#but idk maybe he would've I just think it's dumb but very in character for a41 to react the way he did

[20001541]

instead of blasting away machia with his quirk for disobeying him, afo should've done this instead to him along with an apology

[wingscreation]

hm this is a bit interesting to say the least. I'm not really iffy about time travel in general and parallel universes could be interesting if done right.. just a lot to think about

Link to article

https://www.eurogamer.net/naoki-yoshida-on-dawntrail-criticism-community-feedback-and-the-future-of-final-fantasy-14

[thefandomenchantress]

Chapter 2 Episode 15 Spoilers below!

Since Ace being the culprit has brought about so much pain to ace lovers, including me, I figured I'd make a list of all the good things that him being the culprit brings to us. Even though Ace will (probably) be executed next episode, that doesn't mean that nothing good came out of this, right?

-Ace's backstory may be revealed much sooner than expected! Before we would've had to wait for chapter 3 or chapter 4 and so on, but since Ace will be gone soon, almost everything not revealed next episode will get told to us in a bonus episode! (I think every dead person gets one of those? Idk if that's officially confirmed). I doubt Teruko's gonna find, like, Ace's diary in chapter three detailing his life story, so if we're ever getting the Taylor Lore™, it'll be in a bonus episode! Plus, a bonus episode would come out a lot faster than the whole of chapter three, so more Ace content sooner no matter what happens in it! And there's always the chance he gets picked for an FTE, since dead people are on the list of options.

-Ace canonically has neat, fancy handwriting. Begone rumors of Ace having illegible, traditionally boy-ish handwriting, he actually writes like a 19th century scholar and I find this very funny. More evidence for my 'Ace likes reading and writing and wanted to become a romance author' crack theory, since he also reenforced his particularness about vocabulary in chapter 2 part 2. (Our only remaining question: Does Ace actually have terrible spelling ('responsibel'), or did he just think Eden would?)

-Ace is very good at being sneaky and often overhears things he shouldn't. I can't wait for this to be used as a plot device in numerous fics ("XANDER YOU'LL NEVER GUESS THE SHIT I JUST HEARD DAVID SAY ABOUT YOU WHEN HE THOUGHT HE WAS ALONE").

-Ace will have to be included in the dead (formerly a) trio posts forevermore. Get ready for Xander-Min-Arei-Ace shenanigans.

-Now that the cast has been forced to acknowledge that being dumb and angry aren't Ace's only traits and that he's just as human as the rest of them, Ace is much less likely to be seen as just those two things by the average viewer. Ace's popularity, or at least the amount of dislike towards him, seems to have shifted since the last episode, and I'm happy more people are able to enjoy what his character has to offer now. He's a cool little guy. I've literally NEVER seen the Ace Markey tag this busy before.

-We got so many cool Ace CGs guys. SO MANY. Including one where he's hanging upside down on the swing set and looks weirdly cute for someone in the middle of a murder plan.

-Also new sprites! The DRDTdev gave Ace a redesign knowing full-well that it would only get a singular chapter of use, and I massively respect that. We already got some new sprites in part 2 of chapter 2 so far, and I'm guessing next episode he'll probably have at least one more breakdown sprite before he dies.

-For someone who no one in the cast liked, he's definitely going to leave an impact. He's finally made at least some of the cast realize what happens when they ignore the issues right in front of them. Ace shouts about how everyone hates him and sees him as an insufferable idiot? Eh, probably nothing, we don't have to worry about that. Sure, multiple people told him he's gonna die next in here, and he almost got murdered, but that won't amount to anything. What's he gonna do, murder someone--WAIT SHIT Ace step away from the Arei I repeat step away from the Arei-- (plus Teruko parallels). I'll probably go more in-depth about this sort of thing in a different post.

-WE NEVER GOT TO SEE WHAT'S UNDER HIS GLOVES. Kyoko and Mukuro both had hand-related secrets that connected them to the plot later on, does that mean Ace will have some sort of relevance to the mastermind or overall lore later on? Like a Mai tattoo situation? (Or maybe it's another thing that may be alluded to or discussed in the bonus episode)(Or left to interpretation but I hope not because I have so many theories).

If you have any more suggestions for other good Ace-related things the culprit reveal brought us, let me know and I can add them to the list! We need as many good things as we can think of right now...

[exo-raskreia]

Imma rant about Ichigo and Orihime cuz your blog has waken a outrageous fire in me!! And rightfully so! I agree with literally everything you said(btw Karin and hitsugaya are endgame for me too🤭🤭)

Ichihime makes literal sense and it genuinely sucks as a ship and i don't get why the shippers are satisfied with the results. I asked my friend who he wanted to be endgame and answered Ichigo and Orihime cuz they are a better fit. LITERALLY HOW?!! I didn't go psycho on him cuz if Ichigo and Rukia ain't your cup of tea then fine. But why are people answers automatically always Ichihime?? Is it cuz they are canon??? Where the hell was the build-up for it then?! It is nothing compare to ichigo/rukia or orihime with tatsuki/uryu. Idk if Kubo was trying to punk us by pairing them up or not. I feel like he didn't plan our their relationship properly! People say it was obvious from the beginning that ichigo likes her back but i sure as hell didn't see it! Maybe i'm just salty and refused to see the signs cuz Ichiruki is the best ship( and i had a crush on ichigo since forever soooo... 😖😖) ?? I've always been a rukia and ichigo fan rather cuz they actually had the chemistry and insane connection. I'm so mad that they weren't endgame. My girl Rukia was elite why didn't Ichigo went for her and vice versa?? Don't get me started on the poems, the speechs, the way ichigo always and always thinks of rukia. Like the ingredients for the cake was perfect, why the hell would you put gasoline in there💀💀

Some people say that cuz the show is shounen and not a romance, i shouldn't be upset about ichihime ending up together and not be mad of lack of their romance. I'm not expecting ichigo and orihime to have some epic EPIC love story or anything just make it more sense for ME at least. If Ichihime was some side-ship then i wouldn't care as much, but this is the MC of the show i want to see something greater than what we received! If they were to have a love story(ya know a real one) then they should've played it out like in Fruits basket

Ichigo and orihime actually remind me alot of kyo and tohru from fruits basket. And they're all very similar to think about it! Ichigo and Kyo: the grumpy orange haired protecters that have a heart of gold. Orihime and Tohru: the loveable sunshine character that are super traumatized but still manage to keep smiling. The only difference is that Kyo and Tohru actually have the emotional moments and had the chemistry and ya know they actually TALKED and were ACTUAL FRIENDS(as in kyo didn't treat tohru like a acquaintance) before dating. But since Orihime is so much like Ichigo's dead mom, their relationship would've been like Yuki and Tohru. I know the comparison might be dumb to do cuz they are very different anime and different genre but still!! Excuse me for caring so much about that my fav ain't canon. Yes this is a shounen anime but they could've at least squeezed in a bit of the love story of the mc to show they actually care about it. The MC of the show has a better and stronger bond with his bestie than his own wife. Like how is my girl Orihime not bothered by it?! Should've end up Tatsuku i swear. I mean they're literally Nana and Hachi!! 🍓🐶✨

I feel like orihime just exist to be his love interest and that's it! Girl had the potential to be a great character that ain't always there to be the love interest. Her becoming a housewife was insulting cuz what do you mean she ain't a robot destroying a city (i can't remember that scene from the earlier seasons but something in between those lines🤣) I do like Orihime enough but not that much cuz it's Ichigo this and Ichigo that. Like girl i get it. I wanted(and still do) him too but don't settle for being the second choice) HOMEGIRL YOU HAVE OTHER LUCKY DUCKS THAT WANNA BE WITH YOU!!

And another thing: I read somewhere that: just cuz Uryu had a crush Orihime that, that doesn't mean that Orihime should be together with him.... Okay then why can't that also imply to Ichigo and Orihime?? Like why just cuz "She'll fall for him in every lifetime" doesn't mean that he has to do the same too!! Rukia is already the queen of his heart mind you

BUT ANYWAYS!! It's a shounen after all so i shouldn't be expecting the mc to have a well-written love story and not to have high hopes of the MC love interest to be something more than that. But whatever at the end of the day they're CANON and have a kid together so all i can do is cry about it and live in fanfiction.

Ahem, I'm done with my rant thank you 😌 (And yes anti-IchiRuki fans I'll still be salty in my 40s cuz of the ending and I will never shut up about it just cuz they have canonically have kids)

No worries, anon! You've come to the right place! Let it all out~

Not surprised your male friend would choose Ori. Typical. For dudes like him, her appearance, superficial crush on Ichigo, & the word "canon" being slapped on are enough for them, despite there not being any actual chemistry between IH. It is also a common trope in other manga/anime, so they convince themselves that it was meant to happen, but it doesn't mean it makes sense for every story, especially not in Bleach's case; it doesn't make narrative sense if they actually looked into it.

(Canon ≠ good. Just look up what went wrong in 'How I Met Your Mother' or even 'Game Of Thrones' S8).

(While on the subject, since Rukia is a much better written character than Ori, if she had a body like Ori's, & Ori like Rukia's, even less dudes would care about IH 🫢, since they never even have good arguments in favor of it that aren't the 3 things I mentioned already up top).

Ichigo & Rukia had the most chemistry in the entire manga/anime, & it baffles me when people didn't/don't (wanna) see it. I went into Bleach almost blind when I first started watching it & IR really stood out. Their bond is right in your face, playing along the border between platonic & romantic, making you wonder what exactly it is, but knowing they aren't just mere friends. In the manga, I was constantly awed & amused by how borderline romantic it came off as, despite having already watched the anime (which did not do the manga justice in many ways; and then antis claim IR was mostly anime-based, PLEASE 🙄). Kubo really wasn't playing when it came to these 2. What a freakin' troll.

Haven't watched Fruits Basket, but I can see what you mean. Grumpy & Sunshine is a fun trope, however, as you said, IH just didn't have what it takes. If Kubo had wanted to, he could have properly developed IH at some points in the manga, such as the Fullbring arc, & it wouldn't have to be anything big, as Bleach is not a romance. He could have opened the arc with those 2 already going out, like them holding hands as they head to school or something, maybe showing some flashbacks of them talking things out, comforting each other since HM to show how they got together. Instead, in those 17 months since Ichigo lost his powers & contact with Rukia, you're telling me Kubo couldn't make IH bond? Instead, Ori's still pathetically pining after him while Ichigo is still thinking of, longing for, Rukia! How am I supposed to believe IH was meant to be endgame?!

Orihime had more chemistry with other people than the man she ended up with 💀. I personally ship her with 2 other men (Ishida & Ulquiorra). She was different with them. One selflessly cared for her, had her at the forefront of his mind in her own rescue arc (unlike Ichigo), while the other challenged her, found her fascinating & wanted to learn more... Not to mention they both protected her from Ichigo a couple times in the HM arc.

She really did have potential to be a great character but it all kept going down the drain, never achieved her dreams nor goals. She kept regressing as the story went on, especially when it came to Ichigo. She was never able to encourage him nor fully support him & was usually a complete damsel in his presence (he even seemed annoyed by her during the Ywach fight, which mind u, she was only there cuz there was no one else left & Ichigo had no choice?). She was more interesting whenever she wasn't around him. All her best moments were when she wasn't thinking about him. Saving Tatsuki? Bonding with Ishida in SS, standing in front of him to protect him in the Fullbring arc? Bonding with Ulquiorra (the only good thing she did the whole HM arc)? She could've done more in HM but didn't. In TYBW, she didn't do anything special, couldn't even encourage Ichigo & was treated like a ragdoll by Ywach. This is how Kubo wanted us to remember her. She was mostly reduced to fanservice by the end (and she's still not as popular as Matsumoto or Yoruichi in that department 💀). I sometimes think he didn't like her all that much with how he treated her character...

While watching the anime, I seriously had been hoping she'd get over Ichigo in the SS arc when she wistfully said Rukia was a very special person to him who changed his world (oh, boy, was I in for disappointment). Right off the bat, there was nothing interesting/exciting about her interactions with Ichigo (I was shipping her with Ishida by this point). He was just so blasé with her, I almost felt bad for her & it only kept getting worse. I then hoped she'd finally get over him after the traumatic experience at the dome in HM, but her ongoing silly crush made my eyes roll & lose hope in it. LIKE GIRL, HE'S HUNG UP ON ANOTHER GIRL, & U SHOULD'VE STOPPED PUTTING HIM ON A PEDESTAL BY NOW; HE'S NO PRINCE CHARMING & ESPECIALLY NOT FOR U WHEN HE BARELY GAVE U A SECOND THOUGHT IN UR OWN RESCUE ARC & ALMOST GOT U KILLED LIKE 3 TIMES & U HAD TO GET SAVED BY ULQUIORRA & ISHIDA, LIKE-

Orihime doesn't have anything in common with Masaki other than maybe their appearance (which imo, Masaki looks more like short-haired Matsumoto anyway?). Besides the cheerful part, their personalities are very different. Masaki was more like Rukia: brave, strong, selfless, teasing & annoying Isshin/Ichigo, etc... IR has actual dynamic parallels with IsshiMasa in the narrative... Kubo just copied IR moments, especially considering he wrote as he went... So, don't be fooled by those morons who go by appearance alone & even those weird lines in one of the novels (Oedipus complex anyone?) instead of the legitimate parallels between IR & IM shown in the manga, such as these:

What was going thru Kubo's head if he supposedly "intended" for IH to happen? Ichigo & Ori had more chemistry with other characters than with each other. Kubo went about this all wrong. Bleach not being a romance is no excuse for shoddily pairing up characters in the end. In a few scenes scattered throughout the manga, he could've implied them. Every time they interacted, their relationship should've progressed somehow. And he actually did this with IchiRuki. (In regards to Naruto, for example, Kishimoto at least admitted he didn't put enough effort into his ships by saying romance was not his forte & he's not good at writing female characters, but at least most of the ships made sense & esp NaruHina had actual good moments scattered throughout the manga...).

Sigh, I've said this before, but why can't more battle shounens be like Fairy Tail when it comes to developing the ships throughout the story? There'd be less drama. Even Gintama did a better job at developing the main ships, lol, that if they became canon, hardly anyone would've been surprised (they were somewhat implied if u squint, tho 🤪).

There are theories Kubo wanted to spite Shounen Jump for their treatment over the years so he ended things this way (and maybe to spite the fans too, since his manga sales had been on the decline for years). Ever heard of the "choosing unhappiness" theories? Basically, remember that Ywach said he'd come back at Ichigo's happiest moment? Well, he didn't come back at Ichigo's wedding with Ori, not even at the birth of his son. He came back when Ichigo reunited with RUKIA after 10 years.

So what could this be telling us? That Ichigo chose to be unhappy by not getting with the one person who made him the happiest. Rukia gave him that push by choosing unhappiness first (since she knew Ichigo couldn't make the first attempt to) & married Renji, who in turn, also gave Ichigo that push to go for Ori. IR chose unhappiness to defeat Ywach. Could this actually be what Urahara meant when he said he'd leave everything to "Kurosaki-san & Kuchiki-san" after his defeat in TYBW?! (we deserved the IR tag-team we never got in the final fight, screw Kubo)

One could also say his friends chose unhappiness to help too? Ishida becoming a doctor he'd never expressed interest in & seeming isolated from the friend group (maybe not agreeing with the farce they're all in), Chad becoming a boxer instead of using his fists to protect, Ori marrying a man who doesn't love her & she knows never will, Renji marrying a woman who doesn't love him & never will (and whom I think he doesn't love either? My view on that here)... Isshin is nowhere in sight, could it be he also doesn't wanna be a part of this farce in which his own son chose to marry a woman he doesn't love?

Still, everything about this ending is so wrong, makes no sense, a bunch of retcons too. Heck, remember the rebuilding of Sokyoku Hill in SS? Made Ichigo destroying it meaningless 🙄.

Anyway, I didn't mean for this post to be too long. There's so much to rant about lol. There's also so much to make fun of 👀. As I said in this post, IH was never popular & never will be. Kubo himself can't bring himself to give them content & his affiliates (like Shounen Jump, Studio Pierrot, etc.) can't be bothered either, as IH doesn't sell. Canon for almost 10 years & still no official couple/family arts nor merch 😂. If they end up getting thrown a bone in the future, the fact it took them that long would still be laughable.

In the end, it's best to ignore canon, its fans, & engage with what you like. It also doesn't hurt to sometimes make fun of Bleach's failures~ Kubo has made it so easy, can you blame us? 🤷‍♀️

Also, glad u like HitsuKarin as well 🤭. Would you believe it's my #1 Bleach OTP? I had brainrot for it a few years ago, like I literally scoured almost every bit of content that I could find, & while it's died down, I just know that if Kubo &/or his affiliates were to feed us HK content now, I'd eat it up like a starving dog-

Sorry for the late reply, anon! 😓 Been having brainrot for a different fandom, if u can guess

[cherries-in-wine]

My thoughts on 'the cursed heart' book 1

hii I just remembered this book exists and I'd like to share some opinions. Just a warning this post contains spoilers and my writing is messy af as this is more of a rant so i apologise in advance lol. I haven't read the second book yet just fyi.

Seeing the shit everyone said about this book I was honestly expecting another smutty trash like the nanny affair but they don't even kiss until chapter 9. I think the slowburn and the sexual tension was done decently well. I thought this was a sex slave kind of situation the way everyone was talking about it but its more of a "I saved your life so you'll work for me to repay your debts" situation. doesn't really make it any better but I guess its not as bad as sex slave. The whole BDSM shit was...questionable. I don't know what's so hard to understand about the fact that BDSM IS CONSENSUAL. IF YOU GUYS DON'T TALK ABOUT IT AND ESTABLISH BOUNDARIES BEFOREHAND ITS NOT BDSM ITS ABUSE. Just fyi these options are avoidable but I just think its inappropriate to call this BDSM.

The art is GORGEOUS and I love the little story book sequences you have for the character's background information. I ADORE the side characters like longclaw and sir monty have my heart. The idea for the book was definitely interesting. I liked the sun and moon court concept and the fae. It had potential but just like all the books choices has been putting out it just sort of fell flat. I really like the names too. I know they might be little too JK-Rowling-Cho-chang-ass-names but idk I find it cute how the sun court members are radiance, lustre,blaze,gleam etc. the book has a really nice aesthetic and fae are beautiful. The outfits are stunning as well. LEAF IS THE BEST PART OF THIS BOOK.

Kieran is honestly pretty mid. I don't find them that interesting I think they're just bland. I guess that could've been on purpose because they don't have a heart and stuff but I believe they could've done so much better.

I don't like how the fae are mostly left unnamed. That just made the sun court's betrayal fall flat because I don't even know these bitches so why would it hurt that they betrayed me? like first of all that shit was so predictable and second of all when you write a betrayal you'd want it to come from a character the reader really likes and is attached to so when they betray us it will hurt and just make you feel things but because we knew very little about about them I was just like "woahhhh womp womp I'm so hurt totallyyyyy didn't see this coming you got me dude" *pretends to be shocked*.

I think the it would've been much better if they pulled a prince Aerin from BOLAS kinda route with Radiance like maybe he and the other fae sneak in at night to visit mc, they grow close and he's treated as a love interest THEN he betrays mc. That would've made much more of an impact and then it would've made sense as to why mc was so trusting when they handed him their protection charm thingy to him. Honestly I find radiance much more interesting than Kieran.

Mc is.....a dumbass to put it lightly. I'm sorry but they're so stupid and they don't even have any growth by the end. I hate the "this character's only trait is being kind so they're dumb" trope. like first of all being kind isn't a fucking personality and idk crazy thought but maybe just maybe you can be kind and rational?? like why is every kind mc so dumb and lacks critical thinking skills. yea so didn't love mc either they were just bland.

My thoughts are kind of all over the place right now (they always are) so maybe ill add more stuff later but that's all for now. Thank you so much for reading my rant <33

[mouchiiarts]

Okay this is kind of a vent but am I the only one who thought s4 of The Dragon Prince felt really,, off?

Like it was good and well executed and all of this could very well just be a consequence of COVID and Netflix messing with season four's production but something about this season felt really weird. And, truthfully, it's kind of the everything that feels off.

A lot of the characters felt very out of character. I'm sorry but Callum should've been rightfully VERY upset with Rayla. She abandons him on the day of his birthday after he nearly loses her to the moon lake, after she makes a promise to stay with him and get through all of their shit together, and she DOESN'T COME BACK FOR YEARS. And when she does come back, they're suddenly just really awkward but still in love??? HUH??? Did I miss something?? Why are they still in their "awkward, before they get together" phase??? Callum should rightfully be extremely upset with Rayla if not furious with her!! You could have kept them amicable when Rayla comes back! She could be a bit distant but still hopeful that Callum will forgive her easily but realizes Callum is angry and is trying to be kind to her even though he's clearly not happy! Let him tell her off! Why didn't he do that??? You could still have him be nice but there's a bittersweetness to it.

Speaking of Rayla, she felt off too. Idk she just,, wasn't distant enough. You'd think after being alone for years on end she'd be a bit less trusting of others, even the friends she knew. But people change! She shouldn't have been sure how much Callum would've changed. Also her lemur doesn't look right. She noticeably stands out amongst the other characters and creature designs. Bait, although he looks a bit like a plushy, works because he feels like a unique creature to this world. Rayla's lemur just straight up looks like a doll. She doesn't look right. Also she's just a lemur with extra limbs. That's it. And she's kind of purple. Why not get weirder with her and mash her up with another animal? Like a squirrel or maybe a hawk? Idk she just doesn't look right.

Claudia also feels,, very strange. Like yes she's funny and dorky but her antics felt really amped up this season. She feels dumber somehow. And Claudia isn't dumb. She's very smart actually but she can be oblivious sometimes. But I dunno she feels too comedic this season which creates such a whiplash for me. She's the villain and brought her father back from the dead. So why is she so,, dumbed down? Also her boyfriend,, he's fine I suppose? But why would Claudia be dating an elf? HE'S AN ELF. He also doesn't like dark magic?? Huh?? Wouldn't it be more of a novel concept for him to be an elf who also wants to do dark magic? Shouldn't he be in favor of that? Why was he against it? Terry never feels like a proper villain. And outside of dating Claudia, he has no motive to stay with her or her father! He doesn't like dark magic so why is he with Claudia? How did they meet? How did they become friends? What made her like him?? CAUSE HE SEEMS THOROUGHLY ALIGNED WITH THE ELVES in terms of worldviews on magic! Terry also feels out of place in terms of his comedy. The fart joke thing got old fairly quickly for me as well. I get it, it's a kid show, but I dunno it felt a little too much like writer's weird fetish in certain places.

Ezran feels fine though in terms of writing. He still feels in character and like he's evolved. He's wiser and has been ruling as king for a while now. And I like that they kept the friendship with him and Zym the same, that was nice! I just wish Zym could talk now that's he's older. Also, shouldn't he be a bit bigger? Tbh I always thought dragons grew super quickly as adolescents. Ah well, not issues with them. Also Soren. He is still the loml and I can't ever hate him. I do wish he could've bonded with and kept a wyvern though. That would've been cool as hell.

Now for the animation. It was too smooth for me. I love the choppy uneven Spiderverse inspired look of the second and third season so much! But in s4, I could barely find spots where the animation wasn't super smooth. The colors of this season are also way off. We spend a majority of the time in (what I am assuming is) Earthblood elf territory but the colors don't look right. They don't gel together very well. This is especially noticeable in the cave scene towards the end of the season. All of those crystals were so deeply saturated and NONE of those colors looked nice together. Especially on gray speckled rock. It was hard for me to see what I was supposed to be looking at! Emphasis and focus were two aspects which this show really seemed to struggle with this season in terms of visuals. The updated character designs look nice though, I don't have any qualms there (aside from the lemur).

Except for the Earthblood elves. WHY DID YOU TAKE AWAY THEIR COOL TREE BRANCH HORNS CONCEPT ART. They had moss and leaves on their shoulders and bodies. And cool swirly carvings. Why did they take that away :(

This season also feels like it's missing a LOT of setup for a LOT of lore and plot points. Especially the plot point with Callum being possessed by Aaravos. WHERE DID THIS COME FROM?? HOW CAN AARAVOS DO THIS?? THIS BEGS THE QUESTION WHY AARAVOS DIDN'T FORCE VIREN SO CUT HIS HAND AND DO THE CATERPILLAR THING WILLINGLY. AARAVOS SHOULDN'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO AFFECT THE OUTSIDE WORLD RIGHT?? AM I GOING INSANE?? AND WHY DOES AARAVOS EVEN WANT TO POSSESS CALLUM?? BECAUSE HE CAN DO MAGIC?? HE ONLY KNOWS SKY MAGIC AS OF S4. I FEEL LIKE I'M GOING INSANE.

Idk maybe all of my issues with this season will be remedied by s5 which I still need to watch. Just needed to vent this out. I still like this show and I'll keep watching it but man, it's gained some problems for me I can't really seem to ignore. Especially since the first 3 seasons were so well paced.

[theinsanecrayonbox]

Sabretooth War part 8 time

and again, doing it from tower so we can have panels, so that also means a cut to save dash space

bwahahaha idk but that over the top warning box just had me burst out laughing. i sure hope some karen complained that this storyline was too over the top pointlessly graphic (ok i din't really, because again i do enjoy bloody fights, but this is all just edgelordy nonsense for the sake of being unpleasant)

anywhos, onto our story in progress proper

i already mentioned the preview pages, and commented that i liked the parallels in the storytelling, and the Holly Bright/Bonnie Hale things. but the fact that Victor's admitting that he's a victim...has that ever happened before?

aw crap, Savage is dead-dead. i was hoping maybe she wasn't, like how Capt wasn't for an issue, since she wasn't decapitated. but nope, we can't have fun here.

Laura tauntsGraydona nd jumps out a window. he says screw it all.

Logan's getting patched up by Oya and monologing internally about how it;s so great to have no powers and could die at any moment...didn't we do this song and dance years ago before you died dude? also, you're not gonna be able to move very easily with that super heavy metal skeleton that your body won't compensate for properly without your healing factor. you know the adamantium poisoning is gonna get you. we've done this before; stop being so blasé about it.

Nekra thinks Logan's plans are dumb. Mr OC tries a psychic tap and freaks out because Graydon is so much worse than Victor? uh...wut. wiener boi, even in new shiny tinfoil mode, is not as large scale of a threat as you're making him seem. i'm sorry, but no. you cannot excuse taking the spotlight off of a main character because the wieners secondary (tertiary even) character is now the big bad and final threat. i'm just...uhg. Graydon is a wiener, and he has his purposes, but this isn't one of them. "extra dimensional tech will make this easy' yeah, uhhu, sure. you know what would've made this make sense; us seeing HOW we got this cool maybe. because you give the wiener a shiny gun doesn't mean we will immediately think he's cool and capable; it just makes him look like a wiener with a gun and make we should duck because he's probably doing to accidentally shoot himself with it.

and how do you know about that! you weren't part of the Pit Gang conversations. bad writing!!

so Logan takes the Pit Gang (trio really at this point) to his apocalypse bunker. and they fight bears. this is padding.

no it wasn't, stop lying Logan

cut to teh Greenhouse...

THE BOI IS BACK!!!!! where was he? what's he been doing? IDK AND IDC!! he's not dead, he's still here, he's in a panel. i'm not even paying attention to the rest of the page, what's going on...

Black Tom is making them a vegetable plane to go help Laura cause the them got her help texts. mk. and Cuckoo is getting a text from Quint-head that Vic is breaking out of the Audrey Two

and cut back to Logan and friends, and he's in adamantium armor with a Muramasa blade. yeah...lame. if this was to sell action figures maybe, but we don't do that anymore these days. so this is just uhg. also, didn't Laura have one of these getups? are we now repeating the OTHER Wolverine because we don't have enough new ideas???

whelp, this one wasn't so bad (why'd it warrant such a comedic warning idk lol). we progressed a bit, we got some flashbacks, we got a lot of dumb padding/stretching. but Arkady is confirmed still here, and in part 8, so i'll take it. (still not convinced my conspiracy theory that he was originally supposed to be dead in part 1 and it was changed last second isn't true...he has no lines in these 2 pages and could've been added in after the fact...he still isn't in the opening lineups yet Aurora and Northstar are and they haven't appeared in a couple issues)

[nono-bunny]

Thoughts from watching the ATLA live action!

I initially wanted this to all be one post but. It got too long and also Tumblr accidentally posted it once instead of just drafting as I asked while I was writing it and I had to reconstruct the whole thing so I'm just going to make one post per episode I think.

So, episode 1!

Oh my god the show really opens on just showing the letters "Capital City", genuinely that's kind of hilarious?? I kinda always thought of it as Caldera City collectively because Capital City sounds dumb (very The Hunger Games of them, ngl) but like... I do recognize that it's only technically the rich district- even so I feel like maybe they should've reimagined that one in particular because honestly it's always been confusing for the capital to have two cities in it (Harbor City is the other one, basically the poor people district). Anyway not a big deal overall, just... Kind of funny to not change this

Truly a weird way to start the show with just some random Earth Kingdom revolutionaries, but based on the fact that I've heard they're not in it I'm just headcanoning it to be Haru and Tyro lmao otherwise it's just. A truly bizarre choice

Oh never mind they're??? Opening before the war??? They literally have Ozai in the first season, why wouldn't they just have a menacing Sozin in a war room, with like maybe some very subtle hints to him grieving someone who died disagreeing with him, and him going forward with it anyway? Idk it's genuinely very strange to open a show with such iconic and recognizable characters by focusing on some random mostly irrelevant people you're never gonna see again because the story takes place a hunder years in the future. I mean, it was a cool fight scene (when I could see it lmao, I wish it wasn't so dark- would've looked great in a cinema but this should have been made for people watching on home screens) but?? Why should I care about these people or what they're doing, either as a veteran who knows they don't matter or as someone new to the story who DOESN'T know that they're never going to see them again?

Oh shit wait, AGAIN??? They keep zagging on me lmao this is like. Exactly what I wanted!! I read they started things off with a lot of fighting and showing the war so I thoght this was what it was but no!! The random guy meets non other than Sozin... Who genuinely looks incredible and does a fantastic job at portraying exactly what I wanted!! I think there's something in the eyes specifically? Like, there's a certain sadness mixed with idealism there, which works really well with how determined, calculating and cold he otherwise is. He feels 100% like the sort of guy who'd reasonably be the ancestor to the mess that is the Royal Family we see during the rest of the show, and I'm genuinely really happy about it! Sozin feels like the sort of madman who believes in his own just and it's perfect, like, the exact vibe I got from him in the original!

Is Gyatso talking to Bryke rn or...?? Lmao fr Aang never learned any of the things he mentions which is why he was a bad Avatar, and why in the end I don't like canon OG Aang. Addressing it in the first episode is extremely bold of the LA tbh, but you know I love to see it! Also everyone was talking about how Aang wasn't silly enough, but literally in the OG he was too silly and never learned to take responsibility or work with others so?? This Aang that is already blending a whimsical air with what seems like a degree of emotional intelligence the original lacked is!! Such an improvement in my eyes, actually! I'm hoping they manage to properly resolve these things this time around, but already their direction with him just within minutes of meeting him feels a lot more palatable to me. Also they rewrote that scene in a way that makes Gyatso infinitely more likeable because now he actually GETS it, OG Gyatso was a kind man but in the end... He was wrong, he coddled Aang too much. Here, in a universe where the Air nomads want to help defend the rest of the world, he recognizes that while Aang is needed, he genuinely isn't capable of helping yet which!! Also feels like an improvement in terms of co-nation relations, it feels like there actually used to be a harmony of sorts before! It will help make the Air Nomads feel less out of place and "out of sight out of mind" in the bad way they were in the original. The Air Nomads already planning to get involved also feels like a way to rid Aang of his idealistic and childhish views of his own culture in a much more direct way than the more subtle approach just showing Gyatso surrounded by skeletons of people he likely killed. Also, again, saw people complain aboit the Air Nomads wanting to get involved being ooc and?? Okay, so? Have you maybe considered that them being so insular that their loss was barely felt in the original whenever they didn't need to make Aang have an emotional moment was a bad thing??? Like, I get that it isn't in line with their characterization, but personally? Them choosing not to get involved in an attempted genocide was always a bad look tbh, and as far as I'm concerned, this is a fix and a way to make them look much better than just like. Hermits unconcerned with the world- they care, they want to help! Honestly overall everyone in the Air Nomads looks so much better here, this feels like a net good in terms of like... Idk Air Nomad publicity lmao. Also, showing the different temples coming together to celebrate is!! Incredible, I wholeheartedly love that addition to the lore!

Ngl tbh so far this feels like a fanfic I'd read, in like. Literally the best possible way

Yo the "Gyatso and Roku were friends" theory looking realll possible rn with that "you will always be my friend" line 👀

Ah so I see what people meant about Aang's characterization in this episode being a bit tell-y rather than show-y, that's fair. That said, it was a really nice scene that established the bond between him and Appa quite well imo! Also now I'm genuinely curious as to whether they'll have him get a bit drunk with power like in the original considering the focus they're putting on how much he needs to NOT do that!

To everyone saying Aang running away was important and should not have been cut- no, it fucking wasn't, it was one of his biggest unresolved character flaws that got ignored when the destroyed his character arc in season 3 and I'm fucking glad it's gone. I do find it interesting that here Aang basically only just finds out about being the Avatar before getting frozen rather than having a bit more time to get used to the idea and see how it changes things for him- it makes it that in a way, this Aang has both a lot more and a lot less baggage! Essentially his entire journey of discovery of what it means to be pronounced the Avatar will happen alongside people who never knew him as anything but, it's an extremely finite and dramatic closing of the chapter of his life where he wasn't the Avatar- it kinda shows he has no room for confusion anymore, he must now become The Avatar because that's essentially his people's last request of him. It's a very different sort of vibe from "I wasn't willing", it's "I wasn't ready", and that is much more easily fixable in a shorter show! Also the og literally just "solved" the willingness issue by having him enjoy the benefits and refuse to do any of the work so. Not sad to see it go at all

Battlefield Sozin?! Firebending rockets?! Wilhelm scream?! Cool battle scene all around tbh, really heartbreakin and difficult to watch, which means they did a good job with it! I do still wish it was brighter though lmao

Uhh forgot to type anything for a while because I was crying but. Yeah I generally really liked the portrayal of life on Wolf Cove! There are definitely some very noticeable changes with our two leads here, and I actually don't think they're necessarily bad, they just feel very strange and might take a bit to get used to. Katara actually isn't passive, which is weird considering that's how a lot of people described her? She's just extremely cautious. All of her defining traits feel like they're still there, but some of them do feel like they're lying a bit under the surface due to her situation which! Makes sense as an alternative way of writing her! Sokka genuinely feels like such a big brother here, I like the emphasis on his sense of responsibility and how he doesn't quite know how to be a real leader yet- it goes very well with a Katara who desperately wants to be a fighter but can't and has to try and blend in. Both of them have very clear aspirations and the traits that will eventually allow them to get to where they want to be, but they're very far from reaching them at the start. A lot of the scenes do feels kinda awkward tbh, but idk, I think they do a fine enough job at what they attempt to.

Now, hearing that Katara wasn't the one to break Aang out in a fit of anger wasn't a deal breaker for me actually, but? Honestly the way he gets out is just needlessly confusing here, genuinely unclear if Katara did it or he just... Idk somehow reacted to another bender's presence or whatever. Idk, it felt extremely weird and I think just like? A bit of clarification here as to what happened could've saved this scene without it having to happen via anger if that's the way they wanna go with Katara, and specifically her relationship with Sokka (which, again, does really feel authentic and well done here imo!)

Aang saying that Katara is the only one who tried to fight for him is fucking wild, but I guess that's the impression he got given that Gyatso told him he had to go away and he didn't hear the meeting about him here. Still a wild thing for him to say, felt really weird right alongside Sokka being the bravest person he ever met. Idk that whole exchange was off and awkward and just... Strange

Iroh doing his best to help and teach Aang when he can is very sweet. Idk how to feel about how hard he's already going in on the whole "your daddy doesn't love you" thing with Zuko tbh, because it does make Zuko appear much less lost when he's got someone who's giving him the answers rather than leading him to them, it's kinda a book 2 vibe from them? It's strange. Also a straight talking Iroh feels so strange in general, literally his only "eccentric" quality so far is loving Jasmine tea and very clearly not being down with the war, it's... Certainly A Choice, but not one I'm really enjoying so far tbh

There's something really interesting about Katara immediately relaxing and allowing herself to be silly and mischievous around Sokka here, it's kind of a flip from their dynamic in the original but there's something really fun and sweet about seeing those hidden aspects of her come out around the one person she knows and trusts to accept and protect her just as fiercely as she would him. It's definitely different, but I'm genuinely really enjoying the unique spin they put on their relationship and how it correlates with their own individual personalities and how they perceive and present themselves.

Taking the burden of always being the only one who can bring Aang out of the Avatar State away from Katara feels like a big relief. Also in general I like the way they still kept Aang's attachment to Gyatso and his parallels with Katara, while also solidifying Sokka and Aang friendship which wasn't really... A thing in the original? Having Sokka protect and reach out to Aang feels much more personal here in a way than it did originally, I think maybe the weird scene where Aang praises them kinda worked to serve that? Idk I've read people saying they don't feel like a family but more like friends here but. They never did in the original in season 1 either tbh. If anything there's a sense of everyone being equal here which the original lacked in places, I like how both Sokka and Katara support and save Aang in equal measure here and how they look out for each other as well. Aang is kinda naturally a mess this whole episode but here's hoping he returns the favor for them for once in the future!

Edit: dammit Tumblr literally just did it again I didn't mean to post this yet, but I'm kind of at the end of the episode so fuck it, it stays I don't wanna reconstruct it in the drafts again. If I have anything to add it'll go after this.

[hollyhomburg]

LI!‼️‼️ OMG

This chapter has made me gobsmacked!!!!

Like it was so well written!! And idk,, but the way your write the shower part just makes it so easy to imagine. Like the whole thing is so easy to picture and understand.

AND POOR MC FINDING THAT IN HER /EAR/ !! I would've thrown up just like tae tbh. I also thought she was partially deaf in that ear when she was saying she couldn't hear properly-

The whole part from mc in the closet calling moonbyul wasn't that shocking to me? tbh I was kind of expecting it? Because when she shushed Namjoon in the bathroom I know she didnt do it because he believed what he was saying. Maybe it's because I have a slightly similar mindset to the mc when it comes to things like this (taking responsibility when things go wrong) but I just knew she was gonna try and do something.

And just because I'm a dumb bunny😓 I did NOT see hobi's secret coming AT ALL so I am more shocked now than ever before. Idk why but hobi's secret out of everyones is the most shocking to me for some reason. Maybe it's coz I was like already shocked and like thinking about everything else in the chapter? But it really has shocked me beyond anything else.

BUT NOW i'm just questioning moonbyul!! Like?? I thought she was an alpha?? or am I just stupid and remember wrong?? Or did hobi not realise? Or did she hide it from him?? Like I'm so confused!! Even when describing the scents ,, didn't the mc describe them once?? and didn't she describe them like really putrid or something?? or was it just because she was in a situation she didn't want to be in? OR AM I REMEMBERING WRONG AGAIN?! if i am i apologise 😓

but this whole chapter really was an EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER!! It literally had me going 'what the heck??' and 'hold on- wait?!' like over and over and over!! You did so well Li!! Good job and thanks for writing such an amazing chapter!! Can't wait for the next one!!

Stay safe and healthy 🫶

(also I asked to be an anon before but forgot which one so can I please be ☁️ anon?)

Ahhhh thank you for sending such a cute ask <3 I’ve been so distracted the last few days I haven’t even gotten to all of these!!

I think one of the reasons why it’s easy for people to picture bily is because I also see it super cinematically- and most of the writing process for me is just continually asking “what could I add to make this feel more real? What am I pictureing that I’m not saying?” there was this tictok trend talking about the minds eye and how some people see nothing when they imagine and other people see everything…I’m pretty sure I’m one of the very few 4k, smell, touch, sound, level imaginers out there lol

Yes! You’re right in assuming that this is the m/c trying to take responsibility for the situation! Because it was her reliance on Moonbyul in the past that made the pack get into this situation in the first place! It’s character growth and I’m very proud of her 🥰

You’re not a dumb bunny! I was trying to toe the line between it being a complete surprise and having people figure it out! The fact that it seems to be a dead even split of people who didn’t know and did means I’m learning! And that I did it alright!

As for your questions- I did a little breakdown post of a it a while back but! Basically Moonbyul didn’t have to hide anything from Hobi at the time- because she wasn’t taking the drugs to turn her scent into an alpha’s scent. The scene you’re thinking of with the m/c- she describes their scents that way because Moonbyul is on the edge of needing another dose and her omegan scent it starting to peak through. It’s all chemically because of the drugs which is why the m/c doesn’t like it.

I’m so happy you enjoyed it!! I’m already about 3.5k into the next chapter- I know it will need tons of editing but I feel like this is the first chapter that’s come easy to me in a good long while <3

[punkxcalibur]

personal mphfpc recap since i finally finished reading all the books

spoilers for the entire mphfpc series ahead. this will mostly be me talking about the book's imperfections, because when i love a piece of media, i also love criticizing it to its core

so, i first read the books 1-4 in 2020 and i was SO obsessed!!?? i wasn't really into social media and fandom culture back then, so i didn't really have anyone to talk to about mphfpc and i remember being very sad about that. i also remember trying to make fanart of the characters, but i REALLY sucked at art back then and to this day i find old mphfpc drawings and cringe at them. maybe it's time to redraw some of those...

anyways, i read the fifth book when it first came out in germany and i kind of hated it lol. i was really rushing through it, because i couldn't wait for the fugh reunion. so i kind of missed out on the whole plot because i only cared about fiona and hugh.

basically, i recently finished rereading the books, because nostalgia or whatever and i'm kind of obsessed again. so...i'm just dumping some thoughts on the whole series here because on tumblr i can actually find ppl with mutual interests.

first of all there's literally SO MANY inconsistencies and plotholes?? what the actual fuck ransom riggs. idk how much of this is prevalent in the og books, because i mainly read the german translations, but sometimes riggs just forgets who hugh is i guess?? he mixes up his and horace's peculiarities once and at some point he is referred to as howard. who the fuck is howard. these are literally the most easiest mistakes to fix. does he not have an editor?

i'm not even gonna talk about the movie. i have a whole seperate post for it

it sometimes bothers me how only certain characters seem to serve a purpose. in every novel emma, enoch, millard and bronwyn are clearly the focus (besides jacob) despite the fact that the other characters are equally interesting and likeable. hugh, horace, claire, olive and obviously fiona are just NOT THERE for like the entirety of AMOD. are you kidding me

the entire second trilogy...is kind of a cashgrab. of course i'm happy we got more books and i liked them, but it's kind of obvious that the author simply had some pictures left and saw an opportunity to make some more profit out of them. that's not bad, but these books weren't necessary for the overall storyline.

the thing with the prophecy in DODA...the entire book was dedicated to finding the other lighteaters, but they don't really do anything in the end?? i kinda get why noor has to be the *main character*, but why introduce julius and sebbie when everything could have played out the same way without them?

julius and horace...is it really that hard to age julius down? it would've made that a lot less creepy. there is literally no reason for julius to so much older than horace. not sure if this could be considered queerbaiting, since i don't know a lot about that topic. would be grateful if anyone elaborated more on that.

hugh and fiona are still my favorite thing about these books THEY ARE PERFECT IN EVERY WAY AND DESERVED SO MANY MORE SCENES UGH. i don't need another jemma kiss i need FUGH. there is just so much potential and plus, we never really get to learn about their backstories?? like we know that they're from the 1840s, so how did they get into a loop a century later?

how was fiona able to *whisper* to hugh in DODA, she literally had her tongue cut out, hello?

so many characters with lots of potential either die or just disappear. lilly, sam, althea, peter-and-joel...ring any bells??

why is horatio kinda

ok i'm sorry

the photos are so funny sometimes, because at times there will be a photo of, say, emma and in the next book there will be another picture of her and she just looks like a different person. because,obviously, that's a photo of a different person. but apparently, ransom thinks we're too dumb to notice that.

i would just love it if there'd be storylines that focused on each character individually, because again, WASTED POTENTIAL

ricky deserved to have a comeback, i feel like this is general fandom consensus

introducing v, just to kill her off? idk man

despite all of these criticisms i just made, i fucking cherish these books

since pjo gets a new awesome reboot i think we deserve one too

i also wish the fandom was bigger but maybe it's a good thing that it's kind of niche. i don't know.

uhh i guess that was my not-so-little rant and yeah...enjoy this post i guess

[away-ward]

In my understanding this tiktok video (https ://vt.tiktok.com/ZSLt7AAgE/) literally is how will grayson treat other women that's not emory scott, including his initial stages of escort-fuck buddy-friendship thing with alex, and his character as a man and his relationship turns me off so bad, that i rooted less for him each time he appeared on page as i lose my respect towards how he treats women in general. Like we knew Michael and Damon were shit, but they both ADMITTED to it, but Will was always labelled as "amazing" and all good things, but his character was like THAT? Nah. The same goes with alex when she used others to hurt aydin, idk i find men, women, MCs & FMCs like them so icky, so i especially hate reading about fictional characters with these traits. What i hate about alex was that she could've been like emmy where she would've beenjust jealous n her head, and not humiliate or touch her physically to put her down, but alex literally just proves the stereotype of fighting over a dumb guy with an innocent woman. I disliked that banks and rika fight in hideaway for the same reason too. I can understand where they came from, but i fucking hated it. I hate it even more when other female reader cheered them on for it. I hated the will/damon/aydin jealousy scenes with a passion too. In fact, I would usually avoid these scenes in romance books if i can, because authors spent so much time wasting their talents on scenes of characters being jealous for other LIs, than building ACTUAL happiness & chemistry between them. I couldn't avoid this trope for this book especially, because i was never warned that the trope "other men/women drama" with a touch of "treating non-Love Interest like shit" trope were so fucking bad in Nightfall, it just ruins everything about Will for me.

Personally though, i'm not a big fan of both alex and will, and even though i know you're not very fond of alex too, i think based on one of your older asks about willalex's relationship, you described your understanding of alex's place in will's life differently than i would have. I don't have any problems with differing opinions though. I feel like you saw and put a lot more importance of alex's presence in will's life more than i did, or even will did. It's interesting how we interpret characters, because while i can agree with some of your interpretations of them, i have a very opposite opinion with the others. I also always thought it was kinda sad that for someone who was "close" to will, alex was the one who always "seems" to care more about will, than the other way around. But it's not like her care matters so much, because it still doesn't change will for the better, he only just got less lonely, but was still very self-destructive. For me, even though i knew that alex was a friend and family to will, and is automatically important to him for that, i never saw any hint that she was THAT important to Will personally, even off-page, like how you described in that willalex friendship post. Idk, maybe it's just me.

Because just like damon who had an exception towards winter, will too had an exception towards emmy, where he used everything he can as long as they're not emmy. So his relationship with alex too wasnt always sincere or deep, they only bonded through shallow things which then after one or two years of casual friendship, made them mirrors of each other's pain (or so they thought, they're shallow people, i can't always take their observations seriously), so i cant see why people fawn or get mad over their relationship too much. The fact that will couldn't get any friends outside of the horsemen if they're not their friends' girls, escorts, people he can pay with money, or people of similar status with him, even with all his status and privilege, already tells a lot about his classist and shallow personility. I kinda understand though being friends with people of the same class, since it's easier to get along with people who gets you immidiately without feeling like you're being judge for it, but still. The more that i think about this side of him too, the lesser i like him.

Idk, and that's the thing, when i read nightfall, i couldn't enjoy willemmy's story, because willemmy was busy destroying themselves and each other, then continue to go back to being jealous of the other, while always letting others intervene their relationship. Even when they had time alone, they always had to involve some third parties in their relationship, which pisses me off so much. It's one thing when people kept on meddling in their relationship, but it's another thing for them to drag others in it, just because they were immature, couldnt handle their feelings like mature adults. Their problems had existed way before alex and aydin got between them. We get the gist already if emory was a stronger woman, so i'm not gonna talk about her, but will. Ah, will, that useless fuck of a character, a character who no one calls him out for his shit. Now, If Will Grayson was a stronger man, Alex Palmer will never be able to slap Emory Scott. The only reason why his friends can treat emmy like shit was because Will lead them by example, just like how the horsemen initially didnt respect rik because michael humiliate him by example. Weak men are truly a fucking disease. Will humiliated and set a standard to how emmy deserves to be treated first, in front of stranger, classmates, and friends, i can't always blame others to not intervene or when emmy had to fight alone, because will grayson, when it matters, never really stood up for emmy. Even in high school he only did when it was for petty shit. The same thing happened when he humiliated her in front of everyone in the train, and letting emmy being insulted again by alex before that orgy. Idk, it's such a cruel thing, he was just as mean as emmy, but it was always overlooked by others. Will grayson is such a turn off for me fr, i can never see myself being attracted to a man or a book boyfriend like him tbh. Damon would never let anyone treats Winter like that, not even her own sister, even though HE was worse for her at first, and this comes from a damon hater alright. Nightfall made me so disappointed of will, i almost skipped nightfall's epilogue and his pov in firenight, if not for emmy's crumbs. All of that drama and pain because he was a pussy.

I hink i really agree with one of your older damon slander asks that said something about hating to read about whiny incompetent male characters, and it's probably not just because of my moral or personality, but also because we had enough of these men in reality! I dont want to escape reality only to find men like the horsemen in stories i read. Will grayson could've been like christian from the made series, but no, he was the walmart version of him.

Idk idc, will grayson didnt do it for me. Anyway, if you want a morally better and ACTUAL loyal pining of ACTUAL mean girl x sunshine amazing characters, i recommend you and your followers The Losers series by Harley Laroux. It's devil's night, but fucking amazing. It's reverse harem though, so if you're not into it then maybe you can just skip it. The main character jessica, was everything that pd wished rika or alex were and would be. Literally. Jessica was THE it girl, and she embraced it. This series was about going over the edge too, and be true to yourself, and just exploring topics of kinks, shame, vulnerability, love, friendships, identity, career, desire, etc. and everything amazing i could think of. Thats all.

I tried to find the tiktok but the link didn’t go anywhere/said the video was unavailable. If you manage to find it again, or one similar, feel free to send it through.

I mean, it’s easy to sit here and say I wish the series had been done differently. There’s plenty I would change in the development of the characters, but there’s only so much I can do before I overhaul everything and start with something new. In that case, wouldn’t I just be using PDs framework/bones to build my own story? But then, aren’t a lot of the series/books in this genre (especially on KU) just made from the same bones? Built on the same or very similar idea? It’s true that there’s nothing new under the sun, but where does inspiration end and stealing begin?

This is all just to say I understand where you’re coming from.

Taking Will out of the super special box I’ve placed him in, examining him without rose-colored glasses, Will’s nothing. Less than nothing, really. He’s not good, he’s not kind, he’s not all that funny. Adding to that, all of these characters, with a few exceptions, are underdeveloped and inconsistent. I wanted more from the mysteries that PD posed, and I wanted more from the “bad guys for a good reason” vibe. What we got was a bunch of immature and messy characters acting like they knew what they were doing, but in reality really proved that privilege can give you a lot of blind spots. DN could have been done better. I’ve never denied that.

If you hate when authors use jealousy as motivation this much, then I can see why you were frustrated reading the series. For a group of people who were about freely experiencing the world with no limitations, and openly shared their S.O.s with their friends occasionally, they sure were jealous a lot. But you know… people get jealous. People also react out of anger and do stupid stuff for reasons that I can’t understand. So I won’t say that Alex should have been like Emmy because Emmy’s reaction was one that I could understand and relate to. Because there are real people who have reacted like Alex. What I didn’t like is that PD framed it as though Emmy was wrong and Alex was right. The reality is that neither of them should have been framed as the superior one. Emmy wasn’t perfect, I just understood her better.

I can see why Will was ruined for you. Like I’ve said before, by the end of NF I was ready to scrap the whole series, save for the past scenes where I agree with the portrayal of his character, and wipe my hands clean.

I feel like you saw and put a lot more importance of alex's presence in will's life more than i did, or even will did.

Honestly, I never saw Alex as important until Nightfall tried to convince us she was. But since that’s the narrative it served us, I tried to examine from that perspective. Why is Alex here? Why is she even relevant? The easy answer is that PD pushed that narrative. But removing that, just analyzing what the story is, and what are we left with? Making it make sense is what I'm trying to do.

I also always thought it was kinda sad that for someone who was "close" to will, alex was the one who always "seems" to care more about will, than the other way around. But it's not like her care matters so much, because it still doesn't change will for the better, he only just got less lonely, but was still very self-destructive.

What I thought was fascinating about this point is that you’re right, but also…

As noted at the end of KS, Will only started improving when Damon returned and his friends started helping him get off drugs. They got him clean, but not sober. I think that’s what finally motivated him to go to BC, because he started realizing he had nothing to offer his friends anymore. On top of that, was he going to rely on them to keep him clean? He couldn’t. He needed to learn to do that on his own. First real grown-up decision he made. Of course, he then became the worst version of himself, too scared to return to a place that offered all his vices so freely because he couldn't trust himself, and too stunted to try. He did the physical work, but none of the emotional or mental work. Alex never helped him with any of that.

She comforted him. She made him think everything he was doing was okay. Maybe she tried to encourage him, but I don’t think she ever pushed him to be better like Emmy would have. Emmy would have demanded better (at least the Emmy that lives in my head, but I think the book version is at least closer to that then Alex ever was). I truly think if Emmy had returned to Thunder Bay by the time Will was released from prison, he would either have never gotten that bad or she would and forced him to get better earlier.

But Emmy wasn’t there. Alex was, and who know why Alex did anything. Was it her character? Was it her flaws? Did she not know what to do for him because she’s literally 19 and life suddenly hands her a client who’s been to prison and has trauma surrounding that, and is angry, and is numbing his pain with vices, but that she can occasionally see a glimmer of something more in? I don’t know. Maybe it was just excellent sex, and even she says that’s what she’s usually thinking about. She says he puts in the work. Either way, because of the way this story was told, it’s up to the reader to make up their own mind. No one is more correct than anyone else, least of all me. I read way too much into this anyway. It’s really not that deep.

The fact that will couldn't get any friends outside of the horsemen if they're not their friends' girls, escorts, people he can pay with money, or people of similar status with him, even with all his status and privilege, already tells a lot about his classist and shallow personility. I kinda understand though being friends with people of the same class

I mean… I’m not sure about this opinion. We see these guys host parties in nearly every book. It’s safe to say they have friends outside each other. And if you want to say all those friendships are shallow because they’re built on who has money and what people can offer each other, that’s fine. I won’t argue that point, though I’d disagree with it. But it’s obvious that these relationships are the most important to them, and since we only see a very narrow time frame of the series, we don’t get a lot of development of outside plot.

Even when they had time alone, they always had to involve some third parties in their relationship, which pisses me off so much.

This is partly why I say I would have preferred if NF had taken place in Thunder Bay like the others or was not the end of the series. The force proximity and limited cast really make it difficult to determine what is Will and Emmy, and what is the situation forcing them to act this way. Not giving either an escape route to see what decisions they’d make without the pressure is frustrating. There is a way to keep this plot and make the series work.

Now, If Will Grayson was a stronger man, Alex Palmer will never be able to slap Emory Scott. The only reason why his friends can treat emmy like shit was because Will lead them by example, just like how the horsemen initially didnt respect rik because michael humiliate him by example.

This is a fair point. I’ve been thinking a lot about friend group dynamics, especially in fours (gee, wonder why), and I realized something that frustrates me about the way the horsemen are set up. I’m gonna segue into something else, so if you want to skip the next few paragraphs, that’s fine.

Michael is set up as the leader, Kai the brains, Damon the passion, and Will the heart. In recent posts, I’ve called Michael the brain, and Kai the heart. Because that’s what makes sense to me in terms of the roles they feel. A leader needs to lead with something, right. It can be courage, it can be heart, it can be logic, but it needs to be something. Just calling Michael a leader because he makes the call doesn’t mean anything. What is he leading with.

But Michael is framed as logical and decisive, so I place him as the brain. Kai is supposed to be compassionate and wise, the voice of reason in the group, which PD calls the brains, but I call the heart. Damon can remain the passion. But that leaves Will with nothing.

Will, in my head, is supposed to be the glue that holds them together. He’s supposed to be the one they go to when they need encouragement, to see things from a better perspective. The one that fixes them, not the other way around.

If that’s the case, he totally fails in his role. He’s so weakened by his various traumas and heartbreak, he can’t fulfill that role. And that’s irritating because it takes the entire series for him to come out of that and then it ends. We never actually get to see Will as he was supposed to be. That’s what pisses me off. So, you’re right. He’s useless.

Back to your point, I think also would have preferred to see a stronger Will. A character who is so happy all the time, the glue that holds the team together, the one they go to when they need to be built back up, and all of a sudden the only thing that makes him so angry he goes over the edge appears in front of him again? To the point he becomes unhinged and starts wilding out? That could have been interesting.

And it’s interesting because we do see a bit of what you were talking about with Will setting the standard when Damon was trashing her at the cove, before they went to beat martin. He straight forwardly, in all seriousness, tells Damon to stop. Will can feel that way about her, but no one else. Somewhere along the way, Will lost that thought. Where’d it go? I don’t know.

Anyway. What can you do?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I hope I understood what you were saying and responded fairly. I know I come off as totally pro-Will Grayson, Will Grayson can do no wrong, but that's not the case. I do see the characters clearly (for the most part). Not only that, but I want them to be better. So I make it so.

[dark-overlord-of-rainbows]

Drawn July 11 2024 some random ocs, no relation to one another

Blond hair: is Owen. Some old oc in a world where everyone had two superpowers. Not a bad idea inherently but the reason I wrote it that way and the way I executed it were dumb. They also had two like, fantasy traits? idk how to describe it but Owen's are his colourful star shaped freckles I don't yet know how to represent and (I think) the very shiny hair (it might've not been a trait of his actually and came from the later incarnation of his character with a different name, Will, which I might swap their names tbh.) The hair would've been rendered differently to others to make his hair look metallic in comparison Anyway. I just wanted to try drawing a top hat with things dangling from it. Rainbow Hair: More Aurum. More-um. Whatever. Antlers: Some demon royal (or maybe nobility). The smaller one with the purple/yellow palette is more in line with my initial idea but the big one was just some palette I also wanted to try out and it's a lot more complicated so I needed the extra space for detail Icecream: She uh. turned out a little more creepy than I was initially going for but I'm not gonna change it. Anyway my current idea for her is I am taking inspiration from my fucking self insert (very literally) from when I was like 10 but giving that story to this design based on some toy He (the self insert) was a shounen protagonist in a story whose main plot was something something "we gotta collect all the powerful plot coupons/macguffins so they don't fall into the wrong hands!". I never fleshed it out, of course I wouldn't! Anyway they were some half-water dragon who was the strongest boy and also the best mage in the whole world. Defeated every opponent with ease. He could also travel into stories with a magical key he had (it was a toy I had) (this was so I could put my self insert into whatever story I was ADHD about at the time) The magic macguffins were in fact from different stories/games I liked, but the travelling into stories was a completely separate canon I think (even if it wasn't, nobody else to my knowledge had that ability?), so I don't even know why they were there... I did have the ending planned out though, upon the heroes collecting all of the plot coupons, my big boy self insert revealed himself to be evil, actually, and then the story just ends there because like. Even if they weren't my self insert, he was already undefeatable and now has the plot-coupons-of-makes-you-all-powerful. I wasn't gonna go anywhere from there. Child me I admire your ambitions of evil however you need to work on satisfying story endings. Also please write down your stories please please please please (< that last bit also directed at me now) Back to the oc I actually drew! Uhh I'm taking the fact that my self insert was powerful, an interdimensional traveller and evil (and did have a sword) and giving that to this girl because why not. I haven't decided on a name just yet but I was thinking "[some poisonous fruit] ice"

[navree]

Question for you, oh ASOIAF/F&B analysis queen: Do you think GRRM will ever actually finish ASOIAF? I feel like no, and like he should just hire his former assistant (half of James S.A. Corey) to finish it because GRRM clearly doesn't want to (or feels pressured from the reaction to the show idk). I know you appreciate Dany as a character - do you think that, if the books ever actually did continue (lol), she would've ended up like she does in GOT? (Also, side note: sometimes I think you interpret female characters in ASOIAF with more nuance than GRRM himself appreciated/intended, but maybe I'm just not giving him the benefit of the doubt.)

Unrelated: I don't watch HOTD (I just like Rhaenyra because Emma D'Arcy is a great actor), but sorry they did the B&C scene incorrectly. They should've owned up to the choices Team Black makes.

So, the thing to know about me is I am an eternal optimist. Not unrealistically so, but I am someone whose first instinct is that things are gonna work out in my favor, even if it takes a while. So I do think that GRRM is gonna at least finish The Winds of Winter, if only because he has been actively working on it for, like, ten million years. I'm a bit more iffy about A Dream of Spring, if only because George is not a particularly young man and I wouldn't be shocked if he ended up dying of old age before completing it, especially since the length of wait time seems to double with every new release. If TWOW gets finished this year, than we're supposed to expect ADOS by, what, 2044? By which time George while be in his mid-nineties? Winds also doesn't need to solve every dangling plot thread, since it's still not the last book, which is good because I think part of the issue and wait time, based on George's context clues, is that he's kinda written himself into a corner on at least one key thing and has been struggling to figure a way out of it (along with what I assume is more pressure due to the show's catastrophic ending).

I think it's possible we'll see a version of what we saw in the show with book!Dany, because the issue most people had wasn't necessarily with how Dany's arc ended, but the steps taken to get there, which were rushed and sloppy and made no sense and grotesquely out of character. But I think it's going to look very different, because the show and the books literally cannot end in the same way. The choices made in changing character motivations, character storylines, and even straight up cutting arcs and plots and whole entire swaths of people means that ASOIAF is an entirely different narrative to GOT, and the stories cannot line up in their conclusion. That's part of what sunk GOT, David and Dan knew key beats of how the story ended, but had switched around so much in getting there that all these characters are functionally different people in a different plot, so trying to force them into book storylines didn't work. Like, the whole thing with "the bells". There is a character in the books, Jon Connington, who has a trauma response associated with the bells of King's Landing that could lead to him making dumb decisions that would eventually result in the destruction of the city. But the way that would go about in the books is nowhere near what we saw in that fuckass show. @turtle-paced has a post about how that would work that I cannot for the life of me find but the gist of it is that there will be some bells ringing to signify surrender during the conflict between Dany and Aegon/fAegon, but that Connington will likely ignore it and keep fighting because trauma response, Dany will then continue hostilities herself in the face of that, and at some point the fires involved, cuz she has dragons, are going to reach the cache of wildfire Aerys hid all over the city and blow everything sky high, because that wildfire has been given way too much significance to not matter. Very different from Dany seeing abject surrender and just deciding to become She-Hitler on a whim, because it involves characters that the books set up, like Jon Connington and Arianne Martell and Aegon/fAegon and the involvement of the Golden Company, who were literally all cut from the show. So Dany likely will have a moment where she causes mass destruction in King's Landing, she might even have a moment where she rules and might exhibit some darker tendencies, and she might die (I'm still on the fence on whether that'll happen or not), but it's not gonna be like we saw in the show, and the circumstances of any death on her part is going to be entirely different.

I probably do give more nuance to most characters, especially Fire&Blood characters, than GRRM intended, it's that eternal optimist in me that wants to believe that stuff is well written. But for F&B I at least allow that part of it is straight headcanoning because of how muddled and sparse the information is, especially when it relates to characters from the Conquest. Is there any evidence in the text for my firm belief that Visenya was a lesbian and the real "love triangle" was her and Aegon both super into Rhaenys? No, there is not, but I will go to my grave believing it.

God I wish Emma D'Arcy was in more stuff so I could see more of them, they're so good and I'd kill to have them act out scripts that are, like, well written. Honestly finding out the leaks about how they were doing Blood and Cheese really turned me off of watching season 2 even though I was tentatively back on board due to the Aegon dad stuff, because it's just badly written, and the cop-out excuse of "oh there's some stuff you can't legally do with kids involved" makes no sense because y'all are making a TV show, you're filming, you know editing and cuts and multiple takes and different angles exist. Do you actually think that D&D were having Lena Heady and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau simulate graphic sex, including elements of nudity, literally right in front of ten year old Isaac Hempstead-Wright? No, of course not, they edited that together from two separate takes, oh wow how novel that's never been done before. And they did that because Bran catching the Lannisters fucking is, like, important to the plot, and honestly Blood and Cheese doing what they did in the way that they did it is too. It turns the smallfolk hard against Rhaenyra and her faction, which is important because it's a smallfolk uprising that leads to her fleeing King's Landing and ultimately dying and losing the war, and it's part of a broader trend in ASOIAF about how monarchy is a bad system. Rhaenyra sanctioning Blood and Cheese and not punishing Daemon in the slightest for this egregious action shows that she is not, in fact, the right choice for the Iron Throne. And neither is Aegon. Because there's no right choice, because this war specifically was entirely useless and that's why, narratively, it's the beginning of the end for House Targaryen, and broadly because birthright monarchy is a scam and should not exist. There's a reason why all the kings who've sat the Iron Throne in ASOIAF are bad, that Tommen is a bad king, that Joffrey was a bad king, that Robert was a bad king, that Aerys was a bad king, that even a lot of claimants aren't really gonna be good kings (Renly was an idiot and Stannis, for all I love him, is too hard headed and rigid). And conversely, there's a reason why the rulers we see who are the best morally tend to be the ones who've come the closest to being democratically chosen, Robb was chosen by his bannermen by popular decree, Jon was elected by the Night's Watch in a democratic vote, Dany was willingly followed by free men and women who were given the option not to (and even all three of them have issues when it comes to ruling and are far from perfect monarchs). There's not really such a thing as a "good king", not firmly, because a monarchy is inherently unjust. Rhaenyra's claim is inherently as illegitimate as Aegon's, it rests on "Daddy said it's mine so it's mine" rather than "Mommy said it's mine so it's mine", because that's how hereditary monarchies work and that's bad. And having Rhaenyra allow acts of senseless brutality in her name due to personal hangups is a part of showcasing that. There's no good side in this civil war, there's no good and righteous claimant, and whitewashing so much of Team Black's actions weakens the overall story (but at least makes their stans look like the hypocrites they are, considering they were all about book purity when it came to, like, the concept of sapphics in Westeros but now all the people chanting "we support all of Team Black's war crimes after that boring ass plank of wood got eaten" have gone dead silent about the deviations when it comes to making Daemon and Rhaenyra not be monsters, shrug dot emoji).

Also, how are you, as a writer, gonna say that the core of the story is Rhaenyra and Alicent, and then not include Alicent in Blood and Cheese? Like, she was there, she was physically attacked, by this thing that happened as a result of Rhaenyra's wants and wishes! And you don't do anything with that? You don't want to give Emma D'Arcy the chance to perform that delusion conflict, that she wanted revenge but didn't even get it, and worse, someone she loved so dearly, still deep down loves so dearly, was assaulted and put in real danger as a result? If the leaks are true and Rhaenyra and Alicent are gonna have a secret meeting in the next couple episodes, imagine how wonderful it could be if Rhaenyra has to confront that not only has her side hurt Alicent emotionally in torturing her daughter and murdering her grandson, but physically as well. Imagine Rhaenyra, full of righteous "the throne is mine" crap but having to confront the still healing physical wounds on Alicent's body. It could be so good for Rhaenicent character interaction, even for Daemyra character interaction if they wanted to still whitewash Rhaenyra and have it be Daemon going off script against her wishes, but at this point I'm not entirely sure Ryan and Sara are good at their jobs.

[decidueyes]

I recently rewatched Death Note, its been one of my fave anime since I first watched it and it still is :) Some thoughts (hidden for spoilers):

-I know the common opinion is that the rest of the show after L dies isn't as good. I recently learned that the anime actually rushed it/skipped stuff from the manga, which is unfortunate :/. I noticed that there were much less inner monologues during the latter half; disappointing to me bcuz 1. it made it harder to follow the logic, and 2. it would've helped develop the Light vs Near dynamic and make us viewers feel more invested. It would have been nice if the anime had more episodes so it wouldn't feel so rushed. We also don't really get to know Mello and Near very well, which sucks cuz now everyone thinks they're not as good as L (which might still be true, but at least give them a fighting chance lmao). The worst victim has gotta be Mello's friend Matt who shows up in one scene just to get shot at by a group of people and die. Its funny to think about cuz why did they do him like that lol.

-L is still my fave <3. The OG autistic anime boy. When I first watched I was so surprised when he died that I felt like I was in shock for the rest of the day. I'm not usually that affected by character deaths but that one really got me. This time around I braced myself for it, but its not that bad when you know its coming. Still, Fs in the chat for him o7.

-On the other hand, I remember I hated Light lmao. I disagree with him but then also the whole "I'm a god" ego thing was off-putting to me. Now that I'm older I think maybe I can appreciate his character a little more. He's still dumb tho, killing criminals isn't gonna magically make the world better. I guess that's part of his character, the way he is so naive. There's also the question of whether the death note corrupted him or if he was always like that. Maybe a bit of both? That might be what's interesting about him. Tbh I feel like the death note would corrupt anyone :O

-I don't think I ever gave much thought to the relationship between Light and L, but now that I'm thinking about it, its kinda fascinating. Like, they don't really like each other, but they're also obsessed with each other. The most joy in life they have is this intellectual back-and-forth game they are playing. When Light says "its boring without Ryuzaki" and then multiple times he's like "Near u suck ur not as good as L" like why are u thinking about another man that much lmao. Anime rivalry/toxic yaoi go brrrr.

-Misa deserved better. She was basically written out near the end when she had to give up her death note again. 2 shinigami died for her and yet she barely gets to do anything damn lmao.

-I saw a youtube comment about Matsuda that was really cool. It said he was like a son to Soichiro, more than his actual son, which made it meaningful when Matsuda was the one to shoot Light at the end. Matsuda was also the only one who would sometimes say that Kira maybe had a point, so there's another meaning to him shooting LIght. Idk I just think that's a neat detail.

-Never 4get the memes. The potato chip scene. All according to keikaku. "I've even brought America to its knees". "DELETE DELETE DELETE". The other cop pocketing the strawberry that L gives him instead of just eating it. This show is so silly :)

This got kinda long whoops. TL;DR: Death Note good. Also, stan L :)

[alismodworld]

Alright well I might as well give my thoughts on the movie

SPOILERS TURN BACK WHILE YOU STILL CAN!!

Okay we clear? Cool. So, The Super Mario Bros movie. It was good but I honestly had no doubt it wasn't gonna be good after seeing the trailers and the promos. Of course as with everyone else my only point of fear was Chris Pratt's voice, but while I was watching the movie I realized its actually okay. It never annoyed me and it even fits Mario somehow (yeah I said it come at me). Now that I'm thinking about it, if Charles Martinet was casted it really wouldn't have worked. Whenever we see Mario in the game he's always happy and bouncy, rarely ever serious or emotional so having a voice like that probably wouldn't have made the more serious parts of the movie work at all and at best I would've laughed at how ridiculous it was and at worst I would've been sinking far back into my chair. No disrespect to the guy at all, he does a phenomenal job in the games, but I just don't think he'd work too well in the movie. He does get a nod to in the movie which is great!

The movie is gorgeously animated and I love how the characters translated perfectly on the big screen. The backgrounds were spectacular. And the way the incorporate the elements of the games into the movie to create this world is *chefs kiss*. Everything makes sense and it's not too on the nose, it's believable.

It's a very simple movie, nothing too crazy and if you have very basic knowledge of the Mario franchise you'll get what's going on like how I did. All the characters acted perfectly to how I expected them to and nobody really annoyed me. My only problem is with Cranky Kong's voice. Sorry, but Fred Armisen's voice just doesn't match up with Cranky's appearance.

Jack Black absolutely killed it with Bowser. He was the perfect amount of comedy and intimidation. AND THE PEACHES SONG THREW ME SO OFF GUARD I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO BUT JUST SIT AND STARE!!

Also, PEACH! Oh my god I loved Peach in this movie!! I was scared and honestly expecting her to be too much of a "strong female character" rather than a strong character who happens to be female and she's definitely the latter. She's kind, she's helpful, she's patient, she cares deeply about her subjects, kingdom and everyone in general and she can kick serious ass too. I'm gonna be honest, in my years of playing Mario on and off I never really cared for Peach, IM SORRY TO SAY, I WAS DUMB KID! But watching her in this movie, I absolutely love her!!! AND SHE GOT LORE ON TOP OF THAT?!??

Also usually I hate the whole male character and female character get shoehorned together and end up falling in love trope, but here? PERFECT!! I also never really cared for Mareach but, I'm a changed woman and I never wanted two characters to get together so bad. I absolutely loved their chemistry as it was so organic. Of course they don't which I'm fine with but, maybe potential in the sequel?

All the action sequences were done great in my opinion and actually exceeded my expectations in some cases as I was genuinely expecting nothing but slapstick but we got a healthy amount of slapstick and serious action.

The final battle and climax was amazingly done!! Ugh that hug Mario and Luigi shared was amazing!!!

Okay now for what I didn't like

I wish we had more Luigi scenes. I understand that he's the one who's kidnapped and is basically the whole reason the movie happens but we got only a few scenes with him either running away or being trapped or integrated. I would've loved maybe a scene with him trying to be brave and find a way out or rally others to help each other escape which could've added to his character. Like it's called The Super Mario BROS movie...

Also Toad is just...there. I get he's the comic relief but he really doesn't do much other than tag along. The most I remember him doing was showing Mario to the kingdom, that's it. Idk maybe do something more to flesh out his character, why is he so eager to help Mario and Peach? Why is he an adventurer? What are his goals? Stuff like that.

Also no chain chomps...worst movie, 0/10, D-tier/j

I heard people were talking about the pacing which yeah it's a little fast but it's not too quick in my opinion. I think if they let certain scenes play out longer it would've benefited the movie.

But over all it's a really good movie. Not ground breaking but really good, happy, healthy fun. And I'm quite impressed considering it came from Illumination.

Here's to hoping this movie will pave the way to a Zelda movie!!

[monsterhighalumni]

natm 4 thoughts/reaction

late to the game but you already know [major spoilers ahead]

i love how feral they allowed every character to get in this movie (ESPECIALLY sacajawea), them working together to gaslight gatekeep girlboss the night guards into leaving was (chef's kiss)

also love how this canon basically completely ignores the (terrible) ending of natm 3, love that larry's still involved with the museum, amazing, perfect, no notes

unpopular opinion, i love that nicky's a lil dweeb full of anxiety now. that feels more like the natural progression of his character than becoming a kind of jerk-y frat bro. OG!nicky doesn't make his own mixes and pre-records his sets, NATM4!nicky is a music nerd, loves vaporwave, and accidentally reinvents electro-swing. slay king

[sees the bisexual flag on nicky's notebook] [sonic voice] woah he's bisexual! i didn't know that!

larry is like. such a good dad here. good for him, he's much more supportive than he would've been in the originals. OG!larry probably would've insisted on shadowing him the first night and stood like two feet away making comments about how nicky should be doing things the whole night lmao i love him but this is true

I'M SO GLAD THAT THE EXHIBITS BRING UP THAT NICKY IS LIKE FAMILY AND WAS PRACTICALLY RAISED IN THE MUSEUM cause in the 3rd film nicky just. doesn't seem to care about them that much that boy just wants to LEAVE

i love joan i don't even care that much that she was shoehorned in, she's a lil unhinged and a badass and FINALLY wea has another female friend

BUT WHY DOES SHE LOOK LIKE TAYLOR SWIFT SKREEEEE

laa die challenge. should've been eaten by the crocodile.

it would've been so cool and amazing to explore the basement and the archives and the idea that it's the "deep ocean", dark, fucked-up part of the museum is amazing. but it's also funny that they were just. fucking with nicky jfghfjh

"KAMENRAH THE DISAPPOINTING SON" KDJFGHDKFHJGLKGDFHB

kamenrah thinking nicky was larry giving big "rose quartz steven universe" vibes but also would've been funnier if he then proceeded to call him "nicky daley from daley devices" as a callback to natm 2

i feel like it diminishes the impact of not ahk not seeing his parents for 60+ years that sentient images of his dad, merenhakre are just. everywhere.

speaking of which, i don't even need to say it. everyone's already said it. ahk should've been in this movie and we all know it, but also he wasn't even acknowledged and no one bring him up?? not even kamenrah?? this makes me feel like there's a copyright or licensing issue going on here or SOMETHING cause damn

seth die challenge. stupid little jackal man

the epic highs (using the tablet like a musical instruments to unlock a tomb and playing the squares like chords) and lows (TIME TRAVEL WE'RE REALLY DOING THIS NOW HUH) of the tablet's canonical magic

hnnnnnnn i really dislike the time travel

i think my biggest problem with natm 4 is that the best part of the original movies was getting to explore the museums and meet all the fun new historical characters and the adventures were constrained by the environment therefore THEY SHOULD'VE STAYED AT THE MET

although it is SUPREMELY funny that not only do the met egyptian mummies know of kamenrah, they just decide to fuck off from the narrative cause they just don't want to deal with him JFKDHG

everyone is complaining about teddy's characterization idk man i actually thought that his main bit was pretty funny. of course he just talks about himself, he's mr. the museum

didn't love jed though maybe it was the new VA trying to sound like owen wilson, maybe he felt dumbed down, but the jedtavius moments were very good like everyone said they were

you ever see a couple so married and so divorced at the same time, i love them

overall i'm not mad with the new designs, i think they capture the energy of the original and cartoonify them well — the fight scenes were animated well too, i love that it was 2D and it was charming without FEELING explicitly low budget

yeah yeah i feel similarly that i didn't love the rehash of natm 2, the door, the summoning the minions of the underworld, etc — if it were up to me the movie's main conflict should've been kamenrah versus all the OTHER egyptian pharaohs and mummies at the met vying for power

BUT!!! IT ENDED WITH A DANCE PARTY!!! THAT'S ALL I CARE ABOUT THAT'S WHAT I WAS HOPING FOR AND IT HAPPENED!!!!!!

overall it was cute and fun and i hope it converts into a tv series and also tumblr is way too mad about it for what it is. 6/10