#and because the boys still faced a lot more prejudice on the job compared to Robin | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lightns881 · 3 years

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DTeam Tumblr Demographics Survey Results (Part 2):

What does DTeamblr look like, what does it have to do with MCYT history, and why does it look like a rainbow?

I’ll make an educated guess here and say y'all enjoyed my last post (totally unrelated to the way I gained almost 50 followers overnight). Anyhow, thank you so much for the overwhelming support! I’m so glad a lot of you felt you could relate to my deep-dive into the leading personality type on DTeam Tumblr. It took me so many hours to write and research, and as a math major and honors student, it’s no easy feat, so I’m so grateful for the attention it got!

Today we’re discussing the general demographics of DTeam Tumblr and why they might look the way they do. Number 8 will blow your mind! So make sure to keep reading and hit that little grey heart and arrow at the bottom if you like it, so more people get to see it! Thanks for your support! Now, let’s jump straight into the post!

Your Daily Dose of Data

From the 449 responses we received, these are some pie charts displaying the gender, age, and sexuality of all respondents.

Image Description: Female (52.8%), Non-Binary (37.4%), Male (9.8%)

Image Description: 16-17 (37%), 13-15 (31.4%), 18 and over (29.4%), 12 and under (2.2%)

Image Description: Bisexual/Pansexual (54.1%), Homosexual (16%), Asexual (14.7%), Other (7.8%), Heterosexual (7.3%)

Mmhm, delicious! Y'all ready to dig into these stats? Because I don’t know about you, but they certainly don’t strike me as what the general population looks like!

Welcome to Tumblr, the Only Community Where Straight Men are the Minority

So these statistics certainly didn’t take me by surprise. Mostly because the DNF Shipper Survey I took some time ago revealed a similar trend. Not to mention, Tumblr is probably the QUEEREST internet community on the planet.

Funny enough, the survey revealed a shocking number of ZERO heterosexual males respondents. I’ll say it louder for the people in the back. ZERO straight males were recorded out of 449 respondents for this survey!

Now, this isn’t surprising for the Tumblr community by itself, but I can say I’m somewhat surprised in terms of the MCYT Tumblr community. (Obviously, the survey specified DTeam Tumblr, but there is a big overlap between both communities, so I will be using them interchengably when it seems relevant.)

Let’s break this down. The survey reveals the largest age population is 16-17, though it’s not by a great margin in comparison to 13-15 and 18 and older, which doesn’t surprise me either. Some of the major critics of the DTeam Fandom and other MCYT Fandoms love to claim the fanbase’s majority age range lies with children and pre-teens. While it’s an undeniable fact children are drawn to Minecraft, it’s also a misconception to paint it as solely a community for younger viewers.

In the MCYT Tumblr and DTeam Tumblr communities, specifically, we see this is not the case. Only 1/3 of the respondents of this survey are under the age of 16 (you could attribute part of it to the fact younger people might be less inclined to participate in this survey, but it is still a notable difference). I can’t say these age ranges are similar in other parts of the community like DTeam Twitter, Tik Tok, or Reddit, but if I had to make a guess, I’d say Tumblr lies toward the older of the bunch, with Reddit being the oldest and Tik Tok being the youngest (I do hope to perform this survey on some of the other communities, so please stay until the end if you want to help with that).

One of the likely explanations to why the ages for DTeam Tumblr look this way is the fact a big chunk of the community has likely been watching MCYT for a long time (even with breaks in between). I, myself, used to watch channels like PopularMMOs, Aphmau, and PrestonPlayz as a kid, and I presume many of you are familiar with them as well. With the resurgence of MCYT in the past year, it likely drew a lot of the older viewers in addition to the new ones.

But enough about age. What I really want to highlight on this post is the attraction of queer individuals to DTeam Tumblr and MCYT as a whole.

Why is the current MCYT Fandom so queer in comparison to the previous generations?

This is a huge open-ended question and considering I can only capture so much of the DTeam and MCYT community, the rest of this post should be taken solely as a theoretical analysis as opposed to fact.

With that out of the way, let’s start by discussing the shift MCYT has undergone over the years (I promise this will circle back to the question of queerness in the MCYT fandom, but we need some background before we can come up with a decent theory).

When Minecraft was first released, it proved to be a monumental change in the gaming industry. This simple little indie game took the world by storm. It was so vastly different from what the general population generally viewed gaming as (first-person shooters, story-driven games, action games, etc.) Not to mention, it didn’t exactly solely appeal to only a small margin of gamers, those being white cis males.

The gaming industry has notoriously been known in the past for its heteronormative community and general prejudice toward minorities. Though it has gone through a significant change over the decades, we certainly can’t say it’s fully gone.

Yet for whatever reason, the recent MCYT has taken the interest of so many queer people in comparison to other gaming YouTube communities. Why? Why are queer people so drawn to this community? And, more precisely, why does it feel so different than the old MCYT? Lastly, how does this relate to the conclusion about the leading personalities of this fandom we made in the last post?

The Niche Communities of MCYT Over the Years

MCYT has always been a huge, over-saturated genre of YouTube with content appealing to a variety of audiences. It’s dominated gaming content for years, and I think we can all safely say it’s never been bigger than it is today.

So why is it that just now it feels like the queerness of the fandom is popping off? Why now as opposed to say five years ago when MCYT was at another one of it’s strongest stages?

It seems like the community has made a tremendous shift in relation to breaking gender norms and LGBTQ+ subjects, not only in the fans but within the creators themselves. Was flirting and calling a pretty-boy streamer pet names as normal in the past as it is today? Were straight gamer guys putting on dresses and a full-face of make-up as supported back then? Were “marriages” and “pregnancies” within Minecraft boys an everyday occurrence like they are now? How is it that MCYT has dominated a Twitch dating show where flirting with the gay host and among straight contestants themselves is just another bit of entertainment? Where is this all coming from?

Recently, I watched a 2 hour documentary depicting all of the stages of Minecraft YouTube and how it has changed over the years. If you haven’t seen it and you have some time to spare, I HIGHLY recommend it! It’s very informative, and it honestly gave me such a strong sense of nostalgia that makes me choke up every time I think about it. I’ll link it below.

The documentary does a great job at exploring the different niche communities that dominated MCYT since it first took off. Some of such communities include the basic Let’s Players, the team-based Let’s Play channels like How2Minecraft, the roleplay story-centric ones like Aphmau and Samgladiator, the tutorial, building and technical side like Mumbo and Grian, the PVP-centric Bedwars or Hypixel channels, the Machinima community, the comedy side like ExplosiveTNT, the parody music videos, and so many more. All of the mentioned communities have dominated Minecraft at one point or another, many of them still having a rippling effect and/or a loyal community today. All of these communities have certain aspects that define them, some of which parallel the current overtaking content in the present.

How can we compare MyStreet to the Dream SMP?

Taking Aphmau as an example, her MyStreet series had a TREMENDOUS success a few years ago, racking in millions of views and bringing in a lot of money that eventually allowed her to hire voice actors and increase the production of mentioned episodes. The roleplay series was so successful it ran for six seasons!

Now, let’s compare that to the Dream SMP. It seems like a big comparison to be making considering they appear so different at first glance. For once, Aphmau is just one channel whose audience caters toward girls and younger people who enjoy romance. The series is set-up in an episodic-format that resembles more of a TV series than actual Minecraft videos.

Meanwhile, the Dream SMP is a collection of content creators with a mix of improvised storylines and the occasional regular video that resembles more of a Let’s Play series than a RP series.

You could say the only true comparisons to draw out of these two are the popularity they had/have and the profit they brought to their respective creators.

However, there’s two other key similarities that you’ll find not only within these two specific examples, but many other channels and communities as well. Story and characters.

MyStreet’s story aspect is fairly obvious seeing as it’s a episodic series that focuses on a fictional story. The Dream SMP’s story aspect isn’t as clear, but it’s evident there is a story playing out in the foreground and background, whether intentional or unintentional, or improvised or not.

Character is where some of you might start to question me. It’s obvious MyStreet has characters. I mean, it is a fictional story, after all. But the Dream SMP? Light, they’re obviously people!

Well, my answer to that is yes and no--sort of. The Dream SMP’s story heavily relies on roleplay, bits as you might call them. Events that aren’t necessarily planned out as a fictional plot like the typical MyStreet episode is, but they aren’t exactly real. Schlatt is obviously not a villain in real life, he just likes to impersonate as one for the narrative. Wilbur isn’t crazy, but it’s a way to spice up the heroic story surrounding Tommy and him.

It’s video-game improv. Except the actors behind the content just so happen to be real people playing off the personalities and “brands” they have obtained.

Brands. It all boils down to this. In the entertainment business, without a clear vision of your project and a clear way to brand what your consumer intakes, your project will likely not find a lot of success.

There’s a reason why Tommy plays off his loudness, using an overexaggerated laugh that although may not be completely fake, it is likely not the laugh he uses everyday. Or why BadBoyHalo is this supposed innocent muffin who doesn’t understand the crafting table meme and other references that are fairly easy to google and find the meaning of. Or why Sapnap is this chaotic being who loves starting pet wars and we love to paint as an arsonist in the Dream SMP. While all of these personality traits may be a part of their true selves, they’re played up for the camera--for the story. They act as the personas that define their characters in the narrative.

They have a clear brand and vision that appeals to the audience and makes them tune in on the daily to see how they all come together. It’s like roleplaying a more extreme version of yourself, one that brings home the money.

Story and characters run across every entertainment outlet. They define their brand. Aphmau has her characters and series. Hermitcraft has a set of memorable personalities and episodic videos that formulate its own story that is less like a narrative and more of a history of the server. ExplodingTNT has his recurring cast and comedic sketches. Most of these niche communities have a form of story and character defining them. It’s how they achieve a clear sense of branding and cater to a specific audience.

Queer Theory in MCYT

Having said all that, why does the MCYT of today draw in so many queer viewers?

Let’s think about this. In my last post, I ended by mentioning DTeam Tumblr is a sort of safe haven for INFP and INxx types who might be placed in the “other” category by society. INFPs, specially, are predisposed for escapism--one common form of it being fiction and entertainment. Not to mention, INFPs are feeling types who, as introverts, seek a personable connection. It’s why it’s so easy for them to obsess over book characters or fall in love with content creators.

Now, let’s imagine a whole community of LGBTQ+ INFP and INxx types. Actually, scratch that, we don’t even have to imagine it.

It’s what our community looks like today.

And why are so many so drawn to the DTeam and Dream SMP of all things? It’s a personable storyline that essentially forms a direct tie to the viewer. Unlike pre-recorded fictional TV series you tune into on your device, the Dream SMP is a whole load of chaos that blurs the lines between reality and fiction where fans can directly connect to creators and get to know them as people through a storyline that features sub-textual queer themes and non-conforming behaviors.

The MCYT content creator community of today is more non-conforming than ever before, and knowing this whole fact, knowing that many of them might place themselves in the “other” category or at the very least aren’t afraid to break the norms and be seen in that light, is a comfort in itself for LGBTQ+ INFP types. Once again, it’s a safe space that helps you escape from the troubles of real life, one you relate to.

Okay. So although this does answer why the fans look like they do, what about the creators themselves? Are we really supposed to believe this all came through naturally? That a bunch of straight guys suddenly decided wearing dresses was something they wanted to do?

I don’t mean to sound cynical here, and I’m in no way trying to insinuate creators have solely some sort of corrupt ulterior motive. Things are never as simple as they look. However, the truth is, a part of it lies on the attention it’s gotten.

I’ve talked a lot about DreamNotFound and the way Dream uses it as a marketing ploy. I stand by my point. However, he’s not the only one who does this in the MCYT community. Why did Finn suddenly go from wearing a dress to cross-dressing as a girl for a whole week? Why are so many creators suddenly deciding wearing dresses is fun? Why does every freaking straight MCYT actively want to flirt with George nowadays?

Let’s just let Techno’s favorite word answer this for us: clout.

It gets attention from one of the largest historically underserved minority community in the entertainment business. We might not be able to see gay flirting in every Netflix TV show or guys not minding dresses and getting fake marriages, but you are certainly going to get at least one of those in every Dream SMP stream and video you tune into. It gets attention. It brings home the money. And do I blame them? Not really.

Interestingly enough, there’s a lot of analytical posts on the MCYT Tumblr community that discuss the dangers of these tactics and why gay jokes and the way queer subtext is treated by MCYT creators is harmful. Despite this, it still attracts such a huge community of queers. So why exactly would queer people actively watch something that’s offensive or harmful to us?

I have a lot more to say about this topic and the morality behind Dream’s tactics, but I’m out of breath for today, so I’ll talk about it in my next post. What better way to start the conversation about the DNF and Karlnap questions of the survey than a good ol’ discussion on the morality of queerbaiting and the likes?

If you got this far, I’d appreciate it if you liked and reblogged this post if you enjoyed it and/or learned something new! Also, important news, I would really like to perform a similar study on the DTeam Twitter Community to measure the differences in demographics across platforms. I would REALLY appreciate it if you guys could go like, retweet and share the link I posted on my Twitter about it (tweet will be linked in the reblog below) so it reaches more of the DTeam Twitter community!

However, if you filled out the survey yourself here or you associate more with DTeam Tumblr than DTeam Twitter please DO NOT fill out the survey again! I’m trying to make sure it reaches the audience that mains on Twitter, but I need a little help with that since I don’t have as big of an influence on Twitter than on here for obvious reasons.

Anyhow, thank you so much for all your support! I really appreciate y’all and make sure to hit the follow if you want to lookout for the next demographics post! <3

(Pssst, I’m releasing a MCYT DNF superpower AU longfic next month... You should totally go check out the post on that if you’re interested in it...)

#dteam #dteamblr #dream smp #dttblr #mcyt #dreamwastaken #dnf #mcyttblr #georgenotfound #dreamnotfound #dttwt #dream team #dteamblr demographics survey

103 notes · View notes

senadimell · 4 years

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If you've got time to share, I'd love to hear more about your thoughts around Snape and Lupin.

@deathdaydungeon, here you are!

After a conversation with @frederick-the-great, I’ve been thinking about Lupin, Snape, and what they say about morality in HP. I’m not talking about the troublesome white hats, black hats morality, but am instead looking at from this angle: Lupin is nice and well-liked, but often lacks a backbone, whereas Snape is mean and disliked, but incredibly brave. Which is more important? I find Harry’s last sacrifice to be a useful point by which we measure their impact.

Lupin and Snape useful to compare on several important fronts.

As foils for each others’ teaching methods

The way they deal with social disadvantage

Their connections to Harry’s father and how they pass on James’ legacy

1) They both teach at Hogwarts, and are foils for each other in many ways. Snape is mean and takes away points. He’s seen as selfish. His classes are hard and unpleasant for Harry. He’s mean to Neville, and rather than encouraging him, mocks him and belittles him, which just adds to the overall disaster of Neville’s poor self-esteem mixing badly with potions class.

However, even Umbridge admits that Snape’s teaching methods work, and she’s working for Fudge who doesn’t like Death Eaters and has been defied by Snape in GoF, so we know he’s effective for a lot of people, if not Neville.

Yet, for all that, Snape saves Harry’s life multiple times. On top of that, Snape wants to keep the fact that he saved Harry’s life a secret.

“Very well. Very Well. But never--Never tell, Dumbledore! This must be between us! Swear it, I cannot bear...especially Potter’s son...I want your word!

My word, Severus, that I will never reveal the best of you? Dumbledore sighed, looking down into Snape’s ferocious, anguished face. “If you insist...”

DH 679, The Prince’s Tale

Conversely, Lupin is nice and rewards points. He’s seen as generous. His classes are fun and interesting for Harry. He’s kind to Neville, and expresses confidence in him that leads him to succeed and do well. That confidence is a huge part of Neville’s character development. I doubt he’d grow into the resistance leader in DH if not for the many times teachers expressed confidence in him, like Dumbledore in PS, Lupin in PoA, Fake!Moody in GoF, and Harry in OotP. Harry certainly approves of his methods:

“You’re the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we’ve ever had!” said Harry. “Don’t go!”

PoA 424, Owl Post Again

However, it’s worth noticing that Hermione does worse on his exam than we ever see. She fails the Boggart test, and she and Harry were the only two people not permitted to experience the Boggart in class. Lupin’s teaching methods aren’t foolproof. Despite that, he’s overall seen as a nice guy and good teacher.

Yet Lupin endangers Harry’s life. The secrets he keeps are dangerous: his secret to keep is that he’s a werewolf and actively endangered three students lives with his negligence, as well as the fact that he hid a secret about a believed and convicted mass murderer to save face with Dumbledore.

“That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you’d given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?”

“A thought that still haunts me,” Lupin said heavily. “And there were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless--carried away with out own cleverness.

“I sometimes felt guilty about betraying Dumbledore’s trust, of course....he had admitted me to Hogwarts when no other headmasters would have done so, and he had no idea I was breaking the rules he had set down for my own and others’ safety. He never knew I had led three fellow students into becoming Animagi illegally. But I always managed to forget my guilty feelings every time we sat down to plan our next month’s adventure. And I haven’t changed...

Lupin’s face had hardened, and there was self-disgust in his voice. “All this year I have been battling with myself, wondering whether I should tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an Animagus. But I didn’t do it. Why? Because I was too cowardly. It would have meant admitting that I’d betrayed his tryst while I was at school, admitting that I’d led others along with me...and Dumbledore’s trust has meant everything to me. He let me into Hogwarts as a boy, and he gave me a job when I have been shunned all my adult life, unable to find paid work because of what I am. And so I convinced myself that Sirius was getting into the school using Dark Arts he learned from Voldemort, that being an Animagus had nothing to do with it...so in a way, Snape’s been right about me all along.”

PoA 355, Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs

Plan is emphasized because those trips that ended in “near misses” weren’t some impulsive romp. They were planned and coordinated in advance.

“I just saw Hagrid,” said Harry. “And he said you’d resigned. It’s not true, is it?”

“I’m afraid it is, said Lupin. He stared opening his desk drawers and taking out the contents.

“Why?” said Harry. The Ministry of Magic don’t think you were helping Sirius, do they?”

Lupin crossed to the door and closed it behind Harry.

“No. Professor Dumbledore managed to convince Fudge that I was trying to save your lives.” He sighed. “That was the final straw for Severus. I think* the loss of the Order of Merlin hit him hard. So he--er--accidentally let slip that I am a werewolf this morning at breakfast.”

“You’re not leaving because of that!” said Harry.

Lupin smiled wryly.

“This time tomorrow, the owls will start arriving from parents ....They will not want a werewolf teaching their children, Harry. And after last night, I see their point. I could have bitten any of you...That must never happen again.

“You’re the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we’ve ever had!” said Harry. “Don’t go!”

PoA 424, Owl Post Again

What strikes me about this conversation is how Lupin shifts the blame around. This doesn’t start with an admission of guilt. He’s not leaving because the parents are right. He’s not leaving because he’s seen how dangerous he can be, or because he owns up to making an incredibly dangerous decision. He’s leaving because Snape forced his hand. If Snape didn’t do that, he would do the same thing he’s always been doing: sweeping his misdoing under the rug and promising himself privately that he’s going to change, but never doing it.

It’s always someone else’s fault for Lupin. That’s a neat tie in to the next point of comparison:

2. Lupin and Snape both experience marginalization in wizarding society, but in very different ways. Lupin faces socio-legal** marginalization and Snape faces socio-economic marginalization.

Lupin’s a werewolf. We see how prejudice affects his life, from his inability to find a job and his worn out clothes to his people-pleasing nature. He’s always acting nice and harmless. He does nothing to play into the condemning stereotypes he’s faced since childhood. Despite that, he still can’t find a job. Nobody will hire him, and people are scared to interact with him. From the way he talks about werewolves, it’s implied that this prejudice is held blindly across Wizarding society. Both Ron and Hermione are horrified to learn Lupin’s a werewolf. *** Later on, he’s legally limited in the kinds of jobs he holds and the kind of magic he’s allowed to perform. Lupin has no control over his transformations, and did not choose his condition.

Lupin’s not really wrong when pities himself. The odds really are stacked against him when he’s treated as if he’s a wolf 24/7, not just a few predictable times a month. His prospects are honestly awful.

The problem is, his condition is dangerous. Thus, the issue of victim blaming is particularly thorny for Lupin. He can’t just accept that he’s a monster for something he has no say over, and yet he can’t escape the fact that sometimes he is monstrous for reasons out of his control. He feels guilty for the people he could have hurt, but also seems to resent that people blame him for something that’s not his fault. The problem is that he carries that lack of accountability into spheres where he should be accountable, like not taking his medication and endangering children because of it.

Snape’s story is very different. He is poor in both the wizard and muggle worlds, and half-blooded, and was sorted into Slytherin as a child. He doesn’t have one condition against him, but checks boxes that make it hard for any one side to accept him. He’s too impure and poor to survive on his own for the Slytherin, but is a Slytherin with Death Eater friends and housemates interested in dark magic, which means he’s never going to fit in with the Order of the Phoenix crowd, especially when some of its members torment him at school. ****4

This essay makes a convincing point that the wizarding world is not a meritocracy, and that people like Snape need powerful patronage to advance if they don’t have the money to support themselves.

I don’t consider the sorting a proper choice. I know Harry does, but I’m of the opinion that at age 11, very few people have been taught how to analyze different perspectives and make an informed decision. Most 11-year-olds are trained to obey their parents and accept their family’s ideology. Harry’s choice rests on very little evidence--most of what he knows is what Hagrid told him, and that he doesn’t want to be sorted into Voldemort’s house along with Draco Malfoy, someone who reminds him of Dudley. I don’t think Snape was very informed either (I’d love to know why), because he doesn’t realize why it Lily wouldn’t be sorted into Slytherin.

“You’d better be in Slytherin,” said Snape, encouraged that she had brightened a little. DH 671, The Prince’s Tale

Either the pureblood rhetoric just wasn’t strong in those days, or his mother didn’t tell him about that.

...“Where are you heading, if you’ve got the choice?”

James lifted an invisible sword.

“’Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!’ Like my dad.”

Snape made a small, disparaging noise. James turned on him.

“Got a problem with that?”

“No,” said Snape, though his slight sneer said otherwise. “If you’d rather be brawny than brainy--”

DH 671-2, The Prince’s Tale

It seems that most people just follow familial preferences. As to why Snape wants to be in Ravenclaw over Slytherin, my preferred interpretation is that he had a family legacy, knew that Slytherin rewarded the ambitious and clever, and that Slughorn, the head of Slytherin house, had a knack for making the kind of connections that a poor, clever boy would need to succeed.

Nevertheless, once Snape was in Slytherin, the odds were stacked against him. The house in that era was full of people who would later be Death Eaters. “Dark Magic” wasn’t frowned upon among his housemates, and siding with Voldemort wasn’t yet widely acknowledged as a transgression by wider society.

“No, no, but believe me, [Sirius’ parents] thought Voldemort had the right idea, they were all for the purification of the wizarding race, getting rid of Muggle-borns and having pure-bloods in charge. They weren’t alone either, there were quite a few people, before Voldemort showed his true colors, who thought he had the right idea about things.…” OotP 112

Additionally, people like Bellatrix were in the years above him, and given how Fred and George acted with younger students, I think it’s highly likely younger students had to find a place in the hierarchy or be the target of ‘pranks.’ He was a halfblood, after all, and dirt poor.

Snape knew these people. He ate with them, slept with them, and went to class with them. It is so much easier to understand and befriend someone you spend time with. I’d say that most people who subscribe to problematic ideologies aren’t just awful to be around all the time, or else these movements wouldn’t gain any traction. They’re likely funny and nice to be around if you’re not on their bad side.

In addition to strong peer pressure to befriend the people who would be death eaters, he was also bullied four to one. His bullies received protection from the headmaster when he was nearly killed or permanently maimed. They were popular and well liked.

The best analogy I’ve heard to describe Snape's Hogwarts situation is that he’s a kid in a rough neighborhood who joins the local gang. It provides protection and the hope of social mobility, and from his perspective, the other gang fights just as dirty (his treatment by the marauders). He doesn’t stop to think that the system is flawed, or that the gang’s very existence indicates the failure of authority and threatens its members. He just sees himself as a kid with nothing who needs help with protection and advancement. We know that Voldemort hasn’t shown his true colors, and it’s possible he showed different faces to different people.

‘Now, yer mum an’ dad were as good a witch an’ wizard as I ever knew. Head Boy an’ Girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst’ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get ’em on his side before ... probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin’ ter do with the Dark Side.

‘Maybe he thought he could persuade ’em ... maybe he just wanted ’em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Hallowe’en ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an’ – an’ –’ (“The Keeper of the Keys”)

Dumbledore’s cited as the reason they turned him down, not their blood status. I think there’s evidence that the wholesale anti-muggleborn campaign wasn’t a huge part of the first wizarding war, and wasn’t implemented until the second, even if there was anti-muggle propaganda. (Muggle=/=muggleborn). It’s implied that Tobias is abusive and that Snape hates him for what he did to him and his mother; it’s implied that faced class prejudice by the muggles around him as well:

“I know who you are. You’re that Snape boy! They live down Spinner’s End by the river,” she told Lily, and it was evident from her tone that she considered the address a poor recommendation.

DH 665, The Prince’s Tale

When you read stories about people who are able to escape cycles of gang violence and poverty, there’s almost always someone who lifts them out. There’s someone who pushes them, or extends a hand, or believes in them. There are community outreach programs, or churches, or an English teacher that pushed them to do better and try out for a scholarship. That person is usually someone who knows what it’s like and knows how hard it is to get out.

Snape doesn’t seem to get that support anywhere. Slughorn doesn’t seem to notice him, for whatever reason. Lily doesn’t approve of his friends, but also doesn’t understand at all what the pull is--that it’s hard to swim against the current of what everyone else is saying, despite the fact that she feels the same pressure to end her friendship with Snape.

“… thought we were supposed to be friends?” Snape was saying. “Best friends?” “We are, Sev, but I don’t like some of the people you’re hanging round with! I’m sorry, but I detest Every and Mulciber! Mulciber! What do you see in him, Sev, he’s creepy! D’you know what he tried to do to Marry Macdonald the other day?”

DH 673, The Prince’s Tale

In the very same conversation, the fact that Snape is not allowed to share what happened to him with Lupin and the werewolf incident means that Lily will never be able to understand what Snape is facing: That the leader of the good guys makes excuses for and protects people who recklessly endanger the lives of others.

“And you’re being really ungrateful. I heard what happened the other night. You went sneaking down that tunnel by the Whomping Wollow, and James Potter saved you from whatever’s down there--”

Snape’s whole face contorted and he spluttered, “Saved? Saved? You think he was playing the hero? He was saving his neck and his friends’ too!...”

DH 674, The Prince’s Tale

Later in the year after SWM, she tells Snape this:

“None of my friends can understand why I even talk to you.”

DH 675 The Prince’s Tale

She expects him to reject all of his classmates and stand against the tide, despite the fact that she knows how hard it is to do that and can’t comprehend why he sticks with his classmates. She expects him to be grateful to James Potter as if what he did was altruistic, because the Headmaster swore Snape to secrecy and he keeps his promises, despite the fact that someone else was spreading the story. (The fact that she says she heard it instead of talking about it like its common knowledge implies that she heard it from a friend, so our friends the Marauders likely weren’t keeping their lips zipped even if Snape was.)

I don’t say this to shift the blame away from Snape to Lily in regards to Snape joining the Death Eaters. I just want to point out that Lily wasn't someone who could help him break the cycle. He didn’t squander some chance she offered him. She just wasn’t enough to break him out--not empathetic, motivated, or well-informed enough. (I think the fact that they were peers plays a big role in that).

Ultimately, Snape did choose to join the Death Eaters. He did yield to peer pressure. He did obey his assignment and report the prophecy to Voldemort. He spent his youth yielding, following the path in front of him, and choosing what was probably the easier choice: stick with your group, find powerful friends, do what they want, and don’t ask too many questions about their methods. That’s what makes his decision to betray Voldemort so powerful to me.

Here’s part of the passage when Snape betrays Voldemort:

...The adult Snape was panting, turning on the spot, his wand gripped tightly in his hand, waiting for something or for someone...His fear infected Harry too, even though he knew that he could not be harmed, and he looked over his shoulder wondering what it was that Snape was waiting for--

Then a sliding, jagged jet of white light flew through the air. Harry thought of lightning, but Snape had dropped to his knees and his wand had flown out of his hand.

“Don’t kill me!”

DH 676, The Prince’s Tale

He was terrified. He knew he was caught between the world’s two most powerful wizards, but it was worth it if he could save his childhood friend.

Then when Lily dies:

“Her son lives. He has her eyes, precisely her eyes. You remember the share and color of Lily Evans’s eyes, I am sure?”

“DON’T!” bellowed Snape. “Gone...dead...”

“Is this remorse, Severus?”

“I wish..I wish I were dead....”

“And what use would that be to anyone?” said Dumbledore coldly.

DH 678, The Prince’s Tale

Whatever motivation Snape had before is gone. A person’s life who is not his own is worth more than his own, and he’s drowning in guilt. From now on, Snape works to be useful in saving Harry’s life, and later many lives, at risk of death. His choices are a black mark on his record, likely making it difficult for him to get a job when he’s been tried as a Death Eater, and all of his wizarding connections are Death Eaters or their associates. He has no money or influence. Dumbledore hires him.

So Lupin has a single ailment and faces constant social and legal discrimination. He constantly tries to undermine people’s expectations about werewolves by being mild, but unfortunately is too afraid of rejection and its consequences to stand up against bad behavior or take full responsibility for his failings. He has friends who support him, but do it by engaging in risky behavior. He does not stop them. Perhaps he fears exposure and expulsion. Perhaps he just likes belonging for once. Either way, he does not come clean until forced to.

Snape is different; instead of facing outright rejection, he’s from a poor background and grows up surrounded by peers who join something somewhere between a gang and a cult while being bullied by people groomed by a rival organization. The headmaster of his school supports the rival organization and swears him to secrecy about an incident when they endangered his life, sending the message that his life is worthless. That same group continues to publicly bully him. He continues down this path until he realizes that it endangers something he cares about, and makes a decision that puts him at risk of being killed by the two most powerful wizards alive. He changes course.

Snape seems to view his problems as challenges facing him, whereas Lupin sees his problems as part of who he is, and not something he can change. Lupin seems to accept what happens to him in a fatalist kind of way. He sees what happens as inevitable and somewhat out of his control, whereas Snape never seems to blame his circumstances for him becoming a death eater, even though they clearly limited his options. I think that attitude matters. However, because Lupin’s facing a fictional magical malady, it’s difficult to fully blame him for that attitude.

Both Lupin and Snape have to react to powerful societal pressure that makes it difficult for them to succeed. Comparing them is apples and oranges at best, because their circumstances were so different. I don’t think you can judge either’s morality based on group identity, though.

3. Finally, they both act as a window on James: who he was, and what he means to Harry, who never knew him. That means in some way, they help pass on his parental legacy to orphaned Harry.

Hogwarts is Harry’s home, which means that the teachers are more than just teachers, but play a symbolic parental role in his life.

Hogwarts was the first and best home he had known. He and Voldemort and Snape, the abandoned boys, had all found home here.

DH 697, The Forest Again

You can’t understand Harry without realizing what he lacks: a loving home and living parents. He’s always looking into the past to find his parents, and is saddled with a legacy he struggles to understand--why did he live, who were his parents, and what does he need to do now?

Lupin and Snape also share a connection with Harry that goes beyond a normal teacher-student relationship, unlike McGonagall or Flitwick. Snape and Lupin are more personally connected to Harry than the other professors because they know Harry’s parents and went to school with them. I will mostly focus on James from here on out since we know so little about Lily personally and Harry mostly tries to emulate or avoid his father’s behavior and legacy.

They’re also the last people who knew James to survive, and they die almost at the same time. They’re the only teachers apart from Dumbledore who give Harry private lessons. More importantly, these lessons are all tied thematically to Harry’s past. Harry’s experience with dementors and the patronus charm are his first re-encounter with his parents and his past.

Terrible though it was to hear his parents’ last moments replayed inside his head, these are the only times Harry had heard their voices since he was a very small child. But he’d never be able to produce a proper patronus if he half wanted to hear his parents again.

PoA 243, The Patronus

In the end of PoA, Harry sees himself and mistakenly thinks it’s his father.

“Come on!” he muttered, staring about. “Where are you? Dad, come on--”

But no one came. Harry raised his head to look atet he circle of dementors across the lake. One of them was lowering its hood. It was time for the rescuer to appear--but no one was coming to help this time--

And then it hit him--he understood. He hadn’t seen his father--he had seen himself--

Harry flung himself out from behind the bush and pulled out his want.

“EXPECTO PATRONUM!” he yelled.

PoA 411, Hermione’s Secret

So the patronus itself is linked up with Harry’s past, and his coming-of-age. He doesn’t rely on others to save him, but must do it himself. (Though Harry’s never really trusted the adults to save him.) It’s interesting to note that Harry actually learns the Patronus charm under Lupin’s tutelage.

On the other hand, Snape introduces Harry to the unpleasant side of his father’s legacy. Through Snape, we see that James wasn’t just a little cocky, but a bully.

“Apologize to Evans!” James roared at Snape, his wand pointed threateningly at him. “I don't want you to make him apologize,” Lily shouted, rounding on James. “You're as bad as he is.” “What?” yelped James. “I'd NEVER call you a--you-know-what!” “Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can--I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK.” She turned on her heel and hurried away.

....

He had no desire at all to return to Gryffindor Tower so early, nor to tell Ron and Hermione what he had just seen. What was making Harry feel so horrified and unhappy was not being shouted at or having jars thrown at him; it was that he knew how it felt to be humiliated in the middle of a circle of onlookers, knew exactly how Snape had felt as his father had taunted him, and that judging from what he had just seen, his father had been every bit as arrogant as Snape had always told him. OotP, Snape’s Worst Memory, emphasis added

It’s interesting note that Harry fails to learn Occlumency from Snape. (In fact, we never see Harry use magical skills he learned from Snape apart from Expelliarmus, which is...important). At the same time, he gains an important perspective.

You can’t have James without this part of him. However kind James was to Lupin, however brave James was when he saved his wife, he was neither kind nor brave when he bullied Snape. It’s uncomfortable and awkward, but it’s important.

When he had finished, neither Sirius nor Lupin spoke for a moment. Then Lupin said quietly, “I wouldn’t like you to judge your father on what you saw there, Harry. He was only fifteen —”

“I’m fifteen!” said Harry heatedly.

OotP

Harry rejects the idea that actively bullying someone is just folly of youth. He knows what it’s like to be disenfranchised. Regardless of what Snape and James’ relationship was, he didn’t deserve that kind of humiliation. And Lupin watched, and defends him. Harry has to grapple with that.

Ultimately, Snape and Lupin do more than just connect him to his past. They also teach him his two signature spells, Expelliarmus and Expecto Patronum. One saves his soul, and one saves his life and frees the wizarding world from Voldemort because of Voldemort’s fractured soul.

Snape and Lupin as moral counterpoints

How do we evaluate this:

“I’d never have believed this,” Harry said. “The man who taught me to fight dementors--a coward.”*****5

DH 213, The Bribe

and this?

“Albus Severus, you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew.

DH 758, Seventeen years later

Ultimately, I don’t think it’s really that useful to pit two people with different backgrounds against each other. At the same time, they represent two different halves of a question: when it comes down to it, should we try to be kind or brave? I don’t think you have to pick one, but when pursuing the two, there are bound to be moments of conflict.

I always come back to the lyrics to Last Midnight from Sondheim’s Into the Woods.******6

You're so nice You're not good You're not bad You're just nice I'm not good I'm not nice I'm just right I'm the witch You're the world

Snape doesn’t care about being nice. I think this is where most non-Snape fans start pulling out the pitchforks and torches. Snape isn’t nice, and he’s not nice to kids. He’s not nurturing.*******7 He’s abrasive, allergic to coddling, and petty when he can get away with it. In fact, most of the people he’s ‘nice’ to are significantly more powerful than him, or someone he needs to be on good terms with.

Lupin is nice. He’s mild. He’s often kind. However, he often picks being liked over standing up for something.

What does that result in? He doesn’t stand up for Snape. The bullying continues and keeps Snape firmly on his path. He wins the respect of the Gryffindors with the Snape Boggart incident but loses whatever credibility he had to tell Snape to ‘put their past behind him.’

On the other hand, Neville’s bravery in DH was nurtured by Lupin’s confidence. Neville kept hope alive and led a rebellion. Lupin is one of the few adults that Harry fully respects and trusts up until the Grimmauld place confrontation. (He likes Hagrid and Molly, but doesn’t necessarily trust them to make decisions in their best interest, while he usually respects Lupin’s judgement). Harry loves him, and it’s because he loved him and watched him die that he needs to act and fight back against Voldemort.

Ultimately, Harry’s relationship with James and the adults who pass on his legacy is one of the most important symbolic relationships in the book. The thematic resolution of the series is Harry’s act of sacrificial love.

He did not know what to feel, except shock at the way Snape had been killed, and the reason for which it had been done....

...He could not bear to look at any of the other bodies, to see who else had died for him. He could not bear to join the Weasleys, could not look into their eyes, when if he had given himself up in the first place, Fred might never had died...

He turned away and ran up the marble staircase. Lupin, Tongs...He yearned not to feel....He wished he could rip out his heart, his innards, everything that was screaming inside of him.

To escape into someone else’s head would be a blessed relief....Nothing that even Snape had left him could be worse than his own thoughts.

DH 660-662, The Prince’s Tale

He rushes to the headmaster’s office to escape into Snape's memories. His memories convince Harry that sacrificing himself is the expedient thing to do, and he heads to the Forbidden Forest. To enable is last sacrifice, he uses the Resurrection stone to witness his parents and his father’s friends. Their combined testimony is enough to ameliorate his personal fears about following through with this final act.

Lupin and Snape leave entirely different legacies behind. Lupin encourages and inspires. As an authority figure, he gives people like Neville space to grow and his compassion towards Harry gives him the strength to face his demons. Harry’s decision in DH to die must have something to do with the kindness he was shown, and the sacrifices people who loved him made for him, of which Lupin is a part. Despite what he saw in Princes’ Tale, Snape wasn’t one of the people who’d make an appearance with the Resurrection stone.

Yet Snape sacrificed his life for Harry and the wizarding world, entities that Snape didn’t seem to like and that certainly weren’t kind to him. His form of bravery is about endurance, tenacity, and willingness to do what is right even when you hate your allies and no one else is going to credit you for what you do. And that’s very Harry. Even if he hates Draco, he’s not about to let him die if he can help it. Harry has much more in common with Snape than Lupin, I think.

Since this is about souls, let’s return to the Patronus charm. Snape’s not the kind of person who typically inspires that kind of emotion required to cast a Patronus in others, at least from what we see in Harry’s perspective. Yet because he has experienced that love, he can cast it and shows Harry what needs to be done. Snape enables Harry to dive under the ice. Lupin’s the kind of person who can inspire a patronus, but isn’t the one to make the sacrifice play until after Harry confronts him about his duty to his family. Ultimately, though, they both sacrifice themselves in the Battle of Hogwarts.

* Ever since I realized how blatantly tangential Order of Merlin must be to Snape’s character motivation, that line has frustrated me to no end. There’s no way frothing-at-the-mouth PoA Snape just really coveted that Order of Merlin. He’s often petty, yeah, but if Lupin believes it’s just about that and has nothing to do with Snape’s real conviction about how dangerous Lupin’s actions were, he’s deluding himself. I hate that he passes it on to his students.

**Yes, I am making up words today. Lupin’s faces prejudice and discrimination on a social level enforced by increasingly powerful discriminatory laws.

*** It’s worth noting that if we take every book as equally valid canon, then there’s either widespread ignorance towards lycanthropy, as Lockhart convinces everyone he was able to “cure” the Wagga-Wagga werewolf, and as teenage Horcrux!Riddle said Hagrid raised werewolf cubs under his bed, or else lycanthropy is actually a wide range of conditions under a wolfy umbrella ranging from treatable to incurable. Lupin is our primary source for lycanthropy: he’s the one who tells us about Greyback, for example. If we hold the first two books as equally valid, then perhaps we only know about Lupin’s particular type of condition. That’s the Watsonian analysis, anyways.

****4 These footnotes are getting ridiculous. Basically, there’s no consensus on what Dark Magic is, and on what basis it’s Evil. This essay goes into things that are labelled as curses. I’m inclined to believe that the vast majority of Dark Magic is just Magic We Don’t Like for Reasons.

The definition of what is and isn't considered Dark Magic is never explained: often it just seems to mean "a curse I don't approve of". Even "curse" has never been satisfactorily defined, but we can certainly say that not all curses are regarded as evil, since some appear to be on the Hogwarts curriculum, and are certainly performed without censure.

*****5 While I paired the quotes at the top of this section together for dramatic effect, it’d be a shame not to look at the context of the Lupin fight.

“I thought you’d say [that your mission was top secret],” said Lupin, looking disappointed. But I might still be of some use to you. You know what I am and what I can do. I could come with you to provide protection. There would be no need to tell me exactly what you were up to. Harry hesitated. It was a very tempting offer.

Hermione then asks about Tonks.

“I’m pretty sure my father would have wanted to know why you aren’t sticking with your own kid, actually”... ...“I’d never have believed this,” Harry said. “The man who taught me to fight dementors--a coward.”

...“Parents shouldn’t leave their kids unless--unless they’ve got to.”

...“I know I shouldn’t have called him a coward.”“No, you shouldn’t,” said Ron at once. “But he’s acting like one. “ “All the same...” said Hermione.

“I know,” said Harry. “But if it makes him go back to Tonks, it’ll be worth it, won’t it?”

He could not keep the plea out of his voice. Hermione looked sympathetic, Ron uncertain. Harry looked down at his feet, thinking of his father. Would James have backed Harry in what he had said to Lupin, or would he have bene angry at how his son had treated his old friend?

DH 213, The Bribe

Harry feels personally betrayed that someone who has a family and child would abandon them. Here he is unyielding and accusing to someone he cares about in the hopes that they re-evaluate what matters. It’s a rather Snape-like tactic, actually. Or else a Dumbledore one.

I love the dialogue in this scene, but have some major issues with how Harry’s internalization drops out the window for shock value. JKR does the same thing when has Harry pull the Veritaserum trick in HBP. I don’t like it.

******6 The witch and Snape aren’t perfect analogues, since she’s decidedly more amoral in my opinion, but they’re both contractually-motivated characters whose humanity is shown by their (platonic/familial) love for a more “innocent” character and the guilt at the innocent character’s sacrificial death. Guilt doesn’t lead the witch to do anything productive, and for Snape it does, which is where they diverge on the character path.

*******7 Draco may be an exception to this. However, watching Snape struggle to build rapport with Draco in HBP leads me to think that while Snape’s been on Draco’s side, he’s still not “nurturing,” or in other words, good at cultivating trust and encouraging the strong and wholesome parts of someone’s personality to grow.

#hp meta #snape #pro snape #severus snape #remus lupin #i haven't figured out how to make this appear above the cut...

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creative-hanyou-girl · 3 years

Text

The Witch’s Daughter (Pt.2)

Now with a cover!!!!

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha/Yahahime or any of its characters. All InuYasha characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Sunrise, and Viz media.

Genre: Family/Romance/Angst

Rated: Teen (for some cussing and depictions of violence)

A/N: First off, I want to give a big fat “Thank You” to all of you guys who left likes and reviews and for reblogging the 1st chapter of The Witch’s Daughter! I am so sorry for the long wait. A lot of stuff happened over the holidays and beyond that, and college has kept me pretty busy too. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and I’ll try to be quicker with the next one!!!

I should also say that while Touga holds both these titles in the story, in this universe, the title of Emperor is not the same as the title of Inu no Taisho.

Emperor: Ruler over the people, responsible for governing the country; Sesshomaru to be successor.

Inu no Taisho: Commander and General of all armed forces, literally translating to “Great Dog General”; InuYasha to be successor.

(trust me, knowing the difference is important.)

Chapter One

FF.Net

With that said, on with Chapter Two!

Chapter Two

Swinging the sword in his grip at a downward angle, Lord and General InuYasha huffed in satisfaction. His sparring partner and friend, Miroku, had his own weapon knocked out of his hands as a result of the half dog-demon’s offensive maneuver, the force of the technique even toppling the human man over to land on his butt.

Scenting the approaching threat from behind, InuYasha whirled around smoothly, his blade clashing thunderously with the sword that was about to come down on him.

This time facing off against his rival and soldier, a wolf-demon named Kouga, the two demons went at each other fiercely, weapons clashing and clanging loudly and violently at speeds that’d be impossible for a human to achieve no matter how skilled a swordsman they were. Sparks flew as the two sparring men met each other’s attacks with vigour.

Miroku, seeing an opening, grabbed his own sword and went to attack the young dog-eared general. Rushing at his seemingly unsuspecting target, Miroku’s blue eyes widened in alarm when InuYasha ducked, hunching his broad shoulders and back forward to avoid Kouga’s blade coming at him from the side. The human soldier couldn’t stop himself fast enough, resulting in him barreling atop his Lord’s back, only for said Lord to adjust his movements in order to have Miroku’s slightly smaller frame roll over the curve of his spine.

Kouga had no time to react before his fellow soldier rammed into his stomach, losing his grip on his own sword as both he and Miroku toppled over in a heap not too gently on the marble floor.

The two soldiers looked up at their General as he aimed his trusty blade, the Tessaiga, to be level with their eyes.

InuYasha smirked triumphantly down at his fallen comrades, his golden amber eyes dancing with victory, before swiftly shelving Tessaiga in its sheath and offering a clawed hand out to Miroku.

Grinning and shaking his head, the human male accepted, the two friends collapsing hands as the demon lord pulled the dark-haired man up before collapsing his shoulder good-naturedly.

Kouga grouchily climbed to his own feet once Miroku was off him, crossing his arms as he scowled at his rival, “How the Hell do you always manage to one-up us every time, dog-turd? Call me crazy, but I’d think you were playin’ dirty!”

InuYasha glared right back, “There ain’t no such thing as playing dirty on the battlefield, wolf-boy. You know that as well as I do; when you're out there facing a shit-ton of soldiers tryin’ ta lop your head off, ya don’t got the luxury of playin’ fair!”

“Yeah well the wolf tribes know to fight with honor, unlike you and your sad excuse of an army, General,” Kouga retorted, emphasizing the word ‘general’ in a demeaning, sarcastic tone.

The aforementioned general growled, shoving his snarling face into Kouga’s, his large, clawed hand cracking as he stretched the tendons in a threatening gesture.

He and Kouga had never gotten along ever since the wolf-demon was enlisted to serve under the Inu no Taisho’s armed forces, only to be surprised and furious when he found that the Emperor’s youngest son, a half-breed, had already taken charge of many of the imperial forces, as he was set to succeed his father in becoming the next Inu no Taisho. Under that position, he’d serve under the next Emperor, his brother, as the commander of all of their Empire’s armed forces, leading himself and his men into the battlefields while the Emperor governs the rest of the country.

Kouga was angered to be placed in one of InuYasha’s troops three years ago when he enlisted to be under the command of the current Inu no Taisho and Emperor, Touga.

He made it very clear to InuYasha from the get-go that he was displeased to be bossed around by an ‘honorless half-bred mutt’, though he knew better than to say as such around the Emperor and his family.

That didn’t stop the wolf-demon from expressing his disdain for his general with his fellow soldiers, many of whom also shared his bias, and to InuYasha himself when the imperial family wasn’t around.

The feelings were mutual, as InuYasha hated the wolf’s stench and despised his high and mighty attitude. But while the half-demon lord loathed to admit it, as his father had pointed out when the two of them were overseeing recruit training, Kouga was a strong and resilient fighter, quick on his feet and great at tracking scents from miles away.

“Almost as good as you,” his father had commented.

Almost.

Keh!

At the end of the day, InuYasha knew he’d be a fool not to enlist the canine demon just because Kouga held a prejudice against him.

Didn’t mean he had to like it though.

“Well we ain’t in the wolf tribes now, are we ya scrawny wolf!” InuYasha exclaimed back in the present.

The two canine demons continued to snarl and bark back-and-forth, until a previously forgotten Miroku shoved his way in-between the two feuding men, breaking them up after some struggle as his human body was much weaker compared to those of his demonic comrades.

“I believe it’d be wise to step away from each other for a while. We did just return from a five-month trip in the North, after all. Perhaps now’s the time to relax and take a breather after all our hard work, do you not agree?” the human male reasoned, his tone soothing and placating.

Kouga continued to glare as he looked between the two human and half-demon men, before huffing haughtily and stomping out of the in-door combat training room.

InuYasha watched him go before snorting and going over where he stashed his red cloak and armor, stepping next to the large water basin to wash his face of the sweat and grime he’d accumulated from the return journey and the sparring match that he had just won. All the while, Miroku walked along with him, washing his face and grabbing his own gear.

As the two friends strapped back on their heavy armor over their under garments, Miroku looked over at his companion.

“You know Kouga says that stuff at this point just to get a rise out of you, right?” he asked, locking the straps for his armor to his right arm.

“Pfft. Whatever, not like it matters,” the general mumbled, clipping on his ragged and torn up cape.

“Just take a break from him and other troops, InuYasha. Use this time to spend with your family for at least a few hours! Nobody will blame you, and who knows when we’ll be sent out to fight more battles again.”

“Ain’t that simple, Miro. I ain’t no ordinary, run-of-the-mill soldier like you; I’m gonna have to become the Inu no Taisho after my father. I have ta be on my toes all. The damn. Time. Add to the fact that I’m a half-demon, and that makes my job ten times more difficult since more and more people are questioning my authority and capability to lead them into battle. I don’t got time for a break, not yet anyways,” InuYasha argued, a hint of bitterness seeping into his tone.

It had become such a sore spot for him, being a half-breed. A mutt. When he was young, while there might’ve been a whisper here and a distrustful glare there, InuYasha had been fortunate to not have had to face too much discrimination for his mixed blood, but he now knew that was due to his status in the royal family. It was only when he snuck out at age thirteen in commoner clothing that he experienced first-hand how half-demons are really treated by the outside world when they have no status of nobility or royalty.

It was horrible; he returned home hiding the bruises and scars under his clothes before they healed by themselves. He never told either of his parents.

The incident still didn’t stop him from sneaking out to explore, though.

And then he was announced to be the next Great Dog General, the Inu no Taisho, after his father when he turned sixteen, and that news shocked and appalled many in the Emperor’s court and beyond that. Everyone had expected, nay, hoped that Touga would’ve named his eldest, pure demon son Sesshomaru as both the future Emperor and Inu no Taisho, seeing as Touga himself held both titles. No one had anticipated that his younger, impure half-bred son would’ve been named as Touga’s successor to anything!

If he was being honest, InuYasha was shocked too, but he didn’t want the role.

He’d never told his family, since he knew it’d hurt them, but the then teenage InuYasha had always hoped for a life outside of the castle walls. Even after the incident that happened when he was thirteen, the half dog-demon still wanted to go out in the world where nobody knew who he was, and explore with no obligations or responsibilities to anyone. The brief experience with the outside world when he was thirteen had opened his eyes to how fake court-life truly was, and he hated it.

Still, seeing everybody who didn’t even know him, already doubting and questioning his capabilities in such a rigorous, brutal, and powerful position just on the basis of him being a half-demon motivated him to take up the mantle he had previously tried to avoid.

He’d prove to them, all of them, that he was the man for the job, and that his mixed blood didn’t matter.

That was his motivation that still drove him even now.

“Enough about that. Whatta ‘bout you? S’not like your working to become General; Why dontcha go see Sango and the kids. Bet they’ve been missing their old man,” Present InuYasha said, intentionally driving the conversation away from himself.

Miroku suddenly grinned dreamily at the mention of his wife and kids, and InuYasha still couldn’t believe this was the same perverted seventeen-year-old soldier he’d met all those years ago.

They’d met when Miroku joined InuYasha when he had taken charge of overseeing his first troop of soldiers. When he wasn’t giving them orders or training them, InuYasha kept his distance from everyone in his troop as much as possible, just as everyone had kept their distance from him.

That all changed when Miroku approached him one night when they were traveling along the Eastern borders. The human had grinned mischievously, but no less kindly with a jug of sake and had asked to talk with him.

“Just want to get to know our fearless new general, is all,” is what he had said.

From there, their friendship grew, though it took months for InuYasha to start warming up to Miroku. It didn’t help either that the young soldier had the bad habit of rubbing up along any pretty woman’s ass and asking them to “bare his children” for him, whether the woman was human or demon.

And then Miroku met Sango, a female soldier and the only woman who knew how to put him in his place. From that moment on, the perverted soldier only had eyes for the no-nonsense woman, and InuYasha watched as his two only friends grew closer and closer for the next few years, eventually getting married and having a shit-ton of kids.

Now they were awaiting baby number...eleven? Twelve? The half-demon had honestly lost count. All he knew was that they were expecting yet again, and Sango was pissed not being allowed into the troops again until the pup was born.

The kids adored InuYasha, or ‘Uncle Inu’ as the little ones and even the oldest three, Kin’u, Gyokuto, and Hisui, liked to call him, and InuYasha, in turn, adored them all right back.

An old, but familiar lump settled in his throat.

He was happy for his friends. He really was, but InuYasha couldn’t help the feeling of jealousy and longing to swell up to the surface.

He wanted what they had.

He wanted love.

He wanted children.

But he’d never have any of it.

Because he was a half-breed, and half-breeds, royalty or not, never find love, real love, let alone have children.

“My Lord! My Lord InuYasha!!!” cried the familiar, but no less annoying voice of his brother’s servant, Jaken.

The aforementioned lord sighed in aggravation as both he and Miroku turned at the squawking cry, just in time to see the small imp-demon come barreling in only to trip over himself in his haste.

“Lord InuYasha! It is important, your father needs to speak with you at this very moment! It is urgent!!!” Jaken continued on.

Both half-demon and human arched their brows in confusion, exchanging concerned looks.

“You go on back to your family, Miroku. I’ll deal with this,” InuYasha said.

“You sure?” Miroku asked, still concerned.

InuYasha simply nodded.

With that, the future Inu no Taisho with his armor fully on once more, turned and followed the panicky little demon out of the training room without another word.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Making their way through the halls leading to the throne room, InuYasha contemplated the matter Jaken had frantically informed him his father wanted to discuss.

It wasn’t unusual for Jaken to overreact over certain matters, but the half-demon had never seen the servant as panicky as he was at that moment, even during the times he’d displeased Sesshomaru.

When he first followed after the imp-demon to the throne room where his family was stationed, the young general had briefly feared it was another marriage proposition his father had arranged for him. There had been quite a few of those over the years, all of which didn’t work out as they should have. It wasn’t necessarily that all the women the Emperor picked for him were bad choices (although there were some who were stuck-up bitches who only wanted him for the rise in status and wealth), but none of them ever seemed to...click, with him.

He could never explain it, but being with them just felt wrong.

Like he was betraying someone by doing so.

Someone who haunted him in his dreams the few times he slept, but could never identify by face or scent.

Someone he didn’t know.

Or perhaps….someone he didn’t remember.

As they got closer to their destination however, the less InuYasha began to believe the situation to be about something as trivial as matrimony. Jaken wouldn’t be reacting the way he was if it was simply about him being offered the hand of a noble woman.

The more he thought about it, the more apprehension and dread he felt in the pit of his stomach at the unknown situation that awaited him.

Stopping in front of the sliding doors separating him from the unknown, InuYasha glanced down at Jaken, who bowed in understanding at staying put outside the room. The demon lord and general huffed and slid the doors open, expecting but unprepared for the worst.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“How’s that feel, sweetheart? Is it too tight?” Kagome asked gently, wrapping the young girl’s injured arm in gauze.

Her silent patient nodded hesitantly, staring at the pretty woman treating her wound and glancing at the silent quarter-demon girl who’d saved her.

Kagome finished wrapping her up and patted the child assuringly on her back, “You're going to be just fine, little one. Now why don’t you take one of the beddings we have here and get some rest, hmm? In the morning, Moroha and I will take you back home, okay?”

The little girl hesitated for just a moment.

“...Th-Thank y-you.” she stuttered in a soft voice, averting her brown eyes shyly when the mother and daughter pair blinked in surprise.

The experienced spell-caster smiled pleasantly, nodding her head.

“You are very welcome, my dear. That’s what we’re here for, and I’m glad that you are okay.”

The child blushed, then glanced at the teenage girl still staring at her in shock, before bowing towards the teen in gratitude, which only served to shock the poor quarter-demon even more.

“...And th-thank you, too. F-for rescuing me from th-those big men,” the human girl said, keeping her upper body lowered in a bow of respect.

Moroha was beyond surprised; She was flabbergasted. Never before had anybody who wasn’t her mother thank her, much less genuinely. She was more used to people belittling and repaying her and her mother’s kindness with cruel words and actions. Yet, here this young human child was, wholeheartedly and genuinely showing them, showing her, gratitude for saving and treating her, knowing or at least suspecting very well who they were, what they were.

The young spell-caster blushed, flustered, “K-Keh! It wasn’t a big deal; I was just passing through!” she explained, defensive.

“Yes...just passing through.”

Moroha froze at the deadly calm tone. Cringing, the teen glanced slowly at her mother, flinching at the angered glare the older woman was shooting her.

Oh crap.

Turning back towards her slightly confused patient, Kagome adapted a cheery smile and clapping her hands together.

“Well, I believe that’s enough for now! Why don’t you go and get some rest, dear, and then we’ll get up bright and early tomorrow to take you home! That sound good?” the woman asked, her tone motherly and upbeat.

The girl nodded, getting up and taking a few steps towards one of the beddings close by. Before she got there though, the young brunette turned her head to look back at her temporary caretakers.

“Miss Pretty Lady, Miss Demon Lady? Really, thank you for saving me. I was really scared,” the child thanked them for the hundredth time, her words more confident and assured.

Moroha’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance, “Demon Lady?”

“Hey kid! We have names!” the spell-casting quarter-demon exclaimed, aggravated.

“Moroha!” Kagome scolded, her message clear.

Don’t dig yourself deeper into the hole you're already in, missy.

Understanding the silent threat, said ‘missy’ gulped and shut her mouth, not daring to utter another word that could get her in even more trouble than she already was.

Huffing, Kagome once again smiled kindly towards the younger girl.

“Please excuse her, she can be a bit brash. She’s right though; we haven’t introduced ourselves yet, have we? My name’s Kagome Higurashi, and that troublemaker over there is my daughter, Moroha. What is your name?” she asked.

The girl, again, hesitated. Only for a split second, though, as she soon opened her mouth and answered.

“My name is Rin.”

Kagome nodded, standing up and leading her previously unnamed charge over to the bedding, a gentle hand on the small of the brunette girl’s back.

“Well Rin, it's late, and you must be exhausted, so go to sleep and we’ll get you up in the morning. I’m certain your family misses you terribly and won’t be too pleased if you come back to them dead-on-your-feet tired, now will they?”

Rin shook her head as Kagome tucked her in. Unsurprisingly, the young girl was out within seconds, the craziness from the day catching up to her.

Once she was sure her charge was fast asleep, the spell-caster turned back to her nervous daughter, arms on her hips as she frowned at the teenager.

“Mama, I-”

Kagome put a hand up, abruptly cutting off her child’s excuse before it could begin, “Come with me over here. Now.”

Moroha shivered at the serious, deadpanned tone. Her mother only used that tone when she was about to give her a tongue-lashing. No doubt about it, she was in trouble.

Deep trouble.

The mother and daughter pair strode over towards the treeline that surrounded their camp. It was far enough away to where they could talk in private and not disturb their sleeping guest, but close enough so that they could still see and check in on the child if any danger invaded their camp.

Sighing and rubbing her temples, Kagome started, “Moroha, what were you thinking! I told you to not go any farther than you absolutely had to to deliver that medicine, and then you come back with bruises and scratches, blood on your clothes, and an injured child in your arms, telling me there was a mob riot in the village!? And that you used magic to eviscerate a demon’s arm!? Do you know what kind of danger you put yourself in!?”

Moroha winced, trying to keep the bruises on her neck hidden from her mother’s sight. When she had burst through the treeline back into their camp, carrying Rin who’s arm wound was still sluggishly bleeding out onto her and her clothes, her mother took one look at the injured child and sprang into action, having to clean and then stitch up the wound before it could get infected. So focused on ensuring the child be taken care of, Kagome had only noticed in passing the light bruises and few scrapes on her own child’s arms and legs, but they were superficial and were already healing, so Kagome and Moroha paid them no mind. Not when they had a much more serious, much more human injury, to be taken care of.

The demon girl was grateful that Kagome had been more focused on the human child as soon as she saw her. Otherwise, the dark, yellow and purple bruises on her neck from where the demon had a tight hold on her would have instantly been spotted on the older woman’s ‘Mom Radar’, as she liked to call it.

Moroha hadn’t wanted to cause her mother any more worry, so as soon as she was sure Kagome was too preoccupied with the human child to pay any mind to her, Moroha had taken the scarf she wore around her neck and readjusted it to hide the bruises that were still there. With how tight the demon had clutched onto her, the bruises were quite nasty looking, and would take longer for her demonic healing to get rid of them completely.

Of course, this act of secrecy equated to not telling her mother exactly why she’d had to eviscerate that demon’s arm with her magic. She still wasn’t so sure telling the truth about that was a good idea, but she had to say something!

“He gave me no choice, Mama! I had to use magic!” the teen defended, hoping her mother wouldn’t press the issue from there.

“And why was that, Moroha? What did he do to make you blow your cover and the cloaking spell to destroy his arm using magic?”

And of course, her mother pushed the issue.

“Uh…” was all that came out of her mouth, her mind running double-time to come up with a valid, but less severe explanation than what had actually happened.

Unfortunately, the world seemed to be out to get her that day. While Moroha fumbled, trying to make up a random excuse, Kagome had finally noticed the unusual way her daughter’s red scarf covered the quarter-demon’s neck, and had reached her hands out to remove the scarf.

“Wait! Mama, don’t-” Moroha panicked once she felt her mother’s hands moving the scarf.

“Moroha!!! What on Earth happened to your neck!?”

Too late.

Moroha winced when Kagome gently poked and prodded the darkened, abnormally large fingerprint marks on her neck. They weren’t as sore as they were hours ago, telling the inexperienced spell-caster that the healing process was already underway, but with how dark and severe the bruises were, it’d take longer for the bruises to completely vanish from her skin.

Prying her mother’s hands away from her injured flesh, Moroha cringed even more at the panicked expression, as well as the unshed tears, that she could see in her eyes and face.

She hated making her mama look like that.

“These were why I had to use magic; he had me by the neck,” Moroha swallowed, figuring there was no point in lying or trying to come up with another excuse anymore.

The older magic-user stared at the marks that dared to mar her baby’s lightly tanned skin before pulling the demon girl tightly into her arms, embracing her most precious treasure like a life-line, her anger completely forgotten.

Surprised at first, Moroha quickly regained her composure and wrapped her arms around her mother’s waist, embracing her just as tightly as the severity and exhaustion from the day finally caught up with her, and she buried her head into her mother’s shoulder as her small frame shook from her emotional turmoil.

For the first time in a long while, Moroha was desperate for her mother’s comfort.

She didn’t cry, but it finally hit Moroha just how much danger she put herself in that day, and how scared the whole ordeal made her, though she’d never admit it out loud.

Even so, the partial-demon couldn’t find it within herself to regret stepping in to help a child in need, and she expressed that sentiment to her mother, her voice muffled slightly from her face still being buried in her mama’s shoulder.

Kagome sighed and pulled herself and her daughter out of each other’s arms, though she still had a grip on the much more petite girl’s shoulders. Her face was resigned, but understanding as she addressed Moroha.

“I understand, sweetheart, and I would’ve done the exact same thing if I were you. But I’m your mother, and I just worry for you is all. I know you can take care of yourself, and I know you did what you thought was right, but I just can’t help it; I want you to be safe. You’ll understand one day when your a mother,”

Kagome grinned when Moroha blushed at the last part.

Moroha coughed awkwardly, shuffling her feet as she looked away from her mother’s grinning face, and Kagome had to stifle a giggle at just how familiar Moroha’s countenance was.

“She’s truly her father’s daughter, that’s for sure…”

“So, um...are we good?” Moroha asked, nervous despite herself.

Taking pity on her poor child, Kagome smiled and looped an arm around her daughter’s shoulder as they walked back away from the trees and led her to their own beddings for the night.

“Yup, we’re good.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You wished to speak with me, Father?” InuYasha asked, bowing respectfully before the Emperor and the rest of his family.

The second he entered the room, InuYasha sensed the tension in the air. His family all had grim expressions upon their faces, save for his mother who had a clearly worried look upon her soft features.

The feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach only intensified when he noticed Sesshomaru and his twin daughters clenching their clawed hands into fists, enough to draw rivlets of blood from all three of them. Sesshomaru’s eyes were also bleeding a light pink, telling InuYasha that whatever the issue was, it was enough to rile up the normally stoic demon lord that he was holding back from transforming.

But the most telling, and ultimately the most concerning, indicator was the absence of his young, cheerful adoptive niece.

InuYasha’s mouth went dry.

“Where’s Rin?” he asked, fear creeping into his heart.

“Missing,” his father simply stated.

A reverberating growl from the Emperor's eldest son rent the air in the room at the word.

“We need you, Sestuna, and Kouga to go and search for her; try to scent her out,” Touga continued, his tone authoritative and resolute like the leader he was.

InuYasha, stone-faced, kneeled on one knee before his father and family, head bowed as he addressed them.

“I will not rest until she is found and safe, Your Highness.” the half-demon general vowed, determination clear in his voice.

The current Emperor and Inu no Taisho nodded, eyeing his Setsuna imploringly. Catching her grandfather’s gaze, the half-demon princess nodded back and stood up, taking her naginata with her as she stepped off the raised platform to her uncle’s side.

“I have already sent a messenger to retrieve Kouga; he will meet you at the front gate. Now go,” the Emperor commanded firmly, to which both general and princess nodded sagely.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“InuYasha!”

InuYasha and Setsuna turned at the call, seeing his half-brother striding up to him with a serious glare.

“Father, what is it?” Setsuna asked, her tone deadpanned like her father’s often was.

The future Emperor stopped before his daughter and brother, his gaze steady but no less imposing.

“I urge you, little brother, to not be your stupid, impulsive self with this matter. It does, afterall, concern my daughter,”

Normally, such a reminder would cause InuYasha to roll his eyes and respond with a smartass retort.

But this time, InuYasha knew the severity of the situation, and he could easily spot the worry in his half-brother’s golden eyes.

They were the eyes of a father, worried for the whereabouts of his child.

Something InuYasha was sure he was never going to experience.

He nodded, his face grave and resolute.

“You have my word, Sesshomaru, that I will find your daughter and bring her home,”

The young lord glanced over at Setsuna, his niece catching his gaze.

“Both of them,” InuYasha concluded.

The older demon stared down at his brother, as though assessing the half-demon’s sincerity of his promise, before giving a single nod of acceptance.

With that, the two half-demons turned and made their way to the front gate, set and determined to bring back their loved one.

To be Continued....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed it!

Tagging: @misteria247 @loveanime89 @xfangheartx @keichanz @holi-holy @jgomz92 @lostinfantasyworlds @born-for-eachother @littlestuffstohide @nat-the-cat-123 @cnderpaws @mymidnightnightmare @butterflyhufflepuff @bluehawaiicat @pinkweirdsunsets @sangoslays @disneysooner @blairex @shinidamachu @thisisthebesticando @squeep123 @redflamesofpassion @lavendertwilight89 @sailorbabydoll92

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colonel-kira-nerys · 4 years

Text

More Thoughts on “A Matter of Perspective”

Content Warning: Discussion of Attempted Rape and Domestic Violence

Since my list of episodes with themes of sexual assault and other upsetting content has been making the rounds again, “A Matter of Perspective” has been weighing on my mind.

Even all these years after watching this episode for the first time, it still upsets me more than almost any other episode in the Star Trek canon, so I just wanted to expand a little bit more on why it’s so distressing, while there are still people possibly interested in hearing my thoughts.

The following is an in-depth look at “A Matter of Perspective,” which may be upsetting to some people, so I’m putting my analysis beneath the cut. Please let me know what you think, because I still feel the need to scream into the void about this 30 years after it aired.

“A Matter of Perspective” (TNG: Season 3, Episode 14), at first glance, has an incredibly intriguing premise. The opener is Data critiquing Picard’s sub-par painting skills (talk about tone problems... Jesus) and then Riker beams back to the Enterprise after spending the night at an alien space station, where he was supposed to be checking up on the progress of a scientist named Dr. Apgar.

But upon beaming back, the entire space station explodes. Riker acts surprised and clueless as to how this would’ve happened. Whenever he’s asked about what happened on the station, he gets cagey, even before the trial starts.

It’s clear he’s hiding something, so when an alien Inspector beams aboard asking for Riker’s arrest and extradition, the audience is prepared for it, because we know that something must’ve happened.

Then, when he’s accused of murdering the scientist and blowing up the station, there becomes the issue of who has jurisdiction over the crime. Does the Enterprise have the right to hold the trial on board, or should Riker be released into the custody of the Tenugan Investigator, Crag?

It’s important to note that I’m not coming at this from a place of hatred, in the sense that I wasn’t looking for something wrong. I thoroughly believed this was about to be a BRILLIANT episode, with lots of moral ambiguity and intrigue.

Boy, was I wrong.

The two sides (Starfleet vs. Tenugan) eventually settle on recreating the events of Riker’s time on the station via the Holodeck. THIS WAS SO COOL. I wish all crimes were able to be recreated, down to the tiniest detail, through a simulation. I thoroughly looked forward to seeing the detective work being conducted through simulations, but only because I had no idea that Riker was also going to be accused of attempted rape. I went into this completely blind.

Riker gets the first word in the trial, which I think was a gross miscarriage of justice, because he is the one being accused of the crime--of course he’s going to deny it!!! Why would you let the Defense make their case first...?!

It prejudices Captain Picard to see Riker’s story first, because he’s already more likely to be believed and protected by his own captain. It also prejudices Deanna Troi--whose presence/function during the trial, by the way, is never explained. As far as I can tell, she’s there to be a lie-detector, which is hilarious in its absurdity, because she can “sense no deception” from either Will or Dr. Apgar’s wife, Manua.

I guarantee you if the attempted rape had been shown first, this episode would’ve had a completely different tone, and that is part of the problem.

Manua, after all, is the one who requires justice, not only for her husband, but also for herself. Although, at this point in the episode, we don’t even know that she’s accusing him of sexual assault, because the Inspector didn’t charge him with that crime from the beginning.

In a way, this was a great tactic to get Riker to hang himself with his own words---with his own testimony---but because every Starfleet officer in the room is already prejudiced, that’s not how the episode plays out.

In Riker’s version of events, he is cold, robotic, and professional to a fault (as in, he seems completely uninterested in pleasantries, or, you know, doing his job with any sense of diplomacy). He makes it very clear from the beginning that he’s uninterested in Mrs. Apgar’s hospitality and just wants to get to work.

Note: why would it be important for Riker to assert with his whole heart from the very beginning that he wasn’t interested in Manua, unless he knew that Manua was going to make a claim that in his view ‘wasn’t true’?! He acts SO SURPRISED that Manua would view his advances as attempted rape, and yet, here’s the thing: we know that Riker is a fan of the ladies, so what some might see as “innocent” sexual banter could’ve been attributed to his personality, if he’d shown us his usual charm in his version of events. We expect this of him--to be a bit cocky and sensual. We might not like it, but we know that he’s a playboy, in the kindest interpretation of the word. So, as you’re watching his version of events, most people would find it strange that he would refuse hospitality from someone, because Riker has always been “up for anything” as they say.

Instead of admitting that he might have given Manua the wrong impression by flirting with her, he makes himself out to be cold and unfeeling, in order to preserve an image of cool professionalism that we as the audience know isn’t true to his character.

So, any attempts at hospitality on the part of Manua are immediately spurned by Riker, even those that seem to be genuinely a part of social graces that are indigenous to populations everywhere, not just this alien one. “Can I get you a drink?” isn’t meant to be sexual, in most cultures. This is the bare minimum requirement of a hostess, to ask if anyone needs a refreshment, and yet, Riker makes it clear that this was the start of her sexual overtures... because he needs to cover his tracks. Manua explains later, in her own version of events, that she was worried her husband’s antisocial behavior might negatively impact Riker’s report, and so it was important to make him feel welcome--hence, the drink.

According to Riker, he made hotel arrangements down on the planet for Geordi and himself, but Manua insists that they stay in the guest bedrooms instead. I know Geordi is needed for the science fiction subplot, but why isn’t he in the room to confirm or deny at least this part of Riker’s story? Can’t this specific assertion be easily fact-checked? Even alien hotels presumably have a record of reservations. Like, if Riker was telling the truth, this bit is easily provable, though I would argue that just because he made other arrangements doesn’t mean he didn’t change his mind when he saw the opportunity to have sex. My point is, why is no actual detective work done to confirm the facts of Riker’s story...?

Anyway, according to Riker, Manua then tries to seduce him once they’re alone in his guest quarters. Mr. Apgar walks in on them in a compromising position, and here’s something I failed to address in my earlier breakdown of the episode: At first, Apgar isn’t angry at Riker; he’s angry at his wife.

He says: “I knew I’d find you with him. Did you think I didn’t notice how you looked at him? I’m not the fool you take me for.” AND THEN HE BACKHANDS HER, HARD, ACROSS THE FACE.

Her husband attacks her, by Riker’s own admission, and then, only after doing that, does Mr. Apgar try (and fail) to hit Riker, too. But it’s clear his wife was the person he wanted to spend his anger on.

In all versions of this story, Mr. Apgar tries to hit Riker. That’s 100% consistent. But in Riker’s version, Apgar makes a point to “punish” his wife first. Why? This is important, because no matter which of the three versions is true, Manua is either a victim of domestic violence or of sexual assault.

Now, you can argue that Tayna wouldn’t have included Apgar hitting his wife in her statement, because Mr. Apgar is her boss, and you can also argue that Manua excluded the fact that her husband hit her from her own testimony in order to appear as though their marriage was better than it was, but why on earth would Riker feel the need to add this, if it weren’t true? Why add the assault of a woman by her husband, unless to show that this man was a “bad guy” compared to his much more “honorable” actions...?

Why isn’t this addressed? In all versions of events, Manua is physically assaulted, but only in Riker’s version does her husband slap her hard enough to nearly make her fall. I believe Riker over Tayna (the Assistant) on this specific count, because, frankly, her version is hearsay, told to her by her boss, and it’s very clear that Mr. Apgar was lying to Tayna when he claimed to beat the crap out of Riker.

So, it’s more than likely that Mr. Apgar did indeed hit his wife, if we look at it from the lens of what it makes sense for Riker to lie about, and what it doesn’t. The “beating” was taken by Manua, and not Riker, in the truest version of this story, which has to be somewhere in the middle of all of the versions, apparently.

Apgar might’ve changed this part of the story when telling it to Tayna to save face with her. Also, I don’t know who, besides her, could possibly believe that Apgar won a fistfight against Riker.

Regardless, why would he insist his wife and assistant be transported off the space station unless 1) he believed Riker was a sexual predator and/or 2) he wanted no witnesses to what he was about to do next.

[Note: This episode was heavily inspired by Rashomon, a Japanese film which explores the retelling of the same events by multiple characters, in which everyone shows their “ideal self” by lying. In that story, however, the wife is actually raped. Like, there’s no “matter of perspective” claiming she didn’t get raped. The “perspective” change only offers different ways the rape could’ve happened, and how the characters involved all acted after the rape changes from person to person. The murder is treated as the more important issue in that movie, too, because misogyny.]

Why bring up Rashomon? Because the writers should never have changed this part of the story to imply the attempted rape didn’t happen. They shouldn’t have adapted it in such a way that the main goal is to cast doubt on the assault of the woman; they should’ve committed to the assault happening, but three people telling it three different ways, so that at no point is the story trying to tell us that rape is “a matter of perspective,” but rather that the undeniable rape itself was seen by three different people in three different lights.

I think this episode could’ve been a meaningful exploration of the issue that men often don’t perceive their dogged pursuit of women as predatory, especially when the woman in question eventually “submits.” This could’ve been a story about how Riker didn’t realize he had as much power over Mr. Apgar’s scientific research (and by extension, Manua’s life) as he did. Manua and Apgar were completely dependent on Riker’s glowing report, and it’s made very clear in Manua’s version of events that she felt she couldn’t just excuse herself from the situation entirely, because her husband’s research was at stake.

This episode could’ve shown us how a “good” man, with a somewhat oblivious understanding of his power, could still abuse his power over a woman with regard to her ability to consent... but no. They immediately try to paint Manua as a lying seductress rather than a rape victim.

Here’s the thing: Manua’s version is the only one where her character has a clear motivation to testify against Riker. If this were only about her husband’s death, her testimony would be mostly irrelevant, because she obviously wasn’t there when it happened. And, if she had tried to seduce Riker, she wouldn’t need to “cry rape” to solidify Riker’s motive to kill her husband--he already had motive, which was Apgar’s threat to report his promiscuous conduct to Starfleet. Making a false accusation of rape doesn’t benefit her in any way. Not to mention it clearly traumatized her to recount it. She had to excuse herself by the end of it.

Another reason it doesn’t make sense for Manua to lie about the attempted rape is simply that she didn’t know the true nature of her husband’s research. The show missteps here, too, by making it so clear that she was in the dark about it, because if they hadn’t done that, they could’ve argued that she lied as a red herring to distract the Starfleet officers from discovering that her husband was making a weapon. But no!! Both she and Tayna had no idea that Dr. Apgar was making a weapon, and therefore that had no bearing on the rape accusation. So, the writers make absolutely no effort to explain what possible motivation Manua could’ve had for lying---because there isn’t one!!

Even in the original script, it says that Manua’s version of events characterizes Riker in a much more believable way:

(And it’s important to note that in this take on the story, Riker’s attitude is less aloof and formal. He's relaxed and charming. In fact, in some ways he is more like the Riker we know and love.)

Moreover, Deanna Troi, who canonically is supposed to be able to tell when people are lying, can sense no deception from Manua. Not that you should need an empath in the room to believe a woman when she says that someone tried to rape her. But putting that aside, the fact that there is an empath–who is compromised to begin with because of her relationship with Riker–and she believes Manua’s presentation of the events... that alone is some pretty damning evidence.

If Manua feels as though Riker tried to harm her–feels it so strongly that Deanna empathically senses that she is telling the truth–it shouldn’t matter what Riker thinks of the accusation. Assuming Riker really does believe his version of events, and Manua believes hers, why are the writers making such an effort to both discredit and support the truth of Manua’s testimony at the same time...?

And, just in case your blood isn’t boiling yet, there’s this:

Michael Piller recalled that the episode was "probably the hardest story to break. It was a technical nightmare for the director. I was very, very, happy with the script and I thought the show was disappointing. I guess it didn't translate properly. It was very ambitious, but the casting was off. If you had put Lana Turner in the role of the woman in that show, you would have understood it all – but I don't think it played as it was intended.

Y’all... this FUCKING ASSHOLE claims that the real reason the episode didn’t work was because of the casting of the wife. He believes that people would’ve “understood it all” if Lana Turner, a sex symbol and famous pin-up model, had played the role.

What he’s saying is: if the wife had been sexier, a walking pin-up, the audience would’ve understood the episode better, but because the actress playing her was... what? too average-looking? too demure? people “didn’t get it?”

This has the terrible implication that he thinks the rape story wasn’t as believable because the actress playing Manua wasn’t hot enough. Think about that for two seconds and tell me you don’t want to shoot this guy in the balls.

This could’ve been a meaningful exploration of how Riker didn’t realize he took advantage of Manua; in his mind, she was willing, but in hers, she thought she had to have sex with him or else it would negatively effect his report on her husband’s research. It could’ve been a commentary on how a man can abuse his power without meaning to--without even realizing he has it--and that, if the woman then feels violated, it’s still an assault, even if she eventually gave in and appeared to “consent.”

This episode should’ve been about Riker not realizing he’d coerced a woman, and so he truly believes he’s innocent. But no, instead it becomes a situation in which there is no possible way there was a middle ground between the two accounts. Manua’s testimony is so clearly an assault, there could be no way Riker interpreted her begging him to stop as seduction.

In conclusion, this episode goes out of its way to make it seem like rape victims are liars who can’t be trusted. Keeping in mind this was 30 years ago, I just want to end by saying: according to the United States Justice Department, only approximately 2% of all rape complaints are false, while almost three out of every four rapes go unreported. We need to stop perpetuating the lie that women often “cry rape.” Statistically speaking, they don’t.

If you made it through all of this, I would love to know your thoughts on my analysis, if you have a moment to spare to share them.

#will riker #jonathan frakes #star trek: TNG #tng #rape tw

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imagitory · 3 years

Note

Allow me to apologize. I worded that wrong. I no longer support Donald Trump after that riot on the capitol. It was bad, it was violent, and it spits in the face of everything the GOP stands for. What I mean is that prior to that riot, I did not notice anything racist/homophobic about him, and I never understood why so many ppl have those allegations.

I accept your apology, and I’m glad at least that you don’t count yourself among the members of the Republican Party who have flagrantly turned their backs on what our republic supposedly stands for.

That being said, I’m afraid Donald Trump’s racism is still pretty hard to deny, and I have to admit, I’m both stunned and dismayed that you have somehow yet to see it.

As I said in my response to your original words, Donald Trump has long been championed by white supremacists like ex-KKK Grand Wizard David Duke and the Proud Boys, and he has consistently refused to actively condemn their actions or beliefs, instead being prone to jump into “what-about-ism” and “both-sides-ing” the issue so that he equates actively racist extremists with counter-protestors and civil rights activists...or, even worse, actively encouraging those racist extremists. (“Stand back and stand by,” anyone?)

This isn’t even touching on how Trump’s travel ban actively targeted Middle-Eastern countries and how even now there are dozens of Mexican and South American people locked up on our southern border in real-life concentration camps, separated from their families in the midst of a raging pandemic, all because of the rhetoric Trump spewed about Mexicans “bringing crime and drugs” into our country and “being rapists” who would “steal jobs” from “real” Americans. Regardless of one’s stance on immigration, refugees are protected under international law, and yet we have lumped them in with people who tried to cross our southern border illegally -- and on top of that, all of those people came to our country out of desperation, and most illegal immigrants who make it across the border and integrate into American society don’t become criminals at all. If anything, it’s more logical for them to try to stay under the radar, since they don’t want to be deported back where they came from! And even if you arrested those immigrants on the border as criminals, they would still be entitled to a full criminal trial and humane conditions while imprisoned, which they most certainly are not in at present. Trump got elected largely because of his anti-immigrant (which in truth was largely anti-Mexican and anti-Muslim -- he sure as Hell didn’t mind giving his wife Melania’s parents American citizenship without much fuss) rhetoric and his promise to “protect” America with a great big wall that Mexico would pay for -- a wall that, may I point out, we Americans not only paid for, but is also a tiny, pathetic shadow of what he claimed it would be and yet he’s still boasting was a victory of his administration.

Then of course there’s Trump’s history of racism toward black people, shown in his discriminatory housing practices and the completely fabricated “birtherism” conspiracy theory he started about Barack Obama that claimed he wasn’t a real American citizen, which tapped into a lot of racist Americans’ prejudice toward our first black president. Trump’s referred to countries like Haiti as “sh*thole countries” and blames China singularly for the spread of Covid-19 by trying to call it the “China Virus” and the “Kung Flu,” completely ignoring how much his own administration’s negligence resulted in America easily surpassing every other country on Earth in Covid deaths, with over 386,000 deaths in less than a year, compared to about 405,000 deaths over the course of four years during World War II. Even Trump’s whole mantra of “America First” is a slogan associated with both the Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazi Party -- David Duke himself used that very phrase when running for office in 2016, the same year Trump was elected president. I’m truly sorry, but if all of this doesn’t make it very clear where Trump stands in regards to race, I don’t think there’s anything I could do or say to make it clearer.

As for homophobia, I’d point to Trump’s supposedly more “religious” counterpart Mike Pence as being the more actively and vocally anti-LGBT out of the two of them, considering his support for “gay conversion therapy,” his voting history against gay marriage, his vote to preserve the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy, and his stance on so-called “Religious Freedom” that denies services to people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. But considering Trump selected Pence as his running mate, I think that says plenty about how unproblematic Pence’s anti-LGBT positions are to him.

Although I’m disheartened by the fact that I had to write out any of this and that you could have any doubt in your mind about the kind of person Donald Trump truly is, I’m at least encouraged that you’ve softened your words to the point that you acknowledge you don’t understand the other side’s position, as opposed to acting like other people are just being overly sensitive and confidently saying that one can’t name three instances where Trump has proven himself to be racist.

#ask me #excuse me politics coming through #donald trump #mike pence #racism #homophobia #I'm honestly kind of stunned you feel any need to defend this man at all though?#I mean even if he's despicable for more reasons than just his treason #why do you feel the urge to try to say 'well he's not as racist as people say he is?'#it kind of feels like those people who try to claim that at least hitler was a good artist #which honestly?? ehhhhh not really??

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hey-hamlet · 5 years

Text

BNHA AU Ideas : Quirk Ranking (Parts 1 and 2)

Also on AO3!

TL;DR: Quirks ranked are ranked by risk level, these ranks are stored in chips placed right next to the brain stem. People on both ends of the spectrum are suffering, but its all for the sake of safety.

Right?

Part 1: Background

Ok so, the Quirk ranking AU

When you are born, you are given a chip. This chip can be read by scanners in places like shopping centres, government buildings, hospitals etc.

It will have a rank on it, as well as an ID number. ID numbers can only be read by government official scanners in government buildings, prisons, and the rank updaters

America, Japan, China and Dubai are the only countries to mandate chipping, most other countries have outright banned it and a violation of human rights. People from these other counties are given a traveller’s chip in a bracelet they need to keep on them at all times.

These chips open doors, literally. You can’t ride the train without one, can’t enter schools or hospitals or public areas. Removing your chip is seen as something only the worst villains do; like you’re trying to erase yourself from society.

Blanks and Metallics have the highest rate of villainy out of the other rankings, but metallics and blanks are very rare overall. Still, it doesn’t help their perception and these numbers are touted frequently by chipping supporters.

Quirk ranking isn’t objective! Quirk ranking is often influenced by the bias of the doctor, like All might’s quirk being ranked low because he was so nice and heroic, and Shinso’s being ranked too high because the doctor was scared of it.

About the ranks

Blanks (5% of Population)

Just called blanks or quirkless. Its what everyone’s chip reads unless/until their quirk comes in some “high risk” areas will deny entry to blank chips because of “risk”. Because everyone thinks of blanks as kids, not the quirkless, these laws are rarely disputed. Allowing entry of blanks into private businesses is a higher insurance cost so some areas can't afford to let the quirkless in, or use it as an excuse to turn them away.

It was originally the opposite, people with quirks were kept away from the quirkless because they were apparently an inherent risk. Propaganda from the times was along the lines of “You’d watch a tiger. Just because it hasn’t bitten anyone doesn’t mean it doesn’t want to” and “Chip them like the dogs they are.” This has been heavily covered up in recent years as an ugly part of Japan’s past.

Little kids celebrate getting their quirks in as they can now enter 90% of areas rather than 30%. Some places like arcades, gyms, dojos will ban blanks from entering full stop, no exceptions.

Colour Spectrum (90% total)

Blue/Purple (22% Population)

Non-threatening. Cant be used to harm people directly, includes a lot of animal mutant quirks and those without obvious offensive abilities.

Can be teased as kids but don’t tend to face any real discrimination (blues can be exceptions as some schools/jobs will find reasons not to hire them). If they become heroes they are typically children’s heroes.

The quirk doesn’t need to be weak to be ranked low, simply needs to have a low-risk factor, but many people view them as weak because they lack offensive capability. UA has been trying to change the entrance exam for years to allow these ranks to have a fighting chance but the heroic’s commission won't have it.

Green/Yellow/Orange (60% Population)

These quirks are very useful and the most well-liked, and least mistreated. Strong and simple to understand, medium risk. Easy to contain.

Most heroes are in this area of the rankings, but people with these quirks tend to do well whatever carrier they take.

Orange quirks are a little bit “scarier”. Either they are more difficult to contain or have uncomfortable aspects like mental quirks, blood control, etc. Still, they don’t tend to be treated badly.

Red (8%)

The start of the “Scary” quirks. These quirks are very strong, even from a young age and have inherently violent capabilities, but are still ranked low enough that they aren’t too feared, and there are no restrictions placed on their chips.

Kids with red quirks are the top dogs of the school. They get away with a lot too, with quirks strong enough to be hard to deal with but not so strong that 2 adults can’t control them.

Basically, the limit for this is “could 2 heroes take you out if you were a villain?” and if yes, it's red.

Reds sometimes have damaging backlash, often what keeps them out of bronze (i.e., navel laser)

Metallics (5% total)

Bronze (4%)

Now these quirks can do some damage, these are the start of the movement restrictions, but most in bronze view them as badges of pride. Bronze chips cant enter places like hospitals, daycares and nursing homes without taking quirk control classes. It's pretty common for bronze kids to take a week off in kindergarten to get them all out of the way so they can get their permissions updated.

There is a mix of fear and respect from bronze quirks, they are either seen as top dogs or villains in the making. Being a hero is a top job choice for people with this ranking.

All might’s quirk was ranked bronze when he entered the playing field, but many people theorise it should have been ranked gold. Still, All might helped the popular perception of metallics in the country, making them far more popular.

Silver (.8%)

These quirks aren’t popular. Heroics is seen as the only respectable career for them, even with quirk usage classes some hospitals won't let them enter. It’s rare they will be attacked due to their strength but people are often afraid of them, many bosses won't hire them because they “pose a risk”

Gold (.2%)

Same as silver really, very very rare.

Monochrome (So low it can’t be estimated, around 0.0000000001% of all quirks)

Black (???% - presumably more common than white)

There are no recorded black quirks in Japan so there are no current restrictions.

White (???% - presumably less common than black)

All for One is the first recorded white quirk in the world, and currently, the only person to hold such a rank.

Restrictions are extreme. No quirk scanners will let them enter, mostly just because the only person with a white quirk is a 200-year-old bogey man of a villain.

Most of the character's quirk's official rankings:

White: All for one, One for All (Izuku's time, with the addition of black whip + the other 6) Black: N/A Gold: (One for All at All Might's prime, but he never updated his quirk ranking) Silver: Half Hot Half Cold, Creation, Voice, Portal Bronze: Explosion, Dark Shadow (ranked for his poor control as a child), Mind Control (was only ranked this high because the doctor was prejudice), Overhaul, Fierce wings, One for All (All Might's Offical ranking) Red: Navel Lazer, Acid, Electricity, Twice, Mustard Gas, Blade Tooth, Compress Decay, Cremation, Muscular, Hell Fire Orange: Cement, Engine, Zero-G, Sugar Rush, Earphone Jack, Chronosatsis, Elasticity Yellow: Somnambulist, Blood Control, Harden, Transform, Magnesis, Blood Curdle Green: Frog, Clone, Dupli-Arms, Pop off, Mimicry, Air Jet Blue: Erasure, Tail, Tape, Foresight Purple: High Specs, AniVoice, Love Blank: (Izuku's original official ranking, Yagi's original official ranking)

Part 2: Plot

So Izuku has been ranked as blank his whole life, then he suddenly gets a quirk. All Might asks him when he's going to get his chip updated and Izuku looks at him with steel in his eyes.

“I’m not going to. I’m going to be the number one with a blank chip and show them how stupid their system is.”

Yagi is so proud of his boy and they have a cute little moment

On the day of the entrance exam, Izuku isn’t sure the doors will let him in, but they do thankfully.

When Izuku blasts the zero pointer into itty bitty pieces the teachers look at his file and share a “wtf” look with each other because this kid is meant to be quirkless.

After the quirk assessment, Aizawa asks Izuku about it and he sheepishly explains his quirk came in super late and that he wants to prove people with blank chips aren’t worthless.

Aizawa tries not to smile and tells him to hurry up and get better at controlling his messed-up quirk.

And Izuku does. He gets fully cowl before the sports festival because Aizawa throws a few tips around and it clicks a little earlier

Present Mic hears about Izuku sticking it to the ranking system and quickly decides this kid is amazing.

With his silver ranking, no other school would let him teach. He couldn’t visit Aizawa in the hospital after the USJ until he was moved from the ICU, and people always said he’d become a villain.

He knows silver restrictions are mild compared to blank but he empathises and is quietly cheering him on.

The only students in 1A that know he has a blank chip are Uraraka, Iida, Todoroki and Bakugo

Iida and Uraraka saw him get barred entry at a store and he had to sheepishly explain. He confessed to Todoroki at the sports festival. Bakugo has known him his whole life.

Well, that is until the licensing exams.

See, the doors lock on him. They won't let someone with a blank chip enter the exam. Izuku is crying a little because it's embarrassing and he doesn’t want the class to know.

In a show of solidarity that he’ll never admit to, Bakugo refuses to enter until Izuku is cleared to go in. When the rest of 1A find out about it, they refuse to enter as well. They stand shoulder to shoulder around Izuku daring the proctors to say anything rude to him.

After seeing this Inasa doesn’t go after Todoroki as hard in the exam, they manage to talk it out just prior to the last part, they still fail because they are both kind of out of it but they end the exam on good terms.

The heroics commission is on UA’s ass, pressing them into getting Izuku’s quirk graded because he's a “danger” and “a wildcard”

This pressure increased after black whip manifested during the camp attack, and after the villains kidnapped him and Bakugo

UA tries to shield Izuku from this as much as possible, only the first quirk assessment is mandatory and doesn’t need to be updated after the age of 6, it's optional after that. Izuku keeps seeing his mother throwing away important looking documents but he doesn’t ask why.

He overhears Ectoplasm telling Nezu and Aizawa it would just be easier to make him get his chip updated so the heroics commission stops threatening to pull their funding

Aizawa and Nezu are mad, and Izuku feels a little better but he still feels super guilty about the whole thing

The villains tried to play into the “you’ve both been mistreated because of your ranking” it doesn’t work at all.

By the time we get to the Overhaul arc, Izuku has manifested 4 of the previous holders’ quirks and the heroics commission is crying out for his chip to be updated, calling parallels to AFO but Nezu politely tells them to go fuck themselves.

Nighteye never once mentions Izuku’s blank chip and he's very grateful for that.

The 8 precepts are very interested in him, his multiple quirks and late manifestation may be able to help with the eradication of quirks.

The first time Izuku sees Eri, a chip reader in a store goes off because she doesn’t have one. He refuses to give her back to Overhaul, they take her back to Nighteye

Nighteye is furious until Izuku explains the girl doesn’t have a chip. That either means she has never been entered into the schooling/medical/government systems or its been illegally removed. He tells him he still shouldn’t have done that but it wasn’t a bad call.

That night, on his way back to UA, Izuku is taken by the 8 precepts.

They are furious and they know exactly how to ruin his life.

Using one of their contacts in the heroics commission, they get his chip updated to what the heroics commission thinks it should be.

Izuku wakes up, hurt and feeling violated and sore. He's covered in weird markings from Overhauls quirk but has no memory of it being used on him

Confused, upset and afraid he uses his quirk to run back to UA. Upon reaching the gate, it slams shut and alarms start blaring.

He breaks down sobbing.

1 minute later the staff of UA rush to the gate, expecting AFO to have broken out of prison for revenge. Instead, they see Izuku, covered in scares, battered with parts of his hero costume missing, sobbing on the ground.

Nezu checks his emails.

“Thank you for allowing us to update Midoriya Izuku’s ranking chip. His new ranking is: White. Have a nice day.

- The Heroics Commission of Japan”

#bnha au #bnha #midoriya izuku #aizawa shouta #All Might #eraserhead #Toshinori Yagi #Midoriya #aizawa #overhaul #nighteye #todoroki shouto #yoarashi inasa #uraraka ochako #Iida Tenya #eri #present mic #yamada hizashi #principal nezu

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annes-andromeda · 5 years

Text

Fluffers Speaks

Part two of my Jonerys rant cause I’m bored and have a lot of thoughts. Bear with me, cause I get sidetracked at some points. And prepare yourselves cause this is long and I get pissed.

—————————————————————

So in my last post, I talked about the problems with Jonerys in Season 7. Now we go onto Season 8. And we all know how much of a train reck that was.

In Season 8, Jonerys seems to take a toll for the worst and turns from a relationship void of chemistry or logic to Jaime and Cersei 2.0. Or more controversially, Aerys and Rhaella 2.0. I’ll get to that later.

When the Season starts, the ship seems to be having problems already (I know, shocker). As soon as Daenerys arrives to Winterfell, the Northerners do not take a liking to her. I’ve heard Dany stans on Tumblr and Instagram say that the Northerners are Xenophobic, racist, and other foul names.

Now what do xenophobia and racism mean? Simple:

Xenophobia: dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries

Racism: prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior.

When in the entire season did we see the Northerners say they didn’t like the Unsullied or Dothraki because of the color of their skin? Never. When have they said they don’t like the Unsullied or Dothraki because of where they come from? Never. The Northerners have good reason not to like them. The Unsullied are mindless soldiers who take orders without question, and the Dothraki pillage, rape, and murder for sport.

But back to Jonerys. Daenerys doesn’t seem to give the Northerners a good reason to trust her. She openly says that her dragons eat “Whatever they like”, which I guarantee makes the Northerners not trust her even more. And not to mention, the Northerners haven’t forgotten what her father did to Brandon and Rickard Stark. The North Remembers.

I’ve heard Stans say that the Northerners should be grateful for Daenerys coming North to help them. I disagree.

What are two of Dany’s titles again?

Queen of the Andals and the First Men

AND

PROTECTOR OF THE REALM

It is her job. If she proclaims herself as the “Rightful Queen of the Seven Kingdoms”, then it is her duty to resolve any threat that should come to her self proclaimed “people”. It’s like in real life: don’t expect people to be grateful to you every time you do something nice for them. Especially when you’re just doing your job.

Not only that, but Daenerys openly threatens Sansa twice. Once with the “Whatever they like” line about her dragons, and the other to Jon’s face when she says “If she can’t respect me-“. Jon doesn’t even confront her about it, he just lets his slide.

If he loves his family so much, why doesn’t he defend them? Cause this isn’t the Jon Snow we know and love. This is Jon “you are my queen” Snow who is just Dany’s lap dog and a mouthpiece for stans.

Cut to episode four, where the Long Night is over and the Northerners are celebrating. Daenerys visits Jon in his room (without knocking might I add. Manners, Daenerys, manners) and asks “Are you drunk?”. Jon stumbles on his own two feet, clearly indicating that he’s drunk. After talking about Jorah and Daenerys saying that she couldn’t love him the way she loves Jon, they make out.

Why did she have to make out with him while he was drunk? It just bothered me cause Jon couldn’t refuse cause of all the alcohol. Thankfully, Jon spares me another terrible boatsex scene and remembers “Oh yeah, she’s my aunt and incest is gross”.

Daenerys then confessed that she didn’t enjoy the way people looked at Jon with such love and admiration because she never had that in the North (similarly to how Viserys was jealous of Daenerys when she got the love and praise of the Dothraki). When Jon says he doesn’t want it (another line he repeats throughout the series), she literally shouts:

“It doesn’t matter what you want!”

What a great girlfriend, am I right? Putting her own needs over her lovers and not giving a damn about his feelings. True love😒

But seriously, this whole scene just made me hate this ship even more. Daenerys outright says that her and Jon can only be together if he lies to his family and swears Bran and Sam to secrecy. She literally begs him and even fake cries to him. I know it’s fake crying, cause as soon as Jon says that he’s still gonna tell his family, Daenerys drops the pity tears and gets angry at him.

Even when he kneels in front of her and she grabs his face forcefully, it just shows the power imbalance between them. Daenerys is always above Jon, and Jon is always below Daenerys. Jaime and Brienne also did the face holding thing, but they were on the same level. They were looking directly at each other. If anything the Jonerys face hold should be compared to Cersei and Euron, when Euron kneels in front of Cersei and submits to her.

See the difference?

Now, I get into why Jonerys is like Aerys and Rhaella 2.0. Obviously, Jonerys is basically Lannicest 2.0, where one person has more power over the other, but it’s also like the Mad King and his sister-wife.

After Daenerys burns Varys (which sucked because there’s no way Varys would’ve died that easily. Thanks Tyrion😒), she talks to Jon. She says that Sansa is just as guilty of Varys’s death as she is.

Sansa literally had nothing to do with Varys’s death. She wasn’t the one who passed the sentence. Sansa only gave Tyrion valuable information cause she believed that Jon was the better ruler with the rightful claim.

Anyways, Daenerys goes onto say that she doesn’t have love in Westeros, only fear (which is true). Jon then says that he loves her, which just sounds sooo forced. Like even his face said “Oh god, why do I have to say this?” Daenaerys confronts him saying “Is that all I am to you? Your Queen?”

It then leads to the most disturbing Jonerys kiss scene I’ve ever seen. I can’t put into words just how disgusted I was

Look at him. My poor boy with this demon (no offense Daenerys. I love you but you were awful this season). He literally closes his eyes as if to say “Just let it happen Jon and it’ll be over quicker”

And take a look at this:

Jon’s just standing there letting it happen, while Daenerys waits for him to make the first move. But he doesn’t because he’s afraid of her. This is the episode where D&D claims that Jon doesn’t love Daenerys, which for me I was like:

And then they completely forgot about that and I was upset again.

Now you might be asking: how is Jonerys like Aerys and Rhaella? Well to clarify, I’m not saying their entire relationship as a whole is like that, but this particular scene reminded me of them.

Take a look at this excerpt from A Feast For Crows:

Whenever Aerys would burn somebody, he’d go to Rhaella and “take his pleasure”. And when Daenerys burned Varys, she tries to make love to Jon, which he backs off from.

Daenerys then says “Let it be fear”, almost like saying “Alright. See what happens when you reject me”. What a healthy relationship, am I right?😒

And then finally, the finale. God, this pissed me off. Why did Emilia Clarke think it was a good idea to make Daenerys giddy after she literally burned thousands of people? It just made her look truly insane. Emilia, sweety, I love you. I really do. But please don’t come and say that Jon killed Daenerys because “he hates women”. Believe me, Jon is FAR from a woman hater. And apparently he didn’t talk to her? Jon literally tried to convince Dany to ”make them understand”, but he failed.

At first when Jon yelled to Daenerys saying that she burned children alive, I was like:

I thought “Finally! I’m getting my boy back! He still has sanity left in him!” But then he had to hit me with the “You are my Queen, now and always” and I was like:

Like, they did that. They destroyed my boy and everything he stood for. They made him a mouthpiece for Dany stans and Reek 2.0. The finale was bad enough, but Jesus Christ, this broke me.

—————————————————————

Well, that was a journey. Thankfully the show is over and I can focus on my AU and not worry about leaks. I knew the finale was gonna be bad cause I read the leaks, but it’s truly something else when you experience it.

If you want me to post my version of Jon and Daenerys from “Cookies”, let me know. Or not, I’ll probably do it anyways😅

But until then, the tea has been spilled and the pot has been stirred

#game of thrones #my thoughts #fluffers speaks #anti jon x dany #anti jonerys #anti daenerys #stans dont interact #dont want melted snowflakes on my dash

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sophiamamamia · 4 years

Link

How does book Sansa Stark compare to the show’s portrayal of her?

The show completely stole her storyline.

It started in episode 1 of season 1 we see Catelyn looking exasperated and rolling her eyes at Sansa whining about wanting to marry Joffery, making it seem as if Catelyn thought Sansa silly and immature while in the book, her parents encouraged her naive worldview and her prejudices, she is praised for that. She's obsessed with decorum while on the show she's whiny and rude to her septa. They also don't ask her if she wants to marry Joffrey, they are the first to use her as a political pawn and she's happy with it for the romance of it, not because she wants the power of a queen, she never think of it. Ned is actually the one that wants to take Arya to Kingslanding so she can learn to be more ladylike (like her sister).

She has been taught that it is her job to please her husband, it's not shallow or treacherous of her, her parents put her in a difficult situation when they betrothed her to the son of someone they suspect of murder and didn't tell her anything. If Ned hadn't discovered the incest, she would be trapped with a sadistic husband who would have had good reason to hate her and her family. In the show, it's her who insist on marrying Joffrey in the pilot, making her future abuses her fault.

In the book she often spouts off random historical and literary trivia, referencing various Westeros myths, historical events, and figures such as Queen Naerys, Aemon the Dragonknight, the twin knights Ser Arryk and Ser Erryk, Baelor the Blessed and his trials walking through the snake pit, the lineage of House Tyrell and how it traces back to Garth Greenhand, the Arryn family tree, Florian and Jonquil, and Jenny of the Oldstones and Prince Duncan. Has an encyclopedic knowledge of every house and sigil in Westeros. She can also read and write better than her much older brothers, play two instruments, and eventually gets to the point where she can sniff out little plots of Littlefinger's.

Our first real opportunity to see that there is way more going on in her head than Joffrey is when she is startled by Ilyn Payne and Sandor Clegane and people are laughing at her, she turns their laughter at her into laughter with her. She gives Ser Barristan Selmy’s CV off the top of her head and identifies Renly Baratheon at a glance. She has people skills and a knowledge base. In the show, Sansa’s just flat out frightened and speaks in the smallest voice possible, she’s denied the opportunity to show off how much she knows. She doesn't appear to have any actual interests or skills beyond sewing (sometimes), eating lemon cakes, and fawning over boys.

Her abuses are diminished in the show ( Arya suffers a lot less too). In King landing, she was regularly beaten by the Kingsguards for no reason and Pycelle molested her under the pretext of a medical check-up when she is grieving over her father. She lived at the mercy of a psychopath who smiles at her before killing her father (a far more useful hostage than her). She used the little freedom she had to save a grieving mother before the riot, to help Tommen even when Joffrey threatens to kill her, she risked her life or at least being beaten bloody to save Dontos when she had nothing to gain doing it and no one else cared. She even saved Lancel who had abused her too. Ironically, Margaery is never shown to be able to manipulate Joffrey in the books, only Sansa did.

When she receives a mysterious letter under her pillow, Sansa immediately starts analyzing not just the note (“unsigned, unsealed, and the hand unfamiliar”), but possible responses. She’s aware that this could be a trap or Joffrey’s idea of a joke and burns the note immediately. What she does not do is accept it at face value. She still risked going to the meeting with a knife, and later she often met Dontos and continue to urge him to help her escape. She also cultivated a friendship with Sandor even if she chooses to not to follow him because he's too unstable, he helps Arya because of her.

When she’s beaten bloody, sexually assaulted, humiliated and threatened with a crossbow in front of a court who laughs at her, she makes the very brave decision to lie to Tyrion and refuses his protection for a better chance of escaping with Dontos. She does not want to safely wait for the victory of the Lannister in Sansa III, ACOK.

She rightly doesn’t trust anyone around her. They had her befriend Shae on the show to add to the Tyrion/Shae “romance” but that was a farce in the books and make them both seem more well-meaning towards her than they were. She bravely warned Margaery about Joffrey (it's treason to do that) but she knows in the book that they only wanted her for her claim and resigned herself to marry a cripple and planned to make him love her and raised her children to hate the Lannister. She also notices immediately that Loras has no interest in her. She doesn't regress and has a second crush on someone who doesn't like her. She’s hardly a political mastermind but in the show, she needs Shae to tell her that Tyrell might have hidden motives for wanting to meet her. In the book, she is at least suspicious of them without being told even if she drew wrong conclusions. She also carefully observes how Margaery works, trying to understand Margaery from a distance before meeting her, and she notices that Margaery did not do anything to win people's love (The Tyrell just stop cutting the food), she saw the lie under the glamour, she is much more cynical in remembering that the same crowd assaulted her without real reason too. The show keeps her incredibly naive until her marriage to Ramsay

She doesn't KNEEL when she's forced to marry one of her enemies who robbed her of her future and wanted to steal her home by killing her brother, especially since this marriage still doesn't protect her from Joffrey who molested her again and told her he’ll rape her. She gave nothing to her abusers, she hides her feelings so well that Tyrion thinks she can't lie when she does nothing else, he even wonders if she still wants Joffrey. She lives almost every moment in King’s Landing in anxiety and fear of how she will be either caught or hit or tortured or raped or killed. Sansa actively participates in planning her escape from the beginning of the 2nd book to escape King’s Landing, and Dontos expects payment in kisses.

She understands on her own that Littlefinger framed her for kingslaying, he doesn't need to explain it to her, she never trusted him and of course, the entire Vale plot was erased.

#book sansa vs show sansa #Angelique Sauvignet #interesting thoughts of interesting people #got #asoiaf

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bluh-bluh-liveblogging · 5 years

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Queer Eye - You Can’t Fix Ugly

Okay, to preface this: I don‘t like Reality TV. At all. I decided to put Queer Eye into my watchlist… because it was available, obviously queer and I‘d heard very good things about it.

I wanted to like this show, I really did! But going in, I was also very sure this was not going to be my kind of thing.

Hoo boy was I wrong about that!

Starting with the intro (just like the episode) I‘ve gotta say that I approve a helluva lot of all these rainbows and dancing guys. Very nice! The whole thing is very cute, very relatable, there‘s been a few faces and names. (Five, in fact, which I remember only because I know their group has been dubbed „Fab 5“ - they even put it on their number plate! How is that legal? I don‘t actually care!) How in hell is anybody supposed to remember so many people and faces though? Also, the intro seems a bit weirdly cut in some places? To match up their little speeches and give everyone equal screentime? Which is a good idea, but ends up a smidgen chaotic.

But it‘s VERY queer, VERY cute and I like the music! Introducing, then, the guy our actually very well put-together motley crew is out to fix! His routine and those interactions with the diner lady, as well as his own introduction itself, feel very staged. Then again, this IS a TV show. Everything is staged; it has to be.

It‘s both obvious that his daughter is the one who actually made Tom (yassss got the name) apply to this and she also seems to be the driving force behind this endeavour.

Then again, it‘s not like Tom himself doesn‘t realize he has a problem! He seems very willing to trust the Fab V with his life and it‘s sweet how he‘s looking forward to the new him! (Inciting factors for him wanting to change right now are… his grandson? Also his loneliness? And uh… him being too settled in his own routines and not knowing how to escape them? Let‘s see how that holds up later.)

Oh, that title-drop tho! They are not being subtle here! „You can‘t fix ugly“ seems to be set up as a statement that, at the same time is easily disproven and perceived by many to be true, making it an ambitious, great set-up for a first episode. Good job, show-runners! I also like the implication that by choosing to emphasise this statement as the one that needs to be torn out by the roots, they take a firm stance against letting genetic disposal (meaning something that one has no input in) dictate one‘s life and self-image. In the meantime, between fantastic shots of rural Georgia, the Gays are getting ready in the car – and I sense a theme here. To be fair, mostly because of all the car gifs that I‘ve seen on the internet. They can‘t possibly all come from this one episode. But still, I sense it in my bones.

Holy shit, I do love the ROMEOS! It‘s such a nice and self-humouring name! And I love how supportive all these old people are of the good dude. Is it too much to ask to have such a nice circle of friends to grow old with? Evidently not!

Just as evidently, they are also not afraid to give Tom shit, like, at all. They are brutally honest, in fact. And they do have very strong opinions on him needing to get his act together.

Why the constant reiteration of relationship issues, though? Isn‘t there another angle they could push? I mean, it‘s obvious that he‘s lonely and needs someone to share his life with and a girlfriend/wife would do him worlds of good… but why does EVERYONE instantly jump on that?

Seriously, jumping forward to the apartment inspection a bit, the main point every single person seems to consider is relationship and sex stuff. It does make me uncomfortable – not the relationship stuff itself, that‘s adorable, more that it‘s the one thing that, in the blink of an eye, becomes the focus of the whole episode. It‘s teased already, with the goal of the makeover being to make Tom a new and better Tom until the car show. Where he is going to take „a special person“. Maybe. But of course, there needs to be a tangible goal, to actually see some results. Aside from that, it is very cute to see the Gays play around with his stuff – Jonathan using the hair-dryer to blow his luscious locks around? And then picking out the… whatever that thing is supposed to be. A robe? Personally, I would probably murder anyone who‘d put their hands all over my stuff like that – but then again, that‘s what they were invited to do! It doesn‘t feel disrespectful either, the way they just have fun with his stuff and tease Tom about it. (To be honest, though, it was kind of surprisingly clean and everything? Except for the reclining chair of course, I do get why they were so grossed out by that thing… Not much of a revelation, then, that Tom had very little to do with the decoration of his own apartment. Which is obviously a problem! Hearing Tom talk, it is very obvious that he‘s never taken the time to shake off some of the influence his past relationships have had on him. Of course, you don‘t need to completely reinvent yourself once you break up with your partner; or the reverse. But even if Tom doesn‘t see it that way, he does tend to hang on to things that don‘t belong to his current life anymore. Having the Fab 5 rearrange his house will certainly help him have a space completely independent from past and evidently failed marriages…)

The pyjama was really cute though! I don‘t get why Tan jumped on it so viciously as a sex-killer – sure, it‘s NOT sexy, but it shows that the wearer doesn‘t hang on too much to a constructed self-image? Then again, Tom already radiated putting zero thought in his appearance at all times anyway. Good call, maybe. It is a pity that the dude doesn‘t take advantage of what he already possesses, though. Forgoing any kind of interesting in favour of comfortable and I‘m glad the Gays are there to show him that you can have both. (Even if that‘s the quintessential bisexual experience… shutting up, now!)

The skin care tips are very helpful and I like how they don‘t even give Tom a chance to blame everything on his lupus and instead show him ways to make flare-ups easier to circumvent and ease. And yeah, the beard does show potential. Not into it as much as Jonathan and Tan (?) seem to be, but… it`s good? Obviously a point of pride for Tom, too.

Oh, so that is what they meant with „culture“! Karamo is there for the psychological aspect of it all, for interpersonal relationships and the way he presents himself. Focussing on the dating website profile seems to make sense, then. Albeit the fact that it is rendered almost unimportant by the revelation occurring… in the kitchen?

How come the ONE conversation that didn‘t involve dating issues from the start derailed SO HARD into the big revelation? OF COURSE, after this there‘s no going back from that angle – the goal is now to woo a woman… that already loves him? And he loves her too?

Why the FUCK did they divorce though??? WHAT IS GOING ON WITH ABBY???

Very nice ending for the day: everybody tries the Redneck Margharita!

„Who doesn‘t love mountain dew? Who doesn‘t love margaritas?“

(Cue spluttering and dramatic puking noises)

„That shit was gross AF!“ Didn‘t think it was gonna be any good :/ All of the Fab 5 simultaneously screaming „you need to stop saying that“ whenever Tom‘s title-mantra comes up gives me life, btw. (Also, what DOES „snatched“ mean? Isn‘t it just like… SNATCHED? Help? Is there another secret slang meaning there?)

Second day! And they are ritually getting rid of The Chair, which, good for Tom! Very nice how they pulled this off!

Also great is how every bit of sexism and homophobia is addressed within seconds and murdered, but gently! It is both gratifying to see that being brought up in the show and very nice how Tom is willing to work on his attitude and internalized prejudices – a bit uncomfortable, but wholesome! Mattress shopping surely is not the most important thing in the world, but you sleep on those things every day… so you better get something that actually makes you feel good! Introducing the memory foam for back problems is very helpful and it‘s wonderful to see how much thought the Gays put into accommodating Tom‘s ailments – as they should! But back issues etc are not often approached with the care they demand and here, they are! Beautiful interactions between the Fab 5 themselves, too! The birth-reenactment was hilarious!

The vintage clothing store is looking good – great decoration and everything, but the best thing about this is that they‘re not actually buying much. Actually, the cap thingie might have been the only thing they bought? And it does make him look so much more sophisticated! It‘s really good that they‘re not replacing his whole wardrobe though – just giving him the means to shop for clothing that he‘ll look good in any time. (Everything is so cute!) (Isn‘t he wearing a reddish pink shirt right now? Wouldn‘t that also have to go into the „not your friend“-pile?) The makeover cleanses my soul. A new haircut! Better beard! All of this is such an upgrade and he looks so much better with just these relatively small changes! (Let‘s just hope he‘ll keep this up afterwards too?) Everybody complimenting him the second they lay eyes on him is both well-deserved and – repeating myself here – so very sweet. (I‘ll have to interrupt myself here, though – what. The fuck. Is going on with Antoni‘s smile? Who allowed him to have that??? Like, every single member of the Fab 5 is incredible. But this guy‘s smile? Divine. I don‘t do crushes on random celebrities – still don‘t – but hell if I didn‘t just fucking FALL IN LOVE with that smile. What even) The most interesting part by far is Karamo‘s, though – and it‘s comparably short, but holy hell if Tom ain‘t just calling Abby. Hoo boy, he‘s very forward and she seems to have no clue what‘s coming… aaaand she said yes! Awesome!

(Realistically, she must have signed all sorts of waivers to appear on this show and can‘t have been too surprised at what is happening here – but the conversation is also very short. Not a lot to analyze, there…) This point in the episode was when I felt a slight tinge in my cheekbones and realized that I was smiling; had been for a long time, actually. Thus began my descent into really loving this show that I so far have only seen one episode of. Oh well.

House reveal! House is amazing! Prepared Looks are amazing! The food, the body care, the beard care – everything is amazing! Tom‘s daughter reacting to all of that is just awwwww and my teeth are dissolving from all this sweetness! The grandson doesn‘t look too happy, but why would he?

Jonathan is just a reaction gif trapped in human form, I have no idea how many #relatable things he‘s said in this episode alone, but I believe that may be cuz it‘s been too many to count. ...and now everybody‘s crying, they‘re all saying goodbye – but there‘s still a fair chunk of the episode left? What… is going on? Of course! The car show! And of course, Tom has to do this alone, has to use the resources he‘s been given and prove his mettle!

Meanwhile, the Fab 5 are watching and commenting from afar. Golly, they can be mean though… I mean, yeah, there are a few hiccups with the outfit choice! (And the green stick thing. But he eventually found his nose!) In the end, though, BY GOLLY does Tom show that he hasn‘t forgotten everything. Even though he sticks with his most comfortable option. That‘s okay, buddy! Still need to have an ace in the sleeve for the next date(s)! That‘s the car show – is this the first time since his magical girl transformation that Tom actually meets his peers? They seem appropriately surprised and in awe. Every single one of these (tbf not that) old guys looks so happy to see their friend thrive and I‘m here for it! Holy crap, that‘s Abby! She‘s so pretty, what‘s up with that? Naaaawww that is cute. Gotta hand it to Tom, he may be incredibly unsubtle, but slick. Very slick.

Then again, as Abby, according to earlier in the episode, already loves him anyway, I don‘t think she requires that much persuasion? We‘ve got the upcoming dinner date and the „his and her“ space and it ends on a very positive note. All of this is culminating in Tom and Abby awkwardly getting closer – but the best thing?

The Fab 5 reacting to this ordeal! Why is this so lovely? Also, Antoni, put that smile away, I swear to all that is sparkly! (jk pls don‘t lol)

All in all, this first episode was surprisingly enjoyable, lovely to the nth degree and I think I might be addicted. Even the outro is a thing of beauty! Thanks for the concept explanation, the margarita tips and more impromptu dancing!

Actually, thanks for this whole show! I shall now scour the deepest edges of the internet for numerous flashes of Antoni‘s smile, and reappear to the surface only when but the grainiest snapshot remains untouched by my hungry eyes.

Goodnight.

#queer eye #fab 5 #gay #episode review #first episode #noooo but why is this so good #wanna watch more #this is my new comfort series #low effort watching #great satisfaction #very gay #very queer in general #in conclusion #absolute gem

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zombies-apocalypse · 5 years

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My final thoughts on The Lizzie Bennet Diaries

For those that don’t know, I’m a big fan of Pride and Prejudice. It’s one of my all-time favourite stories and while I always tend to like the adaptations, I’m not completely blind to the flaws within them.

So sit with me a minute while I go into my thoughts and opinions of this series as well as a bit of comparison to the original source material.

This will be a bit long, so I’ll tuck it under a read more.

Spoilers below in case you haven’t seen it. Then again, I don’t think I thought to tag any of my liveblogging about this show with my spoiler tag so...

For the same of brevity, not that this post will have much of that, I’ll refrain from being too longwinded on ALL the characters and try to keep it together as much as I can. I’ve already rewritten several sections of what’s below long before I scrolled up to add this bit.

Mr and Mrs Bennet

We never get to see the both of them, though we catch a glimpse of Mrs Bennet at the very end. Most of our view of them is slanted, portrayed through their biased daughter but they felt legit. We still got a good sense of who they were as people and it felt like they were the Mr and Mrs Bennet I’ve always known.

Jane

Sweet cinnamon roll. Jane has always been a favourite of mine. Sweet, kind, sees the best in everyone, and forgiving. Jane is always this beacon of bright and the portrayal of her in TLBD is on point. Supportive, bringing tea, offering advice and companionship, and sending care packages even if she’s hurting. That’s Jane, alright, through and through.

And then intro new Jane. In the novel Jane does rise above her pain of Bingley’s departure, but not quite like this. In TLBD we see a Jane come out of her heartache that could have lived happily without him. A Jane who better knew herself and despite knowing that sometimes things don’t always work out, still had hopes for the future. I really loved getting to see the post-breakup Jane and watching her from there until the very end.

Bingley (Bing Lee)

The show’s portrayal of Bing is charming and funny and sweet. Everything that Bingley is and should be. Even when he left, you never once doubted that he was a great guy and a complete sweetheart but let’s face it - Bingley has always been a wee bit of a dumbass. He, like Jane, sees the best in people and as such can be a bit naive and that comes true with his belief that the dairies were letters to Charlotte for so long along with him letting Darcy and Caroline step inbetween him and Jane.

But the whole storyline with him quitting med school, deciding that was not what he wanted in his life. I loved that added touch. I loved seeing a Bingley who decided to stand on his own feet, to make his own decisions. He was still a cinnamon roll and a hopeless romantic, but he was wiser by the end.

Lydia

Ahh, Lydia. In the book we see Lydia as a bit of a dumbass - a girl naive of the truth of men, of the world. A girl distracted by music and dancing and parties and vanity. In this series we see this too. Lydia who barges in and tries to steal the spotlight. Lydia who goes out partying whether she’s old enough to or not. Lydia who flirts with all the boys

We see that and then we see her grow in the webseries. We see her anger and pain when Lizzie tries to tell her to grow up. We see her barely holding herself together when she finds out the truth about Wickham (something she never did in the original) and the dam falls to show the truth - to reveal a girl who never felt like she was good enough for anyone and who hurts because the one person she believed thought she was good enough, someone she thought loved her, betrayed her so horribly. Then seeing her cling to her sister sobbing, seeing them work on their relationship, culminating in her consideration before barging into frame and the final gift to her sister.

And one of the greatest things is that Lydia didn’t end up married to an asshole who never loved her. <3 YAY!

I have to say, I loved what the webseries did with her.

Kitty

In the novels Kitty is Lydia’s shadow. Lydia 2.0 who follows in her slightly older sister’s footsteps. Honestly, it doesn’t bother me one bit that Kitty is an actual cat in the webseries. The only thing we really lose is Kitty backing up any of Lydia’s schemes and whims.

Mary

Mary was pushed further into the background than she was in the books and that’s not saying much. I’m sure I’d have more of an opinion on her if I had watched Lydia’s vlogs. (Which I likely will soon enough.)

I did like what I saw of her. Serious Mary given some depth so that she was more than just a somber figure.

Charlotte

I gushed over Charlotte a bit with this series. Okay, I did it a lot. Charlotte was always such a footnote in the original novel - her only bit of importance being that she was Lizzie’s friend and later Mr Collin’s wife. We don’t even get much time with her in there and, well, her friendship with Lizzie hardly compared with Lizzie and Jane’s friendship.

But in this show. THIS SHOW. Charlotte was given depth, her simple ambitions (to marry well so she could live well) expanded. Her talent. Her nuances. The fact that we actually got to see her, time and time again, be a friend to Lizzie. The fight between her and Lizzie, the discomfort in being treated as a sidekick, in Lizzie’s selfishness... Them making up and her showing up in the rain for their birthday. Also I loved that instead of her marrying Mr Collin’s she ended up taking over C&C, something which she rightfully deserved.

I just... I loved it. I loved this portrayal of Charlotte and I don’t think I’ve ever loved a portrayal of Charlotte before.

I considered giving Caroline, Fitz, Catherine, Mr Collins, and Annie their own section but I decided against it. Although tweaked to fit with modern times, each character felt like they fit their original roles and really did not deviant that far from their original characterization save for offering Caroline some depth by pointing out her actions were partially motivated by fear of losing those closest to her.

Wickham

Wickham gets his own section so I can say, once more, that I hate him.

The webseries did an excellent job adapting him to the modern story and still making him charming and, at heart, a complete jerkwad. God, do I hate him.

Gigi

We don’t get that much time with Darcy’s little sister in the book, but what we do fits with what we know of her. Darcy praises his sister, who he practically raised, and it’s well-earned. She’s just lovely and quiet and...

And this version isn’t exactly quiet and I love it. Not only did they age her up, but they levelled her relationship with her brother. They actually feel like siblings, especially with her ploys to push him and Lizzie together. She is every bit the accomplished and kind girl we knew in the book, but she’s young and excited and clever (and not very good at hiding that she has ulterior motives) and I adored her.

And this brings us to Darcy and Lizzie themselves. My favourite pair. My favourite gentleman and my favourite lady. One of the things I have always loved about Pride and Prejudice is reading and seeing the growth of these two characters and this show delivered on that.

I also loved that Darcy was still the Gentleman I knew him to be. The one who took Lizzie’s scathing rejection with as much grace as he could, who gave her the letter to tell his side of the Wickham story, and then left her in peace to make her own choices about it. The same Darcy who came to Lydia’s rescue out of love for Lizzie without ever expecting anything in return - not even her thanks. The same Darcy who expresses his love once more, but leaves the power in Lizzie’s hands to decide.

I just... That was always something I loved and still love about Mr Darcy. It’s something that keeps me returning to the same story over and over and over again. A gentleman who puts the needs and wants of the people he cares about over his own needs and wants. A gentleman who does the best he can for the people he cares about, even if that was a mistake (like with Jane and Bingley).

And then we have Lizzie. Judgmental, rash, intelligent, and stubborn Lizzie. Another character portrayed so well. The added storyline of her own personal growth in her life, her finding out what she wanted to do with her life, her own relationships with her family and friends being given more thought... I enjoyed that quite a bit. I’ve always loved Lizzie’s wit and backbone.

I’ve always loved reading and watching the pair grow more thoughtful, more empathetic towards others. Seeing them grow to see people beyond the wall of their prides and and prejudices.

So TLDR; The Lizzie Bennet Diaries are a delight to watch and a wonderful adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. While it may not be a hundred percent faithful to the novel, it’s faithful at it’s core and heart. I dare to say this is one of the best versions of Pride and Prejudice that I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching.

#zombie watches TLBD #the lizzie bennet diaries #THERE ARE SOME SPOILERS HERE FOR THOSE WHO MIGHT NOT HAVE WATCHED THIS SHOW

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the-demelza-robins · 6 years

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A Hogwarts Reunion 2/2

Request: None

Words: 2k

Pairings: Hermione/Draco, Harry/Ginny

A/N: Here’s part two. Requests are open!

PART 1

The day of the reunion came much faster than Hermione would've liked. Soon, she found herself and her family standing in front of the doors to the Great Hall, where sounds of chatter and music were filtering through. "How do you want to do this?" Draco whispered to her.

"I don't know," the woman admitted.

"You can start by walking in," Scorpius said, already irritated. "It can't be as bad as you think.”

Before Hermione was going to remind her son that it could very well be as bad as she had imagined, the door to the Great Hall opened and light spilled into the room. Hermione watched as her husband pulled their children into the shadows along with him, leaving her standing in the doorway alone. She'd curse him later for doing that.

"Who is that?"

"That can't be..."

"Hermione Granger. She's been missing for years, right?"

"I thought she was dead."

"Obviously she's not."

"Who cares?"

The voices overlapped, and Hermione felt too many eyes on her. Memories from the room overcame her. The last time she was here, Lupin, Tonks, Fred, and countless others hand been lying, unmoving, on the ground...

And now everyone was here... laughing? Talking? Why weren't they mourning? The fact that she'd never really mourned their deaths - throwing herself into work had been her chosen distraction - hit her hard. How would she survive this?

Before she could back out, however, she heard a voice. "Merlin, it's actually her! Hey, Hermione! Hermione, over here!" Hermione looked in the direction the voice had been calling her from and her heart stopped. Sure enough, it was Harry Potter - older, yes, and with thicker glasses, a faded scar, and salt-and-pepper hair - but still recognizable to his former best friend. And next to him, a woman with a round belly, red hair, and a teary smile - Ginny Weasley, all grown up - waved.

A few feet away, Ron Weasley stood, looking shocked. Somehow, his eyes didn't seem as light as they did before, his face not as handsome. Seeing him again reinforced to Hermione what she'd known for eighteen years: she was over him. Completely.

Smiling genuinely (and swallowing the lump in her throat), the witch walked over to the group. As soon as she was close enough, Ginny rushed over and enveloped her friend in a hug. "It is really you, isn't it?" she whispered once she'd finally pulled away.

Hermione nodded, blinking away a wetness in her eyes. "Yes, it's me."

Harry came next, a weight seeming to lift off his shoulders. "I've been looking all over for you," he said, a small bit of bitterness in his voice.

"So I've heard," the woman said apologetically. Well, she hadn't expected that her friends wouldn't ask her any questions and be totally fine with her abandoning them without so much as an owl explaining why. Still, the underlying accusatory tones in her former best friend's voice hurt more than she thought they would. "Trust me, I had good reason to."

"What was it?"

"My parents," Hermione said slowly, keeping her sight trained on the window. "I went to go see them, to restore their memories. I - I wasn't good enough. The spell was too advanced, and they didn't recognize me. They didn't recognize their own daughter. I failed them. The brightest witch of her age failed," she finished bitterly.

"Hermione, it's not your fault -"

"It was my fault!" she said, snapping her head back up to face the two. "It absolutely was, that I wasn't strong enough, wasn't good enough! I couldn't come back and face all of you, knowing that. I moved to America."

"America?" Ginny asked.

The witch nodded. "I met my husband there. We'd gone to Hogwarts together, but he didn't expect as much from me. He helped restore my parents' memories, and they moved to America with us. I got a job at - "

Harry's brow furrowed. "Your husband?"

"What husband?" Ron asked, walking over. Barely acknowledging Harry, he turned to Hermione brusquely. "You have a husband?"

"Ronald Bilius Weasley! You haven't seen your friend in eighteen years and the first thing you ask is who her husband is?" Ginny snapped, reminding Hermione of Ms. Weasley. Apparently Ron saw the resemblance as well, because he backed off. "Er - hello, Hermione."

"Hi, Ron." Hermione could feel Ron's eyes searching her face, almost as if he'd find clues to her spouse's identity there. "As I was saying, I got a job at MCUSA - "

"What?" Ginny, Harry, and Ron all chorused at once.

"Magical Congress of the United States of America," Hermione said impatiently, smiling despite herself. She was glad to be back among her friends, glad to be filling in holes of knowledge that had surely grown to be too wide throughout her absence. "I've been working there ever since."

"And what does your husband do?" Ron asked suspiciously.

"He works at the Ministry."

"Trans-Continental Apparition! He must be a powerful wizard," Ginny said breathlessly.

Hermione's smile grew wider. "Yes, he is."

"Oi! Look, Malfoy just entered," Ron snickered, his narrowed eyes looking somewhere over Hermione's shoulder. She followed his line of sight to see Draco walking into the Great Hall with Rose and Scorpius in tow. "Even found a witch stupid enough to have some tiny Malfoys with him. They must be just like their father."

Hermione turned to Ron, his words sparking boiling anger within her. "What did you just say?"

The wizard looked at her face and seemed to lose some of his conviction. "I said ... Malfoy just entered. And that he has kids. I wonder who he married?”

Ginny, seeing Hermione’s expression, tugged on her brother’s sleeve. “Ron, maybe we shouldn’t -”

Eighteen years ago, Hermione Jean Granger would’ve let those she loved be insulted. But Hermione Malfoy would not stand for it.

“Those are my children, Ron. And if the ‘brightest witch of her age’ is stupid in your eyes, then I can’t imagine how you compare.”

Too much? Probably. But seeing Ron had caused anger to boil in her stomach. She’d chosen to forget about all his shortcomings while she was away, letting herself instead recall fondly the moments when he wasn’t being insufferable.

The circle of friends was silent for a moment. Then, Harry spoke up. "Well, congratulations, Hermione."

"Thank you," the witch said, feeling something inside her relax. Harry was okay. Harry wasn't going to flip out.

Ron, however..."Wait... Malfoy isn't your husband, is he?"

"Yes, he is." Hermione said, redirecting her attention towards the second-youngest Weasley.

"You married..."

"Yes," Hermione said stiffly.

"How was the wedding?" Ginny asked brightly. She didn't quite manage to hide all of her surprise, but the other witch appreciated the effort.

"Is he treating you okay?" Harry asked suddenly. "Called you -"

"No," Hermione said firmly. "He stopped the blood-prejudice business after the war. Believe me, I would not have married him if he hadn't.”

"Good," the Boy Who Lived said awkwardly.

A girl, about nine years old in Hermione's eyes, wandered up to the silent group. Tapping Ginny's arm, she said, "James says I can't eat the cake or all my teeth will fall out."

"You can eat the cake as long as you eat real food first," Ginny said sternly. "Ignore James."

"Okay," the girl said, flashing everyone smile before walking away. "Thanks, mum."

"What about you guys?" Hermione asked breathlessly, looking at the girl who was now back at the buffet table. "Sounds like you've been busy."

Harry grinned. "Yes, we have. That was Lily. Albus..." he looked around the room for a couple of seconds. "Probably reading outside. And James..." he sent a helpless glance towards his wife.

"James is with Hugo - that’s Ron’s kid," Ginny explained. "Probably terrorizing the children brave enough to get close to him." She took a breath and then looked back at Hermione. "But we love him, though. He's going to be in his third year."

"Oh, congratulations, Hermione said. "Albus will be in the same year as Scorpius."

"Scorpius?"

"My son. He's with Draco on the other side of the room."

"Are you guys seriously okay with this?" Ron thundered suddenly. "Hermione - she disappears for twenty years, comes back marrying a snake, our enemy all through Hogwarts, and you act like it's all okay?"

"Obviously they're not completely okay with it, Ron, but they're trying, which is more than I can say for you. I left for a long time, yes, but maybe it was because I didn't want to see certain people!"

Ron sputtered for a retort. "Who can be so horrible that you suspended all communications with your whole world for three years?"

"Ron, let's calm down," Harry said. "I think you're being a little unfair."

"She left us! You can't deny you're not at least a little upset with her for it. She started a new life, having nothing to do with us. Not one owl! Not one note! And you, Harry, who's been keeping your workers late for years looking for her... Imagine what a fool you'll look like when the news gets out that she just strolled into the Hogwarts reunion!"

Hermione could tell that this had not occurred to Harry. Panicking slightly as the bubble of happiness she'd built for herself upon seeing her friends again completely burst, she turned to him, "Harry, I'm so sorry. I don't expect any of you guys to fully understand or forgive me for leaving you all like that. But I'm here now and, if it's okay with all of you, I'd like to see you guys more. It really means a lot to me just to be standing here."

"Who was the person you didn't want to see, then?" Ron said irritably.

"You," the witch said. "You kissed me during the Battle of Hogwarts and I was so confused. I was in love with you, Ron. When I left I got owls from Harry, Ginny, George, even Ms. Weasley - none from you. I didn't think you'd want to see me." She sighed deeply before continuing. "Then I met Draco...

“Anyway, I got over you pretty quickly after that. But the notion of coming back here, and facing you and everyone else? Knowing I'd failed with my parents and married the Hogwarts student you despised most? It terrified me."

"Oh, Hermione," Ginny said. "You're always welcome at our house. I fully forgive you."

"Thanks," the woman said. "It truly means the world."

"I forgive you too," Harry added. "Ginny's already invited you to our house, but I'll extend the invitation to - your, er, family. Including your spouse, if he ever wants to come."

"Thank you. I'll pass along the message, though I won't force you guys to meet again. I don't think that'd be good for anyone."

"I think you're right," Ginny chuckled. "Ron?"

"Forget it," Ron spat. "I'm not going to pretend that the last eighteen years never happened. Goodbye, Hermione."

He left.

Hermione couldn't convince herself that what he thought didn't matter. Even though she was no longer in love with him, he'd still been her best friend. To have him hate her now was painful. "He'll come around," Ginny said almost threateningly.

"It's fine," the other said, feeling her eyes get slightly wet. Then, she spotted Rose across the room, looking bored. Brightening, she turned back to the others - her friends - and said, "Do you want to meet my kids?"

Soon after Albus and Scorpius had walked off together, deep in conversation, Draco approached the group. Harry immediately reached for his wand, but the man thankfully ignored him. Instead, he turned to his wife. "Rose is becoming hysterical. I think it's time for us to head out."

"Okay," Hermione said. She looked back at her friends. "It was really nice seeing you."

Ginny nodded. "Agreed. Expect an owl soon. And many, many visits." Draco's eyes only slightly narrowed at that prospect. Sensing the motion, Ginny turned to him. "You better take good care of her, Malfoy."

With this, he smirked. "I have been for the last eighteen years. Why stop now?"

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bitletsanddrabbles · 6 years

Note

Not a ship, but characters: Elsie Hughes or Cora? Carson or Robert?

First off, and this is very important, I really love all of these characters. Truly. I would have been really upset if anything had happened to any of them. I say this, because I'm about to rag on one of them a bit. I will likely use words that, in our time period, are considered near-obscenities. This is not from dislike, but rather an academic examination of their faults, using proper language.

Secondly, I will undoubtedly refer to the shooting scripts with commentary by Julian Fellows. I bought the one for first season as reference for my fan fiction and bought seasons two and three because I loved the commentary so much! I am seriously beyond annoyed that the later seasons aren't available, in no small part because I suspect it would shed light on the problem of Henry's personality. Anyway, they're great and I highly recommend them.

Next, I apologize for any massive grammatical errors, logic jumps, and other such communication glitches. I don't really intend to spend hours revising this, and I suspect my eyes will be crossing by the end.

And lastly, get comfortable. Get some tea, maybe a snack. Use the loo. Make sure you have no urgent appointments.

You will be here awhile.

In fact, in the interest of not taking up your entire dashboard, here. Have a 'keep reading' cut.

Mrs. Hughes vs. Lady Grantham is a difficult call because they're ultimately such similar and yet different characters. They're both involved in running the estate, but Mrs. Hughes is more involved with the back end schematics and Lady Grantham is more involved in presentation to society as a whole. Some would consider Mrs. Hughes's job more important, and ultimately it might be, but at the turn of the century Lady Grantham's job was not to be underestimated, by any means. She was essentially the sales, marketing, and public representation departments all wrapped into one person. Mrs. Hughes was production.

They are also bother nurturing to their 'families': Cora to her daughters and husband and Mrs. Hughes to her staff. They both do this well.

At the end of the day, having to choose, it becomes a call between Cora's growth as a character, which is interesting, and Mrs. Hughes's stability as a character, which is necessary to allow the movement of everyone else. Steady anchor points are often overlooked in stories, but they are terribly important to keep things moving along and stop them from devolving into a three ring circus. While I enjoy Cora's growth immensely, I think I'm going to have to choose Mrs. Hughes for this one. Downton really would fall apart without her, even if her husband doesn't want to admit it.

Which brings us to the easy choice: Robert.

Hands down Robert.

Charles Carson is an entertaining and enjoyable character. As a human being, he is a basically good man, but is an unfortunate product of his society. Very unfortunate. He is, by dictionary definition (see here) a bigot. He's rarely willing to change his opinion on things, sometimes flat out refusing. Despite his protests to the contrary, he's rarely sympathetic with anyone. He doesn't realize how much the firm structure he requires for comfort hurts others and will deny it when pointed out unless something really, astonishingly bad happens. You know, like one of his underlings trying to kill himself.

When not being asked to choose characters, I'm willing to overlook all of this to a certain degree, because he is human and he does try. The harm he causes is almost entirely unintentional, and when it is intentional, it's generally caused by the belief that he needs to be firm to be a good leader. Show them who's in charge, allow no shenanigans, etc. This is how he was trained. It also hurts him as much as it hurts everyone else. I mean, who else is actively leery of having fun?

No, generally Mr. Carson is a curmudgeon whose bark is worse than his bite and, along with his wife, I love him for his good points and despite his copious glaring faults.

Robert Crawley still easily wins.

People really like to go on about Robert's faults and his prejudice. After all, he is a "privileged white man" and our society hates those. We don't want to understand them. Papers can (and have) been written about how prejudiced Robert is.

The thing is, and what I find more important, is how prejudiced Robert isn't. Seriously, for a privileged white guy at the turn of the twentieth century, he could be far, far worse (see Larry Grey). Here, let's take a look at a few things, shall we?

We'll start with something very general. We'll start with his response to change. There sure is a lot of it in this show! And let's be honest, change is stressful. A lot of people don't handle it well. It's actually quite understanding that Robert's not fond of it. Up until that time period, things had moved around rather slowly. There would be the occasional war or medical discovery. There were always new fashions. That 'industrial revolution' thing had happened and things had started going faster, but compared to today's world when a phone you've had for a year is an old model, time might as well have stood still.

Robert still handles this change with relative grace for his age and station. Okay, Matthew and Tom, both being younger, from more hands-on view points, and more in touch with the world handle it better, but Carson and Lady Violet both handle it worse. Especially Carson. Robert handles it like a horse who has had something new suddenly introduced to the paddock: he shies, he bucks, he might run a bit or kick out a time or two, but if you slowly lead him back around to this strange thing enough times, he eventually figures out "Oh, hey. This thing isn't really a big deal after all, is it?" And he accepts it - embraces it even, in some cases - and moves on.

This brings us to the first point of actual prejudice and the one he is most undeniably guilty of, classism. First off, people ignore the fact that classism runs both ways. Miss Bunting was probably the single most classist bigot of the show, followed by the Sinderby's butler, then Lady Violet (who, according to every poll I've seen, is the most popular character in the show). Robert's classism (as with most of his prejudice, honestly) is institutionalized rather than personal which doesn't make it okay, but does make it easier to understand and fight once it's attacked in a rational manner. In other words, yes, he pitched an ever loving fit when Sybil married the chauffeur, but he got over it. He went from "you will have no money!" to "...okay, you haven't asked for it, but the money thing can happen" far faster than Carson went from "I will not dress the former chauffeur!" to accepting "Branson is part of the family now”. Carson also didn't have the excuse of feeling like his daughter was actively being taken away from him, off to a different country, a different life, and that he had somehow failed as a parent, which is undoubtedly how Robert felt.

Admittedly, once started, it wasn't all forward progress, but the hiccups there were tended to be fairly legitimate. Grief over Sybil's death combining with the last vestiges of feeling like Branson had taken his daughter away from him. Finding out his son-in-law had abandoned his pregnant daughter in hostile territory after helping to burn down someone's house. I mean I understand why Branson was doing what he was doing, but having an arsonist in the house is something to worry about!

The other thing to note about this is that while Robert definitely believes in the class structure and holds to it and sees himself at the top, he actually values the people below him. The reason Mrs. Patmore was so panicked about her failing vision in season one and so relieved when Robert sent her for surgery rather than turn her out with a meager pension is because so many people wouldn't have. It would have been "thank you for your services, good luck" and that would be that. He sees employing people and making it so they can have a wage his job and when he started not being able to pay a competitive wage or replace people when they quit, he saw it as a personal failure. His decision had created the underbutler position and I don't think he was really happy to have to do away with it (and, observant and in touch with things as he isn't, I am positive he didn't realize how pushy Carson was being about the whole thing. I doubt he would have liked it). He shows up at everyone's weddings. His perception is skewed, but his heart is in the right place.

And speaking of Miss Bunting, there is the point of his not being able to produce Daisy's name on demand. He doesn't deal with Daisy on a regular basis, so he would absolutely be less aware of her than he would be of, say, Carson or the personal staff. However, he did attend her wedding and she has been there for fifteen years. So what makes more sense - that he honestly doesn't know her name or that he straight up blanked on it? I think the second. After all, I once spent probably fifteen minutes all told unable to remember the name of my oldest cousin. He knew her at her wedding, he certainly knew her at the auction in season six and after!, I'm pretty sure when not being put on the spot by someone aggressively vilifying him to his face, he'd do a bit better.

The next big prejudice covered by the show is religion. This is one Robert has, but not in the way you would expect. In a society that could be very anti-Semitic, he doesn't give a flying fig if you're Jewish. His father-in-law was a Jew. Lady Rose married a Jewish boy and there's no indication of disapproval from Robert what so ever. He does have a problem with Catholics and that, Julian Fellows explains, was largely a point of national patriotism. England, as a whole, did not trust a religion that answered to an Italian instead of the Kng. It was seen as something of a conflict of interest. Again, this doesn't make it alright, but it makes it understandable within the context of the society (especially when your Catholic son-in-law burnt down someone's house) and was really more political than anything.

There were more issues at play with Sybbie's being Catholic, of course. There was that whole grieving thing, again the lingering feeling that Branson had taken Sybil away, etc. As usual, though, once it was clear he was outnumbered and the change was happening, Robert set aside fears that his granddaughter might go burning houses if that Italian guy thought it was a good idea and got on with life.

(Seriously, this really does seem to be comparable, at least in the mindset of the English, to a modern day Englishman following the president of a different country rather than the Queen. Not necessarily terrible, but potentially so, especially if war breaks out and the two countries are suddenly on opposing sides. Treason is a thing that can be kinda messy.)

Then there's sexism. I honestly think Robert gets way more flack for this than he truly deserves. It's not that he isn't sexist at all (again, institutionalized sexism), but that most of his worst offenses are actually a combination of his being legitimately not-super-observant and the aforementioned "horse in paddock" syndrome. He is used to his family behaving in a certain way. He is also, as with Cora, part of the sales/marketing/pr department. He is concerned about what the neighbors think because he is expected to and people in this day and age just don't get how important that was. The thought that his family would be seen poorly was not just a threat to him and his masculine pride, but to them and their opportunities in life. A lot of his keeping them at home was honestly trying to protect them, even if it was also underestimating their abilities, and really - they were just discovering their abilities! How was he supposed to know all about it?

Suddenly the war happened and his wife and daughters started behaving differently. He was legitimately confused, and no wonder! Can you see season one Mary slopping pigs? Can you see season one Edith running a magazine? People really did think that things would go 'back to normal' after the war, but they didn't. The women in his life started moving without warning and left him struggling to cope with the unexpected change.

Once he circled back around enough times to realize this big, scary change really wasn't big or scary, he was proud of them. He was proud of Mary for taking on the task of agent. Heck, he was practically proud of her for growing up enough to have an affair with Tony Gillingham! He accepted Marigold without batting an eyelash and got to the point where he was pleased to call Edith an "interesting woman". He was really, really proud of Cora after Rose lured him, carrot in hand, to the hospital! He had never been more proud or the woman he loved.

And he loved her. She was the pillar holding him steady, and that is not just a pretty turn of phrase. One thing our society that has not changed one whit in the past hundred years is that men are supposed to be emotionally dependent on the women they are intimate with. There is huge pressure put on men to have a girlfriend or to be married, and it's not all machismo and Mummy dearest wanting grand kids, it's "this is the person you should talk to about your problems." This leads to emotional discussion being firmly linked, in the male view, with sex. Women, being encouraged to have friends to talk to, don't have that mental connection, and this causes a metric ton of relationship problems. So we come to his affair, if you want to call it that, with Jane (And honestly, while it nearly went beyond two kisses, I still think calling it an affair is giving it an awful lot of credit).

The war was over. Things were changing. While it might be socially permissible for him to discuss the politics of the changes with Bates or some other man, the resultant emotional turmoil was something Cora was, by societal standards, supposed to help him get through. For over half of his life, she had done just that. Now, he needed that emotional support and suddenly it wasn't there because his wife was off learning how to be useful and important. This was a great thing for her, and ultimately for them as a couple, but everything has consequences and the immediate consequence of this was that she didn't need to lean on anyone, he did, and he didn't have anyone. It is really rather unbecoming for a fifty year old man to go crying to his mother every time he needs bucking up.

Jane was young, pretty, was going through the rough transition of losing a spouse, was lonely as a result, and had a son, which appealed to Robert since he'd always wanted one. I seriously think he initially took an interest in her as much to take an interest in something as anything. Things got worse the longer he went without someone to talk to about his feelings, and she wasn't getting any less lonely or in need of someone to make her feel wanted. Then, finally, Cora got the flu. While it seems outrageous that he would have an affair with a maid while his wife was maybe dying, his wife maybe dying was why he badly needed the emotional support of his wife, which he in turn couldn't have because his wife was maybe dying. Again, at fifty, running to Lady Violet at this juncture would have been viewed as A Bit Much by a lot of people. The fact that those people were absolute prats from a modern view point doesn't change this.

So, while both his society and ours agree that having an affair at the time was wrong, the real question here is what his society would have considered right. Please do ring me up when you've figured out the answer, because honestly? I've no clue.

Of course, once Cora didn't die, he looked back at things, got his head on straight, and ended things with Jane like a gentleman. He did the right thing, in the end. I consider this to be a far more material point than the fact he didn't intuitively pull a graceful way to maneuver a situation that he had no real coping mechanism for out of his ear.

There is one prejudice that I've seen him assigned in fan fiction, and it pisses me off every time: homophobia. This is one prejudice that Robert has barely any of. Yes, it's there in his little chuckles with Bates, but honestly? Compared to Carson? Compared to Jimmy and Alfred and the police and parliament? A little chuckle in private that is meant without malice is hardly a complaint. Thomas isn't happy at Downton most of the time, but he's there. Other employers would have sacked him the second they put two and two together. Heck, left to his own devices and reasonably assured there would be no scandal, Carson probably would have sacked him. I am quite certain that at some point there was a conversation in which Robert brushed that concern off as absolutely no reason to sack a perfectly good footman. This doesn't mean he didn't make a hash of things on a regular basis, but that was more from not understanding the problem than actual malicious intent. If, for example, someone actually pointed out that in hiring Bates he'd basically told Thomas "I would rather have a normal man who will never be able to do his job than a filthy degenerate like you" I would expect him to balk ("I never said that!"), bolt ("Pff, none of the staff would think that!"), and then, when finally reaching the point of accepting it, feel absolutely terrible. He flat out lied to the police to keep the man out of prison, for crying out loud!

While he is not an advocate for gay rights, by any means, it is something that he is absolutely not fussed about.

He has other legitimate flaws. His temper. His passiveness in many situations. But he is a genuinely good man. He cares about his people and wants them to do well. He wants to protect them and provide for them and make their lives comfortable. He is genuinely interested in improving the world as a whole.

There are so many people you can not say that about, and many of them get far more credit.

And on that note, I am going to bed.

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iraniq · 6 years

Text

Meet and Greet

Note: the Italic lines are where we talk on our language not english. Enjoy!

When at the end I decided to inform my parents I have a significant other, they insisted on meeting him, he was eager to meet them too, so he took some days off, and we flew to Europe. My twin-sister said she will back me up, so she was gonna come with her faience too. Although my partner kinda understand and spoke my mother tongue, I instructed him to say he isn’t.

When we arrived, just for lunch, and the family met him, my father was shocked he is vegan and also not drinking alcohol; my dad was prepared with variates of exquisite drinks and raw dry meat specials; I was yet again scoffed with my poor choice of men. My father even asked if he is “at least usable for something” to which I refused to answer and only rolled my eyes. My mother was disappointed I didn’t picked the prettiest one – his mostly short hair was fluffy and pointing at all directions as his beard, and my grandma started feeding him, because he was “too skinny”. Non of the said was true, but … parents!

The next evening, which felt like years, my sis finally arrived with her man. He was welcomed like a King, no hard feelings here. There were salads, desserts, meat, wine, whisky, for their favourite to-be-son-in-law. We just stood there unnoticed, but happy to be finally alone with each other.

My Love was always busy, not that I complained, he was a blast at everything he was doing, and I also enjoyed watching him work and create. I recently quit my job in Boston, to move to LA with him, and was currently working with him, helping the crew … ops family … in every way I can.

When finally noticed by my sister, she screamed so loud, even I flinched. She jumped on hugging me and kissing me. When she saw him … God! She was more quiet than the Death itself! She looked at me, than at him, than at me again, and in the end at her fiancé.

- That’s your boyfriend? – she barely managed to whisper.

- Yep! – I proudly smiled.

She was obviously shocked.

- Yes I know she used to hate me, I am aware of all the full and complete story. – he joked.

- Where is his King … welcoming? – she whispered and started to panic already.

- I am no king … - he laughed it off – I came because that’s the tradition … to be honest I am not a fan of meeting people who treated their child so poor, just because she didn’t fit in their views of the world … - I gently kicked him under the small coffee table.

- He is vegan and also doesn’t drink, barely eats, because he forgets … how do you see my parents having a … “welcoming ceremony” on him?

- Oh God! – she sat on my lap, still in shock.

- I am Jared, btw. – he offered his hand.

- Mila! Although I know who you are.

- Yeah, I guess you do. Nice pics, I counted 7, Lallo is really very photogenic. I am sure it’s Italian thing. – he joked. And she was now more red then the idea of red itself.

- That’s Stefan, her to-be-husband. She had to flew to Italy to met him, and it turned out he was from the city nearby. – they nod a greeting.

- Faith, destiny …

- A horse! – we both laugh.

We sat on the big dinner table, eating and talking - everything and nothing. Foods and drinks were passed by around. I managed to steal a bowl of green salad, after reassuring him, it was made for him, and no one will miss it, he hugged the bow and start eat it. My dad asked questions about him, to which I answered, without even asking. I was scoffed yet again, to let the boy talk, but I had to explain, he doesn’t speak our language, besides the “idiot” and “homeless crap” that I call him, when mad. My sister chocked on her wine, after I said how I call him, and kick me quite harsh. Her fiancé was asked about his job and achievements, the family was indeed interested. His achievements were highly prized by my parents. At some point he turned to my sister and whispered he is feeling uncomfortable, because whet he does in nothing compared to saving the environment ad helping those in heed.

- If you are feeling awkward, which I think it’s true by the face you are making, don’t be, I am not doing this for glory, but because it had to be done.

- So … you …

- Understand, I am horrible at speaking to many consonants next to each other. – he laughed. – please continue, I manage to keep up, and it’s indeed interesting.

Stefan smiled and continued talking, but a little bit slowly, pronouncing the words with caution so they will be easier to understand. The fluffy mess with the salad bow was indeed interested. As he always is when there is something new, and these were 2.

My sister wasn’t the gloating type, she was just a person that was good at everything she does. And my parents loved to throw her success on my face, showing me how unworthy I am. My mother disliked me even more, because it was me who prevent my sister of blind-following my mother like a puppet. Not that she didn’t saw it, but when she didn’t I protected her of the “do everything so the others will like you” decease.

- He liked it a lot.

- What?

- The arrangement of the pics. Don’t you think I didn’t told him, or make pictures of the pictures to show him. – I winked at my sis.

- When?

- Like … yesterday! – I laughed.

- It’s Italian thing … - J mumbled with mouth full of lettuce.

My mother raised her brow at him. “No Talking with mouth full”, I translated and he nod in apology. My sister was still shocked. After almost 2 hours of dinner she finally asked:

- Aren’t you gonna tell them?

- What? – I got close to her.

- Who he is!

- No!

- Why?

- They will drown us in “famous people bullshit theory and prejudices”, thanks, but no thanks! His mother presented me in front of her friends as her daughter. I can’t do this to him! Also me and Tomo are amazing with backings in the kitchen. I am sure Vicki is a little bit heavier after we met. – I giggled.

- Horrible, you are gonna ruin these people. What about his brother?

- Aww … I am his baby sis now, so I guess he likes me. I am trying to convince him he wants to ask a sexy “Rolling Stones” journalist out, they like each other a lot, actually, he just needs a lil push, that’s all.

J looked at us, obviously judging.

- He knows what are we talking about! – she said in awe, his weird-blue-eyes gaze had the power to leave people speechless.

- Yeah, probably and definitely the name of the magazine, and the “journalist” word gave us away. – I laughed. He winked at me. – He understands the similar words, I often yell at our language, but that’s all!

- So, he is having no idea, what we are talking about?

- Probably not. – I chuckled - … but I am not sure how he’s going, he still refuses to tell me! –.i yelled and he made a grimace.

- Are you guys gonna get married?

- You are asking for Lallo, aren’t you?

- Italian thing … - he pointed his fork at her – told ya!

- Yeah you did. – I laughed and she rolled her eyes.

The next day me and J had to fly back to LA, my sis and her man stayed for a few days more. Later that night she send me this video of our parents watching one of his TV statements for saving the environment, the nature, the animals, better future for humanity, for the upcoming generations, no wars … It was an old one because he looked different, thank God, and they didn’t managed to recognize him. My grandmother just sighs and was like “can’t she find herself someone like him … he is not perfect, but they will match, they are weird in the same way”. To which my sister laughed and ends the video.

________________

@diyunho @rhina988 @nikkitasevoli @auntiemama1 @sookieblack12 @spillinginkwithlove @jayded-reality @cadeathens @fanalityfiction @lady-grinning-soul-k @lylabell2013 @lostnorthofheaven @leto-madness @heavenlygaga @elliegrace139

#my writing #twin sisters adventures #twin sisters #jared leto #jared leto imagine #jared leto fanfiction

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stillness-in-green · 7 years

Text

Human Debris Masterpost (9/?)

This is the second of two consecutive posts in the series, which I had to break up for length (whoops). The first one, dealing with the conclusion of the Dawn Horizon arc, can be found here. Don’t miss the moment I fell in love with Derma!

At this point, we begin the Silent War arc, with an episode I’ve been wanting to talk about for months now. I will attempt to manage my post length better in the future, but for now...

EPISODE THIRTY — Inauguration of the Arbrau Defense Forces

After some unsubtle foreshadowing courtesy of Makanai about what befalls those who try to take the quick way to their goals, we join the Earth Branch kids, as Takaki fields some conversation about what they’re going to do once the Arbrau Defense Force is all officially trained and on-duty and stuff.

Takaki hasn’t heard anything in particular yet, but Aston puts in that he likes the Earth. He doesn’t show much particular emotion in the statement, or immediately elaborate on why, but one of the unnamed characters (who, at the very least, have slightly more distinct designs than HQ-Tekkadan’s Random Brunettes) puts in that the food’s good, and Tekkadan members are welcome in the city.

This is pleasant to hear, if a bit surprising, given what we’ve been lead to believe about prejudice towards those in the Outer Spheres. Is this soley due to Tekkadan’s good rep? It’d make sense that Arbrau, who just found out Gjallarhorn was trying to interfere in their democratic process, is feeling particularly welcoming to the organization that exposed it. It may also be the case that the average person on the street is way less xenophobic than the average Gjallarhorn soldier.

In any case, Takaki tries to mollify the other boys about Radice, who they don’t much like, and don’t feel is a real Tekkadan member.

Aston and Takaki do an awful lot of silent watching of each other, at least in these first few episodes focusing on the Earth Branch. They clearly have a lot of thoughts about each other, but are both slow to comment, Takaki probably a little reluctant to possibly hit a sore spot or say something insensitive, and Aston perhaps not feeling it’s really his place. Will this cause them problems later? I guess we’ll find out!

But in the meantime, back to Chad! And also my screaming about Chad. I’ll ask my readers to cast their thoughts back to something I mentioned some time ago, waaay back in my third post. Specifically, Chad’s preview text for episode eleven, where he talks about only having been given torn, used clothes prior to joining CGS/Tekkadan (it’s unclear which he meant, but even CGS had uniforms), and how he’s more comfortable in dirty clothes.

We find him working on a tie and wearing some very nice clothes indeed, for what is apparently the very first time. Since this is not the actual day of the ceremony, I’m thinking he probably just got these delivered, and is trying them on to make sure everything fits correctly. I’m impressed he knows his way around a tie, honestly. Takaki compliments him, which he gets a bit abashed about, asking if it shouldn’t be Radice instead, whereupon we find out two things: firstly that Chad is indeed the one officially in charge of the Earth branch, and secondly that Makanai askied for Chad specifically. More on that in a little bit.

Aston is a little wide-eyed throughout this scene, for reasons he will talk about later.

Chad catches Aston staring and gets even more embarrassed, saying that he knew he looked weird after all. He’s clearly not feeling at all comfortable in the clothes, even as the smile on his face says that he’s still just a bit pleased. My guess is that even if he feels like a street-rat playing dress up, something everyone is going to know as he shows his face in front of a crowd, he’s still proud to be representing Tekkadan. And I love that the character writing is consistent enough to tie this back in to literally the only thing season one told about him personally, his comfort in used, dirty clothes.

Aston tries to explain his staring, but they’re interrupted by Radice, here to deliver the last batch of guidelines for the event, which Takaki jumps in to grab, saying Tekkadan will take care of guarding the venue while Chad attends the ceremony.

It’s indicative of Aston’s history, I think, that he’s apparently lippy around outsider adults, but shuts right down in the face of adults in his chain of command. He doesn’t even look at anyone during this exchange, just stares at the floor as Radice rebukes them all not to cause any more friction with the Arbrau Defense Force. He did the same around Kudal (although often he looked more terse about it, as Kudal was abusing the Brewers Debris quartet every time he was in the same room), which gives this reaction an air of ‘keep quiet, keep your head down, avoid trouble.’

Chad and Takaki are more openly bemused by the man’s attitude.

Ah, there’s the old terse Aston! As soon as the authoritative adult leaves the room, he more openly glares and grumbles around it.

Chad (because Chad has the patience of a saint and the self-esteem of a child abuse victim), says that Radice probably just has a lot on his mind, while Takaki (ever the optimist) points out that Radice has gotten more willing to listen to them over time, compared to how he was when he first joined, and jeezus, I dread to think how intolerable the man must have been at the start.

We close the scene with Radice briefly eavesdropping from outside the door, as Chad jokes that maybe Radice’s just given up on them because they’re so dumb (see again: self-esteem issues), and Chad plz stop hurting me this way you are wonderful and smart and deserve much better than what’s about to happen to you.

Takaki and Aston head on out, with Takaki chattering about how cool Mr. Chad looked. This leads Aston to ask about Chad’s history—that he used to be Human Debris like Aston himself, right? Takaki confirms, but does not follow up on the question at all, instead changing the subject to whether Aston will be coming home with him that night, as Fuuka likes having him over.

This is, perhaps, a good point to remind the reader that Takaki was nearly killed by Masahiro back during the Brewers Arc, something that I don’t doubt he is keenly aware of, though I don’t know how much of that Aston ever found out about. His unwillingness to press Aston about Aston’s own issues stemming from that history are likely rooted in that awareness—that he would prefer not to dwell on that old division, telling himself that Aston is a member of Tekkadan now, and thus that Human Debris stuff doesn’t matter anymore! (Spoilers: It still matters.)

In any case, Aston turns down the invite, noting that Fuuka has a test she’s been studying for, and he doesn’t want to distract her with fussing over him. As was the case back with the Brewers, Aston shows himself to be observant and thoughtful, and with a tendency towards mediation that he only ever shows to his peers. Takaki looks a little startled, and the next scene gives us the general impression that Aston has, perhaps, noticed more about Fuuka’s habits than her own brother has.

After the credits, we return to Mars, and I get to roll around some more in my Human Debris feelings.

Shino is chitchatting about how Chad will be pleased with the delivery of Shidens Tekkadan is getting ready to ship, though if they’d gotten them to him earlier, it would have made him look better. Akihiro agrees, in an unusually upbeat mood. When Lafter comments on it, Akihiro observes that they were both Human Debris.

Dante joins in to confirm, saying that Chad will get the job done, in a ‘Chad is awesome and we are proud of him’ moment that gives me more warm fuzzies about the Human Debris trio than my body has room for. Ride breaks it up with some ribbing about how Akihiro would get nervous if it was him.

Akihiro scowls theatrically at the teasing, and I am reminded of Biscuit commenting that he was surprised Akihiro came to the Tekkadan+Turbines oath-swearing ceremony, as it didn’t seem like the kind of thing he liked. At that time, Akihiro said it was an important moment for the family. This, though, is an important moment for our ex-red-stripes, one they’re clearly all feeling the resonance of, and it is great great great.

After a check-in with Arianrhod, we return to Earth for the day of the ceremony, where Chad is giving some last-minute instructions. They’re at the parliament building, actually! It’s the same place where Kudelia gave her speech during the season one finale, and which will eventually be renamed in honor of Makanai.

As the rest of the group disperses, Chad calls back Takaki just long enough to place him in charge. Their trust in each other shines here, but knowing what’s coming, we also know that that trust can, itself, be a weakness—because Tekkadan focuses so strongly on obeying their appointed leaders, to the point that they don’t really think for themselves, there’s no protocol for what happens when a leader goes down, no way to put on the brakes even as things start to feel really wrong. This will prove disastrous over the entire rest of the series, but particularly in this arc.

As the ceremony gets underway, Takaki finally asks Aston why he’s been so out of it lately. Aston responds with self-deprecation, saying that he isn’t very smart, and doesn’t know how to describe what he’s feeling.

He was surprised when he saw Chad dressed up; it made him want everyone to see him. He continues to puzzle over further explanation, until Takaki finally fills in the word—pride. He was proud of Chad. Aston confirms, and Takaki continues—he was also happy.

Aston looks briefly, openly shocked by this assessment, turning his gaze away awkwardly, but confirming that as well. He was happy.

You guys, I’m starting to feel pretty confident in my assessment about Aston’s stunted emotional self-awareness.

As we approach the beginning of the end, we find Chad in Makanai’s office, where they have apparently not headed to the ceremony just yet. Makanai is complimenting Tekkadan’s work as a military advisor, and thanking Chad for it, which Chad is a bit startled by, brushing it off.

Makanai presses, though, stating that he’s counting on Chad as a person in charge of Tekkadan—and then he namedrops Chad specifically, leaving the young man completely stunned at the recognition. The way he breathes, “My name…” here just guts me. AUGH MY RED STRIPE FEELS.

Before this gets any more personal, though, Makanai’s assistant (who I will have some words about, in a post I intend to make someday about various odds-and-ends I’ve noticed going through the show again; suffice to say the guy is a CHAMP) comes in and, showing his own observational skills, comments on the flower arrangement sitting on the table, asking when it was delivered, because it wasn’t in the room earlier.

Before he’s even all the way through the question, Chad is leaping to a terrible (and sadly accurate) conclusion. As Makanai reaches out and touches the flowers, Chad yells his name (calling him ‘sensei’, fascinatingly enough), the vase emits a beeping sound, and we go to slo-mo.

Chad body-tackles Makanai to the floor just before the explosive goes off, removing him, alas, from these recaps for an agonizingly long time. He’ll be back, though!

Outside, as soon as the sound of an explosion hits the street, Aston is making to bolt inside. He has to be physically stopped by Takaki, reminding him that a) Arbrau is in charge of security inside the building, and b) Mr. Chad is in there, and he’ll take care of whatever happened!

When they overhear that Makanai’s been injured, Aston wastes no time in grabbing an Arbrau security dude by the lapels and demanding to know about Chad. Alas, the rest of the world is not so attentive to the names of random teenaged security personnel, and the guy has no idea who he’s talking about.

After a brief timeskip of three days, we return to a bunch of angry kids (and they are kids; not one of them looks even as old as Chad and the other core members back on Mars, seeming closer to Takaki in age) already showing the first signs of frustration that Takaki doesn’t have any orders direct from Orga, but is just relaying them via Radice. As has been and will continue to be the case, Aston keeps his own council, just keeping an eye on Takaki during the argument. He is less of a mediator through here, for reasons that we’ll touch on shortly.

Here we find him lurking in the hallway while Takaki tries to talk Radice into letting him contact Tekkadan directly—Radice says that’s his job while Chad is still unavailable, and Takaki lacks the wherewithal to just up and pull rank on him.

In the hallway outside, Aston reveals that he, like the other Tekkadan members, wants to go and avenge Chad, but feels supporting Takaki is more important. I think, though, that the fact that he never jumps in to try and smooth things over between Takaki and the others does speak to just how much he wants that revenge. He wants to support Takaki, but probably doesn’t have any words to soothe the other members, because frankly, he agrees with them—so he just says nothing.

Back on Mars, Orga has smelled a rat in all of this, and decides to rush the Shiden delivery, opting to send Akihiro and some others along. Akhiro, who is without a doubt more pissed about this than he is immediately showing through his immediate worry and confusion, wastes no time in agreeing.

He comments here that he wants to hurry, as he has a bad feeling. It’s probably just his experience talking, as well as his trust in Orga’s bad feeling, but it does please me a bit to think that he’s having that shoujo manga “react as though I’ve sensed my loved ones’ mortal injury despite being miles apart and having exactly zero psychic ability” feeling that the show will traffic in more and more heavily in its wind-down episodes.

We return to find Takaki and Aston talking about the possibility of a war breaking out, and what they should do without explicit orders from Orga. Takaki, who made it through an entire season’s worth of Orga’s rhetoric about Tekkadan being family, wants to trust Radice, as well as hold out on Earth because Fuuka likes it so much. Aston is entirely ambivalent about Radice, but wants to protect Takaki and Fuuka’s happiness however he can.

However he can, though for him that really only means killing or dying.

Whoops. The Human Debris stuff still matters.

Takaki protests this talk angrily, which seems to honestly bemuse Aston, in a strong echo of Akihiro’s early confusion about Orga offering him freedom, and the rest of Tekkadan welcoming him as family. It just isn’t their first instinct, these red-stripes of ours, to understand the value the people around them place on their lives. Aston is even more clueless about it than most, as Takaki is more reluctant to talk frankly about it than, say, Orga or Shino, Eugene or Mikazuki were with Akihiro.

Yes, as Sudden Narrator Takaki tells us, this is all going to end in pain.

Oh god, these are so long. Thank you all for reading all this, and apologies again for any confusion with the back-to-back posts. Comments and discussion are totally welcome, by the way! Anyone who wants to talk Human Debris, or IBO generally, is wholly welcome to do so via reblogs or direct messages.

#mobile suit gundam: iron-blooded orphans #gundam ibo #g tekketsu #human debris #chad chadan #aston altland #akihiro altland #dante mogro #human debris project #my writing #ibo meta

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