#I LOVE CHARACTER CONSISTENCY AND CONTINUITY

[sunelloise]

I was not aware of Reyna joining the Hunters until this post. I checked out about 3 chapters into the second TOA book so if it happened after… yeah.

Thing about Reyna is, for me, that I remember well before I knew I was ace, and when I wasn’t really into shipping, that Reyna’s last(?) scene with Piper in BOO, Aphrodite’s daughter, being all sad about how she doesn’t have a boyfriend, and Piper going “you’ll find somebody eventually :)” like

What a horribly missed opportunity for the daughter of the love goddess, who already has a complicated relationship with her mother, to remind Reyna that the Greeks had 7 definitions of love, that there is more to life than just a romance, and that she’s not lesser for not having one.

Also tho

Artemis was 100% the villain in TTC, which would have actually been interesting if it was done intentionally, instead of accidentally. Artemis is the root of Nico’s modern problems. She ripped his sister away from him, and she got Bianca killed, and then let Percy take the fall for her when none of this was his fault. I kinda give Zoe a pass, in a way that she joined a cult so long ago that her agency here is very muddied.

The frustrating thing is that it’s very inconsistent when gods are meant to be seen as either helpers or obstacles based on their myths. Artemis running a cult championing virginity is seen as a good and necessary thing because the myths said so. Poseidon causing Medusa was a “we don’t talk about that beyond book 1” thing, because he has to be a ‘good’ dad eventually. Aphrodite is a nuisance but Cupid is a straight-up villain, both gods of romantic love giving horribly mixed messages about it.

Trying to distill thousands of real myths into consistent characters that we can understand and empathize with means cherry picking which myths you want to represent your arbitrarily “good” and “bad” gods… when they are all simultaneously “good” and “bad” because they’re gods!

He didn’t fail completely, and these books are beloved for a reason. I love that Hades wasn’t stereotypically evil, and I loved the complicated nature of Hermes and May Castellan’s doomed relationship.

But Artemis was a villain, he just contorted her myths to say otherwise, and even back then when I was like, 13, I knew something was up (I’m ace too OP).

Also I know these books are getting older, but “strong women means bashing men” is not what feminism means ffs. Artemis isn’t the cool aunt goddess for turning her nose up at teenage boys who are just being boys. Percy and Nico are kids! Having her resolution be “oh wow you have surpassed my cynical expectations of you because of your gender, I hate you slightly less because you saved me from a trap I fell knowingly into.”

Was really frustrating.

More so because a very strong theme throughout the series is the consequences of the gods being fickle and neglectful of their children, which causes Luke and every other bitter, lost, and heartbroken demigod to join their enemy.

So the inconsistency of “sometimes the fickle and neglectful god is teaching Percy a valuable lesson” or “the fickle and neglectful god made the series villain and should suffer for it,” makes for a very confusing message.

Everybody worrying about Nico going dark side because of Artemis would have been way more interesting than blaming Percy, because they would have been forced to confront the thing that Rick kept tiptoeing around: Do I make my message be that “we’re family and we’re stuck together even if the abuse and neglect continues?” Percy did his best to go “fuck you guys do better” and then all of that was steamrolled over in the very next series where the new prophecy and splitting personalities put a raincheck on their godly promise.

The hunters of Artemis, Reyna, and Asexuality in Riordan's writing

I kinda started thinking about this since Reyna became a hunter. I could never articulate why I hated this Choice. I was asexual after all. Shouldn't I be happy about this rep? We Ace people barely get any after all. Then I realized that it's because I just didn't like the hunters as ace representation. And I didn't need to be grateful for mediocrity.

You want to know why the hunters of Artemis suck in general? And as Ace rep specifically? Because Riordan did not write them with that mindset.

Like people are so busy hailing this man as the king of representation in literature(blegh) that they forgot how heteronormative and white(sometimes racist) the original series was. Y'all really think this man was thinking about writing asexuals in the year 2007? Get real. What Riordan was doing was a white man trying to write feminism and failing (there's a reason most of his female characterization of female characters boils down to tough "not like other girls" characters who are dicks to the boys around them yet also to the girls around them if they're jealous)

Now onto the hunters.

The hunters when first presented in TTC are not a group of asexuals but rather religious celibates. Fantasy Pegan nuns if you may. The first problem arises when their ages are brought up.

"Then the archers came from the woods. They were girls, about a dozen of them. The youngest was maybe ten. The oldest, about fourteen..."

Remember, before ToA gave us Emmie and Jo, the hunters WERE all young girls. Now why in the world are they so young? Especially when in the actual myths, the hunters could come from any age whatsoever? Well the reason is a doozy.

"Are you surprised by my age?" she asked.

"Uh… a little."

"I could appear as a grown woman, or a blazing fire, or anything else I want, but this is what I prefer. This is the average age of my Hunters, and all young maidens for whom I am patron, before they go astray."

"Go astray?" I asked.

"Grow up. Become smitten with boys. Become silly, preoccupied, insecure. Forget themselves."

Hooo boy. What a way to phrase it. Going astray. Losing themselves. This kinda confirms that the reason why Artemis goes after young girls specifically is because she only wants girls who have yet to finish puberty. Girls have yet to discover their own sexuality. Now I'm not a representative of Asexuals everywhere, but I'm pretty sure most of us don't discover our sexuality at the age of ten. Let alone have the maturity to decide to become celibates about it. And let me reiterate: celibacy is not sexuality. Sure asexual people CAN choose to be celibates but it's not the same thing at all. In fact Zoe and Thalia are big cases for this. Both of them had liked men before(herakles and luke) but joined for their own reasons. Thalia to escape the prophecy and Zoe out of heartbreak. Hell, Bianca herself is mostly swayed by the idea of having no responsibility and a new family.

Now Rick does another thing that goes against the myths. The exclusion of make hunters. Artemis frequently hung around or taught male hunters who respected her. Daphnis, Scamandrius, freaking Hippolytus whom Artemis greatly cared about. Oh but we need to come up with bullshit reasons why Nico can't just join the hunt with his sisters so the hunters of Artemis are all: Ewww men. Also note how at no point does Riordan mention people who fall in love with women.

Now the next point is the oath itself. Artemis says this:

"What oath?" I said.

"To forswear romantic love forever," Artemis said. "To never grow up, never get married. To be a maiden eternally."

When I tell you that Emmy and Joe were retcons . Rick was freaking INSISTENT on the hunters being kids. Also note the three points: to never fall in love, to never get married, to stay a maiden.

I mean I think I don't need to explain why obsessing over the virginity of young girls is creepy. Does Riordan think girls older than fourteen can't keep it in their pants? And let me be adamant here Riordan only cares about the virginity Clause here. He mentions falling in love and marriage because he sees them inherently intertwined with sex.

Now onto the wording of the oath itself:

'I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt.'

I mean you might be able to interpret men here as mankind and therefore excluding women as well. But I have many reasons to believe that Riordan didn't even CONSIDER women as a possibility(someone inform this man that lesbians existed smh 😞). Also note that falling in love is not mentioned in the actual oath but maidenhood is.

Now onto the next big issue. Percy Jackson's Greek gods and its chapter on Artemis. It basically confirms all of my problems.

"IT’S NOT THAT ARTEMIS HATED ALL MEN, just most of them. From the moment she was born, she knew one critical fact: Guys are kinda gross."

No mention of girls. In this chapter Percy(Rick) brings up Artemis' disdain for dudes over and over again.

“Let me be a maiden forever, Father,” Artemis said, twirling her finger in Zeus’s beard. “I never want to get married.---- But you can grant me a bunch of followers: ocean nymphs, river nymphs, wood nymphs—what the heck, how about mortal girls, too? Any girls who want to join me can become my followers, as long as they remain maidens like me. They should probably make the decision when they’re about nine years old, before they get interested in boys, because after that, they’ll be all distracted and of no use to me.”

Yikes yikes yikes. Ladies and gentlemen the age has been lowered to 9. Freaking 9. Also I guess girls older than that don't need Artemis' protection then? (the real problem is that older/married girls should be out of Artemis's jurisdiction and under the protection of other gods like Hera, Hestia, and Ares. But Hestia is barely there. Hera is terrible and the Amazons also suck)

Now when I tell you that Artemis' big point was about virginity, I mean it. This actually has mythological evidence.

The myths actually DO mention what happens when female hunters fall in love. Rhodopis and Euthynicus were two hunters who offended Aphrodite by choosing a chaste life so she had Eros make them fall in love. However note that they weren't booted out of the hunters for falling in love, but rather after having sex in a cave. THAT was what Artemis took offense to.

Another myth is the story of Aura. A huntress who offended Artemis by comparing their breasts(Greek mythology am I right?). Saying that her breast were better than Artemis' because they were smaller and hey maybe that means that Artemis isn't actually a maiden. Artemis punishes her by making her lose her VIRGINITY. She goes to nemesis for revenge. Nemesis goes to Eros who makes Dionysus fall in love with Aura and when Aura refuses his advances he ties her up and... Yeah you can guess where I'm going with this.

But hey! Those myths aren't in the Greek gods book. You know which myth is? The myth of C(K)allisto. And this one angers me so much I want to chew on the drywall.

The way Riordan writes it. Zeus turns himself into Artemis, brings Kallisto's guards down with the disguise, gets close to her and then when Kallisto REJECTS Artemis' supposed advances, forces himself on her. I need to say this again. Kallisto does not fall in love, she isn't seduced, she does not break her oath. But we still need a reason for her to be yeeted out of the hunters so her lack of maidenhood it is

“You were my favorite,” Artemis said. “If you had come to me immediately, I could have helped you. I would have found you a rich, handsome husband and let you settle into a new life in the city of your choice. I would have allowed you to retire from the Hunt with honor. You could have gone in peace. Zeus’s assault was not your fault.”

Kallisto sobbed. “But I didn’t want to lose you! I wanted to stay!”

Artemis felt like her heart was breaking, but she couldn’t show it. She had rules about her followers. She couldn’t allow those rules to be broken, not even by her best friend. “Kallisto, your crime was keeping the secret from me. You dishonored me, and your sisters of the Hunt, by not being honest. You defiled our company of maidens when you were not a maiden yourself. That I cannot forgive.”

I want to slap this man so hard he flies to the opposite side of the universe. We are not here to blame victims of assault guys! Except we are! But with extra steps. If you get attacked, it's not your fault, but If you are too scared to admit the truth then you deserve to lose your only safe space and turn into a bear. Oh nooooo Kallisto DEFILED Artemis' company by being an icky non virgin. The moment you lose your virginity even if it's not your fault you get punished. But not because I'm gross but because YOU lied. How terrible! And he expects us to feel for ARTEMIS???

But rosabell! This is how things go in the myths. What was uncle Rick (bleghhhh) supposed to do? I don't know... Choose a different version of the story? There are versions were Zeus/Hera are the ones who transform Kallisto into a bear. There are versions where Kallisto actively CHOOSES to sleep with Artemis. Granted it's still assault because she's being lied to but at least then, she'd have a degree of autonomy in the events. At least Artemis could rightfully accuse her of breaking her oath. But noooo, Riordan doesn't know lesbians exist. He actively makes Zeus into a canonical Ra*ist. Why is he on the throne again?

(the fact that this book came out AFTER HoH y'all 😭)

Once again, Riordan sees maidenhood(virginity)/love/marriage as intertwined. This is NOT what being on the aroace spectrum means. You can fall in love but not have sex. You can have sex but not fall in love. You can have sex AND still be an asexual. You can be married and still be a "maiden". Riordan doesn't get to claim to be such a progressive ally for retconning the hunters in 2017, TEN years after he first introduced the hunters because he suddenly remembered that lesbians exist.

Or more like because he doesn't know what to do with his female characters. The hunters more than anything are Riordan's heroine dumping ground. If you don't want it put them in relationships, either kill them(Bianca whose main purpose is to die) or make them eternal virgins(the hunters, Rachel). The fact that some people genuinely think that Calypso should have joined the hunters astound me. Girl suffered for years because of the gods and you all think that the best thing outside of Leo for her(not that I like Caleo) is to become a servant to the gods? Because you can't perceive a female character doing anything else if she's not in a relationship. Like with Thalia, this at least made sense on a strategic level because she didn't want to reach sixteen. Oh but we also don't know what else to do with her so she needs to want to be a hunter after the war is over so we give her a half-assed argument with Luke and now she can be all: wah wah Zoe you were totally right about boys. And the cherry on the cake is that she doesn't even get to be in the final confrontation with Luke or say goodbye to him because of a freaking STATUE. And after pjo her personality becomes Zoe 2.0 and her and Jason get ONE measly meeting.

When I first spoke of not liking Renya joining the hunters this is what I mean. Riordan had so many options with Reyna. Why did she have to leave her esteemed position which she worked so hard for? Two boys rejected her? Why couldn't she go reconnect with her sister more then? She could have joined the Amazons. But nooo Riordan was so allergic to the fans asking him wether she could be Bi or a lesbian. For the stupidest reasons too? Oh Reyna being a lesbian would come off as stereotypical because she got rejected by two guys beforehand! My dude, do you think people don't say the same thing about us who are on the aroace spectrum? That we say we are aro/ace because we got rejected before? Come up with a better excuse next time.

My brother in Christ couldn't even allow Reyna to talk about her sexuality and whatnot. It couldn't even be fully about her. No. He had to turn Reyna into his own mouthpiece admonishing the EVILLLL fans who may have shipped Thalia and Renya. He literally had her say the word "shipping". How cringe can you get? And then he had the audacity to admonish the fans by saying: Why does a strong friendship always have to progress to romance?

It's a sentiment I agree with but coming from this man, it's extremely hypocritical? I don't know Richard maybe because YOU are obsessed with shipping? No character can escape your shipping hands unless they're eternal virgins or dead. You literally turned the Argo2 into Noah's ark2. So much attention focused on shipping that the seven barely felt like friends.

Why does Reyna need to join the hunters? She can choose to not relationship without having to become a servant to female Peter pan.

This is actually a really adequate metaphor when you consider that Emmie and Jo say that they have not met Artemis in YEARS and Apollo mentions that the two of them were lucky she let them LIVE. god can you imagine joining Artemis when you are 9? At an age when you have still not finished maturimg cognitively and therefore shouldn't be trusted on taking a freaking celibacy vow(were you even given the talk yet that age) and after 70 years you decide you want to leave? If you're lucky Artemis will part with you on good terms but SIKES every person you probably knew before joining is now dead. Where is THAT angsty Bianca fic?

Speaking of Bianca. How she was handled also angers me. In another post, I've already talked about how the hunters barely gave her adequate information before letting her join.

How Zoe was the main reason for her death. Zoe KNEW that at least 2 people might die in the quest she was given and yet she decided to bring the least experienced girl to the quest and couldn't even watch her properly.

But you know what else pisses me off? The fact that THEY should have been the one to tell Nico about his sister's death. I've always hated how Chiron made Percy the CHILD tell Nico the other CHILD about his sister dying. But more than anyone, it should have been the hunters' responsibility. Bianca was THEIR responsibility. She died in a quest to save Artemis. The least they could do was tell her remaining family of her fate. The Doylist reason of course is that we need to kickstart Nico and Percy's complicated relationship and have Percy discover that Nico is a son of Hades. But in universe, the fact that they immediately fuck off from the camp upon regrouping makes them come off as extremely selfish. We don't even know if Bianca was given a funeral by them or not. We see Artemis being upset about Zoe but we never see her react to the news of losing Bianca.

[mortysmith]

I really enjoyed episode 7

This season in general has been very consistently good with its rick and morty characterizations, and this episode continues that trend. Both of their characters seem to have new life breathed into them, with more exaggerated new personality traits, while also retaining their more iconic sides.

Morty gets to be more irritable, opportunistic, and "cool", while also very clearly remaining a somewhat anxious and whiny child. It's fun and i think this season has really hit the nail on the head with him, at least for me. Scenes where he gets to "lash out" feel cathartic and justified, while also preserving a more comedic, not to be taken too seriously, vibe.

Rick has in turn clearly softened up a lot, but he's still just as impulsive, impatient and erratic, with a little less edge now. Again, i think this seasons writers have generally managed to tread that fine line pretty perfectly. Certain episodes, in my opinion, make him a little too nice, but that's me nitpicking. In general his goofyness has taken the wheel and i appreciate plots being more driven by his silly whims.

I feel like this episode managed to take every one of those aforementioned improvements and cranked them up some more. Rick and morty's constant feedback loop is really entertaining to watch, and the way their dynamic is being extrapolated at the moment is really entertaining as someone who thought the last few seasons felt a little "stagnant".

The episode, plot wise, was just fine. Maybe it's because i dont have much of an emotional attachment to these specific figures and archetypes in film, but for the most part no scenes felt overbearingly annoying. The worst i could say is that the b-plot just felt boring compared to the a-plot, but again, half the blame is on my lack of interest in that genre of film. The "anti"-ai message was cute, thats about all i have to say on that. I do think its interesting that this episode also talks some more about the expectations fans tend to set for movie sequels(or show continuations), and i think its actually pretty fair for the show to poke fun at the "never good enough" crowd, which ive admittedly been(and i guess still kind of am) a part of.

Also special shoutout to the animation. This episode was visually amazing, the action scenes packed the exact punch they were supposed to and the scene compositions in the prison fight + car chase were notable standouts for me. Characters actually moved around and i just love how this season has been able to not only push the characters through writing but also visually!!!

Overall this episode was nice, but it really wormed its way into my heart through the rick+morty interactions

[tls12lessthan3]

hi! i'm reading orv and i came across your orv meta posts, particularly the one about kdj being perceived/denoted as effeminate in the novel itself. i did get the vibe with some passing jokes but most of it probably flew over my head. can i ask if this is an occurrence that happens throughout the novel or is it more concentrated in the early chapters? or, if there are consistent tell tale signs? i want to look out for it when i reread (especially since i find the transfem yjh hcs interesting, and i wanna if that can be a parallel to kdj). thank you for your orv meta posts ^-^

yay i love when people ask me these sorts of things

the main way i see kim dokja denoted as effeminate would be the jokes, like you referenced. how feminine kim dokja seems to you really depends a lot on how seriously you take those jokes. i take them pretty seriously, because i think it makes for a more interesting read on his character (particularly his status as a social outcast + his identity struggles) and also because there's only so many times you can call your mc a girl before i kind of start to believe you. a lot of the jokes focus on emasculating him, either through his behaviour (when han sooyoung compares him feeding yoo joonghyuk to a wife caring for her husband in the poisoner arc) or through his body (when his body is compared to a teen girl's in the forgotten people of the scenario arc). while this isn't unusual humour for this type of webnovel, i do find it notable in combination with some other things.

i also see kim dokja pushed away from that more masculine role in the contrast between kim dokja and yoo joonghyuk in this area. yoo joonghyuk is frequently held up as a pinnacle of masculinity. he's a strong, powerful leader who does what he wants when he wants, he's the (male) protagonist of a (male) power fantasy novel, he's the man kim dokja learnt to be a man from (see: cinema dungeon fight when he calls yoo joonghyuk a father/older brother figure). kim dokja gets painted in contrast to this. given yoo joonghyuk's masculinity is so tied to his role as protagonist, and their relationship/rivalry is so based around that role, it makes sense. its particularly at the beginning of the novel, frequently played for laughs but sometimes taken more seriously.

(if you wanted to talk about kim dokja as a parallel to yoo joonghyuk, you can talk about that reader vs protagonist dichotomy, the way their respective masculinities are tied to their respective roles, and what that means when those lines start to blur. )(e.g. the reader as a passive creature, a social outcast, an enforcer of social roles who is rendered unable to participate vs the protagonist as an active force, a social center, a victim of social roles who is forced to participate) (unsure if that makes a ton of sense but this post is long enough without me yapping on longer)

finally there are things that enter more headcanon territory, like drawing a connection between the jokes about his masculinity and his continual place as a social outcast (as i referenced above). his bullying, his struggles at work, his difficulty connecting to people - all take on a more interesting lens if you see an assumed femininity playing into them. there's also how kim dokja has in some ways 'failed as a man' in society - he's at the bottom of the social ladder, with no romantic prospects, no physical strength, no economic security and no real pride in himself. when yoo sangah (a girl he repeatedly assures us any man would be interested in) tries to kiss him, he says that doesn't happen to 'someone like him' - does he mean a loser? or just someone who's not particularly used to being seen as a man?

if you want to do a reading of kim dokja as more effeminate or straight up a trans woman, i'd look for the jokes sprinkled throughout the whole novel, as well as moments he's contrasted with yoo joonghyuk's masculinity or references struggling to play his role as 'a man' in society (which mostly occur in the first half). that's where my focus mostly lies, at least. i'm glad you enjoy my meta, and i hope this post helps you a bit with your own!

[azurityarts]

(slides in here) 3, 9, and 11 for the PMD ask game!! >:]

3. Which final boss and/or final dungeon do you like the most (whether from a narrative or gameplay perspective)?

Across the games, I think Temporal Tower's duality of being the final dungeon in the main game and the final dungeon in Special Episode 5 is super engaging!

But in terms of gameplay, I gotta give the best final dungeons to both Gates and Super on OST alone—I'm sorry, but you can't beat Glacier Palace: Great Spire or Tree of Life: Roots/Trunk. Those tracks are some of the most atmospheric, moving songs in the entire franchise, and perfectly capture the sense of the impending challenge ahead, while still spurring you onwards in spite of it.

9. Are there any soundtracks you think are underrated or overlooked, or are there unused tracks you wish were in the game?

I've sung my praises for the 3DS PMD games' soundtracks before, and my opinion still stands!

But I'll give a mention to this little unused alternate Goodnight track for Explorers!

It just gives off a totally different feeling than the used song! Super charming and fun.

11. Any headcanons that take place after the games that you want to share?

I don't think this is necessarily an uncommon headcanon, but I like to think Medicham, Gardevoir, and Ekans in Rescue Team end up as the same Medicham and Gardevoir in Team Charm and the now-evolved Arbok in Team AWD! I'm a big sucker for continuity in media, so having previous characters continue to appear and develop across the games is a super fun concept I like!

[samhadjblog2]

What I saw was the talentless and mentally burdened author trying and failing to work out most if not all of her hang-ups she accumulated throughout her life, shit relationships and toxic exes, failure in all aspects of life and so on, and pretty much every time she arrived at something that is either not a solution, would make everything worse in real life or just flat out irresponsible/stupid.

Now that's such a shallow way of looking at the show. The series a pretty well written all things considered, and even then all of what you just talked about are baseless assumptions based on nothing substantial. The show isn't some "Creators accumulation of failure: its a story about the cycle of abuse and the importance of love. On top of that so what if its based on the creators own life, the best story's come from people's own personal experiences.

Remember when the lesson to learn after the RPG episode, was that they should just half-ass it and it will work out fine?

The episode's lesson was not to overthinking things.

Which of course shows the most with her self-insert shitty mary sue, Catra, but whenever Adora had the spotlight, she got almost the same level of fucked up writing, though it never got as bad as with Glimmer. Catra pretty musch killed her mom and 2 episodes later "BEST FRIENDS SQUAD!!!"...

"Mary sue" my man that term means nothing. Besides how is Catra a "Mary-sue" she is someone berated by other's she is someone who had to contemplate on her own actions, and in turn had to put in the effort to better themselves. As for Adora the writing for her is fine, she is someone who was told all of their life to be this mindless solider who should just obey orders, and so that made her susceptible to becoming a Martyr as "She-ra".

Also Glimmer arc in season 4 is literally going through the same emotions as Catra, she makes the same mistakes as her and in turn recognizes that they aren't that different. Now I wouldn't call it "perfect" however I would say the show did enough work to emphasize Glimmer getting to understand Catra. Also Her mom isn't dead, and its mainly a set up for a potential movie.

Like seriously, what was actually well done in the entire show? What was a single consistently good thing, character or motif that worked, objectively, not just "well, I liked it"?

Here's a couple, self-love is an important thing not only because a person deserves to be loved, but also because when you accept that your an awful person your more likely to continue hurting others. The burden of legacy whether it be your own or someone else's and how they often put pressure on to us to live our lives one way. And how that can lead to people making choices to hurt others. The importance of love, the love of differences, the love of self, how love is something you must be willing to give back.

Catra's story of wanting to be loved and her learning that love is something you have to be willing to give back.

Adora's story about breaking away from being told that she was pawn with not autonomy and that she deserves to be loved.

Glimmer's narrative about learning to appreciate the love around her and learning to see more out of people.

Entrapta views of finding beauty in imperfection, the same love that allowed for Hordak someone who only saw themselves as broken.

Shadow weaver's story about using others for own means, due to her own self hatred and how that led to not only Adora to be raised to not think for herself and follow as well as raise Catra into hating themselves like shadow weaver. paralleling each other And who moment wasn't some heroic redemption but rather her wanting to evade the consequences, with her last words a means to gaslight the two.

So yes there is a lot to talk about the series besides "well I liked it"

ROUND 3: MATCH 8

[turtleblogatlast]

One of the funniest parts about the whole “Leo not giving Draxum any grace” idea is that Draxum is one of the ONLY notable older men in the show that Leo isn’t willing to give a proper second chance to OR really hear out in the first place.

No seriously it’s genuinely a Thing.

[xxplastic-cubexx]

i just gotta stop drawing after this im never drawing an erik this nice ever again

[transformers-synergize]

Also, about the holoforms post, okay, they don't have it for the sake of development and plot, but what is the in-universe explanation for them not to have acces to holoforms? Don't they have the tech for it or just the knowledge to make it?

Cybertron was an intergalactic colonial empire, so many bots who dealt with alien words, whether as diplomats or infiltrators, took advantage of Holoform. But outside of dealing with alien races, holoforms don't have many uses that couldn't be accomplished by other cheaper, easier means, so Holoforms are extremely niche and were only really owned by those who needed to use Holoform.

they don't have the schematics on holoform generators, or the proper material,so ya the couldn't build one

[itspileofgoodthings]

I don’t even fully know why but “what do I do when I miss you so much?” / “Just wait, and pray desperately” was a knife to my heart in the best way.

[quartzitess]

Repost.

Lots of text and ramble in tags.

(Sadly tags are not enough to express how I feel on this. So I'll try and maybe add more in a reblog tomorrow.)

[shorthaltsjester]

i contain multitudes and can say that i am a little :( about vex and percy being teammates with benefits because i think there’s something particularly heartbreaking about the dynamic that was neither of them ever said a thing even though they both were aware of it and it took losing percy for vex to finally admit it and Even Then, she couldn’t say it to percy’s face when they got him back, percy was the one who had to make the first move (that they were both alive for at least) and he was only able to do that because he’d heard her confession, because he never would’ve thought otherwise. to be clear, i also very much enjoy the story being told, i think i just wish they’d maybe committed more significantly to This Is A Campaign-Inspired Story Rather Than A Retelling sooner in the show so that maybe there would be a bit more grounding or set-up for the storylines the narrative is focusing on (and i understand why they wouldn’t), because i think they’re doing very well with percy’s arc for example, because they started with focusing on his and keeping his beats mostly the same and that seems to be much the same case as some of his second wave of meaty character stuff has arrived. but with vex they’ve aimed for the same character beats but it doesn’t always feel as earned or really feel like much character at all; i think saundor particularly was a bit of an :/, since in the campaign it was really a catalyst for vex interrogating her role in the party and her morality and something she struggled to get over and that haunted her far beyond the walls of that tree, but in the show it hasn’t really had a clear impact on vex beyond the scope of the episode itself — syldor certainly has, but the challenge that saundor presented didn’t really have much weight beyond its moment. and obviously a large part of that’s also probably just, 7 protagonists and wanting to expand the perspectives to antagonists and give more room for side characters is a lot of things to cover. and, i say with love, perhaps a bit too ambitious for a 12 episode per season, ~22 minute runtime show if they want their characters to have the kind of depth that really makes campaign 1 shine the way it does.

[dreamsy990]

the pla experience is IMMEDIATELY ditching your starter for a shinx. anyways heres my guy and PORK AND BEANS <333333 the rest of my team is great too but i think pork and beans made luxray my favorite pokemon,,, i literally FEEL BAD beating up shinx for grinding out pokedex entries like IM SORRYYYYYYy i love them,,,,, i literally go OUT OF MY WAY not to hurt them. pla truly the only pokemon game i ever got really into (except for lets go eevee actually) anyways. ily pork and beans

[wistfulnightingale]

This is interesting!   I think it could correspond with another set of l/r positioning I noticed in my meta about GO and Justified Violence.   It was sort of an afterthought (that I didn't think through at the time!) in a long philosophical essay.   I'd noticed that, each time deadly violence was about to be commited, the persecutor was on the side usually held by Aziaphale.

In each of these scenes, where a "True Believer" condemns and is about to harm an innocent, they are behind and to the right of the innocent. They're on the "Aziraphale side", but they're not actually on the "side" of genuine goodness.  However, they each righteously believe they are.   Adultery Pulsifer, Gabriel, and Jean-Claude each believe they're the "Good Guy".   Agnes, Crowley (looking like Azi), and actual Aziraphale are all on Crowley's usual side. 

We also often see Gabriel in Aziraphale's place in his "visits".

I started to wonder if the positioning was not only about the relationship between Crowley and Aziraphale, but also served as a sort of goodness-signal, reflecting their self-perception. Gabriel assumes his "goodness" is higher than Azi's, so he typically takes that spot (the viewer's left side).   Pulsifer and Jean-Claude are similarly placed, to signal that pattern.   (Geez, I keep getting myself confused as I write it all out!).   

It might be about how each character views themselves, rather than their actual virtue -- as in the 3 persecution scenes.  Crowley knows himself to be of higher "goodness" in S2 than both Shadwell and Shax, so he purposefully takes the "Aziraphale side" as a power move, like Gabriel does with Azi.

I think there's something intrinsic to the systems that sees positioning as goodness-signaling, and reinforces narrow, stereotyped views of themselves and each other. It's usually represented by "side", but not only as such. In Before the Beginning, the Starmaker is on the side he will later continue on throughout history as Crowley, but the Starmaker is at a higher elevation. Aziraphale purposely took a lower status for most of the interaction. He defined himself as lesser, until the Starmaker started doubting and questioning. Then Azi rises to nearly the same height. He doesn't view the Starmaker as "above him" anymore.

When we see Beelzebub, they're usually on the "Crowley side" in S2, the viewer's right side.  This happens when they meet with Crowley in Hell, and also when they meet repeatedly with Gabriel.  When their self-perception changes, so does their location. Once they stop defining themselves as merely a demon, and instead value themselves as Gabriel's partner/beloved and more significantly, as a unique and independent individual, they are on the "Aziraphale side" as the two fade from the bookshop.    "Sides" no longer matter, as Beez declared to the scoffing demons. They're on each other's side.

If this is the pattern, it could explain why S2 often has Aziraphale and Crowley changing "sides" even when they are in harmony -- they don't define themselves as "angel" and "demon" anymore, they have nothing to prove to heaven or hell, they're retired (or trying to be!), so they move as equals now, without any further thought about who's on the left or right. They don't value goodness-signaling, and they don't need it as a shield against heaven and hell anymore. They, too, are only on each other's side.

@crowleysgirl56 , I love looking for patterns in GO!  This one is strong, but isn't 100% consistent throughout the show -- so there's a possibility I'm making more of it than was intended.   But my recent notice of the 3 persecutors plus your noticing Crowley with Shax and Shadwell really got my brain buzzing about it!

Note:  I just jumped back to the op and saw the excellent meta by @kitkat-italica, and a bit of the shoulder essay, and I see that some of my thoughts overlap somewhat with "moral highground" and the power move with Shax.   However, I think the 3 persecutors pattern adds to the discussion (If not, I apologize-- I haven't read all the shoulder analysis yet) and brings another nuance regarding goodness-signaling and self-perception.

Something that I’ve noticed when looking back at Crowley meeting with other people (funnily enough whilst he’s reading a newspaper:

Anyone else notice he’s sitting on Aziraphale’s “side”.

The first time we see Crowley in S2 (after Angel Crowley that is), he’s sitting alone on their bench on the side usually occupied by Aziraphale. Considering he seems casually surprised by Shax’s appearance I wouldn’t have thought it was a planned meeting. However if it is a planned meeting, much like his meeting with Shadwell in the above gif from season 1, what does that say about him deliberately sitting on the side that Aziraphale would usually occupy?

A reference to “Our side” perhaps? Or maybe a deliberate act of defying Hell by not sitting on the side usually reserved for demons/the fallen?

I found the comparison super interesting when I realised it (I was actually looking for a different gif when I made discovery by accident).

Does anyone else have a more in depth meta on this positioning? Would love to hear your thoughts about it!

[craigseyeliner]

I read your tags on the favorite blorbo post and honestly this is the first time I've seen anyone mention 6th grade leader in the wild. May I ask what you love about him? Cuz I love him too, he's determined and tough but still very much a snotty nosed kid in a lot of ways

Gosh dude I've been a fan of him and his friends since I was like, 8. I'm sure I loved them for some other silly reason back then but currently he's just funny. Accurate to his age group back in the day so there's a dorky nostalgic feel to episodes where he has proper roles as someone from a tiny rural town. I also think there's something funny about the 6th graders being a scary force and all in the porno episode and games just for them to be like... I can't think of another word(long work day) but like, lame. LOL. And I don't mean it in a bad way! There's just something so amusing about how 'scary' they are when the main 4 are straight up killing people and the like every other episode. The 6th grade leader still having his shirt with his face on it in Post COVID got me, though he doesn't look like he had a great time imo

But really it's just that he's a funny kid, I guess. The shirt, full dedication to seeing boobs(the entire chase for the porno and straight up kidnapping Cartman once they're out of the hospital in Trent's episode is SO funny), him and the others doing their fake motorcycle noises, his totally sick dance moves in FBW the other just couldn't handle(replaying like a month ago and heading Usher's name was like walking into a wall), etc etc. He's just a brat. He's always been fun to draw, too, which is an easy plus for me personally òvó9

I lost my train of thought and this is mostly a ramble now but he's funny! And not very bright! I know the games are hit or miss on being considered canon but I'd love a brother reveal 💔 There haven't been any prominent Asian characters from his time and I'm nosy.

Some of it also comes from an AU my brother and I made for fun a while back where 6th grade leader(senior), Michael(junior), Mike(junior), Butters(sophomore), Sarah Collins(sophomore), and a couple others work together at Burger King under Rick and the shenanigans of that have been funny. Working fast food brings people together in some interesting ways. Good and bad pfft

[lord-squiggletits]

Some of ppl's refusal (or inability) to write IDW OP isn't bc of annoyance or cowardice but just bc they like... don't know his personality? Yknow very "only read MTMTE syndrome" that's so common in this fandom.

Maybe it's bc I'm an IDW OP enjoyer/simp but I really don't get what's hard to write about his personality or why ppl feel the need to throw in continuity soup elements with him (while maintaining every other character in the fic meticulously and lovingly accurate to IDW lore). Like dudes IDW OP is already interesting even if you only need him as a side plot or character you just need to know how to write him.

But I guess people trying to write IDW OP and failing/writing an extremely watered down IDW OP is an improvement from not writing him at all and being annoying hating him in every single public space related (or not related) to Optimus, so it's meh

[icewindandboringhorror]

Various images of things