#but idk how to tell you this. the storyteller wants you to be sad so that you understand the consequences of the actions of those at fault.

[uncomfortablepiratecollection]

My hot take is that season 4 of the umbrella academy was good actually

[arcane-temp-fandomblog]

The more I rethink Mel's arc which Amanda said was the best arc, the more I feel it encapsulates all the issues of Season 2.

Yes, I think Mel's arc is one of the most coherent with setup at end of Season 1 and end at Season 2. It's bittersweet but good.

But then I think how we got there and there are glaring problems:

- contrived way of being removed from the plot - the abduction by Black rose, Mel is now not a character influencing the plot, not even having opinion on the events of the plot - she will be in Black rose limbo until plot needs her to respawn in plot required place to get her 3 step resolution of the arc. This happens to Jayce, Ekko and Viktor too.

- over the top shocking cliffhanger that feels like something interesting is coming but in hindsight are just for cheap tension - so when Mel is abducted, it spawns speculation of what are Black Rose's intentions, I thought it was building towards something BUT it just segways into clips of exposition of her powers, of the Doomsday coming to piltover and of her mother's history. They abduct this poor woman for months on end to give us exposition. The same happens with Jayce shooting Viktor. We do not understand these actions, they just seem soo final and shocking and leading into something great. I would like to compare it to finale of S1 which is more shocking with Jinx's rocket yet we understand everything about it.

- making things emotional but in hindsight in a cheap way - so, remember when Black Rose kills Elora, Mel's friend? The emotions! The shock, right? BUT Why do they do it? Please, why would an organization that wants Mel to join them kill off her friend? What's the point of it aside for Mel to be sad? Elora actually got off well, she at least has a dialogue about her death unlike Isha or Vander or Jinx or Vander 2.0. If you compare these deaths to how logical deaths of Marcus or Finn were.

- inefficient storytelling - we get black rose scenes but they're just exposition that never flows into the main story. Never influences it. Contrary it makes the whole story worse, because now Black rose abducted Mel for months to tell her she needs to figure out how to avert the Doomsday. So months on end this organization just waited for her to solve the wall puzzle instead of trying to locate and assassinate the threat in Viktor, or influence Piltover politics to throw out Ambessa. This is cartoon logic.

- impossible to resolve conflicts - this is more on Ambessa' writing, because in ep. 8 she goes like this: Mel, it's not enough you'd join me to avenge Kino, we now have this weapon in you and this nice old chemist is lending me a hand making more weapons BUT it's impossible for me to change plans, because to stick it to Black Rose and mages in noxus as magic is unfair, I'm making this new army with the help of this nice mage I just found in the rubble. This army is also exclusively puppeteer by him. This is cartoon logic of a bad guy, not a human.

- keeping conflicts simple by keeping characters apart until 2 scenes before finale - this is hypothetical so please friends be nice, what if instead of Black rose abduction plotline the whole exposition part of it went like this: Black rose possesed Amara asks Mel to help her get introduction to her mother. Mel and Amara meet Ambessa, where Black rose reveals herself like in original scene and delivers the exposition about Mel's origins and Kino's fate. All the while changing faces between Amara, the Ionia princess and Kino to the horror of all involved. Then Mel's powers awaken like in the puzzle wall scene. Idk if that'd be better but it'd be more efficient and would keep Mel in Piltover. One scene instead of several, leaving Mel and Ambessa more time for an arc build up. Also Elora lives. Anyway, that's my stab at it while chilling and listening to 60 y/o lady showing off her spoon collection in an asmr. It's a very nice asmr.

- symbolism as character development - so when Black Rose gives Mel the Ionian processes necklace I felt really good, it felt as if Mel is finally carving her identity as Medarda from Medarda family history. But then it hit me, we don't know what she thinks of it, we don't know why she goes back to noxus on the ship, we know nothing of ot in her words. It's symbolism. Not as bad as Jayce having his whole character development this season conveyed in symbolism by role playing as Bear Grylls in Apocalypse survivor man, but it feels cheap anyway to not write character just use symbolism.

Anyway, those are my gripes and apparently this is the best arc of this show.

[reccyls]

Hello I'm on my knees for spoilers, your favorite moments, and thoughts on Victor's route🙏 Did it meet your expectations?👀

Hello! Sure, I'd be happy to give my thoughts! But please keep in mind that this is my personal opinion and first impressions, based solely on the Blind Love ending, and I may have some different thoughts after some time to think and finishing the Mad Love too.

Big spoiler alert!

To be very blunt, I was quite disappointed with Victor's route. Part of it may be that I had set my expectations rather high, but I do think that the pacing and storytelling of the route itself felt subpar. Some parts felt shoehorned and didn't flow together very well as a cohesive story. There were definitely parts that I liked, though! Just, as an entire package it doesn't work for me and I'm very sad about that.

For things that I liked:

I think early on in the route, there were some good moments between Victor and Kate. There is that initial line-drawing and hesitation between Kate and Victor that comes across in their pre-route event stories that I do like.

Kate is shown to have PTSD (or at least a similar trauma response) to the explosions that occurred at the church in the past, as shown in the LINE campaign episode 0. I think that's a pretty neat touch.

Nice angst in chapter 14 when the first kiss occurs. Kate has already come to her feelings realization in chapter 10 and was about to confess to Victor, but Victor cuts her off with a kiss. After that, he pulls back and asks her quite coldly, "Is that enough to satisfy you?" Then he reminds her that there's only a week left before her 1 month period as the Fairytale Keeper is up, and she will go back to her normal life then. It's a rather harsh moment of Victor drawing another line between them and I did like the angst and the drama of it, haha.

William!!! William is such a gem. He is merciless towards Victor's patheticness and it is so funny. There's one conversation ("conversation") at one point that goes something like this:

Victor, brooding because he is pining and miserable about the consequences of his own actions upsetting Kate: ............. William, sitting next to him, drinking wine and having the time of his life: So you messed up, huh.

As for what I felt was lacking...

Vogel has essentially no role whatsoever in the story. Ring, Nica, and Darius each get 1 scene where they maybe have like 10 boxes of dialogue max, and then they never show up again. It's chapter 10 for Ring and Nica, and chapter 13 for Darius. They didn't do anything before this. They don't do anything after.

The emotional conflict/relationship development between Victor and Kate felt really repetitive for a while. Kate gets closer to Victor > Kate discovers one of Victor's secrets > Kate gets uncertain as she sorts out her thoughts and Victor pulls away > Kate makes up her mind and confronts Victor and tells him that she wants to stick with him > Kate gets closer to Victor > Kate discovers one of Victor's secrets > Kate gets uncertain as she sorts out her thoughts and Victor pulls away... I think this happens like 2 or 3 times. It just felt so dragged out.

BEN BROWN. OH MY GOD BEN BROWN. So one of the antagonists/masterminds in the Blind Love route is Ben Brown, a secret cousin of Victor's that is never referred to anywhere else in the story and ONLY appears in chapter 24, where he is introduced, goes on his evil motivation rant, we get his tragic backstory infodumped on us, and then he dies. All in one chapter. Like, what is that pacing???

The part where William explains Victor's past to Kate feels like it was cut and paste from a different draft. Although everything is William telling Kate what happened, it's narrated in first person. So it goes like "I was born in the royal family" even though this is William speaking. William does say something like "this is how he told the story to me" but idk, that still felt weird and disjointed to me.

Victor comes off as quite unsympathetic in some parts of his backstory to me, specifically in the part where he discovers and confirms his curse. So the royal family was having a succession crisis, and Victor thought he wouldn't have anything to do with it because he was so far down the line. However, all his relatives began dying one after another. After some research, Victor discovers that he has manifested a curse, and all the deaths seem to have been because of him as all the family members who died did so after Victor had spoken with them. To confirm this, Victor arranges to meet with his uncle, whom he later describes as being like a brother figure to him, and confirms that he can use his curse to make his uncle commit suicide. The nursemaid who helped Victor research the curse seems to have gone insane because of it and started basically worshipping Victor's powers letting him become the king, so Victor used his abilities to kill her too so that no one would know that he killed his uncle. I totally get that Victor would have been very traumatized by realizing that he killed everyone in his family and not in his right mind (he had attempted to kill himself after first theorizing this too) but this was just. Not a good look.

I'm really sorry, I don't mean to be so negative. I was really happy with Azel's route in Ikepri so I think I set my expectations quite high for Victor, as I do like the relationship development he and Kate have in their events. But what we got (and what I experienced so far) was just disappointing to me. I really do hope his Mad Love route is better.

[ask-whitepearl-and-steven]

I admire your patience with those readers who need you to spoon feed them the story. Everything is in the comics but they still manage to go pass it. I can't help but feel a bit sad for them? Do they not understand what they read? Are they not attentive when reading it? I'm legitimately concerned because I function so differently I can't fathom this. If you like a story, isn't it normal to make your best to grasp it's essence and reflect on it? I know I project a lot about this, everyone works and registers things differentely of course but sometimes it's very frustrating to see people consume any media and just completely miss all the important messages in it, or even just fail to get the scenario sometimes, and it feels like it's very common now... Idk I just wanted maybe to have your perspective on this? Sorry for the long post (Been here for a few years now and your a true inspiration to me. All my luv to you! ❤️)

You know, I'm gonna be honest. I used to stress out about this... a LOT.

As a story-brained person, this is definitely something that comes naturally to me, and perhaps to you, and to many other people who are wired similarly. To us, following the path of a story in an analytic, highly detail-motivated manner and unwrapping the themes can be as exciting as lifting up a rock to see the bugs underneath. It's an exciting mental activity that's stimulating and feels effortless.

And yes, as an author who spends literally 60% of my day thinking about this comic and how to draw it, panel it, script it, make it better (I script and panel in my head constantly)........ I have trouble realizing/dealing with the fact that some people are just here to CASUALLY enjoy the story that I am lowkey obsessed with.

But I've come to realize that... that's NORMAL! And healthy.

People have different attention spans for different things.

People have varied ways to read a story and engage with it.

People have unique interests.

People don't have the same amounts of energy to devote to reading!

Maybe someone missed a detail I lovingly and painstakingly put into the dialogue because they're reading the update late at night after a long shift at work. And maybe someone scrolled past the dialogue completely and just got the gist from looking at the art, because they're in a hurry to get to practice at their favorite sportsball.

And maybe someone just had a really bad day with a really bad encounter, and they're reading the update in a terrible mood and instead of seeing MY grey-morality narrative, they're focusing on all the negative points and misread the vibes because of their own biases that stem from places of hurt.

The thing is, I have to be okay with that as an author, because I will NEVER be able to get into my audience's heads and read this comic 'correctly' for my own sake.

They will always have a slightly different interpretation of things, and they will always misunderstand details and miss clues. And sometimes, they will be wrong about the way they read a character's motivations... and sometimes maybe they won't be! That's just a part of communication. That's a part of telling a story.

An imperfect delivery, and an imperfect reception should, in my opinion, be a natural and accepted part of storytelling. We're human, and we all have a different lived experience, and we will ALL have different takes on a comic, even if it's so close that we THINK we are both getting the exact same thing. That small human interpretation variation is a home-made touch that makes it feel more organic.

In short.... Not all light particles make it here from the sun, but damn the result is stunning anyway.

[arshooo]

ronin music ramblings

I grew up a metalhead. This is basically just me yapping about other metal/hard rock bands/songs I'd like to show him or I think he'd def have saved.

Starting off with the obvious. Ice Nine Kills. Legit a horror movie band and I feel like without a single DOUBT he would listen to them. Ideal date would be taking him to one of their concerts (i've seen them twice and they put on a SHOWWWW)

Welcome to Horrorwood. The song makes me think of the server. I was driving home the other day and making connections and omg. Literally the opening lines chat. "Ink fills the page/A classic killer completes the cast" HELLO??? INK??? AS IN WRITING???????? A CLASSIC KILLER??? MC IS TRYING TO PRETEND TO FIT IN LIKE ONE?????? HELLO????? ON MY KNEES????? WAS IT MEANT TO BE??????

Hip to be Scared. Please. This one just tingles my Ronin Senses™️ right. I feel like he'd appreciate just the mental imagery of this one.

Wurst Vacation. Adding this one bc its a personal favorite of mine and i just really wanna show him. Theres murder happening in the background, again, the storytelling, like.. ronin pls im begging you to be real so i can pass him an airpod for this one.

The Fastest Way To A Girl's Heart Is Through Her Rib Cage. Just trust me on this one. He'd listen to it. Trust fr fr

BAD OMENSSSS RAHHHHHH. BLASPHEMY!! LOVE!! HEART THROBBING MIND BOGGLING ANALYTICAL LYRICS

DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND. such a good song first of all. listen to it. I feel like hed really resonate with this part. "When the curtains call the time/Will we both go home alive?/It wasn't hard to realize/Love's the death of peace of mind" just gives me gluttony gods vibes yknow? RIP kc alt universe Ther, you will be missed 😔🫶

Dethrone. Majorly blasphemous. Again, idk if this is one i want to show him or one I think he'd listen to. Mostly I listen to this one so I can scream it and I just want him to be present for that.

Literally any bad omens song. Glass houses. Yes. Who are you? Yes. All of them.

Okay so Motionless in White is up next bc the vibes. I’m thinking more-so the entirety of the albums Graveyard Shift and Disguise would be up his alley but yknow Scoring The End of the World could work too with some of em. Trying to keep these as brief as I can bc it’s 4 am and I’m so so tired.

Brand New Numb for me was a major life changing song as a 12 year old so I’m just gonna put that here too bc pls pls pls ronin let’s play on your gameboy with my Bose speaker blasting this in the background. It would so funnnn ahdhdhdhshajsjdhskakalakak

Thoughts and Prayers. COUGH COUGH angelwood COUGH COUGH COUGH.

Legacy. I mean hello it literally starts out perfect for him. He’s literally making a legacy for himself. Like chat. I could literally honestly name any line from most of these and be like yeah ronin coded if you squint but fuckkkk…

Undead Ahead vers. I based my kc oc on so I mean I’d also wanna show him those. Hey. You should listen to Motionless in White. Yeah.

Necessary Evil literally has Jonathan Davis from Korn in it. He already likes Korn so I meaaann..

Holding onto Smoke, just the vibes.

Eternally Yours. HES A ROMANTIC CHAT. Listen to this one pleaseeee and look me in the eyes and tell me he wouldn’t listen to this one. It’s just so like full of his rot idk. "I'm ready to bury all of my bones/I'm ready to lie but say I won't/So tell me your secrets/And join me in pieces/To rot in this garden made of stones" and the line "im more than willing to rot in hell with you".

Slaughterhouse <3

This may be basic but Sleep Token. It reminds me of another genre of The Neighborhood and he canonically likes The Neighborhood soooo...

Take Me Back to Eden. Again, this one reminds me of him and Ther. Feel like a lot of the lyrics just match. “I’m a winged insect you’re a funeral pyre.” sad thoughts :(

So idk how sketch tumblr is with names or anything so imma just censor kinda but V/re. Like, sure the names a little crazy but when you dissect the song itself, yeahhhh. I'm analyzing this one. Its abt the singer and his lover diving head first (getting "swallowed whole") into love even though they both know how potentially dangerous and damaging it could be. I feel like Sleep Token's music to me just feels like Ronin and the MC's relationship.

Rain. Nuff said.

Bring Me The Horizon. I will not take criticism on this one bc they’re def my favorite band ever. Every song. Every song ever. They’re gonna be a whole separate post tho bc I could go into way too much detail abt the correlations between ronin and bmth. I hyperfixate over both of them so they are NOT escaping me.

He canonically likes Slipknot so imma just leave it brief and say Killpop lmfao. Love his music taste way too much. I’ve seen them in concert 3 times and I would so love to drag him to one. Preferably I’d actually like to take him to Daytona’s Welcome to Rockville or Sick New World bc those are so fun fhfhfhfhfhfhff

He canonically likes Korn (or at least I'd assume if you had a bright red neon sign of an artist in your room I'd assume you'd like them?) but alas, I don't listen to a whole lot of Korn so I don't have too many ideas on this one. I only like a few of their like mainstream songs ig so if anyone has any recs for my Ronin playlist lemme know please lmao

Here's a few more songs. Just the odd ones out where I didn't feel the need to rant abt them and all the how's and why's of why Ronin should listen to them.

Nothing More

Christ Copyright

ANGEL SONG

A Day to Remember

Right back at it again

I Prevail

Body Bag - okay one rant. The name says it all but so do the lyrics. HHHHNGGFG RONIN PLEASE LET ME SERENADE YOU WITH THIS OME WHILE IM DRIVE 80 DOWN MY NEARBY INTERSTATE PLEASE IM BEGGING Y OUOURUEUEUEUEUEEU I LITERALLY NEED TO SCREAM IT FOR HIM ITS THE ONLY PITCH I CAN MATCH WITHOUT MY VOICE CRACKING

THANK YOU FOR READING (and perchance listening 🤭) and this is defiantly part 1 of ? bc I have so many songs I associate w ronin in the rock genre so yeah.

Here’s a full playlist of all the songs mentioned 🎀

[freakinator]

funny thing about how i view the conflict in todays stream is that i view flame and wemmbu in very separate ways despite them doing essentially the same thing

in flames case:

i view his betrayal as ultimately a tragedy, their history all thrown aside due to a combination of wounded pride and genuine upset

if yall didnt see his chat for this stream it was actually really, really bad, like his chat is genuinely so fucking annoying oh my god and is a really good demonstration of why i think streamers should be mean to their chatters sometimes to so i actually wasnt at all surprised that he was so upset but i thought hed log off instead of acting out like this

he wanted respect but literally ruined the months long work of one of the few ppl that were willing to trust him over something that couldve been resolved if he just waited until september, but at the same time i can kinda understand why he was being so impulsive considering again his chat is Really bad, but at the end of the day that really shouldnt have been something you took out on one of your few allies like???? bruh even mocked zams storytelling as if he didnt do thee same shit as well 😭

honestly one of the reasons i was sad about his betrayal is cause it kinda sounded to me like he was genuinely about to cry at first??? maybe im just making shit up tho and he def stopped sounding like he was gonna cry after blowing up the spacewaffles tower lol

in wemmbus case:

i feel no pity for this man, he wanted conflict wherever he can get it and he got it! i think hes a lot like zam in that he just wants some attention and most importantly something to do but whatever happens to him next is his own fault lmao, i respect his honesty tho like hey he sucks but he knows what hes about at least lol

the fact that he still kept trying to get a commission from zam (or at least guilttripping him about it for lack of a better word) like bro i know you wanted to do a capitalism morality dilemma arc with zam but read the room my guy 😭

maybe hes at least a little mad that zam kept turning him away despite the fact he accepted a commission from mapicc of all ppl but like. bro. theres a reason zam called him a nightmare customer lmao

that being said you can tell hes not used to going this overboard considering he offered to help repair the tree when zam got upset lmao

idk i just thought his evilness was kinda funny, still hope he gets his shit kicked in spectacularly tho!

its funny, despite being acting like the shitty no reading comprehension version of abyss he gives me the exact same feeling of schadenfreude i did for minute back in s5 and i believe part of it is his mockery of lore and weird complicated dismissal of moral conflict particularly regarding zam

by weird complicated dismissal of moral conflict i mean both he and minute both tried to convince zam to see ''their side'' and ''reason'' but coming at it from an angle that completely misunderstands zam and when zam points it out they dismiss it and act like it means nothing because of their ''objective'' view of reality, spoiler alert! its not objective at all and they refuse to understand things from zams perspective cause they think hes just being unreasonable or something

idk overall i think their motivations for doing things are just kinda... shit lol

like ik theres some pretty obvious parallels that can be made with s5 here but the difference between the og players and flamebu aside from the lack of style and drama is that the og players waited several months before they started acting out the way they did and when they did start acting out tgey always made sure evryone who wanted to get involved Actually got involved rather than doing it while everyone was away plus their opps werent their own allies (except maybe pangi depending on how you look at it)

[waywardmillennial]

I'm really curious to see the reaction of the 'we want lower production content just like this' to puppet history season 7 which is the most high quality thing watcher produces and that show would really suffer if they put less into it. anyway not to start dishose again but thank you for pointing that out, reading the yt comments of 'we want production just like this' when Ryan is like 'yeah hauing all that equipment was insanely tiring and it made me stressed out and more scared' is like. oh so you really just want an imagined version of what you saw. anyway sorry to rant in your inbox i just am glad to see someone else point it out lol. (no need to answer if you don't want to btw)

NONNIE! <3 thank you for reading my tags and leaving this message!

honestly I'd already considered making a post about this a couple times because when I read through the comments for GFA on yt nothing makes me wish more that the platform had a 'block user' feature -_- I wish some people a very poor internet connection

it feels like so many people don't UNDERSTAND what Ryan was trying to do with GFA. he wasn't trying to return to his bfu roots (though he said making it more vlog style was something he had in mind, but he was also constrained by what he could film alone)

GFA was a personal challenge to himself after he's been trying to get a handle on his mental health for the past few years. Ryan wanted to go completely on his own to see if removing the crew would change anything and if he was mentally capable of doing all of it on his own, and that meant running camera and sound and everything else alone too

I won't spoil the debrief in case you didn't see it nonnie, but Ryan was really insistent that he do this show 100% on his own. I can't imagine knowing the physical and mental toll this took on him and then telling him "make all your shows like this"

and yeah, it makes me wonder on the general public's media comprehension because I know overall PH is their most popular series, and one of their most expensive and high quality too. maybe there's not much overlap of the two audiences?? idk I think it's also possible that people see PH as just Shane making some sock puppets and waving his hands around a cardboard theater - but it hasn't ever been that and the closest we had was s1 if anything (I'll stop myself going off on a PH crew tangent here, but there is SO MUCH that goes into making this show as good as it is)

I keep thinking back to the December Pod Watcher episode where they talked about how they're not going to focus on making "tv-caliber content" going forward (timestamp included but I'm paraphrasing Steven here, so watch that ep if you haven't) and that makes me sad because I've always liked and appreciated Watcher for making high quality content - for having well thought out series with nice sets, great camera work, phenomenal editing, and always making sure to give credit to the people who worked on their shows

Ryan worked as a grip for a while in Hollywood and probably had dreams of going further in the film industry but wound up going a different route working on bfu. I have to assume that starting Watcher must have felt like the opportunity to make a whole production company, to be able to emulate styles and storytelling of some of his favorite filmmakers. as someone who enjoys supporting independent creative endeavors like this (and had similar aspirations of my own) I guess I can see what Watcher wanted to be from the outset, and I wouldn't feel comfortable commenting publicly on any of their work what I think they "should" be making or trying to control their artistic vision

[moyloi]

I want MORE scenes with gale (Act 1 spoilers)

OK OK OK SO I am currently going through a playthrough romancing Gale and I have a few thoughts! Only gone through Act 1 so far and I'm on my way to the Creche, so things might change, but hear me out. (Act 1 spoilers (????))

With his romance I kind of wanted... more during act 1??? I know, I know.. Mystra and all that and maybe I've missed something but listen:

There's only two romantic scenes with him; - One with the weave - One during tiefling celebrations

and then there's nothing until act 2 apparently.

BUT what if he got TWO more flirtacious scenes as well?

NUMBERO UNO:

After him showing us the weave, there should be a scene where he is sitting infront of his tent, reading a book (like he's doing while idle, but this might be different book or not idk) and he is so inveloped in the book that he doesn't hear Tav approaching. Lines that Tav could be saying:

"What are you reading?"

2. "(Cough to make your presence known)"

3. Leave him to his book (end scene)

Or something similar.

He is a bit startled but goes on about telling you what kind of book he's reading and insinuates that you might not find it interesting. The two first lines are bringing the conversations forward, to his surprise:

" Sounds interesting, tell me more! / do go on!" (approval)

" Go on..." (approval)

"Those sort of books doesn't interest me" (disapproval, end conversation)

And your Tav sits down next to him while he rambles on and shows you the book if you picked either the first two lines.

Your Tav can ask questions for him to answer but there should be an option that says:

"Stay silent, let him continue"

He will eventually realise he is rambling and says:

"Ah, I do apologise. I must've rambled on about my interests about this book and I'm sorry if I bored you".

Tav could answer something like:

"No please, do continue. I find you ramblings quite amusing/cute." (Flirt)

"Don't worry. You're a good storyteller. Please, do go on." (Flirt)

"hmm? Oh, I must've dozed off" (disapproval, end scene)

AND IF YOU CHOOSE FLIRT-LINES, HE THEN GOES ON ABOUT THAT BOOK AND HIS INTERESTS AND THE NARRATOR COULD SAY SOMETHING LIKE: "And with you telling him to go on, Gale continues to talk about (whatever the book might be). You become more and more enveloped in his storytelling that none of you realise that night has turned to dawn, and a new day awaits."

Both of you could get a debuff, something like: Sleep deprived. -1 to saving throws (Until long rest) OR -1 to intellect and wisdom saving throws (Until long rest) HOW CUTE WOULDN'T THAT BE LIKE OMG

OKOKOK NUMBER TWO:

This happens after the celebrations with the tieflings. This can be a hidden scene that won't proc unless you actively talk to him before and after a long rest (Like with astarion and getting the sex scene before the party.. well he didn't have an exclamationmark above his head).

BUT

this scene is more guided towards the romatic, non-sexual part.

Here, it depends on if you are playing a Durge or an original Tav. Just a few or one line might be added or changed.

Gale will say something like:

"you know, I feel like I haven't gotten to know you properly."

And Tav can answer with:

"Oh? what would you like to know?"

"Well.. I don't remember much.." (This will be a coninuation and he will ask: well what do you remember? (Durge only))

"And there's a reason why." (Rejection, disapproval. End of conversation)

Gale could then be giving examples of Waterdeep, more about his life before the orb etc etc.)

Now

Your Tav can tell him about:

"A happy memory" (approval)

"A loving memory" (approval)

"A sad/somber memory" (approval, because your Tav trusts him enough to talk about sad shit (????))

"No... I don't need to tell you anything!" (disapproval, end of conversation)

He will repsond accordingly and THEN it will cut to your Tav and Gales faces being mere INCHES from each other.

If you have recruited Scratch, he will interrupt when they were about to kiss. While Scratch is barking after dropping a ball, wanting to play (or talking - Speak with animals activated) and is distractiv Tav, Gale can look at them lovingly, smiling. maybe laughing??

IF you haven't recruited Scratch before this scene, Gale will stop himself. Being hesitant but reassures that wants to kiss tav but he needs to sort himself out first (with the orb and stuff). and maybe Tav can kiss him on the forehead or something.

SO NO SMOOCHES BUT AT LEAST SOME RRRRRRRRROMANCE

Thanks for coming to my tedTalk.

[poppitron360]

sorry if this seems annoying but have you listened to Tales of the Lesbian Hunter yet? Ik you said you saved it on your Spotify so I was just curious, idk I feel scared to send this ask for some reason >w<

I genuinely just finished it 30 secs ago and it is my new favourite thing. I love songs that blend traditional styles of music with modern pop. I loved the sense of humour with the lyrics and the way the songs build to a climactic point and how that’s reflected in the musical techniques.

I don’t know anything about the artist, but I can tell this is heavily based on Irish folk music. English folk music is slightly different, but there is a lot of overlap- that’s a genre that was big in my life growing up. I have strong childhood memories of going to various folk festivals and listening to folk bands like Steel-eye span and the Pentangle. One thing that defines the Folk genre is that it’s all about storytelling. Before people knew how to read or write they were telling stories through songs and poems, and what I LOVED about this concept album is that it took that tradition of oral storytelling through song and told a very modernised story about queerness and bigotry that’s very relevant now.

I think my favourite bit was the Lesbian Hunter beating up the Sad, Sad, Alpha man.

I also REALLY want to draw all of the characters.

Anyway, that was my music infodump just based on my first listen, but I am desperate to know about details I’ve missed and the intricacies of the plot. PLEASE can you infodump to me about it.

[writers-in-moominvalley]

Do you think it would be better (from a story telling perspective), if in Moominpappa's Memoirs, for Moominpapa to be the one who stumbled upon an astrology newspaper/book and find out that he was born under "special stars", or if the Hemulen actually was into astrology.

When I first read The Exploits of Moominpappa, I was actually a bit weary if the Hemulen was the one who was into astrology.

It just didn't seem in character for her. I know we picture astrology differently than people did when this book was written, so I know now it astrology is seen as rather feminine and "fake", and I don't know if it had the same connotations as it did back then as it did now.

It didn't make sense that a strict Hemulen would care or put stock into something like astrology. But, then again, it was seen in a different light, then maybe she could have viewed it as the stars (something Big and Important and has Authority) giving advice, in a way, about how a child will behave.

And from a storytelling perspective, I think it could be really interesting for the Hemulen to tell Moominpapa that he is "special", as it would have been the only time in the Home where he was told that, and it's possible that Papa could have felt inspired to hear the Hemulen call him "special" again, which is why he thinks of her so often throughout the book.

But I think it also could be interesting for Moominpapa to find the astrology book himself and find out on his own that he was born under "special stars". It showcases how Moominpapa yearns to be special, and could even place the idea that he is special in his head in the first place.

It also feels more isolating, Moominpapa finding out this information on his own and being the only one to believe it, instead of being told by someone else, further sells the idea that Moominpapa was very isolated in the home.

Idk, it was just something I thought about. I really like how unreliable of a narrative Moominpapa can be in his memoirs. While reading them I found myself pausing a lot and wondering if that's how something really went down, or if Moominpapa changed it.

See, the thing with Moominpappa's Memoirs is that it really is an unreliable narrative, but I want to think that every horrible emotion Moominpappa wrote that he felt was real to him atleast.

Maybe the Hemulen really was as abusive and neglectful as he made her sound! It would explain much his behavior, as people with self-aggrandizing disorders like NPD tend to develop them as a coping mechanism for low self-esteem stemming from such abuse. Or she might not have been as bad as he said! Maybe it was a lie to make himself seem more pitiful and endearing to his readers, truly an artist who suffered and bested his circumstances. Moominpappa has admitted himself to be unreliable from the preface, so we're the only ones who gets to choose what truth to believe - and I choose to believe Moominpappa when he says he was verbally abused and isolated and self-pitying, because it makes the most sense for his behavior and he may even take pride in having such a sad backstory, characterization in adaptations be damned.

And with that, I think it would be strange for Moominpappa to lie about his principal having an interest in astrology when he discovered such a thing himself, because what is the goal of displacing the credit in this case? If he discovered astrology by himself it would've further painted him as the gifted child genius he claims to be!

Astrology was sort of a niche thing that slowly gained popularity in Tove's time, and it's always been a pretentious thing atleast in the modern era. Moominpappa is as much of a reflection of Tove as he is of her father, Viktor, and that's why Moominpappa shares the same birthday as her. As a creative person I can imagine Tove giggling to himself writing a character being pompous of his (and her own) star sign because it's silly and almost cute, just like alot of the other things her characters believe and do. But also Tove has a great knack for (ironically) humanizing her characters through small details.

The Hemulen being interested in astrology is a small silly thing that may not be entirely relevant to the story and could've easily been a discovery handed to Moominpappa, but so is Hodgkins using a net his nephew made for his birthday even though there's no fish in the river because he doesn't want his nephew to feel like he made him something useless, so is Joxter and Muddler sharing sweets during the Autocrat's party. Moominpappa is a great storyteller and Tove is an even better writer in this regard - it adds a realism to the warped reality Moominpappa presents to us, an impression of a reality that's beyond Moominpappa and he only has a glimpse of.

We don't know about anyone else's backstory besides a few vague lines because Moominpappa is never interested in them, only his own, this story is about him and he's said himself that he's become incurious about anything (or anyone) but himself. The Hemulen's interest in astrology humanizes her in ways we don't fully register, she isn't an abusive character with no inner world who only serves Moominpappa's character, but all he can do is provide an impression of her through faded memories, and it's honestly more realistic that she'd be capable of saying something that could be seen as a great compliment to Moominpappa.

In fact, it could be that him being called special once in an early childhood memory is the thing that made him latch onto the label, because it's the only explanation he likes for why he seems so isolated from his peers. He's not Weird, he's Special! The Hemulen told him so! And she must be right about that and nothing else.

And it breaks my heart everytime to think about it.

[numberonemoefan]

I was talking to my dad yesterday about fallout new Vegas for around an hour straight, and mentioned I was planning on playing fallout four sometime, cause my copy of fallout sometimes gets a glitch for an hour that just resolves itself later, and he, while playing fallout four, basically BEGGED me not to play fallout four LMAO

it's so funny to me cause he bought me fo3, fnv, and fo4 and I started on nv and I'm apparently making him want to start nv again every time I ramble about it because he, quote, "would not be playing it [fo4] if there weren't mods"

probably still gonna try it eventually, but I doubt I'll love it as much as I love new Vegas (partly just cause I reallllyy love new vegas. also hi to my sister who followed me for some reason. why did you do that? now you just get sick of me talking about fnv in real life and online/lh)

but new vegas's level of detail is insane to me. all the little character interactions. like, a large majority of the groups/types of NPCs who aren't currently hostile have custom dialogue for when you aim your sights on them. I wouldve never thought that there'd be stuff for that. for scientific reasons, y'all should put a gun to y'all's companion's heads LMAOO. but there's seriously so much fucking detail. like, you can just absolutely fucking fail a stat check and still try to say it and you'll just say it like a fuckin loser. there's so much to explore, like the other day I found the mountainy area with the super mutants on accident. I saw there was an area on the map without any places id discovered, and I was like "y'know what? lemme go check that out." and when I saw TREES for the first time, I was absolutely thrilled. the storytelling in the locations is awesome (and occasionally very heartbreaking) too. gonna put this under a read more line cause it's spoilery for some lore, some of it is sad, and also this post is already long

for example, this is like a stupid one, but apparently the entire H & H tool company was FUCKING. if you read through the terminals, you not only get perhaps one of my favorite lines ever, which is

but you also see multiple people making emails that say something along the lines of "I told X I needed to do something. bring the moon rocks and dino head grabber ;)" (not an actual quote, but the objects are just as ridiculous)

AND THERES LIKE THREE OF EM AND THEY'RE ALL CHEATING ON THEIR WIVES/HUSBANDS WITH AN OFFICE AFFAIR PARTNER WHILE ALSO CHEATING ON THEIR OFFICE AFFAIR PARTNER.

this is probably the saddest/most disturbing one, but there's a vault that was overrun by spores that infected the residents, vault 22. I was finally getting somewhere, and I found a room with a key card in it. yay!

it was a bedroom. there was a baby carriage in the room. there were two spore carriers (essentially plant zombies) which I killed, then kept looking through the stuff in the room. there was a type of spore person I hadn't seen before that jumped out of me. it was called a runt. IT WAS THE FUCKING KID. after I killed it I just spent 7 minutes or so just staring at my screen cause. what the hell.

the empty houses are so haunting to me too. like all the different junk items strewn around tell a story if that makes sense. like, toy boxes, or houses with absolute loads of empty alcohol bottles in them. it's weirdly haunting.

nipton is also such a haunting location, obviously with the crucifixions and all. going into the houses and figuring out the legion bombed the fuckin bodies was so horrifying and interesting. according to my dad, they do stuff like that in real life in wars sometimes.

there's just SO MUCH STUFF idk how to put it all into words

play fallout new vegas guys

[idontwanttospoiltheparty]

In case you want/need something to while away the time, I will also diversify from Just Paul!

Driving Rain, Press to Play, Ringo Rama, Vertical Man, TTPD, folkmore, Double Fantasy, Brainwashed

GAWD. here we go.

Driving Rain:

fave lyric: "I hear your music and it's driving me wild / Familiar rhythms in a different stye"

fave song: I Do

song that makes me cry: Heather when he says "HEATHERRRRRRRRR" but not THAT kind of crying.

song that's a fucking bop: Heather :)

song I least love: Magic D: Idk man, the lyrics are touching but it doesn't like. Sound good.

Press To Play:

fave lyric: sOMETHING SPECIAL BETWEE "It's a funny thing / Half serious"

fave song: Only Love Remains / Press double bill I Know That's Right

song that makes me cry: I.... guess However Absurd if I think about it too much.

song that's a fucking bop: Move OVER Busker

song I least love: Angry. but man the beginning is so fucking funny.

Vertical Man:

fave lyric: "And when the sun comes shining through for you / You'll discover even rainbows have the blues" <- legitimately clever lyric

fave song: VERTICAL MAN

song that makes me cry: ?? are any of these songs sad? whatever I'll say Without Understanding

song that's a fucking bop: he literally ate that Love Me Do cover......

song I least love: I haven't listened in a while so I can't recall all the songs. checking my live blogging tag indicates I Was Walking

Ringo Rama:

fave lyric:

again. legitimately clever songwriting

fave song: I THINK. THEREFORE. I ROCK N ROLL.

song that makes me cry: Never Without You :(

song that's a fucking bop: Elizabeth Reigns fucks......

song I least love: Instant Amnesia

The Tortured Poets Department [Anthology in brackets]:

fave lyric: uncountably many options. but I'll go with "The crown is stained but you're the real queen" today [ditto re: options but "I'm afflicted by the not knowing" and "I'm addicted to the if only" are up there]

fave song: Fresh. Out. The. Slammer. [The Black Dog/How Did It End?]

song that makes me cry: My Boy Only Breaks His Favourite Toys (he was my BEST FRIEND. if you even care) [ROBIN. ROBIN..ROBIN!!!!!!]

song that's a fucking bop: Down Bad, my one and only [The Bolter!!!!!]

song I least love: probably The Alchemy, maybe the title track but the latter feels a little more essential [thanK you aIMee. I like it but it feels the most... out of leftfield I guess]

folklore:

fave lyric: "Cause when we'd fight you used to tell me I was brave"; "Back when we were still changing for the better / Hoping was enough / For me it was enough"; "And you poke that bear till her claws come out and you find something to wrap your noose around"; "And I've been meaning to tell you I think your house is haunted / Your dad is always mad and that must be why"; "Roaring twenties tossing pennies in the pool"; "I think I've seen this film before and I didn't like the ending"; "You drew STARS around my SCARS but now I'm BLEEEEEEEDING".... many many more... ever thought about the simple storytelling of "Something med school did not cover / Someone's daughter, someone's mother"?????? are we all hearing this?????? anyways. album of all time.

fave song: MIRRORBALL BELOVED.

song that makes me cry: epiphany :(

song that's a fucking bop: folklore is not very boppy. betty probably

song I least love: the last great american dynasty lol (I DON'T dislike it !!!!!!!!)

evermore:

fave lyric: I could start a whole thing again but I'm almost at lacrosse so let's leave it at: "And the skeletons in both our closets plotted hard to fuck this up."

fave song: happiness and cowboy like me

song that makes me cry: evermore :(

song that's a fucking bop: ivy (I'm counting it. so YEAH. it's a FIRE.)

song I least love: long story short I think

Double Fantasy:

fave lyric: "Here in the valley of indecision I don't know what to do I feel you slipping away"

fave song: I'm Losing You and (Just Like) Starting Over. THEEEE songs...

song that makes me cry: Do We Need To Go There?

song that's a fucking bop: I need to acknowledge my girl Yoko, Give Me Something is INSANE

song I least love: Beautiful Boys (note the plural pls)

Brainwashed:

fave lyric: like. all of Rising Sun

fave song: Rising Sun

song that makes me cry: Rocking Chair in Hawaii doesn't make me suuuper emotional but it's certainly heavy

song that's a fucking bop: Between The Devil amd the Deep Blue Sea

song I least love: Pisces Fish... maybe? I can't recall how all of them sound rn

send me an album!

[thenerdofthegroup]

I fear some of you don’t actually like Agatha and only want lesbians and Rio...

And if you do fine but don’t complain when a show about witches isn’t focusing fully on the romance. Every character needs to be explained and this episode was EXACTLY like WV episode 4. And received the same backlash. It needed to happen and the final dialogue between Agatha and Billy tells us such BEAUTIFUL things about Agatha. How a young child who survived and used their gift should never feel ashamed. She is telling him what she wished to hear and the tears in her eyes of remembering Billy and Wanda in the hex. Just beautiful storytelling and Kathryn’s acting

But ultimately, if there is nothing more than we have been given. I will be livid. Because that IS queerbaiting. To not give us a kiss or showing their backstory etc IS queerbaiting and it would be disgusting. BUT their relationship is the heartfelt whisper behind everything. Every small action, every look, every comment and smile and interaction is beautiful and heartfelt. BUT it is the storyline that will become prominent in the final trio of episodes. It will be and we will get a kiss.

I am personally furious the first kiss of the series about women is between two men. BUT their relationship was not integral to the story. Agatha and Rio’s are. Is that not more important? There will be more. Their relationship is for the latter three because the latter three is pure Agatha. Well Lilia next episode but Agatha is much more there

Anyway welcome back to quick thoughts about Episode 6

The Eastview and Westview flags in Billy’s room were in Agatha’s trial. WHY IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE. Jac I am calling you a liar and I don't care (I'm kidding Jac you are doing a great job thank you for every Agatha thing)

Lilia putting the sigil on him is SO GOOD. My personal theory is that she saw what would happen if Wanda found him. It would have ruined both of them. It could have been because that amount of power at that age may have hurt him but Agatha has constantly been kind to him. I think it was because she saw a bad future with Wanda finding him. Idk jury is out on this but it’s a fun thing to think about. Why?

RALPH’S EXPLANATION! GOOOOOOD this is the thing I keep trying to say. Ralph described it as absolute torture. People were literally asking Wanda to kill them over that. And that was less than two weeks. Agatha has been under it for THREE YEARS. AND I would point to ep 4 where the other two was screaming in pain to the curse and she was able to withstand it. Not only does it show the sadness that she has probably been through so much pain that she can withstand it even without magic BUT ALSO think about how much torture she has felt! She deserves to murder everyone around her. My bby

The outside perspective of the interrogation scene was wonderful. Absolutely hilarious. I think the director said to Kathryn ‘make him break’ and that was where they went

And it is just… again so sad to me. She was forced to make an utter fool of herself but people went along with it and helped her. Its so sweet but so heartbreaking. I love you Agatha

The running scene. She got a cramp because she hasn’t left the house for so long

Billy sits in a chair covered in moons

THE RESEARCH SCENE I LOVED IT I LOVEEEEEED IT. and also remember this is a secondary source. I love this in media. Agatha isn’t a succubus she is a siphon but because this wiki is most likely written by a creep they turn it sexual. I mean she could be but you always have to think about WHO wrote it. Just like the Jolene article. Kathryn probably didn't fuck Dolly Parton’s boyfriend but she did get slapped by her and they ran with it, just like a tabloid would. And ALL THE PHOTOS!!! AHHHHHH I CAN’T WAIT FOR THE PROPER RUN THROUGH OF HER LIFE

On the Jolene point I think it’s a fun easter egg because it’s like Agatha’s perspective of Wanda if the ‘lover’ was magic. Look at these lyrics:

I think Agatha is the singing perspective, Wanda is Jolene and the magic is their lover. It is favouring ‘the younger more perfect’ witch (Agatha is better than everyone don't even, I'm just saying from a jealousy perspective)

AGATHA SURVIVING THE MUD AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

AHHHHHHHHHHH

GONNA SCREAM SOME MORE AHHHHHH

The fact she is one of two witches who has NOTHING and yet still survives the death sentence (which isn’t a death sentence but shouldn’t be escapable) shows how utterly incredible she is. She is a survivor which brings me to my next love

THE DUALOGUE I FUCKING LOVED IT

Okay, originally I thought that she would be mad and angry. But this made so much more sense. Her unseriousness is her hiding her anger and annoyance. But fundamentally she is connected because she relates. Wanda was too late. She was fighting so hard and Agatha tried but Billy… he is a child. He is just like her. But was given a gift not a curse like Agatha. But still, Agatha prioritised surviving and living over anything else. And that is what Billy did: survived. And she respects that. So she tells him what SHE WANTED TO HEAR as a child!!! Its so beautiful!!! Honestly utterly beautiful and Kathryn acted her ass off. Fucking Goddess

And some people are going ‘uh she knew from the start. But why did-’ she lied. ‘Why did what Rio said hurt’- she lied. She had a suspicion at the start but as it went in she thought it was Nick. That shattered around Rio’s comment because Rio would know and Agatha trusts that. Agatha trusts her in those moments. But she did think he was nick then or at least her suspicion and hope tilted towards there which is what I think. She is already covered in mud and embarrassed. Of course she is going to go ‘yeah I always knew. Never had a doubt’. Media literacy is dead my god

AND THE WAY SHE TOUCHED HER BROOCH. That proves to me she did geneuinly have the hope that he was nick. At least in the moment she truly realised the tragedy that Wanda got her son back but she never will.

Her unseriousness. Sometimes a bby girl is a 350 year old serial killer witch

I love you Agatha

And remember this is Agatha’s show. But these character’s need to be fleshed out. But by their explanations we get a greater image of Agatha. But every relationship Agatha has is equally important. I want more romance but this was not the episode for it. The latter three will

[oddinary4bts]

Hey! I hope you're doing good. I just read the drabble 14.5 for Chasing Cars, then your note at the end about things getting better - you shouldn't have to write that note. YOU ARE THE AUTHOR; THE STORYTELLER; and IT IS YOUR STORY. The only thing I use tumblr for is to read fanfiction about BTS, so I have no idea how this asks etc. work and I am not looking for anything in return at all. I just wanted to express my genuine and sincere love for your writing, your stories, and especially YOU. Of course, I don't know you personally well but after the comments on the recent chapter, I just couldn't stop myself. I love what you write. Your writing is so perfect- with every word that I read, an image is formed in my brain then its like watching a movie or a series. And I remember every single scene. Forgotten spaces - I still remember everything about it, have re-read the series multiple times. Sinful lust - I was a little bitter when Yoongi chose Jimin but still loved the way how you handed the ending. I don't read sad endings so, I was a little surprised but its a great story and I don't think anyone else could've handled the story the way you did (which is PERFECT). And Chasing cars, I don't have words for it. I actually loved the way the story as it is. I trust you and know you don't write sad endings, I deal with anxiety and depression as well, so all of it felt so real and personal. I die for the brother's best friend trope; have read almost all stories based on this, and let me tell you - Chasing cars and Three tangerines (by-https://kithtaehyung.tumblr.com/ -Idk how to tag) has been my absolute favorites. If any of these ended up having a physical or other kind of version except tumblr, I would get it in a heartbeat. So, the point of this whole blah blah that I wrote is - There are a lot of people who appreciate your writing and don't write about it though, but the hate is always louder as you know; NEVER let any of these/them effect them. Just do you, be you, and I will ALWAYS look forward to whatever you write in whatever way you want to. Please take care of yourself and thanks for writing and sharing these beautiful stories!!

Thank you so so much for this you have no idea how much it means to me to receive kind and sweet messages like yours✨ I’m happy you remember my stories, and I hope you’ll enjoy the rest of Chasing Cars and remember it as well🫶🏼

As for the other fic you mentioned, I’ve never read it but I’ve heard that it’s really good! For those wondering, you can find it here!

[parachutingkitten]

Not an ask per se, just a similar feeling. You’re someone whose Ninjago stuff, here and on YT, I’ve really enjoyed for at least a few years. And I’ve been similarly obsessed with the show for some time. But… it’s as you say — DR is objectively fine, objectively nice, but I don’t feel the same obsession about it and its characters, plot, etc that I used to feel all the time with Ninjago. And I *cannot* figure out why, and it’s also been driving me slightly up the wall. It’s maybe because I genuinely try to give media the best chance when I interact with it, but despite multiple DR rewatches I don’t see what everyone else sees. And the disconnect is a sad, like you mention — I joined the community here because I was so glad to have people who loved this show in the same ways I did, and now it’s like they’re all on a different wavelength and I want to be there but I’m not. It’s definitely strange for sure, made worse I think by the fact that DR isn’t like horrifically bad or anything, I just feel… okay, when watching it, and can’t even explain why.

I don’t know how much sense this makes, but I thought it might be something for you to think about if you’d like. I’ve been tossing around the idea that I don’t love DR because it is… good. It’s good, but too neat — if that makes sense? The new characters — I love them all, but their personalities and backstories and situations they’re put in all remind me of several other stories. The subplots of the episodes always have an end goal in mind, often an emotional realisation, and whilst that’s a neat way to tell stories, it doesn’t feel like, to me, the way Ninjago used to tell stories. Like, the first thing that comes to mind is Sora feeling hopeless and that episode with the djin where she realises that it’s important to hope. And maybe this isn’t a great comparison (as I’m typing it out, I realise that it isn’t the best example oof), but I immediately thought of Zane after Seabound, when he’d turned off his emotions. Sora’s bad feelings, whilst not as ‘significant’ as Zane’s in that context, began just before and were wrapped up neatly in that episode and not brought up again. Zane acts detached from the start of S16 if I remember, and it’s only near the end of the season (I think! I know that it’s a few eps at least) when he meets Sally, talks to her, learns a little about her life, and is able to come to the realisation that he shouldn’t be repressing everything. I think DR, because of the amount of characters it has, especially those that are new, and the amount of new worldbuilding, plot stuff, etc that they have to add in, it being a reboot/sequel type of thing, leaves less time for the nuance and time devoted to the character arcs in the original show. Or maybe I’m just crazy, honestly idk.

Something else that stands out to me is the fact that DR has to establish so much about these new characters and their world that they… they do something that old Ninjago didn’t do, and whilst it’s maybe objectivity a better storytelling choice, I think it’s part of the reason I’m not really feeling it. What they do is that they have the characters act kind of realistic. Arin worries about his parents, often. Sora did too. Wyldfyre and Kai definitely have a few moments where it’s implied that they’re confused about what’s up with their powers. In Ninjago up to s16, because they wrote a lot of it without intending much or anything to come after it, I feel like they thought less about this than the DR writers, who know that they’ve got a few seasons lined up, do. For example — hands of time is when we find out about Ray and Maya, but it was never often addressed by Nya and Kai. It’s brought up in s4, of course, but if they were real kids whose parents had vanished one day they’d probably bring it up more often, like Arin did. But it’s often not done in the narrative because the writers gave them other things to focus on, because they’re storytelling devices and not real kids. There was no real buildup to Nya being the water ninja, for example, but Sora’s said to be good with tech a few moments after we meet her. This ain’t a critique of either show — just a different choice I sort of picked up on, if it even makes any sense. And as crazy as it may sound, I liked that about the old Ninjago — it saw the characters more as storytelling devices, I think, than relatable to the audience (Kai was the hothead, Jay the humour, etc — ofc they were more than that, but they retained that sort of vibe from S1 a little all throughout the show I think). DR, on the other hand, seems to want their characters to be more relatable, more multifaceted, make more sense — which, when coupled with the fact that they’re new characters and that the ninjago fandom has historically thrived on gaps in the show to enjoy it (we’re a very AU, OC, heavy fandom, etc), I think DR attempting to flesh out their characters in the way that we’re often used to doing with the old characters in fic, art, etc means that I like DR a little less because there’s less to ‘work with’, and less that inspires thinking of the characters in different situations — bc whilst relating is nice, it is also enjoyable when the characters are written with some core characteristics in mind and you explore other parts of them or those characteristics in different contexts. I don’t think makes much sense, but I hope that it maybe gives you something to think about — as you can probably see, I’ve been going a little crazy over not liking it and not knowing why, so I know that the feeling isn’t great.

I'm picking up what you're putting down here. My next video has a bit about getting disillusioned with a fandom, and it sucks. It always does. It's heartbreaking when you feel like that special bond between you and your show was somehow broken. I empathies, and it's important to feel it out.

Now, I don't think ninjago was better at character arcs, i don't think having a character arc be longer is better, or even really a characteristic of classic ninjago, but I do think the DR character arcs feel very by the book. They're following the screenwriting 101 guide perfectly, but it ends up feeling a bit lacking because of it? If that makes sense? Now, ninjago was historically very bad at character arcs, but when they got it right, they always had a bit of a spin on things, and interesting visual payoff, whatever. I think the zane's emotions arc isn't particularly great (and the sally piece is sort of at the end of the first half of the season ;) I would argue sora's arc in season 1 about finding confidence is better, but that doesn't mean I find it much more enjoyable.

I will agree that that the characters in ninjago definitely feel more like characters, while the DR cast (old cast included) feel more like people. Neither are a bad thing, but I think it definitely has an effect on the tone. Characters allow for a more lighthearted goofy vibe, because the show is operating on a higher suspension of disbelief most of the time. DR on the other hand, does want a little more vulnerability from its audience on a regular basis.

Lastly, I do think you're onto something with DR being fully planned. The two seasons we have so far feel very indistinct. There is less of a defining singular "adventure" in each season. And again, that's not a good thing or a bad thing, but it ends up making things feel different. Ninjago is an episodic series of adventures. DR is a continual evolving set of circumstances. Those are just going to feel different.

[magpod-confessions]

i think tmagp is interesting and i understand WHY people like it but personaly i think i'm going to have to drop it. the character writing feels 2d and i just can't get attached to any of the characters. i do like Gwen (probably because she's actually out there Doing Stuff), and i REALLY liked early-season Alice when she was being an annoying (said with love) coworker who clearly knew more than she let on. her initial Alice-POVs were incredibly compelling, but the more the season goes on the more she seems to be relegated to 'sam's ex' which is just...sad (also, why are they taking their ONE canonical transfem character and making her the jealous ex? hello? can anyone else hear me?). my other issues are:

everyone says this but AUDIO. i listen to a huge variety of podcasts, music, tv, movies that have intense audio distortion and can understand them fine but i just cannot follow what they're saying in tmagp. the SFX are too loud in comparison to the voice settings and it means i have to follow along with transcripts which is not something i really want to do. that's a preference but yeah.

also everyone says this but EPISODE FORMAT!!! i love all different styles of podcast storytelling and listen to a variety of horror fiction that does storytelling in different ways (standouts for me being woe.begone, malevolent, the silt verses, welcome to night vale, camp here&there, etc). but the office chatter + 5min statement + tangential plotline + random other cuts just feels clunky to me, like clicking through a bunch of tabs and trying to read through them at random. i think there's a lot of potential with how tmagp is trying to tell it's story (almost like found footage?) but it doesn't feel like it's been sewn together properly...i keep loosing the threads of the plot

the whole "alice is sam's jealous ex" coworker drama thing. I just can't get over it. you have alice and celia literally mirroring each other in terms of their relationship with sam. this is interesting. this could be cool. it works in celia's case, because she CLEARLY has other motivations and plot conflicts outside of being sam's partner. alice USED to seem like she had more going on, but recently...idk. it seems like they're pushing her character more and more into the background (what happened with everything going on with her brother? and her own facade of trying to cover things up? what about her personal life?) which i don't love given that she's the shows only canon transfem rep. why is it ALICE specifically who is being utilized in the plot in this way (to define her character by her status as "sam's ex", when no other fem characters seem to be defined by their relationships with men)?

i do think i'll come back to tmagp once it's further along to see if any of my issues with is have been resolved. again, tma took a very long time to really get into the plot. i don't MIND having a chaotic plot (in fact, it's one thing i think will turn out to be incredibly interesting later down the line). but to me, i just can't invest myself in the characters/relationships (which is what the show is building it's plot on), the audio mixing is unintelligible to me, and the episode format feels unbalanced. i'm gonna stay up to date with how people are talking about it online but i just wish it was starting stronger, because there is SO much potential in the series!!

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