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stranger-who-writes-fiction · 4 years ago

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Gonna make full use of my ‘comic rant’ tag and roast Future State: Superwoman.

Spoilers! And yelling! Of the disgruntled kind!

So a few things at the start here: 1.) I wanted to love this book. I wanted it to be great. I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt, in spite of some iffy stuff in the solicit text. So this rant is not coming from a place of having decided this was going to be awful ahead of time. 2.) My tolerance for bad Supergirl comics is pretty high! Takes a lot for me to actually come out and say that a particular issue is trash. Reader: This story is trash.

It’s not ‘middle-aged white guys writing/drawing a story about sending a minor to a potentially hostile planet fully nude’ trash, mind you. It’s the compost bin, rather than the landfill. Slightly nicer trash, but it still stinks to high heaven. Allow me to expand!

PROLOGUE - SUMMARY: ...I actually can’t summarize this comic b/c it would devolve into a lot of senseless yelling. We’ll just have to tease out this terrible plot as we go along.

PART I - DEAD DOGS TELL BAD TALES: The comic opens with Kara standing at Krypto’s grave. That’s not why this comic is trash, but it bears mentioning. Because why. Why would you do this.

PART II - IN WHICH IT ONLY GETS WORSE: So, Kara has a running inner monologue, and the main thing we gather from Kara’s thoughts is that it was Krypto who taught her to be a hero. On paper, that sounds very sweet! In practice, it reads as Kara having no moral center whatsoever—whatever good qualities she might possess, she did not learn from her parents, or her foster parents, or friends, or fellow heroes. Nor do they come from within Kara herself. Nope, t’was Krypto who taught Kara not to be a jealous rage monster. That is not hyperbole--Kara’s walking around angry about her cousin all the time and she’s like, ‘It was you, Krypto, who taught me not to judge, and to let go of anger.’ Listen, I love Krypto, but this? This is, as the youth would say, a bad look.

PART III - THOSE CERTAINLY ARE...SOME THEMES: The set-up here is that Kara is on the moon, and has established a sanctuary for alien refugees. That’s a dynamite idea! I love that! Buuuuut Kara didn’t look at the plight of alien refugees and say, ‘I want to help!’ Really, she didn’t even look at herself and say, ‘I don’t want others to feel like I’ve felt.’ No, she said, ‘Earth won’t accept me as a hero, and Clark didn’t name me protector of Earth, so. I’m out!’ (Honestly, if your moral compass is so whack that you need a dog to walk you back from Hulk-Smashing...can’t say I blame Clark for not picking you, Kara!) But apparently, the people on the moon don’t really like her either. And it is literally never explained why. There’s a whole montage of Kara fixing stuff and saving lives and all the moon folk just glare at her. This makes both the moon people AND Kara look like a**holes, because they come across as ungrateful, and she comes across as a glory hound. Thanks! I hate it! So the ‘peace’ Kara’s found on the moon isn’t really peaceful at all, cause she still resents her cousin, and people still don’t like her, in spite of the fact that she’s constantly performing acts of service for them.

Also, side note, I’m just now realizing this is an entire population of alien refugees...and Kara is somehow still the odd one out. Like, Earth I get, because everyone else is a human and maybe freaked out by the super powers. But a bunch of aliens? WHY. Why did you do this. Why did this need to be set on the moon with alien refugees if you’re not going to interrogate Kara’s identity as an alien refugee herself AND all of the aliens are inexplicably humanoid in appearance and utterly ordinary in terms of power levels.

Like. This is not the CW show, where they have a budget, and a huge ensemble cast to serve. YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE. AAARRRRRGHHHH.

PART III CONT’D: There’s also this weird ‘birthright’ element introduced...like, Clark and Jon stole Kara’s ‘right’ to be earth’s defender which is...a terrible reading of Kara’s modern origin. It brings in the idea that Kara is a ‘chosen one’ and because she didn’t get to be that chosen one, all of her hero work is for nothing. Never mind the whole central conceit of what makes Clark and Kara heroic...that they have this incredible power, and choose to do good with it. Nah...it’s all about her ‘right’ to protect the people of Earth! And mean ol’ Clark took that away! THANKS. I HATE IT.

PART IV - A POOR USE OF SPACE: So, all of the Future State books kind of struggle with the issue of too much exposition, which is understandable. They have to introduce an entirely new status quo in a very limited amount of literal page space, so you *really* have to have a handle on how you allocate your time and focus.

Introducing a brand new, lore-heavy heroic character who gets all of the development and dynamic art and pulls focus away from the character you’re meant to be writing is a bad use of a two issue limited series.

Like, this is a crappy Supergirl comic but it’s a great backdoor pilot for a Lynari ongoing, I guess.

Imagine if in the Jon Superman book, they introduced a random, brand new best friend for Jon, and he got the big character arc instead of Jon. That’s something you save for an arc in an ongoing title, NOT A TWO ISSUE EVENT COMIC.

Back to said new character, there’s a lot of forced attempts to parallel Kara and Lynari, but Lynari’s backstory is so confusing, rushed, and poorly explained that it’s like: okay, they’re both...angry? And the moon jerks hate them? ...uh. Okay.

(I’m gonna bring back my ‘why is this set on the moon, even’ question so that my ‘poor use of space’ header becomes a better joke.)

PART V - I'M HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO...B/C THERE SURE AIN’T ONE HERE: I’ve already mentioned that Krypto was apparently Kara’s conscience so when Lynari’s aunt arrives to...kill them? (again, everything about Lynari’s backstory is rushed and poorly explained) Kara gets real mad and basically pulls a Gothel: ‘You want me to be the bad guy? Fine! Now I’m the bad guy.’ But thank goodness Lynari is there to tell Kara no! Don’t murder the giant aunt eel! Lynari then steals Kara’s powers and gives up the swamp jewel that’s been hidden inside their body and now their aunt is less murder-y!

WOW. Couldn’t even give the big damn hero moment to Kara in her own book, huh?

So the day is saved. It takes Kara a while to regain her powers, and it’s only then, when she’s no longer ‘above’ the moon jerks, that they’re like, ‘oh, we like her!’ There is a bit of narration about how that attitude is awful. But that narration is provided by Lynari. See, the inner monologue is no longer Kara’s thoughts, but rather it has switched to Lynari’s point of view. They’re telling us this story. And do you know why?

PART VI - WHY THIS COMIC *SUCKS*: KARA DIES. SHE’S THE FRIGGIN’ ‘SECOND GRAVE’ OF THE TITULAR ‘TWO GRAVES’

Fudge this comic to heck.

See, Kara dies on the moon, presumably of old age. She’s buried next to Krypto. And this random character who we’re suddenly supposed to care about tells us her story. Not Clark. Not the Danvers. Not Brainy. Not even one of the supporting cast members from her solo title. No one from Kara’s life is mentioned at all, save for Jon and Clark, and they’re pretty much relegated to flashbacks of Kara punching them.

PART VII - TIME TO COMPARE DEATHS, I GUESS: First and foremost can I just say that I hate that’s a sentence that I’m typing about Kara in the year of our lord, 2021. But okay: Kara’s big famous death in Crisis stopped the entire DC universe cold. Everyone paused in the middle of the destruction of the multiverse to mourn her loss and honor her (GENUINELY HEROIC) sacrifice. Clark and Barbara--two established characters with a strong connection/relationship to Kara--offered lovely eulogies.

This one: Kara gets to die of old age in obscurity after a lifetime of striving to be recognized and only achieving it by de-powering and serving a population of jerks.

Not the warm and fuzzy ending you think it is!

(Meanwhile, Clark lives for millennia and spawns an entire dynasty of Els, all of ‘em out there, protecting the cosmos. I was looking forward to House of El in the hopes of maybe seeing some Kara stuff but NOPE. Thanks to Superwoman, we’re probably not gonna see any future Kara stuff beyond this! G R E A T)

And like, the argument could be made that this ending makes Kara happy. This is the life she chooses! She wants to be alone and garden on the moon! Except, we get zero insight from Kara regarding the remainder of her life. We only have Lynari’s narration and some montage shots...nearly all of which focus on other characters. But honestly, even if we did get Kara’s side of things, I doubt it would shed much light on her feelings, bEEECAUSE...

PART VIII - SUPER BLAND: This Kara really has no personality outside of ‘detached and vaguely bitter.’ I like Sauvage, I think she’s an incredibly talented artist, but here, Kara is stiff and her expression often reads as aloof. She’s very pretty, but it comes at the expense of being expressive. (And I know Sauvage can do expressive stuff...because Lyanari gets to be expressive.) Like...I love that shojo manga vibe but this is a Kara devoid of spark and warmth.

...Like...Melissa Benoist’s portrayal of Kara is right there...

I’ve already sort of touched on this but her inner monologue doesn’t have much personality either. She’s just parroting the same, ‘I need to do as Krypto taught me!’ nonsense for both issues. Until, of course, we shift to Lynari’s narration, and lose Kara’s thread entirely.

PART IX - LET’S WRAP THIS UP: This book frustrates me to no end because it had a lot of stuff going for it. It’s got a female writer and artist--still a rarity for the Supergirl book--it’s a limited series mostly free of continuity and character baggage, and it’s not tied down to the grimdark cyberpunk stuff happening in the Gotham books. YOU COULD’VE DONE ANYTHING. And, once again, DC goes with a pitch that’s: Kara is angry, Kara resents Clark...and Kara dies.

It’s also happening...right as Kara has no dedicated ongoing title, the movie’s been shelved, the TV show is entering its sixth and final season, and all promotion has shifted to new CW and HBO shows.

*screams into the void*

MAAAAAAN I hate this book. I hate that it retroactively makes me hate the Andreyko run a little bit--a run that I took to be about a traumatized young woman forced to confront her grief, and who leans on a beloved animal companion for comfort. Here, Krypto is L I T E R A L L Y the reason Kara’s not constantly frying folks with her heat vision.

I hate that this book has made me use the word ‘literally’ so much in this rant.

I hate that this could possibly be more in continuity than Millennium.

Remember Millennium? Where Kara was in like...five pages? And she was warm, and kind, and promised to help Rose because it was the right thing to do, and oh yes, WAS PRESIDENT OF EARTH?!??! AND A CLASSY OLD LADY!?!?!?!?! WHO WAS STILL ALIVE AND KICKIN’ IN THE FAR FLUNG FUTURE!?!?!?!?!

I hate that I’m using my lunch hour to rant about how much I hate this comic.

I hate that DC editorial seems hell-bent on erasing the interesting aspects of Kara’s character to sand her down to ‘the angry one’ or ‘Batman 2.0′

PART X - LET’S END ON SOME (?) POSITIVES: Don’t read this book! Don’t do it! Don’t waste your time and money!

Instead, check out ANYTHING ELSE. If you want mom!Kara, read Tom Taylor’s ‘Last Daughters of Krypton’ in the DC Nuclear Winter special. If you want heroic oldlady!Kara, read Millennium. Honestly? Pick up anything by Bendis that has Supergirl in it. It is miles away better than this. You want angry Kara working through her grief? Andreyko, Red Lantern, even Infected. ANYTHING BUT THIS. HECK, grab Superman of Metropolis instead! That has bad Kara characterization but at least she doesn’t end up dead.

Anyways. This comic is bad. I wish it wasn’t! And this is now the SECOND TIME IN A ROW that Kara’s book ends on a terrible note before the character disappears from monthly comics for an unknown period of time.

*screams into the void again*

#SG post #future state #future state superwoman #comic rant #and oh it is a RANT

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whitewolfofwinterfell · 5 years ago

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No rush, but if you're in the mood for another question: pick your one favorite and least favorite season of each of these series :) Charmed, BtVS, Angel, Friends, TVD. I know it's hard to pick just one favorite and one least favorite, so good luck ;)

Charmed

Favourite season: Season 4

What can I say about this season? It’s just brilliant. Although Prue is my favourite character, the aftermath of her death, introduction of Paige and transition to a new trio is handled brilliantly. I love the different dynamic that Paige brings to the show and how Piper and Phoebe’s worlds are completely turned upside down by losing Prue and finding Paige. I love getting to know Paige in episodes like A Knight to Remember and A Paige From the Paige, I adore seeing the process of Piper accepting Prue’s death and embracing Paige and their magic in episodes like Hell Hath No Fury and Lost and Bound. And despite the controversy surrounding the Cole/Source plot, I enjoyed Phoebe’s arc in this season with adapting to becoming the middle sister, getting married and pregnant and suffering the most life-changing, soul-destroying losses imaginable. We even got a Leo-centric episode with Saving Private Leo which finally gave us insight into Leo’s past. Season 4 is a consistently strong season in my opinion (albiet with a weak finale) and episodes like Charmed Again, Hell Hath No Fury, Charmed and Dangerous and Long Live the Queen are some of the most memorable episodes of the series for me. You can read more about why I love season 4 here.

Least favourite season: Season 8

This season is so weak. The show could’ve (and probably should’ve) ended with season 7 so the whole season suffers from a complete lack of direction. All of the characters have already gone full circle with their arcs and development so there’s nowhere new to take them. As a result, they all feel watered down. Phoebe and Paige lose all of their personality and spark, whilst Piper is reduced to a stereotype where her snark and sarcasm is taken to unnecessary levels. Billie and Christy are poor villains for the final show-down and neither actress fits within the show. They steal too much focus from the sisters and since it’s the final season this is the season that should be all about the sisters. In addition, there’s a complete lack of sisterly moments in this season, Darryl is absent and Leo is removed for a large part of the season. Not to mention, Paige and Henry and Phoebe and Coop are rushed romances established simply to give Phoebe and Paige their “happily ever after” for the season finale. Even the final episode is pretty weak. Whilst I appreciate the happy ending, it all seems cheesy and too good to be true, and it’s way too Piper-centric and lacks balance. You can read more about why season 8 is my least favourite here.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Favourite season: Season 2

This season is a solid and a really great season. We have Spike and Drusilla as the best villanous pairing in teleivision history, a brilliant two-parter with a dramatic twist in Surprise and Innocence, the Angelus arc which I never get tired of watching and a strong ending with The Becoming Part 1 and 2. For Passion alone this season deserves to take the number 1 spot, but my love for Angel/Angelus (and Bangel) only adds to how much I love the season.

Least favourite season: Season 7

Whenever I rewatch BTVS, I rarely make it through the final season. It’s just not a good season. I don’t like the direction Buffy and Spike’s relationship is taken in, I dislike the introduction of the Potential Slayers, the after-math of Willow’s dark arc is handled poorly, the Willow/Kennedy romance is rushed and completely forced, The First is a poor final villain to end the series with particularly following villains like the Mayor, Angelus, Spike and Dru. All of the supporting characters (Willow, Xander, Anya, Dawn etc.) are pushed aside and given no real arcs or development. Overall this season is completely forgettable and a very weak end to a brilliant series.

Angel

Favourite season: Season 2

Ah, it’s so hard to choose because it’s a toss-up between season 2 and 3. At this present moment, I’m going to go with season 2. I love Darla’s arc in this season and her dynamic with Angel, it’s also so satisfying to see Dru and Darla wreak havoc together. Angel gets pushed to arguably the darkest place he’s ever been (up until this point) and I love seeing him lose all faith in the world, life and humanity only to then have an epiphany where his entire perspective shifts and he gets absolute clarity. Seeing Cordy, Wes and Gunn go off on their own is great, I love their dynamic and how strong they are in this season. This is also the final season that features Kate, who I really like and think is very underrated. There’s a lot of focus on other minor characters who I love such as Lilah and Lindsey. This is also the season that we get the newest additions to Angel Investigations: Lorne and Fred. Honestly, the end of this season really lets it down for me, but the beginning and middle is so strong with Darla and Angel that it always sits near the top as my favourite season.

Least favourite season: Season 4

This probably won’t come as a surprise to any Angel fans reading this. Season 4 is undoubtedly the worst season of the series. It takes a beautiful, complex, well-developed character in Cordy and completely decimates her. Everything that she is and that fans love her for is stripped away, her agency is removed and she’s hijacked by an evil being who uses her body to commit horrendous acts. Seeing Cordy!Jasmine sleep with Connor will always make me feel physically sick. For Angel to have to witness that and endure the pain of seeing the woman he loves having sex with his adolescent son is disgusting. Overall, the treatment of Cordy and Connor in this season makes me so uncomfortable. Fred and Gunn’s relationship is dismantled to make way for Fred and Wesley, which in my opinion is by far the weaker ship. Even the appearance of Angelus and Faith later on in the season doesn’t make up for the rest of the season. Losing Cordy and Lilah are huge losses that also make this season my least favourite.

Friends

Favourite season: Season 3

This is a great season. Whilst every season of Friends is generally a mixed bag in terms of the quality of episodes, season 3 is pretty consistent. The ensemble feels at its strongest in this season and every episode gives focus to the group as a whole. Ross and Rachel’s relationship is great in this season and their break-up is genuinely heart-breaking; we have Janice this season who I find highly entertaining; Monica and Richard’s relationship which I enjoy (despite being a Mondler shipper) and of course, the chick and duck. Despite this being a sitcom, all of the characters go through genuine development in this season too. Joey gets to experience what it’s like to be on the other side of things when he falls for Kate who plays around with his feelings; Chandler navigates his first serious relationship with Janice where he has to try and overcome his fear of commitment and later deal with the hurt of their break-up; Monica deals with the loss of her first great love in Richard and has to reconsider what she wants from her future; Rachel progresses in her career and tries to establish her own identity and independence for the first time; Ross has to face up to the damage his relationship with Carol has done to him in regards to his jealousy and insecurity. It’s rare that we see character development like this in a sitcom, but season 3 is definitley a strong season for this. There are so many golden episodes from this season: TOW No One’s Ready, TOW the Flashback, TOW the Football and TOW the Morning After.

Least favourite season: Season 9

Lets get this straight, there’s no such thing as a bad season of Friends, however, this is the weasest season in my opinion. I don’t like Chandler’s move to Tulsa, the direction Ross and Rachel’s relationship takes, how Rachel’s feelings for Joey are handled and the two parter TO in Barbados is my least favourite season finale, I really, really don’t like those episodes. I also find that there are quite a lot of episodes in this season that are just plain bad and not funny like TOW the Sharks, TOW Phoebe’s rats and TOW Monica sings just to name a few. Overall, there’s not a single season 9 episode that I could name as being a favourite or even coming close to being on my top favourite episodes list.

The Vampire Diaries

Favourite season: Season 3

This is an easy choice for me (although season 2 is a very close second). I love season 3. It’s the season of the Originals and for that reason I can’t do anything else but love it. Klaus is the best villain and feels like a genuinely terrifying threat to the gang. The overall plot across the season is tight and well executed. Despite my dislike for the triangle, it’s handled amazingly in this season and it’s the only season where I can genuinely appreciate the triangle and the dynamics within it. As a Stelena shipper, I live for the angst between Stefan and Elena in this season and adore every single scene they have together. I also love Stefan’s arc with him being forced to become Klaus’ side-kick to save Damon and then being compelled to turn off his humanity despite how hard he fights against that. It’s a great season for Stefan’s character and shows the complexity of him better than the previous two seasons. Elena is also at her best in this season. Her strength and resillience really shines through and in this season she stops feeling like a by-stander and like someone that’s taking charge of her life and getting shit done. Alaric’s arc is dark and heart-breaking. Caroline and Tyler are strong in this season and they’re one of my favourite TVD ships. However, Klaus and Caroline’s dynamic is intruiging and brings a new flavour to the show. And although I never wanted Elena to become a vampire, the season finale is fantastic and a very strong ending to a brilliant season.

Least favourite season (note that I haven’t watched seasons 7 and 8): Season 5

Urgh, this season is just the worst. It totally retcons the mythology and history of the show with making Stefan a doppelganger. As much as I love Paul’s acting, Silas is such a crappy character. The Travellers are pointless; Damon and Elena’s on-again-off-again relationship is tiresome, the Augustine plot goes no where; the switch from high school to college is bumpy; Stefan is completely sidelined by awful writing choices; the best character on the show (Katherine) is done a huge disservice and her exit from the show is pitiful; Bonnie suffers once again (surprise, surprise); the introduction of Nadia just doesn’t work; there’s stupid scenes and episodes that are present for the sole reason of baiting Stelena shippers (5x04 and 5x18) and the finale is completely dumb. There’s not a single thing I like about this season.

Thanks for asking, lovely!

#answered #meant-to-be-waiting-for-me #my meta #charmed #buffy the vampire slayer #angel the series #friends #the vampire diaries

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cosmosbunnies · 6 years ago

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How Fire Emblem Fates tried, and failed, to live up to Awakening.

Fire Emblem Awakening was a tonal and mechanical masterpiece. It set a new bar for Fire Emblem games and the like, so Fates had a lot to live up to. And boy, did it try. And fail. I've got about a million complaints about this game, but I'll list my top three here:

Setup

Fire emblem awakening's avatar, Robin, was relatable. Not in deep ways, but we could sympathize with their situation. They knew exactly what we knew about the world – nothing. They awoke with amnesia and were found by the royal family. Amnesia is a wrote plot point, but its popularity is not baseless. In games especially, dropping the player into the second act allows for swift action, and playing catchup in the story comes for naturally to a player who knows everything their character does, meaning dialogue and exposition can come across as being natural and not ham-fisted.

On the other hand, we have Fates. Mind you, I have only played Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest, but I believe these problems extend to Birthright as well; the setup is bad. Instead of giving our player character no knowledge of the world around them via amnesia, they use a different method; seclusion. Corrin as a character is locked away inside of the Nohrian castle throughout their entire childhood and is only allowed in the outside world during the rising action of the story. This, akin to Robin, gives them no knowledge of the world around them. There's one key distinction, however; the family. In Conquest, Corrin knows their family well, and there is an existing dynamic that was built up long before we, the player, entered the scene. So, while Corrin knows nothing of the war and the land, they know much of these characters – and we do not. This flows very poorly. The characters end up awkwardly barking out their relationship to our main character in expositional dialogue before we ever end up even fighting alongside them, instead of having those relationships grow in real-time as we play and allowing us, the player, to form a relationship with the cast based in mechanics while Corrin gets to know them in the narrative. Corrin already loves the cast, regardless of what we think, and we have no choice in the matter. Fates makes the erroneous assumption that the player's interest in the world around them exists in a vacuum, but in reality an average player is interested in how the world exists in relation to the established characters and mechanics, not in the Deep Lore. In fact, Deep Lore is called just that because players who desire knowledge of the world are willing to go to greater lengths to uncover it than players who do not care. This is what in-game history books are for.

Marriage

Fire Emblem Awakening introduced a new mechanic: marriage. Your characters' relationships would grow organically as they fought, and this would eventually lead to (straight) marriage, which would eventually lead to children. The plot of the game involved time travel, and thus a new system was born; the child soldiers. Children are born of your units, your units die in the future, and those children grow up alone and scared, learning to fight for themselves. Eventually, they all get together and use the fire emblem to go back in time. They meet their parents. They introduce themselves. They fight, as they always have, but this time with hope renewed. This created a fantastic dynamic; a younger solider in their prime, with a child they know they'll eventually have but are meeting for the first time. Throw in some well written, natural dialogue, a few fun time travel jokes, and you've got yourself a compelling personal story. It also tied into the main plot in a significant way, having Lucina be a product of this same time travel fiasco. Fire Emblem Fates takes a… different approach. Halfway through act II of the story, you enter an alternate universe. The place is strange, scary and full of mindless evil entities. You meet a character who had been presumed dead, and you fight your way out with him in tow. Upon leaving, you're informed that if any of your characters mention this alternate reality to anyone, they will cease to exist. The point is then dropped, and the unrelated story continues. This puzzled me… A lot. Why did this exists? Was is setting up a structure for a future plot point? Was it world building? I had no idea, I was completely confused.

And then Corrin married.

This was my first marriage in the game, as honestly, none of the characters (save for Niles/Odin, and Effie/Mozu) had what I saw as a real connection, so I waited some time. Corrin and Keaton got married. A popup appeared onscreen afterwords. “A baby was born. The baby is placed in an alternate reality to grow up safe from harm, but a side effect of this reality is that time flows differently, making the children grow up very quickly.” Ah. I see. It makes sense now – the alternate universe is a plot contrivance, created in service to the brand of “You can have children and fight alongside them.” So then you pluck these kiddos from their isolated homes one by one, skipping over the major plot hole of 'Corrin spent nine months fighting while pregnant and then had a baby in the middle of a war? How long did this war take?' and jumping right to “Let's recruit child soldiers.” And so you do. You recruit every child to fight, much to the apparent behest of the mother and father. There is no reasoning to explain why these sensible adults are asking young teenagers to fight in a deadly war. It's simply a fun mechanic, and the game does not expect us to think about it. Except it strips the system of its most important aspects: A) The children do not HAVE to fight to save a doomed world, and B) The parents and the children know one another well. This has removed both the believability of the plot point and the charm in the interactions, leaving us with strange relationships bland dialogue that has an overabundant use of the word “daddy,” which should be purged from every writer's page as it is written.

Incest

You can just. You can just marry your siblings in this game. And have children with them.

At first I though Camilla's apparent attraction to the player character was simply because she was explicitly designed for horny fans to drool over. While this is still true, it's not the only reason she shows an interest in her sibling, as she's more than willing to marry and have children with them. “Oh, it's fine!” You might say. “They're not siblings by blood, you see, so it's morally fine!” Which is the stance the game seems to take. I am not going to explain why incest bad. I will also not drone on about how in the game's counterpart, Birthright, your player is related by blood for plot purposes, but as not to miss out on banging your siblings, each sibling will explain just before marrying you that you're actually not related to them by blood either. Nope, definitely not going to touch that subject.

Small gripes:

I lied about only listing three things. Here are a few notable issues

-You can dress your characters up in stupid looking accessories that add nothing to the game and 95% of the time clip heavily inside the character's model. The characters ASK you to dress them up, and some of them even comment on how silly this is during a war.

-“A+” rank is a cop-out created in an attempt to appease the Queer community without alienating any fans, and the fact that they couldn't be bothered to write any dialogue for the A+ rank relationships shows their lack of interest in queer representation while they sit back and get praise of major publications for “progressivism”

-In the Japanese version you pet your friends on the face Pokemon-Amie style to get them to like you more. I am glad they removed this for the western release

-In the final cinematic, they paid a team of animators to animate your character's first-person experience as they run face-first into their sisters boobs, which joyfully go “Boioioing” and shake like maracas as you reel.

-Sometimes you walk in on your allies naked in the hot springs. You walk all the way in, sit down, relax and stare at the naked peer for seconds before they say “Hey I'm uh… Naked here.” As which point Corrin goes “Sorry!” and sprints out of the room with the speed of a cheetah. I do not know why this happens.

-Keaton is unreasonably erotic when you marry him. Fully voice-acted, he whispers sweet nothings into your ear as the screen fades to black. He is a furry's wet dream. This is not a complaint.

-The story toys with this “abusive father with a family of children who are closer for having a common enemy with whom they have a love/hate relationship” thing, but fails to say ANYTHING meaningful on the subject. It's just empty story dressing

-At one point, you have to choose to either kill or spare a person who just tried to kill you. If you spare him, he joins your party. This goes nowhere, and puzzles me as a narrative choice. He doesn't even bother to betray you or anything, he simply stops mattering.

-Nohr should be dark, gloomy, fun and interesting, and instead it fails to spark the imagination even slightly, instead being “Bland fantasy setting but some of the trees are dead.” Give me some purple and black in that color palette! C'mon!

-There are two wolfskin characters. They are different genders, different heights and weights, but use the same exact model in wolf form. Compare these to the bunny people in awakening who have my heart forever, and this is a major insult.

Thanks for reading

#this post is for NOBODY #video games #fire emblem #awakening #fates #conquest #critisicm

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eternal-love-song · 6 years ago

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From Port To Harbor

Bakugo had complicated relationships. It was probably because he had this sort of messed up dynamic that he ended up dating two people while actively in love with two others.

A re-telling of Our Home Is A Safe House from Bakugo's POV.

[Bakugo/Ochako/Izuku (at the start), [Bakugo/Shinso/Jirou (at the end)]

[Aged Up Characters, Pro Heroes, Established Bakugo/Ochako/Izuku, Break Up, Developing Relationships, OT3, Getting Together, Supportive Ochako, Supportive Izuku]

Bakugo had complicated relationships. He loosely tolerated the people that called him friend, disrespected half his classmates, outright hated most of his schoolmates, and argued with anyone that opened their mouth in his direction. It was probably because he had this sort of messed up dynamic that he ended up dating two people while actively in love with two others.

Well, he wasn't technically dating two people. He was dating one person, that was dating someone else, that he just happened to kind of have a relationship with... It was complicated. His relationship with Deku had been complicated for longer than he cared to remember. Despite his best efforts and deepest regrets, Deku was his best friend. They were partners, but it wasn't... romantic exactly... even if there were places where the lines blurred. If asked, Bakugo would absolutely deny that he was dating Deku. Though he had no intention of admitting that he was dating Uraraka either, so maybe that didn't mean as much as he wanted it to.

The difference between his relationship with Deku and his relationship with Uraraka was this: He and Deku talked, but he and Uraraka kissed, and he would never kiss Deku.

"It's okay if you don't want to tell anyone about us," Uraraka told him. "Deku and I aren't planning to go public either."

Bakugo didn't entirely mind people knowing that he was dating Uraraka, he just didn't want to talk about it. Ever.

They didn't exactly move in together. It was Deku's place, even if Bakugo sometimes helped pay for it and Round Face sometimes slept over. They weren't living together. Bakugo didn't have time for that. He dove head first into hero work and only came up for air when absolutely necessary.

He and Deku were partners. Bakugo didn't have to make time for him because they spent time together in battle. They fought together, trained together. Deku didn't need his free time when he could so easily assimilate himself into his work.

He didn't really make time for Uraraka either. She made time for herself in his space. If they were both staying at Deku's place, she would climb into his bed; if he were sitting somewhere she would put herself in his lap; she would help herself to food from his plate if he didn't look like he were in a bad mood. She never seemed to mind the fact that she had to make time for herself in his life. Uraraka wasn't afraid to take what she wanted for herself, that was one of the reasons he liked her, but he also assumed that it was because she had Deku to fall back on.

What he did make time for, once a month, was going to practice with his shitty band. It wasn't because Kaminari begged him to and wouldn't shut up until he agreed, it wasn't because he actually had fun doing it, and it especially wasn't because it was the easiest way to keep in touch with Jirou and Shinso. He made sure to point that out when Deku expressed his surprise that Bakugo made time for it, and Uraraka made sure to press the point that they didn't believe him.

Beating them both in a sparing match failed to change either of their minds or stop their laughter as he attempted to explode the thought out of their head, so he was forced to just let it go.

There was something depressing and equally comforting about the fact that Shinso and Jirou's apartment seemed not to change between his monthly visits. It was threadbare; two couches and a table, an empty fridge, and the small collection of things that Ponytail made and left with her quirk. There was a part of him, a small and selfish part, that was happy nothing seemed to change between them, that Bakugo wasn't missing anything. But it was equally bad when every time Bakugo saw them they looked more and more tired.

"You all look like shit," he told them visit.

"Thanks, Blasty, you always know just what to say," Shinso drawled. Bakugo had gotten used to Shinso looking kind shit every time they saw each other. He always looked tired, always had bags under his eyes, was always too pale and too thin and a whole host of things that Bakugo had subtly tried to address over the course of their friendship. He had spent nights training with Shinso on the basis of 'If you aren't going to sleep, you might as well be productive' and while it didn't make him less tired, it did make him stronger, and Bakugo had been willing to take what he could get. He'd started to look marginally less tired when he started dating Jirou, but only marginally.

"Stuff it, Brain dead," Bakugo snapped as he strode toward the kitchen. He wasn't surprised to find their fridge empty, given the state of the rest of their house, but it did piss him off to see how poorly they were taking care of themselves. "The fuck? Why the hell is this so empty?"

"Probably because we're hardly ever here," Jirou told him, which did not do anything to make him feel better.

He stomped back into the living room. Shinso and Jirou were basically in each other's lap and halfway asleep, while Kaminari and Momo already were. He could go alone to right the wrongs of their kitchen, but Bakugo actually wanted company, even if he didn't want to admit it.

"Get up, Sparks, you're coming with me," he said loudly enough to startle Kaminari out of his sleep.

"What?" Kaminari blinked around in confusion.

Bakugo's impatience boiled over as he made small explosions in his palms. "Just get the hell over here!"

He stole their keys from the table before sternly ordering, "You idiots get some fucking sleep, I'll let myself in." Earlobes tried to protest, but he didn't stay long enough to listen it. "Shut up and go to sleep!"

While they were out, Bakugo pushed Kaminari into talking about his hero team, Royal Flush, answering the questions he had about why Jirou and Shinso were so tired without him having to ask. Once they returned, he allowed Kaminari to fall back asleep on the couch while he cooked. There wasn't much he could do to help them be less tired or less busy, but he could at least do this.

"What's this?" Jirou asked as she wandered into the kitchen. He tried to ignore the soft smile on her face, the tousled look of her hair and how much he favored the look, the warm that he felt being on the reviving end of that look.

He kept his eyes off of her as he answered. "You idiots were going to starve yourself, so I cooked."

"What's that? Did I hear concern?"

Bakugo had always been a fan of her sarcasm and how they could trade insults back and forth infinitely if no one stopped them. It was similar to why he and Uraraka got along, except it was visible with them and verbal with him and Jirou.

"Fuck off, Earlobes. I already know you can't cook worth shit and that bag eyed boyfriend of yours probably isn't far behind. This is charity work."

"Yaomomo could have cooked, so try again." Bakugo could hear the smirk in Shinso's voice, could picture the exact curve of his lips, and refused to turn around to see it. He focused harder on the food, even though it was practically done and there wasn't really anything he needed to do.

"This is her day off, asshole!"

"Aww, you care," Shinso mocked.

"Say that again!" he yelled. "I'll fucking--" his words abruptly stopped as Shinso's quirk took him over. That was always a possibility when arguing with Shinso, one he didn't actually mind all that much since Shinso had never abused it. He was actually a little grateful for it, though like hell would he admit it, that Shinso had used his quirk before he and Jirou hugged him. It mean that he didn't have to respond and could enjoy the moment without finding a reason to pretend not to.

He didn't bother pretending to get revenge on them. But he did leave them with a kernel of advice. "Buy a fucking bed already."

Bakugo was pretty sure that Deku always knew exactly what was he was feeling, even though it often pissed him off. It wasn't just that they talked. Even when they didn't talk, Deku always seemed to just know. He chalked it up to them being childhood friends and tried to accept the fact that he was as transparent as glass where Deku was concerned.

It was different when Uraraka did it. She wasn't supposed to be able to read him in any situation that didn't involve Deku, so it was really annoying when Deku mentioned having been invited to see Royal Flush in concert and she say, "I bet you really want to go, don't you, Bakugo?"

He glared at her. It didn't intimidate her in the slightest, they probably wouldn't be dating if it did, but it was a habit that he couldn't easily curb. "Why the hell would you assume that?"

"You practice with them all the time," she said. Which was absolutely not true. Once a month was not all the time. "I bet you wish you could join them right?"

"Why would I want to waste my time with that shit?" he questioned.

"I don't know, why do you?" she asked with a wide grin.

Deku laughed, placed a restraining hand on Bakugo's arm. "Don't tease him so much, Och."

She laughed, too, boldly placing herself in Bakugo's lap as if he wouldn't drop her on the floor with little to no provocation. "Aww, but where am I supposed to get my fun?"

Deku's hand on his arm went a long way in keeping him from exploding her off of his lap, and he hated it. "Whatever. He was just gonna drag you along anyway, so this has nothing to do with me."

"Doesn't it?" she teased him. He looked away from him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "When is it, Deku?"

"In two weeks," he told her.

"Oh, well, I'm busy in two weeks, guess you'll have to go in my place," she said brightly. She was a liar. He knew she was a liar. He couldn't prove it, but there was no doubt in his mind that she was lying through her teeth right now.

Deku looked at him without any of the teasing, or the pushing, that Uraraka would have. "What do you say, Kacchan? Do you wanna come with me? It's okay if you don't."

Fuck. In the end, this was why they worked. Deku never pushed him and Uraraka always did. He rarely caved to her, but he also rarely had to since she was ready and willing to get what she wanted by force when necessary. When Deku gave him that unassuming look though, he nearly always gave in.

"Fine," he snapped. "I'll go with you."

It was a few minutes later, after Ochako had left to go on patrol, that Deku asked, "Are you really okay with this? You don't have to go just because she pushed you into it."

Deku had folded his arms on the table and laid his head on them, tilted slightly so that he could meet Bakugo's gaze. Bakugo wasn't used to looking down at him anymore, it was odd to be doing so now, even in such a mundane way. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"It can be hard, right? Being so far from someone you want to be closer to?"

Bakugo didn't like the under current of the conversation and he couldn't hold Deku's gaze. It felt like a jab at him, at their relationship, but he wasn't sure that it was. It was absolutely another sign that Deku could read him much easier than he wanted him to, however, and Bakugo hated the fact that he blushed. "How long have you known?"

"That you liked them?" Deku asked. "That time in second year when I caught you one day doing late night training with Shinso and the next day you tricked him into giving her chocolates you'd made for Valentine's Day."

"Shit, that long..."

"I wasn't going to say anything, I thought you'd get mad."

He would have gotten mad. He would have been upset at both the accusation and it's truthfulness. Now he just felt kind of resigned. "So why bring it up?"

Deku was quiet long enough that Bakugo looked at him again, finding him chewing his lip as he contemplated what to say. Usually Bakugo would have yelled at him for not just spitting it out, but he was finding himself oddly hesitant. Maybe Deku knew that like he knew everything else. "Are you gonna do something about it?" he asked. "Because I don't think Ocha's figured it out yet and that would probably change things. Or, well, she would think it does."

But Deku knew that it didn't. He knew that Bakugo had started this already head over heels with someone else. Maybe that was why they'd never... Bakugo stopped that thought in it's tracks. It was useless to contemplate things he'd already made up his mind about. Things like being in love with Shinso and Jirou, his relationship with Deku, dating Uraraka. None of that was gonna change if he had anything to say about it.

"I just want you to be happy, Kacchan, so whatever you decide to do, I'l go along with it."

That blind support had been one of the things that had set Bakugo off in their childhood, thinking that it had to be false in someway. Now it was just... comforting. One less thing for him to worry about it.

The concert turned into a tour, turned into hero work, turned into him joining their team. Bakugo didn't put up as much of a fuss as he wanted to and during it all stupid Deku felt it necessary to mention that he had a girlfriend when reading the trash articles about him and Ponytail. That meant that he spent the next couple days being bugged at every possible moment with text from his friends asking who he was dating, as if it was any of their business.

He spent more time ranting in the following days and not just to Deku, like usual. Spending more time with Shinso and Jirou gave him more opportunities to be verbally annoyed at how shit they were at taking care of themselves.

He'd just finished one of his rants, this one about the general annoyance of all his band mates and not any of them in particular, at least he didn't think he'd called any of them out in particular, when Uraraka turned to him with a huff. She placed her hands on her hips as she spoke. "Bakugo? Are you ever going to tell them?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"You know what I'm talking about. Jirou and Shinso! Are you ever going to tell them?"

Bakugo glared at her as he said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You do know what I'm talking about," she insisted, climbing into his lap so that she could glare at him up close. "Just because you and Deku have ESP with each other, doesn't mean that I can't tell what going on with you."

Bakugo groaned and rolled his eyes. "We don't have--"

"That's not the point!" she yelled. "I thought when you agree to join Royal Flush that meant that you were going to try to get closer to them, maybe see how they feel about you, but you're doing the exact same thing as before. I'm tired of watching it."

"Who the fuck said it was any of your business?" he asked loudly.

"I say it's my business," she answered, slapping both her hands against his cheeks and holding his face in her hands. "Because we're dating and we're living together and that means I get to be in your business."

"The fuck it does!"

"If you don't tell them, I will," she said.

Bakugo tensed, for one moment believing her and not being sure how he felt about that. Then he relaxed again, thinking through the possibilities and saying, "You wouldn't do that. And even if you would, Deku wouldn't let you."

She made an annoyed sound and let her head fall onto his shoulder. "Fine. You're right. I won't do that, but I hate this. I hate seeing you come home all wound up and tense. You're pinning! You never mope about anything but Deku."

"I do not mope about, Deku!"

"You do if I say you do!"

They had a stare off until Deku decided to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder.

"Hey!"

"Maybe we should give Kacchan some time to think," Deku said.

"No, I want to yell at him some more! I have more to say."

"You can say it to me," Deku told her as he carried her out of the room.

Bakugo swore, sent a message to Kirishima to trade patrols, and then spent the rest of the night taking out his emotions on bad guys.

They kept fighting.

There was a cycle to things. Uraraka would glare at him for a while, he'd snap back until they argued, and eventually they would either be interrupted by Deku, resolve things with sex, or resolve things by sparring. It actually wasn't that different from how things were before. They always knew that they weren't going to last, and neither of them thought that that was a problem. Except before where there was a question as to how things should end, now there was an answer.

"What if I kick you out?" Uraraka asked after one of their sparring sessions. It had been mostly a draw, since she was panting on the ground and unable to move, and he was floating in the air equally out of breath.

"You can't kick me out, this isn't your place," he answered immediately.

"They don't know that," she said. "And the others crash their anyway, right? So why don't you stay with them, see where things go, and if it doesn't work out you can come back here."

He watched her as she struggled to pick herself up off the ground, then she held a hand up to him.

"No," he answered as he took her hand. His heart was beating faster at the idea.

"I've never known you to be so afraid of anything, Baukgo," she said softly. She didn't release he quirk, letting him stay there, weightless and feeling like she was pulling the rug out from under him. Only she really wasn't, because this was where they were heading for months. This was where they were heading since he'd joined Jirou's team. Since the concert even, when Deku had looked at him and asked what he was going to do.

"I've never known you to give up on what you wanted," he replied.

"I'm not," she answered. "You know me better than that." Uraraka reached out to take both his hands, holding him in place. "I wanted you to be happy. I wanted to be the one that made you happy. I did that and I'm still doing that. I don't want to watch you be in love with them if it's only going to hurt you."

"It's not your decision," he said softly.

"Well this is." She pulled him close enough to kiss, releasing her quirk halfway through so that he could land on his feet. She kept him close, standing on her tip toes to press their foreheads together. "I'm breaking up with you," she told him.

He let out a breath. "Alright."

"And I'm kicking you out."

"Okay."

"So now you have no choice but to call them and ask to stay. Right?" She smiled at him. Bakugo pulled their hands free to push her back to the floor. It was a rather soft shove, but she was tired enough that she chose to let herself fall.

"Right." He turned toward the door to yell out, "Deku? Help me pack?"

"Already on it, Kacchan!" he answered as he poked his head around the corner. "Here's your phone." He tossed it across the room and Bakugo caught it easily.

"I just want you both to know that I hate you both," he told them as he sent a message. "I bet you won't even let me take a shower."

"Nope, shower at their place," Uraraka said from where she was sitting on the ground in front of him, smiling wickedly. "Seduce them with your best assets."

"That is not my best asset," he said with a glared.

"Are you sure about that, Kacchan?" Deku asked him.

"Fuck both of you!"

"Too late now," Uraraka said. "We're already broken up."

The transition from Deku and Uraraka to Shinso and Jirou was easier than he'd thought it would be. He did all the grocery shopping, all the cooking, and yelled at them for being bad at taking care of themselves. That was the easy part. The familiar part.

What was new was staring around a half empty apartment when he was all alone. What was new was seeing them together and feeling like a third, scrambling to give them privacy because he felt bad watching instead of because they deserved it. What was new was not having anyone crowd into his space whether he wanted them to or having too knowing eyes watching him from across the room. What was new was feeling like he was on borrowed time, just waiting for them to tire of his presence and kick him out.

He had expected that he'd be alone when Shinso caught him drinking. Jirou had already gone to bed and he hadn't thought Shinso would home that night. He had almost expected that Shinso would force him to talk about what was wrong. It wouldn't be the first time he'd used his quirk that way and Bakugo knew it wouldn't be the last, but Shinso surprised him by actually leaving him to his own devices. And then surprised him again by actually Bakugo to move in with them.

"That's great, Kacchan!" Deku enthused over the phone when Bakugo told him. "I knew everything would work out."

"We haven't worked out shit," Bakugo replied.

"You will," Deku told him. "We believe in you."

"No one asked you," he said quietly.

"Well too bad for you, you get our opinion anyway!" Uraraka yelled in the background. "That's what you get for being friends with us."

"Like that was my fault," he grumbled.

"Just, don't forget us, okay? If things get messy, you can still talk to us," Deku told him.

"Yeah, whatever," Bakugo answered. "As if I didn't already know that." He was glad that they couldn't see him smile or else he'd never hear the end of it.

It began easier to watch them the longer he was with them. He relished fighting by Jirou's side, watching her displays of strength, getting to protect her and being surprised in the moments where she protected him. He enjoyed late night talks with Shinso when he couldn't sleep or arrived home late and watching him stumble around the kitchen like a zombie until Bakugo placed a cup of coffee in his hands.

It was easier to command them to to take care of themselves this way, too. He could life the burden off of Jirou directly while they were in the field, keep them fed and bully them into sleep. It put him at ease to watch them slowly starting to look less strained and even if it wasn't what he wanted, he was glad that he could be near them.

They fell into an easy pattern.

When Jirou mentioned that he wanted to talk, he wasn't that worried. He hadn't done anything wrong, so they weren't likely to kick him out. He had done everything he could to respect their privacy, so he wasn't in the way. Still, he found himself anxious to know what was bothering them and rushed Sparky and Ponytail out of the room as soon as he could to try and hurry it along.

"I don't know what to do about this," Shinso said, leaning back in his chair and looking contemplative.

"About what?" Bakugo watched them both closely, trying to read where this conversation might be going.

"This," Shinso gestured between them all. "Whatever this is. Whatever this could be."

Bakugo felt himself stiffen and tried to hide it with his usual reaction. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Jirou glared at him, but the annoyance in her eyes was more of a draw than a deterrent. He wanted to tease her when she looked at him that way, though he realized that now wasn't really the time. "It isn't like you to play dumb."

He glared at the insinuation, even though it was true. "There's nothing to be done," he told them. Which was true, because if he had lasted this long with his unrequited feelings, he could probably go a bit longer. At the very least, his feelings didn't really have to concern them.

"Yeah, that's an option," Shinso said. "Certainly not the most interesting option. And I'm guessing that's not what you want."

"I haven't said shit about wanting something," he said fiercely.

"You haven't, but I've been thinking about it and it makes sense, doesn't it?" He was looking at Jirou now, ignoring Bakugo as he laid out his case. "He came to us. Midoriya didn't want to get in the way and Ochako didn't want to watch him doing nothing. As soon as they cut him loose, he came to us. That seems as close to a declaration as this asshole gets."

He was right. He was entirely right. Bakugo wasn't going to deny it. He wasn't ashamed of how he felt, even if part of him was nervous as hell about them knowing it, anticipating their negative reactions. He looked away from them. He knew them too well at this point, would be able to read their intent in their eyes, and didn't want to.

"Were you hoping we'd offer you comfort sex or something?" Shinso questioned.

Bakugo felt stupid for falling for such an easy rise, but he was under the influence of Shinso's quirk quickly.

"Come here, Blasty." They held his hands. If he'd had control over his body, he might have shivered with the pleasure it gave him. He wanted to squeeze back, to enjoy the warmth, was afraid that he would fall to deeply into the feeling if he allowed himself to. Then Shinso did the last thing Bakugo had expected him to and asked him directly, "What do you want?"

He supposed the secret was out now. "I want you two asshole."

"In what way?" Jirou asked, her eyes widened with surprise.

Bakugo couldn't image that if they were asking him this, she didn't have some idea of the answer she would recieve. Then again, maybe it was just hard to believe out loud, even if she'd already known it was true.

"Anyway," he told them. "Every way." Because if they weer going to give Bakugo an inch, he was going to be upfront about the fact that he would try and take a mile. That's just how he was. He took what he wanted, or at least, he tried to.

"Okay. Yes," Jirou said and the words stopped his heart. He almost couldn't believe what he was hearing, that it could be that easy. That she would say yes and he could just... have them.

"You already live here," Shinso told him with a smile. A soft smile, different from the smirks he usually gave Bakugo. More like the way he looked at Jirou, full of fondness and warmth. "It's not that different."

"It is," he choked out. There was desperation and hope clogging up his throat. If he was going to have this, really have it, it had to be different. There was so much that he wanted, so he much that he needed, if this was going to be real. They had to understand that. "It's completely different."

"it is, isn't it?" Jirou said softly. She staring at their hands, rubbing the back of his with her thumb. She was looking at him the same Shinso had and already he felt too lost to know what to do with them. "But that's what you want, right?"

"You haven't said what you want," Bakugo said softly, afraid that after all this build up, there might still be a rejection in there somewhere. That at the last minute they would decide to pull the rug from under him.

"We want this," Shinso told him. "We wouldn't offer if we didn't."

Fuck, that was all Bakugo ever needed to hear. There was a rush of relief and joy that filled him, and he stared at their hands in disbelief as he let the emotions crash over him and poorly hid them. "Don't think I'll be any nicer to you assholes."

It was a bluff, an obvious at that. Bakugo had been nicer to Deku and Uraraka when he was them. He'd been nicer to Shinso and Jirou since moving in with them, and it would only get worse. There would only be more moments where he'd be soft, unguarded, left to the mercy of these two assholes that he's had a crush on for years. Somehow, thought, he didn't think that he was going to mind all that much.

#Bakushinjirou #BakuDekuRaka #My Hero Academia #BNHA #Katsuki Bakugou #Ochako Uraraka #Izuku Midoriya #Hitoshi Shinsou #Kyoka Jirou #ELS Writing #Fanfiction #OT3s are my heart

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anotheruserwithnoname · 7 years ago

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Thoughts on Star Trek Discovery after 5 episodes

(Spoilers for Discovery S01E05 and Orville S01E06)

Episode 5 of Star Trek Discovery aired last night in Canada (up here the network Space airs it, so we don’t need to rely on streaming to view it). “Choose Your Pain” was its title and it’s ironic that it aired a few days after The Orville’s surprisingly hard-hitting “Krill” because it actually allows for something very close to an apples-to-apples comparison.

I’m going to go into spoilers, plus this will be a very long post (apologies; this is Exhibit A to show why I’m not on Twitter), so I’ll put a break here. The tl;dr is that, although I’m still willing to give it a chance, I’m still not “feeling” Discovery, which after 5 episodes is a concern; whereas, I find The Orville not only captures the classic spirit of Trek better, it managed in one single episode to make its Klingon analogue more interesting than the real Klingons in their current incarnation.

Before I begin, I wanted to set the scene to explain where I’m coming from. There is a lot of Discovery-bashing going on, and I don’t support that and this essay isn’t intended to be a bash. Although I am very critical of the show and not 100% certain that I’m going to stick with it much longer (though I’ll probably stick with it till its midseason break, at least), it’s not my intent to become a basher because then I’d be a hypocrite. I was a defender of Star Trek Enterprise throughout its entire run, and was upset to see it bashed mercilessly, to the point where I divorced myself from Star Trek and Star Trek fandom after it ended in 2005. Fortunately, Doctor Who had just come back on TV so I switched my allegiances to Who (which I’d been a fan of since the early 80s, but it became more intense). Fast-forward to 2017, and due to a mix of disappointment over what the series has delivered since Christmas 2015, combined with decisions regarding the show moving forward, I'm now divorcing from Doctor Who (as anyone who follows my blog knows). So with Star Trek back on TV the opportunity to move my allegiances back to Trek exists ... but Discovery isn’t doing it for me. Not yet. Instead, The Orville, Seth MacFarlane’s underrated (in more ways than one) homage is the show that is earning my affection. I know I’m not alone in that.

But here’s the thing, and why I don’t really see the need to “bash” Discovery: because The Orville is so much like “proper” Star Trek - the optimism, the crew-as-family dynamic, the introspective and “ripped from the headlines”-inspired stories, and general sense of fun - this actually allows Discovery to seek its own path (even if that means delivering “improper” Trek), allowing both shows to co-exist (which they could regardless - it’s not as if they’re in direct competition).

But Discovery has problems. Before I get into that, though, some positive thoughts.

This week’s episode introduced Rainn Wilson as Harry Mudd, a character immortalized by Roger C. Carmel in the original series. And I thought he did a good job. I don’t have the same issues with recasting characters as some others do (I liked the guy they had playing Sarek earlier, too). My only complaint is they made him darker than Carmel’s version, which felt a bit inconsistent. But then again this is 10 years before Kirk encountered him and people change (it could be argued that Carmel’s version is more insane than Wilson’s, and maybe we’re seeing why in Discovery). I loved the reference to Stella, his wife, which was a great call-forward to the TOS episode “I, Mudd”. Trivia: Carmel was supposed to reprise Mudd for an episode of TNG, but the actor died before it was filmed; I believe some aspects of what was planned for Mudd - including a scene where he was supposed to actually pay tribute to his frenemy, Captain Kirk - were later reused when they brought Scotty forward into the TNG era in “Relics”. So having Mudd appear in a modern-day Trek is an idea that’s been kicking around for 30 years.

Obviously, Mudd will be back and I’m looking forward to it. I’d rather he be the recurring baddie than the new Klingons. More on that in a moment.

I also liked the on-screen reference to Jonathan Archer, Christopher Pike and Robert April early in the episode. Robert April was established in the animated series as the very first captain of the Enterprise, predating Pike. Since TAS is not considered canon (or at least it wasn’t considered canon during the pre-2005 era; it might have changed since), this is the first “canonical” acknowledgement of April in live action. I appreciated that.

I also liked Capt. Lorca in this episode. After two weeks of being just “there”, Lorca came into his own with this episode. And his backstory is interesting.

But I have criticisms of this episode, and of the show itself as we hit week 5. Starting with a minor point, after four weeks of keeping a lid on language, the swearing in this episode was awkward and clearly put in there “because we can” - there was nothing charming or cool about the first use of the F-word (twice in the same scene, yet) in the Trek franchise. I’m not one to go “oooh, swearing, bad” (The Thick of It is one of my favourite TV shows, for god’s sake), but there’s a time and place, and it just didn’t work - it came across as vulgar and awkward. If they’re going to have people swear in Discovery, fine, but don’t make it feel like “hey, we can swear now!” Torchwood ran into this same issue - and the swearing during Series 1 felt unnatural as a result. If they want Lorca and his crew to turn the air blue, they should get Armando Iannucci in to show them how it’s done.

What will be the deal-breaker for me is if this show continues to be populated with characters I don’t give a damn about. I like Michael (who was for the first time not the focus of an episode) and Lorca has potential - all the characters have potential - but 5 weeks in they should be further along than they are in terms of establishing them, even taking into account the two-episode prologue and the fact a core character only debuted this week.

Five weeks in, and without cheating online, I still don't remember the names of most of the main characters because they’ve made so little impression on me. Michael is fine, Lorca is fine, and I know the new guy is named Tyler (mainly because I’m curious as to whether he’s related to Jose Tyler of Christopher Pike’s Enterprise in “The Cage”), but the rest - by now they should have made enough of an impression for me to at least remember their names, not just call them “Michael’s roommate”, “the jerk who runs the spore drive and who might or might not be the chief engineer but we can’t tell”, “Odo 2.0”, “the doctor who lives with the spore drive guy and who I thought was the ship’s doctor until he mentioned that he answers to a chief medical officer who we’ve yet to see”, “the incompetent who got herself killed by the spore monster last week in a scene Seth MacFarlane would have rejected as too silly”, “the roboty woman on the bridge who kinda looks like Nebula from Guardians of the Galaxy,” and “the woman whose head is half shaved”. In fact I think this was the first episode in which those last two individuals were actually identified by names on screen.

By comparison, I had not just the Orville character names but their functions nailed down by Episode 2 of that show. And I had much more invested in them as characters, even early on (and by “Krill” I find I want to know more about what’s happening with Borus and Klyden and their child, Alara’s love life, and whether Ed and Kelly are going to get back together or not). With Discovery it’s almost as if they’re all being set up to be redshirts. (As it is, I really don’t expect to Michael’s roommate - I looked it up; her name is Tilly - to survive the season. Too much telegraphing about her being naive and having dreams for the future.) Maybe they are if the show is taking the Game of Thrones “anyone can die” approach and if there is a reason why we’ve never heard of Spock having an adopted human sister before now.

When I started writing this very long (sorry!) blog entry, I mentioned an apples-to-apples comparison between Discovery and Orville. This week, “Choose Your Pain” and “Krill” both involved captains boarding enemy vessels and learning more about the bad guys. And it really drove home the fact that the new Klingons are rather boring. Never mind the different make-up and all that - I’m sure they’ll come up with a workaround to explain that the same way Enterprise did back in 2005 with the Augments story arc (and I didn’t miss the fact they name-dropped eugenics this week) - they just don’t have the spark of the Klingons of old, or even the Abramsverse versions. Not saying there aren‘t promising signs - I kind of like the fact the show is shipping cult leader Voq with the female officer L’Rell. Every episode so far has included focus on the Klingons. But in only one episode, The Orville managed to develop a very well-rounded picture of the Krill, making them relevant, interesting, sympathetic, and “villains” we want to see more of. The Klingons on Discovery? I want more Harry Mudd, fewer Klingons. Of course, a big difference between Orville and Discovery is the use of humour. Discovery pretty much has none, while Orville is a dramedy. Which was driven home during the climax of the Discovery episode when we were actually treated to an unexpected piece of Orville-like comedy when the female Klingon captain, who has the hots for Tyler. Encountering him trying to escape, she let off with something like “After all we mean to each other, you’re leaving?” (not an exact quote). It was a funny moment, but poorly timed. Seriously, we’re supposed to see her as a threat (and an ongoing one seeing as Lorca doesn’t finish her off as opposed to every other Klingon he encounters), and she spouts dialogue more appropriate for a spoof? Compare to The Orville, which usually knows when to be funny and when not to be. Having Ed Mercer and Gordon Molloy facing the possibility of having to kill a bunch of Krill children in order to save a human colony, and Mercer saying “If we kill those kids ... we have no souls” was a far more hard-hitting and dramatic moment than anything “Choose Your Pain” offered. And once things got serious, they got serious. The ending of “Krill” was chilling as Mercer realized that instead of saving a bunch of kids, he created a bunch of future enemies instead, instantly giving the series a long-term aspect as the potential is there for it to revisit this fact years from now, if it survives that long. The Avis rent-a-car jokes were funny, and the opening sequence where Bortus does his best Matter-Eater Lad impersonation (Google it) was cute, and I loved the gag where Ed starts talking before Alara can open a channel, but it was the serious moments that made “Krill” stand out. The next episode looks serious as well as it casts a long-overdue spotlight on Lt. LaMarr.So to sum up: I’m not ready yet to say “Discovery sucks” as some have. I don’t think it does, despite all I’ve written here. It has issues, yes, but every Trek series has issues and teething pains. I am concerned that the characters aren’t gelling for me and that’s what’s going to make me decide to keep watching in the long term. On the other hand, The Orville is proving to be a great show that also has had its rough patches and its teething pains, but it managed to hit the ground running a lot faster in terms of establishing characters and stories and tone. I am in the market for a sci-fi show to replace Doctor Who, and so far The Orville is winning the battle against Star Trek Discovery. But I’m not willing to write Discovery off ... yet.

#star trek discovery #the orville #calling it as i see it

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