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ferusaurelius · 1 year

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Turian Culture Meta - Ferus Style

Yeah so -- ready to descend into crazyland?

We’re gonna dive into some meta thoughts I have about what sort of cultural educational and military system would produce the interesting client-state relationship between the turian Hierarchy and the Vol Protectorate.

Disclaimer: The opinions of the author (me) are naturally my own and are not intended to argue for or against anyone else’s ideas. This is not even intended to be an interpretation of canon, in point of fact. Canon doesn’t have much to say about things that actually interest me. -shrug-

This is my ‘plausible’ version of conceptual options and social structures that canon either glosses over or fumbles entirely. Because it’s just not interested in these ideas, really ... BUT I AM. :D

If you find any of these concepts compelling? Fantastic, please liberate them! Go and use them in any or all transformative work with or without attribution.

I really Do Not Want to be the only one writing this stuff, so... be welcome!

Full post (long) underneath the cut.

The Situation

The turian Hierarchy makes first contact with the Citadel some 1000 years after the volus have drawn up the Unified Banking Act (300 B.C.E.) and have a thriving economic network of colonies after discovering FTL travel. The volus in point of fact have more than a millennia of advanced experience in working with multi-species ventures and are a pillar of the galactic economy long before the turians finish off their brutal Unification Wars.

If you took just the game’s on-screen hints as fact, none of this is evident in the galaxy by the time Shepard encounters volus on the Citadel. They’re treated as a sort of minor curiosity in comparison to the turian characters -- whether because of the mask, or just because economics is “less interesting” in a AAA-shooter. OH WELL.

Another interesting element is that the volus are “accepted” as a protectorate of the Hierarchy around 700 C.E., shortly after the Krogan rebellions.

To my mind, this is translation for: the Hierarchy’s war economy in the aftermath of the Krogan rebellions would have collapsed without the intervention of volus administrators, economists, logicians, and other bureaucratic types. What the Hierarchy DOES have of a peacetime bureaucracy was likely or nearly entirely trained and reformed by the Vol Protectorate’s extremely professional civil service. Fight a series of wars and warlords in the colonies for around 1000 years while someone else is running the galactic banking system ... and you’re probably woefully behind the curve in that area, just saying.

When you’ve “elevated” one warlike species (the Krogan) and then been surprised that they’ve gone on to aggressively contest the rest of Citadel space, it even seems likely/possible that this was a grand strategic bargain on the part of the Citadel species to avoid the turians becoming a “second” Krogan incident.

A values-driven and rules-based collectivist civil society that managed to transition to a peacetime footing without an accompanying economic collapse would be a much more stable galactic force ... plus you get the opportunity to fill in C-Sec ranks, develop a galactic security fleet (employing turian Dreadnoughts), and use those related tasks and duties to bring turians (an otherwise very militaristic society with a historical doctrine of total war) into better compliance as galactic citizens. In essence: the Vol Protectorate gives the Hierarchy something to protect rather than conquer.

Naturally, turian cultural perspectives on the purpose of the Hierarchy and the relative values of the culture probably run the gamut from the more imperialistic Unification and pre-Unification end of the spectrum to the more socially/galatically communitarian version of the Hierarchy, itself, as a participant in creating civil society within the Milky Way.

When in doubt? I prefer to view individuals on a spectrum or continuum of different possible viewpoints -- and to prefer that a full spectrum of interpretations be available to my characters. So that’s the type of environment I’d use as backdrop for, say, a fic.

Education (Given: The Situation)

Which takes us back to the Hierarchy’s mandatory service culture and boot camp at age 15, with mandatory service from age 15-30.

“Public service” as opposed to private industry is more a matter of organization and aims than it is a limitation of ‘choices.’ Take, for instance, the example of ‘national’ industries owned by a state. Any state-owned enterprise might conceivably count toward ‘public service’ citizen credit. These enterprises could include everything from arts museums and public art projects (ala the Works Projects Administration of Roosevelt Depression-era US policy) to industrial fabricators, dockyards, and other collectively owned and operated institutions.

Note that I also don’t equate state-owned industry to CENTRALLY-PLANNED industry! You might, in a turian society that prizes both individual accountability AND public service, have for instance a federated system of local control within a centrally-organized public works or other department.

Fair warning: this is my professional bureaucrat side talking. There are MANY aspects of infrastructure, particularly public works infrastructure, that are site- and context-dependent. Central planning of these features quite literally doesn’t work outside of administration and funding (which you WANT organized in larger packages if possible, to secure the best possible loan terms).

I also imagine that a public service-oriented society would work on incorporating the economic fates of its outer colonies into the trading lanes and patterns of the central Hierarchy (in order to secure greater loyalty and collective bargaining power, alongside the Vol Protectorate’s economic management engine).

So what would education in a “man-of-action”/”public service” society look like? I’d think more a system of apprenticeships and practical qualification or on-the-job (OJT) training and certification where available!

A boot camp experience is usually important both for training in values and standard procedures, so it’s less likely to vary appreciably between any one place and another beyond basics related to climate and environment. I’d expect boot camp training to be purposely standardized -- individual accountability doesn’t necessarily lead me to conclude that turians would be keen to judge themselves on anything other than “demonstrated merit” (and testing would be ONE part, but probably not the most significant -- outside of genuine performance on practical tasks, and the ability to produce measurable results!).

Pre-boot-camp education would likely be designed to expose juveniles to as many professions as possible -- there’s a bit in the codex about the turian respect for “knowing one’s place” and finding a comfortable place where the individual best serves the community (rather than individual prestige or economic gain). This would also track with turians being ‘poor’ entrepreneurs (i.e. less inclined to start their own businesses for profit, or with less opportunity when they’re in State-mandated service) ... and account for some of the distrust of ‘merc-born’ turians who chose to opt out of the traditional Hierarchy structure.

I’d also expect a classical turian education to include emphasis on health, community values, and being able to communicate in a general way with their volus partners/collaborators in areas that are less often viewed as strengths of turian culture (aka: economics and business, anyone?).

If turian culture is truly militaristic and communitarian, both, and formed around a sort of military hierarchy, that society will also be shaped by what doctrine views as effective deployment of force and possible missions and required capabilities In military terms, this would be defined both by a theoretical ‘ideal’ force structure and various desired concepts of operations.

Military Doctrine (Given: The Situation)

So, what capabilities would be valuable for the turian Hierarchy to provide to the galaxy? What are its internal needs? What are the needs of its closest allies and partners?

We already know (or suspect) that Dreadnoughts are one sign of military status. These immense warships are required to secure and hold space stations and other important remote outposts, alongside the smaller cruisers, frigate wolfpacks, and other space Navy-type forces.

We can also consider C-Sec (civil and criminal investigation on the Citadel, security for ports, anti-smuggling operations, etc.) as a separate civil branch and outgrowth of skills are learned and taught within the Hierarchy and something of a stereotypical (and desirable!) turian job outside of Hierarchy space.

Other valuable services provided by the Hierarchy include staffing and operating a force (32 fleets!) large enough to secure not just Hierarchy space but also to protect the Citadel. Turians canonically value combined arms and disciplined maneuver warfare, decentralized command-and-control, and are also the primary military arm and security force for the rest of the galaxy.

In summary: the turians are so good at staffing and maintaining fleets that the rest of the Council species seem to prefer handing these civil functions over to the turians in proportion to their relative expertise and cultural strengths.

All of the above implies that turian culture would need to be an extraordinarily flexible (structurally) society, if individually somewhat set and rigid in expectations and values for fulfilling assigned duties.

I’d believe that assignments, once given, were equivalent to anyone else’s ultimatum! I’d also imagine that turians would find it VERY personally important to seek out roles where they could fulfill all potential assignments to the best of their individual abilities, and that ‘finding’ that place/role in society would be akin to a life path.

Amateurs Study Tactics

A short aside that warfighting ability, alone, at least on an individual level, is a minor strength in comparison to building an effective collaborative combined arms force. The organization required at an individual level? Not much! Just personal training and supply.

Problems mount as soon as the force expands in size, complexity, and desired mission capabilities. I could see volus economists and logicians, as well as military scholars, being the preeminent organizers and administrators of turian force structures. I could see the volus economic influence being a quite effective force multiplier for the turian Hierarchy, in terms of creatively organizing fleets and their sub-units into autonomous mission-capable interchangeable “parts” which all know how to work together and communicate to achieve complex adaptability and integration of vastly different forces, hardware, and weapons systems at a variety of scales (from galactic, to orbital, to low-orbit, to planetside ground).

Which leads us to ...

Professionals Study Logistics

This is just the study of the application of “effective force.” What makes a force effective? It needs to be supplied with personnel and materiel such that it can accomplish its assigned mission -- preserve the capability of the force through the supply of the necessary tools at the right time, alongside the ability to maintain, repair, replace, or rotate those tools as needed.

A force that has been improperly positioned (is too far forward of supply lines, or too far in the rear to be applied at the right time) is by definition an ineffective force. It is unavailable to accomplish the mission.

There’s a long, rich tradition of economists studying the choice behaviors of nations seeking war, the application of deterrence, and the conditions of victory and defeat on a multitude of different battlefields in different historical and cultural contexts. We get just about NONE of this (barring some high-level generalizations) in Mass Effect, proper!

If we did, we might have seen a bit more nuance in illustrating the Vol Protectorate as not just the economic backbone of Citadel space, but also the preeminent experts in military grand strategy and supply. They’re likely the most closely associated Citadel species and have the most experience collaborating with turian systems of organization! The volus would be just as good at turian military history as turians are, if not BETTER observers and critics on the logistics/economics side, in terms of patterns of thinking and history!

At some point I’m going to have to write the “lessons learned” memo on the First Contact War from the point of view of an eminent volus logistician and economist (ala Thomas Schelling).

Because I’m a nerd, and if the FCW was a failure due to logistics and supply errors? You can just BET the volus were kept out of the First Contact loop as a some sort of power play on the part of less-qualified frontline personnel... no, they’re not salty about that, why do you ask?

HATE ME YET? Yeah, I can’t stop thinking about this stuff, either ... and now you know why my fanfiction is the way it is. :D

#mass effect meta #turian #volus #apparently i have TOO MANY THOUGHTS #ferus chats #my way of thinking #shrug #jazz hands #it is what it is

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is-there-an-echo-in-here · 2 years

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The Best of Us

After a difficult mission, Ahsoka is concerned to discover that Rex is nowhere to be found. A tip off from Fives and Echo leads her to the bar.

TW: Alcoholism

Special thanks to @turtlepie for being the best vod and cheerleader a person could wish for

Also, I have an Ao3 now if anyone prefers to read stuff there, you can find me Here

. . .

Ahsoka could not recall the last time her men had been inflicted with a casualty rate so high.

Anakin had taken his leave. He had reports to write up, men to honour by listing their chosen names instead of just their numbers. Ahsoka did what she could; she escorted the men in every aspect of the aftermath, seeing the wounded to the infirmary, helping pilots unpack the cargo, offering to scrub the blood from armour.

Her men gave her soft looks, hundreds of matching sympathetic eyes meeting her own as they told her that the wounded men would be fine, that they could manage with the ships, that she needn’t dirty her hands on their account. Defiance rising, Ahsoka wordlessly defied the last. She took Fives’ arm bracer from his pile of dusty, bloodied armour, and sunk it into the long basin between him and Echo. The latter handed her a cloth in silence.

“Thank you,” she murmured, scrubbing off the wash of crimson to reveal that familiar white and blue underneath.

She glanced down the line of men, their solemn expressions and busy hands. Someone was missing and she frowned as she twisted back to search the room, not having spotted him with any of the other men either.

“Where’s Rex?” Fives and Echo exchanged an anxious look over her head and Ahsoka frowned nervously. “What is it? Did he get hurt?”

He had not been in the infirmary; she was almost certain of that.

“No, sir, but he disappeared when we returned to the ship,” said Echo and Fives shifted his jaw.

“He’s probably drinking,” he admitted, “and it’s no use trying to talk to him when he’s doing that.”

Ahsoka blinked her confusion. “Why not?”

The pair hesitated.

“Commander,” began Echo, shifting his helmet in his hands. “I don’t think you should go looking for him. He wouldn’t want you to see him when he’s like this; it’s his way of… easing the pain of our losses. He’s grieving.”

“By drinking?” asked Ahsoka, worried now.

Fives gave her a sympathetic look. “Believe me, we know. I’ve tried to convince him to find another way, but sometimes he just… he finds it difficult to cope.”

Ahsoka was shocked. Rex had never presented himself as the kind of man who had to lean on the crutch of alcohol. He had never, in Ahsoka’s knowledge, seemed as though he was struggling to cope. Perhaps she simply hadn’t wanted to see it.

“You shouldn’t judge him too harshly, commander,” said Fives. “Even the best of us can struggle with days like this.”

“I don’t judge him, I’m just glad you told me,” she murmured, truly grateful to the pair for bringing this to her attention. “I know I said I’d help with cleaning, but would you please excuse me?”

The pair murmured in glad agreement and Ahsoka handed off Fives’ arm bracer to him. She turned heel and hurried from the washroom. The doors opened at her approach, and she strode down the hall in an effort not to look as though she was running.

The bars on the republic cruisers were nothing impressive, a room tucked away in some secluded area of the ship, a single counter with a droid tender, scattered chairs in which to sit, space enough to stand. Ahsoka had only been once, on her first tour of the ship with Anakin as guide. He had glossed over the space with little interest and, not being of age for such frivolities, Ahsoka had no cause to visit again.

Until now, of course.

It was just how she remembered, except for one thing. Her captain was sat at the bar, alone.

Ahsoka made a beeline for him, smiling politely when a group of clones she didn’t know well greeted her with a respectful “Commander”, but not stopping to chat. Rex didn’t see her approach. He was staring into his mostly empty glass, his eyes dark in the dim light and the shadows of his bowed head.

“Rex?” Ahsoka said, as gentle as she could, not wishing to startle him.

His head lifted, straightening his posture. “Commander,” he said, watching as she sat on the stool beside him, tense with uncertainty. “Are you… old enough to drink?”

“I’m not here to drink,” said Ahsoka, giving him a soft look. “I’m here for you.” He lowered his gaze again, a muscle in his jaw ticking. She felt his shame like a dark heat radiating from his skin. “Do you think, maybe, you’ve had enough…? You don’t look well, Rex.”

Rex rubbed the nape of his neck, his head low. “‘ve you been talking to Fives?”

Ahsoka tilted her head, trying to draw his attention, but he refused to meet her eyes. “What would he tell me?”

“That I need a better coping mechanism,” muttered Rex, surprisingly articulate considering the state he was in. Ahsoka didn’t like to consider how many times he had done this, the tolerance he had built up. “He’d probably be right.”

“Then stop,” Ahsoka pleaded softly, though she knew it wasn’t so simple.

Rex stared at his glass, running a finger along the rim. “I keep failing them,” he murmured and Ahsoka was desperate to protest, but she held her tongue so he could continue. “I held a rookie as he died. Nothing any medic could do, so I just… held him. He kept asking if he was a good soldier. He was bleeding to death in my arms and he just cared about… about his duty.”

His eyes were becoming glossier as he spoke and he wiped them with the back of his hand as he finished, inhaling deeply, finishing his drink.

Ahsoka watched him with heavy eyes. “You can’t save everyone,” she murmured and Rex huffed like he disapproved. “It sounds like you helped him find some peace.”

“Nothing about it was peaceful,” Rex muttered, slid his glass forward and tapped it twice against the counter.

The droid came to refill his glass. Ahsoka resisted the urge to tell it not to, knowing that stopping had to be Rex’s decision or he would just be back here the second she let him out of her sight.

“You shouldn’t be here,” she said, watching him drink with a heavy heart. “Not like this. This isn’t healthy and it doesn’t help anybody.”

Rex shifted his jaw as it trembled. “Just… gets too much sometimes.”

“I know,” Ahsoka whispered, laying a hand over his arm bracer. “I know it does, but you should talk to someone instead of trying to numb yourself. There’s so many people on this ship alone who love you and want to help.” She watched his eyes fill with tears. “Rex, please, let us help you.”

Rex gripped his hands to the back of his head, sniffing back tears as he hid his face from her. “I can’t… I can’t burden the men with this. I—I’m supposed to be strong.”

“The men know,” Ahsoka murmured softly. “They know, Rex, and they’re worried about you. Trust me when I say that knowing you’re trying to be better will ease the burden on them.” She leaned forward on the bar. “You know what Fives told me?”

“You mean other than my greatest shame?”

Ahsoka narrowed her eyes in sympathy. “He told me not to judge you, because even the best of us struggle… You are the best of us, Rex. I know that.”

Rex shook his head, as if trying to cast off her words. “You shouldn’t say that. I’m not—”

“You are not arguing with me over this; you won’t get far.”

Rex huffed, palming at his eyes. He didn’t try to argue any further. At this point, he seemed to know when she was unmovable in her opinion. She gripped his arm tight enough for it to catch his attention, bringing those tear-bright eyes to her face.

“We are going to get through this. You aren’t alone, so, if you need help, you ask for help. Your family is right here for you. Yeah?”

Rex swallowed, looked down to the empty glass. He squeezed it hard in his hand, so hard that Ahsoka feared it would shatter, before he shoved it away, raking his hands over his head as if to compose himself, straightening his posture and meeting his commander’s eyes with a set jaw and a stiff nod.

“Yes, sir.”

#thank you to everyone who played the writing ask game #gave me a good kick up the ass #literally a direct result of that #I'm not stopping til I finish a good portion of my wips #onto the boring tags #clone wars #ahsoka tano #captain rex #kit writes #arc trooper fives #arc trooper echo #star wars the clone wars #swtcw #fanfiction #ship on your own posts not on mine

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astrangeraccoon · 3 years

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BNHA rambles (season 2) part 12

So after a few days off, here we go again with season two, episode 1

-The exposition scene is pretty cute

-The fact that Aizawa is included in those that Izuku consider as guiding him warm my heart

-Todoroki being included is foreshadowing for now since they have exchanged three words max for now

-Also, Bakugo being here too irritates me. I understand why he’s here since this is from Izuku POV, but he hasn’t done anything for Izuku except giving him trauma

-I know most of what the letter All Might wrote was a way for the show to re-explain some of the fundamental of the show but imagining him really reexplaining (in a letter!) what one for all is to Gran Torino crack me up, because the man probably knows more about OFA than All Might and was his mentor and definitively doesn’t need him to remind him what it is.

-All Might is Proud! And doesn’t have any regret about his decision! Now if only he could tell that to the green bean it would prob help a lot

-First look at Gran Torino!

-Toshinori being smart! Bc you don’t become the #1 hero with only muscle

-It’s also interesting to see the most trusted group of UA staff (I’m pretty sure Aizawa would be here if he wasn’t, you know, in the hospital)(As a Erasermic shipper and a big fan of Mic, I like to think that he should be here too but stayed with his injured husband, but that’s only my shipper heart and doesn’t have any importance here

-Izuku still watching that video when he feels down

-Can someone please give that child therapy

-The class enjoying the fact that they were put in the news in the aftermath of the attack is pretty telling of how the society work. I mean they’re all treating this as if it were normal, and the worst part is it probably is. Or at least it’s pretty regular for everyone to get caught up/end up close to villain fight.

-Also, I know the anime is principally aimed for a young audience but it would be better if it at least paid some attention to the traumatizing experience they were just put through. Hey nearly died, they saw their teacher (who are pro hero and probably seen as nearly indestructible since propaganda) get hurt really badly, had to fight for their life and had no way to know if help would arrive on time. This is the kind of shit that gives you trauma, and it shouldn’t be as glossed over as it is in the show

-Aizawa, honey, I love you, and I know this is your way to reassure your student and help them go back to normal, but please go back to the hospital, you cannot even see anything, what are you doing up. You’re limping

-And continuing on the “Since Aizawa, Mic and Tensei went to school together, Tenya must’ve known them since he was a kid”, him questioning Aizawa’s well being is way more genuine than just the ‘I’m the class president’ his intervention looks like

-Yes Aizawa, your well being DOES matter

-Also stop with the ominous statement, your kids are already traumatized

-Once again, why are they putting so much pressure on the kids? Equivalent of the Olympic? Really? Also I know UA took into account the security onsite but does anyone think about how since it’s televised it mean the villains can watch it too? Meaning they get to see every strength and weakness of the future heroes? Isn’t it like, a big danger? Especially just after an attack o the school

-Aoyama being overdramatic as always

-Koda is too cute for this world

-Iida can be so weird I love him

-Uraraka looks… ready? For the fight. She’s… Scary

-Go tsuyu

-Uraraka just wanting to help her family is so wholesome, there’s no need to be ashamed of it sweatheart

-(Baby Uraraka is the cutest)

-All might No (but please yes XD)

-Why are the chair and table so small compared to them

-All Might I love you, but if you don’t stop putting so much pressure on that boy, you and I will have words. Seriously He already has anxiety, there’s no need to add to it. Do you even realize the pressure your putting on him?

Alrigth, here we go again with season 2! I don’t know how regularly I’ll be able to post those ramble bc they take longer than they seems to write, even if I’m just basically just dumping all my thought as I watch the episode. And unfortunately I still have school, and I feel this close [-] to a burn out right now which is obviously not good but also impact my motivation to watch the show, so yeah...

Anyway my thought on next episode are probably going to be out today either way and I have some things I want to add on my ‘problem with UA’ special that I just need to write down so it might be done today too if I’m able to get to it

Like last time, any question and or/suggestion for my rambles, don’t hesitate to ask

Aya’s out

#bnha #mha #class 1a #midoriya izuku #aizawa shouta #ua teachers #all might #aya's thought #rambles

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wildwoodgoddess · 7 years

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The Problem Finale: Thoughts on Sherlock “The Final Problem”

This is probably going to get long, but I don’t really want to split it into two posts, so just brace yourselves.

I’m planning to cover the following:

1) What TFP Got Right (in my opinion) 2) What TFP Got Wrong (also imo) 3) About Johnlock 4) Some personal thoughts on #3 and the series as a whole

You won’t find wank or hate in this post. Quite the opposite. And I’m hoping it will be accessible and interesting regardless of your opinions on Item 3.

I’ll do my best to respond to any asks, but I am headed into a writing deadline of my own and need to switch my attention to that for the next several weeks, so I might be a little slow on replying. Please feel free to get in touch, though. Would love to hear from you.

So here we go…under the cut:

What TFP Got Right:

The entire show, as stated in ASiP, was aimed at showing Sherlock’s progression from a “great” man to a “good” one. In the context of the show, this meant becoming more socially aware and embracing emotions as good and healthy, allowing himself to love, to have a family.

And it did that. I thought it was key in TFP that Sherlock flat out insists that John remain during Mycroft’s explanation of Eurus because John IS FAMILY. Compare that to ASiP where Sherlock is barely willing to acknowledge Mycroft as his brother.

TFP makes it very clear that emotions, especially love (of all kinds) are the key to solving the final problem. Without understanding emotions, Sherlock wouldn’t have been able to avoid shooting Mycroft or John. It was his insight into Eurus’ own emotions that made him realize that threatening to shoot himself was the only way to get her to stop. And it was his own ability to show her compassion that allowed him to be able to save John.

That message is pretty hamfisted, in my opinion, especially in how Mycroft speaks, compared to how Sherlock reacts. But it’s there, and Sherlock’s ability to show Eurus compassion and grace is the culmination of that transformation.

I did like that they had Sherlock “rewrite” his memories of his childhood friend because he couldn’t deal with the murder.

And I really liked that the writers have said that these 4 series turned into a sort of origin story for how “our” Sherlock went from a cold-blooded faux-sociopath to a truly loving, caring human being that would be—if the show goes forward—more like the mature, good-hearted person in the ACD stories. I can get on board with that, and I think the 4 series did well with that progression.

Other small things I liked: Eurus giving Sherlock violin lessons, Mycroft being disguised as the old man (paralleled TEH where John thinks his elderly patient with the porn videos is Sherlock), Sherlock playing with Rosie at the end, the fact that Mycroft had such a weak stomach when it came to shooting someone himself, Mycroft trying to goad Sherlock into shooting him by insulting John, Sherlock spotting that immediately, and making Mycroft sit in the client chair.

What TFP Got Wrong:

Where do I begin? *sigh*

A lot of people are talking about plot holes and implausibility. And in spite of the larger-than-life nature of the show itself, I think a lot of stuff in this episode does strain credulity, basically, because Eurus is—as another article said—almost comic-book super villain. The rocky island prison was practically Azkaban, and her abilities were nearly magic. I believe that the writers definitely intended it to be taken as in-world fact, but it did seem to be a bit much.

I would have been able to accept it as plausible in this story world if Eurus had been a looming presence in some form over the course of all 4 series. The attempt to tie in Moriarty to her seemed a bit forced. Moriarty was set up from episode 1 as the arch-nemesis, and I felt all along that killing him at the end of series 2 didn’t make a lot of narrative sense. Eurus felt to me like an attempt to fill in that gap, but it would have been much more effective if there had clearly been a shadow presence even beyond Moriarty from the very start. The audience didn’t have any emotional connection to Eurus because she really only showed up for like 30 seconds at the end of TLD and then for TFP.

And the analysis I read (and reblogged) about Eurus being treated like a Victorian woman put into an asylum because she was too clever was very insightful. I really like SO much of Moffat’s style of storytelling, but it’s pretty hard to defend him against all the charges of misogyny when he keeps stepping in it over and over.

Because of the lack of build up to the Eurus reveal, the emotional arc of the episode felt rushed. Too much plot, not enough space for reactions. The fact that John was saved by being thrown a rope, and somehow the chain disappeared, and the immediate aftermath of that rescue wasn’t shown—not only were these plot holes, it was supposed to be the climax of the episode and it lacked strength and emotional resonance because it was rushed.

I am constantly telling my editing clients that they have to show the emotional response of their characters. It’s one of the most common writing mistakes that I encounter. And this episode made the exact same mistake—which is painfully ironic considering that the importance of emotions was the theme of the entire story.

But because the story needed so much flashback and exposition and plot, the emotional journey of the characters was glossed over, rushed. That’s another reason why it felt implausible. I strongly suspect that if the characters had been allowed enough space in the story to react, to respond to the plot, the plot itself would have felt more plausible, even if the plot holes remained. That’s how story works—if the story can show the characters’ emotions well enough, you will connect with them on that emotional level, and you won’t mind the plot holes so much. I think the story failed on that point because it chose to center plot over character.

That may have been the fault of the writers, or it may have been the fault of the director/editor. Just keep that in mind—an editor can change the entire tone of a story just by removing space between lines or choosing one shot instead of another.

I could probably nit-pick more, but I’ll stop there. I really wanted to like this episode, and I did to an extent, but I could have been completely transported by it, and I’m sad that I wasn’t.

About Johnlock:

I find myself in the truly wonderful position of having a lot of new followers in the past few weeks. And some of them don’t ship at all, others ship John and Sherlock, and others prefer other pairs. I love that I have such a variety—thank you to all of you for giving me a try.

With that in mind, I want to address the Johnlock people and then the not-Johnlock people.

First, Johnlock people and TJLC’ers:

You weren’t wrong. You weren’t seeing things that weren’t there. I thought some of the subtext analysis was a stretch, but not all. Not by a long shot.

I ended up joining Tumbler after TEH aired. It was the first episode I saw, and then I went back and watched all of S1 and S2. But what I saw in the flashback of the Fall made me think “are they putting John and Sherlock together romantically?” And that started me Googling, and that led me to Tumblr Sherlock meta, and here I am three years later.

I have repeatedly said that John and Sherlock’s relationship follows a classic romantic story arc. But I’ve also said that this formula can also be used for platonic friendships (The King’s Speech is my favorite example of that). It’s just not as common.

In this case, I think it was perfectly reasonable to suspect and predict that they’d get together. And I was disappointed from a story-telling standpoint because I think it would have made much more sense for them to go ahead with a romance.

First, they have explicitly demonstrated that neither John or Sherlock can have a romantic relationship with someone else because the two of them together just isn’t compatible with a trio. There won’t be anyone else for either of them.

Second, they’ve never given any good, compelling reason why they wouldn’t get together, other than John’s protestations that he isn’t gay (which, hello bisexuality) and Sherlock’s belief that he can’t have relationships because of The Work, which has been effectively destroyed.

Instead, we are being presented with the suggestion that Sherlock and John live forevermore together in domestic 221B, totally platonic bliss, raising their daughter together.

That would work, I suppose, if Sherlock was portrayed as completely asexual as just his natural orientation. But he’s not. He’s shown as someone who suppressed emotions for the sake of reason (and now, because of the trauma he experienced at the hand of Eurus). But he’s changed now, and the show has gone out of its way several times to point out that romance is a lack in Sherlock’s life. Whether or not John is right that romance would complete him is debatable. And maybe even after Sherlock’s inner transformation, he simply doesn’t have sexual or romantic desires. But that idea rests completely on speculation. It isn’t addressed one way or another in the show itself.

So keeping them from being a couple does seem to be an unnecessary contortion.

The only defense I can make of it is that I believe the show’s in-world truth is that John loved Mary in a flawed but real way. And TFP takes place not so very long after Mary was killed. John may not have been emotionally ready to begin a new romance, no matter how much he truly loves Sherlock.

But it’s a pretty weak defense, and it just seems to me that since they clearly aren’t going to do another trio by giving either of them another partner, there really isn’t any good story-telling reason to NOT do a romance. I’ll let others speculate about why they chose not to, but I think it was a poor creative choice.

However, they DO end up together and happy—even if it’s in a way that feels a bit like a story-telling cheat.

So for people who are sad, disappointed, angry, and feeling betrayed by this creative choice, please know that you weren’t totally imagining things.

I also want to encourage you, as others have already done, to channel those emotions into positive and productive energy. Create the stories you are asking for—whether books, film, or other media.

If you can’t create, then find ways to support people who can. And not just Sherlock fan creations. There are web series worth supporting on crowd-fund sites, there are authors who would appreciate if you spent a couple bucks on their books. If you don’t even have a couple dollars, at least offer encouragement. Offer to beta read. Volunteer as a personal assistant to an author or artist who needs some administrative help. Be the loudest megaphone to help promote these works so that others who can afford to fund will do so.

To Non-Johnlock people:

Be considerate. Please. I haven’t seen anyone on my dash being rude or mean or even gloating. That’s lovely. Keep it up. Understand and remember that a lot of people looked to the show to offer a positive reflection of themselves. A lot of people need to hear that not only are they ok, they are heroes. And if that is what you are longing to hear and have been getting hints of, to have that taken away is really hard. Have compassion.

Personal Thoughts:

Stories are important, stories are life changing. Even without John and Sherlock becoming a romantic couple, this show has changed my way of viewing stories. It’s made me more empathetic. Not so much because of the show itself, but because of the analysis and historical context I’ve gained from Johnlock people.

No matter who we would like to see together, we ALL need more empathy and to understand different perspectives.

And yet, at the same time, it is ONLY a story. It shouldn’t be your identity. It shouldn’t be what you live for. And it shouldn’t be something that ruins your relationships with other people—even ones on a blog site.

Live for something that you can create for yourself—your own life, your relationships, your career, your passion. Enjoy the creations of others, but don’t let that be your foundation. Create—and live—your own story.

Don’t put creators on pedestals. But don’t be mean to them either. They are fallible human beings, just like the rest of us. Believe me, I know. We have things we don’t understand. We have biases. We sometimes fail to communicate clearly. We can be assholes. I really don’t think that anyone involved with the show intended to hurt or disappoint anyone. Why would they? There’s no incentive in that. They may have screwed up or disappointed you, but they aren’t evil.

I just want to say a big thank you to the Sherlock fandom—you’ve inspired me, challenged me, and taught me so much. You’ve helped me see areas in my own writing that I need to grow in—as far as representation, getting out of my own comfort zone, being more aware of the impact that the way I tell my story can have on my readers.

And going forward, no matter what the Sherlock creators plan to do next, I can tell you what I’m going to do:

I’m going to do a better job at representation in my books. I’ve been wanting to, especially with LGBTQ+ characters, for some time, but I knew there was a lot I needed to learn and understand first because I really want to get it right and my upbringing and younger experiences didn’t prepare me at all for that. I’m getting there, and you all are helping so much with that, and I’m very grateful.

I’m going to keep learning, and I’m going to continue trying to find and then promote stories that offer the representation we all need to have. Marginalized people need to be represented. But I also need them to be represented, whether the diversity represents me or not. I need to have those stories normalized. I need it because I need to get rid of my own biases and misunderstandings. I need it because I need more empathy. I need a broader perspective.

This is what story is supposed to do—provide validation, challenge ideas, help people grow, inspire them, give them hope. Bring about greater justice and compassion and empathy.

Time will tell whether or not Sherlock accomplished any of this, or even meant to.

But I think we all can take away a few lessons from it that ought to be applied to real life as well as the fandom:

Compassion, not cleverness, matters in the end.

Love—in all its forms—is more important than being right.

Emotions, connection, relationships are life-saving, not a liability.

Forgiveness is healing.

Hugs and love to you all! I’ll be a bit quiet after this because of my writing project, but I’m not going away entirely, and I’m looking forward to where the conversation heads from here.

#bbc sherlock #meta #spoilers #tfprob #s4 #story structure #storytelling

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aquaburst3 · 7 years

Text

Welp. I think I calmed down enough to say my thoughts on the season.

I enjoyed it a lot. First, I want to do bullet points of what I like and didn’t like...

Likes

Galra Keith

Keith’s mom being the badass Galra rebel and a human father

Blade of Marmora

Pidge geeking out over video games

Hunk being an awesome cook and having a huge line of people enjoying his food

That mall cop in episode 7

Haggar’s reveal (didn’t see that one coming, but still cool)

Prince Lotor being named dropped, making him be a huge player in season 3. Can’t wait to see him in the next one, especially with the show runners being fans of him xP

More clues about what happened to Matt and his whereabouts

More focus on Keith’s past

Diving deeper into Keith and Shiro’s bond

Pidge and Lance spending time together in the mall episode

Keith having a team up episode with Hunk

That tutorial video Coran made back in the day (Am I the only one who thought of Steven Universe when I saw that?)

Lance doubting himself, hinting at more development in season 3

More good Galra

That final fight, yo

Hunk’s “I think you becoming Galra made you a better Keith” line

Return of Shay and the other Balmara

Shiro finally getting a bayard

"He’s like a second dad to me" So Coran and Alfor were gay lovers? Nice (I kid, but I can dream)

More character development for Keith, Shiro, Pidge, Allura and Coran

How Shiro escaped the Galra

Lance Naruto running and dolphin jumping in the same scene

The mermaids

Lance praising all of his other teammates, being willing to do anything for them

Dislikes

Hunk and Lance not having as much focus and character development in this season. (fingers crossed for more in season 3)

No Lance and Keith team up episode

Where the hell is a reaction scene to Galra Keith thing to his teammates? Really, nothing?

What the hell happened to the cow?

With that out of the way, now my more detailed thoughts. Over all, I enjoyed this season a lot, and the positives out way the negatives for me.

The season a bit rushed and more story heavy, instead of balancing characters and story more. Certain moments that should’ve developed a whole lot more got glossed over (hi everyone’s reaction to Galra Keith). I feel like certain characters could’ve got more moments to shine and development like Lance. It should’ve been a couple episodes longer, so they flesh out some of these elements more, since the writers tried to cram in a lot of world building and plot into 13 episodes.

I think the aftermath of the Galra Keith reveal could have been handled better. I even went back and rewatched the last bit and the first bit of episode 9 a few times because I thought I missed something or I missed a social cue (I have ASD) or something. While I know most of the fandom saw Galra Keith coming from a mile away for several months now, but come on! This is still a huge reveal and a huge news dropped on his teammates…we never see any of their first reactions to it?! It just seems odd and disappointing.

Pidge’s brother and father were kidnapped by them and Shiro was captured and tortured by them for a year, yet we see no reaction from them.

With the Ford Pines reveal in Gravity Falls, which this reminds me a lot of, was handled a lot better. The Author of the Journals theory, from what I heard, was a huge fanon theory that got the canon seal during Not What He Seems (I was only getting into the fandom when it first aired). They left us on a cliff hanger for months on end – sure (which I am still salty about). But even with that said, there was a whole episode afterwards where Ford and Stan sit the Pines twins down and talk about what just happened. Dipper is angry about Stan hiding things at first, but then calms down right away, knowing that Stan wasn’t kidding about the, “Everything I worked for and everything I care about – it’s all for this family!” line. He even fanboys over Ford a lot, bonding with him afterwards. Mabel calms down about it too, but then seeds of doubt grow in her heart about her and Dipper growing a part (it’s a long story).

I think Voltron needed an episode like that where Keith and Shiro fill everyone in on what happened with everyone’s reaction. Then Shiro accepts him, calming him down; Lance is fine with it; Hunk is hesitant at first, but grows to accept him; Pidge is angered by the whole thing and a bit distant of him for a bit, but then grows to accept him; Allura is salty af about it, even afterwards. But nope, we get nothing....great...

Like I said before, I wish Hunk and Lance got more focus in this season, especially Lance.

However, I have a hunch that might change in season 3 and Lance will get more development since the show really hints at Lance having self doubt issues about him being a disposable member of the team. If Shiro is out for the count for the next one, that would mean Keith will pilot Black and Allura would fill in for Blue, making Lance fly Red like in Go Lion. That could make those feelings of self doubt and anger bubble up even more since for him it would come off that anyone could have filled in that chair after all and is not as special. While I know the season made it out that Lance is purged of his doubts, I find that highly unlikely. Trust me. To be a hundred percent honest, one area I can relate to Lance -- among many others -- is the fact I have self doubt issues. Sure, I panic and do not think straight when I do, unlike Lance, who is a lot more cool headed in those situations, but it is something I struggle with. Not to get super personal, after a certain event in my life, for a long time afterwards I thought I was genuinely stupid and it was pointless to continue writing and drawing since I thought could never compare to my peers. Don’t worry; I am a lot better now than back then, pushing towards my goals more then before. Not gonna lie, there are moments when I am confident, but those feelings of doubt do came back at times. I think it is the same thing for Lance. Sure, he might have calmed himself down then, but that might not last long and hit him hard in the future. If my theory about Lotor being Lance’s dark mirror is true, he will have even more moments in the sun and someone to test him and contrast his personality. I hope to the gods and goddesses so... But hey, I’m optimistic about this since the show staff are talented writers.

With that said, like I said before there are many cool moments in this season and the positives out weigh the negatives outside of what I just stated. My favourite episodes have to be 2, 7 and 8.

Galra Keith is canon now! I find it cool that it’s implied that his father was the human and his mother was a Galra rebel. Guess those Galra Keith one shots about his mom being a Galra rebel on AO3 were right (um, forget who the author of those were, so if you know, please let me know).

My theory about Keith’s backstory harkening back to Guardians of the Galaxy was also right with it hinting that Keith’s father fell in love with an alien and then got attacked by Zarkon’s forces, killing him. It makes me wonder where his mom is. (Maybe in season 3? ;))

That last fight with Zarkon was intense as hell, but a blast to watch. I still wonder, what the hell happened to Zarkon and Shiro? Personally, I don't think Shiro died and is out of commission...but even that I am wary about. Especially with the show having no problem killing off secondary characters on both sides...

Lotor never showed up in this…I think (I still have hopes he could be that masked dude that Hunk and Keith come across), but he got name dropped and is revealed to be a huge player in season 3 by the show runners. So, is Lotor the villain for the next season? Is Lotor that masked dude that helps out Hunk and Keith in that one episode? (Seriously, who was that?) But hey, at least he’s canon now and will be a main player in season 3. I am super excited about that. If he’s a villain, I still hope that he is a complex villain like Azula or Yami Bakura and not a piece of cardboard like in Go Lion/the Go Lion dub. And how come I got the feeling the fandom is gonna freak out when Lotor shows up because he is a fan favourite in Go Lion?

Over all, the season is very good, but has a few major flaws. I do have a few gripes with it. To be fair, I think all pieces of media has flaws.

#vld2 spoilers #aqua rambles

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