#considering the little screentime he had on the show (no really he was basically just a prop)

[tinderbox210]

For science and fic research purposes 😏

[deadboyswalking]

What a lot of fans are wondering, myself included, is "Where did MHA go wrong?"

I can think of several points that kick-started the downfall. This is not an exhaustive list, but just a few of the bigger flaws. It's a really long post, especially on the last point.

1. The reveal that AFO was directly responsible for all of Tomura's woes from before he was even born. This completely absolved society and his abusive family of responsibility, thus cheapening the manga's themes centered around those aspects of the manga's world.

2. Excessive focus on Endeavor at the expense of Shouto's feelings, actions, and inner world. It seems that from the Endeavor Agency Arc onward, Shouto's character is constantly underwritten and shoved aside so his father can get more screentime. Shouto's climactic, emotional final fight with Touya is completely undercut by the actual final fight of Touya vs. Endeavor, with the rest of the Todoroki family (Shouto included) basically sidelined to cheer Endeavor on. Even in the last Todoroki family chapter, the primary focus is still on Endeavor's feelings and not Shouto or Touya.

3. The complete character assassination of Izuku Midoriya. He was never the most interesting MC to begin with, but at least he had something going for him in the early arcs. He was weird, brilliant in battle tactics/analysis, brave and determined, endlessly compassionate, and completely insane. He had a real fire in him as a person and, unlike what many fans say, started the series with an awareness of the deep flaws in his society. People always say that the "save the villains" angle was shoved into the story during the first war, but it's clear from the beginning that the way Deku looked at his society already primed him to believe in that idea. During his mall encounter with Shigaraki, he actually showed that he'd carefully considered Stain's message and understood where he was coming from, even if he didn't agree with his actions. This is the story's first indication that if a villain has a genuine gripe with society and can explain it, Deku is willing to listen to what they have to say. Similarly, at the Sports Festival, he doesn't treat Endeavor with any of respect/awe he usually treats heroes with because Endeavor doesn't show the heroic values that Deku believes in.

So what happened to Deku? Honestly, I think he as a character disappeared beneath the weight of The Vestiges of OFA, Becoming The New Symbol of Peace, and Acting As The Author's Mouthpiece.

Joint Training Arc was the first indication that Izuku himself no longer mattered because of the OFA mythos and Vestiges inside him. Now, I don't mind Blackwhip because it diversified his fighting style and gave him a long-range attack. I also appreciated how hard he had to work to use it effectively and consistently. However, all of the other Vestige Quirks seemed to come to him way too easily and he could use them in perfect combinations without trying and against highly skilled adult opponents. The Vestiges started to talk to him constantly and give him advice, so his battle analysis/tactics were no longer necessary and he didn't need to come up with his own ideas anymore. More importantly, his own strong inner sense of justice and awareness of society's need to change was utterly replaced by some mystical Vestige-world bullshit about saving little Tenko. Adult Tomura was right there, clearly explaining his point of view and deep pain, and Deku didn't even listen to him (or really care when Tomura's body started being controlled by AFO). What happened to the independently compassionate boy from the earlier manga?

Being The New Symbol of Peace is another place where Deku had his character steamrolled. As flawed as the arc as a whole was, I actually had hope for him during the Dark Hero Arc. He was asking questions and genuinely trying to understand why villains became villains. He saw how civilians treated people with mutant quirks, listened to Lady Nagant about the HPSC, and witnessed tons of other abuses by society that made him angry. His eyes were opened and his compassion for Tenko Shimura deepened, priming him for the Final Battle where he would save the man and make a stand to change their society forever. Unfortunately, due to Horikoshi's inability to let go of the All Might and AFO dynamic, Deku's character was squeezed into The New Symbol of Peace mold and he forgot all about what he learned during the Dark Hero Arc in order to take out ShigAFO and let society stay exactly the same.

Finally, Deku was lost when he started Acting As The Author's Mouthpiece. The first sign of this was during Endeavor Agency Arc, when he told Shouto that he would forgive Endeavor "because you're a good person" and fawning all over Endeavor in general. I'm sorry, what? As much as Deku likes heroes, he was already shown to strongly dislike Endeavor because he didn't act like a true hero should and abused his family (people smaller and weaker than himself). Now one of your best fucking friends and his siblings are giving you more details of their horrific upbringing, including about their dead brother, and your response is that a good person would forgive Endeavor because he's trying to be better??? There is no canon justification for why Deku would do that type of 180°, but there's certainly an author that continually pushed more and more screentime for Endeavor and his feelings as the series went on. I wouldn't give a shit if this opinion change had any lead-up to it (as characters can change their minds all they want), but there's nothing in Deku's previously-shown character/personality that would lead to that conclusion. As the story went on, Deku mostly lost his introspective nature and stopped struggling with internal conflicts over right and wrong and what it means to be a hero. Instead, he just started mindlessly spouting whatever half-assed "message" the author wanted to show during any given scene with no regard to his previous opinions, background, or personality, often contradicting himself as the story's messages couldn't stay consistent either.

[time-is-restored]

btw this might be me swinging a bat at a hornets nest but like. absolutely none of my disappointment from the tl finale comes from ship baiting or any relationships that didn’t happen (though to be clear, i think the tedbecca fake outs were meanspirited and served no narrative purpose - in noted contrast to the season's earlier jamiekeeley fakeouts, for example, which were explicitly there to demonstrate jamie's growth + maturity)

tedpendant is a really fun concept for me, and i LOVE the characterisation + thematic potential there!

but as someone who personally resonated with a lot of ted’s struggles, the idea that ted could leave richmond so… seamlessly, for lack of a better word, really doesn’t sit right with me. the thesis of the shows entire first season - assuming it can be said to have only one - was about how everyone needs the love and support of a community, whether that comes in the flavour of someone who hypes u tf up or someone who will relentlessly call u on ur shit (or, as happened quite frequently, both!).

rebecca, roy, jamie are the clearest examples as the characters with the most screentime: they were all deeply isolated and disconnected from the people around them, and that was making them miserable. the connections they made with the team, the vulnerability they finally allowed themselves to express (the ghost banishing ceremony comes to mind!), and them going on to want *more* out of their life are what made their arcs about *progression* rather than *regression*. without that clear theme of compassion + community inspiring positive growth in everyone who encounters it, there is, frankly, no season one.

my personal favourite scene from season one comes right after michelle walks away from ted, when they’ve agreed to get divorced. ted sits down on the bench looking gutted, and a little shell shocked - and beard sits down with him. hands him the drink, and they sit there together. silent, but together. to me, that scene is an implicit promise from the episode, to the audience: ‘it’ll be okay. it’s going to be hard, but ted isn’t alone, and his friends won’t leave him behind.’

it also makes it clear to the audience that ted isn’t the saintly-giver-of-grace who needs nothing in return, as one might assume on first brush, but rather that he’s Also struggling with his own shit (as is everyone, always, in real life!) and he has something he needs from the people around him too.

and looking at the text of s3, and the conclusion to his arc in the finale, i just don’t believe that he got it. he wasn’t just sad that he was leaving (which would be understandable!), he was completely closed off. unresponsive to the people around him reaching out, borderline confused as to why they were trying so hard!

(side note, while i completely respect the read of ted and trents last interaction being rather rude + ooc on ted’s part, i personally read a different motive into it. for me, it was more like… he didn’t understand where trents enthusiasm was coming from? like, he read that as trent being too invested in what other people think of him, and responded in a way that he hoped would emphasise that ted doesn’t *need* to laugh at everything trent wrote, bc trent Already Knows that he’s done something really cool and kickass, and he shouldn’t value anyone else’s reactions above that. basically, based on his demeanour in the episode, i genuinely don’t think it would’ve even occurred to him that trent was more invested in HIS reaction than he would’ve been with anyone else.)

again, looking purely at the text, the show had already established that ted has really strong depressive + avoidant tendencies, as well as panic attacks (largely triggered by his fear of not being ‘good enough’ in various roles, ie: a father). we saw one area he was able to calm HIMSELF abt these fears (worry for henry, which is a Hell of a choice considering the ending…), but in literally every other heightened moment, he had to rely on his support system to help him make the choices that he WANTED to make, rather than ones inspired by avoidance and fear (ie: confronting michelle abt jake, talking to his mum abt why she was visiting + his dads death).

and to be clear, this is a GOOD THING! we’re not supposed to go through life alone, no matter how bad OR well we’re doing. rebecca and keeleys friendship isn’t worth less for all the scenes where they’re both in good places. if anything, the opposite is true - it’s lovely that they both have someone who want to celebrate the achievements in their life!

and fuck it, we’re sure as hell not supposed to go through life with exactly one (1) person whom we expect to fulfill ALL of our emotional needs at all times either! like, im sure i don’t need to labour my point here, but tying everything to one (1) person in ur life doesn’t make u any less isolated than if u were going it completely alone, whether it’s a family member, a friend, or a partner. i won’t pretend to know the first thing abt what it’s like to be a parent, but i don’t think it’s unreasonable to say that no parent would be at their best if they had absolutely no support/camaraderie/general love provided to them from Anyone other than their child.

so when ted is SPECIFICALLY shown to be in a bad place, over and over again (did he come to terms w his fear to be close to henry overnight???????), and then removed from his community? of COURSE the audience is left feeling unsettled, and like the rug has been pulled out from under them. there was no time in this finale dedicated to how ted would still be in contact with anyone from richmond. no promises of visits, or phone calls - fuck, nothing about emails!! according to the text, we might as well assume this is a clean break (and the maybe-dream-sequence does Fuck All to assure us otherwise. if ted doesn’t go to beards wedding, what WOULD he go to????). and since the show has ALSO completely failed to give us even an IMPLICATION of who/what ted’s support system would be in kansas, there’s… a reasonable argument to be made that this is It for ted. that, after two seasons doing NOTHING but attesting otherwise, the audience is supposed to suddenly believe that ted can (and SHOULD!) pull himself up by his bootstraps, and cope entirely on his own.

that, to me, is a betrayal of the show’s premise. we were promised a show about how, no matter how dark things may get, none of the characters would be left to struggle alone. and then they ended the show with ted alone.

i don’t know. i guess if i had to give this post a tldr; if anyone has any gen fic/meta/Literally Anything in the pipeline, i would absolutely love to be tagged/directed towards it. i’ll be endeavouring to write something myself, as well, but it might take a while before i can return to my WIP, lol.

[walker-extended-universe]

Season 4 Wishes- Character Dynamics

There's one big character dynamic that I want to see expanded in season 4 (and I think they've set up really well to do just that): the father/son bond between Cordell and August.

I understand that a lot of this is due to limited screentime and the fact that Kale Culley was a minor and had even more limitations up until the back end of season 3, but this father-son dynamic is one of the most underutilized in the show. Even after Cordell promised to make more time for August and be a more present father, we never saw any evidence of them spending that time together. Quite the opposite, in fact, considering August was relying on his speech at the medal ceremony to prove himself when Cordell should've been able to see the evidence for himself.

However, with Stella moved out and off to college next season, I think there's a good opportunity for Cordell to make up for some of his shortcomings in this department. With August looking to enroll in the military and Cordell being a little uncomfortable with that, I think there's some very good plot to mine for in here.

I don't have a lot of concrete wishes for what I want but I do have a list of some plot ideas on how to make this happen on screen:

August coming to Cordell for advice on prepping for basic training

Cordell grappling with his own feelings on his military experience and how he feels about August going through the same thing

Cordell trying to talk August out of going into the military at all (and August misinterpreting his concern for a lack of confidence)

Abeline trying to meddle (and not helping)

I just want Cordell and August to have some time is that so wrong?

[wynandcore]

ALRIGHT HERE’S MY HOT TAKE FOR TRON

Lowkey,,,, After seeing the leaked script…. I’m kinda???? Glad Uprising got canceled.

Based on what little we see, what was there was good, but I don’t think it would have lived up to the hype. Not to mention that while I’m not a fan of Legacy whatsoever, I think they made Clu a lot more complex in the movie, and it’s a damn shame that based on both the script we see, and the little screentime, Clu was whittled down to being a pretty one-dimensional villain—and THAT is why I think the second Season would have failed. It would have failed to capture what makes Clu so dangerous. He’s not JUST evil. He’s literally a copy of Flynn—he shares his traits, and that includes the good parts whether we as an audience like it or not. He came into power for that LITERAL reason (read the prequel comic it’s so interesting and it’s basically a mirror of Flynn and Clu’s perspectives of what went wrong).

One other thing Legacy did that admittedly also bummed me Uprising tossed aside was that Flynn was genuinely not a good creator. I mean it’s somewhat highlighted in scars, but not really?

I guess TLDR: It boiled Flynn down to being the Good one, and Clu to being the Bad one. Because of that, I’m not sure Uprising’s writing would have still been good if it continued with Clu coming into the picture.

As someone who has read the comic and still wants to beat up Clu 2 with a baseball bat, I can see your stance on this!

(Sorry this is REALLY LONG, bear with me because I like discussing things!)

I don’t know if it would’ve “lived up to the hype” and what that entails. Back then viewers of the show were few and far in-between, so I don’t really know how high the hype would’ve been (especially because anyone who knows legacy, knows uprising wasn’t likely gonna end in a happy ever after LMAO)

Nowadays, the expectations for stakes and what could’ve happened are larger considering how long it’s been, but who knows if it could’ve lived up to the hype back then. Maybe it could’ve. Maybe it wouldn’t have. Who knows. They never finished writing season 2, so the writers probably don’t even know lol.

Yeah, Clu 2’s not that complex in season 1 and in the movie script/unfinished storyboard. Personally, I don’t care much for Clu’s lack of complexity in the first season, mostly because he was not a focus at all. More a symbol.

Also, uprising shows brief glimpses of the view programs have of him, mostly Tron’s, so it makes sense we don’t see outside of that view. I do understand your point, though. I’d love for his ‘good’ characteristics to shine for a bit, to show how he got into power, but I believe that just wasn’t able to be shoved into season 1 (there was already so much they needed to establish in the early episodes, and after that they had so many villains to work with)

I don’t believe they didn’t plan on showing Clu 2’s ‘good’ side, but I’ll also be one to admit that I wouldn’t mind, because we’ve got legacy and betrayal if you like that perspective of him.

Same goes with Flynn: the show Isn’t about him, having time devoted to showing how he isn’t perfect isn’t Needed if there’s an entire movie that showcased that imo.

Uprising uses its characters when needed in the story; Scars wanted to use flashbacks to show Tron’s downfall from protector to prisoner, so that Had to have involved his past working with Flynn and Clu 2. Besides that, there’s little reason to show Flynn in this season, nor later seasons (because he just stayed in his cave for the most part?)

I don’t think he’s necessarily shown as a good creator in Scars, because he clearly cares more about the future than the life programs live on the grid, but it wasn’t shown in an obvious manner.

Maybe they were going to show Flynn more in other ways like him getting involved in the revolution, maybe not, but I wouldn’t want him to be reintroduced just to show how he wasn’t perfect. I believe he should be used in the story when applicable. STILL, I understand the argument!!

It’s a pretty interesting take overall, even if I don’t entirely agree with the arguments!! :)

[ploppythespaceship]

Superman & Lois (Season 3) - Thoughts & Review

Overall, this season was solid. A significant step up from the mess of season 2, but nowhere near the heights of season 1. It tackles some difficult ideas really well, but unfortunately feels somewhat lacking in other areas.

Full spoilers under the cut.

What I Liked

First and foremost, Lois' cancer was incredibly well-handled. This is clearly where most of the effort went for this season, and it shows. They don't shy away from everything that diagnosis and treatment entails, and I appreciate letting those difficult conversations happen -- there are honestly too many to list. As soon as the cancer reveal happened, people were worried that this would rob Lois of her agency, but I found just the opposite to be true. We get to see how this powerhouse of a woman deals with something terrible, and remains herself throughout.

Tyler Hoechlin continues to be pitch perfect as both Clark and Superman. He really is just inspired casting.

Michael Bishop is really solid as Jonathan. I admittedly prefer Elsass, but Bishop had the unenviable task of taking over an established character and made it work pretty well. I also really liked Jonathan's arc at the fire station -- it's a great direction for his character. I wish it had more screentime, or more of a direct tie-in to the plot, but for what it is, I enjoyed it.

I also really appreciated Jon getting multiple scenes to admit his vulnerability that didn't feel like the show punching down at him, like season 2 did. When he's terrified of losing his mom, it gets addressed with care and compassion. When Sophie runs away, he's the one who can actually relate and get through to her due to feeling similarly. This feels like a season that actually respects him as a character, and I cannot stress how refreshing it is after last season relentlessly broke him down and then just left him in the dirt.

I have gone back and forth on Jordan this season. Sometimes I thought his arc was really interesting and well-executed, other times I thought he was an unlikable ass. At first I was annoyed with him being basically perfect with all of his saves, treading dangerously close to Mary Sue territory – but then it became something much more interesting. He actually is very good at what he does, and that’s getting to his head. He’s becoming cocky, and he wants the credit for the saves. He’s an anxious kid who needs attention, and he’s trying to get it in an unhealthy, somewhat obnoxious way. I didn’t like it on first viewing, but the more I considered it, the more sense it made. The finale mostly brought it full-circle, with him actually owning up to his actions a little, and overall I think it’s an interesting direction for him. But I fully understand why people didn't like Jordan at all this time around.

My S&L hot take is that I actually like Sarah. She’s well-written, well-performed, and dare I say it, usually the most sensible of the show’s teen characters (aside from maybe Natalie). When she messes up, it’s understandable, and she works through it in interesting ways.

If this show had a Most Improved award, it should go to Kyle. Splitting him up from Lana did a world of good for his character -- this is the first season where I've actually liked him. We get to see him step up to be a better partner, friend, and father, and he rises to that challenge.

Chad L. Coleman is fantastic as Bruno Mannheim. He has so much presence, and expertly transitions from menacing to sympathetic over the course of the season.

Lana and John Henry have fantastic chemistry that's been building since last season. They're great characters, they go well together, their relationship development is completely believable, and I was fully on board with them finally hooking up in the finale.

I enjoyed Sam's little arc of getting closer with Natalie, to the point where he's referring to her as his granddaughter by the finale.

I appreciated this season giving female friendships some time to shine -- we had Sarah being Natalie's wing woman, and Lana going to talk to Lois when she knew that Clark, as a guy, wouldn't be able to offer quite the same support.

This season also took the mental health of its characters pretty seriously, which I love. Lois' emotional struggles dealing with her cancer are given all the space they need, and Sarah's depression is given significant weight and attention.

Clark's final scene with Peia... honestly, I'm still thinking about it. The fact that Clark saves the day not with his strength or his speed, but with his compassion and humanity. He's spent this time learning the support Lois needs, listening to people at the hospital, and that care is what allows him to get through to her and give her final moments some level of peace. I love it more than I can fully express.

What I'm Mixed On

I am utterly indifferent to Kyle and Chrissy as a couple. They’re cute enough, and the relationship makes for some interesting dynamics and character beats. But they don’t have much chemistry, and feel like characters who were just paired up to give them something to do.

I’m not sure why they chose to let Kyle in on the secret. I frankly loved the buildup to the reveal, with Kyle suspecting that someone in Smallville has powers, being convinced that it’s Jon, then having the rug pulled out from under him upon learning that Clark is Superman. But then this reveal doesn’t actually go anywhere. Seeing Kyle go full fanboy over Superman is kinda cute, but it doesn’t feel like it fundamentally changes their dynamic or anything. I was hoping for a little more out of that.

Candice gets more screentime and development this season – not a ton, but enough to feel more like a real character, not a plot device. Unfortunately, she feels like a completely different character from last season, and she still doesn’t have much chemistry with Jon. Frankly, when she moved away from Smallville, I think they should have just broken the characters up and written Candice out. I don’t think they would be losing much.

Lex… doesn’t feel quite right. At least compared to versions of the character that I know. To me, Lex has always been the rich genius, who gets the upper hand through a combination of sheer intelligence and having more money than god. But this version of Lex feels more physically intimidating, like he’d rather just beat the shit out of you. I can’t deny how much presence he has, and how immediately he becomes a massive threat, but I also just find this version much less interesting. It works well enough for this show, but I don’t think this will go down as one of the all-time great Lex Luthors.

That ending. When I realized they were going for the Death of Superman plot, I was fully onboard with it. But I really don’t like where they cut off – not just for the cliffhanger, but because I have a hard time imagining a satisfying way for that to resolve, since they already did a death fakeout. I can’t help but wish they’d fully committed to killing Clark, and let next season deal with the aftermath. But I have to see how it actually resolves next season before ultimately deciding how I feel.

What I Didn't Like

This season doesn’t have much of an actual plot, and once you catch onto that, it’s a bit dull – especially on rewatch. I appreciate them making character moments the greater focus, but I think they just took it a step too far. Mannheim is the season’s big bad, but he’s not actually creating much of a threat. We’re just motivated by Lois’ suspicions for a long time, and a few random scenes that aren’t properly explained. Why was Henry Miller attacking Metropolis? Why was Peia sent to kill George Dean? It feels like things are just sort of happening in order to rope Clark and Lois into the plot.

The main twists of the season – Peia being Mannheim’s wife and Matteo being his son – barely make any sense when you actually think about them. A secret marriage, I could buy, but once you add in their son, it stretches believability to the breaking point. Matteo specifically says that people talk about his dad, so they know who his dad is – so how do they not know about his mom? And how does Natalie love Matteo so much without ever learning his last name? How does she meet his parents without learning their names? This could be explained fairly easily, but just isn’t. Maybe this is nitpicking, but considering how much of the story hinges on these twists, I would expect them to make sense.

Perhaps my biggest complaint about this season is how little the twins feel involved in anything. They have no stake in the main plot, but then again, there’s no real main plot to even have stake in. They begin to feel like supporting characters rather than the deuteragonists they should be. They also have very few meaningful interactions with their parents. One episode lampshaded this, having Clark try to spend time with the boys, but that was frankly too little too late. For a story about the Kent family, I feel like I didn’t actually see them as a family all that much.

As much as I liked Lois’ cancer arc, the actual reveal of said arc was very silly, and possibly the worst scene of the season. Lois is trying to talk someone off a ledge, literally, and chooses to do so by dramatically revealing that she has cancer. It feels contrived and callous and bizarrely out of place.

Natalie and Matteo are a cute couple, but the speed with which they go straight to ride or die is absurd. I understand that they’re teenagers in their first serious relationship, but the extremes are just too hard to believe.

John Henry killing Henry Miller is treated like this massive deal, but it never made much sense to me – it was clearly in self-defense. If a guy is coming after you relentlessly with the intent to kill you and your daughter, killing him first isn’t that extreme of a reaction. Yet everyone acted like John had done the unthinkable… before promptly forgetting all about it two episodes later. Very strange, very pointless.

Matteo slipping Peia the cure while in DOD custody was incredibly contrived, and made the DOD look incredibly incompetent. No one is watching their interaction? No one is listening? It really took me out of the moment.

Jordan developing x-ray vision felt like an afterthought, tossed carelessly into a spot where it vaguely fit, and I didn’t like how it was handled. Having Clark be right there but not acknowledging or helping Jordan in any way besides “your x-ray vision’s coming in” felt wildly out of character for him – they should have either leaned into Clark being pulled in many directions at once, needing to support Lois, help Jordan, and find Peia at the same time and unable to do it all, or just have Jordan’s x-ray vision develop after Clark leaves, so Jonathan is forced to step up to the plate.

This is a minor thing, but it’s been bugging me since the start of the show – Sophie acts well below her actual age. The actress is around 12-13, but the character is written to act like a kindergartener, and it’s very odd once you notice it. It was passable in season one, but it feels like the writers haven’t accounted for the actress growing up.

[m0tel6mxzzy]

ggrb 2x09 review

a single scene of monet and her family (a rare occurrence) is more interesting than the writers making more trying to push the teachers being these moral beacons of light i said what i said.

monet’s burberry fit ended flop keller girlie pops off w the preppy spoiled rich girl fashion excellence

i feel like i’ve seen so much climatic stuff involving julien and audrey but the fact that the show has become legit all abt them and the teachers (kate is awful and the guy she’s w isn’t any better just bc he has a superiority complex so i hate him more than kate) makes me so annoyed

it’s legit going in circles, audrey is a little more dynamic because she’s testing out the triad, then the only time we see luna is when max is stepping away from audrey to give him advice that also goes back to also benefiting audrey even if it also benefits max and aki, and the only time we see monet is when she’s benefiting julien. i love this episode being a little more abt her which is what we deserved all season. entitled monet giving kate shit is what i love to see

then julien also going to luna for emotional support but she’s a lot more self involved???? and it’s solely to benefit julien and make her feel better abt how her sometimes selfish actions hurt other ppl but the problem is julien is always acting before she thinks and w audrey she never lets audrey in on what she’s abt to meddle so i’d be annoyed w her too. like u can’t just blow huge life altering moments on ppl for self gratification which seems to be the true motive of julien’s actions, she’s always hoping she’ll be thanked. which is why sometimes she goes to luna first only in the hopes luna will bid her head and congratulate her for meddling.

and everyone in 2x09 including zoya and luna calling julien out on her selfishness? that’s some good shit!

also audrey and aki were lowkey starting to annoy me esp w the way they treated max. i did like how they did communicate in 2x09 after confronting julien focusing on max rather than themselves like they’d done earlier in the episode. considering this no wonder he always goes to luna for advice on basic communication

also luna being the voice of reason for luna and max eventually has to stop???? i agree w @lawolfe who put me on the prospect of luna x max in the first place. there is always an issue of some sort of feigned ignorance, miscommunication, or invalidation in makidrey which bugs me bc i really want them to work but the pattern of how max

i loved makidrey but not the way communication has been poorly done, usually singling out max and aki/audrey kind of invalidating each other’s problems and also the codependency on audrey’s end leading aki and max to not even being able to be alone together bc they were just supposed to assume what audrey was feeling despite no direct communication.

also i feel like monet and savannah as an actress as well as zion luna is are underutilized it’s getting ridiculous???? they have amazing screen presence but are always assisting julien and max but i at least feel max as a character hasn’t done anything to annoy me that hasn’t been held accountable.

monet getting more screentime this episode should’ve been done every other episode we saw aki x audrey going in circles w miscommunication it was established they’d moved on from and it hurting max. fave episode so far bc damn how hard was it to give monet luna and zoya screentime

over all…fave episode by far. 8/10 the others are 6s. however these are my conditions:

—give zoya/monet/luna more screentime outside something just benefiting audrey and julien. they’re all sick of her and need to unite

—fewer teacher scenes unless it’s kate interacting w the de haans

—i’m ok w makidrey blowing up bc of the lack of communication. it makes me sad bc they had so much potential and julien was just a catalyst. also lawolfe slowburn pls

[fff777]

The more I think about it, the more frustrated I get about Winwin's situation.

Originally, my thought was that "I've been through the Exo and Lay situation, I've seen it all." But the more I think about it, Lay and Winwin's situations are very different.

Warning: This is a ramble just to get things off my chest.

At the base of it all, I think that Yixing benefited much more from SM than Sicheng ever did and ever will be able to.

Yixing did start dancing as a youngster, and his dancing ability only grew as he began training with SM. The style of dancing that he studied would have probably been more of a hip hop style, which would have been in line with Yixing becoming an idol.

During his time with SM, we know that Yixing also developed his music skills a lot, both singing and composing. By the time Yixing left SM, he was very much a well-developed idol who was proficient in singing and dancing.

Sicheng's background in Traditional Chinese dance is well-documented. He was always a top student in his dance academies. You can see here for a list of his accomplishments. SM could never have helped him improve on his skills in Traditional Chinese dance. So where could SM have helped him? In developing his other skills, while emphasizing his pre-existing talents. The way I see it, Sicheng could really have made something special if he could develop a kind of fusion style, something that could still showcase Traditional Chinese elements while still fitting with some of the popular music and dance styles.

Unfortunately, Sicheng is currently known as the neo with little to no lines. Having watched some of NCT 127's earlier videos, I don't think Sicheng was ready for NCT at debut. His language skills weren't quite there, but I also felt that his dance didn't fit the style of the other members. Later on, Sicheng's Korean improved, and he got better at hip hop. But how does that serve him? Yes, him being better at hip hop dancing is an extra skill that can be helpful in the entertainment industry, but that is a skill that many other idols have. Compare that to how many traditional Chinese dancers are known in mainstream media, and internationally. Basically, I don't think SM took advantage of Sicheng's talents, nor did they give him enough training to be a top idol? They just trained him like a regular trainee instead of using his strengths. And that's surprisingly considering what I've heard about the lengths that SM went to to recruit him.

The reason that I'm frustrated is that while Yixing has had some opportunities to shine with SM (granted, they were limited), Sicheng has had fewer.

When Yixing was finally given the spotlight in Lucky One, or even in Love Me Right, it was amazing. I was like !!!! that's the boy!!!!! He's killing it!!!!!

The only time I have felt that was during Sicheng's performance with Ten, dancing to Lovely. That's contemporary dance, not even traditional Chinese dance, but it so well showed off how elegant Sicheng can be, when most of the audience he's marketed to (idol fans) just think of him as a cute and pretty boy. Yes, he is that, but like...he'd worked his entire life in traditional Chinese dance. And it's such a waste to not show that off. That makes him special! (Like how the ballet dancers in kpop are asked to show off their skills)

Otherwise, in Winwin's performances, he's often been relegated to have few lines, to having little screentime. And I get it, his skills aren't compatible with kpop as much as the NCT golden boys. SO WHY DID SM WANT HIM SO BAD!!?!??!

The reason I'm frustrated is that I'm usually a fan of groups coming together. I would love for the Exos to express love for Yixing publicly. And I understand that it won't happen because of how Exo is.

In a similar vein, I know that the NCT members love Winwin. Because of the way that NCT is set up, even though Winwin doesn't really promote with 127 anymore, he is still technically a member of NCT, and they're still able to interact that way. But whenever Winwin is with NCT, I can't help but think about how he's going to be shafted to the back again.

I'm frustrated because I don't think being with NCT and SM is good for Sicheng anymore. Being with Exo and SM was still somewhat good for Yixing because his goals were in making music and popular style dancing, all of which SM excels at. But what can Sicheng learn from SM if they're not going to train him, or work with him to find something that works better for him?

They had years to work on that, years to showcase Winwin not only with 127 but also with WayV. But they did not use it to their advantage.

From what I've gathered, Winwin graduated from Beijing Dance Academy and then was admitted to Central Academy of Drama. So it looks like he was intent on pivoting his career from dancing to acting. And now in China, he's finally acting in dramas.

And it made me think that...in China he's more on track to reach these goals. There's little he can get from SM now, other than the international fame, I suppose. And I do admit that being with SM and NCT has brought him a fame that he probably would not have gotten even if he had become a mainstream actor in China, as the kpop global market is currently huge. But if his place in NCT isn't going to change, if he isn't going to get more lines (and singing/rapping training), if he isn't going to get more screentime, I feel like he's going to get more fulfillment from his position in the Chinese entertainment industry.

Tl;dr:

Yixing' skill set was more consistent with that of a typical idol, so he grew a lot by going through SM's normal idol training program.

Sicheng already had a pre-existing skill set of traditional Chinese dance which is very different from popular dancing, so the normal idol training program was never going to work for him. Still, SM did not work with him in a way that would show off his skills, instead just putting him through the regular idol training program and then shafting him to the back because (surprise!) the idol training program didn't really expand his skill set in a way that made him shine.

All things considered, I'm still going to follow NCT's new comeback, I'm still going to pay attention to Winwin. But I think I'm ready for the separation, whether or not it'll be officially announced.

[cephalofrog]

alright succession final season liveblogging time, starting with episode 1

feel free to block if you don’t wanna see these posts

warning that I am a dumbass. so these posts are likely to be less “wow the themes” and more “kendall you stupid fuck”

I watched the rest of it in the background whilst grinding the current project sekai event. but I wanna focus properly on the final season so I’ll be watching it during the breaks I take

also I already watched episode 1 but I’ll rewatch it to start out

- there aren’t any huge changes I’m noticing in the intro. the biggest shift was s1 to s2 where the final shot went from only having kendall to having all four of the kids. I do wonder if that was related to the show deciding to focus on the kids other than ken more past s1? it’s just guesswork but I do feel like the seasons past 1 had more roman/shiv screentime proportionally at least. connor still gets very little focus though which makes sense.

- starting the final season on logan’s next birthday. back to where we began

- here are the kids! failed upwards of course. my own hopes of getting to see them working at mcdonalds were sadly dashed

- roman has a slightly shorter hairstyle! it looks good.

- ken has settled on a happy medium between “trashfire” and “personification of a business degree”

- it is kinda nice that every other time ken failed to kick out logan he ended up being basically kicked to the curb and spiralling horribly but this time he’s pretty much doing fine since the siblings are also there.

- can’t wait for this peace to be ruined!

- shiv also got a new hairstyle! I did kinda prefer her last one but this one is pretty nice.

- new T (not tom)

- the business talk in this show only ever makes sense to me in hindsight

- not even attending logan’s birthday! good for them

- greg has discovered the concept of dating

- chekhov’s discussion over greg’s date leaking details

- hi tom

- this relationship is as weird as ever

- during my first watch I was checking for wedding rings during this scene. I don’t think tom is wearing one, which makes sense I guess? shiv still has one - I think she makes up her mind about actually divorcing during the later scene in order to sell the buyout to the pierce guys.

- “we have the ethos of a non-profit” fuck off kendall

- chekhov’s social media post has been spotted

- connor on the president thing again

- not gonna lie I kinda expected it to work out for him. glad it isn’t though

- “which is great, cause conversation’s important to be inside of” thanks greg

- “if we’re good, we’re good” I like it logan. means you aren’t technically lying if you’re planning on instantly getting rid of tom

- “fearless fighter of the good fight” okay ken. I bet that totally stuck after you gave up on that whole thing

- “a ludicrously capacious bag” rich people scare me

- “another tick on the chart” okay greg

- I wonder if there are people out there who take greg’s character as being like oh, he’s a cool normal guy! he’s just tangled up in all this but he’s a good guy really! when in reality, while, yeah, people did take advantage of him due to him not being particularly savvy, he also is very much unopposed to the exploitation that supports his lifestyle, and still feels pretty obviously entitled to the products of that exploitation. he’s not a good person just cause he’s too much of a dumbass to realise that he’s being shitty.

- not the display towels!

- not the opera!!!

- “I got ATN, plus pierce” he doesn’t know

- “just think about how fucking funny it would be if we screw dad” that’s not putting aside the family stuff kendall

- logan do you have any actual pals (no)

- logan economics 101 smalltalk

- logan this is a lot to just talk to someone about

- connor wants to turn his wedding into Content(tm)

- how did I only just realise that him wanting to be president isn’t just cause he’s a narcissist, it’s also cause he wants the others to actually consider him to be important and noticeable

- honestly tom is probably lying about the CCTV thing. I guess I wouldn’t put it past logan but he seems too busy for all that tbh

- ooh, someone making a rival bid! who could it possibly beeee

- these rich people travel between places so fast

- butter my beanpole!

- speaking of my earlier greg comments

- this lady has such an accent

- it’s all wrapped up...... unless............

- I appreciate the fact that shiv absolutely does hold those values, like she’s not lying or anything - she’s just... willing to compromise a bit.

- logan missing roman I see

- this week’s show of who can say the bigger number!

- putting the L in logan

- technically this is a bad thing since it means they’re gonna have to actually deal with him again. but it is fun to see him lose for once

- shiv’s apartment is so huge. I like it but would personally prefer a slightly smaller one - I wouldn’t be able to walk around one that big in the dark tbh.

- (the main thing I am jealous of the characters in this show for is the apartments they can afford)

- I guessed less than a year for these two and I was right!

- their relationship is so weird. like can you not deal with just fucking other people and also each other pretty regularly? I guess they aren’t really in love either though so whatever. I’m not good at relationships so I guess I don’t really get the emotions behind them failing.

[sssn-neptune-vasilias]

RWBY RWDE/Discourse Bingo

What's up, I know I've been basically dead for months besides RTX but I'm back to cause general chaos in the FNDM again. My first act? RWDE Bingo.

I had the idea for this last night after looking through Reddit (I know) and seeing that a lot of the FNDM still for some reason think that RWDE is a hivemind intelligence that all think the same exact things and agree with each other on everything. So I made this bingo board for everyone to have fun with! These are some of the RWDE topics and discourse I can remember from my long, long, tenure in the FNDM, and I have more, but this is round 1. If you think of any discourse or RWDE topics outside of this one, shoot me an ask or post it in the tags so I can do some more!

See which ones you agree with and talk about it if you want! Show your friends. Show your followers. Get out there and be the RWDEst bastards you can be! If- somehow- everyone in RWDE all pick the exact some discourse and don't pick the exact same ones, then I'll take back everything I ever said about RWDE not being a hivemind and give my capacity for free thinking up to the collective.

Gonna explain what each topic is under the read more considering a lot of these are old as dirt and some are a little confusing and probably could've been worded better had I not had limited space on the board. Some of them I don't agree with, but I'm still gonna do my best to explain them as unbiasedly as I can because I'm not a poopoo baby.

"Blake's slap was abusive." This one was about her slapping Sun during v4. People really didn't like that, especially considering that one of the scenes from the same episode was Jacques using physical violence against Weiss in an abusive manner. There are other conversation topics of Blake being abusive as well, but let's keep this one about the slap specifically, alright?

"Taiyang's arm joke." Remember that? Yeah a LOT of people thought Taiyang was horrible, no good, very bad father because he'd basically just made fun of Yang's brand new disability and trauma.

"Adam's change in characterization." Some people believe that Adam's characterization changed somewhere during season 3. That he went from being a ruthless freedom fighter to a genocidal maniac and jilted incel mad that his girlfriend left him.

"Qrow's Innkeeper story." People thought that story about the Innkeeper's skirt was super sexist and inappropriate for an uncle to tell his nieces.

"Jaune in a dress was a transphobic joke." This one's kinda self-explanatory. People thought that everyone laughing at Jaune wearing a dress was transphobic.

"Racism subplot is poorly handled." Again, kinda self-explanatory. Anything from Adam using his faction of TWF to join Cinder and Salem to Ghira being a bad leader to the story suddenly becoming about classism instead of racism to Robyn not being a fox Faunus, etc.

"Fair Game was queerbaiting/fridging gays." Some people thought Fair Game was the beginning of a budding romance and were sent back into The 100 CW hell when Clover got a sword through his torso.

"Snowbird is bad because Qrow is old." If you weren't around for season 3 you missed all the Snowbird shippers going feral about two attractive and of age characters finally sharing some screentime. You also missed some people being really weirded out by said Snowbird shippers because Qrow's in his mid to late 40's and Winter's in her late 20's.

"Jaune harassing Weiss s1&2." Did you think that Jaune flirting with Weiss back then was triggering? There was a ton of discourse about it and how Miles was basically using his character insert to harass one of the main characters and twist the framing of his harassment in a positive light.

"Sun is a stalker." Remember when Blake saw that robed dude following her and it was Sun? Who'd been following her for a few months? Yeah people were super squicked out about that and called him a stalker.

"Salem was right..." Basically the Gods were garbage entities anyway and deserved to get shit on. Salem was right to try, even if it got humanity 1.0 nuked.

"Rhodes deserved it." Y'all are probably like "who the hell is Rhodes?" That guy that trained Cinder! Yeah, remember that flashback scene? People think that Rhodes deserved to get skewered because he didn't actually do anything to try to save Cinder. He knew she was a slave working at the hotel and did nothing to save her and instead just told her to wait until she was 17 to join a Huntsman Academy.

"Jaune's screentime." Kinda self-explanatory. People thought Jaune took up too much screentime in the early volumes, to the point he rivaled most of team RWBY and had more lines than some of them combined. His plots also derailed the show because the bullying arc and the prom arc really had nothing to do with Salem or Ozpin or the relics or maidens, and that time could've been better spent doing more worldbuilding.

"Being forced to pick a side..." This one's almost entirely exclusive to the Tumblrsphere, but is this something you've felt pressured to do by any part of the FNDM? Have you been told you were biphobic for shipping Bumbleby/lesbophobic for shipping Black Sun? If not, count yourself lucky because you've avoided a LOT of bullshit.

"Waiting too long for LGBT rep." Do you feel that RT kept us waiting way too long for any meaningful representation? Especially considering what was promised to the FNDM early on in interviews with the CRWBY?

"Ren was an aroace bait&switch." People felt that Ren was aroace during the early volumes- especially after that "Please do nothing to the cook" apron scene- and were very frustrated when Ren did start showing romantic feelings for Nora.

"Amber's death was June's fault." Remember when Ozpin told Jaune to guard the door? And then he got distracted because his girlfriend got put in a box next to a comatose woman in another box? And then that comatose woman got an arrow through the chest because his back was turned? Do you think that was his fault?

"Rosegarden is bad because of Ozpin." Some people feel that Rosegarden is squicky because Ozpin's consciousness is in there and he's like seventy-million years old and Ruby's barely 17.

"Eddy's Freezerburn Tweet..." This one was over on Twitter. Eddy QRT'd a Tweet about "couples that would absolutely get a divorce" with "Freezerburn" and people were very angry about that and thought he was super unprofessional. Here's the link.

"Ironwood's s8 characterization..." Did you think that Ironwood's descent into a mustache twirling villain came out of nowhere? Did you think that it made no real sense to villainize Ironwood in the first place when Salem and Monstra and an army of Grimm were already outside Mantle and Cinder and her team were already inside Atlas? Did you think that that tidbit about his Semblance Mettle potentially clouding his judgement just to never be shown it was really badly handled? This one's kinda broad on purpose.

"RWBY/JNPR's stubbornness..." Some people think that Atlas being destroyed could've been prevented had our main characters just went along with Ironwood's plan.

"Weiss pointing Myrtenaster at Whitley." Did you think that Weiss doing that was totally out of line? That a soldier pointing a weapon at a civilian is totally unjustified? That siblings shouldn't ever threaten one another with violence at all?

"Blake running away was cowardly." Blake got a sword through her stomach, then was told by Adam that he'd destroy everything she ever loved. Then he dismembered Yang. Then, instead of even warning RW_Y about the threat, she just... left? Ran away? Even if you think her fear was justified, do you think it was cowardly to run without so much as a goodbye?

"Qrow is Ruby's father." Maybe you've seen this HC before, maybe you haven't. But people think that Qrow might be Ruby's real father. If you missed the discourse that his HC first brought about during v3 then I truly envy you, but if you remember the essay length dissertations people were writing about how mean and wrong and abusive that HC is, then suffer together with me.

"Bumbleby is abusive." You know all those weird parallels they keep emphasizing between Blake and Raven (how quick they are to abandon their friends, etc.), and Yang and Adam (how quick they are to lash out in anger, etc.)? You know how they're like, consistently highlighted in the show but not really addressed? But the ship is still portrayed as a positive one? Do you think Bumbleby's actually abusive?

[ms-cartoon]

I hated the new episode of season 2

Sorry...... let me rephrase; It greatly disappointed me. If I wanted to, I would stop watching this show for good, but I would at least prefer to watch it to see if its capable of some good writing (I might as well be wasting my time). As it turns out, I will forever be wrong. Not only am I gonna review a little bit of the new episode and rant about some things that I didn't like about it, but I'm also gonna point out how terribly they characterized Stella.

      This whole episode is basically telling Stolas's backstory. About how he met Blitzo and their relationship in the past. And it also gives Stella more screentime, showing her character and true personality as a "villain". And the way they came off with it... I- It just- I'm sorry. The way the portrayed Stella in this was disappointing.

For those of you who are hardcore haters for Stella... I DON'T WANNA HEAR IT!

       So, apparently, Blitzo and Stolas had met when they were children. Oh! And they were also around the same age! So, I guess it's confirmed that Stolas is in his 30s, which is very odd to me considering we were lead to believe Blitzo was 23 or somewhere around his 20s during the first season and was then acquainted with Stolas. Was Blitzo always around the same age as Stolas?? If not, then the writers kinda just retconned that fact just so they can have a childhood friendship between Blitzo and Stolas.

       We start in the first scene where Stolas is introduced as a child. It was his birthday and he receives his first grimoire from his father, Paimon. Paimon (who's a real DOUCHE btw) then tells him that he was to be engaged to Stella and shows him a picture of her. Now, THIS is what caught me off guard. Apparently, Stella was always a mean-spirited, hot-tempered, violent monster from the get-go, ever since she was little. They show that she's choking and torturing animals in the picture just to show how horrible she is. Just straight up looking like the bird version of Darla Dimple.

       Anyways, the picture of Stella frightened Stolas to the point where he cries and he clearly doesn't wanna marry Stella. So to make him feel better, Paimon takes his son to the circus. Stolas doesn't appear to be having fun at first until he sets his eyes on Blitzo. Aaannd in that moment, Stolas began to have a crush Blitzo.

.......Really.... so that's what we're doing?

       Seeing that his son liked Blitzo, Paimon asked Blitzo's father, Cash Buckzo, if he could buy him so Stolas can have a friend (cuz he doesn't have any). Cash (who is also a DOUCHE) decides to let Stolas have Blitzo for the day. Of course, Cash is only making Blitzo hang out with Stolas so he can take the advantage to steal all the treasures and money in the mansion. Stolas (while blushing) was pretty excited for having Blitzo as his first friend, especially when he had such a cute little crush on him (ugh). Blitzo on the other hand, was a little awkward.

       They hang out for a little bit and Stolas shows his books to Blitzo, but Blitzo is bored. So, he suggested that he and Stolas play a game called pirates, where they steal things. Stolas decides to play along and Blitzo uses this chance to steal all the valuables Paimon owned in the mansion. While Stolas wasn't looking, Blitzo took all the treasures and threw it to Cash, who was hiding in the bushes outside. Later on, the two hang out outside, and talk about their futures.

       So now, we jump to 25 years later, where Stolas is all grown up and is married to the woman he was engaged with, Stella. Stella's first impression wasn't the best one. I really didn't like the way Stella's dialogue was written here. Stella pretty much just insulted Stolas in front of her friends and other Goetias, laughing and saying that Stolas was boring, is terrible in bed, and that she was glad she gave birth to Octavia so she wouldn't have continue with their intercourse.

I'm sittin' here like, "Damn! All that?"

       Stolas obviously isn't having a very good time, so he starts to drink. He comes across Blitzo, who was caught sneaking in the mansion to steal Stolas's grimoire. Recognizing Blitzo immediately, Stolas personally invites him to his room so the two can catch up. Stolas (while drunk I think) flirts with Blitzo saying, "You must have come to ravish me." (or something like that) leaving Blitzo confused. Blitzo, of course, didn't care to catch up on old times with his first friend who he barely knew for a day, when they were children mind you!! Blitzo only cared about getting the book so he can have access to the human world.

       Stolas starts to get nervous after Blitzo basically revealed he was a serial killer. Blitzo used this to his advantage. He starts to seduce Stolas as a way to distract him and grab his attention away from the book so he can grab it. Stolas, once again, starts to get nervous when Blitzo pursues him, saying he still hardly knew Blitzo's name, which is odd considering what he just said a few minutes ago "It's been a long time, but I have a very good memory." Not to mention when Blitzo introduced himself as Blitz, Stolas asked, "Didn't it end with an "O"?" So, suddenly he does remember Blitzo's name and how it was actually pronounced (This dialogue needs some work).

Blitzo pushed Stolas onto his bed while Stolas slowly gives into temptation and asking what Blitzo plans to do with him. He stares to the side behind Blitzo, close to noticing his grimoire wasn't there and.... and, uh- I.... *Sigh* Just watch (skip to 1.52)

       So, THAT happens, Blitzo ties him up and blindfolds him so he can make his escape with the book and Stolas says, "You have no idea how long I've waited for this kind of passion, and how much it means that the one who wants me was my first ever friend." (Bro, are you serious, like, oh my god) Blitzo feels a little guilty and decides to do the thing with him. Then the next morning, Stolas wakes up to Blitzo making his escape with the book and THIS is where Stella finds out about the whole thing and Stolas, while feeling very proud of himself, announces that as their official divorce.

       We jump to present day (last episode of season 1) Where Stolas is sad over what happened between him and Blitzo on their date and this jumps into a musical number that I'm not going to bother talking about. Stella walks in on him after he's done singing and this is where Stella and Stolas start their argument. I already said it a few times already, but the way they written Stella in this show (the dialogue too) I-I cringed. She tells him the only reason she sticks around with him was to remind him of what he did to torment him. Stolas argues, saying he's been trying hard to get along with Stella and the only reason he even puts up with her was so Octavia can live a normal life, but somehow its never enough (There's a bit more to this argument, but I'm not gonna bother explaining it). FINALLY, he decides he wants a divorce and tells her to get out of his life.

So NOW you wanna divorce!!? Shouldn't the two of you already be divorce??? What, did they not confirm that in episode 7? Why were you too even still together???

And, that's where the episode ends.

So, I have a few reasons why I don't like this episode;

The Writing

How they characterized Stella

The Writing (Stolas, too)

       I said it a few times before, I'm gonna say it again, THE WRITING IS POOR! The plot is badly written to the point where nothing makes sense and it confuses you. A lot of people (as far as twitter goes) loved this episode. They love it so much, they don't bother to see the flaws that the episode, along with the rest of the show have. Actually, once you think about it, people put so much attention on the Stolitz relationship, they're blinded by how terrible the writing is.

       Here's the main problem with this show; The Sudden Changes!! One thing happens and suddenly that thing changes, and with no explanation as to why that something is how it is. Or when something happens so suddenly and it just seems out of character, you're left with no explaining as to why or how that happened. It just happens, and you're left confused. Like, "What's this, all of a sudden?" or "Where did this come from?"

     The events that happen in this episode don't really add up to the pilot along with the rest of the series and some things just don't seem to make sense. Its like the writers totally retconned pieces of history as if whatever happened in the first season was completely forgotten or apparently never happened despite what it appeared to be. Or when something is shown, its shown completely differently than how it was the first time. Like, for example; In the second episode of season 1, Stolas's response to Stella's reaction about the affair. Stolas looked really nervous while Stella was yelling, cursing, and throwing stuff at him. During their argument, he was scared and he looked slightly guilty. It was as if he didn't want Stella finding out about the affair at all. He couldn't even make any excuses for his actions. But in this episode, it was so opposite, he didn't even deny it!! Stolas was straight up CONFIDENT for what he did and practically rubbed it in Stella's face;

"WHAT THE F**K WAS THAT, STOLAS!!"

"That was the sound of a F**CKING DIVORCE! *laughs*

       And I'm sitting here totally confused, like... where did this sudden boast come from???? First, you're getting all anxious, but now you're showing you got some balls to be proud of it?! This part of Stolas's backstory happened in episode 2 (but just wasn't shown), so imagine that same scene of Stella yelling at Stolas from outside in episode 2 before the argument. Stella most likely marched up in that mansion and that's when the fight happened. And suddenly, Stolas gets all defensive and scared? Like bruh, where did all that confidence go?? You were literally laughing at her face a few minutes ago!!

       Let's not forget about Stolas's sudden genuine feelings for Blitzo in episode 7, Season 1. That part especially confused me. Literally this entire season, Stolas has NOT shown ANY genuine love for Blitzo AT ALL! If you think Stolas was ever in love with Blitzo, your definition of love is totally questioning. Stolas does nothing but flirt with him, make sexual remarks, sexually harassing him. Blitzo was nothing but his walking sex toy and he never failed to let him forget that. But suddenly in episode 7, Stolas is actually showing true feelings for Blitzo. He was genuinely happy Blitzo asked him on a "date". Bro was getting dressed, putting on make up and everything. While they were on their date, Stolas, FOR ONCE, was treating Blitzo like a person instead of an object.

"So, Blitzy, how was you're day?"

       He's even trying to start a conversation with him. Wow! For real, Stolas! You are actually speaking to Blitzo?? No sexual remarks? No lust? No request for sex? I'm honestly stunned! You'd think I would be a little impressed about this...... except I'M NOT! Because, quick question, where did this sudden affection come from???!! Why is Stolas suddenly trying to pursue a romantic relationship and treating Blitzo like a person with feelings other than a sex toy? Where did this sudden change in Stolas come from?? It just happened so suddenly in that one episode and with NO explanation!! No flashback, No backstory, no NOTHING!! Nope! Out of nowhere, he just began show romantic feelings for Blitzo. (Stolitz fans, don't even try and tell me that Stolas always had feelings for Blitzo, cuz he didn't)

       THAT was one of my problems with Episode 1 of the second season! Or even the ENTIRE show in general! It's not even that serious, but it just annoys me because, it wasn't the first time where I've seen a show/anime where logic like that doesn't apply. One thing happens and then five episodes later, if the topic is even brought up, it NEVER happened! And even when it DID happen, it happened totally differently then how it originally was! If you're gonna make a show and add in some logic or facts about something, then you have to make sure that logic applies, or else you're just gonna be confusing your watchers! That's the one problem the writers have when making a show. Sure, they'll tell you one thing that will happen in a show, but they don't even accomplish it. And when they do, they do it the WRONG way!

       Another thing that got to me was what Stolas mentioned in his argument with Stella, "The only reason I endured your constant insults and cruelty was for that girl (Octavia) to have a normal life”. You wanted her to live a normal life, yet you had an affair, proving yourself to be disloyal, not just to your wife, but your DAUGHTER too!! Not to mention you would constantly flirt with Blitzo RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER! You never apologized for it and you didn't even give her a good explanation! And with a cherry on top, YOU CONTINUE YOUR AFFAIR WITH BLITZO AS IF YOUR CONVERSATION WITH YOUR DAUGHTER NEVER HAPPENED (This being another example)! Bro, don't start acting like you cared for Octavia at all! You clearly don't if you don't even realize that what you're doing is wrong! You completely disregarded her feelings and all you do is make excuses to cover your a**!!

       Here's ANOTHER thing that set me off. For someone who barely knew Blitzo's name you were sure quick to give into temptation with, DESPITE NOT SEEING HIM IN 25 YEARS!! Yeah, you had a crush on him when you were little. But, you were just a kid! You mean to tell me that after 25 years, your feelings for Blitzo were still their?? There's no way you haven't gotten over it, especially after spending one play date with him! Blitzo didn't even show up to see him! He never gave two lick of sh*ts about Stolas. The only reason he was there was to steal the book, and THAT WAS IT! This scene, along with the hot moment was disturbing and cringe!

Stella

       My god, was I irritated with how they did Stella in this episode!! It was so dumb, it was childish, IT WAS LAZY. Viv must really hate this character so much to not give her any depth as an antagonist. Kinda funny, considering SHE'S THE ONE WHO CREATED STELLA! These writers are trying too hard to make Stella the villain. I don't think they took any time with her character. They we're probably just like...

"Hey, let's give our precious cinnamon roll, Stolas a wife and make her evil."

"Good Idea!" And moved on.

       The whole time she's on screen, she's done nothing but insult Stolas, talk about him, laugh at him, and just be straight up mean. As said above, it's also depicted that she has been a mean-spirited little monster from when she was little, which upset me a quite a bit. So, you mean to tell me that, from the day she was born, she was always an evil soulless witch? I really shouldn't be surprised, but I didn't like how they just showed a picture of Stella being a monster. It just makes it seem like Viv wants me to hate Stella even more, (It's not working). I mean, I get that's the idea of a villain, you're suppose to hate them. But with the way they written Stella as a villain, it makes me question, "Why should I hate her?" Like, you're already gonna show people she's the bad guy by showing a scary picture of her as a little girl, telling us she was always bad? (Why would his father think that would be a good idea to show him THAT picture anyway???)

       Here's why the writers made me mad when they pulled this sh*t; In the earlier seasons starting with the pilot, we didn't know all too much about Stella. We just knew she was the wife of Stolas and he cheated on her. We were left to question how she reacted. Well, since Viv said at one point that she only cared about the power and social status and not at all about her husband and child (I'm not sure when she revealed it, but she did), we would imagine she probably didn't care that Stolas cheated on her. But we saw a whole different view of Stella's reaction,

"I cannot believe you slept with an imp! IN OUR F*CKING BED!!!"

       In this scene Stella was truly angry over what Stolas had done. She's yelling and cussing, throwing things at him, and breaks a few more things as she stormed off while screaming. Okay, that just shows us that she really has a hot-temper. How is that considered evil?? In that moment, a lot of people already started to hate Stella, BUT FOR WHAT??? Why were fans suddenly hating her?? She didn't even do anything wrong!! Her reaction to the affair was a pretty fair reaction.

       So let me get this straight, if my boyfriend/husband cheats on me and I yell at him for it, I'm considered evil??? You're telling me that no one would be angry over their partner cheating on them behind their back. I know I would! Another time Stella was shown was when it was revealed she was the one who hired an assassin to kill Stolas. Alright, I love Stella, but even I can say that she definitely shouldn't have done that. Especially considering she had a daughter that still cared about Stolas. But still, we would understand why she did it. Even in that moment, she wasn't considered evil!!! Once again, what she did was out of anger!! But the fans don't care. They don't even take into consideration!

       The only reason why fans (*cough* Stolitz fans *cough*) didn't like Stella was because of their stupid sympathy for Stolas. People had no reason to hate Stella other than the fact that she's Stolas's wife and she's not Blitzo. People think that she's getting in the way of Stolas and Blitzo relationship (even when there was NO relationship), and it was the most dumbest and pettiest reason to hate someone. And since Vivzie clearly don't like Stella herself, she went ahead and gave the fans an excuse to hate Stella just to make Stolas the victim. That Stella don't care about Stolas, not caring about her own daughter, making her an abusive wife!

       Really?? She only cares about power?? She could care less about Stolas's disloyalty? If that's the case, then why did she react so aggressively when finding out about the affair!? That he did it with an IMP of all things?? Please!! If that were the case, Stella wouldn't have referred to him as a "cheating prick". If Stella really didn't care about Stolas cheating on her, then she shouldn't have reacted at all!! She shouldn't even have to care that he did it with someone of a lower class. She probably would've pretended it didn't happen!!

       So now that Stella has more screen time, we get to know more about her. As far as I'm concerned, she wasn't too keen on the idea of the arranged marriage. Okay, she didn't want to marry Stolas. Fine, she didn't have to like the idea of marrying him. But why is she treating him so terribly? Why do these two fight so much?? Why does she act the way she does? WHY IS SHE SO EVIL AND B*TCHY!! These are questions I'm sure we're all wondering about. Questions that were never answered or explained. Stella was only around Stolas because she likes to torment him for what he did.

"I like tormenting you."

        Just straight up gives us a slap across the face with that sudden bland cruelty. There's no reason why she likes to torment him..... She just does, and her just saying that just to be the bad guy really cringes the hell out of me. There is no way I can take her seriously anymore after all that. This writing was so bad and so lazy, there's no way I would ever watch it again.

       So yes, the new episode was trash. The plot was trash, Stella's character was trash. All of it belongs in a dumpster. This whole episode was like a fanfiction written by a middle schooler in the 5th grade. It was THAT lazy and childish. There is no point to this episode. This is nothing but a soap opera to make Stolas look good and pitiful and to make Stella as hateful as possible for no reason. At this point, any hope I have for this show is forever GONE!! I wonder how they'll screw up the next episode. They'll probably end up making Stella an abusive mother too, just to give us a reason to hate her even more. Writers, you're not making me dislike Stella, you're making me dislike what you're doing to this story.

       If you're gonna make Stella the bad guy, fine. But don't make her evil just to be evil. Don't make her your typical evil villain from some cheesy cartoon. Put some depth into her character, give her a background, at least give her some redeeming qualities.

[pikahlua]

in terms of popularity do you think Uraraka is popular? like comparing her to the other shonen female leads like sakura, mikasa, nobara/maki(now) or makima? she ranked 16th in the last popularity poll which makes me wonder what is it about her character that hori wrote that failed to stick with the audience? or is just the lack of screentime her character has gotten?

I can't believe I'm about to say this, but this question is a little too meta for me lol.

I'm referring to the surface question rather than what I think you really mean by it. Like, I don't actively keep up with who is popular. I just incidentally might learn about these things. And you referenced a bunch of characters to compare Uraraka to whom...uh...honestly I had to Google some of them lol. I do not read/watch any of those manga/anime.

But I think you're really asking:

In what ways does Uraraka's character hit or miss with the audience? Why does it turn out like this?

First of all, I would just point out that you should note how you phrased the question. You didn't ask me why is Uraraka not as popular as other characters in her own manga, or other popular characters in other popular manga. You compared her to other women characters in other manga, specifically female leads. Uraraka is in many ways a character drawn to fit a token trope of shounen manga.

“Female lead.”

As if a woman can't be the main character of a shounen (they can, see Maka Albarn of Soul Eater and Emma of The Promised Neverland).

As if each manga can only have one female lead (there can be more, see Winry Rockbell and Riza Hawkeye of Fullmetal Alchemist).

I just want people to really consider how we think (or don’t think) about these things. It’s important to examine that.

Second, I’ll knock out the obvious issues with Uraraka’s popularity. She lacks screen time, she lacks meaningful personal motivations and character development outside of her relationship with the male main character, and she’s fairly removed from the main plot of the story. The saddest part is that it didn’t have to be this way.

Third, my general opinion on the matter: Uraraka is popular.

She’s very popular. I don’t think I’ve encountered a person who hasn’t been moved by her character/story. The problem is...we haven’t seen her in years.

I don’t think people hate Uraraka. I don’t think people even dislike her role as a romantic interest for the main character. In the beginning.

She disappeared as a character the moment her crush developed in the final exam arc. When it was Izuku crushing on her, it was cute. Because when Izuku was crushing on her, we got to see what he saw in her. She is a great character. I freaking love her. I also want to believe Izuku loves her, but...he doesn’t think about her anymore??? He doesn’t even think about their friendship that much either. It’s so bizarre. He used to treat her like a queen, and not in that creepy pedestal way (well, aside from how he used to treat EVERYONE like that). Now he barely notices her. I don’t know what to make of that other than the fact that I hate it. They do have some nice friend/romantic moments in the Joint Training arc (season 5) that almost get us back to those basics, but they ultimately don’t go anywhere.

But really, I think people like Uraraka...when she shows up. She just doesn’t often do that. And when she does it’s so brief that it just isn’t enough.

Who is Uraraka the character? I’m talking about the Sports Festival, of course, but I’m also talking about the martial artist.

The reason Uraraka is great...or was...is because she was destined to be a combat character on equal footing with many of the male fighters. She was allowed to get dirty. She was allowed to get ugly. She was allowed to be a mess. She was allowed to be competitive. She was allowed to be intimidating. She was allowed to be scary. She was allowed to be awesome.

Nothing illustrates this better than Bakugou vs. Uraraka.

If I did a poll of reaction YouTube channels watching that episode for the first time, I guarantee 75% minimum would have cried at least once during that episode. Real tears. Because Uraraka’s story, her character, her motivations, they are real. And they are universal. They aren’t feminine or masculine, they are purely relatable.

That’s a big part of why I love it when Uraraka interacts with Bakugou, or Iida, or Kirishima, or Asui, or anyone in a friend/comrade/competitor relationship. She’s so goddamn real, exactly the kind of girl I would expect to enroll in a hero school.

But when she’s forwarding the romance subplot? She’s stale. She’s flat. She’s boring. She’s not real at all. She’s just gone.

A part of me secretly hopes she’s a deconstruction of the female lead/romantic interest trope and fully rejects her crush, not because I have anything against IzuOcha (I don’t, I want it to be more interesting) but because she just deserves better and it’d be a nice twist on such a stale trope. It’d be the only thing that could justify the boring romance subplot, even if it doesn’t justify how boring it is. It could end with some commentary on how love is incompatible with hero work, which is a subplot we’ve seen a few times like with Kouta’s parents. Would that conclusion be worth it? Probably not. But it’s better than nothing, I guess.

I miss feral Uraraka, the one who scared the shit out of Bakugou. I miss her so much. Give her back.

[sir-adamus]

I’m constantly thinking about how my interest in Dragon Prince just died.

I liked season 1 fine, some pacing issues but every show has growing pains. Plus with nine episodes you gotta move a little quick in places.

Season 2, again, was fine. Some good moments. But my problems start getting obvious. Bad Dad is… not that well written. It feels like they’re trying to make him sympathetic while he’s treating his kids like shit and being a power hungry douche, and “no, the dragons were the real bad guys.” And… no? The writing for him is so muddled. And then my other biggest issue is the romance that came out of frickin nowhere. Like suddenly after a week Rayla ready to tell Callum she loves him like… what? And yeah they’re kids but still.

And then… season three. Oh season three. Undoubtedly the best part is what they do with Soren. I love this himbo. He’s the one thing I think is paced really well. Well, him and Claudia. But that’s about where it ends. I’m still so baffled why Aunt Amaya saved the Fire Elf when she’s been shown to have that same extreme prejudice. And while cute, their relationship is even more speedran than our main one which is impressive. Speaking of, I just can’t with Callum and Rayla. I can’t. And a lot of it comes down to the awful pacing. Again, limited episodes but I’ve seen other shows do a whole lot with just nine episodes. *cough* Arcane *cough*

And that’s not even getting into all the behind the scenes horror that just killed any enthusiasm I had left for the show. I know the people who worked on it didn’t want us to stop watching, they just wanted the world to know, but… I was already just barely hanging onto the show by a thread.

yeah honestly it's the pacing that killed it for me too (as well as, like you said, the behind the scenes stuff being extremely fucking horrible). the first two seasons go at a fairly even pace and then suddenly in the final episode throws in Rayla making an attempted love confession out of nowhere which then proceeds to dominate the entirety of the third season despite that the show's timeline means these two have only known each other for less than a month

it's the complete lack of buildup before acting like it was there all along - Arcane didn't have that issue despite the romantic aspects only being present for just over half the season's run-time because a) Vi and Cait's attraction to each other is made clear from the start and b) while they become close during the few days that back half of the show takes place over, they aren't making love confessions and kissing each other yet. mutual attraction and emotional connection has been established from the get-go and things build in a romantic direction from there. unlike with Ray/llum where it comes out of nowhere at the back-end of the second season after these teenagers have known each other for a month and then they're just in a serious relationship

like what

by comparison it doesn't feel half as rushed (though still rushed and definitely trying to play it with plausible deniability) with Amaya and Janai despite them having hardly any screentime because they didn't get that far, we just get established mutual attraction (if you can understand sign language because they didn't subtitle or have someone translate Amaya telling the boys that Janai thinks she's cute but won't admit it yet - can't think why!)

honestly the problem with the whole show is Ehasz trying to coast off his AtLA cred (which considering he wasn't invited back for Korra feels very much like how shit like Epic Movie were advertised as 'from the writers of Scary Movie' and it's the two writers who weren't invited back for any of the sequels) and so it's doing everything AtLA did but in a far more compressed timeframe and that really hurts the pacing

they spend two seasons building up the brewing war only to have it happen and resolve it in less than five episodes. i already did my rant about Ray/llum. Callum has basically no narrative struggle in season 3 because he's the magic Avatar and any magic he sees he can do (even super special magic that even most natural born magic users can't do), and the one conflict he has with Rayla, where she's intent to sacrifice herself to redeem her family for seemingly abandoning the Dragon Queen, he resolves by breaking a magic pendant she had given him to remember her (which itself was a gift to her so she could remember her adoptive dads, and was a symbol of their relationship) so he could use it as fuel for a spell (that, once again, he had only seen once, no magic struggle, boring as all fuck) behind her back, without consulting her, so he can win the argument and tell her she's wrong

all the interesting characters get sidelined in favour of turning Callum into a boring, overpowered time sink that Rayla suddenly perpetually revolves around. Soren is the one shining light in the season with him breaking out of the golden child/scapegoat conflict his shithole father has him and Claudia trapped in, while Claudia is just being fasttracked into being Azula but again (and i have a sneaking suspicion that there's no way she's going to be handled with any genuine nuance or care once that jump happens - Claudia was a great character in the first two seasons with a unique perspective on things and deserves way better from a writing standpoint. and a better writer who doesn't lie to fans in DMs about her romantic prospects just to encourage more engagement with the show because i know the person he did that too and holy fuck what a manipulative scumsuck he is)

it's frustrating because there was interesting stuff going on, cool ideas, fun characters - and it just got completely fucked over by Ehasz being a tool and a hack writer rushing half the story, rushed romances and whatever else into the third season because that was all the animators were contracted for (while also being a terrible shithead behind the scenes and lying to fans, about a number of things but in this specific case, trying to drum up engagement for the show so they could get a second and third season despite that those were already in the works) because he desperately wants this to be his Avatar but again and Better

[itsclydebitches]

re: that ask you posted a couple days ago about the male and female representation in RWBY, part of what makes RWBY's whole 'girl power' thing ring exceptionally hollow to me is the fact that there are like... no women in positions of real power in remnant. like at all. except the big bad.

winter is second in command to james. glynda is second in command to ozpin. all of the headmasters are men (for no discernible reason, imo; why theodore and not dorothea?). the leader of the ace ops was a white man (and then winter seemed to take over clover's position instead of either of the women of color on the team, and she was still second to james). RWBY is an all girl team, but JNPR was led by a boy despite a girl arguably being far more qualified (pyrrha). the happy huntresses are all women, and robyn had no real power to speak of--she didn't even manage to win the election, because jacques rigged it, and then the council ceased to matter. there was one (1) woman on the council, but she was so inconsequential that i can't even remember her name. (i suppose we're lucky it was the guy and not her who james shot lol) jacques controls the SDC instead of willow, even though he's not even a schnee by blood and actually married into the family for power. (and we don't even know how he got it over his wife.)

and then there's the white fang, which ghira led and not kali--and it's ghira who leads menagerie itself, while kali seems to be a housewife. sienna had five minutes of screentime before being brutally killed and her position assumed by adam, a man. cordovin is basically a one off lackey we haven't even thought about before or since. neo was second to roman. you have cinder, sure, who is a second but to salem, a woman, and raven as the leader of the branwen tribe--but what does it really say about your 'girl power' narrative when the only women with genuine systemic power in your world are villains or antagonists with massive bodycounts??

atla has the same sort of problem--a couple great female characters, but all the leadership positions are men (except the kyoshi warriors, an all girls group, and even then the leader of their island is an old man) and the one female mentor figure also turns out to be evil--but it at least has some great writing to help overlook that fact, and it came out in the mid-00's and so has some sort of excuse of being a product of its time. but rwby didn't even start until 2013 and it's still going and still making these kinds of decisions well into 2021.

where is this supposed girl power, exactly? am i really supposed to overlook the very patriarchal worldbuilding just because the title characters are girls?

That's an excellent summary of the situation, anon, and as with so much in RWBY, it comes down to the full context. Any one of these examples isn't necessarily going to mean much on its own. It's when you look at the pattern that you can start making a case for those conclusions: Why is the show marketed on "girl power" set in a world where men hold the vast majority of that power? And, more importantly, why is that setup not the point? We could easily have a story where that lopsided gender dynamic is the problem that the girls are looking to fix, but... that story doesn't exist. Like the problems discussed with Jaune, the supposed point here exists only on the surface. Dig just the tinniest bit — the above — and you hit on a lot of structural problems with this "girl power" world.

To add just a few details to what you've already said:

Salem indeed has power, but she's never allowed to fully use it. Each volume the frustration with this grows as Salem accumulates more abilities and then just sits on them. From literally hiding out for a thousand years to worries that she won't use the Staff in Volumes 9-10, Salem really isn't allowed to be the threat she's presented as on the surface. And yes, this is absolutely due in part to the "She's too OP and the writers don't know how to let her be that powerful while still having the heroes win" issue, but again, context. That problem doesn't exclude others occurring simultaneously.

Same double explanation with Summer. Yes, dead moms are an incredibly common trauma to dump on a protagonist, but it still left Yang and Ruby with Tai as their primary influence. And Qrow. The uncle becomes the extended family influence while Raven is the absent one/eventual antagonist. It's personal power as opposed to political power, but Tai, Qrow, Ozpin, formerly James... most of the mentors are men. Maria, a key exception, has been ignored in that regard. The story announced that she was Qrow's inspiration, setup her being Ruby's new mentor, and then... nothing. Nothing has come of that. She disappeared for a volume and then went off to Amity and was literally forgotten by the story when evacuating everyone was the finale's whole point.

Like that Endgame moment I mentioned, the Happy Huntresses feel a little too forced to me. Yes, it's the same basic idea as in ATLA, but ATLA, as you say, has a lot more going for it. The Happy Huntresses feel... on the nose? Idk exactly how to explain it. Like, "Here they are! Another team of all women! Isn't this how progressive storytelling works? Just ignore how this is a one-off team of minor characters compared to the world building issues discussed above." And if you're not paying attention, you miss just how insignificant they are, with a side of Robyn being, well, Robyn. The Kyoshi Warriors, at least, are based off of Kyoshi. A woman avatar who is a significant part of their history. That is, presumably, why they're an all women warrior group (but who notably still teach Sokka). The Happy Huntresses are all huntresses because...? There's no reason except that meta "We want to look progressive" explanation. Just like having all the women superheroes team up for a hot second so people get excited and ignore the representation problems across, what? 21 films? Don't get me wrong, I love that May is among the Happy Huntresses. I think including her in the explicitly all-women group was one of the better things RWBY has done in a long time, but the rest is still a mess.

RWBY is arguably about these smaller groups as opposed to systematic power (despite the writers trying to work that in with things like the White Fang and the election. Not to mention the implication that everything in Atlas is fine now that evil Ironwood has died and taken the symbol of wealth (the city) with him. We saw a human holding hands with a faunus after all. Racism and corruption solved, I guess.) So yes, our group is dominated by women... but Whitley is the one saving Nora, helping to defeat the Hound (plus Willow), thinking of the airships, and providing the blueprints they need to escape. Salem is our Big Bad, except Ironwood is the one the volume focuses on. Ruby is our leader, but Jaune is the one leading the group into the whale and getting praised for how heroic he is. Ren does more to shake things up, even if he's painted as the one in the wrong. Oscar gets to confront Salem and destroys the whale threat. Ozpin provides the information they need to evacuate. Meanwhile, when the girls do things in Volume 8 it's almost always followed by a long-stint of passiveness. Nora opens the door so she can be unconscious for most of the volume. Penny keeps Amity up so she can also be unconscious for a good chunk of time. Ruby sends her message and then sits in a mansion. Blake fights so she can tearfully beg Ruby to save her. Weiss, as said, takes a backseat to Whitley (and Klein). They forward the plot, absolutely, but comparatively it doesn't feel like enough.

It's that pattern then, no one specific example. More and more the personal power, not just the systematic power already built into Remnant, seems to be coming from the men. Not all the time, but enough that scenes like the tea drinking moment feel like a part of a much larger problem. Pietro taking control, Watts hacking, and Ambrosius literally remaking her when Penny is supposed to already be in control of herself and her fate. Winter being presented as the active mentor to Weiss, only to turn around and claim that Ironwood was actually responsible for everything. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and May straight up commenting on how awful things are out there while Yang, Jaune, Ren, and Oscar lead the charge against Salem — with the latter three doing the most to forward that mission (no fear, semblance, cane). As others have only half-joked, Yang's supposedly badass moment was bringing up a mother she's ignored for six volumes and briefly blowing up the immortal woman for a couple of seconds (with Ironwood's bombs). Even Marrow is arguably the most significant Ace Op after Clover. Vine isn't actually a character, Elm slightly less so, Harriet is there to go crazy and try to drop a bomb (notably before admitting to never-before-existed feelings for Clover), but Marrow? He's the one who breaks out. Who is meant to heroically stand up against Ironwood. Who comments on how awful it is that teenagers are fighting and, regardless of how messed up the moral messages are, is supposedly pushing for active change while all the women in his group, including Winter, insist on maintaining the status quo. Look at all these choices as a whole, it makes throwaway worldbuilding choices like "All the Maidens are women" feel pretty hollow. Why does it matter if Amber is a Maiden if she dies in a flashback so Ozpin can struggle to pass on the power? If Pyrrha dies before becoming one so Jaune can angst about it? If Raven is one and then disappears from the story entirely? If Winter has enough power to break Ironwood's aura, but supposedly had no power throughout every other choice she made getting here? If Penny is one, but is continually controlled by men and then asks another man to help her die? It's just really unconvincing, once you look past the surface excitement of a woman looking cool with magic powers.

When you do consider the whole of the story — both in terms of our world building and who is forwarding the plot in the latter volumes, getting the emotional focus, being proactive, etc. — there are a lot of problems that undermine the presumed message RT wants to write. They say, "girl power" by marketing RWBY with these four women, but too many of the storytelling decisions thoroughly undermine that, revealing what's likely a deeply ingrained, subconscious bias.

[dontcallmecarrie]

Replying to @kine-iende​ [hope this works and you see it, still trying to get the hang of how tags work] who said:

Thank you, author-person, for this incredible detailed answer. (Also i don't mind being tagged - or not) With Tony being so aware of the dynamic between those rivals, Justin ending as a villian is less going a betrayal from almost-family and more of a 'natural phenomen' he should have seen coming. Because as always:rivals ^^

.

To be completely honest, if this AU were a tv show the ‘Justin Hammer accidentally founded Cabal’ reveal would’ve been the huge plot twist revealed at the end of either Season 2 or 3, and it’d be a major shocker for the Avengers...but not Tony.

also just realized I somehow made an AU where the protagonist basically becomes a villain out of Spite™ and I’m not sure if that’s the weakest origin story ever, or what

After all, if this were a tv show, it’d be centered around the Avengers, and the main season one conflict would be in seeing how Tony fits in the team— which would get resolved eventually, but not before the audience gets a good look at their dynamics. Like, the chemistry between Iron Man and Captain America, how easily and seamlessly they work together without needing more than a word or two because they’re on the same page, or Tony’s cordial yet distant academic respect for Bruce [which gets contrasted with Iron Man’s uncharacteristic instant bromance with the Hulk], or... well, the list goes on.

Not to mention that having a common enemy alters their dynamic as time goes on, because while if this’d been a one-off things would’ve still been rocky between Tony and the team, whereas having to constantly coordinate because new intel indicates that their last enemy was actually connected to something bigger and that means even more teamwork...

So by this point they’ve got a good idea of their characters, how they roll, how they react under pressure and during downtime and throughout all this, Justin Hammer would make cameos because he’s SHIELD’s main weapons supplier [...among other groups, which in and of itself foreshadows some of his shadier connections later on] and between him and Tony, they’ve basically cornered the market on experts in that field— which comes in handy when we’re talking about alien tech. 

Justin wouldn’t get much screentime compared to the others, but enough for the Avengers [and the audience] to see he makes for a very good foil for Tony, with their differences being highlighted all the more due to the similarities. After all, both come across as good people: Tony’s very friendly to anyone who isn’t on his shit list, and Justin acts very polite and gentlemanly to strangers [and is 100% a mom friend to anyone he cares about]. Tony’s a hero, though, while Justin’s long since made it clear he was a businessman first and foremost.

Through all this, Justin and Tony’s dynamic is intentionally kept vague— one moment they’re perfectly friendly, the next they'll be at each others’ throats and, again, sometimes can get misinterpreted as something else. 

Then the Reveal happens, and suddenly all those past encounters and hints come up and it’s so obvious in retrospect but—

Who would’ve expected it?

Tony. 

Tony’s the only one who’s not surprised by what the latest intel’s hinting at, obtained from an intel broker who turned up dead not long after [...because said broker’d also been messing with HYDRA, but that’s the plot twist that comes up in the next season]: nothing specific, nothing concrete, but something that ties a good chunk of the previous Villains Of The Week together to reveal a far, far greater threat. 

The Cabal, and while some of its members have long since become familiar names— e.g. the Fantastic Four normally are the ones who have to deal with Victor Von Doom, but not always— its founder had been a mystery for the longest time. A mystery that has just been ended, except nobody could have expected to see the name on the file.

Everyone else’s caught flat-footed and going through several permutations of ‘oh shit’, meanwhile Tony just leans back, scrubs a hand down his face, and looks out the window with a low whistle.

“Well played, Justin. Well played.”

.

Which is when the audience learns more about their very strange dynamic, which gets revealed to have started out a rivalry during their childhood [and has now basically escalated to the most high-stakes game of chicken there ever was, but shh].

Here’s the thing: if Tony were to call their rivalry off, Justin would stop.

But...

Tony can count on one hand how many positive constants he’s had in his life: Jarvis’ [and, after his heart attack, JARVIS’] presence, and his rivalry. Those are the two things that’ve been there for him through thick and thin, the only two safe places where he knows where they stand, knows they won’t try and tear him down and that means something. 

JARVIS will never leave him [not this Jarvis, at least], but... this rivalry’s been a thing since before he met Rhodey, since before his parents died and Tony’s not entirely certain just how much it’s shaped him, but he can count on one hand how many people give a damn about him and want to see him succeed and— 

Tony’s not sure he has it in him to call it off. Not at this point. 

Not when part of him knows why he did it, because— well, every superhero needs an adversary, don’t they? For a moment, he’d been surprised Justin had the guts to do this, but it makes complete sense the more he thinks about it and Tony knows just how little respect Justin has for the others, of course he’d be the type of guy who’d go “ugh, fine, if you want something done right, gotta do it yourself”. 

.

also, before this all seems very one-sided, I think I forgot to mention that Justin’s really benefiting from this rivalry too— not as obvious early on, but it gives him something to focus on and work towards. 

Something that kept him from depression when he thought too much about his past life and discovered just how much he’d forgotten, was still forgetting, something to keep him from being bored when he looked up one day and realized— he didn’t actually have any goals in this life, did he? 

Not when his life thus far had been dictated by his parents, and he’d been okay with following along to their script for him because if it wasn’t him, it’d be his sister or an innocent child who’d be forced to live up to their impossibly high expectations as the heir to Hammer Industries... but it was something he was resigned to at this point, not something he was particularly happy about. 

This time, he... didn’t know what he wanted in life. Nor did he remember what he’d wanted last time— had they wanted to be a doctor? Teacher? Writer? They didn’t remember anymore— and it’s startling to realize that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d smiled if he wasn’t talking to his little sister. 

Justin’s never been one to seek out the approval of the adults in his life— the fact that he was surrounded by Parents of the Year [note the sarcasm] probably had something to do with that— and remembering a past life means he sees everyone his physical age and lower as kids, so he doesn’t see many people as equals.

...and then Tony decided he’d like having a rival.

At first, yeah, it was confusing; even as an adult, Justin didn’t entirely get why, but it was. Something.

Something good, and gets even better because this is something they both decided, that had nothing to do with the meticulously-annotated plan his parents had for his life, and while at first it was weird, Justin found he was actually enjoying himself [for once].

To the point where he found himself actually getting honestly, genuinely invested in said rivalry, and if he sometimes found himself trying to drill self-care into Tony sometimes, well, those bags under his eyes made them look bad, okay? It was self-interest, nothing more, really!

Really.

So when Tony went and became a superhero, Justin found himself taking a step back for a moment as he paused to consider his actions.

Paused before taking the plunge, because this was it, was serious, was pushing the limit and going past the point of no return. Was he really willing to do this?

A moment to consider things, deliberate on the possible consequences and what could happen— then he gave a sharp, decisive nod.

“Yes, we’re doing this.” 

[mermaidsirennikita]

bridgerton--the good, the bad, the ugly

The short of it: Bridgerton excellently captures the tone of Regency romance novels and offers a lot of escapism and great sex scenes, but could definitely use some serious work in terms of how it depicts race and it should have made some further alterations to the dated and flawed source material.  Definitely loved a lot of it and am hotly anticipating the second season, but I want to see more work done and I HOPE that this encourages the adaptation of better (and less inherently flawed) romance novels.

Now for the longer take.

The Good

Bridgerton depicted sex and romance in a way that is totally different from anything I’ve seen in period dramas, for sure, but possibly different from anything I’ve seen on TV.  The romance of it all was woven into almost every aspect of the show. There is the handsome and seemingly severe but extravagantly wealthy and sexually adept duke sweeping into town.  The (multiple) rakes who just want to have fun while also being hot messes.  The awakening of female sexuality and the copious use of the female gaze.  (Note the pretty modest and minimal focus on female nudity, while we get plenty of lingering shots on Simon.).  People want love!  There is pretty minimal violence and perhaps the most physically violent scene involves Simon beating a man up because HE IMPEACHED DAPHNE’S HONOR~.

The sex scenes themselves focused on Daphne’s pleasure for the most part, and were probably among the best I’ve seen since Outlander in terms of chemistry, in terms of the visuals, in terms of focus on sex as an act of emotional connection and FUN. Yes, there was some Unlikely Vaginal Orgasming, but we also saw Simon tell Daphne about masturbation.  On the wedding night, he was pretty clearly touching her to help her enjoy it.  He ate her out... a good bit.  

And aside from that, we got all of the grand speeches, the stolen glances and touches, an excellent buildup of sexual tension that led to some pretty hilarious moments.  

I also really enjoyed many of the performances on this show.  Rege-Jean and Phoebe had great chemistry and excellent back and forth.  Jonathan was a GREAT Anthony.  I would argue that as lackluster as I found his relationship with Siena (more on that in a minute) it largely existed as a way to set him up for his romance with Kate.  He now has even more of a reason to be down with love, as opposed to solely relying on a kind of flimsy tragic backstory.  Additionally, his overprotectiveness of Daphne added tension to the story and made him a source of comedic relief for me?  I loved it.  Give me disaster Anthony all day; can’t wait until he falls to the enemies to lovers trope just like Simon fell to his FLAW-FREE fake dating plan.

A lot of the changes I found were really good.  Obviously, it was important that the show incorporated greater diversity (though they need way more).  Benedict was INFINITELY more fun and interesting than he was in the novels, and acted as another standout for me.  As much as I hate Portia Featherington, I think that the elevation of her to a proper villainess is probably necessary and Polly Walker excels at those types of roles, though they need to maybe have her be less like, actively racist.  I adored the addition of Queen Charlotte; she was excellent comic relief.  Lady Danbury’s expanded role and relationship to Simon was one of the best moves they made.  It touched my entire soul.

Buuuut....

The Bad

The show needs to work on casting more men that are frankly on Rege-Jean’s level.  It feels a bit awkward to see a guy that is by most people’s standards kind of stunning and then.... Colin looks twelve.  Lord Philip is like... a farm guy.  Get rid of the sideburns, we’re in romance novel territory.

In the same note, the girl who played Siena wasn’t a great actress and wasn’t super stunning, so even though I’m fine with her being a placeholder....  Eh.  Go for better casting.  The woman playing Madame Delacroix would’ve played that role so much better and I really enjoyed her dynamic with Benedict because she was just fun.

Frankly, I don’t know what the fuck they’re going to do to make me want to watch Penelope and Colin fall in love.  Their book was already a bit basic--fun, but far from revolutionary.  I don’t really get why they would receive attention similar to that of Kate and Anthony, basically.  The issue is that Colin, again, looks and sound rather young and twerpy.  It obviously wasn’t great for him to be tricked into raising another man’s child, but.... For fuck’s sake, how much would that have affected his life on a practical level.  He’d never know unless he was told, thanks to the lack of DNA tests.  He was marrying far out of his league in terms of attractiveness.  He’s a rich white guy in England with a supportive family.  

I really disliked the fact that Colin told Marina in his huffy little tantrum that he would have married her anyway--because would you have, buddy?  Really?  The thing is that Marina had no way of knowing that and her entire life (and the reputations of her cousins) was on the line.  She didn’t know if she could trust Colin to keep her secret.  They barely knew each other.  He basically came off as a whiny child and I’m fine with him staying in Greece if that’s the plan.

Penelope was just... psychotic.  And that was really disappointing, because I love Nicola and would love to have loved to see the fat girl get her sexy love story.  But first off, lol, it wouldn’t have been sexy because Colin was miscast.  Second, she basically tried to destroy Marina’s life and that of her sisters?  And herself?  Because Colin?  Because Colin, a guy who hasn’t even shown any amount of attraction to her at this point?  Her tears, her whining, it was all too much.  Penelope was dealing with a crush and Marina was dealing with the real Grown Woman issues of a child out of wedlock and as it turned out a dead lover and they were not on equal footing.

I mean, Penelope could very well make a great villainess at this point, and if done well I’d embrace it.  But I do not know how the fuck they can make me interested in her love story.  And the idea of her basically being launched into villainy because she was this chubby white girl obsessively jealous of a beautiful black woman...... not a great look.

The show definitely needs to explore diversity in terms of sexuality too--I don’t think it’s correct to read Benedict as straight because he still seems to be open to exploring.  Once he has more screentime, I think he could totally end up being bisexual, and it’s possible that the writers were trying to feel the audience out in terms of their receptiveness to taking a straight character who has a big straight love story in the books and making him LGBT+.  Eloise could also easily be a lesbian, and I’d be thrilled to see that happen.  They need to do something to expand the world, and if there are 8 Bridgerton kids, all of them being straight as an arrow seems SO unlikely.

The Ugly

Obviously, the rape scene was bad and should have been written out.  Simon could have gotten caught up in the moment and blown up at Daphne after he accidentally didn’t pull out in time.  Men.... accidentally don’t pull out in time... a lot.  That’s how babies happen.  It would’ve been believable, and due to our sympathies being with Simon largely, I don’t think he would have become irredeemable if he was more at fault than Daphne.  

As it was, I will say that the scene was somewhat better than it played in the books because Simon was conscious and totally sober, and it was a bit?  Confusing?  That he didn’t just roll Daphne over and pull out?  Because she wasn’t really clearly trying as hard as she was in the book to wrap her legs around him and hold him tight.  But it remained a rape scene.  The show also did a better job, I think, of establishing how fucked up it was that Simon took advantage of Daphne’s lack of knowledge.  Whatever he said about thinking she knew what was up--he knew she didn’t even know about masturbation.  He had to know she wouldn’t understand what pulling out meant.  He did very clearly mislead her to think that he was sterile and therefore denied Daphne her ability to give informed consent.  Did that justify what Daphne did?  Nope.  Two wrongs don’t make a right.  But both of them did a fucked up thing and I think that we honestly could’ve stopped at Simon’s misleading.

The issue too is that this leads into a bigger problem the show had.  It wanted to include diversity (yay!) but did not consider the total implications of what was happening (not yay).  Daphne and Simon’s dynamic is inevitably influenced by the fact that she’s a white woman and he’s a black man, regardless of whatever handwaves happened.  This influences the sexual assault and makes it even more messy.

Speaking of mess, I’m not sure what exactly would have fixed the “we don’t want this to be a colorblind casting” issue... but the explanation they came up with wasn’t good.  Never mind that this makes everything SUPER confusing (racism is over like..... maybe 50 years MAX after Queen Charlotte’s marriage if we assume she was a teen when she married and is in her 60s now?) but Lady Danbury’s dialogue explaining this was HORRENDOUS.  “One of them fell in love with one of us”.  The implications are awful.  I don’t know if perhaps setting back the integration of society centuries earlier would have helped?  But this wasn’t it.

Additionally, the writers and casting directors didn’t seem to get that diversity is all well and good, but what about the fact that almost every black character has a light skin tone?  Why are there so few black female characters?  Why is Marina, the most prominent woc on the show, given the “pregnant and desperately trying to trick a man into marrying her until her jealous white cousin fucks her life up and she is humiliated into settling for a loveless match” plot?  I desperately hope we see her next season, falling in love with Sir Phillip or perhaps having experienced a plot twist that gives her someone else...  And she better not die. Eloise can find someone else if Marina really ends up with Sir Philip.

Ultimately, again, I really loved the show.  But it needs to work on some things.  I think that a lot of its issues can be addressed and fixed in a future season, and I HOPE they do that.