#but then s2 became boring

[loyalhorror]

arcane isnt good writing or plot wise but the characters are extremely compelling. does that make sense.

[renniethedwstan]

Eleventh Doctor.

I have a hot take, I think Eleven is better than Ten.

Reason?.......I'm not telling you guys the reason because it's just my opinion, and everyone is allowed opinions, so please just be respectful.

Also, just to clarify, I don't hate Ten at all. I love the Tenth Doctor era so much because Ten is my first Doctor, and he introduced me to Doctor who. but Eleven is the reason why I'm still obsessed with Doctor who.

[mumpsetc]

You do not have to elaborate if you wouldn't like to but i'll admit i am very curious to hear your thoughts on balloon and nickel

My Favorite ii Character is Suitcase So You KNOW I Have an Opinion on Balloon and Nickel. In Fact, I Kind of Hate Them!

In S2 I Actually Do Really Like Nickel, I Think His Pure Horribleness is Pretty Entertaining and He's an Effective Antagonist. I Get a Kick Outta the Lil Fucker. Balloon in S2 is More Blah for Me, I'm Not Too Interested in His Own Pain When Suitcase is Infinitely More Interesting But He's Not Offensive, Just Kind of a Lackluster Prop to Someone Else.

When S3 Started and I Saw They Were Goin In for Nickel and Balloon Drama Again I Was Lil Interested. Unlike Other Returning Characters There Was Still Mineable Tension There Cuz the Conclusion of That Arc Was More Suitcase's Than Anyone Else's. and Also I Just Like Nickel.

They Have Since Become One of the Things I Dislike the Most About S3. I'd Go as Far as to Say Balloon Is the Most Thorough Character Assassination That Season's Produced. Granted It Is the Most Interesting He's Ever Been, But Him Constantly Turning a Blind Eye to Nickel Not Changing is so Frustrating. Further Still, When He Eliminates TK and Says That "I Don't Want to Play the Game With Backstabbing and Betrayal" Spiel While Allying With Nickel is an Active Insult to Suitcase. Him Calling Her Putting Her Entire Time on the Line for Him "Backstabbing and Betrayal"? Man I Can't Stand You!

Nickel I Still Think is Entertaining But Now Its Less Because I Like Him and More Getting a Kick Out of How the Writers Seem Unaware How Much He Hasn't Changed and How He's Still Just Blindly Horrible to Most People (Usually Women Honestly. His Pattern of Being Unrelentingly Horrible to Suitcase, TK, and Clover While Mostly Just Being a Bit of a Dick to Everyone Else is Like. Ok). Clover Giving Him Her Luck Powers After He Screamed At Her Till She Cried Was Very Much a "Lol Lmao" Moment for Me.

Also the Fact the Show is Definitely Doing Some Weird Shipbait With Them is Like. Whatever. Fine. Ok. Sure. I Don't Care Anymore.

[vlcimor]

I am not over (and probably never will be) these two parallels. And no one talks about it enough, so I had to draw it (forgot to post it, surprise) for my own sanity. Does it help? Absolutely not, not at all.

Let's talk about it for a bit, okay?

The first drawing is the scene from the end of the 4th episode of the 1st season, right after Ed's and Izzy's (first mate at the time) conversation about plans with Stede, the full crew of the Revenge, and the future. We can see Ed's expression and OH BOY. He is hiding under the mask of Blackbeard to survive. He is exhausted, bored, empty and so done being "The dreadful pyrate Blackbeard". He just wants to be Ed, who fancy fine fabrics and sweet and soft things. It's completely opposite to Izzy's expression, who is behind him and smiling, clearly delighted by Blackbeard's persona and his great plans. On top of it all, the song "The empty boat" by Caetano Veloso playing in the background (I love love love this song), and it fits so well with Ed's emotions.

The second drawing is the scene from the 1st episode of the 2nd season, right after Ed and Frenchie (now first mates) spoke about future plans. Ed let himself be soft and got hurt because of it. Now he's trying to be Blackbeard again, trying to fit in some "norms" of "manly man," trying to survive in a world where liking soft and being soft means dead, and he is failing miserably. He is everything he doesn't want to be. Also, even Stede's name is not mentioned, you know it's all about him. Ed is hurt, tired, and heartbroken. Ed is not the only one who see this. Basically, the whole crew can see how unstable he became after coming back to Blackbeard/ The Kraken persona. Frenchie´s expression shows it all. He stands behind him on his right side, the same spot where Izzy stands in S1. But his expression completely different from Izzy's - sad, afraid, unsure. Once again on top of the scene, the song "Pygmy Love Song" by Francis Bebey (one of my favourite songs from S2) perfectly shows all Ed's emotions.

I am so sorry for this long, boring post. I simply LOVE these two scenes and everything about them, and I needed to share my thoughts with you. I hope it makes sense and my grammar is not too bad.

[teambyler]

My response to "Will became less interesting and likeable in S4"

VERY interesting recent posts at the subreddit. One has people rank their favorite characters and Will is near the bottom of most lists. The other is screenshotted above.

A common complaint is that he had less to do. (That's for sure!) But another theme is that he is "boring" or "always crying" or "about to cry."

I left the following comment there:

Well, they've written him to be a closeted gay kid in a small town in the 80s. Struggling with his sexuality and coming out is going to be kind of... his everything. I went through it. (The 80s part at least.) And so no, he's not going to be as outgoing or "interesting and likeable" as a Steve Harrington or Dustin.

(Meanwhile, here is the current top post at the subreddit, with people going gaga in the comments:)

Instead, Will is incredibly awkward, reserved, closed-in, and does not project confidence and charisma that make people easily like him, because he hates and loathes and doubts himself. Every movement, every inflection, every look, every expression of himself, threatens his safety and well-being. He has been awkward and introverted and shy. But he has also been sensitive, caring, and empathetic. He was one of the more selfless characters this season. These qualities, at least the way he expresses them, don't win conventional popularity contests. Some people find that "bland." I find it to be admirable.

The Duffers have made clear that s5 will focus on Will:

“Will really takes center stage again in 5,” Ross Duffer told Variety. “This emotional arc for him is what we feel is going to hopefully tie the whole series together. Will is used to being the young one, the introverted one, the one that’s being protected. So part of his journey, it’s not just sexuality — it’s Will coming into his own as a young man.”

As he grows out of his shell and gets to assert himself more in s5, he probably becomes more "interesting and likeable" in the conventional sense.

==========

Anyway, just wanted to share. Will may not be the most "popular" character in the conventional sense, but he's won many hearts. Nor is he "bland" or just a "damsel in distress" (I saw those comments on the subreddit too ugh!) He's our original badass with a gun. Who cast fireball for his friends. He survived the frikkin Upside Down for one week by himself. He found the strength to communicate while being possessed that they needed to "CLOSE GATE" to defeat the monsters in s2, which would have killed him. He was willing to sacrifice his life. And in s3 and s4, he has been wanting to keep the party together and then put Mike and El's interest above his own.

Will is a hero. And heroes can be quiet gay boys, too.

-teambyler

[dezmolad]

EARTHSPARK S3: review??? (SPOILERS!)

this weekend I watched earthspark and I have to say something or I'll explode. This won't be a review as much as just some loose thoughts trying to summarise what this series had became.

STARSCREAM I hate what happened with starscream. I wrote an analysis of how this character got absolutely massacred in S2 (you can check it out here). To summarise: In S1 he was such a great character, shown so intriguing with both his not perfect character and his history of being abused. In S2 they made him the villain in an absolutely shallow way, in the final episode writing him in a way that makes him irredeemable. And I thought thats the worst u can do. And then S3 happened, when he appears for one scene to be shown as funny for "being crazy" (WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING WHEN U REMEMBER S1 WHEN HE WAS A VICTIM OF ABUSE THAT NOONE BELIEVED. IS THIS REALLY A GOOD IDEA TO PORTRAY HIM AS HAHA CRAZY GUY). It's absolutely heartbreaking to watch that scene. Starscream gets electrocuted by the very person he opened up to in S1, he was in isolation for all of the S3, he went insane bc of that, and still at the end we drag him to autobot jail. what is this.

PROWL I have no idea how such an intriguing and complicated character from idw that was clearly an inspiration inspired such a dull and shallow character. His process of learning about respect for human allies and terrans is shown so poorely and never feels like being actually resolved, I won't even talk about this. I admire how they did two things I thought were impossible. I thought it's impossible to make IDW inspired Prowl in this show a good guy (I genuinely thought he's going to be the bad antagonist). I thought it's impossible to ignore his weird and complicated relationship with Tarantulas, in a show that had Tarantulas in S1, was created with Nick Roche as character designed and was inspired by The Sins Of The Wreckers specifically in specific places. They did both of those things and it worked out horribly, congrats.

CONCLUSION I can't understand what happened with this season. it's visible there was some cuts, it looks rushed, it lacks any substance, and Quintessons at the end... didn't help the case let's just say. But that isn't my bigest problem. I feel devastated by what happened to the ideals of the show. in S1 we had decepticons in cages, and figuring out it's not actually a good solution. In S2 we saw decepticon as boring usual villains. But in S3 we have decepticons in one big cage again. But this time there is no consideration, there is no doubt. Even if under Shockwave they just want to go home. They should all be kept imprisoned. No matter if they mean no harm, no matter if, like Starscream, they suffered enough. And there is nothing to figure out, that's just how the world works. After all, they are decepticons, right. yes I'm bitter, S1 was just very important to me and seeing what happened to ES is just sad.

[mimi-saurio]

Re-watching Jimmy Neutron and wanna make an appreciation post.

When I was a kid I always thought that Jimmy was cool, not like the typical smart kid who's allergic to everything, or annoying as hell about his intelligence. Now I realize the reason he was cool in my eyes was his selfishness, Jimmy does his inventions not only for his science curiosity but for his own benefits, to have fun with Carl and Sheen, to prank Cindy, to impress Betty, TO WIN SOMETHING. It was in the way he used science and his brain to fulfill his boyish antics, like sending the teachers to space so the kids could have a week off, or when he took his friends on a trip to the dessert just because the class was boring, or when he hypnotizes his parents to keep getting birthday presents to build his hypercube.

I also notice the great friendship between Carl, Sheen, and Jimmy. The first thing you learn in season 1 is that they would be friends even if Jimmy wasn't a genius. They like him and being smart is just the plus that gets them into more interesting scenarios, and Jimmy also enjoys their company (although in season 3 he gets annoyed more easily with them, but c'mon it's justified)

Judy and Hugh are the first representation of a healthy relationship I got in animation, FIGHT ME. I highly believe that Jimmy gets to act his age because his parents raised him with love and no pressure. Smart or not if he needs a scold he will have it, if he gets prized they are proud and happy for him, and no matter what they just love their son. AND THEY LOVED EACH OTHER SO MUCH UGHHH it makes me sick, HUGH SPEND HIS LAST DOLLARS ON JUDY'S RING TO PROPOSE, and then told Jimmy that A MAN HAD TO HAVE PRIORITIES, meaning the love of his life over millions of dollars. IT KILLS ME UUUUGHHH.

OF COURSE, JIMMY WOULD BE A ROMANTIC if he grew up watching their parents doing nothing but love and care for each other. Jimmy learning "the walking man" from Hugh it's POETIC CINEMA, BYE.

About Jimmy and Cindy, as a kid I never noticed the period where they became friends, S1 is all about them hating each other (the crush is there but not as hard) S2 is them developing trust, they actually became friends by papers in the season final (the crush was heavy) and by S3 Cindy and Libby are include in Jimmy's plans and adventures with the boys naturally (also Libby and Sheen's relationship is established by this point too and Jimmy and Cindy are literally fighting their feelings for each other)

Stranded S3 E7 is probably the episode that resolves their Love/hate dynamic, they realize that most of their fights are over the pressure of being more intelligent than the other, and once they are away and alone they leave their guard down. Again, Hugh and Judy raised a gentleman, Jimmy has every little gesture with Cindy.

I'm insane but this little gesture, the "you go first" is such a great detail in his character. Then he goes and opens as many oysters as he has to find a pearl for Cindy, PRIORITIES indeed. Cindy by the end tries to convince Jimmy to stay on the island and it just hit me like, the girl has a lot on her shoulders, classes, grades, the constant to prove that she is worth it as Jimmy is, and this is not on him to blame, but her mother, her status and the way the city price Jimmy when he goes and does something beneficial but completely ignores others kids gifts.

A lot to say about the show and I can go for hours if I can, but this is for now, such a classic and well-written comedy, chill and funny, yet interesting.

English is not my main language so, sorry for the bad grammar, thanks for reading and bye.

[beevean]

It's really noticeable how vampires in NFCV are... so boring.

For getting all the main focus of the narrative at the expense of the heroes, the worldbuilding is incredibly lazy, to the point that they almost suffer from Twilight syndrome and don't even feel like real vampires. They're more like blood drinking elves.

Under a read more because this got long and picture-heavy. What can I say, I love my references.

1) Vampires don't bite. The only vampire shown biting is Dracula in one flashback.

(in S2E4, Godbrand leads the other generals on a drinking spree, but they are mostly shown dismembering humans with swords and claws, the closest thing to drinking being Raman pouring blood down her throat from a decapitated person.)

The need to drink blood to survive is an important plot point both in S2 and in the Styria subplot, and it is repeated that vampires see humans as nothing more than livestock, but we rarely, if ever, see vampires feasting on humans.

Hell, not only the Styrian council keeps blood in convenient chalices, which could still be justified by them living a decadent lifestyle (something something symbolism of how detached nobility is), but a starved Godbrand dreams of decapitating humans, not eating them. As I explained here, it is especially noticeable with Lenore, the "kind" vampire who owns a human slave. like. the topic of feeding on him or marking him as her property should have come up at one point, right? Or making her look "weird" for not wanting to bite anyone?

It would have been so cool if it became a plot point in the last episode. Isaac, naturally, refuses to deliver humans for Lenore to drink from, so her only choices once the reserves are run out are to either feed like a "real" vampire from Hector, who would gladly give his life for her because he wants to keep her with him no matter what, or starve. Hence, the decision to just commit suicide, as she would rather die than hurt the man she loves with her monstrosity. Instead, whatever she's drinking is portrayed as wine, and herself like she's getting drunk. Not a bad idea, as she said that she enjoys human food, but that tidbit went nowhere fast. Aside from this one scene, we never see one vampire eating food, not even her.

(I forgot, until now, that she says "we eat", and not "I" like I thought. With how she looks at the side, I'm almost tempted to think this is one of her uncountable lies, but for the sake of this argument, let's assume that she's being sincere)

In fact, nothing is done with the details of a vampire's general diet and their alternatives: the most we know is that Godbrand hates pig blood because "it gives him the shits". This is the only mention of the classic trope of a vampire drinking animal blood, a staple in works that aim to give moral depth to vampires. Lenore introduces the concept of eating human food not for nourishment, but for hedonistic pleasure, implying that vampires don't suffer any consequence from doing this and it's the equivalent of eating treats (which is a shame: it would have been much more interesting to see a vampire insisting on eating human food even if it causes nothing but pain. conflict? never heard of her). This contradicts what we see in the rest of the series, which is that vampires' idea of hedonistic pleasure is to simply, as I mentioned before, dismember humans. It could have, however, furthered Lenore's character as the "odd" vampire who prefers to indulge in human habits like that silly "diplomacy", perhaps even hinting at a resentment against her own vampirism which is another staple of the genre (indulging in shallow pleasures seems to be, for her, the only reason to live forever - an empty lifestyle for an empty person who might be easily pushed to suicide...), but once again, nothing comes of it until it becomes time for her to ragequit out of life in a way that feels less "I am disgusted at the monster than I am" that would have fit the previous exchange and more "weh i don't want to face the consequences of my actions :<".

Speaking of Lenore, a detail I realized recently is that she looks disgusted when Hector cuts his finger in front of her. A human would naturally be repulsed by the sight of blood and gore... but she is a vampire. She should salivate at the sight of him bleeding all over the floor, even in the general horror of the situation. Carmilla and Lenore deliberately lick Hector's blood when they wound him as an act of humiliation, but there is a distinct lack of bloodlust from these vampires. Pass Dracula who is supposed to be ancient, but does everyone have iron-strong self control? Couple this with how vampires dismember humans without feeding on them, and you have to wonder if blood really is a precious resource to them.

The lack of biting was thankfully fixed in Nocturne, where vampires, here depicted as more bestial, are frequently shown eating in all of its messy glory, including a poor girl frequently victim of Erzsébet's hunger.

2) Turning is barely given lip service. In S2, Carmilla mocks Dracula for never turning his "pet", and since her backstory involves being turned by a "cruel old man", one can assume that this is expected of vampires, that they turn humans they fall in love with - if they don't, it means they just see them as toys. Which makes sense from a vampire's perspective: humans are inferior, and being turned is bestowing them a high honor. As she says,

But after that, the topic gets dropped. We don't know anything about any other vampire's past and how they have joined the ranks of the undead. There are no (living) sires and broods. The question "why didn't Dracula turn Lisa?", which could have spurned an interesting discussion about damning one's soul to selfishly cheat death, never gets answered, as Carmilla asked it only to make the Lord look stupid, and stupid he looks. And let's not even talk about that out-of-nowhere shot of vampire children skulls that rise all sorts of questions that the show does not bother to answer. This, too, was finally fixed in Nocturne, where Erzsébet turns Tera by forcing her own blood in her mouth, and we see the process in all of its uncomfortableness.

3) Vampires invoke God's name despite being outside of God's graces, which shows the lack of care in these details.

And I wouldn't think much of it, if S4 didn't also include that idiotic, lore-breaking scene of crosses being harmful to vampires not as a symbol of God, but because "it confuses the shit out of their brains". When you think about it, for a series infamous for its CHURCH BAD philosophy, you'd think they'd want to explore vampires' relationship with God and the Church, even in a "we're better than the stupid Christians" way. Even in the games you have oddities like Dracula declaring war against God, yet often including a chapel in his castle, that raises interesting questions about his own relationship with religion which were half-answered in Lament of Innocence. Again, this was at least mentioned in Nocturne, when Drolta can walk around in Emmanuel's church because his actions desecrated it.

And do I need to even mention that water-blessing zombie bishop that is the bane of my existence? Sure, God would absolutely lend His blessing powers to an evil vampire and her necromancer lackey! Sure, crosses upset vampires for """scientific""" reasons but holy water burns them because of divine intervention! Love how it makes all the time wasted on that asinine scene of vampires discoursing about running water hurt just a little more!

4) I simply don't get the feeling that vampires are dead bodies animated by some sort of demonic energy. The most we get is a general pallor - and even then, the vampires of color like Sharma, Raman or Morana have a perfectly healthy skin tone. Or, I don't know, Dracula and Carmilla getting blood in their sclera when particularly feral. If they can, apparently, eat human food without any consequence, it suggests that they have a functional digestive system and all (make of this what you will). Carmilla is shown being unaffected by the cold, implying that she has a naturally low temperature, but humans don't even flinch when touched by what are, by all means, walking corpses.

Hector being, apparently, able to smell Lenore before even hearing her (which logically should mean that everytime she invades his personal space it would give him the mother of all headaches, but I could chalk it up to clunky writing) could have been a hint that vampires reek of death and need to mask it by covering themselves in perfume; but of course, like many possibly intriguing details, it goes nowhere, because having our Ms. Fanservice stinking of rot and strong perfume would be unappealing.

and yes i am saying hector should have frozen his dick off while fucking lenore why do you ask. she didn't even drink his blood to warm herself up, i swear the basics of vampire sex 😭

5) A smaller nitpick before the main course: vampires sleep. They sleep exactly like humans, just during the day: Carmilla, Striga and Morana are implied to sleep in their own beds, and at one point Godbrand falls asleep on a chair. They even have dreams and nightmares. Again, I must stress: even Twilight scoffed at the legend of vampires sleeping in coffins, but not only that story took place in a modern setting, the catch was that they didn't sleep at all, which makes sense for a race of undead predators!

6) This one drives me up a wall: "vampire culture" is a farce. In S3, Lenore makes a whole show of gifting Hector a book about their culture, which he finds utterly fascinating because he didn't even know vampires had a culture in the first place.

Well, neither do I! What is this vampire culture? Social norms? Biting etiquette? Rituals of bonding and turning? What is this "philosophy" that he mentions, "conquer all the things" as implied in the "strength and power" conversation in the very last episode? Is part of vampire culture turning human children, as accidentally implied by the shot of kids' skulls? And what does the aforementioned scene about running water tell us, if not that not even vampires are all sure of what hurts them and what doesn't? Which would imply that vampires are left to fend for themselves by their sires and they have to learn about their own weaknesses the hard way, which is not a bad concept, but this contradicts the idea that vampires are an united society and some of them write down their knowledge! "It's not like we're given a manual for being a vampire" i dunno chief, you yourself seem pretty knowledgeable about ancient vampire history!

(incidentally, we see Hector reading a book in S4E2, which could have implied he's still interested in vampire culture but this time for the sake of playing their own mindgames, but we don't know what it's about and I'm not going to do the writers' job for them, afawk he was just chilling in his gilded cage)

The only "vampire culture" we see is that they essentially preserve human technology that would otherwise be lost to time.

What Lenore is flaunting here is a hypocaust. Which, while they were mostly used at the time of the Roman Empire, actually survived for longer in Eastern Europe than it did in the West, meaning that the Greek Hector should not be this surprised. Turns out, not all humans forget.

It was also kept lit by slaves, which raises all sorts of interesting implications about how the Styrian castle works. But naturally, we never see humans slaves being forced to keep the castle warm: that would make Lenore and her attempts to sell the castle as a great place to live in look bad, and Hector's gilded cage less dreamy for the people who believe he got a great deal.

And to briefly go back to the issue of confusing biology... why in the fuck would a castle of vampires, established to be impervious to cold, need a heating system? Are humans part of the castle? Who benefits from the heat, the same slaves that keep the hypocaust lit? They torture Hector in all sorts of ways, including dousing him in icy water, because they see him as little more than a stinking dog only kept alive because Carmilla needs him, but they bother to keep prisoners warm, wasting precious resources? At least I can see why Dracula would build a heating system for Lisa! This is just stupid! This was mentioned ad hoc to stroke the vampires' dick! "I keep telling you, we're not monsters" only because the writing is bending itself backwards just for you, Lenore!

But back to the main point. This could have been a very interesting topic of discussion, because this means that vampires are soulless parasites who can only vicariously benefit from humanity's ingenuity, unable to produce and only able to steal for themselves (much like they steal human's blood), arrogantly believing themselves to be superior but not acknowledging that they need those creatures they see as livestock! Even the comment that vampires "don't forget" could have a negative side, as it means that vampirekind is stagnant, stuck in the past, unable to move on! But no, they are simply framed as superior for their long memory, because they are so technologically advanced, unlike those stupid humans held back by the CHURCH BAD, that they can wear modern clothes and have electric lamps, ohhh, ahhh!

Vampires wear more modern fashion than humans in Castlevania (Alucard invented the V-neck), so there's more room to play with clothing periods.

Yeah, vampire culture is Alucard's cheap, tiddy-exposing V-neck shirt! And dazzling the backwards brown people humans in the spare time. Sign me in!

Incidentally, do you remember when Dracula was framed as being unique for being a man of science in a largely ignorant, religion-riddled world, to the point that it's the main reason Lisa approached him to teach her "real" medicine? And the main reason Alucard feels sorry for his father's madness, because he will use his massive knowledge for evil? And the main reason Isaac wanted to lay down his own life to save that of his Lord?

Yeah, neither do the writers. Dracula is only valued for his ancient "knowledge" by the people who care about him, and by S3 that same knowledge isn't even special anymore. I swear, Dracula is the third most hated character in the show after Hector and Trevor.

Speaking of Hector, he's by far the worst victim of this vampire idealization. He could have had an arc of him learning to love humanity over vampirekind, the same kind that did nothing but use him and hurt him even worse than humans did. He could have accepted that, despite its flaws, humanity can also be good, and the world overall isn't as black and white as he thought. Not at all. His lack of empathy towards his own species is never addressed if not to make him look stupid. Most infuriatingly, his character arc ends with him declaring that he has learned to appreciate "the value and the beauty of things (i.e. Lenore, the only thing he gives one singular shit about) that live longer than he does", keeping him stagnant and shooting in the foot S4's half-hearted attempt to dismantle this idolized image of vampires as a species. Appreciation for humanity's virtues? Not in my adaptation of Castlevania, which is all about the strength of mankind prevailing over evil!

6) Their powers! What a lack of imagination. What an embarrassment. Vampires are super fast and super strong, with sharp claws, and they are shown turning into bats and mist. Dracula, the most powerful vampire, can shoot one Hellfire. That's. That's it.

Really? This is the adaptation of a videogame series where the most wet cat of a vampire uses telekinesis to throw swords at people! There is a whole ass vampire who stole Dracula's castle through the power of reality-warping paintings! Ohh look how cool Carmilla is dashing around in her final stand, yeah well my Carmilla can turn into a giant naked lady riding a skull that cries corrosive bloody tears!

Where is the damn creativity?! Where is my True Dracula in all of his monstruous Dark Lord glory???

(as a miniscule kernel of positivity, I need to quickly praise Cho for outright weaponizing turning into mist, a power mostly used for evasion. And Sypha for weaponizing it right back, by freezing and shattering her. See, this is a creative display of power! And it's for one of the most wasted cardboard cut-outs of the show. riveting :V)

You know the worst thing? The vampire with the most vampiric traits... is Alucard. Alucard sleeps in a coffin, and even implies that it's more comfortable for him than a bed.

Alucard flashes his fangs and hisses the most to enemies.

Alucard reminds the Japanese not-twins in a spar fight that he's tempted to bite them and drink their blood. Alucard has a sword that he can swing around with telekinesis, more similar to Joachim's power than his own in SoTN. Alucard also shows an extra transformation in the form of a wolf.

Why is the dhampir more of a vampire than the vampires in this setting??? If we didn't see him casually standing in the sun, no one would be able to tell he's half-human! Why, is it hotter if he hisses and talks about his non-existant bloodlust?? It only makes the scene with the kids' skulls, where it's all but said that he keeps cruelly insulting Trevor and his entire bloodline because they kill "his people", all the more demeaning to his character! The whole point of Alucard is that he chooses his own humanity over his vampire side!!

I know that at this point I should give up all pretenses that this show has anything in common with the videogame series it stole its name from, but I am still utterly baffled that they took three protagonists - Trevor the vampire hunter who chose to help the same people that shunned him, Alucard the dhampir who chose to honor his human mother's wish to stand against his vampire lineage, and Hector the Devil Forgemaster who chose to forgive humanity and turn over a new leaf from his Devil-serving days - that in different ways represent the virtue of humanity, and pissed all over them in different ways to prop up their shitty elves! Because this is what vampires are in this universe: arrogant, smug, flaccid, incompetent dark elves that can't even make a proper threat but we are still meant to see as hot!

And that's really the thing. Vampires in NFCV aren't just as dull as dishwater and with a less defined biology than that of Meyerpires (the comparisons with Twilight aren't casual), but they don't stand for anything. Vampires are a prime concept for metaphors such as feudalism, illness that consumes you, the taboo of homosexuality, carnal desire, abusive relationships, feeling like "others" and "unwanted" by society, etc. Even Nocturne, NOCTURNE, one of the emptiest stories about vampires I had the displeasure of watching, uses vampirism as a metaphor for nobility and colonialism and the way they greedily suck away all the resources of the people they oppress! It's as subtle as a kick in the balls and it shatters what little original lore there was left, but the idea is there! It's trying to send a message!

What is NFCV's message conveyed through its decision to focus on vampires as a species, that humans suck? It certainly would fit the nigh-relentless cynicism of the show. Who cares about worldbuilding or consistent characterization? Just add some "deep", pretentious speeches about the evils of CHURCH BAD and how shitty humans are, and look how the praises for being Peak Fiction fall from the sky.

[mdhwrites]

how would you have written eda's curse and Luz's time in hexside? Eda's curse supposed to be a stand in for chronic illness but not only did they get rid of it they turned it into her 'superpower'- I know a lot of people call that a bad faith critic but it bothers me and just because hexside is cool and magic doesn't mean it's separate from the rest of the BI's laws and darwinism plus Luz is neurodivergent and has no biological magic- she would have issues with bullying and learning like she did back on her world- things wouldn't be magically fixed and might even be worse?

Why is it that The Owl House has nothing interesting to be done with powerlessness? To turn one's theorized weaknesses into strengths? Why do they just have to become strengths?

This is one of the biggest ways in which I would argue TOH is brain dead. Most other aspects of the show I can criticize but I have to admit that they tried. That there's something there... But it's entirely missing here. Which the fact that in an adventure series, the show cannot challenge the protagonist when they have a SEVERE disadvantage like this is emblematic of how the show doesn't challenge anyone on anything.

Eda's curse is like THE plot point of S1. Its finale and S2's opening, and even Affearances, all revolve around how we have gone from being worried about using magic to not being able to use magic. It's a HUGE status quote, especially because it leaves these characters so much more vuln- Oh never mind. Eda has explosive potions and glyphs that outdo all of her magic that she did before. It's not a problem. Move the fuck on.

I talked to an author after Clouds on the Horizon about how Eda gaining a coven sigil means nothing. They argued back that she'd lose her magic then. I shot back that she already lost it... And they admitted, being a fanfic author for TOH, that they FORGOT EDA DIDN'T HAVE MAGIC.

But why would you even remember that? She uses more magic with the glyphs than she did without them. The one time the curse really got in the way was with Tibbles. Then it not just became a superpower, it had EXTRA POWERS! Like what we saw in Eda's Requiem. Her magic genuinely got more interesting and more devastating AFTER losing it.

And this paralleled with Luz. Covention is the ONE time her not having magic comes up as something that puts her in danger and the answer is just to have someone else do the magic, which is always the solution in S1 early on. Need to fight Bounty Hunters? Bring in Willow. Need to escape detention? Yo Gus, use that good good illusion magic of yours. My own unique personality traits, skills and abilities instead? Why the fuck would we use that when everyone is overpowered and that's SO much easier a solution?

And once Luz does have her full arsenal, she rivals ANY other mage we've seen below Lilith's level. Fight a Selkidamus? Sure, I'm better than the entire fucking boat and will solo this bitch after they fail and I only need them for physical strength. The Conformatorium is my bitch by the end of S1 despite no training or practice. I can just walk up to Warden Wrath and render him completely at my mercy with just slips of paper. After those two back to back moments, anytime Luz loses or is challenged is just narrative contrivance because we've seen that her power is essentially limitless. It doesn't even cost her energy since her stamina seems entirely disconnected from her spells...

Which Gus reinforces because when he picks up glyphs, even when nervous with them, they are bluntly stronger than any other version we've seen of those spells. The largest fireball in the entire show is when Gus nervously casts his first glyph. It's horseshit.

And as you point out, it has cascading effects. If you want boring combat because otherwise you would need to sacrifice time from character work, that's one thing. However, the show's premise is on Luz learning magic. Learning to be the best version of herself. Because magic is not challenged though, she does not have to improve as a person to improve her magic. That's why three of her four glyphs have nothing to do with moral lessons. Arguably, all of them, and that's not getting into how the combo glyphs happen off screen and you can't argue shortening because all but one combo glyph is gotten before the shortening took effect. As such, you're not doing character work AND you're not doing interesting, entertaining combat or adventures.

I think the most damning thing here, period, is that I've mixed these subjects because it's obvious. A depowered, master of magic working with someone who wants to be that master of magic to understand the world and their abilities. It should be a bonding point for them that they don't have magic or that magic comes hard for them. But... It's not. It literally never is. The closest it EVER comes to that is when Luz teaches Eda glyphs which is like all of two minutes between two episodes and that's in SEASON TWO. It's not a reversal of dynamics because the first dynamic just straight up NEVER HAPPENED.

But it's easier to just give them powers. To just give super forms or combo glyphs or whatever else the person needs in that moment. It's easier than exploring the complicated subjects of not having something everyone else has, even though shows for TODDLERS literally have done it for decades in single episodes.

How am I supposed to agree that this is the deepest show with the most complex writing when they could not bother even once answering the question "How does someone without magic win against that win against something that does?" And for a show with two of its protagonists entirely missing magic at different points in the show, that's downright embarrassing.

TOH would have to be more than just another isekai using fantasy elements for power fantasy elements to give a shit about that though. Shame to anyone who actually cares about those genres though, this isn't the place for you. See you next tale.

======+++++======

Before anyone tries to crack back with this btw: Putting a glyph on Belos WOULD count if not for the fact that Luz has to break every version of the invisibilty spell we've ever seen for that to have worked. Her magic just did what it needed to do. She wasn't smart, the show cheated, which is essentially the whole point of this blog. And for those curious: EVERY other use of the Invisibility spell includes making the entire person vanish which makes sense since it is connected to the breath of the caster. Then out of nowhere, Luz can do it to a single object that she's wearing despite no one ever making their shirt even accidentally vanish. That's not clever, that's bullshit.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[karaspal]

kara danvers is so ace-coded they should've just confirmed her as asexual. she values friendships over anything else, she gets grossed out by sexual stuff, she can easily make friends with dragons! it's basically canon.

kara spent the entirety of s1 wanting to date james but they became great friends in the meantime, so when it was finally time for them to change their relationship, kara didn't want to date him anymore. she didn't want to lose the connection they had, and a failed relationship would've done that. i think this is the reason kara doesn't want to date people who are already her friends. if it fails, you lose the person. and with ace people wanting to date allo people, it's a real possibility.

in s1, kara also (kind of) faced some aphobia from leslie during her supergirl slander piece. there is also a thing she says in the podcast itself (iyky), but i don't really want to include it because it's very icky.

(this should go without saying, but since this is the internet and nothing goes with a disclaimer, i do think leslie's "lack of sexuality" comment is bad, and i do think it could be seen as aphobie if that's how one chooses to interpret it)

kara spent the first half of s2 not only not showing any interest in mon-el, but outright saying she wouldn't date someone like him (who is, for example, openly a very sexual person. not that there's anything wrong with that, but seemingly not kara's cup of tea). she also rejected him twice. twice.

(the following part i kinda copy-pasted from another one of my posts, but don't judge me too hard, okay. it just already has the points i want to make.)

i honestly think kara dated mon-el because she felt like everyone was pulling away from her and she was scared to be alone again. it was during the time she was fighting with her best friends, and her sister was preoccupied with her own (toxic) relationship. on top of that, part of kara's story in the early seasons is unlearning all the harmful behavior jeremiah and eliza forced her to do so she could "fit in" ("don't be too smart", "make sure not to stand out", "go on dates, find a partner. it's what humans do"). so her abandonment issues, mixed with her belief that you need a partner to fit in and be happy because "that's what humans do", pushed her to mon-el. it also doesn't help alex decided to push the last of her internalized comhet on her sister ("well, mon-el likes you so are you sure you don't like him either?" no. no, she doesn't. this is not slander to alex tho, it's the writers fault. alex is my girl, and i love her very much. it was also said in s1 eliza would get upset with alex if kara didn't date enough so alex pushing kara towards mon-el maybe could be seen as a leftover effect from their mother's unfair treatment.)

i'd also like to say that sleeping with a guy once (if that's even what happened since we didn't really see anything) doesn't really prove she's not asexual. since she also left after (which is so funny to me because she got so bored she left her own loft) and explicitly told him not to tell anyone (which is even funnier to me).

and, on top of that, technically, for kara, mon-el was the closest thing to a kryptonian. in a way, he reminded her of her home (even if he was the furthest from that). she romanticized him a lot (she said so herself in 3x15). she felt like she could be herself with him, because he was also an alien. but the thing was, mon-el hated his planet and didn’t miss it at all. and for all of krypton’s faults, kara still missed her home a lot. mon-el couldn’t relate to her the way kara thought he could.

all these factors - 1) kara’s abandonment issues (because almost everyone was pulling away from her), 2) the belief installed by her adoptive parents that you need a romantic partner to fit in and appear normal (eliza would get upset with her if she didn’t go on enough dates), 3) most of her friends looking genuinely happy in their romantic relationships (happiness kara wanted to experience too and she didn't realise until later in the show that happiness looks different for different people so she assumed a relationship would make her happy), 4) last of alex’s comphet telling her that maybe she likes him too because he likes her (even if there were no indications and in fact, kara said she didn’t like him and looked disappointed when she found out he did), and 5) mon-el being the “closest” to her home (even if that was far from the truth), resulted in kara reassuring herself mon-el would make her happy and that he is good for her. even though he wasn’t.

i mean, forcing yourself to date someone because 1) they like you, 2) almost everyone else around you is in a relationship, and 3) you've been taught dating is the norm, and if you don't, you're weird, is pretty much the standard asexual experience.

in the s3 crossover, kara's conversation with barry can also be seen as asexual-coded.

being asexual can truly feel so isolating sometimes. so i get it.

the end of s3 is so so great because kara finally accepts herself the way she is and is happy with that person. and guess what, the second she does so, her "need" to find a romantic partner disappears. she doesn't have a love interest in s4, and it is so refreshing to see.

also, here are some moments that scream ace!kara because why not.

in conclusion? kara is asexual CANON. have a nice day!

[pepstarvanmoon]

I really wonder what GAs think about Mike’s overall storyline in S3 and how it extended into S4.

When I first started S3 (I didn’t start shipping Byler until the rain fight and didn’t go deeper into the fandom until after finishing S4), I didn’t really care about what Mike had going on.

He was being a typical teen with their frustrating and dismissive ways, but I wasn’t really bothered by it? I didn’t really care until it started to feel sort of shoved in my face? Like being late to the theater, ditching Dustin on his first day back, everything with Hopper tbh, lying to El, advice from Lucas, not playing DnD to look for gifts at the mall, the break up, not playing DnD (again) to wallow in self-pity and to be gross boys lol (part of that scene is just so El and Will can react to Mike being gross like why).

By the time we got to “they’re conspiring against me!” I started rolling my eyes every time Microbial’s relationship issues became the focus of a scene. It was starting to piss off other characters, too, so I felt kinda justified in how little I cared.

Then the store scene where they’re patching up El’s leg and Mike struggles (badly) not to SAY “I love you” to her face, but to somehow get her to say it for him? (Like some weird school lesson trying to get students to find the answer without outright saying it like it’s a curse or something. This show has never needed I love you’s to convey that a couple is in love, so this whole thing felt unnecessary to me my first watch). I remember sitting there wondering why I should gaf about this plotline at all. It was so drawn out for what felt like no reason, and it didn’t seem to be going anywhere? “I know that I…” Are you sure you know, Mike? Like say it or move on.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but it really had no impact until they force you to remember it during the move out scene where El says she loves him too (weird btw seeing as we got the “I love her and I can’t lose her again!” BEFORE the “you’ve never heard that term…?” I guess it was to have a ‘funny’ scene after that first encounter with ther meat flayer? Idk maybe I need to rewatch S3)

I guess they left it open ended after that uncomfortable kiss scene because it’s clearly still an issue in S4, but in my initial watch, more than it not making sense to me, I just sort of found it boring? It might’ve just been my bias because I started to enjoy Will and El’s characters more than Mike’s at the time, and Madraosis’ constant (and minuscule) problems were making them both miserable. To have it pick up again in S4 annoyed me because the S3 finale made it seem like their relationship was okay, but… did they really resolve anything?

Honestly, my biggest gripe was it being included at all. It felt unnecessary and boring at the time, but if they’re gonna keep pushing Mike’s inability to say “I love you” and function normally while in a relationship after all that bs in S3, it better be for a decent reason. It was no longer as cut and dry as I thought when I watched S4, and it’s difficult to grasp that a lot of people watching the show still think this way.

I mean, just imagine Nancy spending a whole chunk of S2 trying to convince/tell Steve she loves him and treating Jonathan like an afterthought before they get together that SAME season (like a romantic and less traumatizing spin on what happened with Barb (RIP), where they clearly demonstrated how bad it was that Nancy was getting swept up in her relationship with Steve).

Nancy getting back with Steve at the end of S1 was annoying for a lot of people, but more of an “eh, whatever” until they started having problems again in S2. Why is it literally the same storyline?? It’s pretty blatant, too. I hardly see any GA really questioning it, and if they do it’s always chalked up to bad writing (which… yeah). If it’s not because Mike and El are having legitimate problems, or about Will’s confirmed feelings, then what do the Duffer’s want me to think?

(first post but I've been lurking here so long it doesn't feel like it.)

[tessarionbestgirl]

I think the reason Team Black love Jace so much is because although they love to brag about how they "won" they ended up with two of the worst Targ kings. Aegon III is dull as dishwater and is the reason House Targaryen doesn't have any more dragons whilst Viserys II is plain evil.

So with Jace they can project their ideal Targ king, declaring that unlike Aegon III he wouldn't let the dragons die out and unlike Viserys II he wouldn't claim Rhaenyra is proof to why women shouldn't be allowed to rule nor would he force his daughter to marry his rapist son.

Look I think Jace is a nice character, and even....how I am going to say this? One of the reasons Ryan is so pro team black sometimes in his writing, is because he has a producer mentality, that means he believes to maintain big audience, he will write characters that the normies can root for. That are not so morally gray. Some people call Hotd the mcufication of asoiaf and they are not out of line because just like the comic books are way more philosophical with their story (the end civil for example) Hotd takes away the little nuance that fire and blood give of the war and character and leans completely to one side.

Season one we had Viserys, and worked so well that in S2 he basically wrote Rhaenyra personality in the same way. Jace falls under that wing.

And while tb eat that shit for a lot reasons, including the one you said, like I also see them getting defensive towards Aegon III, although I have a feeling they've only been like this with them since his relationship with Jaehaera became popular.

Viserys in S1 was constantly shit talked and for good reasons. This season, because the fans loved him, he is acclaimed, even for the wife he constantly disrespect groomed. Rhaenyra acting like him . And that is not the reason why people liked her in the first place. Remember the girl that flew to Dragonstone without her dad permission and faced her uncle? That is the Rhaenyra people like it.

This all backfire and Aegon of all people become a fan favourite.

Ryan desperately needed to create a character where the normies would root for, but he end up making Rhaenyra boring and so he underdeveloped Jace and make him palpable for teen girls thirsty over.

Ignoring there is one character in the book that is coded to be the "Jon snow" the guy the people would root for. And Martin wrote him to be that so, because when adapted people like him. And Ryan cut him almost him completely if wasn't for George complaining in his door. And that is fucking Daeron.

[vidavalor]

Hello & welcome! You'll find my masterlist & snacks in here...

Hello, gentle readers, and welcome to my Tumblr thing. I write meta analyzing Good Omens with a special emphasis on its use of language. On this blog, we've also been decoding Crowley & Aziraphale's etymology-based hidden language, which we've dubbed Ineffable Husbands Speak, for a little while now. You'll find a compendium of posts related to that, as well as other theories and analysis, below the cut.

In this post, you'll find my meta masterlist. You can go to my original welcome post here to read more about the content of my blog. This post contains links to meta on language and characters. You can find story analysis meta here, theories here, and silly stuff over here. 💕

Meta on Ineffable Husbands Speak & Overall Use of Language in Good Omens

Crepes: Introduction to Crowley & Aziraphale's hidden language & an analysis of the 2008 minisode in 1.01 & how it shows the nature of their relationship

Fish: A deep dive into what the deal is with all the fish references and what the show seems to be suggesting about how sushi, Camelot, Rome and The Bullet Catch can tell us about how Crowley & Aziraphale first became lovers

Crowley and Plosives: Why Crowley pops consonants & what it has to do with his hiss

Non-Frozen Peas: First of two metas about Aziraphale's French in S2

Canapes: Homophony and what Aziraphale's French in S2 has to do linguistically with Vavooming and Crowley's couch in the bookshop

Bread: Ella Fitzgerald, Jesus and blasphemous innuendo

Tip Top, Thank You and Tickety Boo

The Yiddish in The Blitz, Part 2 & "No Nightingales"

Crowley calling Aziraphale "baby" in 1.01

The etymology of Aziraphale's name

Jiggery Pokery

Odegra & The Language of The Dark Priesthood of Ancient Mu

Grice: On the language in Muriel's notes

On the language jokes relating to sushi, pigs, and hat stands

Alpha Centauri

The romantic implications of the improper use of apostrophes

The OK sign's historical ties to Vavooming

"Wily and "Thwart"

"Technically"

"Bored" and "Board" and "Wrath" and "Wroth"

"Suspishous Ears"

Crowley's barely-coded "I love you" to Aziraphale in the Muriel scene

On use of "friend" in Ineffable Husbands Speak

On horses, The Arrangement and the innuendo in the 1601 scene

The hand flick that means 'couple'

The rubber duck

Vol-au-vents and nightingales

"Constitution of an ox"

On Aziraphale's magic words and why the antagonists are called the redundant-sounding Nazi Zombie Flesheaters

Aziraphale doing Bildad hands in Rome

"Quite sure"

Requested examples of references to Crowley by Aziraphale using language with feminine connotations

To "explode" a theory

"Put on the cuffs... I'll come quietly."

Flaming Sord

"Comes of putting it up your sleeve."

"The Amazing Mr. Fell"

Sleight of hand

Aziraphale petting Crowley's arm in 1827

Getting into a scrape

"Perfect" and "gorgeous"

Aziraphale booping Crowley's nose with the magic coin in S1

The Blitz, The B-Side and Baraqiel

"Perfectly safe"

The Arch Arch-Traitors, Err, Traitors Association

"Toss you for Edinburgh", salads, and wordplay around rings

Cobbler

"Come for me"

On 'The Maltese Falcon' & coded language

"Angel's Food Cake"

"You say 'potato' and I say 'eggcellent'..."

Aziraphale's hands are magic

"Help could come from an unexpected quarter"

"Will you get into trouble?"

"I opened the door for you."

"My dear fellow"/Mr. Fell

"PROF HOFFman"

On "Anthony" and Aziraphale getting used to it

On Professor Rossignol, nightingales, skeleton keys, references to the ancient Egyptian god Ra and the wordplay around freemasonry.

"Nice dress. Suits you."

Muriel and 'My Fair Lady'

Character Analysis Meta

If you're about to ask how Crowley & Aziraphale could already be together & your rationale for why they aren't is the 2.06 kiss, you should read this post

A short look at one of the reasons why Aziraphale keeps a journal

Aziraphale always open the bookshop door for Crowley

How 1827 explains why & how Aziraphale stopped changing his look

Crowley's smudged lipstick & walk in 1941

On Aziraphale in the 1967 scene and the Holy Water arc

Some thoughts on what The Serpent & the food kink suggests

A short look at Gabriel and Crowley parallels

In defense of Gabriel and on S2 highlighting his and Aziraphale's quiet depression

Shax, Crowley and the Hot Water Boiler metaphor

More on Shax's pash on Crowley & Crowley's big reputation

Mr. Brown of Brown's World of Carpets' pash on Aziraphale

Gabriel's use of 1950s-era American slang in S2

The Original, Original Sin Theory: What "I Forgive You" really means

Gabriel spending an episode in a blanket (this is not a deep analysis lol)

On how Maggie & Nina contrast with Crowley & Aziraphale

On the dessert choices during the body swap

Crowley using the evidence envelope as a frame

On Crowley & Aziraphale's paralleling scenes on buses in S1

On praise kink

Mrs. Sandwich's ball outfit & Before the Beginning

Aziraphale lying to Crowley about how he did the magic trick in 1941

"I don't think you understand what I'm offering you."

Tantric Eye Gazing

The Ineffable Husbands-ness of Gabriel's bookseller outfit

Suggestions in the story that Aziraphale & Crowley are using knowledge of The Proust Effect to try to minimize the risk of memory loss to Aziraphale

These posts contain discussion of SA:

Satan's attacks on Crowley and Crowley's PTSD

Lindsay doesn't just parallel Heaven but also Lucifer

Crowley, Lucifer & Mrs. Sandwich

Crowley, Aziraphale, possession and opera

[stardustpr1ncess]

Desperately trying to get the words out in order to articulate why I really don't like what they did with Arcane season 2 but, I just keep wanting to say "not good." Like at one point I audibly yelled; "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?" but not in an amazed way, in a really fucking annoyed way. May break it up into multiple posts because this is taking longer to process than the other acts.

So... I guess the most encompassing problem is the scope just became WAY too big. The first season, despite having Lean that can turn you into a giant purple monster and magic-powered weapons, was very grounded in its #1 plot #2 locations and #3 characters. Let's discuss what season 2 did with each of these categories.

"The" plot. There's too many of them at this point, barely related to each other, and not enough fucks to go around for each one. The main plot however, would I guess be Viktor and the Glorious Evolutions™.

Firstly the floating in space shots to represent his conciseness connected to everyone's and how he's so ascended looks stupid and boring. Just straight up, they're silly to look at. Secondly the concept that he's now using some unknowable cosmic power to make all life a hive mind that will infect and destroy the planet along with turn everyone into the coolest looking mannequin is just so... WHY?! Like if I told you that's the s2 a3 climax 3 years ago you'd spit in my face (would not wipe it towards my mouth like Caitlyn tho that absolute horndog). The show was a political dispute between an oppressed city who wanted independence from a really wealthy and powerful city. Now it's for the sake of not only the world but like, EVERY REALITY NOW?!

Gonna try to make the other 2 points quicker but fuck there's so much going on.

Locations. Season 1 had Zaun, Piltover, and essentially just mentions of Noxus. Season 2 we have MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS MOTHERFUCKERS WOOOOOOOOO! Look I'm sorry if these points are articulated a lot worse than my prior essays but I'm running out of ways to say it's dumb because it's stupid lol. Within 7 episodes after the (probable) start of a civil war between 2 cities... There's now an infinite number of realities. Just the most insane stake raising they could've done, with a season not even 10 episodes long.

Too many characters for this post so again I'll focus on Viktor since he's now the main antagonist and, protagonist? Him being the wizard that saves Jayce, along with EVERY Jayce in EVERY reality, is simply something that did not need part of the budget put towards it. Genuinely just, the wizard did not need fleshing out. The multiverse in a contained 2 season show did not need to be this crucial last second. This is like if Optimus Prime showed up in season 3 of Avatar, it's just so pointless and diminishing of the story that came before.

So yeah needless to say, I thought this season was terrible. But hey, I'll probably buy the steelbook anyway.

Thank you for reading.

[guardiandua]

Phoebe and Coop - an analysis

Ok, so I am doing a rewatch of Charmed. From the beginning, Phoebe is this adventurous free-spirit who wants things to be exciting. We see her desire for the perfect man to basically be Cole or rather a bad boy because that's exciting. In season 2, we also hear Cupid say that Phoebe dated around because she had closed off her heart and it was easier than committing.

That was something not anyone would guess about Phoebe, in fact the instinct would be to guess that she loved and trusted too easily. But she never let herself get properly attached until S2 Cupid helped her do so. It's only after that she met Cole - initially a lawyer that she met and he tried to attract her to him but even after she knew he was a demon, she still loved him and tried everything she could to make that relationship work. She lost her baby because of him - the one thing that could have made her heartbreak a little bit easier to deal with.

Now, coming to my point, I hear people saying Coop was too boring for Phoebe and I will say I agree. Compared to Cole, he was boring, maybe even a little bland. He would be routine and normal compared to Cole who was one trial after the other but after everything that happened, Phoebe did not desire exciting anymore. The longest relationship she had outside of Cole was Jason Dean and compared to Cole, he was boring. He was a successful businessman, yes who would support her in her work career but he was boring.

If he could accept that she was a witch, they may have been endgame and she was happy with him. People say she became a little self-centred when she moved to Hong Kong with him but she was genuinely happy with a guy who wasn't so unpredictable. Cole was always uncertain - she was always left guessing and even when he was human, she struggled with him because she could see his struggle on just being human.

So, I think while young Phoebe's type was Cole, she got heartbroken and grew from that. She no longer yearned for the excitement that she wanted once - she just wanted someone to love her, she just wanted someone to be there but like before s2 Cupid came, she closed off her heart. She focused so much on just wanting a baby of her own that she didn't care who it was with - and one thing I feel people forget is she did lose her child, her baby. The reason she was so obsessed with Wyatt at first to the point of wanting aunty leave was because she had lost her baby.

To sum it up, yes, Coop is boring in comparison to Cole. But that is what Phoebe needs. Someone who can give her commitment and certainty. Where Prue was at the beginning, we see Phoebe reach by the end. She had everything, a stable career, a family she loves but the one thing she lacked was love and her own family. Coop is a cupid - he would never let her miss on that.

[thecameronchronicles]

More Rafe Than Drew

TW: Dom!Drew. Degrading language. Smut. Language. Praise kink. 

SUMMARY: After Drew learns for your intrigue for his Outer Banks character, he decides to embody him for you...

WORD COUNT: 1700

REQUESTED

hehe you told us to send in requests so here's one for drew: drew and y/n are dating, and one day y/n is alone and bored in their apartment so she starts watching s2 of obx and gets really horny when she sees all of the rafe scenes so she starts touching herself and moaning, and right then drew comes home and sees her & starts teasing her and he fucks her kinda in a mean way like rafe would yk?? also happy new year ❤❤ i can't wait for your comeback!!!

More Rafe Than Drew

It was just one of those days where nothing sounded worth upsetting the peace of the day. Where productivity was not necessary to make the day full. And yet, it was also one where you were unbelievably bored. The FYP of TikTok having given you an idea once noticing your boyfriend's face upon several fanmade compilations. Having already missed him, even if you had spent the previous night with him and expected him home in the next few hours, you had Netflix to make his absence feel a bit less noticeable. 

But as always, Rafe Cameron had an effect on you. Specifically because you knew the man behind the disturbed character could not be anymore different. And yet, the contrast is what made watching him now that much more thrilling. You knew the passion available behind those soft lips as he delivered less than desirable lines to villainize his character even further. Those very same lips you craved now. Beginning at the part of your own, trailing down your jaw as it clenched beneath a new smirk, and continuing lower still. 

"Rafe..." You moaned as your fingers trailed as your thoughts replaced the pads of your digits with his familiar touch. Allowing yourself the fantasy as you were alone, you pulled your fingers up to your lips before providing the unnecessary new lubrication to the wet part of your lower lips. Even if it wasn't his trained touch or tongue providing the pleasure, it was enough to hold you over until he could make your fantasy a reality. 

Just as he would have, you began slowly, envisioning the loving and tender yet equally passionate man on his knees before you. Sweet words of how beautiful pleasure read across your face and how he vowed to continue until you shook beneath him. Which you did each and every time. But as you thought of his hands drawing swifter across your clit, one finger bent to your g-spot, you became mindless to your surroundings. 

"Ahhh..." You moaned, a whimper more than a broadcast of ecstasy as a sudden hand wrapped around your wrist to still you. Your pulse paused as your eyes shot open and a blush filled your cheeks. 

"Is THIS what you do all day while I'm gone?" He questioned, more amused that antagonized. 

"Drew-" 

"No baby...I heard you clear enough. You want Rafe..." He controlled the motion of your hand, promoting you to pleasure yourself through his guidance. 

"Jesus, you look so good when you wanna come..." 

"Drew..." He paused, moving closer with a hand to the back of your hair. 

"You wanted Rafe. So fucking take him." He forced his way upwards, your body thrust to the edge of the sofa as he held you at his zipper. Your fingers gebgerly peeled the tab to a slow descent before his angry cock came to view. 

"Did I say to stop your fingers? I worked all day and you decided to have all the fun. I don't see why I need to do any more work than necessary." He tightened your locks around his fingers as he lowered just as you took a hold of his shaft. A flex felt in your grasp making you gasp to the uncharacteristic dominance he usually had solely in compassion. 

"Get yourself close. I know you're good enough to multitask for me..." He lifted his other hand to your jaw, the ringed finger tracing the curve towards your chin before retracting. 

"But you say any name but the one you want and I'll bruise that pretty little throat so deeply that you won't have to worry about getting it wrong again." With your understanding shown by the advancement made to his cock, he teased you with his tip. 

"You know better than to keep from answering me."

"Yes..." You spoke softly, almost fearfully, with gluttonous eyes returning to his cock. 

"You just can't wait for it can you? Then again, I already know that since you stained our couch being so ..." He scoffed. 

"Beg for it..."

"Please..."

"Like you want to please me...not just because you're a whore for it and want it to make you come...like it has every night you've wanted. This is for me...so ask for me.."

"Let me please you..."

"Who?" He asked, a grin and eyes synonymous with the mischief of his words. 

"Rafe..." He exhibited approval by the sudden thrust made into your mouth. But after only a few pumps, he directed himself to the couch beside you. 

"Yes...Just like that...shit..." He groaned in approval before striking your ass. 

"Why aren't your fingers working that little clit, hmmm?" But as you reached to amend this, he hit it away. 

"Lucky for you, I want to feel just how wet you got thinking about me..." He watched your eyes rose to him. 

"Keep taking me baby...might just come for ya..." You rolled your eyes in pleasure before returning to him. His expression altered to split focus as he looked for his hand and the way his finger glistened once pulling it from you, only to witness you shift everytime he set it back inside. He basked in this for only a handful of moments until directing his attention to your clit. 

"You thought you could come without me? We both know it isn't as good..."

You nodded. "If watching you moan like that didn't make me so fucking hard, you wouldn't be getting anything. But you know how it affects me...you're choking on the evidence…" He pulled you to his expression, cock left in only your hand. 

"Look at me..." He quickened his fingers, the perfect friction pulling your orgasm to the front. 

"Fuck!"

"You really are desperate for it, aren't you baby? You're dripping down your own thighs for me..." He pulled you teasing towards his lips to feel your breath against his mouth. His fingers ungodly in pace as he continued. 

"How about I make you pour down em...yeah?" Your eyes rolled as he offered the question just as Rafe would have, the clench of your inner walls making him scoff. 

"Ride me." You groaned in approval, hurrying to position yourself before he stopped you. 

"Drew-" He took hold of your hair. 

"Bad girl...your sweet little pussy is gonna ache now..." He took himself deeply inside of you, forcing you to take him at depth as you came almost immediately. And yet behind your high, he took you through that overstimulation. 

"It's too much!"

"You didn't want to listen...you keep coming until I tell you to stop-" He commanded with a slap to your ass as you whimpered and moaned beneath him. 

"Fuck-" he grunted, lifting you from the couch and onto counter adjacent the small living space. Bending you over it, he took you this way. 

"Ah!" 

"That's right baby...I want all our neighbors to hear you...so fucking jealous they don't get to make you sound this way..." He bit softly into your shoulder as he lost himself in the way you clenched around him. Another swat to your ass correcting you for him. 

"Oh baby...baby!  I'm gonna-" He slowed, edging you as you gripped your fingers around the island within the kitchen. 

"Not yet." He growled, lowering behind you and drawing illustrations with his tongue. 

"Drew!" He bit into your sensitive flesh. 

"Rafe…oh...Rafe…." He savored you completely, your clit swollen and left throbbing as he continued until that familiar orgasm came once more. Only now, he raised just before allowing you to wash over his tongue. 

"Please..." He ignored your plea with a chuckle before tearing the straps of your shirt low until it bunched below your breasts. He turned you to face him. 

"You got to play with yourself without me. Only fair I get a turn..." Your eyes rolled as he twisted and sucked each nipple. 

"Please..."

"We're gonna need a new carpet because of you baby...and you haven't even come yet..."

"I'm gonna..."

"Oh yeah? From this?" He pulled your breasts as you offered an orgasmic expression. 

"Oh shit, you could...maybe I'll let you..." You nodded. 

"Aww...you're so desperate..." 

"Ah...mmmm...Baby..."

"Tell me.."

"I'm gonna come...I'm gonna fucking come..." Your lips parted, a harsh grasp caused by his cock thrust inside of you once again. 

"On me. only me. My girl knows this..." He lifted you onto the counter, finally bringing you to that cusp alongside him. 

"Please! Don't stop!"

"Not this time baby...I'm not waiting another fucking second to come....and your gonna take it..."

"Yes!"

"Every fucking drop!"

"Yes baby!"

"Why? Because you're my little whore aren't you? Wanna be fucked everyday in anyway just to come."

"Yes...yours..."

"Then I know you aren't gonna be quiet...I wanna head you....I know it's fucking close..."

"Right...NOW! OoooH! FUCK! AH!"  You silenced as the orgasm took hold of every nerve until you were left trembling. His body set off immediately as he spurt into you, dripping as he pulled out. 

"Oh my God..."

"You prefer Rafe, huh?" He asked with a smirk. 

"Why decide when I can have both?" You teased, stroking him again. 

"Baby..."

"Now I want Drew...my sweet..." He collected your dual cum from his cock and sucked it off of your finger as his eyes rolled, "Sweet Drew..." He tightened his jaw, pulling you into the bedroom and reminding you why you favored Drew just a little bit more...

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