#WIT animator for s3

[evercelle]

is arcane worth the watch?? ive been wanting to watch it for a while but never rlly got the motivation to

I LOVE ARCANEEEEE so my Totally Objective thoughts on it: it's a show where i feel there's a clear difference in intent between s1 and s2. there's parts where the writing does some narrative throughlines well, supported by the artistic and musical details, and there's other parts where they just completely whiff it. i think they would've really benefited from a s3 to let the story breathe more, but alas... so, your mileage may vary on how enjoyable the writing is, depending on which characters' stories you're invested in

from an art perspective: absolute must-watch, literally every shot is a marvel in color and composition. it's so clear what an incredible labor of love the animation and art/music direction is, in every single second of the show... i could fawn over a lot of details, but it'd be spoilers and it's better to witness yourself!! arcane is once in a generation kind of production in my opinion, because it's something that can ONLY exist because of the insane riot money backing the project haha. the production value is off the fucking charts

tl;dr: worth watching if for no other reason than to marvel at the visual and scoring; may or may not ambush you with [REDACTED CHARACTER] feelings

[sidekick-hero]

(steddie | mature | written for the @steddiemicrofic prompt 'hole' | wc: 404 | tags: s3 au, scoops ahoi steve, the d-word makes one appareance)

Eddie is used to life not working out the way he wants it to. In fact, he's come to expect it to.

His mom died when he was barely ten, his dad is a petty criminal who never cared for him beyond what Eddie could do for him.

And while he doesn't think there's anything wrong with living in the trailer park, being poor sucks. Dealing to help out with paying bills sucks. Having people make assumptions about him and call him names and treat him as less than just because of that sucks.

So Eddie tries to keep his head above water, trudge through life without making too many waves and hopefully one day reach the shore where he can get some goddamn rest.

He plays with his band, he DMs at Hellfire and gives the lost little sheep of Hawkins High a place to belong while he works his ass off to finally get that goddamn diploma that means he can leave this shithole town behind.

The last thing Eddie needs is a distraction.

The last thing Eddie needs is Steve fucking Harrington working in an ice cream parlor in a sailor's costume across from the record store he started helping out at during summer break.

The last thing Eddie needs is to see Harrington in that downright indecent outfit, with his pale, hairy thighs on display, begging to be bitten, and his fluffy hair fighting against the silly sailor hat, and his lips all shiny like he's wearing some kind of gloss, making Eddie think of those lips wrapped around his dick.

And the last thing he needs, like a hole in the head, is to find out that Steve Harrington? Is actually a good dude.

He never wanted to learn that, is the thing. But when he finally gives in to his animal brain and goes to the parlor to get some ice cream and ogle Harrington up close, he witnesses him greeting a nerdy kid with an imaginary lightsaber handshake.

Eddie is not proud of it, but after that, he starts coming to the parlor every day to get ice cream, always letting Harrington choose for him, only to see him blush a pretty shade of pink at Eddie's harmless flirting.

A crush on Steve Harrington is the last thing Eddie needs in his life, but it's also the best thing that's happened to him in a long time.

[archivedblog16]

she already admitted that she has no idea where HB is going because she never planned it and it just making shit up on the spot. Skye is a animation director, so will see how her episodes go. Lyle has been doing animated comedy shorts for a decade now and honestly he’s pretty funny and has sharp wit but I don’t think his humor is a match for the show because again Brandon has been doing full series on YouTube for a decade and he’s humor and viv’s don’t match at all because of how heavily viv relies on swear words, sex jokes, inside jokes between friends and stealing jokes from friends. I found out the Dennis joke was stolen from Dave. However most importantly I have no desire to see S3. I don’t care about the bad yaoi ship or Millie zootopia plot line, I’m out

😭 Helluva Boss Season 3 and by extension Season 4’s final ending is going to be atrocious if she doesn’t lock in and have a game plan. Thank god, she hired more writers though, she should 100% take advantage of that.

I unironically had to remind myself who Skye is only to find out she’s Hat Teeth on Instagram and Twitter.

I’m not surprised that Vivziepop steals jokes. Did Dave say the Dennis joke in a livestream while Vivziepop was there? 🤣 Millie zootopia plotline, that’s crazy. Either way, I don’t blame you for ditching Helluva Boss, you probably won’t miss too much to be honest.

[blacktiger666]

Wakfu Theory

What if Oropo had made a deal with Nora?

We know that in episode 11 of Wakfu season 3, Oropo complained that the Gods do not listen to the prayers of the Eliotropes (and the Twelvers in general) and put in place his plan of the Eliabombe to kill the Gods and replace them with the Demi-Gods, their children.

He used the Brotherhood (the Forgotten) to accomplish his plan. He sacrificed hundreds of Demi-Gods too. This being explained in the scenario of Wakfu season 3.

At the beginning of Wakfu season 4, Yugo meets Nora at the Inglorium and the question that arose was: What was she doing there??? Did she know that Yugo would be there or was she… waiting for Oropo?

In the scenario of season 4, it was clear that she was waiting for her little brother Yugo. And it should be noted that, in the scenario of season 3, Oropo had initially planned to detonate the Eliabombe in the Inglorium once his plan was completed… or rather once the deadline for an agreement had passed and he could have carried out his plan if he had not had what he wanted!

At present, if I am mistaken, we do not know where the Gods are but what is certain is that the Great Goddess was there, she and the Eliatrope people.

To position ourselves well in the timeline and in the context: the OAV Oropo Battle for the Eliacube is several hundred years before the events of the animated series Wakfu.

One More Gate is positioned in this same timeline since SPOILER ALERT:

Oropo's spirit was in the Eliacube for centuries and Nox had found it (the cube) at that time.

And there, there are several possibilities (including one) on the meeting between Oropo and Nora:

Before the events of the OVA on the eliotrope. Just before fighting Grougaloragran, Bouillon spoke of his fight against an impossible to kill dragon that he had to rip out its heart to end it, perhaps Efrim. Oropo was a witness to this fight since he had mentioned "As usual".

Maybe he had met Nora at that time, by chance, and that's where this agreement was created between them. This could explain the outfit he wore before his coma in the OVA.

By making this agreement, he obtained the possibility of creating this outfit while having a cape without breaking his head about clothes. This is the first possibility.

HOWEVER, IMPORTANT DETAIL, 2nd possibility: he already had this outfit before finding Bouillon so the agreement had surely been made well BEFORE. So before Efrim's necromization! Oropo must have met Nora and Efrim by chance in the middle of their quest.

During the events of S3, strangely he can no longer make this outfit reappear with his cape already present, surely he was too "weakened" due to his post-coma and time to recreate one, keeping only the full cape in poor condition.

With Oropo's usual spiel with the "as a friend" and managing to convince Nora, despite the latter's distrust, the agreement between him and her was the following: He helps her find the Great Goddess (if the twins fail to find her) if he ever manages to take the Eliacube and the Dofus (explaining how he had entered Oma Island by passing the protective barriers without difficulty, Nora had to give him the "key" to help him) and in exchange, the divinity will help the Twelvers by doing the work of the Gods absent from their post and may be able to help, in passing, Oropo and the surviving Eliotropes to solve their problem of life expectancy and infertility.

The meeting place was at the Inglorium ONCE the task of saving the Goddess was done and the Eliacube was recovered with Yugo's Dofus. The race against time was on, but did Nora know about Oropo's plan?

In the end, due to the strong bond between Efrim and the Great Goddess, the twins found her. Despite his status as a time traveler, Oropo was just another person they met on their way, but that doesn't mean the deal was canceled! Maybe the deal would have held if Oropo had survived, who knows?

Thanks for reading this long block of text on this theory which may contain errors! 🙇‍♂️

[yeahthatswhatimtolkienabout]

Okay so, I'm getting increasingly confused over the timeline of when Aziraphale and Crowley have met over the ages.

Since I'm writing a S3 fic with lots of flashbacks, I figured that I needed to have a concrete and canon timeline so I don't end up accidentally writing a meeting when there shouldn't be one (ie when Crowley was asleep in the 14th century), and I cannot for the life of me find one that has S2 in it so I present to you:

The Nice and Accurate (hopefully) Timeline of Aziraphale & Crowley and their many meetings throughout the ages.

By Yeahthatswhatimtolkienabout.

Pls let me know if I've missed anything.

Before time was invented - God created the universe.

Before the Beginning - Our dynamic duo meet for the first time, as Crowley creates a Nebula with Aziraphale's help.

After The Beginning (the bible never gave dates for this kinda thing) - Crowley saunters vaguely downwards towards hell with the others who are cast out.

4004 B.C. - Eve is tempted by the Demon Crowley (in snake form) to eat the forbidden fruit. This is the first time we see Crowley in his demon form and the first time he (as a demon) meets Aziraphale, well - that we know of anyway.

3004 B.C, Mesopotamia - OI SHEM! Aziraphale and Crowley meet and watch as Noah gathers the animals two by two onto the ark.

2500 B.C, Uz - Aziraphale and Crowley work together to save Job's children from being killed. Aziraphale lies to heaven and fears he will be taken to hell. Bildad the Shuite is a babe.

33 A.D., Golgotha - Aziraphale and Crowley witness the crucifixion of Jesus. Crowley remarks that he 'showed Jesus the kingdoms of Earth'.

41 A.D., Rome - Aziraphale tempts Crowley to Oysters.

537 A.D., the Kingdom of West Essex - Knight of the table round, Sir Aziraphale encounters Crowley as the Black Knight. This is where the 'deal' is first raised.

1301 A.D - 1400 A.D - Crowley sleeps through the 14th century.

1601 A.D The Globe Theatre, London - Aziraphale and Crowley meet at a production of Hamlet. They have been participating in the 'deal' for some time now.

1650 A.D - Aziraphale does the apology dance for the first time.

1793 A.D, Paris, France - Aziraphale is about to be beheaded, but Crowley intervenes and saves him.

1800 A.D Soho, London - Aziraphale opens his bookshop and Crowley successfully prevents him from returning to heaven at Gabriel's orders, by fooling him with some mannequins.

1827 A.D Edinburgh - Crowley and Aziraphale meet Elspeth, a body snatcher, and are caught up in her endeavours.

Aziraphale then does not see Crowley until...

1862 A.D London's St. James Park - Crowley asks Aziraphale for Holy Water, as a 'just in case'. Appalled, Aziraphale leaves.

1941 A.D London - Aziraphale is caught up in a bait and switch with some Nazis. He is rescued by Crowley. One thing leads to another and Aziraphale is a magician in a show, the Nazi's become Zombies and to cut a long story short, it ends with the pair dining together.

1967 A.D Soho, London - Crowley meets Lance Corporal Shadwell and plans to steal Holy Water from a church. Hearing of this, Aziraphale appears to him in his Bentley and delivers a flask of it to him.

2008 A.D Soho, London - Crowley and Aziraphale meet to discuss the Antichrist and plan to become his godparents to raise him as a 'normal' child, neither influenced by heaven or hell.

2008 A.D - 2019 A.D - Crowley disguises himself as Nanny Ashtoreth and Aziraphale, as the Gardener Brother Francis, and the two try to influence Warlock.

2019 A.D - The events of the first season of Good Omens happens, our pair prevent Armageddon and live happily ever... wait what, a second season?

2020 A.D - 2022 A.D - Lockdown happens. This is where the 'Lockdown' video takes place.

2023 A.D - Pain, otherwise known as Season 2, happens.

I really hope this helps some of you with fic planning and stuff. I was getting really confused over when they met and when certain things started happening, that I needed a record for myself - then thought I should share it!

Edited to add: Thank you for the comments, pointing out some things I've missed! I've added lots of them in now. I've only really included events where the two have met (either in show or in book), and have not added in the bits that Neil Gaiman has added (such as the Wild West scenes etc). If there is a script book for S2 and they are in there - I will come back and add them in.

For a timeline that goes over other significant events in their history, please check out the amended version by @graviitron - they've added some cool bits in there, so thank you! 🥰

[corey-wh0re]

And THAT is how you do a good unserious episode.

-The title being "Croak" did not even cross my mind as a reference to fuckin FROGS! The whole time I've just been like, "Oh yeah, croak is a reference to death. Somebody or multiples somebodies are probably gonna die. Nothing to see here," only to be slapped with THAT at the start. And that's before we even get into how thoroughly ridiculous the entire "frogger" ensemble is. The whole lot of them without an ounce of self-preservation & sharing half a brain cell (which Hannah is largely occupying since she got that tape buried & knew what to say when surrendering). Edwin walked directly into danger & all but announced he wanted to be murdered. Hannah ran like she was a recently animated scarecrow trying to escape a cornfield. And Kodi was responsible for that sat phone getting broken. Perfection. No notes.

-A YJs ROAD TRIP!!!! I'm hating that Natalie & Lottie are dead more than ever now cause GOD! can you imagine. the possibilities of them ALL. crammed into that minivan together? I just know they would've been thriving so much in the midst of this chaos. We lost bad fr</3. But it's like how I've been examining in my previous reactions that this season has really leaned into the parallels with S1 with this #FindingLottiesKiller™ plotline being a direct extension of the #WhoKilledTravis™ one with remixed roles & it's just so juicy to dig into. And every last interaction starting from Misty storming into Tai & Van's hotel room to them waiting for Shauna in the elevator to Shauna getting passive aggressive about having to do everything at the gas station to the murder accusation text chain was absolutely fucking G O L D. I really come alive the most when the adults just get unfettered access to interact as much as possible like this, so I was really thriving even if the situation quickly became dire.

-I know some people are scared as shit of "Other Tai," but much like how I've been choosing to remain as blissfully ignorant as possible to bask in the beauty of the Tai & Van interactions this season, I'm gonna have to stick by her side if she manages to get Van through this season alive. "But I'm the one who can save you" was all I needed to hear. Say less, queen! Sometime we WILL. have to deal with the unrelenting horror of the fact that Tai is trapped in her own body (cause we do. see her watching herself through the glass in the promo for "A Normal, Boring Life"</3 & we know. ~Misty witnessing hospital suffocation~ has. to be coming up) & we have no way of knowing how long that has been going on, but as long as "Other Tai" is using murder as a force of good (since this ep all but confirmed that "Other Tai" didn't kill Lottie IF we can trust what Walter said about Shauna's DNA), then fuck it, let's go!

-The way Shauna & Misty specifically are being positioned as foils of one another, particularly in this season, is so fascinating to continue to dissect for me. While it wasn't the MOST apparent this ep compared to others, moments like Shauna unironically saying, "You are REALLY bad at boundaries," as THEE. queen of not understanding what healthy boundaries mean & her being FLABBERGASTED that Misty has accused her of killing Lottie when she was perfectly fine with accusing Misty of shit she had no evidence to back up really reinforces my initial observation that S3 is simultaneously Misty's Self-Actualization Arc™ & Shauna's Fall From Grace™. They both are so perfectly alike each other, right down to being the most actively & willingly murderous members of the YJs committing acts of violence just because, that they have been butting heads the entire time cause there is no way in hell they will see how alike they are in their current states. But their roles gradually shifting so that Misty is demanding. to be included while Shauna is driving people away more with her reckless behavior is so satisfying on a narrative level.

-I'm really curious what exactly is gonna be done with Hilary Swank's Mystery Character™ (beyond Shauna totally trying to murder her ass) since we know she's finally showing up next ep & already have confirmation that she is not Hannah's daughter Alex (who I can only assume Shauna will kill after breaking into her home ala Adam if the end of the ep is any indication...) & that this is just another case of Shauna shifting blame, jumping to conclusions, & making baseless accusations. Coupled with the fact the showrunners have confirmed she would still be there in S4 if they get renewed as a preemptive reveal that she survives, I have. to wonder how exactly we're gonna go from A to B when we know she's gonna be fighting for her life almost immediately when she shows up onscreen. Is Shauna actually gonna end up arrested by the end of the season? Will the rest of the YJs manage to intervene even though they don't have a vehicle & are stranded in a hospital? Some other third option that hasn't come to mind yet?

-Ugh, as much as I am RAVENOUS for these final 3 eps (especially with the way this. ep ended cause I was bouncing off the fuckin walls), I also want to stave them off for as long as possible because it just means more.waiting. for S4 to be announced, go into production, & then take up to 1-2 years to finish. The only thing that has me keeping my patience in check is the knowledge of the strong likelihood that S4 will be an even rougher, more vicious winter than S2 was like how S3 has gone to great pains to parallel S1. I know many have expressed their belief that the YJs will be rescued before the end of this season, but I have never gotten that indication, even with the final eps being titled "How the Story Ends" & "Full Circle" in mind. The full 19 months in the wilderness are not up yet, there's so many more ways they can go insane that we're only just starting to explore with them killing+consuming Coach Ben when they didn't need to & hunting/trapping/killing the "frogger" group even though they're the first sign of civilization they've had since they've been trapped, & it would feel like a waste of the premise if we do not see these girls fully descend into the feral bruality that has been promised since the "pit girl" scene. So, I am gonna savor every last morsel of these final 3 eps & hope S4 is the most psychologically damaging, violent season we have seen yet!

[monocotyledons]

FINISHED JET LAG THE GAME S3 TAG ACROSS EUROPE YEAAHHH

tbh i aspire to have sam's crazy planning antics

actually i love all of them. i love adam's crazy nervousness and ben's vibes too. also i am honored to witness the "are humans animals" shenanigans and the birth of deutsche bahn's infamy.

yes i will be watching more seasons!!

[hydriotaphia]

Tagged by the lovely @grace-williams-xo to rank fics from this year (go read Grace's at that link). Such a fun concept!

Tagging anyone who'd like to do this - @42wallabyway-sydnee, @penny-loaf, @catcorsair, @cannedkopi and all :)

I've only included completed work on AO3, for possibly a me-specific definition of finished (aka morgue fics included), so no WIP multichapters, anon fics or other miscellaneous variations.

10. Trivia (T), Bridgerton

Part of the Domestic Bliss series, it's basically Kate and Anthony being competitive dorks in love. Only features one actual piece of trivia because everything is just a vehicle for their ridiculousness.

9. Edwina: In Retrospect (G), Bridgerton

A 100 word drabble I wrote for fun. It's angsty as are all parts of 'This is me down on my knees'. It's not bad but I think there's not enough to latch onto here so maybe not super successful at 100 words.

8. For my lady’s pleasure (G), Bridgerton

S3 was a dumpster fire AFAIC. There is no world in which Anthony and Kate are so blase with their paperwork. NO. WORLD. So I wrote another version of that appalling study scene. Also I wanted to show Anthony cherishing Kate meaningfully with both words and deeds, and Kate cherishing him right back.

7. On a night like any other: Three brothers (G), Bridgerton

An S2 missing scene. On re-reading, I should've seeded the thematic core much much earlier. Still, I wanted a family scene where they are all showing care for each other but also misunderstand each other fundamentally.

6. Golden gods (T), Bridgerton

This one had some strong reactions. It's told in a series of snippets because the main beats of the story are all captured in these short paras. I know there's a bigger story lurking behind it, but I'm not sure it's one I want to tell, so this went up as a morgue file, but is basically complete. Think of it as a harkening back to the LJ-style fic days.

5. Once upon a rainy night (E), The Nanny

SUCH a fun fic and it should be higher, but I just like what I did with some of the other fic more. A complete whim of a femslash fic, written to match the outrageous sitcom style of The Nanny.

4. O the glory of the winning (T), Bridgerton

This one is a prelude to a story I'll probably never write where Anthony and Edwina do marry because the bangle doesn't fall. And what would be feasible IMO for a Kanthony endgame in that scenario. I've tried a lot of variations on descriptive style before and liked the elements I was able to put into this -- I wanted a sense of suspended animation and lush surroundings. What does it look like for Kate and Anthony to actually live only in a bubble of their love? Sort of Sleeping Beauty-ish where the outside world is sealed away and the audience witnesses both the joy and the tragedy of it.

3. Haunted (T), Bridgerton

I rarely write creepy fic so I was very happy with this one! It wouldn't have been out of place in 'This is me down on my knees' but tonally it was written to be a gothic romance scene versus angst. Edmund's ghost is meant to be actually perceived (real or not) by Anthony, leading to terrible migraines afterwards.

2. Hidden Depths (M), Bridgerton

This vied for first place but as it is a morgue fic... I was going for a full immersion in sea images, which is tricky because idioms, similes and metaphors become challenging to write. Originally I was going to try for something more Lovecraftian but I am not a good enough writer for that and still really like where this landed.

1/ Esto perpetua (M), Miss Marple – Agatha Christie

It's kind of cheating to even have this on the list - the fic's over a decade old but I only found it again and put it onto AO3 this year. It hasn't found an audience but I can see how perfectly it slots into the movie in my mind's eye and it does everything I wanted it to - it's such a fleshed out world.

[effypcfcwrites]

The Owl House

(Originally posted on my personal Facebook dated April 25, 2023)

This is probably the first time I'll be posting a detailed review of a piece of media that I like, so witness me sing all of my praises for this animated series from the House of Mouse, because wow, I've never been so invested in a Disney show after rewatching Gravity Falls.

For those unfamiliar, The Owl House revolves around Luz Noceda, a teenage girl who stumbles upon a portal to an alternate world called The Boiling Isles, meets a witch named Eda Clawthorne, learns magic under her tutelage and eventually enrolls in Hexside, a magic school where she makes many friends and goes on multiple adventures.

I binged this whole show in a span of weeks and even stayed up all night on my day off to finish it up to Season 3, the first 2 Seasons being on Disney+ and the latter on Disney Channel's YouTube page.

Simply put, I love it so much! I love how it reminds me of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and, dare I say, Harry Potter, which it even poked fun at, at times. Well-deserved, considering J.K. Rowling’s transphobic views and HP’s underlying anti-Semitic undertones.

I loved the pop culture references to Thor: Ragnarok, Howl's Moving Castle, Metal Gear Solid, and even Hades, among many others! I thought those were very clever and funny, and just a treat for fellow nerds, geeks, and fans of fantasy stories, anime, and video games.

I love the LGBTQ+ representation all throughout the show, which was such a bold move considering Disney’s iffy stance on the subject. None of them were antagonized for it, and it was treated as something normalized in both the Human and Demon Realms. The show featured 2 gay dads, non-binary and aromantic-asexual characters, and one of the internet’s favorite sapphic/WLW couples Lumity, which is the ship consisting of canonically bisexual Luz and implied lesbian Amity Blight, whose rivals-to-friends-to-lovers relationship was just so wholesome, so natural, and very healthy, considering they're both teenagers. Suprisingly, there was very little melodrama, not once were they petty towards one another whenever either party did something wrong, and they never got tired of showing affection towards each other. I found myself shamelessly gushing over how cute, adorable, and supportive they were together, and tearing up a lot during key moments of their relationship, especially when they both found themselves in dire straits as the story progressed.

I love the writing and the character development of them all! None of them felt static, they all grew throughout the series, maturing, getting better, and healing from their own insecurities, trauma, and guilt. The humor and comedic timing was a nice touch, and I was really taken aback by how S2 ended on such a dark cliffhanger with all stakes raised to the roof, similar to A:TLA S2 and The Empire Strikes Back, as mentioned earlier. That season wasn’t afraid to have such a grim ending, with such a great payoff by the end of S3 which is worth celebrating.

I love the animation and art style, which blended colorful and whimsical with eerie and ominous in just the right amounts. As a sucker for animated movies and series such as Adventure Time, The Prince of Egypt, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, it was just such a delight watching it.

I love the overarching message of the show, which is to be truly yourself, to embrace your quirks, and never to limit yourself and your potential based on what the majority of society and the powers-that-be expect from you. All throughout, you’ll find the characters challenging pre-established norms and roles, and it’s just so satisfying seeing them all win.

11/10 top-tier show. Don’t @ me, it’s hard for me to find something I disliked about the series. It's definitely a must-watch, especially if you're sick and tired of all the bleak nihilism of modern adult animation, and you just want to baby your inner child and escape to a whimsical fantasy world with characters you can all relate to. Betting my bottom peso you'll all be hooked, like I was.

[poeticpains]

Does anyone else ever think about how fucked up it is that the setup of Escape the Night has us talking about who "deserved" it?

You see it in the fandom, and in the show itself, too — where there's discussions about who "pulled their weight" or who did the most for the team, with the implication that those who didn't deserve...what? A horrible, lonely death? To never see their families and loved ones again?

"I'm going to vote for [X], because they didn't pull their weight," is literally saying that someone being foolish, oblivious, and/or lazy is a mistake that should be punished by death.

Or the fandom, as they say that, "[X] wasn't doing very well, so they deserved to be put into that challenge."

And, look, I do not legitimately believe that anyone in the fandom or the show would ever be okay with someone dying because they couldn't figure out a riddle — I'm one of the ones screeching about how your fannish participation is not morality, and what you enjoy in fandom, or say about fictional characters (or fictional personas of real people) is not, in any way, reflective of your actual beliefs. Let me be abundantly clear: it doesn't matter to me who you think "deserved" to die, because nobody died, and at the end of the day, it's a fake web series.

...But that doesn't change that I think Escape the Night is a perfect encapsulation of the way that manipulation works on humans. As they say,

“1. Man is a MORAL animal. 2. You can get human beings to do anything — IF you convince them it is moral. 3. You can convince human beings anything is moral.” — Frank Bidart

In ETN, and especially in Season 3, the guests were convinced that voting people to die was the morally correct option. After all, world annihilation (and their own life) was on the line. Isn't that worth a little blood on your hands?

But it's hard to convince your average person that killing other people (or sentencing them to death, I suppose), if those people are otherwise innocent of severe crimes, is moral. So the situation sets it up using two things that are highly prized: merit and fear.

The fear is the easier option to discuss; it's the same point I made earlier regarding world annihilation and their own lives. (And, of course, it's easier to control scared people than it is to control people who have their wits about them. Manipulation 101.)

Merit, of course, is the entire point of this post. Many of us, I would hazard a guess, grew up with the American justice system, wherein death is an appropriate punishment for certain things. In ETN, that category is just stretched a little wider. Someone missed a clue? Well, they must be stupid — so they deserve to die.

And yes, I am defining voting someone in as tacitly saying that they deserve to die, because that is the unspoken consequence that could happen to anyone who was voted in.

Anyways, back to merit. Before every death challenge, barring the special ones, like the Witch's Challenge in S3, there's literally a discussion where the guests are supposed to defend themselves and prove that they helped. And if the court of public opinion decides you didn't? Well, off to the chopping block with you, my friend — your performance was unsatisfactory, and therefore you deserve to be beaten to death/buried alive/whatever terrible fate awaits them that episode.

But isn't that absurd, when you think about it like that? It's like having a shitty coworker that never responds to emails and takes 45 minute lunches. That's basically it. That's what these people are dying for.

Literally everyone on the show is guilty of this, even fan favorites like Matthew, so it's not like I'm trying to call guests out, or anything. I just think it's a really fascinating look into the way that humans can be manipulated into being willing to kill other humans.

Maybe someday I'll write something more in-depth on this.

[mincedpeaches]

Watching Nocturne Season 2 where my main concerns going into it were "how is Alucard. is Alucard happy. is he having a good time. will he be having a good time" and the end of the season him being like "I've witnessed something wonderful and new (presumably meaning Richter and Annette going off together but could also be the French not getting killed by vampires if you really squinted) and I'd like to stick around a while" and THEN having Maria do big anime eyes is. Hmm.

Well it's certainly no Castlevania S2 "the polycule killed Dracula" or Castlevania S4 "the polycule is reunited for good" but. At least it's no Castlevania S3 "depressed Alucard thinks he gets Japanese lovers but then has to kill them during their threesome". I'm not going to be jumping for joy at any potential Mayfly December romance, but it could be worse, I guess...

[classicanalyzer]

What If Season 3 - What If... The Emergence destroyed the Earth? Thoughts

"Let's begin near the end. The final act of a tragic story. When you've seen as many wars as I have, you get used to it. The hard part is watching worlds fall that don't need to because a hero can no longer rise to meet their moment. But I swore an oath. And so I watch. In every variation of this universe, Riri Williams is its last best hope. But in every one I've watched, no matter how hard she fights, and how long she struggles, she always fails. Always... Welcome to Earth. What's left of it anyways." Uatu

This might be the most emotional episode of the entire season so far. Yet again, another peak episode and my personal favorite episode of the season so far. It’s a testament to the team this season and further shows how much of a shame it is to see What If end (for now). This episode's Riri Williams is a great focus character and I can't wait to see her in her own show in 2025. Even in the bleakest universes and situations destined to end in tragedy, all it takes is one bit of encouragement to break through and emerge to bring hope.

This is a pretty bleak setting and it's all because the Emergence just so happened to take place before Etenrals. The Iron Federation feels like a corrupted dream of Tony Stark with the Iron Legion suits around the world (or in this case the remnants of the world). There’s concept art released for What If S3’s promotional material which suggests Strange was able to save parts of Earth.

Riri Williams continues to fight even in a universe where everyone she knows and loves is dead. The fight is all she has left. It's hard for people to still try to hope and fight when even the few survivors you connect with perish. Even with her wit and sass in the episode (they did a great job of capturing that from her depiction in the movie), you can tell she's barely hanging onto hope for a better world. However, as Uatu will showcase himself, all it takes is to show someone they're not alone.

I hadn't expected Quentin Beck to be the main antagonist of a universe like this but man it was such a great idea. I really love how this episode really showcases how much of an egotistical narcissist asshole he really is to the point he would let himself die quicker by putting all those Nanites in his body. Peter and this universe's Riri really need to interact at some point and bond over dealing with Quentin Beck.

Also, I really hated Sharon Carter after she's been revealed to be the Power Broker, so it'll be nice to see that she got karma in at least one universe.

It's really nice to see Ying Nan again and I can't wait to see Shang-Chi once again in the next episode which hopefully will be a lot more lighthearted than this episode. I love this episode but I need a bit of lighthearted plot after the bleak story of this episode.

The Alliance mook deaths caused by White Vision are very brutal and disturbing to see. I was not expecting the disturbing and bloody imagery of the deaths of Riri's team at the end.

Tony Stark would be proud of Riri Williams for building a weapon in less than 7 minutes capable of killing White Vision. She built this in a broken-down ship... with a box of scraps!

Whoever came up with the idea of Riri Williams to go against Quentin Beck deserves a raise. It's a great idea to pair someone who has the intellect of Stark and creates Iron Man suits to go against Mysterio.

I really love how Riri's new suit is basically making her the Vision with Iron Man/Ironheart suit aspects of her universe.

They reused Infinity Ultron's theme (fittingly with Beck's monologue of how he controls the tech of White Vision and the specific track is Fascinating) and some footage of the Red Room Task Force in Episode 3 (They used the same models and animations but they changed the background with one shot at the very least). Brock Rumlow also appeared in the episode during White Vision's attack, so not sure if that's just reused footage or simply they reused his model.

The contrast of the Watcher between S1 Episode 8 and this episode is massive. Two equally similar bleak scenarios where no matter what the heroes do, it won't be enough to stop Ultron or in this case Quentin Beck both of which use and are made up of Stark tech. For Infinity Ultron, the Watcher treats it like yet another sad scenario but one he cannot intervene (until Infinity Ultron becomes a Multiversal threat). But here, he makes it clear how fucking tired he is of seeing the same outcome and is tired of not being able to do anything...so he intervenes by giving Riri encouragement to fight. The Watcher's character arc really presents itself here as a Multiversal cosmic being becoming so attached that no he can longer just simply stand and abide by bleak scenarios where they repeat endlessly.

The imagery and cinematography in this episode go so hard, especially with Riri forming the Avengers symbol at the end becoming a literal light in the darkness that is the post-Emergence Earth. Bravo to the artists of this episode and the season.

The three Watchers, the Eminence, the Incarnate, and the Executioner have stacked voice casting: Jason Isaacs (Admiral Zhao and the Grand Inquisitor), D.C. Douglas (Rayvis), and Darin de Paul (Who also voiced Zeus last episode but also Ardyn of FF15) respectively. It's going to be interesting to see what finally causes the three to finally try to put an end to the Uatu's interventions.

This is definitely one of the best episodes and emotional ones as well. A peak episode in short. It really showcases how even in the darkest of settings, one person can truly still bring a little light back to the universe. It also showcases Riri's character in a new light given the change of settings and circumstances. It's a strength of What If: we get to see characters act or change with their different circumstances. It also showcases how the Multiverse Saga needs to spend more time with the characters it introduces rather than just introduce them and then not use them until years later as we learn more about the case in the episodes than in the main MCU right now. This episode is what Marvel Zombies should've been in my opinion. They also really need to release the score of every episode like S1. Laura Karpman and Nora deserve all the praise for their work in this episode, the season, and the show as a whole.

Note: Unfortunately, this episode does break the huge creature or person towers over someone trend of the last four episodes... however, we did get Tiamut's emergence so technically it might count.

"I see through your reality... And I'm shutting it down." Riri Williams

"I am the master of illusions! I can make it like your little victory never happened. The people will never know." Quentin Beck

"They will because I'm going to give them a vision of the future." Riri Williams

"With what?" Quentin Beck

"Hope." Riri Williams

[shouldiwearmyhairspray]

Finished watching Twin Peaks: The Return today, and I wanna talk about it.

Overall, as a project, I found it very entertaining and very thought-provoking to watch; there were lots and lots of moments I loved; old and new characters were a delight to see, and the special effects were amazing to witness. I don't love it nearly as much as the original series (yet), but the return an entire entity on its own, so I don't mind being so different. I think it was a good ending to Twin Peaks as a whole.

Now to the stuff I didn't like:::

Audrey Horne. I didn't mind her not interacting with any old characters, I thought It was a very interesting approach and made her moments stand out. I also didn't mind her having a short screen time, nor did I mind her acting unlike how she was in the first two seasons. But I was immensely disappointed with how... bland the scenes felt. Sure, I know some theories go to deep, dark, and meta places, but it was still so empty for such an important character. Tbh, it felt like she was underused for the sake of those scenes, and maybe that was the point, to show how some people change forever and are never the same again and that complaining about it like I am won't do anything. But still... it was weird, but not the usual twin peaks weird. Audrey felt more like a one-scene character, like the screaming car lady. Sure, not all old characters had a lot of relevancy (Jerry, Nadine, Ben, etc). Maybe it's just my Audrey fan bias showing off, but why did we need another fuckass normal storyline and not more Audrey screen time??? It's like S2 all over again. It would be cool to see Audrey have her own separate journey, trying to solve a mystery like her young detective wannabe was. To see her come face to face with some sort of self-fulfilling prophecy and some other weird David Lynch Photoshop animation.

Anyway, keep in mind these are just my thoughts after finishing the season for the first time; I didn't have a lot of research time, so maybe I'm misinterpreting everything. Maybe in the future I'll change my mind and see S3 Audrey in a different light, maybe I'll adore the concept behind her, who knows.

[ddaz3d-and-cc0nfused]

༉‧₊˚. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 || 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐞

— pairing: maggie greene & fem!plus size reader (platonic)

― era: end of s2 / beg. of s3

— summary: living during the end of the world was never easy, but losing all of the mental process that you had made was even harder.

— warnings: ANGST!!!!! heavy tw for things like panic attacks, a strangely detailed walker attack, hurt/comfort, trauma recovery, dissociating + fluff(?) at the end bcs i'm not a monster.

— wc: 1017

⋆ a/n: this is for @cmfan2005! i don't really have anything to say about this other than the fact that it was nice to work with old characters :']

masterlist | AO3

You thought life on the farm would last forever.

You thought that you would be able to wake up every day and peacefully witness the sun rise over the expansive Greene farm. It was nice to be able to experience life the way it should be, like it used to be. 

A time where the dead weren’t walking and where your trauma didn’t haunt you from every corner of your life. Though the path of getting to a point where you didn’t shoot up from your bed in a cold sweat was long and hard, the only reason why you were able to get to that point was because of the eldest Greene daughter, Maggie.

It was funny really, because when you had first met, the two of you were like night and day; she was a spit fire while sometimes you couldn’t even find it within yourself to be able to talk at all. 

You must admit that you held some sort of envy ridden grudge against her because of the fact that she hadn’t seen what you saw, that she was able to still carry that blissful ignorance that maybe the world wasn’t so bad.

You grew accustomed to being on the farm, you loved tending to the crops and feeding the animals. Being needed meant that you had a purpose. You had a reason to look forward to the next day.

You remember the day that everything went to shit and you were already swimming with anxiety. There was fire and guns and you couldn’t find anybody until Maggie’s truck swung around. Seeing her face was like a blanket of relief, and in that moment you realized the only person that could make everything seem okay was her.

Being out on the road again was not only taxing physically, but also mentally as well. You could feel yourself slipping, days felt longer, your speech shorter, and that familiar but forgotten feeling of  hunger twisted in your stomach. 

Your eyes were set on the burning fire in front of you, the daylight was slipping away from your group with every minute that passed and you were feeling completely and utterly useless. You were mentally – and desperately – fighting against the dissociation that threatened to overcome you. You could feel the disconnect between your brain and you.

You knew that Maggie would want you to stay where you were sitting because she was worried about you. You could feel it in the way she made sure that you were fed, clothed, and warm during the night and safe during the day.

Rick had decided that the best course of action ccwas to stop for the night, so Maggie was off making sure that her father and sister got settled in comfortably. She had asked you many times if you were okay being by yourself for a short amount of time and you had found it within yourself to shoo her away and quell her worrying for a few minutes.

A part of you wanted to continue to use her as your safety net, but there was a piece of you that knew you should fight to stay independent.

With a sigh and one final look around the janky camp, you got up.

“I’m going to go get some more firewood.” You half-heartedly said to the others before stalking off into the nearest wooded area.

Being able to breathe in the few of the grass was refreshing. The wind swayed between the leaves of the trees, bringing you much needed silence.

Maybe being out on the road would be different this time, maybe this was another new beginning that you needed –

You hadn't heard come up behind you let alone grab onto your shoulders before you found yourself being pushed to the ground.

A scream forced its way out of your throat. You fought to turn around, hands slipping from your hold on its rotting corpse. It was so decayed that there was barely anything to hold onto and you stared right at its teeth ferociously bit at the air.

“Fucking - Help! Someone help me!” You cried.

You hadn't gone too far away from camp, so someone must have heard you, right?

You were losing your grip and with every chomp of its jaw got closer and closer to biting you on the face. “Please - I can’t -” And like a prayer that was answered, the thing was pulled off you, a nasty squish following a knife being put in its skull.

You could already see the dark spots in your vision, feel the suffocating tightness in your chest. Your lungs were filling up with water. You were dying, suffocating, practically drowning. You couldn’t bring yourself to speak even as you were being desperately shaken by what sounded like… Maggie?

“C’mon, breathe for me.” Her beckoning was blurred, falling on what seemed like deaf ears. 

“I -” You choked, forcing yourself to swallow the spit curating in your mouth. 

She takes your hand and places it on her chest where her heart rests under the flesh, and you can feel the rhythmic thumping under your fingertips. It helps ground you.

“Do what I do.” Maggie takes a deep breath and you attempt to follow, and as soon as the oxygen hits your brain, you can feel the rapid amount of tears that have managed to fall down your face.

“Good, good. You got it, honey.” A sob tears its way through you, and you all but throw your body into her arms. She rubs your back to help push away the possibility of hyperventilating, because she needed to get you off of the grass and back to camp fast.

“I need you to stand, can you do that for me?” She asks gently.

You weren’t going to lie and say your body didn’t hurt, the struggle and emotional exhaustion taking control of your already weak body.

“Yeah…” Your words were meek.

As you walked, your arm slung around her shoulder, you continually had to remind yourself that you were there with her and you were safe.

“Mags?” 

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

ೃ⁀➷ my lovely taglist!: @alina02 @louderfortheback @minervadashwood @fandomsarelifee @theendofthe70s @nomajdetective @mgg-theprettiestboy @phoenixblack89 @murdadixon

[corey-wh0re]

Everybody, grab your hats!

-I'm gonna be real, the instant I saw Hilary Swank in that fuckass hat, all of my questions, worries, doubts, & concerns that have been percolating in my head over the possibility of her being adult Melissa evaporated from the sheer force of the psychic damage of how thoroughly ridiculous the writers have saw fit to make Melissa as a character. While I do still have some lingering thoughts about this decision, what with how overwhelmingly white the adult YJs are (especially now that Lottie is dead</3) & how I've already addressed they let the cat out of the bag too soon that Melissa survives this season, her verbally eviscerating Shauna on sight & giving her free reign to unleash her worst self by flaunting her "normal, boring life" in her face is EXACTLY. what I have been yearning for this entire series. Adult Shauna is a caged animal who, yes! does. want to blow up her life & bask in the flames of her own creation because it's the only time she feels A L I V E & I want to watch her go on an absolute rampage. Those final moments of the episode made me feel like my skin was a live wire watching Shauna do what she does best with the promise of more violence to come in these final episodes. Regardless of whatever mixed feelings I still have surrounding Melissa by herself, the fact she has been such a perfect conduit to bestow upon us the Worst (aka: Best) Version Of Shauna™ does make her an integral element to this season's success. I mean, come on, Shauna biting Melissa's skin off & telling her to eat it as leverage. FUCK YES!!!

-The funniest shit is that Shauna is actually right to poke holes in Melissa's fantasy of having a "normal, boring life." Cause wtf do you MEAN you got close to Hannah, whom you all murdered & ritualistically consumed, dug up the tape she told you about to give to her child which you never do, returned to civilization, FAKED YOUR SUICIDE, assumed an entire fake identity/new life with who knows what means or money to do so, stalked. Hannah's daughter & then fell obsessively in love with her even though all you knew about her was that you killed & ate her mother, & then married & had a child with her while holding up this precarious stack of cards that is already risking crumbling to a disastrous heap because the guilt of hanging onto that god damn tape all these years started to correctly eat you alive for being, honestly, the most cowardly of the YJs by descending so. far into denial that you seem to be blinded by this squeaky clean version of reality you have convinced yourself exists. Like, my god, who can blame Shauna for tackling her in that kitchen cause it would piss me the fuck off too to have my former manipulative situationship try to pretend she's SO. well adjusted while everybody else is in shambles or dead when she has just as many problems as the rest!

-On the direct opposite end of the spectrum, witnessing everybody in the past either immediately. shift back into their S1 selves or wrestle against it by clinging desperately to their S3 selves gave me such whiplash to witness. They were literally just. ritualistically consuming Coach Ben & hunting down these "froggers," so to see everybody have a moment where they easily slipped back into their default "humanity" & even start fantasizing about/discussing amenities in "the real world" at the prospect of rescue made the wilderness conflict all the juicier & more tragic knowing what's to come (& also confirms what I've already said...they haven't gone feral enough yet). Natalie automatically becoming the leading voice she's always been whenever she isn't directly in charge. Travis reverting back to his old self the instant he sniffs out testosterone in his midst. Us seeing the earliest vestiges of Politician!Tai emerge as she worries about optics & spinning the narrative above everything else. Lottie being isolated from the group again as they shift into, "There she goes being crazy again" mode while a deep pit of dread opens up inside her. And on & on & on. I could go on forever examining how the warring factions for the remainder of the past timeline are emerging right here in this episode & how those factions are defined by infinitely conflicting motivations & I can not wait to see how the cliffhanger gets paid off next episode. I mean, I knew there was no way rescue was gonna be happening, but Shauna's, "No. You're not," really gave me chills with the promise of forcing the group to stay in just those brief, simple words!!!

-"Or has every woman you've ever been with been fucking boring?" Ya'know what, I gotta hand it to Jeff for that one. He is almost entirely a walking disaster who is purely entertaining to watch stumble around in a clueless daze & wondering what reaction he'll have to the rest of the shit happening on the show, but I'll let him have his heterosexual rights™ for that moment right there for directly mirroring THEE. thing Shauna is always fixated on. People can say what they want about him, but he really is Shauna's perfect match, even if she might not see or realize it. On a purely technical level, it doesn't seem like it makes sense with the "boring" element in mind since he's one of the more "normal" characters on the show, but it's like I previously observed where he's constantly involving her in his various schemes & how that automatically feeds her ego. And I am absolutely obsessed with & can perfectly understand the decision to make Shauna's specific malfunction being "boring" & how that defines her interactions with the other characters. It ties phenomenally back to her relationship & lingering resentment with Jackie, which the episode emphasized wonderfully with the opening dream sequence. Shauna fr had been waiting to snap at Jackie for y e a r s the night she died, because she craves conflict, chaos, confusion, & catharsis for her own bristling in her own skin, it's just that the guilt she feels into her adult life is her getting what she wanted immediately. led to the death of the person she loved the most instead of opening up the floodgates for a more toxic relationship like Melissa is presently giving her in both timelines (& regardless of what Melissa says, her dumbass sending Shauna "bisexual satan" Shipman that fucking tape is doing the exact same thing as all her other lovers by presenting her with the promise of a chaotic scheme to chase). God, Shauna fans & enablers REALLY won this episode. It was like a full-blown dissertation dedicated to deconstructing, celebrating, & criticizing everything she is & everything she stands for & I was eating it the fuck up the entire time!!!

-On the other end of the spectrum, the Dark Horse Manipulator™ herself, Callie, was looking suspicious as absolute SHIT this episode. She already was previously, but the alarm bells are going off with the way the narrative keeps subtly making her fly under the radar by injecting these probing questions or perfectly timed doubts into interactions. And I'm curious to know what. exactly her gameplan is here cause I don't see it as being so cut & dry as the positioning of her character might make us all want it to seem. Is she trying to drive her mother over the edge so she finally gets the answers she's looking for? Is she doing the same lashing out to test Shauna's resolve because she feels she hasn't gotten the love she's looking for? Is she trying to get Shauna sent to prison in retaliation to everything she's dealt with? Is she only offering up the possibility of arrest to examine how she'll manage to evade the law AGAIN? Because so many of her actions do not make sense unless she has ulterior motives, but she's held at a distance so much that one can not glean the precise answer even if we can circulate options & I am dying to know!

-Even with my initial apprehensions in mind, this is probably one of my favorite episodes of the season cause it was locked. securely in engaging conflict & progressing the crazy dial just. enough to fulfill expectations while keeping you wanting more. I have to give the showrunners their tens for this one cause the Melissa character & Hilary Swank casting could've easily felt like a jump the shark moment or like a flashy distraction taking away from everything else the series has built up to, but because Melissa is so intrinsically tied to Shauna & her character arc, "the other shoe dropping," as it were, made this such a worthwhile pay-off to the patient build-up the entire season has worked toward. It's moments like these that make me appreciate that I'm willing to give this show the benefit of the doubt for the little things that don't work for me at times because I know some.thing it gonna end up coming along to make sure that patience is not in vain. And when so many shows nowadays are either rushing to get to good stuff so that there is nothing left later on or cancelled as soon as they start, having a show take its time to earn reveals & interactions like this makes for such rewarding viewings.

[beevean]

That was one of my criticisms for Castlevania Season 2, when I watched it back in 2018: so much screen time spent on Dracula moping and waiting for release from his pain. I think such a miserable position for the FINAL BOSS should've been preserved for an endgame reveal, instead of explicitly displayed for hours of animation frames. But, if you could adjust his arc, where would you do it?

Alright, so.

My unshakeable idea is that the CoD prequels tell a perfectly coherent story, and a good writer could have easily intertwined the hero side of Trevor and the gang approaching Dracula's castle and bonding in the meantime (bonding, not Alucard participating in the Cunt Olympics), with the villain side showcasing Dracula destroying villages and losing himself in his fury and Hector being so disgusted by the senseless violence that he leaves, creating a chain of events where Isaac has to follow him to kill him/retreive him, therefore leaving Dracula unprotected against the legendary Belmont, his son, and a terrifying witch. (in this version there's not even Death, so Dracula really was left without his best people)

What kills N!Dracula in S2 is that he has zero drive. The villain plot hinges exactly on this point. He's patiently waiting for everyone to die, but he's not supervising the war that he has started, leaving room for discord, discontent, doubts, and giving this random regional ruler the chance to swoop in and seize control by simply telling Hector "hey cutie follow me 😘".

The idea that the other vampires disagree with Dracula makes sense. He is leading them to a slow, painful death by starving. I do think Dracula should have grown more paranoid and eager to mantain control, though: N!Dracula strikes me as being disrespected and not even worthy of respect. Again, I remind you of the fact that Carmilla made fun of him and Lisa in front of everyone, and Dracula let her go without so much as a slap on the wrist. No fucking way this should fly. This is not a villain I can take seriously. I want this bastard back:

"this bitch believes he can have an opinion. yeet"

Like. Have him being a menace to everyone in the court. A hated menace, maybe, but for fuck's sake give him back some charisma! None of that "my fwiends don't wike me anymowe. awe you stiww my fwiend, Isaac-kun? 🥺"

I hate the inclusion of Carmilla, and while I can think about how to fix her by making her less of a walking stereotype, her role in the story is to make Dracula and his lackeys look profoundly stupid: Hector for easily going along with her plans (her protests sound plausible at first, but then she talks about unseating Dracula out in the open??? and then Hector, the supposed General, has the balls to be all surprisedpikachu.jpg when he has to betray Dracula????), and Dracula and Isaac for giving in to her whims simply to shut her up, while fully knowing that she doesn't have good intentions. She's not necessary to this portion of the story. Hector in the show already starts out as not liking the slaughter of innocents despite him being okay with culling, and in this version he was outright lied to by Dracula. He should have, by all means, realized by himself that he was deceived, that no one in that joint takes him seriously, and defected out of personal hurt, before learning something about human empathy. Having an underling witness the full extent of Dracula's cruelty and stubborness makes him look better than whatever this is:

And yes. Witness. Show. I swear this show hates to show things. Dracula only effectively destroys a village on screen in the very first episode. That was cool! Why can't we have cool things here??

I don't care that Carmilla's removal would radically change Hector's plotline in S3 and 4. Considering what happens to him, it's for the best. Because Carmilla is completely irrelevant for anyone else: her plans barely have the chance to step out of her castle before getting squashed, and the Trephacard gang never learns about her. Yeah I know Isaac has his Belmont moment when he kills her, but you know. His desire for revenge should be about Hector anyway :) They are supposed to have a whole story together, not him being the Jesus of the situation while Hector is some rapist's chew toy :) but hey, for that, my friend @chumpovodir already thought on how to fix that mess.

Anyway. Dracula in S2 should have at the very least engaged in more on-screen atrocities. His random flashback where he kills the merchants in an oddly sexual way doesn't count, because that was a way to say "oh look at him, he was so Evil before Lisa healed him with the Power of Love 🥺". No, I mean that in the present. Dracula is a petty, vile man who overreacts to genuine grief by spreading around his misery. He needs to be insane, but proactive.

Oh, and he should have turned into a monster >:\

I apologize if this answer doesn't fully satisfy you lmao. I tend to go into tangents lol, this show activates my braincells like little else