#but god i love an arc based in emotional consequences

[tprings-hair]

hey did I ever tell you guys spock's death/resurrection is one of my favourite star trek arcs?

more text posts

[ilikekidsshows]

Today I tried going through old season 4 Ladynoir conflicted posts and I had to stop around 10 posts in because NOTHING came out of anything, and that hurt. Adrien as Cat Noir ended just as isolated, disrespected, and scapegoated by Marinette as he started off. She never once made an afford that went beyond surface level and eternal excuses for why not even trying is her "doing her best"

That's how you know it couldn't have been handled worse. The old posts hurt to read because now you know that Cat Noir ended up having to sacrifice himself and his Miraculous while being isolated in an isolation chamber by the villains in another country, having lost his entire life, and being tormented by a nightmare that could have 100% been handled with a healthy partnership.

He feared destroying the world and Ladybug with his Cataclysm? Would have been no problem if they were actually allowed to be an equal partnership where the Ladybug Miraculous isn't automatically the Black Cat's master and superior and the Cat her irrelevant magical scapegoat pet to abuse, use, and sacrifice for her validation. In a normal partnership there would have been no problem for Marinette to just be Lady Noir jn the end battle, but nah, we couldn't have that.

He feared that his emotions will get him akumatized and then he's doomed? Well, his partner and leader IS the Ladybug who is the safest person he could have possibly been with to prevent that fear from happening if she could have had been asked the basic thing of watching out for akumas that are after him

But we couldn't have that because that would have required even the tiniest consideration and effort from Ladybug, so instead he was taught that when he cant be the perfect support giver who Marinette has to give less than nothing in return, well then he has to die somewhere alone out of her sight so his doom doesn't make her upset or inconvenience her.

The finale truly showcased how dead Ladynoir is and that it's Marinette's fault for never even trying. It was the consequence from Maribug in season 4 attitude that Cat Noir could be tormented and killed as civilian however the villains please, NOTHING could ever justify her having to treat him like a person who EXISTS under the mask. She demanded that with full chest voice and that's how her "partner" met his doom: alone, tormented, and without any hope that his life might have the tiniest bit of value if it asks anything of the person he should be allowed to seek help from bc he knows she'll have a breakdown when she isn't on the receiving end of everything in their dynamic.

What a selfish disgrace of a leader and partner Marinette/ Ladybug is now. She didn't do her best, she never even TRIED, but demanded EVERYTHING on a silver plate for herself. She's PROVABLE an unsurvivable leader and partner to be stuck with. And this is the hero children are being taught from what heroism, love, partnership, and leadership is? Good God, get that show of the program...

---

The conclusion of the “Ladynoir conflict arc” was that whenever Marinette makes a mistake, she cries about it until someone rushes in to tell her she's perfect and did nothing wrong. It gives her the go-ahead to change nothing about her behavior because she was told it was okay. Like, if Marinette was a real person making her own choices and not someone else's baby OC, I’d think she was purposefully manipulating people into ignoring her mistakes by now. Whenever she cries we’re expected to go “oh, you poor thing, you don't deserve to feel so bad” and therefore everyone coddling her and never demanding accountability is a good thing. Marinette is so upsette, she's been punished enough, demanding her to fix her behavior would just be mean to poor, widdle Marinette.

For all the writers blame Adrien's exclusion on his poor mental stability, based on what they wrote in ‘Cat Blanc’ and ‘Ephemeral’, it's mind-boggling how Marinette’s dependent psyche is touted around as the epitome of girlbossitude. But that's the nature of excuses: the less sincere they are, the less consistent they are. The writers have said that they wanted this period of Miraculous to end with Marinette getting to wield both Miraculouses. For this goal, Cat Noir had to be removed. So, rather than do literally anything else, they decided to have Adrien tortured, mentally broken and lying on the ground crying while Marinette fails to stop the villain even with the two strongest Miraculouses at her disposal. What a grand ending to Miraculous' first major arc.

That's the thing about Miraculous actually having a very diluted core. They stretch out concepts and ideas and arcs for such a long span of episodes, that a lot of stuff gets dropped along the way and the conclusions we do get are hard to make satisfying enough to justify the wait. Because of the long wait-time, the fandom’s already come up with a dozen good ways to conclude any arc before the writers get to it. Add to that how the writers just objectively suck at writing conclusions and you get disappointment after disappointment. And that disappointment will then retroactively cast a shadow over the path to it, along the entire time we waited for something to come out of what was set up.

Miraculous has shaped up to be an argument in defense of the cut runtimes of animated shows. Miraculous has 25 episodes per season, five seasons, over one hundred episodes in total, and the conclusions made none of it worth it. If Miraculous had gotten ten episodes per season like Unicorn Academy, we would have only had to watch half of that before the disappointment. Usually I'm of the mind that discussing what shows deserve or don't deserve to be made is pointless, but I do genuinely think that Miraculous doesn't deserve to have over one hundred episodes. It doesn't deserve to be renewed for more. I have no faith in this story getting any better with the same people still telling it, so I expect the new retool to be even more crap.

[aroaceleovaldez]

(based on your recent post about Nico) what do we think about. Nico going on a sort of quest for healing with the cacodemons. something something they are outside of him so that he can more thoroughly analyze his issues and once he has processed them and learned how to accept them and move on, they reabsorb into him. but in a way that he like. Can't Feel Grief until he learns how to respect that emotion, etc etc. do you see my vision

(yes I know your post was not about healing but in fact making him worse. however: you have sparked the most canon-compliant thought I've had about tsats since. well one year ago today when I read tsats.)

god. mood @ that second half.

I love that idea though - let's have Nico grapple with some consequences of having a literal aspect of him be physically separated and turned into an immortal being. That's kind of A Lot and should really have some side-effects when you think about it. Together we can make it Weirder.

I've also been consistently rotating in my brain ever since I read TSATS - cause I thought while reading it that it was the route they were gonna go with the cacodaemon stuff - the concept of instead of the cacodaemons being separate and not how cacodaemons work in mythology, Nico himself is turned into a cacodaemon that's a personification of his own suffering and it's like. a whole metaphor about "you are not your trauma" and Will having an arc about seeing Nico past the ways he's been hurt and separating being Nico's doctor from being Nico's boyfriend. Cause cacodaemons are specifically negative embodiment of some thing (and also humanoid and shapeshifters. that's a very notable important part for me and part of why i dislike the TSATS cacodaemons). And it's like a whole once Nico calms down he goes from being a shapeshifting monstrous cacodaemon to being just a normal daemon, cause daemons are neutral and if they embody a negative thing it can also be like, the inverse of that thing or reprieve/protection from that thing, so Nico being a cacodaemon of his own trauma then goes to Nico being a daemon of reprieve from suffering. Also fun bonus part of "whoops Nico's a little immortal now. dont worry about it"

There are interesting theme potentials with the cacodaemons we just gotta excavate them. And ignore large chunks of TSATS. Possibly all of it. I'm working on it. I have a shovel. We'll get there eventually.

[mirageofadesert]

Till The End Of The Moon and the issue of audience identification

Who do you think is the main character in TTEOTM? Who do you like the most? Who do you identify with?

One of the things I loved the about this show is its approach to story telling. TTEOTM centers on two main characters with unique perspectives, who's goals are at odds with each other. This pattern is continued with the other characters as well, each of them having a perspective based on their experience and limited knowledge of the overarching story-line.

Reading some comments (mostly on reddit), this approach to story-telling seems to have gotten mixed responses. Among the fair criticism, however, are some comments that at times made me doubt, that we even watched the same show. And while a lot of it could be explained by difference in cultural background, age and media literacy, I think there is a potential problem in whom the audience identifies with, and what they consequently project onto the character.

Who is the main character?

The Main Character is the character with whom the readers most identify and around whom the passion of the story seems to revolve. In theory TTEOTM has two main character, however, these two are not equally fleshed out in the course of the show.

While we first get introduced to Devil God 2.0, it's Li Susu through who's eyes we experience the world. She is the main character for the first part, meanwhile Tantai Jin gets introduced later, but he quickly takes up more and more space. Most of the plot, action and emotional moments are soon linked to his character. The show succeeds in making us pity Tantai Jin and root for him - even through Li Susu is still the heroine of the story.

After Ye Xiwu's death, the story switches and from this point own, we get to know a new world, the sects of Buzhao Mountain, through Tantai Jin's eyes. Both emotional scenes and plot are still mostly linked to his character. Li Susu becomes more and more quiet - and I think some of it is due to the editing. In the last few episodes there are a couple of scenes of the camera just silently circling her. Going by the pattern of cinematography establish so far, these scenes probably had Li Susu's internal dialogue, which was later cut; same as some central moments of personal growth for her character (e.g. most of the demon arc in the Jing capital).

Who does the audience relate to?

Another common criticism is that Li Susu's action "don't make sense" or that she isn't well written. I have already dedicated a long post to this topic (and why I disagree). I believe, the main problem is that parts of the audience can't relate to her.

Some of it might come down to our media consumption habits and even expectations when it comes to Chinese dramas. In my personal experience and following the discourse on different platforms, some c-drama viewers seem to struggle with self-inserting into Li Susu. She doesn't have your usual relatable c-drama problems: parents, marriage, self-esteem, controlling family, social status, popularity etc. Instead, her problems are of the world saving kind. While there are relatable subplots later on (e.g. conflict between siblings, struggling with falling for the "bad boy"), it makes sense that not everyone will feel the same way about her.

Tantai Jin on the other hand is portrayed quite relatable. In an attempt to humanize him, the audience does not only empathise with his situation, his struggles evoke the majority of emotions. While none of us can relate to the pressure of potentially becoming an evil God, motives like marginalization, being ostracized and bullied, abandoned by a parent, fearing both commitment and loss, experiencing a more or less one-sided love or one's life being controlled by forces outside one's control, are human problems and therefore relatable to a broader audience.

I do relate to both differently, and it has elevated my experience of the show. However, Li Susu's character deserves a more flashed out character development, which might have made her accessible to more people.

The be him and to be with him

Like probably many of you, I tend to relate more often to male characters than females. A reason for this is, that female characters in media are often not written well or portrayed from the male gaze. You don't identify with the eye candy, you relate to the hero. Fortunately, Li Susu is not written from the male gaze!

From the glimpses I have seen of the international fandom, fans want to be Tantai Jin (because they identify with him), but they also want to be with him (duh). This is - to no small extent - because of Luo Yunxi's acting skills and popularity. Tantai Jin is not only most people's favorite character, he is "poor little meow mew", "babygirl" and a badass anti-hero. He is both romanticized in his relationship with Li Susu and sexualized on his own.

Identification can - and this is by no means a problem - lead to female-coding male characters in head-canon. Seeing them as a desirable character at the same time, however, can bring a different dynamic to the sexualization. Please, don't understand me wrong - I'm not saying this is something I'm criticizing, nor are these the only factors are at play in this.

I think, it's rather interesting to see the different reaction to male and female leads, and how e.g. cultural bias and gender socialization plays a role here.

With this in mind, the criticism of the characters in TTEOTM becomes understandable - not agreeable, but I'm beginning to understand why people have come to these conclusions. To say that Li Susu is heartless and unfaithful, that honest communication from the beginning would have solved all problems, or that Tantai Jin's sacrifice is a blasphemous appropriation of Jesus' death on the cross (not kidding), always tell more about the person making the interpretation, than about the medium itself.

Thank you for bearing with my rambling on why Tantai Jin is the best boy, and why I think Li Susu deserves better!

[sharkiegorath]

ok I read the whole Forgotten Realms Avatar series and at the start it's not what i'd call good but it’s entertaining. the third book is decent and fun. then the last two books are suddenly very good and i am scurrying like a rat

from the start I was struck by how similar the mortal Midnight was to Gale: Mystra’s Chosen with a volatile magical item grafted onto her chest, indignant about the gods but determined to finish her duty even if it's certain to kill her, arrogant and reckless but so good-natured it doesn’t really show until the stakes escalate, probably falls in love too easily, purple seems to have been her favorite color... also love the irony of how widely hated Mystra is by BG3 fandom, because at the start of Midnight’s tenure as Mystra she is THE god breaking rules and making divine enemies to try to help mortals and minimize damage. In Prince of Lies she even has an arc about struggling to convince other gods and concluding that godhood is a type of single-minded insanity but thankfully she won’t lose her sense of humanity hahaha ha ha. I need to read the later Elminster books to see exactly how the personality merge worked, but the way it’s described on the FR wiki and cross-referencing BG3 and this series, I assume Midnight is still a strong element of current Mystra. (ok confirmed by Ed Greenwood but i need to talk about this more in another post bc it's giving me extreme brainworms)

Shadowdale is meh but not the weakest book. Adon and Cyric had interesting enough arcs. I think Midnight and Kelemvor do have chemistry based on their banter and basic dynamic, it’s just rushed and bogged down with standard straightmalewriteritis. Kelemvor is a blatant misogynist to drum up initial conflict with Midnight, a trait completely discarded and forgotten in the subsequent books; they somehow missed the obvious hook that maybe Kelemvor is wary of female mages because of his family curse. I did like how by the end of Shadowdale he was about to go to battle and he was staring at puddles thinking “if my situationship was here she could do magic and turn them into steam :(" And I was pleasantly surprised by the ultimately inconsequential character arc of Bane relearning mortality and bonding with a follower, only to accidentally kill him, because magic is unstable because of what Bane did. 

Tantras is largely irritating besides Midnight and Adon's friendship and Cyric's series of successful deception rolls. The underlying plot actually isn’t bad but there are way too many characters holding the idiot ball and not communicating for contrived reasons. In Shadowdale, almost every newly introduced sympathetic character ends up dying shortly afterwards, like they’re just lining up to speedrun emotional investment; it's even more obvious in Tantras. Worst of all, there's very little buildup to Cyric’s villainy after his heroism at the end of Shadowdale. It's frustrating because his corruption could make perfect sense but it was so flat and clumsily executed. Then Kelemvor's curse is resolved anticlimactically. I vaguely recall the story getting better towards the end, when Torm appears, but nothing gripping. There was one cool perspective trick where the story rewinds to show the same mundane scene from Midnight, Kelemvor, and Adon's eyes before they go off on mini solo adventures.

I like Waterdeep, but my opinion is probably improved by comparing it to the previous books and knowing it was written by a different author. There’s still an overuse of epithets, but there’s a noticeable improvement in characterization and narrative logic. Cyric acts more like ‘himself’ in his first scene compared to any point in Tantras. Midnight, Kelemvor, and Adon actually act like friends. I appreciated how they grapple with the ethical consequences of removing Kelemvor's curse, though their Cyric debate feels drawn-out. Waterdeep is also much better at introducing secondary characters, giving plenty of space between their introductions and deaths, and surprisingly making the deaths meaningful later on. The ending manages to make Midnight's ascension feel more tragic than triumphant.

Prince of Lies is great. There's a sharp improvement in how it utilizes POV and weaves a complex story. It might even work as a standalone, but I appreciated it more because I already knew the backstory and characters. There are multiple storylines satisfyingly coming together; all of the new POV characters hold up to the originals; the prose is good; the dialogue is engaging; everything about Cyric is appropriately unsettling and he largely manages to not feel like a cartoon villain. I've already mentioned how I enjoyed Mystra's ominous idealistic arc in this book and I was surprised by how invested I was in the other gods, especially Torm, Oghma, and Mask. The only things I actively dislike are the casual fatphobia throughout and the conclusion of Mask’s role. Now that I think about it, Cyric's arc throughout the whole series and Mask's involvement would've been better if we ever, ever acknowledged that in PoL Mask was basically Cyric's lover (non-physical) (fake cursed sword) for ten years. like what was up with that. hello

I spoiled myself for over half of Crucible because I was getting fatigue from this series fsdoufsdifas. I was hesitant about the start, because it seemed so different from Prince of Lies, but it quickly won me over with the unreliable narrator and scope. At its best, it’s the exact kind of artsy metaphysical fuckery I love from The Elder Scrolls. Cyric genuinely believed in the propaganda version of himself, subtly recontextualizing everything he does until the end! He does a freaky heart swap with his tragicomedic best follower ever! He drinks his not-exes' breakup tears transubstantiated into their last pieces of humanity!

The trial plot is clever, but it stumbles with Mask's involvement - disappointing, because he was a fun character for most of PoL, but he keeps tripping over his own plans and doesn't have meaningful enough connections to the main characters. Overall, though, I love it. It explores why a good person would be a bad god, demonstrating exactly how it disrupts 'balance' instead of leaving it as a vague abstract concept. The ending is brutal, without violence or death or straightforward fates worse than death. It's theological horror, something similar but distinct from eldritch or psychological. It upends the earlier high fantasy and B-plot romance to tell a bonkers story where the biggest betrayals come from within. For all of Cyric's gore and insanity, it's also horrifying to watch Kelemvor systematically closing himself off (even if it's for the greater good), and to see Mystra trying her hardest to be a 'good' god but having her compassion warped through her power and responsibilities.

The thing is, Crucible wouldn't hit as hard without the previous books, including the first two. Midnight and Kelemvor frequently clashed over morality as vulnerable, desperate humans. They developed and matured as people, but it comes full circle as gods. Their friendships with Adon demonstrate how far they come and what they've lost by the end. More controversially, I think I had so much fun partially because the first two books were janky and the third was only kinda good. It was fun seeing the quality go from mediocre generic sword and sorcery pulp to occasionally poetic and absolutely bonkers. On an unintentional metatexual level, it reflects how the characters and their world changed for the better - so the emotional bus crash at the end of Crucible felt more tragic and earned. If the series had been obviously good from the start, it would have to maintain that quality, and the last book would have to work harder to land.

tl;dr i love divorce and that "truly great TV is 200 episodes and 40 of them are the worst you've ever seen" post is onto something

[incesthemes]

final thoughts: hannibal season 3

this was so overdue but finally. finallyyyy i finished hannibal. that's so exciting. and i liked it! the first two seasons especially were awesome, really well done and so expertly committed to itself. the third season, i think i'll have to say it underwhelmed me a bit.

it's not really that i didn't like it, but i think a lot of the developments just weren't given proper setup to actually mean anything. not even just with the three-year time skip, which is where most of my problems stem from, but even like... alana's relationship with margot? there was no buildup to that before suddenly they were fucking. and without that foundation i'm not really sure how to feel about that. to me that just came off as "well both of alana's love interests are unavailable, so let's pair the spares" and the spare happened to be margot, since she has her whole pregnancy subplot. there was no on-screen chemistry, no attention to their relationship outside of a bland confirmation and some nods to it in passing, nothing to sell the relationship. and i kind of expect a relationship like that to be sold pretty well, since it ties in with margot's character arc and alana is a major character who deserves time spent on her own arc.

also in general the whole "surprise, everyone lived (except abigail)" thing made me roll my eyes a bit... i like the characters but the total absence of consequences for that massive confrontation feels pretty cheap. and they were all fine! hannibal is the only one who walked away from the season 2 finale with any lasting (visible) disfigurement or scarring. alana fell two stories directly onto her back but she walked around with a cane for a bit and now she's fine. jack made a full recovery we didn't even see the process of. will has a little scar on his belly. i found that whole thing pretty disappointing, like the showrunners were trying to undo their own writing. some of the disappointment definitely comes from my excitement that they had alana in a wheelchair for a short period; i let myself hope that she'd been paralyzed from the waist down, based on the way they showed her skeleton as she hit the ground. maybe i'm just a guy who wants consequences and thinks those are more important than aesthetic. who can say, really.

my biggest issue with the season, though, was the time skip. i recognize its importance for the plot, but molly and walter absolutely got the short end of the stick as a result of it. this could have been avoided if will had met them before the skip, yknow give them some time to marinate and show some kind of chemistry (there's a trend here...) instead of just plopping them into the story with no warning and announcing that they're married. will and molly are a perfect parallel to alana and margot, in that they lack any emotional significance to the audience due to poor setup and execution. which is a shame, because the sparse few scenes molly and walter were in made an impression on me—it was just sorely underdeveloped. and it's kind of a shame that they drop off the face of the earth as soon as molly wakes up in the hospital, like their well-being doesn't really matter to the show and it's evident in the writing. i'm not saying like "they deserved better" or anything, god no, but it is difficult to find the relationship believable and enjoyable when the show itself treats molly as some kind of cockblock to hannigram. which is a bizarre thing to type out actually.

i think my last real gripe was that will and hannibal should have kissed. i don't even necessarily find their relationship overly compelling, at least not in a "i ship them" way, but the situation they were in and the fact that will hurled them into the ocean called for a little bit more passion, i believe. calmly resting his head on hannibal's shoulder i think does something of a disservice to the feelings that have been building inside of will since the first season, especially as everything spirals out of control around him and he comes to terms with his need and disgust for hannibal. will has strong emotions for him, and so it makes sense that he would react strongly in this scene where tensions are at their highest and will has finally made a world-ending decision regarding his relationship with hannibal. will just saved hannibal's life; he chose him. they killed a guy brutally together. there really was only one option going forward with the release of the scene, and the show failed to follow through. i read somewhere that they were supposed to kiss at the end, originally. i'm interested in why this decision was changed, because at the moment i fully disagree with that 🤔 passion begets passion, not fucking. whatever that was lmao.

i do love the decision to hurl them into the ocean though, especially with the context that this is where hannibal took miriam and abigail. it firmly paints will as yet another victim of hannibal, and yet this image is distorted because of who will is and who he's become (and the theme of "Becoming" in the second half of the season was really well-placed imo, and continued a nice strong theme reminiscent of the transformations in season 2) under hannibal's influence. with the push and pull will experiences with hannibal, there's no other option for him. he can't live with him, he can't live without him. and so he chooses to die together—i wonder if hannibal thought of dazai as they fell off the cliff.

i actually quite liked the red dragon plot. i mean, i'm not entirely sure how i feel about francis himself, i would have liked more exploration of his psyche maybe i don't know i guess??? but his relationship with reba was extremely compelling in such a refreshing way for this season. the other relationships were bland in comparison, to put it lightly, so i was all in with francis and reba. i like how they ended up too, and i like what they both obtained from each other. the self-loathing francis struggles with and the pity from others reba struggles with meshed really well and created a great emotional arc. i love how francis tried to save her in the end, in his own way, and how she influenced him for the better. like will said, she saved lives just by showing him love. i appreciate how receptive francis was to that affection, and how gentle he was with her to contrast the brutality of his murders. it was really well done.

god i think there's probably more i want to say, particularly about bedelia because damn her ending was something, but i'm so tired and this is so long already. so i'm gonna go to bed instead 💗 and tomorrow i will, at long last, start season 10 of supernatural lol. overall i liked hannibal, it was well made (at least for the first two seasons, i think the third has a lot of glaring issues...) so i'm really happy i finally got to watch it. insane show for insane people, my favorite :)

[thatonespriteobsessedbitch]

ok Thoughts™ on the last seven episodes of the bad batch because I procrastinated a lot lol

Entombed:

not much I can remember since I did watch three episodes one after another but I did almost cry when Mel "died",

felt like the weakest episode so far tbh

Tribe:

literally sobbed from as soon as Gungi appeared until the end credits rolled,

was prepared to send Filoni my therapy bills

The Clone Conspiracy:

god I love Riyo,

my boy?!?!!! my rexy?!?!!

tbh it took me like three weeks to find time to watch the next four episodes so I don't really remember what happened in the first three but yera lol

Truth and Consequences:

everyone but Megs skipping stairs on their way off the Marauder 😂,

Echo momming omega 🥹,

Echo wants to help the rebellion so much,

I'm literally so scared for omega in the Senate, I feel like she's gonna die or something,

oh fuck oh fuck rampart

ok he didn't notice her I think

also he has one hell of a chin

bail is out here nick furying

BURTONI????? THAT BITCH I ONLY KNOW FROM FICS????

burtoni is gonna fuck them over I'm calling it

I know what happens with echo bc I accidentally stumbled across spoilers but I can see the exact moment he decided to help rex

"he's still not better with heights?" "this is him better" 😂

that's one way to get on a venator

they're just stealing a whole ass venator at this point

idk what Rex was thinking asking for tbb to help on a stealth mission, these fuckers are less stealthy than fucking Skywalker

riyos a badass

oh rampart you're fucked

and it was all for nothing, great 😒

low-key bawling at how omega had no clue what was going on

The Crossing:

omegas sarky this episode, I like it lol

damn that was almost a lion king moment

megs needs a helmet fr tho

omega has attachment issues

tech and emotions don't really get along lol

I'm slowly becoming more and more of a tech girlie by the episode

so tech is definitely autistic

the cave is kinda really pretty tbh

this planet reminds me of the gerudo desert from botw

Retrieval:

who knew Gonky would eventually be useful

this benni is pissing me off ngl

not the marauder

how dare you call Gonky a defective power droid you shit plant

the Mando adoption gene is gonna flare and they're gonna adopt Benni I swear

mokko got what he deserved

Metamorphosis:

idk who this boy is but he is becoming a blorbo very quic-- oh nvm he's dead

damn the greenery around that base is stunning tho

wtf is going on????? this feels like a Halloween episode so far

NALA SE?!!?!!!!

dr hemlocks kinda a dick

her concern is warranted, tech, because something massacred the crew on this ship ffs

this feels like the brain worms arc

I'm probably wrong but is that a baby zillo beast?????????? I haven't watched that arc in ages but it kinda looks like one

ok I googled what the zillo beast looked like and I swear to GOD THATS A FUCKIGN ZILLO BEAST

it's fucking eating electricity

omg it gets bigger everytime it eats electricity

OMG I WAS RIGHT!!!!!! it is a zillo beast

awww tech protecting megs 🥲

I simultaneously can't believe the empire decided to clone the zillo beast but also can't believe they waited so long to clone it

we all know palps was eyeing the mofo from the beginning

yeah no shit palps made the order before he was emperor, he was the one who ordered it to be brought to coruscant in the first place

and our boys are gonna be revealed to be alive

tbh how they didn't know with tech's whole racing shebang is beyond me

omg and they're going after omega again 😒

also I'm sick rn so this might make no sense but too bad

[gffa]

To answer this (and, as always, if anyone disagrees, that’s fine! when i speak with a strong meta voice that isn’t the same as getting mad if people see things differently!), I think it first helps to establish what the Force is, how it works, and what the light and the dark are, which is covered more thoroughly here, but basically:  balance is not an in between of light and dark, but instead that the light is the balance.  That we all have darkness within us and we must work to train ourselves away from it, to face it and let it go.  That is the Force according to Star Wars’ worldbuilding. This isn’t Jedi teachings (though, that is what they teach) but that George Lucas directly says, “Only way to overcome the dark side is through discipline.“  The characters are absolutely meant to overcome it, to be brought face to face with it and defeat it.  Not to never have it, not to never deal with it, but to choose the light again and again. This is why the Jedi younglings are taken to Ilum and shown their fears in the caves, this is why the Jedi Temple on Lothal shows Kanan and Ahsoka their fears, this is why Yoda talks to Ezra about the anger and fear he has in him and Ezra is willing to admit it and work on it, when Yoda says, oh, you might be a Jedi yet, this is why Yoda has to wrestle with and defeat his dark side in the immortal arc, this is why the Jedi teach their younglings in the creche that the dark side is part of them,  “[Qui-Gon] knew [the dark side] was a thing all beings carried within them, a part of himself he would learn to guard against—the crèche masters had taught him all that.“ I argue that even Mortis, which on the surface looks like “equal light and equal dark is balance” is more about trying to get Anakin to face the darkness within himself and defeat it, that the dark side will always be there, but he has to learn to acknowledge it before he can overcome it. So, having Anakin be the in between of the light and the dark is not balance.  I mean, that’s the role Bendu has in Rebels (immortal beings are not vulnerable to the same consequences of the dark side that mortals are--the story group has reiterated that mortals cannot use the dark side without consequence) and Bendu doesn’t bring balance, he sits on the sidelines and does nothing.  His last appearance is Kanan yelling at him that he’s doing jack all to help the galaxy, that he’s a coward for not actually doing anything.  The middle of the light and the dark has a role in the galaxy, but it’s not the balance or to the health of the galaxy in the way the light is. Further, we don’t really know much about the Guardians of the Whills.  In the canon, Qui-Gon learns about immortality from the Force Priestesses who do not appear to be the same thing as the Guardians of the Whills, we see Yoda’s journey with them which brings it back to--face the darkness within, overcome it, and then you can start on the path to immortality. So, what do we know about that path?  It requires overcoming the darkness within you, but it also requires (and word of god supports this, about how Anakin’s final moments were about selflessness) absolute selflessness, you have to be able to reach a place of caring completely about others--which is precisely what the ultimate light side is: “The core of the Force–I mean, you got the dark side, the light side, one is selfless, one is selfish, and you wanna keep them in balance. What happens when you go to the dark side is it goes out of balance and you get really selfish and you forget about everybody … because when you get selfish you get stuff, or you want stuff, and when you want stuff and you get stuff then you are afraid somebody is going to take it away from you, whether it’s a person or a thing or a particular pleasure or experience. [….]    “Only way to overcome the dark side is through discipline. The dark side is pleasure, biological and temporary and easy to achieve. The light side is joy, everlasting and difficult to achieve. A great challenge. Must overcome laziness, give up quick pleasures, and overcome fear which leads to hate.”  --George Lucas, The Clone Wars writers meeting “Not by the cave you were but by your mind. Lessons, you have learned. Find courage, you did. Hope, patience Trust, confidence, and selflessness.” --Yoda, “The Gathering” “The Jedi choose the light for all that it reveals.” --Jedi texts, Poe Dameron comics Ultimately, I think the Jedi were probably the best place for Anakin, their philosophies on the Force match him very well with George Lucas’ explanations of how the Force work, their teachings echo his beliefs on happiness vs joy, his beliefs on the best way to teach (and GL believes that education is THE most important issue, compared to how the Jedi are fundamentally teachers at their core, etc.) and because they weren’t just the most famous users of the Force, but they tended to be the strongest. We don’t really even know much about the Temple of Kyber, if the people there are Force-sensitive (I know, I hate it, too, but canon says Chirrut wasn’t Force-sensitive) and the Church of the Force definitely seemed to not be Force-Sensitive, if Lor San Tekka is anything to go by. Which is important because there is a very, very key difference between strong Force-sensitives and lower level Force-sensitives/non-Force-sensitives:  The Force literally works based on the emotion and mindset you put into it.  What you put into it is what you get back out of it. The Force is an echo chamber, it’s a sponge that absorbs all of that, it holds onto those feelings you’re pouring out of you when you use the Force with it, so if you’re a high level Force-sensitive and you’re pouring out anger into the Force, into your kyber crystal, into the very walls around you, as Kanan tells Sabine in Rebels, their thoughts and actions become part of the blade, then that is staying with you, it’s always whispering in your ear, it’s dragging you down into the dark side. For someone like Anakin, who has this connection to the Force that’s stronger than probably any Guardian could possibly understand, he would be hearing those whispers as increasingly loud shouts just because of the nature of the Force and his incredible connection to it.  He would have had an even harder time not being dragged down into the dark, he would have had a harder time overcoming it, if the teachings he received weren’t about letting all of that go as best he can, if he wasn’t being trained to overcome the dark. The whole way Force-sensitivity works is that it’s based on your mental health and that you have to get past the darkness within you to embrace being selfless, to embrace loving other people rather than your own desires and fears and possessiveness, and the stronger you are in the Force, the more that’s going to be screaming inside your head and you have to work even harder to choose the light because you’re going to hear everything so loudly.  And the Jedi understood that, but, as GL said, “[everything changes], which is a basic Jedi philosophy that he isn’t willing to accept emotionally”. Anakin’s problem isn’t the light isn’t enough, it’s that he didn’t want to accept that things change, he didn’t want to accept when he needed to be able to let go, rather than burning the galaxy down because of his own fears and desire to hold onto something even when it was time to let go. The Jedi were the best place for someone like Anakin, even GL says, “If he’d have been taken in his first year and started to study to be a Jedi, he wouldn’t have this particular connection as strong as it is and he’d have been trained to love people but not to become attached to them. “ --George Lucas, Attack of the Clones commentary which says that the Jedi methods are actually pretty in line with How The Force Works.

[thebellekeys]

Reflections: Society vs the Supernatural and TLH characters

Okay, I just think it’s interesting the way the celestial fantasy elements in The Last Hours seem to affect the characters’ emotional arcs much less than that of… social codes. It’s your image and reputation that link you to a very specific, respected, and elevated circle in society after all. This is how Shadowhunter society operates especially in TLH (basically, they’re aristocratic families), and it’s quite rooted in the makeup of Edwardian society.

The Last Hours' most pivotal plot moments aren't punctuated by demons and death and war against evil powers and all that action stuff. Instead, the major tide-turners in TLH are based around the functioning of the milieu social: things like marriage, reputation, gossip, and romantic understandings, which isn't something we've seen this emphasized in previous Shadowhunter books so much, but which works so well in TLH given the context of the book and it's roots in Great Expectations: class, wealth, reputation and romance are the game-changers in TLH instead of demons and character deaths. In this way, society at large and social codes are the strings that pull the whole series together, more so than the supernatural.

Chain of Gold's major cliffhanger wasn't anything supernatural: it was James and Cordelia's betrothal. Chain of Iron's cliffhanger wasn't anything fantastical either: it was James' suspected infidelity, Matthew's love confession and Cordelia's decision to chase freedom in Paris and escape gossip and expectations. Thomas and Alastair aren't together, not because any supernatural force or Act if God is stopping them from being in love, but because of Alastair's crushing rumor and instance of slander, meaning that they they won't work out easily as a couple. Ariadne breaks Anna's heart for no reason other than what society will think of them reputation-wise and what it can mean for their's families' esteem. Matthew almost poisons his mother based on a rumor that would make him a delegitimized child, a bastard, and becomes an alcoholic after. Heck, even James' grandfather being a prince of Hell isn't as daunting as what prejudice the fact would bring towards the family and Tessa from his perspective.

There's also the juxtaposition of what it means to be in society versus being outside of society in TLH: James is in society and is accepted by society, and thus James' archetype is the Eligible Bachelor. Grace is outside of society, so she is the Enchanting Recluse. Cordelia is the classic Debutante, having settled in London after travels to curry favor in joining society (common trope in Regency era lit) and Anna and Matthew, conversely, are within society yet not quite accepted: the Bohemians.

Reputation and what-people-will-say form the basis for the majority of the conflict in TLH: the Charlotte and Gideon rumor has major consequences for both Matthew and Thomastair. Cordelia compromising her honor by saying she spent a night with James makes the plot pivot completely. Fairstairs fleeing to Paris is another jaw-dropper which again is spurred by the shame of James' supposed infidelity. These decisions aren’t driven by any herald of the world ending or the sky cleaving apart with demons or someone dying; it’s simply society’s forces at work.

Since reputation and propriety are major themes in TLH which form the foundation for the majority of the book's plot, the only choice by which the characters can conceal these dark truths is secrecy. The majority of characters in TMI and TDA know literally everything that happened in the Clockwork War and during TID, but it seems that the events of TLH have been carefully concealed over time. This secret motif is perfectly symbolized by the false Family Tree that's been duping so many people for ages (see: me). TLH is a story of internal passions conflicting with external social expectations, and that's why it constantly suscits the needs for lies and secrecy, and hence, miscommunication. (See: Lucie being secretly in love with a ghost so she has to go against the Clave to do necromancy).

Why is this interesting? I think it's interesting because CC has managed to write a supernatural/fantasy series where the cornerstones of the story itself aren't truly... supernatural. All of the characters' arcs, save maybe James’, find themselves driven by emotions, internal passions and fear of social exile rather than fantasy elements. It's the opposite of TID: Will's character arc was driven by his supposed demonic curse and the demon who killed Ella, Tessa's character arc was her mysterious parentage and powers and the clockwork monsters, and Jem's was founded on his impending death by poisoning and the yin fen. These are all supernatural elements that seem to imply impending doom and dread and urgency.

Instead, TLH is a story of the heart and young people chasing their passions within the confines of their milieu social, and that makes it extremely original and fun, and even proves that while CC is notorious for reusing tropes, she also knows how to construct an elaborate time period story. It pays homage to how important social status and wealth was in Great Expectations itself too, and makes the miscommunication trope often found in romance actually necessary and interesting instead of exhausting and cheap.

[a-master-procrastinator]

Long ass post about the Eternal family not being a copy-paste from ATLA (aka I like the memes but my god can you please stop)

Because some people truly think that Vaylin is off-brand Azula, Arcann is Zuko and so on.

It's. Called. A. Trope. (I mean how often do we come across abusive manipulative fathers in media? Mothers who couldn't much to change anything? Children, desperately looking for their parent's approval no matter what?)

Of course, you have to consider the fact that the writing of ATLA is simply better than of KotFE/ET, so this might have been one of the reasons why people say that.

Spoilers for Avatar: The Last Airbender, Knights of the Fallen Empire and Knights of the Eternal Throne expansions!

Okay, so here's my unprofessional, maybe biased, not super deep take.

(not going to mention that all of them are members of royal, ruling family, kinda obvious)

What roles do they play in their stories? Well, both Valkorion and Ozai are main antagonists, but their presence throughout the story is very different. Ozai is rarely shown in first two seasons, we don't even see his face until season 3. He doesn't have a direct connection to the protagonist, they only meet at the very end of the show, and Ozai's role is to pose a threat to the world, while Aang's is to save it. Valkorion, on the other hand, is constantly on the screen, interacting with the main character, challenging their viewpoint and influencing them directly. His end goal is similar to Ozai's (destroy everything and be the only ruler of the his nation), but with one major difference - he's trapped in Outlander's mind, so to achieve his goal Valkorion attempts to take control of the main character. Their interactions play important role in the story, and we spend a lot of time with Valkorion.

In addition to that, their relationship with children are also not exactly the same. It seems like Azula is Ozai's favorite and Zuko is a failure in his eyes until he meets his expectations, and the same goes with Vaylin, Arcann and Valkorion, right? Well, partially. Indeed, Valkorion and Ozai's treat their sons in similar ways (are disappointed in them until they meet their expectation by doing something that goes against their morals), but when it comes to Vaylin and Azula, it's not that easy. See, Valkorion claims that Vaylin was always his favorite creation (even though we know it's actually his empire), and he certainly seems to take pride in her potential in the Force. But her power is the very reason he's afraid of his own daughter, and in this fear Valkorion literally locks Vaylin away and allows to put her through physical and mental torture just to make sure she won't become a threat, won't overpower him. Maybe he thought of her better than of Arcann, but she wasn't his favored child for sure. I don't want to say that Azula hasn't experienced abuse from Ozai, but for the most part he clearly favored her over Zuko. He has never shown fear of Azula's power and abilities (or at least I haven't noticed), quite the opposite - allowed her to do a lot, as long as she brings results.

I could also mention their slightly different characterization (mostly that we get more characterization of Valkorion, get to learn his motivations, views, philosophy and all that, also he's portrayed as more nuanced, even if he not really is) and role in their respective governments (ozai is one of many Fire Lords and arguably not the greatest, while Valkorion is a god to citizens of Zakuul, their only Immortal Emperor), but those are details, and I think you get the point.

What's similar: role of the main antagonist, manipulative and abusive father, goal of destruction of everything that isn't their nation/empire, relationship with disgraced son.

What's different: presence in the overall narrative, relationship with the main character, relationship with daughter, role in their societies.

Senya and Ursa are even less similar. Yes, they both are mothers who love their children, but have to leave them, but these are probably the only things they have in common. Just as with Ozai and Valkorion's presence throughout the story, Ursa is only shown in flashbacks (for obvious reasons), and Senya is one of major characters in KotFE and (a bit less major) in KotET. Ursa leaves because she has to kill Azulon in order to save Zuko, and later isn't present in the story (I'm aware that her fate is told in comics, but we aren't talking about it). Senya leaves because when she tries to take children with her, they refuse, and she understands that she can't force them to, nor she can help them to break free from Valkorion's manipulations. For a long time she's absent from Arcann ad Vaylin's lives, but at the time of game events she attempts to save her children and stop the madness and destruction they've caused, and it isn't a small part of the story.

I also want to add that their relationship with Ozai and Valkorion are also different, but can't say much about Ursa. I heard that she didn't choose this marriage and suffered emotional (and maybe physical???) abuse from Ozai. I can say with confidence, though, that Senya genuinely loved Valkorion, and strangely enough, he seems to at very least respect her. But, of course, this wasn't the best marriage either.

Plus, we see more of Senya's relationship with Vaylin than Arcann or Thexan, but with Ursa we see her more with Zuko than Azula. Just a detail to remember.

(also Senya is simply a better character but that besides the point, moving on. in this house we stand Senya)

What's similar: role of loving and caring mother, abandoning their family at some point.

What's different: presence in the overall narrative, relationship with husband, characterization in general.

Boy, where do I even begin. Vaylin and Azula are similar in that they are both extremely powerful (one is firebending prodigy, the other is potentially stronger than Valkorion), both are cruel "craaaaazy" (i hate that cliché), both are younger sisters, have serious mother issues (seemingly more so than father issues), both go through betrayal of people they could always rely on, which eventually leads to their downfall. But when I took a look at their personal arcs, it became clear that they aren't the same (unfortunately, Vaylin's arc is very rushed and underdeveloped, but we'll have to go with what we have and my personal view, sorry).

There's a really good video about writing corruption and madness, and I'm going to base my thoughts on it. To summarise it: a good corruption arc should have 4 components:

- the character has a specific goal (or a goal and subgoals);

- in pursuit of said goal they become the cause of a significant event that brings serious consequences;

- as the result of these consequences, character abandons their morals, ideals or a code in pursuit of goal;

- character either will not achieve their goal or will succeed, but it won't be enough to satisfy them.

And then the author brings Azula's arc as one of the best examples of compelling story of corruption (so basically, she represents it perfectly). In short, Azula's main goals are perfection and control, and subgoals help achieve the main ones. In pursuit of these goals, Azula causes Mai and Ty Lee to betray her (by pushing them too far to do something they wouldn't do), which then causes her to become paranoid, which makes her to attempt controlling everything and everyone around her, *breathes* which makes her lose control over herself and ....

Now, I thought if Vaylin's arc could fit into a corruption one, and next part will be based a lot on my assumptions and personal view of her character (plus rushed writing doesn't help), but I think yes (or at least mostly). The difference is in goals, ideals and details.

While the story strongly makes us think that Vaylin's goal is freedom (or control over her life and everything around her) or power and destruction, I think it's actually self-determination (which was said by Tenebrae in 6.2) and feeling safe. Let me explain (and here I thought this would be a short comparison). Sure, when Valkorion caged Vaylin on Nathema, he took choices and control over her life from his daughter. But let's not forget whom Vaylin blames for this (even more than Valkorion): her own mother, and I think this details tell us that the most important thing that Vaylin lost on Nathema is feeling safe. Then, after Arcann brought her home, I assume Vaylin still didn't feel safe enough under Valkorion's rule, still too afraid that he'd simply send her back to that hellish place.

It's when Valkorion is struck down Vaylin finally has a feeling of personal safety, even if she isn't the one on the throne. Why? Because back on Nathema there were two people who haven't turned on her - Arcann and Thexan (yes, this is also a huge assumption, bc the game states that only Thexan visited her, but it doesn't make much sense).

I've always noticed (and I'm not alone in this) that her behavior in Fallen Empire is different from the way she acted in Eternal Throne. Most likely bc of rushed writing, but I see a character driven reason here. In first of these expansions, Vaylin is the second person in power on Zakuul, and with Arcann being in charge, person she can trust more than any other living being, she feels safe - she can test her power, and now Valkorion won't prevent it, she can do pretty much everything she wishes, and the most Arcann will do about this is mildly complain (without blaming her). Really would be nice if we got to see any normal hobbies of Vaylin (like wasn't there something about books or art?), but I digress. She might have some questions about Arcann's tactics, but they get along just fine. The important thing to note is Vaylin not seeking to hunt the Outlander personally, to rule or conquer the rest of the galaxy, or trying to achieve absolute freedom or power. She's kinda there.

This, however, changes when Arcann doesn't allow Vaylin to kill Senya. Their relationship was getting somewhat worse towards the end of KotFE, but this is a turning event Vaylin caused by attempting to strike her mother. By saving the person Vaylin blames for all the trauma from sending her to Nathema, Arcann threatened her feeling of safety. And now Vaylin starts to believing that to achieve safety she now needs to kill people who hurt her (that's why she's so determined to find Senya and Arcann), take the throne and hunt down Outlander (she was manipulated by SCORPIO to these subgoals).

(The following is the weakest, I'll admit, but I hope I can at least express what I see). So, in trying to achieve goals she didn't want before Vaylin loses in self-determination, being either driven by overwhelming anger or manipulated by others (SCORPIO or Commander on Odessen), desperately trying to accomplish anything, or even goes against her morals (like by erasing GEMINI's free will protocols, when earlier she agreed that freedom to choose is important; or breaking the deal on Odessen). All of these result in her downfall.

But even this isn't the end. The key difference between arcs of Azula Vaylin lies in it's resolution, or that Vaylin have a chance to overcome corruption in the main narrative (and Azula doesn't. again, not including comics here, sorry). After death, Vaylin is again controlled by Valkorion in Outlander's mind. First time physically (she can't resist it), second time mentally. This is where Vaylin has to choose - kill brother who betrayed her and Commander who killed her, or go against Valkorion, person responsible for almost all of her pain and trauma. She has t choose by herself, and I think it's a good start.

Now, before 6.2 we all thought Vaylin was dead for good, but that story update hinted at possibility of her coming back to life. What I like to think is that now that she dealt with people responsible for her trauma (helped defeat Valkorion and actually for once listened to Senya), Vaylin can now have a different life, finding herself with support of someone she doesn't hold a grudge against and who treats her well (Satele, I mean).

I'm so sorry for going into details, but I needed this long explanation to present the point (and I suck at explanations). As said before, this is my version of her arc, and most likely wrong interpretation, but even with personal freedom of choice, Vaylin character differs from Azula a lot.

Need I mention that Vaylin relationship with Arcann and Valkorion are drastically different from those between Azula, Zuko and Ozai?

(Also a little detail - with royal family of Fire Nation, Azula is the golden child, while with Tiralls it's actually Thexan, not Vaylin).

What's similar: role of extremely powerful, emotionally damaged daughter with little to no regard towards others, close people betraying them, resulting in their downfall.

What's different: characterization, role in the narrative, relationship with father and brother.

Arcann and Zuko is the most difficult part, but I still believe that calling Arcann just a cheap copy of Zuko is incorrect.

So, they fall into role of less successful son, always getting disapproval from father, being in shadow of more talented sibling, both obsessed with capturing the main character but ending up helping them end the war after going through a redemption arc with help of caring family member. Even both have scars on left side of face. Yeah, seems similar. I still think they are different characters.

Let's start with their relationships with family. In Valkorion section I said that his attitude towards Arcann is similar to that of Ozai towards Zuko, so not going to spend too much time here. However, there's slight difference - Zuko didn't kill his father even he had a perfect opportunity (bc it wasn't his goal), Arcann did (bc it was one of his goals), which says something about their characterizations.

Zuko and Ursa were shown to have a good mother-son relationship, and it played a role in Zuko's character. With Arcann and Senya, we don't really know (not much was shown in expansions). We know Arcann didn't hate his mother, but possibly didn't have warm memories of her either. The reason is most likely, like Senya said, her children wanted nothing to do with her (which is a bit untrue about Vaylin, but okay) and leaned more towards Valkorion. We need to remember that on Zakuul Valkorion isn't just one of many great leaders, he's the greatest, and seen as a god by most citizens, so safe to assume the same would apply to his children as well.

Zuko and Azula's siblingship (i'm out of words) is a bit similar to Arcann and Vaylin's in way of brother knowing that his sister isn't good, but still caring about them (even if not showing). At least it's what I saw. What's different is how Azula treats Zuko, compared to how Vaylin treats Arcann. I think Azula showed compassion or concern for Zuko maybe twice, but I'm not entirely convinced that it was 100% sincere. Vaylin, on the other hand, seems to trust and care about Arcann (with bits of sass and questioning his life choices), and switching to complete opposite after him saving Senya. Also, I don't she ever called Arcann a failure in their father's eyes.

Now I want to say that their roles in stories aren't the same either. Sure, both are introduced to us as antagonists, but in reality, Zuko was never a true antagonist (we get to learn this somewhere mid-season 1), when Arcann remains the main antagonist for whole of KotFE. Zuko didn't start a war and didn't participate in conquest of other nations too much, his main goal was to capture the Avatar so to restore his honor (and deserve his father's forgiveness). Honestly, I think it's safe to say the Zuko is one of two main protagonists of ATLA. Why does Arcann want to capture the Outlander? Solely because his father's spirit still lives inside this person's mind, and the best solution to keep Valkorion away from the galaxy is not letting the Outlander free (hence the carbonite freezing). And Arcann doesn't want or need Valkorion's forgiveness when he attempts to kill him (or kills him, depending on your choice. anyway, his action directly leads to Valkorion's "death"). And right after that he becomes a ruler of Zakuul and begins the conquest of Republic, Sith Empire and everything he can reach (the reasoning behind this is still unclear to me though; maybe because he was raised with ruling Zakuul in mind and he didn't anything else, idk). Point is, he's responsible for war and main's character imprisonment, which makes him the main antagonist of KotFE. They have it the opposite ways - Zuko starts as disgraced prince, supported by a little group of people, and in the end he's recognized and appreciated by his nation, and Arcann starts as respected by his empire, later becoming less and less loved, until some groups start rebelling his rule, and in the end he doesn't get to rule Zakuul again.

This leads me to their morals. See, Zuko didn't have the worst morals in Fire Nation, even more, he expressed care for loyals soldiers of his nation before getting punished by Ozai. During first season (and about a half of second one) his views on other nations are what he was taught before. However, these views are challenged by travelling in Earth Kingdom, witnessing people suffering from war Fire Nation started and hating its people (you already know all of this), and with this he comes through final stage of redemption when he's back home. Unfortunately, Arcann doesn't go through this, and he's shown to be more ruthless.

Alright, when it comes to their redemption arcs, well let's say they are different (both in quality and the way they go through it), I'm just a bit tired of long explanations at this point. Zuko's arc is one of the best ever put on television, and Arcann's... well, it definitely has potential, but is criminally underdeveloped (there are other people who will explain it better than I ever could).

What's similar: role of disgraced son, living in shadow of their sibling, serious injuries on the left side of face (though with different meanings), obsession with capturing the main character, having a redemption arc.

What's different: role in the narrative, role in their society, characterization, relationship with sister and mother, different end goals (before redemption), paths to redemption.

[cheshire-castle-library]

There's an axolotl themed race called the Rihas, and they're pretty vein and shortsighted. But their princess - one of the few of their race who don't go though metamorphoses (like how axolotles go from purely water based to muddy land based) is trying to take over the empire from her very evil dad to try and fix it. But she's got chronic baby face and has been the empire's mascot since she was born, and so her whole story arc is figuring out who she is apart from what she was born as and used for - and how that will inform her fixing her empire into a not quite as shitty social media dictatorship.

The big antagonist is actually the consequences of our actions and our irresponsibility and faults. It's not malicious, and that's earth shattering because a lot of horror has come of this thing they are fighting but no part of it was "on purpose", there's one person to blame, but he didn't want this to happen either and in his own shitty way tried to fix it and failed.

This is a "love is the answer" story, but its not just "prince rescues princess" falling in love, but the hard won love carved out of blood and tears that comes with deliberation and choice and agency. Its the love of family and found family, and the kinship that even enemies can have because hate is not the opposite of love, its just a different passion of care for another being and even that is beautiful and can bloom. This is an enemies to found family story.

The point at which my favorite two idiots figure out they would raze stars and consume the universe if it meant staying together, is the point at which their adopted kid calls them both dad - which is a situation that arose out of mutual idiocy and spite. One told the kid "call him dad" because the informality in it would drive the other up a wall. The other told the kid "call him father" because the excessive formality would annoy the hell out of the one. However it backfired horribly and they both realized they liked being dad/father and they had to rethink their "hate/stress sex" relationship to figure out what emotions were really driving all of that.

No one is coming out unscathed in this, which is life. But the important part is that they are coming out of it with a support system, people they can rely on and people they would kill god for. This is not a "and falling in love fixed my life" nor is it a "and I was able to cut out the parts that were toxic to me so I could live better" story. It's not always that easy. You can't cut out some things, and other things that you maybe should, you don't want to. You chose where you stood, and hell or high water you will remain. BUT you can get smarter, stronger about it. You don't have to do it alone. It's not always as easy as blocking someone from your DMs, sometimes its accepting it as it is, and choosing to patch up your wounds when not if they come. Sometimes that's what life gives us, but we can do more than get through it. We can thrive in adversity, like the finest wine grapes. The soil that fails to nurture us opens us opportunities if we take our own agency in our hands and hammer it into a shape we can love.

BONSU: there is a lot of disability, neurodivergence, and lgbt allegory in this that maybe wasn't intentional, but its here. It was supposed to be gay though, so don't get me wrong there's also like direct mlm as a primary feature

Let’s follow that first prompt up, and take this chance to share some fun facts about our story! You can either do a five point bullet-style list of fun facts about what’s going on in your wip, or just use this as an opportunity to ramble!

Looking more guidance? Make them come from the center of the story!

[n1kolaiz]

THE GREAT FITZGERALD

thank u @dazaistabletop for getting me so interested in Fitzgerald's character. ur my favourite Fitz kinnie ok mwah( ˘ ³˘)♥

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald's novel— The Great Gatsby— was a love story that involved Jay Gatsby, whose mannerisms and characteristics appear to be quite similar to Fitzgerald in the Bungou Stray Dogs adaptation. I just finished reading The Great Gatsby so I thought I'd just make a comparison between the main protagonist of the novel and the main antagonist in BSD's Guild Arc.

Other than the fact that both Jay and Fitzgerald share similar character traits (ambitious, arrogant, and optimistic) the relationships Jay had with the other characters of the novel and the interactions that Fitzgerald had with the other characters of BSD are quite similar, too. I'll focus on three specific associations that both Fitzgerald and Jay experienced in a parallel manner:

Zelda Fitzgerald and Daisy Buchanan

Tom Buchanan

Louisa May Alcott and Nick Carraway

SPOILERS FOR THE GREAT GATSBY!

in case anyone hasn't read it but wants to :)

To avoid confusion, every time I mention Fitzgerald from here on out, I mean the character from BSD; I will specify my references if it comes to the author.

The Great Gatsby had its plot set around the time of the Roaring Twenties: the aftermath of World War I, the peak of socialite culture, and the growth of a prosperous economy and general wealth altogether.

The Roaring Twenties was also a time of luxurious pleasure and liquor, where people indulged themselves and got addicted to hedonism— the pursuit of gratification.

The Great Gatsby was actually written on the basis to prove how corrupt this age was, and the existence of such corruption was vaguely hinted by various factors, one of which included Jay Gatsby's actual source of income: being involved in the affairs of the black market. This proves that illegal activities were not uncommon around that time, as people did anything they could to achieve materialistic gains.

This isn't a history lesson, I promise.

Both Jay Gatsby and Fitzgerald had grown up in poverty and disliked the concept of being anything short of wealthy. They both worked extremely hard to attain financial abundance.

I presume that not everything they did was actually legal when it came to gaining money. As mentioned before, Jay was involved in criminal activities which founded the basis of his wealth, while Fitz once mentioned that in order to own a gun, he had to kill 4 people. He goes on to tell us that he ended up owning that specific gun's manufacturer eventually.

Daisy Buchanan and Zelda Fitzgerald.

The Great Gatsby is actually centered around Jay Gatsby's rather obsessive infatuation with Daisy.

Daisy was a beautiful lady with a incredibly charming nature— she didn't have much trouble with attracting many men back then before she got married to Tom Buchanan, the antagonist of the story and the rival of Jay Gatsby.

"Her voice was full of money," he said suddenly.

That was it. I'd never understood before. It was full of money— that was the inexhaustible chair that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it. the cymbals' song of it... High in a white palace the King's daughter, the golden girl...

Daisy and Jay Gatsby fell in love right before he was sent off to war and a few years before she met Tom. Before they were separated, Jay's dream of gaining wealth and status was primarily flamed by his intention of reaching Daisy's social ranking in order to be worthy of her love.

Initially, because of how passionate he was about his love for her, Jay lied to Daisy about his wealth. It was only after the War did he actually gain the riches he aimed for. By the time he did achieve his monetary goals, Daisy had married Tom already. Consequently, Jay hosted a bunch of lavish parties in order to gain her attention, prove himself and his love for her, and ultimately, win her back.

Jay perceived Daisy as a literal angel, void of any flaw whatsoever. He even tells Nick, the main character, that the fact that numerous men got romantically involved with such a lady just increased her value altogether.

But what gave it an air of breathless intensity was that Daisy lived there— it was as casual a thing to her as his tent out at camp was to him. There was a ripe mystery about it, a hint of bedrooms, of gay and radiant activities taking place through its corridors, and of romances that were not musty and laid away already in lavender but fresh and breathing and redolent of this year's shining motor cars and of dances whose flowers were scarcely withered. It excited him too that many men had already loved Daisy— it increased her value in his eyes. He felt their presence all about the house, pervading the air with the shades and echoes of still vibrant emotions.

As the story unfolded, Daisy's character was torn apart for a proper, more brutally realistic perspective of her true character, revealing a shallow, selfish lady who solely placed her interest in money and luxury, the things which she often took refuge in when things went wrong. As the plot developed itself, the actuality that Jay fell in love with the idea of Daisy, instead of Daisy herself, was much more evident. And it took quite some time for him to discover and acknowledge the truth.

Fitzgerald's love for Zelda was very apparent, too, except that it seemed more genuine and pragmatic. Not much is speculated about Fitz and Zelda's relationship in the Guild Arc, but his love for her was very deep, as everything he did was for her and their deceased daughter.

Side note: Fitzgerald (the author) based Daisy's character partially on Zelda, as both women were brought up in wealthy families and took a general liking to lifestyles revolving around money and ease.

Fitzgerald was in love with Zelda, a woman plagued by a debilitating illness. In The Great Gatsby, Jay was in love with a woman who was plagued by the deceptive addiction of self-satisfaction gained by pleasure and whatnot. Zelda was impaired by an mental illness, while Daisy was intoxicated by the security of money and prestige. This is an abstract suggestion though. Personally, that's how I interpreted this correlation when it came to examining these dynamics in their respective universes.

Tom Buchanan

As mentioned before, Thomas Buchanan was Daisy's husband and Jay's rival who had similar characteristics in matters of personality. The Toms in both book and anime were arrogant and cunning, which pretty much vouches for their selfishness.

In the book, Tom is supposedly the love of Daisy's life, except that she just married him for his money instead of waiting for Gatsby. Then again, Tom was involved in a love affair outside his marriage with a lady named Myrtle Wilson. Tom cheated on Daisy by getting involved with Myrtle. On the other hand, Daisy was unfaithful to Tom by keeping her love and relationship with Jay a secret from him.

The climax of the story partly revolves around Myrtle dying in a hit-and-run car accident. The grand twist was that Daisy was the one driving the car, and the car actually belonged to Gatsby. Because the car belonged to Gatsby, George Wilson, the husband of Myrtle, was bent on revenge and tracked down the car. He ended up killing Jay Gatsby, and soon after that, he killed himself.

It was quite a scandal, but Daisy estranged herself from such a tedious matter. In fact, when Jay died, she did not even attend his funeral. Tom was under the impression that Gatsby was the one who killed his mistress, not Daisy, his wife. Either ways, Nick described them in a way that sums up what became of them after Jay's death:

They were careless people, Tom and Daisy— they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made...

It's interesting to note that in chapter 45 of the BSD manga, Tom appears as the antagonist who was later found guilty of murdering his employee, but the blame was originally put on T.J Eckleburg, the inventor of the Eyes of God.

Side note: T.J. Eckleburg was actually an optician who appeared on a billboard advertisement in the novel. This billboard was used as a personification by Nick Carraway, which was meant to embody the representation of a displeased overseer who observed the events that unfolded before him. The Eyes of God has a similar concept: scrutinising everything with an accuracy of 97%. It's a personal speculation, but the Eyes of God was proven to be of utmost importance in the Cannibalism Arc when it came to capturing Fyodor Dostoevsky. Likewise, T.J. Eckleburg's eyes showed how corruption and misconduct never escaped his judgmental visage.

sorry about the quality of the manga panels ;-;

In the manga, Fitzgerald manages to triumph over Tom by betraying his trust altogether in order to obtain the ownership of the Eyes of God and Tom's company. This stands in contrast to what became of Jay in the novel, but the protagonist got what he wanted in this universe.

Keep in mind that Fitzgerald didn't act according to fulfil what justice required; it was purely business. Just like Jay Gatsby put on the facade of a plain, rich man who was really just bootlegging his way to opulence, Fitzgerald wasn't afraid to betray someone's trust to get what he wanted.

Nick Carraway and Louisa May Alcott

If I were to pick a character that represented Louisa May Alcott in BSD from the book, I'd pick the narrator himself: Nick Carraway. Again, this is my personal interpretation, so the association between these two characters is just my personal opinion.

Nick Carraway was known as the more reserved, cynical protagonist compared to Jay. The both of them developed a cordial friendship as the story progressed.

Nick initially took a liking to Gatsby, who was his neighbour. The enigmatic aura Gatsby emitted called for Nick's attention, and in the same way, Gatsby reciprocated his interest in Nick by making the effort to acquaint himself with him.

He had one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced, or seemed to face, the whole external world for an instant and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself.

There were a few times which suggests that Nick didn't like the way Gatsby acted or spoke. Nevertheless, Nick was the only one who stuck with Gatsby until the end.

"They're a rotten crowd," I shouted across the lawn. "You're worth the whole damn bunch put together.

(This was the last thing Nick said to Jay before he died.)

At first, Nick was intrigued by Jay's mystical nature and peculiar idiosyncrasies, but found that Gatsby was a very strange, but 'morally bad' man. However, over time, Nick became one of the few who managed to recognise Gatsby's idealistic ambitions; he saw through all the fame and wealth and found a mere human being capable of being entrapped by love's snares. Basically, he understood Gatsby, despite disagreeing with his actions and even his behaviour at times.

As for Louisa, well, it is a known fact that she was loyal to Fitzgerald because of how much she respected and trusted him.

Both Nick and Louisa were intelligent, witty people with generally nice, honest, and reserved dispositions. Their self-contained demeanours make it very easy to get along with the more exurbent/dominant personas of Gatsby and Fitzgerald. So in the event where each pair was isolated from the rest of the world, they had each other to depend on.

Next morning I sent the butler to New York with a letter to Wolfsheim, which asked for information and urged him to come out on the next train. That request seemed superfluous when I wrote it. I was sure he’d start when he saw the newspapers, just as I was sure a there’d be a wire from Daisy before noon – but neither a wire nor Mr. Wolfsheim arrived; no one arrived except more police and photographers and newspaper men. When the butler brought back Wolfsheim’s answer I began to have a feeling of defiance, of scornful solidarity between Gatsby and me against them all.

Such a dynamic created a close bond of trust. Just as Nick was not hesitant to stick by Gatsby's side, Louisa went to great extents just to return Fitzgerald back to his former leading position and work together with him.

Side note: Nick Carraway is suggested to have the INTP personality type, while Louisa is most likely an INFP. Both these personalities are strikingly similar in many ways. They are individualistic in thinking and described as 'seekers' of their place in the world. If you're interested in a more detailed comparison, check this post out

Alright, that's about it for my speculations; I hope they weren't too messy. Thank you so much for reading!

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

- Nick Carraway, The Great Gatsby

[sharknadoslutt]

Not that I ever wanted to watch it because of the era it plays in, but what was so awful about Star Wars resistance?

Oh Okay this ask got me GOING so Welcome to my Tedtalk on my feelings on Star Wars Resistance; a story of Disappointment.

So Mr. Dave Filoni, the story telling Prince, left the show like halfway through production of the first season for other projects (For TCW season 7 and The Mandalorian). This left what was a promising show with characters Dave himself had created, in the hands of very inexperienced story board artist and writers. Personally, I think they panicked and half assed it so that Disney could make money on toys. Because.. idk. It just doesn't even come close to the emotional story arcs that TCW and Rebels gave us. and that's what Star Wars is supposed to be about. Changing for the better. Hope or some shit, am I right?

What was most disappointing in my opinion.. is that the protagonist, Kazudo Xiono, is UNBEARABLE. He is the EMBODIEMENT of privilege. This punk has had everything handed down to him from the moment he was born. He was born like 14 years after the Empire has been brought down and the New Republic reigns, so he has never known war. AND HIS DADDY IS THE SENATOR OF HOSNIAN PRIME FOR FUCKS SAKE! THE CAPITOL????? WHERE THE SENATE IS???? YOU KNOW HOW RICH THAT MUST MAKE HIs FaMiLY??? His dad literally gives him an allowance even though he is a grown ass man in the military when the show starts.

To put things into perspective for those not up to date on Sequel Era Lore and I envy you greatly tbh bcs not to be that person i do not like the sequels that's the equivalent of being the Senator of Coruscant in the Prequels!!!!

Not to mention he is a BUMBLING idiot. Like. This man has ADHD on steroids. As a person with ADHD it's.. lord, it's cringe. He is clumsy. He is loud. He says inappropriate things at the wrong time. He doesn't know how to do anything for himself. AND HE IS SUPPOSED TO BE A SPY FOR THE RESISTANCE UNDER COVER AS A MECHANIC???? HE KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT MECHANICS and really doesn't really learn anything about it by the time the show ends. And don't come at me saying this is a kids show so I cant complain about things being silly bcs I'm not the target audience. I can and I will bcs no one was NEARLY this obnoxious in TCW or Rebels. Kaz is Jarjar Level, but I ACTUALLY LIKE JARJAR!

DUDE IS A DAMN SPY HE DOESNT EVEN LIKE GO BY AN ALLIAS!!! HE DEADASS USES HIS REAL FULL NAME. BCS KAZ IS AN IDIOT.

I'm not saying he isn't a good person. Kaz is very sweet tbh. He's just an unknowing spoiled ass man-child who NEVER REALLY DEVELOPS INTO ANYTHING ELSE?????

It would be okay if he entered the show like this and exited a more mature, capable man. But he really doesn't. There are never any consequences for his actions. Ever. Other than when he becomes a spy and, again, IS USING HIS REAL LEGAL NAME as a spy for the Resistance... to avoid a scandal and to scold him for LITERALLY DESERTING THE NAVY his daddy cuts him off from his allowance. So instead of half assing his cover job as a mechanic, Kaz has to actually apply himself so he can make money for food. He doesn't improve much. His co-workers (Who are MUCH more interesting than him) constantly complain about him messing things up and making their jobs more difficult.

Man, FUCK KAZ. MY HOMIES HATE KAZ. BEING HOT CAN ONLY GET YOU SO FAR!!!!!

At the Season one finale there is a moment where you think he is finally going to grow as a man! Grow into the protagonist we deserve! Tragedy, for the first time in his life, strikes Kaz! It's during the events of episode 7, when The First Order blows up Hosnian Prime. His home planet. Where his FATHER LIVES. He has a moment of humanity and he is devastated. He almost cries. But he sucks it up to finish the mission and get his friends off base for their safety. He is a man now. and the audience feels a sense of comradery for Kaz. After all, Star Wars is about Fathers. Kaz has lost his father forever. His father was KILLED by the First Order. He now, first hand, has experienced real loss for the first time and this is going to help him grow and toughen up. he has to live on his own now. Our hero has a reason to be doing what he's doing. Fighting against the first order.

BUT NAH. FAM. then the very next fucking EPISODE YOU FIND OUT HIS DAD IS FUCKING ALIVE AND THAT HE DIDNT ACTUALLY EXPEIRENCE THE LOSS THAT HE HAD THOUGHT, AND HE GOES RIGHT BACK TO BEING HIS GOOFY ASS CHILDISH SELF. NO. I HATED THAT. THERE WAS NO REASON FOR GROWTH. MAN FUCK RESISTANCE.

FUCK. IF ANYONE DESERVED THEIR FATHER TO LIVE THROUGH A DAMN PLANETORY DESTRUCTION IT WAS MY GIRL LEIA, NOT FUCKING KAZUDO THE CLOWN XIONO. FUCK. guys I'm sorry I just really hate this god damn character.

Like. Lemme break it down, folks.

TCW started and Ahsoka enters. I HATED Ahsoka for a long time. Bcs she was young, cocky and annoying. But that was on purpose. Narratively, she experiences loss, she experiences pain and GROws as a character while navigating her Jedi life during the war. Our girl grows into the capable protagonist that we EXPECT out of a Star Wars story.

Same for Rebels. We meet Ezra, and he's not quite as annoying as Ahsoka was at first in my opinion (I cannot stress how much I did not care for Ahsoka yall) but he was young. He was childish. But he was more capable at 14 than fucking Kaz was at 20. By the end of Rebels, not only is he more wise and capable, but he is selfless. He has found his own path and it's only because of what he has gone through. His journey has made him stronger. Ezra is my favorite Star Wars journey, if I'm being honest. He is the perfect example of character development.

KAZUDO XIONO ENTERS SEASON ONE AS A 20 YEAR OLD MAN-CHILD USING DADDY'S MONEY WHO IS LOUD AND DOESNT KNOW WHEN THE STFU... AND EXITS THE FINALE... AS A LOUD MAN-CHILD WHO CAN NOW USE TOOLS. He doesn't' experience REAL FAMILIAL loss. He doesn't really experience a lot of character development at all. Things just happen around him, he helps, but he doesn't learn. He doesn't grow. I fucking hate that.

Literally every single character in the show BESIDEs Kaz is more interesting than him. and EXPEIRENCE CHARACTER GROWTH!!!

Jarek Yeager, Kaz's boss in the mechanic shop, was in the Rebellion and LOST HIS FAMILY. He is a sexy ass man too. HE starts the show not wanting to help the Resistance at all bcs he's experienced loss since his days in the Rebellion, and his heart is hard and he's comfortable. By the end of the show he is risking not just his career, but his VERY LIFE to help the Resistance.

Tam Ryvora, Kaz's co-worker. Daughter figure to Yeager and a total bad ass woman of color. She is the one on the show who experiences the most character development and struggles to find her identity while the First Order is taking over the galaxy. I LOVE her.

There are these 2 kids who are force sensitive and orphaned after Kylo Ren comits GENOCIDE on their planet. This arc set up is never fully addressed nor does it have a conclusion, like most story arcs on this show tbh.

There's a literal witch for some reason??

There's this fucking rad ass sexy Mirilian Pirate girl named Synara who FOR SOME REASON is suggested to be Kaz's love interest. Gross. Girl, you gay. Move in.

I could go on and on and on. But I wont. Fuck this show. Fuck Kaz. It literally adds NOTHING to the bigger Star Wars lore. TCW and Rebels do this beautifully and this show is a hot mess of ideas and characters that never come to a satisfying story telling conclusion.

Thanks for coming to my tedtalk, dont watch Resistance.

[team-frightfur]

I have a class tomorrow but I just can't stop thinking about episode 98. It's rotting my brain man.

Like, this entire arc just so surgically mutilates the themes built up by the first half of Go Rush, but the chance of an unhappy ending is so flatly low that I'm not worried, just impressed and even optimistic. I have no clue how they're going to reconstruct the messages of Go Rush but I pray, nay, BEG that they can land it cause holy shit. After an emotional beatdown that painful, the healing will be Deliciously Cathartic.

Like, like, think about it

Yudias confidently stated that Rush Duels were not a weapon, but, in these past episodes, they've caused so much death. First, his countrymen (I suspect that Tazaki duelling with Valvelgear expedited the deaths of the Valvelgear Velgearians). Second, Dinois and Myuda. Third, Zwijo. If Rush Duelling isn't a weapon like Yudi's sword, then how can everyone so efficiently throw themselves onto it?

Yudias states that Rush Duels are a tool of understanding but, clearly, understanding is not the be all and end all. Not even to Yudias. Yudias craved understanding because, to him, Zwijo had become unrecognisable and, as someone who considered them a lover friend, that experience was unbearably lonely. What's the point of understanding when there's no one left to understand? Understanding Zwijo and Kuaidul merely preceded their deaths!

No, but for real, I want y'all to imagine Yudias in the metaphorical flower field where he declared his love to Zwijo in the S1 finale. Alone.

Yudias doesn't discriminate based on race, while Zwijo was prepared to wage war on earth to ensure the survival of his people. He pretty clearly mistreats Mitsuko and favours Dinois and Myuda, for example. This is also shown in Zwijo's envying the other races for what they have (namely, mortality and freedom). Yudias 1. told him that it didn't matter that they were toys and 2. is friends with humans, aliens, etc, and treats them all with equal value.

It, uh, mattered how they were born.

This discrimination ties into another theme, sacrifice. Yudias struggled to tribute in early Go Rush because he hardcore projected his experiences onto the cards (foreshadowing). It was only after he reimagined tribute summoning as 'carrying the wishes' of his comrades that he could bring himself to do it. On the other hand, Zwijo intends to Kaiju the human race in order to save his people, which Yudias finds objectionable. Now, Yudias is being forced to contend with the logical consequence of that choice. He refused to live on the sacrifice of humans and, as a result, lost everyone. Even so, he cannot give up because, as the one who carries their wishes, he is the one they sacrificed themselves for.

How heavy is that fuckin survivor's guilt, Yudi? God damn. Someone fucking hug this man.

I-is that enough? Can I sleep now? Please Brain. PLEASE.

Obviously, all the Velgearians will come back to life in the end, the alternative is laughably family-unfriendly. But, IMHO, episode 98 was a genuinely well-done and tragic moment. It's got everything, the hero doomed by his own hubris, the broken promise leading to a reneged character arc, the death of a loved one, the darkest hour. It's almost beautiful.

Big dick ass move from Zwijo, but it was a consistent move. This guy has always longed for death (just look at his monsters!) because, to him, eternity was horrifying. Immortality was the ultimate proof of his artificiality, and his artificiality was the ultimate proof of being a 'toy', both in the sense of being a Karutamata, and in the sense of being played with by fate.

It''s implied, for example, that Velgearians have actually repeated their wars over and over and over, with their memories being erased every time they died. This was what Zwijo was so broken by. Remember that part where he tells Kuaidul to "Get out of my head!" I'm fairly sure he wasn't possessed (no green eyes or darkness mon), he was just referring to the psychological torment.

Yudias told him that 'it doesn't matter how we were born' and gave him hope, but, recently, it's been shown beyond a shadow of a doubt that it totally, definitely, definitively matters how you were born. Yudias failed to follow through on the hope he gave Zwijo, so it's natural for Zwijo to return to his old comforts -chasing 'realness/freedom' through death.

(Plus, it mirrors the Velgearian spirit that was embodied by Kuaidul: having fun and rush duelling until the very end).

Ironically, it's highly likely that Yudias is the only Velgearian who won't die. Note that, when he was attacked with the Anti-Karutamata beam, it didn't work. This implies that Zwijo's plan to make him real using earthdamar was a success. Back then, when he said 'it doesn't matter how we were born', he was (unknowingly) speaking from a place of naive privilege. Now, his punishment for that is to be entirely alone for what will feel like an eternity (imagine living a natural lifespan as the last human on earth). Under Zwijo's paradigm, he's the biggest cosmic chew toy of them all. Of course, Zwijo didn't mean it that way, but I think the point still stands.

Again, obviously, all the Velgearians will come back to life in the end, the alternative is way too horrifying to even consider. But this is a well-done, tragic, horrifying moment and I have no clue how Yudias can go on after this. If I were him, I think I may unironically have begun trying to rush duel myself to death.

[theravennest]

I hard binged Sell Your Haunted House and finished up today.

**Spoilers for the entire drama.**

I absolutely ADORED this drama! My god.

The characters were all so rich. Worldbuilding was on point. The storyline felt meaningful and well paced. The emotional arcs each character went through landed pitch perfect for me.

This drama has such incredibly fully realized female characters. Regardless of being good or bad, main or secondary characters...they had rich internal lives, complex emotional relationships with others, and consistent motivations paired with realistic character arcs. For this drama, the women definitely stand out the most for me. Ji Ah is my beloved tragic exorcist queen, Secretary Joo was so incredibly cool and flawed, the poignant story with the Restaurant Ahjumma, Ji Ah’s ghost momma and her deep love for her sister and daughter, In Beom’s grandmother who was a mix of misguided and affectionate, the one-off female characters from the ghost stories/cases...nearly every one of the female characters were super interesting to me.

The heartbreaking tragedy of Ji Ah’s character learning that she was the one who trapped her mother’s spirit with her grief and obsession over her death, then re-wrote her memories. Oof!

That’s not to say that I don’t love a lot of the male characters. I adore the bumbling duo of In Beom and his best friend being idiot conmen who stumble into the ghost world and get swept off into an otherworldly adventure. That fool of a gangster Tae Jin who struggled so much with finding the goodness within him and found a family and home by the end. I even liked the Team Leader and detective guys. (Lowkey did anybody else get an OT3 poly-triad vibe with them and Secretary Joo? lmao)

Oh, In Beom and his uncle! I loved the arc of In Beom coming to terms with the fact that his uncle was culpable in so many deaths that just cascaded out and harmed even Ji Ah. Like, yes the uncle did what he did to try and secure a safe home for his mom and nephew but his selfishness for his own family not only killed people, it doomed his nephew and Ji Ah to 20 years of torment and pain. While ultimately Do Hak Sung is primarily responsible for what happened, In Beom’s uncle did not have clean hands in it.

I really respected the drama for not shirking his part of the responsibility. I really rated that part of In Beom’s arc was coming to grips with how flawed both his family members were yet still finding it in himself to love them still. It was a nice foil for him coming to grips with his own flaws as a conman and finding ways to change for the better in a way that his grandmother and uncle never quite got the chance to before they were gone.

Speaking of consequences of the uncle’s actions...the Egg Ghost! That shit was so unsettling and creepy every single time it showed up on screen. The facelessness of the person possessed by it, and that rattling noise it made. No way, brother, get that shit away from me.

The scene where the Egg Ghost possesses In Beom and Ji Ah is put in the same position as her mother, sacrifice either someone she loves or herself or doom the world to untold amount of deaths at the hands of the Egg Ghost. *chef’s kiss* Loved it! Ji Ah and In Beom using their own individual skills to solve the conundrum of how to exorcise the Egg Ghost without killing the Medium was perfect. I loved their partnership so much.

I was really impressed with the deep intimacy and platonic love that was built between the two leads without any overt romance at all but only a few hints of a crush, mostly from In Beom to Ji Ah.

Like, I am obsessed with the idea of Ji Ah and In Beom either being completely platonic or perhaps hetero-romantic asexual life partners where In Beom stays a virgin so that he can be Ji Ah’s primary Medium forever.

Speaking of...the role and trope reversal were so well done. Instead of it coming off as a gimmick, it felt natural and realistic to how people irl don’t fit in the boxes so often seen in TV or movies. Sometimes when stories try to do role-reversal between female character tropes and male character tropes they can come off a bit clunky. Even worse, sometimes either they eventually revert back to traditional gender essentialist roles or they inadvertently reinforce harmful stereotypes. 

But Sell Your Haunted House avoided all of that by basing the “role reversals” firmly in character. Due to the circumstances of their lives, upbringings, families, and even their specific traumas, these two people grew to be who they are. Ji Ah became a more assured and intense woman with incredible fighting ability and chock full of heartbreaking tragedy. Meanwhile In Beom became a softer and more warm man with a charming damsel vibe who needs to be rescued often because of his own foolish nature.

If you are interested in a drama about an exploration of trauma and grief over a backdrop of ghost stories, horror, and mystery then I definitely recommend this one.

PS. Shoutout to this drama for not doing the supernatural story trope I hate with every fiber of my being where the people with magical abilities end the story with “becoming normal or human” and losing their powers permanently. This show has both the female lead and the male lead strutting off to a new haunting, fully powered up like the badass spirit banishing duo they should be!

[sepublic]

Toad to Redemption!

           (I’ll cover Maddie and Marcy in a separate post)

           Unpopular opinion incoming; But I actually enjoy Toadstool, that child of Rich Uncle Pennybags and Colonel Sanders! Specifically, his recent character development, as well as the progress and change he’d gone through in this episode… I dunno, I always felt that as a jerk, he was definitely aggravating as he was meant to be, so it was a welcome change of pace to see a Jerk character actually change for the better. I’m a sucker for that kind of a trope.

           Not to mention, I like how this episode is getting into Newtopian politics lowkey, especially through Jacinda! You can tell that while not explicitly said aloud, Newtopia is trying to do damage control with Grime’s recent Toad rebellion, and this of course involves doubling down on past areas out of control with their own appointed Toad cronies and minions; And how they don’t care for actual competence at this point, they just want someone who will actually listen to them and their riches in the face of Grime’s revolution. I think it’s a clever little commentary about how Newtopia is clearly prizing control above all else with its Frog-Toad-Newt caste system, and how Toadstool actually caring about the people of Wartwood is concerning; It’s about a certain class solidarity (because there’s more similarity between Toadstool and the Frogs than Toadstool and the people in Newtopia), because Hop Pop ALREADY had that Frog revolution going on…

           Combined with Grime’s Toad Revolution, and Toadstool being an advocate for these frogs, and it could hint at Frog-Toad solidarity in both movements, which of course Newtopia wants to avoid at all costs! This episode was some very nice and clever character arc-building, but also a means of worldbuilding and discussing the status quo, how it’s changed, and hinting more at the political climate and values of Newtopia in the face of this recent revolutionary spirit. Plus, Toadstool as a choice for Jacinda works, because he actively opposed Grime in the past, so it seems like he wouldn’t side with the dude in a revolution… But then it turns out the dude actually cares about people, and that idea went down the drain.

           Also, I like that Toadstool had actual consequences to an outright refusal; It makes his inability to say no a lot more understandable and more of a dilemma, because he’s already MADE his mind… And GOD, I know I keep saying it, but I love how Anne is becoming more of a mentor these past few episodes! How people are looking up to her, how she was a kid who didn’t know what to do, but now others feel safe to count on her because of HER own maturity, and it’s a reversal of Anne being a blind follower of Sasha… And the parallels between her and TOADSTOOL of all people, and how Anne getting to be a side character and help others in the town, allows the opportunity to flesh out Wartwood more! And again, as I’ve said before, I’m a sucker for when the main protagonist is viewed under the lens of a side-character for an episode, it’s just such a fun way of exploring them and others!

           That people actually feel like they can look up to Anne, that she’s having this seasoned, veteran attitude towards Toadstool’s dilemma, of “Yeah I’ve been there!”, it kind of reminds me of Hop Pop in a sense and I like it! She’s becoming a mentor of her own, that’s another thing to bond over with him… At least, amidst the revelations of you-know-what, but I digress! Also I love the acknowledgement that of course Marcy is going to be studying Frobo, it explains why she’s not present, but it also shows that yes, she IS taking advantage of this… And dang, the jokes about Outhouses and the color green just make themselves with Marcy, huh- She really IS the successor to Shrek…!

           And Bog and the others returning, I was really glad! At first I thought they were working for Grime, which would’ve further brought in the political situation of Toad tower, but apparently not- I’m glad to see them back, and I thought the resolution with Bog being placed in charge was a fun continuation of his character and debut, and how HE introduced us to Toad Tower in the first place… I have to wonder if Bog will become more of a major character, and if he’ll choose to side with Newtopia for riches, or if Grime will be able to sway him back to his side when the time comes! That’d be interesting to see… And again, Jacinda’s choices show what Newtopia is actually looking for, and Grime and Anne misunderstanding what Jacinda wants in a leader, is indicative of, like… This assumption of there being more good faith in the rule of Newtopia, than there ACTUALLY is!

           Also, based on Toadie being a kid in Anne’s Halloween story… I take it this means that Toadie IS a kid within the actual Amphibia universe as well? It’d definitely explain more that bit at the end when Toadstool is coddling and comforting him… Sir, that’s his Emotional Support Son! All in all, a good episode, and one I expected to enjoy, but it actually ended up being even BETTER!