#I thought that was an interesting character trait in season 1 but this line from Alys makes it sound like they are trying to backtrack on it

[unsolicited-hotd-opinions]

"Perhaps those who strive for it are the least suited to wear it. Viserys never wanted it himself"

But Viserys was a shit king. His whole thing was that he always tried to avoid dealing with difficult situations, ranging from fighting in the Stepstones to his own family crumbling before his eyes. That's why we are in this situation to start with.

[0daylighthours0]

A Deep Dive into Milkvan and Byler's Development: If Milkvan Was Endgame All Along, Why Was it Written Like This???

SO. I've been rewatching st with my mother, who's never seen it before. And she was a fan of milkvan throughout seasons 1 and 2. Viewing those seasons again I could see why, they're cute. However, come season 3 and INSTANT distaste. And, listen, my mother is not the consciously shipping gal. She simply routes for main character pairings as writers intend, doesn't read between the lines, doesn't nothing. And she does NOT know my own opinions on the pairing. In other words, completely unbiased, uninternet drama influenced eyes. We've now reached season 3 and, after getting through a chunk of it, I asked her,

"so what do you think of Mike and El?"

and she expressed to me that they seem to be, quote:

"not very good together."

She said El's character doesn't suit the way she's acting now (in the first few episodes, concerning Mike), that Mike is more likeable and interesting when he's away from her. She doesn't like the way they ditched the party, and when it comes to their 'making out' the scenes are seen by her from Hopper's perspective (in other words, distasteful). She claimed that they'd be much better characters as friends.

And ya know what, she's right. And I mean like - duh, that's what we've been saying all this time, I'm not stating anything new here. But guys, wouldn't it be strange if the central couple of the show, pivotal that it is liked by audiences and is rooted for by them as they are THE pair, would be so dislikable like this? So uninteresting, so cliche.

I mean, okay, let's do a little mental experiment I like to do to test if I'm not just acting delulu. Let's play a game. In this game, milkvan ARE meant to be endgame. They are in love, they were all along, and they're here to draw in viewers and appease all El stans. Now, seasons 1 and 2 their relationship is honestly fine. Surface level, yeah, people will watch and appreciate them. They perfectly blend in with all the other neat pairings of the seasons, and have their own unique character traits to stand out as a main couple.

Just pretending our mate Will doesn't exist, we now get into season 3. Now, writers have nothing to lose here. If you've finished season 2, you probably like milkvan already. The issue is that they're already together now, so what's the conflict going to be? The arc? And every central couple needs that conflict to stay juicy.

Just take a look:

Jancy: quarrels, struggle to understand one another

Jopper: not yet together, one sided? will they won't they

Lumax: ...

Lumax? Lumax. Huh, guess they were simply together. Some loveable bickering, maintained a friendly dynamic while clearly in closer proximity. Well then, writers can do the same for milkvan right? Well, yes easily. But one might argue that since they are supposed to be THE pairing they need more going on between them than that. So what'll it be? Well, it seems that writers thought,

"hey, why not break them up?"

ok so.. that's a bit risky. I mean you want people to like this ship, if you break them up then that threats: 1. there being a disliking to one or both characters, 2. coming off generic if done incorrectly, 3. the break up might make no sense considering how in love they came off as just a season ago. But hey.. it could work, if done right. Some kind of misunderstanding, similar to Jancy. Maybe an argument leading to a sudden parting. I mean, yeah, Yeah! I can see that. Perhaps Mike is being too overprotective whilst El's trying to sacrifice herself for something, so she NEEDS to separate herself from him attempting to hurt him less. Or, I dunno, something akin. What's crucial is that us, AS THE AUDIENCE, still know them to be deeply in love. I mean, we have to still want them to be together. And we've seen couple trouble before. Just take a look at Lumax season 4 - did you or did you not want the best for both of them as a pair? You most likely did. See, it's doable. So did people like milkvan season 3 the same way, even after a separation plot? No.

Okay well, there are obviously those who'll always love milkvan no matter but, see, season 3 tainted it. "We need to write them like this cause it's more realistic to teenager behavior" my ars. You can make it messy without making it icky. Not only did it sour their unique dynamic, it flabbergastingly stomped on Mike as a character.

Honestly, I feel Mike has always been a mild struggle to write. Season 1 his motivations were 'find Will' (who still doesn't exist in our mind game yet shh) and 'protect El'. This worked well for him. Afterwards though, El and Will became more separate plots to him. But as a main character it remained integral that he be closely linked to them somehow. This sets him apart from Lucas and Dustin, who can easily be given any arc any season as their plots have the flexibility of a side quest nature. Since what Mike does is meant to matter more - with there probably being a better way of phrasing that but you know what I mean - it's harder knowing what he'll do when El and Will (who we'll GET to sh.) are their own separate people. And Mike is just a boy, he doesn't have super powers and he isn't a cop, which leaves there even less for him to do which is of significance. Season 2 writers decided upon having him support Will's arc, making himself of enough relevance by being able to take credit for some Will development in the story, and the plots that surrounded that, and then Mike was thrown a little bone by being the one to come up with the idea of burning those vines in the finale.

Truthfully, you don't really remember Mike's deeds much when reminiscing the series. It isn't like Dustin who's bond with Dart sticks to everyone, or Nancy and Jonathan responsible for kicking out Hawkins Lab. This is due to them, again, being able to traverse all sorts of adventures without limits. But my guy Mike can't do dat. Sadly, this kind of leads to him coming of as a little.. well... insignificant. And I know I know, the Mike truthers are gonna come at my throat. And hey! I love him too. I only want the best for my boy.

This makes season 3 a unique case cause it seems that, for the plot they decided they wanted, writers actually had to almost entirely change his character. I mean mate s2 Mike and s3 Mike are two different peoples, don't even. And I don't believe that the Duffers had their story and character turnouts completely drawn out from the very start at all. If I was to guess, I'd assume they have vague ideas of little plots they plan to include in future, but there is definitely a lot that has come unpredicted or changed throughout st's runtime. And one of those phenomenons are Michael Wheeler. So they decided to make this guy a di-

So they decided to make him more douchy, more movie typical teenage guy. It's not as if he wholly sucked, he didn't, but he didn't really do much. Whined about his girlfriend, separated the party. I mean what even was his arc? (UnLESS–)

You see, if milkvan is written to be loved, then season 3 was strike one. All of its charm was stripped away. It seems they had some cute scenes after their reconciliation, but it's not enough. It's just sort of

"oh, ok, so they're happy with eachother now. yayy."

and Stranger Things should want to be anything but boring. Sure they often enjoy indulging in tropes, but they always do something different with them. Something standoutish. And from this point on milkvan just got dull. Either writers ran out of ideas or lost interest, honestly (still with our mind game of telling ourselves they're meant to be).

But it's okay. Look, so season 3 was a bit rocky, maybe lost a couple of fans for the guys, but it is salvageable. Easily, easily. Looks like we want a plot of Mike struggling to tell El he loves her. Great! Much to work with.

So let's get into it. Season 4! Choices were... made. And, okay, now we can't go any further without bringing in our boy Will.

Mike is intrinsically tied to Will and El and has been from the start. Maybe Will was more of an accident. Maybe s1 Will was just a plot device for Mike, then s2 Will was a plot device again and Mike needed to be there as the main boy character. Come season 3 and it seems their relationship still matters. Will was sidelined - hard - so most of Mike's moments revolved around El. But as his bond with Mike is the only that's been properly built up, that's the only friend we'll get him interacting with in a way that matters. So the Mike and Will tie continues!

But that does not have to be the case for season 4. Now the writers have a chance.

They made Will gay.

Ok so.. ok so yeah that's fine. Yeah! I mean they didn't have to do that, might put them in hot water with the bylers since milkvan is their golden beauty but.. you know what no no that's okay. He's been hinted at being queer since episode 1, why not make it canon! Cool that works. Explore that, especially since we now have Vecna who can easily target Will for this. Give him a boyfriend! Or a guy crush. He's at a new school now? That's cool. Maybe we can explore some new male character Will's taken interest in. Hey maybe he meets someone who interests him which rises to surface his whole sexuality plot and-

he's in love with Mike.

Ok. No. No. What are you doing? What do you mean?? You didn't have to do that. Strike- strike EFING TWO mates! Strike. 👏 efing. 👏 2!

This was part 1. I am tired and gots to get my ars in bed. But ohohoh, do not worry. I am just getting started.

[outismm]

Hi- I just wanted to thank you for your Huck posts, it's like the only positive thing in his tag and it made me happy 😭 He's so good and deserves more appreciation! Have you seen season 2 yet? I would LOVE to hear your thoughts!

EEEEEEE HELLLOOOOO!!!!! This ask made me so incredibly happy. There will never be a time when I am not ready to Scream from the rooftops about Huck. Okie this is all just going to be rambling. Bouncing off the walls, giggling, kicking my feet, etc. Spoilers for acts 1 + 2, I'll probably rb this with more thoughts after act 3.

Being bisexual is so embarrassing bc while other people are doing in-depth analysis of the beauty that is this show, and I'm over here spinning a goober around that has,,, MAYBE 10 mins of screen-time, or less.

I DON'T EVEN CARE THOUGH MY HUSBAND IS BACK!!! WE'RE SO BACK!!!!!!!

Truly the instant I clocked his glasses I started squealing and pacing my room MNASDMAN there is no hope for me.

As expected, babygirl is not doing well! The moldy food was a good touch. The terrors are terroring.

Also not Huck related - but loved the Moses vibes Victor was bringing out this scene? Lots of Moses imagery w/ him, just a great move on the writers + animators part, considering his backstory.

It's really important to me that he's terrible at this MANSDMAN

Not only bc it's really Woughe (tm), but just,,, I do love that Huck is a coward? He's a coward in a very human way. 99% of what he does is purely out of desperation.

Just a great character trait tbh!

Also the fact that he's so hesitant gives me the vibes that he's probably never/rarely done this? Like :

This is not the stance of a man who mugs people on the regular MANDSMAN he looks so profoundly out of his depth. The second Victor starts walking towards him instead of trying to run, he starts freakin' the fuck out.

Either he's not used to doing this, or he's used to doing this to ppl who don't/won't/can't fight back. Ack.

^^ He also makes a little sob here when he's holding up the knife. Very important to me.

UHHNGHNOUGHH!!!!

They fixed his hairline and took away his stutter and de-aged him - which are all tragic for me specifically, BUT that's forgiven bc YIPPEEEEEEEE he no longer looks like he's on the verge of death MNADMANSDMN.

I'll forgive Hextech Jesus for hitting him with the Twink Beam. for now.

Victor DID however take away his beautiful brown eyes, and that cannot be absolved.

LOVE how the marks on his face line-up w/ where Victor touched him. Magnificent. Amazing. Kissing the artists with tongue.

Also can't believe I never noticed this before, but the chip in his tooth? Wagh <3

I do appreciate them getting a bit of not-quite-closure? Honestly just nice to see Vi and Huck interacting again after the whole Silco fiasco.

Also - have we ever seen Huck stand upright??? I think?? this might genuinely be the first time we see him at full height???

He's really not as short as he seems!! He's just always curled into himself like a pangolin. Love that deeply.

Also appreciate him getting a gun pointed at him again, always a good time. I love seeing him scared and stressed out <3 MNASDMNAD

He still reacts the same, too! Shoulders all tense, a lil leaned back, lips pursed. Idk I just like how the animators keep the Vibes of characters. All those little traits.

Hm.

I don't approve of him being in a cult but I DO approve of him being in a dress. So once again it balances out.

To whatever artist(s) on the team decided that outfit for him, I'm transferring my savings to your bank account.

No comment.

Actually yes comment - seeing him not back down from a threat is such a contrast to how he usually acts. Woughe. Cult Commune Induced Character Development (mixture of yays and boos)

It's interesting to see how while Victor is able to cure ailments, it also pulls away aspects of the individual's personality. Like that's Huck but that isn't Huck, y'know? We see it way more obviously w/ Salo in ep 4, which is real cool

AND AGAIN, NOTHIN' GOOD LASTS FOR LONG.

Can't wait to see the consequences of this on his physical and mental health <3 need to see him going through it tbh. He will find peace eventually.

Not yet though. get up you gangly fuck there's still more terrors to experience AKJDSAKDJ

I feel like he still has quite a lot of Character Arc To Character Arc so I doubt he's just gonna be like. A Corpse And/Or Corpse-Adjacent. Next act. t'would be very disappointing AMSDNAMDN.

OUGHEEEEE. OKAY. once again anyone who read through all this gets a cookie and a little flower as a hat. runs away.

[pico-farad]

I hit episode 90 of Vrains! Season 2 is long, so I'm stopping here to put down some thoughts.

But before that, I wanted say that I was blown away by the response to Secret Identities AU! I didn't even know the Vrains fandom was still alive, but clearly I was mistaken. I plan to make a part 2 going over more characters and changes I'd make, but I'm going to hold off until I've finished the series, so that I can factor in the larger arc of the story.

For now though, here's my thoughts on the second third of Vrains (up to Aoi vs. Bohman). I had too much to say again, so this part will cover Soulburner and Flame.

Critique is meant in good taste. I don't think the Vrains writers will be offended.

All Vrains season analysis posts

⇀ Soulburner

Well, I saw this coming. With a protagonist like Yusaku, the writers need a character who can engage him and generally fill up that "Yugioh friend" role, which was sorely missing in Season 1. Naoki, Go, or Ai? Not marketable enough. They needed to make an anime boy, and they sure did.

That said, I was expecting more from Yusaku and Soulburner's relationship, it's a little... nondescript. They had the same problem in season 1, where the writers don't leave room for the characters to just be characters and bounce off each other, it's all just plot and duels and exposition. At least season 1 had the excuse of Yusaku's trauma alienating him from others, but not only has Yusaku already resolved to overcoming that barrier, but Soulburner is one of the only people who can connect with him because of that experience.

I really would have liked to see them connect more on both being victims of the Lost Incident. Season 1's emotional conflict resolved with Yusaku putting his trauma behind him, so Season 2 needs a new emotional conflict. This would be an excellent use of Soulburner's character, except they've made the strange decision that Soulburner has also already overcome his trauma... offscreen.

Don't get me wrong, the Soulburner vs. Blood Shepherd episodes are good. Having Soulburner and Flame trick Blood Shepherd with their acting is a fine gotcha, but think about what we could have gotten if Takeru was allowed to grow through the story itself -- Yusaku and Flame both encouraging him, Takeru finding strength in Yusaku, the only person he knows who has been though the same trauma as him, but was able to stand up to Hanoi nonetheless. Instead, we don't even get to see Yusaku's reaction to Soulburner's backstory, he's stuck outside the bubble.

I can see why people like him though. Both his designs are good, he gets some funny lines, some good duels. I like his trait of fanboying over the heroes who saved Vrains, EXCEPT that the duels vs. Go and Blue Girl were unforgivable and I WILL go deep into that in their sections, mark my words anime boy.

Most of all though, I like his relationship with Flame.

⇀ Flame

He's funny. Like if Jack was five inches tall. I like how he just casually puts words in Soulburner's mouth. ("Prepare yourself! Soulburner never shows mercy!" "What? I didn't say that." "You didn't?") Flame thinks he's the Ratatouille rat in this relationship, both of them think they're the one calling the shots, and that's great.

I wish that element of their relationship had come back in the Soulburner vs. Windy duel, which is another case of introducing an interesting challenge for the characters -- in this case, the idea that Flame should want to be independent of Soulburner -- only to once again go Psych! Bamboozled! They were just acting the whole time!

Ah yeah, they sure tricked me into thinking we would get some good character development...

It's a shame, because I think Windy actually does raise an interesting point. The audience is biased towards thinking of Soulburner as the one who calls the shots -- he's the one who plays the cards, who declares attacks and announces effects, while Flame is the one who looks like a mascot and provides standard Yugioh audience commentary. It makes complete sense for Windy to instill doubt in Flame this way, because the conflict between the Ignis and humans is that humans think AI should only serve humans, and Ignis believe in their own free will.

For reference, here is the exchange that happens (paraphrased) after Soulburner refuses to listen to Flame's advice not to set a card (though this is just part of the act)

Windy: Don't you want to fight using your own will, Flame? Partners are just a nuisance. That's why I got rid of mine. Soulburner: Nuisance? During the Lost Incident, the captured spent every day in an unimaginable situation. Despair, day after day... When we were freed, we were so happy that our hope became reality! But you stole that away from your partner because you thought he was a nuisance? Flame: Windy, we were able to be created because they spent day after day enduring despair. We should be thanking them. We have no right to steal their hope!

Flame's rebuttal to Windy is so bizarrely essentialist. The Ignis don't owe anything to the Lost Incident victims, much less gratitude. They didn't ask to be created, and they are not responsible for the crimes of SOL. The message should have been something like "I chose Soulburner with my own free will."

Flame does not owe Takeru anything, but he chooses to be his partner, because the whole point of the Ignis is that they have free will. That is the proper resolution to Windy asking "Don't you want to fight using your own will?" The answer is no, they choose to fight together. Even if Soulburner appears to be the one calling the shots because he wears the duel disk, they are equals, and the reason Soulburner takes the lead is because Flame trusts him. 5D telepathy chess undercuts that.

⇀ Lost Incident Victims, and Alternate Season 2 thoughts

The more I think about it, the more I wish they used the different Lost Incident victims to explore different reactions to trauma. Yusaku used it to fuel him and his revenge, Takeru went down a route of self-sabotage and lashing out, Jin shut himself down, and Spectre, uh, decided to be Like That lmao.

Here's the set-up that I would have done for Season 2: after Jin is kidnapped, Yusaku decides to seek out the other Lost Incident victims to see if any of them have been targeted too, which could give them a clue on how to get Jin back. This is how he meets Takeru. 

Yusaku has to learn how to connect with people, which follows up on the season 1 finale, where he resolves to open himself up to others and tells Revolver that he wants to be friends. By befriending Takeru and helping him overcome his trauma, and eventually the other Lost Incident victims too, it builds up to the reprise of Yusaku vs. Revolver, where Yusaku finally succeeds in connecting with Revolver, who he realizes is another victim of the Lost Incident.

Jin and Miyu get to be actual characters this way, too, rather than just damsel devices. I'd also pay to see the deranged interactions Spectre would have with Yusaku.

[beevean]

Ohh here's another challenge: rank the NFCV heroes :P

It's hard to rank them in terms of their role as the protagonists since the show plays favoritism so hard, or even as morality since they're all over the place. So I'll just rank them as characters and how much I tolerate them :P

1) Hector: in S2 he was genuinely the most nuanced, complex character in the show. I thought his mentality about animals and humans was actually unique! I liked how he thought that culling mankind would be both merciful and would make him feel safe, but he drew the line at hurting innocents! I really loved his habit of forcing dead animals to live so that they could love him, because he was so starved of it that he'd dabble into blasphemous arts just to have company! And he has traits from OG Hector, just the more subtle ones, like being a victim of abuse who latches onto those who love him? He could have been so good! And then they all pissed on him. And it makes me furious. He and N!Trevor are the only characters I wouldn't call "bad", just "badly written", because you can just smell the outright spite coming from the writing here. He deserved better than being shipped with his rapist, fucking hell.

2) Trevor: honestly unremarkable for me, but in a good way. I'll take it. He's cliché, but he works for what he's meant to be. I like his short character arc in S1, how he develops commendable leadership skills and relearns the value of fighting for humanity. He deserves better friends, too. And also to do actual shit in the story that bills him as the protagonist. Really, his major sin is being too underutilized past S1.

3) Richter: more boring and annoying than Trevor, but he's still a nice kid and I don't understand the fans who call him a jerk. He's just rather... weak? Not in powers, but more so in personality, he keeps getting kicked around. And has done even less than Trevor.

4) Sypha: she is simply insignificant. She's the main magic fighter, Trevor's girlfriend, and that's really it. She's meant to be this plucky naive girl who learns about the "truth" of the world, but in reality she's rude and entitled. I have nothing to say about her.

5) Maria: S2 very slightly redeemed her, from being one of the most obnoxious protagonists in the series to having something resembling a solid character arc. The problem, as I said, is that the arc rings hollow because she started off as a wanker and a tedious caricature of an activist teen :P and this is why I cannot put her above Sypha, despite being actually more interesting.

6) Juste: he's just Trevor 2.0, in personality and in arc. His main role is to inspire other characters, Richter because he doesn't want to become like him, and Maria by being her babysitter and conscience like he's the cricket from Pinocchio. I'm even more offended for him than I am for Trevor.

7) Annette: she's two different characters. Had she started with her S2 personality, I would have put her above Sypha. I liked her in S2! She's cute! She's nice to Richter! She's caring! ... but nothing will make me forget how odious she was in S1. Arrogant, brash, impulsive, quick to deride others but not to look inwards, mocking Richter for things that weren't his fault, so sure to be the only adult among children when she was just as immature, and never ever challenged by anyone, not even her mentor. Yeah, no wonder they had to flip a switch in S2 to make us believe she'd care about Richter.

8) Isaac: I hate him. He is useless in S2, he lets Carmilla walk around like an idiot without even having Hector's excuses, looks down on Hector for no good reason and his only job is to soothe Dracula's fragile feelings. In S3 he's still an idiot who expects guard to unroll red carpets for him and his army and then whines when they don't drop on their knees to suck his cock, but he also becomes unbearably pretentious, spouting faux-deep philosophical quotes while desecrating his religion, and worst of all he has become the baby darling of the season, the only one not allowed to suffer because he just has to be Cool. And by S4 I just want to slap him. shut up. shut your entire fuck up. You are not a hero. You are not reformed. You just decided randomly to let go of your rage and become happy. I do not give a shit about the feelings of a mass murderer, I don't care if he feels good about himself because he has decided to not do Dracula's will (which he decided at the end of S2, but the story wants you to forget it). It says a lot that his epic fight against Carmilla was a last-minute addition because otherwise he'd be completely pointless as a character.

9) Alucard: but you know what? At least Isaac is dead now. I will never have to hear his self-masturbating voice again. This cunt here, though? Oh, he's still around. Benefiting from his fan favorite status, dictated solely by how pretty and big-boobed he is. I fucking despise him more than Isaac, now, which is a tall order, considering that Isaac is the same guy who slaughtered innocents to defile their corpses! He's a bully with a way too inflated sense of importance, and we're meant to feel so sorry for him because of his Trauma, while the piece of shit won't afford the same courtesy to others. He's a spoiled princeling brat, dazzling the natives with his superior technology and flaunting his vampire heritage to the point of harshly insulting the whole Belmont lineage for daring to hunt vampires and collect info about it. Sure, by Nocturne he has switched sides to be on humanity's side, but now that he'd 300 years old he's even more arrogant, acting like he has seen it all and lived it all and like he has the right to be this wise mentor to the stupid Richter. Yeah, you waste of your father's vampiric sperm, who was the one who lead a whole revolutionary army to its undeserved death because you wanted to play captain? God, he's the epitome of fan favoritism. The nicest thing I can say about him is that he didn't deserve to be assaulted in his own bed.

[originalwinnercheesecake]

Bluey's episode "Surprise" and a discussion on the surprise

One of the first things I did when I woke up this morning was watch the Bluey episode "Surprise". I had three thoughts for most of it 1.) Yeah two kids and two different games is gonna get chaotic. 2.) I feel sorry for Bandit. All my man wanted to do was watch the race. Poor guy will definitely wake up tomorrow covered in bruises. 3.) This feels like a generic episode... why air it after "The Sign"? Like what makes it the better season finale. Then I got to the end.

Spoilers below the line

Adult Bluey. She looks great! I am not gonna lie though she maybe looks a little to young. Someone said she was older now because she has grey in her fur. Maybe I am just bad at guessing dog ages but I thought that was just texture to show her fur had gotten longer/thicker over time. I would have honestly believed that she was 18 and visiting home for the first time after going away to college.; particularly since Chili says Bingo is still at home. Then i remembered Bingo is hinted to have an intrest in the medical field/want to be a doctor, so maybe she stays at home longer to save money while working on her degree. But there is one thing to hint Bluey must actually be in her mid to late 20's at this point....

Her little child. Again I am not the best guess of the characters ages... I am going to guess this kid is around 5 based on them only being about a head smaller than Bluey was when she was 7 and played this trick on Bandit (also I just do not think you give a ball shooter to a toddler. Imagine Muffin with one).

The main topic surrounding this little pup right now seems to be who is the father. I understand the shippers want to know, But I am an adult viewer who really does not have that much interest in ships in a children's show. And there are other things I think people should be asking. First do we think this is Bluey's son or her daughter. They look a lot like Bluey, but also a lot different from her. Plus this show is pretty good at not necessarily making all the girls look exactly like their moms: both Bluey and Socks resemble their fathers and Bingo looks as much like her aunt as she does her mom. Other than that the dogs do not wear cloths and we do not hear a name or voice to help us guess. So really they could be either.

That drives me to my next point. I really want this pup to have a name. I definetly believe that Bluey's child would have a name that starts with "B" to carry on the little tradition from her childhood house. Since we do not know if they are a boy or a girl I have decided to christian them by the gender neutral animal name: "Bean". "Beanie" and "Little Bean" are affectionate names family members will call them. Their favorite breakfast food is biscuits with jelly, because then they will be asked "Jelly Bean?" which makes them laugh so hard they almost roll off their chair

Edit

here is a picture of Bluey's child ("Bean") , that I took off the official wiki, without the toy gear.

They have less jet black fur and more purple/dark blue than it originally looked like they did when they were wearing the toy. Personally I think they look like a blue/grey version of Brandy. Genetics are fun. It is much harder to say looking at this picture if they are a Blue Heeler/Border Collie mix or a Blue Heeler/ Black lab mix. Wiki says this is on purpose as both mixed breed dogs can look fairly alike and that the pup has traits that could come from either Bluey's friend Mackenzie or her Friend Jean Luc. So you heard it here. The creators intentionally left the breed/father of this pup ambiguous, and you are not wrong for believing either one of them is Bluey's husband/ the father.

[chaoscradle]

Totally wrote an essay in @booksandpaperss (hope it’s okay to tag you!) post and I wanted to make it into an actual post so here I am!

The Wheelers are so incredibly mischaracterized by a lot of people, to the point where sometimes it’s not even the same character anymore. The only exception is Holly, and that’s because we haven’t seen much of her.

I see Karen characterized mainly as a completely emotionally neglectful and dismissive mom who is fully conservative and very much traditional.

Karen isn’t a good mom, but we see her reach out to both Mike and Nancy in s1 and Nancy again in s3. In addition, yes, we see the Wheelers with a conservative sign on the lawn, but we do know that Karen isn’t fully traditional. She urges Nancy to follow the story in season 3 despite the misogyny, and she makes it very clear that that isn’t her line of thinking. She’s not the best parent, but she’s not an asshole either.

Ted is emotionally distant and definitely not a good father. He’s never shown to really connect with Mike or Nancy, instead we really only see them interact negatively with each other. This doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about his kids though- he’s shown to be asleep with Holly in season 3, and he does contribute to disciplining Mike and Nancy (although not well at all, he really only made things worse).

Nancy has two characterizations I see that sit wrong with me, the first being her as a prize to win and a slut, the second being heartless.

Nancy is very independent and doesn’t need a man in her life to function, and seeing her as a prize is incredibly sexist. As for being called a slut, she had sex with Steve because she thought that was what she was meant to do, and she cheated with Jonathan because she loved him and made the mistake of not waiting. The characters are flawed and make mistakes, it’s what makes them interesting and realistic. On top of that, many characters are forgiven for their mistakes, but Nancy is constantly being held to hers.

The second characterization I mentioned was heartless. She’s sometimes characterized as not caring about anyone else’s feelings at all, incredibly argumentative and void of any of Nancy’s real personality. Yes, Nancy is independent and a badass, but she cares for other people. She’s stubborn but also kind.

She’s more than The Girl In A Love Triangle, and she’s also more than The Girl With A Gun.

Mike is heavily misunderstood due to some not understanding his arc, as well as us not being able to see from his pov the past few seasons. He’s interpreted as a whiny, moody brat who doesn’t care about anyone except for El. He’s a shitty boyfriend too, for pretty much no reason other than his parents not really loving each other.

Mike is, in fact, a shitty boyfriend to El. He can’t say “I love you” to her face. He can’t even write it. Believe it or not, it’s because he doesn’t love her. He struggled with conformity and internalized homophobia, causing him to have repressed his feelings for Will and trying to force himself to love El instead.

Mike is kind of a whiny, moody brat, but so many people treat it as his only trait. They forget that he’s a leader, a planner, someone the Party looks to when they’re in trouble, etc. They’re far from his only traits. Mike also struggles with his mental health, and it’s something very overlooked by the GA. He canonly has depression and PTSD, and we see signs of it throughout all the seasons, even in season 1. A lot of his withdrawing behavior and acting out in season 2 and 4 is perceived as him being bratty and a bad friend, when in reality it’s his mental health. In season 3 when he was “written badly”, he was affected by his internalized homophobia and external pressures to be normal, causing him to spend most of his time kissing El.

Mike also cares about his friends. A lot. He fights every season for them, he’s been dubbed “The Heart”, he jumped off a cliff for one. Again, his mental health, internalized homophobia, and conformity caused him to struggle with himself and consequentially pull away from his friends and lash out at them.

[artist-issues]

I feel like Luz’s palisman is a representation of what’s going on in the writer’s room for The Owl House ever since the end of Season 1.

Build up to a big reveal, get people guessing and hoping, and when it finally arrives, it’s…every animal, instead of committing to one. It’s a new creature with no previously-set-up lore or presence in the show…that is able to morph into anything.

Not a little owl, to symbolize she found a place where she can belong as The Owl Lady’s only true apprentice. Not a little wolf-King-lookalike, to symbolize her commitment to her friends and call back to Eda’s line from the first episode. Not even a little bat or singular animal to symbolize how she’s her own person. Just a lazily slapped-together last-minute creature that might as well be called “Whatever You Want-o-Saurus.” 

Elaboration below the cut.

Kind of like how the show can just be about any character. Oh, you thought this was a show about Luz and Eda, and occasionally their sidekick King, with even more occasional appearances by her new schoolmates? Nope. We don’t pick three main characters to focus on—EVERYBODY needs angst. EVERYBODY needs trauma. All characters must have big reveal moments, love interests, crying scenes, and relearn the same lessons over and over again. By Season 3, Willow, who should have had less screen time than EDA HERSELF, not only has more screen time, but is simply learning the same old half-a-witch self-worth shtick that she learned in Season 1. 

Literally, it would be like if, in Star vs the Forces of Evil, the show zoomed in on Ponyhead, Heckapoo, and Eclipsa, (Hunter, Willow, Gus) and every scene included some reference to their emotional trauma, like a hammer hitting your head in the same spot over and over and over. Meanwhile, Star’s (Luz) screentime is limited but also solely focused on her self-hate for messing everything up, Marco (Eda) gets three lines of dialogue, and we’re treated to much more Glossarick (King) and Ludo (Collector) screen time, where’s he’s no longer funny but nobly self-sacrificial and confident.

Or if Gravity Falls, Season 2, gave Dipper (Luz) plenty of screen time to be an emotional prop for characters like Robbie, Soos, and Wendy (Amity, Hunter, and Gus) while he background-hates himself. Meanwhile Mabel (Eda) is almost written out except for being given two lines per episode about wanting to save Mermando from being turned to stone—oh, you don’t know Mermando (Raine) that well? It’s because he was just tossed in as a progressive love interest halfway through the final season—and Grunkle Stan (King) gets to be completely free of all previous character traits except “must save kids” energy while Lil Gideon (Collector) holds him hostage. Oh, and the interesting villain? The one we’ve been teased with and really are invested in seeing lose? Bill Cipher? (Emperor Belos) He’s just kinda crawling around in the background, powerless until we need to give Soos more emotional trauma.  What I’m saying is, sure, Stringbean looks cool. The Collector looks neat and clearly is meant to be child-murderer creepy (oh but you can still feel bad for him because we poured Trauma™ on him, too.) The big playtime set pieces are definitely going for Gravity Falls’ “Weirdmageddon” vibe. Every character gets a snazzy new haircut and outfit change every three episodes (or ten minutes.) 

But who the heck cares when the story is lazy, unrecognizable, carries itself like it has substance and commits to nothing—except the same old character beats from Season 1 but with more crying?

[sanaserena]

YAY, OPLA is still in the top 10 - top 4 most streamed last week - this week, in it's sixth week of airing! See ↓↓ from here: Twitter Link

In my personal opinion, that's looking good. It's also interesting to compare OPLA's streaming stats week by week compared to several other shows in the top 10 (but in saying that... I haven't had time to do a full comparison, just bits here and there, so I can't say anything for sure...still, it's very interesting to look at!! And considering, I usually don't have the time or effort to follow any other show in such detail... but One Piece has such a special place in my heart!)

I finally am back round with screenshots from Episode 6 - and my thoughts on the episode. I also really loved this episode, the cast has so many good moments, and I love how we see the crew bond and develop through one of the biggest trials of the Straw Hat pirates friendship.

Highlights of Ep 6:

Do you know how much I love these sets? Why sometimes I love live action? Because we get to see even more sides to the manga panels, to the anime scenes that probably weren’t important or thought about at the time. For example, I love that we get to see more of the inside of the Going Merry (we do see this in the manga, but there's something more intricate and detailed about the live action's adaptation)

The interactions between Koby and Garp. The more times I re-watch OPLA, the more I like these interactions. I like them because we get to see Koby develop and how Garp becomes his and Helmeppo's mentor (something we only see in cover stories in OP, before their big appearance at the end of a specific arc, where the Koby and Helmoppo have clearly grown up.)

The interaction between Garp and Mihawk. This is OP only, and we see a different kind of Warlord/Marine interaction past the East Blue Saga in the One Piece Manga. I liked that this was introduced in OPLA season 1, it does so many wonderful things like, give us more Mihawk time (those who know, know how rare he is in the manga, but beloved despite those rare appearances), show us more of how the Warlord system works/or does work, and of course hammers in other plot points for OPLA. (Also, Steven John Ward is such a magnificent Mihawk.)

The interaction between Sanji, Usopp, and Luffy. When Luffy speaks of Wado Ichimonji, and pronounces the name completely wrong in a very Luffy way, sometimes I ask myself, do I love this line in OPLA because I know it’s a very Luffy trait from the manga, or do I love it because Inaki delivers this line so well?

This episode gives us more wonderful expressions from the cast. Taz is such a fantastic Sanji and Jacob is pretty good as Usopp. They're both great in this episode. I've heard some people complain that Usopp and Sanji were done a bit dirty in season 1, but truthfully, I have high hopes that the showrunners will give them more space for development in season 2 now that they've been introduced. If you squash everything into season 1, that only leaves less space for character development on screen later on. So I'm looking forward to seeing OPLA develop some of our favourite OP characters in their way, but faithful to Oda's vision.

I love how they did Sanji's backstory. They did not skimp on the truth behind Zeff's leg, which the anime does, and the manga is a little more brutal on.

You know, sometimes I had my doubts, before OPLA was released, on whether Craig Fairbrass would make a good Zeff. There were so many white actors and I like hmmm. But, damn it all, he’s perfect. He brings Zeff alive with so much zest and flavour. Both in present and the past flashbacks. It was wonderful. (Also, it does make me laugh every time I see his braided mustache jumping when he speaks, love it.)

Christian Convery is also fantastic as young Sanji. He acts wonderfully. He's like a little angelic cherub, and thus for the extended starvation period, he was a little too fleshy, however, this is a child (and we can't ask him to starve just for acting at his age, and for something like this in a tv series, I'd much rather the vfx went to the bigger elements, like Buggy's devil fruit powers, Luffy's devil fruit powers, the Sea King, etc.), and his acting still managed to convince me that he had been starving for days.

And as usual, I can't fit all the screenshots here ... see Part 2: Here, and Part 3: Here.

[roseofcards90]

Ah, before I forget. What were your overall thoughts on Link Click? Like, s1 vs s2, favourite characters or arcs, that kind of thing? ^^

Omg!!! I'm so sorry about the wait 😭 I was trying to get all my thoughts together so I can type something coherent here so it's not just me rambling about how amazing the show is LMAO

Link Click spoilers below btw!!!

First off, I just wanted to say the overall mystery??? Executed very well! I was definitely not expecting both Tianchen and Tianxi to have powers (I thought something else was going on like they both swapped places/identities or something 😭), but it makes sense since they're siblings and they're meant to parallel the Shiguang duo! Even in the first season, I assumed it was only going to be one person that was the culprit behind the murders, but the show pleasantly surprised me with that! The siblings themselves were also just pretty tragic omg 😭 that whole flashback sequence with them being the foxes in the story, and Tianxi slowly sees Tianchen go down his dark path was so good. You already saw that post I made about them, but yeah I love tragic and doomed siblings as a trope it's great <3

One of my absolute favorite parts from the whole show tbh is the entirety of Season 1 Episode 11. That was a perfect final episode to end things off on and tease a season 2. Like the nonstop twists they kept pulling??? Like how they first initially present Emma's death as a suicide as a red herring but it turned out to actually be the case is so much more impactful and tragic than just having her be another person who was possessed by Tianchen. That whole scene with her and CXS on the bridge OUGHHH IT BROKE ME 😭 THAT WAS SO WELL DONE!!! The song, combined with the montage of all the people he and Lu Guang helped, him talking her down from ending it all and reaching out his hand to her with the sunshine rising above him...EMOTIONAL DAMAGE FR. Like I knew it wasn't going to end all happily, but the emotional impact was definitely there. And that ending omg — having Qiao Ling, one of the main characters we've gotten attached to and love dearly, be shown to have stabbed Lu Guang was brutal, especially for Cheng Xiaoshi 😭 the angst that came out of that and Qiao Ling feeling guilt for hurting Lu Guang even if it wasn't really her was all really heartbreaking. That whole thing, as well as Qiao Ling knowing what Lu Guang did to save Cheng Xiaoshi's life, really makes their relationship pretty rocky but also interesting!!! I want to see more of their duo together since the show has had plenty focus on Qiao Ling with CXS and CXS with LG, and also angst I want to see them both go through the horrors while CXS is standing there like :D LMAO

I would definitely say that Cheng Xiaoshi is my fave character out of the whole cast. I absolutely adore everyone else don't get me wrong, but I think what makes CXS so special and unique to me is how they made empathy one of his core defining traits. Because he’s lived through so many different lives and experiences, he just has a lot of compassion and understanding for all kinds of different people, and that's pretty admirable! Idk, I don't see that often much, especially in a time travel story of all places, but the premise works here very well along with how CXS is initially characterized as a very easygoing person who wants to help people at his core.

As for other stuff exclusive to season 2, I'm very curious to see what direction they'll go in for season 3 just with the way season 2 ended with that bombshell lol. When a season 3 does roll around, I hope we get more character exploration on the guy who's seemingly the main antagonist, Liu Xiao. I know we got some characterization with him because of his past with Tianchen, but I would love to see more of him and what his plans really are with trying to "bring more parallel lines together". Also Lu Guang betraying his own rules to save Cheng Xiaoshi I don't have anything else to say other than GOOD SHIT!!! I love it when characters are hypocrites I love it when characters in time travel stories break time itself to save the person they love <333 it's like crack to me I swear lol.

Other extra things!!! Soundtrack absolutely amazing, I've been listening to all the ops and eds on spotify lol. Character designs, voice acting (I watched the original Chinese version), and overall animation was amazing. High marks all around for me fr!!! I think personally I enjoy season 1 just a bit more? Only because that final episode was beautiful for me and I loved seeing all the different clients the duo had, but in terms of overall plot, I would put season 2 above season 1.

[jojameswinter]

I’m so so excited for OBX 4! Can’t wait to see how the story goes!! I was thinking, OBX diving into the Blackbeard chapter must mean there’s another 2/3 seasons planned, I just don’t see why/ how they would wrap it up in 1. I need more seasons of jiara aged up 👀 and the pogues, I’m so intrigued how it’s going to go!

Have you got any thoughts? Or wants? Jiara and the plot?

Anon, I AM SO SORRY!!! I took a quadrillion years to answer; I really wanted to come up with some coherent ideas and the brain rot has never let up enough to let me AHFHAIFAH

Anyways! Since you sent this, there's been quite a few happenings with the possibility of Morocco? Maybe this could have something to do with opening up more plot? As you mentioned, they need to keep the story sustained for a little longer yet...I guess we aren't still 100% confirmed this is part of obx, but we'll see!

Personally, I will roll with it if I am at least fed with character relationships and dynamics. If not, well...I will take what I can get LMAO this show has an inexplicable hold on me no matter what they do. They can pry the relationships I choose to hold on to concerning the Pogues from my dead lifeless hands LOL!!!!!

I AM SO WITH YOU ON AGED UP POGUES!!!! I love the nostalgia from S1, but I'm excited to see them with more grown up plot lines! I think that opens up a lot of opportunity with emotional depth and relationships that we might not've seen with alleged teenagers. And it's just super interesting to see how they may change in their character development, as well as the traits they'll always retain as they grow up. Here's hoping they capitalize on all that!

To answer what I want - JIARA OBVIOUSLY AHFALHFHA the world can burn around me as long as I get my jiara 😍 I also want Pogue interaction, more time with them as a group, more interactions and conversations. I want parent dynamics explored with all the characters! Namely the ones that seem to be more at the forefront (Carreras, Luke), but I'd love to know anything and everything with the others too (what's up with all the moms? Gimme more Heyward). I would love for Luke to come back in a meaningful, nuanced manner.

I've given up that OBX isn't going to continually go bigger, so...I'll let that wash over me! It's fun and kitschy and escapism, I enjoy it in another way! I just want these other things too 😍

POSSIBLE SEASON 4 SNEAK PEEK TOMORROW????? ANON, I'M VIBRATING AT LIGHTNING SPEED!!!!

[the-faultofdaedalus]

Chase from House is so interesting to me, because like, reddit people did the math and even before he gets set up as House’s heir apparent starting in like season 6-7ish he was the underling with the most amount of independent and diagnoses in his original season 1-3 run. Like all this talk of Foreman being “just like House” and Chase was just…there? his character really hits on a rewatch because of how originally he’s kind of an after thought compared to Foreman and Cameron and you don’t really like him right away but by season 3 he’s starting to stand out as the best of the 3 until mama bird House shoved him out the nest. And so he’s so out of focus from the start he was clearly not supposed to be the next in line but he was (maybe accidentally?) always the most talented??

And like, how hilarious (and sad????) it is that he’s been unaware of how hot and desirable he is until after his divorce from a woman he had to (hah) chase for years. And even once she leaves him he’s all, actually it better that you never loved me therefore I didn’t do anything wrong like???? and he discovers his pretty privilege and tests it out by asking for people’s cars and they just give the keys to him??

And the mortician doctor being like, I hate you and Chase is like??? Because it turns out he’s jealous of Chase, who seems to have seen himself as a Ken but turns out to have been a Barbie the whole time: he’s the 2nd best diagnostician in like the world at this point, beautiful, and became the hospital’s best surgeon in only a few years (as stated by both House AND the mortician who hates him), he’s a triple specialist who always seems to have a skill they need because he keeps collecting them like hobbies (remember how he was trained as a neurosurgeon but just didn’t take the test? Remember how they were like, yeah Chase know how to do hypnosis whatever). And it all came so seeming easily to Chase and it made the mortician like, SO mad because Chase has no ambition and squanders like ALL of this for years

He’s all these random assortments of traits they kept throwing at him that make no sense but also all the sense? fuck he’s a mess. He’s the child of privilege! And his father abandoned him and his mom drank herself to death! He was parentified as a teen and tried to escape to seminary school! He got kicked out for sleeping with the grounds keeper’s wife! He only became a doctor because his mom locked him in his dad’s study and he’d read the medical texts once he got tired of crying! He surfed for 7 months until his boss got out of jail because 🤷 He killed a genocidal dictator! He’s weirdly fatphobic! He was in a BDSM relationship and was NOT a dom. He’s a genius but also very gullible and easily manipulated (the cancer patient that got a kiss) , but also very cany and can read people really well (he figured out House canceled Foreman’s interview) except when they have to do with him I guess? He’s a cringefail manwhore with no swag and so many bitches! He’s just some guy! Sometimes the way he reacts to something makes it clear he’s kind of a broken mess! But mostly he’s just some beautiful, beautiful guy!

And he’s just like, hangs around people long enough where they start to care about him wayyy more then they mean to. Cameron is an obvious example but by the end House is like, idk I guess your my son? after years of Chase being like, you are my new dad now and getting bullied for it (and he gets a sibling in 13 because she is also House’s kid). And Foreman was all, I don’t like or respect you as a person, and then becomes the Cuddy to Chase’s House by the end. He just orbits them until they are like fuck I guess you’re here to stay?

chase is SO funny because he's such a boring person when by all rights he should be one of the most interesting character of the show. like truly chase is a litmus test for how insane every character in house is because chase is boring but if you transplanted him to any other media he'd be one of the most complex characters just by virtue of existing.

anyways im. not really reading all this because its late and im tired and have spent Too Long staring at some brutal markdown formatting but. he truly is just some guy. he's just Here. fuckin vibing i guess.

he's the best when he actually grows a pair and starts standing up to authority figures. he's very good because you get both "clown on chase" moments, which are great, and also cheering when he like. punches out house. or murders the afformentioned dictator. fuckin incredible

[blueopinions49]

Sasuke Uchiha Enneagram.

Sooo Sasuke Uchiha..

He is one of those characters who's enneagram I just can't crack and even when I think ive felt satisfied with an answer It usually doesnt last long enough until I wonder whats his core desire. So why not pose each type I think he could be and hear some of your guys opinions. 

sp 3w4 (Attachment+Competency) 

This is my original typing of him since to me in early seasons his goal seemed to rise above the ranks and become a superior shinonbi to bring honor and recreate the former success of the Uchiha clan. I didn't thought soc 3 suited him due to his lack of interest in external validation and status. While sp 3 seemed the more logical choice due to his interest in perfecting his skill set. 

sx 4w3 (Reactive+Withdrawn) 

Im not so sure about this type due to his uninterested in finding authenticity and depth. However ive seen it floating around so I just added it in case but I sort off see it but not really.I think most of it hinges on the sx subtype rather the type structure of E4, plus the line of “may look like E3 and E8s”. Also the E4 is hyper sentimental and so is this subtype. And tbh Sasuke is almost fully detached of his own sentimental side. Even tho he leads with Fi he is very clearly detached from his own emotions. the only argument ig I could see is integration towards 1 and I still think thats weak. 

sx 6w5 (Reactive+Attachment+Super Ego)

I saw this option on reddit and I low-key like it?. Sx6 is a reactive type and I think in shippuden we can see how Sasuke is more on the reactive side rather than withdrawn side. Due to him being a super ego type he is looking to do right and find justice. His arc started with doing right by his clan by killing Itachi and those plans eventually evolved to finding justice for his clan by destroying the Hidden Leaf. And I do think he craves the E6 core desire of not being alone and craving community and a place where he feels safe. His attachment type is between rejection or attachment I dont think frustration suits him at all. I think the attachment if E6 might suit him quite well too. 

sp 8w9 (Rejection+Reactive+Assertive)

This is another option ive seen going around and I dont see it that much tbh. I dont see the Lust of an E8 or the crave for autonomy and choice of life. Other than power for himself and some stereotypical E8 traits I dont see much. I could see assertive and maybe reactive triads on him but im not sure yet. 

Personal Ranking on accuracy 

sx 6w5

sp3

sp8

sx4 

Also Please Share your thoughts on this since im still very undecided.

[lemonhemlock]

A Comprehensive (Long) Critique of HoTD

https://www.reddit.com/r/HOTDGreens/s/qfRwIOOK9L

I was browsing the HOTDGreen Subreddit and found this long post about the show, and I thought you might be interested in reading it.

so i finally came around to reading this and. how do i say this. OP could use an editor. they themselves make some inaccurate statements that suggest a misunderstanding of feudalism and their wordy presentation, with many superfluous parentheses, is not helping either

[...] who exactly is benefited by the decision to ingratiate Alicent with Rhaenyra as friends? Who is benefited by stripping Alicent’s proximity to Jaehaerys and the Grand Council? Who is benefited by vastly simplifying Criston Cole to a point where he seems more of a historical caricature than the living, real thing? Some of these may be clearer to you than others; for Alicent, her moral justification in the book had no relation to Rhaenyra as a person. It was not about who Rhaenyra was, nor who she was to Alicent, as it is in the show; that sort of personal, emotional, almost vaguely sapphic plot line might be sensitive enough to tug at the heartstrings of young viewers, but it does not actually contribute anything to a Green justification in Westeros. What it does is erode the Greens’ /precedent/, which is the entire basis of their argument and coup in Fire & Blood. It makes Alicent more personally likable perhaps, at the expense of the entire reason for Alicent becoming an autonomous political leader. Good justifications make good characters, not cheap likability.

who is benefiting? alicent. alicent is benefiting. the plain truth is that many people are casually misogynistic or carry internalised misogyny and, if a female character doesn't tick some boxes widely accepted for validation, she is not going to be sympathetic to the viewer. sometimes people are way more likely to show their entire prejudiced ass when it comes to fictional situations, because they think they can say anything they want about imaginary scenarios. whereas, in real life, they put on a filter of respectability.

but, yeah, people have an unhealthy relation to fiction where they are way less forgiving of female characters than they are of male or male-coded characters, i.e. female characters that exhibit traits stereotypically associated with men, like some form of combat skills or 'kicking ass', aggressiveness, lack of emotionality etc

for the record, i don't believe there are such things as "female" or "male" character traits, but many people force themselves to conceptualize the world within these gender binaries and in this context, book!alicent would have been viewed as just another cersei

if strong characters had to be likable, all conflicts in the history of fiction would be muddy, unclear, impossible to navigate and overly sentimental to an almost bipolar extent, as is Alicent’s trajectory in Season 1. This same mistake is extended to Aemond Targaryen and the death of Lucerys, which is enough to affirm that this is a unique view of Ryan Condal, and that probably this creative opinion will resurface throughout his tenure with HoTD.

there isn't a relation of causality between how likeable a character is and how "right" they are. not sufficiently building up the greens' legal argument is a separate scriptwriting decision from having aemond regret killing lucerys or softening alicent

What the Greens needed, whether Rhaenyra was right or not, was independent justification. In the book, they had it in the form of the Grand Council, which simultaneously was later the rallying-call that brought Rhaenys and Meleys to Rhaenyra’s side. The Grand Council serves as the key platform that the Greens weaponize to establish Aegon II, and its existence is enough to /show/ (rather than vaguely hint) that the feudal strata of Westeros has chosen men, and will choose them again. It gives Rhaenyra the practical claim to reform by violent means, and it gives Alicent’s belief that men rule and will /always/ rule enough weight to sound like a real opinion, rather than an empty excuse to justify something she herself didn’t even agree with.

i think OP is making a confusion here. there was no "grand council" during the dance. the green council was just the small council in KL deciding to crown aegon as king. the small council comprises a few noble lords who act like ministers in a pseudo-government, it isn't a representative body of the nobility to the extent that an ad-hoc, one-off legislative body is (such as a great council)

based on Otto, Vaemond, and Jason Lannister, who all describe some vague ‘precedent’ or ‘tradition’ for male primogeniture that is /never actually proven or described to us/, we can see that the Grand Council was neither replaced nor erased, simply poorly adapted and inadequately conveyed. Unfortunately, without it, the only vaguely legalistic and justified argument that exists is Rhaenyra’s, claiming Viserys’s appointment as heiress. Whereas discourse between Fire & Blood readers was about ‘who is justified’, discourse in HoTD is simply about ‘who is cooler’—whereas F&B was ‘Viserys named Rhaenyra heiress’ vs. ‘Jaehaerys & the Realm set this precedent’, HoTD lacks the depth of context and thematic interest in politics to base these conversations on.

the legal argument is both simpler than OP presents and more complex of a discussion than that. in the case of rhaenyra vs aegon, simple andal law suffices: a son before a daughter. the "precedent" of jaehaerys' great council does not function in the way OP suggests

in any case, a great council involves the establishment of a legislative body for a limited amount of time, tasked with one specific question, which is solved via a vote, after which said body is dissolved immediately. it doesn't automatically mean that the result will be the same every time, hence the whole purpose of voting would become irrelevant. it's very likely that had an ad-hoc committee been asked to vote in the matter of rhaenyra vs daemon in the line of succession, they would have chosen rhaenyra. it is also very likely that they would have chosen aegon, had the question been rhaenyra vs aegon. it's very likely they would have chosen true-born rhaenryra, had the question been rhaenyra vs her bastard son jace.

jaehaerys' great council does not even solve the same legal dilemma: in that case, it's daughter of eldest son vs son of second son, with both the king's respective sons predeceased.

i guess the point is not to say that the lords of the realm would never willingly pick a queen for themselves, it's more that they sometimes would. female inheritors do exist in westeros and they have peers who accept and defend their right to rule, even if there's always some entitled arsehole who'd like to weasel himself in their seat (see lady jeyne arryn)

For Martin, it was legalistic arguments partly built on prejudice, and partly on practicality, which go on to overshadow countless lives and culminate in vast legal disagreements which spark continental conflicts and change history. For Condal, it was a teenaged friendship between two adolescent girls going sour, a relatively framework friends-to-enemies plot.

i was tempted to disagree, but i suppose there is some truth in that the fumbled legal argument on the greens' side kind of makes this whole thing look like alicent is just pissed at rhaenyra and is doing it because she cut her off. at least to the casual viewer, who is not going to be watching with the eye of the hawk to remember a casual explanatory statement made as an aside several episodes ago

Condal seems to take the view that Westeros feudal succession is vague (it wasn’t), that royal succession was mostly a matter of might-makes-right (it wasn’t—Maegor learned that lesson), and that politics is a matter of people not getting along when if they’d only sit down and talk it out, everything would be fine. One thing to expect from Season 2 is a reversal of audience sympathies. Condal will weaponize B&C against the audience to make them twist with guilt for supporting Rhaenyra, again using personal rather than contextual arguments to define the audience’s support. Aegon will receive audience sympathy without truly earning it. Rhaenyra will simply become the product of negative creative direction; because Condal has a point to make about ‘talking it out’ and (anticipating it now in the after-show talks) ‘choosing revenge over diplomacy’, though her justification and character in the overall picture remain almost unchanged, Rhaenyra will find herself cast as a darker character—an antihero if she remains a protagonist at all, and a half-antagonist if Condal insists on the ‘both-sideism’ that Abramson critiques. The problem is that, upon any given rewatch, removed from the immediate emotional reaction scenes elicit, this will not actually change whether Rhaenyra or Alicent are right or wrong; the Greens have no firm justification for their coup in HoTD whether or not they become victims of an overzealous revenge plot or brutal, no-holds-barred warfare, and therefore from a thematic approach can’t really be all that sympathetic as characters. In the end, choosing sides in HoTD is an arbitrary process because it is not a conflict of competing claims or justifications, but of ‘who you like better’. For this reason, I can’t help but feel that HoTD would fail the overall point of F&B.

yeah, i agree with this / kind of expect this to happen, but this point is buried too deep within that wall-of-text it becomes challenging to pluck out.

i will always insist on first watching the show before appraising it with any degree of authority, but i do find interesting the observation about aegon receiving audience sympathy without earning it. because it is true - at most, he will be doing nothing and bad things will happen to him, inviting the viewer to engage with his pain. it is basically a lazy way to make the public connect with a character - more tragedy porn than actual characterisation, but here we are. the decisions they made for aegon in s1 don't really leave them with much choice

[lilisouless]

Curious to hear more on your thoughts about book Nina vs show Nina? I read the books before I watched the show but it was the show that really made me fall in love with her so im super interested in what you think (I also don't tend to remember books I read very well so if they changed her character a bunch I probably wouldn't have noticed)

I have spoken about it a couple of times

this was a very resumed one

On this reblogg, i explain why i think Nina was done the worst on the show

But overall, i think show Nina started fine on season 2, i actually believed they would save her character. But they gave her this stupid cheesy lines that book Nina may think but probably not say out loud to people that aren't inej.

Season 1 Nina is irrelevant, season 2 Nina started out fine but after the Crooked kingdom arc she matters so little that Inej and Zoya just stand there while she is attacked , and she (supposedly, only her and Kaz know its not) brought back someone from the death, yet no one makes a big deal about it, thats how little show!Nina matters. And she should be way more important, considering she is the one having conection with both the ravka crew and the crows. Not to say she got stripped from her patriotism which was what made her relationship with Matthias and her whole story interesting, Show!Nina apparently worked with Kirigan and it was only waved out why she no longer wishes to and all of her relationships with anyone who is not Kaz are gone.

The sab decided Nina is not important but still use her because the shippy things get views. Show Nina only has charm because of the actress , but she doesn't work neither as an adaptation or a standalone character, she is a result of netflix´s most disgusting sexism

[fictioncoalition]

I’m sorry (but not really) but the Eddie hate that randomly gets in my recommended really grinds my gears. Because it is, from my perspective, based off weird media literacy!

Like ST is no stranger (hehehe) to complex, multidimensional characters. Steve was a major dickhead the first 1 and a half season, Nancy cheated on Steve and she hurt him badly during their breakup, often, Mike and Dustin will discredit Will’s feelings because it isn’t convenient to them, El and Mike often leave Will out of things in this past season, the kids all insult Steve’s intelligence constantly, Billy’s...everything really. All characters in some way hand-wave away hurting others or have complex, human thought processes or interactions with each other.

But then the essays about Eddie are all treating his human characteristics (being hypocritical, black and white thinking, strict adherence to routine) in an non-nuanced way? Using those facets as evidence to prove that he shouldn’t be a fan favorite because of his “problematic” traits. And maybe its just my AuDHD ass but many of the traits they’re using are ones I myself have or had in my late teens. More than a few times was I angry and hurt no one saw my need for routine as something worth caring about. More than a few times was I made to feel bitchy because I insisted we keep things the same,

Honestly, it’s not abnormal either, I think the whole “I’m sooo much better than those clique-y preps/normies 😏” is just a phase every alternative goes through. You do realize that you’re being cringe upon self-reflection, just takes time and energy. Things you noticeably do not have when you’re dead.

But the whole idea that you’re either one thing or the other: A jock or a good person, a nerd or a jock, a sheep or a wolf, is like the core of black and white thinking, a common autistic trait. Like I’m just always looking at things, especially on here, through a disabled person’s lens and it makes me side-eye whenever this sort of like “hating a character that’s liked by a very specific group of people (usually, the queers and neurodivergents) because I think their queer/ND traits are worthy of ridicule and disdain”. Whenever I read them my thoughts are along the lines of: “hmm, you would have bullied me in middle school, I think.”

Anyway, the big kicker I think around the fascination with Munson, aside from his alt style and personality, is the fact that he is one of the few characters we got to know for a short time who then died for other’s character development. He had so much potential to be an interesting person to meet the other characters, see how they interacted and grew, much like Bob. And, unfortunately, much like Bob, the Upside Down got him before we could see what he could blossom into. So it’s up to the fans to decide where their characters’ go from here. I think we’re allowed to do that and get joy out of it.