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butwhatifidothis · 3 years

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So. Took a look into that fic @nilsh13 is going through the comments of. Dunno if I’ll actually go through the entire thing - 300k words is certainly a lot of words to read through, especially with it still updating, but I’ve read through/am reading through longer ones - but I jumped to the latest chapter to get a feel for where the fic’s at now.

I’m not halfway through the chapter and I have Words To Say lmao, under the cut

This is going to be as serious a critique about the sections I’ve selected as possible - I want to be clear why I think what is being written is not of high quality, pointing out specifically what I have wrong with it.

Here are some snippets of the fic (boldened), and following those snippets are my thoughts on them:

“My actions have caused immense turmoil, pitting friend against friend, mother against daughter, and brother against sister*,” muttered Edelgard, desperately trying to drive any hint of self-pity (emphasis mine) from her voice. “My best friend has been disowned by her family, Hubert and Ferdinand’s fathers are dead or imprisoned, and the woman I love is now deemed a heretic by the Church that once offered her shelter. The weight of my decisions seems to pull down all who are caught in the shadow of the Imperial crown.” The Flame Emperor gave Professor Hanneman a wan smile. “Whatever imagined slights you believe you have committed against me, they pale in comparison to the carnage my own words and deeds have unleashed.”

""I made my choice, the only choice I could make, and dragged this continent down to hell with me. It makes me a poor ruler, and an even baser person, but that was the path I knew I must take.""

“"It is funny you use the word ‘choice’, Miss Edelgard. When I resigned my title to study at Garreg Mach, I lost marriage prospects, became penniless outside of a small stipend…I even renounced the opportunity to have a family.” Hanneman smiled, his whole body suffused with melancholy. “Really, how could I dare to dream of bringing a daughter into a world this senseless and cruel, knowing that someday, she too, could be hurt in such a way? I…I would not survive it.” The man’s body shook. “I sacrificed those things, things I desperately wanted, because the chance to allow my sister to rest in peace was more important. And I would make that choice again, despite all that it has cost me. You are much the same.”"

"“But your sacrifices were your own,” protested the Emperor of Adrestia. “Thousands bleed for the choices that I have made, and sacrifice themselves for the cause that I have placed before them. There is a profound difference-“"

"“We are both wise enough to know a painful truth,” said the scholar with a melancholy smile. “No matter how grave the sins, no matter how many innocents suffer…there will be countless individuals who will defend the law not because it is just, or righteous, but because it is the law. They will permit a hundred Abysses, and a thousand women to be raped, and a million dead children, as long as such actions do not disturb their order.” He placed a hand on Edelgard’s shoulder. “To stand against such moral rot, knowing that the world will despise and vilify you for it, is the truest sign of not only a just ruler, but a good woman.”"

"The academic’s words blazed with the passion of both a scholar and a man who had watched his world crumble to ash. A man who had been forced to live in the remnants of a life forever altered by the cruelty of both society and of humanity. And yet he had fought, the only way he could, to make the world better. It gave the Flame Emperor new resolve."

"“I…” He turned and looked away. “I believe in you, Miss Edelgard. When I see you, and your determination, your spirit, your bravery in choosing not what is easy, but what is right…it reminds me of her.” Fingers clenched around his locket. “I will fight for you, in the way I should have fought for my sister, long ago. My strength is meagre, and my courage more meagre still. However, all of it is yours.”"

The author writes Edelgard as one trying to give pity onto herself for her actions, despite how negatively they affect her, due to the immense ramifications those actions have had on those both around her and those under her care. This is the appropriate response to someone who has done as morally dubious an action as starting and spearheading a war that has led to the deaths and suffering of countless innocent people, some of whom were undoubtedly already going through immense suffering without war compounding itself onto their already existing pain. She - rightfully - points as, as a negative towards herself, that she has forced thousands of people to sacrifice their lives, livelihoods, friends, family, homes, etc. in order to continue with her war. Edelgard's canonical self-justification - that she had no other choice to do this - is properly utilized, and further characterization is given to her when she herself recognizes that performing such horrendous actions on the people under her care makes her a poor ruler and terrible person. This is, in truth, a decent set-up for her to go onto a possible path of redemption or self-realization.

However, that progress is forcibly stopped and reverted by Hanneman justifying her actions and recontextualizing them in a morally good light. In fact, the entire story does this, as characters act wildly out of character in order for Edelgard to be seen as good in comparison to them. Focusing on the quoted lines, however, Hanneman relating him giving up nobility and going into momentary poverty - whether true to canon or not - to Edelgard's war actively paints her actions as something that she had a right to be making, which she does not, as they force others to make sacrifices for her cause. When she herself rightfully points this discrepancy out, Hanneman excuses her actions by pointing to another - supposed - source of turmoil and essentially saying "You are more right than x, therefore your y actions are not only better, but objectively good, and make you a good person." He says nothing of the inherent injustice of taking away the choice of the people to live as they want and fight for who they want as well as deliberately taking away any semblance of safety from them, and makes objective statements about Edelgard's moral righteousness despite her taking actions that would, by definition, make her moral righteousness a subjective matter at minimum.

Hanneman is projecting the image of his sister and his own personal sense of justice onto Edelgard, and thus sees her as just as much a victim of the war and society as everyone else. Edelgard is a young woman who has gone through trauma due to Crests, as was his sister, and he himself (in this story, though not within the quoted lines) wanted to beat the man who abused his sister to death, and so he sees Edelgard using violence as a means to achieve justice as not only not questionable, but morally good and brave, as he felt he was not brave enough to enact "justice" onto the man that caused his sister's death. Instead of this being settled, focused on, or even mentioned, despite its obvious nature due to deliberate connections Hanneman himself makes, it is used as a means to showcase that Hanneman is a, for lack of a better term, "expert" on what he is saying when speaking to Edelgard. He knows what it's like to want to force change, he has by-proxy experienced the apparent injustice of the Church - not human society, not his family's decision to allow his sister to be married off, not the man who caused her death's decision to discard her, but strictly the Church and only the Church - and so he can "rightfully" justify and excuse Edelgard's morally questionable actions and paint them in a solely positive light, with no nuance or gray whatsoever.

Edelgard, in the first quote, attempts to say her actions without a tone of self-pity, and yet the narrative itself pities Edelgard. She should be allowed to feel bad about her actions - not because they are causing unfathomable suffering on people who were underserving, but because they’re just hard decisions that she was good and brave to make and maybe she can feel a little bad for herself for making them. She shouldn't feel responsible for choosing to start the war - in fact, did she really have a choice, or did everyone else in society force her to? She shouldn't question whether she's a good person or not, because she simply is - no debate, no question. She is - “justly” - standing up against "moral rot"; that she does so with even more moral rot is irrelevant, because, according to the story, it is not as rotten as that she's up against, therefore it is no longer rotten in the first place. War has been completely justified, as it is now not the last resort of desperation that could only ever be morally grey at its absolute best, but an objectively morally white decision of an objectively morally white person who is facing an objectively morally black opponent.

The actions of other characters attempt to paint Edelgard as someone closer to the former, but I will - maybe - eventually go over how those characters are extremely mischaracterized in order to prop Edelgard as their moral superior.

#anti edelgard #Anti-edelgard #Edelgard critical #o captain my captain #<- borrowing nilsh's tag for this lmao in case I do end up continuing this #but yeah from just the latest chapter there are characters that 100% cheerlead for the pure righteousness that is Edelgard #so yeah that's... gonna be fun lmao

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swampgallows · 5 years

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I've been rereading War Crimes and been wondering if Christie Golden had other hopes/plans for Sylv's character arc or if her current predicament just represents the logical conclusion of what we see of her in the novels and post-WoD WoW. What are your thoughts/care to reiterate current stance on Sylv as a fellow horde player?

This has been in my ask box a long time because I’ve wanted to reply to this properly and possibly reread War Crimes again in order to have a more fleshed-out answer, but as far as Golden’s characterization in War Crimes all I remember is the weird incest vibe going on with her sister. As a younger sister myself, I would balk out of my MIND if my sister started clutching my hands and “Little Moon”-ing me the way Sylvanas did to Vereesa. It’s like literally all I remember about her in that book, lmao. I’m also an older sister as well, but to a younger brother, and though he has many childhood nicknames there’s no way I’d be cooing at him with those as an adult, especially if I were trying to console him mourning over his murdered spouse.

As far as Sylvanas’ current arc: I know Garrosh 2.0 is a tired argument, but both now suffer a drastic character shift with extremely flimsy or obfuscated motivation. When things were slowly percolating up to the Siege of Orgrimmar, the fanbase (allegedly, as I was not playing during MoP) was still left scratching their heads over Garrosh’s character shift. Even with all the books, comics, cinematics, and questlines, there was still no explicit cut-and-dry understanding of how Garrosh went from celebrated war hero to chaotic evil villain.

I haven’t conducted the same amount of research on Sylvanas that I have on Garrosh, but my point is that it really shouldn’t be required to understand why self-destruction is Sylvanas’ “logical conclusion”. If there’s any major gripe that I have with any of Blizzard’s writing, it’s the fact that, up until Legion, character—and even campaign—motivations have been extremely vague, sacrificed in favor of comic book action sequences or pulpy one-liners (”What a king must do.”). I’m not saying everything should be spelled out, but that basic questions of “What are we doing and why?” shouldn’t need to be hunted down through five different types of media (and even then, the source material is vague).

Blizzard assured players that the burning of Teldrassil was not what it seemed, that Sylvanas would be cemented in a “morally gray” area, and that all of our questions would be answered with the Warbringers short. And what motives did we glean from that animatic?

“Can’t I?”

BUT GALLOWS, THE FLASHBACK— you know what’s not a reaction to trauma and feeling like you couldn’t save your own people? Killing them. You know what completely goes against all of Sylvanas’ legitimately morally gray actions—conscripting the val’kyr, using the blight, the search to preserve her people (even seeking the aid of Helya and attempting to enslave Eyir)? KILLING HER OWN PEOPLE. And to be perfectly clear, I am referring not to Teldrassil but to the Battle of Lordaeron where Sylvanas is using her people, the Forsaken, as ammo and meatshields. How is this her “logical conclusion”? Not pointing fingers at you, necessarily, but what is Sylvanas’ goal if not to save her people?

When someone asks the question, “Why did Sylvanas burn Teldrassil?” it shouldn’t require a Pepe Silvia paper trail to answer. It shouldn’t require a Bible-level citation of one line of a psalm in the seventh Book of Christie which says it was actually Saurfang’s idea. The real answer, which she reveals in a very-skippable dialog box of the time-sensitive War of Thorns event and also in the delayed-release online novellas Elegy / A Good War, is that she was cutting off the Alliance’s route to azerite. Darnassus and Teldrassil as a whole are the largest territories the Alliance has claimed on Kalimdor; with Theramore already rubble and Teldrassil in flames, the Alliance has virtually no way of getting azerite to their larger territories on the Eastern Kingdoms.

Now, to me, a nuclear arms race like that is morally gray. There is no easy answer. But even a line like “now the azerite is ours”, or something to that effect, isn’t present in the more substantial media (like the short), which might make it a better standalone piece but suffers an actual connection to the events of the game.

So how does stymieing the war for azerite translate into raising your already twice-dead people as skeletons to keep fighting? Using the Blight? Blighting your own capital, evacuated or not? Forcibly turning the deceased? When you create a new Forsaken, the val’kyr gives you the option to embrace your new life or to be returned to your grave. It it a heavy and intimate interaction that asks consent; raising your soldiers again as blighted skeletons mid-battle is not.

For where things are in the story now, I have absolutely NO idea what Sylvanas is thinking or what her motives are. I feel like a lot of this is intentionally (hopefully, hopefully) left up to speculation and possibly culminating later down the line as BFA unfolds. She did all of those questionable things in the past for the sake of going to great lengths to get her revenge on Arthas and end the Scourge while also avenging her people, the Forsaken, and ensuring that they do not die out. This is most certainly “morally gray”, and in my opinion one of the most stirring and provocative threads of controversy in Warcraft’s entire lore: is it ethical to perpetuate the Forsaken people?

I have mained a Forsaken since 2005, but even as a wee little Andorhal plaguelet neither me nor my character have ever trusted Sylvanas. I understood that she was among the more powerful of the Forsaken, and without her taking advantage of Arthas when he was weak and rallying us initially there may not have even been the Forsaken. However, I always found it unnerving that there was no once-human Lordaeronian representation for the Forsaken. Under Sylvanas and Varimathras it felt a lot like me and my fellow farmer peasant buddies were getting screwed out of something.

Enter Putress, who has a sick fucking plague doctor mask but materialized from nothing, and all of a sudden we were doing favors for this previously-unheard of Grand Apothecary. I was skeptical and so were many of my Forsaken peers, and it turns out our intuition hadn’t fully rotted away, as then the Wrathgate ensued. Lilian Voss seems somewhat promising as an actual Forsaken figurehead, but it’s taken her five expansions to steadily climb the ranks of importance.

But why would anyone follow Sylvanas now? What’s in it for them? At least among the goblins and the orcs following Garrosh they gained an illusion of supremacy and a promise of conquest and power; what’s in it for Sylvanas’ followers? Just obeying orders? A slice of the azerite pie? Fear that there is no choice? Is it an honor to sacrifice our lives for the Dark Lady, as it was Ishi and the Kor’kron’s honor to allow Garrosh to experiment on them with the Divine Bell?

Vol’jin had “never trusted” Sylvanas, and we still don’t know the loa that told him to name her his successor. Saurfang says that “There is no honor in this.” So… what is up? Why do we give Sylvanas or Nathanos the time of day? I don’t datamine and I’ve only completed up to the current war campaign once so maybe I’m missing something, but I seriously have no idea what Sylvanas’ plans are.

Sayge’s Fortune #19: The Forsaken are up to something.

This time, we Forsaken don’t even know what it is.

#metacraft #world of warcraft #battle for azeroth #long post #thepoopdiary #ask #seatimeless #incest cw /

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firebirdsdaughter · 5 years

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When you wish you were asleep…

… Watch raws! XD

Actually, I still kind of wish I was asleep. Maybe I’ll grab a nap after this. (-_-)

But on to my children!

In no order and w/ many typos:

Okay, look. Wyzul’s not ‘weak,’ he’s just meant to have essentially the opposite style of Tankjoh. He’s a ‘planner.’ The manipulative, cunning ‘evil genius type.’ Doesn’t mean anyone has to like him, or think he’s a good villain—hell, I promise you I already miss Tankjoh, too—but he’s not ‘weak.’ He just has a different style. His plan this week was actually rather clever.

Sorry. Wanted to get that off my chest. I miss Tankjoh, too, but I actually like that they followed him w/ a general w/ an opposite style, that the one time Tankjoh kind of tried it, it got him killed (the plan w/ the Cerberus Minusaur).

XD TOUWA. Oh, honey. Who put you in the back? ^^

Knowing the twist makes this whole thing all the more hilarious, somehow.

Though this plan was actually rather clever! If Cardena hadn’t had a few slips in her words… Though admittedly, she was so clearly anxious about it that Banba and/or Melto might have caught onto something anyway, but… It was close.

Banba’s become naturally suspicious, so he may have doubted them anyway, but… It could’ve worked.

Poor Touwa’s so short. And even Banba is kinda hiding in the back there! XD

Other facts about Banba: Google Earth, always taking pics.

Ah, yes, we’re sneaking in. Let us yell, loudly! XD Ah, Toku…

Odd place to keep things, honestly…

There’s something incredibly goofy about the fact that this confrontation is taking place in a cramped stairwell…

They forgot the little men for Banba and Touwa’s transformations. XD

Everyone else is in the middle of fighting a Drunn. Banba has alreday freaking killed his. ><

I think Touwa just asked Wyzul to repeat himself bc they didn’t catch it the first time. And Asuna just figured it out? Uncertain.

Wait. Waitwaitwaitwaitwait. I guess it’s Pink??? But she looks purple???

Curse my inability to put an image in the middle of a bulleted list! Curse my attachment to bullet points! DX

I’ll put it at the bottom?

Touwa here, stealing the monster’s lines. XD

Rip unnamed Drunn.

I’m confused as to whether Cardena was trying to tip them off, or just conflicted and getting anxious. Most likely the latter, as she didn’t seem to understand they’d figured it out later.

My watching experience is foiled once more by how INCURABLY BEAUTIFUL TATSUYA IS! DX

Now she’s getting the hairy eyeball from both big brother/dad and mom. XD Deception check failed.

Is that a thing?

They are dunking on this man so hard. I mean, he doesn’t seem to mind, but…

I really hope that smirk really was just Tatsuya and wasn’t planned. I like how they had trouble getting the ‘towel scene’ (a line ad libbed by Simon Pegg) bc Zachary Quinto kept laughing, so they just went w/ a scene where he jus barely smirks and they cut away real fast. This is smaller, scale, of course, it’s very low key and I only noticed it bc I am almost always watching Banba in any given scene, but it’s funny to think it was unscripted.

Aw, I thought Dad was an alright singer. Also, love Ui’s face here. ^^ And she tries to comfort him, such a sweetheart.

Aw, Touwa also looks like he’s finding it cute, too. ^^ I’m still thinking of Touwa and Ui as the ‘babies’ of the fam. Resident youngest sibs. :)

Nah, Banba doesn’t trust this situation enough to start stabbing people, don’t worry, Kou.

Pretty sure he’s just looking for an excuse to leave, actually.

Melto takes the opportunity to go full mom friend.

Banba’s like ‘so one of you was paying attention.’

There’s never any indication here if Touwa figured it out, too. I’m inclined to think he didn’t? But I don’t know.

Why must Tatsuya persist in being so attractive??? DX

Okay, guess it’s confirmed they can call Ui from the braces. … How. Did they program her number into them? Is there some frequency that they tapped her phone into?

Also, largely unrelated, but Ui is really pretty. She really is. She makes goofy faces sometimes, but this actress is really beautiful. I’m love her. ^^

She’s jack awful at lying, though.

Though it is justified that no one caught on, here. How would Wyzul know how modern human technology works? And Cardena’s an alien. And neither of them know Ui very well. She could be like this all the time for all they know.

But also… Did Melto text her? How did she know to leave her phone?

I say Cardena didn’t catch on bc she doesn’t seem to have realised that they knew later.

Tall Cheese seems to be having a good time hamming it up, and that is valid of her.

Really, though. There’s no way they would have actually released Tall Cheese, if this had worked. That’s not Short Cheese’s fault, she didn’t have many options, but I highly doubt Wyzul intended to honour any sort of deal.

I realise I shamefully remembered Short Cheese’s name in the rest of this post. Whoops. I’d go back and fix it, but now it’s funny… ^^;

Oh, yeah. And this explains why Tall Cheese was looking so evil in those photos.

So… Was Wyzul actually just sitting chained up in the park the whole time?

But also… Wyzul is a shapeshifter. Toei, would you mind…? >:)

Synchronised staring at Kou. XD

Oh, yeah. Moment of appreciation for Tatsuya sitting on the bloody playground equipment like a freaking model.

Banba going for a low blow, there. But he has a point.

And… Kou hits a button. We’ve only really seen Banba be this angry when yelling at Crayon the Mushroom Man about curing Touwa, I think… Makes me wonder if the betrayal he suffered happened in a situation like this? He took a risk for someone in a similar fashion, but it turned out they were lying and stabbed him in the back? Like, loosely similar, maybe. Like… Kou’s reaction clearly hits a nerve.

GAH! Toei, give me more to go on! DX

He backs down, though. Either bc he’s still soft for sibling relationships and can’t help it, or he’s getting soft about Kou—or both. This makes me think even more that he’s never killed anyone before. For all his apparent willingness to do so, in the end he can’t got through w/ sacrificing someone like that.

Esp not when considering it while staring into Kou’s sad puppy eyes.

As Touwa mysteriously vanishes from the shot, despite being exceedingly close by a moment ago.

Though… Banba seeing the fact that Kou et al. being willing to sacrifice what’s important to them for what’s important to others… And seeming kinda effected by that… Is kinda fuel for my ‘he ends up trying to protect their innocence/kindness’ idea? In, like… A ‘I’m the expendable one’ kinda way? Not exactly, but… Augh, explaining is hard. I’m sure I’ll think of one later. DX

Like… Could lead to a moment later where he tries to sacrifice himself/something so that they don’t have to? Or forcibly decides to be the sacrifice for something.

Oh, boy, that sounded weird.

Tyramigo is adorable, and will be the death of me.

Tyramigo be like ‘Is this the bomb I’m meant to eat?’ Then checks w/ Kou just to be sure. ‘Eat the bomb? Okay, eat the bomb!’

Him going ‘aaaaaaaah’ like a little baby, he’s so cute. DX

And how it awkwardly cuts out when she says ‘don’t.’ XD

HOW DID SHE NOT CATCH ON? Either her lysing skill improved significantly, or she completely misunderstood Kou’s nod here.

HOW DID HE SWALLOW HE HAS NO THROAT. O_o

They are dunking this poor man so hard… But, like, he’s listed as a special guest star, so I guess he doesn’t mind, and he seems happy, but… XD

Banba in the back: Google Earth, always taking pics.

Actually, that’s him at any given moment, really.

So… Were those copies of them, too?

Kou, you do not get to call people ‘baka.’ You are the baka!

I don’t actually know what he said. Could have been a different word.

Where were they hiding? Did they hang off the edge of the roof? Stairwell?

Banba not only refuses to smile, he sighs like he’s only there under duress.

He maintains his carefully practiced grumpy face for the whole scene, too. XD

Aw, I think Touwa just said ‘we barely did anything.’ Honey, I watched the flashback, you were the other person making copies.

Synchronised brother head tilt. Seriously, they’re at exactly the same angle. Ah, family. XD

Touwa loves it, Banba is required by contract to keep glaring.

His little awkward looking at the ground after, like ‘shit they’re cute’ what do I do??’… ^^ XD <3

They did do great, though. Plus he knew they’d never leave him alone if he didn’t do something there. XD But he is getting fond of them. Will probably be in denial until something happens and then have a freak out. Maybe it won’t even be that big, maybe it will just be Gold shows up and he finds himself getting protective. But I like big. ^^

Oh, please let Gaisoulg be who I hope it it… >.<

Aaaah! They’re so pretty! DX

So… Is it still a Minusaur if it didn’t come from a human?

What’s this? Minusaur is evolving!

Wait… So so they all turn into dragons when they complete????

I guess they didn’t tell her how Minusaurs actually work.

MAH BABIES!

How did we get down on the ground? Who knows. Toku.

The others go w/ proper combat Souls. Touwa and Kou use the balloon Soul and the shiny Soul. At least one of those kinda makes sense.

Aw, she’s self conscious. ^^

What I think I love most is that she’s clearly putting conscious effort into being out of tune. Which she can do bc the actress actually knows how to sing. XD

Asuna playing the drums is SO CUTE. I’M GONNA DIE.

I love how Melto explaining implied the brothers asked.

And the fact that you can just hear her in the background through the whole scene.

I realise it was Wyzul impersonating her, but it seems like something he might pick up from the real her to make it more believable. Plus Short Cheese had a a name for it, making it more likely.

Gods love her, she’s putting so much effort into it.

Banba briefly checking on Touwa when he rejoins them. ^^ I love this family.

Short Cheese thanks everyone, and the kids smile, but Banba gets embarrassed. XD

Oh dear. Wyzul knows we’re in a TV show…

Ui playing the demanding voice instructor is ADORABLE. XD

Kou and Melto in the corner imitating Banba. XD

Next week, looks like Melto is piloting Kishiryu Oh alone, Biker Dad returns (as an illusion), and the kids get stuck in Wonderland when Banba turns his back on them for five minutes.

I’m kidding, I don’t actually know if his subplot is at all related to Wonderland. All it says is that he’s dealing w/ an ‘antiques dealer.’ I have this wild theory that what the summary means is that ‘Wonderland’ is inside a box (the chest that’s referenced in the title and is the goal of the ‘attraction’), and then Banba also ends up chasing it around. Alternatively, he could just end up in a situation where he’s wandering around like ‘have you seen five brightly dressed dork children? I left them right here, but I looked away for one minute and they all disappeared.’ Or he doesn’t know at all. The magazine did say something about him doing things alone… Maybe he’ll get himself into trouble and they’ll have to come save him in episode 10. I mean, we know he’s gonna get a plot about not doing everything himself eventually.

I’ll leave everyone w/ this thought: the shapeshifting Druidon general now knows where the Tatsuis live.

That’s all, folks! Virtual rock candy for anyone who read all that. Excited for next week. I hope we get episode summaries for the next few eps, soon, as that might give me more of an idea as to whether I was actually right. I like the idea of Banba chasing a box that may or may not have his younger siblings in it around the city and drama that could ensue. But they could go other ways w/ this subplot. Like… Maybe the antiques dealer is the hooded person? Or Banba is trying to investigate the hooded person? Or it’s Gaisoulg (please be who I want you to be, Gaisoulg!)? Or an early cameo of Gold? Or a Druidon? Or a completely inconsequential side character. Who knows.

Oh, yeah! Purple chibi!

Though… I guess it’s Pink? It… It looks purple, though… Wait. Could it be… Magenta?

#Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger #Ryusoulger Spoilers #my precious Dino Children #I do like most of the options for the next ep #I really do want them to at least give Banba a 'where are my kids? I only turned my back for a minute?' moment #XD #Presumably he's going to get a 'don't try to do everything on your own' plot at some point #I kinda hope it's when he's trying to do something alone to protect the others rather than not trusting them #and then nearly gets himself killed and they rescue him #also I want protective little siblings so bad #but I have gone overtime and must egress #I love five (5) beautiful colourful Dino Knights #Birthday Sentai #Dino Dragon Knights And Their Cat

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warsofasoiaf · 6 years

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How about an analysis on the finest scholar of Hegellian thought in the 23rd century, your boy Edward "Caesar" Sallow? Bonus points if you can work in an image of Bill Rawls giving McNulty the finger

The writers of Caesar knew what they were doing; Caesar is an excellent example of a well-realized totalitarian. His ideology mirrors the rise of plenty of despotic dictatorships throughout history with a uniquely Fallout twist.

Caesar talks up his similarity to the rise of Julius Caesar, but drawing upon the fact that his Legion is a largely forcibly integrated group of tribals, his Legion resembles more the fringes of the Roman Empire under the command of a private general, something more akin to the Crisis of the Third Century rather than the rise of Augustus or the Pax Romana of the first century A.D. To give Caesar what little credit he is due, he understands this, hence why he plans to take over New Vegas, turn it into his Rome, and to use it as a capital city. Of course, Caesar is banking on the politics of inevitability to do the heavy lifting for him with his interpretation of Hegelian dialetics. This idea of the politics of inevitability was prominent in Communist teachings, Marx believed in the inevitable class conflict that would lead to the communist utopia, and was convinced of its inevitable success due to the conditions of the capitalist system. Totalitarians aren’t the only ones who preach the politics of inevitability, the West was confident that China would liberalize its government with the capitalist reforms of Deng Xiaoping in the liberalist idealist model at the tail end of the 20th century. China freed up its markets but that came with no political freedom. The politics of inevitability are politics of failure, no future is certain without intellectual integrity in thought, careful thought in action, and constant evaluation and readjustment.

He believes that he will incorporate the positives of the NCR and Vegas without losing his Legion discipline. This profession of higher virtue is quite common in fascist thought. Fascist societies exhort a sort of palingenetic character, of a national renewal through a devotion to the nation, perfectly fitting Caesar’s idea of a legion that obliterates tribal identities and replaces that notion with devotion to a single idea. Caesar saw this as the strength of Rome’s empire, how it was able to lead to a successful, expansive, stable nation after the murderous infighting that plagued the Late Roman Republic. By forcing a continual emphasis on virtue and self-denial through a comprehensive culture built on obliterating all sense of self other than as a member of the Legion, Caesar believes he will create a society where the good of the nation is the good of the individual, where the selfish desires of individual people or small groups will not cause the suboptimal operation of the nation as a whole. This idea is straight out of fascist ideological textbooks. Liberal democracy is seen as selfish and decadent, incapable of responding to problems and encouraging infighting and corruption, enriching the self at the sake of the many. Democracy certainly does have a problem with corruption, but as the Courier discovers, Silus doesn’t obey the law to the letter, and he’s a centurion, one of Caesar’s highest ranking commanders.

This idea of virtuous living extends to Caesar’s opinion on technology and one of his furthest divergences from our own historical Rome. Caesar believes in not using robots or other technology to simplify life save as an exceptional reward. Caesar’s reasoning is that if gains could be made without sacrifice, it would encourage easy living and naturally devolve to decadence and selfish characteristics. Only through paying a cost is the focus maintained on the good of the nation, without it the focus falls on the individual, to use Caesar’s logic. This of course is in great contrast to Rome, which was a scientific powerhouse and technologically advanced compared to its neighbors. Caesar either distrusts modernity as a means of decadence (another fascist analogue here) or believes that he must wait for the ultimate victory in the Mojave to transform the legion before they are capable of accepting some modern trappings. Either way, it’s a recipe for failure, throwing human grist into the mill of Legion operations. Caesar can train a soldier far better than any NCR general can, they are capable of charging a machine gun nest with throwing spears and football pads, but as World War I taught, human wave attacks are fodder for automatic weapons and artillery. While robots aren’t as disposable as they were before the bombs fell, the utility are too great to sacrifice, as Mr. House proves when his upgraded Securitron army can easily wipe the floor with the NCR and Legion both. Medicine is limited to just tribal powders and bitter drink, even though healing powder doesn’t fix broken limbs which are essential to the melee-heavy combat doctrine that the Legion practices (I play hardcore mode, there is no other way to play).

Caesar’s society too, is inefficient for all his carping about the inefficiencies of other systems. Women are forbidden to be soldiers despite multiple empirical refutations like Ranger Stella (and possibly the Courier depending on the player). Slavery is nothing like it was in Rome, the explosive collars and conversations with Legion members suggest that it’s a permanent caste of chattel slavery used to create a workforce to support their military state. As the Legion’s territory grows, the bureaucratic apparatus would become larger to match. Caesar alleviates part of the logistics problems through traders, but in remote, difficult areas like the conquest of Denver, the Legion runs into problems, and as the Courier can illustrate to Lanius, the West is simply too large to administer, and the Legion can’t make up the difference in slaves. Rome had an impressive bureaucratic apparatus and still had logistical troubles, Caesar is falling into the same traps. He can’t administer his territory, and even worse, everything is dependent upon Caesar, and he’s dying of a brain tumor that he forbade the medical knowledge to even treat. The Legion lacks theater flexibility, as Silus laments. Without the Courier, Caesar would have been dead in the water even if the Courier decided to ignore the entire Second Battle of Hoover Dam. While Lucius might be an adequate successor, Lanius is nothing but a butcher, lacking any sort of strategic diplomacy or depth. The military state that Caesar hopes to transform doesn’t even have that hope under Lanius. Heck, Caesar even invites his worst enemy (potentially) into his camp, and never bothers checking up on their work under the Fort even if the Courier spent the entire first act of the game undoing Caesar’s work.

So for all of Caesar’s grandiose dedications, he’s little better than a petty warlord with delusions of grandeur, full of nonsense based on a political interpretation of history meant to support his presupposed conclusions. He got lucky through conquering weak tribes and think it makes him a grand civilization. Just like the failed states before it, his lack of understanding of economics and the stagnancy of a central society will doom him. He might believe that there is only gain through sacrifice, but the only thing sacrificed is the chance of success.

Thanks for the question, TBH.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

#fallout: new vegas #character analysis

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plounce · 6 years

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reading thru nick coa’s new posts and like

“And like you mentioned with Kurogane, both are acting selfishly - Fai for putting his wish to die above how much this will shatter his family, and Kurogane for putting his love for Fai above Fai’s own wishes.”

i actually really really like this post (especially how it brings up the point of kurogane’s protectiveness being shown in extremes, to the point of slaughter with tomoyo (although that’s a response to the trauma of suwa) and to the point of forcible life-giving with fai) but like. oooooooof i cannot wait until nick has the context to understand that from fai’s perspective, letting himself die is... not tooooootally selfish? because beyond his everpresent death wish, everything about his life and his entire experience of the world has him firmly believing that he inherently brings death and destruction and unhappiness upon those he loves... so it’s not that fai doesn’t care as much for how this will impact those he loves (and who he can barely believe love him, will actually care if he lives or dies - yuuko has to go HEY DUMB ASS DON’T FORGET YOU MATTER TO THEM), it’s that he cares more about how his absence will help them. no curse in their hearts. no traitor in their midst.

and nick also talks about “different values” and perspectives and i just think that’s very good. and maybe it’s because i’m a depressed bastard and Fai Stan PH.D but like. OOOOOOOOF!!!!!!!!!

i guess my point is... i’m not saying fai is “right” because 1. different values 2. i know how his narrative will go 3. i know tsubasa’s themes so i know that in tsubasa’s context, fai eventually grows to think differently.................. so anyway i’m not saying that he’s “right” because i’m not interested in that, i’m focused on understanding fai’s reactions to things and i have a total bias to go “yeah that’s justified. look at this poor bastard. he has anxiety”

although speaking personally (as i just said i’m not interested in doing lmao): i do disagree with anon about kurogane’s decision being “horribly selfish.” maybe because i read “horribly” as “negative” here but like........ fai was still making that decision to die under REALLY FUCKED UP MENTAL ISSUES! and kurogane could tell fai’s gone through shit to make him deeply unhappy! and kurogane is demonstrably willing to put in the love and effort to help fai through dealing with that! he is ride or die, baby!

i guess at the end of the day: fai is a character who has been manipulated by people for their own goals. but at the end of the day, kurogane is the one w

hm i just had a thought. a weird thought. i don’t like it because i don’t like ashura because he’s a gaslighting bastard, but ashura also does all that he does for the sake of freeing fai from fwr’s curse/manipulations, in a really fucky way to return agency to fai, in a way that fai REALLY DOESN’T LIKE AND NEVER ASKED FOR AND DOESN’T WISH FOR, in a way that sort of... sacrifices his own wellbeing? mental wellbeing?

i guess the main difference is that kurogane keeping fai alive after fai asks to go gently into that foul night is not the same as slaughtering a whole country of people. i’m actually kind of annoyed with myself because i’m drawing more connections and parallels between kurogane and ashura than i want to, because i dislike ashura, but the problem is ashura did try to help fai in his really terrible way. and to fai as he was in tokyo - with very little capacity to have the desire to live - kurogane was helping him in a really terrible way too.

ashura did all that he did to help fai escape fwr’s curses. i’ve said before that kurogane’s goals were to help fai continue to live so/and then help him regain a grip on his agency. i guess the thing is: ashura did ‘sacrifice himself’ (idk the particulars of how he ‘went mad’), but he also sacrificed (read: murdered) hundreds of lives. at the least. clamp presents his love for fai in a complex way - he loves his son, so he does monstrous things to help him on a grand scale, as in rg veda. that’s what ashura does. kurogane never put anyone in harm’s way but himself, and he never gave up his own life. so ashura and fai were always unequal, while kurogane and fai are.

the tsubasa/holic narrative has four stories about bringing someone back from the brink of death by way of a deal: three are virtuous, one is... a disaster. in-series order: the clones’ memory/feathers deal, the kf vampirism deal, the original’s reservoir deal (that they were manipulated into thinking), and... clow’s wish for yuuko to open her eyes again.

the difference here is that yuuko was already dead. c!sakura, fai, and r!sakura were about to die, but the syaorans and kurogane interceded and made their deals in time. they asked for lives, but the lives were still there, and they did pay MASSIVE prices for them in their own ways. (relationships, captivity, etc). so there’s that theme of “moving forward and claiming your future and wanting to live happily in the future you choose” that tsubasa fucking adores. kurogane pushes for that. and i guess in the end, kurogane’s action in tokyo........ ok wait i was about to say “is more heroic/virtuous because he isn’t totally sacrificing his life for fai,” and right NOW i was about to say “because this post is meant to be about fai’s agency” but THEN i remembered that clamp has all those themes about total self-sacrifice being bad so i guess it kind of IS about kurogane not sacrificing himself? fuck!

well here’s what i think. kurogane didn’t re-traumatize fai in tokyo. c!syaoran did. fai was responding to the physical and mental trauma he’d just experienced, and kurogane was going WAIT HOLD ON A SECOND LET’S GET THROUGH THIS AND THEN WE CAN HAVE A NICE SIT-DOWN AND TALK ABOUT WHAT JUST HAPPENED WITH OUR SON AND YOUR EYE AND OH MY GOD? MY FAMILY JUST VIOLENTLY DISSOLVED AROUND ME? I NEED TO TALK ABOUT THIS TOO BABE

but of course kurogane is only halfway through his character arc as is fai, so he just has a couple awkward conversations with r!syaoran while fai Hides and Plots with sakura. OH YOU TWO!

okay last thing: yes it’s bad to be suicidal. i’m just gonna say this. speaking objectively, and not as me at a bad moment who would be kicking and screaming against what i’m about to say, but that’s me in the grips of depression: people should not be allowed to kill themselves. people should be stopped from killing themselves. fai was not a geriatric turning off the life support, or someone in need of a mercy killing because they could do nothing else but die slowly and painfully: fai was passively suicidal. kurogane has known about this tendency for like maybe a year now?

so yeah. kurogane stopping fai from basically killing himself is absolutely different from ashura slaughtering a population of people in an attempt to free fai from his curses that didn’t work at all, and directly re-traumatized into thinking that he brought death doom destruction etc wherever he lived and loved. glad i had this talk with myself to arrive at my regular conclusions. HOORAY

#chirps #fai pub crawl 2k18 #ask to tag?#suicide m

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getoffthesoapbox · 7 years

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[SW:TLJ] Trailer musings

Ordinarily I try to avoid the Star Wars fandom, as I’m already in enough toxic fandoms as it is. However, this new trailer is blowing my mind and I have to write my thoughts about it or I’ll probably implode.

Spoilers for the new Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer abound. For the sake of those who might be uncomfortable with viewpoints like mine and for those who’d like to avoid spoilers, I’ll be placing this bad boy under a cut. For everyone else, well, enter the dragon’s lair if you dare. Mua. Ha. Ha. *ahem*

(Word of warning: I wrote this puppy at 3AM, so it’s most likely completely incoherent. Sorry in advance lol.)

Kylo’s Trajectory

This trailer was undeniably Kylo’s. It’s clearly preparing the audience for his character journey, probably because the general audience isn’t prepared for it. As far as I can tell, he’s going to begin his trajectory trying to maintain his dark side fealty.

We don’t know the exact order of the shots, but my suspicions right now are that at the beginning of the film the FO has located Leia’s new base of operations. Kylo and co. are dispatched to take Leia down. Kylo of course can’t take his mom down, and he fails the mission. This leads to disciplinary action by Snoke. Where his temper tantrum with his mask takes place could be either before or after the Leia scene.

If it takes place before, then he’s probably tearing down his mask because his self-loathing is getting the better of him and he is angry at himself for not doing what he thinks he should be capable of doing now that he’s killed his own father.

But I just don’t get that sense from the shot. He looks like he’s frustrated with himself and perhaps is rejecting himself based on his own actions. Honestly, this to me seems like it comes after the Leia failure. He breaks his own mask because he wants to destroy Kylo Ren, but he doesn’t know who to be next. He may also be disenchanted with his own admiration of Vader, and he might be searching for something different.

This might actually cue him hunting Rey down. Rather than revenge, it may be that he merely wants to talk to her. He wants her help, or at least he wants to rekindle that connection he felt with her. It may be entirely instinctual on his part.

If he deserts the FO, that would mean he arrives on Ach-to alone, and the FO arrives to take him back rather than to attack Luke and Rey, which might be kind of interesting.

There is a shot of him walking with the storm troopers at the Crait location, but this might be after he’s forcibly (or willingly) brought back and Snoke gives him a good dressing down and convinces him to be a good boy again. He may have multiple potential snapping points throughout the film--first Leia, then hesitation after meeting Rey again, then the choice Snoke gives him to prove he’s loyal by sacrificing Rey at the end.

Either way, it’s not possible for him to kill his mom. He’s a mommy’s boy--you can see it in his face during the piloting shots. Adam manages to wonderfully express a child’s emotions, and that’s exactly what Kylo’s going through when he’s contemplating shooting down his mother. The kid’s not going to be able to go through with it. He’s cracking big time.

On another note, it’s wonderful that Kylo’s healing the scar on his face throughout the film, but won’t remove it entirely. His bb Rey marked him and he’s staying marked for her. ;P Love it.

Kylo’s Monologue

Kylo’s voice over monologue is interesting. His voice is tender and thoughtful. He must be speaking to someone, and I’d say chances are high it’s Rey. He sounds like he’s giving advice, but not in a malicious way. His “kill it” seems metaphorical to me, and perhaps is more about how moving forward requires sacrificing your past, which in his case would be his Kylo Ren days as well as his heritage, and for Rey would be her family as well as her new connections. This might be a truly great “animus integration” scene for Rey--what she learns from Kylo will help chart the course of her character.

Rey and Luke

There is a lot to unpack in all the Rey and Luke moments.

From what I can tell, it looks like Luke initially agrees to train Rey after she proves herself. But as he gets a better grip on her power, he grows fearful of her and perhaps rejects her entirely.

It’s clear Rey’s searching for answers for herself. She can’t understand what’s going on (and honestly, if she does have a force bond with Kylo, she’s probably in a massive state of confusion), and she’s hoping Luke as a wise older person will guide her.

But Luke is probably hung up on his own failures with Kylo. His line about not taking someone’s power seriously and regretting it is most likely about Kylo, but I’ll grant it could be a misdirection and perhaps is pointing to something related to Rey’s past. I prefer it to be about Kylo, as it cements how similar Rey and Kylo are.

I’m also starting to think that Kylo may not have intentionally killed all the Jedi padawan--it’s quite possible that his power was out of control and killed them by accident. Or perhaps it’s more nuanced, where Kylo got into a fight with the students due to him being the “favorite” and tried to scare them a bit but went too far with his power and couldn’t pull back in time. Luke might have rejected him at this time, leaving him nowhere to go but Snoke, who had already prepared a place for him.

But Star Wars is fairly simplistic, so it might be that Kylo really did kill the jedi padawan for “reasons.” Luke’s reaction to Rey seems a bit odd if Kylo turned evil by deliberation though--then Luke should be afraid of intentions, not ability, and Rey clearly has no ill will toward anyone other than Kylo lol. But with Luke seeming to fear raw ability, that implies Kylo may not have had much control over himself and his raw destructive abilities and Luke’s inability to help him find inner peace made Luke paranoid about young, powerful talents.

Rey’s trajectory with Luke appears the most tragic. She clearly starts trying to do her best to meet his expectations--this weird hermit she doesn’t even know but admires anyway. Yet the more he learns about her, the more he rejects her.

Her expression in the shot above is truly heart breaking. She’s looking for acceptance and a home, and it’s nowhere to be found with Luke.

Now, I’m of split minds on how Rey’s going to get off Ach-to. On the one hand, I think she might leave after Kylo does (assuming the FO comes to pick him up lol) or when he does (if they leave together), and Luke may reconsider how he treated her and determine to do better this time and go after her.

It’s also possible that she and Luke will come to an understanding and he’ll accept her and they’ll leave Ach-to together. But given how she and Kylo seem to be connecting at some point in the film, and given that she gets captured by Snoke, I just don’t think Luke accepts her in time to keep her from ending up in the hands of the dark side. It probably works better if he rejects her, she leaves after being influenced by Kylo, and Luke regrets his rejection and decides to take action.

This is just speculation, but it’s also possible Kylo gets taken away by force and Rey runs to Leia to get help because Luke won’t. This means Rey might be going to Crait in order to meet Leia/find a way to get Kylo back. (Oh wouldn’t that be interesting lol.) This might explain too why she ends up in Snoke’s hands--she’s going to retrieve what’s hers and finds Snoke’s got his claws back into Kylo again. Just random thoughts lol, assuming she even meets Kylo on Ach-to and they bond then.

Snoke, Rey, and Kylo

No pictures here ‘cause I don’t like torture. (I also don’t like ugly things and Snoke is ugly.)

Snoke’s voice over at the beginning of the trailer is interesting because it’s deliberately cut to be referring to either Rey or Kylo. However, I think it’s delivered to Kylo and is a reminder of his “place” and what he owes Snoke--Snoke “discovered” him and is the only one who thought he was “special.” Ego stroking is a manipulator tactic, and an effective one.

Since we know Snoke is a groomer, I don’t think he’s interested in Rey, surprisingly. The reason I don’t think he’s interested in Rey is that he’s willing to torture her, and his MO seems to be seduction rather than torture for the things he wants to keep around. While the torture may have worked on someone like Kylo, that’s hardly going to make Rey switch loyalties. The torture seems to be for Kylo’s benefit instead--a test to see if he can sacrifice Rey for the “greater good” (or bad in this case lol).

My current speculation is that Kylo probably disappoints Snoke early on in the film when he fails to kill Leia. Snoke probably decides to quarantine him or demote him or something, which maybe triggers Kylo running to Rey on Ach-to (unless Kylo runs to Ach-to in order to redeem himself in Snoke’s eyes by capturing Rey/Luke). While on Ach-to, Kylo bonds with Rey instead, and perhaps gets forcibly taken away by the FO or escapes with Rey.

Whatever happens on Crait happens, and somehow Kylo and Rey end up back with Snoke. At this point, Snoke probably tortures Rey in order to prove a point to Kylo. Perhaps this is where the dialogue from the beginning of the trailer takes place. So the reason he’d be torturing Rey would be more because Rey is making Kylo weak. But this is likely Kylo’s snapping point (Kylo may even be restrained somehow at this point and is forced to watch Rey’s torture until she breaks herself and him free).

Since we can safely assume Kylo and Rey fight the Praetorian guard together, that makes it likely they’re escaping after this torture scene. When this happens in the film and what comes of it are likely huge spoilery things, so I won’t speculate too much right now. But this trajectory seems to make the most sense to me at the moment. Until more information arrives. We know so little at this point, lol.

Leia

There’s not a lot to say about Leia other than I love all her damn outfits and she’s looking wonderful and motherly. It’s such a shame about Carrie. I have no idea what they’re going to do with Leia in the film, but I hope she at least gets to have a reunion with her son before it all goes to the devil.

Finn

Might I irreverently say that Finn is looking fine in dem First Order duds. The FO uniform agrees with him quite well! He looks so manly and imposing! Too bad the resistance doesn’t have style the way the FO does lol. Baddies always get the best clothes. =P At least Finn gets to wear them when he infiltrates.

Otherwise, not enough Finn. Hopefully the next trailer will focus on his storyline. I was disappointed how little of him and Rose we got. I’ve been looking forward to their interactions ever since I saw a little snippet of an interview they gave together. They’re too freaking cute.

“The” Scene

The highlight of the trailer is undeniably the end. Maybe this wasn’t the impression others got, but I certainly had this incredible sensation of “I was waiting forever for this moment.” The trailer leading up to these two connecting was everything I had never known I’d wanted. It felt just like TFA did the first time Kylo and Rey’s trajectories intersected--this sensation of “oh I didn’t even know I’d wanted that but I’d wanted it all along.” I cannot express how much I appreciate this wonderful quirk in this story--I’ve never had any other story do this to me, set up a subconscious expectation that I don’t even realize I have until the moment arrives to reveal it to me. Truly wonderful.

Anyway, I’m going to start with my initial impressions of the scene, then I’ll break down all the buzz about whether it’s a misdirection or not and whether or not I think misdirection even matters.

So my initial impulse was that the scene was a cohesive whole, not a spliced scene. My reason for this multi-fold, but most of the scenes throughout the trailer that had film dialogue (rather than VO) were clearly spliced from the same scenes, which should lead a viewer to assuming the same is true from the final scene. Case in point: the Finn/Phasma section is also three shots clearly from the same continuous scene, including a line from Finn. Going by this trailer’s “logic”, the three final “Reylo” shots should all be from the same scene. If not, this makes the trailer rather illogical because it misdirects on some scenes but not others. I think only a poor editor would do this, but perhaps Lucasfilm’s got a hiring crunch these days. ;P

One could argue that the Kylo/Leia scenes might be different scenes spliced together, and I agree, but there’s no direct dialogue in those scenes, only voice over, so they fit the “logic” of just random scenes being spliced together underneath voice over. Basically, my point is, all the scenes that are pulled from the film with present action dialogue appear to be linear in nature for the brief time they’re on screen. I might be wrong (I haven’t edited a film in a while), but filmmakers want to convey a message and they want to avoid confusion (who wants to see a film they’re confused by). Random scenes spliced under disembodied voice over are fine for this, but once you start matching dialogue with film, the viewer has a different expectation.

The reason I like the scene being all one scene is because of the implications. If the scene is all one scene, Rey has decided who she wants to guide her in the new world she’s found herself in, and that person is not Luke. She herself has made the decision through careful consideration, and she has made her choice. For me, Reylo is all about agency, and Rey choosing Kylo to train her after careful consideration continues that truly important theme between them.

Something else that’s really interesting in this shot is how womanly Rey looks. In TFA they did their best to infantilize her in all her shots. She doesn’t get to grow as a woman via visuals until she encounters Kylo in TFA. They’re continuing that here; her make up and lighting give her a more wordly appearance, fitting for her taking her destiny into her own hands and making her own choices.

Assuming this scene is one cohesive moment, Kylo’s response is appropriate here. He looks at her like she’s bestowed upon him the biggest favor a goddess can bestow, and offers his hand to her. The gesture is gentle and open, not demanding. She has called, and Kylo is answering her call. His hand shakes a little, and who knows why, but there’s clearly a lot of unspoken emotion going on here. His offer this time isn’t his idea--it’s hers, and that’s what makes all the difference.

Now, assuming this scene is a cohesive whole, it must take place during the Ach-to section of the film. This is admittedly more limiting, and would make this scene more about Rey and Kylo connecting as two powerful force users who are lost and abandoned. At this point Kylo hasn’t rejected the dark side, nor has Rey chosen a side.

It might actually be better if the scenes aren’t sequential. This gives us more scope for what unfolds. If Rey’s initial scene is separate from the Kylo hand extension scene, that means a few things:

The filmmakers want us to understand on a meta/thematic level that the person who will answer Rey’s call is Kylo, not Luke, even though he won’t answer it until late in the film.

Rey’s moment of vulnerability might be with Luke, or it might be with Chewbacca, but either way neither of them are the answer for her.

The Kylo scene being separated from Rey’s question opens up some options for why Kylo is extending his hand. He doesn’t seem to be bending down, so he’s not helping her up after a fight. His mouth isn’t moving, so this offer isn’t something he’s verbally making. It seems likely that she’s asked him for something, and his answer is to extend his hand to her. No matter how the scene goes down, she’s probably still the one making the choice, and her choice is still going to be him.

If the Kylo portion of the scene occurs later in the film, then it’s going to be a huge reveal of some kind that they’re carefully trying to hide from the audience right now. This shot could even be the final shot of the film, where Kylo saves Rey from Snoke and they both decide to go rogue together after being abandoned by both their teachers. It could also be that his extended hand is the end of the film, and we will be left in suspense for two years as to whether she takes it or not.

If this scene isn’t at the very end of the film, it means Rey and Kylo will team up earlier than expected. Perhaps this might feed into why Snoke ends up capturing Rey--she’s interfering with Kylo’s development and has to be nipped in the bud now. This may prompt Kylo to making his choice about Snoke--will he stay with him and destroy his last chance at redemption or will he leave all he knows and enter new territory?

I don’t think there’s any question that the hand is Kylo’s and the person he’s extending it to will be Rey. Men don’t look at their mommies like that unless they have Oedipus complexes. =P Adam’s really careful to make more boyish expressions for Leia, whereas with Rey he has love interest expressions. We’ve clearly got the latter going on in his scene here at the end.

No matter how things play out, if it’s a misdirect or not, I think the intention is clear that Kylo is Rey’s match and they’re going to keep crashing into each other until they light up the galaxy. They’re both unstoppable forces who are incomplete without each other. They are the belonging each other seeks. There may even be a much deeper understanding between them by the time the film comes to a close.

I am a little concerned now that they might try to make it look like Kylo dies toward the end (we still have that scene where it looks like he’s at the rebel base that isn’t accounted for). That would be quite the shock, having Kylo begin his redemption arc only to fall.

Cute Things and Music!

OMG all the animals in this film! The porgs and the space horse and these fox wolf things! I cannot wait for all the damn plushies! GIVE THEM TO ME!

Also, the music is to DIE for. I LOVE the strings at the beginning of the trailer. If this shit doesn’t make it into the actual soundtrack, I will be furious. I love Rey’s and Kylo’s themes intertwining, and the Force theme rising at the end. I cannot wait to hear what’s in store for them as far as duo themes go. Not expecting a romance theme yet, but a pairing theme would be just fine with me. XD Hopefully some wonderful enterprising soul on youtube will upload a cover of the trailer theme without audio for me. *sad puppy dog eyes*

*ahem* I’ve rambled enough for one night I think. This probably isn’t even coherent anymore. I’m sure I’ve got most everything wrong, but hey, I enjoyed myself and these are just my impressions and speculations from the trailer. If anyone made it all the way to the end, congratulations, but this dragon has no money in her coffers to give you. =P Times are tough even for hoarding dragons!

#reylo #otp: you need a teacher #otp: i choose you #otp: force bond #otp: the woman wears the pants #OMG THE REYLO IS STRONG WITH THIS ONE #star wars spoilers #tlj spoilers #tlj #star wars #star wars the last jedi #star wars: the last jedi #the last jedi

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