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iwritenarrativesandstuff · 2 years ago

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One thing I am curious about is how much Chuuya is important to the central story? Like he just appears when he needs to be here and then just gone

You know, at first my answer would've been just this: "Chuuya is not a main character and is not important to the central story but I am convinced he will be going forward."

But then I paused and thought about it... and realized something.

Chuuya hasn't shown up very much in the main manga, that much is true. However, the timing of his appearances is interesting because he always shows up during or slightly before a turning point in the story. Take a look at this:

Chapters 10 + 11, Port Mafia Arc: We are introduced to his character - he's one of the major character's (Dazai's) old partner. At the same time this is happening, Atsushi and Akutagawa are having their first real fight and shortly after, Chuuya tells Dazai that Akutagawa has the information on who placed the bounty, which brings the Guild into play.

Chapter 16, Guild Arc: Chuuya, along with many other mafia characters, is present when Mori is revealed as the boss, another significant event.

Chapters 21 and 22, Guild Arc: Chuuya is part of Mori's plan to pit the Agency and Guild against each other. Shortly after this, Q is released, marking another turning point.

Chapter 29, Guild Arc: Atsushi sees Chuuya ordering the protection of Yokohama from Q's curse. It is highly likely that his decision to form a temporary truce with the Mafia was a result of seeing Chuuya's actions.

Chapter 31, Guild Arc: The well-known Double Black chapter. Not only is this the first instance of the truce, but it is also the template for Dazai's later plan reveal - that he intends Atsushi and Akutagawa to be another Double Black.

Chapter 47, Cannibalism Arc: It's Chuuya who makes the first move and kickstarts the actual conflict. I believe this is the only time his actions and choices directly affect the main plot (which is... interesting actually...). Unfortunately in chapter 49, he is immediately sucked into Poe's book with little fanfare sidjcn

Chapter 62, Hunting Dogs Arc: Chuuya rescues the Agency members from the Hunting Dogs, which is the first semi-decent turn of events for the Agency in that arc.

Chapters 98 and 101, Vampire Infection Outbreak Arc: Chuuya shows up as a vampire (rip man). I don't know yet what the consequences of this will be but there will absolutely be consequences.

Idk, I do find it interesting that Chuuya appears to show up at transitory spots in the plotline, despite not playing an especially active role. I find it difficult to believe that's not significant in some way; after all, I've already commented on how Chuuya influences changes in Dazai. I'm starting to wonder if Chuuya's role from a meta sense is to induce change in some way - that would be a tad ironic, considering Chuuya... hasn't really changed much, and is still very much stuck in the same place he was, but now without a personal drive.

Whether you agree on the above though, I feel really confident that we're building up to something with him in the main story. What's more, I think this actually was always the plan, and not a decision made because Chuuya became really popular. While I don't think Asagiri is the type to really plan future events in any detail, I do think there is some general sense of where the characters are going. I have a few reasons to believe this.

Chuuya was in the manga before he even made his first appearance. If you check out Dazai's profile, Chuuya is mentioned as... one of his dislikes. Lol.

Chuuya was always going to be Dazai's ex-partner. It was the first thing decided about him, to my knowledge anyways. I've also noticed that Dazai, despite how much he appears, doesn't undergo a lot of development in the series proper (most of it's in the light novels, same as Chuuya). I suspect their development in the main series will once again run parallel as soon as Chuuya winds up with a more major role.

Asagiri and Harukawa spent the longest on Chuuya's design. And Asagiri always felt he was going to end up as a popular character, which is part of the reason why it took so long - he needed to look perfect.

Fifteen's afterword implies Chuuya's backstory was always going to be told eventually. Yes, the story was requested, but the response from Asagiri was "it's finally time to write this" not "oh ok if that's what the fans want".

Chuuya and Atsushi haven't even met yet, which is weird. Remember that Atsushi's decision to suggest a truce was likely influenced by his observation of Chuuya's actions. Also I find it strange that the Atsushi-Akutagawa duo are meant to be a new Dazai-Chuuya but one of each of the pair have... never met each other.

Chuuya's story is tied closely to the concept of singularities, ability user experimentation and the government (as well as the war's aftereffects by proxy). These themes run all throughout the world of bsd but have yet to be truly expanded on in the main manga.

Adam and Shirase are in London where the Order of the Clock Tower is. The Order is highly likely to play a major role going forward.

"His destination is still a secret" and "his will not be a peaceful, easy path" from the Stormbringer afterword. So, he's going to suffer more in the future. Yippee?

Anyways. This was a very long answer to your question anon but yeah. Chuuya will be important to the plot going forward and I believe that this was always the intention. It just doesn't make sense to have all this backstory and then not have any kind of payoff for it.

#i'm sorry you cannot ask me a question about chuuya and expect me not to go on an unhinged ramble #i am very very normal about him #bsd #bsd chuuya #thanks for the ask!#bsd meta #i guess #storyrambles #also asagiri really likes writing him so there's that too

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findingjoynweirdstuff · 4 years ago

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Dream SMP: Common Misconceptions

(Please correct me if I’m wrong about any of these!)

- Niki did NOT fight in the L’manburg War for independence. She joined after Jack Manifold did, after the war ended. Her first big war on the server was the Pet War.

(There were no women in L’manburg at the time of Fundy’s birth, after all. Hence the salmon thing)

- Tommy was the one to press the button in the Final Control Room first, not Eret. He was wondering what its function was and pressed it with a carrot.

- Sapnap didn’t kill Spirit. Spirit died to mobs while Sapnap was riding them.

- The leather that Tommy has is not Spirit’s leather. Sapnap accidentally used the wrong piece of leather, the real leather, to craft an item frame for Spirit’s memorial.

- Sam did not join the server in Election era. He was, I believe, the fifth? member to be added to the server, just before Alyssa. He just took a long hiatus and became more active on the server much later.

- Canon deaths are a narrative device, not a game mechanic. Characters might kill each other in an important battle, but if those deaths aren’t consequential to the story and all the character arcs, they aren’t canon. That’s why none of the deaths on Doomsday were canon. The battle was important, but the deaths themselves were not.

- Fundy’s character is canonically older than Tommy and Tubbo, despite being born after them. This is because Fundy functions like a phoenix and gets reborn.

- Fundy’s L’manburg uniform was different from the others because before he officially joined the revolution, he had to make his own suit and used crayons to color it, and he didn’t have the expensive set of crayons with the right colors.

- Fundy was born when Wilbur cut off his toe and it grew. He did not come out of a fish or fish eggs.

- The Camarvan looked like a pile of dirt by the end because the L’manburgians tore it down right after the war with plans to rebuild it, and after a while of not doing it, Tommy and Wilbur decided to rebuild it in the same place it was. They just did so very, very poorly.

- Dream disabled phantoms on the server around the time of the L’manburg War. Techno had membranes in his possession because he did a deal with Tommy, not because he was given them as forbidden items by Drista.

The reason Tommy was the only one on the server with access to membranes is because before Quackity joined the server, he and Quackity did a heist (Quackity in VC) where he went around stealing membranes from every other member, gaining a complete monopoly on the supply. This was part of their Cartel plot.

(There’s pretty much nothing written on the Wiki about the Cartel plotline, which is why this isn’t as well-known)

- The voice in Ranboo’s head is not actually Dream. It isn’t Dream trying to convince Ranboo that he’s not real, it just literally isn’t Dream.

- L’mantree is a lie. It wasn’t actually there from the beginning.

#dream smp #reference #long posts

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seyaryminamoto · 4 years ago

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As someone, who's favourite character is Zuko, let me just say that your analysis about the Southern Raiders is spot on. Something about that episode (especially the way Zuko acted) always felt a little... off to me. And I could never figure out what it was exactly and considering the fact that discussion about this episode centered around the Kataang vs Zutara, I thought I was the only one who felt that way. So, I guess thanks for putting my thoughts into words.

Oh, I really feel ya, anon. If you actually don't look at the episode from a shipping point of view, which seems to be the focus of most the fandom, a lot of unpleasant things really start sticking out. I'm personally neutral to the Kataang vs. Zutara debate, I see good points and drawbacks to both ships, and no one's going to convince me that this episode proved the superiority of either pairing, especially when the shipping interpretations have never been important to me when analyzing this episode. People can say Aang is right in the end, they can say Zuko understands Katara's plight better (which, considering Aang has lost even more people he loved than Zuko has, he certainly should have understood Katara's suffering quite well too), but focusing on whether Zuko or Aang are the angel or the devil on Katara's shoulders practically blinds everyone to the very glaring and mindboggling flaws in this episode's writing, imo.

In general, the concept of Zuko's life-changing field trips with the three Gaang members he'd wronged the most is fine and fun for most people, but from the first time I watched the show it felt like the production team knew they were pressed for time and needed some veeeery quick and effective solution for Zuko to gain acceptance in the Gaang ASAP despite all the bad blood there. I can imagine a lot of people love these episodes, but admittedly I wouldn't rank any of them among my favorites because, as interesting as some of their concepts could be, if executed right, my immersion certainly wasn't as strong as with the rest of the show due to the nagging feeling that this was all for the sake of redeeming Zuko in the eyes of each Gaang member... and not necessarily in the eyes of the audience.

They get away with it, of course, because by this point in time, the audience is 100% conditioned to love the Gaang and Zuko, and if you see them getting along, you should be rejoicing in their team-up... but if you put some emotional distance between yourself as a viewer and the events of these episodes, their writing leaves a lot to be desired, especially in the concept of giving Zuko a quick whitewashing in the eyes of Aang, Sokka and Katara, one after the other, so they can genuinely accept him as a teammate and friend. If we'd seen similar trips frequently or occasionally in the rest of the show, with two specific members of the team taking off on an adventure by themselves, it might not be so glaringly obvious (and even... artificial? I guess?) that they're trying to quick-redeem him for each of them here, but on top of it happening thrice, it's literally happening one after the other, too. There's no episodes in-between, it's just literally a four-parter arc of "let's help Zuko become friends with these three".

The plotlines to be dealt with in these episodes are basically catered to each Gaang member, tailor-made life-changing field trips based on whatever they'll value the most, all of it conveniently possible and doable in the span of time they have between Zuko's joining of their group and the show's finale. Aang needs to learn firebending, Sokka needs to save his dad, Katara is permanently grieving for her mother's death. And so, Zuko to the rescue! If he helps them with their personal character quests, he gets 50+ approval points! :'D Honestly, I'm absolutely not against the notion of Zuko befriending them, obviously not, but the methods through which they chose to make it happen simply might not be the finest...?

Zuko loses his ability to bend because he "lost his rage", but he's still angry pretty often, the show even spoofs its own writing by showing him losing his patience at Sokka... while at the same time trying to sell that Zuko "isn't angry" anymore? Zuko helps break out random prisoners from the Boiling Rock without taking a single moment to actually learn who they are, why they were locked up, and without pondering if they deserve to be helped or if perhaps they're genuinely dangerous? Zuko gives Katara every possible tool and information she needs to take revenge on Yon Rha, because, loosely quoting his own words, he "cares what she thinks of him"...?

How about if we'd seen Zuko trying to connect with Fire Nation people, to help his fellow Fire Nation citizens, especially the ones who were living in dreadful conditions, like the ones in the Jang Hui river village? How about if we'd seen Zuko saving lives rather than threatening to take them? How about if we'd seen Zuko actually reasoning with his anger, and either working his way out of it, or repurposing it consciously, or making legitimate, personal efforts to find a new source of strength for his firebending through self-reflection, above all else?

We didn't really need sudden one-on-one field trips to teach Aang, Katara and Sokka to trust Zuko: we needed Zuko to prove himself worthy of that trust, to show how much he has changed, to literally contrast his new behavior with the old, to actually see that the guy no longer jumps into violence-mode 24/7, that he's willing to listen to other people's opinions or wisdom, that he wants to learn better when he knows he's misguided or misunderstanding something or another. Would he have become BFFs with any of them in four episodes if this had happened? Well, it definitely would have happened with Aang, the other two would have been trickier, but they definitely would have been more willing to accept him if they actually got to SEE that the changes in Zuko weren't skin-deep. Katara can be as thick-headed and stubborn as she may want to be, but I have no doubts she wouldn't have been able to hate Zuko as much as she used to if she'd seen him helping people, much like she often wants their group to do. But instead, they don't get to see the actual changes and growth... they just get their biggest goals and wishes satisfied, and that's enough to decide Zuko's trustworthy, no matter whatever sketchy behavior he displays in later episodes.

I absolutely appreciate the worldbuilding context we gain for the raids on the Water Tribe through The Southern Raiders, but I don't think this was an organic way to tell the story of how Zuko became friends with the Gaang. If pressed, I'd even say that Zuko's overt desperation to be their friend is OOC, to a degree: if this guy actually knows how dangerous his father's plans are (and he's supposed to :'D), how isn't he focusing on that side of things, when he's always been such a go-getter? It's not like he grew out of this sort of ends-justify-the-means behavior, seeing as he's absolutely obsessed with stopping his father ASAP, by any means possible, in the finale, when there was no such urgency to be found ever since he joined the Gaang. How isn't he more worried about stopping Ozai than about becoming best friends with the Gaang? Immediately sharing everything he's learned about Ozai's intentions of destroying the whole world might not make them friends instantaneously, but it would certainly get someone like Sokka to take his information seriously and immediately begin strategizing how to counter Ozai's plans. Instead, Zuko spent all those weeks, over a month, even, teaching Aang firebending, going on field trips and hanging out with his new friends in Ember Island. Once you have all the cards on deck and you actually look at all of them at once, doesn't it feel like there were so many more ways to achieve what the show was going for, far more effective ways than through the "let's be friends with Zuko" arc?

Ultimately, there's very little display of growth, in my opinion, in this small arc, on Zuko's side, despite the most obvious and reasonable way to earn the trust of the Gaang would be by outright showing them how much he's grown. I won't deny I appreciate that the writers respected his personality and didn't just warp him into the perfect good softboi the way the fandom apparently interprets him, but even if Zuko was going to be cranky and speak one-liners like "I'm never happy", it wasn't impossible to write better situations for him to connect with the Gaang's members and gain their trust. Even if the writers were set on having these episodes happen exactly as they did, they absolutely could have been written in a much better way, to create an explicit and direct contrast between Zuko's early behavior and the new Zuko's behavior when it comes to things that matter (most the parallels I've seen the fandom drawing are things like "oh look he hated tea before but now he brews it for his friends! So much growth!"... would've been nice to see the growth when it came to a lot of other things, too, if the growth really was there? Am I rite...?).

I may just be influenced by other redemption arcs that focus mainly on characters having common goals and working together to achieve them, then becoming friends in the process... but I really don't see how Zuko's character benefited from these episodes. Yes, bridges were built... but they absolutely could have been built in a more organic way that didn't make people like myself (and a few others) question if Zuko had learned or grown at all, considering the way he behaves isn't all that distant from the Zuko we've seen and known throughout the rest of the show. And the fact that he really seems to have learned nothing in The Southern Raiders once you reach the show's finale... you're basically asked to take for granted Zuko did learn a lot of lessons because he says he did, to assume he's going to put them into practice sometime in the future despite he has chances to do it during the show itself but never does, simply because they drop the ball upon every opportunity to show how much he's changed.

I really don't blame his character at all, when it comes to these shortcomings... it's seriously, genuinely, a problem with the writing department. Take a look through the fandom and you'll see thousands of people who claim Zuko's character arc is the most touching, complex and beautiful writing they ever have seen... and why? Because we're in the face of tell-don't-show :'D most people's perception of Zuko's character are based not so much on HOW Zuko displays his growth, it's strongly based on him stating he made progress, even if there's too many instances where the growth simply seems to have fallen to the wayside or gone forgotten for the sake of a plotline or another. Zuko absolutely could have been written far better than this, he could absolutely have the redemption arc his fans are sure he does have, but for me... there's way too many gaps in logic, too many missed opportunities, to truly think his growth was as extraordinary as a lot of people are hung up on saying it was.

#anon #woops #I probably shouldn't have written this much here but what can I say #I've got beef with these storylines #and I unfortunately can't bbq it (?)#so instead I ramble and ramble and hope you guys forgive me for how long-winded I can be :'D

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immaturityofthomasastruc · 4 years ago

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Master Fu: Master of Failure (200 Follower Special)

Mentors are some of the most important characters in all of pop culture, as they help the protagonist advance in his journey while helping them improve in skill and personal growth. Because of their vital role, mentors tend to be among some of the most memorable characters in their respective franchises.

Mentors can be a variety of people, from wise sages, to former soldiers, to just regular people with a strong moral compass. What matters is the impact they have on the hero, and the role they play in the story.

Master Fu does a poor job at accomplishing both of those qualifications.

Like, well, basically every bad thing in Miraculous Ladybug, the ideas behind Master Fu were interesting in concept. The problem was the execution, or rather, what little we got with Master Fu. Yet he still manages to be memorable (no pun intended) for all the wrong ways. But before we get into Master Fu, let's get into a problem with Miraculous Ladybug in general that plagues several characters and plotlines.

Order of the... What Exactly?

Despite being “the last known member of the Order of the Guardians”, Master Fu hasn't really explained much about the Order he's from. All we really know is that he was trained to guard the Miraculous and distribute them to worthy people. And the Order does this... why exactly?

This is a huge problem with Miraculous Ladybug, the underdeveloped lore behind a major part of the story. Despite being connected to the Miraculous, you know, the magical artifacts the show is named after, we still don't really know much about why they were formed in the first place, and what their connection to the Miraculous is.

Oh wait, the origin of the Miraculous actually is explained... in an issue of the tie-in comic.

Someone seriously thought it was a good idea to explain that Kwamis are connected to abstract concepts like creation and destruction, and how the Miraculous were created, both very important things to learn, AND THEY DID IT IN A GODDAMN TIE-IN COMIC THAT ONLY LASTED THREE ISSUES!

I shouldn't be expected to read supplementary material to understand the backstory of a show. You don't need to watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars to understand the tragedy of Order 66, so why would you expect your audience to read a comic book to understand the origin of the magical objects that give your main characters superpowers?

Even the explanation we got isn't that detailed. Okay, fine some guy created the Miraculous to give the Kwamis tangibility (which actually explains how they can phase through solid objects), but... how and why? How was this sage able to see Tikki, how was he able to create the Miraculous, and why did he do it?

This extends to the Order of the Guardians as well. How and why were they formed? What exactly do they even do besides guard Miraculous? Why do they even guard the Miraculous in the first place? We even learn more about their methods, and trust me, I'll get to that later.

In Xiaolin Showdown, the pilot episode of all things explains why Shen Gong Wu are so important, and why the Xiaolin Dragons dedicate their lives to protecting them, because they maintain the balance between good and evil, and if they fall into the hands of evil, the world could fall into 10,000 years of darkness. Yeah, the first episode actually does a good job at explaining the backstory of the show, who would have thought? And it's from a show that has a better representation of Chinese culture when this is what the main character looks like.

Overall, the Order of the Guardians is an underdeveloped concept that does very little to help out Master Fu as a character. If the backstory of a character is so vague, how can we even understand the character's motivations in the first place? And by God, are Master Fu's motivations confusing.

Master of Not Doing Anything

Before I started working on this, I saw a video review of Miraculous Ladybug by someone who had never seen the show before, and only did so because one of his friends said they would start watching One Punch Man if he did. Even though he only mentioned Master Fu a few times, he described him as “a dude with a jewelry box full of superhero bling”, and felt like that was all those unfamiliar with the show needed to know. As someone who is familiar with the show? Yeah, that's basically all Master Fu is.

Despite being classified as a mentor, Master Fu doesn't really do a lot of mentoring. Sure, he occasionally talks to Marinette, but whenever things get rough, all he really does is hand out a Miraculous for Marinette to give to someone else temporarily.

And I've said it multiple times, but the Rent-A-Miraculous system is a horrible idea. Not only does it require Ladybug to basically leave Cat Noir to fend for himself while she rushes over to Master Fu, she has to think of an ideal candidate for the Miraculous she takes, find said candidate, rush back to where the Akuma is, hope Cat Noir wasn't incapacitated by the Akuma, and then haul ass to Master Fu's place to return the Miraculous as soon as the fight's over.

The idea of introducing new heroes is interesting, but because we see them so rarely, they don't really feel that important. I get that the title is “Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir”, but I just wish the show would do more with the temporary heroes, like see how it affects their lives. Unfortunately, I can't, thanks to “Miracle Queen”, as usual. I'll get to that episode again later on.

Even when Master Fu takes out the Miraculous, he doesn't really help Marinette think of which one to choose. He just says something like “Take a Miraculous, but be sure to return it to me when you're done.” It doesn't matter, because Marinette apparently knows how all fifteen Miraculous in the box work. Hey, wouldn't it have been nice to see Master Fu actually teach Marinette how every Miraculous works? Maybe have him suggest which Miraculous to take based on the Akuma's powers? I'm just saying, maybe you can take time away from Ladybug and Cat Noir fighting a giant baby to actually give more focus on other characters.

Before that, he was just planning to do nothing and hope Ladybug and Cat Noir could reclaim Hawkmoth's Miraculous for him. According to Tikki in “The Collector”, Marinette isn't even supposed to see the Guardian, and only met Master Fu because she found the Grimoire. So despite being “Guardians of the Miraculous”, he doesn't even help out the random people he decided to give Miraculous to? It's a miracle Ladybug and Cat Noir survived an entire season without any real guidance from Master Fu.

The third season tries to do something by having Master Fu train Marinette to become a guardian, but all of the training is entirely offscreen, and by “Feast”, he just says that her training is complete, and then makes her a guardian against her will in “Miracle Queen”.

Then there are moments unrelated to the Miraculous where he fails to actually be a mentor. Everyone knows about how stupid it was that the writers wanted the audience to sympathize with Adrien for threatening to quit being Cat Noir while Paris is flooded, but this also could have been a moment where Master Fu helped him talk about his feelings, or maybe dispense some wisdom about how hard it is to understand if someone actually trusts him or not. You know, act as a mentor to Adrien?

But instead, they brush over this potentially interesting character moment, because that would actually imply that Adrien has flaws. Because we all know Astruc loves to show the audience that Adrien Agreste is basically the second coming of Jesus Christ, right? And even though the episode making a big deal about Adrien not knowing Master Fu, they really don't have any meaningful conversations outside of that episode, except maybe “Party Crasher”. Though the episode does have Master Fu taking action when Ladybug is incapacitated by the Akuma by giving a Miraculous... to someone he barely knows swimming in Adrien's bathtub. Even he regrets his choice a few minutes later.

And then there's the fact that despite it being his job to guard the Miraculous, he does literally nothing to figure out where the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous are. Sure, he briefly talked with Marinette about Gabriel possibly being Hawkmoth in “The Collector”, but she did most of the investigating in that episode.

Hell, “Sandboy” establishes there's a way to contact Nooroo, the Kwami of the Butterfly Miraculous, on his birthday, but Master Fu turned it down, so they did it behind his back! For the love of God, this is a chance to figure out who Hawkmoth is and bring the conflict with him to an end, and you're passing it up?! In “Heart Hunter”, Master Fu says that Hawkmoth “talks a lot, but hasn't achieved much so far”, but you could easily apply that to Master Fu himself.

Outside of giving Miraculous to Marinette to borrow, what has Master Fu actually accomplished in the story? Maybe his backstory will shed more light on him as a character, and won't just make him look even worse.

The Bungled Backstory

One of the most frustrating things about Master Fu's backstory is that it actually has some pretty good buildup.

In “The Collector” we learn that Master Fu made a mistake that led to the destruction of the temple the Guardians operated out of, and the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous were lost in the process. This does a good job at setting up the mystery of what Master Fu did to destroy the temple in the first place. It continues in “Sandboy”, where Master Fu's worst nightmare is him heing haunted by the ghosts of the guardians he accidentally killed, and then we see in “Backwarder” that Master Fu had confidants to help him keep the Miraculous safe from what are assumed to be the Nazis. Because I guess guardians get to share their secrets, but not Ladybug and Cat Noir?

And then we learned the full backstory in “Feast”. Much like how “Oblivio” and “Cat Blanc” killed any chances of me ever showing any sympathy to Alya and Gabriel respectively, I lost all respect for Master Fu after watching this episode.

We learn that Fu was chosen to be a guardian at a very young age, and had no other choice but to start his training. One day, he was assigned to watch over A Miracle Box as a test for twenty-four hours without any food, water, or sleep. He decided to use the Peacock Miraculous to create a Sentimonster to get him some food, but his anger corrupted the Sentimonster that made it go on a rampage to eat the Miraculous in the temple... and somehow set the temple on fire judging from this shot.

In my main blog, I had originally made a post calling out Master Fu for what he did, but since then, I've mostly softened up. This is just a fan theory you are free do disagree with, but I like to think that Fu was supposed to use a Miraculous during the test. Maybe he was supposed to use the Mouse Miraculous to get some food while one of the clones sat and watched the box, or use the Horse Miraculous to sneak to the kitchen.

My problem comes from how his backstory affects his actions, and makes him look like a complete hypocrite.

Even though he hated the fact that he was basically drafted to become a guardian when he was only a child, he saw no problem handing out Miraculous to children who weren't that much older than he was when he burned down the temple. I don't even think he should even qualify as a master. His title shouldn't be “Master Fu”, but something more along the lines of “Acting Master Fu” on account of the other guardians burning to death.

Say what you will about Zordon for recruiting teenagers with attitude to become the Power Rangers, but what makes him more likable than Master Fu was that he actually cared about them. He routinely gave them advice, never really lost his patience with them, and understood they had lives outside of their jobs as Rangers. Hell, he was even willing to let them retire to peruse major opportunities in their lives, like Jason, Zack, Trini, and Kimberly, because he knows what it's like to be trapped in a situation that prevents him from living a normal life.

In fact, if Fu really hated being forced to become a guardian, why did he have no problem doing the same thing to Marinette? If anything, Fu should hate the Order of the Guardians, but it's never really explained what really motivated him to continue their practices.

Usually, a backstory related to a supporting character is meant to be followed up by the main characters doing something so history doesn't repeat itself. Anakin Skywalker was driven to the Dark Side because he was afraid of losing someone close to him, with the Jedi Order giving him no support due to their rules against personal attachments. This ideology is subverted in the original trilogy when it's Luke Skywalker's compassion for his father that motivated Anakin to rebel against the Emperor and fulfill his destiny as the chosen one.

But instead of learning from past events, or maybe realizing the Order of the Guardians was never as noble as we were led to assume it was, Master Fu just upholds their tradition of enlisting child soldiers to protect these world-ending artifacts while barely doing anything to help them out. And nobody ever acknowledges there might be anything wrong with the Order.

The Cowardly (and Hypocritical) Turtle

Despite being established to be 186 years old (which still hasn't been explained), and the destruction of the temple happening when he was a child, Master Fu hasn't really done anything with his position.

Despite having all the time in the world, as well as a Miraculous that lets him teleport anywhere, he still hasn't found the missing two Miraculous that Gabriel managed to find at least 129 years after he lost them, give or take.

There's also the fact that, at least, according to the flashback in “Backwarder”, Master Fu may or may not have chosen to sit down and let several historical atrocities and conflicts happen because he didn't want to risk losing the Miraculous. You know, minor things like the Taiping Rebellion, the Crimean War, World War I and II, the Rape of Nanking, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Tienanmen Square Massacre and God knows what else. What did Master Fu even do while he ran around the world to keep the Miraculous safe anyway?

These both factor into the biggest problem with Master Fu as a character: He's a coward.

Whenever he's confronted with a tough situation, Master Fu's first instinct is to run away and hide. As soon as the Sentimonster that destroyed the temple returns, he takes back Marinette and Adrien's Miraculous and runs away. As soon as Hawkmoth finds out about his existence, he packs up his stuff and runs away. When he's captured by Hawkmoth and Mayura, he gives up his position as Guardian and forces Marinette to take on the role, so he can run away safely.

And once again, despite hating the Order for forcing him to train to become a Guardian, Master Fu has no problem with forcing Marinette, someone who was only a few years older than he was when he was drafted, to become the next Guardian of the Miraculous, all while conveniently losing his memory in the process, which implies that Marinette will lose her memory when she retires as Guardian. I once made a submission to Terrible Miraculous Ladybug AU's joking that he only made up the whole amnesia thing just to dump the responsibility of being Guardian on Marinette, but with his appearance in the Season 4 teaser, I'm genuinely worried that may be true.

And yet, despite every incompetent thing he's done, the show keeps trying to portray Master Fu as this wise old soul, because like with so many characters, the writers think if they keep saying things that aren't true, the audience will just give up and accept these ideas as fact. “Master Fu is a wise mentor”. “Alya is a good journalist”. “Ladybug and Cat Noir are equal”. “Chloe is irredeemable”. “Gabriel is a sympathetic villain”. “Lila is a good liar”. “Thomas Astruc responds to criticism like an adult”.

And I'm not against the idea of a flawed mentor either. I already talked about how complex Dr. K is as a character, and how her connection to Venjix makes her an interesting mentor. What I want is for the narrative to acknowledge that Master Fu is way out of his league. I want someone, anyone, to actually call him out for how poorly he's handled things. I don't want to be told he's a great mentor when the evidence clearly shows otherwise.

But it seems like we may never get that in the show, even though it looks like he's going to return in Season 4.

Let's just hope Master Su-Han is a better mentor, and actually appears in more than a single episode before being escorted off so Marinette can't have any confidants as Guardian. Who am I kidding? That's basically what's going to happen.

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volperion-moved · 3 years ago

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im about to have a nap but like i dont like this show

i wish the characters were respected more by the writing. like this is the major problem imo. characters are just writing tools yes. but there's a way to be careful with them and use them to the best you can.

i really like lila because despite her being a dishonest character the show portrays her honestly. she is given a clear reason for everything she does if you pay attention. not an excuse, but a reason. she is a brat and there's foreshadowing that she might become a proper villain later, but ultimately she's not as threatening as she wants people to think.

but while it doesn't reach the levels of the saltdom, the show still handles lila poorly by pushing her to the background without an explanation. i think it does make sense for her to not make good on the threats she throws out - she's a liar. but this isn't the reason she does nothing, it's because the show has too many stories going on that they don't have room for lila. s4 involves alya discovering marinette's identity so she should realise that lila is a liar. or lila's fake fox miraculous should come into play now that alya is a permanent holder of the real one. but the show has all these other plotlines that they don't have room to do a story where lila is exposed or whatever. but we still need lila for finale drama so we'll just have her be a background character until then. i swear they made lila in volpina and implied she'd be a big presence but then looked at the other storylines they had planned and couldn't fit her in, and they still can't 4 seasons in.

gabriel... holy shit gabriel. the premise of him in s1 was brilliant he's this mysterious figure that even his son doesn't know too well because he's a rich guy who doesn't get out much. honestly this plotline of a villain who's goal is to bring back a dead lover/family member/etc. has been done before. but it's not a bad cliché it's something people can easily empathise with and the message is clear that accepting loss and moving on is what you need to do instead of staying in denial and dragging others down bc you can't cope. but this show can't decide what they want to do with him. is he a hopeless joke who needs nathalie to come up with plans for him? is he a serious threat and an abusive father? does he ultimately care about his son or will he throw him away in a heartbeat to achieve his goals? any conclusion of his arc is going to be ruined by these conflicting characterisations i stg

i could go on and on. please someone ask me about tangled instead

#idk ill feel excited when watching a new episode but in between episodes im like shut up abt ml lol

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thevindicativevordan · 3 years ago

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Any thoughts on Grant Morrison's Action Comics run? Beyond T shirt-and-jeans Superman being great.

That whole run reinvigorated my love of the character.

There have been numerous thoughtpieces about New 52 Superman, how he worked and how he didn't but these two entries really do a great job of summing up why Morrison's take on Superman was great. Morrison laid the foundation for a new generational Superman that DC completely fucked up and ran into the ground. I'll always be bitter about that, even if I had tapped out of reading the New 52 Superman books by the end due to how bad they got. Editorial and their idiotic mandates were what screwed over the potential of this take in my eyes.

Now I get that it wasn't to everyone's taste, but I cannot fathom how anyone could ever claim that Pre-Flashpoint Superman was better. If you liked Byrne's reboot better, your guy already got rebooted after Infinite Crisis. For someone like me who really enjoyed the Johns/Busiek era, that era's potential got spoiled after Johns & Busiek left, with New Krypton imploding and the awful Grounded taking it's place. When you get to the point where the best Superman book is the one starring Lex Luthor, it's time to reassess the franchise and figure out where the hell it went wrong.

Which is exactly what Morrison did. For this new Superman, Morrison mined all the best ideas of every Superman era to really give what I consider the ideal "base" for Superman. They also took pains to address common criticisms about Superman, working to correct his pop culture image. People have been complaining that Superman is "too perfect", "too unrelatable" for a long time, so Morrison addressed that. They gave Superman his balls back, and let him reacquire that Golden Age edge he had originally.

There are a lot of complaints you can make about Morrison's Superman, but I don't see how you could accuse this guy of being "flawless" or "bland". He definitely had a personality that you could describe, love him or hate him. Compassionate, but not a pushover. Clearly holding himself back, but unafraid to occasionally let loose. Flaws that were patently obvious, Clark had a temper here that could get him into trouble. There was a real showcase of anger here, of Superman being furious at the way people were treated by the rich and powerful, then doing something about it that I ate up.

I read this run just as I was coming into my teens and it hit perfectly for where I was in life. Did not want a Superman who would smile and tell me it gets better, I wanted a Superman who looked you in the eye and told you he felt that same anger, and then encouraged you to go out and do something about how you felt. That was what this run delivered in spades, and it expanded what I believed could be done with Superman.

While it totally blew my mind to see Superman acting this way the first time I read Morrison's Action Comics run, in retrospect it really isn't that different from how Superman has acted even under Byrne. One of the few traits I've seen carry across Superman incarnations in the comics is that he has a temper underneath that affable nature. "Don't tug on Superman's cape" as the old song goes. This run simply elevated that to the forefront of the character again, for the better in my eyes given I believe "Wrath" is Superman's Deadly Sin.

In fact, one of the strongest features of this run is that Superman gets actual character development over the course of the run, analogous to what Batman underwent in Morrison's Bat-Epic. While the Bat-Epic was merely Morrison re-canonizing Batman's entire history, and applying a retroactive character development storyline that culminated in Morrison's current Batman work, their Action Comics run had them attempt to craft something similar for Superman from scratch. What that meant was Morrison attempting to draw on the most important traits of every Superman era and incorporate those into this new take. So Superman had the Golden Age temper, compassion for the oppressed, and cockiness. The Silver Age supergenuis, proud scion of Krypton who cherished his Kryptonian nature, member of the Legion of Superheroes, and participant in stories that weren't afraid to get weird. Superman's wrestling with his place in the world, the importance of Clark Kent, and making journalism a key part of the character strike me as all being hallmarks of the Bronze Age. From Post-Crisis we got that Clark views himself as human and loves his adopted parents, considering them as equal to his birth ones.

One of the big frustrations for me with the endless origin stories for Superman, is that so many of them follow a predictable and stale formula where Clark puts on the suit and is essentially ready to go. Doesn't interfere with human affairs, is modest and humble, restrained in usage of his powers, it's like Clark has meta knowledge of what he "should" be, despite that he shouldn't have any foreknowledge of what a "superhero" should look like. He operates the same way at the start as he does in the modern day, and that's really boring to me. This Superman, because of the difference in powers and attitude, operated extremely different from his "present day" incarnation. Dangling Glenmorgan over the edge of a building isn't something a fully powered and mature Superman should do, but it works great to make his early days different and exciting to read about, it makes returning to that era something you can do different storytelling with. This run is the only time where I really cared that Superman is "supposed" to be the first superhero, because figuring out what that means here is a big part of how he develops.

We all know the common complaint that Superman is "too powerful" and that "nothing can hurt him" (funny how Thor never gets hit with those accusations), so Morrison made sure to show that this take on Superman could be beaten even if he could never be defeated. Events conspired to force Clark to use his brains as well as his powers to overcome the challenges in front of him.

Examples include him using his heat vision to fry Lex's equipment and escape the military, using his rocket ship to defeat Brainiac, and rallying the population of Metropolis to banish Vyndktvx. Not to say that Clark never used his brains before to win, but this run was very upfront and in your face about how important Clark's intellect is to triumphing over his foes. Can't take seriously the complaint that Superman is too overpowered when Morrison constantly showcased how even a very powerful Superman could get his shit wrecked by his Rogues.

Another example of Morrison addressing criticisms is Kryptonite. A lot of people poke fun at how convenient it is that pieces of Superman's homeworld follow him all the way to Earth. Isn't that a bit of an asspull? So Morrison made Kryptonite the power source of Superman's rocket, giving it a perfectly natural and believable reason both for it to end up on Earth, and for Lex & the military to get a hold of it since Pa Kent gave the military the rocket. That's still my preferred explanation for how Kryptonite ended up on Earth.

It also provides a better explanation for all the different Kryptonite variants. DC can handwave away the different types as a result of Lex experimenting or the different "forces" on Earth such as magic or the Speed Force or whatever creating the different variants. That to me is much more believable than Kryptonite travelling all across the galaxy yet still ending up on Earth somehow.

There have also been a lot of complaints about Superman's villains, and Morrison diligently set about reworking them. By far one of my favorite aspects of the run, was the villain revamps. Nimrod felt like a clean revamp of Terra-Man, making him into Superman's Kraven the Hunter struck me as a patently obvious route to go, wild no one has followed up on that or used him since. Metallo felt like a good synthesis of Johns take of him as an Anti-Superman weapon, and the sympathetic aspects of Corben's origin that are always there, I liked that Morrison didn't make him a total bastard before his transformation like Johns did. Brainiac got some sympathy added to him in that the collected worlds that were already marked for damnation, thus he was "saving" them in a fashion. Clay Ramses embodied toxicity as a wife-beater even before becoming Kryptonite Man, and I thought his backstory was a great way for Clark to still deal with "real" issues via a manner he could punch. Ramses is still the best take on Kryptonite Man. Vyndktvx felt like the greatest realization of the threat Mr. Mxyzptlk could pose should he decide to get serious since Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, plus I'm a sucker for stories where superheroes fight the Devil. Drekken and Superdoom took the only interesting aspects of Doomsday (his ability to evolve and that he can kill Superman respectively), and were much more interesting characters.

And oh my God, speaking of Superdoom, that part of Morrison's Action run has aged like fine wine. I don't know if they caught wind of DC's plans for the character, or if they were just prescient, but everything that Superdoom is playing on is still sadly all too present. What Superdoom is as a character is a condemnation of what DC keeps doing with Superman: killing him off or making him evil.

When you realize what Superdoom (demand for a more violent and "realistic" Superman) and Vyn (WB/DC) stand in for, it makes the frustration Morrison is channeling much more palpable. Those two plotlines are all DC can think of to do with the character, returning to those again and again. Endlessly attempting to recapture the high of Batman and Doomsday beating the shit out of Supes in The Dark Knight Returns and Death of Superman. Overcoming these two obstacles is Superman's greatest challenge as conceived by Morrison, because both are out to corrupt and ruin the very idea of him. It's not just a physical death he faces, but a metaphysical one as well. Sadly it's a threat Superman just can't seem to lick in the real world, with more and more takes on "Evil Superman" coming.

Lois and Jimmy are great here, because Morrison actually made the investigative journalism aspect of Superman important. Lois is an active participant in the story, trying to break in to the base where Clark is being held by her father, competing with Clark for stories (I love how Morrison writes the banter between the two of them), and generally being classic Lois. Jimmy though benefitted from being positioned as a peer rather than as a kid in comparison to the two, something I wish the comics had carried forward. It looks like My Adventures With Superman is going with that interpretation at least, so I hope others do as well. Jimmy being Clark's roommate really adds to their bond, and I wish we had gotten more stories with that status quo.

Investigative reporter Clark Kent was so actively used here that it feels jarring reading other Superman runs where they tend to downplay and ignore it. Following Clark as he travels to different areas of Metropolis and actually interacts with people, instead of hovering above them as Superman, makes him feel human. Watching Clark actively pursue stories aimed at bettering peoples livelihoods, and seeing how those stories crossed with the superheroics, was one of my favorite aspects of the run. It's one unfortunately few other writers seem all that interested in, especially the New 52 writers who followed Morrison (I know editorial probably bears a lot of blame for that though).

Besides all that, this run was a lot of fun! The Legion of Superheroes showed up, their connection to Clark restored, and they got to play a big role in Clark's adventures! Krypto the Superdog! Martian colonies! Memorizing all of medicine, Superman performs a lifesaving operation! Lex using a "bullet train" to knock Clark out! 5-D imps! Rampaging robots from beyond! A Phantom Zone Halloween story! John Henry Irons suits up as Steel and kicks ass alongside Clark! Every Superman Rogue teams up to try to kill him, but Lex Luthor saves his life because that's a privilege he reserves for himself! Showcasing their trademark love for the Supermythos, Morrison took us on a tour of Superlore that demonstrated the depth and width of what could be done with Superman. Meanwhile the backups by Sholly Fisch excelled at giving us smaller, more human stories about Superman (the one where Clark meets Pa again via time travel "after" Pa has died always gives me a lump in my throat to read).

Ultimately this didn't get to be the foundation for the next generation of Superman stories as it deserved. Johns made New 52 Superman the scapegoat in Doomsday Clock for a lot of storytelling choices he did over in Justice League, something that pisses me off to no end. You want to tell me that this guy "didn't relate" to people, didn't inspire "hope"?

Like hell he didn't. This guy was Superman in every way that mattered and he deserved better than to be framed as the scapegoat for all the stupid decisions DC made about what to do with him. Greg Pak was able to do some great work with this version after Morrison, and just like how Gene Yang got a redemption work starring Superman, I hope to one day see Pak return to the character. Would love to read a Black Label Superman story by Pak that follows his take on young Superman.

All wasn't lost however. Against all odds, and Rebirth trying it's damndest to sweep everything under the rug, it looks like parts of this era have actually survived to the current Infinite Frontier era. With Morrison being heavily involved no less, both as an ideas guy and as an actual writer.

Superman & the Authority is explicitly Superman coming full circle back to the attitude displayed by his young counterpart under Morrison. Janin has outright said that the costume Clark wears here is reminiscent of the t-shirt and jeans era of Superman, and this book so far feels saturated with an energy level from Morrison I haven't seen in their work for hire since they left Action. Reaching old age and realizing he never really delivered on the high ideals of his beginnings, it's Superman putting together a team to hopefully succeed where he couldn't alone. Scathing in how it criticizes the superhero status quo, this has been extremely entertaining to read. Wish Morrison was writing 12 issues with this team, and that ultimately it will be up to PKJ to deliver on the potential is a drawback (although I've loved PKJ's Action run so far), but I'm glad to see DC finally treating Morrison and their ideas with more respect than was shown during Rebirth.

Jon meanwhile feels like an even more explicit attempt at redoing New 52 Superman. There's the updated new suit, designed to appeal to a new generation with it's streamlined look. Positioning Jon as a Superman who wants to tackle the "real" issues, with Taylor explicitly comparing him to Golden Age Superman which as I mentioned was an era Morrison tried to reincorporate into their reboot. There's the Legion of Superheroes connection which played an important role in Morrison's reboot. The rumors about Jon's sexuality are interesting, hinting that DC is willing to go outside the box with him in a way they never would with Clark. I'm excited to see what kind of Superman Jon ends up becoming, if he can deliver on the promise of the New 52 Superman all the better.

This run deserves to be remembered and to have the lessons it tried to teach respected. Probably my favorite mainline run on Superman, I hope more people come around to liking it as time goes on.

#superman #grant morrison #action comics #new 52

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todaydreambelieversfic · 4 years ago

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Author Spotlight: Gleefuldarrencrissfan Day 2

Author: @gleefuldarrencrissfan

Share one of your strengths.

I've been told that I do a great job writing in each character's voice, especially Blaine, Kurt, Santana, Brittany, and Finn. It's very important to me that my characters remain true to who they are. I work very hard to make sure that each one sounds like they would in the show.

I've also been told that I'm great at cliffhangers. Honestly, I end on cliffhangers a lot as I try to figure out which route I plan to take for the story. I map out stories, but sometimes, the story takes me in a different direction. I also like to take suggestions from my readers. Many times, I have multiple scenarios on the direction in which the story can go. I love keeping my readers on their toes.

Share one of your weaknesses.

Well, because I have so many scenarios running through my head, I sometimes get stuck, and so, I don't update regularly. I used to try to publish weekly or more, but as a mom of two, a full time assistant in a high-needs classroom, an avid crafter, and a member of a band, my plate stays pretty full. I hope that my readers will subscribe and drop a comment from time to time to remind me to keep writing.

Which fic has been the hardest to write?

I'm going to bring up two, Dueling Duets and Love, Blaine. Dueling Duets is a complex fic with many characters and a very intricate plot. On top of that, Blaine has PTSD, as do I. It became too painful to finish this, so it is the only fic of mine that is abandoned. I would like to finish it, but I just don't see that happening any time soon.

Love, Blaine was so difficult for me because I wrote it all before publishing, and I thrive on feedback. I kept going back and rewriting scenes over and over because I just couldn't make up my mind about certain things. I also get anxious with a timeline hanging over my head, and so I went past the deadline. Unfortunately, my appendix decided to burst the week I was supposed to publish, so I was trying to write through the pain. I did finish it, and I'm proud of it, but I probably won't put myself through that again.

Which fic has been the easiest to write?

Private Messages, by far. Honestly, it was so easy because Kurt was me in a sense, a fanfic author, desperate for feedback on his writing. I also outlined this fic thoroughly, and so it just seemed to flow when I got to a certain point. It is by far, my most popular fic, and honestly, it is my favorite of all of the ones that I've written. Don't get me wrong. It was very complex, bouncing back and forth from Blaine's and Kurt's perspectives, with plotlines from the show, Kurt's story, and the actual story all coming together and interweaving at times making it difficult to write, but I always knew where it was going, and so it was the easiest to finish.

Is writing your passion or just a fun hobby?

It's one of my passions, along with music and crafting. I'm an artist at heart, and so I'd never be happy or fulfilled in life if I wasn't creating in one shape or form. I honestly love the way art makes you feel, both as the artist and as the person affected by other people's art. My favorite thing is one someone tells me how my writing or work made them feel.

I'm also writing educational children's books, and I hope to inspire kids in the future to love to learn, and so it is a major passion of mine to be a published author and get my books out there for kids to read.

Is there an episode or character or arc above all others that inspires you just a little bit more?

Blaine Anderson. He was by far the character that inspires me the most, probably because I see myself in him, the confident, happy performer who is really quite insecure and maybe even depressed. I wish that the show would have let us see more of his personal life. At felt like, at times, he was just Kurt's boyfriend, but he was so much more than that. It would have been nice to actually see his home, his parents, and his brother to get greater insight on why he is the way he is. Thank god for fanfiction.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever come across?

Just write. The first draft does not have to be perfect. That's what editing is for. Get yourself a beta, dig in, and just get the words on the page. No one can read your work if the pages are all in your head.

What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever come across?

Stick to what you know. That's what research is for. Branch out. Explore. Interview and talk to others. Although, if you are researching something embarrassing, for example, Brazilian waxing, use incognito mode. lol.

If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose?

Private Messages. I just love this story, and I think it would best translate into a movie. Besides, Blaine is an actor in this one, so it works.

What’s your process? Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order? Do you use any tools, like worksheets or outlines? What are the perfect writing conditions for you?

Ha ha. I find it funny that I have a process because it depends on the fic I'm writing at the time. for my more complex stories, I do best when I map them out first. I don't do a complex map, just a basic synopsis of the first 10 chapters or so, and then a rough outline afterward. Of course, I keep it a soft outline, and I also plan a few other scenarios in case the story goes in a different direction. Even Chris Colfer says that his characters surprise him in his stories, and so I'm in good company, I suppose.

However, on my shorter stories like Rim Job, and idea just comes to me, and I just write what comes to me, and then I even take suggestions from my readers about further chapters. I guess it just depends on the tone of the fic. If it's serious, I'm much more structured, but on my less serious pieces, I just have fun and write.

The perfect conditions are when I'm alone (be it when others are sleeping or out of the house) and I can just allow my muse to work. I put on some background noise (Glee music or episodes) for inspiration and just sit down in front of my laptop with my notebooks. Many times, I have scenes written in my notebooks before I type them out (I write when I'm waiting at the dr.'s office or at work during a break, ect) so all I have to do is type and polish the scene. Unfortunately, I have several scenes in my notebooks that haven't made it into a word document yet just because of lack of time. Hopefully, I will catch up this summer.

***

Check out Gleefuldarrencrissfan’s Fics

Somewhere Only We Know - Blaine has three little words on his mind when he says good bye to Kurt in the court yard at McKinley. Can he make himself declare them out loud? An alternate ending to "Born This Way"

Silly Love Songs - It's Valentine's Day, and Blaine had plans to serenade Jeremiah. But what if Blaine discovered the doodle Kurt made in Silly Love Songs before he serenaded Jeremiah? The scene at the Lima Bean is canon and everything to the point of Kurt sketching the doodle, but the ending, of course will be how I had hoped it would've happened.

Courage - Do you believe that one moment can change the course of your life? That one event change the way you saw everything, or do you think it's a series of moments that build from one experience to the next. A year ago, I would've said that was crazy. But I'm not the same guy that I was a year ago.

#author spotlight: gleefuldarrencrissfan

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kerikaaria · 4 years ago

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If I Never Met You: Chapter 33

(??? X Reader) Idol!AU, Manager!Reader

Genre: (PG13) Angst, fluff

WC: 2.9k

Warnings: Serious injury (NOT life-threatening)

Series Masterlist

Chapter 32 | Chapter 33 | Chapter 34

A/N - Thank you to the lovely @ditttiii for giving this a beta read for me and helping to make this chapter better! I love you!

You sat a distance behind the filming crew observing the music video being shot, Jimin snuggling close to you. You woke up way too early today in order to fit in as much filming as possible and the first scene filmed was Jimin’s, which involved a bathtub and a lot of water. Hence why he was stuck to your side, still looking for warmth even after drying off and changing into fresh clothes.

This video was by far the most ambitious one yet in the boys’ careers. The story beginning in this video and with this album had started being created almost a year ago now, and had been worked on and tweaked for the longest time until it was finally settled into what will be presented this comeback. Hardly any of you even had the story straight though – it was very interesting and really well-planned out, but also rather confusing and convoluted. It’ll be interesting to see what the fans come up with when they realize there’s a plotline to be uncovered.

“How many more days of filming do we have left?” Jimin asked, his voice muffled from where his face was tucked into your arm.

“I don’t know for sure, it depends on how well things go,” you said. “But since the majority of the outdoor scenes are done, I think it’s safe to say we’re getting close to the end.”

“I hope they don’t need me to do any more shots in that bathtub.” Jimin shivered. “It’s taking me forever to warm up.”

“It’d be quicker if you go into the dressing room where it’s warmer,” you suggested. A space heater had been turned on in the room earlier to help the boys whose scenes were less than comfortable to endure.

“Yeah, but then I wouldn’t have someone to cuddle with so that’s boring,” Jimin whined.

You smiled, letting Jimin stay where he was. Everyone here didn’t even bat an eye at Jimin being cuddly with you—it really wasn’t an unusual occurrence. Just as long as everyone stayed focused and did their work, that’s what mattered. And for you, all you needed to do for now was sit by and watch the filming take place. Rather boring on your part, really. You only needed to make sure things were going smoothly.

Yoongi’s scene finished, and he was immediately being wrapped in a blanket as he walked away from the set. In contrast to Jimin, Yoongi’s scenes involved being surrounded by fire in a burning hotel room. Being surrounded by intense heat, no matter how uncomfortable, meant that as soon as the heat was gone the drastic temperature change would make him feel incredibly cold – hence the blanket.

He walked past you and Jimin, looking like he was heading toward the dressing room.

“Hyung,” Jimin called out, “why don’t you come here? Noona is really warm to snuggle with!”

Yoongi barely glanced your way, shivering underneath the fabric wrapped around him. “No thanks, the dressing room is warmer.”

“Let me know if you need anything, Yoongi,” you yelled before he was out of earshot. He lifted his hand, hidden underneath the blanket, but it was enough of a gesture for you to know that he had heard you.

The next scene the crew was preparing to film was Taehyung’s. His scene was one of the more mature ones – most of it wouldn’t make it into the first cut of the music video being released next month. But there were plans to have a second version released with more clips to show the story which would include the bloody ones from Tae’s scene, making the video rated for adult viewers only.

In the scene, there would be two other actors portraying Taehyung’s father and sister. It was pretty intense, including a small fight scene with his character’s abusive father. Tae was a bit nervous about it, but if any of the boys could pull off this scene, it would be him. You knew he’d do well.

You wanted to watch the scene from a bit closer, much to Jimin’s displeasure, so he finally went back to the dressing room to finish warming up while you stood nearby as the crew prepped to film the next scene.

They began filming the opening of the scene where Taehyung walked through the hallway and saw his father hitting his sister through the open doorway. He grabbed one of the bottles on the nearby table and rushed in to defend his sister.

They shot the scene a few more times to make sure to get the best take, along with a few other ones to set up the scene better. After that, the camera filmed from inside the room to get a good angle of Taehyung ‘hitting’ his father on the head with the bottle after rushing into the room.

The next portion to be filmed was of the father fighting back a bit by pushing Taehyung away, before Tae rushed back at him. Everyone got ready to begin filming the scene, which was for sure going to take quite a few takes.

During the second take, the actor ended up pushing Taehyung into the standing shelving unit against the wall. Since it was all acting, he wasn’t pushed hard and he immediately assured everyone that he wasn’t hurt while the actor apologized. You approached them, double checking with Tae to make sure that he really was okay and he smiled, assuring you that he was in fact, perfectly fine.

You backed away, giving everyone room to start filming again. His reassurances did ease your mind a little, but you still watched closely as they continued. You relaxed after a few more takes went by fine, and the director announced that the next take would be the last one before moving onto the next part of the scene.

The take began, Tae mimed the action of hitting the actor over the head with the bottle. Once he recovered, the actor pushed Tae back. He ended up knocking Taehyung into the shelves again, harder than the first time.

It all happened so quickly. All you knew was that the furniture was obviously wobbling from the impact, it looked dangerously close to falling over, and Taehyung was still standing right in front of it. You didn’t even think before you pushed past the filming crew to reach for Taehyung, pulling him away from the object as quickly as you could.

In your haste, you hadn’t accounted for yourself and before you knew it the heavy furniture was making contact with your shins, forcing you to the floor. The sound that left your mouth when you felt the force of the impact was one you didn’t recognize as your own.

Your mind was reeling, still working on catching up on everything that occurred within the span of just a few seconds. It was only when the adrenaline from the situation began to wear off that you were able to feel the pain radiating from your legs. You kept your mouth closed to at least try and muffle the scream that you couldn’t hold back.

“Help me get this off of her!” you heard someone yell. Yourmind was too muddled by the pain and shock to recognize who it was.

“And where the fuck is the medic?!”

Taehyung couldn’t do anything as the events continued to unfold in front of him. One second he was acting, the next he was being roughly pulled away. Before he could even turn around to see what was going on he heard cracking sounds, and then came the godawful scream. That horrendous sound that he had never ever imagined he would hear come out of your mouth.

When he finally turned around and assessed the situation - seeing you on the floor and the shelving fallen over, having landed on your legs – Taehyung was frozen. You, his manager and friend, were hurt because of him. Because he didn’t pay attention, you jumped in and protected him. It shouldn’t be you that was hurt, it should be him.

He heard voices around him, but they sounded distant. It wasn’t until he felt someone pushing past him that he was knocked back into reality. It was Yoongi who, in his rush to reach your side, had bumped into Taehyung’s shoulder.

“Help me get this off of her!” Yoongi yelled as he stared at Taehyung, holding onto one side of the dresser.

Taehyung quickly jumped into action at his hyung’s words, gripping the opposite side.

“And where the fuck is the medic?!”

“Lift on three?” Tae asked, and Yoongi nodded. They counted in unison, using as much strength as they could to lift the heavy wood, placing it back where it belonged against the wall. Once it was safely back in place, both of them frantically kneeled on the floor on either side of you.

“Noona?” Yoongi asked gently. You seemed to be in a lot of pain, which wasn’t a surprise if the sound from earlier was any indication to how injured you were. “Noona, can you hear me?” he asked again when you didn’t reply. Taehyung slowly reached down, brushing some of your disheveled hair out of your face.

“Y-yes, I ca-an hear y-you,” you managed to say. Taehyung decided he really didn’t like hearing how pained your voice was.

Before they could say or do anything else, the medic rushed over carrying a medical bag and asked both of them to move so he could assess your injuries.

Taehyung felt like he was running on autopilot when Yoongi directed him away from the scene toward the other members. He felt familiar comforting hands and hugs and barely registered mumbled words of concern. The whole time, he couldn’t pull his eyes away from where you lay on the floor.

There has to be something I can do. I was the one who was supposed to get hurt, not her.

“Taehyung,” a voice called.

“Yah! Taehyung-ah!” it called a second time, just loud enough to pull him out of his own head. He turned to the source of the voice to see his leader looking serious. “Don’t talk like that. It’s not your fault, okay? No one was meant to get hurt in the first place, so don’t you dare go saying you should be. Got it?”

He was confused for a moment before he realized he must have spoken his thoughts out loud. “But, hyung-”

“No,” Namjoon said. He didn’t say anything else, but he didn’t need to. The look on his face said it all.

“She’s going to be okay, right?” Jimin asked shakily.

“I doubt it was anything life-threatening,” Yoongi said. “So technically, yes.”

“How bad do you think it is?” Jungkook’s voice was hardly audible.

“It’s definitely not good,” Taehyung managed to say. “I heard… I heard cracking sounds. More than one.”

“I’m not surprised,” Namjoon said. “I mean, furniture like that can be heavy in the first place, and add the fact that it was small surface areas that made contact, combined with the force of gravity and-”

“Namjoon!” Seokjin interrupted him. “You’re nervous rambling, and none of your smart brain knowledge is helping anyone feel any better. Please, just stop.”

Ashamed, Joon lowered his head. “Sorry, hyung.”

“It’s okay,” Jin comforted him, squeezing his shoulder. “I know you’re worried, just like all of us.”

“I’m going to call Sejin hyung,” Hoseok said before walking away. He tried to hide the fact that he was starting to tear up, but they all knew him too well to not notice.

In a blur that Taehyung could hardly remember, an ambulance came to take you to the hospital, Sejin came to the filming studio and the on-site medic informed him that both of your legs were broken, filming was called off for the next few days, and Sejin got all seven of the members packed up to go to the hospital. It was a unanimous decision that they couldn’t just go home after something like that, they wanted to be as close to their manager, their friend as possible

You were groggy and dizzy. As you felt yourself waking up, you tried opening your eyes but your eyelids felt really heavy. After a few moments, you managed to crack my eyes open just a little before they fell shut again. Trying a few more times, you eventually managed to get them to stay open, while your mind finished returning from wherever it had ventured off to under the effects of the anesthesia.

All you knew was that you did not like the feeling of waking up after being put under with that stuff. You hoped you would never need to do that again. As you fully woke up, you started to feel sore. You had an IV connected to your arm, which was no doubt delivering pain medication to your system, otherwise you were sure you’d be in a lot more pain. Despite the drugs, you still remembered what had happened.

You were taken to the hospital after the medic confirmed your legs were broken (something you could have told him yourself if you were capable of producing a coherent sentence at the time) and the x-rays showed that, of course, both fractures were displaced. The doctor decided it was best to do surgery to get the bones set into place properly so they could heal. Looking down at your legs, you felt relieved to see that they were able to forego any external fixtures, so at least you wouldn’t have to deal with that.

Now that you could lift my head enough to look around, you realized you weren’t alone in the room. To your right a mop of dark hair lay on your bed, a strong hand gripping onto yours loosely while its owner slept. Despite his face being turned away from you, you knew all your boys well enough to instantly recognize the figure as Taehyung.

You watched as his back slowly rose and fell with his steady breathing. Knowing him, he was probably blaming himself. You’d have to be sure to give him a good lecture about that once he was awake.

Just a few minutes later the door to the room slowly creaked open as a few of the boys wearing their masks walked in. “Oh, you’re awake,” Yoongi said quietly, trying not to disturb Taehyung.

You nodded. “Yeah.” Your voice came out hoarse. You cleared my throat a bit, hoping that would help. “I woke up just a few minutes ago.” That was a little better.

“How are you feeling?” Jin asked, coming to stand at my left side.

“Alright, I guess,” you said while Jin brushed your hair back. “I feel really sore, but I have a feeling whatever is in this IV is keeping most of the pain at bay.”

You felt Taehyung stir for a moment before he suddenly jolted awake. “Hello, sleepyhead,” you said with a light chuckle.

“Noona!” Tae stood up so quickly, you almost didn’t even see him move. “Noona, you’re awake.” His lip quivered. “I’m so sor-”

“Nope,” you interrupted him. “Don’t you dare do that. I know you’re blaming yourself, but stop it.” He looked taken aback by your interruption but didn’t say anything as you continued. “I made my own decision to jump in the middle and ended up getting hurt. I should have paid more attention to how close I was to it, so it’s not your fault.” You took in a breath, squeezing Tae’s hand with both of yours. “I’m just glad that you’re okay.”

Tae wrapped you in as much of a hug as he could with the awkward angle of you lying down and him standing next to the bed, quietly crying into your shoulder. “But I still wish you weren’t hurt.”

“It’s okay,” you assured him, stroking his hair. “I just need to heal, I’m going to be okay.”

Yoongi approached the bed, giving you a small smile. “He was really shocked,” he said. “He’s been acting almost like a zombie this whole time. I think he needs some more time to fully register it all.”

You nodded in understanding. “Is it just you three here?”

“No, everyone’s here,” Seokjin said. “We’ve been rotating in shifts. Except Taehyung, he’s been here the whole time. I can let them all know that you’re awake if you want,” he suggested.

“Yes, please,” you said. “I’m sure they’d be happy to see me conscious.” Jin nodded in agreement before leaving the room.

Yoongi moved closer now that he could, and before you realized what he was doing he placed a soft kiss on your forehead. You felt my face heat up at the gesture. You had gotten chaste kisses from some of the others, but Yoongi was never one to show his affection in that way, so it was a complete shock to you.

“We’re glad you’re okay,” he said softly. You felt Taehyung nod against your shoulder in agreement. “We’ll be with you every step of the way while you heal, noona. I promise.” He took your hand and squeezed it.

You squeezed back, smiling at your friend and leaning my head against Tae’s. You didn’t respond, but you didn’t need to. Words weren’t enough to portray what each of you wanted to say, but that was okay because you all understood each other perfectly without them anyway.

Series Masterlist

Chapter 32 | Chapter 33 | Chapter 34

Tags: @calling-dips-on-j-hope @misohime @netflix-batman-sleep @smallbaby-cat @leitholdwithlove @ramyagovindraj @leesalts @rjsmochii @overtherainbow35

Send me a message or ask if you want tagged! And also feel free to leave comments or send asks to just talk to me!

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vegalocity · 3 years ago

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What would happen if Syntax actually did get cured of the venom? Would he still want to hang around Huntsman and Goliath or would he Think 'huh. Maybe having the people who KIDNAPPED ME around me and my family Probably isn't the best idea.' - Pixel Anon

Uhhhhhhhhhhh yeah I think the answer is Not Good Things Will Happen. I think the answer is ‘Y’all are down an integral clan member hope you didn’t have any plans that hinged on technology or science in general right now.’

Honestly I think you don’t even need to throw Minyi and Xiuying into that equation to make that the answer. Even if you assume Syntax was essentially just alone in the world before spiderfication if he got the spider limbs pulled off and the venom drained from his system, no matter WHAT his Backstory is i think he’d just book it, he’d be OUTTA THERE he is GONE. He’s running before the purple has fully faded from his skin.

And when you THROW IN the ladies, then… well even more so. He’s got Minyi in one arm, a duffel bag in the other and loading into the gd car headed for Xiuying’s cabin to lay low for awhile.

(this gets long so it's under the cut)

Like, most people like to assume that there was a sort of… adjustment period when he had just been spiderfied, usually the flavor of ‘someone (usually Huntsman) reminding him of how he is at his base a human, not a spider, not one of them, and the second he stops being useful is the second he’s only good for how he’ll taste’ and even if he wasn’t afraid of whoever it was in the moment, confident in his ability to manuver extra limbs that aren’t there anymore and speed that wasn’t there either, all the physical additions that being a Spider Demon had are suddenly gone and that threat about being the next meal for the clan suddenly feels a lot more real. Even IF the others had actually grown attached to him and Minyi and even Xiuying, the fact of the matter is if these people decided to kill them all he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.

Something I could see having kind of a ‘disney channel cartoon’ resolution in this setup is a thing idk if i’ve mentioned before involving Minyi or not. Bc Minyi, as i know i have mentioned, fucking HATES Spider Queen, and at first for awhile there she was very vocal about it, she hated that her dad was working for her, she hated that he wanted her approval, and most of all she hated that whenever she’d say any of that to him, he’d just sort of… not listen.

Even when even Minyi knows what she’s talking about is silly or irrational, she never really feels like Daddy isn’t listening. Even when she’s wrong and he has to explain to her what it was that was wrong, she still felt like he was listening to her as she talked. But not this. Never this. Minyi’s an observant child, her plotline hinges on it, so she knows when Adults tune her out, she knows when she’s being condescended to. And when Daddy tells her that of course he wants to stay Loyal to Spider Queen and she’s Really Cool Actually she can tell he wasn’t listening to a word she’d actually said. Because he never mentions forgiving her for stealing him, or that he knows it might look like she pushes him around but he knows he’s always in control of the situation, or anything that would actually ANSWER her questions or settle her worries. She just… might as well have stomped her foot and yelled like she was half her age.

And now that his head is clear he can look back on that and be… embarrassed? guilty? His daughter was warning him that whole time out of honest fear and concern that she only barely had the vocabulary and emotional complexity to understand And he brushed her off as if it was nothing. And to rub some salt into it now that his head is clear and the unrelenting force of the Spider demanding subserviance to the Queen is gone it’s obvious that his fucking six year old was right about his ‘boss’ being bad news. So of course he figures he owes Minyi an apology, but Minyi’s just happy that he’s listening to her again so it’s all okay in the end.

And if this is the Cyberhunt timeline then can I get an F in the chat for Huntsman? Bc he ain’t even getting a breakup scene, i don’t think he’d even get a letter outside of the ‘I’m leaving the clan and leaving the city with my family. Don’t try to find us’ that goes out to all of the clan (maybe even still implying that Syntax DOES still have that Spider amplification in him so it’s not just a flimsy ‘stay away’ from an equally flimsy human)

I could see Syntax as being pretty mad at himself for letting the relationship happen at all in that context. Like yeah, his brain was all scrambled up and he can’t ACTUALLY be held accountable for decisions made with the fact that he wasn’t really in his right mind for the whole thing, but it still happened. But now it’s over, and- and it was just some echo of venom that hadn’t quite metabolized yet that left a bitter taste in his mouth to acknowledge that those people weren’t really friends, that he wasn’t really-... His brain is still re-adjusting, he’ll be fine in time.

Minyi I don't think would quite get certain parts about this, in her mind, the big boss is always the bad guy and the other people around are just as scared of the big boss as the person they’re bullying. So to her only Spider Queen was the bad guy. So when Daddy turned back to normal and said that they weren’t safe from the bad guys anymore and needed to go stay at Auntie Xiuying’s cabin for awhile she’d thought that Uncle Huntsman and Uncle Goliath hadn’t come along simply because Uncle Goliath didn’t fit in the car. That they’d catch up with them soon. Because surely, they’d ALL be running away from the REAL bad guy together.

So, she figures they must have gotten lost and had to head back home. Thats not good, surely that means she needs to help them find their way here like how she helped Daddy find his way home. Auntie and Daddy were both too scared of Spider Queen finding them to contact her uncles, but Minyi knew how to evade that!

She knows Uncle Huntsman likes to hang out at their apartment because he loves Daddy (she’ll keep that to herself for now, grownups don’t believe in happily ever afters) so if she mails a letter to the apartment he might find it when he eventually comes over.

She knows Uncle Huntsman doesn’t like puzzles, but he’s good with them when its something important. So she makes a cipher and writes the letter in it, copies down the decoder, and chops it up into distinct shapes, seals it all up in a letter closes the envelope with a sticker on it, and slips it into the mailbox.

Eventually Huntsman does find the letter, written in childish scrawl, the puzzle to decode the letter, and the knowledge that theres only one child on this entire damn continent that would be this obnoxiously enigmatic about sending a fucking letter.

But whatever, he wasn’t gonna do anything except sit in the apartment surrounded by things left behind and feel sorry for himself--er, that is, scavenge for anything that could be used by the Queen and take advantage of the internal heating. So he may as well do something. So he puts together the decoder, she’d just sliced it into fourths. Then translated the letter.

“Hi Uncle Huntsman! If you’re reading this that means you unlocked my letter! Yay! I knew you could! So I know you and Uncle Goliath want to leave the bad lady’s clan too and I know you’re only not here because you guys got lost.” and she just… gave them the coordinates for the place her family was hiding away. (not REALLY hiding, it wouldn’t have taken much to track down the cabin’s whereabouts through Xiuying, but the secluded nature of the cabin may as well have been)

I guess… the way the story ends depends on how you want it to end. Because Huntsman has three options, but really only two. Does he accept defeat and burn the letter, or does he do something with the information he now has? Either way he’d be betraying the queen, but he doesn’t have it in him to turn in the coordinates of their lost clan member and his family. Not this time.

There’s this youtuber i like called Breadsword, he does movie analysis, and in his video about Millenium Actress he says something along the lines of ‘My favorite moment in a romance is somewhere in the last ten minutes, after we’ve followed our characters through the buildup, payoff, and premature destruction of what they had, as they go their separate ways and come to the conclusion that it wasn’t meant to last, one rejects it and takes flight in pursuit of the other... our dreams and our love are the only things truly worth running in the name of.

#Yeah i think Cyberhunt's gonna pull the win for this timeline #this is some good shit man #letters to vega #OC: Minyi #lmk Syntax #LMK Huntsman #cyberhuntshipping

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mst3kproject · 4 years ago

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Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow

This movie has no dogs, which is a shame because the title definitely sounds like a lost episode of Scooby-Doo. What it does have is Elaine Dupont from I Was a Teenage Werewolf (and the Beach Girls and the Monster) and Russ Bender from It Conquered the World (he also wrote Voodoo Woman, which makes him indirectly responsible for Curse of the Swamp Creature), in a genre crossover that reminds one of Catalina Caper and is even less successful. It’s also even less funny.

Our heroes are a bunch of super-cool hot-rodding thirty-year-old fifties teens who speak in painfully embarrassing slang. They’ve been evicted from their headquarters and need some new digs, but all their efforts to find a place have come to naught… until an elderly lady offers them her house at Dragstrip Hollow. It sounds like it’ll have everything they need, as long as they don’t mind that it’s haunted. The gang is a little unnerved by strange events their first evening at the house, but ultimately decide that if nothing else, it’s the perfect place for a Hallowe’en party. What they haven’t realized is that with everybody in costumes, the monster in the basement will be able to walk among them un-noticed!

This is yet another movie that sounds like a good time but is actually almost unwatchably boring. A party in a haunted house with a monster who just wants to have a good time? I’m up for that! But Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow is only an hour long, and spends most of that time dithering around doing absolutely nothing.

There are two potential main characters. One is Lois, a young woman who’s far more interested in cars and racing than in boys and makeup, much to her parents’ chagrin. Her mother believes this is a phase she’ll grow out of, but her father keeps trying to encourage her to be more feminine and never gets very far. This sublot drops out of the movie halfway through, without ever coming to any kind of conclusion. Lois is also at odds with Nita, a member of a rival racing gang. Lois spends most of the movie refusing to be goaded into a racing rematch with Nita, but eventually gives in, and their climactic race takes place off-screen while we watch the band at the Hallowe’en party try to play their instruments while dressed as bedsheet ghosts! Nothing comes of it.

The only thing Nita’s gang does through the whole movie is show up at parties they haven’t been invited to, exchange insults with Lois’ friends, and then leave.

The other potential hero is the reporter who’s doing a series of articles on rebellious teenagers. He quickly makes friends with the kids, becoming an honourary member of their club, and apparently helps them search for a new headquarters. In spite of this, he doesn’t actually have an arc. He sympathizes with these young people from the beginning, and based on the questions he asks it’s pretty clear he wants to show that their cars and racing are a harmless hobby rather than a gateway drug to crime. This opinion doesn’t change over the course of the movie. Neither does his insistence that the house is not actually haunted, even as unseen hands light his cigarette for him and untie his bow tie.

Most of the movie is totally useless – like the slumber party at Lois’ house, which serves no purpose except to make a joke about women taking too long in the bathroom. I’m sure that was already tired and unfunny in the 50’s. Or the old lady’s opinionated pet parrot, who provides annoying commentary that makes already not-funny scenes even less funny. I was sure the parrot was going to be a plot point, because one of his demonstrated talents is imitating a police siren and the hot rodders are worried about getting in trouble with the cops. Surely during a climactic race the parrot will trick Nita into pulling over, allowing Lois to take the lead! But no, that can’t happen because that would be useful. Nothing in this fucking movie is allowed to be useful.

All of this bullshit, with the slumber party and the stupid parrot and the old lady being bad at playing the flute… and the rival gang showing up and then leaving… and the musical numbers, one of which has no lyrics except a guy saying Geronimo! and then firing blanks at the ceiling, and this is played twice… and Lois’ parents and the reporter hanging around and the short guy with the tall girlfriend… all of this drags on and on and on and takes up three quarters of the movie and has literally nothing to do with the plot! The fact that the club needs a new place to hang out is introduced pretty early but then gets shoved aside until almost the end. You’d think we ought to see them trying to find a place until eventually being forced to settle for the creepy old house in the middle of nowhere, but no, we sit through forty minutes of nonsense and then suddenly arrive at characters talking about it.

The haunted house must be the actual plot because it’s the title, but it isn’t worth waiting for. When the club arrives to take a look around, there is indeed a monster creeping around causing mischief. And it’s definitely a monster, not a ghost – although there is also a ghost. In fact, when we get a good look at the beast shortly thereafter… it’s the fucking She-Creature.

I’m not even kidding. It is literally the She-Creature without the dumbass blonde wig and with the chitinous tits toned down into chitinous pecs. This thing creeps around and growls at people, then turns up at the party to dance with a couple of girls before getting its mask ripped off (I told you this was an episode of Scooby-Doo!) to reveal, and I promise you I did not make this up, I could not make this up, a bitter stuntman with a high squeaky voice. He looks a little like Lois’ father and I thought for a moment we were doing a Beach Girls and the Monster thing here… but no, he’s a totally different character. Why is he dressed up as a monster haunting this old house with a collection of special effects equipment he keeps behind the fireplace? Because nobody appreciated his performance as the She-Creature.

He actually says that. Fuck this movie! The monster suit isn’t even bad enough to be funny. In fact, it looks better here than it did in The She-Creature or Voodoo Woman, possibly because the lighting allows us to actually see it!

Oh, and as I mentioned, there’s also a ghost, but he left because he didn’t like the rock and roll music.

In order to find the creature’s secret lair, they ask ‘Amelia’, the nerdy guy’s superintelligent, talking, self-driving hot rod. This machine speaks in a deep, somewhat ghostly voice, and isn’t mentioned or even hinted at until the movie’s almost over. People accidentally blundering into secret rooms behind the fireplace is a time-honoured tradition in movies, but apparently that wasn’t good enough for Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow. No, they had to have a deus-ex-machina supercomputer fire-breathing car figure it out without even saying what the clues were. Fuck!

I’ve watched several films for this blog that left me with the impression that the people making them knew what parts go into a movie but not how to put them together. I don’t think the makers of Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow even knew what movies are made of – or if they did, they were actively contemptuous of that ingredients list. Their film seems to have been cobbled together from bits of several stories, without including enough of any single one to really get a plot. Remember Face of the Screaming Werewolf, which really was made of random bits of two other movies? Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow is about as coherent as that. It feels like there’s at least another hour of material missing somewhere, which would deal with things like Lois’ relationship with her parents or the rivalry between the two racing clubs. It feels like anything that would help unify this story, or bring proper closure to any of the plotlines, was deliberately left on the cutting room floor, just to piss me off!

I only laughed once in the entire movie, at a bit where the parrot complains about his mistress’ bad driving (he wails and me so young!). The rest of the time I couldn’t even find it ironically funny. When I wasn’t rolling my eyes at the attempted jokes I was staring at the screen in bafflement because I couldn’t figure out what the movie was trying to do. What ought to be plot points are quickly forgotten, or else resolved with nonsensical trifles and then thrown away. The result is confusing and ultimately deeply frustrating. I mentioned Scooby-Doo, but that’s not even a fair comparison, because the unmasking of the villain in Scooby-Doo always includes the reveal of a master plan. The monster in Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow is just fucking around.

I hate this movie. It’s not even a movie. It’s just a bunch of unrelated things that happen to the same set of characters, without even any laughs to make it worth watching. They could have filmed an hour of their asses pressed up against a windowpane, and it would have annoyed me less.

#mst3k #reviews #episodes that never were #fuck this movie #it's beginning to look a lot like fishmen #50s

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binniesthighs · 4 years ago

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❀intro + guidelines❀

PLEASE only interact with this account if you are 18+!!! I try the best I can to review those who follow my account so if I see that you are underage I will hard block: this is non-negotiable. (edit: writers, if I deem that you interact with minors, support non-con/dubcon, plagiarize, participate in bullying or other related unaccepted behavior, I will hard block as well).

hello loves! I’m Ro, a writer from ao3 (RozQrtz), I write pretty clean fluffy stuff over there so I decided to move on over to Tumblr to try my hand at writing some more ~steamy stuff~

I know skz and svt the best, but I can also write for got7, ateez, the boyz, monsta x, nct 127 (I’m working on getting to know the rest of nct!), itzy, and I am somewhat confident in writing for *some* members of txt and loona (I only know how to characterize certain members!)

My dms are open so hit me up! When open, all requests will be for a gender neutral reader unless you specify since I don’t wanna make any assumptions :) I’m down for writing ships, self inserts, mostly likely to, drabbles, and maybe longer stories later ;)

When you send me a request, plz tell me:

who is the reader? male, female, gender neutral?

which member(s) would you like

what do you have in mind? self inserts? most likely to? reacts to? ships?

is there a specific scenario or setting you would like?

would you like it to be fluff, smut, angst, suggestive? A mix?

My current plan is to stagger my works and requests one after the other so I really appreciate your patience ♡

I will not write:

pain play that includes blo*d

watersports (including spitplay)

r*pe and non-con

stuff with underage idols

age play

stalker au

non-con somnophilia

oppa//noona kinks

ships between idols of 2 different groups

roleplay such as “I wish you could [ ] to me.”

the obvious: incest (including stepsibs), beastiality etc

do not interact:

on this account, any form of homophobia, racism, transphobia, xenophobia or islamophobia is not tolerated. bullying and hateful comments will not be interacted with and I will report and block as I see fit. of course, you as a reader are entitled to all of your own opinions, however if they are hateful, I do not see them as constructive.

before you follow:

i add tags/warnings at the top of my longer pieces and try my best not to leave anything out, but if I do post something unbeknownst to me that contains triggering content, please let me know! on this account, i write about explicit sexual content and sometimes (but not frequently) about topics such as mental health, alcohol, and trauma from abusive relationships. I often also include eating as plotlines in my fics but I always include warnings for this as well at the top of the fic!

it is my hope that this account will be a supportive place for anyone!! also, i’m not here to kink shame lol that's not my kink--so you never have to apologize! i’ll tell you if I feel uncomfy (also please read my guidelines) but honestly i’m just here to share my hornies too!!

I’m still getting used to this format so if I need to change my formatting or anything else I would appreciate it a lot if you told me :)

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project-rebirth · 4 years ago

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A Certain Magical Index: Rebirth Testament II - Plotline Arc Master Post

I was going to put all of the ones from Series 2 and the others going forward, but I felt like it would make this list too long. So I decided to just do Series 2 for now and do the others later.

Master Post: Arcs & Storylines

This is going to be a post concerning all of the content that is planned for the future on this blog. A Certain Magical Index: Rebirth Testament is a series with the main theme of discovery, discovery of the unknown, discovery of new concepts and certain characters and what they represent. As such, some arcs will be focused on certain characters, (It could be your muse, another muse of mine or both) learning more about Kamijou Touma and who he is as a person,as he is someone who tries to save as many people as possible. Some will be focused on the Magic Side being discovered by some, the same for the Science Side, and especially the Meta Side (The side that introduces alien worlds, persons or other assorted phenomena).

With this said, most of these will be plotted out, especially the more darker and serious storylines that will be detailed here today, while there are some that are exclusive to certain mutuals of mine, as their characters, elements and/or setting will be one of the main focuses.

A Certain Magical Index: Rebirth Testament II

The Shadow King Arc (In progress)

In this arc, it's about two weeks since the Holy Grail War ended and peace has returned to Academy City, however, a multi-universal ethereal entity called the Shadow King has set its sights on Earth, specifically, Academy City and has already taken control of several Espers including, Shokuhou Misaki: the #5 Level 5 Esper and the strongest Telepath. Touma and co. must stop this entity from initiating its plans of taking over the planet.

Agnese Hunting Arc (In progress)

Agnese Sanctis, along with Sister Angeline and Sister Lucia are being pursued by a pair of twins who bear a striking resemblance to the 1st Ranked Level 5. They seek shelter from Touma who agrees to help them flee Academy City after they were sent to investigate a being known as the God Hunter. When Touma finds out what's actually going on, who the God Hunter is and what the Church plans to do, can he help them reach a compromise before the real enemy makes their move? Pertains to @xbloodsoakedx.

Element Kingdom Arc

Touma suddenly finds himself in the city of Los Santos to see that it is much, much colder than it should be in the west cost of the United States. Not only that, but the entire population of Los Santos is missing as well. Touma, Your Muse are attacked by strange creatures who are controlled by the magician who is the lord of this space. Meeting up with Index, the group sets out to correct this anomaly and restore Los Santos back to its original state.

School Garden Arc

Because of the events with Agnese, Kamijou is unable to return to his dorm until it is repaired. As a result the board of directors are able to arrange a deal for Touma to stay in School Garden of all places, specifically Tokiwadai. Dreading what awaits him, he is unaware of the plot that MINUS plans to undertake in School Garden, specifically for the #5 Level 5, Shokuhou Misaki.

Precure Hunter Arc

The Clock Tower of the Magic Association has put out sealing designations on the members of the Happiness Charge Precure, and has sent their enforcers to capture them. A competition between Freelancers and Enforcers are underway as the girls become targets for Magicians looking for payment or notoriety, and Touma finds himself caught in the middle of it. Pertains to @rosecoloredmuses

Shirai Assist Arc

Following the events of the Precure Hunter Arc, Shirai Kuroko on behalf of Judgement starts to investigate the clues left behind from the conflict. Board Chairman of Academy City, Aleister Crowley feels that Kuroko, and others will learn of the existence of the Magic Side, so to that end, Aleister employs MINUS to have her assassinated to prevent her from learning too much. This will lead to a confrontation with Shirai and MINUS in the now abandoned Misawa Cram School Building. Will result in Touma getting severely injured.

Hamazura Recruitment Arc

MINUS, despite what happened in December, still seeks to have Hamazura Shiage to their side. To that end, MINUS attempts to blackmail him into joining them by threatening the safety of ITEM, specifically Takitsubo Rikou and the young Fremea Seivlun. Hamazura gives into their demands, at least from what it seems, only in reality, he plans to face off against those MINUS members by himself. Touma and (your muse) goes to the location to help him overcome the threat that is MINUS.

SISTERS REBIRTH Arc

A man in a suit manages to abduct Last Order, prompting Accelerator to go on a Manhunt for the assalant. Both he and Last Order are quickly found by Accelerator and Misaka Mikoto and Last Order is saved. However, the two Level 5s learn of a plot to restart the SISTERS Project, prompting Accelerator and Mikoto to take immediate action by destroying the labratories behind the plot. Later Misaka Imouto is kidnapped by a Researcher who is behind the plot and was once part of the original Project, prompting Touma to get involved, to save the Sisters. Includes new technology and Touma fighting a Researcher in a fist fight. Pertains to xbloodsoakedx and tetsuwan-atom

Dragon Slayer Arc

A defected Knight from the Roman catholic Church travels to Academy City with the intent to kill Touma, believing that by slaying him as the "Dragon", he will become a Saint and gain power. To combat this, Nessicarius and the Magic Association sends Kanzaki Kaori to protect him from this deranged magician. Will include the Invisible Thing manifesting following Touma's arm getting severed at some point.

Konori Justice Arc

Touma and Bowen are brought in by Yomikawa Aiho to help Judgement and Anti-Skill in a operation against some forces of MINUS in the tunnels of District 7. There is a lot of push back from this from Anti-Skill and Judgement, but circumstances force them to help, whether the peacekeeping forces want it or not. They end up working with Judgement member Konori Mii in order to help take down the MINUS forces in the tunnels after the three are separated from the rest of the force after a MINUS attack and cave in. Pertains to @tetsuwan-atom.

- God's One Throne Saga -

Unholy Inquisition Arc

The Fallen Roman Catholic Church finally decides to take action against the God Hunter and other enemies of God. Replacing God's Right Seat, a new organization called God's One Throne, led by Pope Mathias Benedictus decided to deploy the Neo-Inquisition to Academy City, with the sole purpose of eliminating Violet, Touma, and Bowen due to their respective natures. In response, Aleister once again plans to use Kazakiri Hyouka against the invading forces of the Church while the Magic Association plan to send enforcers to stop the Church. A new war between Magic and Science brews.

SS: Delta Force

A short story involving Touma and his friends Aogami Pierce and Tsuchimikado Motoharu getting into mischief involving swimsuits and changing room antics. Nothing serious here.

Book of Tyranus Arc

A grimoire called the Book of Tyranus was stolen from the British Museum by God's One Throne. The organization plans to use its contents in order to transform the Earth into a violent hellscape, thus destroying all of human civilization. The Magic Association requests the aid of Index, along with Touma as her manager and Bowen, as it is a grimore from the Meta Side and has the group with Miyuki, Othinus and Rosalia in tow head over to London. Chaos ensues moments after they land as the airport becomes a battle field between the forces of the Association, and the Church. Pertains to tetsuwan-atom.

Tower of London Arc

Gimelio The Understanding, after being defeated by the Association and Touma's group, is imprisoned within the Tower of London with the Church planning his rescue. Leivina Birdway is contacted by someone to prevent this from happening, and to that end she drags Touma and Co. along. Chaos ensues in the Tower of London as they not only have to deal with deranged prisoners, but Hei The Magnificent as well. Pertains to tetsuwan-atom.

The Flood Arc

With the first two days in London filled with nothing but chaos, Touma wants to enjoy his holiday to the fullest, but there is a complication: Lessar. Lessar from New Light mails herself to the Nessicarius women's dorm that Touma and crew are forced to stay (Since they are unable to return to japan because of the chaos from the Book of Tyranus arc) and tags along with them. However, the Fallen Roman Catholic Church declares the Magic Association to be enemies of God and another member of God's One Throne, VAVA The Gloriousmounts their attack on London. Chaos ensues when the water manipulating magician takes control of the Thames in the conflict.

Thor Challenge Arc

The Magician Thor wishes to fight Touma once more, to that end, he gets him involved in rescuing the 10% of missing child cases in England from the hands of God's One Throne, who continues to use them as disposable tools. Meanwhile, the Association and the Knights of England work together to find the hideout of the remaining members of God's One Throne in London and defeat them. More chaos ensues.

- MINUS Saga -

(Note: The MINUS saga runs concurrently along with the God's One Throne Saga after Delta Force SS and due to who it focuses on, it has more of s railgun feel and manga-like structure storywise. Meaning, they are longer in some cases)

Day 1.

After a phone conversation between Touma and the Railgang, Uiharu Kazari takes an interest in the boy, although is unable to properly remember his name and face because of how unremarkable it is. Meanwhile, Anti-Skill and Judgement conduct a joint operation against MINUS throughout the city. We learn that the Outsourcer for the Plan of Attack was a Pyschology expert by the name of Echidena Kihara Romefeller. The plan of attack results in tragety the side of Judgement and Uiharu seeks to uncover the identity of the Outsourcer, while at the same time conducting her own personal investigation into Kamijou Touma.

Day 2.

In her investigation into Touma, Uiharu asks her best friend Saten what he means to her. because of the timing of it, the question makes Saten very uncomfortable and is unable to anser due to having to go to school. Later, Uiharu continues her search for the escaped MINUS members, the identity of the Outsourcer, and more digging into Touma. Uiharu hacking into Touma's file results in her getting threatened by a sniper. She and Konori head over to Touma's school in order to gain information on a member of MINUS who used to go there. After this and more, Uiharu meets up with Saten again, the two argue for a bit regarding what happened earlier in the morning, but make up in the end. They meet up with Mikoto and Kuroko in order to question Touma in relation to his involvement in the Tower of LOndon Arc.

After this, the quartet head over to district 10 in order to face off against the remaining 232 members of MINUS who are hiding there. Anti-Skill and Judgement once again working together, only this time with Anti-Skill leading the charge. Yomikawa also brings in outside help in the form of Hamazura Shiage, Hattori Hanzou, Kuruwa, and Violent Violet. As this operation becomes a battlefeild for the hackers, (Uiharu and the MINUS hacker), the four volunteers are paired with the Railgang in order to protect Uiharu so she can hack into the machines and auromated weapons that MINUS has under their control.

After the conflict is over, the Railgang encounters Thor in Heaven Canceller's hospital to steal some drugs he plans to use on Touma as it ties into the Thor Arc.

Day 3.

The war against MINUS continues as the organization makes their next move to recover their captured member from Anti-Skill and Judgement. Interogations will happen featuring the appearance of Shokuhou Misaki and Kumokawa Seria, and a disturbing revelation is discovered that could potentially put Academy City and Tokyo in danger. Anti-Skill and Judgement move to stop this plot along with the help of a newly reformed GROUP?!

Day 4.

MINUS is on its last legs with most of its members in custody. Uiharu finds herself on a bus with a bomb that is about to blow up and she has to figure out how to stop it. Kamijou Touma finally returns home after his escapades in London, but as expected, it may not be a peaceful return.

Foul Resurrection Arc

After the incidents with MINUS and God's One Throne, Touma tries to enjoy his return to Academy City, but all of that is thrown out the window when he and Index are suddenly attacked by a strange serpent creature. Later, they encounter a woman in blue and find out that the serpent has been going around killing people. Wanting to stop this, Touma gets caught up in a dark plot involving the return of a certain old foe of Accelerator and Violent Violet. Pertains to xbloodsoakedx.

Hashmal Ascension Arc

Touma encounters a girl with silver hair and blue eyes who follows him around for some reason. Little does he know that this girl is somehow connected to the Pope and God's One Throne. A new conflict between Magic and Science continues.

The Great Magician War Arc (Final)

Following God's One Throne and the Pope's attack on Academy City, Inori Bendictus is taken away to Vatican City in order to enact his plans of using her power to bring forth the Promised Land --- which will result in the eradication of the human race. In the mist of all of this, the Vatican declares war on Academy City, the Magic Association, and the rest of humanity, branding them all as heretical. The final battle with the Grand Roman catholic Church commences as the forces of Magic the forces of Science, and the forces of the Kamijou Faction, all move forward to stop the Pope and save one girl.

If you are interested in writing any of these with me, please feel free to message me!

#Admin's Notes // OOC #Chronicles of Magic and Science // Arcs Master Post (1)

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immaturityofthomasastruc · 3 years ago

Note

How you enjoying Star Twinkle Precure?? Any plans for your next season?

Well, I’m either considering Go! Princess because I’ve heard a lot of good things about it, Mahoutsukai because I’m interested in the teddy bear transformation device (that and I think someone said the main characters raise a baby or something?), and Healin’ Good because I want to see what the most recent season is like. I’m personally leaning towards the first option, but my opinion might change as soon as I finish Star Twinkle.

As for the show itself, I just finished Episode 32 a few days after I got this ask, and I’m a little mixed on the show right now. I still think it’s pretty solid, but there are some more noticeable flaws in the writing.

I thought the introduction of Yuni/Cure Cosmo was pretty solid, albeit rushed. She starts off as a alien phantom thief, Blue Cat, while disguising herself as a pop star to catch her victims off guard before she stole their belongings. Given this show aired in 2019, I think I get what the writers were referencing. In addition, she also turns out to be masquerading as one of the villains, Bakenyan, and actually has a grudge against Aiwarn for accidentally turning her people into stone, and wants the Princess Star Color Pens to save her home before finding her resolve to protect people as a Precure. It’s a really interesting idea for a character’s introduction... if it wasn’t all crammed into five episodes. Despite being featured in the first opening, Yuni isn’t introduced until Episode 15 and becomes Cure Cosmo at the end of Episode 20, with her first fight leading into Episode 21.

There are some really good moments with Yuni before she becomes a Precure, like this one scene where it looks like she accidentally destroyed a petrified member of her species, and it sends her into a brief panic attack, and some of the earlier episodes where Bakenyan tries to stop Aiwarn from using her Dark Pen to create a Notrigger make a lot more sense. The problem is how this really could have been stretched out more with the whole double agent plotline. Better yet, what if Yuni stayed a double agent at after becoming Cure Cosmo and gained information on the Notraiders as Bakenyan? I just think Itsuki’s introduction was better paced as she got two separate focus episodes before the story arc building up her debut Cure Sunshine.

I don’t hate Yuni, and I like her dynamic with the team as well as her rivalry with Aiwarn, but I think things could have been better with her debut.

The other alien worlds the team explored were all very colorful and had some really nice inhabitants for the characters to interact with, including Lala’s home, which is... kind of a totalitarian empire? Like, all the people depend on an AI to do everything to the point where they can’t run without hoverboards (meaning my WALL-E joke was right), they’re considered adults at a very young age, and their jobs are decided entirely on their personality. It’s strange that this society isn’t shown to be more flawed. Sure, we do see Lala struggle without the use of an AI in some episodes, but other than that and the whole “you’re an adult at 13” rule, Lala’s planet is never shown to be flawed with the way it runs its society.

This is even more frustrating when you consider the plotline that came from visiting Lala’s home planet. Her brother Lolo is shown to be a higher rank than her, and gets more praise from his parents than Lala. Remember when The Owl House had an episode discussing parental favoritism and the effect it had on Lilith? Imagine if Gwendolyn was never called out for blatantly neglecting her daughter in favor of Eda. I get we’re supposed to get some form of catharsis from seeing Lala’s family suffer, but after she and the other Cures save them, they never even apologize and act like they’ve always loved her without ever acknowledging their behavior around Lala. It’s honestly the weakest episode (or episodes) in the series so far in my opinion.

The one thing I found to be consistently investing in this third of the series was Fuwa. Unlike the first half where she seemed like she was just a mascot who was there to look cute, she gained more prominence in the story, in addition to starting to speak in complete sentences. There’s a nice scene where Yuni kidnaps Fuwa, and Fuwa doesn’t seem to be scared because she doesn’t really see Yuni as an enemy, foreshadowing her debut as Cure Cosmo. Later on, she also gets more scenes alluding to her major role in defeating the Notraiders once all the Princess Star Color Pens are collected, and with her transformation into a unicorn shows she’ll gain more prominence.

Overall, while I didn’t think this part of the series was awful, I personally prefer the first sixteen episodes so far.

#immaturity of thomas astruc #iota #not miraculous ladybug #precure #pretty cure #star twinkle precure #star twinkle pretty cure

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