#the first of the lab kids being the main antagonist is such a great idea but FUCK is it so sad

[thelostsisters]

young henry will never get a happy ending (“perhaps we’ll save that story for another day; it doesn’t have a happen ending i’m afraid”) he’s destined to be imprisoned and abused by dr. brenner for decades and we know that he turns out evil and things are never going to get better for him he’s going to suffer forever he’s going to turn into a monster isolated in an alternate realm where his flesh is literally eaten alive he’s never going to have a good life

[popculturebuffet]

Next up for Cartoon Network era of shows, who is your favorite character from each of the 2000-03 half of the Cartoon Cartoons-era shows you've seen like: Sheep in the Big City, Time Squad, Samurai Jack, Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Evil Con Carne, Whatever Happened to Robot Jones, Codename Kids Next Door, and Star Wars Clone Wars 2003?

I realize now this was about CHARACTERS not just the shows in general. Since I did on the first one though, i'll give my opinons AND the characters to split the diffrence. First covering last time Dexter's Lab, Johnny Bravo, Cow & Chicken, I Am Weasel, The Powerpuff Girls 1998, Ed Edd n Eddy, Mike Lu and Og, and Courage the Cowardly Dog.

In order: DL: Dexter's Dad, easily one of Jeff Bennet's performances and I feel bad I had no idea it was him ands not phil hartman. Johnny Bravo: Carol, as him dating an antelope is just.. such a hilariousl awkward concept, and this is coming from a guy who dosen't have the best cringe comedy tolerance. Chronos MASTER OF TIME and the Nixon Shark are both close seconds. Cow and Chicken: The Big Red Guy: the sohw itself may be mixed but god I love him IAW: Weasel. Easily The Power Puff Girls: Hmmm this is a hard one but due to a thing i'm working on and his general meanace I have to go with him. He had a uniqueness to his apperances: It was always going to be terrifying unless it was with other villians and always something unique and memorable. EEE: Ed. He's truly the best and a meme machine fo ra reason Mike Lu and Og: Mike herself whose a nice mix of ignoarant yet still savy. Courage: The boy himself out of the main cast though pretty much every character here is fantastic. Kitty out of the antagonists, as she's the most tragic, has a truly creepy deisgn and was a gay character long before that was common OKay now onto the next era Sheep in the Big City: This is one I need to rewatch as my recent kablam retrospective (Please check it out), had me rewatch the off beats and I like Willems sense of humor and might ge tit more. The sheep himself is my faviorite, having a great design, likeable demeanor and nice bleats. Time Squad: Another one I need to revisit and a true classic: Simple premise, hilaroius characters and Larry 3000 is easly my faviorite. C3PO if they meant for him to be gay. Samurai Jack: Like most of these in this installment I need to revisit it. One of the best cartoons ever. Havne't checked out the last season, hear mixed things. Faviroite is the scotsman: he's hilaroius, fun to watch and a nice counterpart to jack being just as capable but everything our boy isn't. Billy and Mandy: A comedy classic. A bit too mean for i'ts own good sometimes, but a truely great horror comedy most of the time: creative premise, truly stacked cast of side characters, and richard steven horvitz greatest performance til lhelluva boss (zim is VERY close to billy though. ) Faviorite character is asking a lot of me, but I have to go with my childhood faviorite, Dracula. He could've aged poorly and shoudl have, he is making fun of blaxplotatoin.. but he never feels like a black sterotype, just a cranky throughly weird old man Evil Con Carne: One I need to revisit, yes AGAIN, and a show I always felt was undereatted. It just never took off the way Billy and Mandy did and you can tell maxwell atoms still had affection for it given he both ported skar over to billy and mandy (A really great decision and one I dearly love) and brought hector and ghastly back for one last hurrah. It was also one of my first exposures to Grey DeLise and Armin Shimmerman (Though I jus tlearned about the latter), and one of Phil LaMarr's best roles. With that last qualifier, Hector is my faviorite: his pomoposity, voice and being shoved in a bear are all great.

Whatever Happened to Robot Jones?: Need to revisit it you know the drill. Has a great title character, also my faviorite, concept but I don't remember it a ton. KND: Easily my third faviorite Cartoon Network show. A gloriously built world that's both nicely detailed and approriately childish, and a show that evolved from a pretty one note premise to a truly wonderfully thought out masterpiece that parodied just about everything with a nice chunk of x-men refrences. Faviorite is Numbah 2. Hoagie is just the best and his solo adventures tended to be some of the best of the series.

Clone Wars (Genndy's Version): Another one that, say it with me now "I need to revisit" and a true classic. Beautifully animated, great to watch. I will say the second season isn't quite AS good, trying a bit harder to be a lead int oa movie loosing the sheer flexiblity and cretivity season 1 had. I mean season 1 has mace windu going bare fisted monk on a bunch of droids alongside the ongoing arcs about ventress and whatever his name was. It also made general grevous a massive disapointment in the films.

[dani-halfa]

Danny Phantom: Arcs and build up

Okay, let's talk about character arcs, continuity and built up.

Usually when writing a story in a series, there are some episodes dedicated to exploring certain story elements that later become important for the plot. This isusually called "foreshadowing" or "built up".

Foreshadowing is when the writer gives certain clues about what is going to happen next in the story without being explicit about it.

"Build up" is when there are some episodes that set up for a important event in the story. For example: A character becoming evil. Before the character turns completely evil, they are likely to have a few episodes exploring how they are slowly getting worse until they finally decide to betray the heroes. This really helps feeling the character's arc more realistic as their development didn't feel like came of nowhere.

Now let's talk about Reign Storm, The ultimate enemy and arcs in Danny Phantom.

Danny phantom is a character driven series, so when talking about arcs i'm going to refer to them as "character arcs".

Let's start with Vlad's character arc:

Vlad Masters is first introduced in the episode 7 in season 1 "Bitter reunions". In this episode we learn about his motivations, personality, goals and backstory. We know that he wants to get his revenge on Jack, and make Maddie and Danny "join him". Another of his personal goals is stealing and becoming more powerful.

Near the end of the episode Vlad foreshadows that he is going to see Danny again some time.

In "Shades of Gray" he is the one that gives Valerie the ghost hunter equipment, he makes a small cameo spying on her to check if she got her package.

In "Maternal instincts" we get to see more about his character and "fruitloopness" as Danny would put it. "Bitter reunions" made it clear he is a "fruitloop" but "Maternal instincs" proofs this even further by showing his extreme methods to get what he wants are.

"Maternal instincts" he still wants to Maddie and Danny to be his family. He ends up ruining his relationship with Maddie ( she thought of him as a close friend) and Danny even more. He's so desperate to the point that he really believed Danny wants to be his son after everything that happened.

In "Million Dollar Ghost" he tries stealing the Skeleton Key. After escaping from the guardian, his ghost portal blews up and goes to the Amity Park to steal Fenton's portal.

In a "Million Dollar Ghost" he also tries to break the bond between Jack and Danny, however, his main goal is the ghost portal. After he is beaten by no other than Jack. He accidentally finds the Skeleton Key but the guardian eats him.

Up until this point we know that:

Vlad wants to do something with the Skeleton Key (Reign Storm).

He has ruined his relationship with Danny and Maddie, both realizing what kind of person he is.

His main goals and motivations.

He is using Valerie for his own goals.

He is the one the gave the equipment to Valerie.

Now, Valerie's arc:

Her character is really first developed in "Shades of Gray". We all already know her backstory at this point: She used to be a rich girl that used to hang out with the popular kids until one day Cujo and Danny as Phantom made her dad lose his job at Axiom Labs and that ruined her life. She lost her own social status and her friends left her.

This made her hate ghosts with a burning passion. After receiving a package from Vlad, she started to train to become a ghost hunter and hunt Phantom.

Later in "Life lessons" she teams up with Danny (Phantom) to escape and fight Skulker,who was trying to hunt them down.

Valerie and Danny in the same episode start developing feelings for each other after Danny tries to make up to Valerie by helping her with her second job. She also learns that not all ghosts are totally evil, which becomes crucial in future episodes.

So until now we know that:

Valerie hates ghosts due to an incident that ruined her life.

Has a crush on Danny but doesn't like Phantom.

Is Training to be a ghost hunter

Her relationship with Danny is very complicated.

I noticed how Valerie has only two episodes in season 1 despite being one of the most interesting characters in the show.

As for Danny's arc:

Since he is the protagonist, i'll write a short summary of his arc in season 1:

This season is mainly about him learning how to control his powers while growing up into a responsible teenager. In some episodes, he slowly grows to understand that not all ghosts are evil and don´t want to harm anyone (Like Cujo and Wulf). He also solves conflicts without his "punching first,ask questions later". He grows closer with his family, specially his sister Jazz, who finds about his secret.

Besides these character arcs "Fright Night" is an episode that introduces the Fright Night, who later serves as a secondary antagonist in "Reign Storm".

Why did i talked about all these arcs? Because they all become important for Reign Storm.

Danny's, Vlad's and Valerie's arcs were all building up for this specific episode. So, when you watch this "Reign Storm" you already know who these characters are, their personalities and development.

You know where Vlad got the key to open the ghost king's prision. You know about Danny's and Vlad's rivalry. You know why Valerie decides to team up with Phantom. You also know all the ghosts that help Danny during his battle against the Ghost King.

Reign Storm is a great episode on its own but it works so well because of all the set up and foreshadowing in season 1. It feels rewarding so see everything paying off in this episode.

Now i'm going to explain my issue with The Ultimate Enemy:

There's very little built up and foreshadowing for such an important episode.

I mean,look at this:

There are only two episode between Reign Storm and The ultimate enemy.

Identity Crisis, which establishes that halfas can be separated.

The fenton Menace that focus on Danny and Jazz relationship and is important for the special.

There is very little build up to Dan's character or his tragic origins. Or how crazy the whole episode is in comparison to the rest of the series.

You could argue that "Control Freaks" and "Memory Blank" foreshadow alternative timelines and Dan (even if Memory Blank makes no sense). But still doesn't feel enough. The series would need more a few more episodes to develop Danny´s character.

Like, why no an episode about him hurting someone with his ghost powers? Or him thinking he is turning evil? Why no an episode about Vlad showing he still has some humanity left inside him foreshadowing his alternative future self?

It doesn't help that The ultimate enemy lacks continuity: Danny having a dark side? Vlad actually showing he is capable of feeling sorry? Danny going to an alternative future caused by him and not having nightmares about it? A Fusion of two powerful ghosts? The ending hinting at Dan returning? (Which he never did because the show was cancelled)

Sure, Jazz and Danny relationship changes ,that's great, and Clockwork appears in Masters of time again.

However, The ultimate enemy introduced so many great concepts and they weren´t that well-explored in later episodes, which is a pity. The special itself is very entertaining but i think i would had worked better as a story arc finale and not airing two episodes after Reign Storm.

It´s also a bit weird since there are other episodes that have build up like Flirting with Disaster, Secret Weapons, Kindred Spirits yet this The Ultimate Enemy doesn´t.

I would have really liked for the writers of show to have more time to create an arc about Dan and not just two episodes. Or at least return in a season finale. That would have been a great idea.

[epicspheal]

What are SWSH story beats that would fit better with the royal twins as the main antagonists?

Great Question! There are a few story beats that, in my opinion, would have been better served with the Royal Twins being a part of the main story line and not just the post game. Keep in mind that the points I’m making are assuming more time was dedicated to the plot overall in the main story (and of course some minor plot changes such as Sonia’s book on the history of Galar not being the original motivating factor for the twin’s plot).

For one, the plot point of us slowly uncovering the truth of Galar’s history in the main game would have had a lot more poignancy with the Royal brothers as the main antagonists. Once we get to the Hammerlock vault and see the tapestries, we get hit with the fact that the traditional story told of the Darkest Day (as in what was known throughout Galar prior to Sonia’s discoveries) is not the real story. This is further confirmed by the events of Stow-on-Side. This generates two important questions: what is the real story and why was there a coverup in the first place. We get the first question solved for the most part, but the second part is still unanswered. With the Royal Twins as the main antagonists, there would have been a more ample opportunity to cover both questions in greater detail. This gives the plot point about learning the history of Galar more meaning and feels more integrated into the overall story line. Because the twin’s goal concerns the history of Galar (and not some vague energy crisis) we get a better since of the region’s culture and lore which I think would have helped make the story feel more coherent and give a greater appreciation to the region as a whole.

Secondly the twins were far more aggressive with their actions which would have added a lot to the character development of many characters. I talked about this briefly in an earlier post about this very topic, but Sonia’s arc in the main story would be enhanced. One of the things we’re told about Sonia is that she has a tendency to give up. However, that’s not something that's really shown in game as she’s travelling around uncovering the true history of Galar. Now take the way the twins were constantly up to something in the post game (particularly the traitor lab assistant). In the main game that could’ve really taken a toll on Sonia and maybe caused her to contemplate giving...except she would somehow find the resolve to keep going. Ideally, this would be done when Professor Magnolia was around, since she is Sonia’s biggest critic. This would show Professor Magnolia how much Sonia has grown, and would give the passing on of the white coat an even greater sense of accomplishment. Speaking of Professor Magnolia, this could have possibly given her a more active role in the story. This is the second time we’ve gotten a female professor and once again, they were overshadowed by another character (at least this time it was her granddaughter and not her father as in Professor Juniper’s case). Since quite a bit of the action in the post-game happens around Wedgehurst and the lab, there would have been ample opportunity for her to appear and just be more active. Plus we’d get to see her growing respect for her granddaughter’s perseverance. Hop’s story could have also benefited from the Royal Twin’s plot being part of the main game, specifically his ultimate decision to become a professor. I’ve warmed up to the idea of him becoming a Pokemon Professor, however I do wish they would have taken more care in properly setting up that plot point. With the active search into the truth surrounding the Darkest Day (in order to prevent the twins from doing something monumentally stupid) there could have been more instances of Hop getting involved with Sonia’s research (as he doesn’t really get involved until Circhester, meanwhile the player gets to see Turffield, Hammerlocke, and Stow-on-Side). This could have helped subtly built up his interest in research making the eventual path change seem less out of left field.

One of the main criticisms of the main game is that we aren’t allowed to see much of the plot because Leon takes care of things for us. I’ve talked about how this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it shows Leon as a competent champion, however I do feel they could have balanced it to where Leon does take on the bulk of things, but still allow a few things to slip by which the player could solve (I mean he can’t be everywhere at once). The twins were very successful at launching their schemes in different places simultaneously. This could have been replicated in the main story where Leon goes off (possibly with Sonia) to one spot in Galar to deal with something, only for something to pop up where the player is, forcing them to deal with it (possibly with the help of another NPC). This would give us opportunities to interact with important NPCs, and would allow us to get some better insights into Leon and Sonia’s relationship, and potentially Hop and Leon’s as well. All while still maintaining both Leon and Sonia’s characterization as adults who get involved with the main plot rather than just let some kids deal with it.

Those are just a couple of plot points I think could have been served better with Sordward and Shieldbert driving the antagonist plot. You guys let me know if you agree/disagree or have anything else to add!

[writtenbyhappynerds]

Fanfiction 102: Unit 1, Villains

        Welcome back to class! The topic of villains came up while writing Fanfiction 101. The Editor and I consider villains important. They are the most important characters in a narrative because it is their actions and their choices that shape the plot, the desires of the main character, and their actions. Usually, in fanfiction, you already have a villain. If you write Harry Potter fanfic, your villains are Voldemort, Umbridge, Snape, Lucius, etc. If you write Supernatural fanfic, your villains are Crowley, Lucifer, Chuck, etc. We can acknowledge that for most fanfic writers the most you’ll have to do is accurately capture the voice of a villain so you can replicate them for your story in a way the audience will believe. This is done by studying the character and taking care to not reduce the villain to a one-note trait of their personality. However, we see lots of fanfic writers add in their own villains; these are usually secondary or minor characters. Sometimes they are backstory villains only, or sometimes they’re just bullies meant to be an added antagonist. These villains, because they are all your own, need to be the most important characters in your stories, and that’s why we’re here to talk today.

          Villains are the most difficult to figure out. When you write a villain, you are writing a character and explaining to yourself, and therefore the audience, not only why this person is a bad guy, but why they’re doing bad things. I do not like villains who are Bad Guy McBadGuys that exist solely to make the OC’s life miserable. That isn’t a villain. That’s an asshole. These characters are the most common villains we see, and I myself am guilty of writing them in the past because we don’t want to give the bad guys thought. Usually, the writer wants to focus on the protagonist, but the side characters and opposing characters need way more thought than the OC. The OC’s motivations are easy to figure out. Their job is to complete the quest, save the day, and oppose the villain. Their entire goal as a character can be written around a villain, and when that happens you better be damn sure you know why the villain is doing what they’re doing. One-note villains are common in both Harry Potter and the Avengers. Usually, this is because the villain is either a Death Eater or HYDRA, and they can be bad for the sake of being bad because we know both groups are bad guys. I want you to remove yourselves from that approach. I would highly encourage you to read the comic series published a few years back called Captain America: Hail HYDRA. If you know Avengers you probably know this comic, because it’s the one where the writers tried to say that Captain America, God’s Righteous Man, has been a secret HYDRA agent this whole time. It was a whole Twitter moment, it was the #saynotoHYDRACap thing. That comic. In that comic, along with Captain America pledging his support to HYDRA, is an account from a character named Robbie Dean Tomlin. We as the audience follow Robbie’s story and see how a young kid can get wrapped up in an organization like HYDRA and get beaten and broken down to the point that he’s willing to become a suicide bomber for them. What Hail HYDRA can teach us is how to make a villain relatable, and how a normal character can get wrapped up in a group that we as an audience can look at and immediately know is bad. We see them as evil, but we never question why or how a character gets involved in that. If you are going to write a villain that can compel an audience, you need to start asking those questions. Why is this character where they are? Are they angry? Are they scared of someone else? Does this character think they’re doing the right thing? If so, why are they/do they use violence to accomplish their goals? Why is that necessary? When you look at Robbie Dean Tomlin’s story you can answer all those questions. You get him not as a villain, but as a character, and that’s where it starts.

          Another great example of villains as characters and not as bad guys is found in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Specifically the episode ‘The Boiling Rock’ where Sokka and Zuko break into the Fire Nation’s highest security prison and pretend to be guards. Their goal is to break Sokka’s dad and girlfriend Suki out of prison. The important note is that during the episode Sokka is able to chat with the Fire Nation guards. These people are his adversaries in this episode. They could imprison or kill him if he is discovered, but the guards aren’t set on that. They aren’t hell-bent on torturing the prisoners either. They’re just people. Not only that they’re nice people. The guards are nice to each other. They’re nice to Sokka, and they give not only their characters but the Fire Nation more dimension. Not every Death Eater under Voldemort is going to share his exact viewpoints or his bloodthirst. They are not all hell-bent on, ‘I must capture and kill Harry Potter,’ or, ‘I must spit in the face of muggles and mudbloods because they have to know their place.’ The same is true for HYDRA, or the Empire if you’re writing for Star Wars or the Fire Nation. You have to start writing your characters as people and give them the backstory and reasoning that would make them evil.

          Me personally, when I am writing a story the villain is the first character I write. I want to know them and know why they’re about to be mean to my OC. We’ll use two different villains I’ve written as examples: Anna and Sion. We will also use a common villain from fanfiction, Dolores Umbridge, for comparison.

          Treat your villains like protagonists. In a sense, they are the protagonists of their own stories, they just happen to be the antagonists of your OC’s. Know about their hobbies. Whether they have a family. If they don’t, what happened to that family? This information doesn’t need to be used necessarily, but it helps you as a writer know your antagonist as a person. For Anna, I know that she loves the outdoors. She likes rock-climbing and kayaking and she enjoys time outside. I know she has a son that she loves dearly, and she has a specific brand of French candy that she keeps well-stocked for herself. Sion, I know she has been married twice and has kids from both marriages. I know she likes fantasy novels because the idea of mythical beasts sounds cool to her. Dolores Umbridge, we know as readers loves the color pink. She likes frilly and lacy things. She loves cats. She’s the epitome of the old white ladies who shop at Dillards. It’s okay for you to give your villains something that isn’t stereotypically villainous. When we get into good examples of villains we’ll explain more why quirks and characterization is so important.

          Once you’ve created a character with a personality, start to flesh out where they work. What they do. This will give you a better idea of how they will interact with the OC. This too can be against the grain of stereotypical villains, which the Editor and I usually see as men in dark rooms brooding over something we the audience don’t know and beating the OC because it’s fun. Again, that isn’t a villain, that’s just an asshole. I also as a reader don’t know who that villain is as a person. I just know that I’m supposed to really really hate him or her because they’re mean to the OC. So, give them a personality, and tell me about their life. Are they the CEO of a massive corporation? Are they politicians? A teacher? A spy? Give me something I can take in and help me as the reader understand who this person is. We know Dolores is senior undersecretary to the Minister. She is a woman in a high place who loves her job. Anna, for example, we’ll say is a former spy. She was a spy when she was younger and has moved up in her organization to the point where she oversees other agents and acts as their support. Sion on the contrary is the head of the department of Chemistry wherever she works. She oversees students and has her own research lab. All characters have opportunities to interact with people, and therefore the OC. Your villain shouldn’t be a hermit. That’s less realistic, because then, how can we expect them to go antagonize the OC if they never leave the house?

          So, we now have a character with a personality, and we have a character with a career that fits their story. A good way that I’ve found to turn a character who would otherwise be good evil, is to pile on those flaws and have them act on their weaknesses more so than their strengths. We give our protagonists strengths and weaknesses but seldom do they lean on their weaknesses and put faith in insecurities. Let your villains down that kool-aid. It’ll make the drop into madness smoother. For Sion, we’ll have a character who is insecure. She is insecure about her usefulness, she’s worried her department will be absorbed into another, she’s insecure about her age and about some freak from nowhere with none of her training or experience being able to take away and undercut her value in the society she lives in. She has many children to provide for, and has a lot to lose should she lose her job (psst, this is where the OC comes in). Anna as a character grew a bit differently. Her insecurities came from her backstory, where she fell in love with another spy, had a long happy life with that spy until the same life that brought them together and made the world a game killed him. Her weaknesses come in that she feels abused by the system, and that she will not let others be abused by the same system. She feels more gallant than a character like Sion, and that she is saving characters who wouldn’t listen to her otherwise. Who doesn’t understand that the world is filled with bad people and no one else is willing to take out bad people? (psst, this is the easy driving force for the protagonists to oppose). Dolores’s insecurities come from ignorance. She follows the Minister on blind faith and doesn’t want to be proven wrong. If he fails she sees herself as failing too. In addition, she has internalized intolerance that has built up over time because of the oppression of half-breeds and muggle-borns. She helps write laws that oppress muggle-borns. She makes them submit for questioning. Dolores is happy where she is because her prejudice is a blanket of security for her. She loves her job, and she wants to stay where she is. So when Dumbledore or Harry try to uproot her, she is antagonistic.

          The impact of Sion, Dolores, and Anna, is that you end up with characters who do bad things but don’t see themselves as bad people. Anna believes she is doing the work that no one else is willing to do. That she is going after bad guys. Sion believes she is keeping her department alive. That she is looking out for the good of her people. Dolores is serving her ministry. None of these characters are truly evil, but when you present a young upstart who comes out of a factory that gets the spotlight and attention, or a group of ragtag kids who are trying to save as many people as they can regardless of experience because, “you can’t change where you come from,” or a wizard trying to shake down the years of intolerance at the central government, you get antagonism that is natural and makes sense. You get conflict that makes sense not only for the protagonists, but it makes sense for the antagonists to oppose them. That should be your goal when writing a villain. It should make sense for the villain to oppose the protagonist and vice versa, and it shouldn’t be because the villain is evil and that’s it.

          Now, to drive these points home further we’re going to break down great villains from the media and discuss why they are successful in the context that we’ve given you. We hope that by explaining these villains in the terms that we’ve just described, the importance of creating villains as characters first will make more sense.

          Let’s talk about Azula. She was the first to come up when the Editor and I discussed villains. We as an audience know Azula’s backstory. We know she was “born lucky,” and was beloved and revered by her father and grandfather. We know she had a bad relationship with her mother. We know she had friends. These are all aspects of personality that make Azula someone we can understand. Azula is serving her father and the Fire Nation. It just so happens that that nation is under more evil leadership. When we see the downfall of Azula, we see how the writers used her own insecurities to become her undoing. We see her instead as a deeply paranoid person, who is afraid of being betrayed by people she is supposed to trust. You see her crack under her own pressures. The brilliance of Azula is that we as an audience can relate to her in her downfall, and we see who she is beyond being a bad guy. She’s not like General Zhao, whose motivations and desires were more straightforward. She has complicated goals and wishes and desires that allow us to understand who she is as a person.

          Lucifer from Supernatural is another great example of a compelling villain. You see it in his development. He is meant to be the ultimate evil because he is after Sam and wants the end of the world. What the writers on Supernatural did is really explore the why of Lucifer’s actions. You see it in how his brothers talk to him. You see how Lucifer was, “the only one who could see what was going on.” That he couldn’t handle the new baby (mankind) coming home and lashed out. That he was kicked out of heaven by trying to prove that humans weren’t perfect. You see in the actor himself, that Lucifer is given a reason to be angry and a methodology behind his anger. This makes him more compelling as a villain. He isn’t evil just to be evil and he isn’t opposing humanity just to do it, he has a reason behind what he does. It makes us understand him as a character because his anger is relatable.

          Loki is often a villain or a love-interest in fanfiction. Sometimes when we’re feeling spicy, he’s a villain turned into a love interest because oh my god growth. Loki is given familial relationships and friendships that help us understand who he is as a character. On top of that, he’s given justifiable anger similar to that of Lucifer’s, which makes him act bad but believe he is in the right. Often when we read Loki fanfiction we see the tortured soul Loki who needs someone who can “understand” and “see him” in ways that his brother of 100-odd years somehow inexplicably cannot. This does not just apply to Loki (see Draco Malfoy, Lucifer, and sometimes Paul Lahote but he isn’t a villain). If you are going to give Loki a family that doesn’t know or understand him, you need to give Loki character traits that said the family wouldn’t know about. Hobbies he likes, activities he enjoys. Often Loki is reduced to reading, but in-depth analysis can allude to his reading being a means of escaping a bad situation. Does he write too? Tell me more. Loki is often reduced to either the tortured soul or the lunatic and he is neither. He is a boy first and foremost, who has been lied to his whole life, who was taken in as a political prop and was shoved aside and made to feel unwanted because he was not the blood son. That kind of stuff stays with a person. It messes you up and puts a lot of negative ideas in your head. From here is the source of Loki’s anger, but don’t say that his family doesn’t know him. They do, what they don’t do is accept or nurture him. The exception to this is Frigga. Loki’s motivations as a villain come from his backstory and the relationship he has with both his father and brother. Where fanfic writers often stumble is this dynamic, which is not one of unfamiliarity but one that lacks acceptance. Loki was ostracized for being different, but that isn’t to say Thor and the Warriors Three didn’t know he was different.

          Let’s talk about the Death Eaters. The Death Eaters are a great example of how systemic intolerance shapes a generation. They serve Voldemort out of both fear and loyalty because his power is something that is ingrained in their minds as something that is right. His ideas are perpetuated by Salazar Slytherin and enforced by pureblood families. The Death Eaters are examples of those who grew up in intolerance. They don’t necessarily follow Voldemort because they agree with him, but because their families do, their colleagues and friends do. They are so deep in this life they don’t know how to get out. Look at the obvious discomfort of the Malfoys in books 6 and 7. They clearly don’t want to be there. Death Eaters are way more complex than people give them credit for. If you’re writing Death Eater characters, lean into the Draco Malfoys and the Regulus Blacks of the world. Study how people in cults act and reflect on their time after leaving the cult. These resources will help you write characters that are more compelling than just, ‘Mudbloods suckkkk lmao.’

          Because he is so popular as a villain, we’re going to talk about Lucius Malfoy in addition to Death Eaters. Lucius Malfoy’s representation in fanfiction is horribly executed 9 times out of 10. This is because he follows the same fate of many characters that we discussed in Fanfiction 101. Lucius Malfoy is reduced to one-note beats and the most blatant parts of his personality. Because he is a villain, that beat is “I hate mudbloods and love Voldemort.” He’s like one of those MLM moms who are like, “love my God and my Essential Oils.” Lucius Malfoy should not be reduced to MLM moms with Live Laugh Love and internalized misogyny. He is way smarter than that. You don’t become one of Voldemort’s most devoted followers and come back from that without having your wits about you. Lucius is way smarter than what fanfiction writers commonly give him credit for. He’s intelligent. He’s driven. He was a Head Boy in his time at Hogwarts, and he knew how to try and sink his enemies without implicating himself. If you write Lucius Malfoy you need to dip into the cat-and-mouse games that are Lucius's personality. He’s not aggressively evil. He’s quiet. He slips in after the fighting is done and takes what he wants. The best example of this is during Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Everyone knew that it was Malfoy who slipped Tom Riddle’s diary in Ginny’s cauldron. However, there was no proof. Lucius Malfoy is a careful man, and in fanfiction that needs to be reflected.

          Villains are the most important character in your narrative. You need to view them as people. As characters first and as bad guys second. Your OC’s story can be centered around the villain, who should be complex, thought-out, and should have methods behind their madness. The audience needs to understand who your villain is by reading about them, just as much as your OC or side characters.

          Next week we’re discussing superpowers. We’ll break down how to make a cool set of superpowers, the common mistakes in superpowers, and give good and cringe examples.

Xoxo, Gossip Girl.

[jancys-blue-bayou]

The problems with screentime in Stranger Things 2

Okay so this isn’t anything new but I feel the need to rant a bit about it anyway: the only real problem with season 2 of Stranger Things was the sheer size of the narrative. Adding several new characters into an already big ensemble, doing a very special episode for one of the main characters with some of those new characters meant big problems with the screentime given to both them and the other characters.

Because what made season 1 so great was the size of the story and the pacing of the narrative. Running three separate storylines that then intersected was done beautifully, especially how it enabled them to connect to different genres (the kids sci-fi-story, Nancy and Jonathan in a horror movie scenario, Hopper and Joyce in a conspiracy thriller). The pacing was so good, cutting between the different storylines in a way that always kept you glued to the screen.

Of course they made season 2 in a similar way, separating the characters into different plotlines that ran parallel until they intersected, and I enjoyed both how they kept some pairings (Nancy/Jonathan, Hopper/Joyce) but also found new constellations (Steve and the kids, Mike/Will/Hopper/Joyce). But, adding so many new characters, Max, Billy, Bob, Kali and her gang, Dr. Owens, Murray, meant that we had loads and loads of characters all jostling for screentime. All the new characters need screentime to be introduced and made a part of the story, but as a viewer we’re invested in the characters we already know and love. And everyone ends up feeling shortchanged, most of the new characters feel underdeveloped or pointless while several of the old characters feel underutilized and pushed aside. Most obviously Nancy and Jonathan, but I’ve also seen similar complaints about for example Mike.

Of the new characters I feel like Bob, Owens and Murray worked out the best. Bob because he’s given screentime to be one of the more fleshed out of the new guys, plus Sean Astin brings a natural likeability to the role. Owens and Murray work because they are well-written in to the plot in different ways. Now to Max and Billy. I like Max, I like what Sadie Sink does, but I think the role is underwritten, existing solely in connection with male characters as a love interest. The Duffer Brothers have said that they introduced Billy because they wanted a human antagonist, writing him in the way Steve was initially supposed to be until Joe Keery’s charm changed that character. Fine, I get what they’re after, the human antagonists of Stephen King is great and a staple of the eighties and the influence of Stephen King on the Duffers can’t be overstated. But, do they have to incorporate that Stephen King trope as well? I love how they balanced the shoutouts and references to the 80s in season 1, it always being very present and obvious yet not in a gratuitous way. Now it feels like they’re getting away from that with Billy. Like people have pointed out, he didn’t have any influence on the actual plot of the season, he could’ve been removed and nothing of the plot would’ve been different. There lies the problem for me, his character is only there as a part of the shows style and look, in the same way music and certain imagery is, but having a character only be stylistic and not plot-relevant, I don’t like. He’s just an 80s archetype for the sake of an 80s archetype, while other characters like Nancy, Jonathan, Eleven, Hopper etc start as archetypes that are then flipped on it’s head (like how Nancy is the horror flick chick trope but is then shown to be genresavvy, competent and much more above that).

Kali then. Obviously Eleven wasn’t the first test subject, of course they were going to adress that, but I’m not a fan of how they did it. Kali by herself is an interesting character. But the whole thing with the Warriors gang... it’s along the same lines as I touched upon earlier, with it feeling like the Duffers 80s references started to become gratuitous. Now to the love it or hate it Very Special Episode. I hate it, duh. I get that they wanted to be brave and do something different, but damn it just breaks the whole flow of the season, halting all other parts of the narrative like that and of course does away with the pacing I wrote about earlier, where they otherwise are so adept at juggling several storylines next to each other. Of course it deepens Eleven’s character and she learns about herself, but the character development she undergoes there didn’t need a whole episode, in fact I would’ve loved to get more glimpses of Kali throughout the previous episodes, like the opening scene of the season, think they could’ve written it differently.

So except for the way all the new characters kind of get each other’s way in fight for screentime which renders them underdeveloped, it also has the effect of doing other characters a disservice through the hogging of screentime. Mainly Nancy and Jonathan. OK, obviously as a hardcore Jancy shipper i’m always going to want more screentime for them, but it’s not just about that. Their plotline, exposing the lab, is great but given too little screentime given the enormity of their actions and also, since the plotline separates them very clearly from all the others and sends them on their own little adventure, not giving it more screentime really pushes it aside. Now the romance aspect of it, I love that Jancy became canon this season. I’ve seen some shippers being not happy with the way it happened, feeling that it was rushed. Personally I don’t feel it was rushed per se (ie I like the idea of them finally just jumping each other’s bone after skitting around it for so long), but it came off that way due to their lack of screentime which led to an amount of showing not telling, as @valkyriav have written very well about here. That’s basically why I write my fic The Real Shit, to fill in some blanks since we didn’t get enough scenes of them because of the screentime being devoted more to other characters. Btw, @jancystrangerstuff sent me this link earlier, the middle pic in the second row really looks like it’s from a deleted scene in the car the morning after (given her outfit and from the way their positioned, like she’s next to him in the front seat to me), thought I show it because that kind of provoked this whole rant.

Finally, all these characters being introduced and not developed enough this season really made me feel like season 2 was very much a stepping stone in the larger scheme of things. Obviously Kali and other test subjects will be a part of the show’s future and hopefully Max and maybe even Billy will be given more depth, and I still have hope that they will be able to write and balance all the characters in season 3 better.

[realtalk-princeton]

@maybach how did you adjust so well to college? I feel like in a lot of ways I’ve had the opposite experience, I was a really committed student in hs, got a 2400 sat, 15 perfect app test scores, all A’s, I even literally did lab work multiple summers at prestigious universities lol. I never really did much socially in hs, few friends, no SO, not much life experience in general outside academics. But now that I’m here, I’ve found it so hard to adapt. I actually took a gap year before starting,

but I’ve struggled so much here. I’m actually taking a leave because I couldn’t keep up. I guess part of this is not prioritizing academics enough cause I still feel like I need a ton to make up for lost time” from all the stuff I missed (even after taking a gap year). Honestly, it’s hard to even motivate myself to do academics at all, I mean I could always drop to an easier school or even just not go to college. I don’t even really like having “intellectual conversations” and all that, I’d rather just be around ppl who are more “shallow” (but is anything really “shallow” in the first place, I mean it’s really just about how you look at the world) but I digress. I don’t even care that much about honing critical thinking skills, and anyway, you don’t even need college to do that. it seems like the main justifications for the existence of liberal arts education, and really maybe even college in general (except for ppl going to grad school cause they are actually putting (Jesus this is turning into an op-ed) tangible knowledge they are directly using in their career, or ppl not going to grad school who are going into tech/engineering (also chemistry/biology?) and last I checked, not a huge number of students here go to grad school right out of college. I worked my ass off in hs to get here and now I’m really starting to regret it. so to tie it all back together, how did you even get into the mindset you’ve talked about to this place (not trying to be confrontational or anything, just genuinely curious) much less go from your hs experience to doing really well here? Or maybe I really should leave honestly. My parents didn’t even pressure me that much academically, it was a lot of self-motivation. Lol sorry for the screed

Response from Maybach:

No problem anon! I read the whole thing, but just needed sufficient time to build up to my answer. Also, there are a lot of components obviously lol, but I’ll mainly focus on your actual question for brevity sake. Even I’m getting tired of my long responses haha.

Let me first respond to some of your assertions and share my thoughts. I was kind of confused when you wrote, “it seems like the main justifications for the existence of liberal arts education…y are actually putting (Jesus this is turning into an op-ed) tangible knowledge they are directly using in their career, or ppl not going to grad school who are going into tech/engineering (also chemistry/biology?)” What are the main justifications you are referring to? Are you saying that college is to develop knowledge directly for a career? But anyway, I think college is really important at is the core for two things: time for maturing and learning how to learn. Nothing we learn for most of is will be directly related to a job, but it becomes vitally important and sets us apart from the vast majority of people. For the first thing, most kids are just not ready to enter the workforce after HS. They need to actually start growing up, taking responsibility more for their actions, going through life experiences. Can you imagine what it would be like for the average college-aged kid to go through a breakup in the post-graduation world for the first time lol (just an example)? Most people need time to mature so they’re ready for life after. As for learning how to learn. This is very important as well and Princeton EXCELS at this. I don’t care what anyone says, this is pretty much indisputable in my mind. I learned how to speak a language at a near-professional level within 1 year, I learned about centuries of detailed American economic history, etc. and none of this ever came up for a job. What is great about this and important for life is that I can now quickly learn new things in very different topics in a rigorous manner and adapt to situations in an efficient manner. I am constantly exposed to new and diverse ways of thinking and analyzing issues, which allows me to become a more efficient producer of ideas. When I interned in auditing, I was the only sophomore in my intern group and the only non-accounting major with only 1 semester of financial accounting coursework. Of course, they were way ahead of me at the beginning, but after only 2 weeks, I had caught up and mostly surpassed them in the speed and quality of my output. The only other sophomores in my group were a kid of the COO and a kid from U Chicago. My education was a big reason I was able to do this. It didn’t matter that I didn’t know to do accounting that well before because it’s not like the accounting majors even remembered that much stuff from their classes anyway. What I could do is synthesize complex information quickly and creatively innovate new ways of processing that were more original and not based out of a book. Princeton does this in an excellent manner no matter your major. You can’t do well here just by memorizing a couple formulas, reading a book all the time, etc. You are forced to approach complex large new problems all the time by using newly learned information. This is what makes our student so successful in many situations later in life and the earlier one starts to develop these skills, the better due to compounding interest (if you’re familiar with that concept). When you say “I don’t care about critical thinking skills” and “I’d rather be around “shallow” minded people” and “who cares about having intellectual conversations?” All of those points are totally fair and if you feel that way, there’s nothing wrong with that. I think you’re kind of missing the point though. It’s not like I’m proud of Princeton because we have more deep intellectual conversations. Rather, this is evidence that we are able to apply a rigorous analytical mindset to new situations and problems and come up with meaningful solutions on an unparalleled level. I’d rather trust the average Princeton student to construct a public policy that the average Brown student any day. Who’s the person who’s more likely to independently look a the situation and not just one-to-one apply what they read in a book? Who’s more likely to know how to work hard under that pressure? I’ve had to write 50-page essays in 1-2 weeks on highly complex issues. So of course, when I had to do a large client-project with hundreds of thousands of dollars actually on the line, I was more than ready to do it. Guess what student from which university wasn’t able to be organized enough to get their responsibilities done? 

There’s literally nothing wrong with not caring about developing these things or becoming a stronger critical thinker who approaches the world and absorbs information better than 99% of the population. In many ways, just taking it easier and just growing up slowly is better. Honestly, you really seem to me like you might have enjoyed a less stressful college more. You’re super smart, but you were so burned out from HS and didn’t have time to actually be a kid that long, to just enjoy yourself and life in an immature manner. If you were already so burnt out from HS, Princeton is just so hard because you’re already on the verge of not being able to do much more difficult thinking and you don’t have the time to develop the experience and coping mechanisms to deal with high-stress. For Brown, I am glad I didn’t choose it and go down that path for many reasons, but perhaps very important are the two reasons I talked about earlier. 1. maturity and 2. learning how to learn. 1. is debatable on who is better on average, but I’ve literally had a student there tell me they needed to do college first so they had time “to be an immature, reckless, and selfish asshole” before entering the workforce and having real responsibility. It feels like Brown at times is just for severely immature kids to mellow out before they have real responsibility at a slow rate. You can spend hours smoking weed without having to commit to real activities with actual value at stake. What do you think is going to happen in real life? What’s going to happen when they want to go beyond simple casual sex relationships? For me, spending all that money, I would rather go to a place that allows me to grow further and actually take more responsibility. As for 2. all that stuff about “shallowness” and “intellectual conversations” is related to this. If I’m going to college, spending all this time and money, I want to actually become a better thinker and learner not just for a job, but for life in general. People at Brown consistently just take classes to reaffirm their own extreme beliefs, are not exposed to that many new ideas that disagree with their opinions, and they aren’t forced as often to actually have rigorous learning experiences that force them into situations where absorbing difficult material is required. Thus, they aren’t actually learning that much, which is precisely one of the main points of college! I know this sounds harsh, but it doesn’t apply to everyone there. I just would be disappointed if I was one of many people there who didn’t grow up that much after college and was still puerile. I would be disappointed if I spent time in a degree where I’m no better an expert on it than the average Princeton student who read a book on my subject. And I would be disappointed that I didn’t have to challenge my previous beliefs and develop better-thinking skills. And once again, I want to say that I really hope I’m not being too antagonistic towards them. I really respect the university, but it’s clear that in my previous attempt to be extra considerate, that I spurred regret with some people and also did not accentuate the differences well enough.

Finally, as for adapting to college fast. I’ve always been an independent person. My parents sent me to France alone for several months when I was 16. I had to go camping in a forest for 1 month with just a few other people and no electricity.  I think this was helpful for college because, with increased independence, I was able to be even more efficient than in HS where my freedom was limited. I stay organized, I strategically plan classes, and I know when to ask for help when I need it. This is all more important to doing well academically rather than pure intellect. My procrastination is super low due to discipline and good habits. THIS IS ALSO HUGE. Also, let’s face it. There’s luck involved too. I plan my schedules well, but I’ve never had to take 2 midterms on the same day and that helped A LOT. I also prioritized relationships and health to ensure that I am in optimal fighting form. Honestly, I don’t want to play internet psychologist, but your descriptions of lack of motivations and your HS experience are all reminiscent of depression descriptions from some of my friends. If you had little social life in HS and had few life experiences outside of academics, that’s certainly not a formula for optimal mental health. Plus, you stated that you have serious motivations problems now, which is another sign. Let me just say that you could be twice as smart as me and still do worse academically if you had a mental health concern prior to starting college, which is the worst situation you can be in for Princeton, which unfortunately does not acclimate these students well compared to say Brown (there a positive lol!). I know very high functioning depressives, but they have to work 3 times as hard as me to do well. If they were in good condition they could study a topic in 1 hour and have it down, but due to mental health and focus and motivations problems, it now takes them 3 hours to do the same task. Therefore, if you asked me how I adapted well, another big thing is maintaining good health. Finally, I have a good support group composed of friends, family, and faculty that always has my best interest of mine and provide invaluable advice for academics, which helps a lot. If you have an upperclassman friend who took a class before you and will help teach you and give you tips, of course, you’re going to do better. But more importantly, this support group also helps with life issues and general and like I said before if someone gives you advice on how to study more efficiently in general, that’s super helpful to ALL your classes. So, I would say that I adapted “well” because the increased freedom and free time of college did not result in me procrastinating and being irresponsible. On the contrary, I was able to use the extra time to be even more productive and efficient. I also strategically planned my classes well. Secondly, I stay as healthy as possible, which is critically important. Lastly, I have a good support group.

Hope that helps answer as much of your post as possible. Honestly, anon, you seem super burned out and were just not in the best shape to enter college because you didn’t have enough non-academic experiences in HS. I suggest that you work on your health and motivation problems and also don’t be ashamed of transferring based on your statements. Obviously, I’m speculating, but if you don’t care that much about being surrounded by intellectuals and having a rigorous learning experience that maximizes your thinking horsepower, then maybe Princeton isn’t the best for you. People who thrive here are super ambitious and motivated to constantly improve and learn new things, but that may not apply to you. If you just want to get your degree and have a relaxing time, no questions asked, this isn’t an environment that fosters that easily. Obviously, though, consult more resources before making more decisions. Or even feel free to ask us again haha. Hope things look up for you though in the future.

[uraharashouten]

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING FOR YOUR MUSE SO PEOPLE KNOW HOW SHIPPING WORKS ON YOUR BLOG.

REPOST. don’t reblog. TAGGED BY :: @flashkitty​, @nonviiolent​ [[ awww thanks guys! <3 }] TAGGING :: Dang almost everyone I play with has done this one so???

01. WHAT’S YOUR OTP FOR YOUR MUSE? ::

UraYoru (surprise, surprise!)

02. WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO RP WHEN IT COMES TO SHIPPING? Honestly anything. There are no limits, really. Crack and angst are my favorite genres. I’m willing to write fluff but it’s a struggle. I’m not kidding; it’s the hardest genre for me and I feel like I run out of ideas quickly. D:  I might even try horror if someone wants to (let Kisuke creep you out, or try to freak him out, lol). But there’s only one person in the world I will write smut with and you guys will never see most of it.

03. HOW LARGE DOES THE AGE GAP HAVE TO BE TO MAKE IT UNCOMFORTABLE?::

I’m assuming this question pertains to romantic/sexual ships, because canonically Kisuke is basically a dad to Ururu and Jinta and a mentor to a lot of other young people, and I love those kinds of familial or mentor relationships. Age gaps don’t matter in those relationships. Romantically I’m shipping exclusively with @flashkitty​ and Kisuke and Yoruichi are basically the same age so this question doesn’t come up. Having said that, in the past he’s dated women thousands of years older so I obviously don’t really care that much as long as everyone’s a consenting adult! :D

04. ARE YOU SELECTIVE WHEN SHIPPING? ::

I’m going to say yes, even when it comes to platonic ships, because there has to be chemistry. Sometimes it’s natural and blooms quickly; sometimes it takes awhile. Kisuke’s a private person who doesn’t open up easily. And there are some muses he’s just not going to click with.

05. HOW FAR DO STEAMY MOMENTS HAVE TO GO BEFORE THEY’RE CONSIDERED NSFW? ::

Once mouth or hands start touching some part of the body normally covered by underwear, with intent to arouse, I’m going to tag it nsfw.  I guess this means you’re safe if you’re just hanging out in the clothing-optional basement hotspring, or playing a game of drunken naked Twister. Which… is probably canon, tbh.  (And now you’re sorry you asked.)

06. WHO ARE OTHER MUSES YOU SHIP YOUR MUSE WITH? ::

My Kisuke’s main squeeze is @flashkitty’s Yoruichi.  She is the love of his life and one smokin’ hot mama. And she is literally the only person in the universe that really understands him. I mean, how’d a nerd like him get so lucky?

But he’s got a lot of platonic relationships. Just off the top of my head, employees/shop assistants MechaGodzilla (@deus-ex-machiina) and Skylar (@hello-hellhound), flower and herb supplier Adelha (@adelha-mathilde), pals Tess (@mckaytriarchy), Kyoren (@lightconsumesall), Nel (@nyota-sungura) and Arashi (@ashipfullofmisfits), mentees Ichigo (@kurosakiichigochouhonnnin, @blackcuttingmoon) and Rukia ( @sncwwhitequeen , @lucxns), special ward Whitey (@moechorr), old friend Ryuuken (@xyuuken), new potential friend Gin ( @ichimaru-gin ), antagonistic demon spawn frenemies @thedemonsnake and @reapersofknowledge. And there are more so I’m super-sorry if I’m leaving someone out!

I do have a wishlist, though. I’d like more (or any) interactions with Hiyori, Shinji, Isshin, Kuukaku, Mayuri, Akon, and Shunsui (and I love how you portray him, @nonviiolent!). That last one is particularly interesting to me because I see a LOT of similarities between Kisuke and Shunsui, and I imagine Kisuke being a lot more like Shunsui in another thousand years.  And also, as a guilty pleasure, more snarky Askin interactions. Wiggling brows at @reapersofknowledge and @levaarik.

07. DOES ONE HAVE TO ASK TO SHIP WITH YOU? ::

If it affects my headcanons about him in any way, yes. This especially means if you want to assume a prior relationship, like old Academy lab partner or something like that (which would be awesome btw). Also, my HC is that he’s an only child and never had any natural children of his own before the one currently on the way with Yoruichi, so I would prefer not to be blindsided by long-lost parents, siblings or children.  If you would like to RP a pre-existing relationship, be it old school chum, previous colleague, present employee, distant cousin or whatever, please definitely talk to me about it first. Otherwise, I’m a huge fan of development and chemistry and like to watch things unfold organically.

08. HOW OFTEN DO YOU LIKE TO SHIP? ::

What does this even mean? No man is an island. We are all in relationship to someone else (with the possible exception of Aizen) and that’s life.

09. ARE YOU MULTISHIP? ::

Platonically, yes. Romantically, no.

10. ARE YOU SHIP OBSESSED OR SHIP MORE-OR-LESS? ::

I don’t need romance all the time, if that’s what this question’s asking. And I really don’t need fluff much. I like drama, adventure, comedy… which can all take place in the context of a relationship.

11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SHIP IN YOUR CURRENT FANDOM? ::

UraYoru. <3  I mean I hate to say it but as much of a trainwreck as the Bleach ending was, I never even cared that much who Ichigo or Rukia ended up with, tbh.

12. FINALLY, HOW DOES ONE SHIP WITH YOU? ::

Well, just, you know, hang around, send me asks, try to start things, and if they stick and we both have inspiration to build on them, great! But I’m not going to force it, and my muse is selective and time and inspiration limited. And do bear in mind that while Urahara Kisuke seems like a really friendly guy and everyone’s favorite uncle, seems is the key word, because he’s really an introvert and it takes a lot more to connect with the man behind the mask.

[icarusdusoleil]

Who is up for another round of opinion time with Skip? This time, the subject is Final Fantasy XV!!! It’s long a long rant, so I put it under the cut. Also, there are obviously a lot of spoilers.

So, first and foremost, I love Final Fantasy XV. However, I have a lot of positive and negative opinions about it. On one hand, it didn’t take long for me to love the characters with all of my heart... but on the other hand, the storytelling could have been written so much better.

Initially, I wasn’t even interested in the game, because my gut reaction was: “oh look, a Squall clone and a Cloud clone go on an adventure with two other generic Squeenix people”. While I still have my reservations about Square Enix’s same-face problem I’m so happy that I was proven wrong about the characters. And I’m not gonna lie, my main reason for checking out the game was because of the “THAT’S IT! I’VE COME UP WITH A NEW RECIPEH” meme and Prompto’s photographs.

I loved Prompto and Ignis straight off the bat. I think their characters are handled wonderfully and I’m extremely glad that we got to see them both at their highest and lowest points. I was actually extremely surprised that I ended up liking Gladiolus, but after seeing his character and learning more about him, I really shouldn’t have been surprised because I always like the big, tough shield with a soft heart.

And I’m going to be perfectly honest... I’m still not sure if I like Noctis.

This is kind of stemming off being tired of Squeenix’s tendencies to have angsty main characters. I get that it’s their main type, but I’d like to see something new. Luckily, Noctis has a lot of moments where he isn’t moping and I relished those moments. His dry sarcasm and his tendency to act like a (dare I say) royal brat actually won me over. However... I would have liked to see more growth and maturity from his character throughout the game.

I understand that he has a lot of responsibilities and that he’s thrown into them abruptly... but Gladios, Prompto, and Ignis all took up their new responsibilities and handicaps without complaint. In fact, they pushed aside their own problems and shouldered Noctis’ way more than they should have. I’m glad Gladi occasionally tried to put Noctis in his place, even if his attempts were a little crass. Anyway, I’m fine with Noctis acting like a royal brat and I’m even fine with some level of angst... but I would have liked to see him mature more. He kept this certain level of apathy throughout the entire game and it made me question whether he really cared or not.

Now let’s talk about Luna. So, I want to like Luna. I really do. But the game did a lot of tell don’t show which is a BIG NO-NO (and boy howdy I’ll rant more about that later). They kept telling you how cool Luna was and how powerful she was and how great she was... and the only time you really get to see her in action was when she talked to the Hydraen (and we all know how badly that ended...). If you’re going to say that Luna is the main female lead, you need to give her more time to do her stuff on screen. Also why the heck can’t she run around with the party? Why can’t she be a playable character?? Why didn’t we see more Luna??? Why do Cindy and Iris get more screentime than Luna if she’s the main female character????

I think the idea that Luna and Noctis are betrothed as a power couple that will bring world peace is an interesting idea... however, I don’t really buy their special connection. Even though they knew each other as kids and they send their little love letters or whatever, their relationship with each other doesn’t seem that strong? Or tangible? Or believable? I just think they could have written that long-distance relationship so much better. I think this also has to do with Noctis’ whole apathy and immaturity issue: because whenever the subject of Luna was brought up, his reaction was often an avoidant “ehhhh”. And then the one flashback we see of Luna being all like “I can’t wait to get together with Noctis” just seems so... fake. It’s just not believable and I wasn’t like “I CAN’T WAIT UNTIL THEY’RE UNITED”... it was more like, “wait Nocits is fishing again... shouldn’t he be, I don’t know, meeting his betrothed or something? Whatever, what’s one more fish?”

ALSO... PLEASE. STOP. FRIDGING. YOUR. FEMALE. CHARACTERS. I’m soooo tiiiired of this trope. It needs to stop.

Back to the tell don’t show issue, oh man Squeenix... you dropped the ball on a lot of storytelling aspects of the game. Where’s the story of how Gladios got his new scars when he ran off by himself for that short time? Why did he run off on his own anyway? Why don’t we see the struggles of evacuating an entire city while Noctis fights the Hydraen? Why can’t we see Ignis get blinded? Why don’t we see how the Empire/Ardyn captured Prompto and took him to that creepy lab? What were they even doing with him strapped to the machine anyway? Why don’t we get to see Luna actually talking to the gods and doing her job in non-flashback scenes? I get that the game is from Noctis’ POV, but I would have liked to see more of the world from other POVs too or at least catch Noctis (and the player) up with the events that have happened while he’s not around. It would have made the world seem so much bigger.

And my last beef is that the game introduced a lot of potential antagonists and never really had a good follow up with... any of them? Like I understand that Ardyn is the main villain... but I don’t feel like Ravus, Iedolas, and Verstael were even necessary. I get that Squeenix was trying to trick the player into thinking that Ardyn wasn’t actually that bad (even though you could peg pretty early on that he was bad news and that he would continue to be bad because he kept showing up). Like AGAIN, it’s the show don’t tell thing. If you keep showing Ardyn, but you’re telling the viewer that there are bigger and badder guys... but the only time you show the supposedly badder villains, they’re just a one-time deal? That’s not good storytelling.

So, all in all... I love FFXV for its characters and the potential it has to be a much better story. Even not including the additional movies and DLC to show more of the characters’ backstories, I was sold on the four boys’ friendship just by how they act around each other. I think their relationships are incredibly heartwarming, but I just wish that the plot itself would have been given the same care and attention. I want to see and play more of this story and experience more of these characters (GIVE ME MORE LUNA!!), so I hope they expand on this story like they have with the other FFs.

What are your opinions on the game? What did you like the best? What did you like the least? I’d love to discuss it!

[sparda3g]

My Hero Academia Chapter 239 Review

If the definition of “mixed bag” needs a photo, this chapter would do it justice. From what I assumed is the end of the arc, the battle of two villains have reached to the conclusion; one in which challenged Game of Thrones Season 8 pacing. By that, I mean, “What a rush;” literally. While the future content could be interesting, the execution here was underwhelming, unearned, and possibly damaging.

I assumed this chapter is the end of the arc with the inclusion of Spinner as the narrator. It began with him narrating, so ending it seems fitting. Jumping ahead, he wasn’t much of a character here, which is a shame, considering his background can be relatable. I mean it has some elements, but he’s cool being a lackey, so problem solved. Couldn’t even get a fight of his own, let alone a victory. Oh well; it’s time for the showcase of Shigaraki’s earth shattering attack.

The way how it setup leave me an impression that everyone in Meta Liberation Army will be wiped out. As sad that may sound, let alone ridiculousness on the power level, I’m ready to accept it. Who knows. It could have a cool sendoff. Honestly, I vision in my head how this would end well for the team; maintaining their pride and die with their fellow leader. If you are unfamiliar with one of the major cons of Game of Thrones Season 8, this chapter would be a great example.

Once Shigaraki does the attack, as expected, it can destroy a city. It may not be the entire landscape, but it’s good enough to intimidate anyone. Plus, large destruction equal powerful is the concept this series follows, so welcome to Shounen. The visual is pretty cool though, largely on the emphasis of Shigaraki’s joy of destruction. Redestro tries to dodge it, but soon overwhelmed to the point you would think he has died. Instead, he has lost his legs since it was touched earlier. That could leave room for sinister end for him. Remember, villain versus villain concept can allow killing in a dark, cruel way, like how Toga did it to Curious. This could make Shigaraki scary as a person and how would he make an example out of anyone who dares to start a feud.

If only…

Instead, Redestro surrenders to Shigaraki. Okay, that would have been partially fine, though he comes off as a wimp and not as prideful as he started off in the very beginning. Sort of betraying a character in a way. But, it doesn’t end there. Not only he surrenders, but he gives his army to the League of Villains. Why? Because he has been enlightened by Shigaraki’s desire for destruction. He has shown great example of Destro’s ambition; the one who embody freedom itself. But, you started a war based on it, and because you saw a clear picture, you instantly become someone’s tool? Oh, Gigantomachia and Spinner are practically convinced by Shigaraki’s prowess; thus, he and the League have gained tremendous power. All because Deku have to get a power that will make the Sage of Six Paths proud.

Let’s start with the positive. The League of Villains have gained crap load of arsenals in a matter of a day. They went from zero to well, not zero. They have the lab with multiple High-Ends, Gigantomachia, special bullets to damage quirks, an army, and money. Not to mention, they are powered-up. More importantly, they are seen as a threat, so for the future content, it could lead to interesting possibilities. If anything, it’s the idea of what lies ahead that helped this chapter more so than the content itself. It’s good to theorize, but when look at the execution, it’s pretty poor.

First of all, the rebound for the League is unbelievable. They became a major threat at a rapid rate, only because some of the heroes, largely on Deku, will soon become overpowered themselves. This wouldn’t happen if the balance was justified, but instead it falls under the same problem as Naruto. There, the protagonist had grown powerful, so it’s logical for the antagonist to grow even more so within an arc. Hell, one was done multiple times within an arc like some bargain sales.

Second, Redestro practically became something that rhymes with ditch in a matter of a battle. Where did it indicate he wanted to be free as if to say, “He is suffering long enough with Destro’s ideal that he wants someone to take over.” When all things considered, he pulled the “coolest guy ever,” only for the villain’s side. What happened to that prideful self; an image that wouldn’t be converted drastically. He was seriously hell bent on his pride, but now, bow down because of reasons? I felt more sympathetic or attached to a villain from another series who I don’t think ever given a name yet struck me with feels.

Look, it could have worked, but it was incredibly rushed; much similar to that character who turned evil from Game of Thrones. More exploration and time would help a lot. Even if he gets a flashback down the road, the image didn’t support the cause, so it felt like a revision was done. Kind of like how Overhaul doesn’t show much of germ phobic. Hell, he probably get talk no jutsu again, but this time by Deku. On the plus side, at least we will get more of him later. Bonus, the army is no longer fodders for the villain; now, they’re fodders for the hero. What an honor.

My main pet peeve is how it essentially made the arc underwhelming and in hindsight, needlessly dragged on. This could have been done within a volume; hell, the one that is out right now in Japan. I know we have gotten backstories and developments of some, but in terms of battle, it did nothing but stretch time for this type of conclusion. It’s even funnier to realize how Curious is the only named casualty and defeat out of everyone. I guess we can’t have two female within the League. Kishimoto will be so proud.

It’s sad though, because this arc should have been “different.” It involved with two villains that have nothing to shy away from going ultra-violent. It started off promising with Toga’s victory. After that, it’s the same old stuff with some limbs loss. Yeah, I know we have people dying, but in a dusty way. You can lie to your kids and say, “They went to the next dimension.” And the fans said this was very dark. Shigaraki’s backstory, sure, but what backstory isn’t dark in any series these days.

Perhaps the chapter can be seen as bad or even damaging to the arc itself. It’s the potentials for future content that would leave a better impression. The visual is pretty good, but the rest is questionable. One would ask, “But wouldn’t you complain still if Redestro was killed instead?” The answer is, it’s always been a double-edge sword, and both are sharp. I don’t know if Kohei was told to rush this arc, but this should have been much better. I don’t know if the arc ends here, but I’m ready to go back to the hero’s side. Probably…

[princesawyer]

So the new FMA is...not good. Unsurprising, considering how most Japanese live-action movie adaptations go. The Attack on Titan movie was literally not worth finishing, and the same goes for this new movie too.

They basically do what you’d expect and try to cram an entire manga and anime series into two hours, and do so poorly. The entire first scene, with Cornello and the town of Reole, is literally a mess. You have Ed and Cornello fighting, in a very empty large stretch of space despite how populated the town appears to be, and we...don’t really know why. They just start with a fight scene, because fight scenes are cool. But the loss of the why is what’s really frustrating to me. The whole point of them being in Reole is to track down a priest with a possible Philosopher’s Stone, an important object the brothers are desperate to get their hands on, and also expose him as a fraud to the believers who think he’s literally god. Ed’s character is supposed to be shown as an atheist, scientific mind who cleverly sets up a trap for Cornello to expose himself as a fake who is using alchemy to perform ‘miracles’. Instead, they miss the opportunity to tell this story, and instead we just have fight scene because fight cool. And they wanted to show off their slightly better than usual CGI for alchemy. Sigh.

They also show the beginning, when Ed and Al are children, their mother Trisha and her death, as well as their eventual attempt at human transmutation. So the child actors are put in wigs that really don’t suit them. And to be honest, they seemed too young to really count as ‘acting’ more than reciting lines without any real facial expressions. That’s off-putting, but not unexpected. They have the peaceful outdoors scene, and then suddenly mom collapses and she’s dead. Nothing else, really, to show that the kids have been practicing alchemy and taking after their father, like she would have praised them. It’s all done in short, quick scenes with painful acting, and then they immediately cut to them about to do the transmutation. Bad acting aside, they switch out the kids with Ed’s current self in a dream sequence some time later. Not as much blood as I would’ve liked to see, and at one point there’s literally just a hole in Ed’s shirt and it looks silly (because there’s no blood lol). The Door of Truth scene was pretty spot-on, but the CGI hands were not good, and I really just didn’t like how they portrayed Al’s body being taken. They lost a lot by choosing to show older Ed binding Al’s soul to the suit or armor, but I assume they did that because of some child actor law in Japan. I could be wrong, and if they could’ve actually shown younger Ed who self-bandaged his amputated leg by the way writing in his own blood...it’s another opportunity missed. 

Al was written out of a lot of scenes, so we mostly follow the story through Ed. The reason is obvious, considering Al’s armor is most likely CGI. Pretty good CGI for Japan, really, so I can see why they’d cut Al out of most scenes. What I don’t like is how they traded all of that with an existential crisis he isn’t supposed to have until much later. In the Shou Tucker arc, Tucker basically puts the thought in Al’s mind that he’s not really who Ed says he is, and that his memories might be created. But canonically, it’s another suit of armor, a prisoner at that, who deviously plants those ideas in Al’s head because...well, there are more people like Al than previously thought, and it caught him off-guard. And Ed was keeping things to himself at the time, which incurred suspicion. The choice to put that arc in the middle of the Shou Tucker arc is...really weird, and it causes a really unnecessary fight scene between Ed and Al (with Winry crying in the background). All this really just gives them a reason to make Tucker one of the main villains, which destroys the whole point of his character.

The Shou Tucker Arc is pretty lackluster, despite the huge emotional effect it’s supposed to have on Ed and Al and...well, anyone who sees and realizes what happened. Ed and Al are less involved with the Tucker’s, the original point of them meeting to use Shou’s library and research to see if they could find anything useful. Instead, they just use the government library, and spend a short period of time with Nina and Alexander. Al is rendered unconscious during the majority of this arc, when Shou gives him the wrong idea about his existence, and Ed ends up going, with Winry, to find Doctor Marcoh. After Marcoh gets killed by Lust and they figure out they’re supposed to find Lab 5, Ed returns to find the house mostly empty, and no sign of Nina or Alexander. Al is also...somewhere, asleep according to Tucker. Ed finds Tucker and his chimera alone, before coming to the conclusion that Tucker has transmutated his daughter and dog into one entity. Al shows up after Ed starts beating the crap out of Tucker, and eventually the government agents come to take him away, while he shouts at Ed and Al crazily about how he won’t be stopped. Well. Instead of Tucker and the chimera being killed by Scar -- who isn’t even in the movie, by the way, what the fuck -- he is released by a character who has been portrayed as a friendly official that gave the Elric brothers the idea to visit Tucker in the first place. Also, he’s actually evil. 

It’s just--it’s a mess.

I could go on about all the different scenes that were included, but altered to lose their meaning. The characters who lost character due to lack of exposition...Even Maes Hughes, a character well-loved by anyone who’s ever seen or read FMA, was given the short end of the stick by having few scenes beyond the ones that led to his eventual murder. And, yes, Envy showed up as Gracia to confuse Hughes, but he ends up turning into Mustang and shooting him in plain sight of two random citizens that run off screaming. Seriously, his death was supposed to be mysterious, but they decided to pin it on Mustang....why? Who knows. They built up tension between them to make it believable, but it...wasn’t.

Riza Hawkeye is mostly just there to exist. Winry is there to be cutesy and cry and be a hinted at love interest for Ed. Ross was there without any prior scenes to be a villain, and...the Homunculi are just. Weird. Gluttony is probably the worst-off, with awful CGI to show his monstrous mouth-belly-thing. Envy is just Lust’s sidekick rather than an antagonist in his own right. King Bradley doesn’t even matter in this movie, despite being Father and being absolutely important to all the Lab 5 and Homunulus bullshit. Bad wigs, bad acting. Al was literally the best character in the movie simply for the fact that he was voice-acting and not an actual actor making bad expressions. It tried to be faithful, but skewed too many different plot points and made them literally make no sense. The movie is not good.

Overall, the movie fails as a good adaptation. I feel like it would do better as an episodic series, with multiple seasons if need be. It would honestly do better with the ‘Netflix treatment’, in my opinion. Include all the bloody, gory bits. The exposition, the philosophy, the good, tragic story elements. Actual character development. And the characters could actually be casted to actors that are white/brown/asian because it makes sense canonically. I’d like to see something faithful to the manga and Brotherhood anime, accurate and well-made, with changes as needed...but nothing to the degree of the Death Note movie, which I couldn’t even stand 20 minutes of. With Netflix shows like Altered Carbon out there, I think they could make a great FMA series. But I can dream.