#my preferences are not universal but I don't like it when characters are in conflict solely because of misunderstandings

[agnesandhilda]

some final thoughts on iron widow: I wish the main throuple had either had longer to cook or that zetian and li shimin's relationship wasn't made romantic (as is it seems like zetian goes from hating and resenting him to completely forgiving him for the women he did kill, albeit incidentally, and accepting him as another boyfriend way too fast). I also wish that li shimin had actually done some of the bad things zetian believed he did at the start of the novel maybe

[benchspkmnirlhub]

A Guide to Pokemon IRL

Hello! Pokemon IRL has been getting more and more popular over the year and a half I've been in the community, and I'm seeing lots of people being confused by it.

So I'm making this guide, to hopefully help people understand it better, and perhaps join us in this wacky community.

Part 1: The Basics

Essentially, Pokemon IRL is a RP community centered on one single premise: Blogging as if you were in the Pokemon world. It's a hybrid of askblogs, RP blogs, and general tumblr blogs.

There's very few rules to it, other than just "don't be a jerk". There's all kinds of Pokemon IRL blogs, from regular OC trainers, to canon characters, to characters who are Pokemon themselves, to even Fallers from non-Pokemon media, and more!

The main thing is that 98% of Pokemon IRL operates on the multiverse. Blogs can have conflicting canons, since the multiverse exists, and the blogs can be from different universes. This also means that multiple people can RP the same character. I've lost count of the amount of Kieran and Silver blogs.

Why is Pokemon-world tumblr multiversal? Who knows! But that's the one generally accepted canon thing across almost all Pokemon IRL blogs.

Part 2: Glossary

I know glossaries are usually at the ends of books, but I figure it's important that I define some important terms before I get to the rest of this guide.

Rotomblr - The generally accepted name for Pokemon-world tumblr. I personally prefer to use the name Tacklr instead, but that's just my opinion.

Sapient Pokemon - Pokemon that are sapient. Typically refers to Pokemon that run blogs. Some blogs don't allow interactions with them. Some blogs love interacting with them, though, such as all my blogs!

Eebydeeby - A human that has been turned into a Pokemon. "Eeby" is short for it. "Sleeby" means "slow eeby", or a human that has been or is in the process of slowly turning into a Pokemon.

Hybrid - This has two meanings. The first is someone who's part human and part Pokemon. The second is a Pokemon that's part one species, part another species.

Pelipper Mail - This is a multiversal system of mail, powered via Pelipper! You can have Pelippers send items to other blogs with this. Can be enabled or disabled per blog. Same goes with the next five terms.

Pelipper Unmail - Instead of giving, this is taking. This steals something from another blog via Pelipper.

Pelipper Malice - Essentially, this is sending something to another blog that you know will hurt them.

Musharna Mail - It's like Pelipper Mail, but with dreams! This can be used to send dreams to other blogs.

Musharna Malice - Just like Musharna Mail, but it's nightmares instead of dreams.

Magic Anons - Essentially, this allows anons to do whatever they'd like to the characters on your blog. Use caution when enabling this, though, as it's suspected that some people fetish mine with these.

High Stakes - Basically, this refers to anything that can majorly injure many characters, or otherwise have lots of bad stuff happen. Many blogs don't like interacting with this stuff, so it's best to tag it.

Drama Stakes - Like High Stakes, but less. This is when stuff is happening that could lead to in-universe ruined relationships. Best to tag this too.

Ultra Stakes - Like High Stakes, but more. This is when things lead to potential death of many characters. Definitely best to tag this as well.

Chosen - Sometimes someone is a legendary's favorite special little person, and they get powers from it! That's essentially what a Chosen is.

Faller - Someone, usually from a non-Pokemon media, who falls into the Pokemon world. Essentialyl a way of writing a non-Pokemon character in Pokemon IRL.

Self-Insert Faller - An OOC blogrunner falls into the Pokemon world. Can get very meta.

Muse Mixup Madness - At the start of every month, there's an event where some blogs temporarily change their core concept for a day or a few. It's best to tag these, and to give warnings beforehand.

Part 3: Setting up your Blog

Setting up a Pokemon IRL blog is a lot like setting up a regular tumblr blog, just in-character.

The main thing you'll need is a pinned post explaining the premise of the blog. These are usually in-character, with an OOC section at the bottom.

It's best to warn for possible triggers that might pop up on the blog, as well as explaining your boundaries (i.e. if you don't want Pelipper Mail).

Feel free to theme your blog too, changing the header and icon, adjusting the theme colors, maybe even have a custom theme!

Once you have that all set, you're ready to interact!

Part 4: Interacting

I made a full guide on how to interact here, if you want to check it out!

The main thing is, don't be afraid to interact. Even with big blogs. Everyone's happy to receive interactions! Worst that can happen is that your interaction is ignored.

So don't be scared! Jump in, and start interacting!

Part 5: General Advice from my Friends

I asked around for any additional advice people wanted to add, and here's what some people had to say:

"uhhh ooc communication is super important, especially if youre trying to do a plot with someone or smth along those lines" - @espers-n-espurrs

"Uhhh "Do it scared" Like. If you're nervous about doing something but you wanna do it, do it even though you're scared!!!!! Also like. Have fun. People can tell when you're having fun. Be silly. Do what you want forever. Also that big blogs 9/10 don't mind interactions with smaller ones. I think I count as one and like. I am just as scared as interacting with new people as the smaller blogs who wanna interact with me" @chaos-cousins

"interact with people" - @justalileepguy

"The absolute worst thing that can happen if you send someone an ask is that they delete it. People like getting interaction, even if it's from a blog you don't follow. If you're having trouble interacting, find something your two characters have in common and point it out" - @fated-furret

Part 6: Miscellaneous Stuff

If there's anything I'm missing, feel free to let me know, or add it in a reblog! I've been in this community for a long time, but even I don't know absolutely everything.

If you've read this far, thank you! I hope this guide helps in some way. Reblogging it is appreciated, but not necessary.

And if you're thinking of joining the Pokemon IRL community, then I'm excited to help welcome you!

[ponett]

Whenever I complain about graphic or dark content in media I watch, I keep hearing people retort with this apparently very popular opinion that people who enjoy comfy, wholesome things are actually more likely to be raging assholes than people who love things like death metal and gore. As someone who seems to enjoy comfy, wholesome things yourself and likely met many others who enjoy similar such things, do you agree with this opinion? If so, why do you think this happens?

So I've been sitting on this ask for like a week, not knowing whether or not I wanted to touch it because it kind of feels like being handed a live grenade

For one, I don't like being pigeonholed as someone who just likes "comfy" or "wholesome" things. Yeah, I enjoy My Little Pony and Animal Crossing. I made a game with cute furry characters and lots of bright colors. I also enjoy things like Berserk and Chainsaw Man and Doom and violent crime dramas and punk rock with vulgar lyrics and porn. Variety is the spice of life

Anyway: I generally don't think it's a good idea to make sweeping statements about peoples' moral or intellectual character based on what genres of story they enjoy, regardless of what direction you're coming at it from. But this is a very leading question that kind of skirts around the root problems

There's frequent (perhaps a bit exaggerated) pushback these days against people who prefer their fiction to be a warm blanket, a form of escapism meant to distract you from the real world. In particular, the dreaded "person who only watches kids' cartoons" is a form of this that gets brought up a lot. I don't think the root problem here is what media people enjoy or don't personally enjoy - taste is subjective, and I don't think it's a moral obligation for everyone to have diverse tastes in TV shows - but I do think some folks should try to get out of their comfort zone a bit more. Sometimes stuff that seems like it won't be for you on a surface level will really end up speaking to you, but you won't know until you give it a shot. Trust me, I've been there many times

It becomes a problem when people demand that media ONLY cater to that "warm blanket" attitude. And I think that's part of the reason why that stereotype you mentioned about fans of ""wholesome""" media being assholes exists. People who view dark or violent content as an inherent flaw because it's not what they like. People who yell at creators when they make bad things happen in their stories, because how dare you do this to my comfort characters? People who say movies should never have sex scenes. People who want "problematic" moral complexity stripped out in favor of black and white moral instruction. People who seem to hate any sort of interpersonal conflict in fiction at all

These attitudes can be the result of many different cultural factors, factors that can't all be traced back to Tumblr or what shows you like, but sometimes it's definitely because of that lack of broader perspective on media. You can tell when someone's opinions on The Right And Wrong Ways To Write Fiction were shaped almost entirely by, like, Steven Universe discourse. (Yes, this is a jab at Lily Orchard.) And when these people are very loud about their opinions, well, it becomes a trend people notice

Like. I don't know you. You sent this anonymously. But when you say you "complain about graphic or dark content in media you watch"... that could mean a few wildly different things! Maybe you're just venting about something that unexpectedly triggered you, and that's totally fine. But the wording could also imply that, like, you take issue with these things being present at all, and that you expect a person who likes "death metal and gore" to be more of a "raging asshole" than someone who likes the "wholesome" things you like. So... well, maybe you're more dismissive or judgmental of things outside your comfort zone than you realize?

Unfortunately, in case it's not already obvious, on the internet this shit quickly becomes a proxy battle over dozens of intersecting cultural issues at once where everyone is kinda just talking past each other. So it gets messy

For example, I have no reason to believe that the people who run the "Wholesome Games" showcases have anything against games that are dark or violent or contain adult themes. (They've outright said they don't. Many times!) But when you see people going "why is Spiritfarer allowed in the showcase? That's a game about DEATH and that's NOT WHOLESOME, why would you make me think about death?" or "Ugh, why does Disco Elysium have to be about a cop? Why can't we apply these systems to a game about a young witch who's trying to find a lost cat in an idyllic village instead?" it... Well, it makes me sympathetic towards the indies who don't feel comfortable with the "Wholesome Games" label and consider it limiting. But it also doesn't make me think that devs catering to a demand for more chill, nonviolent video games are categorically facilitating fascist censorship from the Christian right

It's complicated! The written word is imprecise and the internet is a nightmare

I've kind of gone off on multiple tangents here. Basically: I do think that people can kinda turn fans of "comfy" media or "adults who only watch Bluey" into an overblown boogeyman these days. I think people online generally have a habit of swinging too hard in one direction or another in their stances on certain things, overcompensating based on what group of people online are currently annoying them the most and turning said group into like The Main Problem With Society Today. But I also think that boogeyman only exists because of very real examples of people demanding that everything cater to their narrow comfort zone. Go like what you like, but also, y'know. Don't be that person

[antispopausandstuff]

What do you think about people comparing catra to Caitlyn from arcane

ah, i had a feeling i'd be asked about something along these lines.

okay, so, just to get this out of the way:

i'm aware that Arcane s2 has very polarizing opinions, points of views, and thoughts from the community, and, provided it's nothing extreme, they're all valid. though my words are largely subjective, i want to apply as much objectivity as possible to create a better picture, rather than complete bias with no desire for discussion.

s2, in my opinion, wasn't as well-written as it could've been. i don't hate it, but i would've made different writing choices for the characters, their arcs, etc., and i feel the ending was lackluster as a result of lack of closure. this includes Jinx's own ending, Isha, Vi's cycle of self-destruct and complicated family, and how i feel there was not enough screentime for the plots and characters given, especially Ekko, Mel, Kino, and Ambessa. and i do feel like the writing choices negatively affected Caitlyn's character, as well, even if i do understand and sympathize with her as a person.

objectively speaking, Caitlyn's dictatorship ( i believe that's what it is, iirc ) was more on-screen than Catra's, but Catra's crimes was heavier, quantity wise, including universal genocide.

because of SPOP's disregard for "show, don't tell", amongst several other factors ( Catra being a creator's pet being the main one ), there is little to no actual weight to her actions, even with the main cast. if there is consequences, it's either more personal than it should be, her mental breakdowns or Horde Prime chipping her, or fleeting, the destruction of Salineas. this is likely why people don't care much for Catra's actions, because there's no legitimate consequences that aren't just her being sad // distressed.

but, while not the best, Arcane writers take into consideration the impact of and to the people. Caitlyn's decisions did have consequences, and it affected more than just her. it changed Zaun, and with Silco and Jinx's absence, the people were anxious and needing a beacon in order to feel safe and empowered.

however, i don't think it's as simple as comparing Caitlyn to Catra.

in the eyes of the people, it wouldn't matter, obviously. as a result of taking her grief and thirst for vengeance out on them, the people of Zaun felt even more unsafe when they were already suffering.

but to us, as the audience, we can empathize with grief blinding us and leading us to making poor decisions that end up being detrimental to our and everyone else's health. keyword: empathize.

Caitlyn still hurt people. there is no denying that. i am simply saying that we can understand where she was coming from and that her grief was taken advantage of by Ambessa.

to their world, it's black and white. people suffer and // or die at the hands of someone in power.

to us, it's more or less than that.

still wanting to remain as objective i can be, i will say Caitlyn's are far easier to remember and hold against her, and rightfully so. but i believe that Catra's are worse and should've been displayed as worse, rather than stated or turned around to be a way for us to feel bad for her own downfalls.

now, let's move onto Caitlyn and Vi // Catra and Adora.

like with the season, i prefer s1 CaitVi over s2.

for me, the divide and conflict felt too similar to how their relationship originally started out and was too repetitive. it felt like the writers wanted another reason for them to break apart, when there was a lot of time spent to them forming together.

but i think CaitVi has more room to grow than C // A ever really did.

for one, Caitlyn and Vi have cared for each other more than they've hurt each other. even when they were at odds in s1, there was no point in the story where they left one or the other to die. if something bad happened, it was by circumstance, not by choice.

but Catra had always hurt Adora more than she cared for her. from physically harming her to degrading her, engaging in extreme sadism, and nearly killing her, purposefully, on multiple occasions, there's no actual evidence that Catra deeply cares for Adora, or that she cared to begin with.

for another, Caitlyn had more reason than Catra. Catra was given multiple chances to make better choices, but she never did and it was intentional and out of spite.

what was Caitlyn going to do with the fact her mother was killed, that her girlfriend's sister was the murderer, and that her girlfriend stopped her from doing from killing the culprit because she thought she'd kill a kid instead?

of course, it was highly likely that she would've killed Isha. again, blinded by grief. but Caitlyn didn't think that way. in her mind, she has more evidence of being an excellent shot than not, so, obviously, the possibility of her killing the child was 0, right?

( and i don't think Caitlyn cheated on Vi with Maddie. i read the end of their argument as a break-up, especially because Vi disappeared. )

and, for one last thing, even when she knew Vi didn't trust her and kept fighting with her, Caitlyn still tried to help.

overall, i think CaitVi did have a... meh(?) ending, but i still prefer them over C // A. if nothing else, for the foundation.

i don't think Caitlyn and Catra are the same. i just think the Arcane writers had more respect for their audience than SPOP did.

[daryfromthefuture]

i'm on the train and bored and still have an hour to go, so TIME TO RANT ✨️

and i'm choosing to make a list of bttf scenes i would have done differently/things i would have added because i like disagreeing with bob gale as if i owned this franchise

this is maybe an unnecessary change, but personally, i would have preferred if there were more instances of marty trying to warn doc about his death in part 1. we see it when doc demonstrates the model and then later twice on november 12 (before he writes the letter and then before marty has to leave), but i feel like it would have been more emotionally impactful if he had tried it more than that and only at the very end given up and written that letter.

SHOW DOC PLAY SAX. LIKE BRO. they could have had a concert 😭 imagine doc crashing the dance and playing sax with marty on stage (take this bullet point with a grain of salt, i'm only half serious. but still seeing doc play sax would have been badass)

the most obvious point of all obvious points, add the goddamn lone pine mall hug. the entire fandom agrees it's canon, and i remember a post going around speculating that they did indeed record a hug and keep the secret footage somewhere at universal lmao. but all jokes aside, this hug was SO necessary. every sane person would be waiting for it when watching the movie. marty is literally on the ground, bawling his eyes out, thinking his friend is gone, and us heartbroken audience members don't even get a hug to soothe our souls. i haven't paid much mind to doc and marty's relationship when i first watched bttf, but even past me was expecting a hug. good thing bobby fixed it in the musical

MORE JENNIFER. don't knock that girl out for 75% of the movie, please. she deserved better, and i wish bttf 2 would have put more emphasis on her as a character and how she's like and stuff. i hate to see it, but she's such a surface character that we barely know anything about (in my opinion), and that's just sad. she could very well have gone to the cafe 80s with marty and kept him grounded and stuff.

honestly, i maybe even would have kept that deleted 1985a scene with dave. we don't get to see marty's siblings at all in that timeline aside from a mention from biff, and it would have been interesting to see.

this is quite a jump in time, but i wish bob gale would have expanded on the scene in bttf 3 in which doc tells marty that he wants to stay behind in 1885 because of clara. this might be my fanfic brain speaking, but i see so much conflict potential. it would have been wild to see doc and marty argue, maybe even fight for the first time in the trilogy, and picture the emotional turmoil both of them were going through. if i had been marty, i would have snapped, not gonna lie. like, yeah, i get that doc found the love of his life but after all the lectures he'd given marty and after all those times marty was willing to rip apart the fabric of time just to keep doc alive, that man just goes "sorry marty, i met a woman i fell in love with, thanks for saving my life so i can live it out HERE. you go back home and idk clean my lab" >:(. this will forever be a pet peeve hahahaha

WHY does doc just FLY OFF on that DAMN TRAIN? i have to admit, it is an epic ending and feels sort of celebratory, but how can he say that he had to get his dog BEFORE even MENTIONING marty, giving him a photo, shake his hand as if they were work colleagues and nothing more, and then LEAVE? WHAT??? at least talk to him for a bit longer, tell your best friend where you've been, whether he will see you again and that you cherish him for god's sake. if you already had to give him false hopes by getting on the train only to fly off on the hoverboard later 🙄

[tenshi-agerasia]

who would the minions serve in the ensemble stars universe

the ensemble stars x minions analysis that nobody asked for, under the cut

okay so minions want to serve the most powerful (and evil) guy in the area/time they're in

if they enrolled at yumenosaki prior to the ! era they'd have been looking for a master and might've even worked under shu/valkyrie, who was the top unit at that time

"Imagining shu leading the fucking minions is horrifying"

[shu voice] come, my brethren, and let us engage in performance arts

nazuna and mika are very confused

actually mika would like them i think

but when the first revolution/war began, the minions would've caught sight of exfine and eichi

as exfine rose through the ranks and defeated the eccentrics eichi became immensely famous, and i think at least a third of the minions would serve him just because of this

eichi is easily entertained by them

they piss off keito

hiyori is very biased and can tell each minion apart

he names them things like Flowery One and Revolting One

nagisa does not understand what a minion is

tsumugi can fucking communicate in minionese

that's part of the reason natsume hates him so much. he can understand them and talk to them and it's horrifying

if the minions were to see eichi's actual plans on the surface level, that would be enough for them to see as evil

there's also the possibility that some minions might see eichi as "good" and exfine as heroes so they'd turn to serve the eccentrics instead

the minions don't harass rei because he scares them

they think he'd eat them

natsume does not like these little freaks

kanata has fun with them because i'm pretty sure they can't drown

if they can. well rip

chiaki hypes them up :)

but as far as i've seen in the minions franchise they prefer more powerful figures, and the eccentrics at that time were ostracized

and during the ! era trickstar revolution, eichi is definitely more of a villain character so the minions would attempt to help him

and then accidentally screw him over

wataru would love the minions

they're like tomoyas and little watarus to him

tori would absolutely hate them

he punts one when eichi isn't looking

yuzuru is indifferent but he likes having some help

trickstar is Very Conflicted

subaru and the minions would love each other

hokuto despises everything that they stand for

mao is like. huh. ok.

makoto "eek!"s at the sight of one

in !! era, eichi is less of a hero/villain/morally grey guy and just A Girl . at this point the remaining minions under him would either stay or find a new master, possibly gatekeeper

the minions piss him off very effectively

after kohaku beats up gatekeeper or whatever they start to follow him instead

"i imagine [kohaku] showing rinne and rinne shakes one to death or something"

niki would absolutely wonder what they taste like

himeru talks to the minions

"himeru is confused" "bwahaha!! barosoeflksernuina" "himeru does not like you very much"

yknow how ibara has mouse drones and mayoi keeps destroying them. yeah. that with the minions

ibara's upset that his spies are disappearing and he barges into mayoi's house and there's just a giant nest of minions

after meeting a minion midori's attempted murder count rises from 2 to 25

leo says he "feels inspired" by the minions and then composes the most shit song known to man

[tobiasdrake]

We go from the best fight in the X-Men filmography thus far straight to Charles Xavier sitting in a room, looking into the camera and explaining the plot. Okay guys. XD

One of the main jobs this film has is to bridge First Class, which became more or less a reboot, with the original trilogy. So they can go in new directions and do different things with the characters without outright saying, "The original movies up through Origins: Wolverine aren't canon anymore, sorry."

Days of Future Past is what's commonly referred to as a soft reboot, where continuity gets to start over from scratch but with an explanation offered in-universe that connects it to the previous continuity.

Time travel and multiverse shenanigans are often the go-to for carrying out soft reboots. The Chris Pine Star Trek films, for instance, take place in an alternate timeline created when Spock and a bad guy traveled back in time and messed up the series canon.

The Marvel multiverse is basically designed to allow Marvel writers to make continuity-free re-imaginings of the Marvel universe and then go "That one is Universe 42069, it has its own canon somewhere out there in the multiverse unrelated to the mainline comics."

DOFP intends to do that for the Foxverse, liberating the cast of the newer X-films from the shackles of the old canon and letting them spin out in a new direction.

But before we can do that, Charlie Boy needs to explain the plot that will get us there.

Magneto chimes in to explain Mystique's powers, like Bobby and Kitty don't already know her. XD

Actually, come to think of it, Kitty only formally became one of the X-Men in Last Stand, the movie that took Mystique's powers away. And Bobby wasn't really an X-Men X-Man until that same movie, despite being present for the whole trilogy. They actually might not know who Mystique is.

Huh. Objection retracted.

Then again, Colossus recognizes her. And he was no more involved in X-Men Stuff than Kitty was.

Xavier goes on to assert that he, too, has watched First Class and thought it was pretty sweet. Don't let the face of Patrick Stewart fool you; Despite this personal history having never come up in the original trilogy, it is still an important part of the two characters' relationships with one another.

As an artistic note, I love how she shapeshifts into a human form when he says, "I knew her as Raven." A subtle call-out to their conflict from First Class - or, at least, what it was supposed to be in First Class even though the film doesn't convey it well.

We're told, in the film, that Xavier never appreciated her natural mutant self and preferred that she try to pass as human. They kinda botched their attempts to show it, but it was the clear intent. In a subtle reference to it here, when Magneto talks about her we see her in her true form, but when Xavier reminisces on how fondly he remembers her, she shifts into her human guise.

These two men both fondly remember Mystique, but they have very different memories of who she was.

(Where is she, anyway? Did the Sentinels get her? Is she still mutant-cured?)

Yeah, Xavier's good at that. Remember that time he was losing a tense negotiation with Magneto and Jean so he just started throwing punches, basically forfeiting the argument and pushing Jean into Magneto's arms as hard as humanly possible? Not so different from what happened with Mystique when you think about it.

Xavier offers a sanctuary for mutants on the run from the dangers of the world, and that's great. But his powers of persuasion leave much to be desired.

Logan gets all sad and grimly reports that Mystique killed again after that. Bit of a weird moment. Like, it's performed as if he's referencing the death of another character that was important to him. Something we would instantly recognize and be like, "Oh, fuck, my heartstrings."

I have no idea who that might be, though. He didn't even know her in her youth to be sad about who she became. One time she beat him up and then he stabbed her, and then another time she tried to trick him into having sex with her under false pretenses. That is the entire extent of their relationship.

Why are you so sad about Mystique killing people, Logan? Who did she ever kill that could be haunting you like this? Don't you have enough ghosts already? Do you really need to borrow Charlie's?

The Sentinels are using Mystique's powers to acquire Sunspot's heat powers and Colossus's steel plating and Iceman's cryokinesis.

Meanwhile, poor Mystique can't do any of that. It sucks when people steal your powers and then get whole new abilities you didn't possess out of them.

You know, you'd think in the decades she was hanging out with Magneto, the two of them would have done something about this. Did the fact that humans captured her and performed invasive experiments to steal her powers just... slip Mystique's mind?

"Less than 50 years." My dude, that is a long-ass time to be working on one project. XD These things were in production hell for half a century.

Xavier's like, "When Mystique killed Trask, it convinced the world that they needed his program. And then the humans stayed mad about it for FIFTY YEARS."

FIFTY YEARS. Two generations later, it was still just Trask that they were mad about. Nothing else that happened in that time, nothing in the entire original X-Men trilogy, ever moved the needle one way or the other. It was always about Trask. They were very slowly building the Sentinels the entire time and nothing else mattered.

Senator Kelly's entire anti-mutant career was pointless because humanity already had made up its mind to kill mutants with Sentinels. Trask is the one and only bullet point of history that matters. XD

I understand why this is so janky. Stopping the assassination of Trask is meant to be the emotional goal of the film. We have to stop Mystique from becoming a murderer, because that sets her down the road to being evil.

But "We have to stop her from killing the man making Genocide Machines" wouldn't be a compelling narrative on its own. Because. Like. Fuck that guy. Mystique did nothing wrong.

So the assassination also needs to be the apocalyptic cornerstone around which the fate of the universe revolves. Killing Trask has to directly cause the creation of the Sentinels, but the film also wants to be set in the 70's and has to account for the fact that none of this was a thing in the original trilogy.

So. The humans just. Stayed mad about Trask for fifty fucking years while working on the slowest weapons development project in the history of the arms race. Which has the knock-on effect of meaning that none of the mutant-human relations stuff from the original trilogy mattered, 'cause the humans were building the Sentinels behind the scenes that whole time.

That is an incredibly bleak revision. @_@

Nobody tell Charles, but if there was enough hatred towards mutants to sustain a fifty-year grudge over Trask's death, it wasn't really about Trask's death.

[writingquestionsanswered]

Struggling with Feedback That's Missing the Point

triplecreature asked: I'm in a creative writing course in university and we're doing workshops where we review each other's poems and short stories. I'm conflicted because I don't want to be closed-minded about constructive criticism, but sometimes I feel like the feedback I get is missing the point. For example, the instructor indiscriminately marks up any "abstract" line, even if it's emotional sentiment or would break the structure/line scheme to remove. She's also biased against heavier topics because they're too depressing and said I can't make poetry about characters/conversational perspective. My short story got negative feedback from my peers because my protagonist wasn't inherently good or bad. They felt it his grey morality "didn't make sense." I don't want to be arrogant so I feel bad for struggling with the criticism I get. How do you gracefully approach a situation where you feel uncertain or misunderstood by feedback you get?

Here's the thing...

Reading and writing is a very, very personal thing. We all develop very strong opinions about what we do and do not like, and sometimes people confuse their own preferences as being universal truths. Abstract poetry doesn't seem to resonate with your instructor, and unfortunately she's choosing to interpret that as a problem with abstract poetry rather than a personal preference.

Having said that, it's really important that we not take negative feedback too much to heart. It's always worth analyzing where the feedback is coming from and whether it's more likely to be feedback based on a personal preference or actually credible feedback.

When you get critical feedback from a single person or a few people that feels off to you, you can generally disregard it, especially if it conflicts with the majority feedback. For example, if three people says your morally gray protagonist makes no sense, but ten people don't have that issue, you can probably assume your protagonist is fine. If you give your story to six classmates, and all six of them feel the morally gray protagonist doesn't make sense, it's worth considering why all six out of six people feel that way. Are they saying it doesn't make sense because they expect a character to be either good or bad, or are they saying it doesn't make sense because something you laid out in the story is conflicting with the idea that this character is morally gray?

Ultimately, it's up to you to decide whether or not to listen to feedback, but especially in a creative writing class, I wouldn't take the negative feedback too much to heart. If it's one person's opinion, smile, nod, and thank them for their opinion. If it's five people with the same opinion, take some time to consider whether there could be some merit to what they're saying. In any case, don't take it personally. ♥

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[ultimate-marysue]

Here's the thing, I wouldn't be mad about DC writing Jason Todd poorly just cause. I've loved plenty of characters with a dwindling quality in the work they're from and I've eventually lost interest without much of a fuss.

My problem with Jason Todd, and Stephanie Brown and (most women and characters of colors) is why their writing is bad. If it's just lackluster barely coherent stories and unseasoned toast personality, that's whatever. What I hate is new writers insulting the character or destroying it. What I hate is canon material completely misunderstanding previous canon and not being consistent even after the fifteenth reboot.

That's another thing: if you reboot it and write a compelling new story or just a consistent new story that's somewhat detached I can respect that. I can look at it and say "I preferred the previous iteration, but fair". I may dislike the new one or like it in a different way, but I'm not going to be up in arms about it because, sad as it is, it's the way of the game.

No, what you can't do is constantly set up certain things, personalities, back stories and flaws for a character and then completely forget about them. Where I'm going to get mad is when a character that has been established to represent something gets twisted because the writer dislikes him or wants to do something different with it. What I don't get is setting up this juicy juicy conflicts (internal, with other characters) this character arc (that doesn't need to have one specific end but needs to satisfy what has already been put down) only to toss them out.

For starters, I don't think you should be allowed to write a character unless you love them or at the very least respect them. Second, you should have a character bible with some core truth things that have to be taken into account into every portrayal as a consequence of their backstory/personality. You can reset this with the universe to fit the changes, but should remain consistent throughout one universe UNLESS it's warranted. Like, "Zuko is obsessed with honor and capturing the avatar until the end of his character arc".

You shouldn't portray Bruce or Talia as well meaning but flawed parents who love their children, have them do the most uncalled for abusive bullshit mankind has witnessed, then have them be wholesome with no justification in between. You can have Jason going from "I fundamentally disagree with Bruce even if I still want him to love me" to "holy shit, this man has once again treated me worse than he treats his rogues and this time it was completely unwarranted" to "yes daddy, don't worry about it. I'd be happy to die for you btw."

That's not bad writing, that's character assassination, and I'm allowed to be mad at it. I'm not bringing out past continuities, I'm not even asking them to write him the way I want him to be written. I'm asking them to keep the character straight for two issues.

[havendance]

Okay, I've read up to before the Night of the Owls crossover, so let's take a moment to look at my New 52 read so far:

Batman -- I think I liked the start of this arc the most, when it's laying out the mystery and feels full of potential. I'm just not a fan of the court of owls. The issue where he was in the labrinth and all the pages got flipped around was a cool concept, but an absolute pain to read digitally. Whenever I tried to rotate my tablet to read the textboxes, my device would go 'oh you're rotating! I know how to do that!' and flip the pages back -_- It probably worked better physically.

Batman and Robin -- I liked this. I liked seeing as Bruce tried to negotiate his relationship with Damian and I liked Nobody as an antagonist drawing on the history of the people who trained Batman.

Nightwing -- I started reading this and I was like 'yes, this is what a reboot should do. Bring back Haly's Circus after it was stupidly burned down previously.' and what does this comic do? Burn down Haly's Circus again!!! Can't have shit in Nightwing comics :/

Anyway, I loved seeing Nightwing try and negotiate his relationships as Nightwing as opposed to his friendships he made at the circus. I liked the push and pull between him and Babs and him and Raya. I think, in this universe where Dick was way older when he became Robin, it works really well, and while I obviously prefer Dick being like 8, I would say that this works well as it's own thing if it weren't for the elephant in the tent-- Haly's Circus being evil (boooooooooo!)

Like I said, can't have shit in Nightwing comics :|

I don't want Haly's Circus to be evil. I don't want them to be working for the court. If you really want the whole Nightwing was raised to be a living weapon thing, then idk, make it something none of them knew about, like some outsider that had been infiltrating and using the circus for their own ends. Don't have Mr Haly be the guy selling dick/that other guy out :(

Birds of Prey -- In contrast to Nightwing, this comic is just extremely mediocre. It's almost impressive how mid it is. I like Saiz' art but I'm struggling to find much else positive to say about it. It's fine. It gets the job done. It's missing that spark to do anything more interesting than girl team fights bad guys. On that same token, I'm having trouble coming up with much to criticize either. Like, obviously I think it would be better if Birds of Prey were still Oracles team, but like, other than the fact that I still think Katana's off (but I haven't read enough of her comics to articulate more), it's hard to find much to complain other than it's just mediocre and boring. Nightwing has high highs and low lows. This is like a flat line.

Batgirl -- I miss Oracle :'( But more seriously, Barbara Gordon as Batgirl has never been as intersting to me as her as Oracle. I liked the subplot of her trying to figure out how to have a new relationship with her mom--it was probably my favorite part and I liked seeing that new aspect of her. That being said, ugh, James Gordon Jr. I just do not like him as a character. He's too grim dark edgy for my tastes.

Another thing that goes into the 'I miss Oracle' category is her new dynamic with Bruce. She's over here caring about his opinion and everything and that's part of her getting aged down yet again, but also I miss when they were antagonistic and she didn't take his shit. As well as the whole question of 'why do we need to keep the killing joke in the first place?' You're rebooting the universe. Why do you need to rub taking Oracle away in our faces like this when you could've just had her never be shot. Though, I do appreciate how Simone is handling the internal conflict that Barbara is experiencing as a result of all of that.

[a-lonely-dunedain]

1, 6, 9, 10 , 12 and 35 for any oc you’d like!! Mix and match if you want!

oh! I missed one! ok let's see...

1. are they associated with a certain color? what color do they wear the most?

I try to color code of my OCs! There isn't any sort of symbolism behind them besides just Vibes™, but Ethedis is green, Tossdir is red, Margim is dark red, and Celeair is blue.

my less developed OCs don't have a suuuuper solidified colors yet tho, but currently I'm thinking that Ceriondil is red, Rodigrin is turquoise, and Elwar is a dark steel blue. I'm actually still not sure who the 4th member of their group will be besides the fact that they're a dwarf, so I don't have a color for them yet.

6. "how do they wear their hair? do they care a lot how their hair looks?"

hmmm I'll answer this for Ethedis bc she's one of my only characters who actually styles it lol. She keeps is pulled back pretty simply, but lets her bangs loose to just do whatever. She's not super concerned with keeping it looking neat all the time, but she likes to keep the long parts out of her way, and if it can look pretty at the same time then that's always a nice bonus! she also likes to accessorize with those little silver leaf decorations

also, I don't know where I saw this headcanon or how commonplace it is, but I've heard some people go with this idea that for elves braiding each other's hair is kind of like an intimate thing that couples do? Idk if I'll go with this angle, but at some point in the 4th age it might be cute to add a little braid somewhere in her hairstyle, bc she's started to let Corunir help style it <3 (another one of those little things that doesn't seem like a big deal, but it is to her)

9. "favorite food? least favorite? are they a picky eater? do they have any dietary restrictions?"

hmmm I'll answer this one for Tossdir!

Tossdir really can't be a picky eater, he's a Ranger and sometimes just has to take whatever he can find, so he's developed a tolerance for basically anything that could be considered edible. and some not. I think he ate a stick once.

As for his favorite, he really liked carrot cake! But being the sentimental guy that he is, can't eat it anymore without thinking about Tadan and some measure of guilt, seeing as he partially blames himself for his death. It was the last thing Tadan ever gave him, after all.

He is now deeply conflicted about carrot cake.

10. "if they wear jewelry, what kind? do they prefer silver or gold? do they have a favorite gem?"

Ethedis wears silver jewellery mostly! More when she's at home in Rivendell, but when she's traveling she usually goes without, besides the little silver leafs in her hair of course (mostly because I don't want to draw any more jewellery lmao)

I never really gave much thought to what her favorite gem would be, hmmm... first thing that came to mind was something pale and green, perhaps beryls? elves are said to be fond of them after all. I guess that makes her basic lmao

12. "how long have they been around? do you know their birthday? is their birthday the day you made them or another day? what do they think of celebrating birthdays?"

Oh gosh, how long has Ethedis been around? I guess I created her when I started playing lotro. according to my account, it was created in...

2016! which was... hey, lotro owes me a gift box! that was 8 years ago but my account only has year 7 gifts >:(

anyway I guess that makes Ethedis roughly 8 years old, but I couldn't tell you exactly when she went from player character to capital C Character™

Tossdir was created when Before the Shadow came out, around November of 2022, but I guess his concept of "weird Ranger who sleeps in bushes named Shrub Man" goes back a little bit further, but not much.

now I did actually work out some of their birthdays in-universe by rolling some dice for funsies. let's see if I can find where I wrote that down... ok so Ethedis - May 19th (she's 350 someodd years old) Tossdir - September 18th, just a few days before Sarn Ford and everything else in Cardolan, that sure is a fun coincidence huh! (he's the Dunedain equivalent of being in his early 20s) Celeair - March 31st (probably late 20s? maybe like 30 by the time he gets to Trum Dreng but that's subject to change) Margim - I thought about rolling dice for her, but no one remembers when she was born in-universe anyway, and she has no idea how old she is.

35. "do they ever return home?"

I like to think they all make it there, in some fashion or another. But for many of them what "home" looks like is different at the end of their stories than it was at the beginning.

For Ethedis it isn't Rivendell anymore, but wherever Corunir and Tossdir are, both in this life and the next.

For Tossdir I don't think it's Tornhad at the end, so much as the North in general might be what he considers home, so long as his friends and family are there with him. I do think he still has a lot of fondness for the Trollshaws though.

For Celeair it's wherever Margim is safe and happy, and for Margim that ends up being Lhan Tarren.

For Elwar the current plan is that she's going to Gondor with Ciriondil, where she'll take some levels in Mariner and her home will be on the ocean, with the family those chose to love her.

(now that I type it out, it almost seems a little sappy that all their ideas of what home is aren't really places so much as wherever the people they love are, but hey I'm allowed to be a little sappy right?)

[rise-my-angel]

Also, i just saw your post about your hate to Viserys, and i feel THE SAME. It's appalling to me how people are so ready to dismiss Viserys involvement in the conflict between the targ siblings and all the horrible things he did to Aemma and Alicent, simply because he was so ready to play the "supporting father" to Rhaenyra, even though what she did WAS wrong, but are soooo ready to call out and judge Alicent in her very obvious and understandable complex feelings about her motherhood (at least talking about the show, i know it's a whole other thing in the books).

In no way i'm justifying Alicent, i'm just saying, her character until the ending of season one is a very clear consequence of the people around her taking advantage of her and manipulating her into whatever thing they needed her to be, miss girl was a VICTIM, she had that weird relationship with Otto, although it wasn't incest it was weird, she was manipulated by him, she was offered like cattle to a much older man, groomed, raped, and AGAIN, she had to offer her body in horrible ways to Larys Strong, she had to watch the children that she didn't want to have in the first place be casted aside by Viserys, Aemond being maimed too like WHAT? (I truly believe Aegon had no saving, that man was born rotten as much as Joffrey was, but i feel like with the correct parents, Aemond and Helaena would have had a better life)

I have to admit, i do have a double standard, i will never judge Jon for being a bastard, but i do judge Rhaenyra for having three. Did she have another option? Maybe, she could have waited for the marriage to be annulled after not having children. Is she to blame? Not entirely, at least in the show, she was forced to marry Laenor, but she did like a thousand tours to find one suitable and simply because she was defiant, she didn't choose someone, and she was also a teenager I KNOW, but i'm sorry it'a a theme with me, i can't have simpathy for them, they were a dynasty, they were in the Reed Keep drowning in their cups while the people of Kings Landing were starving and hating on them (righfully so). My empathy can only be streched so much, and it seems it's only reserved for anyone other than the people of Old Valyria.

Long rant i know, and i don't expect you to answer to this ask, i know you've had really bad encounters with targ stans lately and i don't want to give fuel to them to say more horrible things to you, i'm simply content with sharing this with you because i love you and i appreciate a lot your points of view, and i also have no one to share my sentiments too, everyone is a die hard targ stan apparently lol

Otto actually sums up to Rhaenyra why the Dance happened, and it explains why it's all Viserys's fault. "The succesion changed the day your father sired a son."

He was also right when he told a young Alicent that Rhaenyra will need to put Alicent's children to the sword, to get the Iron Throne. It was unusual, but people understood WHY they named Rhaenyra heir. There was no son, and the alternate was Daemon, whom NO ONE trusted with the throne.

If Viserys was intent to keep Rhaenyra the heir, there wouldn't be as much of contest if she remained his only child. She likely still would've also turned to Daemon for strength and marry him to intimidate any detractors who might stand against her. But, she didn't stay Visery's only child.

Viserys caused the dance by having a son, and not naming him the heir proper. According to not only Valyrian followed customs, but Andal Law which the Targaryeans primiarly have used to set up their system, they follow Male Primogeniture. It is laws and custome that dicate that Aegon has the right to the throne as the firstborn son. I'm normally not here to argue if thats right or not, since I prefer to keep my focus within the bounds of the universe the series is set in, so in this story, its fair to say Aegon has the better claim. All inheritance before and after this story will also prove that the Targaryeans beleive this as well anyways. I.e Rhaenys and Laenor losing to Viserys despite him being from the Kings second eldest son not the firstborn son, and Aegon the Conquerer both being crowned King and before that inheirting Dragonstone over his older sister Visenya who also did not press her claim when Aegon died but instead propped up her son Maegor instead. The Targaryeans have always followed this rule.

Viserys keeping Rhaenyra the named heir when the precedent which made them set that up no longer exists, he is being a hypocrite. He is not following the laws and customs of his own Kingdom. Even when she was the only heir, he still didnt even bother to truly prepare her to rule anyways just as he never prepared Aegon. Neither of them know how to rule because Viserys never taught them. Its his fault they both are so woefully unsuited to rule.

In truth, Viserys NEVER should've remarried if he wanted to keep Rhaenyra as his named heir. He caused the Dance the moment he married Alicent with the intent of fathering more children, and did not denounce Rhaenyra's status as his named heir. It is literally, all his fault. He knows the kingdom wont accept Rhaenyra if a man is an option.

He BECAME KING because of it. Rhaenys and Laenor had the better claim, but they lost because Rhaenys was a woman even though her position was stronger because her father was older. Viserys wants played favourites, neglegted his children that werent Rhaenyra, and was so ineffective that the Dance literally is his fault and no one elses.

I mean, Viserys also murdered his first wife, then maritally raped a teenage girl who he took as his second wife, a girl who when she was young, was someone who didnt do anything wrong and was literally just doing as she was told and what she thought was the right thing to do. So really, I don't care what Viserys ever wanted in the first place.

I think Aemond probably would've turned out better if the incident with Lucerys either never happened, or Lucerys was properly punished for maiming and partially blinding him. He might have not grown up with such anger and resentment. Haelena just needed to be surrounded by a family NOT called Targaryean and she would've been fine. Let her go to Oldtown and grow up with Daeron with Gwayne and she would be happy for once in her poor life.

Aegon is more complicated, I think the show unfairly demonized him in a ploy to trick the audience into automatically supporting Rhaenyra, which worked. He isn't a good person, but neither is Rhaenyra, neither is anyone. No one in the story is a good person, but Aegon gets demonized more by the show because it makes you want to support him less. Aegon definitly isn't as bad or anywhere near as bad as Joffery. Much like what Cersei told Tyrion when he said Joffery was more Robert then Jaime, she protested saying "Robert was a drunken fool but he didn't enjoy cruelty."

I think being the first born son to Viserys against Rhaenyra is what caused him to disconnect from even trying to prove himself, and Alicents persistence in making him paranoid about his life and future didnt help. Joffery is bad because cruelty was in his blood, because no one around him taught him to be that way (see none of Cerseis other children turned out that way nor did Roberts bastards turn out that way). Aegon, other then the rape thing which is bad but I really have a hard time reconciling because its so blatantly a ploy by the writers as opposed to something genuine to his character since it literally never comes up again, is someone who can be cruel but doesnt enjoy it. He just doesnt know what else to do because his entire life was surrounded by a family committing cruel acts with no consequence.

Also, its not a double standard. We dont judge Jon for being a bastard, because its not his fault. We judge Rhaenyra for mothering bastards, because doing so tarnished her image to the realm since everyone can see they arent true Velaryons, and since she lied about it, she was directly putting her children in danger because she was heir to the Throne. She did worse so, because she then had clearly trueborn Valyrian children with Daemon anyway. She was literally setting Jace up to experaicne the exact kind of succession crisis that her own father caused. Rhaenyra isnt bad for having sex and children with someone she had feelings for, shes bad for doing so without thinking of ANY of the repercussions of the sheer danger it puts her children in.

As Lyonel told Harwin about it, "Your intimacy with the Princess Rhaenyra is an offense that would mean exile and death. For you, for her, for the children." Lyonel isnt angry his son had bastards, hes angry his son willingly had three bastards with a woman that puts all of them in danger for their very existence and made it worse by lying about it.

Having bastards isnt treason, lying and pretending they are trueborn and pushing them to inheirt over trueborn children, is treason. And that puts them in danger. Thats why judging Rhaenyra for having three bastards isnt a double standard. Jon existing as a bastard put no one in danger, and Ned protected him better then Rhaenyra ever could hers. Because Jons parentage would put his life in danger, he lied, and said he was his bastard and never intended to put Jon in any spotlight of inheritance as trueborn. Ned orchestarted Jons life to be as safe as possible, Rhaenyra, orchestrated her childrens lives to be as dangerous as possible by lying about them even being bastards in the first place.

Basically, the dance is all Viserys's fault and no one elses. And Rhaenyra learned all the worst lessons from him and set her own children up to literally experiance the Dance 2.0 but everyone just died before it got to that point, so people forget how hypocritical she truly was.

Its almost like the point of the dance is that no one was on the right side and they tore the realm and their dynasty apart to fight for a side neither of them could win....You know what, I'm changing Rhaenys' season one line. to be more relevant:

"The Targaryeans would sooner put the realm to the torch, then see their own family ascend the Iron Throne."

[luminouslumity]

Speaking of Bridgerton—and again, I say this as someone who's read the books and really liked WHWW—I really feel like the hate has been overblown.

The only thing I can kinda agree with is feeling like Francesca already being attracted to Michaela invalidates her feelings for John, especially when she just got married, so if anyone had to be tongue-tied, I honestly would've preferred it if it had been Michaela. On the other hand, obvious outcome aside, it is important to acknowledge that attraction doesn't always necessarily equate to love and we're also still talking about an introverted eighteen year old Regency woman who not only got married after knowing her charming husband for what had to have been only a month or two at most, but also just got introduced to his equally charming cousin.

I don't know, I guess I'm just looking at this scene with a kinda "it is what it is" approach if that makes any sense, but I do hope it gets addressed in one way or another. I absolutely love John, and even though I'm very excited to see Michaela again and see how the show further adapts her story, I still want him and Francesca to be happy together, for however long they have.

As for the rest, I'll be delving into book spoiler territory (yes, even more so than the above), but basically the whole point I'm trying to make here is that I think it's far too early to judge, especially since Michaela has only had a few seconds of screentime, so I'm willing to wait, but my overall opinion will really all depend on the execution.

Okay, so in WHWW, we know that Francesca suffers from infertility issues, and if losing John wasn't bad enough, she also miscarries. This is, of course, an important plot point and one that resonated with many and I think that's beautiful. What confuses me, however, is why some people think they'll get rid of this plotline now that the two leads are the same gender, as though those in queer relationships don't have these same problems as well. And maybe it's just me, but I really think there's a lot you can do with a story about a young woman who suddenly loses both her husband and the child she'd so longed for, tries to look for a new husband years later for the sake of wanting to try for a baby again, only to end up falling in love with her husband's female cousin, therefore causing both internal conflict on the woman's wants (a child of her own), as well as external conflict in terms of what would and wouldn't be considered socially acceptable for the time (being in a same-sex relationship).

And as for the inheritance, how can Michaela inherit Kilmartin if she's a woman? After all, inheritance laws at this time strictly favored men, right? Well, not necessarily. Noblewomen gaining their own lands and titles isn't exactly a new concept per se—though it is obviously a rare one—and this especially applies to Scotland, where Kilmartin is located. For example, during the 18th and 19th Centuries, Mary Hay succeeded her brother and became the Countess of Errol after his death, while the Earldom of Orkney had three consecutive generations of countesses: Anne Hamilton, Mary O'Brian, and Mary FitzMaurice.

Furthermore, we know that PoC being ennobled is still a pretty new thing in this universe, and as we see in Queen Charlotte, there was a genuine concern for what would happen next, especially in terms of succession. It's why Danbury interacts with Sophia Augusta at all! So, either there's going to be an entirely new character to inherit the Earldom, Michaela has to get married before the title can go to her, or the Earldom of Kilmartin was created "with remainder to the heirs whatsoever of [the first ennobled Stirling's] body" so as to prevent a potential crisis, thus leading to Michaela to inherit the title in her own right, with or without a husband (maybe give or take some artistic liberties). That said, I certainly won't be surprised if there's a lavender wedding anyway, or at least a Gretna one.

[antispopausandstuff]

my SPOP universe pt. 1 - character bios ( very long, i'm sorry )

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disclaimer // note - it'll be SPOP-focused, but i do take a 'few' things from the original show and implement them here.

preferred style(s) - ATLA // LOK, ROTTMNT, LMK ( s1-s4 ), Spiderverse, or Kill la Kill

( part of the reason for these styles is the VFX, battle coordination, and creature // environmental design, esp with vibrant media like Spiderverse, ROTTMNT, and LMK )

.

theme song - something akin to "The Call" by League of Legends or "The World That Ends in Three Days" by Koji Kondo, ROZEN, & Celica Soldream.

rating - PG-15 ( i'm not a writer for young children and don't handle things in a very kid-friendly way )

note - here's some gender // sexuality hcs of the characters, though it isn't all of them.

.

established changes:

the runestones don't exist

the cast is 18+ unless stated otherwise

roles will be changed for plot relevance or sense ( for ex, neither perfuma, entrapta, scorpia, spinerella, or netossa are royals )

the first ones are not evil

mara and adora are the only she-ras

most ships will remain noncanon

there's no white people here, sorry

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cast ( pt. 1 ) . . .

Adora - Long Lost Princess of Eternia, Force Captain ( former ), Daughter of Hordak and Shadow Weaver, and She-Ra. 20 yrs old, 5'0, was abducted as an infant, from her home planet, and taught to be a solider for the Horde. raised by Shadow Weaver and Hordak ( it's separate care, not romantically coded ). unofficial caretaker of Catra.

she was raised to be very serious and no-nonsense like, always remaining calm and strategic in drastic situations to prevent the worst case scenario. due to this built-in stoicism, along with other factors, Adora struggles with interpersonal relationships and knowing her own sense of self, including what she is or isn't comfortable with ( such as unnecessary conflict ).

before She-Ra is even a possibility, the weight of the world was already bestowed upon her shoulders, and she sets on carrying out her duty to protect the world from those who wish to harm it.

beneath it all, however, Adora is a young woman who desires connection and peace. she secretly hopes for that to be her reward.

design would be inspired by Cal, Zav 1, Zav 2, Zav 3, and Fern ( blue guy ) by animatorroseoak, Midas by sleeepybacon, and with these details by me! outfit color palette would go from black and red to white, gold, and blue. just to clarify, though she is mythical, she'd still be afro-latino coded.

theme song - Song of Healing by The Marcus Hedges Trend Orchestra

-

Glimmer - Princess of Brightmoon, Daughter of Queen Angella and King Micah, and Leader of the Rebellion. 19 yrs old, 5'6, was raised by her widowed mother ever since she was an infant. due to her lineage, she is a demigod and will likely live longer than the average Etherian.

ever since she was born, Glimmer's powers were too great for her body to handle, causing her to lose control very quickly, especially when her emotions were heightened. Angella brought her to Castaspella, her aunt and the greatest sorceress on Etheria, to teach her control and balance.

Glimmer has always been a bright mind with an even brighter personality, striving for excellence and success, and has never let her misfortunes, whether it be her powers going haywire or a plan not going through, weigh on her. at least, that's what she shows to her people and mother.

but, on the inside, she is actually very insecure over her lack of understanding of her own powers, what her mother thinks of her, and how she can handle being future Queen. afraid of change and what fate could hold for her, Glimmer is avoidant of talking about her upcoming role to Brightmoon, seeing Castaspella again ( they haven't talked in years ), or taking a break from her leadership in the Rebellion.

design would be inspired by Ube by kleahvii, Mika by kienan_lafferty, Marlowe & Buwa by sleeepybacon. high focus on the astral theming, with minor details of the angelic theme. i imagine her with either pinkish blonde hair or black hair with pink and blue ombre streaks. her species would be a hybrid of elf ( Micah ) and chimera ( Angella ).

theme song - Termina Field by Koji Kondo & ROZEN

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Bow - Guardian of Whispering Woods, Friend of Madame Razz, Best Friend of Princess Glimmer's, Son of George and Lance, and Co-Leader of the Rebellion. 20 yrs, 6'0, is a runaway from home after a particularly bad argument ensued between himself and his family. he is a pacifist and uses his archery to assist, not to cause harm ( or, at least, irreversible harm ).

his reasons for running away aren't exactly known, even to Glimmer herself, and he always gives half-truths or not-necessarily-lies to anyone who asks about his family and history. but he is very open about his beliefs, his current living situation ( currently resides in the Whispering Woods ), and how he feels.

as the Rebellion's mechanic and stealth strategist, Bow uses his technological intelligence and creativity to aid his allies. he's proven time and time again to be reliable, intuitive, and thinking of just about everything. whether or not that's a good thing.

in contrast to his secrecy, Bow is open-minded, well-meaning, and has a very strong belief in kindness. after living in the Whispering Woods on his own for a few years, and experiencing hardships unbeknownst to anyone else, he aims to be the example for others that people weren't for him.

design would be inspired by Jequ and Agnes by dewfroq, and Earth-42 Miles Morales in Across The Spiderverse. i think i want to make him a cyborg-type of character.

theme song - Goron Lullaby by The Marcus Hedges Trend Orchestra

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Angella - Queen of Brightmoon, Mother of Princess Glimmer, Widowed Wife of King Micah, and Angel of Etheria. 47(?) yrs old, 7'5, her exact origins are unknown, even to her daughter. some speculate that she was born from a star or moon, others guess she is from a different dimension entirely. the only one who even had an idea was the late King Micah.

benevolent, calm, and wise, Angella has been Queen for longer than she has been anything else. in some ways, she considers that a blessing. in others, she considers it a curse. accepting her fate decades ago, the pain has dulled enough to be barely noticeable.

though most don't know it, she has lived way longer than almost any of the Etherians, having experienced more than the Horde's genocide and eventual war. maybe even the universe beyond Despondos.

her abilities align, though not rely on, with the moons and stars, especially with specific constellations. but, as Despondos has a lack of those constellations ( and there are much less stars in the sky ), Angella has not reached her full power in decades.

it's only to Glimmer that she shows her true self, the self that is curious, easily endeared, and overall heartful and passionate, which is a stark contrast to the all-knowing, mysterious, powerful being that is the Queen of Brightmoon. because of this, her daughter has a hard time explaining to others that her mother isn't as stonewalled as she appears.

design would be inspired by Lucifer by fourleafisland, Sera by idolomantises, and Lifegiver and Sold Adopt Design by sleeepybacon. she is a flight-based chimera that has a lot of astral and angel theming, with her facial features obscured by a secondary, smaller set of wings.

theme song - Song of Time by The St. Louis Ocarina Trio

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Hordak - Emperor of the Fright Zone, Father of Adora, The 'Big Boss'. 55 ( appearance wise ), 6'7, his origins are about as unknown as Angella's. it's unknown if he even likes or dislikes to discuss it, as no one has dared to ask him about his life before the Horde.

having brought Etheria to its knees decades ago, Hordak is easily bored or disinterested in his surroundings, often indulging himself in sadism for entertainment. however, he does have a soft spot for his children, Imp and Adora, and finds enjoyment in their company.

when She-Ra comes around, he isn't all that irritated. in the beginning, at least. in fact, he's rather riveted by the new challenge. discovering her identity, however, made all the difference. now, he constantly has to pick between being a father and being an Emperor.

design would be inspired by Fei by cronchy_baguette, Jacks by par0llel, Unnamed OC by crazycomet107, and Miguel O'Hara Illustration by sairasays. his design would definitely be a mix of cyborg and beast, lots of predator and prey metaphors.

theme song - Elegy of Emptiness by The Marcus Hedges Trend Orchestra

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Shadow Weaver - Sorceress of the Fright Zone, Second In Command, Mother of Adora and Catra. 50(?), 5'11, was raised in the Crimson Waste, but ran away and became a student in Mystacor at a young age. after obtaining the dark arts, however, she was banished and considered a freak of nature. soon after, she was found by Hordak.

the 'freak of nature' title didn't leave, however. rather, Shadow Weaver had to embrace it in order to become immune, using her dark magic to protect and provide for herself and whatever or whoever she needs to succeed or gain power.

she keeps most, if not all of her relationships at arms length, paranoia and trust issues running deep. though this doesn't exclude her daughters, Adora and Catra, it's less so with them. even if it's for separate reasons.

after Adora turned on the Horde, this instilled Shadow Weaver's already unstable mindset and kicked it into overdrive. obsessive, aggressive, and erratic in behavior, she eventually becomes a danger to herself and others.

design would be inspired by Peter Pan & Captain Hook Illustrations by sairasays, The Heads and The Witch by kelpible, and Arek ( 3rd form ) by sleeepybacon. her design would be parallel to her life as Light Spinner.

theme song - Midna's Theme by Monsalve

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Catra - Cadet of the Horde ( former ), Force Captain, Daughter of Shadow Weaver. 19 yrs, 5'7, was abducted as a toddler and taught to be a solider, though succession rates are varying. she was originally born in a Kingdom, but her memories are limited and she's rather uninterested ( or unmotivated, it's not clear ) in finding out where she's from.

as she was raised by Shadow Weaver, Catra became an odd mix of codependent, lazy, defiant and aggressive, borderline sadistic, obsessive, and jealous, driving away most people, which only solidified her unhealthy relationships.

once Adora left the Horde, she was no better than her mother, in terms of mental decline, and it was part of the reason why she became Force Captain. unofficially speaking.

design would be inspired by Eralisto by animatorroseoak, Bacon 1 and Bacon 2 by sleeepybacon, Cairo by cronchy_baguette, and Elliot by spam0_llel. i like to think her design becoming more and more feral // unhinged as she develops.

theme song - Majora's Mask by Koji Kondo & ROZEN

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Scorpia ( Lynda ) - Force Captain, Ex-Warrior of the Crimson Waste, Sister of Octavia, Harbinger of Poison. 21 yrs, 6'3, a fighter with a tough exterior, but a gentle soul. once she gets to know you, anyway. in her time in the Horde, she has formed a bond with Octavia and knew of Catra and Adora, but hadn't met them personally until Catra becam Force Captain.

after running away from the Crimson Waste after killing the leader, Scorpia was recruited by Hordak for her strength and poison // paralytic touch. though, it wasn't exactly like she had a choice.

when meeting Catra, the two were at arms-length for a while, with Scorpia being a little off-put by the other's intensity in bringing Adora back. but, somehow, they eventually become friends. as much as they could be, anyway, considering the circumstances.

design would be inspired by Gora ( tall, dark-haired goliath ) by pen.lilixeesketche and Tora and Gabu by par0llel. i read up the original character's details and decided to have kind of a 'mish-mash' of the original and reboot ( not quite, though ).

theme song - Bolero of Fire by Giulio Capone

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Entrapta ( Es'Tra ) - The Fae of Entanglement, Lady of Dryll, Heart of Technology. Late 40s ( forgot specific age ), 4'10, works for the Horde as their technician, isolated and muted, but finds comfort in the Emperor's company. when he has time for that.

no one really knows why or how she got there, but it's evident that she's chronically exhausted and has a habit of becoming hostile with those who don't respect her space ( it's how she met Catra one on one ). when she's in a better mood, however, she's more likely to talk, but not guaranteed, and shows to always have more knowledge than anyone would expect.

in the rare instances she's completely happy, Entrapta is very friendly, engaging, and there's an increased percentage she'll share technology // technological-know-how with you.

design would be inspired by Bitten Lady and Faubron by animatorroseoak, Eris by boots.oc, and Remi by par0llel. lots of plant cycle symbolism in her environments and hair.

theme song - Song of Storms by ROZEN

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Double Trouble ( Rebekk ) - Diamond of Mischief, Multi-Mask, Fae of Deceit. Early 20s ( exact age is unknown ), 5'11, a busybody that absolutely hates the Horde, which helps them not give a damn about anything more than bare minimum privacy, and who also happens to be Glimmer's cousin, adopted by Castaspella.

when they're not busying spying on the Horde, Double Trouble spends time working on their own plays and shows or trying to play around with their peers, being a generally needy person that craves attention and validation. it's not hard to make them happy, though. usually, a simple compliment makes their entire day.

none of their family knows of their work, though. and they'd like to keep it that way.

design would be inspired by Rue by lizard_b.rain, Thraniavas by spidertams, Cantaluse by animatorroseoaks, and Original Character Animation by kelapabiru. a random design tidbit that doesn't really matter, i like to think their hair is dyed blonde, but they have brown // black roots.

theme song - Minuet of Forest by Giulio Capone

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not all of the character biographies, not even close, but i'm currently working on pt. 2 as we speak, so that'll be out soon! probably will have a pt. 3 and pt. 4, though, there's a lot to go through.

thank you for reading! this and pt. 2 took forever.

[reni-reads]

Reni Reviews

Loveless by Alice Oseman

Finished: 25th August, 2024

Genre: Coming of Age, Romcom

May be for you if you like: Theater, ace representation, queer romance, coming of age stories, messy protagonists

Synopsis

Georgia has never been in love, never kissed anyone, never even had a crush – but as a fanfic-obsessed romantic she’s sure she’ll find her person one day.

As she starts university with her best friends, Pip and Jason, in a whole new town far from home, Georgia’s ready to find romance, and with her outgoing roommate on her side and a place in the Shakespeare Society, her ‘teenage dream’ is in sight.

But when her romance plan wreaks havoc amongst her friends, Georgia ends up in her own comedy of errors, and she starts to question why love seems so easy for other people but not for her. With new terms thrown at her – asexual, aromantic – Georgia is more uncertain about her feelings than ever. Is she destined to remain loveless? Or has she been looking for the wrong thing all along?

Review

I really wanted to like this book, as it's one of the very few books featuring an aroace protagonist. And while I did relate to Georgia a lot, there are a few issues with the book that dampened my perception of it. Let's get into it, shall we?

The Story

is good in theory, but suffers from its execution. There are two main storylines: The A-plot is Georgia's quest to finally find a romantic partner for herself and figuring out her sexuality, and the B-plot is Georgia and her friends trying to save the university Shakespeare Society by putting on a play. Both plots are way too stretched out in my opinion - halfway through the book, I found myself longing for it to be over. Especially the A-plot got way too many new, unnecessary developments and turns where it could have just been resolved already. The conflicts between the characters also felt a bit drawn-out and it just became frustrating for me after a while.

The Characters

were probably my biggest issue, first and foremost the protagonist Georgia. While I could totally relate to her struggle of being an aroace who seeks romantic connection, her actions were frustrating for me. She toys with her friend's feelings to figure herself out (which is just an awful thing to do) and gets so wrapped up in her drama that she completely neglects her friends. This may be realistic and relateable for a lot of people, which I completely understand and don't judge at all, but I just don't like the trope of "Protagonist is being a shitty person but gets a pass because they have an identity crisis".

Her friends were much more likeable, which is why I rooted for them way more. Rooney, Georgia's roommate, really surprised me. She appears to be kind of vain and superficial, but she's actually the most empathetic, emotionally sound person in the group. Her dynamic with Pip is hilarious - Pip being Georgia's oldest friend along with Jason, and also the one who calls out Georgia for her BS the most. Jason is just the sweetest bean ever. I wish Jason and Pip would have gotten more exploration, because they did feel a bit flat from time to time. Overall, I liked their friendship and their group dynamics, but I just couldn’t vibe with Georgia.

The Worldbuilding

was pretty sound! The story is set in an English university, so there are some things that I was unfamiliar with (societies, housing regulations...) but it was all explained so I didn't feel lost. The world felt believable to me, so no complaints here!

Final Thoughts

So yeah, I didn't hate the book at all, but I didn't love it either, which might have been to my overblown expectations as an aroace reader excited for a book with a protagonist like her. The book is very important, and the representation is amazing! It just fell a little short for me in terms of characters and pacing, but that is my own preference. The writing itself was very good and easy to read - Oseman does have a talent for descriptive and emptional writing. She made her characters come alive, which I commend her for!

I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is on the ace spectrum themself or who wants to learn more about the A. I hope the book inspires other people to write ace characters!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Plot and Storylines: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Characters and Relationships: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Writing Style and Narration: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Setting and Worldbuilding: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Entertainment: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

[zsakuva]

Saku… I’m convinced you’ve got all the sakuverse characters in your basement bc how can you write but not pick up on sarcasmxD You’re out here writing about mascaras, murder, intense political conflict, but you’re unsure of when someone’s sarcastic? Cutee~

Three things!:

If Isaac did ever decided to have kids, what kind of father do you think he’d be? And would he have a preference in terms of gender? I think if he had a daughter, he’d def be a girl dad lololol (like letting her put clips in his hair, paint his nails, etc) but i also think that he’d really like having a son cus he could give him the fatherly love his own dad didn’t always openly express

Are you half Japanese? (Feel free to ignore the question if it’s too personal!) I was showing my friend the Isaac series and when he got to the part where Isaac quotes his mother, he asked me if you’re Japanese. (For reference, he’s JapanesexD) Be said that you have very typical “hafu pronunciation”. I asked him to elaborate and he said it didn’t sound quite fluent (mainly due to intonation) but also too well spoken to be a foreigner. 

I apologize for my essay heh…

It's more tone of voice I can't pick up on sometimes, so I tend to hear things very literally xD

If Isaac were to have kids, I think he'd be the overprotective, smothering type. Though he wouldn't shelter them from what's out there, he'd be sceptical of everyone coming in contact with them. Sleepovers would be a big no-no, but he'd be battling with his own traumatic childhood. He'd want them to live happily with protection, but he also wouldn't want to suffocate them.

I don't think he'd have a preference! But I agree, he would--although begrudgingly sometimes--allow his daughter to do his hair and paint his nails.

I'm not Japanese at all! I studied it for a brief period in university, and I've tried to maintain my pronunciation (though I've definitely fallen off with it LOL)