#at this point writers should make up characters and a basic plot and hand it to Tumblr

[my-drama-heart2406]

I love how every recent 'the impossible heir' YouTube short with Inha has reactions like, "Oh my god! So it was Inha all along?!", "Inha is the one who did this to Taeoh?!", "So Inha never really liked Hyewon at all?!", "He only liked Hyewon because of Taeoh?!", "So Inha turned villain and did this to the person who got him this far?!?!".

And then there's us on Tumblr who had predicted this is exactly what would happen since the first two episodes dropped.

[jingyichickenwings]

This is less of a Deep Cut and more of a case of schadenfreude, but I love when various members of a creative team are messy in public about their high budget group project. Reality TV for nerds. It speaks to a profound lack of media training or fucks given. You guys realize that future employers can Google you, right? Unintentionally hilarious.

Linke and Yee were told in no uncertain terms that their season 1 storyboard was shit, so they hired Overton, who hired half a dozen actual writers, and they did basically a full overhaul. The script was objectively much better. But this was Linke's baby, and several years later you still see signs that he is Big Mad that he didn't get his way, and that he doesn't know or care about what actually became season 1 canon. I'm sorry that your Jewish stereotype villain didn't get to be a pedophile, I guess? Idk. Yes, yes, I am sure your version of Svengali is really innovative. Maybe someday, buddy.

Meanwhile they start writing season 2 in early 2020, while the season 1 air date isn't until November of 2021. So, they don't have public feedback on the script yet, just, yanno, actual writing professionals. Anyway, according to Overton, they needed to fire the non-management part of the writing team because of the pandemic?! Lmao babygirl you do your best and I respect commitment to the official PR excuse but nobody sensible believes this. Netflix writers average 110k/year, and you needed six or so from season 1. That is not a big part of the overall budget. Also, y'all could have saved money with Zoom meetings.

So the very thing that saved the season 1 script got line-itemed "because of the pandemic". That sounds like an extremely convenient excuse for Linke to be like, no, fuck you all, we are going back to Plan A, the rough draft of season 2 based on his shitty version of season 1. Honey. That ship has sailed. You already lost this argument.

So presumably some combination of Linke/Yee/Riot/Netflix was like, it's important that we have at least one actual grown adult writer on staff. So Overton gets to keep her job.

Now, I want to preface this by saying that season 2 would have been even worse without Overton. That being said, there is a reason they needed a deeper bench of writing staff. Overton and Linke over-connect with the characters Caitlyn and Jayce respectively, to a degree that they frequently forgot to evaluate how other characters would likely behave in certain situations. It led to contrivances, plot holes, etc. There is a lot I could add here but tbh go read any of the meta already out there.

In addition to the Mary Sue type behavior, Overton thought it would be Neat to make the writing more like Avengers, like multiverse time travel fuckery is a shiny beach pebble and not narrative napalm. What in the ADHD was she thinking? Even if they had the run time to world build enough for this, there was nothing in season 1 to even suggest this as an option. And let's be fucking honest, multiverse a lot of why Marvel is on a downward spiral. If Viktor can go to Build-A-Bear Workshop and 3-D print a million Jayces, why should I give a shit about his kill count? He can just be kind, rewind, and try again. Actions are decoupled from consequences.

Anyway, moving back to the topic at hand of the Arcane team. Apparently, Overton, Linke and Yee only half-wrote season 2?! Linke said something about how they "extensively collaborated with Fortiche on the story"? Which, it's not inherently a bad idea to get creative feedback from your art team, but ummm, maybe the writers and Fortiche should have worked to a point of agreement on basic story beats. Based on a lot of what Fortiche has said, the art for season 2 passive aggressively advances what they wanted the writing to be against Linke's wishes. They literally have just been straight up disagreeing with Linke and getting paid for it. Which, to be fair, I respect the sheer pettiness! Linke can't write his own damn show but wants to slow down the very expensive art team? When the actual writers that got fired "because of the pandemic" would have caught a lot of the season 2 issues?

So post airing of season 2, Overton is all about that girlboss copaganda, Linke is having multiple public meltdowns and getting fired by Riot(?), and multiple voice actors and artists at Fortiche are being like "yeah, we actually wanted something else so there are now multiple competing narratives for season 2". Which is hilarious. The way in which the show is messy is the same way in which the creators are messy. These bitches are a cautionary tale about hubris and the need to engage in team-building.

(EDIT MARCH 11: the fired rumors seem to be old/inaccurate, see comments for details)

[quasi-normalcy]

So there's this thread on the Star Trek subreddit asking everyone what exactly they don't like about Discovery, and, inevitably, most of the answers are pretty bland, surface-level whining about "people crying" or whatever (something that famously has never happened before on Star Trek)

(He's just rubbing his eyes, don't mind him)

But I actually wanted to get into the weeds of it a fair amount, and so I wrote a post that became way longer than I anticipated. So below (specifying first that I don't actually hate it by any means), here's my in-depth critique of Discovery as a science fiction writer and fan:

Basically issue is this: much has been written about how Star Trek is a utopian future, a positive vision for humanity and yada yada yada…and all of these things are true. And in fact, I believe that Discovery—after its first season, at least—fits into this tradition. And I’m glad that this is true of Star Trek; I wouldn’t like it half as much if it were like, say, Babylon 5, or Battlestar Galactica.

But.

Star Trek is also fundamentally a science fiction story. And more to the point, it’s a specific kind of science fiction story: it’s science fiction in the vein of Isaac Asimov. When it works, a good Star Trek story—like a good Asimov story—works as a sort of a mystery or riddle or logic puzzle. Our heroes are faced with some problem, and we, the audience, are given clues to the solution. And if we, and the heroes, are clever, our perspective on the problem shifts and there’s this beautiful Aha! moment when suddenly everything falls into place.

Why is the Horta killing those miners?  It’s a mother protecting her young.

Why does everyone keep disappearing on Beverly? The don’t; she’s the one who disappeared, all of this is a false reality, and her friends are trying desperately to save her.

How are they going to bring the Romulans into the war? By making it look like the Dominion murdered their senator.

Now, not all Star Treks (nor all Asimov stories, honestly) fit into this mould. Sometimes the problem is poorly set up; sometimes the solution doesn’t really make sense. Too often, they’re just technobabble problems with technobabble solutions and you’re just left wondering why anyone should care. And indeed, some of the very best Star Trek episodes have an entirely different structure. Like I think that “Living Witness” is honestly the best Star Trek story ever told, and it doesn’t even try to fit into the mould. Nor does “Family”. Nor does “Bar Association” or any number of my other favourite episodes. But I still think that this is the baseline Star Trek plot: clever people in space encountering problems—whether scientific, diplomatic, political, engineering, or moral—and solving them by being clever.

This applies, by the way, even when it’s not really the main thrust of the episode. Like in the latest season of Prodigy, there’s this episode where the gang are taken prisoner by the Vau N’Akat, and Jankom has his prosthetic hand confiscated by them. How do they get out? Jankom reprograms a tricorder and hacks his own prosthetic hand! It’s a minor plot point but it’s clever and it’s fun to watch, because it plays fair with what we’ve established about the universe and the characters and how technology works here.

So then. Getting back to Discovery, my issue, straightforwardly, is that I doesn’t really have this plot structure. I mean, it does sometimes—I think that the solution to “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad” is very Asimovian, and I can see how the outline of it in the resolution to the Klingon War, though I don’t think they really sold the solution. But it seems more or less absent after season one. I can’t think of a single moment in the last four seasons (and maybe this would change if I watched them again, but that won’t be for another few years at least) where I could point at the screen and say: “Aha! That was clever!”

It’s not that it’s dumb writing, by the way! Often times, particularly in season 4, the scriptwriters go out of their way to show their work (or, well…Dr. Erin Macdonald’s work, let’s be honest) to render their scripts scientifically plausible. But they feel somehow…paint by numbers.

Like, I liked season 4! It was my favourite! I think that the 10C were a cool concept and that the episode where they communicate with them was the best in the series. But did anyone ever seriously doubt how it would play out? The 10C didn’t know they were hurting people; we talk to them; we work out a mutually beneficial compromise. For Star Trek, that’s pretty much a stock plot; except here, it last 13 episodes. Or “Whistlespeak”; Michael and Tilly beam down to this jungle planet, participate in a ritual race…is there any chance that this won’t end in human sacrifice? Again, it’s competently executed, but it’s nothing new; nothing clever; nothing that makes me point at the screen and say “Aha!” The entire final season was a scavenger hunt literally based on solving riddles, and none of these riddles really rose above an escape room level. And what’s worse, none of these riddles really required elements that had been introduced beforehand. It never really felt like they were playing fair with us.

And ultimately, I think that all of this is a manifestation of the big, overwhelming problem with Discovery: everything—plot, character, worldbuilding—is driven entirely by theme. “We want to do a season on xenophobia / authoritarianism / COVID anxiety / etc.” Okay, well then this, this, and this need to happen, this character needs to act this way because they represent this, and then this needs to happen to convey this message. There’s no roomfor the story or characters to evolve organically; there’s no room for play. And that’s what this kind of cleverness is: it’s play. It’s the writers picking up the pieces that they’ve laid out and finding clever ways to use them. It’s the writers having fun. And if the writers are having fun, then the show is fun, and the audience is having fun! But if you just pick a theme and subordinate the logic of character, plot, and world to advancing this theme, it just becomes a sort of dour ritualistic pantomime, even when fun is had on screen.

Anyways, that’s my take.

[dadattebayo]

You know what guys…

I just watched this teaser for the final episode, and of course I am thrilled and blown away by Sauron's maniac face telling he is gonna rape his preciousssss eat Galadriel alive

oh fuck help me i can´t

BUT

I still have something to say. Like okay, i get it, all this unspoken sexual tension and stuff between them, and kinda obvious crazy thirst for her in his creepy face - all could be fine by me except the one tiny detail. What we can see more in this teaser is another freaking kiss that is going to happen this time between Isildur and his girl sorry I forgot her name,

so what’s really pissing me off is that so far we would have 4 kisses in the show and basically these are 4 KISSES NO ONE ACTUALLY GIVES A FUCK ABOUT.

1. Harfoots. Who cares about the hobbits kissing scene? Like what the hell was it for? Does someone for real ship them? Was this kiss important to the story?

Fucking NO.

2. Elrond and Galadriel. Totally unnecessary. No one expected this and no one would want this to happen actually. Especially considering the fact he eventually just put the key into her hand without any special use of his mouth required.

Okay I get it can explained he wanted to distract the orcs, but anyway, somehow the writers did came up with this particular idea!

3. Arondir and Bronwin. Totally fine by me except she´s dead now.

4. Now Isildur and Estrid (I remembered the name).

At first I was blind enough watching the teaser to think it was Halbrand so I got a mini stroke.

Pretty sure once we will see Elendil/Miriel kissing too. Of course I do not mind any of these kisses happening, I even ship some of them but still these are not something the whole fandom is waiting for.

There is literally only one kiss EVERYONE is expecting. Not only the haladriel shippers, but everyone (some might want it to happen, some might not, but it would not be a surprise for anyone) since in fact nobody has ever asked for Saurondriel in the first place, it was totally up to the showrunners to literally just start pushing this ship into our throats from their first meeting using all scrupulously planned moments between them throughout the season 1 and countless hints and moments of nostalgia in the season 2! God, they even invented the whole Mirdania character just to prove Sauron´s feelings (and of course to show his cruelty later, but thats not the point)

guess where the kiss should have happened if they hadn't been interrupted

The writers made this ship up consciously and intentionally. THEY HAVE BEEN FEEDING US WITH HALADRIEL SINCE THE BEGINING,

So why the fuck this couple which has always been promoted in such obvious way is the only one that is not likely to get a goddamn kiss?! At this point i would rather believe that even Stranger and Nori would kiss, but not Saurondriel.

This is disturbing. BECAUSE EXCUSE ME WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT 2 MORE YEARS to get the s3. I am not still quite sure though cause there is still no official announcement on s3

So, they all have already messed up enough with the original plot by putting some of the kisses mentioned above in the series, so why just not let also Saurondriel finally happen? What difference would it make anyway? none! all plot holes will all be fixed thanks to impossibility to fix sauron.

I am just fed up with another 'LETS TOUCH THE DARKNESS TOGETHER', "NO NEVER', 'DIE BECAUSE OF ME', BLABLA...

It needs something better to get us screaming and making views to the show.

[chordsykat]

How I write action/fight scenes

From a prompt posted by a friend on Discord last night. :3 Just thought I would ramble a bit before getting to work, this morning. If you're a writer and want to know what goes through my head as I come up with combat scenes in my stories, then read on. In this way, I hope we both learn a lot. Because I honestly don't think I've ever laid out my "formula" before...

First, know who you're dealing with.

This tutorial is going to stick mostly to the actual writing aspects, but if you're going to do an action series, you should factor in the combat abilities of your characters as you develop them. This doesn't have to be anything fancy. Keep it to the natural human responses at least. In other words, during a conflict, how will your character react:

Fight: Push back

Flight: Run away

Freeze: Do nothing

Knowing just that will give you enough to start thinking these dances through. And indeed, that's what they are - a dance. If you know more, like, specifically what kind of fighting they do, what their strengths in combat are, etc -- all the better, but know that what I list below goes in order from most to least important, and that stuff won't be on the list until the end.

Second, (and always) make the audience care about the action.

This sounds dumb and counterintuitive but people won't find an action scene compelling just because it's an action scene. Not to knock it, because it was brilliant for a different reason and a lot of the writing staff's hands were tied... BUT... During my time as a fan of, all the way into my employment with, Archie-Sonic, I can't tell you how many action scenes happened just because some executive at Sega was like "I think X and Y need to fight." So they would, and for reasons that were muddy at best. I think at one point, we had Sonic and Knuckles literally exchanging this dialogue:

Sonic: Yo dude, be cool. Last time we met, we left on good terms! Knuckles: Maybe, but you're still an intruder and just because you did me that favor on the day my daughter was to be married does not mean I owe you anything in the way of kindness.

IDK, my memory may be foggy, but that was the gist of it. Point is, don't do that - and first make sure your audience understands the motives behind the action, the potential stakes, and why it's all taking place to begin with. Else, you can make it as cool as you want and people are going to walk away with a sense of "that was cool" instead of "holy shit I was freaking out through that whole scene." If there's any question as to what you should be striving for as a writer, it's the latter.

Third, plot it out like it's a mini-story.

To the point - figure out the end first, and work backwards, just like so many writing tutorials have said before. Again, keep it simple: Who wins? Does the conflict result in a casualty of some kind? Does a character learn something?

Before you show how it goes down, you need to establish what goes down as the action happens, and what happens afterwards. Keeping the ending in mind as yo write a scene is always a good way of making it feel tighter. And throwing littlte twists for interest (maybe a character has the upper-hand for all but the end of the fight - maybe a character is losing until a specific turning point, etc) is made much easier, too.

Fourth, mind the rhythm.

A little weird to explain this, but the back-and-forth nature of the scene needs to flow well. Generally, conflict follows a pattern of:

Character acts

Opposition reacts

Opposition acts

Character reacts

If this pattern looks familiar to you, it should. This is the basic pattern of human dialogue as seen in stories and, YES, real life. Consider your scene like a dialogue all its own (even if the characters are talking throughout). The twists and turns I spoke about in the last point should be "off beat" because there's an unexpected nature to them. When a twist happens, consider breaking the above pattern.

Fifth, showcase character traits and skills (again, always).

Some characters have a high sense of honor and would put down their weapons if their opponent was unarmed. Some of them would fight dirty and hit someone with a chair when their back was turned. Some characters are scrappy and will jump into a conflict even when they're sorely outmatched. Some are straight up cowards who might run away even when there's a good chance they could win. Some are smart enough to bow out and will not engage -- hiding at the first sign of trouble. Some will throw snowballs at the oppressor and be surprised when they pull aggro and the dude comes after them.

You get the idea -- fights, conflicts and action scenes are great ways to show your characters' strengths, weaknesses, traits, and personality. Times of struggle are going to lay emotional responses raw, and it's a great way of showing "who someone really is" as it were.

Sixth, showcase unique defensive behavior.

Some characters have specific training: military, martial arts, street-fighting, etc... which, if you're aware of those, should come out during combat or conflict. Some characters have access to weapons. Some characters' bodies are the weapon. Etc, etc etc...

Whatever you do, about the only time you're going to show off the fact that your character knows Muay Thai is during an action scene. If you yourself do not practice this martial art, then research what you need to incorporate to make it believable when you write. Watch videos and write down the ways you would describe the movement. If you're doing a comic, then sketch the movement. Use that in your story.

Last, create more interest by tying in and highlighting story themes or disparities between protagonist characters, antagonist characters, and/or the conflict as a whole.

A little trickier, but if your story has a central theme or moral, try showing pieces of it shining through the action. Just as one wild example, if you have a theme of "love conquers all" this might mean your fight will end with the two people falling in love, instead of fighting. Think like a dungeon master. If you rolled a natural 20 on "try to woo the orc" in a combat situation (remember that comic?) what do you think would happen?

Too, if your combatants have something in common, or especially something that they are diametrically opposed on, feel free to show that off in these scenes. It'll leave the audience knowing them better (and set them up for further head-butting... or romance(?) down the line. And that's always fun).

Anywho, that's just a few of my thoughts on action sequences in fiction. If this helped you, or you want me to talk about this even more -- send me a message or a note or something. Always up for discussing this kind of thing.

And your reward for reading this far is an invite to join my discord if you wanna hear me ramble on about this sort of thing, in perpetuity. :)

[nondelphic]

Hiiii! May I ask for some advice? After a really long time of not writing fan fic, I recently started getting back into it but have been struggling… So I started using a little bit of the chat.ai help me but I feel icky about it but at the same time, I’m constantly struggling with writers block and being burnt out… What should I do?

i'm actually really glad you asked this because i've been preparing a post about using ai responsibly for writing, might just post it here lol:

tldr: this post isn’t about using ai to generate your story for you. it’s about how to utilize ai to enhance your writing process while still keeping your voice and creativity at the forefront.

the rise of ai has stirred up a lot of talk about ethics, originality, and how much tech should really be in our creative space. as writers, our work is highly personal, it's a reflection of our thoughts and experiences. so it’s totally normal to feel icky about bringing ai into the mix.

here's a hot take, though: ai isn’t here to replace your creativity. it doesn’t get the deep, emotional layers that only a human writer can bring. sure, ai can generate text, but it doesn’t really understand what it’s saying. that’s where some of the ethical concerns come in—if we rely too much on ai, we risk losing that personal touch that makes our stories resonate.

on the flip side, when used thoughtfully, ai can actually boost your creative process instead of taking away from it. think of ai as a helpful assistant, it can take care of some of the boring, tedious stuff, giving you more space to focus on what really matters: writing your story, your way. it’s not about letting ai take over, but using it to support and streamline your process.

this is not a post about my experience with ai, but i have to say, that as someone with adhd, ai has been a game-changer for me. it helps me keep track of my ideas, organize my thoughts, and even manage my writing schedule when my brain is all over the place. it's like having an extra set of hands (or, you know, a brain) to help me stay on top of everything, so i can focus more on the actual creative part of writing.

the key is to make sure ai never overshadows your original voice or creative vision. ai should be a tool that helps you bring your ideas to life, not something that writes the story for you. if you’re curious about how to use ai in your writing process while keeping your authenticity intact, here are some tips to do it responsibly:

brainstorming ideas: when you’re stuck on a plot point or character development, use ai to generate prompts or ideas. these can spark new directions for your story, giving you fresh perspectives to explore.

dialogue experimentation: if your dialogue feels flat, try using ai to generate conversation snippets based on your characters. it might not be perfect, but it can give you new ideas for how your characters might interact.

synonym suggestions: tired of using the same word over and over? ai can help you find synonyms or alternative phrases, keeping your writing fresh without losing your voice. i've found this very helpful as an ESL writer!

outline generation: got a rough idea but need a structure? use ai to create a basic outline, then tweak it to fit your vision. it’s a great way to get a head start on organizing your story.

character backstories: use ai to brainstorm character traits, backstories, or names. you can take these ideas and expand on them, adding the depth and personality that only you can create.

quick research assistance: save time by using ai for quick facts or historical details. it lets you focus more on storytelling and less on getting bogged down in research. (disclaimer: never 100% trust what an ai generates, fact check everything). i've found it a great starting point if i have a very niche question for my research.

editing help: use ai for basic grammar and spelling checks to speed up your editing process. just remember, it’s your judgment that will shape the final draft, not the ai’s.

plot analysis: use ai to scan your draft for plot holes or inconsistencies. it can help identify gaps in logic or missing links in your storyline, giving you a clearer idea of where to tighten things up.

tone consistency: ai can help you maintain a consistent tone throughout your story by analyzing your draft and suggesting adjustments where the tone shifts unexpectedly.

pacing adjustments: ai can review the pacing of your story, highlighting sections that may be too slow or too rushed, helping you find the right balance.

character consistency: track your characters' traits, behaviors, and dialogue to ensure they remain consistent throughout the story, preventing out-of-character moments.

theme reinforcement: use ai to analyze how well your themes are being conveyed across the narrative, suggesting areas where you might strengthen or clarify your message.

draft comparison: if you’ve gone through multiple drafts, ai can compare them to highlight what’s changed, what’s been improved, and what might have been lost in the revisions.

to answer your question more personally, i think we can never please everyone, and ai will continue to be developed and get better and better. i understand feeling icky about using ai, and you might get judged for it, but do what you need to do, tbh.

i have found myself in a writing routine where i use most of the advice above in my writing process. i write most of my work myself, but i use ai as a tool to bounce ideas off of, and it's been a life changer. i managed to finish my first novel draft with the help of ai, and it fuelled my creativity to have "someone" (or rather something) to feed my ideas and help them identify what i could do better.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Tbh I don't see the point of Luka learning mirakungfu while Adrien and Marinette don't, even more so if the reason why Suhan teach that to him is because he knew LB and CN identity. Then shouldn't those two learn it also since they basically holding the miraculous that the villain want most? But then again it feels like "adult is useless except for some" seems to be one of the rule in this show.

I kind of despise the concept of mirakungfu because it makes no sense and because it feels disrespectful. I am by no means an expert on Chinese culture, so I don't know if it's actually offensive, but when all the writers are white, the name for the made up martial art is a parody of a real martial art, the box of magic items has nothing to do with the culture it's supposedly from, and the main character is completely removed from her heritage, it's just not a good look, especially since the monks are Tibetan and everything about the miraculous themselves is pretty explicitly Chinese. It just gives me uncomfortable vibes of Asian cultures being treated as both window dressing and an interchangeable monolith, but I don't have the expertise to really discuss that issue beyond "this feels like a bad idea and you probably want to talk to an expert on these topics to make sure you're not doing something offensive."

On the other hand, I love the concept of Guardian Luka! I have actually always wished that he had been given the miracle box instead of Marinette simply because I don't think that Marinette's personality is well suited to the role of Guardian and because I wanted her to have an actual team. Meanwhile, Luka freaking shines when they have him in a mentor role (Wishmaker & Migration) and I am of the firm belief that the Guardian should be a mentor to the other holders. It's why I said Marinette isn't suited to the role. As written, she just kind of hands out miraculous and orders people about. That's perfectly fine for a team leader! It's not so great for what I expect when I hear "guardian who chooses the holders of the ancient and powerful artifacts."

But that's not what they did with Luka. He isn't the holder of the miracle box. He just knows how to fight off miraculous wielders because reasons, so I have no idea what they're trying to do with him. Especially since his existence is straight up breaking their lore. In this case, it's the lore established back in Furious Fu, Su-Han's intro:

Su-Han: Let me remind you about some of the Perfect Precepts that you have broken. (flips pages) Precept 14: Kwamis must not live outside the box. (flips pages) Precept 52: Guardians must never lose a Miraculous. (flips pages) Precept 133: A guardian cannot, under any circumstances, wear a Miraculous. (closes the book)

Su-Han accepting Marinette as Guardian because what's done is done makes sense because of the memory BS (why is there no other way to hand off the box?), but that whole "Guardians don't wear Miraculous" rule is there for a reason! I think it may go a step too far, but the general principle does make a lot of sense. The Guardians should be in more of a support role simply from a security standpoint.

It's another reason I'm iffy on Marinette being the Guardian. The Guardian knows everyone's identities and - in the context of canon - has a direct line to the miracle box that any rando can access by capturing them. This makes it a really bad idea to have them fighting on the front lines as they know too much and are something of a security risk. Meanwhile the snake feels like a perfect miraculous for the Guardian to wield since the snake is meant to watch the battle from the sidelines.

It's all very confusing to me because I'm getting a thing I wanted, but in the most confusing and least interesting way. Instead of this feeling like a big plot point, it just feels like something they did because it's cool. I fear this is going to be like Luka learning the secret identities: a thing that should lead to something big plot-wise, but that ends up mostly ignored because it would complicate things too much. If anything, I expect this to mean that he's left out of big moments because the writers very clearly don't know how to write him now. Like he should have been involved in the Risk/Strikeback fight! His powers made more sense than anyone else's! But he couldn't be because then the Felix thing couldn't happen.

I do very much agree that Luka leaning mirakungfu is a big WTF because, if holders are randomly allowed to learn it now, then Marinette should be learning it too! She's actively fighting against a rouge holder, she knows all of the other holders' identities, and she is the guardian! Why is Su-Han mentoring Luka and not the actual guardian? It's all very annoying and I do not like it. It would honestly make more sense if Jagged and Penny were trained, but Luka was not, because Jagged and Penny are not holders, but they are acting as Luka's bodyguards of a sort. Instead, the writers have once again shat all over their lore in the name of doing something cool for a season finale and I would bet you that they're now going to have no idea how to handle the consequences of that in the coming season because they keep doing that. See: season three ending with a mass reveal and the writers subsequently ignoring the identity rules.

[lavendersugarplum]

Why Ben’s Death Was Important.

These two TUA characters could've died earlier, and I would not care.

Now that The Umbrella Academy has come to an end with Season 4, I feel like it's the perfect time to share some of my thoughts on the characters, and one in particular—Jennifer. If Jennifer had been killed off at any point during the season, it honestly wouldn't have affected me in the slightest. I just couldn't bring myself to care about her character. Jennifer's presence throughout the series has been minimal at best; she's barely had any screen time or development, making it hard to connect with or invest in her story. In many ways, she felt like a character who was simply there to serve the needs of the plot, rather than someone we were meant to root for or even understand on a deeper level.

The show could have handled her just as they did with Harlan—abruptly writing her out without much of a send-off. Harlan, who was once an important character, was discarded with little fanfare when his role no longer fit into the narrative. But because Jennifer is more closely tied to the central plot and Sparrow Ben's storyline, the writers clearly felt she was too important to be cut off so easily. Despite her being integral to certain plot points, it felt like her character never truly got the attention or development needed to make her compelling. So, while her survival made sense for the overall narrative, it didn't do much to make her any more memorable or likable to me as a viewer. If they had killed her off from the start, then the show would basically be over. Happy Ending for everyone....except her.

Another character I would have had zero qualms about losing is Sparrow Ben. Especially him. I HATE this character with a passion. No one can ever replace Umbrella Ben in my eyes; he will always be the best Ben, the only valid Ben, and the one who truly mattered. Sparrow Ben, on the other hand, is an entirely different story. I wouldn't give two flying fucks if something terrible happened to him. 😭 From the moment he appeared on screen, it was clear that his character was meant to be unlikable—arrogant, self-centered, and constantly at odds with everyone around him. And while it seemed like the writers tried to soften him up in late end of Season 3, hoping to make him more sympathetic or relatable, it just didn't work for me. Any attempts to redeem Sparrow Ben fell flat, and he remained just as obnoxious as ever.

Frankly, I'm convinced that the only reason the Umbrellas kept him around was because he looked like their beloved Umbrella Ben. If it were up to me, I'd have left his ass somewhere along the way, probably "accidentally" letting him get swallowed up by the Kugelblitz or one of the many other apocalyptic threats they faced. The Umbrellas' insistence on keeping him around felt misguided; he's not their Ben, and he's made it painfully clear he doesn't want to be part of their found family. I kept thinking, "Just let him go! He's not your brother!" The whole dynamic was forced and uncomfortable, and it's hard not to blame him for a lot of what went wrong this season. The group's willingness to cling to this hollow version of their lost sibling only made things worse.

Because let's be real, most of the things in Season 4 can be traced back to Sparrow Ben's actions or his selfish decisions. If they had just left him behind earlier on, half the disasters they faced might never have happened. The Umbrellas should have cut their losses instead of trying to see something redeemable in a character who had no interest in being part of their story. To me, the only decent Sparrows were Sloane and Marcus—characters who, unlike Sparrow Ben, showed some sense of loyalty, vulnerability, and a willingness to grow. Sparrow Ben was just dead weight, a constant reminder of what the Umbrellas lost, without offering anything meaningful in return. He is a prime example to show how none of the Umbrella's are willing to just let go of some things and move on.

The entire series of The Umbrella Academy revolves around one central theme: the siblings' refusal to let go of the past and accept things as they are. They're constantly clinging to old traumas, memories, and regrets, unable to move forward. This is why Sparrow Ben's antagonistic personality is in a way important to the storyline. If he had been as loving, kind, and brotherly as Umbrella Ben, his role as the catalyst for the Umbrellas' downfall would have made no sense. Sparrow Ben's cold and selfish nature was a direct contrast to what the Umbrellas once had, highlighting just how much they were still trapped in the past, desperately trying to hold onto something that was long gone. So even though a lot of us might absolutely loathe this character, he role was a reminder that you can't recreate what you've lost, no matter how hard you try, and this refusal to accept that truth is what ultimately led the siblings down a destructive path.

Rewatching the series with this context makes Umbrella Ben's death feel even more important. On its own, his death is a heartbreaking and tragic moment, a sudden loss of a beloved character. But when viewed within the entire narrative arc of the series, it transforms from a purely sad event into something more complex—almost a bittersweet relief. I believe now that Ben's death was a subtle foreshadowing of how the story would ultimately end. It was a powerful hint at the series' overarching message about the necessity of letting go. Ben's journey was a microcosm of what every character needed to learn but often resisted—the painful but necessary act of moving on.

Ben was the first sibling to accept his fate, to realize that holding onto people, memories, and pain when it's time to let go is not only unhealthy but self-destructive. His decision to let go wasn't just about moving on from his own death; it was about ending his cycle of self-inflicted suffering. He recognized that by clinging to the past, he was only perpetuating his own misery. His final act of release allowed him to find peace, breaking the cycle and allowing his spirit to finally move forward. This stands in sharp contrast to the rest of the siblings, who repeatedly fall into the same patterns, unable to break free from their own personal demons.

To break the cycle, you must be willing to let go, just as Ben ultimately did.

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

It was a documentary, not a series, that's why we were not satisfied because we wanted fiction, not a docuseries.

This only solidifies my POV, which I have already gone over on the Under The Table Podcast and in many previous entries on my blog, about the whole problem with S3 being in the WR. Coming from a very solid S2 and amazing S1 award season, only made matters worse, of course.

Viewers appreciate realism, as a matter of fact the kind of audience The Bear appeals to is the kinda public that digs realism and adult content, with lots of cussing, raw directorial style, fast-paced, etc. We are not the typical rom-com or even drama series audience. The Bear became a hit show back in 2022 because its eps were fast-paced, with a dramedy quality that made it original, lots of adult language, and with a hint of sexual tension that was "promising" if explored in future seasons, that at that point were not confirmed yet. S2 was ordered in July 2022 in the middle of the momentum the show was starting to get, and shot from February to April 2023, then it premiered in June 2023, only to compete now, in this award season that opened a few weeks ago at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Meaning: the reason why S3 didn't work as expected, and the numbers back that up that is why they haven't released them yet, is because the writers were not able to write a BALANCED plot. Yes, it hit all the realistic marks in terms of mental health struggles and fine dining 7th circle of hell, but at the same time, it lost every other "ingredient" that it used to have. THERE IS A WAY to write the best of both worlds, and I certainly expected that coming from who I considered the best script writer out there, the sadist. And his right hand wired for romance, Miss Calo. They didn't do it. They disappointed me. They went all in with the docuseries' raw realism style of Carmy hitting rock bottom, which if you were really paying attention in S2 was nothing but PREDICTABLE → as I proved even before S3 premiered here and here but they didn't build towards a cliffhanger that left you wanting more, actually, 03X10 is altogether hard to watch, there's no balance like in FISHES 02x06, for instance, just one punch after the other, all below the belt, no comedy, no breather, just tragedy and more tragedy and more sense of doom and more PLEASE MAKE IT STOP! THAT'S IT, END THIS, PULL THE PLUG, STOP IT! etc... Like I said: No balance.

Storer only focused on Carmy's background story, but didn't give us anything we couldn't have figured out on our own anyway, he didn't explore Syd's background story, which should be a collection of gems and absolutely Sydcarmy friendly because the more we know about her, the better we will be able to figure out how will Sydcarmy happen and when (I already know when, but still) and he also focused on Tina's background story, IMO that was completely unnecessary as T is not a central character, what he showed there was also easy to guess anyway and could have been summarised in a couple of scenes, not an entire bottled episode, not when other characters are UNEXPLORED after 3 seasons. So basically, all the decisions made in terms of SCRIPT were WRONG. The acting was perfect, the direction was too, the soundtrack, the cinematography, all of it, but the foundation wasn't there because in the WR the creative decisions made for S3 were completely fucked up, we were served a docuseries as opposed to the fictional show with a realism bouquet we were watching the previous 2 seasons.

WE WANT TO WATCH FICTION, write it realistically, sure! BUT DON'T LOSE WHAT YOU HAVE SO FAR, DON'T MUTATE INTO A DOCUMENTARY OF ALL THAT'S WRONG IN THE MENTAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT OR IN SOCIETY OR IN THE CULINARY INDUSTRY, we already know that and if we don't, we can always tune in the motherfucking news, not FX, and certainly not Disney+. Thank you very much.

[magpod-confessions]

(loosely responding to a confession i saw a while back, but just a lot of stuff in general)

i don't like how the fandom is so quick to slap labels like 'sexist, racist, misogynistic, etc' onto anyone who dislikes a certain character. i know these things are very much an issue, especially in fandom culture, but it's really anoying when people will just throw those labels around just because people dislike a character that happens to be a woman of colour. because 1. people are allowed to just dislike characters 2. people can have perfectly good reasons for disliking minority characters that have nothing to do with them being part of a minority group

specifically i want to talk about preferring michael distortion over helen distortion. obviously michael is widely depicted as a white man, while helen is widely depicted as a black woman so it's easy to look at the general favouritism towards michael and shout racism and misogyny. but that doesn't account the numerous reasons people could have to prefer michael over helen that have absolutely nothing to do with helen being black or being a woman. So, I present several such reasons:

(now, to the people that are going to say "why are you comparing them?? they are different characters and you should treat them like it" first of all, why have you read this far. second of all, that does not apply here. these are not two seperate characters. these are two different interations/personas/whatever of the same being. comparison should be expected if not encouraged)

michael is more interesting than helen. becuase michael is the distortion when jon and the viewer know very little about the distortion and the fears, he gets to be more cryptic, he can hint at things and and be all mysterious and vague about the nature of himself and the world. helen on the other hand is the distortion when we have a much better idea of the distortions nature and the fears and how they work. thus, she has less opportunity to be cryptic and vague and mysterious, which , in my opinion, is one of michael's best qualities-and what makes him so loved by the fandom. helen attempts to be weird and cryptic like michael, but it's just very repetitive and boring because we already know how everything works and there is very little she can hide from us

michael is a more 'iconic' character. this basically comes down to, he's more quotable. he has his whole trademark laugh and all his great quotes "i am not a who archivist i am a what" "how would a melody decribe itself when asked" "does your hand in any way own your stomach" "there has never been a door there archivist your mind plays tricks on you" i could go on. i'm sure helen has some great lines as well but i don't know any off the top of my head, which honestly proves my point a little. anyway, helen doesn't have all that. probably becuase the writers didn't want her to feel too similar to michael but yeah. this reason is a bit basic but it's still true

michael is made to seem more important. I just want to clarify, what i mean here when i say a character is more importamt here, is that the podcast makes this character seem more important. they both had their effect on the storyline, but the show definitely makes one of them seem more important and influential (this reason encompasses a lot of things so i'm sorry if it gets a bit ramble-y) this kinda ties in with the michael being more mysterious thing. micheal is treated as this mysterious unknown character, a potential threat, an antagonist at some points. Michael affects the characters quite a lot, and jon specifically seems to dwell on him a lot. So despite having a lot less screentime than helen, he's built up to be quite an important figure. Helen is not treated as important by the show in the same way. by the time she comes along, the whole mystery and drama of the distortion has already happened, so she isn't that important. she becomes a little irrelevant to the plot, occaisionally popping in to bother jon. and that's what she's really framed as —an annoyance, a bit of a nuisance, but not that important or influential. especially in season 5, she becomes almost a comedic relief character. mag 187 is the exception to this, where she is very important for about one episode before being almost immediately forgotten about. her effect on the characters is made to seem important only in retrospect. michael remains relevant even after his 'death' because he plays an important role in jon's struggle with his humanity and his conflict over gertrude's morals. even though michael has very little screentime compared to helen, every bit of it is made to feel relevant and important to the overall plot. I AM NOT SAYING MICHAEL IS ACTUALLY MORE IMPORTANT THAN HELEN. YOU CAN LOOK AT HELEN'S EFFECT ON THE PLOT AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE. I AM SAYING THE PODCAST ITSELF CLEARLY MAKES MICHAEL SEEM MORE IMPORTANT. sorry i just want to be super clear on that

michael has a more tragic/serious backstory. we all know what i mean here. michael shelley being manipulated and decieved and betrayed and kept in the dark, to become a monster that's whole purpose was to do those same things to countless innocents—there's so much that can be drawn from that and it's so poetic and interesting. it's also relevant to the overarching plot of the podcast like i said before. and like i mentioned before, helen is treated as a more funny character, not as serious or tragic as michael. don't get me wrong, there is tragedy in her becoming but it is not explored in the podcast canon. you can definitely talk about the srious stuff of helen's character but it isn't as grounded in canon if you do. also michael's death seems more tragic because michael shelley was framed as super innocent and undeserving of his fate while helen richardson was canonically kind of an asshole (not saying she deserved it either of course)

helen replaced michael. this relates to what i said at the start of this list—helen is going to be compared to michael as she is literally his replacement. for one, that does set michael fans against her slightly already because she's complicit in his 'death' a tiny bit. but the real problem is, she's expected to live up to michael—while also being different enough that it doesn't feel like the same character—which i personally don't feel that she does. i think i'd like her better if she was her own character and hadn't replaced michael, and i think that's a big reason that many people that prefer michael don't like her as much. it's also a valid reason to dislike a character. also, this has absolutely nothing to do with her being a woman of colour in fanon. if she was another white boy i'd still probably dislike her when she didn't live up to michael standards.

that's all i can be bothered to write, i think i had more ideas but i forgot sorry lol. anyway, notice how none of those reasons had anything at all to do with helen being a woman or often being depicted as black? if michael had been a woman of colour and helen had been a white man instead, these reasons would still apply

anyway i spent so long on this i thought of a couple reasons someone might preferhelen because i still love her and i don't want to make it seem like i dislike her. i don't. i just prefer michael but helen is still definitely top5 tma characters for me for sure.

we get to see the distortion adapt to it's new identity as helen which is super cool (i do not understand why no one talks about this.like hello????? it's so interesting?)

sometimes it's nice to have a more funny character, especially the juxtaposition between the more dark stuff of the podcast and lighthearted moments between helen martin and jon in season 5

i like her more subtle manipulations and the whole 'fake friend' thing. i thought that was a really interesting concept and a good way of bringing something new to the distortion

anyway, i know that white-twink-favouritism is an issue within the tma fandom (and dare i say tumblr as a whole) but let's remember than not everyone who likes or dislikes certain characters or prefers one character over another does so because they are sexist or racist. there are so many different reasons for someone to dislike or like characters that have notihing to do with race or gender.

i notice this debate particularly with michael and helen and i agree there could certainly be an element of sexism and a bit of racism too (not racism so much because she is not canonically black it's just a fanon thing so racist people probably just see her as white idk) but i think most people have genuine reasons like these to prefer michael and should not be called sexist or racist for having preferences.

🗣️ if i remember right mod i know you prefer helen so disagree with me if you wish. I'M NOT SAYING MICHAEL IS OBJECTIVELY BETTER THAN HELEN I'M POINTING OUT REASONS THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE PREFER HIM. i'm not really here to debate whether michael or helen is 'better' i just wanted to point out something that annoys me a bit

oh my god you are so right anon. at the end of it all both distortions are just. the distortion. michael was more impactful to the actual story as a whole, being one of gertrude's assistants, but helen is also super important in jons journey into avatarhood. both of them affected how jon sees himself through this ( him seeing himself as a monster definitely is also from the distortion ) in their own ways , and while helen is more of comedic relief , she still is new. she's fresh. she is a blank slate for the distortion after having been michael for so long and that is so interesting , especially with how she feels at the very start after merging. - deceit

Agree agree agree. I love helen sm and I find her incredibly interesting (and well the disortion in general) and I do prefer her over Michael personally (partly bc im gay as hell), but I definitely understand why ppl love Michael sm. And yea I dont think ppl should be called sexism or racist over liking a character. Like theres a big difference between liking a character for genuine reasons and liking them bc you have a bias. Idk yea - Rosette

[applestorms]

i was gonna write a more extensive post about this, but. fuck that i have too many points to write proper sentences rn, here's a bullet point list of my review of sonic 3. spoilers, obviously. tl;dr: i'm a hater

maria is fridged to hell and back, she is such a nothing character i have secondhand embarrassment for the writers every time she shows up. maria exists only to smile in flashbacks and lie in the flowers and go, "noooooooooooooooo, shadow :(( you can totally be whatever you want, dude," and then die on the floor. we don't even get to see her getting shot. fucking rip off.

to clarify-- maria absolutely does NOT have to be a fucking dead wife trope incarnate, imo. she can very easily be used that way, yes, but i think doing so also misses the core of her character and what she means for shadow. part of the appeal of the conversations that maria & shadow have on the arc in SA2 comes from the fact that they are characters coming from a very similar position, both being incredibly alienated from the rest of the world/humanity, daydreaming about it more than they are able to interact with it directly. like, come ON, they literally live on a fucking space station, the symbolism does not get that much more obvious?? it is the fact that maria CHOOSES to love humanity anyways, despite being unable to interact with it/live within it, that makes her words meaningful. jesus fucking christ.

anyways, speaking of. shadow has NO arc in this movie (literally and figuratively. did you seriously put the spaceship in Ohio) and it drives me up the wall. perhaps i'm just out of the loop on the Current Shit, but it feels like Nobody knows how to write that guy nowadays :((

not that i could fucking tell anyways in this particular movie from how little he shows up or SPEAKS. LET HIM SPEAAAAAK. i swear to GOD, he interacts w/ the main cast like three (3) fucking times in this entire movie and two of those interactions are fights. if you want those cute, quirky, somewhat cringe sonic/shadow interactions, you're better off watching the trailer plus whatever clips of the final fight inevitably end up on youtube, since that's basically their only real conversations in the entire movie.

the ending falls incredibly flat because of this. in the last movie, we at least had some decent character interactions between sonic & knux which made their fight and eventual team up at the end that much more satisfying. there was something to dig your teeth into, a back-and-forth that was entertaining (by sonic movie standards) but also established who they were, not only why they didn't like each other but how they could eventually bond. you had reason to care about knux, and reason to root for them to fight together!!

instead, here we got a whole lotta nothing. sonic and shadow fight, and it's cool, and it does all the Sick References and wowie yay clapping my hands live & learn blue/red lights cool. epic. yet i'm still left sitting here like WHO IS THIS BITCH??? WHO IS HE?????

fundamentally, the problem with this movie is that it Does Not Know what it's primary storyline is, or even who the main character is, and it falls flat on its fucking face because of it. there is no focus. sonic maybe barely kind of squeezes out an arc about teamwork and believing in your friends (a repetition of the last movie, i would argue, but whatever). eggman gets a much more hefty plotline about coming to terms with family, which i would be able to appreciate a whole lot more if it didn't feel like the only meaningful story arc in the entire fucking movie. robotnik bullshittery should be the B plot guys, come the fuck on. and shadow, of fucking course, gets NOTHING. he stands around looking grumpy and cool (and very cute, the animators did alright, i'll give them that), and emotes jack fucking shit. i know he's not a certified yapper like some people, but come the fuck on, he can still like. say words. right. RIGHT

is this review even comprehensible even more? i don't care, this is driving me insane. are you guys seeing this shit. are you.

this isn't even just me being a shipper and going wahh wahh no sonadow moments. you put those bitches on the poster why are they not talkinggg. even just an argument would be Great. it was like the one thing sonic prime figured out, why is it so empty here.

this also leads to the fundamental issue where i have NO fucking idea why either of them are so chill with each other by the ending. not only do i not know why shadow is so chill with sonic, considering he was just dead set on ending the fucking world to get revenge and one conversation is not enuf to convince me that he would get over it (even the lowkey suicidal tendencies fall somewhat flat for me since AGAIN. NOTHING), but i ALSO don't know why SONIC gives a shit about shadow!! or why he's so happy go lucky about all this!!! dawg he just killed the closest thing you have to a father. as much as i hate the humans in this series, even i have to sit for a minute and go uhh what? there is absolutely NOTHING to make their team up at the end of this emotionally meaningful other than the bland, surface level reaction of Yay Shadow And Sonic On Screen :) like the movie itself simply does not build up their rivalry in a meaningful enough way to make it feel worth it. one conversation can do a lot, but only if you have the build up to MAKE it mean a lot. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaugh

the ending being almost exactly the same as the beginning thus doesn't surprise me in the slightest cuz like. what else do you do. sonic Does Not have any reason to care about that bitch and neither does anyone else. his actual enemy eggman is presumably dead, so. who cares. a couple good fights then nice knowin' ya man o7 thanks for sacrificing yourself to save the world or whatever

the scene where shadow stalks the individual team members through the remains of their old military base/Ohio Arc stand in or whatever is cool, yes. one single hand clap for that. i like them making him ominous as fuck. but i just-- i need everybody to shut the fuck up for like two seconds so sonic and shadow can talk directly and have a proper fucking conversation before the literal end of the movie, like please just argue or SOMETHING. DO. SOMETHING. MEANING. LIKE A CHARACTER THING. WHO R U

also the eggman/stone shit drives me up the wall. another set of bitch ass writers too scared to make their characters canonically queer, so they bury their gays instead. idfc that they're inevitably going to revive him again, it's still stupid as shit. stone also does nothing in this movie so his internal "conflict" is dumb anyways aaaaskjdflksdjfl smacking my head on the keyboard

there comes a point in this movie where it really does feel like Everything is just about eggman and gerald. tails and knux stop being meaningful characters with personalities outside of quips by approximately the chao garden. sonic's weird human parents aren't even given a meaningful storyline outside of the one time that shadow punches him when they try to set up some miscommunication bullshit or whatever at the end. sonic and shadow fight but even that gets interrupted by... whatever the hell they were doing??? again, all of this would be way less aggravating if those scenes were able to fulfill their actual purpose: side bullshit funnie stuff to break up the serious scenes of the main plotline. unfortunately, this movie thinks a flashback to the traveling wilburys is sufficient to make its main character a complex, nuanced person. face in hands

seriously. why is that scene of eggman & gerald telling stone & shads to get back in the crab a microcosm of this entire film. orz

also also, before someone bitches at me for not paying close enough attention to [x] specific detail or whatever-- anything that you can easily miss on a first watch through should Not be integral to the plot of a movie. istg, i write scripts, i know how this shit works. if your audience can't figure out the emotional arc of a character after one watch, you have fundamentally failed your job as a writer. a flashback is not sufficient character writing, jfc.

and really, that's what it all comes down to, isn't it? the writing. it's always the Fucking writing with these movies. the animation here is, for the most part, fantastic, the voice acting is decent at worst, even the awkwardness of a half-human cast is somewhat smoothed over. yet the writing for these movies never fucking improves-- the jokes are still cringe at best, the references are blunt and unnatural, and the characters. have. no. arc.

perhaps it was somewhat inevitable that we end up at this point. this movie series has already been building up an entire universe of Other Bullshit, and it is here that we feel a lot of that crashing back down. the shelf could only stand up for so long.

i suppose in conclusion, my main takeaway from this movie is that it is an adaptation that fails. it does not understand who its characters are or what they want, it does not know why people connected to the characters it attempts to introduce on an emotional level, and it does not know how to make its own confusing lore work with all of the new details.

[tuakaai]

Good morning people. Since Ep 3 review I have gone outside and touched grass trying to process the ending of the series. So here we go.

Ep 4

First of all. I knew it! I knew it was the dad that killed Ben!

Second of all, the episode was between boring and annoying.

Klaus is doing his completely separate thing from the entire group.

The main group, instead, is on the search for Ben

Which himself is having his own soap-opera

Meanwhile Jean and Gene spend the whole episode in a burger King

Ep 5 & 6

We all know what I'm gonna say...

Lila and Five is just a no, I'm not gonna go too deep on it.

We get to see the in-laws!

The entire cast is separated by duos with very little mixing and I don't like that. They feel so much less like a family than any other season. And I purely believe you could make a more united/mixed season by changing some characters arcs, for example Klaus's exclusion from the main plot!

I do agree that some characters are more independant during the entire series, like Viktor or Five (or Ben cos he hates the entire group). They can stay how they are. I like consistant characterization.

I also want to point out the butchering of female storylines this season. Especially regarding Jennifer and Lila.

Lila is a badass! She's a strong woman, confident in herself, doesn't wait for a no or yes to do something, independant, loving, crazy, stubborn, fun... She's all of it. And this season she's purely been used as Five's love interest. She went from punk to a cottage-core stay at home wife. We barely see her join any of Five's excursions outside the house, except for that last one where she effectively does nothing. Is it only crazy to me that the Lila that said "we're not giving up" has spent more than seven years in her domestic wife fase? And the only reason she is able to go back has been handed to her by Five while insisting she should stay cos he doesn't want to fix the apocalipse and that he's better than her "failed marriage"? She hasn't been given any agency, the writer has done whatever he wanted with her and just won't accept any criticism. He's literally made his fantasies cannon just cos he could.

And Jennifer? Much of the same. A romantic object to advance the plot. Do we know anything about her? No. Does she make her own choices besides sticking beside her oh so loved Ben? No. She's rescued when she has to be rescued, she's killed when she has to be killed, she's romanced just because. She takes no forefront, basically Ben's attachment!

Now, the ending

I don't care, I literally don't care. Is it shit? Very. But what are you supposed to do when you fuck up the entire season before it?

I don't mind the "we have to sacrifice ourselves for this to stop", but it has to be done well. With character arcs finished at the very least.

Also, are you telling me that if they didn't drink the marigold they could've literally throw it to Jennifer and it would've been sorted? And Viktor can remove the marigold from a person, can he not? (like in season 2 & 3)

Idk, I'm going crazy again

Anyway

Reginald should've died

Moon lady shouldn't have been included

A dance scene should've

Good night, can't wait for the fanfics.

[sagesariadnd]

Unspoken writing advice

A piece of writing advice I've heard in the past is: when you're stuck, as yourself "what's the worst thing that could happen to this character/these characters at this moment?" and write that. And it is solid advice.

But its main strength is that it's a way to start conflict, which is how plot beats happen. And in that vein, I think there's an unspoken sibling to this advice that should also be considered, when figuring out how to resolve conflict: "What's the best thing that could happen at this moment?"

Obviously, you don't want to use this to resolve a conflict instantly, or to turn your story into everything going 100% right for your characters. But it can be a great exercise in tugging at the threads of your story and finding tangles and following the lines to see where they connect the most beautifully.

To give an example of this, I turn, as many people talking about good writing do, to Avatar: The Last Airbender. Spoiler alert as we talk about season 2 episode 8, The Chase.

In The Chase, the gaang have been harried by Azula and her team all night; they've been following the trail left by Appa as he's shedding his coat, and until they figured that part out the gaang has been on the run through the night, trying and failing to sleep multiple times. They're tired, stressed, and cranky. And on top of that, Toph is brand new to the party, and she and Katara have been butting heads, and Toph is particularly sensitive about carrying her own weight and proving she can take care of herself, a button that's been getting pushed all night. It all comes to a boiling point and after an outright shouting match, Toph has had enough and leaves.

Obviously, from a meta perspective, the story needs Toph; she's supposed to be Aang's earth bending teacher, and she's a powerful force and makes up the earth portion of the gaang's bending collection. So the writers have to figure out how to make her go back. What's it going to take to make that happen? How is she going to develop and learn that Katara wasn't trying to patronize her? Maybe someone could talk to her and put things into perspective. Who is the best person she could run into to have such a conversation? Hey, how about Uncle Iroh!

Iroh really is perfect in every way for Toph's problem. He's in the neighborhood, since he's been following Zuko, who's tracking Azula, so the meetup is possible at all. He's friendly and hospitable and loves meeting new people - and let's be real, he could probably use the company himself since Zuko ditched him. He's patient and tranquil, so if Toph reacts badly he's not going to escalate things to the point where it's useless arguing. He sees people as clearly as Toph feels her surroundings, so he knows that she's capable and validates her. And of course, he's a font of flowery wisdom and is always an advocate for family and comradery, so he can talk all day about how to be a good friend to the gaang. One short rest over tea and Toph will hear what she needs to hear, and then all the plot threads can converge; Zuko catches up with Azula in the middle of her fighting Aang, Iroh catches up to Zuko, Toph catches up with the gaang, and they're all together for that encounter with Azula. And as a bonus, now Toph and Iroh know each other so they can get in touch later when they need help!

Sorry kinda-not-sorry for the long ramble, I just love talking about character and story shit so much. But basically my point is; throwing obstacles in your characters' way is good and important, but it's just as important to sometimes give them a hand to help them over some hurdles. Sometimes after deciding what the worst thing is that could happen, you should consider what the best thing to happen next could be.

[roxannepolice]

Guess who has to write and email and like open a word document (to read her own writing, argh the ordeal!), so here goes more thinking about tragic vs. comedic choices with Doctor-Master relationship.

I keep saying that the last two times we got writers making a point of tragedizing the Master's final appearance, without giving a hint as to them being fine or at least fine-able, and how that really is a news thing, because in classic Who they would usually give a wink that they'll be back which is as much a part of the happy ending as their plans being thwarted, be it a smug phonecall, an 80s effects clock or TARDIS having indigestion. And also, now that I think of it, it tend to be the companions who ask about them, and that without clear hostility. Now, there are two caveats, I admit, the first largely technical, the second more poetic. The first is - I mean "normal" circumstances for the writers, i.e. when they are reasonably sure the show's gonna be renewed and no accidents will befall the actors. Basically, I have in mind the situations when the writer's mindset is that of writing a full story for the Master (and again, don't get me started on "the Master always just comes back without any explanation", no, not in a new body, then it's been a matter of a full cold opening or even an episode to explain it).

The second is, and I suppose this like a lot of issues I take especially with Chibs, stems from superficial look at how RTD handled tensimm, the fact that there is no wink at the end of EoT. Because yes, Simm!Master disappears into the portal, flashing into an electroskeleton that has been established as him "still dying". And yes, that is a break from tradition. Except, I would say, it is a result of the deeper novelty RTD went for: writing the Doctor as a tragic character. Like, Simm!Master's exit is tragic, because the entirety of EoT is a tragedy, frankly the entire Tenth Doctor story is a very shakesperean tragedy of hubris, and existential choices and needing to deal with them. Oh yes, there are elements of a happy ending, with Earth, time itself and more importantly Wilf saved, but that's Montagues and Capulets shaking hands over their children's bodies, or Fortinbras getting down to putting Denmark back into shape among a carnage, or Mark Antony and Octavius on a battlefield taking up power over Rome while declaring Brutus "the noblest Roman of them all". And yes, the story picks up in pace and mood once Eleven appears, but Ten's death is absolutely framed as a tragedy. So yeah, the Master's story only parallels his. Whether one likes or dislikes the general direction taken is up to anyone watching, but there is no jarring mar in the genre.

Twelve's and Thirteen's stories end in a comforting place and that contrasts both of their Master's endings. Missy's final shot feels final because Moff wanted it to feel final. Spymaster's last shot is less final but still mostly ominous, and I guess a nod is due to Yaz for taking a moment to hesitate if she should save him too, I'm sure Jo approved during the therapy session, but both of these moments are a clear difference from Twelve getting over his despression and Thirteen going out with a children's game line.

So yeah, RTD going out of his way to include a small side plot about the Master's whereabouts and ending it on a self-pleased laughter is definitely a sign of genre-saviness being back on the menu.

[zahri-melitor]

Recent Reads:

This roundup is basically three titles I didn’t enjoy, so please be entertained by me finding positives to say about all of them.

Batgirls 2021:

I’ve talked about Batgirls a bit, and plenty of other people have canvassed its faults. I will be honest upfront and say I never really gave this title a fair chance; on the other hand, it managed to demonstrate multiple reasons why I wasn’t particularly interested in reading it from the very first issues, so even if I hadn’t been suspicious of it, I still would have decided that its aimed audience was Not Me.

I would guess that this title was initial pitched as a title for teen girls, trying to pick up on the YA market (similarly to how Gotham Academy fitted to that style, leading to why Cloonan and Conrad got the nod for the book). I don’t think it’s the worst idea to choose to aim a title about two girls who are best friends at that market; however it definitely missed that a big chunk of the audience who wanted to see Cass and Steph in a book together were probably fans who had read their solos when they were coming out, and therefore were adults in at least their mid twenties, if not a decade or two older, hoping to see young adult Cass and Steph.

I do think this is the first title since Batman Eternal to do any serious work with Steph and her feelings towards her father, which is a solid central hub to pull her back to. It’s also a topic that wasn’t as heavily canvassed in Batgirl 2009 as it was other places in Steph’s history, so it’s helpful to have an accessible, all in one place discussion of Steph and Arthur’s relationship for newer fans. I do think some of Steph’s anger was stripped back and overjustified here, but the aim of the title was to be pretty light and bouncing back from any issues.

It is also certainly the central thesis title for a lot of Steph/Cass shipping, particularly in the way I see it characterised on tumblr and in fic these days. They are very much written as codependent besties who live in each other’s pockets here.

Honestly the title has really had the most effect on Steph, storywise, out of anyone. It does make a reasonably coherent sequel (with adjustments for two and a half universe reboots in the interim) to Batgirl 2009 for Steph in terms of attitude and characterisation. On the other hand, it looks like it’s largely being immediately dropped/overlooked for Cass because it’s between two far better regarded titles she starred in (Batman and the Outsiders 2019 and Spirit World). A lot of the Babs we get in this is congruent again with the lighter Burnside characterisation of Babs; the thing is that writing of her has been steadily decreasing for a while, and is far less present in her current Birds of Prey run, the second half of Batgirl 2016, and even places like Taylor’s Nightwing. And I can see this causing issues down the track, for people who want to riff this for Steph, because most writers and audiences don’t really want to riff this for Babs or Cass.

I’m glad it exists in terms of giving Steph an actual title to front, and as a transition point for Cass back into being a character allowed to star in highly focused titles again. I just wish it had had a lot more respect for and knowledge of all the characters featured in it, and selfishly wish it had been more sequel-to-preboot in nature rather than carrying on characterisation arcs born out of n52.

Batman Incorporated 2021:

I should stop trying to read Batman Incorporated titles, because what I want them to be (interesting discussions of the way various different cultures react to and adapt the concept of Batman) is rarely what they are, as opposed to being a vehicle for a central character to star while using everyone else as interchangeable cannon fodder. I’m lucky in that Beryl seems to have evolved a level of plot immunity at this point by being the most prominent consistent member of these lineups who stands out from the crowd; on the other hand I am pretty certain Ed Brisson had not read Batman: The Detective (he had at least flicked through Knight and Squire given he knew about Jarvis Poker).

This time it was Ghost-maker’s title (rather than for example being the Let Me Finish Killing Off Damian title that was Batman Inc 2012) and having a central character who doesn’t actually have any respect for the other characters in the title did not help share the storytelling around. I think Beryl, Jiro, and Bao Pham came out with the most clear characterisation separate from Khoa; I also didn’t mind Gray Wolf’s relationship with Beryl, though Brisson clearly doesn’t remember Beryl is probably all of 21 at this point.

I’m always glad to see Beryl, and a bunch of the minor characters who don’t really get appearances outside of these titles got to show up (Night-runner and Baixi are two others I appreciated seeing who I hadn’t mentioned yet), so I did enjoy that.

I just don’t think anyone came out of this title very changed from where they went in (aside from things like ‘is Wingman IV still actually Wingman III and thus Willis Todd? Nobody knows! One person accused him of it, but then Wingman tragically died. Don’t look or think too hard about it’). I personally came out of this with a conviction that I wasn’t going to go out of my way to read Ed Brisson again. And given that lack of change, I wonder what the point was.

The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing 2022:

I was expecting this title to be a lot more like The Joker 2021 than it ended up being, which was a disappointment, because I had a lot more fun with Tynion’s approach than I did this.

Highlights: Kate Spencer my beloved showed up in this, and pretty clearly had her based-in-LA backstory reconfirmed. I did roll my eyes at all the ‘there’s never any heroes in LA’ nonsense, because quite aside from having had Titans teams based out of San Francisco, Todd Rice and Damon Matthews have lived in LA, Gar’s been based out of it on occasion, Blue Devil’s been based there, several versions of the Outsiders have spent a good chunk of time in LA… superheroes aren’t exactly UNKNOWN over there in DC.

I will concede Kate’s probably the main hero based out of there these days, but it’s not as shocking as the title made it out to be.

On top of that, I do agree with the general view that Rosenberg has a solid handle on how to make Jason work as a character straddling the antihero to hero line. He’s put some thought into it. I’m just not that interested in Jason.

The plot itself in this felt deliberately confusing, and similarly to the last Rosenberg title I read (Task Force X) felt needlessly overcomplicated in places. The why never seemed to be properly dealt with, outside of I suspect a desire to play with the concept of Three Jokers in main continuity and fake people out. Rosenberg is really into fakeouts, from what I've read so far. I also felt a bunch of Gotham villains got used as unnecessary mooks through a bunch of this who would probably be completely over lining up for or assisting Joker at this stage.

Read if you like antihero-villain pieces, or you want more Jason stories, I think.

[zepskies]

Hey, Yep! Have you ever had writer's block? And if so, how did you break it?

Hey, Arty! 💜

Oh, definitely. 😅 No writer is safe from the dreaded state of "writer's block," but I do have some tactics I use to get through it...

5 Tips for Beating Writer's Block

Start plotting with an outline. ✍🏽

There are two kinds of writers, in my opinion:

Architects: writers who outline.

Adventurers: writers who freeform.

In most respects, I consider myself an Architect. My brain craves structure. So the way I beat writer's block while working on a project is by having a roadmap of what's going to happen next. That's thanks to my outline.

Even freeformers can develop some kind of pre-writing plan, whether that's creating a list of character bios, starting with the basic 3-Act triangle, or writing out a handful of bullet points to get you going.

For my personal process, I'll go from creating the basic premise/summary, to some loose bullet points of the story structure, to then fleshing out into full outlining of each chapter and scene, and finally drafting (and editing).

While I'm outlining, I'm also doing research and fact-checking as needed to get me through to the next scene and the next, until the end. My "roadmap" tends to be very detailed, so when I get to the drafting part, all I should have to reference is my outline.

Now, this doesn't mean that plot points won't change, or get switched around, or get chucked entirely. But if I have the blueprints of the house, I can change a window or a door, or even a whole support beam here and there, so to speak.

2. If I get stuck at any point during the outlining and/or drafting phase, I'll often go back and reread what I have already. 🧐

I'll edit and tweak as I do those readthroughs, whether it's my outline or drafted chapters. It freshens up the earlier scenes and plot points in my head.

In doing so, it'll hopefully unlock ways I can continue the later plot points, and even tie them back to things I'm setting up earlier in the narrative.

3. Revisit the thing that gave you inspiration in the first place! 🍿

Rewatch, reread, revisit the episode, movie, book, story, artwork that stroked your muse and had you daydreaming and brainstorming about the WIP you're working on. That can be a good way to revitalize you when you feel you're getting stuck on something in a plot point, or lacking motivation.

4. Create a music playlist. 🎶

I love doing this, especially for a series. I often create a playlist of songs that remind me of the setting, the characters, the overall story, or the romance I'm trying to create. Whether it's the words or the tone/rhythm that get me going, music inspires me greatly.

5. Go for a walk. ☀️

I walk for exercise, but it also gives me time to daydream and run through scenes in my head while vibing to my music (sometimes looking like a crazy person as I nod and make hand motions lmao).

This helps me clear my head, get some fresh air, then come back to my laptop with a little more pep in my brain, ready to pick up where I left off while writing. 👌🏽

Thank you so much for this question, @artyandink! (Sorry, meant to tag you when I originally posted.) I hope these ideas help you beat writer's block. 💕 Let me know if you have any additional questions!