#no i'm not gonna remake the whole thing just cos of that but i will b furious about it forever

[dangerliesbeforeyou]

Every friend group should include... (the BBC Wreck version)

[nightswithkookmin]

Not being jealous or mean I'm truly an ot7 army. but i noticed theres a diff in how media treats each member individually. like the amount of media coverage both kmedia and international jimin got from dior and now tiffany&co from the announcement of his new ambassadorship alone is insane 😭 and mind you, theres wasnt that hype with hobi (LV) or yoongi (valentino).I got sad when some armys legit didn't know about yoongis deal.myself knew about taes new ambassadorship after two days when I logged on twitter and it's was until I checked ot7 accs.other platforms were silent about it.so I was asking do you think it's true what some people say about media favoring jimin more?..I'm not a hater but I want to understand how this things work.because some members who I would think would make the noise are not,! jimin is making so much noise and its kinda unfair for my ot7 heart,because this whole solo era just made me think if jimin decides to leave the group his popularity will skyrocket even more cause it's like he has hidden fans not only army fandom and im selfish.

Okay... let me break it down like this

The Hyung line in general don't have as much traction as the Maknae line in BTS. It's not shade that's just the way things work in kpop- save for a few instances.

With Jimin being part of the Maknae line you should understand he is not comparable to anyone in the hyung line. He naturally will garner more attention than anyone in the Hyung line. He is Maknae too.

When it comes to the Maknae line, Jungkook being the youngest gets a lot of traction for the sheer sake of it. He's the Golden Maknae. The youngest in any group tend to get this level of traction and attention naturally- again save for few instances.

Wait. Hold up. Unfair for Jimin to get this attention?

I'm gonna ignore that and carry on with the post 😒

The media does not favor JM more it's just Jimin treats the media with more grace than the others- Suga calls out the media, Tae claps back at them, Namjoon makes snarky remakes about the media to their face. Jungkook just wants punch them in the face.

The media is not their friend. Do you see the crap they report about BTS? Do you see the headlines? They are assholes. Especially kmedia with their creepy asses.

When you say they are favoring Jimin all I can think about is the hosanna before his crucifixion.

Okay the last part made me smile 😃

The part you said JM has hidden fans made me melt won't lie🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭

Good good, let's continue this conversation cos I was about to pull your edges off thinking you was an anti in disguise 😆

As I was saying, the hyung line has less social traction compared to the maknae line for a number of reasons beyond their control.

We really shouldn't compare the Hyung line and the maknae line. We really shouldn't. Even before their solos they weren't treated equally by fans. It's why most times we had to work extra hard to push their content and support them because if we left things to chance they would have tanked hard. I call it affirmative action and that's where the strength of OTZ lies. We balance these things out.

And let's not blame Jimin for it. Because truth is had it been Jk or Tae they would have overshadowed the hyung line too. It's rock beats scissors, maknae beats hyung line.

Among the maknaes, I feel Jungkook would have been the most followed out of BTS but his personality tends to be a bit controversial with the tattoos and dating scandals and I don't give a fuck attitude which kinda suits his personna but rubs people off the wrong way. even that he's still the Golden Maknae. Can't take that away from him.

Tae has the oppressed under dog vibe going for him. From day one, he was hidden by the company, he was marginalized as the alien of the group, laughed at by friends, raised on a farm, and his grandma died. Then it turns out not only is he hot and talented, he's goofy, has a heart of gold and has that bit of fire in him you just don't want to mess with him he will cut you

Yet however they both are missing something that comes naturally for Jimin- mystery and obsession.

I don't know how Jimin is doing it but he is doing it.

He has a shit ton of sex appeal, has a voice so unique it piques your curiosity, looks like nothing you've ever seen, mad mad classy, mature, disciplined, accessible, consumable- he has that level of success that looks attainable if only you follow his blue print.

Having the success of the Golden Maknae is unattainable to most people. Not everyone has youth on their side, not everyone has a perfect pitch to stand out of the lot, not everyone has the natural talent Jungkook has which comes without him even trying.

It's the same with Tae. To get the success he has you would have to be him specifically.

With Jimin it's different. His success does not rest on his looks or voice alone. In fact, I'd argue his success doesn't come from any of that at all and I think it's intentional on his part. He doesn't rely on luck- that doesn't mean he doesn't have it, he do. He just don't make that his whole personality.

And that's what Tae was talking about in I-land. There are very tangible aspects to his success. It's what makes him the rookie Bible. He demystifies success and makes it replicable. It's easy to look at him and feel inspired and assured if you work just as hard as Jimin then you should get the same results- except you can't work just as hard cos what he does is humanly impossible💀

Jungkook named him Tripple A effort guy and he's right.

I feel this is why a company like hybe would love him. He doesn't let his looks do the talking for him. He doesn't rely on his looks or say I have a unique voice and that's it. He leaves nothing to chance.

He is very interesting. And that interest often leads people into obsessing over him. Once you Jim in you can't Jim out.

Tae's haters and detractors don't care enough about him to follow him around and keep tabs on him.

Jk's haters couldn't give a fuck about him too.

However Jimin's haters are so obsessed with him they turn around to be his fans which is crazy🤣🤣🤣

They look at him and just don't understand why he's successful the way he is and I feel that's how the obsession with him begins 😆

They want to know where he's at, who he's with, what he's doing. Yet dude is so mysterious they get nothing out of him which only intensify their obsession😩

They will listen to his music all the way through just so they can come on the internet and say it's shitty- 🤣

Jimin is admirable. Brands admire him, regular folks admire him. People want him to succeed for the same reasons they may want someone like TAE to succeed. They are both a rags to riches story. Except they both have fans who engage in very different fan behaviors.

Which is what it all comes down to. Jimin's fans behave differently from any members' fans. Perhaps people should pay attention to that before acting jealous of him.

It's just as how BTS fans behave and engage in very different fan behaviors to other idols' fans. And don't hurt your head, there a countless experts who have tried to research Army to understand what it is about BTS keeps us tethered to them but haven't a clue.

Also let's not confuse followers for fans. Just because one member has a lot of followers does not mean they have the most fans out of BTS💀

People can fake accounts and follow anyone but not everyone of those accounts may be a true fan.

Jimin knows how to work the public. He knows what we want. He can enchant us and play us like a violin if he so chooses. He's behind a lot of the successes of BTS especially with regards to their public image.

He's a master curator, he's the voice telling them don't get drunk and vlive, move this way on the stage, hold it a big longer, post this, don't post that, why? Because he knows how to work the public. I'd say Tae too to be honest.

I don't think JM has fully stepped into his power. You are right to say his fame will skyrocket if he breaks away. He has the skills and experience, knowledge, creativity and discipline to make him forever relevant.

If anyone is going to become a household name I trust it's jimin because he gets it. He gets that talent alone won't get you anywhere, looks alone won't suffice you gotta be the whole package and HE IS THE WHOLE PACKAGE.

JIMIN IS THE WHOLE PACKAGE

[jams-sims]

I'm still waiting for the official translation because the leaks were such a nothing burger, like none of these last chapters answer a gotdamn thing. Started some shit with Mei Mei, started a new case, a new curse technique or some shit with a secert society.

None of that shit mattered! NONE OF IT! Provide answers to questions no one was asking. Gege could have shown Gojo being cremated or something! Tie back into the fact Shoko is alone and she did have that whole moment where she said (its implied im being hyperbolic) that Gojo doesnt even think about how she was right beside him grieving the lost of Geto too. It would have been a fundmental tragic ending for the group of three. Contrast that with Nobara, Megumi and Yuji all laughing with eachother being idiots. She gets to see the next generation. But I guess nothing matters anymore and she helps with Megumi buriel of his sister. Which is good but damn could it be better.

I mean- shit I guess I win a little something because Kenjaku is back, fake or not. An Kenjaku was my favorite, and I love the idea that Takaba was so fucking smitten by Kenjaku that he used his technique to bring him back. Shit i would love more on that, is Takaba powers good eough to repluicate kenjaku fully? Will he have to keep remaking Kenjaku because he can never get it just right. That shit would be so interesting!

Then gege fumbled the easiet ass pull i would have forgiven if he just wrote a scene of Yuji and Kenjaku interacting out of no where and it was a 3 page flash back. In a fucking white void somewhere. Because why the fuck did Kenjaku act the way that he did. He made Yuji who was not "the prefect vessel" because at the end Kenjaku was like 'Sukana and Yuji can not both exist at the same time'. Kenjaku really made Yuji, Sukana OP and vese versa.

I GUESS if you wanna stretch it, Yuji was shown to not have his parent in his life at all, when he was about 7. Which mean they had to be around ealier and if so what the fuck happened!? What the fuck was up with Jin and why did Kenjaku do any of the shit he did-

Why save Yuji school friend, someone no one remember until he walked her out! Then said "Thank you for being a friend to my son".

Kenjaku its giving I love my youngest child, fuck all my other kids.

What happened to the Merger and Tengen, I dont care of they found where Tengens at! That doesnt stop what ever the merger was, shit it could have been cool to imply it had been already started as everyone was healing. Just the last chapter were so co fusing and bloated with shit no one wanted. I would have rathered the dream theory be real or the kill all of them ensing be real. It feels mega like a editor came in and started talking in geges ear.

I mean all of this could be forgiven if after the ending it was like BAM JJK Part 2 starting 2025. I could at least go "ooo more shit gonna be revealed in part 2." But nothing! The ending was just super frustrating. I hope the offical just has a little more of something!

[illmetkismet]

Hiiiii ~

If it's alright to ask, what's your opinion and thoughts about Leon's relationship with Luis and Ashley? :)

I'm asking cuz i love how remake improved then vastly and now they've become such loved characters. Even if we might never see them again 😭

Hiiiii Anon, thanks for dropping in! You're not gonna get a nuanced answer from me: I love the RE4 remake passionately and unconditionally. What they're done with it, particularly with the writing and voice acting, blew my mind. I love how Leon slowly comes to care about both Ashley and Luis, how we see these little moments where he lets himself be tender with them (Luis' whole death scene, Leon and Ashley's talk after she stabs him where he comforts her, the way he rushes to hold her hand as she screams in pain during the plaga removal).

I love how they carefully tied the characters with the themes of the game: hope in the face of horror, what it means to grow and change, and most importantly, I think, that we have to look out for each other.

I'm thinking about Luis' note on how he ultimately betrays Saddler because he can't stomach how he treats the people of Valdelobos, all the co-op segments in the game where you can't progress unless you work together with Ashley, even the after-credits bit where Ada realizes what Wesker is planning and refuses to be a part of it.

And Leon..... The difference in him from the start of the game to the end! He arrives in Valdelobos at the end of his rope: he's traumatized, he's alone, he's desperate for something different than the ongoing pain and loss he's been going through since Raccoon City, and.... He gets just that....! Look at him at the start of the game vs. the end:

He saves Ashley, things are different this time, and like he says after the plagas removal procedure, the two of them are alive thanks to Luis. Leon let himself trust, to get attached, and the narrative rewards him for it.

They did such an incredible job with this game and with these characters. They feel real, their relationships feel real. Running into Ada and working with Luis and fighting to get Ashley back doesn't feel like you're just racing to some arbitrary quest marker, it feels like you're progressing a story, and that's a rare thing in a video game, much less a resi game.

Anyway, thanks for letting me gush about them!!! My one and only complaint is that I WANTED LUIS TO LIVE, oh god how I wanted him to live. Right up to the end of Separate Ways I was hoping they'd say 'sike you thought he died??'.... I mean, I get it, he has the tragic redemption arc, but in my head he's alive and well.

Aside from that, perfect game, no notes, love every single character and their relationships. Capcom did an incredible job remaking this, which gives me hope for future remakes and installments. In particular, I know ppl hate on RE6, but I think there's actually a lot there to work with, and if they can do with it what they've done with 4 it could turn out incredible. I'm filled with hope!!

[abbinurmel]

I spent the past couple hours tailoring this aimless rant on YT, in response to a person merely saying how much they'd love for a reboot of 'Cow & Chicken' on adult swim, cos they could say whatever they like on there. I posted it here, cos YT doesn't wanna allow me to post anything right now, which is probably for the best.

This is gonna be a dumb rant. I got sucked down a rabbit hole, cos this is a favorite topic of mine to talk about and I'm procrastinating horribly on purpose on a lot of dull paperwork. So strap in before reading my garbage. You're warned now, don't hafta TLDR or whatever, thanks, I already know. …Anyways. For those who care about irrelevant, shitty opinions:…I love Cow & Chicken. A lot. On paper I know exactly why it seems like a great idea to reboot on 'adultswim', purely on the merit they do things more outrageously. I'm certain many would watch this. It's actually kinda weird there hasn't been one yet, when you think about it, given this age of rehashes. It already has the raunchy humor and gross art down, seems like a match made in heaven, right?- It'd be easy too, "Cow & Chicken" wasn't exactly lavishly drawn or had a big cast. Well… Much as I think there could be a slim possibility of it happening, for it to be good, and IF they do good, to be wildly entertaining…I don't think "Cow & Chicken" is going to ever get actually rebooted. And I don't think it benefits from being rebooted, either, which is really the only reason you should try to reboot things ever in the first place. The lore of an IP needs to benefit in being revisited, somehow, and ESPECIALLY, SPECIFICALLY, if brought back for adults. It is very unlikely gonna be executed right, ironically BECAUSE of this show's already semi-adult nature. And the reasons why, is endemic to why a whole lot of current modern shows, and movie/live action series remakes, are suffering too. -And no, it is NOT due to the reasons some of you're likely thinking of. It is NOT cos of any tired old: "things are just too safe and WOKE /PC culture now!" theories. (That sort of affair is highly subjective/means basically nothing or very different things to different people. Pretty impossible to gauge due to how all over the place/ludicrously out of touch with general fans censors and networks can be, no matter what their political leanings or personality is. Which can and do range all over the place. So I won't go into that topic as it's an entirely different problem to what I am talking about. Plus I was there for the 80s and 90s, its pretty silly to say we can not get away with any wild things these days, cos let me assure you, by comparison, there is a LOT technically more we CAN do and say now, in both kid's and adult shows, that would never get by in a million years 30 years ago. You couldn't even just say the word 'kill', 'poop' or 'die' then, most the time. Let that sink in.)

…See to me, if it ironically hadn't ever been restrained by censors/made for kids, C&C might've been NOWHERE as good. Like. At all. It might've actually been one of the worst CN shows aired. Just 100% annoying gross-out show laziness, like a lot of shows of its era. The main reason it didn't flop was cuz 1) duh, Charles Adler, the main voice, and 2) it did its 'thing' the way original 'Ren & Stimpy' did. It didn't beat for beat copy them. Their writing/visuals just simply knew how to cross the line JUST enough, keeping the raunchy humor tucked in JUST as far as they could push it, but knew also on the whole how to always stay utterly light hearted, simple and goofy. That's where its core identity is. It's the dumb blithe enthusiastic Innocence of pretty much the entire cast, and the goofy simplicity of the plots/gags, while they get to say out the side of the mouth much more 'mature' sinister things….It works purely b/c of that contrast; sometimes with innuendo being camoflauged extremely subtly, sometimes NOT subtly at all. -But it would always go ping-ponging gracefully between the two. Never too much Idiotically Innocent, or too Smugly Adult and Crass. It would do this, with actual wit. It didn't JUST have gross visuals or say dirty jokes. It did all this with a theatrical, self-known flair. Shows like C&C and its fellow Golden Age shows basically are very good at doing what franchises like Monty Python were known for, and what Regular Show and Gravity Falls and similar would do later on, just with more visual ugliness.

…Meanwhile, a lot of other 1990's/current shows DO NOT have this memo. They do not have that balance, they lack the awareness of what is the difference between 'sneaking in occasional very dirty jokes with wit' and "throwing every and any kinda joke at a wall and not even bothering to look at what sticks." A LOT of 'gritty comedy parody reboot' things are doing this, and also doing this same idea just with the "dramatic tropes" instead of comedic tropes too. ….Including Ren & Stimpy itself. -Once 'The Ren & Stimpy Show' moved to SpikeTV, they went fully 'adult', and by direct result went 1000% downhill. I don't ascribe that to just poor writing(the original has flat stupid writing too), or ugly looking animation (so is the original). Not even John K.'s…ahem, history. If you fixed his behavior, and abusive attitude; made all his notoriously horrible bad jokes tamer, I still think 'Adult Party' would've tanked, because doing this concept in of itself is a fool's errand. It's not just rebooting nostalgic childhood IPs that's the problem, but specifically attempting to repackage something that was already a mild bit 'tawdry', so now that it is INTENTIONALLY for adults only. Whenever the entertainment industry does that 'gritty effect', be it games or movies or Netflix or comic books, it's 8/10 doomed, because you essentially neutered the core joke or appeal. You've taken away the cool 'taboo' point of saying hidden naughty/clever things, in a story you're not SUPPOSED to. You're able to state and do whatever you want, and so there's not only no leash to hold down any of the weaker ideas, there's almost no "rebellious challenge" to its bite whatsoever, even when those jokes/story ideas succeed. Noone is gonna be shocked or laugh nearly as much when a Red Guy says "KISS MY ASS!" unironically in an adultswim show, as they would if he says "KISS MY ASS!!!!!!….-Her name is GERTRUDE! :D" -and then happily pulls onstage a donkey wearing a big bowtie in on a rope, because this renders it now a pun and technically 'child safe' to flaunt now. (This isn't a real joke from the show btw, I'm only making this up for convenience. But you get the idea. It's the precise sort of silly thing you know he'll do. :P )

Neither the audience nor execs are 'prey' anymore for the writers to be creatively poking the boundaries with, when you remove that expectation. It's different if your IP started with an already adult geared story to begin with, but, when it's a full on polar opposite shift in tone and/or age demographics like that, it's almost always pulled off in a confused messy way, because even the original work's creators themselves, (IF they're even kept around, or are familiar with the source material if they are new), are trapped now in completely unfamiliar territory. Without a deeply wild reinventing of the show's lore or main tenets(a thing which nobody has ever been upset by on the internet!), it usually doesn't have anything else to stand on, especially with a purely episodic comedy show, like Cow and Chicken is. Once you take out this 'vulnerability' in our dynamic, between child/censor guardians, and writers, this main core joke of not knowing what the writers are and are NOT actually going to get away with is gone, and so much of the stakes now is irreversibly lost. Sometimes being hidden from the details is what makes a gag all the more funnier, or a scary scene all the scarier, or a cringe scene all the cringier. If we take away this, things lack a lot more of the colorful shock & ridiculousness. The main DNA in these classic "deranged shows", like Ed, Edd n Eddy, Ren&Stimpy, Rocko and C&C, that a lot of nostalgic fans, and current show-runners often alike forget; is the simple fact that such shows had to weigh the balance of: 'being a sincere kid show' and 'trying to get away with something they're not supposed to'. …With very deep emphasis on the words: "GET AWAY WITH". To me, a show is not getting "away" with something good, be it a message, a joke, a deeper sense of drama, if you constantly always spell it out for us, and we know you lose nothing and have to take no creative risk by displaying it for the audience. You're not really earning a prize, if someone just right at the start, hands you a medal. In other words….Every good memorable/subversive classic cartoon show, is not beloved just because they got to have crazy visuals, or say and do unhinged jokes. …You needed to be MEMORABLY STRANGER for having those qualities, in the first place. If you do something unhinged and bizarre, but coming in I expect to see it, is it really an unhinged show?

See, there's a reason why most of the frequent reboots of Scooby Doo like 'Velma' atrociously fail. And it's not because they changed someone that was formerly white, or made someone like Shaggy have a different name, or backstory. Or even because they overhauled an old wholesome character into a rude, toxically mean, judgemental unpleasant character. Yes this does affect some tastes, but on the whole, that wasn't the core problem for most watchers. LOADS of shows have a morally awful, pompous, or an incompetent, chaotic mess for a central protagonist, or reinvent them in some way if they come from an old property. Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law, and Space Ghost Coast to Coast did more or less exactly what "Velma" does, where they took an old IP and completely transformed their roles/upgraded their style of humor for a more adult audience. Rick & Morty has a toxic main protagonist. South Park has four of them. Family Guy and American Dad has them, Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, the list goes on. Even kid shows do this, and sometimes get away with it well too: Dan Versus did it well so did Ren and Stimpy, again, back when it understood how it worked. Having a mean protag or changed fundamentals, isn't why so many reboots don't work. …What happens with bad modern remakes of Scooby Doo, (and not just in shows like Velma), is often that they forget how to make things have that beautiful sense of contrast, that Cow and Chicken does, in its writing. They do not know how to both show this is a show rooted in something sincere, WHILE ALSO saying outrageously dirty/surreal/mean/pompous or dark things inside that vessel. The appreciation for the context of its background, is what makes shows like 'Mystery Inc.' and 'Zombie Island' work, while Velma and other SBs, do not. If we took Cow & Chicken, stripped it of it's irony, what else do we have except yet another dime a dozen weaker show, constantly going 'haha, me say the rude words!/do the gross bad thing again!' adult oriented show, with no fangs? Another exhausting reboot, which takes yet another unoriginal idea, robs its reputation, and wastes our time? …There's a way to do this kind of thing right. I just do not think most people, not even some of the most talented in the business, have the freedom or ability to do so. Not even Samurai Jack, a legend of an animated program, escaped this 'update it for adults!' treatment unscathed. If you're gonna update something for adults, you really have to think about WHY it was good in the first place. Not take just what you had, and stamp lots of expletetives or flashes of red to indicate actual blood on there. You need either to actually SAY something, completely useful and different, or, just stick to your guns with the old formula, and do it so well it exceeds the hype for the original. Which is also near being impossible to do. Hence, it begs the question, why do it at all?

…Sorry for this TEDTalk, I just love being an absurd mess at 2AM when I have better more boring adult things to do.

[foxingpeculiar]

FF7 R&R: The Final Edition So I beat Rebirth.

It took 97 hours and 15 fucking minutes. That's on top of the 32 hours and 22 minutes I spent on Remake's base game, and the 6 hours and 58 minutes of the Intergrade DLC. So, that's a grand total of 136 hours and 35 minutes, so far. The original game took like maybe 50 hours on a completionist playthrough--I beat it in about 35 at age 13. So yeah. People bitch about movies getting longer, but damn. Because the third game is going to have to be as big as this one (Remake was essentially an extended prologue, Rebirth brought us to the midpoint, so game 3 [which I'd bet money will be called Reunion] has to take us through the second half of the arc. So that's another 100 or so hours.)

Anyway. Putting the rest under the cut, cos this is the big spoilery one for everything. And will probably be quite the ramble.

Alright, I feel like I got almost everything out of this game, but there are at least two things I didn't do. One was the quest "Ultimate Party Animal," because fuck that. It's the one where you have to beat the Shinra Manager at all (well, four of) the Gold Saucer games.

I did do the chocobo one, because I'd just come off winning the Gold Cup as part of Billy's sidequest, so I was in the chocobo zone. And like, I've played some Mario Kart in my day--I ended up with a flawless 45 points. (Joe didn't even come in 2nd, which was quite satisfying. Choco Bubble, man. That's the way to do it.)

But anyway, then I got to the Speed Square. And I do not like shmups--that's not a genre I'm comfortable in. I did it a few times, barely got through it and realized that, to win, I'd have to have a score that was like 10000 pts higher than what I had barely managed to eke out. So that was the "nope, I'm out" moment for me with that. I don't even know what the other two challenges are, exactly.

The other thing I didn't do was Gilgamesh Island. I did get there, which was an annoying-ass process in-and-of-itself, mostly because of Cactuar Crush (specifically that third round) and because of Odin. With CC, it's just... a lot. Like I had to look up tips, equip Bird of Prey to Yuffie so I could do Doppelganger and then just kind of pray. But after like 10 attempts I made it. With Odin... like a lot of fights in this game are RPG fights--you're managing tactics, taking a broad view of what's happening. But Odin is an action game fight. You gotta dodge his shit and counter just right, or he's gonna gonna get bored and Zantetsuken your ass and that's just kind of it.

But okay, I put in a few rounds and I got him. So then I get to the island, and it's all Gilgamesh doing his little dance and being like "purify the equipment" or whatever, so okay. But the first fight I have is Titan and Bahamut. And... yeah, no. I tried it like 15 times. I can take Titan out, but then I just get Gigaflared to shit and it's over. So I said to myself, "well, try a different one, see how it goes." And that turned out to be Alexander blasting me up the ass with holy magic while I'm trying to deal with Odin's shit. Do I think I could win those fights eventually, if I perfected my technique? Absolutely. Do I want take the time to do that when I have (at that point) 88 hours in this bitch and a whole queue of other games waiting? No, I do not. Something for next time.

Okay. Story reactions.

Mostly, I'm just kind of impressed with how the ending threaded a really interesting needle.

Like, I've been saying since the beginning that Aerith has to die. That's a fundamental part of the story of Final Fantasy VII, to the point that if that doesn't happen, it's not FF7. (It's also one of the most iconic moments in video game history--kind of a transitional locus when mainstream western culture realized gaming was a medium capable of emotionally complex storytelling. That's why the original game is such a big deal.) Yet Remake was all about "oooh, change your fate, things aren't set in stone" and whatever, and I remember all the playground rumors about saving Aerith (Aeris, in the original) and so the whole time I've been like "are they gonna... are they gonna fuck with that? Cos they're making me think they're gonna fuck with that."

But they found kind of a way around it that actually sort of works. There was that whole scene that was like: "Welcome to the Multiverse, with Dr. Sephiroth" where he's telling Cloud about the "true nature of reality" and all that. And we've been seeing that this whole game in Zack's story.

Which I really didn't know what to do with up until the ending. LIke, is this a dream? Is this a metaphor? There's that whole bit where Marlene in Zack's world knows what's supposed to happen in the "prime" world. The relationship between these parallel versions of the story was unclear.

And right up until the moment where it actually happened, I could tell I was being guided to wonder if Cloud was going to stop it. The recreation of the scene was perfect, until the moment where it looked--for a moment--like Cloud had deflected the blow. But then he hadn't. But then she was there. The team is grieving her while she's sitting among them. It didn't really make sense for a minute.

But it's Cloud that can sense her still. There's that whole scene as he says goodbye, boarding the Tiny Bronco, like she's really there, even though--as far as everyone else is concerned, she's clearly died. But Cloud is straddling realities anyway--he still has some Jenova/Sephiroth in him, and this iteration of the story is making it even more clear than the original did that he's kind of losing his shit through the process of all this.

And then, just like Remake did, this one ends with a weird revelation about Zack. The first game teed us up for this alternate reality where Zack survived and now, it seems like, he's been dropped back into the "prime" reality, through means not entirely known. But what are the implications of that? Does that mean Aerith, too, can both die and survive?

It feels like they found a way to both honor the original game's canon and fuck with the sort of meta-perception of it. And like... this game make Remake feel better than it did the first time and I think there's going to be a similar relationship with the last game. They still have to stick the landing, but I'm still on board.

Okay. Going through play notes:

Queensblood. That was fun. That might be my favorite of the FF card games. I fucking owned Vincent's ass--54:0. The final game against the Shadowblood Queen-possessed-Regina was a squeaker, 32:30, but I did it.

OMG, the date/play sequence. Okay, so I knew this was gonna happen, but I thought it was the earlier interaction where Tifa and I were hanging around the Gold Saucer. But no, it comes late-game. I don't know who I would've wanted it to be, but I know who I didn't expect to be and that was Barret. But the Skywheel was kind of a fun scene, the older man trying to tell this young kid (cos, according to the original manual, Barret's 35 and Cloud's 21) "hey, don't fuck with these girls' heads--you gotta figure out what you want here." There was a tenderness to it. (Apparently in post-game chapter selection, you can do that part with any/everyone, and I kinda want to, just to see). The play part was a lot of fun. And somehow I S-ranked that, despite being somewhat intoxicated at the time of playing.

Corneo. Oh man, okay. I love that they're making him this recurring skeezeball villain, weaving him into different parts of the plot. It will make his eventually defeat a lot more satisfying (also Scotch and Kotch are fun).

The Chocobo Sage making booze out of the grass I found absolutely slayed me.

Okay, Vincent. It's pretty cool that we got to fight him in beast form--that's another one of those weird things from the original game that I was curious how they were going to handle. And they did with him and Cid what they did with Nanaki in the first one--they're there, but NPCs. So what will controlling them in the third game be like? The whole Shinra Manor bit was pretty sweet, though. Kicking Hojo's ass on top of that tower thing is going to be very sweet.

I appreciate how the story kind of streamlined the whole bit about the keystone and the temple. We DID get Demon Wall! I didn't think we were gonna, but there it was!

Cait Sith's betrayal and subsequent redemption was handled well. That was one of those things where i was like "oh, yeah, I remember this" as it was happening.

I don't remember for sure if Sephiroth killed (or at least stabbed the fuck out of) Tseng in the original. Maybe? It's been a while. But the Turk fights in the temple were both a lot of fun, and I love how they kind of crashed into each other. The whole labyrinth bit was pretty great, actually, and in the Escher-like spirit of the original, I felt.

God, there's so many more notes here, but they're mostly small things. I think the tl;dr is that I'm still on board. If they'd maybe chilled out with the minigames, this'd be a 10/10. But the middle part of the trilogy is always the hardest to gauge on its own merits. So I wanna see how [Reunion] stacks up. I have faith, though. Things I am curious about/expecting:

We still don't have a clear explanation of what Tifa remembers about Cloud being at the Nibelheim incident. And now that we're like... fucking with multiverse stuff, does she remember him being there at all? How is that affected by this added layer of complexity?

Rocket Town and Wutai. Cid and Yuffie's stories need wrapping up, plus the Wutai storyline will end all the Corneo nonsense.

How are they going to handle the Scarlet/Tifa fight on the canon? Cos you can't not do that, but you also can't do that the same way. So like... eh?

Are we going to see Ruby/Emerald WEAPON, and how goddamn terrifying is that going to be?

KOTR? What the fuck would that even look like in this version?

How is the presence of Zack going to change things?

There's probably more, but it's late and I'm tired.

[honda-hatch]

alright I'm gonna ramble about the RE games/community now

fuckin Resident Evil, man. RE may not have been my introduction to M-rated games, but it also sorta was. Everyone already knows that DMC1 was originally Resident Evil 4. Both REmake and RE4 were also motivation to play M-rated games, though. So let us start at the beginning.

I finally got to play REmake when I got it in a humble bundle with RE4. I played REmake first, and boy, was I enchanted. I often get motivation to play games by seeing footage, and then thinking that it would be fun to control that. That might be a poor way of explaining it, but its all I got. REmake, coldest take imaginable, is a borderline perfect game. The mansion is magical to explore, the enemies are spooky, the visuals are beautiful, and the layout and pacing of the game are so good that I can still run through most of the game without even thinking about it. Of course, the areas following the mansion aren't quite as neat, but that's fine, and in my opinion, not even that much of a downside, as I usually want to get through each subsequent area faster and faster. The only thing that really irks me? People want another damn remake. Fuckers are so caught up with games accommodating their dumb asses that they just can't stand to learn another control type to play a game. OOOOOH woe is you!! You just can't get a handle on tank controls! "clunky! clunky! clunky!" If my 12 year old self, who, as I may have mentioned before, was born after 9/11, can manage to get a hang of this game and speedrun it with barely any practice, you can take ten minutes to get a hang of tank controls. shut the fuck up. There are so many games that genuinely need a remake, and RE1 is probably the last on the list.

RE2 is a fun time. Leon is hilarious, Claire is cool, and the game feels pretty straightforward. RE2 isn't all that stressful at any given moment, and almost feels linear with how clear its progression is. Pair that with iconic visuals and music, and you understand why its still considered a classic to this day.

RE3 is... something. I don't hate RE3. Far from it. It makes Jill cool, Nemesis is scary but not annoying, the live selection system is fun, and the story is entertaining, standing out because of its incredible conclusion that wraps up the first trilogy in a nice little bow. But the dodge mechanic is weird -- ironically, its easier to dodge Nemesis than a normal zombie, because Nemesis was clearly designed with telegraphed windups in mind, whereas the regular zombie grab definitely wasn't. The progression is a little less clear, with the majority of the game having you run around larger areas of Raccoon to grab stuff, with things being measurably less obvious than RE2, for better or worse. I think my opinion is also a little funky because I've only played it once (though recently), and I had a fuckton of ammo by the end. I think I'd enjoy it more if I actually spend more time blasting zombies. Special shoutout to the snap sound effect that accompanies a critical headshot with the pistol. Orgasmic.

RE4 has been discussed to death. I don't think I can add anything to that discussion, frankly. It's unbelievably fun and replayable, Leon is my favorite himbo, I've played it 13 times... it's an inarguable classic that shaped the industry going forward. In its niche, it hasn't really been surpassed. Sure, Dead Space is great, but only its sequel comes close to RE4's level of fun and replayability in my mind. (DS1 and 2 are still incredible, though). RE5 certainly didn't.

RE5. Goddamn. I played this with a friend, and I don't see how you could've done this solo. The setting isn't quite as fun, is way more "kinda racist" and there's a stupid filter over the whole game. I personally dislike the UI and font choice, and the stupid square system drives me crazy (yes I know it's to make co-op easier). The story feels like its connected by a fraying string, nobody really has an arc (Chris only has something vaguely resembling one), and the final boss is dumb adventure game bullshit. It baffles me that people think that RE5 is the improved version of RE4. It's just straight-up incorrect.

RE6, I've barely played. I couldn't really stand it after I had to do a ten minute walking section and then had to do stupid wave defense. I don't even think I could get my RE5 friend to play with me. pass.

RE7 and 8 I haven't gotten around to. I own them, but something about that first person perspective makes them less appealing to me. I've played plenty of first person games, it's just something about them in particular. idk

Umbrella chronicles is terrible (crappy shooting, terrible voice acting, cheap-looking), darkside chronicles isn't bad if you don't mind crazy camerawork; it fixes prrety much everything terrible about UC. and enjoy rail shooters. maybe I should ramble about those next. I'm gonna go give Leon a kiss

oh fuck I forgot to talk about the community

like I said, they're all spoiled and remake hungry, and so many refuse to learn a new control style. and they're all horny as fuck and are stupid and I hate them I hate them I hate them

Resident Evil has never had a genuinely good story and rides on its characters but I hate all the horny fucks who don't shut up

I didn't mean for this to be negative. Leon sends his himbo love

[silver-wield]

"These fans are really loud and...obnoxious."

Yeah, I mentioned the fans are a metaphor for certain people being annoying and now I'm gonna show why because the whole picture is hilarious!

The first one is enough to set me off with an oh that's shade, but then Tifa being all "Avoid at all costs" just did me in!

And behind the obnoxious fans, hidden almost from view is a genuine piece of summon materia. And not just any summon materia. It's chocobo and mog.

And the devs have absolutely associated Tifa to mog in Remake because of this

The moogle, which we hear from Aerith and Moggie represents those with a pure heart and a desire for happiness. It's made of white flowers which represent loyalty and has stars among the background. This is a message from Tifa to Cloud that she's remained loyal to him during the time they were apart and she wishes for their happiness. The mount shape, an octagon, refers to the tifaret, which is the root origin of her name. Cloud is also seen floating among white loyalty flowers when he drifts down into the church at the start of chapter 8, where we see real Cloud's first thought is about Tifa and soldier Cloud's last thought in the previous chapter was about Tifa.

Neat, right?

Back to the obnoxious fans, which Cloud and co give a bit of maintenance to by cleaning them out of some queen grashstrikes. Anyone else hearing a word mashup of gas and trash? These things only show up around Cloud and Tifa, right? Hmmm.

Anyway, once the monsters are done, which BTW are weak to ice. (Ice cold merc anyone?) We can disengage the time lock and collect chocobo and mog.

Quick aside, this is also where we can pick up the electric de chocobo song, which has a cover of chocobo surfing on a green wave with star accents and bracketed by yellow daisies. Because Zack ships them.

And Barret is literally exclaiming about this materia and Tifa says wow and gives Cloud a lil smile. So even though this materia might seem meh to players, to these three it's a big deal.

And it's a combo of Cloud and Tifa represented as a summon because Cloti is being summoned out from behind the obnoxious fans after the lock on their relationship has been turned off and the gaslighting trashy queens constantly striking at them have been defeated.

[doubleddenden]

So, time to log my feelings for the Presentation. I was actually wrong about what all would be in it but I'm about the same level of hype to underwhelmed.

1. Nostalgia bait

Interesting vid, but kinda pointless after every direct and presents had one. Next

2. New Snap

Looks amazing, I can't wait to play it

3. Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

I'm gonna get death threats for this lmfao, but I felt nothing at all. Like I'm used to some excitement but I just felt nothing. I guess it's better than nothing, but the chibi style isn't how I pictured it at all and kinda feels cheap. I appreciate the polish, but still, it could have at least been like the SwSh DLC. And it sounds like they're going to be focusing more on DP, which... sucks, ngl, since Platinum were the games gen 4 fans probably really wanted. Let's just hope they aren't TOO faithful to DP or else we have half the Sinnoh dex locked to post game and 8 annoying HMs, and at least have the Platinum fire types

Still, ILCA has me somewhat hopeful. They had involvement with the development for Dragon Quest 11, a fantastic game more people should play, so I have slight more hope. I'm not too happy about Junichi "kids and their smart phones are too busy for the Battle Frontier lol" Masuda co directing, but at least they probably can't make it worse than the originals with the other guy there.

Maybe with the new engine we won't be waiting 4 hours for a Pokémon to faint or level up

3. Legends Arceus

Now THIS is what I pictured. I'm surprised at many things, but this looks so fresh! Not to mention

They got all three of my favorite starters! Fucking finally, what took you so damn long? (Oh right, Home subs)

The open world aspect should have been was SwSh was to begin with, and even in alpha the games look better than base SwSh in the final product, but better late than never. This is an interesting approach to a Pokémon game, and although I'm not fond of the JUST THROW A BALL mentality inherited from GO and Let's Go, it looks like you can still do wild battles so it works out.

I could stand to revisit past regions like this. Probably healthier than releasing 60 sub par designs every 3 years and then being expected to work on remakes and a new gen at the same time. The Legends title implies that this is going to be a series, perhaps? I'm okay with that, let's just make this game fun though

Also NGL, I've always wanted to explore a Pokémon region in a non modern time. I swear I either had a dream or falsely remember a scan of DP but it's like feudal or Pre Victorian Era, and you hop off a very old looking boat. Plus there was always the whole thing involved with Samuel in the 4th Movie, so the thought has always been in the back of my head. I'm kinda bored of cities all the damn time, so maybe finally seeing Pokémon in PROPER nature is what I needed

I think the most interesting aspect is definitely Arceus. Will we finally unlock wtf it exactly is (other than god) after 15 years of mystery?

Now, I'm cautiously optimistic. The game looks good, but this is Game Freak we're talking about. They can find any number of ways to screw up and probably will, and if it's Ohmori at the helm, corners will be cut. Not to mention if it's like SwSh, the Alpha footage will most likely be the exact same or close to the same product we get in the end.

Still, cautiously optimistic. Don't fuck it up. Please don't. I wanna pick my Cyndaquil buddy and go explore and fight everything in peace. Please just be good.

[lucidpantone]

So I'm curious, you still like Wtfock or not?, Because I see you criticizing all, I agree with lots of what you said specially on this season that sucks but that doesn't change that I still love and support this remake because I think is important as a viewer recognize when your fav show or in this case remake has make things wrong and recognize other ones maybe even accept at some point we all were expecting too much and not because the show couldn't do better (we all know they could do soooo much better) but because we have seen this remakes so many times plus sometimes relay too much on a specific one that makes us forget this at the end is a remake and original seasons might not be the best option.

So just to note I support every single Skam remake. I have watched every single season at least once. You should know that I tend to stan seasons more than entire remakes too. So if its part of the Skamverse I support it. That won't be changing anytime soon (Yes, even you skamfr). I am not really into the whole I stan one remake over another. I am more of season(s) person. So for example(og is not part of this fyi):

S1 is Skam NL & Skam Es,  S2 (noorhelm) is wtfock & SkamES (zoenne and norandro are at the top) but I enjoyed Druck and Skam Austin too. S3 wtfock, SkamEs & Druck, S4 SkamIt (overall my fav by miles beating out the rest) & SkamES (My fav Sana remake actress in Hajar but the story is okay) Original seasons in order of preference: Druck Nora, SkamFR Arthur, SkamFR Lola & then Wtfock S4.

Also I think saying original seasons may not be the best isn’t really fair because for right now Druck is crushing their season. One of the most diverse squads I have seen ever and its touching on the topic of co-dependent addiction within a broken family home. I think we all have to be critical of wtfock because what they chose to do is beyond bad writing or a vapid main they are actually utilizing their platform to embolden blatant racial profiling during a time when a racially motivated crime is currently a huge topic within Belgium. So instead of writing a season educating people on racial profiling they chose to write a season that tries to excuse people who hold these beliefs by them simply saying “I am sorry. My bad”. In the words of Noa “your ignorance is lucrative”(talking about wtfock in that “your”). So yeah I am gonna come down on wtfock like a ton of breaks for putting such a dangerous idea out into the world but doesn't mean I cant love s2 & s3 but dislike s1 and hate with a passion s4. Like I said am a season person so my love for remakes isn't exclusive to everything they make. Each new season gets evaluated individually and so if wtfock crushes s5 then that may become my new no.1 sana remake even tho I still hate s4 with a passion.

[blackasmidnightcats]

QfG Rants and Remakes part 5

Big thanks to both @agathasarmy and @yarasquad for sharing their ideas with me and believing that I could actually make a coherent rant without being too swallowed up by my emotions and hopefully I'll be able to do the same here.

P.S. Imma change the title of the next Rants and Remakes cause it's definitely not focusing on QfG anymore and it's gonna focus of AWWP so yeah...there's that to look forward too.

Chaddick & Yara + Tagatha interlude

Note: This post was originally gonna be titled "Chaddick & Yara + Mourning the Departed" and would have turned out as how it is explained below but as I was writing about Chaddick I realized that I needed to talk about something concerning Tagatha and realized that this post would have been too long for all three so I gonna move the "Mourning of Departed" in its own post. Hope you guys understand. Tagatha has a strong pull with me.

Imma actually gonna outline this cause I need to organize my thoughts and at least with this I could remember the direction that I would be heading.

First part's definitely going to talk about how Chaddick and Yara's death is bs

Then imma explain why them staying alive would have impacted the TCY storyline a lot more meaningfully (p.s. this is where the Tagatha interlude will be found)

And last (and this has been moved to its own post so stay tuned for it), I would also like to nitpick Soman's obvious lack of thought when it comes to the characters that have departed (mainly Callis and Lady Lesso and August Sader) and how it should have affected the characters (mainly Sophie and Agatha)

How Chaddick and Yara could have helped the storyline better

WARNING: I realized while writing this that I kinda made Chaddick and Yara more flawed than they are writen because I have to think about their character growth and they can't have that without having any flaws. So expect some more drama with these two than needed as I share my thoughts on how their characters could have went. They get better in the end believe me.

So I think that everyone in the fandom is one with the idea that Chaddick's death was one of the MOST worst decisions that Soman made.

As @agathasarmy said it once, Chaddick's death is more frustrating than sad because of how out of nowhere it is.

Via @agathasarmy:

but… Chaddick??? dying??? IN THE BEGINNING OF THE SERIES????

IT DOESNT MAKE SENSE, AND THE ONLY WAY IT MAKE SENSE IS COS SOMAN OBVIOUSLY DID IT TO INTRODUCE RHIAN AND THATS THE SHITTIEST THING ABOUT IT

HE REDUCED CHADDICK’S DEATH AS A PLOT DOOR WITHOUT PROPERLY SUBSTANTIATING CHADDICK’S CHARACTER FIRST SO INSTEAD OF US TRULY MOURNING HIS LIFE WE’RE JUST LEFT WITH THIS HOLLOW FEELING OF WHAT HE COULD’VE BEEN AS AN INTEGRAL CHARACTER TO THE PLOT

THIS

Chaddick's death felt hollow because it was a PLOT DEVICE. It didn't (or at least Soman didn't) conscider Chaddick much of a character but a means and once this happens some deaths can be very very hollow.

Like his POV chapter was very hard to read all because especially once you find out that he's dead by the end of it (SHAME SOMAN, SHAME) because his story and plot had so much potential. We weren't able to properly feel sad about his lost because we didn't get to know him better.

It just feels tragic. So much potential lost, all because Soman wanted Tedros to feel vulnerable because he lost his close friend.

WHICH SOMAN DIDN'T REALLY NEED TO DO

I explained already why this is bull and I'm gonna explain later what could have happened for Chaddick's character.

But in summary on why Soman didn't need to do it: EXPECTATIONS

Chaddick and Tedros would have been stressed out with all the expectations and comparison with Arthur and Lancelot. One wrong move could have broke them apart easily.

But Soman could have also not wanted to deal with Chaddick against his Sophie obssession so there could be that too.

SHAME SOMAN

Now, Yara.

Our little Soft Girl

She should not have died.

She really shouldn't have

W h y ?

Because her being alive would have impacted the story more than her death ever did. Just like Chaddick.

And if the problem was what she could have affected in the storyline in TLEA, then she could have been on the sides like. . . as Tristan from time to time or something.

Her being alive would have not affected or change TLEA at all. Like if more important characters like the Coven and the League can fade into the background then so could she.

But I really don't imagine her being in the school for New Evil with Aric as Dean. No, maybe Yuba could have hidden her with the League and she could have accompanied Princess Uma when they were getting Tedros and Agatha and then accompanied the Leuge or something.

Really it would have been that simple. C'mon.

Plus Kiko has been reduced to wreck after that. At least, with Yara being alive she could have fixed herself a bit more.

Okay

So in summary again: CHADDICK AND YARA SHOULD NOT HAVE DIED AND SHAME ON SOMAN FOR KILLING THEM OFF

Now, let's get to the juicier part, what could these two have contributed to the TCY storyline.

On Chaddick

It's pretty obvious what Chaddick's role should have been. He should have been important to the plot because his role would have been about breaking the comparison between the Past and the Present (see Soman, it could have been integrated into your canon plot) between him, Tedros, and Agatha to Lancelot, Arthur, and Gwen.

I'm pretty sure that Camelot has its eyes on these three.

It's pretty freaking convenient that they all have a predecessor to be compared to. And I'm pretty sure that it's not just Camelot who notices the pattern. I mean the whole freaking Woods read about this affair.

So Chaddick, along with Tedros and Agatha, should have been the ones that break this chain. It could have symbolized that Camelot was entering into a new, better era after a similar relationship broke it.

Like, a King, his beloved Queen and his most trusted Knight brought hope but ended in a Tragedy.

Now, another King, his beloved Queen and his most trusted Knight are skeptically judged for having the same pattern and they instead bring the Glory that first trio didn't

With Tedros, Agatha, and Chaddick united with each other bringing Camelot out of its traumatic experience with Tedros's parents, Camelot finally accepting that these three are not the same as Arthur, Gwen, and Lance and fully supporting them DESPITE the fear, would have been a much stronger message of that 'the past doesn't always repeat itself.'

Because with Rhian being known and most propably remembered as Tedros's most trusted Knight and betraying him in the end, it's like a copy of what Lance technically did to Arthur.

It just further proved that Camelot's King would always be betrayed by the ones they trust most.

Sadly for Arthur, he was betrayed by both Gwen and Lance and they left him alone.

While Tedros still has Agatha but without Chaddick the lesson simply is not learned.

Chaddick was integral to this formula because Camelot would have had to face yet another propable tragedy for their beloved King in the hands of the people he loves. With Tedros, Agatha, and Chaddick, complete, proving that they could do better despite having just a strong a bond as what Arthur and co had and Camelot accepting and trsuting this, the previous wounds would be replaced with new Hope.

Because even if that whole affair happened and ruined the Kingdom, at least they have proof that it's not always gonna happen that way.

And that's why Rhian being remembered as Tedros's Knight hurts this idea. Cause he betrayed him too.

Anyway, hopefully I made my point with this legacy thing.

Plus Chaddick and Arthur's Round Table training him. WHY SOMAN WHY?!?!?!

And now, imma explain what I think should have happened with Chaddick and how his character development and his role should have played out.

Because Chaddick is a pretty well rounded character, his POV chapter proves that he's brave, and is willing to die for his friends and what's right, and there isn't really much flaws to him aside from that he can sometimes make the most worst decisions despite being pretty wise.

I honestly cannot tell if he is stupid sometimes or Soman just does this to him cause PLOT.

Fandom I need help with this. Give me some opinions.

Like. . . he's wise enough to know what was right, examples being warning Tedros about Sophie and the first to listen to Agatha in AWWP, but also dumb or ignorant enough to bully Agatha in Book 1 and that VERY IMPORTANT THING ABOUT completely ABUSING Tedros is AWWP.

Like I'm kinda confused with him.

Well maybe we can say that he's a bit ignorant and maybe was raised with privilege so that's why he bullied Agatha in Book 1 and kinda wisened up in Book 2 about her.

But I am not excusing his attitude towards Tedros in AWWP because that was messed up. Well, AWWP was messed up so there is that but if we have to acknowledge that mess and have some closure then I vote for it to come from Chaddick and Yara.

Like maybe the reason why Chaddick is more wise now is because of that very experience. Maybe he could still be a bit guilty about it and that kinda messes with his mind cause he still thinks that Tedros is still the same boy those years ago in their second year and Rhian uses this to his advantage.

Actually, thinking about it this makes so much sense.

Like instead of AGATHA having the trust issues (thought I wouldn't completely vanish it, just not at the same level as she does in canon) it's CHADDICK that has them. Cause he's always kinda gets haunted by what happened in AWWP.

I mean Tedros replaced him with ARIC of all people when he failed to retrieve Agatha. There has to be some animosity between them since. I can imagine that Chaddick kinda felt like him and Tedros could never be as close as when they were during their first year. And he would totally understand it if Tedros never really forgave him for what happened and was at peace with it even if he didn't have enough guts to find a closure for it. He'd respect his friend first and foremost.

But then comes Tedros, all fine and inviting him to be his Knight like that would mess Chaddick up.

He propably couldn't believe it at first and maybe even kindly refused the offer at first but then he sees the heart break in Tedros's face and Chaddick realizes that Tedros really wanted this.

Tedros still sees Chaddick as his closest friend despite what happened in AWWP. And maybe after some thinking, Chaddick realizes that he still wants to have the bond with Tedros like what they had in Book 1. So he accepts.

But of course, they've changed and Chaddick still gets eaten by guilt because I think that he's the kind of person that knows that he did something wrong and wants to repent for it.

So instead of that wise friend that Tedros had in Book 1, Chaddick can't trust his judgement about Tedros because he's scared he'd go too far. So he kinda just agrees to Tedros's ideas and doesn't really give advice. Tedros kinda notices this and tries to talk to Chaddick about it but Chaddick would be all formal to him. Tedros, I don't really know, would think that it would be for his sake with the comparison with Arthur and Lance and all. So he kinda just goes along with it.

It's messy right now guys, I know, I'm kinda butchering Chaddick's character here but I promise it gets better and in my mind he'd be like this for only Book 4. He'd be Wise Chaddick again right after. Just give me a chance to explain.

So they have this kind of miscommunication thing that Canon Tagatha had in QfG instead and that would have made so much more sense and here's why;

Warning: this is officially where the Tagatha interlude starts so if you wanna skip it (why though???) find the sign that states it's the end. It's gonna be in pink too.

The fact that Tagatha was having a miscommunication failure was kinda off with me because 1) they've been over this in AWWP and TLEA. In TLEA Tedros has absolutely no problem with pushing Agatha to share more when she wouldn't and 2) he could easily read her like a book, especially when it counts. Like he could get her favorite food wrong but he always seemed to know what Agatha was having trouble with and was there to help her out and is not afraid to call her out on it (i.e. the Cinderella thing, he was on point there)

Imma provide some examples of Tedros totally getting Agatha when it counts;

AND THIS

AND THIS TOO

WAIT THERE IS MORE (The Tagatha Moment)

AND LET US NOT FORGET

THIS IS WHY TLEA TAGATHA WILL ALWAYS BE BEST TAGATHA.

I get that Agatha's insecure about herself and maybe she was kinda influenced with the Excalibur thing (but I highly doubt it though) but it's no reason for her to get to the conclusion she did at the end of QfG.

I mean girl, you were always thinking that Tedros would be a Great King in TLEA and that's why you've been so insecure about yourself. WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT???

Someone call me out on this PLEASE. I'm hurting myself by judging her too hard.

I can imagine that she would be sceptical with Tedros's ideas and kinda doubting him about it (you guys have no idea how much it hurts typing this) but I can also imagine that she would never doubt that Tedros's heart is in the right place even if she thinks that the way he gets there isn't always the best.

Like we have literal proof that Tedros gets Agatha almost like Sophie does and the best thing is that I'm sure that Tedros would think of the best in mind.

The mess in QfG makes no sense because they should be over this miscommunication bs and it should not have been a thing.

And if it was because of the stress with Excalibur and his responsibilities as King that made Tedros suddenly not get Agatha then WTF Soman!?!?!? I did not ask for this. They were literally about to die in TLEA and yet they could still joke and tease each other and have these cute little scenes with the other.

Instead I got Rhian's b*tch ass being Tedros's therapists when he knows sh*t about this boy and Agatha doubting Tedros like he did something horrible. (Well he did for trusting Rhian but i digress)

I could have had more of these cute Tagatha scenes instead. Like, is it too much to ask for these two to just show their love for each other in other ways than "I will save you" and "You're the best thing ever and I don't want to lose you for this horrible thing that I did or say" like give me small softer moments anytime.

Tedros gently teasing Agatha when she's being difficult and Agatha being totally trying not to show that she's smitten over it.

Agatha trying to be romantic at the most outrageous moments and Tedros being like "?????" but totally finding it cute.

Other character just not getting these two when they do and they are just as confused.

These are the kind of scenes I wanted from them. And if I have to use Chaddick to get it then so be it. (I'm sorry about this, I'm mostly projecting at this point and these really affecting my personal opinions on this matter but I'll try to tone it down a bit so that it's still coherent)

Note: this is the official end of the Tagatha interlude but i'm not keeping any promises that it'll be the last

Anyways, Chaddick and Tedros, they have more reasons with having communication problems because;

They have not been together for a very long time and they've both propably changed since

AWWP. So far, the two of them have had horrible experiences as the last thing that they remember about each other.

As I explained, I headcanon that Chaddick has a somewhat formed a sort of PSTD with it and is very scared that he's gonna mess it up.

I'm not even going to try to explain the PSTD thing cause I feel like I'm not gonna do it justice but I hope you get what I mean.

Chaddick must have become more unsure of himself after AWWP and he must still be trying to fit this new Tedros with the old one that he used to hang out with in Book 1. It would have been a good comparison to show that Tedros has indeed change and grown since then.

Like Chaddick kinda feels like he needs to intervene when Tedros shares a very outrageous suggestion but doesn't know how and kinda ends up in a mess.

Basically imagine Tagatha's problems in QfG and apply to Tedros and Chaddick instead.

And Chaddick would have been suspiscious about Rhian from the beginning. He's a smart savy guy afterall.

So Rhian kinda exploits this and gets the two boys against each other. Because say that Tedros and Chaddick have this big fight propably like the one when Agatha comments that Tedros was being a horrible king but Chaddick's the one that said it instead. Say that this happens around the middle of the Book and it's the final straw between them because they haven't been properly communicating and all the pressure on them. Rhian could easily worm his way to Tedros's side and replace Chaddick nicely. Cause unlile Chaddick, Rhian would make Tedros believe that HE'S the one that believes in him the most.

So they kinda fall apart and Chaddick and Tedros are trying to understand where it all went wrong.

Agatha would try to understand each side and get them to better terms again but she can't do it alone plus a-hole Rhian is butting in.

I imagine that, for me, the logical person that Chaddick might approach on his dilema with Tedros might be Ravan.

Cause the two of them basically think the same way and are usually calm and wise. The only difference would be that Chaddick's more active while Ravan's more passive and choses to observe before making a move. So he calms Chaddick down when he's being too impatient.

Chaddick and Agatha would be talking of course. And I don't know why but I imagine that they're more numb to all the gossip about the three of them especially around each other because they're both sort of level headed and wise then when they're with Tedros individually.

And I imagine this is where the Tagatha drama happens. Only after Rhian cause I wanna be clear that without him, Tagatha would have been fine. He also tries to break them up by saying that Agatha sides with Chaddick and that she doesn't have much faith in Tedros too.

Agatha's going to deny this of course (because it's all bs from Rhian) but Tedros has been too stressed and vulnerable that he sorta starts to believe it and Agatha gets frustrated that Tedros is choosing to believe Rhian when she's known him longer and after everything that they've been through.

But Tedros isn't fully under Rhian's spell. I would have put several times when they would doubt each other especially when Rhian talks crap about Agatha and Chaddick and it would be beserk button for Tedros so Rhian doesn't really go there.

Now Chaddick would be having his little personal battle with himself and Ravan and Agatha would be there to support him and give some advice.

The real kicker would have been when Rhian is adored by Camelot as Tedros's Treasured Knight, someone better than Lancelot and Chaddick kinda has a heartbreaking moment because HE'S supposed to be the one that was known as Tedros's Treasured Knight not this stranger. Not this stranger that stole everything from him especially his best friend.

Agatha hears about this and reflects the time when she gave up her own position as Tedros's queen in TLEA and remembers that Tedros knows her and all her monsters and has been the light to help her fight them.

So she and Chaddick have this talk and she tries to concinve him that Tedros wouldn't want for Chaddick to just give up on him like that. Chaddick thinks about it but is still not completely convinced but Agatha reminds him that Tedros CHOOSE HIM to be his Knight and Liege and they both have to fight for it.

It's Ravan who finally manages to get Chaddick to gear when he asks Chaddick if he's going to regret anything he should choose to either regret letting Tedros go and not fighting for their friendship or make a complete idiot of himself but fight for their friendship instead.

So Chaddick does the latter but everything is too late and the Rhian thing happens as I explained in the first Rants and Remakes post and Chaddick gets tossed into jail with Tedros.

It's in book 5 that I imagine their relationship actually starts to heal itself and they both try to get through everything. I haven't thought of all the kinks out yet but I imagine a lot of fights and Chaddick just kinda shouting what he thinks before he startsvthe regret it and Tedros being this physic and just getting Chaddick too like how he does Agatha.

Again, I haven't thought of everything yet but I'll share it when I do

Now let's move on to Yara

On Yara

Yara would have been more influencial alive then dead and I already explained why how she could have been handled in TLEA cause where I really see exploiting her is in the storyline of TCY.

With the Balance vs Chaos in mind as well as the Lady of the Lake villainess plotline, Yara could have been the answer to this.

She'd be a living reminder of everything that all the characters went through in AWWP and how horribly toxic it is to everyone. Especially those like Yara who lives in the between.

Like with the Lady plotline she would have promoted ultimate purity for both Good and Evil and doesn't believe that each side could be able to understand each other so she thinks that she's promoting Balance that way and that letting each side corrupt the other is Chaos.

She would have believed that Yara is an abomination to the Balance because she is the embodiment of the idea that you can choose some charcteristic from two sides and still be yourself.

Plus with Yara alive the other characters would be forced to rethink their ideals and how to approach this new possibility and reflect on the old ways that have been hurting the ones that are similar to her.

I imagine that Yara's gonna have an internal struggle with this like she's still trying to understand it herself and as she tries to understand it the more that the other characters do as well.

I haven't actually thought out her actual detailed storyline just yet and even though I wanna say more I know that I might butcher her character as I go on but I definitely know her importance to the possible story.

As I explained before, if in TSY was Good VS Evil and that the TCY was about Good AND Evil and how both sides need each other to grow and develop and that the importance of the School still teaching Good and Evil in its most purest form is so that they'd all have a guideline to go by but the curriculum has become more flexible with their beliefs OF Good and Evil and that every student just have shades of grey but choses to go by these either of the two and can still be a Hero or a Villain then Yara could have been the right person to show that it doesn't matter if your not completely on one side and was given the characteristics of the other, it matters what values you choose to follow despite it and how tou choose to use it to help everyone else for the better.

Cause it's canon already that it doesn't matter what they are, it's what they do that counts.

NGL I'm not completely satisfied with how I explained Chaddick and Yara I feel like I didn't do them justice here and I will definitely get back to this when I have organized and fleshed out my thoughts on them

Anyways, if you guys would like to add your own thoughts to this post pls do.

[sol1056]

Okay so i'm really confused. Who pitched the idea for the Voltron reboot? Did they write the original story or was that someone else? Who's writing the story now? Like i get that there is more than one person working on the story but like to take someone's vision of their story and to just throw it in the trash is just kinda fucked up ya know? I wouldn't want to work with a network if they're gonna screw over something I came up with.

It’s not a simple picture since there’s a lot of history. There’s three parts, behind the cut: who wrote the original story (vs the original-original), who pitched the idea for a voltron reboot, who’s writing the story now, and the issue of revisions. 

I must have at least three pages of asks that talk about Hedrick’s story and how the EPs butchered it… and I recently stumbled over something that made a few pieces click together. So, if you sent me an ask about Hedrick’s story and what he’d planned, you might want to read, ‘cause this answers a lot of your questions.

who created voltron

Back in the early 80s, the Koplar brothers purchased a license from Toei’s back catalog, and adapted/cut/rearranged the original GoLion into an American-only version called Voltron. GoLion hadn’t been much of a hit in Japan; it was kinda behind the curve. When the Koplars adapted it, Voltron was a huge enough hit in the US to warrant a second season, requiring new footage from scratch (mixed in with re-used stuff from the original season). 

The sequel (using a completely different anime from Toei’s back catalog) didn’t do anywhere as well. The planned third part was never made. Since then, there’s been reboots, comic books, idk what else. 

who pitched the idea

Long story short, Universal purchased a bundled archive of licenses. These are collected existing properties they could redevelop – anything from some no-name, one-season, failed cartoons to ones that were popular once and since forgotten. Voltron was one of those properties.

I doubt anyone pitched the idea, formally. More like, the execs saw Voltron in the pack and chose it for a reboot/remake. All they needed was staff to do it, so they interviewed potential showrunners. Around that time, JDS had pitched his idea for a Streetfighter cartoon. DW TV passed on JDS’ pitch, and instead offered him the position as EP of what would become the VLD reboot. 

(An aside: JDS and LM both talk up how much they loved Voltron as kids, but in early interviews they admit neither could remember for certain who Voltron’s ‘real’ leader was — Keith or Sven — all the way up to starting their interview with the execs.) 

who wrote the version we have now 

I’ve been operating under the assumption that as the story editor, Hedrick had a major influence on the story. I’ve also noted in several different posts that S1/S2 feels like a completely different story, in more ways than one:

As the story moved into the split-seasons, it’s clear that whomever lent that guiding hand in S1/S2 was no longer present. Someone else’s fingerprints are on S3, and my guess is it’s mostly Hedrick, at least on the script-level. The word choices change, the cadences change, the beats change. From S3 on, VLD has all the hallmarks of a muddy vision. 

A few days ago, I was researching for another ask and came across this:

On-screen, a “producer” credit for a TV series will generally be given to each member of the writing staff who made a demonstrable contribution to the final script. The actual producer of the show (in the traditional sense) is listed under the credit “produced by”.

According to IMDB, these are VLD’s  executive producers:

Joaquim Dos Santos  (63 episodes, 2016-2018)Lauren Montgomery (63 episodes, 2016-2018)Jae-Myung Yoo (24 episodes, 2016-2017)Robert Koplar (23 episodes, 2016-2017)Ted Koplar (23 episodes, 2016-2017)

We’ve been assuming Hedrick steered a large part of the story. If that were so, though, Hedrick should also have EP credits. He doesn’t. The Koplars have EP credit ‘cause they created the original Voltron. JDS and LM are on there, as showrunners. 

And then there’s this guy Jae-Myung Yoo. He’s done key animation, directing, and storyboards. He has a handful of executive producer credits, mostly for single episodes. Yoo left VLD in 2016, and joined Big Fish & Begonia as a co-producer. 

I think we just found the voice that steered the first two seasons, and whose departure left the story without a clear vision. 

Yoo doesn’t have any writing credentials, but his resume goes all the way back to Gargoyles in 1995. He doesn’t have to be a writer to be a storyteller, after all; there are different ways and methods of telling stories. My guess is Yoo’s a respected directorial voice around Studio Mir, understands how a story flows, and most importantly was probably a trusted voice after working with Ryu, JDS, and LM on AtLA and LoK. 

We’re left with one of two options: Hedrick stuck to the Yoo-created outline, rewriting and rearranging as the EPs shifted tracks, and the majority of the story’s direction since S2 has been from JDS and LM. Or Hedrick did have a substantial impact from S3 on, and JDS/LM refused to grant Hedrick the proper credit for that level of contribution.  

the issue of revisions

Television’s a wacky environment. It’s somewhere between collaboration and sheer hell, especially if you don’t come with major credentials (ie, your name is not Guillermo del Toro). 

Here’s how it starts: the showrunners, any other EPs, the writers, the senior writer/head editor/story editor (title depends on seniority), production assistants, writing assistants, and other producers will gather and brainstorm the story, and come up with a synopsis for the story’s outline. When the execs approve the synopsis (after probably a round or two of feedback), the expands the synopsis into a full outline of the entire story. 

The writers set about writing the script, which are sent to various execs for their feedback. The execs send their feedback — called ‘notes’ — to the showrunner. These are usually a jumble of responses (and a lot apparently tends to be personal taste, too), and also often contradictory. It’s the EP’s job to relay the exec response to the writers’ room, and make sure things get changed so the execs are happy. 

The EP (and the writers) must do a delicate balancing act, between budget, story, and sheer insanity like one exec demanding a scene be cut and another exec thinking the scene should not only stay, but be expanded. Or insisting on specific pairing endgames (or lack thereof). Or — as seems to have plagued VLD — saying the story is too dark and ‘needs more humor,’ which the EPs appear to have interpreted as ‘do more filler episodes that have no plot relevance.’ 

The first thing to remember is that most execs are not intentionally malicious. They will ask for too much, and they often have their own agendas, but their goal is a hit, not wasting a bazillion dollars for no gain. If you look at the credentials for decision-level execs at Dreamworks, every single one came up through the ranks: they’ve directed, produced, some were also animators, and at least one did either acting or voice acting. They’ve been doing this for awhile. My advice to any wannabe-EPs (or writers) would be that when an exec says, “kids are going to be bored stiff with this scene,” listen. I’m not saying automatically change it, just give it a fair listen. 

Collaboration is hard. It takes patience and good listening skills and empathy for the people on the other side of the table. It takes a willingness to bargain and enough strength to be vulnerable, and a whole lot of honesty about your own reasonings for wanting one thing or another. 

Stories created in the high-pressure hot-house environment of a collaborative group are a very different critter than one-author novels: no one person owns the story. Not everyone wants to sign up for sharing that creative process, and that’s fine, too. We do need books with good stories as much as we need shows and movies with good stories. 

Just color me seriously unimpressed when someone in a collaborative storytelling process constantly snarks about exec meddling. I have no sympathy: they signed up for this. If their creativity is so fragile it’s threatened by feedback, they need to find a different medium, ‘cause the collaborative world of television production is probably not the best fit.