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truthseekerthedragon · 3 years ago

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Thoughts on The Flames of Hope

TW: references to abuse, minor body horror, references to violence, brief reference to drugs

And here… we… go.

So, the book was dumb. Like, in my opinion, worse than TDG levels of dumb. How is it possible for someone to set a bar that low and then trip on it? Like how? I must know how Tui fumbled writing a climax this badly. Tui, you already set up an arc, the payoff was right there, and you still missed it by around two million miles. Somehow.

I’ll be analyzing The Flames of Hope from a storytelling or “troper’s” perspective, meaning I’ll be examining the story in terms of plot, characterization, and how well it tells the story it wants to tell. I’ll be looking at how well characters like Luna are written and dissecting why I like or don’t like certain characters or plot points; I won’t judge the story by whether my favorite character died or if a ship I liked worked out, because that would be silly, although expect my personal opinion on things to slip through every once in a while. Expect a lot of sarcasm.

This has been stewing in my mind for some time, so prepare for a lot of thoughts. Trust me, there is a lot to unpack here.

If you disagree with anything that I say, I wholeheartedly respect your opinion. These are just my personal thoughts, of course, and you hold the right to like/dislike this book or any of the characters in it.

There’s a prologue, I think, but it isn’t important. Who was the PoV in it again?

The story begins with Luna thinking about how she’s some kind of glorious Chosen One and how she wants all the HiveWings to die. Is this supposed to be the good guy? Well, it doesn’t matter, because after the first chapter she will lose all this personality and become blander than cardboard! Tui will, of course, prop up an illusion of a personality by making her think about tapestries a lot. This gimmick will be fun the first couple times it shows up but will wear thin very, very quickly.

Speaking of illusion of personality, pretty much everyone on the secret stealth team has, uh, lost their character traits. Not counting those who had no personality in the first place, of course (Sky), or lost it earlier in the series (Moon). Seriously, I can’t think of a single personality trait of anyone on this team other than “annoying.”

So Luna thinks about everyone on the team or whatever, to maintain the illusion of personality, and at one point she remarks that Bullfrog, the MudWing, has a personality that’s “buried deep inside” or whatever. This is Tui’s excuse for not giving him an actual personality. Seriously, what does Bullfrog do except be dumb, dull, and think about cows? He’s a walking MudWing stereotype. And Tui, being stoic isn’t the same thing as having no personality. You have to show something beneath the emotionless surface, otherwise the emotionless surface is the personality.

The team sets off toward Pantala with the magic items they have. Now let’s go off on a tangent and talk about expectations, and I swear this is relevant to the conversation, so stick with me here.

Before this book came out, fan theories and speculation was wild. Tui had released a few tidbits of information thus far, and we were hungry for more. There was a lot of wild mass guessing about what was going to happen in the book. For instance, there was a lot of talk about the possibility of a cure to the othermind being found, or Monarch being restored to the SilkWing throne, or an “I know you’re in there somewhere” fight between Luna and Blue. Standard fare like that. It’s exactly what you’d expect from a mediocre, tropey writer like Tui T. Sutherland.

Heck, I even wrote a parody of the story based partially on what I thought was going to happen! You know, the usual fare: Sky does something dumb and gets the entire team captured, Wasp keeps prisoners instead of, you know, killing them, Pineapple and Bullfrog dies to establish how dangerous Pantala is, and a few jokey things like a Batman reference and a Wasp redemption arc. *sigh* And an othermind redemption arc, too. It was supposed to be a joke. *sob*

No one honestly believed there was going to be an othermind redemption arc, and no one thought Wasp would get randomly taken out by a side character. Heck, in my parody—which I wrote to be intentionally bad—Luna confronts Wasp directly! There was the occasional joke about the othermind getting redeemed or secretly being a scavenger, but no one took these ideas seriously because no one expected Tui to pull something like that.

And… well, Tui did exactly that, thus subverting audience expectations and sacrificing the story for the sake of shock bait, but I’ll explain that in more detail as I go.

Anyways, back to the story. So the team goes to Pantala. They immediately encounter a HiveWing force before they even reach the main continent, because Tui has to establish how dangerous Pantala is, and—gasp—Moon, who is the most useful member of the team by virtue of being able to read minds and see the future, is captured! Oh noes! Pantala is super dangerous, y’all! Oh, and Qibli and Pineapple get captured too, I guess. And Tsunami.

Also, we see a mind-controlled SilkWing, yada yada oh no everyone’s in danger now! Didn’t we already establish this two books ago? Anyways, the mind-controlled SilkWing uses their spidey-sense—wait, I meant lateral line—wait, I meant antennae—to try and find the invisible protags, but the good guys stay still because that’s totally how “air vibrations” (read: sound) work, so they only grab Moon, Qibli, Pineapple, and Tsunami. That’s actually a lot of dragons.

Oh noes, we need to save Moon now! Speaking of her, you know what makes me sad other than her personality vanishing after MR? We never see her read the minds of the mind-controlled dragons and remark how blank they are or use them to predict Wasp’s movements. We never see her get a vision of the future about anything. We only see her use her powers, like, twice, and once in an incident that doesn’t make sense when you think about it for two seconds, but we’ll get to that later.

So Sundew and Lynx decide to go off and rescue Moon—offscreen, of course, because nothing interesting is allowed to happen in this book—and everyone stays invisible. This is gimmicky for a while, but the novelty of it wears off very quickly, and eventually it just comes off as silly.

The team runs around underground and meet the nonbinary representation character, Axolotl the scavenger! They will only be there to be a cave guide and then will fade into irrelevance, only to reappear in the epilogue where they treat Cricket like a pack animal. Hooray.

What? I’m not salty about the scavengers gaining relevance in this series at all, or the fact that they ride sentient dragons like they’re horses or something! I’ll probably explain this scavenger nonsense in detail in a later post, and why usually-standard fare like scavengers riding dragons is especially egregious in this series.

So anyways. Axolotl the nonbinary rep. I was kind of hoping that a) they would get to assert their gender in the story and b) they would get a lot of screen time. We got neither; Wren just heard their pronouns offscreen. Oh well, at least there isn’t an awkward misgendering moment. Oh, and I wanted the nonbinary representation to be a dragon instead of a hairless monkey, but we can’t have everything, I suppose! No, I’m not bitter at all!

Okay. To be fair, I understand the enby rep getting minimal screentime; Tui’s hands were probably tied due to executive mandates. But I digress.

Tangent: How do Wren and Axo understand each other perfectly even though their societies have been separated for five thousand years? Language drift exists, you know, and given that Tui’s first written work was Shakespeare fanfiction she really should know that. This is like if an English speaker could understand someone speaking Swedish or Dutch, except it’s worse in this case because Pyrrhia and Pantala have been completely isolated from each other, meaning zero loanwords or any of that fun linguistics stuff. The thing with dragons is slightly less egregious, because they’ve been separated for two thousand years and Tsunami describes Willow with a strange accent, but it’s still egregious. This is basically the field of linguistics being set on fire for the sake of plot convenience. And honestly, wouldn’t it be more interesting if dragons struggled to communicate with one another to tell each other things like how dire the situation is?

Anyways, Luna and co get led to a group of other dragons also hiding underground, where we meet a few characters, like Pokeweed. Pokeweed is consistently described by the narrative as slow and dull, but his dialogue is actually quite snarky. This is a problem Tui has in general; she relies too much on tell instead of show, leading to disconnects like this and Bullfrog supposedly having a personality when he doesn’t. Oh, and she overuses said bookisms and adverbs in dialogue tags, which is another symptom of the tell-not-show disease.

Luna also meets a bunch of dragonets, because Tui really likes her dragonet characters. I get that she’s a mother of two, but can we not bog down the narrative with useless tiny sidekicks, please?

One of these dragonets is Dusky the orphan SilkWing from the horrendous Bloodworm Hive, because we need to establish sympathy points for him ASAP! Luna gets attached to him, or something, and later she will do arguably the dumbest action ever undertaken in the series for him. My friends, we call this type of character a plot device.

Some people on Discord also brought up that Dusky's backstory only seemed to be there to justify the Bloodworm Hive burning, so there's also that, I guess. Ugh.

Tangent: I’m still angry that Bloodworm Hive’s burning wasn’t addressed at all. Like, the LeafWings probably killed a bunch of HiveWings, and even if no one died—which is unlikely—that’s still a ninth of the HiveWing and SilkWing population displaced plus all material goods in the Hive lost. Why is no one talking about this? I’m pretty sure this qualifies as a war crime and it wasn’t even brought up in this book. I mean, if the HiveWings did something similar to the LeafWings, we’d hear no end of it, but hey, the good guys did it, and that makes it okay! Remember, kids, if you’re fighting for freedom and the oppressed, that gives you the green light to do whatever horrible things you want, because as we all know, the ends always justify the means! Uh, that got a bit racy there. Let’s go back to the book.

Several chapters go by in which pretty much nothing happens, and then Luna decides to go exploring with Dusky. They come across a mural or something, and Luna thinks about the Scorching and how scavengers took something dragons had or something, according to the myths.

Okay, time for another tangent. Fans have been begging Tui for information on the Scorching since the beginning of time, so Tui decided to hand it over, apparently. This book felt a lot like fanservice at points, and so did the previous book. There’s nothing wrong with blatant fanservice (see Spider-Man: No Way Home), but in this case it felt like a monkey’s paw situation, where we technically got what we asked for, but in the worst way possible. Here, the fanservice itself was bad and hurt the story overall. I’ll dissect this later.

Around here Luna meets that random scavenger we saw in the epilogue of the last book… why was she in that epilogue again?… Anyways, this random scavenger we don’t care half an iota about, Raven, appears here and then disappears for the rest of the book. So what was the point of her appearance—wait a second. Why does she have a raven feather in her hair? Doesn’t she spend, like, all her time underground? Speaking of underground, where do the abyss humans get their food? Do they exclusively eat lichens and mushrooms or something? Why is the worldbuilding in this series so broken?

Oh, right. The thoughts post. Ahem.

So then Vole runs up and kidnaps Dusky, and Luna is like, “Oh no!” And she runs after them.

Short tangent: Vole made an appearance earlier in the story, and Luna described him to have a scraggly beard. I must ask… is there a word in draconic for “beard” now? How does Luna know what a beard is when so far she’s only met female scavengers? Why does Luna distinguish a beard on Vole as opposed to, you know, describing him as hairy and scraggly in general? Questions!

Another short tangent placed here because I don’t know where else to put it: This is a problem pervasive throughout the whole book and the series as a whole, but this book was filled with cheap chapter cliffhangers. You know, like, “The monster turned toward them! Want to know what happened next? Go to the next chapter!” And in the next chapter it turned out to be not a threat. (1) It’s cheap, it’s transparent, it’s annoying, and it’s used as a hook to keep the reader in the book when the plot or characters can’t sustain the reader’s interest. Please stop using them, Tui, or if you have to use them, please make them lead into something interesting.

Anyways, Vole jumps into the glowing green abyss—which, by the way, is near Lake Scorpion as opposed to the sinkhole that appeared in TLC. Oh, you thought that random hole that appeared in the beginning of the arc had to be a Chekhov’s Gun? Nope! It wasn’t important, which pretty much relegates the sinkhole to a random thing that appeared and amounted to nothing. It wasn’t even set up as a red herring.

And here… *sigh*

Here Luna does the dumbest thing anyone does in this entire series.

She YEETs herself after Dusky, plummeting toward certain doom and mind control, to rescue a dragonet she’s only known for a few days.

Who cares if she gets mind controlled! What will the team do without her? Who cares! And it’s not like she’s guaranteed to get mind controlled since she’s literally entering the lair of the othermind. Nope, she’ll risk everything, the entire world even, to rescue a random dragonet.

Now to be fair, someone on Discord pointed out that this actually ties into Luna’s character arc of struggling with her bystander status. But it’s pretty telling that I don’t remember any of that character arc stuff, isn’t it? Shouldn’t something as important as the protagonist’s character arc be remembered by the audience? Oh right, Luna doesn’t have a character arc because she has all the personality of a piece of cardboard. You can’t multiply by zero.

Maybe, just maybe, instead of giving Luna a proper character arc Tui was only paying lip service to it to justify Luna’s monumentally stupid decision.

Now here’s a point you might bring up: Luna was a hero! Of course she had to save Dusky!

Uh, no. Luna had no personality to speak of; we never saw her do anything heroic, we just saw her walk around and act stupid for the entire arc. She’s basically a walking plot device that Tui’s using to further the plot. Luna complaining about the treatment of SilkWings even though she grew up in the system and we, the audience, can clearly see SilkWings being discriminated against? She’s just there to explain things to the audience! Her deciding to leave the caves to use her newfound wings even though it was extremely dangerous outside? She did it so she could get attacked by HiveWings! Her deciding to use her silk while being attacked by HiveWings and being unable to stop spinning silk for some reason while she gets blown away like a chump? She did it so she could get whisked off to Pyrrhia and found by Jerboa!

I’ll bring up a counterexample of someone doing something similar to what Luna did: Peter Parker rescuing the kid in the burning building in Spider-Man 2, and I’m using that film because I’m assuming everyone has seen it, not to mention that it’s brilliant and anyone who says otherwise can zip it. And hey, both Peter (in the Raimi films anyway) and Luna have organic web-shooters and were trying to rescue a kid at huge peril to themselves, so it fits!

At this point Peter has given up his responsibility as Spider-Man after a) being a superhero interfered too much with his normal life and b) he lost his powers. At one point he sees a burning building and, upon hearing that there’s still someone trapped inside, he immediately runs in to rescue the kid at risk of him dying a horrible death, and it’s especially risky since his powers are on the fritz. So why does this work? Because Peter has been previously established to be heroic—it’s part of his backstory of not standing by while something bad happens—not to mention that at this point in the film he’s given up his responsibility as Spider-Man, so to him, he can afford to die.

Does Luna have either of these points going for her? No. She has zero characterization because she’s a walking plot device, and she’s probably the only non-mind-controlled flamesilk at this point and she’s on the secret stealth team—there’s a prophecy, remember? Talons need to unite? That includes Luna. Ergo, she’s important, and she should know it.

Short tangent: I am so tired of these either/or prophecies in these arcs. Did this arc need a prophecy, even? The prophecy just undermines tension, because look, the prophecy said the team would succeed if we did this thing! If we need a prophecy, could we make it ambiguous or easily misinterpreted instead? “You need to do X or Y will happen” wears thin after a while.

But no. Luna YEETs herself after Dusky the plot device even though she really shouldn’t have, and don’t try to pretend it’s anything but Tui using Luna as a puppet for plot reasons.

So she enters the abyss and gets mind-controlled, because of course, but before that she sees a room… with a scavenger husk and a dragonet husk, but with plants growing out of their heads. Gasp! Body horror! Whatever, I’ve seen way worse on the SCP Foundation.

And here we get to the point where the book stops trying to make sense, or even form a resemblance of sense.

Because here, Luna is subjected to three chapters of flashbacks! Hooray! It’s not like that got old in the last book.

Yes, you heard that right. Flashbacks. And to pre-Scorching times. How does this work? It’s never explained! When I was reading this, I initially thought the flashback took place on Earth because the descriptions were confusing. And in case you were wondering, the flashbacks take place on the good ol’ dragon planet. Which still doesn’t have a name, by the way.

So in the never-explained flashbacks, we learn that humans used to rule Pyrrhia, but at one point someone named Cottonmouth decided to steal a bunch of dragon eggs to use as weapons of war, which essentially makes this a poor dragon’s Temeraire. As revenge, the dragons flew out and destroyed human civilization. How the dragons defeated the scavengers during the Scorching when previously they’ve been pushed to the fringes of the wilderness by those same scavengers is never explained. Maybe their rage gave them a powerup or something.

To escape impending death, Cottonmouth and a group of followers set out with a dragon egg, making it to Pantala, finding the breath of evil, somehow connecting it to Cottonmouth’s brain—this is also never explained, by the way—and then Cottonmouth connecting the dragonet from the egg to his brain also. And then they died but their consciousnesses remained alive in the breath of evil. Somehow.

“Animus scavenger” would’ve made more sense. And it would’ve been less convoluted.

Short tangent: People keep asking, so I’ll answer: A cottonmouth is a kind of snake, so named for their white mouths. Because in this series, everyone with a snake name has to be evil or at least be very, very nasty.

It really feels like Tui here was like, “Oh, you don’t like the othermind being a sentient plant? And you want to know what happened during the Scorching? Well, here you go! Might as well kill two birds with one stone!” And we ended up with the othermind being a scavenger and a dragon. Plus a bunch of flashbacks that padded out what was supposed to be, you know, the climax of this arc. Can’t we save this Scorching stuff for a Legends book or that dragon field guide Tui’s working on?

You see, monkey’s paw.

After the flashbacks are done, we’re introduced to two new characters, both of whom I absolutely despise: Cottonmouth the scavenger and the proto-LeafWing-RainWing he has with him, then called Lizard, now called Freedom. I’ll be calling her Freedom throughout this even though she’s technically called Lizard until near the end of the book.

Why do I hate these characters, you might ask? What has Freedom in particular done to earn your seething hatred?

Cottonmouth is obviously meant to be hated, but I don’t hate him because his character is despicable, I hate him because of how he’s written. He’s obviously meant to be the Worst Big Bad Ever in the series, even worse than someone cool like Scarlet, and Tui keeps trying to tell us how obviously dangerous he is. Look! He controls, like, everyone on Pantala! He’s been around since the Scorching! In fact, he started the Scorching! He’s so bad and dangerous, y’all, fear and hate him!

Unfortunately, his execution falls flat. He just comes across as a mean old guy with no real character substance, nor does he have villainous panache to make up for it like Scarlet. I don’t know why I should respect this guy, much less fear him. He kind of reminds me of Hush from the Batman comics in this regard: the OMG Most Dangerous Villain Evar who’s just… blah and boring. And also an annoying jerk. Who’s also gimmicky. Look, folks, Cottonmouth is an old guy who’s dead and his consciousness can mind control things, and he started the Scorching! Look, folks, Hush is a doctor dressed up in bandages for no reason who spouts Plato, and he’s Bruce’s childhood friend and he nearly killed Batman the first time they fought! (2)

There is nothing less cool than an author desperately trying to convince you that their character is cool.

Similarly poor execution afflicted the other character who appeared here, Freedom. She’s obviously meant to be pitied because of her backstory, but she has a terrible personality and it’s hard for me to sympathize with someone like her. She’s abrasive, whiny, selfish, sadistic, and 100% willing to help Cottonmouth, none of which are good character traits. It doesn’t help that she unironically says things like “I BARF at you” and “you bozo,” nor does it help that the narrative is desperately trying to get us to sympathize with her. No one calls her out on her actions; instead, everyone is all, “Oh, poor baby! Cottonmouth abuses you and it’s so sad! Here, have some happy memories!”

And this is coming from the person who sympathized with Winter on account of his abusive family backstory, even though he was a jerk—albeit one who was fundamentally good. Cricket, too, even though she had a less nuanced personality than I normally prefer. I sympathize with characters with abusive parents at the drop of a hat, so you have to be impressively nasty or badly written for me to hate you with a backstory like that.

Now, if Freedom had been instead been written as a terrified dragonet, horrifically traumatized from millennia of abuse from Cottonmouth, afraid to speak most of the time but willing to help Luna out of the goodness of her heart, that would give her way more sympathy points than someone who only helps Luna because it will give her memories and enjoys puppeting dragons.

Hmm, let’s do another comparison. Take Anfang the gryphon from The Gryphon Generation, a self-published series that by all evidence has been read by a total of, like, three people, myself included. This will require a bit more context. Anfang is a nasty character. He toys with his murder victims, he eats people, and yet he still comes off as sympathetic due to a combination of factors: he was a lot nicer before the military experimented on him as shown in flashbacks and Thyra’s thoughts; his horrific crimes, horrific appearance, and lack of societal knowledge make wider society reject him, with Thyra being the only individual who still thinks there’s good in him, and even that can get dubious; Anfang wants to be accepted by Thyra and actually tries to be a better individual, which feeds into his character arc; there’s also the fact that pretty much everyone calls him out on his terrible actions. It helps that he has a nuanced and interesting personality, with differing perspectives on things like love and religion allowing him to foil off characters like Thyra, the protagonist, and Matthew, the big bad.

Both characters have been taught that humans/dragons/whatever are fundamentally selfish and horrible, they’re both controlled by nasty bad guys, and they’re both sadistic, but Anfang isn’t a Karma Houdini—he faces actual consequences for his actions, such as rejection by characters who otherwise might have given him a chance. Freedom, though, is, and no matter what she does, she will be given a free Authorial Get out of Jail Free card, because she’s supposed to be sympathetic, look at the babey! Hey, I think I found the biggest reason why I dislike Freedom so much. (3)

Oh, and how many people expected the othermind to be a scavenger? No one. There were jokes, sure, but no one expected a scavenger othermind for real; again, Tui is pulling twists from thin air because it’ll surprise the audience and subvert expectations. Because what we clearly needed after a plant was revealed to be the twist villain was a second twist villain where we learn that the big bad is actually a scavenger! How thrilling! It’s not like this is gimmicky or cheap or anything. Heck, even Disney dropped the twist villain thing after a while because it was getting old.

Is it possible to write a good villain twist? Yes. Pretty much every Brandon Sanderson story has a twist villain in it. However, these are good twists, and always feel like an extension of the story, where the twist makes sense in hindsight and doesn’t feel gimmicky. Unfortunately, Tui does not have Brandon’s skill in executing plot twists, so her villain twists feel shallow and flat.

Anyways, back to whatever the heck the plot in this book is. Luna, Cottonmouth, and Freedom are chilling in a “mindspace,” which also makes zero sense. Where did it come from? How does it work? Very good questions that Tui will never answer, because details are for suckers. Anyways, using the mindspace, the group telepathically views a scene where Wasp tries to get Pineapple and Qibli to get mind controlled by her or something. Where’s Moon, you may ask? She got busted out earlier by Lynx and Sundew in a daring infiltration scheme that happened entirely offscreen. We will never see this scene, by the way. Nor will we hear a recounting of this story by any of the participants. Instead, we get to listen to Freedom whine, because that’s way more interesting than a retrieval mission!

Short tangent: Why does Wasp always want to mind control dragons and leave them alive for them to be rescued instead of just killing them immediately? Sure, she likes mind control, but she literally has thousands of dragons. She doesn’t need two more drones or puppets or whatever. Oh right, I forgot, she’s a villain in the Wings of Fire series, where intelligence isn’t required for villainy.

At least Malachite is in this scene. He wasn’t forgotten or anything, so kudos to Tui for remembering that he exists.

So Qibli and Pineapple attack Wasp. Oh, right, Tsunami was in this too, I forgot. There’s a fight scene here, except it isn’t very exciting because Luna, the protagonist in her own book, is relegated to a passive bystander while she watches Pineapple defeat Wasp with magical death spit.

Yes. Pineapple, the random side character who was introduced in the last book, was the one who defeated Wasp. Not Luna, who is the protagonist, nor any of the other third arc protags. Pineapple. The random side character. Defeated Wasp.

*sigh*

Again, this is Tui trying to surprise the audience for the sake of a surprise, because who cares about things like payoff? Basic narrative structure is for suckers. It’s not like this undermines the story or anything. And as we all know, The Last Jedi and the eighth season of Game of Thrones are beloved for being pure shock bait!

Oh right, the rainbow blood. For some reason, Wasp has green blood in this scene, and Tsunami’s blood is blue. I have zero idea why Tui made this decision, and it’s even more inexplicable that the editor and beta readers failed to catch this, but whatever. Fandom made a big deal out of it, but I have much bigger problems in this book to dissect, so I don’t really care. It was a mistake on Tui’s part, no one has not-red blood except for IceWings, move on.

Short tangent: By the way, Malachite gets his face set on fire in this scene. But the next time we see him, he’s perfectly alright. Tui does realize that getting your face set on fire is potentially lethal, right? At the very least he should have second-degree burns, which are extremely painful, and facial burns need emergency medical treatment immediately to prevent infection as well as prevent or mitigate a potentially deadly inflammatory response. At the very least Malachite should have some facial scarring and/or be seriously traumatized from the experience. But he’s fine, don’t worry about him!

So anyways, Wasp is defeated by a side character, and Luna wants Freedom to help her friends, but Freedom is selfish so Luna has to trade her memories. The friends escape, but Cottonmouth says he has already infected someone on the team… it’s obviously Pineapple, because Tui displays blatant favoritism towards characters who used to be protags, especially Qibli, and it would be especially undignified for him to get mind controlled! Her boi is too smart for that to happen to him! It would be similarly undignified for this to happen to Tsunami, so by process of elimination the mind-controlled dragon is Pineapple.

After that we see Cottonmouth superimpose himself over Pineapple’s body while he’s flying, which kind of reminds me of that Spider-Man: No Way Home meme. It makes me smile. Seriously, it does.

Now, where was I? Oh, right. It’s pretty clear at this point that Freedom is going to be redeemed, otherwise Luna will be stuck in the abyss forever, and there’s no way Tui’s going to let that happen. I wasn’t looking forward to the redemption arc then and I still hate it now.

So Freedom demands Luna to give her her memories. Oh, right, Dusky was in this too, and she wants his memories as well. So they give her their memories, she sees them, and whines about how boring they are because instead of fighting, she sees… gasp… friendship and family! And Luna starts thinking about how she can manipulate this five-thousand-year-old dragonet into helping them.

Is anyone getting a feeling of deja vu?

Because this is a retread of Snowfall’s character arc in the last book.

A whiny dragonet with immense power and sorely lacking in compassion is shown a series of flashbacks, memories, visions, whatever by a plot point outside her control. This causes the character to reconsider her compassion level and perspective on life and becomes better, or something, and does something that says she’s good now.

It’s almost the exact same thing as the last book. The exact same thing, because… I dunno, because Tui liked what she did with Snowfall and wanted to repeat what she did? Did she consider TDG her best book before TFoH came out, even though it was her worst Wings of Fire book by far at that point? What was Tui thinking here?

Short tangent: Around this time we see a bunch of trees near Lake Scorpion or something like that, meaning Wasp was either too lazy to do her job properly or was a liar.

Oh, and Moon appears in the mindspace, even though she isn’t mind-controlled. This is explained by the fact that she can read minds, but… she listens to dragons’ thoughts, she can’t project them or anything. She’s like a mind radio (does anyone still use radios?); she can pick up transmissions, but can’t broadcast them herself.

But, you may ask, what about in MR when Moon and Darkstalker talked to each other?

Darkstalker was a highly trained mind reader; he was likely taught a method to amplify his thoughts so Moon could hear them more clearly. He can’t project thoughts, and neither can Moon; they were two mind readers conversing with one another by reading each other’s minds. In fact, according to Tui, only a NightWing telepath hatched under a blood moon can project thoughts.

In other words, Tui forgot her own rules about mind reading. All for the sake of plot convenience, because poor babey needs memories because she’s so sad y’all, pity her!

So everyone shares happy memories with Freedom, because there’s nothing sweeter than manipulating an ancient dragonet into helping you while not giving her the full picture of what dragonkind is like, because dragons can’t be vicious at all. Aww! Did Tui and I even grow up on the same planet?

As if the “you’re more than your parents” thing in previous books wasn’t bad enough. Subtle, my a—I mean, uh, subtle, my bucket of worms. Right. Hmm, we’ll shelf the theme discussion for now and talk about it later.

Moon uses her mind reading powers to find out that Pineapple is mind-controlled. Everyone freaks out, Pineapple gets frostbreath to the shoulder, something something. At least the end is near, y’all.

Short tangent: I needn’t mention how the frostbreath to the shoulder is possibly deadly, due to the large amount of important blood vessels, nerves, and muscles in the shoulders, and should’ve incapacitated Pineapple, right? But he’s fine! It’s like nothing happened to him at all! He can still move and fight. It’s like no one can get hurt in this book or something.

Oh, and Freedom gets “redeemed” sometime in this horrendous mess of a plot, because she’s nice now! She thinks all dragons are wonderful and warmhearted. How she missed all Luna and Dusky’s memories of HiveWing oppression is beyond me. How does the memory sharing thing work, anyway? Who cares! Explanations are for losers. (4)

There’s some problems here.

So first, the redemption happened way too quickly. It happened in what, a day? Does Tui expect me to believe that a dragonet who has lived with a certain mindset for thousands of years will just change said mindset in a single day or two because she saw some warm fuzzy memories? I know Tui is the queen of unrealistically quick character development, and it’s always egregious, (5) but it’s the worst here.

Freedom’s actions here are also deeply out of character. She has been selfish for thousands of years; having her suddenly decide to help Luna is deeply out of character and just doesn’t make sense.

Oh look, more examples to contrast this book with! I’ll go back to works everyone’s heard of. Take Anakin Skywalker, for instance, particularly his portrayal in the Clone Wars TV show (the 2008 one, although I’d recommend everyone watch the 2003 miniseries as well). He has a key character trait demonstrated again and again throughout the show: he will sacrifice a lot of things, put himself at risk, and go against orders to save those he loves, like Ahsoka and Obi-Wan. The show highlighted this trait a lot better than the prequel films did, and makes Darth Vader’s sacrifice in Return of the Jedi retroactively better, because fundamentally Anakin never acts out of character; it’s just that the circumstances under which he acts changes. He’ll kill a spy/saboteur to save Obi-Wan and a ship full of politicians, he’ll kill a bunch of kids to save Padme… eugh… and he’ll kill Palpatine to save his son Luke.

I’ll use another example from Spider-Man 2 because I feel like it; you’ll just have to deal with it. Early in the film, Otto Octavius tells Peter that intelligence is a gift, not a privilege, and that he should use it for the good of mankind, establishing that he likes science but prioritizes helping humans. He tries to build a fusion reactor specifically to help humans obtain a source of cheap energy. However, after the reactor experiment goes awry and the tentacles fuse to his spine, the tentacles’ AI start whispering into his brain like tiny metal psychic raptors, influencing him to become a supervillain with no regard for human life; he decides to recreate the failed fusion experiment despite the very real possibility of the reactor going wrong again, this time wiping out a good chunk of NYC.

During the climax, Peter even has to reteach Ock that "intelligence is a gift" lesson from earlier in the film. Ock then demands the tentacles to listen to him, and the metal raptors—I mean tentacle arms—cower and stop influencing him, very clearly demonstrating that Otto could've stopped listening to the tentacles at any time. While events such as the failed fusion project and his wife's death did make him more suscetible to the AI, he still chose to listen and do what the raptor arms said. After that, Otto opts to destroy the out-of-control fusion reactor by dragging it into the river, sacrificing himself in the process and preventing NYC from being destroyed by a miniature sunball. In other words, his "help mankind" nature kicked in, and he did what he had to do.

Why did I use these two examples? Because they’re both examples of the “redemption equals death” trope and their heel-face turn itself occurs at the climax of the story, which is also Freedom's whole deal. I was going to use Zuko as an example of how to do a redemption arc, but didn’t because a) he doesn't fulfill either of the above criteria, making him less relevant to this conversation and b) don’t get me wrong, I love Zuko, but there are roughly two million thinkpieces about what makes him so awesome, making anything I say very redundant, and if you want to compare him to Freedom it wouldn’t be hard to dig up one of those thinkpieces. But I digress.

Is Freedom like either of these characters, where her redemption results from a natural extension of her character? No. She’s been selfish for five thousand years, but will suddenly become selfless because the book demands that you feel bad for her right now!

Some people will argue that Freedom changing her mind makes sense because she’s been exposed to new information, but in my experience, people do not change their minds easily; a conspiracy theorist would rather continue believing a lie than admit they were wrong, even when faced with all evidence to the contrary. A shift in mindset, such as Vin in Mistborn slowly learning to trust and open up to others, only works if it occurs over the course of months or even years. Tui does not do that here.

Also, this redemption wasn’t earned. Characters have to actively work toward their own redemption—they have to strive to be better people. They have to realize what they did was wrong, atone for it, and work to be better, making up for their past decisions. Freedom, though, just suddenly decides to be better because warm fuzzy memories. She doesn’t apologize, much less atone, for thousands of years’ worth of mind controlling who knows how many dragons, because all that happened offscreen and no one cares about those dragons anyway. She doesn’t have to work for her redemption, either; she’s handed the warm fuzzy memories on a silver platter, and she has zero self-doubts or internal struggles. She doesn’t have to work for anything, because look at the babey, isn’t she cute! If you don’t feel bad for her, you are a heartless monster and therefore all your criticisms are invalid!

Take the previous redemption examples I brought up. Anakin had to choose between ol' Palps and his son, and Otto had to fight the AI. There were, you know, actual hurdles to overcome in these moments.

And here's another thing. Notice how Anakin brought down the Empire he had helped found, and Otto dismantled the fusion reactor he had built? They were atoning for actions they had directly taken, a sort of 1:1 "I did this bad thing, now I'll fix it" scenario. Freedom, though? She shows how to destroy the othermind, even though the othermind's establishment wasn't her fault; it was all Cottonmouth, that dastardly, evil, mustache-twirling goateed villain. She's atoning for something she didn't do! Tui was so desperate to show how amazing and innocent her super speshul babey was that she forgot to give her something to atone for, and the atonement process is important in a redemption arc. Well, I guess her jerk behavior could be atoned for. That should've been what Freedom did.

You could argue that her atonement came in the form of her willingness to die to save the continent, and that’s a valid interpretation, but I personally think death isn’t as big of a deal for immortals compared to regular mortal people, because they’ve been around for so long and suffered so much that they usually see death as a kind of reprieve; in fact, I'm pretty sure Freedom hated Cottonmouth and wanted to get away from him as fast as possible, and was tired of her life. And I’m usually lenient toward the “redemption equals death” trope, because I see death as the ultimate atonement of sorts, but only for people who are actually scared of death and see it as a bad thing, especially so if resurrection or a fakeout death isn’t a viable option. Not to mention that a bad immortal did a lot more bad things than a bad mortal by sheer virtue of being around for way longer. But I digress.

And here’s another thing. A lot in a story hinges on whether we care about a character or not, one of which is whether we care about their journey and personal growth through the story. We are given zero reasons to care about Freedom, and thus zero reason why we should care about whether she’s redeemed or not. Sure, she has a sob story, but her personality is so loathsome that, by all accounts, everyone should hate her. Well, I certainly did, but Tui must’ve sacrificed her firstborn son to cast some sinister black magic spell that made most of fandom like Freedom or something. My point is, if a character already starts off horrible and unlikeable without any redeeming qualities, such as Freedom, then the author shouldn’t waste their time trying to “redeem” them, at risk of making the character seem like they were too easily forgiven or they got off too lightly for their crimes or the like. In fact, this is exactly how I think of Freedom, if my earlier thoughts were any indication.

Okay, back to the story. Freedom tells Luna how to kill the othermind, though it’ll get rid of her and Cottonmouth as well. Somehow Luna manages to escape the mindspace and wiggle toward where the plant is connected to the husks, intending to sever the connection.

Meanwhile, Cottonmouth has used a bunch of dragons to attack the team, intending to inject them full of breath of evil using a dragon named Carabid. He talks about this fight like he’s a sports commentator or something, except it isn’t any fun because we can’t even see the game—I mean fight.

So while the main action is somewhere else, Luna decides to sever the vine from the husks with a strand of silk. So to defeat the big bad, the protagonist has to do essentially some garden trimming.

This… is such a pitiful anticlimax that it puts the other anticlimaxes in this series to shame. I shouldn’t have to explain why this is bad. Shouldn’t there at least have been a large battle between the team and a mind-controlled army, or a confrontation with Wasp, or at least one explosion? Haha, no. Instead the protagonist spends half the book not doing anything except passively watch stuff happen, and in the end it’s Freedom who tells Luna how to defeat the othermind. We can’t have the book be interesting or even at least follow basic narrative structure like having a decent climax! That might lead to people actually liking the book!

Luna tries to sever the connection between Cottonmouth and Freedom because she doesn’t want Freedom to die, and I actually expected Tui here to have her cake and eat it too. I wouldn’t have put it past her. Surprisingly, though, Freedom actually has to die, because… something about how the breath of evil is semi-sentient or whatever.

So if the plant is semi-sentient and Cottonmouth was keeping it at bay, then wouldn’t getting rid of Freedom just make the plant problem worse? Or is it only semi-sentient when it’s connected to a mind? How does that work? Even without a mind making the plant semi-sentient, then isn’t it still a parasitic mind-affecting plant, as shown in the flashbacks? Why does getting rid of Freedom fix the problem? How does this make any sense?

But then, it means Freedom dies, so I’m not complaining much.

However, since *checks notes* Dusky has skewed priorities and wants to give this dragonet a name instead of, you know, saving the world before something bad happens, everyone’s all, “Oh, you sad poor babey, you need a name other than Lizard!” And she picks… Freedom.

Why, out of all things, did Tui have to pick a word so closely associated with ‘MURICA!? Because Tui loves ‘MURICA! and wants everyone to know it. It’s not like a childish yet cute name like Destroyer would’ve been good. Nope. Had to be a word that was associated with ‘MURICA! Tui wants to proclaim her ‘MURICAN! patriotism to everyone who might listen; it’s not like this is distracting and puts off all non-Americans and a lot of Americans reading this story.

Someone argued that Freedom picked this word because she was now free from Cottonmouth and the breath of evil. Fair point, but why didn’t Tui pick one of the numerous synonyms of the word “freedom” that doesn’t remind the reader of ‘MURICA!? You know, such as independence, liberation, or amnesty? Because, again, ‘MURICA! IS! THE BEST! AND TUI WANTS YOU TO KNOW IT!

And then Freedom dies and it’s supposed to be sad, but I didn’t feel a thing except relief this book was nearly over. Gasp! I’m such a heartless monster!

And now for the ending. There are so many problems with it I don’t even know where to start. Warning, it might get a bit racy here.

So first, Wasp and her sisters are dealt with offscreen while Luna makes out with Swordtail. What. The. Ffffffffudge. Why why why why why is the bad guy we're first introduced to in this arc and made to be a big deal in the books handled by Sundew offscreen, instead of by the actual protagonist? You know what, I already talked about this when Pineapple defeated Wasp, so I'm not going to repeat myself. You know how bad for the story this is.

For contrast, I'd like to add that Brandon Sanderson's decoy antagonists, despite not being the big bad, aren't tossed aside like garbage after the true villain reveal. They still have a large impact on the story as a whole and are dealt with accordingly. I'd list examples, but Brandon Sanderson isn't well known in the Wings of Fire fandom, probably because he mainly writes adult fantasy, and I don't want to spoil. (6)

In addition, we're told that all Wasp's sisters except Jewel were locked up in the flamesilk cavern. We were given some lip service to Bloodworm's cruelty, sure, but what about the other sisters? We're never told, much less shown, why these other sisters are terrible. We're just given Tui's word for it. I would've appreciated at least a comment or two about what the other sisters did to warrant a punishment as bad as the one given to Wasp and Bloodworm.

Anyways, in the epilogue we see a bunch of Pyrrhians coming to Pantala. Uh, why are they coming here other than because the author wanted a nice visual image? Are the Pyrrhians coming because they intend to move here? I mean, from what I've seen throughout the series the Pyrrhians in Possibility and the like live pretty cushy lives, and as for places like the Scorpion Den, if the way Tui thinks about queens is any indication, such places will probably be improved in the near future. So why would Pyrrhians risk their prosperity and happiness to move to a continent they had never seen before? I mean, unless everyone was told that Pantala was like 'Murica, aka the land of opportunity, then it could've made sense, but we never see that. It's just, "Oh, a bunch of Pyrrhians are here now and Luna is making a tapestry, hooray!"

Or maybe they're just tourists and I'm overthinking this, but you probably came here to see me overthink things anyway.

Sundew's replanting trees on Pantala, meanwhile, using… Pyrrhian trees. Okay, no. Just no. Those trees will either die because the soil composition, climate, etc is different, or those trees will become invasive and harm the growth of native trees by way of stealing resources. The Pyrrhian trees will be bad for the Pantalan wildlife, too: they may have defense mechanisms such as poisonous leaves or thorns that Pantalan animals just aren't accustomed to. All in all, terrible idea. There is a reason why trees planted in, say, the Northwest Coast are native to the region. And since according to this very same book, non-jungle trees are still present on this continent, maybe use the seeds from those? And even if there weren't, Cricket literally found a tree seed on a field trip. Those things are probably everywhere. Why use invasive species? Just… why?

Short tangent: Cricket's tree turns out to be from the fig family, even though when we were first shown the sapling, it was a conifer. But I digress.

Luna has the wonderful idea of splitting the SilkWings, HiveWings, and LeafWings into two separate nations, with the SilkWings and LeafWings living in some kind of forest paradise called the LeafSilk Kingdom; the SilkWings, LeafWings, and three good HiveWings in the entire tribe are going to live there. Putting aside the fact that Luna could have, you know, called it anything, this is a terrible, terrible idea. Splitting up the historical oppressors and oppressed isn't going to make things better, it'll just make them worse, because now interactions between the groups will be more limited, allowing more ignorance, and more hatred, to fester. And what about things like the fact that SilkWings made up, like, half the HiveWing empire's work force? I'm not saying that SilkWings should stay at their menial jobs, mind you, although they need a pay raise at the very least. What I'm saying is that the HiveWing economy will collapse if the SilkWings move to a separate country. But who cares! The HiveWings are the bad guys, so we don't care about their livelihoods.

Also, the HiveWing kingdom and the LeafSilk kingdom will fall into a cycle of warming relations and a violent war. How do I know? Search up India-Pakistan relations. It isn't a perfect 1:1 comparison, but they both involve ethnic groups that hate each other moving to different countries. And you can't say that the HiveWings and LeafSilk kingdom will never have a disputed territory. Luna and friends are carving out a whole new country from an old one, there's bound to be a border dispute.

The HiveWings, meanwhile, get a new queen! It's Jewel. You know, the dragon who literally has objectified SilkWings in her Hive? The one who throws parties all night instead of taking care of her Hive and probably has terrible crime rates as a result? Yeah, she'll make a good queen, all right. At least they don't call her "Jewel the Illiterate" or something because they think she can't read.

We're also told that some HiveWings want Wasp back, mind control and all. Gasp! This is obviously Tui trying to make a statement on white privilege (note to self: make a post talking about why the racism metaphors in Wings of Fire are… bad), but let's put that aside for a moment and look at it from the HiveWings' perspective.

For your entire life, you've been told that LeafWings are terrorists that need to be stopped. You think it's all propaganda and LeafWings are actually extinct, but around this time, a bunch of rebels steal the sacred text of your religion. Wouldn't that be scary? You don't even know why they stole it; for all you know they plan to burn it. Oh, and then it turns out that LeafWings are still alive, and they burn down an entire Hive. Maybe you were from that Hive and barely escaped with your life, losing all your belongings, or maybe you had a friend or loved one who barely escaped or died, or maybe you keep hearing about all the horrible eyewitness accounts of the stampeding panic and thick, choking smoke and the flames as they crept closer and closer.

As retaliation, Wasp gets everyone and sends them to attack the LeafWings and wipe them out once and for all in a decisive strike. You think this is justified, of course; they hurt the country, and you want them to get what they deserve. There's maybe a battle and it's confusing, but Wasp seems to think she's won, and everything kind of goes back to normal.

And then a bunch of strange dragons, from tribes you have never seen before, show up out of nowhere and throw Wasp and most of her sisters into prison. They get all the SilkWings to live under a separate government, the LeafWing terrorists return to your country's lands, the lands which Wasp pushed them out of, and now Jewel, whom you've always viewed as the most incompetent of the sisters due to her constant throwing of parties and neglect of crime rates in her Hive, is queen now. And those new dragons? Well, even more of them are coming to your country now. Maybe they're tourists, but maybe they're here to take over your country and subdue you. For all you know, these new dragons collaborated with the LeafWing terrorists and SilkWing traitors to take down your queen, and they probably did, in fact! Maybe they want to carve up your country and take the pieces for themselves! You don't know!

What I'm saying is that I'm surprised there aren't any HiveWing rebellions or resistance or separatist movements. Oh, and the "good guys" automatically dismiss these HiveWings as "evil," because this is a message about white privilege or something. Why do authors keep putting bad racism allegories into their fantasy books? Please stop. Just… stop.

So there's all this, not to mention all the things that weren't wrapped up and were seemingly forgotten by Tui. What happened to the flamesilks? Were they freed? I'd assume so, but we're never told what happened to them. How are they doing in actual society? Did Blue make amends with Admiral? What about the underlying and systemic oppression of SilkWings? Is anyone working to dismantle the system while the brand new separate kingdom is being planned? How did the HiveWings react to the arrival of Pyrrhians? Do they see Moonwatcher as the reincarnation of Clearsight? What about the fact that HiveWings learned that everything they were ever taught is propaganda? How are they dealing with the LeafWings returning? Speaking of LeafWings, did the PoisonWings and SapWings ever reconcile? What about the Pantalan refugees who moved to Pyrrhia? How many of them came back, and how many chose to stay and why? How are the queens handling the new scavenger law? Is anyone actually following it? How is Snowfall handling the IceWing nobility now that she destroyed the most important aspect of their culture and traditions? What happened to Pineapple, Bullfrog, and the other Pyrrhians? Did they go back to their continent, or are they staying to help run things in Pantala? Oh, and why is the burning of Bloodworm Hive still not brought up?

Absolutely none of these questions are answered, because the book was rushed and was probably only half done when Scholastic published it.

And now, let’s talk themes. They’re not as important to me as plot and character, but they encompass the overall work, so I’ll talk about them here.

Tui has gone on record saying that the theme of the third arc is empathy vs resistance. To quote an interview, "Arc 3 is about empathy and resistance - Tui wants her dragons to get along and understand each other, but at the same time there’s a point where you have to stop trying to understand the bad guys and just stop them."

It's a nice theme that allows for some nuance, although I would've preferred more of a gray area. This is clearly the theme, the central message, of the story in the first two books in the arc: how far should you go when fighting a dictatorship? Should we reach out to the citizens or attack them? Accomplish goals or empathize?

But then the thirteenth book rolls around, and the bad guy is revealed to be a sentient plant this entire time! And if you inhale its smoke, you'll get mind controlled!

Okay. The breath of evil is weed. We get it, Tui, don't do drugs. That's the theme now. Don't do drugs.

But then we get to this book and we learn that the sentient plant is actually a scavenger, and that scavenger stole a dragon egg once? Is the theme of the story now "don't steal dragon eggs?"

And thus, the original theme is discarded in favor of drugs, which is discarded in favor of… this. I mean, what? I am so confused. Where did the empathy and resistance stuff go?

Oh, and the title of the book makes zero sense. Tui was probably mandated by Scholastic to put the word “hope” in the title, but at this point this is just extreme nitpicking, so I'll stop.

All in all, this book was a complete dumpster fire. It is terrible and I will never reread it, even if I'm offered a million dollars to do so. Okay, then maybe if I’m desperate, but otherwise, no. This was Tui’s worst Wings of Fire book, and she should admit to mistakes made and learn to improve her writing in the future.

Unfortunately, Tui actively avoids criticism of her books. I understand that criticism can hurt an author’s feelings, but many authors have coping mechanisms to deal with this—Brandon Sanderson, for instance, reads one-star reviews of Terry Pratchett books, since Pratchett’s his favorite author, to remind himself that there will invariably be people who dislike even the best authors. One suggestion I have for Tui would be for her to request her friends or family members to read negative reviews of her books and summarize them to her; this would minimize exposure and reduce the sting of the reviews.

However, since Tui avoids criticism, she can’t learn to improve her writing. She continues to make the same mistakes: clumsily written characters, telling instead of showing, flailing around with the plot, prioritizing characters she likes over telling a good story. In fact, the second half of the third arc seems to be her worst work: the characters are bland or straight-up unlikeable, she tries too hard to please the fans and sacrifices story as a result, the pacing is a mess, there are too many poorly handled plot twists, and the anticlimax is worse than in the previous arcs.

And here’s what I’ve concluded from all this: Tui is tired of writing Wings of Fire.

She’s been writing the series for about a decade now. That is a long time to be writing a single book series without any breaks, and her writing quality near the end has taken a turn for the worse. She’s clearly rushing the books, trying to finish the series so she can move on to other projects.

And I get it. Writing is hard, and writing something for long periods of time even more so. Tui needs to stop writing the series, even if the fans won’t like it, even if Scholastic won’t like it. She needs to stop, get away from the laptop, and book a trip to the Bahamas or something. Her mental health probably isn’t the best for the aforementioned reasons above, not to mention the death of her pet and longtime companion Sunshine, which occurred while she was writing TDG.

Tui, I know it’s unlikely that you’ll ever see this. You actively avoid social media and actively avoid fan reviews. However, if you do read these words, I’ll drop the sarcasm and directly tell you this:

If you need a break, take it. If writing has become tiring for you, stop for a while and work on something else. Learn a new hobby. Dust off an old hobby. Find a TV series to watch. Go for a walk. Find a therapist if you’re still struggling over Sunshine’s death. Wings of Fire isn’t the totality of your existence, and don’t let it be.

Sincerely, a fan,

Truthseeker

(1) My brother likes to use a hook in the Warrior Cats book Fire and Ice as a prime example of a bad cliffhanger: “These half-starved WindClan cats were ready to attack.” Turn the page. “Fireheart realized they would follow the warrior code and wouldn’t attack.”

(2) I would use the term Villain Sue here, but the term Mary Sue and its constituents have been so overused that they’ve lost their meaning at this point.

(3) It doesn’t help that Freedom is mollycoddled by the fandom, and I seem to be the one of five people on the planet who don’t like her. And to me, there are few things more annoying than a character I dislike being widely liked by the fandom for some inexplicable reason. To me, it seems that Freedom is widely liked despite her jerk tendencies and authorial bias toward her due to her backstory and status as a dragonet. If you like her and want to tell me why, feel free to elaborate; I’d genuinely like to know why people like her so much.

(4) At this point I checked the wiki to clarify some points, and according to the wiki, Freedom has a high, clear voice. In other words, she sounds like Tui! Jeez, no wonder Tui loves her so much.

(5) Pretty much the only circumstance where I will accept character development occurring over a period of time less than a week is if it occurred in a film, simply due to medium restrictions—plot events in a film can only occur over a short period of time, so by necessity things like character development need to be speedrun. A novel, though, can take its time.

(6) I'd suggest reading Brandon Sanderson's books yourself if you want to know more, although you should be reading them anyway. They're that good. Don't worry, they're clean but it's adult fantasy so expect a lot of potentially triggering content. Brandon also has a few YA and middle grade books if that's your cup of tea; they tend to be less existentially heavy, with less potential triggers as well.

#wings of fire #the flames of hope #wof luna #wof wasp #wof pineapple #wof cottonmouth #wof freedom #wof jewel #truthseeker thoughts

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zhongli-simp-blog · 4 years ago

Text

My Mate Part 2

Werewolf AU

Pairings: Leedo x male reader

A/N: Part 2, I hope y'all enjoy it

Part 1

Leedo got done with his run, trying to release some of the anger he was now filled with, “Leedo, where are you going? Shouldn’t you be trying to swoon over your future mate?” Ravn, one of the betas, joked only to receive a dirty look from Leedo “whatever,” he said before storming off into his cabin. It wasn’t long before Ravn followed him in “what’s up? You are usually in a better mood after a run.” Leedo sighed, sitting on the bed, “Y/N told me that he is having a hard time now because of me.” Ravn was silent for a while, trying to find the right words to say.

“Any reason why?” Ravn asks.

“None that I can think of, but I hate myself for not being able to sense it. Y/N is my mate, and I couldn’t even tell. How did you tell something was wrong with your mate?”

Ravn laughed “you aren’t supposed to know everything about your mate right away. Where is the fun in that?” Leedo leaned in closer, trying to soak in every word Ravn was saying.”

“Took us a month to learn how to react to each other’s different scents. It got easier once we were fully mated.” Leedo covered his ears, “I don’t need to know your sex life!!” Ravn only burst out laughing, “It’s a natural thing.” Ravn said, trying to catch his breath. “I still don’t need to know,” Leedo says, leaning against the wall. “But what I can do now?” Hanging his head down.

“All you can do is help him through whatever he needs and not to stick your nose into another pack’s business, and we don’t need to make enemies of our neighbors.” Ravn said, placing a hand on the future alpha’s shoulders, “you will be an alpha soon and married, but above all else, you found your mate, which is more important. Focus on that first.” Leaving the cabin and Leedo to his thoughts.

It was the following day, and you woke up with the smell of lavender filling your senses again, but this time it was comforting. You got up, putting on a shirt, and starting making your way to breakfast. Before you could make your way out the door, you got shoved back, making you fall to the ground “look, a beta can’t even look where he is going, almost like a useless beta.” Head Beta Yunho laughed while walking away. Trying to get up, you felt a sting in your arm. Looking down, you saw a slight scratch.

Trying to stand, a hand reached out for you, looking up. You saw Leedo standing there wearing a half-smile, “what’s a beautiful guy like you doing on the ground?” He said, only receiving a scoff from you, “what are you doing here, Leedo?” Getting up, rejecting his help, “I thought we could eat together, and then I have a surprise for you after.” Leedo’s eyes sparkled when he mentioned the surprise, “I don’t think so, Leedo. I have chores to do and then combat training.” Leedo tried to hide his faltered excitement but got replaced with an idea “then I guess I will have to join you with your activities,” Leedo said proudly.

You and Leedo made your way to the campfire taking your seats, and you could already hear the whispers from the other wolves. “Leedo, what brings you here this morning?” Your alpha asks, “I wanted to enjoy my first breakfast with my mate.” Leedo said with a cold tone, “I hope that isn’t a problem?” Now his voice was almost sinister. “No, not at all.” Your alpha responded.

Breakfast got finished with you and Leedo at the nearby river washing the dishes, “why are you doing this? An alpha shouldn’t be doing mediocre chores.” You ask, avoiding Leedo’s gaze. “I always do things like this in my pack, and I’m not an alpha, just a high-ranking beta.” You scoff at that last part, “a high-ranking beta that is going to be alpha, no big deal or anything.” You started to scrub even harder, trying to avoid any conversation. Leedo only laughed at the action.

“There you are, Leedo. I was looking all over for you,” Siyeon one of the female bets from your pack. “Well, you found me,” Leedo said, not paying her any attention. “You are one funny guy. How about I show you around camp and take a break from this,” she gestures to the many dishes. “I appreciate the offer much. I much rather be doing this,” Leedo said coldly. Siyeon stepped closer, placing her hand on his biceps “wow, I always knew alpha’s had the muscular physique, but this is my first time feeling it.”

Leedo’s nose started to be overwhelmed with the smell of peppermint, a scent he knew was yours, but this time it had a bitter odor. It caused Leedo’s wolf to go crazy, wanting nothing more but to comfort you. Leedo could still feel the female beta’s hand on his arm, “my name is Siyeon. By the way, I’m the highest-ranking female beta.” Leedo looked past her, fixated on you and your bitter scent, “nice to meet you, but we have dishes to complete.” Trying to get rid of her.

You tried to control your wolf, but it kept releasing more of your scent, making sure to let Siyeon know that Leedo was your mate and had no intent on sharing. “Sorry, Siyeon, but you are preventing us from finishing th-,” before Leedo could finish, you cut him off. “Just go, Leedo, I will finish these myself,” you say harshly, trying to get rid of them both. “But Y/n, I-” you looked at him, “just go,” this time more irritated. He stood up and started walking away with Siyeon, “I am going to show you everything.” You hear her voice starting to fade out. Your wolf was angry but also hurt. You ignored it anyways and continued with your task.

Finishing up the last dish, you made your way back to camp. Looking around, it was pretty standard, except you to see Siyeon sitting on Leedo’s lap with her arms wrapped around his neck. Trying to ignore it, you made you place everything into the bin and made your way to the combat training grounds. “See, now that is who an alpha should be with, not some weak ass beta like you. I am surprised that you aren’t dead yet.” Looking over to see Yunho smirking, “a wolf like you doesn’t deserve a pack or to live.”

“Are we going to have a problem?” Looking over, you see Leedo towering over Yunho while flashing his golden eyes. “No problem at all,” Yunho said, lowering his head “good. If I see you touch Y/N, I will rip out your throat. Do you understand me?” Leedo’s commanding voice made everyone shiver to submit, “Leedo, please don’t” you tug on his shirt. He looked back at you as his golden eyes started to fade away, “let’s just go. I am already late for training. Why not join me?” Leedo smiles “that sounds like a lovely, let’s go,” he said, shooting Yunho one last death glare.

You and Leedo arrived at the designated training grounds, “All right, pair up with someone and work on takedowns. It’s crucial to be the one pinning your opponent to the ground before they do you. It’s a difference between life and death.” The trainer Mingi explained. “Let’s see if you can take me, hmm?” Leedo smirks “let’s see what you got, Mr. Alpha,” you taunt, making Leedo mocking back. “If I win, then you have to go on a dinner date with me tonight,” he wagers, which you agree to the terms.

You both took your stances, but it was Leedo that took the first move, charging towards you, dodging his fists, making sure they had no contact. He lunged again, but this time, you grabbed his arm while sweeping a leg under his attempting to trip him over. Leedo managed to regain his balance taking a few steps back. “Ooh, you are good, but it’s going to take more than that to take me down.” He taunts some more. You and your wolf were getting more competitive, but little did you know that both Leedo’s and your scents were mixing and covering the area.

Leedo’s eyes were turning golden again, and you felt your eyes turn blue. Both of your wolves are now in complete control, Leedo charged. This time with more ferocity, he was too fast for you to dodge. His hands got hold of your shoulders with your back now against the ground and Leedo on top of you. “Looks like I won,” his eyes were glowing even brighter, and so were yours, the smell of lavender and peppermint mixing in the air. “What time should I pick you up for dinner?” You tried to find the words but the feeling of Leedo on top of you, “uh-I-uh,” stuttering, Leedo smirked. “I will come to get you at sunset.”

#kpop x male reader #kpop scenarios #werewolves #leedo x male reader #Leedo x reader #Oneus x male reader #Oneus x reader

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evilwickedme · 4 years ago

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ok so to sum up my feelings for leverage: redemption, season 1(a): (long post warning, there’s a tl;dr at the end)

I knew that Hardison wouldn’t be in most of the season due to Aldis Hodge being a busy bee nowadays, but I didn’t realize that meant he’d only be around for the first two episodes. He was sorely missed, not only because of my attachment to him, but also because he’s usually the grounding factor in the group dynamic, and his role as info guy and tech guy was split evenly between two characters who had their own issues.

That said, Hardison is absolutely a highlight of the two episodes he’s in. his speech about redemption was everything I could’ve hoped for (plus, more evidence for the Jewish!Hardison pile...). I wish we’d gotten to see more of his dynamic with Breanna because what we saw was funny and sweet and we don’t generally get to see Hardison taking care of somebody who so desperately needs taking care of. I hope that Aldis Hodge is around for more episodes in 1(b), because what we’re left with feels a little hollow.

Sticking to original leverage characters for now, for the most part the leverage crew still felt true to the original series as characters, even if the show itself was a little bit confused at times. The actors understand their characters and embody them so well that I think one could give them the trashiest script ever and they’d still sell it. Sophie is a particular focus in 1(a) because of Nate’s death, and she’s particularly well written as a result.

That said, I’m super bitter that we saw little to no mastermind!Parker. Parker’s character being given the mastermind role was a big deal and it feels like they’re walking it back because they feel uncomfortable with it. It is eventually given an in-text excuse, but literally in the last episode, and it was not a particularly convincing reason, and in fact contradicted moments from previous episodes (Sophie leaving for a client meeting and ignoring Parker in ep3 comes to mind). It’s frustrating, it makes the end of the original leverage feel pointless, and letting Parker make a decision once in a while is not the same thing at all. The original series repeatedly showed us that while everyone in the team had their strengths, Parker works problems and solves them in unique, interesting ways, and other characters’ days in the limelight tended to be comedic or even failures. It’s a broken promise, and a pretty major broken promise at that.

On a more positive note, Parker’s dynamic with literally everyone was fantastic. She’s possibly the best written character this season. They’ve taken the autism out of the subtext and into the text (although obviously still undiagnosed), and given her coping mechanisms that were taken seriously in the text even when they were played for laughs, which I appreciated. Her attempts to mentor Breanna were sweet, her friendship with Sophie was electric and at times (CRIMES) hilarious, and as usual, she has a fantastic dynamic with Eliot that makes my heart burst. If you don’t think they’re romantically involved, at least acknowledge there’s a life partnership here. They’ve spent the last decade together.

(We’ll get to Harry.)

Eliot isn’t given much arc-wise, which is frustrating since he’s my favorite. He’s being presented as the goal at the end of a redemption arc, ie to keep working at it every day until your soul heals or whatever, and it doesn’t reflect the message they’re trying to convey via Hardison’s speech and our two new characters. He’s got his moments, but I think they under utilized his potential.

Breanna!!! Breanna’s my new favorite, except for Eliot. She’s hilarious, she’s insecure, she’s nerdy and excited in a way that’s similar to Hardison but still distinct in its inherent teenage-girl-ness and I LOVE IT. Unlike the previous series, where Hardison’s “age of the geek” was often a joke played on Hardison, we’re at the point where Eliot and Parker are both right there with him, and so they accept and even appreciate Breanna’s nerdiness. Also, canon gay character? In YOUR Leverage? It’s more likely than you think.

(No, I never thought they’d make ot3 canon on screen. I hoped, but I didn’t think it would actually happen.)

I think Breanna’s the character that will be the most interesting to see grow. She’s got a lot of potential and a list of crimes a mile long (or more). I adore her with all my heart. I want to see her tiktok account.

Harry. Oh, Harry.

It took me a while, but I do like Harry. It took a while, because the narrative positioned him at the same level as Nate back in episode 1 of original Leverage. But in episode 1 we didn’t know the other characters. We had Nate as the POV character, and so we cared about him because we were seeing the world through his eyes. (This is TV Studies 101. I know this, because I took TV Studies 101 in 2019.) In Leverage: Redemption, we no longer have a POV character, for several reasons:

Nate, previously the POV character, is dead.

As it is, by mid-season 3 of leverage Nate was no longer a POV character. This is, coincidentally, the point where the leverage writers realized they had four other characters in the main cast they could do something with, and in-universe, Nate accepted that he was a thief, not a special Good Man.

Sophie is sort of a POV character for the first episode of the revival, but only for the first few minutes. Afterwards, the series settles into the groove of seasons 3-5, i.e., the entire crew is our POV. We know our crew, and we love them as is.

Narratively, however, Redemption insists on positing Harry as the POV character, because it is his redemption we are pursuing most vehemently. And I think they really relied on us already knowing the actor - I’ve never seen him in anything before, so to me he was a completely fresh face and they put almost no effort into selling him to me. Beyond being competent and consistently mildly baffled by the antics of the leverage crew, I honestly don’t know who this man is by the end of EIGHT episodes with him. I have a much better handle on Breanna by the end of 1(a), and I can tell you I knew all five of the original leverage crew better by the end of the first episode of the original series than I do Harry. What’s the name of his daughter, John Rogers. Is he still married. How old is the daughter. Why is none of this worth mentioning. Give him a sense of humor that isn’t reacting to other people’s shenanigans. I’m so frustrated. It’s bad writing.

I did manage to grow to like Harry by the end, but I’m pretty sure this is down to Noah Wyle’s charismatic portrayal of an under-developed character, at least partially. And I never stopped being frustrated at not knowing who this man is at all.

The two highlights of the season are undoubtedly episodes five and six. Episode five was the first time I felt like the episode was more than a collection of good moments between the main cast and mediocre moments between the main cast and also the main plot. The issues with pacing and tone that I suffered through for most of the season were mostly non-existent in ep5 and 6, and at least in episode 5 I attribute that to the pared down cast. They had time to focus not only on our actual characters - Sophie, Parker, Breanna - but also on the case. This is the only client from 1(a) I am going to remember next week without googling it first, mark my words.

Episode six worked for the exact opposite reason - it completely disregarded the client and plot and immersed itself in the characters. Breanna gets a moment to shine, but everybody else gets their bits and I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the script that was most fun to write. The characters felt natural, real, and captured the found-family dynamic that’s been missing all season for the first time.

While episode 2 is the weakest episode, I don’t actually have much to say about it. I am disappointed in episode 8. For a mid-season finale, I really expected them to do something. Instead, it was an episode about Nate Ford that copped out of being about Nate Ford (both with fake-Nate and with the new version of him being relayed to us). I would have told the writers to give that energy back to episode 1 and write an episode that’s about anybody who isn’t Harry, oh my God. I know I said I grew to like him but so many episodes were about Harry. He’s the newbie! Why didn’t Hardison get an episode that was actually about him, considering he was only around for two episodes? Why does Eliot have to be the butt of the joke when the theme of the series should directly tie back to him in a much more meaningful way? The last episode parodies their own tagline by saying Eliot isn’t just a hitter, but it deftly avoids noticing that they’ve turned him into nothing more than very muscly comic relief, including in that very episode!

Also, I hated the Marshal. Eliot actively looked uncomfortable around her.

tl;dr

The season took a while, that’s definitely true. But it did find its footing eventually, and by the halfway mark of 1(a) it finally felt cohesive again. The characters were played fantastically even when they weren’t well-written, and if nothing else, the humor landed every time. It still has its kinks and problems to work out, but if you look at it as a brand new show rather than a continuation of one that went off the air over eight years ago, it’s actually doing rather well. I’m choosing to judge it in both lights - according to its own standards, it establishes its identity in episode five; according to Leverage standards, it establishes its connection to its roots in episode six. Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed 1(a), and continue to have high hopes for 1(b).

fic writing will commence in three, two, one...

#leverage #leverage meta #leverage redemption #leverage ot3 #parker leverage #alec hardison #sophie devereaux #eliot spencer #breanna casey #harry wilson #mine

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queerderpyturtle · 4 years ago

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some old rambles about discord and starswirl that I dug up

I been thinkin. Bout Discord and Starswirl. And how they probably knew each other. And what their relationship could've been. And what that means for the rest of their arcs in the show.

From what we know (and what I remember) Discord came into power after Starswirl and the pillars were sent to Limbo, but Celestia and Luna started ruling Equestria sometime between those two events, because they were too young to remember or care about the other pillars, but they banished Discord.

We don't know a lot about Discord's past, but I imagine that when he first came to Equestria (at which point I assume he was fairly young by draconequus standards), he wasn't exactly given a warm welcome. Ponies were probably absolutely terrified of this horse-headed, bat-winged, lion-pawed, snake-tailed freak of nature, and there's a good chance they would've driven him out of town full force. His first taste of ponykind was rejection.

So, later, he tries again. He makes himself a pony disguise-- a handsome unicorn stallion named Atlas-- and sets off to learn more about Equestria. And it works! He's able to make friends, live amongst ponies, and study Equestria magic. He actually gets pretty good at doing through his unicorn horn, so much so that he manages to get into a prestigious magic school for gifted unicorns. "Atlas" is of course still a troublemaker, though. He pulls pranks, annoys his teachers, breaks the rules, and just generally has no respect for authority. And why should he? The entire society that Equestria is built on is corrupt beyond all belief, stuck in its ways, and downright hostile towards any creature outside of it. They didn't deserve his damn respect. Equestria itself was fairly new as well, and the ponies themselves were still getting used to each other. It was all one giant powderkeg, and Atlas was honestly excited to see what would happen when it went off. So he stuck around, if only to cause more chaos in this personal playpen country of his. If he wasn't the best student in all of his classes, his teachers probably would've strangled him after a day.

And then one day, he found himself in a class with the famous Odin Starswirl, a magically gifted unicorn with a penchant for proving others wrong and keeping a clear head while doing it. He was proper, eloquent, studious, respectable-- a perfect pony for Atlas to torment. Except it turns out that Odin is ridiculously, insufferably hard to annoy. When Atlas knocked over his books, or spilled water on his cloak, or made fun of his sloppy hornwriting, Odin simply responded with a sigh and a quick cantrip to fix whatever the stallion had ruined with his antics. This did not please Atlas at all. He spent more time hanging around Odin than he did hanging out with his more troublesome buddies, just to try and get a rise out of him. But he never could. If anything, they were becoming... friends. Atlas's biting remarks turned into light-hearted jabs and playful scoldings.

"Odin, for heaven's sake, if you don't take a break from studying to shave for once in your damn life, I'm going to have to start calling you Starswirl the Bearded!"

His destruction of property turned into casual acts of kindness.

"Yes, I brought your saddlebag. I knew you'd forget it, you scatterbrain. We're lucky you even remember to eat."

His contempt for Odin's huffy nature turned into giving the unicorn an easy out for boring social events hosted by his equally uppity parents.

"C'mon, Stars, let's get out of here. I know a place nearby that sells elderberry tea."

"You know I can't leave. This is an important party."

"Important to whom, exactly, my dear?"

"To my parents!"

"Your parents. Well, last time I checked, they weren't you."

"...Fine. Thirty minutes, and then you're bringing me back."

Before long, Odin was regularly sneaking off to join Atlas and his friends on their escapades. He found himself strangely drawn to the unicorn, in spite of-- or maybe because of his rebellious and carefree nature. He was so different from the ponies Odin was used to, so sure of himself, so headstrong. Odin would be a fool to say he wasn't slowly getting attached to the scoundrel.

Atlas noticed this, of course. He was honestly surprised! Who knew a straight-edged young scholar like Odin would be so willing to stray from the path of monotony? And that was all Atlas wanted. To cause a little chaos in Odin's life. It wasn't as if there were moments in which he looked at the unicorn and considered giving up his whole scheme to enjoy a happy life alongside his... friend? Companion? Fellow associate? Lord, what even where they? Atlas had never really had a friend that was interested in any part of him other than the chaotic part, and Discord hadn't had any friends at all. He took a leap of faith one day to ask Odin if they were, in fact, friends, and Odin responded with an aloof "Yes, I do believe so." And that was that, wasn't it? He had a friend. A real friend.

Over the next few years, Odin and Atlas became inseparable. It was a thing to see, the two of them trotting down the streets of Canterlot together. They couldn't have been more different, from the way they walked to the way they spoke, but they were as close as ponies could get. Odin gave Atlas a safe place to practice magic, study Equestrian history, and discuss the library's old scrolls and texts from ancient unicorns. Atlas gave Odin an out from his mundane life as a trophy child of the wealthy Starswirl family. When Odin started tutoring two unicorn fillies with promising skills in arcane magics, Atlas was the first of Odin's friends he introduced them to (the fillies lovingly started referring to the stallions as their honorary uncles). When Atlas accidentally used too much sticking potion in a prank and stuck one of his teachers to the side of the school for three days, Odin helped him sneak into the Starswirl mansion to hide, scolding him between laughs the whole way. They each saw more in each other than the average pony could ever see; Odin was more than a prodigy, and Atlas was more than an annoyance.

And if there were, perhaps, by some miracle, some hint of... romance beneath their friendship that neither side would admit to, well. That was their own business. If they enjoyed cuddling up on the couch to read from the same book, nopony needed to know. If they relished each "accidental" brush of hooves or tails when they walked together, nopony would be any the wiser. If Odin longed for the day when Atlas would use those strong forearms of his to pin the stallion against the nearest wall and just kiss him already, and felt more alive than he'd ever felt in his life when Atlas finally did...

Then maybe that was just fine. And for a while, it was. But there was always that itch at the back of Atlas's mind, that knowledge that their relationship was fleeting, because it was all, in truth, based on a lie. If Odin found out who Atlas really was, what Atlas really was, it would all crumble to pieces like a biscuit that had been left out in the sun. Atlas... no, Discord hated that the thought of losing Odin-- a simple pony whose life was a speck of dust in his immortal existence, who would be a pile of ashes in the ground before Discord had even had his second molt-- made him so unreasonably upset. He'd known going into this that becoming invested in the lives of the ponies in Equestria was foolish. He'd never meant for it to get this far. He'd come here to futz with the government a bit, maybe start a few riots or terrorize a few queens. He never wanted to find Odin. So why wasn't he willing to let him go?

Shit, he really was in too deep.

And yet, Atlas and Odin found themselves ever-so-slowly, but ever-so-surely falling in love.

But nothing gold can stay.

Odin had always known Atlas was a bit of an anarchist. It was one of the things he admired about the stallion-- his ability to let go of the norms that Equestria had built for itself and be his own pony. The problem was that Atlas seemed to have a problem with how Equestria treated creatures who weren't ponies. Griffons, yaks, kirin, and the like. Equestria had never been a big trading country, or a big socializing-with-other-nations country. They kept to themselves. Of course, this meant that xenophobia was rampant, and that the fear of the outside world was instilled into the hearts of almost every pony there. But why should Atlas care so much?

Odin asked him as much when the two stallions were studying together in Odin's room, and Atlas became noticeably more tense. He gave Odin a simple "I just think it's wrong," hoping to avoid the subject, but Odin pressed him for more details. Sure, Equestria was problematic, but all in all, it was a good country. Was there really anything so bad about wanting to keep it the way it was? Atlas tried to keep himself from snapping, tried to keep himself from saying something he'd regret, but hearing these things from a pony he loved hurt him deeply.

"It's not about tradition or preservation, Odin. It's about the fact that Equstria has never been willing to change. Before the unifications of the species, it was conflict between the pony species. After, it was conflict between the classes. Now, it's conflict between countries. Just because the problems are external doesn't mean they aren't there," Atlas told him.

"But it isn't exactly a pressing matter. It hardly effects us at all. I guess I just don't understand," Odin replied.

"Of course you don't."

It was said so quietly that Odin couldn't quite tell if he'd been meant to hear it, yet with such venom that he couldn't ignore it. He chanced a confused look and a "What?"

Atlas stood. "Of course you don't," he repeated. "You're the perfect example of a high-class, magically advanced, want-for-nothing unicorn pony. You're perfectly content to live in your little bubble of mediocrity, never trying to do anything to change the world around you. You think there's nothing you can do to help others, so you don't even try. You think they'll sort themselves out. You're complacent, Odin. You've always been."

"Complacent! And just what is wrong with that? I'm doing my best in my own life and I have no responsibility to try and fix the lives of others! Is it so wrong to focus on myself?"

"Of course not! But you can't just pretend that you're the only one with problems! I see it every day, Odin. You act like you're on top of the world, like you're above feeling sorry for others. You don't even care about them. About me!"

Odin looked hurt. "Atlas, I-- of course I care about you! You mean everything to me!"

"And just how much would it take to change that? Telling you my real name isn't Atlas? Telling you I'm not from Equestria? Telling you I look like this?!"

In a flash, Atlas removed all the disguise spells he had on himself, leaving him-- Discord-- in his true form. A long, sleek body covered in brown fur. The misshapen head of a goat, framed by a shaggy black mane and two short horns. Wings, legs, and a tail that had all been taken from different animals, stuck together like a gruesome collage. Odin's eyes trailed up the creature's body slowly, trying and failing to comprehend what he was seeing. He began to back up.

Discord could feel each step he took like knives driving into his heart. Odin was afraid.

The draconequus scoffed. "You're all the same."

"A-Atlas, I..."

"Discord. My name is Discord. I am a draconequus from the tribe of the western Badlands, sent to Equestria to study its magic. When I first came here, I was avoided like the plague. Ponies wanted nothing to do with me. They saw what they were told to see in me-- a monster. A hideous, murderous, blood-thirsty monster. They threw me out because I was different."

Odin was silent for a long moment. When he finally spoke, his voice trembled. "I think I n-need some time to... to process all of this. Alone."

Discord couldn't have stopped the pain he felt from showing on his face if he'd somehow managed to summon all the magic on the planet. He gritted his teeth, blinked back tears, and disappeared in a shower of sparks.

It was the last conversation he would have with Odin for a millennium.

That night, Odin lay in bed, his mind racing, working overtime to try and figure out what in Tartarus had just happened. Firstly, he and Atlas had just had their first real lovers' spat. Except that those typically didn't lead to one of the ponies involved revealing that he was a creature from a faraway land, but whatever. Secondly, "Atlas" was a draconequus named Discord. That would take some getting used to, of course, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. Thirdly, Atlas-- who was actually Discord-- had stormed out in a huff without saying goodbye. Well, that's just how things were sometimes. Nothing to lose sleep over.

When he awoke the next morning, the first though this mind supplied him with was, "Oh sweet merciful heavens I've ruined everything." He rushed to school early, hoping to find his friend (Boyfriend? Lover? Shit, I love him and I just cast him out like an old dish towel), but the stallion was nowhere in sight. Odin asked around, tried everything to get into contact with Atlas/Discord, but nothing came up. He had disappeared off the face of the planet.

Instead of dealing with all the emotional turmoil that came with that situation, Odin threw himself into his studies. His magic grew stronger and stronger, fueled by rage and pain and sadness. He pushed Celestia and Luna to become powerful sorcerers like himself, pouring every hour that he didn't spend practicing magic himself into teaching them. He tried to forget about Discord entirely, and move on. He didn't need some handsome bad-boy keeping him sane to be successful. He only needed himself. That was all he would ever need. Odin was gone. There was only the great and honorable Starswirl the Bearded.

When the sirens invaded Equestria, he agreed to help defeat them. When Stygian came to him looking for friendship that Starswirl hadn't even offered to the other "pillars," he turned him away coldly. When he realized the only way to defeat the Pony of Shadows was by sending the seven of them into limbo, he refused, at least at first. But the citizens of Equestria persisted. He was the great Starswirl, he had a duty to protect them and keep Equestria safe. He tried to tell them that the consequences of the spell were too drastic, but they would not listen. Starswirl had no choice but to go through with it.

Discord, meanwhile, had been staying on the outskirts of Equestria, brooding and cursing Odin's name. When he found out that Odin had vanished, however, and the circumstances of his disappearance... well, he wasn't happy. Despite everything, he still loved the idiot, and he had never wanted something so terrible to happen to him. Odin would have never agreed to something like that without being pushed by the Equestrian citizens. What right did they have to decide who lived and who died? Why did they get to sacrifice their most beloved sorcerer for their own safety when there were other options? Was this the price they paid for harmony?

That wouldn't do. That simply wouldn't do at all. If these pitiful excuses for equines thought the pony of shadows was a threat to their delicate balance, he would show them true chaos. He dethroned the country's leader, took over, and made the ponies of Equestria suffer like he did.

And then Celestia and Luna came along. When had they gotten so big? So powerful? How had they grown wings? Were they seriously going to try and take him down? Lulu and Celly, the sweet little fillies who had once made him flower crowns and taught him songs and invited him to tea parties. They were going to try and make him surrender. How adorable. He wasn't going to fight them, of course-- he still held a great affection for them, no matter how long he'd been gone. He would let them do their little song and dance, and them send them on their way.

Of course it was hard for the sisters, too. They had looked up to Discord back in the day, he and Starswirl both. Now they were using the magic that Starswirl had taught them to defeat someone he had once loved. Someone he probably still loved. But freedom is never free, and the sisters were resigned to their fate. They harnessed the power of the elements of harmony, turned Discord to stone, and hoped silently that someday, somehow, he would return to them, and he and Starswirl would find each other again.

#Mlp #mlp discord #mlp starswirl #Starswirl the bearded #mlp Fanfic #fanfic #felt like throwing this in here too

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c0rpsedemon · 4 years ago

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i am curious, as someone who’s only exposure to arthurania was reading jane yolen’s young merlin as a child, would you mind saying why hnoc is a bad adaptation? i’m super curious but no worries if not <3

this has been sitting in my inbox for months bc i kept telling myself i needed to write a full essay with proof from medieval lit to make myself feel smarter. however, since i’ve recently lost all credibility bc i can’t articulate points to save my life, and since i’ve realized that i could answer this in a just a couple paragraphs, now seems like the right time to answer this ask. sorry for the wait.

under a cut bc length

also warnings for mentions of racism bc this is hnoc we're talking abt and sexual assault bc this is med lit we're also talking abt

the basic problems are pendragon polycule itself, the story beats of the album, the fridging and lack of characterization of morgan le fay, the clear influence of pop culture arthuriana, and whatever the fuck happened with gawain/e.

pendragon polycule is... just not a good take. there’s a bit in the lancelot-grail abt arthur viewing lancelot like a son (and lancelot not giving a shit abt him). also arthur knew his parents for years before lancelot was even born. plus lancelot just Doesn’t care abt him and i can’t stress this part enough. arthur repeatedly tries to have guinnevere killed, mostly in the lancelot-grail, and guinn didn’t really have any say in marrying him bc she was a teenager. lancelot and guinnevere is a lot better but that’s not saying much. guinn doesn’t exactly treat lancelot too well... like at all, BUT it’s not intrinsic to their relationship and is completely caused by medieval misogyny and i’m all in favor of modern retellings saying fuck that. but also lancelot has multiple pseudo-canon boyfriends (this is med lit after all), and one pseudo-canon husband so like... there were better options. (also lancelot’s husband is basically in a lavender marriage with guinnevere’s maybe girlfriend who most authors just eventually forget abt as the story progresses).

this next one is a problem with a lot of modern arthurian works bc the inclusion of elayne of astolat is too much to ask apparently. the grail quest isn’t tied to the fall of camelot, it just happens to be one of the last grand adventures the knights of the round table have. the event that traditionally sets off the fall is the death of the maiden of astolat/the lady of shalott/elayne of escolat/she has a lot of names, her story has a few variations but usually she either is cursed to stay in a tower and weave and only be able to see the outside world through a mirror positioned across from her window, until lancelot rides by and she rushes to see him out of the actual window and her mirror shatters, setting off her death, or she lives with her father and brothers and takes care of lancelot bc he was injured for a time and she gets to go on adventures to find him and she’s friends with gawaine and she dies bc lancelot rejects her and this version’s a lot more fun but also more happens which makes it harder to explain. the way her story ends however, is that she dies after she makes arrangements for a glorious boat to drift from astolat to camelot carrying nothing but her dead body and a letter explaining that she died of love for lancelot du lac and the court mourns the death of such a beautiful and young maiden (her age varies a lot but i’ve always read her as a young teenager at most). but the important thing is, camelot is doomed from the moment she washes up on its shore bc she’s an omen of the end and has symbolic meaning and all that, the maiden of astolat washes up on camelot’s shores, the court mourns the loss of a maiden in her prime and she marks the end of camelot’s prime as well, morgan le fay reappears after being presumed dead and warns arthur of guinnevere and lancelot’s affair, aggravaine and modred conspire to bring lancelot and guinnevere’s affair to light, they succeed but lancelot escapes, guinnevere is to be burnt at the stake and lancelot rescues her, killing aggravaine, gaheris and gareth (gawaine’s brothers) in the process, gawaine drags his uncle and camelot to war bc he was driven mad due to the loss of his brothers, lancelot accidentally kills gawaine, his best friend and maybe boyfriend (i have RECEIPTS), and gawaine forgives him on his detahbed while lancelot and guinn rejoin arthur, meanwhile modred, who practically had the throne handed to him, usurps and invites the saxons in, camlann happens, and camelot is destroyed. no where in there is the grail quest.

morgan le fay is honestly the most questionable part of the album bc there’s not a single text where she dies. like.... at least with eurydice in udad she died in the original... there’s no basis for morgan dying. also she is NOT modred’s mother and anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar, she interacts with him once in the vulgate bc she had three of her nephews over and that’s IT. it’s a horrible take which originated in the mists of avalon by marion zimmer bradley who is an honest to god monster for reasons i don’t want to trigger tag this post for. also she’s one of the most dynamic and thought-out characters in the entire canon and they just made her a watered down morgause (modred’s actual mother, morgan’s sister, canonical milf)... there was no reason for it to be her apart from the fact that she’s more well known......

pop culture arthuriana is,,, one of my least favorite things. no, morgan wasn’t modred’s mother, no, morgause wasn’t abusive but her husband sure was implied to be, no, aggravaine didn’t kill his mother, that was gaheris, he loved his mother, you’re only saying that bc he has a reputation as the “evil” orkney, no, the once and future king is not a good descriptor for arthur, stop making me read it, no, morgause wasn’t the one to initiate the thing with arthur resulting in modred, no, lancelot and arthur weren’t friends, no, tristan wasn’t a self-centered asshole, tennyson is a fucking liar, no, galahad didn’t have sex or want to, he’s one of the first ever explicitly asexual characters out there, no, galahad’s conception was NOT consensual, lancelot was tricked, and no, elayne of astolat wasn’t galahad’s mother, she’s implied to be younger than him. those are just the big glaring ones, but i swear it’s bc of arthuriana’s reputation as a mythology and the connotations belonging to that word (no one true canon (which is true but there are still things that just AREN’T canon, not completely written down, passed by oral tradition) that causes ppl to see mediocre modern texts and go “oh. well this is abt as close to the original as i’m going to get” and don’t bother to look into so much as malory (who i only name bc he’s one of the most well known medieval authors with the most commonly used storylines, don’t read malory kids, he’s a mediocre-at-best writer even by medieval standards). the big perpetrators of modern arthurian tropes are the books the once and future king by th wh*te, who is a shitty person and lets it bleed into his writing (which isn’t like... nice to read or anything, seriously why do ppl love this book so much it doesn’t have redeeming qualities), and the mists of avalon by marion zimmer bradley (it’s poorly written, the story is a mess, and mzb is honestly a monster and one google search will tell you that), and unfortunately the writings of tennyson, which are mostly good but he clearly didn’t read the povest (a later text that’s also my favorite, known for significantly improving ppl’s opinions on tristan, isolde and co.) before deciding he hated both tristan and isolde and he has HORRIBLE takes on them. high noon over camelot is SEEPED in pop culture arthuriana and i think it would have been so much better if the band had read so much as a SUMMARY of the events of le morte. it’s evident in the song “the once and future king” bc it’s,,,, literally named after one of the worst books in existence. it’s shown in the morgan le fay thing, and it’s shown in the pendragon polycule thing. and hell, i think you can even explain away the lack of elayne of astolat with pop culture arthuriana, bc ppl have had bad takes on her ever since th wh*te combined her character with that of ela*ne of corbenic, and the band probably went “huh, let’s write lancelot’s abuser out of this” and they would’ve been right to do so if that’s who elayne of astolat was.

the final big issue is gawaine, the closest thing the genre has to a protagonist, he’s pretty much canon bi and, in some texts, arospec, he’s a dashing knight of great reknown and he derails every romance to steal hearts, commit murder, and make out with every knight and lady mentioned. and in hnoc he’s... racist. that’s it. it’s,,, almost completely unfounded by the arthurian canon and shows a major misunderstanding of his motivations (like i said earlier, he wants to avenge his brothers bc there’s a reoccuring motif of how much the orkneys value family). i say almost bc in one text it’s his motivations for killing palomydes but i’ve never heard it mentioned by name bc that’s just what it’s known for. most arthuriana fans just look away from it except when critiquing hnoc but that one text is an outlier, shouldn’t be counted, and i highly doubt the mechs made hnoc gawain how he is bc they found this text. it’s just a bad text.

hnoc has,,, quite a few more minor issues, such as villainized ladies of the lake (their ONLY crimes were sealing away merlin bc he tried to assault teenage nimue/ninniane (proto-nimue/vivianne from the vulgate), and that one time vivviane/ninniane kidnapped adopted baby lancelot), assigning brain to merlin (y’know,,, the predator who helped arrange the [redacted] of arthur’s mother and tried to assault a teenager,,,) although merlin is portrayed in a positive light throughout modern arthuriana so i don’t think they knew, giving a song to pellinore, who my perception of has been forever altered bc i was introduced to him through malory and the explanation of torre’s conception, which you can just look up “sir torre arthurian” to find out abt if you can’t just Guess, if they wanted a song abt the questing beast palomydes was Right There AND has been associated with the questing beast for longer, but once again i don’t think they knew.

also namedropping a bunch of knights in the fiction is... it Suggests a bigger world full of all these other stories but they just don’t work bc the world of hnoc wasn’t designed in a way where the appearance of half these characters would make sense. like,, tristan is referenced as dying in the grail quest in the same sentence as bedevere (one of the characters who is known for almost always surviving), but tristan Isn’t one of the knights who dies on the grail quest, his possible deaths (ignoring the potentially happy ending of the povest for a second) are either being murdered by his uncle, king mark (bc mark married tristan’s gf to try and get tristan killed and also to spite him), bc he was driven into a fury bc of tristan and isolde’s affair, or he’s injured and only isolde (the best healer in the world) can save him so he sends for her and if the ship he sent for her is supposed to fly white sails if she’s there, or black sails if she’s not, and the ship flies white sails but his wife (also named isolde) says it’s black sails (the why depends but usually comes down to jealousy), and so he gives up bc he thinks all hope is lost and usually succumbs to his injuries, either way isolde dies of a broken heart over his body. there’s no way for the tristan and isolde story to play out like it’s supposed to in the world of hnoc, just as there’s no way for any story with gawaine (and Oh Boy are there a lot of stories with gawaine) or pretty much anyone else, without severely altering the canon.

of course, there are still parts of hnoc i like a lot, most of the music i adore and i just like the idea of space cowboys and the secret good hnoc that lives in my head. and it has one of my favorite characterizations of galahad, even though galahad hnoc is nothing like galahad arthuriana. it’s not GOOD but i like it and it’s fun to turn my brain off too, and i’ll always value it as my introduction to arthuriana.

also there are modern arthurian tropes i do like such as characters being genre-savvy/knowing they’re fictional/knowing they’ve done this before (which hnoc does wonderfully!) and bedevere-as-the-storyteller (everyone say thank you lord tennyson).

WOW that was longer than expected, i feel very passionately abt this, when i was planning to write a fully sourced essay i meant to include a bit at the bottom with recommendations to get into better arthuriana and i think i’ll keep that in this post.

if you like hnoc for the arthurian music i’d like to suggest heather dale’s arthurian music to you, she does occasionally fall into the trap of modern arthuriana (some parts of lancelot and arthur being close, morgan as modred’s mother), sometimes she’s just wrong (galahad at lancelot’s trial, a lot of tristan and isolde), and her stuff is kinda straightwashed sometimes (sir gawain and the green knight, for example) but i’d be lying if it wasn’t catchy, and it’s not quite as bad as hnoc adaptation-wise. culwch and olwen is pretty accurate (albeit abridged bc culwch and olwen has SO many tangents), as is lily maid (it’s abt elayne of astolat!).

if you liked hnoc for king arthur... in space! then may i recommend to you my own fanfic? it's not posted yet but the second i finish writing the first chapter i'm going to make a Big Deal out of it that'll be impossible to miss!

if you want to learn abt arthuriana through tumblr-osmosis like i did at first, i’d like to recommend the love of my life @acegalahads, first and foremost (it’s me on a sideblog i’m just obsessed with myself), and i can’t recommend my arthuriana mutuals over there, @/gringolet, @/merlinenthusiast, @/jcbookworm, @/elayneofshalott, and @/elaineofascolat (the elayne urls have been popular recently), also i know for a fact that my mutual-in-law, @/itonje makes great arthuriana posts that i look forwards to whenever i open the tag.

here are a few good reference posts, a quick guide to the characters, a guide to characters of color, and a much more comprehensive intro to arthuriana post with even more texts linked to it.

if you want to ease into med lit, i’d like to introduce you to pre-raphaelite poetry, alfred lord tennyson and william morris are my favorites, although tennyson can’t be trusted with tristan and isolde. the poem the lady of shalott is basically a rite of passage for arthuriana fans, although when it comes to tennyson’s writings abt elayne of astolat, i prefer lancelot and elaine, which is part of his much larger story, idylls of the king. for morris, don’t trust what he says abt aggravaine killing his mother, but my favorites of his are sir galahad, a christmas mystery, which sounds like a shitty disney sequel, and palomyde’s quest, which i blame for my love of palomydes (that and the one bit of the povest where he asks tristan to be his greatest enemy and that he wants nothing more, gay ppl,,,,).

if you want to read abt lancelot and his husband, there’s the lancelot-grail cycle, which i believe was taken off of archive dot org and i think i found it on @/tobeisexhausting’s blog but don’t quote me on that.

the povest, which was a religious experience for me and i can’t reccomend enough if you want to like tristan and isolde, is here, i don’t know who scanned it but i think i found it on @/lanzelet’s blog

the dutch texts are just good in general, here’s a link to their section of a(n unfinished) site for hosting various texts by my former mutual @/reynier (who’s no longer on tumblr). i’d like to recommend lancelot and the white hart specifically bc it’s mainly just just gawaine being gay for lancelot.

if you want older works, here’s my scan of the history of the kings of britain, and here’s culwch and olwen and pa gur.

oh wow this is even longer than i thought it would be so i’m going to wrap this up by saying that i always love to talk abt arthuriana more than anything if you have any questions or just are curious!

#med lit on main #asks #hnoc #the mechs #romeo.txt

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cherrymoonvol6 · 3 years ago

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hey i just finished watching julie and the phantoms so here’s a quick “““““review”““““ on it. lmao

this show is VERY disney channel esque. once you know that, it’s easy to enjoy it for what it is, but if that’s not your thing there’s not a lot to enjoy for you, sorry.

the fact that most of the high school kids look like actual teenagers really cement that last fact lol but i do appreciate that they got a bunch of kid actors to portray the characters. like, i just love looking at nick and realising he looks so much like fellow teenager streamer tubbo, that shit fuels my soul. in contrast though, the guys from sunset curve give me whiplash. luke is supposed to be 17, which i’m guessing is 1-2 years older than julie’s age in the show, but he just looks like he’s on his mid twenties and it never fails to take me out.

because of the amount of kid actors/disney channel vibes, the acting ranges from mediocre to good. the standouts for me were alex and willie. despite being the “sober” one of the three, alex’s delivery was on point and he got the most laughs from me for that exact reason. willie is quite standard most of the time: i think his first scenes with alex made him feel real to me, sort of charming but also a bit awkward and giddy. he stepped up his game on that scene where he finally tells the band what’s actually going on. for the first half of that scene, he came off to me as stressed, if not a bit embarrassed/guilty for the bad things that he caused. it was at that moment where alex pushed him and he says that he really cares about him, that the emotional impact of the scene really struck me. like, up to that point i didn’t see how much that stress actually came from the anxiety that willie felt from getting these people that he genuinely cares about under trouble. it completely shifted the scene from me and it’s like i felt the same whiplash that alex, luke and reggie did, and i was surprised that it landed so well for me. but yeah, anyways. er, all actors do a good job in the emotional scenes, which is just enough, so in general i’m pretty okay with the performances (excluding all the disney channel laugh track esque moments that didn’t land at all for me but, eh)

the pacing of the show was good for the most part: just when it feels like it becomes aimless, a new plot thread begins and gives the characters something to do. i also liked that the stakes were pretty high by the end of the season, despite not keeping the tension for long enough imo. although the show doesn’t waste that much time with dumb, inconsequential plotlines, the whole liar thing with flynn was extremely annoying despite being resolved quickly and rather lightly as well. it’s just, blegh, excuse for a new song and also filler for the episode. i think the show did a much better job with the subplot of julie’s brother finding out about the ghosts, since the scenes are always charming and don’t really put the plot on hold like flynn’s part did.

i also wish the show did something... interesting? with the archetypes of the disney channel characters it presents. i think the sharpay evans clone (CAN’T remember her name </3) had something going on for her when she said that it was unfair that julie was getting so much attention since she put all the effort into her project from the start, but her complaints seem so stupid when it’s revealed that her dad is the fourth member of sunset curve. like, she’s just some spoiled brat that has everything handed out to her, why is she mad? if she was in julie’s situation she’d find it even easier to get back in the music program or whatever it’s called, due to her daddy’s influences. why am i supposed to feel something for her when she claps for julie at the end of the show, out of the blue? she’s literally been an asshole in every other scene. likewise, nick simply doesn’t have a personality. he just humors julie from the start and makes it kinda like he’s always had a crush on her, and there’s like no scene in which he looks actually happy to be with his gf. why is he even dating her? why hasn’t he tried to be with julie all this time? he’s likeable yeah, but only because just as the audience he likes julie and wants to get closer to her, and doesn’t offer anything interesting - which is a shame because i do think him and julie have some chemistry. lastly, caleb is a textbook classic disney villain (flamboyant, evil to the core, queer coded, fucking gay and evil, did i already say flamboyant). surprisingly i’m of the opinion that he’s exactly what he needed to be lol. i like that the show gives him exactly the amount of screentime that he needs, and presents a big threat and a nice expansion to the ghostly part of the universe of this show. he’s also the best vocalist in the cast so all of his performances are a blast.

i also feel like they underused trevor’s character. idk, there could have been a lot more to him than just stare in amazement/fear whenever he sees the dead members of his former band singing with julie. i think julie’s dad filled the quota of sorta-incompetent adult just fine and we didn’t need him to be like That. it would’ve heightened the emotional impact of the death of these guys and maybe him apologizing for erasing sunset curve’s legacy could work as a nice character moment AND a red herring for their “unfinished business”, idk.

about the songs, i feel like the creators wanted an excuse to bring the 2000s pop-rock vibe back and i wholeheartedly support that decision. my favorite one is probably edge of great, but there’s not a song in the soundtrack i truly dislike. also for the love of god please give alex more solos </3 his voice is my favorite.

watching this show was a reminder of what i hate from first seasons/movies lol. i’m always afraid of the creators making it so these 10 episodes are only an introduction of themes and situations to be resolved and explored in other seasons. i feel like the biggest offender of this category is (netflix’s) ragnarok, and 3% is as usual the one who did it right. i’m conflicted as to where does jatp fall in this category. i wouldn’t exactly say that the focus of this show was on julie’s reintroduction to music after her mother’s death: like, she literally starts singing by the end of episode 1. the show clearly wants to follow up with caleb’s business, which is also the chance for the band to meet other ghosts who are in the same situation as willie. and the last scene where caleb possesses nick’s body shows like, how willing they are to go into that route lol. just the comparison of those stakes makes it..... blegh. i think at the end of the day it doesn’t really matter, right? i enjoyed this show for what it is and in terms of personal entertainment, i’d still give it an 8/10. good stuff. fun songs, cute characters. looks really good!

#julie and the phantoms #jatp #mine #this post is brought to you by my therapist who gave me the homework of finding new hobbies lol #i haven't watched a show in FOREVER.#eskam doesn't count shush

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enthusiasticmusicalquotes · 5 years ago

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QUESTION OF THE DAY #6: Send me your most unpopular theatre opinion. Something that might make someone want to fight you. Please don’t be offensive (racist, misogynistic, etc.), but other than that…go as hard as you want. Spill all the tea.

MY ANSWERS: 1) The Pretty Woman score fucking slaps idek, 2) Come From Away (or even Bandstand...) should’ve won the 2017 Best Musical Tony, 3) I prefer the West End Heathers cast album to Off Broadway, 4) Shows shouldn’t sweep the Tonys just because they’re Best Musical worthy...shows that aren’t too critically acclaimed but have really impressive elements should get recognition too.

SUMMARY: Out of 37 responses: 5 were about Dear Evan Hansen, 3 were about Hamilton specifically, 2 were about: Rent, ALW, Wicked, In The Heights, Be More Chill, etc. etc....if your favorite musical is one of these and you get easily offended i wouldn’t read these.

NOTE: I agree with some of these, I highly disagree with others. I do not endorse any of the things that were said, I am simply sharing them with you all. These were what was sent to me. I’m going to number them so if you want to complain about or agree with one you can send me an ask with the number you’re referring to.

1. howmuchchildrens said: unpopular opinion: i really liked the 2012 version of les mis. i liked russel crowe as javert.

2. Anonymous said: Unpopular opinion: Bootlegs harm to local theatre communities, though I do not believe anyone intends for that to be the case. While it's possible to bootleg responsibly (and I might even say it's beneficial to do so), those who may not know the intricacies of theatrical copyright law or who haven't heard the horror stories from a theatre that's been hit with legal action DUE to a bootleg may record or watch a show irresponsibly, which can greatly harm other routes of theatre accessibility.

3. Anonymous said: Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals are mostly terrible. He only got and stayed popular because a lot of other musical creators and taste makers died in the AIDS epidemic

4. Anonymous said: Almost all musicals using the songs of one artist are cash grabs with no plot or point.

5. Anonymous said: If your musical only has 1 woman OR the women only get sad/romantic songs you need to do something else with your life.

6. nerdshrimp said: Unpopular opinion: Next To Normal does a better job of portraying the effects of mental illness than Dear Evan Hansen does. N2N also doesn't romanticise mental illness & excuse shitty behavior like DEH tries to

7. Anonymous said: Hadestown is a lesser show on Broadway. I fell in love with the live album, and I was so excited for it to come to Broadway. I was so disappointed to see the changes they made. Orpheus and Eurydice's relationship is less interesting and more generic. The changed lyrics are often sloppy and not as good as the original. They fucking wrecked Epic III. Also, no hate to R/ee/ve, but he's just not a good enough singer to convince me that he could soften the heart of Hades. His high notes are awful.

8. Anonymous said: opinion: we are the tigers deserves a broadway run or at least a proshot

9. bimystique said: e/c is NOT A GOOD FUCKING SHIP. the ENTIRE PLOT OF PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is christine trying to escape erik's abuse. WHAT FUCKING PART OF THAT IS ROMANTIC TO YOU PEOPLE.

10. Anonymous said: unpopular theatre opinion(s): Dear Evan Hansen is Very Bad for its handling of mental illness, Hamilton is overrated and praised too much, and high school/college musical theatre programs can be just as good as Broadway. (also, musical movies would be better if they hired broadway actors, but that's not an unpopular opinion)

11. Anonymous said: I don’t like Lin Manuel Miranda and Hamilton is overrated

12. Anonymous said: I don’t like dear Evan Hansen..... at all. I think it’s kind of boring and really overhyped.

13. Anonymous said: unpopular opinion: in the heights is far better than Hamilton. both are good but ith hits different yknow

14. Anonymous said: The bring it on and legally blonde musicals are BAD! The movies are 100 times better

15. Anonymous said: unpopular opinion? wicked is the epitome of white feminism. it's preached as super great for representation but we literally got the first black glinda in 2019?!?!?!? and before that woc could only play elphaba who's villainized and deemed evil by the whole city

16. Anonymous said: Not so much an opinion as a reaction, but of all Lin's works (ITH, Bring it On, 21 Chump Street, Hamilton), 21 Chump Street gets the biggest emotional reaction of all the cast recordings. The second Justin is like "I don't want your money" (And then later on with the "...what the heck did you.... dooooo", I am a complete goner. Worse than Abuela Claudia and Philip Hamilton's deaths combined

17. Anonymous said: Whenever Je.ssie Mu.eller hits certain notes, she sounds like Tommy Pickles from Rugrats.

18. Anonymous said: aotd6: not everyone knows what im talking about, but the cats 2016 broadway revival choreography was WAYYYY better than the original. the original had a lot of creepy uncomfortable moments and the new one looks way cleaner and up to date

19. Anonymous said: raoul is better than the phantom in every conceivable way

20. Anonymous said: I hate Anastasia so much. it's such a boring show and the music is uninteresting. I wanted to like it so bad but GOD is it boring.

21. Anonymous said: In the Heights.... Overrated.

22. Anonymous said: I do not know if this is an unpopular opinion or not, but here is my opinion: Musicals that are entirely or nearly entirely songs (Hamilton, Hadestown, In The Heights, etc) are the most valid bc I can understand the plot without using wikipedia (I'm looking at you, Jagged Little Pill, I love you but what is your plot????)

23. Anonymous said: I'd rather have a bad film adaptation than no film adaptation

24. Anonymous said: Rent sucks and while it was a stepping stone for more ""controversial"" topics to appear on Broadway it's actually biphobic and features several generally terrible people doing generally terrible things and doesn't actually address the real crisis at all; it's all performative wokeness. The only real good it did was cast a bunch of "nobodies" for the time and make theater somewhat more accessible.

25. stardust-and-seas said: Dear Evan Hansen doesn't properly address mental health despite being about mental health and resolves nobodies character arcs satisfactorily. It's another show that reaches its hands around the throats of marginalized teenagers saying "look I'm relatable!!" The songs taken out of context are significantly more powerful than when placed in the context of the show, which gives us exactly zero evidence of Evan's work to improve and also never resolves Evan's u healthy goals in the first place.

26. stardust-and-seas said: Be More Chill is a raging dumpster fire and the only decent song from it, Michael in the Bathroom, reads as a whiny rich white boy whose potential social anxiety and depression is left ambiguous, which is exactly what it is. When taken out of context it better exemplifies the othering that happens to marginalized groups but lets be real here: bullying/cliques don't happen to "just anyone"; it's the marginalized groups that are othered and abandoned for not being "normal"

27. stardust-and-seas said: There's a difference between shows that don't take themselves seriously because they're meant to be fun and light and shows that pretend not to take themselves too seriously but want to be taken seriously by the audience and the latter always ends up mediocre at best

28. redueka said: i think that dear evan hansen handles every issue it presents badly. i also think that beetlejuice was badly directed

29. Anonymous said: Well I don’t EVER condone cheating, I’m team Jamie in the last five years. He tried so hard to make their relationship and life good, and Cathy gave him nothing in return

30. youcanlolyoucansayohwell said: The answer of the day- I don't get the BMC hype. I'm out of the age bracket it's meant for that might it be. I enjoy it but I don't think it's the greatest thing in the world like some theatre fans do.

31. Anonymous said: i like the rent 2005 recording better than the obcr

32. Anonymous said: unpopular opinion ? : the music of wicked just like isn’t that good. like it’s good but it’s not like, Good, yknow. it’s pretty standard it doesn’t stand out to me. kinda boring

33. Anonymous said: mari.ah r.ose fa.ith is not a good regina george. everything she says sounds monotonous and while i understand she's trying to play off the ""whatever"" teenager (she does this a lot with her teenage characters), 90% of the time she sounds and looks like she doesn't want to be there; her voice is great but most songs feel unnatural and forced and she changes them too much. she's just not selling regina to me as a believable character (this is all from a technical point of view)

34. Anonymous said: Unpopular Opinion: as much as i like musicals based on movies (like waitress), i think not every movie needs to be a musical.

35. Anonymous said: Unpopular opinion (?) the emojiland musical Kinda Slaps

36. Anonymous said: as one of my high school tech theatre teachers once said: "Andrew Lloyd Webber is overrated"

37. Anonymous said: sorry to whoever likes it but Seussical is an absolutely nonsense crackpot plot disguised with okay-to-good music, like I don't even know where to start. I was in the show and didn't even know there was an entire secondary plot line featuring sending children to war until we were halfway through rehearsals

#qotd #not a quote #in some places i put dots in the name so it didn't show up in the tag by accident

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lesbianbernardsumner · 4 years ago

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Hey! Its thing >:)!

Its the thing i was teasing at in that post last night, and technically for like... four months? five? huh its been a bit since i second changed my url huh. Im not gonna go check or anything. If I were a bit more patient i wouldve waited for the archive collection become canon but im not. funfacterdroid is just more of my bran! Anyway! This post is my first impressions and opinions on each song on Back to the Egg! The Wings album i temporarily renamed myself after. (told ya i was gonna ramble wasnt i ydbfyufjd). It also happens to be the only wings album i havent listened to yet. And sure theres a bunch of singles and b-sides i havent listened to either, but this is the last one! I figured it should get some of its own treatment! I know that its gonna sound different to London Town and the two before it, cause McCulloch and English arent here. I’ve also heard that this album is bad and people called Paul a sellout because he transitioned to New Wave. New Wave is my favorite genre and I guess Wings werent ever that far from it? But they’re still a rock band at heart so i dont know how that change is going to fare. Enough introduction: Lets just go track by track! -Side One: Sunny Side Up-

Reception: Its just some radio garble, an instrumental meant to introduce the album. dont really have any opinions on it. Getting Closer: JAHBUDHSAUHJDHS WOAH WOAH WOAH!!! I didnt expect such a threatening title to be so upbeat. Like... opposite of Beware My Love. I do think its odd that there is barely any backup singing? Its not horrible just weird that this song, out of all the openers, doesnt. That outro is very much meant to be like a darker part of the song, like the dream sequence from A Day In The Life, but god dammit this song is just so upbeat! so weirdly cheerful and gentle! And... only 3 minutes? Rockshow and Jet were 4... eh those albums had a lot less songs, this one has 13 not counting Reception! Same as London Town, which i also really like! We’re Open Tonight: Oooohhh!! Very soft, I think I know what its about but when taken literally, to me it sounds like a quaint little shop trying to lure you in, sinisterly. I think the bass is making it sound evil to me, but thats a great thing! Clearly its trying to be like another I’m Carrying but that song fucking sucks!!!!!! I also really like how its only 1 minute, something so haunting about it. Not sure if thats positive or negative but the songs cool! Spin It On: hHEHEYEHY!! Getting Closer.... 2! kinda. Its much much faster and i can barely understand the words hes saying... or what hes spinning. The backing vocals are really cool though. the lyrics mention a pinball table? Y.. you know pinball doesn't spin right? it falls.... Questionable lyrics aside, theres really not a lot of SPEEDY Wings songs! Glad that one of the few is also extremely good!

Again and Again and Again: WOW OKAY! this is sung by denny, all of these songs start pretty fast unlike a good chunk of their past work, but i really like that! But it also means i cannot process a single thing denny is saying, i think he said something about a school? and being in a bad situation? ah whatever. Denny used to be in an R&B band and i really think thats going to work here! This isnt an exactly a Rhythm-y or Bluesey song, but He’s clearly having fun! thats why i love wings in general, its easy to tell that the band was having fun recording a song! Old Siam, Sir: A-hmm. Paul’s doing his squeaky voice again... I guess that can work sometimes but its absolutely not complimenting the piano in the background. Also, I feel like a squeaky voice wouldnt work the best for a story song. A story thats pretty incomprehensible too? Who is this lady! What the fuck is this village!! This is the song you wanted to make 4 minutes? and it fades out too... how much did they record... Arrow Through Me: So this is the one that the critics liked? Its the most synth heavy which i understand why people like, I like synths too! I like how the bass (which i think is also from a synth?) lines up perfectly with the horns! Its alright, it might grow on me later, but now its just a passable song. One i wouldnt skip. Plus I really like the reverb effects, the whole album has em but this one really makes use!! Kinda bad overall though.

-Side Two: Over Easy- Rockestra Theme: Just an instrumental. But one thats really important to music history! I don’t actually know the full story to this one, but I do know that i really like it! Plus the vocal effects on Paul’s... Scatting i guess you could call it? Whatever it is, it works! To You: This sounds... eerily like Getting Closer. But bad... Eh I like that organ. Not much to say really... theres only like one verse. After the Ball / Million Miles: Oh cool another medley. Last one we got was two albums ago! I guess since this is technically two songs id have to... review them both? After the Ball is exactly what it sounds like. A gentle rock song about seeing your love after a party :)! Pretty standard for wings. Million Miles! Sounds a lot like After the Ball but with an accordian? Fuck I’m not complaining. But also who the fuck is Deo. Winter Rose / Love Awake: Uh- Something is,,, wrong with Paul’s voice. like he damaged it? I mean its not horrible it just kinda takes me out of the emersion? Oh we’re already on Love Awake! his voice is fine now..! Man this song is mediocre! No wonder the 70s are regarded as lame./lh Weird that Linda isn’t singing backup here? Or if she is that Denny’s voice is just drowning her out. Winter Rose itself is kinda lame but its... sweeter I guess? The Broadcast: SINISTER!!!!!!! I do not know who is talking but this sounds... dystopian. I don’t even know what the poem is about its just... the whole song is slightly off. But i mean that in a good way! So Glad to See You Here: MAN! They were trying so hard to be punk... Okay as a punk song this sounds horrible! But as a song in general i like it! It’s not mixed the best but i really like the lyrics! And I-HOLY SHIT WE’RE OPEN TONIGHT PART TWO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I really didnt expect that,,, thats.... genuinely cool! Baby’s Request: Oh the finale! H..huh... Jazzy! And its about going to sleep.. i think? Regardless, Paul’s good at writing songs to fall asleep to, this isnt an exception at all!! Although it is weird that at the end the same horn plays as the one in Thrillington’s Monkberry Moon Delight... Its probably just a coincidence, i thought it was funny though. ---- Okay! Overall, I liked Sunny Side-Up more as a whole since i like 4/6 of its songs, but MAN So Glad to See You Here and Baby’s Request are REALLLY GOOD-But then again. I only listened to all of these songs once, and i wont listen to them again until ive finished writing this post, just to keep my first impressions fresh. I don’t really know what else to say that album was fun as hell! So I’d give Back To The Egg a... 7.8/10! I really didnt expect to like it this much. even though New Wave is my favorite music genre, i didnt think paul would be able to do it justice! Especially since the genre was just starting itself up... heh.... hope it gets archived soon.

#vialogue #rambling #BACKTOTHEEGGARCHIVECOLLECTION IS FAKE NOW!!! IM FREE TO BE FUNFACTERDROID AGAIN!!!!!!#also if youve listened to it feel free to share your opinions too...#now. i can.. make a playlist i guess?#im not good at making playlists at all dyshbfdshj #i just go to a band's tab and shuffle all of their music #anyway. im going to leech off these songs for like 4 weeks now bye bye/lh #temporary sequeuetary #<- no way in hell im posting this immediately yusgbu #long post

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doktorpeace · 5 years ago

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I respect you and your right to have opinions, but also fuck you, Xenoblade 2 is good

I’d rather not spend any time discussing the minor up sides of a Singleplayer Offline Only RPG that has a fucking Gachapon mechanic built in. A Gachapon mechanic that’s a soft buffer for combat progression and also is used to completely remove organic rewards and genuine player experiences based on exploration compared to 1 and X. Meanwhile it tells a story that is just a stock standard shonen anime plot while sprinkling elements in from a story that desperately wants to be a harem anime but is stuck being in a relatively mainline AAA game instead of some game nobody’s heard of on PSVita or whatever. Yeah I sure do love going from the themes, environments, and characters of Xenoblade 1 and X which are well written and delivered, if not over the time from time to time, to a game with such classic moments as “Mythra sleepwalked into Rex’s bed haha, I wonder what wacky hijinks will happen now ;)” “Nia randomly falls in love with Rex for no reason and then demoting herself from party member to literally a tool for him to use” and who could forget “ “The Child Robot gets forced into a nearly naked adult styled body with huge tits by her incel creator who all game has forced her to call him master and wear maid outfits.” The game literally never fucking explains shit. It sets up things like the conflict between Uraya and Mor Ardain and then just fucking completely abandons it. Mythra and Malos just have orbital destruction lasers they’re tied to for no fucking reason with no explanation ever. Jin pulls the line “This ability lets me move faster than the speed of light” out of fucking nowhere and it’s meant to be taken seriously. It then bullshits in a fucking 30 minute exposition dump at the end how it’s somehow connected to Xenoblade Chronicles 1 by Fucking Retconning It in a way that has no buildup whatsoever and doesn’t fucking make sense. It constantly tries to string you along by simply leaving out details so you hope it gets explained or resolved later but they never fucking do! They just get dropped or resolved in a flaccid, meaningless way! Jin, the ONLY villain in the game worth anything in terms of intrigue dies unceremoniously with his motive and story largely unexplored and unexplained when Lora dies offscreen in an explosion. Sure makes me want to play Torna, The Golden Country, knowing that it’s just going to lead to that ultimately huh!? Not to mention all the times it just pulls beats or ideas from either previous game without understanding what made it work. You start in a semi-secluded area, go on a job where then something Bad Happens but this time the main character almost dies instead of a girl, then go to big fucking grassland and then go to a fucking swamp that glows at night. Then you go to the only actually unique environment concept in the game with Mor Ardain and wow! That area is actually fun and memorable and I like Mòrag Ladair and Brighid they deserved to be in a good game! Then you go to a series of floating islands and then you go to a Cold Place That’s Really Vertically Built And Has Ruins In It! LIKE XENOBLADE 1 GUYS, REMEMBER THAT GAME!? “Mythra can see the future a little bit” *nudge nudge* Just like Xenoblade 1 remember! Remember that game!? “Malos has the Monado in these two fights for no reason.” GET IT, JUST LIKE XENOBLADE 1 REMEMBER!? THE ARCHITECT IS KLAUS, YOU KNOW, THE GUY FROM FUCKING XENOBLADE 1, REMEMBER!?!?!? The scene where Vandham dies is so fucking forced. I had had my misgivings before this but was still hoping it would improve but then I got to this scene and knew the rest of the game would just be Like This. Both Mythra AND Nia could have just fucking done something to prevent it. Nia is at least given a LITTLE BIT of a reason to not have (even though she IMMEDIATELY AFTER THIS REVEALS HER FUCKING SECRET TO EVERYONE BUT REX NULLIFYING THAT REASON) but Mythra sure fucking don’t have one. Oh and speaking of Vandham this game goes out of its way to stop literally every fucking story important boss and tell you Why You’re Actually Losing This Fight midway through even if you’re busting their fucking ass. Anytime a boss fight gets interrupted by a cutscene in Xenoblade 1 the boss either Escapes or Fucking Dies except for Dickson. Dickson is the ONLY ONE where that isn’t what happens so it at least feels SOMEWHAT earned. If the game wants you to lose a fight for story purposes it actually supplies a mechanical reason to the gameplay so you, the player, can feel the powerlessness that the characters do in that moment! I have never in my LIFE, hope against hope, wanted to enjoy a game more than I did with Xenoblade 2. It was meant to be a sequel to a game that I could easily put in my top 3 of all time, any day of the week, so I wanted to fucking like it even if the early trailers and art style had me worried! I tried so fucking hard, I ended up doing most of the game’s content and beat all the superbosses and shit trying to ultimately come out with a positive view on it and I fucking couldn’t! NEVER has a game or piece of media disappointed me in the way Xenoblade 2 did by simply being a bad fucking experience that has no business associating with its alleged IP. It is so severely different from not only the other to -Blade games but from the entire Xeno- franchise that it boggles my fucking mind that it’s even considered apart of the same greater IP. Ask any of my friends, I play video games to have fun. I love diving deeper into their themes and discussing the comparative merits of different entries. I make it a point to try and enjoy games for what they bring to the table, even pretty mediocre games I can sit down with and have some fun by learning more about its mechanics and just having a nice little time! But not this fucking game! Not fucking Xenoblade 2.

And, I know this was a long post. I know it was and I know it’s scathing because after a few years I still can’t let this shit go. But I’m not trying to make it so you, anon, or anyone else who likes this game, feels like they are obliged to agree with me or not like the game. I don’t want to take away what good experiences others have had with it but I do think it’s completely fair for me to be able to express the experiences and feelings I had and have kept with me after playing it. Have your fun, that’s fine, I won’t and don’t want to stop you. But in the same way I despise this game and I’m not gonna shy away from saying so.

#long post #Anonymous

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notbang · 5 years ago

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burning up again

R/N. Set in some vague overlapping future universe of this, this and this, but requiring prior knowledge of none to understand.

(read on ao3)

“You know, this place sounded a lot more whimsical and fun when I was reading about it in letters.”

“I don’t think I was ever speaking specifically about the accommodations,” he says, wry, “so much as the symbolic act of coming here itself.”

“I know,” she shoots back, almost sulkily, and wriggles up the mattress to better rest her head in the crook of his arm. He stretches, and the fingers of her left hand cakewalk idly up his chest in her contemplation until he catches them and traps them in his own. “If anyone’s guilty of romanticising mediocrity, it’s me. I’m aware.”

“Well,” is all Nathaniel says, the smug twist of his mouth intended to tease, more than anything else.

Rebecca’s restless, perpetually in motion with an energy he doesn’t share. He’s been jungle-dwelling long enough that the humidity doesn’t bother him so much anymore, but there’s a difference between being able to sleep beneath a sheet in a sticky room and having to accommodate someone else’s body heat as well as your own. Still, the tightly-wound demeanour that had always felt like second nature to him has never really had a place here, and despite the queasy anticipation that has been slowly fraying his nerves all week in the lead-up to her arrival, having her sprawled out alongside him now, Nathaniel feels nothing but a sleepy sense of calm.

Even if her insisted-upon sleeping arrangements leave a little to be desired.

“This bed isn’t exactly built for two people,” he tells her when she starts to squirm, his eyebrows creeping upwards with a familiar cocktail of fondness and exasperation.

“You’re telling me. It’s not even built for one people, if the people is you.” Rebecca grunts, shifting again, trying to get comfortable and elbowing him sharply in the gut in the process. “You should really speak to someone about the quality of the facilities.”

“The facilities you were provided with are perfectly fine. You’re the one that was determined to play stowaway in mine.”

“Mm, yeah, but your room is so cosy and romantic, with the canopy, and the candles.”

He raises his eyebrows, dubious. “The mosquito net and the citronella coils?”

She waves him off, nearly clocking him in the face. “Okay, so the smell isn’t particularly enticing, but it’s fun, right? Being a little sneaky. Having a sleepover. Hmm?”

“It’d be a lot more fun in less than ninety percent humidity.” She pouts up at him, and he appeases her with a warm press of his palm to the small of her undeniably damp back. His lips graze across her forehead on his way to nosing into the cloud of her humidity-frizzed hair. “But yes—practically every defining detail aside, this is… nice.”

Rebecca sighs her agreement as she inches up his side, a greasy koala on a eucalyptus oil-slick tree. It should definitely be more off-putting, the mix of perspiration, pungent insect repellant and the remnants of lotion that only barely saved her shoulders. Instead he drinks in the sun kissed bridge of her nose, the pinking of her cheekbones and the abundance of freckles dusted across her face like constellations that can only be seen in clarity out of the city limits. It’s a hundred times better than any piece of paper, and every possible protest dies as a result on the tip of his tongue.

“I can’t believe you live like this,” she says eventually. At his frown she hastens to add, “I’m not passing judgement. Emphasis on the ‘you’, not the… ‘this’. You’ve always been so…” She trails off, gesturing vaguely at the length of him, and he huffs out a laugh.

“I know. It astounds me most days, too.”

“Was it hard? Getting used to everything?”

He considers that for a moment, knowing for a fact he’d spent a good number of days unavoidably rankled by his new circumstances, but unable to put his finger on the true moment of transition.

“I guess. But… hard in a good way. Hard in a way I was looking for, to wake me up. As embarrassingly cheesy as it sounds, even when I hated it, it felt… good, and important, to be following my heart for once, instead of something my father drilled into my head.”

She takes the hand not tangled in his and presses her open palm to his chest, fingers splayed out across his sternum, radiating warmth. “I mean, on some twisted level it makes sense. If you were a Planeteer, you’d definitely be the heart power,” she says, then to his confused look elaborates, “Apparently it means you can talk to monkeys.”

“I see. And you would be…?”

“Fire. For obvious reasons.” She tilts her head, considering. “Or maybe wind. For other, also probably obvious, equally unflattering reasons.”

He winces, and shakes his head as if to will the insinuation away. For all their overwhelming similarities, there’s still a lot of things they don’t have in common, and Rebecca’s penchant for toilet humour is one of them.

Her tone turns suddenly coy. “Speaking of saving the planet, here’s a thought on our current predicament with global warming. What if we shower—together, obviously, gotta think of the earth—and then just… don’t bother towelling dry?”

“Mm, that’d probably feel good for about thirty seconds, tops. Then: sticky. Also—and while I’m not sure that’s what you’re implying, it’s usually a pretty safe bet with you—you are not going to want to do anything sexy once you step foot in that shower. Believe me.”

“Believe you because you’ve tried?” she asks, eyes narrowed, frowning her suspicion.

“Believe me because I know what my shower stall looks like.”

She hums, apparently too skeptical to be truly appeased. “So the shower’s out. But we have prior experience. We’re intelligent. We’re innovative. We can find a position with minimal contact points and maximum air flow.”

There’s no question of what she’s implying now, even if her tone is still currently set to teasing, and his stomach tightens in acknowledgement. He’d been too cautious to take it as a given that her trip was intended as a romantic one, even if it was difficult to read between the lines of her intentions and find them to be anything else. Just because his most recent trip back to West Covina had led to them falling back into bed together didn’t mean anything concrete—their letters since have been as carefully choreographed as always, deftly walking the tightrope between tentative flirtation and outright propositioning without either of them being bold enough to quantify the true nature of their long distance relationship.

If the hug she accosted him with upon her arrival and all the excuses she’s found to touch him throughout the day haven’t adequately telegraphed her intent, though, surely her presence now in his tiny standard issue sanctuary housing cot has well and truly dashed any illusions that the purposes of her visit are purely platonic.

The woman in question pulls him from his musings with a drawn-out, nasally whine. “God, I just have to…”

The rest of her sentence is lost in the fabric of her t-shirt as she squirms to get it up and over her head, and sure, he has to actively tamp down on the impulse to jerk away when her moist skin hits his, but then certain parts of his anatomy waste no time in sounding the alarm that for the first time in longer than he can currently properly recall, Rebecca Bunch’s scantily clad body is in unmistakable, maddening proximity, and his breath leaves him in a shaky huff. Despite the fact they’ve been engaged in banter around the topic for the last ten minutes at least and in fact, most of the day, it’s a very particular jolt calling attention to the impending physical reality of it now, running through him like electromagnetic muscle memory.

“Oh,” she says quietly, as if sharing the exact same revelation, eyes dropping down and to his mouth.

They shift minutely against one another until he takes her by the waist and twists, orienting her so she can feel the the fan on her face. His fingers smooth through the resulting restless waves of her hair.

Just like that it’s back at full force again—the stubborn twist of heat that exists between them, both impeded and exacerbated by the suffocating jungle humidity, like an itch you couldn’t stop yourself from scratching, if only you had the energy to move.

It’s unnerving as it’s always been, the ways in which she tames him and makes him wild.

“Hello,” he says, going for suave but falling somewhere a lot closer to shaky.

Rebecca lets out a soft giggle and bends at the knee, toes leading the way to twist her leg between his.

“Hi,” she breathes into his mouth, the cartilage of her nose crushing against his own.

Apparently, that far-from-sophisticated call and response is all the encouragement they need before they’re crashing back into each other’s orbits, an alignment of single-minded satellites colliding for the thousandth time.

It’s not as needy as their last kiss, instead whittled down into languidity by the slow burn of whatever it is they’ve been allowing to rekindle between them over months of correspondence and an overnight temperature that lends itself to a leisurely pace. I’ve missed you, she tells him in no uncertain terms, and he feels unhurried in his efforts to lay out his supporting arguments of every way he intends to miss her back.

Her nails drag across his scalp and he groans, fingertips hinting at the band of her bra.

“Nope, I can’t,” she blurts suddenly after another enthusiastic minute of making out, pushing back at him and scrunching up her face. The disappointment doesn’t even have time to sour in his stomach before she’s rushing to make the grounds of her rejection clear. “I’m sorry. It’s just so sticky. Like, disgustingly sticky. An I-can’t-expend-the-energy-that-would-only-make-us-stickier sticky.”

He obediently withdraws, rolling off of her and back towards his side of the bed, as much as their cramped shared space currently allows and what ultimately ends up being much the same arrangement as before, albeit with his body being the one caged by hers against the mattress as she holds herself away in something reminiscent of a reluctant push-up. “Absurdly,” he agrees, unable to deny himself the skin-to-skin contact of combing her matted hair back behind her ear.

“Like, I can’t tell where my body ends and yours begins, and not in a… well, it is in a hot way, technically, but not in a sexy-hot way? More in the way that I’m just melting into you until we form some kind of amorphous, perspiring blob.”

“Charming,” he says lightly.

He takes some satisfaction that he’s not alone in the dull throb of his frustration, judging by the way she shifts to squeeze her thighs together.

“Can we maybe just, I don’t know, sleep on the floor? With a companionable inch of breathing space between us as we gaze wantonly into each others’ eyes? That concrete looks cool and I mean, heat rises, right?”

“Sure, if you want to hang with the scorpions.”

Her upper body, which had been in the process of relaxing back towards his, slingshots back up off of him at that, eyes going disproportionately wide to the rest of her face. “Dude. You get scorpions in your room?”

“Sometimes. Also: lizards.”

“That’s it—I’m taking the next flight home.”

His palm skirts her shoulder blades, coaxing her back down. “Uh-huh.”

Amused as he is by her theatrics, there’s another more obvious option, one that he would have offered hours ago if only she’d given him the chance, stubborn as she’d insisted on being in response to his attempts to organise her transport back into town. He absently wonders what their chances of getting a taxi are at this time of night.

“Nathaniel?” she ventures tentatively, her voice small amongst the encroaching outside chorus of cicadas.

“Mmm?”

“Do you want to sneak into my hotel room with me? I’m pretty sure it has air conditioning.”

His smile stretches wider as he pats her encouragingly on the back. “There you go.”

She carefully peels herself off of him, and he lets her drag him, good-natured, from the bed.

#crazy ex girlfriend #rebecca x nathaniel #my fic #i feel like the pacing is a little off towards the end but y'know what? just happy to finish something #prayer circle that i can get back into barcelona fic now

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kvndeathmusic · 5 years ago

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my favorite records of the 2010s pt 1 (the less great stuff/honorable mentions)

Neither this post or its followup are going to be in any particular order, however all the records I talk about here are, in my opinion, not as good as the records i will talk about in my part 2. they’re all fantastic but these ones slightly a little less fantastic than the ones in my “top 10″. none of this is based on stuff like 'influence' or whatever other critics base their lists on, this is solely how much I enjoyed these records. And keep in mind, I'm only human, I havent listened to a good lot of records I've heard others describe as top 10 worthy, these are just records I found and that I resonate with. long post ahead.

Vacation - Bomb the Music Industry (2011)

If you asked me what my favorite band is i will either say bomb the music industry or jeff rosenstock, but considering those are pretty much the same things it doesnt matter lol. While Vacation isnt a perfect record, it is one I love. It lacks some of the ska elements that I love about earlier BTMI records, but at the same time, it is the first record where Jeff’s “””solo””” career sound starts to form in tracks like Sick, Later, Hurricane Waves, Everybody That You Love, Everybody That Loves You, and Vocal Coach. And these tracks are all fantastic, especially the absolutely explosive opener Campaign For a Better Weekend. Where this album suffers in my mind is the fact that it exists as a weird hybrid middle ground between BTMI and modern Jeff Rosenstock, it isn’t really ska like old BTMI and it’s not quite to the same standard as the tracks on We Cool?. And some of the songs are just, not as good as the others, like Why, Oh Why, Oh Why (Oh Oh Oh Oh), which is washed out almost entirely in reverb, and tracks like Savers feeling barren and missing additional instrumentation. But fuck man I can not dislike this record or just call it “ok” because despite this I still listen to this record a lot, it’s so catchy and fun and Im a bit too chronically addicted to btmi.

Reflektor - Arcade Fire (2013)

i dont really get the hate/mixed feelings others have with this record. there’s so many good tracks dude!!!! sure theres a bit of a slump in the middle and it doesnt reach the same emotional heights as their previous records you gotta be ignorant to overlook this records strengths. while i do like The Suburbs more than Reflektor, man i just vibe HARD with some of these tracks; the title track, We Exist, Here Comes The Night Time, Normal Person, Awful Sound (Oh Eurydice), Porno, and ESPECIALLY Afterlife. Plus the cover art is cool and I like it. However Flashbulb Eyes is one of the worst tracks Arcade Fire has ever put out and I hate it immensely. And while far less offensive, tracks like You Already Know, It’s Never Over (Hey Orpheus), and Joan of Arc are just kinda boring and/or uninteresting. Now granted, I'm extremely biased when it comes to Arcade fire in general unless were talking about the trainwreck that is Everything Now. I started listening to Arcade Fire just before Reflektor came out, and I have a kinda sentimental attachment to the record. ill explain the feeling more when i talk about The Suburbs. anticipation oooooo.

good kid m.A.A.d city - Kendrick Lamar (2012)

i might get crucified by some for not putting this in my top 10, but whatever come at me i guess. gkmc is a fantastic record, but i do think the ending is weak, which is why it’s here instead of in the top 10. i mean, let’s be real, Real is a mediocre track, and while Dying of Thirst is an important track to the whole narrative of the record, it feels way too long. almost everything else about this record is fantastic, from the beats, to kendrick’s nasally flows, to the overall structure of the record spinning a tale of a young man battling demons both inside and out, and his eventual redemption. even if i find this record at times to drop pace, it really is flawless otherwise. it felt like a disservice to put this in the 20-10s, bc it’s a good record, but i had to make some compromises and this was one of them.

RTJ2 - Run The Jewels (2014)

el-p and killer mike are a perfect duo, and the tracks they make together are always total bangers. and for me, RTJ2 is the best overall, with RTJ3 in a close second. it’s hard to put this on the lower half of the list, some of the tracks just don’t work as well as the others, but despite that there’s not really any tracks i hate or dislike on this record, minus maybe crown. the pure aggression in the opening track Jeopardy sets the tone for an aggressive yet highly focused record. This is some of the best rap out there right now if you want some music to fuck shit up to.

Pure Comedy - Father John Misty (2017)

This record is both hilarious and extremely bleak. Josh Tillman is a master of satire and sarcasm, and Pure Comedy is the peak of his songwriting skills. The title track is one of the best tracks of the decade, period. And he keeps up the momentum on the following few tracks. The main problem with this record is its weaker second half, but even then it’s criminal to suggest that those songs aren’t good regardless. And despite the bleakness, the one line that sticks in my head after all this time is the line this album fades out to: There’s nothing to fear.

Knife Man - AJJ (2011)

Continuing on the trend of folky, satirical, and bleak records, Knife Man is AJJ’s defining record (next to their debut LP). AJJ blends loud, punky anthems with quieter, folk tracks that touch on sensitive issues in a way only AJJ manages to get away with. And there’s some genuine heart mixed in as well, with the final track Big Bird always striking a chord with me. However, I do feel the record is, let’s just say, padded at times in my opinion. Still, I can’t deny how much i enjoy tracks like Gift of the Magi 2, Hate Rain on Me, The Distance, and Skate Park. Speaking of which when I saw AJJ live recently they played none of those songs and that kinda sucked but hey it was like $20 I can’t complain. And speaking of not getting what I wanted...

You Won’t Get What You Want - Daughters (2018)

It was hard choosing between this record and their 2010 self titled record, but in terms of the overall narrative and variety this record shines through. If there was a number 11 spot in this unorganized list this would probably take that spot. It’s noisey, it’s abrasive, and it’s like nothing you’ve heard before unless you’ve listened to Daughter’s previous records. Tracks like The Reason They Hate Me are catchy in the weirdest and most unwelcoming of ways, Less Sex sounds like a long lost Trent Reznor NIN track, and Guest House is a masochistic and gut wrenching finisher. Fantastic record aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

We Cool? - Jeff Rosenstock (2015)

It’s obvious that I had to include this record somewhere on these list. It’s like a more refined version of the sounds that Jeff experimented with on Vacation. Definitely more punk than ska, but still some of those roots still shine through, especially in the track Nausea. Some of Jeff’s best songs are on this record, from the loud opening tracks Get Old Forever and You, In Weird Cities, to tracks dripping with bittersweet and moody lyrics like I’m Serious, I’m Sorry and Polar Bear or Africa. The main reason this record is on the back end of the top 20 is because the deeper cuts on the record do not match the energy and heights of the best tracks. Tracks like All Blissed Out, The Lows, Darkness Records and Beers Again Alone don’t feel like they belong and stick out a bit. They remind me more of the material Jeff put out on his 2012 EP I Look Like Shit. Mind you they aren’t bad tracks, but I’ll be honest I skip them often when listening to the record because i just wanna get back to the good good stuff.

Sports - Modern Baseball (2012)

Sports is one of the best pop punk records ever, if you can even consider it as such. It’s like a blend of emo and folk punk, and it works so well. A good majority of this record is on my main shuffle playlist. Is it pushing boundaries? Not really, but tracks like Re-Do, Tears Over Beers, and See Ya, Sucker are undeniably catchy and memorable. I NEED MODERN BASEBALL BACK TOGETHER RN. There’s not really anything that wrong with the record, besides maybe lacking in variety, but at 30 minutes, it’s a record that feels nostalgic even on a first listen, and continues to feel that way even after numerous re-listens. Speaking of nostalgia...

The Suburbs - Arcade Fire (2010)

Some background, when I was 13 (circa 2013), I only really listened to whatever my parents put on for me. From my mom, I “inherited” a taste for classic pop and 80s new wave. From my dad, I got metal and hard rock. The first time I made the conscious decision to listen to a record fully, based on my own curiousity, was when I sat and listened to Sgt. Pepper in the summer of 2013, which broadened the scope of what I thought music could even be. And later that year, the first band I got into after The Beatles? Arcade Fire. When I think of my early teens, the memories are set to this record. I remember listening to Ready to Start in my brother’s old hot ass car while driving to the local fair with some friends on a chill fall night, eating tons of junk and staying up past midnight back when doing that was edgy and cool and not a symptom of my depression.

If I was judging this record solely by its best tracks, it would easily be in the top 3. But I couldn’t place it in my top 10 because, frankly, some of the deeper cuts are lacking. I can’t say I like Deep Blue. I really don’t like Rococo. And Half Light I kills the pace of the record. But man, that title track, Ready to Start, Modern Man, Empty Room, Half Light II, Sprawl II... these songs defined my early teen years. I still tear up listening to the title track. Sure I have to skip a few songs when I re-listen, but I can’t place it any lower or my heart will break. It existing outside of the top 10 already hurts. And that’s all that’s left now. The top 10.

But first, some random honorable mentions that didn’t make this list:

Sound & Color - Alabama Shakes

Black Star - David Bowie

Saturation II - BROCKHAMPTON

Melophobia - Cage the Elephant

Teens of Style - Car Seat Headrest

How to Leave Town - Car Seat Headrest

Daughters - Daughters

Sunbather - Deafheaven

Bottomless Pit - Death Grips

Year of the Snitch - Death Grips (should be on this list tbh)

Doris - Earl Sweatshirt

I Love You, Honeybear - Father John Misty

Helplessness Blues - Fleet Foxes

Plastic Beach - Gorillaz

Boarding House Reach - Jack White

POST- - Jeff Rosenstock

S/T - Joyce Manor

Firepower - Judas Priest

ye - Kanye West

KIDS SEE GHOSTS - KSG

You Were There - Kill Lincoln

Flying Microtonal Banana - King Gizzard

Infest The Rats’ Nest - King Gizzard

No New World - Mass of the Fermenting Dregs

Bury Me At Makeout Creek - Mitski

Puberty 2 - Mitski

Unsilent Death - Nails

Itekoma Hits - Otoboke Beaver

Morbid Stuff - PUP

A Moon Shaped Pool - Radiohead

RTJ3 - Run the Jewels

Angles - The Strokes

To Be Kind - Swans

Undertale OST - Toby Fox

Scum Fuck Flower Boy - Tyler, The Creator

Igor - Tyler, The Creator

Weezer (White Album) - Weezer

nightlife - yuragi

#music #2010s

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vincent-marie · 5 years ago

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The Oft Overlooked A BUG’S LIFE

A BUG’S LIFE…

What can I really say about this movie that other animation fans on the internet haven’t already? It was critically dubbed Pixar’s most mediocre film before the horror that is the CARS franchise.

I was about nine years old when this film came out, and I really liked it then. Honestly, I still kind of do, but admittedly some of it is nostalgia on my part and I’m well aware that it could have been better.

Like I said, this film has been talked about by other online critics about how it is okay, at best. That it was just the Pixar placeholder in between the first two TOY STORY movies. However for the purposes of this article I would actually like to highlight some of the good things about this movie, or at least my reasoning for why I still have a fondness for it.

Now before I continue I do feel like I should address two big elephants in the room: Namely, John Lasseter and Kevin Spacey. Knowing what we know now about them, if you can’t watch this movie without feeling uncomfortable, I totally understand. I’ll admit it makes me a wee bit uncomfortable to watch the film now, and more so the behind-the-scenes featurette on the DVD. (Wish I could blur their ugly faces when they’re being interviewed…)

However my opinions of this film on its own have nothing to do with them or whatever they contributed to the film, so they are irrelevant to what I have to say here. As far as I’m concerned if they hadn’t been involved in the film someone else would have taken their place, and those other people would have done just as good a job, if not better. Not to mention they would have been able to do it without being complete and utter creeps. To conclude, Lasseter can go suck a jellyfish and I hope Spacey rots in hell.

I’m going to primarily talk about the things I like about this movie, both then and now. But before I get to that I’m going to talk about why I agree with most critics who consider this one of Pixar’s lesser films.

A big problem with the movie is primarily the story and characters being a bit weak.

Part of that problem is the story’s initial structure. It’s clearly a retelling of Akira Kurosawa’s SEVEN SAMURAI; village is being attacked by thugs, one villager leaves to get help in the form of warriors, villager brings back help, and they successfully fight off the invaders.

Probably the biggest difference in story is SAMURAI ended on a bittersweet note due to casualties among the samurai themselves, whereas BUG’S LIFE didn’t have any real casualties on the heroes’ side. That said, though, it’s funny that the ants seemed so damn certain there would be.

Initially modeling an original story off of a classic isn’t a bad thing in of itself. Back when I was in college it was something a lot of my writing and animation professors encouraged: learn from the classics. Not just film, but also literature and mythology.

The thing is SEVEN SAMURAI as a film was three to four hours long. It had time to accommodate for its fairly large cast, while still keeping its focus on a select few.

BUG’S LIFE, however, was only maybe an hour and fifteen minutes long. The writers probably could have stood to trim down some of the Bug Circus and take time to polish the story rather than try to give EVERYBODY an opportunity to have a funny line.

Having a couple ensembles in place isn’t a bad thing. They had that in TOY STORY with Andy’s toys, the Little Green Men in the claw machine, and the mutant toys. The groups, however, were smaller in that movie, and in the case of the Mutant Toys they had no speaking lines and had to convey everything with silent acting.

However something that’s been pointed out is that with Pixar films there was always a real progression in technical quality. That with each movie they got better and better with the tool of their trade that was CG animation.

Let’s look back at TOY STORY. The reason they made the characters plastic toys was because that’s just what their character models at the time always looked like. It would be a long way before they could even consider rendering complex fur textures for MONSTERS INC., and more complex still Merida’s tangled head of hair in BRAVE. It’s why the human characters in TOY STORY also look a bit weird and plasticky by today’s standards.

With TOY STORY they accomplished lively character animation in 3D. With TOY STORY 2 they managed to make better looking, less stiff human models like Al of Al’s Toy Barn, and slightly nicer fur textures on Buster the dog. MONSTERS, INC. had the aforementioned complex fur textures for Sully and some pretty decent early snow effects.

So what did BUG’S LIFE accomplish on a technical level?

Two words: textures, and lighting.

The last time I watched BUG’S LIFE I was absolutely FLOORED by how beautiful the set pieces were.

Take this scene of Flik giving Dot a pep-talk.

All that detailing in the blades of grass in the background, the pebbles on the ground, the textures on the pebbles, the textures on Flik’s contraption, and even the textures on the characters. It blows my mind trying to imagine how long it took to create those models, differentiate between the more see-through nature of the grass blades and the opacity of everything else, and arrange them in a way that makes for a convincing bug’s eye view of a patch of grass.

Then there’s the scene of the grasshoppers breaking into the anthill.

TOY STORY had some decent lighting that helped establish the needed atmosphere, but I don’t recall it being nearly this crisp.

Once again, there’s the textures on the objects and characters. As a kid, while I was aware the film was CG animated, I found myself speculating if the grasshoppers’ muzzles were made of foam rubber.

These were all things I took for granted as a kid, because I did not yet have the experience to know just how much work and skill it takes to make 3D animation.

This is a still from a minute-long film I made in a 3D computer animation class. I was given maybe only a couple months to make it. That included having to navigate my way through these complex computer programs I was completely unfamiliar with, and technical difficulties like the textures not grafting onto the models right. Let me tell you, it was a pain in the ass.

I look at the backdrops for BUG’S LIFE and I’m left to ask: “How many computers CRASHED trying to render all that?” Because, believe me, that happens. A lot.

Also, here’s the thing. When technical elements of a film are done well, such as lighting or camera focus, the audience LITERALLY doesn’t notice it. They’re too swept up in the story because the visual storytelling keeps up the illusion for them. The audience only notices important technical details like this when they’re done BADLY, hence a lot of people outside the film industry really take for granted just how much work and skill is taken into making a film that looks good.

(It’s why I think everyone should watch FOOD FIGHT at least once in their lives, especially animation fans.)

Okay, while it is inevitable that I would bring up Dreamworks’ ANTZ, I’m not going to talk too much about it. (It’s like the Cola Wars; everyone inevitably picks a side.) All I’ll say for now is I’ve always preferred BUG’S LIFE because it’s nicer-looking design-wise and its content and execution is more family-appropriate. (Also, in 1998 we didn’t know at the time Kevin Spacey was a creep, but everyone and their DOG knew Woody Allen was. Nice job, Dreamworks!)

It’s been pointed out that there’s a distinct casting difference between ANTZ and BUG’S LIFE. ANTZ had a cast of recognizable movie actors, while BUG’S LIFE had a cast of recognizable television actors.

For BUG’S LIFE that’s not necessarily a bad thing. One of the things that bothers me about celeb casting in animated movies is that oftentimes it feels like a flimsy attempt at star-power when said stars don’t have the power to elevate the characters. Actors who might be good front of a camera but bring nothing to a recording booth.

However for the most part Pixar has been really good at casting well-known actors who actually fit their characters and add some personality to them. BUG’S LIFE was no exception.

In fact, quite a few of them had loaned their voices to animation before this film, and some damn good performances too.

And I can name at least one BUG’S LIFE alum who graduated from funny performance to heartfelt performance with Pixar…

(… I’m not crying! YOU’RE crying!)

But I digress. I consider the casting for this movie pretty solid. (With the obvious exception of Kevin Spacey.)

What’s more, growing up I remember a lot of the TV spots for Pixar films usually down-played the celeb cast and let the product speak for itself. The celeb casting was less of a selling point for the films and more like a fun little Easter egg for the parents who had to take their kids to the theater.

Earlier I stated that the story and characters in BUG’S LIFE are a bit weak, and I stand by that. However there are a couple characters I’d like to highlight here as I’ve always found them interesting and memorable in their own ways.

First, let me talk about Hopper for a minute.

(I’ve already stated that Kevin Spacey can rot in hell, so there will be no more of that.)

I’ve heard criticism about Hopper as a character that he was a very bland, one-dimensional villain. To be fair, they’re not wrong.

But the thing I always liked about Hopper is that his one and only goal is to hold dominion over the ant colony. To keep them under his foot, both literally and figuratively, and he wasn’t afraid to use deadly force to do that. He was willing to kill a few of his own goons just to illustrate a point. That’s how threatening he was.

In a lot of children’s media I had seen up to that point, there were several bully characters that were often portrayed as the bigger kids who would demand your lunch money. They were usually ineffectual doofuses like Bulk and Skull from POWER RANGERS, or kids with serious insecurities like Binky Barnes from ARTHUR. While not the first of his kind, Hopper was one of the first characters I had ever encountered as being a prime illustration of not just a bully, but one who had the makings of a dictator.

With his rather one-note motivation, I can see why audiences found him bland, but given his violent means of staying in power, I’m glad they didn’t try to make him “complex” or give him any sympathetic character traits.

Frankly, we live in an age where horrible people are romanticized in the media as being “misunderstood”. I feel like, unlike those media outlets or the upcoming JOKER movie, BUG’S LIFE gets it. They don’t deserve to be portrayed with humanity. These people are monsters. Nothing more.

Maybe if Pixar hadn’t felt the need to rush the production maybe Hopper is one of many characters that could have been polished up a bit in the writing process. Give him some more distinct, memorable traits as a character. Maybe hints at a backstory of Hopper having a long-standing history of using and abusing others, and always getting away with it.

(When I put it that way, we can just say Hopper is the John Lasseter Story. Just draw a pair of glasses and a tacky shirt on the guy and it’s a spitting image.)

The other thing I’ve always liked about this movie was the portrayal of Princess Atta.

Besides being the first Pixar Princess, I always liked how, unlike the Disney Princess pantheon up to date in the late 90s, Atta actually had a bit of a character arc related to the fact that… well, she’s royalty! She’s going to have to take over the colony eventually as queen.

We see this from the beginning as she’s overseeing the harvest and going into a panic when things go even slightly wrong. Also, I find it interesting that it’s a guy that screws everything up when Flik accidentally destroys the food offering, yet she’s the one who gets blamed for it. (Ironic commentary coming from the studio led by an egotistic creep who wouldn’t let women in on meetings.)

But what I loved about her as a kid was that her personality and approach to things was a lot more real and down-to-earth than your average glamorous Disney Princess. She felt less like fairy tale royalty and more like a woman up for promotion at a big company. From a pragmatic standpoint that can be just as scary, stressful and daunting.

(It also feels appropriate in hindsight considering her voice actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus would later star on VEEP…)

My friend @baxterfilms and I have had a lot of discussions about this movie, and we agreed that Atta should have been the protagonist. She actually has a character arc of her own of being unsure of herself at the start of the film, taking charge in the second act, and eventually standing up to Hopper in the third.

Remove Flik entirely, and have her go on a journey to find reinforcements against the grasshoppers. Have her realize that Hopper’s demands are impossible, she’s sick of having to adhere to him, and have her sneak out to get help. When she finds out she literally brought home a bunch of clowns, she understandably freaks out. She has to figure out a resolution because there is a lot of pressure on her to make things right and free the colony from bondage.

Strangely enough, with that version of the story you could still probably have all the indulgent fun of the celebrity cast. It’s just the very core of the film’s story needed some serious tightening up, and maybe Dave Foley as Flik would have fared better as a comic relief sidekick.

With all that said, I thank you for taking the time to read this. I really do think that this film is highly under-appreciated in the animation community. There might have been trouble in the writing room, but the technical achievements in this film were still there and helped Pixar hone their craft into making their animated features as stunning as they are heartwarming.

I have to say, though, I find it funny that there’s almost a pattern to these insect-driven animated movies. Going all the way back to MR. BUG GOES TO TOWN, they usually have rather weak leading characters, and the supporting cast winds up leaving more of an impression.

Weird, huh?

#a bug's life #pixar #animation #review

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