Tags by @jungwildeandfree:

#something interesting could probably be written about orcs in LOTR in light of racial thinking --
#orcs of course in LOTR were originally ELVES. who were 'warped and twisted' by the torment of Sauron and Morgoth
#who then one assumes became able to perpetuate the species (unless Sauron maintained a kind of elf federal reserve)
#so orcs take on many of these mmm Less Human qualities -- 'bandy-legged' and 'fanged' etc
#as a result of their true nature (elvish) having been corrupted
#there IS also one way in which their true nature shines through though -- elves are brilliant artisans
#the elves of the First Age created boats and swords and jewels that were so perfect they became magic
#orcs in LOTR preserve that ability -- they have a dark ingenuity for weapons of war that is functionally sorcerous in its results
#now. let's once again examine the 'LOTR as allegory for the Great War'
#Germany was (we all remember) one of the more aggressive nations going into the Great War
#but prior to that point they were a NEW nation as well! one which had a TON of intellectual and manufacturing power
#Germany could have been regarded as 'the future of Europe'--they were advanced and cosmopolitan and had a strong academic tradition
#and their reputation (at the time) was one of strength and honor and ingenuity--and a warlike nature--but ultimately great promise
#but in the Great War all of that went sideways--became twisted by propaganda and the idea of Der Tag and the ideals of German supremacy
#and in the years running up to WWII (when writing LOTR) Tolkien (we know) was aware of the further corruption of German culture --
#--which was taking place under Hitler and the Nazi Party.
#So in sum you have here -- this great nation (Germany) which had sprung up newly-formed with such potential --
#--the character of its people much-discussed with excitement for what the future might hold (and some apprehension about what they Wanted)
#and then this nation of craftspeople and thinkers and artists (Germany for example INSTRUMENTAL in the Romantic movement just decades prior
#(not only in terms of 'art' (visual) but also literature and philosophy)
#--Germany also gave Europe the philosophical origins of several disciplines (psychology--phenomenology--sociology)--
#--at a time when these disciplines were considered to be infallible and possibly indicative of a bright and enlightened future of humanity
#--Anyway then THIS NATION of great and high character is corrupted and all its people march to war --
#and their ingenuity is turned to violence and propaganda and clever weapons and explosives and choking gas
#anyway yeah you get the point. TLDR there's a lot that could be said about the 'true nature' of orcs in LOTR
#as a representation of the 'fall' of Germany from grace during the twentieth century
#and of course originally 'fantasy' orcs are. mm. the bare scraps of Tolkien's idea filtered through the minds of American men from the 60s
#so of course they are. simply racist

And what's truly incredible is that Parker is completely unaware that, say, being a getaway driver at nine is absolutely insane

I think...you might be right

what the fuck

I love this description about River and Rory, but I disagree about Amy and River. We see Amy support her daughter, teach her things, and be there as the maternal figure several times. Going from River’s POV:

Amy refusing to leave Mels side as she starts regenerating; we’ve already seen Amy in maternal mode with Mels in their past and Amy’s already flowing into it without knowing this is her daughter. Just like River’s moment with Rory about her future with the Doctor. (The moment with Amy, Rory, and Mels about the bus is brilliant in showing the Pond family dynamics already in place. Child who goes beyond everyone’s boundaries, the mother who is the disciplinarian, and the dad who just internally shakes his head because his kid is doing these things that either parent could ever think of. Melody has gone from being in as much trouble as Amy & and the boy to doing things even Amy never thought of. So while Amy lectures, he talks in disbelief as his spiel. Amy is aggravated at this latest thing, Rory is in confusion because “Who steals a bus?” and drives it through Convent Gardens? It’s a dad going what the hell do we do with you as an honest question. Stealing a bus goes way beyond ‘you’re grounded’. You can imagine Amy’s parents being the same with her)

Melody/River faltering under her mother’s disapproval when she rescues her parents in the Tardis

Amy’s whole speech and showing Melody who River Song is.

Amy touching Melody’s arm about what the Doctor said to her before he died.

Seeking her parents approval and getting it from Amy about the Doctor

Amy sitting at her daughter’s side at the hospital and discussing River giving up her.

Amy telling the Doctor how much she wants to see her daughter. (River isn’t in this scene, but it shows her connection to River.)

Amy on top the pyramid seeing her daughter recoil under the Doctor’s rage, so much so that she can’t go any further. Amy supports River and gives her the push she needs to go toe to toe with him. Every time we see an older River having to face a raging Doctor, she’s acting on her mother’s lesson and stands up under his anger.

Amy knowing the astronomical signs her daughter gives that she’s on her way home and she sets up for her.

Amy keeping a diary now for her times with her daughter who comes to her parents at all ages as well as knowing their younger versions.

Amy defending River telling her parents that the Doctor is alive rather than leave them in pain. (River isn’t in this scene either, but it again shows Amy in mum mode, even against the Doctor.) The Doctor doesn’t think of River at all in this whole episode; it’s Amy who thinks about her and talks about her.

Young Amy already knowing who River must be and defending that future by be willing to sacrifice her own life.

Amy in Manhattan first confronting her daughter about lying and then supporting her until River is ready to talk about what happened.

Amy calling Melody to her side, giving her a last message. And River walking to her mother’s hand like a small child going to her mum. It’s not until Amy tells Melody to take care of the Doctor and she kisses the hand that she’s Amy’s adult child again.

I absolutely adore River and Rory’s scenes, and they are different together than she is with Amy. Rory is his daughter’s hero, the one to lean into, to chase away the bad things. The one who gets what’s going on in a moment like she does that the Doctor and Amy miss. They do a lot of non-verbal communication, talking to each other with a look. She had that image of Daddy and Last Centurion in her head growing up, and she obviously doesn’t think Rory is going to grow up into it. But then he does; his daughter now thinks of him as that hero, Mr. Perfect. And from then on, she treats him with the love that started on Demon’s Run. She even shows off for him and she very much means it when she calls him Dad. Of course, we see her do what she does with Amy: teach him things, support him in bad moments, reassuring him… but a grown child does that. I really wish we had had more scenes with father and daughter.

But I do think that Amy is very much the mum from Berlin on, including teaching and supporting her daughter as her daughter. It’s part of her arc and she definitely changes in how she treats River once she knows she’s Melody. grilledcheeseandguavajelly here on tumblr put it very well:

“Their [River and Amy’s] dynamic is so cool, because here you have a daughter and a mother, but a daughter who watched her [young unknowing] mother cry and argue and be afraid. It’s an aspect of our parents not many of us see. And when Amy finds out who River is she doesn’t let that side of herself out again. She is then and forever a mother, a figure of strength and security.” [X]

Parents usually fulfill different roles and I think Amy & Rory do too & do it beautifully. I very much wish Pond Life had some episodes that featured the Pond family so we see those dynamics in action. And have shown Rory’s parent arc. Think of that scene where he goes down into the tunnels with her. He goes because the Doctor pushes it on him. Imagine a scene like it when he knows this is his daughter and how different it would have been.

Just my opinion.

Oh! I wasn’t trying to say that Amy doesn’t mother River–she does, and she does it brilliantly, as you’ve pointed out in your wonderful comments. Sorry if it came across that way; I didn’t mean that at all.

Because it seems that early on for Amy, River seems more motherly (I’m thinking “The Time of Angels” and “Flesh and Stone” but that may be because she realizes that this is an Amy who doesn’t know who River is, let alone that River is her daughter and because she is dancing around all the truths she can’t tell.

Yes, definitely by Berlin, Amy is in full-on mothering mode in her relations with River. They mutually support each other and love each other; you can definitely tell that Amy is the mother and River is the daughter. Yet the episode I was watching was “The Impossible Astronaut,” in which Amy barely acknowledges that she’s pregnant and is completely ignorant of River’s parentage. In that episode, River flirts with the Doctor, is the stoic one supporting Amy while she cries over the Doctor’s death (though, knowing that he wasn’t actually dead probably had something to do with that), and tells her fears to Rory after he asked what she meant by having a worse day coming for her. Rory’s the one who followed up on that because that’s what he does. So I definitely didn’t mean to be a slam on Amy and River’s relationship because it’s beautiful in its own way.

But it doesn’t seem to me that River confides her fears or worries to Amy, which is all I was trying to say (and obviously phrased poorly). River reserves that for her dad, and her relationship with her dad isn’t talked about as often as her relationship with her mother is. (Tangentially, no one talks about Rory’s relationship with the Doctor as much as they talk about Amy’s relationship with the Doctor, either.)

and she told/ordered Rigsy to not feel guilty about it either, iirc