#and i'm sorry i get comparing the vibes to episode and choices but the matter of fact is. choices and episode could never make 7 brothers

[theodoravery]

oop... i'm gonna say it.... but i think what ppl don't get about 7 brothers is that maybe you don't have to take everything so seriously ?? idk man. why not enjoy fun and silliness. why not embrace the cringe. like i'm really sorry the y/n book is already doing a better job at being inclusive than your faves </3

[floof-writes]

WARNING: this post includes some negativity about something you might love: D20’s The Seven, specifically choices made by Sephie about Sam Nightingale’s actions and backstory

TL;DR- (Disclaimer, I'm only to episode 5) The way Sephie chose to play Sam makes her seem aloof, toxic, disingenuous, and attention-seeking compared to the rich found-family themes of past Fantasy High seasons and to her fellow characters in this season. Less importantly but still frustrating, she doesn't follow the 'one leveled spell a round' rule. If she had all these flaws and was also funny, I might forgive her. But, alas.

Watching The Seven right now for FHJY and while I have countless good things to say about it, forgive me for instead ranting about the fan beloved Sam Nightingale. While I understand that many people love it, Sam/Sephie’s stage mom backstory gets on my fucking nerves. Especially the viral video thing in episode 5. Sephie blows up a bit (a bit in a comedy show! They're always doing bits!) into something big and then chooses to duck out instead of committing and resolving. I LIVE for emotional moments in D20, I seriously do, but whatever Sephie has been doing just doesn’t work for me. It feels cheap. D20 emotional moments have a ton of build-up through comedy/resistance, and I hate to say it, but Sam is not a funny character. I’m not saying she’s not realistic- she’s traumatized and is going through a lot, but Sephie is playing her in the wrong genre. D20 is a comedy.

Here's the thing: Ally also gets criticism for playing Kristen in a really explicit and overt way, trampling over other roleplay with her trauma, and that is true (sorry Kristen, ily!), but at least what Ally did is funny. Sam isn't. Sephie almost nailed it when Rebecca revealed she was getting divorced- her reaction was both real and comedic, but later when she called Penelope it felt forced/spotlighty/too soon, especially considering she didn't even have a mirror charge left. And that attention-seeky vibe isn’t helped by the fact that Sephie chose to play an ex-child actor: a real-life tragedy that almost always comes off as cheap when fictionalized.

But the parallels between Ally’s Kristen and Sephie’s Sam don’t end there! One of the biggest reasons people were annoyed by Kristen was Ally’s (and to an extent, Brennan/fellow player's), absolute ignorance of the rules about concentration spells, which made her really overpowered in season one. My argument against this as a newbie dnd player was always ‘rule of cool, it was fun to watch and fun to play so it doesn’t matter!', but as a more experienced player I finally understand that frustration even though I tried not to feel it. The same thing happened with Sam in ep 4- she casts two leveled spells in a single turn with Quicken Spell (Lightning Bolt and Fly, and again later with Enthrall and Suggestion), which makes her seem crazily overpowered despite the fact that she’s a 3/6 multi-class among a 9th level druid and a 9th level cleric. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love a good multi-class, but she shouldn’t be outstripping them so handily (Yielle also fucking slayed this fight though).

[A proposed alternate turn for her second mistake: Quicken spell to Enthrall and then use her winged boots and second action to attack the harpy and catch Penny (a ranged cantrip (LIGHTNING LURE) or a weapon attack if the DM allowed that to cause her to drop Penny, opposed strength with Danielle’s Bear Totem advantage if not). It would have been just as cool and displayed better teamwork, plus it was an opportunity to roleplay bonding and show gratitude for the Feather Fall that saved her fucking life.]

In fact, for me, there’s only three rather subjective reasons why I adore Kristen so much and find Sam super annoying: 1. As we've been over before, Kristen is funny. Sam is not. 2. I personally really relate to Kristen’s Overpowering Trauma (tm) and as an amateur actress, find bitter child actress plots absolutely inconceivable (Disclaimer:Jeanette McCurdy’s ‘I’m Glad My Mom Died’ made me fucking lose it). And 3. Kristen's story is about finding love (of herself through romantic but most importantly platonic relationships), supporting others, and understanding the world. Caring so much she self-destructs. Even her famous rule-breaking was usually caused by a conflict with Bless, a spell she cast every time to protect her friends. But Sam has thus far rarely displayed unselfishness, despite knowing the Maidens for nearly twice as long as Kristen knew the Bad Kids by the end of Season One. Kristen was self-centered in that Ally often drew the focus of roleplay towards their character's own issues and sub-plot, (or by being the purest form of the new player paradox and asking to do something crazy.) Sam is self-centered in that same way, and also in that she is literally selfish. Antiope says 'I have an opportunity' and instead of saying 'I get it, the pressure of having a parent who doesn't understand you changes everything, but even then a part of you still wants what they want for you' she says 'so you won't be there for me? How could you?'. Penny saves her life before being snatched into the air like a mouse to a hawk, and Sam is the only one who can fly but she plays the harp instead of helping her in return.

ALL the maidens lost months to more than a year of their lives. All the maidens are grappling with generational expectations, trauma, and pressure just like Sam. The big what-if at the end of highschool. I was only going to point out Antiope and Penny, but this actually seems to be a major theme of the season, since Ostentatia and Zelda also have overt themes of this.

Look, if you’re gonna play angsty, there’s a trick to it. There's this highschool level acting advice I've heard so many times: The worst choice you can make on stage is to be bored, because what is the audience to do except be bored as well? Similarly, if you choose to play disconnected, then how is an audience supposed to connect? In a group of people who have vocalized endless support for you, ‘I’m fine, I'm fine' (as shown in episode 5's viral video scene) is just dishonest, and it's honestly a betrayal of Sephie’s fellow actors who are working to improvise a history of openness and support with Sephie’s character, just so Sam can seem aloof and angsty. Break down in their arms, Sephie! Get flustered and run away! Either ‘I Kiss Her And Skateboard Away/I Burn Two Luck Points To Stop Riz From Finding Out’ OR ‘I Need Everyone To Dogpile On Me Right Now/I Kiss Everyone On The Mouth’ levels of teen angst are needed for this to be actually funny. Sam could've had something unique and iconic up there with Kristen and Fig's struggles with being known, but she isn’t cringefail enough. She's not relatable, and she claims to be bitter but really she's just mean. And again, I never said she isn’t realistic- real life people do the ‘I’m fine’ thing. Real life teenagers make a big deal out of something to tease out sympathy/curiosity over a Hidden Trauma and then duck out of an explanation for the attention of it all. But it isn’t funny and it feels OOC for a maiden who had a year and a half to become fucking codependent (/pos) with these other six girls.

Rant over, something positive to end the post: TaleSpire is so fucking cool! Physical battlemaps are awesome but you couldn't do a 700ft+ chase battle on the dome's tabletop. They really took advantage of using a virtual tool this season and did something they couldn't do otherwise. (Plus the fact that TaleSpire is treated like video game software and has a one time purchase fee instead of a subscription based model is fucking awesome!)

[eonghwa]

I'm not always 100% sold on all the outfits Ateez is put in, but I think their stylist team is doing a good job! Compared to some other groups who either look pretty basic or questionable, Ateez looks great. There were... some hmmm choices that I wasn't into. But a lot of people just don't like certain items, like berets or bucket hats - love them both, especially berets! Or bomber jackets, baggy trousers, crop tops etc etc... it's all fine, but doesn't mean idols look bad or the styling is bad. Just not our taste. I'm actually open to everything to be honest, and since I have a very versatile style I love the duality idols present. Ateez especially, the difference between Deja Vu and Eternal Sunshine styles?! Seonghwa kills me everytime, he fits every concept so well it's insane... I'm talking visually but also when it comes to his stage presence and vocals.

I know some fans complain certain members are not styled as well as others, they often say Seonghwa and San and sometimes Hongjoong are the only ones who get interesting fits... I agree sometimes the clothes might not fit properly or are just styled in an unappealing way, but god the boys also have a say in it! It's clear Jongho prefers more "conservative" outfits, Wooyoung likes sportswear a lot. All I care about is if they feel good in their outfits or hairstyles, I might not always love them, but in the end it's none of my business.

Seonghwa is definitely the one who loves experimenting and has this fascinating androgynous vibe about him, so of course styling him must be a lot of fun, since he's very open to try a lot of things. Hongjoong likes crazy haircuts and colourful stuff, no matter how wild they are he always pulls them off. I think the outfits, hairstyles and make-up tell us a lot about them, and I love it. Because Ateez is a group of individuals who work amazing together, but have distinctive features that stand out and show their personalities, whether on stage or in real life,

Hah, sorry for the rant, but since we started the topic I just wanted to add something that has been bothering me. Especially when some Atiny act like it's the members fault (often Seonghwa's mostly) they get more interesting outfits.

i know that sometimes they do make some questionable choices but what i meant is i like the overall vibe, they look amazing and i’m pretty sure a lot of times (more than we realize) choice are made based on some hidden meaning/concept we don’t quite catch, but yes sometimes the clothes are styled in unappealing ways — but as you said most critiques are based on specific items people don’t like ex, when hongjoong had the rainbow buzzcut i saw a lot of people saying they didn’t like it and many other saying they still love it a lot so and these are personal opinions that shouldn’t belittle someone else’s work! like i mentioned in the other ask i’m not too fond of berets but i know they “complete” certain looks and they look so good (it’s just something i wouldn’t use mysef!). they are very versatile with their music, concept and styling and i love this about them and at the end of the day they do have incredible stage presence and they know how to convey their passion and enthusiasm and that’s all that matters!

and yes,, they often mention how they talk about with their stylist so i’m sure they have a say in it, i remember this one episode from kingdom when they did the wonderland stage and seonghwa was wearing the corset, he later said he didn’t wanna wear that initially but the stylists said that to trust them just this one time and wear it so i guess it means that they always are open to what ateez suggest and/or want to try when styling them. many times they said “i really wanna try x” and next time you see them they are sporting that specific thing and imo i think that’s also a form of self-expression so just let them be. people will never agree on everything and that’s okay too (but saying it’s their fault you are not going anywhere that’s all)

don’t worry lol it was nice and i love hearing your opinions!! i’m sorry i can’t seem to talk properly akdhsj and i hope what i said made some sense ㅠ thank you!! 💗