp for something that happened as a result of a prior mistake she was already planning to fix (instead of a new one she made after her promise), a mistake she didn’t even get a moment to rectify…

It just comes across as cruel, mean-spirited, and outright petty! Spiteful, even… Like come on, Luz made it clear she was going to change and fix things, or at least try! And Principal Hal LET Luz bring the snake into his office, and hold it in her bare hand right in front of him! Luz is just following the guidance of the adults, looking to them to tell her what’s right or wrong… If Hal let Luz bring the snake in and it attacked him, then he’s partly to blame for poorly mishandling the incident! He IS a principal, after all, he should know about de-escalating situations and ensuring the safety of everyone else at hand here, when kids can’t tell what’s dangerous or not. It’s definitely Luz’s fault for bringing the snakes to school, but it’s not her fault for bringing the snake into the office when Hal let her!

Coupled with how Luz was willing to change her behavior, didn’t even get the chance to, and how that snake was part of a mistake that happened BEFORE she made her promise… It all just comes across as more like a vindictive punishment to a kid, than an actual attempt to help them. And, I should preface that I’m no child psychologist; But even so…

I feel like Hal and Camila’s handling of the situation established a precedent for other problems we see in this show. Namely… Luz DID have a problem. She had a problem with genuine loneliness and not knowing how to make friends, not distinguishing reality from fiction at times, and thus disregarding others as an occasional result! Luz was clearly suffering from some issues and she needed help, that’s kind of a major point!

But the thing is… I feel like Hal and Camila (mostly Hal) didn’t address the problem in an effective manner? Which makes sense, given this show’s critique of the American school system… Luz definitely had issues of loneliness and delusion that caused prior incidents. But clearly, punishing her for those past incidents didn’t keep them from stopping… Which brings up the idea of addressing the symptoms of an underlying problem, and not the root-cause that’s causing them to begin with! Punishing Luz the first few times for her other incidents was like a band-aid, it made her stop doing those things temporarily… But she was still a kid who wasn’t taught how to differentiate fiction from reality, and so Luz was still prone to keep causing problems as a result.

I’ll give Camila some slack, she’s a single mother and a nurse, she’s no doubt incredibly busy. But I think this concept of recognizing that there’s an issue, but then either not actually addressing the root cause behind it, or worse, handling the issue in a manner that’s less than productive and just makes the person feel worse… This seems like a precedent established by our opening scene, which we then see with OTHER characters and conflicts later in the show!

We have Lilith, who recognizes that she cursed Eda! However, Lilith opts to wallow in self-pity and beat herself up for it, destructively tearing down her own self-esteem, instead of constructively fixing the actual problem by sharing the curse with her sister, or at least being honest about what happened! You have Luz and Willow helping Amity learn to be kinder and happier…. While leaving the implicit awareness that until the Blight Parents are addressed, Amity won’t truly heal.

Principal Bump saw Viney, Jerbo, and Barcus getting into trouble; But instead of addressing the issue of their unmet educational needs, he instead completely banned them from practicing magic in the Detention Track! And this is speculation, but it seems that Emira and Edric WERE concerned with how cold Amity was to other people, and seemed under the impression that their cruel pranks would somehow ‘lighten her up’- When instead they just made Amity feel even more miserable, and less willing to open up and reach out.

It’s a recurring trend- A destructive response to an issue, instead of something constructive and meant to fix the problem itself… It’s a ‘solution’ fixated on simply punishing and hurting someone as retribution for their mistakes, while the actual problem and its effects keep going on in the background. It’s ignoring a systemic cause behind these recurring incidents; Just as ignoring the Coven System and not dismantling it would be a fatal error, because even if people like Lilith and Boscha learn not to be so terrible… The Coven System will continue to enable and encourage other witches after them to do horrible things. And while individual accountability IS a thing, the show’s messages seem to point towards tackling systematic issues (either on a personal or societal level), before then having time to focus on the individual problems that came from them.

Camila was right; Luz DID have issues with differentiating fantasy from reality, of being lonely and unsure of how to handle social interactions, etc.! Just as Lilith recognized she made a mistake, Bump saw that the Detention Kids had caused trouble, Emira and Edric noticed Amity was becoming cold and cruel… But instead of constructively fixing the issue and addressing the root cause behind it, they instead focused on patching up the individual problems that spawned from this core issue, or even simply hurting and punishing the person ‘responsible’ for them.

Amity messed up when she was cruel to Willow, that much is clear. But piling on more cruelty towards Amity as retribution wouldn’t have helped- It wouldn’t have fixed her issues. It wouldn’t have given her the self-confidence to actually change her behavior. It would’ve just made Amity feel worse and more terrible, more self-loathing, and believe she was a terrible person who could never do things right- So why bother trying to make a difference?

The approach of Hal, to me, seems about as effective as slapping a band-aid over an injury… You’re addressing the symptoms, but what of the actual problem that’s causing them to spawn? And that’s even assuming he DID address the symptoms… His handling of the situation, overtly punishing Luz by sending her to the Reality Camp –again for a mistake that was literally and figuratively out of her hand- did not make things better, it likely would’ve just made things worse… Or at the very least, Luz would stop misbehaving, but at the cost of major emotional damage and self-loathing.

It’s a theme this show has been building up to; Learning to address problems in a productive, constructive manner, not focusing on punishing the culprit, but instead diverting energy into actually making things better! Making the ‘culprit’ feel worse isn’t going to fix things. And similarly, while individual accountability and incidents ARE a thing… If you really want to make a change, one must address the systemic, root-cause of the issue!

Just as Luz’s issues stemmed from loneliness and delusion, or how people like Lilith and Boscha were encouraged by the overarching Coven System… You can help Lilith be a better person. You can get Luz to not turn her eyelids inside out. But the core of the issue will still remain, and it’s going to cause other problems in the future; Such as Luz bringing the snakes and fireworks, or further generations of witches being indoctrinated into the Coven System’s elitism and abuse.

I might give Hal, too, some slack since he’s a principal and really busy… But then again his entire job is to look after kids and help them do well. But just as Lilith never bothered to consider why Eda still refused to join the Emperor’s Coven, even under the incentive of having her curse cured… I think Hal should’ve considered that something else was afoot that was causing Luz to repeatedly cause these sorts of incidents at school. If punishing her with detention in the past didn’t keep other issues from happening- Then what makes Hal think that punishing Luz again, with Reality Camp, will make things any different? When you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Instead of telling someone to stop doing something, maybe ask WHY they’re doing that? It calls back to when Luz posed this question to Principal Bump, who initially dismissed this as him ‘not caring for the ins and outs of rascality’- Although of course in HIS case it’s understandable because he DID know and empathize, he was just afraid of the Emperor’s Coven for a good reason.

However, just as Lilith should’ve realized that the same old promise of curing Eda’s curse and hiding the truth wasn’t going to fix things, that maybe it was time she tried a different approach… I think Hal should’ve also recognized that repeated detentions weren’t stopping Luz’s misbehavior, at least not in the long-term. He should’ve tried a different approach, and he DID… But it was a worse one. The Reality Camp would’ve just screwed over Luz and likely traumatized her, getting her to stop causing trouble but at the cost of her identity and self-esteem; Or making her SO self-loathing and desperate for loneliness, that she does worse things for attention!

And again… I have to wonder if Hal isn’t entirely to blame, if he himself is also dealing with the underlying issue that is the American school system, which he probably grew up in. And that all ties back to a major lesson of The Owl House; That just as the Coven System needs to be addressed, so does our education system! Maybe it’s not the kids/witches who are intentionally screwing themselves over and messing themselves up, maybe it’s actually the system…!

TL;DR Luz definitely had issues. But not only do I think we’re exaggerating her maliciousness/carelessness in this situation, but also we need to consider what was actually causing these repeated incidents… And similarly, Camila and Hal definitely recognized that there WAS a problem, potentially responsible for all of the incidents- But they didn’t handle it any better than Luz did, and would’ve just made things worse. And honestly, with how messed-up the system is back home, those two aren’t entirely to blame for their faulty approach, either…

#the owl house #owl house #the owl house luz #luz noceda #the owl house camila #camila noceda #the owl house lilith #lilith clawthorne #the owl house amity #amity blight #the owl house bump #principal bump #hieronymous bump #the owl house hal

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terramythos · 3 years

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TerraMythos 2021 Reading Challenge - Book 12 of 26

Title: A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle #1) (1968)

Author: Ursula K. Le Guin

Genre/Tags: Fantasy, Young Adult, Third-Person

Rating: 8/10

Date Began: 5/6/2021

Date Finished: 5/12/2021

Ged is a talented young magician with incredible potential-- possibly greater than any before him. He sets off to join the wizarding School of Roke, and quickly surpasses all of his peers. But in an act of arrogance, Ged tries to bring back the dead to impress a rival student. He unleashes a malevolent shadow upon the world, leaving him traumatized and permanently scarred.

Soon Ged finds himself hunted by the shadow wherever he goes. None of his magic seems to work on it. Worse, he lives in fear that if the dark creature overtakes him, it will use his body as a weapon to harm others. Ged journeys from island to island in an attempt to find the solution and banish the shadow once and for all.

Only in silence the word, only in dark the light, only in dying life: bright the hawk’s flight on the empty sky.

Content warnings and some spoilers below the cut.

Content warnings for the book: Violence and death, including child death and animal death. Traumatic injury.

As a fiction writer, Ursula K. Le Guin is best known for her Earthsea series, but I haven’t read them until now. She had a big impact on my childhood via a series of picture books called Catwings (they're... about a family of cats who can fly). As an adult, I’ve grown more intrigued as I've learned about Le Guin’s philosophies, especially anticapitalism. I read her famous horror story The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas last year and found it unsettling and thought-provoking. So I decided to read some of her longer works! And, of course, speculative fiction is always the way to my heart. My wonderful sister gave me the first four books of Earthsea for the holidays last year, and I’m finally getting the chance to read them.

Overall I had a good time with A Wizard of Earthsea. It’s structured differently than a lot of fantasy novels I’ve read. While there is a big overarching plot, the individual chapters usually have their own complete story arc. It’s the type of book where you can read one chapter before bed and feel like you got a whole story; each part advances the main narrative while also providing a complete side adventure.

There’s a lot of travel in A Wizard of Earthsea due to the setting. Earthsea is a giant, possibly world-spanning archipelago, meaning there’s a ton of islands, each of which has its own way of life. The conflict naturally has Ged travel from island to island and interact with various peoples and creatures. The closest comparison I can think of is The Odyssey, and I’d be shocked if Le Guin didn’t draw inspiration from that. Both stories involve the protagonist traveling by sea and meeting a variety of characters and mythological creatures through smaller, discrete conflicts and interactions. Usually I find long travel sequences boring, but in this case they were one of my favorite parts of the book. There’s always a sense of anticipation on where Ged’s journey will take him next.

The magic system is also is pretty cool. The idea is that all parts of nature, from humans to goats to oceans, have hidden “true” names. Knowing something (or someone’s) true name gives one power over it (or them). Thus wizards use true names to manipulate nature; giving another person your true name is an act of absolute trust and devotion. However, a big theme of the book is equilibrium. One must always be aware of potential consequences when using magic. Changing the wind in one part of the world could cause a devastating storm one island over. Sort of a butterfly effect type thing.

Even though violence is one of my content warnings, I’m impressed that Le Guin largely circumvents it in the story. In many fantasy stories, a wizard/mage character uses their magic to fight and crush their foes. Not so much in this novel. While Ged clashes with various entities through the story, he usually just outsmarts them. Thus his showdown with a big, fuck-off dragon boils down to Ged guessing its true name and telling it to leave. Antagonists are usually the ones instigating violence.

One thing I found odd about the pacing of the book is it slowed down a lot in the last few chapters. There’s a big action sequence with serious consequences around the novel’s midpoint, but everything after that is slower and more reflective. On a surface reading level, I’m not sure I liked this. I’m used to stories ramping up the tension more and more until the end. However, I did like the climax itself, when Ged reveals the shadow’s true name. The central moral of the novel is that one needs to accept everything about themselves, including their past mistakes. Everyone has a dark side, which ties into the central theme of balance, and even the opening poem of the novel (which I used as the excerpt for this review). It’s a pretty universal idea, but Le Guin presents it in a thematically satisfying way.

I tagged this as a Young Adult novel because Le Guin wrote it for a teenage audience. YA didn’t exist as its own genre at the time, but A Wizard of Earthsea is a coming of age story (a staple of YA), and even has a moral message of sorts at the end. However, sometimes it’s really obvious that it’s intended for a younger audience. As I get older, I’ve noticed that YA tends to be pretty blunt about its meaning and symbolism in a way adult novels aren’t. For example, while pursuing the shadow, Ged gets lost in a mysterious fogbank. To me this was a clear callback to the first chapter, where Ged outsmarts a band of barbarians by trapping them in a fog. But Le Guin also made sure to tell me several pages later, in case I missed the parallel. I’m torn on this when reading YA. While I’m not the intended audience, I feel this approach underestimates teenagers’ ability to critically examine a text. But YA teaches many how to view things that way, so I see why authors do it. Teens aren’t a monolith, but it is interesting to see this tendency to over-explain in a novel from 50+ years ago.

A Wizard of Earthsea is surprisingly progressive in many respects. Perhaps the most obvious is race. Ged and most of the main cast are explicitly nonwhite and described as such in the text. This isn’t a huge revelation in 2021, but it’s amazing to see something like that in a mainstream fantasy novel from 1968. Apparently Le Guin struggled with publishers for a long time, as many early covers whitewashed Ged for the sake of “sales” until she gained more creative control. And the (shitty) film/TV adaptations of Earthsea are just as guilty. I went through a LOT of covers while researching this book, and even newer editions often opt for heavily stylized art, nonhuman subjects, etc. The cover I chose is from 1984, when Le Guin presumably had more influence on Ged’s portrayal. I’m interested to see how past book covers stack up when I deep dive on the other books.

However, I found the book to be not so progressive when it came to gender roles (I know, I wasn’t expecting that either). Le Guin makes it very clear that all the famous and powerful wizards/mages in Earthsea are dudes. The wizard school toward the beginning is all dudes. All the adventurers and sailors in the story are dudes. Ged himself makes some pretty sexist comments (though to be fair, that was pre-character development). There are relatively few female characters in the story, and many are either bit parts or (in one case) a seductive, power-hungry villain. Portraying sexism in a fantasy setting isn’t an inherently bad thing. Jemisin’s Dreamblood duology, which I read earlier this year, introduced stringent gender roles in order to explore the insidious nature of misogyny. But A Wizard of Earthsea doesn’t really go beneath the surface level. Yarrow is probably the most well-written female character in the story, and she only shows up in the last few chapters. Again, I’m interested to see how Le Guin handles this in later entries; the next book stars a female protagonist and Ged’s the deuteragonist.

I liked A Wizard of Earthsea overall, and I think it serves as a good introduction to both the series and a central recurring character. While I have some criticisms of the first book, I do realize it’s a relatively early work of Le Guin’s. The last novel in this series was published in 2001, so I’m interested to see how the characters and writing changed over 30+ years.

#2021 reading challenge #8/10 #taylor reads

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thethoughtsfromthreeam · 4 years

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California

Pairing: Agent Whiskey/Jack Daniels x OC

Warnings: None

A/N: Y’all, the end is here and I’m super sad about it? Like I’ve been in this world for the better part of a month and I don’t want to leave! This is absolutely the longest things I’ve ever written (all told, it’s 45 pages and 25,547 words) and I’m super fucking proud of myself and I’m so glad y’all were part of this journey. Jack and Shirley will have cameos in my next fic, so they aren’t completely gone. Not yet, anyway.

Reminder: I haven’t seen Kingsman: The Golden Circle, so I’m just using the Wikia, IMDB.com, some gifs, and my own weird ass brain to make up this whole ass story.

Tag List: @zeldasayer , @romanticgumchewer, @tarrevizslas , @coolmaybelateruniverse , @the-feckless-wonder, @lavenderl3mons , @pascalisthepunkest , @mandoandyodito , @randomness501 , @fioccodineveautunnale [please message me to be added or subtracted]

[PART 1] [PART 2] [PART 3] [PART 4] [PART 5] [PART 6] [PART 7] [PART 8] [PART 9] [PART 10] [PART 11] [PART 12] [PART 13] [PART 14]

Part 15

Tomorrow

Shirley flicked her wrist to open the curtains in her office, letting the morning light spill into the small room. She set her things on the desk and began to bring the library back up to its daytime speed. While she made sure the library was open to all Statesmen staff at any time, most operations only occurred when she was in office during the day. She walked over to the window that faced out into the hallway to open the blinds. She did all that she could not to make such a small space feel like a cave.

As she turned, her eye caught the glint of a picture frame on her shelf. She looked at it more closely and realized it was a picture of her and Jack at one of the Statemen’s tapping parties about two years after they started working on missions together – he the agent on the case, she his trusty Girl Friday researcher. They had grown close early on, but that night of the party is when they finally admitted their feelings for one another. You could feel it radiate off the picture.

“Moonshine, you take my breath away, you know that?” Jack looked her up and down in the hunter green cocktail dress she wore for the evening. The satin felt cool and smooth against his hand as he guided her out of her apartment.

“I’m sure I do.” She replied jokingly as they waited for the elevator. He suddenly spun her around to face him. The serious look on his face stopped any comment from leaving her mouth. He stared at her intensely and for the first time, she felt a little uneasy under his gaze.

“Marigold, I’m not joking. Whenever I see you, hear you, smell you, hell, even thinking about you, I feel like I’m gasping for air. You consume me and I love you. I will love you until time ends.” He looked at her, watching her emotions play out on her face. She looked up and he could see tears forming in her eyes. For a moment he wasn’t sure if the leap of his heart was fear or love. Then she brought up her hands to hold his face, thumbs rubbing his jawline absently.

“I know you’re not joking, Jack.” Her voice wavered as the tears spilled over her lids and down her cheek. “I feel your love every day. I wrap it around me like a blanket and when I go to sleep at night, I keep it close to me. God, I’ve loved you since I laid eyes on you, loved you when you tried that stupid cowboy flirting thing you do. I will fucking love you from the depth of my soul until I die!”

He started to laugh with delight, and he wrapped his arms around her in a hug, lifting her off the ground. She tightened her arms around his neck and started laughing with him. When the elevator doors opened, Ginger and Tequila found the two lovers in their embrace. Ginger looked over at Tequila, who rolled his eyes and produced a twenty from his pocket. She yanked it out of his hand with a devilish grin.

Jack and Sirah broke apart at the sound of the ding. Smiling, they walked hand-in-hand into the elevator. Tequila slapped Jack’s back and Ginger looped her arm through Sirah’s and they looked at each other and giggled the whole ride down.

Shirley smiled at the memory and lightly touched the photograph before moving on. She left her office and began opening blinds and curtains throughout the rest of the library. As she walked past the bank of computers, making sure they were on and ready for the day, Shirley heard something from one of the stacks. She stopped to listen, but didn’t hear it again, so she moved on. She continued her morning routine and when the bell tinkled above the door, she greeted a young agent as they entered. Her life was back to normal it seemed.

After she got the agent settled with the requested materials, Shirley gathered up her return cart to restock her shelves. She moved down each aisle, putting her little world back in order when suddenly she turned the corner and saw two very embarrassed agents staring back at her.

“Good morning Ginger, Merlin.” Shirley couldn’t stop the slow spread of the shit eating grin that formed on her face. It wasn’t the first time her stacks had been used for purposes other than research, but she was a little surprised to see the two of them there, holding each other. She mentally groaned, knowing she just lost fifty dollars to Tequila because she thought they’d be caught in the tech room.

“Shirley.” Merlin’s soft brogue sounded a bit rougher than normal and he cleared his throat. “Good to see you this morning. You’re looking quite well today.”

“As are you, Merlin.” She replied. “If you could do me a kind favor and just put this book back on the shelf behind you where the marker is, I’d be much obliged. Also, for next time? Historical speculative fiction upstairs is always empty.”

She handed the book over, gave them both another smile, and then walked off. She was nothing if not a patient woman and she knew Ginger would tell her everything later. As she sat at her desk, she kept an eye on her little world and on the stacks. When she saw no one leave, she smiled again. Oh, she couldn’t wait for such a good story.

An hour later, she heard movement and looked up to see Ginger and Merlin coming down the stairs from the second level. His hand brushed against her back the entire way down and when they reached the first level, Shirley could see Ginger’s hand lightly brush against Merlin’s as they smiled at each other. They walked to the door and from where she sat, Shirley could see reddish spots on the smooth skin of Merlin’s head. Oh yes, this was going to be a great story.

Merlin dipped his head and left the library and Ginger waited a beat before sprinting across the room to Shirley’s office and slamming the door. The few folks in the library jumped at the noise, but otherwise, everything was normal.

“GINGER!” Shirley squealed and Ginger closed her eyes and clapped her hands while giggling. “This better be worth the fifty bucks I owe Tequila now.”

“Oh, is it EVER!” Breathed Ginger, pulling Shirley to the couch. They curled up and gossiped about their men for a long time. Their giggles and laughter sometimes leaving the office, but otherwise, everything said remained between the two women.

Later that day, Shirley went to Tequila’s office and found him sitting at his desk reviewing reports. He looked up when she walked in and when she laid down a brand new fifty-dollar bill, he grinned. She grinned back.

---***---

“Moonshine, you ready?” Jack’s voice called her from the doorway of her office. She turned to look at him and nodded.

“Let me just grab two things and I’ll lock up.” The twilight outside of her office peeked through the closed curtains. The day had gone fast and she reveled in the normalcy that her day to day world was now taking on again. She had thought that after Agent Kirsch had died and released her from those invisible bonds that she would resent the library. But she didn’t and if anything, she recognized this world was her catharsis, giving her back a sense of normalcy. Him dying just finalized that feeling.

As they left her office, she stopped to chat with one of the admins, Cooper, about some things he was working on and what he would need the next day. After saying good-bye, Jack held Shirley’s hand as they left the library and headed to the elevator. They were heading out for a night on the town to enjoy the lovely spring weather that finally came to Louisville. Shirley rested her head on his shoulder, and he tightened the hold on her hand. The ride down was a comfortable quiet and when the doors opened, they stepped out into the foyer.

When they exited the building, Shirley paused a moment to close her eyes and breathe deep. When she opened them, she found Jack looking at her with a small smile on his lips. She nodded while grabbing his hand again and they headed out into their new tomorrow together.

#agent whiskey #jack daniels #pedro pascal #kingsman: the golden circle #fanfic #agent whiskey x oc #agent whiskey x reader #pedro pascal x reader

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deliciousmeta · 4 years

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According to halacha, which actions is Azula liable for?

One of my favorite ways to study Jewish texts is to take a fictional character or situation and examine it through the lens of Jewish text and tradition.

I’ve done this before with ABC’s Once Upon A Time. Now I’m going to take up this exercise again with Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Before I begin, a few things to keep in mind.

I’m not a Talmud scholar.

There is no definitive Jewish Opinion™ about any issue pertaining to halacha. Unanimous opinions on halacha are so rare that when we find one, we assume something went wrong in the process..

Nevertheless, she’s incredibly interesting, and studying Jewish text is fun, so here we are.

Why examine Azula’s actions through the lens of halacha?

Before we can launch into examining the halachic ramifications of the things Azula does, we need to establish some boundaries.

Now, let’s begin.

Is Azula bound by halacha?

What is Azula’s legal status?

In any case, we know the rules, and now we have to decide whether Azula broke them or not, right?

Not so fast.

Clear your mind of the idea that being an adult is the same as being a grownup. Instead, think of it as a term that defines when people can make legally binding decisions.

As far as I can tell, the Talmud doesn’t say when a gentile becomes an adult. However, we can use halacha as a guide.

Now for a warning.

If you skipped that last part, it’s safe to continue now.

OK, we’ve established that flashback!Azula is too young for her actions to be legally binding, but in the main story, Azula is legally an adult and responsible for her actions.

We good? Alright.

Which Noahide laws does Azula actually break?

This is both easier and harder than it seems.

That leaves the prohibitions against bloodshed, robbery and eating a limb cut from a living animal.

First up: bloodshed.

The connotation of the prohibition against bloodshed is not for general acts of violence, but actual murder.

Second: robbery.

We’ll come back to that.

Third: eating a limb from a living animal.

This prohibition is often expanded to incorporate all forms of animal cruelty.

The show does portray animal cruelty. We see a prime example with the circus in “Appa’s Lost Days.”

How does her behavior measure up? Despite her earlier behavior of terrorizing turtleducks, Azula does not harm either Appa or Bosco.

On the show, Mai and Ty Lee are seen spending time with Bosco in the throne room while the Earth King is imprisoned. So, at the very least, they treat the bear well.

So, Azula is not liable for animal cruelty.

*hands Azula her Not As Big A Jerk As She Could Have Been award*

Now, let’s revisit that prohibition against robbery.

This one might have some legs. On the show, does Azula take the rightful property of another, and does she use violent means to do so?

Absolutely.

A major example is stealing the clothes of the Kyoshi Warriors after defeating them in combat.

But!

So, back to the original question: which actions does Azula commit during the show that she’s halachically liable for?

The answer, shockingly, may be: none.

#azula #azula meta #jewish meta #atla meta

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lucky-dreamfisher · 5 years

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Weekly Asks #19 - DCTL Spoilers

In a game with cartoons coming to life, that’s certainly possible!

It reminds me of one scene in DCTL: Joey and Buddy are having a dinner, and Joey begins to monologue about life being an Illusion and his wish of “rewriting the rules” and “taking control of his own destiny”, which sounds pretty meta. Buddy then jokes that the dinner they’re eating is an illusion as well, and Joey has a… reaction.

“He leaned forward and bent over and was laughing so hard, tears were coming out of his eyes, but the sound of laughter wasn’t.”

It would be interesting if this was a hint that he’s fully aware of the fact that he’s a fictional character, rebelling against his fate.

Good catch! According to the newspaper article in the Handbook (dated as 1946, same year as the novel) a bunch of animators quit because of the poor working conditions in the studio, yet Dot claims some people quit because they didn't want to have a female boss.

Maybe it's a combination of both things? The conditions were objectively poor, and Miss Lambert's promotion was simply the last straw for some people? Of course, the newspaper wouldn't write about employees quitting for sexist reasons, it wouldn't look good.

Henry could be any of these three. I wouldn't be so sure about his other personality being good though! As Halfusek pointed out, in Chapter 4 Henry is implied to have died in the elevator fall, yet we don't see him come out of a statue. And the nearest statue has these creepy Lost Ones which appear to be frozen in fear of something coming out of the statue. It's entirely possible that it was his inksona that did this to all these Lost Ones. Which could mean that Henry… may even be the One-Eyed Bendy.

Very troubling!

The Projectionist was never imprinted with anything. Joey specifically said that he can’t imprint him, because the ink consumed Norman’s soul before Joey found him.

I suspect that his soul was kinda floating in the ink, until one day the ink dripped onto a projector, which was an object that had a personal value to Norman, his essence.

This may have allowed his soul to latch onto the projector and and form a body around it. The same probably happened with Bertrum and the octopus ride, and Johnny and the organ.

(as for the other questions, we’ll have to wait and see)

Bendy is described in the book as an animal, specifically a cat.

There is some evidence that he was indeed mistreated, beyond just being locked up. Look up my posts on the true source behind the ink for more details.

Of course, if Bendy is Joey, or even part-Joey, you are essentially feeling sorry for Joey Drew right now ;)

Heavenly Toys was built in the 30s and Storage 9 was in the book. Both happened before the Theater. In fact, the Theater isn’t even inside the studio, it’s in the building next to it. We don’t see it in batim, though I have no doubt it will make an appearance in batdr.

It’s all the more baffling, considering that Buddy’s death made national news. The ”Local Artist Pushed Himself Too Hard, Found Dead At Desk” headline was likely referring to Buddy’s death - unlike Henry, Buddy is actually a local,. Also, Dot complains at one point about Buddy “always pushing”.

In the novel, police came also looking for Sammy after he went missing, and in the Handbook, the studio was under investigation. No idea how Joey managed to get away with it all. Maybe he served the policemen ink-spiced drinks and they’re all now under mind-control as well?

Henry’s definitely an ink creature, so a Bendy form would suit him for sure. I doubt we’ll meet Henry in the next game though. It would be very hard to involve Henry without making batdr a sequel to batim.

It’s certainly possible that more perfect toons exist. But they’d definitely have human souls in them.

Redraw what? I’m not sure what you mean, sorry.

Dot’s fate is still uncertain. Unless you mean BATDR protagonist? She was never imprinted with anything (yet!), so she’s probably closer to Sammy and/or the Lost Ones. However, Joey implied that a person has to be imprinted to avoid having their souls be devoured by the ink, so I’m hoping the game will give us a choice between imprinting her with Alice or with Bendy to save her soul.

That's just one weird line, which doesn't really fit in with anything in particular. Apparently, the yellow world is referred to as "Bendy's Domain" in the Handbook.

This would imply it’s indeed an alternate dimension, of Bendy’s creation.

Maybe? But in this case he would have to have as many Sammy-traits as he has Joey traits, because Sammy's been having visions about the Ink Demon for 30 years. There’s probably more to it. I suspect an exchange of ink is necessary. Sammy’s been drinking Bendy’s ink, but Bendy hasn’t been drinking his. He may have had some of Joey’s though.

He rips Dave's arm off, so he has the strength to kill. Buddy says that he acts like a cat torturing a mouse - using enough strength to hurt them, but not so much as to kill her at once if he doesn’t wish it. I guess he pushed Buddy, because he was on the way, he wasn't thinking of killing him in that moment. With Henry, however, he went straight for the kill, except in Chapter 4.

The novel is clear about the fact that Joey is not in control. I don't think it's just an Easter Egg though, Joey claims that the soul is inside the heart, so Susie probably stole Boris's soul to turn him into Brute Boris.

Depends if he ever got imprinted or not. I’m guessing no, if he transformed inside his office. If he was, then he might be a Striker - all these extra arms are good for writing the messages on the walls of his office, and the sewed up mouth could be a symbolical punishment for spilling out company secrets in the audio logs.

Another, slightly less likely possibility, is that he is Tom. I once speculated that “Allison” and “Tom” are merely personas that Grant and Lacie assumed to trick Henry into killing the ink demon and continuing the loop. It’s less likely now with the suspicious way human!Allison has been acting.

I hope you're right.

Only if by "bad choices" you mean the choice to follow Dot XD

Jacob didn't strike me as particularly similar to any Butcher Gang character, tbh.

#Bendy and the Ink Machine #batim #ask #joey drew #Henry Stein #Buddy Lewek #dreams come to life #bendy theory #dreamfisher certified

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carrotwine4captainhops · 5 years

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Major Character Death as a creative writing tool

I’ve always been interested in the craft of writing. I’ve been mulling over the way Major Character Death is used as a tool in fiction for awhile, and after watching the extremely problematic death of Quentin Coldwater, (and the self-congratulatory responses of the show’s producers who apparently believe they invented the concept) I thought I’d give you the the high school level compare and contrast MCD essay you didn’t really need or want.

Before I start, I want to be clear that MCD as a tool is not a bad thing by itself. Many, many fiction authors use it in a very calculated way, and as long as it serves the story well, they’re doing their job. Many essays and books about the craft of writing discuss its use because it is just another tool in the creative writer’s tool box. When done well, it makes you cry in a good way; when done badly, the death feels like a cheap gimmick to force an emotion without doing much work as a story teller. The latter is definitely what happened with the season finale of The Magicians.

If season 4 of the magicians had been a novel, it would have been sent back for major revisions before publication.

The first MCD that came to mind while watching the season 4 finale of The Magicians, wasn’t technically an MCD, but may as well be: the ending of the Golden Compass trilogy. The two protagonists have recently fallen in love, and make the difficult decision to return to never see each other again as a way to save the multiverse from the damage caused by traveling between worlds. They won’t even be able to contact each other, and will have to live out their lives as if the other had died.

It was incredibly painful to read (it’s the first book I cried over), but it was beautifully written and a very logical conclusion that the author set up from book one. The books are about (among many other things) the failures of adults and authority when they make selfish decisions, and by choosing to put the health of the universe above their own happiness, they made the bravest, most adult decision they could. It’s a message about the hope that younger generations can fix the things that their predecessors broke if they’re brave enough. The Magicians almost had a similar message.

The second MCD I thought of was that of “Wash” from Firefly. Like a lot of other fans of the show, I got angry at this death in the movie Serenity (essentially the series finale of the TV show). Wash was the comedic relief and voice of optimism in a dark and dystopic show. While Quentin was clinically depressed, and, in the words of Margo Hanson, ”moderately socially maladjusted”, he also acted as the voice of hope to his peers. Both characters were the emotional core of their shows, which was a big reason why they were chosen by their perspective creators as the deaths that would be most felt by the audience. They both got a funeral scene, to really drive home how much the other characters (and by extension, the audience) would be impacted by their death.

In Wash’s case, having his death be accidental impalement during a crash didn’t feel entirely satisfying or necessary. It felt like a lazy way to make the audience sad and motivate the rest of the characters to Really Get That Baddie… BUT, this cheapness is balanced by the symbolism of an outlaw pilot literally dying at the helm of the ship he loved while trying to save the world. It also didn’t send any problematic messages to the audience. Wash was not the protagonist or a “self-insert” the way Quentin was; he wasn’t suicidal or part of an underserved minority group (and make no mistake, by making Quentin sexually fluid/bisexual, the producers signed themselves up for a more thoughtful treatment of his death, if it had to happen.)

The message from Wash’s death is one that is very familiar to readers of genre fiction MCDs: simply: “not everyone lives” and “people who put themselves in high-risk situations sometimes die”. Both of which are painful but fair messages to absorb.

This same tactic was used again by Whedon with Agent Coulson in The Avengers. As an optimistic “plot-armor-free” side character who had become a fan favorite, he was given an entire arc in the movie that the audience wasn’t expecting, made to be even more loveable, and then killed off in a long emotional death scene which was then used in the third act turning point of the movie. Whedon made it clear in interviews that the whole death was coldly calculated to squeeze emotion from the audience, and up the stakes in a way that a large body count couldn’t. It upset a lot of fans, it wasn’t perfect, but it was well done and fitting for the narrative and made the movie stronger, and, again, he wasn’t a member of a minority group. (And as a side note, a different creative team knew how popular Coulson was and managed to resurrect him for his own TV show and managed to do it in a way that wasn’t flip-his resurrection had consequences that lasted at least until season 5, the current season).

There is no mitigating balance to Quentin’s death. He was suicidal from day one of the series, and he left via (a purposefully plausible) suicide. His first question, once he realizes he’s dead, is not, “Did the plan work?” or “is Eliot OK?” (the friend he’d been working so hard all season to save) or even “is Julia/Alice/Josh/all my other friends ok?” These are questions that would be plausible and fitting in a character who’s journey has about helping friends and the world out of tough situations. But no, the first thing he asks is “did I finally kill myself?”

With one sentence, his character returned to the self-centered, timid, low-confidence, suicidal mess he’d been established as within five minutes of the show’s pilot. He had no self-realization until after watching his own funeral, at which point he happily and peacefully goes to heaven. At best, that’s heavy-handed symbolism. At worst, it’s erasing all of his character growth and making his entire story pointless, while sending the very dangerous message to the audience.

The writers stated in interviews that they made his death all about suicide on purpose, and now (as of this writing) they continue to refuse to grapple with how problematic that is.

Another MCD that seemed to do the same thing was Tris from the Divergent series. Like Quentin, she was the protagonist. Also similar to Quentin, her arc was almost too on the nose: she was born into a clan literally named “Abnegation” and indoctrinated from birth to sacrifice herself for her community. She wasn’t even allowed to look into mirrors in case she caught even a smidgen of self-regard. And how does her story end? By her sacrificing her life to get the “big baddie” and save her friends and family.

Like Quentin’s death, a lot of her character growth appeared to be erased in the last few chapters of the book. Prior to Book 3, Tris had been learning to question her upbringing, to think for herself, that it’s ok to look for happiness for oneself, and that selfishness takes many forms, not all of them bad. When she makes the decision to kill herself in the end, it left a bad taste in my mouth. The plot didn’t require her death, (for example, there were other characters who could have gone in her place, and as a leader at that point, the more difficult decision probably would have been to send someone else on that mission and learn to live with the guilt). Her death and the manner of it, seemed to say, “just kidding, actually the only way to realize your self-worth is to is sacrifice your happiness and entire self for your community.”

Sound familiar?

Quentin Coldwater was just starting to learn (and because he had an audience, to teach) many of these same things. For three and a half seasons, we see him form strong friendships (when he thought he couldn’t); help people (when he thought he was useless), pursue romantic relationships (when he thought no one could love him); he lives an entire lifetime with Eliot during a quest on alternate timeline, where he’s shown having to make the difficult decision every day, to stay alive, to keep working on the tedious and almost hopeless task of completing the puzzle to finish a quest, and then it turns out that the answer to the puzzle all along WAS that daily struggle. Later, in season 4, he tells us that he hopes to be a dad (again) someday; he shows more and more confidence in his magical abilities every season. All of that was erased by the way his death was written.

Even with the uneven messaging of Tris’ death, there is at least lots of room for interpretation. I believe the author was trying to show her final sacrifice as a way of reclaiming part of her upbringing that wasn’t toxic. The character went through a rebellious phase during book one, during which she seems to reject all parts of her former life, even the good ones, right after leaving the Abnegation community for the hedonistic clan of Dauntless. It would definitely be good growth for her, as part of self-actualization, to accept the good parts of her upbringing. I don’t necessarily believe that’s the message we get at the end, but we at least have the possibility. Not everyone has reacted negatively to the way Quentin’s death was handled, so maybe there is more possibility of interpretation than what I see. I’m willing to be proven wrong, but nothing I’ve seen from critics or the showrunners statements has yet convinced me.

Another (highly speculative), parallel I couldn’t help but make over the last few days, is between the Magicians showrunners’s treatment of this MCD and Joss Whedon of a decade ago. His recent fall from grace has finally allowed more critical examination of his past works, but I remember how, at his peak, he could do no wrong. He was the voice of hollywood feminism. He was lauded by critics, peers, and fans. Any voice that questioned him was mocked, dismissed, and even harassed. Anyone else remember when critics call “Dollhouse” a feminist show? None of that has not aged well, has it?

The Magicians producers, riding high off of critical acclaim of Quentin’s homosexual romance in Season 3x05, had ample chance to make the braver choice: to allow a queer suicidal boy make the choice to keep fighting every day despite how hard it was; To break rank with 99% of other TV shows and allow his homosexual romance to be explored and given the same consideration as the hetersexual romances. Instead, they made him kill himself and be happy about it, literally saying in interviews that he had nothing left to live for. Without even addressing his feelings for Eliot. They buried yet another gay, all in the name of a shock-value gimmick, and they think they’re being “revolutionary” and that anyone critical of their choices is “just sad”.

There are about a thousand different ways season 4 could have gone that would have made the writers’ intended message less problematic, more impactful, and more satisfying, and none of them involve a MCD OR a trite “happily ever after”. Consider, for example, that Zelda could have completed her redemption arc in some kind of sacrifice similar to quentin’s. Everett was much more her “big baddie” than he was Quentin’s, it’s just strange that she never got to really confront her mentor-turned-enemy. Consider that, since Quentin’s main focus and motivation all season was to get Eliot back, that he actually succeeds, but, their reunion and relationship is strained. If we must push this idea that “magic comes from pain”, think how much more painful it would be to be to have Eliot finally confess his love to Quentin, but now Quentin is unable to pursue that relationship because of all the trauma he’s suffered at the hands of Eliot’s possessed body all season. Consider that he finally breaks under the strain and excuses himself from further questing, which would easily allow Julia, Kady, or Alice to get more screentime. (I mean, this is just stuff off the top of my head. For a hundred other ideas, check out Archive of Our Own).

They did just about everything wrong with this particular major character death, and I don��t think their choice is going to age well in the years to come.

#cw: suicide #cw: self harm #the magicians #spoilers #season 4 #meta analysis #writing about writing #words about words #major character death #quentin coldwater #bury your gays

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sometimesrosy · 5 years

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Hi Rosy, hope all is well. It has been very interesting reading your Season 6 theories and am just wondering what you might think Madi's role will be next season? (v sorry if you have mentioned this but I don't recall coming across it) Hope you have a great weekend! xo

This is such a hard question. Even harder than the one about Bellamy, and I was working on it all day yesterday and getting distracted. Madi is hard to speculate for, because she doesn’t really have any unfinished stories, except the flame one, and we don’t know what that means yet. Or I don’t. I think that her storyline will be intimately connected with the most science fiction parts of the story. I also see Madi’s story as being connected to the final conclusion of the story, also about creating a new society.

I suspect that the AI in her head will have a lot to do with the new planet. I have two possibilities.

An AI that Becca sent with the Eligius which never suffered perverse instantiation is working just fine and will be able to connect with Madi and the flame.

An ALIEN from the planet that exists on another plane from human can pick up the signals from the Flame, and it will become relevant again that way.

I say this because the ELigius instagram posted that story where SOMEONE knew that THEY were coming. I’m assuming Eligius 3. A ship of sleeping people. And then SOMEONE saw HER. Her who? And then SOMEONE said “SHE IS.”

So basically, what I see, as the hint, is that someone on the planet, either AI or Alien being, or BOTH, knows of Madi. Her dreaming human body kept the AI active in her head, sending out messages, probably as dreams, which is the way the flame communicates with their host. As was stated by Lxa.

So. Here’s some out there speculation I have, based on my belief that there will be an ALIE on the planet, and/or nonhumanoid aliens who have an altered reality. (this spec comes from both the past mythology of Becca, Eligius, Cadogan, The Flame, AND the books/movies/shows that JR has as recommended viewing/reading, along with the Eligius tease and the BTS photos of that castle.)

I’m putting this behind the jump. Because it’s long. It’s elaborate. There is LITTLE textual proof for it, it’s based on the hints and teases and on archetypes, mythology, science fiction tropes and the basic POINT of post apocalyptic fiction, which is REBUILDING A BETTER WORLD. (or deciding that humans are to blame and it’s the end, but I think JR is going for the positive one. since the POV that presented that is dead now, because that’s where that perspective goes.)

Buckle up. And don’t hate me.

There is a FlameCLarke in Madi’s head that she is not telling Clarke about because Clarke would freak out. In fact, the more she learns to control the flame, the more it will be CLARKE who comes to her. Clarke was a commander. The flame was inside of her. The flame retains the consciousness of all the commanders, ergo, The Flame has a flameClarke along with the other commanders.

The “She” that the eligius instagram refers to is going to look like Clarke. Because if Madi is dreaming and sending out flame messages, it’s going to look like the commander she has the biggest connection to. OF COURSE IT’S CLARKE. We already know the AI will create the world and give the symbols that will best connect with the mind. This was said in the COL.

If there is an AI on the planet, it won’t have an avatar, because Becca’s boyfriend invented the avatar, and the first time Becca saw it, ALIE told her there were too many people. But the Eligius mission had already been gone, before the avatar showed up. So it does not have an avatar. BUT if it is getting signals from a Flame Avatar that looks like Clarke, it’s going to want an avatar, too. And who will it dress up like? The flame Avatar. CLARKE. So we’re going to have an ALIEClarke. Hence the acting Challenge that Eliza will have. She’ll be playing three characters. Clarke. FlameClarke and ALIEClarke.

The “Peaceful Society” won’t be peaceful. Or it will be peaceful for the chosen, because it is subjugating those who aren’t chosen. AKA repeating the sins of humanity. And because Clarke and Bellamy need to get back to the story that broke them, the genocide of MW. So I speculate that the new society will be a reflection of MW. It will again be a seemingly peaceful society that is rotten and evil to the bone. They will be subjugating the new planet and either the lower class OR the aliens of this world, because they are not human. I lean towards aliens now.

Clarke is going to choose to fight for the aliens not the humans because it is the right thing to do, even if it’s not best for their people. And she’s going to come to realize that the genocide of MW was actually what was RIGHT. That WAS the good guys, because MW would have subjugated EVERYONE on the ground and treated the ground as THEIR birthright. This was clear in canon. But she couldn’t bear what she’d done, so she made herself the bad guy and it broke her.

Clarke and Bellamy will be separated. Clarke will end up with the aliens, and so will Echo. I don’t know who else. But those BTS pictures had like 8 lounge chairs, which I suspect are where they recline when they have their flashbacks. Which won’t be hallucinations, but a kind of alien instigated spiritual journey. Thus we see Echo having memories of reapers, and Clarke having memories of Jake. We saw the actor dressed in reaper clothes, se we know that’s a flashback, and there are rumors (rumors still) of Jake being on set.

I suspect Bellamy will have to go rescue Clarke. And Echo. And whoever is with them. But, I’m going to guess that Madi will be with Bellamy. Because if Clarke is going into the wilderness she’d leave Madi to Bellamy. SO THEY are going to rescue Clarke. And everyone they love.

They will be drawn into the plight of the aliens/humans opposed to the “Peaceful Society” I suspect that the aliens will also BOND with the humans and change them, so they’re not quite human anymore.

When Madi and Bellamy get to Clarke and the rest, to save them from the savage aliens. Or maybe they’re on the aliens side idk. They will discover the real truth of Russell’s peaceful society and that it is based on bleeding the planet and aliens dry. Like MW.

All those pretty people they’ve cast that we’re only finding out about now? They’re for midseason. Those are the humans who have rebelled against the “peaceful” society and come to live with the aliens, and perhaps now have altered consciousness or bodies or both. Thus the dancers. To denote that the aliens don’t move like humans. They are otherworldly. (I don’t know if the dancers are aliens or alien/human hybrids.) That castle is the heart of the alien/human hybrid rebellion. They will have our heroes enter an altered state of consciousness. That rose window on the castle? That’s either the actual alien or a representation of it. expect CGI.

Madi will have an innate connection to the alien and/or alien/human hybrids. Because she is an alien/human hybrid. since an AI is not human. Ok, that’s a stretch. Anyway. She’s not quite human. Madi will want to fight for the aliens. But the peaceful humans want to eradicate them. They want to dominate this new world like they did the last.

Which will lead to its ultimate destruction and a repetition of the cycle of abuse and violence which Clarke and Bellamy are trying to stop. Therefore. They must do what they did with MW, and commit genocide again, this time with full knowledge that it is to save the rest of humanity and alienkind. A new planet. The universe. (OH MY GOD THEY HAVE TO SAVE THE UNIVERSE!!! Not the delinquents. Not the sky people. Not all the survivors. Not the humanity. THE UNIVERSE. ESCALATION.) Knowing all they know this time, they will be ready to do this.

I see them actually destroying the “peaceful” society so that the aliens/hybrids can thrive.

Raven will take off from the new planet, after destroying Russells fake peaceful people, with Clarke and Bellamy and their people, leaving they human/alien society behind to start a new world. This will be the third time she takes off from a planet, and this time it WON’T be on fire. Because she said “just once I’d like to take off from a planet that’s not on fire.”

HOWEVER.

Don’t hate me.

Madi is going to choose to stay behind with the alien/human hybrids. Because she has the flame. They need a leader. They need the flame to help them BUILD a new society. And she feels like they are her people. THIS is what the flame was created for. To end the violence of the human past, stop ALIE’s supremacy, and create a new world.

Clarke losing Madi to a new world is heartbreaking but also mythic in nature. The child of her spirit is a sacrifice to healing and redeeming humanity. The son that died for our sins? She won’t die, but she might as well have,

Because Clarke and Bellamy will be going back to earth, 200 years after they left it, to FIX WHAT THEY BROKE. To be responsible for humanity’s destruction of the earth. Lincoln said that we’re all responsible for our monster when we let it out, and leaving the earth behind is NOT being responsible. Moving on to a new planet is COLONIALIZATION. They have to go home.

So Clarke and Bellamy will take humanity home to start over on a now green planet, cleansed of humanity (there might be some survivors and might be giant sandworms frankly but that’s another story.)

And Madi will stay on the planet two suns to raise a new sentient species in peace and wisdom.

Octavia will go with Clarke and Bellamy, because she also represents the child, HUMANITY, the one that almost destroyed itself with darkness, but will be redeemed and healed. Symbolically she represents humanity on earth while Madi represents the NEW society. Both are important. But CLarke and Bellamy need to guide humanity and let go of the human/alien hybrids to make their own way, rather than be colonialists and rule over them.

And ECHO will stay with Madi, to be her protector, but also because she feels a kinship and a sense of belonging with the alien/hybrids because she TOO was a slave to the azgeda and gave up everything she ever wanted for them. This leads us back to Echo’s backstory, and her story which has been stated to be about loyalty, family, and belonging. She will choose Madi and the alien/human hybrids as where she belongs. She will get the free choice, not circumstances of survival and not being taken as a child and raised into it.

I do not know if all this will happen in season 6. This might be a season 6-7 story. Or it could just be season 6 and s7 is them going home to the earth, and building a new society. idk.

OKAY. So that’s my spec for Madi. I cannot separate it from the main story or from Clarke and Bellamy’s hero’s journeys or the rebuilding of humanity. Or the mythology of The 100 or the cyclical story structures, which actually means it’s probably more likely to go something like this. Because different story elements are feeding into it and it’s not isolated from the other stories.

As you can see, I’ve made a lot of off the wall claims and predictions. And I could be wrong about any one of them or all of them. You take hints and interpret them, but you can interpret them the wrong way. So here I am. Out on a limb with more of rosy’s patented “crazy” spec. Just be aware that I also predicted the cryosleep solution before season 4 even aired. And Exodus theory/leaving Eden, before season 5 aired.

So I might not be wrong with my crazy crack theories. They aren’t crack. They’re scifi. I’ve spent nearly 50 years consuming scifi. It’s in my bones. Geek child of geek parents. My first cats were named Kirk and Spock. I am geek. hear me meow. lol.

#the 100 #speculation #madi #clarke x madi x bellamy #mythos #alien slavery theory #flameclarke theory #return to earth theory

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brightbeautifulthings · 5 years

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The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

"'Sometimes you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing right.'"

Year Read: 2019

Rating: 5/5

About: Starr has always been able to balance her life between the poor neighborhood where she lives and her elite preparatory school, but when she witnesses a policeman killing her childhood friend, Khalil, that balance implodes. Suddenly, Starr is not just "Big Mav's daughter who works at the store" but "the witness" who saw a white policeman shoot an unarmed black teenager in the back. With pressure coming at her from every side to speak up or stay silent, Starr has to decide whether it's worth risking her safety and the safety of her family to use her voice--or if she can live with herself and Khalil's memory if she doesn't. Trigger warnings: death, guns, violence, police violence, violence against women, racism, physical abuse, injury, blood, drug mention.

Thoughts: This book is worth every single bit of its hype, and I'll join the masses in saying it's something every American should read. Some books are completely apt for their time periods, and Thomas expertly taps into the issue of police violence against people of color in this country. The novel takes a scathing look at how media takes up these stories and twists them to their own agendas, and there's a gut-wrenching focus on how the news attempts to justify cases like Khalil's by speculating on whether or not he was a drug dealer or a gang member rather than the fact that he was a black teenager without a weapon. There’s also a very clear message that racism is systemic and people of color are forced into poverty and crime by institutions that were always stacked against them. Thomas handles the social issues with all the gravity they deserve, and despite its accessible prose, it's often a very heavy read.

If her mastery of social commentary makes the book relevant, it’s the characters who make it so compulsively readable. Starr is equal parts fierce and insecure, frightened and terribly, terribly brave. She's headstrong and doesn't always communicate well, and she makes it painfully obvious how hard it is sometimes to do the right thing. It's hard to imagine anyone coming away from this story not loving her, or at least not sympathizing. Though Khalil isn’t often on-page, through Starr we get to know him as well, as a real person and not just a media statistic. Her family is one of the best fictional families I've ever read. They're involved in each others' lives and all feel like fully-developed people, not merely background characters. Her parents' loving relationships, her dad's history and activism, and her mom's fierce protectiveness and no-nonsense attitude all make them pretty unforgettable. I'll be thinking about these characters long after I've closed the book.

Thomas also works in a number of issues on a smaller scale with relative ease. I was particularly interested in the amount of code-switching Starr has to do between her neighborhood and her primarily rich, white high school, how careful she is not to use too much slang or appear angry or aggressive there. The narrative itself has a lot of slang, but if I didn't know it, I could usually infer from context, and it gives Starr and the rest of the novel a distinct voice. Thomas also targets with needle-point precision those white friends who just can't admit when they're racist, even when they have a person of color telling them that they are. I was expecting the big issues, but there's an impressive level of nuance in the novel as well. There are no fairytale endings when it comes to problems like this (and any attempt would have felt disingenuous), but there's enough thematic closure to make the ending feel satisfying. Will definitely read again and be looking for more of Thomas's fiction in the meantime.

#book review #the hate u give #angie thomas #ya fiction #5/5 #rating: 5/5 #2019

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laniakeabooks · 5 years

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January Wrap Up

I read 11 books in January which is a personal record. I’ve included the synopsis pulled directly from Goodreads and my (short) thoughts on the book. If you’d like a longer review of any of the books I read this month, feel free to request it!

The Innocence Treatment by Ari Goelman - ⭐⭐⭐

Lauren has a disorder that makes her believe everything her friends tell her--and she believes everyone is her friend. Her innocence puts her at constant risk, so when she gets the opportunity to have an operation to correct her condition, she seizes it. But after the surgery, Lauren is changed. Is she a paranoid lunatic with violent tendencies? Or a clear-eyed observer of the world who does what needs to be done?

Told in journal entries and therapy session transcripts, The Innocence Treatment is a collection of Lauren's papers, annotated by her sister long after the events of the novel. A compelling YA debut thriller that is part speculative fiction and part shocking tell-all of genetic engineering and government secrets, Lauren's story is ultimately an electrifying, propulsive, and spine-tingling read.

Nothing I found particularly impressive… it had potential but didn’t quite meet it.

The Memory Book by Lara Avery - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sammie was always a girl with a plan: graduate at the top of her class and get out of her small town as soon as humanly possible. Nothing will stand in her way--not even a rare genetic disorder the doctors say will slowly start to steal her memories and then her health. What she needs is a new plan.

So the Memory Book is born: Sammie's notes to her future self, a document of moments great and small. It's where she'll record every perfect detail of her first date with longtime crush, Stuart--a brilliant young writer who is home for the summer. And where she'll admit how much she's missed her childhood best friend, Cooper, and even take some of the blame for the fight that ended their friendship.

Through a mix of heartfelt journal entries, mementos, and guest posts from friends and family, readers will fall in love with Sammie, a brave and remarkable girl who learns to live and love life fully, even though it's not the life she planned.

I am shocked. I never expected to like a contemporary this much... especially "sick-lit" or whatever people are calling it. Maybe it was because I found a lot of what Sammie said to be so relatable, or maybe because NPC is exactly the type of disease I'd like to research in my future. Maybe it's because one of my greatest fears is getting dementia and losing my memory.

Whatever it was, I hope I can find it again in another book.

Vox by Christina Dalcher - ⭐⭐

Set in an America where half the population has been silenced, VOX is the harrowing, unforgettable story of what one woman will do to protect herself and her daughter.

On the day the government decrees that women are no longer allowed more than 100 words daily, Dr. Jean McClellan is in denial—this can't happen here. Not in America. Not to her.

This is just the beginning.

Soon women can no longer hold jobs. Girls are no longer taught to read or write. Females no longer have a voice. Before, the average person spoke sixteen thousand words a day, but now women only have one hundred to make themselves heard.

But this is not the end.

For herself, her daughter, and every woman silenced, Jean will reclaim her voice

Uh, yeah, not impressed. Disappointed. Annoyed. It felt like Dalcher was trying too hard and was clearly ridding on the coattails of The Handmaid’s Tale’s recent re-emergence.

Also, the narrator on the audiobook and pronounce Wernicke’s area which just grated on my nerves and honestly pissed me off.

First We Were IV by Alexandra Sirowy - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

It started for pranks, fun, and forever memories.

A secret society – for the four of us.

The rules: Never lie. Never tell. Love each other.

We made the pledge and danced under the blood moon on the meteorite in the orchard. In the spot we found the dead girl five years earlier. And discovered the ancient drawings way before that.

Nothing could break the four of us apart – I thought.

But then, others wanted in. Our seaside town had secrets. History.

We wanted revenge.

We broke the rules. We lied. We told. We loved each other too much, not enough, and in ways we weren’t supposed to.

Our invention ratcheted out of control.

What started as a secret society, ended as justice. Revenge. Death. Rebellion.

Wooooowwwww... I am starting off this year with some pretty good reads. Granted, I read probably 3/4 of this one in emerge on my birthday after having twisted my knee skiing the day before...

This book didn't take the path I thought it would. It just felt like the climax and conclusion occurred in the same paragraph? I don't know maybe that's just me...

I'd love to see this as a TV show (maybe Netflix since they tend to do a rocking job).

Day 21 by Cass Morgan - ⭐⭐⭐

It's been 21 days since the hundred landed on Earth. They're the only humans to set foot on the planet in centuries...or so they thought. Facing an unknown enemy, Wells attempts to keep the group together. Clarke strikes out for Mount Weather, in search of other Colonists, while Bellamy is determined to rescue his sister, no matter the cost. And back on the ship, Glass faces an unthinkable choice between the love of her life and life itself.

In this pulse-pounding sequel to Kass Morgan's The 100, secrets are revealed, beliefs are challenged, and relationships are tested. And the hundred will struggle to survive the only way they can -- together.

I still much prefer the Netflix adaptation. Although I enjoy this recovering from an apocalyptic event storyline the books take, I find that they lack the action that I love so much in the show… not to mention that my favourite characters don’t exist.

52 Reasons to Hate My Father by Jessica Brody - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lexington Larrabee has never to work a day in her life. After all, she’s the heiress to the multi-billion-dollar Larrabee Media empire. And heiresses are not supposed to work. But then again, they’re not supposed to crash brand new Mercedes convertibles into convenience stores on Sunset Blvd either.

Which is why, on Lexi’s eighteen birthday, her ever-absent, tycoon father decides to take a more proactive approach to her wayward life. Every week for the next year, she will have to take on a different low-wage job if she ever wants to receive her beloved trust fund. But if there’s anything worse than working as a maid, a dishwasher, and a fast-food restaurant employee, it’s dealing with Luke, the arrogant, albeit moderately attractive, college intern her father has assigned to keep tabs on her.

In a hilarious “comedy of heiress” about family, forgiveness, good intentions, and best of all, second chances, Lexi learns that love can be unconditional, money can be immaterial, and, regardless of age, everyone needs a little saving. And although she might have 52 reasons to hate her father, she only needs one reason to love him.

Be prepared for a spoiled, bratty, unlikable main character. If you can’t stand characters like this, then I suggest avoiding this read, especially since we are trapped in her head (1st person narration) for the duration of the book. However, Lexi does have a great character arc, so if you are able to tolerate her for the first half of the book, you’ll actually start to like her.

Another contemporary I really enjoyed… not sure if this is because I’m not as picky when it comes to my favourite and least favourite genres anymore, but then again it my just be that I stumbled across two contemporaries that suited my fancy this month.

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Romy Silvers is the only surviving crew-member of a spaceship travelling to a new planet, on a mission to establish a second home for humanity amongst the stars. Alone in space, she is the loneliest girl in the universe until she hears about a new ship which has launched from Earth – with a single passenger on board. A boy called J.

Their only communication with each other is via email – and due to the distance between them, their messages take months to transmit across space. And yet Romy finds herself falling in love.

But what does Romy really know about J? And what do the mysterious messages which have started arriving from Earth really mean?

Sometimes, there’s something worse than being alone . . .

Okay. First of all, the UK paperback cover is gorgeous. This would have one hundred percent been a cover buy if the synopsis hadn’t also intrigued me.

I went in thinking that it would be a space-based romance, but boy was I wrong. And good thing too. I’m not a huge fan of romance (more like I tolerate it for a good plot), and this book did not focus of the blooming romance as much as I thought it would.

Space, suspense, beautiful cover? Sign me up!

Crash by Lisa McMann - ⭐⭐⭐

Jules lives with her family above their restaurant, which means she smells like pizza most of the time and drives their double-meatball-shaped food truck to school. It’s not a recipe for popularity, but she can handle that.

What she can’t handle is the recurring vision that haunts her. Over and over, Jules sees a careening truck hit a building and explode...and nine body bags in the snow.

The vision is everywhere—on billboards, television screens, windows—and she’s the only one who sees it. And the more she sees it, the more she sees. The vision is giving her clues, and soon Jules knows what she has to do. Because now she can see the face in one of the body bags, and it’s someone she knows. Someone she has been in love with for as long as she can remember.

In this riveting start to a gripping trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Lisa McMann, Jules has to act—and act fast—to keep her vision from becoming reality.

Not bad but not amazing either. It’s your typical psychic teen struggling with her newly found gifts and trying to prevent a tragedy. I’ll continue on with the trilogy since I have the bind up, they’re quick reads, and they’re a good distraction from my stressful studies… so basically just what I need.

Bang by Lisa McMann - ⭐⭐⭐

Jules should be happy. She saved a lot of people’s lives and she’s finally with Sawyer, pretty much the guy of her dreams. But the nightmare’s not over, because she somehow managed to pass the psycho vision stuff to Sawyer. Excellent.

Feeling responsible for what he’s going through and knowing that people’s lives are at stake, Jules is determined to help him figure it all out. But Sawyer’s vision is so awful he can barely describe it, much less make sense of it. All he can tell her is there’s a gun, and eleven ear-splitting shots. Bang.

Jules and Sawyer have to work out the details fast, because the visions are getting worse and that means only one thing: time is running out. But every clue they see takes them down the wrong path. If they can’t prevent the vision from happening, lives will be lost. And they may be among the casualties…

This second book in the Visions series took an interesting turn on the whole psychic thing, but a lot of the book was spent going back and forth between “No I don’t want to do this” to “Yes I’m in” and “No I don’t want to help” to, again… “Yes I’m in” which was kind of a drag.

Number of Pages Read: 3438

Average Rating: 3.5

Favourite Book of the Month: The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James

The cover, the space adventure, the thriller-type aspect to the plot… everything I love all in one.

Least Favourite Book of the Month: Vox by Christina Dalcher

I was just… really disappointed.

Keep up with me on Goodreads! (https://www.goodreads.com/LaniakeaBooks)

#books #ya books #book #YA book #book review #book reviews #goodreads #booklr #bookstagram

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thecaffeinebookwarrior · 7 years

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Tips For Writing Time Travel: An Illustrated Guide.

@jjpivotz asked:

“What is a good way that I could write time travelling without it being cliche?”

Ooh, I love questions like this! They’re so much fun, and on a somewhat self-indulgent level, they really get me thinking on the tropes themselves.

So without further ado, here are my personal thoughts on writing about time travel:

1. Embrace the fact that it’s not gonna make total sense.

This goes for a lot of creative fiction. When I was writing my urban fantasy novel, for example, I used a lot of traditional mythological figures whose duties and depictions (i.e. one humanoid being reaping the dead despite the fact that over a hundred thousand people die a day, billion-year-old entities who still look and behave like teenagers, figures from religions whose world views wildly conflict interacting with each other, etc.) weren’t compatible with what we currently know about the laws of physics.

And the sooner I resolved not to even attempt to explain it, the sooner my novel improved.

The wonderful thing about fiction is that it doesn’t have to imitate reality as we know it; the laws of the physical universe need not apply. And as long as the characters in your universe accept that, so will the reader.

I’ve had around twenty beta readers look at my book, and not one of them has poked holes in my casual disregard for the conventionally accepted rules of physical reality. The suspension of disbelief is an amazing thing.

As for how to best apply this to time travel, take Back to the Future, for example. This is one of the best time travel series ever made, but if you really look at what’s going on, you’ll come to find that none of it really makes any sense at all.

First of all, Marty McFly is a popular high school student whose best friend is an eccentric nuclear physicist. Conventional wisdom (and just about every fiction writing book or advice blog I’ve ever read) would dictate that this is a pretty heavy plot-point and warrants some explanation. But the narrative never questions it, and as such neither does the vast majority of its audience.

It is in this exact manner that Back to the Future handles its heaviest of all plotpoints, the act of time travel, which is the main driving force behind its entire plot.

How does it explain Doc Brown’s ability to time travel? Well, he invented the Flux Capacitor, of course. What is a Flux Capacitor, you ask? How does it work, exactly? Well, fucked if I know. All I know is that the narrative treats it like it’s a real thing, and by default, so do I.

The same could be said for the magically changing family portrait, the fact that the characters can’t interact with their past or future selves without universal destruction, flying cars, and the fact that the McFlys’ future children inexplicably look exactly like them. None of it makes any sense. And it’s fucking magical.

Another of my favorite examples of this is pre-Moffat Doctor Who. The science is campy, occasionally straight-up ridiculous, and unabashedly nonsensical, yet paves the way for some truly great and thought provoking storylines and commentary.

Bottom line is, I don’t know how to time travel. I’m guessing you don’t either, otherwise you probably wouldn’t be asking me for advice on how to write it. Accept it. Embrace it. Don’t be bashful about it -- trust me, time travelers are probably a minority in your readership, so they won’t judge you.

So as to what would be a good means of writing time travel, the short answer is: any way you want. For obvious reasons, I’d stay away from old cars, police boxes, and phone booths, but with the power of the suspension of disbelief, virtually nothing is off the table: a pair of magic sneakers, a refrigerator, a closet, a treehouse -oh, crap, that one’s been done before. But you get the picture. You can be as creative as you want to be about it. Don’t be afraid to step outside the police box, so to speak.

Trust in the magic of the suspension of disbelief, and don’t overthink things. Your story and readers will thank you.

As for how to avoid other cliches, that brings me to my next point:

2. Look at the tried and true tropes of time traveling. Now subvert them.

This might just be me and my adoration of irony talking, but since you specifically asked how to avoid cliche I’m going to indulge myself here.

Do the exact opposite of what people expect from narratives about time travel. You know the old trope: the protagonist steps on a bug, and comes back to the present to find the world being ruled by gorillas.

I’m not telling you not to include drastic consequences for time travel, because there would probably be quite a few (at least if you believe in the chaos theory, which states every action has a universal reaction.)

But you could toy around with the idea that fate isn’t something that can ultimately be altered at all, and that all the protagonist accomplishes is solidifying (or even triggering) a pre-existing outcome.

My knee-jerk suggestion, as someone who takes fiendish glee in incorporating humor into my writing, would be to make the protagonist have some Forrest Gump-type encounters that unwittingly trigger huge, history-defining event, but it can also be significantly more tragic than that: maybe the protagonist goes back in time to save his father from a hit-and-run car accident, for example, and then accidentally kills him. Or perhaps he realizes that his father was a bad man (beat his mother, planned on killing someone, etc.) and makes a moral decision to kill him (which is also a great way to ask philosophical questions. More on that later.)

I don’t know what kind of time travel your writing or what your style of writing is, but these are things I’d personally just love to play around with.

Or maybe time travel does change things, but it’s not even close to what the protagonist expected: maybe his words of wisdom to his newly married mother about true love and the meaning of life and whatnot unexpectedly lead her to realize that she’s deeply unhappy in her current marriage, and he returns to the present to find her divorced (lesbian stepmom optional.)

Maybe absolutely nothing at all changes, but he realizes that he’s responsible for some famous Mandela Effect, like the Bearenstein/Bearenstain discrepancy.

Bottom line is, don’t be afraid to do the unexpected. But conversely, don’t be afraid to use tried and true tropes, either: regardless of how overdone they may seem to be, they can almost always be rejuvenated when interjected with a thought-provoking plot.

Which brings me to my final point:

3. Make sure it has something to say.

Science fiction, especially the speculative variety, tends to be best when it begins by asking a question, for which it will later provide an answer. Take, for example, Planet of the Apes. The pervasive question of the movie is whether or not humanity is inherently self-destructive, which it ultimately answers with its famed final plot twist that humanity has long since destroyed itself.

Rod Serling (who was incidentally responsible for the original Planet of the Apes, by the way) did this remarkably well: almost every episode of the Twilight Zone packed a massive philosophical punch due to the fact that they followed this simplistic formula. The episode would begin with the presentation of a question, big or small (frequently by the charismatic Serling himself) and by the end of the episode, that question would be answered.

I’m not going to go in to detail here, as it would spoil the magic of uncovering the plot twists for the first time, but Serling used his speculation to tackle the narrow-mindedness of beauty standards in Eye of the Beholder, the dangers of fascism in Obsolete Man, the communist paranoia of the time period with the Monsters are Due on Maple Street, and countless more.

I would recommend watching the original Twilight Zone for almost anyone looking to write speculative fiction such as time travel.

Even if your work isn’t compatible with this specific formula of Question => Debate => Answer (which some work isn’t) it will still need to have some kind of underlying statement to it, or no matter how clever the science fiction is or how original the time travel is, it will fall flat.

This is why Twilight Zone, Planet of the Apes, Back to the Future, and (pre-Moffat, as I always feel inclined to stress -- he does literally the opposite of almost everything I recommend here) Doctor Who still remain widely enjoyed today, despite the fact that many of their tropes have been used many, many times since they original aired.

So for time travel, remember that it is a means, not an end. You could write the most cliched type of time travel story imaginable, and your audience will still feel fulfilled by it if your message is heartfelt, thought-provoking, and/or poignant.

Maybe you want to use time travel to make a statement about your belief in the existence of fate, or lack thereof. In this case, using the Sterling Approach, you would have your story begin with the question of whether or not humans can alter or change destiny, allow the narrative/characters to argue the question back and forth for a while, and then ultimately disclose what you believe the answer to be.

Or maybe you want to use time travel to explore or subvert the treachery of history and how it is taught, and show how the true narrative can be explored, purposefully or otherwise, by the victors.

Maybe you want to show that there’s no clear answer, or maybe no answer at all, a la the cheerful nihilism of Douglas Adams novels.

Either way, figure out what you want your message to be long before you put pen to paper, and then use time travel, like any other creative trope, as a means to an end to answer it. Your story will thank you for it.

(I hope this helps!)

#writing #writing tips #writing advice #time travel #science fiction #back to the future #doctor who #planet of the apes #the twilight zone #rod serling #ask the author

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analysis-by-vaylon · 7 years

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Double Take #5: “Monster Arm” -- Toffee’s long-foreshadowed arc.

Welcome back to Double Take! For those of you unfamiliar with this segment of my blog, Double Take involves examining an early episode of Star vs. the Forces of Evil and showing how the writers subtly introduce simple concepts in order to prepare the audience for increasingly complex ideas in later episodes. In doing this, I also intend to demonstrate that this hidden gem of a show often has some underappreciated writing.

This particular Double Take is, I feel, important to post just ahead of tomorrow's movie, as the movie will undoubtedly have particular focus on Toffee. In addition to the above-stated goals of Double Take, I hope I can provide some context to the role that the elements of storytelling play in Star vs. the Forces of Evil -- I'm trying to show you, in other words, that this series doesn't simply tell a story: it tells a story which intentionally has multiple meanings.

As with all my analysis, it is my hope that, by the end of this post, you will have glimpsed the patterns of meaning in Star vs. the Forces of Evil as I see them.

Why This Episode?

"Monster Arm" is the earliest episode featured on Double Take so far. I emphasize its early place in the season -- episode 3a, in fact -- because that makes it all the more remarkable that it hints at something which would not come into play until season two (and the latter half of it, at that).

Simply put: "Monster Arm" is about Toffee. While, yes, ostensibly the episode is about Star misusing her magic and giving Marco a demonic tentacle arm -- in actuality, the episode subtly foreshadows not only the appearance of Toffee but the entire arc with Ludo using Toffee's arm as his wand. Toffee's arm is the real "monster arm" of the episode's title.

Not only does the episode foreshadow Toffee's season two re-emergence, it also is explicitly linked together with a later episode in the same season -- "The Hard Way" -- which I will show by comparing each episode scene-by-scene. I want to be as clear as possible about what "Monster Arm" is doing: by telling one story -- Star, Marco, and his tentacle arm -- the episode is preparing the audience, through the use of narrative, tone, and structure, for a more complex story -- that of Star, Ludo, and Toffee.

The Toffee Connection

It may sound implausible at first that "Monster Arm," as silly as it is, could be about Toffee, but think about the title: is there any other monster's arm in the entire series that has as much importance as does Toffee's?

It's only due to wielding Toffee's arm as a wand that Ludo, channelling his negative emotions, is able to subdue the rats, take the corn, steal Star's spellbook, and restore the ancient monster temple. In fact, I think there is some subtle wordplay going on -- an arm is both a part of the body and something you use as a weapon.

Much of "Monster Arm" hints at a number of future events:

The brief glimpse of Glossaryck when Star opens the spellbook, for instance, foreshadowing his later significance.

Or the book being a source of demonic influence:

Or the combination of two differently-colored magics:

Or the presence of an evil intelligence inside someone's arm:

Or the fact that the arm literally becomes part of someone else:

These are all things that presage later events. Indeed, to drive this point home, the series itself draws upon "Monster Arm" in the season one finale.

References to “Monster Arm” in “Storm the Castle”

In "Storm the Castle," Star and Marco visit a dimension in order to get sandwiches -- the danger of which triggers a memory for Marco of Monster Arm.

In fact, there's a great deal of arm- or hand-related horror going on in "Storm the Castle" -- all of which, I believe, is intended to reinforce the idea, revealed at the beginning of season two, that Toffee's arm has become a wand:

Marco injures his hand punching the crystal cage

Marco injures his hand swatting at Toffee's sandwich.

Beard Deer injures his hand punching the crystal cage.

Ludo has a disgusting castle-shaped mole on his hand.

Star blasts off Toffee's left arm.

Marco's arm nearly gets stuck in the crystal cage.

Glossaryck sticks his arm out of the magic mirror (interestingly enough, just as he's saying the words "cleave something apart" -- the missing piece of the wand is now embedded in Toffee’s hand).

Even the ominous tone of the ending of "Monster Arm,” at first only seeming to be a joke at Marco’s expense, is later echoed in the ominous ending of "Storm the Castle" -- decidedly not a joke.

Indeed, the series has a habit of introducing concepts as jokes only to have them later return with serious consequences -- nor is this, more specifically, the last time that we see an episode-ending joke with Marco later return in a serious light when in context of Toffee.

Recall the joke ending to "Page Turner," with Marco being possessed by reading Eclipsa's chapter:

If "Monster Arm" foreshadows the idea of a demonic force being released by the book, then "Page Turner" is what reveals the true extent of the danger the book presents -- and, in fact, the ending of "Page Turner" later returns in a much, much more serious context with Ludo being possessed by Toffee at the end of "The Hard Way":

Interestingly, "The Hard Way" has some unusual connections to "Monster Arm" -- I've noted them before in another post but never fully explored or explained them. I will attempt to delineate those connections and make sense of them.

Echoes of "Monster Arm" in "The Hard Way"

If you've read my sonnet theory (or the Indiana Jones theory), then you know that I believe that season 2B's episodes were intentionally structured so as to resemble a sonnet -- and that each episode referred back to an older episode through dialogue, composition, and scene. I believe "The Hard Way" is an echo of "Monster Arm," and that the purpose of this deliberate reference is to reinforce the idea that the only real monster arm of significance is Toffee's.

Let's run through some of the similarities.

Shared dialogue:

Janna: I want it to be my boyfriend!

Glossaryck: Uh… well, do you want it to be? Ludo: Oh, yes! I so want it to be.

Shared scenes:

Ludo: Did you keep him up all night?

Ludo: You haven't fed him, have you?

Ludo: Time to turn up the heat.

Shared jokes:

Marco’s arm hits him in the face with his own arm; Ludo hits himself in the face with his wand.

Shared concepts:

Both episodes involve a magical being who promises to unlock the host’s true potential – Monster Arm for Marco and Glossaryck for Ludo, respectively.

Both episodes involve a sinister entity with a bad influence on its wielder – Monster Arm on Marco and Toffee on Ludo, respectively.

The purpose behind “The Hard Way” drawing upon “Monster Arm” is, I think, to borrow a covert structure of pre-built meaning and context for what is happening. In other words, it is a subliminal reinforcement of the idea, established in “Monster Arm,” that someone‘s arm could not only be evil but take over someone else’s mind completely.

As you might have also noticed from this list of similarities between "Monster Arm" and "The Hard Way," the show appears to be making some kind of comparison between Marco and Ludo, especially in the context of Glossaryck and the spellbook. Glossaryck introduces himself to both of them with the line, "At your service, milady" -- and both Marco and Ludo fetch pudding for Glossaryck. They both read Eclipsa's chapter and are influenced by the dark magic within, and both have their right arms transformed into something grotesque, malevolent, and powerful. Even their first names have similar sounds, both having two syllables, the first syllable stressed, and ending with a long -o sound.

I don't know what, if anything this comparison could mean. Plenty of fans have speculated that Marco might eventually fall under Toffee's influence, just as Ludo did -- which would indeed bring "Monster Arm" full circle -- but personally, I don't have enough evidence to say one way or the other. It nevertheless remains a tantalizing possibility, of course.

Wrapping Up

Hopefully, I have given you a different perspective on "Monster Arm." It's an early episode which at first appears to be a silly side-story -- but, like the other episodes featured on Double Take, it actually features some concepts that are repeated in later seasons with more complexity. Toffee’s arm was always the intended “monster arm” of the series.

Thematically speaking, pairings, partners, and repetitions of history all play big roles in the show, and I think it's smart for the writers to reinforce those notions not only by drawing on previously-established story elements (which is overt) but also by structuring episodes to reflect previous ones (which is often hidden).

I've mentioned this many times over by now, but the staff behind Star vs. the Forces of Evil are masters of their craft. They have a concrete vision of what they want the story to say and how they want the story to say it. The heart of good storytelling -- the heart of irony itself -- is this: the ability to say something without saying it.

Writing fiction in this way, in what I call the poetical mode, is always a gamble, even for skilled writers -- you risk muddling the message, losing the audience, or, worst of all, having a confused audience draw precisely the opposite meaning you intended. But, in my opinion, given the impressive success of Star vs. the Forces of Evil, it is a gamble that has so far paid off. I sincerely hope that trend continues.

I hope you enjoyed this post! Please feel free to ask me any questions you may have on your mind regarding previous or future topics or to suggest topics you'd like to see me write about.

"The Battle for Mewni" is tomorrow! You can rest assured that I will be watching -- and no doubt writing some pretty lengthy analysis afterwards. See you all again soon.

#star vs the forces of evil #analysis #monster arm #toffee #ludo avarius #double take

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thethoughtsfromthreeam · 4 years

Text

Lady of the Lake

Pairing: Ginger Ale/Elizabeth x Merlin/Hamish

Warnings: Smut

A/N: This is California’s Part 15 from Ginger/Merlin’s point of view

Reminder: I haven’t seen Kingsman: The Golden Circle, so I’m just using the Wikia, IMDB.com, some gifs, and my own weird ass brain to make up this whole ass story.

Tag List:

@zeldasayer , @romanticgumchewer, @beskars , @coolmaybelateruniverse , @the-feckless-wonder, @lavenderl3mons , @pascalisthepunkest , @mandoandyodito , @randomness501 , @fioccodineveautunnale [please message me to be added or subtracted if you were just here for some Jack Daniels goodness! I don’t want people being tagged in something they don’t want]

[PART 1] [PART 2] [PART 3] [PART 4] [PART 5] [PART 6]

Part 7

Historical Speculative Fiction

The morning was beautiful, and it was clear spring was finally in Louisville. When Hamish woke up, he felt like he was in a cocoon. For a moment, he forgot where he was and just reveled in the luxury of relaxing upon wakening. When he rolled over to draw Elizabeth closer to him, the bed was empty. He groaned and sat up in bed. He strained to hear any noise, but the apartment was quiet. He got out of bed and decided to just get on with it. After getting ready for the day, he stepped out into the kitchen, where he saw a note with his name on it.

Called into the office for a quick emergency. Enjoy breakfast, I’ll be back later xx Elizabeth

He looked to see a pile of cinnamon rolls waiting for him and he smiled. Grabbing one, he left the apartment and made his way down to the tech room. When he walked in, he didn’t see her and asked Kefir where she was. When he replied the library, Hamish wiped his hands off and stepped across the hall. Shirley hadn’t arrived yet, so everything was still darkened, but the tinkling bell alerted Elizabeth that she wasn’t alone. When she saw him, she smiled and propped her chin on her hand.

“Why does it seem like every time I wake up, you’re gone from my bed, m’eudail?” He bent down to kiss her, and she could taste the pastry’s sugar on his lips.

“Technically, I was gone from my bed this time.”

“Aren’t you a funny one, love.”

“Always.”

“What are you working on?”

“We had a communication issue and until we can get the line secure again, we’re trying to find a code not currently used by the office. I think I found one.” She pointed it out to him, and he nodded. “Wait here.”

She ran across the hall and gave Kefir the book to create the new code and scurried back across to the library. It was empty save for the two of them and she knew she’d have time before Shirley arrived, so she grabbed his hand and pulled him into the stacks. She believed that Hamish deserved a little something for waking up alone this morning.

“Elizabeth, what are you doing?”

“Apologizing.”

When she found a set of stacks towards the back, she pulled him towards her and their smiles grew as their bodies collided. They stood there for a long time, just holding each other. The sigh that Elizabeth let out was contented, and Hamish bent his head to kiss to top of hers. She hadn’t realized how heavy the weight of the case had been on her until it was over, and he was happy for her and the rest of the team that the saga was at an end.

As she began to rub her fingers on his back, she turned her head to press a kiss to his chest. He looked down at her and his hazel eyes began to darken. She still didn’t look up at him as she kissed slowly up his chest to his neck, bringing her hands down to his hips. His breath hitched when she lightly kissed the sensitive spot beneath his left ear, and he bit back a moan when she dragged her tongue against it.

He jerked slightly when she bit his earlobe and hit the case behind him, jostling a couple of books. She quietly giggled against his skin and shushed him. She continued pepper feather light kisses along his jaw, and she could feel it ticking under her lips. She knew he wanted to kiss her, but he was being patient.

She was just about to reward him when Shirley came around the corner with her cart. Hamish looked up and Elizabeth jerked her head around. Both had the courtesy to look embarrassed to be caught making out in her stacks like two horny teenagers at lunch.

“Shirley.” Merlin’s soft brogue sounded a bit rougher than normal and he cleared his throat. “Good to see you this morning. You’re looking quite well today.”

She handed the book over, gave them both another smile, and then walked off. Elizabeth and Hamish looked at each other and began laughing, slapping their hands over their mouths to conceal the sound. He turned around and put the book back in its place and when he was done, she grabbed his hand and led him up the backstairs. The library was large but the lower level lost space to Shirley’s office, a meeting room, and the work area. Upstairs was all bookcases and it was relatively easy to hide.

They split up and each stalked through the upper level and when they determined they were alone, they met in Historical Speculative Fiction. It was such a small section, it took up a small alcove and contained only a few bookcases, a reading chair, and a worktable. With one last look around, Hamish ushered Elizabeth into the space.

“Now, where were we?” He asked. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist. He rested his hands on her hips as she began to trace the path she started earlier. She kissed up to his collarbone.

“Was it here?” He shook his head and she continued by kissing up his neck. She stopped.

“How about here?” Her breath played over his skin and he closed his eyes.

“No.” She licked along the skin beneath his ear and he groaned. She then stood on her tiptoes and gently bit his earlobe.

“It had to have been here.” This time his ‘no’ came out strangled and she felt a smile playing on her lips. She began to kiss along his jaw again and she could feel his fingers tighten on her hips. She shifted her lips and kissed at the edge of his mouth.

“It couldn’t have been here.” He opened his eyes to look at her and they were practically black with lust. She pulled back slightly and gently kissed his lips. “No, I think it was here.”

He yanked his hands off her hips and brought them to her face to hold her in place – he couldn’t take another minute of her teasing and he had to taste her now. He brought his lips down on hers and she immediately opened for him. Their tongues reached out to each other and both moaned low in their throats as they deepened the kiss. Elizabeth brought her hands from his waist to his chest, pulling on his tie to bring him closer to her.

He broke off the kiss first and pressed his lips to her neck before she drew back. He looked at her quizzically and she smiled.

“Nope. This is all about you, love.” He tried to reach for her again and she leaned back. He dropped his hands and decided to wait and see what she had planned. When she was certain he was going to behave, she stepped up to him and took his glasses off. She set them on the table before placing her hands on his shoulders and drawing them down to his sweater.

“You know, m’eudial, I think you’re too dressed for what I have in mind. Let’s take this off, shall we?” She hummed as she began to draw the top off him. He nodded and helped her remove it. She started on his tie next, loosening it before taking it off. She began to unbutton his dress shirt and when she reached his waistband, she gave the shirt a tug.

Hamish’s breath caught in his chest when she ran her hands down the front of his pants and he couldn’t help the jerk of his hips. She smiled at his reaction and unbuckled his belt. Like the tie, she removed it and set it on the table next to them. She deftly unbuttoned his pants and pull them down slightly so she could put her hand into his boxes and pull out his cock. He hissed at the sensation of her hands on him.

She stood on her toes again and bushed her lips over his and then followed her earlier path across his jaw, down his neck and to his chest. During all of that, her hand never left his cock, her fingers gently curled around it – just tight enough to hint of something better to him. His hands gripped the edge of the table as she continued to move down his chest and stomach.

When she dropped down to her knees and looked up at him, he had to stifle the groan that grew in his throat. Elizabeth’s tongue snaked out of her mouth and ran up the side of his cock and he gritted his teeth when it reached the sensitive head. Hamish leaned his head back and squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself to keep quiet.

“Hamish. Look at me.”

“I can’t m’eudail.” He could barely grind the words out.

“Yes, you can. Now look at me.” She squeezed his cock for added emphasis and he heaved forward at the sudden rush of pleasure. He forced his eyes open and he thought he was going to die. She sat on her knees, looking up at him over the top of his glasses. Her eyes were black with lust and he could see her chest rising quickly as her breathing became labored. She was a vision and he wasn’t certain he could last long looking at her.

“Fuuuuuck.” He tamped down on his natural desire to shout the word as her mouth engulfed his cock. His head lolled back as she worked him thoroughly with her hands and tongue, but he suddenly grabbed the back of her head and pull her off him. “Don’t. I can’t take anymore.”

She smiled as she rocked back on her heels, but it was wiped from her face when he reached down and hauled her up. Before she could even say anything, he turned around and set her on the table he had just been leaning against.

“You want to make it up to me, m’eudail?” She nodded. “Then sit still.”

He drew up her skirt to her hips and she rocked a bit, so it bunched up against her waist. He pulled her forward slightly, so she sat on the edge of the table and he dropped to his knees while looking at her. He used his large hands against her knees to widen her thighs and he could see the crotch of her panties soaked through. He smiled before dipping his head and dragging his tongue up the cloth. Above him, Elizabeth jerked at the sensation.

He did it again, just to tease her before pulling down on her panties, so he had full access to what he really wanted. As he dropped the scrap of cotton to the side, he didn’t hesitate to dive back in between her legs. As he licked her clit, Hamish could feel her hands on his head and when he inserted a finger into her, they tightened. He smiled against her and pumped his finger a few times before adding a second. When he began stroking into her, Elizabeth dug her nails into his scalp to keep herself quiet.

She felt the fire burning in her belly and didn’t know how much longer she could last when suddenly he added a third finger and whatever grasp she had on the situation she had was broken as her orgasm tore through her. She bowed her body forward, her head nearly touching Merlin’s. Elizabeth’ strangled yell sounded loud in the alcove but carried no further. Her body shook and when the aftershocks finally subsided, she slumped back against the wall, panting hard.

Hamish pulled back by kissing along her thighs, alternating between the two and reveling in her shivers as her oversensitive skin reacted to his light touches. He leaned back to look at her and she looked down at him. She took her glasses off and set them on the table next to his. When he stood, he kept his eyes locked on hers. He bent over and stopped just short of her mouth.

“I love you, m’eudial. Always.” He could see tears prickle in her eyes and he gently kissed her. She laid her hands on the side of his face and held him there while she slightly pulled back, tears escaping down the side of her cheek. He brought his thumb up to wipe away her tears before he was struck with the need to kiss her again.

“Tha goal agam ort. Always.” She said before his lips descended on her’s. This kiss was soft and gentle, a loving dance between the two of them. Soon, the dance became more heated and Hamish pressed himself closer to her, until he could feel the wet heat of her core against his cock. He let out a small moan against her mouth and she returned the call by moving her hips against him.

She pulled away from his lips and placed her hands on the table behind her, bracing herself, and opened her thighs wider. He unbuttoned her shirt, splitting the fabric open to reveal her lilac bra underneath. His fingers traced along the edge of the bra and with a flick of his thumb, he released the front clasp, revealing her to him. He slowly rocked his cock against her heat as he snaked an arm around her waist, arching her torso against his.

“Hamish, I need you.” Her voice was soft and filled with need. When he reached down and drew a nipple in his mouth, she gasped. “Please, I need you now!”

Her plea came out a strangled cry and he could feel it crawl down his spine. He reached down between them and notched the head of his cock against her, entering her as he drew her nipple into his mouth again.

“Fuck.” The sound came from Elizabeth’s mouth harshly as she jerked against the sensation she was feeling. As Hamish continued to fuck her, she brought her arms from behind her and around his shoulders. She needed to feel his skin against hers and she brought herself flushed against him, burying her face in the crook of his neck. He tightened his hold on her, laying his cheek against her head.

Time seem suspended as he pressed into her, each thrust harder and seemingly more desperate. She rocked her hips in time with his and they could feel their climaxes coming, approaching on swift feet. Neither wanted this moment to end and yet they so badly wanted the fire in their bellies to burst with sensation. The feeling of skin on skin became too much and Hamish growled as he tried to retain control over himself.

“Hamish, I need you for the love of god!” She repeated what she said earlier and the desperation in her voice, her need to come, washed over him and his huffed into her scalp and let himself fuck her the way he needed to. Every thrust was a promise of love, of affection, of devotion. And every moan and cry that came from her mouth was the same. The loneliness they endured apart was cured in moments like these and they realized as they both reach their apex that there was no going back.

They came together and their muffled cries were absorbed by the cloth of their shirts as they bit down on each other’s shoulder to keep from being heard by anyone else in the library. As they pulled back, Elizabeth brought her forehead to his and closed her eyes. They stood like that for several minutes before Hamish slowly withdrew from her body. They both seemed to mourn the loss of such an intimate connection. They didn’t seem quite yet ready to leave their cocoon and the kept peppering each other’s faces with feathery light kisses.

But they had to end it and they quietly got dressed, trying to touch each other with their hands and lips as much as possible. When the evidence of their adventures seemed smoothed away, they peeked out of the alcove. Seeing no one, they walked hand in hand to the front stairs and they dropped hands as Ginger walked down the stairs, Merlin after her with his hand brushing her back the whole way down.

The formerly quiet library was now busier as several admins and agents were in the main research area and Ginger could see Shirley’s head through the window of her office. Merlin dipped his head and left the library and Ginger waited a beat before sprinting across the room to Shirley’s office and slamming the door. The few folks in the library jumped at the noise, but otherwise, everything was normal.

“GINGER!” Shirley squealed and Ginger closed her eyes and clapped her hands while giggling. “This better be worth the fifty bucks I owe Tequila now.”

“Oh, is it EVER!” Breathed Ginger, pulling Shirley to the couch. She felt like she was on cloud nine and she if she didn’t say anything, she was going to burst. “Wait, fifty dollars? For what?”

“Do you think we’re stupid, Ging? Everyone knew you two were dating and trying to hide it. Tequila and I made a bet when you two would finally get caught. I said you guys’d get caught in the tech room, he said anywhere else.”

“You bet on me and Merlin?!”

“Hey now! You don’t get to get indignant! You made a bet with T on me and Jack! AND we won you twenty bucks!”

“That was different, it was clear you two were stupidly in love with each other!”

“Yeah!? And it’s been clear you’re stupidly in love with Merlin! Why do you think Champ insisted that you go to London for two weeks almost a year ago? And made you go back six months ago to fix that weird ass problem Kingsman was having.”

“OH GOD, HE KNOWS?!” Ginger’s yell came out almost a squeak at the end. This was bad, very bad, oh god, so bad.

“Shhhhh, god for someone so brilliant, you are sure dumb!” Shirley descended into a peal of laughter over Ginger’s shocked face. “Girl, everyone knows. We’ve been keeping it quiet because clearly you didn’t want to say anything.”

Ginger covered her face with her hands and groaned. Shirley’s hand reached out and touched her friend’s wrist lightly and Ginger looked up.

“Ging, no one blames you. I get it, it was something that was yours. Do you love him?”

“Shirley, I love him so much it hurts.” Ginger’s voice was soft, and she was surprised at the lump growing in her throat. He was only across the hall from her and he was staying a couple more days, but he might as well have been leaving for all the sadness that suddenly crowded itself in her chest. The cloud nine feeling she had only moments ago was gone.

“Then why are you still here?”

“Because I wanted to talk to you.”

“Ging, why are you still here?”

“Because this is where I am, and we had work and . . .”

“. . . and you wanted to solve the California case.” Shirley sighed. Ginger gave up a year of her life with Merlin to stay here in Louisville for her. “You didn’t have to.”

“Yes, I did!” Ginger sounded angry and her voice got higher. “I wasn’t letting that bastard walk free after what he did to you. How he almost took you from me! He had to pay!”

Shirley sat back and looked at her. They were sisters and she knew that without Ginger, without any of them, she wouldn’t be here in this moment. And now over forty families will get closure because Ginger was tenacious and solved the case. But it was done, and her life needed to be lived, just like Shirley needed to live hers.

“And he did. You’ve sacrificed enough. The case is over. Now you need to live for yourself.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know if being with Merlin means that you’ll leave here or if that means he’s leaving Kingsman, but it is time for you two to get off the damn pot and do something.”

“But I’m scared.” Ginger looked down at her hands, clasped together so hard the knuckles were practically white against her dark skin. “What if it doesn’t work?”

“Then it doesn’t work. How much do you two talk?”

“Daily. No, several times a day. Mostly text, but sometimes calls or video chats.”

“Okay. What’s it been like when you are physically together?”

“It feels right. Like we don’t have to talk, we can just live around each other and work in tandem and it’s just lovely.”

“And the sex?”

“You’re bad, Shirley Temple.” Ginger was laughing now.

“You’re damn right. Now answer my question.”

“Spectacular.” Ginger wasn’t going to kiss and tell, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t talk about how it made her feel and the emotions that bubbled up in her whenever they were physical. Shirley smiled at the words tumbling from Ginger’s mouth and knew that despite whatever fears were trying to form, her friend wasn’t going to be a few floors up or across the hall regularly anymore.

“Sounds like Jack and I need to plan a vacation to London.”

“What? No!”

“What? Yes! You and Merlin need to talk. Your home is where he is right?” Ginger nodded. “Okay, but that doesn’t mean shit when you’re sitting here pining for him when he’s four thousand miles away. If this means your time with Statesman is coming to an end, so be it. Think of it as a promotion.”

“But you and Champ and Chai and my crew. . .”

“Will be sad that you’re not here but can live on in spite ourselves.”

Ginger remained quiet at the thought. She knew Shirley was right, but it still was a big leap and she wasn’t even sure that Merlin would go for it. Stupid, yes, he will, she thought. The two women sat on the couch and chatted well into the afternoon. As Shirley realized the time, Ginger stood up and hugged her. They held onto each other for a long time and when they broke apart, they knew that things were about to change.

#ginger ale #halle berry #merlin #mark strong #ginger ale x merlin #fanfic #kingsman: the golden circle

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