#it's so plot driven and there's constant character development

[shizuturnspages]

sorry for sending in so many asks but like. i was curious abt something and wanted to know your opinion since i love how you write for these characters as yanderes. how different do you think wanderer would be different as a yandere across the different stages of his life? y'know kunikuzushi, scaramouche n then wanderer.

No worries. I love writing headcannons. This is actually a really brilliant idea, since he faces immense character development in each stage, which changes his yandere traits. I wrote this one a bit differently, so here it is:

Kunikuzushi

Kunikuzushi starts out as the discarded prototype of the Shogun, hurt and desperately trying to find meaning in a world that he’s only barely begun to understand. He’s all raw emotion, innocence, and heartbreak with a severe abandonment complex that screams vulnerability. He doesn’t fully grasp the intricacies of human relationships yet, but he knows he wants someone—anyone—who won’t leave him. And once he latches on to you, there’s no escaping his fierce, almost childlike need to keep you with him.

Yandere Traits:

❥ Kunikuzushi’s affection is intense and pure, but smothering. He doesn’t just want you close; he wants you to be his entire world, wrapping you up in a cocoon of affection that borders on suffocating. You’ll find yourself unable to take a step without him watching, constantly afraid that you’ll leave him, like everyone else has. He doesn’t mean to trap you; he just doesn’t know any other way to keep you safe.

❥ If someone else shows interest in you, Kunikuzushi feels threatened, but it’s not malicious—he just doesn’t know how to cope. His innocent jealousy leads to outbursts and childish, sulky expressions, but he means every word. “They don’t care about you like I do,” he’ll say, desperate to keep your attention. He sees anyone else as a risk, someone who might tear you away, and he’ll do anything to hold on.

❥ He’s tender one moment, distant the next, terrified that you’ll betray him but unwilling to let go. His mood shifts are sudden and emotional, going from sweet, pleading whispers to cries that you promised not to leave. It’s a constant push and pull that’ll keep you tangled in his web.

Scaramouche

Saramouche has been through hell by this stage—twice abandoned, once as Kunikuzushi and once as the Gnosis-bearing puppet. He’s hardened, cold, and driven by an insatiable need for vengeance and power. This version of him is ruthless, with a twisted sense of loyalty and a desperate need to control everything in his life. If Kunikuzushi wanted to keep you close out of fear, Scaramouche keeps you close because he refuses to lose. You’re his anchor, his prize, and his weapon all in one.

Yandere Traits:

❥ Scaramouche won’t just protect you; he’ll dominate every aspect of your life. He’s the type to make sure you have no way out, pulling strings and manipulating events so that you have no one else to rely on but him. Your freedom? That’s a privilege you lost the moment he decided you were his.

❥ Scaramouche’s jealousy is no longer innocent—it’s pure wrath. If anyone even looks at you, he’s already plotting their downfall. He’ll sneer, undermine, and even eliminate people who dare to get too close, all while reminding you that he’s the only one who’s ever truly been there for you. His rage is icy, calculated, and deadly as hell. He’ll make sure you know that he’s willing to do anything to keep you by his side.

❥ Scaramouche knows your weak points, and he’ll exploit them mercilessly. “After everything I’ve done for you, you’d betray me?” he’ll say with a dark smirk, every word designed to pull you back to him. He wants you feeling indebted, trapped in a cycle of loyalty, and unable to imagine life without him. You belong to him, and he’ll make sure you never forget it.

Wanderer

By the time he’s the Wanderer, Scaramouche has had enough time to reflect and heal—at least a little. He’s trying to rebuild himself, attempting to come to terms with his past while forging a new path. But he’s still a yandere at heart, just one with a more refined approach. His obsession with you is quieter, more subdued, but it hasn’t disappeared. Now, his love comes with subtle, unbreakable chains. He’ll make you feel safe and cherished, all while holding on to you with a grip that’s softer but just as impossible to escape.

Yandere Traits:

❥ Wanderer’s obsession with you is gentler than Scaramouche’s, but it’s still firm. He won’t go for violent confrontations; instead, he’ll weave his presence into your life so intricately that you don’t even realize how entangled you’ve become. He’s patient, kind, but he’s always there, making sure you never even think of leaving.

❥Wanderer knows he can’t control everything, but he will protect you. He’s more accepting of your independence now, but he’s always just a few steps behind, watching. He’ll let you wander, but there’s an unspoken rule—you’ll always come back to him. If you don’t, he’ll find you. Not with malice, but with that silent, unyielding devotion that reminds you he’ll never let you be alone.

❥ After everything he’s been through, Wanderer clings to you as his last connection to humanity. He’s come to understand what love is, and he won’t risk losing it again. He’s your shadow, a constant, reassuring presence who will stay with you, no matter the cost. And deep down, he knows that he’d still tear the world apart to keep you safe, even if he tells himself he’s moved on from his darker days.

Wanderer’s yandere devotion is most evident in small moments. He’ll quietly show up whenever you’re in danger, giving a small, knowing smile as he pulls you into safety. He won’t say it, but there’s a glint in his eye that tells you—he’ll never let go.

[trekmupf]

Trapped in a Car With Someone You Don’t Want to Be Trapped in a Car With

Pro

Kirk being torn between his "duties" in the military structure of Starfleet and the duty to his crew / his friends

McCoy waking up and immediately doctoring

The way McCoy sits in the chair; Once again I'm stating the obvious: McCoy is very beautiful in this episode and his winged eyeliner is everything

We're getting to know Spock better: his problems connecting with the human crew and understanding them (something he learns later on, which is great character development), a new side to his logic, the fact that he's not driven by power (getting command)

Also the fact that the McCoy / Spock dynamic this early on the show is different from later on: the disagreements are less friendly banter and more actual fights, McCoy doesn't know Spock that well (thinking he's interested in power / command is wrong) and they don't work together as well, which is a great way to mark their development in later episodes

there's also a clear separation between Spock and the others, Spock's alone and doesn't have someone to confide in; later on Spock and McCoy are a duo

especially the scene where they're fighting over the funeral service highlights why McCoy, Spock and Kirk work best together and what can happen when one of them isn't around to balance them out

Spock is genuinely so irritated by his logic not working, he's so visibly annoyed several times

"Strange. Step by step I have made the the correct and logical decisions, and yet two men have died"

Spock's failures as a commander also highlights what makes Kirk such a great captain, as he manages to use logic and command while also balancing the human and empathetic side of it

Spock learning so much and growing during this, technically a great leader but he learns his own limits

Scotty best repair boy, the way he crouches and crawls into spaces to repair the shuttle and then engineer magic!

Also Scotty's attitude in the face of death is so great and telling about him. He realizes first what's going to happen and accepts it calmly, smiles and compliments Spock, having an air of comfort and peace around him

@ Kirk and McCoy in the last scene, how close do you guys need to be to have a conversation?

Kirk pointing out that Spock's action was based on hope and was therefore human and Spock trying to explain it away as a non emotional and therefore Vulcan action and the others just like him so much while he does so; it's not mean spirited but just lovely and such a great contrast to the tension earlier in the episode

So many of the shots inside the shuttle are accidently funny due to the camera angles they had use because of the tight space

Direct and straightforward episode set up: We have limited time (medicine needs to be brought to another planet) and the shuttle with two of our main characters gets lost in a phenomenon

Kirks desperation rising during his scenes the longer his crew is lost

great tension by the double plot: the immediate threat on the planet and the time pressure on the ship

I absolutely prefer the original special effects over the CGI remake. Look at how good the shuttle craft looks in comparison – taken from this youtube video which I recommend

Con

even for Trek the monsters are sort of shit

very minor but I'm annoyed at the uniform inconsistency, its yellow shirts not red shirt dying, the travesty

I know the commissioner is there to remind us of the time frame but his constant repeating starts to be annoying. I'm Kirk, just done with this guy (even though yes, he's right)

everyone but the yellow shirts who die have shit to do and opinions to have except the women who is just scared and doesn't wanna die

Counter: none

Quote "Did I? I may have been mistaken" - Spock "Well, at least I lived long enough to hear that" - McCoy

Moment: When the group sits in the doomed transporter together, knowing they're about to die but they seem collected

Free Bones because you can see his great make up in this one

Summary: Not quite bottle episode (even though it feels like it) that focusses on Spock and his struggles as a (half-) vulcan working with humans and his disconnect with them using a gripping and tense narrative; Over the course of the episode Spock learns a lot about humans, his connection to them and himself and he and his companions gather more respect for each other Previous Episode - Next Episode - All TOS Reviews

[showtoonzfan]

HELLUVA BOSS: S2E4 REVIEW

Ganna be honest, this episode wasn’t AS bad as I thought it would be, like I’m lowkey shocked. It’s certainly not the worst out of what we’ve seen, and it didn’t piss be off to high heaven, especially since the runtime is short and Blitz and Stolas are away from one another here, but….it still wasn’t….good, so let’s get into it.

So everyone already knows this episode was….so fast paced. Andrealphus doesn’t even get a proper introduction, and like I said before, in the span of one fucking minute, we have Stolas and Stella petty banter, Andrealphus, and Striker coming back to kidnap him. For starters, Yayy….glad to see Stolas and Stella acting like petty middle schoolers towards eachother. I was right when I said that the writers can’t figure out what they want their dynamic to be. Like….this is supposed to be the same couple that’s in an abusive serious situation, and it kinda doesn’t make me take them seriously if they’re just swearing at each other and bickering Viv. Also, glad to know the writers are outright saying “cheating is okay”- simply because Stella never liked him, so again….way to take the flaws Stolas had in season 1 and completely erase them and excuse them, just because you want Stolas to be in the right. It’s so distracting how fucking retconned they are, they might as well just have said “Stolas did nothing wrong” in Loo Loo Land if these were the writer’s true colors all along, but since Viv wrote this episode, I’m not surprised.

They hyped Andrealphus up but he gets like….two scenes and doesn’t do much like…lmao. In The Circus, again…they try to make it clear that divorce in the Goetia family is uwu serious, and Stella mentions Andrealphus, implying that he would be upset, or is a threat. When we actually meet him tho, he isn’t even….upset about the divorce? Why did Stella mention him then? What was the point of foreshadowing him and having Stolas say he doesn’t care what he thinks if Andrealphus was just going to be all like “oh you’re getting divorced? Okay, give us money then”- like it’s so fucking underwhelming but we’ll get back to him and Stella later. Also we see that Stolas has a scheduled meeting with Ozzie, implying that he may be trying to get that crystal after all. But…can this show just fucking….stop teasing us with future shit and just do it already? I’m so tired of the show dangling plot threads to come later in our face but they either NEVER come or the execution is underwhelming.

Blitz continues to be the most annoying and unfunny character in the entire show. His jokes and dialogue are a fucking pain to sit through and the scene where he’s trying to announce his appointment and fights with the lady in the waiting room drags and is unneeded. In fact, this whole side plot was unneeded. Viv doesn’t know how to fucking balance this show, she wants episodes to be serious and story driven but have a slice of life filler side plot at the same time and guess what? It doesn’t work or blend well. The constant cut aways are distracting from the main plot and you could have used this premise for a different episode. Loona doesn’t even have any dialogue, you could have at least improved the relationship between her and Blitz or had a moment of her being thankful that he was here and comforting her, appreciating him more….ya know….character development……..something that would have made this side plot actually useful since this is supposed to be a fucking “character driven” show about the relationships between the characters, but no. This side plot existed to pat out the run time and give Blitz and Loona something to do so they’re not just sitting there. As usual Loona does nothing, is useless and only there for the furry porn. The shot of her butt with the needle was 100% on purpose, I can tell.

(Also we’re on season 2 and only now finally get to see an upfront interaction of Imps being treated as the lower class, but it doesn’t do anything. This show tells us instead of showing us, they constantly remind you that imps are at the bottom but Blitz still literally has a good job that pays well and aside from the wrath imps providing food too feed hell, there’s no exploration of how imps having it lower than any other demon species. If anything it seems like Imps and the rest of the Hellborn species are all on the same ranking because Viv can’t storytell.) Also what is with the bleeping? I really don’t get it, it’s not funny and it’s distracting, making scenes awkward.

Predicted it, but Moxxie and Millie were…unneeded in this episode and were only included to fight Striker. These two really are useless when they’re not the focus and you can tell Viv has no idea what to do with them when they’re not. Also…..Viv…..Viv……is Moxxie strong, or not? Make up your fucking mind. In this episode he’s able to get the upper hand against a bigger imp, make him bleed and tie him to the car without an issue, and yet he’s been characterized as weak and not the muscle of the group. Is he strong or not? YAYY MORE CHARACTER INCONSISTENCIES! And glad to know Millie did nothing….as usual. Besides fight.

So Stolas has officially become Angel Dust, and Moxxie is slowly turning into Blitz so that’s great. It’s amazing how there’s barley a difference between the Stolas and Angel tho, he’s just Angel Dust. And Chaz. And Blitz. And every other fucking gay male character Viv writes. The constant cursing, the quick sassy witty banter, the sex jokes of him being tied up, you can tell Viv wrote this with those “harder” jokes between Moxxie and Stolas like…wow, it’s amazing how her gay characters have recycled personalities, aka the Sassy gay twink. Anyway, to me, Stolas before was horny and rabid don’t get me wrong, but something about the way he is in this episode just irks me more. I get that he hates Stella and Striker, but now he just seems like a petty sassy royal bird who acts like a child 24/7…..and it’s unfunny…..and annoying. All these characters are written like fucking children I can’t.

Apparently Striker has a reputation, is wanted around Hell and is well known for being an assassin now??? I thought he was just some Imp who was hired to kill someone? Lmao yet another retcon because if this was the case before, you’d think IMP would have heard of him in Harvest Moon. What’s also retconned is Striker saying he was asked to give Stolas the “full royal treatment”, to torture him I guess but….no? He was hired to shoot Stolas with an angelic gun. Why didn’t he just fucking shoot him. Speaking of that, where is the fucking angelic gun? The IMP gang had it last, and now they don’t have it. Also I already pointed this out but…Stolas can’t recognize Striker despite meeting him in episode 5 upfront. Let’s actually talk about Striker tho. He wasn’t perfect but he certainly was the best part of the episode. I actually applaud Bosco for his voice acting, and the scene with him snapping at the band to leave him alone was the only joke that made me laugh. I didn’t care about Striker that much before but this episode honestly made me did now, ignoring the fact that he’s characterized as egotistical. Problem is tho, like the rest of the antagonists, Stikers kinda just a tool. So he….may or may not be dead, I legit have no idea. If he is dead however….boy oh boy, that would piss me off, because IF he IS dead……then way to go guys, you killed off the only interesting and cool character. 🫠

I expected it, but it’s amazing how everything beforehand regarding him was for nothing if he does turn out dead. The tension he had between him and Moxxie? Would be gone. The fact that he appeared in Blitz’s hallucination, being someone who was similar to Blitz but they used their skills differently yet were the same regarding being mistreated by the upper class? Would be gone. Striker wanting to rebel against the higher class? Gone. Blitz doesn’t even get to interact with him before he dies, for a character that clearly had an impact on him. I was going to applaud this episode for actually being consistent and keeping Striker the same person who despises the upper class for what they do to the lower class, they even imply that he had someone he cares about taken away, but it’s all fucking gone if they KILLED HIM OFF. It all would go nowhere in the end and it pisses me off now because you HAD an interesting character, a villain who contrasted the main character, who had a point and could be humanized, and who rightfully calls out Stolas and his people being the scum of the earth, and now he might be dead because once again, Vivzie is an impatient writer who pushes the story forward too fast before we can even get to know these important characters, and also doesn’t want Stolas to be in a position where he’s in the wrong. Bro was literally eating at a rich place where imps serve you, treats his butler like a stress toy, talks down to Blitz and other imps…he’s not innocent Viv.

(It’s also obvious but this episode suffers from pacing issues, the constant cut aways, and scenes moving by so fast we can’t digest any of it. The FIGHT scene tho? Good god that was a mess, it’s literally faster than Millie’s fight scene from last episode, and the annoying songs playing as we kept cutting to Blitz at the appointment REALLY doesn’t help. I really feel like this studio can’t handle fight scenes….at all, or knows how they work. The video literally gets fucking blurry at one point like what the FUCK LMAO…..either hire someone who knows how to animate action scenes or don’t do action scenes at all.)

I knew Stella was still going to be one note, so I wasn’t surprised, but honestly what did piss me off is how stupid they make her. She was inconsistent before but now she’s just an idiot, because apparently she needed to be TOLD that once Stolas dies, everything goes to Octavia. Like are you kidding me? She’s so dumb that she needed to be told that?? She doesn’t even respond when Andre mentions Via, lmao her whole character really is “me hate Stolas and me want him dead” and nothing else. I’ll give the episode this, even though we barley got to see Andre, he wasn’t insufferable like I thought he would be, in fact, he’s more tolerable than Stella and Stolas combined since he’s the one who’s annoyed at their bickering and calls Stella out for being dumb, but that’s not a writing flex. Andre clearly seems to be the smart mastermind leading Stella now, I have no idea wether if they’ll later make her sympathetic and paint Andre out to be the baddie leading her, or not, it would be bad writing either way tho. Speaking of that….the way Andre treats Stella is off, and I don’t mean in the way that he could be evil. Like other critic blogs have been saying, he calls her attractive, a minx, and a vixen, all words you….wouldn’t really call your sister. It’s really gross and I’m starting to think the information we’ve been given of these two secretly screwing might be true. Like…if we’re doing straight up incest, I’m ganna hurl.

Andre also is all like “if we keep him alive, we’ll have more opportunities, let’s wait till we can get the upper hand”- and I’m…..what? You HAD the upper hand, that’s number one, and number two, this dialogue is VERY vague and makes me feel like Viv had no idea what exactly Andre’s end goal is here, so she used this dialogue as an excuse to figure it out later since she doesn’t plan shit ahead. Because what is Andre’s end goal? It’s confusing. Stella wants him dead, but then they’re talking about money and possessions. Andre seems to want to help Stella have Stolas’s estate, but she just wanted him dead because she hates him. Now you’re telling me she wants his estate too? YAY MORE RETCONS AND CONFUSING PLOT HOLES. Guess we’ll have to wait for Viv to figure out their motivations later lol.

Yada yada another retcon, Blitz cares for Uwu Stolas and is a dumbass for acting like he never knew Stolas could get hurt despite having a fucking angelic weapon on him and learning royals could be in danger in the last season, moving on-

So we’re finally at the end, the most important scene, the text scene. For starters, just like the other critic blogs have been saying……Ozzie’s finally……FINALLY gets brought up again and acknowledged, and it’s over a fucking blink and you’ll miss it half- assed text message. Like….WOW Viv, way to scrape the bottom of the barrel and confront this in the most underwhelming way possible. Would have been actually impactful and better if we saw this go down on fucking screen and have Blitz and Stolas address this in person, but nah let’s just have it happen off screen because storytelling and Viv? They don’t know each other!

But putting that aside, I want to talk about two important problems I had with this scene, because nobody is talking about how these messages make no goddamn sense. So if you actually read the messages between Blitz and Stolas, I hate how Stolas is characterized here, and I don’t mean how he’s suddenly acting like he always cared about Blitz because that’s been a problem since Ozzie’s, I’m talking about how oblivious and emotionally clingy he is. Like…seriously these text messages are a fucking mess. He suddenly acts clueless to how Blitz feels, wondering if he was upset or not, as if Blitz didn’t fucking tell him exactly why afterwards. Fuck you mean by “you just took off?”- I’m sorry Viv, did you forget the scene where Blitz drove Stolas home that night and called him out on his bullshit, saying all he did was treat him like a plaything? Because yeah, Ozzie’s may have finally been fucking mentioned in this show, but now it’s retconned AGAIN because apparently Stolas is a dumbass and can’t remember why Blitz was mad at him in the first place when he had spelled it out loud and clear. Stolas’s text messages make it out to be like they left the restaurant after Ozzie’s taunting and the scene with them at Stolas’s house never happened. Then Stolas is saying shit like “okay well phew glad you’re not upset then Ozzie is a kidder lol I didn’t mind the jabs he makes at me”- I…..WHAT??? What the fuck is going on? Why is Stolas written differently here? Why is the events of Ozzie’s written differently now? Stolas was literally embarrassed by Ozzie calling him out and hid in his menu, much to Blitz’s dismay. They then leave, Stolas can obviously tell Blitz is upset, and when he tries to reach to him gently, Blitz shuts him out, causing Stolas to cry alone. This episode is apparently now acting like their quarrel never happened because the dialogue is written as if they’re referring to Ozzie’s torment, not Blitz calling him out. This legit pisses me off because the show is once again telling us what we saw didn’t happen and rewriting it to fool us. Making Stolas out to be some vulnerable softie who cares about Blitz’s well being too—

And finally, Viv does what she does best by wanting to make you ship Blitz and Stolas together SO badly, but accidentally contradict herself by showing even MORE proof on why these two aren’t good for each other. Putting all the retconning aside, in this case it’s that…surprise surprise, Blitz is constantly miserable and unhappy around Stolas, or whenever they interact. And it’s not even that Blitz can’t communicate, or sucks at emotions, he just doesn’t fucking LIKE Stolas, and I don’t understand how many times the show is going pin that nail on the head until something actually happens, because this scene would have been more impactful if we weren’t already HERE before. Remember The Circus Viv? Stolas going through his Instagram and noticing Blitz was miserable all the time, and reflecting on how their relationship was a figment of his imagination? This scene is the same, it’s just done through text messages now. Why are we doing this again. And I don’t get what Viv’s end goal is here. Is she trying to make Stolas realize that Blitz never gave a shit about him (because we’re on season two and this bird brain can’t take a hint) or is she trying to make Stolas go “I thought he didn’t care but omg he texted me “get well soon” he DOES love me!” Yeah…probably the last option. This ship sucks. If anything…..why can’t Blitz and Stolas just be fucking friends? You wanna say they care about each other? Fine. But romantically, it just doesn’t work. They aren’t good for each other, and function better as friends, but GOD forbid, we can’t have that because they do the dirty in bed SO IT CAN’T BE PLATONIC, it must be romantic! I was literally right, this ship gets worse and worse every passing episode and Viv wants you to ship it so hard despite the fact that she STILL hasn’t given me ONE good reason why they should be a couple. End of story.

So that pretty much it. This episode was nowhere near has bad as the previous three, it’s the most tolerable, but still heavily flawed in the writing department. The dialogue still lacks nuance and sounds like an edgy 12 year old wrote it, the world is still empty, pacing was off, the animation was off too at times, the constant sex jokes during serious scenes are distracting and take away from what’s going on, the side plot didn’t need to happen, there’s also SCENES that didn’t need to happen, there are multiple retcons and empty plot holes/threads, and Viv once again can’t write a complex serious gay couple. She just doesn’t have the writing chops for it, especially since she keeps rewriting aspects and flip flopping between who is the worse lover and who isn’t. I’ll talk more about this episode later, you know how I rant a lot lol. Tomorrow I’ll be finally answering inbox questions too! If you managed to read my endless rant essay, I thank you! See you soon!

[tobiasdrake]

Do you think Dragon Ball would be better if it was less obsessed with every new villain being so much stronger than the last?

Better? That depends. Dragon Ball's emphasis on each mountain being higher than the last works for the story of Son Goku, which Dragon Ball is.

In any given story, the villain drives the plot but the hero sets its tone. Goku's tone is one of personal growth, the constant desire for self-improvement, and to never stop developing your abilities. Consequently, the plots his villains drive need to match that tone by creating obstacles suitable for Goku's story.

This is the problem that derailed Gohan's ascension to protagonist, as Dragon Ball continued to try and tell Gohan's story by creating a villain suitable for Goku's. It didn't know how to change direction and let Gohan set the tone instead, and instead kept going with Goku's.

Gohan could be a fantastic protagonist in a story driven by Gohan's tone. But he's not very good at being Goku. There's only one character who's good at being Goku, and that's Goku.

Which creates further problems into Super, because Goku's story kinda. Already. Ended satisfactorily. Like, it reached an organic conclusion, and has now become something of a zombie trying to keep doing the things that Goku's story did in the past at the expense of both other characters and Goku himself, who has no further story left in him to tell.

Goku's story worked for Goku but that story is over. Meanwhile, there are a wealth of other stories that could be told in the Dragon Ball universe. Those, however, would be stories best told through the lens of their protagonists, and not through Goku's.

[mayhemhq]

𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙨.

• we want to express our gratitude to all of you for making this past weekend’s event such a success. we work hard to create unique, out-of-the-box events that challenge us creatively. while some might find non-kayfabe boring over time, i believe that with such creative people around who are eager to explore new ideas, we can keep pushing the envelope and crafting experiences that inspire and engage everyone.

we’re proud to be a plot-driven, writing-focused group that values inclusion, creating a space where all writers can grow, explore, and connect. i’ve never encountered so many wrestling characters with such well-developed and authentic lore. it’s exciting to see that so many of you write for the same unique characters we might never think to combine, highlighting the diversity and creativity with our muns. we’re very lucky you all continue to call us home.

• as we saw last week, we were approached through gossip to stir up some drama and support a plot. we want to emphasize that we’d LOVE to keep doing that. it can be challenging to keep gossip engaging, especially when there’s not a lot happening. even then, it can feel repetitive and sometimes unfair to certain characters. with that in mind, we’d love to start a weekly or bi-weekly round-up of drama, like a write-up or newsletter, to keep things fresh and exciting! a lot more “overheard” drama, just simple stuff that can’t warrant a whole post, but can be interesting tidbits to keep plots going. watch out for @mayhemtea for sign up posts and whatnot for that.

• the next couple of months—november (which is less than two weeks away, what!) and december—are always busy for everyone. as a result, we won’t have as many events as usual. typically, we aim for two big events along with a few mini writing events, but going forward, we’ll focus more on round robin-style activities. these are easier to plan during the week, rather than setting aside weekends. we’ll also incorporate some team-building activities to match the holiday spirit. however, we will still host one monthly gathering!

december 21st is the first official day of winter and you know what that means: mayhem games... will be making its resurgence in january. a winner MUST be crowned! new team captains, but still the same rivalry.

• we want to assure you that, even with the busy season approaching, removals will continue as usual until closer to the holidays. while we’ve been more lenient recently, we’ll be putting more effort into addressing rolehogging. our goal is to create excitement about writing and being active in the group, rather than just focusing on individual ships. anyone who has connected with us knows we’re approachable and understanding, and we’re always here to help—as long as there’s open communication. if you need a hiatus or some time away, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

we believe our four-day limit is manageable, as interacting counts as activity, and we’re not requiring constant writing. just a reminder that musings and photo posts won’t count toward activity.

• october 31st isla dawn is hosting our first member lead event and she has posted the signup sheet HERE. we’re VERY excited and can’t wait to see how it turns out! that being said, we ask all of you to sign up by commenting on her post, reaching out to her or dming us and we will send all names over. we have gotten the few of you who have sent us already and we plan to send those over asap!

xo, @mayhemhq 🖤

[dreamingkelz]

I’ll admit, I’m a little nervous writing this, but I’ve been thinking in circles a lot lately, and I thought writing my thoughts down would be helpful and maybe alleviate some anxiety? This isn’t really criticism about anything, so much as observations and analysis and just a general attempt to understand some of the weirder things I’ve experienced being in this fandom.

With that said, let’s get started.

I’ve talked in the past about how protective I feel when it comes to the eggs. I don’t like people threatening to kill them. I don’t like when the story puts them in danger. I don’t like how neglect deaths are still a risk. And after a few close calls over the past few days, egg welfare is in the front of my mind again, and I’ve found myself questioning why I feel this way. It’s strange, isn’t it? As many people have said, they’re just a bunch of pixels in a video game, aren’t they?

First and foremost, I want to preface this by saying I’m a writer, and more specifically, I’m a writer who loves angst. I’ve always drifted towards tragic narratives. I want to see the characters I’m invested in get tested. I want to see them cope with trauma and loss. I love when a story can make me cry. I’m not necessarily a fan of child death as a narrative device, but of all of the stories I’ve written, my favorite does see the main character watching four of his five children die in increasingly horrific ways over the course of fifty chapters, so it’s definitely not a dealbreaker for me. If the QSMP was an ordinary story, I think I would love the tension and the horror of the situation. As is, there have been some interesting character developments to come out of the constant threat of death, or the trauma caused by past deaths on the server.

So then why? Why does the thought of egg deaths still fill me with a nauseating sense of dread?

To start with, the QSMP is not an ordinary story. I don’t think any story told through this particular style of Minecraft roleplay is or can be. This is real-time player-driven roleplaying, and I think there are three medium-defining factors at play here. One: every player (usually) streams their perspective. Two: characters appear and disappear from the story based on the players’ streaming schedules. And three: while they are online, we will experience every single thing that happens to the players.

Combined, we end up with a narrative that simultaneously has characters that are better-developed than can be found in any other medium, while also somehow being worse. Any character is likely to have a vivid, colorful personality, deeply engaging relationships with the people around them, a rich inner life, and their own unique perspective on any events that occur on the server. But that same character might inexplicably be absent from a plot beat that they are heavily invested in, solely because the streamer isn’t available for that particular stream. Plotlines get dropped for any number of reasons. Backstories are, more often than not, cobbled together from references to past servers that the player has taken part in. All-in-all, narrative and even character takes a backseat to the players - their identities, their schedules, their playstyles, their comfort.

It is also worth repeating that everything that happens on the server is unfolding in real time. The narrative doesn’t cut away when the story stops, at least not for most of the players. There are a handful who might log in with a single focus for the day, stream for one or two hours, then log off again. But many more are there nearly every day for several hours at a time, and a lot of that time will be dedicated to non-story events - building, doing dungeons, making machines, or just hanging out with the other players. While any player on any stream can be prone to breaking character to talk about events from their offline lives, these long, lore-light streams are especially prone to it. And there are some players who specifically try to avoid participating in lore altogether. At the end of the day, they are streamers first, and actors in a story second.

The result of all of these factors is a server with an incredibly thin line between fiction and reality. There is a distinction between the player and the character they play, yes, but in any given stream the difference between the two can become murky.

But how does this tie to the eggs?

In the beginning, it wasn’t necessarily so bad. The eggs were just cute little blobs that followed their respective players around and needed to be taken care of. There was even a lot of confusion in the earliest days as to whether or not they were controlled by AI. If that was all they had stayed, perhaps we wouldn’t have gotten so attached? The problem came when they started talking.

Suddenly, the eggs were able to communicate things they liked and projects they wanted to work on. They were able to tell jokes, and express complicated emotions, and let the personalities they’d already started fostering shine. They started carving out niches in the community of the server - people ask Dapper for help with engineering projects and mod-related information; Richarlyson’s art is plastered over every other business and he even does concept art for builds; the eggs form relationships outside of their assigned player, with eggs and players alike. Some of them even have their own ongoing storylines. Parents are careful to make sure that every egg is taken care of every week, and everybody freaks out if they see an egg go down in chat.

Yes, the eggs are cute. They’re small and meant to evoke human children. The players are explicitly told to protect them, to raise them, and keep them healthy and happy. Of course everybody would become attached. But isn’t it strange to get this attached?

If cute child characters were all they were, I would think so. But that isn’t the case. In practice, the eggs are effectively players themselves.

Players that only exist in the context of the server.

Players that the server is actively trying to kill.

And I think that is the problem. The eggs are characters in a story, but the story has such a murky line between fiction and reality, that they wind up feeling real. After all, they follow the same rules as the other “characters” when it comes to portraying a character. This isn’t like a Cucurucho or a Walter Bob who come online once in a while to hang out, but clearly have an off-screen role to play in the story as well. The eggs may not stream their perspectives, but they spend nearly one hundred percent of their time interacting with players, and if they’re not with a player, they’re assumed to be sleeping. Furthermore, depending on whose perspective you watch, you’re going to spend a minimum of three days a week watching egg content, and when they log on, they tend to stay for hours. If you were watching in the beginning, they were online every day. That is a LOT of time to “get to know” these characters who so convincingly mimic the players.

Effectively (and unintentionally), the QSMP has tricked the audience into forming parasocial relationships with a handful of fictional characters.

I have never cried over the death of a fictional character, or even had a particularly strong reaction. When a character is in danger, usually my reaction is excitement over the narrative possibilities the situation could create. I love tragedy in fiction. I love horror. I love drama. And on the server itself, this is how I’ve consistently felt about inter-player conflicts. My engagement is at its highest when there is some kind of narrative tension between the player characters (and the fandom reactions to this kind of thing deserve their own essay).

But when Dapper lost his first life, I was so viscerally upset that I nearly dropped the series to protect my mental health. I have pointedly refused to watch any stream where an egg dies if I know it’s coming, and I tend to avoid streams dealing with the aftermath of their deaths as well.

Because no matter how much logic you throw at the situation, it still feels real. If a player character perma-dies, or is banned, or just chooses to leave, they may no longer have a presence in the server, but it’s still clear to the audience that only the character is dead. The player exists outside of the server, and for the parasocially invested, it’s usually still easy to keep up with them if one wants to. The eggs broadly do not have that luxury. Once they’re dead in the story, they cease to exist altogether, and in an environment where the fiction/reality line is already so blurred, that is going to have a strong impact on the audience. No amount of hearing “they’re pixels in a video game” is going to mitigate that.

I think the best case scenario is that they grant the eggs the same immortality as the players, whether it be through hatching or some other means, and allow them to come and go as suits them. The eggs have fulfilled their initial purpose, and the server would really benefit from removing this hurdle that disincentivizes chaos and recklessness and incentivizes harassment from a highly-stressed audience. Multiple players have already said they have no intention of returning because they don’t want to deal with the fallout that will come from potentially hurting an egg. But all of these eggs have carved out a real place in the server, and it would be a shame to lose that.

The eggs are important to the QSMP and a major draw for a lot of people. And I don’t think that needs to change. But I do think that there are ways to use the eggs for narrative drama without having to force your audience into subconsciously believing that their favorite streamer has died. The QSMP, and servers like it, provide a unique storytelling medium with its own advantages and challenges. And as with any medium, it’s important to be aware of what these challenges are in order to tell the best story possible.

[miloscat]

[Review] The Last Guardian (PS4)

Ico 2 & the Colossus.

The Last Guardian (bad name) had a messy development, with Team Ico working on the game since 2007. Struggles with the PS3 prolonged its gestation, and Team Ico disbanding and leaving Sony can't have helped. But Director Fumito Ueda formed a new studio, GenDesign, with many of the former staff, and they decided to continue collaborating with internal Sony studios to finally get the game finished in 2016.

I feel like knowing this game was in development hell for almost a decade helps me understand some things about the final product. The movement and mechanics have the same kind of clumsy jank that Ico and Shadow of the Colossus do, but somehow it doesn't hang together as well. The big new gameplay ideas end up in player frustration way too often. The overall story is full of enticing mystery but leaves off with too many lingering questions.

Describing the game as Ico 2 fits it well, I think. You're a little boy (unfortunately nameless this time) clambering around an old mysterious ruined castle solving puzzles to proceed through the environment, and avoiding capture by . This time instead of an enigmatic girl as your companion (or a horse, in SotC's case) you have a gryphon-like creature named Trico. A more apt comparison might be the Anzû of Mesopotamian mythology, as there's other inspirations from that culture in the looks and plot (thanks to my friend Gibbon for pointing this out). Sidenote, Trico is usually referred to with male pronouns, which breaks the pattern of male protagonist and female companion in the previous games. And yes, I feel like constant comparisons are warranted with this series since there's a fairly distinct throughline.

Anyway. The Ico continuity is clear, while Trico represents a kind of friendly Colossus, as you often have to climb on them... and try to manipulate their wilful behaviour the way you had to in some Colossus fights. A key technical goal and talking point of the game is Trico’s realistic animal behaviour… well and good but having a character you rely upon be consistently recalcitrant and obtuse did not make for a consistently enjoyable gameplay experience for me. You soon learn to issue commands to Trico and while it can be thrilling to ride them around and fight alongside them, the delays and misinterpretations really added up to frustration for me more often than I’d like. Add to this that it’s not always clear what you have to do next, and that progress sometimes looks like failure in this linear story-driven game, the result can be confusion.

The dynamic between the two is the heart and soul of the game, so when it breaks down you can feel helpless. But when it works it’s incredible, this big feathery kitty coming to trust you and helping you solve puzzles, while you work to heal Trico’s hurts and traumas. This is a really strong concept that the whole game is built around, it’s only let down by some clumsiness in the execution.

As you venture around these crumbling chambers and towers, there are a few optional things to find. Trico is fed via glowing barrel; they attract glowing butterflies of the same colour so I figured that’s what they contain but the truth may be more sinister. Finding out-of-the-way rooms with barrels adds up to costume unlocks… a limited form of cosmetic customisation that sadly is only enabled for subsequent playthroughs. Unless you’re planning on multiple runs, you’ll have to settle for finding them being its own reward. Especially when you can’t get Trico to eat the damn things, or your discovery of them gets reset when you die on a platforming section.

The Last Guardian (still a bad name) is an uncut gem, it could have been so brilliant if not for the roughness that pervades the experience. As with its two predecessors it has strong art direction, the ancient land you find yourself in the perfect place for an adventure full of mystery. But with as many cool and interesting ingredients as there are, there's aspects that are clearly not ready for primetime even after so long in the oven (to mix a metaphor). Even things like Trico's appearance I feel are representative of the game as a whole: they worked hard to give each feather individual rendering and physics, but look at it as a whole and it's a big flapping mess. Eight years on, TLG doesn't seem to have had the impact and staying power as Team Ico's other games have, and that's a shame... but I understand why.

[fatalfangirl]

Almost Six Books Sunday

Hi, i’m around, just perpetually exhausted and still dealing with everything I previously shared. Which means I have not had the mental capacity to write! At all! Not even a little! But I have been reading because *escapism*

So I’m here to share five books I have recently enjoyed. They’re all m/m, most are a mind-the-trigger-warnings situation, and they have all kept me sane during times of e x t r e m e stress.

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows.

Byzantine politics, lush sexual energy, and a queer love story that is by turns sweet and sultry, Foz Meadows' A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is an exploration of gender, identity, and self-worth. It is a book that will live in your heart long after you turn the last page.

And boy if that ain’t the truth. I LOVED Vel and Cae so much and world felt full and rich (even if the main political mystery element was kind of unnecessarily convoluted). Definitely mind the TW, but I enjoyed this book greatly and thought Vel’s growth in particular was well done.

To say I look forward to the second book is an understatement.

A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland

To prove his loyalty to the queen, his sister, Kadou takes responsibility for the investigation of a break-in at one of their guilds, with the help of his newly appointed bodyguard, the coldly handsome Evemer, who seems to tolerate him at best. In Arasht, where princes can touch-taste precious metals with their fingers and myth runs side by side with history, counterfeiting is heresy, and the conspiracy they discover could cripple the kingdom’s financial standing and bring about its ruin.

This book is delish. Yum yum yummy slow burn. Very character driven where (once again) the political mystery plot sort of takes a back seat to the more interesting relation developing. Kadou and Evemer have that sort of interdependency that I am weak for. WEAK I tell you.

Also the author wrote a fic for her own book and I love that for all of us.

Lord of Silver Ashes (Rowan Blood Book 2) by Kellen Graves

After two weeks in the attic of Danann House, Saffron anticipates the moment he can finally be reunited with Prince Cylvan--but that day is unexpectedly marred by a visit from Headmistress Elluin, who doesn't believe Saffron was the one to perform magic in Beantighe Village in the attempt to save Berry. Saffron will be expected to prove it; if he can't, every other human he loves will be arrested and executed for arid practice and conspiracy.

This book series is the type of thing that I could binge read forever. Is it ultra original? No. Are there TW galore? Definitely. Does our plucky mc have plot armor? The thickest. He should be dead like 10 times over, but is instead in a constant state of what must be agonizing pain from gruesome injuries he somehow just grits his teeth through.

And I love every fucking moment of this series. Saffron is BABY and his dumb high elf lover is ALSO BABY. I cannot wait for book 3.

Prince and Pawn (Perilous Courts Book 3) by Tavia Lark

Prince and Pawn is a high fantasy gay romance with hurt/comfort, forbidden pining, inappropriate use of vines, and more magic tigers. The Perilous Courts series is best read in order, but each book follows a different prince and his Happily Ever After.

I have read 4.5 of the planned 6 books in this series and I keep thinking “surely there’s no possible way I’ll enjoy this couple as much as the last.” And then I DO. EVERY. TIME. But Audric and Corin get special mention because their particular trope is one I’m extra weak to.

This series is really about the characters with the barest thread of a plot, but oh how yummy those characters are. I freaking churned through a book a day and then ended up on the author’s Patreon because I couldn’t get enough. BOOK 5 SOON!!!!!

Wolfsong (Green Creek Book 1) by TJ Klune

Wolfsong is the beginning of the Green Creek Series, the beloved fantasy romance sensation by New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune, about love, loyalty, betrayal, and family.

I will murder for this pack!!! Ox and Joe are just so very!!!!!!!! WEEPS!

Now does it take some wrapping your head around the whole “they were 10 and 16 and destined to be together”? Yes, yes it does, but I think this series does a good job of showing that love is not necessarily sexual—as good a job as it does showing family is not necessarily blood.

(I’m almost done with book 2, and Mark might be the ultimate babe.)

If you managed to make it this far, thanks for that. I’ll come up for air again soon.

[newspropaganda]

Zexal: Why It's not good after 11 years later.

Oh, here we go—2025 is right around the corner, and we still have people proclaiming that Zexal is "peak fiction," as if it's some holy grail of storytelling. Yeah, sure, it's peak alright—peak fanboy delusion! And don’t even start on the guilt-tripping. Because apparently, if you have the audacity to say you’re not a fan, you’re branded as some kind of villain, as if you’re about to start building walls of Zexal DVDs to keep yourself safe from all these so-called enlightened "fans." The way they act, you’d think critiquing it was some unforgivable sin. But no, sorry, disliking a Yu-Gi-Oh! spinoff doesn't make you the second coming of an internet troll.

Exactly! People should have the right to dislike that dumpster fire without getting roasted for it. Criticizing Zexal should be as normal as calling out 5D's for the clunky Fortune Cup arc or ripping into GX Season 4 for that top-tier lousy writing. But no, some people act like it's blasphemy if you even dare question Zexal’s so-called greatness. It's like they’re convinced that the only way to boost Zexal is by throwing 5D's under the bus—like we’re back in some Star Wars prequels-vs.-sequels debate nightmare.

Look, not everyone’s going to love 5D's, but they sure as hell don’t need to bash it just to keep Zexal afloat. We’re allowed to point out the flaws in both without being labeled heretics. So, yeah, let's keep those critiques coming and stop pretending Zexal is untouchable.

The problem with Zexal? Oh, buckle up, because it’s mostly a mess because it tries so hard to be all about story but completely forgets to make the characters actually worth caring about. Yuma? Too dense to develop in any meaningful way—he's like a perpetual toddler who needs Astral to babysit him every five seconds. Astral’s entire job is basically to say, “No, Yuma, don’t touch that, that’s not how it works,” while Yuma fumbles around like he’s never held a Duel Disk in his life.

And as if the story wasn’t bad enough, it’s like a sludge pipe burst all over the script. Just when you think they’re about to clean up this narrative train wreck, more plot gets dumped on you, like you’re drowning in bad decisions and cringe-worthy monologues that refuse to end. It’s exhausting, honestly. The “story-driven” approach only works if the story’s actually good, but in Zexal, it’s just...a constant, unfiltered deluge of plot puke that never stops coming.

Ratings—that’s the real kicker, isn’t it? People love to throw around this nonsense about 5D's being canceled because of "bad ratings." Total myth, but it became the go-to excuse back in the 2010s. Meanwhile, Zexal got split into two parts because, let’s be real, Zexal I was a hard sell. Fans were lukewarm at best, and that’s putting it kindly. But then along came Zexal II, and, boy, did it crank up the "Saturday morning cheese" to max—like we were back in 2007 watching every cartoon getting mangled by cheap slapstick and shallow twists.

Zexal I was at least...bearable, if uninspired. But Zexal II? It just couldn’t stop piling on the fluff, the clichés, the endless padding. It’s like they thought, “Hey, let’s double down on what wasn’t working!” And somehow, that’s what got propped up in ratings, while 5D's got dragged through the mud for no good reason. Makes you wonder if Zexal was just a victim of that era’s worst habits.

Anyway, Zexal can't save itself out of a paper bag let alone be a so called ''masterpiece'' as these dick fanboys claim it.

[kattythingz]

Jumping onto the Roy killing Winry's parents bandwagon to say that fma 03 is more character driven than brotherhood. The characters in 03 are 3 dimensional and they seem human, if that makes sense? Like I've seen people hate on how Greed died in 03 like that moment wasn't a great scene. It made perfect sense, to me at least, for Greed to let Ed kill him so that he could go on to kill the other homunculi. Greed literally never gave a fuck about his siblings or being human he was just living his best life.

I too dislike how that situation was dealt with in brotherhood. Winry finally comes face to face with her parents killer and a few weeks later she's helping him? With no resolution to the original issue? WHAT!?

In 03 that situation, and alot of situations if I'm being honest, really make me wonder what is the right thing? The right thing is never obvious either. In Brotherhood alot of the struggle came from a "I have to do this the right way but how can I do that?" mindset while in 03 it was the constant question that never got answered, "What is the right thing?"

I love that Winry gets her own struggle and is actually treated as an important character in 03 from the jump. And I love even more that we get both sides of the story too. When you know Roy as the cocky silver-tongued smug bastard it hits so much deeper when you see him at his lowest. At the point attempting suicide. It's such a struggle because I know both sides but can't figure out who was wrong, if anyone was wrong.

I love that Winry has an internal struggle she goes through that adds to not only the series, but her character. It makes her so much more likable in 03 when she doesn't just randomly pop up like the ice cream truck and start crying over some shit that went down last episode. She's done justice in 03 because- and I'm gonna say this loud so the people in the back can hear too- SIDE CHARACTERS ARE IMPORTANT TOO! JUST BECAUSE THEY ARENT THE MAIN CHARACTER DOESNT MEAN THEY SHOULD BE THROWN OUT THE WINDOW? THEY HAVE SHIT GOING ON TO THEIR LIVES DONT REVOLVE AROUND THE MAIN CHARACTER.

The Scar in 03 is already more likeable too because hes not just a stone cold killer and also because he killed Basque Grand 🤪 I fucking hate Basque Grand. (Because of a fic i read but thats neither here nor there) And the way Al follows him and is like "Um could you please stop trying to kill my brother? If you want to ofc! >.<" IS HILARIOUS

IM RAMBLING BUT THE POINT IS 03 IS VERY CHARACTER DRIVEN AND THATS A PART OF WHY I LOVE IT. It has the perfect amount of both character development and plot progression. PLUS GENDER FLUID ENVY even though I hate that mf we still get representation. AND DARKSKIN ROSE! Brotherhood white washing her made me wanna slap the animators when I realized what they did.

NO HATE TO BROTHERHOOD THO I LOVE THEM BOTH BUT 03 HAS A HOLD ON ME

YESSS CHARACTER-DRIVEN 03 MY BELOVED. God just thinking about the characterization in 03 makes me swoon. Loml fr. I'd argue Winry actually isn't as prominent in 03, but she's def less around to be ruined as a love interest, which I think is a pro nonetheless. About 03 Scar, I dunno about preferring one over the other tbh. I was never interested in Scar much to begin with as a character. But I do think in 03 he's much less severe, which... might be a downgrade, if you consider his rage at the literal genocide of his people. He deserves to be a stone-cold killer about that (so long as he doesn't drag in actual innocents, naturally).

AND YEAAAH POC ROSE. POC ROSE MY BELOVED. Dude fun fact I actually loved Rose enough back when I first watched 03 to ship her with Ed. I still fancy them a little as a romance, tho their friendship is just as dear to me. One day I'll write sth with her and Ed as besties. One day. I technically already did that in a kill la kill au but that's not posted so it doesn't count

03 is just. Such a good study of humanity. I'll never get over it.

[ladyluscinia]

Not going to put this directly on the long discussion chain that prompted it because it's somewhat topic adjacent at best and I have no intention of derailing a discussion of fandom racism, but - while reading some of the "Izzy critical" responses that @bromelads got - I did see mention of one thing that I have both passionate feelings about and a near constant desire to elaborate some oft ignored context for. So.

One of the things mentioned as a source of discomfort in fandom for "Izzy critical" poc was posts rejecting that Edward was growing or healing in 1x09 and 1x10, suggesting that it mostly serves to empathize with Izzy over Ed and to make Izzy's actions look better at the expense of Ed's character / softness. The same person who gave this example later agreed that there's some truth in the idea that Izzy crits' misinterpretation of Izzy fan meta has something to do with the (very baffling) perception that we all don't like Ed or think he's the simplified villain of Izzy's story or something, which I just want to a) appreciate for a second because I do actually adore Edward so much, and b) mention specifically because I think the whole Ed healing debate is a great example of that.

I'm not going to argue why I am staunchly in the "Ed wasn't healing" / "Kraken was inevitable" camp because I've done it before, but I do want to point out some related thoughts around that argument that I've picked up on each time it loops back around.

I feel like a lot of the people who strongly disagree with or get mad about that take frame it as though we are minimizing or rejecting the existence of Edward's softness entirely. It's like... Ok, so there is a distinct sequence of moments where Edward is displaying emotional vulnerability or a draw toward fine things that fans noticed, and then they interpreted the pink robe Ed's "healing" as all that starting to pay off in his character development (before being interrupted by an external obstacle: Izzy). A very straightforward A -> B. Only when I push back against B and say "hold on I don't see any healing in 1x10," then I feel like people hear me rejecting that all the moments of A meant anything at all. If I see the shadow of the Kraken as an internally motivated obstacle being built in earlier episodes, then I must think that's the dark and violent payoff, and the evidence of softness was a diversion or manipulation or just not going anywhere significant in character terms.

Which is very frustrating to me because Edward is a romcom protagonist.

Yes, this is very obvious to everyone. But it matters in this debate because protagonist status comes with very significant guarantees - namely, Edward is going to grow / heal / get his happy ending, etc. We've even got Stede's S1 arc (which remember is still unfinished too) as a good example of structure and focus on internalized character flaws framed by plot hurdles. There is no version of this story arc where Edward ends as the Kraken, and I have never seen anybody suggest he's not currently on a character arc toward growth and healing and a circle of true companions in Stede's crew who love him for who he is.

So when I or anyone else says he's not there yet, it's almost exclusively because we are arguing about where he is on this character arc in 1x10. Of course the appreciation for fancy clothes and slow mornings with overly sugared tea is going to pay off! Of course he's going to become friends with the crew (I'm rooting for Frenchie S2 bonding)! Of course he's going to get to beat back that self loathing he's carried since his dad! But people get defensive and angry like you are personally targeting them and declaring their blorbo an irredeemable asshole because you suggest character development major enough to drive a character driven show probably takes more than a few weeks of easygoing vacation to reach final form. That's not what I'm saying at all!

Interpretations upsetting or offending people even when written with a complete lack of malice is nothing new, but it really seems like making up a whole army of guys to get mad at for takes is happening more and more. (And I'll admit I'm probably getting more and more guilty of this myself as my understanding of what exactly people are arguing in different fandom city states gets more and more fractured. Meta builds off of meta, and if you randomly see one post by one blog you already disagree with, you might be missing a lot of context to clarify what they actually mean vs "of course that's the awful take you would have".)

[autisticethanmorgan]

How I would continue mbav in comic form

disney, teletoon, fresh tv, whoever the fuck owns the rights to this, please let me have them

LONG ASS POST WARNING

we are past the days of any further mbav television content, but you know what has a much lower production cost and would fill a specific niche? a comic/graphic novel continuation >:) Teen rating because pretty much anyone who was the target audience of mbav when it was airing is late teen or older and I want the characters actions to have more consequence, basically i want to injure my protagonists

I would pick up a month or two after the lucifractor explosion, establish the new status quo, we cant really do a continuation if they all died so Ill settle for injury and property damage, including putting out main man Ethan in a half magic/half head trauma induced coma! this is kind of a cheap story beat but i cant help it I love a coma and its a good opportunity for both sarah and benny to get a little bit darker and have some interesting character development, with the most important difference being that sarah basically gets through it and refuses to compromise her morals whereas benny is very lost without ethan being his moral compass and becomes more and more reckless with magic, eventually leading to him attempting a very risky spell to wake ethan up which does work but basically has sarah and his grandma like 'wtf is wrong with you'

meanwhile erica and rory are fucking around in the states bc this would be a very fun B plot for a while before they return, if youve read the comic crowded im thinking of that kind of vibe

so anyway ethan is back up and running now and everyone is kind of trying to get back to normal but its really hard and theres a lot of residual magic causing problems and making bennys magic more powerful, and its giving ethan basically constant migranes and really vague visions and horrifying dreams and all that good 'plauged with visions' stuff.

sarah and ethan have not gone on any more dates at this point so theyre not dating but they do have this kind of romantic aspect of their relationship and they basically havent talked about it since the explosion, kind of a silent understanding of like 'i love you and i dont really care that its platonic or romantic but i just understand whats happening in a way almost no one else can and Im here for you even if now just isnt the time for us'

benny is continuing to get more reckless and kind of vengeful with his magic use, testing his limits, using magic to get back and the people making snide comments in the halls, especially after ethan comes back to school, when your best friend is in a coma for two months you get kind of defensive about it I guess. If you’re not a bethan truther I’m sorry but Ethan can have two intense friendships that border on romantic, both of which are societally non conventional/acceptable. In fact he has to. It is so good narratively. but anyway at some point there is a particularly bad incident benny gets more vindictive than ever before and hurts this guy pretty badly till ethan is yelling at him to stop

at this point ethan and sarah and grandma are like 'uhhh benny is getting kinda intense' but they dont even know the half of it because secretly he learning magic that isnt in his book, researching on his own and making stuff up. the magic itself wants him to be getting stronger, its not like sentient but it does have kind of a self preservation instinct? like a power begets power type thing that magic users can very easily be driven mad by their own magic if theyre not careful or dont have another magic user telling them to touch grass.

i think benny can have unexamined mental repercussions due to his parents having either left him or died. as a treat. so when he get magic and suddenly he can control things he couldnt before yknow who can blame him for getting kind of lost, i personally would become insane. I havent really though about the specific of him devolving and mentally deteriorating. I dont want him to be too evil yknow? bc we will be letting him get redeemed latr bc im a sucker for that.

at this point erica and rory return from their wacky adventures bc this is no time for a silly b plot. and they are like huh benny got kind of weird and different and ethan is like haha no hes fine

he is not fine

he is actually sneaking out of town to meet another magic user who is basically like 'i will act like a father figure to gain your trust' and benny is like 'epic!' yknow because he. becuase. because he has no dad :D. he gets exposed to magic that grandma doesnt do and is both scared and impressed and this other magic user is like 'she doesnt want you to learn this >:| she doesnt want you to reach your fullest potential' and benny is like 'hmm idk about that' but they keep talking until this guy is like 'arent you tired of being nice?dont you just wanna go apeshit?' but benny is still like 'hmmm my really close boy best friend probably wouldnt like that' but its too late. its already in motion.

benny gets more evil. he is causing problems in whitechapel and does not seem to care. benny be like 'thought acquired: if i control everything and destroy the things i dont like then everything will be good and i can protect my friends forever. i see no moral problems with this' more development into evil, dont ask me the details i dont know.

bennys evil girl summer culminates in some kind of fight where ethan enters his mind bc yeah obviosly thats where this has been going, idk if ive just spent to long thinking about jean grey and scott summers but this is the most interesting thing ever. i want to see ethan walking through bennys memories end of life is strange style and realizing that all of his most important memories are of them together, times that theyve comforted or protected each other and it ends with a memory of from just before they met sarah. that memory fades out and ethan is standing on the street in front of his house, so he goes up to his room and benny is there but this time its really him and not just a memory version of him and benny is like 'i dont know how it got to be like this, this isnt what i wanted, how do i fix this?' and ethan is like 'i havent given up on you, you can still come back and we can try to make it right' and they hug and they come back to reality and benny basically breaks down sobbing yeah i <3 sad boys. he has a lot of regrets. ( i have written a lot of this scene bc i am insane and obsessed)

by the next morning hes left town. only leaving a note saying he needs to go away and clear the magic out of his head. hes reversed as much of the magic he did as he could, and left ethan with a spell leaving the words 'semper reveniam ad te' on his arm that will disappear when they see each other again or if benny dies.

[rudo-lfium]

The Fall of the House of Usher - my 2c

So I'm only 3 episodes in, and I admit it's a beautifully made show, very artistic, extremely creative, visually stunning and all that.

However its artistic value is deteriorating rapidly in my eyes because, once you dissect its story, it becomes obvious that it's another lecture on Divine Retribution by religious zealots.

At first I was trying to willfully ignore the obvious signs and kept trying to treat the characters as real (sic) human beings interacting with each other in a material world and being driven in their actions by practical motives such as revenge, advantage, love, devotion, hatred and competition. You know, just like we do in our everyday lives.

However the further the show takes us along its dark narration, the more impossible does it become to brush away such glaring symbolisms as the number of children being 6, which added to the 2 main protagonists (or rather, anti-heroes), makes 8, and that is exactly the number of cardinal sins listed in the earliest religious texts on the matter.

Thusly the story is reduced to the level of another "deadly sins" fabula of which there is already an unnecessary abundance. And my gripe with such plots is founded in my deep resentment of organized religion and its extreme, inhumane, monstrous values which the Churchers like to call "virtues".

All these postulates were developed by The Church (let's use it as a collective term for the purposes of this discussion) in order to suppress free thinking and to punish the "too damn smart" ones. In practice this just means legalized murder. Justification of killing off of all those who refuse to comply. The moral aspect here is indistinguishable from "jihad" which by definition means physical annihilation of all unbelievers. Since Islam is based intimately on Judaism such kinship of policies is to be expected, really.

Literary works, or in this case, a television series, in which some supernatural Avenging Angel murders those guilty of "cardinal sins" without a trial-and-investigation serve as tools to promote the policy of intimidation and oppression. They convince the easily impressed in the legality of such methods and place their sympathies firmly on the side of the murderers.

And when someone is convinced that it's not murder but a completely justified Divine Retribution, they will readily push their own kin under the guillotine or on the pyre and will remain in complete psychological obedience to The Church -- or any higher authority. We've seen it happen a million times.

Back to the plot, let's take the court trial. It is shown to be helpless in trying to convict Usher Sr and Ms Usher, his sister. What is it if not a demonstration of the fact that "human courts" are powerless against "such monsters" and the only way to bring them to justice is to send Gabriel The Smiting down from Heaven to exact punishment on their heads? And since he acts on a warrant signed by God himself, it's all tip-top with everybody.

Thus anything done to the Ushers is completely justified and requires no investigation. He is deserving of punishment, think the believers, and as such must be subjected to all sorts of inhumane sufferings to make him pay for the sufferings that he had allegedly inflicted on others. So let's start by killing his children. Let's whack them one by one in most horrendous and gory ways possible to scare him into fits of hallucinations where he's surrounded by come-from-the-dead corpses of his offspring day and night and hasn't a minute's rest from the constant pain. And then we'll murder him and his bitch of a sister too, because, well, you know, there must be 8 sacrifices, IT IS WRITTEN. Oh yeah, and let's make sure that each and every one of these 8 have no redeeming qualities at all, let's paint them as utterly terrible people in every aspect, so as to ensure the public's total repulsion of their personas. It is imperative that no one is allowed even a faintest chance at feeling any sympathy towards either one of the marked targets.

What is Usher's sudden "confession session" with the prosecutor if not a symbolism for penance? That's what believers do to have their sins excused -- they confess to the priest in an attempt to buy their way into Heaven. Usher, too, is trying to reserve himself a seat on a cushy cloud after he dies, so he's "confessing to his crimes" as a last ditch effort to escape the fires of Hell. By the way, the highest percentage of devout believers is found amongst repeat offenders in prisons.

I wouldn't be surprised if The Lawyer (by Mark Hamill) of whom we get very scarce snippets on screen (he is mostly seen dropping a sparse remark or giving quick advise to the Ushers) is meant to be the Devil who always stays in the shadows and operates under the cover of darkness, manipulating his subjects into doing VERY TERRIBLE THINGS that ensure their souls wind up in Hell and thus contribute to the contents of the Devil's personal coffers. It's my guess but I could very well be wrong, so we'll see, if the show's finale isn't a picturesque PvP battle between The Archangel (Carla Gugino) and The Devil (Mark Hamill) who will shed their humble human camouflage and don their Biblical armor appearing before the audience in their True Form.

I'm almost angry at this show being so well made. It saddens me to think that more people will now submit to religion's monstrous ideals. It saddens me that human beings, while flawed in many aspects, are portrayed as complete shit. And it makes me angry that anyone can hide behind false virtues and annihilate anyone at all as long as they're convinced that they've got a license from God. Just like in the barbarous Medieval times, we still have Divine wool pulled over our eyes and must fight to have it removed at the risk of being destroyed and having our deaths celebrated by our murderers.

[kevinsreviewcatalogue]

Review: Eega (2012)

Eega (The Fly) (2012)

Rated UA by the Central Board of Film Certification (rough MPAA equivalent: PG-13)

<Originally posted at https://kevinsreviewcatalogue.blogspot.com/2023/03/review-eega-2012.html>

Score: 4 out of 5

This past Friday, Popcorn Frights gave me my introduction to Tollywood cinema (no, not Bollywood -- same country, different language) in the form of Eega, one of the films that S. S. Rajamouli wrote and directed before RRR made people outside India start taking notice of him. An effects-driven fantasy action-comedy about a man who gets murdered, gets reincarnated as a fly, and sets out to take revenge on the man who killed him, its plot and tone felt reminiscent of the old '90s family comedy Mouse Hunt, only jacked up to a downright insane level courtesy of both some genuine edge to its plot and a truly great villain performance by Sudeepa that managed to cross language barriers. This was a wild movie, and while the first act was pretty weird in how it framed the romance that ultimately becomes a key driving force in the story, once the part with the fly got going I was too busy laughing my socks off and being impressed by some of the visuals that they managed to cook up on a fairly small budget (roughly $6-7 million US). It's on Netflix, so if you wanna see something absolutely wacky that's nonetheless an actual good movie as well, check this one out.

Our protagonist Nani is an ordinary man who's madly in love with his next-door neighbor Bindu, a miniatures artist whose day job is running an NGO that assists local schools, a feeling that she's finally starting to notice and reciprocate. Seeking to raise money for her organization, Bindu reaches out to Sudeep, a sleazy, womanizing local land developer who uses the promise of funding in an attempt to make Bindu his new wife -- and when he notices that Bindu also has eyes for Nani, Sudeep decides to kill the lowly worker in order to get him out of the way. Unfortunately for Sudeep, even death can't stop Nani's love, as he's reincarnated as a fly who fully remembers his past life and sets out to make Sudeep's life a living hell, slowly driving him mad as he starts to believe in the "crazy" idea that a fly has developed a grudge against him.

The first half-hour or so was a mixed bag, less due to the film's technical qualities (it could actually be quite charming, especially with the obligatory musical number) and more due to how it presented Nani's unreciprocated love for Bindu. To put it as nicely as possible, he's depicted as something close to a stalker in his constant attempts to get her attention, to the point that even his roommate calls him out for it, and yet it's presented as just a goofy character quirk even though, in real life, there's a reason why women get uneasy about that sort of behavior. Yes, this movie comes from a different time (2012 was just coming out of a golden age for pickup artistry) and a different country, and the film is self-aware about it and makes Nani the butt of the joke as much as anyone, but it's still kind of off-putting, especially given that it's implied that Bindu really was just playing hard to get and does eventually fall for him by the end of the first act. If I'd written their dynamic, I would've focused more on Bindu being an upwardly-mobile middle-class artist and professional and Nani being a working-class laborer, making it a situation where Bindu clearly has affection for Nani but is afraid of being judged for dating below her status, a dynamic that would've played nicely into Bindu's interactions with the wealthy villain Sudeep who wants to claim her as his trophy wife. Instead, the way it came across felt like an obsessive romantic successfully wearing down the object of his affection because she's decided that the alternative is worse, even if the film did at least have some self-awareness about how Nani was acting.

That said, once Nani dies and comes back, a lot of that fades into the background in favor of a nonstop mix of hilarious comic set pieces and genuinely entertaining action scenes. Rajamouli gives this movie a style and flair you don't normally see in fantasy comedies coming out of Hollywood, with the numerous effects shots especially making up for their low budget with a measure of cartoony stylization that goes well with what's (mostly) a very family-friendly film. Nani has as much lovable character as a fly as he did as a human, arguably moreso given that we're no longer shown his stalker-ish tendencies, while Samantha Ruth Prabhu as Bindu carries the entirety of their relationship as she has to spend most of the movie pretending that the love of her life is now inhabiting the body of a fly, complete with outfitting him with protective goggles to resist bug spray and tiny metal claws to let him scratch at things. Some moments in this movie get wild, from our introduction to Fly!Nani first learning how to be a fly by traveling through a park to him harassing a traffic cop to cause gridlock in an intersection to the bit where Sudeep hires a witch doctor named Tantra to possess two birds to send after the fly. This movie's mix of action and slapstick comedy is bursting with creativity, constantly coming up with new ways to make me laugh myself silly.

While the fly may be the main character, this movie would not have worked nearly as well as it did without the mononymous actor Sudeepa playing the film's main villain, the very similarly named Sudeep (without the "a"). Sudeep is a caricature of a yuppie scumbag, a guy who we're introduced to skeet shooting while hitting on a woman who's later revealed to be another man's wife, such that he makes Nani look like a downright catch in comparison. The torment he receives from the fly over the course of the film may be over-the-top, but he makes it clear throughout that he deserves every bit of it, seeing other people as props and NPCs in his own story and not caring who he hurts. What's more, Sudeepa clearly had a lot of fun playing this guy who's slowly losing his mind as a little fly refuses to leave him be. He felt like a rich douchebag out of an '80s Hollywood comedy who, whether he's the hero or the villain, is above all else the butt of every joke as the movie finds new ways to creatively torture him both physically and mentally, and his ultimate comeuppance at the end was very well-deserved.

(Also, if American blockbusters insist on getting longer and longer, maybe they should imitate the Indian moviegoing tradition of having an intermission. Popcorn Frights didn't actually do the intermission for this and jumped straight into the second half, and frankly, at 2 hours and 14 minutes this one wasn't too long, but still.)

The Bottom Line

Eega was an extremely charming and hilarious movie that had some rough edges early on, but otherwise made a great introduction for yours truly to both S. S. Rajamouli and Indian cinema in general, and earns my recommendation.

[rhpsdys]

KNOWING YOUR PARTNER WELL CAN POTENTIALLY MAKE WRITING TOGETHER A LOT EASIER. ( REPOST DO NOT REBLOG!)

✿ NAME: eros

✿ PRONOUNS: they/he but the he is silent, so really just they/them

✿ EXPERIENCE/HOW LONG (MONTHS / YEARS?): about 9 years on tumblr (dear god) && another 3 on other platforms before that

✿ NAME OF MUSE(S): raine whispers ! i also have an abundance of other muses on @whsprhouse && @tongowheel​ plus some single-muse blogs with varying degrees of activity

✿ PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION: discord is preferred once we’ve interacted a little, whether that’s through tumblr ims first or just writing together a bit 

✿ PLATFORMS YOU’VE USED: mainly tumblr, but also discord, twitter, instagram, && my humblest beginnings... the fanfiction.net forums

✿ BEST EXPERIENCE: overall, the 7+ years i’ve spent in the star trek rpc on && off. it’s been by far the most chill rpc i’ve been in with the least amount of bullshit, && i’ve made some amazing friends who i consider irl friends even though we live in very different places; we’ve visited each other a few times over the last year && a half or so which great. but also the undertale rpc, circa early 2019 — that’s the most fun i’ve had in an rpc, && talk about making friends — i wrote one silly crack thread about skeleton sex ed with a mutual i’d never spoken to, && now almost 4 years later we live together.

✿ RP PET PEEVES/DEALBREAKERS: how about one of each? for a dealbreaker, in terms of what will make me not follow a blog: i don’t care about aesthetics or formatting or graphics or whatever, but i really do check for writing quality. i don’t need purple prose, i’m not asking for your blog to read like a new york times bestseller, but if all you’re writing is dialogue, no real description or action, if there’s inconsistent grammar && a general lack of focus on writing... i don’t care, you do you, but we won’t be a good fit. as far as pet peeves go, i love talking ooc with mutuals about our muses && stuff, and (as evidenced above) i like making friends too. but it takes me a while to get to that point, && an abundance of non-rp/muse related ooc talk right out the gate makes me balk a little, as does constant conversation && communication in general. i’m just — really busy && have a limited social battery, so it can take me a while to reply to messages && stuff if it’s not like, specific to our muses or something we’re writing. 

✿ FLUFF, ANGST OR SMUT: this is so interesting. like. yes to all? and no to all? i love fluff in very small doses but if it’s all a thread is, it gets boring really fast. angst is super fun to write but it needs to be balanced — again, if it’s always leaning on one muse going through it™ && the other is the constant caretaker, that gets dry too. i don’t write smut super often, && it truly depends on the muse && how sexual they are by nature. my ideal threads are either plot-driven or grounded in character development/dynamic development. muses being put in situations. muses talking about their issues without it becoming heavy hurt/comfort. that kinda thing.

✿ PLOTS OR MEMES: overall, plots are necessary for characters who have never interacted in canon, even if it’s as simple as “hey these muses have ROUGHLY this dynamic” && then a meme is great to kick off actually writing. in terms of threads themselves, if it’s a continuation or a meme or a starter call post that had some serious thought put into it/is based on a discussed dynamic, it can turn into something great without plotting. but i also love when i discuss a plot with someone && then we start a thread based on it.

✿ LONG OR SHORT REPLIES: i tend to write longer things, averaging three paragraphs or so, but easily longer if it makes sense to. i try to rein myself in because long replies, obviously, take longer && more focus, so sometimes i like to keep things short just so i can write more when i’m busy. doesn’t always work though.

✿ BEST TIME TO WRITE: fuck if i know. usually at night, but only when i have time to stay up && don’t need to be anywhere in the morning. i get most of my writing juice while i’m at work, && so when i get home at 10pm, that’s when i’m ready to bang out drafts.

✿ ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S): in a lot of ways, yes. not so much that i actually put myself into raine, but more like i keep finding things about them relevant to my own life. we are both nonbinary && transmasc, we’re both somewhat socially awkward but also know how to really step it up && take charge, despite those nerves. i love music but i don’t consider myself a musician — however, i do work in orchestra/concert management, && i keep having moments of being like “oh raine did this for a while in the earlier years in the bard coven”, so. yeah. raine is someone i wish i was more like, tbh. they’ve got about 20 years on me though, so i have time to get there.

Tagged by: i stole it ! Tagging: if you haven’t done it yet: tag, you’re it !

[clearlakeve]

a insomnia-driven set of thoughts (i.e. a book review) on Julia Armfield's Our Wives Under The Sea

I feel like I should like this book more than I actually did. On paper, it's got all the stuff I like -- a tragedy in the making, "you love her but you can't keep her", the ocean, cosmic horror, etc. But...something about the execution is just off for me I guess? 

Let me be clear: these are 100% my own opinions, and I understand that a lot of people like this book. That's absolutely fine! Nobody has to agree with me! Everyone is entitled to their own opinions! No hate here :)

Things I liked:

   1) I think the book does a very good job of acknowledging/representing the queer love? romance? at its core. Miri and Leah are married, and that is important to them, and it's not a major plot point or anything, but there are still subtle societal pressures surrounding them. It's always nice to see relationships like this normalized in a realistic way.

   2) The ocean descriptions. oh my god. I love the ocean and I think the book did an excellent job of conveying its beauty and also how terrifying and vast and unknown it is. "To know the ocean, I have always felt, is to recognize the teeth it keeps half hidden." Amazing. 10/10 line. Beautiful.

   3) Leah's chapters are pretty cool. She's obviously the more dynamic character to Miri's more passive one, and while this...has certain drawbacks I'll talk about later, conceptually the idea that the more passive person, the one left behind picking up the pieces is the one stuck in the present while the dynamic character is (in a sorta meta sense) stuck in the past is a pretty cool subversion of traditional adventuring/fiction tropes. It's clear that the Leah whose chapters we read no longer exists in Miri's present.

   4) It was always going to end like this. You were never going to be able to keep her. "Every horror movie ends the way you know it will." That one Tumblr post that goes something like "I loved you so much I broke the laws of nature to bring you back but I do not think either of us are happy." (aka the leftover pizza post). Despite the fact that I had issues with the way Miri and Leah were written, the sense of mounting doom constant in the background of the story was there, and contributed heavily to the tone of the overall story.

My problems:

   1a) I think my biggest problem is that the story and writing just did not make me care enough about either of the main characters. We are supposed to care about Miri, and through her, care about Leah. (I concede that Miri herself acknowledged this, but being self aware about this does not invalidate the detachment I felt from both the characters.) Leah and Miri are the center of the story -- if we cannot bring ourselves to care about them, the story sort of falls apart at the seams.

   1b) I think this lack of care is because neither Miri nor Leah get any real character development in the story. I was on a 14-hour flight, trying to understand why I loved The Song of Achilles but not this book, when they're conceptually and theoretically a bit similar. I mean, one reason is that Madeleine Miller's writing just works much better for me personally, but also, we are drawn to care about Patroclus and Achilles because we get to actually see Achilles develop as a character (from a young boy to an...adult?), and fight against his own demons and societal pressures. Even though it's a similar character pairing, where one character is much more dynamic than the other, the timespan of TSOA really works for it. In comparison, Our Wives Under the Sea sort of glosses over Miri and Leah's character development (we assume that it exists. It honestly might not.) in favor of a really short timespan and a lot of introspection. (Leah's portions are set in the past, but they focus pretty much solely on the events of the ill-fated submarine expedition, while Miri's are only about the aftermath. Kind of makes the whole story disjointed.)

   2) Connected to problem 1 (probably the reason for it tbh), but Miri is barely an entity in the story. This is bad because by and large, her sections are longer than Leah's. We know she loves Leah, she has a weird and complicated relationship with her mother, and probably suffers from some mental illness. But she spends such a large portion of the book waffling around and just being confused about everything! This does not an interesting character make. 

   3) Connected/extension to problem 2. Miri is so...passive? I wanted more emotion from her. It feels like she doesn't even do all that much to try to help Leah, it's really just her coming to terms that Leah is not actually back, and/or that she's changed. I wanted her to fight before coming to terms with it, or fight it to the end. Instead her entire tone was more just resigned. I cannot understand the care and love she had for Leah if she's so resigned and just depressed about it all the time. (Maybe her repeated calling of the Centre is supposed to be her fighting? Idk I just didn't get enough of that from her.)

   4) Too much is left unknown. I personally think the not knowing what Leah saw in the ocean is fine, but all the stuff happening with the Centre felt very mundanely confusing for no apparent reason? And I guess the author was maybe going for realism, where sometimes you just don't get answers to questions but...it's just more confusion on top of the already confusing wtf is happening to Leah thing.

   5) Kind of nitpicking at this point, but I felt like the introduction of Juna felt really unnecessary. I think it should've been someone else who drove Miri to the beach. Perhaps Carmen or Sam? Or maybe she drives herself idk. Most of the side characters in Miri's parts honestly felt useless to me. At least Jelka and Matteo seemed to serve actual narrative purpose in Leah's parts?

My final verdict: 2/5 ⭐.

Long story short, I really wish I had liked this book more than I actually did. It has such a cool premise! Maybe it was the stream-of-consciousness writing style or something, but it just wasn't my thing.