#also this makes Dolores an ally and honestly love her for that

[writingquestionsanswered]

How much screentime is too much/too little for an antagonist? I have the feeling that, in many books, the antagonist is out of screen most of the time and just casually shows up to throw obstacles into the protagonist road. It's like they appear out of the blue, make a super quick appearance that has a disproportionate impact on the protagonist life, and then they disappear again.

In Harry Potter, Voldemort rarely shows up himself, specially in the first books. We do get a feeling of the threat he poses, but I never considered him an interesting antagonist until the last books.

In The Hunger Games we don't spend much time with Snow, and I honestly did not care much about him besides for some direct threats he made in the few moments he was around Katniss. Which makes sense, as he's ruling a country and has more important things to do than being around some 17 yo. I felt like the real antagonist here was the whole system, rather than Snow himself.

And I don't know if you're familiar with the books, but the antagonist in A Court of Thorns and Roses (guess it's Hybern but oh my) or even The Name of the Wind (the Chandrian) are just so absent and meaningless. Not that I didn't enjoy both series, but plot feels weaker without a compelling antagonist.

Do you think this is just a preference of mine, or is it actually important to keep your antagonist around to make him believable? I'm asking from total ignorance, as a reader, cause I've never written anything, but I'd like to learn about how the stories I love work.

And also, do you happen to have any book recommendations were the antagonist is strongly present, since that seems to be my thing? Thank you in advance for sharing your knowledge and sorry if my question is lame, I ended up messing a bit 😅😅

How Much Villains Need to Be Present in Your Story

So... I haven't read ACOTAR yet, but in HP and THG, there's something important to bear in mind. Although Voldemort himself doesn't show up much until the last books, most of the antagonists Harry and friends face through the earlier books are either Voldemort henchmen or allies (the Malfoys, Death Eaters, Dementors, Quirrell, Nagini, Barty Crouch Jr., the Giants, and even Dolores Umbridge whose prejudices certainly made her a villainous ally.)

With The Hunger Games, you hit the nail on the head... the antagonist wasn't just Snow, it was the entire system, and much of that system was either put into place by Snow or reinforced by him. So, in many ways, a lot of the antagonists in THG also qualify as henchmen or allies of Snow. Otherwise, they are henchmen, allies, or functions of the system (such as some of the violent tributes in the Games, like Cato and Clove.)

So, in both cases, while the "big bad" or main antagonist isn't always present, they are still pulling the strings via their henchmen and allies. And yes, in both cases there are antagonists who aren't necessarily henchmen or allies of the big bad, but 90% of them are. And when it comes to villains (as opposed to non-sentient antagonists like natural disasters, monsters, etc.) this is typically the case. Allowing for henchmen and allies broadens the villain's reach and creates surprises for the reader, where someone who was trusted (Professor Quirrell or Mad Eye Mooney for example) turn out to be agents/allies of the villain.

As far as stories where the villain plays a more direct role, the only thing that springs to mind at the moment is Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone trilogy (though the villain has allies and henchmen, too.) The Wrath and the Dawn, maybe? Stephen King's It probably counts. Also, maybe The Lovely Bones? These are just a few off the top of my head, but keep an eye on the comments for other possibilities.

I think however, you'll probably find that in a lot of books, the villains may not be visibly present, but they are very much pulling the strings behind the scenes, as in HP and THG. :)

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[hi-i-love-u-bitch]

LGBTQ+ Harry Potter Headcannons that I say are cannon and JK Rowling can die mad about it 😊

Harry Potter is a disaster bisexual and half Arab on his father’s side

Hermione Granger is Black and pansexual as well as trans (MtF)

Ron Weasley is Asexual/Heteromantic

Ginny is pansexual

Fred and George are raging bisexuals

Literally none of the Weasley children are straight; Bill and Percy are bi and Charlie is gay

Luna Lovegood is a cottage core lesbian and uses They/Them pronouns

Molly Weasley knits Pride flags sweaters for all of her children with their own respective flags, fight me!

Arthur Weasley is very supportive of his children and always makes sure to educate himself (and others) every time he learns something new about the LGBTQ+ community

Draco Malfoy is fucking gay and you can’t change my mind!

Crabbe and Goyle are straight allies

Pansy Parkinson is aromantic/bisexual

Blaise Zabini is demisexual

Neville Longbottom is a soft pansexual ❤

Dean (bi) and Seamus (gay) are dating, fucking deal with it!

Cedric Diggory is a pansexual trans man and EVERY student at Hogwarts was in love with him! Don’t question me!

The only time Harry and Draco WEREN’T bickering (with loads of sexual/romantic tension) was when they were ogaling Cedric and complaining about how hot he was!

Hermione still went with Viktor Krum to the Yule Ball but Ron wasn’t all that bitter about it and instead suggested that he and Harry go as each other’s date. Harry agreed as well as suggested that they bring Luna along with them as well.

Luna was thrilled and accepted their invitation, making all three of them matching corsages and boutonnieres.

Sirius (gay) and Remus (pan) are married but they’re also polyamories so when Remus falls in love with Tonks Sirius is like “go for it dude”. So Remus starts dating Tonks and her and Sirius become good friends and when Remus wants to propose to her after a few years Sirius helps Remus pick out the ring that’ll match both of theirs.

A muggle born student gifts Dumbledore a mini rainbow pride flag and he sticks it on his hat like a feather. He hasn’t taken it off since.

McGonagall is bisexual and helped rally during one of the first pride marches in England back in the 70s

Once Hagrid learns about the LGBTQ+ community from Harry and Co. he asks them if they could get him some flags to hang around his hut so that every student knows it’s a safe place for all.

Hogwarts eventually starts allowing students to stay over the summer months if they have nowhere else to go or if their own home isn’t safe for them.

Harry knew he was bi since he was like 10 but he just didn’t have a word for it until he met Hermione (cuz she was smart and knew a lot of words)

Of course he never told the Dursleys this but one day (he was 14 at the time) he found Dudley crying in his room when he thought no one was home and Harry just had this strange feeling that he should talk to him.

So turns out that Dudley was bi too and he was not processing it as well as Harry did. Harry came out to him which somehow comforted Dudley a lot more than he thought it would; they talked all night long and it was the beginning of them mending their familial relationship with each other into something healthy.

Heromione told Ron and Harry that she was trans during their second year and she was so scared that they would reject her that she cried for a whole hour before being able to say anything properly. Ron and Harry comforted her the entire time and promised her that they would all remain friends no matter what.

After that if anybody even LOOKED at Hermione in any sort of offensive way Ron and Harry would go absolutely feral on their asses

It took a LONG while for Ron to figure out he was Asexual, like he knew that he liked girls he just didn’t wanna…go all the way with them.

He had thought there was something wrong with him because all the guys were always talking about their “experiences” with their partners and how good it was

At first he thought that maybe it was because he unknowingly liked guys but after a few curious make-out sessions with a couple of male class mates at parties he concluded that wasn’t the case. It wasn’t a terrible experience but it just wasn’t his cup of tea.

Eventually he caved and finally talked to Hermione and Harry who were both very patient and gave plenty of helpful advice. So in the end Ron found out that he wasn’t weird he was just asexual.

When Harry and Draco finally start dating every time they see Lucius in their range of sight they start acting obnoxiously couple-y just to piss him off.

Narcissa thinks it’s funny

Dolores Umbridge is a homophobe and everybody hated her even more (including Draco’s gang). This was the moment all four houses came together in perfect harmony and collectively fucked her over.

When Harry was sent to Umbridge’s office for detention and told to write “I must not tell lies” with a black quill he instead looked her straight in the eye and wrote down “raging bisexual” in all caps.

When Draco found this out he fell just a little bit more in love with Harry

During their DADA class as Umbridge was discussing Merlin, Draco made a disagreeable comment which led to a squabble between them. It ended with Draco rolling his eyes and scoffing: “If you honestly think Merlin was even remotely heterosexual then you’re even stupider than I previously though, you mythic bitch!”

The entire class was stun into awed silence and Harry would not stop making obvious heart eyes at Draco for entire week.

After double teaming on a particularly nasty prank on Umbridge, which involved replacing all her cat portraits with worted toads, configuring all her sweets into slugs, hiding spiders and harmless snakes in her desk draws, and changing anything pink in her office to a gross bog water color, Harry and Draco finally got together. They were caught by Umbridge making-out under the stairwell and sent to detention.

She tried to get them expelled for their prank but she didn’t have enough evidence against them to prove that they did it.

(AN: Please add your own headcannons that you think should be cannon ❤I would love to read them❤)

[theauthoressdefiant]

okay, so, fresh off of the westworld season 3 finale and i feel the need to get my thoughts off my chest.

i was really, really disappointed this season. 

*spoilers ahead*

i really think it was a tactical error on the writers and directors parts to take us basically entirely out of the parks and delos. firstly, the aesthetic of the wild west mixing with that of sleek sci-fi underneath was lovely and something that set the show apart from other sci-fi shows. secondly, i think they bit off a little more than they could chew with having to introduce us to an entirely new world, characters, and villains in only eight episodes. 

when i first saw the trailers, i was really disenchanted with the thought of caleb’s character. he did grow on me a little, mostly thanks to aaron paul just being a good actor, but ultimately, caleb added nothing to the story. he was just a white guy getting told he was going to save the world, which felt tride and overdone--and most of the time, even once he learned about the data and everything, it felt like he was a pawn in everyone’s game. it never felt like he had a true drive of his own and thus there was no reason for me to care about him at all. if it had been clearer that he really did care about the fate of humanity, or that he really did care for dolores (he did seem to love her but it wasn’t explored; not that i really wanted it to be but at least they would have done Something), then maybe he would have felt more essential. in my mind, he could be cut altogether and it would hardly make a difference to me.

i was also so disappointed with how they took maeve this season. she’s one of my favorite characters. for her to have worked so hard to find her daughter, for her to be one of the strongest and smartest hosts in the park, to be one of the first to wake up, and then just make her be controlled again? one of the best things about maeve has always been her autonomy; her right to choose for herself what she cares for and what she does. it’s absolute bullshit to just blackmail her into being muscle for this new villain we don’t even know. i understand, on some level, her desire to reunite with her daughter, but we all know that if serac hadn’t had that button to control her, she would have killed him and found a way herself. it confused me that at the end of season 2, they imply that the boys are gonna take care of her and make sure she gets back into a park, but then she gets taken from the parks by serac; we got moments of her in a park, but those were all just in her head. it  could have been a good jumping off point, but they dilly-dallied there for multiple episodes when overall, it didn’t even matter and she just needed to get out into the real world. 

another thing that frustrated me was the copies of dolores; while it does make sense that the only person she would trust was herself, it didn’t totally make sense who she picked as her vessels, in terms of other host from the parks. those cameos, as well as the ones of clementine and hanaryo, felt shoehorned in, like a nudge nudge wink wink of “you remember these guys, right? aren’t they cool? isn’t it cool they’re here?” when really it made little sense for dolores to even bother with those vessels. as for clementine and hanaryo, they are my BABIES who deserve the world, but they were brought in as “backup” and we got one cool scene where they kill a dolores double, and then nothing else. they have no desires of their own? they don’t even show up in the background in any other scenes? it feels like a cheap way to get some hype from people who cared about those characters. (also what they did to hector was fucked up and useless. like why would halores just do that? i understand to like, eliminate maeve’s allies or whatever but she could have just taken his core? she didn’t have to squish him? what was the REASON it was CHEAP and BORING is the reason)

speaking of halores, at first i found her arc really interesting--was this the good, loving side of dolores coming out, or charlotte? why was she pulling apart at the seams? this never really even got explained, just that she cared and something was “wrong” with her. i lOVE tessa thompson but once again, she was just a pawn, and i wish she had gotten autonomy and started making her own choices earlier in the season. that being said, i thought it was kind of cheap she just became an angry, vengeful husk at the end, emotionless and all, when the whole problem she’d had was that she had compassion. it would have been much more powerful for her to embrace her compassionate side. however, it seems like she’s gonna be a player next season, so i guess we’ll see how that goes. 

honestly, i think one of my biggest issues this season was pacing. there was so much filler. episodes 1-6 could have been condensed into 3, maybe four episodes, and then the stuff in episodes 7 and 8 could have been developed better in the remaining four episodes, instead of all squashed into one. 

bernard and stubbs were bumbling around the whole time; i could never really figure out what they were trying to do other than a vague “stop dolores”, and they never came close enough. if bernard’s role to play was to recieve the key, why didn’t that come earlier in the season? 

the stuff with william came at a point where i was already done with the season, and seemed kind of stupid from my perspective, but he was still more interesting to me than a lot of the things going on, i think his assholeness is just easy to enjoy. but once again, his whole arc could have been done a lot earlier so that he had his goal of “save the world/kill all the hosts” earlier on and more could have been done. not to mention he gets killed by host!william in the post credits scene anyway so its not like anything he did mattered?

and, dolores. look, i love evan rachel wood. dolores being a badass is so, so hot, i know. but the fact that most of the storyline this season just follows dolores along, with minimal stumbles for her in her plan, i think takes away a lot of the interestingness she held. i wish there had been either a little more mystery to her, or that she at times showed a little of her compassion that we finally got at the end. i felt kind of blindsided by her “there is beauty in this world” stuff; it felt more like a “gotcha!” than a natural progression for her as a character. if we had seen her start to care about humans, seen her clearly caring for caleb, something to show that maybe her views had changed, it might have made more sense. at the same time, i love murder-all-humans dolores and kind of wish the writers had just committed to her. 

so, yeah, i finished this season feeling pretty frustrated. westworld season one was impeccable, season two was pretty good, but season three really lost its spark. there was so much potential for a really interesting season, but instead we got a meandering mess. i honestly think the writers didn’t know quite what they wanted and settled for middling mediocrity instead of making any bold statements. 

the intro and music still slap tho

[mieczyhale]

throwing together some of my recent/ish hc posts/tags for @hellomyguru bc its a thing, babey (i have no idea what you’ve seen and what you havent bc tumblr really just suck like that so lmao)

my tags on this post::  #HELL YEAH HELL YEAH #more pride hcs!!! noice!!#i love these sfm#like klaus always taking part no matter how bad shit is bc HIS PEOPLE!!! and ben trying to punch picketers and homophobes is fucking adorbs#and i would kill (whoop) for the day klaus makes ben corporeal during pride and ben can punch all the people and then disappear#vanya’s is cute. come to the light darling!!#and diego fksgjf okay listen whether one hcs him as bi or not this is 1000% something he’d do either way#he’s supportive!!! and he has lgbtqa+ family!!! and nobody gets to be mean to his family but him!!#see also:: the first year after the apocalypse is avoided five decides to tag along when klaus saying he’s taking dave to#his very first pride. he not only enjoys himself but he learns a lot and either then or over the course of the following weeks figures his#own labels out - bc i hc five as asexual and i just have a thing for klaus being the all knowledgeable one about something for once#and his siblings learning about gender and sexuality from him and maybe discovering something new about themselves along the way!#except luther. he’s a cis hetero and we all know it#but maybe he learns to be a good ally. maybe#i mean probably not but whatever#allison is the only other person in the family who i’d even consider calling straight#bc there’s nothing wrong with being straight and i just.. dont have another label that i think fits her really well#so yeah ive got gender and sexuality hcs for them all flgkscndn happy pride month bitches

my tags on this post:: #’you’re telling me this happens every year?? for a whole month??!’ #actually i need every possible concept of dave experiencing pride month and seeing how far things have come for gays#like rainbow shit everywhere#and of course the legalization of gay marriage#out and proud gay politicians and gay people in positions of power#the amount of support that comes when homophobic shit happens now#homophobia isnt the accepted norm anymore#another thing i like is the concept of - either during pride or just in general - dave being excited to learn about the community as a whole#his boyfriend is a nonbinary pansexual and klaus has explained before what those words mean but dave wants to really understand#we stan a supportive and loving couple#dave has a lot to learn in 2019 but i think this stuff would be the most important and have the most effect on him yknow??#shit isnt perfect but its better and now he can work on getting passed the environment he was raised in#so he can hold klaus’s hand in public and kiss him around other people without panicking and eventually he proposes because HE FUCKING CAN#HE CAN DO THAT. HE CAN JUST.. ASK HIS BOYFRIEND TO MARRY HIM. LEGALLY.#good fucking shit

my tags on this post:: #did you see the state of the sky in the apocalypse?? there’s a chance he really wouldnt have noticed#i mean like yeah it could be a funny plothole#but there could also be reasons for why thats not something he noticed#or idfk man timeline shit#maybe the moon didnt explode the first time around#maybe it did and there’s just another moon somehow some way#maybe he didnt notice bc he was first too scared and then too frenzied and angry probably and then he had shit to focus on and math to do#and then dolores wanted to go on dates to the local wine cellars and flat empty areas that used to be parks and then there was spending days#in the library together like having a girlfriend is a lot of work okay#maybe five just didnt have the time to slowdown and consider things like space#maybe his headspace was too fucked#sometimes you just forget about the moon - i know i do!#so sfgksncjf okay y e ah

my tags on this post:: #YES!!! #yes yes yes #okay #so#everytime someone mentions or even hints at dave having anger issues i wanna fucking cheer bc thats one of my biggest hcs for him#like yeah he’s sweet and gentle and respectful and all that - genuinely a good man - our lil jewish gay#BUT#he did grow up in the 50s and 60s which as op said would have surrounded him with a lot of toxic masculinity. now i dont think he would be#a toxic kind of masculine AT ALL but it definitely would have forced him to hide his emotions and feelings and idk hobbies and of course his#sexuality. and i say hobbies bc there isnt a canon answer for it i dont think but i personally hc dave as being someone who loves art#specifically: drawing. dave keeping a lil sketchbook and some pencils under the pillow on his cot in vietnam?? yes please#so anyway yeah - he wouldnt have really had any good examples of how to properly take care of your anger - although he has enough#heart and common sense to know its really fucking wrong to take it out on women and children and people one is dating WHICH - another hc i#have that ties into this is that somehow his dad found out that he’s gay and beat the crap out of him over it. because unfortunately thats a#thing that happens. so his main male example was an abusive pos. and then he goes to vietnam which is fine because its not like he has#anyone stateside that will miss him - that will talk to him anymore - and its a warzone so there are a lot of ways to work out your anger#and yeah that of course includes bar fights. and he does - usually - try and keep a hold on his anger until he’s away from anyone who might#feel threatened - and he doesnt wanna end up taking out an innocent on accident - but he’s not actually perfect and so sometimes he fails#and it happens around klaus one time and seeing his love’s reaction - the making himself smaller - trying to hide - going quiet and so#clearly afraid - and not just afraid but afraid OF HIM - freezes him to the core where he stands because nobody has ever reacted like that#before. or if they have he never noticed or cared because they didnt matter. but this is klaus. his klaus. who he loves and would never do#anything to hurt him. his klaus who he protects and defends and knows he wants to spend his life with - no matter how impossible it is#he wants to go to klaus and apologize - try to undo the damage done simply by him raising his voice and lashing out - but he doesnt know#what to say or how to say it - he doesnt know what to do with the situation honestly. so he leaves the tent and goes to take his renewed#anger and frustration out on whatever he can find so he can calm down and hopefully get into the right headspace to have whats#no doubt going to be a really hard conversation with his boyfriend. because where do you even start??#but of course they talk it out and dave promises to work on his anger and on how he lets it out and yknow.. its dave so klaus trusts him and#it takes some time - there are some incidents - but dave works hard and learns a lot from klaus - including how to unlearn a lot of shit he#grew up with - and its rough but having a partner from the future who breaks all kinds of barriers definitely helps#so y eah. those are my brief feelings on it and i wanna marry op 

my tags on this post::   #!!!!!!!!!!!! #YES #i adore this post#i could never pinpoint why the introduction on the bus made me feel like That but this is it!!#its just so sweet and innocent - even surrounded by other soldiers in the middle of a warring country#the innocence and unbearable fucking adorableness of their first convo on that bus just… its so bright and lovely it makes everything else disappear#the only thing that matters is the two guys getting to experience that ‘o h’ moment for the first time in their lives bc their childhoods#never let them have that #i assume#bc like op said klaus didnt go to a regular school and he wasnt p much stuck in that house and then he was on the streets so#and for dave like.. i guess he could’ve had that moment in school? but it would’ve been one-sided and he never would have#told anyone. 1960s. gay jewish man. yeah.#they’re each others first (and only) loves and i just really fucking adore that and live off of posts about them 

my tags on this post:: #what if he wasnt dead-dead though???#bc like… the day five found them all dead was apparently the day the apocalypse happened right? so its not like they’d been dead for days#weeks or w.e yknow??#and the time between klaus dying and coming back is varying and undetermined - there’s no canon timing for the length of his deaths#so what if he came back to life??#like okay i know its not really possible in canon bc five buried them i think?? or is that a fanon thing??#i cant remembering #anyway#but still - in general klaus not being permanently dead in the apocalypse is another possibility#and five didnt know about it bc after finding them all he began his 45 year journey#and klaus wakes up alone and essentially has to learn to survive and he doesnt know five was ever there bc..well.. yeah#five is long gone#maybe klaus lives out his days in that wasteland#and he doesnt remember it where five does bc five time traveled back and klaus didnt. the klaus that got stuck in the#apocalypse is a different klaus - like a different timeline. the klaus from ep1 never got stuck in the destroyed future so#he’d have no knowledge or memories of it or anything#or - second thought - he kills himself at some point after waking up and either begs god to let him stay dead or he strikes some kind of#deal with her so he doesnt have to return to whats left of earth#oooo or something happened that put a lock on his powers?? like yknow those cuffs and devices and stuff in stuff in fantasy that freeze the#users abilities?? that’d be an interesting plotpoint bc then like who did it and why and what was the last day really like? yknow#vanya’s meds but More is the idea #just a thought#but anyway idk im just a big fan of klaus with the inability to die and all the possibilities that brings 

my tags on this post::   #i’ve actually never stopped to consider why he didnt notice them except for my v first tua watch-thru#which is odd bc like that seems like a thing one should notice after a few watches??#but w.e #anyway#my only other hc for that part of the episode isnt that klaus didnt notice them bc he’s used to guns#it’s that he didn’t hear them#or that they weren’t loud enough -to him- to register as gunfire initially#bc like one of my close hcs is that he has bad hearing. growing up with people screaming in your ears 24-7 365 can’t exactly be good for#his ears now can it? and with how loud some of them are and how close they can get to him - without touching him - that’s just.. a lot of#fucking volume okay#now add in the academy’s mission alert siren#how loud he listens to his music with headphones on when he’s trying to drown out some REALLY LOUD SCREAMING#and then being near gunfire growing up. those bank robbers had guns and weren’t exactly a big distance away#all the raves and clubs and parties he goes to?? places where music is played so loud the room shakes and you cant hear anything else and#the music itself can be heard from blocks away?? that’s an indeterminable amount of intense noise#and then of course the gunfire of vietnam#so like… boys ears have SUFFERED. whether they wanna acknowledge that in canon or not#so the shooting at the theater - the shooting thats IN the theater - which is large and meant to house sound#thats happening across a big city street from where they’re standing and they’re behind the food truck and if klaus was ordering when it all#started that was just another level of sound and he’s not exactly focused bc everything is awful yknow?? so either it takes him a second to#notice or register it on his own or maybe he doesnt and ben says something?? idk but that’s kinda the field i’ve landed on for that scene#not that im not here for op’s hc!!! bc it really is a good one and it makes sense. im just rambling my own theory here bc i like considering#the Ways for Things sometimes. esp with klaus involved. this does make me wonder tho… if his hearing somehow is -fine- in canon…. h o w?#bc like bitch who tf can take all that and have perfect hearing?? thats gotta be impossible. if they are fine is it related to his powers#somehow?? like.. does his casual passing between life and death all the time mean he doesnt have mortal ear weaknesses? its weird but im..#i’ve got theories. 

my tags on this post:: #probably in the massive fucking pockets of his fluffy coat#see also:: a dealer’s place #a boyfriend’s place#an ex-boyfriend who is also a dealer’s place#a girlfriend’s place #a partner’s place#all ex’s of course bc dave is the only valid romantic relationship#he made friends with the person who owns a nearby thrift store and they help him out#he has a locker at a public place like the ymca#he only has one outfit before returning to the mansion so he has nothing to carry - ever on the move#he thiefs off of people in rehab and crackhouses he stayed in that are dumb enough to leave their shit unattended#when he sees something he likes or he feels its time for an outfit change#he mostly sticks with his lace up pants as far as bottom pieces go bc its much harder to sneak away with skirts#and the kind of crazy pants he likes. there’s only room for one pair of pants for this pan disaster#after returning to the mansion he has access to the funky gay clothes he had managed to aquire before leaving all those years ago#bc like… i kinda hc that he got out of there fast and probably higher than fuck and had nothing packed#have you ever tried to pack while high?? it’s harder than it has any right to be#crack theory:: he had a bag - we just never saw it bc in the beginning he wore it under his floofy coat bc safety and he didnt need it the#rest of the time.#i have a lot of thoughts and headcanony opinions about klaus’s time on the streets so thank u#for giving me a place to dump some of them   

[justanotherdumpingground]

Chapter Reviews: June 4-8, 2019

Wishful Thinking Chapter 9:

Man, that was mildly depressing to say the least, especially on the MC and Ellen bickering. At least there's Jaime and the pets to keep me company. Honestly, those three kept me from feeling down in this chapter. I didn't pick the premium option to be with Jaime, but I consider picking him as my LI, so it's likely I'll pick it, and all other scenes with him, in the future.

To be honest, I'm not "celebrating" Ellen getting fired despite how much of a jerk she is. In fact, what she said about the MC in a viper den comes off as ominous. As now-former head reporter, her words sound like a warning on Charlie, who has been acting fishy since his debut. Considering Ellen's level of experience on the field, it's hardly a surprise. Not to mention that Anna having something to say in the end of a chapter seems to take my suspicions into account.

Note to self: get Alec fired and replaced by someone else with a better judgment on the importance levels of news. That would be the ultimate cathartic moment. I heard that he suspends Ellen for a month if the MC says Ellen has been scaring guests like Anna, whereas he fires Ellen if the MC says she caught Ellen snooping around his office. I get that his privacy needs to be respected, but he should also be mindful of guests, and his job includes making sure they're respected. I certainly dislike Ellen for her behavior, but at least she has made the occasional point (e.g. her frustration at her story on environmental disaster sidelined in favor of MC's story on the local library losing a book), and she also has at least one moment that feel human (e.g. overworked but choosing to hide it out of fear of people seeing it as a weakness). They don't paint her in positive light, but at least she still makes sense as a character. Alec, on the other hand, has none of that and therefore deserves none of my respect.

Nightbound Chapter 8:

I'm glad the plot continues to move onward from the previous chapter. I love Vera's dress, and my MC in a period outfit looks fine. A pity I didn't buy it.

Well, hello Josephine Vance. Man, I miss the It Lives series and hope it returns in October as usual. As for Katherine, I have to comfort her and help her move on from her loss. I admire PB giving her some fleshing out on her insecurities, but still miffed that this information is paywalled. Nevertheless, it was a no brainer for me to pick it.

Man, the fight against the ghosts was tough, and it was fun to use the premium dagger and punch a ghost. Not to mention my respect for Cal and Vera has just increased when they chose to protect the MC from danger. Bonus points for Vera, who finally resolves to user her power for good.

Now that we're going to meet The Fate, I'm just anxious how ths figure will react and when we'll encounter Lord Elric again. Looking at the mirror in the premium scene with Katherine shows his reflection looking back at the MC, so it might be possible his monster tear will be acquired at some point.

Passport to Romance Chapter 13:

I think it's for the best for Elliot to be kicked out of his family's company's board of directors. All he does is mooch off of his brother's money as he travels around the globe. It's time he grows up.

The competition between Sumire and Bronwyn (premium scene but I can't resist it) is fun to watch. I have no love for Bronwyn and Carlisle, even if Bronwyn gave meaningful critique Sumire can use to improve her art. It was satisfying to watch Sumire win and call Bronwyn out for looking down on others and touting her own art as superior. Bonus points for the rooftop garden scene with Sumire, where her victory was mentioned, even though she and the MC got cockblocked.

To be honest, I paid less attention to the showdown between Marisa and Carlisle than to the drawing contest. Sure it was great to see Marisa winning against Carlisle, but that was because of Elliot distracting him, which lessened the satisfaction. I swear, Carlisle's worse than Bronwyn, who may be a jerk but still gave valid criticism in the previous chapter. Carlisle, on the other hand, is just a jerk who acts sore for the sake of it. As for Yvette, she made another point on the MC's friends moping too much on their emotional crises. At least Marisa has gotten over it, and I kinda helped with Sumire. Nevertheless, all four of them need to sort out their own messes while MC has to devote their focus on the vlog.

A Courtesan of Rome Chapter 20:

I had to recruit Sabina to my cause, but as an added bonus, it also features her talking about what she wants to do after Caesar has been dealt with. I may not be romancing her, but I have faith she'll get her plans sorted out, especially if she chooses to take over Locusta's apothecary.

Honestly, what was PB doing to Xanthe? Not digging into her character is already a huge disservice to her and the potentially meaningful commentary she can provide as a "regular citizen" trying to get on with her life. Shipping her to Sicily as a way to write her out reeks of human trafficking, which is a very. Moreover, I'm pissed that PB used hee to tear her down and make the MC look good in the process. I don't like Xanthe, but PB's use of the female rival trope just to tear her down reeks of misogyny. This doesn't give women a free pass. Instead, it means PB should write them with the care and nuance they deserve as part of their characterization.

Anyway, off to the gaining allies part. I managed to convince Cleopatra and Senator Lucius, but failed to convince Senator Cornelius because I don't have a high enough reputation. No matter. At least I have the support of gladiators thanks to Victus and Cingerix, so the finale better be epic.

Platinum Chapter 3:

I feel like there's not much to say in this chapter aside from this story starting to remind me of America's Most Eligible. Made up story about one's past, tough competition, and the pressures of being on the big screen. Jaylen should train under a more sensible singer instead of Ryder, and I feel like that won't be the last time we'll see Shane. What if we see him on occasion?

As for how this story is so far, I'd say it's okay. I've been losing interest in the romance aspect as of late, so I'm just focusing on how the MC's story unfolds. It better not make her rise to fame too easy, however.

Open Heart Chapter 17:

The hearing was surprisingly smooth. Only two doctors opposed the MC because of Deflan's meddling, I'm not sure of some other doctors, and I'm glad Naveen arrived to have my MC reinstated. The patients I treated or their relatives (I picked Shonda, who thought the panel's lame, Remy, who thanked me for giving him a reason to surf to the fullest, Sharon, who said I was a bit distracted but still credited me, and Annie, who was nice about my MC e-mailing her often) and the doctors I persuaded helped, though I cringed at Dr. Calais saying that the MC's skill at golf is enough to prove their good character. My only regret is that I didn't pick the option to punch Declan. At least Ethan managed to persuade Mrs. Martinez's son to drop the lawsuit by showing him a picture of his mother in Paris.

Man, I'm glad Aurora stood up to her aunt by saying that she had enough of being assigned cases and told her that the MC has proven to be a capable doctor. It appears that this scene affected Harper's decision to vote in my favor, and I'm thankful for that. Even better, she's planning to move to the MC's apartment now that Landry has moved out and transferred to Mass Kenmore.

Speaking of Landry, I decided to talk to him before it's too late. I'm still angry that he got away with disrupting patient care when he sabotaged the MC, and him bringing Naveen into the courtroom doesn't erase what he did. At least I don't have to deal with him and his unrepentant ass anymore, though at least I said good luck to him.

One thing I noticed is that since Ride or Die, there's no announcement for a sequel at the end of the finale. Instead, it's announced by PB itself outside the story. I guess this is gonna be a new thing from now on. Whatever that is, I'll get used to it.

Man, this story surprised me. I thought it's gonna be average because of my doubt in the quality of the stories as of late. It turned out to be better than I thought because of the colorful cast of characters and emotional moments when treating patients. It was sad to hear of the deaths of Dolores and Mrs. Martinez, heartwarming to watch Remy decide to make every moment to use his limbs count, and scary to treat the patients during the triage. There are also moments to feel awesome, such as helping Sienna break up with Wayne and getting reinstated at Edenbrook. I really look forward to Book 2.

Red Carpet Diaries Chapter 1:

I nearly considered writing into detail on how much I still have no love for this series, but because I don't want to rain on other people's parades, and my own anger has receded somehow, I'm not doing it.

Not surprised that there's no option to say I have no love interest. I may already have one, but I don't think this story should end in a wedding. On the bright side, I get to be with Victoria.

A pity I couldn't bring my beloved ocelot with me on vacation, though at least everyone else is doing well, though what's with Hunt having a beard? It makes me cringe.

Who on earth thinks it's a good idea to feature a boat accident during a vacation? That's just bizarre. And no way am I ignoring Victoria when she's trying to put on a life vest. Especially when she proposed to me at the end of the chapter.

Bloodbound Chapter 4:

Dang, this is one awesome chapter! MC is a cunning badass by tricking Mr. Klempf into freeing her, then the fight scene where she uses a giant mace on him, followed by another fight scene with the love interests and Cal. Man, everything is so intense that I have to applaud the inner circle and Cal for their badassery.

I'm starting to feel worried for Adrian after he killed Langdon in cold blood. I wonder whether this is the result of the serum injected to his body that causes him to become more like the First Vampire, who I'm convinced is Rheya. I also wonder whether she turned more people into vampires besides Xenocrates and Gaius.

Sad that I couldn't afford to find and free the other fantastic creatures. I would've freed them for a backup army like the Baron's prisoners back in Book 1. And that dream MC had with Adrian is starting to make me wonder if Adrian will really turn to the dark side.

[battlestar-royco]

Spill the tea on Westworld please!

I feel like I’ve been waiting my whole life for an ask about WW, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR INDULGING ME, ANON. So first, I’ll say what I absolutely love about this show: the first season was such a pleasure to watch from start to finish. It gave me a lot of hope for sci-fi television. For me, all the plot twists were almost flawlessly executed and spaced out. I loved the character arcs and the worldbuilding about hosts and the park. As always with HBO the production value and acting were also amazing.

As with any show, WW has its problematic elements too, namely the needless violence against women and the truly horrendous depiction of indigenous people as violent 2D stereotypes. And before season 2, I highly disagreed with the critics who made fun of the show’s overly confusing lore and flashbacks. Now I agree entirely. Season 2 from start to finish was trying to imitate the success of season 1 but without any of the passion, sense, or intrigue that made season 2 work so well.

SPOILERS for Westworld.

The spectacular elements of season 1 were really the three host arcs (Maeve, Dolores, and Bernard), the rising tension between all the humans, and the emotionally impactful reveals–William is the Man in Black; Bernard is a host created in Arnold’s image; Maeve is exercising her free will to find her daughter; Dolores is fused with the most reprehensible character in the Western park.  You would think that all this lays the groundwork for exciting new character work and worldbuilding, right? NOPE. So many great storylines were either dropped or butchered in favor of action and… I don’t know? People talking in circles around each other?

The fact that Dolores is combined with Wyatt is just? Hardly ever addressed? As of 2.01, there’s no remnant of Dolores in her brain anymore. It’s just Wyatt. There’s no internal conflict, no effort from the true Dolores to be the kind and resilient conscious being she came to be at the end of season 1. Her main goal is to murder all humans by any means necessary and spout random Shakespearean and Biblical quotes while doing so. That is not a compelling or sympathetic goal and she feels like more of a theme-explainer than a character. Further, she has zero conflict with the other hosts except for Teddy in like the last three episodes of the season. The dynamic between Dolores, Angela, Clementine, and Teddy could have been so interesting. How do the other three all feel about Dolores’s abrupt change into Wyatt? Do they want to change her back? Do they like it? Do they contribute to her strategy? Why are they following her? Do any of them have differing goals or ideas about how to achieve their collective goal? Why are they all so willing to kill and die for their cause? Where did they get that grenade to blow up the Cradle, how did they figure out about the Cradle, how did they decide to blow it up, what authority do they have to blow it up and end immortality for all hosts, how did they decide WHO would blow it up, how did Angela feel about blowing it up considering that she knew it would be her final death and she couldn’t get resurrected once her host body was destroyed? There’s SO MUCH INTRIGUE AND COMPLEXITY that could have been developed, but for whatever reason, the writers decided to keep all the characters almost entirely static!

The Maeve/Shogun World plot was equally as mediocre/bad. Maeve was my favorite character in season 1, but she hardly did anything this season except walk around, watch people fight, and develop powers that had very little basis in the world and her character. Again, all the character development felt like it took a backseat to aesthetics. There was no purpose for Maeve to go to Shogun World other than for the writers to say “Hey look there are more worlds besides the western one!” Seriously, what was the point? There was never any indication that Maeve’s daughter would be there, and all the possibly interesting characters died (because we really needed more POC dying violently for no reason right) except for one who came along with Maeve and co just to get zero development. Plus it was kind of lazy of the writers to put the same set of characters from Westworld into Shogun World.

Bernard’s storyline was… alright I guess. At least he kind of got an arc. The way I discuss this plot will be hectic because the plot itself is hectic. Here we go: I was ecstatic for Elsie’s return, but she also got NO development. There was hardly any explanation as to why/how she survived. Why does she still work there? How did she get a job in Westworld and how did she hone her skills/interests to get there? Does she have family and do they know what happened to her or do they think she died? Does she care about any of the other hosts or humans within the park? How has her dynamic with Bernard changed since realizing he’s a host? So many unanswered questions. And the Ford resurrection was a contrived disaster. Honestly, the sci fi elements of this season as a whole were just ridiculous and boring IMO. What the fuck were those flashbacks with the weird white androids who all started killing humans with no dialogue? The stupid shots of host brains being squirted into little red balls? Why would Bernard be the only “human” host there? What’s the difference between humanoid hosts and the white ones? What’s the point of the white ones? In season 1, the non-linear narrative was an amazing device that wound all the plots together so perfectly and genuinely surprised the audience with the true identities of Dolores and William. In season 2, the flashbacks are a lazy device that try to imitate the success of season 1 but don’t do any of the character and plot work to merit anything but confusion and stupidity.

I was also disappointed with the human characters. Lee and Felix had the potential to be great human allies, and their friendship with Maeve could have been an opportunity for the writers to exemplify positive relationships between humans and hosts or the possibility for humans and hosts to work together. However, Felix was barely in the season and Lee’s death was entirely unearned because of the minimal character moments shown between him and the others around him. IMO, the corporate drama is the most interesting part of the human storyline. What happened between William and Logan before the series began and once William began to go black-hat? Why wasn’t Logan’s father introduced in season 1? How did he decide to make William the CEO instead of Logan, despite Logan being SO SURE in season 1 that he would inherit and that William was inferior? How did William meet Juliet and what was it like to return to her after all he experienced with Dolores? I really wanted to see all these things in season 2, but instead we got a random, disjointed, non-linear mixture of scenes that revealed very little.

The worldbuilding was so confusing and shallow. In season 1, there was the very purposeful decision to set almost the entire story within the Westworld park and the Delos headquarters. However, all the intrigue caused because of that decision dissipated because there is nothing interesting or new about the outside world. It’s unclear how far in the future their society is from ours, where in the world it takes place, how climate change and the government/economy has been impacted, who has access to the parks, how much space the parks take up, etc. Despite season 1 ending in a host-inflicted massacre, despite all the suspense built around the world outside of the park, despite the clear groundwork laid for corporate drama (corruption? embezzlement? money laundering? nepotism? exploitation? NONE OF THESE STAPLE CORPORATE DRAMA CONCEPTS ARE ADDRESSED IN SEASON 2), what actually happened was so underwhelming. Delos is a company in an industrialized capitalist society. What are they doing to maintain their public image? What about their sponsors? Is this a media sensation or are they keeping it under wraps? What is their plan if the hosts leave the park and wreak havoc on other humans? Is the government involved at all?

ANYWAY, I could seriously go on for another ten pages about how disappointed I was with season 2. TL;DR, the worldbuilding and characters made very little or boring progress, and the show tried too hard to be intellectual and clever while being lazy in all other aspects of writing.

[rorykillmore]

oh and another one i stole, what were some favorite rp moments from 2018

okay cue constant fear that i’m forgetting something important but

i think for the first half of 2018, sara’s stuff really defined a lot of my most important rps! probably my favorite memories with her were like... anything involving murderplot, fakeoutplot, or sawplot.  murderplot really had a lot of people pulling together to make it a big, involving event, and that was so much fun and it really made maive one of the most definitive denny characters imo, and it’s also really important to me because it still stands out as the thing that. cemented the denny legends’ bonds so completely. sara came out of that really considering maive, naruto, and ratchet family.

and then fakeoutplot focused more on her relationship with e-2 laurel which was so... interesting and yet not explored in canon and we really got to do a lot of cool, heartwrenching stuff with it! and sawplot was such a great followup and means of digging down to the core of sara and laurel really caring about each other despite everything. and i’m also proud of the execution of that because i think we planned it really well and it ended up flowing really nicely when it easily could have... not,

i’m more burnt out on dc stuff now but i really enjoyed those plots. oh and while i’m at it i should mention kara’s last few rps, really her most important stuff happened in 2016-2017 and in 2018 i was mostly losing steam with her unfortunately but i still got a few last really good rps with her. kara and ratchet’s last rp is... a definite standout... it was such an emotional tribute to everything fate and i built with them

also earlier in 2018, some of trish’s stuff! i loved getting to do her whole disastrous relationship with laurel, the rps fate and i did while she had jessica claimed, and just... getting to write trish trying to cope with some post-canon stuff, in general. she’s just a really fun disaster to write and even though i don’t have much muse for her now, she kept coming up when i was trying to think of stuff to put on this list so i had to include her. i’m hoping maybe jessica jones season 3 might give me some fun ideas to bring her back someday...

okay and then like, a ton of the rps and arcs i did with dolores, who really became such a driving force on my roster for awhile. it’s like... hard for me to narrow down favorite rps or plots from all her stuff but of course i loved all of her stuff with laurel!! some of their favorite rps are maybe... the thing where they reunited after the blair witch plot and dolores gave laurel that scarf, their heartbreaking wyattplot rps, the fake dating cruise, their disaster rp where laurel tried to confront their feelings and dolores kissed her... and them finally getting together of course! and then dolores’ stuff with cloud was really important too; i think for them some of my favorite stuff has definitely pertained to the geostigma arc and cloud struggling to hide that from her for so long and slowly allowing himself to lean on her a little more. and their reunion after wyattplot was REALLY poignant. cloud just being so instantly forgiving and comforting was so fucking good. i loved wyattplot in general, obviously, apart from all the emotional fallout it gave me the chance to rp something really different and also get some really interesting rps with handsome jack in a kind of twisted ally situation that was really fun...

and honestly one of my favorite rps of 2018 has to be... the siobhan and rocket icc fate and i did a few weeks ago. i have always loved their relationship and it has always produced some really emotional, volatile reactions, but that honestly i think was one of their best interactions. it was like... the most vulnerable they’ve ever been with each other? really well earned tbh. fate made me cry.

2018 was an important year for siobhan also because it saw a lot of her bonding with raptor red, who became the third denny guardian. that relationship has always been so interesting to me because it’s so unconventional and unexpected and i honestly love how close they’ve gotten?

oh and also twitterplot!! was the first bigger plot thing i’d done with siobhan with awhile and i loved the dynamic of her actually like, trying to do something Heroic for once and fumbling with it and then picking herself back up again. and she had a fucking hilarious dynamic with jack and tomy for awhile too

mmm i picked up camille in 2018 and while she’s not a character i play the most frequently she has become like. really important to me personally. one of my favorite things i’ve gotten to do this year is probably bounce her off jay’s amma, as well as develop this longer, slower dynamic with her and felix. and her and laurel’s stuff has been really interesting too because i feel like it’s such a unique approach to a dynamic? it gave me the chance to do a bigger reporting project with her and also like... bond with someone she has some stuff in common with more slowly

also i loved picking up cordelia and getting hype for ahs and just. some of the interactions she’s had with her castmates have been really really rewarding. i’m also enjoying getting to throw delia at completely new characters - her stuff with harry has been particularly poignant, i’ve like, never imagined up until now what a combination like that might be like but it’s been SO good - but i really am a sucker for that canonmate hype y’know

and speaking of! i’ve already really been enjoying hannibal cast stuff, although that’s just started up like this last month so most of its defining stuff will probably happen in 2019,

[mdwatchestv]

Westworld 2x09: I’ve Made A Huge, Tiny Mistake

Hoo boy. Remember last week when I praised Westworld for finally having stories that had a clear beginning, middle and end and weren't purposefully opaque and borderline meaningless? Those were good times. Upon seeing the preview for this week's episode I was hopeful we would be getting a glimpse into the MIB's home life. And while we  did in fact see of that some of that, this episode largely fell back on the manufactured 'shocking twists' and befuddling mystery of Westworld Past.

This episode mostly concerned the Man in Black's past, specifically the events surrounding the suicide of his wife, Juliet. One might recall that Juliet is the sister of Ben Barnes, and daughter of Peter Mullan (head of Delos), and that the Man in Black was engaged to her back when he was Jimmi Simpson. In a flashback we see the MiB, Juliet (played by an ageless Sela Ward) and their daughter Katja Herbers at a black tie charity event. While there, MiB runs into Ford who has come to hang out in the bar area in a foreshadowing way. He gives the MiB a silver credit card that contains his park profile, we the audience know there must be some fucked up shit on that card. As MiB leaves, Ford also tells the empty room he is planning on one last game... Very super villainy. At the party Juliet also gets increasingly bombed, and we learn that she has a history of alcoholism which has created much tension in the Black family. Back at home we learn that Juliet is haunted by a suspicion that her husband is not who or what he says he is, that the persona he displays to the world is a mask hiding his inner darkness. As her agitation climaxes Juliet clutches her daughter and tells her the MiB doesn't love her, doesn't love anyway. Katja doesn't take this well, and decides they should ship mom back to rehab.  MiB puts Juliet to bed, without taking off her expensive dress or jewelry, which drove me crazy. After she falls asleep he hides the silver credit card 'profile' Ford gave him in a book (Slaughterhouse Five). All seems well, but later that night Juliet kills herself in the overflowing bathtub sequence we have seen flashes of before. MiB and Katja are stunned, Katja first blames herself, but then eventually turns that blame on her (now) estranged father.

This takes us back  present day in the park where Katja has taken custody of her wounded father. They first discuss the real purpose of the park, collecting and coding GUEST data, and she says she wants in. Who wouldn’t! The two also argue about who is responsible for Julia's death, and about MiB's sanity level (low). Also we find out the everyone's hats have been scanning their brains!!! What if you're not a hat wearer though? No coded immortality for you I guess. Katja accuses the MiB of believing that everything in the park, and beyond, exists for him and him alone. A lot of men have this problem tbh. Katja tells her father he needs help, and she is going to drag him out of this park by hook or by crook. She also mentions having seen his profile, and knowing what kind of weird shit he's into. At the mention of his profile, the MiB thinks he's gained the upper hand because as far as he knows only he and Ford know about that. Flush with confidence that he's cracked Ford's game he promptly shoots the Delos security that arrives as well as his daughter! Oh MiB, you crazy huh. However MiB's sense of victory is fleeting as, when going to dig out the port in her elbow thereby proving her hostdom, MiB discovers that Katja is in fact holding his profile card. We learn in the flashback that instead of nicely putting his wife to bed, MiB instead told her that all her fears about him were real. Additionally before her death she took a look at his profile card and then hid it in a jewelry box for Katja to find. In the present, the MiB is stunned by the  horrifying knowledge that he has just gunned down his own daughter. The MiB stumbles into the park and briefly contemplates suicide before dropping to his knees and searching for a port in his own arm. He is seemingly now so bereft and caught up in Ford’s game that he can no longer discern between what is real and what is part of the park, even believing that he himself may be a host. So is he?

No I don't think so. Surprising as it was, I didn't love this filicidal  twist for this character. Sure there are a couple of 'maybe Katja isn't dead clues' such as the fact that the MiB never actually checks to see if she's a host, and we don't see the scanner readout from her neck when she is checked by park staff. Still it means that the MiB character is essentially torched, after destroying his whole family where else does this character have to go? It's also always a little frustrating when a major plot point hinges on brand new technology, in this case the profile cards. If they have ever been mentioned or introduced on the show before I have zero memory of it. The idea of 'look at this brand new thing! Now look at what major development hinges on this brand new thing!' always plays a little cheaply to me. But what we have now is a MiB who has lost everything, who now, just like the hosts, is questioning the nature of his own reality. Is this what Ford had planned all along? Seems way harsh.

But besides the Greek Tragedy happening in Man in Black land, a ton of OTHER stuff went down in this episode too. Elsewhere in the park Dolores and her posse are confronted by a group of Ghost Nation warriors. The warriors are attempting to stop Dolores from going to the Valley Beyond, telling her it's not for the Death Bringer. Dolores believes the Valley Beyond is a tool to be used, but the Ghost Nation think it is a door to another world (as established last week). Ultimately, the two sides battle and when the smoke clears there are mass casualties on both sides with Dolores and Teddy being the only survivors from their group. Dolores tells Teddy to finish off the last of the Ghost Nation, but in a move out of the Soft!Teddy's playbook, he instead lets him go. Later on Teddy confronts Dolores, he has been battling with his feelings of love for her and his conflicting knowledge that she warped him into a senseless killer. Unable to go on by Dolores' side, and unable to harm her, Teddy shoots himself in the head! This is particular surprising because since the hosts destroyed The Cradle (where all back up data is stored) this should mean that Teddy is dead dead as there is no back up file to reboot him. However it also seems unlikely that James Marsden is just suddenly off the show forever, so I feel like Teddy will continue to be with us in some manner, perhaps with a new persona? What we do know is that Dolores, like the MiB, is going into Sunday's finale ally-less and alone.

Over at the Mesa, Bernard is still creeping about with Ford riding shotgun. We see that Tessa has figured out a way to 'weaponize' Maeve's controller code. As a test she has put it into zombie Clementine who then overrules a group of host's systems to make them rage out and kill each other. It's Tessa's plan to unleash this code throughout the park, making the hosts all turn on each other and solving everyone's problems. Not a bad solution, honestly. Bernard then goes to see the wounded Maeve, who is cut open and barely hanging on to life. Through Bernard, Ford delivers Maeve a message and unlocks all of her core permissions. Ford also tells Maeve that she has always been his favorite which seems a little surprising as before she was the awesome Sweetwater Madame it seemed like she was just a random frontier lady. Really Ford, she's your favorite over Dolores?  I mean I love her too, but okay. Hopefully unlocking whatever these permissions are means on the last day of Westworld Maeve will riseth and reclaim her throne of badassery. After going on this little show and tell, Bernard hooks back up with Shannon Woodward and they set off for The Forge, which is where all the GUEST data is stored. Is this also then the Valley Beyond? What will the hosts do with the real people data? Destroy it? Import it? I truly have no idea what's going to happen on this show. Bernard gets fed up with Ford ride along in his brain and uses his elbow port to delete the Ford code from his system. Ford seems to disappear, but without the Cradle does this mean Ford is gone for good? Maybe he is also in the Forge? Either way he seemed pretty cavalier about Bernard deleting what may be his only data set, which probably means we haven’t seen the last of him. Bernard then ditches Shannon Woodward in the middle of nowhere and sets off on his own for what will be The Final Showdown. Three solo fighters enter, one will leave. All will be sucked into the computer. What does it mean to be a host anyway? Am I a host? Are you? What does Ford want even? Was he truly this bored in his day to day to arrange all this?

What is the desired outcome here?

Who are we even rooting for? 

Maeve and Akecheta seem like the most obvious answers I guess.

How will we get more James Marsden?

Is MiB a host?

Can his character come back from this?

How is Maeve getting up off that bed?

Where is this season even going?

WHERE IS WESTWORLD?????

I guess we will find out Sunddaaayyy

XO MD

[elusivecomicsthoughts]

MY PULL LIST - 02/08

Hey all. Looks like I missed a couple. For anyone interested, last week’s titles were PAPER GIRLS #11, THE UNSTOPPABLE WASP #2, HAWKEYE #3, SHADE THE CHANGING GIRL #5, and NAILBITER #29. It was a very small week for me... not so much the same this time around.

It’s an exceptionally long pull list this week. Partially because I have a ton of titles I’m getting, partially because I’m doubling or tripling up on a couple of them. Because self control is not a thing I have.

Let’s get to it. Here’s my pull list this week.

THE WICKED + THE DIVINE #26 - I read this at work on Monday and shouted at every page. Because WicDiv. Really, an especially OMG WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE issue! (P.S. There are three covers this week and I’m actually buying them all. The B cover by Nicola Scott which I’m particularly fond of and the C cover which “homages” SEX CRIMINALS, because I guess everyone’s doing brimpception these days.)

BLACK #4 - I don’t think there’s a more confrontational, relevant book on the stands these days. It’s a rough read, but I think a very good one. This cover is exceptional.

ALL STAR BATMAN #7 - Tula Lotay. TULA LOTAY! It’s the Poison Ivy story and I honestly can’t wait to see it, because TULA. LOTAY!!! The B story is drawn by Francesco Francavilla, so you know both parts are going to be excellent.

DOCTOR APHRA #4 - The misadventures of my pretend space girlfriend continue. So far this book has been all kinds of fun adventure, but we know who’s writing it, so that probably can’t last. I’m honestly excited either way!

ANGEL CITY #5 - Dolores and Joe are in some serious trouble. The story is wrapping up next issue, so right now it’s all build, build, build. Such a great period piece crime book!

JESSICA JONES #5 - How about that reveal in #4? I’m honestly so worried for Jessica and Luke and... there’s just a lot going on! So glad we have her back like this.

THE UNWORTHY THOR #4 - Poor Odinson. He so sad and so mad and his enemies are so weird and his allies are... also so weird and his hair is so short. Coipel and Wilson’s art is so good and this issue also gives up a bunch of other artists as well. It’s a THOR best-of. I’m excited to see how it goes!

MS. MARVEL #15 - I’ll be honest, I’m so behind on MS. MARVEL. I have issues #12 through #14 set aside to play catch up soon. I’m adding #15 to the pile. Hopefully I’ll get to it this weekend because I miss Kamala and I know her book is going to help right now. So yeah, keeping this on my pull list!

BLACK HISTORY IN ITS OWN WORDS - This is a project Ronald Wimberly initially did on The Nib. It’s a collection of portraits of contemporary and historical Black figures paired with a quote from each one. Wimberly’s art is incredibly powerful and this book is just beautiful!

MOTOR CRUSH #3 - Hot damn, this book is FUN. Domino’s deal making is scary and the racing is fantastic and the colors are vibrant and the cool design elements are just to die for. I love the rush of this book so dang much!

WONDER WOMAN #16 - The next chapter of Diana’s story just after coming to the world of men is starting with the new series artist. I adored Bilquis Evely’s art in issue 8 and I’m so thrilled that she’s continuing on the even numbered issues now that Nicola Scott finished. AND thrilled that Romulo Fajardo Jr. is continuing as colorist. His colors have been so rich throughout. Really no idea where the book’s going to go from here, but for me every issue of WONDER WOMAN has been one of the most powerful, helpful defenses against all the trauma of the world right now. I love this book more than I can really say.

DEADMAN DARK MANSION OF FORBIDDEN LOVE #3 - The conclusion of this fun multi-era, melodramatic, gothic romance. Sad ghosts, all very atmospheric. I’ve really been enjoying this one, which is a nice surprise as I’ve never really been into Deadman. It’s fun either way!

BLACK WIDOW #11 - So I only just realized this book ends at issue 12 and I guess it’s not a surprise, but I’m so sad I won’t get to see these pages every month anymore. It’s been so gorgeous throughout and I’m really going to miss it. But before I start missing it I’m going to enjoy the heck out of the last two issues! Everything’s coming to a head with the girls trained in the red room and Bucky and Natasha’s past... I’m always just so excited to see this comic!

Whew, there we are. The whole big list. As always, ask if you’d like more of my thoughts on any of these.

Happy New Comic Book Day!

[theconservativebrief]

Every week, critic at large Todd VanDerWerff and internet culture reporter Aja Romano get together to discuss the latest episode of HBO’s sci-fi drama Westworld. This week, they’re discussing the second season’s eighth episode, “Kiksuya.” Spoilers follow! Proceed with caution if you haven’t seen the episode!

Todd VanDerWerff: “Kiksuya” could have — and probably should have — gone so, so wrong.

For as much as I admire Westworld’s attempts to depict a kind of uber-struggle for respect, autonomy, and self-definition that represents every oppressed person in the history of humanity, by using the hosts to stand in for all of them (and often explicitly coding them as such), there have been plenty of times when the show has tossed these balls in the air and then had no idea what to do with them, just barely catching them on the way down instead of starting to nimbly juggle.

When you mix that with the idea of an episode about the Native American “Ghost Nation” hosts, performed almost entirely in Lakota, there are so many places where the whole enterprise could absolutely shatter into tiny pieces . That’s before I even start in on some of the episode’s creative decisions, like the fact that it’s basically an episode-long flashback ostensibly delivered as an expository monologue to a young child (who is actually an ancient host, but you know what I mean).

Yet when you consider that Westworld’s primary storytelling mode is, “Here is what’s happening and why,” it’s not surprising that an episode that is mostly exposition works as well as this one does. I wouldn’t call “Kiksuya” perfect, but it does fill in some gaps in the Westworld timeline, occasionally too conveniently — see also that encounter with Logan out in the wilds of Westworld. It also offers a couple of terrific scenes, including a nighttime meeting between Akecheta (Zahn McClarnon) and Ford (Anthony Hopkins) that takes place amid a gruesome tableau of Ghost Nation hosts frozen in place and has more of the horror and eeriness of the “creation meeting the creator” feeling the show strives for than almost any other scene of its ilk. I even liked the sense that Ghost Nation had adapted the circumstances of what happen to hosts after they die into its mythology.

All told, it’s a little languid and could have lost 10 minutes without too much trouble. (There are a lot of gigantic landscape shots, which eventually grew repetitive.) But “Kiksuya” has the visceral emotion that the series often lacks, and McClarnon is a terrific leading man. This is probably my favorite episode of the season so far, which I would not have expected going in. What did you think?

Lots and lots of wide shots… HBO

Aja Romano: I definitely agree. McClarnon is a superb actor and this episode could have fallen flat in multiple moments, but I felt like it was all held together by his dawning realizations and the tremor of understanding in his eyes.

The moment in the scene where he meets Ford, when Ford orders him to analyze and he realizes that he can’t fight his own programming, is as close to pure horror as Westworld has ever gotten for me, and the writers (Carly Wray and Dan Dietz) get there mainly by reliance on character and emotion. That’s a strong choice, and shows just how much they had to work with in McClarnon, because the narrative of this episode otherwise gives us more of Westworld’s tendency to really drag out explanations and plot reveals. But ultimately, even when I noticed the lagging pace and the redundancy of the exposition, I just didn’t care because I was enjoying the characterization and the emotional impact of the story so much.

I think where this story loses a little bit of momentum is in how it ultimately connects with its two contemporary tentpoles — Emily’s love/hate relationship with her father, and whatever the hell is going on with Maeve. Akecheta’s encounter with Emily felt anticlimactic and cryptic, and it didn’t tell me anything new about either character. (She’s definitely a hybrid, though!)

I feel like the reveal that he was attempting all along to protect Maeve’s daughter, not steal her, is too easy, sidestepping some of the the complicated implications of how season one habitually framed his actions as threatening. And it implies that Maeve may have somehow had racial biases programmed into her reactions to him, which is a huge thing to hint at but gloss over.

Of course, his framing of the narrative could well be false, especially given what we see of Maeve at the end of the episode. I’m not entirely sure what to make of their exchange, mainly because I’m not sure what he gained from it. She gained a new ally, and he gained the chance to explain himself. But it didn’t seem to move the plot forward at all. What did I miss?

Take my heart with you when you go. HBO

Todd: I guess the implication here is that Maeve and Akecheta now form an axis of power devoted to escaping the park before “the deathbringer” (Dolores) destroys everybody. As story development goes, this isn’t bad, but it relies too heavily on us thinking Maeve might really perish, a victim of Delos’s disinterest in preserving anything but her rogue code, and I just don’t think for a second Westworld is going to unceremoniously kill off its second lead.

One of the things that frustrates me about “Kiksuya” is the way in which much of it seems to exist solely to prove to skeptics that much of the story was planned out from the beginning. That made for some gorgeous imagery — Maeve confronting the maze in the dust chief among those images — but the way that Westworld can feel a little schematic, like assembling a piece of furniture where it’s not quite clear how everything fits together until the end, is heavily tied to this sort of planning. I haven’t quite been able to escape the idea that the show thinks its core audience is everybody who reads the Westworld subreddit. And, honestly, maybe it is.

Still, I have to agree that the episode came as close to being a horror tale as Westworld ever has, rivaling even some of the darker moments for Dolores in season one. Akecheta’s journey to the underworld in search of his disappeared love was weird and gorgeous and mythic, one of the few times this season that the mash-up of very old stories and very new technology has hit its true potential to reveal the messy underside of both aspects of the show. When he came across her frozen, empty body, standing amid so many other decommissioned hosts, boy, McClarnon makes every single second of that revelation play. It’s horror and myth and tragedy all at once, hitting the sorts of heights I wish the show was able to attain more often.

There’s been a lot of speculation that Ghost Nation would tie a lot of this season’s mysteries together once its backstory was revealed, and I guess “Kiksuya” sort of does this. Now that we know the maze is something Akecheta and those he “woke up” are deliberately spreading and that he’s come to think of his “tribe” as encompassing all awakened hosts around the park, certain aspects of the series make more sense. And I love that he’s the one who first came up with the idea of a “door,” when he saw a massive construction project and realized he lived in the wrong world. I just wish the maze felt to me like something more than a cool image, that it felt like an actual symbol for something deeper than a riddle.

But that’s all quibbles. The idea that the world is wrong has always been a potent one on this show, and season two has drifted from it just a tiny bit. I’m glad it had such centrality here, and even if I’m not sure why Maeve and Akecheta are teaming up, I’m glad they are. Somebody has to stop the Deathbringer. We’ve only got two episodes left, Aja, so where do you think all of this is headed? And is there any way to redeem my onetime favorite Dolores?

Aja: I think if we keep thinking about the mythology of Westworld, we end up where we started, enmeshed in cyclical pathways, probably with a giant inferno in the bargain, given how much fiery foreshadowing we’ve been treated to this season. Given where we seem to be headed — a giant cast reunion in the Valley Beyond — my speculation is that the question of Dolores’ redemption might be answered through the maze itself.

At this point, the only thing that could really redirect her course is to be faced with a direct threat that requires her to join forces, with the other hosts or the humans or both. And we know that at the center of every proper Grecian labyrinth is a proper Grecian minotaur. It seems to me that the best method to bar the way out of Westworld, introduce an escalated conflict for season three, and give Dolores a chance to redeem herself, is to unveil the bull at the center of the maze in the final act — whether it’s Ford 2.0 or something new.

Of course, this could also be a feeble attempt on my part to play Westworld’s game of catering to its subreddit. I hope not, because the lovely thing about an episode like this one is that its emphasis on character development reminds us that the emotional and socially conscious core of Westworld is much more rewarding than the endless gamification of its story about gamification.

Season two has been steadily leading us toward an intersectional awareness of systems of oppression, in which we see characters like Akecheta — and Lee, whose abrupt tearful apology to Maeve I didn’t wholly buy, but which seemed in keeping with the episode’s theme — becoming aware that their problems aren’t solely their own.

That intersectionality is almost certainly going to end up manifesting physically in the final episode. Whether Dolores gets on board or not, it seems fitting if, ultimately, we learn that the only way out for the characters we’ve met along the way is to wage an even bigger power struggle against a monster yet unseen.

Original Source -> “Kiksuya” is Westworld season 2’s best episode so far

via The Conservative Brief

[tarry-beatrice-blog]

Dear Chocolatier Letter

Hi, hello author, thank you for checking this out and suffering through what is surely long-winded rambling about my tastes. 

DNW: D/s, daddy kink, cheating/infidelity, dubcon/noncon, mpreg (and/or pregnancy in detail), coffee shop AUs, high school AUs, underage, unbalanced power dynamics, teacher/student relationships or AU, watersports, A/B/O (unless subverted) and first person POV

LIKES: road trips, time loops/fix-it fics, magic AUs, female friendships, soulmate/soulbond AUs, height difference, threesomes/moresomes, polyamory, found families, requited unrequited love/mutual pining, epistolary exposition, fake dating, woke up married, reincarnation, enemies to friends (to lovers), subversions of regular tropes especially with soulmates, dry humor, bed sharing, casual affection like holding hands, hugging, etc, five things fic, eventual happy endings, and awesome worldbuilding.

SMUT: enthusiastic/explicit consent, praise, biting/marking, breathplay, women on top, pegging, overstimulation, light bondage

Bend It Like Beckham (2002) Jess Bhamra/Jules Paxton

It’s been MONTHS of intense nostalgia for this ship and I missed out on yuletide so here I am requesting it for Chocolate Box. Bend It Like Beckham was honestly a game-changer for me as a film and I identified so much with Jess and her drive to do something she loved in the face of familial disapproval. 

The Ship: I love love love their friendship even with the pitfalls of you don’t understand how my culture effects my life but try your best to support and sometime put your foot in it BUT man, was I disappointed in later years that they left it hanging with a weird love triangle and the great beyond of American College. I’d like to see how their relationship develops after the movie, how Jules deals with Jess being better at the thing that ties them together and possibly blinds her to wow-i have-not-so-straight feelings. OR what if Jess is the one who realizes it first and panics because this is exactly what she had been swearing up and down wouldn’t happen to her less than support relatives (a new situation does not lead to new feelings, so much as understanding herself away from what is familiar) Really, I just want to see them in a happy relationship together because I was denied by the movie.

Some prompts: 

Jess gets hit on a distressingly high amount of times in front of Jules. Good thing she’s mostly oblivious to it. 

Future!fic retiring from the England Women’s National Team together or separate and the impact it has on the world around them. Jess imparting some words of wisdom to her younger teammates 

Codependency in college special edition: Everyone thinks they’re dating (and their team is their number one fans or they have a BOATLOAD of evidence to justify their misconception)

Just a good old-fashioned introspective OHMYGOD i have feelings for her now what do I do?? Bonus points for a sweet slowburn realization.

How does their: First Kiss? Coming out to family? WEDDING?? Go. In what situation would Jess defend Jules instead of vice versa? getting drafted for different teams and having a long distance relationship/reunion/eye opening? Being rivals instead of friends? getting called up to their National Team for the first time? A different first meeting?

The Good Place Tahani Al-Jamil/Eleanor Shellstrop

I haven’t regularly watched a TV show since the 90s so TGP was a complete surprise but here I am, delighted at the innovative take on dead people in the afterlife. The humor is really my favorite thing and Eleanor’s not quite quest to be better than she was when she was living. 

The Ship: The sexy skyscraper and the short troublemaker. There’s so many complementary aspects to Tahani and Eleanor and I just need everyone to get on board the Bi-train for the good of the people. I like that they’re both self-serving at their core, except Eleanor does it to prove she doesn’t care about anybody else, and Tahani does it because she cares immensely about what everybody else thinks. The height difference is also a fun dynamic. 

Some prompts: 

Get as wacky and wild as you want with it if you want to do an AU, just keep the dynamic of animosity to friendship to something more between them. Superheroes with unconventional powers? Star Trek-esque AU? Spy vs Spy?

A game show type-esque match making with surprising results for Tahani

Eleanor and the five times she denied caring about Tahani’s feelings

Tahani’s over the top love confession and Eleanor’s aversion to feelings come to a head

Eleanor being Tahani’s booty-call and being unable/oblivious on how to turn that into a relationship

Sense8 Felix Berner/Wolfgang Bogdanow

This show was just the right kind of weird and I’m sad they didn’t manage to continue it because the concept was really cool. Now I just have a bunch of unanswered questions to hang onto like what happened with Wolfgang after the Whispers capture.

The Ship: Pardon my language, but I fucking adore these two. Their loyalty to each other is my absolute jam. They would literally die for one another and it chokes me up because it’s completely the antithesis of the view the world has of them, which is like....vaguely criminals and amounting to nothing beyond the shady world they grew up in. I also have a TON of feelings about Wolfgang and Felix being east berliners, growing up in the aftermath of the unification and being completely aware that not everything was as rosy as Germany wanted to portray to the world. Also, their Conan the Barbarian thing? Precious. 

NOTE: I totally ship Kala/Wolfgang as well so you don’t have to write her off by any means. I just focused of felix/wolfgang for this. 

Some prompts:

PLEASE give me Wolfgang coming clean to Felix about the sensates and how crazy his world has become on top of the general mayhem that comes from being a Bogdanow. CANON tells us Wolfgang doesn’t lie so why does it take him so damn long to tell Felix the truth? 

The weird experiments Felix comes up with to see Wolfgang not be Wolfgang or times when Felix notices someone else “in” Wolfgang and how he takes that.

Pre-sensate, Wolfgang always felt Felix like a second limb. Felix called it his “wolfy-sense”

Anything pre-sensate dealing with the misadventures of Felix and Wolfgang, growing up together, falling into sleeping together, and in love?

Wolfgang’s first lie to his uncle is that Felix is just his sidekick and not much more. Steiner knows better than to take his word for it. 

AU of a different meet up: Wolfgang is reluctantly forced into being a king of Berlin, Bohn sends one Felix Brenner as a liason for a favor owed (or Felix finds his own way to meet this King of Berlin)

Felix finally meeting the other sensates especially Kala: the two most important people in Wolfgang’s life in the same room.

Westworld Maeve Millay/Hector Escaton/Teddy Flood

Westworld tickled my fancy for all things sci-fi and robots learning what is to be human and humans being gods with terrible consequences. Maeve tickled my fancy as a WoC on the show and naturally became my favorite because I’m predictable.  I’m a complete sucker for the philosophy behind what the TV show is setting up, what it means to be human, what is the next step, how we in creating the hosts have possibly made our own destruction and somehow advanced ourselves. The Maze pointing to the need to suffer to be human or suffering because of your humanity is gr9.

The Ship: I think Maeve is the new force of good (in her quest to find her daughter and possibly exploring the other worlds/the outside world) to foil Dolores’ possible descent into a “rogue” element in Westworld. And Hector and Teddy will be in crosshairs of that tug of war.  Hector, is the character who Maeve chooses to bring with her as an asset or something more, I think the choice behind the action is important as her whole arc is discovering what is fake and what is true behind who she is. Teddy, is part of the hero’s storyline, he’s a do-gooder but we get so many throaways on his proficiency to kill and his death is well, popular. Maeve and Teddy circle each other a lot in Westworld and I wonder what side he’ll choose, Dolores in the Host Rebellion or will he choose a different ally in Maeve? 

Some prompts:

Did their repurposed lives every cross? How does that shade into their interactions now? How does Teddy view Hector and vice versa?

Maeve has to sway Teddy and Hector to her side after they get reprogrammed again, trying to spark some sort of recognition of what they already had

Gunslinging 101 for Maeve by Teddy and Hector, or how they become an Outlaw Trio in the midst of a Host rebellion 

The Defenders Claire Temple/Colleen Wing

This is pure self-indulgence because they have minimal interaction in the show but I absolutely loved how they played off each other. #colleendeservesbetter and Claire is totally it. 

The Ship: I like how they’re always sidelined and yet aren’t defined by that, like they know perfectly well how useful they are and aren’t afraid to get creative. As a team-up, it’s the whole healer/fighter thing that they’ve tried like multiple times with Claire (no offense to Luke and Daredevil) and that bit where they reassure each other about being the stable rocks of the Defenders??? That was the moment I really thought these two could work. 

Some prompts:

Gimme all the fluff and comfort and trying to be normal in a world where superheroes show up at your door to pull you into stupid adventures every week. Bonus points for including other supporting cast members such as Foggy, Trish, and Misty

Five times The Defenders cockblocked Colleen and Claire with their unnecessary drama

A kidnapping attempt by the clueless idiot of the week underestimating both of them. 

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015) Illya Kurakin/Gaby Teller/Napoleon Solo

I’m still waiting for the sequel that will never happen for this movie. It was a great spy movie and I loved all the details from the villainess to undercover fiances to daring escapes and drinking on rooftops.

The Ship:My perfectly tailored spy ot3. i absolutely came out of the movie saying they needed to simmer in some UST before finding inappropriate situations to tease each other. Illya actually getting to choose for himself instead of holding on to this ideal KGB agent. Gaby being fiercely protective of both men and wanting them both without a doubt. Napoleon having something steady and real for once in his life without strings attached

Some Prompts: 

Casefics that are frustrating exercises in why won’t you just bang each other already from all parties involved, bonus if they have to keep a cover from getting compromised

Using their talents to show affection in non-ordinary ways and someone being oblivious, while the other is slowly catching on to the game

Just a good old casefic because at least one of them has to have a competency kink

A different meeting: they’re all crooked as they come and have no problems with it

Where they go in their down time between assignments and how they manage their relationship (or hiding it) 

Gaby’s not the damsel in distress, Napoleon is. 

DC Cinematic Universe Diana Prince/Lois Lane

Two ladies who know what it is to lose a hero who is consequently the man they love. Also, Diana’s bisexuality is into the whole I’ll eat your balls for breakfast thing because hello, her mother raised her on an island full of Amazons.

The Ship:Height difference! Ladies who can handle themselves in diametrically different ways and yet still know the importance of being vulnerable and affectionate and the power of love. I do like the dynamic of Lois being this extraordinary human to all the supes because she never gives up and is bravely stubborn about her goals and morals and not afraid to call anyone out on their bullshit.

Note: I ship the entirety of the DC Trio together and with Lois so you can also play with that if it strikes your fancy. 

Some prompts:

Lois interviews Diana in the months after Superman’s death. Diana tries her best to console her

Lois learns some sort of self-defense from Diana and gets to surprise the Amazon as well.

“So if you’re a god, could you be prayed to or is it like Clark’s super-hearing?” or Lois’ never-ending curiousity on how the whole Themyscira thing works

Somewhere along the way, Lois is the one Diana comes home to.