my favourite thing about the perfect court is how they are all parallels of each other - each person could have ended up like one of the others, but they didn’t.
neil could’ve ended up like jean, if his mother hadn’t taken him and run. neil could’ve ended up like riko, if he’d internalised his father’s abuse and tried to earn his affection instead of fearing it. if he’d tried to become someone his father would be proud of - like riko does - he would’ve become heartlessly violent. but he doesn’t.
jean could’ve been like neil, if he’d had just one family member care about him enough to run. he could’ve ended up like kevin, if he’d gone with him when kevin ran. he could’ve been like riko, if he’d taken everything that had been done to him and inflicted it on the world/people around him, but he doesn’t.
kevin could’ve ended up like riko, if he’d twisted tetsuji’s abuse enough to believe that the things he deserved were taken from him. he could’ve ended up like jean, if he’d refused to run after his hand was broken.
riko could’ve ended up like any of them. if an adult had cared about him enough to save him, he could’ve ended up like neil. if he’d hated his father instead of fighting for his attention, or if he internalised the abuse he faced instead of inflicting the same abuse on others, he’d have been more like jean or neil. if he’d accepted his place and decided to fight for the things he did have - exy, kevin - he’d have been more like kevin. but he doesn’t.
yes, their situations are largely shaped by the people around them - riko, jean, and kevin (until he learns about wymack) do not have an adult in their lives that cares about them enough to change their situation. but it’s also their individual responses to their abuse that shapes how they act. i’m not trying to say that people get to choose their trauma response, but it’s important that riko and neil parallel each other because we’re shown the could have beens. it shows you that it really only takes one person to change everything - mary taking neil and running is so so so important for how neil’s character and personality and trauma response turns out.
neil could’ve ended up like riko, but he doesn’t. riko could’ve ended up like neil, but he doesn’t.
when you read aftg from neil’s perspective you sort of get used to his fucked up logic but the moment you see him from jeans pov you’re like oh . he’s literally just a short little freak (affectionate)
the reveal that mizu is not only the ronin but also the bride is so well executed. the way she walks the line between man and woman, white and japanese, victor and victim... it's good fucking writing.
fixing things
my roman empire is that if clarke had gone back up to space in season 5 instead of echo, her and bellamy would’ve realised how in love they were and ended up together.
(don’t repost)
“You are a pipe dream.” - Nora Sakavic, The King’s Men
Going to be thinking about this for years
clarke griffin really is the character ever. she pulls a lot of levers. only one person she's slept with hasn't died. she adopted a six-year-old when she was still a teenager. she had her first drink out of spite. she killed a panther by herself. her daughter has the memories of the dead love of her life. she's as homicidal as she is suicidal. she was in solitary confinement for almost an entire year. she learned mandarin and motorcycle riding because she stole it out of someone else's head. she decorated her prison cell with charcoal etches. she's been caked in mud and foam. no one ever taught her how to swim. if she cares about you, she might hum when she kills you. we only see her shower once in her life. she medically experimented on herself. she's been body snatched. everything her culture was based on turned out to be very, very incorrect. she was arrested for treason against her people and then does nothing but ensure the survival of her people for the rest of her life. she's eaten bugs. and she's bisexual
Look, everyone see's Jeremy as this "golden boy" right? And if his deep dark secret was public Jean would know about it because Kevin would know about it. So, my assumption is that whatever scandal it is has been covered up by his family with hush money/connections whatever, hence why he has to stay there during the week. They still have this thing to hold over his head.
(ofc part of me still things it's sibling death related just bc that's sort of a common theme in TSC)
ANYWAYS! If it does go the scandal root I want it to be SOOO SCANDALOUS
Give me Jeremy getting caught sucking dick at the banquet. Give me Jeremy with a "habit." Give me Jeremy wrapped up in the wrong crowd his Freshmen year and they cause a car crash. Give me a felony, give me a "fuck the police," give me the drama.