#arc: forward and [back]

[syncogon]

— it was all for Lu Guang?

Link Click Live Action (2024)

[wonderwall-dreaming]

Is it surprising that a dead character will remain dead? No.

Is it disappointing? Yes.

It's been two years since Stranger Things 4 Vol. 2 dropped and Eddie Munson's death is still a sore spot for me.

The problem I had with his death two years ago and still have with it now is that it was extremely predictable and avoidable. The thing is, Eddie's death didn't impact the story for all the characters. It just impacted Dustin.

The Duffers spoke about needing a doomed character for Season 4, and they did have that with Max, but since she's a main character, she has plot armor. They do this every season. They're too afraid to actually do something that will impact the story and all the characters, so they play it safe, bring someone new in that the audience will love, and then kill them.

Now, don't take that as me saying I wish Max died because I don't, I'm just pointing out how they had their doomed character, but the rules didn't apply because she's part of the main cast of characters and those are untouchable. I love Max, I hated seeing her suffer in Season 4, but it is true, she was cursed, a fate that none of the other three characters who were cursed could escape.

My issues with Eddie's death being predictable and avoidable and my issue with the Duffer Brothers' writing aside, here's the real problem. The message his death sent is harmful.

Before someone comes at me about how Stranger Things is fictional, and it's not real, I know, but the thing is, fiction makes people feel very real things. If it can provide them comfort, it can also cause them heartbreak. Storytelling is powerful. The emotions it makes people feel are very real. It doesn't necessarily matter if it's fiction, if it hurts you, it hurts you.

All of that being said, let's get back to my problem with the message his death sends.

The narrative that characters who are suffering, whether that be because of their current circumstances or trauma in their past, dying and finally being at peace is harmful.

Why can't characters who have only known pain get the chance to heal in life? Peace through death is not the only option.

The message is always tied to a character who dies in a self-sacrificial way, essentially killing themselves, and the writers going "Sure that's sad, but look at how bad their life was! They're at peace now." That transcends fiction and for some hits a little too close to home.

Do I think we'll see Eddie in Season 5? Yeah, I do, most likely as some nightmare that will terrorize Dustin, and it's unfortunate because I don't believe it had to be this way.

I think with different writers, Eddie Munson could've had a very different story that would have had its sad moments but wouldn't have ended the way that it did, and overall would have sent a better message to those who relate to him.

I am begging writers to abandon this narrative, especially in stories that are fantasy-based and don't abide by normal "rules" I promise you no one wants to see that really loveable character with trauma essentially commit suicide and then be told it's a good thing because they were suffering.

The Twitter post from the top of my post.

[whatacatch]

Obsessed with the fact that Sasuke wore his sluttiest deep v billowy white shirt in the wind to see his situationship after 3 years. Amazing stuff right there.

[lucabyte]

PURRGATORIO SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT (x)

Doodles for The Mall again because I really enjoy the just. Horrid vibes of this one. Ali what is your fucking problem, man?

Ali's stage-makeup disguise is something I've wanted to get to since Purrgatorio started so I'm jazzed to draw it. They're covered in so much F/X wax where a professional would use latex... This weird little fursona of theirs should be appearing every now and again from hereon...

[korrasamibottles]

Yeah Venom of the Red Lotus showed us how crazy powerful Korra is but The Last Stand had Korra transform the destructive power of a massive bomb blast into something regenerative in the culmination of one of the best character arcs I've ever seen. In my OPINION!!

[moretheta]

yessss you're back, I've been awaiting your reaction.

I don't mean to distract you from the morenaposting (god bless) but I'd like to bring to attention how during the yes/no questions bork doesn't even ask something like "is the number of members higher than 23?" she just goes straight for the number and then immediately intuits it's lower. Girl has really impressive people skills, or maybe she's just perfect for morena. She also totally fucking marked that R card when she asked to check the cards, and then scrunched it up to hide the evidence. Also, we didn't see this kiss directly because Borksen won't consider it their real first kiss until the second one. Trust.

frr!!!! god all the women in this arc are popping off, keeping it together in horrible situations with genius-level analytical skills. i think the more we've gotten to know her, the more borksen has proven to me the insane capabilities' she'd have as a specialist. giving me major kurapika and chrollo vibes in terms of the speed with with she processes information- not to mention, the ability to keep her cool. morena sure does know how to pick em

and i've come to the same conclusion as you: borksen for sure found a way to cheat w/ the game! it's telling how we saw her internal narration in (407? i think) where she said she was convinced morena isn't the type of person to cheat- so her random accusation at the end has gotta be a play. maybe she bent it somehow, or left some kind of mark so she'd be able to distinguish the return card? and then crumples it up afterwards to hide the evidence. beautiful stuff. i'm obviously biased, but i'm like 90% sure that morena caught on to her play and let it happen anyway.

god just. look at morena's eyes. and volksen's nervousness- trying to see if she's gotten away with it. soooo much subtly in the body language throughout these last few chapters it's been incredible. i can def conceive morena letting volk get away with it as partly a power move but also partly a demonstration of how their relationship could be going forward. this whole game was created to make volksen feel like she had a sense of agency in her decision- i mean, volk basically surmised as much in 407, right?

which makes her ultimate decision all the more scrumptious. i think she's realized the extent of the situation and her powerlessness within it, and came to the conclusion that learning nen was her best chance at survival- although i'm sure there's much more cooking in her head!!! and i might be reaching, but i'm totally seeing parallels between morena recruiting someone supposedly against her best interests w/ borksen, and then chrollo doing the same thing w/ hisoka, and perhaps even illumi later. delicious parallel after parallel!! if we get some borkjudas imagery i'll ascend to a higher plane.

as for your last point-- i hope and hope and pray and pray!!!!! maybe theyre saving it for the inevitable morena/theta/borksen threeway (i'm sane.)

[shannonsketches]

something something foils moving in opposite directions Goku's always happy to seek and fight stronger opponents because he spent most of his life being the strongest guy in the room and Vegeta wants to be the strongest/is always exhausted to find stronger opponents because he spent most of his life having to navigate his survival around the whims of the strongest guy in the universe room and so Goku has a foundation of safety and stability and so spends his time craving challenge and adventure and Vegeta has a foundation of challenge and adventure and spends his time craving safety and stability and the overlaid section of their venn diagram is that the only way they know how acquire and maintain those things is through battle

[everyryuujisuguro]

[asha-mage]

If I have one real criticism to level at the season so far (rather then a silly nitpick) it's the absence of a lot of The Great Hunt's underlying themes about class and politics. A huge part of the book really is asking the question What does it mean to be a Lord? and then examining the strengths, weakness, and banal realities with it's answer, while people have various illusions and biases (both for and against nobles) challenged and stripped back.

The shows brushed by this idea a little bit the Turak / Suroth's rivalry and Rand and Lanfear's Fancy Party Gatecrashing, but so far hasn't really engaged to deeply the ideas of class systems. Which on the one hand I get, the season is jam packed as it is with barely enough space for everyone, but on the other hand it is important and one of the threads that letter runs through most of the series as part of exploring everyone's relationship to power, leadership, and rule.

[welcometogrouchland]

you guys don't need context for this. He's the boy of all time!

[deus-ex-mona]

kinda thinking about t h e m again…

[f-imaginings]

I have finally FINALLY got up to the dream scene at the start of the last mabelcorn in kmky and everything is flowing nicely finally, and the scenes and characterisation all are smooth and make sense and I am no longer going over the same establishing scenes like a pedant trying to make them perfect. SUCCESS!

Just have to knock out these next few bits then it's onto unicorn beatdowns, funny hats, pizza parties and loophole heists!

[weirdbabs]

hey quick question. who the hell is that??

[comfortingevanbuckley]

.

[snowpointmailguy]

Rowlet!! How'd you get one???

a professor gave it to me after i helped him out. i think this is normally meant to happen to children but im cool with it late

[avirxy]

In the monster hunter au is there a reason the werewolf curse can't be cured?

Yes! I think it means a lot more narratively within the whole story if it can’t be cured.

Claire’s going to have to come to terms with it, she’s going to have address that her original recklessness set her on this path and no, it can’t be changed. Things happen, irreversible, good or bad things and you can’t change that.

But just because it happened, again good or bad, doesn’t mean you can’t continue, you can’t live, you can’t be happy, things may never be the same again and that’s sometimes a really hard pill to swallow. With time and support though things may just work out.