tanks4thememory (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
tanks4thememory) wrote2018-03-31 08:41 pm
tanks4thememory) wrote2018-03-31 08:41 pm
Entry tags:
Clu's Ashura Ascension Essay
(For reference, here's Clu's Angelii Ascension essay.)
Before ascending to Angelii, Clu changed in some very important ways. He adapted to life in Nautilus and learned to accept the fact that he couldn't go home, even if he wasn't happy about it. He made friends and found a function in this strange new world. And perhaps most importantly he learned that Users weren't the all-knowing quasi-deities he'd believed they were in system; they were just as mortal and fallible as any program. This led to him respecting people based on merits rather than just species, and allowed him to make friends more easily.
Since then, Clu has continued to learn and develop. His friendship with the Fourth Doctor has been particularly interesting. In dealing with the very often illogical Four and his unique way of looking at things, Clu has had to open himself up to new possibilities, becoming more creative and less rigid in his thinking. Four also opened Clu up to being willing to try more User food and drink, especially sweet things, further expanding his horizons.
His friendship with Nita was also helpful in getting Clu to think more outside the box. Like Four, she also helped nudge Clu toward other ways of looking at things and to be more creative, encouraging his creation of the glowing dandelions and complementing his design abilities in general. A trip to her world also helped Clu learn more about how the User world works outside of Nautilus.
His experiences with Irene and the rest of the Task Force also helped Clu to grow and change, helping him find new ways to use the skills and functions he had for the betterment of Nautilus and the multi-verse. As both an Angelii and part of the Task Force, he's quite willing to teleport to the aid of anyone in danger and has on several occasions, such as during the Mirror Storm where he teleported in to rescue the then human Tenth Doctor from his Fourth self who'd been turned into a mad dictator, and afterwards helped similarly transport those injured in the incident to the med bay. He's also made good use of his Sight, using it towards the efforts of trying to track down Papillion, a persistent thorn in the sides of Nautilus' citizens.
While on the Task Force, he's come to deeply trust and respect Irene in particular and his loyalty to her and the other members of the Task Force has only grown over time. And that's the keyword regarding Clu's latest changes; loyalty. It's always been a strong aspect of who he was, but being in Nautilus has gradually allowed it to expand from just his own User to a broader community of people and- in a way- the entire multi-verse. His function as an independent hacking program, once his defining characteristic, has gradually taken a back seat to the relationships he's developed in Nautilus. He no longer feels so out of place or like he's only staying in Nautilus because it's preferable to the death he'd face if he went home. He no longer feels like his being there was and is a mistake.
Before ascending to Angelii, Clu changed in some very important ways. He adapted to life in Nautilus and learned to accept the fact that he couldn't go home, even if he wasn't happy about it. He made friends and found a function in this strange new world. And perhaps most importantly he learned that Users weren't the all-knowing quasi-deities he'd believed they were in system; they were just as mortal and fallible as any program. This led to him respecting people based on merits rather than just species, and allowed him to make friends more easily.
Since then, Clu has continued to learn and develop. His friendship with the Fourth Doctor has been particularly interesting. In dealing with the very often illogical Four and his unique way of looking at things, Clu has had to open himself up to new possibilities, becoming more creative and less rigid in his thinking. Four also opened Clu up to being willing to try more User food and drink, especially sweet things, further expanding his horizons.
His friendship with Nita was also helpful in getting Clu to think more outside the box. Like Four, she also helped nudge Clu toward other ways of looking at things and to be more creative, encouraging his creation of the glowing dandelions and complementing his design abilities in general. A trip to her world also helped Clu learn more about how the User world works outside of Nautilus.
His experiences with Irene and the rest of the Task Force also helped Clu to grow and change, helping him find new ways to use the skills and functions he had for the betterment of Nautilus and the multi-verse. As both an Angelii and part of the Task Force, he's quite willing to teleport to the aid of anyone in danger and has on several occasions, such as during the Mirror Storm where he teleported in to rescue the then human Tenth Doctor from his Fourth self who'd been turned into a mad dictator, and afterwards helped similarly transport those injured in the incident to the med bay. He's also made good use of his Sight, using it towards the efforts of trying to track down Papillion, a persistent thorn in the sides of Nautilus' citizens.
While on the Task Force, he's come to deeply trust and respect Irene in particular and his loyalty to her and the other members of the Task Force has only grown over time. And that's the keyword regarding Clu's latest changes; loyalty. It's always been a strong aspect of who he was, but being in Nautilus has gradually allowed it to expand from just his own User to a broader community of people and- in a way- the entire multi-verse. His function as an independent hacking program, once his defining characteristic, has gradually taken a back seat to the relationships he's developed in Nautilus. He no longer feels so out of place or like he's only staying in Nautilus because it's preferable to the death he'd face if he went home. He no longer feels like his being there was and is a mistake.
During the recent Magical Girl storm, Clu had something of an epiphany while talking to the storm-altered Third Doctor; Clu realized that his life in Nautilus was less limiting than what he would have wished for- a chance to go home safely and return to the life of an ordinary hacking program. For the first time, Clu realized that he was truly part of a community in Nautilus and that he had real friends there who cared for him and he for them. And most importantly, he realized that this was both better and more important than returning to his former existence. Yes, there would always be a part of him that wanted that sort of simple life of black and white choices, the same way humans would long for the innocence of childhood, but that wasn't what he needed now. He'd grown beyond that.
And he has. He's grown beyond needing to be defined by his function and is ready to learn to define himself more. He's come to view Nautilus as his home, not because he has to, but because he wants to; not so much due to any aspect of the city itself, but due to the people living there and the community they've built together. For the first time Clu would be willing to accept the level of commitment to Nautilus that comes with being an Ashura, and perhaps more importantly would be willing to step out of his comfort zone enough to actually accept the role.