#and in the narrative this is totally fine

[crustyfloor]

Do you think ivti is unrequited?

Until Till's perspective is here, I can't find myself properly deciding on that....But I do think Vivinos has intended to portray unrequited, one-sided romantic feelings through Ivan and Till since the start . They have hate/love for each other after all, so I think it's bound to be more complicated than bluntly "unrequited"-- but just based on what we're shown, Till didn't hold those same romantic feelings for Ivan as Ivan did for him-- however, the affection and intimacy/familiarity Ivan has for him is reciprocated by Till, and I think that nuance will be made more apparent in the future. Side tangent here, but I think love is very diverse, maybe Vivinos is intending to show many forms of love and how they can manifest in each dynamic. A love that isn't exactly romantic but familial and sincere is still love, so even if Ivan's romantic feelings aren't reciprocated, Till still loves him... like this scene in Karma solidifies that for me again completely when Till is the one reaching for Ivan and showing his intentions, Till sincerely cares about Ivan and is attached uahgosijh

[wardensantoineandevka]

I'm trying to think of how to tie the Ruidus plot into Marquet specifically (like how the Empire and Dynasty tension was very much tied to Wildemount). Like there has to be some way it could have worked, right? Perhaps making Ruidus relevant to the Apex War and thus digging into that offering needed information? Maybe Ruidus' core structure was made from Marquet, so its most ancient ruins/stories could hold hints as to what was there? What about Cael Morrow? There’s a potential hook in Call of the Netherdeep. The party split could have been sent to remote parts of Marquet instead of totally different continents, with locations made to fill the plot/lore roles needed.

I'm blabbling here, because just... it didn't have to be this way. Why put all that effort into developing Marquet then not give a good reason for 'the Ruidus campaign' to happen there of all places?

The idea that Marquet was doomed from the start to be cast aside when Matt went into this wanting to tackle Ruidus feels... idk. But I walked away from that campaign feeling like I learned more about moon aliens (which it seemed Matt ran wild with) than Marquet (developed with consultants) which... isn't helping the icky feeling.

Honestly, I don't think it's that difficult or complicated because I don't think you need to connect anything special between Marquet and Ruidus at all. The fact that this is just happens to be where a nexus point of the Apogee Solstice occurred is perfectly fine if you simply allow Marquet to be a place. It did not need to have to be a story about Marquet for Marquet to feel like a rich and developed place, for the story to feel grounded in it as its primary setting, and for it to be given that space and breathing room.

While, certainly, creating closer ties between Marquet specifically and Ruidus would serve toward that, I don't think it's at all necessary to solve my personal criticisms nor to make Marquet feel treated properly as setting, not mere set dressing. (Creating those ties also runs the risk of making Marquet feel subordinate to Ruidus if not done properly, but that's always dependent on execution.)

Simply, I believe letting Marquet have space to exist and to allow the characters and narrative to be informed by this geographical and spatial context would've been enough. Merely, give Marquet the time to be known. Once it is known, once we have developed that relationship with it as a location, even if that is not tied explicitly into the plot, that informs and provides avenues to contextualizing these events within that geographic, geopolitical, and historical setting. It helps us understand relationships between plot, characters, and place, which in turns grounds the plot in place even without having to create special relationships between Marquet and the moon.

This would be in actually bringing the Apex War forward and actually delivering this and foregrounding it as a major shaping of modern Marquesian history, allowing Otohan's personal backstory and her relationship to Eshteross to matter and in turn bringing forward the Courth of the Lambent Path in Aeshanadoor and the Stratos Throne in the Taloned Highlands as major powers in Marquet. Allow us to understand the Tishtan site as a place and giving more depth and space to the Tishtan as a vanished people, which might give us avenues to tie this as a place thematically to Ludinus's project. Have the Marquesian organizations and groups be unmistakably present and major players and organizers of the Exandrian coalition as those who are local to the site and most prepared to handle the logistics of mustering and organizing this push against the Malleus Key. Give insight into what it means for Bassuras to be the most physically proximate to this battle. Revisit the Grim Verity and its Marquesian members, allow us to remember that this starts because of them. Build and forefront Marquesian NPCs, give them roles and space in this narrative and allow them to return; characters like Artana, the Nobodies, Verna the Viper and Imahara Joe, the Green Seekers were all sorely missed and provided ins to the setting. Build out Marquesian relationships and understanding of the gods; continue to build on things like the Duskmaven and Serataani traditions. Give time to actually exist and move through spaces in Marquet, rather than constantly emphasizing a ticking clock and tight deadlines (that turn out never to be that tight), so that characters can linger and learn and we can develop relationships to these locations and characters. Allow these places, traditions, characters to have time to speak for themselves and to be known, understood, and engaged with by the audience and the party.

Notably, I point out, a lot of these things were never delivered on or, if they were, were in the first third or so of the campaign. Which, tracks with my feeling of this dropping off once the Ruidus plot locked in.

I don't believe that the Ruidus plot needed to be about or connected directly to Marquet at all — though it could have been, sure, if done well. I believe that allowing Marquet its due as a location and allow it to be place rather than backdrop simply required the campaign to give it space, time, and connection. Notably, I don't think that C3 failed to do this with Marquet alone, but rather that this is a massive structural failing. Simply, in the same way that the campaign needed to give the characters space and time to develop themselves, their perspectives, their personal plots and their relationships and to more often have time to pursue things that were not so always heavily tied into the Ruidus plot, so I feel the same with Marquet as a location.

The campaign did not necessarily need to make the narrative and Ruidus plot The Marquet Story. It could have been The Moon Plot while still giving the space and time to allow Marquet to develop itself as the place where this happens and to allow the characters and the world itself to develop an understanding and relationship. We see this in practice with the Shattered Teeth, actually. So much of the campaign's failures simply come back to that crushing pace and smothering everythingness of the Ruidus plot, to the point that it left no room for anything else. Marquet is simply one of those things, and a simple fix can be as simple as "let something else have focus for a bit" and "allow breathing room so we can think about something else for a while". Let us engage with the location, and then let what we've taken away from that inform the narrative that is unfolding within it.

[twilightofthesandwiches]

thoughts on carol holiday and whatever is going on between her, the knight and kris?

Nothing particularly novel right now, sorry. There's a bunch of theories going in the fandom and they all offer compelling narratives... mostly I'm content to do some mild speculation but mostly to wait and see where this goes.

If I was pressed into Making a Statement, I'd say I'm currently leaning more into "Carol is the Knight, trying to use the Roaring as a way to bring Dess back from the dead. Kris is helping her out of a sense of obligation and guilt because they feel responsible for failing to save Dess back then".

But that's primarily because right now this feel like the scenario that most builds on Lore and Character Motivations that we know of (Dark Worlds can resurrect dead Lightners as Darkners but only under specific circumstances, Carol has a weird obsession with 'preserving things' like her daughter's paper snowflakes

And it's the sort of thing that will leave Kris honestly conflicted between choosing it or Susie.)

But I'm saying "right now" because it's entirely possible that Chapter 5 will introduce new lore and character details that will make Dess being the Knight, with Carol just being the brains behind the operation, a lot more plausible and fully-formed in terms of the hows and the whys.

Like, I've seen people theorize that the Knight is basically 'stuck' between the Light and Dark Worlds and that's why they're so...

So Carol still needs the Roaring to bring her daughter back fully to how she used to be....

...And that sounds like a fine narrative, but it's based on Metaphysical rules that haven't been established yet. But the keyword is 'yet', because it's possible it will all be established in Chapter 5! Or maybe Chapter 5 is gonna disprove this idea entirely and then reveal some other Weird Metaphysical Rule that totally flips all of our theories on their heads and make Rudy the most probable culprit or something!

I definitely don't have all the pieces yet, so sometimes I try to speculate, but mostly I try and keep an open mind...

[sloasis]

I can't keep wondering how it's possible that one side of the fandom reads episodes so entirely different than the other. Is it because people are so used to on-off-situationships, even on tv? Because I love romance and second chances but even I can't excuse a third breakup and still think a couple is meant to be "endgame"?

Sure we don't know if they'll do anything with buddie and the "first not last" and "competition" and buck "not pining" but it is such a romance trope. While I really don't know how people can still look at tommy and think yeah that's the one, he'll be back. Like ? He doesn't even think so. Genuinely curious what you think, how there's so much serious hope around him (not saying they can't ship it, ship whatever, but I mean actually thinking it'll happen again)

I also find this pretty interesting like . The difference between everyone's interpretations is so funny cause mine is so different too like honestly the way Tommy was even acting during their FIRST DATE screams he's a genuinely bad dater like he was making petty comments to Buck ( AND EDDIE BTW ) who was NEW at this , he didn't have any care about how this was Buck's first date with a man and was just seemingly expecting Buck to be totally perfect at it , which isn't fair at all . Like I get it if it hurt that Buck was pretending and lying but like , he couldn't understand where he was coming from ?? The fear and confusion still about not knowing your sexuality and how to , act or come out like . Tommy dude . You almost MARRIED ABBY CLARK because you weren't ready to face your sexuality either .. but expected Buck to be totally fine and cool and perfect about it all ?? Idk . I'm sure they really did talk about it more and he obviously heard Buck out and they decided to have a second chance at this n try again but yeah .. they've quite literally Canonically broken up 3 different times . That doesn't seem like a healthy perfect relationship to me anyway . Tommy had fears and thoughts about having his heart broken but all Buck wanted was just for somebody to STAY and to fall in love with .. they also very clearly don't have any real chemistry , no intentions of making up and getting back together after Buck said his piece and moved on because it barely worked out in their first fucking date . ( Which honestly . Isn't a bad thing they just so clearly , to me at least , did not get along . It happens ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) But yeah idk . That doesn't seem like an endgame ship to me whatsoever . What Buddie has too is SO special and how these hardcore bt shippers don't see that is really beyond me . They can ship whatever they want but they do have to realize .. Tommy as a character is done , he's been a plot device since the beginning , haunting Abby's narrative and being a bad guy in Hen AND Chimney's begin episodes , and being the guy to jump start Buck's bi arc AND his feelings ( for Eddie ) realization . His whole purpose is over , he was literally just a side character anyway . You can like him , and bt as a ship but I think , dedicating your whole life and feelings about the entire show TO HIM is a bit weird . 9-1-1 has so many great and fulfilled characters and , stanning the one who's whole purpose has been creating conflict and complicated emotions and arcs is just . Real interesting to me .

[dangermousie]

This dad is literally the WORST!!!!!

This is vvvv much golden child v scapegoat dynamic and I am totally fine with OG Nan Heng massacring that whole family (makes me think of wacky drama take on e.g., Yi Seong Gye and Yi Bang Won or Gaozu and Taizong) but also usually the kid dad picks in these narratives is at least capable of putting his own shoes on!!!!

I miss the days when MLs could off the emperor.

[indiaalphawhiskey]

Ugh, India, I just need to say — Harry’s stunts, whether shor or long-term, always feel like a punch to the gut. They affect me a bit emotionally — not because I think they’re real, but because of the public reaction and the way people perceive him. I don’t even want to open tw or insta because I know there’ll be people saying awful things about something that's not true and about someone I really care about, no matter how parasocial or cringe that might sound. I’m just… sad, honestly. I really thought hs4 wouldn’t have a “muse” or anything like that.

Hey my love, I totally get it, trust me.

I have one thousand percent fully blocked people for even referencing him or grouping him with the wrong people, even in terms of something as surface-level as 'fashion', so you'll see no judgment from me. I am similarly cringe and parasocial and cannot stand people loving Harry wrong.

So, feel all your feelings. Let yourself feel that punch in the gut, because I understand that disappointment - both in the GP and even in him, for still playing along in stunts he's far too famous and successful for, for no discernible reason.

But, also, don't get ahead of yourself on HS4, because way too many things can happen between now and then. For instance, EmRata was a one-time thing. There was a drastic pivot on the narrative of Cinema when OW started acting out, and that was hilarious because it was happening in real time. And, even when his album did have a muse (Fine Line), with time and distance, the muse was the one that faded from the music, not the other way around. Now, Fine Line is still Fine Line in all its glory, and Camille's slippers are just another thing that happened in fandom for a brief moment.

I hope you don't let these games ruin him or his music for you for long, because the truth is, it's only really the music that always lasts anyway. 🩵

[spotlightlowlife]

Where nuance doesn't even go to Hell

This latest Helluva boss was so SO bad. Drawn out waste of time in just five minutes that added nothing, it could have slotted in to any timeframe as there's no tabs on character growth and the characters could have been switched out with anyone else, this could have been Moxxie and Millie instead of Blitzø and Loona.

As we have now come to expect, the latest short follows the whole plot we were sold, assassins who specialise in carrying out hits on humans and the mayhem that follows, things well featured in the pilot and early season one.

This story has Loona and Blitzø go on a job together, they are tasked with yet another petty hit which is fine, would be better if the main story didn't keep trying to force:

'they're just like people'

'they're nice really'

'they just had it tough and need to open up'

'sadness'

'desperation'

'hurt by rejection'

'just look at them grow'

Narratives, which again would be fine if they weren't so selective for whatever fleeting thing was going on that may never matter again or be consistent with future events, but they have worked before such as in the pilot where IMP tried to do the right thing when they believed that they made a mistake by seeking medical help, nothing wrong with displays of decency, or Moxxie's reluctance to take out the hit in a mother of a happy family, rathering the target was someone like a 'shitty dad', all to only be forced to act because it became a rescue mission and for his team to not care how he felt which reinforced where he stood amungst them, his unhappiness made sense in the end and there was nothing wrong with his initial projection, but on that note, let's return to this short.

The target is a very sweet old man who has high compassion for orphans, so much so that he has adopted many. Not only does this never take a perverted turn, but it takes a very familiar one, where it turns out that this man has adopted those who easily get left behind in the system, again sound familiar? Well not to Blitzø, as this isn't even picked up on at all.

Remember the main series in its season two briefly returned to its roots of carrying out hits for sinners in the finale, only for this plot and its contractor, a woman, to not be taken seriously?

This woman's targets received compassion without any dialogue, they simply needed to be a male same sex couple enjoying the holidays with their daughters. Double standards tend to mean nothing though, I can't really knock consistency. We get a moment of false character growth of Blitzø and Moxxie watching them through the window which is history repeating itself of Moxxie's reluctance to kill a happy family and Blitzø wanting him to get over it, this time Blitzø leads the compassion train and Moxxie, not knowing what Blitzø was actually daydreaming of, supports him before they quit the job totally ignoring Millie in the process, which was also supposed to be a thing.

It's also not so innocent because it seems women are needed to make these children then after serving her purpose she can be a mean bitch who deserves to die or someone long dead needed to serve a lead guys sob story, that's the case for Blitzø, Moxxie and Stolas. On the topic of Stolas, it fair to nickname this character 'Digression', because he's literally central to Blitzø's almost every move and the story going sideways, his mood swings could have made or broke IMP, but instead he chose to twist his own misdeeds on Blitzø and gaslight the whole audience like a true narcissist, but nobody else saw it (including many viewers) and in Blitzø's case, he had no right to speak on it like most victims. Is there nuance to this? Something for us to realise and take note of? No.

The sinner who placed the hit deserved to be ignored for her story hitting to close to home, for Stolas, her ex and his new man deserved to be spared because they gave Blitzø hope that he and Stolas could be like them one day (with their grown daughters having apparently had personality transplants) and finally this sinner, dispite all the petty jobs they take on, deserved to have her job rejected and to be assaulted, in defence of Stolas. That's that.

Yet Blitzø couldn't also see himself in someone who like him adopted someone disadvantaged and pours unconditional love into them, in this guys case multiple times? Why not?

Honorable mention of Loona. Since when did she seek validation from humans? What was the major difference between this loving dad and Blitzø sho chose her and smothers her? Why would she feel it fine to show her real physical appearance without warning and why wouldn't a human be startled? Does she long for more time in Earth and see this world as wonderful, because he haven't seen any of that just like we never see her studying magic. What even is the culture of their world and what do they know about humans? It's like Loona and every other female is here to be seen and not heard.

Not once was this target used to remind her that she had someone similar in her life, that this mirrored her own experience, the episode ended with Blitzø and Loona barely interacting and the two of them and the target interacting together momentarily. Nuance? Nope!

In season one we saw the scheming business man who placed a hit on his dying rival immediately upon entering hell only for them to be reunited, see opportunities, waste no time and immediately go back into business with each other. We also had the much better short we saw Emberlyn taken out on a petty hit revel in her moment of being centre of a demons scheme before showing up as a cute demon fangirling outside of the office.

But this short, no, nothing. A character actually has something in common with the characters in question but this isn't realised, he's killed off and the story finishes and not because of anything in particular. Nuance? Hello no.

[glitchedoutpxie]

Squid Game 3: that damn baby.

Considering the amount of plot holes and misrepresentation, this "plot twist" was nothing more than the pro-natalist propaganda often seen in Korean and Japanese storytelling.

Here's why da baby was a complete narrative failure from a bitter writer's perspective:

Realistically, that baby should've died.

So listen. A 24-hour-old newborn baby doesn't have a fully formed skull. Medically. At birth, an infant's skull is made up of several soft, flexible plates that haven't fused yet (those gaps are called fontanelles), which is why babies need to be handled gently.

Their neck muscles are basically nonexistent, and their brains are still extremely vulnerable to motion. So when a literal newborn is held through five minutes of jump roping, being shaken, jostled, bounced, its brain sloshing and rattling around like a BB pellet, it's supposed to die of a traumatic injury. Scientifically, medically, realistically, it should have suffered catastrophic brain damage and died. This isn't hate. It's facts. Unless the producers are trying to tell us it's totally safe to jump rope with your newborn, I haven't a single clue what was going inside their heads when they decided to overlook this.

But of course the baby survives perfectly fine!

Because in media, babies are often reduced to props: symbols of "life" for shock or sentiment, with zero understanding of the physical reality of pregnancy or newborn care. It's giving anti-abortion fantasy.

Now, you're telling me...

This lady who just gave birth somehow did it in 2 minutes and is able to stand immediately after birth. There's minimal blood loss, and the baby only cries twice in the span of 48 hours. Uh huh..

Baby bump the size of a pineapple.

Baby only needed to feed twice in the span of 48h.

The broken ankle wasn't even needed as a plot device bc jump roping after birth? I don't think so.

Of course she delivers a heartfelt monologue about self-sacrifice and a Better Future™️ for her daughter after willingly placing it in the hands of some stranger in a tuxedo she met on the street.

She doesn't get along with the child's father but she's going to have his baby anyway? WILLINGLY SIGNING UP to be a single mom??? While in tremendous debts???

But she paid for her mistakes! Her story wasn't presented as a mistake. She was framed to be a heroic figure whom everyone was scrambling to die for. Again, what are they trying to glorify?

Mother-dies-so-baby-can-live trope much?

But hold up!

Was 149 just intentionally written to be deeply narcissistic and delusional? Did the writers genuinely think we'd sympathize with her for choosing to kill her own son to protect the baby of someone she met two days ago? Questions questions...

They did put sad emotional piano music when she admitted to her abuse towards him growing up so it's not looking too bright, chief.

Also...

The games are twisted, yes, but they still keep some semblance of "fairness" or "democracy" going on. The votes, the evened out rules, everyone is recruited the same way, have the same background, or the fact that you have to be at least 18 to play and present your own signature. They had a nice thematic going on. Screw that i guess. Here's a 100 shots of the CGI baby!

All in all? 4/10.

But that's just my humble opinion. Poorly written. That baby should've never been allowed to "play". Or exist. Cheap way out to kill off Gi-Hun and promote some American spin off.

[lucyskywalker]

Talking about the books, alright?

About. The. Books.

Not the TV Show.

I find it really amusing people hating on PJO!Gods for something that the pjo!gods didn't do on the story.

My biggest example: Calypso.

Calypso is not hated for something she did on Rick's story. She is hated for what she had done in the Odyssey written by Homer.

For everything that we know of, she never SA Ody in Rick's story, because Rick's characters are very, very different from the original source.

What supports this thesis is the Trials of Apollo.

Apollo didn't skin the satyr alive, but people still believe he have done that.

What makes sense. It is a children's book.

You won't make a character be the closest version of the myth, you won't make the director of a camp filled with children of different ages be a rapist.

Rick was inspired by Greek and Roman Mythology, but not everything that happend on the myths, happend on PJO storyline, actually, Rick changed a lot of myths to fit his writing. Again, TOA is a proof of that.

I have read a fic where the main theme was a friendship bound between Hermes&Percy, and there were comments like: He would never be friend with a rapist.

But the fact is: Percy is, canonically speaking, Hermes's friend. It is literally written on the book, word by word.

I find it really interesting, read fics rated as M to explore more of the dark side of the myths, I really do, and these fanfics are mostly written by adults to another adults.

But that is what they are: Fanfic. It is not canon. In pjo canon the gods are very chill compared with the original source. And that is OK.

It is like comparing illiad!achilles to tsoa!achilles.

They are not the same. I would dare to say tsoa!achilles is a sweetheart compared with what he actually is in the illiad. But Achilles still is romanticized regardless of what he have done in Greek Mythology in favor of a novel written in the XXI century by an American author.

The same way a lot of people like to actually rewrite the myth of Poseidon and Medusa on Athena's Temple, as it was an actual Greek myth (and it isn't. It is a Roman Myth with Netuno, Medusa and Minerva written by Ovid years and years later) Rick also can write a fictional book where SA didn't happen or is not adressed, since uk, it is a children's book.

Modern fictional books inspired by myths will be very different from the real myths written millenia ago. And that is OK.

[nicollekidman]

it’s so. good. that buffy has to feel self loathing about what she’s doing with spike specifically because the underpinnings of the show require that vampires be Bad Monster Creatures who Cannot Feel and are just Lifeless Demons otherwise everything comes into question. about everything. except that spike is the crack in the foundation of the show itself and in that, he makes the show better! he’s the only end that makes sense for her because he sets her free!!!

[ronandhermy]

I go. It's safe like an ambulance is safe. You being inside means you're already hurt. A Poem is a Place by Isabelle Correa

[princessofghosts-posts]

I think having multipovs chapters in HoO narrative was one of the main catalyst for the quality's downgrade of Riordan writing.

Riordan isn't an horrible writer,there are ups and downs in his books and he really really needs to acknowledge that maybe it's time to step ups his writing style,let the books grow with his audience (let's address all of the trauma),and put back the quality over quantity principle (which is something that totally flew out of the fucking window in the last years). Especially if he still want to write books in the future,since we understand that he won't let his characters rest anytime soon,either with the books or with the TV serie.

His stongest serie is probably PJO,I haven't read MC or KC so I don't know how good they are,but from what I understood they are all pretty good (I also love Egyptian Mythology ever since I was a child,so I'll probably read KC after I'm done with the Nico's serie). All of them are wrote in first person,with the protagonists narrating everything that happens. I think it was KC that introduced more than one narrator,since in MC and PJO there is only one (Magnus and Percy),while KC has Sadie and Carter.

The thing is,that when it came to having only one narrator,Riordan is pretty good at what he writes. Because he needs to focus on only one character,while he can expand and development the others. It's a bit difficult when there are a lot of side characters,but the main focus is always the main protagonist (Percy) and every other characters they interact with most of the time (Annabeth,Grover,Thalia,Nico,ecc...).

You also need to remember that the characters get shaped with their PoVs. We don't know them,and this isn't a movie/serie that let us see what it's going on. So,it's important that in books the PoVs reflect the characters. Take Percy for example,he is humble,sarcastic and very down to heart,othen than having a low self-esteem and being an unreliable narrator. His PoVs is extremely different from a Piper that just entered this world and don't have the same experience,is still founding her ground and trying to accept her nature.

And it's ok because it help to shape not only the main character,but also the others. But it also need to be different for each character,otherwise is like writing the same one all over again with only different struggles. All of them have low self-esteem and don't believe in themselves enough for a reason or another,so it's a bit difficult to organize them and make sure that they are unique one from the other.

Anyway. Rick also didn't had a problem with 2 narrators,since I read a couple of positive review on KC. But I'll see for myself when I'll read it. (These days I'm going to start ToA,but since I have a lot to do for school and my final exam I don't think I'll be able to read all of it). He also didn't had a problem with 3 narrators since TLH was pretty ok,especially with balancing for the first time 3 PoVs of 3 new different characters and dynamics; and SoN is probably one of his strongest book from a writing prospective,and one of the backbone of HoO. I also think that 3 narrators are good enough for a book,because otherwise it can get really messy. And I say this as a fanfic writer that has a fanfic with more than 7 narrators in a multichapter povs. It's hell to write all of them down and I need to establish an order where I write 3-4 for each chapter (there are 7 main characters,yes-),and then add the eventual others PoVs from the side characters. I'm extremely regretting my choice,but I unfortunately can't change it since I'm already writing it. Fortunately is in third person,otherwise I was going to cry. Never again in my life. Thanks to this I can kinda understand a bit of Riordan's problems for HoO,because it's a stuggle trying to fit a lot of PoVs in a books.

I firmly believe he should have stopped at 3 (maybe a fourth if he can) and rotated them for all the other books. Because the real problem started with MoA,where we got 5 narrators,and the quality started to go down the drain,both for the story and for the characters themselves. Some of them (read: Jason because Riordan could care less about him,and Piper because he never tried to do something with her) are really underdeveloped,others turned out straight up toxic (looking at you Annabeth for even thinking that your boyfriend was stupid when you know how smart he is,and Leo for your horrible coping mechanism) and some where completely pushed in the back (Frank,Hazel and Percy himself). And having to add 2 other PoVs at the end of the serie really took from the Seven,but it was unfortunately something Riordan couldn't avoid since Reyna and Nico both entered the main character stage in HoH,and were important to their mission (their PoVs kinda saved BoO ngl-). There is also an inconsistentincy with the PoVs because there were more greeks than romans,and during HoH the order,and how many chapters they had,went down the drain too.

If he struggles to do more than 3/4 PoVs,which is completely valid,he shouldn't add more. Focus on them based on the importance they have in the current book. MoA is literally Annabeth's book,then add Jason PoVs since it's where the whole Romans Vs Greeks conflict started,put Hazel PoVs too since she was Jason's friend and doesn't know what's going on with him,and either choose between Piper (for the same reason in the book) or Percy (same reason as Jason).

HoH? Percy PoVs needs to stay. Add Frank (for the same reason in the book) and Leo so he can have a bit of development and find his place in the Seven instead of making him fly to Calypso,and then choose between Piper (give her that development) or Annabeth (she was in the same situation as Percy so hers doesn't really matter since we saw her in Percy's)

BoO? Nico PoVs needs to stay because it carried 50% of it. Put Piper (for the same reason in the book),Hazel so she can finally grow in her powers (not talking about the mist-) and then choose between Reyna (for the same reason as Annabeth in HoH,we see her all of the book in Nico's) or Jason (same reason in the book),and give the last chapter to Percy so we don't actually know if Leo is dead or not for having a better plot twist later on.

This is only my opinion of which PoVs should be better of course,you could have a different opinion. Not a problem at all. Riordan in the end of the day it's the author and this was what he wanted,completely fair too,but I think it would have been better if he balanced 3 or 4,instead of going for 5 or more.

Probably would have been better if the whole HoO had more than 5 books,maybe one for each main character and then have a final one where they rotated PoVs for each chapters (not 3 each) and add Nico's or Reyna's. The last one would be a little more than the usual 300+ pages (probably closer or a bit more than 500),and should be splitted between the Seven in Athens and Nico and Reyna at CHB,the conflict between the camps and the final clash with Gaia should be more than 10 pages.

It should probably go like TLO: put a couple of chapaters as introduction of the final plans for the war,then have the Seven battling the Giants in Athens while Nico and Reyna take care of the conflict between the camps, rotate PoVs between them (so we feel the hype and anxiety) for the rest of the book,and spend like 50-60 pages only about the final shout down with Gaia before going on with the aftermath. This way it doesn't feel rushed like BoO felt and,again,the last chapter should be Percy's,or if not him then Jason since it's like we end his story.

It already sound better like this,and all of the characters should already have all of their development,so that the last book can be centred only on the final conflicts,instead of traveling for more than 300 pages and doing everything in the last 80. That's not how you do a war arc,and TLO is a good example of Riordan's writing of it. He can put a lot of quality in his works (manifesting this for his recent books) but he needs to lock in already knowing what he needs to focus on,and what he need to do for having that type of climax. If he did it in PJO he could have done it in HoO too,specially because we had HoH,a literally masterpiece,before the last book in the same serie. It's not like he lost his sparks after PJO since there are some good books in HoO too.

Of course there are a lot of other issues too,the characters themselves are a mess and some of them stay a mess without having time to grow (*cough cough* Piper,Jason,Reyna,Leo *cough cough*),but that's mainly Riordan's fault since he doesn't know what to do with most of them. And then in ToA he literally throw them under the bus,some more than others (read: Jason,Piper with whatever he thought he was doing right and Reyna being in the Hunt after she fought so hard for CJ). But I think the various PoVs from different characters,most of which new,really did a number on his writing.

[heartslobbf]

hater alert! far too many people say that juri’s character arc ‘isn’t about her being sad about being gay, it’s about being sad about unrequited love that happens to be gay’ and. well. that is not true and by saying that you are completely flattening the brilliance of juri’s character arc which literally culminates in her being able to accept her own lesbianism despite her unrequited love, despite all her shame and self-loathing, despite this pursuit by Some Fucking Guy to try and ‘save’ her from these feelings. like if you think juri’s entire character is just ‘sad about shiori’ how do you appreciate even a modicum of the emotion packed into that final juri duel. it is both about shiori and, even broader, her lesbian identity and what that means to her intrinsically as a person, removed from romantic relationships and just purely as like. you know. Who She Is. the idea that even when juri’s locket is cut from her neck she is still a lesbian that’s still who she is and she cant change that and, crucially, she doesn’t want to even as she is agonised by these feelings. that’s why she forfeits the duel!!!! she’s clocking out she’s quitting she’s saying no!!!!!! this is me and ive got to be ok with that this is me and i can accept that this girl might not love me and i can keep living despite that. like. god im so normal arisugawa juri im so sorry that no one understands you and your intrinsically unapologetically lesbian storyline like i do

[just-some-guy-joust]

hello chonny jash fans. do you have an image of The Whole i can use cause the only one i could find looks like ass EDIT: RESOLVED THANK YOU

[tearlessrain]

I mean years ago I really hoped that we might get some coherent dalish lore in this game that actually treated them with some measure of respect, and I was trying to give the benefit of the doubt that maybe people were right and the weird handling of their culture and beliefs thus far was a setup that would pay off when the veil crumbles and shit goes down and we see more of both the dalish and tevinter, and then we'd get some cool deconstruction of both the dalish gods AND the maker/andraste.

but that was years ago and by roughly the third time they re-announced the game I was starting to suspect that development had passed out of the hands of anyone who would give a shit about lore and setting and story payoff long ago.

and based on what people are saying so far it looks like that's true.

[luv-again]

OH MY GOD THAT'S RIGHT I WAS GONNA DO SNIPPETS FOR MY SHADAMY PRINCE OF PERSIA AU A N D MY ODDWORLD AU

I got so caught up in everything else that I totally forgot ???