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theguytoendallguys · 5 months ago

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Alright. I have some things to say about the demeaning of Ricky Potts, both within the canon and the Ride The Cyclone fandom, because the more I think about it, the more it pisses me off.

First, I would just like to say, I am not physically or verbally disabled, and I am not trying to speak for or take away from the lived experiences of disabled people. Feel free to correct me if I say something accidentally ableist during this rant, as I wish to be as respectful as possible when tackling this issue. Second, there will be a lot of discussions of ableism, and several mentions of sexual scenes/scenes where sex is discussed, so if any of that triggers you, I suggest you click off this post or scroll past it.

That being said, let’s talk about the demeaning of Ricky Potts in canon first. There are a lot of scenes where Ricky is actively demeaned, usually by Ocean. (i.e. Ocean calling him “sweetie” or other typical pet names, which is very gross considering they are not canonically dating, or even implied to be, hell, Ocean actively says at the end of the musical she never got to know anybody in the choir on a personal level, not even Constance, her “best friend”.)

One of the instances that most pisses me off is when, during/after “every story’s got a lesson”, When Ocean says that porno has no lesson, Ricky is able to speak up and express his opinions on this subject, contradicting Ocean’s own. Ocean responds to this by completely dismissing everything Ricky said and blaming Constance for what Ocean is implied to perceive as “ruining Ricky’s innocence”. (Quote: “now you’ve got sweet old Ricky Potts saying that porno is magical!”) There are many other instances of Ocean acting demeaning towards Ricky, but this is what is in my opinion the worst and most infuriating one.

Now, I’m not saying that you’re ableist if you like Ocean, or that you shouldn’t like Ocean. I like Ocean, I think she’s a fun character. This, however, does not change the fact that a lot of her actions and comments do read as ableist (because they are) and that she is the main canon source of ableism towards Ricky. Again, I’m not saying that you can’t like Ocean, but her ableism does need to be acknowledged by the fandom, and I wish it could be acknowledged in canon, and maybe in future productions it could be, depending on the director.

Now, let’s talk about the ableism in the RTC community, shall we? Before I continue, I would like to clarify that I’m not trying to call anyone ableist or say that they’re a terrible person because of the things I’m about to state, this is not my intention. I merely want to shed light on why certain things in the community come off as ableist. Specifically, the fandom consensus on SABM.

Generally, majority of the fandom, from what I’ve seen, usually treat SABM as a gross song about a horny teenager. Now, it’s understandable for adults to be uncomfortable with teen horniness, however, what bothers me is a) that completely ignores any and all of the deeper text and/or subtext contained within the song, and b) Noel’s lament, is, too, a horny song, the same length, and nobody seems to shit on Noel for it, like, at all. I have seen so much hate for Ricky because of SABM, but none towards Noel because of Noel’s lament. Maybe it’s because I haven’t been in the fandom long enough, but it still seems weird and biased towards Noel. There is a lot in SABM that goes ignored by most of the fandom, (i.e. the fact that Ricky was so neglected he had to create an entire fake universe of alien cat people just so he could feel wanted by anyone, the underlying themes of love and war that Ricky has created for this fake universe, etc.). The point of SABM is to show that Ricky is not a baby, but rather a normal teenager, and that he is so much more than just his disability, which not many people in the fandom seem to recognize. Ironically, the one time he’s able to canonically speak without being silenced (SABM) is one of the most hated on and neglected things in the fandom.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

#ride the cyclone #ricky potts #justice for Ricky Potts

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maxiemumdamage · 2 months ago

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Something I think is important to note:

In dramas especially, but in general, I think it’s important that the supporters of the main character be good (or at least likable) characters.

We can’t get to know the protagonist directly, so it’s important we see through character interactions why they’re a good person, why they’re worth rooting for. That means they need to be surrounded by good or at least entertaining characters in turn, so we agree with their support.

Using SMASH as an example because it’s poor writing inadvertently turned this show into my first ever hatewatching experience:

Ivy’s most consistent support is Tom. He’s her best friend, he’s the one who got her involved in Bombshell, and he knows how great she is when she’s on. Plus, through Tom supporting her, he meets Sam, also a friend of Ivy’s and a nice guy. Sam and Tom get together and root for Ivy together — nice! Simple! It works.

Karen’s main supporters within the production are Julia and Derek. And…it doesn’t make sense in the former’s case — Julia doesn’t know Karen at all, while she does at least somewhat know Ivy through Tom. Supporting Karen puts Julia in conflict with Tom, if only gently at first, which makes it extra baffling — there’s nothing so amazing about Karen that should make Julia willing to lose her oldest friend.

(I can speculate or make up excuses that suit the character, like that Julia being in baby fever mode makes her inclined to support the whiny inexperienced crybaby Karen rather than the professional experienced adult Ivy, but there’s zero in-text support of that.)

And then…Karen’s other big-name supporter is Derek. Derek, who is dating Ivy for most of season one and treats her horribly all the while, Derek who can’t stop trying to climb into every actress’s pants, Derek who is elitist and entitled and verbally abusive to everyone but Eileen (because she signs his paychecks).

Derek doesn’t have any obvious reason to support Karen save that he’s already had Ivy and still wants in Karen’s pants. Otherwise he’s just inexplicably attached to her, and that’s also not a compelling reason.

It’s the same for most of the cast — in fact, the background singers and dancers are often explicitly established to be old friends of Ivy, yet repeatedly hang out and side with Karen. It doesn’t read as “Karen is just such a cool and magnetic person that all Ivy’s friends would inexplicably abandon her for this young brat” it reads as them being the kind of people who abandon a friend at the drop of a hat. Which makes the audience dislike them and Karen by association.

In fact, since Derek is such a horrible person, and since none of Karen’s other unnamed supporters are all that likable, we don’t want them to win. Which means we root against Karen by association. Derek is a scummy guy and wants Karen to succeed for presumably scummy reasons, and she only gets her final victory because of him, so it all leaves a bitter taste. And again, since we get no indication of why he roots for Karen aside from “she’s hot” there isn’t even potential to see it as him becoming better through his support of her.

Worse, SMASH seems to get that if you make a villain the main supporter of a character, the audience will root against them. Because that’s what they did with Ellis and Ivy. Ellis, who’s inexplicably and cartoonishly evil at random moments, is the one to poison Rebecca Duval so Ivy can retake the leading role, and he says as much. They clearly want us to therefore think it’s bad for Ivy to succeed…but then how isn’t it also a loss if Karen does?

TL:DR — despite my attempts not to let my opinions seep into this, they clearly did, but if you make an obviously evil character the main supporter of someone we won’t wanna root for whoever’s the recipient of that support.

#smash #smash tv show #nbc smash #max.txt

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kybercrystals94 · 9 months ago

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Then & Now

Read here on Ao3!

ANGST-PRIL 2024 | DAY 3 | PROMPT 3: BROKEN HEARTED

RATED: T | WORDS: 1109 | SUMMARY: Crosshair tells Omega about Mayday. | CHARACTER FOCUS: Crosshair, Omega

“What happened?” Omega asks.

Crosshair doesn’t move, doesn’t shift his gaze to the child sitting behind the grate of his cell door. He keeps his focus on the ceiling above him, where the light has a barely discernible flicker. “What do you mean, what happened?” he asks, hoping that the venom in his tone will make her recant the question.

But he isn’t surprised when she only clarifies, “Why did you turn against the Empire?”

Omega has been nothing if not persistent these past few weeks, regularly sneaking her way down to talk to him. She does most of the talking, while he pretends he’s not listening, and wonders if she will take the hint and stay away.

To his frustration, Omega takes the hint and blatantly ignores it.

“It doesn’t matter,” Crosshair growls.

Omega shifts so that she is kneeling in front of the door, facing him full on. “It must’ve been something terrible. You seemed so sure on Kamino.”

They let him die. The unspoken words taste bitter, so he verbalizes something less distasteful. “It pains me to say that Hunter was right. We are nothing but a number to them. Disposable. You’ve seen the labs here.”

The kid frowns. “Realizing Hunter was right doesn’t put you in a cell,” she observes.

“I already told you, it doesn’t matter,” Crosshair tells her.

“It matters to me.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re my brother,” Omega states. “What happens to you – what happened to you – matters.”

An infinite number of retorts line up Crosshair’s throat. Awful, horrid things that he is sure will finally drive Omega away, make her hate him the way he deserves. Keep her safe the way she deserves. Safe from him. Safe from attachment and familial duty.

But not a single one of them comes out.

“His name was Mayday.”

Omega is quiet for a moment. “What happened to him?”

“He died.”

Another meaningful pause. “The Empire killed him?”

“They couldn’t waste precious medical supplies on a disposable meat droid,” Crosshair snaps. Blistering rage burns glacial in his veins. “So I killed the officer who stood by and watched him die.” Crosshair turns his head to look at Omega, who stares back with wide eyes. “That’s what happened. That’s why I’m here.”

He hates the sympathy that washes over Omega’s transparent expression. He does not want her pity or her love. He wants her to leave him alone.

Funny, isn’t it? How these clones around you keep disappearing?

“Go,” Crosshair says, turning away. “I don’t want you to come back.”

He can feel Omega watching him, hear that she hasn’t moved away. Finally, she sighs, a long-suffering exhale that sounds too much like Hunter. “I know you think you’re protecting me, but I will come back, Crosshair. I won’t let you be alone again.”

Crosshair waits until he knows she’s gone before he releases a shaky breath. He rubs harshly at his eyes. He hasn’t cried for Mayday. He won’t cry now.

<<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>>

They’ve been in hyperspace for a couple hours now.

Crosshair sits on the floor of the main hold, Batcher’s head in his lap while he strokes the hound’s smooth, leathery skin. He listens to the rumble of his brothers’ voices in the cockpit, Omega’s melodic voice occasionally chiming in. He imagines this is what it was like before, when the Batch first got Omega. In all the time he has known her, even before he liked or cared or… loved her, Omega has always had something to say, something to contribute. He remembers it annoyed him, but the emotion attached to the memory feels foreign and ugly. He hates that it used to be that way, but he cannot deny that it was.

It was the chip, he reminds himself. After that, his own stubbornness butting up against Omega’s persistence. Regret constricts around the muscle in his chest, memories of the cruel and harsh words he’d used on Tantiss to push Omega away. He can’t remember exactly when he’d given up the effort, resigning to be talked at relentlessly until it became something he ached for. When she’d go days without coming to his cell, he began to worry for her, straining to hear the light tread of her footsteps.

Those familiar light steps approach him now, but Crosshair doesn’t look up at his sister when she stops in front of him.

“You look comfy,” Omega says.

“Yeah, the floor of a ship is luxurious,” Crosshair retorts.

“I was talking to Batcher,” Omega responds, deadpan.

Crosshair rolls his eyes, but smirks in spite of himself.

Omega moves to slide down next to him. “You’ve been quiet since we left the base.”

“Unlike some people, I don’t feel the need to talk constantly.”

“Fine. You’ve been quieter than usual. Happy?”

“Ecstatic.”

Omega turns so that she’s leaning her back against his arm, head tipped against his shoulder. “Is that where you met Mayday?”

Crosshair stiffens, his hand freezing in place on Batcher’s head. He swallows. He could try to lie, or at the very least, brush the question off. Seconds of indecision tick by, Omega patiently waiting Crosshair out. She’ll know if he lies.

“Yes,” Crosshair mutters at last.

Omega hums. “I saw the helmets. Hunter said he saw you picking them up.”

When did he tell you that? Crosshair wants to demand, but the question catches in his throat, giving Omega time to continue uninterrupted.

“I’m sorry for what happened there,” she says, softly. “It must have been hard to go back.”

Crosshair shrugs, purposely jostling Omega’s head resting against him, making her huff. “It is what it is,” he tells her.

“Tell me about him?” The question is gently put, a small voice guarded for rejection.

Crosshair sighs. “There’s not much to tell. I didn’t know him for long.”

“Long enough to care about him,” Omega says.

“Hmmm,” Crosshair concedes. He hesitates a moment before saying, “I guess he reminded me of our brothers...”

Omega nods, head bumping against his arm.

“There was an avalanche,” Crosshair continues, voice low, throat tight. “We were both injured, but Mayday had the worst of it. He…” Crosshair swallows. “He wanted me to leave him behind, said he wouldn’t make it. He was right, in the end, but I tried anyway. We got to the base, but they wouldn’t help him.”

Omega reaches back, her fingers finding his hand and wrapping around it. Her grip tightens. He squeezes back.

“I wish I could have met him,” Omega whispers, and Crosshair knows she means it.

Blinking back the burning sensation that suddenly impairs his vision, Crosshair mutters, “Me too.”

He hasn’t cried for Mayday.

He won’t cry now.

END

Wow! Already to day 3 of Angst-pril, and my time has come to join the collaboration alongside @the-little-moment & @just-here-with-my-thoughts!

(If you haven't already, you NEED to go read their stories for the prompts Homesick and Frozen!!!)

My next prompt is: "This isn't going to work."

✨Let me know if you'd like to be added to my tag list!✨

Tag List: @followthepurrgil @isthereanechoinhere96 @amorfista @mooncommlink @arctrooper69 @nagyanna424 @groguandthebadbatch @proteatook @ezras-left-thumb

#angstpril2024 #Day 3 #Prompt: Broken Hearted #the bad batch #star wars #Star Wars the bad batch #sw tbb fanfic #ao3 fanfic #ao3 writer #tbb omega #tbb crosshair #Mayday mentioned #The Outpost mentioned #angst #family relationships #Little Kyber Thoughts #Little Kyber Thoughts Collaboration #fics by kyber

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rreskk · 2 years ago

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TREVOR PHILIPS EXTENDED ANALYSIS

Trevor Philips…

Drug dealer, “international CEO”, son, brother, friend.

TW: -Self harm -Implied drug use -Childhood abuse

I’ve made a longer analysis of Trevor as a character (THIS ISN’T A FANFICTION).

ENJOY!

Growing up in the Canadian region border of America, it has been portrayed that he has a complicated history surrounding family and mental illness. While it isn’t exactly proven (unless Trevor stated himself), his childhood had been the possible causes of his later behaviour and long-term issues. As for now, we see it as psychopathy, or as wiki would say “Intermittent Explosive Disorder” (impulsive behaviour and explosive temper that could lead to physical aggression). Others would argue that he suffers from borderline personality disorder, considering his struggle to contain stable relationships and is seen experiencing the main symptoms of what a person of BPD can have.

His childhood consisted of instability, financial stress, emotional damage, and physical abuse. Trevor mentioned his mothers constant absence to Lamar and Franklin during a friendly hangout. -“She came back, she left again, came back, left again…” The repeated cycle of his mother leaving, whether this was earlier or later in his teens, it would show the great affect it had on him, personally. Trevor made it clear about his abandonment issues during the storyline and dialogue. His whole idea of finding Michael was to fulfil the years of being abandoned and alone. Having experienced this instability for his childhood had took a toll on his emotional availability. The cravenness of reassurance, respect, presence, or just staying with him. However, his anger issues would make it harder for him to keep people around.

Trevor has also stated his anger management being poor since the beginning of his time. After having a conversation with Jimmy De Santa, he was asked when he knew what he wanted in life. It’s safe to say he had this psychotic mindset since birth, theoretically the result of his mother’s drug addict and poor lifestyle. -“I was pulling the legs off spiders, and I wanted more. I wanted to kill all the way up to the food chain until I hit top, the human being.” However, when being antagonised about this behaviour, he swiftly blames it on his childhood as Amanda would say: -“God, he is such a turd! That wounded childhood bullshit – we all had had shitty childhoods, you balding lump!” This same coping mechanism from Trevor is seen when being asked about his mother. We all know he has been through some verbal/emotional abuse as for his fear of talking about her. Trevor has never said anything negative about his mother despite complaining about his childhood… If someone dares speak her name, he’ll throw a fit, a rageful rant about respecting his mother, almost protecting the fact that she may be the reason for his tormented soul. The “Mrs Philips” mission towards the end of the game, we can see the emotional abuse he receives without doing anything wrong to deserve her bitterness. The constant insults and belittlement, Betty even demands Trevor to seek her medication and would not let him inside the trailer until it was finished. If this is bad enough during his adulthood, we can’t even imagine the mess he had to deal with during childhood. Nevertheless, his mother issues has inserted a particular taste in women throughout the years. -“Old women are to be cherished!” He'd say during a strangers and freaks mission. His calm behaviour towards Patricia and any lady in general would suggest his utter respect (or secret fear). He craves female attention and a maternal dependence. If we look at this closely, we may understand how the lack of maternal attachment between the first few years of his life (0-5 years) would influence his later decision to grow attachments to the wrong people, and the wrong things. (This is called attachment theory- psychological theory). Trevor’s mother may have missed most of his early childhood for financial gain (her stripping, prostitution, etc), and therefore left Trevor with whoever she had at home, his brother and some of his step-dads. Occasionally he was left alone.

Moving on to his difficult relationship with fathers in general, we can understand that the physical abuse he gets from the men in his past would influence his behaviour to men in the future and present. Trevor had grew up being physically abused and dominated, almost tricking his mind into exacting himself into the repeated cycle, turning into the abuse he got and aims the intensions to weaker men (Ron, Floyd, Wade) to fill in that insecurities he got from his biological and step-fathers. Although a father figure isn’t as important to a maternal figure, it did affect his perspectives and made his anger issues worse, especially (I can’t exactly remember the source) when Trevor’s biological father abandoned him in a shopping mall (that he later burnt down in retaliation). Being let down by many older figures had made him dependent on people in the future, people who have a stand in power with Trevor, someone who is able to balance and handle his anger (Michael and Franklin).

It has also been stated that his brother, Ryan, had died of unnatural causes. Elements of Trevor’s words would convince us that he had something to do with it considering they hadn’t of gotten along well enough… To live. However, there is not much information surrounding his brother during this time.

His education is flawed (dropping out before graduating) and being expelled due to the aggressive nature. Trevor had moved all over Canada and had been switched between care homes, trailers, schools, prisons all throughout growing up. However, he has surprising gains in mathematics and can workout sums within a second, and with full accuracy. Trevor is able to process mathematical problems fast, as Wade would say: -“He’s very good with numbers.” Furthermore, the lack of grammar and overall English makes him improvise during speeches and messages. Trevor always speaks metaphorically, he hyperbolises a lot, uses imaginative scenarios to engage the people around him. (Sometimes manipulating – extremely, to get his point across… even if it doesn’t make sense).

“I was a drifter up by the border, wandering from truck stop to truck stop, recently out of the military… Huffing gas, fucking people over, killing, eating, whatever.” Trevor’s discharge from the military was caused by the detached and restrained relationship with his mother. Psychologically, maternal dependence and relationships determines someone’s emotional strengths and depth… Trevor mentioned during an online heist that the therapist who was determining his worth would constantly try and talk about his mother, resulting in an episode which… Eventually led to his discharge (thanks to his anger issues). His dreams to fly planes would crush and Trevor would be left drifting around the Midwest, utterly defused and emotionally damaged. That’s until he meets Michael, and then Brad.

2004, the prologue. We can consider Trevor’s experience to be titled as “survivors guilt”. His loyalty and partnership with both Michael and Brad was cut off after they both unexpectedly got shot. Trevor lived with the guilt of seeing his best friends die, thinking he could of done something… But Michael had obviously told him to save himself, resulting in the 9 years of isolation and depression. He was unknown of Michael’s plan to escape the criminal aspects, feasting the money for himself, the money Trevor couldn’t access as his identity was blown. Imagining that Trevor had to shave his hair and beard just to pass the radar of his North Yankton wanted posters, he had to skip towns without money, and impressively invested a meth business, earning a good load to make him… Well, wealthy. His mother had been absent for years after being imprisoned (as it was mentioned through story-mode), leaving Trevor to be living in Sandy Shores with a successful rising drug business, but with the shame of his past abandonment and lawful struggles to keep his morality clean… Obviously his modesty being destroyed by the abuse of drugs and alcohol (his damaging coping mechanisms).

Unsuspecting Michael being alive, it was a total shock for him to see the news, a potential copycat… Yet Trevor knew. Trevor’s intuition was strong, always have been strong. Throughout the gameplay, Trevor has odd intelligence and senses. He can tell when something doesn’t fit and he’ll suddenly click. He can understand situations faster than most people. He caught eyes with Davey and he knew him. He first saw Michael after 9 years and knew he was lying. After some convincing… Michael’s denials had led Trevor to realise that Brad’s imprisonment was also a lie. It seems that although Trevor takes on the worse from his experiences, he also earns himself the skill to predict and understand unfolding events. He can attack and approach situations, while impulsively, but effectively.

Further notes: Trevor’s coping mechanisms would include niche drugs, alcohol, sex, pornography, aggression, self-harm, and isolation. He finds himself deeply attached to women in general, often exploiting himself by seeing many prostitutes and masturbating to pornography daily. This would be the result of his mother’s absence and abuse… Nevertheless, he engulfs in self-harm (hitting his head, biting, scratching, etc) as a way to defuse his self-hatred (as he always saw himself as the problem… Thanks to his childhood again). His suicidal tendencies is pretty obvious throughout the gameplay.

#trevor philips #trevor gta #trevor philips headcanons #gta trevor #grand theft auto #grand theft auto 5 #grand theft auto v #grand theft 5 #grand theft v #anaylsis #pyschology #michael townley #michael de santa #franklin clinton #bradley sniper #north yankton #gta

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mrs-dr-reid · 2 years ago

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My Personal Joel Miller Headcanons (and a handful of Ellie Williams ones too) Part 1/?

Temple kisser. The man cannot go five minutes without pressing a kiss against your temple. Even if you’re super busy, he will find a way to siddle up next to you and plant a kiss on your temple

The best listener. If all you want to do is rant about the terrible day you had, he will sit there and just let you ramble on, and he’ll only interject with things to spur you on, like “that bitch!” or “you’re kidding!”

He’s actually a pretty decent chef. He’s not Michilin-level, but he can churn out a good hearty meal if given the correct time, ingredients, and tools. He even wears a dorky apron you and Ellie found for him that says “Kiss the Cook” on it

He’s finally embraced puns and dad jokes, and it’s one of the main things he bonds with Ellie over. Whenever he hits her with one she’s never heard and she falls over laughing, a very smug smile spreads across his face for like 5 seconds before he’s back to “business mode”

Legitimately MELTS when you compliment or praise him for the smallest things. Like if you tell him, “Green’s a really good color on you, Babe”, his ears turn bright red and he grumbles “Aw, stop” while waving you off. Or if you say, “Dinner was really good tonight, Honey”, he flushes pink and mutters “Ah, it was nothin special”. You’re still working on getting him to accept compliments

Usually when you’re sharing a bed, he’s the big spoon and he holds you as close to his chest as he physically can, but if it’s been a really rough day for him, you don’t think twice about wrapping your arms around his middle and making him be the little spoon

He usually calls you Sunshine, Darlin, Honey, or Gorgeous, but sometimes if he’s feeling adventurous, he likes to bust out a new pet name you’ve never heard before to see how you react. It still brings a smile to his face when he remembers how your whole body turned red when he called you “Sugar” one time

He loves sitting and looking at the night sky with you and Ellie, because you always point out the constellations to her and tell her the stories behind them while she’s totally enraptured. He just loves being with his girls whenever he can

You found an old record player and a bunch of old records, so every now and again when you notice he's getting kinda tense, you force him to dance with you. He pretends he’s annoyed, but he’s a sentimental old fool at heart, and he can’t help but hold you close as Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong croon “Dream a Little Dream of Me”

He’s terrible about remembering to drink water, and he finally starts carrying a canteen with him wherever he goes after you give him a twenty minute lecture on dehydration and UTIs

He loves sitting with you and watching you read, because he can always tell what’s happening in your book by the little sounds or faces you make. If you let out a quick exhalation through your nose, something funny happened. If a tiny groan escapes your throat, the main character did something stupid. If your eyebrows scrunch together and then fly up to your forehead, you just put together the plot twist. And so on and so forth

Since Ellie came along, you like to tease him that she’s resharpening his dad senses. He rolls his eyes whenever you do, but he silently agrees with you every time he subconsciously throws out an arm to stop her from walking into something dangerous, or automatically responds with “Go ask your mother” to whatever she asks him

He’s not much of a hand-holding kind of guy (unless it’s been a rough day and he’s feeling touch-starved), so his favorite way to walk with you is when you wrap your arms around his and lean against him slightly

When his PTSD decides to very aggressively announce its presence, the only thing that can calm him down and ground him is if you hold him against your chest so he can listen to your heartbeat, because he needs reassurance that you're there and alive

He struggles sometimes with verbalizing how much he loves you and cares about you, so you two figured out a non-verbal system to help him when he can't put it into words. If he points to his eye, then his heart, then you, that means "I love you". If he squeezes your hand or taps your arm or shoulder three times: "I need you", three tugs on your shirt or belt loops: "I want you", and a bunch of other signals. So whenever he's having what Ellie calls a "rough word day", you use that system

Sometimes he leans into the "old man" thing to annoy Ellie. He'll hobble around and say "Oh, my back! Ellie, get my cane!", or when Ellie asks him about what it was like before the outbreak, he'll start his story with "Back in my day..." just to hear her groan. He gets a kick out of it

Snores like a fuckin' hibernating bear. Like actually. It's a problem. You need to prop him up with like four pillows to get him to stop.

He likes surprising you with little things to make you smile. If you like to garden, he'll put together a little basket or seed packets and tools and leave it where you can find it. And he always leaves a little note with whatever surprise he leaves you that says, "Hope you like it -Joel", and it always brings a smile to your face

#logan speaks #logan makes headcanons #joel miller headcanons

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nothbee · 5 months ago

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First thing I do when I finish Yttd is turn to my drawing board and go I Gotta make an au.

Because I want to explore these characters more… but so much of whats interesting comes from the horrific circumstances! So its not as fun finding one where theres just never been a death game. I need to figure out how to traumatize them in new different ways where I can explore their dynamics. < Midori voice

Im rambling so ill put a readmore :P

But anyway. Thinking of a sorta detective au where the death game hasn’t happened yet but all the Asunaro stuff is still pressing and in the works. And what kickstarts it is Sara and Joe almost getting kidnapped and Joe getting really badly injured, and Sara is panicking on how she’ll get Joe somewhere in time when Keiji shows up to help take him to the hospital?

Sara is grateful for the help, Keiji dips before he has to actually go inside but not before Sara gets a name and some vague leads on what happened. And now We all know Sara, shes a stubborn girl, her best friend is unconscious and injured and its weighing horribly on her heart. So she starts doing everything she can to investigate what happened- trying to dig into places she really shouldn’t

Later, she runs into Keiji again and sorta verbally corners him. Keiji relents and decides to help Sara out with this ‘investigation’. Mostly because he can tell Sara will do it anyway with or without his help and he’d like to keep an eye on her.

And thats basically my Hook. Detective duo Keiji and Sara! Digging into all the shell companies Asunaro has left behind. Later on I want Sou to get dragged into the like ‘main investigative team’ because it adds drama. And sou is a very very good lead they just have to figure out how to get him to talk/hes helpful in ways they dont know how he manages so they keep him around even though he sucks

Im not ignoring all the other characters im just still figuring out what they’re doing. I think I’m adjusting things so they’re just where they are pre-death game? Maybe with a few more nefarious ties so they all have reason to interact? I was thinking with Alice that maybe he evaded jail by getting involved with asunaro and hes just dropped off the map (Not that I think hes malicious or wants to evade jail— i just think hes VERY good at getting in over his head.)

I also don’t know how to handle hinako (Still can’t tell if pink hair is a really small young adult or a middle schooler) so I was gonna say fuck it and make them twins or alter egos or something.

So far thats all :-) if you read all that and have any thoughts… I’d love to hear it!!!! o7

#yttd #your turn to die #sara chidouin #Yttd au #Detective au #yttd spoilers #bee talkz

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zzencat · 5 months ago

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hello !! i’m here for the free readings if they’re still open, initials are ff, aries sun, and i’d say 🧶 for an emoji

apologies if this is too niche but I identify as otherkin (I believe I was certain species/characters before this life) and I was wondering what my past life(s) were like ? I think I have a vague idea but it feels cloudy whenever I try and think about it

I also wanted to ask if there’s any direction I should take in my witchcraft, or in life currently ^^ I’m a beginner and could always use some guidance

tysm in advance !! have a lovely day/night

hello FF aries basketball emoji!! i love past life stuff and this is really interesting, so lemme know what you think:

- in ONE of your past lives, you could’ve been some kind of being that was a slave or felt like being one. you “could” escape if you wanted to, but there’s a period where you don’t yet. weirdly, when i was shuffling i pictured a native american or natives on land (that would eventually belong to the colonizers). you were good at your assigned job though and maybe you decided to stick around bc the rewards paid off. you didn’t HATE it, but you thought it could definitely be better. maybe you even saw the colonizers having fun, observing their clothes and how in high spirits they would be when they partied or had celebrations at night, and wondered “what’s really out there?” i also thought about tinkerbell for some reason. if you haven’t seen tinkerbell movies or at least this specific one- i think it’s the opening part (can’t be too sure tho) but she’s born and everyone kinda stands around in a circle. she gets a bunch of choices- what kind of fairy she’s going to be and work as—her “talent” essentially - and so there’s shit like working with water, working with animals, with air, making pixie dust, etc. there’s one that she skipped over bc it didn’t look interesting, and it was a hammer to represent “tinkering,” aka building/crafting a bunch of things. when she finishes choosing, the hammer ended up choosing her—not the other talents—and so she was like “ah damn i didn’t want this one tho…😔 *some grimacing here n there*”. throughout the movie, she’s in denial the whole time that she’s good at it, just bc the job is too limiting to her (ex: not being able to go to the “main land” i think was the name, where people/humans are) and she wants to go out there and be able to explore. as the movie progresses- i actually don’t know if it’s that one or the next one, but she rebels and builds a bunch of shit, brews up a plan to escape and somehow join the fairies that CAN go to the main land during a certain season.

so i felt the need to write that down for you bc your cards show a very similar theme happening: being extremely skilled in what you do, but you don’t feel that great in your environment, so there’s a calling- a need to leave and explore what’s out there. eventually you do! the cards actually end there with the world card in upright- you feel fulfilled, free, you’re going out to explore the world, or an insanely big chapter of your life has concluded- either way, the cycle is complete. so in my personal interpretation, you probably waited for the right moment, before you jumped ship—or jumped ON a ship—to get tf out of your situation/environment. i just had pocahontas show up, so feathers or wings could be something as well. if not, you probably worked in a colony and very closely to animals or things that could fly/use air travel.

ok some advice would you to reflect on what it means to be intuitive. question it and sit with it, look within and verbally define it out loud to yourself. what does it mean to be intuitive? then being open to receiving love and giving love. be comfortable with accepting it towards yourself and don’t focus on criticism. there’s probably a lot of things going on but if you could narrow and pin down your inner voice and have more trust in yourself, that’d also be great! take your battles head on! have more trust in the universe even if you are afraid. be upfront and confrontational with what you’re looking for in your craft and make it so that it’s yours. channel any kind of aggression or aggressive energy into fuel for reflection and looking deeper within. speak up for what you believe in. and also choose wisely what battles you’d want to get involved in. sometimes, you don’t need to put your energy into trivial things. just let it be and let it flow on its own….stillness, sacred, serene…

that’s all i have for you FF! thank you for asking such thoughtful questions haha you made me think a bit 😸

#mini readings game by teddy :)#dear anon: they have spoken 🕊️⏳✨#tarot reading

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adamwatchesmovies · 6 months ago

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Little Monsters (1989)

While I didn't enjoy this film, that doesn't mean you won't. No matter what I say, the people involved in this project did it: they actually made a movie. That's something to be applauded. With that established...

I can’t believe this is the third time I’ve seen Little Monsters. The first time was in 2012. I didn't like it but my review was too short so I re-watched it AGAIN in 2016. I didn’t like it then either. In fact, I gave it a 0 score. Is the third time the charm?

After moving to a new house and new school, Brian (Fred Savage) is miserable. His parents (Margaret Whitton and Daniel Stern) are always fighting, he’s getting blamed for every random thing that happens around the house and his brother Eric (Ben Savage) keeps bugging him about monsters living under his bed. Then, Brian discovers there IS a monster living under the bed. His name is Maurice (Howie Mandel) and he loves to pull pranks.

The worst part of this movie is Howie Mandel. His character is so annoying you’ll reach for your torch and pitchfork seconds after he appears. He’s always talking, always trying to make you laugh, always moving and gesticulating. I won’t blame the actor. I’ll blame director Richard Alan Greenberg, along with writers Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott. The mantra must’ve been “If someone isn’t talking, the audience won’t be laughing”. They couldn’t have been more wrong. This film only contains one funny joke and to give credit where credit is due, it’s from Mandel. Nonetheless, you can’t stand him. He’s playing this imitation Beetlejuice - one of many we saw starting in 1989. I’ve only ever seen two fast-talking outlandish supernatural sidekicks that worked - The Genie from Aladdin and the aforementioned ghost with the most. Everyone else you want to beat to a pulp with a shovel before burying them in the backyard.

With the main draw being as pleasant as a dental exam, Little Monsters was instantaneously doomed but the problems don't stop there. This film is so mean-spirited you’ll wind up cheering for the villains and hating the heroes. Case and point is an extended scene in which Brian and Maurice travel from one house to another, pulling pranks on children while they sleep. They paint the walls, put plastic wrap on toilets, peanut butter on phones, etc. That doesn’t sound so bad but they shave a cat off-screen and then take revenge upon Ronnie (Devin Ratray), a bully who tormented Brian and his brother earlier. They put cat food in his lunch and replace his apple juice with urine. I know kids pretend that any yellow liquid is piss all the time. The difference is that in this movie, we see Maurice gulp down all Ronnie's juice so he can turn around (away from the camera) pull out his blue monster dick and fill Ronnie’s bottle. the movie goes too far, particularly since we get to see Ronnie attempt to wash down the taste of the cat food with it the next day.

Speaking of Ronnie, I feel like doing a bit of nitpicking. I mean, why not? This movie is mean. It deserves a bit of its own medicine. Here’s how his introduction works. Brian and his little brother are on the bus. After an argument (related to the mysterious pranks around the house), Brian tosses Eric's lunch out the window. That's when Ronnie enters. The lunch hit him in the head. Ronnie threatens Eric, Brian defends his little brother and after a quick verbal back-and-forth, Ronnie is humiliated and gets off the bus. Wait. What happened? Was Ronnie part of the route? Like was he supposed to be picked up by the sassy bus driver? Or did she just let him hop on randomly? Either way, I guess he walked the rest of the way. Eventually, the character returns for the final act when he is recruited as one of Brian’s allies against Boy (Frank Whaley), the monster world’s evil ruler. I know what the movie is trying to do. The idea is that Brian and his bully are setting aside their differences for the greater good. Maybe they’ll even become friends. Inside the movie though, this alliance means nothing. Ronnie doesn’t know Brian was responsible for the cat food and piss in his lunch. He's not "forgiving" anything.

I've become more invested than I should in a movie that doesn’t deserve to be remembered. Little Monsters is mean, gross and ugly. The monsters are unappealing and not even in a “they’re monsters, they should be kind of scary” kind of way. One look and you'll “No thanks”. In fact, you can skip the look. Just say “No thanks” to Little Monsters. (February 10, 2023)

#Little Monsters #movies #films #movie reviews #film reviews #Richard Alan Greenberg #Terry Rossio #Ted Elliott #Fred Savage #Daniel Stern #Margaret Whitton #Rick Ducommun #Howie Mandel #1989 movies #1989 films

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creppersfunpalooza · 1 year ago

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Rosé

CW for under the cut: body horror and suicidal thoughts, attempted suicide (multiple), violence, verbal abuse, abusive relationship, manipulation and abandonment

Rosé, formerly known as Roe was born around 1899 and grew up in Louisiana. He grew up as more or less of a spectacle, considering both his effeminate appearance and albinism. He had always been fond of attention and just show business in general, so he didn’t entirely mind this lifestyle even if it was thrusted onto him at an early age.

As a young adult living in the roaring 20’s he tried to make a name for himself as a model and really played into his unique attributes, leading him to feature in several popular newspapers, magazines, and other things like that. While he was attractive, he was still considered more of an oddity than a person and was often dehumanized (revered and belittled) because of this. He felt like he couldn’t really make any real relationships with people because he was seen as more of a concept or character than someone with actual feelings and aspirations.

Adonis (“Don”), is the god of beauty, vanity, and lust. for some background about how gods function in this world, they’re kind of like the greek gods where they have dominion over certain concepts but don’t manually control them unless they really feel like it. like it’s sort of subconscious to them. like breathing. a concept cannot exist without a god, so there’s a lot of them. also gods can have multiple titles and take over the titles of another god if the god is stripped of their power. The god of death/the end (who i’ll likely be renaming to lih’ka or lih’kat) is typically in charge of judgement of the gods. there are very few rules but the main ones are just don’t interact with mortals because it can’t end well and don’t show bias towards a particular mortal. also gods can incarnate and live among mortals as one of them but they will never live up to their concept because it won’t exist for them while they’re a mortal. like for example when incarnated, Evolen, the goddess of love and (healthy) relationships (created at the same time as Adonis, they don’t get along well.), will never be able to experience genuine love or have a good relationship with someone, whether that be platonic or romantic.

Adonis, however, doesn’t enjoy godhood. He finds his equals uninteresting and is much more fascinated by the concept of mortality. Because of this, he occasionally breaks the rules to have brief interactions with mortals under the guise of being one himself. He does this as a taxi/limousine driver for whatever reason. It just seemed fitting. He never establishes connections with the people he picks up, just has little talks with them and such. It’s a nice change of pace for him. no he doesn’t know these people are used to paying for being driven around and yes he definitely got confused when the first few people asked him what he charged. Adonis typically never goes to the same place twice because he’s immortal so it’s like. if you get him as a driver once when you’re like 20 and then again when you’re like 50 and it’s the same memorable guy who has not changed at all it’s a bit suspicious.

So one day, Rosé (going by Roe at the time but using Rosé as a show name) gets into a taxi and lo and behold, it’s Don’s. The two connect pretty quickly as Roe sort of vents to him about how he feels like he’s never on the same page as anyone else and Adonis is like “wow he’s just like me!!!”. Roe is also noticing how this guy is actually taking what he’s saying seriously and isn’t ogling him and wow that’s a first for him, so he asks Don if he’d like to meet up sometime. Adonis, for the first time ever, decides “fuck it” and agrees. yeah buddy maybe you shouldn’t do that the rules are in place for a reason.

So the two grow close and eventually get into a relationship with eachother. Roe’s still oblivious to the fact that Don’s a god, however he’s a bit concerned about how he’s never been over to Don’s place and sees him like monthly. Eventually, Adonis tells him the truth and Roe actually takes it pretty damn well, especially for someone who grew up catholic and then likely switched over to atheism. They start spending more time together and Adonis even takes him to the ethereal realm (where all of the gods are) a few times (the gods do not know about this).

That’s all pretty neat and they’re doing pretty well, but something happens (likely a different god got caught breaking a rule and got punished severely) that made Adonis a bit paranoid about everything. So naturally, he decides “hey i know this has never been done before and might not even be possible, but what if i transferred some of my mystical god power stuff onto you so that you and i wouldn’t have to hide our relationship because you’d be like. a god too” and roe’s not like a huge fan of that idea because they’ve been together for like two years and that’s a big commitment. no godhood before marriage. but after a LOT of convincing, he finally agrees to Adonis’s plan that probably won’t even work.

It’s painful. Every part of it is painful. The initial surge of magic rushing through his veins, coursing through his soul and overwhelming every part of his mind and body. Tearing apart at who he once was and replacing it with something new and foreign, something that was never meant for a human to experience. Something he couldn’t possibly have handled. After the initial shock wore down, he felt sick. Maybe it was just a cold. Maybe the worst of it was over. Maybe it hadn’t worked. He wanted to believe it hadn’t. He was bedridden for days, he could barely even move because of the pain he was experiencing. After a few weeks, he was able to move again, but his skin was always condensed with clammy sweat. He could feel each individual cell in his body, rearranging and adjusting to make way for new ones. Everything in his apartment was so fuzzy. He was so cold. Every day he questioned if he would even survive it. He secretly hoped he wouldn’t.

Adonis didn’t visit for another month. When he did, he was obviously concerned. Roe seemed so much more distant. He wouldn’t let him inside of his apartment, but he wouldn’t leave it either. Roe felt too sluggish and weak. Don tried to help him by bringing him gifts and medicines, but nothing seemed to really help. They were still able to talk to each other, but something about it seemed to lack authenticity. It just seemed hollow now.

After the first few weeks, Roe’s skin cells began to rapidly deteriorate and flake off. Every inch of flesh itched and burned, but he could do nothing to stop it. No ointments helped. Painkillers didn’t provide relief either. His skin cracked and peeled, and yet he was still as clammy as ever. Clothes irritated his body as well. He had to stop going out of the apartment all together after that. Adonis’s concern grew, but he couldn’t do much. Roe couldn’t help but feel frustrated with Don. Adonis found every possible way to berate him or blame him for his state (“have you not been taking care of yourself?”, “you look like a mess”, “what would you do without me?”). He didn’t want to start a fight, he was tired and Adonis was just trying to look out for him.

The more time went on, the worse things got. Roe became irritable and snappish as his agony became unbearable. His eyes had become warped and his irises moved fluidly and shifted in the whites as they took on a new shape. The flesh around his ears had almost flaked and melted off like wax and soon the cartilage became frail and brittle, before snapping off entirely. His abdomen had begun experiencing a similar change. The skin had rotted and his liver and stomach was beginning to fail and shrivel. He could consciously feel every bit of it. At this point in time, he had given up. He didn’t care what it would take, he just wanted the pain to stop. It didn’t matter if his life would never go back to how it was, that wasn’t his goal anymore. He just wanted an out.

He tried several times, several methods. His violence and panic increased with each attempt. It was only after he’d punctured clean through his gut that he realized he couldn’t even escape through death.

Roe’s fights with Adonis got worse too. Adonis always tried to act righteous, never taking blame or responsibility for Roe’s condition. Adonis hated to admit it to himself, but he didn’t recognize his partner anymore. Besides Roe’s now sickening appearance, he had also grown bitter and resentful. He seemed miserable, even when Adonis was with him. He snapped at Adonis often.

Adonis grew tired of having to put up with Roe’s behavior. He’d been so patient. He’d tried to be understanding, but everything he did was met with passive aggression or a scoff. He couldn’t just give up, he did love Roe, even like this. Roe was lucky to have him at all. Lucky that he’d stuck around and seen things through, even when he looked like a corpse. Who else would ever give a fuck about some has-been freak show with no real friends or family? He was there for him, but nobody else would ever be.

Roe knew he was right. Why would anyone give him the time of day? If he was a freak before, he’d probably be chased down with pitchforks and torches now. Or pinned down and locked up as a medical mystery. There wasn’t anywhere in this world that he could go. Adonis had taken that away from him with his humanity.

He stopped fighting back and arguing, he was too tired. He didn’t want to be mad at Don. He couldn’t help it. Every time Roe saw his face, he was only reminded of what had been taken from him. He entered a depressive spiral even more so than before. The little ridges on his back— the new bones, had broken skin now. It hurt to move, to breath. He was used to his body rearranging itself by now, and yet it still found new ways to torture him and keep him on edge. He couldn’t sleep anymore either. It was impossible to lie in bed without a surge of pain waking him up every few minutes.

Adonis kept visiting. He thought things would be better now that Roe had finally stopped acting hysterically, but somehow this was even worse. Roe just looked pathetic. Defeated. It was irritating. Was he ignoring him on purpose? How much pain could he possibly be in? He wasn’t screaming after all. Weren’t mortals supposed to scream and cry and bitch when they got hurt? he couldn’t understand why Roe was still acting like this. It had been almost a year. Why wasn’t he healed yet?

When the skeletal frames of several pairs of wings started growing, his mood flared once more. He was definitely screaming now, sobbing and breaking down. His finances had worn too, he didn’t know how much longer he would be allowed to stay. He hadn’t left his apartment in a year. He’d given up eating what seemed like forever ago. He wasn’t the only one yelling anymore though. He and Adonis had regular screaming matches, throwing curses at each other. It was something he’d never seen from Adonis before. What’s worse is that afterwards, his boyfriend would go back to endlessly trying to comfort him after he grew exhausted from the crying and fighting. Meaningless apologies. An inescapable cycle.

Pin feathers. Prickly little fucks lining where his ears once were and the new bones on his back. His back felt constantly weighed down by them. His body weight was entirely off-balance considering both the wings and the fact that everything between his ribs and pelvis had entirely rotted away and decomposed, leaving dysfunctional intestines hanging limply and coiling down in the cavity that had formed internally in his waist. His spine was the only thing stopping his body from splitting in half.

That’s probably when Adonis realized just how horrific he had become. This thing wasn’t his partner anymore, it was a rabid creature masquerading as something sentient. A monster. What he had tried to do had failed. He felt guilty, of course he did, but with the way Roe was acting, why should he stay? If all that Roe would do was scream and cry and sob, why would he stay? He had tried and tried, it wasn’t his fault anymore.

And so he left. He stopped visiting all together. Stopped bringing things, stopped giving Roe the bit of company he had. When the realization hit Roe, his initial reaction was one of self-loathing. If he had tried a bit harder to be more considerate, just a bit harder to imagine how Don must have felt after—

After what? After he’d ruined his life? After he’d successfully stripped Roe of the few things that brought him joy? After he’d abandoned him after making him suffer for so long?

Why the fuck should he feel responsible?

His transformation came to its end shortly after Adonis left. A month at most. It was almost ironic. If he had stuck around for just a bit longer, everything could have been different.

He wasn’t himself anymore, that was what Adonis had been right about. He was filled with rage. His mind was so much clearer now that the pain had subsided. Spite and hatred overran every inch of his being. Disgust, too. He wanted nothing more than to rip Adonis’s head clean off of his body.

But he couldn’t reach him. They were still on entirely different planes of existence. Not to mention, Roe wasn’t nearly as powerful as him.

Not yet, anyways.

Roe adjusted to his new form and abilities. When you’re wasting away for a year, you’re eager to finally feel alive again. He found that he was able to drain people of their energy and power to add to his own. He could control the emotions of the people around him and manipulate their situations without them even knowing! He finally felt in control.

Years went by. The great depression started and ended, wars passed by like bullets, generations shifted and changed. He stayed stagnant, never aging or taking his eyes off of his goal. He learned to use his powers more sparingly and more spitefully. He even discovered how to concentrate bits of his magic into love potions and began to sell them in exchange for having just a teensy bit of someone’s life force and/or magic drained.

he’d managed to make himself a nice little pocket dimension, a domain only capable of being entered if he permitted it. It was a nice replacement for his old apartment. It was surreal being able to make something out of nothing. He’d grown a reputation for himself in the right circles. He didn’t really care all that much that his “business” was probably ruining the lives or relationships of other people. Hell, that was the goal. The more he meddled with the affairs of other people, the more likely Adonis was to come down and confront him. Plus, it was really funny. He knew that the relationships he set up were doomed to fail. He counted on it.

anyways fun facts about rosé and adonis!!

- Rosé is cajun and can speak French!! he’s actually bilingual and speaks French and English. he also can speak Spanish. being immortal gives you a lot of time to practice.

- Adonis has changed a lot and definitely feels hella guilty abt everything but like. he knows better than to come down to apologize because he learned his lesson abt being around mortals. he’s actually rlly bent out of shape over the whole thing and is like “why the hell did i do that”. i don’t forgive him tbh!

- Rosé has a HEAVY Louisianan/New Orleans accent

- Rosé mostly listens to old swing and jazz music, however he also enjoys some modern day stuff. Like his playlists are probably wild.

- Rosé’s favorite foods are crepes and shrimp creole

- While they were dating, Rosé and Adonis’s relationship was very fluffy and decently healthy before everything went downhill. apart from like “wow he understands me” when one of them is a literal god and the other is a dude who just wants to be accepted by society

- Adonis’s relationship was never discovered by the other gods. they don’t really know what caused his shift in behavior.

- Adonis and Evolen were the first humanoid gods, most before them had inhuman forms that represented abstract concepts. After their creation, most other gods took on more humanoid forms with the exceptions of Lih’ka and Akh’ala (God of creation who i might rename later). akh’ala has a humanoid form but only uses it from time to time.

- Adonis still has feelings for Rosé

- Rosé is convinced he physically can’t feel love towards anyone anymore (he can he’s just really specific with preferences and also isn’t mentally ready for another relationship)

- Rosé was born intersex but identifies as a man. He enjoys dressing and looking feminine though.

- Rosé is omnisexual with a male preference

- Adonis is pansexual

- Rosé started going by Rosé after his transformation as a way to separate himself from who he was before, sort of like turning over a new leaf.

- As mentioned in the text above, Rosé sells love potions. Because it’s technically his magic, they’d have no effect if he were to drink one.

- Rosé finds it hard to connect with or feel empathetic for other people.

- Rosé, while existing in the same universe/story as Koi and all of those people, is not part of the main storyline at all. He’s his own separate thing for separate things.

- Rosé’s magic is extremely powerful and difficult to break. He is one of the only people who can break it once it’s in action besides Adonis.

- Rosé really likes the colors red and pink.

- Rosé has been dying his hair pink since the 1910’s.

- Rosé has a love hate relationship with modern day appliances and fashion. he doesn’t like microwaves. they’re fucking scary. what the fuck do you mean waves in their air heat your food with radiation??? what???? it baffles him almost as much as the clean girl aesthetic.

@whumpy-wyrms here’s that rosé post :3

#oc #ocs #oc rant #crep rambling about their characters again #oc lore #lore #oc rp #roleplay #they’re so fucked up i love them

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adultswim2021 · 10 months ago

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Space Ghost Weekend (part 2)

It's the second season of the dang GameTap episodes of Space Ghost Coast to Coast, and the second of two posts covering them on this dang blog. I have very special thoughts about these, so please! pour over every word. Read this out loud to a loved one if needed.

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #98: "Richard" | September 11, 2007 | S09E01

In this episode: Moltar discusses Linda, solidifying her into the canon of Space Ghost. I will not rest until she gets her first onscreen appearance on HBOMax’s Jellystone. In the cold open they joke about Moltar being whipped. Space Ghost proclaims to be the Earl of Peppercorn, which is pretty wacky. Moltar is self-conscious about having a huge head. And other garbage.

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #99: "Stephen" | October 31, 2007 | S09E02

Okay, so Yar is back in this one, and he doesn’t actually sound like the one guy I said from yesterday’s post, I fucked up. He also is clearly drawn in a pixel art style, which I didn’t realize because of the questionable provenance of the video files I’m watching. He’s sorta the Bubba Duck of this show (readers! Bubba Duck was introduced late into Ducktales’ run, and those episodes are largely considered [by whom?] to be inferior to the ones that came before them!).

There’s a non-verbal (like Val Kilmer aww) appearance from the Council of Doom. This one is abysmal. They really chopped up the interview to make it sound nonsensical, and I personally consider this to be cheating at making Space Ghost. Worse than having your main character follow an ant around for 11 minutes (Which I like!!!).

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #100: "David" | November 11, 2007 | S09E03

Seems like this show thrives on coming up with silly words like “Lava Chicken”. I sorta liked this one but it’s still pretty weak. Zorak takes over the show after bogusly claiming that Moltar went on “vacation”, tantamount to “escaping” Space Ghost's enslavement. Space Ghost goes on a wild goose chase looking for him. If this were a higher-budgeted episode they’d probably take it to funnier places, but Space Ghost talks to little Space Ghosts instead and it’s mildly amusing. Moltar was in the bathroom the whole time, nasty!

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #101: "Chantal" | December 2, 2007 | S09E04

Why do these all start with a weird click noise? I’m guessing that’s the website’s fault and people screen-recorded these? This one features Chantal Claret who seems like she’s a fan of Space Ghost. She’s also one of the biggest babes the show has ever had. It’s a shame she was wasted on a Gametap episode! I have not heard her music or googled her name + "Israel" so I’m not sure if I respect her or not yet. But she seems cool I like her.

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #102: "Mark" (lost) | May 4, 2008 | S09E05 Space Ghost Coast to Coast #103: "Bruce" (lost) | May 16, 2008 | S09E06

Two losties in a row. No Idea who these schmoes are. I can’t even google these dildos. My pal London told me that the lost episode's titles/guests could very well be bogus; filled-in by some ne'er-do-well on a wiki, and that this information has self-replicated itself ever since. I am very interested to find out if that's true or not, but I believe it. I did do a cursory search on the library of congress website and was astonished to see some GameTap episodes listed, but it was missing episodes that definitely do exist so I can't really conclude anything from that.

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #104: "Dee" | May 25, 2008 | S09E07

Dee Snider who I heard is MEAN IN REAL LIFE appears in Space Ghost’s monitor. The compositing effects look bad again. Maybe Dee had to self-tape and this is what we got? They bleeped the word bitch in this. The Ghost Planet building is shown to blow up and a title appears on screen saying TO BE CONTINUED. This turns out to be a FUCKING joke. Dee is sorta funny in this, he gets into the spirit of the show pretty well by egging Moltar and Zorak to rebel against Space Ghost.

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #105: "Barenaked Ladies" | May 31, 2008 | S09E08

This is easily the best episode of the GameTap batch, because it made me laugh twice. I expect this gag might be polarizing, but the weird live-action nipple with the fly crawling on it made me laugh. It’s unlike anything the show has ever done, really, and it was probably the element of surprise that got me. I suspect that gag might’ve pissed some people off, though.

The other part that made me laugh was when Space Ghost urges the band members to do something “sinsational” and the smack his lips. No joke, I laughed so hard at this, and it was one of those rolling laughs that feel like they’ll never end. They deserved the Peabody award for that joke.

Space Ghost Coast to Coast: "Jonny Quest" | March 19, 1996 | Special

I wanted to throw this in there because I do sorta feel like this comes close to being a SORTA episode? It’s not really any better than the GameTap episodes, in my opinion. It’s mostly Space Ghost being excited about Jonny Quest’s VHS releases. Space Ghost never got an official retail VHS tape release, if I’m not mistaken, and couldn't you just imagine the world we’d be living in if there had been? 9/11 wouldn’t have happened! But Jan 6th still would have :(

That's that for Space Ghost Weekend. We'll begin doing 2010 pretty soon. Maybe not exactly tomorrow, but soon.

#adult swim #adultswim2021 #space ghost coast to coast

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deepperplexity · 2 years ago

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PLEX! Clearview Cove maam ???? Break out the sparkling grape juice and chocolate because oh my are we going to be here for a while!!! I- just there are so many things I can say (and I will don’t worry) but honestly a few fitting words would be, amazing, captivating, startling, and just down right lovely (don’t forget heart stirring) Now onward to me rambling and screaming :D

Characters:

First of all Kate😭. Sweet Kate I just want to hug her and tell her all is going to be well because wow, the amount of shit that she had to endure with her ex is absolutely heartbreaking. Some of the things you mentioned especially when it was about her size and him attacking her about these things had me :”(. It made me tear up a bit and I’m so happy that she found a partner in Ray who believed she was absolutely perfect regardless of her size. I know there were also so many other horrible things that he who shall not be named did to her but this really resonated and also her retail therapy coping mechanism hoo boi. Just the amount of strength she had to escape multiple times even if the first attempts didn’t pan out is just amazing and it was a bit heartbreaking when she realized that she would actually be okay with dying as long if that meant she didn’t have to go back and I just 🥺. Also I chuckled but also wept a little when even though she was half passed out she was ready to molly wop Ray with a candle holder.

Okay okay now Ray I just 😩😩I would like to know all of the folks you were thinking about when creating him because I was just like 👀👀👀 where, who , how, and can I get one? His initial description had me like 🤔 🤔 🤔 and I lowkey thought of a person that I scribbled on the page but that’s neither here nor there. Such a grump with a heart of gold and his back story and his lost loved again made me go 🥺🥺 (you sure know how to make hearts wabble don’t you!). Everything about him is just so good and lovely even with his shield. And his inner thoughts and monologues when he meets Kate and such are so funny and I love how that contrasts with his outer sternness. The way he wants to protect Kate even though he is just meeting her, and the way he gets angry at her for putting herself in danger it’s just everything maam. And the little things of moving her shoes for her, cooking for her how angry he gets when he learns of her abuse I just it’s too much for my soft sooooul. But also not him leaving his rifle both times when it was needed like sir get it together lol.

Now both of them!!!! I just they were meant for each other. The hurt they both suffered the way they just match yet fit with each other just like a puzzle piece. I just love love love the age gap trope you know that ahah and just the way he wanted to protect her and the way she wanted to help soothe his hurt even if she didn’t know what it was and it was everything Plex🥺🥺🥺 And the smut girl the smut, it was so sweet and intense and the way they were basically enamored with each other from the beginning and how he was like ‘no I’ll only touch you if you verbally say it’ CONSENT KING is what Kate deserves and needs and he gave it to her and soooobbs I just love how it flowed so well with the story like it wasn’t the main thing but it tied the pieces up so well a nice little treat that accentuated an already interesting story😭😭🥺 Then the I love you’s!!! Crying, sobbing, screaming. OH ALSO WHEN SHE WAS LIKE YOUR EYES ARE BROWN and he was like :D? I laughed and thought it was so cute. I love the funny moments that were sprinkled in between even with the circumstances!

Okay but wait! We can’t forget the good girl Stella!!! I love her!! German Shepherds are one my faves and everytime she appeared I was like give her pats 🤩🤩. And her wiggle and waggles haha I got so excited and how she just loved Kate from the get go. Doggo sensed that she needed protecting and love and I just 🥺🥺 But then when Stella got injured and then the sudden cliff hanger I gasped and was like oh shit John Wick part 5 let me throw hands to???? Honestly the end of chapter 12 and then chapter 13 had me like ahah here it is the other shoe dropping things were going to well and was just waiting for stuff to pop off. And they sure did :”D

Oh and finally he who shan’t be name. fuck him the way I way I cheered at his ending like yea eat his ass up we love to see it that’s all that shall be said.

Quotes: And of course you know I had to give you just a few of my favorite quotes because I highlighted a bunch of them but here have four lol

“I’m going to fucking bust”

That just made me laugh straight up. Like I know she is struggling but I’m sorry that tickled me.

“You make me feel small..”…”No I love it I’ve never felt small”.

Girl maam. You know I love this. I feel like I don’t have to elaborate to just have to make you feel protective and consumed with loved and jfc (when will I have this the yearning Plex THE YEARNING!!)

“Then again you’re young and life is a long adventure” “An adventure I would like to share with you”

My heart can’t take it. I love them I need them to be together forever.

“I didn’t like big open spaces….hated the giant wall-sized windows that allowed every neighbour to see right through the house.”

Okay this had me like was this written on purpose (I’m sure it was) and had me like oh, because even though she lived in such a see through house no one could see the abuse that was happening :”| and that just had me like wow.

My view was finally clear

I see what you did there. And I fucking love it.

TLDR: Everything about this story was so good. The characterization, the way folks reacted to things that made sense (ex Kate’s reaction to the gunshot and her trauma), the description of just everything?? From the environment to the emotions that hurt me at times ahaha. The relationship these two (three if you count Stella because she is family of course) built in 140 pages was amazing and just sweet and the way they were protective and supportive of each other in their own ways even though they had just met just had me like🥺🥺😭 because then they just absolutely melted for each other (it do be cold in the mountains) no matter the walls they had up to protect them

Emoji Summary: 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺😭😡😡🤔😂🙂🥴🥵😥😭😍😍🥰🥰🥰 (just a range of feeling I had reading)

I loved this and I’m sorry for talking so much lol I hope all of this is coherent but this was just so damn good and I’m excited for more of your original works!! Gives you all the hugs!!

P.S the way you have formatted everything you did such a great job???!

Bonus Part Because I'm Nosy:

The names Ana and Sarah! Did you pick them because they were common names and no one is gonna be like huh?

Also the clearing of doors from shoes and such was it Ray’s military training, the fire ptsd or something else? I was lowkey thinking that it was going to end up being a plot point!

Girl you weren't kidding about me needing to grab a drink and settle in - WHAT ON EARTH IS THIS GIANT THING?! 😱😂👏👏👏

And first of all, THANK YOU! I am so so so happy you loved Clearview Cove - for those wanting Clearview Cove for free simply join my newsletter HERE and get your copy - but this "...even though she was half passed out she was ready to molly wop Ray with a candle holder..." had me fucking cackling 😂 It's one of my fav scenes in the entire thing 😂👌So glad you adored Kate and resonated with her, that means so much and at the same time I am so sorry love 👀😅❤

Now, Ray... hooo boy... I LOVE HIM. And he's not made while thinking of any one specific person even if I of course drew inspiration from several ppl as one always does but he's mostly just himself and not a concoction of other ppl. Basically, my vision of a grump with a slightly comedic heart made for caring 🥰 and this "...and I lowkey thought of a person that I scribbled on the page..."?! WHO?! Let me know girl! I'm curious af now 😂

I adore them together and I'm so happy you saw all the little things tying them together - it's often the little things that I find interesting and what matters the most to me when I write couples - and these two were absolutely made for each other, they are salvation to one another and I absolutely love how they have entirely different backstories, personalities, traits etc but still have a few things that are the same (like music taste) yet their trauma matches up even if the causes are entirely different (patting myself don't the back a little here, one is supposed to do that - right?)

oh, oh, and this "...OH ALSO WHEN SHE WAS LIKE YOUR EYES ARE BROWN and he was like :D? I laughed and thought it was so cute. I love the funny moments that were sprinkled in between even with the circumstances!..." YAS!!! 😂😂😂 I went for a little more hidden comedy in this book and it was so much fun 🥰

"...Oh and finally he who shan’t be name. fuck him the way I way I cheered at his ending like yea eat his ass up we love to see it that’s all that shall be said..." <- You'll love the second edition even more then 👀 I'm currently working on it along with huge news I'm releasing in my newsletter this Sunday (2023-02-26) 😍💌

I'm so so so very thankful for this thick review and lowkey smiling too widely over here... So glad you thought I managed to do well with all of it in such a short span of words/pages - you know how hard that is for me 😂👍 And love the quotes you picked! ❤

I've done everything on this book, from writing it to the cover to the formatting and I gotta admit I'm quite pleased with it - did you see the bonus material? The floorplan and playlists too? 👀🥰

Because you're curious about my thoughts on the matters: - Yeah, just common names but I've also always loved the name Sarah ^^ - Both his military training and PTSD, he's also a very organized guy in general except when his brain malfunctions because of his emotions, then the idiot runs out of his house without bringing his rifle 😂😂😂

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da-birb-writes-sometimes · 2 years ago

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HI! I voted on your matchups poll, I'm so excited. My name is 🍁 and I go by she/her or he/him. I want a romantic matchup. My mbti is entp, I describe myself as a person that likes to make others laugh and enjoys seeing their friends enjoy themselves. I'm very talkative and I'm always open to making more friends. My friends describe me as good at analyzing, eloquent and good at listening. I'm very sensitive and get sad easily. You could compare my personality to 707 from MM. My hobbies are watching game theories on youtube or drawing occasionally.

In a relationship, I'm looking for someone that is able to understand that I will not always be cheerful and be ok with it, since I struggle with showing negative emotions because of fear that people won't like me. I also want someone to reassure me they love me. I will not stand cheating, not being loyal or being insensitive about my feelings.

I show affection giving gifts, since I'm not good at verbally expressing things and I want to recieve affection through words of affirmation.

My favorite trope is hurt/comfort 😭 and I personally prefer the main cast, but wouldn't mind the side characters, just no staff.

Thank you so much for this <33

Hi, 🍁! I’m happy that you got excited about match-ups and that you voted! *gives you a good noodle sticker* As for your match…

Deuce Spade

He understands that you can’t always be cheerful, and would let you know that he will always be there if you wanted to talk about it. He gets it, he’s lived it; although that’s more so about his delinquent years, but it still applies. Deuce likes you; that includes both the cheerful side but also the negative emotions. He won’t leave you, or like you any less due to it.

Deuce is LOYAL and he wouldn’t even dream about anything else; if he did he would be visibly upset and tell you (dreams are weird and don’t always reflect what people want) because he would be upset with himself. He may not be the most eloquent with his words or actions, but he is sincere with all of them. “You make me feel fuzzy… like a caterpillar?” He’s trying his best, okay.

He enjoys seeing you be so lively with friends, and appreciates that you’re good at analyzing situations and a good listener. He would be at your side in an instant if he noticed that your energy changed, and would lead you to a private area. “Hey, you can talk to me, I won’t judge.”

He would like to sit in on any videos you watch about game theory and would ask questions about things he’s not sure with. He may not always understand it, but it makes you happy so that’s all that matters.

Deuce would feel honoured if you showed him any art that you made. Although if you gifted him something that you made, then he would stutter out a heartfelt thank you.

He gets that gift-giving is your way of saying that you love him and that you enjoy spending time with him. “You got this for me,” his eyes would shine with wonder, “I… You’re too kind, love…” anddd his face would go red realizing the name he just called you.

He would put in the effort to become more used to giving words of affirmation, but it’s worth him occasionally stumbling over his own words just to see a smile on your face.

“Hey, I’ll always be here. It doesn’t matter if it feels like the world is ending or that it’s against you, you’ll always have me standing with you.”

I hope you like your match-up, 🍁! Deuce is a 10/10 good lad and would treat you right; an absolute sweetheart. Also, love to see the 707 reference; please make sure you take care of yourself, okay! *I know of 707's habits*

#twst match-ups #dove does match ups #deuce spade #romantic match ups #🍁 anon

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small-screen-superman · 6 months ago

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Over-Explanation: A Special Temptation to Comics? (Inspired by Detective Comics #950)

This post is also on my independent blog, Small Screen Superman - go there for an even better experience (including additional pictures)!

The medium of a story certainly does not determine either its content or its quality, but an individual medium offers opportunities and limitations that others don’t. This can create “temptations” to do things that might not be ideal for the story, because it’s easy to do in your chosen medium, or alternatives to doing it are hard in your chosen medium.

Obviously, there’s a lot of subjectivity to this. The comic I’m talking about today, Detective Comics #950 (or, more specifically, its first story), has, in my opinion, fallen into a pitfall that’s more likely to be fallen into by a comic book than other media: the pitfall of embracing verbal explanation (in this case, in the form of narration) so much to the point that it’s too big a part of the story. But the idea that this is a “pitfall” isn’t an objective fact, and I need to clarify that I still enjoyed the story a good deal. I’d probably give it about a 7/10. It was engaging and emotional with excellent artwork. But I do find its narration-focused format questionable and I want to talk about it, and also get into a larger discussion about differences between media.

Check out Brandon Mulholand’s review of this comic on Batman News if you want to read a review that focuses more on the positive aspects of the story and justifies the reliance on narration (and also comments on the other stories in the comic). I will refer to this review a few times in this post to compare and contrast its view with mine, since I think it’s an insightful article.

Now Let’s Talk About The Story

Detective Comics #950’s first story focuses on Cassandra Cain, whose superhero name is Orphan (though she’s also been a Batgirl). Here’s the thing about Cassandra which makes this story’s heavy use of narration both more understandable and more questionable: due to the bizarre way in which she was raised, she can barely speak. It’s not because she has a physical impairment, but because she wasn’t raised with verbal language and that kind of thing is hard to acquire later. She can convey simple messages with a few words at a time, but that’s about it.

This means, on one hand, I get why an author may feel that extensive prose from a third-person narrator is necessary to convey her internal world: she can’t actually talk about it. You can’t even directly say what she’s thinking, because she’s not thinking it in words. On the other hand, it’s quite ironic in a way that creates some distance from who the character actually is. This is a character who can’t even speak a sentence, but her innermost thoughts are being described using many sentences. It’s unfitting.

But let’s look at the positive side of using narration for this: clarity. The text is certainly well-written and evocative. Reading it is still enjoyable, and most of all, there is no ambiguity. We know exactly what she’s thinking. This is one of the main arguments used by Mulholand to support the idea of this use of narration as a positive. He points out that comics lack some of the capabilities of other media, such as movement (which can make facial expressions clearer, among other things) and musical cues, that make it easier to convey emotion. “Prose simply helps to add another element to the story that we can use to interpret what is going on more easily,” he said, and also, “[I] feel like it eliminated a lot of the second guessing that can come from relying on visuals alone.”

This is a fair point, but I think the power of a well-drawn single frame of facial expression is still very significant, and comics also have the ability to use visual flourishes that might not fit in with live action media (though this seems to be something that is taken advantage of more in manga than American comics). That said, I can’t deny the truth: adding text explanations does make things clearer and more straightforward to interpret.

Maybe the deeper question is, is that necessarily a good thing?

Room for Interpretation Can Be a Wonderful Thing

One of the great things about YouTube is that it makes it easy to access clips of content that is not readily made available by modern companies. For example, you can watch clips of the original version of the Star Wars Original Trilogy. I’m not exactly breaking new ground with this take, but many of the “Special Edition” changes made by George Lucas over the years are horrible. They don’t ruin the movies, but they do make them worse. And to me, perhaps the worst change is making Greedo shoot first, unlike the original, where he didn’t even get a shot off before being blasted by Han Solo.

youtube

The reason I’m going down this tangent is because, while reading comments on some of the various uploads of this excellent unaltered scene, I was intrigued by how people’s interpretations of it differed slightly. Crucially, the basics of what happened are clear and agreed upon: Han knew Greedo wanted to kill him even though he didn’t get a chance to raise his weapon, so he killed him before that could happen.

But some of the exact specifics, and what exactly this says about Han, has multiple interpretations. Does the scene show Han’s cold-hearted criminal nature, or is just a simple case of self-defense that doesn’t portray any negative qualities? Was he trying to talk Greedo out of his course of action, or just trying to distract him while he readied his gun?

I have my own interpretation which is sort of in-between. The scene shows us Han’s world, a kill-or-be-killed world. This specific action is one of self-defense (though it might not hold up in court), but Han’s choice to live this kind of life is his own, and his total ease and nonchalance shows he’s definitely done this kind of thing before. As to his intentions of what he was hoping to achieve by talking to Greedo, I don’t know. It may have just been a distraction, but I’m not sure.

Honestly, I absolutely love the fact that the basics of the scene are clear and easy to understand, but the exact ramifications of it require some interpretation. It engages the mind to wonder what exactly Han was thinking and to come to your own conclusions. It would not be nearly as good if this was a comic book where Han’s exact thoughts and/or what this says about him was spelled out in thought balloons and/or narration boxes.

When media explains too much and too precisely what is happening, our minds aren’t as engaged, and to me, that often lessens the impact.

How Much Does Medium Actually Influence This, Though?

Of course, over-explaining is not limited to comics, and comics are not always afflicted with it. I’m sure you’ve seen a movie or show with clunky dialogue explaining a plot point in too much detail, and in a way, this is worse, because since it’s conveyed by dialogue, it also requires the character to speak in an unnatural way.

That brings me to my next point: I think certain temptations being stronger in certain media comes from which tools are and are not at that medium’s disposal. I already referred to Mulholand pointing out that comics lack certain tools for conveying concepts, such as motion and music, but I think the temptation also comes from what tools the medium does have. Comics have narration boxes and thought balloons as firmly established conventions, which are the perfect place to put over-explanation. These tools basically allow unlimited internal thoughts and narration to be present in comics.

In media such as shows and movies, it’s very unconventional to contain large amounts of narration and a character’s internal monologue. This forces them to rely more on clunky dialogue, but even less talented writers will probably be able to realize at some point that too much of that is bad and cut down.

Too many narration boxes or thought balloons in comics, on the other hand, isn’t as inherently or obviously bad, so this makes them easy, at least for some writers, to indulge in in large quantities. Detective Comics #950 is the perfect example of this, because the wordy explanatory text is well-written, evocative, and sometimes poetic, so it’s easy to see why James Tynion IV, the writer, saw no need to cut down. I can’t claim his decision was wrong – plenty of people find this story great. Heck, I get a good amount of enjoyment out of it myself.

It’s less that I think it’s a bad story, and more that I see more potential in stories that try to be more balanced. There’s nothing wrong with narration boxes and thought balloons and trying to explain things in prose, but I prefer these elements to be used in a more reserved fashion. A story that leans heavily on narration boxes is a bit frustrating to me, because it basically spells everything out. I want to be able to intuit some things for myself. I want to feel like I’m experiencing the story, not simply being told it.

So, is this article just a long and detailed restatement of the classic “show, don’t tell” rule in storytelling? Well, maybe not quite, or at least, not in the way that rule is usually meant. Because the thing about Detective Comics #950, and most other over-explanatory comics, is that they both show and tell. We still see what’s happening – the environments, the events, the characters’ facial expressions and actions. We just also have a bunch of “telling” to explain to us exactly what it means.

Reflecting on My Own Preferences

Though I cover a variety of topics on this blog, the main focus of the site this blog accompanies is the first two seasons of the 1950s show Adventures of Superman, which is my favorite Superman media. As much as I love comics, I feel like being a live action show (and what kind of show it is) does give Adventures of Superman certain strengths that contribute to my love for it. Part of that is simply that it’s easy for characters to feel real when they’re portrayed by real people, especially when the acting is realistic. And part of that is that not being told exactly what a character is thinking can actually make them seem more interesting. I like just seeing an actor doing a good job portraying a character’s emotions and letting my imagination take it from there.

Even compared to characters in most TV shows (including other versions of Superman), I feel like Superman’s exact thoughts in Adventures of Superman are farther from the viewers because no one in the show knows his secret identity (except temporarily, and his mom, who only appears in the first episode) – he has no confidant, so there’s no one he can speak freely to. Due to this, it is rarer for Clark to say exactly what he’s thinking. However, we can still see his emotions, thanks both to George Reeves’ excellent acting and the camerawork wisely focusing on his face when needed.

I guess I just find this more satisfying than being told directly what a character is thinking. It is ultimately a matter of preference, and there is room in the world both for stories that are very specific about explaining a character’s thoughts and for stories that aren’t. Most stories will probably do best trying to strike a balance between the two. I’m sure for some people, something like Adventures of Superman is too far in the direction of not knowing what the characters are thinking.

It’s hard to conclude this article, since it’s basically just a way for me to reflect on how media tells stories and my preferences regarding this. The subject matter at hand is a complex one that can’t be addressed fully in a short article. Suffice it to say, the best use of verbal explanation stories is definitely a matter of preference. Most stories would probably do well striking a balance, perhaps with a preference towards not explaining too much. For me, connecting with a story can be harder when I feel like I’m being told all the details and meanings instead of being able to draw conclusions based on what’s happening.

Addendum: Additional Comic Examples

OK, yeah, I know the idea of adding an addendum to a blog post seems pretentious. I just feel like this blog post was pretty much long enough, but it would be better if I briefly looked at a couple other comics using over-explanation. I’m not trying to say that most comics or even a certain large percentage of comics have this problem, so I’m not going to give many examples. But giving more than one seems like a good idea.

Glasses (from Mysteries in Love & Space #1)

This is a Superman story in an anthology comic, and I enjoy both the story and the comic as a whole. However, it still let me down for a similar reason as the Detective Comics #950, because the story also used a narration box focused format. It’s actually essentially a summary of Lois Lane and Clark Kent’s relationship and to an extent Superman’s adult life in general, with the story shown in the panels mostly consisting of generalized flashbacks. This adds even more distance between the reader and the story because it’s not a story that’s happening in the present.

Still, I think within the confines of the format it’s using, this story works. It has good emotional beats and delivers its message and idea of Superman effectively. Other ways in which the story feels more immediate than the Detective Comics #950 one is that the sentences are a little more straightforward and are also the direct words of Lois Lane.

Overall, it is similar to the Detective Comics #950 story in that it’s good and enjoyable, but I can’t really consider it great because I think its format limits it. It still is mostly based on telling us information as opposed to giving us a story to experience. I respect the story for summarizing Lois and Superman well, but I think a story that didn’t use this much explicit explanation would likely satisfy me more.

Action Comics #1067 (Main Story)

This is the latest issue of Action Comics and I’m including it as a more minor example. I like the issue quite a bit overall, and unlike the other stories I’ve talked about, it doesn’t use narration boxes as the main driver of its story. They’re just there, alongside the dialog and art.

It also should be noticed that this story has a bit of a “retro” feel, hearkening back to the Bronze Age, and from what I know, that era (and previous ones, to some extent) tended to use more narration boxes and explicit explanation. Honestly, overall, it’s fine. I don’t think the usage of narration is that excessive, and I like some of it. Some of it does add to the scene and add a little depth to what’s going on.

Still, it sometimes feels unnecessary and like it doesn’t really add much. And when that happens, sometimes the narration boxes feel more like a mere distraction, doing little other than adding a slight bit of distance from the proceedings and arguably adding some sort of atmosphere.

I’ll go ahead and give a good example of narration in this story and a bad example (just in my opinion, obviously). I like the following page a lot. Particularly, I love the art, but there is no dialogue. The narration boxes give me an excuse to slow down and savor the artwork and the action it conveys. The very fact that there’s text there makes the scene slower and more dramatic.

And while technically we don’t really need to know the information they convey (at least in this issue, what it talks about doesn’t have any direct impact we can see), it’s still information we can’t get from the images alone. Obviously we can’t tell just by looking how hot it is, and even as a big Superman fan, I wouldn’t have really thought about his powers being boosted by the sunny day.

Overall, the narration on this page adds dramatic effect and atmosphere in a way that I find worthwhile. Plus, it helps us slow down and appreciate what’s happening.

Now for the not so good example, which is actually just slightly before the above good example. It’s not horrible, but it strikes me as almost totally pointless.

We can clearly see everything the narration describes – there’s an explosion of energy and a monster appears. Like the other page, it makes us slow down and could be said to add dramatic effect, but I don’t really think that adds much here. It would probably emphasize how chaotic and sudden this was if we didn’t have to slow down and read this needless explanation of the obvious.

The Conclusion (for Real This Time)

This article was a little rambling, touching on various pieces of media that aren’t directly related to each other. It’s pretty different from most of the other posts on this blog since it deals more with a broad storytelling concept more than just my specific feelings on specific pieces of media. Writing it involved a lot of introspection of what I enjoy in stories and how stories can facilitate that enjoyment. Many of the things I talked about weren’t things I planned on saying when I started it.

All that to say, this post was a bit all over the place, but I enjoyed writing it and I feel like doing so helped me understand why I enjoy the media I do. I certainly hope you got something out of reading it, too!

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