#but yes good point about the sort of negative arc

[heyclickadee]

So, here’s the thing. The finale is weird. Yes, I’m hurt by the fact that Tech didn’t come back and that a character that’s very near and dear to my heart was badly handled, and that will never sit right with me. But even apart from that, the finale fundamentally does not function as a piece of storytelling or as the end to this story. I’m glad that people are enjoying it, and I will never tell anyone not to. But I don’t think it works. (I get very negative about the TBB finale under the cut.)

It’s not just the Tech stuff or the CX-2 stuff (which may very well have been the same stuff) that got dropped. It’s *everything*. Every theme, Every narrative thread besides retrieving Omega, every character arc except marginally Omega’s, Echo’s (also marginal), and Emerie’s, which was the shortest and gets wrapped up by her deciding to help Echo rescue the kids. It all stops. It makes everything that came before seem cheap and pointless if you take it into account. And this is so, so frustrating for me, because the entire show was driving towards this incredibly rich payoff, it could have been immaculate, and then it whiffed the ball so bad in the last episode that it didn’t just miss, it managed to knock over the bleachers and set the entire court on fire.

Some examples:

1. This season had a really interesting exploration of Crosshair’s PTSD via his hand tremor and how it was something he can learn to manage, but not something that would ever fully go away. Aaaaand then his hand gets chopped off. One, that was stupid. I’ve seen some excellent posts (here’s one by @the-bi-space-ace) detailing why that was a terrible way to handle Crosshair’s lingering trauma, and others talking about how the idea there was that Crosshair needed to move on and it was severing his last ties with the empire. The former, I agree with; the latter, I don’t, because not only—not only!—does this episode stop dealing with Crosshair’s trauma, it doesn’t even deal with having cut off his hand! It just sort of occurs. No one reacts to it, no one says anything about it, there’s no follow up or commentary, nothing happens as a result—it’s an event which occurs with no results coming after it. It may as well be an animation error. You can say it was about Crosshair needing to let go and move on, but that’s something you have to project on to the text, not something that’s actually offered by it. It’s empty.

2. Crosshair again: We also have the lingering issue of Crosshair’s guilt and the fact that he never seems to get to a point where it’s resolved. There’s set up for a resolution. We have that, “Sure you have,” like about Crosshair from Rampart. We also have Crosshair saying he deserves whatever happens to him in Tantiss. And then…no pushback. No resolution. No moment of Crosshair realizing that he doesn’t need to carry that burden. Nothing that says he didn’t deserve what happened to him. He had all this character development this season, but he needed - last little push to forgive himself—and we never get any indication that he does. It, like his trauma, gets dropped like a rock.

3. Hey! More Crosshair! A good chunk of Crosshair’s arc this season was about learning that anyone can change, first, and that no one is beyond saving. Eeexcept that goes no where.

4. Which brings me to my next point: There is set up for the CXs to be saved. Even if we’re laboring under the conclusion that CX-2 was never intended to be Tech at any point in the writing process (I have. Doubts. Yes, I’m calling the creative team liars, here, but with the understanding that they have contracts that may require them to lie), we do have the set up where we learn the electrocyanide zappers can be removed, and with Rex offering forgiveness to CX-1. “Whatever they did to you, whatever you’ve done, you’re still one of us.” CX-Tech or no, Crosshair’s arc was tied up with the CX plot, and because he’s the one the CXs tend to react to—or, at least, understands what was done to them—the set up was there for him to help save and maybe rehab the CXs. At the least, there was an indication that they could be saved. Eeexcept nope! That gets dropped like a rock, too, and they’re not going to deal with it. Time for maximum carnage.

5. Hunter’s arc actually takes a step backwards. Sure, he gets a technically happy ending, but because the squad is basically in the same place they were in “Pabu” back in season two (down a member but successfully hiding from the Empire in a safe place), it negates Hunter’s development towards actually taking action—and actually hurts Echo’s arc, too.

There’s been this tension all through the show between just sitting things out on the one hand (Hunter’s way) and taking direct action despite the futility on the other (Echo’s way), but instead of finding some kind of middle ground or third road, it sort of comes back around to saying that, actually, Hunter was right, they should have just gone to Idaflor back in episode three and never left even though the Pabu invasion said that no, you can’t just hide, and even Hunter’s development was moving in the opposite direction. And this also means that Echo never reaches a point where he feels like he can walk away and that he doesn’t have to get himself killed doing this. Despite development otherwise they both end up back at that conversation in “Tipping Point” without any move in either direction or resolution of that tension.

6. Omega. Okay, Omega probably comes out the best after the finale, and, conceptually, I actually love the idea of Omega becoming a pilot even if the epilogue falls a little flat for me. But stuff with Omega still got dropped, including:

- The force stuff. We have two episodes dealing with m-count (after learning in episode three what Omega was created to do). We also have Ventress telling Omega that she doesn’t have a high m-count as far as she can see, Crosshair immediately calling Ventress out for lying, and then Ventress basically saying, “Yeah, no shit, but if she has force potential she’d have to leave you behind, and it doesn’t matter what your opinion on that is, so I’m not dealing with that.” Aaaand then,m. That. Goes nowhere. Despite a bit of set up for Omega connecting to the force as early as episode one, and some more set up in Tribe, and that whole subplot of her learning how to meditate, and so on.

Now, I don’t think that it was ever going to turn out that Omega did actually have a high m-count or that she had a particularly powerful natural connection to the force. I think she’s probably got a low or baseline m-count. What I do think, however, is that we were going to see Omega connect anyway as a refutation of Palpatine’s and Hemlock’s entire scheme. Their goal (based off of the ST) was to create extremely force sensitive clones as a way for Palpatine to jump bodies without having to waste time re-learning how to connect to the force. You know—dark side, quick and easy path, focus on eugenics and raw power, etc. Had Omega connected anyway because of her big heart and desire to protect, it would have not only paid off that set up, it would have also refuted Palpatine’s and Hemlock’s entire goal. It would have worked so well thematically and the set up was THERE.

- branching off of that, I think the Omega force stuff was probably tied to the Zillo beast. We also had a through-line of Omega being good with animals and taking the time to calm them instead of responding with violence. The first time we see this is in “Replacements,” where she realizes that the ordo moon dragon (also an electrophage—I don’t know what to call these things—like the zillo beast) is just scared and hungry. This is all conjectural, but it still fits with what was set up.

- Moving on from the force stuff, we also had a through-line that started way back in episode two of the series, but which was really emphasized this season, about Omega feeling like she’s the cause of the bad things that happen to the people she loves. This is why she gives herself up during the Pabu invasion in the first place. This is never resolved! We get Omega’s confidence boost when she realizes she has the force kids to take care of, but we never get a moment where Omega realizes that she has no reason to feel guilty. She’s the glue that holds the family together! But nope! Also dropped!

- But wait! There’s more! The first two season finales have Omega watching someone she loves fall away while she’s helpless to do anything to save them. That’s perfect set up to put Omega in the same situation, but be able to save them, because she’s finally come into her own. Instead we just end up with her needing to be rescued again.

- Omega has this big speech in Shadows of Tantiss about spending her life stuck in one place or another against her will, and how she refuses to be confined like that. I don’t think Omega would have been happy just staying on Pabu for the entire rest of her childhood and young adult life, even if I think she’d want to use it on a home base. But! Dropped!

7. I still can’t get over the fact that the zillo beast is on screen for about two minutes and then just. Walks away. It’s a large beastie that’s been locked in confinement for a while and is probably hungry. And somehow it didn’t go straight to the reactors for some delicious energy smoothies. Like. It. Did. The. Last. Time. Someone. Let. It. Out. But no, that would have required it sticking around for something that was probably dropped sooooo ZILLO BEAST EXIT STAGE RIGHT I GUESS. (Edit: I have been reminded that Hemlock does say to turn off the generators once the zillo beast is out, so that at least makes sense. I still think the zillo beast should have stuck around to do something.)

8. You notice how there are a ton of commandos around Tantiss, even up through “Flash Strike?” And how they kind of largely cease to exist? And how Echo says that there are far more clones imprisoned in Tantiss than anyone thought? And then how they rescue, like, a dozen guys? Because we never find our way back to those cells Crosshair was held in during season two? And how Tarkin does mention not wanting to allow clone dissidence to turn into an uprising back in “The Summit?” Because I did. This show was never going to be about a clone rebellion, that wasn’t the point, buuut I do think the set up was there for an uprising at Tantiss itself. Begin the series with clones losing their agency en masse, end the series with some of the most subdued clones taking it back. Except nope, dropped, soooo we gotta pretend the commandos don’t exist and murder the hell out of poor Scorch.

9. SPEAKING OF. The batch does kill clones sometimes, that does happen, but they do at least usually make some kind of effort to be non-lethal even when they’re not using stun, and times when they do resort to lethal tactics are usually born out of extreme circumstances. Not here, though!! NO HESITATION MAXIMUM CARNAGE. For. Reasons I guess.

10. There’s one point IN THE FINALE where Echo mentions signaling for Rex. This never comes up again. Rex does not show up. In fact, despite being called, “The Cavalry Has Arrived,” the cavalry does not in fact arrive. There is no cavalry. Yes, I know it’s a reference to Wrecker’s first line. But I’m sorry if you call an episode that YOU HAD BETTER HAVE A CAVALRY SHOW UP. Especially when you have a one about calling them in! But that also!! Got dropped like a rock!!

11. One positive: the moment Crosshair and Hunter leaning on each other to make that shot was nice.

12. Sorry, but Hemlock’s death was deeply unsatisfying. Let’s do something more than just shoot him multiple times, okay?

13. Rampart’s death, on the other hand, was incredibly satisfying. That said, the conversation about project necromancer? I’m dying. It’s actually hilarious, because it basically goes like:

“Tell me about project necromancer.”

“Wow! How interesting!”

I’m.

Are you serious?

I’m going to become the Joker.

Yes, I know we know what project necromancer is because of a different show. That’s not the point, the POINT. Is that any pay off for project necromancer in this show got dropped. And that’s deeply frustrating from a narrative perspective.

14. Speaking of, we never find out anything more regarding that partially successful m-count transfer from episode three.

15. We also never do anything with those medical records!

16. And Omega has a whole crossbow she never actually shoots despite the fact that her role on the team was as a sharpshooter after Crosshair left, and despite her getting advice from Crosshair on how to be a sniper. The literal chekov’s gun never goes off. I’m going to go eat gravel.

17. AZI, likewise, got toted around for three seasons for no reason. Probably could have helped with the medical records. Given that he was a Kaminoan medical droid. Oh, and that Omega was Nala Se’s medical assistant. So. Hmm.

18. You can cut everything in the season past episode five and skip straight to the epilogue and end up in the same place. This is not because the other episodes are filler. Far from it! The other episodes are great and deliver some amazing set up. But, because the finale does nothing with that set up, it doesn’t go anywhere.

19. And you know what else? From a narrative perspective, there’s no reason for Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair to be in these episodes at all. They don’t accomplish anything and make everyone else’s job harder. Omega was doing fine, she would have gotten out with the kids with just Echo and Emerie, and Tarkin was coming to cut off Hemlock’s funding and shut everything down once Hemlock lost control of the facility anyway. I can only suppose that the whole reason they were in this episode ended up getting dropped, too.

20. CX-2. Listen, the answer we get about CX-2 isn’t that he’s not Tech. It’s, “Maybe, maybe not—you don’t get to know.” Because. He’s the only CX whose mask never comes off. After a season and a half worth of buildup of unmasking CXs and people pressing them to learn their names. It’s not a no, it’s a non-answer, which is far less satisfying.

And finally:

21: CX-Tech. I’ve seen some people speculating that there was a planned CX-Tech reveal that got scrapped at the last minute—dropped, along with the other points I’ve already laid out. And, honestly? I have to agree. Despite what the creative team says, because even their denials kind of come out weird (like the Kiners saying that the large brass chord in “Battle of the Snipers” was just a nice sounding brass chord and not a reference to “Plan 99.” They also basically say that the sacrifice theme from “Plan 99” is Tech’s leitmotif. Which. Is all over “Battle of the Snipers.” That theme. Not Crosshair’s. In a scene. Where he’s supposed to be fighting a shadow of himself who Totally Isn’t Tech but we put Tech’s leitmotif here and layered it in Techno music but nooo that was never supposed to be him. Nope. I mean, come on. I’m not stupid).This post is already long enough, so here are some posts by @apocalyp-tech-a pointing out the reasons why I think this was the case, and one by @eriexplosion pointing out why CX-2 as Crosshair’s shadow and only that doesn’t quite work. I don’t need to go over the trail that was laid out again. Up to the finale this was a character that had more screen time—and far more solo screen time—than Echo. Some people will not stop yelling that there was no evidence, and. No. I’m sorry, there was. I can’t agree.

And some people might say, well, okay, the show misdirected you guys and pulled off a twist by having CX-2 be no one, and well, I can’t agree with that either. Twists only function if the twist is more satisfying than the conclusion to which the story seems to be leading. And I’m sorry, you can’t tell me that a season and a half of CX building and three seasons (because I can find set up all the way back in episode one of the show) for Tech survival culminating in what amounts to a boss fight is more satisfying than getting to see Omega have her big brother back. You can’t.

The reason I bring this up last is because, yes, I think CX-Tech was a plot dropped at the last minute, but because I also think that it’s the dropped plot that ripped everything else apart. CX-Tech was an incredibly efficient way to tie up most of the lingering plot threads and dropped character development.

-Crosshair’s guilt? Okay, he faces down the end result of his decision to stay with the empire and possibly something he knew about (Tech would be in this situation because of Crosshair, and were given hints that Crosshair knew) and is finally able to forgive himself because they’re able to save him.

- Hunter’s decision to finally take action and be proactive rather than reactive is validated, because it’s the thing that finally gets him his entire family back.

- Echo saves someone the same way he was saved, and maybe he realizes that it is enough and that he doesn’t have to be a soldier forever.

- Wrecker’s efforts to keep the family together and keep Hunter sane finally pay off.

- Omega is able to protect the people she charges about and finally, finally has all of her brothers.

- Thematically, it rounds off each member of the batch (Omega included) traumatically losing and then taking back their agency in a way that correlates directly to who and how they are as people.

- It also rounds out the OG batchers each being haunted by a failure that has to do with the thing that makes them special.

- You get pushback against “Clone Force 99 died with Tech! We’re not that squad anymore!” because no, it didn’t, and they’re more than a squad, they’re a family.

- It comes around and closes the wound opened in Aftermath and ripped back open by Return to Kamino: they go in for Omega and lose someone, but here, they go in for Omega and get someone back.

- Would allow Tech to close off his lingering threads and finish his character development BECAUSE THOSE REMAINED UNFINISHED.

- Completely subverts the “bury your disabled” trope by making sure we know the character whose disability was explored the most’s life is more important than his death. Seems like an important thing to do in a show that is kind of about disability. Just saying.

- Makes the lack of closure and little mentions of Tech make sense from a storytelling POV because the necessarily catharsis would come from his return.

- And it would actually add some triumph to the ending. Yes, this little family survived. They outlived the war. They’re together, despite every effort to rip them apart. They made it, despite the dark times, despite the Empire, despite what they were made to do and be. They defied all of that. That would have been so, so satisfying.

As is, without Tech, without that CX-Tech reveal, we sort of end up in this weird place where all the themes are half-baked. They are more than soldiers…except Tech, who had to fall out of the story as a soldier (despite us getting the clearest glimpse of what his life outside of soldiering could have been). They get to live how they want…except Tech. They don’t leave their own behind, except Tech that one time. They should value their own lives a little…except Tech. They’re more than a squad, they’re a family…except Tech, the only one besides Omega to say that’s what they are, doesn’t get to see it, and they don’t get to have him around. We begin the series with a broken family and end it with a family broken differently. That’s not dynamic.

So there’s no really punch to the ending. It’s sort of…well, okay, we tortured a family for three seasons I guess. Relieved that the survivors are doing okay, but that’s kind of it.

22. The finale in general is just sort of a bunch of events which happen, but which don’t lead into one other. It’s weird. It’s not that too much happens, it’s that almost nothing happens. Nothing of substance, in a way. The finale is, in a word, the only true filler episode in the entire show.

TL;DR: I think a lot of stuff got dropped from the finale. I don’t know why. I suspect that it might have to do with the strikes—basically, the script was done, most everything was recorded and boarded, and then when the finale was in production they got sudden drastic budget cuts (this was during a time when the studios were disappearing entire completed shows and movies as tax write-offs), had to gut what they had planned, and couldn’t bring the writers or even showrunners in to smooth over what was gutted or to even pick what got taken out. They wouldn’t have gotten to choose or compress things. They were on strike (because the studios wouldn’t negotiate), and whoever did choose ended up just ripping out the stuff that would actually take any time or budget to deal with (so, basically everything I laid out), killing it (literally), and using the remains of what they already had recorded. And who knows how they had to fill in gaps.

But I don’t know for sure. Maybe it was that. Maybe it was a last minute decision to take certain plot points and put them in a different show. Maybe it was executive mandate. Maybe the creative team just sucked the whole time (that’s one I have a hard time buying—we have four other shows and most of this one that tell me that they’re better at their jobs than this). Maybe everyone said screw it, who even cares anymore at the same time.

Maybe nothing happened. Who knows? I strongly suspect something bad did happen behind the scenes that was out of the creative team’s hands—I really do, because that’s the only way I can make sense of this—but until we can get someone talking without six layers of PR and NDAs, we won’t know for sure. All I know is that The Bad Batch is an amazing show with 46 episodes that range from “fine-but-clunky” to “IMMACULATE,” with more leaning towards immaculate than not, and some incredible set up, and one episode so nonsensically bad it makes me want to eat drywall.

It’s just that the one terrible episode comes right at the end.

I love The Bad Batch. I love every single episode and all the things that were set up, but…eh, I think I’ll be ignoring the finale until further notice.

[liketwoswansinbalance]

In the modern publishing landscape, these days, I think like we do not have many (if any) point-of-view characters with low social motivation for whatever reason.

Sure, there are lots of characters with social anxiety or other perceived or legitimate foibles to overcome, there are many YA villain origin stories, and there are many unpalatable, traditionally "unlikable" men in classics, but disregarding those, who else do we have?

Can the state of openly being alone (and content) rarely be presented as morally-neutral or as the end result of a narrative? Must it always be that either being alone is the starting point, so there's room for "personal growth," or that being alone is seen as "undesirable" and/or an indication that the person alone has a "problem" or something otherwise wrong with them, like a deficit or moral failing that in some kind of karmic way gives them "what they deserve," which is being alone and discontent with it?

Characters with society anxiety, any differences in communication, or other reasons that interfere with forging connections "don't count" because they may still be motivated. Traits such as these only stand in the way of gaining relationships, as plot obstacles. They aren't intrinsically tied to indifference or to low motivation. So, these characters clearly are not experiencing a lack of interest. And they are not the ones rejecting others. Thus, they "don't count" as far as the archetype that I'm looking for goes.

Characters who undergo villain arcs or otherwise negative arcs may want to maintain their relationships or gain them, so some examples are immediately disqualified (hence not having low social motivation), even if they are the type of character most likely to alienate themselves by a story's end, conflicting with what they wanted.

(Unfortunately, Coriolanus Snow, who is quite close to the type of protagonist I'm searching for "doesn't count" because he has some drive to keep people in his life.

Rafal Mistral partially "counts," and is satisfying as a character, but also doesn't count because he temporarily makes "friends" or allies, depending on how you look at his exploits. Yet, despite all this, not having friends isn't exactly framed as a morally-neutral state either, so he is also disqualified by the end. Basically, he does have low social motivation, but his narrative lacks the conditions that would make the natural consequences of that low motivation play out for themselves. He is always surrounded by people, even if he hates every last one of them.

And, generally speaking, the usual, moody-broody, "misunderstood" YA love-interests very easily "don't count" because they have a desire to get closer to their object of affection.

Even Katniss Everdeen, an overall good person, who usually views herself as "unlikable," befriends others, originally for pragmatic, survival purposes. However, she does start with low social motivation, so that's something in her favor.

And yes, I'm aware that we need other people in this world—I would just like to see someone prove that supposed truth wrong once. And perhaps succeed in their world, if that's not too much to ask for.)

Also, are there any instances of characters who progressively alienate themselves from others, in which that progression is not inherently seen as negative? Like, what about non-corrupt misanthropes? Are there few of those in literature? (Maybe—Eleanor Oliphant from literary fiction counts, but something about that book did not appeal me and I didn't finish it.)

Classics guys sort of "count," but I haven't really seen examples of any comparable protagonists today since many authors and readers write and look for "relatability" in blank slate everyman figures oftentimes.

(I'm not done with Crime and Punishment yet, but Raskolnikov is very tentatively looking like a safe bet for a character who may end up alone and who may not be completely malcontent over such a fate, even if I'm expecting tragedy. I'm that not far along, but I also wouldn't mind it too greatly if he died, I suppose.

And even Sherlock Holmes has Watson as his constant, even if he's notoriously asocial! So he "doesn't count" either.

Carol from Main Street also comes close, but still ultimately desires approval from others.

Maybe no one is truly immune to humanity and I should give up on this notion?)

How many pov characters out there are 1) apathetic toward the masses and 2a) either alienate themselves as the plot progresses or 2b) do not make any friends? (I will allow them making friends and consequently losing them though because that still ends in net zero!)

Indeed, this "gap" in protagonists I've been running into lately, especially with coming-of-age arcs and protagonists whose arc is some form of "getting out of their shell," is: why do we (almost?) never see protagonists who just flat-out don't progress in terms of connecting with fellow humans?

Wouldn't having even a handful of those types be reflective of reality? (We as a society are more disconnected than ever, to be fair, despite constantly having access to one another via technology.)

Or I would completely understand it, if it were narratively impractical to have a plot in which a protagonist makes zero friends. Maybe, it's a near-unwritable form for a story?

So, my question is: does anyone have book recommendations, which present a character whose end goal is not to make friends or forge connections (any other ambitions or motivations are fine) and whose state of being friendless both lasts and is regarded as morally-neutral or as not outright evil? Any genre is fine. High fantasy is preferable. I am stumped.

(I also wouldn't mind recommendations of books in which the protagonist is vilified due to being alone, even if that is not my primary query here.)

[oscconfessions]

Hi. It’s the “Dora & Bracelety should have rejoined” person. I’m back.

Before I start ranting I just want to clarify that I do NOT hate Pencil or Liy. I actually really enjoyed Liy in TPOT 11 & Pencil in TPOT 13. I love all of the EXITors and think that they’re all super cool characters.

That being said, yeah it should have been Dora and Bracelety.

First off, Pencil was probably the worst choice for rejoining. Please don’t SWAT team my house Pencil fans, I love Pencil, but she’s already competing in BFDIA. Not to mention, she was in a huge chunk of BFDI. She doesn’t really need anymore screen time. Especially since the rejoin was filled with characters with explored potential and barely any screen time. The rejoin was such a good chance to be able to explore those characters.

I do know that the reason a lot of people wanted Pencil to join was so that she could have an arc with Book and Ice Cube. But you know who ALSO could have had a Book and Ice Cube arc? Bracelety. Imagine Bracelety finally being able to have a face-to-face conversation with Ice Cube. Imagine Bracelety befriending her and Book and causing an alliance between the two teams. Or maybe they have negative interactions and Bracelety actually ends up resenting Ice Cube. I’m not the biggest Bracelety fan so I’m not sure what would fit her character the best, but I do think that it would have been more interesting than a Freesmart arc. I love Freesmart, but imagine what they could have done with Bracelety…

As for Liy, I’m sorry, but she’s kinda boring, at least in TPOT 13. In the EXIT, she was a really entertaining character. She bounced off of Match and Stapy well, and it was fun seeing her being adventurous. But now that she’s in TPOT, it’s different. Now, she can’t really be an adventurous character anymore because now there IS no adventure. Now, she’s just another contestant. Like, yeah I liked her, but nothing she did really stuck out to me. I can’t remember a single thing she did in TPOT 13. The only thing I can remember off the top of my head was that she helped Pen & Bottle stop the giant David??? But any other character in the team could have done that and nothing would have changed. Heck, you could have just straight up removed her from the episode, and nothing would have changed. She was sort of bland this episode. Sorry Liy fans.

There were two main reasons I saw for why people voted for Liy. That:

Her elimination was unfair

She had a lot of potential because of her backstory.

And that’s alright. On their own, those are good reasons to vote for a character. On their own. I say that because, those two points also apply to almost ALL of the other EXITors. (And let’s be real, if Liy rejected being a part of Death PACT Yet Again, then it’s likely unlikely that her backstory would ever come up again.) One of those EXITors, of course, being Dora.

Dora had an unfair elimination. She also had a lot of potential. Just like Liy. But unlike Liy, she has a more distinct personality. They’re both adventurous, yes, but I think it’s safe to say that Dora is just more entertaining as a character, and her actions are more memorable. Remember when she cracked an entire jawbreaker opened? Dora just impacts the story in more ways than Liy, and, honestly, would have been a fun addition to TPOT.

But, of course, these characters didn’t get in. Oh well. But honestly, I’m not as upset as I used to be. I think that TPOT could do really great things with Pencil and Liy. I’m interested to see how the Freesmart arc unfolds, and how Pencil interacts with the rest of her team. Maybe JnJ can finally give Freesmart the fitting conclusion they deserve. I’m interested to see exactly what Liy can accomplish. Maybe she can prove me wrong, and end up being an incredibly memorable and engaging character. It’s all about staying on the bright side. Yeah, Dora and Bracelety could have been better picks, but I think we just gotta deal with it, and look for the positives. Ultimately, there’s no point in complaining. Oh yeah also thank you for reading this whole thing idk uhhh thank you ig.

.

[thealmightyemprex]

Halloweenathon:Attack the Block

So this is a film that has been on my list for years .I saw the ads when it came out but I never got around to it .Im a big monster movie fan and happy to have finnally seen this one

In this 2011 film ,Moses (John Boyega ) leader of a street gang kills an alien only for bigger more dangerous aliens to attack .Not able to get help from the cops ,and chased not only by the aliens but also by the psychotic gangster Hi-Hatz (Jumayn Hunter ),the gang as well as a nurse they mugged earlier Samantha (Jodie Whitticker ) must find a way to save their apartment building from these carnivorus aliens

I love this movie .I think the ideas of gang members vs monsters is an interesting take ,I think the themes are well handled ,and its full of tension,not only about whether or norour leads get gobbled up by aliens but can Samantha and the kids team up to save the day .Beyond the social commentary ,this is a fun creature feature at its core with a scary though not invincible monster .I love the alien deigns ,these eyeless furry monstorcities with blue neon teeth ,they are truly creative and scary .Like many good creature featurese,the monsters are one of mnay threats ,the other threat coming in the form of the deranged Hi-Hatz,who I think is an interesting villain cause while he is intimidating hes not the smartest guy in the room,more focused on taking out Moses then the actual threat of the Aliens ,he is a very single minded sort of evil.I also think this film does what I think any good horror film should......I care about the characters.When characters got killed ,I felt bad and I truly didnt know who would make it and who wouldnt .....OR if anyone would make it All the kids are well played and while not the most developed ,I legit wanted eeverybody in the main group to make it .Performance wise the stand outs are John Boyega as Moses who is a solid lead and Jodie Whitticker as Samantha who has an interesting arc (And yes I have to point out it is funny to see them in this sci fi film when they are more famous now for two diffrent sci fi franchises )

Negatives......I wanted more Nick Frost,hes just kind of there

OVerall this is a fun and interesting spin on the creature feature

@ariel-seagull-wings @the-blue-fairie @professorlehnsherr-almashy

@themousefromfantasyland @princesssarisa @countesspetofi

@filmcityworld1 @amalthea9 @barbossas-wench

[gamesception]

What do I want from Batgirl (2024)?

It's a bit late to be posting this, since the first issue is out and everyone but me has already read it, but yeah, Cassandra Cain has a new solo Batgirl title, afaik an ongoing, not a miniseries. And yes, I will be picking it up and following along to post my comments on it, even if comments on the first issue will be a bit late as I try to decide whether and how much of post-reboot Cass's existing backlog I want to refresh myself on before starting this book proper. But I can post a wish list I suppose, and people who already know better can enjoy the dramatic irony.

I'm a big fan of old school Cass, and by that I don't just mean pre-reboot, or before the end Batgirl (2000), but specifically during the run of that book's initial creative team. I have complaints about that team - failing to follow through on some wonderfully set up character arcs, an art style that started almost perfect and slowly drifted in a direction that wasn't worse art, but that imo didn't serve the book as well. failing to consider what Cass meant as a prominent Asian or Disabled hero, which resulted into the book blundering into some negative tropes and over-correcting in ways that blundered in new directions. However, for all my minor complaints, that team absolutely nailed the core of an extremely compelling character and an extremely compelling storytelling style.

You might think that means I want to see a continuity reversion to Cass's pre-reboot history. I do not.

First of all, IMO there's a ton of baggage that comes with that history that I just don't want to see again. The Dragon Lady villain arc. Black-Bat - I know this era of Cass has fans, I'm not trying to pick fights, but it wasn't my thing and imo would be a needless complication now. Lazara. Road Hog. The flanderized, one dimensional, store brand Deathstroke version of David Cain. As much as I'm a huge fan of the original take on David Cain, over time his character got shallower and less compelling until it got to the point in Batgirl (2008) that imo he subtracted from, rather than contributing to, Cass's depth as a character. Reboot David Cain from B&RE is at least so breathless a non-entity that he has the good grace to not matter.

literally who?

Post reboot Cass may not have as much that I liked, but she has way less that I don't like (at least less that I've read, which is admittedly not all that much), so I'd rather her new creative team build on what she has rather than throw it away in an attempt to turn back the clock.

Post-reboot Cassandra Cain is her own character, with her own history and stories and relationships. She has her own fans, who I'm sure care as much about her as I care about old school Cass. I refuse to be the kind of cliche nostalgia-poisoned middle aged comic fan who thinks kids funny-books should cater to my old ass and demands anything new be brushed aside to try to restore whatever status quo is enshrined in the amber of my own youthful memories. That's exactly the sort of sentiment that saw Cassandra's character destroyed, sidelined, and retconned out of existence for years in the first place, the sentiment that was willing to throw away Barbara Gordon as Oracle to try to wind the clock back on Killing Joke. 2000 was 24 years ago.

So I DON'T want the original version of Cassandra's continuity restored.

That said, I WOULD like her current continuity clarified a bit, as it's kind of hard to square the Cass in recent Detective Comics with the Cass in rebirth era Detective Comics with the Cass in Batgirls with the Cass in Birds of Prey. How old exactly is she? What level of language proficiency does she have these days? And because I want clarity, I ESPECIALLY don't want the new book to coyly imply old continuity is restored while leaving it up to the reader's imagination what exactly that includes or how much if anything of her reboot history remains.

....

While I don't want the return of original Cass's history, I do very much want the return of original Cass's storytelling style.

The Puckett/Scott era of Batgirl (2000) was characterized by a particular storytelling style:

Each issue tells a complete story. They'll often reference or touch on longer ongoing serialized narratives or advance developing character arcs and dynamics, and obviously on occasion there'll be tie ins to other books or bigger, multi issue stories, as a treat, but if you pick up a random issue of the run the odds are you should get at least some sort of story with a satisfying conclusion. Obviously I'm willing to relax this for the first issue or two as I expect a bigger story to kick things off, but if you look back at Batgirl (2000) #1, they were still able to tell a complete story with the 'MERC' thug, showing us the course of Cassandra's life in the process.

Those stories all either directly or indirectly reinforce Cassandra's core character themes, motivations, and relationships, including:

guilt - the burden of it, the value and shortcomings of acts of penance, questioning whether repentance can be real or how much it even matters if it is. How characters respond to it - pretending it's something else as Bruce does with his Vengeance, or trying to hide it in shame and isolating yourself in a cage of lies and secrets as Cass initially does, or drowning it in alcohol and nostalgia and regret as og David Cain did. The different ways guilt can shape a person - making Bruce hard and distant, making young Cass gentle and empathetic.

interpersonal drama - specifically the kind of dysfunctional relationships that come from people who deeply and genuinely care about each other but whose individual flaws and failures interact in ways that sometimes fail to help each other or actively hurt each other or sometimes even make each other worse. When and how these relationships can be salvaged and when they need to be severed - if that's even really possible.

humanity and human connections - Not just fraught familial bonds, but brief moments of human empathy that transcend language. Small acts of anonymous kindness or sacrifice, the support and love of people who care - no matter how flawed they may be. The idea that despite the weight of guilt and turmoil and suffering there's and underlying goodness in humanity that's worth defending. That every human being from the best of us to the worst is an individual person with their own lives and motivations and interiority. No faceless goons! Even background extras should have unique faces and identifying details.

Sombre tone - As you might expect from a character whose founding motivation is bottomless guilt and penance to the point of self destruction, whose relationships with the people who love her most are too often defined by the ways they fail and hurt each other, Batgirl (2000) was, overall a bit of a downer. Not dark, not grim, never ever gross or grisly, but more often than not sad. Or at best bittersweet. And I do want some of that tone back for Cassandra's solo book. Birds of Prey is too wholesome for me. I want angst, I want brooding... or not even brooding, dwelling. I want tragedy. I want inescapable truths that bind and burden rather than setting anyone free. I want those tiny points of human connection and empathy to be bright stars standing out in a long, dark night.

show don't tell - Cassandra's stories should be told in a way that leans on the panel art rather than narration. I know this is a reductive writing advice cliche that doesn't fit all stories and characters, but it IS critical to stories with THIS character. Even if she can talk just fine now, Cassandra should still be a character of actions more than words. Critically, don't *tell* me what she's feeling with blunt narration, *show* it on her face. I don't care if Cass's costume has a full face mask, shrink-wrap that thing to show her expressions anyway. I'm here for the character drama, not realistic fabric physics. Pick a lead artist based on their ability to do expressions, not fight scenes, and pick a lead Writer whose willing to trust the artist and the reader enough to let go.

no shock twists. Build character and narrative arcs, lay groundwork, foreshadow plot points, hammer core themes. The biggest gut punches should grow so naturally out of those well established themes and character dynamics that they feel inevitable. They should hang over Cassandra's (and the reader's) head right like the Sword of Damocles, or like a time bomb ticking down in plain view with no way to disarm it. Like Cass trying to hide the fact she killed a man from Bruce while Bruce tries to deny it ever happened and you just know a major confrontation is coming when that bubble of lies and denial burst (granted that conflict never really did come, BUT STILL), or the promised battle with Shiva. Or the falling out with Barbara (granted that one came way later than it should have to the point of feeling a bit out of the blue). Or the falling out with Stephanie over Cass valuing her as a friend but never really respecting her as an ally. Or David Cain finally making a move against Bruce for taking his daughter.

Small but serious stakes - Keep the stakes personal and emotional rather than large scale and physical. Cass shouldn't be fighting to save the world, a fight with no tension because she can't lose because we already have solicits for next month's DC comics. She should be fighting to save one man, to give a deathrow inmate one more night to live, to stop one boy's desperate father from making a mistake that could mean he never sees his son again. Stakes woth real tension because Cass can and does sometimes fail, and add the weight of those failures to the guilt that drives her.

street level perspective - few to no scenery-chewing costumed or super-powered antagonists, minimal supernatural or science fiction elements that might distract from the human element. The focus of the story should be tight and personal and human. Most of the criminals Cass deals with are far beneath her skill level, which makes most fight scenes short and punchy, leaving more book space for the juicy character stuff, and makes the rarer occasions when she does have to fight a super villain or a martial artist who's actually on her level more special and memorable.

That last point is probably less possible for modern Cass than for old school Cass, due to modern Cass's history being tied up in various super hero teams and their typical genre-crossing shenanigans, and of all the points its the one I'm most willing to sacrifice IF it means building on the relationships and connections that New Cass has built over that time.

Which I guess brings me to my specific requests. Entirely apart from the broader story telling stuff, if I had to list specific things I'd want to see from this book, it would be particular characters returning to build on some of Cass's relationship dynamics with them.

Shiva we already know will be there from issue one, which fits with the more significant roll new-Cass's mother has played in her story in the absence of any version of David Cain worth speaking of.

Barbara yes, though that relationship at least in theory /should/ be more a focus over in Birds of Prey, and I'll leave my dissatisfaction with Cass's depiction in that book for some other post.

Bruce, of course. I absolutely don't want a return to the Black-Bat or even the Bludhaven days when Cassandra was essentially on her own. Her relationships - both the supportive and the destructive - are the core of her character, and none more so than with Bruce, on both fronts. To that point, I don't want to see Wayne Family Adventures Bruce here either. Save that well adjusted self reflective good father in touch with his feelings to the point of being a downright parody of Bruce Wayne (one that I love, mind you, WFA is good) for fan fics and web toons. I want to see a Cassandra so devoted to Bruce that it's overtly unhealthy, like she has 'sacrifice myself in his name' on a dead man's switch. And I want a Bruce who, despite deeply and genuinely caring about Cassandra, either willfully ignores or outright exploits that impulse in ways that make the reader want to reach into the panel and wring his thick stupid neck.

But those are, or at least should be, just the obvious ones. If I had to pick a few maybe less obvious characters and relationships that I want this new ongoing to build on they would be...

Stephanie. This should be just as obvious as Bruce or Shiva, but I'm more than a bit worried here? I will be big mad if Stephanie isn't at least a regular supporting character in this book, and I'd have been a lot happier if she were a co-star or alternating lead. It's not a matter of shipping, either. These characters are best friends, and their friendship on the page is reflected by a shared bond between fandoms that stood together while their faves were both being put down and cast aside by DC editorial. I will not have Stephanie Brown and her fans disrespected yet again, especially not for the sake of propping up any version of Cass as better or more important or more worthy.

Clay Face. Iirc he's back to being a villain? if so that makes him a perfect candidate for the sort of emotionally fraught interpersonal drama mentioned above, even if he's a weird and distractingly unrealistic supervillain. Cass promised to be there to punch him if he ever strayed from the path - a new-Cass moment that was incredibly true to the spirit and character of original-Cass. Have her make good on that promise! Or maybe she already did - I'm not super familiar with current Cass's continuity, but even if she has this seems like a connection worth bringing back.

Harper Row. As far as I know DC's done fuck all with her since Batman and Robin Eternal? I could be wrong again, though, and please correct me if I am. Admittedly there's a Sci-fi bent to Harper that goes against the last point above, but it's more than worth the exception. Harper Row was a close friend from the moment this new Cass was introduced AND as the daughter of the woman new-Cass killed, Harper's mere presence in the book would open up the door to bring back, focus in, and really dwell on that core theme of guilt I was talking about. Plus the Drama of Cass's devotion to Bruce vs. Harper's disillusion with him. Just a ton of room for emotional tension and angst. Just please, PLEASE don't let her randomly show up as a villain. That would be dumb and bad and only recall the time DC tried that garbage with Cass herself. No Shock Twists!

Xanthe Zhou. A more recent connection, and one that again violates the last rule in the 'story style' list above, this time for their supernatural abilities. But I would like to see the new book let Cassandra build more of a cultural connection to her Chinese heritage, and that's not something I can see coming from her mother. That heritage is however a core part of Xanthe's character concept, and I think they worked together well in the recent Spirit World miniseries. I don't think Xanthe is part of any other current titles - though do please correct me if I'm missing something - and if not then I at least would be happy to have them as a Batgirl regular, supernatural elements not withstanding.

[chuckeroo777]

Frieren Liveblog- Chapters 37-40

Last we left off, Sein left the party to go after a wayward ape.

Alas, without the dad friend, they will have to make do with two moms.

Ah, yes. They mentioned this a while back. Hopefully the test focuses on raw ability, cause Frieren might struggle if they expect her to be up on the latest trends.

Geez, that was over a year ago. Semi-immortality + photographic memory is a hell of a combo.

Oh no. I love her already. Watch her end up being nothing but a minor villain.

Hello again Kraft. I see you're taking me calling you a minor character personally.

Also, as neat as I think Ubel is, she is amassing negative karma quite quickly it seems. Hopes of her joining the main party are quickly dwindling.

Frieren is the sort to have an expired driver's license, but she drives so carefully that she never feels the need to renew it.

I wonder if it's linked to the downfall of the elves? I imagine they may have been targeted by demons for the same reason. Their high natural mana reserves. Demons are very prideful.

How does this even happen?

She or Fern is totally gonna end up with Ubel, aren't they?

My Yuri senses are tingling.

Actually, that might just be the check engine light. I've been meaning to get a tune-up.

Hmm... so what's the catch? Is it simply a matter of preventing opponents from sabotaging? Or do these birds have strange properties?

Wait, I totally misread the situation. They have to catch a bird, they don't start with one. Yeah, totally magically difficult to catch birds.

...

The author's just messing with me at this point, aren't they.

I mean, look at this! Childhood friends who are constantly bickering, yet are able to pull off magical combos on a whim. Am I somehow supposed to not see them as a couple?

I'm sure the wiki lists them as very good friends.

Honestly, I'm surprised Ubel had enough restraint to do things properly, then play defense, instead of planning to steal one from the get-go.

Turns out when you collect as many niche spells as Frieren, you're more likely than not to be able to ass-pull any situation.

Land seems to have a good head on his shoulders. Shame him saying this means they will, inevitably, end up in a fight.

Fastest staff in the west! Good to see this is, in fact, a consistent character trait.

Mr. Fur Coat here needs to count his lucky blessings. Ubel was that close to eviscerating him.

I'm sure she has something good up her sleeves. You don't paint a massive target on your back without some sort of crazy plan.

Also, this is just the first test. This arc is gonna take a while, isn't it?

Yeesh. I get wanting to weed out mages not worthy of first class, but this is downright cruel.

Denken seems like a cool dude, though I reserve the right to rescind that judgement based on how he goes about stealing the bird.

Frieren is frighteningly competent. She can hide her immense mana so well that a monster won't pass her a second glance.

On the one hand, I'm not sure how Frieren is getting out of this one.

On the other hand, I love me a cool-ass teleport mage. Laufen just jumped, like, 10 points in my standings.

Hate to leave it on a cliffhanger, but I don't see the first-class test ending any time soon, so I bid you ado for now. If this arc doesn't end with us recruiting one or two cute mages, I'll be very disappointed.

[lost-inanotherlife]

Personally, I think Sawyer doesn't understand Jack either. At first, Sawyer did everything to bring out the worst in people on the island so he could feel better about himself and the things he'd done. He saw the worst in Jack, dismissing all the good in him. Kate, on the other hand, saw nothing but the good in Jack, practically putting him on a pedestal while completely disregarding his darker side.

The closest character to understanding Jack would be Juliet imo. She recognized both his heroic qualities and his morally corrupt tendencies, that's why she knew he returned to the island for himself, rather than to "save them". Maybe John did too, with the whole man of science, man of faith dynamic that intensified Jack's identity crisis.

Which brings me to the next point I'd like to discuss – how Jack's obsession wasn't really with his ex-wife, but with the identity of her new partner.

He kept asking her about him. It wasn't a 'you belong with me' kind of obsession (although it was just as disgusting ofc), he didn't care about the details of their separation, it was all about who he was not.

And I quote:

Christian: "It's over."

Jack: "Not until I know his name, where he works, where he lives, when they first kissed. I want to know what it is about him."

I really enjoyed reading your metas btw. I love Kate's character, and it was so frustrating watching her arc in the last couple of seasons bc the writers did her so dirty 😔

Hello again Anon! you're right, I need to rectify. I wrote that Sawyer was the one who better UNDERSTOOD Jack and that wasn't the right verb. In the previous ask we were talking about perception and that's different from understanding.

So what I meant was: Saywer is the one who clocks Jack's not-so-noble-or-very-hero-like side better than others. He's not the best con-man (hello Anthony Cooper) but he's good at his job: he could've conned his way around Jack as he demonstrates in the episode where he steals the guns with Charlie's help. He could do that but he very often chooses to go another way with Jack: he meets him in the middle.

To put it maybe a bit vulgarly: Sawyer knew that if he put out the ruler Jack would take off his pants to see which of the two wins. In other words, Sawyer sees a certain type of "boyhood" in Jack and sort of gives in a little power to him while he could totally con him and Jack would be none the wiser. Hence the ping-pong match and the poker game. Sports and games being considered a "safe" conduit to channel violence, anger and other negative emotions.

Does this mean that he understands Jack? Not really so you're right about that: he does see the worst in Jack though (or, better, not the worst per se but, as I said, a much realer side of him). However, I do stand by the above take on their relationship.

I think Juliet can be considered the chatacter that better understands him or gets very close to it and it would be fitting because I think she's Jack's mirror. Both are people of science, both were in unsatisfying marriages, both are considered good at their job but there's always some shadow over them in that regard (Burke for Juliet and Christian for Jack).

However, clearly Jack is an "ego" character while one of Juliet's defining traits is her love for her sister. She's ambitious too but the Others know her real deal and use her ambition as bait and her sister as leverage. The Others were very good at manipulating people LOL (as if it was a necessary thing to highlight LOL).

Which leads me to you point: yes, totally. Jack's a total douche to Sarah like 100% . This doesn't justify her cheating on him but I could totally understand her when she said that she wanted to move on and live while Jack was still stuck on fixing her.

Jack wanting to know "what it is about him (the other guy)"is exactly what I was talking about earlier with him and Sawyer: Jack gets confrontational with male figures who can threaten him or his "possessions" (ugh but see above: he was a dick to Sarah). Which of course can mean many things: is be sure about himself? does he have a good relationship with masculinity? is he honest with himself about his wants and needs?

Jack is an extremely volatile and emotional man: is this what Christian saw in him that made him say that he "doesn't have it"?

In two words: surprise! Jack's got daddy issues! LOL!

Thank you so much for reading my metas about Kate. I can't believe the writers had Kate Fucking Austen in their hands and decided to go That Way in s5 and s6. I don't get it. I mean, they were the ones who wrote incredible episodes such as "What Kate Did' or "Left Behind". Like, they did write Kate as compelling as she was. And for what?! Well as they would put it in Lost: whatever happened, happened. Maybe in another life, in another tv series...

[howlingday]

So, i have one ideia for The Jaune Werewolf AU: Silver and Salt.

Werewolves in Mythology have weakness to Silver Bullets, as we ALL know, but Brazilian Mythology says Werewolves fear Holy itens like Holy Water and Salt. You Can do Blake trying to feed him Salty food and him saying he has pressure problems or something similar.

Oh and there's also The thing of in Brazil werewolves Normally have at least 7 older sisters. If you want to know more about Mythology you can dm me.

Previously

It had been a few months since Jaune came forward about all the secrets he'd kept from his friends, and yet the biggest secret had remained all the more kept from them. But these secrets would not stay hidden for long. Blake had been hot on the trail of this Jaune Arc since his reveal to her that he was creature of the night.

...Okay, maybe it wasn't exactly that and maybe that term could use a bit of an update, but her point still stands: Jaune needs to come forward and admit that he is a werewolf, just like all of his kin! ...Okay, wow, these are some really aggressive statements she's making, but they're all with good intentions, she swears!

...Okay, that's enough thinking.

Instead, it was time to focus from the past to the present, in which she is following Jaune on one of his nightly walks. What started as a once a month gradually grew into a once every other night for the young werewolf. Blake noticed this increased departure and now decided to start following why he'd do this so suddenly.

He made his way out of the city, taking the bus to the outskirts where the cemetery sat. The two departed and entered the resting place of many a civilian and huntsman. Sadly, not all of these tombs were filled, instead replaced by a cherished memento of the dearly departed, as there were many an instance when the body couldn't be found, or worse, couldn't be buried in so little plots with so many pieces.

Blake kept her distance, though she and Jaune both paid to enter the cemetery. Due to the natural increase of negative emotions that may occur while attending, two huntresses had to be paid protection fees when visitors came. Thus far, no Grimm had even wounded their prey upon their reveal. Whatever the kingdom did to ensure the safety of it's mourners, it did well enough with their current plan.

"Oy! Water you doin ear?!" Blake flinched at the gruff voice. Looking up, she saw a burly man, hunched over like his head and shoulders were too heavy to be supported by his back. He had a tooth jutting out of his lower lip, which was extended further than his upper lip, and swollen left eye that she was sure impairing his eyesight. "Shooden you be up in the clouds?"

Was he shouting at a ghost who had left the graveyard? Or maybe an angel who'd descended to Remnant with a prophecy? Or perhaps-

"I'm back for another lesson~!"

Or it was another case of Jaune being Jaune, making all sorts of new friends wherever he goes.

"Anudder one?" The hunched man rubbed his chin. "Iza furteenth tem this week!"

"Yeah, I guess it is!" Jaune said with a laugh. "But I'm curious what else you can teach me!"

"Foin! Foin!" He waved his hands in the air. "Bet only after yeh tell me aboot yerself!" He hobbled away from Jaune. "Nah errynigh I getta tuk up a where wulf."

"Sure, sure." Jaune chuckled. "But, uh, I don't know about being a werewolf. It kinda makes me sound like a monster."

"Buh thaz what ya err!" The gent said as he approached a grave, before smacking it's stone with his cane. He then tossed Jaune a shovel. "Ta dig wit ya!"

Jaune nodded, digging his blade into the dirt before the headstone. She'd heard many stories about werewolves digging into graves to consume the corpses inside. Such a horrifying thought made her stomach churn, but still she crept closer. She had to see for herself.

"Noof!" Jaune stopped, looking to the gravekeeper. "Ah, juss a fyoo way froom a meeder!" Jaune began refilling the hole. "Yoos yer back en shoolders!"

"Yes, sir!"

"An whattaya sistas? Ya had seven?"

"Yup! All older sisters!" Jaune patted the ground. "And before you ask, no, they're not werewolves."

"Ull bleeve it win uh sees it."

Blake crept closer, noticing Jaune's muscular back facing her. By everything she considered precious, he was built like a wall of animal hair and endurance. She started imagining rubbing it as he laid in their bed, before turning over and grabbing her and-

"OY! WATER YOU DOIN EAR?!" Blake jumped at the sudden shout in her ears. "Nuh uh ya degenerates err loud in ear!"

"Blake?" She looked up to see Jaune towering over him. "When did you get here?"

Blake prepared for this moment! She thrust forward an emblem from Menagerie; a dual-sided mask with opposing horns. She waved it around, keeping her feet firm in the ground. She never really believed in the God of Animals, but if just this once, she could- "Ow!"

"Doon be shaygin that ear!" The gravekeeper shouted, shaking his cane. "It raddles up the ghosties!"

"Blake, were you following me?" She looked into Jaune's eyes, immediately regretting her decision as she fell for his big, blue puppy-dog eyes.

"Y-Yes..." Blake sighed. "You kept sneaking out, so I thought you might have been..."

"Oh... I get it now." Suddenly, he caught her in his powerful grip. "You were worried about me." He looked to his friend, though Blake didn't notice because she was in hairy, muscular heaven~. "I'll take it from here, Mr. Damp. Thanks again for tonight's lesson."

"Dinna minshun it." He then shook his cane at Blake. "Bet be worry aboot that one. She ruhminds me of me wife!"

[sanderssidesthehouse]

Can you do Patton for the character bingo? I've seen a lot of different takes so I'm curious to see what you think.

-🌻🌼

Hi flower anon! I'm a little nervous about this one ngl but I will do it for you.

Circle sizes represent how confident I was marking a box. Not a lot of confidence on this one bc I'm still conflicted. I think further resolution of his arc might solidify how I feel about him, or change it completely.

I don't really like Patton Sanders and that's my toxic trait, but HEAR ME OUT. I don't want to convince anyone not to like him, in fact I'd love to convince people of all the reasons they COULD possibly like him! Just like bc of my real life personal experiences, I'm not very fond of him. He is not my blorbo 😔 I don't hate him, but I do mildly dislike him. (As a character I think he's great, his conflict presents a fascinating narrative that I enjoy quite a lot.)

"But Ace," I hear you saying, "you said you don't like him and yet you still think he's being done dirty by fans?" To which I say "Yes, absolutely, there are people out there liking and disliking him for the wrong reasons!" (In my humble opinion.)

Patton is NOT an innocent little baby who needs to be protected, NOR is he a manipulative asshole. He's just a guy trying his best who messes up sometimes. He should be treated like an adult with agency and be given some grace for when he stumbles.

He does care about his famILY and he tries so hard to show it, but he's always felt like he has to know the correct answers and that they're depending on him. And tbh with how much c!Thomas defers to Morality, I get it. When someone is constantly looking to you for answers and it's your job to have them, saying 'I don't know' is scary! But he and everyone else should really try to be brave and say 'let's figure it out together' rather than confidently giving an answer that has a good chance of being wrong. But again, I do understand the crushing weight of these expectations.

I think it's really clever that Morality got paired with Emotions, bc emotions are what drives morality. Different people have different emotions that more strongly affect their morals, with Patton, we see compassion as a primary motivator, but also fear. The fear of slipping into the category known as 'bad person' and the fear of that categorization being permanent. And then bottles that fear up out of shame. Very catholic guilt of him.

I do feel bad for Patton where we left him bc he's finally going to get the help he needs, but somewhat at the cost of the love and respect of his famILY. Roman feels betrayed, Virgil hates Janus, and Logan... Well he's got a lot going on right now anyway.

I prefer Patton when I'm looking at him through the lens of his relationships to the others. He really does his best for them, he's a sweet guy. He tries to be encouraging and he clearly knows the other three very well. And with Janus I think the strongest negative emotion he feels is occasional annoyance, you know, like when he was impersonated. He seems to actually kind of like him otherwise. Not the biggest fan of Remus, which is an understandable side effect of him not yet having sorted himself out. He's trying now, so I'm sure that will come with time.

Also his froggy traits are sick as hell and I hope we see more, I want to see more, make him a frog please, I beg. That's like, the high point of his character to me, I actually had to come back and edit this after I scheduled it to include that bc holy crap Patton's a frog and I love that for him, but I also love that for ME.

So why don't I like him? I have intrusive thoughts and moral ocd and personal trauma I'm not going to get in to so like... He's just so unbelievably frustrating to me as he currently is. Also it just irks me that he's clearly not as naive as he pretends to be and it just boils my blood when people play willfully ignorant. He's doing it bc he's scared, but isn't that why everyone does it? It's still bad, and it causes a lot of damage. I'm of the opinion that if something scares you, you should learn everything you can about it. Logan said something like that once and he was right.

He just makes me feel the need to tell people they don't have to be a moral paragon to be good or do good things or be deserving of happiness, health, safety, and love. I get it's his job and all, I just really can't separate a character like that from all the stuff I had to learn and unlearn for my personal health and safety. And maybe I actually just want to say that to him. Maybe the problem is that we're too similar in all of our worst traits and seeing a grim reflection where once stood a cheery mural is upsetting. Maybe it's Maybelline.

Idk, I might actually like him. I'm very wishy washy on this subject. I think I can manage liking him while also disliking him. I'm very talented. I would love for everyone to tell me all the reasons they love Patton! I think he's neat and I'd love to like him.

[archduchessofnowhere]

The Accidental Empress Reading Blog I: Evil Gackl and the regency of Archduchess Sophie

I knew what I was getting into when I started The Accidental Empress, I really did. This historical fiction romance novel by Allison Pataki about Empress Elisabeth of Austria doesn't have particularly flying reviews in Goodreads, mainly to the historical inaccuracies and mischaracterizations. But I wanted to judge it by myself, specially since this is a very popular novel.

But I'm only one chapter in and this is my only reaction:

I have so many things to say about this chapter alone that I'm going to do a break down of it. I'm not planning to do this with every chapter (it will take me forever to finish it if I do), so enjoy this over analyzing reading blog, it won't happen again!

We start the chapter with Elisabeth and Helene outdoors, hiding from someone. We soon learn that that someone is their 13-years-old brother Karl Theodor "Gackl". Who is a bully that constantly torments them and insults them. I wish I was making this up.

...

In reality, Karl Theodor was Elisabeth's favorite brother and they remained close all their lives; he even named one of his daughters after her. Karl Theodor must have been a very charming and likeable man, since everyone that knew him held him in high esteem. Needless to say, he was nothing like how Pataki chose to portray him.

Because changing Gackl's personality was a deliberate choice by the author, in her own words: "I needed a mechanism for some early character development for the spirited, plucky young Sisi, and so Karl became an early opponent of sorts". I'm not that advanced into the book to decide if this benefited Elisabeth's character arc; but Gackl just bullying his elder sisters with no consequence seems kinda... dumb?

Continuing with the chapter, after this (they escape from Gackl by throwing rocks at him or something? I don't remember) the family gathers to dinner. Here we are told a little more of the family, and we find out that Elisabeth's eldest brother Ludwig Wilhelm "Louis" just... doesn't exist in this book? Karl Theodor is referred as the eldest son and heir more than once?? Weird choice, specially since the second book (yes this has a sequel) covers the Mayerling affair, in which Louis' daughter Countess Marie Larisch played a key role.

During dinner comes the unavoidable moment in which Ludovika announces that her sister Sophie asked for Helene's hand in marriage for her son, the young Emperor Franz Josef. This never happened, but (with great sorrow) I'll let it slide for the sake of the narrative.

Up until that point this novel had been your average, overly done, "Sisi lives free of worries in humble Possenhofen until her sister is told she's going to marry the emperor". I had nothing positive to say about it, but also nothing negative. It is a curse of contemporary Sisi adaptations that a relative she had a good relationship with is turned into a sort of antagonist (think Helene in RTL's Sisi and Ludovika in Netflix's The Empress), so even Gackl's villain arc didn't upset me that much.

You know what did upset me? This:

WHAT??? Franz Josef had been emperor since 1848. There was no regency, Sophie didn't had to rule anything. He was only eighteen, but he was of age and took charge of his reign from the very beginning. The implication that only since 1853 he had power is insane.

I already fear that Pataki went down the path of "Franz didn't do anything wrong, ever! It was his evil mother who ordered all those executions!" In fact, a couple of lines later Elisabeth recalls Franz Josef as "schrink[ing] whenever his mother had spoken" when she met him in 1848, a few months before the abdication of emperor Ferdinand. Which is also total crap.

And if I had any hope left for nuanced portrayal of Sophie, I completely lost it when Elisabeth recalls her meeting with her aunt:

Wow I can't wait to see the rest of her characterization! *sarcasm*

So far the writing itself had been okay-ish, even if I already had problems with the characterization and historical accuracy. But from this point onward we are delivered incredibly awkward expository dialogues, which completely took me out of the novel because it was obvious that the characters weren't talking to each other, but explaining to the reader the historical context. Like this just isn't a natural sounding dialogue at all:

"Your father is referring to the fact"???? I understand this novel is aimed at a general audience, but having the characters literally explaining the history (specially since this is recent history for them! it happened less than five years ago!!) feels extremely forced to me. Duke Max's dialogue alone worked fine, a voice in off could've explained the rest.

The chapter wraps up after this with Ludovika informing that Elisabeth will also accompany Helene to meet her betrothed (say it with me: Helene and Franz Josef were never engaged!), then the girls have an emotional talk in their bedroom and the chapter is over. I'll give Pataki one point for originality because she didn't follow the typical path of Helene being groomed to become empress for years and even had her oppose to the idea of marrying Franz Josef, but that's it.

And to finish this ridiculously long reading blog, I left under the cut all the inaccuracies that, while don't actually affect the plot so in theory can be forgiven, annoyed me anyway!

The Aunt Myth strikes! I don't blame Pataki for this mistake, since she probably took it from Hamann's biography. I made a whole post about how this is incorrect, but in short: while it's true that the Ducal household was in mourning, it wasn't for an aunt, but for Duke Georg of Saxe-Altenburg, Queen Therese of Bavaria's brother (so he wasn't even related to Elisabeth).

Actually Ludovika herself was extremely introverted, and according to her granddaughter Amalie of Urach, every interaction with people outside her inner circle was a torment for the Duchess. Public events and social gatherings caused Ludovika a lot of anxiety and she tried to avoid them at all cost, often excusing herself alleging being ill. All her children were said to also be very timid, most famously Elisabeth, who apparently spoke so lowly that sometimes it was hard to understand what she was saying.

It wasn't unusual for royals to marry people they had never met in their life (that ended up being the case of Sisi's sister Marie), but Ludovika and Max knew each other since they were children. King Maximilian of Bavaria, Ludovika's father and Duke Max's great-uncle, was fond of his nephew and wanted him to be close to his daughters, partly because Duke Max was quite lonely as a child, and partly so he wouldn't be a stranger to his future wife. A nice gesture, but that didn't prevent the couple of being utterly miserable together once they married at 20-years-old.

I am once again asking writers to understand that this was just not a possibility. Netflix's The Empress also has a moment of "You will stay with me as a lady-in-waiting!!", ignoring that being a lady-in-waiting was technically a job that belonged to the women from the highest ranking noble families in the empire. Noble, not royal. Elisabeth was the granddaughter of a king, being a lady-in-waiting was beneath her status. Also, why is this presented as a good thing anyway? Sisi serving her own sister would've been humiliating for her.

This is a silly mistake to point out since it can even be justified within the text as Sisi not knowing the proper titles for being so young; but this is the me being annoying section so I'll point it out anyway: there was only one Crown Prince, the rest of Helene's hypothetical children would've been Archdukes or Archduchesses (the Crown Prince was also an Archduke, but it was more usual to call him by the former title). And the Crown Princess was the Crown Prince's wife, the Habsburgs never had a Crown Princess in her own right.

High class girls going into marriage completely ignorant about sex is an strangely common trope in historical fiction, and while this was true for some (this was the case of Stephanie of Belgium, at least according to her memoirs), most of them knew exactly what was supposed to happen. After all, producing an heir was their more important task, so why would they not be told how they were meant to achieve that?

Ludovika was well aware of that, and she did not keep her girls in the dark about sex. She always talked very openly about it, and was proud of having educated her daughters about what happened on the wedding night. So no, she didn't "only ever implied things"

To be fair with Pataki, she wouldn't have found this information regarding Ludovika in Elisabeth's biographies in English. All of this information I found in Martina Winkelhofer's biography, only published in 2021 and still untranslated in English. I think the biggest problem with this book in regards with historical accuracy is going to be that Pataki relied solely on outdated English sources that perpetuate myths that have been challenged in German works for the past decades.

[beigetiger]

Been having thoughts about Jenan (from phase 2) relating to toxic masculinity and how boys are treated when taken advantage of.

Because like…he was written from the very start as one of those guys you knew in high school who was super macho and a bully and who was raised by his parents to be that way, to the point where he’d be considered a failure if he couldn’t act that certain way. This becomes even more apparent when we finally meet his father, who…isn’t great and somehow seems even more of a stereotype of toxic masculinity than his son. His dad kicked all necromancers out of his country for their religion and then bragged about it afterwards, that’s how great his dad is.

Now, everyone is welcome to their own thoughts on this, but in my eyes Jenan got legitimately groomed by Abyssinia, and was made to do some really awful things while he was with her because it would “make him strong” and “make him a REAL man”, such as pushing his friends off cliffs. Yeah.

And then everyone finds out about it, and his life falls apart. His dad rejects him and views him as weak. He’s sent to a fucking prison, where he’s brutalized and mistreated before being sent back to school. It sucks so badly for him. In fact, it sucks so badly that he keeps latching on to the idea of Abyssinia and refuses to acknowledge the fact that she took advantage of him and was going to kill him.

And he hates Omen. Because Omen is the image of positive masculinity, which Jenan was taught to view as weak. Because Omen actually cared that Jenan was being mistreated and went to the prison to see if he could help, even after Jenan bullied him and tried to kill him repeatedly, and Jenan was taught to view things like that as weak. But despite Omen being weak, he still won. He still ended up on top, and to Jenan, that’s against the rules. And he thought that Omen was visiting him in prison to taunt him for being the loser because he couldn’t imagine a world where you wouldn’t go to a prison to taunt the people inside.

And so when he gets back to school, his mental health is awful. He killed his friends, was betrayed by Abyssinia, and has no family to support him now. And he takes that rage out on Omen, who still refuses to mistreat him for all that Jenan did to him, which only causes Jenan to spiral more.

And it ends with Filament, Omen, and Jenan standing in a room together, Filament holding a weapon. Jenan tells him to kill Omen but Filament is too scared, and it becomes a sort of therapy session with the two of them angrily shouting their negative feelings and emotions at each other while Omen quietly watches.

Because I don’t think that Jenan of all people was taught to be in tune with his emotions. No way. So actually yelling at Filament and threatening to kill Omen finally gave him the space to realize that yes, his life sucks and Abyssinia took advantage of and betrayed him. And that’s not necessarily his fault. But it sure isn’t Omen’s fault either, and the best Jenan can hope to do now is leave. Leave and try and make a new life for himself without the support of his dad. Because he wants to kill Omen, yes. But killing Omen won’t actually fix his issues because Omen is not the source of all his problems. And so he leaves, and Omen gets to keep his life.

And for a background character, that’s a really impressive arc to have. I think it did a good job reflecting positive versus toxic masculinity and how much the place he was raised in impacted his actions and his eventual fate. Fellas, I do not like Jenan but he is a criminally underrated character. Thank you all for coming to my TedTalk, this is the best I can do in twenty crazed minutes with my phone.

[usermischief]

AU where Stiles does die from the Nogitsune and now there’s a whole plot about getting him back from death. Maybe it replaces the season 4 plot, maybe it’s a seasons-long arc and we see Stiles just vibing and making friends with the other dead people as his friends try to bring him back without unleashing the apocalypse or bringing any unwanted hanger-ons with him. Laura is his new bestie, Derek better watch out because Stiles is getting all sorts of ammunition on him. Laura takes one look at this kid who her brother trusts but who aggravates the heck out of her brother, asks if anyone is going to adopt him as a little brother, and doesn’t wait for an answer (Jordan would’ve said yes if anyone asked him, but Laura didn’t and also Laura can share). The pack refused to accept Noshiko’s statements that Stiles would die (love that for them, it’s the entire pack too. Scott, Derek, Allison, just everyone. Even Isaac was pissed that Stiles seemed to be dying and wouldn’t answer Stiles when he told him and Scott to let him die if need be), so now they’re off committing light necromancy. Noshiko is tearing her hair out and is extremely worried that they’ll bring the Nogitsune back with him, so she’s supervising and providing negative comments (in a lovely turnaround, Isaac is the one asking what’s up with her persistent negativity. Scott gives him a shocked look and Isaac immediately delves back into his book, both surprised to realize that he has grown to consider Stiles a genuine friend and misses him, and that he has found himself in Stiles’s position of providing sarcastic quips and countering the pessimism. He shows up with a flannel scarf one day, exhausted and not having looked at what he was getting dressed in, and when someone points it out, he goes wide-eyed and says they need Stiles back before Isaac ends up looking like a lumberjack) (Allison snuck that scarf into his room. She took a picture and is planning on showing Stiles it the moment he comes back. Stiles is laughing his ass off in the afterlife and says Allison is his twin sister now). Peter is making snarky and affronted comments that “oh, when I bring myself back from the dead, it’s a bad thing, but when it’s Stiles, suddenly this is a worthy goal and none of you will change your minds. The double standards.” Lydia doesn’t dignify that with anything other than a withering glare, but Derek says that the circumstances are rather different; Peter gives a haughty sniff as he scours the books for ways to bring his favorite snarky partner back (he claims that he refuses to deal with them alone, Stiles is the only reason he attends meetings because Stiles amuses him. The pack is both offended that he’s saying they’re annoying and relieved he’s helping). Laura drily comments that she’s surprised they’re all unified in saving him and have been working at this for so long, and Stiles replies “of course they are, what are they going to do, solve their problems without me? Unlikely and they know it,” but the fondness in his voice gives away how flattered and happy he is that they want him back so much

Derek is perpetually stressed out because he hasn't spent this much time with Peter in ages — and he's oddly well-behaved, which is never a good sign. Plus, he and Isaac make a good research team.

Lydia has a constant migraine because Stiles somehow figured out a way to talk to her. Of course, he would be able to find a way to be a smartass about the supernatural. He either annoys the hell out of her or uses her to tell Isaac and Peter to read faster.

In the end, Stiles probably somehow manages to bring himself back from the dead (and he drags Laura with her), and he's highly disappointed in all of them because "Isaac and Peter pointed the correct ritual out twice, and you still missed it. Seriously."

[unohanabbygirl]

Wowowow! Another large FMN x HIPS crossover question set here. The idea of Egg being to one to discover Aemond at the museum is so good and then the consequence of the two factions coming together. It’s actually shameless of Helaena and Alicent to defend him. I can picture that Egg keeps going back to the museum with a face mask and hat to get more pictures of Aemond in front of multiple painting and statues, he even times how long he stares at them, even filming a video and sending it out to everyone just to prove it’s not a one off but an actual issue. I can imagine Aemond getting suspended from his job from making patrons/coworkers uncomfortable with the staring? Even worse if some rando (maybe a reincarnated servant) took a picture of him in a trance and posted it online trying to show what a creep this dude is who looks exactly like the prince in the painting. Everyone can tell that stare is not one of uncomfortability. Maybe it goes viral and the twins + Maelor see on that silent car ride home from the sept?

You’re take on Helaena is so interesting in this story. She’s usually a fan fave in stories because she’s sweet, but to know in this au that she’s still a staunch support of Aemond (though uncomfortably), or acceptingly exposes herself to Alicent’s rape apology/religious mania is shocking. In your mind, does she have a breaking point? At what point does she choose herself/the kids over Alicent and Aemond. Her support of them I think would also have major consequences with her relationship with Osferth, aka there is no relationship. He can’t deal with anyone who would support Aemond, and this only cements after the whole job discussion the family had.

The Alicent in this version has also regressed compared to FMN. In that she turned over a new leaf but here it’s sort of the opposite. I’m wondering if her character regression is caused by Aemond’s crime of rape instead of murder, Osferth’s presence, or the way the world is bc of abo dynamics? Will she every experience a breaking point or would you say that if she can’t change her ways after a reincarnation and thousands of years later there’s no hope?

You talked about how suppressants are basically chemical castration for prime alphas, does Aemond ever stop that as some form of rebellion or self harm?

On another note, I also need like 80 yo Saera to still be alive and also helping out Luke. Do you think we will see her in HIPS?

So FMN is continued from canon. The Luke that will remember is taken from a point when his family all truly loved him. In HIPS when he returns, he experienced hatred and resentment (though I don’t know from which character since hips is still in an early arc) as well as the trauma of seeing Aemond again. How different then is the remembrance in this crossover barring the actual memories of his assault? Our modern characters may have changed from the resentment they carried, but when Luke remembers he’s not only reliving his assault, but also how some of the people he’s grown to adore in modern times, resented him in a past life. Now that I think about it, in FMN Luke has had a terrible life and suffered abuse time and again, and when he remembers yes he will be reliving his murder, but also recalling the love his family had for him. In this crossover, modern day Luke has had a free and happy life, but the remembrance will force memories of what Aemond did as well the way his family negatively treated him. In other words, Luke’s final moments from canon in FMN are from an explosive edge of violence. HIPS sees Luke’s survival as a long tragedy. His assault and exile were the start of a slow death for the family, not to mention the second tragedy and trauma of being brought back to Westeros. Sorry if this is rambley. I guess I’ve focused a lot about how modern Luke would deal with remembering Aemond’s attack and the trauma of his pregnancy, so I want your thoughts on not only that but also the memories of blacks

I also have to ask in this crossover whether Luke remembers before or after his first meeting with Aemond. All of the buildup in FMN is so dramatic and I feel like anything Luke does with Aemond is tainted by some form of dubious consent which makes me still hesitant to like Aemond’s character in that story. In Aemond’s mind, this is an incomplete version of Luke so how can he possibly accept any form of consent? It’s a ticking time bomb and only adds another instance of a loss of sexual agency in Luke’s life. Anyway, in this crossover scenario, Luke’s family isn’t pushing hard for him to remember so what does this mean when he meets Aemond it’s as Luke and not Lucerys? This also leads into a Q about what Aemond’s breaking point is when he isn’t allowed to see Osferth and years of Alicent’s crazed talk? This is almost too soap opera-y but I can imagine him coming up to Osferth when he’s away from the group or going to the house to try and convince him by yelling through the door not knowing Luke is there, and this is an omega Luke who doesn’t take any shit and just thinks its an alpha harassing an omega so he opens the door to tell him off which opens a whole different can of worms. HOWEVER…I do think that the power balance of Aemond remembering and Luke being in the dark is tipped too much in Aemond’s favor, and that Luke deserves to know what happened to him and work through that trauma before being exposed to Aemond. Thoughts? I guess the theme for this ask is breaking points for the Greens. The more they try to force the idea everything is fine and Aemond is changed, the more they fracture.

Egg keeping quiet at first only to continue going back to the museum day after day to gather as much evidence as he can so the greens can’t try to spin this around to work in their favor or try and make Egg look like a stupid child who simply didn’t understand what he clearly saw fits his personality more than words can say. I can easily imagine him doing this over a span of months, even going the extra mile to ask other staff and common patrons if this is something Aemond does often so he can make notes and get more info from an outsiders pov. It’s a thorough one man investigation that not even someone like Otto could spin around. Sending every piece of evidence to everyone’s phones so they can go over everything for themselves before the meeting. It’s infuriating for the blacks and even though Egg doesn’t send said evidence to Osferth (because his nephew is such an innocent kid who doesn’t need those images shoved in his face anymore than they already have been living in a world that constantly disrespects his mother in popular art.) He still tells him about what Aemond’s been doing to a certain extent because he has the right to know considering Aemond is trying to form a relationship with him.

I like the idea of a reincarnated commoner taking a trip to the museum and catching Aemond in the act. They have their suspensions that it may actually be the prince but they’re too nervous to actually approach so they do what most people these days do and post the pic to reddit or maybe even twitter with the caption “what a freak” and it goes viral overnight because that dude is obviously mesmerized rather than disgusted or uncomfortable.

Alicent is super regressed! I’d argue she’s even worse than her f&b counterpart. Aemond r*ping Luke rather than killing him that night plays a big role in her mental state going down the drain. Being an omega herself and raised by a man like Otto with so few omega’s in her personal life to teach her self-love like Omen does for Luke leaves her with a lot of self-hatred and internal misogyny towards women and omega’s alike. As a victim of marital r*pe who’s children were conceived that way, knowing her son committed such a crime sends her into a state of disbelief and denial. The only way for her to not breakdown and maintain the idea that she’s raised at least one perfect child is to shift the blame onto Luke. Its the only way she can remain on her high horse while also maintaining her hatered for Luke without feeling shame.

Osferth’s existence makes this all so much worse. If Luke had simply ‘claimed’ that Aemond assaulted him then she could live in denial without ever being forced to see the truth. However, Osferth makes this impossible. Not only is he living breathing proof that a sex act did occur between the two, but it’s impossible to claim bastardy on the census of brown hair because Osferth has Aemond’s entire face down to the last detail. He’s not only a constant reminder that Aemond is capable of going against the mother but that he isn’t nearly as perfect as she wants to believe he is.

Can she become better? In this au, I don’t think so. She’s simply one of those people that were failed to such a horrible extent that she only becomes worse with time until she eventually pushes everyone who doesn’t bow to her beliefs away. Is it sad? Absolutely, but with how deep in she is and how many disgusting actions shes taken, I don’t see her ever seeing the error of her ways. If anything, I can see an older Osferth extending a peace offering of sorts because he truly wants to believe that she’s not as heartless as it seems from the outside looking in. Sadly she would just ignore him.

Personally, I’m a Helaena shooter all the way, but I enjoy playing with her character. Its fun to pull her away from the shy sweet girl who just wants to be with her children and collect her bugs and put her in with the greens who do things for their own selfish reasons. She knows what Aemond did to Luke was wrong and there’s no excuse whatsoever. But her need to remain at her family’s side on the principle of sheer loyalty adds a flaw to her character, and flaws are one thing that every character needs.

She knows her brother committed one of the most cruel, violent crimes someone could ever do to another person and yet she stays. She knows her mother is trying to brainwash Maelor and the twins yet she stays. It puts into question what would be the absolute breaking point for her to see the light and leave this toxic environment. Would one of her children have to experience something similar to Luke for her to see the light? Would the twins have to threaten to leave? They may be young but they’re gen alpha therefore raised on ipads. So they definitely know how to take money out of their grandmas purse, pack some clothes and catch a few bus rides to disappear before anyone even notices they’re gone. Plus, kids their age walk to and from school + go to the corner store to buy snacks all the time. A pair of middle schoolers catching a bus or two until they’re out of KL is possible.

So long as they don’t turn too many heads and are quick on their feet with some good lie’s prepared they’d make it pretty easy. So If the twins were to pull this off and actually find their way off the grid it sends Helaena into a mental break. Perhaps even getting so bad that she ends up physically hurting herself which eventually leads to her being put in the psych ward for her own safety (baker act)

This has two outcomes; #1, one or multiple of the blacks visiting her after hearing that she allegedly tried to commit S even though she stood by Aemond. They may not like her, but they don’t wish death on her nor did they wish for her children to go missing. They’re true innocent’s.

The visit is quick, asking how she is and if shes okay before leaving with a very forced smile. Hel thinks over this interaction a lot during her time. Makes some hard decisions too and maybe, just maybe, she leaves Alicent and Aemond’s side.

Or #2, Daeron pays her a visit and brings a very sad Maelor who misses his brother and sister. He tries to convince Hel that she needs to see the others for the enablers that they are. Tries to talk sense into her, even offers that they can get a place on there own and go half on rent. He’s more than happy to get a job.

Sadly, she only falls deeper into the mindset that the greens are the only people she truly has. Thinks Daeron is talking nonsense and that they must stick my one another no matter what. After all, her mother and Aemond visited her, not the blacks. Though they don’t owe her that anyway.

I like both of these scenarios for the simple fact that they can change so much depending on which path you go down.

Hmm, Aemond going off his medication isn’t very likely because its the only way he can actually participate in society the way he wants. Now, no one can actually force a prime to get suppressants and there aren’t any outright rules stating that none medicated primes cant go to the mall or sit on their computer at a Starbucks like anyone else, but it limits so much of what you can and can’t do. Aemond wouldn’t be able to attend the college of his choice, work at most jobs, or live in a majority of apartment/townhouse/penthouse complex’s. Not to mention that if he did go off of his suppressants then every one of the blacks would block him and get a restraining order immediately. They aren’t taking that chance, not with Osferth being a young omega who’s still getting used to scents and controlling his own instincts.

The chances of seeing Saera in HIPS is likely!! As well as FMN 👀 (i want to expand but i’m not sure I can do so without spoiling 😭)

Luke remembering his past in HIPS differs dramatically from FMN because he’ll have to relive so much trauma all at once that it would likely send him into a full-on breakdown. Being forced to remember being assaulted, an unwanted pregnancy and the humiliation of being forced from the happy life he was able to create from the ashes of what he once had, only to be taken from that life and pushed in front of a full court of onlookers as the truth of what actually happened to him was revealed for the world to see. Reliving the betrayal in his mother’s eyes and seeing the original hatred in Jace’s eyes for his innocent son for simply being a carbon copy of Aemond in looks. Its all too much to handle and would seriously leave him with a few mental scars. I could 100% see him going no contact with the entire family (except his son ofc)

But on the bright side, with all of these horrible memories comes memories being with Osferth. Holding him for the first time, teaching him to speak Valyrian and going through the long but sweet process of teaching him to walk. He remembers baking pies and singing lullabies. He remembers that the boy he gave up everything for grew into such a pure hearted young man and that alone is enough to make the bad fade into the background.

He’d for sure hold a grudge against everyone but Corlys. After all, his grandfather respected that he wanted ‘Lucerys Velaryon’ to remain dead and gone as he lived his life anew. Corlys gave him a nice property far away from prying eyes and took care of his grandson and great-grandson as best he could from so far away. Visiting when he could and always helping give Osferth the things he was able to give Luke as a child. Reading him traditional Velaryon fairytales and storybooks for example. Not to mention legitimizing him as a true Velaryon in name just as he is in spirit.

Reuniting with Jace would hurt the most because he was the one who felt most betrayed that Luke allowed everyone to think he was dead. So that relationship would be the hardest to fix (again, I want to give you more but HIPS is still in its first arc and I don’t want to spoil too much)

As for Luke and Aemond’s first interaction, while Luke is attracted to Aemond he doesn’t feel any need to chase after him to hookup since this version of Luke doesn’t have the sexual trauma and therefore the dangerous coping mechanisms FMN Luke has. At most he’d be like “oh, cute alpha. Seems like an asshole though” and go on about his day. This forces Aemond to take the lead and chase Luke down. However, Luke makes it clear he’s not interested in sex or partnership at the moment which means Aemond has to keep Luke’s attention with his personality alone.

Aemond would reach a point of being fed up with being separated from his son. His base instincts still scream that that’s his son, his seed, his to protect. So on and so forth. He wants to explain without Rhaenyra and the rest of the blacks acting as a barrier. So he would try and reach out behind the other’s backs. (Maybe hitting him up on social media)

I like your idea about Aemond trying to get Osferths attention by hanging outside of his door which just looks like another alpha prick trying to chase down a young omega. Luke has been raised with good role models and placed in pretty okay environments. Knows that as omegas they’re a community meant to stick together, so his first instinct would surely be to tell the guy off no matter how much bigger he may be. He’s still a man at the end of the day and can throw a few nice punches.

I have to agree with you when you say that Luke meeting Aemond while still amnesic does tip the scales in his favor since it gives Aemond the ability to grow on Luke and form a close bond. He may be a douche but Luke is the type who finds it amusing to a certain extent. So if Aemond can show he actually has good qualities to even out the asshole alpha side of himself, than he has a good chance to form a friendship. This isn’t very fair since being all chummy with the man who r*ped him would cause a lot of mental turmoil once the time comes for Luke’s past memories to come flooding back.

Its one thing in FMN because though murder is inexcusable, it was an accident due to a very stupid choice in the heat of the moment. However, there is no such thing as “accidental” assault. Point blank period.

I think one way to have these two interact before Luke remembers while keeping things from tipping too much in Aemond’s favor is to have them interact at certain times here and there (always with someone else around) rather than constantly hanging out alone for endless hours and forming a deep bond in the process which really would be traumatic for a survivor of sexual assault.

[skygent]

Storytelling Moments That Will Stay With Me

Spoilers for ALL of Helluva Boss up to Apology Tour

This post is gonna be a little deeper and more negative than previous ones I’ve written previously. when it comes to stories I've reflected on.

If you’re in a bad headspace for one reason or another, maybe skip this one.

In case you haven’t heard, Helluva Boss follows a group of hit men who live in Hell and regularly get into all kinds of trouble on Earth and in their home: Hell.

Trailers and clips may give you the idea that it’s just a raunchy adult animated comedy in a similar strain to Rick and Morty but it’s far from just that.

It can have its serious moments and those serious moments do carry the weight and consequences that unfold across episodes.

Which yes it’s called a character arc, and no it’s not new or revolutionary, but I don’t see them done well in these types of shows.

Enter Blitzo (the O is silent), a hell-born Imp who is crass, abrasive, and extremely temperamental.

We could not be more different, but there is one key characteristic we share:

We both really do not like being ourselves, and our self esteem is so low it could be extracted from the Earth and used as a fossil fuel.

This all comes to ahead for Blitz during Apology Tour. An episode that illustrates how destructive Blitz's self hatred has been not for just for himself but for the people who once cared about him. All of which can be boiled down to a beautiful but still painful moment of self realization for Blitz:

“I don’t wanna be this way, not forever.”

It's a line that has stuck with me for the past few weeks, as things have been rough to say the least. Despite being back home after graduating from college, I have been wallowing in my own self hatred for sometime.

I was telling myself that I had peaked in college, that it was too late to do what I wanted to do with my life, that I was never gonna be as happy as I was in days past. I was sitting in my room even after I was done working for the day and just letting life go by. Resigned to letting myself be unhappy, because I thought I deserved it for not being good enough to do anything I wanted to do and that I was destined to be alone for it.

Thankfully, that dark patch passed recently. With my birthday coming up, comes a bit of somber milestone. This year, I will officially be a year older than my flight instructor ever got be after a fatal crash roughly two years ago.

One of the last times we spoke in person, he reminded me how important it was to take care of myself. When I realized that I hadn't been, it hit me pretty hard and I had to take a walk to sort my thoughts out.

By the end of that afternoon stroll, I found myself echoing Blitz:

“I don’t wanna be this way, not forever.”

So I am taking a step back and practicing being more mindful of where I am. How far I've come and what I've accomplished. Challenging those self-sabotaging thoughts and mindsets when they come up, and they still do come up. All while letting myself to feel things I've been trying to repress for sometime now, like the side of me that is hopeless romantic.

Sure it's scary, but some of the best things in my life happened because I decided to say fuck it and be brave.

I don't know what comes next, for me or Blitz.

Nothing is guaranteed for either of us at this point (particularly in the romance department) but then again, what in life is?

All we can both do is try to be better than we were yesterday.

So that in the future, we can be someone's someone. Someone that leaves us standing in the rain at a train station yelling:

"Harriet! Don't get on that train! It's going to London and I cannot be without you!"

Even if that's basically a rom-com, it doesn't sound all that bad does it?

That’s why Helluva Boss’s Apology Tour will be a storytelling moment that will stay with me.

[mhacentral]

People have different opinions, but IMO i dont like when people are too postive when there are glaring issues, and just fight the people saying negative things and ignoring them.... funny enough this is just like MHA where heroes ignore the villains. Were there good things about mha... yes..... but there were a lot of bad things as well. If i had to sum it up, MHA had great characters and great character dynamics but the story itself severly lacked behind

The good:

Characters and characterization- all very unique in personality and design and made you want to follow them

Character Dynamics - like relationships between characters. Absue, bullying, friendship, romance.... this series has it all

The beginning arcs

Quirks and power system - each power is very unique and really compliments the character well

Superheroes and Villain society - we've had stories with these, but this is in present time where almost everyone has a power, so powers really arent as "special" as in another series and creates a new dynamic of sorts

The bad

Lack of planning - this is a major downfall of many shonen series due to the insane work schedule and forcing authors to write certain things in certain ways so its super popular

Show Dont Just Tell - there were many things that were told to us, espeically during the middle portion of the series..like how crime had risen, how people were becoming more scared.... we never really go to see anything at this point cause the students werent allowed to do internships

The Overhaul Arc - yep gets a special mention. This arc pulled focus away from the main cast, instead focusing on more new students and a new villain group. Even Oda mentioned in an interview about him having too many characters lol. Then to top this off, the arc was very rushed towards the end. Also the theme of the Yakuza felt old school and didnt fit with MHA, would have loved the MLA to be here at this time instead

Genuinely I don’t have a problem with criticism of MHA. What keeps getting me is the lack of self-reflection and good faith.

Maybe it’s just the framing, but so much criticism is framed as “Horikoshi tried to do this familiar (western) theme but failed” or “he didn’t properly criticize society in a way that matches my personal beliefs” and “I don’t like the morals” without first demonstrating the critic actually understands the morals in the story or that their personal perspective may be heavily colored by their views of their own society. Like, Japanese society is not exempt from criticism, but depictions of society as imperfect and difficult to change aren’t the same thing as saying the current system is good. Does Japan have systemic issues in its justice system and such? Yes, but if you’re using shorthand about western culture’s systemic issues to describe Japan’s issues, I don’t yet believe you actually know what those systemic issues are. There are plenty of Japanese stories with morals I personally find distasteful as a person with a more individualistic worldview, but I also understand how they can read as good morals from a collectivist perspective. And I don’t recall reading all that many novels in school where the reason they were considered good and classic was because they had such good morals. They were stories written from the perspectives of various cultures and eras, and there was a lot more to them than “do I agree with what the author is depicting here, assuming they’re depicting something they even fully agree with at all?”

In the end I guess I was never into 100% of what was going on in MHA anyway. I’ve been pretty open about why I’m here. But that’s part of why it feels like I’ve been able to adjust my expectations of the series as it gave me new information rather than what sadly appears to me like a lot of people clinging to their own personal interpretations far past the point of viability. I predicted years ago there would be a large contingent of disappointed readers at the end because the interpretations across the fandom were so varied and in many cases so rigid. They couldn’t all be right in the end. But I just hope some people take the time to try to understand MHA in good faith. Of course some points were interesting world-building details the story didn’t want to linger on, but that means those topics aren’t the story MHA is trying to tell. I want to read criticism of the actual story MHA is trying to tell, not what could have been two or three years ago.

[heavymetalchemist]

feel free not to reply but on the topic of character growth, i did agree somewhat w the jc stagnation meta but. my view was always that jc actually had a slight negative character arc. like i agree in terms of emotional maturity (esp around wwx - bc it's wwx's story like you said!) jc definitely doesnt change much. but like op talked about jc blaming wwx for the massacre but baby!jc doesnt do that past his initial breakdown! however, after the 13 years, he does, bc he's more lost in the anger/grief & more bitter, isolationist and sharper (i say w love). its not a huge change but its there? his emotions havent changed much but how he deals with them has, at least a bit. development, but not 'growth' you know?

however i know there is a lot of fanon that softens jc during the skip, so i can agree with op that that feels OOC (as much as i like that fanon too 😬). but also a lot of people would disagree with me here bc they'd say jc was always this bad so. you know. whatever

i do agree with you that it feels like a lot of characters haven't really changed much. (i think lwj does have an arc than you said) but! i feel like it's part of the point that we don't really see characters change onscreen. or that a lot of them don't get the chance until everything is revealed. p much all the development is off screen, either in the skip (w lwj & jgy & nhs) or post canon...

Yeah, I'd agree with that! JC has had over a decade to stew about it and I think he's a little obsessive! What he wants is an explanation, he wants to know why WWX broke his promise, and dude has a LOT of issues so it's all wrapped up with was it me, was I not good enough as well as all the trash talking that others are doing. JC thought the fight where WWX was expelled from the sect was fake, or at least fake enough that he brings Yanli in her wedding clothes to Yilling! But JC doesn't think anyone will choose him first, he has such an inferiority complex, and he really has not improved on that in the 16-year-gap. So yeah it's not really "growth" so much as like, getting really good at self-flagellation, then trying to turn that into anger at WWX, and being angry at himself for (in my opinion) still loving his brother, even after all of this. He still wants that explanation, he still wants him to come back, but he's so angry about it all! He's a mess!

I do like fanon that softens JC, especially when it leans into him being a good uncle to Jin Ling (what we see in the text supports that!) but because the book is mainly from WWX's perspective he's not going to exactly see those parts of JC during the main story - but maybe post-canon!

And yeah for your last point, that's really what caught me about the post I was referring to. There's not a lot of change in the cultivation world, there's not a lot of change in most of the characters, and while some of it is time gap I think it's also like... kind of a comment on WWX as an agent of change? The fact that he comes back and overturns everything - again! - is significant. Without this unorthodox, mad genius (who, especially in the book, is NOT a 100% good guy) the whole cultivation world kind of stagnates. The Jins repeating the power grab of the Wens is kind of a big plot point, after all (that is, the parallel between Wen Ruohan and Jin Guangshan).