#everyman has his wish

[l1zzygr4ntforever]

i learned how to make love from the movies, he found me waitressing at ruby's tuesday

♡°♡°♡°♡°♡°♡°♡°♡°♡°♡°♡

[roughentumble]

*holding your hands so tight* together we will love dandelion enough for the whole world. together we will love him for being a little bitch (affectionate)

I really hate when people use the argument of Book/Game Dandelion is misogynistic and sexist to dislike him and prefer Netflix Jaskier over him.

It's genuinely fine to have preferences, not saying it's not okay /gen However, a lot of the time the arguments being made literally just sound like a character having flaws and being a bad person is the most horrible sin in the world, and the only way we can consume characters and media is when they have no flaws and are perfect little blorbos with nothing negative about them.

It's fine to dislike a character when they're doing bad things and have bad views, that's a-okay! It's not okay to act like a character having realistic flaws and being a bad person in their media is the worst crime known to humanity. The Witcher isn't and has never been an escapist fantasy; it's dark and realistic in how it portrays war, people, and human nature. The characters within this world are going to reflect that realism.

As much as I love Joey Batey, I do think that wiping some of that selfishness from Jaskier's character, taking away some of these flaws that he has within the books and games has done harm to the character. Dandelion... Jaskier, is selfish. That is an active part of his personality and his arc throughout the series, and we shouldn't be afraid to see characters exhibiting negative traits and navigating those types of stories.

[graysoncritic]

A (Negative) Review of Tom Taylor's Nightwing Run - What Went Wrong? Dick's Characterization

Introduction Who is Dick Grayson? What Went Wrong? Dick's Characterization What Went Wrong? Barbara Gordon What Went Wrong? Bludhaven (Part 1, Part 2) What Went Wrong? Melinda Lin Grayson What Went Wrong? Bea Bennett What Went Wrong? Villains Conclusion Bibliography

In the previous section, we explored not only who Dick Grayson is and why he is so beloved by his friends, but why many people — including Taylor and others at DC — have a hard time  understanding his character. By reducing Dick to a hero who is “good” and transforming into an “everyman” that anyone can project themselves onto, Taylor fundamentally removes that which makes Dick special, transforming him into a different character.

But there are other ways in which Taylor and DC mischaracterize Dick by erasing his history and transforming into a more “palatable” mainstream hero. That is what I wish to explore in more detail now. 

Let’s begin by examining how Taylor’s framing Dick’s story in Nightwing (and that of the Titans in Titans) as a coming-of-age tale contributes to a grand erasure of Dick Grayson’s greatness.

In Taylor’s run, Dick is treated as if he were a new superhero. However, even if this run (not the entire title that started in 2016 with Rebirth, but just Taylor’s run) were to become a new stand-in for the 1996 Nightwing solo in which Dick arrives in Bludhaven for the very first time, Dick Grayson should not be portrayed as someone new to vigilantism. Even if one were to generously interpret Taylor’s Dick as being only twenty-two years old after starting as Robin at twelve years of age and only recently having become Nightwing, Dick would still have a decade of experience doing detective and hero work. It is notable that most of that decade was spent with him leading the Titans, serving as Batman’s partner and second-in-command, and mentoring numerous young heroes.

(Wolfram, Amy, writer. Kerschl, Karl, illustrator. In the Beginning… Part Three. Teen Titans: Year One no. 03, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2008. pp. 09)

One of Dick’s core traits is that he is a natural, if at times reluctant, leader. Many key moments in his character history are defined by Dick feeling the weight of the responsibilities placed upon him and having to push through his personal reservations for the sake of others. 

Dick was the first child hero. He was the first sidekick. Out of universe and in universe. (In the introduction to  Dick Grayson, Boy Wonder: Scholars and Creators on 75 years of Robin, Nightwing, and Batman, Kristen L. Geaman mentions that some argue Mister America from Action Comics #2 is, in fact, the first side-kick. However, this claim is debated since Mister America played more of a comedic and “Watsonian” role [as Dick Grayson Fan C suggested], and Dick was the one who popularized the formula of the role.) He was the proof that the concept of a sidekick — a partner — could work. Proof that kids could be trained into this life. Proof that they did not need powers in order to be a hero. That is one of the reasons why, in-universe, he is admired by so many characters – because he is the trailblazer who opened the doors for every young hero and side-kick that came after him. Dick’s history is also why he has so many connections — it is because he was the one who opened the doors for everyone else, mentored so many people, and partnered with those who were his age and those who were much older that he gained so much respect in the superhero community. 

And yet, that history is called into question in Taylor’s narrative when he frames Dick as a young, new hero who is just beginning to assess what he wants to do with his life. Not only is it bad storytelling to portray Dick’s connections without factoring in the experience tied into them, it also demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding of who Dick is, what he represents, and why he’s been so beloved for over 80 years.

This lack of appreciation and of respect towards Dick is extended to the other Titans in Taylor’s Titans (2023) run. As he himself pointed out, the first arc is called Out of the Shadows because, in his words, the Titans are “stepping out of the shadows of the Justice League.”

(Taylor, Tom [TomTaylorMade]. Twitter, 22 June 2023, https://twitter.com/jesswchen/status/1636971185782259716?s=20.)

And yet, to its fans, the Titans were never in the Justice League’s shadows. They were not inferior or subordinate to the Justice League, even if they may be less known. In-universe, the Titans may have modeled themselves after the Justice League and they may be allies, but the Titans are still an independent entity. From their very inception they defined themselves in contrast with how the Justice League operates. 

In fact, in JLA/Titans #02, Dick himself draws this distinction when arguing with Bruce and calling him out on his condescending behavior towards the Titans.

(Grayson, Devin; Jimenez, Phil, writers. Jimenez, Phil; Brown, Eliot R., illustrator. The Generation Gap. JLA/Titans no. 02, e-book ed. DC Comics, 1998. pp. 23)

Trying to repackage Dick and the Titans as newbie heroes who are only now experiencing independence demonstrates a lack of understanding of their history and who the Titans are meant to be. The Dark Crisis and The Dawn of the DCU attempt to frame Dick’s Nightwing series and Titans as coming-of-age tales, where only now the characters are stepping into adulthood. Taylor’s writing goes a step further and portrays them as making rookie mistakes, coming across as newbies, and as a result, erasing all of the rich history that have built these characters into who they are today.

As I mentioned above, even if we generously interpreted that Dick never lived in Bludhaven before, Dick should still have plenty of experience being a hero and living on his own. The moment in which he transitions from Robin to Nightwing (willingly or unwillingly depending on your preferred Nightwing origin story) is Dick’s coming-of-age moment. By the time he comes to Bludhaven, Dick already knows who he is, what he wants, and he knows how to care for himself. By the time Dick comes to Bludhaven, his internal struggles are not that of a young adult who just left the nest and does not yet feel like an adult, but rather that of an adult who knows his own abilities and is confident in who he is. 

And yet, in Nightwing #84, the first issue in Nightwing: Fear State, Taylor has Dick pondering on the responsibilities of taking care of Bludhaven. Right on the first page, he says “Fighting an entire corrupt system? Saving a whole city? There’s no training for that.” 

(Taylor, Tom, writer. Rodriguez, Robbi, illustrator.  Fear State Part 1 of 3. Nightwing: Rebirth. 84, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2021. pp 03)

Except even the most basic knowledge of Dick’s character shows that he was, in fact, trained to save an entire system and to fight a corrupt system — he was trained to care for Gotham and to take out the corrupt systems that prevail in that city. Not only that, Dick has also been Batman, at which point he was also Gotham’s main protector. 

This mistake becomes even more outrageous when one considers that, though Taylor’s run is at times treated as a soft-reboot, Dick is still shown to have lived in Bludhaven while operating as Nightwing. This means that that generous interpretation I’ve been alluding to is not, in fact, compatible with the story as it is written. It is a falsehood, and therefore cannot be used to excuse the “new-in-town” approach Taylor uses when writing Dick. 

Dick’s apparent inexperience and, frankly, incompetence, is further highlighted by the amount of times Dick is saved by others, or the amount of times when he is dependent on others to do the work for him. These instances include, but are not limited to:

The people of Bludhaven answering Nightwing’s call when Heartless sets the tent city on fire in #81

(Taylor, Tom, writer. Redondo, Bruno, illustrator Leaping into the Light Part 4. Nightwing: Rebirth. 81, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2021. pp 13)

Dick being knocked out with a single blow and then unmasked during his first attempt to investigate Melinda also in issues #81

(Taylor, Tom, writer. Redondo, Bruno, illustrator Leaping into the Light Part 4. Nightwing: Rebirth. 81, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2021. pp 20 - 21)

Babs calling people to Dick’s rescue rather than trusting he could get out of it on his own in #82.

(Taylor, Tom, writer. Redondo, Bruno, illustrator. Leaping into the Light Part 5. Nightwing: Rebirth. 82, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2021. pp 03)

(Taylor, Tom, writer. Redondo, Bruno, illustrator. The Battle for Bludhaven’s Heart Part Four. Nightwing: Rebirth. 95, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2022. pp 24 - 25)

In #90, when his building blew up and Wally came to save him, then proceeded to force him to rest away from Bludhaven instead of letting him take action.

(Taylor, Tom, writer. Redondo, Bruno, illustrator Get Grayson Act Three. Nightwing: Rebirth. 90, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2022. pp 15)

And needing Babs’ help during a car chase in #106,

(Taylor, Tom, writer. Byrne, Stephen. The Crew of the Crossed Part One. Nightwing: Rebirth. 106, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2023. pp 16)

Which greatly contrasts how, in #113 of the Nightwing (1996), Dick handles a similar situation while simultaneously mentoring Rose Wilson.

(Grayson, Devin, writer. Chian, Cliff, illustrator The Scorpion and the Frog. Nightwing no 113, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2005. pp. 19)

The thesis of Taylor’s run is that people need to rely on one another — we have to be each other’s safety net. And while that is an interesting theme to explore and one that certainly speaks to Dick’s history of doing things on his own out of fear of putting others in danger, Dick should still, more times than not, be able to do things by himself. After all, this is not an ensemble piece — this is Nightwing’s story and as his fans, we want to read about him. Cameos are fine. They can be fun, in fact. But cameos are different from Dick constantly struggling and needing help whenever he faces a challenge – the former portrays Dick as someone with powerful connections that deeply love him; the latter portrays Dick as being incapable of doing things without someone holding his hand.

This is another thing that Waid understands about Dick and portrays it clearly in World’s Finest. When Kara explains to Clark what first attracted her to Dick, she emphasizes how, despite the fact he had no powers, he could still save himself. 

(Waid, Mark, writer. Lupacchino, Emanuela, illustrator. Scream of the Chaos Monkey. Batman/Superman: World’s Finest no. 12, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2023. pp. 06 - 07)

Being not just competent, but exceeding even the highest expectations is at the core of Dick’s character. And, as was pointed out in the previous section, it also serves to feed into his toxic perfectionism — he is one of the top tier heroes, therefore people expect excellence from him. Dick does not want to fail those who put their trust in him, and so he demands perfection of himself to the point of self-destruction.

Beyond that, we cannot give Taylor credit for trying to tell a story about Dick growing out of his perfectionist bad habits by learning to rely on others. After all, if Dick is constantly asking for help, then he is not resisting help. And that removes his chance for growth. A character arc requires development and change, which means one cannot start at the endpoint. Therefore, it cannot be claimed that Taylor’s intentions are for Dick to learn to rely on others, for he has been doing so without hesitation since the beginning. 

As a result, the story is not about Dick being Bludhaven’s safety net while learning that he also has a safety net of his own, but rather about Dick always relying on his safety net, always knowing it was there, and having them also shoulder the responsibilities he took when he named himself Bludhaven’s protector. There is no room for Dick to grow because he is already at the end of his journey. And there is no room for Dick to be the hero of his story because others are constantly coming to his rescue when things get too difficult.

Once more, I must clarify that I’m not saying that Dick is not loved, or that Dick is not important to many people. I’m simply stating that the way his relationships are built gives him very little room to rely on them. He is their safety net but he doesn’t trust them to be his safety net. Exploring this requires going into the nuances of each relationship, where conflicts are created, and where people hurt the other in the heat of an argument. It would mean dealing with the messiness of complex human emotions, forcing characters and the audience to sit with uncomfortable feelings as we get to the root of Dick’s perfectionism and his fears.  

In June of 2022 a reader on Twitter asked Taylor about his decision to have Dick constantly falling, for, as they pointed out, this makes Dick look incompetent.

(Jonathan [@Nightwingdagoat]. Twitter, 21 June 2022, https://twitter.com/Nightwingdagoat/status/1539267708310765568)

Taylor responded by saying that these instances were Redondo’s call, and that it was their attempt to humanize Dick.

(Tom Taylor [@TomTaylorMade]. Twitter, 21 June 2022, https://twitter.com/Nightwingdagoat/status/1539267708310765568)

In fairness to Taylor, the following criticism will then be directed primarily at Redondo who believed these instances were the best way to “remind people that Nightwing is human.” That being said, as Taylor appears to support such a position, and as he has written numerous incidents where Dick is conveniently knocked over by others, I do believe this can be directed at him as well. 

Simply put, to have a character constantly fall is a superficial and lazy way to humanize said character. Casual falls like this, after all, are not failures. They contribute little to the story and have very little consequence.  

Nothing happens once Dick falls. The bad guy doesn’t get away, the innocent civilian is not hurt, the crucial piece of evidence needed to crack the case is not destroyed. There are no lasting consequences for Dick to deal with, no conflict that can arise from these falls, no tension to make Dick’s future success more emotionally effective. Furthermore, these falls are completely out of Dick’s control, taking away any responsibility he might have for his mistakes. 

If the flaws that are meant to “humanize” Dick are falls which he bears no agency over, then he, the good guy, has no responsibility over his own “failures.” Said “failures” also end up having no consequences to the plot, which gives Dick no crisis to respond to (furthering his passivity), and this robs Dick of character development opportunities. 

It creates a stasis in the story where the only conflicts Dick faces are the ones against really bad guys that always – always – lose to Dick and his connections, and ones which do not ask for moments of introspection.

Despite almost never falling in The Untouchable, Dick is far more human there than in Taylor’s and Redondo’s run. This is because Dick is forced to face the consequences of his “failure” to capture the Judge twice in the past. Dick is constantly thinking about the Judge’s victims, forcing himself to carry their lives on his shoulder. He pushes himself to toxic lengths. Whenever the Judge escapes his grasp, the conflict evolves, the stakes are raised, and the tension builds. Dick’s desperation becomes visceral to the reader, and that is what humanizes him to the reader. Similarly, the emotional pay-off of the climactic battle in the end grows with each obstacle Dick faces.

(Humphries, Sam, writer. Chang, Bernard, illustrator The Untouchable: Chapter Four: Infiltration. Nightwing: Rebirth no. 38, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2018. pp. 09)

But Dick’s newbie incompetence is not the only way Taylor mischaracterizes Dick. It is by combining the lighthearted tone of his story, his depiction of Dick as a blank canvas “good guy,” his avoidance of conflict, and his attempts at answering difficult real-world problems that Taylor ends up creating a version of Dick Grayson that is utterly self-absorbed and lacking in foresight.

Telling and not showing is an immense problem in Taylor’s writing. There’s a difference between how a writer attempts to portray a character and how, given their actions in the context of the narrative created, the story shows them to be the complete opposite. In such cases, the story triumphs over the writer. This is why I claim that, though Taylor tells the reader that Dick is caring, intelligent, and a hard worker, he actually shows Dick as as selfish, incompetent, and naive.  

Take, as an example, how Taylor sidelines the Heartless storyline in favor of slice-of-life scenes. If Heartless was not there, perhaps those sweet moments could be just that. However, as in the world of the story there is currently a serial killed running around free, making orphans out of the youth Dick vowed to protect, the fact that Dick is not constantly working to catch Heartless is not only out of character, it makes it so it seems he doesn't care what happens to the people of Bludhaven (And now also Gotham, given #111, which was released as this essay was being edited). Rather than stopping crime and bringing justice to Heartless’ victims, Dick would rather spend his nights in his apartment, enjoying a relaxing evening with his girlfriend and his dog. 

Please do not take this to mean that I consider a slice-of-life story to be inferior to other genres. My reason for highlighting this is not to undermine the value of slice-of-life, but rather to argue that such scenes do not live in isolation. They exist within the context of a larger narrative, and what would be sweet in a sitcom-style story comes across as something entirely different when other characters are facing life-and-death stakes. It does not matter how much the writer tells us that these characters are caring and compassionate — their lack of action and urgency portrays them as self-centered. 

Just as Taylor attempts to write the big climatic moments without properly building the momentum necessary to make them impactful, he similarly forgoes the work required to win the reader’s trust, and instead expects his audience to simply accept that important plot and character developments are happening off-screen. Rather than letting the audience experience the intrigue and devastation of the Heartless mystery by showing us how the horrors of these murders motivate Dick to continuously search for this cruel killer, Taylor instead advances these elements off-screen, opting instead to tell the reader they’ve occurred.

That is not to say that writers cannot streamline plots. They absolutely can and, in some cases, they absolutely should. However, streamlining a subplot is a far more complicated matter than just telling the reader said events happened off-screen and expecting them to simply accept it. 

While it is impossible to provide a precise checklist with the step-by-step guidelines on how to properly streamline a subplot, I believe one of the factors one must consider is whether that plot should be streamlined or not. Personally, I believe that Dick investigating the character who was meant to be this run’s main villain is too big and too important of a story to be played off offscreen.

Dick has hardly spent any time attempting to apprehend Heartless. Instead, as time of writing, his investigation of Heartless has practically nonexistent. Instead, after not focusing on him for the majority of the run, we are simply told by Dick and Babs that they’ve been keeping an eye on Heartless, even if their investigation is never shown to us. 

(Taylor, Tom, writer. Basri, Sami Nightwing. Nightwing: Rebirth. 111, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2023. pp 09)

If we, as readers, are to believe that Dick is the selfless detective and hero — the Heart of the DCU — that Taylor tell us he is, then finding and apprehending Heartless should be one of his top priorities. If Heartless was meant to be Nightwing’s big nemesis, then their confrontation should always be a source of great tension and conflict. Such importance would be demonstrated by showing Dick working towards stopping him at every moment he has free. But either those moments are not happening at all, or they are happening off-screen.

Having such an important conflict and such a crucial antagonistic dynamic develop does nothing to enrich the plot — in fact, it only detracts from them, for because we do not get to witness this relationship grow and we are only told that it is happening, the pay off that must come when Nightwing and Heartless finally have a big confrontation will be cheapened as a result. 

Heartless' actions are so brutal and create such urgency that not prioritizing Heartless' arrest makes it seem like Dick doesn't care about his victims. Batman doesn't wait around when the Joker breaks out of Arkham – he hunts the Joker down. Similarly, Dick didn't wait around on the Judge – he hunted him down. 

For Heartless to be the Big Bad, Dick should have put him in jail already and Heartless should have escaped. DIck should have faced him multiple times. He should have been Dick's priority because of how cruel and urgent his actions are.

Finally, there are three particular moments that I wish to discuss to illustrate how ambivalent Taylor is when it comes to Dick’s characterization, choosing to prioritize online discourse over who Dick Grayson’s established history and personality. 

The first one comes from a throwaway line. And yet, because this was a throwaway line that demonstrated how little thought Taylor gives to his main character. 

When Tim makes his first appearance in Taylor’s run in #80, Dick’s narration says that many would consider Tim to be the best Robin, and that he “totally gets it.”

(Taylor, Tom, writer. Redondo, Bruno, illustrator.  Leaping into the Light Part Three. Nightwing: Rebirth. 80, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2021. pp 09)

“Who is the best Robin” is a discourse that I, admittedly, care very little for. It serves no purpose other than to get fans to fight one another, bashing each other’s favorite characters in order to prop up their own. When posed on social media, this question becomes a thinly veiled attempt to generate high engagement. In reality, when people discuss “who is the best Robin,” they are, most often than not, truly arguing about who is their favorite Robin. But the question is framed in a way to be purposefully divisive, creating conflict within the fan community. The fact that DC plays into that divisiveness that requires their characters to be brought down so others can be lifted up for marketing material is concerning, but the fact that writers such as Taylor are letting that fan perception bleed into in-universe narration is nothing less than lazy writing that prioritizes online leaning into buzz over good storytelling.  

Naturally, as a Dick Grayson fan my opinion is that Tim is not the best Robin. Dick is. But my problem is not that Taylor said that Tim was the better Robin, but that I think Dick would never concede to the existence of a “best Robin.” In fact, not only do I believe that it is out of character for Dick to believe that one Robin can be defined as the best Robin, I would argue that Dick would be offended that such a question could be asked.

Dick, more than any of the other Robins, understands the purpose of a Robin, as he was the one who created the mantle. By seeing so many others inherit his family’s colors and his mother’s name for him, he also understands better than anyone that each person who becomes Robin has their purpose in their own unique way. Dick would understand how each of them made the Robin mantle unique, how they added to its mythos in their own way, and how all of their contributions are equally valid and equally important. He would never single out one of them as the best because he knows that Robin is about an ideal of justice by bringing light into the darkness. Most importantly, understanding how many Robins tied their self-worth to the mantle, Dick would never want others to feel as if they fell short of some arbitrary measure by proclaiming they are not “the best.” Dick would be against that measure, against the very idea of ranking Robins, as if they were interchangeable, as if they each didn’t make relevant contributions. He would hate the idea of the mantle he created in honor of his parents being used to judge and measure the worth of those he loves. Dick would argue that there can never be a "best Robin" because Robin is always about being your best self in the service of those who need your help, and you can't quantify that.

The concept of a “Best Robin” is a marketing strategy and a fan-oriented discourse that Taylor casually imposed into the narrative without considering whether his protagonist would adhere to such ideas. He prioritized internet discourse over characterization, and while the former may be immediately fulfilling as the page is cropped and shared a few thousand times in the first few days after publication, only the latter will leave an impression that will last decades. Taylor is embodying a current DC Comics trend to favor the former over the latter. As scholar Steve Baxi said in his review of Leaping into the Light, that page “doesn’t feel like Dick Grayson appreciating his brother, it feels like Dick Grayson saying what the audience wants to hear.” (Baxi, Steve, “TRADE COLLECTION REVIEW: Nightwing Vol. 1 - Leaping Into The Light” Comics Bookcase, August 2021)

Although they share similar problems, unlike the “Tim is the best Robin” throwaway narration, the second example I wish to discuss in detail became a big plot point in the beginning of Taylor’s run. I’m referring to the choice of having Dick become a billionaire due to the inheritance Alfred left to him.

To be more clear, my problem is not with the fact that Taylor made Dick into a billionaire (after all, Dick inheriting wealth from his parents is not a novel concept), but rather with Dick’s musings on the subject. (Dick’s financial situation is inconsistent across the years. While some like Dixon and Wolfman allude to him having a trust fund his parents set aside and that remained untouched until Dick’s adulthood, other writers like Humphrey who portray him as more middle class and sometimes struggling financially. Then there are the numerous times in which Dick was left homeless, implying that he did not have a safety fund to go to when tragedy struck.) On #79, Dick says, without a hint of irony, that he always thought that Bruce could do more to help Gotham with Bruce Wayne’s money than he does as Batman. 

(Taylor, Tom. writer, Redondo, Bruno, illustrator Leaping into the Light Part Two. Nightwing: Rebirth. 79, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2021. pp 07)

This is a popular online discourse that reveals lack of knowledge about Batman and a naive understanding of how corrupt systems function. I understand we are currently very critical (and rightly so) of billionaires and the hoarding of wealth. I understand that this leads many — media critics and everyday fans — to analyzing how wealth is portrayed in the stories that resonate within our culture. But anyone who claims that Bruce has not used his wealth for the benefit of Gotham outside of funding his Batman endeavors has not engaged properly with Batman media. I’m not going to go into the merits of how Bruce’s wealth should or should not be portrayed and how DC has currently been handling this issue (that is the subject for an entirely different essay that is not relevant to this discussion), but I will say that Bruce has, canonically, used a lot of his money to fund safety net programs in Gotham, to invest in small businesses and on individuals, and in trying to make the city more affordable and kinder to those with less. 

Twitter user Ashley|TheBatFamily 🦇 (@TheBat_Family) created a comprehensive Twitter thread of examples. These are but some of the ones that stood out to me and that feel most relevant to this essay:

In Cataclysm, Bruce attempted to lobby the US government to offer aid to Gotham after the earthquake; 

Bruce used his money to rebuild the city during No Man’s Land;

Bruce invested in the people who were ready to start new businesses so Gotham could offer jobs to its people and rebuild itself without being fully dependent on others;

Bruce created scholarships so more people could attend university;

Bruce funds Leslie’s free clinic as well as other hospitals around Gotham;

Bruce invested on low-income housing developments in Gotham by working with local firms, providing accommodations to local residents so no one would be displaced;

Bruce expanded and modernized Gotham’s public transportation system;

Bruce ensured all Wayne properties were secured against earthquakes (which led to those residences being the only ones standing during NML);

Bruce funds libraries and museums;

Bruce funds green efforts not just in Gotham, but in other places by buying land and making them nature preserves;

Bruce funds orphanages and provided them resources (from educational supplies to toys for the children);

Bruce provided support for immigrants;

Bruce funds appeals for wrongful convictions;

Bruce provides employment for former convicts;

(Ashley [TheBat_Family]. Twitter, 13 October 2020, https://twitter.com/TheBat_Family/status/1316006509923520512.)

In short, Bruce Wayne has done everything and more that Dick claimed he wished to do for Bludhaven. There’s nothing novel about the idea. Batman narratives don’t put as much focus on these endeavors and do not place as much emphasis on Bruce’s philanthropy simply because they Batman stories are, at their core, detective stories first and foremost. Their focus is on investigation and crime solving (Though I would argue that Cataclysm and No Man’s Land put a lot of focus on issues of wealth, class, and examine Bruce’s financial responsibility towards the city).

But just because these examples are not the focus of the stories in which they are present, it does not mean that they do not exist. Neither does it mean that Batman stories do not engage with themes of wealth and class inequality, as well as systemic corruption. In fact, I would argue that many of the best ones know how to use Bruce’s privileged status to explore these issues. The Court of Owls by Scott Snyder, for example, brilliantly uses the Court and the Talons to engage with these themes. (An essay analyzing the Court of Owls through such a lens would be a fascinating study, especially when exploring the parallels and foils between the Court and the Talons, and Bruce and Dick. Alas, this is not the place for it.)

Dick, who not only has always been characterized as knowing Bruce better than most people,  but who was also raised by Bruce, would know about every single one of the examples listed above. Dick, of all people, had a front row seat to all the ways in which Bruce helped Gotham with his wealth, both in examples that were covered by the press, and the ones Bruce did secretly without taking credit. Dick attended countless fundraising events, press briefs, boardroom meetings. But most importantly, Dick would have witnessed with his very own eyes that lack of funding is not at the root of Gotham’s problems.  The problem in Gotham is not lack of money or safety nets, but rather, it is that its systems are so corrupt that pumping more funds into it will do nothing to help those in need. Instead, it will only further enrich those who are already in power. That’s why in this comic book world with comic book conventions and comic book logic, Batman is needed. Batman is a disruption to the system, forcing it to change, dismantling it from both the outside and the inside. In Dixon and Grayson’s Nightwing runs, Dick’s understanding of systematic problems can be observed in his motivation to become a police officer, as he joins the force with the goal to weed out the corruption and dismantle the system from within. Money alone cannot save a city if the foundation was purposefully designed to favor those on the top by taking from those at the bottom.

(Dixon, Chuck, writer. McCarthy, Trevor, illustrator The Threshold. Nightwing. 60, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2001. pp 22)

But of course, Taylor never takes a moment to wonder how being raised by Bruce Wayne would influence Dick’s perspective on this matter. Instead, he once more takes a popular online discourse and makes Dick say it out without considering characterization. A more in-character and canonically accurate approach to such a story moment would have Dick comment on all the ways Bruce used his money behind the scenes to help Gotham, and how he wishes to do the same for Bludhaven. A single line change would have demonstrated Taylor's willingness to engage with Dick’s character history rather than just copying the hot takes he sees on social media. 

Not only that, this change in dialogue would also establish Bruce and Dick’s closeness as it would show that not only is Bruce a source of inspiration for Dick, but that Dick is one of the few people who have seen this side of Bruce. That would have also made the hug between Bruce and Dick in the #100 more emotionally effective and thematically cohesive, especially as they are in front of Alfred’s grave.

(Taylor, Tom, writer. Redondo, Bruno, illustrator Power Vacuum: Part Four: The Leap. Nightwing: Rebirth. 100, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2023. pp 44)

The truth is that Dick's Haven project engaged with issues homelessness only in the most shallow of manners. Rather than discussing the realities of this matter, it simply used it as a backdrop. It is an appropriation of hardships by someone who is unwilling to engage with the difficulties brought upon by said hardships. It is substance-less writing masquerading as social consciousness.

The third example I wish to cite which demonstrates Taylor’s lack of consideration for Dick’s character or his backstory comes when Haley is taken in #87. Dick’s internal monologue reads that “The last thing I’d want is for anyone to be threatened because they’re close to Dick Grayson,” referring to the fact that he is now a public figure thanks to the press conference he gave about his plans for Bludhaven. 

(Taylor, Tom, writer. Redondo, Bruno, illustrator Get Grayson. Nightwing: Rebirth. 87, e-book ed. DC Comics, 2021. pp 09)

The idea that Dick Grayson, billionaire Bruce Wayne’s first child, was unaware of the dangers faced by those associated with a public figure is laughable. The idea that the first Robin, who was often taken hostage by villains who wished to get to Batman (so much so that Frank Miller famously nicknamed him “Boy Hostage”), did not understand the threat posed to those who are close to powerful figures is insulting. After well over a decade as a superhero, and after well over a decade of being associated with a wealthy public figure, Dick should know better than most how such ties can put loved ones at risk. 

In-universe, this line makes Dick appear so self-centered that he does not take into consideration how his actions affect his loved ones. It makes him appear dense, unable to think through his actions and strategize contingency plans and safety precautions before taking such a giant risk. 

Out of universe, this betrays a lazy way of storytelling, with Taylor going for low-hanging fruits without thinking of how that might affect the characterization of his protagonist. Out of universe, a collection of throwaway, thoughtless lines like this demonstrates just how uninterested Taylor is in giving even the slightest consideration to who Dick Grayson is meant to be, instead putting his focus on the gimmick that will get him noticed on social media.

[ultimategenshintournament]

Ultimate Genshin Tournament: Round 5

Propaganda below cut

Venti:

calls the Traveler "his warrior" plus he's like our long-time friend??? He basically asked us out during the alchemy event???? You can choose to bring him up during the fight with Signora????? He's the best idc

He. Is. Amazing. So many layers, so interesting...So much trauma and potential...Not to mention look how AWESOME he is generally!!! He's kind and caring towards everybody, and also carefree and mischievous!!! How can you not love him??

he’s TOO GOOD for this world- he’s just a little guy!! Like he cares for his nation and the people of Mondstadt SO MUCH it hurts when people say he doesn’t. Like, my poor trauma-driven little mega-powerful war god who’s actually just a tiny little wind spirit honoring his dead friend!!!! I love him so much

his lore means he gets brought up almost every patch. he convinced a bunch of the most lethal women in Teyvat to have tea instead of screwing him up. he would always rather take the path of least resistance. he’s the three time best bard in Mond. he never seeks glory, only wishes to offer it to others. he was a better father to Diona than her real one five minutes into meeting her. he gives Glory whispers of what the world looks like so she can navigate. when a nun of his own church denied his identity he decided to run a heist to steal back an item that is only holy because it is his. he keeps his misery and loneliness trapped within, and does his best to bring joy to every person he meets. how can you not love him? 

He's Venti. How do you beat that? Answer: you don't. You can't. 

they say that an nation is most like their archon but is the anemo archon a god that took after the people's traits or did the people take their archons traits (the only correct answer is that venti took after old mond's people traits and it's so disgustingly sweet, he's a lil baby who cared so much that he kept old mond's wishes heard and their dream a reality — of freedom (without a god, as much as he could) where humanity leads trust. he left mondstadt because he trusted that humanity would do that right thing always but then he got betrayed by the Lawrence clan but he forgave them???! the anemo archon gave them no punishment , but mondstadt did . venti has me ugly crying

Kaeya:

He's cool, he's mysterious, he wears an eyepatch, he has a super tragic backstory, he's good with kids, he takes care of his friends, what's not to love!!!

despite all the hardships he’s suffered, he’s still such a kind person 

This is the character of the everyman. Everyone should love Kaeya because he's with you no matter what. He has the great mystery of his origins and his damage with his family and his brother, but he is with you til the end. That's what makes him so special to me

Furina:

girl deserves therapy and hugs and the best life in the WORLD because oh boy she went through a lot!!!! wouldn't pretending to be a god for 500 years with no support mess you up? and yet she still kept on going for her people!! she wanted to save her nation from a doomsday prophecy and she DID

After act 5 she deserves the world :(

“If all the people of Fontaine are on one side, and I am on the other…is it not obvious where the scales of suffering should tilt?” NO IT ISNT YOU’RE JUST ABNORMALLY SELFLESS AND INCREDIBLE AND PERSISTENT. Even the Archons praise Furina’s name and say she is a human with strength and capability worthy of an Archon. That’s not even to speak of Focalors. She snapped at Arlecchino only when the Harbinger implied that Furina had done nothing to preserve her people from the flood. Meanwhile every minute she was working to prevent the prophecy. A month after we took her to court and almost got her killed she agreed to help us direct a play, a favor for a favor

[uh-mozzaza]

"so personally, I prefer the first Parkour Civilization movie, since it has more sociologically driven storytelling. You're not just following the protagonist on his hero's journey, it's also a simple yet compelling allegory on the superstructure of society and class conflict. The sequel sort of drops that theme for a more dramatic and character-driven story, and while Seawatt's arc and backstory were better than I expected, I think ultimately the protagonist blank slate of [relatable everyman] that fulfilled its role in the first movie falls flat here in a story that needed more catharsis than wish-fulfilment fantasy."

[bixiebeet]

Some random Ghostbusters thoughts from me:

Winston is a lynchpin between the Ghostbusters’ story and the general audience. He’s the everyman who gets sucked into a fantastical world—a regular guy who holds his own in incredible situations. I’m glad that Winston’s film arc has him become a successful businessman. Surely his intelligence and hardworking spirit took him far. He also seems like a cool dude who’s got some great stories.

Peter hides his sensitive side behind wisecracks. I think he was a class clown growing up, in part to hide his insecurities. He acts like he’s always cool, but there is more to the story. He is actually quite loyal and cares deeply for his loved ones. Nevertheless, he makes the snarky jokes that some audience members wish that they could make irl.

Ray is adorable, isn’t he? He’s so genuine and sincere. If I got to discuss ghosts with one team member, it’d be Ray. He could share his encyclopedic knowledge for hours and enjoy every minute of it. He also probably has a quirky gang of occult-loving friends to hang out with. Ray seems like a good friend and someone who truly acts with noble intentions. He lives up to his moniker as the heart of the Ghostbusters.

Egon has a lot more soul than people give him credit for. He isn’t just a ‘genius’ in a library or lab—instead, he’s someone who repeatedly puts himself in harm’s way to protect his friends and the public. Because Egon is contemplative and keeps his feelings close to his chest, people may think he’s uncaring. But his actions show that he cares deeply and tries to do the right thing.

[froldgapp]

may I be really basic, and ask Tim Drake for the first impressions character ask? Thanks :)

Oh yaaaaay! Thanks for the ask! Let's go!

My first impression

I think the first time I ever recognised Tim Drake as an entity separate from my vague notion of "Robin" was in a post where he was holding up a hand-written sign saying, "Batman isn't dead" and the text said something like, "Can a depressed person do this?" It made me laugh and I decided to explore more about this little man. I read Red Robin first, got totally hooked, and went back and read his Robin run from the beginning. Thus began my descent into DC.

My impression now

Nuanced in a peculiar way in that, at first glance, he seems spectacularly vanilla. He's smart, he's an everyman, he's full of quips and ordinary daytime kid issues. He's very Danny LaRusso or Omri Katz from Eerie Indiana. Like very "boy hero of this specific era." Then you see how his character moves through these challenges and interacts with all of these tremendous weirdos in his life, and it's just so gripping and fun. I also read a good comment somewhere that Tim Drake is fun because he's like Bruce but more human. Humanity touches him a little more. He's not as immune to things like lack of sleep or so.

I adored Red Robin on first reading it, but I really only understood its power when I read it after his solo run. All of that tragedy and angst rests on the years of history that brought him there.

So my impression now kid of bifurcates between this Tim, listed above, and the sort of "empty packet of crisps" Tim we have a lot of in recent years. I think he's been grossly underutilised at best and horribly skewed at worst by a cohort of writers who just don't seem so interested in all the little bits that make Tim Tim.

Favorite thing about that character

He's his own person. Despite all the doubts of his Red Robin era, he still absolutely knows who he is–even if he doesn't know what to do with that. I wrote a post recently about how uninterested he seems in being the Best. It just seems utterly unimportant to him. He's also a pragmatist and coalition builder, which also sets him apart from a lot of A-type heroes.

Least favorite thing

A bit more meta, the poor handling of the character in recent years (other than a few bright spots). If we're looking at Tim Tim of yore, then it's absolutely his preachiness and occasional but glaring pedantry. But but I also love it as a flaw as it makes complete sense for him. It also gets him trouble from time to time, which is also great character work.

Favorite line/scene

I just love the end of his solo run. You can feel the screw tighten and tighten as the story goes on. It's glorious storytelling that culminates with the explosion in the warehouse.

And since it was my first introduction really to him, his final confrontation with Ra's in the tower goes so hard! (I'm a whump fan, can you tell?)

Favorite interaction that character has with another

This!

A character that I wish that character would interact with more

After completing my TimxLonnie fic, I would love to see a team up between them again. Let them take on corporate America, damnit!

Another character from another fandom that reminds me of that character

One of the things I like about Tim is that despite his outward appearance as just another protagonist kid in high-tops, he really is rather unique. Look at how he inverts the traditional power dynamic between he and Bruce so often, for example. Or how he's actually quite popular in school, so not at all like a lot of "outsider" types from a similar era. Saying that... I'm doing to go with this little punk (Danny LeRusso, Karate Kid):

A headcanon about that character

He's even more of a control freak than we can possibly fathom but 90% of his impulses he doesn't share. Probably he gives himself a chronic condition at some point because of this. He has a snaggletooth and/or does, in fact, need glasses! (Snaggletooth!Tim truther!)

A song that reminds of that character

I regret to inform you that it's probably something by Jimmy Eat World.

An unpopular opinion about that character

I dunno if it's unpopular, but I think they shat the bed with his coming out story. Big squandered opportunity to do some real storytelling there.

Favorite picture

This for the sheer impact:

This is the winner though for maximum Timmy points (I cheated. Two panels, i know):

Thanks again for the ask. Well done if you made it this far!

[lilietsblog]

suddenly randomly thinking about Max Frei's Labyrinth of Echo (finally a Russian fantasy book actually translated into English!!! rejoice!!!) and tbh every isekai author should be legally required to read it for like. Educational purposes. so they have a bit more imagination about it

it IS in fact an isekai, or portal fantasy perhaps fits better. its so weird and good?

the protagonist: a guy. yes, i know, it's sad. but he's sad and cute and it's honestly just good. relatable without being an everyman. the sort of guy who would be a tragic poet except he's very self conscious about this part of his personality and prefers to be funny instead. hes very good at being funny. his narrative voice is fantastic i promise you will like it

the method: our protagonist had been having the same vivid and memorable dream for years where he meets with another guy in a very odd looking but very comfortable cafe and has drinks with him and it's very soothing. one day the dream guy makes him a job offer, and gives him extremely specific concerningly-kidnapped-by-fae-like instructions to follow when hes awake. when the protagonist wakes up hes got little enough going on in his life that he decides hes got pretty much nothing to lose by trying to follow the instructions. to his bafflement, it works. hes now in another world where hes got a job offer and a boss who summoned him from another world and is very self-satisfied about it. dont ask why he wanted an employee from another world (actually, do ask. very much do ask. its important and hes not telling you the full truth at all)

the genre: magic detective mystery. not always murder mystery mind you, theres plenty of fun magic stuff that can be concerning and require investigation without anyone being dead. mostly murder, but really not always. and yeah the protagonist is a magic cop but its like. its like a treatise on what police should be like in an ideal world where its actually good. and you really do need some people to do the job of extremely capable mages capable of untangling whatever bullshit people accidentally or deliberately wrought on themselves and/or people around them (they also have non-magic police. those are worse, though still not to irl degree, because this magic world has some wish fulfillment ass laws. not quite fully automated gay luxury communism but they're getting there)

the magic system: the mc learns two, but is made aware that a significantly larger amount exists. basically every country in his new world has its own chosen special magic system. also theres 'true' magic thats the kind of thing that can summon you from another world and is the coolest. not geographically locked. our world meanwhile is a magic dystopia and no-one here realizes it except for people who do, mostly subconsciously, but they can do jack-all about it so thats how depression happens so much. the local magic system the mc learns actually has clearly defined 'levels' ('steps') and divides neatly into two kinds, 'black' and 'white' - except instead of any good/bad connotations 'black' deals with material objects and 'white' with abstract concepts. the neatly divided thing is to the point where they have pocket sensors that tell you what step-and-color spells have been cast around here (v helpful for magic cops, except of course when the magic system involved is not the local one. well at least they tell you that fact then). theres no litrpg elements though, and what step magic the mc can cast is not really treated as important. its just a worldbuilding element

the woke: eh. goes with the weird russian-specific-i-think trope "specifically elves are bisexual/gay but they intermix with humans and thats why some humans are too". ableism... bad. very bad. the whole thing is founded on a deep understanding of particular kinds of being non-neurotypical but very, uh... ignorant that that's what it is. soo bad. fatphobia: very rarely comes up i think, but, uh, also. sexism... sincere well-intentioned attempt to worldbuild a society without it but i wouldnt say it worked. fun attempt though. queerphobia: actually a pretty damn successful attempt to worldbuild a society without it (a society that the mc is very much not from and periodically smacks into this, which is always fun), though i feel it could do with more non-cis-or-straight main cast. my favorite part is the part where the protagonist is told to crossdress for infiltration anonymity one time and is weird about it in a classic transmisogynistic sort of way and everyone around him is like ??? @ the entire thing like what? whats funny we dont get it. whats embarrassing. why are you being so weird about it. what IS the problem. and then he asks himself the question and realizes there's no reason and proceeds to not be weird about it henceforth. uses the disguise as an opportunity to bond with his love interest that he had just had magic drama with, and she loves the idea and approves fully. girl-boy interactions are awkward but hell yeah they can have a girls' night. also as an opportunity to prank his flirty coworker who is about 15 minutes into lying his ass off to this cute girl who is totally into him before the protagonist finally can't take it anymore and breaks down laughing. the coworker finds this also hilarious once he figures it out and it becomes a good prank memory between them

the power fantasy: yes. the mc is mega super special. hes not the first person to ever be so mega super special and theres even specialized predators that go after people like him (his boss is like, halfway there) so the power fantasy is well tempered by challenges. also the genre is inherently investigative so the mc being super powerful is not always particularly. relevant. to the challenge at hand. like its nice that when he figures out who the culprit is he can win the fight no problem but the main conflict is usually figuring out what even happened so yeah. good. also the dose of existential horror this book loves to pair the power fantasy shit with is a great balancer too

the humor: this is the first book in my life that actually made me laugh out loud, to tears. like i am not usually very expressive when Experiencing Stories, i never cry over books or shit like that, and i had never made an out loud noise over a book since i'd learned how to read not-out-loud. until that book. those books. they are hilarious. they are ridiculous. it goes super well with the existential horror

the language shit: this is the fun one and the one that spurred me writing this post! so the backstory is that the mc was talking to his future boss in his dreams right so they already somehow spoke the same language. and this doesnt become a problem when the guy comes over either. he understands the words, be they a different language or the same one (this is never really addressed in detail, which given the fae vibe i'm honestly fine with). HOWEVER the new culture has ALL ITS OWN IDIOMS. sooo many of them. the irl author is bilingual and has lived in another country before writing this and you can tell. the mc picks up local idioms more and more over time but early on it often happens that he says some idiom of his own and his friends and coworkers instantly turn into a descending horde of gremlins like "OOOH WHAT DOES THAT MEAN" and after he does his best to explain they just. start using it. mixed with their own idioms. colored by their own understanding. questionably correctly. they eat that shit up. at one point the guy brings over his movie collection and a dvd player to watch it on (it works in another world because magic, it makes sense in context) and thus introduces his coworkers to Another World's Pop Culture which they react to the way you would to being introduced to another world's pop culture. he regrets it immensely forever after

the romance: alas, the mc is tragically straight (and is incapable of being normal about learning other people aren't, at least until he's given 15 minutes to sit with the fact it's perfectly normal in this new world. its actually really satisfying to read tbh). his turbulent love life however introduces us to two absolutely IMMACULATE girls (and they meet each other through him and instantly become besties btw) who have their own shit going on. theres never drama in the sense of romantic triangle or jealousy but theres the FUN drama along the lines of "magic rules say we cant see each other but we're still coworkers so lets figure out how to painfully and caringly be friends" and "i can't survive here. i have to leave. i love you but i cannot be where you are right now" and "sooo i panicked and now im basically dead so no we're no longer dating but i still exist in this other place so come see me sometime actually". just. fucking ace. (technically theres a love triangle for approximately five minutes between the mc and his flirty coworker both flirting with this girl but she was never actually into the flirty coworker and he knows it so when she actually is into the mc hes like ok fine fair enough). the series DOES HAVE OTHER FEMALE CHARACTERS BTW. and they are awesome. not on a 1-to-1 basis with male characters alas but they are soo good

the vibes: immaculate. lovely romantic urban mystery. sometimes the ghost eats local children but sometimes the city just has a different street layout at night and some locations are only accessible at that time and that's just normal. sometimes the culprit is a restaurant owner who figured out how to make people into super extra delicious food with magic and sometimes the culprit is a group of idiot teenagers who found a description of a ritual in an ancient book and decided it would be a great idea to try it, and sometimes the culprit is an ancient dying beast from the depths of the ocean that accidentally got stuck on a ship's prow and brought to foreign shores where people don't know how to be careful of it. just. incredible

does he get to come back home: yes! at least twice that I can remember! both are horror. the conflict is that he desperately needs to get away from there if he is to survive. not in a 'magic soul sucking will actually die' sense but in a 'depression is a deadly disease' sense. it's really cool tbh

the bad parts that maybe need a trigger warning: i mean, the existential horror gets pretty bad and i cant reread some of the books, though that's not what i want to note most. the BAD shit: ableism. fatphobia. the sideways kinds of racism like exoticization, 'savages', white savior bullshit. the 'main' culture the mc lands in are the white people of the setting and everyone else. uh. uhhhhh. varies. the author put all their pussy into fun imagination lands but they do not know a lot about non-european cultures around the world and it reeeeally shows

[tom-at-the-farm]

How I unintentionally became a perfume hoarder in 2024: an olfactory journey [I originally wrote this January 1st and immediately forgot about it]

So I have both chronic sinusitis that impairs my sense of smell and a raging insecurity about whether I smell good, which together make me obsessed with fragrances. I'm like Jean-Baptiste Grenouille from Perfume but instead of murdering women to create the perfect scent I will say things like "Curious by Britney Spears is the best olfactory experience ever" and to some people who hate the truth that's on par with murder.

Anyway!

So this is obscenely overpriced, although you can get it for half the cost on fragrancenet. I am forever obsessed with cherry and I treated myself this year. It's definitely heavy and intense, slightly smoky and sweet, a 2-spray maximum. Base notes of sandalwood and regret. I got complimented by zero people whilst wearing Lost Cherry by Tom Ford and by at least five people while wearing Curious by Britney Spears, a ratio inversely proportional to their pricing

Jo Malone is lit AF, I have recently run out of my Wild Bluebell bottle and got this, English Pear & Sweet Pea, which is amazing. It's an improvement on their older scent, English Pear and Freesia. Also the chief complaint I've heard about JM is that the scent has no staying power and that was definitely true of the Wild Bluebell I bought in England, but this latest purchase from a Bloomingdale's in New Jersey is both delicate and robustly American

These two are my daily wear. I have to say I get the most compliments on Tommy Girl. Clean, floral, nostalgic. Bitches love it! Bitches is me, but also many other people. The Clinique Happy Heart is a more floral twist on the citrusy original Happy, and it too is generally beloved by bitches

One time while I was doing a clinical rotation at a hospital I heard a man getting wheeled away on a gurney say to no one in particular, "You know what the best smell is for women? Woman by Ralph Lauren." Like literally he could have been being taken to a head trauma ward for all I know, because that's how mediocre this scent is. But I had to find out, right? Maybe there was method to his madness, some folksy American Everyman wisdom? There wasn't, and I'm a damn fool. Although for what it's worth, I was complimented once while wearing it, which is one more time than Lost Cherry by Tom Ford

I inherited this from my mom and keep it for the vintage prestige, but Shalimar has always smelled like stale whiskey to me. It still does! Maybe I, a person most frequently smelling of cigarettes and Tommy Girl, just lack the pedigree to appreciate the opulence? It's like bergamot, jasmine and vanilla, all great things individually, but in combination they just smell like a sad grandma party. Come to think of it, a lot of Tom Ford scents are just Shalimar and Chanel No 5 ripoffs with edgy names and unisex marketing

These were all presents and I wish so badly they smelled better than they do. I wish they smelled half as good as Curious by Britney Spears. The only Hermes I like is Le Jardin de Monsieur Li tbh

Also featuring such duds as Cacharel's Anais Anais and such resounding successes as Bath & Body Works' "Fresh Cut Lilacs"

[bleachbleachbleach]

How the Gotei Takes Personality Quizzes

One of my favorite things about making the Gotei 13 Compatibility Test is that when coming up with the responses for each character, we filled out the spreadsheet from the POV of the character--or perhaps even more specifically, we chose responses from the POV of the character if they were being surveyed by a member of the SC writer corps.

So, some of the response were relatively straightforward, or at least more aligned with the reality of the characters as perceived by their peers; some of them were colored by the respondents' astonishing capacity (or lack thereof) for self-assessment; and some of them were just the answer they were even half-willing to give to some journalist they really wish weren't in their office right now, AKA the energy that the Gotei Recruitment Poster quotes in Colorful Bleach give off.

Matsumoto's answers, for instance, are kind of off-the-wall, because out of all the respondents, she is the one most well-versed in magazines that contain these types of quizzes. Her familiarity with the genre led her to 1) answer this survey as she does all the others, more with the intent to have a good time roleplaying and fully indulging Magazine Fantasyland than with any regard for sober truth, and 2) actively game the system, because she wanted to draw certain kinds of matches.

I'm particularly tickled by the question:

WHICH BEST DESCRIBES YOU? 1. COURTLY 2. INTELLECTUAL 3. ATHLETIC 4. ARTISTIC 5. JUST AN "AVERAGE" GUY/GAL

Because the people who chose "5. JUST AN "AVERAGE GUY/GAL" are such a crew. XDDDD No one in the Gotei officer corps has any business self-describing in this way.

Isane and Hisagi chose this option due to issues of self-esteem. 💔

Iba chose this option because of what might? be a self-esteem issue but in his mind is his strong commitment to being a man's man, the everyman's man.

Ichimaru, Mr. "Academy 6-in-1" among other things, chose this option to troll. (And privately, chose it because in his personal estimation, if he admits to himself that he has failed in every project of his that has genuinely mattered to him, then what can one be but average.)

Komamura chose this option because he is eye-wateringly humble, and also because he believes sincerely that to be average--that is, to be balanced--is that state of being toward which one should honorably strive.

Hitsugaya chose this option because he thinks that relative to his colleagues, he is normal. (LOL, okay)

Captain "there's a god in my lungs" "one of the oldest serving captains" "dual wielder" "big poem shikai release" "oh my bonsai" Ukitake chose this option because he's nuts.

[cerastes]

So I was thinking about Sesa's whole "I know how to make weapons that don't require arts great equalizer" thing and maybe he shouldn't be allowed anywhere near Rhine Lab or Columbia for all that matter. I was wondering if you had thoughts on what a potential interaction between him and Dorothy would be? Cause both talented engineers, but with Dorothy seeming to forget implications of things, what effect wooing Sesa being scared of the implications have on Dorothy.

Sesa wouldn't be a danger even if he was in Rhine Lab because Sesa himself is fully aware of the dangers of such a paradigm shifting breakthrough: I had a zealous anon (that went unpublished) some months back when I first talked about Sesa basically calling Sesa a coward, because his breakthrough in being able to produce firearms that don't require Arts knowledge or skill could be used to arm the masses and shift the power balance between the people(tm) and bigger entities like the Ursus Empire.

So obviously that's one hundred percent not feasible in the slightest for a lot of reasons, so I didn't answer that because it felt less "let's talk about Arknights" and more "why is this game not fulfilling the wishes for a social revolution we all want right now", and I include myself in that "we", it's just, it's not that simple, and Dorothy's Vision puts that in perspective, making the Sesa Conversation relevant again:

Dorothy has the skill and the intent, but lacks the worldly experience, thus she was not able to see the full consequences and ramifications of her actions, right? But there's another important factor in what made Dorothy's Vision, the Hub, possible: The endless money that Rhine Labs has, as well as their infrastructure that allows for these sorts of experiments to occur in the first place. Dorothy can have all the brains and prowess she wants, she could not have achieved the Hub by herself, or even just with her section, she needed the funding, infrastructure, and support not just from Ferdinand and Rhine Lab, but also from Loken Williams. We'll come back to this in a second.

The difference between Sesa and Dorothy is that Sesa, being far more worldly and perceptive to just how hellish Terra truly is, and that such hellish world has bred some truly evil, greedy people, is immediately aware that, were his and his brother's breakthrough of non-Arts reliant firearms to become mainstream, it would only result in far more oppression and a far more unfair playing field, not an equalizer of power.

Because to manufacture weapons and materiel, you still need funds, personnel, resources, and infrastructure. The discovery of non-Arts firearms would benefit, short term, black markets and smaller outfits. Let's remember that Sesa and his brother weren't small time, they had their own laboratory and hideout. They had more than most smaller outfits and gangs. In the long term, though, once the know-how of firearm production becomes more mainstream? Who do you think will have the edge, small time gangs or the Ursus Empire with its absolutely immense territory, endless resources, and infinite personnel? End of the day, it would be the giants like Ursus, Yan, Victoria that would just get far, far more powerful, not the small revolutionary guys and gals we'd be rooting for.

Sesa is aware of this, and that's what takes us back to the previous point: Sesa gets that his knowledge would drown the world in fire for the benefit of the Big Guys, not the everyman, simply because of a matter of logistics. For every one okay rifle a gang makes, the Ursus Empire is probably going to be making hundreds of artillery cannons and thousands of better rifles.

As for an interaction between Sesa and Dorothy, I think he'd be unequivocally mad initially, but then would understand that Dorothy truly means well, and they could definitely relate to one another, although I'm not sure Dorothy would accept Sesa too easily: Dorothy was pushed into her path by her family's untimely death and lives for her research, Sesa killed his own brother for the greater good, and tries to keep his research drowned in obscurity forever. That’d be real interesting to scope.

Just two Oppenheimers in a room, 5 feet away because they are not willing to drown in their scholarly curiosity.

[lockandkeyblade]

Magical Disposition

And the little rambles and side notes we made along the way

All casters have specific magical dispositions, beginning with their leanings toward Light or Darkness. This leaning often has an effect on the elemental magic that they gravitate towards; Light casters showing considerable aptitude in Air, Water, or Ice spells, whilst Dark casters are more inclined to be proficient in Fire, Earth, or Lightning spells.

In this way, Light-leaning casters are unlikely to have a natural aptitude in Dark-leaning elements, though such aptitudes are not impossible. Apprentices are encouraged to learn the base level of all elemental spells, in order to identify where their natural aptitudes lie.

As an apprentice becomes more skilled with elements they share a natural aptitude for, the more likely they are to exhibit this aptitude in accidental ways. This accidental magic is most often tied to emotional distress; an example of such being an apprentice with an aptitude of fire, who, overwhelmed by the seemingly unending piles of books their master ordered them to read, set fire to the entire stack.

Magical disposition can also affect the appearance of magic being cast, though this rarely affects the potency of the intended spell. Drawing from the previous example, the apprentice mentioned often cast Fire tainted with the color of Darkness, the result being purple flames that were no less potent due to the visual discrepancy.

~~~

How's this look on the cast then? Ignoring canon, letting it be a free-for-all….

Ventus and Aqua are never going to master fire and earth skills, such as firaga. Their strength is obvious (like, in the names, man), though Aqua will probably have that Stop magic to a fucking T. Ventus again, obvious- wind is his forte and Salvation exists.

Terra and Axel would never master ice skills (tbf Axel will probably have nothing to do with Ice or Water ever), and probably never master healing spells either. Both their strengths are obvious.

Riku is balanced enough that he could master everything. Like, literally everything he’s probs the only motherfucker that popped out of the womb who can say “yeah I got everything but Wish”. Roxas and Xion got him beat tho they probably can learn everything and the couch too.

Vanitas will never learn healing spells. Ever. He's got his Darkness and his big ol' orbs of purple fire, he's good. That said, I like the idea that he is gonna learn a lot of very…protective spells. Eventually. And be insanely good at them. (because protective spells are wiiiiiiind and he can deny his origins if he likes but THEY’RE THERE, TOUGH SHIT)

Sora won’t learn gravity magic and won’t master time magic. I’m actually unsure if he’ll master anything beyond healing and protection spells because he’s just more of a “but what if I just stab it” kind of guy. KH's everyman, the equivalent of FFXIV's Meteor/White Bread Man. Considering Roxas and Xion, he could be more. He just doesn’t want to. Also his “Wish” is kind of off the charts so does he need anything else probs not??? He’s “competent” with most magics but hitting shit is what he excels at.

Kairi and Namine will probably never learn literally anything Dark leaning (outside of corridors for Nams) but considering their “Wish” magic is also off the fucking charts that’s probably for the best.

Donald lol. So he has a super leaning to fire (and lightning he spams this AoE like it's going out of fashion in KH2) and I’m keeping it because Vanitas will never let that go. Mickey is very much like… the taught student, so Light stuff, time stuff, press X to spam Holy. Goofy is legit just like, an AoE buff spammer, and nothing else. His aptitude for magic is super low.

~~~

Fire Magic is the most obvious difference between two people casting at the same level, because it’s very visual. Light wielders will generally create a fire that looks more “natural”, whereas Dark wielders actively have to work to prevent the Darkness from distorting the coloration and effect, since Darkness is ironically more predisposed to heat. Which means Axel summoning a literal room full of naturally coloured fire is a big fucking deal.

Another obvious difference I’m gonna whack in here is that people with elemental learnings are way more liable to affect their magic via emotions, particularly when they’re untrained. So when Ventus is stupid mad he accidentally summons tornados. Aqua freezes shit she’s touching Elsa-style, and the temperature around her drops. Terra makes the ground quake. Vanitas makes the area around him darker, on top of… you know. Spawning Unversed.

[agentnico]

Carry-On (2024) review

I absolutely adore users’ reactions on Letterboxd. Here’s one for this movie by user ‘matthacunda’ - “TS-motherfuckin'-A. They handle shit. That's what they do. Consider this situation fuckin’ handled.” Love that.

Plot: A mysterious traveler blackmails a young TSA agent into letting a dangerous package slip through security and onto a Christmas Day flight.Some directors should be left to doing what they do best. Jaume Collet-Serra has made a living off establishing himself as a bonafide auteur of better than they have any right to be suspense thrillers about decent people (majority of the times played by Liam Neeson with a particular set of skills) trapped in compromising positions. Yet in recent years he has been offered the big pay-checks from major studios to direct big Hollywood blockbusters the likes of Jungle Cruise and Black Adam, and they ended up not that good. Look, those movies are the kind of forgettable Hollywood content that could be made by literally anyone, and as such leave directors to await their chance for a streamer to then give them another chance, and then they can go back to basics and make a name for themselves again. In cometh Netflix, a pioneer of endless algorithmic content, who have allowed Serra to make another silly action thriller, now involving airports and planes again, which is great, as his best in my eyes is still Non-Stop - that movie was a whopper! But how does Carry-On hold up against it?

There’s something really fun about setting a dumb action flick during the holiday season. Die Hard is prime example of this, using the holidays as a backdrop for pointless violence and action. Carry-On plays up to this genre, even if it is a tad predictable. I do wish it leaned more into the Christmas vibe, as aside from a couple of festive song cues (the film opens with Springsteen’s “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” as we pan down the winter sky, and a notable car crash/fight sequence is accompanied by “Last Christmas”) there wasn’t actually that much Christmas fluff to this, unlike the trailers promised. Furthermore, there was a lack of action for an action film. Don’t get me wrong, when the action happens Serra brings his signature style, with the aforementioned car fight in particular being a visually popping and exciting piece, evoking the opening of the first Deadpool movie. But otherwise this is mostly Bateman’s terrorist monologuing in Everton’s early for most of the runtime, which did become a tad repetitive and made the pacing a bit slow.

That being said, Jason Bateman as the baddie really is the best part of this film. For those surprised that Bateman can play a genuinely intimidating and unnerving villain instead of his regular awkward mess characters, you evidently haven’t seen his work in the Ozark series, and more notably the thriller The Gift, that really makes you re-assess Jason Bateman as am actor. The guy plays evil well. His calculated menace provides the perfect foil to Egerton’s everyman hero, creating a dynamic that keeps viewers guessing about his true motives. Bateman is both relatable and terrifying, with his banter throughout much of the film adding a mix of unease and levity. Taron Egerton is fine, however aside from those two the other cast performances leave much to be desired. Sofia Carson especially provides a bland performance as Egerton’s pregnant wife (which by the way her pregnancy being her only character trait), as she delivers all her dialogue in such monotone and lifeless fashion that one wonders if she’s talking to a tree. She lacks any kind of chemistry with Egerton, and in fact I was shipping Egerton more with Bateman.

Carry-On is enjoyable and fits right at home in Netflix infinite library of content. You’ll get a kick out of Bateman’s evil doings, as well as the unrealistic silly happenstances that occur within the narrative, but aside from that this is the type of movie that will be long forgotten after the holiday season is over. That being said, for Christmas 2024 this is a perfectly fine and entertaining enough palette cleanser for a year that has overall being a misfire for cinema.

Overall score: 5/10

[thatsparrow]

thoughts on gladiator ii

(spoilers ahead)

I must have done a good job avoiding even a broad-strokes summary of this movie, because I did not realize going into it that paul mescal was grown-up lucius, and honestly, I wish he hadn't been

it's maybe a little silly to think about a movie in terms of what you wanted it to be rather than what it was, but I'm going to anyway (briefly). so, the movie starts, and we get this parallel to the opening of gladiator with maximus leading the battle against the germans, except now our perspective is with the numidians, and it does draw attention to how little interest or consideration gladiator paid to the germans being killed—they really are effectively just the quote-unquote "barbarians" that all the romans assume the numidians in gladiator ii to be. and where we never learn much (or anything, really) about the germans, here we've spent time with the numidians and humanized them, and so when they start gearing up for war and we find out it's the roman army sailing against our hero, it seemed like it was setting up gladiator ii to be an interesting complement to the original, thinking more about the nature of rome as an empire and its colonies as conquered peoples

but when it becomes clear that paul mescal is lucius, now he's no longer an everyman representative of the violence inflicted by the roman empire—instead, it establishes him as something of a "chosen one," and his disdain for the empire seems not just informed by its violence, but by his specific and personal history of being the grandson of marcus aurelius and the son of lucilla

I've been asking myself—why make a sequel unless you're interested in engaging with the original, but I do wish gladiator ii had chosen to hold a different conversation with gladiator, with fewer direct throughlines. I'm comfortable with how maximus's story ended. I didn't need to pick back up with his hitherto-unknown son (also. okay. more on that, later.) I think marcus aurelius's dream of rome is a compelling enough vision that someone else could've taken up that mantle, without it needing to be his grandson

and in fact, because paul mescal is marcus aurelius's grandson, it makes his tenure as a gladiator less vital to his story. maximus has everything taken from him—becoming a successful gladiator is the only avenue he has for hoping to reclaim any measure of power, or to achieve any level of vengeance against commodus. conversely, what really is the result of lucius becoming a gladiator? I'm not saying it doesn't have plot ramifications, of course it does, but it seems as if most of the power lucius ends up with—what his future success is predicated on, why the army defers to him—is not because of his career as a gladiator, but largely by virtue of being marcus aurelius's grandson (maybe this bullet is stretching a bit, but I was really struck by how easily lucius leaves the arena behind, how it felt like an incidental stepping stone in his larger story of becoming emperor, vs. maximus's body being carried out of it)

they do explain that the reason why paul mescal is in numidia is because he was on the run after lucilla sent him into hiding, and numidia is where he ended up, but. it is very funny to me that he becomes the de facto face of. y'know. numidia

of course it's beautiful to watch—the costumes are stunning, the fight scenes are creative and exciting (I'm not here to get into historical accuracies and inaccuracies, I'll just say, sharks in the coliseum is very fun), and it's well-paced, for sure I was engaged throughout. can't fault any of the aesthetics, absolutely it knows what it's doing in terms of being a capital-m Movie

denzel washington is great, of course he's always a highlight, but I was also a little thrown that macrinus makes as much of a heel turn as he does. like, it was enough rationale for me that macrinus is primarily out for himself, and he doesn't have any loyalties or morals greater than his own interests—but then this twist that he was a former slave of marcus aurelius's, and this has all been a long con to assume control of rome? I don't really know what that added (I assume the intention was to complicate the legacy of marcus aurelius—person who has thus far only been discussed in uncomplicated and laudatory terms—by acknowledging he also had slaves, which would've been an interesting avenue to explore. except, then the movie doesn't really explore it all. macrinus ends up fighting on his own, and then he dies, with his history and actions having apparently little impact on lucius or his future perspective as a ruler)

so. paul mescal as lucius—the son of lucilla and maximus. I guess it's been a few years since I've last seen gladiator, but I have watched it at least a couple times, and I thought I remembered it pretty well, and it was never my understanding/interpretation that lucius was maximus's son. I thought when he asked after lucius at the end, that was out of love/concern for lucilla, and making sure that both she and her son were alright? I mean, I don't know. maybe that was the vision all along and I've really had my eyes closed, but that felt like a huge retcon, and again, for what? why does it really matter that lucius is maximus's son? what lessons does that give him, what does that mean for him, how does that inform his actions in ways that can't be similarly achieved by him having looked up to maximus as a kid? except that now we have this extra layer of fate or importance around lucius because both of his parents were special

I can't believe pedro pascal was in this movie and it's taken me this many bullets to get to him, but in part that's because—for as much as I love pedro pascal, and as much as I enjoyed him in this role—acacius just sort of was. what do I mean by that—a little that he felt flat? the movie wants us to see him as noble and heroic, that he's wrestling with the orders being given him by the emperors, that it's a necessary evil for protecting lucilla—but even if he doesn't really want to be leading an army in the name of expanding the empire, he still is. but to the movie, it seems enough to say all that matters is acacius not wanting to, and never mind the consequences

speaking of acacius, I was surprised by how quickly lucius forgave him when they were fighting—like, sure, he's your mother's husband, and he says he wasn't happy about conquering your homeland, but he still did (as an aside, it's also funny that—until that scene when lucius spares his life—lucius can seemingly hold both this absolute hatred for acacius, roman general acting under orders that saw another peoples conquered, and appreciation/admiration for maxiumus, (former) roman general acting under orders that saw another peoples conquered)

so, what's the takeaway? it's pretty, and compelling to watch, but to me, in the effort to tie it to the original in all these various ways, the end result is a muddling/weakening of what these characters, relationships, and storylines could've otherwise been

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Me Rating the Super Mario Bros movie characters performances (now that the Euphoria of the movie has calmed down)

Spoilers below

Mario:

Everyone wants to bag on Chris for being Mario. But I will say, He pulled it off well. There was an accent and if you weren’t listening for it, you probably wouldn’t know it was Chris Pratt voicing him. Say what you will, but Chris knows how to voice act the Everyman hero type. That’s Mario. His love for his brother and Captain America levels of determination make him admirable and not stale. The decision to go more for a Brooklyn accent was a nod to the 1980’s show and I appreciate it. It’s nothing spectacular but it’s what was needed for Mario. 7.5/10

Luigi:

Charlie day was near perfect casting for Luigi. I will be honest, I thought this would just be Charlie day voicing luigi and while funny he usually would teeter on annoying. But for his performance, Luigi had great comedic timing, relatable, supportive and cowardly. It’s honestly captures luigi perfectly. He does get some great lines, I will say the only flaw is how he was sidelined. It felt less like a Mario bros. Movie and more like a Mario and Donkey Kong movie. But in the third act he does bring in some good chops. I do like how they maximized his performance. 8.5/10

Peach:

Anya Taylor-joy as Peach. So I’m conflicted here. It’s not a bad performance, but I wouldn’t say the voice felt like peach. When Peach has the softer moments and is acting like a ruler, I think she is great. But the first half of the movie, she felt surprisingly cold to Mario. And I get that he is a stranger, but peach’s whole bit is her compassion and care. Peach can kick ass, that’s not the issue (plenty of source material shows she can hold her own) my problem is that she felt like she was missing her sweetness. Near the end we see her soften and it could be argued that Peach wasn’t really feeling sweet because of the situation… but anyone whose played a Mario game knows that’s not an issue. She didn’t need to be a damsel in distress, I just like when my peaches are sweeter. Also I wanted some Mareach. But I’m not gonna reflect that in the rating 5/10.

Donkey Kong

It’s just Seth Rogen’s voice. Now it’s not an awful performance. But everytime he spoke, I heard Seth. That being said, the character was fine. I liked Mario and DK’s Frenemy dynamic. They clearly butt heads and compete. It’s amusing. That being said, I wish Luigi got more scenes, instead of Seth Kong. He is never irritating, I do enjoy the cockiness and overall flare, but I wish they did something more with it 5/10

Toad:

Keegan Micheal-key’s Take on Toad is inspired. I found myself enjoying whenever Toad is on screen. I had no worries regarding his performance. But similar to Luigi, he isn’t given much to do. His main thing is a couple of gags and moving the plot along. I love him and wish he had more time given. 8/10

Kamek:

Kevin Micheal Richardson didn’t just do good in this roll, HE ABSOLUTELY SLAYED as Kamek. The loyal servant/father figure/ hype man of Bowser nails that slimy ness and fear he has for bowser. His dialogue is great, he is also just so much fun on screen. He did not need to go this hard for Kamek, but he did. 9/10

Cranky kong:

Fred Armisen phoned it in. This didn’t feel at all like Cranky to me. He didn’t even sound old. I’m glad he isn’t in the movie long but it bothered me. It’s just the kind of performance where you aren’t mad, just disappointed

2/10

King Penguin

Khary Payton, For a character basically made for the movie, he was perfect. My bias on both the Voice actor and Penguins. He had great lines, coming off as epic and comedic. His reaction to the Luma was also glorious. He wasn’t there for too long but he was there the right amount. 8/10

Bowser

Let’s talk about Jack Black as bowser. It’s perfect casting. Jack black PERFECTLY blended all of the bowser’s together to create in my opinion, the best version of bowser. In a vain similar to how Heath Ledger combined different Joker’s to make his performance. This bowser is intimidating, arrogant, funny, a simp, cruel, and overall everything you want in a kids movie villain. I could write a whole analysis on how this bowser is basically a perfect kids movie villain. But that is for another day. The power ballad alone makes him worthy of 10/10. Easiest 10/10 ranking I’ve made

[cnidocyst]

im sooo smart i couldnt find the blank template but i have now but its fine . classic deviantart meme font.

[IMAGE ID: The fandom opinion meme, a template where you draw characters that correspond to the prompt, this one being themed around One Piece. The first one is for "favorite character" where Franky, Robin, and Usopp have been drawn. They're all close together with Franky in the back and Usopp doing a thumbs up. For "liked by everyone but me" is Sabo, whose burn scar is drawn more exaggerated. For "didn't like at first" is Orochi, who's head is tilted down a bit and is looking up, annoyed. For "would like to know more about" are Crocodile, Pudding, Kiwi, and Mozu. There's text above them reading "honestly I would love to know more about the franky family in general." For "least favorite character" is Orlumbus, who is annoyed and looking to the side. For "like the design, dislike the character" is Zeo, glaring at the viewer. Text next to him reads "unfunny as fuck but the most badass design in the goddamn shit." For "like the character, dislike the design" is a very small drawing of Usopp, as if he's standing far away. Text above him reads: "God I hate the donut lip thing." For "similar personality" are Pudding and Usopp. Pudding is grabbing Usopp's shoulders from behind and looking at him with her three big eyes and says "I can erase all scary memories." and Usopp responds: "Oh shit, fr?". He seems pretty okay with this ordeal. For "fav ship" The Going Merry is drawn in the foreground, with an expressive figurehead. She looks very excited and has a 1st place medal around her neck. And then in the background Franky and Robin are seen making out. For "least fav ship" are Buggy and Crocodile. Crocodile is blowing smoke on Buggy's face and Buggy keels over and hacks. For "would befriend IRL" is Kokoro, lazily looking at the viewer and holding a bottle of booze. Text beside her reads "would be chill as fuck". For "would not befriend IRL" is Sanji, who is laying tied up on railroad tracks while a train looms in the distance. Befriend is also spelled incorrectly, reading "befrined". /END ID]

explaining my self under the cut (EGGHEAD SPOILERS INCLUDED)

Favorite character: Franky, Robin and Usopp. Franky is my favorite but Robin and Usopp are the best characters. For Franky it's mostly that I like weird guys in hawaiin shirts and I also like inventor/engineer characters and he's both which is not fair to my psyche. And a lot of the shit he makes is so silly all those extra vehicles in the sunny all have to be cartoon animal themed and that's so cute. Silly guy making his silly machines, aww aww. I like Robin because she's a little weird a little offputting. Wish they went way further with that but I still enjoy that element of her character. And that she's the designated smart one but not in a killjoy way, and it's so sweet seeing her find happiness over time. I like that Usopp is the straight man or everyman type guy of the crew, and how most times the thing he chooses to do is the most "yeah i would have done that in this situation". I like that at no point he suddenly overnight becomes some brave boy and is a shounen anime badass now, but instead he's anxious about everything but pulls through regardless. He could have quit back in water 7 but he didn't !! New world scary as hell but he's still here having not given up or died !! There's something i really appreciate about having a character who isn't a badass or anything like that succeed too because its harder for him. And I lovee a good usopp fight, his fighting style is so fun and the usopp vs perona fight is one of my favorite of the whole series. I think it's fun that he was able to work around his fear of close combat by getting experimental. And of course the whole thing with how they make a point in Enies that Usopp doesn't have to be insanely capable and competant to have value and have his friends love him and i think that's nice. Everybody's valued on the crew even if their unique skills are more "niche" or whatever. :] .

Liked by everyone but me: Sabo. I think I would have liked him a lot more if he wasn't introduced immediately after Ace died as Luffy's secret brother he also has (anime adaptation is way worse for this because they can't even hide that Sabo didn't die !! It's so obvious !!) I know they have a whole passing the torch thing going on and the fire fruit thing is very cute but i feel it kind of takes away from the impact of ace dying to give luffy a different fire brother yknow ? either way though, he has the personality of a slice of white bread like i really dont find him endearing at all, all i get out of him is he's kind of fun to draw i like pulling a brightheart warrior cats fan design on him. as far as i can tell most OP fandom people generally like him i never see sabo slander LOL but that's just me

Didn't like at first: Orochi. Choosing him more out of what I felt was appropriate given some characters i.e. franky are clearly supposed to start off on a bad note then be likable later. Orochi never gets redeemed or even becomes particularly silly and charming in the ways many other villains do. Him being an over the top piece of shit who was also scared of everything then had beef with Kaido just appealed to me idk lol plus all the stuff with how he's doing all this out of some kind of paranoia/trauma response and like yeah fuck sure i'll take that some kind of a reason over nothing at all. he's a little like arlong if arlong was like really really lame. i think it's funny he fake dies like twice + his actual(?) death scene is honestly pretty badass that was a good ass scene. one of my more favorite villains tbh and he pleasantly surprised me because i really assumed he was just going to be another comically evil annoying lame guy in a different coat of paint. think again it's annoying lame guy but a little better.

Would like to know more about: Crocodile, Pudding, Kiwi, and Mozu. Honestly there's like 27 characters I could put here. Crocodile stands out to me because of the implied trans thing mostly but regardless, I am curious about his relationship with Robin and his run in with Whitebeard and the thing with going out of his way to stick his neck out for Luffy in Marineford. <- that was probably just Crocodile being grateful luffy busted him out of impel down and not wanting to say it, but i like to think there's some kind of "luffy reminds crocodile of himself when he was younger" type deal because yea croc wanted to be pirate king before whitebeard shat all over him, yeah? yeah i wanna know this guy's deal. and yeah what were the circumstances of him and Iva's initial meeting? Out of everyone I chose he's probably the mostly likely to get some kind of detailed backstory and such. I assume Pudding is probably going to be very relevant eventually what with the opening of the third eye or whatever the fuck. Excited as the prospect of more Pudding, really hope we do not get another hancock situation where her entire character devolves into being really obsessed with a guy. Low expectations for this one I just hope she gets things to do that uh . don't suck lol. i really like her a lot. I think I kind of already explained Kiwi & Mozu yeah, in general more of anything on Franky Family would be nice. I know they're not important like Croc + Pudding but I hope they at least get some silly mini story shit. Filler ep where Franky reminisces on franky family . i will take antyhing.

Least favorite character: Orlumbus. don't like the columbus cameo. that's it, this one isn't deep, the fact he's a character at all is just dumb to me. i do rank him lower than villains or intentionally annoying charatcers because at least characters like Spamdam you're clearly supposed to want him dead so he's doing his job as a character.

Like the design, dislike the character: Zeo. Wasn't huge on the new fishman pirates in general. Would have to reread Fishman Island to elaborate better. Zeo's design is badass though.

Like the character, dislike the design: Usopp. Looks like a caricature

Same personality: Usopp and Pudding. Only 2 I could think of that have made me think yeah, they're just like me for real on a regular basis.

Favorite ship: Going Merry. I love that the Merry is just the silly little boat that could held together by duck tape and how comically smaller she is compared to marine ships, really bringing together this idea that the straw hats are just some scrappy weirdos who have no business being alive this long- Oh. Oh that kind of ship. Okay. Frobin is like the most . Sounds like a pairing that would actually happen, makes sense for how I understand these characters to be, etc. I'm not in the camp of believing they're end game or canonically secretly in love, you just don't have to like . Conveniently forget things about either character to force it into making some kind of sense. More importantly though, I think it's fun how they're counterparts to each other. Robin is history/nature themed, Franky is futuristic/technology themed, but both are connected through the pluton thing. They're both "keys to the ancient weapon" but instead of being destructive evil characters they're more interested in building the other up. Something like that. And it's a weird girl + silly guy dynamic and I like these kinds of "met you in the worst situation but we made it out together and are now both enjoying ourselves" relationships. If I was spamdam bringing robin and franky together for my evil scheme only for them to not only both escape but end up on the same crew and become very close I would have to quit my job out of embarrassment.

Least favorite ship:Crocodile x Buggy.I don't care for most hate love type dynamics anyways but particularly don't enjoy this one because seeing Buggy in this toxic yaoi with my boss type situation doesn't appeal to me at all. (Obviously not the worst OP pairing in the world, just as far as pairings I actually see with my eyes every now and again I don't really care for this one)

Would befriend irl: Kokoro. I just like her. I would listen to her talk for a long time about whatever the hell.

Would not befriend irl: Sanji. I mean like more than half of all OP characters are people i would not stand but I have a dunking on Sanji quota to achieve.