#but like none of this makes sense with the rest of the way arc acts or talks about him

[heretherebedork]

I hate this show because this line would be good in a show that was actually doing this but this show is not doing anything resembling this and I hate everything.

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

(DATV thoughts with spoilers ahead; i think my tags will keep it filtered but just in case it doesn't since i dont want this in the actual game tags)

i just... man. i don't have a well formulated thought for this yet (and its my PERSONAL OPINION and other people can feel as different as they want, this is not an attack) but it keeps bouncing around my head, so. i know the popular thing right now is coming up with in-universe justifications for The Pantry Almost-Kiss Scene in ways that imply Lucanis didn't mean it/it doesn't represent him as a person/he was Faking It.

and i just don't like any of them. they make me sad!!!!!! i don't like the idea that one of the like 4 romance scenes we get in this game is him Pretending in some way, even if he does at that point like Rook back at least somewhat. None of the justifications i've seen make me feel Better about that being the point where we declare him as a romantic interest, which is what it is in the game, functionally. It doesn't lock you in yet but that point IS where the game says "they will take your flirting more seriously now". I did those same scenes for Davrin, Emmrich, and Taash and this is the formula the game uses (the "interrupted almost-kiss/confession" happens for almost all of the companions).

so if the answer for Lucanis' is "actually he stopped because he Didn't like what he was doing/feel that way yet" or that he felt he had to pretend for Rook's sake... it's kind of a letdown you know? esspecially when it comes right after what seems like an actually authentic moment (dispelling his "perfectly gathered clouds of doom"). Because, at that point in the game from my/Rook's perspective, it was like he finally was reciprocating. It made me hope that he'd acknowledge whatever was between him & Rook more in future scenes, especially because you get so little else from him at any other point, in terms of flirting back/showing you he IS interested. like up to that point I felt kind of bad for continuing to flirt at him, when he'd just change the subject right after! if someone did that in real life i would take it as a hint to stop. This is pixels and not real people so I didn't but they have done "reluctant/fearful interest" better in other characters if that's truly what they were going for in this one.

so after finishing the romance and getting the rest of content... idk. I don't like saying "one of the major chunks of characterization we get needs to be Thrown Out Actually because he was Pretending". because it's not like he or Rook ever actually address it in game--you just don't get to talk about feelings until some dialogue choices only in the act 3 romance scene, and then his speech at endgame (not even a full conversation, so much as his personal declaration). like it takes until the VERY end of the game for him to say the thing about "he was afraid to want you", but that comes after you've already hooked up, even.

I think truly what annoys me is that it's a story choice that can only make sense in HINDSIGHT not AS PLAYING. Only once you have all the scenes can you say "this one is out of character" and then you either have to accept it as bad writing, or come up with some in-universe justification to explain it... and so far none of the in universe ones feel good to me. i wish they did because maybe then I'd be less annoyed, rip. but at the end of the day i think even if there was some intent there, it was a poor choice for his story arc, because it doesn't effectively convey anything... and the reason why we can project a lot of different explanations onto it is simply because it is never addressed again (and again, Lucanis Dellamorte is NOT A PERSON he is a CHARACTER used to further a story for you the player, and so the reasons I don't like this choice are story-level and not a dig at how real life people feel or act).

So yeah at the end of the day. that is simply not a narrative device I would ever personally use in this way on a player/reader. certain kinds of hindsight revelations have their place (see: what the devs tried to do with Varric though I also think that falls apart on close inspection, but at least it has justification in-universe), but for a romance it just makes me embarrassed for Rook. In a game where you don't have nearly as many back-and-forth conversations with characters and have to resort to eavesdropping on them talking to each other, it's sad that one of the like 5 times you actually get to talk to Lucanis one on one we're maybe supposed to believe he wasn't being authentic, and also that Rook can't respond to this ever. It would be different if it had any kind of follow up, imo. or honestly as i've said before i would rather it have been swapped out with something entirely different or where we get to talk about their feelings instead, before i get labeled as one of the "people mad he's not Zevran 2.0/a sexy latin sterotype".

But having to step back to player-level analysis versus in-character analysis when looking at his whole romance arc just feels sloppy. but i'd much rather stick to "bad writing" than "intentional character choice" in terms of how to interpret the scene I guess, at this point, for poor Rook's sake. and i know people disagree with when I've said that before bc as much as I love Mary Kirby in other areas, she has said many times that she doesn't like writing romance, and I think it really does show here. As much as I love Lucanis and the scraps we got I wish I didn't have to do so much filling-in-the-blanks on our own.

[hellooobees]

I'm so impressed by the writing of Thamepo just in general but this is specifically about something I love about the writing around Thame and Po growing closer.

So in the first episode, the time that Po was hired to photograph Mars at an event is brought up three times right? First when Po is interviewing for the job at ONER and embellishes the truth about that event. Second when Thame reveals that he remembers Po from that event and has evidence that proves Po lied about not being a fan/sasaeng. And third when Po convinces Thame that he's not a fan in secret and Thame in turn reveals that he remembers Po out of everyone there because Po did something kind for a young fan and it stood out to him. @thebroccolination has written this fantastic breakdown on the layered writing of the first episode around that scene.

In the third episode, we see Thame and Po exchanging phone numbers three times. @btwinlines points out how every successive instance is growing more personal from Thame entering his phone number into Po's phone because they need to be in touch for their plan, to Thame being worried about Po when he's with Jun and finding he has no way to contact him, to Thame memorising Po's number because he doesn't want to risk losing it again.

At this point, I wondered about the number three showing up again and again in relation to Thame and Po and whether there was something similar in episode two as well, as it wasn't something I noticed immediately on first watch as I did with ep 1 and 3. And at least in my opinion there is? It's in Thame's interview for the documentary.

First we open with the staff at the company try to manufacture a meaningful moment for Thame and the rest of Mars, with fake polaroids, a script for exactly what Thame needs to say, even the gifts that Thame will present to them as goodbye. However, none of the other members show up and the interview falls through. The next day they try again, this time with just Thame in front of the camera till Po interrupts him, pointing out his contradictory actions between obediently following the script to a T and the very thoughtful gifts that Thame himself brought for Mars. Finally, Po turns the camera on again, asking Thame to say what he really wants to say to Mars and all Thame can do is say he's sorry and break down from the grief he's carrying around his decision to leave.

I wanted to see if they keep this theme up with the fourth episode too, and well, kind of. It's definitely not as clean as 1 and 3, but at the beginning of the episode Thame texts Po to which Po replies immediately and asks what's up - which goes unanswered. Po shows up to the club, after finding and putting together the shredded pieces of paper with the song Thame and Jun had asked him to help them find, just to realize it wasn't needed anymore and goes back home wordlessly so as not to intrude on the band's reconciliation with Dylan. At the end of the day while Po is stewing in insecurity over the day's events, he receives a call from Thame who validates his feelings and emphasises he doesn't want miscommunication to come in the middle of any more relationships, not while he's trying to fix the consequences from when he did let it. And they stay on the call for nine and a half hours talking about anything and everything, at the end of which Thame serenades Po with the song he said he likes when he wakes up.

Thamepo is very clearly made for TV in the way every episode has an individual arc to it along with the overarching arc of the show itself, but that little detail of Thame and Po's relationship was so endearing to me. I might be wrong here but it's reminiscent of the three act structure of storytelling to me? It sort of makes sense to me for each example to think of the three parts of it as the set up, the confrontation, and the resolution, if that makes sense? I don't know if this similar structure will show up in the following episodes as well and while I don't think it's likely I'll definitely keep an eye out.

I don't know, I just like the writing in this show a lot. Miscommunication is the crux of the plot, that's what causes the break down between Mars and what is weaponised by the CEO of ONER to convince Thame that leaving is the best decision. And I adore that communication then takes centre stage in not just bringing the band back together but also the romance. I love that their first few meetings dealt with Thame and Po both projecting on each other and then details being revealed that made them think differently. I love the way Thame asks for Po's help to bring the other members back to Mars and what convinces Thame to stay is a silent gesture of offering him the second sandwich as a juxtaposition to the CEO convincing Thame to leave by misrepresenting details about the other members. I love that what we've seen of Thame and Po building their relationship so far has been deliberate attempts to open a line of communication and then learning about every small and mundane detail about each other. Yeah, that's all, I just love this show a whole lot already.

[saltsongwc]

I HAD A VISION-

Ok so Mudstar gets his lives, he goes and gets them and is blessed ( bc as we established with Spottedstar and Brokenstar, Starclan can't really deny someone their lives unless the current leader is alive, unless you've decided to change around the Nightstar thing bc that doesn't make sense in cannon either bc Sunstar got lives even with Pine alive but I'm rambling- )

The civil war gets pushed back until the first real conflict with Thunderclan ( which means the gathering island isn't discovered/used until then, so gatherings are really just cats being sent to other clans to fill them in on important news ) where Mudstar fatality injured a Thunderclan Warrior ( not sure who would die but we've got so many folder cats just close your eyes and pick ) though even before then, Mudstar was acting aggressive and some clanmates started to worry.

Then boom! After a moon of conspiring, the cats rally around the Civil War leader ( Ashfoot bc I love her and I believe she and Tallstar were close due to Deadfoot being deputy for awhile but you can choose another ) to dipose of Mudstar. This was supposed to be bloodless, but Mudstar ordered the rest of the clan to attack the traitors. Battle ensued, someone runs to Thunderclan for aid, and the fighting reaches its peak in the exact same spot as it does in cannon, except it's Mudstar vs Ashfoot.

Mudstar screams that it was Starclan who chose him, not his clanmates, and it will be Starclan that chooses if he steps down. He is promptly crushed by a tree, and many interpret that as a sign that Ashfoot was chosen by Starclan to lead over Mudstar ( whether that's true or not is up to interpretation )

I also think that this is what should've caused a change in code ( the new code has changed so leaders can be deposed if they are unfit ) like the " leaders word is the warrior code " should've been taken out here, and maybe instead of the leaders deciding to add that they can be deposed, it's the Warriors who demand it, and the leaders add it out of fear of another bloody civil war.

Of course a lot changes, Hawkfrost and RiverClan is no longer on Mudstar's side ( bc why would Mudstar, famous hater of everything but WindClan, work with and promise a deputy position to a random RiverClan tom? ) and the civil war is this slow build up instead of this sudden attack, with every action Mudstar takes adding fuel to the already burning fire.

Hell, I even think having Windclan cats who are against Ashstar and who think the civil war was plotted by Thunderclan could be a fun thing to explore. Plus I think having Ashstar as the leader makes other arcs and plots make a lot more sense ( Crowfeather is not exiled for blatantly breaking the code by running off with Leafpool bc his mom is the leader, Breezepelt isn't prosecuted for training in the dark forest bc that's Ashstar's grand baby, and none of those actions make sense if it's Onestar or Mudstar )

Anyways, thank you for coming to my Ted Talk ( yes it is Ted Talk anon, I'm glad you liked TigerNightstar ;) )

CURSES! MY NEMESIS THE TED TALKING ANON! YOU HAVE DEFEATED ME WITH YOUR BRILLIANT IDEAS ONCE AGAIN!

This is delicious, there is no better way I could improve this, there is somethign raw about this I can't place why but having it be Ashfoot makes me emotional. There is a build up of tensions among the clans before they get to the gathering island. There is nepotism, there is an acceptance of the errors of the Warrior Code much earlier and also a distaste for Thunderclan even if they aided in the civil war (because Ashstar is angry that they believe she's just pawn, she's not, she's angry that they think this was a ploy by Firestar and not her, that it wasn't her who saw the blood that would come and it's not her fighting for Windclan).

I wonder if she even thought of Crowfeather as her deputy but the betrayal by his affair would break her trust in him, even she doesn't exile him she still won't trust him (I'm not 100% if i'm moving with Crowfeather also being the three's dad or changing it but if I do this is extra drama (Firestar and Ashstar bonding over it lmao-)

I wonder if Windclan changes it's politics as well, if Ashstar decides it's not just Starclan that chooses but her clan as well, and instate that, at least for Windclan, deputyship and leadership is a position that must be approved not just by the stars but by the clan as well.

Delicious, everyone say thank you Ted Talking Anon

[magicaldragons]

'in the name of pain and outrage'

an analysis of the ending

I say this with utmost love, but episode 16 was a shitshow.

i walked into this show accepting it at face value – a show that would take itself lightly, with a compelling subplot marinated in humor, and a dose of sweet romance.

this show tried to include very mature, sobering themes with slapstick humor, which is definitely possible if balanced properly, but i feel this show was not able to achieve this the way do bong soon or others could.

to get some of the discrepancies out of the way:

they never told us that the women's senses were connected, geum joo should not have been able to feel namsoon's thirst – that's something they abruptly added to fuel the tension of the situation.

there is absolutely no reason nam soon would react like that to the drug, when you compare it to how every other user was affected by it.

the strength exerted by gil-joongan did not feel like enough to knock her out like that

and with how easy it would've been to leave the situation, it's very obvious that nam soon taking the drug was an ill-planned way to raise the stakes and increase suspense

the homeless couple truly had nothing of value to add to the show or it's message

none of the show's themes or messages were delivered properly towards the end, and it went against everything it preached.

the immediate tone change after ryu si-o's death did not do any justice to the effort put into his characterization

i do not understand how nam soon became a cop, all technicalities considered

why was she throwing humans out a window from the second floor, even if they're criminals??

they REALLY cheapened the whole marriage conversation by bringing money, property, and heirs into it. that was NOT romantic or wholesome. hee-sik deserves better parents, tf.

side note: i'm pretty disappointed with namsoon's character arc, but lee yoo mi worked within the purview of the script to give us honestly wonderful acting, especially in episode 15.

now, to get into the ending, i'll start with this:

what we got, felt like an empty victory. hollow and out of place.

i've always been an advocate for all parts of a show coming together to create an experience – there's usually no single keystone.

but as soon as si-o died, the rest of the episode felt like a blur, with all loose ends being succinctly wrapped up and prepared for season three. byeon woo seok, and his characterization really carried the show as a unit, and added to its cohesiveness. i did not find myself rooting for geum joo and nam soon's successes afterwards

because they had failed the ONE thing most of us had been hoping for them to do:

to save people who were victims of oppression from those with the power of money, and empower them, including to save si-o from his oppressors, and help him take down pavel.

there is no satisfaction in geum joo doing it by herself, because she has no emotional investment in destroying pavel.

losing hwaja and si-o, watching namsoon & heesik become one dimensional all of a sudden, and seeing tertiary unrelated characters having their loose ends tied, is extremely unsatisfactory – for a show that had an incredible cast and so much potential.

at the same time: i loved the portreyal of gil joongan's mission to help the elderly and her enthusiasm for her future, and the addition of binbin + looking into their past from an additional angle also really elevated the emotional context of si-o's character arc.

i loved each character, truly, and to not see the plot and writers give them the detail and care they deserve, is wholly disappointing.

the show took me on a whole journey, emotionally,,,but to know exactly what would make it better, and be aware of its discrepancies makes me grieve the potential it had to truly leave an impact on its viewers, with a solid takeaway message.

[blank468]

Oh look another unhinged wonder boy Stan who thinks every scene with Bakugo and Deku has to deal with romance. Once again I’m not revealing who this person is to protect their identity but you’ll most likely find them on Twitter if you search hard enough. Three things in particular that proves that they don’t care about what’s happening in the story or if it even makes sense. The only thing that’s important to the eyes of these people is whether the Green Jesus and the Creator’s pet will bang or not.

I’m not sorry.

“Katsuki being overly protective in their relationship, he's always making sure to keep Izuku in line. In an actual relationship it's good to have a partner who is making sure you're not mistakingly saying anything private or personal.”

This person tries to claim that after their second fight, Bakugo was being over protective to Deku as in the way he acts and treats him moving forward is another sign of love. Yeah because him throwing his sharp head piece into Deku head causing him to bleed is a sign of protection and love. Deku in that scene wasn’t even talking about his improvements with Blackwhip out in the open, he said that all in his head. The only I can think of as to B***h boy doesn’t like to see Deku be happy about anything. How romantic.

There was also that one scene in the Endeavor Agency arc where Deku was explaining his quirk and how he wants to improve to Endeavor and Bakugo gets triggered. People like to make the argument that Deku was telling him way too much information about OFA, but does it really matter? Endeavor surprisingly understood what Deku meant and didn’t reveal anything that would get him caught.

I know that Deku almost revealed OFA out in the open(USJ Arc), but that clearly on accident and was in fear for All Might’s condition. And after that he clearly understood how important it was to keep the secret hidden, until the neighbor’s Pomeranian decided to step in and make things insufferable.

So basically Deku was actually being the smart one with these situations and Bakugo was just full of s**t.

“Being vulnerable in a relationship is also important because you feel safe and comfortable enough to show your true emotions around the other, which is Katsuki in this case.”

While being vulnerable is essential in a relationship, that does excuse your behavior and how you treat your partner especially if it’s extremely toxic and stressful. This series can go on all it wants on how Sweaty Pits here feel insecure and vulnerable when he doesn’t get what he wants, but none of that changes that fact that Bakugo had no right to defend himself or justify his shitty behavior when he knows what he’s done is wrong. And even after he EXPRESSES his emotions after losing in technicality to Deku in the battle trials and throwing a child like tantrum all because he wasn’t picked to be All Might’s successor, it doesn’t really matter cause the story finds a way to reward him and guilt trip Deku for no reason.

“Katsuki wants to spend the rest of their lives chasing each other. He wants a future with Izuku and he broke down in front of him cause he's scared they won't be able to.”

Yeah cause apparently there aren’t enough moments where D**k cheese here wins against Deku. All the physical and mental torment Deku had to go through has no meaningful conclusion and are now pointless because the story now decides it wants to support the worst kind of deviant behavior. We have to go through another damn fight/situation that goes through the same process.

1. Deku and My Sweaty Pits git in to a fight.

2. Deku despite being broken AF loses to Bakugo

3. More gloating

I just accepted that Horikoshi will never let his main character beat his most popular character ever in a fight. We’re just supposed to accept the idea that Bakugo is able to beat Deku despite the fact that his victim has several different quirks that could have killed him. I can only imagine if get another round with these two idiots, we all now who’s going to come out on top.

In conclusion, this person and the rest of these stans are delusional.

[lillie98]

I headcannon Mike Wheeler as autistic (because we share the exact same strain) and I have a theory regarding Season 5. Many autistic people, including myself, have a warped sense of inherent danger. We will throw ourselves into dangerous situations not fully understanding the risks involved. It’s a dangerous situation, sure, but not so dangerous we should avoid it. Mike also has this problem, what with him diving head-first into every fight. He wants desperately to be a hero, to prove his worth and might as a person—to be remembered. If that means doing something stupid like getting himself killed, then that’s what it takes. It’s heartbreaking, but that’s the world he lives in. Hopper, Eleven, Will, they’ve all sacrificed their lives in some capacity to save the world, now it’s his turn.

Eddie touched on this concept with his “Don’t try to be heroes, not today. There is no shame in running,” but Mike doesn’t see it that way. In his mind, those who run are cowards, afraid to face their fears and fight for what they believe in. Has Mike been a bit cowardly these past two seasons by avoiding his feelings for Will? Yes, absolutely. But that’s his arc. Mike has to understand his actions, why he’s hiding, and the serious danger everyone is in. He has to face the music. Where does this lack of inherent danger come in? Glad you asked.

We all know Mike wants to be a hero. He wants to go down in history as someone good, someone who put others before themselves and saves the world. The Brave Knight, The Paladin. Paladins swear an oath of bravery and loyalty, vowing to avenge any threat that dares harm their allegiance (Byler anyone?). Something will threaten to harm/kill Will in Season 5, and Mike will have none of it. They’re not doing this again. Thus, Mike will throw himself in front of Vecna/Demogorgon/Brenner, etc. to protect Will, not fully comprehending the danger of the situation. He’ll be a hero. Unfortunately, this risky act will most likely cost him his life (temporarily). He doesn’t have to die. He’s the heart.

Lucas says, in the Season 4 hospital, that Max’s heart stopped for over a minute, but it miraculously started again. She is alive. El’s love for her conquered death itself. If we go on the “Will Has Powers” theory, then his love for Mike will conquer death and revive him. Mike only needs to be presumed dead, to be out long enough for Will and El to feel the effects of his death and consider joining Vecna. Because without their HEART, they’d fall apart. Both of them.

Back to what Eddie said, there really is no shame in running. Will doesn’t need Mike to do some egregious, knightly act of sacrifice to prove his love for him. His love is already enough. Will loves Mike for EXACTLY WHO HE IS. He always has, and THAT is the real heart of this story. Mike is not a hero because of what he does, but because of who he is. The way he loves, the way he stands up for what he believes in, the way he treasures his friends and protects them. The way he makes Will feel safe just by being there. That’s what Will fell in love with, not some fantastical DnD character that never actually existed.

Like Mike said in Season 2, “this isn’t DnD, this is real life.” DnD characters are fun, and it’s exciting to dream about slaying dragons or exploding orcs with your Magic Missiles, but that’s not real. It’s a game and it will end. Hit Points don’t magically restore you after a Long Rest and Healing Potions don’t deal 2d4+2 Healing. Actions have consequences and danger is real, even if your brain tells you it’s not. Paladins, Clerics, Bards, Rangers, they’re not real people. But Mike Wheeler is (in this context) and Mike Wheeler is enough. He is so enough. It’s time he wakes up and realizes he doesn’t have to be the Hero, slay the dragon, and make everything better, because it was NEVER HIS FAULT. Bad things happen and, sometimes, we can’t fix them. All we can do is stand beside our partner, hold their hand, and fight along with them—to remind them they are never alone. That, in and of itself, is truly heroic.

[femslashedtires]

I posted my thoughts on Playboyy on MDL, but I also wanted to get in on the discussion here :)

Playboyy, I think, is something quite special. Before I get into a review though, I want to clarify what Playboyy isn't because I feel this show is getting a bad rap from viewers who came in with false expectations and were disappointed by the reality:

This show isn't really "BL" in the traditional sense. While there is romance, it is not the focus of the show. The romantic relationships frequently take a backseat to the the personal development of characters and the relationships between friends. It is also nowhere near "an idealistic world free of homophobia" (or, as in more modern BL, a world where gay love triumphs over societal homophobia)--it is a very real and harsh world where the characters are hitting rock bottom. Finally, a lot of the NC scenes aren't trying to be sexy or titillating. They function as pieces of the plot and often depicting negative experiences.

I think going into the show with these expectations in mind makes it a better experience. But on with the review:

STORY: I, personally, really loved the story of Playboyy. As someone who has experienced losing friends badly to drug addition, I found Nont's story particularly raw and effective (and, honestly, quite triggering). I thought the decision to use an ensemble cast and a weaving narrative was especially effective in creating a real sense of this disadvantaged and isolated community caused by societal prejudices. It was very satisfying to watch these narratives bump into each other, often in completely accidentally and tragic ways. While I agree some of the story was over the top or hard to follow, I didn't find it particularly detracted from the quality of the show. I like getting a little exaggerated in my narratives and I think it fit with the highly stylized production. While it wasn't a water-tight plot, I think it was probably the strongest script in the past year in terms of really exploring the depths of the characters and their conflicts. None of the characters felt like extras or like they were leaning on tropes. Each individual had their own story to tell and had their moment to shine.

ACTING: The acting in Playboyy is a bit hit and miss. As a stand-out star, Dech is absolutely untouchable. Nant/Nont are a monster of a roll that swings between camp, performative highs and truly raw, exposed lows, and he brought me along with him every step of the way. Really, really impressive work. Shell was a wonderful partner for him, matching him in almost every scene and developing a unique and intriguing chemistry. I also greatly enjoyed any scene with Parm and/or Aun, which always felt very grounded and warm, and was continually impressed by Korn, who managed to maintain a necessary friction between Zouey and the rest of the cast. Beyond these actors, the performance were a little bit shakier. Some of the actors struggled with stilted line deliveries (and I don't mean the English, which I've never had a problem with) or unnatural body language. I was never quite sold on Jack/Chat or Jeffy/Fay as couples, though each actor shined in other areas (such as Chat and Korn's wonderful friendship). In particular, and unfortunately, I found Hymn took a stylized drama and crashed it into melodrama more often than he stuck the landing. That said, I still found this ensemble created a style that played to their strengths well and rarely rendered a scene ridiculous.

PRODUCTION: Production is where this show really, really shines. The lighting is absolutely gorgeous, full of intentional color, harsh shapes, and neon texts. Each arc and couple has their own world and visual language that helps sort out the massive cast and is, quite frankly, beautiful. The highly stylized, theatrical sensibilities also help highlight the moments when humanity comes crashing in and we left very broken characters in plain framing. It's really, really beautiful to watch. I know I'm in the minority here, but I love the costuming of this show. I think the underwear was a phenomenal way to juggle the desire for nakedness with the reality of film-making and the comfort of the actors. If you allow it to, the underwear becomes part of the style and lets the characters exist, naked and vulnerable, without becoming exploitative. I also loved the way fashion (especially Nont's) brought it's own sense of drama and feeling to the characters. Realism clearly wasn't the goal here, and this department delivered.

NC SCENES: Finally, because it has to be talked about, I think the way the NC scenes were stylized were nothing less than brilliant. Playboyy telling a story about the human condition through sex, it is not making porn. When the characters are feeling good and feeling pleasure, the audience is allowed to find the sex scenes hot. But more frequently, the scenes depict a vast variety of other emotions. When Zouey is feeling awkward, nervous, and uncomfortable, the scenes are made awkward with clumsy blocking and…eccentric soundtracks. When characters are being hurt, the scenes are painful and brutal and shocking--escalating quickly and making you wish it would slow down or resolve to something different. It's incredibly effective. I've been very disappointed at the way BL fans discuss sex in this show, as if the only purpose of an NC scene is to provide spicy fanservice for the viewer to get off on. The old Oscar Wilde "Everything in the world is about sex. Except sex, which is about power." definitely holds true here. For these characters, sex that is about their own pleasure is rare and the show mirrors that reality. But that doesn't make the scenes bad or "accidentally" ridiculous. It is an intentional part of the story and, in most cases, very effectively done.

In all, this isn't a show that I would widely recommend to everyone, largely on account of the seriousness of the subject matter. But I am infinitely grateful that this show exists and is pushing the boundaries of what stories are acceptable to tell in BL. I've genuinely enjoyed my time in this world, and I very much look forward to the to be continued. :)

[llumimoon]

Pssst Cal in a dndads Voltron AU which teen do you think would control each lion? ,':) (yeah Hermie is included here lol there's 5 lions after all!)

BABA YOU DONT EVEN KNOW ... I ALREADY ASSIGNED ALL THE TEENS LIONS BEFORE. I'VE THOUGHT ABT IT TWICE NOW WITH LIKE A MONTHS LONG GAP BETWEEN..... You came to the right place is all I'm saying JWBEVAJHAHAHA

Okay lets get the most obvious one to me out of the way, which is Link in the Yellow Lion. Like. First of all the fact that Yellow is A LEG and also Yellow representing kindness .... I think he really does support the team and grounds them in many aspects. Also Yellow is bulky like a dnd paladin LMAO it just makes the MOST sense to me? Yellow also being the color I associate with Link so maybe that gives me a slight bias lmaooo

The rest are. LESS clear to me. I HAVE already settled on an arrangement I'm more or less okay with but I could make a lot of arguments for alternative placements !! I will also admit maybe the places I settled on are a little color biased?

The Lions DO kind of have traits associated with each one except its. much less clear in some cases than others and I had to be a little flexible bc in my opinion NONE of the teens r like . smart enough for the Green Lion JWBECWUAGAHAA like they're all smart in their own ways and I do bend some rules a little to make their smarts work as an argument but I feel like Green is more book smart than anything which makes it difficult.

Uhmmm everyone else from here on out has at least two lions I could argue for and then I'll say which one I settled on? But like if you disagree thats totally fair LMAO like I said many assignments can be considered

Scary I mainly thought about the Black or Red Lion... There's the whole. Scary's the leader! Thing and also the idea of power corrupting... but also she can be pretty impulsive which is why I considered Red, also her tendency to have fire based magic mishaps LMAO I think Scary shows a lot of growth and inner reflection and also she has good insight on how the others seem to be feeling even if she doesn't always act on it or use it in the right way, so I could see that as the markings for the beginning of a Black Lion learning to be the leader type arc? Also to be honest shes the Main and practically Only contender for Black so she ends up getting it by default.

Hermie I think could be the Blue or Green Lion. I don't actually remember if they say IN THE SHOW what the Blue Lion stands for, but like. I've read so much Lance fanfic LMAO that to me it stands for Flexibility and what is Hermie if not flexible. Maybe too flexible? In the sense of. She will fill any role that is needed or given to her, like water will. I also thought Green bc to me Hermie is a character who is VERY in his head. Like they overthink to the point of looping back around to stupid again but also shes always playing mind games with other people. Hermie seems to always be one step ahead or at least is good at pretending they are. Also you can say the nature stuff is Hermie in his poison ivy era. Green is also pretty small and easy to damage which lines up with how fragile he is in a fight and maybe you could make an argument for the camouflage being like shapeshifting? idk. Anyways I decided on Green I think.

Normal I think I'm biased bc he's my fav and Lance was my old fav and I already made a post before about how I think they're similar and would get along and ANYWAYS LMAO I think its clear I gave him Blue. Something something, the legs being the support of the team something something water meaning flexibility but also ice can be stubbornness something something how I associate Normal (and lowkey the Doodler) with water (a whole nother thing to get into u can ask me to elaborate later) etc. I also played around with the idea of him in Red as Scary's right hand bc . shakes them . I think it could possibly fit but not as well? Fire isn't really Normals thing. I also briefly considered him for Black bc Normal is usually the one pushing the group towards a certain goal, but also his plans kind of never end up going through so I was like hmm not sure about that one. Blue I think is the best fit for him in the end which is why everyone else ended up where they did.

TAYLOR. Ok process of elimination you probably already figured out that I chose Red for him BUT I also considered Blue and Green. Green is fun bc you can play with his roughish abilities, like hiding and sneak attacks. His knowledge is more obscure facts and survival skills but I think it's enough to be a contender! I cannot explain the Blue stuff its all vibes in my head but trust me . I think also leaning into, Blue and Yellow are the legs that support and stabilize the team thing, Taylor is actually pretty good at keeping a cool head all things considered. Red, yes maybe slightly process of elimination but COME ON ITS BIG SWORD AND ALSO FIRE POWERS!!! Taylor would love that shit. Also going zoom zoom fast. Also the Red Lion is the second in command/right hand of the Black Lion and it just fits Taylor's protagonist vibes LMAO I think he usually is off doing is own thing which is also very Red Lion.

So to summarize: Scary Black, Taylor Red, Hermie Green, Link Yellow and Normal Blue.

Again I could totally see the justification for shuffling them around a bit but this is the assignments I settled on? The colors lining up is also nice I will not lie. I also could see an alternate universe where Normal is Red, Hermie Blue and Taylor Green, I think thats my second most favorable arrangement.

LMAO SORRY I DIDNT MEAN TO MAKE THIS SO LONG I'VE JUST THOUGHT A LOT ABOUT IT BEFORE. AS YOU CAN CLEARLY SEE. I take sorting my characters into categories VERY seriously 😤 enrichment for me.

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

I hate how She-Ra tries so hard to demonize the heroes/main characters of the show to make the villains looks better.

Like calling out Glimmer for her actions depite her being the only one with an actual plan (i mean, she was being a little shit but at least she accomplished more than Adora), making Adora looks like the villain for leaving Catra, the heroes attacking Scorpia depite her not oposing any treat, Bow and Adora going after Entrapta only so she could help them (like, for real they only think about Entrapta when is convinient for them) and the constant remarks about them leaving her behind.

I like when heroes have flaws they have to overcome, but the princesses um She-Ra always act so unfriendly sometimes that it makes the show looks way more cynical then it should be, which is weird since is supose to be a show about friendship, but none of these characters seem to have any reason to be friends other than necessity

i totally agree! i'm a sucker for flawed heroes, but the thing with she-ra is that their characters are just not well-written at all. they've clearly not done any prior planning to the story so it all seems like muddy water.

for example, some mistakes that the princesses make are considered worse than the others. glimmer lashing out at adora was given the narrative weight it needed, and she had to apologize later. but perfuma and the others being ableist towards entrapta is never mentioned. instead entrapta has to prove herself to them, when she had no reason to.

and yeah, entrapta was really just a tool for the princesses (and for catra too ofc). they only needed her because she was useful. like you said, the "friendship" between the princesses make no sense because half of the time they're fighting and the other half they're begrudgingly working together. they seem more like coworkers than anything. and there's nothing wrong with that, but the show wants us to believe that these characters are close friends while not bothering to write them that way.

remember when the S1 finale had that whole "power of friendship" trope? i swear it was so painful to sit through. the only real friendship i could see was between adora, glimmer and bow. the rest of the princesses always had trouble working together and even seemed to hate each other sometimes. but then out of the blue, they're suddenly the closest of friends and defeat the evil villain with the power of believing in each other or whatever.

i went off on a tangent, but i think the reason the princesses were so unlikeable is because the writers wanted to make them “different” (they're not your standard princesses, they're cynical or aggressive or whatever) but didn't want to give them enough depth to make us like or relate to them. if you want to look at well-written flawed characters, there's korra from the legend of korra, wirt from otgw, literally all the protags from infinity train. this is because these characters have depth, we see enough sides to them to understand why they are the way they are. not to mention, each of these characters explored their issues and got good character development by the end of the series.

for example, korra is arrogant and reckless because she was the prodigy raised almost in isolation, and she didn't know enough about the real world to navigate it. tulip was cynical and quick to anger because her parents got divorced and she had been secretly blaming herself for it. lake was aggressive and rebellious because she lived in a system where she would be killed for not fitting the norm. all of these characters are relatable in some sense, because we get enough character exploration.

meanwhile, why is mermista so cynical and sardonic? who knows. why is perfuma impatient and prone to anger and ableist? couldn't tell you. frosta had something of a character arc but it still didn't go anywhere, besides stripping her of any unique personality she had, and turning her into the typical chaos child. these princesses are so 2d that they're not relevant to the plot at all. take them out of the show and i'm pretty sure there would be no difference.

[crybabydraws]

I'm a fan of Hazbin Hotel, but man does it have writing problems. I watched episode 5 and 6 yesterday and I think that if they did episode 3 differently it could've made episode 5 make more sense. Let me explain.

**Spoilers from here on, so if you haven't seen it and you wanna watch it yourself first then don't continue.**

Ngl guys. Episode 3 was a mess. I won't go into all the details, but I was just disappointed. To sum my thoughts up, I think Vaggie's arc should've been about her learning to trust people, they shouldn't have revealed who killed the angel; Camilla being the angel killer is kind of boring imo; and I don't care about the emotional ballad because I have no reason to care about Camilla or Vaggie's low point because it comes out of nowhere.

Now we're gonna talk about Charlie and Alastor in episode 5 because honestly what is going on??? Alastor hates Lucifer the second he walks in the door and immediately starts trying to act like he and Charlie have like a father/daughter dynamic and he's suddenly really protective of her even though this dynamic/type of relationship between the two has never been established before??? And I don't think he's just doing it to piss of Lucifer either. Like he's way protective over Charlie all of a sudden and judging by the song Alastor and Lucifer sing together, he's like maybe jealous of him or sees him as a threat??? Idk, guys, it's weird and I have no idea what the fuck is going on or why here. They barely have any screen time together and none of the interactions they have up until this point implies a more developed relationship than when he first started with the hotel. There could be a reason that we don't know yet especially with the connection between Lillith and Alastor that has been drawn before, but that does not expain this weird dynamic with Charlie that hasn't been established. This is my biggest qualm with episode 5. So how could episode 3 have changed this?

Episode 3 has Charlie entrust Vaggie with doing trust exercises, but Vaggie is not a very trusting person in general. She doesn't trust most of the people in the hotel even; especially Alastor. Since Vaggie is supposed to be running the trust exercises, Charlie doesn't really have anything to do except watch her, but what if she was somewhere else? You know what the ultimate trust exercise would be for Vaggie's character? The one person she holds dear accompanying an incredibly powerful and terrifying demon overlord on his day out with just the two of them. Vaggie's plot with the hotel gang would be her spying on Alastor and Charlie. She'd force the hotel gang to help her.

Now to focus more on the Alastor issue, Charlie asks Alastor if she can join him on his day out since she fully trusts that Vaggie can handle doing some trust exercises with the rest of the gang. At first Alastor says no and explains that he's got a very important meeting to attend today, but then Charlie shows him her power to turn into a tiny snake and tells him that no one will even notice that it's her (her dad could do it so why not her?) She also adds that if the people he's meeting with have anymore information about the extermination that it's important for her to know. Alastor caves and they head off. They have some banter on the way until Zestial shows up and talks with Alastor. Charlie is hiding in one of Alastor's jacket pockets (or maybe even just chilling on his shoulder since she's disguised as a snake.) until they get to the meeting with the other overlords.

After said meeting, we don't get to know who killed the angel. That whole scene with Zestial and Camilla is scrapped for this as well as the song. The meeting makes her realize just how dire the situation is with the knowledge that angels can be killed and that demons can kill them. Not only that, but the Vs, who control many parts of the media of hell, now know that and could release the information at anytime and start a violent revolt or even a war before she can prove that there doesn't need to be one. She feels scared and almost defeated after this, but Alastor comforts her saying he doesn't think redemption is possible, but if anyone can prove him and the rest of the worlds wrong, it's Charlie. Maybe they even sing a song together. Maybe she even talks about the troubles she has with her dad with him, hence why he doesn't like him immediately in episode 5.

After this moment, Vaggie, who has been spying on them almost the whole time, realizes that maybe she should be more trusting of people. Charlie finds her and the gang spying on them and concludes that Vaggie needs to do some trust exercises. The whole ordeal has brought everyone in the group closer together. They go back to the hotel where Charlie has Vaggie do the trust fall from the beginning of the episode. Vaggie, with baited breath and eyes closed, falls backwards. When she lands she thinks it must've been Charlie that caught her, but when she opens her eyes she's been caught by everyone arms including Alastor's. The only one who didn't catch her was Charlie who had her eyes closed the whole time trusting her friends to catch her.

They laugh about it and have some silly banter. Alastor watching them all laughing, looks at Charlie. She's still clearly shaken by the meeting. He gives Charlie a smile and reassuring hand on the shoulder looks to the gang all laughing together and says, "See, dear? You're already starting to prove me wrong." (or something like that) Charlie grins back at him and hugs him tightly as he begrudgingly, but also kind of not begrudgingly, lets her hug him and doesn't push her away. She lets go and joins the group followed by Alastor. The episode ends.

TL;DR: Allowing Alastor and Charlie to bond in episode 3 would've really helped episode 5 imo andd episode 3 had a perfect set up for that to happen. I still think even with this little fix you'd have to build up this dynamic more for it to really work tbh, but it's possible. Anyways, there's my little ramble. I do wanna know what y'all think of it, so if you have thoughts lemme know.

[ploppythespaceship]

Arrowverse - 2014-2015 Season

I am now officially alternating between multiple shows at once. Let the chaos begin.

This post will cover:

Arrow - Season 3

The Flash - Season 1

Crossover Event - Flash vs. Arrow

Arrow - Season 3

Wow. This season is a hot mess.

Right off the bat, the decision to fridge Sara is infuriating. She's a great character and deserves better to be unceremoniously killed off. (I know she comes back and is a part of Legends of Tomorrow, but that's besides that point for this season.)

The rest of the arc is absolute nonsense. Malcolm's motivations make no sense. Ra's is even worse, and undermines himself constantly by simply doing something stupid. Not to mention him being woefully miscast -- a White Australian guy in the part is certainly a Choice -- and the fact that everyone flip-flops on how to pronounce his name.

The pacing of this season is also pretty bad. It feels like we spend just a little bit too long on every individual part. Things clearly happen just to fill some runtime and stretch out the tension. Then the finale rushes through everything at a breakneck pace. It all just feels off.

But hands down the worst part of this season is how none of the characters have learned a damn thing about keeping secrets from each other. I recognize that this is a theme, that it's meant to be part of people's character arcs, but that doesn't change how infuriating it is to watch. The show has become an endless cycle of characters keeping secrets, dealing with the fallout when the secret is revealed, resolving not to keep secrets anymore, then immediately deciding that actually they're gonna keep secrets. It's agonizing.

Also, Laurel is awful. She is the worst character on this show by far. She doesn't listen to anyone, she makes objectively stupid decisions against everyone's advice, she never learns a single thing... I have to wonder when the writers will just cut their losses and write her out altogether. She fundamentally is not working.

Roy also feels like an afterthought, like he always has. But this season gave him a little more to do and wrote him out in a satisfying way, so I can't complain as much.

Meanwhile, the flashbacks in this season are really strange. It feels like they need to one-up what Oliver was doing during his five years, even if it doesn't really make sense. Waller has no real reason to recruit Oliver, and the whole plot isn't terribly engaging -- especially when the non-flashback scenes reveal everything important that happened already. We know the Alpha/Omega is going to be released, we know Akio is going to die, we know Maseo is going to abandon Tatsu, but the show still acts like these are huge revelations.

Despite my many complaints, there are still some things here that work. The primary one being Ray Palmer. God, what a breath of fresh air he is. Brandon Routh is so charming and contrasts so well with the other characters. He isn't meshed with the rest of the season well, at all, but he's so fun that I don't really care.

Overall, the season wasn't unwatchable by any means, but it was easily the worst of the show so far. And it doesn't help that I'm watching it alongside its sister show that's doing everything better.

The Flash - Season 1

(Full confession, this is not my first time watching this season. But I'd forgotten a lot.)

This show hit the ground running -- pun absolutely intended. Everything here just works. Every single member of the cast is phenomenal, and the characters have excellent chemistry. They seem to have learned from Arrow and set up a clear Team Flash from the get-go, with each character having a clear role in that dynamic.

The show also has a much lighter tone than Arrow, which I feel suits the story more naturally. It doesn't go to dark places nearly as often. The show settles into an easy formula that's just nice to settle into.

The Flash also does something I adore, which is emphasizing strong platonic relationships. Barry and Joe's father/son dynamic is everything to me. Cisco and Caitlin have a great friendship, as do Caitlin and Barry. And I truly appreciate that for 90% of the season, Barry and Iris are mature adults despite Barry's feelings for her. Barry doesn't try to get between her and Eddie (apart from one instance that was a misunderstanding) -- he values her friendship over everything else and prioritizes that.

If this season has one flaw, I think it played its hand with Wells way, way too early. They reveal that something's up with him in the first episode, reveal that he's the Reverse-Flash in the mid-season finale, and have the rest of the cast catch onto this a few episodes later. I think they robbed themselves of a truly spectacular twist moment, where the penny drops and everyone realizes they've been played. It makes the end of the season lose a lot of its punch as a result.

But overall, it's still an excellent first season, and I completely understand why The Flash sort of took over as the Arrowverse's flagship.

Crossover - Flash vs. Arrow

The pattern of crossovers is made pretty clear -- some light overlap, where they will reference or lightly feature characters from the other show, plus one big crossover event multi-parter that requires tuning in to both shows for that week. It's simple, but works fairly well... for the most part. The crossovers don't actually line up perfectly and require you to rearrange events in your head. In fact, Oliver's appearance on The Flash's penultimate episode implies that at some point he slipped away from Ra's al Ghul's tight watch, not to speak with his friends and inform him of his plans, but to beat up Harrison Wells as a favor for Barry. And that's hilarious, honestly.

The actual crossover is solid. It's very clear that Barry was set up to contrast Oliver, and these episodes work with that excellently. Their styles and personalities clash in all the right ways, making for excellent drama and letting them learn from one another.

They also manage to use the different tones of the two shows to great effect, emphasizing the contrast and how the two cities shape each of the heroes' styles. It's exactly what a good crossover should be, really.

[sepublic]

What is even the point of making Mr. F his own separate entity of Mr. E, what's the point if it's not the same guy, but just some other copy? Harumi already represents the Sons of Garmadon as a faction. It'd make sense if the writers were trying to bring back the Echo Zane plot twist, except a canon comic, plus the lack of said twist in the show, means that Echo and Mr. E really are separate individuals. And without the backstory and past dynamic, there's none of the tension with Mr. F that there would've been with Mr. E.

He's a nindroid, they've survived worse than dismemberment; Pixal did before him, and then Zane afterwards, in Crystalized no less! And that gets me to Harumi and Mr. E's relationship, because like...

I like to HC that he's the closest thing she has to an unconditional friend, a loyal protector. She made him, and she is his charge, someone for him to look after. Harumi's own pet project, someone she can trust more than hired muscle like Killow or Ultra Violet, because she literally programmed Mr. E. He acted as a red herring for the Quiet One in her place, and was kind of the face of the Sons of Garmadon before the big reveal.

Harumi isn't just scared when Mr. E is destroyed by Garmadon, she's legitimately distraught because he was the closest thing she had to a friend growing up, when she first began her machinations and behind-the-scenes orchestration of the Sons of Garmadon; Mr. E acted in her place when Harumi couldn't go out. And maybe Mr. E reciprocates that bond.

What if Harumi survived the building because Mr. E wasn't fully destroyed; He was still able to function, albeit in pieces, and rebuilt himself. And then used insane Nindroid parkour to rescue Harumi amidst the falling debris, or even used himself as a shield/cushion against the fall, breaking once more. And Harumi rebuilds Mr. E all over again, and then the Overlord finds them.

What if we had an arc where the Overlord throws out Harumi, sensing her concern for Lloyd and moral hesitation, and not wanting to take any chances, especially not when he already has the much more reliable Pythor to take her place. And Mr. E actually comes to Harumi's rescue, defending her against the rest of the Crystal Council. The Overlord assumed that being crystalized would've re-programmed Mr. E to be loyal to him instead, and maybe it did... But Mr. E chose his own programming to protect the little girl who gave him life.

From a canon perspective, shouldn't Mr. F be loyal to Harumi anyhow? And a billboard falling on him is way too anticlimactic. So maybe Harumi did salvage and repair Mr. F, and since she's chill now, so is he.

[ad-astra-per-asparagus]

Ok dumping my thoughts right here now that I’ve collected them since reading Batman 138. It’s a doozy, so bear with me.

Honestly, the premise of Gotham War is intriguing and could’ve been good if not for the sloppy execution. It’s interesting to see Bruce’s psyche rapidly declining, but how Zdarsky is going about it is ham-fisted and forced. First off, Selina’s method is outlandish and riddled with plot holes. There’s no skirting around that. Now logically I could see the batfamily members not declaring an allegiance to either side because both Bruce and Selina are in the wrong here; Bruce is losing his mind because Zur is hijacking it while Selina thinks training criminals will magically solve all violent crime in Gotham and everything will be sunshine and rainbows. But having the kids blindly fall into line with Selina because they agree with her plan is dogwater writing that I’m surprised Zdarsky cooked up after his spectacular Daredevil run. Have them form their own faction and let them actually act like they have agency and purpose instead of shoving them into roles that don’t fit.

Now I’m a little skeptical on the whole Jason/failsafe stuff. On one end, it’s a daring concept to play with. It shows how Bruce is going off the deep end and raises the stakes of the plot. On the other end, it’s going to drive an enormous wedge between Jason and Bruce for the foreseeable future. Like, there is no forgiving Bruce for this easily. Maybe that’s a good thing though, considering Jason for the past few years has been cycling through the same character arc over and over again like a washing machine that spits out clothes that are more worn-out after every load. Taking him out of the batfamily fold and inserting him into his own corner of DC sequestered away from Batman might actually force DC to write him organically, depending on whether or not Jason doesn’t go insane himself because what Bruce did to him was quite literally torture that will now be perpetual. Wowza.

My next gripe is the timing between comics. Batman and Robin’s timeframe is vague, but after reading 138 it makes zero sense why Damian would steadfastly stick by Bruce’s side—unless of course B&R happens way later, and somehow Bruce regains minor control of his mental state. Or the most realistic explanation being that the writers didn’t communicate the timelines, leaving their stories to contradict each other. But what are comics if not zany contradictions of stories? So I guess this gripe can slide…for now. Benefit of the doubt to Williamson at least because he planned B&R way in advance, meanwhile Gotham War was strung together as a myopic copy of Marvel’s Civil War in order to—I’m spitballing here—have Bruce be alone for a while in his own comics because he’s “a loner”…despite his character being, at his core, a family man, and whose character revolved around family for decades. Family rift stories can be good. Packed with drama. Exciting. This is none of the above.

Finally, arguably my biggest complaint about this dumpster fire, is Tim. Writers tend to be biased toward characters, I understand that, but when favoritism bleeds into the writing it sours the story altogether. Having Tim assume this role of ��Bruce’s savior” is incredibly cheap and a little laughable at times. I see that they’re trying to establish him as important again, reliving his glory days as the Robin who helped guide Bruce back onto the right path after Jason’s death, but throwing other characters under the bus to lift him up is crazy. Especially Damian, because Damian saved his dad’s life twice in the last few months. Seriously, I’d brush it off if Tim hadn’t told Damian he was the one who helped Bruce out of the darkness while Damian only pushed Bruce further into it. Paraphrasing, but that’s the general idea: Tim is a saint and the rest of his siblings (Cassandra? Who?) are a cut below him when it comes to helping dear old dad out of his bad place. That hug was cute, but it was sugar spread on a pile of shit.

[cptn-m]

One Piece chapter 1131 review

Back after two weeks for the Elbaph kick-off, let's go! The mythology and characters of the island continue to slowly build and offer possibilities of what could be coming without committing the story too hard in any one direction.

It's still way too soon to make any definitive statements about where Elbaph is going and who to expect to be a hero or a villain. The standard setup for a One Piece arc is for the Strawhats to arrive right as the final act of the locals' story gets in motion - the critical day of uprising for the resistance or the last stand against tyranny, or the trap they're about to blunder into - a story that would have ended in tragedy without the Strawhats' inclusion as the Deus ex Machina to what had been building. Usually the bad guys start with the upper hand, poised to win. If Loki is our villain, that is obviously not the case here. There's a suggestion of some kind of succession issue, but none of the friendly giants we've seen show much concern about it.

This mission to steal the key to Loki's shackles could be a last resort for his followers if Loki is to be an ally, but it could also have just finished being set up with all the contingencies and escape routes it needs to go fast and smooth if he's going to be freed to become the villain of the arc.

I enjoyed the casualness of Luffy and Loki's chat for most of the chapter, with Luffy climbing and reclining on the giants' leg. Loki has a lot going on that would obviously pique Luffy's interest despite moments of anger from both sides, so I think we're in for an interesting dynamic between the two would-be sun gods as the story plays out. Well, it makes sense there'd be some personality crossover if they're meant to embody the same deity, right? But I wonder if the Nika lore is different on and off Elbaph. Is the Sun God version of him mythologised by the giants distinct from the Warrior of Liberation one that's spread through prisons and slave camps in any key ways, as would happen to real religions as they spread? And will Luffy be able to please believers of both?

The reveal of the Treasure Tree Adam is exciting, following up on its mention from so many years ago. And in the reveal panel we can see the top of the tree, confirming there are no more tiers above what was shown in the last chapter, and (unfortunately) that it doesn't go all the way to the moon or anywhere else ridiculous.

It's been noted that the animals guarding the mountains are almost all species originally designed for the Strong World movie. But whether this is mean to hint at a connection or just be an Easter egg is anyone's guess. The outlier seems to be the wolf that shows up with the koma-animal flaming mane and tail commonly seen on Wano. Were the two nations connected in some way far in the past for crossbreeding to occur? Whatever the case, I really enjoyed Luffy instantly taming them.

I'm very curious about Loki's followers. Not because there seems to be anything unique about this particular group - it's obvious they've been around for a while - but for the idea that they're where humans who fight Elbaph and lose end up. So if they start talking about any new recruits…

I'm not the biggest fan of Luffy getting so aggro about Loki badmouthing Shanks. It's not the first time, but it's weird how it's a maturity barrier he still hasn't crossed. I'm not a believer in any kind of evil Shanks theory, but I can't help wondering if this extreme hero worship is setup for disillusionment and conflict when the two finally do cross paths.

The scene with the rest of the Elbaph Strawhats feels like setup for a gag rather than a real set piece. I think Goldberg is carrying the ship either to reunite the crew with it or to take it to show Hadjurdin (who looks like he's doing well for himself).

And we go out on Robin's haircut. She looks so much younger with the bangs back, and so happy to have that reunion on the horizon… only for Oda to float the idea of it all being stolen away at the last moment. Come on, that would be too cruel. I don't expect him to follow through, but it might result in just enough delay that the meeting comes at the end of the arc instead of the start. Such is the art of making drama and cliffhangers for a serialised story.

[venomgender]

Just read your posts about the new SL ragnarok manhwa and, honestly i think this is a discerivce to the novel since all of the aspects that you have ranted about are not as present in there as they are in the manhwa.

For example you said suho isnt like what jinwoo was on the first chapters. And you are right, Suho in the Ln didnt fight the possesed hunters but rather he had to rescue civilians while dealing with possed unawakened people who acted like zombies. They were many but they were far far weaker, and even there he didnt fully succed in helping everyone since time wasnt on his side at all. His fight there even ended with him being almost killed by a wolf until Beru swooped in to save him. And the rest of the chapters as well, Suhos less of a prodogy and more of a tactiful guy trying to get out of insanely dangerous situations. In a sense he is weak but instead of rapidly getting stronger, he gets more creative with the way he is going to win his fights.

Also Suhos backstory in the novel wasnt... supposed to appear until much later. In the first chapters his personality is meaner (tho still funny) because he just got word that his parents are in fact alive and from then on his only focus is getting strong. Its not until some chapters later (due to two events that I wont spoil) that Suho's own turmoil about the loss of his parents is shown and how that affected his personality as well as the relationship with the rest of his family.

(btw when i say long i really mean that most of these is supposed to appear 100 chapters later, and I mean I get showing it now would be good too. BUT THEY DIDNT! THEY DIDNT PUT ANY EFFORT IN SHOWING IT! They just brough in some points with NONE of the weight and context that the light novel had set upon and decided to COMPLETELY CHANGE other things as well!! I could go on a rant of the changes the horrible pay offs but look at this wall of text, its big enough as it is.)

As for the telling and showing, they could have done so SO well with the showing seeing that daul takes a lot of time to extend his characters (like a lot lot), helping to show their personalities through actions could have crammmed in more of an impact to the relationships in SL ragnarok as well, the best example i can get right now is how they executed Dogyun and Suho's interaction, even with some changes thrown, and others cut, the scene was nice because 1)faithful to the story and their characters (in this case dogyuns own problems that werent shown in the manhwa but were in the ln) 2)we got to see the panels of Dogyun hesitating, him deducting about the fight, the extra scenes where hes not trying to leave suho behind. i think these scene was adapted well. I could say the same for the fight with the goblins where it did show new scenes but still relied on suho being his tactiful self like in the novel.

Oh boi did i need to get this out from my chest. and I hope i didnt come of as mean in any of this, im mostly just frustated at the adaptation (even if i still love it) its just that i was having so many expectations considering how the light novel was on its focus of characters, and yeah i can get 'oh this is what happens to all adaptations' and 'they are taking creative liberties because its hard to adapt a book to a webnovel' but one thing is 'I will change the fight to make it cooler or leave out introspective dialogue of the characters bc you cant fit it in the manhwa in any form' and another is 'I will actively change two of the most important key points of the story, kill a character that is very crucial to the next arcs, give the characters op skills that arent supposed to appear until FAAAR later, and decide to make him op by himself instead of relying on those around him and on other external factors because the whole point of Suho is that he ISNT solo leveling, he isnt walking this path alone and--- considering his affection to help others even during very difficult desicions where he could just grab all the op stuff for himself but no--- he doesnt walk this path alone, he is leveling up but so can others to protect the state of the world out of their own choice (which is something jinwoo didnt want because he wanted everyone to be rid of the strugles he went through, and both thoughts are valid imo). He is walking this path not to overtake his father's struggles but to walk alongside him, and to let him know he truly isnt alone as he thinks he is. This fucking novel I swear---

MAN THATS CRAZY.... god. i hate when adaptations ruin things that literally sucks so bad.... maybe i will have to go read the novel because as it the manhwa is on such thin fucking ice for me but the story itself truky does seem promising... and from what you said all of my beef comes from stupid adaptation decisions they made. man...