#lets see how much motivation i actually have

[pegasussomnus]

timber is bad for tim's character:

A. There is no real good reason to have him paired with Tim. He only appeared in six issues and none of his interactions with Tim gave us insight into who Tim was as a character or lead to any meaningful developments. The whole 'he represents the War Games era of Tim in terms of uncertainity' or 'his civilian life before losing his dad' that was used by the author, is just untrue as we never see Tim seriously appreciate his friendship like he does with say Ives, or the people at Brentwood as something that keeps him grounded or as a distraction from the hero life/normaly he needs nor do his interactions with Tim show said uncertainty like the struggle of balancing the civilian/hero life that we saw his above friends do. All of his appearances are either comic relief or a springboard/exposition for more important developments such as Tim's relationship with Darla.

There is also how he wasn't a close friend of Tim and more often than not, Tim was shown to not like him too much. At best they were casual friends and none of their interactions went beyond that. The nicest thing Tim said about him is that he "THINKS he's going to END UP LIKING" him not that he actually does so which at best shows Tim is willing to give him a shot.

At worst? Well

Yeah. The first panel is his first impression of him while the last three are the LAST interactions/mentions Tim has with him and occur after saying he 'thinks he's going to end up liking him'.

It makes no sense why Tim would even want to reconnect with him let alone date him. Tim's opinion of Bernard went from "I guess we can be friends but this guy is sus to "maybe he's not so bad and deserves a shot" to "nah screw this guy". It's telling we keep getting sold a false meta history of them being super close friends and have Bernard essentially replace Ives to try and sell the pairing.

B. Like it really doesn't do anything for Tim at all.

Bernard doesn't help Tim grow as a character, or even as a person relationship wise as Tim is still doing the same faults he did in past relationships with civilians not telling them he is Robin, keeping secrets, cutting dates/missing them, etc). but they are "resolved" by just making Bernard some ultra perfect guy who knows Tim's identity

Aka the resolution he had with Stephanie in terms of the civilian/hero life balance of having someone who knows both, so Tim is getting a balance he already had and not to mention you can't even say Tim progressed in this manner or learned from his mistakes as he never revealed his ID in the first place, so it requires no growth on his end) (never explained how he does, not to mention watering down Tim's competence in keeping his ID) so it's all moot.

Tim also doesn't progress in his civilian life at all. Like he lives on a boat and (it is said that Bernard helped motivate him to do this but never shown/explained at all and all we see is Bernard saying he likes it and the people there)? Like he doesn't even meaningfuly develop a connection with the people there aside from friendly neighbors at best. As an example There was this "subplot" of them being in danger of being evicted but Tim just doesn't care at all or do anything. Like why not use some of his wealth from his dad or something to like buy people's boats and resell them at a cheaper price so the people can stay?

The people on the boat don't even offer him a meaningful civilian connection as like I said he just doesn't connect with them and even then that civilian connection is kind of moot in the last issue when they all know his identity as Robin so that balance or finding a solution is rendered moot for the same reasons as above as he already found that balance with the Batfamily/YJ friends who know both aspects of his life and again he didn't even it reveal it to them.

Like what do they offer him? People to chill in a non-vigilante way? Like he can already do that with the Batfam/YJ and not to mention that as the series showed the Marina got involved in a lot of Robin related stuff because of Tim's ID, so it's also moot.

Another point is how Bernard for a 'relationship for Tim beyond Robin' really is a relationship where the substance largely comes from Robin. Like aside from Robin is how they got together which Bernard even states in issue 3, in the beginning of issue 7 when Bernard list why he likes Tim all the things he likes about him are reflective of his role as Robin. Like his whole trusting Tim to keep him safe, Tim being special, and Tim being his lucky charm, the examples he uses are of Tim saving him as Robin/being Robin.

And issue 7 also shows like I said above that what saves the relationship is Bernard knowing that Tim is Robin. Not to mention how he really only opens up to Tim/confides in him seriously when Tim is Robin as shown in issue 3 and 9. Hell in issue 3 when he talks about wanting to help Tim, knowing that he knows his ID, when he talks about Tim 'taking too much on his own and not asking for help and loosing himself or whatever' we know it's about Robin.

And issue 10 the grand saving moment for their relationship after the 'falling out' in issue 9 was Bernard saving the day in a Robin related mission and getting the ID reveal (but not really)

Issue 7 highlights how Tim really doesn't do anything for Bernard as Tim. Like all he does is tell him that his parents suck, he's great to make him feel better, and tell us a bunch of stuff about Bernard we've never seen before.....twice and given how the issue kept emphasizing this point (to the point where villains commented on it) and how over the top his parents/with Bernards heroic it felt generic and like the bare minimum and Tim felt like an exposition device.

Tim never really talks to him about his issues with his parents or actually substantially helps him as after Tim does the above it immediately cuts back to their relationship for cute moments. Like Bernard giving him the necklace isn't even connected to Tim 'helping' as he was gonna do that anyway.

Tim as a civilain is just the BF and the real substance comes from Robin (as it was a Robin related mission and Tim saving civilians as Bernard which lead/inspired Bernard trying to save his parents and oh look Robin once again is tied to their relationship)

TLDR: Bernard doesn't make sense as a pairing, doesn't do anything for Tim as a character nor fulfill the purpose he was supposedly brought back for

The mental gymnastics people do to hate timber should be studied under a microscope.

The fuck you mean he is bad bisexual rep because he is dating a man… and how does that makes him gay???? Have you ever talked to a bisexual person???

“Oh it makes less of his past relationships” how?? How?!? Is he not allowed to be infatuated with his current partner? Should he continue pining after his past relationships even tho he is dating someone else???

[hexb0nes]

Exposed!

features: jayce talis & viktor from arcane

summary: welcome to the nsfw alphabet game featuring the men of progress! discussion of kink will be featured.

a/n: the people have demanded this and so be it, i have returned with this lovely treat for you all! happy 100 now 151 followers celebration!

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

Jayce - He pulls out all the stops! Depending on your mood, he will either give you a good massage with praise or the two of you share a bath together

Viktor - He enjoys cuddling as aftercare. He’ll trace shapes and lines on your skin while gentle music (piano, lofi, etc.) plays from one of your phones

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Jayce - He loves his arms! They show off his strength and his resilience from years spent in the forge, as well as how easily he can pick people up. On his partner, he loves their chest; not completely in a sexual way, he likes laying on his partner’s chest and listening to their heartbeat

Viktor - He struggles with pinpointing a favorite body part of his, but if he had to place, he would say his eyes. He likes the color of them and they let him see the beauty of the world. As for his partner. he loves their hands; he sees hands as a reflection of the person’s experiences, as well as his most comfortable/go-to form of intimacy is hand holding

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

Jayce - He loves eating cum, regardless if it’s from a pussy or cock; he will eat it up like a Thanksgiving dinner

Viktor - He can cum buckets if he has been pent up for a few days; he has once popped a condom from all his orgasms after a day’s long fap session

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Jayce - He’s a fan of roleplay during sex; his favorite roles are as a firefighter and a stripper

Viktor - He has fucked at least 3 times while Jayce was in the lab with him, usually get a blowjob; Jayce still doesn’t know to this day

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

Jayce - Acts like he’s experienced, is actually an amateur, only has been with 2-3 people; it takes a couple of “research” sessions with his partner before he gets the hang of it

Viktor - WHORE!!! He’s very experienced, had a slut era during his Academy days because he wanted to explore his sexuality (and had too strong of a sex drive) 

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

Jayce - Doggy, he loves gripping his partner’s hips and vice versa 

Viktor - Cowgirl, it’s the most accessible for him 

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

Jayce - Surprisingly serious in the moment when he first starts having sex with a new partner; he lightens up over time

Viktor - More cheeky with the occasional quip of dry humor, will get serious if it’s an intense session

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Jayce - He takes much pride in his manly grooming! He’s well manscaped down there

Viktor - He doesn’t have much hair down there in the first place, so it’s a non-issue for him 

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

Jayce - He’s a romantic at heart and it translates into his loving, service top behavior during sex 

Viktor - It takes a few sessions before he engages more so romantically; how he acts romantically is more subtle, such as caressing his partner’s body

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

Jayce - Chronic masturbator during his 20s, has lightened up since then

Viktor - Cums pretty easily with a short refractory period when masturbating 

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Jayce - Breeding

Viktor - Bondage 

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

Jayce - His apartment (privacy is importantly for him)

Viktor - The lab (he’s an exhibitionist)

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

Jayce - Little touches from his partner in his sensitive spots like the small of his back; he’s motivated by his partner’s moans during sex 

Viktor - Cheeky banter with mild brat behavior from his partner; he’s motivated by how unraveled his partner becomes during sex 

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Jayce - Beside basics no-nos, watersports 

Viktor - Besides basics no-nos, medical play 

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Jayce - GIVER!!! Pretty good at eating out & giving head

Viktor - No preference, but he’s hella skilled at eating pussy & giving head

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Jayce - fast but sensual

Viktor - slow but rough

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Jayce - Not a big fan, he likes taking his time to properly fuck his partner

Viktor - Doesn’t mind it, only will do so if it’s an emergency (i.e. accidental boner before a presentation)

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

Jayce - He’s cool with risk if his partner prompts it 

Viktor - He’s a scientist, of course he’s game to risk

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

Jayce - Can go up to 5 rounds in 20-30 minute intervals without break if he’s super horny, but usually does it for 3 rounds in 15-20 minute intervals 

Viktor - 2 to 3 rounds in 10 to 15 minute intervals with long breaks in between; can go longer on low pain days, but that’s not often

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

Jayce - Only owns a fleshlight; more than happy to use toys on his partner and is not opposed to have a butt plug in him 

Viktor - Yes! His toys are a staple of his sex life, they make masturbation and sex more accessible; he loves using toys on his partner than himself because it allows him to be more active during sex 

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Jayce - Not really a teaser 

Viktor - VERY MUCH A TEASER

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

Jayce - Very loud, a mixture of grunts and whimpers 

Viktor - Kinda quiet, a mixture of groans and huffs 

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

Jayce - He’s a fan of classic porno maganizes, such as Playboy 

Viktor - He was the one who proposed the idea of making the Hexstrap (in a genuine sense, he wants to make sex accessible for everyone)

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

Jayce - Muscles galore, miscellaneous marks from time spent in the forge, and sizable melons; 8” with above average girth

Viktor - Snatched waist, scars from past surgeries, and lots of moles/freckles; 6.5” with average girth 

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Jayce - Fluctuates a lot, but still above average 

Viktor - Very high when he was younger, has decreased since the progression of his illness 

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Jayce - Wide awake, will not fall asleep until his partner does

Viktor - Depending on his spoons, he can collapse immediately afterwards or gave enough time to engage in aftercare and fall asleep with his partner  

[ficsinhistory]

Do you have any headcanons for SCU!Amy?

You give me WAY to many power, anon. Let's go!

Amy comes from Little Planet. That's it, you can't convince me otherwise.

Because she was born on Little Planet, Amy can use her chaos energy for temporal manipulation. See the future and past, travel through time, etc.

Her people are a more pacifist, technological, diplomatic and peacemaking society. They believe in the power of the collective and that love transcends time. Hence part of her personality. They also believe that the flow of time has to be free from interference…something she doesn't agree with so much.

Amy actually knows Sonic, but neither of them remembers it because Little Planet only appears once a year for a month and she shows up the last time before he ran away. Amy landed on the island one day and ended up bumping into Sonic. They spent the month playing before she had to return for good and promising to come see him the following year. Amy never found Sonic again.

I believe Amy is a very powerful chaos energy user, especially since she is also a hedgehog. All of them, like Shadow and Sonic, have enormous and innate powers and I believe she does too. This even puts a target on her back.

She wasn't much older than Sonic when Little Planet was taken over. The whole thing was extremely traumatic for Amy who saw everything she knew and love die and the feeling of helplessness she felt motivated her to never be so helpless and incapable again.

She was captured by the creator of the Metal Sonics (probably Ivo) because of her powers when she was younger and had a quill stolen from her before could escape. This is how robots travel through time and why they have pink energy. They also can track her because of this. She blames herself for being the reason these threats are running wild and tries to make up for it.

Like Sonic, Amy was sent to Earth by a guardian who loved her, but she was instructed on a mission to protect (possibly protect the Time Stones and even Sonic) at any cost, even her own life. Contrasting Longclaw's instructions to Sonic which was to protect himself. Yes, it's so mess up to her as it's sounds.

She is on Earth at the same time as Sonic. However, she never left the New York area and being so good at hiding, never knew about him nor he about her.

Her hammer came from a factory of Little Planet, which canonically has an advanced industrial hub. She get it during the invasion to protect herself.

Amy has been fighting Metals for years and they always come back more refined and better. The only reason she hasn't been defeated is that her powers give her an advantage with vision of the future and Amy is naturally a strategic and inventive mind.

It's unnerving for her to destroy the Metal Army because they look similar to Sonic. Her mind can't remember him, but subconsciously, she knows she's seen that face somewhere. She's thrilled when she finally meets the real Sonic.

Just like Sonic's, Amy's powers are linked to emotions and since the trauma of the fall of Little Planet, her temporal abilities don't work very well. More specifically, her ability to see possible futures and remember her own past, is very scary for her. It's only when she meets Sonic again and they commit to dealing with the past together that it return to normal.

Amy's emotions in general are a mess. She is traumatized and lonely, while also being loving and optimistic. Because of her mission, she is afraid of putting even more people she cares about in danger, which leads to self-isolation. And just like Sonic, she tries to distract herself by wandering around New York and observing friends, couples, and families.

She's obsessed with musicals. She's also crazy about magical girls and has stacks of manga in her home. Amy also loves writing.

She lives in the post-credits park, in her own cave. In addition to manga, she has fairy lights, musical posters, various pink things, fashion magazines and exterotypically feminine things. Cloths? She loves it. Pop white girl music? You can bet. Rom-com? Please, she's a New Yorker.

The moon reminds her of Little Planet because it is also a satellite. Imagine her shock of seeing it split it.

She has survivor's guilt and thinks the Metals are her fault, so Amy has very little self-preservation. This leaves everyone, especially Sonic, a nervous wreck.

Amy believes in unconditional love, and is a lover of all living things. Following the philosophy that all life is valid and precious. Love is the only thing that transcend time.

When Amy meets the Wachowskis, she is delighted and excited. She has finally found people she can be around without fear, who she gets along with and who are part of her mission. Yes, she loves Maddie and Maddie loves her.

This girl collects friends and allies as Pokemons. Tom and Maddie? Folded for this cute, pink girl. Tails and Knuckles? Automatically siblings. Even Shadow can't handle this girl's absolute resolve for friendship. He knows resist is useless.

She and Sonic have a mutual crush, but they're really bad at it. Between the traumas and the similarities, it's just… amazing and scary to have someone understand you like that. Love is being seen, and Amy doesn't know how to feel about being so seen and vulnerable like that. All Amy knows is that she loves this boy very much and would hate to be responsible for taking him away from his family. That said, she can't hide it. Is so obvious.

Although she is in love with Sonic, her favorite Wachowski brother is Tails. They're tech siblings and strategic pals.

Knuckles and Amy get along very well. She has heard of his reputation as a warrior and he knows the stories of the mysterious Little Planet. They are both happy to finally have a sparring partner.

Amy's fighting style is very aggressive and destructive. She feels a lot of anger towards the Metals and this is quite a fuel. It reminds a bit of Shadow's practicality and brutality.

She is so empathetic and kind to the point of being disarming. Amy can get the truth out of anyone like that. One look into those green eyes and you are doomed. She will win you over with the power of unconditional love and non-judgmental listening.

Empathy plus temporal powers allow Amy to know everything about someone. It's scary and she knows it and likes it.

She is very good at hiding and uses this to her advantage when she visits New York. Although sometimes she likes to mess with people she finds rude by revealing herself a little and saying "no one will believe you" before smiling and walking away.

Amy has a temper and is very angry. And she is in New York. Pretty much the best place for her to hide.

She can love everyone but herself.

[doux-amer]

Helena thought she could go undetected if she acted kind, which is frankly patronizing and says volumes about her lack of understanding of Helly and the innies. From what I can tell, she (and Lumon?) only cared to watch the day the innies enacted their OTC plan, so she thought, "Okay, they're all fond of one another, and they have team spirit" and decided to act warm, nice, and collaborative. That must be why they like and trust Helly! Except Helly's more than that.

Helena doesn't care to think of Helly as an actual person, just a role she can slip into, and surely it can't be hard to be her because she is Helly. But Helly is headstrong, inquisitive (and demands that others question things as much as she does), and highly skeptical, and as much as she's kind, she's also quick to sarcastic retorts and teasing. You don't see that on display in season 2. She's soft and she doesn't go off snooping on her own, not caring whether or not anyone follows her. She lets Mark take the initiative on everything. Her hatred towards Lumon is absent; the only time you see her actively dissent is when she laughs over the story about Dieter—and she gets it wrong because the others are confused and a bit uncomfortable before they hesitantly join her in laughter whereas Helly would have been able to say something that would have landed with the others immediately. She doesn't get the group dynamics either. She makes a snow seal for Irving, and her "sympathy" for Irving is cruel and condescending because Helena is cruel. I think part of her wanted to shut Irving down, but she's also clueless enough to genuinely believe she would come off as kind. Gotta be gentle with poor, breakable Irving, guys.

She's incapable of understanding Irving's loss and she underestimates him. She's never been a position like he's been in. He has nothing, his entire belief system that he's been indoctrinated into since birth is a lie that has caused him profound suffering, and he found love so powerful that it transcended everything and made him willing to sacrifice everything. He doesn't have anything to lose. He sees no point in being at work anymore so that means he'll take massive risks and have no fear. She doesn't understand that because she doesn't understand love or loss.

She doesn't actually get what drove the innies to rebel and risk everything for the OTC because of that. One of the first things anyone in Helena's shoes would think when she learned she has to go back to the severed floor is how they would have to come up with a lie. She's quick to see that's necessary when it comes to the gala fiasco because she values the attendees' trust and understands how their support or lack thereof can affect Lumon, but it doesn't cross her mind for the innies until the MDR members ask one another what they saw. Did she really think they wouldn't talk about this? These are people who risked their entire existence just to get a glimpse of the outside world and learn a little about who they are. They'd be eager to talk about everything as mundane as how vast the sky is (which was one of the first comments Dylan made on the ORTBO!) and as intimate as the most minute details about their outies' lives and identities.

Helly herself is the one who got the ball rolling for the plan in the first place because of how much she rebelled. They would expect her to be candid regardless of what she found. Helena seems to forget and find incomprehensible Helly's deep-seated loathing of her and Lumon. Obviously, it's possible that Helly would be afraid of judgment and of losing her team's trust. She was broken when she found out who she was, so full of regret when she recited the break room apology in the bathroom at the gala. But Helly immediately moved into action and knew she had to get the word out there about the unjust treatment of innies. It's not just curiosity motivating her, but a desire for her life and the lives of the other severed employees to be better, for them to be treated as equals. To have freedom and agency.

Regardless of whether Helly would have told the others who she was on the outside or not (and I do believe she would have if not immediately, then very soon after), she would have wanted to destroy Lumon. She already hates Helena and was willing to hurt her and even kill her not only to escape her claustrophobic, prison-like life but also as revenge. She would want to raze Lumon to the ground even more than before after her discovery.

In that sense, I think that's why Irving was highly suspicious of Helena. Sure, there's the "night gardener" comment, but that was just a seed. If it had been Helly and that had just been a terrible lie born out of shame, he would have quickly dismissed it if she acted like Helly. But he continued to observe her and thought she wasn't acting like Helly. Everyone on the team is gung-ho about rebelling, but Helly and Irving were alike because they were driven by a type of anger that set them apart from Mark and Dylan. Mark and Dylan also felt mistreated, but they were driven by curiosity as well. They wanted to know more about themselves and their lives. For Helly and Irving, that was of interest to them too, but it wasn't the priority; they operated from a place of feeling like they had nothing to lose, which is why Helly was the one to provide the spark, the fuel for the fire, and Irving was the one to fan it into a conflagration, to inspire them by declaring, "Let's burn this place to the ground."

Helena doesn't seem to know this. She doesn't try to understand the innies because she doesn't see them as real people, as equals with their own interiority, with deep thoughts and emotions. She just chalks it up to the innies being unhappy, which is right, but it's a superficial interpretation. She doesn't dig into why or try to sympathize, and that leads her to be this weirdly placid version of Helly. One with a complete lack of fire. One who's complacent and just does enough to give a shallow impression of whom she assumes Helly is by reducing her to a handful of traits: curious and kind.

I think she vastly underestimated how important Helly is to the others and ultimately that backfires on her spectacularly. If you love someone, you know them. She's never had someone truly see her except on the severed floor because she's never had love until then and she's never been accepted for who she is and encouraged to be herself. For all her condescension towards the innies and Helly especially, she has limited, childlike knowledge of how complex a person can be and how relationships can work.

[polgarawolf1]

Honestly? He's also kind of a lazy writer. I mean, just off the top of my head, in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, aside from completely misisng out on adding any richness or depth (or possible foreshadowing about what Skeevy Sheev might be up to) to the story by working in Sith alchemy, experimental cloning, Nightsister Dark Magicks, or anything at all truly interesting, he just . . . basically goes, "Somehow, Darth Maul survived." And we're supposed to just take that and believe he lives on rage alone, even though he's literally missing the majority of his digestive system (not to mention basically his body's ENTIRE waste management system), having been completely bisected by lightsaber at or slightly above the waist. He makes Ahsoka be assigned to Anakin as a Padawan instead of . . . oh, planning ahead so that someone else always has a claim on her and he's always going to end up losing her because her first Master is still alive, just recovering from something like, say, nearly being killed at Geonosis. That could have opened up SO MANY MORE storylines about the Jedi and how the Jedi Order functions (not to mention how the war might be changing things) - what Jedi do when Masters are too damaged to keep teaching their apprentices; what Jedi do about orphaned and virtually orphaned Padawans; and even, on the flip side, how Jedi generally treat Jedi who lose their Padawans (does the High Council automatically assign such a Jedi another apprentice? No? Why not? Or if not immediately, then when?) - and could've avoided the entire godsawful horrendous stereotypical "let's turn one of the widely seen as being Muslim-coded character into a terrorist" storyline with Barriss Offee, since, again, Anakin would always have to given Ahsoka back up to her original Master, once said original Master's considered fieldworthy again.

He's also lazy in that, instead of doing to work to show character motivations and to give them more/different motivations, he mostly just kills off female characters in order to force people to be sad and then to act out because of their grief and anger or else to add more "pathos" to the story (like it actually NEEDS more!). He fridges Mina Bonteri, Steela Gerrera, Jedi Initiate Kalifa, Jedi Master Adi Gallia, Jedi Master Tiplar, Teckla Minnau, and Satine Kryze (Duchess of Mandalore) in Star Wars: The Clone Wars (and he does kind of the same thing to Rush Clovis, too, arguably, though that's more to drive Padmé - who's basically informally on a break/separated from Anakin because of his behaviour towards Rush Clovis - back into Anakin's arms).

I can't speak much to other shows - I'm perpetually behind on seeing things because we couldn't get streaming even if we could afford it or wanted it. Plus, I just hate the animation design for Rebels - from what I'm given to understand from what I've seen online, though, his laziness as a writer is an ongoing issue. He has a bad habit of coming up with great characters but failing to follow through in any truly meaningful way on their backstories in regards to their cultures. There is SO MUCH we don't know about Mandalore, given how often Mandalore/Mandalorians come up in his shows, that it's not even funny.

Also, I want to sic George Lucas on him every single time the lying LIAR lies about the Jedi in general.

Hi Lumi. This year I’ve watched The Clone Wars, Rebels, Mandalorian, Book of Boba Fett, and Tales of the Jedi and I’m watching Ahsoka as episodes are released. But I feel like I’m missing some context as to why people are wary of Filoni. What things should I know so I’m caught up, so to speak, in the fandom discussions?

Hi! That's a lot of Star Wars to watch in a year, I hope you're having fun with it all! And I will gently remind everyone that Filoni is not the be-all-end-all of Star Wars creators--Henry Gilroy was there for TCW and Rebels, too. George Lucas was holding writers' meetings years after the show started (at least into 2010!). The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett are far more Jon Favreau's shows. The Bad Batch is Brad Rau and Jennifer Corbett. Resistance was developed by him, but was run by other producers. It's just that Filoni tends to get the most camera time and has become the face of Star Wars creators. That said, the issue with Filoni is kind of two-pronged, though, they overlap. 1. He's done a lot of interviews where he's said a lot of anti-Jedi things that have drifted from reasonable critiques in the beginning to eventually "Qui-Gon Jinn was the only true Jedi. [blatantly wrong citations]" This has put a lot of people off him as a creator, because we love the Jedi Order that Lucas talks about and established, which Filoni has actively contradicted over the years, despite being promoted as someone who follows Lucas' themes. And it's hard not to be aware of his interviews when watching his shows and it's hard to enjoy shows that do your faves dirty, you know? 2. His writing has become weaker over the years for a lot of us--Rebels is a show most of us love and found to be incredible. Many of us really love The Clone Wars, which he was heavily involved in/was probably the central voice after Lucas started phasing out. But his biggest story told over the course of those series--basically, the story of Mandalore's history and fall to the Empire--has been extremely thin for a lot of us. And a lot of us get frustrated at his inability to be objective when it comes to Ahsoka's character, that we love her as a character very much, but it hasn't felt like Filoni really knows what to do with her character arc and yet almost everything he writes is centered around her. His final season of The Clone Wars? Gave her the walkabout arc and the Siege of Mandalore arc, both of which often did not hold up well under scrutiny. His episode of The Book of Boba Fett? I actually really loved it, but it absolutely just stopped the pacing of that show to focus a lot on her. More on Luke, but he couldn't resist putting her in there, either. Tales of the Jedi was half devoted to Ahsoka and so much of it wasn't even about her time as a Jedi! We're frustrated because he doesn't set things up well anymore--Morgan Elsbeth is a Nightsister?? Why wasn't that established in The Mandalorian instead of pulling out randomly in Ahsoka? Why does Sabine Wren suddenly so badly want Jedi training, when they barely even had a conversation in Rebels?? There's a lot of good that Filoni has given to Star Wars, I think he genuinely cares about the Force and what it means--he's very consistent on how it's not easy and how it takes discipline and control, that he has been consistent on how anger and fear are paths to the dark side, even his episode of TBOBF had Ahsoka saying, yeah, attachment is a path to the dark side, because the Jedi mean "attachment" in a more Buddhist-aligned way. A lot of his writing for the character of Ahsoka is actually pretty good, like I've been enjoying her being a prickly, traumatized hot mess in the show! It's just that I kind of hate all the interviews he gives and I think he's a lot less objective than a lot of fans and media coverage that would hold him up as a perfect writer/interviewee about all things Star Wars, and it all comes together to make him kind of a hot-button topic.

So, a lot of people LOVE Filoni's work, a lot of people are frustrated by it, a lot of people are casually fine about it, a lot of people HATE Filoni's work and it can be a fun mix of any of the above or even other issues that come up. (And that's all fine! I have my views on Filoni's work, but it's fine if others hate it more than I do or love it more than I do, there's room for us all, all of it is valid.)

But I think if you want to understand some of the roots of this corner of fandom's frustration, two (admittedly long as heck) homework assignment reads would be:

- My own rebuttal to Dave's behind the scenes Mandalorian Gallery talk (this is jokingly referred to as "Davegate" because I refused to take it too seriously) - @david-talks-sw's collection of comparisons between Lucas' commentary on the Jedi and Filoni's commentary on the Jedi

This response itself is more focused on laying out the problems a lot of people have with Filoni's writing, but also honestly I still have my giant collection of Jedi source material citations that quotes his commentary, I still bring up Filoni's quotes in current meta a lot, I still talk positively about the things I enjoy from his shows, so overall there's equal amounts of both praise and criticism here. So, as short as I can make it (which isn't very, shut up, I know! XD), that's basically what people mean when they say they're wary of Filoni.

[akicine]

Helloo!

Not sure if you have requests open, if not pls lmk.

I was wondering if I could request platonic Blade with a reader who has been with him since their childhood because reader lost their parents early (reader is around teen years) but got separated from him in a disaster and gets reunited with them many years later.

An: 👍 Love the concept! And sorry for it taking too long my motivation has been down the drain for the past month because work is just not working out for me.

THIS IS PLATONIC

Will we ever meet again?(Platonic Blade x Reader)

It’s been so long since he’s since your face , even if it’s been years , even with the Mara clawing at the edges of his sanity and tearing the fragile frames of memories in his head , he could never forget you.

Not when he raised you when nobody else would .

Not when he held your hand when you got lost or uncomfortable, or when he let you squirm underneath the covers of his bed whenever you got nightmares.

When he had to take you to the battle field , he would rip off a piece of his coat and cover it over your eyes , while also seating you somewhere relatively far away from the battle , he wouldn’t bother with others , but at the time , the urge to keep you safe and secure was overwhelming.

When he lost you, he felt lost, just like in the beginning, when he was a mere shell with no soul inside . Taking care of you had brought out something inside of him that made him feel alive.

He sat in his quarters , staring at the wall, the Mara eating away at his mind at a quicker pace, causing Kafka to use her sprit whisper much more often.

He eventually got over you, but he still had that hole in his heart, weeping as he lost part of his soul.

So now , when he finally sees you again, it feels like a miracle, you’ve aged , but he hasn’t. He doesn’t know whether or not you remember him, but even if your appearances changed drastically, he would always recognize you.

He did raise you after all.

He sees the light in your eyes are gone now , and so was the innocence you used to have . It’s now replaced with a more natural and aged look , one that tells a story of sorrow and harshness.

Before he can slowly sink into his memories , your voice brings him out of it .

“ I- … Hello , blade …” Your timid voice and the new title you call him makes him surprised , he expected you to be a little bit for familiar with him , but he supposes it’s because it’s been years.

He stares at you for a little while , before his raspy voice catches your attention.

“Hello….. How… have you been doing?”

Even though his face remained indifferent, there was a tinge of uncertainty in his tone , almost as if he feared making you uncomfortable.

You’ll never forget how you kicked and screamed when he first picked you up.

A laugh was coaxed out of your throat because of that thought, making him raise an eyebrow .

You quickly wave your hands in front of you, thinking that it could disperse the confusion, “I’m not laughing at you! I promise really!”

He sighs , before raising a hand out of instinct and gently patting your head , making you freeze.

Both of you freeze actually.

One of out shock , the other out of fear of hurting you.

You look up at him before holding , gently place your hand over his and smiling at him.

“ Do you think… I can still call you my father?”

A small, rarely seen smile appears on his face, one that is familiar to you . His hand gently resumes running through your hair, the familiar sensation making you feel more comfortable around him.

With a gentle voice you remember, he says

” Yes, of course you can.”

[haleigh-sloth]

God the range of conflicts in Blue Lock is so funny. They get increasingly more personal and intense and comparing some of them to others is hilarious.

Isagi and majority of the cast's main conflict is just wanting to become the best in the world. Normal soccer dreams. This doesn't really change for most of them. Their arcs are not really about soccer but about finding the happy medium between shooting for the spotlight but also remembering soccer is a sport played by 11 people. In a metaphorical sense, asserting yourself and living your life how you want without going too far and being a selfish/self-serving asshole.

Then Bachira has an actual internal crisis over being complacent depending on Isagi, but then solves his problems pretty quickly. Like a legit personal issue he has to navigate through, and successfully does so. He's so happy just being able to play soccer all the time. He's also in love with Isagi. This isn't a problem for him though.

Then there's Reo and Nagi going through the messiest divorce ever (well, Ness and Kaiser might take the cake on that one atp) because Nagi realized that having feelings is cool actually and didn't realize that he basically dumped Reo. They have a complicated ex arc and a backslide arc that is doomed to implode. They're both crazy about each other but also unwell. They are a mess and everyone in canon atp just looks away from this trainwreck. Nagi's arc is decently heavy with emotional conflict due to the fact that Nagi himself experiences very little emotional conflict (as far as he's aware of). Lmao.

Then there's Rin who has like actual problems that were inflicted on him. He really has every reason to be miserable and devastated and angry. He is miserable and devastated and angry. He is not handling this well. He is having actual psychological turmoil he can't escape, he is misplacing his anger on other people (one person), he is spiraling further literally every chapter every week. He has ten times as much emotional conflict in his arc as everybody else. His arc is not about soccer, it's about relationships and his role in them and how he needs to find his own ego and motivation. It's about letting people in and lifting him up even when he's hurting, especially because he's hurting. He is not handling this teamwork thing very well. He is the saddest meow meow in blue lock. He needs help, he has issues. Isagi help him.

(There is Kunigami and whatever the fuck is going on with him, but we know not too much so I will not rope him in yet).

Majority of the cast is trying to find their ego and play soccer and be the best. Then there's Nagi and Rin who are so lost on what to do with their lives and they are clearly massive trainwrecks amidst what I personally would consider a mostly normal group of people fighting for normal personal goals. I love when everyone is normal and then a very small amount of people among this normal group of people are absolutely not fucking normal and everyone in the story actually sees it.

[breathinginsulfur]

(Opinion) stolas hate is based on fandom misinterpretations and not the actual show because when the fuck does he act like a “baby”??

Stolas is probably the most over-hated character in all of helluva boss. And some of the downright incorrect statements i’ve seen about stolitz drive me insane

Despite his childhood abuse, neglect and forced marriage, stolas has always been privileged. He’s set for life with wealth, has butlers and staff who feed him and care for him, and can freely travel through the human realm with no legal issues. Obviously, he’s going to have a skewed perspective on life.

Because of his forced marriage and parental neglect, stolas has never really known what love is meant to be. His father didn’t know his name because he’s a king who has a shit ton of children. Stella never loved him, and he never loved stella. They were only married to have an heir. Stolas has an over-dramatized and romanticized interpretation of love, which i think is where the ‘baby’ misinterpretation roots from. Blitzo didn’t want to fuck him, all he wanted was the grimoire. But stolas didn’t realize this and genuinely believed that his first ever friend was the one who wanted him the most. Can you see how this would fuel his romantic dreams further?

Stolas, to me, was always in love with blitzo. And (hot take incoming) did not look down on him. “But charlie, what about when he said ___?” We can go through all the quotes that supposedly look down on blitzo and i can give my reasoning as to why i dont think he sees him as lesser. Stolas has grown up with imps his whole life (butlers), and it can be argued that these staff had a closer connection to him than his own family. He’s taught to view imps as lesser, as in the hierarchy they literally are, but stolas has no issue with interacting with imps and, of course, letting an imp have intercourse with him. If stolas truly looked down on imps the way people act like he does, he’d interact with blitzo in a COMPLETELY different way. As in, he wouldn’t even treat blitzo like a human. Stolas loves blitzo so much he want to be his partner.

I will say, Hierarchy is a major theme in helluva boss with several callouts to how the ones who are higher up mistreat the lower class. Just look at mastermind. Satan doesn’t let blitzo speak. But andrealphus is allowed to talk as long as he wants. Blitzo would’ve been killed for using the grimoire, but stolas just gets a punishment. Because verbatim “your life has actual value!” It’s such an interesting theme that does not nearly get as much praise as it deserves

Another huge misinterpretation with helluva boss i see is that people think the show is trying to normalize cheating. And i’ll be honest, i can kind of see how this misinterpretation happens. As much as i adore this show, there are some writing flaws.

In my opinion, helluva boss is not trying to encourage cheating on your partners. It’s trying to show you that it’s okay to leave your abusive relationships to better your life. I may talk about this a different time because this post is mainly about stolas but god i love analyzing this show so much i just go on so many tangents.

Of course, stolas’ love for blitzo pisses of Stella. Not because stella actually loves stolas, but because she is proud to be a goetia and wants to uphold her royal, priviliged status and sees stolas as an insult to the goetic line. Her and Andrealphus’s motivation is to uphold goetia standards no matter how corrupt they truly are. They’re rich people. THEY are the ones who see imps as lesser.

THERE IS SO MUCH MORE I CAN GO INTO. How this affects Octavia and why she is justifiably upset at stolas, blitzo’s perspective, themes of the show, etc. if you wanna see my takes on these things LMK!!! I love this show dearly

If you want to counter my interpretation you’re welcome to do so, however please only do it if you’re wanting to do an actual discussion and not just trying to be rude. Some of y’all are so fucking rude to the people who like the show it’s crazy. Just be respectful and i’ll talk to you.

[mikaazune]

Hey guys, Ferris here. First things first, I'm back. My break wasn't as long as I thought it would be, but I think I'm doing a lot better. I think it did me some good to unplug for even just a little bit — not just from Tumblr, I pretty much went on a social media detox. Plus, I missed you guys.

There are a few things I'm going to be doing following me coming back. First is a new blog theme, which I think I'll keep for a while (I'll probably revamp the magician one on a later date). Love Hacker, he's a real one.

Second, as you probably noticed, I have new user too. I hope that doesn't confuse too many people. One change I'd like to make regarding that is the name that yall call me. I like Ferris, but I think I still subconsciously associate it with my old blog and then I begin comparing back then to now — something I'd rather not do mostly because of some of the issues I mentioned in my previous post. So I'll be going solely by Mika now, though I'll let yall known if anything changes in that regard.

Third, I mentioned this in my earlier post, but I'm taking a break from writing. For one, I'm not fond of my current writing style and I want to improve it. We'll see how that goes, I just want to experiment a little. I also want to reevaluate the fandoms and the characters I write for, and I'll probably spend some time rewatching/replaying so I can gain a better understanding of each character. But as I said, since I'm pausing writing, that second part will be a bit of a future me "problem" to deal with. My posted fics will still remain, don't worry.

Fourth, in terms of Faridian, that's still on pause as well. I'm slowly losing motivation due to lack of interest in the plot — I know, I wrote the thing, my bad there. I just didn't plan things out properly because I was excited to get it started, which was my mistake since I rushed it. I actually did like the later part of the plot, but it's the beginning and middle that are getting me. But on that note, do the participants like how it's going, or do you guys agree that I should change some stuff up? I acknowledge that everyone's in the beginning stage, though, so you guys don't really have the full perspective I do. Side note: just out of curiosity, would people be interested in me revamping Spirelands? Not any time soon so I can actually do the plot and not be a dumby, just gauging interest.

Anyways, with all that being said, I'm back. If I come up with anything else that needs saying, I'll mention it. If there are any questions, feel free to ask them. Thanks for the well wishes by the way; don't worry, I'll take better care of myself from now on.

@xryptik @lyle-my-beloved @xen-blank @edith-is-a-cat @tenjikyu @unprofessionalsimp @nervocat @nightmare-in-the-woods @floydsteeth @officialdaydreamer00 @cookiesandbiscuits @rainynightmoonlight @koihanwrites @casp1an-sea @vivisboutique @tako-cafe @creatorbiaze @l7k-a

[sirfrogsworth]

This bugged me so much that I actually watched Spider-Man last night.

To show you how cherry picked this nonsense is...

Doc Ock sees Spider-Man in the shadows. He only knows that the Tom Holland Spider-Man is in this universe.

And then Spidey walks forward to reveal, he is Tobey Spider-Man!

In the context of the scene, this lighting makes a lot of sense. Doc Ock can't really tell who it is until he steps into the light. You feel what the character feels when this reveal happens. It was an artistic decision that I think worked very effectively.

But if you cherry pick different scenes, you can find some really cool looking shots with more dynamic lighting.

The movie did not feel overly dark to me. There are far worse examples.

But then I looked at Spider-Man 3 from 2007. I found the scene used in the example. In the scene, there are news helicopters and spotlights that occasionally light up the characters.

This does not look nearly as bright as the Twitter photo. And that is because it was a promotional still that was most likely photoshopped and enhanced for marketing.

Here is the full image released as a "leak" to the press.

Photos are color graded much differently than movies. For a still frame, the dynamic range is pushed to the limits. You only have that single frame to convey your artistic vision. But for a movie, you want to use dynamic range over a period of time for impact. If you make everything have max contrast and brightness in every frame, your eyes are gonna get tired and the impact will be diminished.

And if you look at a few other shots from this same section of the movie, you can cherry-pick some pretty dark shots if you want.

There is a debate in the world of cinematography about "motivated" light. Especially when it comes to night scenes.

Do you shoot your movie with light that could not possibly exist?

Or do you try to "motivate" the light so there is a plausible source for where it comes from?

Or do you do a mixture?

Some people do not care if the light is unmotivated or unrealistic. But for lighting nerds like me, it can sometimes break the immersion. In fact, I was just watching Die Hard 4 the other night and this scene triggered my spidey-sense.

They are in the middle of a blackout. All lights are out. Where the heck is this bright ass light coming from? Even a full moon is not that fucking bright. The glare on the road is literally blowing out the film stock to pure white.

Most people don't care.

But some people care.

Directors and cinematographers tend to be lighting nerds like me. And many like to justify where the light is coming from. It's a big artistic choice and a lot of viewers do not agree with the decision to go more realistic. And so you get this "movies are too dark" discourse. Could a compromise be made? Is there a happy medium? Will this current fad just die out? Or will it evolve into something new that makes everyone a little happier?

Nope had a very novel solution to this lighting conundrum. They actually shot during the day and used infrared film along with normal film to compose a very visually legible day-for-night effect.

But that was very expensive and a lot of work to dial in. It wasn't a push button solution and the sky had to be replaced.

People have a lot of strong opinions about this. They want their personal viewing experience and tastes prioritized. But to fix the sound for people using small speakers, you have to make the experience worse for people with home theaters. To fix the darkness you have to do the same, but you also have to go against artistic intent.

Let's say I posted this photo I took and edited it to be dark and spooky.

This is what "hypothetical me" felt suited this photo best from my artistic instincts. And I edited it on a 32-inch, 4K, 1000 nit, perfectly calibrated monitor, in a dark environment. I kept the subject small in the frame because I wanted the darkness to envelop her.

But someone says, "Hey, I'm viewing this on a phone on a park bench on a sunny day. She is too small and the photo is too dark. I can't tell what is going on. You need to brighten this photo and crop it so I can see it better."

That hypothetical person has demanded hypothetical me change my artistic vision to suit their circumstances.

As an artist, that feels kinda bad.

Even if a consensus of people think I made a bad artistic choice and the majority of people will not see my photo as I created it, should I compromise my intent and change it?

What do I do?

Personally, I want as many people as possible to enjoy my photographic antics. I like to consider input and sometimes I do change my mind. But if people *demanded* I change a photo... I'd probably be pretty unhappy about that.

So you have a situation where there is artistic intent, displays with technical limitations, and varied viewing circumstances all crashing together and everyone wants their needs prioritized.

If you think you have a perfect solution to this or a way to please everyone, I assure you, you don't. I've been researching this for years. There is no compromise that will make everyone happy aside from making different versions of the content. But if you do that, some of those versions may go against the artist's wishes.

I think creating a new version would be easier for the sound. Streaming services already have multiple audio tracks for different languages and descriptive audio. I don't think it would be very hard to create a stereo mix for small speakers.

But the darkness issue is another matter. Every single device has a different screen with a different max brightness and a different dynamic range and a different way of tone mapping and a different array of settings you can change. And your viewing experience can change drastically depending on the size of the screen and the lighting of the room you are in.

The good news is, modern displays are all getting much brighter. If you are in a bright environment, your display will be able to compete with the light. And as more people watch content in HDR, both dark and bright details will be easier to see. Artists can create a dark scene that still has plenty of detail with that expanded dynamic range. But I'm afraid HDR is still pretty new and they are still figuring out the best practices for color grading and lighting and all that. There are movies that have flat color grades to make the VFX and HDR color grades easier, but contrast and saturation take a hit. Wicked is getting a lot of flak for that. But I do think movies will look better on more screens in more challenging settings in the next decade or so.

And there are some imperfect solutions you can employ in present day.

For audio...

Prime Video has a dialogue boost mode. There are headphones and soundbars and streaming devices that have the same in their settings. Though getting something with a center channel speaker will help more than anything.

There is also a dynamic range compression feature in audio receivers and other devices. That's usually called night mode or quiet mode. You might be able to find a phone app or computer app to do this. It will raise the volume of the quiet stuff and lower the volume of the loud stuff. People sensitive to volume changes and hard of hearing folks seem to find this mode helpful. (And people that want to watch porn at a low volume.)

For video...

VLC Player and Media Player Classic both have ways to adjust various brightness and contrast and color settings. You can almost apply your own color grade to what you watch.

There is a plugin for Media Player Classic called "MadVR" which has endless options you can tweak. It has a learning curve, but it is very powerful. Here is a setup guide.

Tweaking the actual video file works much better than adjusting the settings of your display. You can get a much more natural looking image. But if you use a streaming service this doesn't really help much due to their proprietary players. MadVR makes a hardware solution that would work, but it is very expensive.

Rtings.com has a great guide on how to calibrate a TV or Monitor. Depending on your display and how well it was calibrated by the manufacturer, this could help you see things better and also get a more accurate experience aligned with the artist's intent.

That said, movies are always crafted to be seen in a dark, quiet environment. They design movie theaters like that for a reason. If you want the best experience and you want to honor the artist's intent, matching that environment as close as you can is the way to go.

I know that isn't always possible. And I know I didn't even touch on people with disabilities and the complexity of improving their experiences. But this is as much as I can explain with my energy right now.

I honestly am not sure how I wrote this much. But I guess that Twitter post pissed me off enough to give me rage energy.

I have two posts 90% written that have been sitting in my drafts forever. One is about how megapixels are deceiving. And the other is about why people feel TV and movies are too dark.

I don't know when I will find the energy to finish them. But I do want to say this...

If something seems too dark, make sure you are in a dark room when watching it.

For a long time, I thought people just didn't have their screens adjusted properly. But then I saw a guy complaining about this on Twitter and he was watching on an old laptop with a dim screen in his kitchen next to a giant glass door in the middle of a sunny day.

Light competes with light.

The brighter thing will always win.

Make sure your screen is the brightest thing in the room. If you need some lights on, make sure they are behind the screen (bias lighting). The dimmer your screen, the darker your environment needs to be.

Bonus tip... if you are having trouble hearing the show, try a quieter room and make sure your speakers are close to you.

It's the same concept. A/C hum or fans or any ambient noise can hurt the fidelity of your sound.

Sound competes with sound.

Also, speakers have to work harder the farther away they are. If the speakers are underpowered, this can cause distortion. So if you move closer to your speakers, they can operate at a lower volume and work more efficiently.

Every movie/show is mastered in a super dark, super quiet room. The closer you can come to matching those conditions, the better your experience will be.

[euphoricfilter]

i’m going on a smut riot because i’m sick of writing smut and in my mind am sounding repetitive with what im writing which i hate. and am considering something fluffier for tonight or in the coming days

[leonardalphachurch]

temple is an unreliable narrator and is more at fault for biff’s death than he lets on/remembers: juicy. delicious. tragic. what’s the truth? does anyone even remember? how much blame falls on carolina? how much on temple? how much on biff? everyone has a different version of events and they’re all conflicting and no one knows what really happened except that biff ended up dead and temple can never, ever let that go.

temple is an unreliable narrator and is completely at fault for biff’s death and carolina had nothing to do with it: okay well you’ve made it even more boring than canon

[dreamsicle262]

if the reading comprehension of some people who do make dead plate text posts is so bad (as i've had at least two people tell me in the tags) then maybe i SHOULD start analyzing every little detail in the game.

[sieglinde-freud]

i miss claude so badly im already planning my golden deer maddening run while still in the middle of black eagles. i just want my guy. my favorite guy. unfortunately i just love the black eagles as a group/cast but i am mourning my man (i never kill him btw)

[fake-ascension]

brain bad but im listening to the narzissenkreuz questline ost and. man i want to play the quests again and i WOULD but i have such a hard time reading non-voiced world quests which SUCKS bc this quest series like. the fucking best and i would argue better than some of the archon quests

[autistic-shaiapouf]

What do you mean I have to get up and do the work if I wanna try to make money <- guy who has been doing work nonstop and needs to give it a fucking rest