#and does a pretty good job of exploring the complexities there

[befuddled-calico-whump]

still procrastinating, so here's Prince Hans (yes, that Prince Hans) as seen in The Cruelest Punishment, one of my all-time favorite fanfics:

look it's very hard for me to attempt Disney style but anyways, definitely check out the fanfic linked above if you're big on villain whumpees. It is very, very good.

[terrythemerry]

I just watched Wish (2023) and it made me realize something kind of sad about Disney’s treatment of villains.

So Disney has a long history of villainy from the OG Evil Queen who is willing to murder a girl just for being pretty to the misguided like Auto thinking he’s protecting humanity in Wall-E. They are mean, jealous, prideful, vain, and many relish in just being the worst of the worst. However every now and then we get a glimpse of more complexity. Zootopia’s Bellwether dealing with years of racism and mistreatment, Gantu trying to stop what he thinks is a monster in Lilo and Stitch, Up’s Muntz being a heroic explorer before paranoia consumed him, etc. The thing that makes me sad about these villains is that not one of them has ever had a chance at redemption or change in Disney’s eyes and nowhere is that sadder to me than their latest villain, King Magnifico.

(Spoilers below)

King Magnifico is the magical founder of a utopian society that accepts people of all races, religions, and backgrounds. Who created this wonderful place after what is heavily implied to be a violent invasion destroyed his homeland when he was but a child. This past trauma led him to study magic and become a powerful sorcerer so that nothing could hurt him or the people he cared about ever again. His magic is a protection that he extends to all who choose to live in the city. The city is vibrant with a colorful community full of artisans, musicians, and dancers. He takes no taxes from them, but does take their one true wish upon joining this society.

When given these wishes it is understood that he will ensure their safety and possibly grant them one day. Something important to note about the physical manifestations of the wishes is that they give off a warm and comforting aura as they represent some of the purest parts of a person’s soul. Magnifico has been surrounding himself with this magical comfort for a very very long time by himself and I don’t think it’s unfair to say he has become addicted to their presence. The wishes are giving him a magical comfort through the kind souls within them, a feeling he could’ve probably also gotten if he had spent more time with his people.

It doesn’t look like he ever really got the chance to commune with his people properly because somehow the society kicked off on his wish granting abilities. People had to give him their wishes if they wanted them granted and eventually the ones that he couldn’t grant in good conscience or out of fear started adding up so he began locking them away. Keeping them safe so no harm came to the people. The rare occasions that anyone else interacts with these wishes is during wish granting ceremonies that the people are borderline rabid for. With good reason, it is their souls they’re thirsting for after all even if they don’t really know it.

However, Magnifico clearly doesn’t see it that way. He sees it as he’s given these people a wonderful safe haven from the horrors of the outside world where they can be whoever they want to be, do what they want to do, make what they want to make, and still all they see in him is a tool to fastpass to something else they want even more than the peace he’s given them.

This is clearly shown early on, before any of his evil behavior starts to take root, in relation to his assistants. We get a expo dump after the first song telling us that Asha wants to become one of his assistant to increase the odds of her grandfather’s wish being granted as there is a correlation between past assistants and having wishes granted. Something important here is that there have clearly been many assistants, suggesting that it’s a revolving door position without really explaining why. Who would want to keep finding assistants over and over again, when really you should find someone who could do the job long term right? Well we get to find out the likely reason when Asha steps up for the role.

When Asha comes to interview for his assistant position he sees she is nervous, he tries to calm her down, and he even manages to relate to her through fond memories of her kindly father who he clearly knew. After seeing her true resolve to do good he decides to trust her with something few people in the entire kingdom get to see, the vault of wishes. To which Asha doesn’t even hesitate to ask, after politely being told not to prior, if he’ll grant her grandfather’s wish.

Magnifico is blatantly stricken by her request, sadly remarking that most people at least wait a few months before doing so a.k.a pretend to be interested in helping him rather than trying to use him to grant a wish. This is likely why the assistant job is a revolving door. Magnifico tries to find someone who he thinks will truly and selflessly fulfill the role only to discover time and again that people are just using it to get direct access to him to ask for a wish. Then he can’t trust their true intentions anymore and moves them along.

After Asha makes her request he does take the time to look at her grandfather’s wish but dismisses it as too dangerous because it is the vague desire to inspire the next generation. Clearly we as the audience know that her grandfather means to inspire them to do good, but we have to remember Magnifico has seen the worst of society. He has seen the darkest wishes and desires of mankind and survived them. He brushes Asha off telling her she’s too young to understand, which is honestly true. She’s lived her entire life cloistered in peace and comfort thanks to him and the rules he has made. She has never had to know war, strife, or hardship thanks to him, yet she doubts his decision without understanding the trauma that guides it. This is what I believe pushes Magnifico into his villain arc, something that I don’t think we’ve ever really witnessed in a Disney movie.

Usually a villain already is the villain by the time the film rolls around, even the twist villains. Lotso had already been deliberately sentencing other toys to torture. Prince Hans was already planning to murder his way to a throne. Evelyn was already plotting her revenge. Magnifico wasn’t though. He was the hero. He had saved his wife and a whole city’s worth of people from whatever drove them from the mainlands. He wasn’t physically abusing/mistreating people like Gaston even if he was vainly basking in their adoration.

When Asha pushes him on the wishes he pulls back from her, identifying her in his mind as a threat and treats her as one. He dismisses her and tells her that her family’s wishes will never be granted by him, but he will still keep them safe as he has been doing. Essentially meaning nothing will change for her from what it has been. You know a happy loving existence of complete acceptance and wholesome family life or as Asha interprets it, a fate worse than death.

His interaction with Asha triggers him, as she’s pushed at the flaws in his reasoning for holding onto the wishes. The flaws are true, but his mind is clouded by fear of a lack of control, likely stemming from the horrors he witnessed in his childhood when he had no control. He also likely has a bit of an addiction to the warm fuzzies that the wishes give on top of his fears. While he’s ruminating on that some massive wave of magic blows through the kingdom and messes with the thing he’s already stressed beyond reason about, the wishes.

Magnifico frantically searches for any answer, even considering a dangerous tome of forbidden magic that he knows is trouble before his wife manages to talk him down.

The fact that he could even be talked down rather than ignoring her outright shows that Magnifico does have good in him. He’s just reacting out of a genuine panic. His panic is only worsened by huge mob continuing to beg him for wishes in exchange for doing what should be the selfless act of defending their kingdom from what is essentially perceived as an attack. Not having any faith left in his people he turns back to the evil book to give him the key to stopping this perceived attack.

Just to be clear King Magnifico goes to the big bad evil book not to gain more power for funsies, but to try to find a way to stop a perceived threat. Everything he does from this point on, such as threatening his wife, can no longer be fairly tied to him, because as the movie repeatedly tells us he is under the EVIL book’s influence. His wife even looks through the same book to try and see if there is a way to break the sway she knows it has over him, but says she can’t because the EVIL book said no.

Yada yada yada and Magnifico is sealed inside a magic mirror and smugly told to rot in the dungeon by his previously loving wife.

Seriously?! What the heck?! This guy was the perfect candidate for rehabilitation. He wasn’t flawless, but he wasn’t a murderous psycho like most of the other Disney villains. Disney loves to preach kindness, acceptance, and good will with their heroes, but never does it allow the message of change.

I was shocked going back through the catalogue and slowly realizing none of their villains, regardless of how tragic their origins are, are ever truly allowed a second chance. The hero may offer it, but the baddy never is truly expected to change or reform. Which is honestly super messed up to me. People make mistakes. Some can be small/insignificant, but some are big and do hurt people sometimes. That doesn’t mean they can’t change for the better.

Now I’m not saying every villain is redeemable or good, it’s just a bit surprising that for all the messages of kindness and acceptance we haven’t really gotten forgiveness in 100 years. Seeing the “bad guy’s punishment” just deeply bothered me this time. Probably because so much of the bad that Magnifico does is clearly a trauma response and as a punishment for not acting appropriately to said response he gets sentenced to eternity is magical cell.

[justatalkingface]

The 'Great' MHA Read Along, Part Five (Chapters 22-44): The Mandatory Exploitive Tournament Arc

Been awhile, huh? Let's see if I can still pull this off. I'm warning you, this is probably going to have a bit of heft to it.

We start off people trying (and failing) to investigate Shigarki and the Villains and, first off, a couple of things. The whole, 'Quirk Registry' shit? Very X-Men. I'm... kinda mixed feelings on it. It makes sense for a government to try and keep track of this kind of shit, but at the same time it feels like a whole lot, you know? That said... the way the guy in the suit phrased it makes it seem like they only searched for 'Shigaraki/Disintegration' and 'Kurogiri/OP warping' pairings, which seems... dumb. Like, really dumb.

Are they.... are they not going to search for anyone with a similar Quirk? Because it sounds like there are other people with similar Quirks, so... what about them? Oh, this pale haired guy who mutters a lot about how horrible heroes are isn't named Shigaraki, so clearly this isn't the guy? Do some ground work or something, man, bloody hell.

*spits out drink*

Even All-Might thinks Shigaraki is a man-child, lol. Brutal. That said... Vlad goes, 'You mean he's just like a kid with a 'power' or something?!'

And I. My dude. You're just some guy with a power. It feels like some depersonalization of the 'villains' because, yeah, everyone in this story is, in fact, just some rando human, 99.9% of the time with super powers. I don't know, it just feels like that's this really concerning perspective for someone in authority to have.

'I keep forgetting this is an actual school!'

That. That's... actually really concerning? Everyone, literally everyone, from Aizawa, to the students, to the actual author, can't seem to figure out if UA is some military academy meant to pump out child soldiers, or an actual high school meant to prepare children to go into society. And not to belabor the point here, one I've talking about on and off again for awhile, but that's fucked up.

I can't help but get the impression that UA (and presumably every other hero academy) is some military complex, setting up the students to live a life where the only way they know how to live is through violence and trying to be famous, but it's just... pretending to have standards, pretending to care for the kids as anything more than the next generation of... idol-police, or something. The way every school related thing is so out of place, the way their grades are so unimportant... it's very telling.

And like. It's not a bad thing, per say. Morally bad, sure, but from a story telling perspective? For a story like this, the way the heroic's school is morally dubious is actually a really good plot point to work off of. But... that's the problem. It never happens.

If the setting was fucked up enough, it'd be understandable if it wasn't explored, but it's not. I feel like there's some fertile ground to talk about... how heroes don't know how to handle living normal lives. How to cook, clean, do taxes, hIstory (which is, of course, very loaded sort of topic in a more dystopian kind of a set up) and so on. There's no way they have the time and energy to do all the thing a normal kid should do at their age, and as they grow up, and get these dangerous, fucked up jobs? There has to be consequences to that.

And the next line later, they bring up, you know, a bunch of terrorists just attacked the school. Which is, in fact, a serious fucking concern! What does Aizawa say?

'No no, we're only doing because we're so sure we have this shit locked down.'

Spoiler alert: They did not, in fact, have this shit locked down. In the least.

My god, this is so fucked up. It's pretty clear that the fact this is still happening is because UA, and heroics as a whole, honestly, is doing a show of force to try and make all the bad things go away. In all honesty, they're putting these kids lives at risk; the only reason nothing went wrong isn't because 'the school had all its ducks in a row when it comes to crisis control' or what the fuck ever, but because AFO didn't want to do anything. And you know why he doesn't interfere?

Because it's so damn useful for him that they flat out broadcast the details of the students and what their Quirks are!

And don't even get me started on this 'Olympics have fallen out of favor' bullshit. It's a world wide event, and it doesn't matter if the population has... shrunk (? That's what my translation says, anyways. Is this honestly saying that so many people died that the Olympics no longer holds any attraction? I mean.. what? What the fuck? What happened???? Why in the hell is this getting brushed over?! Or is that just a bad translation, and if so what is he saying is the reason the Olympics no longer have any appeal?) or whatever, because that's just... bullshit. That's just bullshit. If super powers happen, and they get at all stabilized and regulated like they are in here, all that's going to happen is that the powers are going to be part of the Olympics, and a lower population count really isn't going to change the fundamental reasons why it's popular in the first place.

Speedster racing, various forms of competitive flying (racing (in all its variations), acrobatics, mid-air dancing, synchronized flying.... flight along has dozens of potential new Olympics sports, easy), something like shot-put hurling but with some kind of projectiles, fire, lasers, whatever? Oh yeah, the Olympics are going to be just fine.

So please, Hori, spare me your obsessive need to make heroics the most important thing EVAH all of the time.

But, wait, there's more! It's not just, the new super Olympics, oh no, this is for their careers. In high school. This is, apparenlty, a make or break moment for the rest of their lives (again, with however that undefined heroics ranking and what not works). How old are they? What, fifteen? 'Here, go do bloodsports, and if you fuck up, you're going to be a menial, loser fry-cook of a wannabe police officer, dressed in brightly colored spandex for the rest of your life, barely making any money, and never getting any real respect or validation for putting your life at risk'.

Oh, I have opinions on the Sports Festival, believe me, I have a lot of opinions, but I'd like to save at least some of these more for when the actual Sports Festival starts, and not, like, five pages into the first chapter out of what, twenty two? We've got the time.

Uraraka! You're an actual character! My, this is nostalgic. I always loved the contrast between her hyper cute-zied design of her and the fact she's down to beat the living shit out of someone at the drop of a hat, and it's nice to have that again.

(Also, she's showing more ability to inspire the class here than Bakugou has shown literally the entire series, no matter how much Hori goes on about his 'charisma' or whatever.)

And then we get into her "impure" motivations to be a hero, (which I've also talked about on occasion), and it's very humanizing, both for Uraraka as a character, and the industry as a whole. It's one of those great set ups Hori ended up dropping on world building, which sucks because it'd be so interesting if he got into the nuts and bolts of the world a bit. I'm not saying we need to see the tax code or anything, but for a series that's about corruption and what not, some more detail would really help pull all of this together.

Ah, Dumb Might. I didn't miss you, except I kind of did because Dumb Might is still better than Useless-Side-Character Might.

Also, can I talk about how stupid it is that Dumb Might is burning his less than an hour's worth of time 'teaching' students again? Because holy fuck that's such a waste it's honestly criminal.

And what the hell is this switch in motivations, here? All Might never mentioned, you know, replacing him is the Symbol of Peace before now. Before this point, the whole reason he chose Izuku is that he'd be worthy user of his power, not, what, replacing him. If Izuku never gained any real fame, but still managed to save a lot of people? Before-this-point All Might would have been fine with that. More than that, he would have been proud of it, proud his successor was humble and chose to focus on doing good rather than fame. Hell, not too long ago it was pointing out by All Might that Izuku wouldn't want to use All Might's fame to benefit himself, to go slow and steady and earn his success rather than relying on fame.

Where the fuck did this come from? What the fuck kind of pressure is he trying to put on this kid?

And then right after that, we see flashes of who All Might used to be with the whole 'don't forget how you felt at the seaside park, that day', bit. Because, like, that's good. That's great! It's real, and deep, and gritty, and I'd love it if it wasn't being use with this set up, because those expectations work in other shonens, but they don't work here. Izuku can't do what All Might did, because he can't stop damn hurting himself. Going Plus Ultra, here, now, for this? It could cause real, serious harm to him for the rest of his life! And for what? To make a good impression?

And if something would call him on that, it could still work, because All Might is canonly shit at taking care of himself, that could, like, close the circle for all of this, bring it together with the two them as shit at at self care as a place to build them improving off of, but for whatever reason, Hori never went all the way on that because he was too damn afraid to commit to it, commit to a story, commit to a theme, commit to a moral.

...Holy shit, how many pages is this? We haven't even gotten to actual Sports Festival yet in the post about the damn Sports Festival.

And now we have this creepy, kind of morbid mob of people filling the hallway to stare at Class 1-A for.... being attacked by terrorists.

*what the fuck.jpeg*

What is wrong with you people?! What the actual hell is wrong with you???

And then Shinso rolls up:

"Wow. Look at these arrogant assholes, so excited about not getting killed. I'm going to declare war on them, because they deserve it for getting all high and mighty."

...

You know, I completely forgot about the epic story of, 'Shinso Hitoshi and his Completely Unmerited Persecution Complex'. I'm sad that I remember that now.

Bakugou: "People's opinions don't matter once your at the top."

Me: *looks at how much people's opinions matter to getting to the top, and staying there*

Me: ...Uh.

Thank you, Kaminari, for pointing out his edgy bullshit is, in fact, actually bullshit, and is only going to make his life more difficult for no reason. I like you as an actual person who does things other than cheerlead for Bakugou.

Izuku. Izuku no, Izuku...! Damn it. Bad Izuku. Bad! Stop getting inspired by the festering waste spewing out of Bakugou's mouth!

Cue all of two panels of the media being absolute assholes only out to make ratings with no redeeming features.

And... here's the actual Sports Festival, god knows how long into this post later!

(if you believe the text editor I just posted all of this into? Well into four pages. ...Even with my generous use of spacing, I think I have a problem.)

..Wait. Wait. Where the hell is this happening?

*does five seconds of research on the wiki*

I'm right. They have a stadium for this. Like, a giant ass sports stadium that exists for this. Only for this. That is used once a year.

At this point, I'm honestly wondering why UA isn't just it's own city. Like, Izuku should have moved here, along with the rest of the students, and all the families and various staff needed to run this just.... live on site. It's not like it'd cost them anything, since they apparently have spare cities sitting around for the kids to trash.

That's... that's actually a really interesting idea? Because it'd be a hero run city, then, which feels like it'd work well into the over commercialized, corrupted state heroics is supposed to be like, their overwhelming level of influence. I don't think that's what Hori was going for, to be clear, I think he has no idea just how much space he's causally put on UA's campus and didn't think through the implications... at all.

Ooh, and here comes Todoroki's characterization.

And... here comes the bloodsport, because that's what all of this is: bloodsport. They're throwing a bunch of teenagers onto this stage, broadcast them to the entire country, and have them fight against each other for fame. This society is so fucked up.

Random Gen Ed kid: Yeah, he placed first in the Heroics Entance Exam.

...Yeah. As fucking stupid as it is that Bakugou somehow placed first, it does make sense the person who place first in the Heroics Entrance Exam would be class representative in a school for heroics. Damn, you're salty, kid, but you're also kinda dumb, not going to lie.

Bakugou: *opens his mouth on live TV*

Bakugou: *vomits diarrhea for the entire country to see*

Izuku: ...Wow, Bakugou's so cool! He's grown up and mature now!

...Izuku. Izuku, buddy, please, stop doing this to yourself.

As yet another thing I've mentioned before, a lot of our views on Bakugou comes from Izuku. Izuku who has, from chapter one, all but worshipped Bakugou. Even when he does things wrong, even when he's actively fighting against him, Izuku can't stop himself from going on and on about how great Bakugou is, how cool and tough and determined he is. Izuku's hero worship of his abuser is sheltering Bakugou's actions from the readers, papering over all of his worst traits with a a transparent facade that he's this glorious figure. It's the narrative going the extra mile to cover his arrogant ass, to make him seem like a rival instead of an bully, someone worthy of respect rather than contempt.

Hmm. I don't want to go too much into the nuts and bolts of the event, I think, since I've done that before, so let's try something else: How Many Times Could This Kill A Literal Child? Where I, you guessed it, count how many times a teenager could have been killed, on national television, in this event.

Count one: The start of the race itself, where... *counts how many kids are in 1-A, multiplies by eleven*... two hundred and twenty kids run forward at the same time, trying to force themselves through the same opening. This shit is why it's illegal to shout fire in a theater, because a stampede like this could get someone trampled to death, or maybe crushed by the sheer weight of the crowd (which is something that happens, someone getting killed by the a crowd of unruly people just... squeezing them on accident).

*stares at Shinso being carried around like a wannabe king instead of using his own damn legs judgingly*

Count Two: Mineta gets bitched slapped by a robotic arm bigger than he is. I don't think I have to get into how that could be fatal.

Count Three: The army of Zero Pointers who could easily step on someone.

*Momo wondering about how UA can fund this makes me feel very validated, BTW*

Count Four: Todoroki dumping the Zero Pointer on the rest of the competition to block the way, again for obvious reasons. He obviously doesn't meant to, but this kid isn't even looking back. This is both lamp shaded and then dismissed because it happens to the only two people who could shrug that off, but holy shit that could have killed so many of them.

...The cameras are robots. The cameras are robots with AIs that are cheering on the other robots. I- I can't- what?!?

And then everyone can't stop themselves from praising Bakugou for the radical idea of going over a problem instead of blasting through it. Wow, Bakugou. Amazing. Such brains, such smarts.

Count Five: The Fall. Because there's no way that anyone could get themselves killed by. You know. Falling. If I was more generous, I'd say something like, 'There's probably something down there to catch them if they fall', but I'm not terribly impressed by UA's ability to actually keep these kids safe, so that doesn't make me think they'd have thought that through that much.

Grudgingly, I'm going to give a landmines a pass, because they're explicitly supposed to be non-lethal, and them blowing up didn't do any real damage. Burns, maybe, possibly a broken limb, probably some scars, but this count is about people dying. Izuku's pile could have been, maybe, but that's a level of deliberate action on his part big enough that I can't really blame UA, per say.

Eraserhead, on how 1-A has improved: I didn't do anything.

...Well. At least he's honest.

One other thing: I've said before how bullshit All Might telling Izuku to 'fight to win' was, and right here, here's the proof: All Might explicitly going, "I was afraid you'd be too nice to try and beat other people in competitions, but you proved me wrong! I'm so proud!". You know, fighting to win. Like he later says Izuku doesn't for some mysterious reason *cough*, to make him seem at the same level as Bakugou, *cough*. Poor, poor All Might, yet another victim of Bakugou's narrative warping favoritism.

And here we see the management kids going all out in how to sell Izuku and his brand, which is so very fucked up, for them and the people they're 'selling'. I'm aware this is something that celebrities go through, (which is fucked up for them as well, don't get me wrong; I'm an equal opportunity 'this is fucked up' call out-er), but these kids are in high school. The fact that they're doing this, and getting this done to them, in such numbers, in such an early age... yeah. There's no way this could give them lots and lots of long term stress and psychological problems, right?

Meanwhile, as we get to the offical rankings, I think it's time go back over the 'How Many Times Could This Kill A Literal Child?' count... at five. Five times they could have been killed on complete accident.

That is not a good score.

I'm stopping it here because the other events don't have the same problem, but instead of a whole new problem of delibrately pitting them against each other. On live TV. With minimal supervison. Cementoss popping in at the last second in Izuku vs Todoroki, considering how badly Izuku got hurt in the process, does not fill me with a great sense of these fights being well monitored.

*gets an omake chapter*

*Bakugou gets called Izuku's childhood 'friend'. Bitch, please.*

So. Here's a new point: the million point bullshit is... well. Bullshit. It's the snitch in Quiddich all over again, giving the hero something both super import, with an extra layer of difficulty, to drive up the stress and stakes, only kicked up by a million. Making more than the others makes sense, and making it enough to pass by itself is still pretty reasonable, but making it so excessively much has no point other making Izuku feel isolated from his peers and hunted by his classmates.

Also, Mt Lady going on about how 'great' an exercise the second round is is missing the point that this is literally a thing Japanese kids do in school. Literally, this is a game they're playing with Quirks, not some tactical exercise; it's like saying that playing hide and seek makes you great at hunting people down or something. Again, Hori, dial back your constant need to tell us how great the Sports Festival is. Because it isn't. It really, really isn't.

More doses of everything drooling over how great Bakugou is, and how much of a total shit of a human being he is, joy. Mineta and Shouji's teamup is actually pretty damn brilliant, even though it's tainted by how much of a one-dimensional character Mineta is. Iida is getting shown as Izuku's enemy, but honestly it looks more like he's just trying to improve himself more than anything, while acknowledging how competent Izuku is. Not just that he won the first round, or has a lot points but that Izuku, as a person, is the goal he wants to surpass; there's some good shit there, and pretty validating, if Izuku could allow himself to accept it.

Oh Mei! Mei... actually, I have a post I need to do about the Mei and Izuku dynamic at some point, how they're so designed to work together, but yeah she's fun.

And then Uraraka thinks about how strategic Izuku is being and again, I can't help but contrast this with how things happen later on; even if Izuku never lets himself really feel the respect people have for him, people at this point in time really, honestly seem to respect him, not for his Quirk, but for his brain, his determination, his heroism; it's so well setup for Izuku to stand on his own two feet without OFA and it's some really good stuff. It's a shame Hori gets rid of it.

Hmm. Class B. Class B is... interesting. They're set up as rivals but after this it never goes anywhere, and just leaves us with a bad impression of Monoma, without letting him get a good chance to get past it. I don't like him, honestly, his personality grates at me and he needs to get over himself, but he doesn't deserve the hate he gets from the fandom.

That said, though, the Class A vs Class B victory philosphy is honestly just another example of destroying yourself vs having realistic limits, how All Might and Izuku keep destroying themselves vs everyone else not doing that. The fact Class B is actually thinking ahead is smart, but the series doesn't give them that credit because it's not ambitious enough... even though that runs straight into conflicting with Izuku and his issues.

Hori, fucking commit already. In all honesty, it feels like 1-B should have won over Bakugou and knocked him out of the compition; they planned it out, and played him like a sucker, because he's a bullheaded moron. It's all right there, but right as they win... Eraserhead shows up in the booth and says, 'Yes, you've won, but actually no, because Bakugou need to win anyways. So he is. Because REASONS!' Then All Might gets dragged into that same bullshit just to make it really clear that no, Bakugou is right. Planning? Strategy? That's for losers. Real winners just need to want it hard enough, and no one wants things more than Bakugou!

It would have been better, as a story, and for everyone's character development, if that had happened. Bakugou would have lost to some 'nobodies', Izuku would have gone past him without even validating him with a fight, and Class B and Monoma would have gotten a better chance to show themselves as characters; win win win.

And then Endeavour shows up. Fuck Endeavour. Also that is a man who looks like a serial killer. Dumb Might continues to reign and be completely unable to recognize when someone hates him when he monologues about it right in front of him.

Meanwhile, Bakugou is just... there. For some reason. Why? Why does he need to be there for this? It makes his hissy fit later even worse when you realize he knows why Todoroki doesn't use his fire, and it has literally nothing to do with him. Ignoring him, though, Todoroki and Izuku's moment here is some good stuff, a nice setup for a healthy rivalry based on mutual respect, rather than the toxic mess he has with Bakugou.

Ugh. That cheerleader bullshit. Honestly, it says a lot that they can be told that, 'Aizawa says you need to dress up as cheerleaders', and apparently no one questions this, because of course Aizawa would pull some kind of weird bullshit on them with absolutely no warning at what anyone else would think is the worst possible time.

Midnight being really creepy about how she talks to teenagers, of course, and now... Shinso.

'Consent is for losers' Shinso. 'Everyone is coasting on their Quirks except for me, who only knows how to use my Quirk' Shinso. 'Let me use my Quirk on someone before we even get in the arena so I can blatantly cheat' Shinso. 'No one else has dreams or ambitions' Shinso.

I don't like Shinso. I like the idea of Shinso, sure, but that idea is another one of those paper thing veneers Hori likes to put on his characters, without doing the work to make that match the reality; the only hardship we've seen him go through is his apparent inability to work hard. Like, everyone loves Shinso, in story and out, they can't stop themselves from telling him how great his Quirk is. And you know what? It is. It is a great Quirk.

But Shinso talks like he's had a such a hard time with it, even though he seems to love it, love using it, and the way he acts, like he knows he can go through a career as a hero based only on that Quirk. He's wrong, since he's so out of shape he can't even run, apparently, but he's operating off that assumption at this point, which conflicts with his poor little martyr act.

I want you to look at the iceberg Todoroki makes, and compare it to his efforts against Stain. If he did that against him? That fight would have been over the minute he showed up, and Todoroki ambushed him. This is pretty much our last moments of Todoroki, certified badass, before the nerfs roll in. Savor it, Todoroki fans, because he'll never recover from having to lose against Bakugou.

Another omake, which seems like foreshadowing about Hori deals with women characters: bringing up a good characterization, or valid idea (do women heroes need sexiness to do their jobs?), before throwing it away to fall for the same tropes that he was making a stand against just a minute ago (women getting in a cat fight, which apparently gets really explicit, all of this on a TV before Mineta, Hori's avatar of his own horniness).

Then, as if to prove my point, we get Bakugou vs Uraraka where, like Class B before her, she does everything right, gets the win... and then gets it taken away at the last minute by idiotic bullshit pulled out of nowhere (since when could Bakugou make a blast like that? Why does he need those bomb gauntlets if he can do that?) because Bakugou isn't allowed to lose. And then Eraserhead, Hori's mouthpiece, shouts down the crowd, and us, when we think bad thoughts about it because that isn't allowed either; we need to love Bakugou.

Bakugou respects women! ...Just as much as he respects everyone else. That is to say, he doesn't. Hell, he doesn't respect her enough to think Uraraka planned her own fight! He just gets one line for one second that makes it seem like he respects her, but of course once that moments gone it's back to the normal level of complete disrespect. That's totally character growth right there, one second of acting different before returning right back to standard behavior.

So... Izuku vs Todoroki. I like the fight, it's very dramatic, very cool, but... stop to think about it a second, and about a minute in, Izuku's entire ass hand is broken. That is not OK. Why are they letting it go on? It's simultaneously a great fight, but a seemingly awkward implementation of Izuku having a Quirk, because so much of this arc is built off of him not using a Quirk, not having it. This fight only works with it, though. And it's cool, don't get me wrong, but it's shallow at the same time because of the Quirk, because Izuku has to go Plus Ultra, has to go past his limits. Instead of accepting a more reasonable win, he has to win, period, and he doesn't have the power for that.

There's this awkward conflict here between the story's various narratives, between Izuku needing to suffer, and struggle, and break himself, and his more grounded planning and actions, and you can see Hori's old, better planned out ideas getting replaced with newer, less thought out ones. It's honestly kind of a theme for this arc in it's own right.

Flaws aside, though, the fight is gripping, and it's a great setup for Todoroki, a great starting point in making him an important character, in giving him growth. Shame Hori ends up throwing all that away literally the next fight.

Well, before that happens, let's talk the one two punch of, 1, Izuku having done himself permanent, life long damage, which nobody thought to stop, and 2, the sheer, unmitigated clusterfuck of Recovery Girl going, 'I'm not going to treat wounds like these'.

So. If Izuku breaks anything... well. She's not going to treat that. I guess he has to walk around with a broken finger/hand/arm, without any medical attention whatsoever? Well. I certainly don't see any problems with that.

Then we get Bakugou, who canonly has problems using his Quirk for extended periods of time, outlasting someone by using his Quirk for extended periods of time, before going on to fight someone who uses cold, his canon weakness, and ignoring how it should completely neutralize his Quirk to overpower it, through what I can only call his sheer, narrative warping concentration of favoritism.

On what happens after he wins... I've seen people say that he doesn't mean to attack Todoroki, just try to wake him up, but looking at that scene: he's holding Todoroki's body up with one hand as if to shake him, sure, but it's the other hand that's the problem. The way he's holding it is, for his Quirk, an offensive pose, making it ready to attack his target. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt (against my own opinion) and say it's not proof positive that he was about to attack, but there's no getting around that Bakugou had himself perfectly set up to hit Todoroki, full blast, while he was unconscious. Even if it's the more innocent explanation, that feels like something that should have disqualified him because... that's really concerning. That feels a step away from him threatening victims he thinks should have stood up for themselves or something; it's not heroic, in the slightest. The fact they had to knock him out, presumably for Todoroki's own safety, says enough about how bad that is.

The fact that the ending comment is basiclly lamenting from his perspective, that this 'isn't what he wanted' is... certainly a choice. He won, but, gasp! The person with long held issues in using his full power that long predate him didn't use his full power! The poor baby!

Then we get to the award ceremony where they... chain him up? Why!? If the doesn't want the damn award, don't give it to him; they let those guys earlier give up when they felt they didn't deserve it, why is Bakugou different? It feels like it's Hori tying him up here, against Bakugou's own will, and characterization, to give him that win just so he can win, but also to forcefully set up Bakugou's own importance with the League later. It's ham handed. It's probably child abuse. It's stupid.

It's fucked up all the way down, is what I'm saying.

Then All Might shows up, and fucks up his entrance timing because he's not allowed to win anymore, of course, and then forces that medal on Bakugou.

Uuuugh.

Last couple of panels, though, are pretty nice: we build up Uraraka's character, get the next arc set up, set up Izuku (fucking finally) getting away to use his own damn power, and develop Todoroki a bit.

A nice little cherry on top of the shit sundae.

[makittuu]

GUYS. GUYS.

I found this amazing fanfiction! It's going to be at the top of my lists for sure. It's a Steven Universe AU fic where an apocalypse takes over the earth; and corrupted gems and Spinel's pain are further explored 🙌

I drew Red, one of the characters from it! I absolutely adore the concept for this character; you should definitely give the story a read to learn more! 🙏 I really hope I did Red justice in my art 💕

Red belongs to @prophet-of-calamity

and here is their fic!👇

https://archiveofourown.org/works/50458486/chapters/127488331

She has a lollipop at one point in the story, so I drew her with a couple hehe!

Also, the writing is very masterfully done; it flows very well, is complex, and it's such a nice read!

FURTHER DISCUSSION, (IF INTERESTED)👇

Going into it, I was a little cautious, as I would be for any fanfic, just because it's about one of my favorite characters. Spinel is so much so one of my favorite characters that I really wanted to like the author's representation of her! It's obviously okay to think about characters however you want to. And to represent them however feels best to you! But going into this, I was really hoping to like the way Spinel was represented by this author! And I left feeling beyond impressed at the way the author handled Spinel's inner thoughts and the way she can be compassionate for others, but also feel trapped and overtaken by her thoughts and pain sometimes. She was never given the chance to fully heal, so it makes sense. And even if she were, she was hurt pretty badly; it's understandable if she never fully, truly and completely stops hurting over it. Healing isn't a linear path, and I think the author did a wonderful job of representing all of this.

AND OMG this story does such a good job of representing other characters in a way that feels so true to them too! Lapis felt so lined up with her character that I could even hear her lines in her voice as I was reading!

The descriptors and imagery throughout are stunning, and done in a way that made me feel fully immersed as I was reading. Even when I left and came back to keep reading, I felt immersed again as I got into it, which is hard for me sometimes.

On top of that, the author found so many clever connectors to link Spinel's character in with other events. I'm very impressed by it, and please go give it a read! <3

There's also a detroit become human reference in chapter two that really struck me, I have not heard that joke in a long time bahahahha 😭

I hope I came off the right way, I absolutely recommend this story! It's not completed just yet, but what's written so far is 100% worth a read all on its own, and it deserves to have a bunch of loyal readers! And it's so beautifully done, I'd still happily recommend it and believe how worth it of a read it is, no matter how long it ends up being in the end! Writing is hard and finding motivation can be difficult at times, and this author has done such an amazing job tackling this project, putting in so much care and developing all the characters so strongly! Even Red is developed so well that she fits in really seamlessly with the official su characters :)

Thank you for making it to the end if you did! :)

[wilchur]

It always makes me feel so ehh when people use chosen!Durge when they strictly mean this bloodthirsty cruel person because be honest, what choice did they really have? Unless you play Durge as being incredibly suicidal and unhealthily self-sacrificing, telling Bhaal they will do his bidding is for the most part a survival choice. Durge as a character doesn't know Withers will just swoop in and bend the fabric of the universe to his will to save them, they have no idea that their refusal won't be the last thing they do. So it makes perfect sense for someone who is not necessarily an Evil person to go along simply because they're scared of dying (and being tortured in the Bhaal's domain forever), but both the game and a large portion of players refuse to acknowledge it.

Chosen Durge is always the baddie, a lost cause, and while that can well enough be true for some characters to me it's just.. boring? Unless you play/write them evil from start to finish, it really falls flat. Where are the blurry lines? Where's the moral complexity? Not everything is binary, but it feels like in Durge's case everyone from the characters in-universe to a lot of people engaging with the story only believe they can be one or the other. Completely different, changed person who would rather die than to endure Bhaal's hold on them or a monster so soaked through to the bone with Bhaal's taint, even amnesia wasn't enough to save them. That's what the "redeemed" and "chosen" shorthands look like to me. Even using [alignment]!Durge is better. Someone saying they made a redeemed!Durge tells me nothing. Yeah they let Bhaal kill them, great. What are they like, though.

Ezra could very well fall under the Chosen category, but he is SO far removed from what that means in the fandom, using it for him would be doing him a disservice. I refuse to simplify him that way, he has too many layers and is too complex as a character to put him in a box like that. Even alignment does a shoddy job at summarising him to me. People don't work like that. They're often self contradictory and don't think before they act. Okay his baseline is chaotic neutral, but sometimes he borders on evil and other times he's so incredibly selfless you could call him chaotic good even. Circumstance and emotions can affect people greatly!

It really just boils down to.. PLEASE try to get out of the black hole of Larian's rushed "Oh shit we need to put a bhaalspawn origin in this" black and white narrative and see just how many galaxies there are to explore. Don't constrain yourself to the story forks they established, you're just hurting your character writing in the long run and putting a big ass sign on them that pretty much makes them get lost in the sea of all the other "redeemed" and "chosen" Durges. They might make good descriptors if you're just crafting characters to play as, but I wish we dropped them entirely. It's not OC language, it's AU language for canon characters who already had all the work done on them by writers and that people at large know well enough to tell there's more to them than that. In here it doesn't work.

And I also consider it kind of TikTok lazy and uncreative to use, but that's just me.

[utilitycaster]

To expand that point about queerphobia (also, to an extent, gender equality) from the tags on someone else's post and sort of tying it back to my post yesterday about wanting to see characters work through similar experiences: I think it makes a lot of sense in the case of Exandria and Hale to build a world that does not have queerphobia and to allow people to choose to insert it if that is something their table wishes to explore. It's very much a case of wanting to build a diverse but non-utopian world that is welcoming to a wide variety of players.

I think it's a very understandable urge to want to see characters deal with the same challenges we face, and I think there are TTRPG settings that have done a good job depicting homophobia or transphobia; it's present though not common in Fantasy High, and The Unsleeping City is very close to the modern-day real world and has, well, period-typical attitudes.

The reason I get frustrated when it comes up in discussion of Exandria, and now Hale is that it's almost always used for one of two reasons: explaining why people (either specifically or generally) don't like a character; or even more frequently, explaining hesitancy between two characters in a ship. It's a convenient way to say "this person is oppressed or afraid for reasons that are objectively in no way their fault and which make the people who dislike them objectively bigoted and wrong". The problem is, while that's a valid story to tell it's often really not the story the cast is telling with these characters. Even more frustratingly, it often is used to steamroll other stories that may place those characters in just as innocent a position.

Some good examples in which this has happened in the fandom are Jester and Dorian. Jester lives on the Menagerie Coast, which is referred to a pretty wide variety of materials as being a place that is especially trans friendly (in a world where trans and nb characters already frequently occupy prominent positions and are not depicted as experiencing pushback). Her mother, a courtesan, indicates that she takes clients of varying genders. The biggest influences on her life are her mother and an otherworldly fey entity who famously can shapeshift. There is absolutely no canonical evidence that Jester would be unaware of the broad range of genders and sexualities in the world nor that she would feel obligated to embrace one that she is not; in fact there is quite strong evidence to the contrary. But if you claim that she's experiencing compulsive heterosexuality, it excuses you from having to consider that Jester is genuinely not interested in Beau, or at the very least is genuinely interested in Fjord.

Similarly, it was, at least prior to the reveals of early Campaign 3, common to headcanon that Dorian had run away from his parents because he was trans and they were transphobic. A trans reading of Dorian is still obviously entirely valid, but he left because his parents were suffocating and overbearing and often pit him against his brother. Dorian is still absolutely the victim in this! It's a valuable thing to relate to for people who have experienced parental abuse and impossible expectations. But it does still force you to think about Dorian's parents as complex people who came to this conclusion of childrearing (even if they are still in the wrong) and not just mindless bigots to be disregarded. And I think the former is nearly always a better story than the latter.

What also frustrates me is that this rarely works through the ramifications. The systemic queerphobia that would be required to put compulsory heterosexuality in place still exists once someone overcomes that and comes out; but that never comes into play when people are talking about the ship, because it's only ever used to explain why the ship hasn't happened yet, never as a significant part of the world that would affect the characters throughout their entire lives.

These are only two examples; there are countless others, some particularly egregious (*cough* Essek comes from a society that explicitly believes in reincarnation across bodies of varying genders and the queen for eternal life is in a lesbian relationship, I promise you his fraught relationships with his parents are way more complicated than simple homophobia or transphobia) but all of which seek to incorporate bigotry not as the destructive and deadly phenomenon it is, to be explored in the safe space of fiction, but as an incredibly lazy shortcut to be discarded as a continuity error once it's served its purpose.

[battlekidx2]

Blue Eye Samurai Thoughts

These thoughts are sort of scattered and don’t cover everything I think makes this show great but I wanted to get something out about this amazing show.

Every once in a while an animated project comes around that makes me sit back in awe that something this phenomenal was allowed to be made. That something this rife with creativity, care, and emotion was given the freedom necessary for the people behind the scenes to make an authentic experience that really pushes the boundaries of what animation can do. And Blue Eye Samurai did just that. 

The last time I felt that way about an animated show was Arcane.

Blue Eye Samurai follows Mizu, a child of mixed race that was deemed a monster due to her parentage, and her journey to kill the man who sired her. It’s a dark, tragic tale that blends 2D and 3D animation to create a story that centers themes of prejudice, class, identity, found family, revenge, and loss.

It’s one of the most gorgeous shows to come out in the last few years. With pretty much the entire show having the ability to leave you breathless. The action scenes in particular are standouts (shocking I know).

In these action scenes the show really embraces the freedom its rating gives it without falling into the usual trappings shows with a mature rating tend to. Blue Eye Samurai has an abundance of bloody gore filled violence that never becomes gratuitous. It all feels purposeful and poignant within the story itself and how it explores its themes. It gives the consequences of Mizu’s revenge depth. Not just in how it effects the people around her and the collateral, but also in how the violence Mizu perpetrates effects her.

This is best explored in episode 5 (The Tale of the Ronin and the Bride), which is probably the best episode in the season, where we get to see a glimpse into Mizu’s past and how her path towards revenge is solidified.

The hopefulness of the past is directly juxtaposed with the bloody carnage of the present, while the story of the bride and the ronin is told over the course of the episode. There’s a foreboding that is layered over top of every scene in the past, the knowledge that in some way this goes wrong and leads Mizu to this point. To become this force of nature capable of cutting down men without hesitation.

It shows those parts of Mizu she’s lost through the hardships her life threw at her and those parts she’s been forced to discard herself to accomplish her goals.

The loss brought on by the hardships her life threw at her is shown in the past with her mother and husband and their betrayal and death. And the parts of herself she’s had to discard is shown in the present when she initially spares the boy that turns her in and almost gets the women in the brothel and herself killed that she ultimately kills in the end when faced with the same choice.

This is all just scratching the surface of this exploration, but I think it gets across the point that this show does a good job of exploring the nuances of revenge and what led Mizu to this point.

It’s the show’s meticulous exploration of aspects of Mizu’s character that makes her such a complicated character and an amazing protagonist. I don’t know if anything I write would really do her justice, but the complexity and nuance of her character alone make this show worth watching.

The second most interesting character to me was Akemi. 

Akemi’s arc is incredibly compelling. She goes from feeling trapped and trying desperately to escape to learning how to use her cunning to try and become great. But because this arc is occurring in Blue Eye Samurai it isn’t as straightforward as that description makes it seem on the surface. That arc is flipped on its head and to show what I mean I want to look at the scene on the bridge.

That scene on the bridge after Seki dies was one of the most intriguing of the final episode. That moment you can see the shift in Akemi’s desires from that of freedom to that of greatness. In many ways this isn’t the victory that it should be.

The wording seems like that of someone taking control of their own destiny and deciding to pull themselves up to a position higher than anyone thought possible, but the framing with the city in flames behind her, the shogunate’s enemies burning alive, and Seki dead on the ground put it in a more tragic/sinister light.

And those words she speaks that are on the surface sound triumphant echo sentiments that her father has said to her (telling him he’s only alive because of her and the belief that she can control the shogun, etc). Her desire for greatness even reflects his own. 

This isn’t really freedom and considering the almost naive quest for that freedom she went through during the season and was even hopeful she could obtain just moments before, living out her days with Seki on his family farm, make this feel less a victory and more like she’s becoming what she has to. That she’s hardened. That she’s starting down a path that mirrors Mizu’s in some ways.

And this mirror between Mizu and Akemi is clearly intentional. The show itself visually mirrors the two within this same episode in the exact scene I was just talking about.

And throughout the season she is the most direct foil to Mizu. Both found different ways to try and work around the inherent restrictions being a woman in 1600s Japan would entail, to gain any semblance of freedom from those restrictions, but were ultimately hurt by those expectations/restrictions in a way that forced them to change.

They took how they handled it in two completely opposite directions (Mizu presenting as a man and Akemi using her sexuality and forced marriage to her advantage. In broad, over-simplified terms: rejecting femininity vs embracing it to achieve their goals) which is what makes them such interesting foils for one another.

This parallel/contrast to Mizu makes her the most interesting of the supporting cast and her end point puts her into what might be the most compelling spot out of all the main characters heading into next season.

(Plus she’s voiced by Brenda Song aka Anne Boonchuy and London Tipton)

Honestly all of the characters are given nuance that makes them at the very least entertaining.

The show even manages to make a character that could have just been comedic relief an interesting character and an avenue to expand on its exploration of themes with (season MVP) Ringo.

This is best shown through Ringo’s views of greatness. They at first seem shallow and naive. Not really looking deeper than the surface at what this idea entails and he floats from one thing to the next so easily that it can initially seem unfocused, but I think that’s the point. Ringo doesn’t really know what greatness is so his view of it is constantly changing and what he believes he can be great at is constantly changing too. 

Just like the audience he is awed by Mizu’s strength and ability in battle, but as the brutality and reality of what that skill brings comes to light the idea that this skill and determination is greatness slowly dims. It never entirely dies out because this isn’t meant to destroy his idea of greatness, but instead change it from a black and white binary to something that is more blurred. He still sees greatness/potential for greatness within Mizu, but he doesn’t see her as the pinnacle anymore. The end all be all.

And what he can do to be great constantly changes because he’s suddenly had so many opportunities he never could have dreamed about, due to his disability and being stuck at his father’s noodle shop, opened to him that he needs the time to explore what he wants. He’s still trying to find his calling and by the end of the series he might have found the start of it in the same place that Mizu did– With Swordfather. 

The one thing about Blue Eye Samurai that didn’t quite work for me is the use of music. The show’s score is beautiful and used to great effect, but the music it chose to put over scenes would pull me out of the moment almost every time because it used highly recognizable songs that I’d heard in so many pieces of media it felt inauthentic and jarring.

This is a small complaint because there are only 2 scenes where the music choice did this, but I felt I should mention it because of how important these scenes were supposed to be. The rest of the show easily makes up for this small gripe.

I could probably ramble about this show all day but I’ll cut this off here and say this: Blue Eye Samurai easily lives up to the hype that everyone has been giving it. It’s a visually stunning show with compelling characters that explores its themes in such depth that I can’t wait to see where it goes from here. 

Random thoughts

I love the shot of Mizu in The Great Fire of 1657 where she’s staring Fowler down, flames behind her and eyes a piercing blue, because of the perspective of this shot. This is shown through the eyes of Fowler, the man who just brought an army to the shogunate’s doorstep with the plan to take over Japan, and yet he’s afraid of Mizu and the lengths she will go to achieve her goals. It’s such a chilling shot that absolutely shook me to my core. (Man Blue Eye Samurai is amazing at these types of shots)

Taigen is a character that I had a lot of fun with, but didn’t make as much of an impression on me as the rest of the characters. He isn’t as complicated and compelling as Mizu and Akemi or as thematically interesting as (season MVP) Ringo. I wish I had more to say about him, but I don’t. I do think his dynamic with Mizu is interesting though.

Fowler is a really fun villain and I can’t wait to see how he plays off of Mizu now that he is going to be her guide in London. I can’t wait to explore those bombshells he dropped in the finale about Mizu’s origins.

The fights in episode 6 were the most visually stunning to me in the season. The way it played around with lighting and perspective was incredible. 

I didn’t talk about it much above but I thought the way Blue Eye Samurai explored Mizu’s relationship to her gender to be very compelling and nuanced. The way it’s handled lends itself to a fascinating exploration of identity and gender that I think is important.

Swordfather has such a great relationship with Mizu. He knew she didn't leave his house the night before and just decides to adopt her and teach her everything he knows, giving her a stable relationship that doesn't reinforce her shame. He doesn't recognize her mixed heritage as a point of shame instead embracing her for who she is and letting her know that her mixed heritage doesn't make her impure, standing up for her when the bandit threatens to hit her and insults her origins. This genuine care is something Mizu desperately needed as a child and it was amazing to watch.

I think I want to go into greater depth at some point on my points on Mizu and Akemi being mirrors to one another and how The Ronin and the Bride explores violence and loss and how they're intertwined in Mizu's life at some point.

It’s shows like this that make me even more frustrated at Netflix. They were on such a role in animation and were (and sort of still are) a driving factor in changing the landscape of adult animation that they were frequently the platform that I was most excited to see new animated projects on, but then they absolutely gutted their animation division and showed little to no respect to the work of those that made the animated properties and I lost a lot of respect for them as a result. I really hope projects like Blue Eye Samurai keep being made and that platforms start respecting animation like it deserves.

I kind of feel like adding a few adult animated recommendations on netflix to this so here goes: Arcane (duh. It’s a masterpiece), Pluto, Cyberpunk Edgerunners, Castlevania, Carol and the End of the World, Skull Island, Inside Job, and Tear Along the Dotted Line.

[spacequokka]

Monsta X Kinks & Turn-Ons

@iibonniee​ Hide ya brain cells. I’m back with another kinky shit post that’ll likely end up with Monbebes throwing me in a closet.

Hyunwoo || Venus: Gemini, Mars: Taurus || Turn On: Control

Mr. Traditional. Likes fun and variety with witty conversation. He’s a sensual guy, but it takes a lot to get him going. Try harder, baby. He can be romantically impulsive. Likes to please and tease at his own place. Just give him the reins, you know you want to.

Minhyuk || Venus: Libra, Mars: Scorpio || Turn On: Foreplay

Mr. Idealistic. He’s willing to make your relationship by conceding and adjust his life to accommodate you. Loves to share everything with you, but don’t take advantage of it! Treats you exactly how he wants to be treated. Has a taste for mature partners. He’s a hopeless romantic who loves a challenge and finds it difficult to share his partners. Not saying he’s against it. Just might struggle to watch you. He’s attracted to “taboos” and wild fantasies, so share yours with him. Pretty sure he’s down to try it. He’s got stamina for days and enjoys submissive partners.

Kihyun || Venus: Scorpio, Mars: Sagittarius || Kink: Shibari Bondage

Our resident kink master. He’s intense as fuck. That prince charming grin is a trap. “Isn’t afraid of getting his mind dirty.” Excuse me, wtf. Penny for his thoughts. Never gives up. “Strong sexual powers.” So he’s what, the Harry Potter of sex? I have several questions. He’s blunt and eager, amorous and sensual. We knew that tho. He tends to focus on his partner with laser precision and you know what requires that much attention to detail? Shibari. It’s its own art form and I can see him being a HUGE fan of it. He can get possessive to the point of jealousy if you don’t prove your loyalty to him. All the dom vibes. Fight me. Though he’s not incapable of giving you control once he feels secure enough in your relationship. Good luck.

Hyungwon || Venus: Capricorn, Mars: Capricorn || Turn On: Someone willing to ride

The Pillow Prince. He’s a realist and will be “upfront” with you. He’ll try to win you over by showing you he has self-control (it’s a trap) and likely bait you into doing most of the work. He’s a romantic looking for a soulmate, and when he thinks he’s found The One, you’ll see him exerting more of his precious energy. Shy but willing to commit. Wants to show you off in a quiet way. And the sex? Keep it nasty if you can.

Jooheon || Venus: Scorpio, Mars: Leo || Kink: Praise (Receiving)

No one is shocked by this. Has a strong need for a partnership. 🥺 Someone cuff him. Like Kiki, he gets possessive and makes it his mission to ruin you. Get you addicted to him through pleasure and commitment, body and soul. Sign me tf up. Wants to explore every inch of you, inside and out, but will guard his secrets until he feels he can trust you with them. Another guy prone to jealousy but it's because he’s so devoted to you and he’ll fight dirty to win your heart. Borderline nympho as he’s easily turned on (no fr, tell him he did a good job) and will give it to you anywhere (like, say the backseat of his car). Honey acts with his heart and goes all in.

Changkyun || Venus: Pisces, Mars: Aquarius || Turn On: The Art of Seduction

Our Lone Wolf favors instant gratification except when it comes to choosing a partner, even if it's just for one night. He’s straightforward (ofc), dreamy and soft-hearted. Can be sweetly playful when he starts to fall for you. He does have a Captain Save-a-Hoe complex so you gotta make sure he’s attracted to you and not your situation. Expect lots of tender moments and romance. Extra points if you’re older. Likes surprising you with his open-mindedness. Don’t just give in; make him work for it. He’ll delight you with his wit and determination and turn you out in bed.

Hoseok || Venus: Aries, Mars: Cancer || Kink: Breeding, Switch

Mr. Thirst Trap. This shameless flirt has a childish charm, and he uses it like a weapon. You will not survive. He loves to tease and is looking for an energetic partner to keep up with his stamina. Requires plenty of stimulation and likes to lead and please you. Just trust him. Reacts spontaneously and intensely to the Object of Obsessive Horniness and will make it known. Though he doesn’t want kids, he still gets a kick out of the thrill and possessiveness of stuffing you with cum. 

[freesia-writes]

OC Sneak Peek: Luciana Salentino

Age: 24 Born: Coruscant Occupation: Bartender... at the moment.

Loves: people, traveling, running, pasta, exploring, learning, taking life one day at a time, being open to new experiences, and living with no regrets.

Songs: I'm Good (Blue) by David Guetta, Don't Cha by The Pussycat Dolls, Gimmie More by Britney Spears, You Know I'm No Good by Amy Winehouse, Don't Stop the Music by Rihanna

Superpowers: making people feel free, uninhibited, and empowered to live their best lives.

Oh the depth and complexity of this beautiful woman. Is she a party girl? Sure. Does she have amazing stories of the various jobs and lives she's lived across the galaxy? Absolutely. Is she just a pretty face? Definitely not, although she's got tragically perfect tits (author sigh).

She has an uncanny knack of getting along with literally anyone, and makes people feel inspired and emboldened. She lives with a freedom and optimism that invites others to let go of the fears and insecurities that hold them back. Her life is ever-changing, and she can roll with the punches better than most. There is an emptiness to it, some doubts that the typical "settling down" scenario isn't quite for her, and she understands the risks of living from thrill to thrill.

But she was made for it, baby. And one size doesn't fit all.

Tag List: @lightwise @sweetcream-coldfoam @clonethirstingisreal @have-a-hiddles @sverdgeir @roam-rs @littlemissmanga @dystopicjumpsuit @523rdrebel @solstraalaa @skellymom @internm0thb0y @sunshinesdaydream @photogirl894 @reader6898 @jedi-hawkins @moonstrider9904 @hipwell @lamiliani @catoo @ilarria @totallyunidentified @padawancat97 @yve-barr

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[ex-mortis-evie]

You know what’s a crazy idea?

Trance.

Seriously, I’ve been thinking about it more and more lately and just the idea behind it all is so…crazy, right?

I mean, I can’t be the only one who finds it a little nuts that there’s a switch in our brains that can basically turn us off and on again while we’re in this state of utter focus.

A state where nothing else really matters and all we do is focus on something.

It can be anything too, and I think that’s what really astounds me.

Everyone loves different stuff to focus on.

Whether that be a nice pair of emerald eyes, a swinging pendulum fit for a royal, a metronome ticking your thoughts away, or whatever else you may choose.

Anything can initiate trance.

Doesn’t that just blow your mind?

I mean, think about it for a sec.

You could be in a trance just playing your favorite game or listening to your favorite album.

Hell, anyone could probably put you in a trance if they tried hard enough.

It does sound dangerous of course, but don’t sweat it, you’re always in control of your own mind!

That’s another cool little fact.

You’re always in control.

Yeah, there’s always that nagging voice in your head telling you to give up your control.

But, there’s always a sliver there.

No matter how small.

That’s always going to be you.

It’s your soul, silly.

Nobody can take that away from you.

Yeah, there may be some shmucks that try and convince you that you have.

But I think it’s really cool how even throughout all the brainwashing and the manipulation that you’ve probably been through, there’s always that soul.

And that’s something to be proud of!

Be proud of yourself.

You shouldn’t devalue yourself and give all of you up for a hit of pleasure or something.

That’s not really what trance is all about, at least in my eyes.

Trance is all about that connection.

That state of mind where your mind is at its most malleable and simple, yet so complex still.

And it’s the hypnotist’s job to try and navigate that maze of a mind you have.

They’ll never truly reach the end, and neither will you.

But, that’s not a bad thing.

Trance is infinite, and that’s the beauty of it all.

You never stop learning more about it and yourself.

That’s why the connection is so important.

Yeah, you could probably get some cheap fix from a blockhead willing to kick your brain around for a while.

But that’s not really giving you much of an experience.

Yeah, it may feel good, but trance is so much more than that.

It’s an exploration, a deep dive of the psyche that drives you.

It’s not some cheap trick to get you all zombie-like and compliant.

No, it’s so much deeper than that.

And hell, you may have been feeling a buzz reading all this.

And that’s kind of the point.

It’s alright to feel that buzz.

I’m not here to hypnotize you or to pump pleasure into your brain.

I’m not some magic wizard lady that can just make anything happen.

I’m more of an independent researcher.

Someone who just loves the ideals behind all of this.

The philosophies of trance.

What goes into it.

How trance works.

Why does it work?

All of it.

Those questions, that’s what I’m invested in.

That’s why I do what I do.

And hey, if I get to help you feel good along the way?

That’s even better for me.

I always consider myself a bit of a service dominant.

Like, yeah I have my own wants and such for trance occasionally, we all do.

But, I’m much more of someone who just likes making people happy.

Whether that’s swinging a nice serving of silent seduction in front of their pretty little heads with my words or whatever other way I wanna do it.

It’s not really about the whole domination aspect for me, though.

I dig it and I respect it.

But, I’m just some gal who digs the human mind.

The thing that makes us, that drives us farther into who we are.

That soul that lies within.

Yeah, we may scientifically not really have some ball of pure human emotion and personality floating around in our chest cavity or anything.

But, it’s the psyche behind the soul that makes it beautiful.

This part of us that can’t be taken away.

It can be belittled, smashed, broken into thousands of pieces.

But never really destroyed.

I think that’s beautiful, and that’s kinda why I wanna explore trance more.

To see how truly far the mind can go.

To see where that maze ends.

It may be infinite and I may never see it.

And that’s alright with me.

So long as I get to see as much as possible of the human mind?

I don’t think I’ll ever complain.

I’ll end this little rant off with a pretty simple little message.

I believe a lot in people, maybe a bit too much.

I believe in a lot of things way more than I should.

But, I think it’s because I want to believe in it.

That’s what trance is.

Believing in it.

It’s a phenomenon unlike any other.

And I think it’s pretty damn cool.

Until next time, stay cool, dorks.

[vintagerpg]

Ominous Doug Kovacs cover on Violence for Votishal (2018), the fourth DCC Lankhmar module. This is by far the most complex of the Lankhmar modules so far.

OK, so, first it builds on the way the gods IN Lankhmar work (not the gods OF Lankhmar, they’re different), as laid out in Leiber’s Lean Times in Lankhmar. There is a popular temple and a high priest who resists the customary extortion faced by the temples. There’s an assassin (and thus, a dead high priest). There’s another temple that uses this situation to feather their own nest, sewing discord in the other temple by releasing a vengeful spirit. That leads to a dead assassin, a new dead acolyte every day, and a lot of stolen toes. There is a pretty large temple complex, as well as a sewer and tomb to explore. And if that tangle isn’t enough, there are like ten probing questions at the end of the adventure that highlight the many threads still hanging loose.

I thiiiiiink I like this one a lot. But I’d really have to see it in play to see how it all comes together. There is a lot going on (and, like Acting Up, there is an unrelated subplot with opportunistic thieves robbing the temple that is the first thing I would cut) and I think it is satisfying, but the adventure is so dense with potential that a party needs to muck it all up to see if works as good as I think it does. I mean, holy crap, this thing is a mere 18 pages long!

Nice art throughout by Brad McDevitt, Chris Arneson and Doug Kovacs. I think there is often a desire for the setting of Lankhmar to be “the thief one” but there is actually quite a lot of texture in Leiber’s stories. The DCC artist pool does a really good job of capturing that variety of atmospheres while also feeling gestalt. It is impressive.

[nikatyler]

✈️ 🐷 ❤️ 🤍 🧐 For Sharon

Thank you! This took me ages to figure out for some reason. But here we go!

✈️ AIRPLANE — does your oc like traveling, or do they consider themselves a more homey person?

She has to travel a lot for her athletic competitions. She likes visiting new places but hates the travel part, especially if it's far away and she has to sit in the car or plane or whatever for a long long time. She loves travelling with Tyler but their idea of an ideal vacation is different. While she’d like a more active vacation, going hiking, exploring nature and places, Tyler would rather stay in the city or at the beach and just rest and relax. But hey, they’re good at coming to a compromise that works for them both.

🐷 PIG FACE — what is your oc's favorite animal?

I can see a wolf being her favourite animal.

❤️ RED HEART — what are three of your oc's positive traits?

She’s doing a pretty great job at not comparing herself to others. One of her quotes to live by is “you’re only competing against who you were yesterday”. 

But don’t get me wrong, she’s not obsessed with chasing perfection either, aside from her sports career maybe. There she wants to be the very best and she’s setting impressive goals for herself, she’s quite ambitious and she's willing to do whatever it takes to reach her dreams.

She doesn’t let gossip and rumours dictate how she should feel about a person. She doesn’t jump on the hate train without hesitation…heck, she doesn’t really jump on the hate train at all. She’s just not a hateful person, and if you have an issue with someone, there are better ways to deal with that than to let your whole soul be consumed with hate and rage towards them.

🤍 WHITE HEART — what are three of your oc's neutral/questionable traits?

She's got a bit of a “I'm not like the other girls” syndrome. It's something she grows out of as time goes but it's definitely there when she first shows up in the story.

…and now I noticed I misread the question, I thought it said negative. Well, the “I’m not like the other girls” mindset sure is questionable, eh? As a former not like the other girls person now not like the other swifties person, I’d say it’s complex. It doesn’t have to be entirely negative, it’s just…not very healthy overall. 

She can come off distant, cold and uninterested a lot of times, even if she is actually interested. It goes beyond the resting bitch face, which she sure puts on often unintentionally. I dunno. It’s like the emotional switch in her brain takes a bit to flip on. People who know her know that, but it can intimidate strangers. (which…can be a good thing sometimes, now that I think about it 😂)

You don’t want to argue with her. You just don’t. She’s not hotheaded, she won’t yell at you immediately, but she can do it. Her angry fiery part doesn’t show up often, again, if she’s pissed she’s more ice-like, but when the fire starts, you won’t soon forget it.

🧐 FACE WITH MONOCLE — is your oc more logical or emotional?

I think I sort of said it in the above answer – at first, it’s cold logic, rationality, analyzing facts and acting purely based on them. But a lot of times, the switch eventually flips and emotions kick in. And I'd say it depends a lot on the situation or the problem, too.

[pinkandpurple360]

As much as I love Fizz, his character has been inconsistent. And until recently, hadn't thought about the negative aspects of his relationship with Asmodeus. I play devil's advocate with myself all the time and it's torture so sorry if this ramble goes on for too long; I'll do three main points (though it's stuff other people already point out so feel free not to answer if this is repetitive)

-At first it seems like their communication is actually pretty good, but in any relationship, ofc someone is gonna just wanna keep some stuff private. In Fizz's case, he has issues with perfectionism and rejection sensitivity (probably)- that apparently leads him to isolate an be a work-a-holic. While I appreciate Ozzie's way of voicing his concerns and comforting Fizz, it does suck knowing he was either forced to male the Fizz bots (or was making them before he met Fizz). Time line is a bit weird in my head but I assume Ozzie actually met Fizz maybe a couple years after Fizz started working for Mam? Unsure. Regardless, I understand Ozzie's protective nature, but it's overbearing and not the way you should be treating an adult.

-Fizz's insecurity and vulnerability is understandable. Maybe the confidence is a facade, but after ten years? I understand he may feel like a fraud or whatever but I do wish he had more confidence rather than constantly being Infantilized. There are other ways to show off Fizzarolli's more playful/childish side rather than just making him helpless. I mean hey, we see that childish nature come up with RoboFizz, except that version is the more malicious aspect. Just like with Millie, we could see fascination with "childish" things like amusement parks or whatever.

-His relationship with Blitzø. Tbh I think they could be platonic, romantic, or even a QPR (the hype is real), but goddamn it's just another issue of the narrative providing us with angst, which would be great if it were handled a bit more maturely. Personally, I think the shots of "who tops" and "could we make out" are kinda funny? But they're also unnecessary, and I can totally get why people wouldn't dig those jokes.

Looking into the dynamic more just makes me realize Fizz x Ozzie isn't "Stolitz but healthy," it's just another relationship with it's own problems and pitfalls (which is great for nuance) and there's still the unexplored (and unacknowledged) issue of the nuance of power dynamics in relationships

I may just be hopeful, but I really, really hope that the series explores more of the mature stuff as they get into the rest of season two, and begin season 3.

Sorry for this wall of text, holy cow

Everyone plays devils advocate at first don’t worry, its ok to not want to explore possible uncomfortable aspects of things we like and enjoy. For this ship it was hard for me too. But like you said, it’s about complex nuances and possible issues rather than just jumping to ‘toxic’ but the biggest thing for me? It was “I don’t like designing sex toys with your likeness for him-pretty sure you feel the same” Cmon Oz. You still did that. You still designed and built and shipped out these things, knowing Fizz is possibly uncomfortable, how did Mammon force you? Why are they conscious btw Oz…And if it is later written canonically that mammon forced him to do it, that’s a bit lazy. Every character makes mistakes after all.

Fizz hasn’t been too inconsistent up until this latest episode imo. Maybe we just didn’t know his full story. His cute side was hinted at back in Ozzies with that nuzzling. He was most definitely defanged in S2E7 though.

Miscommunication Issues…power dynamics..

“Well today I learned I hate going outside!”

“You won’t have to again.”

Look at that reaction…that’s not what he wanted to hear. :( that smile was put on. And now that Fizz quit his job, he really doesn’t have to go outside again except for Ozzies nightclub. I don’t know what’s next for him other than becoming Ozzies temporary spouse. The mortality/immortality dilemma is like the biggest elephant in the room right now for these two.

Fizz says that Oz is “someone who understands me”and many times he does, many times they communicate through eye contact alone, but a lot of times especially recently…he actually doesn’t understand Fizz. I love Asmodeus don’t get me wrong but let’s put the spotlight on him for a little bit. Nothing bad about examining some things.

And you’re completely right I mean…he calls him babe, baby, froggy, cutest little thing…and it feels like Fizz has to be very cute and submissive all the time saying ‘pwease’ for Oz to listen to him. This is likely Ozzies first real relationship and it being with someone so low on the hierarchy is making it a bit of a rough challenge for him.

Ozzies smiles are so cute they hurt 😔 Kronk energy sometimes with this guy.

There is some choices made to not communicate about stuff. Not because Ozzie is abusive, he is actually not, but because there are things they don’t talk about when they really should. And secrets between them. Even if they’re badly kept.

wice now it seemed like Ozzie side stepped Fizz’s worry and anxiety over the status of their relationship being exposed. And he says “I don’t care both times” it’s always “I” and this implies he used to care yknow? We’re just kinda lucky Fizz turned out to be ok with both of these decisions. Imagine if the crowd got angry at Fizz instead and accused him of being a gold digger (which was written in the magazine from Oops)

Fizz and Blitzos relationship is something Ozzie definitely doesn’t get. And to be fair it is the most complicated one in the show. Blitzø isn’t just ‘that guy fizz hates’ and he knows it. His former bestie lifelong enemy then recent hero sortve rekindled friend blitz is a mystery.

Idk if it (blitzfizz history, power dynamics of class) will be explored without Ozzie and Stolas’ feelings being shoved in there some way. Or striker saying stuff then just getting punched out of the way for asking too many questions. I wish they could have a break from them. And like you said, comparing relationships never really works cause everyone is different. I’m not sure where they’re going with this but I can’t help but hope the pairings don’t stay rigidly stagnant. Right now they feel forced and set in stone.

[shsl-heck]

So because I've seen it compared to Worm, I started reading The Boys by Garth Ennis. It's bad! Like really bad! It feels like what would happen if you let an edgy anti-feminist atheist youtuber from 2015 write a comic book. I finished the first volume of the omnibus in large part because it was a train wreck I couldn't look away from, and am debating starting the second since I hate myself. The most interesting parts are actually the little forewords. Through them I learned both that it was supposed to be a comedy, and also a critique of the military industrial complex/police (or at least that people read it as one). This was surprising to me since it is neither funny nor incisive. Anyway, now I want to ramble incoherently about my problems with it because this goddamn comic broke my brain.

Okay, so one of the most common ways it shows you which characters you aren't supposed to like is by having them do comically "gross" sex stuff. Notable examples include cocaine fueled orgies, mentions of shitting during sex, bestiality, masturbating in public to the sight of disabled people, and a little person using sex toys. One that shows up repeatedly in this context is characters being bisexual or gay. Now, I don't wanna get controversial, but I think any claims that your work is a critique of capitalism, police, the military, or whatever are rendered moot when your villains are a group of secret hedonistic sex-freaks. Like we can't pretend that doesn't sound a lot like regressives and their obsession with "degeneracy". Sexual assaults, misogyny, and slurs also appear pretty often, mostly as the punch line for jokes. Victims are rendered down into objects and denied any sense of interiority so we can instead focus on what really matters (gore porn, and middle school 4chan posters' sense of humor). Never once does Ennis deign to explore the actual impact and trauma of these things, or ask why he views these things as material for jokes.

That incuriosity is I think the real problem with The Boys. There is no actual coherent thought about why things are bad. Superheroes hurt people and are wrong because of their personal moral failings as selfish perverts, not because their whole job is to violently enforce the will of the state. It's like if someone agreed that all cops are bastards, but only because all cops just so happened to be "bad apples". The main characters literally work for the fucking CIA, and yes, I know the titular Boys are at best meant to be anti-heroes a la the Punisher. My issue here isn't that they're hypocrites who are frequently also horrible. It's that this premise for is absolute nonsense if you think for half a second. Superheroes do not function without the legitimacy granted to them by the state and it's monopoly on violence, so why would the CIA need these 5 randos with zero oversight working to take out the supers? Is the force Homelander and the others can bring to bear so great that even the apparatus of that state can't deal with them? If so, why does this group of assholes change that? Normally I'd be willing to give the story a lot more of a pass when it comes to questions like this, except I'm being told that this story has things to say about systemic problems involving the government and corporations! So I have to ask, where? Where is the commentary? What does it actually have to say about the state of the world circa 2006-2012? The only answer I can come up with is "not a whole lot". It's a story which dares to ask the tough questions like "what if the world was made of pudding" and then ignore answering those questions so it can instead recite Ellis' favorite slurs in alphabetical order while showing you a woman's tits.

On a lighter note, it's also just not very good. The plot (as mentioned) falls apart under any amount of scrutiny, pacing is bizarre in a bad way, the characters aren't compelling, themes remains stubbornly unexplored, and Ellis is allergic to doing anything interesting or creative with the premise he's decided to base a whole comic around. I genuinely do not know what people enjoy(ed) about this comic.

[blackfilmmakers]

Ya know, it's becoming real clear that there are some fans who only value Miles to the extent that he is in service to Gwen and their headcanon(s) of her. Whether its conscious or subconcious, Gwiles' fans dialogue around Miles shows that for them, Miles' existance, his story, etc. is meant to primarily give Gwen her happy ending, to help Gwen have her epiphanies so she can live her best white life. He's only good and uwu to them, to the extent he benefits her. It's partly why the creators making the creative decision to have Miles' be so infatuated with Gwen when, in the comics, Miles is not pressed for Gwen at all, annoys me a lot. They risk perpetuating these fans miguided idea (and reinforcing racist real world views) that Miles exists to affirm Gwen's desirability and she can do with that what she wants, his job is to wait on her and tell him when he can move on with his life. It also ties in with the same fans outright dismissing Margo. To them, there's no way Miles could actually find Margo, a Black female attractive and intriguing - even though Miles loving and strongly desiring woman of color in the comics is absolute canon. To much media has reinforced a false narrative that black men and women loving and desiring each other is rare and not enough. And so, in their eyes, Margo can't be an actual threat for Miles' attention and affection, she also must exist in service to Gwen, to show that Gwen has complex feelings and can get jealous too. Miles feelings, his identity, his desires, his safety, his mental and overall health, his community, his family, his hurt, his trauma, his pain, his full potential, all of it should be pushed aside because to them GWEN's feelings, her angst and struggle should take priority, and he should just understand that his suffering is worth it because she gets to grow.

From what I’ve heard Miles and Gwen in the comics have gotten together a few times, and were even married at one point(somehow across dimensions???) But like you said he mainly dates girls of color, Black girls even, and we don’t usually get that. I was disappointed we didn’t get to see so many Black girl characters in the first movie

I don’t really care for shipping aspects, but all I know is that ITSV showed these two having a slight crush before forgetting about it, because there were more important matters on hand. And yknow, that all felt natural

So seeing Miles go into this crush on Gwen even harder, to the point where he practically forgets about the other Spiderheroes from the first movie until he sees them again? It didn’t seem right. It went from “I want to see my friends who understand me, and also helped me when I needed them” to “I really miss Gwen, sad angst teenage hours”

And yeah I was pretty annoyed how much the movie focused on Gwen, to the point where I questioned if this was her movie or not. There were some aspects I enjoyed, but also stuff that felt unnecessary given how little information we still had. Simple flashbacks would suffice to get the point across that Gwen was in trouble and she was taken in by the other Spiders. The first movie does this

We could’ve spent this time exploring different Spiderverses and the new characters. It just dragged on for so long, that by the time we get to Miles, I nearly forgot he was in this

I’m not so into this fandom that I can say I fully understand the shipping dynamics here. But yknow, if this is literally like every other fandom, then I don’t see why I can’t believe a good amount of Gwen stans make the experience unbearable

[sicklyseraphnsuch]

I think my biggest complaint about the series, Fionna and Cake, was that up till episode 8, they were doing a pretty good job of laying out all the pieces, but then!

it just completely misses one of the problems it does a pretty good job of laying out. it points out that Simon is inattentive - blind. But Simon's not blind because he doesn't care! Simon's blind because he cares too much - he's quick to jump to conclusions - he's trapped in his own head! no crown required

ive said it before and ill say it again: he romanticizes his past so he makes his present look hopeless, he cant talk to Marcy because he just believes that his troubles aren't worth her attention - he's unable to see past his own opinions to like maybe think, Marcy loves him and would love to help him, that his opinion of being a burden is not in fact a shared opinion - its not a fact, period

it's not a matter of "think of Marcy" as in do it for her sake, it's a matter of "think of Marcy" as in would she really say that or are you putting words in her mouth - like simon, maybe your mental image of Marcy's a little OOC, bud

it shares a root with Simon thinking everything is great with Betty when it wasnt, Simon thinking everything is awful when it doesnt have to be

Which never gets addressed! By pointing out his blindness, we only got to one half of the problem!

The series just never ties up what it started

Here's Winter King, where Simon gets a good look of himself from the outside view, and see how his myopic perspective can be taken to dreadful extremes

And then, we see the love story from Simon's perspective and we notice Fionna pointing out all of Simon's blindspots

and then! He just... He never connects the dots. that maybe hes a little... self absorbed and his self loathing is masquerading as sense and logic when its not! its just self loathing! Even worse, he never even starts to, and it doesnt get included in the big spoonfeeding at the end of the series!!

which just reveals bigger faults within the story!!

Like, never giving Simon space to reflect explodes in the audience's faces when the story has to infodump at the last second!

that reveals that they should have started simon's journey to realization earlier especially when thr narrative already put the pieces there! Now its so obviois that any time he could have been spent spinning his little mental wheel, he spent trying to survive his road trip across the multiverse

it did his character disservice because by pushing all of his ability to reflect in a single episode, and spamming the exposition, it made simon look real stupid, and moreover never explores the issue fully!

everything casper and nova said could have been said earlier and better and not in the form of a kid's story, because by simplifying the issue - or dumbing it down - then the issue's nuances and complexities get lost in translation

yeah, thats very easy to misinterpret actually!!! especially when casper and nova doesnt even cover the whole problem!! (and look i get it, some audiences need it to be spelled out but really, a children's choose your own adventure??? that was the narrative tool to use here??)