#which would have happened several times already in s1-2

[merrysithmas]

me when someone says luke is a bad teacher and made grogu "choose" btw being a jedi and his dad:

what he did was ensure grogu could one day be a jedi AND have his dad now!!!

[chronicsyd]

Here are my thoughts on Act 2 Caitlyn:

SPOILERS BELOW! DON’T READ IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED ACT 2 YET! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

I don’t think Caitlyn’s redemption is coming out of nowhere, I don’t think she was ever “in too deep” to be able to come back from the decisions that she’s made, she just needed something to jumpstart her brain to realize just How bad her actions have become. Now yes, it’s unfortunate that the thing to do so is Zaunites suffering because of Her, but based on her character in S1 it actually makes sense that this is the thing that screws her head on straight again. Especially because it seems that Ambessa has been the forefront of attacking Zaunites/putting them in Stillwater and such, Caitlyn had reservations on attacking them for no reason, Caitlyn’s merely the Face of what’s happening, but Ambessa was really the one doing things, which I’ve been predicting for a While now. Now this doesn’t completely absolve Caitlyn of what she’s done, but she doesn’t quite reach the level that Ambessa has. Like Mel, Caitlyn still has compassion for others, and she hasn’t completely lost that. She was Never going to become this evil dictator overlord because that’s Not who Caitlyn IS. Regardless of her being blinded by her anger at Jinx or not, Ambessa was NEVER going to be able to get that from her. Especially once the dust starts to settle and Caitlyn actually has Time to Think about what she’s doing.  

People have mischaracterized Caitlyn So Badly that they’ve forgotten who Caitlyn truly is at heart when her wild emotions aren’t dictating her actions.

So let’s dive in a little deeper into that:

From that first moment we see of her and Maddie in bed (BTW YALL LIED TO ME I WAS EXPECTING WORSE. And I don’t get the hate with her, it seems like Maddie was the little tether to keep Caitlyn from going past the point of no return, Cait and Vi didn’t have a label on their relationship and Cait thought she was never going to see Vi again soooo), it already looks like Caitlyn is regretting her actions and starting to come to terms with the fact that her blind rage has led her down a dark path, which Maddie seems to be emphasizing, giving her another solution so that Zaun isn’t suffering As much (and I mean not on Such an extreme level, not that they wouldn’t be suffering at all, cause Maddie’s solution still isn’t great) by her hand. The unfortunate thing is she’s still a little too clouded with her judgment of Jinx and won’t make the order until Jinx is in her custody. She mentions having learned a lot from Ambessa, and while I do think she means things like tactical warfare and such, at her heart, Caitlyn’s still a detective, she hasn’t lost that. So that means she’s learning more about Ambessa HERSELF, and as the episodes go on it seems like Caitlyn starts to notice issues with Ambessa. In fact, it seems like Caitlyn has never fully given Ambessa her trust to Begin with, Caitlyn was blind by her anger towards Jinx, but she was never blindly loyal to Ambessa. Because when it comes down to it, Ambessa is someone that Caitlyn at her true heart would despise.

Ambessa mentions that Caitlyn “has the strength to forgive” and I think she’s right. Once Caitlyn starts to notice the Travesty that the people of Zaun are facing, we start to see her S1 self start to come back out, you can see it in her eyes when Ambessa isn’t looking directly at her during this conversation.

But the thing is, she isn’t quite there yet, and you notice this when Caitlyn’s walking through Stillwater, taking notice of Warwicks attack, and mentions “seeing the end to Zaun’s perverse abominations”, but that’s because she’s looking at several bodies around her by Zaun’s hands (well, specifically Singed’s but besides the point). But something that’s Interesting is that Caitlyn really only KNOWS that there’s cells devoid of basic consideration because that’s exactly where she Found Vi back in S1, and I believe that’s one of the reasons that she’s forbidden their use, because Caitlyn is not completely cruel to people. And saying she’s willing to use them Now is more of an intimidation tactic on Caitlyn’s part, trying to get Singed to open up. And when he refuses to do so after several chances, she loses her cool (because she’s still clouded by Jinx) and tells him that he’ll rot.

The thing I think started to cause Caitlyn to fully realize her suspicions about Ambessa is actually when she’s walking into Singe’s laboratory, because she was already walking up when Ambessa says “This will allow you to locate your beast?” (remember that Caitlyn wasn’t apart of the conversation where Ambessa struck a deal with him) and that probably sends red flags to Caitlyn, cuz she Just mentioned having him in Stillwater so Why the Hell is he here with Ambessa? And although she hides it well, you can tell by the look on Ambessa’s face And by the way that she says “Commander” that she wasn’t expecting Caitlyn to show up. And Caitlyn Immediately notices this, because of the way she says “General” so nonchalantly, like “why are you surprised I’m here?” kinda thing.

She calls him a “monster” because Shimmer in of itself has caused horrors for those in Zaun, she’s seen what happens to those affected by it first hand, which is what he’s responsible for. Caitlyn isn’t wrong for calling him this, cuz what he’s done IS really bad. But he is pretty quick to call her out on it, “Why does anyone commit acts others deem unspeakable? For love.” Cuz Caitlyn herself has ALSO done some pretty bad shit, in the name of love and justice for her mother.  

I believe Singed showing Caitlyn his daughter Is one of the things that starts to fully bring back her S1 self, she begins to understand that some acts are in desperation because of the loved ones we’ve lost.

But what’s more important is that after this scene is now that Caitlyn’s suspicions of Ambessa seem to be correct, but she still needs to keep up appearances so that Ambessa doesn’t become suspicious of Her in return. Seeming like she’s still willingly following Ambessa to the Herold’s community to assault it.

But watch Caitlyn’s face as Ambessa’s henchman (I don’t remember the name) walks up to Huck. Her eyes are filled with recognition and worry, she knows this man, he’s helped her and is worried that someone completely harmless is about to be killed, and she looks over at Ambessa to see what kind of order that she’s going to give.

“But she attacks Vi again!”

She doesn’t immediately recognize Vi, she sees someone following them. It isn’t until she incapacitates her and looks at her face that she recognizes Vi. But it’s Vi calling her “cupcake” that was one of the final things that she needed to snap her into place. Yes she calls Warwick a “murderous beast” because well, that’s what he appears to be to the outside eye, and the fact that he did murder quite a few people back in Stillwater.

Vi saying “trying to save my dad” (which makes Caitlyn Realize that Warwick is Vi's dad) WITH the suspicions of Ambessa, Caitlyn and Vi make a plan in order to help Caitlyn be able to protect her dad from Ambessa from being able to use him. Because if it means helping Vi, she’s still willing to do it. Because in Caitlyn’s HEART, she’s more loyal to Vi than she Ever was to Ambessa. Because That’s where Ambessa underestimated Caitlyn.

When she brings in Vi, you KNOW that this something that the two orchestrated to outsmart Ambessa, and Caitlyn’s face to Vi after pulling off the hood just confirms it, “remember the plan”. Although I will admit that Vi spitting on her face probably wasn’t apart of it, it was part of Vi getting back at her, which deserved. (but going from "my parents named me Matilda" to manipulating a Warlord... how Far you've come Miss Kiramman...)

And Ambessa’s too busy gloating about Vi leaving which was why she was able to manipulate Caitlyn in the first place to even realize that Vi being back At All could mean that Caitlyn could be swayed. And she is.

And Jinx seeing Caitlyn take out Singed, saving their dad is another one of the steppingstones for those two, which is why Jinx saved Caitlyn from almost having her neck crushed. You do see anger for a moment when she sees Jinx again but watching the four of them hug and become a family again (for all of 30 seconds, DAMN YOU JAYCE TALIS) is what causes her to stop, because seeing Vi being happy again and the two of them are finally repairing their relationship is more important than her getting her revenge anymore.  

However, if you think that Vi and Caitlyn are holding hands and skipping through fields because they worked together to save Vi’s dad, well you’d be Quite mistaken as judging by the Act 3 trailer Vi’s still Justifiably mad about what Caitlyn’s done and Caitlyn needs to show remorse for what has happened, and I do believe that she’ll do so (and I’d REALLY rather the steamy scene not be angry sesbian lex but eh idk…)

I am worried as HELL for Caitlyn now though because I’m more than Convinced that she’s going to be Ambessa’s main target when she infiltrates Piltover later, and by the looks of it, it seems Jinx is going to have some “hero saving the day” moment after not agreeing to stay after the loss of Isha (also Arcane you’re covering my therapy bills from now on…)

Basically this was a I TOLD YOU SO! I TOLD YOU! I DIDN’T DOUBT MY WIFE FOR ONE SINGLE MOMENT! HAHAHAHAH!!!!!! *ahem* sorry, I may be a little smug rn… 😊  

[butterflydm]

rings of power (belated reactions) season 1: eps 1-4

Backstory: I'm a casual Tolkien fan, I would say -- grew up watching the animated movies (literally knew the songs by heart as a kid); read LOTR & the Hobbit but not the Silm; loved both the LOTR and the Hobbit movies. Read a bunch of fanfiction over the years by people who know a lot more about the lore than I do.

I tried watching the new series when the first season came out, but still felt like the pacing was really slow by the end of the second episode, so never got around to watching more.

Found out about the twist at the end of s1 and was intrigued, but not quite enough to give it another watch. Heard more bits and bobs about s2 when it came out, with people who share some of the same tastes in media as me enjoying it (shoutout to @markantonys). Liked and reblogged some interesting giftsets. Finally decided to give it another try.

Below contains vague spoilers for the whole show so far and for LotR

I went ahead and rewatched the first two episodes, and I found myself getting a lot more out of it this time than the first time. I remembered liking the dwarves a lot, and still really enjoyed that plotline, but I was able to get into the other plotlines a lot more as well this time. I actually do feel like I get what the pacing is doing now, even if it didn't work as well for me the first time around -- we start with the single thread of Galadriel's search for Sauron and then keep expanding outward from there, introducing the other important plotlines gradually. It was, perhaps, slightly too gradual for me in my first try at watching!

I've seen through episode four now and am thoroughly enjoying the show, enough that I plan to watch more of it with my mom later today.

Things really do pick up with increasing speed after episode 2. We also get some amazing costuming in Númenor -- the queen in particular has some great outfits, but I also really love the banded dress that Galadriel wears there.

My mom (unspoiled about the show) is fully willing to go with the theory that Adar is Sauron going by another name (as proposed by Arondir's (now deceased) guard-captain).

Now, unlike my mom, I am spoiled about the show and so I am watching Halbrand very carefully. One thing that I do find interesting is that the show starts out with Galadriel narrating that nothing begins as evil, so I do feel like that feeling is meant to extend to Halbrand/Sauron as well. Which is to say, I give him the benefit of the doubt that he actually does want to stay in Númenor and start a new life (whether or not he could actually stick to that once he'd spent several years there... that's more of an open question). I don't think his plan at this time is to return to Middle-Earth and set up shop there.

Both Nori and Galadriel have talked about feeling like there is something important about sticking with their mysterious respective stranger. Both of whom are Maiar (Maia? I did mention that I'm mostly a casual fan of Tolkien, lol). They both just give off the vibe of being important and consequential... to specific people. Not to everyone that they run across.

I really like what they're doing with Halbrand -- they are definitely leaning on his superficial (and false) similarities to Aragorn in LotR and, especially when he was in the prison cell, there were some moments when he really looked like Viggo too. I feel like I've already seen a lot of range from him as a character -- we've seen him being persuasive and diplomatic; we've seen a brutal flash of temper and violence; and we've seen him give Galadriel advice on how to manipulate people; we've also seen him teasing and bantering with Galadriel (very much enjoying their dynamic in these episodes).

Speaking of Galadriel, I am enjoying her a lot. She doesn't stop! Willpower and determination just always constantly turned to a thousand. She decides what's going to happen and then doesn't let anything stand in her way.

I'm glad that we got back to Elrond's storyline in the fourth episode and caught up with Durin and the dwarves. I did spend a lot of time trying to remember if Moria and Khazad-dûm were the same place (yes) and so that means that it may well be these unsafe mithril mining practices that lead to the Balrog waking up and the mountain being abandoned by the dwarves. I don't know the timelines well enough to know for sure. It made sense to me that it was the same place, because of the elf word for 'friend' being the word to open the gates into Moria in LotR.

Though I am fairly well spoiled about certain things about Sauron, I am still missing a lot of the connective tissue about the various plotlines, so I don't know what the blood-drinking sword is going to lead to yet. Except that it means that the mayor (tavern owner?) of the village was a true believer in Sauron even after all these years and has been keeping it. And probably encouraging the rest of his people not to trust the elves.

Super-minor note: I love the costuming for Bronwyn -- the blue dress with the reddish boots. It really pops against all the other characters in her storyline and she's always easy to spot. Appreciate that!

There really is a heartbreaking contrast between the lives of the people of Númenor and the people of the Southlands.

What are the Valar trying to do in all this? Was it the Valar who made the petals fall or was Halbrand/Sauron trying to help Galadriel out? He seems to enjoy... how did he put it? Her galloping around full-speed like a colt? Something like that, lol. So he might have wanted to give her a chance to get what she wanted from the queen. Playing multiple sides against each other seems to come pretty naturally to him.

We are seeing that ambition is being set up to lead to doom already in Middle-Earth, even without Sauron's direct presence -- Celebrimbor explicitly wants to create objects of power, not just objects of beauty. Adar is trying to find that blood-drinking hilt and is leading the Orcs to some kind of terror (he's already enslaving people in his search). And the dwarves have been mining in the dangerous old mines because they found a vein of mithril there.

Gil-galad tried to send Galadriel away to Valinor because he foresaw that her continued hunt for Sauron might end up bringing his danger back to the forefront and, from what I know (spoiler-wise) that ends up being true (in fairness, she did find Sauron! Even if she doesn't know it yet! And he will get defeated. You know. Eventually.)

Other things of note: I love Disa! Disa is wonderful. Disa-Durin-Elrond could make for a very nice polycule. What if Elrond had made it to their wedding and there hadn't been any estrangement! But I really like that we saw some consequences for long elven lifespans and how it can affect their relationships with people who don't live as long.

I like the angsty young teens well enough, though Theo is definitely in the roughest situation out of any of them (see: the Southlands kinda sucking as a place to live). Definitely perked up when I heard Elendil and Isildur's names!

I'm really curious about whether or not the isle of Númenor turning against the elves is all based on them being more insular and isolationist or if there's something else at work. That the old king was trying to return to the ancient elven ways because of a vision in a palantir... very curious where that vision is coming from. Galadriel's arrival being tied to the breaking of the sea wall and the destruction of the city. I... don't know my Middle-Earth history enough to say for certain, but I suspect Sauron is gonna be involved in that. Because it's Sauron.

Arondir is our most plainly heroic character overall, I'd say (Galadriel is driven by vengence; Arondir's focus has been on trying to save and protect) and he is very dreamy. I do like that we have these PoVs in the Southlands and what's going on there, so we see that Galadriel is justified in feeling like there is still evil to fight.

Having a lot of fun with this. Glad I gave it a second chance.

[timetravellingtelepath]

Yingdu is a prelude to the main series and is only going to have a substantial impact on Lu Guang (if this happened in another time line only).

That means that everything we've seen thus far from Lu Guang needs to be reconsidered in a new light. When he was anxious and insistent for Cheng Xiaoshi to not deliver a warning to the residents (and importantly the boy's mother) in the earthquake dive, was there another time CXS tried to protect others (especially family) from an unavoidable event? Very likely. Just what happened in Yingdu to instill even more caution and fear in Lu Guang?

Link Click is known for making us reconsider past events when given new information, it's the basis of most their dives and the biggest example is the last line of S2 WHICH MADE US REFLECT ON 2 WHOLE SEASONS OF CONTENT, THE OP AND ENDINGS (like the fact that Dive Back In Time is actually from LG POV not CXS as we first thought).

I'm really excited for the arc and staying clear of spoilers/discussions as it airs so I can watch it in one go (I do not need the cliff hanger waiting thank you very much).

Edit: Honestly more information might just make us feel worse (more upset) about certain events. Like Cheng Xiaoshi waiting for his parents to return. If Lu Guang knows something about them that he's been withholding all this time (how would he explain to CXS how he acquired the information without making him seem suspicious/telling half the truth?) that will just make his information hoarding a whole lot more painful and the eventual reveal and parting more severe (and we already have foreshadowing of the split up from the noodle dive in s1).

[genericpuff]

Wait, what's this about the retconning of Minthe's BPD?

There's a lot you can find on it online as it is (I've talked about it plenty in previous posts as well) so I'm gonna try and keep the explanation brief if that's ok!

Basically it was confirmed ages back that Minthe was initially written with BPD, but that was later retconned and removed. While there's no definitive reason as to why she retconned it, I think it's fairly obvious it's because it wasn't a good look for her to write the character with a very stigmatized and severely misunderstood mental illness who would be 1.) an abuser and 2.) inevitably turned into a plant.

But there's still proof of Minthe having BPD evident in S1 of LO, particularly with Episode 76 which was literally called Splitting.

"Splitting" is a very BPD-specific term, in which an individual with BPD experiences severe mood swings, impulsivity, and difficulty in viewing things outside of a black and white perspective. We actually see Minthe experience splitting, hence the episode title, it's all very intentional.

Minthe is viewing this entire problem as her vs. Hades. And it's not entirely owed to her being self-centered, she shows through her inner monologue that she's very self-aware of the fact that she's being harsh, that much of what happened was due to her own actions, and even blames herself for acting the way that she is but not knowing why. This is very much what splitting can feel like for individuals with BPD (especially undiagnosed BPD!) experiencing splitting - an inability to connect inner rationalizations to outward actions and vice versa, even if you're aware of it and trying to draw that connection.

When this was retconned, it was done specifically by Rachel's mods within her Discord. No other clarification through her socials or through the comic itself was done.

It already wasn't a great look to write a character who was doomed to be villainized with a highly stigmatized mental disorder. It comes across that Rachel only gave her BPD in the first place because she herself had fallen for those misconceptions and went "well if we give her BPD that'll be the reason why she's so mean and nasty all the time, it's the perfect way to make her the obvious bad guy!" But it makes it an even worse look when Rachel bent under the pressure of people discussing how problematic it was (and hoping Minthe would get some kind of redemption which Rachel never planned to give her) and reversed the decision. It really only really made it worse because 1.) you can't retcon out what you clearly intended in the beginning when it's so visibly there (such as through Ep 76) and 2.) it just goes to show that she was never planning on giving Minthe any sort of redemption arc or chance to learn from her actions/heal from her mistakes, she just wanted to use a mental illness she didn't bother to understand or empathize with to make an abuser.

It really just further stigmatizes BPD as a whole because now we only see the absolute nastiest parts often affiliated with BPD (with what remains in the comic pre-retcon) with no closure or resolution or hope for people who either have BPD or want to understand it more.

[sickofthistoxicshit]

Here's the thing, I have nothing against Lou/Tommy, but the accessive enthusiasm of him returning and everyone already talking about him showing up for next season,

Which if any of you watched for the last 7 seasons, it is very possible because writers love to drag temps over to the next seasons because apparently breakups are for season beginners, mostly (except for taylor),

is very off-putting.

1. Because the dude literally just showed up and they haven't even had one worthy make out session to even call it a situationship.

2. Buck hurt Eddie physically to get into Tommy's mouth and pants, which ruined it for me from the start tbh and Tommy had nothing to do with it, he was just there.

3. Buck has made Maddie's day, his coming out party - that is a big NO in my book. Because one, dude you literally came out, what if you decide eventually that you don't want this or don't want this with this specific first-guy-ever anymore? And two SHE IS YOUR SISTER THE LEAST YOU CAN DO IS HAVE HER LEAVE ON HER HONEYMOON BEFORE YOU KILL YOUR PARENTS OF A HEART- ATTACK.

Even if they "seem accepting" to Buck’s face, this takes time to process, something better revealed in time and in private, once one is sure. Not thinking and talking about this the whole wedding!

And yes, I know, Buck is impulsive, but think for a second, would you want your baby brother to hijacke your wedding after so long of planning it? I know I would have killed him.

Would have told him in advance that if he's bringing his new boyfriend to my wedding, he better tell our parents first. Because this is my fucking day!

I love Buck, but his self-centered personality rubs me the wrong way this season.

Maybe because I wanted to see him growing the fuck up after 7 years and so many traumas and experiences and therapy that he went through, but nope, same old Buck, only instead of the dating the girl who gave him attention, he's seeing the guy who gave him attention.

It's annoying, it's off putting and frankly I am so mad at the writers and Tim for this because these characters deserved better.

And don't talk to me about representation because Shonda did the bi representation in Station 19 perfectly to the point that I was bummed that Travis and Eli didn't end up as endgame even though I loved Emmett with Travis.

Again somehow the 911 writers managed to taint for me what should have been and amazing experience, independent completely of buddie, but no they managed to not only mix Eddie and Buck with Tommy, the whole thing came at the expense of Eddie, physically and mentally, because not only did Buck not apologized to Eddie, Eddie also lost his new friend who now fawns over Buck.

So screw this storyline, I hate it and I hate how everyone is OK with everything that happened in the story, just because Buck is doing a dude(kissing really, there was no doing yet).

There's a lot of blocking in my future, most are just ppl who either came in now because of bi Buck or those who came from other disappointing fandoms and are just here for the rep not the actual story.

But some of us have been here since S1, we want the rep, but we want it to be complimenting, we want to fall in love with the character before it turns into a LI, we want the emotion, the connection, the obvious love building over several years.

Like Casey and Gabby and Severide and Stella, like Maya and Carina, like Travis and Emmett (even though I liked Eli better for him) like Sullivan and Natasha.

I want an emotional payout, give up the surprises, and the wrecked trucks and ships, just tell a good story!

And for the love of all that's holy, enough with the last-minute changes, those never turn out well in the long run. They literally started from scratch when they made the switch between Eddie and Buck.

Also in my opinion, Eddie had a LOT more chemistry with Lou/Tommy than Buck. It would have made so much more sense, in the catholic guilt and internal homophobia department, the nun and supposedly commitment issues was weak at best.

It could have been epic. 😩

And yes, Buck could have started the season single, no harm in that, maybe make him, I don't know, actually growing into something that he would like without someone else to pet his ego? Go back to therapy, work for the LT. exams, be interim captain, realize his worth and learn to love himself for him, not because someone else gave him attention and that made him preen, get him somewhere worthy. Even lessons with Tommy without involving Eddie in this would have been great.

Just something that shows character development, because up until now all I get is S2/S3 Buck and I've seen that movie before, I want my money back.

I realize this is harsh, and normally, I would stick to the light and fun and ignore the rest, but this had to be said out loud so I can go back to that.

That being said, as I said, I will watch Madney wedding purely for Madney. Anything else is just a bonus. I can't wait for that bachelor party and see wth happens to Chimney.

Happy Monday, my loves. ❤️

[emeryhiro]

Hello, I always find your posts so comforting, so thank you for that, I appreciate you. I just read your post about whether to watch s1 or 2 of dd. Based on what you said about whether isabelle and daryl will go anywhere... I don't want to tell you the exact spoiler, but it does go further than you think it will. I'm finding this really hard to process. A lot of fans have given up bc they feel it disrespects carol and daryls characters. I feel similar. I'd really appreciate hearing from you about how you process this? I understand you don't know the exact details and I don't want to spoil it for you in case you'd prefer not to know in advance.

Hey Anon 😊

Thank you for the kind words; they mean a lot. And I'm so glad that you find my posts comforting; that's really one of the main reasons why I share them.

Regarding the spoiler you're hinting at, I'm aware of what happens between Daryl and Isabelle, and that's kind of what I was referring to when I said, "Daryl is confused" because I don't think he would have any other motivations for something like that, and also because I didn't want to spoil it for anyone who doesn't know and fuel the fire unnecessarily.

Regarding how I process something like that, I always try to do my research, step back for a moment, and look at the whole picture. I remind myself of what I've learned about the characters and their motivations and dynamics. And 99% of the time, I realise that, like always, when things get passed around through word of mouth, they get exaggerated, leading to unnecessary concern and undue disappointment.

Regarding what happens, It's really not something that bothers me or worries me about Caryl's potential future. I mean, Carol has done the same thing several times in the past, and we never judged her for it (which we never should) or thought that it was disrespectful, because that's what she needed in that moment, and I'll say the exact same about Daryl. They're both working through so much, and that's the whole point of season 2, to work through their trauma and, hopefully, by the end of season 2, start to figure out what (and hopefully who) they want, making it the perfect lead up to season 3.

I'd also like to point out that a moment like that could be a massive catalyst for them to finally be honest with themselves and each other. And in the end, who knows how that moment will play out on screen.

Also, not to bring more spoilers into this, which you may already know about, but specific details that were revealed through the leaked pages from the final episode emphasise my point that regardless of what happens between them, it's not going anywhere.

Lastly, just as a reminder, there were many moments hinted at in the season 1 (and basically in almost every season of TWD before) reviews that also left people disappointed and concerned, but in the end, once the season came out and we saw the scenes for ourselves, they were nowhere near as bad as they were initially described.

~~~

I hope this kind of clears up my thought process a little bit and hopefully helps some others work through what they've heard. Also, thank you for being respectful and not spoiling anything without confirming with me first 🩵🩵🩵

[the-other-art-blog]

Benophie wish list: Benedict and Anthony (Part 3: the mistress question/Siena)

If you haven't read my previous posts about Benophie wish list: Benedict and Anthony: PART 1 and PART 2

This is the last part of my analysis/wish list of Benedict and Anthony's relationship in the show and how it can continue in the s4.

This time, I want to theorize on Anthony's reaction to Benedict's feelings for Sophie.

Let me be clear: I do not mean any ill toward Anthony or Kate. But I never understood the hate for the previous love interest for the Bridgertons, since we know who their endgame will be. Siena was no threat to Kanthony's HEA but she still had an impact on Anthony and is part of his story. And she was a good person.

Having said that, I think it would be smart if the writers call back on her and Anthony's relationship, not her, just a reference to her. Why? Well, she was Anthony's mistress.

Obviously, the whole Bridgteron family is going to love Sophie unconditionally, but I think it will be interesting to have Anthony being a bit (or a lot) hesitant, at first, for several reasons.

As the head of the family, he feels responsible for keeping their family's good standing (the whole point of s2's quest for the diamond/Edwina). Sophie tells Benedict this after just 5 minutes of meeting Anthony. His marriage to Kate was not financially advantageous but she was part of his world. Let's be honest, Kate in no way suffered poverty, real poverty. At worst, the Sharmas were middle class. The scandal came from Anthony's pursuit of Edwina and the failed wedding. So, yes, I think he'd be a bit nervous about his brother marrying a servant and an illegitimate daughter. Añready in s1, when he and Daphne were walking around the ballroom in ep1 he dismisses a suitor for his "dubious parentage".

A while ago, I wrote a one-shot about this. How would Anthony react to Benedict's crush on Sophie:

Moreover, he won't be living with Violet and the girls (+ Gregory) anymore, so he won't know Sophie as well as them. To him, she is just another lady's maid, which is why he is so confused about why Violet invites her to tea. His head-of-the-family alert will ring as soon as he hears Ben brought her. Why? Like, be real, which son of an aristocrat cares about female servants unless they its for inappropriate or malicious purposes. AOFAG implied that men who harassed servants were judged more harshly than those who were with other women. So, I think it's reasonable to expect Anthony to be curious about Ben and Sophie's relationship. Has Ben taken his libertine activities too far? Does his brother harass servants now? Is she taking advantage of Ben?

He will also want to figure out what exactly is happening between them because of his past with Siena. Anthony almost ruined his life because he got too attached and confused lust with love. He won't want Ben to make the same mistake. Also, I think the book made the mistake of not remembering the LIS in at least one scene before Colin's. Did no one remember how long he looked for her? In the show, LIS could cause Anthony to be more weary of Benophie. Didn't Benedict already find the love of his life? What the hell is going on? What is Benedict playing at? Can't he see that having a mistress who is his sister's maid reflects horribly on the entire family?

A confrontation about this between Anthony and Benedict could be a great opportunity to push Benedict to define his feelings for the LIS and for Sophie. Does he actually want Sophie to be his mistress, like Siena was to Anthony?

And of course, Anthony will see how different this situation is from his, how different Ben is from him. After this, he will 100% support Ben and Sophie.

Kate could also help him handle the situation, not storm into Ben's house and demand answers but talk. She could also remind him that Mary suffered ostracism after marrying her father.

If you haven't read my previous posts about Benophie wish list: Benedict and Anthony: PART 1 and PART 2.

About s4 side plots

#benophie wish list

[miyamiwu]

Super, super late reply, but I was tagged by @variabels to list 5 anime/manga recs. Thanks for the tag! (I also love Durarara and Baccano ヾ(•ω•`)o)

I’m gonna list mainly Chinese media in this list, though, because that’s what I consume more. And ha! How brave, asking an ND person like me for recs. Prepare to be bombarded by my rambling!

Starting off with the media currently featured in my header (excluding Blue Lock coz most of my mutuals already know that)...

1. The Earth is Online (danmei* novel)

* Danmei - Chinese boys love stories

The plot basically: Everyone on Earth is pulled into a death game.

A good intro to the unlimited flow* genre. Each instance is thrilling and complex. The boys love aspect is not much, as it focuses on plot, but it’s definitely not subtle. The characters are also quite diverse. Most UF novels just focus on the Chinese characters and revolve around what happens in China, but this one actually features those from other countries. I also like how the protagonist isn’t treated as the entire world’s savior. Other people around the world are also doing their part.

Where to read: An official English release is coming out in 2024. Translations will be done by luckkoi, the fan translator. As such, they've taken down their translations online. There's an alternate translation by @leonsrightlations , but only a few chapters are out right now. There are several completed translations online, but they're all edited mtl (machine translation). If you don't mind that, you can go google it. I recommend the one by Rainbow Mushroom. Their translations require a password, though, and you can find that on their Discord server.

* unlimited flow - Chinese genre of web novels where the protagonist is pulled into different instances to complete challenges which, if failed, would result in punishment or even death. It’s basically the death game genre, but instead of just one game, there are multiple.

2. Legend of Hei movie + Legend of Luo Xiaohei series sequel (donghua*)

(I downloaded this video from YouTube years ago. I can no longer find it there, so I’m reuploading it here…)

* Donghua – Chinese anime

A story about the young cat demon Xiao Hei and his quest to find a new home after humans destroyed his old one. Cute cat + cool powers + awesome fighting scenes + clean and crisp animation.

You can watch this on Netflix, but it’s not available in all countries. There’s an English and Japanese dub available, but I strongly recommend watching it in the original Chinese. (I can send you the full movie with English subtitles if you want). The series, which takes place after the movie, can be watched on YouTube. S1 of the series is more slice of life, but s2 is action-packed.

3. Low Tide in Twilight (BL manhwa)

That BL trope where the bottom has a mountainload of debt, while the top gives him a way out… except, not really, coz the male lead Taeju is partly the creditor, and he’s forcing Euihyun into a relationship with him in exchange for money.

Typical BL story with an initially toxic couple, but better. Complex characters, and a manhwa that relies more on the art to tell the story instead of the words. Also, Taeju gives off that same annoying but hot vibe as Kaiser. What more do you want?

4. Link Click (donghua)

The title (时光代理人) would be literally translated as “Time Agents.” I have no idea why the official English title is Link Click.

The plot basically: Two guys with time-related powers run a photography shop, where they accept orders from clients to dive back in time through a photo.

Funimation did this donghua so dirty by not promoting it more back when it aired in 2021. The English subs were also terrible.

Did you know that it used to rank #20 in MAL, surpassing MP 100 S2, Jujutsu Kaisen, and many other mainstream anime? Now, it’s ranked #41 on MAL, lower than before, but still pretty high for a donghua on MAL. That’s just how good it is.

Here’s a link to the blu-ray version with fansubs. Just pick the normal English track option and not English (CR).

Edit: OKAAAY, it turns out that link has the episode order all mesed up. Just ask me if you need an HD copy with good fansubs.

5. White Cat Legend 2020 (donghua)

Title (大理寺日志) would be literally translated as The Journal of Dali Court.

Another cat boy donghua! Can you tell I just love cats?

The plot: Chen Shi travels from the countryside to the big city to search for his missing brother and inadvertently ends up working at Dali court under the cat guy Li Bing.

Slice of Life + Comedy + Drama + Supernatural + Mystery + Action

Baiting you with a hot guy gif~

It's a historical show btw, so expect some references to real-life events.

The animation is also really smooth in this one! You can watch it on YouTube. Here's a link to episode 1.

Season 2 is also out! I'm yet to watch it, though. I should really do some time...

----

Tagging some mutuals to check these out, and also to list 5 recs (no pressure)~

@potato-longsocks @echarie @takeunknownroadnow @gachagon @bachirasbodyguard @blonde-batgirl @oo-mi-ru-oo @www98vikitoo @whiteapplesandblackblood

I recommend creating your own post instead of adding your recs in a reblog. My post is already pretty long. Turn this into a long thread, and we'll be a menace on the dashboard haha

[anghraine]

Fic author interview (meme)

I was tagged by @incognitajones! Thank you very much <3

1- How many works do you have on AO3?

222, though some are very closely interconnected.

2- What's your total AO3 word count?

1,193,545, says the AO3 statistics page!

o_O

3- What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

LOL, I had just automatically rearranged my stats graph to rank fics by kudos instead of hits. It's:

Season of Courtship (inevitably), a Darcy/Elizabeth canon-compliant engagement interquel I wrote as a teenager;

But Thou Didst Not Leave His Soul In Hell (always a pleasant surprise), a short AU in which Luke convinces Anakin/Vader to flee the Empire with him;

per ardua ad astra, a Rogue One+ANH Jyn/Cassian AU in which Jyn, Cassian, and Bodhi escape Scarif only to get trapped on the Death Star and forced to pass themselves off as Imperials;

we get dark, only to shine, a longggg yet unfinished AU of The Borgias in which Cesare and Lucrezia begin their affair during S1 instead of S3 (CW for canon sibling incest, murder, etc).

Contradictions and Varieties (baffling), a short Darcy/Elizabeth AU I wrote for a fest in which it takes them slightly longer to get together.

4- Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try, especially with fics I'm actively updating, but I'm always behind on it. I mostly just get distracted and forget.

5- What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

Oh, interesting question! I don't write a lot of angsty endings, but there are a few options, and I think it probably would have to be the gift of men, a short (~1k) Fourth Age fic in which Eldarion goes along with a politically convenient marriage to one of Faramir and Éowyn's daughters, and falls in love with her, only for her to die of old age while Aragorn and Faramir are still alive and Eldarion remains young.

Honorable mentions: Set On This Path (Luke and Leia are brought up in the Empire + fusion with the story of the bloodbending brothers in B1 of Legend of Korra, complete with murder-suicide) and the last day (a chirpy epistolary fic that takes an abrupt turn after the genocidal attack that begins the Guild Wars games).

6- What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

Um, just considering the ones that have endings, to be fair, and ... hmm, that's harder. A lot of happy endings! Probably the ones that are happiest for me, personally, are First Impressions (m!Elizabeth/f!Darcy re-telling of P&P) and whatever we deny or embrace (f!Cassian/Jyn).

7- Do you write crossovers?

Not often, but sometimes! Like now.

8- Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Yes! I've gotten hate more than once wrt Season of Courtship in various versions (even before it become so overwhelmingly the popular favorite of my fics). The rest has been on other fics and mostly on ff.net.

TBH the subtler stuff bothers me more than outright hate (corrections based on adaptations or fanon or expanded universe material I already said I wasn't using, concern that I might switch permanently to a new format I'm trying out, etc).

9- Do you write smut?

Very rarely. I respect people who can write good smut (hi incognita!), but I'm definitely a fade to black sort unless the ship is already so out there that I'm long past feeling self-conscious about it.

10- Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yes. It's happened a couple of times, but the main one was someone who stole a few Austen fics from various people and tried to piece them together into something they could sell on Amazon. One of the fics was The Rich Are Always Respectable (not what I would choose to plagiarize if I were going to, but ... okay).

11- Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, several times. I think it's cool!

12- Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I wrote a short fic with my friend @tulinlina many years ago :)

13- What's your all-time favorite ship?

Darcy/Elizabeth. Truly this ship is the terror of the seas!

14- What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

Oh, man. This probably requires more self-knowledge than I really have. Um ... I hate saying it, but we get dark, only to shine is likely this. I had so many plans for where it was going to go, but I'm just in a very different fannish place these days.

15- What are your writing strengths?

It feels weird to say, but I think I write solid dialogue (it's certainly my favorite thing to write!) and fairly clean prose in general.

16- What are your writing weaknesses?

Description is my truest nemesis—I tend to place scenes in just empty or vaguely described space. Fight scenes and that sort of thing are really difficult (for related reasons). Finishing things—my stuff nearly always grows out of control and it screws up pacing and so on.

17- What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

A little goes a long way, IMO. I did a bit of it in my fic about Leia and Cassian and Alderaanian, in tongues and quiet sighs, so I can't judge it too hard, but it's very much something to handle with care (especially with conlangs—Tolkien fic can be pretty grating this way).

18- What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Tolkien! My first attempt at a fic was a Faramir-goes-to-Rivendell-instead-of-Boromir AU that never got very far.

Well, my first serious attempt at fanfic, that is—I wrote original stuff for years before that, and I guess technically I tried to write Trixie Belden fanfic when I was about 10 ... and the original stuff spun off from a piece that was basically a Secret of Mana fanfic I wrote even before the Trixie Belden stuff. But in terms of something written within a fandom community, the Faramir fic.

19- What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

Hmm. I'm not sure, actually. I mostly just write stuff if I feel like it. Oh—it's cheating, but I've barely written Korra/Kuvira even though I adore the ship. I'd like to write a proper Korvira fic someday.

20- What's your favorite fic you've written?

This changes pretty often, though there are always a few that come up when I'm asked. At this moment in time, probably The Jedi and the Sith Lord, the third (sort of) of my f!Luke Skywalker fics, and the one where the story finally swerves off the canon tracks and becomes its own thing. Maybe (probably?) not my best work, but the Lucyverse is my baby and I think TJATSL is my best work in it.

Tagging: @elwing, @kareenvorbarra, @heckofabecca, @veliseraptor, @rain-sleet-snow

[riddlerosehearts]

okay, the other day i watched a playthrough of the emperor's new groove video game for playstation 1. a game which, for various reasons, i have never actually played myself. but i wrote down a lot of things about it that i'd now like to share. this is basically a combination of my own thoughts on the game and a summary of all the insane things that happened in it:

the game begins after kuzco has already been turned into a llama and pacha is saying he can't help unless he builds kuzcotopia somewhere else. in the movie this is the scene which leads into kuzco going off into the jungle by himself, but the game has you start by exploring the general area of the village around pacha's hut, where his kids hang out and teach you the mechanics. kuzco also knows from the beginning that yzma is trying to kill him and encounters her as a boss multiple times in the story.

it's fully voice acted, and this is the first time that j.p. manoux had voiced kuzco. he would go on to voice kuzco in the emperor's new school and in various other projects, and while it would've been nice if they could've gotten david spade for these, i think he does a good job. pacha's voice actor is different from either the movie or the show--it's john goodman in the movie + season 2 of the show, fred tatasciore in s1 of the show, and brian cummings here--but he's not too bad either.

pacha: "don't take the villagers' coins!" kuzco: "the villagers are MY people, so those are MY coins."

tipo: "by pressing your action button, you can smash these red pots" kuzco: "good, i feel like smashing something!"

i'm kind of obsessed with the fact that these sort of standard mechanics that you don't normally think about, like keeping money you found on the ground and destroying people's belongings in order to steal their money and items, are explained in this game by the protagonist being an entitled asshole. also obsessed with tipo encouraging kuzco's destructive behavior.

chaca: "this pad raises the columns to form steps! once they're triggered, you better be quick before they lower again." kuzco: "uh, ever thought of making them stay up for good when you press the pad?" chaca: "uhh... no." kuzco: "don't tell me, you got the brains in the family."

KUZCO DON'T BULLY A CHILD AKJDSFHHDJSKGSG

there's a mechanic where you can continue playing from your last checkpoint after dying as long as you've collected a wampy. what's a wampy? it's the name of the funky looking plushie that kuzco has as a baby in the first movie and then again in kronk's new groove:

the above screenshots are from the emperor's new groove, kronk's new groove, and the video game respectively. this is a bit of a tangent, but something i find interesting is that in the emperor's new school kuzco secretly carries a plushie named wampy around everywhere for comfort and that plushie has the same basic design but completely different colors:

and the purple wampy is never seen in the show, so i can only conclude that kuzco keeps multiple of these plushies that all share the same name. maybe he leaves the purple one at home so it doesn't have to endure the horrors of high school.

anyway, back to the game--every time you collect a wampy kuzco hugs it and says things like "awww, it's my wampyyyy" in a cute little baby talk voice. fucking dork <3

there are several little scenes during the village section of the game where chaca and tipo keep showing up to give tutorials and he just keeps making snarky comments at them and asking why they're there and if they don't have anything better to do.

in one of these scenes, tipo shows up to teach kuzco how to open doors and kuzco just goes "how did you get here so fast?". to which tipo replies that this is a game. another time, when chaca explains to kuzco how the wampy mechanic works, he asks how she knows all this and she goes "i don't know! beats me!"

there's a part where some random villager tells llama kuzco to stay away from his statues and kuzco goes "i'm the emperor! open the door or i'll smash your statue to pieces!"

the guy runs off screaming "DEMON LLAMAAAAA!!" and then tipo suddenly shows up to teach you how to smash the statues. i think chicha may need to keep a closer eye on tipo in the future.

SPEAKING OF CHICHA. SHE'S NOT IN THIS FUCKING GAME. if i were actually playing the game and doing a proper review of it i would automatically have to dock points for the lack of chicha.

at the beginning kuzco breaks some kid's llama bike and then the kid keeps showing up in every single chapter with a new bike and challenging kuzco to races. he somehow manages to show up everywhere from the top of a waterfall to the middle of yzma's roller coaster and never once questions why this llama is such a jerk or why he can even talk. also, toward the end of the game you race him one last time and his bike breaks for the millionth time and he says he learned a valuable lesson. that lesson? that these llama bikes suck and he needs to stop buying them.

kuzco hates being touched so much that anytime a guard, bug, bird, etc touches him he says "no touchy" and then loses health.

at one point kuzco gets turned into a turtle and kronk shows up and asks if he's there to enter the annual village race. he refuses at first but then it turns out kronk has an item that kuzco needs to progress, sooooo you have to have turtle kuzco slide on his back down the hill and try to beat kronk in the race.

kronk is voiced by patrick warburton again btw. eartha kitt also returned as yzma for the game. they both returned for each season of the emperor's new school as well, and i believe eartha kitt in particular loved voicing yzma so much that every time they needed her, right up until her death, she showed up.

kuzco cries if you lose the race against kronk, which is understandable considering that losing means he has to climb up to the top of the hill as a turtle again.

at the end of the village section you have to run from yzma as she throws bombs at kuzco and once you manage to get away, kuzco says "you call yourself an end of level boss, yzma? you're rubbish! toodles!"

after this, kuzco ends up going into the jungle despite pacha's repeated warnings that it's too dangerous. and now instead of chaca and tipo, a talking bug trapped in a spiderweb appears to teach him additional mechanics.

when the jaguars from the movie show up kuzco says "time out" and then the frame freezes while he explains to YOU, the player, what you'll have to do to save him.

during the waterfall section chaca is somehow there AGAIN, at the top of the waterfall in a pink llama pool floatie, and is like "oh wow, another llama tied to a log!" (apparently one showed up the previous week) but does not react at all to her dad also being tied to a log. she just explains to them how this level is gonna work and then leaves.

she pops back up again a little later (still on the waterfall. they stretched this part of the movie out a lot) and calls kuzco "kinda short for a llama".

speaking of the game stretching things out a lot, pacha literally says during the waterfall levels: "this scene was much shorter in the film".

there's a whole other jungle section where kuzco spends an extensive amount of time having been turned into a frog. tipo randomly appears to help again during this section.

there's another race with kronk in an icy area that shows kronk to be an excellent ice skater. i would probably be terrible at this if i played the game.

when they finally get into the city kuzco tells pacha he knows the streets like the back of his hand and pacha replies, "but kuzco, you're a llama, you don't have any hands!"

when they separate and kuzco sneaks on his own into the palace, he gets confronted by a naked guy who's conveniently being covered up by a peacock and says the peacocks stole his clothes. he's blocking a path we need to go through so we are forced to find his underwear for him. this guy also does not question wtf is up with the talking llama.

when you get him his underwear back he, uh. well. he uses his magic sparkly underwear to fly away:

what is this guy, the incan version of captain underpants? kuzco then says in a deadpan voice, "this has gotta be the weirdest day of my entire life". can't argue with that!

i've gone way too long without mentioning that this game is primarily a platformer, which is a genre i kind of suck at and don't play often, but appears to have a lot of variety in its gameplay that makes it look pretty fun! the races with kronk, the part where you guide pacha and kuzco down the river, the part where you have to run from the jaguars, the stealth sections, and the various parts where kuzco is transformed into non-llama animals all have different types of gameplay to switch it up. the city is also huge and full of puzzle sections.

when kuzco defeats yzma in his throne room and then meets back up with pacha, they have to take the roller coaster down to yzma's lab and there's a level based on this as well. you have to control the roller coaster and turn it at just the right time to collect coins and avoid falling to your death. this looks like it could be a lot of fun to me.

tipo somehow shows up on the roller coaster to give another tutorial and kuzco tells this 6 year old to make him a sandwich and then insults his haircut 😭 kuzco i love you but why are you like this

before the final battle against yzma she says she's gonna drink a potion to turn herself into a hideous monster and rule the empire forever. and kuzco says "are you sure you didn't drink it already, you old bag of bones?"

there's this huge dramatic buildup to her drinking the potion. and then. it turns her into a cat like in the movie. and that's the final boss battle. you have to race against cat yzma to get the last potion to turn back into a human.

just from the video i watched, this race seemed very short and easy and therefore anticlimactic? but idk, maybe the person playing was just really good at it.

the final scene of the game immediately following this is kuzco visiting the village as a human again and we see scenes like kronk playing jump rope with chaca and tipo, the incan captain underpants guy flying around the roof of a house, bucky the squirrel chasing cat yzma, and kuzco + pacha's family all having a dance party while fireworks go off.

again i must reiterate that this game is missing chicha's legendary and iconic presence. my assumption is that since the characters seem to know they're in a video game, she didn't wanna have to help give kuzco tutorials because it would put too much stress on her while pregnant. still, though, it would've been nice to see her in at least the opening or ending sequences.

in conclusion: as i mentioned, i've never played this game, and the main reason for this is that i didn't know it existed when i was a kid--but even if i had i still most likely wouldn't have played it because i didn't care much about the emperor's new groove back then. the only reason i looked up a playthrough of it was because my autism brain suddenly told me i needed to learn about all of the official emperor's new groove media in existence. however, it really does look like fun and the playthrough i watched wasn't even 5 hours long, so now i kind of wanna give it a try someday? the writing is hilarious. not as hilarious as the actual movie, of course, but it was just so bizarre in such a great way and was very faithful to the movie's complete lack of a fourth wall.

also: this game has the best "game over" screen of all time. whenever kuzco dies it literally just plays a clip of the funeral scene from the movie, all the way through the "he ain't getting any deader, back to work!" bit.

[desolationcleo]

some life series related things i think about

-each recording session is 3 hours long which is 9 days minceraft time which is the length of a full moon to full moon minceraft lunar cycle

-what this means about the boogeyman curse

-speaking of translation to minceraft time, that hour and a half left on martyn's timer after his win? that was four and a half days of wandering the ruins of the world completely alone. even if you subtract the hour taken by that /kill that's still more than a day.

-the characters being referred to as players, not because of anything to do with a keyboard and mouse, not because terms like server and admin are relevant here, but because their world is an arena and their lives are a death game. strip the story of its minceraft context and they're still called players.

-what if bigb's usage of the programmer art texture pack (aka the legacy textures from older versions) during s1 and the start of s2 translates in-universe as some form of lingering effect from evo?

-the way joel's house in s1 was haunted by the ghost of an enderman and we never figure out what the deal was with that. this place has history

-the time the crastle team were like "you guys want to move to the nether" "that sounds peaceful" "just put on a jukebox and sing" something about a brief group fantasizing session where they all pretend they'll be able to escape all this and not have to be in a death game or a war and just peacefully vibe to music together and sing songs around a campfire

-speaking of singing around a campfire, martyn mentions being a bard multiple times. i'm just picturing him singing for the team

-given the villagers and the endermen in boats, dogwarts is actually a pretty densely populated kingdom. what was this like for the villagers?

-in a similar vein, imagine being a pillager in the outpost in double life

-cleo keeps dying in or near rivers. season 1 she permadied at a river, season 2 both times she went yellow were in rivers, season 3 she was pushed off the bridge and landed on the riverbank. there might have been one in season 4 i don't know it's impossible to keep track of all the deaths that occurred in that one

-at the end of s1, when scott and jimmy have their afterlife reunion, jimmy says "this is it, this is the end". and then in martyn's last life finale- oh you already know where i'm going with this

-given the appearance of his eyes it is entirely plausible that grian, at least when red, has black sclera

-lizzie, mumbo, and ren are most likely presumed permadead by the others

-additionally, skizz's return would do nothing to disprove this as the others could easily chalk it up to his being left out by virtue of DL needing an even number of players

-the in-universe implications of pearl having been on evo but not joining the life games until season 2

-speaking of pearl and watchers and in-universe implications. considering the timing of the boogeyman reroll in last life, and the player chosen, and everything in relation, whatever happened in-universe that took pearl out of the picture so hard she couldn't get a kill probably wasn't an accident.

-lizzie, who wears a flower crown and filled her first base with flowers and planted several outside her second one, ever surrounded by flower motifs, died in a manner involving a wither rose

-that time in late season 2 when joel, who spent 80% of the series red, said that seeing the 4+ life indicator shade of dark green makes him physically sick now

-ren's final death in last life -and subsequently, scott's victory- involved a zombie and happened at night when the moon was out

-the little jellie that scar carries around in double life, first in a purse and then in a backpack, who outlived him

-bdubs is STILL trapped in his red life appearance because of lingering effects from last life, two full seasons later

-pearl has the whole frog/dog/log thing with ren and martyn in double life, in which she's the frog. come season 4 and she's in the partially frog themed alliance

-the minceraft flower language post applied to the life games. oxeye daisies for love. lily of the valley, worn as a symbol of grief. cornflowers for sudden betrayal, and as an equivalent to a gold medal for those who win tournaments or games. poppies for watching and being watched. azure bluets for a secret alliance. wither roses for murder and intent to kill. pink tulips for codependency. alliums for protection and a wish for someone to stay safe, and for defiance. do you see my vision

-the whole thing with the watchers feeding on the players' emotions. it only stands to reason that grian gets hungry too.

[still-a-morosexual-help]

I really really hope you're right, this just killed my motivation for everything. What happened with Solomare's story jar already left a bad taste in my mouth too.

I know I'll feel better in a few days, but I felt lied to when they said they'd continue the story and the app. And it's going to be even lighter and fluffier and a replacement for the main story line? One that new players will perfectly fit into? I was so looking forward to learning more about what would happen to Simeon.

Also not announcing it until last minute? For once I'm really glad I can barely afford food, because I'd be devastated if I had spent even a dollar. But maybe that's just me being poor.

I'm mostly likely going to stop writing for a while until I've archived everything important from the app, which is gonna take ages just in case anyway.

But anyway, are there any recent events you thought were better than usual? I've been too sick to grind lately so I haven't unlocked them. I want to know which ones to archive as soon as possible once the six months are up.

Sorry for bringing the mood down and the rant, but you seem to be the only positive one I follow that isn't outright calling people stupid or pathetic for being upset so I'm really hoping your positivity rubs off on me.

I do hope you keep posting for Nightbringer too! I have several issues with my hands so I don't think I'll ever be able to see the end of the og story line, and I especially love your analyses out of anyone else's.

Okay okay so they are continuing the og app and continuing the story, the only difference is they'll be continuing the mainstory in nightbringer and the og app will just be getting events. So the og app will continue the way it has since the end of s4 and new main story content will be uploaded to nightbringer (the devs did says this)

Not sure what happened with story jar but Obey Me! is solmare's most popular game. Objectively, nothing solmare has created has ever come near to reaching om! And I'm talking purely in the money making side of it - the anime? mangas? songs? merch? cons? VAs getting heavily involved in everything? Solmare's a business. As long as there's a fandom and a demand for it they're not gonna kill the og app.

Plus the majority of om's content is on the og app, with new content and old events still being released. If they wanted to kill the og app they'd stop releasing new content and updating lonely devil.

Since nightbringer will be continuing the mainstory from where they left off, they'd also need to move all of S1-4 the chats, call & devilgrams to nightbringer if they were gonna kill the og - and I'd imagine that's more hassle than it's worth

I do think we'd learn more about what happened to simeon;

• devs said they'd be continuing the main story in nightbringer so that'd include simeon

• nightbringer's current plot is about time travel and mc trying to find a way back home - so they will end up back in the current time at some point, where simeon's whole thing can be addressed

• s3 established that luke wasn't alive when the brothers were angels. If they intended to keep mc in the past they'd either have to scrap luke's entire character (?????) or retcon s3 which so far dropped the most lore

• thirteen (who's supposed to turn into a LI)'s first visit to the devildom happens in s4 and in nightbringer's op we see her in Diavolo's castle. Which means we're seeing the present timeline as well

....i think you're maybe panicking a bit too much? You definitely don't need to archive anything anytime soon. For well all of the reasons I mentioned above.... Maybe someday you'd have to but definitely not right now

Honestly I liked all the events🤷

No worries! And Yeah I think the thing people are forgetting is that Nightbringer is STILL Obey Me! I'm definitely going to be still talking about it

Ok so I have an exam in 2 days and I think I've answered every possible question about Nightbringer you could possibly have so I'm calling it here.

Won't be answering new asks until sunday. Everything posted will be from queue.

If you want to see my others asks/answers regarding Nighbringer just hit the tag on this post

[butterflydm]

wot rewatch (book spoilers edition): 2x2

Additional thoughts that had too many spoilers to go into my earlier post will be found here. Spoilers for all the teasers and trailers, plus through book 13: A Memory of Light.

So one of the big questions that I have is: how much is Lanfear acting with Ishamael's knowledge and how much is she going her own way? Ishamael said in the Darkfriend social scene that he is still looking for Rand. If he's being truthful there (and he's talking to his minions, so there's really no point in lying), then Lanfear has not told him that she located Lews Therin.

2. I hadn't thought about this on my first watch, but @ladyofpembroke noted that Lanfear is probably in Rand's final dream in the next episode, so it seems possible that she actually has a hand in all his dreams. Constantly reminding him that he could kill his friends if he sees them again is a good way to make him want to stay where he is (with her) and not try to reconnect with his past life. Like any effective manipulator, she's keeping him isolated from his friends and family as much as she can.

3. otoh, we know from the books that being able to locate someone's dreams doesn't mean that you know where they are in the physical world, so this might be an Ishamael-influenced dream (I note that while Rand's visions of his friends has them wearing their S1 outfits, Ishamael is wearing his s2 outfit, which Rand hasn't seen), so this might be an Ishamael-influenced dream since he figures he might as well torment Rand in the dream if he can't find him irl.

4. Given that Rand is already hearing whispers, I wonder when the show plans to re-introduce Lews Therin to us in his own form. It might even be this season, if they wanted to make sure to keep a lock on the actor (or we might get another Age of Legends cold open -- though I note that we only had one cold open in this set of three episodes, though that might be because Rafe & co were aware that they would likely all air the same night so that might have affected their choices there - I'd love an AoL cold open where we get to see Lanfear and Lews Therin together).

5. So, did Rand find his way to Cairhien first and then Lanfear set up an inn in the Foregate to entice him to her, or did she set up her inn before he arrived and she figured out a way to lure him in? Either way, she's doing a much better job than the Lanfear in the books. She's much less suspicious than "random noblewoman who managed to appear in an unpopulated parallel world so that Rand could save her" and she's more subtle too. While the cringefail Forsaken in the books can be amusing, the threat level of the villains also helps tell you how seriously to take your protagonists, so I'm glad that they beefed up her threat level by actually making her effective. Right now, Lanfear is #winning on every possible level.

6. I love Errol because he serves several story purposes -- he's reminding us that Rand looks "like an Aiel"; he's serving Hurin's purpose in the story of giving Rand someone to look after and be protective of; he's teaching Rand sword forms because he was a blademaster; and he's giving us a bit of history about "the Aiel war". And the actor is quite charming. Plus he's used to show us both Rand's compassion and his need/desire to find mentors to help teach him the skills he needs. At this point in time, Rand does believe that he's defeated the Dark One and his nightmares are just nightmares but he does still want to learn how to protect himself and how to control himself.

7. We mostly hear indistinct whispers until Rand is walking down the hallway (it's the shot from the trailer) and it resolves into "Do you hear me? You are mine, Rand al'Thor." Which is very interesting. Our first inkling of Lews Therin? If so, it shows a greater awareness of Rand as a person than LTT's voice showed in the earlier books when it appeared in his head. I've speculated that this might happen, so I wonder if we're going to get more genuine back-and-forth between Rand and LTT than we really got in the books as a way of letting us into Rand's internal narration without him needing to pour out his heart to any of the characters around him.

8. I am actually loving Perrin getting Rand's plotline here -- it's working really well for him, being used to show us how Perrin can smell what happened in places so vividly that he's re-experiencing the past. I feel like if I didn't know this was Rand's original plotline, I wouldn't have guessed. It suits how they're exploring Perrin's character so well. I do wonder... Elyas speaks of Perrin experiencing a 'vision' -- I wonder if they're going to make the mystical side of being a Wolfbrother more distinct from what Dreamers do in this show version. Because it really was kinda... weird in the books how Perrin and Egwene are doing all this training in the same dreamworld but Perrin never runs across her or any of the Aiel Dreamwalkers, even once they're spending more time in the wetlands side of things.

9. The nailed-up Fade is used in the books to mark when Fain 'takes control' of the Darkfriends & Trollocs. I wonder here if it's meant to mark the moment when the dagger owns him more strongly than the Dark One does. Because the people of Shadar Logoth were not darkfriends -- and they focused on this in s1, too, because dagger!Mat is not a fan of the Fade that he meets in the farmhouse.

10. Love foreshadowing of Errol talking about "Aielman among us and no one bats an eyelash in the entire place" -- Rand is going to be bringing a lot of Aiel to the wetlands. I bet we're going to get to see some of these sword forms in the finale!

11. Liandrin does seem like she's becoming genuinely invested in Nynaeve. I like that (almost) everyone gets their own personal Darkfriend -- Nynaeve has Liandrin, Mat also has Liandrin (she's a hard worker!), Rand has Lanfear, Perrin has (remorseful) Ingtar, Moiraine has (double agent) Verin, Lan has (repentant) Tomas, and even Egwene gets a scene with Sheriam (who will get to be Her Darkfriend Among Us later on, if we're able to follow the books that closely when we get there), though she's not really the focus of Sheriam's attention. Everyone gets a little personal attention from the Shadow!

I like that Nynaeve gets rushed forward to the test for Accepted due to Liandrin wanting to teach her so badly. It seems more realistic reasoning than we get in the books.

12. Another big lie from Liandrin here about how Mat is here because they are "only observing" that the effects of the dagger are out of his system, which Mat immediately calls bullshit on. He's locked in a cell and only Liandrin is around -- that is not an official observation by any means. That's a prison. It's been six months. So I would put Liandrin's official lie count at two. Notably, she's only lying to Mat so far, who is both kept well away from other people and also doesn't really know as much about Aes Sedai (we know from Egwene and Moiraine's conversation in the woods in s1 that the people of the Two Rivers do not have the Aes Sedai oaths memorized).

13. My dearest, my darling, my deepest love is finally here! At the end of my reread, when I was ranking my favorite characters, Elayne was my number one favorite. Ceara is doing such a good job with her and the writing is also excellent. I love how many different sides of her we get to see in just these two episodes -- sheltered noble, awkward girl who grew up with no friends, someone familiar with the Tower but not familiar being a novice in the Tower, but a tinkerer (!!! so excited that they put this in so early) at heart and incredibly loyal and compassionate. I just adored her so much in these two episodes and I am looking forward to seeing more of her. I do really hope that, in the midst of all the chaos, that the show does manage to give her something of a meet-cute with Rand, even if it's less obviously romantic than the one in the books. But I'm really looking forward to more of her interacting with Egwene and Nynaeve, and hopefully meeting Aviendha and/or Min and/or Mat in the finale or before it.

14. I have zero issue with Sheriam not being a redhead. I think it's a good idea for the show to cut down on the number of redheads, given that Jordan says it's rare but then keeps giving us random redheads. Limiting the on-screen ones to the Aiel and the royal house of Andor seems like a good idea to me.

15. So first we got Perrin's letters last episode. Now, in this episode, Elyas tells Perrin that the soldiers he's with right now "are not your pack". While he could be talking about the wolves, of course, I feel like, as a viewer, that makes me think of the EF5 and how that's who Perrin belongs with right now. Especially after Perrin's letter talking about how he feels 'exposed' without the others around. Again, it gives me the hope that we'll get more moments of reconnection between the EF5 over the course of the show.

16. This moment with Verin is such a great one to look at knowing the truth of her situation. "Even oaths have loopholes one can exploit". She's the expert at it. Oaths are a bit of a minor theme in this episode and the next -- the loopholes and also, next episode, we're introduced to the Seanchan oaths where Perrin is, I assume, going to take the very reasonable position that a forced oath is not binding (which is the same position that Mat had in Winter's Heart but inexplicably abandoned in Crossroads of Twilight when he decided his accidental wedding vows were binding).

Oh! I knew I remembered hearing the words "Toman Head" in these three episodes but hadn't remembered it was Verin mentioning it! I thought it was noted as part of the Dark Prophecies but it's mentioned here as mainline prophecy. But the name is out there now. And this conversation also confirms "sword of flame" and "battle in the sky" for the finale, most likely, and a mention of a "branded hand" which feels like it confirms the herons. I wonder if Rand is going to use the same weave on his dad's sword that we saw Verin using at the end of the last episode for Tomas's sword. This may also mean that it's using that weave that burns the herons into Rand's palms?

17. The Rand and Lanfear scenes. Wow! But, yeah, I wonder how much her non-reaction to his bloody knuckles struck show-onlys. She doesn't ask him what happened, who he beat up. She just kisses his bloody knuckles and sweet-talks him into bed.

18. So far, we've heard/seen three separate form of violent teaching in the White Tower -- the unnamed woman who beat Moiraine to make her channel (likely Elaida); Liandrin's behavior with Nynaeve; and Sheriam telling Elayne that she'll be switched. Both Liandrin and Sheriam, of course, are Black Ajah. But from Egwene's reaction here, it doesn't seem like being ordered to be switched is anything close to the common punishment that it seemed to be in the books. But we'll see!

19. It does occur to me that Gawyn (maybe Galad too) might already have been in training with the Warders even if Elayne wasn't a novice yet -- Elayne has been spending her summers in the Tower and it's entirely possible that Gawyn's training to protect her meant he was sent off early to start learning from the best. We don't get any hints in this episode or the next about her brothers, but we're pretty focused on her developing friendship with Egwene.

20. "Min is in Tar Valon" and "Min and Mat share a plotline" were my two most hoped-for options for Min's storyline for this season, so I'm happy about that. I do wish that Min had been given a chance to bond with Elayne or Egwene but, hopefully, there will be time for that later. But I really love the set-up we've been given where we are going to explore Elayne with Egwene and Nynaeve; Min being more fully-explored with Mat; and then Aviendha when she enters Perrin's storyline. All of them are getting fleshed out as individual characters before any of them get romantically involved with Rand. I am feeling pretty hopeful that we're going to get our polycule (and a genuine polycule, not a harem) in the upcoming seasons. They've been putting in a lot of "poly relationships are valid and complex" groundwork in and it looks like they are going to be making sure that all of the characters involved get to be full characters who have their own agendas and their own arcs.

Some people on reddit are still pretty disappointed that Min isn't the male-gaze fantasy that she is in the later books but I have been thrilled with the changes that the show has done so far with her. We also maybe get a hint here that Min is going to be canonically bisexual by the way she jokes about Liandrin, so I will cross my fingers on that.

20. Min's viewing! I do love that they're massively cutting down on the number of Min's viewings to focus on ones that are interesting and relevant. This one is particularly interesting because there's nothing like it in the books. Mat stabbing Rand, then cradling him as he falls.

Theory #1: this is a flicker-flicker world (maybe we only get one big one?) and it's not Our Mat stabbing Our Rand but an alternate one.

Theory #2: Rand asks Mat to fulfill his promise to keep Rand from going mad and that's why Mat stabs him.

Theory #3: Rand loses control of himself (like Lady Amalisa in 1x8) and Mat stabs him to try to get him to lose his hold on the One Power.

Theory #4: Mat gets placed under compulsion (which would be another reason for him to want protection from Aes Sedai and channeling).

Theory #5: Mat gets The Dagger again and he's the one who gives Rand the wound in his side, while under its influence.

Theory #6: It's metaphorical and Mat takes the place of Alivia and helps Rand 'die' at the end of the series (seems unlikely but I'll throw it out there).

And probably lots of other things I haven't thought of. But it definitely shakes Min to see it.

I wonder if she only agreed to help Liandrin after this moment or if she'd already agreed and this is just additional incentive. I don't think she's told Liandrin anything about Rand. She was able to keep that secret from Moiraine even under blackmail so I think she kept it from Liandrin too.

But I do love that we get a viewing that connects Mat and Rand together, even if it's through a traumatic encounter. I am a simple soul who finds messiness intriguing.

21. Lanfear! Talking about her broken heart to the man who broke it and who she is, even now, doing her best to groom back into the man that she wants. The layers in this conversation are exquisite. When she tells him that he can't hurt her, she also can say that because she has a strong grasp of what she can do with the Power while he's still stumbling in the dark. Ooof, but Rand was (unknowingly) on risky ground when he confirmed that he does sometimes think of his past when he's with her.

Also, talking about how "no one else" could ever have power over her heart now that her previous lover is gone... when she's literally talking to his reincarnation. The conversation is just so rich and so sharp and there's so much of it that is going over Rand's head because he doesn't have the necessary information to even begin to put the pieces together. "What's left to hurt if he still has my whole heart?" she says, to the guy in question. "When I'm with you, I can pretend you're him." YEAH. I BET YOU CAN.

22. So I wonder if Moiraine's threat here to Lan, that she would let Alanna take his bond if he didn't let her leave on her own, is going to be the extent of the "Myrelle" plot point that Alanna absorbs and it won't actually happen in fact. But now it's out there as an idea that Warders can be forcibly bonded so that when Alanna forcibly bonds someone else down the road, the idea isn't coming out of nowhere.

23. I was so shocked when the Seanchan attacked in episode two. I was thinking this would happen in episode five. But once I sat down and thought about it, I realizes that Perrin has already hit all the main points of the Hunt for the Horn storyline on his side of things (and even partly on what Rand would have been doing). We've found the traitor and had Ingtar reveal his sympathy towards said traitor; we've found the Fade and the moment when Fain started playing by his own rules; and we've even been exploring Perrin and his senses. This does mean that we're going to have a lot of potential time to explore the Seanchan invasion and culture.

24. I don't have any issues with Ishamael openly being Suroth's advisor vs someone covertly giving Suroth her marching orders. High Lady Suroth is a Darkfriend and always was. We're just taking it out of the shadows and showing it openly to the viewers (and Perrin).

I do wonder if Perrin specifically seeing the Shadow and the Seanchan so entwined will have an impact on his later storylines. That I wonder about. But the later books were, tbh, really weird about how low-impact the Falme encounter ended up being in the long run for pretty much everyone except Egwene. Min basically forgets she knows anything about the Seanchan even when that information could help Rand, everyone forgets about the environment of paranoia and fear that the Seanchan created in Falme, etc. There's a lot of weird forgetfulness going around, especially in CoT & KoD, when Jordan wanted to sell us on his slaver romance.

(the way that the show has been improving characters like Min and relationships like Rand/Lanfear does give me a lot of hope in how they will handle Tuon and the Mat & Tuon 'romance' and that they'll make it better than the poorly-written dumpster fire that it is in CoT & KoD)

[jajanvm-imbi]

Hazbin Hotel 4 episode premiere review Part 2

Part 1 | Part 3

I'm gonna preface this by saying that I am enjoying Hazbin in the same way I enjoy Helluva Boss. I've been following the series since the pilot's release, I've gotten more and more excited with every announcement leading up to it's offical release and I've already watched every episode several times.

HOWEVER, just like with Helluva Boss, there are a lot of issues with Hazbin that I feel are very fair criticisms worth talking about.

This isn't going to be another bad-faith rambling about how the show is shit, how everyone who likes it is stupid, and how Viv and her creative team deserved all of the harassment they've gotten for the past couple of years. Like I said I've been enjoying Hazbin and Helluva for what they are a lot, but just because I enjoy both shows doesn't mean I don't think there are many issues with it.

This post is going to be discussing Hazbin's issues ofc, but I'd really like to sit down and write up all of my issues with Helluva one day as well because any issues in Hazbin are almost always 10x worse in Helluva.

So now with that our of the way, here's my critique on Hazbin Hotel as someone who enjoys the show:

Buckle up cause this post is gonna be long

What I believe the main issue for Hazbin Hotel boils down to the same issue for Helluva Boss:

Pacing

The pacing in Hazbin is......not great. Don't get me wrong, its waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than the pacing in Helluva Boss, by like, a lot. But that doesn't mean its, well, good.

The Over-Reliance on the Pilot's Popularity.

So, there's no actual introduction to any character but Charlie and mayyyyyyyybe Vaggie. But the rest of the cast is just, there, and the audience is supposed to know who they are automatically. And even then, the introduction to the premise is almost non-existent in the first ep.

For those of us who have been following the series for years know who these characters are and what the plot of the series is, but for the causal viewer who's scrolling through Prime and stumbles upon Hazbin, there's no proper introduction to what's happening.

It's almost like its required to watch the pilot before watching the actual series in order to have any idea whats happening. And thats a problem because the pilot isn't an episode its a pilot. For like 99% shows, the audience never sees the pilot. Season 1 episode 1 has to start from square 1, reintroducing who's who and what's going on.

The first ep of Hazbin takes place one week after the pilot. Which means they all acknowledge the pilot happened, its not retconed or anything, but it's still not an episode.

The pilot takes the time to establish Charlie's base personality, her motives, how the rest of hell treats her, and the significance of Alastor's presence at the hotel. Charlie getting bullied by Katie Killjoy at the news station does more for establishing Charlie's character and her motives than anything in all 4 episodes of the official premiere. There isn't really anything to show how hell doesn't take Charlie seriously, either. (The closest thing we get is how Valentino talks about Charlie when she's not there) Yeah Adam bullies her in ep 1 but that heaven not hell. S1 ep 1 "Overture" just expects the audience to already know what's happening.

There is literally no reason why they couldn't have just remade the pilot into an actual episode with a few changes and the new voice cast (obv), and then pick up the next day instead of the next week.

Like is the whole terf war still happening? Cause it isn't acknowledged at all in the premiere. Maybe they could have added Alastor's mysterious 7 year "sabatical" into Vaggie's explanation of Alastor to Angel.

It would have been so easy to just remake the pilot into an episode since the pilot does such a good job of establishing whats going on. A well known example of a show doing just that is the Gravity Falls pilot. The pilot is obviously shorter and the supporting cast is missing, but the plot of the episode is still the same and it establishes the personalities for the 3 main characters. Anyway-

2. The Hotel Isn't Even the Central Focus

They introduced the conflict between Heaven and Hell waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too soon.

This is the exact same thing that happened with Helluva Boss. The pilot displayed a clear premise for the series and then when the series officially airs it turns out the premise isn't even the central focus.

It isnt as offensive in Hazbin because at least Hazbin's central focus is on something still somewhat relevant to the plot which is "helping sinners". In Helluva Boss the central focus is "Owo angsty gay relationship drama", which is completely irrelevant to the initial "imps in hell are hits for hire up on earth and shenanigans ensue" premise.

Why are we being introduced to heaven's schemes to do more than one extermination a year before Charlie even gets a chance to prove there are some sinners interested in being redeemed? It would have been a MILLION times more impactful if Charlie got maybe two or three sinners actually looking to be redeemed to stay at the hotel, who were hopeful that they still had a chance to live a better life, only for all of Charlie's hopes to be crushed by Adam's rejection.

If Charlie had people who believed in her, if she saw how much faith they had in her to help them change their lives around, only for her to come back from her meeting not only saying the angels rejected her but that the next extermination was sooner than anticipated, OUGH would it have hurt.

Instead, the hotel is treated like a background or just a thing to do in the meantime while the characters focus on the Heaven vs. Hell conflict or other stuff.

The show just immediately jumps into the whole Heaven vs. Hell thing without really even focusing on the hotel and what Charlie is trying to do, AKA the title of the fucking show. Why even bother calling the series Hazbin Hotel if you aren't going to even focus on why the hotel exists in the first place????

We as the audience need to spend time at the hotel with the characters in order for us to get attached to Charlie's cause before you dash all our hopes away. Then we can root for Charlie as she overcomes Heaven's hypocrisy with the help of her friends. (which kind of goes back to the over reliance on the pilot)

And the cherry on top would have been that this is the perfect set up for some fun ""filler"" character establishing episodes while Charlie works with the sinners.

There's a reason why most people seem to recognize ep 4 "Masquerade" as the best episode out of the 4 despite also being the most graphic, followed by ep 2 "Radio Killed the Video Star". Both ep 2 and ep 4 are more one off self contained stories you would usually see in a more episodic series, and they're wonderfully entertaining because they're still being treated like introductions. Ep 2 takes the time to properly introduce the Vs and their connections to the main cast, particularly Vox and Alastor's rivalry. Ep 4 introduced Angel's situation with Valentino to the audience, which is a major part of his character, and Angel is part of the main cast so this isn't out of place. The conflicts between the Vs and the main cast aren't resolved by the end of either of these episodes, but thats because they're still only introductions.

The problem with ep 1 and ep 3 is that we're charging ahead with the whole Heaven vs. Hell conflict with characters we still barely know.

The issues with ep 1 mainly tie back into point 1. with how there was no proper reintroduction to anything in the series, and the show immediately crushes Charlie's dreams before we are even properly introduced to them again. Adam being an asshole to Charlie and them moving up the next extermination date has no impact because we as the audience barely knows who these characters even are.

In episode 3, the hotel and the team building stuff is the B plot while Alastor and his meeting with the other Overlords is the A plot??? In the third episode of the series????

I was confused with why ep 3 featured a Velvette and Camilla duet and a Vaggie and Camilla duet because we barely know who Velvette and Camillia are. Why did Camilla get a whole ass power ballad about protecting her daughters from an exorcist if we barely know who Camilla is??? Why was she paired with Vaggie, a character we've already grown attached to for the past 2 episodes??? Vaggie had some nice character moments in ep 3 but it was overshadowed by Camilla's presence because we don't know nearly enough about Camilla for a parallel between her and Vaggie to feel appropriate.

Velvette had some fun banter with Vox in ep 2 but only for like a minute, why is she singing about being better than everyone else?? Vox and Valentino had way more screentime than Velvette so far, so why should we as the audience believe that she's the "backbone of the Vs" and thats why she's feels like she can be disrespectful to Camilla and Zestial? The show doesn't even directly acknowledge that Velvette is the newest and youngest of the overlords, thats information given to us from????Instragram??? Why is Velvette the "backbone of the Vs"?? I'm not saying they should have done a whole backstory episode before this scene, I'm saying there should have at least been a scene foreshadowing Velvette being the mastermind behind the Vs' power or something.

And both the issues with Camilla ad Velvette tie back into how they're talking about starting a fucking WAR with HEAVEN?????????? We barely know anything about the conflict between Heaven and Hell why would a war between the two being a real threat in the mind of the audience??? And what does any of this Overlord drama have to do with Charlie's mission to rehabilitate sinners??? They don't care about the new extermination date because of Charlie's mission they just don't want to fucking die.

Its way too soon to be talking about all this with characters we as the audience barely know. None of this had anything to do with the hotel or Charlie's goals.

So in conclusion to this section, the writers at Hazbin have done the same thing they did with Helluva, which is: They expect the audience to care about the characters and the plot without actually giving us a reason why. Because the pilot was so popular and was the only thing we had of Hazbin for 4 years, they decided that the pilot's popularity was good enough to take the place of actual character establishing work. They felt like since the pilot already generated a large fanbase, they didn't need to do any of the work to get the audience to care about the characters and the plot because they already do. So now the writers are charging ahead with all this fluff and drama, talking about things that are irrelevant to the premise without re-establishing anything because they felt like the pilot are did that for them. Long time fans are gonna eat this all up regardless because we've been waiting for more episodes for YEARS, but Hazbin is going to have a very hard time gaining any new audience on a mainstream platform like Prime Video because the show is incomplete. No casual viewer scrolling through Prime is going to want to click off of Prime, log onto YouTube and watch the 45 minute pilot in order to then understand Hazbin Hotel the series. Causal viewers are going to watch the first episode thinking "Oh I've heard of this lets see what the hype is all about" and then be super confused on whats happening and who all these characters are and quickly loose interest. No one wants to do homework in order to enjoy a show. At least with Helluva Boss the entire show is on YouTube and the official playlist with all the episodes includes the pilot so new viewers don't have to leave the platform. Hazbin already has a second season confirmed right out of the gate, and the fanbase is already large enough to keep the show going (hopefully), but honestly I fear Viv and her team are gonna have a really hard time getting their numbers to grow because of these choices. Lets see how all this plays out.

There's one more thing that I wanted to bring up because it is a glaring issue but people have been talking about it since the pilot so I'll keep it brief.

Character Designs and Color Palette

Yes, Viv's artstyle suffers from "Tumblr Sexyman Syndrome".

Every other character wears a suit and bowtie. Which makes sense for some of them, Charlie and Vox in specifically. Charlie is a princess so she dresses formally and Vox is a business man. (Although why does Vox wear a bowtie and not a regular necktie?)

Alastor, Sir Pentious, and Angel however? Why? I get how a suit and tie could fit into their respective aesthetics, but there are also different outfits from their respective time periods that could have made more sense and would have easily solved this issue.

By having every other character wear the same outfit, we loose the sense that all these characters are from different periods of time and places. Which is a shame because Hell is the PERFECT setting to have all these different time periods collide in a way that makes sense.

No one questions why a 1940s gangster from New York, an English inventor from 1830s London, a radio host from 1930s Louisiana, a housemaid from the 1950s, a Vegas gambler from idk when, etc... are all in the same location because they're all in Hell. They all died at different periods in time but they all ended up in the same place! It was such a missed opportunity to have fun with this hogpoge of different aesthetics and it sucks because it would have been so visually interesting and engaging!

It also doesn't help that almost everyone is wearing red. And not just red, but the same shade of red as the fucking SKY. Like look at this shit:

Like rip to any colorblind person trying to watch this.

I'm genuinely shocked that this wasn't corrected while redesigning the main cast. Viv went to the School of Visual Arts (SVA), one of the top schools for animation on the East Coast. I refuse to believe she didn't learn how bad this in school.

This is one of the only areas in which Helluva Boss is actually better than Hazbin. The imps all have the same color palette, red white and black, but because they regularly travel to other rings of Hell, earth, and interact with other beings in Hell like, sinners, succubi, hellhounds, the Sins, etc.... they stand out. The imps don't blend into the background (as often) like the Hazbin cast does.

But because the Hazbin cast can't travel to the other rings of Hell according to the lore (which I don't mind), then it was up to Viv and the other designers on the team to find a creative solution to make the characters stand out against the bright red sky. Instead they made it infinitely worse than the pilot by putting everyone in red.

At least in the pilot, Charlie wore pink and black, Vaggie wore grey and white, Angel wore white, Nifty had a splash of yellow etc... But now literally 90% of the cast is in the same shade of bright red as Alastor and the SKY. Like we get it they're in Hell they don't need to wear red to convey that because the SKY is red and has a fucking PENTAGRAM IN IT. We know the hotel is in Hell it doesn't need to be red either

The best scenes in the show visually so far are when the characters aren't outside or in the hotel. For example:

Charlie in the Heaven clocktower, Angel dancing in Poison, Angel and Husk outside the bar (I know I just said when they aren't outside but that background has enough variety of color that it actually works very well)

I am honest to God baffled how this wasn't corrected. Its like, Character Design 101, how was Viv allowed to get away with this?

Anyway

CW: brief mention of abuse

Those are my first impressions on Hazbin Hotel the official series. I know there are only 4 episodes out but the fact that the series started like this is genuinely concerning. Viv was given the opportunity of a lifetime, what started as a indie project was picked up by a well respected studio and distributed by Prime Video. She gained a massive fanbase right off the bat and had all the tools to make this series something special. People are tired of the oversaturation of remakes and reboots and sequels and prequels and spin offs and live actions and whatever that seeing a new show with a whole new concept and setting and characters is exciting! Not many big studios are willing to invest in bold new ideas anymore. People are starving for something new, but when the new stuff is, well, this, its pretty disappointing.

I'm going to continue watching Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss because despite the many glaring issues both shows have, I do still find them entertaining.

I don't mind all the swearing, (even when it does get annoying), I don't mind the sense of humor, I'm not too offended by the Tumblr Sexyman artstyle. I'm a musical theater lover, so I don't mind the musical numbers, especially with such a stacked talented cast. I can personally handle darker, more intense topics like Angel's abuse.

I was excited for the series to premiere, I'm excited for future episodes, and I honestly believe the reason why I still find these shows enjoyable is because I love doing breakdowns like this. I love analyzing the media I consume, I love understanding how and why shows fail, and bad shows have more to analyze than good shows do lmfao.

And don't get me wrong, there are things about the series that I really love as they are! But that's for a different post lol.

If you're still reading this I hope you enjoyed my review Hazbin Hotel so far. I know in the past I said I was prepared to not engage with the fandom at all because there was too much drama and the hatedom is honestly equally, if not more annoying than the fandom, but I couldn't resist doing a whole long ass post about the show, jaja. I have too much fun with this sort of stuff!

[bagheerita]

I'm over my disappointment that there are no alien incursions in an episode titled "Incursion" and I kind of love the SGU s1 finale. For all that the show spent the whole season impressed with itself for being different and edgy, they had to end it with a classic Stargate season finale cliffhanger. Just in case you forgot you were watching Stargate.

And like... "Incursion" is a 2 parter, but there's really only 1 & 1/2 episodes worth of material here. They had time to resolve at least one of the several plot threads they left hanging instead of padding it out with filler scenes of Eli & Chloe almost getting sucked out an airlock and a few slow-motion shots of Scott and Greer running, but no. This is a Stargate season finale bitch, everything sucks, come back next season to figure out who lived. Still think some blue aliens would have really made it better but. they don't pay me to write shows i guess

I guess technically it's a 3 part finale because "Subversion" really is tied very closely to "Incursion". (They even named it the way they did lmao) "Subversion" is a pretty tight episode, and really pretty good. I don't like "Incursion" as much, but I guess that's because it's where everything unspools, and watching people lose control is less interesting to me than watching them exercising it and trying to debate whether or not they think it's being exercised correctly. (I absolutely love Young's completely diffident "please disregard that request"- Camile's command is not an order but a request hot damn dude. Brody is behind him 100%. Scott has no fucking clue what is even happening; he can't handle it and it's great.)

In "Subversion," Kiva is utterly terrifying. (So much congrats for have 3 episodes to create, establish, and then deconstruct a character I will easily call one of the scariest people in all of Stargate, and doing it so well.) She can command anyone to do anything for her; she gives the impression of being fully willing to do it herself if necessary but she doesn't have to. She can promise not to kill you and she will not have to break that promise because Varro already understands that taking out the trash is his job. However, in "Incursion" she starts shooting people herself; she specifically kills Rivers without any motive other than frustration and thwarted power. Yeah it highlights that she's willing to do anything and she does not care, but it's also a massive downgrade in the power and control she was able to demonstrate in just the previous episode. I love the way she tries to hold things together as her plans fall apart.

Young has a plan in "Subversion" which, ironically, everyone thinks is based around him being willing to sacrifice Telford's life, and by extension Rush's, but in "Incursion" it's revealed that Young is unwilling to sacrifice anyone's life (on his team anyway), which makes his plans all unravel entirely, especially given how Kiva is established to be his exact opposite in this. I already know Young spends the first part of s2 falling apart, but it's cool to realize that it's already happening here. And I love O'Neill specifically pointing out to Young that we included 2 minutes of Carter in this episode just so she could demonstrate being a better commander than Young. Ouch dude.

It's really very well put together for a s1 finale though technically I guess they've been doing this for 15 years at this point. It's hard to see it all with the shaky cam and the lens flare, but there's good stuff in there.