#surely a narrative choice
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ever since they introduced sparrow!ben and first mentioned jennifer i knew they were going to give me nightmares but him being both a crypto bro AND terminally straight is a little much like god. stick a knife in my gut next will ya
#ben hargreeves#the umbrella academy#tua#tua spoilers#the umbrella academy spoilers#ben from season one and two i will never forget you and you will always be missed#i actually ended up loving sparrow!ben last season but now......... now i'm struggling. his storyline being all about A Girl is just.#surely a narrative choice
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I think Nico's ability to survive is less so about his will to live and more so about his refusal (less so personal and more so narrative-wise) to die. Nico, for the lack of a better word, is like a cockroach: you cannot kill him in a way that matters so he survives and keeps haunting the scene.
There was once a marvelous post on Nico's function as a narrative tool and it was so beautifully pointed out that he's a near-omniscient deus ex machina (to simplify) which cannot be overlooked when characterizing him. Nico carries so much narrative weight on his back (which arguably could be an example of either good or bad writing depending on your perspective) that he cannot just go and die.
His road towards healing (though definitely not walked alone/individually) is his own, that's his choice to make as a character, but his disposition as a guy that perseveres resides more within his function, in my opinion.
He's not the tragic prince doomed for self-destruction people often draw him out to be but his capacity for survival is also not a product of his continuous work as a character, at least not just that — but is rather a result of his narrative function. Simply saying, you cannot, narratively, kill off Nico di Angelo.
#🌞#Hi I'm obnoxious!#But I also don't like when the supra-character narrative plain is ignored. Because a book is not just what characters do and say.#It's often /less/ about the characters and their (presumed dare I say Gods bless media analysis) feelings and more about their function.#Nico has a very specific role assigned to him that was covered in a marvelous post I'm sure I still have somewhere. Saved.#But. Yeah. Characters of the 'deus ex machina' kind that are often keys to narrative (cough) plotholes are almost never killed off.#They persevere bc without them the plot does not happen.#If you want a character whose whole self is about hope survival and better tomorrow? Titular character of the Percy Jackson series.#Percy survives as a CHOICE he repeatedly makes. He does not contain Nico's ability to leave and enter the narrative at will.#rrverse#pjo#nico di angelo
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every time queer discourse surges on this site everyone is so quick to jump to “it was actually the evil lesbians who divided us” because y’all heard the term “political lesbian” and never bothered to figure out what that meant
#‘political lesbians’ were and are predominantly STRAIGHT WOMEN#and a good chunk are bi#what don’t you understand about these women thinking lesbianism is a CHOICE? that it’s only used by women as a reaction to the patriarchy?#like lesbians can’t possibly like women and not men for any reason that isn’t some deep-seated hatred for men?#they all think lesbianism is dirty and impure and here you people are saying that this is PROGRESSIVE#and that they actually think that lesbianism is some golden standard for its purity???? you guys are so fucking stupid oh my god#you go on and on about learning your queer history until it comes to lesbians and then you’re perfectly happy rewriting our culture#and narrative#wtf is wrong with you people#and y��all braindead mfs use this to act like men are actually oppressed by the meanie dykes#i hate y’all#but none of y’all actually give a shit about lesbians so i guess im yelling into a void#lesbophobia#top posts#neon talks#LOL at the fucking idiot who reblogged this and tagged it ‘misandry’ not sure how you got that from my post but i hope your day sucks <3
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The fans: Ugh Sonic was just so preachy. I mean obviously he's supposed to be the good guy, so any uncomfortableness I feel here and any way I feel like Sonic's choices are framed as being why some other people have shitty lives is just bad writing because he is obviously supposed to be right always, but this characterization makes no sense. Isn't he right for the things he did?
Ian Flynn, using Kitsunami to say the (barely even at this point) quiet part even louder: Hey it's almost like ever since the Mr. Tinker event we've been purposely running with the critique of Sonic as being more selfish than he appears. Sonic is upholding a system of Eggman v Sonic that currently benefits him and shuts down talk of how to improve the current system because he likes his own personal enjoyment and he's attached enough to Eggman that he'd rather Eggman pretend to be a good person than be stuck in prison for life. He doesn't even quite practice what he preaches. We are trying to show that the current hero v villain system and Sonic's recklessness currently affects some people poorly and that Sonic isn't a perfect hero.
#fandom wank#sonic the hedgehog#idw sonic comics#idw sonic 2024 annual#2024 sonic annual spoilers#idw somic comic spoilers#idw sonic spoilers#idw 2024 sonic annual spoilers#i just be ramblin#god one of these days I need to commit to the sonic character essay#because you HAVE to be able to see Sonic as a multifaceted character that is surprisingly selfish and a bit self centered despite his image#as a good hero who is always right to understand what the writers for Sonic Prime and Idw Sonic are trying to do#The point is not that Sonic is secretly a bad guy or anything#the point is that we're already primed to assume that anything Sonic does is a good thing because he's a hero and protagonist of what is#considered a 'children's media'#And people who can see those moments in different games or properties times where Sonic isn't being so good as him actually not being so#good of a person are primed to explain it away as flaws of the writing or the genre at that time *because* Sonic's behavior is not said to#be bad or punished in those games#And become we're already primed to assume that Sonic is already the good guy who's making the best choices no matter what‚ it's supposed to#be shocking when the narrative takes a step back and gives a critique of this status quo by showing us the effects of it#But instead of having some sort of eye opening event or being willing to meet the narrative where it's at#99% of the people who post here got uncomfortable and just doubled down‚ saying that because these things are being pointed out and some of#Sonic's actions (that aren't even alien to the games)#are being framed in a not so good light‚ then it must not be purposeful. That it must be bad writing through and through and just bad#Sonic characterization#because for people who claim they want Sonic as a series to be deeper and more thought out they sure start to pearl clutch when they feel#like a property isn't being as shallow as the very same games they think kinda suck#anyways anyways sorry about the rant I'll get back to regularly scheduled posting after this#vent post
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intrigued by the idea that jayce dooms viktor to become the herald because he loves viktor too much to let him die. but mage!viktor could also choose not to save jayce from the storm in order to save himself from that fate, and yet he too loves too much to let go of jayce. endless cycle only broken by their choice to go together.
#lots of ppl recognize jayce's choice to fuse viktor to the hexcore for what it is (selfishness! loving flawed codependent selfishness! <3)#but few seem to really consider that viktor ALSO displayed that level of unfettered need to have jayce be around#future viktor sure but viktor nonetheless#i know its a time paradox yadda yadda but we're talking generally here in the wider scope of the narrative#its very poetic and bittersweet and beautiful and insane that they literally damn each other as opposed to live without each other#and yes i do think mage!viktors main motivator for saving jayce from the storm is because he wants jayce to save HIM. its abt the circle#idk if mage!viktor is all that concerned about the world really - on a superficial level yes obviously he comes to realize he's wrong#for 'liberating humanity from emotions' but theres more to it because jayce is so integral to his very being by that point#they have like infected each other with.... each other. they are inescapably haunted by each other#like mage!viktor had the same hellish experience that jayce did being touched by the arcane i think#lots of time to introspect and realize that actually the only person you need or really care about has been right there all along#as has been noted by others it was never about hextech it was actually just about Them changing the world#specifically Together#jayvik#arcane#.txt#still insane abt them yes thanks for asking
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yaaaayayaay my dnd character literally stabbed a valued ally in the back, because she's scared and someone from a mindbogglingly powerful organization ordered her to do it or they'd do something even worse to her and her loved ones and they were an authority and she believes in authority and they gave her the perfect opportunity to do it (showing that they're Watching) so she did it and now she feels so so so guilty and she's lying to everyone about it, even her own party, her own friends, and trying to convince even herself of the lie- but on the other hand... this organization has promised her power, more power than she's ever ever had as a run-of-the-mill lower noble lady, so powerful that she might be able to use it to protect her entire realm from destruction. to be the Right ruler. and don't the ends justify the means?
#dont worry this was completely cleared above table with everyone present#and the DM v literally said 'ive got things planned for either route; its your choice'#and. well. i love a character who makes terrible choices#also who isn't aware of narrative structure and so can't be sure that the rebels will stand aaaaany chance if she aligns herself to them#dnd#joos yaps#adelaide olmus#she's Lawful Neutral for a reason :)#so excited for whatever will happen next#she got a small powerboost too :')#glad i spent the last few sessions making sure that OOC the party -knew- that one of her core believes is like.#the divine right of kings. 'some people were just born to rule#as others are born to be farmers or merchants or teachers'
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the gorgug-porter conversation is interesting to me because like. yea for the overwhelming majority of the conversation porter’s being shitty & trying to fit gorgug into a box that gorgug just does not fit into by trying to make gorgug’s relationship with his rage more focused on the aggression aspect of it. but then there’s also this specific thing that brennan brought up again in the ap, which is that gorgug’s relationship with his rage is wholly “this is a tool i use to protect my friends.” which isn’t a bad thing! but that’s his Whole relationship with it, & gorgug seems to place next to no value on his rage in relationship to himself. which is problematic, because it’s first & foremost his rage.
being raised in a household with a sort of toxic positivity largely meant that, whether or not it was his parents’ intention, gorgug internalized the message that more traditionally “negative” emotions such as anger are the wrong response to something. part of the reason he prioritizes his artificing is probably because it’s “fixing” things. in comparison to being a barbarian, which gorgug associates with “breaking” things. good vs. bad behavior, in his eyes.
it’s a totally unacceptable bar to measure a 16 y/o by, but i do think part of porter’s reasoning for not letting gorgug multiclass is him recognizing that gorgug generally does not value anger as a valid emotional response to something, at the very least for himself. & that directly conflicts with what being a barbarian is, because whether you like it or not, that rage is what fuels you. but again, barring a kid from pursuing something they deeply care about in part (not entirely, porter has a lot of more bullshit reasons) because of their fundamental values & world outlook is crazy.
so yes, 98% of porter’s reasoning is pretty shitty, immature, rife with a toxic view that there’s only one proper way to access rage, & generally not a good thing to do as a teacher, but also within that reasoning is the 2% of ‘there is a fundamental part of yourself that you only value if you can use it to take care of other people & you need to accept that as something that can take care of you, too.’ but that’s something to discuss with a therapist or a guidance counselor, not something that should hugely impact gorgug’s academic future.
#gorgug thistlespring#fantasy high#dimension 20#fhjy#fhjy spoilers#btw these r just my personal opinions u r 100% free to disagree#gorgug & his rage interest me so deeply because of how deeply that rage existing seems to be against gorgug’s own will#like mechanically classes are choices & you can switch stuff around any time. but gorgug as a barbarian always felt like an unwilling choice#like that 14 y/o kid did not want to have rage. & that really interests me.#i’ve seen people before be like ‘what if gorgug dropped barbarian & went full srtificer’ but i feel like that simply can’t happen??#mechanically yea sure but it always felt like a core part of gorgug that the rage will always be there & it’s a matter of how you channel it#idk. dnd classes narratively being treated as ‘you can not lose this part of you’ even though you technically can#gorgug could be lvl 19 artificer & he’d still have 1 level of barbarian. because that is part of who he is.#btw i don’t think porter truly cares about gorgug valuing his rage only as a way to be a human shield#i think porter just sees that as ‘wrong’ but like. not as in ‘you need to take care of yourself’ & more ‘you aren’t conforming’#he thinks it’s wrong for the wrong reasons. the nastier ‘this is how you should be’ reasons#ppl being like ‘we r being too hard on porter. it’s an 150% courseload gorgug will be overwhelmed’ i think r missing the point bc like.#that is 100% a valid reason to not approve gorgug for multiclassing! but that’s also 100% not the reason porter rejected him.#that whole interaction was basically porter shoving his percieved version of conformity down gorgug’s throat. was v neurodivergent kid coded#no hate to anyone saying that last point btw these r all just opinions#thinking about last ep wilma & digby being like ‘you’re a great barbarian. you’re so great at it. but look at what you made!!!’ like.#they would never mean it like that. but when you only understand half of your son he is going to prioritize the half you do.
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This idea that the timeline wasn't a thing until overbearing fans made it matter too much and poor poor nintendo was made to yield* kind of annoys me, not gonna lie
(*I won't say there wasn't a huge focus on it by fans to a point where it must have become suffocating when it Wasn't The Point, but Nintendo 1000000% started it and continuity was *always* part of the way they either marketed or discussed the games prior to the Wild Era)
#tloz#zelda critical#zelda fandom critical#yes sure you can take things too literally when gameplay mood and pacing is also a valid reason for some choices#but that still weaves a narrative#again I'm literally fine with the Wild Reboot/Now We Don't Care Anymore#but the weird trying to appease everyone attitude is... both very funny and tiring honestly#I don't even think they can regain a huge part of the theorist enthusiasm after totk I think they ruined it for themselves a little#you made your choices and it's fine but you kind of can't have both imo vOv
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TFTober 4 - Provision
#gopher art#tf2 pyro#team fortress 2#tftober#the funny thing is that i have a love hate relationship with pyrovision as a concept#when i first saw meet the pyro i took it as a visual metaphor for the extreme excitement and joy they find in arson rather than literal#hallucinations. however i do have an appreciation for headcanoning pyro as someone who experiences hallucinations#that is fascinating. but i dont like when folks say 'they think what they're doing is sunshine and bubblegum and pure sugary sweetness'#because. sure they're whimsical but it doesnt really come across that way to me#and i feel really odd about taking pyro's agency away from them narratively anyway#like they're really not very focused on usually. so id like what little they do to actually be their own conscious choices#rather than them stumbling into situations like an infant#anyway my thought was 'it would be very funny if the vibes of the Reality and Pyroland segments of MtP were swapped'#so here is a pastel and bubbly reality vs the burning hellscape of pyroland where pyro is prince/ss
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Idk if production can rlly top the amount of vitriol that was in Cory’s whole bashing song zing from last year with anyone this season ngl even if Quinn was still there bc to a degree Quinn provided entertainment and his edit was decent. Cory’s edit did not have that luxury so
#i can be wrong and they do top that zing#but man production loathed cory sm😭#it’s still so wild to me to look back on#they def preferred certain hgs to quinn for sure#but the editing this season has been pretty balanced and fair and mostly accurate to the feeds#last season was them making up narratives and wanting camerons weird ass to win#the way villanized cory several times to make cam and jared and later on jag and matt look better#choices were made last year yk#bb26
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played the "remember who you are" ending for the first time instead of the "embrace your anger" one for the Lace Harding plotlines and im so mad i want to kick a chair over. much like Lace Harding might if she wasnt still punished for being angry by the game.
#specifically i am talking about the epilogue part where she meets with Stalgard and Durra and shares the titan magic with them#SHE DOESNT DO THAT AT ALL IN THE ANGER ONE??? HELLO?#i could write a whole 10000 words about this and how narratives punish anger as an emotion ESPECIALLY for women but i dont have time#like on the surface it APPEARS to validate the 'anger' choice but then you see how it plays out otherwise and what gets denied if u pick it#so like. ok. sure. fine. FINE. IM FINE#im seething#the little moment of lines with the Oracle is. not the same at all. and not in a way i think makes this more cohesive urrghgrgrhh#cant believe the ANGER option is the one whre you can say 'just dont worry about it' when she talks about the titans actually#its that or only 'we can remember them'#what even is the point of letting me pick 'actually you deserve your rage' if i cant then say#'now use that anger to share with the others what you lost and make change yourself'#bc the heart of anger is often pushing back against something seen as unjust#anger is a call to ACTION#but the only 'action' that's even possible from her quest choice is in the 'remember who you are' option instead apparently#ANYWAY. im fine.#jade plays dav#dragon age#dragon age: veilguard#datv spoilers#da4 spoilers#lace harding#closing my eyes and retconning this you deserve your rage AND to have it push you forward its ok lace im fiixing it in my mind
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Valentine Vuong is a transfemme they/them enby, I am not accepting criticism at this time 😇
#wednesday spoilers#deadpool spoilers#not impressed with Val's character design in this issue suddenly having MASSIVE BAZONGAS#combined with Tasky misgendering them (without acknowledgement or correction)#it really feels like the narrative intent was to make SURE we know they're AFAB#so it was clear that the Valenpool closure convo was between Wade and A GIRL#hey marvel writers. I see your “Deadpool has to be with a girl” and raise you ”that girl has a dick and Wade LOVES it“#ugh. idk. the whole thing is leaving a bad taste in my mouth#Val's previous character designs did suggest afab but not strongly#their agab wasn't confirmed either way and I really liked that#because like? it's not our business? what's in their pants or down their shirt?#(obligatory disclaimer that of course enbies and transmascs can have a majestic rack and still be 100% their gender)#(I know a lot of pre-op and non-op trans men!)#(but in this specific context that doesn't feel like what they were trying to convey)#(in an ideal world there would be be more than one enby character in the entire fucking universe 😭)#(so the burden of “good representation” wouldn't be all on Val's shoulders)#(but here we are. and so the small choices they make about the character have a HUGE impact)#I guess the curse of being a comics fan is hating the portrayal of your fave 90% of the time#still it's disappointing#ANYWAY Val makes their own E#and they bought those [redacted] with merc money and they were worth every penny#valentine vuong#deadpool (2024)#valenpool#deadpool#wade wilson#gender blender#water logs
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I feel like the reason Rook rubs some people the wrong way as a protagonist is that they're expecting them to be like Hawke when really I feel like V from Cyberpunk is a better comparison for the sort of rpg protagonist you're playing. V has a pretty consistent personality and while your lifepath does affect dialogue options and choices available, V's still going to be pretty much the same character with the roleplaying being in choosing how your specific V would say something or react to a situation.
It's the same thing for Rook where at the end of the day Rook is Rook and will always have the same generally jovial and joking personality but you get to decide how they respond and with that how the person Rook is talking to reacts. As someone who replayed most conversations in Veilguard to figure out the perfect response there is decent amount of NPC reactivity to each specific dialogue option even if they do end up looping back to the same place because that's just how video game conversations work.
I understand if people don't like this approach to a protagonist in a RPG but that doesn't make Rook a bad protagonist, just different from what most people were expecting.
#Rook actually having a set personality is why I jive with Rook way more than the Inquisitor#the Inquisitor had all the personality of a cardboard cut out when playing the game and sure that can be easier for some people to project#I found it just made for a really boring character as there felt like there was nothing to build on#there's also some narrative and thematic reasons that your choices are limited with Rook so you can only be a Good Guy#but I wont get into them here#rook#datv
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Honestly I’m usually impressed more with the way a reader is characterized than the character themselves
#riv rambles#not because I’m picky about characterization of characters#that’s a separate issue#but I feel like if you read enough well executed fics and really sit on a character enough you could probably do them enough justice but#writing an mc that really draws in the reader’s attention takes a lot of care#and effort#and it impresses me#I think that writing an existing character has all the hard parts done for you. they have a backstory and a personality and maybe even a set#of troubles/issues that defines the core of their character and why they could make the choices they do#but the mc is a fresh slate and I’m sure a lot of writers base their mc’s off of themselves but also#a lot of times there uniquely written because of the plot itself and it just#really really makes me take a moment and go woah#when an mc has a well thought out backstory that’s properly written and gives you a compelling narrative but also makes you really think on#why is it that they chose to do the things they did or say the things they do and#once I find myself thinking deeply about those sort of things with an mc then I realize like#oh yeah this fic is a banger this is a well thought out and intricately written fic I found me a gem#anyway#writing is such a cool thing you really see some of the most talented people casually post stuff on the internet sometimes like it’s nothing
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—sophie thatcher
—sophie nelisse
#help me ha ha. ha ha ha.#taking those scenes back like shauna with her minivan#jk this isn’t an actual threat showtime but I am sick to my STOMACH!#cristina yang somebody sedate me.gif#like truly I’m losing my fucking mind a narrative exist somewhere out there. ha ha wow how wild what a choice!#don’t come tell me that it was intentional I UNDERSTAND that SOMEONE intended for it to happen somewhere along the way I PROMISE#I get causation. well versed in cause and effect! decisions are not novel to me as a concept! but I sure can think they were bad!#shauna shipman#natalie scatorccio#sophie nelisse#sophie thatcher#yellowjackets
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goddd emily’s performance as saccharina was amazing. she’s powerful. she’s intimidating. she’s broken by her own expectations. she’s noble. she’s a scared little kid. she’s so wrapped up in her own emotions and experiences that they affect everything she does. she’s sometimes insufferable to the viewer, who has been with the rocks family this entire time. she’s a sympathetic character. she’s a badass, because she needs to be. fuck, what a character.
#me whenever saccharina monologues to ruby: oh my god stop itttt she’s grieving. also keep goinggg because its good story#i think a lot of viewers feel like. bc they have empathy and connection to ruby#-that they cant have the same for saccharina. bc shes so…insistent on winning affection from a family that is not ready to give her it#and it can conflict with ruby and our experiences so far. like.. who is this girl!!#but that kind of take really ignores the narrative impact saccharina has. how she’s coming into this story from another one—her own#and how the impact of jets death is the main reason ruby refused to let her in#plus how quick saccharina assumed shed be welcomed!! its unrealistic but thats not her fault for feeling disappointed. she had no frame of#-reference for how meeting the rocks family was supposed to go. their frustration was out of her control. yet she takes it personally#which is what a lot of ppl find annoying about her character. and like!! sure okay whatever but youre missing out on *why* all this conflict#-happens. *why* she acts the way she does. *why* it was the right choice to introduce her after jets death.#yeah.#acoc#dim 20#dimension 20#saccharina frostwhip#bardic ranting
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