#this storyline is so frustrating

[thirdwifeofriversong]

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I think literally all of them suck in this situation, most of all Mor and Azriel, but I have the most grace for Feyre here. A rare ACOTAR rant from me below if you want to read/avoid lol:

Mor - The fact that Mor would rather sleep with someone she has no attraction to than talk with him and shut it down. For 500 YEARS?! The fuck? Even if she didn’t feel comfortable sharing her sexuality, she could give him a firm no and explain how she values him as a friend but is not interested in a romantic relationship with him, ever, and please stop quietly expecting it to happen. Rather than these weird manipulative games. It’s immature and hurtful.

Az - He’s entitled to have a crush, sure, but in 500 years, he never actually addressed it directly, made his intentions clear, sought a definite response, and moved forward. 500 YEARS of pining after someone is not cute, and especially pining after someone who clearly doesn’t treat you well as a potential (in his head) romantic partner. She gives hints but never actually shuts him down, and he either doesn’t have enough self respect to look for a partner who does express a healthy interest in him or he’s too toxic to take no (or implied no) for an answer. Probably both. I don’t feel sympathy for him in this situation.

Cassian - Ah, Cassian. Well-meaning but also toxic. Was it nice of him to stop sleeping with Mor when he realized that Azriel had feelings? Sure. Is it actually a caring move for him to act as a barrier and plaything between the two of them, helping this situation drag out for an absurd amount of time? Hell no. He could have set boundaries that he wasn’t getting in the middle of whatever was going on and told them to sort it out on their own. Sheesh.

Rhys and Amren - They’re not directly involved in the drama, but you know what? They have been friends with these people for fucking centuries, and that’s enough time to give them some tough love and tell them to sort it the fuck out. I would be EXHAUSTED being friends with Mor/Azriel(/Cassian) through all this and can’t imagine not saying anything.

Feyre - Finally, Feyre. Is her advice bad? Yes. Absolutely. But she’s 20 and only just joined this friend group/found family that has existed and been having ~dynamics~ for literal centuries. While I would probably give Mor some serious tough love in private, I would also be nervous to insert myself into all that mess, too. She’s trying to show love for her main female friend (and she probably doesn’t want to harm her friendship when it’s already rocky), but she’s not thinking in the long term. And they are literally in the middle of a war. Not a great response from Feyre, but also arguably the least egregious of anyone in this situation.

What do you think?

(also for the record i think we can all agree that this was terrible writing of a queer storyline)

This book is making me so angry! First, they owe Tamlin so much apologies from all the shit Feyre pulled in the Spring Court before she left. And now I find out Mor has been stringing Azriel along for 500 years???? That poor man. MOR, WHEN I SEE YOU!!!!!! 😡😡😡👊🏼

[autumnslance]

The worst part too about the Paladin quests is it's Heavensward that's most egregious. It honestly feels like someone had no idea what was going on, or didn't care, or left, and their colleagues left holding the bag with this mess of a story had no idea what to do with it.

ARR Gladiator quests are fine! They're along the lines of the other Class quests, intro you to the job and a complicated character dynamic, and it's a decent time.

The ARR Paladin quests...are just boring. They aren't actually even that bad, they're just...utterly predictable, bog-standard tropes and plot line where you can see everything coming malms away. But they have an internal logic to them that builds on the politics and scheming in Ul'dah. Jenlyns realizes he's an unwitting pawn of the Syndicate, and he was literally chosen for the job cuz he could be easily duped and controlled. He doesn't even get to have imposter syndrome, he's actually unfit for the job (and then strives to do better, leveraging support from Papashan and Mylla to shore up his own weaknesses, which is admirable!).

...Nevermind that traditional Paladins in general are a bad fit for Ul'dah. The heavily armored Sultansworn makes no sense in that desert environment, and looking at a world map we can even see that Southern Thanalan seems to be on the equator. Like it's not even a case of "it's cooler than it seems cuz they're further north." Because they're not. And I know the devs wanted to have Ishgard perhaps be a starter city but that was scrapped due to time and resources, fine but um.

Dragoons are still trained in Coerthas, by Coerthans. Why didn't they just...do that with Paladins? Keep Gladiator in Ul'dah, where it makes sense as presented. But then have to work with Temple Knights to get the Job. Especially since after Ul'dah's intro, the game just forgets the Sultansworn exist and they have no bearing on the MSQ the way the other factions in Ul'dah do. Not even in the finale of ARR's arc where it would make sense. Gladiators are a constant in other side quests and MSQ both.

Stormblood Paladin is also fine--because it goes back to those Gladiators, and we interact with Paladins and Knights across the realm, and deal with those complicated relationships between the Gladiator guild core members. It's internally logical in its drama about finally restoring Aldis's reputation and place in Ul'dah, against the backdrop of the tournament.

Heavensward Paladin straight up makes no sense. Solkzaygl's actions are entirely contradictory to his character and arc from ARR. There's no way for some of the actions to occur without him working with the outlaws in some way. Instead of teaching Constaint, he sends him on a merry chase across Coerthas to learn on his own, and it's only the WoL's aid that sees the boy live, let alone make progress. A random man dies, guilt-ridden, due to Solk's scheming and lies he confided to this poor guy.

And then Highlander-esque "there can be only one" nonsense. Even as a Highlander fangirl in my youth, it was insulting and awful. Papashan, Jenlyns, and Constaint all call out how nonsense, illogical, unlikely, and stupid this whole story is...all to make a sword shine.

Because there's no internal logic to events, let alone the reason for the string of happenstance that leads to the finale.

And we know it's possible; HW Blacksmith gives us a fantastic paladin story! One that fits Ishgard's storyline and HW's themes. HW Dark Knight is also a good paladin story, actually, as they are meant to be another angle on the concept of dedicated knight defenders. Samurai for the Eastern equivalent, and the concepts and tropes present in those quest chains.

But the job actually bearing the name "Paladin" is left in the dirt. As a fan of the concept across various games (video and TTRPGs both), it's quite frustrating how the devs had no idea what to do with this job, despite other members of the writing and scenario team presenting stories that would have fit perfectly well within the framework. Only some of it is misplacing where Paladins originate in the setting; the rest is not taking advantage of the themes and setting of the expansions, and just not caring enough about the characters and story to even try, compared to the rest. Or worse, they did try, and meant for more, but whatever intrigue and complex plot they wanted to create was too much for 5 quests and no guarantee the arc would continue in the future, even if it had landed perfectly.

[littlespoonevan]

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[supercupcakecollector-love]

If I had a nickel for every time there was a fantasy show that took away the main female magic user's powers in the 2nd season in a plot point that wasn't in the book and explored their trauma in what losing it meant to them and had mixed to negative reactions by fans, but personally made me like them better than their book counterparts because of how relatable it made them and how amazing the actresses performances are I would have two nickles, which isn't a lot, but I sure am glad that it happened

[mischievouslittlecreature]

I'm really genuinely so confused as to why I keep getting asks from people telling me that they hope Tommy dumps or even kills Lucy and ends up with Lizzie instead. I've gotten multiple variations at this point of "Lucy deserves to be raped/killed/otherwise hurt because how dare she get in the way of Tommy and Lizzie's happiness." I've just been deleting and ignoring them, but it's gotten to the point where there've been so many that I legitimately do not understand what is happening or what I did to cause this kind of reaction.

Like, I get it. A lot of you love Lizzie and ship her with Tommy. I have never had any problem with that. But if that's the type of story you're after, GO READ SOME FUCKING LIZZIE X TOMMY FICS AND LEAVE ME ALONE.

This series has never been marked as a Lizzie x Tommy story. I'm so confused as to why so many seem to expect that relationship to be the endgame of the series, and not the one that the series is actually tagged with and written around. I'm really starting to question my own writing abilities at this point. Has my depiction of Tommy and Lucy's relationship actually been that off-putting? Is Lucy really that unlikable that everyone hopes she ends up alone and miserable for the rest of her life, or even fucking dead?

I just don't understand. Someone please explain it to me.

[galadriel-blue]

Things that could have been avoided if people listened to Galadriel in S2:

Elrond didn't listen to Galadriel due to his fear of her ring, so one of their company members died

Celebrimbor didn't listen to Galadriel and interacts with Halbrand again after he promised not to, unknowingly inviting Sauron into his home which will subsequently lead to his death

Adar didn't listen to Galadriel, even after all that talk about "sharing a common enemy," and now he's falling right into a trap

I don't know, maybe we should consider what she says next time. Just a thought.

[dangerliesbeforeyou]

ok so we're all in agreement that the way the show is handling trixie and matthew's storyline is complete shite right?

[ikemenomegas]

"Don't call me Anaxa" ... but /looks at his character splash art/... okay?

[percki]

“we need more complex female characters” you guys couldn’t even handle 14yo katara. be so fr

[lemongogo]

[aquarterasian]

still upsets me so bad that homare's skating career was overshadowed by her crush on harry like why.... why did henri have more of an arc in that regard than she did hes a side character. and i love henri ofc his relationship with masato and his conflict with growing older and becoming less androgynous looking is genuinely such a great storyline and i wouldnt give it up for anything but homare deserved to have an equally well thought-out storyline considering shes one of the main characters but i always feel like she was just reduced to her crush on harry and it just makes me :/

[queernarchy]

you are definitely not the only one mad about this! i agree. it also feels to me like many people have forgotten the whole mental illness part of jordan’s character?? he has not been alright for like. a full season, at this point. boy is not doing well, and hasn’t been, long before doomsday ever showed up. i see people getting upset about how he’s reacting to jon getting powers, and its just like… remember back in s2, jordan was SO excited when he thought jon was getting powers. he was so excited to be able to do this together. why do people think his reaction has changed from then to now? why do people think he has been making these troubling decisions? because he’s in a completely different place mentally now than he was then. it is textbook “kid in crisis” kind of behavioral signs but instead of letting that have space it’s all just “jordan is whiny and selfish and a terrible person.” i’m not using mental health struggles as an excuse but it is not a negligible part of his character. his disorder isn’t an excuse for his behavior, but it is a driving factor in why he thinks the way that he does, why he keeps getting stuck in these ruts, why he’s not making the best decisions. if you want to talk about jordan’s character and jordan’s attitude and jordan’s relationships with other characters, you have to talk about his mental health. they are irrevocably intertwined and always will be.

jon has never had those problems. that was the whole point of giving powers to jordan, at first, and not jon. and now i’m seeing all of these people say “the REAL superboy has finally arrived!” and im sitting here like. do you not get it?? do you not get that this is the entire point, that this is a kid who needs help, who has always been a half step off beat?? and it just… it becomes very clear to me that some people that talk about this show have never experienced mental illness in the family. this is how it plays out. in many ways you have to dissociate the disorder from the person and you have to know that in other ways they will always be connected, and it is the type of thing that is difficult to untangle unless you’ve experienced it firsthand.

i am happy for jon and boy howdy was that scene a long time coming. but they are ??? both 16 year old kids ??? who have both made mistakes? and who experience the world very differently from each other ?? and it really just rubs me the wrong way to watch people have so much sympathy and grace for one and not for the other. there is not a good brother and a bad brother. i love jon. i love him so much. he will do such great things. but i also love jordan. it is not mutually exclusive, but people act like it is.

i will be so extremely disappointed if they do the villain arc thing with jordan. that’s not his character. he is not bad or malicious. he never has been. he’s been irrational and has had some poor judgement but that does not mean he is bad. if the writers go down that road, i think i honestly will not finish the season out. i am holding out hope that they will address all of this in a way that stays true to the character i’ve come to know, but i know that if they go the villain arc, then something has been sorely missed.

…..anyways. sorry for the rant. i appreciate you posting what you did, because i agree and often feel like i am the only one feeling frustrated by this.

no for real like thank you for the validation because like.

what made the premise of the entire series compelling was the idea that the twin who struggled more mentally was the one to get the powers, and that he'd need to balance figuring out how to control them when they're triggered by emotion, while also dealing with having popularity and power for the first time in his life and figure out what it means to be a hero and use them responsibly.

that's what the ENTIRE first season was about (and the second, since jon started taking the superdrug to compensate for feeling inadequate not getting powers)

and not only do i think giving jon powers undercuts jordan's character arc and the series as a whole (like what was the whole POINT of having any of the boy's storylines we've seen, if literally none of them matter the second jon gets powers?), it is also a MASSIVE disservice to jonathan's character.

like from what this episode shows, jonathan has essentially become a 100% good aligned and selfless hero who somehow mastered all of superman's powers in less than 5 minutes with 0 negative repercussions and is also still humble and kind and understanding to jordan and uhhhh. why are we suddenly going absolutely apeshit for a character that has now been stripped of any depth or meaningful flaws? jon is literally a god, and somehow immediately more powerful with a better grasp on his powers than even clark.

don't we like to see heroes have flaws and struggle? specifically WHY is this fandom all about perfect effortless characters and hyper critical of heroes with flaws? and WHY is the show is implying that jonathan wasn't able to be a hero without powers when his whole arc last season was trying to figure out how to be both human and a hero? when that's literally also the point of lois' character? WHY does suddenly none of that matter?

like i know we've only seen jordan with powers and popularity and jonathan struggling since like episode 2, so on some level it feels like this is what jonathan deserves, but in the world of the show it really has been less than 2 years that jordan has been gaining some status and canonically he's been struggling with mental health and bullying and being the least favorite in the family his entire life. so a return to the status quo like this not only feels unearned but also unnecessarily cruel.

from a narrative perspective it is SO frustrating on every single level i don't think there are enough words.

[crossbackpoke-check]

yOu'Re gOiNg fOr a LiTeR? | "Habs react to Quebec Maple facts", 10.22.24

[celestialrealms]

diavolo is such an interesting, multifaceted character but tragically I legitimately feel like I cannot talk about that without getting a ten paragraph essay from lucifer/demon bros fans about how he's an evil abuser actually + secretly the main villain

so anyway he's my little meowmeow and he's never done anything wrong in his whole life

[peridammit]

Ok so spoilers for the invincible atom eve special

love how her whole storyline is about how she's weird and not normal and then they make her the NORMALEST girl possible, like how do they make her THAT autistic as a child and then have her?? grow? out of it??? how do you fumble a neurodivergency allegory that hard??

[mrligerslair]

People have to be lying to themselves about their media literacy capabilities cause tell me why some people act like they watch media with their eyes closed and ears plugged but still claim to have valid interpretations without any textual evidence