#so it's not a great medium honestly for a story that you want or need to replay multiple times to get All The Depth

[centeris2]

This seems to be an uncommon opinion but thank god SSO is making (what appears to be) serious headway into the story.

For years it felt like it had stalled out. It was valid wanting main characters and villains to be visually updated before continuing, but it slowed things down.

I'm glad they aren't going "we need to update Mr. Sands, Darko is a pretty old model compared to the Dark Riders, Avalon really needs an update, so does Pi, etc"

Because yes it absolutely would look better if everyone had the same number of polygons. And yes it WOULD be great if SSO picked up those threads mentioned throughout the main story. But if they did that and got all those map areas that had been brought up in the story quests then it'd be another 10 years of filler in the main story until they can 'wrap up'

And honestly I'm tired of waiting. This isn't even an impatience thing, this is a "I've played this game for 10+ years and at this point I don't care how it's wrapped up, as long as it IS wrapped up."

Probably helps that I don't expected a 'satisfying' ending from SSO, I just want AN ending to the main story. I expect Garnok to be 'defeated' and for the Soul Riders to be victorious, probably through the power of friendship. That's all I'm expecting.

[thighguys]

Phan Fic Recs #3!!

here is the requested long fic list! these are all 100k+, not all of them are finished (i didn't put any on here that aren't actively updating tho) and all of them are SO good so i hope you enjoy :)

Silver Arrows To The Heart by @evermorepeyton (137k WIP)- this one is a duplicate from the other list but there might be a few on here, ignore that<3 anyway this fic is AMAZING!!! dan and phil formula 1 drivers au- they're both on Mercedes and lots of awesome teammates to lovers hijinks ensue<3 this one gets a special shoutout for having some fantastic female characters (who are dare i say just as intriguing as dnp themselves?) and also bc the author is a beautiful human who i love<3 a super fun fic and very in character for both of them (somehow lmao, you wouldnt expect it with racecar drivers but somehow it works so well)

dancing on the blades (you set my heart on fire) by kishere (123k)- imagine all the 2009 phan lore but if dan and phil were figure skaters. yep, it's a yuri on ice au where dan scores a spot in the famous Lester training gym and meets phil, who is one of the most well known figure skaters in england<3 fantastic fantastic fic, such perfect vibes and lots of great lester family cameos<3

Strictly Come Dancing but make it GAY! by @natigail (176k)- the final duplicate from the medium list<3 this fic is AMAZING!!!! this is the one that got me back into phanfic in general afterhaving not read any for about 6 years, it's a strictly come dancing au where phil is a hot pro dancer and dan is a celebrity/gay activist, and they accidentally become the first gay couple to compete in scd<3 FANTASTIC outfit and dance descriptions, i listened to all the songs while reading it and it was honestly so lovely i felt like i could see it so clearly<3 also- the lore references are AMAZING lol i felt like a pro every time i found a little easter egg. amazing fic, i HIGHLY recommend it<3

A Semester Abroad by @everything-is-as-it-was (162k WIP)- this one is really fun!! lots of domestic phouse vibes as it is about an american college student who gets stranded in England after a study abroad housing situation falls through and who gets accidentally taken in by these two random british guys with a REALLY weird house... sooo funny, it's really quite cute and i highly recommend giving it a read! I love outsider pov and this has an abundance of funny moments because dnp are Weird

Broke, Gay and New in Town by @natigail (347k)- do you want the softest, cutest, most magical and compelling story to ever exist??? literally look no further because right here is the dan and phil stardew valley au and it is SO CUTE!!! dan inherits a farm from his grandfather and decides to ditch his boring life to go and run it, and he has so many adventures along the way. oh yeah phil is there too and hes SO CUTE and they fall in love :3 seriously so cute, also you don't need stardew valley knowledge to enjoy this it is independently perfect (i have never played the game and actually learned what it was From this fic so ur good lol)

linger on by dizzy, waveydnp (184k)- this one is so so so sweet... non youtuber au where 33yo phil has been living with his parents, but when his dad dies his mom decides to sell the house and phil has to find somewhere new to live. so ofc he becomes roommates with some guy called dan, and ummm they fall in love? honestly they are SO perfect in this fic, i adore it<3 highly recommend

L'Histoire Française by danfanciesphil (105k)- suuuuper fun teachers au! phil is a history professor and dan is his TA. this fic is SO FUN!!!! genuinely adore it lol, it's one of the first phan fics i ever read and it has stayed with me forever<3

So Many Stars by transdimensional_void (152k)- another teachers au :) dnp meet when they both become english teachers at a school in japan and this is VERY cute <3

okay there's the list!! sorry this one is shorter than the others haha, there are too few long fics in the phandom :( but all of these are so so lovely and i hope you enjoy! lol some distractions may be needed during these trying times <3

[yermes]

Love reading!!!

(Platonic love only)

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Pick a meme

123

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Disclaimer: please take what I say with a grain of salt and not as the gospel. I just want to share some ideas of practicing and giving advice using the medium as often as I can with school, work, and my own personal studies and practice. But I am working on sharing my notes soon so that will be exciting! Liking and sharing does a lot 🥰

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Socials: My Socials **☾**

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The cards

Valour 🍓

The chaotic creativity that keeps you afloat even in the face of adversity. Together you are fighters and will try and stay afloat even after a dire fall from grace. With this friendship and love you are able to support and uplift each other in ways some may not be able to comprehend. Ever try and keep a flame going even when its whole environment does not support its being? You two fan each other’s flames even when its clear nothing is happening. Because you support each other, lovingly and unconditionally. Because even if you are a tiny flame struggling in the wind and pair of hands will come down to shield you and allow you space to grow

Art 🫐

Honestly an unlikely duo, together you take something ordinary and become extraordinary, you both have a unique but opposite skill set and together you form one whole being with a complete skill set. What you have is very complementary, you combine, you grow, you take your weakness and work with someone else’s to become something more. To combine, and to solve. You need your foil and its been proven over and over that opposites attract and with it you build a strong bond and a powerful friendship. When the intent is to create, there is more of a divine reason behind the friendship and it does seem to be a major defining factor.

Knight of wands 🍾

This isn’t the deepest friendship, this isn’t the most emotionally intelligent friendship, but there is a purpose. You are head strong, intelligent, there is strong leadership and a goal driven and oriented friendship and relationships. At your best there’s nothing the two can’t do and accomplish, the power trip which manifests pure and great results. You alls work together is pure manifestation, the giving and the power behind any effort. While you may not run to them for comfort, you love and support them to the fullest extent because they do the same for you.

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Extras:

Story/vent:

Almost in gf territory atm?? Will update

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[ashweather]

Word on the street is you've got some Burning Wheel opinions? I still haven't given the book a thorough read so I'm interested to read your takes!

Yeah, I would say I have a lot of opinions on Burning Wheel! It's actually probably my second or third most-played TTRPG period. I got introduced to it by a good friend early in high school, and have had plenty of time to chew on it since, so I'm going to answer this as a quick overview - when it comes to specific points I'm getting overwhelmed by what to talk about honestly. I reserve the right to reblog this ask with random shit I think about specific Burning Wheel mechanics later.

NOT VERY THOROUGH OVERVIEW

Pros:

Essential reading for anyone hoping to get into TTRPG design or just learn more about them - this book does a LOT of things, and it even does some of them reasonably well! Beliefs and Instincts, Shades, Lifepaths, Duel of Wits, Artha, there's a ton to sink your teeth into and think about if you're wanting to get more literate in the medium. I could and probably will write paragraphs on any one of these subsystems.

It's pretty damn medieval if you like that sort of thing (in the lifepaths of Man, anyway). According to our mutual friend who has an MA in history, it "sounds pretty medieval." A ringing endorsement!

It's pretty damn Tolkein-inspired if you like that sort of thing. For example, half of elves' skills are songs and they have an attribute called Grief that measures how close they are to metaphorically needing to sail into the West.

Do you want crunch? This baby's got so much fucking crunch in it you're going to crack your teeth the second you bite down. What do Call-On Traits do? What the fuck is going on with the Magic Burner? How does Range & Cover work? That's a great question, the answer is nobody knows and we like it better that way. (This point may be a con to you, YMMV. Coward.)

Cons:

Oooooh sam gamgee. why did you put so many skills in this game. i am dying and dreowning. you can't have that mnay skills man they don't meaningfully interact with each other or the rest of the game as you have designed it. pleas luke crane my family is starving tell me in what circumstances you foresaw tree-pulling being used,,,

BW wants to tell a really specific kind of story in a really specific kind of way, but it thinks it's a broad toolbox game that can do way more than it's actually suited for. It's an ideal game for like, telling a Knights of the Round Table style anthology. It's kind of poorly suited to a lot of other stuff in my opinion, but it's not written with that perspective, which leads to a lot of cluttered, inelegant design.

Uhhhh honestly a lot of the other points I was going to make kind of come back to that last bullet, like how so many Traits feel stapled on, and how the extreme crunch ends up being distributed in such a way that keeping track of it all is difficult, but the end effect of all that tracking ends up being mostly unsatisfying in play, in my experience.

Feel free to ask follow up questions, I would love to talk more about it. I will likely ramble more on this topic in future reblogs. The bottom line is you should definitely read Burning Wheel, but I'm not convinced you should actually try to play it. (But if you do tell me I would love to hear your experience with it.)

[olderthannetfic]

https://www.tumblr.com/olderthannetfic/753405110589259776/note-spoilers-on-this-ask-for-anyone-who-hasnt

I’m this anon, and using your anon box to reply to a bad take in the reblogs of it lol.

1. aO3 treats the show and book series as separate fandoms for Bridgerton. My friend’s genderbend fic though is based on the books — thought I made that clear here. And yes book fans were being genuinely homophobic in her comments, not just her interpreting them not shipping it as “homophobia.” It was full of “get out of OUR tag” and claiming just writing a female character in a male version or shipping her male love interest with a guy was “misogyny,” exactly as I said. It’s a huge problem in the fandom. The main Reddit sub is so full of homophobia that queer fans had to spin out a separate inclusive sub called r/bridgertonlgbt. I’ve heard of people on TikTok being called “bourgeois degenerate” and “groomer” just for questioning why it’s supposedly such a dramatic and horrible change to make Michael into Michaela in the show.

2. Can we finally fucking retire the really tired, knee jerk “book is always better” attitude that has never been universally true anyway lol. The books Bridgerton are based on are pretty middling het histrom that repeat plots so much between them that that’s one of the big changes the show has had to make — just not have seasons 1 and 2 follow the same plot beats like books 1 and 2 did. The show has had to make a lot of changes just because it has a bigger audience than your average het histrom reader and while I haven’t loved every shift, it is overall better for it. Or just like, focusing on more than just each season’s main couple like the books only do — also better! The subplots are some of the most fun parts of that show, but also, it makes sense that people are going to continue to want to follow their favs from season to season and not just zero in on each couple. Yes I’ve read all the books. They simply are just not that great, TV is a different medium than books anyway and so certain changes are necessary, and frankly most of the loudest parts of the “book fandom” online who complain about the changes are people who read the books because of the show anyway. They’re all wildly inconsistent in what they consider acceptable changes: they’re largely on board with making the universally white books more racially diverse, but not adding queerness and gender diversity. Why is one ok but not another? Especially when a lot of them are ok with sad or bittersweet queer stories in subplots like Brimsley’s but not happy stories for main characters. Why is that, I wonder? A lot of people are pretending to be “book snobs” as a mask for bigotry, or just have bad taste, but regardless I think we need to get over the idea that stalwart defense of some mediocre and overly tropey romance novels is more elevated or intellectual and like the show isn’t an improvement in being less lazy about the cliches of that genre than the original author. (Seriously, I read a lot of romance novels, so this is not a knock on the genre as a whole or its readers — but the Bridgerton books are SO lazy and SO repetitive. Honestly I think a lot of the book defenders need to read more histrom themselves. Then maybe they’d see how weak and lazy those books can be compared to what else is out there.)

Fandom please learn basic things about how adaptation between different mediums works 2k24 also stop assuming that consuming a story in text form over another is an inherently intellectual activity

--

A pretentious friend of mine who loves Shonda Rhimes was going on at me a while ago about how she ~always reads the book first~ and then waiting for applause as if that's unusual!

She then tried to launch into how shocked she was by the books being... well, lowbrow trash, but she had some complex and boring way of explaining this.

I was like "Honey, you do know what a regency romance novel is, right? Right?!"

I mean, there are adaptations that are nearly exactly like the middle tier of romance novels. They're movie length and they air on Lifetime. This was a change not only of medium but of overall target audience and vibe.

[gale-gentlepenguin]

So, I’ve come to realize that people fall into two camps when it comes to creators having alterations to another work when in a different medium.

Camp 1: The “Shut your mouth it’s great” where all changes are justified and no one has a right to complain.

Or

Camp 2: The “This didn’t go as written” so it’s trash because it didn’t do everything EXACTLY as it’s supposed to.

Quite frankly I hate both these approaches. Mainly because there is nuance when changes are made compared to an original work/story.

Allow me to explain.

1. Time constraints: Tv shows but mainly movies, have a limit to what can be shown in the physical medium. So not everything can be included. You can only add so much before a movie becomes a slog or a tv show runs far too long.

Who to blame: honestly it’s the writers/directors who bear the responsibility of what’s aired and what’s cut. So if there is complaints on what was cut and what wasn’t… it does fall on them. But also the studios for the length given.

2. Budget constraints: How much money does it cost to make? Live action adaptations suffer from this the most. Because to properly adapt a powerful scene can be very costly.

Who to blame: Studios are mainly the decider of budgets, the writers and directors have to work around this constraint. Now some blame does fall on how to allocate budget, but in most cases it’s because studios won’t pony up. It makes sense, as the point IS to make money. Not spend so much.

3. Flow progression: This is where a show has to alternate the order of scenes and events to better manage scene progression. Not every flashback or episode can air in the order. It could disrupt the flow of everything. Or maybe the story needs to be concise and not just time wise. But maybe certain characters can’t be where they are needed. So events maybe altered in order to flesh characters out more. Or maybe a change to help bring up stakes.

Who to blame: It’s a director/ Writer choice. And in some cases, editor choice. This is where things get subjective and when I say blame, I mean who’s responsible.

4. Character changes: As a result of time and flow changes. Events that brought focus to a character can often be altered in order to better fit or condense an arc for viewing. Now this can help or hurt certain characters.

There is also cases where this new medium is a chance to fix the character because of reasons that the author wanted to change how the character is perceived.

Who is to blame: This is a writers decision and the actor who portrays them. Now the actor is given direction and is so less responsible. But to say they have no impact is also not true. It also could be that the constraints forced the hand of writers. And in that case that causes the changes.

Overall making adaptations can be hard to do and I think it’s important to give shows the benefit of the doubt when lobbying criticism.

But, if something is bad and does massive alterations for little reason… then criticism is warranted

[deadite-central]

ARCANE SEASON 2 THOUGHTS

buckle up this one is long lol

Immediately out of the way, if you enjoyed season 2, good for you, we can all enjoy whatever we want. It’s fine, please don’t go into my comments and reblogs just to start a fight, I’m sure if we talked you’d find there’s shows I like that you don’t, okay? Lovely.

I absolutely adored season one of Arcane, it’s what got me into League in the first place, as my opinion on it prior had been “isn’t that the game for incels?”, I watched the first season in two days and quickly fell in love with the story, animation, sound design, and obviously, the characters. It got to a point where not even a day later I was on the league universe page, scrolling through the Piltover and Zaun champions biographies and stories, as I wondered how these stories would be implemented into the lore of arcane. At that point in time, the series was an AU, so no matter what happened, I thought I would be satisfied.

I could tell you about why I loved season one, but I feel like there’s at least fifty youtube video essays diving deep into what makes Arcane season one so universally beloved, and while it diverges from the original lore of these characters, it remained a great story, in which Riot could have their cake and eat it too, since by keeping it an AU, people who loved the original lore of these characters could watch Arcane, and then ho back to reading their story on the universe page for the millionth time.

The first cracks started to show when Riot decided to make Arcane canon, as now not only would everything have to bend to the will of the Arcane storyline, but a new question opened up in the back (or front) of a lot of people’s minds: what will happen to the stories these champions have already?

You could push these worries aside when the wait for season two continued, up until the first teaser trailer, showing the new outfits for Vi and Caitlyn, as well as three new enforcer characters. Vi rocked her League tutu, while Cait’s outfit was similar to the one she has in Legends of Runeterra, and despite the uproar from some people over Vi’s aforementioned tutu (an iconic part of her character design to me, but I digress), I was incredibly excited, as even if Arcane had to be canon, if season two incorporated the original lore of these characters, and continued to build upon what season one had set out, I was sure I would enjoy it just as much, if not more, than the first season.

I was unfortunately wrong.

NOT QUITE BAD

Season two of Arcane is far from the worst thing ever, it does actually have a lot of good stuff to be found, and since these are my thoughts, it would be stupid not to mention what I liked here.

For starters, as many people before me pointed out, the art direction in this season is amazing. The use of different types of artistic mediums shines from the very first episode, with the coal backgrounds all around Caitlyn during “I can’t hear it now”. Just like season one, you can tell that the animation and art budget went to good use, and the people working on this part have given it their all. By all accounts, Arcane looks absolutely gorgeous, and animation as a medium deserves so much more recognition than it gets. It’s a wonderful art form to create your movies and shows in.

Another praise I have to give Arcane is the acting. I watched both the english and polish dub, and I have to say that in both cases the voice actors have put so much thought and soul into these characters, just as they did in season one. Every voice crack, every emotional outburst, every whisper, it’s all acted out in such a mesmerizing way that you feel like these characters are real people, living out real struggles.

The sound design, and the soundtrack are wonderful, again, as they were in season one. Every single sound is deliberate, and the score accompanying the story fits what’s going on. The songs themselves aren't subtle, but honestly, they don’t need to be, they’re supposed to be there to guide the story, not to give us new information, and most of the time they do just that, as they’re supposed to.

There are some directions I liked, for example, the portrayal of LeBlanc, a bit out of place as it was, worked really well, and I feel like a lot of the references to League left there for those of us that like the lore or play the game were nice additions, not flashy enough to feel redundant, just right.

Some emotional beats worked, but I give that partially to the fact I cry at media really fast. Isha’s sacrifice, Jayce’s and Viktor’s talk at the end of the last episode, Vander remembering who he is, get me crying, because again, the score, animation, art direction and voice acting is masterful.

AND THE WRITING?

The fact that Riot layed off a bunch of its writers is felt here. The writing in season two feels incredibly clunky, and while it isn’t that bad on first watch, the more I think about it, and the more I rewatch scenes, the more I am left with a “really?” type of feeling, and you could say this is just taste but if actual critics and writers agree with me, I think the call is coming from inside the house. Season two’s writing feels like it’s going backwards in so many places. Things that don’t make any sense are suddenly the end all be all. Remember how in season one Heimerdinger was shown to be stagnating? How he let the undercity fall onto itself until people like Silco could take control? How that was a major character flaw and the biggest reason why Jayce even managed to get him voted off the council? Well now suddenly Heimer was right about hextech all along, he’s chilling out with Ekko and the firelights as if he isn’t one of the biggest reasons why Zaun is so shitty in the first place. And then it turns out he was actually right and has never done anything wrong. What was the point of his character in season one?

Or remember when Jinx embraced that this is who she is now? Forget that, she doesn’t struggle with her new identity, she doesn’t slowly turn into the Jinx from League, she’s a snarky gal that gets herself a younger sister. Or how Vi finally understood that Powder was gone and could never return? Well screw that, cause now that Vander is back the only conflict the two are allowed to have is a sister catfight, forget that Jinx has been shooting people left and right last season, she’s the hero of Zaun cause she really showed those Piltover guys who’s boss.

It annoys me.

And it isn’t just a problem with how I feel the writing sabotages developments that I really liked in season one, or just goes in lesser directions than I would have hoped for, it retroactively makes things in season one less interesting. The reveal that Felicia knew Vander and Silco might be cute and did result in headcanons and fanarts I enjoyed, but it completely undermines Vander stopping the fight against Piltover on the bridge in episode one because he saw the damage it’s doing, adopting two random kids who lost their parents fighting for the cause, or Silco taking Powder in, as now it simply feels like they’re family friends that had to take care of these children when the parents were gone. Not only that but Silco’s reaction to seeing Powder makes no sense, he should know who she is, right?

Another problem with the writing and the plot that I have is the complete disregard for the Piltover and Zaun conflict post Act One. Act Two still sort of hinges on it, until they decide to resolve Caitlyn’s entire character arc off-screen. And then Act Three is Piltover and Zaun teaming up against Noxus. Besides season two’s problem with telling and not showing, it would have never crossed my mind that they’d think of completely neglecting the Piltover vs Zaun plot to focus on Ambessa and Viktor’s glorious evolution (#notmyviktor), which I think might at least be partially due to Riot wanting to push content that they could put into League, and then to focus on Noxus for the next ingame season.

On that note I am so happy Arcane didn’t bring new players into the game. Serves you right Rito

Since I’m already getting on the topic of League itself, time for my final gripe with Arcane that deserves its own section.

THE CHARACTERS

Many people seem to be under the impression that the League versions of these characters aren’t fleshed out. And while short stories and character bios could never come close to storytelling that could be done through the medium of a TV-series, there’s a reason why these characters, and so many others in League have garnered such fanbases. They’re WELL WRITTEN characters, with complex stories, motivations, aspirations, that were simply left by Riot to rot because, for one, the way their Universe site is structured is ass, and two, moving their stories forward would actually require making changes, which they hadn’t even done so far, as Miss Fortune despite her complex story that has been going on since 2015 is still running around the Rift in a tank top talking about Summoners.

That’s beyond the point, Riot always dropped the ball with showing they care about their story, if you need any confirmation look at the 2024 layoffs. What the problem is, is that Arcane season two takes these complex characters that people have loved for years, and misses the mark with their stories. And again, I wouldn’t have had as much of a problem with this if they just stuck to keeping Arcane an AU, but with Viktor’s update we can all safely assume this is the direction they’re going. Obviously there’s nothing wrong with enjoying Arcane’s iterations of these characters, or even preferring them to their original versions, but you should at least keep those characters’ stories, especially since to me personally, some of the storylines these champions had in season two were much weaker to what I (and others) enjoyed in their previous incarnations. Either that or they simply stray away so far from what they once were that you might as well put all the work the writers of their league iterations put into them to the trash.

I could live (as much as I personally dislike it) with Ekko travelling to another universe to make the Z-drive, Jayce becoming much less of an asshole and more-so a misguided scientist, Heimerdinger being a more stern professor, or even some of the mess with Jinx’s character in season two, just because I enjoyed her in season one so much, but Caitlyn, Vi, Viktor and Warwick all annoy me so much they’re the reasons I even wanted to make this.

Let’s dive into small sections of my problems with them:

At least half of my problems with Caitlyn’s character in season two are boiled down to her character arc. It was incredibly ambitious, but either they forgot to resolve it, or they believed the fans can do their job for them, which is not okay? You should actually show Caitlyn struggling with martial law. Show her doubting Ambessa more. Make her redemption longer than one decision. Caitlyn’s character arc throughout the show, up until the end of Act One of season two is incredibly interesting, but then it feels like the writers got bored of it and just wanted to get her and Vi back together, which don’t get me wrong, I adore Piltover’s Finest, but I felt like they were lacking this season in terms of screen time and actual conversations.

Caitlyn in League is a calculated Sheriff, but she is also overcome with the goal of finding Corina, the woman who kidnapped her parents, as she saw firsthand what that kidnapping did to them. She leads a strike team that looks absolutely menacing in Legends of Runeterra, and again, if it was only allowed to develop more, we could have had an interesting story that League and LoR set up of a woman who wants to do good but needs to check her privilege, while also showing her as a detective. Especially since she took on a role similar to a detective in season one, I just don’t understand why they threw that out of the window to switch it for an unfinished character arc.

Why I do have some problems with League Vi’s amnesia plot that kind of goes nowhere, I genuinely prefer her in League lore as compared to Arcane. She’s my favorite P&Z champion, despite the fact I never even played her! That’s something! While in season one her story is incredibly interesting, and some if it is carried on to season two, you can clearly tell that the writers didn’t care about her enough this season (as Linke even admitted). Vi often feels like a set piece that’s sometimes on the side of Jinx, sometimes on the side of Caitlyn, most times just gets passed around… Even her downward spiral during Act Two is reduced to a single montage during a song. How did she end up here? What does she have to live for? Show it, don’t tell it. By the end of Act Three Vi gets so little that I’d genuinely have to say the caitvi sex scene is my favorite one of hers during it, and a bunch of that boils down to me being a fan of Piltover’s Finest.

This especially pisses me off as it’s nothing like League Vi, who not only is quick thinking, making her first pair of gauntlets herself to save people in a mine, but there’s a clear struggle in her character of her not knowing where she belongs as THE Piltover Enforcer who was born and raised in Zaun. I especially adore how she’s written in “Child of Zaun”, there is so much juicy character work there that, in turn, I am left disappointed by what season two does with her. I was so excited to finally see her reasoning for joining the enforcers, but half of it happens off screen, and she’s an enforcer for what, two days? Sure, you can say she feels guilty for creating Jinx but it’s not even showed to us, except two comments she makes, one played as a joke, another saying that she got over it already. At that point I’d just rather watch her LoR path of champions, it feels like less of a character assassination of season one Vi compared to her in season one.

I’ll try to keep this brief as I feel like due to the character update he’s the one that gets talked about the most. I really liked Viktor’s character in League, but I also really liked him in Arcane and I was excited to see how they would put the two together to make the Arcane Version of the Machine Herald. Unfortunately, the answer is that they didn’t. Viktor gets so little agency during Act One, then gets turned into a plot device during Act Two, and at least in there when he “died” I was hoping that this is the moment he regains his autonomy and turns to the real Machine Herald, but instead, his character was completely changed to be a fusion between Malzahar and Karthus, with some Viktor sprinkled there. There is nothing about him that says CYBORG and instead we are left with a man puppeteered by the hexcore, that gets turned good again by his boyfriend to die five seconds later with him at the end. I wouldn’t have as much of a problem with this if Viktor wasn’t such an original character in league, you won’t find a mad scientist cyborg, but you’ll sure as hell find someone corrupted by a fantastical power that they felt drawn to. Like I said, he’s just another Malzahar now.

And finally, Warwick. He’s not the biggest offender here, but completely getting rid of his struggle to remember anything about his previous life, and his bloodlust overtaking him at moments, before he tries to fight it off by targeting criminals instead of whoever is in his way, we get Vander back an episode after his introduction in season two (by the way I gotta give it to Arcane that introduction was so cool!!), and now it’s time for him to be a plot device that brings Vi and Jinx together again, becomes an automaton, and then disappears. His design being so human-like is also so jarring to me, I can guess why they did it for Arcane’s story, I just feel like he looks way too human, and not enough like a wolf, which is kind of the whole point of his character in league.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I don’t think Arcane is a terrible show or anything, and I still hold season one to an incredibly high regard. Like I said, there are things I enjoyed, but I simply can’t overlook the amount of problems I had with it, and I can’t see myself rewatching season two as eagerly as I did with season one ever. I will say Act One was probably the best of the bunch, and so much of Arcane’s problems are related to Riot needing their sweet sweet money. Again, if you liked season two, more power to you, as long as you don’t harass people who didn’t like it, and if you managed to get to this moment, I’m very thankful that you read this!

Until next time!!

[utilitycaster]

…so I decided to check out Polygon’s D20 coverage, and frankly I think you were entirely too kind to them. Good. GOD, some of that stuff read like they’ve never watched AP that *wasn’t* CR, D20 or the first season of TAZ. And have somehow made it thru the 2010s without encountering urban fantasy…

Anyway, to further nudge you towards your destiny of AP journalism (and with the understanding that you have a Real Job and a life outside TTRPGs and the internet); can you please expand on what you think D20 brings to the table?(pun unintended, but I stand by it) Because speaking as someone who has watched a handful of eps and enjoys the concepts, the praise PG were offering was damningly faint.

Hi! Thank you, and for what it's worth I don't think most of them have listened to the first season of TAZ either, given the way they talk about WBN as inventing the actual play longform podcast. I do want to note: I like writing longform stuff about actual play but I am adamantly not a journalist. I am not investigating or interviewing or reporting; I'm doing analysis and editorial. Amateur critic is the most I can claim to and that's a stretch (and even there I have a particular privilege in that I'm writing all this for free, anonymously, by choice, and don't need be be nice or maintain relationships with actual play performers within the space because I could burn every bridge and still make rent.)

Anyway. I think a major flaw of Polygon is that it's so focused on novelty and subversion that it forgets a well-worn concept, executed with skill, is actually great and for many people, preferable. Brennan, from everything I have heard him say and from how he actually runs games, has a deep respect for fantasy as a genre, and the stories he tells in D20 are ones he is clearly familiar with and loves. I also think to subvert things you must be a fan, and when D20 does successfully subvert or twist a genre, it's coming from a place of respect and understanding.

Anyway, just covering a few Intrepid Heroes seasons: I think Fantasy High (and I haven't gotten to the latest episode of Junior Year) is actually increasingly a brilliant deconstruction of D&D as a game by making the world aware that it's in a D&D game. What does it mean to be in a D&D party and be an adventurer and have that be a significant part of who you are? What does it mean to be a commoner in this world? What do you do when you're sort of a broke teen in generic suburbia but also you need the loot that an adventurer would theoretically get from dragon hoards? Why do you have to know what your life's calling will be when you're 14? One of my personal favorite things, as a lover of mechanics and TTRPGs as a system of storytelling and more generally as someone who believes that your medium of choice should be informing the story you tell, is when people engage with character roles and classes instead of treating them as just a set of cool things you can do, and Fantasy High very much pushes the players to do this. I also mentioned elsewhere that the downtime stress mechanics are a brilliant addition to one of the genuine gaps in D&D, namely, while downtime is a time for open RP, there's not a good way to handle things like stress or crafting or prioritizing well.

The Unsleeping City is one I like, honestly, just because I lived in New York for a few years and Brennan lived there far longer (as did much of the cast, though not all) and his love for it is apparent. I don't think it's groundbreaking; I just think it's really good. The characters are excellent and the story is fun. It's true that, for example, it allows you the satisfaction of making Amazon's and its attempted move into Long Island City the BBEG and smiting its ass instead of having to harangue your senators and councilpeople (as I did, and I wasn't even living in Queens) but really it's just a good story. It doesn't need to be more than that. It did not invent urban fantasy or the idea of a secret magical version of a real city or "most myths are real"; it's just a good story!

I think A Crown of Candy is also just a fun setting and, by making everyone food, emphasizes how petty and arbitrary the alliances in a Game of Thrones-esque milieu can be. It casts a scathing eye on religious interpretation as a tool for conquest without clumsily proclaiming the mere concept of religion is the problem. It has one of the best explorations of character death I've seen and Brennan's acting as Caramelinda remains a tour de force for him. Bringing the entire story of succession and war down to a final choice between two half-sisters remains a brilliant decision, the setting is supported by the mechanical limits Brennan imposed upon character creation, and it's overall beautifully done.

Even Neverafter, which I think have openly said didn't live up to its initial promise, had that promise with the fantastic handling of the TPK; I have a love for metanarrative and honestly my issue is that it was the wrong place to do metanarrative, but it was a bold choice to do in the unpredictable medium of actual play.

That's really only covering a fraction - I think some other standouts are Mentopolis, A Court of Fey and Flowers, Coffin Run, and Escape from the Bloodkeep, and while Shriek Week is just not a genre I'm personally super drawn to, I think the Mythic system is a great system for the story being told and Hicks does a great job running it.

Really what it comes down to is that D20 falls in between what a lot of shows are. It doesn't have the freedom but also the burden of a very long-running campaign (indeed, WBN exists because its performers, all of whom have featured in D20, wanted to be able to do longform actual play), nor is it quite as rushed as an all-miniseries or one-shot show. It has space to explore one or two things really well without having to carry a thousand different threads (and believe me, Brennan tries to put in as many as he can in that space - I actually wonder if the reason Fantasy High Junior Year feels a little more streamlined to me is that WBN was by that time in full swing). But it's not the first edited actual play, it mostly uses very widespread systems, the production values are high but not unheard of elsewhere (and I think that production values in AP beyond the basic 'can you hear and, if relevant, see things clearly and does the set look nice' are overrated though that's a personal preference), the cast is strong but not the first group of professionals or even comedians, and they didn't invent the concept of filming remotely or scrims or having an anticapitalist message.

My issue with the journalists, to reiterate that, is that they're not really doing much journalism, actually; and that their bias is horribly apparent. There's little analysis - just shallow reviews that show little understanding of actual play as a medium, fantasy as a genre, or TTRPGs as a system. And while being entirely free of bias is unavoidable - we are people, and we will bring our own interpretations and experiences in, and there are people who will love D20 and dislike Critical Role without doing so in bad faith - the fact that several of the journalists have openly crowed and preened about their special access to the D20 cast really makes it apparent that they like D20 because Dropout gives them early access and says nice things about them. And it's a feedback loop; Critical Role is going to keep saying "well, you constantly shit on us, so no, you don't get early access" and they'll keep writing bad reviews because they don't get early access.

But to return to the point, D20 is legitimately great and yeah the bias in my mind is only hurting them because, speaking only for myself, if there's two things I like and people heap fawning and inaccurate praise on one and nitpick the other? I'm going to start looking into that praise and find more flaws, and I'm going to start defending the nitpicked one. I really love Fantasy High Junior Year but the Polygon article is so bad I have to remind myself that it's just because the person who wrote it is an idiot. I probably would have gone into Kollok much more neutrally if people didn't act like it was the fucking invention of television. Do give D20 a try if you can! Don't read the articles.

[britcision]

Thinking about how people keep pushing AI as a “well not everyone can [creative skill]” and I just… I don’t understand how they don’t see the problem with that

Because no one’s born good at drawing, or writing, or building 3D models

The whole point of having creative skills is that you need to learn how to do them. By doing them badly, often for quite a while, until you’ve tried enough things to work out what you like

And being able to word a prompt to an AI to actually get what you want is certainly a skill, and it’s certainly creative, but you’re never going to learn to draw, or write, or whatever else you’re bemoaning if you just want to push a button and get a result

And sure, it’s not like we’re going to completely run out of creatives; people with moral fibre are still going to avoid using the blatant theft that is generative AI, and will still be actually creating their own things and building skills

But if you advertise your AI and intentionally sell it to people as “hey don’t learn to draw you can just poke this button and say it’s close enough”… you’re actively discouraging people from actually trying anything

Your first attempts at any art aren’t going to look like a master’s. You’re going to be unsatisfied with your own skills over and over again, usually right before you make a drastic improvement

That’s just how creation works

And giving up and trying to make an AI do it for you instead of keeping trying and actually learning and building new skills is going to kill a lot of peoples’ creativity

It’s okay if you can’t draw as well as you’d like to. It’s okay if you can’t write a beautiful novel on the first try, or even the little oneshot you really want.

You’re going to make a lot of things that are bad, and a lot of things that are meh, and a lot of things you’ll be embarrassed you made in another ten years. Because you need to make all of those things before you can make something great, and because you need to understand that everything you think was bad and meh was pretty damn good for a beginner, and some of it will be great, and in another fifteen years you’ll see that too.

You will not become a better artist by switching to AI because it’s “easier”. You will not become a better writer by writing prompts instead of stories.

Every time you’re tempted because “the AI’s will look better than anything I make”, you are the only reason that statement is true. You might redraw your old pieces every year just to see how far you’ve come, or bury them never to be seen again, but you’re the only person limiting your creativity.

People make art with typewriters, and by throwing things at a canvas, and write single scenes and cracky one shots and snippets and round robins

Trust me, every artist you’ve ever admired knows exactly how hard, and frustrating, and time consuming it is to try and get an image from your brain into the outside world. And how many times you want to give up, or feel like you failed.

Your favourite artist has trashed a thousand pieces you would love to have seen because they weren’t good enough, or didn’t work out the way they wanted

(Yes, artists, the WIP folder gathering dust counts unless you go work on it right now)

A lot of creative efforts don’t see the light of day, and every single one goes into every single piece that does get shared

I’d love to be better at drawing! To be faster, have a better grasp at proportions and perspective and honestly to have more patience for shading and such instead of just grabbing the blur tool because it’s close enough

But those skills are underdeveloped, and are going to stay that way because the time it’d take to get good at drawing would be time I could spend writing, and that is where the demons in my soul got their hooks in first

So now, after twenty years of near-continuous work, I can write very quickly, very fluidly, and damn well… and don’t have the patience or time to try and push the same inspirations into a medium I’m less good at

(I do occasionally become possessed by an image strongly enough that I draw it anyway. I do this knowing going in that it’s going to be far from perfect, but it’ll be the best I’ve got right now)

(Also reading art tutorials and tips from great artists for 20 years does also help even if you don’t practice and I have the doodles to prove it)

And if I want a visual reference for a character… I use HeroForge to make one myself, because there are a billion creative tools that offer so much more control than just “prompt an AI until it works”

They’re not perfect, but they’re the best I can do

And if I keep doing it, and keep building those skills, that best is gonna get better and better

I’m getting better at drawing the more I give in to moments of inspiration

It’s going to take much longer, since I’m not doing it every single day (every year is still questionable), but it’ll still happen as I keep doing it

The only thing stopping everyone else from doing exactly the same is the refusal to try… and giving up on themselves and just using AI instead of trying something different

[completeoveranalysis]

Of Yūko's customers, which ones you find most memorable?

Most memorable customers, you say?

I hope you don't mind me using this as an excuse to make an arbitrary list by way of answer. (Arbitrary lists, my beloved...)

Yuuko's Customers In Order Of How Well I Remember Them

(Though I will exclude all the bigger characters for fairness. So, Syaoran, Watanuki, Lava Lamp, Fai, Kurogane, Doumeki, Himawari, Seishirou, Ashura, Tomoyo, etc, etc. Regular xxxHolic customers only!)

10. Birdcage Customer

What was this about? Was he even a customer? We just don't know!

But the thing most memorable about this whole situation is the most pressing question: WHY DO YOU HAVE EVIL WOLVERINE'S SYMBOL ALL OVER YOUR HOME? It's even on his front sign!

WHO ARE YOU?????

9. The Liar

Mostly at the bottom because I can't resist the irony. She's the first big customer we see - but what do we really know about her? Absolutely nothing, because she lied every step of the way!

What can we really remember about someone who never actually told us anything about herself?

Though I guess you could say her ending causes quite an impact.

8. Monkey's Paw Customer

Did I forget this had happened? Perhaps!

She's one of those cases where the cause and effect are so clear that the rest of the cast might as well not even be there - and I think most of her story IS told through scenes entirely from her perspective.

I think the most memorable thing about her is the Sheer Audacity of hunting down a monkey's paw and being convinced that, actually, she already knows what it does so it can't possibly go wrong. Love that for her. Would kill for this confidence.

(Not literally - but she kind of did that also)

7. Ame Warashi

Her impeccable style. Her winning charm. She's an icon.

I had just completely forgotten that she was also a customer at one point.

She makes up for it for being absolutely great in every scene she was in, but what are you going to do in a list based purely on how well I remember the customer part? Woops! My bad!

6. Karasu Tengu

They get huge points for this being a Central Event in the narrative, but also I completely forgot they were in this as customers. The entire plot scenario? Incredible! Character defining! Et cetera!

The actual Karasu Tengu themselves? Woops! I forgot they were there. My fault though!

5. The Computer Addict

I love this one. She's so ahead of the curve that she was addicted to the internet back when you had to be on the pc to use it. Honestly, relatable. I also went through a phase like this as a young teen, so the struggle was real.

Little did we all know that in the present day the accessibility of the internet would be so rampant that she literally wouldn't even need that pc to indulge her habits anymore. Oops!

But that aside Yuuko is peak during this arc and I love everything about it. Especially the fact that Yuuko just hangs out on message boards in her free time? Wonderful information. I can do so much with this.

4. Oops! All Ghosts

Another incredible storyline. The twists are preserved by some sneaky panels from Watanuki's perspective and Yuuko's morally grey approach to the whole situation is wonderful. What if you wanted to get rid of the ghost in your home, only to find out that YOU were the ghost all along? It has the DISTRESS. It has the CONFLICT. It has the TRAGEDY. 10/10

3. Haunted Photo

Another customer with Peak Audacity. Trying to wish away the consequences of your own actions? Committing something awful but being unable to actually look at the proof yourself? The ultimate wish being an anxiety inducing curse that is sure to fail? Love it.

It's also one of those juicy situations where the morality of the situation basically drives itself. The customer causes her own problems and can't actually be saved - and doesn't deserve it either.

And honestly I think CLAMP should get a lot of credit for having the haunting effects of a photograph slowly turning around in a purely static medium. They really pulled that off.

I still love the evil smile in the photograph the last time we see it. PURE memorable.

2. The Twin

WE LOVE HER? WE LOVE HER.

Being consistently cut off and run down and overwritten and slowly clawing your way out of the situation through the sheer desire to be your own person?

And then the answer is a haircut?

It's another glimpse into the side of Yuuko that really does try cut people a good bargain. The wish could have been taken in any number of ways, but Yuuko went for the easiest and most affordable way that would genuinely help the customer actually fix her life on her own. She didn't specifically need supernatural help for this, but it was the route that presented itself, and it was the one that got her the help she needed when she needed it. Very hitsuzen, very relatable, very identifiable storyline that sticks with you.

Just like the final entry!

1. Kohane

Listen do I even need to explain this one.

Kohane is like THE storyline. It's THE example of what it's all about. It's not entirely supernatural in nature but completely heart wrenching. It has Watanuki playing a central role in fixing the problem, setting up for his future (or at least, what I assume it will be). It ties xxxHolic to Tsubasa and hints at a secret tool that will help with someone later.

And it has Kohane! You can't go wrong.

[astridhoff03]

The more I look at these recreated scenes, the more I realize how fucking empty the recreation feels.

There is something the live action version never can do. It could never recreate the emotions, which were present in the original. The depth in those scenes, which was present because of these emotions is gone. And the emotions of the characters is such a big part in the entire franchise. For me, the effort that was put in the expressiveness of the characters, is something you just can’t recreate in a live action, even if they try it in the new lion king and now this movie. This the main reason why such movies doesn’t work in live action, because of the narrative and the weight of the emotions, which is carrying you through the whole animated movie and it works so well because it’s animated. With animation you have no boundaries, also the animators did a great job in animating the faces and expressions of the characters, which is very hard to do. So why does the live action movie, which is just silly cash grab, feels less real than the actual animated version. In the whole animated series from DreamWorks Dragons, there’s more life than in this simple recreation, which has an insane budget, which I don’t think it will make back, because puh, that’s a lot of money, they are playing with.

DeBlois can say whatever he wants in the promotional behind the scenes, I can see and feel the greedy hands of the universal overlords over him. And honestly this doesn’t change the real Idea why this movie was even made in the first place. Because Hollywood is running out of ideas, needs money and wants to play nostalgia games with the audience. DeBlois maybe had done his best, but this doesn’t change the fact, why this movie was supposed to made. Not like with the original trilogy, were you really got the feeling in every movie, that it was made out of place of love. This looks like a product, another product that looks exactly the same and probably does the same as the original. You can’t retell the same story over and over again. It gets bored. And to be honest if you want to feel nostalgic about your childhood, then just watch the animated one. Live action remakes do the medium of animation nothing good, yes they make a lot of money, but they won’t win in the long run, they treat animation as a lesser medium with seemingly retelling the same story but with ugly cgi and hollow scenery and backgrounds. They just suck completely out the life of the original and I can clearly see and feel it with this one as well. A majority of what makes httyd httyd is gotten lost. The every detailed emotions and expressiveness of the characters.

It just baffles me that people still buy to see this, if they just can put on the TV to watch the original one, which is obviously ten times better.

[silversoul713]

F*ck it.

Someone has to say it.

The Avatar remake is good. Honestly.

For each thing that it did wrong, it did two things right and one thing better. The casting was solid, characters felt overall believable, it explored more of the world and was dark and funny, just like they promised.

No, it isn't perfect, and as much as we all like to say that the original was flawless, it really wasn't. The truth is that the animated series was as close to perfection as it could be given the medium, budget, time etc. It was above what anyone at the time expected. It blew minds! And it is unfair to expect the same level of greatness from the live action adaptation.

You cannot compare something so beloved and incredible to something that is completely fine on its own and say it is terrible just because the new doesn't live up to the original.

It isn't one to one and if it had been then it would've sucked because we all would've seen it before but better! Obviously they had to change things because of it. But they wouldn't want to take away from the journey or spend precious minutes on certain areas, so they mixed and matched, put other things in between the lines and it works!

They made it different, they gave it more. It isn't the same Avatar we grew up with and that is fine. It's a remake, an adaptation, you knew what was coming.

If you go to see a new Robin Hood movie, or Cinderella or any other famous story retold, you wouldn't want it to be perfect and precise to the version you like the most, because you've seen it a hundred times already! You see it most likely because you like the overall story, and want something new to absorb into your obsession!

Yeah, it messed up, yeah it was wonky here and there, but the things it did right and the things it did even better more than makes up for that and people need to stop expecting things to be perfect because it's not gonna happen!

It is still Avatar.

If you want the original then watch the original. If you don't want remakes to happen then grow up and accept that you don't have a say in it.

To claim that they shouldn't attempt remakes because they can't be better is a slippery slope of thinking that could wind up extremely toxic. It insinuates that if they don't know it can be just as good or better than before then they shouldn't even try. It inspires toxic perfectionism. It inspires giving up before trying.

So either close your eyes and don't focus on the things you don't enjoy like an adult, or open them properly so you can enjoy good content without being judgemental.

[the-mercurial-star-o-vesper]

TF: ONE - A REFIRE

Alrighty its been a bit, and still gotta give both kudos (and null rays) to the TF medium that got me into Transformers.

I already did an initial critique, so more or less I'm gonna end up repeating myself (like I dunno remember entirely what I said... And its my blog anyway, BROKEN RECORDS BABY!)

As it were though, just in case, Spoilers Below.

I'mma reiterate. The art style and the environments? Gorgeous. And the animation, smooth as hell. The animation and art departments out did themselves here, this shit is Awesome.

( And who ever is doing model placement is clearly a fan, because you can spot just about everyone in the crowds everywhere... even if its a bit nonsensical. )

And the Quintessons? Scary as Hell.

The concepts behind the story, are also awesome. There's a lot of implications to think about, there's a greater world build going on... Also glorious.

And the history of relationship between Orion and D16? That's a new one, that's something to think on. (D16 effectively replaced Dion in this canon).

...

The problem is, is that all of this would make a great series... ... But an awful Movie.

And while several of the lore changes are cool, most of them are also nonsensical.

That results in a Lot of Character Breaking, even for TF.

Its an awful movie because of the pacing issues. Everything is too Damn Fast. Certain scenes are placed in areas that, honestly, break the line of thought. Fights are too fast. The environments go by too quickly. Character Personas and choices are rushed.

The movie wants to fill itself to the brim... and instead of overflowing, the damn cup broke beneath the weight.

All that's going on, would've benefited its story far more, by having a TV series (Or hell, a book). Slow things down, let us get a real good look at the environments being shown, at the characters being portrayed. Because so far, the environments are speeding by too fast, character decisions are being made at a flip of a switch as opposed to build up (leaving some pretty nasty implications, given the overall messages of the film).

The lore shifts are... nonsensical. What I mean by that, is less backdrop (because that shit has been nonsensical since after Beast Wars), and more character lore.

Like, why is she going by Elita-1, when she's mean to be Ariel? A fanfic could prolly have a damn good answer, if not more, but I'm asking the Movie why that is, not the fans.

( I suppose in a sense she's meant to replace ironhide, which okay, cool--but bulld up to the why would've solved the question. This goes back to "This need to be a Series, not a Film". )

Elita-1 was built along side Optimus, they're a paralleled pair here, so the shift here comes off as less story and more like "Oh fans will recognize Elita-1"

(And I gotta tell you, a movie by recognition alone isn't a movie, its a budgetted fanfic--you want substance. )

Over all though, Elita-1, historically, has always had issues with inconsistant character portrayals, because she really wasn't treated as a character in the OG Comics and OG Cartoon, and its hard to make any kind of homage to "CHARACTER WHO IS A GIRL". Dat shit wasn't good in the 80s and its still not good now ( turns out, if you're sexist, you're also an awful character writer--Who knew. )

So her taking the place of Ironhide, one of OP's longest companions and friends, is honestly a pretty awesome idea. The problem here, however, is that its not explored within the time it needed.

(ONCE MORE FROM THE TOP: It needs to be a SERIES not a MOVIE )

Why is Bee there? Bee is the kid character. He's explicitly portrayed as the former Rookie of the Autobots, and the youngest member. But him here, in this canon, makes him one of the Oldest Autobots instead.

Which okay, that's an idea... And he is funny and comedic...

... But he's not really a character, is he?

By what this film has built up within itself, this Bee is one of the OG autobots and has received the absolute worst the system has to offer (bar being executed), and still comes off as optimistic even by Optimus' standards. ( There's an idea of "The only thing you can control is your attitude" going here--which is a real life lesson to take if you're looking to get your morality from TV. )

However. The moment the line happens. They get captured, Bee is along side Dee when all the shit goes down, and Dee doesn't actually explicitly do anything to Bee (and in fact, goes out of his way to avoid upsetting Bee--albeit, prolly to avoid upsetting the nusto-bot on level 50, and in fairness, I can't blame him). And its at that point that Bee, kinda stops being a character, and more or less stays a joke.

Because imagine, what kind of scene you'd get, if Bee actually stepped in and tried to talk Dee down or do Something.

You wanna tell me that Bee, the guy that is explicitly going to become Bumblebee one of the most Iconic Autobots, just... gives up on the thread entirely? Goes nuts with Knife hands and decides that "Y'know my new buddy I just saw being tortured really isn't worth the trouble".

Hrm.

A character has impact in-story that isn't just upon their audience. Characters are fancy talking objects within the story, their actions create the story as it goes (which is another reason why this should've been a series), their core character gives reason to those actions even as their surface character gives irrationality.

(Welcome to complex Character Dynamics!)

If you have neither, then it become Plot Demands, and you've effectively just made kindergarten storybook. If that's what you were trying to achieve, congratulations! this will be the greatest kindergarten story ever, and you're going to inspire a lot of kids to like robots.

( I know back when I was in kindergarten, this story would've have fucking Awesome as is. I'd prolly try to draw all the cool robots. )

If not, back to the drafts with you.

Dee and Orion.

Y'know, there's a history here that needed more time to explore. The on surface character relationship is great, but it does rob the nuance of the situation the moment the Line happens.

FOR ONE THING ORION KILLS A LOT MORE PEOPLE IN THIS FILM.

Every bot we see is a person, even if they look like a Vehicon. That's still people. If this is a dictator regime, then guess what, your guards and your army are still folks in a bad situation (even if it comes with more perks than mining).

Circumstance Makes Us. Judging Circumstance as Intention is part of why governing systems get so bad.

[ ONCE AGAIN, it would've benefited being a series, that explore who these folks are. ]

So far, the film is going "Its okay to kill folks if they're faceless and you have good intentions and ideals and its all Impersonal!"

The OG Optimus would have Agonized over it. These are all people, and he's having to kill them--that would burn something bad in him. That would make him Sick. That would take him outta commission for a while.

Meanwhile, Dee here injures one guy (In a fight that was expect to occur--like he didn't just haul off and attack him, the Bandits the High Guard became did fights like that for position), and kills a dictator, and that's apparently a start of darkness.

And oh yeah, he's angy, he's passive aggressive, he's kinda selfish...

BRAH IF THIS WAS A DISCWORLD BOOK, YOU JUST MADE DEE INTO FUCKING STONEFACE VIMES. You made him into mother fucking Tiffany Aching.

Quote: Turn selfishness into a weapon! Make all things yours! Make other lives and dreams and hopes yours! Protect them! Save them! Bring them into the sheepfold! Walk the gale for them! Keep away the wolf! My dreams! My brother! My family! My land! My world! How dare you try to take these things, because they are mine!

TF:One Optimus is a character that is far scarier than Sentinel ever was, because he's charismatic, and he still kills people as he holds his high ideals and thems who follow him are just, Okay with that.

( You can excuse a lot of death and destruction if you think its for the greater good. )

( OG Optimus, would not have liked TFOne Optimus )

Meanwhile, TF:One Megatron talks big, and but realistically loses his mind over the course of some heavy revelations--he was already coping to survive, and now he can't cope and has to face it. He takes the pragmatic options, he uses his selfishness as a weapon to stop someone (Even if its for personal vendetta, the point is, Sentinal had to be Stopped--and let's face it, the Public Opinion thing wasn't going to work anyway. Back to the Discworld: The dictator is just as often in power because the Rich are also benefiting from him, and the rich hold power over the system--if you're going to play the Fascism Analysis, You have to include EVERYONE).

For the guy who says he won't show mercy anymore, he is the most merciful. The most hesitant. And yeah he's brutal, but he also isn't Wrong. He mostly just talks big.

( And frankly I wouldn't fuckin believe in Primus either. Gods don't help people. People help people. )

But at the end of it, because Hasbro is obsessed with the status quo and boiling complex people down into base components, and our over enthusiastic filmmakers want Iconic over Substance and Aesthetic over Character (You can convince anyone of anything if you have enough music and lights), Megatron is still the "Bad Guy" and Optimus is still the "Good Guy".

( Evil starts when you treat people as things. That's an idea from Granny Weatherwax of the Discworld. I would argue that Optimus treats people like things more than Megatron does here, Megatron agonizes every step of the way, where Optimus doesn't even mention the bodies he crushed up. )

And now the Character Breaking Backdrop...

... You mean to tell me all this happened in less than two days? They snuck outta a secure city like Sherlock Holmes, had a trip to effectively the Tomb of Durin LOTR-style, got caught by TinTin Bandits, and then got coptured by the Wicked Witch Sentinal and his Flying Monkeys...

... In just... Two days?

Yeah... Yeah no. No. The pacing is Fucked brah.

And. Shockwave doesn't act like that brah, your argument is invalid.

ADDENDUM:

Y'know, I don't actually take that much issue anymore with Starscream having more experience, but I still question him being older than Megatron. But again, it's an interesting twist that separate TF:ONe from the rest of the "usual" canon. And in an ironic parallel, he becomes just as effective in story as Bee does. You could've just removed him entirely, removed the entire bandit scene, and frankly, not a damn thing would've changed about the film. Dee could've gotten his cannon any other time. If anything it might've improved the pacing by a lot.

It does however raise a lot of world-build questions--like if he's High Guard, who was his Prime? Who outta the 13 did he serve under? ( Someone is gonna bring in the idea that he worked with Sentinal to betray the primes--but I think that's too easy. Its far too easy to make Starscream into one-sided evil, and this film, even at its stupidest, doesn't like doing that. And frankly, I'm tired of one-note Starscream Portrayals. Like Bee, you gotta give him more depth than his Sunbow Counterpart. Look the guy is petty but he ain't shallow. )

The fact that the High Guard has hit and run tactics and didn't really try to help anyone... is because they can't. They're jets. They'd be shot outta the sky by every bigger player Iacon, and good chance they've been whittled down consistently over the years.

Of course, there's the "Dee shot Orion" thing. Orion ran right in front of a gun, and frankly, there... wasn't any saving him after that. He still would've died even if Dee had pulled him up. Orion was being Stupid. Good intentioned... still fucking stupid, man. Good intentions don't save you from guns. And Sentinal here was a Dictator who did awful things, and frankly, likely would've continued if spared. I sure as hell wouldn't have stepped in defense of him. And of course, remember that Orion has killed a lot of people by this point, and now he's trying to save the Dictator.

The best aspects of the film are the things that kept getting skipped over for pLoT. I'm tired of the gods damn Plot, give ME CHARACTER. I am beyond tired of Shiny Pretty Graphic mediums who have no character or writing beyond a Rag Magazine. Immediate fail if you have good graphics and bad writing. I've had Years of It. Decades even at this point, and I ain't havin' it no mores.

[agirlattea]

Mahoyaku Children’s Day Voice Lines: 

Central Wizards: 

Oz: When I was young, I lost to the twins countless times. I was once sealed in an iceberg and abandoned there. The next morning, they came for me, saying “Poor thing, it must have been cold”. At the time, I questioned the point of locking me away but… … Even now, I still question it. 

Arthur: When I was younger, I admired the way Sir Oz’s hair would flutter in the wind, and I wanted to grow out my own. At the time, I was told to refrain from doing so until I was powerful enough to protect myself, as parts of Wizard’s bodies can be used as mediums in spells, but… I wonder if it’s about time for me to match Sir Oz? 

Cain: Was becoming a knight my childhood wish? Yeah, of course! … Is what I wish I could say, but it was pretty different when I was little. According to my Mom, my dream was to become bacon until I was about three years old. Why? ‘Cuz it’s delicious… Hey, don’t laugh!

Riquet: My childhood memories… I enjoyed the time I spent talking with the Head Priest. He taught me what I needed to know and what I should do. I wonder what he is thinking, now that we have been separated… … I hope he feels lonely when he thinks of me. 

Northern Wizards: 

Snow: The other day, I witnessed a child fall down and cry on the street. When I summoned sweets with my magic, her tears ceased and she smiled. The expressions young children wear are always innocent. They do not yet harbor hidden intentions. It is touching* to see.

*Due to the roots of the word 愛しい (Itoshii), it can have a double meaning of both beloved/dear and pitiful. 

White: A strange child approached me on the street and offered a small flower as a token of gratitude. I thought her foolish for approaching a stranger but… it appears she was grateful for something Snow did for her to bring her back to her senses. This happens quite often. I think I will decorate our room with this flower for a while. 

Mithra: I don’t have any particular childhood memories. All I had to do was transport the corpses on my boat… now that I’ve remembered, I want to pick it up again. Please play the role of a corpse. I’m going to take you to the other side of the shore and throw you there, so please roll over docilely. 

Owen: I don’t have any childhood memories: I don’t remember anything… <Cur Memini>. Look, I’ve reverted the weak wizard’s hearts back to their childhood state, so go watch them. Most of the things children do are the same.  

Bradley: When I was a kid, my human siblings were still kicking. Every time I did something, people complained. They were weak and annoying, but when I look at the manor’s kiddos… I remember them.  

Eastern Wizards: 

Faust: I don’t have any grand childhood stories. I simply did my best to play the role as the head of my household, with the support of the adults in my village. I’ve been told I was polite and hard-working, I don’t think I was very cute. …That can’t possibly be true? Haha, you’re quite kind. 

Shino: My childhood memories aren’t great… No. Actually, there was a dream I had once ina. While that I liked. I was a rich man’s son. I went to nice restaurants with pocket money, had a nagging tutor, and fought with someone who was like my younger brother. That’s pretty nostalgic; I forgot about it until just now. 

Heathcliff: When I was a kid… ah, no. I was remembering a friend: an irreplaceable friend whom I met in the Orangery of the courtyard of my parent’s home. Someday, I will definitely take Shino with me to visit that friend once more. When I do, you should come as well, Master Sage. Please, allow me to introduce you once more.  

Nero: When I was a kid, huh… Well, I was born in a pretty bad place*. If I didn’t want to be abused and used by others, I had no choice but to be stringer than them. That’s probably why the first time someone praised me with “good job”… honestly, I barely understood what was happening. 

*Literally: A place with bad manners

Western Wizards: 

Shylock: Myself as a child? I loved the view from the top of the hill, and on sunny days I would stroll through the vineyards. At times, I would sneak grapes off the vines before the harvest… Even now I have not forgotten that fresh, sweet taste. 

Murr: What I was like as a child… hmm, I wonder? That’s right, lets ask this Red Beryl*! After all, this is something I cut myself as a kid. I’m sure it will still remember me though, I was young. <Eanul Lambru>!

*A type of gem 

Chloe: I cried pretty often when Rustica first found me, I’m sure it scared him. I mean, even when I ate delicious food, or wore beautiful clothes I cried. That’d surprise anyone, right? But each time, Rustica wiped my tears. That’s why, from now on, I’ll wipe his… 

Rustica: I tend to be quite forgetful, so I can’t tell you much about my childhood… instead, why don’t I change to the age you wanted to know about? Whether it’s the age Chloe and I met as or younger… fufu, very well then: <Amor Est Viesse>.

Southern Wizards: 

Figaro: I wasn’t very childish as a kid. Both adults and children relied on me, and I wanted to guide them in turn. I didn’t have a particularly childish childhood, but in that regard I’d say Oz and Mithra are quite similar to me. Don’t most Northern Wizards have stories like that?  

Rutile: Aaah! Glasses! …Ah, I’m sorry, Mr. Leno. Earlier, Mr. Owen cast a spell on me that turned me back into a child. The spell was already broken, but for some reason I’ve become really scared of glasses… Oh, Mr. Faust. Aaah! More glasses!

Lennox: A story from my childhood… I started working in the coal mines when I was young, so I don’t have many interesting stories. …That’s right, I remember being told I had long legs and looking forward to growing as big as my father. I was so proud when I outgrew him. I’m sure my father felt the same. 

Mitile: A portrait of me as a baby? …Ah, there is one, but I don’t want to show it to you. Because my head was so big as a baby… Mr. Figaro used to say it was “Rounder than the full moon” … Hey , Master Sage, please don’t laugh!

Back to Voice Lines

[jesncin]

Honestly, you are like the most based person ever. A Martian Manhunter fan and a MAWS critic? F YEAH!

I'm so disappointed with MAWS' Lois :( Her romance with Clark could've been so good. SO GOOD. But they decided to go for fan service instead. She just gives off Lena (from cwsg) vibes and that's never a good thing.

Speaking of Supergirl, what's your opinion on the show? And on the show's portrait of J'onn. It baffles me how much hate the show got for the same things fans are willing to overlook now on MAWS. Aren't those some double standards, geez...

Aw shucks thank you! 2 incredibly niche but based things to be...

Sob! Call it the ace in me but whenever people think MAWS!Clois have chemistry because they're easily amused by seeing hot characters undress I lose life force. I didn't witness a couple that grew mutual respect and affection, I saw an insta-crush that led to Lois becoming so entitled to a guy she'd known for less than a week to the point of demanding full transparency of his private life before they even started dating. And then the narrative says it's Clark's fault for having reasonable boundaries, and then they're a couple. What is this.

I've briefly talked about CW Supergirl before, but my takeaway is: if people think MAWS is genuinely good writing then they should absolutely watch CW Supergirl because it must look like high art in comparison to MAWS. Maybe people are less judgy when something's animated and that's not fair. If we want to take animation as a serious medium we should hold it to the same standard and not coddle it. As someone who watched a few eps when CW Supergirl aired and then revisited and watched the whole thing years after the show concluded, I feel that the misogyny surrounding people's discourse around the show has led to people judging the show based on a fanon idea of it rather than its own merits.

more under the cut!

CW Supergirl is a show with great highs and lows. This results in things being hit or miss. But when something hits- CW Supergirl is not given nearly enough credit as it deserves. As a Martian Manhunter fan, I believe that their take on J'onn is the most competent and well adapted in not just adapted media, but all of comics canon. That doesn't mean I like everything they did with his lore and character, but I can acknowledge that they actually bothered developing him outside of the comics/cartoon's fixation with making him mope about his Origin Story all the time. He gets to find love, have adopted daughters through Kara and Alex, reckon with what it's like to preserve aspects of a culture he doesn't fully identify with, deal with his dad going through Martian Alzheimer's disease, and most importantly MAKE PEACE WITH HIS BROTHER. CW Supergirl has hands down, the best take on Ma'alefa'ak in all of canon.

I think Lena is a great character on the show. She's dealing with the trauma of being constantly manipulated by her own family, the legacy her name carries and who she is in all that. But because the supercorp ship permeates the way people perceive the show, she's reduced to that by discourse. When Lena has drama over Kara's secret Superhero identity, it's something that's built up to and informed by trauma, trust-issues, and TIME. We are shown that she has these problems. It gets melodramatic at times, but it's still something that was built up to. Meanwhile in MAWS Lois just tells us she has daddy issues and that it's why she really needs the cute guy at work to spill all his personal info to her even though she gets to lie to him for her own personal gain multiple times. I appreciate what CW Supergirl did to bring more attention to what was an obscure character. Whenever I bump into Lena in the comics, it hasn't stacked up to the character I met on the show.

I've called this out before but while CW Supergirl isn't perfect by any means especially with their treatment of Jimmy Olsen as a love interest to Kara and a generally sidelined Black supporting character, they still discussed and acknowledged Jimmy's identity as a Black American man! Sure it was heavy handed many times, but that's way better than MAWS straight up ignoring Jimmy's Blackness and even making an unintentional jab at it!! Like cw Supergirl Jimmy knows bigotry and has experienced it. MAWS Jimmy thinks bigotry is being ghosted for a camping trip. I have seen the exact same critics call out cw Supergirl for Jimmy's treatment while gleefully thinking Jimmy's treatment in MAWS is so uwu perfect. It makes me sick! Am I going insane?? It's the double standards for me.

[oscconfessions]

Right, so I watched the first episode of ION cause of the constant discussion of it on this blog, and... it's pretty neat!! I like it so far, and look forward to watching more episodes of it. While watching I kept in mind all of the complaints said here and yeah, I can certainly see why so many people are off-put by the show.

The artstyle is definitely... different. It takes some getting used to, and I suppose some aren't able to tolerate it at all. The way I think about it, I just see it as how solely the ION characters look. Like, objects within/from that universe have much more detailed/human-like faces, it's normal there. Now, if someone were to apply those faces to any other object show I would Absolutely Hate it. But within ION? It's fine!! That's how they're supposed to look, and their designs fit their personalities in my opinion. (Honestly I was expecting worse, thought it would be go-animate levels of uncanniness ahah).

Also, Cracklin's character is what I suppose some would call "weird". Really, he reminds me of a typical young anime character swooning and obsessing over a teacher/mentor figure. I do see why some people would call that annoying or creepy, but I'm personally indifferent to it. Chief doesn't seem incredibly bothered by it and the two of them seem to have a forgotten history that might be influencing some of Cracklin's behavior towards him.

Thinking about the entire debate on people's distaste or praisal for this show is a bit complicated, but I'd summarize it by comparing it to the parts of an animated MAP. Like yeah, people really like when different parts flow and mesh together (PPT2, YAG, OLO) and sometimes are amazed by really flashy or skilled parts that stand out (ONE, TNM, MO) but there's often one or two artists with particularly striking styles that... just aren't as popular. They're not the normal status quo and don't quite match the interests of all the viewers. And there's nothing wrong with any of that, really. Some people don't find some artstyles as appealing as others, and would rather stick to what they're most familiar with or change it little. Some artists want to explore outside the usual medium, and incorporate their own styles or experiment with something completely new. Both of those are okay!! It's good to have creativity in a community, and it's fine to only stick with the parts you enjoy most. The two sides of this discussion are equally valid, and there's no need to get upset at one another over them, yeah?

Anyhow, I'm excited to see how the story develops and what exactly happened at that power plant, the beginning bits of the plot are already very intriguing. The backgrounds are superb by the way, they add so much to the vibe of the scenes. I also quite like the animation too, it's not constant frame-by-frame movement but it isn't a simple slideshow either, there's lots of varied expressions/poses and tweening. Overall, I think this show has lots of great things about it and really does add a unique flavor to the OSC as a whole!!

.