#and it also put together characters the og writer of them was trying very very hard to make a thing | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

moonspirit · 2 years ago

Note

Hi, Moon! Let's play Fanfic Writer: Director's Cut game, shall we? OKAY, the thing is, I could just smashed "give me a whole analysis on your story", but I respect your time, so let's start with VBEOW: - The bridge scenes, all of them, with Aruani and the refugess - Big shoes, small shoes (I have a hunch that, maybe, it doesn't include only Aruani, but other double A's as well...) - The Wings of Freedom seal - The choice of plants for PokoPiku lovestory - Aoife- Annie moment in chapter 8

Anna 🙃 you certainly remember more than I do of what even goes on in this fic 🙃🙃🙃 I'm also so very sorry, I... this is very long....

1. The Bridge Scenes.

So far, there have been... Two. First when we saw Armin and Annie "cross" it (because technically they didn't fully cross it) early in the morning, and then again when they go across to the refugee settlement and Armin gives that fancy speech and helps our poor fear-worn refugees cross it.

The lake in this village in Kald is inspired by Lake Brienz in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. Ever since I first saw it, I wanted to put AA in this setting in a fic someday. And when I started writing again, VBEOW was my setting to do that. The bridge however, was not planned. I wanted a village on this side of the lake, and some cottages on that side, simply for scenic purposes, and it wasn't until Annie went on her first solo morning walk, that the bridge happened. Same with the settlement cottages.

Eventually however, this gave me an opportunity to do several things:

1. Separate the AA and the other four physically, from the Ft.Salta refugees and the warriors' parents. This would give them the space and liberty to live their new lives on their own, together, while also being able to freely visit their parents (who belonged to their past, a terrible past). Basically, new life -------(bridge)------- old life.

2. Provide an opporutnity to "bridge" the gap between the liberio refugees, and the host of issues they come with. What issues? Two. One, their hatred toward the Eldians on Paradis (surely there are many who thought like Eren's grandpa, OG Jaeger). This one was pretty much "resolved to a great extent" in TFLM with that train pulling scene and I didn't want to go into it again. Second however, is their generational trauma. The Liberio Eldians faced a horrifying confinement brutally enforced on them by the Marleyans and like Grisha's sister was fed to the dogs for leaving the internment zone without a permit, I'm sure other families faced the same horrors. When you're terrorized like that, you don't try to leave when you're put in a box. By physically placing the refugees on the opposite side of the lake, in a set of abandoned cottages, away from the village and general populace of native Kaldians, it's like another confinement. An opportunity to get them to rise over it. But this can be done only by...

3. Developing Armin's character enough, to be able to do this. So one of the many great things Erwin did was recognizing Armin's brilliance and potential and giving him a boost despite being a green recruit. But we never got to see him gradually grow into that leadership and position of command thanks to Eren's genocidal ass, instead we have that post-timeskip shot in 139 where he looks a great deal more confident and sure about himself,.... but I believe it would've been an absolute treat to see him grow bit by bit into this state. And I wanted VBEOW to be a fic where I could make that happen. Using his empathetic and understanding approach, Armin drew a line that had to be crossed on the middle of the bridge - (we'll get to why the middle in the next point), forcing them to "want" to "cross the physical barrier" that's a 2D chalk line. Without a line, it's just a bridge they're scared of crossing. With the line, it becomes more, by stepping over it each time, they're reminding themselves that they're free now, they can cross any line and any border in the world. They're equals, and they're nothing less. The Boy who Saw Hope, gathering enough confidence to do this, cementing himself as a very different kind of world leader (one that doesn't just seek power and glory), and also, becoming more confident with himself.

4. In the context of AA alone, the bridge is... the middle. The meeting point between two worlds. A paradisian. A marleyan. Both Eldians (well, annie is half), separated by walls and told to kill the other. Despite it all, they always gravitated toward each other and now, they're at the very middle and center. Also a symbolic way of saying that they crossed the "borders" long ago when they fell in love :3 Armin sees this (and also realizes how he can use it for the refugees later on) and emotional, kisses her there. Bec he's a sap. And corny.

2. Big Shoes, Small Shoes.

While I usually look up symbolism on the internet, I didn't do this for shoes. Shoes in VBEOW represent many things - the desire to travel and go places, the crossing of great distances... and so on. Shoes are also the first things you see when you come home. In a proper "home" you're going to find them lying haphazard and messy, strewn here and there carelessly, arranged in a row together. It's a sign of people being home, family being home. It's a sign of home. And Annie and Armin, are each other's home, and they're also building a place they can call home. So when Annie shoves her shoes close to Armin's, it's her desire to build a place just for herself and him, although maybe subconsciously still, she's seeing it happen and she wants it. She likes it and she's safe and happy in a house with him where no more terrors and battles wait to be fought. It's a sign of peace and quiet she's always wanted. This plot isn't over tho, and you'll see this specific scene happen again xD

But the shoes are also for the OTHER AA in this story, namely the little kids Asa and Aoife. So, written to simply be parallels to Aruani's lives, they have grown their own lives now and I no longer can keep them as "just" mirror images of Aruani's pasts. Armin puts himself in Asa's little shoes to help him grow, to be the sort of person he wished he'd had in his own life. Annie... is also faced with this dilemma currently and we'll see what she does.

3. Wings of Freedom Seal.

So first of all, I'm weirdly attached to this symbol xD Ever since I first saw it... I wanted it xD I loved it xD I bought so MANY tshirts with it printed on them lmao. ANyways.

So remember how BIG of a deal the SC was back in S1-3? And in S4 we've got so much of shit thrown at us that the significance of the SC fades into the background, brought back in that one (or two) episode(s) where Hange gathers everyone around the fire to share her potato stew. There, we know that the Alliance opposes Eren's genocide because of what the SC always believed in. Freedom for mankind as a whole. Between's Erwin's charisma, Hange's curiosity and Armin's dreams, Armin seemed to me always the one best suited to wear the wings on his back. Simply because for him, Freedom is the beauty of life, the beauty of discovery and learning and exploration. So while we have them wearing suits and looking amazing as "Ambassadors" in 139, I kinda... wanted them to carry the Wings proudly throughout the 3 year timeskip. After all, all of them except for Pieck, were part of the 104th. Except Annie, the rest all belonged to the SC. And Annie would've joined the SC if not for her mission, I feel. In the end, they were brought together by the same ideals, the ideal held proud and high by the Wings of Freedom. Giving it to Armin as a seal was... like... giving him the power to wield it in his future efforts as a world leader.

4. Pieck, Porco and the Plants.

So there's no argument that the warriors had terrible lives. They were bred to be war weapons and had their life spans shortened to 13 years. Above all that, despite fighting Marley's dirty wars, they were still treated horribly, looked upon as devils and scum for being Eldian in the first place and well, seen as shit. In comparison, the Paradisians had better lives, they were at least equal and happier within their walls. Now. I won't get into Pokopiku here, but with that kind of life, love is... Depressing. There's no future together. There's no guarantee of a tomorrow. One of them could be severely damaged in a explosion or whatever and that'd be the end of them. Still, they made the most of their time, and tried in those little pockets of time alone, not to feel like the warriors they'd been told to be.

To be human is also to take care of things. To take care of life. Plants, are life. Plants symbolise life in their growth, in their colour, in the care needed to help them survive. Plants are harmless and if you care for them, it's kinda like taking care of your own children. Pokopiku here dreamed of this one day, where they'd live in a house covered head to toe with plants, taking care of them, taking care of life, living life for once, and enjoying it, free of worries and responsibilities. It was also their desire to be with each other, dreamed of in secret, special only because they thought of it when they were alone together. With Porco gone and her dream achieved, albeit without him, the plants in Pieck's room are Porco himself. And they'll stay, because he's part of her and always will be.

I have to mention tho, none of the plants in Pieck's room are flowering plants. None. That's important.

5. Aoife-Annie, Ch 8.

XD this one is like asking for spoilers since we haven't resolved this issue. But it won't be resolved for a long time really... Well... In a... Certain way... Okay i can't say more xD

But Aoife is Annie's younger self, brought up with bruises and pain, in different circumstances. We'll obviously go into those circumstances and why she is the way she is later on, and we'll see why she constantly says "I fall" (tho I think it's a little obvious but still), why she told Annie "nothing bad happens in Kald" the first time they met, and why she's arguably, quicker to open up to Annie than Annie possibly might've been, at the age of 10 herself. For Aoife, Annie is a bright lighthouse, a strong girl who's just told her she's been beaten like Aoife, but who remains strong and brave nevertheless. As to why Annie's the only one who she sees as a sign of hope.. we'll find out that too later on. But yeah. She latches onto that the very minute she hears it and begs her to teach her to fight. Because what could be better than to be strong like Annie? Like this girl, so fierce yet caring, who'd wrapped a bandage around her burns, paid enough attention to her to notice them in the first place, and accepted her company and gifts of sweets?

As for Annie... She's trying to live a new life, putting memories of her past behind her. Memories of being trained to fight wars she didn't care about, and memories of before that, when she was abused by her father. She finds herself in an extremely dangerous situation (for her) where agreeing to help this girl will take her back to those times and days. The ring on her finger symbolises all the death she's caused and it came from fighting in the first place... Why would she willingly go back there? She's wanted nothing but peace and quiet and a life away from fighting - now that it's in her hands, she wants to stay put. It's also the recurring fear of feeling like she'll be white washing her crimes (or trying to atleast) with this one act of kindness, because to help is to give hope, to the other person and to oneself. And Annie doesn't want to give herself any hope that she's guilt free. While she believed she cared about nothing except her dad, we know she cared a great deal about much more. She does have guilt, and she carries it heavily.

Oh god :D if you made it here... God, I'm amazed #_# Thank you so much for asking me tho!

I have no idea how I even wrote all this... Does this... Really belong to my fics... ?

#ask game #annawayne #VBEOW

12 notes · View notes

aureli-us · 8 months ago

Text

20 Questions for Fic Writers!

i was tagged by @2lim3rz but the og post was getting pretty big, so i remade it!

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

30! soon to be 31 😎

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count?

1,166,343. 😳 woah

3. What fandoms do you write for?

mainly skyrim! it's my most beloved, my bread and butter. however i recently also wrote for one piece, dragon age, spiderverse, and some older stuff for jojo's and star trek!

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

1. apocrypha

2. dragonmark

3. smut drabbles (not really a fic but im lazy)

4. break of dawn

5. sic parvis magna

5. Do you respond to comments?

ALWAYS‼️ i love love LOVE commentors and do my best to respond within 1-3 days!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

UGH i wish i could but i don't often do REALLY angsty endings. so this would probably have to be dragonmark, since it ends with tharya and miraak quite estranged from one another and quite a frosty exchange of dialogue, as well as setting up for the next fic (which ends a teensy bit angsty as well, but not really)

possible runnerup to this is from the new world with love, since it ends rather ambiguously on what happens next.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

easily revenant. it's a rollercoaster of a fic, approx 40 chapters iirc, but ends with the thing i set out to do when i initially started writing the first & last series :3

8. Do you get hate on fics?

NO, but i have gotten bot comments! i'll take it as a mark of fame 💅 lmao (jk i have no allusions of grandeur)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

YES. YES. YES. i'm probably a boring smut writer bc i kinda just write tharya and miraak over and over and over and over and over. but i do enjoy experimenting with them!

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

not really - though i did write a dragon break fic once and asked a few other writer friends to lend me their characters for it.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope! would be cool!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

also not really, but for that same dragon break fic i had those writer friends write scenes and brainstorm with me to fit everything together! so in a way, sort of :)

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

god....would it make sense to say even though i write, i'm not very active in fandoms? i've never really considered myself well and truly a PART of a fandom (aside from skyrim), just someone who likes to orbit the fandom and extract ideas from the source content. so i don't have many fandom/canon ships i like. can i say my own characters instead??? if so. my ldb/miraak 10000000%

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

hmm....well, it was arms of chaos before i gave up and deleted it. i have two longstanding WIPs (jojo fic and miguel fic) but i'm in love with their content and ideas, so i do have full intentions to finish them both! might just take a while

16. What are your writing strengths?

i would say putting emotion and description into my work. i LOVE trying to perfectly capture emotions as i feel them, even if that sometimes means the way they get written can be unorthodox. and, ofc, im obsessed with describing stuff all. the. time.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

description is a double edged sword LMAO😭 sometimes (most times) i go way too overboard or in depth. i also have a hard time writing kids 💀 and am not the best at writing normal fluff, i always need some kind of emotion or drama or problem/underlying plot to latch onto. i really wish i was, bc then i could write the cyrodiil vacation fic i've been dreaming of for two years

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

supporter! i do it occasionally with miraak and tharya. the original shōgun miniseries from i think the 80s is what first showed me that not all dialogue needs to be understood by the audience - in fact, it can be a powerful plot device when it isn't. so i'm a big fan of untranslated dialogue (in moderation) when it serves a purpose. otherwise i just denote the dialogue is in a different language after writing it in english.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

god....probably transformers (i've gotten over that shame and am now in love w transformers again)

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

i often say revenant because it is in a way my crowning glory. but it's also stuck in my old style of writing (which is not bad, just less matured imo, and more flighty). but revenant is probably my fav ever content for a fic, it's something i wanted to write for like 4yrs before i did - from the new world with love is the only fic currently completed in my newer, aged wine style, and i really enjoy that one as well!

((but my coming soon fic is probably gonna take the cake whenever it drops))

i'll tag @kiir-do-faal-rahhe @nuwanders @elventhief @nusaran and absolutely leave an open tag for anyone who wants to do it :) tag me so i can see it!

#tag game #links updated #writing game #thank you for the tag!!!!#this was fun to do lol i'll take any excuse to infodump about my writing #aurelius is writing #skyrim fic #aurelius and tes #skyrim ldb #one piece oc #one piece smoker #one piece

5 notes · View notes

usamamoweek · 2 years ago

Text

Meet the Mods!

What username(s) and platform(s) can folx find you on? (Please include links!)

Hi, folx! I'm Lillie Bell. I can be found on AO3, and all my shenanigans happen on tumblr @lilliebellfanfics

(Fun Fact) What is your favorite kind of potato?

Waffle House hashbrowns -- smothered, covered, and capped

How long have you been creating works in fandom spaces? How long have you been active in the SM fandom?

I'm one of the OG crew from when the internet was young (lol). I wrote SM fanfiction as a teenager during the era of Alicia Blade, ASMR, etc., I had a short stint in as the writing mod in the SML LJ community, and have recently returned to writing fanfiction, mostly smut, after a long hiatus. I also write for Seven Deadly Sins when I'm not completely lost in SM.

What type(s) of creative works do you usually make? (fanfics, digital art, cosplay)

I cannot draw to save my life or take a good picture, so I am solidly a writer only. I am super impressed by folx who can work in multiple mediums. Words are hard enough, so that's what I stick too :D

What do you enjoy about creating for the SM fandom?

I love the joy & support the community has for each other as well as the diversity of ships and people in the fandom. For the characters, there are so many facets to play with and explore that I never feel like I'm done telling their stories. There are so many more situations to put these babies in!

Are you strictly UsaMamo or do you create for other pairings as well?

I write more UsaMamo than any other pairing, but ReiNako are my grumpy x sunshine queens and I love them. I've also delved into writing KunZoi recently and love their dynamic as well. I'm very much ship and let ship, so I enjoy reading pretty much any ship, but I can only write a pairing/poly that I feel I have a good grasp on. Hence, usually UsaMamo, ReiNako, and sometimes KunZoi.

What inspires you to create works for Usagi and Mamoru?

All the feels (lol). I have specific facets of their personalities or backgrounds that I love to explore. I love to mess with Mamoru the Orphan and how that shapes his decisions & personality (good and bad), and how he evolves with that background over time. I love happy-go-lucky Usagi who is just out in a world being herself, falling through life and living it to the fullest, but also has these big responsibilities and rises to every call.

Do you tend to work on multiple projects (WIPs) simultaneously or try to finish one at a time?

I have multiple WIPs right now, but I tend to be very focused on one at a time (for better or worse). I don't like leaving things not done, so multiple WIPs starts to grate on me to just get it done.

Do you prefer large projects (chaptered fics, webtoons/zines, highly detailed art) or small projects (one-shots or simple art)?

I like one shots / smaller fics where I can hint at how we got here or how the future might look after, but the focus is one small moment between the characters. That said, I currently have two long fics I'm working on... because reasons. XD

Are there any common themes, situations, tropes, or mediums in your work?

I write fairly broadly between dark, smut, and some fluff. There's usually a comedic edge, so it's not 24/7 serious (I'm not that person if you noticed ;D ). My favorite tropes are forbidden love/romance and the banter of grumpy x sunshine. There are definite themes but they may not always come through. For Mamoru, I like to put him in situations he isn't prepared for and help him make bad decisions. I really enjoy playing with his connection to Earth / Elysion and his strong sense of loyalty/duty to Usagi, as well as his shitennou. For Usagi, I think her friends treat her too delicately and, even though she's a bit silly or not totally organized, she will show up for her friends or the world when it's in trouble. I like to play in that space where she is unexpectedly mature b/c Usagi is a quintessential example of a person who doesn't have her shit together, she's not perfect & that's okay, and she can save the world just as she is. MF QUEEN.

I bring these elements into my other pairings--they are pretty common dynamics. KunZoi and ReiNako are facets of grumpy x sunshine and love vs duty/honor. So, I do like to push the characters into uncomfortable territory and then see how they respond. Rei always raises to the bait. Kunzite will crumble... eventually (if mechanical bulls are involved).

Is there anything you haven’t explored artistically and would like to try?

I've done a little bit of everything in my tenure in the fandom, but I think I'd like to produce a few more chaptered works, but not excessively long (6 chaps vs 20). I seem to be strong in either the one shot category or long fic category, but not in between. So that's something I'd very much like to work on for my own sanity.

#sailor moon #usamamoweek2023 #meet the creators

17 notes · View notes

biblioflyer · 2 years ago

Text

Picard s3e2 Reactions

Dear Picard writers, I know you’re traumatized by the backlashes to seasons one and two but you still can subvert expectations, you don’t always have to commit to the old tropes.

Where they went boldly

I’m going to start off with the good before I whine, because this was a very good episode. Spoilers ahead:

More character development for Raffi! We meet the ex-partner and get some insight into who she was before. A picture is starting to come together that she was always a bit troubled, prone to paranoia and obsessive behavior, but it got significantly worse after Mars. I was disappointed that the implication in the first episode that she had made amends with her son was not entirely accurate. The brutality of “The Choice” to either chase the mystery or have her partner advocate for her to their son was harsh but it also threw into stark relief just how hard the last decade and change was for them.

OG Trekkers will still probably be kind of salty about this. This is supposed to be a utopia! Why are there “crazy people?!” Shouldn’t there be a robust mental healthcare system and social attitudes that make seeking help a no brainer?

What Star Trek Picard tells us about the Federation and its relationship with mental health is a topic I intend to explore more deeply as part of my “Did Picard Turn the Federation Into a Dystopia?” series (I should think of a pithier title.)

The short version is that I think the examples we have of troubled characters has a valuable narrative purpose, recall that Star Trek is a very “meta” franchise - it is NOT a documentary of the future but rather a collection of secular fables that tell the audience about the present using the future as a storytelling device. It can also be aspirational and instructive, but again where it is these things, it is trying to lay out a divergent path we can take in order to arrive at a better future.

Raffi and other characters like her such as Barclay also tell us about the values of the Federation itself: it is incredibly respectful of individual autonomy, so much so that you can live alone in the desert, getting high and chasing rabbit holes and nobody will bother you as long as you don’t bother anyone else.

My belief is that help is available but nobody is going to show up and drag you off to care. Whether this is for the greater good or not is a debate well worth having, especially in an era of mass shootings but also the criminalization of not conforming to median assumptions about gender.

Some may also argue that Raffi’s status as mentally ill or neurodivergent demands that she be afforded more or unlimited compassion and patience. I would tend to agree with the element of mental health discourse that a wide latitude ought to be afforded to accommodate people with personality types and conditions that make it more difficult to conform to normative society, however there are reasonable limits and people who feel victimized by someone’s behavior cannot responsibly be good advocates and caregivers for that person.

I consider it a tribute to MIchelle Hurd’s performance and the writing of the character that Raffi infuriates me yet my heart also bleeds for her at the same time. These reactions are not paradoxical to me, they are an impressive depiction of what it’s like to care deeply about someone who is incredibly difficult to be a friend or partner to.

The Captain Shaw(shank) Redemption

The Call to Adventure has been trying to reach you about your starship’s extended warranty.

Shaw’s continuing attempts to resist the Call to Adventure is in an immediate sense, very annoying, yet at the same time if one pulls back emotionally and sets aside his demeanor, his arguments are very much rooted in the tradition of “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.”

Shaw represents the conundrum that societies have always had to struggle with. From his perspective, he is directly responsible for 500 lives aboard his ship. Putting them at risk for the sake of four people who have made choices that have taken them outside the protections and jurisdictions of the Federation, even outright repudiated those authorities, is heroic but profoundly irresponsible.

Let's not kid ourselves, before it’s all over people on the Titan will probably die because of Shaw’s decision to rescue Picard, Riker, and the Crushers from their problems. Of course it will probably turn out that the Crushers were involved in yet another convoluted mystery that could seal the fate of the entire Federation, if not the galaxy, but Shaw can’t know that yet.

Yet the heroism underpinning rescue operations is also in some sense, what makes a civilization civilized. Societies without some baseline belief in the deservedness of individuals to live, even if they don’t always make the best choices, is what makes a decent society possible, not mere conformity to a set of rules and norms.

In some sense I think Shaw represents a callback to Season One and its baggage. One might speculate that he represents some aspect of the Federation that is struggling with shaking off its self satisfied introversion and the sense that the outside universe is full of chaos and terror rather than wonder.

Should Shaw be “converted” to the Picard/Riker school, we might interpret this as a sign the Federation is well and truly restored as an entity that is not merely a construct of rules and norms, but is an emergent phenomenon of principles and attitudes.

Assorted Other Cool Stuff

Yippee Qa’pla-yay PetaQs!

Worf! As someone who spent much of the early seasons of TNG being pigeonholed as constantly angry and paranoid, he makes a good handler for Raffi because he’s got baggage that he’s had to overcome that slots into Raffi’s baggage well. A person torn between the high minded ethos of the Federation but prone to seeing darkness, a person who has not just lost love but buried two lovers, mayhaps we will finally get to see Worf doing the parts of the security job that involve unraveling mysteries instead of solving problems with a Bat’leth.

The bounty hunter is fun. Based on the design of the ship and the character’s scarring, I still assume she’s Son’a. It's actually a pretty good update to the look of the species because it actually seems a bit weird in retrospect that with all of the technology available to them, they’d look quite that morbid in spite of their vanity. Insurrection is such an underappreciated film despite it being far more like a typical TNG episode than any of the other TNG era films, so if there is even a tiny amount of worldbuilding in Picard that acknowledges Insurrection, that would be nice.

Unwanted Compliance with Genre Tropes

Okay here comes the whining.

Crush(er) my expectations, please.

“You’ll remember this day as the day you almost caught Captain Jack Picard!”

I suspect with an entire rest of the season to come, Jack Crusher’s origins may wind up being more complicated. Yet if they are going to go with the secret love child angle, I have every expectation that it's going to be well performed, everyone involved is doing a phenomenal job. This story, if played straight, is not to my liking from a world building perspective, but I’m open to it growing on me.

My problem is twofold.

First off, it's so unlike Beverly to have withheld a pregnancy from Picard. Unlike Kirk and Carol Marcus, there’s no radically divergent worldview or differences in priority. They’re both Starfleet, both exploration service officers, and they have a deep history. When they were lovers, they were old friends who had had a fling long in the past and were cautiously exploring whether or not being together still made sense. The way TNG portrayed this was incredibly thoughtful and mature, especially for the 90s.

It's not that the secret love child can’t work, it’s just that it better be darn good in order to not feel like it's stepping all over a lot of very good and very well resolved character arcs. This is, incidentally, what makes me think that there’s probably more to it. Jack is naturally somehow embedded into the storyline to come. My current estimate is that there’s a 40% chance he’s a Synth of some sort. 85% chance he was not conceived the old fashioned way.

My second problem has to do with Picard’s arc specifically. Picard throughout TNG was not chasing a nuclear family or children. These were the furthest from his mind. Generations planted the seed that Picard might be questioning this in light of the deaths of Rene and his family. In general though, Picard has always been portrayed as less concerned with biological family and more with found family. This would likely have led to him becoming a mentor to the children of his crew, but that pathway closed off after Mars and his self imposed isolation.

Jack represents another bite at that particular apple, but it just doesn’t quite feel right to me. As someone seriously considering whether or not biological family is something that’s going to happen for him, I understand the sentiment of wanting that experience yet I also in some ways am envious of people who don’t feel the itch and can just be entirely content with deep commitments to friends and other sources of fulfillment. Being that Picard was just that sort of person, there’s something about springing the secret love child trope onto the character and having him be someone who is “not a person who leaves a legacy” that feels like a retcon of sorts. Even the “not leaving a legacy” bit is kind of contradictory because Picard is proud of his family lineage and its reputation, even if he himself was content to have no direct heirs.

Prove me wrong Picard writers. That’s not a taunt, that’s a polite request.

Raffi off the wagon.

I really don’t want to go through this with this character if that’s where they’re going with this.

Narratively, I recognize Raffi’s struggle is everyone’s struggle to stay sober and to keep their mental health in check. Yet I sincerely hope that the classic relapse trope doesn’t play itself out because I think the character deserves to be portrayed as in control and competent after two seasons of stories about mastering various demons.

I have never been part of the Raffi hatedom but I also recognize that there are legitimate complaints about the plausibility of this character ever having been a capable member of Starfleet and the general unlikability of the character. Which again, if you have ever struggled with caring for someone who makes it incredibly difficult to be there for them then I think we see the same thing in Raffi and the lack of nuance in the Raffi hatedom is also depressingly emblematic of the way that a particular sort of person turns every face into a mirror for their own self loathing. Herd’s performance and the Picard writers are victims of their own prowess.

It's not as if I think that a composed, effective Raffi who doesn’t drive everyone around her crazy would silence the critics; but the part of me who is still caring for people who couldn’t care for themselves wants to see the character thrive.

#star trek #star trek picard #Worf #picard season 3 #picard spoilers #Picard s3e2 #picard disengage #captain shaw #raffi musiker #star trek mental health

5 notes · View notes

homebody-nobody · 2 years ago

Note

this is an unpopular opinion but since i love ur takes i would like your opinion on this. don’t u think the fandom sometimes forces so many dynamics between the pogues because they want all the pogues friendships to be equal? even when that’s realistically impossible. as a group, they all would fight for each other but the differences in loyalty will always be present.

you cannot ask jj to be loyal or open to sarah or cleo the same way he would with john b, pope or kie. it’s not realistic. i think that while he cares about sarah as a friend and has bonded with her. the reason him and pope even cared for her was because of john b, he loved her and therefore they extended their loyalty towards her. and i know people might disagree on this but if it came down to sarah or john b, i believe kie would put john b first. when ward “died”, her loyalty was towards john b. this is why it was a bit unrealistic for kiara to not be a little bit more upset over her cheating on john b. i wish the writers would’ve done a better job on making us believe in the friendship between kie and sarah but so far the dynamic between the og pogues seems to be the most believable and organic.

now with the added romantic pairings, you can expect them to put their significant other first. john b has put sarah over his friends multiple occasions even if indirectly. he did so very directly in this finale against his dad. i would imagine pope will start to experience a similar switch with cleo if presented with the challenge and of course, i think we all know that if it comes down to the pogues plans or kiara – he will pick kiara. he was ready to ditch the gold and to delay john b’s plan to safe his dad for kiara. and this is actually an interesting plot for the pogues. how willing are they to put their lives in danger now that they are not longer just a friend group with a common goal? but there’s romantic partners in the mix… it used to be only sarah, now there’s more players in the game.

As far as I know, I haven't encountered people trying to force pogue friendships? But I don't read a lot of fic so it may be happening in spaces I'm not in.

I think that loyalty is a central idea to the show, for sure, and we see varying levels of that across dynamics and in different circumstances -- family, found family, friendships, and romantic relationships. I think that the 'deserted island for a month' thing was meant to enhance and reinforce the pogues love and loyalty for each other, including Sarah and Cleo.

re: the Kie & Sarah dynamic, I understand what you mean about Kie's reaction to Sarah cheating on John B, but we have to remember that Sarah and Kie had a relationship -- a very deep, intimate one -- before the show began. Kie was hurt by her betrayal, but after Sarah's apology in season one and everything else they've been through together since, I think Kie's loyalty to Sarah makes sense. Also, Kie had the context of what happened -- she got to see Sarah's deep guilt and shame over what she did, and while it's clear she doesn't approve of it, she understands where Sarah is coming from and wants to stand by her and help her repair her relationship with John B. I think at that point in the story, Sarah has proven her loyalty to the pogues several times over, and while Kie was nervous when she saw Sarah with Topper, the way that Sarah immediately ditched Topper and went with Kie ( I was CHEERING in that moment -- I was so hoping they weren't gonna force more Kie & Sarah conflict For The Drama), reassured her that Sarah's loyalty was in the right place. Also, Kie has a huge heart, and we know that she's very compassionate -- she loves animals, struggles to kill, even for survival, hurled herself off a tanker to save JJ, and risked her life to save the pilot. Kie giving Sarah the benefit of the doubt, hearing her explanation, and deciding to help her and still be her friend, I think, is still very much in character. I also wish we got more Kie & Sarah bonding scenes, but, the pates are men, and treasure rules the day.

I completely agree with what you said about John B and JJ, and their unfailing loyalty -- that trait is central to their characters and has already been a source of conflict for John B with his dad, and then also with JJ and Luke a little bit in season two. IN terms of Pope and Cleo, I don't think I could see Cleo putting Pope in a position to choose between backing her up or staying loyal to his friends, mostly because of Cleo's demonstrated loyalty to him and the rest of the group. Cleo grew up with no family, and I think that's the most important thing to consider when we look at her entrance into the pogues found family. Her instant loyalty makes a lot of sense -- these are the first people who have really showed that they care about her beyond what she can do for them. From the Pogues' side of things, Cleo has saved their lives (multiple times, I'm pretty sure), and is a valuable and valued member of the crew.

All in all, I think exploring the dynamics between all the members of the group is a really interesting thing to do in fan spaces, because we only get bits and pieces from the show. John B and Sarah, obviously, are already well-established with Cleo, as well as Pope, but we only see one moment of interaction specifically between her and JJ (when Cleo and Pope show up to the air strip), and so far, nothing between her and Kie. (Although it would be really interesting to see those two band together and bond over their experiences as black women, because Kiara hasn't had a friend who shares that life yet.) We see a lot of Sarah and Kie, but only one moment with Sarah and JJ (re: the overpass incident), and we know Sarah went to tell Pope about Rafe being back, but that happened offscreen.

For fic purposes, I think making them cohesive as a general crew makes sense, and while their are obvious differing levels of familiarity and friendship, I think loyalty, in this case, becomes transferrable. Sarah is loyal to JJ and Pope because John B is, and she trusts him. Same with Cleo to Kie and JJ with Pope. Also, even though some of the pogues have underdeveloped relationships with each other, I think they would still lay their life on the line for any of the other members, simply because they know that's what everyone else would do for them. This is illustrated especially by Cleo's loyalty and desperation to find Kie in the first two episodes, even though all of the development in their relationship happened off-screen, while surviving on the island for a month.

TL;DR - Basically, I don't think fans are forcibly or unrealistically depicting relationships between the pogues that don't know each other as well for two main reasons. 1) I haven't encountered it myself, and 2) by exploring and understanding evidence from canon, unfailing loyalty across all dynamics still makes an enormous amount of sense.

#so sorry this is a #long post #but I love getting questions because I love this show and I love talking about it!!#anon #answered #the pogues #this was a great question and I enjoyed answering it!!

2 notes · View notes

beardedmrbean · 9 months ago

Note

Ugh great now racists, are saying any type of black Mc means diversity hires

But here the issues like yes we can have more black rep in like in fantasy stuff

But there are fundamental difference between how I handle it vs they do

Okay it not rocket science, but as you know tumblr have the idea of diversity is middle schooler one

Also how people use my culture and people struggles to demonize white people…wait.

When these people learn about the dark side of American history? Are they blind to the several dark jokes we have towards Thomas Jefferson or why black Americans often have their ancestors slave owner last names?

No to mention most Congressmen got their slaves from inheritance

But the black characters are so UGH

Also why they all act like rootless urbanites? Yes I understand orphans was often used in stories (but anyone who a writer knows it for easy storytelling)

Also where the family? Like a black fantasy character man who struggled under his family shadow? Of course they exist and such. But like a black man and his son having a falling out but they slowly patch up

“But that says you want people to stay in their toxic families!” My brother in Christ my father and I have a complicated relationship

BUT I use our relationship to created a Jrpg scenario where a BLACK male Mc at 16, accidentally get his girlfriend knocked up

WAIT DO BREAK THE SEVEN SEALS YET- the mc named Darius decided to settled down and raised his son named Cyrus.

Now this is the first act of the game, Darius gf then wife named Maria leaves in the middle of the night when Cyrus is 4. Now 3 years after that, Darius decided to go on a quest and he bring his 7 year old son along with him.

Yes I can hear the new god of war similarities between my ocs and Atreus and Kratos. But the thing is that they are very different execution. My OC was standard Jrpg adventurer that accidentally became a father and still in his 20’s. Kratos was a Spartan who became a god and well we all known how he was in the og gow games.

But Cyrus is mainly a mage who overtime because a marksman as he get older becomes there a Industrial Revolution going on in this fantasy setting and Darius think that giving his son a long range weapon (Cyrus get taking around 9 or 10) suck as rifle would be easier for him to use for offensive

Also a gameplay mechanic that Cyrus gave a magical backpack that actually like your moveable inventory. You known how parents used your book bag on field trips?

Though as Cyrus getting older and level ups. He picked on the tactic and after a big boss battle when you try to put an item into his back bag. He goes “HEY!” because his magic is also develop so he needs room too.

But think about my fantasy idea, I’m subverting the deadbeat teen dad stereotype AND using the father and son roadtrip formula as inspiration.

What we already kill them, let take their shit

Oh wait I can control my daddy issues, so something fresh and rare like my Jrpg idea wouldn’t work

Ugh great now racists, are saying any type of black Mc means diversity hires

Not sure if that was the plan of the people pushing forced diversity or not but it's the outcome most people with sense saw coming, Justice Jackson that biden appointed is gonna have that hanging over her head forever too, regardless of the fact that she was (is) very qualified to have the job.

Several of them freed their slaves too, at least to the extent that they could,

But the black characters are so UGH Also why they all act like rootless urbanites? Yes I understand orphans was often used in stories (but anyone who a writer knows it for easy storytelling) Also where the family? Like a black fantasy character man who struggled under his family shadow? Of course they exist and such. But like a black man and his son having a falling out but they slowly patch up “But that says you want people to stay in their toxic families!” My brother in Christ my father and I have a complicated relationship

I'm enjoying how you're covering my side of this too here.

Hey writers, maybe try writing and working out a solution occasionally, like, as said, patching up a familial relationship issue.

That doesn't work as well for the YA dystopian fantasy novel and those are what's cool now I think.

Maybe Stephanie Meyer can work some of that in to the Twilight thingy she's supposed to be working on......

BUT I use our relationship to created a Jrpg scenario where a BLACK male Mc at 16, accidentally get his girlfriend knocked up WAIT DO BREAK THE SEVEN SEALS YET- the mc named Darius decided to settled down and raised his son named Cyrus. Yes I can hear the new god of war similarities between my ocs and Atreus and Kratos. But the thing is that they are very different execution. My OC was standard Jrpg adventurer that accidentally became a father and still in his 20’s. Kratos was a Spartan who became a god and well we all known how he was in the og gow games.

lol

But think about my fantasy idea, I’m subverting the deadbeat teen dad stereotype AND using the father and son roadtrip formula as inspiration.

I'm enjoying the progression here, be fun to see Cyrus with a firearm too, even if he never uses it, not after teaching his kid at least, good father and son bonding time over learning gun safety n such.

Wouldn’t you want to play a Jrpg where you fish with your son, watch as his skills grows, loot powerful dungeons together, teach him how to unleash plagues on bandits. And then how to loot their corpses for money or items. What we already kill them, let take their shit Oh wait I can control my daddy issues, so something fresh and rare like my Jrpg idea wouldn’t work

Ahh you beat me there on all of that then, lmao.

This all sounds like a good start on all of this.

#zoomer huey anon

1 note · View note

im-no-jedi · 1 year ago

Text

*rubs hands together* oh boy here we go. this post is already really long so I'll try to keep it short LOL

Your favorite member of TBB is: Hunter and Omega 🥰

Because: Hunter has been my favorite since the og unfinished TBB arc, he's everything I could possibly want in a man and more. and Omega is such a spunky little sweetie, I also instantly fell in love with her when I saw her. and I absolutely adore the relationship these two have together, it's my absolute favorite thing ever 💙💙💙

You identify the most with: also, ironically, Hunter LOL

Because: oldest sibling of four who has much trauma and puts on a facade of "everything is fine, don't worry about me" while definitely having an internal crisis 24/7. also would kill for my family and is awkward af. oh, and we have the exact same hair to boot 😝

Your favorite minor character from the show: I have too many! Howzer, Mayday, Phee, Cid (despite it all), Roland, AZI, and even Bolo and Ketch! I love them all! 🥰

Because: Howzer because of how kind and loyal he is. Mayday because of how snarky and badass he was. Phee because she's fun and genuinely wants to befriend TBB. Cid because she reminds me of Dola from Castle In The Sky (no srsly tell me I'm wrong!). Roland because he's a sassy binch and has the potential to become a frienemy for TBB. AZI because I've loved him since TCW and his adorable bond with Omega! and Bolo and Ketch mostly because of their voice actors (who are BFFs irl) 😁

A TBB-centric piece or post of yours that you are most proud of: my entire self-insert fic series MLWTBB of course! especially the first story 😊

Because: the first MLWTBB story was the first fic I'd finished since I was 14!! it's also (currently) the longest thing I've ever written; the entire series currently sits at almost 270,000 words, and it's still going! \o/

Link so that we can appreciate it: the link to my masterlist is always in my pinned post, but here it is anyway! 💙 it has links to both the Tumblr versions and AO3 versions of each story, depending on your preference 😋

A TBB-centric piece of art that slaps so hard you enjoy (and why): I actually had someone ask about this recently, and I wrote a nice long post about it! I'll link to it below 😊

Link: here ya go!✨

A TBB-centric fanfic that gives you life you enjoy (and why): I'm actually more of a writer than a reader 😅 but I did really enjoy this little blurb that @questforgalas wrote inspired by one of @zaana's artworks featuring Hunter and Crosshair having a bonding moment pre Empire. it's so cute and soft and I need more moments like this please 🥺💙

Link: BOOM here come the feels

A TBB headcanon or trope that is 100% canon to you: I actually have several lists of personal headcanons that I've posted in the past 😁 you can read them here! 💙

Color(s) you think would suit if Crosshair gets "Mercenary" armor: I've become partial to him having green on him due to his Imperial armor, I think it looks good on him. also cause Slytherin vibes haha

One thing you NEED to see happen in Season 3: everyone (including Tech who is VERY much alive!) coming back together and retiring on Pabu. or at the very least, Hunter and Omega retire to Pabu and have that be a home-base for the others to visit whenever they need to get away for a while 😊

I'll tag @photogirl894 and @jam-n-ham to do this if they want! 😋

Fellow Zealots of The Bad Batch, Unite!

Please share your answers to these questions and pass them on to some of your Bad Batch-loving buds!

Your favorite member of TBB is:

Because:

You identify the most with:

Because:

Your favorite minor character from the show:

Because:

A TBB-centric piece or post of yours that you are most proud of:

Because:

Link so that we can appreciate it:

A TBB-centric piece of art that slaps so hard you enjoy (and why):

Link:

A TBB-centric fanfic that gives you life you enjoy (and why):

Link:

A TBB headcanon or trope that is 100% canon to you:

Color(s) you think would suit if Crosshair gets "Mercenary" armor:

One thing you NEED to see happen in Season 3:

@wwheeljack @wrenkenstein @floundrickthewayfarer @raevulsix @enigmatist17 @slenderboo @echojedis @nika6q @zaana @wiseowl18 @toastyrobos @eclec-tech @jigget @destril @niobiumao3

#I reeeeeally held back on this one y'all LOL #mostly cause I've stated my opinions on similar things before #y'all didn't need to hear me gush about Hunter for the billionth time lbr 😝#star warz #about moi

194 notes · View notes

lady-griffin · 3 years ago

Text

One of the best things that has come from the “unfortunate” amount (imo) of background scene info we’ve gotten from the creators of Arcane, is that it shows us how Arcane could’ve easily not be as good as it was.

Obviously, a lot of a very talented and skilled people worked very hard and put a great amount of time and effort into this show, which is the main reason for why Arcane is so fucking amazing.

That shouldn’t be ignored, Arcane didn’t just happen by dumb luck or the stars aligned; time, dedication, and hard work were put in and that should be acknowledged.

Still, we also see some of the “mistakes” or miscommunication along the way, helped Arcane along.

Arcane was created by many, many people, who don’t (or didn’t) always see things the same way. Arcane is not from one single mind and that’s true of most, if not all, the movies, comics, and tv shows we watch. Stories are rarely (and I do mean rarely) amazing, because one single creative genius was behind them, but instead are so compelling, because many different people collaborated together to create a cohesive story.

------

That being said, there’s also the bonus element as someone who loves film, tv, and media to see ‘accidental writing’ occur in some of my favorite works. Basically, that’s an idea, theme, character trait, or some kind of world building that emerged from the story, not because the author intended for it to happen, but it just formed out of the story for whatever reason.

I think one of my favorite examples for Arcane is that according to writer Amanda Overton, Vander was supposed to have tried to kill Silco after he rescued the girls from the bridge; but the animation team made them look so much younger and that was a mistake, because of miscommunication.

But the story we actually got in the end is far more interesting and better, than what the original intention seems to have been.

Sidenote: It still feels very hard for me to believe that no one caught that Vander and Silco look so much younger in the drowning scene, before the show aired.

So, while it may not have been the original intention, I wonder if it was something they chose to keep in the story, even if it was not in the og script.

Because that makes a whole lot more sense to me.

-----

- Vander symbolically gives up violence when he saves the girls, so him trying to drown Silco after that, takes away the symbolic weight and meaning of that scene. He literally drops his gauntlets on the ground to carry the girls back to safety.

- We see or learn how different Vander has become after the bridge, since years before he was willing to drown his ‘brother.�� But that seems hard to imagine for the Vander we meet in Act I; so, again, we see how different one can become and how their priorities shift after having children - solidifying the parallel between Vander and Silco.

- We see the Hound of the Underground return when he’s been pushed to his extreme - two of his kids are now dead and one is in severe danger.

Vander ‘gave up’ being the Hound to be well, Vander, father of four. We even see in the scene when he thinks all three are dead, it looks like Vander gives up, that is until he sees Vi is still alive.

Vander is not pushed to such an extreme because he has nothing to lose, but because he now has everything to lose.

- Vander also didn’t seem to be all that aware Silco was still out there (lurking/scheming) or an active threat. But, if he tried to kill Silco after he saved the girls – than it definitely feels like Vander should’ve been far more concerned about Silco, because….

Well, there’s a difference between not hearing from a man 5-6 years after you tried to murder him and not hearing from him 15+ years.

It makes far more sense if the attempted drowning took place years before the bridge, because even if Silco was an ever-looming presence or painful ghost for Vander, he still isn’t on the forefront of Vander’s mind as a current threat - because again Vander hasn’t heard from Silco in over a decade.

- Silco’s line to Deckard about the important lesson he learned “when he was about your age,” makes far more sense, because Silco appears to be around Deckard’s age, or a few years older when Vander tried to kill him and he fought back with everything he had.

- Silco’s line of “I hated you, but you kept my respect. Until you made peace with them. Played lapdog after everything we suffered.” -

Does not work in the slightest with the idea that Vander tried to kill Silco after the Bridge Rebellion. It really doesn’t, like there’s a decent amount of mental gymnastics and loops to go through to make that work.

However, that line absolutely works with the idea that Vander tried to kill Silco because their ideas of how to achieve independence were diverging, with Silco potentially becoming more of an extremist, willing to hurt anyone if it got them independence.

Silco hated Vander for trying to kill him, obviously, but since Vander was still fighting Piltover and trying to achieve Zaun’s independence, but in a different way, Silco still respected Vander for that, even if he disagreed with his methods or thought Vander wasn’t going far enough - Vander was still fighting the good fight.

It’s not until after the bridge rebellion, after Vander saved two girls and adopted two more kids and had something to lose, that Vander started to play “lapdog,” making a deal with Grayson - that’s when Silco lost his respect for Vander and his anger and resentment grew in the time between after the bridge scene (or whenever the deal was made) and the rest of Act I.

- It also explains why Silco seemed to have developed such a hatred for Vander’s kids. He views them as taking one of Zaun’s greatest champions away from Zaun, they’re the reason why Silco “lost respect for Vander.” You could even argue they are scapegoats for Silco, someone else for Silco to blame, not himself or Vander.

- Of course, Silco hating Vander’s kids and hating Vander for choosing them over Zaun is quite the compelling story, given the contrast between who he was and who he now has become in the end, because of Jinx. Silco now loves Jinx as HIS daughter and he had everything he ever wanted or fought for on a silver platter, but he couldn’t do it, because he couldn’t give her up.

- In the end, Silco understood why Vander did what he did in “playing lapdog.” Because now Silco has become someone who his younger self would’ve lost respect for and that doesn’t matter to him. Silco picks Jinx over Zaun. Silco finally has someone that actually matters to him, more than anything or anyone, someone he can’t lose.

- Vander trying to drown Silco when they were younger, just shows us how different these two men once were and how different they ended up being. Even when they are in the same spot, what they end up doing is quite different.

Vander was willing to give up fighting for his kids, and for years he did that, but in the end, he never stopped fighting to keep one of them safe, not until he took his last breath.

Silco on the other hand was more than willing to burn everything and everyone else to the ground for Jinx, but when she killed him, he accepted it and with his last moments, tried to give her comfort and reassurance, the best he could.

I hope Arcane keeps the story we got in the end.

Sidenote Again: It still feels very hard for me to believe that no one caught that Vander and Silco look so much younger in the drowning scene, before the show was aired.

So, I wonder if, since a lot of people seem to think the creative process is just - have an idea and said idea becomes the final product and that’s it. Or the insane notion that the first draft of anything should be THE main source of authenticity that one should always consider above everything else...even though that’s not how the creative process works, like at all.

Because, you know, ideas and stories grow, evolve and change as you work on them.

So, while Amanda said that the scene was a mistake or miscommunication between the writers and the animation, maybe they kept the change the animators made and even worked with said change, within the story.

Maybe??

Because that makes a a lot more sense, considering how well the story works with the idea that Vander tried to kill Silco when they were younger.

That aside, there can also be a problem in focusing so much on a “mistake” and trying to fix it retroactively, especially if you are able to do so in future movies or seasons. Because while not always, usually in the end that causes more problems and inconsistenties for the show, rather than solves things.

Star Wars has so many, so many examples of this. From the original trilogy’s re-releases to the new trilogy’s, well disaster of a story as they kept trying to fix the “complaints” from fans as each new movie came out.

Arcane trying to fix previous “mistakes” in future seasons could also potentially create a barrier or exclusive nature for the show; because you might have to know background information to understand certain scenes, which…

That’s bad storytelling.

If I can’t understand your show based on what you give me in your final product, that��s a major problem. I shouldn’t have to go onto social media, read articles about the show or know the author’s intent to understand what is happening.

It’s fine if that stuff it out there, but it should be a bonus, not a requirement to watch, enjoy or understand your piece of work.

And I think a lot of people forget that, fans and creators alike, especially as communication becomes easier between the two.

I hope we see Arcane keep the version they gave us. That Vander tried to kill Silco when they were younger, it works with the story we got in the end.

I also think it’s a good lesson for many creative types - sometimes us creators, we need to loosen our death grips on our creatives works and learn how to adapt.

Just my thoughts.

#Arcane #Silco #Vander #Jinx #Silco and Vander #Vander and Silco #Silco and Jinx #Arcane Vander #Arcane Silco #Arcane Jinx #Writing #Netflix #Leage of Legends #arcane league of legends

325 notes · View notes

orionsangel86 · 4 years ago

Text

SPN Conspiracies - Applying Logic to Chaos

Its been over 2 months now since the Supernatural finale aired. I am still so angry, hurt, and confused by it and I don’t think I will ever get closure unless someone like Andrew Dabb, or Jensen Ackles, actually opens up and gives us an explanation that makes sense.

What annoys me most right now is people trying to gaslight fans into believing that we should accept the narrative we have been given at face value: That the finale was always planned to be that way, that Destiel was never on the cards, that there was no Network interference, that the only changes made were due to covid and were minor at best.

This harmful gaslighting is FALSE.

NO ONE KNOWS THE TRUTH OF WHAT HAPPENED.

Look, I don’t agree with some of the crazier conspiracy theories. I don’t believe that there was some huge campaign among the CW Network execs to remove anything remotely gay out of homophobia. I don’t believe that the finale was changed because of some desire to make it into a Walker promo. I don’t believe that the finale was really bad on purpose in protest by Dabb for not getting to do an ending he truly wanted. I don’t believe that Dabb left us smart fans a bunch of secret messages in the finale to hint that he was on our side all along and that everything was fake.

I do, however, believe that all of these conspiracy theories have some elements in them that are plausible. At least, more plausible than the bullshit narrative mentioned above that some people are pushing in some desperate attempt to defend the Network (which imo is really strange behaviour anyway - why would anyone care about a TV network with a history of terrible behaviour?!?)

We have facts, based on information provided before the covid lockdown, which for some reason, people like Misha have since backpeddled on. So let me try to outline some of the information that makes no sense.

Below the cut I go on a deep dive into the conspiracies and statements I have heard about the SPN finale and try to make some sense of this whole fucked up situation. It gets long.

1. “Cas was never gonna be in the finale”.

False: We have many fan accounts of Misha confirming that he was filming the finale. We have video evidence of Misha confirming he was going back to film the finale after the lockdown. We have confirmation from fans in Misha M&Gs from March that he had about 5 days of filming left.

We also had fan accounts of discussions with Alex Calvert (I think) where he confirmed the final shot of the final episode was all four of them though I would LOVE if someone can find a source for this.

2. Okay, Misha was gonna be in the finale, but only as Jimmy Novak

False: I heavily side eyed Misha when he said this. But I think I can come up with a plausible explanation for it. Per above, Misha was supposed to film for 5 days. This does not align with the half a day he described of filming as Jimmy Novak. My own belief is that after Cas was cut from the finale (for whatever reason we don’t know) someone (probably Jensen Ackles) put up a fight and complained that Misha should be there for the final episode. The writers probably tried to come up with a way to bring Misha back without having to deal with Cas, and pitched the idea of Jimmy Novak being in Heaven. Misha, obviously annoyed about this, turned this stupid pitch down.

3. Destiel was never a thing, never planned, never part of Dabb’s ending. Bobo and Misha pushing the confession was the part of the season that was Wrong.

False: We have a SPN writer on record saying that Castiel’s confession was the first thing written for Season 15 when the writers returned to the writers room. If it wasn’t planned, why was it the first thing written, why does it align so well with the rest of season 15? Look I know some people either a. hate destiel and refuse to see it even if it slaps them in the face, or b. have major heteronormative goggles on, or c. are just homophobes in denial, but 15x18 fits in perfectly with the narrative of season 15. Everything Cas says, everything that happened in that scene was so in character it just works. It fit. If you just rewatch the season whilst applying some critical thinking skills and pay attention to the narrative and character arcs, trust me, the confession fits in with pretty much every other plot point, and character story in the season.

Also: We have known for a while that the network did market research into Destiel, wanting to know if it would go down well or not. They were well aware of its popularity and considering it. Where would this have come from if not pitched by the showrunner? Dabb must have at least been considering it. If you take all of Dabb era into consideration, starting with mid season 11, all the way through the season 12 build up, season 13 grief arc, and then Bobo’s Destiel break up arc in late season 14, early season 15, it is clear that there was some toing and froing on the issue of Destiel, but ultimately, I still believe that Dabb was on board. He wrote 13x01 for christs sake. No way he wasn’t taking it seriously.

4. It’s always been about the brothers. The finale just stays true to what Supernatural is all about.

*rubs temples* Fundamentally FALSE: The show has time and again reasserted the message of “Family don’t end with blood”, as well as the messages of AKF and YANA. Sam and Dean may be at the heart of the show, but a heart can’t exist without a body to support it. Without bones, and lungs, and blood, and muscles, and a BRAIN. The finale abandons the shows core messages. It forces the characters back into their season 1 characterisations and the whole thing becomes hollow and souless. But I’m not here to complain, I’m here to lay down the facts. Dean’s heaven was supposed to be surrounded by loved ones right? We know OG Charlie Bradbury was gonna be in his Heaven, we also know CAS was gonna be in there. So this idea that the finale as it currently stands was how it was meant to be is wrong. Dean was supposed to die and reunite with his found family and loved ones. This alone would have been a far better ending than the one given. Do I think this was solely a covid issue? Fuck no.

The randoms that WERE in the finale are proof alone that they could have got people in and quarantined. We also have several actors on record saying that they WOULD have quarantined for the finale had they been asked to return but they WEREN’T.

Lies have been told. Samantha Ferris and Chad Limberg have confirmed that we have been lied to about the original plans for the finale.

This alone is proof enough that there is more plausibility in some of the conspiracy theories than any bullshit narrative some people are pushing in defence of the barbaric mess of a finale we were given.

So lets address some of the conspiracy theories now:

Conspiracy No.1: The CW Network reviewed Supernatural during the covid break, and due to homophobia, refused any Destiel arc that wasn’t already filmed, shut down any potential reciprocation from Dean, and forced Dabb to change his finale.

I don’t think this is entirely what happened. But I do think it is very strange how there is a such a huge disconnect particularly in Dean’s characterisations between what had come before the lockdown, and what came after. The one fact we have here, and please someone provide a source if you can find it because I know there is one, the finale script was still going through changes up to only 2 weeks before it was filmed. We know that there was some weird editing in 15x18 (which was still in post and uncompleted before lockdown) and we know from Jensen’s own mouth that there was more to the confession scene on Dean’s side that was cut. We also know that this isn’t the first time that Destiel heavy moments have been changed in post - the prayer scene is another big scene that went through a lot of changes and Bobo fought to have his script play out the way he wanted it.

There are certain things that in my own opinions, are basically true of SPN which I have put together from years of keeping one eye on the writers room, the network, and all the various comments made. My opinion is this:

The writers room has always been split on Destiel. Some writers heavily supported making it canon, others did not care, or were against it.

The Network considered it over the course of several years, did market research, green lit it, then changed their minds, possibly several times over the course of Dabb’s era. Destiel was pitched to the Network early in Dabb era.

The crew on set were also split. Some people heavily supported it, and worked to assist the reading, whereas others did not care/did not support it. The same can be said for the editing room.

Bob Singer supported the subtextual homoeroticism, but never supported bringing it into text (this is an opinion, but I think it aligns with everything we know about him.) IMO Bob Singer also supported subtextual homoeroticism between Sam and Dean - the guy is gross is what I’m saying. He isn’t exactly a progressive person.

Fun fact - a while back our old enemy Sera Gamble went on a Twitter rant about writers rooms and the ways a script goes through changes. I don’t think this was in relation to the SPN finale wank but she basically inadvertantly confirmed that the Network can step in and make sweeping changes to a script if they want to and if they decide they don’t like the direction of a story. Sera Gamble confirmed this as a fact.

Now. I’m not saying that this is what the CW did with Destiel. I just think its very strange how pre lockdown, the last thing filmed is a heartfelt homosexual declaration of love between Dean and Cas, and we have a finale script that Misha had not seen, but knew that he was meant to film as Castiel for 5 days (5 days on set is over half of an episode as far as I know). Then all of a sudden, Covid happens, and Cas is cut from the finale completely, a desperate attempt to bring Misha back only as Jimmy Novak takes place, which Misha rightly refuses, leading to a finale which makes zero sense narratively and appears in every way completely and utterly butchered.

The only explanation provided by anyone involved is that Covid meant changes had to happen - but that covid didn’t change the actual story at all.

But this makes no sense because we know that Cas was cut from the finale. This is FACT. Do not let anyone gaslight you into thinking otherwise. Misha was preparing to quaranting to return to set as Cas post Covid, so whatever happened to cut Cas from the finale, it wasn’t Covid.

I’m gonna have to Occum’s Razor this and say that the most logical explanation here is the one that is most likely true. Someone got cold feet with the Destiel story, and to prevent any possible interpretation that included Dean reciprocating, any hints of Destiel were removed from the finale script, including Castiel’s whole appearance.

Now, this isn’t me saying I think that Dabb’s original finale was full of Destiel love confessions and a homosexual kiss or whatever, but I am asking you all to really think about it and ask yourselves WHY Cas would have been totally cut from an episode he was supposed to be in at LEAST half of?

We will probably never know the real reason Cas was cut, but he WAS cut. I’m not saying it was all homophobia, but some fuckery went down.

Conspiracy No. 2: The CW Network changed the finale to make it into a Walker promo because they only cared about raising up Jared and not Jensen and Misha as they were losing them anyway.

I don’t agree with this in terms of the finale being butchered solely to make it into a Walker promo. There are however moments in the finale that are clearly supposed to be Walker Easter Eggs and added to excite fans of Jared/Sam in particular such as Sam’s gratuitous and unnecessary topless scene, as well as the call on the “case in Austin”.

I will take this moment to say something pretty damn controversial though.

*Deep breath*

The fact is, Dean Winchester has been the “lead” character of Supernatural’s narrative for years now, with Sam often being sidelined and not given great storylines himself. Even in Season 15, right up until the finale, I myself felt bad for Sam sometimes because so much of this show has become all about Dean. Jensen Ackles is clearly the better actor when it comes to emotional story arcs, so the emotional heart of the story has most often leant on him.

So you can understand my confusion, when this is turned on its head in the final episode, to make Sam carry all the emotional weight, and have the most lines/screentime, and story resolution (even if his story resolution was just as crappy as Dean’s).

If we pretend that Destiel is not a thing, and ignore Cas’s confession, the story change in the finale from Dean focus to Sam focus is still rather suspicious. Again, I’m not saying I completely approve of or agree to the conspiracy theory that Walker influenced the butchering of the script, but I can believe that perhaps a note went down from the CW to someone like Bob Singer, to emphasise Sam/Jared more than they perhaps would normally, because the CW wanted to shine the spotlight on Jared to raise excitement for Walker.

I can also believe this note might have said something like “we wanna cater to fans of Sam/Jared the most - don’t do anything to piss them off.” but now I am getting into my own conspiracy theories so by all means dismiss this as me being bitter.

Conspiracy No.3: Dabb purposely made it bad, as a secret message to Destiel fans that he had been silenced, by layering meta clues into the episode that he knew fans would notice.

I doubt this one is true. Though some of the theories are quite compelling. The old vampire silent movie theory for instance starts off quite well, but loses me the moment it brings up Urban Dictionary slang.

Sometimes I have just had to accept that Supernatural is a bad show that is sometimes accidentally a masterpiece. However, some writers really did go That Deep with their stories - anything by Ben Edlund or Steve Yockey for instance, their episodes are meta masterpieces with a hundred different layers of beautiful subtextual storytelling and are a joy to analyse. Bobo Berens has certainly done some A+++ work especially now we KNOW that he was working hard all this time to bring Destiel to canon text (so any analysis of Destiel in the subtext in his episodes is very accurate). There have been many other key elements analysed over the years which have been confirmed true. Cas’s death in Season 12, Dean’s time as a demon in season 10, Season 11 ending in unity of dark and light, these were all plot points predicted by meta writers just by analysing the narrative. Sometimes the writers really have been very smart and they do add things to the show to aid us in our meta.

Richard Speight Jr for instance, confirmed that SPN has a visual library that the production team use to give clues and hints in the narrative. Pizza, for example, always means a lie has been told. Whenever Pizza is being eaten or even just mentioned on screen, there is dishonesty in that particular moment.

The beers also have a very specific message and the one thing I can’t let go about the finale, was that Dean was drinking El Sol beer. The beer his dad gave him, that was terrible.

El Sol has been used in the show to indicate something being wrong, a fake reality, or another lie, for the longest time. It is the beer of deception.

The fact that in the final episode of this entire show, Dean is in Heaven, supposedly at peace, and then he gets handed an El Sol beer to drink? Thats a HUGE red flag for any meta writer watching who can read SPNs visual library.

If they had given him the Margiekugel beer of family then it would make sense. Dean is in Heaven, with Bobby, his family, at peace. Margiekugel should have been the beer of choice. But nope. El Sol. Something is wrong.

I don’t know if it was Dabb, or Singer, or some disgruntled ADs and crew members who added these elements into the finale, but their very presence confirms some message of Wrongness.

I could go into a huge rant about Vampire Mimes not making sense and the very glaringly obvious symbolism of cutting out peoples tongues too, but that is high school level film analysis. It’s obvious. It means to silence someone. There is validity in interpreting this as Dabb saying he was silenced. I don’t know how true it is, but i can’t 100% dismiss it, because as I said, this is high school analysis levels of obvious subtextual storytelling.

So in summary, whilst I don’t think that Dabb intentionally went out of his way to sabotage his own script, and leave a breadtrail of secret messages for savvy fans to put together to confirm that he was silenced by an evil network into not getting what he wanted... I do think that there is validity in questioning these odd choices for the finale. Cutting out tongues? Vampire Mimes? El Sol beer?

The evidence is somewhat compelling is all I’m saying. I don’t believe the full conspiracy theories, but as I have said many times before, some fuckery went down.

So What Do I Believe?

That some fuckery went down and whatever company line they are pushing is bullshit.

I believe that the original script included Cas (since thats fact). I believe that the original script probably always had Dean dying on a vampire hunt (due to Jensen’s issues with it and in particular, his sarcastic comments about vampires in the past year or so which in hindsight are hilarious and prove he never really came to terms with Dean’s idiotic death). I believe Dabb’s original script was some less crappy version of what we got, which potentially included showing Jack rescuing Cas from the Empty and resolving the outstanding Empty plot points (potentially this was actually a 15x19 plot since Mark P commented that his final scenes were supposed to be with Jack and Cas), had Cas reunite with Dean in Heaven and had them have a discussion about Cas’s confession. I believe that there was probably a lot of back and forth over how to handle that with some people wanting Dean to obviously reciprocate and others believing they should keep it ambiguous. I believe that Dean and Cas would have reunited with Charlie Bradbury, and Bobby Singer, and possibly others (though if this was the case it must have been very early on since no one ever looped in Sam Ferris, Chad Linberg or any other Roadhouse people).

I believe that Sam’s ending probably didn’t change much, but I do feel that initially they were planning on him ending up with Eileen, because it is the only thing that narratively makes sense. Cutting Eileen and giving him a blurry wife is something I won’t ever understand and Jared’s bullshit explanations are quite clearly pulled out of his ass to appease bronly types. I believe the reunion on the bridge would have included Cas and Jack, with a final shot of all four of them together, at peace (as this aligns with Alex’s comments from around a year or so ago that the final shot was all four of them). (I also am not sure it was always supposed to be on a bridge since the foreshadowing in an earlier episode showed Dean, Cas and Sam all in the Roadhouse together).

I believe that script went through countless changes and redrafts, and not even production people or the types that some fandom people claim as their “sources” would even have seen those early scripts, since even Misha never saw it. I believe that these rumours of Dabb never having Cas in his finale and ignoring all Destiel elements likely come from people who only saw later versions, weren’t party to network discussions and felt bitter about the final scripts they did see (being the crappy butchered one that was ultimately filmed). Those “sources” are now spreading rumours to discredit Dabb.

I obviously believe Dabb is a weak ass pushover who either didn’t care enough to fight back, or gave up since he’s been stuck with fucking Bob Singer on his back for years, but I will NEVER believe he didn’t care about the DeanCas love story, because he has been one of the few writers who has championed for it for years. You can’t look back at Dabb’s episodes in earlier seasons and claim he didn’t care. Dabb was a writer whose creative ideas were beaten out of him by an unforgiving Network only concerned about where their future money was coming from. Do I think he gave up too easily? Yes. But I also have one other huge reason for not believing the bullshit about Dabb being this anti-Destiel villain.

Bobo. Because if Bobo truly believed Dabb was gonna fuck that up at the end, I don’t think he would have given us Cas’s love confession to begin with. If he had known it was gonna end like that, I think he would have reconsidered, because had Cas not confessed his love, I don’t think he would have been cut from the finale. Bobo - a gay man, would not have wanted such a horrible message for queer fans being put across in the show he worked so hard on. He started writing that confession scene the day they returned to the writers room. Dabb would have been there, would have seen what he was writing, probably discussed it with him, after all, other episodes were written with the confession in mind. No way was Dabb planning to fuck up the ending knowing what Bobo was giving us. Nope.

Something went very wrong over lockdown. Someone, somewhere up the chain of power caught wind of the confession scene in 15x18, realised that it demanded a resolution which would make Dean Winchester, their protagonist, queer, and pulled the plug. I believe this did not come from a place of homophobia, but of bad business sense.

The CW is constantly trying to win the approval and attention of the one demo group that they seem to fail at getting the most: young straight men. Supernatural was one of their only remaining shows that appeals to young straight men, and Dean Winchester is more often than not the fave character of those young straight men who project onto him. Making Dean Winchester, established Han Solo of Supernatural, queer and in love with his best friend in the finale would have come across as a betrayal to those young straight men. The CW probably feared they would lose that demo group for good, and with a show like Walker starting soon with Jared at the helm, they couldn’t take the risk.

Hence there was probably a whole bunch of back and forth script redrafts with the Network, with Dabb and Singer fighting to make a finale that would appeal to everyone. There was most likely no way that they could bring Cas back without addressing what had already been filmed, because any resolution of that plot would either a. make Dean queer, or b. address it awkwardly by having Dean reject Cas (this storyline would probably have been slammed by critics worse than the finale because it meant addressing it. It might have got the attention of LGBTQ activist groups and caused a bigger shitstorm than what we got). The best option was therefore C. Bury it and Cas, pretend it never happened. Never address it again and distract Dean with other things. Hope that Destiel fans will accept no answer from Dean as ambiguous enough to imagine a future reunion rather than shutting it down with a rejection, and still keep hold of the blissfully ignorant heteronormative straight boys so they can carry over to Walker when it starts.

I also believe (controversially probably) that there was concern that any resolution of Dean and Cas would have overshadowed network darling Jared Padalecki. If Dean and Cas had come together in the finale, with a very clearly textual homosexual reunion, then that would have been all anyone talked about. The reviewers, the critics, the audience, everyone. It would have been nothing but Dean and Cas (and look, if they did think this, they were right, Destiel trending over the US ELECTION.)

So what is the network to do, when they are losing the two stars who would get the most attention from this storyline? The one star they were holding on to and getting his own show, relegated to third place in the finale of the show where he was first on the call sheet? Nope. That’s pretty unacceptable. Even without Walker I can imagine people at all levels side eyeing the Destiel thing over the years. This IS a show about two brothers, and their relationship should be the core relationship, we can’t have one brother pushed aside in the finale to make way for a queer relationship that will get all the attention instead. It was never gonna get approved for this reason ALONE.

At the end of the day, if I look at it from a business perspective, it makes far more sense that the CW shut down Destiel, rather than “oh Dabb never cared and ruined it because he’s an idiot.” The writers cared, and had built on that story over years. But their mistake was leaving any Destiel resolution to the finale. If they had instead gone and got Dean and Cas together in early season 15, then they could have ended it in a way that satisfied everyone. Destiel wouldn’t have threatened pulling focus away from Sam and Dean, and the show could have gone out on a high.

When I lay out all the conspiracy theories, and line them up next to the cold hard facts, the conspiracy theories in some way or another, make more sense. To believe the company line, the narrative we have been fed, is to ignore your own eyes, ears, and memories pre March 2020.

All I’m asking people to do is take a look at the show, the narrative presented in the show, and the information presented above. I’m not telling you to believe what I’ve written here, half of which is just my own opinion. I’m asking you to ask yourselves if it makes sense to you. Because it sure as hell doesn’t make sense to me. I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied.

2K notes · View notes

valenhell · 4 years ago

Text

From the studio that brought you “I can’t find good Byler fics in the ao3 tag”, comes:

"The Definitive Byler fic rec list"

Literally no one asked for this but because I spent the majority of last year (...and 2019, and 2018...) reading byler fics and coping with life, I thought I’d make a list of some of my absolute favorites.

The other day I was basically starving for some byler fics and the angel @magicalfairy provided me with some of her faves so I thought I’d do the same, because I love reading, and I love all of these fics and I appreciate their writers💗 And fic writers in general, come on!

- This is a mix of long works and one-shots/short stories. - Everything is mostly fluff with a tad of angst and a lot of internalized homophobia conflict. - Every fic is completed, except for the ones I mention that they are not. - I try my best to lay out the stories in a way that I won’t spoil you the plot but also warning you of some stuff you might don’t like. Either way, all of these fics are correctly tagged by their respective authors/owners, so read at your own risk. For better understanding, in between brackets I denote Rating, Words and quantity of Chapters. - I feel like I should clarify, none of these are narrated in the singular first person. None of that “And I told him...”, no.

Long fics

a dream always the same (T, 99k, 35 chapters) What happened in those few weeks between the Battle of Starcourt and the Byers leaving Hawkins. Literally a satisfying and very needed fill in of season three, with a good dose of Mike’s thoughts and conflict. Mike’s characterization is specially amazing in this one. The writing style is amazing and I know the author put everything into making it historically accurate, and it was really sweet. You probably read it, it’s by the amazing sevensided here on Tumblr🧡

Spring Break (T, 120k, 14/15 chapters) The slowburn of my dreams. Lots of internalized conflict and conflict with each other. Conflict within the Party (uhh kind of), conflict with Mike and Will. Byers family has moved and the kids are visiting! Chaos. Characterization is on point. Yeah, I know it’s unfinished, but the fourteenth chapter actually serves as a pretty nice ending.

This is where it starts (M, 148.8k, 24 chapters) Aged up characters. The Party is in college and Will disappears again, but now it’s different. Mike knows he didn’t vanish from thin air, and the discovery he and the Party end up making is pretty insane. Mystery solving/fantasy/third dimension, throw in a bit of D&D and Mike realizing some shit, and you get this marvelous fic. It’s a breath of fresh air. The world building is definitely one of the elements that stands out the most, because it’s very nicely described, it sounds like a dream and it’s completely immersive. Absolute gem of a fic.

there’s a Starman waiting in the sky (M, 30.6k, 8 chapters) Do I need to say anything? Will is out there living his best life and Mike realizes that wow, umm, maybe his best friend looks a bit too nice with that costume... and wait, is he getting horny? It’s actually really fun and sexy.

The Evening Speaks (T, 23k, 7 chapters) In where Mike is a late-night college radio host and Will is the art student that stays up till late to catch up with Wheeler on the Mic. They flirt through songs y’all, this one is really sweet.

heads or tails? (E, 24k, 3 chapters) Aged up characters. I know most people don’t enjoy sex in fics and with specific characters but this one is insanely well written. It’s a slowburn that commits to the tension and with every word you are grasping and anticipating their next move. I think you can find the author here on Tumblr as yousaidyes🧡

The Man of Average (M, 56.7k, 5/? chapters) Aged up characters. No but you don’t understand, the writing here is absolute gourmet. The story is exciting as well, it’s super interesting. Weirdly enough, for being very aged up characters, they are well characterized but they don’t feel like teenagers. They are naturally Mike and Will. The author really captured Mike and Will’s essence. I know, it’s unfinished and it’s updated very rarely, but this is the typical fic you can’t believe someone just posted on the internet for free. I will say though, I think it’s definitely not for everyone. Read at your own risk.

Heartstrings (E, 82.8k, 24/? chapters) Aged up characters. By the same author of The Man of Average. A collection of memories, the road to Mike and Will’s happy ever after. And fucking hell!!!!! You’ll cry and get angry, you’ll cheer for them, then you’ll want to crash their faces together because god dammit you love each other!!! But yeah, same thing here. The writing and the way the story is laid out as a nonlinear narrative is brilliant. And I also think this is one of the best Will versions I’ve read. The author might as well be the og creator of this two characters tbh. You can find the author here as mylesimeblr🧡

Sinners behind the walls (T, 1.5k, 1/1) And because I can’t stop recommending this author, a little thing of Mike tormenting himself but also being too deeply committed to Will.

The Red Envelope series (T/E, 167K, two completed works) Something happens that Will thought was impossible and from there, pure drama and romance. Anything by this author has the potential to become your absolute favorite fic, but this series in particular is amazing. I doubt that any of you haven’t read this, but it doesn’t hurt to put it in this list. I’m pretty sure the author is serendipitous-magic on Tumblr🧡

A New Fight series (T, 91k, two completed works, one WIP) And finally the Star Wars AU that we all needed. But this isn’t your typical “Mike is Han”, “Will is Leia” and “El is Luke”, it’s way more interesting than that, and the author has appropriated the Star Wars world like no other. I’ll admit I’m not a 100% fluent in SW lore but this is amazing to me either way. This author is also on Tumblr, tea-for-one-please🧡

- Yes, most of these are (if not all), in a way, canon compliant/canonverse/canon continuation into fanon. (In a way)

One-shots and short stories

Sundae for Two, Please (G, 4.8k) Steve being the supportive friend and older brother these kids collectively need. (not Jonathan erasure, we love him). Steve is very sweet himself, and this little cute thing through his POV is gorgeous. Yes, it’s byler.

Backstage (T, 10k, 2/2) Jonathan, you forgot to mention to Will how hot your new band’s guitarist is, dude. Now he’s hyperventilating and weirdly flirting with him in the corner. Background Stonathan because why not.

102 Peach Street (G, 3.8k) Established relationship, but not only that, they are married :’’))) PURE fluff. Extreme fluffiness. Diabetes.

sweatshirts and bottled up feelings (T, 3.2k) Or, Mike thinks that the sweatshirt Will wears looks insanely good on him. And kitchens are for lovers.

kiss it better (T, 16.3k) Basically one of the best character studies of a few precise moments of Mike and Will’s relationship and feelings.

will wonders ever cease (T, 11.3k) #i ship will and happiness. Omfg what a beautiful piece of fanfic. Will centric, this kid really deserves all the good in the world.

The Calm After the Storm (T, 1.6k) Tooth rotting fluff, boyfriends in love. Boyfriends being lazy, cuddling, love words, kisses. Boys loving each other’s company... Basically, Mike and Will in their element. What more can you ask for?

neither of us ready to let go (T, 4.8k) That scene from season three, but a bit of a fix it.

Still in love (G, 1k) Domestic, married life au fluff. Y’all, I’m a sucker for established Byler, even if I can’t find many fics with it. But this is very sweet. It takes place in 2020, but I don’t think there are any mentions of the COVID-19 crisis that I remember.

I Nver Find Out ‘Til I’m Head Over Heels (G, 12.5K) Classic 5+1 fic. If you haven’t read it, where have you been? This is your moment. In where Mike keeps inviting Will to the school dances and Will thinks it’s just a joke until he realizes it’s not.

Before You’re Gone (T, 5.9k) Will is leaving Hawkins and Mike thinks this is a great moment for a confession. This one I discovered last friday, thank you friend @magicalfairy 💗

You’re weird Wheeler (M, 4.5k) Mike unintentionally starts a tradition of going to each other to talk about their sexual encounters just after they finish. Will keeps getting more explicit with the details he shares, and he makes his best friend interested. This one is really fun y’all.

Out-Of-Town Friends (N/R, 4.6K) It’s not rated. I haven’t re- read it but I’d say it would probably fall in a T rating. So cute!! Will has new friends and sneaks off every friday and the Party doesn’t know where he is going, so Mike decides to follow him and is surprised.

Snowed Under (G, 1.3k) By the same author of The New Fight series. Mike is spending christmas by himself in college because a snowstorm hits Chicago and Nancy can’t drive to see him, but then he has a surprise visitor. Ahhh just a lil sweet holiday fic. Super cute.

you love me anyway series (T, 7.1k, three completed works) Literally just the cutest thing ever. Established Byler. Will loves to take pictures and he loves taking pictures of Mike. It’s adorable.

you wanna be friends forever (i can think of something better) (T, 9k) This one is so amazing. So. Amazing. From Will’s POV, my kid deserves the world and he gets it.

okay not to be okay (T, 4.9k) Mike is a bit sad but then everything is okay.

can’t hold out forever (G, 18.4k) Y’all!!!!! 5+1 sweetness. Mike has been falling in love since kindergarten. And it’s long af, you’ll enjoy it.

even if it takes forever (G, 1.3k) College short AU, they miss each other, they love each other, they promise all to each other. It is sappy y’all.

clear as day (N/R, 18.4K, 4 chapters) It’s not rated, but I’d say it falls in the T category. Strangers to friends to lovers. And also, everyone is pretty gay; we have our dynamic trio Mike, Max and El as disaster lesbians (and gay). Will works at the library and he is also gay. Lucas and Dustin and Will are the best friends we needed. It’s very sweet and the Party is kind of formed here!

I went overboard with the one-shots, so you must have realized how much I love long one-shots and I favor them over long works lmao but they are all amazing!!! If it’s on this list, I probably read it at 2 am, sobbing in my bed. So. Hope you enjoy it☺️🧡

798 notes · View notes

autumn-foxfire · 4 months ago

Text

^^ Exactly. At this point there isn't even any effort put in by Shinichi to actually be nice and romantic to Ran. He's just angry or jealous when it comes to her and it is not a good look for the main character. Even them getting together "officially", they only did so because Ran dared speak with another man and that upset him because she's not fawning over Shinichi 24/7.

Meanwhile Ran basically does everything to avoid the topic of him. Sonoko brings him up? She changes the subject or dismisses him. When she sees a romantic relationship in front of her, Shinichi isn't what comes to mind, she's more invested in everyone else. She spent a long time not responding to him and even when she "does" it's a non-verbal answer. Almost like she can't actually voice it.

It's no longer romantic, it's concerning, especially as another woman watching a young teenage girl go through what in any other media would be seen as a very toxic and abusive relationship. However, as you say, Gosho started this series with them as endgame, he built an audience and expectation that they would get together and now he can't back out of that decision. Just like how he can't back out of Ran not knowing because the premise of the story was him hiding the fact to protect her but now he's done so many horrible things to Ran to hide his secret, it's no longer about protecting her, it's about trying to keep a relationship (which is also pretty gross).

Ai was interesting because there was a period where it was highly implied there could be something more between them. Yukiko, the OG shipper of Shinichi and Ran as we know, even thought so. But he dropped it (probably because he was getting backlash for it) and he sometimes lets it show up again but not often.

Sera is also a really interesting development because, as you know, she's the most queer character in the series without saying she is so. There really is no other way to interpret the movie saying she wants a chance at gaining Ran's heart other than her being interested. I can be quite cynical about Gosho but I have to wonder if he and the writers were giving the audience something to play with with her and Ran.

It's why I use my blog space to complain about canon because it's my space to vent. But ultimately, when I've calmed down after the intial annoyance caused by a moment in an episode, I don't care, I'm too busy trying to spin the episodes into something fun for me and right now that's exploring Ran and Shinichi with a strong platonic bond as two queer kids with bad parents who are too nervous to share that they are because of comphet expectations for them.

I'm so cynical in my live blogs when it comes to the romance. I know I see the absolute worst interpretations of his writing but I share it as I just need that place to vent, you know?

It's hard not too, especially when you've been spoiled by romance done good in other media or romance done horribly but in a way that's intended.

I adore an enemies to lovers ship that is the picture definition of fucked up and twisted but the reason I can is because even the media they're from acknowledges it and uses it to make the characters interesting.

My issue with the romance in DCMK is that it genuinely believes it's romantic and because of that the many flaws the characters actually display can't be used for them to grow. I don't need it acknowledged because "abuse bad and author and readers should know" as I know the audience and the author (or well I hope the author) know that, I want it acknowledged because it could actually produce interesting moments in the story if the characters are forced to acknowledge it.

#dcmk #detective conan

17 notes · View notes

greysfall · 3 years ago

Text

My 4444-word review of NEO TWEWY (with personal illustration + heavy spoilers)

My overall critical score for the game is 7.5/10, while my personal enjoyment score is 8.5/10. This review is posted as I have 80% completed the game, got the secret ending and achieved the Angel psychic rank. I’ll first start with the main pros and cons as follows.

PROS:

- Enjoyable as a whole, still upholding the first game’s spirit in world building and sharing the same backbone - which was mostly revealed in the Secret Reports, it’s impossible to grasp the story without reading them.

- The new cast and new game is charming in their own way

- The old cast’s return is one of the biggest highlights for sure, it was fun and impactful. Everyone stays true to themselves and also had their own stories wrapped up nicely.

- Boss designs are cool, new pins are fun to use and collect

- The connection between the old and new cast is well written and executed, including but are not limited to the tension between the old and new protagonist, the weird but fun interaction between the 2 Composers, the new friendships revealed and formed

- Sho being in the main cast is something so uniquely TWEWY and uniquely Sho

- Still good music

- Still many fun side quests, some of them really uphold the same quirky spirit of the old game and some are surprisingly touching

- Many new nice stores and yummy looking foods to explore

- The map is really easy to memorize for me, it’s fun to travel around the “current” Shibuya to see all the differences compared to the past

- The social network is crazy and interesting to read through

- Has an anti-frustration system to help 100% complete the game more easily and earn money faster, so post-game is relatively managable.

- Overall, I really feel the efforts the team poured into making this as their passion project, not just during the development process but for all the last 14 years. They showed the vision of what they wanted to make, at the same time giving something to both the old as well as new fans.

CONS:

- The biggest problem with the game is scenario writing. The story is so heavily back-loaded. The director himself thought it would be better to balance out the tension flow by adding more at the beginning but gave in to the scenario writer in the end, probably due to time pressure. This results in an underwhelming execution of characterization and lots of wasted potentials for the first half of the game.

- I struggle to view it as a stand-alone game, since the backstory and the old cast both play such an important role in the core of the game. If someone plays this game without having played the OG, they can only enjoy it on surface value at best.

- The new cast is nice but most of them aren’t quite as intriguing as the old cast, maybe it’s cuz they’re all too nice deep down that they lack a little bit of an edge, of that batshit craziness that everyone in the OG used to have? I think some characters (Fret, Nagi) ended up weaker in terms of characterization because the writer is too afraid of making them unlikeable – which kind of backlashed cuz they only became likable in the most expectable way to cater for a specific group of fans. I would have wished for the other team leaders to be more crazy too, had they not suffered 30+ loops of the Game…

- The CAMERAWORK IS HELL.

- Gameplay does get tedious at certain points with all the time travels.

- Shiba is so badly written as a villain, some Shinjuku characters should be given more screentime cutting into Shiba’s�� like Hishima or Kaie or even, Hazuki (though his limited presence also solidified his importance).

- Some of the main character designs, for example Beat’s hairstyle and his food reactions are hilariously bad. What’s the point of covering up most of his unique facial features?

- Some of the minor/side characters’ design are too cool for them to have such a small role (eg: Ayano, Eiru). Ryoji did get much screentime but is nowhere as fun as Makoto was.

- Overall the scope of this game is made a little too big for the team to handle as perfectly as the last game that was very compact, it felt somewhat rushed in development too so the missing pieces are clearly there in the final picture

The entry fee versus paying for it all in the end

An important difference between the Neo game and the original Shibuya game was that the Shibuya rule asked for an entry fee that is the Player’s most important asset, stated as a chance the Composer gives them to reexamine themselves. Meanwhile, the Shinjuku rule neither encourages nor allows personal growth and ultimately aims to erase as many Players as possible. It’s a pity we were never introduced to the full Shinjuku rulebook, as it seems like the system there focuses more on building up power and a grand government to compare with the individuality-driven system of Shibuya.

When you have to compare the new game and the original game (OG), this is an important factor to consider. Also, the OG has a serious storyline running through and through, locked with a different partner/GM creating unique atmosphere for each week and you don’t get to see your old partners again until the end. NEO’s team system does not allow such deep insight and communication between the Players. All of your teammates are always there throughout, the dynamic does change with each new addition but it is not as prominent as a partner change.

Another important factor is how the OG was built from scratch for a new platform as “something no one has ever seen before”, while Neo recycled a lot of old unused ideas from the previous development (check out this interview for more details). The development team for NEO lacks 2 key members and had a change of writer so the final product is not as strongly bound together as the last game.

The new cast is definitely inspired by today’s teenagers (from the view of creators), compared to the old cast they’re more sociable and always seem to take whatever works for them despite feeling unstable inside. They are all innocent and genuinely nice kids, avoiding to hurt each other to a degree that they end up keeping some sort of distance. They’re also unable to communicate at deeper levels, always stagnant at this half-baked stage of equilibrium without any motivation to get to the core of things. That is the cost of entering the game without an entry fee, without even dying or having a reason to be there/to fight seriously. These kids were stolen from the RG into a Game that was decidedly the worst environment for them to change or develop, just wandering around cluelessly to find a way “out” until tragedies started to unfold one by one and they ended up being charged the total sum of the price for their actions – ultimately losing everything in the end.

That is, I believe, a story arc which can resonate more to the youth of today rather than of my generation. If the message of the old game was to “listen”, enjoy life to the fullest and accept to trust others, the message of the new game is to “speak up” from the inside, trying to understand yourself and take actions instead of just going with the flow and finally, to take responsibility for such actions.

If Neku was handpicked by the Composer for being the special one with an all-dense soul to ensure victory of the game then Rindo was just a normal kid chosen out of random by Kubo to be his back-up plan, who just happened to have a high enough imagination to awaken the incredible power from his pin. Rindo was then officially chosen by the Composer as Josh picked up and handed the pin to him again, this time not as Josh’s personal Proxy – but as the Proxy to represent the normal people of Shibuya and via whom he could gamble if humans can fight for their own fate.

The underworld heroine and the hero with little of his own

Shoka is for me a refreshing and layered heroine. She’s the kind of character that took at least 3 trials of creators to form as a complete individual – that included Nomura who gave her the base design and Reaper background, Gen who gave a more cunning touch and the writers who made her English dialogues more punchy. Dishonesty equals “tsundere” is such a cliché, so the English writers tried really hard to avoid that trope in my opinion, while still letting her good intention come through.

She serves as the character who is informed of everything the players should have known, and there was almost nothing she could do about it. Almost. Until she met Rindo.

They were drawn to each other by sharing a state of “not having anything of their own”. They both started out with not being able to truly know themselves, Shoka even hated her RG life but also managed to mature from that stage before Rindo. She must have vibed with Shiki’s love and passion in the Gatto Nero threads, initiating her connection with Shibuya and understanding herself more. With Shoka as Swallow, they were able to open up to each other and offer mental support… but was still not getting to the centre of their problems because for all this time, Shoka could not tell Rindo the most important things about herself.

How did Shoka feel when she met Rindo at the UG? She probably didn’t want to hope that he would live the day until she witnessed the Twisters’ potentials. From the very beginning, they were both incredibly conscious of each other and also constantly frustrated that the person they happened to “notice” was such a condescending bitch/a clueless loser. The Shinjuku Reapers are overall quite drunk in power and uncompassionate to Players, Shoka included. She is also a master of dissociation, which results in her constant boredom, tone swings, haughtiness and subconsciously distancing herself from the friend – the boy she cares about – from false hope, as she judged from facts that it was a hopeless situation where nothing could ever be. Maybe she is naturally a bit of a chameleon just like her name suggests (Shoka 紫陽花 = hydrangea, the color-changing flower), so putting on an act and always dissociating herself from what’s important was easy, while hiding her contradiction was impossible. It was the ex-Reaper Beat who broke it out to her, that she should decide whether she really cared and wanted to do something for a change. He knew how it felt like to cross that line, and knew she wanted to too.

Shoka is endeared by many of the Shinjuku Reapers and has shown independent acts of kindness (the Shinjuku ghost), proving that her kind and truthful side is as real as her harsh and dishonest side – which makes her a nice mirror to the previous heroine Shiki, who also embraced a dichotomy of self-complex and self-love within her character. In the end, she was the first of the new cast to ultimately accept all that is important to her and independently made the decision to help save Shibuya despite all costs.

She was jealous at Rindo’s interaction with Tsugumi and Kanon but remained silent cuz she wasn’t at a place to have any say about it. She also didn’t reveal about Swallow because that would only add an awkward irrelevance to their current situation, as she was too ready to face erasure at the end of the Game. She only wished to “play a game” with him, be it FanGo or the Reapers’ Game. The tension that the team could only feel at the end, she’s felt it the entire time. The song “DIVIDE” is applicable to not just one bond in the game, but it always makes me think of theirs. There is always a “divide” between her and Rindo throughout the course of their journey, as the living and the dead, as a Player and Reaper, as someone who has a place to return to and someone who doesn’t, someone who knows little but wields too much power and someone who knows a lot despite not being able to do much.

“If only I had the chance to connect with you on the other side

But time goes on, and without us realizing it

The battle is getting heated

Time goes on, and without us realiazing it

Divided again”

To be honest, maybe I didn’t grow any affection for the new main cast from Rindo’s perspective but from Shoka’s. Since I started to sympathize with Shoka, I started to see the boy in a more “real” way. The real Rindo, behind his peaceful façade with others, would lash out on Shoka for her unfairly harsh attitude while none of the others cared. He could also subtly feel that mantle of unspoken secrets from her, her own contradictions, the unresolved chemistry between themselves – and not knowing what to do with it rather than to feel angry with all the unfairness he could not process. (As a Libra too, he’s triggered the most by unfairness!)

It is actually a positive development as he’s at least “reacting” to something strongly now rather than to keep evading his problems. During my replay, I clearly saw the difficult situation Shoka was in, her remaining harshness after the Motoi incident was due to her internal struggle with a mission to save her own life, versus a chance to really be with the team. Her decision was to do both at the risk of losing favour from both sides. Rindo started to accept her layer by layer, as the person who resonated the most to her contradicting nature from the start and knew that via learning her resolve, he has learnt his too.

Later into the game, she even got too much of his attention. Maybe even without knowing she’s Swallow, he’s familiar with her thinking direction and Swallow had always been closer to him than any other friend. It was only after she had to betray her important ones twice that she could start being truly honest. The scene when she died a 2nd time left a strong impression in me, the little reveal let Rindo know that he is also losing Swallow as he’s losing Shoka – and that only death could drive the last secret out of her. Her final “Later, loser” echoed through Rindo as it was the final truth, with only him remaining to hear it: they had actually, already lost everything.

Rindo was the boy who never dared to face all that matters to him until he lost it all, fighting an unfair battle in the faith that they would somehow still win. Shoka was the girl who always knew what was dear to her, but never dared to think she could be together with them ever after and still threw her all into a battle she knew was losing. I think they stir each other on naturally to fill out their gaps, similar to what the Shibuya game partner systerm would have aimed for. The end reward was a little divine intervention to help close up the divide between them once and for all.

During the game there was not enough space to process anything personal so at the ending when they officially became “friends”, it was an important affirmation of their bond. Some people complained it was friendzoning but it’s not, they just have arrived at the perfect place to start something more. “From now on, we will truly be together” – I read it as that kind of message.

The heroine from a lost battle, with her story taken away

After reading the secret reports and playing the game to be surprised of how small a role Tsugumi had in the main game despite being the “Hype-chan” thought to be a major character of the next TWEWY installment, many fans would feel sad at a missed opportunity to see the Shinjuku arc in full depiction.

It was shown clearly that, a Shinjuku arc was very carefully planned out and is a vital part of the whole story, yet it could not be made due to various circumstances behind the development scene. I would assume, that the team were not able to make a TWEWY game that ended on a despairing note, but it already happened in their mind, thus becoming a mental burden that forced them to break away from it and started the game anew with NEO. A significant part of NEO became the healing arc for the Shinjuku characters, especially for Tsugumi though I really wished more emphasis should have been placed on her rather than Shiba. We didn’t even get to see her brother – Shinjuku’s Conductor who had a vital role and instead was given the clueless Shiba, who had absolutely no idea what’s going on all the way until the last day in NEO. It’s as if Tsugumi has had her story stolen away from her, because her own battle ended with a saddening loss.

I think every time the game creators look at Tsugumi, they would feel that sadness too. Maybe to them, she is a bigger character than what is seen by the fans, as despite their failed effort to depict her story, she’s lived in their mind for all these years through periods of destruction, healing and rebuild. Though it is a pity we could not get to experience the full scope of the Shinjuku story, the creators was clear about the place they wished for it to arrive at.

Individuality, connection and the social network

The team system adapted from Shinjuku rulebook does not allow much room for personal development, as the team dynamic is closer to a work relationship forced to bear results, than a spiritual bond to max out all corners of understanding as found in the partnership system. The old Shibuya system allowed only 1 winner and 1 week limit per game, while the new rule declares for a 1 winning team and only the team at last place will be erased – the other teams will enter another loop. Furthermore, whichever team to challenge the unwinnable Ruinbringers will face the risk of ending up dead last followed by erasure. As a result, the longest-standing teams are most likely not the strongest ever recorded, but the ones who have figured out a strategy to simply survive until something changes, enjoying their newly found social constructs while they are at it. Basically, it is a system to hypnotise players into the illusion that they are still “living”.

Therefore, we as players would not get to the core of each Player individually as fast and directly as we did in the last game. The Twisters were able to stand out not because they’re powerful, they only started to have a real chance after growing enough to each form a meaningful and personal connection to another teammate. It did not come as a team, nor did it intiate from the existing friendship between Rindo and Fret. In fact, I did not find much solidity or anything truly note-worthy about the main team and new characters within themselves until they started clashing with other team members, Reapers and new recruits from week 2 onwards. Rindo found his personal development with Shoka (via a clash with Motoi and pretty much a mini dating sim between them), then via the confrontation of his role with Neku; Fret found his with Kanon then Nagi, the team learned about the real Neku via Beat, Neku entered the UG via Coco’s wish to save Tsugumi… it was not the team but their personal links that empowered them to fight and solve each of their problems.

The other team leaders may have failed because they did not form such personal links, after 30+ hopeless loops Fuya’s team all fell apart to pursue their own interest even at the cost of erasure, Motoi quit his KOL façade to work like a dog for the Reapers (probably to save just his own ass not his team), while Kanon dropped her tricks to find changes via honest cooperation in acceptance of a fair loss. The despairing note in that is huge without making much of a scene because their failure didn’t happen at their best effort to “win”, but in their last attempt to find a way “out”. Even Shiba got his way “out” in the end thanked to his personal friendship with Hishima and Tsugumi.

Something has shifted in the mindset of the game creators in the last 14 years, as both games are about “connection vs individuality” but the last game focuses more on connection between just individuals and this one on the overall network that is formed out of those individual connections.

The introduction of Beat into the main cast was truly the bridge between old and new, they helped each other out in several turns before officially recruiting him. Beat is a character whom a lot of fans including myself have felt somewhat concerned about after Neku disappeared from the RG, so when the new kids welcomed Beat with warm and organic interaction and Beat seemed happy, I started to feel like I wanted to help them out too! I think the overall team chemistry is enjoyable enough for new players, but I could warm up to the new kids more from the pov of a returning character – whom I’m glad to be Beat, as the older brother figure who is genuinely kind, fun, serious and upbeat at the same time; who is needed and needs the kids in return.

The social network is a fun and refreshing feature. You can read all of the crazy tidbits about Shibuya and the links each character have formed with the town people, it’s also fun to visualize how the characters act off screen. Characters’ profiles provide extra insight into their background too, like how it reveals Tsugumi has been friend with Coco during her time in the RG. During the game when not all characters have showed up, you can sometimes guess which empty spot will belong to whom. For example there is a 1 character linking to Neky that is not linked to anyone else, so I could guess that was Joshua, and that another character linking only to Joshua was probably Hazuki, hinting that the 2 Composers are related before either of them even showed up.

Hazuki only showed up for 5 minutes, but his presence is so vital and true to the game that I think he is the most memorable out of the new cast. The two Composers have such an intriguing bond, with their yin/yang or phoenix/dragon themes, opposite color design, the sempai/kouhai tone and the way they keep some sort of distance/work relationship as if it’s mandatory between Higher beings, yet at the same time they can talk so casually because they are truly equal – and different from one another. I have written a separate meta on them here.

Some people pointed out, that all Shinjuku characters’ names and themes are based off Hanafuda cards and the Phoenix in Hanafuda belongs to the Paulownia suit – which is Joshua’s name flower. This is so interesting because it feels like the creators somehow saw it as a sign to interweave the Shibuya and Shinjuku storylines together. Though it doesn’t come out much on the surface, it’s fascinating nonetheless considering both Josh and Haz had at some point interfered with the other town’s affairs.

“Shibuya tour with Haz” was such a special scene, as it happened between 2 characters who do not/no longer have a reason to care about Shibuya, on the subject of what is worth saving about Shibuya. Hazuki carried out the purification of Shinjuku and stepped in to restore Shibuya just as part of his job and unlike Hanekoma or Joshua who both possess profound understanding of humanity, he really didn’t know humans at all. Rindo’s irrational wish invoked in him a sense of curiosity, to try gambling on something irrationally and learning a bit of what his senior have experienced. With all the pieces put together, it provides an overview on Higher beings as a whole, and that Joshua and Hanekoma are really the odd ones out with Hazuki being somewhere in between them and the rest.

The old friends

It’s easy to have returning characters overshadow the new cast as they have already matured out of their personal story arc and stayed in our hearts for all this time. In the end, I have managed to enjoy both the old and new cast separately and altogether, and they will both find their own place in our memory of this game for the long term.

Sho is truly as crazy as ever, the game wouldn’t be the same if Sho is any less of what he is. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like Neky or Beat is younger than Nagi at all, with moments when it seems like Neky has aged 14 years instead of 3 years. His friendship with Coco surprised me pleasantly, and their interaction together with Beat was fun to watch. Rhyme’s found a new dream and her friendship with Kaie is precious too, especially considering that she can still talk to him online after the game ended. Josh and Neku’s interaction suggested that they have resolved the past and are on equal terms now, they even parted ways in good spirit and I don’t feel any worry about them like I did before.

Neku and Shiki’s reunion scene was beautiful, theirs is such a special bond that it has grown and supported them even without being able to see each other. I am so happy to see them all again and that they stay true to who they are, albeit looking more grown up, cooler and happier than ever before.

Overall, NEO can’t become a classic on par with the OG, but is definitely a good sequel and a good game in its own rights. I’m happy with whether or not there will be a 3rd game to complete the 3 monkeys theme, but if there will be – I hope the creators can really find the time to learn from the last 2 games and start over with a fresh mindset and strong core.

#neotwewy #neotwewyspoilers #ntwewy #ntwewy spoilers #neo the world ends with you #twewy #review #meta #neo twewy #shoka sakurane #rindo kanade #tsugumi matsunae

183 notes · View notes