#the story was the weakest element by far

[amplexadversary]

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[utilitycaster]

Whenever people are like "well LIAM'S characters never faced any backlash when HE played characters in the spotlight" and "no one will let WOMEN have negative qualities" when Caleb and Vax and Orym have received pretty constant hate for main character/sadboy/scene stealing and when meta writers outright stopped talking about Imogen because a particularly mindless set of hit dogs are still hollering about how she is so good and kind and how dare you call her selfish, it's really like...in the service of trying to make your failure of a point you've just said something that literally anyone with a memory lasting longer than the apocryphal goldfish length can immediately debunk, which in turn absolutely shreds your credibility going forward, if you had it.

More generally there's something very vile here, because on the surface this statement does look like an attempt, if one ignorant of pretty much any fandom conversation, to defend women. The thing is it's come from a place of defending Dorian and Ashton's plan - a man, and a nb person who would not identify as a woman - that requires a particularly great deal of sacrifice from the women of the party. So of course they just switch tactics. Instead of "how dare the fandom not think women are always best" it's "how dare the fandom disrespect a disabled nb person and a person played by an indigenous actor." And I'm sure they'll switch again. Because pretty much every character in this campaign is on some axis of oppression, and there's a few people in this fandom who, instead of considering these things as important details that inform these characters, seem to largely treat their minority statuses as ammunition. Feminism and antiracism and queer advocacy are all just part of a shell game to them - accuse everyone who disagrees with them of being a bigot, say that their opinions are inviolate because they match that of literally any character who isn't a cis het white man, of which Bells Hells has none. Unsurprisingly, it's that social media purity culture that's just the evangelical church with a gay hat: they are always the victim, and everyone who disagrees is the devil, and being a good person always happens to line up with what you already wanted.

There are several posts from the past day or so accusing people of liking Campaign 3 less than the two previous ones which refused to accept that this might be due to the hurry-up-and-receive-an-infodump pacing, the singular focus without much time spent on backstory, the gaps in party composition, and the fact that the plot manages to combine the weakest elements of each campaign - the fetch quest/NPC guidance heavy nature of C1, and the meandering/slow start of C2. No, it must be the awful, sinful fandom unable to handle the lack of a major M/M ship (false; Dorian and Orym aren't canon, but neither were Vax and Gilmore, and the latter was sunk far sooner) and the fact that a female character is at the center of the story (see above re: how hostile the same people making these accusations have been to anyone who actually wants to discuss Imogen in a way that doesn't fit their specifications). Just to repeat this: many fans have outlined a number of purely narrative and structural reasons why C3 isn't working for them. These people have assumed this is all a lie, because assuming otherwise that would require either addressing these critiques, which in turn would require admitting other people can have valid opinions that oppose their own without being horrible bigots - in favor of throwing out whatever random accusations they think might stick. It doesn't matter what's actually being said; they're not actually listening, and for all they might talk about fans of color they sure all seem to be white; for all they talk about misogyny and queerphobia they sure won't hesitate to immediately assume the worst of queer people and women who say things they don't like. And rarely do they address any of the actual ongoing bigotry that does exist in the fandom; it's all random accusations because you agreed with the white woman instead of the brown man or vice versa; or it's the constant dredging of years past discourse that, as the first paragraph indicates, they will then ignore whenever convenient.

These are all pretty transparent signs of a bad faith actor spreading misinformation. To be clear I don't think this is any kind of conspiracy or has any organization to it. I think it's a just handful of deeply self-absorbed people who either refuse or literally cannot comprehend that someone could disagree with them without being a bad person and who will gleefully cry wolf with these accusations of bigotry. But it's been going on for quite some time and it's been a problem this campaign in a way I at least do not recall it in past ones, and it's had an absolutely devastating effect on the fandom conversation. Ironically, by trying to boost Imogen and Campaign 3 by shutting down any criticism of them, they've shut down far more of the conversation, hopefully not irreversibly, and I think it's time to point that out.

[wandering-tides]

People always rank either Ei or Zhongli (or both) above Venti in power rankings. Like, who is the strongest archon? There are always two answers: Morax or Beelzebul. Never Barbatos.

I like to think otherwise.

This guy has cut mountains with his winds and thrown them so far away into the sea, made winter disappear and turned Mond into what it is today: from a barren rocky land that used to be filled with snow and raging blizzards into this green plain field with gentle winds where agriculture is so much easier then it ever was back then. I don't think people of Old Mond could have ever imagined for Mond to turn into what it is today.

But he still calls himself weak. And people took that to face value. And some still do despite it being proven otherwise by Nahida.

Venti said that an archon derives their power from ruling over their nation. But Nahida denies this later and says that archons gain their power through the faith of the people.

Clearly, Venti lied to us.

And if we go by what Nahida said,,,, Every freakin person in Mond has faith in the Anemo archon. They sing praises of him despite not having been in the presence of their god for 5 centuries. He has a statue and a Cathedral (who else has that?).

So, Venti is Strong.

Remember his gnosis is in the shape of a queen chess piece? Queen has the most freedom on the board. Venti's ideals are freedom. And his element is anemo. Anemo is the free-est element out there.

He might as well suck the air out of your lungs if he so wants to. He governs over it.

My point is, Venti is overpowered.

And let's not forget how that little wind wisp gained archon hood.

It was his desire to protect that helped him into becoming a god. When the nameless bard died, he felt the need to protect whats left. To protect what his friend died fighting for.

And its a pretty cliche concept out their about how a hero grows stronger, in any story. Its their need to protect. Right?

And Venti still wants to protect Mond- despite him saying otherwise. He shows up everytime Mond is in danger. Whether directly or indirectly, he always helps out.

So here is what I think. The reason why he calls himself weak.

Its because he is so strong, strong enough to scare Celestia. So Celestia has put him on some sort of leash. He can't use his powers in it's entirety. There is probably some sort of seal.

So Venti is weak.

Because he can't use all of his powers. Because he is chained to Celestia's whim.

Venti is weakest of the seven because he is the only one who has some sort of leash on him.

The god of freedom, chained.

Plus, it can definitely not be a coincidence that the defiled statue was of Barbatos, out of all the seven. Chained, hanging up-side down and corrupted.

And the fact that the abyss order was going to use Barbatos (chained) statue to create a machine to "topple the divine thrones of Celestia."

None of that can be a coincidence. Knowing hoyoverse, it definitely isn't.

So yeah. Venti is definitely not weak. He just can't use the full extent of his powers as of right now.

Venti is strong, but also weak. If he isn't chained- he is easily the strongest.

He can slice the mountains and throw them far into sea- if Zhongli throws a big peice of meteor on him, venti should be able to cut it in half too. if he has all his power on him that is.

I really hate it when people call him weak just because he said so himself. Especially when it's been proven that we shouldn't take his words to face value.

He is not like our sweet little Nahida, people.

[miupow]

CRAVE ⛦ c.yj + c.bg

・:〃➜ dont go into the woods.

pairing. werewolf!choi yeonjun x fem!reader xwerewolf! choi beomgyu words. 1.9k NSFW, minors DNI! potentially dark/triggering content warning. warnings: dubcon, implied/referenced kidnapping, predator/prey elements, free use, toxic!txt, referenced poly!txt (no mxm), hard dom!beomgyu, soft dom!yeonjun, ruts/mating cycles, rough sex, knotting mention, deepthroat/throatfucking, degredation kink, praise kink, breeding kink, dacryphilia, spitroasting

"never go into the woods," they said, but you were never one to listen-- stupid, sheltered village girl thinking to herself how bad could it possibly be as you ventured through the undergrowth, more worried about picking flowers and berries than her safety... you should have listened.

getting lost was easier than you had thought, too giddy for exploring to mark out a path home. you ran, panicked, alone amongst the trees until the sun went down, growing more and more distressed, more and more utterly lost as your visibility dwindled— twigs snapped, leaves rustled behind you, the oppressive feeling of eyes on your back followed you wherever you sprinted and stumbled… you were being hunted.

they descended upon you when you were at your weakest, stumbled and fell over a tree stump, hit your head on a rock, laid unconscious in the grass; a pack of wolves disguised as men. they took you to their den, nursed your wounds, calmed your nerves with saccharine smiles that were just a little too sharp in the teeth... you grew to trust them, care for them, feel indebted to them. you didn't understand until you had fully recovered, tried stepping out of their little pack life and back home to your village.

stupid girl. they were never going to let you leave. you belonged to them now.

yeonjun was soft for you. at least, that's what the other boys say-- their eldest usually so callous and cold. you couldn't possibly see him that way, no matter how many stories you've been told; how could he possibly be the nastiest of the pack when he treated you the sweetest, gentle words and gentler touches. chaste kisses that never landed on your lips. you felt safest with him. you were still a little afraid of the others.

you were most afraid of beomgyu. loud and brash, nasty words falling from a sneering mouth-- his elders kept him in line, snapped at him when he went too far, but nothing could stop his constantly running mouth. he teased, he belitted, he degraded you. he never let you forget just how he viewed you; like a toy for him to play with. for all of them to play with.

but yet when beomgyu's rut rolled around, your cunt ached for him.

"f-fuck, fuck yeah-- take it all~" beomgyu groans, his fingers wound tight in your hair. he tugs you further down his thick cock, mushroom head knocking at the back of your little throat-- you gag at the intrusion, eyes watery, and beomgyu just laughs. "what a good bitch."

you whimper around his cock, try your best to hollow your cheeks, flatten your tongue against his underside— there wasn’t much else you could do with beomgyu using your head like a pocket pussy, roughly pushing and pulling to fuck his cock in and out of your throat. “like having your throat fucked, huh? yeah you do, you cockhungry slut— maybe i should knot your mouth instead of your pussy, make you swallow all my cum—“

the thought makes your throat close up in fear, fat tears threatening to fall down your red face as you choke and splutter. drool dribbles down your chin and smears across your cheeks, aided by beomgyu’s thumbs anchored on your cheekbones and forcing your mouth open— you look up at him desperately, whining, and beomgyu gazed back with honey dark eyes and a devilish smirk. “aww, don’t want beomie’s knot down your throat? i’m sure you’d take it just fine~”

“stop it, you’re scaring her.” yeonjun chastised from over your shoulder, his pretty soft voice comforting your cries immediately— you’d already be ass up and wailing around beomgyu’s knot if it wasn’t for him, your sweet jjunie making sure your tight cunt is stretched out enough to take them because beomgyu certainly wouldn’t have bothered. his long fingers dragged at your walls deliciously, pumping in and out of you with the lewdest wet noises— he changed angles to rub hard at your sweet spot, chuckling into your ear when your eyes roll back and you keen around beomgyu’s thick shaft. beomgyu groans deep in his chest, adams apple bobbing, and his grip on your cheeks tighten considerably. “there we go, pretty girl, doin’ so well~” yeonjun coos, gentle, free hand snaking down to rub tight circles against your neglected and swollen clit. “‘m not gonna let gyu knot your throat, baby, don’t worry— just keep making him feel good, yeah? be a good hole while jjunie gets you ready for breeding~”

beomgyu snickers darkly. “you’re so soft for our whore, hyung. acting like she’s your mate ‘n not just the pack cumdump, wont even let me fuck her my damn self—“

“you’d hurt her, you fucking beast.” yeonjun snaps, the arm playing at your clit tightening you against his chest. “gotta make sure you don’t break my— our toy.”

you’re grateful that beomgyu can’t refuse an order from the eldest, terrified of what facing his rut alone may have been like, tossed around and used like toy, yeonjun not there to act as a filter for beomgyu’s dirty mouth… it terrified you, but your pussy throbbed at the thought.

it was getting increasingly hard to focus on sucking beomgyu’s cock, yeonjun’s skilled fingers in your cunt making you stupid and drunk— beomgyu didn’t seem to mind much, head thrown back and grunting like an animal while he rammed his cock into your slack-jawed mouth. “are you done yet, then? wanna breed my bitch now.”

yeonjun scoffs but relents, sliding his slick-sticky fingers out of your hole— you whimper from the loss, pussy empty and fluttering around nothing, choke on beomgyu’s cock when yeonjun chuckles and slaps your ass. they switch positions easily, beomgyu pulling out of your throat with a sickening pop before clambering to mount you, big palms immediately moving to palm and grope at your reddening asscheeks. he pulls them apart with his thumbs, groans loud at the sight of your glistening cunt peeking between your thighs— yeonjun settles in beomgyu’s place, hums and pets your head when you nuzzle against the straining bulge in his jeans. “miss a cock in your mouth that bad, baby?” he laughs, hips bucking gently against your face. “greedy little girl, focus on beomgyu now, okay? he’s been very patient.”

beomgyu hadn’t been very patient, but that was besides the point. he holds your cheeks apart with his thumb, other hand keeping his cock steady as he slides it up and down your soaked slit, bumps the head against your aching clit. you moan at the sensation, rock your hips back into beomgyu’s pelvis— he spanks your abused ass even harder than yeonjun did, skin stinging and blooming with heat and pain, and you lurch forward with a broken wail. “quit moving, ‘m gettin’ my cock wet,” he growls.

you try to stay still the best you could, thighs shaking as beomgyu lines himself up with your twitching hole— he gives you no time to prepare, rough and quick in burying his cock in your pussy to the hilt. you throw your head back, cry out pathetically at the intrusion, watery eyes threatening to spill over… yeonjun strokes your cheek with his thumb.

the sound beomgyu makes when he bottoms out is ungodly, deep and low and making your clit twitch for attention as his hands grab on tight to your hips. “f-fuck,” beomgyu whimpers, sounding winded. “fuck, fuck, so tight, shit!—“

your poor little pussy is filled to the brim, stretched to it’s limit as you struggle to adjust to the way beomgyu’s cock parts your gummy walls and burns so good. you can feel every inch, every vein, every twitch of his shaft, still unmoving as beomgyu pants like a dog, hips stuttering and hands shaking as if in a daze.

yeonjun watches with a smirk, thumb rubbing circles against your cheekbone and smearing drool and precum further across your face— his cock strained against the front of his jeans obscenely, and the sight made your mouth water. “pussy drunk already, beomie? thought you wanted to breed her.”

beomgyu snorts, shaken out of his reverie— he rolls his hips hard against your ass, cock bullying impossibly deeper, and snickers when you choke on air. “gonna make her beg for it. c’mon, slut, wanna be bred? want my knot? tell us how bad you want it.”

“wanna be bred,” you echo quietly, gasping, sounding ruined and pathetic even to your own ears. beomgyu hadn’t even started fucking you yet and you were already fucked dumb.

“what was that, doll? didn’t hear you.” yeonjun goads, thumb slipping into your open mouth.

“breed me, please!” you cry, give in entirely— you couldn’t think, head cloudy and full of only yeonjun and beomgyu, only able to focus on how badly you wanted beomgyu to start moving, start making you feel good. “want it, want it, want your knot— fuck me!”

you can hear the sneer in beomgyu’s deep voice. “that’s a good whore.”

his hips start thrusting at a brutal pace, his flared cockhead battering your cervix like it was threatening to push through— and all you could do was take it, whimper and wail while he ruined your cunt, dizzy with the delicious drag of his veiny shaft against your walls. “such a good cocksleeve, fuck!” beomgyu spat, grip on your hips bruising. “pussy feels so fuckin’ good, so fuckin’ tight—“

you hold on to the front of yeonjun’s jeans for support, shaking with pleasure while the younger wolf fucks you stupid. “so big!” you whine, pathetic and wobbly, gazing up at yeonjun with teary eyes like he would somehow save you. “too much!”

yeonjun just chuckles and pets your hair, lets you slobber all over the bulge in his jeans as beomgyu blows your back out.

“gonna fuckin’— gonna knot you!” beomgyu babbles, hips moving impossibly faster, impossibly harder, his hard chest pressing against your back. your cunt ached with overwhelming pleasure, fat cock in your tummy making you dizzy; you loved it, loved beomgyu’s rough pace, love the way he fucked you like you were nothing but a toy. “gonna fill you up, shit, get you pregnant, fill you up with my puppies— fuck, i should bite you. make you mine forever! gonna knot you, gonna claim you… gonna cum!”

the threat of being turned struck a pang of terror through your chest, the threat far too real as beomgyu mouthed hot at your neck. the tears in your eyes were falling freely now, little body of wracking pathetic sobs— yeonjun cooed down at you, grabbed at your wet cheeks as he shushed your cries, stroked your face. “shhh, baby, it’s just his rut talking. i won’t let him do anything to you.”

you would feel more comforted if yeonjun wasn’t undoing his belt, fishing his red hot cock out of his pants. “just take it all like a good little knotslut, take what we give you… that’s a good girl, just like that~”

you take yeonjun into your throat just as you did beomgyu, with pretty flushed, hollowed cheeks and shining eyes— yeonjun groans low in his throat, hissing a quiet “fuck yeah” as he pushes himself in deeper, heavy balls slapping wet and nasty against your chin. both of your little holes are filled now, beomgyu still grunting and moaning obscenities as he pounds your puffy abused cunt; you can’t process a single thought anymore, not when yeonjun’s cock is laying heavy and salty on your tongue, not when you feel the swelling base of beomgyu’s knot catch on your rim… you were turned into the toy they saw you as. “you were made for this, weren’t you?” yeonjun sighs, tangling his fingers in your messy hair. “such a perfect little slut for me, for my pack~”

[hellslayersomething]

I feel like I should write out some proper thoughts about my opinions on Veilguard, or at least an outline for the much longer essay that is currently calcifying in my heart. It's a mixed bag of a reaction, and I'm not going to compliment sandwiching any of it--this is all just stream of consciousness, so I'm probably going to snag on the negative and spiral down that pretty quickly. Spoilers, obviously:

I liked the battle system. For the first time in a DA game, it actually felt satisfying to play and had its own identity. I do wish the Pokemon element aspect was a little better balanced among the companions, but overall it was great.

That said, considering the length of the game, they needed way more enemy diversity, especially with the bosses. Eventually I was just fighting dragons, and every dragon had essentially the same moveset, one of those moves being "the dragon trips over her own dick and face-plants on top of Rook", which sure doesn't make the fights feel epic. Even very unique characters, like the Gloom Howler, were just reskinned basic demons when it came time to fight them.

The decision to tie companion approval to companion levels was a mistake. A massive and extremely obvious mistake. No wonder there are no disagreements or tension among the group--the game can't let you lose affinity with your team members, because then it would have to account for you leveling them down. The gameplay design here strangled the narrative design in its crib.

Speaking of narrative design: while I appreciate that the modular approach to companion arcs was experimental, it was extremely weird of them to take that approach in the only DA game where all companions are required. The story doesn't have to be written to account for the fact that you might not recruit some of them or they might die early--so why didn't they write one story about Rook and their seven friends instead of one story about Rook and also there are seven smaller, unrelated stories of extremely varying quality shoved in next to it?

The hyperfixation on the companion quests paired with their complete compartmentalization from each other means that each companion basically has nothing going on outside of their own quest and very few opportunities to engage with other characters' quests.

I was so starved for conflict in this game that I went from Solas-neutral to Solas-positive because he was the only character who the game allowed to be a bitch to me, and I respect him for that.

I do like all the horrid little sons the game gives me. I think I would appreciate them more if there was anything bad or tense happening in the story on a personal level that required some comic relief, but I am a sucker for a funky little guy none the less, and Manfred, Assan, and Spite are the perfect trifecta of funky little guys, as far as I'm concerned.

"We're only going to do character cameos if it's important to the plot." *does what they did with Isabela* Okay, devs.

"We aren't importing player choices but we won't override your decisions either." *several codex entries overriding player decisions later* Okay, devs.

I like the companions, generally. I see their potential. Fanfic will do right by them. Harding, in my mind, is the weakest of the bunch, just truly having no personality to speak of and talking like she was written by a Boomer who thinks that Millennials are still teenagers. (Everyone responsible for her uttering the phrase "Awkward..." like she's a character in 2011 quirky girl sitcom should be tried at the fucking Hague, istg.) And while I like Bellara, it was extremely frustrating to have a character that's just "Merrill, again, but with the edges sanded off". Taash and Emmerich are also glaringly the last additions in the writing process, each belonging to one of the two most underbaked factions and neither of them being tied to any of the game's few "big choices". There's promise in this cast, but I don't think any of them came close to realizing their potential.

Davrin and Emmerich's companion quests felt appropriately scoped to the size of the questlines, had good emotionality, good antagonists, and expanded on the lore of Thedas in ways we hadn't seen yet.

Lucanis's companion quest had potential, but it was too unfocused with three antagonists, too much attention to the boring Venatori shit, and not enough examination on Illario's motives or Lucanis's relationships with either Spite or Illario.

Harding's companion quest was fine, I guess (the people are starving for dwarf lore), but Harding could have been swapped out with literally any other dwarven character who wasn't Sandal and nothing would have been different. (Also weird that the whole quest was basically about Sandal while simultaneously fully removing Sandal from the narrative.)

Bellara and Neve's companion quests were just nothing. Just a whole lot of nothing. And Neve's also suffered from what I like to call "machete editing", where it is glaring obviously where things were cut, changed, moved around, and added at the last minute.

I say, from the bottom of my non-binary heart: Taash's companion quest is total ass. Real nice of Mae to come out of hiding and risk being found and executed by the Venatori to give Taash a Queer Theory 101 class, though, I fucking guess.

Is Lucanis's romance bugged? Apparently I'm not the only one who had that thought while I was playing it, so now I'm wondering. Like, there's no way they made it Like That on purpose, right?

Why and how are the Venatori still a force in Thedas, never mind a force with numbers so great (in spite of lacking a central leader) that they were able to simultaneously occupy the two largest cities in Thedas?

They literally didn't even try with the Antaam. The Venatori are at least theoretically still working to try to restore Tevinter to its former imperial might. The Antaam are just invading countries for literally no reason except ill-defined power grabs. Given the racial coding of Qunari, this writing choice sure is...something. (And that something is racist.)

That said, the revelation that the Butcher did a military tour in Europe and fell in love with the culture and just wants to drink wine and visit art museums now is fucking hilarious.

What the absolute FUCK did they do the Crows. I like the Crow characters from Tevinter Nights/the comics, and Zevran is my favorite character in the whole damn franchise, but they completely whitewashed both TN's mafia take on them and their original portrayal in DA:O. But it also doesn't really retcon anything, making it instead seem like the human trafficking and torture and sexual abuse that Zevran suffered at the Crows' hands A) only happened to him individually, and B) are fine, actually??? Even the very few times that characters express reservations about working with Lucanis because he's an assassin, if you play as a Crow, those concerns get immediately backpedaled, so the Crows end up being so ironed out that the game doesn't even let characters say of the Crows, "Murder is bad," lest it hurt a Crow Rook's feelings. That is how conflict-averse the writing is.

So I guess everyone in southern Thedas is...dead now? Several characters survived long enough to get a mention from the Inquisitor, but by the end, it sounds like Orlais, Ferelden, and most of the Free Marches are pretty much donezo. When Epler said the events in southern Thedas didn't matter, I didn't expect that to mean they were going to nuke the damn place. Even having generally enjoyed VG (in spite of all my criticisms here) that, uh...doesn't leave me enthused about the future of the franchise, ngl.

The layoffs of several writers (and other Bioware employees) before the game's release was obviously heinous. But after that secret ending, I'm now of the mind that of the writers that remain, at least a few of them need to be demoted. Like literally what the fuck was that. That was the dumbest plot point to ever appear in a Dragon Age game, and that is a high bar to clear. If you're not going to acknowledge our past choices, then keep Loghain's name out of your fucking mouths.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Idk if you already discussed this but how do you feel about Adrinette being canon when there wasn‘t a reveal yet? Because I think the show just took all the exciting aspects of the love square away by making one side canon and the others strictly platonic.

Sure, they‘re cute and whatnot, but I don‘t think they‘re exactly interesting without the identity shenanigans and stuff? Especially because (to me at least) Adrinette always felt like the weakest side. It‘s a school crush romcom type of love, which is great and all, but like…. You have superheroes in your show?? Hello??? Why not combine the two elements more effectively???The others are either badass superhero couple (I loved the Ladynoir dynamic in the movie for example) or one superhero hangs out with the civilian and they bond. That‘s literally all of fanon Marichat, and I personally think it works with Ladrien too. There‘s different aspects of those relationships that can be explored and create problems that they have to overcome (like the power imbalance with the civilian x hero ships, how do you handle that while dating?)

I wish the writers would use the square more effectively

I'm not against pre-reveal dating, but I agree that Adrienette is the worst side to chose from a story telling perspective because - as you so rightly pointed out - it's arguably the side with the least identity shenanigans and the side that has the least ties to the superhero stuff that's supposed to be the show's main focus. Adrienette is the side you chose if you're focusing on civilian drama which, to be fair, was season five's main focus even though Gabriel had stolen the miraculous and we were all expecting that complication to be the focus of the season five plot.

Instead the focus was "will Marinette ever have the courage to say a kind word to Adrien's face instead of just telling others how much she loves him even though she knows that he explicitly returns her feelings, making this plot kind painful on every level" which was... a choice.... Five seasons and we're still doing this shit? Really?

This may mean that the writer's plan in season six is to continue to focus on civilian drama or it could mean that they didn't think further than season five and we're about to get a lot of awkward writing. Who knows? I have no idea how they're going to handle civilian dating plus secret identities for long since the writers chose the only side of the square where running off to fight akumas isn't a given thing that the couple-in-question knows will happen. My best guess is that the writers will probably just avoid putting Adrienette in the type of situations Adrigami and Lukanette were put in, I guess?

No matter how they handle it, I don't expect major identity shenanigans because the show has never done much with identity shenanigans probably because quality identity shenanigans require you to be able to draw out plots over multiple episodes and then resolve those plots. This show cannot have that kind of plot progression given it's formulaic nature and the "there must always be a secret between Adrien and Marinette" rule, thus the identity shenanigans being so limited.

This means that the side best suited to the show's writing is probably Ladynoir. Still room for the minor identity shenanigans that the show limits itself to, baked-in-yet-low-stakes tension from having to keep the relationship a complete secret, and a much more logical result of the writing in the first four seasons. While Adrien is far from perfect and has issues to rival Marinette's, his crush always felt like the stronger one given that he actually spent time with Ladybug and had a true relationship with her.

Marinette, on the other hand, barely talked to Adrien because the show literally has a rule that she can never successfully confess her crush, so they needed to keep her and Adrien from becoming close to make those continued failed confessions somewhat plausible. Given all that, it's hard for me to buy that Adrien's crush flipped to this girl that he barely knows. Meanwhile Ladybug's crush flipping had a pretty strong setup given that Chat Noir has been her loyal support in her darkest hours.

But that's not what they went with! Instead of having the secret be the low-stakes identities secret, the secret between them is, "Your father was a super villain whose minions killed you on multiple occasions and whose death you were arguably involved with. While were on the topic of your messed up family, you're an artificial being whose creation killed you mother. Oh, and we're also hero partners, which feels like a minor thing compared to all of that, but we might as well mention that, too."

...choice were made folks. Choices were made. This is so not how you write a formula show! You never go this serious!

Since you mentioned the Civilian/hero pairings, let's talk about those both to end on a lighter note and because that's where my personal favorite lies as I am here for identity shenanigans. That's right, folks, I am once again here to sell you on my Ladrien supremacy agenda.

While I have nothing against Marichat, it is not a good fit for canon. It's simply too limiting because Marinette is not a celebrity. There's a reason that of Marinette's canon hangouts with Chat Noir (and almost all Marichat fics) start on her balcony. That's really the only place they can meet up without drawing attention, which should be a major concern for them.

I physically cringed when the show had them go to the movies and on an ice cream date because Chat Noir was being so irresponsible! He cannot be shown to have a close relationship with a civilian, which is the excuse he should have given at the end Elation since that the episode included Gabriel discovering their relationship. The excuse Chat Noir actually gave feels pretty dismissive of his canon relationship with Marinette. She has canonically spent more time talking to Chat Noir then she's spent talking to Adrien and the same actually goes for the amount of time Ladynoir spends talking about non-hero things, so this feels off:

Cat Noir: I’m sorry about what happened, Marinette. You’re right, you have the right to love anyone you want. Even a superhero. But it’s easy for a person to mistake idolization of a superhero for love. So, even if I like this person very much, I could be taking advantage of the situation, and I just can’t do that. It would be wrong.

Evil Illustrator, their heartfelt talk in Glaciator, the movie date in Glaciator 2, and a bunch of other little moments add up to somehow make Marichat the deepest side of the square, which is painfully bad writing given how little screen time this side gets, but it's still what canon gave us. Marinette is not just a fan who only knows him from a distance. They are friends and even occasional teammates. The only reason this pairing doesn't work in canon is because there's nowhere for the relationship to go until a partial or total reveal happens.

Prior to that, it's just these two hanging out on her balcony or maybe going on secret dates around the city. Cute, but not suited to a silly superhero romcom aimed at kids where every story needs to be told in about 20 minutes. It's best left to long form fan content that is allowed to be more about drama and romance than the actual show and also a little more spicy than the actual show because - let's be real here - those rooftop dates would not just be talking. I don't know how you'd write this pairing in a way that's both genuine and well suited to the intended audience. It's simply way more suited to a teen drama than a kid's show.

Ladrien, on the other hand, could work if canon wanted to go there. I don't think it would be a good fit for more than a season*, so Ladynoir is still the better pick for canon's format, but Ladrien could be a nice bit of pre-reveal padding to draw out the reveal and add some fun comedy if the show were allowed to have a reveal.

Because Ladybug and Adrien are both celebrities, you can have them interact in diverse settings without anyone thinking twice. This allows for a good amount of hijinks where Ladybug is trying to protect her boyfriend at public events without revealing their relationship while Adrien is trying to get her to let him run off and transform.

You can also do things like the public seeing them together, thinking they're a couple, and having them both deny it because they aren't, leading to Ladynoir comedy where Ladybug cries because she wishes they were and Chat Noir is like, "Wait, what? You what? ...My Lady, as your loyal partner who is here to support you in all things, I will get you your man even if it kills me!" The thinking-they're-a-couple thing could also be solved via Ladynoir by Ladynoir going public while Adrien remains "single". There's just a lot of potential for the show's style of absurdist humor here.

*Ladrien does eventually fall into the same issues as Marichat where it feels like the reveal needs to happen otherwise you're just repeating the same plots or going too spicy for a kids show via bedroom-based meetups, thus me saying that it's only good for about a season. There's also the problem that Akuma fights and supervillains are endless fodder for Ladynoir issues, but the only issue Ladrien could possibly address is Gabriel and Marichat's got nothing save for maybe Lila? So if you don't want to let a reveal happen, Ladynoir really is the best pick by far. Adrienette can work, but it's way less fun since they have to keep all these secrets while Ladynoir really only has one major secret or, at least, Ladynoir should only have one major secret (the identities). Canon has really dropped the ball on this one.

Now that I've written all this out, maybe the spicy issue is why canon went Adrienette? It's a lot easier to limit their alone time than it is to limit the alone time of any other side. I maintain that you could get away with it in pre-reveal Ladynoir by just ignoring the issue and giving them things to fight any time they try to have a date. You could also end episodes on them starting their date, leaving everything to the imagination but also keeping the setting relatively public (rooftops and the like) unlike the civilian/hero sides whose dates are going to be way more private. I fully understand why a show aimed at 5-to-12-year-olds wouldn't want to go there. That is far more suited to the teen drama Miraculous so desperately wants to be based on the ill-suited plots the writers keep going with.

[orionsangel86]

Seeing criticism of Good Omens Season 2 on here is a wild ride for me because I generally seem to agree with everything gomens critical people are saying whilst at the same time still absolutely loving gomens S2.

It's like this: Okay so you have written this super popular book revolving around this precocious kid who happens to be the antichrist whose birth kickstarts the apocalypse. The four horseman turn up as well as these other strange human characters one of which is an actual witch whose great great great grandmother wrote an accurate prophecy book which predicts armaggedon. Through a series of somewhat hilarious events, the kid, his friends, and the other weird humans manage to stop the apocalypse.

Also throughout the whole thing there are these angel and demon characters fussing about getting into arguments but not actually doing anything to forward the plot or make any difference to the main storyline. For some reason everyone reading the book finds these characters far more compelling and entertaining and seems to think they are the main characters. But they are not.

Then the book gets adapted into a show and the focus shifts onto the angel and demon characters because obviously they are the popular ones that everyone loves. So what's a writer to do when the fan favourite characters basically don't have any part in the primary plot points? Give them a more coherent side plot steeped in romantic tropes and claim that they are in love. Boom. Instant fandom catnip.

But then you are presented with a problem. The show has become super successful and everyone wants more story. You may have discussed a sequel over the years with your writing partner but it never really came to anything probably because its difficult to plot out a sequel centred around two characters who weren't the protagonist of the first book, and that story is done and dusted. Whats a writer to do?

Lean into the fans thirst for more angel on demon action and write what amounts to high budget fanfiction pulling the love story b plot of season 1 into the main focus for season 2. Of course book purists are gonna hate that!

Any legitimate sequel to Good Omens should have centered around Adam. The former antichrist now coping with everything he went through growing up a normal human whilst still having a creeping sense that its not quite over, that maybe heaven and hell still have a part for you to play in their grand plan. Sure, Crowley and Aziraphale could have been involved, continuing their b plot love story, but at least this way the sequel would have been more consistent with the plot of season 1.

The problem with continuing Adam's story is that, and I mean no disrespect here, no one cares about Adam. Adam and his friends are the weakest elements of season 1. People tune into Good Omens for the Crowley and Aziraphale show, and Neil Gaiman knows this.

The plot of Gomens S2 is weak. The mystery around Gabriel is a bit silly, and is only connected to the season 1 plot in the loosest sense. The fact that he and Beelzebub speedrun an angel/demon romance is bizarre and does come out of left field... like something out of fanfiction. It also does indeed rob some of what made Crowley/Aziraphale so special - the fact that they were unique in their love and respect for each other despite being on opposite sides. Also I wish Maggie and Nina were given more development (and less clunky dialogue).

The only criticism I really don't agree with is the criticism that Aziraphale was written out of character, because quite simply, season 1 never ever resolved the fundamental issue at the center of Crowley and Aziraphales relationship. Throughout season 1 Aziraphale constantly insults and berates Crowley, claiming he's the "bad one" and refusing to accept that they aren't on opposite sides. There have been plenty of metas stating that this was all out of fear and a need to protect Crowley, and sure, you can interpret it that way, but not once in season 1 does Aziraphale actually say "yes we are on our side. Yes we are the same. I was wrong to claim you were bad when you've clearly been showing me how good you are for millennia." Its maybe implied that he has learned, but its never truly confirmed, because season 1 wasn't about Crowley and Aziraphale and their relationship. But season 2 takes its lead from that.

It's just rather amusing to me how the discourse that has built around season 2 seems to be fundamentally forgetting these points. GOS2 isn't really a sequel to Good Omens. It's a spin off. It's a spin off about Crowley and Aziraphale and their silly relationship drama whilst they deal with a silly low stakes mystery regarding Heaven and Hell (also characters that were barely involved in the book if at all!). It doesn't really tie into the first story at all.

In my opinion, all it needed to link it more closely to season 1, was to bring back Frances McDormand as God to do the narration. If that had happened, season 2 would have been just fine. As it stands, it comes across rather like a spin off fanfiction. But I love fanfiction, and I have always only ever watched Good Omens for Aziraphale and Crowley. To me, season 2 is fantastic, its like if Supernatural had a spin off show all about Castiel in which he is the lead character, and part of the main A plot is him getting together with Dean finally - Dean being the love interest in this particular show. Amazing. 10/10 would watch another 15 seasons of just that - but general Supernatural fans who aren't fandom specific would probably HATE IT.

So yeah, I do understand the criticism its receiving, but I find it funny, because ultimately Neil Gaiman gave fans exactly what they wanted, he gave them an Ineffable Husbands fanfiction - M/M Romance, F/F OC Side Pairing, Rated: Teen and Up, #Fluff, #Dancing, #Excessive Jane Austen References, #Crack Treated Seriously, #Surprise Final Pairing (check the end notes for spoilers!), #Miscommunication, #Love Confessions, #First Kiss, #Angst #Hurt/No Comfort, #Cliffhanger Ending.

Can any of us really say we wouldn't immediately click "proceed" on this fic and then stay up til 3am reading it til our eyes bled? Me neither.

[aotopmha]

Episode 3 of Dragon Ball Daima stood out to me because of the heavy world building, as even the more early adventure-based Dragon Ball didn't go that heavy with it.

I think it (and really, the two previous episodes) definitely reminds me of key exposition points in the series: when we get the exposition from Raditz about the Saiyans or when we get the exposition about Dr. Gero from Future Trunks or for a more tone-appropriate example from earlier Dragon Ball, when we first learn about the Martial Arts Tournaments or see Korin's tower.

It's "Toriyama exposition time", but much more heavy on the lore, which actually somewhat takes me out of it because Dragon Ball usually doesn't go into that much detail with its mechanics and world. We get explanations for some of the smallest details in this series so far.

But at the same time, I have difficulty bringing comparisons because it doesn't quite feel like any other era of Dragon Ball, but at the same time feels like Dragon Ball all the same.

And that's incredibly exciting and wonderful to me because it's basically another shift akin to the ones we had with Z and BoG.

It's doing something truly new with an old story and in this world of remakes and reliance on old iconography for nostalgia views, it's so refreshing.

This truly is a new world and even if I think this was the weakest episode so far, that's not really any kind of critique because it has just been so consistent in terms of quality.

I just think the exposition overtook the fun just a little bit. And even then, how wierd the world can get is in itself a blast.

I love that the Demon Realm is inside of a goldfish swimming in space that is sensitive about being a goldfish.

But at the same time there is thematic meaning to the structure of the Demon World: there are three realms, each separated by a shield of light, but also stuck in a sort of implied caste system.

I think the most consistent thematic element of Dragon Ball has been classism/racism and I think the Saiyan/Freeza Saga very much is the most obvious example of exploring those ideas.

And I always love when stuff like this is snuck into seemingly light-hearted snd silly stories because just because you're leaning into more fun storytelling, doesn't mean you can't have serious or even more than that, thematically meaningful elements to it.

Comedy is often associated with shallow storytelling and I love how DB can still be meaningful despite having humour be such a big part of it.

So this is my "least favourite" episode so far, but I think was still great fun.

[ladygwyndolin]

Sorry if you already answered this, but what were some things you wanted/expected out of SOTE that we didn’t get, either narrative/lore or new gear/spells/mechanics etc?

HOOBOY do I! SOTE was a masterpiece but it definitely missed on a lot of things I hoped it would hit. Most of it is lore related, but there are some major gameplay-side elements I wish had been included as well. I'll divide it into categories to make it easier.

NARRATIVE:

I've already talked about this a lot, but where the FUCK was the Godwyn/eclipse lore? An entire plot thread from the base game that needed elaboration and seemed primed for exploration in the dlc got tossed out the window for the sake of Radahn fanboy pandering. So infuriating.

Interaction with Miquella. The trailer showed us what appeared to be one on one interaction with Miquella, something that just wasn't there in the final release. The dude is barely a presence in the dlc; hell, he doesn't even get a line when he dies. For a DLC that was supposed to be about him, he was the weakest part of the story by far.

More lore about the giant skeletons in Nokstella

Literally anything about Malenia. At least fucking mention her name.

Torrent lore

More info about the outer god of rot/formless mother/three fingers

ACTUAL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE DLC AND THE BASE GAME. The total lack of these when said interactions were a thing all the way back in DARK SOULS 1 was nuts. So many areas where they could have done that both inside and outside the dlc to the point where not having it actually creates major plot holes.

GAMEPLAY:

Hey fromsoft, where did you put the int/faith scaling affinity? Hey fromsoft, could you not find the time to grab chaos/dark infusion and slap a new name on it? Hey. Hey. Can int/faith builds have something please.

SUPPORT SORCERIES! INT users really got left out to starve in the dlc which extra sucks since they get way less stuff in the base game as well. The DLC legit has TWICE as many incantations as it does sorceries, which is like...come on. I'm not even a sorcery person and it bugged me. I was hoping for some more utility type sorceries, since incantations have had a monopoly on those.

More sleep enemies! More stuff to do with sleep in general!

More boss lines/cutscenes. Rellana and Romina not having any whatsoever is such a massive letdown.

They still haven't added the option to let you sell items at the twin maiden husks. Still.

No mechanic to kiss Ranni

[nevermoreconfessions]

Prospero is my favorite character for many reasons and one of those is the fact he's from the first work of Edgar Allan Poe I read, therefore it has a special place in my heart. Having said that, his spectre disappoints me, AT THE TIME. It's true I don't know what the authors have in store but thus far, his spectre lacks severely to me. Spoilers for Masque of Red Death ahead, but he's based off of a story where a Prince hides away from a plague that torments his land until that "Red Death" enters the castle and follows him through a series of colored rooms, each one representing different things depending on how you read it. His spectre is not giving me any of that. It's a generic plague doctor with a staff as his most "unique" design choice. It tells me he lived through A plague but it doesn't tell me anything else from him just by looking at it on top of it being the weakest in terms of flare. Even Will's has more flare and that's...saying a lot. I trust that eventually the design might... make more sense to me and it might go through changes but as of right now, it's the most boring to me and that's a shame because I adore Prospero and anything related to him but I couldn't honestly say his Spectre is my favorite when it doesn't even look like anything more than a regular plague doctor... Especially since the staff is easy to miss or just doesn't add much. The rats could be a bonus too, but rats weren't really much of an element in the story either....

PS: I really don't mean this as hate or harsh criticism, it's just an observation and a mild hope someone sheds a new perspective on this that maybe I missed?

Can I call you PoeAnon? I'm calling you PoeAnon.

Oh, PoeAnon. How I love you, because this is what critique looks like. And you know what? I get what you're coming from. In a way, I actually agree.

Dear PoeAnon, here's what Prospero's design and abilities tell me, in regards to who he is and how he died —

Let's start with the whole Plague Doctor thing he's got going on. Personally, I love a good plague doctor, and I do think that the spectre could've used a little extra pizazz; but, here's where that design gets truly interesting —

The rats.

Yes, those damned rats. Let me explain.

It tells a great amount of how he died! Did you know that the Plague was spread by rats (then, fleas)? Apparently, the Catholic church was like, "Deport those cats, they're evil," and rats ran wild, spreading the plague like wildfire — the plague subsequently hit Italy, where Prospero is said to be from.

So, to me, it appears that Prospero died of the Plague in Italy, where he might have worked as a doctor in efforts to treat said plague. Or, he was the patient. (I think he was the patient who either died of the plague, or in surgery.)

To emhasize that he died of the plague, let's talk about the poem for a moment. The "Red Death" is a fictional disease that causes "bleeding at the pores."

Prospero is known to have a fear of blood — he gets queasy seeing his own blood, to be exact. Fits well, right?

I'll admit — I don't really understand the bat wings or the hourglass symbols on his staff.

I'll assume that the hourglass symbolizes death — namely, "running out of time," because getting the plague back then meant that you were counting your days. The bat wings stump me, though I assume it's because bats can carry some pretty serious diseases, too.

All this to say: I do like Prospero's spectre. As I said, I have a soft spot for Plague doctors, though I do understand that desire for more.

I wish I had more to go off of, too. But it's still a neat design, in my opinion! It's a classic, honestly.

What do you think, Nevermore tumblr?

[temperamentalaquarius]

any thoughts on batman: black mirror? i really enjoyed it (as a non-batfamily fan) but i'm wondering if there is a difference of opinion with people who are actually acquainted with the context behind black mirror, i guess. which parts did you find the strongest + which parts did you find the weakest?

anyways, im a huge fan of your comics-posting (which is both, in the best way, entertaining and insightful). have a great day!

Ahhh thank u!! I'm glad I'm not the only one having fun 😁!!!

Thank you so much for sending this, I loved the dick!bats era and I liked The Black Mirror!!

I thought it was a decent Dick story, and I loved that it had Babs and Tim as the supporting cast. It was good to see them back(mostly) in their 90s early 2000s element.

I thought that the A plot was better than the serial killer B plot-; it had a lot of personal connection for Dick without being about the Graysons and orcas(which are some of the most vicious and borderline cruel predators that terrify me to my core and it was really cool to see them get some use)- even if I didn't find the ending super satisfying.

I thought James was interesting, and his story was more linear but the addition of the Joker into the situation was kind of just...messy and not entirely necessary? It kind of killed it for me. Idk I might just have Joker fatigue. I did like the coloring and a good portion of the art better in that part of the story, tho. I thought the mood they set was really cool and a little scary.

My high points were all (unsurprisingly) character based:

I loved the way Tim saving Dick from his own shit here

Kinda paralleled this scene in NW 96

But more mature. Watching them go from Dick mentoring Tim to them having a much more balanced relationship where Tim can fully have Dick's back has always been super satisfying and seeing it making a come back after their little fallout was cool

I also like the attention paid to the differences in Bruce and Dick's philosophy (specifically here:

) and the difficulty that Batman presents Dick because of it. Part of the appeal of Dick being Batman is the reluctance and the chunk of flesh it takes out of him and I think this story really got the tone of that right. He's making mistakes that he wouldn't normally, he's not sleeping; you can really tell that everything is getting to him. He feels like the walls are closing in on him with no way out (sometimes literally) and it makes the whole story kind of..weary? It's as much man vs man as it is man vs self. Love that many of the action sequences in the book happen in enclosed places that have an unstoppable deadly force converging on him with no way out and how that emphasizes the theme

OH and my absolute favorite analogy for the mindset that dick operates w/ is in this book

And how that works with his parents rules for survival

There's like... a debate on whether Dick plans or if he acts on instinct and I like the way that this breaks it down to: yes, he's planning from the start and if it seems like he isn't it's because that's what he wants you to think- but he understands that leaving space to bob and weave is a part of that process. Ultimate planner that is liable to start behaving erratically as fuck at any moment is such a fun look

Favorite fight was probably the horror forward snap at the auction, with honorarable mentions going to Dick v.s the compactor, Dick v.s. the orca, and of course Dick v.s. The bends

Worst was by far this one:

There is no way he should've been able to waltz into Babs' hideout without her knowing I'm so sorry it's just not realistic, like, that's Barbara Gordon???

[ladyloveandjustice]

Summer 2023 Anime Overview: Undead Murder Farce and My Happy Marriage

Undead Murder Farce

Premise: Our story takes place in Victorian times/the Meji Era. Tsugaru is a half-oni (demon) and half human as a result of a mysterious man doing horrible experimentation on him. He’s approached by Aya Rindo, an immortal woman who has been reduced to a head (transported in a birdcage by her combat-saavy maid Shizuku) because the same man beheaded her and stole her body. They agree to team up to find the man and hopefully get Aya’s body back. As they look for the man, they travel Europe and to solve mysteries related to monsters and inhumans.

Undead Murder Farce was definitely my show of the summer season. It’s a fun mystery series starring three asshole weirdo protagonists, it’s bursting with monsters and demons and bizarre people, full of references to Victorian literature and rakugo and all kinds of nerdy stuff, it’s got stylish, slick direction from Mamoru Hatekayama (you know him from Kaguya: Love is War, and Rakugo Shinju) and it’s really gay.

The trio of Aya, Tsugaru, and Shizuku all have really have a snarky comfortable friend dynamic and their banter as they solve vampire murder mysteries, try to outsmart Arsene Lupin and a gang of Victorian literary monsters, and investigate a werewolf village and it makes for an entertaining watch. Aya will never stop making stupid jokes about how she’s just a head in a cage, and we love her for it.

The “let’s stuff in every Victorian public domain character we can” arc is where the show really starts to shine (though unlike some others, I do still really like the vampire murder mystery arc a lot—I just love the idea of a vampire murder mystery, and we really get a good feel for the cast. It’s definitely the weakest arc of the series, though). UDM gets to whip out all its literary nerd credentials. The case involves: Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Arsene Lupin, The Phantom of the Opera, Carmilla, Frankenstein’s Monster, Aleister Crowley, Phileas Fogg and two surprise characters.

And yes, they remember that Carmilla is gay, which automatically puts in above 99.9% adaptations of the character. They do make her older and WAY more of a sexpot than the novel version, which, eh,  but she’s 100% the ultra-campy Blueprint Problematic Lesbian Vampire she deserves to be. Like in the novel, she exclusively feeds on and seduces women and she gets into a deeply sapphic rivalry with Shizuku, who she tries to subdue and toy with using her vampire powers. (As you can expect from the character, there is the assault stuff that comes with that territory, though they don’t go too far with it, she kisses Shizuku's neck and messes up her shirt a bit).

But also, we find out Shizuku is used to making love with someone who has “centuries” on Carmilla and is “far more experienced ”, which can only be Aya. This is further confirmed when Shizuku shows jealousy over Tsugaru and Aya’s transactional kiss in the next arc and Tsugaru has to reassure her. And then Shizuku just CONTINUES to stumble into sapphic situations. She gets surrounded by naked ladies and bonds with them like twice in the last arc. It’s great. Everyone thought it might be be Aya/Tsugaru at the beginning, but turns out UDM is For the Gays and it straightbaited you. Amazing.

It's not just Carmilla that UDM shows off its nerd (and gay) credentials with—there’s the interesting choice to make the Phantom of Persian descent, which is clever as a reference to the Phantom’s time in Persia in the original novel AND adds an extra layer to the “unfairly treated as an outcast” element of the character. (Lupin and the Phantom also team up in the story and give off such strong gay energy (Lupin especially) that a lot of people ship them). And like in the novel, Frankenstein’s Monster is smart and even functions as the more level-headed one in the villain gang.

All of that stuff is catnip to me, but the best part of UDM is following it’s convoluted mysteries and seeing Aya strut her stuff figuring the them out while everyone gets in cool fights. It’s very good at what it does, and it’s a fun romp with some interesting themes about being on the margins of society and what makes an outcast simmering underneath. I had a great time with it, and I’m aching to see more of these scrappy misfits and their adventures. If you’re here for a campy but intelligent mystery series about lovable weirdos with a side order of gay, absolutely check this one out!

My Happy Marriage

Premise: Miyo was born without supernatural talents despite her father's expectations, and after her mother passes away, her father and stepfamily treat her abusively and use her as a servant. Miyo's family sticks her with an arranged marriage to Kiyoka Kudou, a man with a reputation for being cold and cruel. However, she quickly finds he’s not what he seems, and she slowly begins to gain confidence in herself.

My Happy Marriage is a straightforward Cinderella story, but one that actually focuses on the psychological effects of being abused and the slow recovery and healing journey of its protagonist. Even if she's not with her abusive family anymore, Miyo still has completely shit self esteem and even just running into her Evil Stepsister ™ in the street sends her reeling back to where she started, consumed by fear and sadness. The story is about her finding a place where she’s loved and supported, and slowly gaining confidence, and her and her husband learning to communicate. She’s still shy, domestic, and very devoted to being proper for her husband throughout, and sometimes needs help, but her learning to let herself be loved and learning to find her own strength and power is the focus of the story. It shows how many obstacles you have to bravely face just to move forward after trauma. And in the end, Miyo finds her own way to save the day. I think that’s really valuable.

Though, like in the original Cinderella story, there is the issue of the pure, domestic woman being contrasted with evil, conniving, social climbing women (though at least there’s no “and they’re also ugly” thing going, and they have her dad be shitty too). It wasn’t bothering me too much--even the ‘training to be a proper wife’ stuff Miyo decides to do since it wasn't out of place in the Meiji era setting-- until Miyo met her sister-in-law. Sis is a divorced woman and a little more “modern” and forward than Miyo and I was excited at first, because hey, a woman in this story who doesn’t fit either the ‘demure’ or ‘evil’ archetypes. But then it turned out her tragic backstory was that she’s a shitty cook and therefore failed to be a proper woman for her husband’s family and her in-laws drove her to divorce, which she 100% blames herself and her lack of domestic skil and 'unwillingness to compromise" with her mean in-laws for. She’s not challenged on this attitude at all. I can easily see a future plotline where she reunites with her ex-husband and he reveals he didn’t mind the cooking or something, but as it stands, it’s pretty disheartening and I don't see why it was a thing.

Still, Miyo’s arc is cathartic and well done, and the animation absolutely beautiful throughout. It’s nice seeing a story focusing on recovery that focuses on the small triumphs that come with learning to see your own value after being told you’re worthless. The supernatural element is a fun touch. It’s already been renewed for a second season and I’m definitely here for the rest.

[thecomicsnexus]

TMNT ADVENTURES: THE FOREVER WAR (kind of FAN MADE)

April 2024

By Steve Murphy, Chris Allan, Andrew Modeen, Artem Tsarkov, Arseniy Dubakov, Egor Prutov , Jon D'Agostino, Dmitry Bobrovnik, Yuri Kochin, and Jim Lawson.

The Shredder finally succeeds at erasing the Turtles from history and conquering the world. But the Turtles and Splinter will try to defeat him and ensure their existence in this conclusion of the iconic Archie series.

SCORE: 8

You'll have to forgive the lack of images, but it is very hard to scan this book (I'll see what I can do for the video review, but I may need to work with photos of it). In any case, this is another of those fan projects by Arseniy Dubakov and Andrew Modeen... but with some interesting twists in its genesis.

You probably remember that this saga was announced in 1995 before the Archie adventures were canceled, and fans have been speculating forever about how the story ended.

In 2009 we almost got the conclusion by the original team (Steve Murphy and Chris Allan), but the turtles were sold to Viacom and the plans never materialized. In any case, Murphy couldn't remember where he was going with the story, so it would be fair to say that it was never going to be the same arc.

More recently, Chris Allan met Arseniy and the two got together to make this project happen. The first chapter (which was made public at some point in the past few years), was mostly recovered from 1995, but it had been colored and edited by the new team.

As far as I know, the second chapter was plotted by Steve Murphy, and I can say that the two first chapters feel the most like the original book... with some annoying differences.

After that, the book does its job, and the story works very well. The project was promoted as "closing all open plots" of the original series, but fortunately, it only tried to solve a time paradox that has always been a problem in that book. I applaud the restrain of the writers from bringing up every single plot point just to let readers know they read the book (as is usually the case with these projects).

The art is probably the most spectacular aspect of the book. It's an updated look for the Archie adventures that for the most part, looks like a continuation of the story. There are some stylistic differences when it comes to inking after chapter one, but you get used to them after a while.

The book comes with two back-up stories. One penciled by Jim Lawson that tries to make sense of the convoluted Archie timeline (specifically about which Shredder you were looking at in each adventure). The second backup is some sort of epilogue to Forever War that will leave you with more questions than answers.

For me, the weakest point of the book is the "overwriting" from Andrew.

It's hard to explain, but Andrew goes into these long narrations directed at the reader that just feel overproduced and underproduced at the same time. There is an overuse of "Modeen" expressions that can be said by any character at any time. Perhaps because he is not doing the writing/plotting alone, this is his best story yet. We know Andrew is a fan, an we know he can write. But it would be nice if he could work on his dialogues and... I'm going to call it now... think twice before adding an unnecessary celebrity quote at the beginning of each chapter.

I am not sure if this was in the original plot, but some elements in this story were even darker than the original series (like slashing a classic character in two). I get that we all grew up and we can take it, but this should be a continuation of that book, and I feel that it wasn't this bloody (most of the time).

But again, this story worked for me, it didn't bring up characters and plots just for the sake of it, and the turtles were front and center.

Should we consider this an ending for the Archie series? Well, just like it happened with Volume 3 before Urban Legends came out, this is all we can get. It's technically just the story, and not a proper ending, so you could still consider "Year of the Turtle" the final story (I assume that it not being referenced was intentional). There is one reference to "TMNT: Odyssey" (because for some reason, all these projects need to share the same multiverse), but it can be easily ignored... I think.

Maybe one day IDW will decide to do their own version of Forever War, but I don't think Chris Allan would go through this ordeal again... I think it could be published as is (fourth-wall monologuing included). Perhaps censoring some of the blood, to keep it consistent with Archie guidelines.

Now, let's take a look at those spoilers after the break...

You guessed it, most of the chapters take place in an alternate timeline. This allows for familiar characters to return even if they were already dead. And also introduces Carter to the Archie universe... and he may be British... I don't know.

Most characters show up to die... which isn't unusual on alternate timeline stories, but feels like a waste. Carter and Claire had very little time to do anything, and Claire being April's sister is an interesting twist... but I wonder what caused it? It is implied that they may have been separated at some point, but the existence of the same photograph without her suggests there wee further alterations to that timeline.

The Mutanimals play the bad guys... probably for the better. I wonder if the reason they didn't undo their deaths, or brought back Cherubae, was so that it could all tie into "TMNT: Odyssey"? Whatever the reason was, I appreciate it.

Perhaps the biggest reveal was that Chet was the Rat King. While this is a fun twist, some things are a bit too convenient. Why did he choose the H'antaan name? And why didn't he ever mentioned this to anyone in the original timeline? (Apart from the flashback in this book).

Overall, Shredder's plan makes sense (for once), although he somehow recreated all the mutants from the original series, even the ones that weren't mutants (like Katmandu)... perhaps he and Al'Falqa simply joined the cause.

There isn't much characterization for the turtles, but I think is in line with the original book as well. And to be fair, the main focus is the story.

The Jim Lawson back-up also introduces another problem, a Shredder that finally remember everything (this may be the one in "Year of the Turtle"). Mr. Null decides to share all of this, searching for the Turnstone (a "TMNT: Odyssey" plot). I don't like these fan-projects being all connected, but I appreciate the long explanation of the Shredder paradox in the Archie adventures. It also officialized that Armaggon created the Archie universe.

I would have appreciated a Mr. Null origin story... but I guess that would have clashed with "Odyssey" (and this is why I don't like them being connected).

I may sound negative, but my nitpicks only took two points from the overall score. I am happy with the results, and I think we can now stop wondering what it could have been.

Although... can you imagine what it could have been in 1995?

That my friends... is the forever war.

[Include some super serious celebrity quote here]

[muirmarie]

as someone with aphantasia (aka i can't visualize things in my head), there is literally no higher compliment than when ppl tell me they can picture something i wrote in their head??? like.

[silly writing rambles under the cut]

i'm never going to describe a room or clothing or what people look like or etc in depth, because my brain simply Does Not Work That Way, but back in writing classes in college - when i was getting Dinged on this - I figured out how to kind of hook a description around a few key elements (and I didn't realize this at the time, but I think they're usually the few things my brain boxes into its memories, so when I pull out the little box of a place or a friend, it's the way i store my description in zeroes and ones?), and because I'm not going into depth about the visual description, I kind of learned how to tie visual descriptors into emotions instead, at least in my head? like i'm not picturing how someone is moving in a scene, but i'm feeling how they would react on an emotional level? how they move or pace or fold in on themselves or etc? because that's an EMOTIONAL descriptor rather than a visual descriptor for me?

but if I do it well enough it seems to work for other ppl, too, even though they're visualizing things instead of whatever smoke and mirror tricks i'm pulling lmao? like i have very specific ways i try to ground a scene - and ground people in the scene - but it's still unbelievably gratifying when it actually works.

when i first started trying to really ~find my voice~ a good fifteen years ago, i knew that descriptions were by far my weakest area, and i tried to overcorrect by adding a LOT of descriptions, and it not only felt forced (to me, but also i'm sure to everyone else lmao), it was incredibly difficult for me to keep track! and it really would weigh the story down in a Not Great way?

so idk it's one of those things where i really had to find the right way to do it for me, and for my style of writing, and while obviously i am always learning and hopefully improving, i do know what overall works for my ~style, and it's so so so so so gratifying when i can build something that other people can see, even if i can't?

idk it's just. truly an absolute delight haha <3

[shinra33459]

Some ways that I would change Helluva Boss as a writer

I've made my fair share of criticisms of Helluva Boss, but one thing that I wanted to do was see what I could do with the characters, the world, and the overall plot of the story. This is mainly just a collection of the things that I would do in regard to the show, that I feel would deliver a far superior product, at least on the writing front.

1.) Ditch Some of the Longtime Arcs

At least in my view, some of the longtime arcs that the show has are what's currently holding the show back. Mainly due to the fact that a lot of the arcs that we get presented with hardly ever get fleshed out and just end up giving us a lot of loose ends. Needless to say, the way that the show currently handles longer arcs is rather messy and makes us feel as if we are drowning in excess.

The best thing about the more serious cartoons of old like Teen Titans, was that it approached one arc at a time, and rarely, if ever, did multiple serious arcs at once. How Teen Titans handled longtime arcs was immaculate and quite honestly, some of the best writing in cartoon history. Helluva Boss on the other hand, its longtime arcs aren't handled well at all, and has a problem with introducing too much too fast.

Overall, Helluva Boss would benefit greatly from simplifying things a great deal. Vivziepop has admitted herself in the past that she isn't a good writer, which is the perfect reason to simplify things. Each season should have its own arc with one particular villain or group, with IMP dealing with said villain or group by the end of the season. Or better yet, it is possible for the show to deal with serious and complex themes around an episodic format while still having its lighthearted moments, like Star Trek: The Original Series.

2.) Less focus on romantic relationships

While many in the fanbase love and adore the borderline hyperfixation the show has on romantic relationships, it is one of the show's weakest elements, due to the fact that everything feels forced. Blitzo and Stolas's relationship doesn't feel natural in its progression, and key elements of their relationship never get shown, and if they are, it isn't handled well at all (just look at the text scene).

With something as important as mending their relationship after a massive falling out, you'd think that it would be shown on screen properly, and not haphazardly thrown in the worst way possible. This was some major character development that should have been an actual full-on episode, yet it was a half a second scene.

The entirety of the Stolitz arc in the show is quite honestly, at least in my opinion, the weakest element in the story. Focusing on it to the degree that Vivziepop has is not telling us a good story. In fact, as many have said before in the critical space, it feels like fanfiction of itself. It's clear that Vivziepop has difficulties in showcasing proper romantic relationships and how they progress, even unhealthy and toxic ones. The show would benefit greatly if the focus on romantic relationships was reduced, if not removed entirely from the show.

3.) Simplify, streamline, and explain the lore and worldbuilding properly

To say that the lore and worldbuilding of Helluva Boss is a mess is quite honestly one of the biggest understatements you can say about the show. Things are introduced that are supposed to be important but never brought up again, such as Asmodean crystals. Things don't make sense on what a character can do or not, such as Stolas being able to intervene with the DHORKS, but apparently not with his own daughter. Even though, he didn't need the Grimoire the first time, apparently, he needed it that time.

Things just don't make sense with the worldbuilding. One minute characters can do something that is vital to the story, and the next, suddenly their abilities do nothing, or they become completely inept for the sake of story progression. Nothing is streamlined, and nothing is ever explained properly and coherently. Everything has devolved into plot-hole after plot-hole.

It would do Vivziepop good to reel back a lot of the worldbuilding that has been done and take it back to the drawing board. Like I said earlier, things keep getting introduced too much too fast. To be completely honest, I'm a firm believer that media should have to speak for itself. You don't need a stream, a 10-page essay, or a 30-minute YouTube video to explain what is going on in the world that you have created. People should be able to get whatever context they need from the media itself.

Conclusion

At this point in time, I believe that the best thing that Helluva Boss as a show could do is to reboot the series and start over from scratch. I'd reboot it with a new vision for what the show should be and go from there. The story isn't nuanced, nor is it complex: it's messy. The show is holding itself back through all of this. The show has gotten too messy and convoluted for it to really continue as it is. If the show were to reboot and not try to pretend that it's more than it actually is (which is goofy demons killing people and saying edgy humor), it would be a far better product than what it is.

[mylifeincinema]

My Week in Reviews: May 19, 2024

Mean Girls (Samantha Jayne & Arturo Perez Jr., 2024)

Not the train wreck I was expecting. Angourie Rice barely makes a good Cady and her singing is probably the weakest in the cast, I don't get the obsession with Reneé Rapp even in real life, so Regina doesn't work, at all, and the dude who plays Aaron is f*ckin' ugly, so his being the focus of Cady and Regina's attention throughout most of the movie never seems genuine. But other than that, there's some great shit, in here. Gretchen and Karen are awesome. The songs that aren't terrible are actually kinda great. And Moana f*ckin' owns Janis, easily becoming the single true upgrade over the brilliant original. - 6/10

Lisa Frankenstein (Zelda Williams, 2024)

It never gets as weird or over-the-top as it should, but I still had a really good time with it. Kathryn Newton is fantastic (as usual) and thankfully there's enough humor that lands to save it from the elements that don't. - 7/10

The Map of Tiny Perfect Things (Ian Samuels, 2021)

It has likable leads and a solid heart that makes it work as a coming-of-age story even without the time-loop mechanics. But I'm kind of a sucker for time-loop movies, so this didn't have to work all that hard to win me over, from the start. - 8/10

The Idea of You (Michael Showalter, 2024)

I've never identified with a singer in a boy band more than when this dude falls head-over-heels for Anne Hathaway. This wasn't bad. Nothing specific really stood out about it aside from Annie, but it had some good moments and ideas and was far from a waste of time. - 6.5/10

Madame Web (S.J. Clarkson, 2024)

Only having Sydney Sweeney in her Spider-Woman costume for less that 10-seconds of the film really has to be the biggest cinematic cheat of the decade... if not longer. Worse even than when they put Drew Barrymore all over the Scream posters. But really, I dwell on this because if I dwell on the actual film itself the depression over the fact that this big budget release with the overall quality of an old Troma flick actually got funding and a wide release would be crippling. Who thought any of this actually worked?!? - 1/10

Also revisited Andrew Patterson's The Vast of Night (because the mood struck for some quiet sci-fi) and Tom Vaughan's Starter for 10, because I completely forgot that I'd ever seen it in the first place, and Alice Eve.

Enjoy!

-Timothy Patrick Boyer.