#defense

[thererisesaredstar]

Let’s dismember the American empire in every part of the world!

DPRK (1970s)

[fortuneaday]

[walkingthroughthisworld]

"Arsenal of Freedom"

[firstnameodditylastnameentity]

Poppy and Trauma

Poppy's trauma is genuinely so overlooked and undermined by the fandom it makes me sad.

Pre-game, its basically confirmed she was an orphan adopted by Elliot Ludwig. We don't know anything about the life before that. Elliot and Playtime very well could have been all she's ever known. And she clearly loves and admires both. Idk if y'all agree, but she seems to have a very rose-tinted view of the company and the world in general.

She really does seem like she was a very happy kid. She grew up in a toy factory for gods sake! She's excited for her future and the future of the company.

And then something happens.

Maybe she's diagnosed with a terminal illness, maybe she's badly injured, but something goes wrong and that future is torn away from her in death.

Obviously, having your childhood wonder striped away from you with something as heavy and dark as your own untimely death is awful and horrible, but Poppy can't even rest in peace.

Out of his own selfish desire to have his daughter back, Elliot sacrifices another child to learn the secret of reviving Poppy (oh Oliver, how I could ramble about you).

Lil side note, I really do think Elliot does, in some really fucked up way, love Poppy and Oliver dearly. This doesn't excuse his actions. He's a horrible person despite his good intentions. But I still think its important to acknowledge that basically every screwed up think he does is for Poppy. Every single experiment up until the Prototype is for Poppy's revival. Poppy's corridors are meant to be a place that remind her of home and make her comfortable. Oliver is sacrificed for Poppy and hell, I even think on some level the YGP is for Poppy, bringing the best and brightest mind together to answer the question of revival, all for her sake. He cares about her dearly, that's his family, his kid. Of course he would do anything to get her back. Once again, there's no excusing his actions. But I do think understand her fathers twisted, borderline obsessive love for her is an important part of her character.

Anyway, back on topic. Poppy is revived. It shouldn't be possible, but it is. She exists again. In a small, fragile porcelain body that could shatter under just enough pressure. She is small, breakable and imperfect, yet she's still regarded as a miracle and celebrated by her father.

I could write more about Poppy's inferiority complex compared to Elliots devotion and love for her but that could literally be a whole separate post.

Despite her new, strange and miserable circumstances, she maintains her bubbly personality. Poppy, the real one, still shines through her porcelain exterior. The sweet, perky girl the doll was based on. (I draw this conclusion based on her joking around with the player in the beginning of chapter 2)

But despite her efforts, life doesn't quit. In 1989, Elliot Ludwig dies.

I don't think its talked about enough how much this would have affected Poppy. Her father is gone. Forever. The person who raised her, who fought for her to exist again, who took her in when she had no one, is dead. Elliot could have been the one thing that made her existence bearable. For all we know, maybe he was the one person who still treated her like a human ( yes, I know, Ollie, but I'm gonna be so honest I have no idea when he shows up in Poppys life so I'm just gonna assume it's after Elliot dies.). And obviously there just the fundamentally human grief Poppy would feel for her dad.

"I wish you were here, dad. I could really use one of your talks right about now. You'd know what to say."

"When you were running this place, you always knew what to say...I miss you." -taken from the Untitled tape, chapter 4 (zawg just go listen to it Nola Klop is AMAZING)

So now Poppys life is a miserable jumble of contradictions. She's grieving, while also being informed of all the shady shit found on her father estate, which can be assumed is her old home. She's being treated like an inanimate object, being put through test after test after experiment after experiment in an attempt to figure out what makes her and her brother tick while simultaneously feeling incredibly human emotions of anger, frustration, helplessness and sadness. She sees the pain she was forced to endure being inflicted on other kids through the BBI and she can't do ANYTHING about it. The one bright spot in her life at this point is Ollie, who she's never even seen in person but is so desperate for comfort that she doesn't care.

And then her brother, the Prototype, proposes a revolution: the Hour of Joy. Its a chance for the toys to take back their freedom and lives. And the toys believe in it. They're fed up and desperate. They want their freedom.

But the Prototype tells Poppy and only Poppy that they can't leave. This isn't a heroic revolution, its a massacre. But deep down, Poppy knows this is better. They can't let this happen to them forever. If this is what it takes, this is what it takes.

"Prototype says we can't leave. Not now. Not ever... I hate him. I hate him, and I hate this place, and I hate that he's... Right. He explained everything, and he's right. We can't leave. It's too risky. What they did to us... We can't let it happen to us or anyone ever again." -Untitled tape, chapter 4

But sometime after that, Poppy decides that she can't let the Prototype rule over the factory with fear anymore. The rebellion is born, in an attempt.to make things somewhat better for the denizens of the factory.

But Poppy cracks (I'm hilarious, I know). Years of shelter from rebellion have made her soft and she can't do it. She just isn't cut out to lead the rebellion to victory and she lets them down. When the Prototype catches her crying in her corridors, he locks her in her awful, horrible case in some twisted attempt to protect her and teach her a lesson.

(Genuinely just listen to the tape istg Klop did not hold back)

She spends the next almost decade locked in her case, practically oblivious to anything happening on the outside. She's able to reflect and think and finally take a moment to rest.

Then some chucklefuck shows up because of a cryptic ass note and finally frees her. Y'all need to understand how long she's in there, without talking to anyone, without anything. She's essentially been in stasis. That's why she just sounds so shocked when we open her case, this is her new norm, and we've just disrupted it.

Ok now I really want to ramble about how she is in chapter 2. I do believe that is when she is her most purely "Poppy" self. She makes jokes, she's polite and sweet, she's perky. Seriously, just listen to any of her early dialogue in chapter 2. While she is missing for most of the chapter, she is noticeably different at the end of it. Her lighthearted mannerisms and demeanor are replaced by this somber mood. She's monotone. I think a lot of what this chapter for Poppy was learning of the horrors that happened while she was gone via Mommy long legs. She realizes how bad it is now and how stupid she was then. And that is what breaks her. Its what kills the last little part of Elliot's daughter. Learning how Kissy and Doey and all of her other friends have been faring without her. Discover how much worse everything is now. That's what does it for her. But now, she has a chance to make it right, probably her only chance: you. She has no choice but to betray you. You would never volunteer to stay and she desperately needs you. She needs you to succeed where she failed.

Ngl I don't really think capt 3 did much for Poppy. I think the most significant things that happened with her were reuniting with Kissy and showing us the HOJ tape. 3 was definitely more focused on the player themselves imo

chapter 4 gives us a better look into her dealing with the consequences of her absence. We see how much Doey's had to take on, we see how much influence the Doctor has down here, how the Safe Haven residence view her, ect... And then of course, Ollies' reveal.

I honestly cannot imagine being that betrayed by anyone. This was someone she told her darkest secrets to. She poured her heart out, relied on him to survive and help her. She trusts this person, loves them even. And its her enemy. The person she's been against the entire time. And now they're weaponizing everything she's told him. I'm not surprised she ran away. She was terrified of spending another how ever many years trapped in a glass box. She isn't thinking rationally because she's scared shitless. And obviously she blames us for Doey's death, which we WERE responsible for. From her perspective it looks like you killed Doey, our strongest ally, for no reason. She doesn't know about Safe Haven at this point, or if she does, she clearly still thinks Doey could have been reasoned with.

And about her plan, I feel like it almost mirrors the Prototypes plan. Its extreme, it will lead to a ton of death. And its because she doesn't know what else she could do. She's had time to think about it and this does seem like the only thing to do at this point. Don't get me wrong, its a VERY fucked up plan and I do understand the anger, both from other characters in the game and the fandom, but oh my god chapter 4 sent some of y'all into psychosis.

Chapter 5 is easily Poppy's lowest point in the game. She is physically, mental and emotionally broken. All she cares about at this point is the orphans, who she has to learn are dead, or at least gone in some way. Everything she's done at this point is meaningless. To top it all off, she's physically disfigured.

I know that makes her seem shallow, but I do think Poppys appearance is important to her. One of her main traits (the doll) is that she always wants to look her best. And I think she does genuinely think she's pretty, even if she doesn't like her body in general.

And still, despite everything both us and her have done and been through, she still ends up back in the Prototypes clutches.

Poppy has been through absolute hell. She's been hurt time and time again by the obsessive love of her father and brother. I don't think she has a single relationship where Poppy and the other party consider themselves equal to her (other than Kissy). We see her as a guide, the safe haven residents saw her as a savior and later a traitor, Elliot considers her a miracle, the Prototype sees her as the better version of himself. Nobody looks at her as a normal human anymore, so she doesn't see herself as human.

Her abuse and trauma have destroyed her, literally. She has changed so drastically that she cannot see herself as a human anymore. She's just a pretty little experiment.

That's why her relationships with Ollie and Kissy were so important. They were the most human relationships she'd had in a long time. Just look at the Sisters vhs. Kissy and Poppy's relationship isn't Kissy relies on Poppy only for direction and it isn't Poppy demanding comfort from Kissy. They're both scared and need someone to be scared with. They find solace and friendship in each other, which Poppy hasn't had in a long, long time. Their bond is more than a companionship to Poppy; it's a lifeline

Ollie is similar. Ollie is someone Poppy can vent to, who will listen to her and validate her. He's helped her from the sidelines, through the player. He's been a rock for her in the same way Kissy has. That's important.

These relationships are vital to her. And by chapter 5, they are both dead.

Poppy has lost everyone she cares about. Her friends, her father, and even her brother, in the sense that Oliver has changed and dehumanized himself to such a degree. She's suffered human experimentation, was forced into a glass case for years, has been lied to and betrayed, was kidnapped and held hostage multiple times, watched her best friend die, was shattered at the hands of her own brother, and so much more.

Yes, Poppy has been manipulative herself. She's lied and betrayed us. She abandoned Kissy when she needed her. In every chapter, she hides from the player and their shenanigans out of her own fear. She's a coward who runs and hides when things are hard.

But I don't think its just because she's like that. Its what she's had to do to survive. Think about it, she doesn't have any good role models in her life. The only one she really has is Elliot Ludwig, who we've established is fucked-up. She doesn't know what else to do. She's in way over her head.

This honestly happens a lot in this fandom. Poppy was absolutely dragged through the mud after chapter 4 and it was sad to see. She has been through so much and so many people were pissed at her running away and being mad at us killing Doey. She doesn't deserve that.

Her trauma isn't one big dramatic event. Its a slow, agonizing drip of horrible things that keep happening to her. Her life is ruined by peoples' obsession with and twisted love for her and every healthy relationship she does have is ripped away from her.

I feel like it really speaks to what people view as "the right trauma". Her trauma isn't typical. Its weird and messy and it isn't always easy to understand. She acts irrationally and out of fear. She's terrified. Elliot, whether he realizes it or not, abused and traumatized Poppy through his actions, even if it was subsequently.

Now Poppy is the one who suffers

Wooo! This was a long one. Yeah I'm just sick of seeing people shit on the gal I love her so much. Go ahead and tell me your thoughts!

[princesssarisa]

Some thoughts on Disney's "Hercules": a (probably unneeded) defense of Megara

Even though Meg is a popular heroine, especially among adult Disney fans, I've read commentary from two different people who didn't like her and considered her a "false feminist" character. One was Unshaved Mouse's review of the movie (though he did praise Susan Egan's performance, he just found the character of Meg annoying), the other was just a random Tumblr post. And their complaints were almost exactly the same. So because I love Meg, I've decided to write a little defense of her, and outline just why I disagree with those complaints.

The main complaint in both of these commentaries was that in Meg, Disney seems to be trying ham-fistedly to earn feminist brownie points by making her so tough, sassy, independent, "don't need no man," and Not Like Other Disney Heroines. Yet she doesn't actually do many feminist things. She repeatedly needs Hercules to rescue her, she spends most of the story as Hades' reluctant yet obedient slave with no agency, she's only released from her contract thanks to Hercules giving up his strength to free her, she stays on the sidelines during the battles (though her actions of freeing Pegasus, riding him to go get Phil, and last but not least, sacrificing her life to save Hercules are very important), and at the climax, she dies (the "ultimate loss of agency," as some say) just so Hercules can prove his heroism by bringing her back from the Underworld. These online critics complain that her independent attitude feels performative and hollow.

Now, I'll agree that I might have liked to see her play a more proactive role in some ways. From what I've read, the recent stage musical makes an effort to do this: for example, having her personally confess to Hercules that she's been working for Hades and warn him about Hades' plot against him, and having her take up a sword and fight alongside Herc in the climactic battle. Now, I wouldn't have made those exact same rewrites, but maybe near the climax, she could have found some loophole in her contract with Hades to finally break free herself, rather than Hades just releasing her when he has what he wants from Hercules. And maybe she could have cooperated with Hercules in the battle with the Cyclops: not taking up a sword, per se, but maybe she could have been the one to tie the Cyclops' ankles together after Hercules blinded him, or at least she could have called out to Herc to do it, using her brain to assist Herc's brawn.

(That said, let's not belittle her role of bringing Phil and Pegasus back to Hercules, or, for that matter, her death – she's not randomly killed, she sacrifices her life to save Herc!)

But for the most part, I don't think her role is "false feminism," because I don't think it's necessarily meant to be feminism in the first place. To me, Meg doesn't exist to be a role model for girls, the way the likes of Belle from Beauty and the Beast or Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame obviously do. For goodness' sake, she spends most of the movie working for the villain! Her storyline is a redemption arc and an emotional healing arc, and I don't think it's necessarily either feminist or anti-feminist.

Yes, there is a performative aspect to Meg's "big tough girl" attitude, but the way I see it, Meg herself is the one performing, not the Disney creative team. Her ultra-sassy, independent persona isn't an attempt to earn feminist brownie points, IMHO. It's her defense mechanism; her attempt to cope with the fact that she's Hades' slave and to protect herself from being hurt again the way she was by the boyfriend who jilted her. Now, is she part of a general trend in '90s family media toward tough and sassy heroines? Absolutely yes! But compared to other animated movie characters, she's less of a cookie cutter "feminist" heroine, and more of a female version of Dimitri from Anastasia, Flynn Rider from Tangled, or Kristoff from Frozen. The initially prickly and cynical love interest, whose hidden capacity for selfless love and heroism are revealed as they gradually fall for the more innocent and idealistic protagonist.

Another complaint from both the Tumblr post and Unshaved Mouse was that Meg feels like a less-successful rehash of Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. In Esmeralda (they both argue), we already have a heroine who subverts the classic Disney model by being tough, sassy, and sexy, and who also has dark hair and wears purple to boot. But personally? I think apart from those basic qualities, Meg is a completely different character from Esmeralda! Meg is cynical, misanthropic, and amoral, until Hercules opens her heart; Esmeralda is kind, compassionate, and idealistic from the start. Meg is calm, laid-back, and relies on stone-cold verbal wit; Esmeralda is a lively, hot-tempered fighter. Meg is more sarcastic and funny than Esmeralda, who is more earnest and serious-minded and only turns sarcastic when she’s angry. Meg really is a bit of a femme fatale, who tries to seduce Hercules into admitting his weakness for Hades to exploit; Esmeralda just uses her sexy dancing to entertain people and only Frollo thinks she's a femme fatale. Meg has a transformative character arc; Esmeralda doesn't change herself, but inspires change in Quasimodo and Phoebus. As far as I'm concerned, Meg is no rehash at all.

Not everyone needs to like Meg, of course, but these are my defenses for her against a few specific complaints.

[galerymod]

I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation. War is hell.

William Tecumseh Sherman

War is the complete failure of human society and the negation of higher civilisation. It is always about land claims, power expansion, control, whether for religious or political reasons, and in the end it benefits no one but sets civilisation back decades!

In the end, we are just technologically advanced, aggressive apes with outdated territorial behaviour.

mod

[3va8342]

Hockey players headcanons & info

*non-magic*

Masterlist

Deuce Spade

Is 18

Freshman at night raven college

Is majoring in social work

Wants to be a social worker and help kids in bad situations

Started playing hockey as a way to work on his anger

Got really good and got scouted to play on NRC’S official hockey team

Isn’t starting tho

He usually plays forward but can play defense if needed

He’s friendly with Yuu

He looks at them more than talks with them

Ace’s main victim in the Hockey V Figure skater fight

Incredibly sweet when he’s off the ice

Leona Kingscholar

Is 21

Junior at night raven

Is majoring in political science

He wants to be able to tell his brother everything he’s doing wrong in his political career

Started playing hockey to out do Falena

He in fact has out done Falena

He’s being scouted by many pro teams

Yuu has been sworn to secrecy and hasn’t told him

He often stays late after practice to nap in Yuu’s office

Plays forward and has the most penalties of the team by a small amount

Is a starting player (obviously)

Jack howl

Is 18

Student at night raven

Is majoring in sports medicine

He already loves sports so why not do something that can help some of his favorite athletes and his teammates?

Started playing hockey for fun

He is a starting player and looks up to Leona even though he probably shouldn’t

Trains the most of the entire team

Only starting freshman

Plays defense

He and Yuu have many pleasant conversations

He often covers for deuce when he get caught staring

He really needs deuce to cut it out tho

Floyd Leech

Is 19

Student at night raven

Is majoring in nothing

He dosent have a major he’s only in college because he got a scholarship to play forward NRC

He’s “going with the flow”

Aka he’s pissing off azul and jade often

He started playing cause all the fights looked fun

He plays forward

He is also a starting player

He has the 2nd most penalties

He’s trying to get the most tho

Often follows Yuu around the rink when he doesn’t have practice or immediately after practice ends

Is also being looked at by many pro teams tho less seriously

Rook Hunt

Is 20

Student at night raven

Is majoring in translation and interpretation

Is going to be a translator

Started hockey as a hobby

He’s a starting player

He plays goalie

He’s way to good at being goalie

It’s genuinely kinda scary

Is friends with Vil

He’s “friends” with everyone

Everyone’s a little scared of him

He gossips with Yuu often

Spent his childhood in France but knows multiple languages

Malleus Draconia

Is 20

Student at night raven

Is majoring in architectural history

He wants to be a architectural historian

He comes from a family that is known for dominating ice sports

They are ice royalty 

His mom was a curler his dad a speed skater and his grandmother and grandfather? figure skaters

It’s in his blood

And sebek treats him like it

He’s a starting

Plays defense and forward but mostly defense

Yuu is his closest friend

Sebek Zigvolt

Is 18

Student at night raven

Is majoring in pre-law

He actually has no idea what he wants to do and just decided on law last minute

He will never admit that though

He started play hockey because malleus played

He’s not a starting player though

He plays goalie

He seems to not like any of his teammates

Or Yuu for that matter

The coach? He finds annoying but he still respects him

Ashton Vargas

Night raven colleges head hockey coach

The team has gone to nationals multiple times under his leadership

Has his players work out hard and play harder

He’s praised for his results

Tho I think all that praise is getting to his head

He’s polite if not a little boastful when he talks to Yuu

He often threatens the team if he even gets a whiff that they could be being rude to Yuu

He doesn’t play about their manners or how the team looks

One rude comment is enough to get the whole team branded as rude and he won’t suffer for one persons actions

He was also friends with Yuu’s parents