#i know this sounds like a very ambitious character arc

[lebbys-world]

I was wondering if request based of the manga base on chapters 365 -406 like you know how bakugou is currently severely injured in manga /anime instead of bakugou almost dying it’s the reader who takes all the hits blow for him when fighting shigaraki crushing reader arm and taking major brutal blow to chest to protect bakugou and since reader she cares about him aslo maybe reader quirk could be like somewhat similar to scarlet witch mcu or raven from teen titans but whichever you prefer maybe when fighting Shigaraki since reader was using her quirk to full strength potential maybe her powers it started corrupted her due over usage making Shigaraki have the upper hand i hope this makes sense can the ending have fluff and angst type fic if this ok i hope this requests is ok makes sense if uncomfortable with i can definitely change it

To Be a Hero

Bakugo x gn!reader; mentions of injury, battle, self-sacrifice, self-deprecation/insecurities, end of the war arc, angst to comfort

notes: thank you sm for the request, and thanks sm for your patience !! everything has been crazy rn for me because of college. i love bakugos character sm, especially just his development, so i hope this does him a bit of justice.

You’d never felt the world sting so harshly before.

The very air around you tore at your skin, debris scattered around, making quick lacerations. 

You’d come into this battle no more than an ambitious child, striving to save those you could.

But now?

You’d seen more blood than you’d ever thought you would.

The smell of death was burned into your very existence. 

It made you nauseous.

You just wanted this all to be over.

Yet, here you stood, center of the battlefield, watching as Shigaraki tore to pieces the life you once loved.

For the first time in years, you didn’t feel like a hero.

Your body stood frozen, watching as those around you fought with everything they had.

Why can’t I help them? You beg of yourself.

Those you love are risking their lives- losing their lives.

But your body has had enough.

Too much has poured out from every aching wound on your body.

Your head pounds, both reminding you of the physical pain and your mental inability to process the situation at hand.

Maybe you weren’t meant to be a hero, after all.

Above, an array of light drew your eyes.

You see Bakugo, battered, bloodied- the damn bastard barely even able to stand.

He’s flying through the air, putting himself straight in the middle of the action.

He was always that way.

You admired that about him- his sense of selflessness when it really mattered.

He wanted to be the best, and he sure had a chance at it.

Yet, you realize what’s happening before you even can properly see it.

He’s diving in, head-first, straight towards the same Shigaraki that killed so many of the Pro-Heros. 

He may want to be the best, but he isn't the best yet.

That same selflessness you loved was the selflessness that was going to get him killed.

He wasn’t going to land the shot. 

You lurched off the ground, your feet moving without you even telling them to.

You positioned yourself perfectly, feeling the impact hit you like a warm embrace.

You smile to yourself:

Now, they’ve got another chance.

The world spun for a moment, as your hearing dulled. 

That crash onto the ground must’ve really taken a toll on you.

Either that, or, maybe the gaping hole in your chest.

You gaze into the blurry sky, letting the gray clouds turn black in your vision.

From a distance, you think you can hear a familiar voice screaming your name.

The world goes away before you put a name to that familiarity.

. . .

You awake to the sound of patterned beeps, the scent of sterilizing products hitting your nose quickly after.

As you open your eyes, the bright, fluorescent light forces you to close them again, hesitantly getting yourself out of your slumber. 

The rustling of your sheets alerted the blonde sitting in the chair beside you, urging him to get up at once.

He looked at you gently, as though you were more fragile than glass.

The guilt he felt practically ran through him.

Why did you step in like that, Y/N.

They barely kept you alive on the battlefield.

And every surgery you’d had kept him on edge.

He’d lost so much, already.

He couldn’t lose you, too.

You opened your eyes enough to glance at the face in front of you, mumbling the familiar name:

“...Katsuki?”

“Oi, looks like someone’s finally awake.” 

His usual demeanor seemed softer, almost as if he didn’t want to overwhelm you.

“..where are we?”

“-hospital. You’ve been in here since you pulled that stupid stunt of yours.”

You looked at him silently, processing the fact that you even made it out of that alive.

Last you recall, the world had fallen dark.

You’d really accepted dying in that moment.

Yet, God had other plans it seems, since here you were, alive and, mostly, well.

You couldn’t quite believe it, but seeing the boy in front of you, you were grateful.

“Snap out of it” Bakugo hissed at you, rolling his eyes. 

He thought to himself for a moment, before putting his head in his hands.

“Damn it, Y/N, don’t do that ever again.”

“...do what?” You respond, still in a daze.

"..."

“Trying to get yourself killed like that.” 

You looked at him, as you took in his words,

“Don't step in the way for me, you idiot. It might get ya hurt, or worse, don’tcha see?”

“I didn’t try to.” You explained, slightly shifting in your hospital bed to fully face him.

His demeanor had changed from his usual self, and was instead filled with disdain. 

He’d be tearing himself apart over this - that much, you figured.

“My feet ‘moved on their own’” you smiled, repeating the words so often uttered around class.

He scoffed, shaking his head, before putting your hand in his. 

He smiled at you wholly, 

“I guess that makes you a real hero then, huh?”

"..."

“I guess so.”

all fictional works are for entertainment purposes only. all rights to characters, media, references, and other third party materials belong to their respective owners. do not repurpose, modify, copy, or repost my work to other sites without permission. © @lebbys-world 2024.

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[opbackgrounds]

i'm curious, how do you think the alabasta arc would have happened without vivi sailing with them, driving them towards their goal? i'm confused on what oda's plans were before she was finalized

I don’t know, and considering what Oda has said about how he writes it could very well be he didn’t really have a plan. The Alabasta saga is still pretty early on in One Piece’s serialization and he hasn’t tried his hand at a story that ambitious before.

Something to consider when thinking about One Piece is that the Seven Warlords of the Sea were not initially a thing. The series was only supposed to last for 5 years, and once the crew hit the Grand Line they were just supposed to go against the Emperors and that was that. If you go back and look, Mihawk was only ever labeled a Warlord *after* Baratie when Oda name-dropped Jinbe on the way to Arlong Park; before that he was just the Greatest Swordsman in the World. I personally think that he was retroactively added to the group when Oda decided having Seven Warlords around sounded like a cool idea and he needed to give the group some legitimacy.

So having made up Seven Warlords, Oda then had to find a place for them in the story when they never initially were meant to exist, and its choices like that that turn a 5 year story into a 25 year story. For the first years of serialization Crocodile was not someone who existed, and I doubt Alabasta was a place Oda had thought of.

So who knows! It could very well be that Oda thought having a mysterious group like Baroque Works sounded cool and he made the rest up as he went along, or it could be he made up the group knowing it would be headed by one of the Warlords because he had a group of seven really strong characters he now had to find a place for. Without Oda saying one way or the other, we will never know for sure.

[cilil]

Manwë x Fëanor is underrated and I'm going mildly insane with feelings.

Let me explain.

So a while ago I wrote a long post about the narrative parallels between Melkor and Fëanor (here) which I'll be referencing a little bit here, but for those who don't want to read the entire thread here's a tldr: Melkor and Fëanor share lots of similarities, including their fall from grace arcs and certain character traits and interests.

Now, my headcanon is that Manwë loved and still loves Melkor very much and he admired him too, seeing him as this powerful and intelligent older Vala that he was proud to call his brother. He tried his best to get closer to him, but found himself rejected (rather rudely and cruelly too) due to Melkor's anger issues and rampant jealousy.

So this leaves us with a Vala who, being made not to comprehend evil as the Silmarillion tells us, was created for harmony and to be loving, yet has been continuously denied love and affection from his beloved brother despite his best efforts... and then he meets Fëanor.

Fëanor who is so much like Melkor, but does something other than destruction with his potential. Fëanor who resembles Melkor in personality and, depending on your specific headcanons, also in appearance. Fëanor who is intelligent and curious and definitely wouldn't hesitate to ask Manwë about things he knows he could learn from him, such as poetry, Valarin or details from pre-Elves awakening history. Fëanor who is confident and insanely charismatic. Fëanor who can make music with his words too, just like Manwë loves. Fëanor who is all the things Melkor should have been.

You may already think that this doesn't sound like the healthiest dynamic and you'd be correct - but that's the point. This is the fun part. Isn't it beautifully fucked up? The King of the Valar developing feelings of love and obsession for an Elven prince and inventor because there's a void in his heart and soul that he desperately wants to fill? Said Elf taking on this situation without hesitation because he's confident, capable, ambitious and, let's be real, if anyone can and will adopt and wrangle their very own pet Vala it's Fëanor? And this entire thing being further complicated by both parties having brother and daddy/mommy issues? Delicious.

As a bonus, you even have a tragic ending if you go further down the canon timeline. Look how sad Manwë already was as is and then imagine how utterly devastated he'd be in a verse where he's both fallen in love with Fëanor and successfully projected every single Melkor-related issue onto him in the process. Imagine Fëanor feeling betrayed once Manwë (alongside the other Valar) decides to step in following the Fingolfin situation. Imagine the Noldor rebellion being even more dramatic. Imagine Manwë watching Fëanor die soon after and how this may have played into him sending the eagles when he did and why. Or maybe a canon-divergence where he sends the eagles at different times for different outcomes...

Ugh. I'm just... them. You see the vision. You feel the feelings. You get it.

[raayllum]

In regards to the post about people occasionally misunderstanding Callum and Viren's flaws, what have you seen people do with there characters that stood out to you as wrong? I only ask cause I'm very much a pantser of stories and write based of what vibes, so I want to know what kind of things to look out for.

Disclaimer: I am by no means an expert but I have been writing/analyzing for a long time, and now in a somewhat professional capacity, so here's just how I personally think of it / what I've personally seen in fandom. I also don't think pantsers are more inclined (from the writing friends I know, they tend to be more intuition based, which can serve you very very well) even if I am definitely a planner.

With all that out of the way, it basically boils down to ignoring all of Viren's virtues / good intentions, and modifying or ignoring Callum's vices and 'bad' intentions i.e. assuming that Viren's motivations are nothing more than being power hungry and selfish, and that Callum's motivations are always pure and good.

One of the things that I think that's really elevated my writing and analysis is digging my heels into like, examining things from a pyschological basis. What this means is looking not only at how a character's flaws or strengths manifest, but figuring out why and where they're stemming from. This is important for like, you can only write a character if you understand where they're coming from, as this process forms the basis for knowing character motivation (and therefore justification).

Because yes, Viren is power hungry and selfish, and we see in 4x02 he kind of knows that, but he's not admitting that or thinking that way for the bulk of the series. That may be how other characters / the audience sees his actions, but how does he see his actions? Understanding how a character can justify/rationalize things to themselves is important if you want to portray them as well rounded. Viren can say something contradictory like "We must be ready to sacrifice, even the things we love" about his family and "I have always been ready to do anything to protect my family, however dangerous, however vile" and have them both be simultaneously true, because most people — or at least, compelling characters — have contradictory notions or conflicts, and it's the war between opposing wants and desires that causes their internal arcs to well, happen.

Same thing for Callum. He doesn't mean to be a jerk to Ezran in either the beginning or ending of S1, we already know how much his little brother means to him and how nurturing he is, usually. But loving someone deeply isn't the same thing as always treating them kindly, as I'm sure most of us know. So Callum blows up, immediately regretting it in 1x02, and remaining far more of a jerk about it in 1x09 until he apologizes. If the takeaway is just that one of Callum's flaws is his temper, that's all well and good (and it very much is) but it fails to consider when and why his temper comes out. (Which, if you're interested on something more in depth, meta on that here.)

For example, for me, a lot (if not the bulk) of Callum's characterization comes back to a Core of wanting to protect/help his loved ones. Which sounds vague, but that's why the specificities are what matters. Callum's temper tends to come out, specifically, when he's frustrated that he can't do anything to help someone he loves, and he either lashes out at the person getting in his way or someone who is (unintentionally) reminding him of that helplessness. Callum's curiosity / ambitious pursuit of magic is also, to me, tied to that same core. He wants magic because he wants agency, and he wants agency because he wants to be helpful / useful.

If you understand why a character is doing something, it leads to being to extrapolate and place them in different / more intense scenarios, but still retain that main core.

For example, Claudia's primary core is to keep her family together. That's not a main motivation in S1, but it's shown in the way she takes care of her family (being Viren's listening ear and trusted with the more important task; trying to cheer up Soren and giving him hot brown morning potion) in ways that they don't really do for her (Soren goes along and helps out with her plans, but there's never an instance of him taking care of her in the same way, even if we still see that he cares and wants to protect her, i.e. doesn't tell her the truth about Viren). Then in S2 it becomes clear that Claudia's main motivation is to keep her family together, and that Core Want stays true even in increasingly insane or worrisome circumstances (S3, S4, S5) as well as explaining some of her more contradictory behaviour. Of course she's going to believe Viren over Soren with the gaslighting the second she's given an option to, because believing her father lets her keep them all together, and believing her brother means losing Viren.

Which is to say, maybe, that most of the mages we've seen in show (with the exception of Lujanne, perhaps, who's built a life among literal solitary ruins for the express purpose of leaving them as ruins) have a Fixer tendency. Magic allows them to fix the issues they see in the world - that's why they chase it.

Viren believes he has to fix the issue of an empty throne and the knife held at humanity's throat, and he's uniquely suited to know how to fix it (hence why he should be king); Claudia leans on her preparedness and perfectionist tendencies because if she's good enough, nothing bad ever has to happen to her family again, right? She can keep them together, she can fix this; Karim wants to fix the issue of humans and losing their way of life, "I will banish that darkness [...] We will be whole again"; and Callum wants to fix issues for his family (the assassination, the fake coup, Rayla's binding, Rayla's family, etc); "And he's my father. It's my duty to help him".

But what fixing looks like, of course, is also a matter of perspective, and that's where you get variety.

But if you look at Viren's desire to fix things - in his case, to ward off weakness - you can understand the through line of his actions. He wants to fix the danger they're in of killing Avizandum and leaving an heir; his desire for more power and knowledge (tools he can use to create solutions and thereby inflate his self importance) tempt him away from killing Zym; he holds onto the egg so that elves and dragons can't 'use it' the way he would. "An empty throne is a beacon of weakness" "[A child king] will make weak choices!" And Viren is man of strength; a man who can get a grip and compartmentalize and repress and do whatever needs to be done to protect humanity. To fix the magical inequality and banish the Xadian threat.

Whereas when you look at our non-mage characters, they tend to have different cores. Rayla and Soren are clear cut Protectors, for better or for worse. Ezran and Janai both continually seek Change and healing. And often times these goals can go hand in hand! Wanting to protect someone can be a Fixer urge (Claudia, Viren, Callum); wanting to fix your mistakes by Protecting someone can also work (3x09 with Soren; Rayla with Zym). But that could be a whole dissection/analysis for another day.

Back to Callum and Viren.

I think sometimes stripping them down to more monstrous or angelic forms comes from people thinking only one thing can motivate a character at a time, even though we as humans obviously have multiple motivations or responses at a time, particularly for villainous characters.

Viren can turn back to help the Queens of Duren because he feels guilty (this was his plan), he wants to help and knows he can make a difference, and because he wants to feel like a hero. Callum can be accepting Rayla unconditionally and be hurt about it and still trying to protect himself a bit in 4x09 by saying "I know" while not going after her; the same action can be growth and regression simultaneously.

When you write a character, you have to approach them from an interior to exterior process - the old phrase "everyone is a hero in their own mind" is certainly true, or rather, "everyone justifies their actions some way or another" - which is largely the opposite of how you view a character as an audience member. Not that the two can't be conflated or overlap, they certainly do (and you do want to be aware of how your characters may or may not come off to well, your audience) but it is a different kind of process.

For example, for Viren, he genuinely believes that what he's doing is what's best for humanity > his own gain. And while he's clearly lying and doing a lot of things out of self importance / convenience, the fact that he Believes the lie means that the lie doesn't really matter, internally, because it's something he either dismisses or doesn't think about at all. And Viren does have admirable traits: loyalty (and I would say most people have conditional loyalty anyway), cleverness/intelligence, ambition, hardworking, globally minded, etc. But a lot of this stems from Wanting To Be Special/Important (his core, arguably, and one I think a lot of people would relate to) and when that doesn't often pan out, he crumbles. Him having an inflated sense of self importance means that he's used to thinking he probably knows better than other people (and gets very frustrated when they don't listen and/or agree with him) and thinking you know better than other people also bodes very well with, if taken to extremes, blatantly dehumanizing them (omg dark magic ideology hi!). He presents as being confident and smooth and knowledgeable, but every time we see him alone/internal he's almost always a hot mess or wracked with guilt/doubt, and he's not very good at adapting to shit, like at all, even if he's great at being cruel/brutal and pragmatic. He's also often times awkward when presented with openly joking/teasing affection, is a guy who waves to little kids, makes dorky jokes with his best friend, and genuinely loved (loves?) his kids once upon a time.

For Callum, a lot of his traits are a double edged sword as well. His attention to detail is born from his curious and observant nature. This allows him to be incredibly nurturing and considerate, but also lets him go for the jugular and what would hurt the most in a fight when his temper gets going. He wants to make his loved ones lives better/easier, but this can sometimes be at the expense of what they need or being overprotective. This can sometimes tie a bit into Viren's own "I know better than you" even if Callum doesn't usually go that far, as he has more self awareness. He has a strong sense of right and wrong but is willing to bend without defense if he thinks the ends justify the means (i.e. never defending his dark magic use, and unlike Claudia, believing/knowing that dark magic is wrong - whereas she doesn't think anything of the sort - but using it and being tempted by it anyway, even if he rejects it in 2x08). His determination is great but can lead to him being obsessive, even if he's also good at knowing his limits / when to yield and fold on things, and will often fold first. While this is great in his relationships and doing relationship repair, it's not so good for his goal setting, as it means he can have a defeatist attitude and then grow frustrated when that "I can't do the thing I want to do / do anything" comes in full swing. This makes him lash out because he hates feeling helpless, particularly when it comes to the people he loves, and all of that circles back to what I've said above, in that he loves his self proclaimed "inner circle" more than "anyone or anything". Just cause he's sweet and goofy and caring doesn't mean he doesn't have teeth (a temper, a ruthless side, etc).

TLDR; characters contain multitudes in their internal psychology and if you can figure out what a character's psychological core is, you'll have a much larger but more cohesive range to write from, emotion / action(s) wise. Feel free to give your happier, more sunshiney characters an edge / claws and fangs (just because someone is nice doesn't mean they're good; external presented attitude is not everything and certainly not necessarily morality) and your edgier, evil characters some redeeming and/or admirable qualities.

[justplainwhump]

BBU Community Days | Showcasing: Owned

It's really not easy, picking one favorite here. So I cheated. You'll get two by others, one by me. And it's still SO hard. There’s always more recs waiting, just ask me :)

Showcasing piece one: "Porn with Plot". (Not as explicit as the name sounds, but still clearly nsfw) by @winedark-whump.

So she showered off, and got ready early. She likes to drink the water from the shower, pretending she is a hiker under some waterfall, even though she doesn’t know where the image comes from. Water fills her stomach, too - his new assistant refuses to bring her lunch, so her days teeter between each meal he remembers to bring. 

Stretching her legs out along the sofa, she turns on the television. 

Television is a waste of time, he says. He watches tutorials and TED talks instead, improving his mind. So instead of the frivolities of Netflix, she pulls up her own set of tutorials, the only content he allows her. 

It is the most exclusive porn streaming service in the world. 

This piece legit haunted me. Christie is an absolutely fantastic character, and the way she deals with being kept in her room and with just herself and a very limited entertainment choice, as company, bored and alone most of the time, with an owner who isn't even entirely evil, just, doesn't care much. 

I love her coping mechanism, and it breaks my heart at the same time. This piece resonated with me so hard, I still think about it months after first reading it. Thank you so much Isaac, for writing it!

Showcasing piece two is rather a series than one piece because I love the character development of the owner from caretaker to whumper: "Lost Cause Jude" by @whumpinggrounds

She’s waiting a few paces from the couch, glad she’s remembered the new, stricter rules. Sometimes Isabella forgets, because at first, she was supposed to sit on the couch. Mistakes like those always makes Miss Mara irritated, which makes Isabella scared, which makes Miss Mara more irritated – but tonight, Isabella remembers, and Miss Mara grins. Dipping her chin, she directs Isabella to kneel by her feet, and Isabella does it gracefully, neatly, tucking her legs under her and looking up at her owner with big, pretty eyes, the way she’s been taught. “Good girl,” Miss Mara praises, cupping Isabella’s chin, and the Box Babe feels the praise as a warm glow in her chest. 

There’s a package on the couch next to Miss Mara, but like a good pet, Isabella keeps her eyes on her owner’s face, even as Miss Mara focuses on opening the sealed plastic package. Grinning, her owner lifts something out – it’s green, and lacy, and not very big. Miss Mara dangles it in front of Isabella’s face, a few inches from her nose, and then the fabric shifts and makes a familiar shape and Isabella understands, face turning red. 

(This is from "For You", an explicit piece; but actually not many chapters are nsfw)

Mara is absolutely fascinating as a character. She goes through a wonderful corruption arc, grows into her role as the owner of her ex girlfriend in the meanest possible way. I love the way Isabella sees the world, the moments of clarity, the always underlying horror that she isn't entirely conscious of but still feels. And Mara, ugh, listen. She's just hot, okay? Intelligent, controlling, ambitious, she has it all, and her whole character just makes *sense*. My favorite owner in all of the BBU, I think. Just perfect.

And now, to my own piece. Another series. "Mark and Gemma get a Pet" (contains non explicit nsfw).

"I…" Ms Gemma swallowed thickly. "Ira?"

"I’m yours," the pet replied. "I’m yours, and I’m here for you."

Ms Gemma put her own hand on hers, guided her hand towards her lips, and the pet followed. 

Her owner’s lips were soft under her fingertips, trembling. Her grip around the pet’s hand tightened, and she pressed a tiny kiss to her fingertips. Then another. And another.

"Do you really love me, Ira?" She paused to look up at her. "Could they really make you love me?"

The pet - Ira, she was Ira again, and it made her both anxious and excited - cast her gaze down, looked up at Ms Gemma through her lashes. A little shy, very sincere. "Yes," she said quietly. "I have loved you from the first moment I saw you, Ms Gemma."

(From "Comfort", a chapter rather far in the story)

I could forever talk about Mark and Gemma. I reread it today, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Another corruption arc for pet owners, however in a different setting. Mark is a dudebro and idiot, Gemma is his controlled, ambitious girlfriend. They'd clash at some point anyway, but it accelerates when they suddenly become owners of a second-hand pet. I love Gemma's desperate need to keep everything under control, to do everything right, and refusing to see how everything is just barely kept together. I love the heartbreaking trust Ira has, that everything will be alright, even though there's nothing under her control, and how these two dance around each other, somehow both the reason for the other's suffering - in very different ways.

[vixx-ari]

This is like a super simple question, but who's your favorite sing character?

*sigh* As much as I love all of the Sing (2016 / 2021) and as great as they all are equally, this DOOFUS takes up 5% extra of my heart

'cause, my GOSH I love him too much you don't even know- Like at first glance you just think "this is a broke guy who's too stubborn for his own good" and that,,,true(atleast for the first movie). But he's so much more than that?? Atleast to me?? Like there's a reason behind how he acts and I relate to it so much. Especially the pretty much unwavering positivity he has while everything seems to be falling apart around him, he just keeps his head up and keeps moving forward. Sure, that does lead to some negative outcomes in both movies but it's also so admirable too, how he's able to keep up a smile with his charisma, silliness and overal personailty is so cool to me and idk why.

Also his personality is just so, good? Like how he acts just never fails to make me smile like an absolute idiot(which is ironic since it's him acting like an idiot that makes me smile like an idiot). And it's not just the "comic relief" character trope either, he is actually genuienly very funny and charming that is never too overbearing or forced. He's just a really silly little guy. He's just such a ball of posivity, charm, energy and happiness that just reflects of you, y'know?? You can't help but feel happy when he's happy in a way.

Also, his overal character arc is so nice to me?? As in, the concept of him chasing his dream in the first movie, despite almost everyone and seeming everything seems to be against him is so relatable. Like i've had dreams that i've eventually given up on bc everyone kept saying "it'll never happen" and discouraging me so much I believed it and gave up. But this buster on the other hand never knows when tf to quit! And yeah, that unwavering ambition is not shown in a fully good light but to me it is?? Seeing him so passionate and ambitious in his goals made me want him to get to his dreams. It actually makes me regret ever giving up on all the stuff I wanted to do when in the past and gave up on bc enough people said "you're not good enough" or "you'll never do it". Actually seeing him eventually acheive the things he's worked for kinda made me think "Even if I did quit, maybe I cant still do it??". I'm still not too sure how that's gonna work but this guy kinda rips all the negativity off when he's onscreen, idk how but it just feels I can do anything I set my mind to, as corny as it sounds. And the fact he (almost) gave up at one point (2016 movie) makes me even more hopeful. Maybe I love him cause I kin him too??

Also he's voiced by Matthew McConaughey so there's that-

Anywho TL;DR: I love this goofy, silly, dramatic, pathetic, lovely koala man thing for his goofy, silly, dramatic, pathtic, lovely ways. Did I mention his chaotic tendencies?? Add that to the list too. Actually the list is endless and I'll make in someday (read:never). Anyways love this dumb tiny showman with many talents. I also want his gender like, like Moon, your gender, gimme. I found out I kin him a bit too so that's fun.

Also he's voiced by Matthew McConaughey so there's that

[access--granted]

I'm bad at thinking on the spot, but I have some firm faves, lol. (Disclaimer, I accidentally wrote you an encyclopaedia, sorry!)

1. Jill. REmake was my first game early this year and I played as her. It's what sucked me into fullblown brainrot lmfao. I've played most of the series now and for the most part, Jill has remained one of the most consistent and realistic female characters throughout the series (imo). I mean, I've never looked at my screen an thought "has the director ever seen her character before? What the hell is this?" Which in RE is a rare occurrence lmfao! She isn't super, overly sexualised and I honestly just thoroughly enjoy her personality and story. She knows who she is and what her goals are. Death Island absolutely solidified this for me. It made me feral, I stg. Her arc was phenomenal. I want a brand new Jill campaign. I need her as a main game character again soon. She's one of the best. SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE WITH CHRIS KILLING WESKER INSTEAD OF SHEVA SOMEBODY HAS TO SAY IT. An original that holds her own. Just... *chefs kiss*.

2. Claire. Similar reasons to Jill. She has clear motivations and a good arc. Her campagin is my favourite part of RE2make and I think it's shamefully underrated. I found her realtionship with Sherry a lot more significant than Leons and honestly, her A playthrough was just... better? That's perisnal opinion though. I wish they'd let this woman buy a new outfit. She's worn the same jacket since '98. Recycling queen I guess, lmfao. I don't think people really give her enough attention or credit. She's incredibly kind and patient but could also beat me to a pulp. Phenomenal.

3. Chris. Okay, a few iffy portrayals but he's overall a very solid character. I like him so much because he's a "terrifying but actually very soft and huggable" trope in my mind, lmao. I can't shake the Awkward Father vibe, no matter how many 400lbs machine guns he plays around with. I just think he's very tired and wants to watch a football game with friends. Give him a break.

4. Ethan Winters. It's fucking Ethan Winters. Ethan and Rose were excellent new additions to the cast. I adored them. They were something different, refreshing, realistic (minus the lego man hands... dude's made of mold tho so...) and just very likeable. Dude just chills in the background at functions wanting to go home.

5. Leon. Leon's equally one of the most interesting but frustrating protagonists. I think his OG progression is a complete mess. There's some parts I love, some parts I think make zero sense. I always got the sense that they wanted to be ambitious with Leon, but didn't know what the audience would and wouldn't accept. Does this man have a personality? Yes, we'll hint at one, but we absolutely must adhere to naughts cringe hero stereotype just incase. He often leaves me perplexed, but I enjoy him. He's fun to nitpick and study (and make fun of!!!) and he arguably has one of the most interesting long-term stories. I think remakes are going harder to bring this to light. At it's core, the Leon story is about his relationship with corruption, the government and how he deals with it and who to trust. It could be... SOMETHING. I think we're getting there. The changes in remakes are making it more and more possible. They're taking risks and it greatly benefits him as a character overall. He makes sense. He's understandable.

(PS a lot of this sounds like nonsensical jumbled ass, I'm so sorry lmao. I did not sleep and I need pain meds today bc hashtag chronic pain. If this message is total dumbassery jibberish you have my deepest apologies!)

Ahhh, hi! I absolutely love a good old encyclopedia ask, don't you worry. (And you're probably gonna get a long ass answer too, lmao).

REmake Jill is my favourite Jill. Her kick ass determination and personality are just so good. She was my first ever example of a strong female character as a kid, and she's always been my absolute fave. Totally agree with you that DI sold her to me even more. She desperately needs a new campaign in a mainline game ASAP, I've missed her too damn much.

I feel like Claire has had most hate in the franchise (in my personal experience, at least), and honestly, I don't get the whole "Claire is so annoying" crap I've seen people say in the past. She has good motivation. A college student going to search for her S.T.A.R.S member brother when she doesn't hear from him, only to survive a hellish night amidst a viral outbreak and cure a child? So badass.

Chris is 100% awkward dad vibes despite his badassery and boulder punching skills, no doubt about it. He's more sensitive than people understand him to be. (Which literally makes no sense, considering how broken he is whenever someone he cares about doesn't make it, lol). Let this man live, put his feet up and relax.

Ethan, my guy. I fucking love him so much. I remember how so many people hated him, back when RE7 first came out. "Oh, but he's just some random guy who is looking for his missing wife. How boring." Uh, isn't that what makes him so much more interesting? He's not an agent, or a S.T.A.R.S member, or whatever like the others are. He's a man willing to go above and beyond to save someone he loves. He gets put through so much shit and still selflessly sacrifices himself. What a guy.

Leon is a hot mess (affectionately). Capcom wanted to do things with OG Leon, and they just didn't know how to go about it. He's definitely a fun one to pick apart and analyse. You're right, though. I definitely think they could really polish what kind of character they want him to be with future installments since they've already gotten him to a pretty decent place already. I've always loved him, but he sure has been a roller coaster ride, hahaha.

Honestly, I always love getting long asks like this, especially from mutuals I wanna talk more to. It's just a shame I'm such a socially awkward coward and can't initiate conversation myself. 😂 I had a lot of fun answering this, so thank you, and I really hope you can rest up soon!

[emese-of-void]

Gil-Galad son of plothole

Silmarillion hyperfixation is making my brain go brr, so I decided to make a list of all the Gil-Galad dad theories I've come across, ranked by my completely subjective sense of their narrative potential. Does it make the characters more complex? Does it make everything even more tragic, or alternatively funny? Or happier for Elrond, also a significant criteria.

Son of Orodreth. The most canon version. This is fine? There could be something there with Finrod being so against having children in wartime, and Orodreth being the only one of his siblings to go against him. But personally I can't find that much to work with here.

Son of Fingon. As in with an unnamed wife. Almost sort of canon. I'm not a fan of this - reading this relationship with Maedhros as romantic makes it so much more complex and interesting, to take that away and replace it with a romantic relationship that is unconnected to his arc just doesn't work for me.

Gil Galad is Maglor/ the reincarnation of Fëanor/ is Fingon with amnesia - I've grouped these together because they don't work for me for the same reason: this is not their redemption arc. Being a heroic and great leader is not a substitute for reckoning with damage they had caused in their lives. Plus the personalities don't track, except for Fingon maybe. Star tree is something I can see Fingon naming himself if he had amnesia. I do think his sword was long, his lance was keen sounds like Maglor, so maybe it was someone he knew? Or, if Elrond was in relationship with Gil-Galad maybe he was teasing Elrond.

He is his own father, through time travel. It is pretty funny to think of Gil-Galad showing up in Valinor, trying to figure out his parentage, and eventually throwing his hands up in the air, like, do I have to do everything myself?

Son of Aegnor and Andreth. It would be nice to think that they were secretly happy, but I feel like this doesn't add very much to Gil-Galad himself.

Father of no importance - the most likely (in story) explanation for why none of the paternities really fit is that Gil-Galad is Noldo on his mother's side. I don't know enough yet to weigh in on that debate though.

The Middle Earth equivalent of a test tube baby. A magical genetic combination of Finrod, Fingon and Maedhros, as they realised succession is going to be an issue, and also had no idea yet how things were going to play out, as in which one of them it would be beneficial for an heir to be related to, so they went with all of them. There is something uncanny about Gil-Galad and all the blank spaces in his story, and him being created for a purpose instead of born would sort of play into that. It's also very sad for him, even if he was also loved and wanted by his many fathers. From scion by arraviste https://archiveofourown.org/works/19936252

Literally just some guy. Sometimes a con man, sometimes ending up as high king through a series of misunderstandings. Sometimes there is no one who wants the job, and everyone is happy for someone, anyone to step in. I like this, because I feel like in the second age there is a paradigm shift in the elves' relationship to previous structures of power and this plays into that - it's not abolishing kingships altogether, but it's sort of a step in that direction?

Galadriel - I've not actually seen this suggested, I just don't really get why. She is ambitious above all others, she is in the line of succession, she clearly thinks she could do better (and definitely could). I think maybe I just don't have a handle on her, and why she wants to rule but specifically not the Noldor. It wouldn't work thematically, either for her personally as her arc is a towards a rejection of ambition and power, or for the kingship as her rule would be carrying on the tradition of the previous kings. But logistically I feel like it would make sense for her to at least be considered?

Is Eluréd or Elurín. I kind of like this? Two boys who disappeared from all stories, and a hero who appeared from seemingly nowhere. And the tragedy isn't lost given that, well, there's only one of him.

Is Celebrían. Ok, this has the potential for some romantic comedy shenanigans in the middle of a long stretch of tragedy, and I'm all for Elrond and Celebrían having all the dorky ridicilous joy they can have. Like, maybe Elrond has feelings for both Celebrían and the great political mind of Gil-Galad he gets to know through letters. There's low stakes romantic angst and mistaken identities. Logistically though Celebrían outlived Gil-Galad, and I feel like death on a battlefield by Sauron would be hard to fake. Plus I have a general preference against Gil-Galad didn't really exist theories: there are so few elves already in that generation, don't want to lose any more. Let Elrond have both a devoted friend/ yet another father figure AND an adorable wife. Or boyfriend and wife, either way.

Gil-Galad is a fiction. No one wanted to be king and no wanted wanted to have a king. Not surprising given the mess of the last age. But sometimes diplomatic relations required a king, so they had a fictional one that different elves would impersonate as needed. Which is why his name is kingly king star tree. Someone may have come up with that on that spot. And then someone died while being Gil-Galad so the character had to be retired. I am all for this! Shenenigans AND a paradigm shift in the structures of power.

Son of Fingon and Maedhros - this is quite popular and I can see why. It would explain why Gil-Galad is the scion of kings plural. Why everyone is so certain of his claim, even though his heritage is obfuscated - being associated with Maedhros would not be a positive, but the scion of Fëanor AND Fingolfin would definitely have a strong claim. And Fingon the Valiant, who dives into danger without thinking with a harp and a prayer, Fingon who had hope, I can see him having a child in wartime even if it was not the custom of the elves. And Maedhros, oldest brother of the biggest family, I'm sure would want to have children, even if he wouldn't let himself.

There are a variety of options for baby acquisition; one of them is trans, or Maedhros is altered by Sauron, they adopt, or just acquire a baby without an explanation. (There are bound to be some orphans around in wartime.) My personal preference is for adoption, because it means Maedhros can think of Gil-Galad as Fingon's child and angst over how much of a parent he can allow himself to be, while the entire rest of the world is just like, yup this child is Maedhros' child.

I think the circumstances are different enough that it doesn't feel like a repeat of the adoption of Elrond and Elros. Maedhros is in a very different place in those two times, and they would have had very different experiences of being parented (or not, really) by him.

Same as above but Gil-Galad is a baby orc, ranked above the other options because extra cute. The Storc Brought Him, by LiveOakWithMoss and the TheLionInMyBed https://archiveofourown.org/works/11358261/chapters/25422936

Gil-Galad is Elladan - oh this has so much potential! Elladan is related to literally everyone, his relationships with the various characters has so much depth and resonance. He is both the hope of survival and a better world to come, and the inevitability of fate. Lovely stuff. The Long Road by Kaz https://archiveofourown.org/works/16522163/chapters/38701289

Son of Sauron (genetic experiment of Sauron). This is such a crack theory, I’m surprised that it ended up so high on the list, but the more I thought about it the more pieces clicked into place for me.

He would be a mix of Noldor and Maiar (specifically Sauron himself). Biological experimentation and warfare was definitely something Morgoth and Sauron were engaged in - dragons, orcs, thralls, werewolves - they definitely had the means and the inclanation.

It would have been clear for a very long time that there were going to be be a lack of good options for the next high king after Fingon. If there happened to be someone who by his looks clearly had a strong claim to the throne but had unverifiable heritage, it would at the very least be a flame to the powder keg of Noldorin succession, and at best, Sauron's creature might end up on the throne.

Sauron would have intended Gil-Galad to be a kind of antichrist figure to the Noldor; an extremely competent and charismatic leader, with a sense of (maiar) power about him, someone who started out with genuinely good intentions, someone that everyone rallied around. Until he was inevitably corrupted, betrayed all who trusted him, and delivered the Noldor into the hands of their enemy.

I can see Sauron believing that the child inheriting his nature would be sufficient for him to be inevitably corrupted.

I think this has all the hallmarks of a second age Sauron plan: it is extremely long term even by elven standards, it relies on him being perceptive about his opponents' needs and wants and exploiting it. It is cruel and aims for maximum emotional devastation.

Even the name, King Excellent the Lord of Gifts does tend to choose the labelliest of names. Here is Ereinion, gift wrapped for you.

Except things don't work out that way. Because Elrond who was heir to the entire world refused the crown of the Noldor, and stopped the cycle of violence that came with disputed successions. Because inheriting Mairon's nature doesn't inevitably lead to corruption. Because Gil-Galad made different choices.

In this context Elrond refusing the throne also means, I know what you are and I trust you anyway.

And Gil-Galad making him his herald also means, I need you close because I don't always trust myself, but I trust you. And if need be, you have the best chance of killing me.

Plus they have shared Maiar heritage they can bond over.

He could also bond with Celebrimbor over living with a messed up family heritage.

Gil-Galad canonically takes the threat of Sauron seriously early on. Because he knows what he is capable of. What he himself is capable of.

In this context his death at the hands of Sauron is a victory, of never giving in, not even at the worst. Plus, it's a whole lot more personal for both.

Annatar may have been intended as a last ditch effor to 'activate' Gil-Galad.

Maybe he didn't meet with Annatar because unlike Elrond his Maiar heritage wasn't common knowledge, though in this world he would have strong reason to suspect Annatar of being Sauron, so that's a plothole that would need to be filled

For an extra twist of the knife: Gil-Galad defying Sauron's intentions for him leads to Sauron coming up with alternate plans - so Gil-Galad feels directly responsible for Celebrimbor's fate.

And combining son of Sauron with a Maedhros/ Fingon adoption piles on the tragedy

So assuming Sauron created Gil-Galad out of a combination of himself, Maedhros and Fingon:

He would have a strong claim to the throne based on his looks, without it being clear what exactly his heritage was, as a biological child of Maedhros and Fingon would be unlikely

Maedhros is possibly the only person in this age who truly knew who Sauron was and what he was capable of and lived to tell (Beren and Luthien lived, but they went off to do their own thing). He would understand what Sauron intended when he left this child at his doorstep

Sauron counted on Maedhros not being able to kill the child despite knowing his intentions for it (definitely not if Gil was partially Fingon's). He also counted on Maedhros hating the child, as he hated Sauron and as he hated himself. This wounded upbringing would set Gil-Galad on the path Sauron intended for him. Function and cruel, very Sauron.

Except once again that is not what happens. Because Maedhros more than anyone knows what makes someone a monster. And while he would never extend himself grace, he would not consider Gil a monster just because of the circumstances of his birth.

In fact, he would be the best parent Gil could have for understanding himself, where he came from and what he can be.

And his other father would be Fingon, who had hope and courage.

This does kind of double up on the Fëanorian adoptions, but I think it's different enough from Elrond and Elros for the two to play off each other in interesting ways. For Gil Maedhros is a present if conflicted father, by the time Elrond and Elros come around he is broken and checked out. Whereas Maglor's breakdown leads him to parenthood.

It is less funny for Elrond to be a the high king's herald and yet a Fëanorian supporter if the high king is also sympathetic to them, but perhaps he isn't by that point, or perhaps he is just more diplomatic about it.

So yeah, it's not where I expected to end up, but that's my current favourite Gil-Galad theory: the antichrist of Middle Earth who wasn't. I feel like it links Elrond and Celebrimbor and Gil-Galad thematically as the new generation of elves in the second age, who all contend with complicated heritages (they're not literally the same generation, elves are weird, but thematically they feel like the same generation). The scion of Fëanor who wasn't, the king of the world who made a home instead, the antichrist who refused his destiny. None of them avoided tragedy, but they didn't repeat their ancestors mistakes, and they created a new and better world.

[curestardust]

Dust Watched: Yuru Camp△ Movie

Genres: SoL, CGDCT, Iyashikei //1 movie (2h) //  S01 (x) S02 (x)

My last review was 8 months ago (holy jesus christ) and I made the horrible decision of getting back into it while having a horrible cold. As usual, I make great life decisions.

✧  story  ✧

Now, to be fair, I thought “Yuru Camp” would be a perfect fit to watch bundled in some blankets and sipping some warm tea and for the seasonal episodes that’d be correct. However, this movie is a bit more ambitious than what came before and for me, it just didn’t work.

I like to mention that I don’t particularly like SoL in the first place as it usually bores me to death but there was something truly charming and soothing about Yuru Camp that even I liked. But what I liked was the actual camping (surprisingly?). A balanced dose of actual useful real life information and just characters chilling among beautiful scenery with some slight humour speckled in. So what is different in this movie? Well... there’s no camping. Not in the way I enjoyed it anyway.

The whole journey WAS what I liked. Planning, buying supplies, getting to the campsite, setting up, preparing the meal, and waiting for night to arrive is what kept me watching. Where are they going next? What type of camping will it be? 

The movie’s story is about the girls, who are adults now, renovating an abandoned patch of land into a campsite. And then they camp there twice. 

Obviously, I wouldn’t find what I originally liked about “Yuru Camp” in this movie but it still could’ve been good. However, the plot wastes time on things that are not important. This is a feel-good SoL; we already know that the outcome will be the best possible ending. There’s no reason to add “pretend drama” to make the movie feel more mature which is what I felt it was trying to do. Would it have been unrealistic for such a plan to go off without a hitch? Yes. But you’re trying to tell me that 5 working class adult women would have the strength, energy and time to gather at this place together X number of times and clean the whole place up BY HAND? Bro.(Not to mention that they all have stable jobs which they seem to enjoy more or less AND their own apartments by the age of like 25. Come on, we’re already in fantasy land.)

✧  characters  ✧

Aight, I might’ve complained quite a bit about the story but it’s a SoL so that in itself wouldn’t have been a particular problem. What actually bored me was that this movie is almost entirely character focused. And you may crucify me if you want but I honestly couldn’t care less about the main characters in a serious sense. They are cute, squishy and their only purpose was to take you on a journey. Rin and Nadeshiko are the only ones whose character arcs made me feel something but the other 3... listen, I’m happy for them and found the occupations they ended up with intriguing but I didn’t care enough for them to carry a movie.

At Nadeshiko’s workplace, a camping gear shop, we see 3 new characters who are there to start their own camping journey at the same age as the original gang did. They felt very underutilized, only showing up twice. I would’ve really enjoyed it if they somehow got involved in helping out with the Campground Building Project and the movie served more as a figurative baton pass to a new generation.

✧  art  ✧

The background art, based on real locations, were gorgeous as usual. Even though the character designs are the exact opposite of the overly detailed environment design, they still managed to combine them so things didn’t feel out of place. Oh, and the animation was very smooth.

✧  sound ✧

The chill and jovial instrumental OST really set the atmosphere as usual.

✧  overview ✧

This movie recieved great reviews from fans of the show and I’m glad others enjoyed it, but it was very different from what I expected and just found many ways it could’ve been more enjoyable to me personally. My only problem is that someone called this movie “very realistic.” The only realistic part about it was that one of them became an alcoholic!

My Rating: 6/10

[realitytvpros]

ok thoughts (MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD):

WHAT THE FUCK DID THEY DO TO RIPPER I LOOKED SO FUCKING CRINGE SITTING THERE ACTUALLU THINKING HE WAS FUNNY my friends were like 🗿🗿🗿 EVERY TIME HE HATED WOMEN OR FARTED. ripper you made me look SO BAD i HATE IT HERE. they should’ve leaned into the cringefail side of him or the homoeroticism with chase more he was most tolerable when he was getting the shit beat out of him LOL i liked him and thought he was funny but the pain. the pain of saying “oh yeah ripper is one of my faves” my friends were like “😶😶😶”

ummmm chase and emma overstayed their welcome SO BAD as soon as they put them onscreen i’m like they’re going to get back together. this is like the daters/haters yeah? that’s it they’re gonna get back together right. and like yeah they do but chase was SO scummy i’m like EMMA… there are OTHER MEN IN THIS WORLD you do NOT need him. anyways i was at least neutral on emma until she turned on bowie and kept fucking up that selfie challenge for him that was so two-faced she went from annoying to f-tier in that ep. AND she killed a turtle

zee and bowie and damien and wayne and raj grew on me VERY quickly!! like i was neutral on all of them going in but GENUINELY i was so happy whenever these guys spoke i found them super endearing

i also liked mk and bowie stirring up drama LOL love that for them

ZEE WAS SUCH A BREAKOUT FAVORITE i love that he was so consistently silly and friendly and his leg was not used against him they handled him like a fuckin champ they only voted him off bc he was right they SHOULD all become one big alliance and vote off chris

priya and millie were cute together and it was hurting me seeing priya do all that for millie in the beginning but!! loved the character arc for millie i really needed growth for them and i got it!! at first millie was a disappointment bc of how condescending she was (went in LOVING the design but HATING the personality) but i kinda wanted them to kiss by the end of it.. SO GLAD PRIYA GOT ALL THE WAY THERE but MAN. her parents are insane i wish she acknowledged that her childhood was horrific

WAIT BACK TO RAJ AND WAYNE AND BOWIE it was pleasant surprise after pleasant surprise bc. THEM OPENLY USING THE WORDS GAY AND BI AND “it felt right” AND WAYNE KNOWING RAJ WAS GAY WITH SO MUCH SUPPORT. i was wondering if wayne would be supportive and when he was 120% for it i fucking ATE THAT UP!!!! bowie being treated with respect by the narrative for being a good competitor blew me away i thought he would’ve been a shallow gay stereotype and then GONE after the first few episodes but IM SO HAPPY.. total drama thank you for handling the gay people well i love that for you

zee holding chase’s ass and commenting on how firm it was as well as ripper calling chase pretty… 🕵️‍♀️ WHY DID THEY PUT ALL THAT IN ONLY FOR CHASE TO RUN BACK TO EMMA ANYWAY. bowie x raj is gay because they love men chase x ripper is gay because they hate women they are NOT the SAME

biggest disappointments: WHY DID THEY VOTE AXEL OFF SO FUCKING FAST i would’ve done anything for her to go further and be a lesbian. they hated her bc she put resident woman hater ripper in his place and bc she kept them fed 💅 also damien’s elimination HURTED he was SO HAPPY to be on the show by the end of it AS WELL AS NICHELLE I REALLY LIKED HER BUT IF SHE GOT UP AND MOVED WHILE SHE HAD HER BREAKDOWN THAT WOULDVE BEEN SO MUCH BETTER!!!!

ummmm. umm what else the episode pacing for the first one was FLYING by and horrendously fast but the rest of the episodes were better! i wish they had given them more episodes so these fucking contestants can chill and get more char development like the earlier seasons did lol. apart from that the animation was GORGEOUS they were so ambitious with the perspective shifts!!!! Genuinely loved to see it this show looks great when they try new things

i didn’t mind chris’s new voice! episode one sounded strange but he was totally fine by the end!! he was funny as fuck it’s a good balance between him not caring and chef caring about the contestants!!

i’m so sorry julia aged like sour milk over the season 😭😭 HER MISTREATING BOWIE DIDNT SIT RIGHT WITH ME also how the FUCK did she win that eating challenge.. i hate to be more of a ripper apologist than i am rn but he deserved to win more than her

DIDNT THEY MENTION A DRAG RACE ON ONE OF THOSE PROMOS? i mentioned it a few times to my friends as we were watching “oh this is the drag race episode it has to be it’s the final ep and they hadn’t done it yet” WHERE WAS MY DRAG RACE EPISODE..

scary girls personality was too quirky for me 😭 i have a low quirky tolerance and as soon as she started trying to jackhammer damien i was v disappointed by how they handled her

episode five was so fetishy 💀 total drama babygirl you can write episodes without farts and people will watch i promise you babe you don’t need the farts you really don’t. LIKE I DIDNT LIKE THE VOMIT EPISODE ALL TOO MUCH EITHER but. fart one was worse hands down

BACK TO RIPPER AGAIN IM SO MAD. my booboo the clown ass sitting there when he showed up like dennis the menace ripping ass on the dock I STILL LIKE HIM I REITERATE I LIKE WHEN DUMB MEN ARE TREATED LIKE THEYRE DUMB but SCREAMINGGGG. less farts less misogyny make him rip his shirt again make him do something else fresh please…

and now we wait for season 2 … keep it up td just less fart jokes puhLEASE

I FINALLY WATCHED THE NEW SEASON

[artekai]

If her codename was Styx and considering her character and story, wouldn't a good persona for her be Persephone?

Yes, Persephone would be thematically appropriate, though I had already settled on a initial Persona for her, which is Medea. I wanted to convey the idea of her breaking free from her responsibilities as a wife and a mother and searching for her own path in life. Sure, Medea is not the best role model because, um, child murderer, but I picked her because of what she represents (breaking the status quo, going against what’s expected of her by society), and it’s something that she (the Persona user) is going to have to come to terms with throughout her social link. If I manage to write it correctly, that is :(

But, now that I think of it, Persephone would be great as her ultimate Persona! It would be a nice way to represent her character development, how she’s become stronger and more outspoken, and how she’s accepted that she can balance her family life with her ambitions and her spirit of rebellion, that she doesn’t have to pick one or the other (like Medea did), but that she can act as a mediator between two worlds, while also acknowledging that she’s come to terms with both her life and her death and with the role she plays in both worlds. And, the more I think of it, the more fitting Persephone sounds to represent the culmination of her storyline! It’s perfect, anon, thanks a lot! :D

[kissingcullens]

I wanna talk about the Fandom idea of Izzy Hands as a “manipulator,” and common ideas around Ed “performing” Blackbeard. I’ve just been kicking around a lot of thoughts about the topic after seeing a lot of meta that feels not-quite-right to me.

First; I admire the writing in Our Flag Means Death SO MUCH. I think that it stands up really well to endless different analyses and has a lot of nuance!  So I’m not trying to say like, “all XYZ meta is wrong.” But I’m REALLY starting to balk at the popular fandom notion that Izzy is a devious manipulator and that Ed is just “performing” depending on who he’s with in order to have love and acceptance--- in a way that I feel needlessly victimizes Ed and discounts his agency and power as a character.   First of all, Izzy isn’t manipulative; he’s a blunt fucking instrument.

Which imo, is a WAY more unique angle for a character like this; we’ve all seen manipulative and ambitious "power behind the throne” characters like Jafar, Wormtongue, etc. a thousand times in media... That’s NOT Izzy and Blackbeard’s dynamic! Before Ed even meets Stede, and all throughout episode 4, it’s crystal clear that Izzy answers to Blackbeard: NEVER the other way around. Ed is clearly not intimidated or swayed by Izzy’s opinion, and he knows EXACTLY who Izzy is and how far to trust his judgement. Moreover, I don’t think we ever see Izzy even trying to be subtle or tricky, except for maybe the “Go suck eggs in Hell” scene. (and even that small attempt to “manipulate” Ed completely falls flat and backfires!) He could have tried to do away with Stede in a million different ways, but instead he challenged him outright to a duel, and screamed that Edward would “rue this day!!” as he rowed away... I think Izzy’s violent outburst and resignation in Ep. 4 show us a perfect snapshot of his and Edward’s relationship: Izzy describes how Ed has become increasingly erratic and withdrawn; “An unpleasant shell of a man POSING as Blackbeard,” who has increasingly left Izzy to do the lion’s share of leadership as a kind of over-burdened middle-manager... “But I did all that because I was HONORED to work for the legendary Blackbeard.” Think about Ed’s fake-sympathetic, mocking tone when he replies, “Sounds stressful, Izzy.” Izzy, shaking with the rage of a tiny dog, SCREAMS his resignation in Blackbeard’s face and flips him off.  And what happens? Ed looks unimpressed. He’s not threatened, or uncertain, or even angry... he doesn’t even FLINCH, for God’s sake. This is not a guy who feels he has to prove himself to anyone, LEAST of all Izzy.   At the same time, Ed is a shrewd and brilliant strategist.  He is very aware that as Blackbeard, he is on a dangerously high pedestal, and that he needs to play his cards right to keep his power... part of which is having a competent and undyingly loyal right-hand man like Izzy--- -and we see Ed play to Izzy’s pride and ambition to keep him by his side. “The crew would need a new captain of course... I need you here.” (but Ed isn’t manipulative or domineering with Izzy either... He apologizes when he’s wrong and listens to the crew’s concerns.) And on the topic of Edward: Ed is the co-lead of the show, and his entire arc is about yearning for “something more.” ”Is THIS all there is??” “...Do you ever feel trapped?” “We’re just not those kind of people, and we never will be.”  So who IS Ed? Undoubtedly he’s going through a crisis, and he’s TIRED of “being Blackbeard...” but I think it’s doing his character a disservice to act like he’s just simply “playing pretend” as Blackbeard. Ed IS Blackbeard. It’s an identity of his own making which has begun to stifle him... but it’s also not quite an “act” in the way some people talk about it. you know? Like... when we first meet Ed in Episode 4, I’m so struck by how EASY and natural he is... He’s relaxed, friendly, charming, and playful. ...this guy OWNS the room, wherever he is. If he thinks something’s cool, he doesn’t give a SHIT who sees him playing with a model ship, or admiring frilly shirts, or wearing foppish clothing. (This is nuanced too of course!! He is VERY self conscious about things that counter his “coolest, most badass guy in the room” self-image, and he LOVES to show off and to “win” social interactions) But consider how TOTALLY un-self-conscious he is playing the “switching clothes” prank in front of the entire crew.  He prances and twirls around in a frilly shirt and fancy leggings while performing a “character” and being silly and playful... and he still expects absolute respect and obedience as a matter of course.  The level of confidence is fucking unimaginable.  This is NOT a man who is insecure in his masculinity or authority.  He’s that Super Popular Guy in High School who could like, wear nail polish or like an “uncool” band, and suddenly all the super-macho, “no-homo”-yelling bullies would say “OMG me too, I think painted nails and ABBA are BADASS!!” Ed in Episode 4 is Jack Skellington; he’s unquestionably the best at what he does; a LEGEND, the real fucking deal... ...but he’s bored, disillusioned, burnt out. He wants something MORE, but he has no idea what it is, or even if it’s possible. I think the important thing here is that Ed is struggling because he CAN’T just stop being a pirate and retire, as Stede naively suggested... and he knows that he’s losing his grip, and that ONE mistake could ruin him... and almost does. He miscalculates his Fog/Full Moon gambit and nearly gets them all killed, to his shame and despair.  ”You wanted to be Blackbeard, this is what it’s like!” That is why he devises the plan to murder Stede and steal his identity. That’s why, even once he’s decided against killing Stede, he keeps trying to leave; because he KNOWS this little vacation with Stede can’t last.  Izzy is not a manipulator; he’s the voice of reality.  An incomplete and biased reality, yes, but Izzy IS telling the truth about their world, at least as he understands it.  Blackbeard CAN’T stay with Stede forever as pirates. The piece of red silk represents Ed’s lifelong yearning to break free of things that constrain him, and his hope for some unknown SOMETHING better. His mother gave him the silk to teach him that there was a natural Status Quo to the world, and that he would never break free of their life of poverty and paternal abuse... but he DID. He killed his father and became an outlaw, stealing from the rich, rejecting authority, and becoming a power unto himself.  I imagine that for a long time the power and acclaim of being Blackbeard was FREEING, exciting, and empowering... perhaps he even kept the red silk to remember: “A different life IS possible, and I’m living it!”   But now?  Blackbeard is just another box. So he tries to escape- gives up EVERYTHING... and he fails. When Ed comes back to the Revenge after his plans to run away with Stede fall through, he clothes himself entirely in red silk and continues to TRY to make his dream come true, and to find meaning and freedom... “Why are we even being pirates??? We should have a talent show!!”  Izzy’s confrontation with Edward is threatening and violent, but Edward is in charge of the interaction and easily overpowers him. Ed clearly doesn't value Izzy’s opinion or friendship for its OWN sake... ...what Izzy makes Ed realize in this scene is that his situation is hopeless. When Ed hears the crew chanting “Give us another song, Eddie!!” and stamping on the deck, it becomes clear to him that he can’t continue like this. He can’t command the crew’s respect like this, he’s in danger of losing his second-in-command, and he can’t just “stop being a pirate,” or he would have done so long ago.  The entire first season is Ed’s journey to find MEANING and meaningful change in his life... he plunges into a brave, breathless dive into the unknown, and he is broken on the rocks.  His arc ends as a tragedy.  He realizes that his dreams of “something better than this” are futile, and he lets the square of red silk float out to sea... accepting that his hopes and dreams were futile all along, and accepting that he is trapped. Izzy both pressures and threatens Ed when he gets too close to shedding the Blackbeard identity, but I think it’s important to understand that Izzy is not the CAUSE or creator of any of this.  Even Stede’s abandonment is not at the HEART of what is going on with Ed; Stede broke Ed’s heart, but JUST as much of his heartbreak is realizing that he was a fool to ever believe that he could be truly free, or that he could truly change his life... Ed’s crisis of identity and meaning is SO much bigger than any of the people in his life, and UGH, AGAIN, I’m just SO in love with the writing on this show.

[spicyicymeloncat]

Ooh, maybe Morro for the doodle and opinions game thing lol 👀

Morro

Ahhh shadow the hedgehog! I mean, Morro. I’ll be honest tho, this guy has some wasted potential both in universe and as a writing standpoint. I love a good edgy parallel main character and he definitely has an interesting backstory and I wish we got more of him. Idk this is an unpopular opinion but s5 isn’t my favourite (although as I say that, I watched the first 3 episodes this morning and really enjoyed it lol) since it’s a little all over the place. But he’s still very interesting so I’ll get into it. (Note after drawing him and over analysing him for like an hour, I like him even more than I did when I started writing this lol)

(Ps: currently as of this post, I have no more suggestions so feel free to spam my inbox bc I like writing essays on legos and also drawing)

Morro is actually an orphan (or abandoned idk) which is big sad, and Wu finds him when he’s pretty young and he looks pretty experienced in foraging bins for trash which suggests he’s been alone for a while. Although it’s interesting he, as an orphan child, decided he specifically wanted to climb that huge ass mountain to find rubbish. Maybe he’s always been ambitious and decided “yep I can climb a mountain” or maybe he caused trouble in a village somewhere and had to run away, and decided the mountain was a safe, quiet bet. Either I love how Wu found a child and was like “yeah I’ll teach it to kill”. I don’t think Wu should’ve been allowed to have a child actually. But I’ve noticed, in Ghost Story, Wu talked about how when the fsm died he said he’d leave a message to find his tomb and Wu never found it. Kinda sounds like Wu has daddy issues. And so this arc is now about generational trauma. I think the fsm, yknow as an escapee of war himself, probably raised Wu and Garmadon quite strictly and Wu probably grew up with a lot of pressure, first as practically a demigod, and second as one who bares the duty of stopping/saving his brother from evil. So what does a man who was raised as a warrior at a young age do when he sees a young child? Try and raise it in the only way he knew how. Wu also having to deal with Garmadon leaving and also getting ghosted by Misako at the same time so I think Morro’s company would’ve been nice. The discovery of Morro’s elemental power is interesting because we know that wind was one of the elements, the fsm hadn’t mastered, so wu may have never even encountered it. Also since a lot of the elemental masters are shown to be fighters, it might mean that the EMs typically take up some sort of fighting job in general. Could that mean Morro’s parents may have died or got lost to combat? Maybe that’s why he had his powers so young. The more you think about it, the more tragic it gets. I think, with how much of a good omen Morro seemed to be, Wu probably expected he was the green ninja. Morro definitely would’ve had some hero complex, he came in, made his master’s life a lot less lonely, he’s gonna save the world and help Wu fix things with his family. And when he’s not that, he ends up doing a lot of unnecessary and concerning things to prove himself. He gets a little loopy (and honestly it would’ve been sick if they leaned into that in the present plot actually). Morro ends up leaving to go find the Fsm’s tomb and mannn you can tell how brutally militant the fsm and Wu’s relationship was when the former literally makes visiting his grave a test of honour for his son (Ik he also was hiding the realm Crystal but yeah). And Morro leaves. Which is such a L, especially for Wu considering Wu’s father left him with barely a hint of where he died, Garmadon left him to train far away, Misako also, like everyone leaves Wu. Maybe that’s why Wu didn’t go after him. Not only did Wu tell Morro about the green ninja but also about the fsm’s tomb which lead him to his death, so yeah it makes sense why Wu would be so secretive. Because not only did the prophecy push Morro over the edge, if Wu never talked about his father Morro may not have died.

Morro has a really cool intro to the series, from the VA change of the night guard, to Lloyd screaming off screen, and then the fight at the monastery in the dark, his aesthetic, pathetic fallacy (cool weather sets the mood) and his theme, it’s very cool. I do wish though, we got more of a visualisation of Lloyd and Morro fighting for control it could even have tied back to Garmadon and his evilisation yknow? Also Morro unfortunately has a redemption at death arc which is generally disappointing. He changes his mind about all his bitterness without really any reasoning. Wu doesn’t do anything in the season really until at the very last moment, and it just comes out of nowhere. Like s5 is not on my rewrite list but if I could change anything, one of those things would be giving Morro internal conflict. Make Morro feel Lloyd’s love for his family, make Morro briefly doubt what he’s doing and miss Wu. And mannn I wish Wu played more of a role in this season, in regards to Morro. Like Wu never got to see his own father’s tomb.

I get it though, there’s a lot happening with wu already since he’s trying Nya. I do like how he’s reluctant to tell Nya about her powers especially in the season where the villain is a villain because Wu said too much. Morro and Nya also have a few parallels, both are unable to handle failure and struggle to adapt when their life changes. It’s cool because we get to see Nya succeed where Morro didn’t (and that’s why she’s allowed to wear green). I think honestly this season should’ve had more Kai development considering Kai and Morro basically have the same plot, and it would’ve really wrapped up the staff scene in s4. Like maybe with Kai telling Morro of how he avoided being like him, how Kai chose to protect others instead of trying to earn a title that he didn’t need. Maybe that would have then played into Morro’s redemption later on.

Also how come Morro got sent the cursed realm? Well I have a theory but this is basically Ninjago speed run angst percentage. So to go to the cursed realm ya got to get cursed. So what if Morro managed to curse himself? Like his swore he’d find the tomb or else he’d go to the cursed realm and him making a verbal oath actually held weight because spooky superstition. Maybe he dabbled in dark magic to help him on his quest. Idk I just think it’s poetic that Morro’s downfall is himself. Although I wish I knew why he ended up being the preeminent’s lackey. Hmm here’s a suggestion, the preeminent, in true eldritch horror fashion, is like a goddess, like the compelling call of destiny, that has dubbed Morro as her own “chosen one”, which is why he has the highest status of all the ghosts. I just need the preeminent to be creepy.

All in all I think Morro has a really good set up I just wish we got more of a learning arc for him, just to back up his redemption. Villains like the overlord, or the Oni don’t need character development because they only need to be strong, and villains like Chen and Nadakhan don’t need development because they can just be incredibly smart from the get go. But villains that have shifting moralities need to get justification on why that is the case and with Morro and Harumi, imo I think Ninjago drops the ball, and their final moments of not being awful feel very rushed. Also I love Morro aesthetic and think he should be even more insane actually, have him be weirdly connected to the preeminent and also have him be almost delusional in his quest for power because it would be spicy. But in general, Morro is super interesting and that’s why I think fanon is more popular, because people like to lean in and see if they can push Morro where the writers didn’t (although it’s more likely fanon Morro is just popular because he’s emo). Also a note about DotD, I actually love that special mostly for the villain interactions because it’s just gorgeous. Now that Morro is over his intensely huge drama Queen arc, when placed next to the other he’s kinda chill and love the fact when he shows up he scares the life out of the other ninja, but he’s actually pretty civil and other than he can’t help himself from acting villainous. But he has a sense of honour and yknow he probably would’ve made for a great ninja.

Here’s a random hc to close this off, Morro actually loved pirates and would’ve had the time of his life if he was around for s6.

But that’s it for now! Morro good.

[bellesdomain]

Following the 2018 - ALW has confirmed "I Do", and Mama, however with a new Director and creative team, things are likely to be developed further.

I'm expecting the "script" and score to be basically familiar but re-orchestrated, but the visuals will be all new. New set designer, costume designer, heavy reliance on video as the video designer is billed above the costumes, light and sound!

Full update? depends what you mean. This is gonna be a non-Replica production with likely, unfamiliar takes on the characters, new staging, things done differently. But not major re-writes to the material.

It's not gonna be what I dream of - the intentions behind the 2018 updates but try again, rebuild from the ground up. This is gonna be the 2018 show handed to new people with Arlene Phillips supervising.

I think visually we're going to get something very interesting - Gabriella Slade seems to have exactly the bold, ambitious eye needed for this show. She has a portfolio of strong shapes, good use of colour, incredible blending of details and well thought out meaning into appealing designs. I think she'll give us trains, but not so 1980s. (I mean I love the 1980s trains, but if you're going for modernising, do it properly!)

My big concern is that with Arlene Phillips given the title of "Creative Dramaturg", there will not be an actual dramaturg involved with the project - someone who can look objectively and say "ok, but why are these characters dancing with Caboose at this point? Do they support him now? What is this character's emotional arc? Define for me the difference between "male" and "engine" - would the engine not be the lead partner in partner dance?" Keeping Arlene involved is wonderful but I wouldn't think Dramaturgy would be the title for her contribution. She knows the show far too well to look at it from an outsider's perspective.

Overall, fans need to manage your expectations. This is gonna be exciting and different and creative, not the show you're expecting to see, whatever you're expecting!

While I am excited for the revival, I mainly have a ton of questions:

1. Will this be following the 2018 update, or a more classic StEx?

2. How much in this revival will be changed?

3. Will there be another full update?

Look, regardless of how you feel about the 2018 update, I think we all agree that StEx does not need to be "modernized" more.

[pansexual-lilychen]

what i think is boderline really sad is that with the characters from the last hours and their parents (aka the characters from the infernal devices) we have a set up that mirrors the situation of the characters from the legend of korra and their parents/grandparents (aka the characters from avatar the last air bender) where the older generation are really well beloved by fans in their original medium (in this case tid & atla) but turn out to be mainly bad or not great parents to the characters in the follow-up medium (in this case tlh & tlok).

we see this for example with katara and aang, who were fan favorites, overall great characters with amazing arcs and developments, but over the course of tlok we see how bumi, tenzin and kya were partially neglected, excluded and to a small fraction even pitted against each other. we as the audience of course understand that both aang and katara had legacies to carry on as benders, especially aang as the last airbender who had to rebuild an entire nation all alone, but they both try to pass on their legacies by putting this immense pressure on kya and tenzin, and by neglecting bumi.

and it is similar in the last hours, where we unfortunately have to see fan favorite and well beloved characters, tessa & will and charlotte & henry, ultimately fail as parents. i know this sounds harsh and a lot of fans are not ready to hear this, but we can see this repetition of the avatar pattern here again:

henry and charlotte are both very ambitious and selfless people, who see their work as a mean to help everyone around them, which ultimately results in them throwing themselves into work and neglecting their children. which results in charles trying everything to be like his mother to win her affection and matthew not trusting his parents anymore and feeling like he doesn’t even know them, which leads to him not only shutting himself off of them, but also relying on a truth serum to find out the truth rather than just asking his parents. (not to say that the truth serum thing was henry or charlottes fault)

and as for tessa and will, tessa is overall just seen as insanely passive all through the last hours, she barely interacts with her children, and she barely notices that something is up with them until it is too late. and then she leaves them all alone after their father dies to basically never return as if she was the only one who lost someone when will died. and as for will, he told james growing up that “herondales love but once” ingraining this utterly false and toxic narrative into this child’s mindset, resulting in him not letting go of the idea of grace very often (with or without the gracelet). i really did not expect this from will, especially not after the events of the infernal devices, where his curse was so connected to the idea of love only to find out that everyone loved him all along, shaping this idea of love entirely new for him, did he forget all about that? at this point i could go into a whole ass essay about will herondales fucked up idea of love and why it is not only toxic and a terrible lesson to teach a child but also just plain stupid and wrong, but we’ll leave it at that.

overall i hope that chain of thorns can redeem these characters as parents so we don’t start to resent them as avatar fans did with the gaang.

[symphonyofsilence]

Ok so...

Judging by how in recent years, the majority of adaptations and spin-offs of my favorite franchises had been, let's say, less than satisfactory, and by the news that I occasionally heard from Lotr On prime, I don't really have high hopes about it.

Obviously, with that budget, I expected it to have great visuals. And the props and the sets all do look great. Even though, I really dislike short-haired elves, and beardless dwarf ladies and blonde Elrond (and not being loyal to these book descriptions feels...not very promising.), and how elves look like normal people. (in the trilogy, you could tell an elf was an elf by the hair and make-up and lightening even without the pointy ears or the costumes.)

I'm glad that they chose to do practical effects. I'm glad that Veta and apparently Howard Shore are on board.

However, the story is the most important aspect.

And even though I think there's been an overreaction to the promo shots and we don't know anything about anything yet and we should wait until the show airs and there's a lot of toxicity in the fandom now

allow me to voice my concerns :

1. Politically ambitious Elrond trying to mend the relationship between his people and the dwarves of Khazad-dum :

No. Just no.

First of all: Elrond was the heir to all of the kingdoms of the first age, Edain, and Eldar. And he settled for just being Gil-galad's minstrel and herald. And at most, his vice-regent in Eriador. After Gil-galad's death, he could easily name himself the high king. But he didn't. He had chosen to become a healer, loremaster, linguist and establish a haven for the weary and the oppressed. And be "as kind as summer". These (not mentioned in the article btw) were important aspects of his character.

'Well going from "politically ambitious" to "humble" could be his character arc' I hear you say.

Well, you see?

We already have a character that came to middle earth seeking power, was politically ambitious, got the kingdom she wanted but at great cost, and eventually when infinite power was offered to her, she declined it. She "diminished" and went into the west. And remained...you guessed it! Galadriel!

Why would they give Galadriel's arc to Elrond?

It's super ooc for Elrond!

And there are lots of arcs you can write for Elrond he's full of potential!

The glaringly obvious one: overcoming abandonment issues.

He heals the healer inside and by the third age, he's the greatest healer in Middle-earth.

Or "belonging". As the only half-elf in Middle-earth after Elros' death. Who eventually establishes Rivendell for all the misfits!

Or both.

WHY WOULD YOU GO WITH GALADRIEL'S ARC!

And by him "mending the relationship between his people and the dwarves of Khazad-dum" do they mean the Sindar? (but weren't they Oropher's and Galadriel's and king Amroth's people?) 'Cause the Noldor didn't have any problems with the dwarves. Celebrimbor was on great terms with them.

Idk maybe I'm judging too harshly and too quickly and Elrond's political ambition is making and maintaining peace and the show creates some problem between the dwarves and the elves for him to solve but anyway talking about Celebrimbor, we arrive at my second problem.

2.Celebrimbor

Of course, we don't know anything about Helbrand yet but him "escaping from his past and bonding with Galadriel" sounds suspiciously like Celebrimbor's story. How many friends can Galadriel have who are running from the past?

This combined with giving "forming a positive relationship with the dwarves of Khazad-dum" to Elrond doesn't look good for Celebrimbor. I'm worried if Celebrimbor will be set aside in favor of the more familiar (for movie-goers) and original characters.

But again, we don't know anything about Helbrand. Maybe his story is quite different. ( I hope it's not like Aragorn's.) maybe he has a cool redemption arc. I love me some redemption arc.

3. The elf/human love story

...idk...is it going to be another Kili/Tauriel?

Plz...no.

We still don't know anything tho I think it's going to be like Aegnor/Andreth.

4. Promoting Galadriel as an action girl

First of all, anyone saying Galadriel didn't fight, end this once and for all. She did. It's canon.

"Celeborn then led an attack on Dol Guldur itself. Once the dark fortress was in the hands of the Galadhrim, Galadriel came, threw down its walls, and purified it of its evil."

"The White Council began to notice a dark shadow arising in Mirkwood. When Gandalf later discovered it to be Sauron, he urged the council to drive him out. After deliberating, the council acted and Galadriel assisted them in driving Sauron out of Dol Guldur in 2941."

Also, according to an early version of the story of her delarturd from Aman in the unfinished tales:

"Fëanor's revolt that followed the Darkening of Valinor Galadriel had no part: indeeed she with Celeborn fought heroically in defence of Alqualondë against the assault of the Noldor, "

What really is concerning is the emphasis on her character being an action girl. And her being promoted like that.

Reading her story in the second age, my impression was that she was more of a diplomat. And her power was a great, magical, innate power that she didn't lightly let loose. But everyone knew they wouldn't want her to.

Her character had gravitas. She was not some edgy, angry young warrior. (not that there is anything wrong with this sort of character. It's just not Galadriel. And It seems to be the only kind of "strong female character"™️ that you'll see these days.)

Now seeing her fighting in battles will in no way go against it, I'd actually like that if it's done right. But I'm worried about how they will handle her character. Will she be a girlboss Mary Sue? (especially since her arc might have been given to Elrond now.)

I'm worried that they might not have understanding of and appreciation for the characters.

Again, we don't know anything about the show yet. I may be wrong. Maybe the show will be great. But these were my concerns.