#He is not any more or less evil than the Emperor

[thefloatingstone]

The ENTIRE THEME repeated again... and again.... and again.... AND AGAIN.... AND AGAIN.... with EVERY SINGLE PARTY MEMBER.... is "you do not need an authority figure to govern and control you. You do not need to sign yourself and your power over to someone else. You are strong just as you are."

EVERY single main character has this as their MAIN. NARRATIVE.

Gale - Mystra Lae'Zel - Vlaakith (and Orpheus but that's a rant for another time) Wyll - Mizora Karlach - Zariel and Gortash Astarion - Cazador Shadowheart - Shar Minthara - The Absolute The Emperor - Freedom from Subjugation Tav - The Absolute (I have not played Durge yet but I imagine depending on how you play this theme is all over their story as well)

The theme is hammered in AGAIN. and AGAIN. and AGAIN.

Introducing some would-be saviour that will fix all your problems for you and who you can look to for guidance and who will do all the hard parts for you and be your hero and saviour is antithetical to the entire narrative as a WHOLE.

Ansur is not some awesome dragon who is going to win the fight for you. Ansur is another representation of idolising and putting someone on a platform and imagining them as an idealised person who is far too good to be true.

Ansur was a person who came to a crossroads where he needed to make a choice, and he chose what he truly thought was the right decision. And in any other circumstance it might have been seen as such, but the one detail that puts Ansur in the wrong is that the Emperor said, with words and without ambiguity; "I want to live."

Like

The theme of the game isn't even SUBTLE 😂

Also I'll be honest I haven't actually run into people who foam at the mouth with hatred for the Emperor like I see a lot of blogs who like him claim to but then again, I don't use reddit.

Also also I just wanted to type this because I think it's really really cool and awesome and I like talking about it.

I'll never understand the typical player's viewing of the Ansur/Emp thing because when you break it down it's just this -

Ansur: Literally kill yourself

Emperor: No...? I kind of want to live? Sorry? :(

Ansur: [Tries to kill him]

Emperor: [Defends himself]

Audience: The Emperor is such a piece of shit...

[kiapet2]

Alright, it’s less than a week since the Owl House finale aired and as expected I’ve already seen two direct comparisons to Steven Universe’s ending and several more vague-blogs, because one of this site’s hobbies is using other queer shows to put down Steven Universe. So let’s do this, then. Let’s compare the endings of Owl House and Steven Universe, and what each is ultimately trying to say.

Steven Universe and the Owl House are both shows that deal heavily with the clash of individualism and self-expression vs. socially-mandated conformity, and both shows’ final villains ultimately embody this conflict. One major difference, however, is that Owl House approaches this from the perspective of legal/societal structures, while Steven Universe approaches it from the perspective of family structures.

Steven Universe has always been about family--and particularly the ways traumas and biases are passed down through a family--and it has always heavily used the language of metaphor to discuss these topics. The Diamonds are the ultimate extension of this theme, something a lot of bad-faith (or just bad) takes on the ending miss; they interpret the diamonds in their literal capacity as dictators, rather than the way Steven Universe always portrays them, which is as matriarchs, i.e. the heads of a family who dictate and control all the family’s other members. This metaphor becomes more and more blatant until it outright becomes text, with the Diamonds turning out to be Steven’s literal family members, with whom his part of the family is estranged because of their previous controlling behavior.

In accordance with this theme, we ultimately find out that the Diamonds’ toxic ideology, with its rigid standards of perfection, are not only something they enforce on the gems below them, but also on themselves. They are suffering from the system in their own ways, unable to live up to the standards they themselves created. And who among us hasn’t known someone like that? A parent or grandparent who grew up under a cruel, oppressive worldview, and instead of rebelling against it internalized it--who turned around and said “I dealt with this, and so can you”? And so the ending of Steven Universe is the Diamonds realizing exactly how toxic the rigid ideology they’ve spent their lives perpetuating really is, and confronting the fact that their adherence to this ideology is what destroyed their relationship with Pink, and that the only way they’re going to have a relationship with Steven is if they’re willing to commit to changing both themselves, and the family structure they’ve enforced for so long.

Emperor Belos, in contrast, is not suffering from the structures he created, because his rules were never meant to apply to him. He sees the witches (and demons, and so-on) as lesser beings, evil beings, who exist to be controlled, and ultimately, exterminated. And every element of the society he built--the schools, the government, the police force, the religion--he intentionally constructed to keep these lesser beings under his control. The real-world allegory isn’t hard to see, here. And because what Belos represents in the story is, in fact, a fascist leader, the story shows that he can’t be reasoned with in any way that matters, and instead he is ultimately ground into paste beneath the boots of the people he sought to destroy. Different themes, different endings.

Now the usual argument that comes up here is as follows: but the Steven Universe ending isn’t as realistic! Not everyone is going to change, not everyone is going to be able to be reasoned with. Not every older, conservative family member is eventually going to accept you for who you are. And while that is true, ultimately SU isn’t meant to be realistic; it’s meant to be a power fantasy. Rebecca Sugar has come out and said before that they wrote a world in which there was good in everyone, because that’s the way she wishes the world could be. That’s the world they want to be able to believe in. And I am never going to begrudge a person, much less a queer person, for finding healing in writing that kind of world.

But you know what else is unrealistic? What else is ultimately just a fantasy? Grinding your government’s fascist leader into paste under your boot, then taking over and remaking society into something that accepts everyone. Sadly, Trump is not likely to get his ass beat any time soon. And more generally, punching fascists, while ideologically sound, is something most people are not going to get to do, due to real-world consequences such as “getting beat up by the fascist’s angry friends” and “being arrested for assault”. And even if you did depose one leader, our very society is set up in a way that perpetuates all manner of injustices, and systemic change is a complex and lengthy process that almost certainly won’t be completed in our lifetimes. But it’s fun to imagine we could, isn’t it?

Both endings are power fantasies. Both show the way they want the world to be, rather than the way it is. They are very different power fantasies, which fill very different--and at times conflicting--needs. And in situations like that, internet culture really likes to pick one to be the right fantasy, the right way to look at the world. 

But the truth is, both fantasies are needed! Some people need stories about your queerphobic relatives finally realizing the error of their ways and taking the necessary steps to accept and reconcile with you. And some people need stories where you get to grind fascist bastards beneath the heel of your boot. It’s okay if you prefer one type of fantasy over the other! But in the end, both are valuable, and both are important. 

And isn’t it wonderful, for us to have such a diversity of great queer stories? That we can explore both of these deep, conflicting needs? Let’s appreciate each of these fantastic works for what it was meant to be, rather than trying to pit them against each other or make them conform to a single, “best” way to tell a story.

[scribblestatic]

So, like, if you've read SVSSS far enough, you know about the Bingmei vs Bingge part. And there's all sorts of stories with Bingge (basically a PIDW Binghe, not SVSSS Binghe) finding his own shizun in various ways.

Well, what about if he manages to summon a Shen Yuan, but his soul is in Shen Jiu's body? Which, like, wouldn't really be a problem, except he's already been torturing Shen Jiu for a good while now and he's down an eye and all of his limbs are mostly stubs at this point. Thankfully he still has his tongue and penis, which, after so often demanding Shen Jiu be castrated, he's pretty jazzed that didn't happen.

Shen Yuan, being the absolute freak he is, probably wouldn't mind too much. After all, he'd read this part of the story and cheered it on. Just cause he's now experiencing it himself, doesn't mean the revenge was any less cathartic.

Though, well, the dreams he has about what Shen Jiu went through does dampen his enjoyment of his suffering (so many lives lost that he can do nothing about, so much torment that just cycled on because no one thought to seek help, because the world was built so firmly on cruelty)...

And perhaps he'd woken up sobbing at times, crying his apologies to Binghe as though he was the one who had done all those terrible things to him, but he didn't, but those dreams were so vivid and felt so real

The girls at the Warm Red Pavilion, were they okay? Shen Jiu never had sex with them, only kept company to avoid the boys when he couldn't sleep and trained them in the four arts and gathered information from them, gods, he'd misunderstood Shen Jiu and thought him a remorseless villain and enemy to women

Liu Qingge, fuck--

At least now he can help Binghe actually enjoy his life and perhaps stop the cycle of abuse from continuing. Besides, cool motive, Shen Jiu, still child torment. And though the results were quite drastic, it was the dog-eat-dog world of xianxia China, and life was generally unfair. No reason to make Binghe's life needlessly unfair on top of everything.

But yeah! Now that he's in Shen Jiu's body, he and Luo Binghe get to talk, and Binghe, for the first time in his life, experiences regret for his actions, because now his lovely new kind shizun can't card his fingers through his hair or twist little braids into it. Moreover, Shen Yuan somewhat mourns over the fact Binghe's hair is straightened--he loved reading about his bouncy curls.

So now, imagining that, after time, Shen Yuan becomes a more prominent figure in the empire, especially post-marriage. He has a lovely eyepatch and wears soft red, black, and gold clothes, heavy on the red and gold. This nearly limbless man helps Luo Binghe do his taxes and works out various tips on using beasts to the benefit of the empire and remembering small notes about other races that allows the Demon Emperor to be both magnanimous and fierce in whomever's eyes he meets.

Others can't decide if Shen Qingqiu's mind was utterly broken, if he was cursed to act against his own will, or if he was possessed by some strange spirit. Regardless, the realms have never been in such peace before now.

Moreover, Luo Binghe has started changing.

While he can never regain the height lost to a childhood full of suffering and a lack of nutrients, he can change in other ways. He actually eats healthier because Shen Yuan insists on having him eat as well. He steadily stops straightening his hair, letting his curls return until they're like clouds. His muscles grow in firmer and his chest broadens.

Also, as he and his kind shizun speak further, even though he explores the worst parts of himself and uncovers those dirty, evil deeds and the ways they truly hurt him, Xin Mo doesn't get the chance to latch onto them anymore. As painful as discussing those things are...releasing them is exceptionally freeing. So, a sense of inner strength and ease he never had before starts to settle in his body, and his qi, usually constantly battling, stabilizes more than before, his heart demons no longer so adamant or strong.

As a side-effect of both parts, he was already handsome, but now, he's even more so. A wise, secure man no longer so strongly gripped by hatred, lust, or greed. Someone unforgivable to many, but becoming okay with forgiving himself.

Indeed, what a man!

Which is kinda a shame for Luo Binghe's many wives, because he's been heavily trimming down on his harem. Political marriages are substituted for other exchanges, fervent troublemakers are sent back to their homes (the ones who dared to attack his A'Yuan are never heard from again, strangely), and wives who simply ask for divorce are granted them, receiving a hefty gift for at least being loyal whilst married.

So, previously, a harem once numbering into the hundreds falls to the tens, and the remaining ones are either ambivalent or antsy.

Then, as though to answer everyone's burgeoning questions, he names Shen Yuan his empress during a meeting and proclaims that they will make preparations for his crowning ceremony.

I feel like that'd really set off what remained of Cian Qiong Mountain Sect.

Hmm... I think I'll talk more about this later.

---

Part 1: here Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10

Part 11+: links on Part 10

AO3

[maryellencarter]

So I'm really struggling to get this into a logical sequence of thoughts but.

There was a Trump assassination attempt. President Biden said (paraphrased) "that is bad, we do not assassinate our political opponents around here". The entirety of the internet, give or take a few percentage points, seems extremely angry about this.

I think this sums up Biden's problem in this campaign. The thing is, I don't think it's a problem he needs to *fix*. Any more than I need to fix "not being an addict" in order to access more social services. It's not something he should do differently, but it is something that I think is blocking him badly.

Namely, he is a normal politician trying to operate within politics. We don't assassinate our political opponents, we don't arbitrarily break our treaties, we respect the checks and balances of our governmental structure.

The problem is that non-Trumpers in this country don't want someone who plays within the rules. Look at any Twitter or Tumblr thread, look at the handmade posters on the fucking subway.

They want -- *we* want, you may want, it's very hard not to want -- "Trump but on our side". Why doesn't Biden just do everything with executive orders? Why doesn't he have Trump assassinated himself? Why doesn't he, in short, become Trump in order to prevent Trump?

Because, in defiance of what Terry Pratchett called "humanity's tendency to bend at the knees", he is doing all he can to keep being a president -- an elected official, accountable to the people. Not a dictator. Not a king. Not someone who takes over.

I think it's fairly likely to lose him the election. Trump showed a taste of what a God-Emperor can do and people on both sides will now settle for nothing less forcible. I also think it's the only ethical thing he can do and I admire the hell out of him for it.

(It's very Tolkienian, really. He will not take power that is not his by right, even if it seems like the only way to prevent great evil, because it would turn him into the same exact great evil.)

[phreakedt]

I was someone once... An adventurer.

(read more for me rambling about the emperor)

theres rarely any particular meaning or intent behind my art but i swear the emperor is literally my muse, so i thought id share my thoughts about what this piece means! i was listening to punish by ethel cain and couldnt get this idea out of my head… i feel like the line "i was an angel, but they made me leave" or the fallen from grace motif pretty well encapsulates the tragedy of balduran and the emperor and why he'll always be such a sympathetic character to me.

ultimately while there are valid reasons to believe the emperor's evil/irredeemable or whatever, its quite literally not his fault he became what he is. he never asked for his ceremorphosis (of course, he came to accept it, but that doesnt make it any less fucked up). its generally considered that mankind is capable of good and evil in equal measure, but if your humanity is literally stripped away from you, what is there to stop your descent? this isnt even to justify his actions but instead about how titles like "angel" and "demon", "good" and "bad" etc etc are so subjective and perception-based. like if it was the human(oid) balduran and not a mind flayer behind all his actions throughout the game, i doubt he'd be so universally hated. i mean, better a bad person than a literal monster, right?

there's also the "only god knows / only god would believe", or to me the idea that no matter how hard the emperor may try to exercise morality, he's so far departed from his former self that people will only ever see him as a villain, not a hero. its truly a damned if you do, damned if you dont situation. and most ironic is the fact that despite everything, he hasnt fully lost his humanity. he genuinely yearns for companionship and mourns what hes lost and who he used to be (to some degree). i think hes so well-written because he is just like you in the sense that hes simply playing the cards he was dealt, right or wrong. i could go on and on about this awesome character and song (especially its themes of perversion, punishment, and love) but that's the gist. thanks for reading ^^

[david-talks-sw]

hey david! Do you have any George quotes regarding the final Vader vs Obi wan fight? Like did obi wan deliberately throw that fight and let vader kill him or did vader win the duel and obi wan did the Force ghost thing as a last resort?

Here's the quotes I could find that are relevant to the subject:

"A particular case is the confrontation between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader. You know there's something, some relationship they have to each other, 'cause they talk about meeting again ‘and now I'm going to get you’ and all this kind of stuff."

"So there's some kind of old battle going on that we don't know anything about that works amazingly well considering that all it is, is ultimately this one scene between him and Tarkin where he says, “He's here. He's come for me. And it's our destinies to meet up again. And I'm gonna handle this myself. I have to."

"This confrontation with Obi-Wan and Vader— it works just as a confrontation between the good guy and the bad guy. I mean, he’s— Obi-Wan's, at this point, the strongest good guy. He’s the one that has the most knowledge— the father figure that has taken on Luke. Then you have the bad father figure who is the evil father."

"And the subtext of this, which is that this is the culmination of a larger issue… has never really played, I think, for people. It's really just the confrontation between bad and good. Then the surprise at the end of this, is that: Vader doesn't kill him… but that he's able to join the Force, and by being one with the Force, influence things in a more powerful way than he can just being a Jedi." - A New Hope, Commentary Track, Special Edition DVD, 2004

"When he loses Ben, [Luke] freaks out. He’s depressed and all the things that you would be. But Ben has put that idea in him that things happen naturally and there’s also this other thing that’s never explained, which is that he allowed himself to be killed. He didn’t really die. He disappeared. There’s more to this than just a death. Later on in the movie, Luke hears Ben say, “Use the Force!” It mitigates that loss a little bit, because he knows Ben’s somewhere and that something’s going on." - The Star Wars Archives: 1977-1983, 2018

So there you have it.

In a destined confrontation between good and evil, good triumphs not by defeating evil but by ascending and growing beyond it.

So it feels to me that it's a "when in Rome" kind of decision on Obi-Wan's part, wherein he realizes he won't win this fight, and so he decides to make his end meaningful, so that he can show Luke that death is not the end of the journey... he's joining the Force.

Now, if we're talking power-scaling...

... you could argue that Ben might have put up more of a fight, had it been necessary.

George acknowledges that Ben's an old man when explaining the more dynamic fights in the Prequels... but back in the early days, he ranked him as more powerful than Vader/equal to the Emperor.

"Maybe we should set up some kind of levels of achievement. Ben can say that Luke is now a level 2 and Vader is a 4; ‘‘I was a 6 and the Emperor is a 6, and he’s on his way to becoming a 10, which will be a force so powerful in the universe that nothing can stop him. You must stop the Emperor before he achieves the level 10.’’" - Story converence, 1977, as transcribed in The Making of The Empire Strikes Back, 2010

"[Vader] ended up losing his arms and a leg and became partly a robot. So a lot of his ability to use the Force, a lot of his powers, are curbed at this point, because, as a living form, there’s not that much of him left. So his ability to be twice as good as the Emperor disappeared, and now he’s maybe 20 percent less than the Emperor. So that isn’t what the Emperor had in mind." - Vanity Fair, 2005

Now, the first one is an old quote from the development of Empire Strikes Back, when the story was very different; it's take it or leave it, if you ask me. Power-scaling is invented to justify storytelling, so if the story changes, it's not guaranteed the power-scale remains.

But if you're going by "everything Lucas said is canon!" rules then you could make the argument that, in terms of power...

If Ben = Emperor and Emperor > Vader then Ben > Vader.

And thus can argue that Ben might've beaten Vader if this confrontation was/turned into more of a Force-based contest than a physical one.

[muzsmocsing]

Reviewing tgcf characters because I have thoughts

I finished S2 recently and I need somewhere to put my not exactly hot but like warm (?) takes because it's taking up too much storage space in my brain.

🤍 Xie Lian 🤍

It's a good thing I'm not into guys because if I was I would be on my knees for this man in every sense of that expression and his pet menace to society would mince me up like garlic.

So I'll try to be brief about my overflowing feelings about him. Xie Lian is the best main character I have come across in a WHILE. He's the embodiment of compassion and kindness. And also a cold blooded murderer. A babygirl. A father figure. A terrifying martial god. A silly little guy. A pathological liar. The most genuine man you'll ever meet. He's everything, and Hua Cheng is 100% valid in his obsession. I'm right there with him.

Rating: 10/10

❤️ Hua Cheng ❤️

Idk if we ever figured out who wrote My Immortal but I'm pretty sure we have our culprit.

"Hi my name is Hua Cheng Crimson Rain Sought Flower Red-Robed Ghost King and this is my evil weapon of death E-ming. I've killed soooo many gods with it!! My dark power is I can summon storms of BLOOD and SUFFERING. I have my own scary city of DEMONS and they all love me and think I'm HOT but I only want my BOYFRIEND who's the only REAL GOD so STOP FLAMING HIM YOU POSERS-"

Needless to say I love him. Being the 8 time winner of the Loverboy of the Century Awards with unbeatable records in the yearning olympics is truly a remarkable feat.

Rating: 9/10

(Bonus: E-ming. Cute little guy. Likes his stepdad more than his real dad. Not afraid to show it's feelings even if it makes it look like a muppet, 10/10)

🧡 Feng Xin & Mu Qing 🧡

Tweedle dee and tweedle dum gets a shared rating because they would hate to be grouped together like that and that's funny to me. Their dynamic is great, they're good characters, I wasn't sure which one was which until midway through the second season. But then also I have a pair of 7yo twin cousins who I still can't tell apart despite them not looking even a slight bit similar so that might just be a character flaw on my end. Oops.

Rating: 7/10

🩵Shi Qingxuan🩵

I'm doubling the rating because she is best boy and best girl at the same time. I love that I can use any and all pronouns for him because he's literally a pride parade personified and therefore all of them are correct. You don't get that type of chaotic fun just anywhere.

He is truly living my dream, presenting as whatever gender they want depending on what's more convenient and/or funnier in the moment. Super useful, for things like gathering intel and terrorizing Feng Xin by being a woman.

And I personally think we should crown her the new emperor. She'd look significantly better on that throne, with her Barbie-like radiance and flourishing Kenergy.

Rating: 20/10

🖤 Ming Yi 🖤

Listen, I hate to say it because I like a sunshine x grump moment as much as the next gay but he's just... not giving what he thinks he's giving. Everyone is whispering ominously about him having some dark devastating secret but MY point is no matter how big his boobs are in his female form, Shi Qingxuan could do better. I'm sorry. She really could.

Rating: 4/10

💙 Lang Qianqiu 💙

Just an honest man with good intentions and a sickass fucking sword. He did NOT hesitate to attack the infamous Crimson Rain Sought Flower on SIGHT and I respect a quick decisionmaker, even if it shows some himbo tendencies. He also has the same distinct energy as Fred from Scooby Doo.

Rating: 6/10

💚 Qi Rong 💚

He's got some odd dietary and moral choices going on. Definitely. But he's just such a fun villain!!! Being Xie Lian's nr 1 source of migraines SHOULD make me like him less but I'm sorry, every time he was on screen I was LIVING. He would do numbers on reality TV. Someone put this guy on Kitchen Nightmares, I need to see him 1v1 Gordon Ramsay.

Rating: 7/10

🌚 Jun Wu 🌚

He has his emperor status & DILF card going for him but something about this man just ain't right. If he came to a party I was attending I would cover my drink is all I'm saying.

Rating: 2/10

🔥Pei Ming🔥

I don't know much about him besides he had that one shady empolyee or whatever (could not hear the plot over the deafening sound of Hua Cheng's yearning) but I'm partial to a good manwhore character. The thought of people praying to him like "Hugh Mungus, who art in heaven-" really tickles me.

I know he's probably straight but I headcanon him as at the very least bi-curious because you can't be that hot with that much game and not use it for evil. (That evil being causing large scale gay awakenings among his soldiers.)

Rating: 7/10

❓Pei Xiu❓

Unreliable, unimportant, unattractive, unemployed.

I remember not a singular thing about him besides fucking up Xie Lian's daughter's life and also being on my last nerve from the jump. If you're going to be evil at like least be memorable about it, you know? You can't be a bad person and a bad character at the same time. Pick a struggle.

Rating: 1/10

📚 Ling Wen 📚

I heard she committed some war crimes but honestly if I had to do an entire realm's tax returns by myself AND teach Pei Ming how to read (I refuse to believe that man is literate, just look at him) I would want to rage on occasion too. I hope she has a hot wife waiting for her at home to give her massages after carrying the whole system on her back all day. It's what she deserves.

Rating: 8/10

Thank you for reading!! Opinions might change once I read the books but as of now this is it. Remembering everyone's names has been a journey and a half so this post is sponsored by @kirstenly 's character cheat sheet go look at it! and everything else too!!!

[jbk405]

I think I've found one of the key reasons why I prefer the old Expanded Universe to the current Star Wars content: Unique types of villains.

More specifically, people who weren't just Evil Force Users With Long Robes And Red Lightsabers. While there were always a few Darth Vader-clones that popped up to fill up space, so many of the Arc Villains were distinct not just in personality, but also how they were dangerous.

Grand Admiral Thrawn was a military tactician, which wasn't the point of any of the main villains in the Original Trilogy. Grand Moff Tarkin was a "Build a bigger superweapon and bludgeon the galaxy into submission" kind of villain, and Vader and the Emperor were mystical dark wizards. This isn't a complaint or criticism, but just pointing out that military tactics were never on display in the films since that wasn't the type of story they were telling. But Thrawn didn't have prophetic powers or Destiny, he had to analyze and plan around what he could learn about his adversaries. It's a different type of fight than Literal Magic. In the original Thrawn Trilogy, Captain Pellaeon frequently internally narrates how different Thrawn's style of leadership was to either Vader or the Emperor (Even if his art-analysis did verge on magic by itself).

Ysanne Isard was a political and/or espionage manipulator, which was even less a point of the Original Trilogy than military tactics were. She took advantage of the realities of actually needing to build a nation out of an underground military movement. With all of the dirty gutter politics, self-serving agendas, and logistics that doom so many revolutionary movements. I'm not as big a fan of her arc as I was when I was younger (I re-read the Rogue Squadron novels a few years ago and the writing quality is not as good as I remember, and Isard's plans frankly don't hold a lot of water), but the concept is still fantastic.

Warlord Zsinj on the surface seems like a merger of Thrawn and Isard -- he's a military commander who specializes in espionage -- but he also has a big focus that neither of them demonstrated: Business. While he still blows stuff up with his giant space ships and is sowing dissent through brainwashing and spycraft, he's simultaneously establishing a galaxy-wide network of completely-legitimate commercial businesses that he owns through untraceable pseudonyms. They fund his campaigns, give him influence on planets outside of his direct control, and allow him to control resources without any of his adversaries even being aware of it.

Even one-shot enemies like the Ssi-ruuk were so unique: They're invading the galaxy because their technology is powered by living souls and they want to harvest all life in the galaxy. That's messed up, and so distinct from the general "Take over the world" motivation of the Empire.

But as time went on, more and more of the enemies were just "Darth Vader Again". Another Jedi who fell to the Dark Side, or another long-lost schism of the Sith who rediscovered mainstream galactic society, or some other thing that is eventually resolved by a one-on-one lightsaber duel and a personal grudge against the Skywalker or Solo families. It definitely felt like they were out of ideas and kept running through the same villains over and over again.

This kicked into high gear after the Prequels came out, and continued in the new continuity after the EU was rebranded as "Legends".

I wish we could go back to the idea that there could be an enemy who wasn't super powerful in the force and consumed by Hatred Of The Jedi. With their own skills, their own methods, and something that makes them more than just another wannabe-Sauron. Pirates who are just pirates, marauding ex-Imperial Warlords who are just marauding ex-Imperial Warlords, and corrupt politicians who are just corrupt politicians, instead of revealing that Palpatine returned (somehow) all over again.

[fanfic-obsessed]

Well Technically...

It is not often that I get an idea that includes Vader (with the genocide and horror that is implied) that makes me giggle.  This however made me giggle. 

So Vader returns to the light right before he dies and comes back as Anakin the Force ghost.  Now despite what it appears this is not a kindness.  Anakin spends decades following his kids and the galaxy at large watching how little his existence mattered (galactically Anakin Skywalker was barely more than a recognizable name, and even that was diminishing as the people who knew of the ‘hero without fear’ died off; Vader would be forgotten even more quickly because no one wanted to remember him) even as he saw the long term consequences of his life (Luke’s struggle with his own identity-both as a man and a Jedi-, Leia’s struggle with her ancestry-finding out that your blood father killed all your other available parents was not a good feeling, Reva healing from the trauma he directly caused, all the ways that Ahsoka had to reshape her own soul to patch the holes Anakin put there, the echoes of the clones that died at his hand and command and the horror of the ones that survived). He has to watch his grandson not only make his mistakes but somehow make them worse, which was something that he did not know was possible. We get all the way through the the sequels, with a heavy emphasis on Anakin watching how the consequences of his actions (particularly the slaughter of the Jedi but many of the the things he did both during the empire and during the war) while acknowledging that he is not even remembered enough to be cursed, how the galaxy has spun on, not just without him but in spite of him and he is not even a footnote. 

After Palpatine’s final, for now, death, Anakin is approached (for lack of a better term) by something shaped like Obi Wan Kenobi, circa the beginning of the clone wars. When this being speaks, it speaks with two voices at once, the Daughter and the Son. It asks if he could go back to before his Fall and change things, would he.

Anakin is sure he would, there are so many things he would do differently. 

The being says that it can send him back to just before his tipping point, where his Fall and all the evil he did became inevitable, but cannot send him back further than that.  Anakin agrees. Just before he sent back the being tells him that should his Fall become inevitable again, they would shred his mind and soul and it would be more excruciating than any pain he had ever experienced. 

Anakin, who had spent 20 years in agony, now had one(1) fear. 

Anakin “closed” his eyes in the Force, wondering when he would be sent back to (Killing Padme, Marching on the Temple, Believing Palpatine over Fives) only to open his eyes as his mother took her last breath. He was back on Tatooine, in the Tusken camp. 

Anakin was confused, this was the point of no return? He had not even thought about the Tusken camp in decades, had not truly considered them at all since Padme absolved him of their slaughter.

But this was also an Anakin that had spent decades in pain, and then decades observing. He was much more patient, by necessity if  not choice, less likely to act on violent impulse then the last time. Also the majority of his rage died in a cloud of lightning with the Emperor.  Instead of killing the Tuskens in a rage, he wept over his mother’s body in the grief he denied himself the first time. The reaction surprises the Tuskens so much (due both to the nature of Tatooine and the animosity between them and the moisture farmers they had not seen human tears of grief before) that they let Anakin take the body and leave. 

They still bury Shmi and go to rescue Obi Wan (though it does not end in a marriage this time). The War still starts but Anakin is also running around trying to fix things, including himself (and actually doing all the actual emotional work on figuring out and fixing his own issues), meditating (Frankly Obi Wan is starting to be concerned that anakin is possessed), trying to not kill anyone (because he really isn't sure what the tipping point about the Tuskens was and does not want to risk it), get the chips discovered in such a way that they do not tip off the Sith (He brings a few clones, including Fives to the temple to Spar and 'accidentally' hits Fives hard enough to knock him out and pracitcally forces Master Che do a deep enough scan), make a list of the people he killed to try and do something nice for them. At some point he decides his ‘penance’ for his life as Vader was that he would somehow bring all the currently known Sith back to the Light (including Palpatine).

In the Force, the Daughter is watching all this, her head in her hand repeating over and over ‘The point of no return was murdering children, you moron. All you have to do is not murder children’. And everything he is doing works towards that goal, but she doesn’t expect him to fix the universe (in my head it is a bit akin to asking someone to tell you an equation that use 2 and equals 4, expecting 2+2 or 2*2 but instead them confidently saying((2xSqRt(100))-40+36)/4)

The Son is watching this all with Force popcorn, this is the most entertaining thing to happen in ages. 

It is important to note that the Dark in this does not mean Evil. It means selfish, which is not the same thing.  You can be a selfish dick and still not be evil.  Mostly in this case it means that for those that inhabit the dark their priority is 1)Their own wants and needs; 2)The needs of the people they like, as long as it doesn’t inconvenience them; 3) The wants or needs of others if it benefits them in some way.  The Son was bored by what the Empire did to the Force, and he found having the Light there (and everything Anakin was doing) entertaining. 

I just keep picturing the Daughter, in the Force, exasperated with Anakin because, yes everything he is doing is good for him and the galaxy but his ONLY job is ‘don’t murder children’ and it never even occurs to Anakin that that was the only act he needed to avoid. 

[hugemilkshake]

“But the real kicker is not Dark Cacao getting obsessive about this cookie who did such a fantastic job for him, but how would the Cookies of Darkness play into this?”

…

…Ok I can work with this

Now I want to see this playing out. This is the timeline I’ve gotten to work with:

after weeks of Y/N being the emperor and doing a MUCH better job then Dark Cacao, The CoD have essentially abandoned any plan that involved the Dark Cacao kingdom because said kingdom is being fixed faster than expected. Leaving Affogato to rot in his cell as the kingdom rebuilds itself.

Unlike Dark Cacao, who was constantly worried about the wall, Y/N was more focused on the citizens, citadel, warriors, and basically everything else. Y/N saw the wall being the least of importance and saw everything else that Dark Cacao neglected as top priority. Even tho everyone has started to appreciate Y/N as being a better ruler, Y/N themselves still misses their old king. But their prayers were soon answered… but with a twist.

Dark Cacao has learned that his kingdom has grown better without him, tho he never learned who exactly it was. He feared that it was Affogato. So when he was ready, the old king finally returned to the citadel. He was ready to turn Affogato into crumbs by the time to the thrown. But when he saw Y/N running up to him, his anger changed like the flip of a switch. Instead of turning who ever was in charge to crumbs, he wanted to… protect them.

This is what I’m working with so far. Now I want to see where you’d continue on from this. Remember, this can be either a oneshot, headcannon, or a full on fic. I don’t care. I just wanna see the product of this.

Well, I don’t have a full fledged oneshot/ fic, I do have a sequence of events that can happen from this point

Due to Dark Cacao being obsessive over Y/Ns protection, he is putting guards around their room and them. Which is leading to there being less guards to protect the wall, and to watch the prisoners

Affogato being the cheeky little guy ends up breaking out, and this man’s PISSED.

Like he was put in jail by some random cookie after he’s spent years perfecting everything.

And around this time Dark Choco and Pomegranate Cookie are there to steal Dark Cacaos soul jam since he’s old and they want it for evil reasons 😎👍

They end up meeting affogato who knows the ins and outs of the kingdom which eventually leads to them deducing that Dakr Cacao would probably give them his sould jam if they hold Y/N hostage.

Which they do so. (They took the guards out fairly easily)

Now Caramel Arrow is out patrolling the grounds with Dark Cacao (she’s trying to convince him to chill out) when they run into gingerbrave and co!

They read the letter and then back to the kingdom but they don’t find a nice welcome back, it’s a hostage situation

So one thing leads to another and they fight (everyone had to convince dark cacao to not give his soul ham because he was going to fold super quick)

Gingerbrave and co win and get y/n back safely, dark choco and dark cacao have that fight/argument, dark choco leaves that fuck ass sword and everything is fine now! Affogato and pomegranate get away btw

Dark cacao learns to chill out slightly but he still insists at least one guard by Y/N

[let-us-cultivate-our-garden]

https://www.tumblr.com/muffinlance/759432968373731328

I can’t help but think this post applies to The Owl House regarding modern fantasy issues in comparison to LOTR.

Man, comparing toh to Tolkien just invokes the hydrogen-bomb-coughing-baby meme, doesn't it?

I reblogged the post separately because it hits the nail right on the head. A lot of modern fantasies do operate as a power fantasy and that's fine in of itself, but it's also really repetitive and doesn't provide much food for thought.

Tolkien is interesting though because he is widely considered to have "created" the modern fantasy genre, but most of his imitators recreate the surface level of his works and not any of the themes. In Tolkien's time, there was no "fantasy genre" as is commonly understood now. There were "fairy stories" but they were regarded as for children. Tolkien drew inspiration from medieval literature, mythology, Christianity, (not to mention language!!) as the foundations of his world, so it's going to be tackling different themes and operate in a completely different framework than later fantasy works.

I think any work worth its salt has to say something. A fantasy work doesn't have to handle the same themes as Tolkien in order to be considered Serious (TM) but it needs to use its world and characters to their fullest extent. The dragons just can't be dragons.

Taking this to The Owl House, it starts off with its protagonist learning that this new fantasy world is not like the fantasy world of her books, thereby setting her up to learn not to treat reality like a piece of fiction she can imagine herself the hero in. But then, this is largely dropped in favor of her learning to be a witch. But then she spends less time with her mentor learning about magic and more time with her soon to be girlfriend and getting into high school drama. She doesn't really earn her magical powerups by learning something about herself as expected in stories like this, instead the glyphs are largely handed to her by the narrative. By the end, toh has its hero repeating her catch phrase before finishing off The Evil Emperor Who Has Blighted the Land in an attempt to callback her first appearance in the pilot. But the circumstances are near identical and it just demonstrates how the protagonist has not grown at all. It's a complete failure of writing, forget about fantasy writing.

In the end, does toh have a successful thematic statement? No, not really. It can't commit to any one plot thread so it just leaves the whole thing underbaked and thematically incoherent. Its sister show, Amphibia, has a similar setup and actually successfully executes its themes. Its protagonist also doesn't appreciate the fantasy world she's stuck in but learns to see the inhabitants as her family and friends, all the while maturing in the process. There's even a subplot about learning to separate reality from fantasy and how treating everything as a game can have life or death consequences!

To sum it up, toh tries to have something deep to say and does make a few gallant attempts but its structural flaws ultimately undermine any overall message. It basically is a power fantasy with some window dressing and it would be nice if the wider fandom accepted that instead of praising it for having Important Themes (TM).

Sometimes a dragon is just a dragon.

[dailydragon08]

OT Gang Reacts: Halloween Edition

I'm halfway through writing Darkness Calls part 3, but here's a little something in the meantime for Halloween!

As a princess who has traveled all over the galaxy, I think Leia would be very familiar with traditions from other cultures, even if she’s only read about them—including Halloween. Although she’s proud of who she is and the role she had in bringing the empire down, dressing up and pretending to be someone else does sometimes appeal to her. It gives her a much-needed break from the weight on her shoulders where she can just let loose, have fun, and not be instantly recognizable. As an avid fashion lover (you can pry this headcanon from my cold, dead hands; she was just busy during the rebellion, okay?), she also loves to really get into all facets of the costume—putting together all the different pieces, buying different accessories, and I can honestly see her really enjoying thrifting for a costume at locally owned places. Although her costume might not be super flashy or extravagant, she’s one of the best dressed ones at the party and again, gets a huge thrill from mingling without the threat of other politicians, leaders, and rich people chasing her down the entire time. She tends to dress as people or professions she admires, but isn’t above matching group costumes with her friends—and the further away the costume is from an intergalactic princess, the better.

With Reader/an OC, she loves matching costumes, but isn’t dead set on it either. Either way, she loves helping you put your own costume together and helping you with hair, makeup, and doesn’t stray far from you during a Halloween party. She loves the chance to just relax and enjoy without others constantly pulling her away from you as if you were just two normal people on a little date, and an afterparty at her place with just the two of you, a scary movie (I could honestly see her being a big horror fan and loving things like Fear Street and American Horror Story), and some of your favorite fall-themed snacks is a must (I firmly believe she’s a bit caramel popcorn fan). I can see her really enjoying haunted houses too, and doing them frequently enough that she usually knows what to expect and isn’t too scared by them. She’s usually the one everyone’s holding on to as she bravely takes her position in front of the pack and immediately bursts into laughter after something scares her.

Luke, on the other hand, doesn’t have as many experiences with other cultures like his sister. Although he did travel a lot while in the rebellion, he was busy focusing on defeating evil emperors and trying not to die. But he loves learning and is an information sponge, researching different holidays and traditions himself and/or listening to others talk about it. Coming from a desert planet, I think he’d be especially interested and in awe of autumn in general—especially all the colors, cooler weather (even though Mr. Perpetually Cold Desert Boy might need more layers than most), and apple-flavored things. Although he tries to fully embrace Halloween, he’s a little overwhelmed at first and just follows his friends’ lead. Leia in particular is so excited to teach him all about it and he also gets into the aspect of pretending to be someone else with less weight on their shoulders for a night. He’s a big fan of matching costumes because it makes him fade in the crowd even more—which of course means, like Leia, he doesn’t have as many people chasing him down. He always gets a kick out of someone realizing who he is with a start once they get close enough. But I also believe he’s very introverted, so I could see him really enjoying a night in or a smaller gathering with the OT Gang & Co. versus some huge party.

With Reader/an OC, he’s 100% going out of his way to match his costume to yours. Usually, he even lets you pick it out and will sit there with the utmost patience, happy to humor any makeup, hairstyle, or accessories you want to put on him. If you go to a bigger party, like Leia, he’s ecstatic to just be able to stick by your side without other important people competing for his attention. But he loves having much smaller gatherings or even just a night in with you the best. He lives for the cozy sweaters (and excuse to drink hot chocolate) and while he doesn’t mind watching scarier movies with you, he likes the ones that have more of a cozy vibe to them better (think Hocus Pocus, Nightmare Before Christmas, etc.). He loves decorating and doing things like carving pumpkins because after all the chaos and loneliness he’s been through, I firmly believe he really cherishes the little domestic moments with you most. Depending on where he is in his jedi training, he tends to be able to sense things in haunted houses and hayrides coming through the Force and can be a bit hard to scare, but goes anyway because he loves the way you grab and lean into him and see him as a protector (even if the threat isn’t actually real).

If any sort of partying is involved—especially if there’s alcohol—Han 100% knows about it, so is no stranger to Halloween. Good luck getting him in a costume though. You’d have to pay him a lot to get him to even consider one. He’s pretty much there for the free food and drinks. He tries to act all tough in things like haunted houses, but is actually pretty easy to scare and has had rare occasions his friends won’t let go where he screamed like a little girl—which he of course denies. Although he says he’ll only watch scary movies to humor his friends, he’s surprisingly reactive as the film goes along, yelling at the characters onscreen whenever they act dumb or go somewhere without a weapon. He also tries to pretend he’s above fall drinks, but sometimes sneaks sips of his friends’ beverages when they aren’t looking. In short, he tries to act like he couldn’t give two shits about Halloween, but does tend to secretly enjoy it.

With Reader/an OC, with enough nagging, you might be able to get him into a very low-effort matching costume—but do not even think about putting makeup on him or messing with his hair. He’ll do all the fall/Halloween things with you to make you happy and grumbles the whole time, but you know he’s secretly enjoying it via the excuses he makes. “Well, listen, pumpkin carving requires a sharp knife and I just don’t want ya to lose any of your klutzy fingers,” “hey, there’s some real creeps out there, so I’m just trying to make sure they leave you alone so you can enjoy the party,” “nah, I’m just watching this movie ’cause I’ve got nothing else to do.” The longer you’re with him, the more he softens up and stops grumbling—although you don’t think you’ll ever get him to admit out loud he is having a good time.

Lando is of course hosting the best Halloween party you’ve ever seen in your life. His place ends up looking like Halloween threw up on it by the time he’s done and every room is covered in props, fake spiderwebs, smoke machines, projectors in the windows, and he’s got every type of fall treat and drink you could think of. His costume is equally extravagant, and his parties are always ones for the books that go into the wee hours of the morning. He loves a good horror movie as well as the cozier ones, and somehow his pumpkin carvings always rival the most acclaimed artists of the decade. Lando does not half-ass anything, holidays and parties included.

With Reader/an OC, he’s so psyched if you’re super into Halloween like he is and he’s ready to do everything: pumpkin patches, mazes, haunted houses, scary movies, etc. He especially loves decorating for Halloween with you and you two frequently go on dates to the Halloween decoration store, coming home with almost all their inventory in tow. He’s always happy to match your costume, but is completely fine if you want to do your own thing as well and insists on buying you the most expensive, high-quality material the holonet has to offer. If you opt for a smaller gathering with just the OT Gang, he’s still decorating to the nines and bringing enough food to feed 100 people, and never hesitates to tell you how amazing of a time he had with you at the end of the night.

Chewie (platonic) is mainly just along for the ride and down for whatever, but he does not like being spooked. He’s actually been banned from most haunted houses because of the way he roars at the poor actors popping out at him. He’s equally fine with a larger party or a smaller one, but either way, you’re pretty sure he’s responsible for half the snack consumption and he’s not afraid to admit he loves the fall drinks. He’s not really big into wearing costumes (which ones would he even fit into?), but loves looking at everyone else’s and always appreciates the decorations. He’s not the best at carving pumpkins, but he tries and the only design he’s really nailed is the simple, classic one.

C-3PO and R2-D2 both enjoy the festivities for different reasons. Threepio is soaking in all the information like a sponge, but not the biggest fan of the scarier side of Halloween (“oh, my!”). He loves to marvel at the cozier aspects and is amazed by all the colors—and isn’t afraid to constantly say it, much to the annoyance or amusement of the rest of the gang. Artoo loves all of it, especially the dancing at parties and can regularly be seen in the middle of the dance floor bobbing back and forth on his little legs, but is unfortunately very easily spooked and will speed away with a high-pitched squeal.

~~ Taglist: @kaleidoscope1967eyes @masterlukessaber @coffeeorsomething-irl @lxstfathier @rogue-kenobi @sonofthedunes @pomplalamoose @lex-the-flex @myevilmouse @ilovemarkhamill @goddessesofeverything @acupnoodle

[cottoncandiescupcakes]

GLADIATOR II SPOILERS

People need to stop saying Caracalla killed Geta, you see that Caracalla cut Geta's hand, smiles and that Geta then pretty much overpowers Caracalla and gets through to him somewhat but then Macrinus jumps in, takes the knife and slits Geta's throat

He then cuts his head off, takes it and allows Caracalla to rule for probably like a week before stabbing him as well

They are both victims of this man and Caracalla wouldn't have been able to kill Geta on his own, Geta would have taken the knife

Caracalla is not 'evil', he has syphilius that spread to his brain and Macrinus used this mental weakness to manipulate him into attacking his brother so HE can get rid of Geta, the more mentally sound Emperor, to then fully take over, while Caracalla thinks he did it. He then wants to blame Caracalla for Lucilla's death(he even asks if they HAVE to kill her because he doesn't want to kill an unarmed woman) and show the people his head if they uprises. He is getting rid of all his politicals opponents, starting with the General which he of course blamed on the Emperors to make them less popular, then Geta who is his next most powerful opponent as the more dominant and capable twin Emperor.

Can we stop blaming either of these very young men for Macrinus' actions just because they are mentally ill or look more out there. They are literally victims. Yes they are cruel with the matches and the war but that was culturally accepted and normal at the time, they are no worse than any other Roman Emperor

[deinemuddalutscht]

Dark Rise Book recommendations 

Just finished Dark Heir again. Do you guys have any book suggestions for books with similar themes? I love the protagonist being the villain or villain reborn trope. Here a few of my recommendations: (Warning! Spoilers!)

Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan

The female protagonist is an Isekai character who ends up as the villain in a fantasy world. While she isn’t truly evil, she doesn’t see the other characters as real people, allowing her to manipulate their emotions without guilt. Her love interest is a delightfully unhinged psychopath. The book also features a male, bisexual Isekai character playing a villainous role. He falls for one of the hero characters, who has one of the most suppressed sexualities I’ve ever seen. Without giving away too much, what’s great about their dynamic is that the male villain is actually a "good" guy pretending to be evil, while the hero is the truly unhinged murderer. The female and male protagonists pretend to be a couple for a while but have fantastic platonic chemistry. The premise revolves around two Isekai characters being trapped in a grim, "Song of Ice and Fire"-style fantasy book, surviving by playing the villains. The two of them have essentially to retell the origin story of the cruel God Emperor who later becomes the Antagonist of the book world in which they are trapped in.

Time Master Universe Series by Louise Cooper

The male protagonist is the reincarnated god of chaos. In this world, gods of order and chaos are locked in eternal battle. There’s a heterosexual romance, but some aspects of it haven’t aged well.

The Sundering by Jacqueline Carey

This series explores the war between light and dark from the perspective of the Dark Lord and his loyal generals. Imagine if Morgoth, Sauron, and Saruman were misunderstood figures with morally gray motivations, making them more relatable than the "light side." While there’s no queer romance, the story includes queer themes: for instance, the Saruman-like character is an evil bisexual, and the Morgoth-like character was once the god responsible for sex and reproduction. Funnily enough that started to conflict between him and his purist brother and elves. Despite parallels to Tolkien, this series introduces its own ideas and world-building, far from being a mere retelling. It's a dark and tragic narrative, though not overly graphic in terms of violence or sex. While there is a hint of romance, it’s far less prominent than the book description suggests. The series is brilliant but also deeply tragic

The Licanius Trilogy by James Islington

One male character is the "reborn" villain who tries to stop his past self's evil plans. The world-building is excellent, but the romance feels lackluster, largely due to the author’s weak portrayal of female characters. There's a female villain whose entire goal is to seduce the villain by pretending to be one of his lovers three separate times and somehow he falls for her act every time.

Tales from the Flat Earth by Tanith Lee

A rich fantasy world with an exotic writing style, though not everyone’s cup of tea. The books consist of interconnected short stories, with Azhrarn, "Night's Master" and "Prince of Demons," as the recurring character. Azhrarn is the ruler of the Underworld and the most powerful of the Lords of Darkness, embodying pure wickedness. Azhrarn and most of the other chactars are bisexual.The romances in the series haven’t aged well, but Azhrarns unpredictable cruelty and power make for an intriguing mix of protagonist and antagonist.

Witch King by Martha Wells

The main male character is a gay, shapeshifting demon prince. The world-building is expansive but requires close attention to follow.

Magisterium by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

A reimagining of Harry Potter, but from the perspective of the sidekick of the prophesied hero—who happens to be the villain reborn. Though aimed at younger readers, the first book is surprisingly dark, especially the prologue, where the villain kills a baby to take over its body. The series lacks world-building and dramatically declines after the third book. The finale, The Golden Tower, is one of the worst conclusions I’ve ever read, with a protagonist who never faces real consequences for being the reincarnated villain.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

Set in a world where three elder gods (light, darkness, and twilight) exist alongside their many incestuous godlings. The god of light kills the goddess of twilight out of jealousy after the God of Dark falls on love with her, sparking a divine war—aka a chaotic custody battle. The god of darkness and the children who remained loyal to him are defeated and imprisoned in mortal bodies as playthings for the human race. The protagonist is the reincarnation of the goddess of twilight, and the story features a messy, toxic polyamorous love triangle that's utterly captivating.

A Chorus of Dragons Series by Jenn Lyons

The male protagonist is reborn and bisexual, eventually ending up in a polyamorous relationship.

Empires of Dust by Anna Smith Spark

One of the main protagonists is a reborn villain and an overall despicable human being. I couldn’t warm up to him at all. He’s bisexual but ends up with an equally detestable female character. The series is dark and graphic, so be prepared.

Furyborn by Claire Legrand

The story revolves around two prophesied queens—one of light and one of darkness—separated by centuries. Both are point-of-view characters. The Blood Queen has a villainous love interest but comes across as a frustrating, indecisive character. She betrays her family, husband, and kingdom, all for her attraction to the villain. She’s bisexual, but the character lacks agency, making her deeply unlikable. It wasn't for me, but others may enjoy it.

Master of Sorrows by Justin Travis Call

The male protagonist is believed to be the prophesied hero but is actually the Dark Lord/God reborn. No queer themes here. It's pretty dark but not graphic. disabledMC grows up in an ableist religious cult, so potential trigger warning here

I also really love Keos's youngest sibling's energy: Can we please talk about the fact that his villain origin story is being pissed about not getting what he wished for Christmas. I love petty gods lol. Still better than cutting your brothers hand off and declaring him the enemy of all humankind just because he did not like your shitty Christmas present

[signor-signor]

Trending 27th - June 2024

What gives you the motivation for not giving up on Wander Over Yonder?

Well, for starters, when Craig McCracken brought up the uncalled-for cancellation, he also brought up the existence of…

The Plans

Here’s what Craig said in his Tumblr post from March of 2016:

“About a year ago we presented a pitch for a season 3 arc that promised to bring our characters together in new, unexpected, and hilarious ways. And just as S2 evolved from S1, we had a really exciting approach to evolving S3 even further. We had plans for new characters, the return of old characters, and even a bit of backstory! We were all really excited about the new direction and so were our bosses at DisneyXD and TVA.”

“Unfortunately, the higher up bosses of bosses of bosses at Disney decided not to continue with the show. It's not that they didn't like Wander, they just felt that 2 seasons and 80 cartoons was enough and they didn't see the need to produce any more.”

“For the record, this decision had nothing to do with the ratings performance of S2. Truth be told, we were informed that we wouldn't be continuing before S2 even premiered.”

If what he said is to be believed, the mediocre performance of S1 on Disney XD made the “higher up bosses of bosses of bosses” think WOY shouldn’t continue after S2, so they decided to cancel it five months after the pitch, one week before The Greater Hater premiered. Big mistake. After nearly a decade, Craig still keeps the plans for S3 under wraps, but his talk of S3 is enough to pique my curiosity. He piqued it even more when he brought up Star Force Enforcement Force in 2021. Truth be told, he knows way more about that third and final season than he let on.

At first, I thought S2 would wrap up the show nicely. Boy, was I wrong - it wrapped up S2, but not the whole show. Once I checked out The End of the Galaxy, I knew right then and there that one more season was planned, because in the end credits, I saw…

The Cliffhanger

I will admit, I found the last couple of minutes anticlimactic. Dominator spurned Wander’s friendship, Hater is still cuckoo for conquering (much to Peepers’s delight), and the main four are practically back where they began. I reiterate, it wrapped up the season nicely, but not the whole show, because what I’m about to describe is indicative of the show’s unfinished business.

Dominator walks off in angry defeat, trying to peel an orange (or open a jar of jam if you prefer, assuming you looked closely at what she grabbed), and she grumbles, “They’ll get what’s coming to them.” Unbeknownst to her, she passes by a crash-landed space capsule with its door unhinged. Green lightning flashes, ominous Hater-themed music plays, and simian screeching is heard and fades into Hater’s evil laugh.

How is this anything less than an indicator of unfinished business? If stopping the show here is not a bad move, I don’t know what is. I’m positive English primatologist Jane Goodall would not be pleased with the decision to leave an ape stranded in space with no one around to help him. The question remains: who would find that space ape? Wander and the passengers aboard the Star Nomad or Star Force Enforcement Force? Only Craig and those who worked on the pitch with him would know and so would the bosses of Disney XD and DTVA. There’s also something that was on my mind after I watched the season finale. I shall now tell you about…

The Missing Pieces

I’m, of course, referring to parts that were absent from the episode and left unexplained. We’ve got the other villains, most of whom were last seen in The Bad Neighbors. Emperor Awesome made a silent appearance in The Sick Day, and that was it. As a certain @koskela13 indicated in a post 8 years ago, the villains never mustered up the courage to help the heroes fight against Dominator. There’s also Buster, the planet-sized puppy dog whom the Ballzerians call home. Since Beeza and the Ballzerians were among the refugees, he had to have fled from Dominator’s galactic onslaught. I found long ago that he’s supposed to be all right, but where he is remains to be seen. Same goes for Janet the Planet and her moon, Maurice; however, it was said that they were on their honeymoon, hence their absence in S2. Another thing that I think was left out was Wander getting to sing/play his banjo. Think about it, if the crew had wanted to stop after S2, would they have had Wander perform a glorious reprise of an upbeat song right after Dominator’s downfall? That was never done. It’s pretty obvious.

Moving right along, another thing that keeps me motivated is…

The Fan Content

Over the years, I came across countless fan pieces to make the Internet aware of the show’s existence, such as @wanderin-over-yonder’s calendars. It’s possible to come up with WOY-related activities, original characters, and meta gags.

Master Yisuko

Dr. Otmar Vunderbar

In case you haven’t guessed by now, the possibilities are endless.

I would expand more on the Star Nomad, but I’m sure you can find the information in my previous posts. As long as we’re talking fan stuff, let me refer to…

The Supporting Characters (and their VAs’ Longevities)

Apart from the five major characters, The End of the Galaxy had at least ten other characters speak solo (King Bingleborp, Destructor, the Cashier, Prince Cashmere, Neckbeard, the Lost and Found Guy, the Black Cube, Mittens, Major Threat, and Michelle). All the others barely had a chance to shine. For that reason, I put my effort into showcasing as many of them as I could in my fan fiction, The Eye on the Galaxy. What’s more, some of those characters are performed by voice actors over the age of 50. Stella Starbella was voiced by June Squibb, who was in her mid-80s while WOY was running. Today, she’s a nonagenarian, and if her performance in Inside Out 2 as Nostalgia is any indication, it’s not too late for her to reprise her role as that character. We might have until 2030 to revive the show, assuming June lives to be 100.

By the way, Major Threat was said to become a recurring character in S3, and we’ve yet to see him actually interact with Wander long after he put his days of villainy behind him.

Now I wish to bring up…

The Luck of the Other Shows

A vague and unconvincing reason for WOY’s cancellation was that two seasons/80 episodes were enough. I mean, really? Disney never felt that way about Fish Hooks, which I believe has three seasons and 110 episodes. Also, they allowed Star vs. the Forces of Evil to run for four seasons, putting it well over 100 episodes. And how about Big City Greens? Although not as frequently brought up as Gravity Falls, Amphibia, or The Owl House, it recently managed to get a whopping five seasons. They’re treating it like it’s the new Phineas and Ferb, although there’s no merchandising or presence in the parks. When I compare WOY to the aforementioned shows, it’s clear to me that it had the worst of luck. Heck, I wasn’t even sure if those other shows had pitches for later seasons. We can’t stand idly by while the plans made for WOY remain shelved. It just wouldn’t be right, y’know what I mean?

One more thing…

The Other Fandoms of Shows With Unfinished Business

I’ve noticed the presence of fans of shows that still have more to tell, including, but not limited to, Sym-Bionic Titan and Glitch Techs. One show that’s being resurrected as we speak is Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM), which ran in the 1990s for a measly two seasons and, just like WOY, was left on a cliffhanger (in this one, Snively re-emerges in a different outfit and is raring to take his uncle’s place and put a stop to the Freedom Fighters, and behind him stands Naugus, who somehow managed to escape the void). Fortunately, a group called Team Sea3on are working on a S3 premiere titled “Return to Robotropolis.” You can find this group on just about any social media platform - their determination to right the wrong done to the show is truly inspiring.

Did I mention shows like Hey Arnold! and Samurai Jack got closure after years of being neglected and incomplete? The same thing could happen to WOY if we persevere. Invader Zim, which also only got two seasons, got its overdue closure (I think) in the form of a Netflix-exclusive movie. If a season is too much work, fewer episodes or a two-hour TV movie should suffice.

And I think that’s about it for now. I hope all this information was enough to keep you all motivated! Fight on for fairness, my friends, and to those of you who think of The End of the Galaxy only as a SEASON finale, I thank you.

#CanceledCartoons

[thegreymoon]

hey! thank you for responding. your answer helped a lot. I had another question. "even though Chu Wanning loved him and in the latter half of their marriage was very much reciprocating in bed together with him and in other ways, such as comforting him, cooking for him, cuddling when he wanted it and so on." Do you by any chance know what chapters would this information is in? Just an approximation & not the exact chapters is fine too!

Hey, nonny!

It is all over the latter half of the book, once Chu Wanning regains his 0.5 memories and we get his perspective. I'm too lazy to look up the chapters, but here is the rough outline.

We know that Chu Fei cooked for TXJ as early as the first book because Mo Ran, asleep in Chu Wanning's bed after treating his wounds, tells him to make him breakfast thinking that he is still the Emperor in his half-awake state. Food is Mo Ran's love language and he will eat anything Chu Wanning cooks up. There is a whole scene with zombie!TXJ where we see that he deliberately taught Chu Wanning how to make him congee, which he sometimes makes successfully, and sometimes less so. TXJ just wants to eat the food that he cooks, it doesn't even have to be edible.

Chu Wanning starts reciprocating in bed after he finds out that Mo Ran is not evil but cursed. That night, after he figures it out, he has sex with Mo Ran and comes without being drugged for the first time. After that, there are more scenes where it is hinted at (or explicitly described) that they had a whole lot of wild, entirely consensual sex.

There is a whole scene where Mo Ran says that the only thing that could calm him down after a bloodbath was burying his head in Chu Wanning's waist and having him stroke his hair and this is in one of the early books too, when Mo Ran demands that Chu Wanning dries his hair because he did that once for Xue Meng when his arm was broken.

After 0.5 Chu Wanning returns from his trip to the past, Mo Ran is looking for him. Chu Wanning asks him why he isn't at his party and Mo Ran pulls him into a hug and they stay like that. It is one of the rare good moments they have together when Mo Ran's madness isn't as bad.

As Mo Ran is dying in 279, Chu Wanning confirms that he loved him in the past life, that he was willing, that he is still willing and will be willing in the future too, in spite of everything. Chu Wanning always loved him more than anything. He split the universe into two in a desperate attempt to save him rather than kill him to save the world.

I can't wait for the second half of this novel to come out in a proper translation. The things in it are so terrible and gut-wrenching, but they are also so beautiful because Mo Ran and Chu Wanning loved each other so much and we finally get to see the truth first-hand of Mo Ran's "hatred" and Chu Wanning's "contempt", neither of which was real. There was only ever the deepest love between them, even when they couldn't access it because of things beyond their control.