#it’s too much of a copout to make them humans :////

[iedolon]

i think i love edg so much bc it is so wildly different from the regular aphelios flavors we get but it’s still so identifiable as phel…. no loose long hair, it’s so structured and short and WHITE all of his other skins keep with the deep black/blue tones and i adore it…. still the same silhouette of broad shoulders and trim waist but his scarf isn’t just pointed at the bottom and his weapons match the same silver filigree theme

[sweetshelluvaau]

Taking a break from doing Helluva Boss redesigns to do some Hazbin Hotel ones because my brain was screaming inside telling me to draw Lilith which ended up be deciding to drawing Lucifer as well! I Also finished up my redesign of Charlie but I'm gonna give them their own dedicated post

Like always, notes under the cut. Drawn in Clip Studio Paint and with Photoshop CS6 for final touches. Okay to reblog, Feedback is encourage.

About the canon designs and personalities:

Lucifer: Honestly, I don't mind Lucifer's design too much outside of the fact it falls under the typical Viziziepop's Twink she likes to draw. I do think overall, the Ringleader idea she was going for is there, sorta. That being said: I have it out for that top hat. Not necessarily the fact he's wearing one he's one of the few characters I don't mind wearing one more than the accessories with it. Between the stupid crown, snake and apple it just...doesn't work for me.

As for his portrayal in the show: I happen to like Lucifer in Hazbin I think he's a fun character even though I do have problems as I'm about to address. Jeremy Jordan seemed like one of the few voice actors that sounded like he was having fun playing his character suppose to just being there for a paycheck (I mean, he was there for that but still). I know people complain that he sounds too young which I do agree I do think Jordan could have gave him a slightly deeper voice along with his design looking as if he was a bit older; but considering that he's over, what? Eons years old with an angelic background, I'll give it a pass.

I'm iffy on his backstory, or at least how it's handled in the show. Lucifer being an 'innocent' dreamer with good intentions doesn't necessarily bother me too much and his punishment for giving humanity freewill has an irony to it so no problems there. However I do have problems with how as the character that's suppose to be the cause of all sin, the fucking Devil himself and the ruler of Hell; isn't treated like such. Yeah I know he misses his wife Tails, he misses her a lot but c'mon man, you're the King of Hell and The Sin of Pride! In the pilot he seemed to have a more sinister, or at the least threating presence from the little we saw of him.

Also, you took the Pride out of the Sin of Pride? Where's his bite? What are you doin' Viv!?

This is a problem I have with Helluva as well where the Sins, or at least the case for Bee and Ozzie season two onward is that the show is too afraid to make even the more lax, 'nicer' of the Sins not being threating or a bit of dicks sometimes Mammon withstanding because Vivienne is worried that she'll risk them coming across as unlikeable which is bullshit considering how people love asshole characters when they're written right or are fun. Helluva's Mammon is proof right there the fandom love him and Ozzie, as brief as it was in Season One had a banger of a 'villain' song where he and Fizz drag three of the main cast member's sex lives just because he fucking can and says he dislikes 'lovely dovey' crap which is a bit hypocritical considering how much he smitten with his Jester Boyfriend (You two were all touchy and that nuzzle at the end they aren't fooling anyone lol) why did you take away their bite and turned Fizz into such a wimp I miss my little chaotic gay gremlin man... but I'm getting a head of myself.

I don't mind Lucifer and by extension the Sins themselves NOT being evil; in fact I like the idea of them being morality dubious/having questionable morality along with them having a bit of 'humanity' to them, makes them more interesting as characters, but to take away their bite or having 'good' sins and 'bad' sins (ranted about that here) just sounds like a cheap copout and takes away any nuance to the whole idea of sin to begin with being how Hazbin is suppose to be a story about redemption and if a sinner CAN be redeemed. Granted a poorly constructed story that misses the mark horribly, but I digest.

Overall, I do like Lucifer as a character but I wouldn't have 'woobified' him if that makes sense.

Lilith: Her design is...meh. Her dress is pretty, sure; but it's like a normal ballgown. I like the idea of the horns.

...That's all I got to say honestly.

Since we don't know much about her personality in the show yet outside of hints that she 'thrived' in Hell and her and Lucifer were separated by the time the story happened, there's not much for me to say on this front. Prior to the show dropping (or maybe just the pilot), Vivienne hinted that they were gonna have a Gomez and Morticia dynamic going on so consider me disappointed that this ended up not being the case. Damn, would I have killed to have them be this happily married power couple because let's be real: You can't be a powerful badass King without your equality powerful badass Queen, am I right? XD I'd eat that shit up!

I honestly fear Lilith in the show is going to end up being Stella 2.0 which I hope isn't the case but considering Vivienne's writing I don't have much faith she'll be anything but. Maybe not as bad, but yeah...

Anyways, on to the redesigns and character changes:

Lucifer: I said before that I'm not really going with the circus theme in my rewrite/au. I do think on paper the "Hell is a circus' is interesting, fun concept but that's been barely, if at all utilized in Hellaverse outside of a poorly done aesthetic, but it's not the direction I personality want to go with. I may still play with the whole circus thing with the Happy Hotel itself, but otherwise...yeah, right, redesign.

I knew from the beginning I wanted to give him a more darker color scheme along with adding purple into his outfit because purple = Pride so I settled on a dark purple, red and gold/bronze combo. I was debating if I should have scraped his top hat or not being how Hellaverse made me me have it out agasist tops hats like almost every other male character has a fucking top hat there's other kinds of hats but at the end of the day I decided to keep it though he doesn't always wear it. I did draw him without the hat as well which you can view towards the end of the post. I kept the apple motif he has going and while I didn't do much with his cane, I did add a snake which yes, is alive. That's his pet Temptation and he loves her very much.

Outfit inspiration:

Personality wise it's very similar to what it is in the show but taken in a bit more darker direction. Think overdramatic theater kid meet rebellious somewhat edgy adult who hasn't grown out of his teenage years (that's not saying he doesn't act like an adult he does but he has that 'whimsical' nature to him where he sometimes won't take things seriously or refuses to take responsibility though there are moments where he does have to 'Swallow his Pride' so to speak).

I also made him much more Prideful because he's the Sin of Pride, duh. This man will fight tooth and nail to prove that he's in the right (a trait that Charlie also shares) because his ego and pride won't let him rest and he's not going to back down DAMN IT!!. Lilith and/or a few of the Sins (Satan, Beelzebub and Ozzie respectfully) have to reel him in so he doesn't do anything stupid and make an ass out of himself more than he already has.

However, just because he is a prideful prick a good portion of the time doesn't mean he doesn't have his moments of genuine compassion and love for those who are important in his life. He loves his family, daughter included despite how unsupportive and very passive aggressive in regard to believing that her plan is dead in the water and has no problem addressing those thoughts in a 'tough love' kind of way (or what he believes is tough love when it's reality he's coming across as him just beating her down and making them drift even father apart as if they already slowly weren't. As I said, he's very prideful when he believes he's right) and views most of the other Sins minus Leviathan as his firends/true companions though some are much closer to him than others.

I kept most of his backstory in the show the same where he had some good intentions of gifting humanity freewill but also at the same time did it out of rebellion towards his father (God) after falling for Lilith and believing that everything that made her...well her (her freewill, sprit, strength) should be given to every human only for it to backfire and bring evil and sin in the world annnnd we know how this story goes. (otr I have both Eve AND Adam eat from the apple and Lilith had nothing to do with the whole thing but was punished regardless for 'influencing' Samael regardless if she pushed him or not) There was still a Heaven and Hell war but that doesn't happen until much later in the timeline once Hell gains the power and means to declare such on Heaven, only for them to lose in the end. The Exterminations has something to play with the outcome of the war but that's a discussion for another time.

Lilith:

Putting aside I didn't want both Lilith and Lucifer to have the same hair color (one of the reasons why I didn't also make Luci's hair red after he fell, even if that was more canon biblically correct), I wanted Lilith to be a red head like she is in biblical stories. I also made her skin a bit darker. I was aiming for an olive skin tone but not sure if I successfully succeeded in that.

Lilith still has her horns but I made them much smaller. They expand/grow bigger when she's enraged or goes into her full demon form where her eyes also glow and her nails turn into long, sharp blade like talons. I plan on drawing her demon form along with the rest of the Morningstars later down the line. I also gave her animal ears which I may revisit later being that was a last second addition. I wanted to give Luci or Lilith hooves as well but I didn't think about it after the drawings were done. (likely will give Luci them)

Dress inspiration:

As for personality and overall character changes go: Well for starters, Both Lilith and Lucifer are a happily married power couple like we were lead on to believe and I WILL NOT TAKE NO FOR AN AWSNER!!

As I said earlier, we still don't know much about Lilith as a character in the show outside of the fact she thrived in Hell and influenced demonkind but never said of what that entailed. I'm still keep those elements of course, having her be a beacon for the Hellborn and establishing connections and business with a good share of the Overlords in Pride, especially with the more 'lesser evil' Sinner ones. Lilith is the one who normally engages with Sinners on large where Lucifer rather avoid them as much as possible with a few exceptions being how he blames them for why he ended up down in Hell to begin with considering he did believe they'd do good with the 'gift' he gave them, only to be proven wrong and him having to suffer seeing the worst of humanity as punishment.

Personality wise, Lilith is a strong willed, go getter who wants nothing but the best for her family, firends and citizens. She involves herself heavily in the politics of Hell while also hoping to inspire her people, Hellborn and Sinners alike. Soft but strong, caring but stern; playful but serious when she has to be, Lilith wears her title on her sleeve as the Queen of Hell and a mother and friend to those who look up to her.

Like Charlie and unlike her husband, Lilith sees the good in humanity. She was human herself after all, deemed the first Sinner but she's more indirect and hands off with her methods where Charlie wants to be more hands on and direct with her hotel idea. Lilith tries to guild her daughter the best she can but tries to persuade her that her plans for the Happy Hotel may not have the effect she hopes, even as supportive she is of her daughters' ideals.

Lilith has succubus like powers but isn't one herself; however she does work with Asmodeus to train those who do go up topside to spread sin.

Charlie may be the Hellish couple's first child but it wasn't the first time Lilith tried conceive; Charlie was the only one who made it fully to term.

Lilith is much taller than Lucifer, while Charlie is only slightly taller than her father.

I'm going to likely revisit their redesigns in the future because there are a few things I would like to change/add on to but overall this is the direction I plan on going for them. I know this post was long and if you happened to read though all of this: Thank you for reading~

Charlie's redesign will be next being I finished her for a while now I just need to write out my notes. Hopefully this weekend it'll be up.

Bonus, Lucifer without his hat:

[starryredpandawrites]

What if. . . Wilson succeeded and made Audrey into his "perfect creation"? He takes Audrey by surprise instead of outright telling her his plan before getting a Gent pipe to the face, and Gent has their tool.

The one person who cared about and was kind to Bendy, taken from him and used like some puppet for their own twisted uses. The world truly hates him. . .

Me, thinking furiously: I can fix this, I can fix this, I can fix this, HOW CAN FIX THIS?!

This might be a little too much angst for me but I'll give it a shot.

TW body horror under the cut

Shipahoy Dudley and Wilson didn't mix very well, right? Maybe it's because he has a fully human soul and Audrey's soul isn't but I also can't imagine Shipahoy Audrey turning out much better since her soul is strong/intact enough to form her own person, so we'd probably end up with an Audrey sticking out of a Shipahoy monster like what happened to Wilson. Horrific but hopefully fixable. You'll see what I mean.

Bendy and Audrey's minds are probably still linked but I doubt Audrey's thoughts and senses would be very coherent. All the Ink Demon would know is something is very, very, very wrong.

Eventually, Wilson would sicc Shipahoy Audrey at Bendy (that's the whole reason he wanted her, to make something to take down the Ink Demon permanently) which means she would have to track him down. I dunno if she would have the mind for it, but once she crosses out of signal dampener territory, Bendy would find her.

Now, I don't think Audrey would attack Bendy, but the Shipahoy side of her might. If they fight Bendy will win, but it will be awful and traumatizing. If she doesn't fight back, it will still be awful but maybe a little less traumatizing or just traumatizing in a different way.

Either way, Bendy would see Audrey's upper half sticking out of Shipahoy and get the idea that, maybe if he separates her from the whole, he can save her.

So, that's what he does. She would not survive the process BUT in this world, you only truly die if you are consumed. Cue dramatic heartbreaking scene of her melting away in his arms while he begs her to return to him.

There's a chance that while she's melting he will panic and consume her rather than risk letting her reform on her own. While this would still count as a "bad ending" in my book, I do think Audrey would have a very different attitude towards becoming a Big Monster this time. She would much prefer being stuck with Bendy than being stuck with Wilson's monstrosity. She might even thank him for it.

If he doesn't consume her, she'll melt away and he'll go do whatever he did in the first game to the Shipahoy carcass or consume it just to be sure Audrey has the best chance at coming back as herself.

Since I'm writing this, she will come back and they have their happy reunion, but they'll both be horribly, horribly scarred by this. Audrey would understand and even be grateful that the Ink Demon freed her, but she would likely develop PTSD and/or at the very least suffer nightmares about the Ink Demon killing her, which would suck for both of them. The Ink Demon would feel awful for being responsible for one of her deaths. In his mind, he broke his promise not to harm her, and even though it was for a good cause he'll hate himself for that. He hates liars and now he's become one.

Luckily, time heals (or at the very least, softens) all wounds and they live happily ever after, the End 🎉

I know you mentioned the Gent corporation using Audrey against Bendy but my brain cannot handle the angst so have this happy ending copout instead

I'm gonna go write some fluff now 🥺

[ducktracy]

what is your most favorite form of animation in your opinion?

OHHHH WHAT A THOUGHT PROVOKING QUESTION!! i love this!

the famous Eliza copout answer would be to go “ALL OF THEM”, and there is genuine truth in that! but i can’t entirely kid myself, i’m such a sucker for traditional hand-drawn animation. part of that comes from a sense of familiarity, but i really, REALLY love how inescapably human it is. there’s a human touch in every pencil stroke or brush stroke on a cel, etc., etc. i’m incredibly big on feeling a connection with the artists that made this possible, the demonstration that yes, this literal feat of magic is possible and here is someone physically doing it right now… not to say other mediums are exempt from this (which is a point i’m about to indulge in shortly), but, at least for me, i just feel the most powerful connection with traditional animation. actually getting to see the pencil lines on paper. seeing where the cel paint has maybe begun to smudge or chip with age or human error. it’s a living archive of human touch. and i love how that is able to translate in the actual product itself—not just talking about looking at relics! (which is another benefit: physical relics!!!)

BUT! i have to say that i am also a HUUUUUUUGE fan of puppetry and stop motion. the day the stigma of puppets being scary dies is the day i will be a free and joyous not-so-man.. and yes! this includes all puppets! like traditional animation, i LOOOOOVE how innately human it feels, maybe even MORESO than traditional animation. you always always always feel the human touch involved. that, and it’s just so CREATIVE! so many cool ways to make art!!! so many wonderful set designs you can have! so many creative PUPPET designs you can have! the challenge of making these characters or sets feel lifelike or, at the very least, convincing to your intent.

it’s a big reason why i love Popeye cartoons as much as i do, since they combine two of my greatest animation loves (traditional animation + physical 3D sets) and it’s truly a magical experience to see them together.

this is also where i take the time to shill Beany and Cecil. WATCH BEANY AND CECIL!!!!!!! more recordings have been recently uncovered and they’re wonderful!! reading Bob Clampett’s interview with Mike Barrier and Milt Gray and how he got emotional talking about his experience working on it made ME emotional! it’s one of the reasons why i love and resonate with his work so much, i definitely share a very similar reverence for stop motion and puppetry. tell me you don’t crack a smile watching this

and the great Frank Tashlin did stop motion of his own!! which, again, is why i love and resonate with HIS work so much too!!

BUT YES!! this is just a blip really—i love so many styles and mediums of animation for different reasons, and look forward to all the ways well be able to incorporate these various styles and techniques together. animation is such a great feat and so beautiful through its versatility; we’d get a lot more done if there were fewer arguments about what the Best way to animate is and, more accurately, how we can adapt and combine and innovate new ways to continuously reach new potential we’ve never seen before

[captainfightingflower]

Y’know what annoys me? Most Trivia Murder Party fans. If you feel like you belong in the most category and/or feel like you’re going to be attacked by reading this: please do not read further, this isn’t designed to be an attack on anyone, but i do not sugarcoat my feelings one bit ether. Now for the rest of you who are interested in reading out my very long vent about my distain for the fandom’s babification of TMP & TMP 2: click “Keep reading” instead. (But be warned: my words are venomous to the ill prepared.)

Now this isn’t talking about ALL of them: i mean for starters, i have no qualms with the majority of Russian Trivia Murder Party fans, since they actually stay quite true to the themes of the source material, i’m talking about the actual children who take this game that’s themed around horror and death and turn it into a children’s show!

Like the amount of poll vaulting these children do with their headcannons to remove everything that’s scary or even SLIGHTLY violent about the Trivia Murder Party series deserves an Olympic medal. There’s a joke about masturbating in a cemetery for Pete’s sake! The “not family friendly” tag is there for a reason.

I mean not only do they infantilize the host, turning them from a quirky individual who can be incredibly threatening when they want to be to just “uwu stabby stabby”, but they also somehow manage to infantilize the VICTIMS! Y’know, the voodoo dolls that are meant to represent you, the player behind the phone?

And i mean i have nothing against giving the victims a little personality, but like...god these guys treat The Jester like they are an actual infant! If i was shot everytime i saw a “Jeter likes cheese” post; it’d be a miracle if i was still alive! And why do you guys ship them with The Sheriff of all victims?!? I just don’t get that, never did and probably never will. Not to mention how much they downplay some victims like Lust, Pride, Gluttony or Despair, to the point where they don’t even resemble their sins anymore!

Now let me tell you about these headcannons. First of all: the whole “they get turned into the dolls” pisses me off SO MUCH! Every time i see this happen, it just RUINS my enjoyment then and there. The only reason why these kids even headcannon this is because acknowledging the fact that whenever a doll get’s shot, or stabbed, or thrown into a blender: there’s supposed to be a human that’s getting mystically mangled like the doll! And since any blood whatsoever is too scary for them to handle, they would rather turn people into dolls or completely remove the voodoo from voodoo doll. Because god forbit a piece of media run by a serial killer have blood!

And don’t get me started on the shit-show that is Schmitty X [REDACTED]. The amount of hurdles these babies jump to justify that this is a healthy relationship and not abusive stockholm syndrome is frankly disgusting. Now it’s one thing to base your ship entirely around the original Trivia Murder Party, where they are just friends and shipping them wouldn’t be problematic. And it’s another thing to ship them and make it an abusive one. But...god...god these kids are so insistent that ether 

A. It’s all fake, and that the trauma Schmitty is going through is just coincidental (which i find to be a copout that does not make sense, especially if you add the fact that they believe YDKJ: FS’s ETS is fully real [which i’ve already made a post about my gripes with that]).

B. He forgave him after realizing that it was his friend who kidnapped and tortured him for actual years (which is much worse).

C. TMP Killer kidnapped him because they were attracted to him (which is not only significantly more worse, but also what the fuck are you implying with that).

Or D. All of the above (which does not make ANY sense and violently contradicts itself).

I don’t get why these kids want to back Schmitty up in a love corner with Cookie Masterson & the Trivia Murder Party killer, when cutting him out and shipping “Murderson” instead is infinitely better! (No i do not ship Cookie X [REDACTED], if you were wondering; i’m just pointing out the obvious).

I mean where’s the violence? The angst you guys love so much?! What’s stopping you from drawing gore of the series that’s just BEGGING for it?!?! It seriously reminds me of the Creepypasta fandom or the Five Night’s at Freddy’s fandom, but at least with those two: i can actually FIND gore and angst about it! I have 3.81 GB of JUST Trivia Murder Party content stored in my Fun & Games drive, and barely ANY of it has even the SLIGHEST bit of blood or the MODICUM of angst!

Honestly i just wish that these children would grow up and start making some content that’s actually true to the source material of the game they claim to love so much.

[cyb-organ]

whaddya think the fates of the yabusame sibs will be in 3-2? will they have any major plot impact? will they have one big defining moment? will they DIE?? idrk so I wanna hear the expert’s thoughts!! (and do you think the reko/Alice decision will have an impact on logic route?)

oo this is interesting! okay i have quite a few thoughts bear with me here.

also just for ease, i am only referring to emotion route unless i say otherwise

oh and im gonna put it all under the cut cuz its pretty hefty i apologise

will they have any big plot impact? i personally believe that every character has pretty big plot impact, but i know thats not what you mean so i will give an actual answer. im not sure if they will have MORE plot relevance than other characters, especially since theyre only there in one route (although, i have seen people theorise that emotion and logic will have seperate plots completely, which is interesting). i think plot wise, there isnt alot that they CAN impact yk? midoris gone, hinakos gone, and those were the big moments. i mean, that was a huge moment in alice lives route, the hinako reveal was such a huge plot moment, and to my knowledge it wasnt as big boom powpow in rekos route as it was in alices. i think that reko'll have one of these moments (please she needs a w). we still dont know her first trial. i think we'll find out what it is in 3-2 (the same applies to gin and kai but this is about reko). and i feel like alices first trial was pretty plot relevent so the same could apply here. as for alice specifically, i have a feeling that the memories that safalin erased will come into play. yttd has established a pretty big theme of humanity/how can humans be altered or changed and alice erasing his memories of reko is a pretty huge example of this. i highly doubt that it wont be relevant. also again, hinako moment was a pretty big plot impact. im not saying that he won't have any more plot impact, but i feel like in 3-2 he won't have a single big reveal moment because, well, it's already happened.

big defining moment this is just me elaborating slightly. i think all the first trials we dont know about will be relevant, and that includes reko's. on top of that i do think that while her arc is mostly coming to a close, i think she very well could have a big personal character moment, this may be wishful thinking cuz i love her and want to see more of her but whatever. to be honest, i don't fully see HOW her first trial is going to be relevant, but there has gotta be a reason for it being hidden this whole time. alice's first trial seemed irrelevant until it wasnt so! alices big moment, as i said, has gotta be related to his memories. i refuse to believe that he just erases his memories and moves on with his life, it just seems like a copout and i trust nankidai more than that!

will they die? to be honest, i dont think so. they very well MIGHT but i dont know! i think there will be at least one route where they die, but i think itll be avoidable. again. very well may be wishful thinking. but truly i think that either of them surviving to the end, possibly even escaping, would be a huge win for their character arcs. particularly alice who has very little to get back to. for him to fight on, to move forwards, despite knowing this? i think that'd be hella cool thematically! the idea of hope, and the idea that being human is to fear death are pretty big themes for the game, so for character like alice: a prisoner, who's already lost his sister and hasn't talked to the rest of his family in years, to not give in and to escape anyways would really fit into that. he doesn't have too much to live for, but that doesn't mean he should die, yk? (also would be an interesting parallel with kanna). reko, similarly but also on the other hand, HAS people to get back to, she has her band. and her fans. shes a public figure, her kidnapping was probably a big deal, making national news headlines, so it'd be nice to see her escape, also playing into the idea of hope both for her personally, and for everyone else; everyone in the death game and, yeah, her fans. additionally, because she is famous, her escaping could be detrimental to asunaro. she could out them completely as criminals, it would be a huge fucking deal. realisitically, im not sure if thats going to happen but its a possibility!

will choice affect logic route? honestly i have NO idea. i think most realistically, no, considering alot of people play chapters seperately to each other and will be starting from 3-2 without any link to any previous saves. there wouldn't be any point in having a "who died" choice for the yabusames at the start of 3-2. hopefully speaking, maybe. i think it could be interesting seeing how it affects sara, especially because she was incredibly close to reko. reko's death in logic route would obviously hit her alot harder than alice's so it'd be interesting seeing the differences there, but very likely the choice won't matter. emotion route on the other hand, i have a feeling theres gonna be a big difference in 3-2 between alice and reko lives, not sure what it'd be but. something's gonna happen. might be first trial related who knows

this is like half "what i think will happen" and half "what i want to happen" and i cant tell which is which.

tldr: alice gets his memories back, we find out rekos first trial, there is at least one route where they survive their respective routes, and the choice is relevant in emotion (all theory)

anon i am literally so thrilled that i am considered the expert is this, i really hope all of this makes ANY amount of coherent sense. 🫶

[askaniritual]

I always lean more towards actual romantic feelings in my diamonds, which is why i find dave/rose pale (and other humans that are related in paleships) to be so fuckin weird. People act like Moirails are interchangeable for siblings or bffs but in my mind thats a cop out

yeah i tend to agree. i understand the idea of having trolls mistake dave and rose for moirails because they literally have no cultural concept of siblings but like. tbh it feels like usually ppl r doing that for the hiiiiilarious Implications which is like to me stupid at best

i also feel like its kind of a copout to present moiraillegiance as something that we have a 1:1 cultural equivalent for when the whole point is supposed to be the alienness of it. personally i like when its presented as something that is specifically romantic but not sexual purely because i am very interested in trying to tease out a meaningful difference between matesprits and moirails and i think if you acknowledge them both to be fundamentally romantic then its more interesting to get into how they are defined in alternian culture. not saying that i always feel like the fic i read makes a convincing argument for that lol but its interesting to see different takes!

in my experience i've found that the people who tend to be really into doing interesting stuff w the concept of moirails tend to be the same ppl who are very into playing up the more alien/animalistic aspects of troll society. im cool w that, i like xenobiology as much as the next guy but!!! i hate when fics get way too into the like "highbloods are fundamentally physically and psychologically different than lowbloods" maybe just because ive read a lot of gamkar which Really harps on this particular topic but i just feel like it gets so eugenics-y so fast in a way that i really do not care for. but that being said i think moirallegiance frequently presents an interesting opportunity to explore dominance and submission in fic, especially in the context of a society that is frequently imagined to have much stricter consequences for letting your guard down around the wrong person and i like to see that explored as well

[besidesitstoowarm]

"Boom Town" thoughts

so remember how i said in the last post that it's easier to talk about middling episodes than great ones. well i have a lot to say about this one

this is actually one of my favorite stories of the season (i originally had it in second place, i think it's probably third now). i'm enchanted by it, i think there's so much potential and so many great lines

i didn't really notice before but i assume her name is margaret blaine has a reference to both thatcher and tony blair, both of whom are scum. is blair the one who fucked the pig? i don't think so but there's no proof he didn't, so

i have to say that i think the running explanation of "no one notices the tardis bc humans are fundamentally incurious" really doesn't check out for me. i mean, the whole point of "long game" was that it was UNUSUAL for those people to not ask any questions or care about what was going on! canonically, human beings spread out across millions of worlds (fuckin and suckin along the way), being too curious is actually one of the catalysts for the human companions getting into trouble. other explanations like "millions of people saw a spaceship land in london and have now all decided it was a hoax" track for me (i mean, look at covid), but "incurious" is just not a problem people in general have, not in the whoniverse

honestly the dinner scene between the doctor and margaret is one of my favorite scenes of the entire season. we've gotten the doctor as lonely outcast, forgotten child, reluctant survivor, proud coward. now we get the doctor as murderer, executioner. i mean, that's what he did to gallifrey, right? no matter the reason, he killed all those people. he kills people, or lets them die, or can't save them. it's a huge running theme throughout the davies era, and we see ten overcorrect and try too hard to be the hero and martyr before he finally snaps and accepts being "the time lord victorious"

"i bet you're always the first to leave....at last you have consequences" yes! force him to watch what he's doing! "day of the doctor" has the climax revolve around that exact idea, watching gallifrey fall, counting all those dead children. he's the rebel, the runner, on to the next adventure, don't stick around to clean up and rebuild. a lot of his companions eventually decide to do just that, stick around to clean up and rebuild, settle down. can he look her in the eye and sentence her to death? can he dine with her before he sends her to the gallows? "you're pleading for mercy out of a dead woman's lips"

i think the ending is a copout tbh. oh she was playing him, she didn't really change or even want to. no! make him decide! make him face that choice! make it ambiguous even, bc it already was– she didn't kill the pregnant, engaged reporter, she let her go. that was true. she remembered how it felt to have a family that loved her– abused her– protected her. i like the "starting over" bit with the egg, let nurture have a chance to change nature, but c'mon man, let us sit with the weight of the Points she made

this was such a good mickey episode, speaking of points made. noel clarke crushed it when he broke down with "at least i know where she is" bc yes! jackie is her mother, she would wait for rose forever, but what is mickey supposed to do? she's gone for months at a time, she's always at risk for death and danger, she's clearly formed an incredibly intimate (if not explicitly romantic) relationship with the doctor, who is and does things mickey never could, and that's not even to mention jack (who was much more tolerable and fun this time around). rose's bubbly conversation dying when mickey mentions he has a new girlfriend, him clearly still in love with rose but feeling helpless. poor mickey. i liked rose acknowledging that he didn't have other choices, really, even though it upset her. it's hard to have ties like that back home. we basically have this storyline play out again with amy and rory, although that resolves differently

so yeah this episode gets my brain snapping off

[cptn-m]

One Piece chapter 1113 review

Hooray, it's really happening! This is very much a build-up/anticipation chapter most of the way through, but Oda makes a smart choice to drop the first bomb at the end instead of leaving us waiting, so it won't feel like a total copout even if the broadcast is shut down before it's complete. And now that the ball's rolling, the momentum for post-Golden Week is going to be unstoppable.

We start with a gorgeous colour spread full of fun details, perfectly synced to the title of the chapter. I love having Robin as a chessmaster, Jinbe as a rook recalls his time in Big Mom's crew (remember her using that as a rank?) and the designs of the Chopper pawns are all adorable. Weirdly, they're numbered up to 16 (despite there only being seven in the image), which is the total number of pawns on a chessboard, but across both sides. Are there some enemy pawns on the Strawhats' side of the board already? The process video for this one is a treat too. I love that it's not just building up from rough sketches, they show the moment Oda pauses, goes to a new page to just line up the pieces and develop who is going to be what, then even maps out a chessboard and plans out the moves so that no one's in an impossible position for the finished artwork. I love that kind of attention to detail for things absolutely no one would have thought to check otherwise.

"Well, it's been such a short time…" Vegapunk you fricking tease, no it has not. But hey, if the Vegacoffee really stays warm for two months maybe there's something to it.

I expected a brain in a jar for Punk Records, but I was picturing a Mother Brain kind of situation, having it just be Vegapunk's giant misshapen forehead is hilarious. And I love all the tubes and cables in the reveal panel. I keep looking at it and assuming the detached portion of head is the same size as it was in the flashbacks to post-Ohara earlier in the arc, then I look down to Mars and realise its true size. Can you imagine if Vegapunk still had this thing attached to his dome?

Seeing so many locations connected to the Strawhats as the broadcast builds up really makes it feel like the world is drawing a breath for the big news. Oda wants this moment to breathe, as frustrating as it can be as a weekly reader. And hey, is that a Thousand Sunny beast in the Baldimore segment? Franky was busy while he was there.

And man, speaking of the scale issue with Vegapunk's brain, I'm also taken aback by Nusjuro towering over Franky's group. I know the reveal spread for the Elders' yokai forms showed them being enormous, but in my mind, Nusjuro's centaur form somehow ended up proportioned to the human half, not the horse half. The fact that until now he was mostly shown next to the towering Pacifistas definitely didn't help matters. Sanji's blow to his jaw is an extremely cool moment somewhat undercut by Sanji's fixation on Bonney. He doesn't know. I just have to tell myself he doesn't know. But it's still offputting. The depiction of the transformation back to horse mode is unique, with the human parts seeming to burn away, lingering in the background as the hose head snaps at Sanji. His transformation to the centaur mode was depicted as a much more fluid morphing. He also leaves trails of flames as he goes back to human in Oimo and Kashii's grip a page later.

I'm still not a huge fan of these distorted futures. They really stretch the limits of where it feels like the fruit's rules should be. The callback to Luffy's descent through the clouds during the Kaido fight is fun though, I guess.

The true highlight this week is Saturn's attack on the crew's weakling squad. We get the 'bringing things full circle' reveal that he was the one who spoke to Clover and ordered his death, followed by a truly heart-warming moment of the whole squad forming up around Robin. As someone whose favourite One Piece moment is probably "I want to live" I love these moments where either the crew stands up for her or she affirms her faith in them. And it's a great page besides, with a ton of moments compressed into a single panel, the flurry of attacks and counterattacks developing as your eye moves over the page.

Oda's building up that we're still going to be given a solution to the transponder snail dilemma through Mars and York's continued search. This probably means that we won't hear the full backstory to the reveal on the next page. I'll maintain that even with a decoy in place, I don't trust Vegapunk to have made his deception too extreme. The man has been characterised through this whole arc as naive and perfectionist. He does not have the social skills for a chessmaster manipulation of career politicians and their whole military, and he'd go all in on his first idea come to fruition rather than having numerous redundancies and backups. It would be out of character for him to suddenly be able to bamboozle the whole world, so I do think they'll find the right snail on the island eventually.

And almost to prove this point, Vegapunk refuses to call the World Government and its leaders outright evil, thinking that because he can't understand their final intent there is no call to be made about their actions. That is a lot of benefit of the doubt in my opinion. While I don't disagree that extreme circumstances can justify extreme actions, I've yet to see the circumstances that justify the World Government's multiple genocides. Vegapunk believes that whatever other mystery he hasn't solved yet, it must make the cruelty of these people slot into place and finally make sense. It's a nice thought from a very understanding heart, and it's exactly the kind of thinking that's made it so easy for them to fool him time and time again.

And then the bomb drops. "The world as we know it will to sink into the sea!!" A fitting apocalypse for an ocean-covered world, and just the kind of lategame reveal I'd expect from Oda. Just at a glance, it makes a lot of worldbuilding pull together, from the desirability of the Redline to the strange sinking issues of Long Ring Long Land and Water Seven, the impact of the Mother Flame test on the level of the ocean, and even possibly the height of Wano's walls and the choice to build Zou on Zunesha's back. We know there's a lot that Oda can change on the fly, but I'm ready to fully believe this was one of those things that was planned from the start.

Interesting too is the panel of merfolk at the very end of the chapter. They don't appear to be listening to the broadcast or otherwise connected to the scene at all, but of course they have a symbolic relevance to a flooded world, especially if it turns out a cleansing flood has come and gone already in the past. And let's not forget the plainly significant to this scenario Noah and Poseidon back at Fishman Island.

So we've got one big reveal that sets the course for the remainder of the series already. Anything else Vegapunk manages to get out before being shut down is just gravy. Plus we've got a lot of strawhats in rough situations with some escaping to do. The Egghead climax is so far proving to be worth the wait.

[ram-de]

[read] ravensong thoughts vomit (pt. 3)

the post is too long so i made another

FIRST OF ALL. WHY. WHY WHY IS THE BOOK TRYING SO HARD TO MAKE ME FEEL SORRY FOR THOMAS?? Mr klune can you stop mentioning how oh Thomas did it for good or Thomas regretted it or Thomas really wanted to do right. I'm so sick of it. Because he's doing it for good reason (it's not) then suddenly he's absolved of all the wrong, the hurt, the pain he caused to Gordo? Get the hell out. I hate it here.

Ermmmmm this feel like a copout... I'll stop being a downer and just read

I think the book is very long

I'm losing the enthusiasm I'm sorry I took a break hsgshsjsh

Fucking Thomas again. I'm. 😮‍💨 Can't he just be put in like limbos for alpha until he repent. HOW COME HES LIKE IN WOLF HAVEN STOP IT

Fucking Elizabeth. Is this really the time to do a gotcha moment. I'm. 😮‍💨 OK SHE'S HIS WIFE. alright. Whatever. Biased. OK. I'LL STOP. BEING BITTER. YEAY! Closure acquired!

Is it me or Alpha Bennett (THE GOOD ONE AND BY THAT I MEAN JOE NOT THE PRICKASS THOMAS) is getting sidelined. What I said about ox shgsjsjs he's truly the protagonist of the story. The chosen one. Human Alpha, Alpha of the Omegas, what other power-up will he gets in the next book

WHY AM I COMPLAINING the story tension is on all time high and I'm not really invested in the... Fuck ass Thomas plot so other things was buried under... I'm sorry my son (one-handed) gordo...

AUSGHJ I NEED MEREDITH TO dye her hair green so we all can feel relief

Until this point I still can't feel the... What's the term... The... AHHH I'M FORGETTING WORDS.... Like. The actual stake here. Never mind. I'll try it again later.

The book is very long

Meredith chuuni's monologue is very long

FUCK ME MORE MEREDITH MONOLOGUE

I swear I can read... I just need... Line break... 😭😭😭

Elijah didn’t recoil. If anything, that made her angry. “But we couldn’t take them all. I watched as my family fell around me. I saw their skin tear. I heard their screams. I was a child, but I saw it all from the trees.” A tear fell from her eye and onto the knotted tissue of the scar on her face. “My family. Aunts and uncles. Cousins. People who believed such as I did. The wolves didn’t know I was there. The blood was too thick in the air for them to notice me. My father, he…lost his way, after that. He didn’t understand why God had forsaken him. Why he had abandoned us when we needed him most. Fucking words on pages in like three pages ranting about fuckshit referencing Bibles and Meredith King being all righteous and stuff while she never pause LIKE I FUCKING GET IT!! YOU'RE A FREAK!! SHOUTING MORALS WHILE KILLING INNOCENTS ALRIGHT!! I GET IT. STOP!!"

THIS GOES ON FOR THREE. FUCKING. PAGES. NO LINE BREAKS. MY EYE HURTS.

ELIJAH TALKING HER ASS OF BEING A REASON THE PEOPLES ARE SAFE IM. Ok that makes it a little bit better. Fuck u Elijah for talking.

Strangely I don't mind if ox talks long ass paragraph. I love him he's my son. he used to be so quiet and now look at him speaking for two pages long :') my son

I will suppress my resentment to how happy go lucky easy the problem just because it's over. IT'S SO DRAGGED.... FOR HUNDRED OF PAGES...

TJ KLUNE YOU CANT END THE STORY WITHOUT MAKING GORDO RELIVING HIS PAIN HUH. AGAIN? THIS IS TOO MUCH???

...by the time I read the epilogue I'm just...

:-( I know I complained a lot but the ending... It's not really fulfilling. It's more to a prelude to the third book and I know, I know, this is an interconnected series. I just wish I, what? Got to see more of Gordo and Mark post-reconciliation. Last third of the book spent Mark being an omega. He barely talks except gordogordogordo MatePackLove... Felt like the second half is dragged. Too many subplots (which? Not a lot solved?), and the one that they decided to focus, the Elijah plot, I ended up snoozing. I love love love Gordo though I think this might be a torture book with how long he's portrayed to be hurting and broken. I love love love Mark of his devotion and honesty. Individually I love them both but paired up I wish they had more time to reconcile. For Mark to properly apologizes and pamper Gordo with more love to make time.

I know I always will side with Gordo, because he is so raw as a character. His pain, his hurting, it's just so emotional to me. The first half? Of the book is what I loved the most. The tidbits of Gordo's memories, switching up to Gordo bonding with Joe, Carter and Kelly. Other character, man, the Team Humans really shine. The bar scene still cracks me up when I think about it. What else. Ahh...

I'll rant about other things instead. I'm a bit baffled that when Mark and Carter were infected, the whole pack, heavily on Gordo promised to find a way for that problem. Issue is, I don't really think they delve a lot into what they're doing? The research? The progress? Because there's also the problem of Elijah, ok. But suddenly, Gordo, thought the way was to... Mate? And I was, ok. Sure. What about Carter? He can't be mating to his tether. It's like... Have you really done anything, Gordo...?

Its my opinion but it's not really, satisfying? In Wolfsong, even though I still think the ending part needs to be longer, it pushes me to "I want to read more!" hence, I'm here. But for Ravensong, it's a bit... There's too much going on. World building, and all. I don't like how proper apologies are barely presence, from Thomas and Mark, and to an extent Elizabeth too. This bothers me a lot. But I ranted too much about it already. I'll stop.

Actually I won't stop. I hate hate hate that they're pushing Gordo, the one that they left to eventually patch things up. Where's. The. Proper. Apologies. Now that I think about it if I'm looking at this book as a typical second-chance stories I usually read, I will say that the groveling isn't done well. Fuck Thomas Bennett. And they still. Tried to portray him in a good light even after death? I fucking hate anything Thomas related.

I'm super, super excited for Kelly and Robbie's book. But I don't know? Finishing Ravensong is a bit of a letdown... Maybe because I expected more like like that of Wolfsong?

Why does this turned into a rant post idk but. Yeah, I don't really enjoy is as much as Wolfsong. I still love the characters (except Thomas), I just... Aaah guess I'll read Book 3 later. When I'm over this, unsatisfactory post-reading experience.

[travisklcesasdfasd]

PRIVATE: don't call the dog a thing, that's mean, taylor. kitty is a gorgeous dog and just because you're jealous doesn't mean you should go around being mean. you don't like when people say nasty things about you. people could say the same thing about a cat, that it's just a cat. but to you it's not just a cat, i'm an animal lover. she is sassy, everyone is convinced one of your cats took out their anger on me and my jeans when i went to the basketball game the other day. which is clever i'll admit, jason even liked that one. could be a good idea when you're off tour looking for a dog and moving the cats. they'll be adjusting so bring in a dog would be something not too much more since they're already in the process of adjust to a lot. we can keep working on you getting into your head but i think that's human and we're all going to have those moments where we have our doubts. we will make our own christmas traditions that we will get to enjoy and love, despite the football season, and really. who knows right now my contract is extended but it's a 2 year extension but it's only two, not four that everyone thinks, they think it was a two on what i already got. it was a two on what i am with more pay. by then i could be retired and we won't have to worry about football games and christmas. well you know what can i say you're just so fun to feel up that i can't help but want to have my hands on you, i only get to have them on you so often. my hands have to make the best of it while i can. really? i could have swore i told you about the ring but i can at least tell you about that little piece of history and beauty.

this would be a good time to stop but i would handle any moody hormones regardless. if you're ready to stop them babe, i say stop them. i just want you to be safe about it. see three to four is reasonable! i knew you'd think that, but we have to kind of see how that goes because we don't know how fast you'll get pregnant or anything like that. so we'll say you know maybe the goal is four but we'll settle for anywhere between two to four depending on what we can manage. your body could handle it you have the body of an athlete, but i would never actually expect you to birth a football team. your job isn't to just be a mother and someone who brings life into the world.

it would make sense, at least when it comes to our relationship stuff that she would handle it. obviously i'm willing to pay for her wonderful services well since she does do such an amazing job. i just want to keep my ass out of the papers in general because jason would have that thing framed and put in his house to make a constant joke out of it. just what i need my bare ass being his joke. it's amazing how you've just put out this amazing album and people are still figuring out when your rep tv is going to drop. are you fans ever satisfied?

you're right i don't get to pick my team and maybe it's a copout to say i respect that he's allowed to have his beliefs but i mean, as much as i think they're not right, he is allowed to have them. he can be wrong and still have them. i just have to respect that we need to be a team and work together, and i'm the fucking captain. i hold the team together, i don't get to have a pissing match with my team over something like that right now. doesn't mean i don't respect you or the idea that the chiefs were never going to fire me if i spoke up because i'm too valuable. it's the fact that i'm not someone who's going to ruin a season for a bunch of people. how we perform doesn't affect just us. we get our paycheck regardless but you know who it does affect? those who work for the team. the vendors, the people working the stands, the people who clean the stadium, the people in the home office. they rely on us and me making things work to keep them in a job and i may be a dick but i'm not that much of a dick to ruin someone else's life just because i have the privilege. trust me it bothers me more than you think that i can't give my honest opinion on it.

baby, you are a wag. i'm kind of scared what you're going to do for my birthday. i can only imagine what your brain is going to plan. the chief's midnights suit and ttpd outfit is for us and only us. they would know we enjoy way too much. never gonna complain about you being naked baby. things have been amazing. going to see my favorite people at the hockey game, the basketball game despite getting booed, the white house where i got to say hello my fellow americans. it's been an amazing crazy ride but i'm missing your like crazy. those videos.. are my favorite things right now.

Private: Of course you love my moms dog. I should have known. The thing tries and turns everyone against me. He's like an evil mastermind or something. I don't trust him for a second. I'm not jealous, please. It's just a dog. Meredith is questionable with the whole monster thing. She's almost 14 and still goes after ankles as much as she possible can. My sassy little baby. Maybe when I'm off tour we can look at getting a dog. And moving the cats to Kansas City. There's a lot that we're going to try and achieve in that month and a bit I've got off. Call us crazy. I assure you that you do more than enough to make me happy, babe. You've never been the problem when it comes to my happiness. Sometimes I just get into my head a little bit too much and need to work through that. But you are the anchor that keeps me grounded. Meeting you was such a turning point for me. I didn't really see the way out before. So thank you. For being the man that you are and being so patient with me. I have no doubt in my mind that we're going to create our own traditions when it comes to Christmas. It's the joy of creating our own family, right? I'm not going to get you to wake up even earlier on a game day. That's just silly talk, my love. You need all the rest that you can get. And yet, with us both having those things - I'm sure that we're going to find a way to distract each other in them. Considering you feel me up when I'm trying to game with your boys - I have no doubt you'll try and do the same when I'm recording things. Those moments will never come out of the vault. I think building a home together would be nice. Keeping it a secret? I hope you'll tell me one day. Even if it's on your death bed. I don't think you have told me about the ring...

See, this is why I thought it would be a good time to stop because with us being apart from each other so much - it'd give my body time to adjust to not being on fake hormones and everything. You won't have to deal with moody me, ha. I don't really know all that much, either. Defs a conversation for the doctor so I can get fully informed on everything. Three or four does seem reasonable. I'm glad I've got the idea of a whole team out of your brain. I couldn't imagine having that many kids. I'm sure that my body would hate me for putting it through all that.

I really don't know how I got so lucky with her. But I'm sure that she would love to take on doing things for you, too. I am her only client so it kind of does make sense that she manages some of your PR things, too. I can pitch it to her, if that's what you want. I mean, you do have a cute ass. But I want to keep that out of the papers. It's for my view only. We don't need to have a sex tape/photo scandal. I don't know if I'd ever recover from something like that. When the moment is right Rep TV will come out.

And my loudness is entirely your fault. Not that I'm complaining at all. Because I do love that I don't have to hold back with you. I think the only thing that gets me to be a little more quiet is when I'm biting down on your shoulders. Talk about leaving a mark. That people can't see. And that's why you're a bigger man. Because you know how to put those differences aside and work together. You don't exactly get to pick your team like I do. People are always going to pick and chose what of my lyrics work for them and misinterpret them. He is just another guy who did. I'll be polite to him for your sake, but I really don't like that boy. I'll make sure to tune into every moment that I can for Jase. He's my new favorite broadcaster and he's not even started yet.

I don't mind waiting - I can be a patient woman. For the right person, of course. Maybe I'll become a full on WAG instead of you being a groupie. Who really knows what's going to happen over the next couple of years. An early birthday present? If you think that's what you'd be getting for your birthday, you're sorely mistaken. I'm going to be going all out for your birthday this year. I can't wait to celebrate you. I may or may not be putting together ideas already. The chiefs midnights suit would be solely for home use, though. Because if people even got wind of that being a thing then they'd be talking way too much about our sex life. Are you complaining about me walking around naked, Trav? Because I can go back to the nunnery that I was in not too long ago...

I can't wait to have you back in my arms but you go out there and kill it. I can't wait to hear everything that you're going to get up to. The fans in Lisbon were so amazing last night, too. It brought both Hayley and I to tears. I can't believe everything that happened at the show. It was the best crowd yet. I felt so at home.

Trav... that... fuck. Just when I thought I couldn't miss you anymore. Even if it's only been less than a day. Those videos... you will be getting something back. I hope you survive. Because I'm not.

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

Who was the worst, snow or coin?

Why?

Thank you. @curiousnonny

Hey there @curiousnonny . I had planned a lovely philosophical answer but I’m tired and a bit overwhelmed with things right now. So here’s my copout answer:

Both of them are fucking awful. Both of them are more than willing to commit acts of cruelty and devalue human life for whatever they personally view as “the greater good,” without regard to the fact that their idea of the greater good still causes insane levels of harm. Their methods of control are slightly different, but only if you squint, and the results are the same. It benefits no one to live in a world with people like them in power. The only real difference is how widespread their power was, how long they held it, and therefore how great their ability to do harm was. Snow being the more powerful by the numbers makes it easier to call him the worst, but I don’t doubt that Coin would’ve caught up to him, given the opportunity.

But I also think that Snow at least was aware to some degree of how his actions benefited himself specifically, whereas Coin honestly seems to believe that everything she does benefits the people she serves more than herself. To me, that makes her more dangerous in the long term. Thankfully, Katniss kills her off before she could gain too much power.

[ilikekidsshows]

Do you think Marinette has to or will be the first to confess before they can get together?You've mentioned a couple times how her confession scenarios seem to hinge on getting Adrien to go first and it has been an important character goal so far,so it feels like something should come of that, but I don't know, maybe there's a reason she's having so much trouble with it?Maybe it would actually help her if Adrien went first?But then, he has shown that it's no big deal for him so it feels to easy?

We got Adrien confessing first in ‘Cat Blanc’, it didn’t lead to good things. But why exactly was it like that? I’ll explain!

To start off, I think Adrien being the one to confess to Marinette would be a total copout. The series has built up Marinette's struggle in trying to confess to Adrien for over three seasons now. Adrien being the one to confess would take away Marinette's chance at concluding her own story arc of her confession woes. From a storytelling perspective, Adrien confessing just doesn't have the same weight. As you said, Adrien can confess his feelings easily. What triumph is there in him telling Marinette he loves her first? Marinette is the one who's been trying to overcome her own communication issues to reach Adrien and having the main communication issue plotline conclude with someone else communicating in Marinette's stead would be in bad form. This is also why Adrien can't discover Marinette's feelings by accident and why no other character can reveal Marinette's feelings. Marinette's inability to spit out her feelings to Adrien is Marinette's problem and, in fictional stories, other people aren't supposed to come out and solve the main character's problems because it removes their agency in a storyline that's supposed to be about them. This is why Fullmetal Alchemist concludes with Edward punching Father in the face instead of one of the myriad of adults present taking care of the problem with their guns or their own fists. The story was about Ed's journey.

Marinette is a bit of a control freak when it comes to romance. Romantic situations and pursuits make her so nervous, because she doesn't have a set way to proceed ahead. This can be seen in Marinette's other pursuits too. Like, in video games you can progress as long as you know the game mechanics, and most games teach you their mechanics right off the bat, and we don't see Marinette stressing about video games at any point. In sewing Marinette can also follow certain styles and approaches, and the end product is the entire point, so it's good as long as it looks as it should. The only time Marinette is nervous about sewing is when she has to fit someone else's standards, because she doesn't know those standards ahead of time. Similarly, in romance, Marinette needs to account for a whole other human being and their emotions, which makes her freak out.

Marinette is also the living embodiment of the Motifying Ordeal of Being Known meme. As a former bully victim, she's still very nervous over doing something embarrassing and being laughed at for it. Her and Luka's first meeting almost went very wrong when Luka laughed at her stuttering, for example. And Marinette acts in very embarrassing ways around Adrien; she stutters, she trips over herself, she runs into walls, her feelings are so intense that acting on them can be embarrassing by itself without anything having to go wrong (she sniffs him). Marinette needs to seize control of herself and her emotions in order to truly progress, this can be seen in how often her pursuit of Adrien has blinded her to others, causing her to hurt them without intending to.

Marinette's lack of self discipline is the reason  why Adrien confessing would be easier on Marinette, but why it's also not the solution from a character writing perspective. If Adrien takes control of the progress of their relationship, it makes it unnecessary for Marinette to communicate her feelings better. Marinette has a tendency to think that some things just can't be helped after they've occurred, so she just lets things be even when it would be in her best interest to try to change her situation. Marinette repeatedly called herself "lame" during season two but still never tried to alter her own behavior to be less lame, she didn't think she could control it. This is another conflict of Marinette's character; she tries to control the aspects of her life she'd be better off not trying to control so much, while treating things she has a chance of controlling as unavoidable. And that's why her plans for getting with Adrien are so focused on getting him on a date first before the confession, when many other people would just ask him out on a date and see how he responds.

Adrien being the first to confess would be the easy answer to the problem and, as far as I can tell, the point of 'Cat Blanc' was to showcase how easy solutions don't last. This is why Marinette's hair is out of the twintails look during the timeline; it symbolises her letting down her guard (I'll discuss this more in my upcoming hairstyle analysis). An important theme of Miraculous seems to be self-actualization: being yourself, expressing yourself and making decisions for yourself. When a story has themes, the narrative will often "punish" characters for going against those themes, the plot functioning as a karmic force to teach them a lesson relating to that theme. It's not about the character having a moral failing, but simply the character being used to enforce the story's themes.

An unrelated note: many people salting this show for its "treatment of Marinette" are translating Marinette needing to learn lessons relating to the show's themes as the narrative treating Marinette like she has a moral failing by "forcing her to apologise for things that aren't her fault". As I just explained, that's not what's happening. Marinette much more often makes a thematic mistake than a moral one. In the real world, people don't need to overcome their character flaws as long as they don't negatively impact their lives but, for a fictional character, being static means being stuck in a rut. Marinette not being able to communicate with Adrien threatens her self expression so, narratively, she needs to overcome it.

Finishing up with my usual summation: Adrien being the one to confess would benefit Marinette as a person, taking away a large source of stress for her. However, Adrien being the one to confess would irrevocably damage Marinette as a character by removing her chance to grow. It would also narratively weaken the confession because Marinette succeeding in her confession should be a moment of triumph after all of her struggles, and Adrien doing it wouldn't have the same cathartic factor, since confessing his romantic feelings has never been a challenge for him.

[crmsnknghttm]

I personally think Laurance would've survived. It'd be hard for him to have a convincing death (and stay permanent) and not feel like a copout.

The whole Leona plot line feels superfluous, but if Leona's father was Zane that would impact other surrounding characters like Garroth where that would make him an uncle, or that everyone has to uh... deal with the implications of this plot line.

Irene being a complicated person where she does bad to horrible things would be good if we got any insight into her character that wasn't in regards to her dating life. (honestly the divine warriors as a whole are wasted)

He was probably justifiably angry when it began. Especially if the Irene killing their daughter is true. But now he is just an evil dude as far as the series lore.

Humans with magical powers, and later thanks to the relic humans who are god like.

No. He'd be dead by the end.

I personally don't consider Zane redeemable, he has killed a lot of people just as high priest alone. Made no effort to be a better person or be helpful against Shad. He might live but be under surveillance of some kind.

No comment here.

Connecting MCD and Mystreet was a terrible idea, and I firmly stand by that.

I think Zenix would live. Honestly the fact that we never got any interaction between him and Garroth was such a waste.

Jeffory coming back would be cool. That could give Katelyn and Abby something.

I think the SKs would lose a chuck of their power with Shad defeated, but they would live.

Garrance.

MCD has a way too big cast as is. I can't really even define who's Major and who's Minor if their not Aphmau, Garroth, Laurance, Katelyn, Travis. Even still Katelyn has little to do in series and Garroth and Laurance have all of their screen time dedicated to the love triangle that while a subplot is the least interesting plot they have.

The brothers all had a once loving relationship that quickly grew bitter after Garte's sickness. While Garroth was effectively an older brother who raised Vylad when Zianna couldn't, and they never resented each other. Zane resents them both.

He's alive, and honestly there so much that could be done, it'd be a waste if wasn't ever seen mostly for the members of his family. Like, okay, past S2 with Garroth, Vylad, and Zianna all reunited it would have been interesting to see them all have to reconcile with all that happened and learn how to be a family again after so many years and so many awful things. With Garte, everything that was bad in one way or another comes back to him. Zianna might wish to separate from him. Or Garroth punching him.

S3 was terrible all around, Kenmur dying felt anti-climatic, I didn't feel anything. Honestly S3 belongs in the trash.

I do not care for it. I wish that mystreet had it's own cast away from MCD, due to it. It's probably the biggest reason I hate mystreet.

I really wish that that was brought up again in some way.

I dread Jess' rewrite as it's going to take directions I will hate, and will sour my remaining love for MCD. Apart of me wants it to continue but I can't say I'd like it. I would only want to know what happens S3 to the end, just so I could really sit down develop and finish my own rewrite. Because without the ending in mind I have trouble with the finer details and making the bigger more necessary changes earlier on. Like I know what I would do with S1, S2, and some of S3 (throw most of it out in this last case). But beyond that like...

Minecraft Diaries Focus Questions

Please respond within 150-500 words and reply to at least two of your peers (jk)

These are some questions I have about people’s opinions/predictions/interpretations that I’m really curious about!! Feel free to answer only one, a few, or all if that’s what you want, and answer in anyway (reblog, reply, in the tags)

1. Do you think Laurance would have survived till the end of the series? What do you think his fate would have been if Jess continued? What would you want his fate to be?

2. Do you think Zane is Leona’s father? Would you think it’s a good plot point if he was?

3. Was Irene a good person? Do you think she was justified with her actions?

4. Do you think Shad is as evil as he is believed to be in the series? Do you think he is justified?

5. Do you think the Divine Warriors are gods or just humans with godlike powers? Are they humans who become gods?

6. Do you think Gene would have been redeemed if Jess continued? Would Dante forgive him? Would he forgive Dante? What do you think his fate would have been?

7. Is Zane capable of redemption in some way in your eyes? What do you think his fate would have been?

8. What characters do you think is the relic holder of each Divine Warrior, apart from the known ones? Would you have a different arrangement?

9. Was it a good idea to connect Mystreet and MCD together? Would you have preferred if they stayed separate universes?

10. Why do you think Zenix betrayed Phoenix Drop? Was it the Calling?

11. What would Zenix’s fate have been? What would you have liked it to be? How do you think Garroth and his reunion would have been like?

11. Do you think Jeffory would have come back as a Shadow Knight at some point? Would you have liked it if he did?

12. What do you think would happen to the Shadow Knights after Shad is defeated? Would there be a difference between those that are immortal and those that aren’t?

13. What non-canon ship would you have loved to see, no matter how outlandish or obscure the character(s) are?

14. Is there any major character(s) that you feel is unnecessary to the plot? Is there any minor character(s) that you feel should have played a bigger role?

15. What do you think of the relationships between the Ro’meave brothers? What dynamic would you have liked to see between Vylad and Zane?

16. Do you think Garte is alive? What would you like his fate to be?

17. Do you think Kenmur’s death was a good plot point? Would you have preferred if he stayed alive?

18. What do you think of the personality changes from MCD to Mystreet?

19. They mention Cadenza has magicks that relates to the Nether portals but never really utilize this. What do you wish they had done with this information?

20. Many people have well established rewrites for MCD. Because of this, would you still want Jess to continue MCD, even though it will most likely go in a direction we wouldn’t like? For example, she would most likely focus more on the relationship between Aaron and Aphmau in her rewrite. Would this still be something worth seeing or have you grown content with the unfinished series?

Thank you so much to anyone who answers!

[besidesitstoowarm]

"Journey's End" thoughts

doctor you suck shit

okay again i'm gonna blow through the plot stuff bc i don't care it's not the part that matters. the doctor avoids regeneration by channeling the energy into his hand. mickey and jackie are here now! martha goes to germany and the daleks are speaking german lmfao. the daleks have an instrument called the crucible and taught the doctor by dropped the tardis into an incinerator...

bitch you THOUGHT!!! the hand is calling out to donna and she touches it and gets slammed w regen energy and then the hand grows into naked david tennant. tentoo has arrived! a dalek shoots jack but he's fine. we learn tentoo has one heart bc he's half human! his singular heartbeat "rippled back" which is what donna was hearing that drew her to the hand and he says "we were always heading for this" HAVE I NOT BEEN SAYING?? THIS WAS ALWAYS GOING TO HAPPEN SHE'S BEEN DEAD SINCE THE BEGINNING

martha tries to use the world-exploding key and gets teleported to the dalek ship and they explain they made a "reality bomb" using the aligned planets as a scope. like the planets aligning in hercules to release the titans. davros gets on his bullshit "you take ordinary people and you turn them into weapons" he's not wrong actually. the doctor does very much do that. "always running and never looking back because you dare not, out of shame" again got it in one

donna's powers activate bc she got turned part time lord by the regen energy! regenergy. sure. she's the doctordonna and ten remembers the ood foretold such. always listen to the ood. so now there's three doctors! jack says "i can't tell you what i'm thinking right now" bc he's narsty. dalek caan has betrayed the daleks by letting all this shit happen "i saw what we did, creator, and i said no more". tentoo explodes every dalek. i'm fine with that who cares

k9 is here! everyone teams up to drag the earth back home to its proper place. the tardis is functioning appropriately bc it finally has enough drivers and it's sweet to see everyone get along. rose, jackie, and tentoo get dropped off in their parallel universe bc she needs to babysit him?? "he's me, when we first met" so she gets a project man. i'm glad rose gets her very own tenth doctor to fuck but this is kind of a copout ending for her sorry. that said "how was that sentence going to end" "does it need saying?" and then tentoo DOES finish it and kisskiss. good for her genuinely

everyone else goes back home and donna starts glitching out bc a time lord brain can't live in a human body and it's going to kill her. he takes all her memories, wipes her brain, as she's crying and begging him not to. it's hard to watch, it's very violating, and it's a bullshit copout for her too. i know rtd has said he does not like the way the episode ended but honestly couldn't untangle the knot in a satisfying way and i do get that, there were a LOT of pieces in play. still bullshit to me tho

he drops her at home and warns wilf and sylvia that they can't ever tell her the truth or it'll kill her. he gets wet in the rain pathetically and the episode is over. as i said last time, this story makes no fucking sense but the fanservice really does work for me and everyone is so charming, all the pieces falling into place from the season-long foreshadowing, it really is a great story. not my fave finale, i'm too much of a sucker for s3, but i think it was probably the best possible way to get all these characters involved in a way that felt natural for them and useful for the story

up next i'll do a series retrospective! i'll probably let the specials sit as their own mini-series and do another after the regeneration. farewell for now to donna noble

[my-mt-heart]

TWD 11x05 “Out of the Ashes” Review

You know, trying to follow four different storylines in one episode feels a lot like watching a game of pinball. We’re with Aaron in Alexandria one minute, Eugene and co in the Commonwealth the next, back to Alexandria with Judith, but not before jumping to Maggie and Negan in the woods for a hot second, then oh yeah, how about Hilltop? Haven’t been there in a while. Yikes, looking pretty rough. Eugene? Back to you. 

Maybe I’m too much of a linear thinker, but it gets very disorienting. Couple that with the drastic tonal shifts — torturing a whisper to eating ice cream — and suddenly I need to lay down. But anyway. That’s just a criticism of the structure. I have some good things to say about the stories themselves. Also some not so good things. 

Because I apparently love some clean, organized emotional tracking, let’s go arc by arc starting with Maggie and Negan. I was truly looking forward to seeing how their tension would unfold this season, but now I think I’ve already had enough of them.  We see them indeed trudging through the woods, arguing about trust (or lack thereof), and at one point Negan asks her why she hasn’t put him down yet, which essentially echoes what the audience is probably wondering too. Unfortunately Maggie’s response “I ask myself that everyday” feels like a copout and reminds us that no matter what color you put on it -- Maggie’s fighting to hold onto her humanity for her people and her son, Maggie knows Glenn wouldn’t want her to sink that low -- the real answer may just lie behind the fourth wall. 

The argument continues inside a suburban house harboring supplies. Just as in previous episodes, we hear both sides of the coin. A rational Negan thinks it’s time to “cut their losses” and head back to Alexandria. A determined Maggie insists they don’t have nearly enough to show for those losses and they should wait for the others. Negan tries to use Hershel as leverage, another bold move, though this time not antagonistic. Maggie maintains  she’s taking risks for her son and the rest of the children back home. Not surprisingly, they make no headway, even escalating things to a brief physical altercation until Gabriel and Elijah show up. Their arrival is truly the only movement in the story, which makes me question the need for it at all in an already overstuffed episode. I get it. Maggie and Negan have a very troubled past.  Maggie can’t forgive Negan for killing Glenn. Negan’s never going to be sorry about it anyway. If their relationship can’t evolve in any way, and frankly I wouldn’t really expect it to, it’s best to focus on something that can. 

I’m still not a huge fan of the Commonwealth arc, but at least progress is being made. We get to see what the place looks like, and despite having as many as 50,000 “citizens,”  it comes across very cutesy and tiny town. Lance Hornsby’s introduction video (propaganda much?) heightens the cheese factor, not that I’m complaining. It definitely gives me Woodbury vibes, and a little nostalgia is always appreciated. Our group is assigned housing and jobs based on their skillset in the old world, but Eugene reminds them they’re only there to seek help for their friends back home. Whilst enjoying an ice cream cone, he appeals to the woman he thinks is Stephanie (a cameo from Margot Bingham confirms that it’s not), who gives him access to a radio. It’s risky and highly illegal, requiring a hilarious distraction from Princess so that Mercer doesn’t catch them. Tactical or not, there’s definitely a spark between those two, my friends. Sadly the plan still fails. In the middle of a conversation with Rosita over the radio, Eugene and fake Stephanie are busted. Not yet considered citizens, Eugene, Princess, and Ezekiel are subject to banishment or other forms of punishment and could really use a good lawyer. In case that wasn’t obvious, I’m now segueing over to Yumiko, who gets to reunite with her brother Tomi, who has an accent that for some reason I find really distracting (Anyone else feel that way or??) It seems he’s holding out on his community by working at a bakery instead utilizing his skills as a surgeon. How much do you want to bet those skills are going to come in handy for a certain someone with a goiter on their neck?  

Jumping over to Alexandria, it’s great to see Judith  taking on a leadership role by helping the other kids practice with swords and standing up to unruly teenagers twice her size after they taunt a child walker (portrayed by JDM’s son if anyone was curious). She’s certainly living up to her parents’ legacy, which I’ve noted before can actually be really crippling for her character if that’s the only purpose she’s there to serve. Precisely why I’m glad that in addition to her being a badass warrior kid, she’s shown to ultimately just be a kid who doesn’t have all the answers. She’s struggling to cope with all the people she’s lost, and in a really beautiful scene, gets some much needed comfort and advice from her Tia Rosita. We get a nice callback to the scene in season 8 when Carl and baby Judith made their handprints together, and we also get a little insight into Rosita’s family background. Turns out she can also relate to losing a parent. Maybe my memory is failing me, but I don’t think we’ve ever seen Rosita and Judith properly bond before, and again, as much as I love some badassery, there’s also something really touching about how their exchange allows both of them to be more vulnerable. 

Another way the episode taps into a character’s innermost feelings is through dreams. In the past, they’ve helped expose Carol’s deepest desires and Rosita’s greatest fears. This time, the privilege is given to Aaron in a horrific moment of  him being stabbed and eaten by Walkers, Wolves, and Whisperers (oh my). Clearly, every villain  he’s ever had to face still weighs heavily on his mind and as agonizing as it is to constantly carry that around with him, he’ll continue to stay vigilant. Whatever helps him keep his home, his community, and his daughter safe.  It’s no wonder then that he goes to such extreme measures at Hilltop where he, Carol, Jerry, and Lydia confront a  whisperer taking refuge. He ties the man up despite Lydia’s protests. Having a personal connection to this whisperer, she remains the voice of empathy, reminding Aaron that not all of them are liars. Too bad it falls flat when they find out that this one was in fact lying to them. He claimed to be alone, but there are others living in the cellar. That, and nearly getting stabbed in an escape attempt fuels Aaron’s rage. Jerry is also not in the mood to be merciful, seeing the walkers of Hilltopers who died in the fire and finding one of Nabila’s stolen scarves. Carol acts as a casual observer, but gets a good punch in, so there’s that. 

I’m of two minds when it comes to this arc. On one hand, Aaron is a vital, longstanding character who deserves way more focus than he or any of the series regulars have been getting in recent seasons, and I love seeing the distinct transformation from someone who “wouldn’t hurt a fly” to someone who tortures a man and lets him get bitten. My question is, does putting a less prominent character in the driver’s seat have to be to the detriment of a lead female character who spends the bulk of the episode mainly just hovering? I realize I’m biased, but I think it also could have serviced the overall story to see more of Carol’s POV throughout, which thankfully does at least manifest in a really powerful heart to heart towards the end. With a quivering voice, Carol expresses her regret for letting the pain of losing Henry spread to the people she cares about and implores Aaron not to travel down the same dark path she did. He ultimately listens, offering to cut off the whisperer’s hand before the infection from the bite can kill him. It’s both Carol’s and Aaron’s choices to do the humane thing over the practical thing that leads to new information about Connie’s whereabouts, providing their group  renewed hope and determination. Though it certainly extends to Aaron too, it’s especially meaningful for Carol who we know has been “standing on the ashes” of her pain, and is now finally getting the opportunities to rise out of them.  

And what do you know; what do you say? According to the promo for 11x06, it looks like Carol is going to be out and about with Kelly (and Magna) to some extent after all. Lydia mentions in this episode that the “screaming rock,” Connie’s last known whereabouts, is close to Alexandria (and they’re just now finding clues?), but there might be something to the idea of “being followed” that leads them to venture further out. We shall see. Meanwhile, Daryl is probably going to have to torture, maybe even kill Frost to gain the Reapers’ trust while they continue to hunt down Maggie and co. That should be interesting. 

Side note: I know press for Rendition is going to come out tomorrow, and supposedly some interviews with Lynn Collins. Try to bear in mind anything she says is just her opinion, and that she’s likely seeing things through the eyes of the character she’s portraying. But if you still want to know my thoughts on anything in particular, kindly include links with your asks. Please and thank you :)

11x01 “Acheron Part 1″ Review

11x02 “Acheron Part 2″ Review

11x03 “Hunted” Review

11x04 “Rendition” Review