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#the pushing boundaries episode™️
faejilly · 10 months
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so I wanted to riff off of @alexanderlightweight's response to the Alec/Bow/Quiver/summoning meta post by @ralfstrashcan that I reblogged recently, but also I didn't want it to get lost in an increasingly long reblog chain, so I'm gonna quote and start over here:
100%
my headcanon is that it's alec's shadowhunter ability like clary's rune ability and apparently the herondale ghost talking ability(??)
if we really want to take it a step further. we can even talk about how izzy has specially made weapons that have to be super tricky to use which means weapons ability
but that's just my brain. which made that one scene where alec goes back to the institute make no sense, to retrieve his bow because literally every other time he doesn't need to (they just wanted to give clace the training moment and set up the whole hodge thing)
1: I also think Alec's 'have to go get a bow' is just an excuse, but he's using it to a) get away from Jace behaving incomprehensibly & Clary being So Very Clary, AND b) to cover their tracks now that he's realized just HOW comprehensively his siblings are going to go off the rails in the next day or so. (And on a narrative level I really like the scene with Hodge so I'm glad it exists. 😅)
2: I headcanon that part of the reason Alec (& to a lesser extent but still noticeably so, Izzy) can get away with pushing so many Clave/Nephilim boundaries without actually getting deruned despite their parents being on Thin Fucking Ice™️ with well, everyone, is that they have inherited both Family Traits and that's valuable enough (especially after all the losses during and after the Uprising) that the Clave really really doesn't want to get rid of them.
(Similarly, there's some hope that Jace and/or his expected children might show signs of the Wayland traits coming to life again as they've died out otherwise. Obviously that goes a bit sideways once they finally pick up on How Very Herondale he is, but luckily he's Herondale so that's still a benefit.)
Truebloods: very literally truth-tellers. Variations on their skills include the ability to recognize lies, off the charts charisma when they are invoking what they believe to be the truth, and an ability to make the most awkward truths palatable to audiences that normally wouldn't want to engage with them. They were traditionally the guardians of the Soul Sword whenever it left the City of Bones, but that honor faded away over the years as the Council with the Consul/Inquisitor as heads centralized power in their own hands.
Izzy can be seen doing this during her trial, because even when her personal behavior has included digs & microaggressions against Downworlders, she believes that they as a people can and should do better and her speech clearly works in-universe because of that resonance of truth.
(She even occasionally manages the sincere/heart-felt clunky dialogue that works despite being clunky that Alec's so good at, and poor Jace doesn't, despite his best attempts, because for all he's a Lightwood in every other way that matters, he's not actually part Trueblood.)
Maryse has several hints of Alec's same blunt (inexplicably successful) sincerity once she lets herself stop hiding behind Politics & Expectations. When she's upset with Izzy about spending time with the Seelie in s1, she has a line that always felt very self-recriminating to me; (I'm paraphrasing here since I'm too lazy to pull up the script or episode): 'never trust a people who can't lie, they'll find more imaginative ways to stab you in the back'. She knows this about the Seelie because it's what she's always done.
(Alec's shock at his parents being in the Circle can't be because it's against their politics as they've never really tried to behave better. Perhaps it's because it never occurred to him that they could lie that well. Especially his mother, since he has a much better relationship with her than Robert.)
This means that Maryse buying into Valentine's rhetoric was invaluable to him, because she could back him up and help make sure people would fall for it, because she was a Trueblood. Equally, when she turns, that is part of why the Clave lets them back in. Her vow to now toe the party line is completely believable, because she promised on her children... who are also Truebloods.
This also means that their bloodline is one that would not always be popular since they can call out power when it's behaving badly; thus the apparent decline of Trueblood standing in the way that the show refuses to ever really acknowledge it in the present day timeline, and instead talks about Lightwood honor.
(But countered in the way The Clave doesn't move directly against Alec Lightwood, HotI, despite gay and living with a Downworlder, despite how much clear disdain he has for so many of them and their policies. They aren't willing to risk what a Trueblood could do if pushed into active rebellion.)
Lightwoods have a much more palatable martial gift. Their affinity for the adamas in their weapons means they can bond with them, sometimes strongly enough to summon them, manipulate them in the field, adapt them and rune them and enhance them in ways most Shadowhunters can't. (We never see anyone doing anything resembling Alec runing his arrows in s1 after all. What if most of them can't?)
As shown by Izzy in s3 as Weapon's Master, in Alec's ability to beat his parabatai (the supposed best fighter of a generation) when they're sparring with weapons even if he loses once they get to hand-to-hand, Izzy's unique skill with a whip, Alec fighting with everything he gets his hands on, from seraph blades to his signature bow to actual arrows for stabbing. (As seen in everything in ralf's original meta post and delightful fic.)
There's even something in the fact that Izzy was interested in joining the Iron Sisters (which while prestigious also involves even more sacrifice from a people who have to sacrifice a lot already and are thus vital enough that they let Cleophas join despite her past because they needed her) and yet Izzy stayed active duty -- and presumably eventually marriageable.
(I frequently wonder if part of why she chose to make herself as unpalatable as possible for a traditional/political match was a lingering bit of awareness that that was what The Clave most wanted from her, regardless of who she wanted to be.)
ALSO! There has to be a reason that Robert Lightwood was valuable enough to keep even when they got rid of Maryse, a reason the show reiterates Lightwood honor over and over again, a reason he & Maryse got to be co-Heads of an Institute (even if the general fanon that they were more constrained than most Proper Heads does fit what little we see), and we never actually see Robert fighting or sparring, but we are repeatedly told that his children are the best of the best.
But it's seldom mentioned as a compliment, is it? More like an expectation. They're Lightwoods, they have to be the best with their weapons, or what is the point of them? It's just another weight added to Alec's so-called crown, another expectation Izzy has to both flaunt and fight against every day so she can have at least a little bit of herself left to hold onto.
(The one thing Jace is good at, the one bit of the monster his father built that helps; he's as good with a blade as a Lightwood. It's the only thing that gives him hope for redemption, the only thing that gives him enough conviction to ask Alec to be his parabatai and protect his soul from himself.)
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jwcc-confessions · 6 months
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To be upfront, I like both ships.
Season 4 had a lot of bad takes when it came to romance, from Brooklyn thinking Kenji’s tantrum towards Darius was “kind of adorable” to Yaz telling Sammy that she was the only reason that had any feelings at all.
I also hate how the ships started from a lack of basic respect of personal boundaries on Sammy and Kenji’s end. Like when Yaz told Sammy she wasn’t really a hugger and Sammy told her that she was now. (We can see that Yaz actually appreciates the hug but Sammy can’t.) and when Kenji continued to flirt with Brooklyn after she repeatedly turned him down and was visibly annoyed with him doing it.
Like sure, it all worked out for all of them, they became close friends getting together, and the relationships are healthy, but those takes and starting points still irk me. Especially since this is a kids show.
I have many thoughts about this. You're right about Kenji, he flirts with Brooklynn and Yaz a lot in s1 and is generally a jerk. And the show acknowledges that to an extent, it's played for laughs and then he gets Character Development™️ so the show sort of lumps all his past asshat behaviours together and writes them off in one go, so we're expected to forget about the persistent flirting? Made more annoying by the fact that he does "get the girl" in the end anyway. Yeah it's after he's mellowed out and he's more sincere by then, but still. It's worth pointing out that it feels a bit icky.
Sammy is an interesting case because the show never acknowledges her boundary pushing with Yaz as something that's bad. In fact it's seen more as a good thing because it "pays off" and even Yaz is grateful for it in hindsight. I do hate how Yaz's development is credited all to Sammy. Feels like an unhealthy over reliance on a single friendship turned relationship, which yeah can happen irl but an episode exploring that would've been great. Let Yaz realise she needs more than one solid relationship (platonic included) to be truly emotionally fulfilled.
Fact is they're all teens with shitty teen behaviours made worse by a shitty survival situation. And that's cool, if the show was intended for a slightly older audience then maybe they could've delved way more into that. They can do shitty things and get called out on it and grow from it. But because the target is much younger kids then it's all just brushed off or treated as not so serious.
If they did go for a more mature and realistic representation of teen dynamics then we probably would've got more love triangles and break ups and relationship drama and idk I'd rather just have more dinosaurs
TLDR: you're not wrong
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phanspledent · 2 years
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i think doing A Quiet Year as a set up was the best idea. im relistening to the prologues and i cant get over it.
like i think what made Balance such a beautiful story was that it wasnt meant to be a story in the first place.The Adventure Zone started as a MaxFun bonus episode and then spiraled from there, meaning that Griffin had to take temporary and spin it into more depth. This allowed for both a lot of creative freedom and a lot of creative problem solving (retconing without retconing).
it isnt exactly the same, but i think A Quiet Year gave them enough of an opportunity for improv? So instead of trying to force a sweeping epic with seeds planting in episode 1, there is a level of organic collaboration that i dont think we see in Amnesty or Graduation. Obviously Griffin has a plan™️ but i think that that plan was heavily shaped by the input of Travis, Justin, and Clint during A Quiet Year, which then gives Griffin as DM a bit of a boundary to both play within and push against.
Like when they first put down the geographic features like the cave, they didnt know that would create codite would create biggest baby would create an entire army system that has an effect on PC relations and missions. I mean they knew these things would effect the Ethersea season but there was no original story board(outside of the four “kingdoms”) piecing everything exactly together.
I think great storytelling (especially when pressured) can go too wide too quickly, trying to plan big twists and reveals and character moments from the jump. I just dm’d my first one shot and I totally fell victim to that, even just for a few sessions. And while they are all definitely operating on their own lore and the character development they want to try and steer to at times, I think having such a collaborative world keeps everyone within the bounds together. In my opinion, the Mcelroys are best when they bounce off eachother, its why I love listening to them play.
Everyone is using A Quiet Year in such a great way too, its the echos of that year on the beach that we feel now. The way the PCs tie back is so unique. And I personally LOVE the call backs. When Hermine showed up for the first time or Joshy? That was so satisfying it felt like an easter egg for its own story.
Also, nothing is ever going to beat Brother Seldom’s final monologue in the set up episodes followed by the beat drop. I mean, Griffin came close this past week, but its still undefeated.
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Another Wednesday, another review of the new Andor episode!
So first off, what I call the Mom Scene™️, it was pathetically funny. Like, SHE POURS HIM CEREALS. Syril is really being treated like a kid, like he can't handle himself so he goes back to his mom and she pulls strings for him to get back on the ladder. Like seriously the way she talks to him and correct his posture and gives him cereals - nothing wrong with any of that in itself you know, but in this context for that specific character, it just really emphasize how pathetic he is (and we love to see that)
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To keep talking about Mom Scenes™️, the one with Mon Mothma was good because it's like; calling her out on how she is performing (which is true in a way because last week she had a dinner planned with people she publicly drags in the mud for their ethics and stuff...so you know) but it was also kinda...sad?? To see her so alone within her family. And let's not talk about the husband who just. Laugh at their daughter's behavior.
Like okay the daughter makes a few good points but she isn't entirely right either. And as parents you're supposed to like, work together on the education of your children. If one parent says "grab your coat and let's go" (especially for something that has been planned) and the kid says "no actually dad will drive me there, now relax and just go", your role as the other parent should be to defend your spouse and tell your kid to speak better to her mom.
What he did instead (agreeing to drive her daughter there, laughing at how she spoke to her mom, basically not standing up to defend his wife - as a parent - but instead siding with her daughter when said daughter was being a tad bit disrespectful to her mom...) was just the proof that they don't really know how to work together as parents, and it goes along with how they do not work together as a couple either.
So anyway, this family is not working well and the tension in that scene made me feel bad--
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I really liked the talk between Skeen and Cassian, about the prisons tattoos and having a sort of shared experience that no other could understand. It also interesting because this scene creates a something between them that, i think, helps for the last scene they have togehter in the episode. (Talk about this later in that post)
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Erm erm. THEY DIDN'T KNOW THE WEIGHT. !!!
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When Cassian said 'Don't touch me'. You could see how tensed he was. His eyes were both empty and full of rage like you could tell he suddenly went on a very defensive mode, ready to strike if they kept pushing his boundaries.
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"Can you imagine it, if they were thousands of them here?" "Yes i can."
Pain. Just. Pain.
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I think Cinta shares her blanket with blonde girl.
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There are a lot of references to Cassian being a soldier/ an ex prisoner, like through story telling and hints (recognising a tattoo, knowing how a soldier walks, why they should switch sides when walking, not liking being touched or when his stuff is moved around and all) and. I just love that smart backstory building. It's not just straight up telling you about his past, it gives you hints and glimpses and you have to figure it out with these pieces and it allows your imagination to run and sometimes imagining is worse than straight up knowing because you can only imagine what he might have been through that made him so defensive and just. Who he is now you know.
Very smart way to do it, kudos to everyone working on that.
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The fact that Blonde Girl (I forgot her name sorry) gets in between Cassian and Cinta and says "stay focused Clem" but nothing leads us to think that there is anything going on between Cinta & Cassian or that Cassianis interested in Cinta makes just confirms to me that the girls are together
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Burning the maquette =foreshadowing?
(We'll see how it goes next episode but it might definitely be a foreshadowing)
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The MUSIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE MUSIC IS SO GOOD HOW IS IT SO GOOD IT MATCHES SO WELL NO SERIOUSLY I LOVE IT
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Omg that scene was good. The tension between everyone. The reveal. Cassian being straightforward and telling them that it's pkay to be scared but that they need to hold their shit together and not blame him for their fears. That was good.
And like. I like that later on Skeen tries to apologise to Cassian by explaining that he is really against the Empire. And the fact that they talked earlier about their past experiences, I think it helped them get to that apologizing/accepting moment. It was nice to see that.
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Oh one of them is going to die that is for sure (I don't remember why i wrote that but i stand by that statement and I put my bet on Blonde Girl or Nemik)
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That scene in the museum, "it will all be over tomorrow that time" "or it will just be started"- Omg chills chills CHILLS
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So basically; Syril Karn is a pathetic mama's boy, Cassian is being tested by the team and everyone is tensed & nervous, Mon Mothma's family is hu clearly not perfect, and next episode will have me rolling on the floor - I have yet to determine if it will be from sadness or excitement.
But really. This episode was so good. Once again. I am seriously so amazed and happy that Andor is. This good. I was seriously worried they were going to butcher it but so far it has brought me nothing but satisfaction. Seriously recommend the show.
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oksanaastankova · 2 years
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ke fandom: can u pls give us something, we’re dying here.
jodie: there’s this episode where.... *looks down* *laughs* yeah, i can’t talk about it.
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antiloreolympus · 2 years
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5 Anti LO Asks
1. I get why they wouldn't do it but Webtoons should put a cap on how many episodes a comic can have, because Rachel is obvs going to drag LO in the 300s and beyond at this point, which is just not good writing when so little has actually moved along. If they said she was only allowed at most 150 episodes then she'd be forced to cut the excess and really put focus on what needs to be told/developed, not letting her shove in what seems like 12 different comic ideas into one.
2. The character design is so lazy that people act like it's "pushing the boundaries" that Leto has black eyes. Like what?? That's just Hera with different eyes? Then there's Daphne being a Persephone rip off, Athena is just Hades in gray, Thanatos is Hades in white, like?? How lazy can you be with this? At least give them some interesting clothes?
3. i know this would verge right into "woman dies for man pain" territory but there is some debate leuce was originally hades' first wife and when she died thats why he went so long without finding another one because he was so upset over her passing. then again she's a nymph and rachel has some weird hard on against "lower class" women so she'd never allow that
4. I feel like LO ran right into the same issue of other series do where the wrtier thinks they're smart for making the series Mature™️ by trying to bring up real world issues (classism, capitalism, slavery, etc) but because they also want a rich person fantasy who benefits from these injustices they end up in a dumb middle ground of trying to justify their rich asshole characters and how the injustices are actually a good thing. Rachel your talent isnt in writing please dont overcomplicate it more
5. Yknow, I think I’d like Persephone a lot more if she was a bitch. Imagine if she took advantage of Hades’ special treatment of her, and flaunted the fact that he was in love with her—all for her own gain. She could still be naive, but not in the childlike way she is, rather she doesn’t understand the dangerous game she’s playing by taking advantage of the literal king of the Underworld. I just think something like that would be way more interesting than her current personality & motives. 
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