#consequenes

[huldrabitch]

Something something the idea of a character all about death and the dead and the fragments of previously living beings spirits. A character who finds passion and care and respect for the end of life and the small bits that remain after life has finished. Someone who finds humanity in someone needing to find their rest and going out of their way to help them get there regardless of gaining nothing. Meanwhile, the antagonist of the game essencially has many of his actions driven by the guilt and regret of in some ways creating death and dying. Because what could be more terrible than nothingness. And how could it ever be forgiven that he created the end of an existence that was supposed to be endless?

[kavalyera]

the world of john wick is very interesting and absolutely beautiful to me because of how much you could explore with the characters and the fact that many of their backstories are left vague or just straight up not even told

[ferociouslycreativemystery]

GOOOOD MOOORNING and saints and demons preserve us do I actually remember the trailer correctly? We're getting them back?? They're working together? They really are that in love???

[outlaw-monarch]

...

[alsteneldoeight]

self rb but just to add a callout (/joking) to my brother for seeing this and saying "why didn't you make him hot? give the gays what they want" to which i reasonably responded "HE'S A SPRING????"

"You'll never have to feel alone with Springtastic™!"

he's silly and all but i don't Trust Him and i didn't like how he was trying to treat bot in his ep. also WHY ARE THE TIKTOKERS SIMPING FOR THEM-

don't actually eat springs guys :'v

[txttletale]

the thing about that dnd post is that like. ironically all the guys who are high and mighty about Normal Human Communication are failing to understand that implicit communication like 'are you sure?' depends on context clues and when you're making up a thing that isn't real those context clues don't actually exist. even if you have lovingly spent hours describing every part of a battlemap you might still have a different idea of it in your mind than your players do, because it isn't real, the only consensus reality built up is the one built up by the communication between players at the table. and of course i prefer that this kind of communication is done 'above-table' because i don't care about 'immersion' and instead enjoy collaborative storytelling--e.g. "if you do that, there's a good possibility that you'll die."

but even if that kind of 'immersion' is really valuable to you and you want to be making decisions as your character instead if for them--your character exists in the situation and they should know a lot about it and so you and the GM should still be actively working to establish consensus reality for those decisions to make sense in, e.g. "you've encountered this sort of powder before and you're pretty sure if it goes up in flames it'll be the sort of fire that you can't outrun". if it really matters to you that you're not told directly about consequenes because 'your character wouldn't know that', i think it's also fair to say that your character wouldn't be imagining a completely different reality to the one that exists and making their decisions based off that. no matter whether you take the 'writer's room' or 'actor' approach to roleplaying, clear and explicit communication about the situation is always the best way to make sure everyone has a nice time with their brain blorbos

[itamicio05]

Hi everyone!

Today Vincent sleep very much to skip an horrible tempest, unfortunately in my country and especialy my region we're struggling with too much rain and this night our river's city the Savio will esonde, a city near mine Forlì is being evacuated, others city like Faenza are now under water. Unfortunately this was even happened the last year ago, my city was under water, luckly not my house, i live in perifery, but i'm worry for my school friends. This is a consequens of climate change and in this day i will help the people and their pets who are without home now. I'm tsaking about that cause this blog give me voice, and I have to speak about this emergency, last year my city lost too much, too much people, too much pets and too much house were destroied. If we don't do somenthig now one day the will be nothing to put under river water, cause it will not be a city more.

For now is everything, see you later guys!

[fiovske]

Do you have any recs for other non-DnD game systems? I've only ever played 5e, and I'm a little intimidated to get into other systems, but I also want to branch out and get away from WOTC's bullshit.

Sure thing! I am also including a link to the itch.io pages since that's where i get most of these games!

Blades In The Dark: i'm mentioning this first bc the rules are very easy to grasp and if you're looking for a setting that has a touch of ghosts and steampunk, this game is the perfect gateway to that! it's the best for a heist i have found and the game mechanics and names are so soo sick here's just a slice from their itch.io page:

personally i find the setting and the stress mechanic very cool, because it takes into account the mental toil that an action can have and i find games with inbuilt consequence mechanics very compelling! it introduced the concept of clocks to me and i am obsessed.

a) adjacent to Blades, are all Forged In The Dark Games which are third-party blades games, and the most notable of them is Scum and Villiany which is space-western setting and also my favorite and if you're looking to play a game in the breadth of star-wars like interplanetary politics and everything, i highly recommend this game! b) if you're looking for a Blades game with mechanics to suit something more royalty-adjacent, with court-politics and agendas and masquerade parties and all, like say d20's court of fey and flowers vibe then i recommend Court Of Blades! I havent gotten around to playing this yet but it looks really promising and i soo badly want to play a game in this setting!

2. The Ground Itself : this is a world-building game. focused on one single place over time and how it changes and how it's people change, the events of this game can be spaced out from a week to several millennia depending on the rolls of ur dice or your choices! i have found that this game serves very well as say, a session zero game also, for setting up a place before you play in it, and not only a very fun session of making a place together for your party to play in, but also not leaving all the work to the gm! so it's a win win situation!

tbh, all games by everest pipkin are very good! i wanna get my hands on world ending game as well bc it is a game about giving your campaign, your world-building and your characters the perfect send-off.

3. Wanderhome : if you're looking for something ghibli-esque (this is the closest i can come to defining this game thru popular media) then i highly recommend wanderhome! it's got a very cozy pastoral vibe to it and the art is really beautiful and you get to pick from a range of animal-folk to play as it's very cool!

also honorable mentions,

a) Sleepaway is a game by the same creator in which ur a camp counsellor to a bunch of misfits and horror stories around campfires ensue! b) Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast which is an upcoming game which you can still back and it looks really interesting so i'd recommend checking it out as well!

4. Lancer: this game has mechs it has space-battles and you get to be a pilot in a future set years in the future and a thousand directions to take ur campaign in! he relationship between pilot and mech is smth that can be so personal.....

i wanna play lancer sometime it has very cool mech designs and it has very much piqued my interest, if i find ppl who wanna play lancer w me im 🏃🏃!

5. Heart The City Beneath : honestly, one of my fave settings of all time, it has strong horror components so mind the cws! but the classes and the game mechanics are very intuitive and overall it helps you not only build a character that feels natural and organic, but since this is a horror setting, things do not have happy endings... however it will ensure that your characters have a well-built journey whose ends will be terrifying and magnificent.

I got introduced to the fallout mechanic through this game and oooo how i love it, it's the perfect blend of your actions have consequences + every consequence is interesting and will affect your character deeply and emotionally, which is <33

this list got too long so i will just mention some more here:

the quiet year (very good map-making game, for before the frost shepherds arrive in winter.)

beam saber (forged in the dark game that deserves its on mention! austin ramsey's games i highly recommend!)

thirsty sword lesbians (ecactly what it says on the tin, i wanna check this game out also)

lotr's one ring rpg (this one is the closest substitute to classic d&d bc lets be real. tolkien is where d&d got it's shit from. and i have heard good things abt this game even tho i've never had the chance to play it)

mothership rpg (space horror whose build mechanics are very easy and user-friendly and i've had a LOT of fun with this!)

orbital (one very beautifully written rpg about life in space and it's only 32 pages but well-worth the time, highly recommend)

that's all i can give off the top of my head, i might've missed a few but these are strong standouts, so i hope u find at least one to your liking!

[ss-tier-simp]

Handmaiden - Loki Lauferson

Warnings: angst, hurt/comfort, slight dependence, takes place in the first Thor movie. It’s my first time writing for Loki, so I hope you like it.

Word count: 0,7k

You dared not meet his eyes, his question left hanging in the air still unanswered.

‘Do you desire me?’

The answer was yes. You knew it and you knew that your prince knew it too. Yet you couldn’t utter it. Trying to lie to the God of Lies was foolish, and you were certainly not one. At least you thought you weren’t one, however, only a fool would fall for a God.

Speaking the truth wasn’t an option either. What good would it do if you bared your heart to him if your love was doomed from the start? The All-Father would rather smite you than let this union occur.

“Answer me.” A command remained a command no matter how softly it was spoken.

You raised your head and his eyes met yours, which were struggling to hold back tears that had welled up. Being under a God’s gaze was unnerving, as they could grant you their favor or be the cause of your demise.

However, holding his gaze was an entirely different experience. His eyes peeled away all the niceties and the pretend. They seemed to be able to see a raw form, which you have been taught to hide at a young age as all the maidens, that were dedicated to serving the gods, had.

“I do.” Your voice croaked as you forced words that did not want to slip your mouth. “I do, my Prince.”

You knew for a long time that your feelings would be your doom, you might as well speak them out. Let them fester in your minds both the possibilities and their consequences.

“I have for a long time, my prince.” You confessed, the dam now broken. “Longer than I would care to admit. In a way that no handmaiden should desire her master, so intensely-.”

His hand on your cheek stopped your train of thought, silencing you. His thump traced it, and despite every fiber of your being wanting to lean into his touch, your training that had become second nature refused to entertain that notion.

His stare was intense, analyzing you and you were convinced that he could feel your heartbeat which was gradually beating as if it wanted to escape its enclosure.

“My prince-” you started but he shushed you.

“No need for titles within the walls of my room” Hearing his voice never lost its thill no matter how long you had been by his side. “I want to hear you call my name. It has been my desire for you to do so for a long time.”

“Loki…” you let his name in a way that you had allowed yourself to call out only in your daydreams.

The hand that was not already on you grasped your waist, bringing you closer to him, your chest touching his every time you breathed.

Kissing him felt nothing like how you had fantasized about. His kiss was soft yet firm. His lips oddly cold bringing comfort to your overheating skin. Your lips danced with the ease of lovers that had been together for a lifetime and it felt good for once to not pretend.

A noise outside of his room broke any delusion that you let yourself be swept with. You would not be forgiven for a sin like this.

Your hands found his chest, putting distance between you and breaking your kiss and your heart in the process.

“We can’t.” Your voice was firm.

“Don’t deny me this.” The plea was unbecoming of a God.

His eyes were glassy and their color was more captivating than ever, revealing sad thoughts and vulnerability that you had only seen in passing all those years.

“I learned horrible truths about me today.” He admitted. “Please, don’t deny me affection from the one person that I know truly loves me.”

Your heart kept breaking, the sight of the powerful God so desperate filling you with sorrow. Your hands that were still on his chest, travelled to the nape of his neck, bringing him closer for another more desperate kiss.

Your sin was unforgivable, your life would not be spared if anyone found out. However, Loki, your prince, the man you loved, needed comfort tonight. You would think about the consequences of your actions tomorrow.

[ygsunflower]

Under the Bridge 1x07 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 Absolutely no one has asked for this, but here’s my review: A very quality episode all around- Storytelling, cinematography, acting, all superb work in my opinion. Exactly how I imagined this episode would go after finishing the Under the Bridge book in terms of the case. Definitely stirred up the same emotions as when I was reading the book.

How I interpreted Rebecca’s “obsession” with telling Warren’s story, make sure everybody “knows his heart” seems to align with what the show’s trying to get at- Yes, Warren is a boy who’s had a quiet yet unfortunate life, but he is not Gabe. He is Rebecca. A kid who didn’t know better and did/said horrible things in the heat of the moment that had a much bigger consequene than they could possibly comprehend even afterwards.

It seems to me that Rebecca (the show character) also didn’t fully understand or maybe didn’t want to admit why she so desperately wanted and needed to tell everyone Warren’s heart- She wanted to convince or prove to “the world”- to herself really (and maybe Cam)- that she did monsterous things (bullied her brother, shouted horrible things at him) but she’s not a monster.

Again, I am not passing judgment or taking sides on the true case and real people involved in the case. I am only focusing on the characters and the show’s artistic choices to tell the story from the book. I think the show did a good job capturing the book, aka the real Rebecca’s perspective of the stories around the case, and added more-

1) When Rebecca’s dad read the draft, he brought up that in the story about Reena Virk’s case, she’s everywhere, but yet she is no where to be found in Rebecca’s book. Why is that? What is she afraid of?

2) Suman stared right into Rebecca’s eyes and said Warren saw someone who’s weaker so he did what he did. Then, questioned her if Reena looked like her, do you think he’d still do what he did?! The book in my opinion did not really touched on the racial aspect of the discussion, maybe it only implied or vaguely hinted at, but I like how the show directly point it out. I can’t quite put this into words, but I also felt that what Suman said about Warren in that moment did not see Reena as a person has a slightly different meaning from when the same statement was made during court when they tried to pin Warren for the murder.

3) Similar to the point above, I am not sure if this is intentional on the director/show-creator’s part, but I found it interesting that while the connection between Rebecca and Warren was forming, the show also established a mirror connection between Cam and Dusty 👀 I personally see it as mirroring in terms of race ethnicity but also a mirror comparison in their childhood experience aka the role they both played in the case of Gabe and Reena. Besides wanting to see them continuously showcasing the true case progress, I can’t wait to see if the show will tell us what did happen with Gabe in the last episode? We seem to know the role Dusty/Cam played in the case. We know Warren/Rebecca think they contributed 3/10 parts to Gabe/Reena’s death. We know that Kelly owed 7/10 parts to Reena’s death, then what’s the 7/10 parts to Gabe’s death?! Was it truly an accident or was there something more?

Lastly, the scene between Rebecca x Cam in the bedroom… such wonderful acting by Riley and Lily 🥲

Also, I truly see the real Rebecca shining through Riley’s Rebecca in this episode for some reason…

[multifandominfj]

A New Beginning: A Supergirl 6x20 Re-Write

Chapter Two: The Big Reveal

With a box of chocolates, wine and flowers, Kara flew home as fast as she could. “Lena?”

“Hey you.” That melodic Irish brogue of her carries through the apartment. “How was your day?”

“Good.” What was before Kara was Lena in her NCU sweatshirt, flannel bottoms and cupcake slipper socks.

“What’s all this for?” Curious of the meaning of the things Kara had in her hand, she first dragged her to the couch, then got back up to get a couple of wine glasses.

“I saw the second half of the text you sent me, and my mind went over everything. So…this is essentially an ‘I’m Sorry.”

“Kara, sweetheart, you have nothing to be sorry for.” A spritely chuckle was Lena’s response. “The gift, albeit very thoughtful, and yummy, that is not what my text was about. Did you even see the first part?”

Pulling out her phone again, she read the first sentence multiple times, before looking back up at Lena, feeling slightly embarrassed. “Ah…”

“Yeah, it was definitely quite the surprise, seeing you on TV. And I gotta say, you looked pretty smoakin’.” Her famous eyebrow arch accompanied with a heart melting smirk was the sure fire way to get Kara to relax.

“You sure flattery isn’t your superpower instead of Magic?” Kara jokingly asked as she opened the box of chocolates, kicking her shoes off before leaning back on the couch and accepting the wine.

“Cross my heart. And…Andrea was watching with me.” She revealed.

“Really? How did she process?” Intrigue was an understatement about how Kara felt about her former boss knowing.

“She looked like a cartoon that had gotten squished by an anvil at first, but then she felt really bad about all of the times she treated you horribly.”

“You know I’m over that now, Lena.” She dismisses.

“I know Kara, but she really did feel bad. I wouldn’t be surprised if she reached out to you. She really does want to make amends.”

“Then I appreciate the thought. Whenever she reaches out, I will gladly accept.” Kara sighs, sipping her drink.

“You really did look great on camera.” Not once had Lena taken her eyes off Kara. “I’m proud of you. Out of all of the years I’ve known you, seeing you on camera and how you handled yourself with grace and poise, you were practically radiating sunshine.”

Kara always did this thing where, whenever she was complimented, she would get the biggest smile while simultaneously biting her lip and bowing her head to hide the cherry red blush on her cheeks. “You always know what to say. And, to be honest, while I was answering, I was worried about stumbling over my words. Yet, with every second that passed by, there you were. In my head, like always. Pushing me through.” It had become second nature for Kara to reach for Lena’s hand whenever they sat on the couch together.

“Kara, there is actually something that has been weighing on my mind.” Sure to not spill a drop, Lena sets her glass on the table before her, and turns her attention back to her Kryptonian Adora.

“What is it?” Kara mimicked her actions, watching her face.

“Ever since your sister’s wedding, and that…..” Lena was now turning a shade of apple red, and with her skin tone, it was as clear as day. “Life changing, time stopping kiss of ours, I…”

“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it either.” Kara hadn’t let go of Lena’s hand saying this, in fact half way through Lena’s babbling, she started to gently massage the space between her thumb and index finger. “It was pretty great.” Like the human Golden Retriever she was, she raised both of her eyebrows to get Lena to smile.

“That, and it got me thinking…about us. And how I feel about you.” Taking a deep breath, Lena fiddles with her hands to keep some of her nerves in check. “Kara, you know you’re my best friend, but I don’t think that’s going to cut it anymore. I don’t like hiding the fact that we’re together from our family. I get that you want us to keep things private because we are a new item. Damn those consequences. I want to be able to show you off. I want to be able to declare to the world how lucky I am to be your girlfriend.

“Lena…” Kara had a sense of where this was going. She was listening to Lena’s heartbeat as she spoke, and with every word, it got faster. She knew of three reasons why this would happen: Anxiety, Stress…and she was about to say I love you.

“Please, let me finish?” Lena’s voice squeaked with how nervous she was. “I’ve never felt this was about someone before, in my life actually. And thinking back about all of the times you’ve saved me, and were willing to risk your life…Nobody has ever done that for me. Every time we shared a hug, I never wanted to let go. And when I found out all of the times you defended me to the others. It’s like…you’re my knight in shining armor. Even when I had hurt you, you still trusted me with your life. That day, I vowed to do everything in my power to be worthy of your trust again…”

As Lena was nervously babbling, rather adorably, Kara had slowly begun to scoot closer to Lena on the couch. Yes, she was paying attention to the words, but every other word, she would look at Lena’s lips. The dark red lipstick that was as crimson as a rose practically hypnotized her. But what Kara loved the most…was just listening to Lena talk. Whether it was the inflection in her voice, or the way she talked with her hands. Now was as good a time as ever.

“And, I guess what I’m trying to say is, Kara…I…”

Before Lena could even finish, Kara had gently cupped her face and closed the distance between their lips For Kara, kissing Lena just turned all of her senses up to 11. Her lips fit perfectly together like a puzzle piece with Lena’s. This kiss was just as passionate and fiery as the one at the wedding, but this one was also more intimate and gentle. Kara deliberately let it linger longer than the one at the wedding…because she was just as in love with Lena, as Lena was with her.

“I love you too, Lena.” That delicate whisper. The declaration of love accompanied with a soft forehand touch, it was definitely a moment out of a Hallmark movie. “I realized it when Mxy and I…tried to change the timeline to fix our relationship.” Not once did Kara’s hand leave Lena’s cheek.

“Okay…I’m definitely going to need a full story.” She wasn't surprised. At this point, she knew Kara would risk it all for her, no matter what.

Here’s Chapter 2, everyone. Hope you enjoy!

[harley-rose25]

Explaining how/why Eren is a psychopath/sociopath for funnsies (it's a very long post)

So, some days ago I was thinking about how whenever I or anyone else says we think Eren Yeager has some kind of cluster B personality disorder someone shows up to tell us we are wrong and don't understand the character; but, then I realized that I haven't actually explained my reasons and why I think this, so here's this post to do just that.

first of all, I think, when I say Eren is a psychopath/has aspd/whatever you wanna call it people think that I'm saying Eren is evil, that he's just an evil psycho that decided to do the rumbling and murder billions of people cause he's just an evil monster and that's it; there's no reason other than he just wanted to kill billions of people, thought it'd be fun. That is not what I'm saying. First of all, I don't believe that people with ASPD are necessarily bad people. I'm not making a judgment on Eren moral character, rather I'm presenting my theory on one factor that makes Eren the way he is, and really it's all just for fun.

My understanding of ASPD is based on the DSM-5 (my copy of the DSM-5 was printed in 2013) and various accounts from people diagnosed with ASPD, but I'm not a professional so, obviously, this isn't meant to be educational. I will also note that technically a person can not be diagnosed with ASPD until they are 18 years of age; but, since Eren is not a real person (in this reality) and we aren't actually diagnosing anyone, we are going to ignore that.

I will list the criteria for ASPD and indicated which one I believe apply to Eren and which ones don't.

According to the DSM-5 the criteria for ASPD are as follows: A. "A pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of of the rights of others as indicated by 3 or more of the following"

"Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behavior, as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest" Yes. I'm gonna say this one does pertain Eren. Him murdering 3 people is a pretty substantial example of an act that would be grounds for arrest, He also makes attempts to physically assault people on at least 2 occasions in the 1st two episodes. One being an old man and the other a Military officer, this showing his disregard for authority. His disregard is also shown when he is disappointed that Levi actually follows orders, and again when he's about the disregard orders himself and transform during the female titan chase, and then also basically all of season 4.

"deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure." No, but also Yes, actually. I don't think Eren is ever really deceitful other than not telling anyone about the future memories or about the the royal blood titan Dina; which was to protect Historia (and also I think to prevent the military from attempting to feed him to someone else and thus preventing him from actually accomplishing anything) and his infiltration into Marley, but since that was an undercover military operation (that was un authorized and that he just decided to do himself) deceitfulness in these instances is not indicative of a pattern of behavior. Although the fact that he lied by omission for 4 years while creating a cult following to form a coupe that would take over the government shows that he is very capable and willing to be extremely deceitful when it suites his goals. So, actually Yes this kinda does apply to Eren.

"Impulsivity or failure to plan ahead." Yes. See Eren's entire character. Ok, he actually is really good at long term planning and maintaining a goal; see Him deciding to join the scouts at like 8 and then never wavering and following through on that at (what 14?) See basically all of season 4. However, Eren is impulsive and doesn't plan ahead, in the moment. He is emotionally charged and as such will charge into situations without thinking and without considering the consequences.

"Irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults." Yes. See Eren attempting to assault an old man in the 1st episode, also attempting to assault a military officer in the 2nd, also see him violently headbutting Mikasa in (the 4th or 5th??)

"Reckless disregard for safety of self or others." Yes. See Eren's entire character. He's called a suicidal maniac for a reason. He does also seem to have a slight disregard for others safety, not because he doesn't care about them, he wants them to be safe, but it seems that his valuing others doesn't temper his actions; however, I think this fits better as evidence under criteria number 3.

"Consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations." No, I don't think this one applies to Eren.

"Lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another" If you asked someone to explain what ASPD or psychopathy is I think there's a pretty high chance they'll say something about lack of remorse, and Yes, this one does, also, apply to Eren. See him murdering 3 adult men and immediately justifying it (whether or not you agree that the 3 human trafficker's deserved what they got isn't relevant.) , see Eren killing a bunch of people by throwing Annie onto a building and then never even mentioning it (that might be anime only Idk; I heard that fight was different in the manga)

So according to the DSM-5 You need 3 of the above 7 criteria; Eren has 5 or 6. If He existed in the real world he would 100% be diagnosed with some kind of cluster B personality disorder if not ASPD. On to some other points that aren't listed as criteria in the DSM-5; I've watched/viewed contend by a number of people diagnosed with ASPD; so, some things I've noted:

People with ASPD often suffer from boredom; They are bored easily. and Kid Eren was also very bored

They also tend to have 'dead eyes' or eyes that look empty and without emotion. It might be weird to link this to Eren because his Bright and expressive Teal Eyes are like one of his defining features but look at His eyes as a kid and especially before meeting Armin, before Mikasa, before Armin shows him the book and tells him about his dream to see the outside world. Before any of this Eren's eyes are pretty dead.

I've seen people argue that its because of the world he lives in. That the violence and trauma of the world he's in makes him this way. I disagree; I think that the world being the way it is in AOT is what gives Eren a semblance or normalcy. Fighting Titans gives him something to do and focus his aggression on. I think one way to tell if a character behavior is because of the world or because of their innate self is to compare them to other people in that world and the other people we see in AOT don't have the same or really even a very similar mind to Eren. He is clearly abnormal.

I could probably say more but I'm gonna stop... for now at least.

[747shove]

DRAW V1 AND GABRIEL FIGHTING TO THE DEATH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was tired and read it as something else This is the consequen

[milksnake-tea]

I don’t believe Sunday’s EN VA got fired from voicing Sunday unfortunately, but he did in fact get dropped from three VA jobs for some indie series’ (series’s? serieses? I don’t know anymore ;0).

Just wanted to clear that up from the last answered (at the moment of writing this) ask /gen :3

(If I end up being wrong, I’m VERY sorry!!!)

Hopefully in the near future, we’ll see an official announcement of him stepping down/being removed as Sunday’s VA?

MAN :( BUT I HEARD ABT THE INDIE THING THATS SO 😭😭😭 kinda feel bad but at the same time. that's what you get when you do that kind of thing so consequences are consequenes... honestly idk if sundays va actually got fired, i just heard from word of mouth so YEAH 😭 we'll see tho we'll see

[mdhwrites]

The Owl House's Problem with Genre

So this is more a general lesson of: You are supposed to set your expectations for something by the genre set forth by it. If you're consuming a tragedy, you need to understand that fundamental flaws in who a character is are going to doom the entire cast. That doom is inevitable for them by who they are as people. However, if a RomCom tries to pull the same trick for angst and sadness, that's when you get the Third Act Breakup in both its good and infuriating incarnates because, well, it's two genres about joy more than pain.

So what does this have to do with The Owl House? Well, it's something that I struggle with as a writer myself because I can blend genres some and that makes it hard to entirely quantify what genre a work is in. TOH has a problem where the genre will often shift between various episodes.

Like let's look at the first episode. Pretty firmly, that is a comedy adventure. It's got some fun jokes tying into the problem, the action is silly and the powers are a bit goofy to play up the comedy even as they're in danger and the show is telling a lot of jokes pretty rapidly.

Jump over just two episodes though and you have the first episode with a comedy B plot. Sure, Eda and King are having a comedy adventure of sorts but Luz? That one is magical slice of life. It's somewhat comedic but calling it an adventure feels a bit like a stretch. Yes there's a fight eventually but it's much more about the societal issue presented and making friends with some cute banter that you'd expect from a light hearted show. The fight is barely a fight and is over quickly so it just... comes across as something you'd see in any magical school show. Not necessarily bad but not in the genre TOH claims to be. Covention is very similar where there's not actually any real adventure element as it just does some world building until its fight scene mostly. Even then, besides a quip, the fight itself isn't funny.

And mind you, SOME genre blending is actually a good thing. A comedy knowing when to slow down for a serious moment is good. Times for a party to breathe in town can lead to great chances for sides of characters you otherwise wouldn't see. There's a genuine back and forth to be had there.

But it shouldn't ALWAYS be contrasting like that, especially with your main character. Luz actually has VERY little to do with the comedy side of the show. Almost always, there's a moment or two in an episode but the majority of the comedy is either through comic relief characters or explicitly through the B plots. She does just enough comedy to get her character across (which is part of why it fades from her so much in S2B) but no more. Sometimes, she's even gone from the adventure elements too because Luz is too caught up in romance or drama or slice of life stuff to even be put in peril, or isn't until the very end. Like Hunting Palisman has a couple cute jokes but it's mostly a serious affair... except for giving Hunter shit. Otherwise, the show honestly treats Luz mostly seriously. She isn't funny to me as much as she is cute when it comes to how she's trying to express herself which is fine for an adventure, much more questionable for something specifically branded as a COMEDY adventure.

But if it's not the greatest comedy, what genre fits TOH? Was it just listed wrong? Well, pretty much EVERY genre falls into this sort of problem with TOH. It's not a great slice of life because it's not inventive enough to make many of these situations interesting. It's most archtypical episodes are considered some of its worst. It's not a great adventure because the action is pretty meh most of the time and there is zero threat to the main characters so there's no tension. No threat/tension means it's also not good horror. It spends a LOT of time on romance but all of its romances are bland and samey and when they are together as a couple, they often struggle to do anymore than fluff. As a drama, there's never any consequences to anything so the angst feels hollow as it just makes an episode feel bad then moves on. And finally, as a fantasy show, its magic is really basic, kind of boring and there's nothing unique to its world or rules that don't make it feel like it's not just the modern world with more teeth and that's not great fantasy.

The best stories know what they aren't as much they know what they are. Genre blending is a good thing but there's a point at which you're just a composite sludge. Master at nothing, impressive at little.

And there is no genre TOH impresses with.

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[coraniaid]

I have not been seeing these Buffy episode polls, but potential factor: for people who don't spend time regularly thinking about individual episodes, it's more about memorability than quality. In particular, for me I tend to remember what happened in one-off episodes much more than in episodes more heavily tied to the season plot, which all combine in my head.

For example, you mentioned Passion vs. The Wish: I could not tell you what happens in Passion, except maybe that it's in season 2? But I remember the plot of The Wish pretty well.

I just looked up episodes from season 2, and having read a summary of Passion I can remember it was great, and had some of my favorite scenes in the entire series. But without the prompt, it blurs together with Surprise/Innocence/Becoming as one collective "Season 2 Angelus plotline", so I don't remember the specific episode itself.

Oh, yes, I think you're absolutely right that that is a factor in the voting patterns I'm complaining about. Quite possibly the main single factor, even.

Most lists of best Buffy episodes I've seen tend to favor episodes with a very clear memorable hook. For instance, the three highest rated episodes on IMDB at the moment are Once More With Feeling, Hush and The Body, all of which are -- in their own way -- very different from a typical episode of Buffy. And the current polling isn't really too far off that norm: I suspect one of these three episodes will probably ultimately win the current contest.

There are, I think, some noticeable anamolies beyond that -- School Hard beating Restless is the big one, but I was almost as surprised by Something Blue beating Who Am I? in the same round, and by Beneath You beating Consequences before that. To me these are all clearly the 'wrong' result, and in a way I don't think I've seen before. I don't think the memorability factor explains any of those upsets (I mean, maybe Consequences fades into the general late-S3 arc, but surely no more than Beneath You fades into the wider S7 arc? And, you know, Consequenes is actually good.,,). Not to put too fine a point on it, but I think that the simplest explanation for what's going on here is that three of these six episodes feature Spike heavily and three of them don't, and Spike as a character is very popular on (most of) Tumblr.

The third factor, I think, is that i'm just experiencing a minor bit of culture shock, and being unpleasantly reminded that real Tumblr is not the same thing as the slightly unusual bubble in which I've chosen to seclude myself. Because I know that most of my Buffy mutuals would not be voting this way, and sometimes I forget that other Buffy fans exist. (Indeed, looking at the tags in the reblogs, I think most of the people actually reblogging the polls are surprised by the results too, but to be fair that might be because I've already blocked a lot of the people who are voting the wrong way.)