#she could have been so badass and compelling but she was not...

[bluegarners]

absolutely wild to read the fic i wrote when i was 13.... like why was i more verbose then than i am now and why was fanfiction.net so critical in the reviews...

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Rita Moreno (Singin' in the Rain, West Side Story)—She’s an EGOT, an absolute legend for how she navigated her career as a woman of color in the fifties and sixties. Her performance as Anita in West Side Story is why I go back to that movie so many times. She is an icon and she is the moment.

Eartha Kitt (Anna Lucasta, St. Louis Blues)—My friend and I have a saying: NOBODY is Eartha Kitt. A thousand have tried, and they've all come up empty and will continue to do so. Everyone knows her for something: from "Santa Baby" to Yzma in Emperor's New Groove to Catwoman to making Lady Bird Johnson cry for the Vietnam War. She was a master of comedy and sex, an extremely vocal activist, and she aged like fine wine... I honestly don't know what I can say about her that hasn't already been said, so I'll stick to linking all my propaganda. Like what else do you want from me. She was iconic at everything she ever did. Literally name another. How can anyone even think of her and not want to absolutely drown?

This is one of two semifinals in the Hot & Vintage Movie Women Tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Propaganda is not my own and is on a submission basis. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Eartha Kitt:

"A hot vintage woman who was not just known for her voice, beauty, poise, and presence, but also her unapologetic ways of speaking about how she was mistreated in the show business as a girl who grew up on cotton fields in South Carolina in the 1930s through the 1940s coming to Broadway first and then Hollywood."

"Have you watched her sing?? Have you seen her face?? Have you heard her talk?? How could you not fall instantly in love. She makes me incoherent with how hot she is."

"She can ACT she can SING she can speak FOUR LANGUAGES she is a GODDESS!!! Although she is (rightfully) remembered for her singing, TV appearances (Catwoman my beloved), and later film roles, her early appearances in film are no less impressive or noteworthy!! She’s an amazing actress with so much charisma in every role. She was also blacklisted from Hollywood for 10 years for criticizing the Johnson administration/Vietnam War, so. Iconic. Also Orson Welles apparently called her “the most exciting woman in the world.”

"She had such a stunning, remarkable appearance, like she could tear you to shreds with just a glance- but the most undeniable part of her hotness was her voice, and it makes sense that it's what most people nowadays know her for. Nothing encapsulates the sheer magnetism of her singing better than this clip of her and Nat King Cole in St. Louis Blues, she pops in at 2:49. Also I know it's post-1970 but her song that was cut from Emperor's New Groove is likely to make you feel Feelings."

"Even with as racist as Hollywood was in the 1950s and 60s, Eartha Kitt STILL managed to have a thriving career. She also once had a threesome with Paul Newman and James Dean, and called out LBJ over the Vietnam War so hard that it made First Lady Johnson cry. Eartha Kitt was talented, sexy, and a total badass activist."

Rita Moreno:

"Amazing showstopping actress in her one big memorable role as Anita in West Side Story. She sings and dances with unmatched joy and energy, and then breaks your heart with her acting. Rita took a role that felt as a stereotype to latina women and made it compelling and multifaceted. Her subsequent career was filled with mostly side roles, but she still managed to excel in whatever Hollywood threw at her."

"It’s Rita!! The EGOT herself! She can act, she can sing, she can dance, a triple threat. Obviously absolutely iconic as Anita in West Side Story (her part of the Tonight Quintet is the sexiest part of the film, fight me). But before that she was the amazing Zelda in Singin’ In the Rain!?! Thanks Zelda, you’re a real pal."

"She continues to be amazing but also she's got legs for days."

"THEE iconic rita moreno, EGOT winner, civil rights activist, theatre legend. watch her documentary "Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It". also her rendition of "fever" on the muppet show"

[reaper2187]

Kathryn Hahn x female reader

Scene opens with Kathryn Hahn and Y/N sitting side by side in front of a camera for Wired’s Autocomplete Interview. The two are on a press tour for their latest movie together, a dark comedy-thriller with a supernatural twist. Kathryn, with her warm smile and energetic demeanor, contrasts with Y/N’s more stoic, but subtly charming presence. Y/N is 23, tall, and has a masculine-presenting style—she’s often dressed in darker clothes, favoring leather jackets and combat boots, a stark contrast to Kathryn's colorful, quirky outfits.

They both look at the famous whiteboard with Google search questions taped onto it, ready to answer fans' most searched questions.

Kathryn: (grinning at the camera) Hello, Wired! We are here for the Autocomplete Interview! I’m Kathryn Hahn, and this is the incredible Y/N, my co-star, who you probably know from her chilling horror roles or as Knightmare in the Marvel universe.

Y/N: (smiling slightly, a subtle quirk of her lips) Hey.

Kathryn: (playfully nudging Y/N) She’s super talkative, as you can tell. laughs But, seriously, she’s brilliant, so let’s see what people are curious about!

Kathryn peels off the first question.

Kathryn: Alright, first one! reads “Is Kathryn Hahn…”

Y/N: (leaning over to read too, curious) Ooh, let’s see what they wanna know about you.

Kathryn: laughs I’m nervous! “Is Kathryn Hahn…related to Adam Sandler?” Oh, wow. laughs

Y/N: snorts softly What?

Kathryn: Yeah, no. I’ve been in a movie with him, sure. But related? No. That would be an interesting family dynamic, though, wouldn’t it?

Y/N: nodding with mock seriousness Yeah, you guys could have, like, a whole comedic dynasty thing going on.

Kathryn: laughs Right? Imagine family dinners—just bits, all the time. But nope, not related. Alright, next! tears off another strip

“Is Kathryn Hahn…a witch?” laughs loudly Okay, okay, I see where this is coming from.

Y/N: grinning now Agatha Harkness. People loved you in that.

Kathryn: dramatic voice The power of Agatha compels them! laughs But no, I’m not actually a witch in real life. I just play one on TV, and apparently, I’m convincing.

Y/N: smirking Too convincing, maybe.

Kathryn: You know, with all the witchy roles, I might start believing it myself. Alright, next! Y/N, your turn!

Kathryn hands Y/N the board, and Y/N tears off the next strip of questions.

Y/N: reads “Is Y/N…”

Kathryn: leaning in with curiosity Ooooh, I like this.

Y/N: deadpan “Is Y/N a serial killer?”

Kathryn: bursts out laughing Oh my God, of course that’s the first thing people want to know!

Y/N: shrugs with a smirk Can’t really blame them. I’ve, uh, killed a lot of people. Kathryn giggles at that On screen.

Kathryn: Yeah, let’s make that clear! She’s a total sweetheart off-screen, I swear.

Y/N: quirking an eyebrow Thanks. But no, not a serial killer. Just play one in horror movies. turning to the camera with a mock serious tone Don’t worry.

Kathryn: teasing I mean, she is very convincing, though. Sometimes I wonder. laughs You’ve got this whole intense thing going on in your roles. How do you flip the switch between being the killer and just, you know, hanging out?

Y/N: considering for a second Honestly, I just look at it like a job. I step into the character’s head, and then once the scene’s done, I step out. It’s like leaving the mask behind.

Kathryn: nodding That’s cool. And also, the intensity you bring to those characters? Terrifying. You know how many nightmares you’ve given people?

Y/N: smirking Knightmares, you mean?

Kathryn: laughs Yes! Marvel’s very own Knightmare, everyone! Speaking of which… Kathryn rips off the next strip “Is Y/N in Marvel?”

Y/N: nodding slightly Yeah. I play Knightmare. She’s the daughter of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Kathryn: Which is so badass.

Y/N: chuckling softly Yeah, she’s… complicated. A lot of darkness in her, but she’s also figuring out her place in the world. Kind of like me, except I don’t have demon parents.

Kathryn: laughing That we know of!

Y/N: dryly True.

Kathryn: Knightmare is such a cool character, though. Dark, complex, a little terrifying. Very much your brand.

Y/N: nods Yeah, I like playing her. She’s got layers.

Kathryn: You’re amazing in that role. Every time you come on screen, people are like, "Oh no, things are about to get real."

Y/N: smiling a little more now Thanks. It’s fun getting to show up in the Marvel universe and just… bring that intensity. But also not just be, you know, the villain. She’s more than that.

Kathryn: seriously Absolutely. There’s so much more going on with her. I love that Marvel’s giving you that space to explore it.

Y/N nods, visibly comfortable in the conversation, though still measured in her responses. Kathryn peels off the next question.

Kathryn: reads “Can Kathryn Hahn…” pauses “…sing?”

Y/N: grins Can you?

Kathryn: laughs Yes! I mean, I can carry a tune. I did some singing in Central Park and WandaVision, and I love it. But I wouldn’t call myself a full-on singer. You wouldn’t see me in, like, a rock band or anything.

Y/N: teasing I don’t know, I think you could pull it off.

Kathryn: playfully Oh, please. With you on guitar? We could start a band! What would our band name be?

Y/N: deadpan Agatha and the Knightmares.

Kathryn: laughing hysterically YES! That’s it. You’ve just named our band. We’ll tour next year.

Y/N: smiling, slightly amused I’m in.

Kathryn: still chuckling Alright, let’s see what’s next. tears off another strip “Can Y/N…fight?”

Y/N: smirking I hope so.

Kathryn: mocking awe You are so intense. But seriously, you do all your own fight scenes, right?

Y/N: Yeah, mostly. I train a lot for them. It’s important to me that the physicality feels real, especially in the horror stuff and as Knightmare.

Kathryn: nodding You’re amazing at it. I mean, I’ve seen you fight on set. You’re no joke.

Y/N: modestly Thanks. It’s all choreography, but yeah, I like it. It’s like a dance in a way.

Kathryn: smiling A deadly dance, but yeah, I see it. You’ve got that precision.

Y/N: shrugs Gotta keep the audience on the edge of their seats.

Kathryn: You definitely do. Every time you fight, it’s like, “Oh no, someone’s about to die.” But you also bring this emotion to it, like it’s not just about the violence.

Y/N: nodding Exactly. It’s more than the fighting. There’s always something driving it—whether it’s survival, vengeance, fear, whatever. That’s what makes it interesting.

Kathryn: impressed See? This is why you’re so good at what you do. You put so much thought into it.

They share a smile, and Kathryn reaches for the next question.

Kathryn: reads “Does Kathryn Hahn…”

Y/N: mock suspense Drumroll.

Kathryn: laughs “…have tattoos?”

Y/N: looking at Kathryn, curious Do you?

Kathryn: laughing No, I don’t! I know, shocker, right? I’m like, the most tattoo-less person ever. But I do think about it sometimes. What about you?

Y/N: shrugs A few. Nothing crazy, though.

Kathryn: intrigued Really? Where?

Y/N: teasingly You’ll have to guess.

Kathryn: laughing Ooh, mysterious. Okay, okay

. I’m not gonna push you for details, but I’m now very curious.

Y/N: smirking Good.

Kathryn: shaking her head, smiling Alright, next! “Does Y/N like horror movies?”

Y/N: nods slightly Yeah, I do. It’s weird because I’m in them so much, but I love the tension, the atmosphere. It’s not just about the scares for me. It’s about what horror can say about fear, about people.

Kathryn: thoughtful That makes sense. You don’t just act in them—you kinda live and breathe them. What’s your favorite?

Y/N: pausing to think I’d probably say The Shining. It’s a classic, but it’s more psychological than just jump scares. There’s this creeping dread that sticks with you.

Kathryn: nodding Yeah, that movie is so unsettling. I can totally see why you’d love that. You bring that same kind of dread to your roles.

Y/N: shrugging modestly Thanks.

Kathryn: teasing And yet here you are, the nicest person in real life. It’s wild.

Y/N: smiling slightly Gotta keep people guessing.

Kathryn: laughing You’re good at that.

They both share a relaxed look before Kathryn grabs the final question.

Kathryn: Last one! “Does Y/N have a Marvel future?”

Y/N: glancing at the camera with a slight grin That’s… classified.

Kathryn: laughs Classic Marvel answer! But seriously, people are excited to see more of Knightmare. And I think they should be. You’re fantastic in that role.

Y/N: nodding We’ll see. There’s a lot of potential for where Knightmare can go. I’m just along for the ride.

Kathryn: excited And we can’t wait to see it!

They both look at the camera as Kathryn wraps up.

Kathryn: Alright, that’s it for our Wired Autocomplete Interview! Thanks for hanging out with us and for all the weird, funny, and insightful questions!

Y/N: nodding Yeah, thanks.

Kathryn: grinning And don’t forget to check out our new movie—it’s a wild ride!

Y/N: smirking It’s killer.

Kathryn: laughing Of course you’d say that!

The camera fades out with the two of them laughing together, a perfect blend of Kathryn’s infectious energy and Y/N’s cool, subtle charm.

I tried a bit of a different style with this one, hope that's ok also I did another oneshot since I was away for sometime, I started University like 2 week ago and I'm still getting used to the timetable and that shit

[oh-yeah-i-exist]

Aeterna Amantes

"Lovers, forever."

Redeemed Dark Urge and Unascended Astarion can still be badass when they want to be 😌 why let all the cool gear they looted go to waste??

*SPOILERS WARNING*

This is very much a work in-progress BUT I have NOT been able to get Durge Tav x Astarion out of my mind. I have done multiple playthroughs as the Dark Urge (my Tav's name is Eiji/Evie) because I just find the storyline so compelling and there are many little details in the game for me to explore. Some folks are theorizing that if Durge chooses to defy Bhaal and gets reborn by Withers, they receive a fragment of Withers' divine powers. Plus, Withers said it himself that "Death shall not claim thee whilst I persist" or something along those lines, which could possibly mean Durge is now immortal.

Some other tidbits that support that theory include:

In the Murder Tribunal, if my Tav chooses to become one of Bhaal's Unholy Assassins, she can talk to the ghosts of Bhaal's fallen servants. One of them, Illasera, tells her that Bhaal created her from "a place beyond mortality." So it is quite possible that Durge was already immortal/gifted with extreme longevity to begin with.

In the epilogue, when Durge talks to Astarion, he will eventually end the convo by telling them to go spend time with the other companions because he and Durge have forever together anyways.

I have already constructed several elaborate headcanons about how Durge will spend the rest of eternity with (unascended) Astarion. They both deserve peace after redeeming themselves, and they would make such a cool couple of anti-heroes. Protectors of the Underdark, leaders of an army of vampire spawn. They provide safe passage for the lost and the down-trodden, especially those who seek second chances, and will not hesitate to throw hands with hero-wannabes who think they can make a name for themselves by slaying "the Vampire Lord" or "the Fallen Bhaalspawn."

[vanvelding]

I'm going to say one of the nicest things I can about a show about Star Trek: Lower Decks

They played us like a string quartet.

(Spoilers for 4x09: "The Inner Fight")

Lower Decks was sold a Star Trek/Rick & Morty mashup from the start. The first scene is a drunken Mariner literally harming her sidekick, Boimler. It practically screamed, "Mariner & Boimler a hundred tours! Double-u, double-u, double-u dot Mariner and boimler dot com!"

But of course, it also had Star Trek references. One of the earliest is "Who would win in a fight? Khan or Roga Danar?" Why would anyone else in The Federation know or care who Roga Danar is? And there's no imagination on display for the oldest referential paradigm, "Who would win in a fight?" Lazy. Bullshit.

Of course before the end of season one, Lower Decks showed us it was more than that. Boimler was gaining the kind of experience he needed. The story hinted very strongly that Mariner had been in Starfleet a LONG time. She wasn't a omnicompotent mary sue; she was a Commander with her own philosophy/trauma that compelled her to remain an Ensign.

It was a good show and it stood on its own. The references were used well to create interesting stories ("Twovix"), as part of the setting ("Hear All, Trust Nothing"), or just as a gag here and there ("Kayshon, His Eyes Open" and, like a dozen others). The references to the setting become the background radiation, remarkable in how deep a cut they really are (Vendorians?). I've described it to many people as "Star Trek, but everyone has watched Star Trek."

What it wasn't, was related to its namesake. "Lower Decks" was a surprisingly heavy episode about the younger members of the Enterprise crew and their perspective on the missions of galactic import that the viewer usually enjoys an omnisicent view of.

Lower Decks mentions our main cast don't have that omniscient view, but Mariner is a stone-cold badass, Rutherford was part of a secret effort to develop artificial intelligence, Tendi is the Mistress of the Winter Constellations, and Boimler--actually Biomler is no more exceptional than any other Starfleet officer.

So when we get our main cast and the senior officers into a room and they mention Nick Locarno, our thought is, "LOL, another reference. This one from TNG. Not particularly deep. LOL, Boimler is a Beverly Crusher fanboy. I guess it makes sense, they have the character model from the episode with Tom Paris. Clearly, Robert Duncan McNeil is happy to do some voice work. We'll probably make a reference to how much he looks like Tom Paris.

"lol"

Look, if you figured it out then pat yourself on the back. Me? I filed away another reference. I didn't realize that Nick Locarno was connected to the episode of TNG that was this entire series' namesake. The characters even say, "Who?" which is one of the first times they don't get a Star Trek reference. Because Nick Locarno isn't a part of the Star Trek universe they view with an enthusiastic fandomness; it's part of their dramatic history, whether they know it or not.

"ha-ha, I guess Nick Locarno is too deep a cut for the show that called back to Morgan fucking Bateson."

But whatever, A-plot/B-plot. Gags about Starfleet habitually rolling up to seedy establishments in uniforms while looking for information, which is subverted by Captain Freeman being fucking genre savvy (also, wasn't she going to be promoted before getting arrested at the end of season two? I guess getting framed for a crime was deemed to be not very 'admiral-able'). Mariner ends up in a cave with a Klingon taking shelter from a crystal rain.

The pieces are there. Mariner was an ensign during The Dominion War. Two to three years before The Dominion War, Wesley Crusher left Starfleet, our Nick Locarno expy Tom Paris was recruited to Voyager, and Sito Jaxa was an ensign.

And Nick Locarno is in play.

We could have figured it out! We're in the narrative and emotional third act of this series (Tendi gave us the "We'll always be friends" speech last week)! Everyone regular just sat in a room trying to figure out how to help Mariner; we were one fruit salad analogy away from an intervention with Dr. Migleemoo!

Mariner escapes from Cardassian interrogation chambers for fun!

But Locarno is just another TNG reference, like Beverly Crusher. Background radiation. The season's story arc is something original to Lower Decks, which it's proven it's unafraid to do at this point. The series has no relation to "Lower Decks"

And then they fucking hit us with it; Beckett Mariner knew Sito Jaxa. They were friends. Then Jaxa died.

That's Mariner's trauma (that and The Dominion War).

And I didn't see it because I came to see Lower Decks as a series that stood on its own merits as a show while calling back to earlier Treks in a light, non-committal way. And I credit that solely to the writing of the show which leveraged both of those qualities to make an entertaining show that I like before, but now respect.

Just amazing stuff.

[cult-of-the-eye]

guys you don't understand the way elle greenaway is genuinely such a compelling character oh my god. she worked in sex crimes before she transferred to the BAU, it's literally established from the get go that not only is she extremely caring but she's also got the determination and nerves of steel that set her apart. she's funny, she's badass, she's a bit mean, a bit insensitive sometimes, she's got issues with sometimes taking things a bit too far. she's a woman in a typically male field in the early 2000s. and then she gets shot in her own home and the person who shoots her then dips his finger into her wound and writes on the walls with her own blood. and she could have so many people to blame. she could blame gideon for breaking the rules in the first place just to taunt the guy out. she could blame hotch for making her go home, anderson for not staying with her. but she doesn't. she must hold an insane amount of frustration, fury, anger, resentment, fear and she must be exhausted. she survives. she comes back to work cause she can't spend another minute watching soap operas in her house. how must it have been living in that house, elle? watching tv as though her life didn't pretty much end. they should've realised something was wrong. people who get shot at their work don't tend to want to come back. they shouldn't be allowed to come back early, at least not without checking if they have a secure safety net, someone to talk to about these things. it's no wonder she cracked. their entire job is to read people and they couldn't see what was right in front of them. you mean you didn't think it was risky to make elle the decoy rape victim after she was so violated herself? after she had just told reid that she could sometimes feel his fingers still inside her? you think her coming for the guy wasn't extremely understandable? her rage. being a woman does things to you. being elle greenaway does worse. so she kills him. she let him go. it was her fault that she was too hasty, that she was panicking on the job, that she was too wrapped up in her own feelings to properly catch the guy and now? now he walks. or maybe it was gideon's fault for breaking the rules or hotch's for sending her home or godforsaken anderson for leaving her there. either way it's happened. and she has no other choice but to kill him, right then and there. she saved countless women from their fate. she saved countless women from her fate. and no man gets to tell her she did something wrong.

[positivelyruined]

In line with @sonics-atelier’s post.

Why did Tamlin lock Feyre in the house?

Well,

A) There’s a violently dark high lord in their midst who can appear and disappear at will. Warding off his home was much easier than doing it to his country. Because Prythian is the world, Spring is the district. Which, by the way, that makes Tamlin’s place as a high lord equivalent to a king.

B) She fights the mating bond so hard that she continually puts herself in danger. Reckless, impulsive, and used to running on the road not taken — that sounds like Feyre to me. Feyre as she should be refuses to be defined by anything or anyone but herself. This, also, is why she balks at marrying Tamlin. Even without Rhysand’s interference — her character should struggle with the idea of marriage.

Is it of a lesser force than a mating bond? Yes.

Can it still be used to control someone? Yes.

C) It still comes down to a bottom line — no one should be imprisoned for someone else’s crime. Yet, is a lock on a door true imprisonment? To lock your door is to be intelligent, aware, and realistic. It is an acknowledgement of the danger, without deprivation of the freedom to open it.

When you love someone, what do you do when they are in danger? You stand in front of them. You fight for them. You give them a safe place. No, this is not done perfectly, but it is from a genuine care for another person’s well being. One of my favorite TV relationships that executes this trope perfectly is Liv and Major, from iZombie.

They are both constantly sacrificing and compelling the other to be safe. They fight for what is right, even when they disagree about how it should be done. Their relationship hangs in the balance until the end of the story. When their world goes to war, they find their unique roles in it. Sometimes, they fight on what appears to be opposing sides. Yet, they are made for one another. In the end, they sit down and realize that they would have never made it through the experience without the influence of their partner. In deep respect, friendship, and genuine care — they continually strive (together and apart) to improve society, fight for justice and fight for a world where they can be together.

I never used names in that paragraph. Doesn’t it scream Feylin?

Can’t you say that Tamlin is constantly sacrificing to keep Feyre safe? Including separating himself from her when his magic becomes too strong to control.

Couldn’t you say that Feyre compels him? She refuses to go out a quitter. She runs into danger, facing unknown consequences, because he is in danger.

He respects her desire to be wild.

Yet, he knows her deep, inner need to be safe.

She respects his ability to put others above himself, but she knows that secretly all he needs is to be given care, affection, and kindness.

Together, they were meant to have built up a Spring Court that is a home to the wild people, the refugees, and the abandoned.

Because in knowing what it is like to be completely alone — they continually return to one another. When she has pushed herself too far, she runs back to him for safety. When he has given too much, she takes the burdens off his shoulders and reminds him that if you cannot care for yourself…you cannot care for anyone else.

Together — they are two of the most dangerous fairies that you could cross — because they balance one another. Tamlin and Feyre were designed (by accident) to compliment one another as a team — a badass, “I would let the world burn if the fire didn’t touch you,” team.

In public, they are iron and steel. In private, they melt for one another until every locked door and broken fence in their hearts can mend.

That is what SJM destroyed in ACOMAF. That was the sheer potential that this couple had. That is what makes ACOTAR a stand alone book.

Instead,

The dear and dead to us author decided to replace her characters with shallow imitations of what they could have been.

So, let’s be real. Feylin was destroyed by the simple fact that ACOTAR has a sense of right and wrong. ACOMAF obliterates that narrative.

[weregonnabecoolbeans]

I am so happy with how this week’s episode went down.

I’ve been so worried that the point of the show was just going to end up being: Sometimes the Jedi are the Bad Guys and maybe the villains have a point! or The witches were Evil and Deserved to be killed!!

Because those would be such boring stories to tell.

We all know the jedi have flaws and that they make mistakes. We don’t need a show to use that as some dramatic reveal. I wouldn’t enjoy star wars as a franchise if the jedi were perfect.

The idea of their innate goodness being exploited and manipulated and used against them has always been really interesting to me. I’ve always believed the jedi as a whole are good and that the problems come from individuals.

That could mean individual jedi who struggle with what being a jedi requires. (Anakin and Sol with their clear struggles with attachment) Jedi who have experienced certain trauma that inevitably affects their decisions. (Anakin, Barriss, Reva, and so many more) Or those who shouldn’t’ve been jedi in the first place (pong krell🤬)

It also means basically anyone else who believes and/or has gone through similar things. (the martez sisters blaming the jedi for their parent’s death, the people of the republic who believed the jedi were responsible for the war etc.)

And of course there are the actual villains who intentionally cause problems.

These things are all unavoidable and thats what makes star wars so compelling to me. The fall of the jedi was the result of Palpatine amplifying these factors to bring forth something that was always going to happen and that nobody could stop.

On the other side, I am so relieved that the witches weren’t revealed as the true villains or something because that would’ve also been so boring, and also kinda dumb.

Introducing this beautiful group of women with their own unique history, culture, and way of using the force…only to turn around and be like

Ha ha nope! The jedi are the only good guys and everyone else is evil!

Yeah I would’ve hated that.

I feel like this episode did a really good job at showing that what happened was a combination of everyone’s fears, biases, and hubris clashing in the worst way imaginable.

Neither the Jedi as a whole, nor the witches were 100% responsible.

The council told the jedi to leave the witches alone but they didn’t listen. The order cannot be blamed only those who were apart of that mission.

You can blame either side for their choices but both sides had their reasons and both sides were neither right nor wrong.

Sol was wrong to prioritize attachment to osha over following orders. But he was right to want what was best for her.

Torbin was wrong to run back and infiltrate their home. But he was made to believe it would mean completing his mission.

Mae was wrong to lock the place down and start a fire. But she just wanted her sister to stay.

Koril was wrong to go straight to violence. But she wanted to keep her children, and her past has led her not to trust.

I could go on and on but I’m getting too lazy to type more.

Basically what I’m saying is I am happy that the show didn’t chose to be fully anti jedi.

And I am happy that the show didn’t introduce a badass GORGEOUS black lesbian witch as the ruler of this coven only to make her a villain for loving her children

[hysteriaww]

Hi ! It's going to sound weird but....

How do you think Kai would have influenced Luke's personality if Luke actually won during the merge ?

I know Kai was stronger, but let's say Luke wins.

He was already pretty strong since he was able to break Liv out of the spell she was trying to do. He was stronger than his sister. He would have won if they were to do the merge. I don't exactly remember how powerful he was but I suppose he was fairly quite good with magic.

And magical powers aside, he has quite a strong personality. He's fed up with the Mystic Falls gang bullshit. He was not even that scared of Kai. I mean, he knew his brother was a freaking threat, but he did not hesitate to go on his own and do the merge with Kai. Even when Kai didn't want to do it Luke was like "Hey bitch, you scared I could win ?"

I don't think Luke really thought he could win or maybe he did, anyway he just wanted it to end. He wanted to project his sisters.

So, with Kai's personality inside of him, what would he be like ? I think that guy would at least find a way to end that Gemini tradition crap about the merge, and the lives of the whole coven linked to the leader.

Apart from that I don't know.

That would not be as fun as seeing Kai struggle with new emotions 🤣 but I want to see Luke being even more badass you know.

Yup, really long question sorry not sorry. X)

This is a very interesting question! Tho I have wondered what Jo would be like if she merged w Kai & won, I've never wondered about Luke until now... I think it could be a very compelling arc for him & the gemini coven. Here's what I think would happen! (I wrote a whole ass mini-fanfic in my answer lmfao):

Fresh after the merge: Luke would initially act & feel almost exactly like same old Luke, except maybe he'd rightfully be a bit more grim, traumatized and world-weary after defeating Kai. Liv & Jo would be concerned but he'd tell them not to worry bc he just needs some time to recover & leading the coven rn is more important than his mental health anyway (aka the FIRST Red Flag). Liv & Jo would disagree but let it go for now to avoid stressing him out.

First few months as leader: I think Luke's first order of business would be to undo the damage Joshua did as a terrible coven leader. That might mean overturning fucked up coven laws, etc. but Joshua doesn't like this, so he gets his supporters in the coven to back him & veto Luke's changes. Meanwhile, Luke's own coven support is growing bc I do believe he'd be a MUCH better leader than Joshua, so old man's resentment grows more. Eventually, it reaches a point where Luke feels boxed in like he can't make any real GOOD change bc of Joshua's puppets & THAT is when... the whispers of Kai's voice begin to awaken in Luke's mind. Uh-oh...

Conflict resolution 101: The part of Luke that's in control tries to be diplomatic about getting rid of Joshua's supporters but it just. doesn't. work. The assholes are FLUENT in gemini bureaucracy bc they've been around longer so they outmaneuver Luke constantly. That's when Kai begins suggesting some... less diplomatic solutions, including the idea that Joshua's supporters wouldn't be such a problem if JOSHUA was gone. Luke spends a long time rejecting this & literally warring with himself, so Liv & Jo are like "dude are u ok" and in a moment of weakness he admits his idea about taking joshua out. They're shocked, but after a sec, they're like "wait this is the same man who tried to off his own kids more than once. Uk what? yes lets do it." And suddenly all 3 (ahem, 4) Parker kids are plotting to put dad in a magical coma (hmm does that sound familiar? I wonder which sibling's idea this was...) so he can't influence his supporters anymore. And the siblings succeed! Joshua's out! but it becomes their lil secret, hidden from the coven...

A Good Ol' Frame Job: Lo and behold, Joshua's supporters still stay loyal to the man in a coma instead of Luke! Liv & Jo are like "it's fine luke, dad isn't gonna wake up so eventually they'll have no choice but to listen to you" but KAI isn't convinced... and neither is Luke. Diplomacy didn't work, sleeping beauty-ing joshua didn't work, so now he needs to play dirty. He doesn't jump to violence or anything - he simply frames a few of them for crimes they didn't commit. Snakey, but simple. Only problem is... Luke can't recall if this idea was his own, or Kai's...... bc they're both equally likely to have thought of it. Kai's influence is growing... So when Jo & Liv come to him like "wow crazy how those supporters got revealed as criminals right? That worked out conveniently," Luke goes w the safest option & says "haaa yea what a coincidence! no idea how that happened" ......and now he's lying to his sisters (Big Red Flag #2)

Calm before the storm: Now that joshua's remaining supporters (who haven't been framed) are very few, Luke doesn't face much resistance anymore & he actually succeeds at reforming a lot of fucked up gemini practices & making positive change. Maybe he even succeeds at eliminating the merge altogether! Luke's flying high, believing he's a true protector of the geminis & the best leader and savior (which, to be fair, he rly is better than the shitty leaders before him)! Kai's influence here is very sneaky bc some of Luke's old sense of humor comes back to him, with some new hints of cockiness that weren't there before. Luke's golden boy charm & Kai's cockiness creates the perfect politician cocktail & liv and jo appreciate the good he's done for geminis but also lowkey resent the big-headed self-important persona he's growing.

But THEN there's trouble in paradise: joshua's leftover supporters find a piece of evidence that proves Luke framed the others & they threaten Luke w it, deducing that he also had smthg to do w Joshua's coma. They order him to step down but he can't do that. Not now, when he's finally *this* close to changing the coven for good! These pricks will wake joshua & bring the old laws back! No, he can't let that happen, he can't let it- ....Luke snaps. He blacks out, then wakes up in horror to realize he violently killed. them. all. He panics, calling Jo & Liv for help BUT to cover his ass, he lies & says he had to kill them bc they found out about "all 3 of them" cursing Joshua... while choosing not to mention how they also discovered his frame jobs. Liv & Jo are horrified yet they help him cover this up bc he's falsely led them to believe their asses are also on the line for cursing joshua... but then Jo notices some of them were killed in very "Kai" ways (bled to death from their spleens getting cut out, etc.) & Liv finds the piece of evidence they had that links Luke to the frame jobs...... the 2 of them realize Luke is not in control anymore.

The Climax: Liv & Jo confront Luke, asking him to step down but warning him that they'll MAKE him if he doesn't agree. He doesn't agree. A fight ensues & Luke is pretty OP despite the 2 v. 1. Luke gets *this* close to killing them (while Kai cheers him on), but then says SIKE and kills JOSHUA's comatose body instead, shocking everyone. Jo, Liv AND Kai are like "wha- why?!" & Luke the politician diabolically reveals that he can't bring himself to kill them - but he can frame them for Joshua's death & turn the coven against them.... OR he can frame the dead supporters for Joshua's death & save his sisters, IF Liv & Jo stay loyal to his cause. At this ultimatum, Jo & Liv finally give up, saying they'd rather get framed or killed than let him rule the coven like this. The Kai in Luke gets triggered by their abandonment bc he's a gOoD LEADER can't u SEE?! Kai's increased presence & Luke's increased lack of control make his SIPHONING manifest for the first time & he unintentionally starts siphoning the sisters. And Luke gets triggered by them trying to overthrow him bc he's the OnLy one who can PROTECT the coven!! Just like he protected Jo & Liv from Kai!! At this point the sisters' resentment RLY comes out like "WE DIDNT ASK YOU TO!! YOU chose to merge to protect us WITHOUT ASKING what WE wanted!! U literally knocked out Jo when she was ABOUT to merge! You protected us bc that's what U wanted, not US. And now the coven doesn't need to be protected BY you anymore, it needs to be protected FROM you!!" Like a bucket of ice water, Luke realizes he's siphoning his sisters rn. He has become Kai. They're right. He is not in control anymore. He steps away & realizes the whole coven itself is broken. The best way to save it is to take the ruling family nonsense out of it & free everyone. He agrees to step down & Jo & Liv help him break the coven link altogether and they free the coven! For a moment, it seems like Kai is going to stop them, but then even the Kai in his mind realizes the coven fucked him over his whole life & he'd much rather see it gone. So all 4 kids unite in Sibling Solidarity and liberate the coven!

Epilogue: Luke gets therapy & that means Kai begrudgingly gets it too bc he's stuck in luke's head. They both start healing & finding a medium ground of how to share space in luke's head. Kai even uses Luke to apologize to Liv & Jo for his own crimes. I'd like to think he'd even get Luke to go to Bonnie and apologize on his behalf & maybe help her out whenever he can, tho i don't think it would be sexual, bc in canon the merge didn't change kai's sexuality so i doubt it would change luke's. But yea I think bonnie would still at least have a new ally in luke thanks to the Kai in him xD

THE END lol I hope my impromptu mini-fanfic here answered your question ahaahaha thank you for asking!!!

[flower-boi16]

Why Helluva Boss's Villains Suck

So, Helluva Boss is a series with a LOT of villains. The show certainly has a large rogues gallery of them, that's for sure. There's just one thing though; Helluva Boss's villains...suck. And In this post I'm going to explain why.

1. What Makes A Good Villain?

Before I get to why I don't like HB's villains let's first ask a question; what makes a good villain? To me, a good villain could be either of two things; 1) They could be compelling and interesting antagonists; with deeper motivations as to why they do the things they do or why they act that way, a good villain is a villain that's interesting and complex. However, not all villains need to have a lot of depth to be good villains as 2) Sometimes some villains don't need to be super deep or compelling and could just be fun or entertaining to watch. Take villains like Magica De Spell from Ducktales 2017 or any villain from the Disney Renaissance Era; they may not be super deep or compelling characters, but they are still good villains because they are simply fun and entertaining to watch, usually by having a personality to them that makes them a bit goofy while also being a villain you can take seriously due to the threat they may pose to our heroes.

And, generally speaking, a good villain should be able to be semi-competent and pose some kind of threat towards the protagonist, without being incompetent (Unless you writing a villain that's supposed to be dumb like Lord Hater from Wander Over Yonder, but villains like him are usually villains you aren't supposed to take too seriously)

A good antagonist should be a character that poses a threat to the heroes while also being a compelling character in their own right or just being fun and entertaining to watch. So, now that we've established what (in my opinion) makes a good villain, let's now start talking about why HB's villains don't work.

2. My Thoughts on Each Villian in Helluva Boss

Now it's time for me to give my thoughts on each villain in Helluva Boss. Note that I'm only going to include recurring antagonists and I'm going in order of which they all first appeared. Ok, so now, let's begin.

Stella - Stella had some potential to be interesting. Unfortunately, HB squandered that potential and made her a one-dimensional abusive asshole to make Stolas more sympathetic. Not much to say about Stella, she's just a boring one-dimensional asshole.

Veriosika Mayday - Another underdeveloped villain. She's kinda supposed to play into Blitz's whole arc but so far she hasn't gotten much if any development whatsoever. Again, not much to say about her, she's just boring like Stella. Maybe the show will develop her in the future but for now, she's kinda just a one-dimensional basic bitch.

The Cherubs - Don't have much to say about them either. It would have been cool to have them be recurring rivals for the IMPs but nope. Like the other villains, they aren't really that interesting.

Striker - Now...I'm probably going to get hate for this but; Striker is an overrated AF villain. I don't find him that interesting - HOWEVER, I will say he's one of the show's better villains because he's at least kind of menacing in his debut episode. Aside from that he's the "Oh a character that is better than the protag at literally everything who turns out to be the villain!". Ya I don't care for Striker that much - he's fine but I still don't care for him.

The Dhorks - These guys are just stupid. 1) They already had VIDEO EVIDENCE of the IMPs and they FOR SOME FUCKING REASON didn't send it to the government already??? How did they even get the footage of the imps??? And then 2) they also FOR SOME REASON kept on using melee weapons against the IMPs when the episode shows us that they. have. GUNS. Why don't they just use those??? Oh, it's because Edo weapons were more "badass"? These are villains we are suppoused to take semi-seriously, deliberately making them idiots doesn't fucking work. Also 3) Seeing Stars shows that the humans don't recognize the IMPs at all - meaning that, even after obtaining MORE video evidence of the IMPs existing, they STILL just...didn't tell the governments about this for some reason??? Maybe there's an explanation for this in a future episode but for now this is just bullshit! So ya, the dhorks suck, they're boring and just flat out stupid. Least favorite villains in the show so far.

Crimson - Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you...the show's most POINTLESS antagonist. I've already said this multiple times, but why. Literally why. Why did Moxxie need to be the THIRD character with daddy issues? It adds nothing to his character and removing this aspect changes nothing about him - he's the same character without his daddy issues. Crimson literally has nothing interesting about him aside from "abusive dad mob boss". Like all the other villains, he's fucking boring.

So ya, that's my thoughts on each villain in Helluva Boss. As you can see, I don't have very nice things to say about any of them, and if you paid attention to what I was saying about them - you can see one of my major issues with HB's villains. That being...

3. They're Boring

Helluva Boss's villains are just. BORING. A majority of them are very one-dimensional Saturday morning cartoon villains with nothing interesting about them - none of them feel like developed or compelling characters. Granted, as I already said, a villain doesn't need to be super compelling to be good - sometimes a good villain is just one that's fun to watch while still being a good threat to the heroes.

But in order to do that you need to make that villain have a well-fleshed-out personality and mannerisms that make them entertaining to watch. HB's villains don't have that; they aren't compelling nor are they fun to watch, they are just boring. Stella especially is an example of this problem; I've said it before, but there was potential to make Stella an interesting character, but the show chose to waste that in favor of making her a mustache-twirling villain who just likes making Stolass suffer for shits and giggles.

The "I like tormenting you" line especially hammers this in; Stella is just a one-dimensional asshole and nothing else. Again, you don't need to have a character to be super compelling to be a good villain; sometimes you just need them to be fun to watch, but Stella isn't interesting nor is she fun to watch. She's just one-dimensional. Obviously, a character like Stella could work; after all, some stories just like having a villain REVEL in how evil they are like Lord Dominator from Wander Over Yonder, which falls under the "just fun to watch" category, but once again, Stella isn't fun to watch nor is she a compelling or interesting character, she's just boring.

Which is something I can say for all of HB's villains; they aren't compelling or interesting characters nor are they fun and entertaining to watch, they're all just one-dimensional and boring.

Another character I'd like to bring up is Verosika, a character who so far has gotten ZERO development TWO SEASONS IN! Maybe the show will develop Verosika more in the future, but for now there isn't anything about her that's interesting except for MAYBE her past with Blitz, but how the show is going to execute that we'll just have to wait and see.

So Helluva Boss's villains are boring, they aren't compelling characters nor are they fun to watch, now let's move onto my second problem, that being...

4. Some of Them Are Stupid/Incompetent

So a good villain is supposed to be competent, right? Well sometimes an incompetent villain can work; however, it only works when the villain is SUPPOSED to be stupid because they're a villain who you're not supposed to take very seriously. The problem comes when you're supposed to take a villain seriously but they act like idiots to the audience when the story doesn't want us to see them that way.

There are three examples I can think of when I say that sometimes HB's villains are just incompetent at times, those being Striker, The Dhorks, and Crimson. I already talked about the Dhorks here in this post but they're not the only villains that make dumb decisions in the show; Striker does too Western Energy.

For one, when Stolas calls the IMPs for help, Striker for some reason doesn't immediately go and break Stolas's phone when he can HEAR HIM TALKING to them. Instead, he just sits there, letting Stolas notify IMPs that he's in trouble, and THEN takes Stolas's phone. Striker literally could've just smashed Stolas's phone the second he heard Stolas talking - if he did that, then IMP wouldn't have been notified that Stolas has been captured and the episode's plot wouldn't have happened. It's making a villain stupid for the sake of the plot.

And then later in the episode, when he has Stolas tied up on the train tracks, he decides to just... monologue to him? When he could literally just finish Stolas instantly by decapitating him or something, why is he just sitting there doing nothing and stabbing Stolas in random places???

Then there's Crimson, who, for some reason, didn't check to see if Chaz was lying to him. Seriously, if somebody you used to hate went and said "Oh hey I'm rich now", wouldn't you go and check to see if they're lying or not? But Crimson for some reason didn't think to do that, so he just...let himself get scammed because he was too stupid to actually check for himself. Yaaaaaaay.

Again, I already talked about the Dhorks, but it bears repeating that the fact that they decided to use melee weapons when THEY HAVE GUNS is fucking stupid. The show tries to pass this off by saying "They chose those melee weapons cuz they were badass!", except that excuse doesn't work because it makes the Dhorks just...incompetent. And usually when a narrative purposefully makes a villain stupid we aren't supposed to take that villain seriously, but the Dhorks are villains who we are supposed to take at least semi-seriously so deliberately making them stupid like this doesn't really work.

Another example I can think of is in Oops where when Blitz comes up with a plan to get rid of all the henchmen all at once using guns, they, for some reason, didn't hear all the gunshots and screaming going on and didn't go to check what the fuck was happening. If they did do that, then they would have most likely all gotten shot and not only would the episode's climax not happen, but the show would also lose two of its major recurring villains.

So HB's villains are often incompetent or just straight up stupid - they make dumb decisions just so to continue the plot. If they did the logical thing, major changes in the show's plot would happen and it can't have that now, would it? Now let's talk about the next problem...

5. There's Too. Fucking. Many of them

This is my last problem with HB's villains, that being; there are just WAY too many of them. Now, having multiple recurring antagonists isn't a bad thing, a lot of shows have a few smaller recurring antagonists here and there. The problem here is that in HB with each new villain creates a new plotline; Stella's conflict with Stolas regarding their divorce, the Cherubs being kicked out of Heaven and probably will try to get revenge on the IMPs, the Dhorks going to expose the existence of demons, Striker going to assassinate Stolas, and Crimson most likely going to get payback from Moxxie.

It contributes to a major issue I have with this show; there's just. TOO MANY plotlines going on and it makes it feel unfocused. Most shows I've seen usually have a main plot and 2-3 maybe even 4 smaller plots than it focuses on per season. HB meanwhile set up six yes six plotlines in just its first season (The ones I've already mentioned + Blitz making amends with the people he hurt and Stolitz). And now in season 2, it's just. Adding more with Crimson.

The show suffers from cramming in TOO MANY characters and plotlines making the show feel messy and unfocused. I would also like to point out how the show just adds plotlines that are like. Completely unnecessary? Mainly the Dhroks and Cherubs plotlines; these aren't connected to the show's core story (whatever tf its supposed to even BE at this point), and removing them doesn't change anything about the show, so they are just completely unneeded. The same thing goes with the Crimson plotline.

They only serve to clutter the show even more and make it feel unfocused, which is a problem HB's villains contribute to a LOT.

6. Conclusion

So, ya, that's why I don't like the villains in Helluva Boss. In conclusion; HB's villains are boring, one-dimensional, sometimes flat-out incompetent, and are just plain underwhelming. So uh ya...bye.

[vesemirsexual]

What is even more disappointing about how game!Ciri is written is that CDPR Can give us compelling and complex “ trauma and grief can cause you to repeat the cycle of violence” arcs for characters like Syanna and Lambert but apparently completely forgot what a huge part of Ciri’s character that is

the first time I played I thought she got amnesia as well because of how much of her fiery temper was toned down, and how her trauma is hardly mentioned ( and it's not like the characters in this game trauma are completely ignored it is talked about in some quests) I wanna see what she really would have done had she seen Emhyr again

I feel like game Ciri had two distinct groups they were aiming for: people who found Geralt even more appealing because of the fatherhood angle so they had to work his actual kid in AND hot girl fan service.

The thing is, if they gave her too much personality or depth, she wouldn’t have fit into these groups well and therefore people would’ve found her annoying and/or off-putting. People already do sometimes but not to the degree that they would’ve if they even BEGAN to touch on the absolute shitstorm that is Ciris psyche after everything.

Also realistically, they made the Witcher games centre about Geralt bc he appeals to their large majority male fan base: combatant, dark mysterious tragic past, ripped, attractive, fucks hot women, is a good guy while still also getting to do badass things and beat people up. If you look in depth at Witcher fans on different platforms when they talk about him, a lot of dudes are very much “oh my god he’s literally me”. Ciri could never be the focus because she wouldn’t appeal to that same group, and we know that every time a game is released people throw the weirdest bitch fits about female characters, especially main ones.

This is also why Ciri is made an attractive character, when realistically that tiny little facial scar they’ve given her is nothing, she’s spent her developmental years on the run/being attacked/under extreme stress so I honestly can’t imagine her being a tall skinny but also hourglass woman with one or two scars, and put her in a cropped shirt (such a bad choice it’s mildly hysterical).

I think Lambert and Syanna are also a really good example of how people handle angry traumatised characters too, because Lambert gets a lot more leeway than Syanna (and I say this as a big fan of both!) Like there are literally people out there and on this webbed site who say she is pure evil, one of the evilest people in the Witcher for being a fucked up mean trauma victim who hurt a Poor Little Meow Meow (Higher vampire with decades of life experience more than her, incredibly possessive, responded to emotional manipulation by violently attacking an entire city). Like Lambert literally brags about axii’ing a guy to shoot himself in the head with his own crossbow.

Ciri got done very dirty, but I see how and why it happened. Book Ciri deserves rights but unfortunately I think Games Ciri will always be how people perceive her, and therefore portray her in fic, art and other work predominantly (praying same doesn’t happen with TWN Ciri). We’ve been robbed of such a complex, angry young woman and I mourn it 🙏

Edit: I can’t even touch on the Emhyr thing because the fact she can reconcile with him is honestly mildly fucking horrific. Like even if they’ve removed the nasty ass incest factor, that man quite literally destroyed her entire world and was willing to do so further in order to get his way. The fact she can call him father in one ending is genuinely vomit inducing and so disrespectful to Ciri as a character (also the audacity to play down that Ciri literally sees Yen as her mama WHILE playing devils advocate for War McCrime is a whole choice).

[a0random0gal]

If you had the chance to change something about the dance of the dragons (TV show or book), what would it be? For example, how a character dies, which team a house is on,or an entire character personally. How would you change it to make the story better, in your opinion?♥️🖤💙💚

Ohh anon i've got a list.

When it comes to the tv show there are a few choices the writers made that just don't sit right with me.

Laenor

I do like the characterization they went for, he's a pretty cool dude who really loves his weird, dysfunctional family. What I really don't like is how they handled his death.

See I truly can't stand it when a character is sugar coated just because they're the protagonist and thus must be righteous and always objectively correct.

So to witness the writers white wash his murder, having him flee to essos instead of being killed by Rhaenyra pisses me off. I get that after showing them being good friends it would be very odd to have her kill him.

But that's the thing, they should have opted for a more ruthless Rhaenyra in the first place!

Laenor's death in the books (at least for me) was the first instance of Rhae Rhae making morally wrong choices in order to pursue her ultimate goal. It was compelling! Here she just takes the easy way out, without having to make a tough choice.

Also his survival really fucks her up when you really think about it. Now all her sons are bastards since her marriage to Daemon isn't valid, and for the upcoming season 2, how are they going to handle Addam and Seasmoke? Laenor is still alive, his dragon won't accept a new rider. This doesn't make any sense and just causes plotholes what the actual fu-

Sidenote: After Laenor's very moving speech on how he was done goofing off and was now willing to really step up for Rhaenyra and their family it's super strange to imagine him ditching them all immediately afterwards Lol.

Rhaenys

My gosh, where do I even begin with this woman?

She too is pretty cool at the start, but then episode 9 rolls around and I roll my eyes.

She's so hypocritical. She tries to shit on Alicent for "toiling in the service of men." When that's all she does in the goddamn story!

She wants Baela to get Driftmark, tells Corlys about it, he shuts off the whole plan cause he wants a kid who he's not even related to on the driftwood throne, and when she complains about it he dismisses her.

So what does feminist Rhaenys do about it?

She... submits to her husband, something she conveniently forgets about when talking to Alicent. My god. Just remove this entire exchange, it hurts to watch.

And the coronation scene, Jesus Christ! It was so cool in the books, why did they have to ruin it? Had they replaced it with something better I wouldn't have complained, but this is just, the worst.

Rhaenys shows how badass she is by.... Brutally crushing hundreds of small folks to death and almost slaughtering the greens.

Cool, cool, absolutely necessary. Thanks Sara.

And you know what's even more infuriating? When she flees to Dragonstone to inform Rhaenyra of all that happened. She says she didn't kill the greens cause she didn't wish to start a war. I'm sorry what?

That would have ended the war at the start! As glad as I am that Rhaenys didn't barbecue them it makes absolutely no sense!

If she had killed them there would have been no dance in the first place!

I hate these dumb show only moments. They needlessly complicated an already complicated story and just mess everything up.

There's probably other stuff I could rant on, like how Aegon was made a rapist sorely to make the audience think:

Oh look! The greens are so baad, they believe a rapist alcoholic douche should be in charge instead of our empowered dragon queen, they sure do suck!

Or how house Velaryon was disrespected and mistreated by D*emyra but still somehow decided to support Nyra's claim.

They didn't really have a motive to be greens though, so I think they should have stayed neutral. Their fervent black support makes no sense.

The writers really should have given them more reasons to back up the blacks or had their beloved queen treat them better so that their loyalty made more sense ( I mean holy hell I wonder how they will handle the two betrayers and Corlys's arrest lmao).

But other greens have already shat on these awful decisions and I won't beat a dead horse.

Book

When it comes to fire and blood I surprisingly have very little complaints, except of course, the Jaehaera situation.

My poor baby deserved better, I've made a post about it in the past

(where I ranted and said stuff I kind of regret now, don't post while very angry guys I don't recommend it)

tackling how the little queen was unnecessarily killed off and how her death genuinely adds nothing so why was it added? God I get upset just thinking about it lol.

Some people say George did it cause he needed Aegon's kids to be born after Viserys's, and apparently he couldn't fathom a married teen not having kids until her 20s, which is veery weird.

The more plausible theory is that he got rid of her cause he wanted more Velaryon queens to showcase how close they used to be to the Targs.

Which is something I had understood already thanks to Alyssa, the sea Snake and all the Velaryons who were masters of ships but whatever.

[angelfirstclass]

X-men finale reaction...

OMG, hell yes. This was epic, this was a triumph and looking at all of the ten episodes together, THE best X-men adaptation ever. It did honor to the source material and was the best decision to keep it in the 90s and not modernize it And it took it beyond and super deep. The music was epic- I want the soundtrack or would attend a live concert of the music. Then the plot and fan service done to the viewers was chef's kiss perfection. There may be detractors out there and I may come down from this cloud and be able to nitpick but not now. I'm too excited and thrilled.

Firstly, I love that Disney is promoting X-men on the main page and was the first thing I saw when I opened the app. Yes, Disney! Disney/Marvel, congrats. You helped create a masterpiece of modern storytelling that revived an old almost forgotten piece of comic cartoon history and pulled it into the modern age. It was perfect timing and us old fans who grew up on TAS was thirsting after, but you also brought in new viewers and viewers like my husband who could care less about cartoon superheroes. But the storylines were compelling and the writing was deep, X-men 97 deserves its flowers. (Spoilers ahead).

Secondly, the writing and character development in this episode was fan service, it was perfection, and it was very well written. Starting with Cherik which I had some objections to last week due to feeling that Xavier was being holier than thou and not understanding Erik. But in this episode seeing the lengths that Xavier would go for Erik melted my heart. I still have some thoughts about Erik "making his X-men turn on each other" as I feel that they are grownups with their own minds, but the rest of the episode with Xavier cradling Erik and willing to go down with the ship with him is gold. Then they busted out the Badass X-women and I loved it! I am a huge Rogue fan and they did right by her- she was accepted back into the team no questions asked and she was so fierce. I teared up when she attacked Bastion with the "Remember it" line and I loved the whole team stepping up, working together to battle Bastion. I also loved the Cable/Scott/Jean storyline and we even got some Morpherine!

Thirdly, some of my predictions came true! I predicted in a previous post that the Avengers and other Marvel characters would make cameos in the finale and I was right! It was a veritable who's who of Marvel characters and I cackled in delight when they popped up! Predictably, Iron Man and Captain America were in the White House with the President. I knew that they weren't sitting out on this one! Then we saw Daredevil, Silver Samurai, Black Panther and Dora Milaje, Psylocke and many more!

Last but certainly not least, Apocalypse and more importantly DEATHBIT! As a ROMY shipper, I squeed so much at this! The fans have been dreaming about this since ep 5 as it gives us even a sliver of having some part of Gambit back and now it's confirmed with that Queen of Hearts cliffhanger. Oooh yes! Even if it's not the Real Remy back, just having Deathbit and a glimmer of Remy back in the storyline is juicy and desired indeed. There are a LOT of Romy and Gambit fans out there and this satisfies us and has us wanting more. Even if it's crazy and complicated, fans are going to eat up a Deathbit storyline, so yes please! And beyond Gambit, Apocalypse is a badass villain- kudos for the writers going here. Comic and Cartoon fans alike can agree that time travel is interesting and will come up with many cool, fascinating new storylines.

I can't wait until Season 2, but until then I will be rewatching the finale a million times. I am so glad that the writers understood the assignment and gave us this masterpiece. It calmed my Romy heart, gave us amazing battle sequences, had fun Marvel cameos, and perfectly set up next season.

[kenshiramblings]

One thing I like about Kenshi that I've talked about before and wish to see in more games is the opportunity to recruit random nameless, low level NPCs and mold them into something more. I said elsewhere that plucking an NPC from their little walk cycles where they'll either die or despawn and turning them into distinct badasses was really compelling to me. This idea of taking a blank canvas of a character and molding them into something fairly unique is just fully my shit.

It's a part of the reason I loved the Nemesis System so much. Any random grunt could end up becoming your worst enemy or your greatest follower. And their story would slowly unfold over time.

And I think that's part of the appeal to me. The story.

In my fourth playthrough, I came across a Escaped Servant slowly bleeding out on the side of the road. At some point she'd been enslaved, gotten attacked, her leg was chopped off, and she was left behind. Feeling a bit like I should do something, I carried her back to my house, patched her up, and picked her shackles. She asked to join me and I agreed. She couldn't walk so I got a cheap prosthetic from the Hivers and had her make medkits at base since she couldn't keep up with the others. Eventually, I was able to afford a high quality robotic leg and she ended up being one of my medics. She ended up saving us from a complete squad death a few times.

All because I stopped a random NPC from bleeding out on the side of the road and let her join the group.

Saving characters and having them want to stick with you makes sense storywise. I also appreciate that there are more recruitment methods other than simply hiring people at a bar.

Getting a bit nerdy, taking a nameless NPC and building them up feels like something out of a light novel or webtoon. I liken it to Reincarnated as a Slime where the characters got a name and suddenly were able to become much stronger. I just find it interesting overall.

I don't know, I just think it's interesting and wish random NPC recruitment like that was in more RPGs.

[violetsarepurple-fuckyou]

Gerard and Elody

I’m thinking about Elody and the Princesses. And how all of the princesses are not only the main characters of their stories, but also the ones in their stories who have to be rescued by true love. 

The psychology behind the Daughters of the Crown insane plan is simply this: they are the main characters and royalty -- there is an inherent privilege to that position and even if they don’t realize it, subconsciously they believe that they have the right to decide the fate of the world and all who live in it -- and they are experiencing suffering without an endgame of being saved. They are suicidal, and they wield independence for the first time, and they do not understand what it is to have to be their own source of hope. Their role in the story, their archetype, has always been that they should suffer nobly and then be saved, and now they are not going to be saved. Of COURSE their next logical step is martyrdom! Like Ylfa said, they are young and hot and badass... they don’t actually KNOW anything!

And now let’s talk about Elody, because Elody is the only princess in the group that isn’t actually a princess archetype. She isn’t the damsel waiting on true love to save her, she is the TRUE LOVE. 

Prince Charmings have been notably absent throughout the whole show, from Sleeping Beauty waking up by herself, to Snow White casually saying “Well we’ve killed a LOT of them”. And because Elody is a princess in the literal sense, she was brought into the Daughters of the Crown club without any of its members really questioning it, but in terms of archetype? That’s a Prince Charming babes! 

She finds a helpless, cursed royal, falls in love, saves him with true love’s kiss.  Brennan literally gave her golden plate; she’s a goddamn knight in shining armor.

So now let’s think about this whole thing from her perspective; the perspective of the Prince Charmings which is something we have not thought about at all up until this point. 

SO children in the Neverafter exist to suffer and be taught morals. Princesses exist to be saved. Prince Charmings exist to save the actually important people. I know all of us traumatized, people pleasing, therapist friend idiots understand how horrifying that it is. The scores of dead princes lining the briars of Rosamund’s castle, endlessly compelled to rescue her? Horrifying. They don’t have faces, they are just cardboard cutouts with generically handsome features doomed to chase acts of self-sacrifice and heroism without any real other choice. 

Elody at least has some defining characteristics: she is not shallow, she is lonely, she is the sort of person who could fall in love with a frog if only he could make her laugh. But she still has a heroic nature, a savior complex. 

Let’s think about this from her perspective. Elody loses her parents young. She meets a frog. He becomes her best friend. They fall in love, and it is genuinely sweet, founded upon FRIENDSHIP. And then her falling in love with him turns him back into a prince, and they live happily ever after. 

Except she finds it horrifying. The idea that their stories ended the day they were wed. The idea that she no longer has anything to fight for. No one to save. And then the corruption begins, war starts, and Elody is a knight in shining armor: of course she wants to fight to protect people. 

And she is torn about Gerard, both resenting him and not, because it is really fucking tough when you view yourself as entirely responsible for the wellbeing emotional and physical of someone who you love. It makes you feel superior to them, like there is a power imbalance. It’s a lot of pressure to put on yourself, and it also makes you feel shitty because you feel like you are stunting THEIR growth, and making them reliant on you, and you resent them for it, but also yourself because you kinda constructed the relationship this way yourself in the first place because it made you feel needed, and like even as you blame them for being so goddamn helpless, you also feel absolutely terrified of giving them any opportunities to get hurt and make mistakes and grow. 

So things are tense in Elody’s marriage. And THEN Gerard starts turning back into a frog. The thing that was literally her whole job in the story, she is visibly failing at. Now I think that Gerard’s curse is actually based on his self-worth, and I think that Elody still very much loves him, but the thing is that NEITHER of them know that! So Elody is walking around, a ruler locked in war with a growing rapidly more horrific world, and her husband is being transformed back into a body that is the visual representation of the most traumatic period of his life, and Elody thinks that it is HER FAULT. That her being angry at him, her not wanting the stagnancy of a happily ever after, is her not LOVING him enough. 

And that is so goddamn tragic because Gerard’s whole character arc is about learning not to cling to the safety post trauma, and that a relationship isn’t a happily ever after, it is a continuing collaboration. And he kind of needed her to leave to realize that, because she was too afraid of hurting him to let him grow in that way. But now they need to learn to find that balance together, and here is the thing...

Elody has learned her role in the story. 

She found Gerard’s body. It almost broke her. The princesses found her, got them to join their ranks, and she didn’t tell them she was married, because she wasn’t. Her husband was dead. And they explained the multiverse to her, and they were like “So see? You’re one of us!” and I think she must have realized then that she was not one of them. They didn’t know her story, obviously because they didn’t know she was married. But she must have heard all of their stories, how they were supposed to be saved by their true loves but never were, and listening to those I think she must have thought, “Oh, so that is what went wrong in my story too. I didn’t save Gerard. Look at all these traumatized, jaded princesses and how they hate the world because of the loves that failed them, I did that to my best friend.”

And then she was brought into the new world. I wonder if she got her memories of the current world in spite of not having died to get there. The memories where she transformed Gerard by hurling him into a WALL. If she did, can’t imagine that helped her self-image of how much she believes she hurt Gerard. 

And then Snow White is like “Hey, btw, you have a husband??? He’s traveling with a bunch of heroes from your world who died and came to this one, and he wants to find you.” And suddenly, Elody’s husband is not dead. He is alive. He is a hero now, maybe, because she abandoned him. 

Gerard arrives at the castle. He is apologizing to her SO much, and he is right to, and he is addressing problems that need to be addressed for their relationship to work, but the thing is Elody blames herself for a lot of this, and has been so afraid of letting Gerard get hurt for so long that even though he is the one bringing it up, it still feels wrong to talk about. Like she is going to hurt him. 

In the Adventuring Party, Brennan brought up the idea of power dynamics in relation to Elody, and it got mostly brushed over but it sounded so much like that was her concern during her talk with Gerard that it really stood out to me. Like, she has learned that she is his protector in a very literal sense. The man she loves, who was traumatized as a child, and he NEEDS her to save him. 

It is not necessary to the story of the Frog Prince for the Princess to fall in love with him, case and point the wall throwing. It is necessary for the frog to love and need her. 

We have heard Gerard telling Ylfa that he thinks he would have fallen in love Elody either way, that her being a princess and saving him has nothing to do with it. But from Elody’s perspective? Gerard is under an obligation to love her. The story made it that way. Every problem he has is directly because of Elody’s failures, and he never had a choice in any of it. 

And so when Gerard says that he would not have done the things he has done without her? Elody is seeing his body with a glass shard in his heart: he wouldn’t have done that if it weren’t for her. And when he says she inspires him?

He meant it so sweetly, because he is talking about all the ways he has grown on this adventure, but of all the compliments he could have chosen I think that is the one that would have hurt her the most, because it is such a direct reference to the status differential she feels she has over him, and to the insecurities she herself is so emersed in right now. 

Like Brennan said, sometimes “I’m proud of you” feels like such agony to hear if you don’t think the other person should be. 

I really really hope they find common ground and talk it all out. I really hope that their happy ending is learning that relationships have ups and downs and they can learn to navigate them together. Because I think they really do love each other so much, they just need to break free of themselves and the roles they feel locked in and embrace growth. I really hope that they learn their stories did not end on the day that they wed, but that rather the effort they put into this relationship going forward is an adventure that will last them for the rest of their lives.

Anywho, that is my two cents lol

[causticcorvus]

The argument for a Masquerade in ‘New Vestroia’ AU (+ other details)

Disclaimer: This was originally written only for myself, as a way to organize my thoughts on Alice, Masquerade, and the potential that New Vestroia wasted, along with things I'd clarify or do differently. However, I wanted to know what the fandom consensus was on some of these topics, so I'm posting it. This is, a mess. ____________________________________________________________ -In canon, Masquerade seemingly re-integrates with Alice after their final battle alongside Dan. However, after this, Alice is largely sidelined, and the show doesn't really have much time to explore the implications of this. Despite carrying Masquerade within her, she is largely ineffectual in her remaining appearances (which is a shame, as a more badass Alice could have been a great deuteragonist). So, we’re going to fix that.

-option A) Alice becomes a whole person with a combined personality of both halves -option B) Masquerade is still around, and Alice draws on his power for important fights -I am fairly unbothered by some of the other core characters being sidelined in newer seasons, but Alice, being effectively the second most important character in the show, needed to stick around. Largely, these are the changes and clarifications I would make; -The two cores of Vestroia do not combine into one; Hydranoid fuses with the Silent Core in the same way that Drago fuses with the Infinity core, as a way to give the two equal importance. (even if the cores did fuse, they would still need two ‘vessels’ to do so) -Masquerade has always been a part of Alice. Masquerade wasn’t created from nothing- The darker aspects of Alice’s personality were stripped away from her and melded into him. Alice, after Masquerade’s creation, is half of the person she used to be. She’s such a doormat, to the point that her friends don’t even notice she’s not there half the time, and she’s too ‘good’ and forgiving of their treatment of her. There’s just something not right there. -The mask only changes their appearance, nothing more. This.. is zigzagged in canon a lot. Alice seems to transform into or revert from being Masquerade depending on if the mask is put on or taken off. However, there are also times where Alice is still Alice, but Masquerade seemingly has some degree of control over her actions. There’s also the implication of how she would be compelled to put the mask on or take it off and never realize this in the first place, so he definitely has the ability to act as Alice without her remembering it. -Masquerade can see what Alice sees at the same time she is seeing it. This is evident in that he can act on knowledge gained while Alice is in control, and very quickly at that. He’s not just reading her memories later, because some of his appearances are very punctual to Alice seeing or learning something. Masquerade either has some sort of mental block in place to prevent Alice from doing the same when he is in control, or, the trauma she experienced causes her to repress the memories of his actions herself immediately after. There could also be some level of brainwashing or mental programming involved here, as someone else created Masquerade and is pulling the strings, but that is a whole other thing. -Alice definitely had a harsh enough life to have harbored the negative emotions to create Masquerade. Alice’s parents are both dead. Alice was a loner, homeschooled, and had no friends. She spent most of her life under the care of her well-meaning, but neglectful grandfather, out in the middle of nowhere. When she would get to go out, she’d be the target of sexual harassment, and she lived in a society that did not value her as a person. The latter examples could even explain why Masquerade is a male persona, because she resented the ways she was treated as a female; (think Naoto from Persona 4). Oh, and I imagine the first time her grandfather disappeared, she spent time in the care of a relative who didn’t want her.  (He was gone for half a year, and it’s mentioned that she stays with her aunt and uncle later in the season- she likely jumped at the chance to stay with Runo due to this, but after her secret came out, she was forced to go back to them.)

-So how does the mask actually work? The mask establishes a neurolink with the wearer, and alters their molecular structure on the fly to match their perceived image of their ‘self’. If someone other than Alice wore the mask, they wouldn’t look like Masquerade- they’d look like whatever their inner self would manifest as. -Masquerade is not truly gone after the mask shatters. Canon proves this in New Vestroia itself, when she hears his voice in her head and manages to channel his power in the fight against Shadow Prove. It however, is unclear if she would still even be capable of transforming into him, despite her fear of him taking over. Him existing as a separate entity able to talk to her, however, means that she hasn’t accepted him and re-integrated him in all that time. In fact, she seems to have largely avoided battling out of fear- though this battle proves that they are capable of working together. (So, has she just been hearing his voice in her head, telling her to fight, this whole arc? I agree, those who are capable, should; he berates her for trying to run away). Unfortunately, canon never does anything with this, despite the fact that seeing Alice channel Masquerade’s power and battle the villains like Yugioh would have been amazing, and this is largely the last we ever hear of him.

-So, all this said, we can establish an AU of New Vestroia (or even skipping that, Gundalian Invaders) where Alice is very much involved, and assisted by Masquerade. The two would fight together, alongside Dan and their new allies, all the while Alice learns to get over he fear, and accept herself, and Masquerade gets to go all-out with a new purpose. (You can say redeeming villains is old hat, but 1, the og series already sorta did it anyway, and 2, Masquerade just wants to fight for fighting’s sake, like a blood knight.)

Now, this is the part where I say I’d have to actually research more of the sequel seasons to write anything, because I never actually watched them all. ;-;