#basically a glorified plot device

[incorrectfatui]

Once upon a time in Zapolyarny Palace Dottore, about Pantalone: Can I tell him he looks nice?  Crucabena: ..Sure? Dottore: Can I tell him I respect him?  Crucabena: Maybe, if he asks.  Dottore: Should I show him an oil painting I made of us surrounded by our three cats and four dogs?  Crucabena: …  Crucabena: I’d maybe save that for later.

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

i think Helaena can be autistic but also a happy and joyful girl , autism ≠ depression. the way the portrayed the only neurodivergent character on screen as unstable, shunned depressed, and with no importance to the plot feel very ableist and weird , but then they're the ones who made the guy with a foot disability a feet fetishist 🫠

Hi OP, finally answering this because the trailer dropped and still the only Helaena shots we have are from her Jaehaerys' funeral. There is also one still photo of her. If you haven't seen it, here she is, apparently sewing the funeral shroud for her little boy:

So it seems like season 2 is going to continue on this trajectory for Helaena as a character who exists in order to suffer beautifully.

Don't get me wrong. I am glad that the show is going to wring the full emotional effect from Blood and Cheese, not just shock value. The audience will feel the real horror of a six year old child brutally murdered in his own home and the psychological torment of Helaena. It should be terrible, it should be devastating, and I hope they do not pull any punches.

What's disappointing about how the show has handled Helaena is that they didn't really put any effort into building up her character before her tragedy. It's all well and good that she likes bugs and she's touch averse, but what are her opinions? Who is she closest to? How did she react to becoming a mother so young? To what extent does she understand her visions? What does she value? She can be happy and cheerful, or she can be frustrated and angry, and hell, she can be depressed too, but I need to know why. It's telling that I can describe the basic internal motivations for each of the male children, including Luke who was a glorified plot device, but I cannot for Helaena. Aegon wants to feel loved, Jace wants to prove he's as worthy as any trueborn heir, Aemond wants what his brother has, Luke wants to be free from his family's expectations. Helaena? Fuck if I know. I guess she wants not to die horribly.

The ableism is an issue. F&B is full of women who were deemed "simple" -- Gael, Daella, Jaehaera-- without being given much else to define them, and HotD adds another (there's something, I think, to the way the "simple" Targaryens are always women and how disability kind of used as a way to remove them from the narrative and shunt them aside, often tragically). And while it's great to see an autistic person represented on screen, the show consistently has an issue with treating representation as characterization. "Autistic girl who likes bugs" is not a personality. Autistic people, (even those with horrifying prophesies I assume), do have hopes and dreams and feelings about things. The one peek we get into Helaena's life is at the in episode 8 when she roasts Aegon and even that scene is open to interpretation (and gets taken wildly out of context). Now, I can read a lot into the actor performances, but ultimately, lines that could have given a glimpse Helaena personality were cut. It's as if they're afraid that if they give her an opinion on anything she would lose that (frankly kind of infantilizing) "pure cinnamon roll too good for this world" "i would die for her" sympathy from people who are not inclined to be sympathetic for her family as a whole.

(And anon, you're right about Larys. And let me say, turning Larys' clubfoot into the punchline of an OnlyFeet joke also does not inspire confidence that they'll handle Aegon II's eventual disability with any sensitivity either, especially when Mushroom's accounts of his last few months are incredibly mean spirited. We need to start that discourse now so they get the memo).

Sadly, I don't think the show really has any intention of course correcting with Helaena in season 2. I imagine at most we'll have her try to warn Aegon and/or Aemond about Blood & Cheese but they won't understand her warning, and then this will be a vehicle to further their guilt and grief. And while we do need to see Aegon's guilt and his grief, I also want to know if Helaena blames herself, if she wishes they'd run away when they had the chance, if she thinks Aegon could have done something, if she is angry at Aemond for killing Luke, if she wants revenge. I do think, with the public funeral for Jaehaerys, they are going to show that the smallfolk are fond of Helaena, and hopefully that will be expanded upon this season and in season 3 because her death is the catalyst for the revolt that sees Rhaenyra driven from the city, and we should understand why her death has such an impact before she actually dies.

[zzthekaiju]

Geez...

Call this whining, but now that Wingard's out of the director's seat (here's hoping they either get Dougherty back in the saddle OR someone like Guillermo del Toro on the line), I've been noticing a LOT of people wanting the next Godzilla movie to basically be "Godzilla gets fed up with humanity and turns on us all". And I really don't want that for a number of reasons (reinforces the bias against reptiles, been done before a million times, personal bias, etc.), particularly one specific detail...

It renders Serizawa's sacrifice, and the overarching themes of coexistence in the Monsterverse, entirely pointless.

That heart-tugging scene of him putting the fate of the world and its number one guardian above his own, of him making one last connection with the beast that inspired him, that moment they lock eyes before he gives his life to save him...it all goes down the drain if the ultimate endgame of the Monsterverse is Godzilla becoming our greatest threat when the OH SO PERFECT AND SQUEAKY-CLEAN APE gets to be the hero all the time (don't get me wrong, I love this version of Kong, but it just feeds into the "mammal good, reptile bad" trope I despise so much). Everything Serizawa and Monarch stood for as a whole ends up being for nothing if that's how it all goes down. And really, we've now done the whole "Godzilla gets pissed at us because of the actions of a few" thing with the Mechagodzilla situation.

NOW, I'm not saying Godzilla needs to be totally spotless. Absolutely not. I'm fine with him being kind of a jerk at this point...but what if he changed? What if, instead of just keeping him that way...we saw him develop? Y'know? As a character? Which is what he very much is, and NOT some glorified plot device?

Listen, making our relationship with Godzilla the centerpiece of the conflict isn't a bad idea. Not at all, as a matter of fact. A good way around it could be that the new monster he has to defeat is Hedorah, or a monster very much like Hedorah (considering the involvement of Yoshimitsu Banno, it feels inevitable). A horror conceived by our hubris and lack of care for the Earth. And yeah, Godzilla would be really angry at us...but he could also be tired. Overwhelmed. Borderline depressed at his Sisyphean life of having to undo every mistake we make. Maybe the real conflict could be him trying to find something, anything that makes his job worth it and not him not feel completely out of place in a world that's changed so much in the centuries he's been dormant. Maybe Monarch and/or a new cast of humans could help show the Big G that we appreciate him. They already teased this with how he acts around the Roman Coliseum (the novel confirms that he's homesick, awww), so why not give him that sort of emotional arc like they did for Kong? Maybe even give him more than just one scene with him and Mothra together, and show why their relationship works so well, ESPECIALLY when Big G's having a crisis! A unique jerk-to-nice-guy plot! I don't know, something that doesn't begin and end with him doing nothing but destroy things. That was cool for a while, but we need to get out of this "Godzilla can't be relatable because reptile" bunk that I have no doubt the higher-ups think. Heck, give him that son that Wingard clearly wanted to give him. Maybe the twist is that Little G absolutely adores humans and convinces his old man that they aren't so bad. That would work amazing! The possibilities are endless!

That, or they could go with my pitch for a "Godzilla X Mothra" movie. Please...?

I'm kidding, Twitter user Riamus came up with a WAY better premise, to be honest.

[skyfallscotland]

House of Earth & Blood thoughts, part two/two:

• Bryce's mum is really cute and it's kind of nice to see a story where the heroine isn't a starving orphan, sorry not sorry 🤷‍♀️

• Hunt's mum however 😭😭 that's so sad? And why do I feel like we're going to circle back at some point to that comment about not knowing who his dad is 👀 Is it someone important? It's someone important, isn't it?

• I also find it kind of hilarious that so many people rag on Violet in Fourth Wing, but Hunt Athalar is just as fucking bad. The boy is thirsty af, does he ever think about anything else??

• I also like that Bryce's depression and survivor's guilt is sticking around and not just being used as a plot device, like a lot of books usually do. It's nice. For me, not for her, lol.

• I still don't like Fury. She's still blacklisted. Go run off with E Ithan.

• Hunt’s wings, what the fuck. Honestly, Bryce isn’t doing enough threatening around here, blackmail these fuckers?!

• Ohhh I get it now…I think? Did someone shove that drug down Danika’s throat and she killed the pack? And that’s why she was begging? And why the protections on the apartment couldn’t stop it?

• Oh, Danika shoved the drug down Danika's throat? Well that's...charming. I know people are imperfect but damn this still feels like a Nehemia-Aelin relationship and I'm...not digging it.

• I really want to know more about the Autumn King, which seems like the situation every time there's an autumn king of any kind in an SJM novel, so, you know...par for the course.

• Micah is such a dick. TBH they're all dicks, but still 🙄

• Bryce begging for Hunt's freedom 🥺 I fully expected her to be like "he's my mate!" but IDK do they...not...realise that? Is it because she hasn't made the drop? They do have those in this universe, right? Because now I can't remember.

• I like Ruhn. Is pretty sword going to end up being Bryce's sword though? Because we're talking about it way too much for what's basically a glorified kitchen utensil in his hands.

• Ok so the last like however many pages were while I was out, which honestly? Always seems to happen? So I don't have a ton of live reactions but:

• Did I think Hunt was being a little mouthy about hating the archangels for a man in his position? Yes. Did I think he was actively planning a rebellion? Nope, you got me there.

• Oh and MICAH killing Danika and the pack? It makes a lot more sense, but that doesn't make me feel any warmer about her to be honest, she DEFINITELY learned from the Nehemia school of friendship (called it!) and I hate that for Bryce 😒

• The vacuum cleaner? That's such a trauma response and honestly, Bryce deserves to have that small moment of peace because she's a badass bitch. Nice work honey, you're doing great! 🥹

• Sandriel is just...I don't even care about her? She's meant to be this second big bad and I just never cared, tbh. Good riddance 👋

• Hunt gets blown up and put back together way too much and too easily tbh, which rankles considering Lehabah is apparently actually dead??? What's up with that? Rude.

• "Light it up, Bryce! Light it up!" Ok I might have teared up a little 😭In the grocery store. 😭 The same grocery store I was in when I listened to "you do not yield, you do not yield" on my last big shop. You're right, I can never go back.

• I also wasn't sure Bryce was ever making the drop, I was starting to think that she was going to remain human forever (and I wouldn't have been that mad about it). I'm kind of relieved though that she did and she didn't have to give up all her power? I think? From my understanding. That seems like an SJM special and I was waiting for it, prepared to roll my eyes.

• "I'm not making it ... Because it got too hard. Without you. It is too hard without you." I love Bryce so much. I felt her more than most other characters SJM's ever written. I feel like the way her depression and trauma showed through in little glimpses was something I'd been hoping for out of other characters in her work and never gotten and I'm glad she decided to tackle it properly this time around.

I can also see her getting along really well with Remi, so there, that's my answer now for everyone who kept saying Remi and Aelin would be friends. I can't see that, but I can see Remi and Bryce. And maybe Remi, Bryce, and Nesta being a dangerous trio 😅

[dannyabner]

Ok so I lumped this on the discord earlier but there was barely any grammar and most of it was just repetitive rambling. I decided to rewrite it for myself but also because I didn't wanna let that paragraph of autismsplaining go unheard. So yeah. Enjoy.

•••

In the comics it's Homelander that rapes Starlight, not The Deep. (It was also A-Train and Black Noir, but for the sake of this post we'll forget that.)

As we all know, The Deep alone assaulted Starlight in the show, and there are a few reasons I'm guessing they changed it. The main one is that if it were Homelander, it'd reveal that he's a bad guy too early on. In the first episode he's made out to be this perfect hero, maybe even the "one good supe", and then he lasers the Mayor of Baltimore's plane in half at the end and it all goes downhill from there. Although it would make Starlight's side of the story worse/more interesting with her inability to speak out and the realization of how far Vought is willing to go to keep profits, I can understand why this just wouldn't work.

So they changed it to The Deep. I could be reading too far into this, but I'm guessing it was him specifically because in the comics he seems (or seemed, since I'm still just past Herogasm) to not really have a storyline or even personality of his own. I can only remember him even talking once or twice. Other than Black Noir until that god awful plot twist, I'm pretty sure he's the only member of The Seven who you never get to learn anything about. They could've turned him into the real "one good supe" bar Starlight. They could've given him the Jack from Jupiter treatment and replace him with an original character. I guess they didn't wanna do the latter twice, which is fair. So to make him both a more significant character and more believable villain, this is what we were given.

Yet even with Homelander and The Deep's switched dynamics (probably not the right word), they still wanted to include the whole Ryan plot. For this reason, and I'm guessing this reason only, Homelander too was written as a rapist.

What I always found strange about this is that Homelander showed no signs of that sort of behaviour before or since Becca. I know they kind of needed him to be "that guy" so they could include Ryan in a comic-accurate way. Like, what's more realistic, Homelander settling down with a nice happy family or him gaining the female validation he craves by force? But still, that part of him is always jarring to remember.

I feel like this could've been done a lot more effectively if they delved deeper into his relationship with Stillwell. The reason people so often forget that she groomed him - or don't realise it at all - is because it's just never discussed. It's implied, mentioned in passing out of the show's context, but never actually spoken about. So often I see their relationship reduced to "haha mommy kink breast milk needy good boy." And to be fair, that's basically how it's portrayed in the show. I just wish that it wasn't. Anyway, I'll probably do a whole post about that in the future. I'm getting off topic.

What I'm actually trying to say here is that they probably almost gave The Deep a child instead. It would've made sense, including that aspect of the comics but changing things up again like usual, giving the child to "the" rapist character instead of creating a second one just for the sake of it. Again, I understand why they didn't go with this.

I mean, he wasn't a main antagonist in season one. And not once has he been considered a supervillain. It's more obvious as the show progresses that he's basically just comic relief (another thing I'm a little pissed about but I digress). And since his powers make him more of a glorified human than an actual supe, it would be harder to make his offspring a significant plot device. Ryan is a threat. A ticking time bomb. I'm very excited to see what they do with him in season four. But Kevin Junior? I mean, what would there even be to worry about besides toxic masculinity and an inherited case of body dysmorphia? The only thing this hypothetical kid would be good for is a redemption arc, and it's becoming increasingly clear that the show either doesn't want that for The Deep, or is saving it for the milisecond before his gruesome death.

If this was the original idea, I understand why it was kicked. If it wasn't, it's still kind of a missed opportunity. I really think it was an unusual choice to have Homelander rape Becca. Then again, there's the whole controversy over whether he actually did, but I'm not gonna get involved.

[cx3ryz]

another rant: my tumblr era has started i feel withdrawals…

i might not finish this so if it gets posted. something won but drawing most definitely did not ToT anywho this is in fact another persona rant! im fixated on kingdom hearts pretty heavily now but i still hold persona very very dear to me as we now dhskd im here to rant about the aigis and yukari, this wont be as in depth as last rant but hey its worth a try and its been on my mind why not

thinking about aigis’ character and everything about her character down to her bisexuality really makes me wish they explored her humanity more. i know she wasn’t an allegory really or anything of that sort just more of a “plot device” of sorts to help handle the theme of appreciating your humanity and living and all that. but i love her so much so yes, as indulgent as it is, i want to explore that for her hehe. since i played the game and my fixation and love for aigis had commenced, ive always sorta shipped her with yukari i guess? because i think they would really nice together lmao and also because i think there’s so much potential between a dynamic like that between the two of them.

i was working on a fanfic idea and i had written some stuff i really liked but in short the idea was about aigis and yukari and how their relationship would develop during the answer time or after the events of the main game basically and how they would deal with makoto’s death in a rather odd manner to say. mind you, ive never seen the answer dlc and knew very little about it so i sort of didn’t include that specific time but anywho, no matter all that, the point of in short is that aigis and yukari only really find that sort of sense of “love” in each other because they both remind each other of makoto. i know that sounds probably insane and i don’t really like writing about gay couples and just focusing it so much on societal standards or like in sapphic relationships for example, i don’t like the fact so many are based around men and comphet and all that but i feel that this would be such an issue for how aigis and yukari would navigate their lives afterwards, as of course it would be, i think it has a lot of potential to be discussed and i know atlus would never state it the way that i think it would look but just in the friends way and not in the jealous “he was mine!!” way, its so ridiculous bc again, i havent seen it myself but i know its handled so horribly i dont even wanna imagine. ill see it eventually ToT

but anywho, i think their relationship has a lot of potential to be explored. just the ship dynamic in general and aigis having to handle teen emotions lmao. i think her being extremely awkward and learning the concept of embarrassment would be hilarious i mean mostly tragic but in a way, it’s something that could speak to a lot of people. and i know the game didn’t have time to really explore that and i think surprisingly they did pretty well with what they did with aigis and just that game in general (the first and last time lmao) but im just saying whatever yk fhsjfb

i just wish more media expanded on what toxic relationships genuinely are. i wish more ppl thought critically and realized the very thin but visible line between toxic and abusive and didn’t either glorify or exaggerate it so much yk? like i wish more media discussed mutually toxic relationships and actually didn’t put such a disgusting narrative like they always do especially with gay women and sapphic couples. just for the fetish it’s absolutely disgusting just like with gay men and the power dynamics its like… why. why are we missing the point here how do we manage to make the same mistakes everytime ToT i like aigis and yukari as a ship because its something that already in itself is a bit questionable to say the least and it could really feed off well on that differentiation between their humanity you know? and also handling grief but realizing that its the same and they both need to let go you know? it’s like even with yukari and mitsuru, i wish more people didn’t treat them like “aww cute gay girl couple from persona 3!! yass lesbians diversity win!!” and actually thought on the WAY bigger picture that their relationship is and just how messy and complicated and tbh, really unfortunate it would be. although i do think that mitsuru and yukari would probably “be together” late in the future like probably reconnect late 20s or smth but it would all have to be secret and still, mitsuru would never be able to really be with her due to the company and marrying off and all that. and just with mitsuru’s avoidant personalty and a bit of nativity and i personally headcanon yukari with bpd or just a more emotionally based personality disorder so those leading factors would probably make their relationship to actually come to fruition so difficult

ok i was going to finish this and ill still post it but my head hurts so bad rn i hate playing kingdom hearts the graphics are miserable omg.. so ima head to sleep at only 3 am like a loser.. goodnight to the dust under the bed and alsoooo

goodnight too to the inspo for today’s rant.. i was finally able to get my hands on a baby aigis and she has arrived and im so happy i feel like a father right now… even the box has naorise tooo like fjskfjr♪٩(๑>ꇴ< ๑)و ♪ …you all better say goodnight to my child im looking at you too dust bunnies dont think i forgot

[touchingmadness]

Help me choose a Nano project?

I am by no means promising to heed the results to this, but I could use some opinions. I have a few ideas for what to work on for Nano but can't make a final decision which is... a problem, since these all need some more planning before I actually start writing them.

Descriptions and pros/cons below the cut.

Reblogs allowed and appreciated.

That Which Remains (post-apoc sci-fantasy)

In a post-apocalyptic world where the passage to the afterlife has been mysteriously cut off, the streets are oversaturated with the spirits of the dead. Trained Quellers take to the streets with their spirit-sensitive subordinates to channel and extinguish these spirits. Aereas is an unsanctioned Queller who is secretly spirit-sensitive. When they're called in to investigate the apparent suicide of a Queller-in-training, they get pulled into the mystery of why the spirits of the dead are lingering and what the Quellers are - or aren't - doing about it.

Pros:

Most developed plot

Main and secondary character decently developed

I know DEFINITIVELY how this ends, down to the scene

Cons:

Might be derivative -- formulated as a dream while I was binging stories about body-hopping and talking to the dead

Most of the other characters don't even have names

Unsure if this is a single book

Wither and Woe (high fantasy, political drama)

Five nations are on the cusp of deadly conflict. Tensions are rising, and plans are being pushed into motion under the veneer of civility. A young princess married off as a glorified hostage barters with the demon Wither for a child that will earn her nation's protection. She bears her husband an heir that is not his own amidst the political machinations of the inner court and begins to suspect that she is not the only one who Wither has helped.

Pros:

WITHER!!! I love Wither so much!!!

Most of these characters are well-planned

Wrote a bit for this a few months back

Cons:

Still unsure is this should be one POV or like six

Worldbuilding needs some work

Heavy subject material with little room for levity -- usually prefer to write these types at the same time as a lighter project

Casey Draper's Big (Gay) Alien Road Trip (contemp sci-fi)

Casey Draper is stuck in a rut since graduation, faced with the harsh realities that her dreams may never come true and her friends might not want to see her again. Life isn't like the books, and that sucks. So who can blame her when she lets herself be kidnapped away from her dead-end job by an angry alien who seems to think she's a missing alien prince? Casey's in for the adventure she always craved as they flee secret government agencies, stumble upon strange towns, and eventually have to stop the actual runaway prince from getting himself killed with his party boy attitude.

Pros:

Main cast is completely planned

Incredibly dissimilar to anything I've watched/read lately, so less likely to accidentally draw from things half-remembered

Almost episodic, can afford to be rambly and unfocused

Cons:

It's the type of contemp where the worldbuilding is basically just our world, which is difficult and often boring for me

Literally no existing outline AT ALL

Annoyed with my own job in a way I wasn't when this was first planned -- risks getting too pessimistic or just frustrating

Project Evergreen (post-apoc sci-fi)

Arden thinks his life is over when he leaves behind his family's stronghold to take his sister's place at the Eternal One's estate. But instead of being imprisoned for Fern's habitual impulsiveness, he is given a new name and instructed to work on a mysterious device alongside others in similar situations. And he would truly prefer it if the Eternal One would simply lurk. Instead, the mystical woman infamous for somehow surviving long past the Before Times visits him and speaks as though he is someone else.

Pros:

Relatively developed cast drawing from discarded projects

Basically a fucked up and nonromantic sci-fi Beauty and the Beast story, so most of the big story beats are planned for me

Strong thematic center - easier to make story decisions

Cons:

No clue what happens between the big story beats ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Worldbuilding is slapdash at best

I have no clue how this ends

[submarinerwrites]

jane austen, persuasion

★★★☆☆

written by austen in the last years of her life and published posthumously, persuasion is the story of anne elliot, a woman on the brink of spinsterhood, and her relationship with captain frederick wentworth.

to be completely honest with you, i’ve never been an austen “fan”—i read pride and prejudice in middle school, decided i wanted nothing to do with it, and mostly washed my hands of the period romance. i don’t like that her works (and to an even greater extent, her fans) glorify a deeply racist and sexist period and place. i picked persuasion up because i actually have not read anything in two months and wanted something quick to get into the swing of things.

persuasion was indeed a very quick read. i finished it in two sittings. it went down easily. that’s about as much as i can say to recommend it.

actually, that’s not true. wentworth’s final letter to anne was swoonworthy genuinely. you pierce my soul?? i am half agony, half hope???? c’mon man.

for pretty much the entire rest of the novel, i was annoyed. annoyed as FUCK. most of this story consists of anne’s deeply unpleasant relatives complaining about something or another, and anne complaining about them. this plot device exists to make anne seem contemplative and intelligent. in general i feel it does not.

on that subject. austen loooves writing about anne’s interest in romantic poetry to make her seem smart but she (austen) is also a true hater of basically all romantic sensibilities. make it make sense girl.

i do appreciate (without necessarily enjoying) the role austen’s novels had in the development of realism as a genre. it is definitely a novel written in reaction to the romantic movement. the rich symbolism and imagery of the romantics are essentially abandoned in favor of interpersonal interactions.

also a very good example of free indirect discourse. if someone doesn’t know what free indirect discourse looks like. well. they can just read persuasion.

idk. i sometimes struggle to know what to take away from books like this. it felt like a nothing story, that said very little about anything. clearly i am not the intended audience. it’s not a bad novel. just very much not for me.

[arixordragc]

To expound upon my hatred of the Bolas arc, here are a few moments that immediately leap to mind - 1. The Gatewatch as a whole. A big problem I have with planeswalkers as the protagonists is that they’re naturally disconnected from the conflicts at hand. Planar natives are the ones most directly affected by what goes on in their world, why can’t they be the ones we focus on, the ones who have to fight to save their homes, their livelihoods, their loved ones, their very lives? Instead we have to put the focus on glorified isekai protagonists who just kind of show up out of nowhere, have little to do with the conflict at hand, solve everyone’s problems for them, then vanish to do it all over again somewhere else. This can work, if the story is more about a planeswalker’s personal journey than an external threat to the plane, like Sarkhan’s jaunt on Tarkir for instance. But the Gatewatch were explicitly about saving worlds from external threats. They robbed the story of any emotional attachment, since they weren’t attached to the threats they faced. I mean, sure, sometimes there was SOME relation there, like Chandra on Kaladesh, but even then, it’s nowhere near as strong as it would have been had we followed someone who had built up an entire life there that was now being threatened, someone who didn’t have the option of just poofing away if things went south. This was especially apparent when it came to Amonkhet, which was explicitly about a plane the characters had no idea even existed a week ago, let alone had any attachment to. This soured the Bolas arc because while there were characters who did have legitimate, well-established ties to Bolas - Ajani, Sarkhan, and Vivien immediately leap to mind - they were thrown to the background and not allowed to do anything because we instead had to make room for these random nobodies who just up and declared themselves the heroes one day. Oh sure, Liliana had some ties to Bolas established. And if she was grouped with the above three, it might have been fine. But the fact that only one character had any ties to the villain, and even those ties were retconned in at the start rather than having been previously established, it was pathetic. 2. Bolas himself was boring as sin. He was as painfully generic a villain as can be. What does he want? To be super powerful. Why does he want that? Uh, because he’s a villain and that’s what villains do, I suppose. A generic villain can work if they’re treated less like a character and more like a plot device for a story that focuses more on the development of the heroes, but as I mentioned above, the heroes didn’t really get a whole lot either. The result was little more than “Generic good guys vs generic bad guy”, and it was just as lame and boring as it sounds. The bigger problem, though, was that he wasn’t even very threatening. Oh sure, he’s super duper powerful. And yes, a villain needs to be powerful to be threatening. But that misses a key second component - competence. Who cares how powerful a villain is if they have no idea how to effectively use that power? And for all we’re told that Bolas is a diabolical mastermind, a long-term planner with plots upon plots and schemes within schemes, what do we actually see him do? Blow up his own self-sustaining minion factory for literally no reason whatsoever, then basically just sit around and gloat evilly until he’s defeated. Uh, yeah, thrilling. Oh, speaking of that time he blew up his own self-sustaining minion factory for literally no reason whatsoever... 3. The destruction of Amonkhet was an abysmal way to try and introduce stakes. The fact that none of the heroes have any ties to the plane meant that its destruction didn’t actually mean anything to them - nor to us, since it was just introduced to us purely for the sake of blowing it up. What actually happened here is that the villain had something incredibly useful to him and decided to break it for no reason, gaining nothing by doing so. Meanwhile, the fact that the heroes can go up in a direct confrontation against one of the most powerful beings in the setting with no plan, no strategy, no backup, no advantage to speak off, predictably get their behinds handed to them, and STILL have nothing actually bad happen to them as a result, just made them feel even more invincible than ever. This is why Amonkhet block was one of the worst stories not just in the arc, not just in Magic, but one of the worst I have ever read in general - not only did it fail at accomplishing its goal, it failed so hard that it ended up accomplishing the exact opposite. Instead of raising the stakes, it destroyed them. Instead of making Bolas look threatening, it made him look incompetent. Instead of making the Gatewatch look vulnerable, it made them look more invincible than ever. 4. Liliana’s “redemption”. Now I love a good redemption arc. Done well, it can be powerful, memorable, meaningful, it can be the best part of the story. But done badly, it immediately makes me hate the character way more than I otherwise would - and the story as a whole for thinking I should sympathise with a character who does not deserve sympathy. Motivation is always important for a character (which, as an aside, is another reason the Gatewatch failed - none of them had any motivation beyond generic “do hero things because we heroes now”). But it’s especially crucial for a redemption arc, because motivation determines whether the character is actually redeemed, or if they’re just doing something that happens to be useful to the heroes. And Liliana’s motivation for betraying Bolas was explicitly that she didn’t want to be his slave anymore. She wanted to take control of her own destiny. She didn’t do it for the good of anyone else - she decided that her own freedom was more important than her own life, but it was still all about her. That puts her squarely into “Alliance of convenience” territory, not redemption. And then she proves that she hasn’t actually changed, learned, or grown as a person by doing exactly the same thing she always has - flee the scene as soon as it’s convenient. Because silly things like “Taking responsibility for her actions”, “Facing the consequences for a change“, and “Trying to make amends to those she has harmed” are still not as important to her as preserving her own safety first and foremost. And no amount of “bUt BoLaS wAs MaKiNg HeR dO iT” will excuse it, since it’s entirely her fault she’s in that position to begin with. She made a bargain with demons, completely willing and in full knowledge of what it entailed, purely for the sake of her own power and vanity, tried to weasel her way out of her end of the bargain...and I’m supposed to feel bad when this course of action doesn’t turn out well for her? 5. Gideon’s dumbass sacrifice. Again, a good heroic sacrifice can be a great, powerful moment in a story, but again, it needs to be handled with care. Gideon’s was just...nonsense. So he saves Liliana by...giving his power of indestructibility to her. So, can planeswalkers just swamp their powers around like, fittingly enough I suppose, trading cards now? If Jace ever gets tired of telepathy can he just slap Ajani in the face and say “You read minds now” and then we’ll get Ajani, the Mind Sculptor? Is that a thing that can happen? Because I don’t recall that being a thing that can happen, which made the whole thing come off as very contrived. Not to mention, why does doing this even end up killing Gideon? Does the contract sense that it isn’t killing Liliana so it just decides that Gideon is the next best thing? And why didn’t Bolas, in all his infinite incompetence diabolical genius, see this coming? You’re telling me he had a plan in mind in case the person with a crippling fear of her own mortality suddenly got over it, but not if the guy known exclusively for his martyr complex decided to sacrifice himself? Or did Bolas too not even realise that this was something that could happen? For that matter, whatever happened to the story portraying Gideon’s martyr complex as a bad thing? That was the impression I was getting, but now suddenly it’s exactly what ends up saving the day and everyone is praising it as though it was always an admirable virtue, rather than a flaw that he needed to overcome or at least learn to manage better, like the story had been building up to the point? ...I could probably go on but gorrammit this is long enough already.

No offense, just an impression of a very difference: The excitement and joy of the Bolas arc vs the 'couldn't care less' and fatigue Phrexia arc. And to be clear: The story is for sure not the problem...

I've not been getting that sense, but I'm curious if that's how people feel.

a) Did you enjoy the Bolas Arc?

b) Are you enjoying ther Phyrexian Arc (so far)?

[thesilverlock]

if you could, how would you flesh astral and mist out as characters? especially since they sort of got the short end of the stick in canon, especially mist

HOOOOOOOOO BOY. Lol. I am apologizing now because I know this is long, and I am sorry. <3

I also apologize for the ramble style of this but I have no other way to articulate thoughts at this second --- agshdjk

1.) Let Astral have a relationship outside of Yuma. I adore the sunshine boy plenty, but good grief he can be a blackhole of a main character.

(Even things like the Zexal morph? He had predominant control, and Astral was a glorified voice in his head. And, this could be inaccurate, but I remember it even being to a point were people lowkey treated Z forms with the vibe as if they just?? Were Yuma?? Maybe that’s more a fanon thing I am misremembering cause I haven’t watched Z1 in a spin, but you get the gist)

Though I know the central issue is that Astral’s character was written in a poorly handled way for what was supposed to be and advertised as the Secondary Main.

Astral was reduced to being the “ghost duelist” for nigh the entirety of the series. They forced him to not be able to really get to know anyone else. Yuma alone could interact with him, see or talk to him. He had no development that wasn’t attached to Yuma, and even with Yuma his development got still snuffed or overshadowed a lot.

There was even some plot device with the pendant having some invisible or implied tether? So Astral couldn’t physically remove himself from a certain radius to the pendant and/or Yuma -

(mentioned in that filler montage episode where Kite keeps freezing time to check all the places the two have dueled, but then again, an earlier episode where Yuma lost the key and reminisced about his dad also maybe contradicts this, so idfk)

Anyway - That contributed a lot to Astral’s entire character falling flat and often being codependent. And, at worst, horribly stilted and one-dimensional. Yuma had all these other explored relationships, with different sets of characters, but Astral didn’t and couldn’t.

Number 96 was probably the closest thing we got to Astral having that. And in the end that in itself was. . . not much, to say the least. Lol

But yeah I think if Astral had someone else to bounce off of, it would have broken ground for a lot more in-depth things to be fleshed out for him.

Speaking of the goo ink boi;

2.) You give all basically all season 1 villains redemptions. Give Shark like nineteen. Even make Don Thousand and Eliphas sympathetic. Topping it off with a cherry of Vector redemption (??!).

But don’t throw a single, gosh-darned bone Mist’s way. That is pure disrespect.

And that is all I am gonna say on this because GOSH this is already long!

( Thank you for the ask though <3 )

[fantastic-nonsense]

What do you think of Frank Miller?

As a person, or as a writer? Frankly, I don't have a particularly flattering opinion either way, to be honest. I don't tend to stick writers up on pedestals just because they've written something I like, and I was never particularly enamored with the industry's hero worship of the guy in the first place. So:

As a writer: I think he's an incredibly mediocre writer who can't write a cohesive plot to save his life and whose greatest successes are largely due to his editors reigning him in and keeping him on a very tight leash (particularly Denny O'Neil, bless him). When left to his own devices he just...can't write. He just can't. Whenever he's given free reign, his writing is technically bad, thematically incoherent, and always out of character.

He also cannot write women; every single one of his works is horrifically misogynistic, even when his editors attempted to exert greater control over the project. Put simply, basically every single woman Miller's ever written falls into one of (or a combination of) three categories: a) sex objects, b) 'strong independent women' who become simpering girlfriends when Miller wants to glorify his Main Man, and c) women who exist largely to be victims and be brutally beaten and/or murdered. This comic sums it up nicely:

Anyway, I'm forever baffled by the comic industry's worship of the man as a writer. Daredevil and Batman: Year One are good in spite of him rather than because of him and literally nothing else he's ever written is better than mediocre (yes, The Dark Knight Returns is bad. I said it. That's my unpopular DC Comics hottake; I hate Miller's ultra-violent, gun-toting, hyper-masculine, libertarian power fantasy Batman and entirely blame him and DKR's lasting popularity for the constant "If Bruce just gave away his money/paid his taxes instead of beating up poor people, he could eliminate crime in Gotham" hottakes I have to deal with on twitter).

As a person: ....I have two points that lead into my personal opinion of Miller:

One, he's reportedly nice to fans and con-goers, other industry professionals have largely positive things to say about their work experiences with him, and as far as I'm aware there's never been a hint of sexual harassment allegations against him; in fact, he used his clout to get Charles Brownstein (former head of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund) to resign after the flood of sexual harrassment allegations against him. Based on his writing (which, again, doesn't exactly portray him as the kind of man who thinks particularly highly of women), I wouldn't have expected any of that to be the case. So, he's not a completely garbage human.

Two, he has pretty abhorrent personal politics that bleed into both his professional work and how he interacts with people in his daily life, and it shows. From his awful Islamaphobia and homophobia to his comments on the Occupy movement to his support for individualistic totalitarianism, basically all of Miller's personal and political values are predicated on 'othering' those in society who are fighting to be heard and treated fairly.

So like...."I'm glad he's nice and friendly to people, especially in an industry that doesn't necessarily hold creators to account for their interactions with fans and other industry professionals, but his personal and political values (many of which bleed heavily into his writing) create an atmosphere that is genuinely uncomfortable and at times unsafe for women and marginalized groups, which keeps me from having a very high opinion of him either as a person or as a creator."

...anyway, these two articles generally sum up how I feel about Frank Miller in general.

[strangestcase]

I saw you say that you haven’t read the Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein. So I’m going to tell you something about it that will make you angry. Because I’m angry about this book, so everyone else needs to be angry about this book.

In dark descent, Adam does nothing for the almost entire book but follow Elizabeth around without talking to her. His only contribution to the plot is jumping into a scene to protect Elizabeth and Elizabeth’s one friend (who is a glorified plot device) from Victor.

Also he has blue eyes.

The blue eyes thing and the protecting/following Elizabeth thing are related in the stupidest way possible. Basically, in dark descent Clerval was in love Elizabeth, so Victor killed Clerval and used his eyes in making Adam. So Adam remembers Elizabeth because his eyeballs remembered her, and his only personality trait in this book is wanting to protect Elizabeth from Victor.

Literally what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck no. Why can’t this book be fucking normal and take fucking normal not unhinged choices those were the most discouraging words I’ve ever fucking read in my goddamn life.

Who the fuck reads a book and goes “you know what would really fix the book? if the main character killed his gay best friend because suddenly they both want to fuck the main character’s sister. yea, his sister. he wants to fuck his sister so bad he kills the guy that is his best friend and implied lover in the original book. In fact I will use this to make a third character want to fuck the main character’s sister. I’ve fixed the plot.”

like this book really fucking took all the flaws of the original Frankenstein and multiplied them by one fucking thousand and also added new ones???? It’s bad enough that you make victor be Like That (like what the fuck???????) and add a love triangle?? but how are you expecting Adam to be fucking sympathetic if you lean that hard into his incel tendencies???? that’s a new level of flanderization I have never seen before god damnit my son doesn’t need this shit.

[peacesmovingcabaret]

I feel like the Collector could only work as a villain if Belos didn’t already exist. Especially given how much Belos played in the structure and system of the Boiling Isles. With the Collector being basically a glorified plot device that could have been easily written out.

If the story played out differently, I definitely agree that they’d make for a good parallel to Luz. Almost in a sort of Peter Pan-Wendy sort of dynamic.

Given your issues with Owl House, you ever think of a way to improve the show?

Not gonna lie anon. This has always been kind of a loaded question that I have gone over in my head for quite a bit.

In order to improve something in a show, you have to first find the most glaring issues. And Owl House has A LOT!!!

-Lack of World Building

-Unrealized Lore/Backstory

-Flimsy Characterizations

-Excessive plot lines left incomplete

-Shallow surface level representation

-Complete cognitive dissonance in regards to the shows central themes

-Luz’s development/hero’s journey being very lacking

-Same goes for Belos/Philip Wittebane’s storyline being handled.

And so many more things I could mention.

There’s no true way to improve the show without completely changing it on a fundamental level.

A lot of people think the show being cancelled/shortened is the problem. And while the cancellation definitely didn’t help, the lack of flow in the story and a proper outline did more damage from the very start.

All these aside, my biggest issue with the issue is that it’s essentially wish fulfillment/escapism (for Luz and Luz only) cosplaying as high fantasy that prides itself for subverting tropes (which it doesn’t btw). I could maybe forgive the show if it were at least honest about what it was from the start. But it wasn’t, and that’s what frustrates me.

So to answer your question: What’s a way to improve the show, given all the issues I just listed?

Well given how congested the story already is, a lot of plot lines need to be sacrificed. And I mean A LOT. Basically anything that doesn’t center around the Titan, the Wittebane storyline, or the Archivists or even Eda and the Owl Beast should get limited focus.

Also the focus of the story needs to shift away from Luz and more on the Boiling Isles itself. She’s still the main character, but the story no longer revolves almost entirely around her. It’ll help fix many of the world building issues with the audience following through Luz’s perspective.

As for King and the Collector, that’s up for debate.

[cursezone]

richter

How I feel about this character: 

hands down favorite character of all time literally me and the most compelling narrative that's ever been wrapped around my brain. god bless

All the people I ship romantically with this character: 

annette and alucard, for my own made up canon i like the idea of a vague romantic feeling for the human form of the succubus (during disappearance) motivating why richter allowed herself to become possessed, but i dont think it would be requited in any way. i also like the idea of the succubus in her human form secretly feeling guilty of doing it because of vague romantic feelings she also developed but again i think Unrequited is crucial so its not really a ship just a plot device i guess. LOL

My non-romantic OTP for this character: 

MARIAAA and alurichter why not cause they dont HAVE to kiss theyre just important friends. anyway tho maria and richter are so chefs kiss my favorite sibling dynamic is younger sibling who has it together more than the older sibling. i think marias rationality goes WELL with richters chaotic nature and it doesn't clash but instead works together.. the found family is real

My unpopular opinion about this character:

butch lesbian, revenge against the church was the true motivation for sotn, annette is crucial to the events of sotn, richter changed forever after sotn, sotn was in fact partially richters fault, and she also did in fact want the fall of the belmonts to happen

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

i would KILL for the games to expand on richters motivations because theyre not clear. i see the storytelling in sotn so maybe they tried but either way i really would kill to see actual explanation. although maybe i just prefer to make it up myself

my OTP:

alurichternette. they just all round each other out perfectly especially after the loads of narrative development that i made up

my cross over ship:

maybe richter/yuria from hokuto no ken because she is basically annette and (rondo) richter is basically kenshiro?

a headcanon fact:

tourettes autism bipolar cptsd. i think the belmonts are a family of hereditary neurodivergence and that coupled with religious trauma spanning generations creates one hell of a neurotype!!! maybe its just me who believes the horror genre is intrinsically linked to psychological suffering, probably because i myself suffer psychologically so that's what i enjoy from the genre. but anyway richters situation is more likely than you think and the behavior richter exhibits during the possession is basically a glorified manic episode with tics and castlevania magic. this is a fact

[sparklycardigan]

out of curiosity, what’s your particular fanon version of blair waldorf like?

The truth is *drum roll*: I'm not the biggest Blair fan out there :/ and I do know it's a big time plot twist of a statement coming from me ("C'mon her face is smiling at me from your profile picture Miss Sparkly Cardigan!!!!" you must be thinking), but it's true... and I'm even more certain about it now... I'm currently rewatching the show and I'm having serious trouble liking her... as opposed to Nate who I like even though I didn't during my initial viewer experience. My journey with Blair had a very Dan tone to it? Because I basically started to like her around s4 (early s3 maybe?) which is precisely when Dan began to feel that way about her (though I've always loved 1x04 it's! so! good!). Finding a character fascinating (I just think Blair is sbjehdjwudiejisis she's so interesting to think about, dedicating my brain cells to her specifically is always such a treat) and actually loving them for who they're painted to be are two very different things, let's leave it at that. But none of this was your question so here's my version of Blair:

The thing with my Blair is that she's still canon! Blair, it's just that she gets to learn more, understand more, focus on more than just the details, focus on the details of somebody else. Because for Blair, everyone's a cartoon character for as long as she can keep thinking about them that way. It's easy, it's familiar, it makes her feel like she's the main character, even though deep down she knows every single one of these personalities is more than just a trope or a plot device or a chess piece (Why is Blair's mind presenting itself as a giant chess board to me????? Anyways!). What's particularly interesting to me is that by doing this, Blair is reducing herself to someone she's not too and not in this glorifying narcissistic manner. The main character's role and story aren't up to the main character. They're up to the storyteller. And I think there's a certain part of Blair that's like: all of my life has already been written down for me ("Dan's a writer!!!!" Dan dares create his own narratives... huh... Dan's a person... oh). And if I'm the antagonist, I might as well play the role. (being with Dan makes her feel like she's somehow breaking the pattern which is why she comes back to Chuck, in my opinion. I touched upon a fragment of that in my tags here. (queues in one of my favorite posts on this app🥰)

And I don't know if I should categorize this as an interpretation or my fanon version of the character, but Blair is a lot about seeing things through a movie lens if you ask me? That's why her dreams sometimes lack color and sometimes have too much of it, either way it's an exaggerated version of her life. On top of that, the dreams are always a shout out to her favorite films and the thing with favorite films... you know how they're going to end even if you don't like the ending. And for Blair, it's good as long as it's familiar (even if it objectively sucks for everybody involved). It's the "I know something's off with Nate, but it's fine as long as we're together." logic. And she does express revolt against this destiny concept but she still believes in it despite everything she says on the matter and she hates that she believes in it, but she does... (Chuck's whole "two people who are meant to be together bla bla" speech can be interpreted... in a different way, let's say)

OKAY, this is turning into Blair meta, I was supposed to be writing my happy Blair headcanons here... guess I'm just not in the mood. The main bit is, my Blair gets to classify her mistakes as mistakes, learn from her experiences and grow to be a better person... not to become this caricature of her initial self like she did on the show... I just hate s6 so much...

[darkqueenofshadows85]

Sonic Colors (2010) Story Review

Disclaimer: I will be judging this game by the plot and writing, not the gameplay.

Introduction

Greetings, mortals! For today's review, we'll be looking at what I personally consider to be the beginning of the franchise's downfall in terms of writing and storytelling quality, Sonic Colors.

So now we've officially reached the point where the overall tone of the Sonic series went from "shonen anime" to "bad Saturday morning cartoon". This game marks the beginning of what is commonly referred to as the Meta Era, which is known for its butchered characterizations, continuity blunders, bizarre tonal shifts, self-deprecation, obnoxious/painfully unfunny attempts at humor, laughable/insincere attempts at drama, stiff character animations and lifeless cinematography and editing. The 2010's were unforgiving to franchises being rebooted into silly comedic cartoons for babies, which was an unfortunate trend that the Sonic franchise sadly fell victim to.

This is part of a series of reviews in which I’ll be going into slightly more detail about my thoughts on the main series Sonic game storylines, and why I think they're either well written and engaging, or an absolute trainwreck (or somewhere in-between). I’ll be giving my stance on the character portrayals, visuals, soundtracks, voice actors, and what themes/messages they had to offer. Keep in mind that these are just my own personal thoughts. Whether you agree or disagree, feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions!

Anyway, let us begin! ^^

Plot

Dr. Eggman has built a space amusement park made from the aliens known as the Wisps. Sonic and Tails go and investigate this new Eggman plot.

Characters

I don't know why they had to completely reboot the franchise to the point where it killed the characters. The new writers, Ken Pontac and Warren Graff, heavily flanderized Sonic, along with the rest of the cast, thus turning them into hollow shells of their former selves.

This was the beginning of Sonic's character decline in my opinion. The writers decided to focus on only one or a few of his character traits. 1) he's cocky, 2) he's a bit of an asshole, and 3) he just stands around telling shitty jokes that only five year olds would find funny.

Tails in this game was basically just a glorified info machine. He doesn't really contribute much to the story besides spouting exposition and translating the Wisps' language by using a translator device that's about as accurate as Google Translate. Seriously, you would think that Tails, one of the smartest characters in the franchise, would be able to build a translator device that works properly. Well actually, he could have, if the writers weren't using it as an excuse to tell bad jokes.

Eggman is a complete joke at this point. The Meta Era games seem to go out of their way to make him look as incompetent and foolish as possible. Hell, he even acknowledges that his plans always fail! Seriously, they don't even try to make him a threatening villain anymore. Say what you will about his portrayal in Unleashed, but at least he was somewhat threatening. Here, he's just a bad Saturday morning cartoon villain who I personally find impossible to take seriously.

Orbot and Cubot are basically just the games' equivalent of Scratch and Grounder from Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. They're just shitty comic relief and nothing else, although I do find Orbot to be the less annoying one out of the two.

The Wisps in my opinion, are one of the cutest things in the Sonic franchise next to Chao, Death Leeches, and of course, Eclipse's Dark Arms from the Archie comics ^w^

Visuals

Well, I'll admit that the CGI cutscenes do look fantastic as always, and the in-game cutscenes look pretty good as well, despite being made on a lower budget than the previous games' cutscenes.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack in my opinion, is one of the few soundtracks from the Meta Era that stands out to me and is actually pretty good. The main theme, Reach For the Stars is really catchy and upbeat, and one of the few good vocal tracks from the Meta Era besides Infinite's theme from Forces. The ending theme, Speak With Your Heart kinda sounds like a generic pop song in my opinion. The Sonic Symphony rendition of it however, is an ABSOLUTE BANGER.

Voice Acting

This was the one of the first games, along with Sonic Free Riders, to use the Studiopolis voice cast, and I'll admit that they're actually quite talented, and they did give it their all, despite the subpar material that they're given. Roger Craig Smith actually does a pretty good job voicing Sonic, and Kate Higgins is probably the second best Tails voice next to Colleen O'Shaughnessey. Mike Pollock, the only voice actor from the previous cast who wasn't replaced, still does a great job voicing Eggman. Kirk Thornton and Wally Wingert also do a good job voicing Orbot and Cubot respectively, despite the latter being an irritating character in my opinion.

I'm going to sum up the Studiopolis voice cast in four words: good acting, terrible script.

Theme/Message

I honestly can't think of one. I guess the central theme of the story is nature vs technology, like the Genesis games? I don't know... The Meta Era games' writing quality is so shallow, that they all just feel entirely pointless to me.

Conclusion

While the plot itself is somewhat decent, the writing on the other hand, is absolutely atrocious. Hiring Pontac and Graff was the worst decision SEGA has ever made. They did this because the critics bashed Black Knight, Unleashed, Secret Rings, the Adventure series, ShTH and 06, and yet they praised trash like Sonic 4. While Sonic Heroes has a kid friendly story that still took itself seriously, Sonic Colors was super kid friendly and took NOTHING seriously. I'll give credit where it's due though, it's not the absolute worst that the Meta Era has to offer (that "honor" goes to Sonic Lost World). It had a decent enough premise, which could have been great with better execution, the ending was sweet and heartwarming, and it did some world building, adding the Wisps to the franchise. That's fine (in fact, I think the Wisps are adorable myself), but the story could have been more if it dropped the "laugh at myself" attitude (self aware comedy).

My final score:

2.4/5 (Mediocre)