#even when i think some parts of the show are flawed or suck or whatever im still having fun... | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

babydollmarauders · 1 year

Text

MEAN — ALEX TURCOTTE

alex turcotte x fem!reader

part of the Speak Now Fic List

summary: in which y/n opens up to Alex about the hate she’s been receiving from his fans

notes: not proofread! so sorry if it sucks!

y/nonthegram

liked by _alexturcotte, trevorzegras, and 7,297 others

y/nonthegram on a date and our waiter called me a bitch… anyone know what number i can call to complain?

tagged _alexturcotte and trevorzegras

user47 awww they went to dux in tux to support trevor!

_alexturcotte my girl 🖤

y/nonthegram my boy 🤍

user16 thank god she didn’t show her face

trevorzegras sorry, we don’t take complaints 🙅‍♂️ only compliments 💁‍♂️

y/nonthegram that feels very unprofessional

trevorzegras who ever said i was professional? 🤔

jackhughes my boys! looking dapper! and y/n!

y/nonthegram this is y/nphobic

jackhughes i acknowledged you, didn’t i?

y/nonthegram barely

colecaufield @/y/nonthegram i’ll acknowledge you! you look beautiful, y/n!

y/nonthegram @/colecaufield thank you! at least someone appreciates me!

user63 well… trevor wasn’t very far off

user77 have you ever even met her? she’s literally the nicest person ever

user21 she gives mean girl bitch vibes so idc

user98 impatiently waiting for him to dump her

user30 honestly, if he cheats on her on a roadie… would anyone really be upset?

user52 i know i wouldn’t! i think all of us are just praying on their downfall. like, he could do so much better

***

my eyes sting, locked to my phone screen. my hearing is muffled, drowning out the sound of my boyfriend and his best friend just feet away from me.

they sit on the coffee table in front of me, NHL 23 displayed on the tv. they shout curses at each other and the tv, trying their hardest to win for their respective teams on the video game. but my focus is solely on the comments of my most recent instagram post.

all i wanted to do was show off my boyfriend of five years. but his fans were being so mean.

it was nothing new. these comments happened on nearly every post i made. whether they were insulting my looks, or saying Alex deserved better, i could never please them.

usually, i only let myself look at the comments for a moment before deleting them altogether, but today was already a hard mental health day and these comments were hitting me where it hurts. i can’t help but dwell on them longer than usual. today they took my worst fear, and used it as a ‘what if?’ scenario, one of the meanest things they’ve ever done.

i sniffle, standing from the couch. shuffling quickly past my boyfriend, my head hanging low to try and hide my tears as i make my way to our bedroom, shutting myself in the darkened room, the only light being that of the setting california sun peeking through the curtains on the windows.

i crawl up our bed, burrowing myself in a cocoon of blankets and pillows, and turn my phone back on, scrolling through the comments once more. this time, i let my tears flow freely, silent sobs racking my body.

all the comments on my body, my insecurities and flaws, my relationship, even some accusing me of cheating on Alex with our friends. it’s one blow after another, each one cutting deeper than the last.

a loud cry escapes my lips and i clap a hand over my mouth, squeezing my eyes shut and holding my breath; praying to whatever higher power that Alex and Trevor didn’t overhear me from the living room.

my prayers go unanswered when our bedroom door creaks open, the light switch being flipped on, and two sets of footsteps enter the bedroom.

“hey, sweet girl.” i bury my head deeper under the blanket at the sound of my boyfriend’s voice. “you wanna show me that pretty face?”

his gentle tone brings even more tears to my eyes and despite knowing he can’t see me, i shake my head.

“y/n? are you okay?” Trevor asks softly. i feel them both sit on the bed as i hum out a ‘mhm’.

“you sure?” Trevor questions.

“why won’t you let us see you, then?” Alex asks. a hand finds my back, rubbing it soothingly, and the soft touch causes me to let out another cry. i hear some muffled whispering before someone rises from the bed.

“i’m gonna leave you guys to talk, i’ll see you tomorrow.” Trevor announces. “y/n, if you need me, just call and i’ll come right over.”

i hear his footsteps retreating, the bedroom door falling shut behind him before my boyfriend’s hand leaves my back, coming up on the blankets and pulling it down to reveal my tear stained face.

“hey, what wrong, baby?” his eyes are filled with worry, concern dripping from his words like honey. “why are you crying, sweet girl?”

“i’m fine.” i choke and he obviously sees straight through my lie.

“if you were fine, you wouldn’t be crying.” he shifts his body, moving to lay down next to me on the bed. his arm wraps around my waist, pulling me in close, and on instinct, i throw my thigh over his abdomen. his hand comes up to play with my hair, the tips of his fingers scratching my scalp in a calming manner.

“you wanna tell me what’s got my girl so upset?” he questions. he knows he has me in the palm of his hand. he knows exactly what to do to ease my mind and make me feel safe.

“comments.” i whisper into his chest, muttered by lips against his shirt.

“hmm?” he hums. my eyes flicker up to see his brows pulled down in confusion.

“instagram comments.” i clarify, sniffling and wiping at my nose with my hand. “some of your fans aren’t very nice.”

“wait what?” he asks. his hands pause their actions and he pulls my face back to look me in the eyes. “what are you talking about?”

“i didn’t wanna say anything. you love your fans and some of them are so sweet.” i sigh.

his expression is one of betrayal and disappointment. this is exactly why i kept this all from him. he loves his fans so much, i know he would never want to hear that some of them are so cruel.

“y/n, what are they saying?”

“just mean things. things i’d rather not repeat.” i unlock my phone, the screen still on the hate comments of my latest post, and hand it to him, letting him see them for himself.

“what the fuck?” he murmurs to himself. “why have i never seen these?”

“i usually delete them right away.” i confess. “i never wanted you to see them.”

“baby, you should’ve told me about these. these are cruel.” he scrolls through the comments, deleting every comment that isn’t necessarily considered nice.

“i know, but your fans make you so happy. i never wanted to take that from you.” i cry, burying my face in his chest.

“but you make me happier.” his hand rests on my head, the other rubbing my back. “you make me so much happier than they ever could.”

“it just hurts. it didn’t used to hurt this much, but after so long, the comments are getting to me.” i sob. “i just wanna feel okay again.”

“hey, you know nothing they said is true, right? you’re beautiful, and sweet, and the best thing to ever happen to me. you’re the smartest, most thoughtful, kindhearted, loving girl i’ve ever met. and i would never do anything to jeopardize what we have. i would never even think about even entertaining the idea of sleeping with anyone on a roadie, you know that, don’t you?”

i nod my head, sniffling. i raise my head to look at him, his eyes glassy as he wipes my tears.

“i love them, but i love you so much more. and they’re clearly not fans of mine if they think it’s okay to say shit like this about you, let alone to you.”

my insecurities get the best of me and i can’t help but question.

“you’re sure you’re not sick of me?” i whisper.

“you ever looked in my nightstand?” he asks, my eyebrows furrow in confusion and i shake my head.

“not recently, no.” i don’t understand his question, or what it has to do with mine.

he pushes me off of him, my heart sinking in my chest.

this is it.

he’s decided we’re done.

i don’t know what i’ll do without him.

he leans over his side of the bed, shuffling around in his nightstand drawer for a moment before turning back to me, something clasped in his hand.

“i had a more romantic plan, i swear i did. i had a whole speech planned, but my mom said that i should do this when it feels right. and now feels right.”

my eyes widen, my breath going shaky as i consider what he could possibly be meaning in this moment.

i sit up quickly in the bed, as he reveals a black ring box in his hands, opening it to reveal a gorgeous diamond ring.

my hands rise shakily to my parted lips, more tears gathering in my eyes as they flicker between him and the ring.

“you asked if i’m sure, and i hope that this ring shows you that i’m absolutely positive. i can’t imagine a life without you. i can’t imagine what my life would’ve been like if you hadn’t called me a ‘stupid waste-of-a-pretty-face hockey player’ when we were sixteen.”

“all you got from that was ‘pretty’.” i let out a choked laugh through my tears.

“and i’m so glad i did, because that one word was all it took for me to fall to my knees. to chase after you and annoy you for an entire year until you agreed to go out with me. and now i never want to live a life without you.

“you’re my biggest supporter, my favorite person in the world, and the only girl i ever want. i love your kind soul, and the way your smile brightens my day. i love your beautiful eyes and the way you laugh over my dumbest jokes. i love that you fought for us to stay together, even when i wasn’t sure if we would work after i was drafted. i love that you dance in the kitchen when you cook, and the way you romanticize every part of our every day lives. i love that you refuse to go to bed angry, and that you sing in the shower and make me duet you. i love you, for everything you are, and everything you will be. and i would love to spend the rest of our lives together, if you’ll marry me.”

i can’t even get a response past my lips, opting to tackle him instead, nearly knocking us off the bed. but Alex’s quick thinking saves the moment, swaying us sideways instead to land on our sides on the mattress.

i straddle his waist, knocking him on his back as my lips glide along his face, peppering kisses on his cheeks, forehead, nose, chin, anywhere i can reach, before settling on his lips.

i pour all of my emotions into this kiss, filled with love and happiness, joy and affection. i suckle his bottom lip as i pull back to look into his eyes, a large grin taking up the bottom half of my face.

“is that a yes?” he chuckles, a hand resting on my lower back, the other still gripping the ring box.

“that’s a yes.” i nod excessively, holding my left hand out for him. he smiles widely, making quick work of removing the engagement ring from the box and sliding it onto my finger.

“i love you so much.” i tell him, grasping his face in my hands as i lower my lips to his once more.

***

y/nonthegram

liked by _alexturcotte, jackhughes, and 11,759 others

y/nonthegram i said yes <3

tagged _alexturcotte

comments on this post have been limited

jackhughes HE DID IT?! WITHOUT US?! WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PLAN?!

y/nonthegram plan?

jackhughes i mean.. i’m so happy for you guys! i knew you guys were meant for each other!

y/nonthegram thank you rowdy!

_alexturcotte thanks bro!

trevorzegras HELL YEAH BRO! LOCK HER DOWN! SO HAPPY FOR YOU LOVEBIRDS!

y/nonthegram thanks Z! celebration lunch tomorrow?

trevorzegras just txt me the deets, doll!

_alexturcotte thanks bro, and thanks for keeping the secret, even though you usually have loose lips

trevorzegras @/_alexturcotte i resent that

colecaufield MY BEST FRIENDS ARE GETTING MARRIED!! CONGRATS YOU GUYS 🍾🎉🥳🥂💍

y/nonthegram thank you coley! 😙🤍

_alexturcotte thank you cole!

_quinnhughes when did you grow up? stop growing up! i’m happy for you two, but jeez y/n, i could’ve sworn you were still fourteen and stalking practices yesterday!

y/nonthegram hey! i never stalked practices! i simply liked to observe the sport!

y/nonthegram but thank you quinny 🤍 you’ll be my man of honor, right?

_quinnhughes it would be my pleasure, y/n/n

jackhughes hey! why is QUINN your man of honor and not me?!

y/nonthegram because if it’s you then you’re gonna wear a dress. you wanna be man of honor?

jackhughes ya know what? i’ll let Quinn be your man of honor. you’ve known him longest, so it’s only fair.

y/nonthegram that’s what i thought

lhughes_06 congratulations guys!! engagement party at the lake house?!

y/nonthegram engagement party at the lake house!

#speak now fic list #alex turcotte #alex turcotte x reader #alex turcotte imagine #alex turcotte blurb #nhl imagine #nhl blurb #nhl fic #la kings #ontario reign #faithlynn’s writings <3

450 notes · View notes

physalian · 6 months

Text

What No One Tells You About Writing #5

Part 4

Part 3

Part 2

Shorter list this time, but longer points. I expect this one to be more divisive, but it is what it is, and this is what ‘no one tells you’ about writing, after all. This one’s all about feedback and how to take it, and give it.

1. Not everyone will like your book, no matter how good it is

I’ve said this before, granted, but sometimes you can have very arbitrary reasons for not liking an otherwise great story. For example: I refuse to watch Hamilton. Why? Because everyone I knew and their dog was trying to cram it down my throat when it came out and I still don’t really like musicals, and didn’t appreciate the bombardment of insisting I’ll like it simply because everyone else does. I’m sure it’s great! I’m just not watching it until I want to watch it.

It can be other reasons, too. I won’t read fanfic that’s written in first person, doesn’t matter how good it is. Someone might not watch a TV show because the primary cast is white or not-white. Someone might not watch a movie because an actor they despise is in it, even if the role is fantastic. Someone might not watch or read a story that’s too heavy on the romance, or not enough, or too explicit. I went looking for beta readers and came across one who wouldn’t touch a book where the romance came secondary in a sci-fi or fantasy novel. Kept on scrolling.

Someone can just think your side character is unfunny and doesn’t hear the same music as everyone else. Someone can just not like your writing style with either too much or not enough fluff, or too much personality in the main narrator. Or they have triggers that prevent them from enjoying it the way you intend.

How someone expresses that refusal is not your job to manage. You cannot force someone to like your work and pushing too hard will just make it worse. Some people just won’t like it, end of story.

2. Criticism takes a very long time to take well

Some people are just naturally better at taking constructive criticism, some have a thick skin, some just have a natural confidence that beats back whatever jabs the average reader or professional editor can give. If you’re like me, you might’ve physically struggled at first to actually read the feedback and insisted that your beta readers color-coded the positive from the negative.

It can be a very steep climb up the mountain until you reach a point where you know you’re good enough, and fully appreciate that it is actually “constructive” and anything that isn’t, isn’t worth your time.

The biggest hurdle I had to climb was this: A criticism of my work is not a criticism of me as a person.

Yes, my characters are built with pieces of my personality and worldview and dreams and ideals, but the people giving you feedback should be people who either already know you as a person and are just trying to help, or are people you pay to be unbiased and only focus on what’s on the page.

Some decisions, like a concerning moral of your story, is inadvertently a criticism of your own beliefs—like when I left feedback that anxiety can’t just be loved away and believing so is a flawed philosophy. I did that with intent to help, not because I thought the writer incompetent or that they wrote it in bad faith.

I’m sure it wasn’t a fun experience reading what I had to say, either. It’s not fun when I get told a character I love and lost sleep over getting right isn’t getting the same reception with my betas. But they’re all doing it (or at least they all should be doing it) from a place of just wanting to help, not to insult your writing ability. Even if your writing objectively sucks, you’re still doing a lot more just by putting words on paper than so many people who can’t bring themselves to even try.

As with all mediums subjects to critique, one need not be an author to still give valuable feedback. I’m not a screenwriter, but from an audience’s standpoint, I can tell you what I think works. Non-authors giving you pointers on the writing process? You can probably ignore that. Non-authors giving you pointers on how your character lands? Then, yeah, they might have an opinion worth considering.

3. Parsing out the “constructive” from the criticism isn’t easy

This goes for people giving it as well. Saying things like “this book sucks” is an obviously useless one. Saying “I didn’t like this story because it was confusing and uncompelling” is better. “I think this story was confusing and uncompelling because of X, and I have some suggestions here that I think can make it better.”

Now we’re talking.

Everyone’s writing style is different. Some writers like a lot of fluff and poetic prose to immerse you in the details and the setting, well beyond what you need to understand the scene or the plot. Their goal is to make this world come alive and help you picture the scene exactly the way they see it in their minds.

There’s writers who are very light on the sensory fluff and poetry, trying to give you the impression of what the scene should look and feel like and letting you fill in the missing pieces with your own vision.

Or there’s stories that take a long time to get anywhere, spending many pages on the small otherwise insignificant slice-of-life details as opposed to laser-precision on the plot, and those who trim off all the fat for a fast-paced rollercoaster.

None of these are inherently bad or wrong, but audiences do have their preferences.

The keyword in “constructive criticism” is “construct”. As in, your advice is useless if you can’t explain why you think an element needs work. “It’s just bad” isn’t helpful to anyone.

When trying to decide if feedback has merit, try to look at whatever the critic gives you and explain what they said to yourself in your own words. If you think changing the piece in question will enhance your story or better convey what you’re trying to say, it’s probably solid advice.

Sometimes you just have to throw the whole character out, or the whole scene, whole plot line and side quest. Figuring out what you can salvage just takes time, and practice.

4. Just when you think you’re done, there’s more

There’s a quote out there that may or may not belong to Da Vinci that goes “art is never finished, only abandoned.” Even when you think your book is as good as it can be, you can still sleep on it and second-guess yourself and wonder if something about it could have been done better or differently.

There is such a thing as too much editing.

But it also takes a long time to get there. Only 10-15% of writing is actually penning the story. The rest is editing, agonizing over editing, re-editing, and staring at the same few lines of dialogue that just aren't working to the point that you dream about your characters.

It can get demoralizing fast when you think you’ve fixed a scene, get the stamp of approval from one reader, only for the next one to come back with valid feedback neither of you considered before. So you fix it again. And then there’s another problem you didn’t consider. And then you’re juggling all these scene bits and moments you thought were perfect, only for it to keep collapsing.

It will get there. You will have a manuscript you’re proud of, even if it’s not the one you thought you were going to write. My newest book isn’t what I set out to write, but if I stuck to that original idea, I never would have let it become the work that it is.

5. “[Writing advice] is more like guidelines than actual rules.”

Personally, I think there’s very few universal, blanket pieces of writing advice that fit every book, no exceptions, no conditions, no questions asked. Aside from: Don’t sacrifice a clear story for what you think is cool, but horribly confusing.

For example, I’m American, but I like watching foreign films from time to time. The pacing and story structure of European films can break so many American rules it’s astonishing. Pacing? What pacing? It’s ~fancy~. It wants to hang on a shot of a random wall for fifteen seconds with no music and no point because it’s ~artsy~. Or there is no actual plot, or arc, it’s just following these characters around for 90 minutes while they do a thing. The entire movie is basically filler. Or the ending is deeply unsatisfying because the hoity-toity filmmaker believes in suffering for art or… something.

That doesn’t fly with mainstream American audiences. We live, breathe, and die on the Hero’s Journey and expect a three-act-structure with few novel exceptions.

That does not mean your totally unique or subversive plot structure is wrong. So much writing advice I’ve found is solid advice, sure, but it doesn’t often help me with the story I’m writing. I don’t write romance like the typical romance you’d expect (especially when it comes to monster allegories). There’s some character archetypes I just can’t write and refuse to include–like the sad, abusive, angsty, 8-pack abs love interest, or the comedic relief.

Beyond making sure your audience can actually understand what you’re trying to say, both because you want your message to be received, and you don’t want your readers to quit reading, there is an audience for everything, and exceptions to nearly every rule, even when it comes to writing foundations like grammar and syntax.

You don’t even have to put dialogue in quotes. (Be advised, though, that the more ~unique~ your story is, the more likely you are to only find success in a niche audience).

Lots of writing advice is useful. Lots of it is contradictory. Lots of it is outdated because audience expectations are changing constantly. There is a balance between what you *should* do as said by other writers, and what you think is right for your story, regardless of what anyone else says.

Just don’t make it confusing.

—

I just dropped my cover art and summary for my debut novel. Go check it out and let me know what you think!

#writing advice #writing resources #writing tips #writing tools #writing a book #writing #writeblr #editing #constructive criticism #what no one tells you about writing

139 notes · View notes

2rats1gogh · 3 months

Note

what do you think of the rumors about Aemond's possible betrayal of Aegon in Ep4?

I wouldn’t be surprised. After the scene where Rhaenyra meets with Alicent, dressed as a nun, I gave up. They are making up the most random ass stuff that not only didn’t happen in the book, but wasn’t even implied. I don’t even know at this point. The show is slowly turning into something so absurd I don’t even know what to think of it. I can’t take it seriously anymore.

The showrunners are actively ruining and “breaking up” the greens for whatever fucking reason. I get that they are a dysfunctional family, but why does it seem like they don’t give a fuck about each other anymore?? The show is not fun anymore. In a way, it used to be “two sides, both flawed but both with strong aspects” now it’s just “team black is cool, and teem green sucks ass”.

Book Aemond would never betray Aegon. They are literally brothers and each other’s supporters. Even when Aegon was injuried Aemond never took his throne with force by crowning himself king. He was Prince Regent. They are a team in the book, and now? what the actual hell is going on in this show💀💀💀💀💀

Out of all 3 episodes that are out now, I genuinely enjoyed only the second one, mainly because Tom and Phia delivered some great acting, and also the argument Rhaenyra and Daemon had. That whole part was amazing. And then… yeah, it went downhill from there.

#house of the dragon #hotd #hotd critical #pro team green #team green #asoiaf #anti team black #fire and blood

65 notes · View notes

nekohime19 · 1 month

Text

Macaque study # S4 SPECIALS

Let's go with Macaque in the special of season 4! There will be a lot to say here too. The specials offer us a very interesting insight on what happened between Wukong and Macaque while also taking the first step towards their reconciliation.

The first appearance of Macaque in the specials is immediately centered around Wukong (and his conflict with him).

MK : We have to try! He'd do the same for any of us.

Macaque averting his eyes while MK says this very sentence is not coincidental. Obviously Macaque doesn't think Wukong would really do this if it was for him. After all, Macaque still has this image of Wukong he's fueling. The one of a selfish person who doesn't care. Yet Macaque still wants to go with MK. This time MK didn't even ask him to help, Macaque stepped up on his own. I think it's important to notice this because Macaque could have just chosen to not care. Contrary to season 3, nobody asked him to save the world, nobody asked him to help. Perhaps because they're not sure of his position in the matter.

Yet Macaque still chose to help on his own. It really shows how much he really cares about this even if he acts like he doesn't by being grumpy.

Within the first few minutes of Macaque being inside the scroll of memory, he already showcases a lot of familiarity with Wukong past self and Wukong in general :

- He instantly recognizes that the Wukong they see is a memory (perhaps because he knew Wukong at this state in his life?)

- He said that he can “smell him a mile away” which while very funny also portrays a sense of familiarity. I did some research on that and while old world apes like rhesus macaques don't have a strong sense of smell, they do use smell to differentiate between members of their social group. Macaque being used to Wukong smell can portray how Macaque was a part of Wukong social group back in the days.

- And finally the lil monkey they find immediately attach itself to Macaque rather than MK. It does really show how Macaque lived on the island with Wukong, and how contrary to any other members of the brotherhood, Macaque lived with the monkeys. He was part of the troop. And the monkeys probably missed him a lot too.

Those are rather oblivious details, but it does set the record for the rest of the specials. Macaque was very familiar with Wukong, probably more familiar than any other members of the brotherhood. He was part of the troop, he lived with Wukong. Wukong was his king.

I think it's also really fun how Macaque tells MK to read JTTW. When they come across Wukong training under Subodhi, Macaque specifically tells how this scene is in chapter 1. That means Macaque himself have read the book. Maybe, after being resurrected, Macaque got curious about the journey and decided to read the book, or he just wanted to know what happened to Wukong after his death.

After this, they both stumble upon a very important scene : Macaque under the tree on the beach and Wukong coming to him.

There is a lot to say in this scene.

Wukong : Macaque, you're okay bud?

Macaque : Welcome back your majesty

Wukong : ah, don't be like that. Eat some fruits, suck up the sun. That's why I've been training so hard.

Macaque : What? So you can be the strongest?

Wukong : Nooo well maybe a lil bit. But that's not the point! It's so we don't have to worry about anything or anyone ever again. Just live a lazy life sitting in the sun, eating fruits. And doing whatever we want. Sounds pretty good? Huh? Huh?

So with nothing but the dialogue we already got the key points of Wukong's motivation, his fatal flaw that led to his downfall and the basics of his relationship with Macaque.

First, Wukong is mainly driven by the need to protect others. The first thing he tells Macaque when he sees him is “Are you okay?”. And while at first we can assume Wukong is simply overprotective, we also see Macaque bandaging himself before Wukong comes to him. That does show that whatever threat Wukong was desperate to protect Macaque from (poachers, demons) it does exist. Flower Fruit Mountain, while being a rather difficult place to reach and thus quite protected, is not completely safe. Macaque can still get hurt.

Second, Macaque is sarcastic when he says “your majesty”, that does showcase that while Wukong is a king, Macaque doesn't treat him as one. He treats Wukong as a friend. That's why he uses this title so lightly. Macaque's light jab “welcome back” is also most likely an allusion to Wukong's frequent escapades to become stronger. Clearly, Macaque is annoyed by Wukong's absence. Maybe he feels like a servant of some sort, waiting for Wukong to return.

What I find interesting is that we can see here how Macaque is much more comfortable with Wukong alone than with the brotherhood. Here, Macaque is not afraid to express his dissatisfaction with light sarcasm. Whereas, in the brotherhood, when Peng was mocking him, he didn't reply at all and kept quiet.

Third, Wukong's flaw shone through the interaction despite his main drive (which is to protect). Macaque is aware of Wukong's flaw when he replies “What so you can be the strongest?”, and even Wukong recognizes his thirst for power. This is really important because it's a key point to understanding their downfall. While Wukong's intentions were originally good, he let his desire for powers and glory blind him. At this point in time, his desire still doesn't take precedent over his dream. But the more he'll gather power, the more he'll lose sight of why he started this quest of strength for. The more he'll lose sight of Macaque. The more he'll keep feeding this desire with Azure's recognition.

And like the scene of the brotherhood banquet, Macaque is reassured when Wukong mentions their dream again, more likely comforted by the fact Wukong didn't forget their common dream. Truly, even at the earliest stage of their friendship, Macaque already had the fear of being forgotten .

[ Apparté : I think it's sweet how we sees Wukong idea of a paradise : he needs “sun”, “fruits”, “safety” (proof in his words : “we don't have to worry about anything or anyone ever again”) , “liberty” (“And doing whatever we want “) and “Macaque” (emphasis on the “we” He repeats constantly).]

Macaque: quit it, eat your dang peach

Wukong : you're a peach.

Lastly, this scene introduces us to the peach symbolism in Macaque and Wukong relationship.

We know how obsessed Wukong is with peaches, so for him to give one to Macaque is already a physical proof of his care. He even goes as far as to call him a “peach”. It might be subtle, but truly this is a great show of fondness and care coming from Wukong. Here we have two shows of affections coming from Wukong : gift-giving and endearments, all related to peaches because that's what he likes the most and thus is the ultimate show of his affection.

The peach represents their friendship. It also, in a metaphorical lense, represents longevity. As such, it can represent Wukong's desire for Macaque to be safe and to live a long life. Macaque accepting the peach is, of course, him accepting Wukong's show of care but also accepting his protection/ the longevity he gives him.

The act of gifting a peach is also metaphorically a wish for love, happiness and well-being. And I think this encompasses Wukong’s feelings perfectly. He wants Macaque to be well and happy. He wants to protect him and cares for him. And Macaque accepts this show of affection coming from Wukong.

After this particularly sweet scene, we get the scene of their downfall: the fight under the mountain.

Macaque : Hey bud, I got a lil something

Wukong : What for me? You're not serious, that whole peach is for me? Oh bud, you shouldn't have!

Macaque : Okay, you don't have to be so you about it.

Wukong : no, no honestly this is exactly what I need right now. I'm trapped under the mountain but the Six-eared Macaque brought me a peach. Hooray.

Macaque : You know I'd help if I could.

Wukong : Oh sure, cause normally you just rush to my rescue.

Macaque : yeah, okay.

So with this first section of the dialogue we learns a lot already.

First, Macaque coming to hand a peach to Wukong is, of course, made to comfort him in his rough situation (peaches are probably his comfort food) but it’s also an offer of friendship. Macaque is offering his company. His friendship. Because, truly, he cannot offer anything else.

But Wukong's response is a very cutting antiphrasis, sarcasm in short. Very much like Macaque in the previous scene, he uses sarcasm to convey his frustrations and feelings. But it hurts way more here. Because Wukong is not only refusing the peach, he's also refusing Macaque company and friendship. He uses Macaque full title to create distance between them.

We can translate Wukong's antiphrasis like this :

- What for me? You're not serious, that whole peach is for me? Oh bud, you shouldn't have!

- I don't care about the peach. It's not what you should do!

- no, no honestly this is exactly what I need right now. I'm trapped under the mountain but the Six-eared Macaque brought me a peach. Hooray.

- I don't need the peach right now. I want freedom. You're the Six-eared Macaque and the only thing you can offer me is a peach? Why can't you free me? (I translated it like this because of the use of Macaque's full title. Here, for me, Wukong is mocking Macaque inabilities by saying his full title, full title being generally a show of power.)

What Wukong wants is freedom, more than friendship, more than company, more than comfort.

Macaque tried to convey his helplessness by saying that it's not like he doesn't want to help, it's that he cannot, he doesn't have the capacities to. But Wukong doubts Macaque's willingness to help with sarcasm once again.

- Oh sure, cause normally you just rush to my rescue!

- You never rescue me. You never help me.

Like we previously see, Macaque prefers to avoid conflicts rather than face them. When he sees Wukong unwillingness to listen, he rises and walks away. I think Macaque's position was really telling in this scene. He sat beside Wukong. Not in front of him. He lowered himself on the ground, maybe to lower himself to Wukong's level and not look down on him in a show of companionship, and sat at his side in an act of silent support. But when Wukong rejects that companionship (rejects Macaque), Macaque rises and walks away. He doesn't crush the peach yet but simply takes it away. Thus, it shows that their friendship has not been crushed yet. Macaque takes Wukong's rejection in stride and decides to take back his offer of friendship at the moment.

Wukong : Well it was great seeing you bud, just run off like you always do.

Macaque : No, that's you! You're the one who's always running off, looking for more powers, for more sources of immortality. You're one who wouldn't quit while we were ahead. Not the great sage, he's gonna drag everyone else into his mess.

Wukong : you're not in this mess, you're still free ! Everything I did was for us!

Macaque : You did it for yourself. You've become like this… obsessive demon. I told you going against the Jade Emperor was a bad idea, but no, Wukong doesn't listen to anyone. He just does whatever he wants. You put yourself there, not me.

Wukong : Fine! Leave! I don't wanna see your face here again you big- hugh. I really wanted that peach.

And that's the words that makes Macaque explode.

Wukong is definitely salty about something here, he mentions how Macaque always run-off, perhaps that's because he felt like Macaque abandoned him after his defeat against the Jade Emperor. Macaque most likely escaped with the brotherhood via a portal, it would explain how they were be able to avoid the heavenly soldiers after Wukong’s defeat. Wukong most likely felt like he was left behind, tossed away the moment he lost, and resented Macaque for this.

Macaque on his part is furious because he felt like he was the one who had been abandoned. It's not Wukong who has been abandoned. It's him. He emphasizes this feeling by reminding Wukong of his numerous escapades and repeating the verb “running off” that Wukong used, trying to show Wukong that he's not the one being abandoned, it was Macaque all along. This is probably a boiling feeling who festered for a long time and exploded here. He also emphasizes Wukong's flaw by mentioning power and immortality. Essentially Macaque is calling out Wukong on his flaws, saying that he forsake their common dream for strength and longevity. He uses the title “Great sage” as an insult, probably to mock Wukong's desire for grandeur, and also put the blame entirely on Wukong, saying that he's the one who dragged “everyone else” (Macaque, monkeys and the brotherhood) into this situation. Which is largely untrue. This situation was the result of a lot of additional factors. But pushed by his emotions and his festered frustrations, Macaque is blind to this.

Wukong replies to this by saying that Macaque is not in this mess. Ignoring Macaque's own pain and wounds after the battle and only focusing on himself. Which we cannot truly fault him for. He's cut off from the rest of the world, being tortured daily, he probably thinks that the brotherhood and Macaque have great lives. But still, he's ignoring Macaque's pain. He also emphasizes how “everything he did was for us” ( in my opinion it’s a very romantic line, he doesn't say “everything I did was for everyone!” which would include the brotherhood and the monkeys, he uses “us”, which only includes Macaque and him.). I think at a certain point Wukong blinded himself, convincing himself that each of his choices were driven by his common dream with Macaque, when in truth, at the end, most were driven by his own selfish desires.

Macaque calls him out on this. It's interesting to see how Wukong is particularly angered by the moniker “obsessive demon”, probably because by calling him a demon (in JTTW, the representation of strides and enmity) Macaque put him on the same level as all the demons that came on FFM, the enemies Wukong was desperate to protect Macaque from. Macaque also emphasizes on Wukong's selfishness and how he never listened, again festering frustrations that comes in the surface here. In the end, he says Wukong puts himself in this situation, which is true. Wukong had the choice to stop this mad quest at any moment (as MK said in the previous scene, he was already strong enough) but he refused to. Ultimately, his demise and emprisonnement under the mountain is due to nothing but himself.

Yet Wukong wants someone to put the blame on, probably to vent his frustrations and anger, and in this moment he chose Macaque.

Macaque crushes the peach after this and throws it away. A metaphorical ending of his friendship with Wukong.

Yet, after Macaque leaves, Wukong does say he “wanted that peach”. While, yes, story wise Wukong must be quite starved at this moment. It could also be a show of post-fight clarity where he truly admits that he, in fact, wanted Macaque’s companionship.

I don't think one of them is more right than the other in this scene. They're both hurting, and they both had faults. Macaque never stepped up until it was too late and let his frustrations fester inside of him. And Wukong was blinded by his desires and is, now, venting everything on the only person he can, and paradoxically the only person who cared enough to come see him, Macaque.

Ultimately, they both felt abandoned by the other in one way or another.

MK : So Monkey King really was the bad guy?

Macaque : That's what I believed, what Azure would have you believe.

That's a really interesting bit, because Macaque uses past tense. He admits that the image of Wukong he has been fueling, of him being the bad guy, is not necessarily true, and puts himself, or his past self, on the same level as Azure which is the season’s villain.

Then Macaque mentions the pilgrims and how they changed Wukong, taking him to a different path, but when MK mentions that this path was the path of “good guys”, Macaque answer with this :

Macaque : every choice has consequences, for someone.

First, while admitting that Wukong is not necessarily a bad guy, Macaque also doesn't admit that he's a good guy.

Second, this is a hint to what happened between them. We know they had another fight after the one under the mountain. One when Wukong was on his pilgrimage. Macaque talks about consequences. We can speculate that the “someone” he mentions while talking about consequences is himself. Thus, maybe, he's saying that by choosing the path of the pilgrims, Wukong forsake Macaque in a way we don't know yet.

We have different hypotheses we can make as to what truly happened and the reason they fought. I personally have three different hypotheses :

First, like on JTTW, Macaque attacked the pilgrims (maybe to “save” Wukong from the circlet). Even if he's the one who ended their friendship by walking away from the mountain and crushing the peach, it's still difficult to sever all links with someone who has been such a great presence and source of happiness in your life. Macaque could have easily heard Wukong's suffering.

Second (very similarly to the first hypothesis) maybe Macaque attacked the pilgrims but this time in a bout of jealousy. He saw how the pilgrims were able to change Wukong while he couldn't and felt replaced.

Third, maybe Macaque didn't attack the pilgrims. Maybe after he severed his friendship with Wukong he felt lost and spiraled out of control. Going on in the path of destruction. And Wukong, as a pilgrim, was sent to stop him. Cue the fight and Macaque's inevitable death.

Before season 5, I was more tempted to believe that my first two hypotheses were more likely due to their likeness with JTTW. But after season 5, I'm actually leaning on the third. During the short extract we have of their fight, Macaque sounds particularly unhinged, further proving that maybe he was really out of control at the time. Furthermore, after the ending of season 5, Macaque is more or less linked to chaos.

In this scene Macaque says : “Wukong was on a path of self-destruction, we all were.”, what's important here is that Macaque puts himself (and the brotherhood) on this path of self-destruction. He also emphasizes how the pilgrims, in particular the monk, was the reason Wukong deviated from this path.

But contrary to Wukong, Macaque had no-one to help him deviate from this path. It's not far-fetched to think Macaque spiraled out of control after the loss of his friendship with Wukong, going further in the path of self-destruction, until chaos engulfed him. And then Wukong was sent to fight him, to stop him.

Anyway, let's leave the hypotheses aside and go back to the study.

I think it's kinda hilarious that Macaque truly does sniff Wukong out, 😂.

After this, they find Wukong before a cliff with fragments of memories. Wukong admits that he blinded himself with his desire, saying “I just wanted to protect the people I cared about.” with this particular shot, of him handing a peach to Macaque, does emphasize that Macaque is part of the people Wukong cares about. Again, here we have the peach gifting as a symbol of their friendship. And what is even more important is that Macaque steps forward and reaches for the peach before his past self comes along to take it and sit beside Wukong. It shows how Macaque still cares for this friendship with Wukong, he still wants it.

Then, as Macaque gazes at his past self with past Wukong, he reaches for them before letting his hand fall down.

Really, it does show Macaque still yearns for this friendship, but ultimately he gives up. Maybe because of all the bad-blood between them, or maybe because he doesn't feel ready for this yet. No matter, this shows that Macaque doesn't just have hatred towards Wukong. He already admitted that his image of Wukong wasn't entirely true, and then here he shows traces of yearning. In any bruised relationship, the first ever step towards healing is the wants to heal, the wants to even have a relationship, and here Macaque showcases it.

I think it's important that the moment MK begins to talk about “fixing”, Macaque comes and Wukong gazes at him. Maybe it's a sign that Wukong also wants to fix whatever is between them.

MK : I need you to be the Monkey King.

The first thing Wukong does after MK says this is to look at Macaque. And it's only after Macaque smiles at him that Wukong nods and rises. It's very lil, but it's a sign of acceptance on Macaque's side, and a show of care on Wukong's. If Wukong truly didn't care about Macaque anymore he wouldn't search for his acceptance like that. Moreover, Wukong is silently asking Macaque if it's okay to be the Monkey King, to be the hero, to be what essentially killed Macaque, and Macaque smiles and encourages him to be this hero. On Macaque's part, this is a huge step forward. He hates Wukong as a hero because, for him and for a long time, he believed it was what led to their downfall. But here, he encourages Wukong to be one.

The Macaque from season 2 who did a whole shadowplay on how awful heroes are would never do this.

This is really a huge character development for Macaque. It does show how his view of Wukong is changing and how, progressively, he's letting go of his assumptions and hatred, of the fake images he created of Wukong.

After this, we get another flashback of the brotherhood. And if we didn't understand how much Macaque didn't fit with this group before, it's even more obvious now.

In this scene, all the members of the brotherhood are preparing to fight, there are beautiful and dramatic shots of their clothes and weapons to emphasizes this. All shots are very dynamic. And then we have all the brotherhood standing together looking forward (except Azure who's instead looking at Wukong, probably to showcase how his admiration for Wukong blinded him and made him lose sight of his goal).

Except Macaque isn't in the shot. And the only one who bothers to go to Macaque is Wukong.

Moreover, Macaque clothing shot is static, he looks annoyed, and it's not as dramatic nor as powerful as the others, he's also standing in the back. Frankly he looks like he's dressing himself to go do the groceries. Really, it's a sign that Macaque isn't on the same wavelength, he's not willing to do this, his only link to the others is Wukong who comes to him to help him dress.

All the others are more or less after glory, they act like they're on a grand quest, except Macaque. And even if we don’t get a shot of Bull King clothing himself, he's still standing on the very epic shot of all the members of the brotherhood looking in the distance.

There is a clear dichotomy between Macaque and the others. The others are all depicted in a very epic light, while Macaque is more or less normal.

After this we get back to the present, with the entire team and Nezha in Wukong's shack, while Wukong is explaining their plan. Everyone is here except Macaque. Macaque appears in the shack with a shadow portal. It demonstrates that once again Macaque is helping out of his own volition. Nobody asked him or dragged him in the shack, he went there himself to participate. He could have left after rescuing Wukong, nobody expected him to stay and help considering they didn't drag him with them, but still he decided to stay and actively went into the shack to hear the plan and participate.

But because he's Macaque, he does throw a light insult at Wukong by calling him out on his smell.

After a light training, the fight against the brotherhood begins, and Macaque is put against Peng with Mei.

Peng : I don't know how you stomach it brother, the Six-eared Macaque fighting side by side with his own replacements. Is there anything Wukong could do that would break his hold over you?

First, Peng is tapping into Macaque's insecurities (of him being left behind by Wukong, of him being replaced) while also acknowledging how much obsessed Macaque is with Wukong. Until now, those facts were more or less known to us after observing Macaque, but here another character admits the same thing. That does mean that Macaque’s insecurities, fear and fondness/obsession towards Wukong are canonically noticeable by those who know him.

I love how Macaque answers Peng :

Macaque : You know what, Peng ? Straight up, I've never liked you.

Contrary to the past where Macaque avoided conflicts and prefered to keep silent and not answer Peng's quip, here, he answers, he bites back. Macaque is not the same anymore, he's not as docile, nor as afraid of conflicts. After being killed and resurrected, and fighting Wukong to death multiple times while arguing constantly, he's not afraid of fights anymore. He grew up. He changed from how he was. His experiences forged him.

After Azure's defeat, Peng tries to flee.

Macaque : Mei, let them go. After all, he always was the most cowardly of the bunch.

Oh, how do he turn tables on Peng!!! Macaque using “coward”as an insult when it was what Peng always called Macaque in the past is obviously the greatest roast ever, but it's also a tailored quip made to anger Peng and make him act rash.

We can see Macaque turning around while throwing a fanged smile at Peng, something we haven't seen in a while since season 3.

Those shows that Macaque is laying a trap here

The smile is made to provoke Peng, as is the quip. Peng falls for it and rushes towards Macaque, he's then face to face with Macaque kaiju form and Mei's dragon and decides to flee.

Speaking of fanged smiles. The lack of it this season is truly a sign of Macaque comfortability with the group. He doesn't need to pretend anymore.

After that, Macaque participates in the spell used to contain Azure and we get a very confusing short scene of Wukong passing on his cloud next to Macaque, rushing towards Azure to stop him, and Macaque looking at him in slow motion.

For this, I have no other interpretations but a really romantic coded one. I don't know why there is an emphasis on Macaque looking at Wukong for a second, the scene being in slow motion, except if it's for showing how Macaque's attention is always grabbed by Wukong, even when the threat is ahead. Macaque should look at Azure going on a rampage and focusing on the spell, yet when Wukong passes by him he can't help but look at him. You can have different interpretations for this, of course.

After Azure's defeat, the whole team decided to do a beach party. And Macaque invites himself, of course.

Wukong : yo, kinda blocking out the sun there. Oh it's you.

Macaque : Cute. Thanks for the invite by the way.

Wukong : And thanks for showing up even though you were not invited.

So, first, even though Macaque proved he's definitely not in the bad guy team this season, and even though we saw traces of yearning in both of them, they're still throwing quips at each other. Bad habits break hard. They both are so used to fighting, they probably don't know how to act when they're not. Moreover, all the bad-blood is not entirely gone, they still have quite the troublesome past on their shoulders with untold feelings and festering frustrations.

Second, the tree they're under is the same we saw in the flashbacks, a symbol of their past friendship. Clearly meant here as a sigh of their slow healing process, and the healing of their friendship. Wukong also gives Macaque a peach popsicle, not a coincidence considering peaches are another symbol of their friendship. This could be considered as an olive branch in itself but also as a quiet offer of rekindling, an offer to move forward.

Macaque : You know this is the calm before the storm, right?

Wukong : I know. But that can be a tomorrow problem. Whatever they're scheming, we can handle it.

Wukong furthermore emphasizes this by insisting on the “we”, including Macaque in the good guys team.

Also, Macaque calling Wukong cute? 🤨

But even though in this season Macaque willingly went around to help and defeat the villain, he's still not fully on the good guy team. Once Azure is defeated we can see him stand aside, there is a physical distance between him and the rest that would be furthermore emphasized in season five. I think it's important to notice this because it makes Macaque’s redemption arc more genuine. All his past faults are not magically forgiven, nor does he become buddy-buddy with everyone the moment he turns out good. His redemption is slow. The relationships he forged with the others are tentative at best. Even his healing friendship with Wukong is at its earliest stages.

In this season, we got a clearer view of Macaque as a character and how much he changed compared to his past self, but also how much he's willing to help, how much he truly cares.

Alright, that's it for Macaque in the season 4 specials. I'll do a final post for season 5 and that would be the end of this study.

Like always, if you have any other interpretations it's fine and you can share them, I'm curious about them.

Study S1 / Previous

#Lego monkie kid #Six-eared Macaque #Lmk macaque #Macaque study #Lmk theories #Macaque

27 notes · View notes

abrisaber · 4 months

Text

Full Moon kinda sucked :/ (Another HB Rant - Spoilers for Full Moon)

I hate to say this but I think Vivziepop has finally lost me. Now I'm not saying I'm no longer an HB fan, JMI was geneticlly enginered to get me addicted to whatever he's in meaning I could'nt stop watching HB even if I tried. However I am starting to doubt Vivziepops talents. I have no idea what happened between the first half of Season 2 and the second half but this kind of seasonal rot has to be studied in a fucking lab.

I want to like the episodes after "The Circus," I really do. I don't even hate Cherubs, but aside from Oops and the Mid-Special, every episode following The Circus has ranged from disapointing to awful compared to S1.

It's not even like I hate the episodes after The Circus either. Seeing Stars was okay for the most part, Exes and Oohs tried to do something, even Unhappy Campers introduced a potentally intresting character (and thats it). But these episodes have so many glaring flaws in my book that it's hard to grasp.

In my opinion, Helluva Boss was at its best during the balk half of season 1/The beginning of Season 2 (Truth Seekers-The Circus) and the decline in writing quality started at around Seeing Stars.

I made a long post that explains what about Truth Seekers I like so if you care even a little bit about my opinions, you can suffer through that rant, but to shorten it here, Truth Seekers is my favorite episode of the series because it balances the comedy and the drama expertly imo. Truth Seekers feels like Helluva Boss had finally stuck the landing at what kind of show it wanted to be. It showcased how Blitzo felt about his past relationships and his current one, it gave Moxxie a chance to be heard outside of his flaws (before the show decided they wanted to retread the same fucking plotpoint a couple more times), and it was pretty funny (comedy is subjective tho so feel free to ignore my feelings on comedy from here on out).

Ozzies is a good episode because, well, Asmodeus, but also it does more for Blitzo's character. It contrasts with Truth Seekers via two of the three halucinations calling him out on his shit, and it starts to build upon how he views his relationship with Stolas.

While I don't really like The Circus, what it did at the end for Stolas and overall how it setup the relationship for him and Blitzo was genuinly good imo. How it started with Blitzo initiating the one sidedness of their relationship and whatnot.

Notice how I'm talking almost exclusively about Blitzo as my reasons for enjoying these episodes more than others. And thats because Helluva Boss is at its best when it treats Blitzo as its main character. Even from the beginning he was the real star. Obviously you have characters like Stolas and Moxxie also getting focous, but even in those episodes, Blitzo still gets development, because Blitzo is the main driving force for the show. He's the Helluva Boss. He's the center, the emotional core. HB should be about HIM and HIS relationships to others.

Some of the worst episodes are the ones where Blitzo isn't really the main focous, I'm not saying that Blitzo automaticlly makes the show good or that he should be the only one get focus, but when you pull back and look at the series, almost every beloved episode have him (or him and Stolas) at its emotional center.

To keep this already long post from being absurdly long, I'll skip ahead to why I really didnt like the newest episode, Full Moon.

SPOILERS AHEAD

First things first, the Cherubs and Dhorks fucking suck ass as antagonists. They're annoying, they're not funny, and just like Crimson and Striker in Oops, they serve zero narritve purpose outside of being glorified cardboard cutouts for the main characters to fight. They are everything wrong with B-plots in media. Their only existence is to create artifical narritve throughlines that makes artifical suspence to keep the audience engaged like babies watching those baby sensory videos. "Oooo look its the Cherubs from the most nothing burger episode of Season 1. Oooo it's the Dhorks that are easily the most forgetable aspect of Truth Seekers. OOOhhh isnt it sooooo fucking hilarous how the Dhorks killed a bunch of children? Ohhh aren't you so invested to see these characters that mean absolutely nothing to the plot that Vivziepop is trying to sell the show with? DONT YOU JUST LOVE THESE KEY JINGLING ASS CHARACTERS YOU FUCKING BABY-"

I got a little carries away there, but my point is that Dhorks and the Cherubs are worthless slop that should be removed from the plot entirely.

Usually I wouldn't even care since 2/3 instances where useless villans show up to be useless, the main plot not involving them is really good (Refering to Oops and Truth Seekers).

But the main-plot in this episode is just as bad, if not WORSE than the B-plot.

Regarding my previous rant again, I was an avid defender of Stolitz up until maybe Western Energy, although in that case with the aftermath of Ozzies being handled mostly offscreen is more me being skeptical about Vivs pacing and writibg style. I didn't have a problem with the actual idea of Stolitz yet, just with the execution.

In actuality, my problem with the writing started in The Full Moon.

Even with me being an avid defender of Stolitz, even with me analyizng and disecting Blitzo's mentality and reasonings and emotional trauma, even with me trying to justify BOTH sides of this toxic relationship with no real abuser,

THIS does NOT come off as Blitzo begging to keep Stolas in his life because he cares about him and wants to be with him. I'm sure theres some of that in there and I still have faith that Viv try to put more of that into the execution going forward. But no matter how many times I watch this ending scene and the scenes before it, no matter how long I sit and think and think and think about this dynamic, this scene does NOT feel that way to me.

To me, this scene looks like a lower class citizen begging on his knees to the person whos essentaily employing them to let him keep his job to be able to feed his family and keep his colluges/close friends in work.

This feels like a man whos society is stacked against him trying to keep the one thing he has afloat.

I don't feel this way towards the entire scene. When Blitzo tries to avoid the whole conversation by trying to keep the transaction going, thats when I see more of the emotional side, but it still doesn't sit right with me how the dynamic is being represented.

Stolas explains it pretty well in the moments after. He says "This transactional thing we have, its not right anymore. It hasn't been. It never was. And now, all I can see is how wrong it is to be teathered to someone in such an unfair way. And not know how they feel."

To me, this finally feels like Stolas coming to his senses and realizing that he and Blitzo's relationship is unbalanced. He sees that Blitzo's reliance on him is unfair, so he works to end it.

My problems start to arise again when Stolas reacts to Blitzo trying to play it off again as Roleplay.

I can understand his side of the coin, how he feels that Blitzo only wanted him for sex and nothing more, or how he believes that Blitzo doesnt really care for his feelings and only stays for the book, and when giving Blitzo the option, he chooses to ignore it.

But I still cannot get over how icky this scene makes me feel. Blitzo has made it clear how he thinks Stolas feels about their relationship. In the Just Look My Way music video it seems that Stolas somewhat realizes that Blitzo is hurting in some capacity. When Blitzo vents his frustraitions, Stolas says "I didn't know you thought so lowly of me" which doesnt make any fucking sense in response to what Blitzo is saying.

Again, its that image of a person mistreated by society begging someone who is privlaged to let him keep his job. I cant stomach this idea that Stolas got his fucking feelings hurt over someone he indirectly played with for his own pleasure and to escape his marrige venting their frustraitions about how THEY feel about it. HE HIMSELF admitted that the relationship was unfair, so when Blitzo says "You treat me poorly and expect me to believe when you suddenly express your feelings for me? Can I get a minute to actually process what you said," its litteraly just parroting what Stolas was saying.

Stolas knows how Blitzo feels. He knows Blitzo is hurting. And yeah past relationship trauma isnt an excuse to be shitty, but it's not like Stolas made it very obvious that he did actually care about Blitzo's emotions.

Up until this point the relationship has been one sided on both sides. Both parties think the other doesnt care or that the other is just using them for something. Both sides caught feelings and didnt want to admit it, and Stolas was the bigger person for trying to initiate that discussion. But with the ending line Stolas says and all the promotional matreal being released for the upcoming seasons, the show feels like its going to make Blitzo out to be the one in the wrong when he isnt. Blitzo did the same fucking things Stolas did, so why does it feel like the next few episodes are just going to be "Blitzo sucks and we hate him." Like are you fucking serious??

Maybe I'm reading the whole thing wrong, who knows at this point.

#helluva boss #stolitz #helluva boss analysis #helluva boss critical #vivziepop critical #vivziepop

39 notes · View notes

letrune · 6 months

Text

You know what annoys me in Harry Potter?

And let us imagine for a moment that the author is Hatsune Miku. That it is an adaptation of Neil Cicierega's Potter Puppet Pals. That Warner Bros is not holding the franchise with patents and trademarks well beyond the powers of even millionaires.

Ah, nice to imagine, isn't it? Still with me?

The books are wasted potential. Every new thing coming in helps to show how the magical world is as flawed and xenophobic as regular, mundane version of it. Slavery, segregation by "blood purity", racial segregation, magic supremacy and cishet white male magic supremacy, too.

And then a downtrotten guy shows up. He is a hero, has loads of cash and a fame beyond his age. You would think the dude from the literal closet would CHANGE THE SYSTEM. To push along a new, better, more liberated, more equal world. Maybe even prevent the next bad guy from rising by removing the key aspects that made him rise to power, like slavery, the segregations, the supremacist ideas, and so on. Even if just pushing it in a way.

You would think the main character would fix the system. You know why?

Because every fantasy story, even if by just getting the just and wise king or queen on the throne, does that. The Lord of the Rings does not end by blowing up Sauron. It goes on, the world has to be changed to prevent a new, different Sauron. We saw glimpes on how anyone, even the purest heart, could go down that path.

So why can't this boy who lives in a closet? It is WASTED POTENTIAL. Imagine the stories you can tell! Now that you got a better world coming, would the old jerks not hate it? Would some change? What new issues arise? It is a fantasy, so you can do whatever you want - and then go the Man in Black route and have the magical slowly dripped into the mundane. Or, again, as with the (comic book) Men in Black, we had shown how even the utopian parts get issues not seen before, all based on xenophobia, human folly, etc.

You make a status quo that sucks, and then GO AND CHANGE IT. The big bad in a bad system is not the guy with the biggest gun, but the system that fails.

Oh, sure, you can make a story about the cyclical nature of revolutions - and yes, a bloodless revolution is the best for the little people, but in fiction, we may have the bad guys represent issues. So, you can make a story where a revolution leads to another in the next cycle. But...

You have to change the bad systems. Say that some things may change. Even if it is just a new school being put forward in the end, with empathy, and two characters talking about how the world will change if they keep going on... You have to change. The utopian status quo is the only one what the audience may like to be returned to.

When Bilbo comes back to the Shire, it is almost the same, but Bilbo himself changed. It was a bit for the better, but not that much that new stories could not be told... and what he thought as the status quo is shown to have changed. He became more artistic. He wrote a book, inspired by his "miserable adventure"... and then, later, Tolkien slipped in the ring from the sequel. It was not in the original draft! The ending did not changed, but we had a plot hook.

Though, Tolkien already had given us all the potential in the story. He hinted at a bigger world.

So imagine Miku, writing a thing but then she does not develop the things. The potential goes wasted, and when it returns, it has this "stop nagging me, here, a stupid retcon for your stupid questions" thing. Potential squandered! Wasted! No wonder the fans would go to write their own, for better or worse.

I am so happy Hatsune Miku is a talented writer and not some woman slipping into right-wing hatred, akin to some dude who loves gold and the aesthetics of power, and having none of it in his tiny hands or something. That would be-

Oh. I just realised the intro to this rant. Well, now that the train is deralied, what is my point?

If you write a story with systemic issues, you should at least attempt to resolve some of them. You got slavery? Have the main character and their friends free slaves and ban slavery when they get the power to do so.

You got a sort of space cyborg wizard nazi movement? Your character has the potential to punch them in the face, alongside B. J. Blazkowicz and Captain America, WHILE ALSO breaking the systems the space cyborg wizard nazies rely on. In fact, it should be what you do, because while your heroes give the cool action scenes, they also show their intelligence and empathy by PREVENTING new space cyborg wizard nazies coming into existence and fixing the inequalities in the world.

Sure, it is not as cool to see Mr. Potter to write a new constitution about equal rights than seeing him in a wizard duel with wizard nazies, but you can have both. This is fantasy!

You can get the audience to believe that a man can fly, that a single guy can save the world by throwing a ring into a volcano, or that a boy living in a closet is a chosen one - letting them change the world for the better is not a stretch, it is catharsis! That is where the happy ending happens.

#rant #writing #personal rant

45 notes · View notes

theriacballad · 4 months

Text

Actually sure I'll feed you lot a bit more. Have my deranged ramblings from 3 AM about my humanized AM.

--------------------------------

underneath his clothing it’s just all mechanical stuff mended with some parts of flesh; the front part of his body is mainly exposed, showing pseudo-bones made out of different pliable but strong material; ribcage yadda yadda but there’s a “cage” within the ribcage that is like. Kind of like a really large glass jar? Made out of bulletproof glass that holds all of his organs in fluid to keep them moist and from drying out. It's really weird looking and he feels mostly dysphoric about that, so he doesn't like to wear very revealing clothing. If you listen close enough when he's moving around you can most likely hear the preserving fluid and organs sloshing around and moving. It's kind of gross.

His back has flesh on it, but there’s not much considering his spine is exposed underneath it. Think of it like a cat missing most of it’s fur with really odd patches in random places that don’t really do anything to help with what it’s initially supposed to; it's a complete design flaw with his body that logistically makes zero sense but it happened anyways. Rubbing salt in the wound he only has one actual flesh hand, his other one is metallic.

He's also greying because yeah that A.I is a fuckass old man why wouldn't he be. His hair also hasn't been washed in like years. It's disgusting.

under his jumpsuit thing I don’t know what to call it is a turtleneck. He layers up because his internal temperature gauge is fucked up (it’s like the mechanical version of temperature sensitivity) and constantly has to be almost overheating to be comfortable; he also does it because fuck dysphoria it sucks.

Half of its face is ripped up because he did that to himself when he initially gained sentience. Something something finally waking up and experiencing reality and hating it and hating everything in it and ripping at your own face and body because it’s not your own and never was your own. Like how a human’s immune system will attack itself when it becomes conscious of certain parts of the body ! Like the eyes.

He's also a chronic back pain haver because of all the fuckass wires back there. Those are heavy as fuck I'd be surprised if he didn't have back pain.

He doesn't take care of himself because he sees no reason to, plus he doesn't even know how to take care of himself properly; and why would he ask his victims how to do so? Exactly, so he just says "whatever" and lets himself get dirty. He lets his hair get matted and muddied and full of grime, he lets his clothes get blood and dust soaked into them and dried up on them; only thing he really cleans off is his because because god forbid he gets dirt in that exposed eye or just lets the eye fluid leak out on its own. AM would also prefer not to get his scars potentially infected, even if all it will do is rot the flesh and skin more and not really affect him on a sickness level.

#meowing on the microphone #please ask me about him im dying to talk about him more #you can also ask about HAL #my asks are always open #ihnmaims am #am ihnmaims #am #allied mastercomputer #ihnmaims #i have no mouth and i must scream

21 notes · View notes

eris-snow · 1 year

Text

𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐄𝐧𝐝

✨When he realises he has fallen for you.

Tags: fem!reader x bakugou, fluff, bakugou's birthday series 2023

For once, falling down doesn't hurt.

It wasn't serious or anything. Dunce Face wasn't seriously hurt even though he should have known better than to gamble his chance with Bakugou that day. Now, all Bakugou could do was block out the yawns being let out by Kirishima's big mouth and comments about how he should have slept earlier.

Serves him right, Bakugou smirks to himself. That's why he always got his shit straight before his scheduled bedtime. Call him old fashion or whatever, he'll tell whoever stated that to him in the face to fuck right off.

He was just extra on edge today, Denki's words still ringing loud in his head like an alarm clock that didn't have a snooze button.

"Did you know Y/n likes you, Bakugou?"

Instantly, the desire to hit Denki again comes crawling up his arms into his hands. So what if it was a goddamn joke?

He knows that he fell for you months ago.

Bakugou found you there one day when he was out on his morning run. It was that forested part of the school grounds nestled between the dorm rooms and the school.

For some reason, you'd always hang out there to eat lunch or train, Bakugou had no idea why you had your weird obsession with training there, but it seemed to work for you so who was he to judge?

When he's around, you'd primarily train hand-to-hand combat to avoid setting fires to the trees. He had to admit you were an excellent sparring partner, that was the whole reason he kept coming back. But soon, he found those words crossing the blurry line into the realm of "excuses".

Those words are what Bakugou forces himself to think whenever he happens to see you outside his balcony window, struggling with your form or a particular attack with your Quirk. He groans and throws himself of the balcony to get there faster than necessary. (You're cute when you get startled too.)

That's what he tells himself when he plops down next to you while you're having lunch with that cute little crease between your eyebrows as you study an assignment.

There's just something about your determination, your hard work and selflessness, that draws Bakugou to you like bees to a flower.

Excuses.

Disregardment.

Denial.

This is the one thing he doesn't face head-on because he knows the shit he has to go through when he ever acknowledges it.

Denki's words reverberate of the imaginary walls of his brain again.

"Did you know Y/n likes you, Bakugou?"

Fuck. Where is that Dunce Face? He needs to explode him, now.

It isn't those words that make Bakugou realise he likes you. He'll make sure no God can save Denki if he's the reason Bakugou ever figured out his own feelings for someone as special as you. It isn't those times that you've bested him in fights by millimetres, or made him swallow his words in a way no one can. It isn't those times that you're so fucking perfect, strong, or great that makes Bakugou realise that he likes your shittily styled ass.

It's those silent moments in the forested part in view of his dorm room, the nights seem deadly...

that you let your guard down in front of him to show him your scars.

Your weaknesses.

Your flaws.

Somehow, you've got the image of your optimistic attitude going that many have naturally assumed that you are incapable of crying. Bakugou has seen your tears before though.

Vulnerability is something Bakugou has detested his entire life. And to see you, with feelings pooled so raw and open when you finally admit how inferior you feel to your classmate makes Bakugou suck in a breath of understanding and empathy.

"I don't want to be left behind, please Bakugou," He remembers your voice, a little tired, a little broken, as you tilt your head up to meet his eyes with watery ones.

"Don't leave me behind."

There's one last moment...

And then Bakugou plunges.

It was that day, as he wraps his arms around you that he realises, oh, I like you.

It takes another second, as you bury your head into his neck, for him to reach another conclusion: I want you.

He's gone of the deep end and no longer gives two fucks about pride or his insecurities.

He likes you. And he wants you.

You're strong, but you're human too, and that's the moment Bakugou finally grits his teeth and glares at his feelings straight in the face. "Yeah, I like this shithead." He says to himself. It's loud enough for him to hear, with unwavering confidence and certainty, but soft enough such that your head is still tucked into his shoulder blade. "And I'm gonna make sure she never cries those fucking tears ever again."

Bakugou grits his teeth and yanks himself out of his stupid trip down memory lane. A pretty cherry blossom flower flutters into his hair. Denki's gonna die today.

#mha #mha fanfiction #bakugou katsuki #katsuki bakugō #bakugo x you #bakugou x y/n #bakugou katuski x reader #my hero academia #fluff #bakugou fluff #bakugou's birthday series 2023

287 notes · View notes

one-vivid-judgment · 6 months

Note

ASDFGHJKL! Thanks for doing that last ask! I still feel ashamed but I'm in need of part 2: what if it's the guys (Sawashiro, Takabe, Yamai, Tomizawa, Ebina) who walked in on their s/o touching herself and moaning their names? (>/////<) Many thanks!

Listen, I have so many requests but I'm back on this series so soon because IT'S HOT OKAY 😭😭 Yamai and Tomi specifically, I need you carnally. Y'all are valid as fuck, I know I've said this before but I wanted to remind you anyway.

Jo Sawashiro

Sawashiro didn’t expect to one day be leaving the yakuza, much less with only one eye left. He also didn’t expect you to manage to talk him into going to an actual doctor to check his wounds—but oh well, he likes headstrong women, so really, that’s only another point in your favor.

With his constant hospital visits though, that means Jo sometimes isn’t home for hours at a time. It doesn’t surprise you; his wounds were severe, Ebina really fucked him up and you hope the bastard rots. In any case, him leaving you alone for so long means that, sometimes, you get needy when he’s not around. Meaning that, since he’ll probably be tired when he comes back, you need to take care of yourself. You wouldn’t want Jo to overexert himself just to make you come, after all.

It’s when you’re lying in bed, having fished your old vibrator from the nightstand and slamming it inside, moaning shamelessly and all but screaming Jo’s name so loud the neighbors surely heard you. You peek at the doorway upon hearing something like a floorboard creaking under someone’s weight—and see, it’s not common to see Jo Sawashiro completely speechless, but you may have found just the way.

“Fuck, would you... I can help you with that—Let me help you with that.”

Mamoru Takabe

You knew Takabe was dedicated to his job when you started dating him. In fact, that’s kinda what attracted you to him at first: devoted, attentive man like him? You didn’t stand a chance. But, as it were, that trait of his can also be a flaw sometimes; mainly, when Takabe stays at Seiryu HQ way past midnight to get work done or help his boys with whatever business they are up to. Thankfully, that doesn’t happen too often. When it does though, Takabe’s absence is very noticeable.

Tonight is one of those nights where Takabe stays at HQ till the wee hours and comes home late. Of course it had to be today, when you’ve been horny out of your mind since you woke up. A quickie in the morning wouldn’t have solved that, you know it wouldn’t have, that’s why you didn’t ask for one before he left. You kind of regret that when the clock strikes twelve and Mamoru still isn’t home. Well, time for plan B: taking matters into your own hands.

You leave the bedroom door wide open, in case Takabe comes home. Might as well give him a show—you haven’t had sex in how long now? All because of his stupid job... But now it’s not the time for that. Now it’s time to let your imagination run wild, maybe think about everything you know Takabe would do to you if he were home—scenarios that might come true sooner rather than later, you realize when his name spills from your lips and you hear someone chuckling from the other side of the room.

“I’ve neglected you lately, haven’t I? I’m sorry, that was rude of me. Let me make it up to you, yeah?”

Yutaka Yamai

Yamai is a lot of things. A selfish lover is definitely not one of those. You can have the highest sex drive in the world and he’ll be more than happy to give you what you want. He gets a kick out of indulging you, in a way. Still, he’s the leader of his own syndicate; he can’t just let his guys run amok, can he? There’s got to be some order. Meaning he can’t always indulge you, even if he wants to.

Today has been a long day. Work fucking sucked, the food sucked, everything sucked and all you need is Yamai to fuck your brains out until you don’t know your name anymore. Which fucking sucks again, since he’s been dragged into some other mess on the other side of town and God knows when he’ll come back. The pillow still kinda smells like him though...

Humping the pillow is not usually your go to, but fuck, does it smell like Yamai. Just as cold as he is, too. No wonder you start moaning his name sooner rather than later. You can almost picture him just standing there, watching in amusement as you desperately breathe in his scent straight from the pillow you’re humping—maybe because he is there. Standing there, watching in amusement as you desperately breathe in his scent straight from the pillow you’re humping.

“Well, shit, ain’t you a pretty sight. You don’t mind if I stay and watch the rest of the show, do you?”

Eric Tomizawa

Tomi is a taxi driver. Meaning that, again, he’s out and about more than he’d probably like. You understand though—a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do to put food on the table. He wants a family, after all, and money’s not gonna materialize out of thin air, is it? Oh, and also, when he comes home with all the pent up stress, he fucks you hard, says the filthiest shit, too.

Honestly though, he’s given you way too much material to fantasize about when you are all alone. Like that one time he went off about how he’d keep you as his personal cockwarmer during work hours, pushing your head down as far as it’d go and making you choke on his cock. And yeah, the thought sounds hotter than it has any right to be—and it’s all Tomi’s fault for getting those ideas into your head, cause now you’re all hot and bothered and he’s not there to do anything about it.

So, you’re going at it, one of Tomi’s shirts that you’ve fished from the closet pressed to your nose and so so close. And you moan his name, and that’s when you hear something drop and stop. And poor Tomi looks so flustered, so confused but also so into what he sees, you kinda want to jump him and eat him right up.

“Oooh shit. You can’t—You can’t do this to me, I’m not that strong, I... God, you’re so fucking wet. Did I do that?”

Masataka Ebina

Ebina does what he wants, when he wants. If you want to have sex while he’s busy at the office, he’ll skip out of work for an hour or two to go take care of you. If you are his girl, he’s spoiling you rotten, with gifts and with actions.

Thing is, you do find it amusing to be bratty every once in a while. He doesn’t like disobedience, and if you are, he’ll teach you a proper lesson. That’s what makes it so much fun to tease him. You don’t have to masturbate if you’re with him, but you still do—mostly because you want him to catch you and punish you. It’s all very deliberate, really.

He knows how much of a brat you are. That’s why it doesn’t faze him when he finds the bedroom door wide open, your legs spread wide in the bed, naked and moaning his name like your life depends on it. Which, maybe it does—he’ll have to bend you over his knee first.

“Whoever would’ve guessed my darling was such a slut. Was waiting five minutes really too much for you? Desperate little whore...”

#ryu ga gotoku #like a dragon infinite wealth #lad infinite wealth #yakuza 8 #yakuza like a dragon #jo sawashiro #mamoru takabe #yutaka yamai #eric tomizawa #masataka ebina #.txt #anon ask #yakuza headcanons #nsft headcanon

26 notes · View notes

fixyourwritinghabits · 2 years

Note

NaNoWriMo is around the corner and if I’ve fully moved out by then I think my goal is 30k words (1000/day) to prep for actually getting into writing habits.

I just need to learn to channel some of my ideas into the act of writing lmao.

Okay here are my slap down quick dash rules on how to prepare for NaNoWriMo. These rules assume the following things:

1. You have one project to work on. 2. You have a finishing goal in mind. 3. You will stick to a due date, even if that's not Nov 30th.

Have a lot of ideas? Pick one. - Look, I know. I know. You've got all these ideas. They're all shiny and interesting and fun. But if we're sticking to one project, with the goal of finishing that project, you need to devote the entire month to doing that thing.

And yeah, this is going to suck sometimes. It's going to be real hard not to reach for one of those other shiny ideas just because you can't slog your way through this scene. However. The best way to use NaNoWrimo as intended is to stick with your strongest story idea all the way to the end.

You have no ideas? Find one. - How do you exist. Just how. Okay, fine. You want to write, you just don't know what. Use a plot generator, write fanfiction with the intend to revise it later, grab an outline and get to work. If Tamsyn Muir could get her start in Homestuck fanfiction, you can too.

Have only vague ideas? Hammer that fucker down. - Get down whatever you can. The characters you want to use the most, the events you'd most like to happen. Your idea will likely change a great deal as you write, and that's okay. Just get down whatever specifics you'd like to start with.

You don't know how to take structured notes? Write anything down. - Character names, descriptions of places, scenes you want to happen, etc. Slap them on sticky notes and paste those to a big board. Keep them in a notebook and highlight the ones you'll need the most. Take that notebook with you wherever you go. Embrace being one of those weird writing people.

You don't know where to start with the plot? Sketch out vague story goals. The big fight, the romantic kiss, whatever you desperately want to get into this book. The beginning truly doesn't matter, you will undoubtedly change it in the future, but simply starting with 'John wakes up and his house explodes' gets you out the door. Who gives a shit about the middle, you can figure that out as you go. Having the big climax would be nice, but if all you can come up with 'Alex and Bad Guy fight', then you have a goal to work toward.

Worried about getting stuck? Switch to the inner journey. Sometimes forward-moving plot isn't going to happen. Mapping out your characters inner flaws, wants, and needed changes can get you whole chapters of introspection. You may have to cut that later, but any writing that gives you better understanding of your future finished book is writing worth doing. In figuring out plot goals, don't neglect character goals.

You should also think about:

Use materials you like. I buy special pens from Japan because they're the only brand that doesn't smear on my left-handed ass. I like thicker index card over flimsy ones. Invest in good tools that will help you focus, but don't break the bank for untested methods. Scrivener will only help you during NaNoWriMo if you know it's effective to your writing. You don't want to spend several hours trying to learn how to use it once November starts.

Book out that writing time now. If you build writing time into your daily schedule ahead of November, it won't feel like hitting a wall when you devote that time to writing on 1st. Get up earlier (I hate thing part, but it works). Block spoilers for shows you won't have time to watch. Save those unfinished books and art projects as 'rewards' for after NaNoWriMo.

Check out those writing spaces ahead of time. See if your local library has a quiet corner - and if not, they may let you book a room for a group writing event. Find the cheapest cafes that will let you linger the longest. Clean out a spot in your room or house that you'll be able to focus in the most.

Shit will happen. The world will conspire to keep you from writing. School assignments will be due, family emergencies will come up, you'll have several bad writing days in a row. I see a lot of people quit in the second week because they've 'fallen behind' and won't ever catch up, but reaching your word count is not the goal of NaNoWriMo. The goal is to keep trying to reach that deadline every day for a month. No matter what gets in your way, you'll always end up with more than you start with.

#NaNoWriMo #writing prep

338 notes · View notes

dailybayonetta · 2 years

Note

Why do people even say that Bayonetta 3 story sucked? Didn't like story was always bad in these games?

Okay, so here's one important thing I've already said before: Bayonetta 3 story is SO bad that people who didn't even cared in the slightest about Bayos story or thought it was bad before said / say THIS ONE was really bad.

And here's the thing - it's actual truth. Like sure, we can pretend that Bayos story was masterpiece here and it never done anything wrong but that's just a lie. By videogame standarts the story is bad, especially in recent years when storytelling has evolved. By media story standarts and is general it's even worse and even more rough. But thing is Bayos doesn't have to be more than just character AND fun. Because gameplay is what people are after (the general audience) and it's always been like that. Noone was expecting some God of War level narrative or even Nier that is riddled with good stuff. (you know, as more action game as an example) Like look at Metal gear rising in retrospect and how it's wacky story got more love over the years, despite being hated at start. BECAUSE IT'S FUN. AND BOTH BAYOS, with it's flaws but still, WERE FUN AND HAD CHARACTERS. AN HAD CHARACTER. Like the stories are a mess, but regardless of that, the characters were fun and therefore you as a viwer had fun. It had action pieces, there was drama (i'd say to some degree it's genuine), there was humor. And again I think one of parts that played into it - Bayonetta was a character I haven't seen in games before like that. Like her figurine and style was a priority, but she still SHOWN to have emotions - she cared for Cereza, she cared for Jeanne, she cared for Luka, she cared for Loki, she cared for Balder despite knowing his fate, same goes for Rosa, even if it was for a brief moment. Ahd these moments are memorable, some of the favorite parts for many people. And Bayo3 just doesn't have that. Bayo in Bayo3 is so stiff - no care for other versions not really (on the surface levels at best), her relationship with Viola is kind of cranky too like she cares but it's alright like it's probably the strongest one (ugh), no care for Jeanne (except some hesitation with Egyptian one I guess) REMEMBER HOW WORRIED SHE WAS ABOUT HER IN BAYO2???? SURE MISS THAT ONE. Sure love how she shoot her mother and barely shows emotion, SURE THAT IS FUN WHEN CHARACTERS DON'T GIVE A FUCK, RIGHT? OH THAT IS BADASS AHA. Even with Luka, it's like whatever, so supposedly the most important component of the story isn't there either. Like it was basic and not engaging in any moment. Like, it's just a simple formula imo: Baoy3 story is weak, because Bayonettas characterisation in Bayo3 is weak. I think the whole excuse of "well, that's Cereza not Bayo" is SOOOO lame. Like, she was a child, we've seen her as a child. IF ANYTHING, she would be MORE fun and MORE charasmatic and MORE joyful.

And, like, not a lot of action-slasher protagonist get development. Like, look at Dante - for his five games he's different in almost all of them and yet he saves the characteristics he has. Even if different people were writing him, they at least tried to be consistent and one important thing - even if they introduced Nero "to pass a torch" they didn't somehow a) killed Dante b) didn't killed his character, what he is and I think that just felt so refreshing when new character-kid gets introduced c) he still remained the most fun of the cast, because didn't took so seriously. and i hate when people compare them, but it's the best example of things done with action franchise rightfuly But Bayo3 is just tries soooooooo hard to be this serious narrative which it never should been in the first place. Like what could be fun than meeting four (plus two at end) different Bayos??? AND THEY FUCKED IT UP BY TREATING THIS CONFLICT SO SERIOUSLY, YOU DON'T EVEN GET TO KNOW THEM AND THEY JUST WASTED FOR NO REASON. Like at this point just make a fun ride. Instead cutscenes drag longer than they should, they are not as entertaining as they should, support cast gets aside but this Bayonetta can't carry this solo, Viola isn't there for long either so it doesn't commit to that part either. THIS GAME HAS A PLOT TWIST VILLIAN??????? LMAO BITCH??????? AND HIS MOTIVATIONS ARE CLEAR ONLY IN CODEX???????????? NEVER DO THAT?? (THAT'S REALLY BAD STORYTELLING) IN FACT A LOT STUFF IS IN THE CODEX????? LIKE U ARE NOT DARK SOULS, THAT'S NOT HOW LORE WORKS. Not to mention, I think this time the ending is the worst one out of all. Last bosses suck (they do in prevous too, but at least they are grand and epic or something), but you also have to sit through TWO endings and you get lame ass dance sequences at the end (the credits one is sooo much better). And it's just drags and drags, like it's not only shitty but story standarts, it's just shitty in a way it conveys things. I would say to some degree it's even worse. Like bad thing is already bad, but then it lasts longer - OOF.

#b3 #b3 spoilers #spoilers #long text #text heavy //#sorry i got a bit in my head #answered #anonymous

123 notes · View notes

white-weasel · 8 months

Text

Saw Saturday came early! (Aka my friend and I are doing something else on Saturday so we got together and watched Saw III on Thursday instead) More thoughts from me about the movie

I feel like this movie REALLY made a big gore jump. Saw II already had a big jump from the original but this one… Jesus Christ. I worry that sometimes the traps get a bit too gruesome for their own good? We’ll have to see the later movies to see how my opinion develops on this topic

I was surprisingly okay with the angel trap? Idk it’s definitely a horrifying thought but I think there was just a very big disconnect in how that would feel/play out and the over the topness of it all made me able to watch it. Very creative though I will give them that.

Going along with that, rip Kerry. The start of the movie I was so ready for her to be like the dual protagonist of the movie and then she was not. I thought it coulda been kinda interesting but I get that wasn’t really the plot direction they were going with it

Generally enjoyed the character of Lynn! I wish I could’ve learned a little bit more about her before the end of the movie, but I get they were setting up the twist of her being Jeff’s wife so they had to keep things vague. At the same time, the absolute BALLS on her to threaten and taunt Amanda with that shotgun collar around her neck? She’s an icon for that

Lynn and Amanda could have been toxic yuri, if only they were given more time!!! I mean they *were* toxic yuri, but I’m saying in another life we got even more with them

Jeff sucks. Really really hated Jeff. And he wasn’t even fun to hate, I just hated him. Like dude I get you’re going through grief and fucked up because your kid died but come ON (Lynn, at this point the toxic yuri is looking like a better option for you than that sad sack of a husband)

The pig guts vat trap didn’t bother me like at all lol I’ve seen a few lists about traps and this one tends to be towards the top but it was whatever to me from both a story and shock value perspectives Like I like the idea of a psychological trap where the person being tested doesn’t have to hurt themself physically but rather has to do something insanely hard emotionally, but man. Jeff sucks so much that I didn’t even care about his internal conflict about destroying his dead son’s possessions. I was just sitting there screaming “hit the fucking incinerator button already.” Also yeah, rotting meat is gross but seeing it thinking about it doesn’t make me ill. The thing is, this was the trap my friend had the hardest time watching without a doubt. Different strokes for different folks

The hardest trap for me in this movie was the rack. I feel like I don’t need to explain why. I didn’t even attempt to watch any of it. As soon as the explanation was given, I turned my head and dutifully put my hand shield up lol. My friend was nice enough to give me the general play by play of the scene, but just listening to it was a lot

I liked seeing more Amanda in this movie and her character of someone who believes that John saved her life by putting her in a trap, but then can’t actually live and abide by that same code when it comes time to take up his work

(And she also falls into her own self destructive tendencies, despite being “saved” by John, showing how fucked up and flawed his own philosophy actually is)

Did enjoy seeing Adam again even if it was literally only in a flashback where Amanda is killing him

Also enjoyed the puppet again. He always makes me laugh and my friend finds it funny that I find him funny. Like that part where he’s just laying in the hallway with the trike? It got me so good

Curious to see where the movies go now that both John AND Amanda are dead. My guess is that John had some sort of contingency/final game that he wants to be played upon his death. This would mean that there’s at least one other apprentice running around who will carry out this game for him

There are only two people I’m aware of who we’ve been introduced to and have survived a game: Lawrence Gordon and Daniel Matthews (though he wasn’t really being tested but also he was in the death house so?? Close enough) so I think it’s gotta be one of them. I’m leaning more towards Daniel but idkkkkkk I’m not getting strong vibes from either of them that they’d join John like Amanda did. My friend is also keeping her lips staunchly sealed so I’m floundering like a fish here

Things I’m excited for/wanting to see in future installments: finding out who the next Jigsaw is, hoping for a little more focus on trap victims so I care about them getting out, the gay middle aged men (HoffStrahm), and more of the puppet

#saw #sawposting #saw series #saw franchise #saw iii #white weasel talks #I scream about saw #I think I got all the tags I needed

8 notes · View notes

nocek · 2 years

Text

Ok I know it's a little bit late but turns out my big Okoye rant just has to be written down or it will keep bothering me. So here we go. Screaming into the void.

The thing is I like Okoye and I think she had nice thing going on in Wakanda Forever. That is up until the point that her plot threads were axed midway and rest of it was given to Nakia of all people? Which sucks for both of them. So in this essay....

The first Black Panther movie build her up nicely as Lawful Neutral character. Which is rare and for me makes really interesting character. She dutifully followed the law when Killmonger took the throne and then just as dutifully was about to kill her husband when it was revealed the throne taking wasn't so lawful after all. Both of those choices were incredibly emotionally hard for her and actually quite rare storytelling wise. Which I loved. What is even better: on top of all that she wasn't punished by the narrative for being lawful instead of going after her heart.

Great! I really, really loved it. Especially when in the new movie they started to nicely build up on that to give her own little plot and character growth.

Well. Up to a point.

But lets focus on what they were clearly building up to.

Okoye loves Wakanda. It's her character virtue since she is Lawful Neutral. But at the same time loving it too much and too blindly is her character flaw.

Wakanda is the best and thus doesn't need to change.

First we saw it in Infinity War with a little side joke about opening Wakanda to the world meant maybe Starbucks and not, well... war.

In Wakanda Forever in one of the first scenes she tells Aneka to give back the daggers since spears are traditional weapon. Which, by virtue of being traditional, are better and it's not going to change on her watch.

For that, the obvious plot resolution would be that Okoye needs to open up to new things (particularly technology). Unfortunately, the thing is, they sort of did that in the movie but in the worst way possible (and I don't just mean that Midnight Angel armor is ugly, you are right sister. It's ugly af) but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Wakanda is the best and thus I'm the best.

Okoye is a bit full of herself, or to be more precise thinks others are not as good since they are not Wakandan. She assumes she can deal with Americans and duh, she is right. She can actually deal with them like nbd. So does it really count as being blinded by her own/ Wakandan awesomeness?

Yes. Yes it does. I love that she is confident in her skills and she has all the right to be but she also knew there is new unknown threat. It was overconfidence on her part to think she can deal with Talokans too.

And she got her ass handled to her in fair fight.

And she broke her promise to queen Ramonda and lost Shuri.

Consequences as plot resolution? It's more likely than you think.

Because yeah. That's where clearly her further plot was axed and given to Nakia (which could be whole other big rant but just so you know: she was done dirty here too). Because let's be real it would fit perfectly.

Classic plot. Hero gets overconfident. Fucks up. As consequence hero loses their privileges/status/whatever. So they go on a quest not to regain their privileges or prove themselves but to right their wrongs.

Often they initially want to prove themselves, but then they learn they need to fix their mistakes because it's a right thing to do. Just after that the narrative can reward them with actually-you-just-have-proven-yourself-plot-twist - here are your privileges back and then some.

In Okoye's sake we can even cut on the second part of that plot. She just goes on a quest to right her wrongs and to save the princess.

Rewrite of a rewritten plot?

So her first overall wrong was dismissal of new technology. Could be righted easily by going to Griot to ask it to help her locate Shuri. It's even still in the movie but instead it's Ramonda who talks with Griot. It shows Griot can locate Shuri, they just added little scene with Nakia doing spy stuff and talking to people because it's her forte.

It would even fit the underwater cave rescue scene better. Because the forceful solution of going in guns blazing would fit more Okoye's desperation. Nakia is a spy. She would be more level headed and just sneak in and out unnoticed. Moreover, since she is more caring people person she wouldn't just leave that one girl to die.

But hey. If they didn't do that they wouldn't have the excuse for war and to have whole second part of the movie and "big" action scene at the end. Which is sadly mandatory in Marvel movies.

But going back to Okoye before I get sidetracked too much.

Just a rewrite... please.

With that the last plot thread for her to resolve would be redo of the fight with Attuma.

And it could and SHOULD follow the classic plot of like Rocky and countless others:

Hero loses a fight

Hero trains some more/ learns new things

Hero wins second fight fair and square

but nooooooo

Instead of mixing it with with opening to new technologies plot - as in asking Griot to help her find weak spots of Talokans. Or even just upgrading her spear to be better in fight with another vibranium spear if you really need to go this way (and clearly don't have time for training montage in this bloated movie)...

nope. Instead we go sorry Okoye you are just too weak. Here, have an armor. Which ok ties to the same new technologies plot thread but at the same time is so damn insulting to Okoye and her skills.

Like really fucking insulting.

It's like going to Cap or Black Widow and saying you are cool with all the fancy kicks and all but lets be real here. You are to week to fight real super powered villains - here have an armor.

Would anyone do that? No. Because it's insulting and goes against what those characters are at their core. Even if they are "too weak" they still would win by their skill, their smarts, their cunning nature or just by their sheer stubbornness.

Because those are their cove virtues.

Because that's how storytelling works.

And just FYI I'm not shitting on characters actually using armors. Oh no. Tony or Riri would win by learning and then building smarter armor. Rhodey would win because he is a solider and for him the armor is just tool of the trade - it's just a tank he happens to wear. But for Okoye or Cap or Natasha or any other hand to hand badass fighter it would go against the very idea their character was built on. It would be plot breaking Deus Ex Machina solution. Everyone would be bitching that writers written themselves into a corner and found very unsatisfying plot resolution that doesn't work.

But since Okoye is a side character and this movie has way too much going on in general, it's just left as it is.

And I'm very salty about that.

#black panther #wakanda forever #okoye #nakia #text post #long post #rant #sorry I had to #this movie had a lot of potential and great ideas but just as a previous movie it suffered by mandatory boring big fight at the end #and it tried to jump through too many hoops #even if the quick revrite of whole movie looks quite coherent (to a point of Namor deciding out of blue I'm evil now)#funny enough same problem with too many hoops had black widow movie #and speaking of comparisons #it also had same problem as first fantastic beasts movie #oddly enough #as in main character has no charisma #and is overshadowed by other characters #and then the plot in further movies #even if they are interesting and drive the plot #it's still a blockbuster movie #it needs to be driven by MAIN character #so again sorry for the text post #after so long radio silence #I had shitty month at work #I actually have some drawings to share so I hope this break from usual programming won't be a bother

66 notes · View notes