#the specificity of the script is on point- since season 1

[thoughtfulchaos773]

His least favorite day.

[kerubimcrepin]

Dofus: The Production - what is left of the old movie

Originally, the movie was supposed to tie in with the game and the Welsh & Shedar series, and be a trilogy.

As we had already explored on this blog, this did not happen for a variety of reasons.

Welsh and Shedar got cannibalized by other projects due to its cancellation, and the script of the movie "Dofus Book 1: Joris Jurgen" had to be completely rewritten from its old plot;

In that movie, Joris was likely supposed to be a street urchin, who survived together with Lilotte, who was a rogue, and the trailer we have for the older version of the movie reflects that:

As we can also see from the trailer, and the poster featured earlier, proto-Kerubim is also a part of the movie, and Khan was not yet meant to be a boufbowler.

(And considering the posters, the cat that inspired Kerubim's design was also a part of the movie. I wonder if it's related to Welsh's cat from Welsh and Shedar? But maybe I'm just crazy.)

Subsequently, the movie came out at a much later date than planned originally.

(two images included because, bizarrely, there are two versions - one with Joris's tail censored, and the other with his tail uncensored. This proves that already at this point they had a draconic backstory in mind for him, though we do know that at the time of Wakfu season 1 (and, likely, the cancelled DS game, as was noted in my post about it) it was not the case.)

Also, interestingly, it is the only art of this time to include the tail. A possible error on Xa's part, or something that was considered very briefly?

In the end, Kerubim (as well as Simone) swallowed up not just the design of Welsh's cat, clothes, and Ecaflip friend;

He also got the role Julith was supposed to have, both metaphorically, and also literally.

Or not entirely — considering the fact that Joris was supposed to spend time with him anyway, since we have art of Joris on his mount from that old draft.

It's quite interesting, to think of all that could have been different in the 2009-2012 version of the movie!

But even during the making of the second draft of the movie, a lot of things have changed. From the first idea of Joris winning Kerubim back at a pachinko machine, to the concept art of Joris's non-possessed appearance.

The movie was being actively rewritten at the time of the making of Aux Tresors, so some of the early drafts were already tied in with its canon — taking place in Astrub, to be specific — but not with its ending, because the show was still ongoing.

At one point there was supposed to be a whole cast of Huppermage characters, and judging from the fact one of them is mentioned in the following text, they did play some sort of role in the plot:

It is likely that from this early draft it was decided that Joris would be a boufbowl fan, which was then worked in as a plot point in Aux Tresors.

(Stélina may be a proto-version of Bakara.)

It also seems that at this stage, it would be likely that Lilotte was reworked to be the Princess of Bonta, before eventually becoming the Ouginak we know and love.

After this Ankama once again returned to the concept of Lilotte as an orphan, though — even when the movie was still set in Astrub!

And it seems that the draft involved travel between Astrub and Bonta, judging from the usage of a Zaap to attack Luis.

And even at this point they have come up with the tragically cut "Joris and Khan go to adult industry workers and Joris (10yo boy) engages in depressed underaged drinking" scene.

(I'll never forgive Ankama for cutting this. I still argue that it's in character for Khan, our detested/beloved turbovirgin, to do this — as long as he doesn't get together with any of the women due to thinking himself "too good" for them.)

Also, at some point the gods were supposed to play a role. And personally, I am glad it was cut — it feels a bit too grand for the first movie in what was supposed to be a series.

I don't have any grand statement, or conclusion, but it is interesting to see all the ways the movie has changed.

[eclairsnme]

♡ POV: Being The Itoshi Brother’s Elder Sister ♡

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

The troubles of an Idol.

tags: idol!you, crack comedy, reunion, familial love, sfw, somewhat of a brat (⁎⁍̴̛ᴗ⁍̴̛⁎)

notes: she's back with more demands and silliness!! ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

“Could you make that,” pointing to your chest subtly, “a little bigger?”

Sitting beside the photo editor, you closely observe her working magic on your recent photoshoot with a swimwear brand.

You thought the photos looked great until you caught on to an important missing element.

Boobs.

Big boobs to be specific.

You had boobs but they were not like Hana Haruna’s (*a Japanese pornstar*).

What is the point of posing for a swimwear brand when you lack the assets?

“Maybe if you could just accentuate it a little more,” you gestured your hands to reiterate your idea of a big boob.

“Miss, if I make it any bigger here it’ll look as if you have watermelon jugs as big as your head.”

Your photo editor had a point; your edited chest resembled overblown balloons.

But still! (╯•﹏•╰)

“Isn’t that what the people like? Do you know what they always say? ‘Big boobs don’t lie’.”

“I think you got the wrong idea here, miss.”

“We cannot let the people out there catch me lacking!”

This was your first ever swimwear photoshoot in your entire career. Usually, you will pose for makeup brands and luxury clothing brands.

Swimwear was an uncharted territory. Of course, you were a little overzealous.

Me! The idol who is perfect in every way! Perfect face, perfect figure, and perfect life — an idol who everyone knows and loves.

“Hold on a second, let me refer to my advisor for their advice.”

Imitating a handheld phone with your hands and fingers, you held it towards your ear and spoke through the mock phone.

“Hello, myself. Do you think big boobs are better or small boobs?”

You halted for a second before replying to your own quandary, “Most definitely big boobs.”

With that, you ended the “call”.

“There you have it, miss photo editor. You just have to make it big enough to look natural.”

“If you say so...”

“I am the perfect idol. I cannot lack!”

Maintaining the image of an idol sure is a tough job.

—

“Did she gain some weight?”

“She looked like she had some plastic surgery done to her nose.”

“Oh, I heard she’s dating that one foreign guy!”

“Didn’t you hear how she seduced her way into…”

“She looks like she aged like rotten cheese since her teenage years.”

“Don’t you think she’s the least talented of her siblings?”

Those were just some of the many comments you could ascertain from your dear haters coming from the live audience seat.

You know you are the epitome of perfection. No matter what they say, it would not make you hot under the collar.

Jealously sure is a terrible disease. ┐(´～｀)┌

Currently, you are on a TV show with your male costar, whom you could not really remember his name for he is just a mere NPC.

Today’s show required you to promote a romance drama you acted in last year that has finally been broadcasted this year.

You played the role of the female lead, who fell in love with the male lead at first sight.

It turns out, the group of people who were talking behind your back was this NPC costar’s groupies.

Tsk. Bunch of buzzing bees.

They were on a nonstop mission to pour vitriolic attacks on you.

Despite all the hate, you thought it was quite flattering that they were giving you such undivided attention albeit having their “idol” — NPC costar — right beside you.

Yet again, you have proved to yourself that you are indeed the star of the show! Haters are part of the package of being so irresistible!

(Ŏ艸Ŏ)

You giggled at that.

“This is the hottest romance drama of this season that is sure to get you excited!” The host bellowed, prompting a wave of applause from the audience.

You smiled at the reception.

The interview was filled with scripted questions which you accordingly answered to.

Too easy.

You just had to smile sweetly at everyone to have them fall in love with you. Even the bunch of groupies could not help but to fall for your charm.

Everything was going swimmingly until the host pulled out his wild card — an unscripted question directed at you.

“As a famous idol, do you have any real-life romantic experiences that are swoon-worthy to share with the audience?” The host said in an overly enthusiastic tone.

The audience gasps.

All the cameras were then angled at you anticipating your response.

You smiled sweetly at the host.

Does this guy hate me or something? He must be my number one hater!

Your privacy has always been prioritised as an idol.

Not much was known about your private life until the recent news of your relationship with the Itoshi siblings broke out.

Disregarding that, the matter of your romantic relationship was a topic deemed taboo even to your fans.

The genesis of the taboo nature of your private romantic life started from an honest discussion among the netizens.

They were speculating who you were romantically involved with but it was all for naught as they could not find even a speck of man involved with you.

Even when feverish stalkers took matters into their own hands, they still could not find dirt on you.

Male costars? You treated them like dirt off-camera.

Other male celebrities? You did not even bother looking in their direction or bear to breathe the same air as them for you are better than them.

It soon became apparent to them that perhaps you had a secret affair or were involved in something incredibly scandalous — maybe you were interested in unique deviances?

Their theories then became out of control and so out of pocket that everyone began making up weird conclusions of their own online, which caused a huge uproar.

In the end, everyone decided to be more hush about that topic.

In reality, the truth as to why no one was able to dig up any evidence of you in a relationship was simply because you have always been single as a pringle.

How could a young eligible, gorgeous and talented bachelorette be so single? ( ▀ 益 ▀ )

That is because your brain only contains idol-related information. Everything else? Nil.

Is this man mocking me?

“Surely someone as pretty as you would have countless opportunities for love isn’t it?” The host continued with his onslaught of probing.

Should I strangle him? Or should I just slap him? No no no. Evil monologue shut up.

You look over to your manager and gave him the death glare.

In response to that, he expeditiously told the producers to temporarily halt the program.

With hands akimbo, your tall and slim frame overwhelmed the short and stubby manager.

You frowned at him and harshly whispered to his ears, “Get me a boyfriend ASAP!”

“Eh?!”

—

The program ended and you finally let out a long sigh in the car.

“So did you find me a boyfriend yet?”

“I-I don’t think that is how relationships work! I cannot just magically bring you a boyfriend.”

“But I want a boyfriend! So find me one!” You exclaimed helplessly.

Your manager sighed at your zero concepts of relationships and love.

“Have you loved someone before?”

“Myself.”

“Other than yourself?”

“Is this a trick question or something?”

Mr Manager glances at the rearview mirror with a defeated expression.

“Have you experienced love before?”

“What’s that?” You asked, fingers on your chin unsure what the heck that meant. ಠ╭╮ಠ

“The butterflies in your stomach when you meet someone you love!” He exasperated.

“Oh, that! Whenever I catch glimpses of myself in the mirror, I get this inexplicable feeling of that thing you described!”

This was a lost cause. Although you acted in numerous romance dramas, you still did not grasp the meaning of love. What a hypocrisy it is.

“To have a boyfriend, you must first love that person!”

“What? That sounds like a hassle. I just want a boyfriend.”

Mr manager scrunched his nose in disbelief.

“And why do you exactly want a ‘boyfriend’? This can’t be another of your impulsive thoughts is it?”

Mr manager had a déjà vu of a time when you ordered him to get you a pet tiger.

“No, it is not! What with all these questions, Mr interrogator?”

“…”

“Shut up and just get me a boyfriend.”

“So I have the right to set you up on a date?”

“Whatever it is, I want a boyfriend. I am being very extremely superbly serious!” You said with finality.

Mr Manager could only sigh in defeat yet again for the umpteenth time.

“But you are a public figure–”

You snapped at Mr Manager, “Shut up!”

He continued driving the car, looking at you through the rear-view mirror.

Any man would die to date you; you were a beguiling and dazzling lady. However, your attitude was something he was not sure any man would be able to handle.

In his entire career of being your manager, not once has he had a good day. Every day was filled with problems caused by you that he had to solve.

His brow scrunched together in grim defeat.

Boyfriend huh? Good luck to that unlucky guy.

You, on the other hand, seating cross-legged in the backseat, were marinating in annoyance.

After experiencing the mockery of the host deprecating your love life, you could not let that slide.

You had to ratio him.

Was it immature? Debatable.

Your only participation in this so-called romantic relationship concept was acting in dramas and movies.

And your exposure to the male species was…

Ehem.

Despite being an idol, your otherwise desolate personal life painted you as a lone wolf.

In your life, it was all work and dedication to being the best.

You were on fire! On fire to get a boyfriend! You will show them that you are capable of anything, and not lacking in any department!

The constant buzz of your phone eventually broke you out of your daze.

When you saw the screen, you immediately picked up the call.

“Rin!”

“I’m one step closer to demolishing brother.”

Eh? ！(◎_◎;)

You took the phone away from your ear and stared into the screen making sure you have the right person on the phone.

After confirming it’s the right person, you responded, “What do you mean demolishing your brother?”

“I’ve joined Paris X Gen in Blue Lock to become the best striker and to destroy brother.”

“Mmm… you are destroying my heart, Rin. Why are you still talking about your brother like this?”

“I will be better and he will finally acknowledge me.”

You murmured incoherent thoughts with a frown.

This pent-up hatred can go no further!

“Sister?”

“Where are you now?”

“In the Blue Lock facility. Why?”

You hung up the phone.

“Drive me to this Blue Lock facility place,” you ordered Mr Manager.

—

As soon as you arrive at the Blue Lock building, you were met with strict security.

“Let me in you low-life man.”

“Miss, this is not a place you can just walk in.”

“And a measly man like you can?”

You had been at this for a good 10 minutes, going back and forth with the stubby man and his group of security guards.

Getting sick and tired of this nonsense, you slap the man's fake wig off his head. The wig which was so fake you could see your reflection on it, flew away dramatically and plopped onto the hard asphalt ground.

“M-my hair!” He ran straight to the plastic wig.

“What’s with all these ruckus?”

The hairless man exclaimed at the sight of the short-haired woman.

Your attention went towards the petite, short-haired woman. She looked about your age. As she moved closer to you, almost immediately, your attention snapped to her big bust.

Those are what I call knockers! OMG! ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Too busy ogling at her melons, you didn’t realise she was calling out for you.

Snapping yourself out of it, you introduced yourself.

“You are the popular idol!” The busty lady interrupted you, “I am, Anri Teieri, the manager of this facility. This is a strictly out-of-bounds area. What business does an idol like you have here?”

“Miss Anri, you see I have an underaged brother here and I, as his attending guardian, need to see him.”

“I’m sorry, but only authorised personnel can enter the premises.”

“Then authorise me. My little brother is feeling so homesick he was practically begging on his knees to meet me.”

“Every participant here is dedicated to being the best striker, we cannot afford any distractions such as yourself. I’m sure your little brother understands this — it’s all part of the process,” Anri puffed her chest out.

Seeing the physics of her melons do their job, you unconsciously covered your own chest.

That’s unfair! _:(´ཀ`」 ∠):

Anri observed the female opposite her. Hands down, you are the most beautiful woman she had ever laid eyes on. A face sculpted by the gods and paired with those glassy teal eyes that just compelled attraction. Of course, she knew who you are — who doesn’t.

Honestly, Anri was a huge fan of your work. She had collected all your albums and watched all your shows.

You could say that she’s a fan girl.

She also knew that you were the older sister of Rin Itoshi. She had looked through each player's records and with the recent breakout news that you are related to the Itoshi siblings, no doubt you are his sister.

However, she cannot haphazardly let you enter.

What goes on inside Blue Lock is confidential.

“Who is in charge of this building? Call him out now,” you demanded, unwilling to leave until you got what you want.

As if the big man up there had heard your quandary, Anri’s phone rang and it was Ego.

“Let her in,” the deep voice reverberated in her ear.

Ego stared at the monitor, observing Anri and the idol through the surveillance camera.

“But,” Anri tried to protest to no avail as Ego quickly intercepted.

“No harm letting her in.”

With that, the call ended, leaving a befuddled Anri.

“The general manager called and said you are allowed in,” Anri hesitantly said.

“That wasn’t too hard isn’t it?” You smiled, satisfied.

EHE god is always on my side. ✌︎('ω')✌︎

—

The Blue Lock facility was a massive site. It was bigger than any skyscraper you had ever seen. This could easily be the most impressive building in Japan.

The space was so big that every step you took became a loud echo.

“Hey, big melon woman,” you called out for her.

“P-pardon m-m-me?” Anri is flustered at your bluntness.

“Yes, you.” You replied, disregarding her blushing face, “Where’s Rin?”

“The Blue Lock players are currently undergoing their training as of now, therefore I’ll be bringing you to the surveillance room where Ego is at.”

“And should I know what this Ego thing is?”

“Ego is a man I chose to oversee this Blue Lock project.”

“Oho — so you are the mastermind? That’s pretty impressive.”

That was impressive. You had an inkling an old, wrinkly man was behind Blue Lock but to think it was the big melon woman? That was impressive in your books.

Well, that and coupled with your bias for big boobs. (● ˃̶͈̀ロ˂̶͈́)੭ꠥ⁾⁾

Leading you through the vast hallway, both of you finally arrived at your destination.

Anri knocked on the door a couple of times.

“Come in,” came a reply.

As soon as the door opened, you were welcomed by the bright screens of many monitors.

Looking at the screens, they were all surveilling all of the Blue Lock players in the facility.

“Ego, this is the idol you told me to bring along.”

“Here, what you are witnessing are all the unpolished diamonds striving to become the best striker the world will soon witness,” Ego stood up, overwhelming your frame even though you weren’t short by any means.

Ego was a tall, lanky man and you cannot help but compare him to the game character called “Slenderman”.

“Make no mistake that we are the next revolution of football,” continued Ego.

You took a step towards the monitors and scrutinised trying to locate Rin.

“Note this, every day, every boy here only thinks about eating, sleeping and football,” continued Ego.

Still unable to find Rin, you pulled Anri and ask her to help you look for him. More pair of eyes will get the job done.

“We have never allowed any outsider to our facility and you are the first. Consider this a blessing that I am a fan of your works and have allowed you to witness this holy sanctuary,” continued Ego.

Where is Rin?!

“There he is!” Anri smiled as she pointed at a monitor to your far left.

Rin was on the field practising with other players.

“Bring me to him,” you interrupted Ego’s nonstop rant.

“I will, but I have a better idea,” he suspiciously said.

—

On the side of the field, Rin took off his football boots.

The nonstop practice and matches had worn out his boots till the original colour was gone.

It was not even a week since he had joined Paris X Gen, and the regiment was even harsher than before.

It was not for nothing though, he could feel his stamina, strength and ability getting better.

Nothing can stop him from achieving greater heights.

Be it the jerk Shidou or Isagi, he will be better.

But he cannot help to still feel that he is lacking somethi-

"RIN!"

The speaker rumbled throughout the entire Blue Lock building.

The big screen flickered and you came to view.

Rin sank back and covered his face; covering the heavy blush that instantly painted his face bright red.

"Sister..." he muttered under his breath, "What are you doing here?"

Embarrassment was currently the biggest understatement as he tried to pretend he did not hear or see anything.

"Hey, isn't that the idol? Am I dreaming right now?" Karasu gasps at your appearance.

"Rin, can you hear me?" You waved your hand trying to get your little brother's attention.

The Ego man told you that you can communicate with Rin through the screen but what a big liar he was!

On the monitor, the figure of Rin showed that he was still minding his own business as if he did not know you are here.

"Your dearly beloved sister is here!" You shouted into the mic again thinking that perhaps it was some faulty audio.

Your voice echoed throughout the building again, everyone in the building had their attention on you.

Uproars could be heard from the players in every room exclaiming at the sight of a popular idol.

You continued calling out for brother. After all, Ego had nicely set up a Zoom call for you, you cannot let this opportunity go to waste.

Why isn't he looking at me? (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞

At the corner of the room, away from the screen, Ego held back his laughter and Anri silently stood unable to help you.

—

"Hey, Reo-" Nagi poked Reo, "isn't that the videogame character?"

"She's the person the videogame character was modelled after," Reo replied.

“She’s a real person?” Nagi said in disbelief.

Unlike Nagi, who only knew you from his game, Reo has actually went to your live concerts multiple times.

After all, your concerts were sponsored by Mikage Corporation.

“Even in real life, she look like a video game character.”

“Is it because she look so unreal?” Reo replied.

—

"Meine Leibe, you have come for me," Kaiser stopped his track as soon as he heard your voice.

Pushing Isagi out of his way, he walked towards the screen with both arms out.

“This must be fate.”

☆〜（ゝ。∂）the end (for now) ☆〜（ゝ。∂）

Part 4

<ehe did you feel that second-hand embarrassment? (I hope you did)>

<why does she keep bothering Rin? It’s because she still sees him as the small baby he used to be and can't stop being the protective (overbearing) sister - she doesn’t know that yet cuzzzz she’s dense>

<if you have any suggestions or whomever you think she should be paired with, don't be shy to share your thoughts!>

<Thankiew for reading!!!>

[carigm]

MAJOR POTENTIAL SPOILERS/LEAKS REGARDING S5 (WARNING)

Last Spring/Summer, a semi popular fandom account on Twitter got sent some leaks about S5, focused on the first half of the season. At this time, many fandom accounts were receiving supposed leaks, so our attention was a bit scattered and we didn’t focus on any of them too much. A popular leak account on Twitter (unrelated to ST) also mentioned that they had gotten the first half of S5 leaked, and that this source is “never wrong”. Now, it is hard to tell if these leaks are the same as the ones that the specific fandom account I’m talking about received, but something to keep in mind. Her leaks were given to her by a person named James (which I assume is a fake name). These leaks were also posted on Reddit, last year, by her (the person in the fandom that got the leaks from James) but some major things were omitted in that post. I’m gonna leave a link here in case you guys want to read the discussion.

I’m sharing these leaks with you because some things from them are kinda lining up with what we’re seeing from S5 production. Keep in mind that these could be fake/wrong, and James himself said he didn’t have info on the last couple of scripts.

According to James, Mike dies in Ep. 3. I’m adding more screenshots later for more context, but the gist of these leaks is that Mike bites it, mlvn never breakup nor do they get a resolution, and Byler is left up to interpretation but never really happens. (I don’t really need to get into how shitty this all is writing wise)

Let’s go over the things these leaks might have potentially gotten right, according to what we know so far.

1. James said that the time jump would occur in ep. 1, after an establishing scene where S4 left off. He said the time jump would place us in late 1987/early 1988. He also mentioned there would be a series of flashbacks showcasing stuff from before the time jump. The dates he gave do seem to be accurate, and David Harbour had a shaved head right before they went into filming, which could imply pre time jump scenes.

2. According to him, after Mike dies, they find a letter he had been writing. Some of us were theorizing Finn had a letter in his back pocket in those rooftop pics. Could’ve also been Finn’s script and he just stuck it there (who knows).

3. He said that Joyce gets badly injured in ep.3, and since there’s speculation Winona was seen filming at the hospital, some people think that means she was taken there because of her injury. It’s important to notice that Natalia, Cara, and Finn were also supposedly seen filming at the hospital, and that the production called for many extras for nurses and paramedics. So whatever they’re filming at the hospital, it might be bigger than Joyce getting injured in her leg. Let’s remember Max is at the hospital too. I’m not 100% sold on this part of the leaks.

4. Today it was revealed that they’re setting up to film at Stone Mountain. (This is where they filmed UD scenes for S4)

Apparently production might have purple tentacles out already. (UD vines?)

Cara Buono mentioned, in that video shared by Ross Duffer, that she was filming stuff from Ep.2. This was around 2 days ago.

The people that know about the leaks think this is where Mike dies in ep. 3. Here’s some further context:

Here’s some stuff he said about mlvn:

Which is just….meh, because like I said, it doesn’t look like him and El ever breakup before his supposed death. Plus Byler never gets any resolution.

Now some things that might disprove the leaks (I’m trying to be impartial here)

1. These leaks mentioned Argyle a couple of times, saying he has a hero moment at some point. Eduardo made it sound like he’s not coming back to the show, but tbh he could just be lying. He’s listed for ep.2 on IMDb (and yes I know anyone with an account can edit that site)

2. These leaks say that Mike is very insufferable for the 3 episodes he’s alive, basically lashing out at everyone, specially El, and just overall behaving like an asshole. I really didn’t get that from the ElMike rooftop scene, in fact he seemed very gentle with her. People that know about these leaks think that the rooftop scene is Mike maybe apologizing to El and them having a heart to heart, right before he dies (no comment).

All in all, if Mike is dying this early, I’m sure we’ll know soon enough. The rest of the cast is gonna be filming for like a year, and Finn will be done in like two weeks 💀

I also hope there’s more leaks soon (on Reddit) so that we might compare them to these and see wtf is up.

I know someone is gonna inevitably ask why leaks would be out almost a whole year before they started filming when we usually get them during filming or post production, but I’ve been told these leaks happened around the time the writer’s strike began, which is when they were originally gonna start filming. I was also told other shows had issues with leaks around that same time.

I don’t want to get too much into the truly awful writing we’re facing if these are real but…First, I believe it’s a total disservice to Mike’s character. One of your mains since S1 and you don’t even offer him the option of dying towards the end of the season? Even fucking Eddie got that. Two, it seems like a very easy cop out for not having to make Byler canon. Let’s just have neither ship be endgame and that way we don’t get queerbaiting allegations. It also stands in a zone too close to torture porn for my liking, because sure let’s kill the character two of the most traumatized characters in the history of TV love most. And yes, it’s also a disservice to El and Will’s characters. And lastly, if that supposed letter vaguely alludes Mike having some sort of sexuality problems (we don’t know atp) it is pretty fucked up they just killed him off like that. Sure let’s not explore any of that, but give a half assed explanation via letter ex machina. This is looking like Supernatural finale levels of bad to me.

Another point, I distinctly remember the Duffers saying, after S4, that they could never kill off a character like Mike because it would be too painful, and that ST would cease to be ST and lose its identity. They didn’t want to be like GOT. I sincerely hope they actually meant this and were not trying to be cheeky or whatever the fuck.

It would be genuinely insane, and quite frankly, a highlight of their lack of writing abilities.

I hope the leaks are wrong, but I felt like it was necessary to warn everyone just in case. I know I’m not watching something this awful.

[38sr]

same anon that asked about shadows ! , i have another question , how does different budgets for different animes change the way it is drawn , animated etc , like how does it go from average to ultra quality like demon slayer for example ..

Ah so with anime it’s a very nuanced topic. Firstly, I want to preface that what I am about to say is strictly from my experience working in anime for three years now and even then I would highly implore to study the Animator Dormitory Project to learn from animators who are PHYSICALLY dealing with the imbalanced system that is the anime industry. ALSO, it is important to clarify more money does not equal better art visually. More money means more time and resources. How you use said resources and time is what determines the quality of art (as well as the quality of work environment for the people making said product). If we were to follow the logic that more money equals better art, that would mean the average Family Guy episode should look like an average Demon Slayer episode. That is simply not the truth because 1) every production is different therefore their needs and overall artistic vision will differ 2) you’d be surprised on how the money is actually spent versus what you think it should be spent on (ie American animated films choosing to do celebrity voice casting which eats up a shit ton of the budget when that could have gone to the production crew’s schedule and needs). So with that, please understand money does not play in the ways you think it does (ie if it makes the drawings better) but it cannot be denied it’s one of many factors. Alright?

Basically, anime is funded through production committees which are a group of investors (such as manga publishers, merchandise manufacturers, tv broadcast executives, etc). In America, we have a similar system known as the AMPTP however unlike America where an investor can invest in cross industry projects (ie. Mattel can invest in toys and film entertainment) in Japan they can only choose one industry. This leaves budgets for anime to not become incredibly inflated like we have here in America (ie most blockbuster movies nowadays). BUT because of this rule along with the rule of budget caps, the actual budgets of full seasons of animes have not changed much since maybe the 1960/70s. To bring it back to Family Guy, the average episode of that show from script to final broadcast has been reported to cost anywhere between $1-2 million PER EPISODE. If you multiply that with the full episode order (let’s say 13 just to match the average season of anime), you’re working with $13-26 million FOR A SEASON.

Anime, specifically TV anime, is not seeing that. Shinkai’s Your Name was reported to have $4.5mil for actual movie production (not including the advertising budget which would make it 7.5 or roughly 8mil). $4.5mil. For an anime film.

$4.5 million is a good (and rare) budget by American TV animation standards for PER EPISODE. Unless you’re like, Disney or something you can afford to do that but most average American TV animation is anywhere between $1-3 million per episode. And the average anime is seeing that $1-3mil PER SEASON due to budget caps. So if we do the math of dividing that $1-3mil across 13 episodes (and I’m gonna do this evenly because this is a hypothetical and in reality some episodes do have more money put into for more TIME and RESOURCES)…that would mean your average anime episode, from script to final broadcast, is only seeing a couple hundred thousand dollars unlike here in American where we have a couple million.

And so at this point you’re probably thinking, “Wait, this doesn’t make sense. How can Your Name look like the way it is if that’s what America could spend on a single animated episode? Why is there such a wide disparity between the actual budget versus the final product’s visuals?” And that, my dear Shadow (sorry if that came off weird) is where we have to talk about communication. You see, even though Demon Slayer might not be seeing the same episode budget like we do in America what Japanese studios have in spades that American studios spent over 2 DECADES eradicating is in house layout and animation teams.

The reason why anime looks the way it is on such smaller budgets is quite honestly because they are communicating with each other in real time. In America, we ship our storyboards to a studio overseas (usually Korea, Philippines, India, etc) where we are basically playing a gambling game of whether or not the overseas studios produce the desired work we want. And spoiler alert: it hardly ever truly happens because of language barriers and these overseas are often not given enough money (remember that means time and resources) to actually succeed. Hence, you go into retakes which cost money and spend it back to overseas which cost money, and then it comes back and retakes are still needed which cost money yet again and I think you’re beginning to see why this system in American studios is awful.

Because the amount of money you spent doing that back and forth with retakes and shipping with an overseas studio who was not set up for success could have been spent on having an in house layout and animation team like they do in Japanese studios.

As someone who has freelanced on animes as well worked at vendor overseas studios for American made productions, I cannot understate how having that instant communication (as well as cultural understanding) can drastically change how things get animated. Being able to talk to your director about their intent for a scene at an instant is much more productive than waiting 6-8 months for a Russian roulette bullet. So my point is, the direct communication Japanese studios have within is the true unsung hero as to why 1) visually beautiful shows like Dandadan or Demon Slayer exist 2) they are able to have such a wide variety of visual styles under the anime umbrella because Japanese studios do value auteurship just a tad bit more than American studios who as of late is homogenizing our media cause it’s “safe”.

Also, another component that can factor into why anime looks the way it does despite smaller budgets is because Japan as a society heavily values reputation. On one hand, it’s cool that artists are willing to come together to bring the vision of an artist they admire to fruition. But on the other, it is often used to exploit these artists into very shitty work situations (ie me when I worked on JJK). It’s such a hard thing to talk about because as artists we do tend to sacrifice our well being for the sake of art but I could understand why someone on the outside might feel confused (or frustrated) that we would choose to put ourselves in a poor situation. Sometimes, you’re just willing to take a lesser pay and tighter deadlines to work on a project that speaks to you creatively. And it really do just be that. But for the case of anime, it is often because these artist want to work with a person they admire so who I am to judge them when I’ve done the same haha. But my point being, because Japanese studios have that in house communication and are more open to artist auteurship there’s just more room to have visually distinctive episodes, animated sequences, designs and so on despite the budgets not being the greatest (if we’re going by American standard of living because it is objectively true that Japan is not as costly as places like NY and LA).

I could go on and on about this but I think this answer has become way too long haha. But in summary, Japan isn’t seeing as big as budgets as you think you are from an American perspective. Anime budgets virtually have not changed that much for decades despite it being mainstream and incredibly profitable. I will add that studios like Kyoani and Ufotable have the advantage of potentially self funding their projects, which allows more creative power to the studio itself rather than having to comply to the production committee’s whims. But those studios are like….rare gems ‘cause they chose to nurture talent and be selective with their art over time as opposed to Mappa who is spreading the talent and production crew super thin by adapting too many shows. What makes the art in anime look that way is more so a result of passion and respect for the craft (as well as they’re just open to a lot more versus American execs who are risk-adverse). It would be great if they were given more money so they weren’t producing episodes on such tight schedules (usually a handful of months before official broadcast) but it’s really a testament of how they effectively allocate the money where it’s needed as well. It’s truly an amazing balancing act in a system that’s equally imbalanced.

Phew, that was a long one but I hope I answered your question. And with that, always remember kids that money does not equal better art. Money means more time and resources and how you use it is what determines the overall artistic vision of a production.

[tomyo]

A long examination of Amy and her character treatment.

This was initially a YouTube comment lol.

I truly loved the Sonic x dub cast but it really always came down to an issue of script and possibly the voice director. It always stung to me how much vitriol Amy used to get and while I like how she is better treated (being more recognized as one of the core 4), I do miss the sassiness she was given in the 00s. Sonic is meant to be kinda edgy and often in the anime he’s portrayed with immature traits because he’s a teenager, Amy often was the counterpart to that, a modern posh girl who was stubborn about what she wanted but not solely defined by that. I don’t think it was revolutionary but I do think compared to the Japanese ideal woman, Amy would be more akin with trickled down gyaru culture (Mat[ure] gal, something in line with the image of posh spice). It’s unfortunate that headstrong translated probably somewhat to boy crazy and desperate to an English audience and where Sonic’s immaturity was toned down removing that feeling they were on the same level. Often my biggest issue with her modern voice is she comes off as a knock off mini mouse (more so in the earlier games with her current English VA).

Maybe ironic is it sounds more alike to her Japanese portrayal which also ironically I’m very conflicted about since it somewhat aligns her more with cream age wise. But what I do like about it is the difference in character portrayal. If I were to guess Sega’s stance on Sonic and Amy it would be two people loosely dating, similar in the way Mickey and Minnie are a couple but that validity fluidly changes depending on the situational need. Keep in mind that Amy’s first portrayal is as a version of Sonic’s girlfriend. Given that there was apparently a valentine’s plush bouquet of the two I think to some degree they’re meant to be as such. When it comes to the Adventure era to just before generations, the context of this relationship is greatly changed between languages. American Sonic often gave off the feeling of a laid back but heroic guy who puts up with a girl because he is too kind and she’s too pushy. And I think even just the voice direction plays into that perception because of how they sound a different maturity than the Japanese portrayal. In Japanese, Sonic is often more playful and less uncomfortable than he sounds in English. A great example is adventure 1’s park segment when Amy gets excited for free couple entry, in English Sonic is clearly annoyed and calling her a pain while in Japanese he’s caught off guard but going along with it. I’ve only just been digging into the Sonic X sub but the comparisons I see give off more the feeling that Amy is casually dating Sonic and regularly fighting with him to take her on dates (gonna point to Goku and chichi in this case). He cares about her enough to go to her place first at the end of the first season but reflexively avoids responsibility, she’s the scary girlfriend always mad at him. Specifically pointing back to episode 52’s ending, they use a song associated with specially the relationship between Amy and Sonic that also is explicitly romantic (and in terms of the song presumably reciprocated) when she asks him to tell her He loves her and the lip flaps of his unheard response *could* match up to “Aishiteruze Amy” (my conjugation isn’t that good and google isn’t helpful but to me vague knowledge a more casual masculine way to say I love you) and a white rose which symbolizes “chaste love”.

Ultimately I read their relationship being Amy trying to find compromise with Sonic’s free spirit. They’re by no means official and probably never will be because it’s not in Sonic’s priority (in his game portrayal). The most I think that would ever become of him being with someone would be almost completely out of the picture and light hearted at best.( But that is also due to him eternally being 15/16 as for now. ) Amy trying to get him to spend time with her and show some reciprocation is I think all Sonic X Amy is looking for. But going back to my thoughts on why Amy got so much backlash for the longest time is I don’t not think the first wave of Sonic fans in America understood that. The image of who Sonic is was completely treated different and even before Amy (who you could technically call the second character created in game universe) could appear stateside, the U.S. already created the answer that “Yes, Sonic is interested in romance and here is the type of girl he likes.” My feelings toward Sally always lie in, I did not hate Sally but I hated the way fans pointed to Sally as the reason to hate Amy. It doesn’t help that when Amy was introduced, she was defined by being young, bratty and blind to Sonic not loving her back. She was the little sister trying to steal your boyfriend and the age gap they share was even more so focused on. Even with just the English dub of Sonic media, it was leaning into the concept that boys should feel disgusted at the ideas of romance that isn’t as prominent in Japanese media. It paints the picture to the average 90s Sonic fan that “Amy will never be his type because he’s more interested in a cool mature girl like Sally.” Of course the same comic that particularly created that shipping divide collapsed leaving Amy once again to be the sole main girl that now had a fandom known for hating her. Already doing a whole reset with Colors on scaling back the grand stories and cast, by the next time we really saw her in generations she was just…….dainty. I remember being very effected by her Disney princess hand posing in Lost World. To be honest she hasn’t been that deeply tied into any mainline stories too much, at least not in her modern styling but to also be fair, I’m trying to enjoy Forces despite being late to the game (There was a decade gap of buying a major console) and while I have seen pretty much the full extent of her rep in Frontiers, I’m holding off on dream team currently(also want to play the murder of Sonic on my own time). From the way I look at it, this has lead mainly western media to define her character and often working off said issues that previously arose with her portrayal. As much as I love Sonic Boom, I see Amy’s straight forward pursuit to awkward denial of even feeling that way as nothing less than an absolute failure of her character. That mixed with making her the “The girl annoyed with the boys because she’s just so much more smarter and sophisticated than them” just switching her to a different girly stereotype that ultimately pacified her, then further extending into prime emphasizing how nature loving she is in a way that again really just feels like a Disney princess cliche. Ultimately she’s become “The nurturing homebody who is a little annoyed at the brutish guys she’s around and doesn’t want to address having feelings for her guy friend because that would just bother him.” Maybe it's just aging to that point but its come to a girl minimizing herself is more frustrating that a girl obsessed with a guy. I get why they chose to pivot her in that way but it often also feels directionless.

Actually looking back at all the media that sparked this, even Sonic X doesn't feel that bad as she was made out to be. Granted I'm only a 7th of the way in but she's not often making a huge deal about sonic as much as sonic is the heavy hitter especially with knuckles gone and he's not taking his duties seriously. But it's also interesting to try and see what's going on in the Japanese dubs of the games now that I also have a decent hold on the Japanese language. Sonic adventure 2 gives the impression of her being a part of the crew just constantly not caught up in what's going on. Naturally she'd be invested getting her beloved out of prison but he is so tied up in what's going on that he (and tails) don't stop to fill her in before she's also a wanted criminal. Notably as well, when the island is set to explode, where sonic says "I got to warn the others!" Others is addressed as "Amy-tachi". The word the Japanese use for we is "Watashitachi" which is the word for I with Tachi denoting people with them (watashi can also be replaced with of pronouns if you don't use watashi). It took my by surprise that between tails and Amy, sonic refers to any instead. Something about Japanese sonic makes Amy feel more a part of the group and part of me cries the many ways English sonic fans did not get it.

Edit: I have now played The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog and the writing team GETS Amy. I'm starting to wonder if Amy's Disney princessness is due to most of the media being kids shows right now and this was a steam game (mainly aimed at an older crowd). What's best is if plays well into the whole "Sonic is a bad boyfriend" concept I was talking about, he forgets her cake and is panicked. But Amy is also much more aligned with her old portrayal, she's excited and a little hot headed. Clearly she's had to organize a lot but also lavishes in it being her birthday. She doesn't over obsess on Sonic but she's definitely happy that he supposedly brought her cake and she gets to avenge his "murder". At the same time she's happy to be with all of her friends who clearly care enough to go along with this, even people you wouldn't expect like rouge and shadow. I know Blaze travelling dimensions is a joke but yeah it is crazy she did that for Amy who I think she only really knows though the Olympic games(I've only just started Rush). A murder mystery feels also such a good take for her, it's something extravagant but also a little occultish. Aligns really well with someone into tarot.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Sorry if u have already answered this or this isn’t really ur blog focus but how do u structure and come up with ideas for such good and lengthy analysis?

Do u read and see the shows contents multiple times? Or interact with other fans/ fandom?

And once u have an idea how do u go about it?

— from a small niche fandom blog

I'm honored that you think my stuff is good! As for how I come up with it, well, I'll answer as best I can, but I don't know how useful it will be? If you wanna ask something more specific, feel free!

Most of my posts are responses to asks, so my general process is to read the ask, think about it as I go about my life, and then write a response once I feel like I have my thoughts in order. Then I add the post to my queue so I can reread it at least once before it actually posts to catch any errors and make sure it reads coherently. I usually find the time to do that, though not always.

The posts that aren't asks are just me talking about random things that I can't stop thinking about, so I need to scream into the void to get my brain to move on. Those ideas come from random thoughts, a trend I notice in fanfic, comments/reblogs in my asks, and a whole host of other places. I've got one post in my queue right now that I'm pretty sure was spawned by my latest rewatch of The Good Place, but I can't be sure about that. I don't try to look for post topics, they just come to me.

I don't watch the show over and over. Not really my thing. I've seen all of Miraculous seasons 1 to 3 once and I've seen most of seasons 4 and 5 twice (once subbed, once dubbed). Origins and Oblivio are the only exceptions. They're my favorite episodes, so I think I watched them a few times back before season four aired and my feeling toward the show started to really sour. When I'm pulling quotes, I just rely on my memory and the fan wiki, which has transcripts for all of the English episodes, allowing me to fact check myself. I occasionally pull up a specific episode to check the visuals in a given scene, but that's really rare and I only do it because I have access to the streaming version. If my SO ever cancels Disney+, then I'll be script only.

I read other fan analysis if it crosses my dash, but I don't go looking for it or follow any super active blogs. While I think there are others with valuable input out there, I already spend enough time thinking about Miraculous for my own blog, so I try to focus my energy in other spaces when I'm not managing said blog. I don't like to endlessly scroll on Tumblr and only follow blogs that don't post much to keep from feeling overwhelmed or sucked in.

I started talking about Miraculous on here because I found it genuinely fascinating how badly it was written. I think you could teach an entire class on basic writing principles using Miraculous as a case study because there are so many things it does wrong and failure really is a fantastic teacher. But the analysis I do for Miraculous isn't a skill that's unique to Miraculous. What you see on this blog is my default state. This is just how my brain works. How I engage with the majority of media. When I finish watching or reading something that I didn't like, I want to understand why I didn't like it and how it could be shaped into something I would like.

It's a honed skill. I've been obsessed with story telling since I was a little kid and my parents sort of accidentally started training me on analysis at a young age. Add in years of voracious reading and several excellent English teachers and I'm able to run this blog without too much mental effort. Talking and thinking about writing are legitimately fun for me. This stuff is my "I'm too drained to write" hobby.

None of this makes me some arbiter of quality or means that I understand every point of view about what makes a story good. All it means is that I know enough about writing to be able to clearly articulate why I like or dislike the way a story was told.

I guess that's the one piece of advice I can give. When you find something that bugs you, really think about why. Was it just a matter of taste or is there something more? Does it seem like the flaw is an intentional writing choice or not? Why? What changes could you make to fix the flaw? Can you make those changes without completely rewriting the story? Those are the kinds of fixes I look for first. There are certainly cases where massive change is needed, but looking for small changes will really hone that analytical ability to improve your writing as it forces you to focus on the fine details of the way stories work.

[azureflight]

HotD is not a prequel to GoT. It's a soft reboot for the tv franchise.

WARNING: The author is overdosing on copium and hopium, smoked directly from a colossal tin foil hat. Beware.

We have all groaned at the mention of the prophesy in the very first episode of the first season of HotD. "Why even bring that up?" was the common, understandable response. After all, that whole TPTWP/Azor Ahai thing went absolutely nowhere in GoT. There was no need for anything from any of them, they stupidly gave WW a dragon which allowed them to pass the Wall in the first place and then it turned out WW were not a big deal as Arya solo-killing one dude with a dagger they had since season 1 episode 2 was all it took.

The complete meaninglessness and worthlessness of the whole prophesy and the sheer weakness of an anti-climax that was the Others (White Walkers) threat is one of the main complaints people had with the entire S8 of GoT, especially the book fandom. And it always felt like a stupid twisting of the knife to keep talking about it in HotD, since we know it goes nowhere and means nothing.

Now, we know that's not how it's gonna go in the books. Not only is GRRM on the record talking about it, but 2D are also on record bragging about making it all up on their own. But this is the show and it's already not following the books, so talking about it in show canon is moot.

Unless...

Unless of course, HotD is the start of a second, separate show canon, distinct from GoT.

Now, when I first heard it in season 1, I assumed, like many others, it was a misguided attempt at making references to the OG show in order to hype up the audience and create connective tissue to get us into this new story. And indeed, as HotD repeatedly brought it up again and again, I too have rolled my eyes so far back I almost went blind.

But with the first episode of season 2, now HotD did something else. It didn't just allude to a prophesy that went nowhere, to a threat that was a big fat nothing. Instead, it straight up contradicted GoT.

The infamous "Beyond the Wall" episode was first broadcasted in 2017. Fire & Blood got published in 2018 and came with a specific passage, a letter from Alysanne to Jaehaerys, about how her dragon refused to cross the Wall. This info was not available before in any books, thought it was speculated by the fandom as a possibility. The book directly went against GoT, it felt like GRRM saying "no, wtf, no."

GRRM also gave HotD the info about Aegon I being a dreamer and the whole conquest being motivated by a prophesy about the Long Night, and TPTWP.

HotD did not have to include any of this. Targaryens and their dragons and Dany was good enough hooks for GoT/asoiaf audience. No one knew about Aegon I being a dreamer or having a prophesy, so no one would be upset by such an "omission" either. Indeed, including this bit of info earned them only derision and rebuke, continues to do so.

So why persist? They talked about it again and again in season 1, but by the time they sat down to write the scripts for season 2, the feedback was out there, not only from online fandom but also from professional critics in the industry. This prophesy is not crucial or fundamental to Dance's story neither, they could skip, tone down, ignore. But they don't. They changed so much from the books, a borderline fanfic at this point, yet they insist upon talking about this and hyping it up against the collective negativity of the fandom. Why?

HotD is the first spin off from Got/asoiaf IP that HBO purchased. S8 was such a massive let down, what had been an iconic cultural cornerstone for a decade, almost instantly dropped from discussions, unless it was to talk about "shows with shit endings." There was talk of "remaking" it, almost as soon as the last episode aired, which was of course nonsense, but it explains the mood.

HBO sat down and commissioned bunch of spin offs, not only to milk a popular franchise, but also to keep it alive after a massive blow. And GRRM was particularly backing HotD, talking about how Dance was a story he always wanted to tell.

Now, with HotD's success, we have Dunk&Egg coming, as soon as 2025 if all the news is to be believed. A script is being developed for the Conquest, there is talk of reviving Nymeria's show. HotD did its job of salvaging the IP after what could have been a franchise killer of a garbage ending to GoT.

Thinking on it in very general terms, everyone agrees that asoiaf books will eventually get another shot at adaptation. Of course they will, everything does. Reboots and remakes never die. But when, where, how, is the question, and I think we have the answer.

HotD is where it starts. This show is not a mere prequel to "Game of Thrones". It is the starting point of a new show universe for asoiaf franchise. And the first thing they did to set it all up and signal that commitment, is to talk about the prophesy, the Long Night, and how that's not gonna go like it did in the GoT.

HotD brought up Aegon I's prophesy upon hearing it from GRRM, keeps talking about TPTWP, keeps alluding to the super important threat of WW and now went out of its way to inject that "dragons cannot cross the wall" lore bit, not because they have a bizarre compulsion to make references to a failed plot line that pisses everyone off, but because they are specifically developing towards another shot at that plot line, one that promises to be better.

HotD is not a GoT prequel. It is the first installment of the new asoiaf-show universe. D&E, the Conquest, and maybe even Nymeria when it arrives, will follow this new canon, and all of them will eventually lead to another adaptation of asoiaf novels.

When? No idea. Harry Potter and the deathly Hallows Part 2 was released in 2011. A remake of the novels, now in tv series format, is currently being developed and projected to release at 2026. Apparently 15 years is seen as enough. Will it be longer for asoiaf? Maybe. Shorter? I do not think so.

But it is coming. We always knew it would eventually, some how, come, but I think we now know how and where it's coming from.

[nalyra-dreaming]

aah, I wish Jacob had been allowed to talk more about 'truth and falsehood' on the show. I know he was never gonna give specific spoilers, but it seems some fans are still in denial about Louis being an unreliable narrator at all. The fact that these kinds of discussions were happening behind the scenes suggests the cast knew from day 1 that something about season 1's narrative was false or misleading, they just didn't know exactly what.

Yeah.... I saw some posts around^^. (And the podcast host also pointed out that Louis was an unreliable narrator...)

I mean, it kinda feels like some kind of "gag order" has dropped away, because Jacob (and Sam) have been very blunt about that (and the Loustat relationship) in the last few interviews, but actually the fact that they all were discussing (and therefore knowing) what was true, and not is, actually, nothing new:

"Whenever I talked about something that Louis had said or that was in the script, because this show is Louis’ recollection of events, Sam would just be like, “Lie. Lie. That’s a lie. Did that happen? Is it real? Didn’t happen that way.” Very unhelpful for my preparation. [Laughs] I got really icy about it a few times. “I don’t want hear this. I have to believe something is true.” It’s nice be able to believe what you’re saying."

That's from October '22.

So the fact that he is, in fact, an unreliable narrator (or misremembers) and the reason why he changes some things stands in the room with him...

Like, if you watched the first season, and heard Daniel calling bullshit again and again, and saw him literally destroy the narrative of the last part and did not get any of the hints that are strewn throughout the show... then you simply haven't been paying attention.

And I know, there's so many layers. So many other - important! - stuff to focus on. Racial conflicts, patriarchy, power dynamics, cheating. The list goes on. But ultimately... this will be their - Lestat's and Louis' - love story, and this has been re-iterated in these last interviews, as well as that they're following the books, and... well.

POV changes, revisits and changes of perspective (and being called out for lying, too) are part of the books.

It's just that some fans don't want to apply this to Louis, for representative reasons I believe.

But... as Jacob put it so nicely in one of the last interviews:

"Something that can get misunderstood about representation is that all representation has to be good representation. It's important actually that we don't show a queer couple as a monolith or a Black character as a monolithic thing. I love that the show is willing to explore the multitudes of that relationship."

A lot of fans don't want to see the "bad" in Louis, or Claudia for that matter (and I use "bad" here very loosely, because there are no "bad", or, for that matter, "good" vampires in the chronicles). The hate I've gotten for pointing out weaknesses or simply flaws in the narrative, or when their behavior didn't make sense to me - or when I interpreted it differently in the light of later books... was off the charts at times. And I fear a lot of people will have a very hard time with the shifts that will come in soon.

But... they've been hinting at that since the beginning. And yes, they've obviously known, too. (And I would argue they would have needed to know which scenes would be revisited - and, honestly, Jacob's comment above does hint at that, imho.)

[lais-a-ramos]

so, i don't know much this fits into today's theme for lottielee weekend, "day 1: missing/extended scene", but...😅

yesterday i was talking with some discord server friends about the theme of belonging in yellowjackets, and it made me want to expand a bit on how important the relationship between lottie and laura lee is even if they had a relatively short time together in season 1 (if i remember correctly, the showrunners said they abandoned any attempt at tracing an outline for teen timeline, but, as some might know now with those leaked scripts from a few months ago, they spent only three days as each other's People, so, a really short time!!!!)

lottielee is such an special ship, not bc it's "healthier" or whatever, especially since it isn't healthier than any other yellowjackets ship lol

it's special bc lottie spent her whole life feeling like she is an error of nature due to all the psychophobia/sanism that she has faced due to her psychosis episodes and schizophrenia diagnosis, and then comes this girl saying that she is not an error but that she is a gift from God.

and, sure, yellowjackets is a horror story, so that ends up being the catalyst for the tragedy that comes later.

actually, yellowjackets not only draws inspiration from horror, but it seems like it also draws a lot of inspiration specifically from Gothic fiction and literature as it's defined on the Wikipedia entry, especially the parts on how Gothic fiction "is characterized by an environment of fear, the threat of supernatural events, and the intrusion of the past upon the present", how "the depiction of horrible events in Gothic fiction often serves as a metaphorical expression of psychological or social conflicts", how "the form of a Gothic story is usually discontinuous and convoluted, often incorporating tales within tales, changing narrators, and framing devices such as discovered manuscripts or interpolated histories" and how "especially in the late 19th century, Gothic fiction often involved demons and demonic possession, ghosts, and other kinds of evil spirits".

so, with that type of inspiration, it was obvious that things would have a tragic end, which is lottie's downward spiral into cult leader precisely due to this new-found confidence in her visions inspired by laura lee's faith in her.

still, that dynamic, that idea of being moved by someone that tells you that you're not an error of nature and growing attached to then even if for a relatively short time, that is something that's so fragile and so...Human.

and, also, there's a parallel there to be made with queerness, yet another thing that systematic oppression treats as nature's mistake, and how much relief it can bring when someone makes sure that it is not.

as for laura lee, we can't say that it's something that is one-sided on lottie's part.

we can see in pool scene that she feels disconnected from the other ppl in church, as much as lottie herself seems to feel disconnected from her large but empty mansion; actually, that she feels so disconnected to the point of attempting to take her own life, or, at least, some form of self-harm by diving into the shallow end.

and, as jane widdop themself has said in their interview to the yellowjackets buzz podcast, pool scene was a result of laura lee having a similar immaturity to cope with emotions to what the other girls had at doomcoming, which adds to the idea that it was an impulsive act of desperation, a mental health struggle which was received by her peers as just proof she needed to have "more faith" bc she survived the not-so-accidental "accident".

there is a parallel to be made with queerness here as well, actually, with how oftenly queer Christians are told by conservatives that if they have "more faith" they will be "fixed".

so, lottie going after her asking for advice, it was probably the first time she ever felt like someone has seen her and genuinely took her seriously.

the first time someone really took their time to actually listen to what she had to say.

so, we have these two girls who are so fucking starved for validation.

and they met each other, and, for a moment, they belonged together before death (an very strange plane explosion with literally no spark or other catalyst for the fire, to be more specific) did them part, and that is tragic, and melancholic, and so so painfully human...

anyways...

lottielee is a such a raw and fantastic dynamic and i could spend hours talking about them 😅

[rise-my-angel]

People say Kit is a bad actor? Do they know that isn't even his real accent?!

Its primarily book purists who take issue with the show adaptation of Jon Snow, and their hangups with the differences in versions of the character end up getting blamed on Kit.

He gets called a bad actor because he isn't playing the character exactly as the book states, when in reality that's not how adaptation works. Show Jon is a lot more quiet and stoic but it really works specifically because of Kit. He's not the sass machine that is book Jon but it didn't need to be.

Kit brings so much life and individuality to Jon Snow, but because he is playing a very stoic character his subtle acting gets over looked for others, and book purists blame him for character attributes that are the writers fault not his.

The only time I'd say he isn't really trying is season 7. Kit is practically asleep during season 7 but I do not blame him. His character was being primed as an intelligent, brave and valiant heroic King, and he is side lined very hard and written so out of character it seems Kit really struggled knowing what to do. Hes trying to play the Jon Snow he has developed but they're asking him to play a version of Jon that never existed before that season, and it shows the whole season he has no idea what direction he should be taking his character in. He finds a bit more stride in season 8 because hes used to being given such bad material at that point but season 7 Kit is just a walking meme because hes clearly so fucking fed up with how bad the script is and doesn't bother hiding it. He sends up playing into it like "Okay I'm 900% done with this bullshit and so is Jon so there's my motivation". Which is why we get so many fucking funny facial expressions from Jon that season because both the character and actor are trapped in the dumbest plot with the dumbest people.

Also speaking of the accent, if you want more proof hes really talented at acting, watch scenes of he and Benjen. Or a Jon scene then a Benjen scene. Because Jon and Benjen literally speak exactly the same, they both have the exact same speech mannerisms to really sell their familial relationship and that's not how either actor talks in real life. Its really impressive.

But yeah, since the show ended people sort of take their hangups with Jon's character assasination out on Kit Harington and it's really unfair. He stuck the show out until the end but a character that had been such a massive part of his life was being ruined before his eyes and that clearly took a lot of heart out if his performance and I don't blame him for that.

Because season 1 through 6, Kits acting is absolutely spectacular and severely underrated.

[fountainpenguin]

do you mayhaps have anything regarding the biology of yugopotamians in ur lore notes, or anything else related?

I do, and I hold my Yugopotamian biology post fondly since it was one of my first big lore posts.

I do consider these posts outdated due to terminology I used back in the day (not to mention, I've changed things in my final lore), so take them with a grain of salt.

I plan to write new Yugopotamian lore posts with up-to-date lore and language when I'm closer to posting Mark and Vicky's arc in the 130 Prompts. Here are the existing ones:

Yugopotamian Biology

Yugopotamian Technology

Yugopotamian Name Culture

Related:

The Green Train story arc will explore Yugopotamia as well, once we reach that point in the timeline.

A post dedicated to screenshots of Mark being ridiculous - Interesting to see how his culture shows in his character

OG script of "Spaced Out" - Yugopotamia has 3 moons

OG script of "Scary Godparents" - Yugopotamians have 4 hearts

Yugopotamian calendar shown in this post - I think it's really funny that the king's birthday is a holiday (But specifically, it's not even his actual birthday- it's just observed).

The OG script of "Foul Balled" where Mark visited future Vicky in the nursing home - I just think it's neat he was still in squid form, since we know from "New Squid In Town" that Mark seems to assume he'll be welcomed in alien form and Timmy has to prompt him to go into hiding.

The bloopers reel for "School's Out - The Musical" suggests Mark knows H.P., since he calls him by name. I have some questions.

Here are two posts (Post 1, Post 2) that aren't technically about Yugopotamian culture, but capture my vision of Mark's relationship with Vicky really well.

Here's a post I made contrasting Mark and Vicky's relationship to Jane Eyre, which I was reading at the time and losing my mind over how toxic Jane's relationship with Rochester was despite my teacher being confused about why I thought they were toxic. It's not entirely about culture, but it's cool to look back on years later to see where my thoughts were and how I read Mark's character. I still hold by much of this.

My very first FOP post was about Mark and his relationship with Earth, and that's cool enough to toss on here, I think! Just an analysis of how he was interacting with the world and human culture.

Boudacian Biology & Society - Not about Yugopotamia, but Mandie's close, right?

Please enjoy them, but again - These posts are 7 or 8 years old, and some contain outdated lore and terms I no longer use today.

I look forward to delving more into Fairy World's relationship with Yugopotamia. Here are more things related to that:

- The Fae Wars - The early part discusses aliens engaged in war. Supposedly, the Snobulacs (from Season 9) kidnapped the ancestors of modern Fairies and Anti-Fairies and forced them into war. - Yugopotamians nearly wiped the Fae ancestors out multiple times, but they were defended by the Snobulacs. To this day, the Snobulacs demand tribute from Fairy World every year (on December 31st), which my 'fics reference on rare occasion (Ex: H.P. wanted to be part of the ships delivering tribute when he was young). - As time went on, Yugopotamians began a cautious friendship with Fairy World. They have trade relations under the Quadrant Pact and they're on okay terms... Tensions spiked a little with Cosmo and Wanda kidnapping Mark in Season 1 ("Spaced Out"), and Mark blowing up Fairy World in Season 5 ("The Five Days of F.L.A.R.G.") - Yugopotamians are one of the threats to Anti-Fairies. Anti-Fairies are sometimes captured by various aliens, who take their tongues because they're valuable in many societies (due to a belief that they improve fertility and luckiness in love). - The Fairy World port city Serentip - often referenced in my 'fics; its name translates to "Edge of the stars" - welcomes many alien trade vessels. There are a lot of strange goods in that area and you might run into aliens. Anti-Fairies give it a wide berth. - Here's a "Wishology" meme I made that still cracks me up

Thanks for asking!

[crescentmoonrider]

another rewrite, except longer

Well, Arcane season 2 was certainly. Something

You can really see that the team was under pressure to put out a lot of things, and fast. Like, without mentioning how crammed this season was or the themes that were dropped, there was a shocking amount of continuity and characterization errors that should and would have been caught during script editing if the team was allowed more time. For one single example : the timeline of Vander and Silco’s falling out was completely butchered to the point it makes zero sense if we take the information from season 1 and 2 together. This should have been fixed during editing, and the fact it wasn’t reveals some deep issues with production

(My guess is that Riot pushed a release date for commercial tie-in reasons, and the one place the team could really cut corners was during writing, since animation is a slow process and Fortiche would depend on the scripts (or a rough outline at first) to get to work, and the music collaborations also require time + supplementary animation that all depends on the script to just. Exist. And Riot can more easily pressure its in-house teams than music producers and artists independent from the company. But that’s just a personal guess, I don’t actually know anything about the behind the scenes here)

Honestly I’ve been kind of simmering in the disappointment and wasted potential this whole week, and it’s been somewhat of an issue to focus on other stuff, so here’s what I’m going to do : I’m going to explain how I would rewrite this season to try and make it, if not good, then at least coherent with itself and with the themes developed in season 1. And then I’m never going to write anything else about this show again

Deal ?

Alright, let’s do this. Some ground rules first :

we’re working with just the one three-act season 2. Riot wants to move on to greener pastures to introduce more champions and skins, and we’re not winning against the corporate overlords. No added episodes, no season 3 to help pace things better. Welcome to hell

most of the issues I have with season 2 come from the second and third acts, so that’s what I’m going to focus on for the most part

I’m not introducing new characters or locations. Helps that I don’t know anything about League lmao, but more broadly what I mean is like. I’m in the writers room moving post-its on the wall, not writing a 200k fanfiction over like 10 years (real thing I’m currently doing for an A:tlA canon divergence if anyone’s wondering), I don’t have the time, nor the energy honestly, to make sweeping changes and consider their ramifications. We’re keeping things simple, basically

related to the above point, we’re keeping major plot beats. That means Magic Robot Jesus Viktor still happens, as does the Ekko-Heimerdingdong-Jayce dimensional displacement, or the battle against Ambessa’s troops. What I’m going to do is try to make them happen in a more natural, thematically resonant manner. Because I’m convinced it’s possible

Now, having said that, the first order of business for this rewrite (and honestly just, to make this season like. Coherent) is to make space for the plot and the themes. Class warfare and the question of Zaun’s independence were introduced in season 1 and still echo through act 1 and (in one episode) 2 of the second season, and the ending scene makes an attempt to bring them back with Sevika’s seat at the Council, so clearly the goal wasn’t to give that up entirely. Meaning we need to expand on those themes specifically, since familial bonds (the other main Arcane ingredient) are still very much there in the plot with little need to add onto them

Anyway the Black Rose plotline has to go. “But Yumi, didn’t you say you were keeping major plot beats ?” yeah this is the one exception. Look, it just doesn’t cohere. It has no thematic resonance, takes place in a completely different space than the rest of the plot, and basically only involves one single character. It was also the least established plot thread from the first season. Kino died and Ambessa made enemies, and so she wants Hextech. There’s no real need to elaborate on any of this in Arcane specifically. We’re cutting it. Mel can say that she’s going to look into her mother’s enemies/the people who killed her brother in her epilogue or something, and Riot can make a whole spinoff about her quest to find out she’s a mage and still get a shiny new champion out of it, or whatever it is they’re doing with her

Like I said. Idk anything about League. Please don’t tell me anything about League

Cutting out the Black Rose plotline does two things for this rewrite :

it frees up important time that can be spent on elaborating on pre-established themes and plotlines, thus making up for what is in my opinion the weakest and most disappointing aspect of season 2, which is that they completely dropped the ball on class warfare

it frees up Mel’s character

We do need to quickly address the reason Mel survives Jinx’s missile at the start of the season, since she was right in the crosshairs, but that can be done very easily honestly – I may not know shit about League, but I remember the post-season 1 theories, and there were mentions of an in-game item that acts like a magic shield or something ? We’re gonna say she was wearing something of the like, just in case something ever happened. Because she’s been raised in Noxus, by Ambessa, and doesn’t trust that she won’t ever be attacked, even in Piltover. If Ambessa and her guard can have anti-magic runes, Mel can have a force-field

It’s single-use and she only took one of these shields when she was cast off, so no more easy out for her

There’s no need to explain why Jayce barely got a scratch in my opinion, sometimes people are just lucky. It’s not uncommon for survivors of like, car crashes or terror attacks, to just have a light concussion while the guy next to them died. Things happen. Survivor’s guilt is real, and random chance plays a role no matter how much we’d like to think it doesn’t

Anyway back to Mel

Since she isn’t a mage in this rewrite, we’re having her “be the fox” so to speak. She knows Ambessa, knows not to trust her, and does her best to oppose Noxian influence over Piltover as part of the council – however, as we’ve seen happen in episode 1, right now her influence has dwindled, and all she can do is try to limit the damage. This does not get any better when Ambessa gets Caitlyn propelled to the role of puppet dictator and Jayce vanishes

If Mel wants to counter Ambessa’s plans and preserve Piltover from becoming some sort of fucked up military experiment, she cannot do it alone. She needs allies. People she can trust would never agree with Ambessa’s ambitions, and who could both weaken Noxus’ influence and help Mel regain some of her counterbalancing weight – but also, and this is always key to negotiation and alliances, people who could benefit from what Mel has to offer

Her options are limited, but since Ambessa is using the conflict with Zaun as fuel for her campaign, well. If you can’t fight a fire directly, you need to starve it. Mel, through her Zaunite catgirl informant, gets in touch with what undercity “leaders” she can find. Namely Sevika and the Firelights’ lieutenant

We can find an echo of this decision in the discussion between Jayce and Silco in season 1, specifically this line : “I was reminded recently of what brought us together in the first place. The threats beyond our walls.”

Now, obviously her offer for parlay gets rejected at first. Neither Piltover nor Mel (as both a Council member and Noxian) have earned Zaun’s trust at this point

But the situation isn’t getting any better, Ambessa gathers troops to pick up Vanderwick at Viktor’s commune, and Jinx isn’t showing up anywhere to keep morale high and unite Zaun’s people under a strong symbol. Sevika thinks back to Silco leaving to go on a meeting with Jayce and negotiate their independence, and while she’s always preferred to serve the cause by following someone who actually has plans on how to get things done, right now there’s no one like that left. Ekko’s second looks at the tree’s leaves falling and realizes that they’ll have to make a new place if this one falls apart, and right now there’s nowhere in Zaun that is safe enough for that, no place that is safe for the children here

They already agreed to unite old enemies once before, leaderless goons and Firelights and Jinxers, all under the banner of Zaun. It didn’t work, sure, but they tried. They showed up at the meeting. Sevika called the meeting. The two agree to meet with Mel once, to see what she wants

Ideally we’d have a scene where we contrast the Firelights coming to a communal decision on what to do and their list of demands, with Sevika writing her list on her own while some knuckleheads roughhouse it in the background (maybe Sevika even pulls out the manifesto Silco was writing in the flashback for reference, again as contrast – and continuity – with the Firelights, with the past and present/future of Zaun’s independence movement all tying together here). We’re on a tight schedule though, so maybe part of that scene’s hitting the cutting room floor, idk

Anyway Mel makes a request for peace, to cut the grass under Ambessa’s foot so she has no standing anymore to justify her takeover of Piltover, and Sevika and the Firelight guy make their demands. Independence, amnesty for all Zaunite freedom-fighters rotting in Stillwater, access to trade routes, control over the ventilation system (it’s not independence if someone else controls the air you breathe. Or your water, or your electricity. Free Palestine) etc. We can add more clauses, but those would be the main ones

The meeting would be tense at first, since none of these people really trust each other, but they soon realize they’re all desperate to make things better in some way, so they do shake hands at the end even though no deal has been reached yet. They’re not going to become friends, but they can work together and honestly ? That’s already a lot

The sticking point would be Jinx, of course, but thankfully she’s letting herself get arrested by act 3 so we can leave that aside for now. Sevika and Firelights insist that they don’t give up their own, though. Loyalty is the only thing Zaunites can count on, after all

Now, before moving on to act 3, there’s still a little housekeeping to do

First, we need to fix the fuckiness of the Vander flashbacks and his letter to Silco. Like, the falling out between the two could not have happened after the tragedy at the bridge, for multiple reasons. For one, the Vander drowning Silco in season 1 was shaved clean, while the Vander at the bridge has his full beard on. For two, you’re telling me Vander dropped his gloves and picked up the girls and supposedly brought them home, shaved his beard, then went back up to the Pilt to drown his best friend, in what’s supposed to be horrible grief and anger and not premeditation ? It just doesn’t make sense. Doesn’t compel me either

Anyway, I’m not opposed to Vander writing the letter to Silco after the girls’ mom died, in a “I’ve just lost my other best friend and I’m now realizing I went about everything the wrong fucking way and I’m so sorry” kind of way. So that’s what the letter is now, an apology that’s much too late to fix anything, and an attempt at bridging a gap of many years between two people who used to be comrades

And obviously we’re getting rid of the bit of flashback where it’s implied Silco accidentally killed the girls’ mom with a Molotov because that’s just stupid. We don’t need to know what he and Vander broke up over, but it can’t be something that weakens the themes of police brutality and oppression. And don’t “cycle of violence is also a theme” me, they’re revolutionary leaders, they’ve made mistakes and got their people killed or arrested before. You don’t get called the Hound of the Underground without brutally killing a couple few dudes, and that shit has repercussions

Another point before we move on to act 3 is the question of what the hell Sky is supposed to be. In a show that has always been really good at making clear what is a hallucination and what isn’t, Sky’s existence in Viktor’s mind… perplexes me. I interpreted her presence as a manifestation of his guilt over her death and the wasted potential of her too-short life, and how he now wishes he had like, acknowledged her while she was still by his side and not dust. But other people think she’s been idk, absorbed into the arcane ? And that it was therefore the real Sky hanging out with Viktor

In short, it needs to be clearer what’s going on here, and given the fact that they don’t develop Sky’s character and that her whole tragedy is that her life was cut short so suddenly, I think leaning into the idea of her as a manifestation of guilt and Viktor’s isolation (he knows all of his followers, but is still separate from them both physically and in the fact that they do not know what he’s about, and also he’s just lost all two of his friends) would be interesting

Makes the later “I will miss our conversations” “No, you won’t” line more impactful too, as it would be Viktor’s conscience calling him out on the fact that, like, he never really talked to Sky while she was alive. He is missing the idea of her, and trying to make himself feel better about accidentally murdering her when he is now also actively trying to make himself incapable of feeling regret anymore, and thus incapable of learning from his mistakes the way he did when Sky died

With that said, on to act 3 !

Episode 7 is like, very good already, and the fact that it gets time travel right ? Beautiful. Love to see it. The main thing I would change is that there is no way Ekko would think Vi’s death is the only catalyst for change in this world. Like, the divergence is much older than that – and I’m not just talking about Silco finding the letter, I mean that Zaun is just, actively participating in Piltovian culture and events ? They’re part of the Inventors Contest ?? How the hell did that happen ???

I’m not saying we need a detailed timeline, but simply that someone (Ekko) should really remark on that

Also Silco’s eye should be fucked, maybe even gone, if he didn’t have access to Singed’s help to maintain it. Him becoming “good” should not mean that his disability is prettier to look at, and honestly I hate that ugly disabilities tend to be shorthand for evil characters in media. It’s not unique to Arcane, but it was especially disappointing to see it done to Silco of all characters, when his disability was dealt with so gracefully in season 1

We’ll come back to Jayce’s little dimensional trip later, for now it’s fine

Now, the preparations for the battle against Ambessa’s troops… I mean, first of all no one from Zaun is getting put in an enforcer uniform, like what the fuck ?! But also the plan and the way it’s explained changes – no we need your help to save Piltover, it’s “we need your help to save the world,” with an insistence that it doesn’t change the justified resentment Zaun holds for Piltover, but that this fight is also for the sake of their own survival, as Jayce very clearly saw that everything will be ruined if Viktor reaches his goal. Mel’s talks with Sevika and the Firelights also come into play here, as they can now more easily put conditions on their help, and Mel is more likely to agree to push for Zaun’s interests

Most of the city is still evacuated, no one wants a massacre of civilians, but focusing the fighting solely on the Hexgates is just. Look, Ambessa is an experienced military leader, she knows how to lay a siege and fight against conventional military techniques. So the defence now has two layers, proposed by Mel as she knows to use every advantage she can grab. She is the fox in this rewrite, remember

At the Hexgates, enforcers and Piltovan volunteers will man the cannons and more or less do what they did in canon. The other layer is built on the Mel/Zaun collaboration and guerrilla tactics. The goal is to disrupt Ambessa’s troops and their advance and prevent a frontal clash at the Hexgates as much as possible, as Mel anticipates it would be what Ambessa is expecting and would thus be prepared for. With the help of Mel and her knowledge of Piltover’s streets (and possibly Caitlyn’s map of the ventilation system, and whatever other cool tricks might be built into the city. Inventors made this place, there’s bound to be interesting things going on), Sevika, as well as gang members and Jinxers and the Firelights who agreed to/can fight (children were evacuated) lay traps and plan for ambushes and ways to make as much damage as possible without engaging frontally

Academy members help pitch the Firelights’ hoverboards so they can move about efficiently in Piltover’s lighter air. Weapons are greased and sharpened, explosives raided from Jinx’s place and passed around for the teams that need them. Ekko’s lieutenant passes a screwdriver to Sevika, who makes sure her arm is all ready for combat. Mel enters the room to ask how the preparations are going, and the two Zaunite leaders exchange a nod before Sevika hands Mel a dagger, just in case she finds herself in the line of fire. “Wouldn’t want to lose our one ally topside,” one of them says, and it’s pretty obvious that they agreed to this beforehand. When they all leave the room, Mel stands alone, looking down at the blade in her hands

Now, is a fight on multiple fronts hard to plan for and choreograph? Yes. Good thing I’m not animating any of this !

Notable moments would include Caitlyn leaving her post because she can’t see Maddie where she’s supposed to be, and that’s when she finds Maddie trying to do acts of sabotage. She hesitates, clearly still holding affection for her, but her presence has alerted the Firelights’s current leader, and he flies to take out Maddie right as Maddie notices Caitlyn and prepares to shoot her in turn. Caitlyn thanks him and apologizes for hesitating, he grunts and leaves to take care of more things a little farther away

Caitlyn now being down in the streets, where the guerrilla is going on, leads to her losing an eye while saving a Zaunite, not hesitating this time. Tempted to say she saves Sevika, as they have a conflict-filled history together and it would demonstrate Caitlyn’s growth and her ability to put grudges behind for the greater good (and not just for Vi’s sake as she’s already shown when letting her free Jinx) and mark the start of her efforts to make up for the suffering she’s inflicted on the people of Zaun. We’re not going to see much of these efforts because the series is ending soon, but it’s important to show that the seeds are there for reparations

In any case, Ambessa doesn’t get her cool one-on-two duel with Caitlyn and mage!Mel, since we’re not stopping the fighting this time, and also Mel isn’t a mage. Sevika and the Firelights’ lieutenant two-time her at some point, Sevika gets knocked to the ground, while his ride is destroyed and he is sent flying into a fountain or something. Ambessa prepares to deal the final blow on Sevika, who struggles with the handle of her arm’s wheel of fortune, when someone stabs her from behind. She turns around, striking her assailant with one fist, revealing Mel, who looks up at her mother in grief and pain and horror. Focus on Mel’s eyes (“[…] you weakened me ! I couldn’t stand the look in your eyes when I made the decisions, the necessary decisions to keep us safe !” is the idea) as Ambessa pauses for just a second, distracted. That’s a mistake she can’t take back, even as she raises her weapon again, and the maw of Sevika’s arm bites down on her neck like a wolf taking down a prey, the jackpot smile flashing on her shoulder

She helps Mel (still upset about having stabbed her mom, been hit by her in turn, then watched her die brutally, but trying to hide it) get back up and gives her a pat on the shoulder and a “thanks” while turning away

And that’s when the robots come in and everyone’s mind is slowly taken over

(The fight against Ambessa would have been intercut with Hexgate fighting as Viktor’s cocoon slowly approaches, with the empty cocoon reveal coming only after her defeat)

So now we reach the Jayce and Viktor face-off. And honestly ? I only have like, two changes to make here. I’m fine with it. I think I’ve said it before, but I’m fine with most of this season, just not the way it was executed

Anyway change the first ! Viktor actually corrects Jayce on his motivations as I already went over real quick in this post – it’s not about fixing what Viktor sees as imperfections, it’s about putting an end to all conflict, oppression, class warfare, and the environmental results of all that that made him slowly and painfully die. I also need him to go “My disease ? My disease was not beautiful, Jayce, it destroyed my body from the inside ! I was fine being a cripple* but this pain ? Dying before I could truly help anyone ? That’s not beautiful, that’s just, just… unfair, and cruel, and for what ? So Piltover never has to see its own sewage, or breathe the same air as we do ?” and then from there go on about how the Great Evolution is about changing humanity for the good of everyone, so no one has to suffer unnecessarily from the greed and selfish desires of other people, and to put an end to all inequalities

*Viktor self-identifies as a “poor cripple from the Undercity” in season 1 episode 2 I’m not calling him slurs I just genuinely think that’s how he sees himself

And then, once everything has come clean, Jayce can go like “well obviously society has to change to accommodate people in all their differences, look at all the people fighting to make that happen, look at us and our dreams to better everyone’s lives – making everyone the same will just make you alone and miserable” and show him what alternate!Viktor shared in the dimensional field trip

Which brings us to change the second : make it clear that Viktor is not mister magic man who gave Jayce the runes. Designs don’t match, hands don’t match (mister magic man has hand tattoos, alternate!Victor does not, for instance) – which makes Jayce being able to stop Viktor in his world the product of just dumb luck rather than an experiment from alternate!Viktor or something. The same dumb luck that saved his life in the first episode of the season, the same dumb luck that made it so he was born in Piltover rather than Zaun, the same dumb luck that got Sevika the jackpot in her fight with Ambessa. Jayce asks alternate!Viktor why he gave him the rune and a!Viktor says “it wasn’t me. But I did bring you here, because I saw a possibility for change I haven’t seen in any other world. I don’t know the cause – maybe there isn’t one. Maybe this is a wild rune, a ripple born from inconsequential actions long ago. Maybe it’s simply luck. [flash to the acceleration rune and Ekko and Sevika’s jackpot and Jayce surviving the explosion unscathed at the start and maybe a whole other slew of tiny lucky moments] But you’re the only one who can do it, Jayce. Only you.” And then have them be absorbed into the rune to become an arcane queer singularity together

I’m not necessarily opposed to Zaun having a place in the Council as a first step to independence in the epilogue, but it needs to be half of the Council. One single seat means nothing, we’ve seen loads of decisions be taken with a majority vote rather than unanimity, Zaun having only one seat is a spit in the face of everything they’ve been fighting for, and I can’t imagine any Zaunite actually agreeing to that. Anyway I’d like a big celebration of independence with everyone, but a first step is also okay, it’s not like all plot points all need to be resolved neatly so long as we keep the door open

Maybe have Caitlyn say “you’re not dirt” in the same light tone Vi said she’s the dirt under Caitlyn’s fingers, also. Just a small, loving reassurance during that scene

Also Ekko can not end the series on his own what the hell ? It’s fine if he grieves Jinx and Heimerdinger in quiet solitude, but the rest of the Firelights should come in at the end of the scene to comfort him, because he is the one character in this series who is entirely focused on community, and leaving him on a solitary note feels like a betrayal in my opinion

… and with that, I think we’ve reached the end of this rewrite !

I hope you enjoyed this small vision of what could have been, I’m completely winded now and I think my anger has run its course. I’m done writing about this show now. Might rewatch season 1 again soon though, I miss Silco

[love-kurdt]

How to Write a Good Fanfiction: A 5 Step Manual

Hello! My name is @love_kurdt, also known as Eva, and I’m a Wattpad Veteran of the early 2010s, where the genres of Slash Fics, Y/N, and Imagines ran rampant. I spent years of my life as a kid scrolling through my iPod touch, weeding through Wattpad’s plethora of profiles, on a quest to find quality fanfictions. I found a handful, which I added to a specific reading list to come back to when I needed a break from screaming into my pillow because of the sheer audacity of thought-criminals who called themselves writers.

When I’d reached the point of reading the same five works over and over in a never ending cycle, I decided to make the life-altering decision to start publishing my fanfictions online. Granted, I was only thirteen at this point, so my writing wasn’t spectacular by any means, but I came to discover that over time, the mere acts of reading and writing can light a spark of inspiration that can carry you to creative success.

I’ve been writing my own works for over ten years now, and can confidently say that I have cracked the code to writing a good fanfiction that will have your readers captivated instead of cringing. Please don’t get me wrong– if you want to just write fanfic on the internet for fun, and not to write a novel, that’s great, too! That’s what the internet is for; exercising your free will. But this manual is tailored towards those who want to hone in on their craft and gain a substantial following as strictly fanfiction authors. So without further ado, let’s jump into it. Godspeed!

Step 1: Choose Your Fandom

What show, movie, or book has drawn you in and left you feeling like there should be more to the story? When one of those media comes to mind, you’ve chosen your fandom!

Step 2: Do Your Research

When writing fanfiction, it’s kind of an unspoken rule that you need to know the canon of the fandom you’re writing about. The canon is also known as the source material. For example, if someone were to write a Draco Malfoy x OC fanfiction (*cough* a 200+ page Draco Malfoy self insert fic written at 11 years old in a series of notebooks bound together with multiple layers of Gorilla tape *cough*), the canon would be the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. It’s, in essence, what “really” happened. It’s totally fine if you want to write a non-canon compliant fic, too! In fact, they’re extremely popular, specifically within the “fix-it” genre, which usually involves characters that died in the canon but the author kept alive in their fanfiction. Either way, you should have a general idea of how the canon functions within the context of the fandom, so you can make creative choices that diverge from or stick to the canon.

With the canon comes the fanon, which is basically a compilation of fan theories and headcanons that are often common themes in both canon and non-canon compliant fanfics. A pretty niche example of this is the Byler fandom (the ship between Stranger Things characters Will Byers and Mike Wheeler), where there’s an official list of theories on Tumblr that are used in many, if not most Byler fanfictions. There’s FlickerGate, where the flickering of the garage light in Season 1 is actually Will and Mike in the Upside Down in Season 5. There’s BirthdayGate, where the antagonist, Vecna, manipulates the minds of everyone in Hawkins to forget Will’s birthday, which is a central plot point in a lot of Byler fics since no one seems to remember it, not even his best friend. There’s also LetterGate, where Will confronts Mike in the canon about not sending any letters after he’d moved away, but the theory reveals that Mike wrote plenty of letters– he just never sent them because they ended up turning into love letters, which in turn resulted in internalized homophobia. You get the picture. Most theories reach far into the land of delusion, but it doesn’t stop writers from creating incredible work that could easily be mistaken for a script.

But Eva, what if I just think the characters are hot and I don’t give a shit about the cannonball? I can’t tell you what to do, my friend, but I highly suggest you at least consider the canon so you can avoid all the petty, obnoxious gatekeepers in some fandoms who can be unhinged enough to send death threats if you leave out a significant canonical detail. But you do you!

Step 3: Choose Your Platform

There are three popular platforms to choose from: Archive of Our Own (ao3), Tumblr, and Wattpad. There are also a few other lesser known or dead pages such as fanfiction.net, but I honestly wouldn’t bother with those, since they’re more infiltrated with anons and bots nowadays.

This is where you want to think about 1) where most of the members in the fandom you chose reside, and 2) the demographic of readers you want to reach. For example, I observed a higher number of Nirvana fans on Wattpad than the other two platforms, which is why I chose to post my full length Kurt Cobain fanfiction, “You Know You’re Right,” on there. It also helped that my favorite author of another Kurt Cobain fanfiction on Wattpad, @/ugh-nirvana, had hits in the hundreds of thousands, so I was confident that my book would do well on that specific platform. On the other hand, the Stranger Things fandom is in full swing on Tumblr and ao3, so I chose to post those fanfictions on there rather than on Wattpad. It all just depends on who’s where.

You also have to consider how active you want to be on your platform(s). Tumblr is more of a blog situation, while ao3 and Wattpad are solely for publishing the work. If you want to have a life beyond the realms of the world wide web, choose Wattpad or ao3, as inconsistent updates are a bit more accepted than on Tumblr. But if you want to throw yourself headfirst into a fandom and put your whole author-ussy into your fanfic, then Tumblr is the platform for you.

You should be aware, however, that Tumblr involves a lot of upkeep, as well as constant, strategic, and active participation within your fandom. Visual aesthetic is vital to any functional Tumblr blog. Most profiles have directories, with color coded links to each work’s homepage, which is linked to each individual chapter, which are then distinguished by a unique GIF to capture a prospective reader’s attention while they’re scrolling through copious amounts of content. And there are always new ideas and theories in development in certain fandoms, so it’s crucial to keep up with recent updates in order to stay relevant.

After all is said and done, you don’t have to get married to one platform for the rest of your life. You can choose to be exclusive to one or two platforms, or publish everything on all of them! The decision is ultimately yours!

Step 4: Obey the Writer’s Trifecta of Consistency

Yes, I came up with this term, and yes, it should be a real thing. Because in every piece of writing, whether it be fanfiction, a short story, an actual book, a screenplay, what have you, it is critical to be consistent in your People, your POV, and your Plot. Let me explain.

People

Your people, or your ensemble of characters, consists of three hierarchical levels: your protagonist/antagonist, your side characters, and other background characters. I should emphasize the importance of building character profiles for everyone, including your pre-existing characters from the fandom, but specifically for your original character(s) if you have them. That way, you know who serves as a major plot device, who serves as someone who just helps time move faster, and those who are mentioned by name but have very little significance to the events of the story. I’m going to reference Harry Potter again, since most of the world is familiar with the characters. Harry and Voldemort are the protagonist and antagonist; Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Professor Dumbledore, Hagrid and company are side characters; and Peeves, Seamus Finnigan, and Blaise Zabini are background characters. Keep this hierarchy in check; don’t let your main characters fade away, and don’t let your background characters shift to the forefront for no reason. If you do plan to move a character up or down the ladder, make sure to have clear motive as to why you’re bringing this character into or out of play.

2. POV

Your POV is the point of view in which you’re writing from. Assuming you’ve been in a typical middle school English class, you’ve heard of the first, second, and third person points of view. I cannot tell you how many times I have read fanfictions that jump from one POV to another, sometimes within the same sentence. I open the door and see Kurt Cobain standing in the corner of the room. She walked across the floor to meet him there. See what I did there? I jumped from first person present tense to third person past tense. Do not attempt this at home.

The least common of the three points of view is the second person, or what I like to call the Y/N point of view. In fanfiction, second person POV is often used in self-insert fics, where instead of a character’s name, it’s replaced with “you.” That’s why a lot of romantic character x reader fics are so popular. You should feel free to use this one, especially if that’s the kind of vibe you’re going for, but I’m going to elaborate a little bit more on first and third person, as they’re a bit more “literary.”

The first person POV confines the narration to the mind of one character. It can also be done with multiple characters, but be sure to do it so it’s painstakingly obvious to the reader whose POV you’re writing from. Also note that if you plan to write multiple first person POVs, try to keep that number on the lower side, as a large number of POVs can get really complicated really quickly. Third person narration can be done from two angles: limited or omniscient. Limited is more similar to first person, in which you’re confined to one person’s viewpoint, but they aren’t the narrator; you’re just seeing the story through their eyes. Omniscient is my favorite, because you can narrate from a bird’s eye view with the freedom to travel from mind to mind and read their thoughts.

Building character profiles can be really helpful when developing both first or third person POV; if you connect with a particular character more strongly than the rest, that should tell you whose POV you should write in. If you choose to switch POVs, be sure to do it either on an alternating/rotating basis, or if you repeat, it should be apparent as to why that particular character is the “voice” of that scene.

3. Plot

Dare I say that Plot is the most important step of them all, so do not skip this one, whatever you do! The biggest mistake most fanfiction writers make is having a concept but lacking a plot. It’s like biting into an apple just to discover it’s a lemon. Many writers are capable of starting off strong, but once their initial story begins to meander, traveling into uncharted territory, their brainchild can become a monstrosity.

In order to write a solid plot, it’s pretty common knowledge that you need to have a beginning, middle, and end in place. It doesn’t need to be overly specific or down to the last detail, you just need to figure out how your characters make it from point A to point Z (the larger scale), and how points B through Y factor into the plot (the smaller scale). There are a few routes that you can take in order to do this: you can write the entire thing ahead of time without any input, you can write the entire thing with the feedback of a beta reader or proofreader to help you work out any kinks or mistakes before you publish it for the entire platform to see, or you can publish it gradually and take feedback from your readers as you go. Should you go with the last option, though, you should be made aware that if you aren’t already an established author, it may feel like you’re talking to a wall, and you will likely feel discouraged from writing the story altogether.

I find it helpful to outline the whole thing. I have a closet door in my house dedicated to a Dave Grohl true crime fanfiction I’m working on. I’ve written the entire story from beginning to end on index cards, split into four different parts with each card representing a chapter. What’s good about outlining is that I can edit my story as I go along. If I decide to change something, I can add or remove an index card, then replace or rearrange the other index cards to work around the change I made, and that way, I don’t have to start over from scratch. It’s helpful to see everything laid out in front of me, so I’m not left at the end of a completely improvised plot with a slew of loose ends that I’ll need to go back and edit. It’s also better than publishing each part individually then having to redo everything after your readers have already seen it. And I don’t know about you, but I enjoy it when I’m able to save some time, energy, and lengthy explanations to random people online. That is, unless you enjoy constant feedback from readers, in which case you can change the plot on a chapter by chapter basis based on their feedback.

Consistency in all of these respects is key. I cannot emphasize this enough. Keeping all of these elements in check will help you create a sort of cohesiveness that will neatly wrap the story up with a little bow on top. 

Step 5: Use Relevant Tags and Content Warnings

Repeat after me: tags matter! Again: tags matter! When you’re about to publish your fanfiction, you’re going to be given the option to add tags to your work. For my first few years spent on Wattpad, I had no idea what tags were, so I didn’t use them. Thankfully, the platform was still pretty small, so people still found my work pretty easily. Nowadays, though, it’s nearly impossible to find what you’re looking for without searching excessively specific tags and using a million filters. It’s unfortunate, but look at it this way: there are so many people contributing to so many fandoms that the content is seemingly endless!

What you’re going to want to do is add as many tags as you can but keep it as simple as possible. I know that sounds kind of oxymoronic, but I mean it in a way that all of your tags relate directly to your story, and not just to the fandom itself. A lot of readers feel misled when they’re scrolling through their filtered search page for, let’s just say, a Byler fanfic, and end up neck deep in a Mileven fanfic in disguise. That’s not a fun experience.

Lastly, please remember that you are publishing your work on the internet, and you don’t know who may encounter your work! Listen, we live in a world where everything needs to be overexplained, everything needs trigger warnings, and everything needs to be neutral or else someone is going to hate you. I get it. I’ve been writing fanfiction for a long time. It might be annoying to add content warnings, especially if one of those warnings spoils a major plotline, but if I’m being honest, I’d rather be safe and add the damn warning than not add the warning and be responsible for someone’s worsened emotional or mental state. Bottom line, it’s just fanfiction! Let’s do our due diligence to create a community full of love and understanding for everyone!

After that, you should be all set to publish! Let’s review one more time for the road:

Choose Your Fandom

Do Your Research

Choose Your Platform

Obey the Writer’s Trifecta of Consistency

Use Relevant Tags and Content Warnings

If you’ve stuck around for this long, thank you so much!

I hope this manual helps you along your fanfiction writing journey, wherever it takes you <3

[callmejudgement]

Winx Club Script

About Me

Age: 20

Height: 5’6

Appearance: Similar to my cr self but 100% yassifyed. Note: I have 40inch sister locs, not a buss down.

I also gave myself 20/20 vision because I’m sick of glasses.

Backstory: I am a changeling (like in Fate) who lives a normal human life on Earth. One day I suddenly wake up in Magix. While I was asleep, a wizard transported me through the Realm of Dreams to his residence in Magix City. Apparently, I'm the last living member of my planet's royal family (I am not naming the planet in my script bc I suck at names). The Wizard is an old friend of my mom's and has been searching for me for centuries because I'm the only one capable of saving our realm. I am to start at Alfea and learn to control my powers as one of the last surviving dream fairies. When I’m strong enough, we will reclaim my realm from the darkness overtaking it.

My powers: fairy of dreams + some secret power (like how Bloom has the dragon flame, I want to be special.)

My pixie: I'll let y'all know once I meet her. I want it to be a surprise!

Schools

The three major schools (Alfea, Cloud Tower, Red Fountain) are coed. I believe in male fairy/witch and female specialist rights! You also study for 5 years, like the show initially stated before changing it to 3! There isn't much to say here because I mostly like how the schools are canonically.

I am changing the average first-year age to 20, though. Why? Because I'm 20, and I don't want to age myself down to 18 or 16. Besides, people in the Magic Dimension live so much longer than humans, so why would their schooling ages be the same as Earth? (Not to mention that this is my dr and I can do what I want!)

I'm also making the schools less strict on curfew since we're older.

Speaking of which, I’m also scripting in inter-school weekend parties at Lake Roccaluce!

Specialists

This is oddly specific, but Helia is also a wizard (because his grandad is, so I feel like he should be, too).

Villain’s

I honestly want to nuke any canon villain post-season 4. Tritanus is on thin fucking ice, but Selena can stay. Acheron and them season 7 animal things need to go though (they get the most useless and forgettable villains award!).

The Trix

Let's get this out of the way first. Stormy is male in my dr! Why? Because!

Do I need to say more? Now, on to more important things. I love these baddies (even though they became pathetic as the seasons went on)! I plan for the plot to mostly follow seasons 1-3, but I want the Trix to get a redemption arc at some point. I'm not going to script out exactly when it happens, but it will happen after season 3 (assuming that event even follows the show after all the changes I've made).

I just really want to work with the Trix! I am a firm believer that the Trix are not pure evil. Maybe it's their ancestor's influence that is twisting their minds without them knowing? Or perhaps they were corrupted by the Shadow Phoenix through the Whipserian Crystals that they used in season 1? Idk, but it'll be something and after being cleansed with fairy dust, they return to normal and can continue at Cloud Tower.

The Shadow Pheonix

The show could have done so much more with this so I will make use of it instead. Speaking of the Shadow Pheonix is taboo throughout the Magic Dimension because of how fucking evil it is. Even witches don't fw it. The Shadow Phoenix created the Dark Circle (I don't like that the Wizards of the Dark Circle canonically made it), and the Phoenix is not a physical thing. It's more like a concept or energy that is recorded to have appeared as a Shadow of a Phoenix in history.

[ncisfranchise-source]

Brian Dietzen knew helping to write the “NCIS” tribute to David McCallum would be the best way to honor his longtime scene partner’s memory — that it would help him process his real-life grief was an added bonus.

The actor co-wrote the emotional hour of the CBS crime procedural alongside Scott Williams, chronicling the team’s loss of the beloved Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard. The storyline echoed reality as McCallum, who played the role of Ducky since Season 1, died peacefully in his sleep on Sept. 25, 2023. He was 90.

“I’ve lost a few people in my life, but never have I sat down and written a script or a story about them in the weeks following their departure. It was very odd… but helpful in a way,” Dietzen told TheWrap in an interview ahead of the episode’s debut on Monday. “A lot of the grief of losing a friend is softened by the fact that he’s a 90-year-old man who lived so much life.”

Dietzen recalled feeling honored when asked to help craft the farewell installment, a tall task to properly celebrate the beloved medical examiner-turned-NCIS historian, along with a real-life Hollywood legend. The episode, titled “The Stories We Leave Behind,” opened with Jimmy (Dietzen) arriving at his friend’s home in the morning to discuss a break on a case he was working on, only to find Ducky had died in his sleep.

“That was the toughest day that I had as an actor,” Dietzen said. “It took a village to put this together. I always felt like we were all in this together. That felt like the first time during the whole process where it was just me and David. That really hit me hard, I was a blubbering mess.”

“Every idea under the sun was thrown out [for this episode.] From having every ‘NCIS’ cast member from every spin-off come together in a huge funeral theme… nothing was off the table,” Dietzen said. “Those things can be very logistically difficult obviously, but we wanted to do something special… Michael said he would absolutely love to come and reprise his role as Tony.”

Dietzen noted how none of the old clips that played during the episode featured Tony, an Easter egg of sorts for his present-day cameo. He also said that Mark Harmon had been in talks to reprise his role as Gibbs, but was ultimately not available due to a scheduling conflict.

“I think everyone would love to see Gibbs make an appearance at some point. That is such a beloved character, TV history,” he said. “I’m really happy with the way [the scene] turned out. The way that it works with Jimmy and Tony. There’s an intimacy to that and there’s a familiarity to that.”

Dietzen further explained the specific choice of revisiting Ducky’s Season 19 speech during the episode, in which he reflected on letting Gibbs go after Harmon’s exit from the series.

“[Jimmy] is mourning the team’s loss of Gibbs and before that Bishop (Emily Wickersham) and before that the death of his own wife. But Ducky comforts him by saying, ‘Our pain is a small price to pay for his peace,’” Dietzen recalled. “I wanted that to be the last thing that we hear Ducky say in this episode, so he can seemingly eulogize himself, in a way. That was one [moment] that I felt strongly about and that stayed in the whole time.”