#i'm also not convinced the writers

[snazzy-specter]

i really don't think y'all need to be as worried as you think

vld is . . . a hot mess that i never finished because the pacing was driving me up the wall, but I really feel like you guys need to remember; everybody has black spots in their careers, especially in entertainment.

that aside, i did research on whose doing what and what they have done and, shock of shocks, one of the showrunners from vld is credited as director, Joaquim Dos Santos. He also worked as a director on Justice League: Unlimited, storyboard artist and director on Avatar: the Last Airbender, and has some other directing credits.

the other two credited directors are Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson. Powers doesn't have a huge fimography, he seems to only have film credits in 2012, but those credits include One Night in Miami, which he wrote the original play and the adapatation, and it kinda got him a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination. And if you're worried he has not animation experience, he also happened to be a writer and co-director on Pixar's Soul. and he has experience in franchise material, and is credited as writing 5 episodes of Star Trek: Discovery. I've heard kinda mixed things about Discovery, but again, no one has a perfect track record.

Thompson has more credits that include a fair amount of work in the Art Department of various shows and movies. and he also worked on the last Spiderverse film as a production designer.

also, the director of a film is not indicative of a projects final results. Santos was mainly a producer for vld. he has two directing credits, one art department credit for storyboarding, and two writing credits, one of which is one of IMDb's highest rated episode.

it's worth noting the guy with the most writing credits (not staff writer credits), Joshua Hamilton, has a, frankly, kind of middling career, and i don't feel like dwelling. check his IMDb if you feel like it

meanwhile, Phil Lord is back from the first movie and is joined by his frequent collaborator and guy he has to share a wikipedia page with, Christopher Miller, who was just a producer on the last film. for some reason, i get the feeling they don't need an introduction, but just in case, they also wrote and directed Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and The Lego Movie together. do with that information what you will.

personally, i'm more concerned about the other credited writer, David Callaham, as his credits include the screenplay for Doom (2005), Wonder Woman 1984, and Mortal Kombat (2021), which was beaten at the box office by Demon Slayer: Mugen Train in the second and third weekend of its release. that said, he is also credited as a co-writer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, so again, make of that what you will.

and for anyone who thinks i'm being too optimistic, let me pull out my oldest fandom card and bring up Danny Phantom, which Butch Hartman desperately wants you to think he was responsible for. yes, Hartman created the concept, but he's only credited for writing seven episodes, one of which being the series finale that fans have rather infamously hated for literal years (it's cooled down, but i saw that shit as recently as 2012). he also has one additional story credit for the episode Splitting Images, which, yeah i can see that.

meanwhile, the guy credited as the series developer in thirty-one episodes, Steve Marmel, has fourteen story credits and nine writing credits by my count, and one of those is the highest rated episode that also got a video game tie-in, The Ultimate Enemy.

even with that praise i've given Marmel, i'd still argue he's had a solidly OK career, which i would also say of Marty Isenberg, who has fourteen writing credits and Sib Ventress, who has nineteen writing credits.

the point i'm trying to make is that media like film and television is a collaborative medium. every participant has some black spots on their resume. looking at everyone's track records, i'd said Across the Spiderverse is in mostly good hands. and the one guy i'm worried about isn't the one who worked on vld, which frankly, i think is just kinda a show that started strong and fumbled that execution towards the end into mediocrity.

just remembered the v*ltron showrunners are directing the into the spiderverse sequels

[buggachat]

honestly just in general it's very exhausting to try to analyze media that is literally meant to be analyzed, only for the replies to be filled with people arguing not against your analysis, but against the premise that the media can be analyzed at all.

i don't even know what to say about it without starting to really betray my frustration, so i'll just settle with— just don't engage with analysis posts? I'm serious. if you're typing a response to a media analysis post, reread what you've written and ask yourself "is this comment/response against the very concept of analyzing the media at all?" and if the answer is yes then delete it all and go sit in the shame corner. throw your curtains away if you want to so bad and stop telling me that I'm not allowed to hum and haw at the fact mine are blue

[bixels]

What did/do you like about Pharah?

Uh, gameplay-wise, I really love characters in shooters who rely on three-dimensional movement techs. Chaining together hover and jump to stay in the air for as long as possible and keep momentum is so satisfying, and picking enemies off from the sky made me feel like a bird of prey. I was a good Pharah main.

Story-wise, there unfortunately isn't much to canonically go off because Pharah is so underutilized and neglected. Her personality's pretty boilerplate "heroic hero" (she's literally inspired by Captain America).

But it's the crumbs/bits and pieces that I really latched onto. Pharah's a confirmed lesbian; her short story with Baptiste implies she harbors a crush on Mercy (fucking thank you.). She's biracial Egyptian/First Nations. She has major mommy issues, having grown up both admiring and resenting Ana. She's the bridge between Old Overwatch, inspired by the idealized heroes who surrounded her childhood, and New Overwatch. She's one of the only inter-generational characters in the cast; someone whose experiences span the gap, which is why I seriously believe Pharah would make a great main character.

There isn't much to go off of, though; she's a very uncomplicated character (she's a soldier for a private military corporation, lol.). But that just means she's a blank slate character, so I've seen fanfic writers run wild and create some really interesting takes on her. My favorite interpretation of her's a dense, herbo gym-bro type (a lot of her liens are about work outs, exercising, and playing sports) who's easily excitable under her seemingly self-serious, armored visage. We see how she tends to gloat and hype herself up when she's on a streak too, so Pharah definitely has a competitive and boastful side under her more professional and militant performance.

Now Mercy? Mercy is a real complex character.

[sylvieserene]

I have decided to use the power of editing and my editing skills to change some events of history and you can't convince me otherwise that this isn't canon and didn't happen 😤

First off, Titans #5 (2008)

Next up, the Wedding Arc fix from New Titans (1980) Issue #100 !

[strqyr]

i've come to realize that i much prefer established romance over developing one. not even kidding, i've straight up dropped shows once a beginning of a romance rears its near inevitable head, and if i somehow survive through the first impact, i just stubbornly ignore it until the end of times.

but established romance? give me all the married bitches. hell, give me divorced ones even, as long as there's some of that sweet, sweet foundation there, a past that i can properly feast on, bc apparently no one can deliver it on developing romances.

[essektheylyss]

I'm always bewildered by fictional relationships where an ex is characterized in such a way that is clearly framed in a way that wants you to side with the POV character, but the circumstances are like, "Honestly, your ex is fully valid in this situation and I hope they find someone who deserves them because you sure didn't."

[taradactyls]

Trying to Tread Water: Chapter Thirty

The Elizabeth/Darcy Marriage of Convenience fic no one asked for

Chapter Thirty: Elizabeth's first ball in town - and the first official dance she is attending as Mrs Darcy - has arrived. As have the Darcy family's collection of jewellery, which Mr Darcy sent for. Of course, despite that their marriage was made to secure her safety, his love for Elizabeth means he wants none but her to wear them. They stay close to each other during the ball, and he cannot keep his eyes off her. Especially when they dance.

Read on Ao3 here

First reviews of Chapter Thirty: "Honestly when I get the email this story has updated I get very excited and it’s a proper treat! I made a coffee and sat down to read it as soon as possible." "Loved this update! Oh man the vibes during that dance were just perfect." "I'm literally so unreasonably happy that they had a nice night out😭😭 grinning in public like a lunatic rn..." "I really loved the ball in its entirety, honestly. The descriptions of the room and atmosphere, and especially the last dance, all speaks to your writing prowess. 12/10, would recommend." "This story is my absolute favorite notification and I seriously enjoy reading it so much! The characters, the world building, just so incredibly well done!"

Story updates on Ao3 fortnightly, with Chapter Thirty-One coming out on the 17th May.

Story tags: Elizabeth/Darcy, Marriage of Convenience, Unrequited Love, Not Really Unrequited Love, Slow Burn, Pining, Pining Despite Being Married, Mr Darcy thinks his worst enemy is Wickham but maybe it's himself.

[maintitle]

Mizora is so awful look at what she di--- Yeah. She's a devil. That's the point. She did all that shit because she's unforgivable evil by nature. I'm not really sure why we're having a moral panic about the devil. Nobody who likes her approves of her actions. She's awful, but she's the devil.

[soulflatter]

Do you have a preference for top/bottom or dom/sub?

I don't actually have a preference, but I also find almost 95% of the time I am not writing as the top/dom in a thread, and pushing the story forward.

The thread is slow and really hard to get into. Simply put.

People on tumblr are far too concerned about 'going too far' when they have a position of control in a roleplay, which means since they technically have to drive the car, since they're too hesitant. It goes nowhere.

So I suppose I prefer playing muses like Jeanne, or an aggressive Skadi. Because it means I can drive the car and keep us from stalling or going in circles to keep with the car analogy.

[lord-squiggletits]

IDW1 must take place on an alternate Earth where no one has ever heard of ACAB and everyone wears "thin blue line" merchandise because there's literally no other way that a single Autobot killing a USAmerican cop in self defense would be such worldwide news that even Mexican journalists would go "OMG???? You like, killed a cop?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?" and it wasn't even framed as like, "you killed a human," the phrasing every time any character talked about it was very specifically "he killed a cop".

The cop was also threatening to shoot a group of surrendering/not-attacking/injured Autobots btw which is just the icing on the cake honestly lmao

[snug-as-bugalugs-in-rugalugs]

Hey fellow Murdochians, I need something new to obsess over :) So if you have the inclination, please reblog this post and put in the tags (or just normal reblogs) a piece of symbolism or parallel or some other kind of connection you noticed in the show that, even if the creators may not have intended it, makes you go a little insane :)

[mrbrrop]

I don't even like McRoll but Vampire Empire is so them, the doomed push & pull : "I'm alive until she kills" "You wanna be alone & you want children" "I've had it with the drills" "I wanted to be the one that you could understand" "you spin me all around then you ask me not to spin" "you wanna be with me? You wanna be with him." (him being the military) and this whole bit :

"Well, I walked into your dagger for the last time

It's like trying to start a fire with matches in the snow

Where you can't seem to hold me, can't seem to let me go

So I can't find surrender and I can't keep control"

The whole song is so them it's insane!

[tansyuduri]

Today was one of the days where my goal was like 500

I got 1888 words.(And a bit of revising, and going over things that were betad) Like My maximum goal ever is 1500 then days like this happen

[adhd-merlin]

I've read the Will post you reblogged, it's all very sweet, but: Merlin himself has said that the years before he came in Camelot were the loneliest years of his life. His mother, Will, the entire village of people not hostile to magic were less dear to him that his destiny service to Camelot. So, no: relationship with Will is secondary to him, there ficwriters are right writing them in such manner. This passage about loneliness was probably created by the writers to emphasize Arthur & Merlin's unusual kind of friendship, like they only have each other, but in fact it devaluated Will for Merlin and the knights for Arthur.

Hi anon! Cool glasses.

Yeah, I haven't analysed that post that deeply, I just thought there were some interesting points in there (as someone who's never given much thought to Will). And for the record, sometimes I might agree with 90% of a meta post and go "eh, I don't know" about the rest — I might still reblog it, because it's still food for thought, and I'm okay with not agreeing 100% with everyone all of the time. (Unless I think they are blatantly wrong about the remaining 10%). People can interpret things differently and that's alright. That's what makes things interesting!

That said.

Merlin himself has said that the years before he came in Camelot were the loneliest years of his life.

This passage about loneliness was probably created by the writers to emphasize Arthur & Merlin's unusual kind of friendship (...) but in fact it devaluated Will for Merlin

Merlin was always lonely. He might have been less lonely in Camelot than he was in Ealdor, just by virtue of being around more people and feeling like he was working towards a bigger purpose, but he was lonely. He is so lonely it's heartbreaking.

It's... lonely. To be more powerful than any man you know, and have to live like a shadow. To be special, and have to pretend you're a fool.

It's a loneliness born out of having to hide his true nature and, at the same time, being unable to befriend those he could be open with about his magic, people like him — Morgana and Mordred, of course, but occasionally also the Baddie of the Week — because fate and prophecies have set them on opposing sides. It's tragic.*

(Colin Morgan himself briefly touches upon Merlin's loneliness in his commentary to Ep 5x02, when he says "there's a sense of loneliness in all the magical characters, I think. [...] All united in the loneliness.")

So, personally, I don't think Merlin talking about his loneliness says anything negative or even especially significant about the quality of his friendship with Will. Merlin was (and remains) lonely because of his nature and of his circumstances. It's not really anything to do with Will.

His mother, Will, the entire village of people not hostile to magic were less dear to him that his destiny service to Camelot

Just because magic isn't banned in Cenred's kingdom, it doesn't mean that the people there are less hostile to magic. If people in Ealdor were tolerant towards magic, Merlin wouldn't have had to hide it the whole time he was there. He might not have been burnt at the stake for it, but it's very much implied he would've been (at the very least) viewed with mistrust or even ostracised by the other villagers.

And I don't believe S1 Merlin considered his mother less important than his destiny. He tries to bargain his life for hers in 1x13. (Even in 2x09 he is ready to give up his destiny to run away with Freya. Also almost killed Arthur, btw. And yes, in my book that is pretty much a murder attempt).

I assume you're saying that because he initially refused to use magic to defend his village? But like I said, Ealdor was only slightly less hostile to sorcerers than Camelot, and Arthur was right there. It wasn't just a matter of what was more important to Merlin, it was a matter of his own survival too. S1 Arthur wasn't ready to hear about Merlin's magic. He literally lectures Merlin about magic being dangerous while he's watching his childhood friend burn on a funeral pyre (dick move, by the way). The man who died saving his life. So that didn't leave Merlin with much choice, despite what Will's rebuke implies.

In the end he does use magic, and he's almost discovered — he only gets away with it because Will takes the blame. So his reluctance in using magic to defend his village wasn't completely unfounded.

Was Will more important than Arthur to S1 Merlin, or even equally important? I suppose that's a matter of interpretation.

The author wrote:

I feel that Merlin’s relationship with Will is something that is important to him, and something that he has never considered to be secondary or less important than the relationships he built in Camelot.

IMO, Will was clearly a dear friend to Merlin, regardless of his comment about feeling lonely in Ealdor. And I don't know if Merlin's relationship with Will was as important to him as the relationships he built in Camelot (in which I include people other than Arthur, like Gaius and Gwen), but it clearly was important.

Will was literally the only person who knew about Merlin's magic, other than his mother, before he met Gaius. The only person he didn't have to hide his true nature from. That's got to count for something.

And as much as Merlin cared about Arthur, he never had that with him. It was, tragically, a very one-sided relationship, until almost the very end.

I think you might still argue that Merlin's relationship with Arthur was more important — if you were so inclined — because of the whole destiny thing and how it gave Merlin a sense of purpose. But based on the friendship alone? Very one-sided, like I said. And I don't think Merlin was significantly less lonely around Arthur.

Sorry, I've just rambled on.

_____________________________________________

*I'm 100% sure I wrote a short meta post (well, random thoughts) about this because it's something I've thought about so much. And now I can't find it. Why do I even tag posts when I can't find anything half of the time!!

ETA: found it

[loismagic]

on tonight’s demily discourse, this would have been a perfect moment for a kiss :)))))

[spiegelgestalt]

Emilia really told Subaru in the first loop of Arc 3 (? Or is it 4? I mean the the sanctuary Arc) what she needs from him. And he was doing well... But than Roswaal, Garfiel and Echidna come in and ruin everything...