#its a great episode arc where in the beginning he orders little to get the whiskey from fitzjames. and by the end of this ep he decides to

[beaulesbian]

THE TERROR (2018) S01E05 "First Shot a Winner, Lads"

And who is going to stop you? You use the wind to carry you here. You use the forest to hide inside. You use all this and don't even want to be here. You don't want to live. Look at you. Even if I could help, you don't want it. Why do you want to die?

[stestir]

Amethio is emotionally neglected.

An analysis from a neglected person standpoint.

Wo hoo another post about the little shit, yaay.

Anywho, this time its not me being super angry and ranting, instead I will psychoanalyse the boy and give out him diagnosis.

Analysis post under the line

So, I believe that Amethio is heavily emotionally neglected by Gibeon. I'll explain in a bit how he shows it.

So I'll begin with his beef with Friede. Yes, I will talk about it again like I didn't already do that several times, Shh.

Here I want to start from, well, start of their conflicts. Episode 2, first conversation. Amethio says that Friede is... Wait, lemme see... khe khe, "Oh, Friede? I heard of you being a great trainer." That means he sees Friede as someone who has experience and who's respectable. That will be important later.

So, first battle, the air ship, all that. Friede sends out a Pikachu, and Amethio is immediately annoyed. I think the main reason is that he wants to have a true validation of his skills, hence why he reacted that way. Seeing Friede, someone he thinks is a professional, send out a Pikachu, a pokemon often seen weak, looks like a mokery to him.

It also goes further and weaves itself into all their incounters - the want to be acknowledged and taken seriously. With each episode, it escalates and escalates, showing out Amethios' bad traits along the line - impatience, easy irration, and often distraction from the main mission.

The tension finally snaps at episode 25, where in their 6th encounter, they finally finish the battle, and Friede takes the win. And where Friede says, "I have to take you seriously." This hurts Amethio so much that in the next arc, he starts to train to become more powerful. He even appears in an opening, training himself to an exhaustion.

All of this highlights really heavily that Amethio always tried to find a validation of his battle skills [ and by excention, him in general ] in these fights, hence why he always was irrated by Friede not paying full attention - "Look at me!", "Don't be distracted!". All of this points to me that he doesn't receive it oftenthsys why he jumps into the opportunity to have this attention.

And this is the first sign of emotional neglect! The attention seeking behavior.

It's clear that Gibeon does not give him enough attention, as he's trying his best to give everything to him and only disobeys the orders to catch Rayquaza / Terapagos for Gibeon. All of Amethios' actions are for him, which indicates to me that he's trying to get at least a lick of affection from him [ aka a validation that he did a good job ].

And it's also seen in Hambers' actions towards the boy! Unlike Diana, who's parallel he is, he's cold towards Amethio and practically emotionless, only doing what he needs to do. He also doesn't even use his name, only honorifics "Master."

All of this translates to his behavior, too, and shows another sign:

The masking of emotions & anger issues.

These two go hand in hand in Amethio, as he tries his very best to hide any case of emotion. But this mask is also really weak and fragile, as it shatters under any pressure, as it showcased in his fights with Friede.

Even in episode 2, the beginning, he already showed how his mask is easily slipping with irritation [ his eye twitching when Friede sends out Pikachu ]. He always tries to be cold, just like Hamber and Gibeon, but because he also desperately needs aknowledgement, it does not work. He becomes impulsive and starts to go more by emotions than reason, as it is evidenced by him always prioritizing a fight rather than going by the misson, episode 6 being an exception ( And even then he still doing this cause Friede didnt pay him enough attention 💀).

He tries to mimick his parential figures by being emotionless but ultimately heavily fails at it because he does not have an outlet for his emotion, nor affection to actually release all the tension in his mind, hence why the mask is so fragile and he is easily irrated.

From that its goes into another problem:

Closing off from any support from other adults.

And in this part comes in his relationship with Zir and Conia, and how he doesn't let himself be weak in front of them.

Throughout the whole anime, it can be seen how much both of them are worried for the boy. Hell, its even got into one of the promotional material, where they even when cut by a comic barrier, still look at Amethio, concerned. But Amethio does not let them know about his mental state, as evidenced by Zirs "Its so hard to talk to him lately."

It seems that Amethio never let his guard down, resulting in him being tense all the time. Even when Zir and Conia genuinely care for him, he rejects all of this affection, still trying to chase the one from Gibeon. It makes me believe that Amethio idolizes Gibeon and thinks of him as the only trustful source of care.

Which of course makes everything worse for him in turn, as Gibeon does not give him anything and just makes him work, which makes him become more and more tense.

It even starts to project into his battle style, as he gone from calculated actions to a desperate attempts to do something [ which is also a sign of being neglected, yahoo ]

Anywho, ending this, I'll say - Amethio is a brilliantly written character, I love love love the writing team behind the Horizons. The way he's obviously abused is so clearly seen that it almost pains me as someone who has also been neglected in childhood.

And also, dont take this post way too seriously - it's written without any serious research whatsoever, and mostly is me speaking from experience and observations.

I hope you had a nice read!

...

[Me: Amethio is a 3-dimensional character with a lot of thought behind him. Also me: He-he, he's literally this meme:]

[mad-raptorzzz]

Dragon Prince Season 3…

Finally had time to get through season 3 on my rewatch. And I thought it before and I think it every time I watch through, this is where the show really gets its legs. Don’t get me wrong. Season 1 and 2 are very enjoyable. But holy crap is it nice to see the character development and plot points all come together for a banger of a conclusion to the first half of the show.

Starting off with the King himself Ezran. I love how they don’t allow him to just seamlessly become a great king. I love how there’s push back on his decisions even though they’re good. I love that even his ‘good’ advisors recommend he chose a reagent. I love that he kind of fails at being a king, but succeeds at being a good person. I just think a lesser show would have had him come back hunky doory all good to go. And jeeeez and I a sucker for the old ‘character doesn’t want to wear the crown of their parent’ trope. Literally and figuratively (because it’s always both!!) love it here love it with Snowfall in wof too.

Callum and Rayla are very cute. Again, their relationship is sweet. Not too in your face. But very nice. Rayla’s village straight up disowning her is heartbreaking. Callum figuring out the wind arcanum is sweet. Oh and all his nerdy love of Zadia is precious. And I LOVE the boomerang reference.

Soren I think shines the most in this season. You see the cracks in his loyalty to his dad begin in the first season. Just barely there, then they deepen in the second season. And here they shatter. The final moment when Viren orders him to be mutated and he says he’s afraid only to be met with scorn. Like wow. Fuck. That’s dark. I love his himbo energy. And absolute delight when he’s on screen. Good character arc. And and that’s not even mentioning he straight up stabs what he thinks is his dad. He totally goes for the kill. That’s gotta be hard.

Claudia is also a delight. As Soren falls away she falls closer to Viren. It’s heartbreaking how she asks Soren not to make her chose again, like how they had to chose between parents. And I want to know what she had to sacrifice to bring Viren back at the end (I can’t quite remember but I don’t think we find out?).

Aravos is the Darkstalker of this world. And I’m here for it. When he makes an imaginary horse for himself to ride on. Iconic. Love the scene where the centipede climbs out of Viren’s throat. Great stuff in this made for 7 year olds show. Viren being manipulated is lovely. And the manifestation physically of the dark magic. Great.

Zim becomes more of a character here, which is my one issue with him. He seemed more like a plot device and/or object before. Now he’s got a little spunk to him. Especially in the ending two episodes where he is afraid of his father’s body and his mom. That was interesting.

AND most importantly this season really shows that it’s not bad humans versus good elves/dragons. Sol Regum was about to mirk the dragon prince simply for being near Callum. He was going to destroy and entire village of innocent lives to get his point across. Nix was straight up going to steal Zim for no good reason. Harrow was the one to give the ok to kill the old dragon king, and for Viren to destroy the egg. Yes he was lost in grief, but he still gave the order. It’s not black and white. Everyone has some grey in them.

aaaaaand that’s about it. Amaya is cool as always. Love the final battle. Draw your last breath is a fun pun. Bait is very funny this season.

Season 4 was the only other season I have watched so after that it’s all surprises! But hot damn there’s a lot of bonus content between season 3 and season 4 so catch me reading that first.

[ncisfranchise-source]

“We’re geeks about NCIS,” Michael Weatherly says while he and Cote de Pablo discuss their upcoming new series, a spinoff about their characters, Tony and Ziva, and their new rewatch podcast. And that’s evident in their tones and answers. These two people love this franchise, love their characters, and love working together.

On the Off Duty: An NCIS Rewatch video podcast for Spotify, the two are going through Season 3 episodes—they’ve done 25 and have a multi-year contract—and, through their work with Paramount+ (the home of their new show, NCIS: Tony & Ziva), CBS, and Spotify, it’s an “organic way of looking back and then looking forward for the new show,” Weatherly tells TV Insider.

“More than anything, it’s just Michael and I, two friends, talking about a really fantastic experience, one that came with its own set of challenges, but really at the end of the day, it’s a celebration of a very successful franchise where Michael and I became great friends and now we get the great big pleasure of actually going out to Budapest, working together again on Tony & Ziva,” shares de Pablo. “We thought it would be a great thing to be able to do this as a way to sort of engage the fandom before we started working on our show. Little did we know that everything would align in such a perfect way that this happened and then the show happened simultaneously.”

The two are now gearing up to begin work on the spinoff—filming begins in July, as they’ve said on the podcast—and Weatherly notes that other than his appearance in NCIS‘ tribute episode to the late David McCallum and Ducky (Tony joined Brian Dietzen‘s Dr. Jimmy Palmer in autopsy for the final scene), he hasn’t worked in over two years. (Weatherly starred in Bull after his Season 13 departure from NCIS.) De Pablo last played Ziva in a Season 17 arc after the end of the Season 16 finale revealed she’s alive.

“Michael and I talked about my return in 2019, and I remember calling because we already had the idea of Tony and Ziva and [playing these characters again],” de Pablo shares. “And I said, ‘Do you think this would get in the way?’ And he said, ‘No, this would not get in the way.’ And so in a way, I got a green light from him.”

Their plans to reprise their roles together also came into play with the tribute episode for McCallum, which Weatherly says he “was very honored to do and proud to do as somebody who was there with David when we were doing the��JAG spinoff episodes.”

Sonja Flemming / CBS

“He said, ‘I really want to go back.’ And I said, ‘Well, if you go back, I’m not going to go back because we can’t both be back because then it gets in the way of the spinoff,'” de Pablo recalls. “So I said, ‘I know that you had a very special relationship with McCallum, and I think if you really want to do it, you should go, which means I have to sit this one out.’ So we’ve worked from the get-go for many years as a partnership, which means at times we have to confide in each other and sort of ask permission to do things in order to allow the other one to sit down or for things not to get in the way of the final objective, which is really to make this show and to give the audience the element of surprise on that show.” (Showcasing their partnership? Weatherly’s response: “I agree with everything she said.”)

Now that they’ll be playing Tony and Ziva again, de Pablo says she and Weatherly have talked a lot about the question of, “‘How do you think it’s going to be?’ I think we have to allow it to be what it’s going to be, and we don’t know what that is.” That’s the surprise for both of them. “We know that we have a past. We know that we have worked together. We know that we are friends, we know that we have gone through really good times, really challenging times in the show, as friends, in life, and now we’re going to be working together and hopefully we’re going to be drawing from all of that,” she continues. “And we have to understand these characters, much like Michael and Cote, have evolved.”

Adds Weatherly, “And what kind of an actor are you? What is Cote de Pablo going to feel like when she puts on the clothes and starts doing a scene with her daughter?” He knows that everyone behind the scenes will be supporting them, “but I have no idea what Tony DiNozzo is like until I get on set and I’m in that costume and I look across at my scene partner and they say action. I’m looking forward to that, the real energy and exhilaration of acting with one of the best actors I’ve ever worked with, Cote de Pablo.”

He notes that while the two of them are different, what they have in common is “we want the scene to be great and we will make sacrifices, at some cost, sometimes,” and de Pablo interjects with, “by the way, we do not agree about the final outcome of what that should be and that ends up in the scene.”

Cliff Lipson/CBS

Weatherly picks right up with, “that becomes the conflict of the scene. I think Tony and Ziva have a similar new fact pattern that has emerged in the show. Tony and Ziva should really be called Tony & Ziva & Tali because their priority now, both of them, is Tali, not themselves or each other—of course, couples get into their petty business, but I think the dynamic that emerges is going to be a really brand new one. And I have no idea what that’s going to feel like. I can’t wait.”

De Pablo is also enjoying that she and Weatherly are executive producers on Tony & Ziva. “We are a part of making decisions. It doesn’t mean that we make the decisions or the final decision, but we are a part of this collaborative effort that goes into making a show. And that’s been a real surprise and kind of fun to be a part of,” she explains. “It’s also made me respect actors and all the people that are making this thing happen. We’re getting, for example, a taste of castings and these actors, are very good and it’s very hard to choose and sometimes there are things that have nothing to do with the performance.”

They can’t share much yet about the new show, but de Pablo does reveal that Tali, Tony and Ziva’s daughter, will be played by a European actress. And Weatherly thinks that for anyone who comes int other new show without having watched NCIS first, “you’re going to think, ‘Wow, this is like Mission Impossible with a couple.'”

And it’s expanding the NCIS franchise, both to Paramount+ from CBS and globally, which was important to the pair. “This show, for many years, was a very sort of American show. That’s how people viewed it. When we started traveling, we realized that this show was not just an American show. It appealed to a massive international market. So what we’re doing now and what we always planned to doing was putting the show outside of the US to tap into that international world and give it that thing that we always wanted, the je ne sais quoi,” says de Pablo.

For them, it’s about answering questions the fans have, like “What happened to these characters and where are they now and who are they now and where are they living and all that,” she continues, promising, “We’re going to answer a lot of those questions.” This show is also allowing the two do something they love (travel), though both are, as Weatherly puts it, “a couple of homebodies at heart.”

While we wait for Tony & Ziva to premiere, there is still the aforementioned podcast—and just like the audience is learning new facts about NCIS, the hosts are learning more about each other. The podcast has given Weatherly “a deepening of the love and respect that I have always had for Cote,” while de Pablo admits, with a laugh, that she finds herself “a little offended” if she hears a story she didn’t know before.

Something that both of them know and listeners will have to wait to discover? The last special guest, which they want to leave as a surprise. But in addition to the already announced Sean Murray, Dietzen, Eric Christian Olsen, Daniela Ruah, and Jon Cryer (Sasha Alexander and Rudolf Martin have appeared in episodes already released), also stopping by are Robert Wagner, Joe Spano, and Rocky Carroll.

Also coming up: more fun with the segments of the podcast, which include a context section about the world the day episodes aired, fan Qs, and Gibbs’ rule of the day. “Cote and I were happy if you just put a microphone in front of us and we talked about the show for 25 hours, we could do it, but getting at that structure allows a little bit of give and take,” says Weatherly. “It brings the audience in with the fan questions and it sort of challenges us again, to not just sit in a puddle of our memories.”

De Pablo shares that they do continue to have fun with Gibbs’ rules. “For example, we’ll be like, ‘Trust no one, what do you think about that?’ And then we get into a whole sort of existential analysis of what trusting means and have you ever lost trust in someone? And so everything’s just sort of like a gateway to a bigger question,” she says. “That’s what Michael and I really always wanted from the get-go. We, of course, love the show and it’s a celebration of the show, but we also wanted to reserve the right to be able to go from one branch to another very organically and explore different subjects that are really interesting to us in a very sort of fluid friendship way, like, ‘Hey, what do you think about this?'”

[gnomescarfcomics]

Rings of Power: Episode 5 - Partings

Rewatch mini review. Chaotic and out of order.

Harfoots/Harfeet: They continue to be incredibly charming. Poppy's song and the accompanying traveling montage is one of my favorite things from the series. Nori and Definitely-Not-Gandalf's relationship is great. I love the juxtaposition of a hobbit teaching and encouraging a wizard, while he struggles with his own fear and darkness slowly consuming him. Whether intentional or not, their arc feels like an echo of one of the best scenes of Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy (and a quote that is often misattributed to Tolkien himself):

"Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I've found it is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? Because perhaps it is because I'm afraid, and he gives me courage."

The harshness of the Harfoot laws still holds things back a bit though and could have been handled better. I can see why it sucks some of the warmth out of the storyline for so many people.

Southlands: Arondir and Theo's bonding scene is especially great. Even with all the darkness around them, Arondir is trying so hard to keep everyone's spirits up and see their worth as people. And I really appreciate Theo showing them the evil sword-key rather than just keeping it secret for forced prolonged drama. That's something this series is actually pretty good at avoiding most of the time.

Waldreg is still one of my favorites (I really hope he shows up in season 2). The evil of his character is done in a very believable way. So many of the bad choices the characters make throughout the series are done out of misguided senses of righteousness, being trapped in a cycle of tradition, or simply not having all the information they need. But the darkest decisions are always done out of complete despair and desperation.

Numenor: Some of the momentum is lost after the end of the previous episode, not that what they're doing doesn't make sense. They need to prepare. Drama needs to happen first. But I think the ship sabotage, while a nice visual, was ultimately unnecessary. The time could have been better spent elsewhere. Galadriel's insistence on Halbrand being a king could have been expanded on a little bit more. I get that she basically just has a "feeling" about him (almost similar and contrasting Gandalf's about Bilbo), and this season is about the danger of assumptions. But it still felt a little underdeveloped.

Even with his limited screen time, I think Pharazon really comes into his own in this episode. His true intentions and what drives him comes into focus, and he's shown as misguided rather than outright evil. Earien and Kemen's relationship could have been given a little more time. But it's a rather insignificant aspect of the story, so if anything can survive being stripped down to the bare minimum, it's them.

But that brings me back to my main issue with Numenor. There's just too much going on. This series really should have had ten episode seasons, which apparently was the original intention. Hopefully season 2's structure ends up being more accommodating to the episode count.

Galadriel and Sauron's little heart to heart is fantastic. The ambiguity of just how sorry he is makes everything extra interesting. Bringing the Lord of the Rings himself to the forefront of things could have gone very poorly, but I think that, despite some bumps along the way, it's one of the strongest parts of the series. He's a tragic and charismatic character rather than a mustache twirling villain. There's plenty of time to focus on just how evil he is later on, but I appreciate they went for a more unexpected and complex telling of his story from the beginning. And it's all very rooted in Tolkien's descriptions of him.

Lindon: This is where the big problem makes its appearance. That darn mithril. It's hard to judge it completely until we know for sure what's going on. How much of the story is a lie? How does the mithril actually work? Was a Silmaril actually involved? Whatever the truth ends up being, they took a big swing with this lore invention, and I think it's mostly a miss. I appreciate the idea of a legend within the story that not even the characters know to be true or not. That feels very Tolkien and just a good use of myth and storytelling in general. But doing that with such a vital aspect of the overall story's core may have taken things too far.

And then there's Elrond's oath. I think it was poorly handled. The "rules" of his oath feel very vague. Based on his conversation with Celebrimbor, who he tells and what exactly he reveals don't seem to have concrete lines that can or cannot be crossed.

I assume Celebrimbor already knew there was at least some mithril around. Otherwise why would they specifically be looking for it with the dwarves? So are we to assume Elrond just didn't tell him how much the dwarves actually found? When did Celebrimbor test it? Did he mean he tested a piece they already found, which sparked their mission to find more? Did he test the little piece Elrond had after dinner. All of this could have been (and should have been) cleared up rather easily. I have to wonder how much of this is a result of the Celebrimbor recast, but that excuse can only go so far.

Elrond and Durin's friendship continues to be one of highlights of the series. Their chemistry and honesty with each other is refreshing. No matter how many political expectations or awkward racial differences attempt to keep them at odds with each other, it never takes long for them to just get to the raw meat of things.

Overall, some of the best individual scenes in the series only held back a bit by some truncated writing and a loss of momentum from the previous episode.

[lunion]

I love how Bill Cypher culminates every single aspect of Gravity Falls.

Recently, I was listening to "it's gonna get weird" and it got me thinking about how the final arc actually gives a resolution to something Gravity Falls explores on its own: Normal vs Weirdness

Gravity falls is a show that centers itself around Dipper and Mabel's adventures on the titular city, as they live their summer facing the weirdest and most uncanny things known to man, all the while also being regular kids (as far as the Pines family can be regular, at least).

Where this gets really interesting is on the final arc. Gravity Falls really prepares everything for a grand send off, both for the characters and for the audience. As Dipper and Mabel are both approaching the disappointing but inevitable reality that summer is nearing its end, the Pines twins both start their arc with a flaw: refusing to move on and indulging more and more.

Gravity falls was not only bold, but it was scaling as time goes on, as any story tends to.

I mean, you guys remember the Northwest mansion episode, right?

We went from gnomes kidnapping mabel to marry her to this.

Fast forwarding to the final arc, we have Dipper and Mabel with no intention of ever deescalating.

Mabel refuses to let go on a temporal level: Feeling the inevitable march of time as summer TIME is ending, losing access to her friends and the idea of getting older and no longer experiencing the fun moments of childhood, Mabel wishes for everything to stay where they are in gravity falls, as kids, remaining engaging on the same things forever.

Mabel doesn't want to MOVE ON from gravity falls (just like we didn't)

Dipper on the other hand is actually on A VERY DANGEROUS PATH as well: He is called by Ford to stay in Gravity Falls and study these anomalies.

You know, the same anomalies that almost killed people over and over? And they keep escalating? NEED I REMIND YOU THAT HE WAS TECHNICALLY DEAD WHEN HE GOT TURNED INTO WOOD?

Weirdness in gravity falls always felt to me akin to what "Horror" was in most folk tales, urban legends and so forth. It's mystical. It draws us further in, but it's also dangerous, deadly and too much of it can lead to our demise.

Dipper was considering not only STAYING in gravity falls, but DIVE HEADFIRST INTO MORE DANGER, LIKE FORD. THE SAME GRAND UNCLE WHO MADE THE DEAL WITH BILL CYPHER TO BEGIN WITH, WHO GOT TRAPPED IN A FOREIGN DIMENSION FOR MANY YEARS (by accident, but that's his line of work).

And then comes BILL CYPHER

This triangle's sole motivation is to cause MORE and MORE weirdness.

AND HE HAS ABSOLUTELY NO BREAKS.

Bill Cypher, designwise and plotwise answer the question: "What happens if we indulge with occult/weird/bizarre stuff endlessly?"

To Bill, Gravity Falls was BORING. it wasn't WEIRD ENOUGH. His goal was to unleash as much weirdness as possible. The fact that he's also based on the All Seeing Eye, a symbol very involved in conspiracy theories and the like only enhance that.

The obsession with weirdness, the bizarre and the exceptional makes one unappreciative of the world around them and Bill embodies that to the limit. No weirdness at all is boring. A little bit spices up life, but too much and it's stressful or harmful. Pacifica's father can attest to that.

Bill Cypher forces all the character to face the weirdmagedon in order to survive and what do they do? They decide enough is enough and after they defeat Bill they say "No more weird stuff". There's a limit and that's that. It was fun, but it already got to be too much. They want new things, new experiences and they move on.

Summer was great, it was weird, it was fun.

But Dipper and Mable have to go. They got more things to do in life.

Not only new experiences, but different ones as well. If they latched on to the weirdness forever, they would be one dimentional adults who can only talk about weird stuff when they grew up. Instead, they had the adventure of a lifetime and will live many other stories as they grow

[roguelemon]

I feel very similar about this scene, to me it really was one of the most crucial points in the episode and across what we have so far, a pretty important point for Angels character on the whole, as well as a point that started to have me raise my suspicions about Charlie more.

This, alongside another scene that I can’t quite quote from memory but where Charlie says something along the lines of Pentious being the first ‘real’ resident of the Hotel in my eyes was a great way to say that while her heart may be in the right place, her head isn’t and despite her seemingly selfless nature, she doesn’t actually think that hard on if her actions will have consequences for others, leading in nicely to where she goes to see Valentino without thinking of if Angel will suffer because of it.

She’s a princess, literally had everything served to her on a silver platter and while I’m sure she’s struggled emotionally i struggle to believe that she’s ever been in a situation where she was ever really in danger. Especially having 99.9% of demons in Pride be so far below her. She doesn’t have to worry about keeping souls to keep her power and can basically do whatever she wants without any ties to anyone that could have her do something against her will. Perhaps her parents, but I struggle to believe that they’d be worse than Valentino.

Most of her attempts at redemption, like in this scene are surface level, and indicative of somebody that doesn’t fully understand that people don’t do bad things just because they can or they think its funny, they do them because they have other problems under the surface, including physically not having a choice in the matter. (Real life parallel to rich people in power where?? Oh yeah, right there)

It’s also increasingly obvious that Angels ‘free rent’ excuse is just that, and that in reality he just wants a place to be away from Valentino. The fact that Charlie doesn’t seem to notice this or even begin to question why Angel couldn’t just stay for free at the studio shows just how little attention she pays to other people.

At first i thought she was just naive, but now i see that in actuality, she’s so focused on her own goal that she isn’t helping at all, and it comes across like she doesn’t care what they do as long as they get into heaven and make her look good. Granted she isn’t malicious, but the lack of care is definitely something i want to see fixed in her character arc in order for me to actually like her.

After this scene Angel walking away does not seem out of anger or being pissed off at Charlie trying to redeem him, he actually seems sincerely upset, possibly because he feels like Pentious is removing the little care Charlie had for him, possibly because his view of the hotel is being tainted. At least the people in the studio and the street have the balls to call him a whore to his face rather than hiding it in subtext, since this hasn’t actually been resolved yet i think this is where Charlie could lead him, back to the studio (then you can all go crazy with your “Husk gambles for his soul”, “Charlie gives Valentino a beating”, “Alastor gets sufficiently pissed off enough at Vox to kill his boy toy”).

There is also something to be said for Charlie not understanding how traumatic death can be since she’s hellborn. Angel literally died from a drug overdose and who knows, a shady guy like what she’s trying to get Angel to play could have been the type of person he’d go and visit too escape from a shit life. There’s just a total lack of consideration all around.

She also displays this behaviour with Vaggie, ignoring her advice and throwing her into leading a task without asking her first. If Vaggie were not so loyal (perhaps due to Charlie helping her through something difficult) I feel as though she would have left Charlie by now, and maybe she should for a while, because i truly do not think Charlie will learn if Vaggie continues to enable her.

As a final note, you point out that she’s also calling him out for actually enjoying sex. This in my eyes tends nicely to a plot point where in actuality, due to different interpretations of the Bible, outdated views on all sorts of things and the violent nature of some bible stories, that Charlie actually does not know a ‘criteria’ for redemption and so is using shame, throwing stuff at the wall till it sticks, and hoping for the best.

In a sentence, she’s trying to play chess when she has no idea how or why the pieces move, the board is both on fire and spitting fire back at her and her opponent is an ‘alpha’ male that thinks he’s funny.

Ty for tagging me, this was really quite interesting to dive into and put into words, and I’m glad to hear other people not just taking this scene at face value.

This scene:

Shows just how unintentionally ignorant Charlie really is

Charlie wrote the script, gave Angel and Sir Pentous their roles of crackhead and innocent child and had them act it out

And soon after this clip Sir Pentous' character goes on to say that doing drugs isn't cool and then ends the skit saying "I'm off to not have sexual intercourse before marriage!"

Now I'd like to point out Angel is a known drug user and by having him play the crackhead, Charlie ends up calling him out for his addictions and then goes further with Sir Pentious' part of the script to call him out for his job as a sex worker and the fact that Angel actually does enjoy sex

This obviously upsets Angel, along with a few other moments where something is said about his efforts at getting better

The worst part is that Charlie doesn't even realize she's doing it

She wrote that script, which called out Angels flaws and labeled them as bad. She kept mentioning Angels lack of effort but never actually tried to find a way to get through to him nor did she try to figure out why he isn't trying.

I understand that she didn't know about Val yet, but at the same time she didn't seem to think about how there could have been more Angel than previously thought

And I know the scene with Sir Pentious could be played off as him saying it on his own accord because he didn't have a script, but that doesn't seem to be the case

I thought it was a good episode and added layers to the story but I felt it needed to be said how much development was going to made by the characters in order to make everything work out for them

@roguelemon, I saw a somewhat similar post of yours and would love your opinion on the scene

[beesmygod]

JJBA PART 5, VENTO AUREO IS THE UNDERBAKED MESS I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT FIXING...PART 2

FIX 2: WHAT DO YOU DO WITH A PROBLEM LIKE GIORNO?

thats the homo photo of my dad

answer: i dont know.

the unfortunate and honest to god truth of the matter is that the protagonist of JJBA part 5, giorno giovanna, fucking sucks.

what if that little shithead from the twilight zone episode "it's a good life" was gay and watched "goodfellas". you might think "wow that sounds great" but, well, somehow it's not.

it is months later and i have been struggling with writing this for a bazillion reasons: i got sick, real life events occurred, i had to work on comic, i died, etc. but the most strenuous reason of all in the end was facing the impenetrable, tangled, and deeply complicated gordian knot that is the little ladybug loving bitch named giorno and not knowing where the fuck to even begin.

i had to think long and hard about how to approach the problem of "giorno giovanna". he is like a diamond of sucking ass: multi-faceted and beautiful in his perfection but is, ultimately, just a stupid fucking rock from the dirt. he completely lacks the innate charisma and personality inherent in previous jojo protagonists AND antagonists; despite having both the joestar AND brando gene pools to pull from, he manages to snag a net total of 0 personality traits. this problem is multiplied 100 fold once he starts actually doing things to move the plot along and the universe repeatedly bends itself like a pretzel in order to gift him undeserved and unrewarding (to us, the audience) win after win after win.

his theme goes hard as hell tho

if you were to ask me what is wrong with giorno, i would have no problem making a long and detailed list of why i want to slap the little cinnamon rolls of his head. i have no idea how to organize that list into a more coherent form of criticism that points at the overarching structural weakness of part 5. part 5 really, really wants you to like and root for giorno. it hinges on it. his victories are explicitly supposed to be emotionally and morally gratifying. they are instead trite and annoying.

for years, YEARS, my only experience with the entirety of part 5 outside of infamous panels and the most basic information about the story, was this incredible, evergreen and laser targeted tweet:

i thought this was a funny shit post. all i knew giorno had some kind of "life creation" power. what i didnt know was:

giorno says this exact line and then turns cars into frogs so that they (the bad guys) cant catch them (they do catch them)

giorno's power IS fucking stupid

i fucking hate him

he should stop using it

abbacchio was right. he was right about everything

how DO you talk about giorno? giorno's blandness permeates any situation he has the misfortune of attending and the parts of the narrative where he's missing for one reason or another are significantly improved by his absence. in comparison with the deuteragonists (bruno bucciarati) and tritagonists (the members of bruno's squad in the mafia family passione), he has all the flavor of a communion wafer. his character arc is non-existent. emotionally, he might as well have just gone to the store and back by the end of the story.

and, look, araki likes to play fast and loose with how powerful a stand is or what its abilities are. im not here to measure power levels or fucking whatever stupid shit people get up to. the more wild and insane he gets with his incredibly "unique" ""understanding"" of science and geometry, i'm 99% on board for. but giorno's stand, gold experience, is whatever the narrative needs it to be at any given time with no consistency. it's OP as hell long before he gets the 11th hour power boost; his stand has the extra trans-dimensional ability to remove any tension from a fight scene. through this, gold requiem can destroy the psyche of the audience, truly making it the most powerful stand of all time.

people used to love to bitch about not understanding how the villain's stand works in this part, but if anyone tells you they understand what the fuck THIS means they're lying to you.

anyway, there is only one solution i can think of when it comes to how to approach this: assess the major story beats in order. i think jumping around in the progression of events to highlight individual flaws in the character will not adequately impart the suffering one feels as an audience member while the narrative yo-yos between being rollicking good fun and being at the mercy of the little 15 year old twink with god mode on.

and so, having made it past koichi's tiny ass role (and his tiny ass) in the story and addressing how we can proceed, we can cover bruno (a genuinely wonderful character), polpo, and the wasted character building opportunity of the piss drinking scene, which vexes and infuriates me to this day. [thinking about the piss scene and getting mad again] ooooh!!!!

[wayward-pendragon]

Anime Recommendations!

Hi everyone, I hope y’all are safe and happy! With quarantine still in place (at least in my country), I’m gonna keep the random rec lists coming! I’ve been watching a lotttt of animes and rewatching favourites, so I thought I’d share some of my favourites of all time! A lot of them are pretty mainstream, but for my friends who aren’t really into anime, these will get you hooked! In no particular order, let’s get started!

1. Snow White with the Red Hair, 24 episodes 

This is hands down my favourite anime of all time. This shoujo anime make me feel so happy and it’s so wholesome, honestly such a feel good anime. Without spoiling too much, it’s about a herbalist named Shirayuki who ends up having to flee her home country and ends up meeting Prince Zen and goes to live in his country. The cast of characters in the anime is so good, there’s not a character to dislike. The genuine build up of friendship and eventual romance is just so sweet please watch. 

2. Demon slayer (26 episodes) 

One of the best anime I’ve watched this past year. This anime has amazing plot, awesome animation and a great cast of characters. This anime follows Tanjiro as he becomes a demon slayer after a demon killed his family. Tanjiro and his sister, Nezuko were the only survivors but Nezuko was turned in a demon and now Tanjiro is on a journey to change he back into a human. If you are into anime with amazing fight scenes, I highly recommend. 

3. Hunter x Hunter (148 episodes) 

I am currently watching this anime and it honestly made it onto my lists of favourite anime super quickly. The series starts with Gon and his quest to become a pro hunter and find his dad and goes on from there. With so many episodes and arcs, you can’t stop watching. The characters immediately hooked me on this show, Killua and Gon’s friendship is one of the sweetest things I’ve ever seen in anime, I literally want to adopt both of them. This anime is so heartwarming but also kinda dark and action packed. 

4. Haikyuu!! (73 episodes, on-going)

My favourite sports anime my god. Haikyuu follows a high school volleyball team as they try to make it to nationals. This series made me so much more emotional than I thought it would, but you get so involved with the team and characters and want them to succeed. All of the characters from all of the teams are also fantastic and hilarious. If you need a fun but exciting anime, please please please watch Haikyuu!!

5. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (64 episodes)

Where to even begin. I would say this is one of the most popular anime and for good freaking reason. Without giving too much away, this anime follows brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric as they go on a quest to get their bodies back. Honestly this is one of my fav animes, if you like awesome fight scenes and really intriguing plot, you will love this anime. 

6. Yona of the Dawn (24 episodes) 

Another amazing anime but sadly, unfinished. I think this anime is best to watch w/o knowing very much. Just know that there is really good characters and character development and a very attractive love interest :))))

7. Soul eater (51 episodes) 

One of the first animes I ever watched and as I remember it’s hella awesome, if you like halloween then the whole atmosphere of this anime will intrigue you. The fight scenes in this are really fun and so are the characters. If you need a fun medium length anime, I would recommend this one!

8. Inuyasha (193 episodes)

This anime is worth all the hype in my opinion. The plot was great, the characters are fantastic and romance is so freaking cute I can’t. I’m also a sucker for asshole characters who are secretly really sweet. 

9. Fruits Basket (2019) (25 episodes (S1), S2 on-going)

This is the cutest anime. The whole cast characters is amazing and you get so attached so fast. The protagonist is so sweet and optimistic and I really just wanna protect her. I went into this knowing next nothing and I think that’s the best way to do it. The 2001 version is good too but 2019 has better animation and is closer to managa (and has more episodes!). 

10. My Hero Academia (88 episodes, on-going)

I love this anime with my whole heart. There is an adorable cast of characters and amazing fight scenes, I love this sm. It’s set in a world where like 95% of the population has ‘quirks’ which are basically super powers but not all of them are super powerful. Super heroes protect cities and the anime follows a high school where the students are training to become heroes. The main character is born without a quirk but through some crazy circumstances he ends up acquiring one. In my opinion this anime is worth the hype. 

11. Ouran Highschool Host Club (26 episodes)

This one is wild. Ouran Highschool Host club is so iconic and it’s hilarious, I laughed out loud watching this one so much. Honestly I went into this knowing nothing and I think its funnier that way. 

12. Yuri!!! On Ice (13 episodes)

THIS ANIME. The first sports anime w/ canon LGBTQ+ romance and its beautiful. I love the style, the skating, the music, the characters, just everything about it. This follows Yuri Katsuki, a professional figure skater from Japan and his skating career. After messing up a major championship, Yuri is lost and doesn’t know what to do w/ his career. After seeing a video of Yuri skate, his idol Victor, a skating legend, shows up to be his coach. Please watch this anime. 

13. Attack on Titan (62 episodes, on-going)

If you are looking for a badass action anime this is the one for you. Humanity has fallen to the mercy of giant man-eating titans, and the people that survived live within a walled city to keep the titans out. This anime is a little disturbing and violent but it is so badass. Also Levi, the most badass character ever, makes this entire anime worth watching. 

14. Ao Haru Ride (12 episodes)

Hands down my favourite romance anime. This anime is so freaking cute and it gave me so many fuzzy feelings. The animation is also super nice so that is always a plus. It follows Futaba and Kou who liked each other in middle school but were separated. They meet again in high school but they have both changed so much. If you want a romance anime I really recommend this one. 

15. Naruto (720 episodes)

This is a freaking classic and really long. Almost everyone and their mother has heard of this anime or watched some of it before. Basically it’s about ninjas and follows mainly Naruto Uzumaki who want to eventually be the leader of his village but his ninja skills need a lot of work. I honestly didn’t think I would love this anime as much as I did but its just so good. It is a very big commitment to finish though so be prepared. 

16. Your Lie in April (22 episodes)

Well this anime is literally beautiful. It is centered around 2 teens w/ major musical talent. It gets deep very fast but its also light hearted and wholesome. This anime made me cry like a baby so get your tissues ready. 

[ran-orimoto]

Do you ghave favourite Frontier episodes? If yes would you put them in an order from best to least favourite in the favourites?

Hi, Anon💕. Thank you for the ask! I feel like this will be a bit hard because some weeks ago I tried putting some episodes I like in an order of preference and I failed.

A little premise: what is the Frontier I adore like? Except when it comes to episodes where Junpei and Izumi get spotlight, -obviously I ADORE them-, the “Good Frontier” I really love is the one where everyone interacts with everyone, the chemistries are balanced and well-defined, the kids collaborate and learn how to work in a team.

Regrettably, -block me-, I feel like the group in Frontier worked well when it was made of five people. PERSONALLY, PERSONALLY ,I REPEAT, I don’t feel like Kouichi fits among them. What is his role? What kind of interactions has he built with the others, excluding with Kouji? Sometimes I also used to feel like the team that works so well in Frontier is the one made up by the first four kids. Kouji often felt out of place, especially whenever I watched episodes where Tomoki, Izumi and Junpei supported Takuya. Yet, I grew to like Kouji’s development a bit, just a bit. AGAIN, JUST AN OPINION OF MINE: he’s just not my favourite among the kids.

So first episode I’m really attached to:

1. The Tsunomon episode: Everyone hates it, I’m the only one probably loving it so much. It has got so many flaws, especially in how it deals with Izumi’s backstory, but I can’t help it: I love it with all my heart. The main theme is loneliness and isolation. Even if I would have loved seeing them acknowledging how lonely Junpei is too, just like Izumi, I adore they picked them to build trust on each other in a similar episode. It’s especially so nice to notice the development in their relationship while comparing this episode with the Floramon one: now that Junpei has found his spirit, he can be the goofball he’s supposed to be. Their partnership is just too enjoyable for me to resist, okay?

(• Still in the first place because I’m sorry but——- : The Revival of the Ancient Digimon. Even if it’s not an episode, I need to place this here since I rewatched it the day before yesterday and I was so enthusiastic about it. Frontier’s movie is always a nice place to return to, owning what the anime ride should have always had, without losing its direction. In the movie everyone has got a role, the interactions are vividly represented from Kouji’s and Takuya’s silly rivalry to Izumi being a big sister to them; from Junpei, Tomoki and Takuya being the biggest dorks out there (I LOVE THEM), to Junpei, Izumi and Tomoki confirming themselves to be a team with great dynamics; from Takuya and Junpei SURPRISINGLY agreeing on something for once to Junpei and Izumi carrying the finale of the movie together. Flawless movie. The Frontier of my dreams.)

•2. The Village of the Beginnings: The only episode from the last disastrous arc I hold dear to my heart. The plot was endearing, the main theme can also slightly move me: the concept of hope being put in such innocent beings and eggs that still have to hatch is pretty emotional. Izumi also gets to be useful for once in her life, which is so appreciated🤣💕. The only flaw of the episode is obviously the Kouji/Takuya centrism, but in this case it’s less annoying. There’s actually that nice scene with the 10 spirits collaborating with the accompaniment of “An endless Tale” in the background. Pure poetry.

•3. Izumi’s Beast spirit episode: Yajima got to animate my favourite episodes, like you can notice. Somehow their episodes are exceptionally hilarious and everyone just looks adorable🤣. After an embarassing episode about fanservice I wish it had never been produced, here are we with some justice for Izumi. Ignoring the fact her beast evolution can’t be really considered as such, this episode is a gem in her badly-written arc. The team gets to support her and she realizes how precious everyone around her is💕!

•4. The Black Blitzmon episode: Maybe one of the cruelest episodes in the whole series, in my opinion. Despite having so many flaws in its writing and portraying such ashaming scenes of sexualization for Izumi, I like the way they have built up Junpei’s issues during the whole series up to this episode. It makes me feel so sad to see Junpei pretending to have a nice life, whereas he’s a wreck inside. It’s also…A bit relatable when it comes to my life, but I’m not going to go deeper ahaha.

•5. Bolgmon episode: It would have been much higher if it had featured Izumi doing something. I don’t know, SOMETHING. The philosophy of the hopeless woman being protected by the man does not drive me crazy, especially when the writers of this girl fill their mouth with dialogues about women power. Nevertheless, it’s the apotheosis of Junzumi, it’s the moment my son gets to show his worth and his growth. And of course…The ending scene always gets me near to tears because the vibes were so similar to the Takajuri/ Jurato ones.

•6. Junpei’s and Tomoki’s Grand Adventure: Listen, I love these two. I love Digimon’s personal Mario and Toad having such a heartwarming relationship starting their journey from being the most ambiguous characters of the series. Junpei has got such nice quotes here and I remember I had already fallen so hard for him here. He already shows to be so warped and very grey in his personality. The oldest member convincing the youngest one escaping, because he would feel like an embarassing coward leaving that world all alone. Junpei! Junpei himself who had seen an opportunity to play the main hero for once in his life by pressing YES on his phone. It’s a very interesting episode, surprisingly deeper than what it may look on the surface.

• 7. Izumi defeats Ranamon episode: I realize it has got a very warped picture of what a woman has to be like, but I also realize that’s the kind of culture and view Japan had at that time (and probably nowadays too). However, I’ve grown to like this episode after having watched it twice. It’s a lovely filler that culminates the path of Izumi’s struggles with others. I also acknowledge it probably should be lower, much lower, but the atmosphere makes me feel very affectionate to it, and there are some cute scenes featuring Junpei and Tomoki supporting her. I love those.

• 8. Takuya VS Mercurymon episode: Like you have understood, I’m such a big fan for the main quartet. Maybe I would have appreciated the series more if they had had more time to shine together. I like seeing Izumi, Junpei and Tomoki trying their best to rescue Takuya. Still, this episode also marks the end of the Frontier I enjoy, so it might be very emotional but at the same time it leaves me with a bittersweet taste in my mouth.

• 9. Blitzmon’s introduction: There’s a first part that is so boring I would tear my hair, but when the second half comes this episode takes off. There’s a very entertaining fight between Junpei and Takuya leading Junpei to having to face his sadness. It has got such a weird writing someday I would like to discuss about, also sharing some thoughts of a dear tw friend’s here, but I strongly believe it was an excellent way to conclude Junpei’s first character arc. I appreciate them dealing with his lack of self-esteem and eventually giving him the best spirit entrance of them all. Have you seen him falling off the crane, -another ⚡️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ main character of this episode-, being rescued by the Kokuwamons and landing on the ground like some king🤣? Speaking of the Kokuwamon, Junpei and the bby bonding melt my heart.

• 10: Grottomon appears for the first time episode: This is the first time Kouji collaborates with the gang and starts opening up a bit. The animation is commendable with that incredible ride to the mountain, the vertiginous frames, but I also have to say the world building is one of the best here. The setting is breathtaking, very Miyazakish, but the plot doesn’t really stand out that much when it comes to me comparing it with the other episodes I’ve mentioned. I don’t know why. I just can’t fit this higher despite the fun it made me experience ahaha.

I know, it’s a very long post, Anon, and I’m so sorry but I hope you are satisfied by my reply! I know my tastes are weird, don’t worry🤣💕💕. There are also three other ones I like, though: the Tomoki nightmare one and the two episodes about the trio of losers (The Trailmon episode and, before that, the hamburger one).

The last episode, still animated from Yajima, has got its flaws but I love it with my whole heart. It’s kinda useless to mention it because I believe it’s in every Frontier fan’s heart.

[sunandmoongobrrr]

Korra and her Brutalization: A Legend of Korra Meta

In honor of International Womens’ Day, I want to talk a little bit about Legend of Korra and the treatment of Korra (and to a small extent other women) throughout the show. Content warning: there's some disturbing scenes that I show here, but if you've watched all of LoK, you should be fine.

Korra starts off confident; she is a young avatar who is eager to learn and feels suffocated from the isolation she is kept in from a very young age. But that doesn’t stop her, and like the headstrong girl she is, she moves to Republic City to make a difference and step into her role as the avatar.

Korra immediately starts to doubt herself; she becomes unsure of her abilities and frustrated with herself, and through that she learns to become emotionally vulnerable with Tenzin. To me, this was really great. It showed that you can be confident and vulnerable, and that the two aren’t necessarily independent of each other.

(I’m going to be honest, the 2nd season I didn’t really remember much of, so I’m just going to skip over that. Because what I really want to talk about is season 3.)

In season three, Korra faces the Red Lotus, an “anarchist” group that essentially wants to kill her. And they get pretty close. First, I want to talk about how Tenzin is beaten by the Red Lotus. This has been brought up in Lily Orchard’s (in?)famous LOK video, and while I disagree with her on many many topics of the show, I really think she has a point here. When Tenzin is being brutalized by the Red Lotus, the camera pans away. It is SO painful to see him like this, and the directors know it. It’s TOO painful to see it, so they don’t show you it, and the episode ends before we can see him be defeated.

Contrast that with Korra. They show you every detail of this. And I mean every detail.

It’s disgusting, and they refuse to treat her with any sort of decency or respect like they do Tenzin. It’s almost like they want us to enjoy her torturing. It’s genuinely gross.

People will often refute this by saying “LoK is just a darker show! Look at what they did to the Earth Queen!” And while yes, it is marketed towards an older audience, there’s still no point in brutalizing Korra this way. The main difference between Korra and the Earth Queen is that… well, Korra’s the protagonist. We’re supposed to be rooting for her, and while the Earth Queen being suffocated was definitely dark, it wasn’t unprecedented. The audience was never supposed to like the Earth Queen—she exploited and kidnapped her own people, so of course we wouldn’t care THAT much if she died. But we’ve been with Korra since the beginning. We’re supposed to want her to be happy, and why on earth would we want her to be tortured brutally in such a disgusting way that gives her absolutely no dignity? If we want her to succeed?

(here Zaheer uses the same technique used on the Earth Queen to suffocate here on Korra. for some reason)

In Season 4, the main focus is on Korra and her healing from the brutal things the Red Lotus did to her. She is clearly still struggling, and it could have been another great way to show how being physically strong and confident doesn’t mean you can’t be vulnerable. But they make a lot of bad choices in this season.

One of my main gripes is that in order to heal, she has to return to her abuser, Zaheer, and HE has to teach her how to feel better.

I don’t want to compare LoK to ATLA, although it’s very important to mention that a show that’s a direct sequel, uses its old characters, and banks off of references, should be able to be compared to its predecessor. But I think it’s important to compare Korra’s arc here to Zuko. This doesn’t come out of nowhere; Korra has a lot of similarities to Zuko. The chopping of her hair is a significant turning point in her arc, and there’s an episode called “Korra Alone” (which is clearly a direct callback; shown below).

The difference between Zuko and Katara is that, a. Zuko never had to accept his abuser, and b. Zuko started off as a villain.

One of Zuko’s major points is when he confronts his father—his abuser. He does not bow to him and give in, saying that maybe he had a few good points or his heart was in the right place, but he directly says that Ozai was wrong for what he did. This isn’t the case with Korra. For some reason, Korra has to learn to trust her abuser. The person who did this to her:

And she has to hear him out.

This leads me to my second point, and what’s basically the complaint I have; despite being a protagonist, the show treats Korra like a villain. It frames her torture scenes as if we’re supposed to be excited that she’s being brutalized, as if we’re supposed to think she deserves it. And it’s not even handled properly as one of the villains we know so well—Zuko, who was able to overcome his abuse and become a protagonist who we root for. Again, Zuko and Korra aren’t directly the same characters, but there are parallels between the two and the show encourages their comparison. When it comes to Korra, however, we’re supposed to believe that she deserves everything that comes to her; the brutal scenes and the lack of dignity, even if she is a protagonist.

And in the end, that’s what we’re meant to believe; that Korra deserved what happened to her. In the finale, Korra says, “I finally understand why I had to go through all that. I needed to understand what true suffering was, so I could become more compassionate to others.”

This is, to put it short, ridiculous. I hate this so much I can’t even begin to say how much I hate it. No, Korra did not have to go through the torture she went through. She did not have to go through the mercury poisoning. She did not have to go through every hardship she did. This “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” is so harmful because Korra’s healing revolved around accepting her abuser and thanking him for the awful things he did to her. Korra wasn’t even that cocky by the end of the first season, so what it’s essentially indirectly teaching girls is that if you’re confident, you’ll pay. It’s disgusting.

Zuko got a banishment to the Earth Kingdom, got to have his ideas and practices challenged, but he never got physically tortured. I truly, truly believe that one of the main reasons why Korra is quite literally villainized by the show is because she was a confident, brown teenage girl. None of the male characters are treated with such disrespect and we never get told that they need to be “humbled” by abuse.

This is not completely resolved to LoK; there are some aspects in ATLA that I think could’ve been fixed had there been more women in the room. I tag her a lot (bc her metas are awesome), but I really recommend you read @araeph 's Katara: Consumed by Destiny series. I also have a meta here about how Katara is treated in ATLA, specifically in “The Fortuneteller.” (I want to emphasize that while I am anti-Kataang, I don’t believe that Katara’s treatment had to do with the ship itself or that kataang is inherently anti-Katara. It’s just a note about how her character is treated in this episode and beyond.)

I’ve heard a lot of people say that they’re ‘glad’ that LoK didn’t feature Suki or Mai or Ty Lee, because they can’t imagine how poorly they’d be represented. And honestly, I can’t blame them.

This isn’t to say that we need to stop watching LOK or even ATLA. I think the internet has this weird problem where we’ve been told that the way to get rid of problematic media is to just stop consuming anything even remotely problematic altogether. But certain aspects of media will always be relatively problematic, since as content creators we sometimes input our biases into the things we create. The solution, then, is not to banish anyone who puts any harmful stereotypes into their content from society, but to actively and healthily criticize it. Bryke are not God, but they’re also not demons put on the earth to suppress woc. They’re white guys that have implicit biases that have worked their way into the content they produce. I think the lesson learned here, is to have women, especially BIWOC, in writing rooms, to prevent atrocious acts from happening to future Korra's.

Happy International Women’s Day, y’all.

[yackers]

hiiiii, joy and mara for the character thing

thank you!

JOY:

Why I like them: she's so well developed and funny and she just feels so real?? like I love female characters with actual flaws that they learn from its so much nicer than her just being perfect from the get go.

Why I don’t: I mean the nina article?? its kinda obvious tho. also maybe her involvement in jerome and mara's relationship at the very beginning of s3 like i get it and she was just being a good friend but I feel like if mara made more of those decisions herself then maybe the heartbreak would've hurt her less?? idk its pretty minor. also the fabian kiss(es) because.....

Favorite episode (scene if movie): the scene where she takes over the class and her scene with jerome where she tells them to be the bigger person

Favorite season/movie: three!!!

Favorite line: “aw eddie, someone already invented spaghetti bolognese”

Favorite outfit: her s3 uniform

OTP: jeroy

Brotp: joytricia, mara and joy, joy and alfie, idk most people

Head Canon: she has a cat named bella after bella from twilight lol

Unpopular opinion: I understand where people are coming from when they say the joy and nina plotline was unnecessary and some parts definitely were but idk I liked joy's arc in s2 I think it was a realistic teenage girl reaction to coming back to your home and finding that someone else has kinda taken your place. I like complex female relationships and I think in the end it was worth doing. also, I like that the fabian thing did follow into s3. like yeah maybe it could feel a little repetitive but with nina gone I think she needed real closure, not just stepping aside for the sake of someone else but to actually get a real answer and move on to have her arc where she found herself was far more real than just having her show up at the beginning of the season with a new look and attitude with no real growth idk I love her

A wish: idk a scene at the end of s3 or tor where she and patricia jus got to be friends and talk a little about everything idk

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: a reboot lol idk unless its done exclusively done by the people who did the sbtb reboot I don't ever wanna see a yassified 2022 version of her character development

5 words to best describe them: idkkkkk I don't like this part

My nickname for them: ?

MARA:

Why I like them: she so real and flawed and manages to be smart without slotting into the nerd archetype where she like hates fun and she's unapologetic about who she is and she’s die hard for her friends and I really appreciate that

Why I don’t: people in the show wince at some of the problematic shit she does (if they even know about it) but like the show doesn’t hold her accountable for much?? she keeps making the same kind of mistakes for the entire run of the show without really learning from them because no one ever makes her?? she has a massive problem with boundaries and knowing when to step back and mind her business.

Favorite episode (scene if movie): s3 revenge arc and tor

Favorite season/movie: same as above

Favorite line:  “We better hurry because it’s 93 million miles away! Science joke I’ll explain on the way”

Favorite outfit: i don't knowww lol her graduation gown

OTP: mickara

Brotp: joy and mara, patricia and mara, alfie and mara, eddie and mara

Head Canon: she was only put in boarding school in secondary school because of her parents’ travelling and busy schedules due to their careers as famous sports people and previous to that she was home schooled. she has a great relationship with her parents

Unpopular opinion: she was wayyy too in jerome’s business in s2 like to get that involved in his family and almost manipulate jerome’s feelings for her in order to get poppy what she wanted was too much like he was obsessed with her and still you could tell he was on the verge of snapping. and to write that article about eddie and jerome’s relationships with their fathers based purely on what they’d told her in confidence and then publish it without their permission?? in a place eddie’s dad could literally read it whilst barely concealing their identities?? that was kinda fucked. and people say her comment about jerome’s dad in s3 was out of left field but like she was saying shit like “do you want to end up like your dad” in s2 she’s always had this sense of moral superiority about the situation and being mad was all it took for that to properly come out. like she's such an interesting character but she’s definitely among the more sheltered of the house.

A wish: I just want her to be happy, see a therapist, figure some things out.

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: people who say she’d never talk to anyone from anubis again you're so wrong that’s her family!!

5 words to best describe them: -

My nickname for them: I honestly ??

[deans-haunted-baby]

Okay I see there are those who are confused as to why most of us are pissed about 15x19 I will gladly explain in depth:

Let’s start off with our boys Adam Milligan & Michael. These characters have not been seen for 10 fucking years. During that time there were Adam stans like myself campaigning like mad to have him and the infamous archangel return for some much needed closure. We had to content ourselves with headcanons, fanfictions and metas based on what we briefly knew of Adam and Michael as people while they unfairly sat in Hell. You might have seen the “Adam’s Still in Hell” memes that circulated. WE WAITED OVER A DECADE FOR THIS. And finally SPN answers our prayers and returns these boys back into the story for the final season. None of us anticipated what their arc and dynamic would look like. Before we could only imagine who these two characters were/are after having been trapped in a cage so long; what their personalities would be like and if they’d be antagonistic to TFW. 15x08 was a surprise because not only were Adam and Michael likable right out of the gate but the writing for them and their dynamic was damn near flawless! And Jake fucking stole the show he killed it as these two. It’s a crime they were not featured in more episodes because the chemistry between these characters is amazing and they’re played by the same dude.

We were given so much background into both Adam and Michael’s psyches in just a short period of time. Their motivations, interests and how they viewed those that wronged them (like the Winchesters); how Hell affected/changed them both and how they viewed their families. We got to see them banter, cooperate with one another and most importantly their different personalities. With Jake Abel appearing in only a handful of SPN episodes, he still fleshed out Michael and Adam beautifully; giving them layers and complexities that most side-characters (who’ve appeared more times than they have) didn’t. The way Jake played Adam’s anger and resentment towards his brothers was brilliant because it’s more under the surface compared to his angsty teenage self in 5x18. He’d become somewhat restrained, laid-back, gentler and wiser which works because Adam displays traits similar to Sam and Dean. He’s kinder and has a sense of humor but none of that distracts from rational thought as he’s quick to analyze and dissect situations. Man, he would’ve made a great hunter/Men of Letters recruit. We know right off the bat Adam’s pissed at his brothers for abandoning him in a thousand-year-prison-sentence and didn’t lift a finger BUT that ironically doesn’t compromise his willingness to help them unlike his past self in 5x18. Jake gets the point across with this character without saying much and that’s what made him so compelling to watch in this episode.

Now Michael was even more of a mystery onion since he wasn’t onscreen as much as Adam had been in past episodes so Jake got to really build on top of this character. Going from the uptight, cold-blooded merciless celestial warrior/dutiful son of God we saw in 5x22 to someone whom despite his arrogance and regal princely demeanor was very human, intelligent, fair, mindful and compassionate. He trusted Adam and respected his opinions even if he didn’t agree 100%. Whereas most angels take over the vessel completely from their original occupant; Michael chooses to share his vessel with Adam as a mutual agreement which says a lot about who he is. He’s fascinated with humanity and wanted to explore it instead of returning to his throne in the clouds. We know that Michael was created specifically to be Humanity’s protector and guardian of Heaven and Earth so these quirks he’d demonstrated in 15x08 aren’t too far off. He holds a lot of pain inside from his abandonment issues with his father whom he loves to a fault and grief over the death of his brothers. On the surface there’s very much an abused child syndrome thing going on with him though he masks it with a domineering presence. And above all this we saw that he was capable of forgiveness. Whether or not Michael always had these traits inside to begin with, its very evident that his friendship with Adam influenced the person he became post-Hell. And that was someone who, like Castiel, chose to rebel for the sake of free will by aligning himself with the Winchesters after witnessing the evil his father had committed. He actually cared about saving the world. This is what we call character development.

What does 15x19 do? It shits all over that. We don’t get to see Adam and Michael’s dynamic at all; and this was perhaps one of (if not the first) most healthy portrayal of a relationship between an angel and its original vessel occupant in the history of Supernatural. Adam is just killed off-screen Thanos style without so much as one last word and Michael barely reacts like he gives a crap. It was just established to us in 15x08 that he’d developed an emotional bond with Adam through years of inhabiting the same body. He protected Adam while they were trapped together in Hell. They were each other’s only friend and source of comfort. They’d developed a certain co-dependency on each other while respecting one another’s space. They’d both made peace with their joint situation. All they had was each other and the writing in 15x19 basically tells us their relationship meant absolutely NOTHING to Michael based on his OOC actions in this episode. He shows up much darker and shadier now that Adam is gone and its like all those years of friendship, things like that independence, newfound strength and humility he’d gained from living with a human for so long are erased. Michael just reverts back to Chuck’s 5x22 bitchboy persona in the most ridiculous 180 shift I’ve ever seen in my whole damn life. And all because his little brother called him mean names. Pitiful. Just when he lectures Lucifer about standing up for what’s right; he betrays his own words, his allies and the rest of humanity in T-minus 2 minutes. That is total character assassination. Nothing about this motivation makes any sense.

There’s no build up to it, no foreshadowing in 15x08 or throughout 15x19 until they get to the lake. He’s completely deconstructed as a character in this episode and rendered weak. It’s like 15x08 never happened. Stripped of all his development for lousy shock value. Instead utilizing all of what he’d learned through Adam and sticking it to Lucifer by proving he could be more than what Chuck tried to mold him into; Michael becomes just another NPC in the story forfeiting the hero he was. And his reasons for siding with Chuck are never specified. Was it about about saving Adam? Was it about proving something to Lucifer (whom he’d already killed in anti-climatic fashion)? Was it all an act that he was in on with the Winchesters; cause there’s absolutely NO FUCKING WAY they could’ve predicted he’d flip on them like that for their magical plan to work. Not after everything Chuck’s done, killing Adam and Jack and leaving Michael to rot in Hell for eternity. And why would he suddenly go along with destroying the Earth when defeating Chuck would probably get Adam back (if that was his goal) which IT DID not to mention its his sworn duty to freaking protect humanity, hello? So his betrayal meant jack shit in the end as it got him killed by his fucking dad!! He’s brought back into the show only to be ruined forever and killed off in the stupidest fashion.

Moving on.

Jack Kline & Castiel. This iron-clad relationship has been in development for 4 in 1/2 years since before Jack was even born. And next to Adam & Michael its the other most healthy relationship on the show. Castiel, a million year old celestial being, spent the first 9 years of his arc on Supernatural following around the Winchesters, being torn between his loyalty to them and to Heaven. He rebelled when he was supposed to be a straight-by-the-book warrior of God. And he defied every rule in the process even when the odds were stacked against him. There was an endless rinse and repeat cycle of love, loss, betrayal and redemption when it came to his relationship with Sam and Dean. It made his character complex, interesting and layered but it still didn’t give him an arc that was his own. Castiel started out moreso being written as just the Winchester’s angel BFF/side-kick. Until Lucifer got Kelly Kline pregnant in 12x08 then things really took off. Before this, Castiel was a lost soul. His faith was broken, he was depressed, lonely, battered and rundown from years of being conflicted over the other angels and Sam & Dean. He felt he’d lost a sense of self and meaning in his life. And didn’t have a mission. Once he turned on Heaven’s orders, Castiel was a rebel angel without a cause so to speak. But like I said this changes the moment he meets Kelly.

Originally Castiel was suppose to kill Kelly in 12x19 because she was carrying the child of the devil and Nephilim are considered forbidden abominations. Told that if Lucifer’s kid was born he could unleash even more evil into the world. But instead of doing what he thought he should, Castiel decides to runaway with her. Choosing to protect her from all threats (Lucifer, demons, other angels, princes of Hell); this especially included the Winchesters. During this short time-frame the angel develops a strong, emotional bond with Kelly and her unborn son that stretches all the way to the S12 finale; to the point where it actually gave him a power-boost. From the womb, Jack appoints Castiel to be his father and protector and he’s given a glimpse into the child’s destiny that he’ll bring paradise to the world. A prophecy that the writers establish head on. This is an unusual circumstance because right here is where Castiel’s solo arc apart from the Sam & Dean takes shape. The journey of becoming a first time parent and guardian. Its a new kind of independence that for the first time has nothing to do with his friends or his family members/colleagues in the sky. Its his own personal mission that he willingly accepts, the second he connects with Jack from inside Kelly. Castiel immediately falls in love with him, before they even see each other; and adopts the boy devoting himself to keeping him safe. Making a promise to Kelly that would later become a vital plot-point in the seasons to come.  

Castiel literally risks everything (Heaven and Earth) to ensure Jack’s birth and ends up dead by 12x23′s startling conclusion. Leaving the newborn infant Nephilim alone in the care of the Winchesters going into season 13; scared, confused and aged into a seemingly 18 year old boy for his own protection. And Alexander Calvert who is a fantastic addition to the cast really brings something wonderful to this role; he’s like a breath of fresh air and a bright light in the middle of a dark room. Jack’s naïve, innocent and curious about his surroundings but also as Castiel once put it “remarkably intuitive”. Right when he’s introduced his arc is intentionally paralleled with Castiel’s. Their alien-fish-out-of-water beginning is practically identical as is their adorable stoic facial expressions. Like father like son. And this helps because while the angel is currently dead in the beginning of season 13, there’s an empty void he’s left behind. So Jack is kind of his temporary stand-in. Odd enough this type of switcharoo would’ve been considered very controversial but it’s handled quite well. Alex is so likable and charming I almost wish Supernatural had introduced him sooner. I mean I really thought I was looking at Castiel’s actual mini-me and not the son of Satan. But I digress Jack’s story in the first half of this season is pretty much about discovery and reuniting with Castiel. He’s a baby so everything is new to him but he’s also one of the most powerful beings in the universe destined for greatness which makes the Winchesters very nervous.

Jack remembers choosing Castiel as his dad which is why he already feels strongly connected to him. Its a bond so powerful that it actually resurrects Castiel out of the Empty the first time. Something Chuck himself was unable to do (that was until the mess that is 15x19). When they’re finally reunited the payoff comes so naturally. Misha and Alex have such a phenomenal onscreen chemistry starting with that first hug; they really play off one another so well that it doesn’t feel like two angels interacting but a genuine father and son duo. So much of what makes Jack and Castiel’s relationship so relatable, deep and endearing is because of what the actors bring to it. But they’re not just a fascinating relationship, they’re compelling on their own too. Both trying to find their way in the world and within the Winchesters’ lives. Death is no stranger to either of them (tragic being that Jack is only a toddler). They’ve each experienced their own personal pain, traumas, life lessons, mistakes and decisions. The biggest for Castiel would be his deal with the Empty to save Jack in 14x08. While for Jack it was the consequences of said deal that would lose his soul causing him to accidently kill Sam and Dean’s mom in 14x18 as a result (something that Jack struggles with immensely to the brink of depression from so much guilt and regret that he’d rather die). Repercussions that would follow into the shows final season. What’s interesting about this deal though is that Castiel made it on parental instinct alone not as a promise to Kelly. He chose to sacrifice himself for the sake of his son as a selfless act of love and kept it a secret from Sam & Dean until his death in 15x18. That’s the extent how much this child meant to him. The other great thing about their family dynamic is that it parallels nicely with the Winchesters. Castiel and Jack share this unconditional love that can never be broken. its even greater than their ties to the Winchesters themselves just as Sam & Dean’s love for each other is greater than any of their other relationships. They would do anything for each other. Castiel would go to the ends of the earth for the little nougat baby because that’s his son.  

Each time these characters were faced with danger or died, Castiel and Jack were overcome with extreme devastation and distress. That said its not just pain that binds these two its happiness. Jack is the best thing that ever happened to Castiel. Literally becoming a father to that child saved him. It brought him back to life, restored his faith and gave him a sense of self-worth and hope he’d long since abandoned. And for Jack, Castiel is the best dad he’ll ever have! He gave this baby comfort, wisdom, nurturing, strength. Was always there when he needed him whether it was to talk or to have his back. No other person in Jack’s life has ever made such an important impact nor made him feel more safe and loved than Castiel. Even when Jack had done such a horrible thing to Mary alienating himself from his family; it was Castiel’s unyielding devotion to Jack that ended up being his salvation. This was huge because once again he’d chosen over the Winchesters proving that no matter what (whether it be the world ending) his son comes first. So when Castiel’s pact with the Empty finally comes due in 15x18 you’d think it’d have an earth-shattering affect on Jack in 15x19. I mean for the first bit it does...until he becomes God. Then its like to hell with that relationship. Castiel is a complete afterthought to Jack and the rest of TFW in this episode. JACK DOESN’T EVEN GET TO GRIEVE HIM PROPERLY. And he just lost his dad because of a deal he’d made a year ago for him. A DEAL JACK HAS BEEN FUCKING DREADING WHILE HE WAS SOULLESS MIND YOU. And when he finally has the power to bring him back, he doesn’t? Jack just walks around with a conceited smirk on his face, bids Sam and Dean adieu and fucks off. I mean who gives a shit right, its only your dad that you love more than anything. This was extremely OOC given that time in 14x14 Jack nearly lost his shit when Castiel got infected with gorgon poison; the anti-venom wasn’t working so Jack resorts to using his powers putting his soul at risk.

I mean if he was so limited to helping Castiel in the Empty AT LEAST FREAKING CLARIFIY THIS TO THE AUDIENCE. This is not about shipping a certain pairing btw. Jack becoming God is not the issue its his characterization after the fact. His first instinct would’ve been to save his dad above getting in touch with the Earth. Yes we knew this transformation was coming it was foreshowed way back in Season 12. Does that justify bad writing or character assassination?? HELL NO.

This is what I’m talking about, episode 15x19 deliberately butchers these characters and their relationships. It shat all over them. No one is behaving like themselves. The pacing is wonky and inconstant. The script feels like it underwent several rewrites and I swear there were scenes cut out. The acting is off too and maybe the pandemic could be blamed for these things but it ultimately falls on the writer. Buckleming screwed up by showing us they don’t know who the hell these characters are, their motivations nor do they give a rat’s ass. And its noticeable on screen. I’ve known better fanfiction writers for SPN than these guys. It’s like they all came back to work but just didn’t care to put the effort into it. That’s why people like me are upset and we have every freaking right to be. Some of us have been with this series for the entire 15 year run. I at least expect these characters to be handled better and for things to make sense. 15x19 doesn’t and its not satisfying its just a cruel joke. The writers and Dabb should be embarrassed to have put this out there thinking we’d just swallow it and shut up. But far as I’m concerned the only thing this episode serves is to disrespect and ruin everybody while angering long-time fans.

MICHAEL. ADAM MILLIGAN. JACK KLINE AND CASTIEL DESERVED BETTER. And that’s the tea.

[firelxdykatara]

Katara x Aang :3c

are you trying to get me in trouble

-cough-

no but in all honesty, my genuine feelings about kataang boil down to three major points: 1. it's boring, and does not jive thematically with either of their character arcs, to the point of, 2. actively hampering character development on both sides, and 3. katara deserved better.

points expanded under the cut. (please, if you're a kataang shipper and you see this, just keep scrolling. i've tagged it appropriately and put the bulk under a cut and at this point that's literally all i can do lmfao.)

send me a ship and get my (brutally) honest opinion!

1. It's Boring: This is the most subjective point on the list (I mean, in fairness, it's all subjective, but I have evidence from the show and post-canonical materials to support my other points; this one is just preference), but there's just... nothing to kataang. It's cute (when it's not actively aggravating), and... that's about it. It's not even that I dislike friends-to-lovers as a shipping trope (though it's not my overall preference), because there are a lot of friends-to-lovers couples that I do ship (kanej comes to mind, also will/elizabeth from potc, karolsen from supergirl, romione and hinny from hp, among others), but one thing that I think all of those couples have that kataang doesn't is that both sides of the pairing are teens or adults when they get together, with teen/adult dynamics and issues and stories to deal with, rather than one half being a teenager and the other being literally prepubescent.

And don't get me wrong, I have no problem with age gap ships in general. And as far as atla goes, Katara, at 14, has the same age difference from Zuko (16) as Aang has from her, and it's never stopped me--because both Katara and Zuko are well into puberty when they meet and I have no problem picturing them being into one another and growing together as they enter adulthood. Aang, on the other hand, is a child. And he acts like it. Which wouldn't be a problem, if the show weren't expecting me to believe he is a) ready for a romantic relationship, and b) ready for one specifically with Katara, who is not only older and far more mature but is specifically cast as his caretaker in a very maternal role for the entire show's run.

This show asks me to believe that a teenage girl well into adolescence is going to be attracted to and develop romantic feelings for a pre-adolescent child--and it asks me to believe this while showing us otherwise that Katara's type is actually older boys with fabulous hair and angsty pasts in all of her other potential romantic dalliances--and then enter into a relationship with him, all while ignoring the elephant in the room that is the fact that she was basically acting like his mother for the entire series to that point. (Something that is heavily lampshaded earlier in the very same season.) That just stretches the bounds of credulity way too far for me, especially when there's no evidence that Katara herself would get anything out of their romantic relationship.

There's nothing there for me to sink my teeth into. No delicious development, no parallels where they help each other grow, no internal conflicts that they have to work through together, nothing. Certainly no reason for me to actually believe Katara feels (or would grow to feel) anything for him other than the platonic affection of a caretaker. I can easily believe she loves him dearly, as a friend and quasi-little-brother, but I just can't see that developing naturally into romantic love--not the way it's presented in the show.

And even if they did manage to at least make the development of Katara's feelings believable, unless they changed something fundamental about the nature of their relationship, it'd still be boring, so.

2. It Actively Hampers Their Character Development--On Both Sides: I've written before (extensively lol im so sorry) about how kataang is actively detrimental to Katara and to Aang. In short (because ye gods this post is already getting long enough), Katara is narratively harmed by being shoved into a relationship that completely ignores her stated feelings--a relationship that had been presented as a one-sided puppylove crush for the vast majority of the series--and it inhibits her growth as a character in ways that become far more obvious in the comics and lok, where the very same creative forces that lead to her beginning a relationship with Aang in the first place reduce her to 'the Avatar's girl' and very little else, all the way through to the end of LoK (where she is a Healer and the Avatar's wife and, again, very little else).

As for Aang:

As to how this relationship is detrimental to Aang (other than the comics and LoK nonsense)? Just take a look at book 2, when he’s trying to learn Earthbending from Toph. Katara constantly coddles him. Much of the time, she’s afraid to be anything other than gentle and understanding with Aang--partly because of her fear that if she pushes him too far, he’ll run away. (Which he does, several times.) But sometimes, what Aang needs to grow is a sharp kick in the slats, which Toph was more than willing to provide--and which worked. Katara was great for teaching Aang to waterbend, but he needed more than that to grow as a person. And he can’t get that while he’s in a relationship with someone who will apologize for getting upset when he was very explicitly neglecting her.

In addition, it is pointed out by Guru Pathik at the end of Book 2 that one of Aang's chakras is blocked by his attachment to Katara. Aang takes this to mean (incorrectly) that he has to stop loving her in order to become fully realized as an Avatar, but this is actually part of the problem--because the issue isn't that he is in love with Katara, it's that he's possessively attached to her. He believes himself entitled to her love in return, rather than selflessly loving someone regardless of whether or not they return that affection. (This is obvious come the EIP episode, where Aang demands to know why he and Katara aren't in a relationship already--because he kissed her without asking [or even checking to see if she'd be ok with kissing him], which he phrases as mutual even though it very much was not, and he gets angry and violates her boundaries when she says that she is confused and doesn't want to think about it right then.)

It is his attachment to Katara--the need for her to return his love, the belief that she will and it is only a matter of time before he gets what he wants--that he was supposed to let go of, not his feelings for her in general. Unfortunately, while he pays lipservice to doing this (far too late for it to be useful--if he'd stayed with the Guru for five more minutes and unlocked his chakra there, that battle would've gone very differently), he almost immediately backtracks on that development come book 3, and there isn't another single whisper of Aang maybe growing up and moving past his one-sided and possessive crush and realizing that even if Katara doesn't feel the same way, it doesn't mean she loves him less or that their friendship is less important.

What really needed to happen, for Aang to grow as a person and become fully realized as an Avatar, was for him to grow up. To realize that his feelings were not of paramount importance, and that even if he was in love with Katara, he was not entitled to her love in return. He should have been able to move past his need for her to love him back, in order to get past that stumbling block, unlock his chakras, and regain the Avatar State in time to face the Firelord. But he didn't. As a result, they had to find some other way to just give him the Avatar State (a well-placed rock) and the means to defeat Ozai without killing him (the deus ex lionturtle) and his entire character arc just fell apart in the third act rather than reaching a satisfying conclusion.

3. Katara Deserved Better: This really ties into how her romantic relationship with Aang hampered her own development, but I'm still bitter enough about it that it gets its own bullet-point. And the biggest single reason I could never ship kataang--the thing that would've turned me off even if there were substance and a halfway decent storyline for them--is the fact that Aang kisses her without her consent (for the second time) in Ember Island Players, Katara gets angry at him and storms off, and then..... she walks out onto the balcony to make out with him.

With nothing to bridge that gap.

It's bad enough that a show aimed at children had a scene where the child protagonist kissed the object of his affections without her consent when she didn't want him to (made explicit by her angry reaction)--and this is absolutely an issue when the show is aimed at children and it may well be the first experience they've had with consent issues portrayed in media--but this moment is never addressed again. Katara just decides--completely off-screen--that she does love him Really and walks out to make out with him in the epilogue. There's no conversation, no apology for violating her boundaries, no discussion of why that was wrong or any indication that Aang understands what he did and why it upset her. They don't have a single one-on-one interaction between that kiss and the epilogue, and the only other time they are on screen together, Aang yells at her and storms off.

So, even leaving the comics and lok aside, Katara deserved much better from her own romantic plotline. In fact, she deserved to have one, rather than simply being the oblivious object of Aang's affections, given a couple moments where she blushes but otherwise remains completely ignorant of his feelings (she looks shocked and upset when he kisses her prior to the invasion, and then she completely forgets that even happened because she's confused as to what Aang is even talking about during EIP until he brings it up; that's not the behavior of a fourteen-year-old girl who was kissed by someone she was developing romantic feelings for), before the epilogue where it becomes clear that she figured all of that out off-screen and had feelings for him after all.

She's a main character, not a side-character written in solely to give one of the mains a love interest. She deserved a romantic plotline of her own. (She could have had one with someone else, with very few changes made to what was actually on-screen prior to the epilogue, but that's another conversation entirely.) She deserved to have her feelings considered at all important by the person she was going to be paired with in the end, rather than having him just assume she felt the same way and then get mad at her for never giving any indication of it when he'd never asked about her feelings to begin with. She deseserved agency in her own romantic narrative, and she just didn't get that with Aang.

So yeah, at the end of the day, my biggest issue with kataang is that it involved doing Katara dirty, and she's my favorite character and she deserved so much better damnit.

[curlsofsagesmoke]

TMNT (2012) DID DONNIE DIRTY WITH THE HALF-ASSED LEADERSHIP PLOTLINE AND HERE’S WHY

not to turn into a tmnt blog or anything but I've been watching the 2012 version and I have some Thoughts about the weird leadership conflict subplot between Leo and donnie that the writers started going for and then abandoned. admittedly I've only seen up until a few episodes of season 3 so I don’t know if they ever do go back to this, but from what I've seen this plot had amazing potential but it was handled in a truly awful way!

keep in mind also that I really love this show. I watched it as a kid, I think it holds up pretty well even now. it does have its flaws (many, many flaws) and the worst flaw is the writing imo, which can be lazy, ignorant, or just straight up bad at times. 

with that out of the way, buckle up and hold on to your butts cuz here the heck we go!

you cannot talk about leadership in tmnt without starting with the leader, Leo. the writers gave him a really interesting arc at the beginning of season one where he was really eager to become leader (splinter gave him the job because he asked for it, after all) but then he started to realize the burden that came with the title and started to crack a bit under the pressure. the most well-known character conflict in the entire tmnt multiverse is the tension between Raph and Leo, and this iteration of the show is no different. Raph is very obviously upset about Leo becoming leader and he (and donnie, but we’ll get to him in a bit) tries to argue that he should be leader instead. ultimately he fails and this does create tension throughout the rest of seasons one and two.

this tension comes to a head during an episode where Leo, tired of Raph always questioning his decisions and needling him, decides to fuck off for a little bit, leaving Raph in charge (”New Girl In Town”). from a writing standpoint, this episode is important for many reasons, but in terms of this subplot it is a moment of crisis for Leo which he inevitably overcomes by accepting the burden and responsibility of leadership; and for Raph it is a moment of realization where he finally accepts that he wouldn’t be a very good leader and he doesn’t want the burden that Leo carries all the time. after this episode, Raph and Leo do have their arguments, but overall Raph is much more accepting of Leo’s position as leader and only calls him out when Leo starts to go on little power trips.

which brings us to donnie. donnie also argued that he should be leader in the first episode, but it wasn’t treated as seriously as Raph’s argument, and after that there wasn’t much conflict between Leo and donnie (except for the technology vs. tradition thing surrounding metalhead, but I’ll get to that later). donnie and Mikey are presented as generally pretty laid back. when Raph becomes leader in “New Girl In Town”, they exchange a lot of “yikes” looks in the background but are willing to follow his lead and give him the opportunity to actually be leader. of course, this comes to a head when they confront the villain of the episode, snakeweed, in the sewers. they’re getting their asses kicked, Mikey is knocked out, Raph is having a panic attack, and donnie is left to fend for himself against snakeweed.

instead of having that little “I must meet this challenge and overcome it” moment that you’d expect, Raph gives in to the panic and it’s donnie who not only incapacitates snakeweed to give them time to escape, but also snaps Raph out of his panic attack and tells him what to do (namely, get Mikey out of there and retreat to safety). it’s not given any more attention after this so it’s kind of blink-and-you-miss-it, but this is the first instance we see donnie reveal a bit of his potential as leader.

this is in direct contrast to “Mousers Attack!” which came a few episodes before New Girl In Town. that was the episode that introduced the a-team/b-team dynamic, and in that episode we saw that donnie, while attempting to lead him and Mikey, was able to come up with a bunch of plans to infiltrate dogpound’s operations but wasn’t decisive enough to actually commit to anything. thus in New Girl In Town, we’ve already seen very obvious growth in donnie and the way he approaches leadership, but it’s very much pushed to the background, and for good reason. this is simply laying the foundation for the big showdown between Leo and donnie.

the next significant moment of leadership potential we see from donnie comes in the episode the Pulverizer. donnie gets stuck with Timothy in the lair but soon  becomes willing and even eager to teach him the basics of self defense, because, as he tells splinter, he knows Timothy is going to keep putting himself in dangerous situations and he’d rather Timothy be able to protect himself. splinter tells him that anything that happens to Timothy will be donnie’s responsibility, and donnie accepts this and begins training him. at the end of the episode they all make it out okay, Timothy goes on his way, and donnie seems to have become just a bit fond of him.

significantly, this is the first time donnie is given full responsibility over the fate of another person, and we see that even though he doesn’t really like Timothy, he takes this responsibility seriously. here he shows great leadership potential, as well, though again, it’s not really commented on narratively.

the next significant moment is, as you might’ve guessed, The Pulverizer Returns. in this episode we find out Timothy has joined the foot and is willing to pass information on to the turtles. Leo and Raph jump at the opportunity, Mikey is ambivalent as usual, and donnie is the only one who shows any concern. this is most likely because the last time he saw Timothy, splinter told him Timothy was his responsibility completely, and he obviously takes that seriously still. the entire episode, he tries to get Timothy to leave the foot and his brothers to take this seriously, but his worries are brushed off until they find out the shredder is about to mutate Timothy as an experiment.

so they race off to save him, and donnie ends up in a warehouse without his brothers to help, weaponless (because of some bullshit lesson splinter is trying to teach them, and as a side note, this was the first episode where I started to seriously dislike splinter as a character, because the way he was written here is just awful). the villains of this episode are dogpound and fishface. if you’ll remember, these are two serious villains, and up until this point they’d only ever been subdued, never defeated, and even then the turtles had to double team them in order to win. so it was of course surprising and incredible to see that donnie, armed with literally just a broom, was able to hold off a squad of foot ninjas, dogpound, AND fishface by himself for a good while, all while keeping Timothy away from the mutagen.

then Timothy IS mutated and a bomb is activated, and in just two minutes donnie comes up with a plan and executes it, getting them all out safely. when he starts barking orders at his brothers, they don’t even stop to question him. they listen immediately and that’s part of the reason why the plan succeeds. so what does this tell us? it tells us that donnie has a very strong sense of responsibility, protectiveness, and determination; that he is extremely capable when he’s focused and is good at thinking under pressure; and that his brothers trust him enough to follow his orders when he does give them. these are all incredible qualities for a leader to have!

notably the episode after this is Operation Break Out, where donnie goes off on his own to rescue April’s dad from The Kraang and they only make it out because his brothers followed him and intervened. clearly, then, donnie’s not really ready to be a leader and still lets his emotions cloud his judgement, which is a narratively sound writing decision. the big donnie-as-leader showdown doesn’t come until the end of season two, anyway.

and then season two. the tensions between Leo and donnie aren’t as obvious as the tensions between Leo and Raph, but they’re there, even if no one explicitly challenges Leo’s position as leader any more. here’s a quick rundown of the two significant episodes:

“Follow the Leader”--> Leo wants to stick to the old, traditional ways, but his brothers insist on unorthodox methods of fighting. Leo eventually comes to accept this to a certain degree when he admits it’s a good strategy to use against the footbots.

“Metalhead Rewired”--> donnie upgrades metalhead’s AI and Leo is suspicious of it. on the trail of The Kraang, Leo blames donnie for a few of metalhead’s mishaps, but apologizes when they realize that metalhead was leading them to a Kraang mutant prison. metalhead sacrifices itself to save them. Leo is sympathetic here because donnie is really upset, but it’s clear that these two are still fighting over the tech vs. tradition thing

and then we get to The Invasion, the season two finale. the synopsis makes it clear that this is where all of these moments that I've been discussing come to a head: “Leo and Donnie disagree about their plan to stop The Kraang invasion. When Leo makes a critical mistake, he is separated from the team and Donnie must step up as leader.” So we’re off to a good start as far as concluding this character arc goes. I was excited to finally see donnie live up to his leadership potential (and I thought this could be a good way to give Leo some closure regarding his issues with holding the world on his shoulders/blaming himself for every mistake/basing his self worth on his position as leader).

but I was sorely disappointed! in the episodes, donnie’s and Leo’s tech vs. tradition conflict comes to a head when Leo wants to flee the city (this seems very out of character for him) but donnie wants to stay and fight in his new combat robot, the turtle mech. this disagreement lasts until they are attacked in the tunnels and donnie is injured; Leo draws the Kraang robots away (I assumed this was his critical mistake: separating himself) to give the others time to escape. they go to April’s apartment to hide and regroup while Leo is hunted down and almost killed by the shredder. Raph and Casey rejoin the others, then shredder throws Leo through the window of the apartment, and they escape but barely. donnie then makes the decision to fight Kraang prime in the turtle mech (which is, I assume, his big leader moment, though of course it doesn’t even happen on screen). they fight Kraang prime and almost die, but Casey arrives in the van, saves them, and drives them out of the city. donnie apologizes to Leo’s unconscious body and says that Leo was right, and then the episode ends.

so. let me first say that this was quite possibly the worst way to end this really interesting and nuanced character arc that the writers had set donnie and Leo on. first of all, we barely got to see donnie act in any kind of leadership role. in Leo’s absence, they made most of their decisions as a team, where I had expected at least some sort of “I need to overcome my fears and anxieties and lead my family to safety” moment from donnie. secondly, Leo wasn’t entirely correct. yes, they ended up evacuating the city anyway like Leo wanted, but he was wrong about the turtle mech; it ended up destroying Kraang prime’s robot body thing. and donnie wasn’t entirely correct, either: the turtle mech was a great weapon that did some significant damage, but it wasn’t enough to stop the invasion. so we have these two characters who were both wrong in their own ways, both face the consequences, but no one ever discusses it.

so not only did we not see any significant character development from Leo; and not only did donnie not really get to act in any significant leadership role; but also worst of all, these two characters never got any closure! I'm a good handful of episodes into season three, and not one single character has even mentioned the tension between Leo and donnie during the invasion. everyone acts as if it never happened, so now as a viewer I'm stuck here waiting for the other shoe to drop or for one of these characters to finally snap, but I don’t think it’s going to happen, which sucks. in other iterations of tmnt (like the 2007 movie or the show from 2003) we get to see Donatello act almost like Leo’s second in command. I think that’s a really, really interesting direction the writers of the 2012 show could’ve gone in and I think it’s a waste of this subplot’s potential to just abandon it the way they did. I'm not sure what’s going to happen in season three, but I think a good conclusion of this arc would’ve been donnie and Leo confronting the argument they had, doing a little more maturing, and eventually donnie becomes Leo’s second in command. instead I'm really worried about how the writing of this show is going to devolve as I get further into the later seasons.

(as a side note: I'm currently working on a series of tmnt fics that addresses this issue, as well as the sometimes shitty ways the brothers treat each other and the stupid-as-fuck donnie/april/casey love triangle. so if that floats your boat, keep an eye out! I'll be reposting this with the link attached once I upload the first fic, so give my blog a follow or keep an eye on my ao3 account, heyassbuttimbatman)

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Fairy Tales Recaps: “The Hunter’s Children”

Welcome back, everyone! I’m immensely pleased to report that “The Hunter’s Children” functions far better as a standalone story than “The Grimm Child” did. There are still some wonky bits, but all-in-all it’s a very successful adaptation.

Before we get into that though, an update: I have bought the RWBY: Fairy Tales book! I recommend it heartily, both for the stories and the absolutely gorgeous artwork. I mean, look at this.

However, despite the latest addition to my library, I’m keeping to the original purpose of this project. I wanted to see how well the animated version stands on its own, so in order to achieve that I’m refraining from reading any of the tales until after I’ve watched their short. Thus, I’ve got notes on my initial impression of the adaptation and then a separate section of notes for my reading of the short story it’s based on, many of which remain versions of the, “Why wasn’t this included?” question. I’ll do my best to be clear about when I’m referencing each version.

So! This time, rather than beginning with a moral or perspective on humanity, Ozpin dives right in with, “Long ago, there lived a hunter in the swamps of Mistral…” except this man was a hunter of grimm, not game. We see the unnamed father defending his village from the beasts and, when he’s done, he’s surrounded by a crowd of grateful neighbors. I like the long-suffering eye-roll he pulls, like this fanfare is getting a little old. 

What I found less enjoyable though was the... choppiness of the animation? I’m honestly not sure how to phrase this, given that I’m not well-versed in the technicalities of the form, but in layman’s terms the characters tend to teleport from place to place, rather than moving there. For example, we’re not really watching the villagers walk to meet the father, but rather seeing them farther away in one shot and then closer in the next, with the viewer expected to imagine the movement in between. I grabbed a screenshot of a scene I want to discuss later on and, with no effort on my part, caught the oldest brother literally fading into the shot as he “walks” across the screen.

I don’t know if this is a specific style I’m just personally not a fan of, or evidence of a lack of effort on RT’s part, but it stood out to me given that this is a technique “The Grimm Child” didn’t rely on as much (or at all?).

Regardless, other things to note about this opening are the return of RWBY’s iconic shadow people and the use of generic Beowulfs to depict the grimm attacks. I say “generic” because they’re a staple of the series at this point — seen in trailers, shorts, and the story proper — whereas Myers, in his tale, imagines species of grimm adapted to swamps, “such as the great Lagartodiles, fierce Grendels, poisonous Long Tongues, and tricky Whisps” (32). Now, I’m not going to claim that designing and modeling four new grimm for a seven minute episode would be easy — or practical — but this adaptation adds nothing to the main RWBY story. It exists solely to provide us with some Remnant world building, so it seems a shame to remove many of the details that, you know, provide that world building. Especially coming off the Atlas arc which barely even touched on the idea of cold adapted grimm — the most we got were the mammal based grimm sporting some ice and blue hues on their skin — so it’s a bit of a disappointment to get a tale set in a swamp, but absent the swamp specific grimm that Myers thought up.

Nevertheless, we see the shadow villagers hand the father a basket of five loafs of bread, which is a nod to his inability to hunt game since he’s busy killing grimm all day. As thanks for his efforts, the village ensures that he and his four kids don’t go hungry. The adaptation doesn’t make this exchange explicit — and frankly doesn’t need to —  but I’m glad the detail was there for book readers to spot.

He heads home where he and his kids have dinner. They ask him why he’s the only one defending their home from grimm and he says, “My semblance tells me when grimm are near.” Yeah that’s... not an answer? This exchange makes more sense in the book because having a useful semblance is just one of three reasons the father gives for fighting, the other two being that he has the strongest aura out of everyone here and that he hates the grimm for killing his wife. The combination of those things is our answer: he’s the most capable in terms of aura and semblance, the most motivated in regards to revenge. In the adaptation though, it just sounds like he’s dodging the question. Reminding his kids that he has a semblance that makes fighting grimm slightly easier is not an answer to why others aren’t helping him despite lacking that advantage — which includes his own kids, two of which appear to be adults, or at least around RWBYJNOR’s age. I mean, I completely get that the moral of this story is learning to work together, I just wish we had some reason for why that wasn’t already happening in the village, beyond the fairy tale logic of, “It’s just not.” You could easily throw out one line about others not having their aura unlocked at all and the father not allowing his children to fight after the death of their mother, the implication being that he’s too scared to loose them too. Thus, the father’s family is the only one equipped to tackle the grimm — a nod to not everyone being cut out to be a hunter or huntress — but he’s not willing to embrace teamwork out of fear, a challenge his children will later learn to overcome. I mean, they do learn this lesson, we still get that line about their father dying because he tried to go it alone, but the tale might have been just a little bit tighter if we had a reason for his solo act, the same way we do get a reason for the kids’ own, initial division: a disagreement on how best to help.

I’m getting way ahead of myself though. For now, mention of the father’s semblance is what gets the kids to explain what theirs is too. This is the scene we got as a preview for the series and it remains pretty awkward in my opinion. Again, this works better in the book simply because it’s given as narration. We’re told that there was a lively conversation about whose semblance is better, but that presumably doesn’t include explaining what those semblances are. Because this is a family. They know each other. I don’t sit down to the dinner table and explain to my parents that I possess an interest in writing. Oddly enough, they’ve been around long enough to pick up on that. These are the sorts of details that need to be negotiated when changing mediums. RT always had an easy solution here — just let Ozpin narrate more things — but they could also have introduced a side character who exists only to be told what each semblance is after being saved by a grimm, or simply show us these semblances in action, trusting the audience to pick up on what they’re seeing — such as watching the youngest brother become invisible. For more abstract concepts, introduce them with dialogue only when they become relevant, like the eldest sister suggesting that she let her semblance lead them to their father after he goes missing, but before the shadow dude shows up with the news of his death. Here, we’d be changing the original story a bit, but doing so in order to ensure it still achieves the same goals as an animated short, like not breaking the viewer’s immersion. I would buy the older sister dropping a reference to her semblance when it might be useful to the family in a way I simply don’t buy four siblings re-explaining to each other what they’re able to do. It’s awkward.

I am, admittedly, trying to improve what doesn’t necessarily need improvement. We’re watching a short here. These characters will literally only exist for seven minutes and then, presumably, we’ll never see them again. Combined with the acknowledgment that, yes, fairy tales are often filled with holes and seemingly illogical choices, this isn’t the sort of project that needs editing with a fine-tooth comb. Not like the main webseries does and “The Hunter’s Children,” as said, lacks the confusion seen in “The Grimm Child,” which means it’s already cleared the bar, so to speak. It’s fine. But can’t things be more than fine? Don’t authors strive for more than just what’s serviceable? We talk a lot about potential in regards to RWBY and it feels like this adaptation is one of the less glaring examples of that. The story works, it’s just there’s a lot that could have been done to turn it from “good” to “great.”

(Speaking of potential, can we talk about the eldest daughter’s semblance leading her to whatever she needs the most? How the hell does that work? I mean, what kind of hierarchy of needs is her aura working from? One example is purely biological — you need to eat so here’s bread — while the other is far looser in regards to what “need” means — you need your family, not just to help keep these people safe, but in a more general way throughout the course of your life. Sometimes RWBY’s semblances spark my imagination like nobody’s business, but other times they just make me sigh and wish for the days when Remnant’s magic was solely of the “I can move really fast” variety. From hereditary inheritance to passivity, concepts of luck to skills that technically don’t exist in the canon, semblances have become incredibly imprecise over the years, made worse by the show simultaneously leaning hard into technical explanations for Ruby. I think we can chuck the eldest daughter’s ability into that growing mix.)

Another example of those these edges is right in the next line. The father says, “My semblance tells me when grimm are near. I have a duty to protect them.” What’s the technical term for this? Some sort of inconsistent noun-pronoun agreement? The way his dialogue is constructed, it sounds like the father is saying it’s his duty to protect grimm, given that they’re the last subject referenced. Obviously we know through context that he means the villagers, but he should be saying that too: “My semblance tells me when grimm are near. I have a duty to protect the village.” It’s one of the many errors that makes me wonder how many people read RWBY’s scripts prior to finalizing them. Specifically, how many people other than the scripts’ writers because most people can’t easily catch their own mistakes. That’s why we have editors.

To shine some positivity on this recap, I do really like the design of the house — very cozy — as well as the characters themselves. Like with Poppy and Oak, I think this imagining of the Hunter’s family strikes a good balance between individuality and genetic similarity. In recent years certain studios (cough-Disney-cough) have come under fire for sameness in character design: same big eyes, same button nose, same flawless skin. Whatever else we might say about RT’s shorts, the characters are visually unique. I particularly like the youngest daughter’s design of big hair, big glasses, and a big attitude attached to such a tiny frame.

As the family all explains their abilities for the audience’s benefit, the eldest son steals the younger’s loaf of bread and everyone laughs at the little display he gives by turning invisible. The father then gives his own bread to replace what was stolen as he leaves, chiding them for their behavior. Remember that everything in a story this short should serve some purpose. It’s not like we’re looking to fill the time with generalized characterization, after all. So concluding the scene this way implies that this family, alongside overcoming their inability to work together, will specifically need to learn to appreciate the youngest of the group... though that doesn’t happen. If anything, the younger brother provides the most self-critical apology at the end, reinforcing this initial belief that, yeah, he’s the weakest link. Or at least he was.

Once again, I’m admittedly reading a lot into very short, very simplistic storytelling, but what is up with RWBY ragging on children? Oscar has to apologize to the group for being punched and slammed into a wall. Whitley has to prove himself after surviving his father’s abuse and getting Weiss’ weapon shoved in his face. This kid has to listen to his family deride the fact that he can hide from grimm — which is a damn useful skill! — claiming that they’ll do all the work for him, only to apologize at the fireside for being too selfish. The kid looks legitimately hurt here.

So if that’s not something the story wants to grapple with, why include it? Just have him roll his eyes and toss a bit of food at his brother’s head, framing this as a common bit of teasing that he’s secretly fond of. You don’t have to make the children of the group emotional (or physical) punching bags especially when, for the hundredth time this recap, that’s not in the book.  

Anyway, one day the father goes deeper into the swamp to try and figure out why there’s been more grimm attacks lately and doesn’t return when expected. One of the shadow people show up to deliver the sad news of his passing and wHAT KIND OF UNCANNY VALLEY SHIT IS THIS.

Okay, screenshots do not do this justice because yeah, it’s just a shadow dude. We know ‘em, some of us love ‘em, it’s a RWBY staple to just imply the basics of a person when they’re a background character. Or at least it was at the show’s start. I have no problem with these shorts foregoing individual designs for the background people — I’d have rather gotten cool swamp grimm — but why oh why wouldn’t you give him a mouth? He has eyes! Eyebrows! Ears! Hair! A nose! Even goddamn creases in his neck and face! Yet he’s missing the piece of his body that he’s using to communicate with this family. It really was a, “Oh hell no” reaction for me, watching this shadow creature start chatting without any mouth to do it with. Legitimately that’s more creepy than the dead people in “The Grimm Child.” Why, with all that other detail, is he missing a mouth? Because then they’d have to animate him speaking? They’ve already got these characters teleporting around the screen, just give him a circle that makes a few random movements and we’re good to go. This man has a single line. Just slap on something vaguely mouth-shaped and give it one motion. Two if we’re feeling indulgent. Or, again, have Ozpin narrate the bad news while this guy just stands sadly in the doorway, eliminating the need for a separate voice actor at all. There are many options here that don’t involve me stopping the video to ask my dog in a broken voice, “Why have they done this?”

For the record, she loves watching anything that moves on my computer, so she was a big fan of the episode. Good girls watch RWBY with me.

At this point in the story I’m going, “Ah yes. The father tried to tackle the grimm on his own and that’s why he failed. The children will realize this and come to the conclusion that they must work as a team” and I was very pleased to get that exact moral at the end. It admittedly feels like a low bar, but after so much of RWBY’s pitfalls and last week’s ending missing a crucial bit of context, it’s a breath of fresh air to get a story that follows through on what it’s set up.

The kids grieve for a bit and then start a big argument about how best to move forward. The eldest sister wants to defend the village, the oldest son wants to go help others, the youngest sister wants to study grimm, and the youngest son wants to seek his own adventure. This devolves into a shouting match that Ozpin says is a common occurrence, which is a weird choice considering the book says the exact opposite: “The hunter’s children loved one another too much to argue” (33).

Regardless, they make the same decision to go their separate ways. Here’s where we get that shot of the oldest son out on his own. 

I saved it because he’s traveling and finding other villages decimated by grimm, but this doesn’t look anything like a grimm attack. Show some bodies, some leftover grimm scrounging around, maybe some burned down houses if a fire started. This just looks like someone was in the process of building a village, got distracted, left, and broke a few beams on their way out. One moment this short is making me go, “Oh, pretty background!” and the next I’m left scratching my head.

The oldest son continues to get the short end of the storytelling stick as he comes across another village under attack, but “not even his semblance was enough to overcome the grimm.” So I’m like, okay, he died?? In the book it’s explained that he has to link the whole village up with a rope so he can draw from their combined aura, giving him enough strength to overcome the grimm. That’s a very cool way to win the fight. Here, we cut immediately to the younger sister, leaving the brother’s fate up in the air until the very end. He’s even animated with a rope/grappling hook around his shoulders, but we never see him using it. Again, it’s weird. It’s also unclear whether the crowd of shadow people he’s show standing in front of when he reappears are the villagers he rescued, or the villagers his sister is currently leading to safety. Once again, RWBY’s various installments seem to contradict each other. Am I to believe that the brother saved that village because he does so in the book, or that he failed because last we hear in the adaptation, “not even his semblance was enough to overcome the grimm”? I’m working under the assumption that the adaptation meant to convey Myer’s ending, but as always, it doesn’t come across that way with the information we’re given.

So all the family is coming back together again. The youngest son gets lost in the woods and is attacked by grimm. He uses his semblance to hide from them visually, but can’t keep them from sensing his emotions (which is what distinguishes his semblance from Ren’s). Luckily, his younger sister is nearby and she calms him enough for the grimm to depart. Following them, they come upon their older sister leading the remaining villagers to safety, assisting in taking out the grimm that are too much for her to handle alone. Even the three of them aren’t enough though, which is when the eldest brother arrives and the four finally fight together.

It’s a nice sentiment and I like how relatively neatly their paths manage to cross. Oh, and the hug between the two youngest siblings is just adorable.

The only thing that kinda bugs me is that it’s just fighting here. I mean, the two older siblings were divided on whether to protect their own people or others. Now they’re doing both. The youngest son was unsure about whether helping people was the way to go at all, considering that both parents died in their attempts. Now he’s overcome that fear. Which just leaves us with the youngest sister. She believes that studying the grimm is what will assist them the most and yes, she realizes that observing from afar can only do so much, but the problem is that her observations don’t do anything. I was expecting a little moment when her research gave them an advantage, similar to Ruby shouting at Weiss to go for the boarbatusk’s vulnerable underbelly. Yet they just hack and slash their way through the problem, sending the message that they never needed her unique skills, just a fourth blade on the battlefield. Anyone would have done. I don’t think this mini missed opportunity would have stuck with me so much if not for the fact that RWBY, as a franchise, is now very anti-strategy for a combat show. I won’t rehash all my arguments here regarding stolen airships and foolish moments of unearned trust, but suffice to say, the show now makes the strong argument that brute force and a bullheaded attitude is all you need. “The Hunter’s Children” argues that you need teamwork to succeed, but only certain skills within that team are necessary. Namely, a boost to your physical strength and aura. Knowledge? Research? Strategy? Nah, they’re not key components of winning battles. Provided the younger sister has a pointy weapon, she’s good to go.

She even says during her apology, “I was wrong. The best way to learn about the grimm is by fighting them.” You weren’t wrong, you just weren’t completely right either. You need both. A huntsmen needs to know that a boarbatusk can be attacked from underneath, that some grimm are too old and intelligent to take on alone — or at all — and that the apathy will literally sap your will to fight them. What would Weiss have done without that knowledge? What would have become of Ruby if she’d followed her desire to “Let’s kill it”? Why was the group in so much danger down in those tunnels? Ignorance. You’ve got to know how to approach a grimm before you have a chance to beat it. I’m constantly astounded by RWBY’s recent approach towards both knowledge and the more peaceful solutions it might bring.

Anyway, the siblings all gather ‘round the camp fire to lay out their failings, some of which are — as established — a little more persuasive than others. We get the moral of how their father never should have tried to go it alone and, though not officially, this family becomes the first, four person huntsmen team. The great part is that in Ozpin’s book notes he says, “One wonders If the King of Vale had this story in mind when he established [the academies] after the Great War.” Did you know that in academia you have to cite yourself? If you’ve got research you’ve done that’s informing your current work, you’ve basically got to provide some manufactured distance and put in a (Clyde, 2021) like that’s not you and this isn’t a little weird. That’s the vibe I got from this line and it’s hilarious. The totally not King of Vale theorizing about what the King of Vale’s intentions might have been. Classic.

Now, if only we saw this four person setup in the webseries more often. Outside of Beacon, I mean. For all that I gripe about his novels at times, Myers does a lot of world building that, sadly, has never made its way into the story proper. The implications of this work, that fairy tales are an integral part of Remnant’s culture and have informed everything from regional beliefs to the structure of all the huntsmen academies, simply isn’t seen in the main RWBY tale. 

As a final note, we get a concluding shot of the siblings with their associated color as a background.

Admittedly, I don’t know what color-related thing RYPB might spell. Then again, I never would have gotten “coffee” out of CFVY, so I’m sure we can get pretty flexible with this team name.

Thus endeth our second RWBY: Fairy Tales recap! I’ve managed to write nearly 4,000 words on a seven minute video.

... yup. Seems about right.

See you next week! 💜