#i miss unhinged book!alicent

[daenerystargaryensgirlfriend]

You know i could've gotten over the fact that they basically changed everything about Alicent and Rhaenyra's characters (no i couldn't), but why does it look like the two sides of the war are Rhaenyra and Alicent? what has Alicent got to do with anything now? she played her part putting her son on the throne, now there's a war coming for Aegon, not Alicent. Yet in the new commercials it's always Emma D'arcy and Olivia Cooke and never Emma D'arcy and Tom Glynn Carney. The chess game commercial was with Emma and Olivia and as much as i like both of them i just think Alicent (for the way hotd writers portraited her in the series) has finished her job. She played the part of the innocent woman that didn't understand what she was doing, now there's a war coming and she's probably not going to be taking any of the next decisions that regard the upcoming battles, so except for praying and tying to stop either Aemond or Aegon i can't really think of a role she can play in s2. She surely won't take part in planning the war since the trailer made it seems like she doesn't want to be at war, so what's her so important and world-changing role that makes her (non-existent) interactions with Rhaenyra more important than the actual conflict going on between the greens and the blacks?

[lallilalia]

Spoilers for hotd s2e4

Honestly I cried.

I was just enjoying the ladder that chaos is: Aemond underminding his brother's authority in front of the council cause why not, Alicent being unbothered, Alys being the original gaslight gatekeep girlboss that she is, Matt Smith with an eye patch.

But when I realised, in the black's council, that they were talking about THE Rook's Rest, I just started balling my eyes out. I read the books so I knew that Rhaenys was not gonna make it and she's one of my favourites on the show. I just cried in front of my screen and when she told Nyra to send her to battle, I knew it would be the last time we would see her with the family and I just cried cause to me, she's the true MVP of team black. I had hope that they would make the battle longer so we would have a bit of Eve's performance in episode 5 but she was incredible in that battle and I will miss her on the show.

Now, Aemond.

I just want to see him and Alys in the same room, I can't wait, he's unhinged, she's the baddest bitch to have ever walked the earth, it's gonna be great. I mean we all knew he was a twisted deranged man who needs therapy (like the entirety of team green to be fair (I am in no way shaming people who need therapy, I am one of them, please take care of your mental health it's very important)) but bestie, that's treason. And he is so good at it, like we knew he was pressed about Aegon being the king and not him but dude. You just kindslayed for the 2nd time, do you really need a third? And you're brother at that, like I know he's a nuisance but still don't push it my dude.

He's gonna take a page from Alys' book next episode and gaslight gatekeep girlboss like he never has in his life. Can't wait for those 2 to meet.

Burning his brother was an other level of horrid and in true neurodivergent fashion I was covering my ears during the entire dragons dancing situation cause I didn't want Rhaenys to die.

I think next week is probs gonna be depressing can't wait 。゜゜(´Ｏ`) ゜゜。

[eggtargaryenii]

halfway watching hotd first episode and my notes are: wow, Daemon is so stinky, but also so sexy, wowie, I hope this doesn't awaken anything in me. (Jk something has been awakened for a while) I seem dem parallels with aemond. Is that why their names are anagrams of each other?? (How did i not notice this omg). The casting is amazing, like ....wow. uhm, I hate Viserys so much, like, he is the problem. Like other characters are the problem, but God, hotd main storyline would not have happened if Rhaenys was Queen...like...where are my fix it fanfics where none of this happens 😭😭😭. Aemma's childbirth scene had me pausing so many times to continue. Truly traumatizing. Also, Ser Cristen Cole fine as hell...like he was always a character in the fanfics, but I imagined him as just some guy, not this dark haired dreamboat.I was feeling bad for Otto for a hot sec when Daemon was like grilling on Otto, but now I'm like, "NAH, BEAT HIM UP!!" Asking about the heir after Aemma's ashes are still warm is crazy. Give Otto Hightower the craziest blood pressure and a heart attack. Otto is nasty as hell. The second sons of Westeros are crazy af. Alicent Hightower, they could never make me hate you

Tldr; Daemon morally off the rails but crazy hot in that armor and unhinged as hell. Cristen Cole cute and even hotter for hitting Daemon while he was distracted. Like, Rhaenya, i, too, would risk it all. Overall, episode was good besides Viserys....just viserysing. I need Viserys and Otto out of the plot; I hate it here. (Daemon is a bitch but that armor is crazyyyyy nice looking and he calls Otto a c*nt, which redeems his nasty personality. I will be imagining Aemond in something similar if we get a tourney scene).

AFFLSJDKSJDSK help this is such a funny live reaction to the show. I did not think I would find daemon so hot given I'm not at all attracted to his actor but yeah he is unfortunately a very sexy, stinky man (also skeevy AGGLSHDLSJ). THE DAEMON / AEMOND FOIL IS SO INTERESTING!!!!! and it's also funny to me because you can see that aemond is like. entranced by daemon. he wants to be him so bad but you can tell that daemon holds only disdain for him 💀💀💀 also REAL I miss rhaenys......she's my true queen GIVE HER BACK....

Criston cole IS a dreamboat but be careful. he gets to be the worst man in Westeros, and my inbox shall be open to you once you reach that part....

DAEMON'S ARMOR IS CRAZY!!! but Aemond's will be slightly different I think - in the books he wears black armor chased with gold. I'd be super excited to see the show's design for it... we got sexy asoiaf official illustrations til then though:

(art info here)

[godsiero]

hello. i have just finished all of nightmare time. buckle up, i have thoughts and spoilers ahead.

just a general statement before opinions are shared: obviously some situations take place in different timelines (like the ape-man vs time bastard), but what do you think happens in the *same* timelines? obviously forever and always and time bastard are the same timeline, but do you think each episode is a different time line? do you think it depends? as i’m typing this, i think each episode of nightmare time is a different reality, let me know your thoughts!

okay, starting from the very beginning with ape-man:

i thought ape-man was a good intro to what should be expected of nightmare time. i thought the “ape-man” being a set-up between ted and hidges was funny. i loved that lucy ended up actually meeting the real ape-man in the end. i didn’t really care for the ape-man *song*, and after finishing the rest of the episodes, it was a forgettable episode as a whole, but again, great intro to the idea of what nightmare time is.

watcherworld:

i love alice and bill, so i enjoyed this. watching nightmare time *after* nerdy prudes must die helped me be more excited about the introduction of the rest of the lords in black (because i somehow avoided spoilers for THAT long). that father-daughter relationship was so well put together. i love the blinky song, didn’t care for snoozle town (however, it did sound like black friday, the song, which might not have been intentional, but i’m gonna pretend it was to appreciate jeff blim lmao), as i’m typing this i don’t really remember one thousand eyes, so…i guess it wasn’t memorable? overall, i liked the generally positive ending and bill and alice establishing they will change their ways to help their relationship. love love love.

forever & always:

loved this episode. paulkins till i die fr. i was damn near fucking crying during the opening scene, i shit you not. (side note: i have recently developed the biggest soft spot for paulkins after reading the most incredible fan fiction, probably ever, forelsket by gooddaysunshine on ao3, which i qualify as canon now.) the song forever & always is definitely in my top five nightmare time songs, i just love it. i was totally shocked when paul killed the real emma, up until he revealed he was also a clone/not the real paul, so respect ig. top tier nightmare time episode.

time bastard:

the song time bastard is also in my top five nightmare time songs. kim whalen plz sing me to sleep. the song really set my expectations high because of how good forever & always was, but i was really let down. the revelation of tinky wasn’t as direct or nuanced as blinky and i thought the plot was really slow UNTIL the last ten minutes when everything looped (i love a fuckin loop). making ted the homeless man was truly an incredible plot twist, which makes me sad that wasn’t reflected during the rest of the episode. also peanuts is hilarious.

jane’s a car:

i love tim and sue me for being a barneston shipper. did NOT like jane, did NOT like the plot of tom fucking a car, that got a little too unhinged for even me. the song jane’s a car has been stuck in my head since before i even saw the fucking episode, i could not tell you how many times i have just yelled “GOT MY FOOT ON THE GAS” in the middle of conversations. that being said, the rest of the song was forgettable which upset me! i didn’t enjoy this episode, aside from the mention of the black book on the radio and the twist at the end where it’s revealed jane did take over becky.

the witch in the web:

first of fucking all, kendall nicole is a gift to this earth. that child is incredible beyond compare. protect her forever. second of all, i can’t really remember the plot of this episode, but i do know that i liked the story? not enough to remember it though? this is definitely a middle ground episode for me. i didn’t particularly enjoy either song, but i didn’t hate them. i liked the plot of miss holloway taking hannah into the black and white and travelling through time (kinda), and i liked the overall theme of webs to introduce webby.

honey queen:

the song honey queen didn’t do much for me, neither did latte hatte, or nibbly ditty. if this was any other circumstance i would’ve also added queen b to the list, but i saw it in the jangle ball before this and that made me enjoy it, but if i hadn’t seen jangle ball, just know, i would not have liked queen b. that being said, i did like this episode. i am not a linda monroe stan (sorry), but i do think she’s funny. i thought the kids were funny, i wanted to punch zoey in the face, sam gave me the ick, gerald is a fucking freak, i have never wanted to throttle jon matteson until i watched this (i forgot his character’s name), so all in all, none of these characters are likable at all except for river, but that’s the monroe’s for you. the episode was slow, but in the way a slow burn in slow. once again, liked the introduction of nibbly, and i think having the first episode *be* the honey queen festival was super important to the rest of the season because they never shut the fuck up about it after this (this is another reason why i think each episode is it’s own universe but i disgress). if that confused you, i *did* enjoy the episode, but it was another middle-grounder for me.

perky’s buds:

liked that emma got to start her pot farm. overall have nothing of value to say about this one. joey as the bird was really fucking funny. i like jae. love emma forever, that freak. this episode was really slow and not at all in a good way. i did not like the song perky’s buds. just wanted the episode to end. sad face.

abstinence camp:

this is probably my favorite nightmare time story. the song axe-man is definitely number one on my list (we’ll talk more later). the plot of this one was SO good and funny and creepy and everything hatchetfield is about. my main love for this episode stems from the introduction of our three lead nerdy prudes must die characters. i love those three freaks. steph and peter almost getting in the same shower went fuckin crazy and i was kinda glad they got caught lmao. the plot of girl jeri and boy jerry was too fuckin good, and i will say, i was a little confused why the axe-man never showed up to kill them when they were very obviously horny, BUT IT’S ALMOST LIKE THAT WAS THE PLOT HAHAHAHAH. also, love the return of plot and lore about the woods, seriously, needed that. also also, jon matteson and kim whalen should be paired up more because they’re both so fucking funny and have the capability of being charming yet ever so slightly off-putting and i fucking love it. virginity rocks is a fuckin banger (heh), but the real star of the show is axe-man. let me tell you why axe-man is the best nightmare time song: not only does it introduce the axe-man (who we have been seeing and hearing THE ENTIRE SEASON, mind you), but bryce charles is singing?? i literally don’t know what else you need to hear from me?? corey dorris in a flannel will forever change my brain chemistry and they both sound so good together, truly, and corey dorris is a baritone legend (i’m looking at *you*, corey singing the hidden baseline in high school is killing me). “his blade is made of hate” sounds damn near EXACT to “you better hope you’re outta sight” (literal monster). “oh the pain” sounds damn near EXACT to “it ain’t great” (hatchet town). MOTHERFUCKERS. WHEN THE BRIDGE STARTS “these woods belong to him…” THE FUCKING HATCHET TOWN MOTIF IS LITERALLY FUCKING PLAYING LIKE ARE YOU KIDDING ME????? also, just the fucking end that proves ur dead?? please. jeff blim. here, have some flowers. i will do anything for you. anyway. great episode. love it. 10/10.

daddy:

i liked that we gave frank some backstory and gave him a little more humanity because i really did not like that motherfucker (heh) in black friday. the plot with sherman was VERY funny and him turning into a child is kinda cute tbh. sheila u bitch, u let barry swift out of there!! i will forever be a man in a hurry fan, even after death 😭. yes take this psycho’s money and make your family’s toy store better and pay your one employee a living wage!! we love to see it. i don’t even remember the song young at heart, so that should tell you enough about how much i didn’t like it lmao. i had been waiting to see those care bears because i fucking knew they were going to be the lords in black plushies after i saw what colors they were. nick lang, you sneaky bastard.

killer track:

finally learned the tea about miss holloway and yes it was worth it. yes, i do realize why everybody loves duke and miss holloway now, hell, i love em now. miss holloway’s plot is crazy and if there’s another nightmare time season i hope she gets another episode, honestly. i like run away with me as a song in general, but for the genre of artist miss holloway is painted to be, the song is lackluster. I DO LIKE IT THOUGH BUT I WAS EXPECTING IT TO BE MORE ROCK AND ROLL. i do realize it is a ballad, but even rock and roll ballads go harder than that did. killer track is a fucking rager???? jeff blim what are you doing writing musical theatre songs???? go write some fucking grunge shit???? killer track goes so fucking hard i really can’t explain it, jesus christ, also the video was sick as shit, do more!! (this really just proves jeff can write anything lmao) i thought the nightmare time remix was really funny and fun and just a good time, no notes, joey slayed the house down boots honey mama.

yellow jacket:

i liked the vibe of the song yellow jacket, very avril lavigne. loved the plot. loved the reprise of lex opening the wiggly box x opening the pokey box. i love the idea that there are multiple kids like hannah in hatchetfield and that would be a GREAT plot to expand upon more, however, i like that hannah and lex got out of there, but i felt so bad for ethan :( i wonder if he had proposed to lex that morning if she had said yes and not left or if she had taken them with him ugh i hate not knowing. my favorite thing about the hatchetfield universe is that they just keep pumping out these stories and plot lines that confirm these things are canon in at least one universe. i love knowing as much as possible and that’s what nightmare time has given me, ily girl. sorry went on a tagent and didn’t finish: didn’t like use it or lose it, i didn’t like next time, but i thought it was sweet 🥺 they’re all such cuties. ALSO!! the general john mcnamara cameo in this episodes them song KILLED ME i SCREAMED!! he’s literally my favorite. if they continue with a season 3 i hope to fucking god they give my man his episode god dammit. bonus, hey melissa: that shit was fucking weird and i hated that paul sided with her in the end that creep. anyway, thank you for coming on this journey with me, i hope you liked my notes, i love a discussion if you would like to comment. <3

[lovelykhaleesiii]

So idk if you feel the same way but if you’ve read the book fire and blood like you might . I feel the writers destroyed the green side of the dance of dragons . It upsets me so much . I get that the book is conflicting reports and that no pov ( which is a mistake in my opinion) but I digress.! I also feel that they ruined Aegons character yet made Aemond so much more palatable. In the book he’s unhinged and crazy yet in the show he’s not now perhaps season two will change it but I’m just not holding out much hope . They already made Alicent not as much against rhaenyra as the book , they ruined Aegon , his coronation and character , made Aemond have sexual assault issues and not really wanna kill luke. Didn’t even include daeron and probably won’t in season 2 . I just wish they had actually maybe read the book and you know written it better . Guess my question is what do you think ?

I think it was inevitable that they would change things up from the book in the show…. it’s how it’s always been unfortunately! I’ve written a bit more under the cut, if you wish to read my perspective ☺️ happy to have these discussions!

I think from memory GRRM is working alongside the producers for the s2 and hoping his input was stronger, and more to the book with certain characters.

they could potentially redeem Aegon’s character (and I am optimistic in that sense) considering he will have a much larger role to play, since he is the King…

in the books the whole turning point for Aegon was brilliant and I really wished they’d showcased that in the show, but alas they did not deliver. the whole discrete conversation between him and Ser Criston, how he almost even manipulated Aegon into believing Rhaenyra would come after his family, and something snapping in him, I know for a fact TGC would’ve 100% killed that scene…

considering we have endless battles coming up, I’m hoping they showcase that protective side of Aegon more. we only got very minor details that showcased that, more so in adult!Aegon ii. like that whole dinner sequence where he defends Aemond without hesitation, he definitely learnt his lesson the first time and some might even consider that maturing but it’s a very fine detail, that can easily be missed.

I totally agree with you, they butchered a lot of characterisations and dynamics between certain characters. For instance, Nyra’s relationship with her half-siblings would’ve been so interesting to have a foundation on rather than what we saw… I think it would have made it more moving if we saw something.

as for Alicent’s character also, I mean I am not 100% against how Olivia plays her, and I don’t mind that they aged her down to be more intimate with Nyra. But she is much more cunning and cut throat in the books and I am hoping they delve into that side a bit… she’s a very cold character from time to time, and I think we deserve to see that.

these characters are flawed, and I think they tend to exaggerate that more with the Green side than Black, for obvious reasons.

Mind you, I do lean more towards Team Black, but it’s not like they’re 100% perfect either!

The key is to hold no expectations, I’m sort of just going with the flow at this point.

[ladymorghul]

Ok I know this will never ever happen but I would give my soul for a scene where Aemond helps an injured Aegon to reach the throne that mirrors the one with Daemon and Viserys.

We will never get it because those screenwriters would rather throw themselves under a bus than elaborating on their relationship and showing them in a sympathetic light but yeah.

e x a c t l y 

i mean they’re gonna show aemond follow aegon but just spend the whole time sneering at him which i personally don’t think it’s the case. 

aemond rides into battle and dies for aegon, he’s got actual love for aegon, not just envy and bitterness. 

do they have an extremely complicated rolationship because of how they grew up and how aegon treated him and how aegon is abandong his responsabilities? yes, but aemond’s loyalty is not just duty, but also love. i think they’re kinda missing this point

and i would also loved a scene like this. it would be so epic. just more brotherly crumbs that showcase the loyalty they all had for aegon. 

but yeah... the writers are doing everything they can to make the greens look worse, including stripping them of canon characteristics such as aegon’s bond with sunfyre.

and just today i read the scene from the books when alicent crowns helaena, bows to her and calls her “my queen”  

also, i mentioned this on twitter but the less they showcase the greens properly with their complexities and their dragons and their targaryen side and just try to write them off as “unhinged hightowers fighting the one true queen”, the more i’m inclined to stop watching the show altogether

i’m not here to watch marvel rhaenyra targaryen defeating caricatures. i thought the story was supposed to be complex

[thesunfyre4446]

(1) Before the show aired I used to say I was on TB, now I feel like that's admitting a shameful secret? Because I'd be putting myself in the same bag as A LOT of delusional TB/Rhaenyra stans, most of whom are just bullies. The more I see both teams fighting on reddit or here the more stupid it looks to me; I end up wanting to correct them but then it comes off as me siding with TG. I'm not but it kills me to see how wrong they got the story. Most TB fans read F&B and filled in the blanks with their own delusions and think that's what really happened; what's even worse is they can't separate book from show. They think they have the moral highground but a lot of them are terrible, with their double standards and self righteousness. Like when they accuse TG of mysoginy but then crucify Alicent for everything she did and didn't do. Even young Alicent, who did absolutely nothing wrong, but still gets attacked by Rhaenyra's feminist stans.

If anyone asked me now I'd say I'm not in any team; my favourite characters are aligned with Rhaenyra, whom I think is the rightful heir based on my understanding of succession. I will defend Alicent cause she's an interesting character that people refuse to try to understand and is treated unfairly. I actually loved watching most of the characters (and relationships) because they are all so complex, even if I don't agree or like them . They are engaging, despite what "team" they're on. It really annoys me that so many fans miss out on this because they're busy with the TB vs TG war.

i think that not being in any team is the best way to watch the show, anon.

i mean i'm TG but watching daemon is def very entertaining. he's a horrible person but matt smith (who's one of my fav actors from the good old doctor who days) is incredible. i can enjoy daemon's character while also acknowledging the fact that he's a horrible person. appreciating characters for their complexly & just how entertaining they are without agreeing with the things they do or even liking them is a skill this fandom desperately needs to learn.

i got a hate anon a few days ago accusing me of "having bad morals" for saying alicent did what she believed was right and honorable, and then just refused to understand that what alicent believes is right is not necessarily what i believe is right (i mean she's a fictional character from a medieval inspired fantasy world, of course we're not going to have the same set of values ? ). i'm not TG because i believe that men should inherit before women, i just like the characters better and find them more interesting.

i also think that this fandom has a HUGE problem separating headcanons from actual canon. with daemyra shippers being the obvious example. daemon and rhaenyra's relationship is very toxic. he's psychically abusive to her, he gr00med her, he abandoned her in a brothel... like this is obviously a very bad relationship. but people still insist on labeling daemon as a MaLeWiFe and a femenist (?) [he smashed his wife's head with a rock because he didn't like her but ok] and get very angry whenever someone tries to suggests that maybe... daemyra isn't that great of a ship.

don't get me wrong it's fine to ship daemyra, we all like to ship fictional toxic relationships, but you have to separate the headcanons you have from the actual show.

yeah the double standard with the so-called feminists attacking alicent is... a lot. an unhinged stan left a comment on one of my posts talking about alicent's "lowly hightower c***". a lot of them are accusing her of "seducing" viserys when she was 14-15, or defending corlys for offering his 12yo daughter as a bride to the middle aged viserys... i'm not very comfortable with these posts so i usually just end up blocking the op. (and don't even get me started on how some of them treat nettles)

thank you for the ask! ;)

[sweetscarlettangel]

HotD Season 2 Episode 2 Live Watch Thoughts

King’s Landing

Ok so Alicent blames herself

Arbon is distraught

And we're supposed to know who Ironrod is 

Well Otto's idea isn’t bad but it’s very cold hearted

Helaena holding her baby’s blanket 😭 

It’s sad how the first time she speaks coherently on the show it's after her son's death

Here comes Larys with his torture devices

He was a baby 😢 

Honestly Aegon should’ve waited a bit…to see if they got more info. BUT it’s Aegon and he’a not known for impulse control so what can we expect?

Poor Helaena, she's so obviously uncomfortable and having a panic attack

This would’ve been a good moment for Dreamfyre to appear and highlight how Helaena is also a dragon rider 

Dragonstone

Rhaenyra is so clueless sadly

Obviously it's Ser Alfred already antagonizing Rhaenyra…at least a bit of foreshadowing for the future 

And the start of the Daemyra breakdown

I think rn it's important to remmeber it’s only been a few days since the choking incident (and not two years)

And show!Daemon's thoughts on his brother are revealed

At least he’s clinging to the line of it being a mistake

Well, first of all, in the book Mondancer wasn’t big enough to ride at the beginning of the Dance. And, Rhaenyra is showing herself as a bad stepmother — she won’t allow Jace to patrol KL when he’s older and a more experienced dragon rider, but will allow Baela to do so when at this point she’s a more attractive hostage to take after B&C and the confession of Daemon having arranged it.

King’s Landing

The dysfunctionality of Helaegon's marriage. These are 2 people who grew up together, who were forced to marry and have children when they were children themselves. Two people so linked together but who can’t communicate. The tragedy of it all

Dragonstone

Little Aegon and Viserys! Joffrey should’ve been in this scene tho

King’s Landing

Well, Alicent and Criston will both blame themselves

So Erryk vs Arryk is on this episode? Thought it was on the next one

Criston’s delulu — even if the plan worked, Rhaenyra still has 4 sons (one old enough to marry!) and an unhinged husband who would avenge her

Dragonstone

Jace and Baela ❤️ 

"Sometimes I think I hate him" said by Baela, the child of Daemon who was most like him. Baela probably thinks on how they’re alike and how she will have to work to avoid being like him

Jace talking about both his fathers…broke my heart

King’s Landing

Ok, so Aemond in a pleasure house

Being regretful won’t bring Luke back to life or erase the fact that your actions were one of the catalysts of the war

Oh, so Hugh has a sick child — at least we're getting some character development. Hope we see Ulf soon and meet Addam (now that we met Alyn in Ep1). But I thought Hugh was a blacksmith working on DS

Driftmark

Say their names and they shall appear! Alyn and Addam!

I hope we also see Marilda (at least in a flashback if they killed her off). If not, she should be mentioned at least

Dragonstone

Seems like they’re starting to build up Mysaria’s arc

Rhaenyra, the throne wasn’t your birth right. It was something your father promised you, but he never worked to strengthen your position and you barely did so

I hope they won’t have the Rhaenyra/Mysaria interactions be all about Daemon

Honestly, they should have given Mysaria's actress a silver wig. It would’ve helped with Rhaenyra's paranoia later on — was she merely a replacement for Mysaria? Was Daemon still seeing her?

Driftmark

Guess that’s Seasmoke

Foreshadowing for the claiming, I guess

King’s Landing

Could that be Ulf?

Did they seriously hang all of the ratcatchers?

The poor doggo mourning his owner

At least it was Aegon’s decision and not the council’s

Well, Otto at least finally shows some emotion 

Otto must be missing Viserys

Oh, Aegon really believed Alicent’s lies

Tom’s acting = chef’s kiss

Dragonstone

From the silhouette, I thought Ser Harrold was standing with Rhaenyra (hope we’ll see him again)

Will Mysaria prove herself as an ally?

Honestly in both KL and DS, they should’ve found a way to distinguish the twins - a tattoo, a scar, a password, something!

This! This is how B&C should’ve been filmed. The tension! Not knowing what will happen, not being sure which twin is which

This in a Elinda Massey appreciation account…loyalty until the end

Instead of suicide, Erryk should’ve also died in the battle

King’s Landing

Daeron mention!

Ok, Otto can be added to the list of delusional characters

Aegon mourning Jaehaerys 😭 

Are we going to end every episode with an Alicole sex scene?

[fabiansociety]

we're watching the disney version of alice in wonderland as the ~124th movie on our 100 movie musicals list, and i have to say i like it a lot more than cinderella, which felt awfully treacly. alice is such a weird movie for disney to adapt, looking back from this vantage point, since cinderella is a lot closer to their reputation as a company, but perhaps it would have made more sense if we'd watched the whole disney catalogue in sequence? their 40s output is spiky and weird in a way the disney princess concept doesn't really allow for—snow white was the exception, not the rule for their first decade.

but it's great? as a strict adaptation on the book, it's hit or miss, i suppose, but who cares? it preserves carrol's weird antagonistic grossness, and alice's weird dreamlike acceptance of the baffling kafkaesque nightmare she wanders into, and what more do you really need? it's decades ahead of its time, pretty literally, since it was a flop when it came out in 1951 but a smash hit on drugged out 70s campuses, and that's a wild trick for uncle walt to pull off in the teeth of the postwar backlash.

it's also a pure quest narrative, in a way that musicals in general didn't do, barring the odd wizard of oz or road movie. audiences at the time apparently found alice's pursuit of the white rabbit unsatisfactory and shapeless and the film was a flop, but she gets so much more to do than cinderella or aurora or snow white, even if that's mostly just suffering through an increasingly unhinged nightmare

[thepunkmuppet]

okay. OKAY SO.

major nerdy prudes spoilers!! look away now!! seriously guys I’m gonna talk about like,, everything so YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED THIS SHOW IS SO GOOD YOU DO NOT WANT IT SPOILED FOR YOU TRUST ME

basically I’m just gonna go through each point in order and talk about whether or not they happened and how I feel about it. LET’S GO

IT HAPPENED IT HAPPENED IT REALLY HAPPENED ALL I DO IS WIN. gOD I love them so much. still don’t understand why emma just…. screamed like that?? like?? idk I didn’t think that was very funny and also the wig was kinda wack but YOU KNOW WHAT. PAUL IS ON THE NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH OK AND THEY WERE FLIRTING AND THAT IS WHAT MATTERS

no ted unfortunately but he was mentioned a couple times and they referenced “SHUT THE FUCK UP PAUL” a LOT of times for some reason. when they said pete looked like the homeless guy I cried a little bit (a lot)

almost!! honestly I truly don’t mind that they didn’t kiss, I feel like their relationship was super rushed and kinda OTT anyway. they were still INSANELY cute, but I liked their dynamic in abstinence camp a lot better. nothing to do with any bias over nick or joey btw, just with now they were written

honestly I am really sad they didn’t show up. YALL HAD AN OPPORTUNITY AND YOU JUST DECIDED NOT TO TAKE IT. but, I did find it fun to piece together though, because there actually is a legitimate reason why shes not in it - lauter said he got the book 15 years ago - which would mean around the time hannah was born, which is probably around the time miss holloway fought wilbur cross (because im pretty sure that’s the time when the timelines split). so npmd is set in a timeline where miss holloway was killed, otherwise the book would be hers and she would be the one to help the kids with the lords in black

YES. JUST YES. AN ABSOLUTE UNHINGED DERANGED CRAZY BITCH WHO I LOVE

oh well never mind. bisexual ruth was an icon though!!!

no bill and alice. that one was a bit of a stretch though tbf

oddly enough, no. I really thought.

THERE WAS NO PEIP. NONE. ACTUALLY SHOCKED AND APPAULED

also no!! really wish it had been tbh, because as I said before steph and pete’s relationship was sO rushed - ik nmt had more time to establish their dynamic but man it was so much more fleshed out

none of my theories were right. literally none. I LOVE the actual show but honestly some of my ideas went HARD, thinking of writing them as fics or maybe even adapting them into my own original stories at some point because the whole watcher world thing was a whole slay like I had full on dramatic monologues and musical numbers for that kicking about in my head

WE MAY HAVE LOST THE BATTLE BUT WE WILL WIN THE WAR

I’ve already posted about my big theories for nerdy prudes, but I just wanted to get my personal hopes and mini predictions down in a neat little list before I finally see the digital ticket on Tuesday! I will reblog this with a completed checklist once I’ve seen it (obviously with spoilers tagged) CANT WAIT!!

so, in no particular order:

paul and emma cameo. I think paul is confirmed based on this one post I saw but the photo was very blurry so it could be someone else… still both lauren and jon are in the show, they had a cameo in black friday - I just think they deserve to be together and happy in every universe until they inevitably die or break up horribly and I would squee so hard if they really showed up

ted cameo where he immediately dies. because come on. you can’t not do it you just can’t

stephski kiss. I just think they’re neat

HOLLODUKE APPEARANCE. HOLLODUKE APPEARANCE HOLLODUKE APPEARANCE HOLLODUKE APPEARANCE HOLLODUKE APPEARANCE HOLLOD

the book they get the ritual from is the black book which is how miss holloway (as the student counsellor miss holiday) ties in.

grace gets a solo song and also a lethal weapon.

grace canonically has a crush on steph. idk I’m very happy with the “we’re besties” “I hate you and want you dead” dynamic but also “I’m madly in love with you and obsessed with you and also a repressed christian teenager” “I hate you and want you dead and also have a boyfriend” has potential

bill and alice cameo. corey and mariah have played father and daughter twice and I think they could get some quality jokes out of that even if just for one scene

the apocalypse happens and everyone dies just like in the other two musicals - otherwise I think it would pretty much just feel like a nightmare time episode scaled up to 10 which doesn’t sound bad, just not what fans are looking for in a full fledged hatchetfield musical

detective shapiro will be an undercover peip agent or at least connected to them in some way

it’s set in the same universe as abstinence camp (therefore ted is alive, grace steph and pete have established dynamics with each other, they know about weird shit in hatchetfield, etc)

my theories end up being correct. or at least blinky is the major villain and the murderer is being controlled by him and “larry” is an important character

HERE IS HOW GENERAL MACNAMARA CAN STILL WIN-

[sprolden]

I love all the new people following you but god have they missed all the unhinged energy happening in alice's asks back in the day instigated by certain someone! It's so crazy to think though that the fandom went from that weird lil tumblr thing to my entire dash AND tl flooding with heartstopper, love to see it

YEAH

ive been talking about this a Lot with my friends over the past few days, because we all sort of still view heartstopper as this very personal thing we used to obsess over with a handful of people exclusively on tumblr. and now it's a netflix show and virtually every bookstore i walk into has a stack of heartstopper books because theyre BOOKS now i guess (???) and most people in the YA scene have heard of it and i will never ever be able to process that. it's literally so cool i watched that all happen over the past 5 years with my own 2 eyes!!

[souredfigs]

ALRIGHT HOTD FINALE AND OMGGG here are my tHouGHtS and spoilers ahead ofcc

❗️❗️❗️❗️

• I mean it wasn't as shocking for me coz I've read the book so I obviously knew what was about to go down but with that being said

• Emma D'Arcy I love you so much . Their acting as Rhaneyra was outstanding, life changing , freaking amazing and I am in absolute awe. The shot of Rhaneyra at the end as Daemon informs her about Luce's demise , and she turns around and just by looking at her you sense her pain and rage and how the real dotd is gonna start and shit will go down was goosebump inducing . I mean I'm by no means an expert in acting but Holy SHRIMP THAT WAS POWERFUL . WHAT A STELLAR PERFORMANCE , ONE FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS ! AND IF THEY DONT GET AN EMMY I WILL GO APESHIT BECUASE WHAT THE FUCK?

• Rhaneyra's coronation was by far my favourite scene in the episode along with Daemon singing to vermithor , absolutely beautiful and you bet I'm learning that song

• speaking of lucerys

• MY BOY

• I was dreading this moment ever since episode one and it was just all around heartbreaking , despite knowing what will happen the scene still made me sit at the edge of my bed and tense up . We will miss you king 😔

• Otto hightower , this bitch in itself is a warning

• fuck him that is all I can say

• also the fact that Alicent kept that page Rhaneyra tore and kept it safe , it even has creases in it , meaning that she opened it multiple times whenever she missed her best friend ... *screams* they were both victims of the patriarchal society they were born to and this is something I will always stand by .

• JACAERYS MY BELOVED , He was all around the best this episode , the way he confronted Daemon and stood up for his mother was so pure, and it makes me so sad thinking about what will happen to him in the end . He was too good for the world of ice and fire .

• speaking of ice and fire , I'm really excited to see my beloved the Starks and winterfell next season , the pact of ice and fire and the theory of dragon eggs being in the crypts always intrigued me

• Daemon .. I am honestly surprised most of yall were shocked , like literally everyone of the characters in hotd and in asoiaf are unhinged and need counselling. If you are looking for right vs wrong you've come to the wrong place 😭😭😭😭 wait till you read f&b 😭😭😭

• the black council scenes in which Rhaneyra constantly reminds everyone that she has a duty to preserve the realm and keep it safe from bloodshed and that her ambition isn't the only thing that matters further proves to me that she would have been an great ruler

• Even Rhaenys admits to Corlys that Rhaneyra is holding it all together and keeping the realm from dissolving into madness and destruction .

• And I think the show was good when it came to Rhaenys portrayal as well , she too was a capable intelligent woman who was robbed of her deserving position.

• overall , there are some issues I do have , but regardless of that I am so excited for season 2 , this really did heal the wounds that I have from got season 8 and hotd really brought back the once epic Game of Thrones calibre of acting , dialouge and plot . Squeezing 20+ years of storyline into 10 episodes is hard for any production I think, and they executed it so smoothly .

• the costumes and cinematography and overall attention to detail was such a delight to see , so refreshing and it really showed you how much thought and effort they put into this spinoff, unlike the shitstorm that game of thrones became from season 5 onwards . Asoiaf franchise was practically dead with the end of game of thrones , I remember how everyone pretend the finale didn't even happen and people on tumblr removed game of thrones hashtags from their profiles , twitter was fuming and the reddit page for asoiaf turned into a fan page for lotr😭😭😭😭 like everyone was thaT fed upp

• hotd Sundays are over now and the fact that I have go wait for two years ( I think) to see my psychotic war criminals again is killing me 😭

• PHEW WHAT A SEASON . ILL BE WAITING FOR THE NEXT ONE 🤌😌

SORRY FOR ANY TYPOS BESTIES

[retvenkos]

Hi I am v annoying and we haven't like chatted in a while so I wanted to pop in and ramble honestly idk this is not gonna be structured and say HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII <3 miss you bestie,, sowwy I missed your cym thing (honestly though cym as lines of your writing I would DIE). I have NOT started bridgerton s2 yet… hopefully soon though love like honestly the show is trash but it's MY trash aksjsjsjsj. When you have time you should watch Alice in Borderland cause it's a FANTASTIC J-drama and we're getting s2 this year!!!1!! Do you have a bias of bts yet?? I can't listen to Bastille now without thinking of you if you made me a playlist of songs that remind you of me I would literally kiss you on the mouth hahaha anyways! Miss you lots bestie!! I got a new book the other day and I'm so excited to read it <3 <3 I would love to go to a bookstore with you and buy books and come back and read in each other's laps… eating oranges and almonds like we're in the freaking 19th century akdjsjdj

lindsay my bestie!!!!!! my k-drama enthusiast!!!!! my bookworm extraordinaire!!!!! my wife (no, i will not let you forget - even though i looked it up and i can't gain citizenship in canada based off of marriage status alone, smh)!!!!!!

honestly, this ask ran me over like a lawnmower it's so unhinged, but i love you for it, asdghjhgfdsdfgh.

i hope you get to watch bridgerton s2 soon! i just started episode 3, and i hope to watch more later tonight and this weekend. we'll have to see how it goes, but from what i can tell you spoiler free - i simply missed the shenanigans. so many great characters,,,,, so many perfect dynamics,,,,, so many hilarious lines and occasionally heartfelt moments..... there are definitely times where it is not..... the best show ever, but this season is already sO much fun. i was a little taken aback by the use of a classical version of material girl by madonna,,,,,,,,, it felt like a cover that stuck out more than the others, although, perhaps it's just because of my familiarity, but hey! that's just bridgerton for you <3.

and alice in borderland!!!!!! yes!!!!! i've been meaning to ask you about that - it seems really interesting, and kinda something i want to get into, but i've been told to watch squid games instead by a few friends. i only trust your opinion, though, (esp. since i don't think they've seen alice in borderland?) and which one i should prioritize - alice in borderland or squid games? i'm leaning toward alice in borderland, ngl, but i just know squid games is a Thing™ for a reason,,,,,,,

and as for a bts bias, i'm going to be 100% real with you and tell you i'm still trying to figure out who it's going to be (honestly, i feel like i need to watch interviews with them or something because outside of the context of their music, they're still such an abstract in my mind), but, i have to say i'm leaning toward namjoon. i just think he's neat.

and you associate bastille with me???? that is such a compliment, lindsay, and i have given you lindsaycore bastille songs before (poet? you mean lindsay???) but!!!!!! i must also say you align with pompeii quite nicely. idk what it is exactly, but those vibes just remind me of the vibrancy of you.

and omg,,,,,, watch me make a playlist with songs that remind me of you <3. i have thoughts already,,,,, wait until i put them down in your inbox.

and lindsay!!!!!! what i would give to go to a bookstore with you! we'd have to go to one that's in a shopping center so we can go shop to shop, stopping in the clothing store to try on jackets and dresses we aren't going to buy, browsing through lipglosses at a makeup store and buying overly-priced scented hand lotion, getting specialty ice cream and giggling in bookstores,,,,,,,,, i am yearning.

[foulfirerebel]

Crass language aside, I absolutely agree with @crimsonaxe on this one. For all the OP dives into Arcane, Spiderverse, and Total Drama (with good points to make on the concept of character focus), they've missed the mark with RWBY by several miles.

Just my two cents: perhaps some people could stand to watch RWBY again? The whole series, reading the books as they go along. It's not that big a time commitment and there is a lot to process.

Just saying, if you can handle Arcane and all the stuff it throws at you, you can stand to rewatch RWBY from the beginning again and possibly read the novels. In fact, do read the novels.

I do so every time a volume ends and before one starts, so I recall everything well enough. In fact, if you'd prefer, a friend has shared a comprehensive RWBY viewing guide. Goes into everything you might need to know, though the version I have doesn't go into V9. V9 is required viewing though, for all that @crimsonaxe said above.

In short, the analysis of RWBY by the OP is flawed at best and at worst extremely uncharitable and in incredibly bad faith. My eyes literally glazed over when I tried to read the volume summaries.

More under the Readmore, RWBY volume 9 spoilers ahead~

["Season 9: UH... (That's not me not knowing what happened in 9, they just climbed out of the hole, basically, as the season has nothing to do with Salem's forces.)]

Team RWBY reunites, and out of all of them Ruby doesn't have Crescent Rose. Everyone else seems to be more or less stable.

Weiss suffers a lot by trying to make sense of the nonsensical, eventually rolling with it.

Blake takes temporary leadership since Ruby is checked out for most of the volume. Her worries are first that they're ruining the book and becoming more cautionary tales, but then for her team as they continue onward.

Ruby starts showing signs of her trauma getting to her, little by little, until she eventually explodes over having to be the positive one all the time among other issues. Jaune doesn't help matters, but more on that later.

Yang at first is angry that they're there with her, thinking she died. It takes a couple of pep talks from Ruby and Blake before she gets somewhat back to normal, though still worries about Ruby, Blake, and Weiss.

Speaking of Little, the best mouse ever, they meet Ruby and start the volume themes of Purpose and Identity.

They realize they're in a fairy tale realm, The Ever After, from a book they all read as children aka The Girl who Fell through the World. Basically, Alice in Wonderland.

The world isn't the same as the book, tying back to the Volume 1 theme of the world "not being like a fairy tale". For instance, the Jinxy Peddler (a thieving raccoon auctioneer) is older than in the book, a bratty Red Prince is in place of a wise Red King, etc.

The Curious Cat (bastard, malicious) shows up to help them after an altercation with The Red Prince in the form of a (epic) chess game. They are incredibly curious, but also seem like they're hiding something about Alyx aka Alice.

Blake and Yang get closer together, culminating in them becoming a couple. That's an incredibly shortened version of them getting together, it's really much better watched.

Team RWBY face down their past selves, all resolute in their newfound purposes and what they want from life...except Ruby, who falters and is on the verge of succumbing to despair if not for the Cat. She remains so throughout the volume.

Neopolitan, who likewise fell with them, menaces Team RWBY with clones of a powerful creature that can destroy everything called a Jabberwocker. She does so several times after her first appearance, for the sole purpose of killing Ruby in revenge for Torchwick's death.

Jaune Arc, who also fell, ends up in time travel shenanigans and becomes the heroic Rusted Knight. This doesn't help his psyche either, as it turns him into a more controlling (yet still friendly) and unhinged type of hero who keeps his charges from ascending and achieving more with their lives.

The Cat and Jaune, both having conflicting accounts about what happened to Alyx, argue at a critical juncture and the Cat abandons the group in disdain.

Neo attacks the heroes and Ruby is unable to defend herself owing to her PTSD and trauma. Jaune doesn't help matters afterward, driving Ruby away after she explodes by having his own explosion. This is after the village drowns during the attack, of the Paper Pleasers' own volition.

Neo corners Ruby with not only illusions of Roman, but illusions of everyone else she's been associated with that died. It's basically a massive guilt trip that culminates in Ruby drinking the Ascension Tea. The Cat shows up to try possessing Ruby, seeing her as naught but an empty shell. They fail thanks to Neo.

Neo, on the other hand, has no motivation after seeing Ruby fall. Her entire motivation has just been revenge all this time and having it seemingly complete leaves her hollow. The Cat possesses her as a result. It's not pretty.

All the while, Team WBY (who did their best to comfort Ruby, saw Ruby in distress and tried to be there for her, but likewise tried to be there for Jaune because his breakdowns were more noticeable) show Jaune that he really hasn't failed again like he thought he did. The Paper Pleasers he was helping? They ascended into Crystal people, proving their belief about ascension correct.

Jaune was under the false impression that the tree was death, Alyx was selfish, and that Lewis (her brother) died. The opposite was true. Alyx had a change of heart, Lewis left, the Cat killed Alyx when she didn't keep her promise to them to take them to Remnant (seeing it as an act of utmost betrayal rather than someone learning from mistakes).

Ruby. at the end of it all. After learning her flaws, her mistakes, don't make her a failure, had the choice to be someone else. She chose herself. Because she, at the end of it all, is enough. With her having bounced back, she and her team defeat the Cat.

Neo, seeing the love and life that Team RWBY had, decides not to attack. Not to continue revenge seeking. But ultimately tips her hat in thanks, and embraces the Tree's aid and possibilty of changing herself.

We, alongside team RWBY, learn the real origins of the "Gods" of Remnant and Remnant itself. We learn about Alyx, and how her last wish was to help Jaune. We learn that Team RWBY has done good, as Little evolved from a small mouse into Somewhat: the new and significantly bigger defender of the realm.

They exit the Ever After, seeing all the people that answered Ruby's call for aid in Volume 8 in Vacuo. Ships from across Remnant are arriving at Shade Academy. Proving Ruby's plans were right.

In short order:

Team RWBY, Ruby especially, are more resolute in their paths. Ruby's trauma doesn't have the hold over her like it once did. Blake and Yang, all doubts and fears removed, are a couple and have each other's and their team's back. Weiss is firm about who she is and knows Atlas' fall wasn't her fault. Jaune finally has all those notions about being THE Hero(tm) driven away from him. Neo, a threat since V2, has started making peace with Torchwick's death and is on the verge of becoming better.

None of this is filler. None of this unimportant. All of this matters. Hell, my long ass summary CANNOT and DOES NOT do V9 justice. The sweeping music, the character moments, the callbacks to V2 and before, the character growth each of them go through.

"They just get out of a hole."

I truly, truly wonder why this is the take the OP chose. As I truly wonder why people call ANY of this filler. V9 deals with longstanding issues, has plenty of call backs to fit an entire book, progresses the characters. If we immediately cut to Vacuo after V8, then everything would be rushed through.

I do hope this...rather in depth summary has helped. If I left anything out, please blame my shoddy memory.

If anyone else wants that comprehensive list, I'll be sure to share it.

Is Screen Time An Issue For A Character?

That’s a tough one.

I see quite a few arguments about some shows I’ve watched that ‘oh, this character is bad because they have too much screen time’. Or ‘I wish this character had more screen time to be interesting.’

Basically, too much screen time is now a valid critique to describe why a character is bad or doesn’t work for you. And to that I say…

Uh… no?

I’ll give some examples where I see this critique, but for now I want to state a case of examples where I expected to see this critique online, but didn’t, and I wondered why.

SPOILERS BELOW FOR THE SPIDERVERSE SEQUEL:

The main character of the Spiderverse movies is Miles Morales. Clear as day if you see ANY promotional concept art. The movies nail that home and give you a solid POV character among the Multiverse chaos.

The sequel begins with an over twenty minute backstory sequence involving Gwen Stacy, a side character in the first movie.

(Fun fact: When me and my dad went to see it in theaters together, he said that backstory was over twenty minutes long and that he thought they could've trimmed it down. Animated-phobia gives you weird opinions. He didn't watch Arcane with me and thought nothing of it because 'it was an animated show'. Not kidding.) (Both of my parents are like this, sadly.)

Now, in the context of the movie, it makes sense to include this to understand the full POV of her character going forward. As she is pretty vital to the story.

I tried imagining a version of the movie where we DIDN'T get this intro, went straight to Miles, and we just had to put the pieces together involving Gwen and her actions. And I don't think the movie would've worked nearly as well.

This brings me to another point involving Gwen Stacy in this movie: She's kind of become a protagonist as well, next to Miles.

Is this screen time theft? Under the screen time critique, it probably would seem that way.

And yet nobody I've seen complains. If anything, this solidified her as one of the best movie adaptations of Gwen Stacy out there. In my opinion.

Unlike the first movie, this one is not driven by the narrative of the main character, but rather multiple.

This is not uncommon. And it's an even bigger case with Arcane.

Yeah, this show is phenomenal everyone who says so is right Jinx is an icon Vi is my cartoon crush next to Petra I was crying so hard at the ending and for that alone this show deserves every ounce of praise it gets and I'm kind of an Arcane stan-

*Inhales*

I think I just have a thing for dystopian stories where characters walk through hell.

(Yes I consider TD a dystopian setting, that'd be a nice hot take to tackle one day.)

The Hunger Games is my favorite dystopian setting that I've seen, just because it's very memorable and inspiring. But Arcane is objectively the best dystopian story out there. If I fade out of my Total Drama obsession, this show might be my next target.

Cupcakes. El fin.

I could stop there, but lets talk about why we're here.

Arcane does not focus on the two main characters only as the driving force of its narrative.

Advertisement tell you that our main characters are the two growing war machines who go around calling each other sisters, Vi and Powder (Jinx. Idk how mad people get for which name I use for her. Sorry if I offend you). In fact, there's evidence to back that up. Other than they're the people with dyed hair, that's instant main character. They're the first characters we meet in the entire show. They're the characters with the final scene that closes off the season. EVERY ending to an act is with them. They're the main characters. Boom.

But wait. Nearly TWO THIRDS of this show doesn't even focus on them!

We have all the Piltover characters we keep switching back to. Jayce, Viktor, Mel, Caitlyn for Act 2 pretty much, Silco kind of becomes his own protagonist in Act 3. Really, the only people who remain consistent side characters are Ekko, and the two boys that get blown to pieces by Powder. And... some other people I'm forgetting the names of. (Sorry, I only had two watch throughs of this show so far and I know nothing about League other than the sisters become enemies.)

Now, why?

Why is this the case? I'm not saying characters other than our mains don't get fleshed out at all, but to the point where they're basically major enough to carry their own show? That SOUNDS like a detriment to the story if anything, especially how unfocused it kind of all gets until the end where everyone's in the same room.

Had Vi or Jinx interact with these characters, their fleshing out makes sense, and you definitely see that with characters like Caitlyn and Silco, who kind of need them to function.

But the Piltover gang? Jinx doesn't meet them at all, neither of the sisters meet Viktor, and Vi does meet Jayce, but in Episode 8 of 9.

Why does nobody complain about this? If anything, these guys are stealing screen time.

Well, it turns out, this is all done in Arcane's benefit, rather than fault. We are all the protagonist of our own story, and there are multiple POVs regarding the world.

It's basically if Hunger Games was third person instead of first, and we actually got a chance to flesh out the other rebels/children.

Me personally, and I know I'm not the only one out there, but the sisters were the most interesting thing about the show, and other characters that talk to them were how they caught my attention. That in no way means I don't care for anyone though, and it's COMPLETELY a PERSONAL thing.

So whenever we DO focus on the sisters and their story, not only do we get these other POVS on the scene that could clash with our view of them, but it makes it so that EVERY. SCENE. MATTERS.

No scene is wasted in fleshing out the sister's story. Everything has a purpose and drives it all to one heartbreaking simulation. There's no wasted space, there's no lack of attention to a certain detail, darn it, it's just right.

(I mean, I guess I would've liked to see what they went through in that time skip, like how Jinx was raised by Silco and processed her new identity, or better yet how tf Vi survived prison when it's heavily implied she beat people to a pulp and got solitary multiple times. But I think Season 2 is gonna cover it.)

Seriously, imagine a version of this show real quick.

Imagine a version of the show that took the Hunger Games approach, and used first person POV on one of the two sisters, doesn't matter which one, they'd both work. Cut out scenes not involving that sister. The other characters that appear revolve around scenes they're in with that sister.

Would that work nearly as well?

I don't think so.

Now First Person POV isn't necessarily a bad thing. Danganronpa is first person. Minecraft Story Mode is first person. Those are probably not great examples, but it can work. (TDDRI, a fic of mine, is first person, and I had to work around that to flesh out everyone else. It can work.)

This show is very hot topic and weirdly paced than what I'm used to. So take everything with a grain of salt as I am nowhere near an expert with this show. The show's story doesn't even get started until Episode 4, as the first three episodes are all flashback to explain where our characters are and why they're motivated to do what they do.

Again, I tried imagining a version of this show where we DIDN'T get those first three episodes, we started with Episode 4, and we just had to ASSUME all the backstory involving the sisters and the titular arcane and put the pieces together through Vi's words and Jinx's hallucinations. I don't think we would have been nearly as invested.

So with these two examples, WHY does nobody complain about screen time involving a character?

Is it because they're just really good pieces of media? Or is there a reason for this?

After all, Spiderverse and Arcane fall under the category of an 'ensemble cast'. A cast of characters in a story where there is no titular main character to drive the narrative, and everyone does instead. It's like if Harry Potter was 'Hogwarts' instead, or some title like that.

But lets take a look at some examples of ensemble casts where there's been a complaint of some sort with screen time:

Total Drama and RWBY.

Now I only like one of these two shows, so I'm gonna put that aside for now.

Total Drama. It has an ensemble cast. The show is about teenagers suffering-I mean competing for a prize, eliminating each other bit by bit as it goes along. Naturally with that setup, early boots are left to dry. But that doesn't stop people from complaining.

Ezekiel gets the most flack for too little screen time, and major fanboys say he should've had more focus. Personally I don't get that based on what role he's deigned to play. Caleb is a more recent example. I thought he was gonna have a bigger role and character than he ended up having, and him being a first boot gag makes even less sense than Zeke. Dawn is a fan favorite who isn't even in that many episodes. Axel is a ripoff of Shawn because of her lack of screen time. Scary Girl is... Scary Girl, who I don't see the fuss about her little screen time as she's comic relief, but the complaint is there. There is SO MUCH bashing about Noah's lack of screen time it is not even funny. So much so that he's sharing screen time with another person.

And who is to blame for this: Well, the characters who make it really far into the game, or course! How dare they steal screen time away from these guys!

I feel like Ripper is the most recent example of this. His character arc was about him breaking a world record. He broke it. It's Episode 5. Now he can leave the show, right-

Nope. He's around till Episode 8. Out of 13. And even then, in Episode 13, he's Millie's partner, which means screen time.

It sounds unjustified because it is. I'm not the biggest Ripper hater, but I definitely see the complaints. (Ripper and Damien swapping places are the only part of the elimination order I would change. Everything else is pretty spot on.)

We already have MK as a pre-merge antagonist and Julia as a post merge antagonist, we don't need this rando bully character as well as it adds nothing. Maybe Ripper would've been better liked if he wasn't a bully and just some morally average comic relief guy, but also... probably not.

But he's not the only fart based character in this show that gets complaints about screen time. Here's where I talk about the first gen.

For what I have seen, the ones with the biggest screen time complaints are Owen, Duncan, and Beth. I don't count Heather cause it's on purpose. I count Sierra because it's a personal gripe I have.

Owen was the original winner of TDI, came back on the show in the second season for a mole subplot nobody likes, and merged season three. He and Noah also got a spinoff.

Beth was the finalist of TDA.

And everyone hates it, including myself.

Then there's Duncan. Easily the character the show focuses on the most. Season 1? 4th place. Season 2? Winner. Season 3? Gone half the season so he's only in 8 episodes not counting what he didn't compete in, but he scored 5th overall. Season 5? Weakest performance, but he still merged. That's 8th place by the way.

By far, THIS is the character in this show that gets the MOST horrendous flack for his screen time. And from what I've learned, if you think this, you probably hate Duncan as a character.

Like, I haven't watched Winx, but I saw videos on YouTube that made fun of Bloom for getting too much screen time.

Somebody do those but with Duncan! I'm not a Duncan hater, but I would like to get a laugh!

So it'd just be easy to say the writers played favorites, it was an issue, and be done with it, right?

Except no.

My GF watched World Tour just recently. (And she was mixed on it.) Her comments regarding Duncan and Gwen were that she wished they had more interactions to sell them (she was routing AGAINST Duncney, basically) and it didn't help that Duncan was gone half the season. She said that it would've helped all the characters involved if he stayed to flesh that out.

To that I went: "Huh. That's interesting how you take no issue with this character's screen time."

But why though? She's not a stan of him, she's a casual viewer, so that can't be it.

And that's when it hit me.

Beth and Sierra. These two make it through an entire season each. And we both collectively hate them as characters. And we hate seeing them on screen.

That's because it's what the characters DO with their screen time.

See what I'm talking about:

Season 1: Duncan is an established character that develops relationships and friendships and learns to open up to people outside of his comfort bad boy zone.

Trent spends 16 episodes sitting still and looking pretty with a guitar. (Okay that's probably not a great example, and I don't hate Trent, but you kinda get it)

Season 2: Duncan is dealing with revenge on Harold for his spoiled relationship with Courtney where he gets abused by her, fights to hold his own, and dumps her.

Beth spends the entire season talking about a fake boyfriend and cheating on it.

Season 3: Duncan, again, is only competing in 8 episodes out of 26, but what does he do? He establishes a new relationship with Gwen, gets her cancelled, forms a friendship with Alejandro, and gets played.

Sierra is there the entire season sexually harassing Cody and passing it off as quirky. We hate to see it. (Seriously, you guys think the love triangle is worse than this? My GF and I agreed we would rather watch the love triangle ten times again, over Sierra being on screen at all.)

What's the difference here? STORY.

Certain characters have story to follow, that NEEDS that screen time to work. Ironically, the plotline of Duncan's that comes across the least genuine, is the season where he's on screen the least. (Not counting All Stars, but they're kind of equal in episodes Duncan's in.)

Again, imagine if we never had that backstory sequence of Gwen Stacy. Yes it eats up screen time, but without it? She would come across as an ingenuine traitor who supposedly ditched her dad for some cool spider society. We NEEDED that sequence.

Duncan is always doing something when the screen is focused on him.

The reason Beth and Sierra don't work despite having all the screen time in the world is that they do NOTHING with the screen time they get. Nothing of value at least. We could've learned a lot about their origins, Beth's underdog status, or Sierra's fanclub, flesh them out as dynamic characters to route for, with different sides of them that slip through time to time that gets the audience thinking.

Nope. Sexual harassment makes up for all of that. (I question why I put up with this show sometimes.)

That would be the case and that's the answer, just do something with your screen time and you're free to have as much as you want.

Except there's ANOTHER key to the puzzle here.

Duncan is in the top 4 of the TD cast for a reason.

He's a main character.

Something Jaune Arc is not.

Hello nemesis my old friend.

Look, I respect people who like RWBY. People can feel any way they want to about a show. Opinions are valid.

If you think Arcane is the worst show ever made, that's valid.

If you think Velma is the best show ever made, that's valid.

It's all VALID.

With that said I think this show is an absolute trainwreck when it comes to writing characters.

Now hold on before you say I hate everything about it, I don't. This show does have SOME merits to it. The music is stellar and I actually listen to the soundtrack from time to time. For a limited budget animation, it's impressive. The choreo is neat. I want these weapons. I actually like quite a few of the side characters. Keep in mind I said side.

But what I look for in a good show is a compelling story and interesting characters to follow.

Something this show just does not have in my opinion.

I keep saying I'll do an analysis post on why Team RWBY are awful protagonists, but I've been busy and my plate has not emptied. But one of my main points regarding them is screen time.

Keep in mind, I've only seen fully up to Season 8. I've only seen clips of Season 9, so whatever I say about 9 may not be accurate.

Team RWBY are the main characters of the show, and yet they have not done a single main character thing throughout EIGHT SEASONS. It's kind of incredible.

If I didn't know the name of the show but saw a clip, I'd assume the main character was Jaune, or Oscar, more on them later.

What have these girls contributed in the battle of Salem's forces?

Season 1: Blake helped stop a robbery. Not even all four of them, just Blake. (So did Sun and Penny.)

Season 2: They broke into the White Fang's secret operation and busted a train into the city to fight off some Grim, in time for Team CFVY to wipe them out. (Those characters appear TWICE in the ENTIRE show, this is the first time. Just to speak my point.)

Season 3: Yang got framed for assault which helped the bad guys. Ruby watched Pyyra die and she blasted an eyeball off Cinder.

Season 4: UH...

Season 5: They housed Oscar, they met Raven, and they took place in the battle of Haven where Yang got the relic. (So did Oscar, JNR, Qrow)

Season 6: They took the relic to Atlas. (So did Oscar, JNR, Qrow)

Season 7: They lied to the general about vital information that could've helped them get one on Salem, and doomed all of Atlas.

Season 8: They caused the death of a kingdom and fell through a hole.

Season 9: UH... (That's not me not knowing what happened in 9, they just climbed out of the hole, basically, as the season has nothing to do with Salem's forces.)

Now, because the main characters are not involved with the main plot very much, does that make them bad?

No. There ARE ways to utilize them outside of driving the external plot.

Some stories are Character vs Self, Internal Conflict. The basis of this show's story is that these kids who grew up to be military soldiers are learning that their lives and the world is not a fairy tale, and they're not the good guys. That SOUNDS like the show is all about internal conflict, right?

Well it's not.

I mean, they DO realize this and make a morally questionable choice with consequences they regret.

In Season SEVEN.

And even THEN, they're treated by gods themselves like they've done nothing wrong!

If you ask me, it should have happened a LONG time ago.

What internal conflicts do these girls have?

Ruby is a naive prodigy who wants to be a huntress and live out a fairy tale reality. And she lives out that dream. Then Pyyra dies and she loses that home. And then she's back to fairy tale land, just doing more crimes and hating authority. And I GUESS she learned a lesson in 9...? I just saw her as depressed.

Weiss is an heiress of a rich company trying to overthrow rule of her father, who hates her. She hates Faunus. She learns not to hate Faunus. And she gains a lot of powers.

Blake is part of a civil rights movement with Faunus and she likes assaulting her own kind and burning their homes. She also has an abusive boyfriend and kills him with a girlfriend by her side.

Yang lost her mommy and wants to find her. She loses her arm. She finds her mommy but doesn't give a s**t because plot. She also gets a girlfriend.

That's like Vi and Jinx's reunion, only they didn't care about seeing each other again after years, they just pointed fists and guns at each other and said, "Where's the arcane?! Where's Silco?! I'm not here for you, I have a police GF now!" "I'm not here for you, I just wanted an easy route to blast Piltover to pieces! Mwahaha!"

See where I'm going with that?

Internal conflict is a key to making characters screen time worth while.

But lets face it, Team RWBY not having very well established internal/relevance to the external conflict is not the full reason why this is a problem with their screen time.

It's their lack thereof.

Three quarters of every season, they're just sitting at some random place that's not even pretty to look at, and the SIDE CHARACTERS do all the plot relevant stuff.

See why I like the side characters better?

Lets look at that chart again:

Season 1: Sun and Penny stopped that robbery.

Season 2: Team CFVY stopped the Grim invasion.

Season 3: Pyyra's story and downward spiral to her death.

Season 4: Nora and Ren the season.

Season 5: Oscar. The tribe.

Season 6: Oscar again as he's responsible for the exposition involved in that season.

Season 7: Ironwood's descent into insanity AND Penny's descent into accidental heroism.

Season 8: Both those characters die. Everyone dies.

Season 9: ...okay, good point, there was no one else.

Okay so maybe Season 9 gets a pass, but the others? Can you really put Team RWBY in a plot summary?

And that's just external conflict talking, let's talk the MAIN CHARACTER with the INTERNAL conflicts throughout the ENTIRE show.

Jaune Arc.

A SIDE character, voiced by one of the writers, has some of the most plotlines to follow due to his internal struggle and conflict in this new war throughout the entire show.

He has something to do in MOST of the seasons of this show. Not unlike Duncan. The only time I think he didn't have anything going on was Season 7.

In the very first season, Jaune has an entire character arc surrounding him trying to find his inner strength with a one off bully character as an antagonist. That sounds fine, so what's the issue?

This character arc takes up FOUR episodes out of 16. A WHOLE QUARTER OF THE SEASON.

"Well, maybe those episodes cut away to other people at some points-"

No. They don't. It's all Jaune in all these episodes.

Season two is less so Jaune focused, but he has a little subplot surrounding letting go of his feelings for Weiss and finding another girl who would gladly take him. I guess it's priority respect because Neptune was into Weiss at the time? But those two wound up never being a thing, so...

The whole time I thought Weiss was just asexual, but then 9 came in to screw that idea.

Season three focuses on Pyyra, Jaune's love interest, and therefore he's vital to her story and her thought process, so much so that the big angst moment in the season is with him and their death kiss.

Season four and five are focused on Jaune's thirst for revenge on Cinder, a member of Salem's forces, for killing Pyyra. He learns about Salem's forces along the way, makes his own opinion about all this lore, and decides to help out due to his personal necessity.

Wow. He has an internal conflict going on, AND he's active with the external conflict. HMM...

Season six is him letting go of his grief after his moral failure from the Battle of Haven nearly getting Weiss killed. And also he pins Oscar to the wall because why not. It's brief but it's also a full on character arc.

Season eight, he kills Penny, a girl he has never interacted with before this point, and he's a grieving mess. So much so that season nine also includes Jaune dealing with MULTIPLE grieving instances and personal failures.

Everyone else got a seasonal break from the story, and yet Jaune could not.

Now, is this a screen time issue?

Yes.

But NOT for the reasons you might think.

Let's go off of Duncan again, a character with a major status in the show's story and conflict from day one. He was designed that way.

Jaune was not designed that way. BUT I don't actually hate his story for the screen time he gets. In fact, he's probably one of the most interesting characters in the show because there's so much time dedicated to his struggle and his story.

The elephant in the room isn't because Jaune has a story.

It's because the main characters don't have a story.

Again, Arcane, that show focuses on a LOT of characters that aren't Vi and Jinx. You could argue Jayce is the Jaune in their universe. But why does it work? Because there is NOT a neglect of characterization of the leads.

In RWBY, there's a serious neglect issue.

And it's not just Jaune. There are other side characters who've been stealing time away from the leads.

Oscar, ever since he debuted Season 4, has been devoted to screen time stealing, and stealing the main character status with a Chosen One narrative and a pretty offensive way of portraying Multiple Personality Disorder. He's the one with the chosen one story, he's the one who interacts with the bad guys, he's toe to toe with Ironwood, he's the one related to Salem, and he does all of it with the personality of a hollow pine tree.

I mean I guess he also has a crush on Ruby, but... I don't want to get into that.

Hell, CINDER, an ANTAGONIST of the show, has more conflict and screen time than the leads. And she's one of my least favorite characters in the entire show, isn't that sweet?!

On top of that, she's a VILLAIN. We shouldn't be routing for her!

Then there's the rest of JNPR. Nora and Ren have a season focused on them, that being season 4. Pyyra is the same case with season 3. Pyyra dies in that season, so she's obviously not getting screen time any further. But Ren and Nora are alive, AND they have a subplot in the Atlas arc. Having a subplot isn't a problem, it just becomes jarring when the main characters don't have an arc and they do.

Penny gets revived and dies in the Atlas arc. That's also a thing.

The fix here should be really simple! Swap roles! Have the side characters sit in the houses with their little arcs, and have Team RWBY on the fields reacting to everything. It wouldn't excuse their lack of inner struggle, but at least they'd be involved with the plot.

There are many ways you could fix this. Like Oscar's role of being related to Salem. Ruby's mom is dead, but like, what if her mom was Salem and was taken out in war and revived/corrupted into this monster figure? That'd be an interesting narrative.

And RWBY is not the only show, the previous season of Pretty Cure, Delicious Party, ALSO has this issue. And arguably they did it worse because I don't even care for the side characters there either. I'd be repeating myself with criticism there:

Yui, the supposed main character, has no character trait other than be a glutton and a stand in for her grandmother, the other Cures are also irrelevant to the plot and just spend their time eating. The boys of this magical girl show are the focus and have all the wishy washy plotlines, and none of them are even that interesting.

I will give RWBY this over Delicious Party to prove I can see its merits:

At least they only have ONE forth wall narration and do know boundaries to that stuff, as opposed to Delicious Party that thinks their viewers are IDIOTS, and needs a narrator to explain EVERYTHING. CONSTANTLY.

(What a new low for that franchise, am I right? At least we have Hirogaru Sky.)

So what have we learned here?

To answer the question: Is Screen Time An Issue For A Character?

No. It's not that simple.

It's what the character DOES with that screen time that matters. And their role in the story that warrants this screen time.

They need to have all the details of their story laid out for you to care about them.

They need every scene involving their story to matter.

They need to have a plotline that justifies the screen time, small role or big role.

They need to be involved with the main story if they are a major character.

They need an internal conflict to keep the time on them engaging.

They need to be doing something.

If they are a minor character, additional screen time is not a bad thing.

A minor character with a lot of screen time could be there to advance the world building, they could be heavily connected to major character, relationship or otherwise.

But the minor characters don't become favorites and neglect focus on the people the story is revolving around.

First Person POV is a difficult storytelling technique when it comes to screen time, but it's not a bad tool. It can be used as a certain perspective for every character involved if done properly.

And just... screen time alone isn't a valid criticism in my opinion. It's WAY more complicated than that.

What's your opinion? Reblog your thoughts, I'm very curious, especially with media with this issue I did not cover.

[ray-green-wicked4good]

Since today marks 10 days till the season 3 premiere, could you share your Top Ten Snowpiercer moments from seasons 1 & 2?

Oh golly, there are so many to choose from! And reading everyone else's responses has reminded me of so many great ones I'd forgotten, ugh!

But if I really try to narrow it down I guess I've gotta start with:

10. Miles telling Layton about school and that he got his own fork!!! (because he's precious and I miss him)

9. Big Alice book club. (just...all of it)

8. Layton trashing the Folger's car for his investigation (and Melanie letting him while Lilah steams)

7. Ruth in the fur. Specifically when she pulls the gun and reminds everyone "I'm a dignitary!" (unhinged Ruth is my favorite)

6. Alex finally hugging Mel when she says goodbye in the coldlock. (This broke my heart!)

5. Layton having to decouple the car with the rebel prisoners in it (it was so sad and the music was stellar)

4. Josie destroying her whole hand (because that was badass)

3. Ben's celebratory speech in 3rd after Melanie saved the train (it was so sweet and Boki was in the background drinking beer like it was a competition and it was wonderful)

2. Literally all of 2x06. But highlights include Melanie's back and forth banter with hallucination!Wilford. Her relieved little gasp and smile when the computer boots back up. Poking the rat. And of course her goodbye to Alex over the radio.

1. The reveal that Melanie is Wilford. (it's what hooked me on the show and I love everything about it!)

[moonlit-imagines]

1) What are your favourite movies?

2) What are your favourite colours?

3) What are your favourite books?

oh yes here we go:

indiana jones: rotla//10 things i hate about you//karate kid//ready or not//brave//miss congeniality//this is 40//fred claus//the goonies//the mask//doawk: rodrick rules//batman: under the red hood//son of batman//batman vs. robin//teen beach movie//any of them tinker bell movies//peter pan//alice in wonderland//american animals//the nice guys//heathers//ant-man//hook//avengers: aou//captain america: tws// wonder woman//aquaman//

blue, green, and pink!! i like yellow too lol

this is gonna sound so weird bc i’m a writer but i actually kind of hate reading. not in like a “ugh, you read?” kind of way, but i have what my psychiatrist calls “severe adhd” so focusing on reading anything that isn’t a comic book is almost completely impossible (to my writer mutuals, i love you and i’m sorry i almost never read your work im cursed), BUT here are some comic book series’ i love!! young justice (2011, based on tv show), harley quinn: black+white+red (2020), batman: the adventure continues (2020), red hood and the outlaws (2011), batman lil’ gotham (2012), dc bombshells (2015), batman: arkham unhinged (2011, based on the video games), hawk and dove (1989), america (2017), arana (2005), uncanny avengers vol 3 (2016), mr and mrs x (2018), rogue (1995), xmen ‘92 (2016), spiderwoman (1993), batgirl (2012), silk (2015)

that was…a lot. ;)

flood my askbox with random stuff