#cause if we honest the only woman who gets a full and completed arc is Caroline.

[cancerian-woman]

i think a lot of people say legacies had a lot of potential but tbh it was never going to be good. i dont think hope existing was ever a good idea so her leading a show and having elena and buffy traits is an odd mix and was already a bad sign. the poc supporting characters not having basic development until seasons 3/4? um. landon highkey being the (boring) protagonist because they do admit that Hope shouldn’t be leading a show and want the outsider trope. he’s closer to the elena archetype too. the plot being non-existent and the friendship theme ? is quite honestly perplexing because what friendships

buffy worked because there were actual philosophical concepts behind the conflict and decisions buffy made. they teach it at the university level! buffy also wouldnt have survived without her friends. they embody different aspects that buffy slowly develops on her coming of age journey. how could a writer team who supposedly loved buffy miss all these points and that it doesn’t work for hope and the poc cast they both didn’t care for but wanted so they could be a walmart scooby gang?

And HARRY POTTER where? Why was it pitched as HP omg they could not write as well as a woman writing for 8-12 year olds which is sad

ranting about legacies this morning lmaoooo this is so incoherent

Bestie, idk if you seen this tweet from Julie. The show was never going to be good knowing that this was her inspo in mind. Not only was this insensitive and ignorant to the families and victims. Children shouldn’t have to be the hero in places that supposed to be educating them. Teachers and staff don’t come to work to die? Like lady, this is NOT the situation to blend realism and fiction. Then Josie was still shoot at when someone did break into the school—listen. Anyway!

TO couldn’t even figure out how to mix Hope someone who’s a fluke in the supernatural world but here anyway! so legacies struggling with the concept wasn’t at all surprising especially how Plecverse writers did it.

To me Hope is an LGS version of an Elena/Buffy/Bonnie mix in characterization while never properly servicing her either which is fucked up she’s supposed to be the leading lady. I understand, the amount of trauma she faced at a young age which is why she’s so protective to Landon (and her friends to an extent) but try to expand on her life? So many seasons of Hope and I don’t know what she’d want to do for a career. While Elena’s writing got worst overtime you at least knew her ambitions. Hope’s motives were only for Landon. I think one of those writers created and self-inserted into him (if I’m wrong somebody say it..)

Not to say Barolena has no issues because the residual anti-blackness was loud. I do think, Julie wanted an all white (I know Kaylee is half Japanese) girl trio and legacies was finally the time to debut that. Hence, why Hope was shown to be older than the twins at first. Then changed to be younger to fit in their group. But, with that change suddenly Hope is being bullied by them and never allowed to do something is just…. Lmao LISTEN?

JP never planned on expanding on the POC in her show simply because we were “supposed” to be grateful she included them in the first place. Which was another downfall. How do you have multiple actors of color and no one has a leading storyline? She just wanted to lessen those racist claims but made it worse. Why did it take you 3 shows to get a darkskin woman in the franchise too as a series regular? I remember some fans calling her out on Twitter, for having Matt Davis racist ass in front of all her POC actors on promo posters.

Buffy managed to include her friends and keep Buffy as a central focus to the show and its problems. I think they just slapped DRR’s face on every promo just to get people to watch initially because it never seemed like “her” show until Danielle was older by season 4. I assumed Danielle being younger and the LGCS actors being old enough to been in TVD/TO it was easier to write for them w/out it being too much? If that makes sense.

I know Hope was supposed to have a bigger storyline with Maya and they backed out of that completely to give other characters room to shine. By that they meant the twins 🤣.

This was long as hell but to sum it up idk why people esp white fans who double as Bonnie antis love dragging and arguing her unimportance when so many character even the white women are treated the same way with minor differences. If it’s an issue and makes Bonnie super unlikable than I’m sorry wouldn’t Hope be just that? Wouldn’t freya? Davina be those things too? Even the twins-

Thank you 💜

[snowblack-charcoalwhite]

I've said it many times and I'll say it again. I don't understand why so many people claim that Aemond is somehow Ryan's favourite or even self insert. I guess it would be obvious now that he hates him as much as the rest of the greens, but some still insist on this. Like, here is the character that actually was one of the most popular in s1 despite the fact that he barely had any screentime and is tg, yet we are halfway through s2 and look what they've done with him?? 5 minutes of screentime, half of it the unnecessary brothel scenes to show him naked and to destroy his relationship with Aegon for good. Zero interactions with Alicent, Helaena, Otto...No reaction to Jaehaerys (but yes to luke).. And he's somehow Ryan's pet? Yeah, no. I think that Ryan is staunchly tb who loves Rhaenyra and Daemon (and Rhaenys) and just watch him give Daemyra an intense and emotional reunion to confirm Daemon's loyalty to her. All these harrenhal scenes are just devices to make the moment more impact full and to subvert expectations��, I'm 100% certain this will be the case. And what the greens got? Mutual hatred, a nonexistent cause, Aegon who still bullies and humiliates his brother and only sees him as a weapon, Aemond who tries to get rid of his brother in the middle of the battle and is completely detached from his family, Helaena who barely exists and don't even get me started on Alicent and Criston. Therefore, if Ryan, Hess or anyone in the writing team "loves" the greens, they sure have a strange way of showing that lmao.

Anyway, I would love to hear your opinion on this.

Hello!

To be honest, at this point I have trouble telling which HotD characters are actually loved by the writers. I am really tempted to say that none of them are because no writer treats a character they love like Condal&Co treat the majority of HotD folks, even TB ones, the supposed faves. Rhaenyra (post S1E5), the protagonist - meek and boring. Rhaenys a.k.a "the voice of wisdom" - a hypocritical woman (who is also basically a mass murderer). Daemon - I don't even know what to say about him, his characterization has been all over the place.

However, IMO we need to take into account two things: 1) HotD writers apparently have received a commission to create a show with a clear as day feminist agenda to regain the audience's favor lost after Daenerys business in S8 of GoT; 2) the most important - they are fucking incompetent, and so they could ruin the characters they "love" just as effortlessly as they do with those they "hate" (sometimes they even fail with the latter - because they are kind of supposed to ruin them but, once again, are incompetent).

So, I really don't know whether Condal and the rest of HotD team are ruining Aemond on purpose - or are just trying to legit create a compelling arc for him by presenting him as a bullied kid with a fuckton of issues who one day just snapped and fully went into a psycho killer mode. Both options are possible - and actually both of them might be true because (and here goes yet another HotD problem) it really feels like the writers who work on the show have trouble communicating and coordinating their ideas. One pushes for one thing, another - for another, and as a result we have characters who act like they get a personality/brain transplant every episode (Daemon and Alicent in S1 are the prime examples of that).

As for the "Aemond is Condal's self insert" -everything is possible. To comment on that properly I would have to get into speculations about the latter's personality and mental state, and I'd rather not do this. As much as I despise him, he is still a real person; and I am neither a psychologist nor a psychiatrist (neither do I know him personally), so it's not my place to do that.

Thank you for the ask!

[lloydfrontera]

Is there any possibility that the readers of the knight of blood and iron would ship og Javier and Tyrant Alicia?

To be honest, as someone who enjoys both Knight/Queen and Doomed guy alive/Corrupted woman, their chemistry and their potential in the og novel is so delicious :P

(Also, I know that tged Javier/Alicia is such a crack ship but lol)

it is a crack ship and yet! you're not the first person to ask me about it! another nonnie had just about the same idea a while ago 🤭

i kinda talked myself into liking it and while i still find a bit farfetched in canon, fanon is a completely different beast. yes i do see the fandom being big on og javier and tyrant alicia.

this is a fandom that most certainly thrives on seeing their blorbo suffer through the Horrors™, they wouldn't be able to resist such an angsty ship.

also i'm obsessed with the dynamic you gave them. corrupted woman trying to destroy everything in her path and man doomed to live though the tragedies. forever locked in battle. unstoppable force meets immovable object. it is very compelling when you put it like that.

the issue would be getting those two to not kill each other on first sight but fandom has concocted weirder premises. they could figure it out.

personally i'm thinking of a twist of the yi city arc from mdzs, with an injured alicia being separated from her troops for some reason and javier helping her without being aware of just who he is taking care of. seeing as we never get confirmation these two even met in person in the novel, we can handwave away javier not recognizing the tyrant queen as him either never seeing a good portrait of the queen or her changing so much in the years after her descend into madness that she looks nothing like what he'd expect of her.

alicia would bristle at the idea of having to relay on a stranger, a vagrant knight at that, for help, her paranoia and distrust not allowing her to accept javier's aid easily, always being on edge waiting for him to stab her in the back. only to slowly realize that no, there's no hidden motive, javier is just,,, like that. to everyone who needs his help. she's not special, she's not important, she's not anyone of interest to him. and he's still helping her because it's the right thing to do. i think that would break through her insanity a little bit, realizing that she's not,,, someone javier would have any interest on betraying because as far as he knows he has nothing to gain from it.

the relief of finally for the first time in years being allowed to lower her guard because there's no threats around her would allow her mind to regain some of the clarity she'd lost in the midst of her feelings of betrayal and pain.

javier treating her like a person would make her be alicia again and not just the tyrant queen.

meanwhile javier is just. really glad there's been no attacks by the queen recently, cause he really doesn't want to let the injured woman he found on the side of the road all by herself again. she's clearly not well and has been hurt a lot in the past and he wants to make sure she's okay before they go separate ways.

and it's nice. to not be so alone. most of the people he helps have homes and families to go back to and he doesn't begrudge them for that but it does make it all the more lonely to constantly move from one place to another, knowing he has nowhere to go back to.

the woman isn't nice, her words are biting and full with suspicions and threats, she won't even tell him her name but when he asked if there was anywhere safe she could go to, friends or family she could turn to for help, her silence spoke for her.

it's selfish of him. but he's glad they get to have one another, if only for a little while. he knows it won't last, the queen or lupellan or another threat will rise up once again and he'll leave to protect the people that need it. but for now. it's nice.

god like i said i will talk myself into liking if i think about it for too long alkshdkhjkdsf

[perfectharmonyloveschaos]

TUA S3 Episode Titles

Basic ideas of what each episode title could entail, but FYI I suck at these since every single one I made for the last season were wrong lmao so one thing we’ve gotta take into consideration is how the titles affected the episodes in the previous seasons.

[1] Meet The Family:

Pretty self-explanatory in that it will introduce both the Umbrella Academy and the audience to the Sparrow Academy, while also vice-versa in introducing the Sparrows in their own way to the Umbrella Academy with a sense of irony using such a casual term. Also adds an ironic twist to the phrase Klaus used in S2 ‘Family barbeques are about to get real weird’ (Klaus back at it again with his underestimated clairvoyance maaaaaaammmm).

[2] World’s Biggest Ball of Twine:

I know a lot of people want a family road trip—me too lads me too—but I honestly think this’ll be referencing the timeline after all the Hargreeves’ shenanigans. I can only assume that this may be said at some point by Five while explaining why they can’t just use the briefcase again, assuming they still have it, to just go back immediately to fix things. Their actions causes too much chaos and they need time to figure things out, potentially hide out (although I’d love to have them stay at the Academy in order to make things easier and cause friction with the Sparrows) while Five tries to figure things and the others try to find a sense of stability amongst the destruction they’ve caused. They fucked up, plain and simple, and now poor Five needs time to fix it.

[3] Pocket Full Of Lightning:

I went about looking for anything this could be referring to in terms of song lyrics or reference and couldn’t find anything yet, but something that did come to mind was that of the nursey rhyme containing the words ‘pocket full of posies’. While not the same, the nursey rhyme uses a pocket full of posies, or herbs, to ward off disease and death so my first thought was that they used this to show that flowers could be seen as innocent, but a pocket full of lightning could be something that is quick and sudden and hurts someone? I’m not sure to be honest. But the symbolism of having something in your pockets comes from having something readily available, or easy to use. Meanwhile, lightning symbolizes the destruction of ignorance or marking people to remind them of what they barely survived. So many, much like the supper in Season 2, this episode may go into the actual power Reginald still holds—even if he isn’t their original father—over the Umbrella Academy and maybe the Sparrows as well?

[4]Kugelblitz:

This one is meant to be looked up and according to google means “a black hole formed from radiation as opposed to matter” and “a concentration of heat, light or radiation so intense that its energy forms an event horizon and becomes self-trapped”. So basically—something super dangerous and wild. But it does also mean “ball lightning” in German which could mean something more considering that there is another title in German and is an anti-aircraft tank made by Germany for WWII and was an operation by the Germans in 1943 against anti-Partisan in Yukoslavia. This title has so many means connected to German that I have to think may connect to Klaus or even allude to Five, due to the idea of black holes and time travel, also being German and potentially Klaus’ twin but it’s nothing concrete.

[5] Kindest Cut:

This seems to be a parody of the Julius Caesar phrase “This was the unkindest cut of all” upon his betrayal and murder at the hands of his fellow politicians, so I can only assume that this title may allude to another betrayal but one that was either seen coming or a murder that was asked. Maybe a mercy kill? I’m not sure to be honest. But I think that perhaps at this point one of the Sparrows, perhaps Sloane who due to the character profiles released seems to be the most likely to try and break away from the Sparrows, but it could also be Five joining the Sparrows to save his siblings being the kindest betrayal? Not sure.

[6] Marigold:

Due to the fact that the golden orbs of light we saw Reginald release in S1 and that Vanya both gave and took from Harlan, this episode may go more into detail of Reginald’s connections and potential experiments with the children’s powers. There are so many questions to be answered, especially about his link to the children and how his alien-ness may tie into things. Perhaps through flashbacks or experiments he does with the Sparrows and Umbrellas themselves? Due to the fact that the original Reginald seemed aware of what the children themselves were capable of power-wise with that of Klaus’ potential, having a vague awareness of time-travel in terms of how it affects people in connection to knowing Five wasn’t ready to do it yet and even how dangerous Vanya was and why he chose to lock her powers away. Reginald definitely knew more in the original timeline and I feel like now he is going to go more in-depth with the Umbrellas this season as adults rather than the rudimentary “superhero” training we saw them go through that suited the collective rather than showing individual training aside from Vanya with her glasses and Klaus’ exposure training with the mausoleum. I hope this episode will actually address the supposed “potential” Klaus had and why Reginald saw him as his “greatest disappointment” compared to Five who was MIA and Vanya who he seemingly gave up on, especially since the next episode definitely seems to be a Klaus-centric one that could finally address his power-arc started in S1 that was basically abandoned last season in favor of giving Ben more screen time.

[7] Auf Wirdersehen:

Translated from German to mean “Goodbye” in the sense of not a forever goodbye but rather a momentary one (“until we see each other again” —potential symbolism connected to the pilot “We Only See Each Other At Weddings and Funerals”?? The next episode is called “Wedding At The End of The World”??), it is ironic that this was also the name of a show from 1983 about seven people struggling through adversity and growing closer together which may also hint at the relationships within the Umbrella family/Team Zero getting better throughout the season. Anyways, this title definitely suggests to have a large connection to Klaus specifically due to his identity as being from Germany mainly due to speaking German throughout the first season, establishing that Reginald most likely bought Klaus from a German woman in 1989 like how he bought Vanya from a Russian woman the same way in the pilot. Now, I doubt that this would be a literal goodbye due to the fact that neither any of the showrunners/cast or even Robert Sheehan himself have come close to suggesting that Klaus may leave this season and due to the popularity of Klaus within the fandom, that wouldn’t be a smart move unless Sheehan expressly wanted to leave and said as much. They simply wouldn’t kill Klaus off around half-way through the season. But I doubt this sort of title would warrant being connected to anyone but Klaus. But I definitely could see this being a sort of rebirth for Klaus through an act of sacrifice and the introduction of his immortally into the main plot. I see this as hinting at Klaus sacrificing himself like Ben did in order to save his siblings but not staying dead like in S1 when he seemingly died saving Luther at the club, and coming back to life with a new resolve and completing his arc with him accepting Dave and Ben’s deaths and letting him finally find his potential that Reginald hinting at in S1. However, I think that would happen over time and rather he may die and either the others don’t know and only find out after he comes back or he dies and stays “dead” for this episode and we explore Klaus like Vanya was explored in S1 and S2 before he is revived for the next episode like how we saw him vanish with the briefcase in one episode in S1 and appear back on the bus visibly changed in the middle of the next episode.

[8] Wedding At The End of The World:

This one seems to also be very symbolic due to the fact that I doubt any couple within the show are close to be wed, but rather it being a symbolic coming-together of the Sparrow and Umbrella Academy in order to stop the coming Apocalypse (honestly, I don’t mind another apocalypse as long as it isn’t Vanya again). A “wedding” doesn’t have to be the marriage between two people, and according to Collins Dictionary can also be “the combination or blending of two separate elements” or a “joining together” which I think is the two Academies coming together. They are becoming one, or simply ‘Team Zero’.

[9] Six Bells:

This title I believe connects to that of Hotel Oblivion and the idea of a bell hop bell when someone enters a hotel and are checked in, but the fact that it is only “Six” bells makes me think of either two possibilities; one is that Five only at this point has joined the Sparrows and so is not included with the Umbrellas being forced into Hotel Oblivion, or that Klaus who I and many theorize will die two episodes prior to this will finally wake up revived only to find that his other siblings have been locked away leading to the irony of him, who was always seen as the “useless” one being forced to team up with the Sparrows against Reginald to save his siblings. As well as this, we also can point to that of a funeral in which a bell is rung 6 times potentially hinting at a death or connecting to death in terms of Klaus being presumed dead by his siblings? Death is often signaled by the ringing of a bell and something to note is also the ringing of a bell happening at both a wedding and a funeral (tying back into the pilot title?) so I think this may tie into both Klaus’ “death” and the “marriage” of Team Zero. I doubt they would go through with hyping and building the characters of the Sparrow Academy only to kill them before the finale, and we’ve seen from the S2 finale that killing the Umbrella Academy both makes no sense and would make the idea of including Hotel Oblivion in the finale useless due to the fact that they would be dead and so why would they be sent there. So I definitely think only six of the Umbrellas will be sent there and the one left behind will either be Five or Klaus.

[10] Oblivion:

The finale title is self-explanatory in tying into Hotel Oblivion, and I don’t really have much to theorize on it based solely on the fact that there is such a high probability that my previous theories could be wrong. All we know for certain is that Hotel Oblivion will definitely be making some sort of appearance this season, whether through threat of the actual team being taken there as seen by the set pictures leaked showing cars with the emblem of the Hotel. However, the word “oblivion” also has several meanings and could have a double meaning along with connecting to that of the hotel. Oblivion came mean “destruction”/”extinction” or “unaware” or “forgotten” and I think depending on what happens in terms of potential hints of other episode titles could definitely vary. If “Kugelblitz” ends up referring to a black-hole causing the new apocalypse then it could definitely connect to the destruction meaning, but if the likes of Klaus is revealed to be alive with his siblings in this episode after being assumed dead then it would definitely add to the meaning of his siblings being “unaware” or that Klaus has to save them or face being potentially “forgotten” and alone like the ghosts.

[walkwithheroes84]

The Boys: Season 2 Thoughts

I had to wait eight weeks (though I’ve been checking out the tags and reposting gif sets), but I was finally able to sit down and binge season two of The Boys. I have to be honest: I’m not sure I loved - or even liked - the directions they went with certain characters/stories. However, it was a solid season and it felt like the closing on an arc in a comic. It felt complete enough that we could end there - at least for a year or so - and still have plenty to come back to in 2022/2023.

Spoilers for Season Two Follow!

The Seven:

-I have to start with Stormfront. I have never read the comics, but I have read the Wikipedia, so I went in knowing that - despite the changes - Stormfront is a Nazi in the comics. And, she was a Nazi in the show. She (smartly) changed with the times - building social media followers, playing on the weakness of others, using an ‘us vs. them’ story for almost everything. She was savvy. I’m 100% sure she was using Homelander and that her plan was to use Ryan and all her lab!Supes to form a new Nazi party. When Maeve (a bi woman), Kimiko (a WOC), and Annie (a woman whose assault she mocked) ganged up to beat the shit out of her? Poetic Justice. Only made better by the fact that it was Ryan, her “White Savior” who basically destroyed her. (I don’t want to say kill, because I think she could be alive.) The only thing that would have made it better is if someone in that group was Jewish. (Side note: The fact that Aya Cash is Jewish, but played such a convincing Nazi - that speaks to her talent.)

-We can’t talk about Stormfront without bringing in Homelander. We know he craves love above all else. He wants to be worshipped. He feels he deserves it. In many ways he is a spoiled child. Stormfront played him like a fiddle, in my opinion. Do I think he cared for Ryan? Uh, only because Ryan is his son and appears to have his powers - Ryan is someone he could have molded to be a Homelander 2.0. But, I don’t think Homelander is capable of real - selfless - love. I just don’t. 

- I can be totally honest. . . as much as I love Antony Starr and Aya Cash - there was just way too much Homelander and Stormfront this season. I understand why their stories took up so much screen time, but I didn’t care for their characters and I actually am starting to find Homelander a little one note. He wants to be loved and will do anything to be loved. He also feels that he can do anything he wants. Again, he’s a child. I feel they will need to do something fresh with him in season three or give him less screen time to keep him from getting stale.  

-Let me briefly touch on  the Church of the Collective. I suppose, in the end, it was a season-long set up to explain how the Boys got the Nazi information on Stormfront. Though, woman is keeping her memorable and photos in her room...so, it didn’t really seem like she was trying super hard to hide her past. I thought they might be being set up to be some kind of major player in season three - they do have dirt on Supes and they work with Vought International  and the government - but,  Alastair Adana is dead and the Deep is there. . .so, unless the plan is for the Deep to take over the church...? 

-Speaking of The Deep, in my overview/review of last season, I mentioned that the show could either try to redeem him or have him go fully dark. And, the show surprised me by having him go in-between. Like, he still knows he’s a screwup and he still wants back in The Seven. He’ll do anything to get back in. However, I don’t seem him redeemed in any major way nor do I think he’s intelligent enough to be considered a dark character. Guy is just a mess. I have to be honest - I do wonder if the writers know what to do with the character. 

-A-Train may have only helped Annie and Hughie for selfish reasons, but he still helped. . . so, okay. I’ll give it a bit of a pass. As he said: Hugh saved him in season 1 and he gave them information in season 2 - they are even and it goes back to square one. They aren’t enemies, but they aren’t friends. I liked A-Train more during this season, but he really wasn’t given too much to do. 

- Maeve got more screen time! Her relationship with Elena was explored! She, as a person, was explored!  I understand that she isn’t going to suddenly become a true hero. She’s become too jaded for that. However, she will still try and do the right thing and I love that about her. 

-I really grew to love Annie this season. That is all. I still am not a huge shipper of Annie/Hugh, but they are very sweet together. 

- Lamplighter should not have been killed off so soon. I would have liked to his his guilt and his character explored more. 

-This truly was the season of The Seven with Homelander, Stormfront, Maeve, and Annie being moved to the front of the storylines. I liked it, but I REALLY missed....

The Boys:

-I’m sorry, but  Marvin T. "Mother's" Milk (MM) is a wonderful human being. He still needs more screen time and a bit more development, but I love that they used him a bit more this season. When he went home to his daughter? Please let him be with his family until the end of 3.01/middle of 3.02. Just let the man watch his shows and make his dollhouses and be happy. 

- Hugh came into his own this season, and that was wonderful. I am interested to see where his working for his working for Victoria Neuman will go. Especially as he is trying to take down Vought in a legal way, but his new boss is secretly exploding heads.

-Kimiko! My heart ached for her so much this season. She found her brother and found that he had become so brainwashed and full of hate and than she lost him. She pushed Frenchie away and became an assassin for the mob. Her truest friend, Frenchie, pulled away from her. But, in the end she helped take down Stormfront and she and Frenchie literally danced off together. Kimiko didn’t get that much screen time after 2.03, but what she did get -  Karen Fukuhara used. 

-Frenchie also got some great development this season. I’m still going to call him Frenchie, even if his name is  Serge. It was great that he realized that a part of the reason he focused in on protecting Kimiko was because he has failed to protect others. When he told her he would leave her alone? Aw, no - just back off a bit. And he did, and she taught him her language! 

-Frenchie x Kimiko are my couple on this show and they need to dive into that “It’s not sexual and it’s not quite romantic, but it’s way more than friendship/family” thing they have going on. 

-Let’s talk Butcher. He’s selfish. He is. He was willing to give up Ryan to get Becca back. But, he’s not heartless. He couldn’t separate his wife from her son. And, while I think he might have killed Ryan if Homelander hadn’t shown up - he gave Ryan to people who will try and keep him safe and shape him into a good person. Do I think he’ll go dark because of Becca’s death? Probably. If they follow the comics (which they aren’t anymore, but they may want to follow overall character stories), he’ll have to go dark.  I’m sad they killed Becca - she could have just gone with Ryan. But, it will be interesting to see if Butcher takes up the offer to work secretly for the government. 

Season Three Predictions/Hopes:

- I think the show will fast forward a bit. We’ll see The Seven as heroes in public, but all facing their own issues in private. We may see other Supe teams. 

- I think The Boys will be separated for a bit: Hughie working for Neuman, MM with his family, Frenchie and Kimiko off on their own, Butcher doing his own thing. And something will happen that will cause them all to come back together. 

[musical-chick-13]

And Theon bc I love him

WHAT A COINCIDENCE I LOVE HIM TOO (this answer is gonna be a combination of books and show)

Send me a character and I’ll tell you the following:

• Did they live up to their potential? / In what ways was their potential unachieved?

-I would say yes. The only negative I have about his general arc is his death (which, see below). But Theon from the very beginning was, though not a particularly nice person, still relatable. Feeling othered, wanting to be accepted by an immediate environment that doesn’t accept you, isolated from and ostracized by your family, and the tension that comes between serving the different types of familial relationships in your life. Theon has no idea who he is, tossed aside by his blood family for not growing up with them and being “soft,” aka sort-of moral and having emotions that aren’t selfish rage or smugness (which, yep, that second part is a mood, see: my entire childhood and how no one wanted to be around an “emotional” “soft” child). And from there, he spirals out of control in a way that, while certainly not admirable by any stretch of the imagination, is still understandable in the context of the narrative and his characterization. And from there, after going through hell and quite literally losing himself (even to the point of straight-up denying rescue), he builds himself back up gradually, to the point where he expressed extreme regret for what he’s done, helps an innocent woman escape a truly horrifying situation, acknowledges that his family is generally garbage, and (in-show b/c again books aren’t finished), helping to restore his sister to power, rescuing her after his PTSD relapses while confronting Euron, and ultimately opting to protect the Starks come hell or high water in order to genuinely atone for what he’s done. He is no longer conflicted because he wants to do the right thing, and that right thing is defending the kingdom from the White Walkers and making sure Sansa and Bran are safe. And it’s no longer about fulfilling a duty or finding a family to fill the void. Because now he has found himself. I will contend that Theon has one of the best, most nuanced, most organic redemption arcs of all time. I will forever be grateful that I got to see that piece of storytelling unfold.

Although, I would love to know what he thought of Dany. A missed opportunity, that.

• How they negatively and positively affected the story.

-Positive: His arc of identity and finding where your loyalties lie ties into the overall theme of “How do you find yourself in a world where goodness, authenticity, and honesty are often punished and increasingly rare?” And it proves that governmental politics aren’t the only defining factors in decisions: familial politics can be just as difficult and dangerous, which adds yet another rich, complicated layer to the overall story. He has a genuine, honest-to-Drowned-God redemption arc, which is...not really present anywhere else in the story (no, Jaime is not on a Redemption Quest, I will die on this hill). But I think the biggest draw of Theon’s presence is that it deconstructs the whole “Character Revenge Fantasy” idea. He does bad things. We want him to be punished. But not like that. No one deserves that. How far is too far? What does retribution really look like? Given how easily that idea can be abused and go off the rails, is retribution even something to strive for? What is the point of using extreme violence/torture/mutilation/breaking someone’s psyche when it doesn’t really accomplish anything? Isn’t atonement and genuine justice a better option? It certainly was for Theon. He could only piece himself back together and do anything meaningful once he was out of his abusive environment. All of these are imporant questions that are posed by his existence in the narrative.

-Negative: Idk if I have much to say here. My biggest problem is his death (see below), but that’s not really a negative story effect so much as...being disappointing and narratively irrelevant. I gotta say, his introduction via his sister was...really weird. I genuinely have no idea why GRRM wrote that. It never came up again or had any kind of narrative ramifications and kind of cast a strange, uncomfortable light on his relationship with Asha/Yara for the remainder of the story. I can ignore and enjoy their later relationship it if I don’t think about it too hard, though, so I guess I’ll chalk it up to GRRM having a Bad Idea.

• What my favorite arc for them is.

-All of it?? Theon’s journey is kind of...one big arc, which is why I think it works so well. He has this overarching redemption plot which spans the entire series and informs every decision he makes (for good or for bad, depending on where in the aforementioned journey he is). The redemption arc isn’t bogged down with side plots or other pieces of narrative clutter, meaning it has time to grow and, thus, be gradual and realistic. If I had to choose a specific point, it’s probably when he tries to reintegrate back into society via supporting Yara. Gaining the Iron Islands’ support for her ruling, spiriting away with Euron’s fleet, and ultimately rescuing his sister after her capture. He can’t just go back into society. He’s scared. He has really bad PTSD. But he recognizes that putting his home in good hands is something bigger than just him because it’s Yara’s home, too. I just...I really love family relationships, y’all.

• What I think of their ending.

-I’m not really sure how I feel about this one. I get that the series is GrimDark™ and that people who make the right choice and fight for good die all the time, but Theon dying just felt...wrong. To me.

And, like...I get it. It makes sense to parallel his original descent into villainy (cemented by executing those two boys and pretending they were Bran and Rickon) with him dying to protect Bran himself. It ties into the whole very common trope of completing a full redemption arc by committing a completely selfless act at great personal cost. It’s kind of like the whole Missy thing in Doctor Who (which...hoo boy, that post is coming, make no mistake), where selfishness is directly opposed by making the ultimate sacrifice with no motivation for personal gain. And the fact that the last words he ever heard were “You’re a good man?” I cannot even begin to describe how much that makes me sob. But...honestly, I’m really tired of this idea that redemption has to end in death in order to be achieved or “complete.” I think it’s much more poignant to have a redeemed character live to help build a better world. Because what’s the point of telling people to be better if the “reward” is death? No one’s going to want to reform themselves if they think that’ll be the result.

I think the thing that Bugs Me™ the most is that Theon never really got to have a moment of peace when he was alive. Sansa gained the North’s love and at least had a secure childhood. Ned and Cat were happily married for years. Arya had parents who loved her and a good relationship with Jon. Jon fell in love with Ygritte and found his Night Watch Bros, and Robb (in show verse) had some very happy moments with Talisa. Davos put great stock in what he considered fulfilling friendships with Stannis and Shireen; Brienne was treated respectfully by Renly, Catelyn, and Sansa; Missandei and Grey Worm had each other and their friendship with Dany, who herself had many personal successes in her quest for the Iron Throne and saw the death of her abusive brother. Cersei even had moments with Jaime (who himself had several notable military victories and at least some time with Myrcella, as well as being gladly and deeply in love, however dysfunctional that love was), times when she successfully fought off enemies (including her dad), and some sweet moments with Tommen, as well as a huge victory via blown-up sept at the end of season 6. Theon was treated as a second-class family member by the Starks his whole life by being “traded” to them as a condition of war resolution AS A BABY, is immediately disparaged and mistreated by his immediate family when he tries to return to them, makes terrible decisions that almost cost him his conscience completely, is brutally tortured by Ramsay, is on the run with his sister from Euron almost immediately after, and has a PTSD attack that ultimatly results in him having to launch a rescue mission. And then he fights ice zombies. And then he dies. He never really...got to be happy at all? There was never any kind of “win” for him. Not even survival. The narrative couldn’t even give him that.

TLDR: Theon’s death seemed less shock-value-y than others (like, for example, Shireen or Missandei or, heck, Melisandre even), and it isn’t the worst thing I’ve ever seen. It’s narratively-informed and it makes sense as an emotional through-line, but, ultimately, Redemption Cemented By Selfless Death is a tired trope, and I honestly thought this story (which...you know...serves as a deconstruction of common fantasy tropes/book tropes in general) was better than that.

• When I wish they had died. / If I think they should’ve died.

-So here’s where we get personal™ kids.

So, it’s no secret that I am...severely mentally ill. I’ve talked about expression/presentation of mental illness in regard to Cersei a lot on this blog, and how that (as paradoxical as it may seem) helped bring a sense of comfort and emotional resonance to me. Theon, post-Ramsay, has, I think, a very clear case of PTSD. Theon is one of the few characters I’ve seen where his mental illness isn’t the cause of the bad, violent, dangerous choices he makes. It only takes root after he has made the decision and conscious effort to better himself, and it, rather than demonizing him, serve to humanize him. His trauma didn’t define him. And although a PTSD attack led to him unintentionally losing Yara to Euron’s capture, he makes every effort to rescue her, a goal he does end up achieving. It is so rare I get to see a character who goes through these things, successfully fight them and come out with positive qualities at the end. Like...switching topics a bit here, Jaime going back to King’s Landing to (try to) escape and ultimately die with Cersei made sense to me because, as Jaime says, he is a hateful man. He never made much of an honest effort to be anything else. And he never truly wanted to be good; he just wanted to be liked. He wanted to adopt some personality that would make him feel less disconnected from the rest of the world. But Theon...genuinely feels remorse for everything he’s done. He makes a concerted effort to do everything in his power to improve the lives of people he believes are good and deserve to be safe. So, just...killing him off in a Completely Selfless Sacrifice (like...you know how a lot of mentally ill people put themselves through suffering-like OCD rituals, bottling feelings, self-harm, even suicide-in a misplaced attempt to “help” or “protect other people”) seemed antithetical to everything we saw of his arc.

Ultimately, with such a humanizing, empathetic portrayal of trauma and mental health struggles, seeing Theon be killed off just...pissed me off. I am so tired of seeing mentally ill characters die. I really want to believe that I can live through and thrive in spite of the things that afflict me, and I get example after example of characters not being allowed to do that. It feels awful, quite frankly. And it makes hope that much harder. 

I also just feel like...there was nothing the story gained from his death? I get the thematic parallels as mentioned earlier, but it didn’t really move the story forward in any significant way. It didn’t motivate other characters to do anything, it had no political ramifications, it didn’t serve to contribute to any kind of happy ending or commentary on society, it just...was sad. Again, I thought this story was better than that.

[swamplatibule]

Well since nobody asked me about Aurum Argentum I guess I just have to ramble huh (no offense to you guys you’re awesome)

No cuts this time we scroll like men

So this is like a fantasy world, there’s magic and the occasional dragon and also swords, those are cool.

Let’s start with Aurum, shall we?

He’s the king of the Isles (It’s fully called the Leranian Isles, but everyone just refers to it as “the Isles” because I said so). And also? He’s a bitch. Fuck this guy. He sucks. The way Aurum rules the Isles tends to fuck over the people who actually need help in favor of keeping the wealthy happy. Those who support him are pretty much blind to that, but anyone who would dare even say a word against him are quickly taken care of by the guard. So clearly he’s Not A Great Guy.

And on the other end, we have Argentum. He’s Aurum’s younger brother (though only by a year and a half, and that gap seems to be wayyyy smaller when everyone lives for about 1,000 years) and also on what could be called magical house arrest for the rest of his life! For trying to murder his brother! How that works is that there’s this house, and there’s an enchanted dome around it. Anyone other than Argentum can go in and out of it as they please - which will be important later - but for him it’s just this invisible, indestructible wall.

Almost nobody goes near his house. Everyone on the Isles has been told that he’s insane, a complete madman, and would kill them in seconds if they were to step foot through the barrier. The frequent explosion noises coming from that direction don’t really deter that belief (He’s just a very talented alchemist, and also does a lot of experiments because there isn’t really a whole lot else to do). To be honest, Argentum would be very lonely in his lil house if it weren’t for the three different pled who actually talk to him.

Also, you’ll notice - Aurum and Argentum. Gold and Silver. Argentum’s always been second best, and I feel like the names highlight something about the two’s childhood that I can’t really name.

Anyway. Back to the three people.

First we have Adelio. He’s Aurum’s kid, but basically lives with his cool uncle because his dad sucks. Adelio walks with a pretty heavy limp that he’s had since he was born, and he usually walks with a cane. Aurum, however, would rather him use an illusion spell or something and walk without the cane so he didn’t appear weak to the public. And he knows full fucking well that it would hurt Adelio to walk like that, but he cares more about appearance. That’s the first of a long list of abuse.

Adelio went to check on Argentum’s house one day, just out of curiosity, and realized two things. One, his uncle is definitely not crazy, and is actually pretty cool and wayyy less of an asshole than his dad. Two, the man is really fucking bad at taking care of himself. He’ll go for a full week without eating anything because he has quote unquote “more important things to do”. So Adelio just decided that someone’s gotta remind Argentum to take care of himself (And also he just wanted to spend more time with his cool uncle) and started hanging around his house more.

Argentum didn‘t fully appreciate it at first, but Adelio grew on him. They care for each other, and the kid basically lives with him now. It’s... 🥺 I love them.

Aight forget that now it’s time for DUN DUN DUNNNNN Taffeta Vince! She’s... *sigh* where the fuck do I start? Taffeta is a thief-assassin combo, with a questionable moral compass and possibly more questionable number of knives on her at all times. She’s quite possibly the most wanted thief in the Isles, but most people are terrified of her and so they leave her alone. Taff is extremely sassy and chaotic and flirty and she will either kiss you or tear out your throat in seconds. Or both, in that order. You have been warned.

She met Argentum (who I will be calling “Gen” from now on because that’s his actual nickname anyway) wayyyyy before her reputation was as good as it is now. She was a beginner thief, got caught and had to run from a few guards, and went straight towards Gen’s house, not knowing who it belonged to. The guards abandoned the chase, figuring that she had basically just rung the underworld‘s doorbell and they didn’t feel like following. She broke in through a window and chilled in that room for maybe half an hour, until Gen came upstairs and found this heavily injured woman just vibing in his attic without any context.

So that’s how they met.

Shiv is Taffeta’s brother, though they were separated for a very long time and only met again and figured out they were siblings about 50 years ago. He’s a hired mercenary, and also a complete himbo sweetheart who I would murder everyone on this planet for. Very skilled with a bow. He met Gen and Lio through Taffeta, so here’s how he met her-

Long story short, he got hired to kill her. And then heard what her name was and decided to look into it. The two were twins, separated at birth, and Shiv never actually knew what his real name was. He was named by the Random Mercenary Dude who found him (that’s why he has an angsty-ass name) and took care of him. He did, however, know Taffeta’s name, because it was in a letter that was left with him. For some reason, Shiv’s name wasn’t in the letter. Just roll with it.

Taffeta knew she had a brother once, but she didn’t know his name. So when this guy, very bounty-hunter-looking, approaches her and asks for her by name, her first instinct is to attack. And so they’re just fighting and they figure out who the other is and I haven’t worked out the whole thing but it’s FINE i’ll figure it out.

Anyway so there’s Gen with his three friends, and OH YEAH! THIS MOTHERFUCKER!

Let’s talk about Cray Girani for a second.

He’s the captain of Aurum’s guard (Which is called the Gilded Guard, by the way) and also Taffeta’s nemesis. The times there two have clashed? Immeasurable. They’ve both given each other a number of scars and bruises, though Taffeta always gets away. It’s gotten to the point where he’s almost directly hunting her, because of all the shit she’s caused him.

He’s very cold, angery boi, calculating and sharp and doesn’t waste time on being nice. Cray is very commanding and a good leader, definitely, but he’s... there’s some shit going on with him. The man has issues. Maybe he’ll get a redemption arc, but who knows.

And there you go! Just two hours of typing nonstop! Wonderful! Anyway my asks are still open if you wanna know anything about these six~

[adrunkgiraffe]

I have been through this journey before, so I get to be actually frustrated about it.

IUnder a read more because im not subjecting y’all to this. Also: I should caveat I haven’t watched the episode cause I’m waiting till its on Netflix but I have watched way too many other episodes of Supernatural so I have a right to say these things. 

TL;DR: I mean you all knew Cas’ confession was fucking bullshit and that SPN is...hm. But I’d like to actually express my genuine frustration, for a moment? I’m going to say things you already know, but I have too much knowledge of this show and too much stupid meta in my brain about a series I haven’t genuinely enjoyed for at least 5 years which makes this not just blandly bad but disgustingly insulting to me not even as a gay just as like. A writer?

Or, even shorter: Cas’ confession is just a Charlie Bradbury Speedrun 

So. As some of you may know if, for some reason, you followed me back in 2013 (and till...okay fine 2015), I used to be, uh. Really into SPN. Really, I was into Destiel. Like, as in, I slogged through seasons 1-3 to get to Cas and am also really vulnerable to the Sunk Cost Fallacy and projecting onto characters. (I was in 8th grade in 2013, okay? Get off my back)

Also, because I monopolised use of the TV, I kind of...also got my parents into it? In a “this is silly but fun” kind of way.

Over time, critiques of the show from viewers, learning what queerbaiting is at all, fatigue with how long it was going, and also fatigue from how characters I enjoyed, like Rufus, or Crowley, or Ellen, or Jo, or Kevin, or Charlie, or Cas a few times, kept getting killed off. As time went on, it didn’t escape my notice that, aside from Cas, all of these characters fit one or more of the following criteria:

They were a woman

They were a person of color

Were Queer or Queer-coded in some way (listen Crowley was bad rep but at least Mark Sheppard actually kissed a man on screen)

I also just...generally got tired of the way the show treats women and sidelines people of color. 

The final straw really came with Charlie’s death. It got us all excited, because she hadn’t been back in a bit! And it was interesting to see how reuniting with her dark side from Oz had changed her! (yeah remember the fucking Wizard of Oz storyline? The writers sure don’t!) And maybe she’d get developed! Because at this point, Charlie and the fairly good writing of her character was a major upside for the series! Charlie was cool, fun, gay, and morally complex in a way...none of the female characters had been before her, in large part because by definition, her relationship with the boys would always be platonic.

And then. Offscreen. She is violently murdered. For no damn good reason. Like, literally, her being brought back in this episode after fucking off to europe after having returned from fucking off to Oz seems to have filled two purposes in total. 

The codex is solved (but Sam doesn’t know till next episode)

Charlie is dead, which means Dean can be angry, specifically at Sam, and kill more people because he’s the big bad this season. 

That’s it. Two things. Twooooo whole reasons to do this episode. Whoopee. 

But you didn’t come here for this, you came here for me to rip this reveal to shreds. Don’t worry, I’ll get there. What I want in your minds is that Supernatural already had a really good anddynamic queer character. And then they killed her off to make Dean angry. No, it doesn’t matter that they brought her back in season 13 or whatever. They made that decision. 

After the rage this incited, I started realizing general flaws in the writing (I had probably already noticed them but now I was angry enough to complain.) Every conflict is born of Sam and Dean not communicating/taking on burdens and Dean being angry at Cas for reasons that ranged from good to ridiculous, but in a way that always went way too fucking long, (which...yes, does make the “you do it for love” gifs fucking hilarious). It didn’t help that seasons 11 and 12 were next, which meant Demon Dean and GOD’S FUCKING SISTER, plus the decision to resurrect Mary, which, while I do like her later scenes, as a season 12 finale it...well I’ll be honest it kinda sucked. It undercut the majority of the Winchester’s’ arcs and their slow and painful journey out of their father’s toxic vengeance quest and knowing Mary as a person when it’s too late to know her was one of the last semi-compelling grounders of the narrative. 

By this point it was a hate-watch for my parents and I.

So then, I’m at college, and I’m not watching anymore cause I don’t have the motivation or access to Hulu to continue, and SPN is bad. I watch the Scooby Doo crossover when it comes out and my friend and I make fun of it, and we also continue making jokes about Dean and Cas and queerbaiting because we’re queer, but I don’t keep up. My Dad does though, so when I return, I watch some with the fam and lads. It’s even more tiring without context. 

So flash forward to Quarantine, my sister, the only one with taste, has left, and we have run out of netflix to watch. So we return to the well, and seasons 13-14 are. I’m gonna say it. Bad. Really fucking bad. The cycle of bad communication continues, season 14 has like seven antagonists and the way it’s structured makes it so I literally cannot remember the timeline of a season I watched 3 months ago. Oh also, they have a queer coded cannibal snake monster for...well I guess Jack’s snake bud was cool but like. Huh wow it’s almost like these writers don’t handle queers well. 

Our one saving grace is Cas, but he’s barely in any episodes, though I did note that his deal with the empty, being happy completely for one moment killing him, that struck me as “this has potential and I know they’re gonna half-ass it somehow.” Also Jack and Mary, but then oh...plot….The most compelling it gets is literally the finale.

But then, 3 days later, the first half of season 15 comes out on Netflix and it’s...actually kind of acceptable. The new character they give Jack’s actor is fun to watch him play until they make him evil. Exploring just how toxic Chuck can be gave the series direction again. The alternate future was genuinely scarring, and Eileen’s return was genuinely moving. Most of all, though, Cas got the opportunity to tell Dean no, that Dean was being unfair to him, had always been unfair to him, and he was sick of it. I had no illusions, I knew Destiel was never gonna happen, and Cas was gonna die, but giving him that bit of agency, letting Cas grow and be self-sufficient, and be angry with Dean not for existential reasons but interpersonal ones, was such a good sign for me, and Dean grew too! Dean fucking apologized for being horrible and Jensen Ackles had a...yknow what, ill give it to him, he had a good acting moment. 

But the thing. About. The “I love you.” 

Let’s take it in parts.

What was good: I’m gonna admit it, lads, “Wanting what I can’t have” - AS A LINE - is good, and, structurally, there is something to the Empty Deal that could have been an interesting aspect of Cas’ arc when it comes to self actualization and being on even footing with Dean. The problem is, this is Supernatural, and that arc only comes up when I bring it up because character study, even in bad media, is fun for me. 

What was bad:

I mean. Like. All of it? All of it. 

Okay. Fine. I’ll be specific. 

Cas dies immediately when - possibly because- he is revealed as having feelings for Dean. They kill him as they queer him, that’s a Bury Your Gays Speedrun right there.

Like the least they could have done is have him mention it to someone in another scene or something to establish some romantic feelings on the part of canon a full episode beforehand. That would have been the literal bare minimum. 

When Cas starts praising Dean, for some reason both the writing and Misha’s acting take a bit of a downswing (from...where it already was). Cas, whose most powerful moment this season was acknowledging that Dean’s anger at him is cruel and unfair, flatly praises him for doing everything out of love and it reads with a misunderstanding of both Dean as a character and Cas’ understanding of Dean. Dean is angry! VERY ANGRY! And it’s a problem he needs to work on and rarely does. 

Talking out of my ass, a better speech would have been about how Dean is angry because of his love for Sam, family, and the people around him, how, for better or for worse, he can’t help but be angry on behalf of others, and that his journey of moving that tendency towards the better is what made Cas care so much. Guys this alteration to the metaphor took 2 minutes to write tops I am an Art History student and these are TV WRITERS WITH YEARS OF EXPERIENCE CAN YOU TELL THEYRE NOT TRYING YET? 

A better speech would, of course, have come out of a better series. My point: this part was half-assed. Poorly written. Wow it’s almost like the series is also poorly written. 

 Also, Misha is the better actor of the three(***OF THE THREE), but his choices in that scene are jarringly out of character which. Makes the bad writing worse. It doesn’t help that they cut to the same fucking shot of Dean 3 times. The chemistry in that scene makes it feel so fucking hackneyed. Because it is. 

This combines lead me to the point: (wait there was a point to this?)

As someone who does not have the luxury of watching this capsized ship fall into boiling seas from a distance, it is less insulting to me that they did this so last minute and then sent Cas to the Void than it is how they did it. They had ingredients for something that could have been compelling enough to me as a former fan of the show to think that they had put effort into it, that they had decided months, perhaps even years ago to do this, and had crafted a storyline around it. That this was an intentional decision they cared about. It wasn’t. It was barely even pandering, because it’s almost insultingly blatant. 

SPN kinda proved to me that it didn’t care about queers when Charlie was killed off. It proved it to me again when Cas, not only died in confessing his love for Dean but did it in the weakest result of what could have been a surprisingly strong story.

[slo-liveblog]

Witch’s Heart: Bonus Stage Final Thoughts

Hello hello! Honestly I can’t believe I finished Bonus Stage after all this time... took me quite a few months, oof. Many thanks to the handful of you that stuck around during all that, and to the few new people who popped in too! Hope you’ve all been taking care of yourselves, and don’t mind the long post.

CHARACTERS

Claire: After finishing the first game, I didn’t know it was possible to love Claire even more. I was absolutely wrong. The way she took charge at the end was incredibly powerful and I’m so fucking proud of her, even if it’s sad as hell. I really really like how the game both criticizes and respects her unconditional empathy, I think there’s definitely room for both conversations and they’re both incredibly fascinating. I do think she suffers from some of the most writing pitfalls out of everyone, though. Like I said while playing, there’s really no reason given why she wouldn’t confide in Leon, or at least acknowledge that he’s likely the person there she can trust most. In addition, I found it really bizarre that Claire just... never tried to talk to Reynaldo or Sirius after learning about their pasts. Like, at all. I understand why the emphasis on Ashe was important, but it was jarring and kind of unsatisfying to see Claire act so uncharacteristically by not even really acknowledging them after their stories were over. It’s more of a story problem than a character problem though, I think, and I understand why it had to be that way especially considering the conclusions will touch on a lot of the missing pieces- I just wish there could’ve been more of a justification for it. The way her personality was explored through her interactions with everyone, and how other characters were depicted based on their reactions to her ideals, was incredible and I would die for her.

Ashe: Oh Ashe. Fuck Ashe. I do appreciate the depth given to his character, he’s definitely far more complex than I expected and kudos on that. I don’t really empathize with him as much as I do the other four mains, but I do think his writing is incredible and his relationships with Leon and Claire continue to be some of the most interesting to see play out, if not THE most interesting. Star shaped carrots man. Fucked up. Super excited to see how his dynamics with everyone continue, and he’s probably the character I’m the most interested to see make decisions going into these conclusions. His arc feels the most... unfinished, he’s never really reached any sort of closure at any point of the story so far and especially not bonus stage so it’ll be cool to see where he ends up.

Reynaldo: MY BOY. I’M SO FUCKING PROUD OF HIM... going into bonus stage my expectations for him were pretty much rock bottom from the moment I realized he didn’t have a single line in the opening scene outside of saying his name. Like, I kinda made my peace with the possibility that the writer just wasn’t that interested in developing him, and would rather spend time on the rest of the mains. But holy SHIT did he pull through in the second half of the game. The subtle but noticeable build to him deciding to side with Claire was so, so well done. I still wish there was a little more solidity to his characterization- I do have to reach way further to understand him than I do any of the other mains- but I think what we DID get for him was wonderful and god, I appreciate him so much. Definitely the character that improved the most for me from the first game to bonus stage. I can’t wait for his conclusion, here’s to hoping we do in fact get it this year. The way his similarities with Claire were set up makes me SO excited to see how their relationship develops when it’s actually the focus, and how he’ll be fleshed out more in general so we can finally have a clearer picture. Because to be honest, as much as I like the development he was given in bonus stage... there’s still a LOT of gaps to fill in with him.

Sirius: continues to be the perfect human being 1000000/10

Leon: Sweet baby boy whose expressions always make me cry. Leon is still a character I’m sort of on the fence on. Like, he’s very well written and easy to sympathize with. But I realized I’m always far more interested in how OTHER characters react to HIM than the other way around, though. He’s not really a character I personally would find interesting in general, he’s a little simple for my tastes, but that doesn’t mean I’m not 100% invested in seeing him end up happy... eventually. Something tells me it might be a while.

Charlotte: I feel like Charlotte definitely got the short end of the stick in bonus stage, moreso than any other character. Her only memorable scenes that I can think of off the top of my head were when she told Leon he could kill everyone but Claire, when she thought about how Ashe probably can’t be saved, and when she reacted to Claire after the completion of Ashe’s backstory. None of those scenes even come close to hitting the same level of intrigue or emotion as the sparse Charlotte scenes had in the first game, even if that last one does have some interesting bits in it. I said at the end of the first game that we’d only really scratched the surface and I was interested to see more from her and, well, my opinion hasn’t changed. I don’t think there was much I would’ve wanted out of her here anyway unlike the boys, so I’m not especially disappointed. Just hoping we get more excellent Charlotte moments somewhere down the line.

Zizel: I would’ve liked Zizel’s deal to be... a bit more built upon, to be honest? I could just have missed things along the way, but her triumphant moment is a little harder to get in to when we know almost nothing about her or the way she thinks beyond stuff reveled about her in the same scene. I could definitely see that her siding with Claire was being foreshadowed, but I think there needed to be juuust a bit more characterization given to her for that particular development to have the impact it seemed to be going for. Still, it was a good moment, and I think it definitely made up for a lot of the sore lack of Zizel in both games. Can’t wait to see what she does from here.

Lime: Goddddd. Okay look, I still love Lime probably more than I reasonably should. She’s wonderful and I love her design and her personality and her backstory and her motivations but... yea she’s a very very bad person. Bonus stage did really make it clear that she’s not just lashing out occasionally, and this isn’t anywhere near harmless teasing. She’s full on the primary villain of the game, in some ways, and has been doing pretty horrific stuff knowing (and intending for) exactly what she’s causing. Which we sort of knew in the first game anyway, but now it’s very explicit. And like, damn dude... I do wanna see what’s gonna happen with her. It’s tough, wanting to see a character get their comeuppance and stop hurting others while simultaneously just wanting good things for them. this really is how y’all ashe stans feel huh

Side Characters: I gotta say, I really loved a lot of the smaller characters introduced in bonus stage and the way their presence added to the development of the mains. Dorothy and Nicholas, the old dude and the thief woman (I didn’t actually realize until just now but nobody in Wilbert’s backstory had a name, huh. It may not have been intentional but considering that he might literally just not remember that far back I actually really like that decision.), and Ashe’s family and friends were really smartly integrated into the story’s themes and I appreciated that a lot. also lucy and coco rights

Overall This one gets a fucking 10/10 from me chief, some small issues certainly but as close to perfect as they get, in terms of the kinds of stories I like.

STORY

I debated breaking this up into chunks, like I did in the first game with the scenarios, but I feel like the writing quality is more or less consistent throughout the game so it would be a little redundant. I definitely need more time to think on bonus stage before I have a really solid opinion, but at the moment I kind of think the story was even better than the first game? My only major issue was the aforementioned use of Claire’s character, where she’d only really react to the boy’s backstories as she finished hearing them, with the exception of Ashe’s. And her not confiding in Leon. But other than that, it was a constant rollercoaster, with pretty much every scene being jam packed with 3000 layers of character development and relationship building with lore sprinkled in. The elements that were amazing in the first game, like the fun dynamics between the characters and the subtle and unobtrusive exposition, are nothing but improved upon. I do wish we got to play more with the idea of the demon girls living alongside the mains, I think that aspect was severely downplayed almost immediately after it was introduced, but I’m crossing my fingers those potential dynamics get some time in the conclusions. Once again, my biggest gripes with the story are just that I feel like there’s so much more to explore and I can’t wait to see how the rest plays out. still giving this bitch a 10/10 on this one it was everything I wanted and more

GAMEPLAY

Combat: This was kind of... not even really utilized in bonus stage, which I didn’t actually realize until just now. There weren’t any real “boss battles” in the way there were in the first game, the closest thing to it would I guess be Dorothy’s showdown. Considering I didn’t even notice, I think that was a perfectly fine decision. The climax worked well without any actual fights. The battle mechanics continued to be functional and everything, just... not much of a thing.

Demon Requests: It could just be because I played a lot of bonus stage at a very different pace than I did the first game but the demon requests didn’t feel as frequent or intrusive this time around. I was always really excited to get to the request portion anyway cause of the photo booth and all the cool new areas, I had a super fun time using the deep sea bubble and I think overall the stuff that was added to the fantasy spaces was really neat. also lucy and coco rights

Minigames: Very hit or miss. It felt like the minigames were either so quick and easy they were hardly memorable or so tedious they made me wanna die. Take that with a grain of salt, though, I’m really bad at video games. There were very few of them anyway so it doesn’t matter much, but I guess it would’ve been nice if the minigames were less... Like that. To be fair, they were all still pretty charming or cool conceptually. Can’t really complain about getting to fucking shoot people as Dorothy even if it was hell to play.

Overall The demon requests were actually really enjoyable this time around, but the minigames and combat were kind of downplayed. Not to big of a deal, though, it’s not as if they were a focal point of the game to begin with. 7/10

ART & SOUND

Character Design: Not much to say that I didn’t already say after the first game, but the special bonus stage outfits are absolute bangers and I wish they got shown more often. And maybe I would’ve liked the guys to have a little more variety to their suits. But that’s nitpicking, Claire and the demon girl’s dresses are absolutely gorgeous.

Sprites and BGs: The overall art quality definitely got shaky in places but I gotta say, they pulled out ALL the stops for the sprites in this one. Ashe just fully has an entirely new set of them, and everybody else gets tons of new expressions too, all of which are super super good at conveying incredibly specific emotions. All I’m saying is, this would be a totally different game for me without the sprites, and I was always ecstatic to see new ones and figure out what was going on in the character’s head based on them.

OST and Sound Effects: Again, pretty much the same deal as the first game. I think there was a bit of a higher frequency for songs that made me immediately want to search for them so I could listen to them later though, thank god for that. So many good tracks.

Overall Continued to impress me, and then some. Only a slight improvement from the first game, in my opinion, but even that is pretty impressive since I didn’t have many issues with the first game to begin with. 8/10

So uh, in other words, I really really loved this game. Cannot WAIT to start best boy’s conclusion!!!

[timeagainreviews]

Thoughts leading up to series 12

Happy holidays, friends! I know, I know. It's been a while. I would love to sit here and say I have been away doing important things, but really I've been hibernating. The results of that awful election, mixed with the holidays had left me feeling a bit lethargic as of late. That being said, I had a nice Christmas. Being an immigrant, I don't see my family on holidays. My boyfriend and I spent the day piecing together a Babylon 5 jigsaw puzzle. I made my pal Gerry a celery for his 5th Doctor cosplay and he gifted me a replica of the Li H'sen Chang poster from "The Talons of Weng-Chiang." It was a very Doctor Who Christmas! Sadly, there was no Doctor Who Christmas episode!

Alas, it hardly matters, as new Doctor Who is mere days away! As I did last year, you can expect weekly coverage for each new episode. I'm looking forward to getting back into the groove of consistent writing. Usually, the fandom is more abuzz when the show is actually airing, so please remember to check in with this blog, as I will be watching along with the rest of you!

If you recall, prior to series eleven, I made a list talking about some of my hopes and expectations for the new TARDIS team and the new production team. Seeing as series twelve is just days away from premiering, I thought I might do it again. Let's get to it, shall we?

The Thirteenth Doctor

Seeing Jodie Whittaker back in the TARDIS for another round of adventures has me massively excited. One of the downsides to Christopher Eccleston's run is that we never really got to see him develop the role of the Ninth Doctor. I'm hoping we'll get to see more aspects of her character. Seeing as I don't expect her to regenerate any time soon, there's still much of her personality left to explore. We've met the friendly adorkable Doctor, now let's see her bend a little.

One of my primary complaints about Jodie Whittaker's portrayal as the Doctor was that I didn't think she got scary. While I love her bravery, running headlong into danger, I would like to see a shade or two of her dark side. Up to this point, she's been too friendly to be scary. I know I'm not the only person with this complaint, so it will be interesting to see what a year of hiatus and refocusing will do for her. Honestly, I hope they don't change her too much, as she's pretty great. I'd just like to see them flesh her out a bit.

Other than her personality, I'm also hoping to see some costume variations. The trailer for the new season does give us Jodie in a bow tie, which I am all for. I've also seen a picture where her trousers are black. I'm hoping they continue to tweak her costume here and there, as watching the Doctor's costume evolve over time has always been one of my favourite things about the show.

Chris Chibnall's return

Was there anyone from series eleven that drew more ire than Chris Chibnall? Sure you got the people who hated Jodie solely because she was a woman, but on the level of legitimate concerns, Chibnall was up there. I myself threw a bit of mud in his direction, and I don't feel as though it was without good cause. The general management of the show seemed a bit aimless, despite many promising elements.

Something about the way series eleven was received gave the BBC pause to reevaluate the show's trajectory, and I have a distinct feeling that Chibnall was at the heart of a lot of it. From his lack of a season-long story arc, to the villains being a bit shit, to an overly dour tone, his first year as showrunner left something to be desired. The fact that we didn't even get a single webisode during this gap year shows me that they're still not 100% sure what to do with Doctor Who.

However, having said this, Chibnall's core TARDIS team is one of the most exciting aspects of series twelve. I can't wait to see more from this great line up of characters. And if the exciting trailer for this new series is anything to go off, we're in for quite a ride. Chibnall's most recent endeavour as showrunner was last year's "Resolution," a much-needed bit of classic Who villainy in the form of a Dalek. I was left feeling optimistic that Chibnall was capable of delivering solid storytelling. And that's the operative word- optimistic. As long as he doesn't get needlessly gritty, I'm cautiously optimistic that this year-long hiatus has yielded positive results.

The Companions

Like many other viewers, my chief complaint about the companions has to be Yaz. She really got shafted on the level of character development last year. When you have someone as talented as Mandip Gill, it's a shame to waste her. I know the fandom was quite vocal about this fact, so I fully expect to see the show give her more time in the spotlight. I don't know anyone who disliked her character, which is a good sign that the fandom wants more of her.

Ryan and Graham were two characters that I felt got a great bit of character development. The moment when Ryan finally calls Graham "granddad," was a truly exciting moment for two characters we had grown to love. The logical next step, at least in my mind, is to test the boundaries of this new relationship. I'd really love to see Graham meet a new love interest. Introducing someone into Graham's life would make Ryan have to broaden his definition of family even further. It might also be a catalyst for his own personal growth.

I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't also see one or more of the companions depart from the TARDIS. My gut says it would be Graham, but I wouldn't be surprised if all three of them left at the end of the series. As much as I love the current companions, I would love to see what energy a new companion or two might do for Jodie's Doctor.

The Villains

Prior to series eleven, I was feeling very optimistic for new Doctor Who. That is until I read an article where Chris Chibnall announced there would be no returning villains. Other than the announcement that Chibnall would be showrunner, nothing had made me more concerned for the show's future than "no returning villains." It's not that returning villains are a must for Doctor Who. It's actually a rather brave thing to attempt. The reason it's brave is that if you're going to leave out classic baddies, you've got to justify your decision by crafting new classics. And I'm sorry, but some Slipknot dude with teeth in his face is not classic.

From what I've seen of the trailer and promotional stills, we're looking at at least three returning creatures from the Whoniverse. We've all seen the picture of Jodie staring down the Judoon. If I am completely honest, those have left me with the least amount of hype, as they weren't ever even full-on villains. I've always found the Judoon slightly hokey, so I could take or leave them. The plus side is that there is still plenty of room to develop them as a species. Are there non-Shadow Proclamation Judoon? Are there evil factions? I'm curious if nothing else.

Another familiar face is the Cybermen. While I feel like both the RTD and Moffat eras used the Cybermen ad nauseam, they're still a classic baddie with a solid track record. It appears they'll have something to do with the finale and that "timeless child," storyline I'm uninterested in, so fine, sure, ok. The real alien species I'm excited for is the Racnoss! Much like the Judoon, the Racnoss are also underdeveloped. I wasn't a big fan of them the first time around, which is why I'm excited for more. I'm curious to see what depth can be found in these campy arachnids. If nothing else, the makeup is fun.

The Guest Actors

Series eleven treated us to a surprisingly tender performance from Lee Mack in "Kerblam!" We got a decent turn by Mark Addy, working with not a lot to go off as the underwritten Paltraki. But without a doubt, the best performance came in the form of Alan Cumming's King James. Not only was he as hilarious as he was loathsome, but he also elevated what could have been a more straightforward performance, by finding that sweet spot of camp and contemptible.

That being said, with actors like Stephen Fry, Lenny Henry, and classic Doctor Who alum Robert Glenister joining the show, I'm hopeful we'll get at least one memorable performance out of the lot. I've not followed many of the ins and outs of the storylines, so I have no idea who anyone is playing other than Goran Višnjić as Nikola Tesla. That being said, the addition of Tesla to the series seems an obvious fit. He was an eccentric man who was a bit weird about his pet bird. I expect his story to be one of the stranger ones we'll enjoy this year, or at least, it had better be.

The BBC's involvement

I'm hoping that in this last year, the BBC weren't just reevaluating Chris Chibnall's direction for the show, but their own involvement as well. They got rid of Bake Off and Formula One, Top Gear's audience followed Clarkson over to Amazon. All that's left are partisan news coverage, QI, Countryfile, and Doctor Who. Oh and I guess "His Dark Materials," but I don't know anyone who's talking about that show. As I said earlier, it's been a year of nothing from Doctor Who as a series. Other than comics and a less than perfect VR game, we've gotten nothing from the Thirteenth Doctor and the fam. Not even a novel or webisode to tide us over. How hard would it have been, while filming series twelve, to shoot a quick little skit on the TARDIS set? The Moffat era did this a lot, and it was always nice to see a little bit of Doctor Who while waiting for more episodes.

As the last vestige of the BBC's once-great television empire, you would think they might start to give a shit about Doctor Who. I know it's a crazy concept, but perhaps shelving one of your best shows for a year wasn't the best option. It would be nice to see them put more money and effort into the show. It would be a welcome sight to see them also put more money into the budget for things like merchandise or extended universe media. We've got three books for the current Doctor and that was last year. David Tennant had over thirty novels, while Matt Smith's Doctor appeared in over 15, and Capaldi only appeared in nine. Do you remember the last time we got a Character Options figure that wasn't a repaint of another figure? The most recent one we got was Harry Sullivan, and I'm pretty sure the only new element to that figure was his head. I've seen previews of the new companion figurines, and they're great, but I want more.

Perhaps I sound a bit spoiled. Many shows never expand beyond their allotted episodes, but this is Doctor Who, a show with a broader reach than your telly. It seemed last year that they were finally giving the show its dues. There were billboards of Jodie's face everywhere. The hype was palpable. Now, it's just four days from series twelve, and I've not even seen a bus ad for the new show. A woman I see out on dog walks was surprised when I told her the show was returning on the first of January. She had no idea. This is the Doctor Who audience that they're failing, not people like me who count the days like an advent calendar. The BBC needs to decide once in for all if they're going to give Doctor Who the respect it deserves, or sell it someone who will.

And that's it for now, friends. I hope you're all just as excited as I am to be back in the blue box. If all goes as planned, I should have a new review up the day after each episode. I'm optimistic that I'll have some great things to say!

[serenagaywaterford]

Hey there, I don’t know if you care so much about Rita but I’m curious how Serena’s and Rita’s encounter would be if they’d meet each other in Canada. With Serena being under arrest, if Rita would visit her, I wonder how it all would go down. I get the feeling Rita understands Serena and has compassion for her (at least regarding Nicole), they did some bonding it seemed at Serena’s mom’s house (but then again I never know what these character are really thinking lol), [1/3]

so now with the roles kinda reversed I wonder if she would try to help Serena in any way or just be happy that she got punished. What are your thoughts on this, what relation do you think Serena and Rita really have? And having a Martha in Canada they will probably ask her a lot of questions and especially about the Waterfords so I wonder if she will throw Serena under the bus as well or defend her in some sort of way. [2/3]

I mean Serena must be one of the main reasons why they out of everybody sent Rita to Canada right? But at the same time I can’t really see them giving Serena a good redemption arc in the show... uhhh Idk I’m not good at analyzing lol so I’d love to know what your thoughts are ’cause I really enjoy your theories and ideas for the show otherwise. And just in general what do you think they’re gonna do with Serena in the next season? xx [3/3] 

---

Honestly...

Oof. I think I would have had an answer had it not been for the fucked up way they handled Rita in the finale. Like, all through S1-S2 we saw Rita and Serena with a tense sort of wavering respect at times, and clearly a master/slave aspect at others. Like Serena was always nicer to Rita than June, but then Rita never got under her skin like June did, almost immediately. And they had their little moments in... S2 (I think?) when they had a drink together.

I mean, I will be totally honest, I never could read Rita properly I don’t think. Like, I can’t tell where she stands on the whole Gilead thing. Obvs she doesn’t like being a slave, but she also doesn’t seem that concerned by it either. I can’t tell when she’s talking to Serena about her son if she’s in favour of him dying for Gilead or not. I mean, either way, it’s not like she could tell Serena she hates Gilead so maybe I”m thinking about this for no reason. Maybe I’m not even remembering the exchange correctly.

Like, as much as Stockholm Syndrome isn’t real, if anybody has it, I think it would be Rita. Like the way she behaves towards Fred especially. It’s above and beyond just basic “I need to be obedient and nice for my own survival”. It’s different than June’s obvious ploys and emotional manipulations to survive (with Serena). That bit in 2x08 where’s she’s like to Fred, “I made your favourite” and... did that weird meek thing. I dunno. I can’t explain why it disturbed me so much. She was like a little kid with him.

But I also never got the impression she particularly cared about Serena. Not in any compassionate way at any rate. She did what she had to and put up with Serena out of necessity. She certainly didn’t perform the same affectionate shit June did.

Until... S3. When suddenly Rita is like some doting, lovey best pal to Serena who Serena takes everywhere with her. (Which and I must digress rn, MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE. Why would Serena, who is going to her mother’s house full of servants need another one? Meanwhile Fred who is literally incapable of doing any chores himself doesn’t get his Martha? Why wouldn’t Serena just use her mother’s Marthas, and Rita would stay to serve Fred since he’s a man and doesn’t do housework at all? The only thing I can think of is Serena specifically demanded Rita not be stuck with Fred and Rita is ...thankful? But hey, I’m just literally pulling this nonsense from my ass.) 

And Rita is so kind to Serena all through S3, comforting her, playing along, exchanging knowing glances when men say bad things, and even defending Serena...ish. Then suddenly she’s cackling like “haha Serena is in prison stupid bitch!” when around June, right after she’s like “She was nice when she said goodbye.”

And can we discuss that goodbye scene cos THAT WAS FUCKED UP, BRAH. how could ANYBODY see a Wife and Martha saying good bye like THAT and not be like, “Hmm, this seems rather odd they’d be so intimate.” Oh, what’s a little tender forehead rest between a slave and her mistress these days anyway? You do that shit with good friends and lovers. Not the housekeeper. (Also anybody with half a brain would see that and say, “That is no normal goodbye. That’s a forever sort of goodbye.”)

I genuinely have no clue how they’ll write Rita in S4. This show is so out to lunch and inconsistent they could have her go either way. I think, cos it’s a soap opera, it’ll be Rita turning on Serena, if anything. I don’t think Rita will help her in any way. Like you said, they’re not gonna give Serena any sort of redemption at all, and they’re gonna force this dumbass “trial” and “war crimes” bullshit down the audience’s throats. So, an easy way to drag that out is have Rita give “evidence” against Serena. And prolly some crazy ass horrible shit they’ve just made up to make her even more unlikeable. (So, hence, why I won’t watch. If I don’t see it, it’s not canon to me!)

I think they’re going to make the worst possible decision and have Serena on trial for S4. It’ll be a bunch of stupid, unresearched, soap opera-esque, TV law crapolla every 3 episodes (cos we must focus on The June Staring Angrily Show more). I don’t think they’re gonna send her back to Gilead; or ever reunite her with June. Ever. I think that ship has sailed, far away. (Not just cos of how they distant they are physically, but they’re estranged personally... cos of how savagely they tore them apart emotionally/thematically.) I think she’s gonna die in S4 tbh. In Canada, or as soon as she gets extradited back to Gilead after a big, boring ass, unrealistic trial at the end of the season. I say this simply cos of everything Miller has said so far and he has some stupid boner for a legal procedural despite knowing precisely -17,203 things about the law and we know he vehemently hates Serena and doesn’t want to give her anything even resembling a good character arc.

So, yeah, I think Rita will turn completely on Serena. And Serena will just be dragged through the mud all season until they kill her off. And all the fans will cheer cos the bad woman is dead.

And that is my super-depressing take on what S4 is gonna be like. No faith in this show. None.

[violet-bookmark]

The temple at Landfall, by Jane Fletcher

"Lynn is an imprinter, one chosen by the Goddess to receive her greatest gift, that of creating new life. So why does she feel like a prisoner in the Temple?

When Lynn learns that she is to be relocated to the temple at Landfall, the arduous journey seems more like a gift--her last chance to see something of the outside world. She does not anticipate the dangers and temptations she will encounter along the way, nor does she expect Lieutenant Kim Ramon, an officer in the squadron of Rangers assigned to protect her. Despite all prohibitions forbidding it, attraction grows between the two women.

Against them stand the powerful religious Sisterhood and their holy warriors--the Temple Guards. In a world ruled by the Church, what chance is there that Lynn can escape?"

Actually this world is female-only and everybody is a lesbian, so it's not as if it is ruled by the Catholic church or something, as the blurb seems to imply. And I don't think that catholicism could be so closely replicated in a society where only one sex exists, but I digress.

The romance between the protagonists was fine, I liked it even when I think they fell for each other rather quickly. I believe it from Lynn's perspective because she had been secluded in a temple since she was like 10, only surrounded by elderly women or priestess that were covered up to their eyes and rarely spoke to her, but from Kim's side... No. Maybe seeing more of the journey to Landfall from her perspective would have helped matters. Some of Lynn's quotes were very relatable and good (I believe I have posted some here) and her pain at thinking that she would not ever be able to be with Kim was almost palpable. The romantic and steamy scenes were sexy and well-written, and they felt organic given the circumstances.

I loved how the priestesess constantly jeopardised each other's ascent to power, it was very realistic and a nice detail to the story. It is one of the strongest parts of the worldbuilding to be honest, since it demonstrated that powerful religious women were a force to be reckoned with in-world (at least until a certain point in the story that made me want to slam my head against a table).

The writing was similar to that of Shadow of the knife, but lacked a depth and maturity that SOTK had and that made it such a punch in the face memorable story to me.

Lynn was a good protagonist, very defined by her nostalgic memories of life outside the temple. Which was fine, but she didn't seem to care a lot about anything except nature. I found it very unbelievable that she wasn't more weirded out by the journey given how she was leading a life of reclusion and suddenly she was on a trip with guards and people all around her. She focused a lot on how good it felt to be out of the temple, but what about the people? Isn't being surrounded by people weird after you spent your life in the temple? She never cared about anyone on there so it's pretty safe to say she never had any friends, which brings me to my next point: for someone who had lived such a poor social life she was very stable, not socially starved to the point of being easily manipulable, full of panic towards social interactions or other things that social isolation tends to cause. She mentions wanting to have sex desperately, but that's about it. I'm not buying that. She was nice and I liked how she took responsibility for her actions, but I wish we knew more about her. After reading the book, I still don't feel like I know her that much.

Kim was alright, but her past was boring. Very typical. Seriously, authors, stop killing families. There are other ways to give lifelong trauma to the protagonists. I hated how her character lived through so much and managed to stay so static during all the story. Like hell all this happens to somebody and they stay completely unmoved throughout the whole thing. I don't believe the whole "This is because Kim is very mature, also her past is already solved bc she killed the bandits that killed her fam in the past" that the book tries to sell me. Why would you play up this conflict if it was already solved? I don't care that this is a romance book, it is just lazy to just have all the character development outside of the story. And then of course Kim has solved everything but the part about her trauma that makes her afraid to have a girlfriend, because you know, we needed something to spicy up their relationship. I won't go into detail but they had better ways of having a conflict between the two that didn't rely on getting past traumas that were already solved. One of them being that the foundation of everything they believed in was a lie. It would have been so much more interesting to have that as the main conflict of their relationship!

The action scenes were very well-written, but they lacked something that would have made them truly epic. And that would have been to have a real sense of danger; the problem with the story is that we know the Rangers are amazing and could kick everyone's ass in seconds because they are just that tough, so we don't worry about them dying at all, really. That made the action scenes really lackluster sometimes, almost as if they were only stage decoration for the romance. Which is fine, but the book was so focused on them and they were such an important part of the story that it didn't feel right. It is a shame, because some scenes were really well-written and had a lot of potential to be intense and memorable, and to define the characters or give them some good development. All of the elements necessary were there but then it simply didn't happen. It was beyond frustrating; the characters learned a lot of new stuff and faced loads of dangerous situations but they didn't change at all, which I found unrealistic taking into account they just found out the foundation of everything they believed in was a lie. They all just go like "Oh well that makes sense, I don't believe in this thing anymore despite still having some sensibilities that come from this thing", there might be people who act like this, no doubt, but twelve or more different women? No way.

The plot had a lot of things going on that never reached their full potential, and I think it would have benefited from being kept simpler, especially when this was the author's first book. I just went to check goodreads in order to paste the blurb in the book to the begging of my review, and somebody said "I felt like we should have spent more time in Petersmine watching the characters fall in love, and definitely more time in the temple at Landfall! It's what the book is named after" and I agree. As I said, this book wanted to tackle too many things. If the author really felt like she had to tackle all those topics at once she should have prioritized and spent more time in the central conflicts, while playing the others out in a more subtle manner.

This was her first book so I feel like I should be more forgiving, but I still have to vent about it. I will always be eternally grateful to Jane Fletcher for giving us the Celaeno Series, because it is amazing. How many fantasy/sci-fi series where all the characters are exclusively female and lesbian do we have? What she did was incredible and groundbreaking, but the first book was obviously her first one. I hear there are great things coming in the next one, and I have noticed that the author has gotten way better at writing/worldbuilding since this book was published, so I believe in her.

The explanation the author gave about why the sisters "hide" the true history to the public was not good nor believable. "Nobody reads those books anymore, so they don't know what really happened" really? What the hell? Are you telling me that not even one woman from the temple has taken the time to read one of the books from their library? This doesn't make the Temple look sympathetic, it makes them look beyond stupid. Humans are curious by nature, like hell nobody has even skim-read one of their books. This is something I disliked and that got me tired from this book: every woman that had any ties to religion (temple guards, sisters, etc.) was mortally stupid and ended up either dead or in a bad place. This lack of nuance bothered me: I dislike religion as much as the next person, but this was just too sloppy. Religious people are not stupid; some are stupid, yes, and some do/say stupid things because of religion or because they are plain bigots, but come on, the majority of them don't expect their god/goddess to do things for them that are within their control (like packing their suitcases). Also, does the author think that religious people can't conspire to hide shady things? Lol.

And I don't believe that this world has only one religion. Somebody could interpret the texts of the Elder-Ones way differently and come up with another religion. The author only made one because she wanted it to parallel christianity (the religion she wanted to criticize) and fair enough, but it makes for poor lore. Even christianity has several branches that interpret the bible differently or practice their faith in a different way, and I just don't believe that 1) nobody bothered to read the Elder-Ones texts ever and 2) nobody had a different interpretation and started a different faith, or at least a civil war.

Another thing that disappointed me was how incompetent the guards were. I liked it in the first bit, because the guards that escorted Lynn were from a provincial city and only used to face people, not mountain beasts. That was pretty nice and realistic, but in the second arc there was no excuse for the seasoned temple guards in Landfall to be as incompetent as they were. How the hell has the Temple survived for that long and gained so much power when everybody within its walls is either mortally stupid or terrible at her job?

In the other books both the Rangers and the Militia have their fair share of competent and incompetent women in them, but when it comes to the Temple everyone is just useless, stupid or evil. I'm not having it.

If you have read the book, you will remember that scene with a nice, truly devoted, grandma-like sister that the author wrote to prove that "there are also nice people within the church", which is basically the cliché that pull all books that poorly criticize religion. To any writer reading this: stop using this cliché, I beg you. Do a nuanced criticism of religion instead.

I did like how the sisters reacted to Lynn's and Kim's relationship, that was very well done. Especially the part where they tried so hard to distort Kim's feelings and character to make her look like a bad person on Lynn's eyes. I also loved the little details about Gina's village, the culture that was starting to form around it and the militia/rangers/temple guards dynamic and rivalries, they were very believable and good at rounding up the worldbuilding.

I can't believe what the author pulled at the end of the book. Really, more than 70 pages in the PDF version from Peter McKay's diary, a character that had minimal involvement in the story. I was very uninterested, even if his diary was kind of interesting. Couldn't she have put parts of his diary in little chunks at the begging of every chapter? It would have made the info dump much more bearable. I might comment on it in another post because there is a lot of lore/things I would like to discuss and I still haven't finished it yet.

I recommend this book if you like stories like Romeo and Juliet but set in a lesbian sci-fi universe, and where the characters fight against society.

[emzamozeby]

(contains spoilers) GOT finale

Can we just talk about Game of Thrones for a second? (Because, let’s be honest – who isn’t? – sorry to all the non-watchers who really couldn’t care less) There’s been so much disappointment surrounding the last season, and I don’t want to say rightly so – but rightly so? I didn’t hate this season, but I also didn’t have any overwhelming feelings towards it at all. I would have preferred to hate what happened with a burning fury, or to be so overwhelmed with joy that I would be forever satisfied, but instead I didn’t really feel anything.

I actually felt more towards the last episode, in particular, after. Thinking about the first few seasons for these characters, what had happened to them and where they ended up – but I did not feel that during the episode, it was more of a reflective afterthought. Like, ‘huh, that’s over.’

Like I said, I did not hate how it ended, it just felt almost...too real? It ended logically? Logical is a very forgiving word for the ending, but the idea that all these people suddenly agreed that the wisest (and most moral?) amongst them should be King, (which yeah does make sense) didn’t seem to work in the world of Thrones. Technically the ending was completely correct, that’s how it should end up; goodies win, baddies don’t. But that’s where my issue is! 1. It’s a show with dragons, we ain’t got time for logical and “reasonable” endings. And - 2. The whole point of thrones was that there were no goodies or baddies, we saw everything from the characters’ perspectives - all the characters -  you were never really meant to believe a character was wholly good or bad – just human. The finale definitely wanted its audience to believe the “goodies defeated the evil”

There were so many seeds planted in the show, not just in this season, but previous seasons, that were left to die. One that springs to mind is Dany claiming she can’t get pregnant, and scenes and scenes of discussions about it, about how Jon wants a family, and that fear that she can’t give him one. Arguably it could be seen as how Dany’s rise for power made her forget her wishes for a family, (or if she ever did really want one) or more tragically, just when it finally crossed her mind again, the hope of love and power, is when her love literally stabs her in the heart.

I know the writers probably wanted us to feel most sympathetic towards Jon – but Dany is the tragic hero of all this. Her death had been predicted by majority of viewers, and we all knew it needed to happen – but it still fucking hurt. Cause she’s a great character, a great flawed character, (who despite everything still believed her and Jon could work, because love is always what fuelled her) and who deserved a better ending – AND THAT’S WHY HER DEATH WAS A GREAT MOMENT! 

This is what a lot of the season was missing, tragic endings that were necessary, and not just ‘cause they had nowhere else to go. A lot of the deaths this season felt a little too “perfect,” yes they were sad/tragic, but they all died how they probably would have wanted to go out? E.g. Lyanna taking down an undead giant, Jorah protecting his queen, The Hound finally getting his revenge, Jamie dying with the woman he loved etc.

With Dany though, it was the worse way she could have possibly died – and that’s why it worked. I hated how she died, but that scene was the one moment where I actually felt something, the one time the writing lended itself to some emotion – reminding the audience of how far she had come, this little girl just wanting to rule the world, because that’s all she had ever known. A woman completely ruled by her emotions to the very end – and that’s what did it - her love killed her. Not just literally in the form of Jon Snow, but her love for Missandei, her love for her lost family, her love for change – she was forever blinded and it was her undoing. Just when she’s about to get everything she’s been working towards – she dies.

To the people that said all the seasons of Dany doing good was for nothing, and that she suddenly snapped into becoming the Mad Queen, I do disagree with; this was building for a long time. It was incredibly well put by Tyrion about wherever she goes, she kills bad men, and that people cheered her on. As just as it may have seemed at the time, (I was all for the burning of the khals, thinking how badass she was), they were tyrannical ways of ruling. She “liberated” people by brutally murdering others – all she had ever known – and had always been successful with. We were just blinded by her “goodness.” Yeah she had good intentions, so we kinda forgave how she got there. 

She didn’t become the Mad Queen suddenly; I don’t think she ever became the “Mad” Queen. Dany had her own perception of what was right and wrong, she always knew what choices she was making, she always knew the weight of them, and she always had a clear purpose, as wrong as it may be to others, it was never because she suddenly snapped - she was always going to destroy King’s Landing. But she often, if not always, lay the blame of the destruction she caused at the feet of the other rulers, whether it was the slavers or Cersei – she never actually took full responsibility – because she thought was right. (Others may justly argue that that does make her mad, but I never viewed her as insane, just blinded by her perception of the world).

I think Jon should have died. (As well as Dany, not instead of). I genuinely do think I would have been more satisfied with the ending if he had. It made little sense how the Unsullied, and especially the Dothraki, were happy to keep him as a prisoner FOR WEEKS, for KILLING the QUEEN they all followed and fought for. Surely they would have executed both Tyrion and Jon, without a ruler telling them what to do, especially Tyrion as that was what Dany had ordered. Yeah Greyworm is tactical, so maybe he realised killing them without consulting the houses was a bad move – but also, why would he consult the houses? (Did he send ravens out? Cause Tyrion and Jon sure didn’t!) Greyworm didn’t respect the Western Lords or lands, he was only following Dany, who was now dead?! So actually, why would he care to consult them?

(Maybe Bran “saw” what happened and was like, I’ll be sure to invite all the people that will definitely say ‘aye’ when I’m crowned).

If Jon had died, been executed – whatever, I personally think it would have made Tyrion’s choice to support Bran make more sense, seeing as he’s been raving about how Jon should be the rightful king, basically suggesting he do the deed of killing Dany! Yeah, maybe he had time to reflect, but you think he’d mention it?

I think there should have been more of a threat, more tension! Maybe they planned to execute Jon, but the North, (yeah the whole north!) and other Lords, come riding up being like ‘oi, stop that!’ and the Unsullied and Dothraki are ready to fight the North etc. And maybe Jon’s death is what warrants peace, maybe Jon’s death is how Sansa negotiates the freedom of the North, to stop the Unsullied coming to kill them. It’s terrible for them to lose family, to lose the old King in the North, but if it means peace and liberation etc – he accepts his execution for treason – because at the end of the day, it was treason – welcomes it even, hating he had to kill the woman he truly loved. And maybe the whole reason he came back was so he could die to “save” the world from Dany, and to ensure peace after it. I don’t know, it’s a bit farfetched, and yes, there are loads of issues with this idea, but we needed something! Not just, off you pop back to the wall – bye. Maybe cut the hand he killed Dany with off – another one-handed monarch-slayer. Just something!

Speaking of Jon, addressing people’s views that his whole heritage arc was wasted, and what was the point of it? The point was that it was the undoing of Dany. She would never have felt betrayed by Jon, for his choice to tell his sisters the truth, she would never have felt completely lost and alone because of it, she would never have doubted the people around her, believing they would always love him more. (Of course, Jon always did have love of the people, but the point was, he became a HUGE threat to Dany because he suddenly had the only thing she had over Westeros – that she was the rightful heir – and just like that, she wasn’t – and she knew they would pick him over her). If Jon’s heritage hadn’t been revealed, there is a possibility (small, I know), that Dany wouldn’t have acted as she had, she wouldn’t have felt as helpless? So she may not have burned down King’s Landing with Jon by her side, with complete trust and love in each other. So yeah, there could have been more done with this plot arc of Jon being a Targaryen, (wasted opportunity for Drogon not to burn him and for him to remain unscathed – just saying), but it was never pointless.

(Though I do believe Varys was completely wasted! Where did all those scrolls that he sent out go? His death seemed to be only for a petty “told you so” moment, rather than propelling the plot forward?)

There were plenty of missed opportunities throughout the season and in the finale, and unfortunately it didn’t leave the audience wishing it wouldn’t end, but merely wondering when it would. It was a neatly wrapped up finale, with a feeling of content left in Westeros. Bran the Broken, (and unknowingly wise) is King, Tyrion is his Hand, the small council are full of the fun characters that the audience have always loved, (oh hi, Bronn, by the way, nice to see you), Brienne gives Jamie a just ending, Pod’s a knight, (his first duty is to wheel his king around), Greyworm heads to Naath, as he planned with Missandei, Arya gets to travel as she’s always wanted, Sansa is Queen in the North after fighting for its freedom for so long, and Jon finally pets Ghost.

Too many happily ever afters – even if they were terrible and difficult to get to, with tragedies along the way, it suddenly felt too easy, even though as an audience we know how far all the characters have come, and how much they have fought – it still felt a little too perfect, with the characters all ultimately getting what they wanted. 

It would have been great if the series ended with Jon walking into the forest, with the distant sound of three horn blasts – giving the audience a little more intrigue and tension to end the series. (Yeah, I know, that doesn’t make sense, the whitewalkers are dead – but would have been a great moment).

The season has been flawed, but there have been some beautiful moments, some great acting, particularly from Emilia Clarke and Peter Dinklage, (the heart-breaking scene of Tyrion finding Jamie and Cersei this episode broke me), amazing cinematography, and the overall production value has been ridiculously high and mind-blowing. It unfortunately wasn’t the final season everyone wanted, but that didn’t make it bad. We weren’t shocked by the ending, as maybe the writers hoped, but merely surprised and at times confused, with a feeling of lacklustre. I personally was still very much invested to the end; I was never bored during the episodes. But ultimately, I was not as connected to the characters as I had been in previous seasons, which is where this season’s greatest failing lied.

Game of Thrones has always been about the characters, and when the audience stop feeling a true connection to them, that is where, and why, it lost its impact.

[dannydevitosheight]

Steve Rogers Character Arc

I just saw Endgame 4/25 but I’ll queue this post for a later date so I’m not putting out huge spoilers so soon. And this post is not to say I hated Endgame. I really really enjoyed it. Experiencing all those incredible bad ass moments with a theater full of people who were cheering and clapping and as excited as I was...that's something special that's going to stick with me forever. And I'm grateful for it.

This post is about Steve Rogers in Endgame. And to a lesser extent, Bucky Barnes since, let's be honest, he had almost no role in that movie at all.

I just. Really really need to talk about this.

In part, so I can come to terms with this but also because it really hurts so much seeing so many people thinking Steve's ending was perfect and in character.

And before anything let me make this very clear:

I'm a HUGE Steve Rogers Stan and I want his happiness

I also wanted his character arc end to make some sense

I am also a HUGE Bucky Stan and yes,

I am A   H U G E Stucky Stan and I’m really genuinely trying to be unbiased.

Because, I knew Stucky was never going to be canon, but I’m still deeply deeply disappointed in how Steve’s character arc came to and end.

And it’s NOT just because he didn’t end up with Bucky. Although leaving Bucky like he did is a big part of it. It's not because of what I always wanted them to be. It’s so much more than that.

Watching Endgame was, hard, for so many reasons. There were so many wonderful moments like HOLY SHIT STEVE PICKING UP THE HAMMER. FUCKING INCREDIBLE. And some really fucking awful moments like Clint and Nat fighting over who is going to commit suicide and the softness in Nat’s voice before she let go. And of course...Tony. 💔

But Steve’s arc destroyed me. I’ve been a Steve Rogers stan since forever. Everything his character represents, comics or film, has made a huge impact on me. Always been on Team Cap in every version of Civil War. I’ve been in love with MCU Steve Rogers and his character arc. Until Endgame.

I’m not saying I don’t think he deserved to live a happy life with Peggy,

but...why did he need that?

The First Avenger: Steve rescued the 107th, to get Bucky back. 

Steve wanted to destroy Hydra, for what they stood for, but also because of what they did to Bucky. 

Steve, liked Peggy. Obviously. But what really was their relationship? A powerful attractive woman who kissed him one time? I mean, Steve buddy I get the initial boner but how much substance did their relationship really have in comparison to Steve's relationship to Bucky?

I don't even mean romantically. I mean if I had to choose between my best friend since childhood and a hot guy I've known for a few months...I would pick my best friend? Every time? Wouldn't you? And wouldn't that be a perfectly understandable choice?

But, moving on, in the end of TFA we obviously know Steve sacrifices himself for the greater good.

Avengers: Steve just, did what needed to be done.

He didn’t really have specific motivation at this time aside from his own strong morality and wanting to do the right thing.

The Winter Soldier: Steve has a hard time knowing what he’s fighting for...until he found out Bucky was alive.

After that, everything  was about getting Bucky to remember, and making Hydra pay for what they’d done. To Steve. To Bucky. Once his mission was complete, Steve dropped his shield for Bucky. He literally was going to let Bucky kill him, because he was that goddamn dedicated to sticking with Bucky until the end of the line. The ship doesn’t matter. This is just canon. Steve was willing to die. Just for Bucky this time.

This wasn't for the greater good. It wasn't to end Hydra this time. He already did that. He was literally willing to die...for Bucky, and Bucky only.

Also, for emphasis:

"Even when I had nothing I had Bucky."

"It's kind of hard to find someone with shared life experience."

(Not 20 minutes later who does Steve meet? Bucky, with pretty damn similar shared life experience)

"Then finish it. 'Cause I'm with ya to the end of the line."

Also, Steve has the hots for Sharon. Peggy's great niece. But he doesn't even know that. So like he just likes a woman that isn't Peggy. So. That's a thing.

Age of Ultron: Steve specifically states he doesn’t want a domestic life. After he has that weird stress vision about dancing with Peggy.

I don’t. UNDERSTAND. WHY. That was pART OF HIS CHARACTER ARC WHEN HE WAS JUST. GOING TO HAVE THAT ANYWAYS BUT OKAY.

Civil War: Steve literally did everything in this movie For Bucky.

"He remembered you, you know. Your pal. Your buddy. Your Bucky."

"He said 'Bucky' and it was like I was 16-year-old again in Brooklyn."

"Why did you pull me from the river?"

"I don't know."

"Yes, you do."

"I'm sorry, Tony. He's my friend."

And for the second time!!!!, Steve abandoned his shield for Bucky. I don’t know what else to say. He did it all for Bucky. I’m. Do you still think it makes sense for Steve to go back to Peggy? Shall I press further?

Oh right, remember how he buried Peggy in that movie, found out Sharon was her great niece and made out with her? Like. Okay. We all hated that but they were trying to say SOMETHING about Steve's love life. And it sure as hell wasn't that he was gonna leave everything for Peggy but alright.

Infinity War: Bucky was shown to be dusted first to show the tragedy and significance of this loss through Steve’s eyes. The Russos stated this. Steve sits in Bucky’s ashes. “Oh god.” 

Endgame: Steve literally doesn’t even talk about Bucky. Ever. He says his name once to shock his past self.

When everyone comes back, Steve and Bucky don’t even get to have a reunion. Tony reunites with Peter, and Doctor Strange. Rocket reunites with Groot. Okoye shows up with T’Challa and Shuri. Later on, Wanda and Clint have a moment, a call back to Age of Ultron. Why didn’t Steve reunite with Bucky? Or at least with Sam?! The whole movie was about those lost five years ago and Steve like doesn't even give a shit about both of his best friends coming back from the dead. In fact, the entire movie focused on Steve’s loss over Peggy, who died in Civil War. And yet he talks about being unable to move on from the loss of the snap? Are you serious? They don’t even allow or show ANY grieving over Sam or Bucky. We’ve already grieved over Peggy. He already moved on and dated Sharon. So why the fuck is SHE Steve’s focus and motivation again? Why doesn't he talk about Bucky or Sam AT ALL? Tony mentions "I lost the kid" Steve doesn't even mention watching Bucky die a second time. Like okay would have loved to see how he moved on from that and straight back into Peggy, somehow. But alright.

This literally came out of NO WHERE and SERVES NO PURPOSE other than to reduce Peggy's character to be a boner motivator for Steve and to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that this entire time, Steve Rogers always has been and always will be a Straight Man.

In a story telling sense, it makes ZERO sense!! Steve’s character arc went from him being a morally strong self sacrificing fool to a deeply depressed man who didn’t want to be with anyone that didn’t have “shared life experience.” He found that. He found Bucky. The nature of the relationship doesn’t matter, it’s incredibly strong. That's been painfully obvious since TWS.

EVEN IF they were meant to be something like brothers, Steve should have stayed with Bucky. It seemed like the entire arc of both their characters was leading to them both getting rest together. Steve sacrificed everything in Civil War to save Bucky, so Bucky could start recovering and so that they could just, be a family together. So they could stop fighting and live quietly together. Chris Evans has talked so much about his character in conjunction with Bucky. How Bucky is Steve’s family. And Sebastian Stan has even stated the one thing that keeps Bucky from committing suicide is Steve. And Steve just. Leaves him. Leaves all of his family, who should arguably mean more to him than one girl he kissed one time in his past.

Is it a nicely wrapped up ending? Yes, I guess. But honestly, seriously, why was it NECESSARY? THERE were a millions ways Steve could still have a happy peaceful ending that didn't have to involve him leaving all of these people for one woman.

I feel cheated. This cut deep. I’m not going to lie. No interaction with Steve and Bucky expect a hug, repeated lines from TFA, and a pained, “I’m really going to miss you man,” from Bucky. We don't even get to see Bucky talk to Steve as an old man. That fucking hurts. We at LEAST deserved that.

Because he knew Steve was going to go back and marry Peggy. And that Steve was going to give up the mantle of Captain America. And I believe because Bucky told Sam to talk to Steve, Steve had already shared his intentions with Bucky before he went back in time. Which is nice but means nothing having it all happen off screen. I’m sure Steve wanted Bucky to be Captain America but he insisted Sam should take up the mantle. Probably because Bucky doesn't want to fucking fight anymore and was still recovering when he was asked to fight in Infinity War. Of course Steve wouldn't put this burden on him but why would he leave him? Steve was Bucky's closest friend, essentially his main support. Someone who could help him remember his old life and someone who could somewhat understand his trauma. No one else can be that person for Bucky. No one. Not even Sam. Sam wasn't there for Bucky's entire life. Steve was. And he just fucking left.

It's like. They gave Steve this arc across several films. One that broke down his faith in society and systems and pushed him closer to Bucky. And it's like. The Russo's (mainly) created this, really beautiful relationship between two men, two friends...but when it got too close to being possibly homosexual they had to drive a wedge between the two, one so wide there's no chance for any subtext to be there anymore, and no chance for us to assume Steve could be anything other than ramrod straight for Peggy and Peggy Only except Sharon That One or Two Times I Guess.

Steve Stans, wouldn't you say this ending is at least a little tiny bit unfair?! Have we all been watching the same movies? Going on the same journey with Steve Rogers? Regardless of your ships, you can't possibly deny the strength of Steve's bond with Bucky. How does it make sense for him to leave Bucky like this? How does it make sense for Steve to never mention him even once in Endgame?? WHY DOES IT MAKE SENSE FOR STEVE TO SUDDENLY REKINDLE HIS FEELINGS FOR PEGGY WHEN HE WAS SHOWN TO HAVE MOVED ON?!??

I literally. Don't. Understand. At all. How any of y'all. Can think. This makes sense?!

The Russo's Did Steve and Bucky Fucking Dirty in the End and Y'all Know it's True.

They queerbaited us. Okay. They did. They think having a gay extra makes up for it. Well it fucking doesn't. Because you know what else? I have one last thing. One last beef. The thing that really ripped my heart to shreds:

Remember, back in Winter Soldier, when Steve flirted with Sharon and she says "Oh and I think you left your stereo on?" And Steve is like oh thank you. And it's Fury playing a record on a loop. Remember the song? It was the only actual song on TWS sound track besides Trouble Man. It's called It's Been a Long, Long Time, and it's about lovers reuniting after WWII. That song plays just as Steve unknowingly meets Bucky for the first time since WWII. There is nothing to indicate Peggy in this scene. Fury plays the record. Fury gets shot. Steve pursues the shooter (Bucky).

And just before he does that, if you listen closely, with headphones, the song fades in and out at specific moments. These are the specific lyrics the sound designers chose to have audible enough to hear: "Kiss me once...long, long time...haven't felt like this my dear since...you'll never know how many dreams I dreamed about you...just how empty...without you."

The sound designers, editors, directors, make choices such as these to add depth to the film. These are the lyrics they chose from a song about lovers meeting after WWII during a scene were Steve (unknowingly) meets Bucky again for the first time since WWII.

And then they. Had the audacity. To end Endgame. With Steve dancing to that song. With Peggy. When they know what they fucking did in TWS. The sound design was very intentional. The scene they did that for was intentional. I can't possibly think of any other reason or way that scene and song would tie back to Peggy other than what that song is written about. But they KNOW that applies to both Steve and Peggy and Steve and Bucky.

The Russo's have been queerbaiting the fandom. And the more popular Stucky became, the more they tried to take it away from us. And when we pointed out how insanely strong and well developed Steve and Bucky's relationship was, they made sure Steve would never ever be considered bi again. They made sure to prove to us Steve's love for Bucky wasn't stronger than a sexual/romantic love for a woman. And in doing so they ruined Steve's character arc. They just did.

And before I get people upset with me, accusing me of hating Steve or wanting Steve to be unhappy...

If it was switched.

If Peggy and Steve were friends since childhood, if Peggy was kidnapped, experimented on, if Peggy was the Winter Soldier, if Peggy killed Tony's parents, if Peggy broke out of 70 years of brainwashing by Steve saying all of one phrase to her, if Steve gave anything and everything to save Peggy's life, to give her peace and just be with her again, if Steve resigned himself to letting Peggy murder him, if Steve abandoned his shield twice for Peggy, if you had experience the pain of Steve watching Peggy die not once, but twice right in front of him,

What would you call their love?

And what would you think if, after all that, Steve just decided to leave Peggy behind to spend time with Bucky? Wouldn't it hurt?

[adorkablegaybies]

The Language of Gems

A Steven Universe Theory By ME! TL;DR at the bottom

Have you ever wondered what language the gems are actually speaking? Did you just take for granted that Steven Universe is a children's cartoon so 'of course everyone can understand each other!'? Well I have a theory for you, one that I believe makes decent sense within the Steven Universe world.

I propose to you that Gems do not actually 'speak' as their native language (Native- as in the language one learns naturally from birth before any others). Instead I theorize that Gems as a race instead use a form of Short-Range Radio Waves or some form of short-range telepathy to speak with each other. Now before you start nay-saying hear me out, I actually have some canon content to work with as evidence.

So as we know, Gems are not organic beings. They do not need to eat, sleep, or breathe, and can withstand extreme temperatures depending on their Gem. So then, why would a race that does not need to breathe have any reason to form lungs (which requires either shape shifting or regeneration to change their form) in order to develop a language? Oh, no doubt they were quick to pick up on the languages of other intelligent species as they conquered the galaxy if only to make things easier for themselves in the long run, but they would have little to no need to do so before that point (This does not presume that Gems are a created Race who over threw their creators but even then their language would be vastly different).

So then with that in mind let me bring to your attention some canon details.

1. The first thing that brought this thought to my attention was during the episode "Bubbled" when Eyeball Ruby and Steven are floating through space. 

Despite there being no atmosphere (which Science says you need to produce sounds such as talking) both Steven and Eyeball are able to talk and hear each other with Eyeball remaining outside of the bubble Steven has produced. Assuming that Steven's bubble is capable of producing the amount of oxygen he needs to survive inside of it, this would not provide nearly enough outside of it for Eyeball to create actual sound at volume within the void. So then how can Steven hear her? My first thought was Radio waves which are known to travel unimpeded through the void of space, and which can cause some crystals to vibrate at certain frequencies. (Feel free to fact check this part as I'm unsure whether all crystals are capable of vibrating when exposed to various sound frequencies but know that some can). The second thought was a form of 'telepathy' utilized by gems who create physical forms out of light.

2. The second instance that brought this to mind was in the "Human Zoo" arc, in which very much modern human Greg was kidnapped by Blue Diamond. 

The first thing that got me was that both Blue Pearl and Blue Diamond were able to communicate with Greg without difficulty. Both being able to understand and be understood by Him after 5,000 years without setting foot on the earth. (I'm assuming this is the case, though if she had come to earth to grieve at the palanquin I can also assume that she was likely undisturbed during those times as what sane human would approach a giant blue woman instead of running away?)

The second thing was at the Human Zoo itself. There are several instances here that made me begin thinking about this theory in depth. The first being Holly Blue Agate and her responses to Steven, along with the 2 Amethyst guards who take him to be processed.

Holly Blue hears Steven speaking and comments "OH, their incessant barking. What is it saying?!... Oh, there it goes again with its hilarious noises." as if she either cannot understand what he is saying, or is hardcore choosing to ignore what he is saying in the same way we might ignore someone we find annoying.

The Amethysts also remark that 'Heh, these newer humans are so spunky.' in response to Steven yelling at them to let him go. It is unclear whether they actually understand the words he is using or simply his body language as he is squirming around and shouting.

Now between these instances and the start of their escape, Greg and Steven encounter the Zoomans. Humans who are descended from the ones taken more than 5,000 years ago by the Diamonds. English did not exist 1,000 years ago, and there is no way that the Zoomans and Greg should be able to understand each other with such ease when it is highly likely that Greg only speaks a few phrases of any other language beyond that. So how then could they possibly be able to communicate without more than a few small problems so instantly? 

I bring up the earrings they are all wearing, and that both Steven and Greg were equipped with upon entering the Human habitat.

These little suckers are Gem Tech, and more importantly in my mind, likely the product of some overzealous era 1 Peridot who was told to find a solution to the humans fighting with each other. Because let's be honest, humans are naturally inclined to dislike anything different and this is especially true the further we go back in history. So we have a Zoo filled with Humans of different skin colors, languages, and tribal cultures suddenly being thrust into contact with each other and unable to properly understand each other. They fight each other and they fight the Gems who come to 'help' them. 

In comes that Peridot who goes 'if we make them all the same they won't fight anymore' and so they all wear the same exact clothes. They still can't understand each other and refuse to behave so the same Peridot goes 'I'll make a translator so everyone can understand everyone, and I'll make it tell them what to do too! It'll solve everything!' so she does and it works like it's supposed to, the humans can understand each other no matter what language they use to speak and suddenly all the Gems can understand them as well without having to put any effort into learning or retaining a new language. 

So once they Greg and Steven are given the earrings and enter the zoo, suddenly they seem to be understood by all of the Zoo gems and the Zoomans, as well as being able to understand them with no real difficulties. The Famethyst and Beta's seem to have no issue understanding Steven after they have been 'apprehended' but Greg doesn't say more than a single line during this time. In fact no other line is spoken by either Universe male to another Homeworld gem for the rest of the episode. But...

The Diamonds. The Diamonds arrive at the zoo and have what they believe to be a private moment together which includes a full on song about feelings.

This instance right here is why I really think that the gems use either radio waves or telepathy, because tell me this. Why would a Diamond, Matriarch of her people, thinking herself to be in the company of only another Diamond (Pearls don't count) sing in a language that Greg and Steven could understand? Now sure, the Gem Tech Earrings could be translating, in fact it's very likely. But there is no way the Diamonds would be speaking in anything other than their own Native Tongue during this scene.

3. Now for the biggest piece of evidence, the episode "Off Colors". In which both Steven and Lars have escaped the Diamonds and are on the Run on the Gem Homeworld. This is where they encounter the Off Color Gems and what really gets to me is how Lars and these Gems who have been hiding in the catacombs for 'eons' can both understand and be understood by each other.

Lars has no reason to be able to understand Gems who have never even been to earth in their entire existence, let alone have them understand him in return. So why can they? Steven is very likely the answer there, as he was raised to speak the English language, and more than likely is naturally able to interpret the Gems language both by instinct and by exposure over time. (I also theorize that Gems are able to learn at super accelerated rates and Steven being half Gem grants him some of that ability but that's a whole other issue). So at this point he could be translating unconsciously until the other off color gems pick up the language, or...

Gems have built in language translation capabilities. Their bodies already automatically adapt to the gravity of any planetoid (Ep It could have been Great) so why not automatically learn to understand languages of the sentient species you encounter? It does make sense when you think about it, but they are no longer speaking 'their' native tongue they are instead speaking in a foreign language.

4. A few other instances that pop up in the series and add to this theory. (In no particular order)

-Bismuth being able to speak and be understood by Steven inside of Lion's Mane (a place where there is no air)

-Bismuth being able to understand Steven only second's after being brought back from 5,000 years of being bubbled.

-Lapis understanding Human language after 5,000 years as a mirror and being able to use it to communicate within an hour.

-The literal usage and understanding of words shown by Peridot who was likely not given any reason to learn the language before her first encounter with Steven over the screen in the kindergarten but was still able to speak with him without issue.

-Steven being able to communicate with Centipeedle enough that she could understand him, despite being able to verbally speak to him.

Basically, language is complicated and changes constantly so when Gems and Humans can understand each other immediately without issue we know there is some sort of Alien chicanery going on behind the scenes. My vote is for the short range radio frequencies because they do not require atmosphere, can be picked up by multiple sources within range, and Steven as a half-gem is canonically shown to be able to understand them in these instances. 

What do you think? Is it plausible? Am I completely wrong? Are there parts of the show that I missed that agree with me? That disagree with me? Either way, thanks for taking the time to read this post.

TL;DR My Steven Universe Theory is that Gems have built in language translators and use short range radio waves to communicate with each other as their native language.

[alexlayer69]

How not to ever, ever defend Jaune, Part 3: Special Edition

Today we exterminate @rainbowloliofjustice‘s reply as well as her apparent ingrained misogyny, taking everything into account, following @outcasts-redeemer’s argument’s deconstruction. Full thread here.

Hey uh… Chick here and…

Hello! NB person here.

Asking someone out, a grand total of twice is not being a douche.

It was more than twice, and it’s not the constant asking out that’s the problem, it’s the disregard and disrespect for the girl’s agency that makes him a douche.

What he told Neptune was hardly a lecture. He was basically telling Neptune to just ask Weiss out because she liked Neptune and Neptune thought she was out of his league so why bother.

Jaune actually called out Neptune on not caring about Weiss’ feelings, which is practically giving him a lecture and incredibly hypocritical of him considering his behavior towards him.

Weiss indeed is a rude bitch…. during the first volume. She’s rude to Ruby, thinking she is incompetent as a leader and even going as far as to complain to Ozpin and demand an explanation on why she isn’t the leader, even basically saying she think that she would be a better leader than Ruby. She wanted to be friends with Pyrrha solely because of her name and fame… ring a bell with Weiss not liking Jaune because she thought he was after her money? Oh and bonus… Pyrrha was fairly uncomfortable with this.

I’m not here to deny that Weiss wasn’t the best of the best during Volume 1, but she’s actually shown development and evidence of moving past this. Yeah, she approached Pyrrha with her own interest in mind, but that was just once and it has never been repeated since. Not to mention Pyrrha was nowhere near as visible uncomfortable about any of this as Weiss was with Jaune shoving himself in between them, and at least Weiss was smart enough to pick up the hint and drop it.

Bitch have you watched the series? Pyrrha actually has her own character outside of Jaune. She’s anything but a bland and boring sidekick for Jaune. If anything, she outshines him as a character because she is talented, smart, dependable, absolutely badass fighter etc. She’s even shown to be insecure when it comese to doing something she wants to do and questioning whether what she does is fate or her own choice. So miss me with that shit about Pyrrha being a bland and boring character.

Yes, Miss Chick, I’ve watched the show, and I stand by this statement. Pyrrha was made, from beginning to end, to complement Jaune’s arc, not to be a character of her own. And if you don’t see it, then… girlfriend, sister, gal pal, wake the fuck up! Not that I’m saying that you can’t like Pyrrha on her own right, but what can you even tell me about Pyrrha other than she’s kind, badass, smart, and dependable, mh? What are her hobbies? What are her dreams? What’s her background like? Do we even know anything about her family that might tell us anything about her? About how she grew up? Can you even tell me what’s her relationship like with her teammates and fellow classmates other than Jaune? ‘cause I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, but outside of Ozpin’s circle during her would-be “arc” in Volume 3, Pyrrha is practically never allowed to interact one-on-one with characters that aren’t Jaune. Her conversation with Weiss in Volume 1? Interrupted by Jaune. Ren and Nora trying to cheer her up before her big fight in Volume 3? Interrupted by Jaune. Her apologizing to Ruby in V3 after killing Penny? Goes about two lines before Jaune steps in again to claim all of Pyrrha’s attention once more.

Even her death has served nothing but Jaune’s development. We’ve never seen any characters mourn Pyrrha other than him. Not Ren and Nora, who were her teammates, not even Ruby, who saw her die first hand. Nobody outside of Jaune seems to even remember her most of the time (and yes, I know Ruby mentions her in one scene in Volume 5, but that’s about it), and even her remnants were melted down to improve Jaune’s equipment rather than being brought to Pyrrha’s family to be placed on her grave or something.

Again, I’m not saying you can’t like Pyrrha for what we’ve seen of her. I myself liked her as well, but in the sense that I really wish she had been her own character, that we could have actually gotten to know her and see what she was really like, rather than have her near entire screen-time revolve around Jaune. Stop for just a moment to think of what Pyrrha’s character would be like if Jaune wasn’t in the show, and you either come to the realization that she’d have no purpose, or realize about the endless possibilities there is to her character that the show never bothered to explore because the writers never saw her as anything but a complement to Jaune’s character. From day one, she was meant to die. She was made by design to be little but the Disposable Woman, and it shows.

Also, you’re blaming Jaune for something Cinder decided to do. Cinder is a sadistic person who goes after the weak. She only targeted Weiss because she wanted to torment someone and taunt them. It could have easily been Ruby, or even Yang, Nora, or Ren. However, Weiss had already lost her fight against Vernal and was the weakest and easiest target. Cinder was toying with him… as she was all of them. Let’s be honest… Cinder probably did intend to insult him because she enjoys seeing people writh with anger and espair… because she is sadistic.

Honestly, no, not really. I mean, I didn’t really meant to blame Jaune for those things. You’re right. Cinder is the one to blame here, for everyone that got hurt. I do believe, however, that Jaune’s behavior during that fight did more harm than good during the earlier half of the fight, and made so many mistakes that it makes you wonder if he’s really learned anything throughout the series, though really, the whole part here is not so much about issues with characters as it is with the writing. I mean, why would Cinder even target Weiss instead of Ruby, whom she holds a personal grudge against and was even more vulnerable than Weiss? This is what worries me, that it feels like the writers chose Weiss because, since Jaune used to crush on her, that would hurt him the most. It’s a writing decision placed solemnly with Jaune’s character in mind and no one else’s, which is a serious problem because it shows the writers keep prioritizing Jaune above most other characters, even the titular characters.

Weiss, in general, shows everyone more respect because she’s no longer the precious, stuck up bitch she was in volume 1. It isn’t just Jaune. It’s Ruby, Yang, Nora, Ren, etc. It’s everyone.

That’s fair, but even then, there’s been zero interaction between Jaune and Weiss since the reunion in Volume 5 (they practically didn’t acknowledge each other). In other words, there hasn’t yet been a development to their relationship, which I wouldn’t be exactly against. What I’m against is the writers using the whole “Jaune saving Weiss” as a shortcut to show a development in their relationship and thus completely avoiding having Jaune own up to what he did wrong in the past, as if suggesting Weiss was in the wrong (and no, she wasn’t. It’s completely within her right to reject someone she’s not interested in) and Jaune never did anything bad, which just isn’t true, despite what they want the viewer to believe. They themselves (the writers) need to own up to their shortcomings just like Jaune needs to.

Also, a lot could have been done to change the outcome of something… want for a nail. Had Pyrrha not rushed up there without any help or backup she’d still be alive. Had they not decided to keep everything a secret maybe Pyrrha would sitll be alive. Sorry but it’s a little hard to ignore the screams of your friend and partner undergoing an experiment that hardly either of them was given any type of information for. Had Ozpin and Co not kept what was going on a secret and even to a degree Pyrrha, maybe he could have watched the door a bit better instead of being taken off guard by the screams of Pyrrha as she basically has her Aura combined with someone else’s.

A lot of things could have been changed but no it’s all Jaune’s fault for not watching the door.

Like I said before, this much is right. Mind you, though, I only brought up Jaune failing to stop Cinder as Ozpin told him not because I really want to blame him there, but because @outcasts-redeemer actually dared blame Pyrrha’s death on Weiss for failing to save Pyrrha after Jaune asked her and Ruby to do just as much, which… I don’t need to tell you just how ridiculous that is, now do I?

Maybe if you stopped taking everything Jaune did as something negative, spotlight stealing, etc. then people wouldn’t have to “”mainsplain” to you.

If you wanna ignore the obvious fact that there’s clear issues with the way Jaune’s written, and the way near everyone gets written to accommodate things for his sake (the battle of Haven being by far the worst offender), then you do you, but I’m not. We were promised a show about four badass action girls, not about a boring, generic and stereotypical dude who’s just the most unoriginal archetype ever but has the world bend to his whim because the writing says so, and so long as they keep making these blunders, criticism will continue to show up.