#also i admit that this plot is quite repetitive

[unparalleledtrash]

GIVE JIWOO A DAMN BREAK!!

[lovergirlanna]

Dating HC’S | T.R

Tom Riddle x Chubby! Fem Reader

slight warning: talking bad about readers looks/body size + refusing/avoiding meals

SFW + NSFW

NOT PROOF READ

SFW

- As much as Tom may try to deny it he adores your company, just having you around him boosts his ego.

- Tom doesn’t exactly seem like the type of person to give someone else affection but when it comes to you it’s a completely different story. He’ll throw in compliments once in a while. He finds your reactions to them amusing. “Your embarrassed aren’t you?” If you do get embarrassed by the rare compliment it will only make him poke fun at your embarrassment.

- Physical touch is his favourite thing to do so don’t be surprised when you find his arm around your waist whilst you two walk around Hogwarts together.

- Tom will show you off he wants people to know you are his and that he is yours he will not hesitate to go to the extreme to prove this point.

- Once he finds out your skipping meals he’ll get suspicious for one you skip breakfast as your excuse is always that ‘you slept in’ and then for lunch it’s ‘I was studying in the library’ only making it to dinner.

- Tom will confront you especially if this pattern is becoming repetitive. He’ll speak sternly to you commanding an answer from you but this is only because he truly cares about you, he really dose it’s just hard for him since he is quite monotone in his behaviour.

- Finally when you tell him the reason as to why you are skipping meals he replies with a “What?” “Are you seriously suggesting that?” Almost not believing you. In his eyes your are perfection.

- When he finally understands the whole situation he will comfort you because you are his girlfriend after all. He dose care for you and for the love of god if any of the other students are ridiculing you for your body Tom would loose the plot with them. They all know better not to say anything negative about you in-front of his face.

- After he’s talked with you about your views on your body in the following days he will start asking you if you’ve eaten enough. He will start coming to your dorm in the morning to pick you up for breakfast and will even meet you at your class before lunch to make sure you eat. Again he dose care for you and he dose want you safe and healthy.

NSFW

- Tom will never admit it but he gets turned on from you being in your uniform. He loves how your jumper clings onto your body and how it makes your waist stand out such a pity your robes conceal your body most of the time. He also loves your thighs gosh they make him go crazy.

- He loves your body well in-fact he’s practically addicted to it. He loves your soft tummy and your breasts that he’ll bite and suck on with no hesitation.

- He adores the way your tits jiggle as he pounds into you.

- Getting your riled up and needy is what he dose best just making you beg for him Is perfect in his eyes

- Loves overstimulating you and seeing you in a needy mess. As he feels your about to release he’ll pull out glaring at you sniggering down at you. “what’s wrong doll?” He’ll say with no shame. He truly is shameless.

- He’s quite quite he’ll grunt and gasp but on the other hand if your white loud he’ll tease you. “People will hear us so I suggest you shut that pretty mouth of yours.”

- Seeing you beg for him, practically cock drunk makes him smirk. It’s irresistible.

- Tom doesn’t really have a favourite position he just loves it when you beg for him and having full control during sex.

LIST OF CHARACTERS I HAVE DONE FOR THIS THEME

[gotskamstuff]

My honest review of PART 1 (that nobody asked for but I wanna talk about it)

‼️ SPOILER FOR S4 pt.1 (obviously but still a fair warning) ‼️

After watching the entirety of part one I have to admit that I am a bit confused by my own reaction ‘cause there are so many little things that I loved and missed about the show and we finally found back, but at the same time on the overall it kind of disappointed me a little how much time was taken away from the important things and going straight to the point…it was mainly ruined by Topper and Sofia’s storylines, both incredibly boring, repetitive and totally unnecessary.

I gotta say I LOVED episode 1 and episode 5 and half of episode 2, they had me hooked and got me really into the Outer Banks feels from S1 both in terms of adventure and Pogues dynamics, but I feel like half of episode 2 and episodes 3-4 nothing really big happened and there was just a lot of filler scenes, in terms of plot and storyline for the treasure hunt all that happened in 4 episodes is that they found the necklace and lost it, just in episode 5 they actively move forward.

There was so much unnecessary stuff that felt like plot fillers, probably gonna get a good portion of the fandom against this statement ‘cause I know the character got so many fans, but Rafe? The amount of scenes he got with Sofia repeating the same thing over and over was too much in my opinion, it felt like fan service just to get Drew on screen as much as possible. The whole Sofia character and storyline is actually insane to me how much screen time and attention got, no offense but…who cares? It’s kind of crazy that we got scenes of Sofia’s home, family, relationship, insecurities and background BEFORE WE EVEN GOT CLEO’S!

Too much screentime and too much attention to background characters (IMMENSELY background) that the audience could not care less about, especially when it came to the expenses of the main characters story and depth. This goes for Sofia just like Topper and quite frankly also Terrance.

Sofia is a character that we barely saw one season ago for a total of probably 2-3 minutes, now she’s taking up minutes upon minutes and various scenes IN EACH EPISODE and to repeat the same thing over and over again…I feel like one scene would have been enough to understand she doesn’t fit in with the Kooks and therefore she turns on Rafe, also there hasn’t been no built ups whatsoever neither over her or her relationship with Rafe. As i said we barely ever saw this character, why or how is the audience supposed to care or empathize with her? Why is the audience supposed to care all of a sudden about Rafe and Sofia’s relationship? It went from 0 to 100 out of nowhere, from the most irrelevant thing last season to now apparently being the entire storyline for Rafe. There would have been so many more interesting things to see about Rafe’s behavior after his father’s death, how he lost it, how he’s reacting and clearly trying to become the man Ward was, but no it was just “gotta invest and be good for me and Sofia”…none of the things he cared for (and literally went psycho for) were explored with any depth: his family, the gold, the family’s property at Tanny Hill he wanted to keep, how he said he’d seek revenge if anything happened to Ward etc.

Topper as well…did they not get the memo last season of how tired the audience is of his repetitive storyline? He comes, insults the Pogues, digs at John B about Sarah and blablabla, still WHO CARES? And who cares he got a girlfriend or that he has something to prove to her? Who cares that he hosts parties and who cares he was there surfing and causing problems with the Pogues? Who cares about this Ruth girl suddenly beefing with Kie? This has been done and over for 4 seasons now, we could’ve just seen him talk to Rafe once and impress his girlfriend about the investments on the land which is the only relevant thing for the plot.

And I’m probably gonna sound like a bitch here but Terrance as well, was it necessary? I mean, the only good thing about it is that we FINALLY got a tiny little minuscule bit of backstory for Cleo but even that was sooooo superficial. Once again they wanted the audience to empathize with something that was portrayed so minimally. Terrance reappeared out of nowhere without any explanation, told Cleo to comply and died…damn we could’ve at least seen a little more of that bond he and Cleo had, have him be there a little more for a couple of episodes, see him look out for Cleo and save her to empathize a bit more with his death and even find out more about Cleo’s upbringing since it’s something related to one of the main characters, but no.

Sofia, Topper, Ruth, Terrance and I’m sorry but I’m gonna include even Rafe in this list, are all characters that have no relevance anymore for the show and might as well not be there at all, they don’t add anything valuable to this story and just take away time from the plot with irrelevant and marginal scenes that no one cares about.

I guess my overall disappointment is that a lot of the Pogue’s storyline got put too much on the side and brushed off way too quickly for the sake of irrelevant characters who got way more screentime than needed to the point it started getting boring/irritating.

Barely saw Sarah and John B mourning their fathers, not even slightly explored the evident fear of John B turning into his dad that was just blurted out of nowhere by Pope, Pope’s family that’s been a constant in this series is nowhere to be seen, Kiara’s family dynamic and storyline is brushed off ENTIRELY with a 3 seconds flashbacks and with her parents suddenly being at the ceremony without a clue on what happened in between, Cleo’s backstory that was promised to us was just a quick show up in one episode of an old character and one line “he raised me since I was 13”…and can we talk about JJ’s reunion with Luke?

It was probably the most anticipated plot and one of the things the audience cared the most about and it felt so anticlimactic, same thing for the discovery of JJ’s parents. A MASSIVE PLOT TWIST in the main storyline of a main character blurted out like that so casually? Solved in one episode in a handful of minutes of screentime? I was actually getting really excited about the build up towards JJ’s past ‘cause I feel like they were doing a pretty good job with the hints and the subtle way it was getting anticipated that JJ’s mom was the woman who died and then Luke comes back without any type of suspense and in two minutes of screentime “I gotta tell you I am not your father and that wasn’t your mother” just like that, as if the Maybanks storyline isn’t what defined the entirety of JJ’s character and personality. There was so much more depth that could’ve gone into their reunion with mixed emotions and there could’ve been waaaay more pathos about JJ discovering his true identity. It was just thrown out there after 3 minutes on screen with his dad.

Even all the couples and ships, we saw more of Rafe and Sofia’s relationship than we saw JJ and Kiara (perhaps the most anticipated ship) or Pope and Cleo.

I feel like even the whole treasure hunt was moving so slowly and got put in the background, the only real high was in half of episode 2 with the scuba diving portion and in episode 5 when they actually go do something and they are in the catacombs, I’d include Cleo’s kidnapping but once again it got done and solved so minimally and once again interrupted by scenes with Rafe, Sofia and Topper when we could’ve been on the suspense for Cleo.

Personally I think that what people really missed about S1 ans S2 was the Pogues dynamic (which I ADORED so far in part one and this is something that to me made the whole season dear to me, finally they’re back with their essence) but also how action packed the show was EVERY EPISODE, back then it was almost as if each episode was its own mission for every discovery and every adventure they went on, it was a constant “onto the next move” and so high on adrenaline and action around the treasure hunt and I don’t know, it overall felt so slow this time and like they did so little discovery except the necklace and the crown (which was just mentioned).

And I gotta be real here, the reason why I say episode 1 and 5 (and half of 2) were my favorite was indeed because it was PACKED with the Pogues, the catch up to their story, their dynamic, moves being made in the plot with the treasure…and MOSTLY because they had the least interruption from all that Sofia and Topper boring stuffs that just kept breaking the flow of the story with irrelevant scenes.

I know that at this point I’m sounding so negative and believe me, the first person saddened about this is me. I was so excited for this season AND I STILL AM but I gotta admit, I really loved a lot of things (and I’ll probably show my excitement during the wait for part 2 with a lot of things I want to rewatch, theorize about and obsess over) but also I couldn’t get past my annoyance over the superficiality the main characters personal storylines suffered from compared to the excessive importance it was given to background characters.

And once again I’m sure my excitement over the episodes I just watched will probably build up in the wait for part 2 but it’s because I’ll be able to control where to direct my interest and attention concentrating more on the things I liked and found interesting, but I gotta say that my gut reaction on first impact while watching for the first time is that something kept breaking the flow of the storytelling so far (what I just explained about the excessive irrelevant subplots).

Get more screentime and more depth to our Pogues feelings and personal stories…WE DON’T CARE ABOUT SOFIA AND TOPPER!!

[euphoric-dramione]

April Dramione fanfic wrap-up *with links*

Amor Vincit Omnia by Twin_Flame_Blues: a cute second-chance healing romance. i’m not usualully very much into these tropes, but i really enjoyed reading this. it was very long, considering that not that much was actually happening, but it was still easy to read and i always wanted to come back to it when i had to put it down.

Rosemary for Remembrance by rubber_soul02: a beatiful healing fic with a found family trope where draco is abit angsty but worthy of redepmtion and hermione is a bit darker because of her trauma that she cannot easily move on from.

Timeless by alexandra_emerson: i liked the idea of this fic, the complexity of time and relationships in that complex time, but the more it went on, the more it just became a bore. it was really repetitive too.

A Season For Setting Fires by mighbewriting: i feel like this fic was the perfect lenght - i didn’t get bored of it and it kept my attention throughout the whole story. i liked the idea very much, the writing was brilliant and the plot really hooked me. i feel like for a wartime fic it was a bit too sappy but i still really enjoyed it. the ending, i feel, was sort of the weakest poitn, otherwise i would’ve given this fic the highest grade.

Soft As It Began by rubber_soul02: i definitely did not read this fic because of the mystery aspect, but i loved that it was actually entertaining and i really wanted to find out what happened to harry. the chemistry between our ship was also really good.

Lumos & Lattes by magicalmolly: i liked this fic and was hooked on from the beginning, but i think it didn’t know what genre it wanted to be: a fluffy coffee shop au, a smutty fic, a healing and redemption fic, a dark murder fic, an angsty fic, a fluffy fic? by the end, i still don’t know. i don’t think the author is entirely sure either.

Love & Other Historical Accidents by PacificRimbaud: i wasn’t impressed by this. found it really dull and boring and repetitive. not that i’m a big fan of regency, but i thought i was a fan of time travel. maybe i’m not?

Break Her by BareWithMeHoney: dark and twisted, ust how i love it, alhtough very much out of character and many of the decisions h and d made really did not make sense. i also feel like thif fic explained more and showed little, but i still really enjoyed it.

Things We Say In The Dark by rubber_soul02: this was such a beautiful academic fic, although i wouldn’t say it was dark acdemia, but it definitely had academic vibes. i loved the characterization of draco and hermione, as well as their interactions and relationship. also, the side pairing of theo and harry hit me hard in the best way possible.

Ten out of Ten by morriganmercy: a fun marriage law smutty fic that i read in one sitting.

On The Nature Of Daylight by ikorous: i ate this fic up in 20 hours because i was obsessed with it. this type of smut and toxic draco was all i ever needed. although i have to admit this fic is not the best written and there are plot holes, but the plot just absolutely doesn’t matter here. this is the type of bad boy x good girl dynamic i’m talking about. the ending though, i have to say, was not very satisfactory, but i also don’t see any other way this could’ve ended.

Things We're All Too Young To Know by eevans: the first half of this fic was absolutely brilliant, but right after draco found out that hermione was preteding to be daphne, it seems like the whole ansgt and chemistry simply evaporated and i was left with nothing. overall, a quite fun fic, although i found the second hafl to be boring.

ONE-SHOTS:

Paris by Twin_Flame_Blues

A Bit of a Mess by slytherindiaries

Amortentia by LadyMidnight87

DNFs:

The Binding by Curly_Kay

Hot for Teacher by MotherofBulls

[skyeoak]

Tmagp 29 thoughts

Late on the post, I am now edentulous in the far back and had a packed week because of it. Here we go:

Consistently good decision maker, Samama Khalid, here to make another important decision based on what he feels is happening. But before that, a case file!

I. Liked. This story.

It really reminds me plot-wise of a Man Called Ove, if it careened off the rails and became a horror.

I don’t super love the prose here as much as in other cases—mostly a personal preference, it uses repetition in a way that felt too hand-of-the-author to me. Not as egregious as the repetition in The Blade Itself’s prose, though.

The initial diary entries did a great job of setting up the scene and the characters, while also making me wonder when the other shoe would drop. And it did!

The bridge was definitely where I realized this cute marriage was about to get fucked up. But my “don’t go in there” moment was them walking down below the bridge. For some reason that description got me, probably because… WATER. WATER IS BELOW THE BRIDGE (another water-based spook, actually?)

Even their bumbling tourist attitude in getting into the lock museum was great. As was Viola’s cognitive dissonance as she describes and redescribes what happened, not quite wanting to admit that she left her husband to die.

And uh. Locke darling can you tell me where exactly that crack in the wall you unlocked was? Because I’ll bet £100 that I know where it was and the street name started with a Hill and ended in Top. Also who has the ivory key now.

But ~paraphrasing~ “How horrible to be locked together for fifty years?” “I abandoned him to save myself”? Chester u good?

Also love the flavor of Chester just starting to talk on his own while Gwen is alone in the office. I’m sure this is not setup for the finale in anyway and will in fact work out fine and not make Gwen feel any emotions about any of her previous actions!

It’s on the train 🥲 oh god, the helplessness Alice must be feeling right now. I really want to see what she does. Takes the next train to a crime scene? Takes an uber and arrives at Hilltop first? Some other third option? I have a bad feeling the archivist might statement Celia to death in the meantime.

Very much looking forward to the season finale. I think it’s fun how the archivist has ended up being the initial threat of TMAGP, considering how much of a foil Archives Jon was to Jane Prentiss by the end of TMA.

[kimyoonmiauthor]

You are a "Pantser" OR you're a "Plotter" or a Plantser and how dare you suggest these are tools in a toolbox and there is no other way to write. You "ARE" one or the other for all time and you aren't supposed to argue.

*eyeroll* How did we get here?

Can we stop this?

Look, at advanced levels of writing you can do all and none of them. This is supposed to give you a starting point and as writers, I still think it's a terrible bit of terminology.

You improvised some if it makes far more sense or you discovered it.

You outlined some of it.

You set out milestones to hit.

That makes a lot more sense. Or you did absolutely none of them. (Tone writing, thematic writing, the coil writing, braided essay, and I can continue on).

What is it with Europeans and their false binaries?

Look, the best writers do what? They serve the story.

You have a fantastic idea, but in order for that idea to work you have to hit an outline. You're miserable because it's been stuck in your head for a month and you can't write like the story demands it of you, but you absolutely have to write this way in order to get that click sound. You know the characters, you know the plot but you've improvised all of your life.

This is Agatha Christie. It was so bad she had to lock herself in a room for a month or two to figure out how to write the story. But she habitually improvises her mysteries, which a lot of people say is impossible. (Linear forwards writer)

This "You ARE" one type or another would have made one of the most interesting of her stories, And Then There Were None, never come to be.

Diana Gabaldon, famously admits herself that she does none of these. Haha. She writes slowly out of order as she researches and this sets the core of the story and she leans into her Native American heritage quite a bit to come up with the shape of the story. Is it any of those if she's writing out of order? No. It's not an outline because she's not outlining. She's not writing in order which is what this assumes. And it's not 100% discovery writing. (The problem though is bloat and she doesn't always know where the excerpt belongs until the book is done) BTW, she also listens to a high number of books, though she's sighted to get the feel of the regional accents. (Author interviews and her podcast says this).

How does this fit the "You ARE" philosophy at all?

What I'd advocate is start with one, and work your butt off to learn the others and get good at them because all of them are tools in a toolbox. Learn how to write a braided story. It's really hard the first time. And the second time. And the third time. But by the time you get to the sixth, or seventh time, it's easy.

If you learn ALL of them, it's easier to edit your work because you know what to look for when and how, (such as cutting repetition) and you can also learn more advanced techniques which I guarantee your readers/watchers/consumers will appreciate. Such as the East Asian technique of making a small thing you thought insignificant larger in the story later, on purpose, without the "You must hang a lantern on that three times or your story will turn into a pumpkin and cease to be communicated" and more advanced techniques like how do you get the reader to follow along without using a lantern?

What I want for all writers is that when they are stuck, to be able to do things like outline what they have so far to figure out how to get unstuck, instead of posting on their social media for 1 month to a year about how they have writer's block. Or how to improvise out of it because they did all the research. Or how to rewrite their way out of it. Or to rethink on the philosophy and themes they've had and get out of it.

And how are you going to do that and gain speed if you're going to tell everyone that writing a certain way is an identity you cannot break as if it's a sexual orientation? It's a creative art. You can do whatever the fuck you like and I'm giving you permission to fuck around, but also to up your skill level.

It's OK to primarily use one for one thing, one for another, but fundamentally, I kinda think it's a good idea to know how to apply all of them to a story to help yourself out. (Brandon Sanderson says he discovery writes his characters, but outlines the story as loose events to hit.) There are no binaries with creativity. Everyone is free to develop their own style. But remember that your process needs to be edited. So knowing what you need to improve based on your process is the end key. Because I hold that the best story is that YOU CAN'T tell how they wrote it because they edited all the signs out of the story because they are not only a master writer, they are a master editor too.

Also, white Europeans out there... learning other story structures and how they are written can also help you too. It's not just a nifty little tool to do something different. But sometimes learning them and how neat and tidy does hide a tool in your toolbox you never learned. Like how to write using none of anything I've listed above. And how awesome is that that you've learned yet another way to get unstuck and intrigue the reader? (I really dislike the all or nothing psychology, but maybe because I'm NB).

[sendothetaurus]

Scaramouche deserved better

This is kind of a hot take on chapter III of the archon quest.

I love theorizing and picking things apart, so please don't come for me bhfwlahwlxnfl.

It might be useful to have some knowledge about what has happened so far. (This post is very long, also SPOILERS)

Remember, this is an opinion, not a fact or an offence against anybody. This has nothing to do with the cn drama. This is just me nitpicking at the story lol

The erasure of Scaramouche’s past was unnecessary.

In hindsight, it is a repetitive plot line, already established with the “death” of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. She ceased because she eliminated the forbidden knowledge and therefore stopped the withering in Irminsul. In context, her disappearance made sense. With Scaramouche, however, it doesn’t: All the carefully thought through occurrences, all the relationships and connections between characters are annihilated in the process of changing Scaramouche’s past. Did it matter that Ei left her almost literal son alone? No, because she doesn’t remember. Did it matter that Niwa and Mikoshi Nagamasa accepted and perhaps loved the Kabukimono? No, because they are long dead and they have forgotten that he even existed. Did it matter that he found out the truth about Dottore’s murder? No, because Niwa died in the furnace instead, or so everyone believes. Why let everyone forget he killed hundreds of swordsmiths only to retell the truth? It would have made more sense if it wasn’t even erased in the first place. The only thing remaining for the Wanderer is the agony that nobody remembers except for a chosen few and himself. If anything, he only brought suffering upon himself. In the end, a very huge part of character development is lost this way.

By erasing himself, Scaramouche didn’t achieve anything.

If he hadn’t forgotten himself, there would be no rescue arc for him. He hadn’t changed his mind about the Traveler at that point in the story. In Act III, Inversion of Genesis, The Night-Bird Falls at the Curtain's Call, Scaramouche specifically states:

“...Or maybe killing me is all you can think about? But if that's the case, why haven't you done it already? [...] Sometimes it's you using them, other times it's them using you. Most human relationships are this way... certainly all the stable ones are. That's how it was between me and the Fatui, and also between each of the Harbingers. So as long as you have some value to offer, nobody will ever abandon you. But after recent events, even I have to admit that I'm not worth quite what I used to be…”

What I take from this are three things: Scaramouche acknowledges the Traveler as a threat. He uses Nahida’s deal as a backup for his own safety because providing utility to others is what he defines as a stable relationship. He also accepts his position as inferior - for the time being. This is the start of the turning point.

The Wanderer later says in Act III, Inversion of Genesis, As Though Morning Dew:

“Even if I'm completely worthless, there's nothing in the world worth regretting. [...] Utility to others is what gives me worth. So if embracing my sins is what it takes to make me useful again, so be it. [...] Sorry if I have a slightly different perspective on things. [...] Well, whatever your reasons, you did me a favor, and I'll do everything I can to pay it back. [...] Borrowing and returning are the only real relationships between individuals. I'll balance the books one day, don't you worry.”

He didn’t change his view of relationships, as much is clear. This logically drives him to “repay the favor” the Traveler did for him. Fueled by his unchanging way of understanding a true and kind-hearted relationship, it sounds like the Wanderer just atones for his sins because someone (in this case Nahida; she concludes: “In all honesty, your past experiences have made you a useful asset to Sumeru and to me. Winning you over was indeed a part of my plan.”) wants him to. This again makes him a puppet to his circumstance, instead of empowering him to make the right choice on his own. His whole life, it was the circumstance that created the scornful being he became in the end (this is a reference to the three betrayals and his relationship with the Fatui). His will to be “of use” actually hindered him in finding a path that is not influenced by others. Him realizing this would be a satisfying and meaningful way to change the tides of the storyline and would carry an important message.

The existence of the Wanderer doesn’t make sense.

It is unclear how much control Scaramouche had over the creation of the Wanderer and if he was involved in the changes that were made around Teyvat. Irminsul has its limits on what it can and cannot change. Then again, I feel like the fact that he forgot himself was merely a catalyst for the current events, speeding up the pace for him to switch sides. Did the Wanderer just wake up the morning Paimon forgot about Scaramouche? How did he exit Irminsul if he forgot everything? Where do his clothes come from? Why was he in the wilderness when he woke up? We don’t know what life the Wanderer believed to have lived before regaining his memories, which is a major plot hole that could be filled in the future. But arguably the most jarring thing about the Wanderer is his personality.

What purpose does the character serve story-wise? For sure, it’s displaying a contrast between the two entities, the yin to the yang one could say. Maybe it’s meant as a “what could have been” or as an example for gratitude and affability, traits which Scaramouche never possessed. How can it be that someone so cruel and relentless carries something so pure at heart inside of him? If it hadn’t been for all the betrayals maybe this is what we would have gotten instead. It shows how the world changed Scaramouche when he felt powerless in the face of hardship. Which is why he defined his worth as the acknowledgement and utility to others - because he couldn’t find it within himself. Because he felt inferior to everything and everyone from his birth to his procession of achieving Godhood. And in the end, he lost everything but his body.

This consequently motivates the Wanderer to seek the truth about his past. Through him we get insight on both Scaramouche’s and Wanderer’s thoughts:

“I don't think I can judge everything I've heard purely in terms of right and wrong. Each choice a person makes belongs to a specific place and time, a chain of cause and effect... a cycle of karma and consequence. [...] I'm just a puppet, with no heart and no name. There is nothing in this world for me to cling to, to fill the void within me... except maybe these sins that can never be undone. [...] I've always believed that human lives follow a set of rules, with each person being a collection of past experiences. As a puppet living in the human world, my life is subject to the same rules. [...]  I've lived with a void in my chest my whole life. My creator didn't need me, and ever since I awoke, I've just drifted from one place to the next. [...] I've always felt I have an innate tendency to yearn for something more, in a way that goes deeper than for most people... But for all my soul-searching as a shugenja, I've never fully understood it. Looking at it now, it seems that I brought this curse upon myself.”

This is the first and only time the Wanderer admits this to himself; that he was searching for something that ultimately led him to his demise. After regaining his memories, he reverts to his old self, as explained above. Even if it is a very clever way to make the character consistent throughout the story, I wished we would have seen some character development, especially of Scaramouche since he’s the one filling The Wanderers consciousness.

I thought about how it would be to remember two lifetimes in one body: Even if someone told you what you did in another life, would that change who you are now? Then what if you had memories of that other life inside you, would that erase the you that is currently existing? This is why I don’t agree with Nahida’s statement:

“If you accept that he is you, just as you are you, then yes - you are evil.”

It feeds into the fact that The Wanderer’s personality later resembles the one of Scaramouche. The Wanderer accepts that he is “evil” and has to “face the music”. Again, he takes responsibility for Scaramouche’s past because his will to be of utility to others presses him to do it. Clearly, in this moment he had the chance to turn his back on his past and instead live on as the more kind and benevolent version of himself. I would have liked to spend more time with the soft Wanderer, the one that was born with a pure “heart”, the one who learned to love instead of hate. It would have left a bitter-sweet feeling because he would be content like this, never truly understanding why he inflicted these cruel things on others.

Let's look at this from yet another perspective: What if Scaramouche wanted to forget about the deaths, the betrayals at the cost of losing the memory of his friends too? Wouldn’t that have been a far greater punishment? To know that you willingly wipe out every single last teardrop and every single spark of joy? On the other hand, I understand why other people would despise this ending because Scaramouche would never really have to feel any lasting consequence for what he did. He would just be “neutralized”.

The alternation of Irminsul’s records has differing effects.

The Doctor still did the experiments, so the results must be in his possession. Despite not knowing who he experimented with, The Doctor would still have knowledge of how to create a God. This can be concluded because Paimon accidentally broke a vase when she was worried about Scaramouche. After “changing” the past, the vase is still broken. This indicates that the general memory of everyone changed, however the world remained the same. All objects are still the way they were before the change occurred. This is an interesting concept of changing the past, but it doesn’t add up with what happens in the plot. After Scaramouche’s meddling with Irminsul’s records, the Traveler meets Aqaba and Sawada, whose research was altered in favor of erasing Scaramouche. However, this shouldn’t be possible according to what we learn at the end of the story when the mysterious voice talks to the Traveler.

“History does not change easily, but human hearts can. Believe your own eyes. Only that which you see is true. What is unseen is but an illusion.”

Irminsul can change what people believe, meaning knowledge and wisdom, not real objects, occurrences and consequences  - is what I suspect. Regardless, the voice also says:

“Unfortunately, the fate of Teyvat cannot easily be changed. Perhaps a god may have a slim chance, but for anyone else... who can say. When a small animal runs into a tree trunk, though the tree may sway, it is not displaced. The same is true of fate. Like a vase that falls to the ground. Whether it is broken by a cat or by a bird, the result is still a broken vase, is it not?”

The statement is true to what happened when Scaramouche tried to rescue his friends so that they would survive Il Dottore’s attack. They died either way, despite the Kabukimono “not being there”.

The Doctor’s power remains unclear.

He himself admits while negotiating with Nahida:

“A long time ago, I made a major decision in hopes of preserving all my perspectives of how I observed the world. Observation is the first step of any experiment, but observing the current world doesn't satisfy me. It lacks an important dimension — that of time. So I saved "segments" of all my ages, and made them into independent individuals… [...] What you request of me is like plucking out the eyes I have placed in the dimension of time. [...] Besides, with my abilities, it's only a matter of time until I find better "perspectives." Perhaps it's best to say... you're just temporarily ahead.”

The Travel Log specifies:

“As Nahida closes her eyes, many voices enter her consciousness: Some are young, some are old, some are angry, and some are helpless... All of them are the voices of The Doctor's segments, each derived from him at a different age.”

From what I understand, the Doctor has created segments, that each are positioned in a specific point in time to keep an eye on certain events, and with whom he can communicate. Since the Doctor is able to see through time, it would be possible for him to relive the past without the interference of Irminsul, as it merely changes the memories of the people. For the Doctor it would be possible to recount the truth because he would see it with his own eyes. This is what makes his segments all the more dangerous to the fate of Teyvat. However, the Doctor clarifies that he can find other ways to watch time, and the annihilation of his segments just set him back temporarily. With that said, he’s one of a few people who are unaffected by alternation of Irminsul, just like the Descenders. The question is if he can control these segments to even change how some occurrences took place - which would give him the power to literally change the past. With this in mind, there is a possibility that Scaramouche could be able to save his friends. It would give him a reason to pursue the Doctor and to work together with the Traveler. It would be an interesting concept for them to acquire the Doctor’s power to go back in time and to see the real consequence. But for the Doctor to be able to “alter” fate, he must become a God himself. At least, this is what the mysterious voice tells the Traveler. Another possibility is for the Wanderer and the Traveler to encounter the God of Time or an equally powerful entity. However, this is just speculation.

***

If you've read all this, thank you so much for your time ♥

[hard-core-super-star]

get her back! [H.Steinfeld]

pairing: hailee steinfeld x reader

summary: you and hailee try to get your relationship back on track while shooting the sunkissing music video. it’s easier said than done though, especially since the line between love and hate blurs more and more every day.

warnings: still a chaotic mix of angst and fluff; stubborn idiots finally admit their feelings but keep arguing because it's easier than figuring out how to make things work; mentions of crappy PR stunts; R being lowkey petty + hailee being absolutely clueless why; some metaphors get repetitive but it's part of the plot, i promise

wordcount: 1.6k

a/n: this is part two to one step forward, three steps back. slightly inspired by both get him back! and logical by olivia rodrigo because guts has taken over my life in the best of ways. thank you for all the love and the requests for a part two, i see you and i am eternally grateful to all of you. i love writing about these stubborn idiots and i can only hope you enjoy reading about them just as much <3

* * * * * * *

Working with Hailee and being in love with her are two very different things that should definitely not mix. Not just because it’s incredibly unprofessional but also because it’s way too easy to pretend like you’re mad at each other because of the work you’re doing and not the messy way you’re handling being back in each other’s lives.

It’s immature and stupid and somehow not surprising at all considering the way you two act around each other. You both know what you want and yet neither of you wants to be the first one to take that leap. Which just leaves you with moments like these. 

“You know what your problem is?” Hailee asks, her eyes narrowed and filled with a certain fire you can’t quite explain.

You’ve been on set for the SunKissing music video for about an hour and you’re both already at each other’s throats. The entire week has been filled with random arguments, borderline ridiculous complaints, and total radio silence on Hailee’s part about your relationship. Radio silence that should make working with her easier just like all the times before.

Instead, it’s just become the newest reason for you to push her away again. And okay, maybe you’re still pissed about the countless articles you’ve had to read about a supposed ‘love triangle’ because, for some reason, Hailee’s PR team insists on keeping the QB story running. Everyone knows it’s faker than the brunette’s heterosexuality and yet you’re still here.

Fighting for her attention like always.

You force yourself to push those thoughts away and focus back on the conversation at hand.

“You."

“No. You don’t know how to let yourself be happy.” It suddenly dawns on you that you’re not arguing about the music video choreography anymore. “You can take it out on me and on the job and on whatever else you want to make yourself feel better but don’t act like everything's always my fault. You’re the one who said you’d give me a chance and yet you’ve spent the entire week looking for reasons to push me away.”

She's right.

You both know that. 

Of course, she's right. Because at the very top of the list of reasons why Hailee Steinfeld is the most infuriating person you've ever met is the fact that she knows you. 

She understands you in ways you never thought anyone would. And it's just as terrifying as it is wonderful. 

It's exactly that mix of feelings that makes you react in the only way you know how. 

You lash out at her despite the voice in your head that tells you to suck it up and apologize before you take things too far. “So, if it’s not your fault then whose is it? I’m not the one ignoring your existence the second you leave or letting people write articles based on ridiculous lies.”

She groans, the sound so out-of-character for her it almost makes you forget about your complaints. Almost but not quite.

“Putting up with stupid rumors is part of the job, y/n. It’s nothing new so why does it bother you so much?”

The question is valid. Or at least it would be if you hadn’t made your feelings explicitly clear the day you agreed to help her with the music video. You’ve worked with her for years, most of which have been spent straddling the line between friendship and relationship, but this time was supposed to be different. 

In a way it was different. You couldn’t deny how you felt about Hailee anymore and you couldn’t act like it didn’t bother you how clueless she was still acting about it.

You swallow back your cutting remarks and instead mumble out the only thing you can think of. “You know why.”

She stares at you for a few seconds, her eyes seem to almost look through you as if she's trying to figure you out. You don’t know what she’s looking for since your feelings aren’t exactly a secret anymore. 

The silence lasts a second too long and you decide to walk away before you make things worse. It’s a move you learned from the brunette herself and one that’s driven you down this dead-end road you can’t seem to escape from.

For a second it seems like she’s going to let you go without a fight but then you feel her grip your wrist. Her hold on you is surprisingly soft like she’s wordlessly begging you to stay despite how much better it would be for both of you if you just walked away now.

Unfortunately for the logical part of your brain, you’re never able to say no to those stupidly soft hands and ridiculously warm eyes.

You turn around to face her again, trying to act like the close proximity isn’t making your mind swim with bad ideas. You’re definitely the worst actress out of the two of you but at least the brunette doesn’t comment on it.

“You’re a jerk,” you whisper, your voice lacking the usual bite it carries when you’re trying to piss Hailee off.

“I literally haven’t said anything yet.” The subtle smile on her face makes your heart skip multiple beats in the span of a few seconds.

You wait a bit before you respond, distracting yourself by shrugging her hand off your wrist so you can hold onto it instead. Hailee doesn’t rush you, seemingly understanding the storm of feelings in your head better than you do.

“I know.” You tilt your head down to avoid those brown eyes you fell for all those years ago. “That’s the problem. All you have to do is look at me and I forget all the reasons why I’m mad at you…why dating you would never work.”

“I don’t think your feelings for me are the problem, y/n.” 

You’re well aware of the way she’s redirecting the conversation back to the dumb argument you were having mere moments ago but you don’t fight against it. All you want is answers and if it takes you tearing down your walls for her so be it.

“Why? Because I’m the problem?”

“No.” Her voice is so quiet you have to force yourself to fully focus or risk missing out on her vulnerability. “It’s because I messed up so badly that you feel like you can’t trust me again.”

She’s right.

Again.

You wish you could say you were surprised.

Your silence speaks volumes, at least to her, and it’s not long before you feel her free hand nudging your face. You lean into her touch and let her tilt your head up until your eyes meet again. You don’t want to ruin the moment but the need to be witty outweighs your need for honesty. “Is this supposed to be an apology?”

The question earns you a chuckle and the sound is more than enough to ease some of the tension that’s gathered inside of your chest. “Something like that.”

She leans forward the slightest bit, giving you the chance to put space between the two of you if you want. You appreciate the gesture, and all the sweet parts of her it represents, but you’re tired of running. Tired of tiptoeing around a truth so obvious it’s painful to deny.

You lean in the rest of the way and gently press your lips against her.

It’s not exactly fear that holds you back. You’re trying to show her you want more than the fleeting moments of passion and the heated arguments. You want the real thing. Even if it means you’ll get hurt even worse in the process. Anything is better than the months you’ve spent ignoring her existence.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbles against your lips. “I’m an idiot and an asshole but I really, really, want to be with you. For real this time.”

You lean back just enough to properly look into her eyes again. “Hailee-”

“I know, I know.” She silences your worries with another sweet kiss. “I thought it would be easier if we took our time with this but it was just an excuse. I don’t think I know how to be with you if we’re not arguing about something stupid all the time.”

“That’s because you’re immature,” you reply with the tiniest of smirks on your face. “And an idiot. And annoying in all the best ways.”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

This time you're the one who laughs. It's insane how quickly you can go from total sincerity to playful jabs at each other. If you're being honest though, that's exactly why you love her. Because neither of you has to hold back around the other, even when it's infuriating.

“It’s supposed to be me telling you I’m okay with taking things at your pace. As long as you stop acting like we’re just friends.”

“You don’t want to be my friend? I’m heartbroken, baby.”

“I’m going to leave if you don’t stop.”

“Okay, okay. I’m kidding. But what do you want to be? Just so we’re on the same page ‘cause-”

You roll your eyes and shut her up with your lips. You have a feeling that’s exactly what she wanted you to do but you’re not about to complain. Especially when it results in her wrapping her arms around you and pulling you close.

You don't have all the answers you wanted, and there's still a lot the two of you have to figure out, but one thing is obvious. You're in this together. No matter how much you annoy the other or how scary it is to be completely honest after years of lies.

She's with you. For real, for real.

[simplylove101]

2024 Horror Challenge: [35/?]

↳“My Soul, for hers.“ The Crow (2024) dir. Rupert Sanders

Plot: Soulmates Eric and Shelly are brutally murdered. Given a chance to save the love of his life, Eric must sacrifice himself and traverse the worlds of the living and the dead, seeking revenge.

Starring: Bill Skarsgård, FKA Twigs & Danny Huston

Well, speaking of bad movies, I watched this recently. lol Only out of pure curiosity. That, and I do like Bill Skarsgård so I did wanna see what he was able to bring to this iconic role. I feel like he did the best he could for the most part. The thing about it is, for many, The Crow will always be Brandon Lee, not just because of what happened to him so, no matter what, he was always gonna get haters regardless if he did a good job or not. It did kinda feel like he was phoning it in the first half ngl but I think it's because they wanted him to act that way. So, that when Shelly died and he came back, he would would appear more dynamic as The Crow with the action scenes. He did feel a lot more present in those moments tbh. Now, FKA Twigs... I will admit I was apprehensive about her casting before going in so when I found out I had a good reason to be, I couldn't be too shocked. It's mostly the beginning when she's supposed to be panicked unbelievably and the acting was beyond cringe that it really bothered me cuz I was like, "Oh no, Idk about this lol". Otherwise, it was just subpar to me for the rest of it. I barely was able to buy the love story though. It both got too much focus & yet was also severely undercooked as well. Why they needed to add the details they did I'll never know (unless that was from the comic books I guess) but definitely not needed. Danny Huston does what he can as the seasoned veteran of the cast but otherwise they mostly waste a villain with a kinda cool power trick that eventually feels repetitive the more we see it. The most exciting part of the movie is the big action sequence at the opera house, which was kinda cool (but also kinda still fell a little flat for me) I just wish I could say I had been more entertained by this movie than I actually was. Also, what was that last act??? Again, total waste of Danny Huston's villain. Very underwhelming confrontation that was not satisfying payoff at all. I truly get why Bill had been distancing himself from the movie cuz it's pretty obvious why this reboot has been in production hell for all these years now. They should have never done if we're being real here. Oh well, at least I did try to give it a chance but I think we all knew this was quite possibly gonna be a miss. If nothing else, Bill was nice eye candy??? LOL

(Btw this is getting count as a horror movie since on IMDB that's one of its labels. Just clarifying since the original is not considered to be one by many as far as I can tell, which I get since I'd say more edgy superhero movie)

[stereogeekspodcast]

[Transcript] Season 3, Episode 3. Loki Series Review

The Stereo Geeks weren't the biggest fans of Loki Season 1, but the second season blew us away!

Listen to the episode on Spotify.

Hello, and welcome to a new episode of Stereo Geeks.

Today, this is a spoiler-filled review of Loki.

I'm Ron.

And I'm Mon.

All right, Loki.

Well, that was some finale, huh?

Well, let's just talk about the first season first.

You and I weren't the biggest fans.

We were excited about it.

I mean, how can you not be?

It's Loki, everybody loves Loki.

But the first season left us wanting.

It's not that hard to pinpoint why.

I know a lot of people enjoyed the fact that it was more cerebral, it was slower paced, it wasn't the usual Marvel formula.

We have nothing against something being a little bit different.

Hey, we are fans of She-Hulk.

My biggest problem with the first season was that it didn't actually treat Loki as the kind of character that he is.

He was very much a joke, a sort of punchline.

His growth as a person who is now displaced, who is no longer who he thought he was, was kind of underdone and also played up for laughs.

And I really had a problem with that.

And I feel that's where the first season really fell away for me.

I agree.

I also feel like the pandemic had quite an impact on the first season.

They probably had a much greater vision and different ideas, but it ended up becoming all about exposition.

These long, long conversations between characters, which really didn't do anything, they didn't help progress the plot at all, and didn't even give us that much insight into the characters themselves when it was really necessary because Loki was kind of the only character we really knew in that first season.

We were meeting all these brand new characters and their backstories were not really given to us at all.

When you have a conversation and you want to be cerebral, you still have to get somewhere at the end.

But a lot of those conversations were just cyclical, repetitive, they went on and on, they rambled, they meandered.

What is the whole point of it?

Who knows?

Unfortunately, that was a really disappointing turn for the first season, especially for a character who we're all really excited about.

Loki has died so many times in the MCU and he keeps coming back because the fans love him.

I mean, at the end of Infinity War, it seemed like Loki was never going to be able to come back.

Like there was absolutely no way.

And in Endgame, suddenly we're back in 2012 and we're fighting Loki.

And then we get this variant that was very exciting for people who were fans of Loki.

It's always been kind of a battle, Loki versus Thor.

I've always been on the side of Thor, but I have to admit that the charisma of Loki, it's honestly hard to find even in the MCU, which has a lot of characters.

So yes, we really wanted a lot from the first season.

And when we were getting into the second season, you and I were apprehensive.

I was downright concerned.

In fact, I was in two minds about actually watching it.

But of course we did get some screeners and I thought, why not?

Let's give it a go.

And we were invested from the get go.

I was really surprised at how much I ended up enjoying the second season.

I'm anyway a real sucker for time travel stories, but when the story itself seems to really enjoy that aspect, that makes me want to watch the show.

More than anything else, maybe because the first season had already done all the set up work of creating the characters and showing us our relationships with Loki, maybe because all that work was done, this season didn't have to do all that heavy lifting.

So what we ended up getting was just plot, drama, action, suspense and spectacle.

I like that.

And also it builds off what we know from the first season, which is that Loki has met these people, the people from the TVA, Sylvie, who is his other variant, and also he who remains or his variants as well.

And it builds off the fact that we know that these are the characters who have been introduced and we need to find out more about Loki and his relationship with them.

I really like that.

Instead of going all, let's just be plot and sci-fi, it's also at the end of the day about human emotions or rather God-like emotions for the people around him.

And I think that was also what was missing in the first season where the interactions were there, but not really working from time to time.

And here it really is about Loki has this group of people.

He's very close to them.

And central to the plot is Loki trying to save these people so that he can be with them.

I think what really made me love this second season was the fact that it realized that what makes Loki interesting isn't the fact that he's power hungry.

It's the fact that he's really lonely.

Yeah, you're very right.

Because Loki is a very interesting character, but he's constantly had to live in the shadow of his warrior-esque brother.

He kind of didn't really get to be his own person.

And the first season didn't quite know what to do with that.

But this second season just is like, no, Loki made these friends.

He can see this huge threat.

He knows that something has to be done to stop it.

And he will literally do anything and everything if he can stop it and save his friends.

It's not really about power anymore.

That's what Loki always believed he wanted, because that's what he thought that a god should want.

But what he actually wants is just to save his friends.

And also sense of belonging, right?

Loki, without actually realizing or knowing his true heritage, always felt like he was outside his own Asgardian family.

When he finds out why, because he's a frost giant, it makes him angry.

So, you know, he lashes out and acts out, you know, he's very childish.

He's just like his brother that way.

The growth that we see in this season, without much exposition, we just see it through the actions that Loki is constantly hanging on to these people, coming back to these people, relying on these people.

So by the time in the fifth episode, Loki tells Sylvie he wants his friends back.

And that tells you exactly how much this character has grown from the person we saw in 2011.

We should also talk about Loki's new friends, because it's quite a large cast of characters around him.

We've got Owen Wilson playing Mobius.

I really liked Mobius.

I was like surprised when they cast Owen Wilson.

I was like, really?

This guy in Marvel?

Yeah, but I think he really fits, because he has that sort of average, everyday kind of person vibe, but he's got a very important role to play, and he is supportive of Loki from the get-go.

Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson have great chemistry.

So that really helps their interactions and makes their friendship very believable.

At the end of the day, Mobius is a fan of Loki's.

Yes, yes.

We also have Hunter B-15, played by Umini Masaku.

I think she was a little bit underplayed.

Yeah.

We needed more scenes with her, but she's so interesting, and she has this amazing presence about her.

You just know that she's there.

She is keeping everything together, keeping herself together, and there's a calming presence at the back.

Even though she's way at the back in the frame, I really like that about her.

I like how principled Hunter V15 is.

Yeah.

In the first season, when she only knows the way of the Time Variance Authority, she's like, yes, I have a mission to prune variants, and I will do it.

And the moment she realizes that the TVA is actually peopled with variants, and they all have lives, that's it.

She's just like, I am going to ensure that all these variants have the lives that they wanted to have, and I'm going to make sure that they don't get pruned.

Yes.

And she just sticks to that.

She will not let go of those principles.

She's just so passionate about it.

I really love those scenes with her.

I definitely feel like we could have got a lot more with her, because she's just so full of conviction.

And I loved watching that.

And it feels like the actor herself knows so much about this character and this world and the character's feelings about these events.

I think it would have been nice to just see a bit more.

Agreed.

The other character is Casey, played by Eugene Cordero.

He had a really like small scene in the first season.

Maybe he came back twice.

I don't remember.

Honestly, like I was like, okay, whatever, this guy has a scene.

But then, in the second season, he's part of Loki's inner circle.

Like I love that, because there's this nerdy guy who really knows the TVA inside and out.

And he's so close to Loki.

Like Loki is so fond of him.

I love that.

I look at it this way.

Casey is basically a pencil pusher in the TVA.

Yeah.

He would not have actually amounted to anything in that kind of a system.

But because of Loki's antics, he ends up being a really important part of this entire time travel, time slipping story.

Maybe Marvel realized that Eugene Caldero just has a lot of chemistry with Tom Hiddleston and people just gravitated towards the character.

He also voices Rutherford on Star Trek Lower Decks.

People are huge fans.

So I guess that's why they just went with it.

I think it was a good decision because he's so much fun.

Yes, I think that's what was missing in the first season, that fun aspect.

Again, not comic relief, just somebody who is a little bit more vivacious, a little bit more energetic.

Speaking of energetic, this season comes alive with the introduction of Ki-Hui Kwan.

He is Obi Ouroboros, and he's basically been hiding out in the recesses of the TVA, but he becomes an integral part of the storyline.

Honestly, without him, they wouldn't have survived the first episode.

Forget the entire season.

He's just amazing.

Really like raw ball of energy, this guy.

He was a really fabulous addition to the second season.

He brought not only just the energy, he had that chemistry with all the actors.

He felt like he had always been in the TVA and people just forgot that he was there.

And that's quite hard when you're coming in after an entire season.

But he made it look effortless.

He's got this infectious, happy personality.

Even when Ouroboros was giving people the worst possible news, and it was just negative, negative, negative.

Even then you're just like, oh, this guy is amazing.

He's trying his best.

Exactly, yeah.

So rounding out the group is Sylvie, who was introduced in the first season.

She is a variant of Loki's.

Honestly, I've never taken to Sylvie, and I didn't take to her in the second season either.

Oh no, she got better, but I just, you know, we've been watching Tom Hiddleston since 2011.

Not consistently, he's not been Loki every year, but that kind of presence that you have from this person who is so sure of himself, so confident, even when he's wrong, or he's realized he's made a mistake.

I just didn't get that from Sylvie.

Now, understandably, her life has been very different, but I think that bitterness, the anger, even that was kind of missing.

And in this season, she's more resigned, or at least content, but I feel like she was still too angry.

I think there's something missing with Sylvie.

I'm not sure.

I feel like Sofia DiMartino really tries very hard with the content that she's given.

And the first season, the pandemic really made it very difficult for them to have the scenes that they wanted.

So a lot of what Sylvie's life and her difficulties were, it was just told to the audience.

Whereas with Loki, we've actually got to see his life.

That kind of did the character disservice.

I also feel like the first season was mostly setting her up as a love interest for Loki.

So that has never done any female character any good in the history of cinema.

The second season, maybe again, we had the entire first season with her.

So we understood a lot of aspects about her.

So I felt like I could understand where she was coming from with some of her decisions.

You're right in the fact that it didn't always flow.

She seemed to be content living on this branched timeline, working at McDonald's, of all places.

Yet when she was brought to the TVA and Loki asked for her help, she was really angry about everything.

Are you happy that branch timelines exist?

Do you just want to see the destruction of the TVA?

Which is it?

I felt like she just became the mouthpiece for the audience in this season.

Like she was just asking questions and she was just constantly angry.

And I'm like, let her just be more.

I agree with you.

Again, it's a case of a female character not getting the kind of characterization she deserves, which is a real pity.

I mean, it's Marvel.

We've been watching Marvel since 2008.

They should know better.

But they don't.

It seemed very much like Sylvie got shunted into the role of love interest in the first season.

And in the second season, she became the facilitator for Loki's arc.

Like there were definitely a few scenes, especially in episodes five and six, where Sylvie gave Loki the kind of advice that helped him make decisions and helped him realize so much about himself.

We don't get the same for Sylvie though.

Yeah, she's sort of left to her own devices, which is weird considering she spent her entire life hiding and running away.

Now, why isn't she craving for community?

Loki's doing it.

Loki's found his friends group.

Why isn't Sylvie done the same thing?

Exactly.

And now I feel like the show has ended, and what's going to happen with all these characters?

Because that's it.

There's not going to be a season three.

I mean, there can't be, which we'll get back to in one second.

But first, we have to talk about the fact that Sylvie at least had a scene in every episode.

Are we going to talk about Ravonna Rensselaer, who really got the short straw, this entire show, not just this season, this entire show, what were they trying to do with this character?

Well, in the first season, it was like, oh, she's this person with a lot of power.

She's the judge at the TVA.

And that's a great thing to say and have a black woman in that role.

But at the end of the day, she was just on this very high podium, and she was just giving judgments, and that was it.

Where was the growth?

Where was the arc?

Like she's this very interesting character apparently, but we don't get to see any of that.

And then in season 2, she's literally there in one episode and that night at the end.

What?

I don't understand what happened there.

My hope is that she will return in a much more powerful, action-oriented, and I don't mean action scenes, I mean action-oriented character and role.

It just seemed like we cast this person, we gotta give her something to do, we're contractually obligated to tell her to come back for season 2.

It was so infuriating to see somebody of this caliber of talent completely wasted.

And the thing is that apparently in the comics, Kang and Renslayer have a very long history.

That's alluded to in the show.

It's alluded to that.

But in just one episode.

Yes, exactly.

It's just not enough.

It's just not enough for this kind of character and this level of acting.

I also feel like maybe there were one too many puzzle pieces.

You can't fit it all in.

Unfortunately, Ravonna was the one who did not fit.

And they kept trying to shoehorn her into the show.

And it just doesn't work.

But there's promise.

Like what the final episode seems to suggest is that she will be back.

She'll have a much larger role to play.

And we know that she already has a connection with He Who Remains.

So let's see where we see her next.

It's just that this show was not the right one for her to be introduced.

Well, looking at the format of the show, it's two seasons and six episodes each.

Too short.

It's just too short for this many characters, a brand new world, and you're trying to tie it into apparently the Phase Five's big villain.

That's too much to put on one show.

And it has all these different and new concepts for the MCU to be introduced, explained, to become part of the plot, etc.

It was just a lot.

In a way, I'm like, okay, you're invested for exactly six weeks, and that's good.

But I do feel six episodes is maybe just too little.

I mean, having said that, the first season, I was happy when it ended.

The second season, not so much.

Six episodes really made me feel like, oh, I'm gonna miss this.

And I do also wonder, does everything have to be so tightly adhered to?

Just because the first season was six episodes, does the second season need to be six episodes?

Couldn't it have been a bit longer?

There was a lot happening in this season and so many plot threads, which I feel like they were kinda dropped by the wayside.

I felt like it needed at least one more episode, especially after watching the finale, which we'll get to now.

I did feel like if we had one more episode of Loki, his friends group, him trying to save his friends, and then we go into the actual realization of what has to be done to save the multiverse, I think we would have felt the weight of it, the stakes even more if we had one extra episode.

I feel the same way.

Shall we talk about that, Indi?

Yes, let's talk about the finale.

So, okay, I'll start off by saying, I was a little bit concerned as the finale started.

It had some overlong scenes of talking, talking, talking, and I'm like, oh no, we're stuck in the trap of season one.

Stop talking.

But those scenes were actually like a game of chess, where somebody thinks that they're winning, and then bam, checked me.

So I did like that.

I also found it really funny that Tom Hiddleston was suddenly saddled with so much techno babble, and he's so good at it.

Having listened to so many Star Trek actors talk about how techno babble is so difficult, some of them avoid it like the plague.

It is funny, but also very impressive to see Tom Hiddleston who started off his MCU life as a Shakespearean Norse god, take on this sciency stuff and just run with it.

Really love that.

So basically the finale, it has a lot of Groundhog Day elements.

Loki has to keep doing the same thing over and over so that he can figure out how to save the day, which is that he has to stop the temporal loom from bursting and the multiverse of branches, timelines basically disappearing and people dying, trillions and trillions of people.

His motivation, of course, is that his friends will also die.

He doesn't want that to happen.

So he has to keep trying his level best to figure out a way to make sure Victor Timely, who is a variant of he who remains, can actually fix the temporal loom.

And then Loki has a realization.

He realizes the only way to save everybody, including his friends, especially his friends, is by sacrificing himself.

But not in the way you think.

Exactly.

I found that so intriguing because when Loki decides to finally go down in that TVA room and close the doors and lock his friends away from him, and he walks out into the temporal loom, I just kept thinking to myself, what is he going to do?

Like, the radiation is attacking him, he's not going to survive this, but he's a god, and he uses his godly powers to grab all these branches of the timeline, bring them to life, and destroy the loom, so that the loom, which is basically holding everything back, and also the reason why everything was going to get destroyed, is gone.

And then after that, Loki is the one who actually has to maintain all these branches of the timeline.

So in essence, he takes over the role that he who remains apparently had all this while.

And that is now Loki's life.

He is now burdened with this glorious purpose.

I mean, we see Loki as his most flamboyant self atop a throne.

Literally a god of everything.

And it's the saddest thing we've seen in the MCU.

It is.

I couldn't believe the melancholy that I felt watching that.

I was really impressed, in all honesty.

Yes, I was very sad.

But in a way, Loki's path has always led to him being a hero.

In the sacred timeline, Loki sacrificed himself for his brother and in the TVA timeline, Loki sacrifices himself for literally everyone.

I guess that's a really good thing.

But it's also super, super sad.

I am very sad for Loki.

I know.

I mean, especially because he's come to a point where he realizes that he needs people.

He wants to be around these people and he really likes them.

Everything that he's done throughout the second season is to make sure that his friends are alive and that he can be with them.

But in the end, he's alone and he has to watch the lives of his friends continue because there's this moment where Mobius, who doesn't know what to do with his life either, is watching his variant self, I guess.

And he's like, I'm just going to stand here and let time pass.

And that dialogue floats through voiceover and we can see that Loki has heard it.

So he's just watching his friends' lives and he can't be part of it.

It was just amazing.

But wow, so sad.

I think sometimes the MCU really tries to get happy endings and it doesn't always work out.

And sometimes you're just like, it's a superhero movie.

Should it have a sad ending?

Like Infinity War.

Grindr ends up being everybody's favorite because that ending was so unexpected.

And I think this season of Loki ending this way, the show ending this way, I think it's the right decision because for this character, like what else was Loki going to do?

He's a variant.

It's not like he can go back to being with Thor either.

So might as well save the universe.

I'm okay with him saving the universe.

Does he have to be left all by himself to do that?

It's just so tragic.

It is.

That's a good thing though.

Every part of me is like, this is horrible.

Why does he do this?

And at the same time, I'm like, this was a good bold decision by Marvel, but I can't get over it.

And the choice to end the show on Loki's face and Hiddleston's acting where you can't make out what he's feeling because he is sad, he is resigned, he is happy.

All those things, they're all there.

And the restraint by him to not shed a tear because that would give it away.

That would be like, oh, Loki's sad.

No, no, no.

We don't actually know the extent of his feelings because he's feeling all the things just like we are feeling all the things.

Brilliant move.

Yes, I was very impressed by the second season.

I did not expect it to be as engaging, as fun, as Loki oriented as I had hoped, but it definitely managed to do a lot.

I still wish that Sylvie had been given her due, that Renslayer had been given way more to do, and that there was some inkling as to what will happen to these characters afterwards.

But as a show about Loki, I'm just glad that it ended the way it did.

And okay, fine, we close the chapter on Loki now.

It's a difficult chapter to close.

I think we'll see the TVA again.

They are on the hunt for the variance of Kang.

I don't know about Sylvie.

And with Loki, I don't know.

I hope he appears as the watcher does from time to time in the comics.

He's just there looking over the multiverse, looking over his friends and family.

He is now apparently very close to his comic book counterpart, which is the God of Stories.

That doesn't make me feel much better, but that was a really incredible ending, and I am still trying to process it.

The ending will be the most important part of your story.

It doesn't really matter what comes before, so I am actually ready to forgive season one because that ending was so good.

I know.

Well, that was our review on Loki the show and our particular love for that very sad ending.

We hope we'll see the characters again.

We hope we see Loki somewhere, but until next time.

See you all.

You can find us on Twitter at Stereo underscore Geeks or send us an email at stereogekspodcast at gmail.com.

The Stereo Geeks logo was created using Canva.

The music for our podcast comes courtesy Audionautix

[putonmyfavoriteshow]

I finished Papás Por Encargo s2 this weekend. Spoilers beyond the cut for review/thoughts on this season💭 Non-spoiler: Morgan's homemade videos continue to slay 🤭

I'm glad they had them back on the road this season, since that's partly what made s1 so fun. A tour was a perfect excuse and I liked the stakes of them trying to grow the band.

Itzel isn't a very likable character. And I think this is partly why this season struggles a bit. She needed to be integrated with the boys and California but it still felt very her vs. them especially with her pushing California to move away from them

I was skeptical at Paulina's return since I really didn't like her in s1, but I thought her redemption arc was done well and I have to say she's MORE likable than Itzel. I'm glad that it was mostly about her and California forming a bond as opposed to just winning back Miguel. And I was relieved that she didn't end up back with Miguel. I thought one of the sweetest moments in the season was when she told California that him rejecting her was like "[cough] syrup" - tastes bad going down but ultimately good for you 🥺

Diego not winning over Itzel was also a shock, but also respect the show averting expectations and having the characters face rejections instead of winning over the object of their affections. I do wonder if I'm reading into a possible Miguel/Itzel relationship in a possible s3? Especially since Paulina and Morgan had that surprise kiss AND Diego referenced calling Denisse in the last episode - the boys just swapping their love interests lol.

I didn't really care much about California's love interest but it was cute seeing her have her first crush and see Paulina try to help her but ultimately give her terrible advice, but Miguel sort of step in. Though it might have been more fun to see all the dads try to help her here.

Once again, I'm not really interested in any of the love stories in this show. The strongest relationship in this show is between the dads and California, as well as the boys in their friendship/band. I really loved seeing the boys back together and their relationship and protectiveness of California, but they had trouble juggling Itzel and Paulina's return.

Morgan continues to be my favorite. He's just such a lovable goofball, and it was sweet to see him try to be the best manager he could be even if he tripped up quite a bit. Morgan scenes just tended to my favorite throughout. Michael Ronda just channels that golden retriever energy so much.

My favorite episode was "Discord" I think Diego and Morgan have a really fun dynamic that was explored here and the shenanigans of them trying to escape the townspeople after trying to help them was fun, and it was nice to see California work things out with Paulina. California definitely has a mischievous side, and it was fun to see that here, but still her goodness win out and admit what she did to Miguel and Paulina cover for her.

I really enjoyed the music this season! And the music videos as expressed above are all so good.

The court stuff was a bit predictable and I felt like they were just dragging out s1s plot, and it felt a bit repetitive. It really wasn't that exciting last season, and felt even less interesting s2. Enough with this weird man and his turtle eggs!

I'm curious if the show will get renewed. I feel like it ended at a good spot but it would be interesting to see where they take the story next with them all living together. I would hope that a possible 3rd season would open possible fresher storylines and of course more ridiculous music videos directed by Morgan.

[frenchfriesoverguys]

that 90′s show review

hello im back

spoilers ahead

I watched That 70′s Show like it was a religion when I was younger so I had quite a few expectations going into this.

Guest appearances from the original cast were funny and very nostalgic. Red and Kitty seem like they never left the roles, love them in this. The show itself had likable characters who looked the ages they were supposed to be (15 to 16 years old). Leia was a great combination of Eric and Donna without feeling repetitive. She’s dorky and awkward like Eric but her actual interests are completely different and tends to lean towards Donna in how she treats her friends and her interests. I think Gwen is the most like Donna; into the feminist movement/women empowerment. She’s raised by one (messy) parent. Her rebellious streak does remind me of Hyde as well as her temperament. It’s a fresh take on older characters. Same with Jay. Similar to Kelso but mostly in his expressions and maturity - he has Jackie’s heart and head. They never clarify whether or not Jackie is his biological mom but in the very least she is helping raise him and it shows. Nikki is smart, driven, confident but cold. She doesn’t really remind me of one particular OG character but that adds to the new elements of this show. Nate and Ozzie also don’t remind me of anyone on the OG show but I know they modelled Ozzie after Fez. The only overlap, in my opinion, is that they are both flamboyant. Ozzie’s secure in his own skin, knowledgeable about current culture and not emotional. 

Jay and Leia remind me so much of Donna and Eric. It’s puppy love and first love for both of them. He calms her down when she’s stressed but doesn’t dismiss her concerns. I really thought this would be my ship on the show. But I think they both have a lot of maturing to do (again they’re 15) and I could actually see them breaking up over the school year. To move the plot forward, it’s probably for the best. Same with Nate and Nikki. I have to admit, Gwen and Nikki have more chemistry. Nate is the most emotionally intelligent one in the group and I think that's why the scenes with Leia actually work. They are both people who feel their emotions and act on them (e.g. both of their jealousy story lines). Its well established that they both have jealous streaks so that will be a fun dynamic to explore in a later season. It was a little rushed but thinking within the season’s timeline: she arrived July 4th and left end of August. That’s about 6 weeks in which she met everyone, started flirting with Jay, dating Jay, and got broken up with (and back together). I like the triangle dynamic, Nate and her have a better foundation as friends. She can go to him for advice and understanding. She’s had more of an emotionally connection with him. Gwen not being as into or interested in boys leads me to believe she is probably going to have a coming out plot later. I like her as Leia’s friend but I think Niki and her are a better match. The 90′s had embraced a lot of wlw energy and I want more of that on the show. 

Underrated duo’s I want to see more of next season: Ozzie and Kitty (I cried when he came out to her), Nate and Gwen (their sibling’s episode was adorable), Red and Nikki (she gets him lol), Leia and Nikki (big sister vibes), and Nikki and Gwen (they may be too powerful together).

I hated almost everything they did with the old characters. Eric and Donna were fine but they didn’t stay in touch with Jackie and Kelso?? Jackie and Kelso stayed in town but lost contact with Red and Kitty?? Both of them stepped in when Jackie’s dad was arrested and her mom was AWOL. Jay and Leia should already know each other!! He could have been her connection to meet everyone else. They could have been childhood friends to lovers like Eric and Donna were. Fez’s story lines were good, it was what I expected from him. He stayed around, stayed in touch with Kitty and, while being successful, still struggles with getting too emotionally attached to women. They didn’t mention Hyde once but I understood that. Saying something like “he’s in jail” or “he’s a deadbeat” would be out of character after his development in the OG. But if he wasn’t either of those things, he had no reason to not be involved with the Forman’s who took him in for a better life. 

All in all: potential is there. I would like this to get renewed to see more character development as there was little to none outside of Leia (again they are 15 and this is 6 weeks). I think it could be great like That 70′s Show. For now though it’s just a good, easy watch.

[kyogre-blue]

Finished Ayaka and Yoimiya quests on my alt, which means I’m ready to start Inazuma act 2.... the one you can’t do without an archer. 

I will admit that I didn’t pay particularly close attention to the two story quests, but it was still interesting to see them a second time. I’ve grown more fond of the characters, so my impression isn’t quite as negative as when Inazuma came out, but there’s still some things to mention. 

As a reminder, Ayaka’s and Yoimiya’s story quests are mandatory between Act 1 and Act 2. 

Looking at it charitably, there’s two things this does. First, the quests both mention the political situation, particularly Sakoku, to some degree, so if these quests aren’t locked to here, they’ll look quite strange if you happen to play them later, after Act 3 or worse, after Raiden chapter 2. 

Second, it might be intended to provide some padding to the archon quest. Playing through Mond, you are almost certainly going to do the Amber, Lisa and Kaeya quests somewhere in the middle, which helps to give some breathing room to an otherwise quite rushed story. These characters also have very little presence in the actual archon quest but they appear at the very end, after the hilichurl invasion, so having their story quests here lets you feel like you know them better. 

Now, the Mond starter quests aren’t hard-locked to anything from what I recall, but you’re going to need to raise your AR, so you’ll probably do them during that period. And I think the Ayaka and Yoimiya quests might be intended to have a similar effect. 

Unfortunately, it doesn’t necessarily work that well. 

One problem they have is that, well, there’s two of them. Both of them end with you going to the festival island, and there’s some overlapping things they bring up, like an emphasis on how the Traveler should consider Inazuma their home and always feel free to return there. Doing them back to back (as you’re forced to, in order to continue the archon quest), it feels repetitive in some ways. 

Additionally, Ayaka’s quest in particular doesn’t really fit in here, imo. It’s a personal story with a much more laid back tone. We’re in the middle of a very tense situation, and Ayaka deciding to go look for her mother’s theoretical old friend, including preparing a new outfit and gifts... it feels quite weird and out of place. There’s very little linkage back to the main story, and it’s really just about Ayaka. 

I think both quests would have benefitted from tweaking Ayaka’s to leave out mention of Sakoku and just letting it not be mandatory. 

Yoimiya’s also has a more lighthearted tone in places, but the main plot line is about Sakoku and people affected by it. It’s also more similar to the archon quest, in that it’s focused on Inazuma as a nation and the people who live there. There’s quite a bit about what kind of place Inazuma is, and in particular what kind of place it is outside the current wartime situation. 

I like it more on the second playthrough for a few reasons, like Yoimiya’s JP VA being extremely charming, and just being more receptive to the concepts being conveyed because I’m not trying to get to the next act, like dang, I just had to sit through Ayaka’s date, and now this too? Can’t I just get on with it?? It was so frustrating when Inazuma released. 

One interesting thing to note about Ayaka’s quest is that she occasionally frames her struggles and situation from specifically her perspective as a woman. She relates to her mother, she doesn’t seem to feel like these are feelings she might share with her brother, despite them being in roughly the same situation, etc. She even says “as a woman” a couple times, iirc. 

This stands out a bit because I don’t recall any other character doing this, and it falls into a pattern of lowkey... sexism?... in Inazuma, with it also being the only nation where a female character was explicitly told she can’t do something because she’s a woman and with the negative framing of marriage from the woman’s side with Chisato in Ayato’s quest. 

I’m still not sure what to make of all that. 

[kvicka]

Hogwarts Legacy - game review

I don’t have this one in my Steam library, so I cannot review there. But I want to get my disappointment with killed potential out. Therefore I decided to post one very long review on my Tumblr.

(Doing my best to write this without any spoiler. Also I am not taking in account anything regarding the author of this universe)

Hogwarts legacy is „not bad“ game but I am not sure if it’s really worth the money they want for it. It could have been great game. There is clearly huge potential but I suspect there were few (revenue-driven) decisions to make this accessible to as many people as possible, that killed this potential thoroughly and it makes me angry, seeing how great it could be otherwise.

What are the main issues? The game pretends to be RPG but you will soon find out that your choices have no impact on anything beyond next sentence. The world doesn’t react to you at all. Characters are just unresponsive scripted background unless they are enemy, vendor or you have a mission with them. That means you can also walk whenever you want, no matter how much restricted it is.

I still managed to play through the game. Took me about week and half. I see the appeal and the potential, but it honestly makes me that much angrier for the decisions that were made to bastardise this. After you finish with the main story, you will find out there is zero reasons to replay again.

But because nothing can stop me roleplaying in my head even if the game is not helping, I am also going to publish one more post full of spoilers explaining my character story.

So let’s look into this in detail and as I like to do, start with positives:

Graphic is nice and the music is nice.

The world is nice or at least at first glance. You get big open word plus Hogwarts castle to explore and at first you will feel really charmed. Your fellow students (during day) got some scripted situations that will run, which makes very nice background and gives you the feeling the Hogwarts are really alive. (Some involving ghosts, some howler from angry parent or just some study-troubles).

You can create customized character and give them their own name, that the game will use in subtitles. Through the game you can even adjust some parts of your look (hair, details on face etc.). You have lot of freedom in outfits (equipment) to the extent where you can give the equipment totally different appearance. I was for example regularly updating to equipment with best stats, but in the end my character was wearing almost the same outfit whole game because I just changed the appearance of it.

The story and side stories (with your friends) maybe not mind-blowing but still good. They are simple (in sense that you will not get 12 plot-twists and you can predict where it is leading) but they are not boring. Side quests are sometimes questionable (like sending student to forbidden forest to investigate?? Really lady??…I am underaged student…) but at least they do not feel repetitive.

If you are fan of the universe with deep knowledge of it, you will probably enjoy the references. I personally liked the “follow the butterflies”.

Combat: Because you can combine whatever spells you have learned, in addition to throwing objects or disarmed weapons on the opponent and with ancient magic ability in the mix, every fight can be completely unique.

Yes, the room of requirement that you can “furnish” and the vivarium’s with magical beasts are quite “magical”, I have to admit that. When you get them, it’s very exciting. So is, ridding Hippogryph, at least the first time or other similar things when you get to them in the story.

 Now to the ISSUES and in my opinion what made from could-be-great game the  not-bad game:

YOUR CHOICES DOESN’T MATTER AT ALL. This is the biggest issue especially as the game tries to look as RPG game. It gives you choices but (beside ending choices) they do not go beyond next sentence or two. The “behaviour” of your character is heavily scripted, which doesn’t have to be bad thing if the game doesn’t pretend you have the choice. And maybe they originally intended  for the choices to impact something but they removed it from the game so some poor lazy player would not f**k-up something by wrong choice and cry about it. Or something like that I imagine happened.  It gets even worse in some part where the script just reverts your choice completely. Like you decide to keep secret but the game will make your character spill by next opportunity without any good reason to do so…..

THE WORLD DOESN’T CARE ABOUT YOU OR REACT TO YOUR ACTIONS. At first you think how beautiful the world is. How the Hogwarts feel alive as some scripted actions run in background when you access the corridor etc. To give them credit some characters have scripted commenting on something you did in the story so far, so you can be fooled at the beginning. It is nice background. And then you find out that these are actually not characters (NPCs) but really just background. Background that doesn’t react to anything you do unless you are in specific quest that triggers that (there are exactly 2 through whole game….). Meaning nobody cares if you wander into restricted section. Nobody cares that you wander the school at night (plus at night all students will disappear….but to where stays the ultimate mystery because dormitories are always and forever empty). Nobody cares that you wander forbidden forest. Nobody cares that you break-into houses. Not even the family that sits on sofa and watches  you while you loot their treasure chest. Nor the professor which cabinet you are looting and ruining with blasting spell. Hell, if you get attacked by enemy close to these characters, they do not care. First time I went on some quest outside a castle, I was quite worried if it’s safe to wander the forest. And then I saw some guy on the rode walking in front of me. So, I though, ok, it will be safe… Then big spider attacked me and the guy just glitched through the spider and continued walking while it tried to eat me….. I can understand if the developers do not want the NPCs to engage in player fights but they could at least make them run……. But what is even worse, is that the same applies to the side characters that should be your friends. You have no chance to interact with your “friends” outside the quests. You cannot even talk to them after class. It’s ridiculous. And this could be fixed by simple stupid 2 or 3 generic dialogues that could be given to them. Like “hey, any news on blablabla?” with answer like “hey, sorry. Nothing yet. I will let you know by owl, once I find something new”….. Or “hey, really thanks for last time…….” even with answer like “let’s not talk about this here” or  some s**t like that… would make you feel less angry with the whole game. I honestly had HUGE problem with this, because with some “friends”, I had this issue where I was not perceiving them as friend at all and seeing zero fucking reason why I should spill my secrets to them (yes, I talk about you Natty…)

The fact that you can just go anywhere (outside the two mentioned missions) where you can get at that point in game (restriction is basically only learning Alohomora levels) and you don’t need to try and sneak or be careful that you will get caught or reported, that takes lot of fun out of the game

Combat doesn’t have any mechanic for lethal or non-lethal approach. Neither it will anyhow recognize if you were or were not seen. No matter if you use Avada Kedavra or “Petrificus Totalus” on unaware enemy, the result is the same. They turn to dust. Then there is question why to use the stealth approach at all. Honestly it is only useful, if you want to take them down one by one and not fight all at once. I personally prefer to change one of them into explosive barrel and throw him in the face of their friend. That is at least fun.

Open world yes…..but the content it was filled with, beside the story and quests, is very repetitive and often not rewarding sufficiently. From my point of view, I did the things like Merlin trials only up to the point where I was getting at least some benefits from them ( like inventory space) and then I stopped. Because what is really the point of doing them anymore? The treasure vaults are just jokes…there is not even anything valuable in them. You will find just some random equipment (very often not even good one) – and I am not kidding. Killed enemies often drop better things then you can get from treasure chests.

I don’t honestly even see the motivation to keep exploring the word after the main story and side quests are done as whatever is left it is extremely repetitive and unless you are really enjoy brushing your unicorn mane for another 16 or 30 hours, there is nothing more to do after you finish main and side stories.

No point to replay the game. Especially due to fact that your choices don’t matter you will very quickly find out there is no fun in replaying. You cannot really make the character come out much different than the first play. Not even by picking different house. Beside one main story quest that differs based on the house you picked, it will be the exact same script.

 Last point I wanted to mention. But first let’s get this absolutely clear!, I am not complaining in this part about any queer characters, disability characters or other nationalities being included in the game. I am not racist, and I am myself part of LGBTQ+. I am just trying to point out that these topics should not be just check-boxes on developers or marketers list. Because then it comes out unnatural as in this case. I understand that this is sensitive topic in current world, but I still think it could have been handled with more delicate approach, then just: “Disability – check, gay – check, trans – check, now throw random mix of nationalities in without any care for location or time period - check. Great and now nobody can complain that we are not inclusive.” I don’t think this is how this shoudl be done.

 Reasons behind the bad decisions that killed the game?

This is just my speculation, but I strongly believe that future-revenue-based-decisions were made here. Because they wanted to aim for as much audience as possible. For example the casual players that don’t actually care much about any story. Unfortunately, my suspicion was further strengthened when I stumbled upon one ridiculous post on Reddit, where the user complained that he missed learning one spell because “they are just clicking through all dialogues as quickly as possible to get through and by that selected the answer, where you will not learn the spell”…. well WHY THE HELL DO YOU PLAY DIALOGUE-HEAVY RPG GAME IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO LISTEN TO THESE. The answer is easy. Because the game allows for that. You don’t have to read/listen to the dialogues or even to what you are actually selecting to answer. You cannot spoil anything with your choices and it will have no impact on anything whatsoever. Even in this example case, you can learn the spell straight after the mission anyway. So no matter what you click it will not impact the game or your character or anything.  (There are about 2 exceptions. Ending decision for main story. And kinda “ending” decision for one of the side stories. But even with these, they do not affect actually the word after anyway. You will just get different cut-scene let’s say…

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I can admit this can be really charming, but it still doesn’t make the game worth 60€ ... 

[beefmastersblog]

Genshiken Second Season (ep. 1,3,4,10)

I thought it was interesting to see a time skip and the characters all grown up, I actually liked that the second season was a jump in time, showing where the characters are a few years from then. I liked seeing the way that different characters grew into their personalities, especially Oguie becoming the president of the club, embracing her doujinshi, and exploring possible careers in the industry. I always enjoy shows that show real character growth and I feel like she specifically has grown a lot.

I also liked a new exploration of different types of Otaku, specifically Hato, who cross-dresses. It was nice to see a piece of media that explicitly shows someone exploring their identity in that way, with him trying to figure out his sexuality in terms of having possible feelings for Madarame and the fact that he also enjoys BL Doujins.

However, I will admit that the plot was starting to feel a bit repetitive. I don't necessarily think this show needed an entire second season, I think maybe a finale time-skip episode would have sufficed. Maybe if the show tried to incorporate more things into it than just the same day-to-day activities repeating over and over, then I would like it more, but the plot just felt very bland after a while.

I did think it was creepy and weird that Madarame is still heavily involved in the club after graduating, and I found Hato's relationship with him to be quite disturbing, especially during the scene where his female counterpart was encouraging him to basically sexually assault Madarame in his sleep. I could have done without all that. When I said the show needed spiced up a bit, that is not what I meant. I also don't know if it is really the best type of representation to have the one cross-dressing, sexuality-questioning character think of doing such downright nasty things to another person.

But focusing only on Madarame, I feel like this anime showed a completely different side of being an otaku with him. We have the few club members who left and went on to do things with their life... and the few (one) that didn't. And I think this goes to show how he is struggling with finding a passion for something that is as strong as the passion he feels for anime. And this is something that is very applicable to the real world. It isn't easy to find a career when you don't know what you are passionate about or when you feel like what you want to do isn't a viable option for you. And I feel like Madarame is stuck in that position, choosing to live close to the club and engage with these young people to try to hold onto the fond memories that he had there. But I think there comes a point where you need to let go and move on.

Overall, this anime started out as something that was interesting and that I would not have sought out on my own, and I honestly did enjoy it a bit during the first season and OVA. But the second season just left a lot to be desired. I think this is my least favorite of the shows we have seen so far, but I tried it and now I know I don't really like it.

[bluefire94]

Ben 10 Omniverse: How does it hold up IMO?

Yesterday I finished watching through the final installment of the classic Ben 10 continuity: Omniverse. This was actually the first time I watched through the series as I never viewed it when it was on the air. At that point I wasn’t watching TV cartoons in favor of YouTube videos and gaming on Steam. I did lurk on the news about it, though. I can still remember diehard UAF fans at the time unjustly ripping it to shreds for the changes it made, especially the art style. So after a decade since it premiered, I finally saw the series to completion. Overall, I would say that it is a good show although flawed (as is the case with each Ben 10 show). I actually like the art style that DJW (may he rest in peace)  brought to the series. It fits the more light-hearted yet still action-orientated nature of the show. I admit that I wasn’t a fan of some of the alien redesigns (Big Chill comes to mind), but others were an improvement over their originals (Jury Rigg comes to mind). The backgrounds were also quite detailed, showing some nice scenery throughout the various locations featured. As for the characters, it was a bit odd for Ben to again revert to his juvenile self after the events of UA, although he wasn’t as obnoxious about it compared to his AF season 3 characterization. While I do wish that we got more screen-time with Gwen and Kevin, Rook was definitely a favorite character of mine. I enjoy his can-do attitude despite being naïve about Earth culture. :) Some of the minor characters were enjoyable (such as Magister Patelliday) while others got a bit tiresome (Blukic and Driba), which brings me to my next point and my main criticism of the show: the comedy writing. Some running-gags got really stale and repetitive (especially Blukic and Driba’s bickering), while others just weren’t very funny to begin with. For example, making a joke out of why Julie and Ben broke up. That said, I can at least understand why they went with a more goofy tone: the ratings were down after UA’s more dramatic nature. Plus as someone who feels that UAF got melodramatic at times, I can appreciate a return to a tone of not taking itself too seriously. At least the overall plots were mostly good (with some poor ones here and there, like The Most Dangerous Game Show), and it was nice to see them expand upon established lore. The actions scenes usually had good choreography, which made them enjoyable most of the time. I do wish that there was a bit more of a epic finale, but what we got was a nice way to end the series, and setup an idea for a follow-up show (even though it never got made). I know this wasn’t the most concise review of the series. Maybe I could do more in-depth looks at different aspects, but for now I just wanted to share my overall thoughts on it. The bottom line, while this didn’t dethrone the OS as my favorite Ben 10 series, I still had a good time watching through it. Sure it had moments that were a bit cringeworthy (IMO) but nothing that made me hate it. I do like how people have overall come around to enjoying this series after it was ridiculed nearly all the time back then. So yes, I do think it’s an enjoyable series. :) If you want to read my thoughts on the OS and UAF, they can be found here: https://bluefire94.tumblr.com/post/658157827597156352/ben-10-2005-how-does-it-hold-up-imo https://bluefire94.tumblr.com/post/685610886708248576/ben-10-uaf-how-does-it-hold-up-imo