#but because of plot they just can’t exist for more than one arc

[better-call-mau1]

Tell me I’m not onto something here…

[itsabouttimex2]

Sooooo... How do you feel about the season 5?

In short? Mid. 6-6.5/10.

In long…?

A severely rushed season that bit off way more than it could chew. A season that had the characters pull powers from their asses more frequently than ever before. A season that had shitty “dramatic” moments for the sake of having dramatic moments. A season that lampshades issues instead of fixing them. A season with so, so much wasted potential.

It basically boils down: everything they wanted to do COULD have been good, but they just didn’t have the time.

I’ll go into some varied details below. I’d also like to make clear- I’ll be tagging all of my Season Five Posts with “Lego Monkie Kid Season 5” and “LMK Spoilers” until August 1st. Then the gloves are coming off and I’ll stop tagging them.

(I still liked the season, for what it’s worth- and you can watch it in full here! I’ve got some drafts and bots cooking as we speak!)

This was a cute send-off to Flying Bark! It was nice of them to acknowledge, in some way, everything that those dears did for the show- because Lego Monkie Kid would NOT be where it is without them.

Significantly less cute-

The absolute kick in the fucking face that constantly superimposing old footage over newer, worse footage is.

You don’t want us to be constantly reminded of the animation downgrade- that’s the literal last thing that anyone wants. Why would you constantly remind us that it used to be better?

What the fuck does this accomplish? Okay, let’s make comparisons, cause that’s the only thing that can result from pulling this shit-

This is what happens when you constantly reference the older, superior content.

PEOPLE CONSTANTLY NOTICE THAT YOUR CONTENT IS WORSE.

Also, why is it so saturated? How do you make a Lego Minifigure look like he has jaundice?

It’s just a bad look to constantly reference content you can’t live up to. I’m hoping they’ll just recreate old content instead of sloppily pasting it into the background of the show- it’ll be less jarring.

Alright, what else…

———

Yay, I called it! Nuwa is not MK’s “loving though bereft mommy”! Which I had been guessing ever since the Celestial Pagoda leaked, actually-

I mean, come on. He’s literally stealing the stones away from her as she reaches to take them back.

And the Season confirmed it! Nuwa might’ve be been MK’s creator, but she certainly wasn’t his momma.

And you know how the series subtlety clues you in to how little she cares about her “son”?

Nuwa didn’t give him a name. She had hundreds, maybe thousands of years to think on it- but no. No name.

We mortals name our pets, our vehicles, our art. We love them enough to bestow monikers.

Nuwa didn’t even bother to name her own sapient mortal creation.

But when he makes a move against her, does something she doesn’t want, takes destiny into his own hands?

She calls out to him with one word- not “son”. Not “MK”.

Nuwa angrily calls him “mortal”.

Becuase that’s all he ever was to her, really. A mortal pawn. A handmade puppet.

Someone designed to fulfill a sacrifice. Even though her intentions were good, MK’s sole purpose by her hand was to shoulder the weight of the world like a good little hero.

So… a potential “villain” in the making?

———

Lampshading the fact that you’re doing the “macguffin hunt” again does not excuse doing the “macguffin hunt” again.

Lampshading the “apocalypse after apocalypse” plots doesn’t make them any less exhausting.

Lampshading Macaque’s lack of narrative consequences does not undo the awkward and weak redemption arc.

———

They changed Mei “no longer wielding” the Samadhi fire, I guess.

Ignore that she never displayed a hint of concern or sorrow over “losing it” because now she’s sad and worried (after backlash from the fans over her losing it) about losing it.

Like, Subodhi knows so much about the world and the universe that he’s aware of his existence in the ink scroll- but he gets Mei not having an interplanetary level threat inside her wrong?

I smell a retcon.

———

Macaque’s redemption arc is still shit. I’ve got a whole rant queued to release soon, actually- I imagine it might be the final time I comment on his arc until Season Six.

To put it short- Macaque still falls upwards into redemption. No pushback or difficulty or introspection. He’s just a magically better person without any onscreen development to make the change believable.

But they reference this at one point?

Sun Wukong points out that Macaque escapes the trial without any punishment, and is just allowed to mope in place of an actual consequence.

So maaaaaayybeeeee they’ll do something in Season Six? I’ve lost all faith that he’ll ever be an interesting character again, though.

He’s essentially just “brooding rival #80058”. Instead of being a character that calls back to Seasons 1-3, from 4 onwards he’s just a brand new dude who totally didn’t commit any atrocities with a smile on his face- and he’s a worse and more boring character for it.

———

If I haven’t misjudged the intent, I think Monkie Kid will be going back to being an episodic series for the extent of Season Six. Again, they lampshade the “apocalypse after apocalypse” thing, yeah?

And now they have a perfect formula- find someone who’s having trouble with their new power, and help them.

And we might see Bai He again???

Let’s hope for a good breather season!

———

Rest in piss Li Jing their asses did NOT cook with you sorry papa

You could’ve been interesting in the writers didn’t try to pull a “loving father” bait and switch after you got like four scenes of being a raw jackass

If they were going to deviate from the source material and make you a good dad couldn’t it have just been:

“Li Jing, you were not invited to the trial!”

“STF that monkey son of a bitch hurt my baby boy-“

“Father I’m 300-“

“Hush son, let daddy take care of this- that monkey son of a bitch hurt my baby boy when he stole the Samadhi fire map!”

Maybe next season you’ll get to be interesting, hun.

(I’m still writing for Lotusfam though)

———

Drama for the sake of drama. 0/10 scene. Could’ve just had the interruption come AFTER they held hands, but no. Gotta drag shit out for the shippers or whatever. There was no reason to prolong this reunion.

I’m really not a fan of the “just wait another season for it”, mentality. Stop stretching shit out. You had a chance to do something sweet and heartwarming, and chose not to for the sake of trying to drag a conclusion out.

Ugh.

———

Characters just pull powers out of their ass for the sake of forcing dramatic scenes.

THESE ARE DOGSHIT SCENES

THIS MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE. THIS IS DONE SOLELY FOR THE SALE OF “MUH DRAMATIC FINALE” AND IS BAD

ITS BAD WRITING TO HAVE CHARACTERS PULL NEW MAGICAL POWERS OUT OF THEIR ASSES FOR THE SAKE OF DRAMA

IF WUKONG HAD THIS POWER FROM THE START HE SHOULD’VE USED IT AGAINST HIS FUCKING LETHAL ENEMIES AND NOT SAVED IT FOR HIS PRECIOUS STUDENT

MK NEVER LEARNED TO USE THE FILLET SPELL. THE WRITERS PULLED IT OUT OF THEIR ASS TO FORCE DRAMA BY HAVING MK TORTURE HIS MENTOR LONGER THAN EVEN THEIR ACTING ENEMY LI JING DID WITH A CIRCLET THAT IS CANONICALLY TIGHTER THAN HIS FIRST

WE SEE HOW FAST HE IS WHEN HE FIGHTS THE AZURE LION

MK CAN MOVE FASTER THAN WUKONG

HE COULD’VE BEATEN HIM THERE IN AN EQUALLY CLIMATIC RACE

I FEEL NOTHING WHEN I WATCH THIS BECAUSE IT IS FORCED DRAMA FOR THE SAKE OF DRAMA

—————————————————

💚💚💚

[dingodad]

Ok, so this has driven me crazy for the longest time. What the fuck happened to post retcon Japsersprite? The one we know is from pre retcon, since he was on John’s planet when he brought it into the void. Nothing was ever mentioned to happen to post retcon Jaspers, so where is he. I can’t believe Hussie forgot about him, he didn’t forget about the two Nannasprites. Did post retcon Jaspersprite just not exist? Maybe he died on LOWAS when Typheus blew it up, but there is no mention of that at all. I guess only Jade or the Nanna’s would know then, but nothing is ever said about it. Also is there a way to know if the Arquius that becomes lord English is the pre or post retcon version?

i'm gunna play good cop bad cop here cus there's an answer you don't want to hear and then there's a sort of interesting consolation prize answer at the end.

the answer you don't want to hear: it doesn't matter! :P i don't think this really needs explaining but the whole point of davepeta/jasprose's ultimate self spiels is that tying yourself in knots trying to figure out who's "pre-retcon" and who's "post-retcon" is, as they say, for the birds. john is john is john. hussie didn't "forget" that there are supposed to be two jaspersprites: while a story can occasionally get away with having two Daves or two Roses because Dave and Rose have interesting things to say to themselves, the fact that homestuck has even ONE character called jaspersprite simply strains the reader's ability to give a shit. there is the room nor the need for TWO jaspersprites, of all the damnedest things.

(there can be two nannasprites because two nannasprites are funny - but if there's one thing worse than creating the same CHARACTER twice, it's telling the same JOKE twice.)

the other answer is about sprites in particular. do you know why video game graphics used to be called "sprites"? i only thought to look this up just recently: it's because, like the fairies or spirits of folklore from which they get their name, they float above the background of the game world without interacting with it directly. this should form the basis for our understanding of homestuck's kernelsprite, as well, which borrows both from folklore and from computer programming. they are of course ghosts on a literal level, with spritely undead tails and the ability to pass through walls and physical barriers like they weren't there - but the way they interact with the story itself is similarly ethereal-and-or-ephemeral.

sprites appear at the whim of the heroes to serve a very particular purpose - which, you will notice, is exactly what davepeta says they're doing when they show up in hell - but then the moment that purpose is complete they might as well stop existing. dave- and jadesprite show up inexplicably on the battlefield as the reckoning begins: are they killing themselves now that their purposes are complete? where are all the lususprites, anyway; did they do the same thing? erisolsprite initially seems to indicate that he's going to fuck off and possibly explode like all the other sprites who hate themselves, but then just shows up again 200 pages later later at the convenience of the trickster arc. the same is true of all the sprites presumed-dead following the events of GAME OVER, who show up as-needed in the new timeline to form the next generation of redundant ghost freaks. this is simply how sprites operate. whether they're "alive" or "dead" at any given moment is the wrong way of looking at it - they're ghosts for goodness' sake!!

the fact that the story never tells us what happened to "that other jaspersprite" is supposed to make us think less about it, not more, because knowing where one of them is - the "ultimate" one, in fact - should be enough to put our minds at ease. but it also deliberately leaves the door open for another jaspersprite to show up if the story ever somehow, against all odds, finds a place to squeeze one in. which is again exactly what the plot point is currently doing with sprites like erisol, who for all intents and purposes was dead up until the moment page 666 started

[writingquestionsanswered]

I love planing out my ideas in great detail but when it comes to actually writing the story it’s like pulling teeth. It goes from being fun and interesting to being nothing more than a dull chore. I’ve tried planning less to see if having some things unknown might help, but that didn’t work. I could spend forever writing and rewriting my ideas and making changes to them. But when I try to write an actual story it’s like I physically can’t. What should I do?

Details Planned But Unable to Write

If you have the details of your story planned out but still aren't able to write it, it's probable that one of the following things is happening. See if any of these strike a chord with you...

1 - Details and Plot Are Not the Same - Sometimes writers say they have all the details in their story planned out, but what they actually mean is they've fleshed out character and setting details, maybe even backstory and some general scene ideas, but they couldn't tell you what the story's conflict is, what the inciting incident is, what goal the protagonist is pursuing and why, what's at stake, or what the major plot points of the story are. No matter how detailed your story is in terms of characters, setting, backstory, and even general ideas about scenes, if you don't have a conflict to tie them all together, you don't really have a story. You just have details. A plot can't be moved forward if it doesn't exist, and if you don't have a conflict, goals and motivation, stakes, an antagonistic force and obstacles, etc., you don't have a plot. Solution: take some time learning about Goals and Conflict, Plot Driven vs Character Driven Stories, Basic Story Structure, and How to Move a Story Forward.

2 - You Lost Interest in the Story - If you have your story properly plotted in addition to having the details fleshed out, and you're still unable to write, it could be that you've simply lost interest in the story. This can happen when we spend a lot of time on a story, especially if we spend a lot of time fleshing things out. Solution: Guide: How to Rekindle Your Motivation to Write, Getting Unstuck: Motivation Beyond Mood Boards & Playlists, Getting Excited About Your Story Again

3 - Something in the Story Isn't Working - Imagine someone riding a horse and they come to a rickety old bridge, but the horse balks and refuses to cross. The horse may just be stubborn, but it's quite possible it's picking up sensory information its rider can't... creaks and groans the rider can't hear, a worrisome tilt or sway the rider can't perceive... If you sit down to write your well planned out story and can't, the same thing could be happening with your gut instinct. Like the horse that doesn't want to cross the bridge because it senses danger, something inside you is saying "this story doesn't work" and isn't excited to get involved. Solution: Read through your outline or plan and see if you can spot the problem. Maybe the character's goal doesn't make sense with the events of the story. Maybe the antagonistic force isn't doing enough to oppose the protagonist. Maybe the character arc is out-of-sync with the events of the story. If nothing else, talk it through with a trusted writer friend to see if they have any thoughts. Sometimes just hearing the questions they have about the story can be enough to highlight what isn't working.

4 - Life Stuff Is Getting in the Way - Even if your story is well fleshed out and thoroughly plotted, and everything works and you're excited about writing, there can be other things going on in your life that stand in your way. If you're putting too much pressure on yourself to write or reach certain writing goals, it makes writing feel stressful and our brains are wired to avoid stressful things. It could be that you're not feeling well physically or mentally. You could be distracted by other things you want to write or do. You could just be too busy with other things to really get into it. Or you could just be not in the mood to write. Solution: Try to pinpoint what's getting in the way and see if there's a work around. For example, if you think writing has become stressful and that's why you're avoiding it, figure out what you can do to make it fun again. Or, if you think you're just not in the mood to write, figure out some things you could do that would put you in the mood to write.

5 - Fear Is Getting in the Way - Details are easy, writing is hard. No matter how much planning and plotting you've done, actually putting those details into coherent words in a way that is compelling and well-paced--that's not so easy. And, the tough reality is that until you've had a lot of writing experience, your writing probably isn't as good as you want it to be. You want it to be good, and you know what would qualify as good, but you're just not able to produce that quality yet. And the only way to get your writing quality to that level is to let yourself write things that aren't as good as you want them to be. You have to write a lot of "just okay" stuff before you can write "really great" stuff. AND THAT'S SCARY!!! And--that's not even the only thing that can cause fear for writers. Maybe you have written a lot and your writing is where you want it to be, but maybe your fear is with the next step... sharing it with others. Maybe you're afraid others won't enjoy it as much as you want them to. Solution: figure out what's causing the fear, whether it's quality-related or next step related, then try to push through it. Remind yourself that writing not great stuff is part of the process. Remind yourself that sharing with others is part of the process (usually, unless you're writing for yourself.) Have a spin through the bottom half of my Motivation master list for other fears and solutions.

I hope that helps!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[lakesbian]

i am actually kind of fascinated by the worm fanfiction environment because it’s like. worm is fucking massive. there are a lot of works that are hard to write fanfiction for because they kinda say everything there is to say about themselves already within the pre-existing plot, but worm is not like that. worm is fucking massive. there are so many interesting worldbuilding details & character arcs we see implied but not played out in full that would be fun to make shit up about. if you gave me twenty minutes w/ a piece of paper and pencil i could probably come up with fifty different character-driven worm fanfiction ideas. 

like here: aisha introspecting about how her big brother carried her away from one of the worst days of her life but now she can’t figure out how to do the same for him. recounting of how 13yo alec escaped from heartbreaker. what danny was thinking and doing while taylor was gone. day in the life of the travelers w/ one bit from each of their perspectives to demonstrate all the different plates they were spinning and how inevitably those plates were gonna fall. dragon & defiant character developing convo while they’re chasing after the nine. I Could Go On. i don’t even have to bring AUs into it until i get into the thirties, probably. fuck it, if you wanna get real creative, write about the day one of the civilizations the entities previously visited got kersploded. there are a million one-off lines you could develop.

and yet. 85% of the worm fanfiction out there is just like. “what if taylor. had a different power that is less cool and thematically fitting than bugs.” the tedious convoluted AUs that would be the bottom of the barrel in literally any other fandom somehow comprise The Vast Amount of worm fanfiction. people will be out there putting characters in situations you did not know it was possible to put them in. why are we making our amy and alec dolls kiss, and more importantly, why is that one of the most notable alec fanfictions. it’s like a fucking rollercoaster ride of people seeing a universe with one million billion interesting characters in it and a bunch of free compelling narratives to explore already attached and going “Hmm. No. I want to see everything that already happened except it’s written worse and Taylor has Wolverine knifehands and keeps stabbing people.”

[kitspindles]

I’m in no way bashing on people who have already finished TSatS and say they hate it, are disappointed, etc., because I myself have not gone past chapter seven. My friend let me read some today, but I won’t have my own copy until Thursday, so maybe my opinions will change. I will say, however, that if you read 400+ pages in less than a day, maybe give yourself some time to process the entire plot first?

In any case, I can’t help but wonder how many people went into this book expecting one version of Nico and Will, only to be hit with something else entirely. And I mean like... expecting the fandom’s versions of these two, rather than what canon has previously shown us up until this book.

It’s my personal opinion that the PJO fandom’s worse enemy is their own mischaracterization of the characters at times. And I don’t mean like little head canons and stuff. Everyone has done those at some point. There’s usually no harm in those. I’m talking about people who created their own versions of Nico and Will and have been running with these visions for years through different fan fictions and what-not online.

For years we’ve known basically nothing about Will aside from the fact that he’s sarcastic, likes Star Wars, his mom is a country singer, he can glow in the dark, and he’s better at healing than fighting. (And he has questionable fashion choice at times). Like, that’s all we’ve had since his initial introduction in The Last Olympian over a decade ago. Everything else? Online and fan speculation. And again, there is nothing wrong with that! I just feel like a lot of people went into this book holding onto their own pre-conceived visions of what Will Solace was and ended up disappointed the authors made him... different? But not really different, because he didn’t have a lot of in-depth personality or backstory before this.

Me personally? Yeah, I’m not that far into the book yet but I’m loving how Will is portrayed so far. He’s still sarcastic, but he’s shown his fair share of level-headedness as well as frustrations just within the first couple chapters. He is in no way the overly-optimistic sunshine-y boy who only exists to help Nico that the fandom has portrayed him to be all these years. His character arc is already headed in a way deeper direction (more on that when I finish the book). The whole bit where Will had coffee spilled on him and spent the next couple paragraphs in the scene trying to be unbothered while actually giving off “This is fine” fire dog energies? I loved that.

As for Nico, can I just say I adore how he’s written in this book? Aside from his PoV in Blood of Olympus, this is the first time he’s had his own narration. And it’s actually about him and more in-depth than previous times. I’ve heard people say that he’s “out of character,” and while I can see a little of what they’re all saying, I just want to know... what version of Nico have you all been reading? Did I miss something?

Up until this book, what exactly did we know about Nico? That he’s displaced in time, his sister and mother are both dead (and he feels alone), he harbored repressed gay feelings from his upbringing as a Catholic guy in 1940s Italy, and he’s been through the ringer more than once (so, trauma, basically). Oh, and he’s a bit of a nerd (Mythomagic and knowing all kinds of ancient creatures). That’s... about it. Everything has been speculation and projection from fans.

In previous books he’s always been portrayed from first- or third-person point of view (usually from people who don’t know him well and just think he’s “creepy”), leading to the idea that he’s distant and low-empathy based on some interactions he’s had with demigods who weren’t thrilled to be around him, during a time of great pressure. But he’s not exactly uncaring. He’s been shown to care a lot, actually (Bianca, Hestia, Bob, everything he’s done for Percy, his friendship with Reyna, Hazel, etc.)

But what about when he was ten? He was an excitable, curious kid who liked to have fun. And what did we see briefly in Trials of Apollo (before Jason died, at least)? We saw some of that energy return, particularly in The Hidden Oracle.

So, yeah, I’m personally thrilled to see him making cringe-y jokes and have some self-deprecating humor. It’s very “#OnBrand” for a traumatized teenager who’s just trying to cope and live life without any godly wars forcing him this way and that. Can we really say it’s “out of character” if we’ve never seen more than one side of Nico? (The under pressure side, from other character’s PoVs, in books not about him where he’s basically been a side character?) I’m just glad to see him cracking jokes, laughing, and acting more like a normal kid.

Now, is this book different from Rick’s other ones? Uh, yeah. I won’t say it’s not. But it’s not bad. It’s supposed to be different. It has slightly different intentions than the other books (re: explicitly working through trauma and relationship bumps). Also, it’s co-written. Co-written books always read slightly off from the original author’s work, but dam if it isn’t hard to meld writing styles and copy another author’s particular voice. But I think Mark did a very good job at imitating Rick’s style (again, from what I’ve read so far).

Will I change my mind on all this the farther I get into the book? Maybe. There’s a lot to read and take in. All I’m saying is don’t let the negative reviews warp your opinion of the book if you haven’t read it yet and are on the fence if you should or not. Wait for the PDF to drop, or for a library copy, and read and see for yourself.

[rahshande22]

So here I am, first time in my life on tumblr, just because I feel a very strong need to write sth about X-men movies.

I’ve never been much of a X-men girl, I watched the movies few years ago (turns out I’ve never seen The Dark Phoenix before lol). I remember being a little bored with the older movies (I’ve always been more into MCU's type of superhero stories), but actually liked the newer ones. Lately something reminded me about these movie and about the fact that I particularly liked Charles. So I watched all four newer X-men movie and here are some of my thoughts:

I was right. Charles is, for me, THE character in these movies.

Not gonna lie, what made them this enjoyable for me was the relationship between Charles and Erik. And I’m not even that much of a shiper, I just think the chemistry between these two was great, their interactions were interesting and pretty much carried all movies. I mostly give credit James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender who truly done a great job with bringing Charles and Erik back to life.

I really like how during the first three movies (FC, DoFP, Ap) we get the two opposite sites of the same coin. Both Charles and Erik want to preserve mutants, help them, give them safety, give them purpose ect… but they have very different ideas on how to do that, how to make that possible. I like how they are both wrong and right at the same time.

Erik is right, because we clearly see that “normal” people can’t really comprehend and accept “the other” (what a surprise). Mutants would never be entirely safe because they are different, they are in minority, they can be dangerous and they are beyond understanding of “normal” people (I guess I don’t need to elaborate more, we know how it works). But he is clearly wrong, because you can’t exterminate other just because they MAY be problematic in the future (or, ironically, because they are not like you). And then, there’s Charles, who's right, because aggression causes aggression. If you strive for war, that will be all you will ever have and sometimes you have to learn how to survive on different terms. But he is also wrong, because you cannot always have your peace, even though you want nothing more.

They were trying to live up to their dreams and beliefs and dynamics between then actually shaped the movies (ok, at last the first two). X-men Apocalypse was worst then two previous (I’d say that less Erik and Charles together made it that way), but wasn’t THAT bad. I like to think that Erik did in fact understand that Apocalypse was not a better option. Or he just didn’t want him to kill Charles, that reason is also fine.

But then we come to The Dark Phoenix, which was not good, at all.

I can skip the fact that in the previous movie Jean manifested Phoenix power (I mean, we can quarrel that it was only her, but why give it a shape of fiery wings then?), but generally her story arc was very similar to what we’ve already seen: Jean Grey doesn’t really know who she is and is scared of her power. As much as I respect Sophie Turner, I don’t consider her… well, a great actress, and her portrayal of Jean was sort of flat and boring.

Erik’s story arc is kinda non existent: he’s there just for the sake of being there. He’s only motive is “to kill Jean for killing Raven” (I’m not sure if it’s that good of a motivation for him; Raven spent much more time on her own or with Charles than with Erik, so him carrying for her so much felt more like a forced plot point than genuine feelings).

I have a feeling they made Charles dirty in this movie, and I'm not referring to his controversial decisions about Jean. Charles always wants to help others, sometimes to the extent it’s not a real help. He wants it so badly that he might lose the person he's helping along the way. Thant’s an interesting take, and some new layer to Charles Xavier. His methods are not always good, even when he does something in good faith, we’ve seen that clearly with Jean (though without Dark Phoenix power it could work). But one of his most important traits is that he CARES about others. Here? Not so much. He's definitely more... detached that usual, less involved in his students well being. And what about Raven? She was his sister, and he loved her dearly, this was shown very, very clearly in the previous three movies. And here what? One tear or two after her death? We got Hank and Erik (!) going crazy after Raven’s death and not even a proper cry from Charles? Am I supposed to believe that? And there, there's more: he made some mistakes and then lives the school? "By, you’re on your own now, have a nice time?" Like, what? These two things alone make him feel not like himself. And I pity that, cause we got three decent (good even) stories and there’s this one. It’s not even the fact that McAvoy cannot act, we perfectly know he can (we got three other movies in the franchise to confirm that), so what actually happened here?

Probably the only good thing in this movie is the ending and the scene in Paris.

[warden-melli]

Pokémon Legends Arceus theory:

While the identity of the protagonist(s) in legends Arceus bare a striking resemblance to Dawn and Lucas from the Diamond and Pearl games, it is never confirmed in game that these characters are actually one in the same. Most players assume that you play as an older version of Dawn or Lucas. One who has been selected by Arceus, and brought to the past to carry out its bidding, but there’s some clues that indicate that this may not be the case. While there are alternative theories to who the protagonist may truly be (including them actually being Dawn or Lucas’s child, and not them themselves), I propose one of my own

At the start of the game, this is some of the first dialogue we encounter

The way that it is worded implies that the character being spoken to wouldn’t already be familiar with what a pokemon is, or the Pokémon world. We know that the player character in PLA is around 15 years old. Older than Dawn and Lucas in their DPP appearances, so it’s out of the question that they wouldn’t already know what a pokemon was. They lived and grew up in that world, and we know that they have had many adventures with pokemon by their sides, so it truly doesn’t make sense for Arceus to explain the concept of a Pokémon to seasoned Pokémon veterans such as Dawn or Lucas

The text also explicitly states that the character will “soon find themselves” in a strange world that is inhabited by creatures called pokemon. This seems to indicate that whatever world this character existed in prior to the Pokémon world, didn’t have any creatures called Pokémon at all

There’s also the matter of the players mobile phone. We get to see it briefly in the opening scene, before Arceus transforms it into the iconic Arc Phone.

And it looks suspiciously like a real world, modern smart phone. Now this could be Dawn or Lucas’s phone from the future, but the problem with this is that phones in the Pokémon world do not look like this, with the Rotom Phone being the standard

These phones have a distinctly different shape and properties to the one the player first arrives with. It’s only after Arceus transforms the phone that it more resembles the look of the other phones seen in the series

This points to the character, whoever they may be, not coming from the Pokémon world or it’s future, but from somewhere else entirely. But where?

In HG/SS there was an (extremely creepy) event, in which you witness Arceus creating a new Dialga, Palkia or Giratina (based on the players choice). Interestingly, this event takes places at the Sinjoh ruins, and includes Sinnoh’s champion Cynthia, which is a neat little connection from this event to PLA in and of itself, but it’s the actual cutscene that’s relevant to this theory, more specifically the visuals. They show the real world. This is just a tiny selection of the multiple real world images presented as part of the cutscene

This is the real world in a Pokémon game. This shows that is very possible for Arceus to reach across time, space, dimension and even beyond. Into distant realities. That the Pokémon world has worlds beyond it, and that Arceus can see and reflect them all

This theory argues that this is where Arceus abducted the player character from, and instead of being that worlds Dawn/Lucas from the future, they’re instead a different Dawn/Lucas from an alternate dimension. Ours.

Now I know what you’re thinking. This can’t be true. They have to come from the Pokémon world, because the characters are wearing clothes that reference other pokemon locations, and the phone case has an image of a pokeball. The wording is a clear 4th wall break to set up the plot of the game, and Arceus is obviously talking to the player, not the literal character themselves… and you could be right, but I believe I have an explanation

It’s merch. Pokemon does exist in our world, just not as real creatures that physically exist. It’s very possible that the clothing the player is wearing (and their phone case) are simply pokemon merchandise, and they’re huge pokemon fans. While their battle prowess could be explained by future Dawn/Lucas having mastered their skills over the events of DPP, it could also be that the alternate reality Dawn/Lucas gained those same skills simply by playing the video game version(s) of DPP. It’s important to note that the shirts shown in game have no obvious connection to the Sinnoh based Dawn/Lucas, but the designs would be familiar to anyone who has played the other games in the Pokémon series (having appeared in XY and Sword and Shield)

Okay, assuming this was the case, wouldn’t this mean that the character would already be familiar with pokemon, even just as a franchise? Didn’t the dialogue imply that they wouldn’t know what a Pokémon is at all?

True. While it’s a certainty that a future Dawn/Lucas would already know what a Pokémon/the Pokémon world is, it’s also true that In this exact scenario, it’s very likely that of course the character would know what a Pokémon is. But in the context of them being real life creatures, in a strange new world?

Not exactly…

(This is just a silly little theory, please don’t take it too seriously lol. There’s plenty more arguments that could be made for and against it, but it’s interesting to think about anyways and just for fun. I kinda like the air of mystery and unanswered questions that the Pokémon world has, and it’s tons of fun to overthink/over analyse the games)

[blairbarely]

Gladiator II, to its credit, isn’t the kind of movie you can lob a single, sweeping complaint at. Do you think Paul Mescal is a step down from Russell Crowe as the titular gladiator? The movie seems to preemptively shrug at that critique by sliding Denzel Washington into the antagonist role previously held by Joaquin Phoenix. And sure, Phoenix was brilliant in the first movie, but let’s be honest: casting Denzel in place of almost any actor from the past 40 years is like upgrading from a bicycle to a jet.

So no, you can’t walk out of Gladiator II and say, “The new cast doesn’t hold up to the original.” The movie doesn’t just sidestep that complaint—it dares you to even try making it.

The screenplay isn’t flawless, but it works its alchemy well enough to keep you invested, making sure you care just enough for the big moments to land. The arc that stands out—the one between Hanno (MESCAL), Acacius (PASCAL), and Lucilla (NIELSEN)—is a perfect example. By tying Acacius directly to Lucilla, the returning character we already love, the movie pulls a sly narrative trick: it asks us to sympathize with Acacius while also rooting for Hanno’s quest for revenge against him.

For much of the movie, it feels like Pascal is working overtime to inject depth into a character that, at its core, exists more as a plot device than a fully realized person. But then there’s his final showdown with Mescal in the Colosseum, and suddenly, it all lands. That fight carries an emotional weight Pascal has been building toward the entire time, delivering something surprisingly profound in the end.

And let’s be honest: there’s an extra charge for the audience here, especially for Game of Thrones fans, who can’t help but feel the ghost of Oberyn Martell lurking in every step Pascal takes into that arena. Watching him in period costume, once again fighting for his life, adds a meta-layer of intensity and heartbreak that makes the scene hit even harder.

While we’re being honest, let’s address the elephant in the room. I mentioned it earlier, and now feels like the right time to dive in: I sincerely hope this is a one-and-done experiment for Paul Mescal. Don’t get me wrong—he’s not bad. Far from it. He brings layers of emotional depth to his performance that most actors his age wouldn’t even think to attempt.

But the entire time, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d rather be watching him in literally any other kind of movie. It’s not that he doesn’t belong in Gladiator II—he’s good enough to hold his own—but we already have enough action stars. Sure, a sword-and-sandals epic is a far cry from joining the Fast & Furious family, but here’s my truth: I’d rather anyone else made this movie, because Mescal should be making the kinds of films that only he can make.

You want to prove to the world you’re a full-blown movie star? Amazing. Do it. But what I really want is for you to make another Aftersun.

[merwgue]

The absolute dumpster fire that is ACOSF and if I had the choice to I would erase it from my memory:

Let’s talk about A Court of Silver Flames, where logic goes to die and every character makes the absolute worst decisions. It’s like Sarah J. Maas took one look at the concept of personal autonomy and thought, “Nah, let’s replace it with some good ol’ authoritarianism, terrible communication, and emotional manipulation!” And guess who’s at the heart of all this madness? Our beloved High Lord and High Lady of the Night Court, Rhysand and Feyre. The power couple we’re supposed to root for—except, plot twist, they’re probably the worst people to ever lead anything, let alone an entire court.

Let’s Start With Locking Nesta Up – Because Who Needs Therapy?

Ah yes, Rhysand and Feyre’s grand plan to “fix” Nesta: lock her up. Forget about therapy or actually talking to her like she’s a person with autonomy. No, no. The best solution is clearly to force her into isolation in the House of Wind. What a brilliant move! Because nothing says mental health recovery like a glorified time-out in the sky with zero chance of escape.

Rhysand and Feyre, in their infinite wisdom, decide Nesta’s problems can only be solved through forced training and “tough love.” Never mind the fact that Nesta has been through war, trauma, and, oh yeah, did we mention PTSD? Clearly, locking her up and controlling every aspect of her life is the most compassionate route. Why bother giving her choices when you can just strip them away for her own good, right? Besides, it’s not like they care about actually addressing the root of her issues. As long as Nesta becomes the compliant little sister Feyre always wanted, who cares about her emotional scars?

And let’s not even get into the moral implications. You’d think, after all Rhysand went through Under the Mountain, he’d be a little more careful about, you know, controlling other people’s lives. But nope! Apparently, totalitarianism is fine as long as it’s wrapped up in flowery speeches about love and family. So progressive!

Feyre’s Pregnancy: Where is the Choice? Spoiler: There Isn’t One

Then there’s Feyre’s pregnancy plotline, or as I like to call it: “Rhysand's Pro-Life Power Play.” Because what’s more feminist than completely removing a woman’s agency when it comes to her own body?

Rhysand knows from the beginning that Feyre’s pregnancy is a death sentence. Does he tell her? Of course not! Why would you ever give your partner the chance to make an informed decision about her own life? That would be way too much like respect and love. Instead, Rhysand just... lets it happen. He decides it’s better to let Feyre figure out that her wingspan baby is going to kill her after it’s too late.

But wait! It gets better. Rhysand decides that if Feyre dies during childbirth, he’s going to die with her. How romantic, right? Except for the fact that it’s the most selfish, irresponsible move he could make. This isn’t a love story—it’s a leadership failure. Rhys is so wrapped up in his Feyre-dying-with-me fantasy that he doesn’t even care about what happens to the actual Night Court. You know, the court he’s supposed to be ruling.

Rhys: “If Feyre dies, I’ll just die too. It’s fine. Amren will handle it.”

Amren, who has already sacrificed enough, is expected to pick up the pieces yet again because Rhysand can’t be bothered to plan for the literal future of his people. Oh, and did he even bother telling Amren that she might have to run the Night Court for the second time? Nope. Why communicate important things like that when you can just die dramatically instead?

Rhysand and Feyre: The Power Couple We Never Needed

Let’s really break down this trainwreck of a couple. First off, Feyre’s entire arc has been swallowed by her relationship with Rhys. Remember how she was supposed to be this independent woman? Yeah, that’s cute. But it turns out, her independence only exists when Rhysand approves of it. Their relationship is all about “choice,” but only if it aligns with what Rhys thinks is best.

Feyre, at the end of the day, is just another cog in Rhysand’s Great Leader complex. She’s constantly propped up as this feminist icon, but her choices are always manipulated by Rhys. Whether it’s going to war, having a child, or, you know, surviving childbirth, it’s always Rhys pulling the strings. If you think about it, Feyre’s “independence” has only been traded from one manipulative man to another. Tamlin was too controlling, but Rhys? He’s controlling for her own good. How convenient!

And then there’s Rhysand, our oh-so-perfect High Lord. Except, newsflash, Rhys is just as insecure and broken as the rest of them. His constant need to be the savior, the martyr, the all-knowing leader is exhausting. He can’t help but make everything about himself, even Feyre’s literal death. Rhysand isn’t a protector—he’s a narcissist with a god complex. And the fact that the entire Inner Circle just stands by and lets him act like this? It’s a miracle the Night Court hasn’t crumbled yet.

Cassian and Nesta: Let’s Just Ignore Our Feelings, Shall We?

Let’s not forget about Cassian and Nesta in this mess. Cassian, the oh-so-loyal general, is too busy being Rhysand’s lapdog to actually think about Nesta’s needs. Sure, he cares about her. But instead of helping her deal with her trauma in a healthy way, he’s like, “Let’s train until you’re too tired to feel anything!” Perfect plan. Rhysand would be so proud. And Nesta? She’s clearly been rewritten into a sex-crazed, self-loathing mess, because gods forbid we have a modest, complex woman character in this series. SJM couldn’t stand the thought of a female lead who doesn’t use sex and alcohol as coping mechanisms.

And did Cassian ever confront Rhys about locking Nesta up without her consent? Of course not! Because no one in this court actually communicates with each other. They just fall in line behind Rhys’s idiotic plans, hoping for the best.

In Conclusion: The Night Court is a Disaster Waiting to Happen

In the end, the entire plot of ACOSF is built on terrible leadership, forced confinement, emotional manipulation, and withholding critical information. Rhysand and Feyre are held up as this power couple, but in reality, they’re just two deeply flawed individuals who’ve made a series of reckless decisions that will probably destroy the Night Court one day.

But don’t worry, everyone. It’s all wrapped up in some sparkly “feminist” packaging, so it’s fine! Who needs actual character growth, communication, or autonomy when you can have sex scenes and pretty prose instead?

[thecrescentmind]

Silly sanders sides au I made up: the kids show au!!! As the name would suggest, the basic premise is the story of Sanders Sides but if it was a tv show for younger kids instead of a webseries for whatever the age demographic for SaSi is supposed to be.

C!Thomas is a child in this one (like eight/nine I’m thinking?) and on his birthday he receives a magic (kind of not really? I’ll get to that) mirror and with it he can travel into his mind and meet his sides! With his creativity, logic, and morals by his side he goes on adventures through his mind fighting imaginary monsters and even other sides. Through these adventures he learns lessons about himself and how to deal with problems in the real world. This au is pretty light hearted compared to the other ones I’ll post about, there are story developments and bad things do happen, but since it’s meant to imitate a kids show it’s a lot more sanitized and everything always works out eventually.

More info under the cut:

It’s sort of vague whether or not Thomas’ adventures or imaginary or not and if the mirror is actually magic, I think it’s kind of implied it is his imagination? But like in the same way it’s implied the canon sides are imaginary so nobody cares and we all collectively treat them like they’re real

The biggest difference in the characters other than age is our creative side, I picture Thomas’ creativity not have been split, at least not when the story starts. So we have Romulus aka King Creativity (we’ve all accepted that piece of fanon right?) hanging around. I picture at some point there’d be a big fight between him and Patton that results in the split, imagine like a two part special. In the end they’re able to save Romulus (it’s a show for young children afterall) and decide to keep him aswell as Roman and Remus around, so sometimes they’ll be seperate and sometimes they’ll be fused depending on the situation.

All of the sides are kids in this one but not all of them appear the exact same age as Thomas. Logan is the youngest (do yall remember that thing that was going around a while ago about Logan being the youngest when Thomas was a kid cause the logic part of your brain develops later or something idk). The creativity twins are around Thomas’ age but a bit younger. Romulus and Janus are both the same age as Thomas (Janus might be slightly older but just barely). Virgil is older than Thomas, sort of imitating Thomas’ perception of a mean older kid type. And Patton is the oldest (he’s still a kid though).

I haven’t mentioned orange but I will probably add an orange side if I do more with this au, I think he’d be anger. I’m a firm believer in him and Patton being related somehow so they’d probably be siblings in this au. Not sure when that split would happen but that could maybe be after Romulus’ split because Patton feels guilty about what happened. “You can’t get angry anymore! Look what happens when you get angry! You hurt people” or something like that. I think he’d appear the same age as Logan.

The dark sides aren’t really a plot twist here, especially since two of them might just- not exist at the beginning of the story. They do get introduced over time though in probably the same order as in canon. They get redemption/acceptance arcs over time as well.

[krittec]

Aside from the JJ thing, Sofia and Rafe are like the two biggest things that remain on my mind after watching part one (and all of this could change after part two) but I wanted to yap about my thoughts about them.

TL;DR : I like them together overall, I think Rafe’s character arc is intriguing and I love Sofia, she is too good for him. Wish we were able to see more of them because netflix & modern television structure sucks.

Now I never actually expected we’d see a serious potential love interest for Rafe given the type of character he is, that wasn’t within focus with everything that was to be gained and lost during previous seasons HOWEVER I was expecting if he were to get one, it would be someone equally cruel like Ruthie (The girl who almost killed Kie and did kill those turtles)

Also I couldn’t see him being given a substantial romantic plot line given the screen time available (which is what sucks with modern television) unless it was a pre-existing leading character and given one is his sister which is a clear no, it leaves with two options that are also weird to me. Cleo is a definite no and Kie just feels weird. I know people ship it and I’m in no business of ruining ships because it’s all fun, but just wasn’t my personal cup of tea in the previous seasons. Mayhaps things could change as their characters do but as I stand, still a no to me personally.

So despite all of this, I’m happy to see him having a proper relationship because I think it adds so much to his character from a fan perspective and what can be done with him.

Now onto Sofia, I like her. I really do. When I first saw her, I didn’t expect her to be more than a one night stand for the things that I mentioned previously, felt there wasn’t enough time given everything else going on for anything to actually happen, so I didn’t pay much attention to her so maybe my feelings towards their relationship is something that could be changed with a simple rewatch. I definitely think she is far too good for him but I think it’s sweet that she’s standing by him throughout what he’s going through because Rafe is clearly going through a personal crisis and an intense mental conflict since the death of his father and now wanting to get close to Sarah again.

What I would have liked to see though is them initially getting together which again, falls to the issues I mentioned previously of current TV structure. She’s a pogue. He knows she’s a pogue. I had to look it up but they met when she was working as a bartender so this entire time, he is aware of that fact. Most my issues truly fall back to that 10 episode structure is damaging television because we don’t get to see some major stuff form. We have to rely on subtext and people, unfortunately, are not smart enough for subtext because I see people blatantly asking about JJ’s father despite the show saying it as many times as they can without literally saying it.

Anyway, I can’t wait to see where it goes. I can see Rafe taking a sharp turn either way so I won’t hold my breath on a redemption arc even if I do hope one for him, I would like to see Sofia with the Pogues but I doubt that’ll ever happen unless Rafe goes a good route and she is present for it but even still interaction would be very limited, and I can’t wait for part two to see where this goes.

[maybeiwasjustjade]

The Tragedy that is the Vanserra family

*I just want to preface this by saying that I’m well aware that this might be a controversial opinion. My issue is simply with how that particular pairing was written, because clearly not a lot of thought was put into it when SJM changed canon to fit this pairing in. This was also not written with the intention of victim blaming. Only that this plot genuinely sucks ass because it makes everyone out as uglier than need be.

For such minor characters (sans Lucien, and Eris to an extent), the dynamics SJM has blessed us with paints such an interesting family coated in absolute tragedy. It also doesn’t help that almost all of it was seen through Feyre’s pov—who’s not exactly reliable nor capable of introspection most times.

All we know so far of Beron and his relationship with his children amounts to:

Aside from Helion and Rhysand, Beron’s the only HL that was active during the war 500 years ago.

He abuses his wife, though when it started is still ???

He routinely tortures Eris, and more than likely all his remaining children

He LOATHES Lucien

And it’s so easy to paint Beron as this needlessly cruel, manipulative 2D bastard who only exists to cause pain and carnage over everyone that breathes near him. The male tortures his children and sentenced one of them to death for falling in love with someone ‘lesser’—that alone makes him the worst male to come out of acotar by a landslide.

But there’s an art to Beron’s cruelty that SJM could have fun with. Routinely siccing and manipulating his children against each other, forever ensuring that they’d be too busy fighting and hating each other over him so that they’d be unable to overthrow him. And maybe he does have his reasons. Maybe he thinks that this is the only way possible to raise an heir that would be ruthless and merciless enough to overthrow him and destroy his competitors—probably the same thing Beron did to claim his throne. And if the children are too busy with each other to go after him…all the better.

Show them no compassion. Torture all the disobedience out of them to make them strong. Pit them against each other to please him. Heinous tactics, but evidently it works when Eris and Lucien are the results of it.

But this dynamic only works if that was who Beron is, and how he was raised to be. I don’t suppose we’ll ever really know, not unless a large chunk of Lucien’s future storyline revolves around his roots in Autumn. But knowing sjm and how dirty she did Spring, Lucien’s arc will be about Day.

But back to Beron and the LoA:

Curious how the LoA is still nameless, but SJM purposely and canonically provided a timeline to show how much of a poor victim the LoA is. I want to make it clear that I am not condoning the abuse the LoA is facing from Beron. I don’t think anyone deserves to be abused or tortured the way Berons does his family, nor will anything justify it.

However, I am side-eyeing the way she WROTE Helion and LoA’s affair. I think what she little she wrote yet specifically gave painted them both as absolute fucking morons.

Canonically, we have no idea if Beron knows without doubt that Lucien isn’t his. Hell, we have no proof that he even knew about Helion at all; only that Helion certainly believes so, and what Feyre perceives as the truth. And that truth is ugly.

My opinion is that for the story to work, Beron can’t have known about Helion specifically. An affair perhaps, but not specifically who. Why? Because I wouldn’t doubt Beron would have killed Helion for it the moment he found out. Helion wasn’t High Lord until <50 years pre-Acotar. If Beron wanted Helion dead for having an affair with his wife, I doubt even the previous HL would have stopped Beron from lobbing of Helion’s head. Now assuming Beron knew about the affair specifically, but not about Lucien, I can see canon coming to fruition.

The only issue is Lucien’s features. He needs to look very, very similar to the LoA and not at all Helion. If Beron knew it was Helion, he’d be paying double attention on Lucien’s features to see who sired him. But say he doesn’t care who did it, only that it did. Lucien was screwed from the getgo as a possible affair baby. But that’s hardly the biggest issue with how the affair was written.

According to Helion’s recount of his affair, it started during the war when he rescued the LoA. Sure, rumor has it they met before her marriage, but it wasn’t until then that it became an actual affair. And it lasted decades. We don’t know how old Lucien is. Most have guessed that he can’t be older than ~400 at series starts. Following the timeline provided by Helion, there’s about 130 years age gap between Eris and Lucien, and five sons between. The LoA had at least two more kids born before the war started, leaving three sans Lucien to be born after.

See where I’m going with this?

If the affair only ended because Beron found out, preferably before Lucien was born or he’d be dead at birth, then on-off or no, that affair lasted a century. My question is: did Beron begin tormenting his wife before or after he found out about the affair? And was he already torturing his children before he found out, or was that punishment for what their mother did?

If Beron only began abusing and assaulting the LoA after Helion, then there’s a chance he only started hurting his sons around that time too. It also begs the question on whether or not Helion sired more than one Vanserra child. Even if the answer was no, it’s not like Beron would believe the LoA. Not after she cuckolded him. So he hurts her as punishment, doubling that pain by going after all their children too.

Lucien especially, for being mama’s favorite. I doubt Beron ever had to do much to encourage the torment Lucien faced from his brothers. He never had to; she did it to him all on her own by loving him best. And in a household where everything is a competition and love a weakness, Lucien was weakest by being the most loved. Oh, how they must’ve loathed him for it. His birth was the reason their lives became a living hell. A mother that perhaps loved them, but not enough if she outright favored the youngest, knowing his existence was their punishment.

But that’s the kinder story, if you can believe it. A female who was never happy, who found happiness outside her wedded husband, and was punished for it terribly. Her cold husband turned cruel bastard, who punished her for the crime of finding joy outside of him and their children. She didn’t know this was going to be her future.

Yet, the alternative is so much worse.

Because it implies that Beron already was a cruel and abusive bastard, who already hurt his wife and children immensely, and the LoA went and had an affair anyway. I can’t blame her for wanting to escape from Beron. Perhaps she was actually happy with Helion. But she did it knowing that the punishment would be so much worse if Beron found out, and he did.

Helion couldn’t have protected her. Claiming Lucien as his son would’ve been a death sentence to both from Beron’s wrath. And with a century long affair, there was no proof that Lucien was the only one that wasn’t Beron’s child. Not unless most of the Vanserras look like their father more, and we don’t even know that because they have no names or features described. And even then, the LoA was lucky that Lucien’s skin tone and features favored her instead.

I don’t care that a woman cheated on her abusive husband repeatedly. You do you, and all that. I care that the LoA is written as knowing what an absolute monster her husband already was to their living children, and clearly not thinking of what he’d do to them if she’s caught. This is Beron—he could’ve killed all their children as punishment. The man tortures his son bloody—I wouldn’t put it past him to kill them all and start fresh. She put them in so much danger by having Lucien.

I don’t like the way Helion knows what a bastard Beron is, yet not caring when he had a century long affair with a HL’s wife, knowing that she might be killed if found out. And he would be powerless to stop it.

I don’t like how neither of them even considered that she might’ve gotten pregnant from their affair, especially knowing that the LoA already had SIX CHILDREN.

I hate how their affair is going to be spun into some kind of romance of the ages, mates who were forcibly separated by a monster, when in reality it’s more like the love story of two morons who didn’t spare a single braincell to actually think before going back to each other often enough to have a whole ass CHILD.

Jfc, SJM definitely didn’t think through enough when she decided to add this into the story. Too many plot holes, and not enough sense to justify the absolute stupidity of cuckolding a High Lord with someone who couldn’t even protect her if they were caught. She wanted drama but spared no thought to logic, per usual.

[five-thousand-loaves-of-bread]

in middle of watch spiderman no way home (or whatever called. 3rd marvel spiderman movie w tom holland). n. it so bad. so sorry to people who like it but to me it so bad. like whole movie so far just OOC (out of character). not just OOC but to point can’t recognize old characters old universe. dr strange would not do that. peter would not do that. may would not do that. ned should not be able do that (magic circle thing) immediately after get hand on ring or else it wreck make plot hole for whole previous dr strange world arc.

there probably some ultimate connection reason for bad TV news station people probably some connection to mysterio or something. but annoy at it think it ruin marvel spiderman ever since end of spiderman 2. n really don’t care about reason why do bad thing. because like. they just suddenly appear out of nowhere with minimal foreshadowing at end of 2 & for whole half of 3 it just there be bad just to be bad. n it so much worse considering like. peter parker just fucking kid. he 16 or something he a fucking kid he a minor n shit ton old adults chase after him maliciously twist him into worst way possible illogical but somehow everyone believe them like what spiderman did all previous to this suddenly not exist.

adults targeting 16 year old kid for (to audience) to fucking reason. n no one in world ever talk about sheer absurdity. for more than half of movie.

like rewatch marvel movie & there couple that people say bad but all enjoyed, some more than others but all enjoyed to some degree. n then this one just. plain annoyed. whole way through

like really do feel like right at end of 2 they run out of shit to film. “oh shit what we gonna make for 3?? oh we know! let make adults that hate peter for no shitting reason and oh! suddenly reveal fury not actually fury all along.” n then like they constipated or something, push out force out story that world most OOC story ever

[cakerybakery]

It too bad media can’t really get into the nitty gritty about what a system like heaven and hell would actually mean.

Unfortunately most people would be unable to handle the reality that the vast majority of humans, regardless of what they’d actually done, would go to hell simply for not believing in the “correct god”, many of them being children, that heaven would allow all sorts of people that do evil things in simply because they asked for forgiveness before their death, that the religious teachings are far more fucked up than the simplistic Sunday school version they like to think about.

Fuck man, most people can’t handle a Disney princess movie going, “people in stressful situations tend to make bad choices and showing people compassion will help them make better ones” or “sometimes the thing you want and think will make you happy isn’t what you need to be happy. This is different for different people.” Without flipping their shit and throwing a tantrum about what they think is happening, so I’ll have to be content with Jack.

The first arc is literally about an unborn child in hell.

It’s a fascinating comic about heaven, hell, and “humanity”. The cycle of abuse, how even if you have horrible things happen to you it doesn’t excuses your horrible actions against someone else. What redemption means. That having something horrible happen to you doesn’t absolve you of your sins. That souls that are truly good would not desire condemnation of others but rather their salvation. That a good person doesn’t relish in the idea of another person suffering, no matter the terrible things they did, nor believes that goodness is passive.

Unfortunately, I don’t think the majority of people could handle any of that. It’s why you never see kids in hell or heaven. Why people shown in hell are always generic only committed the worst sins. (All Dogs Go To Heaven being strangely a subversion in that several characters go to heaven, even through they shouldn’t be able to get in which is a plot point, while condemning all cats to hell for being cats. The implications of that are wild.) People can barely handle Disney going, Tiana, your father didn’t get the restaurant he wanted but he had what he needed, love. Love of his family and his community. The love of the people he loved.

People are generally pretty simple when it comes to media. They want the characters they like and identify with to be redeemable, citing that the character is complex, while condemning the characters they don’t like and writing them off as one note characters. They themselves want to be redeemable while punishing those that hurt them.

Media often glosses over other characters the same way we tend to gloss over the fact that other people exist and have their own struggles, their own thoughts and feelings. Henchmen can be murdered left right and centre by the hero, but suddenly a line is drawn with the main villain and killing them makes the hero as bad as the villain? Forget the twenty guys that won’t go home that night.

Hordak was redeemed. He enslaved a planet and it took a couple seasons, but he was. Why couldn’t Hordak prime in theory be redeemed and changed over time? Given infinity why wouldn’t everyone be redeemed? Infinite chances for changing. I liked that about The Good Place. In the end people stopped just being tortured forever and they worked on showing people how their actions are wrong and let them work through it until they are redeemed.

I can see why people wouldn’t like media that makes them consider things like actual redemption, the reality of people that would be in hell or heaven, that doesn’t just gloss over somethings (like cats all going to hell for some reason). People could get pissy if they had to think about that in their trying to forgot about life’s problems media.

Besides, self reflection is difficult when you’re worried about what you might find in the mirror. I hate doing it sometimes. I spend a lot of time thinking about my actions, my thoughts, and the things I say or have said and weigh the intentions against the action and the result wondering about morality of buying lettuce grown in Mexico and shipped all the way up to where I am. Were the workers treated fairly? How much of a carbon footprint does that lettuce have? Would the live lettuce grown in a greenhouse be ethically better? Does it really matter if I buy cereal from a company that has been caught using illegal child labour? To me, it does, so I don’t buy certain foods or brands. But so many of those brands own so many other companies that it’s almost impossible to remember them all.

Can a person be truly good, even when trying? Are the results that matter or the intention? Is someone donating money to appear generous more good than a person who wishes they had something to give for no other reason than to just help?

How much of yourself must a person give to be considered good? At what point does a person earn the right to be selfish? Never? In self preservation? Is it always okay to prioritize yourself? If it doesn’t harm you, are you a good person for not helping someone else that you have no duty to?

I question my answers. Were my soul to be weighed, how would it go? Does wondering that mean I’ve condemned myself? In the end I always come to the same conclusion. If hell is real, I’m probably going to hell. I’m oddly comforted by that.

Still, it would be nice if media could get away with a more realistic depiction of who exactly would be in hell.

[pookie-mulder]

Nov. 2024-Jan. 2025 fic roundup

Gonna be honest with you guys, I didn’t feel like reading much the last few months. Certain events have made it much more appealing to doomscroll for eternity. I’m slowly getting back into it, though! I can’t promise roundups every month — we’ll have to see how it goes.

📸🇮🇪 Forgive Us Our Trespasses by Taffy Northwood

I loved this historical AU! My heart longs for the opulence and beauty of the turn of the century, so this fic, with its fancy dresses and mansions, was a treat.

I actually only got halfway through this one before my brain went kaput, but I’m hoping to finish it soon!

🦃🍗 far away to the west and south by audries

An incredible thanksgiving one-shot featuring M&S hanging with the gunmen! The writing is incredible. You can feel the longing and aching and yearning in each word. I love the way they love each other!

🛌🫂 Coalesce by @spookyjordan

This oneshot hits all the right spots. It’s angsty, H/C smut that’s as sad as it is hot. I love it!

🐺🎿 Backtracking by Kel and Scetti

M&S go on a ski trip to find a mystical Viking. I loved the blending of txf mythology with Norse mythology, plus the whole side plot that existed for no other reason than to reveal a pun at the end. I was hoping for a more survival aspect (no surprise there), but c’est la vie.

🌀⛈️ Camping by Amperage and Livengoo

A nice trip to the forest where everything goes wrong. I enjoyed the back-and-forth between the authors, who yes anded like nobody’s business. Is it the best, most life-changing fic I’ve ever read? No, but it’s still a lot of fun!

🤫👶 Secret Mission: Baby Spooky by @fmluder24

I looove a good IVF fic. Just as waffles are a vehicle for butter and syrup, IVF fics are a vehicle for angst and h/c and emotional intimacy and vulnerability. And because we saw so little of that whole arc in canon, we can pretend that almost any of these fics are What Really Happened. Anyway, go read this one!