#why i fucking hate rey as a protagonist

[ghost-on-a-string]

finally

the (semi) long awaited hux longpost! before i get into any of it though, some disclaimers:

1. i have never read the star wars comics and honestly i never will. i like star wars enough to watch clone wars and suffer through the sequel films. that's it.

2. i will not be giving all my thoughts on hux as a character because then i can make more posts and i like when the numbers go up

3. as i said, i have not read the comics. i honestly only half watched rise of skywalker. this won't be super accurate to the star wars lore or anything like that, this is for fun

4. on that note, while this isn't going to be super serious, there are still heavy and sensitive topics, primarily child abuse and neglect, so if those things bother you, please sit this out

actual longpost/shitty character analysis below the cut

how does one start with a character like hux? despite how little screen time he actually gets in the movies, he's incredibly complex, even before you get into the comics. there's a lot to be said about him, even if you only have context from the movies. and while i could (and probably will) make a separate longpost about how last jedi not only fucked the entire trilogy over, but specifically ruined the character of hux by making a genuine threat into a joke within the first 15 minutes, not today my friends.

i will mostly be focusing on hux in the force awakens, using things from the rise of skywalker and what little i know about his backstory in the comics.

1st it must be stated: i do not like any of the other characters in the squeal trilogy. i don't hate most of them, but i either don't have an opinion on them (finn, rose, bb8 kind of, maaz, kylo to an extent), or i genuinely hate the character entirely (rey, she'll get a longpost later). a lot of it is because most of these characters don't have a lot of personality, which is a problem the sequel trilogy has as a whole. even returning characters are bland or weirdly mean

yes, you can argue that hux doesn't really have a personality either. however, compared to others characters (cough cough rey), he is dripping with personality, if you look a little closer. the first example that comes to mind is the speech scene. when he yells, there is genuine malace, hatred and fury in his voice. he isnt just yelling to be loud, he's yelling because he demands respect, terror and power.

it makes sense why he would want those things, especially when you look at his background in the comics. hux is a bastard child, his father was abusive and neglectful. he probably grew up feeling in adequate and out of control. he grew up in terror, so he is going to inflict that terror on others.

(i also want it to be known, i don't think hux is a good person. he's sympathetic, and with his backstory you can understand why he did what he did, but he also literally blew up several planets so. a little different.)

even in his smaller interactions, he seems stiff. while part of that is probably because no one had any personality, part of it could be purposeful. hux is a character desperately grasping for respect and control. he's stiff because then he can control how the conversations he has go. he's cold and confident because people respect those with plans who present those plans calmly. in tros, hux says "i don't care who wins. i just need kylo ren to lose." he's more focused on the way those around him look. because if they look bad, he looks better, he looks more confident, more in control. even after he's dead, he needs to be respected, feared, whatever. he can't let himself be seen as anything other than entirety perfect.

hux doesn't have a personality, because he can't let himself have anything other than utter perfection. he would rather be feared, loathed and respected than simply appreciated and forgotten.

[casp1an-sea]

Rey Rant

I want to preface this with, this is not me hating on Rey. This is me hating on her writing, which I think most can agree is bad, and critiquing her character. But obviously, if you disagree with some of this, you are perfectly entitled to.

I was just watching a TikTok video about how many female characters in Star Wars and other pieces of media that are shown to be strong female characters, are just characters that have received their character development prior to the movie or show and are really just there to help the development of the other male characters in the movie or show

The main examples being Leia and Padme they both know what they’re going to fight for, and are sure of themselves from a young age, and really just act as catalysts for the development of their love interests

Then he explained when they try to write female characters with flaws, they are typically not as well received as male characters who are similarly flawed

Other people were listing examples of this like Hera and Omega and stuff so I was thinking

Rey is a prime example of this in my opinion. I don’t really think she has a huge character flaw in the movies. They Don’t really do a good job of showing her working to achieve the specific goals that could otherwise make her character more dynamic. She learns how to pilot the falcon almost instantly. She learns how to use the force and the light saber with very little training. There’s no reason for her to be able to do any of these things this quickly, but the movies didn’t really give her that chance to struggle with her new powers. She also has a strong, moral compass from the beginning and well that can work because Luke also had that, she loses a lot of that intrigue when she does have the power to go with it. Again, kind of portraying her as this perfect woman. Which in some cases can be fine to a degree if written well, but I think the issue with why she doesn’t work as well as Leia and Padme to me. Is that she is meant to be the protagonist

I think it’s clear that the movies were written in a way that Finn or Kylo could more easily fit the role of protagonist. Specifically Finn. They both have interesting back stories prominent flaws (at least in TFA) and moral dilemmas, that could be developed over the movies. But I’ve always seen Rey as very stagnant. At least till TROS where they didn’t know what the fuck they were doing and threw everything out the window, but that’s a whole other story.

Rey was set up to be one of those Leia or Padme characters but she wasn’t put in the right role to carry out that type of characters job. And I’m not saying that’s what they should’ve done. It’s bad they keep doing this. I’m just saying they suck at writing women no matter how they do it, and they really shot themselves in the foot with her.

They’re too scared to make female characters not perfect. And when they do try to make them flawed, these female characters, get overly criticized by sexists, and Disney likes to listen to the haters more than the real Fans. (Cough acolyte)

anyway, that’s all I got just had to get this off my chest

[freezethunder]

Top 5 dra/sdra2 characters

I'll do both because it seems like fun and I want to differentiate them

Top 5 DRA Characters

1. Akane

As far as supporting characters go, Akane Taira is certianly up there. She’s positive and very trusting of those she hold dear to, which is very heartbreaking seeing how she dull and empty she became at the start of chapter 3. And of course we have to talk about her mastermind personality. I think it is very shocking how someone so close to the cast, especially the protagonist could be the mastermind behind their killing game. It’s like Tsumugi done right! Not much has changed about her from her time with the cast, she’s just very unhinged and incredibly acrobatic to make all those leaps. Look at her go. I like Akane a lot out of the main cast and dare say she even beats some of the canon characters in most aspects.

2. Rei

Female and Better Byakuya. I’m kinda cheating here honestly this list is of DRA characters but I’m also taking into account her time from SDRA2 sooooooooo…..Rei. Like I said previously, obviously a female Byakuya, I mean she even shares some of the same sprites as him as well as the notes. A tall, smart, and stuck-up jerk who constantly berates the crew and doesn’t want to put up with them for a majority of the run time. Golly, where have I seen this before?~ The reason why she is so much better than her predecessor comes down to two factors. One, her growth comes from not finding the game boring or not wanting to participate like long legged lemon boy, but rather; “…..well fuck. These sentiments got to me. Now I have to help” And two, how she behaves when we next see her in other material, primarily SDRA2. She’s a lot more emotional and compassionate, even striking Tsurugi during that shit he pulled in Chapter 6. Like, let’s go girl! Yaaas! Get hiiiim! Queen shit!

3. Utsuro

I want to go more in depth on the masterminds at a later date, so for now I’ll just say I’m very on the fence about. There are some days I like him and some days I don’t. But I will say that the twist of the protagonist being the mastermind was done really here, and in order to get to the true ending, you have to go down the darker path which is a really nice twist and one I can’t say I could have done better.

4. Teruya

Also kind of cheating with this one but uhhh…sue me :/ Anyway, Teruya was one of the comedic goofballs right behind Haruhiko and Satsuki. Single brain cell trio. I also love his growth, from fighting with Haruhiko in Chapter 4 to wearing his goggles the rest of the game, that character design I love to see! And it carries over in the sequel too. Having Teruya be the one with the killing game experience is a neat concept, even if that aspect wasn’t used all that much. A shame what happened to him though(STUPIDFUCKINGPSYCHOCOPTSURUGIIHATEYOUIHATEYOU-)

5. Kanata

Kanata is a sweet girl, nothing more too it than that. But there ain’t nothing wrong with being a simple, polite, short cinnamon bun. And it really was a shame she had to go like that, I would have liked her to stick around some more. And I’m kind of interested to see what really was LINUJ’s intended purpose for her was……..y’know considering another character he made in the sequel, I don’t want to know actually, Nevermind.

Top 5 SDRA2 Characters

1. Sora

I want to go more in depth with the protagonist’s another day too, but let me just say that SORA IS AN AWESOME CHARACTER AND PROTAGONIST! HELD BACK BY THE FACT THAT SHE ISNT ENTIRELY CANON! SHE WOULD DO GREAT THERE! Ahem! …..Sorry. I love everything about Sora, her sassy attitude, her snarky comments, even hints of showing something darker within her. Sora is a top tier character in my book!

2. Mikado

Also want to talk more about him at a later date, but Mikado is my favorite mastermind! Hands down, bar none, literally beating all of the ones from the main cast! Revealing him right from the jump was genius, because then it was the cast constantly hating him and roasting him. He’s so wacky and goofy that for half of the game, you kinda forget he even is the mastermind. From his charming personality to his cool design and powers, Mikado Sannoji carries the entire game on his back along with Sora.

3. Yoruko

A pink haired love interest for the sassy amnesiac protagonist? Where have I seen this before?~ In all seriousness I think Yoruko’s cool. Her angry behavior and yelling at others can get old at times and some are even unwarranted such in Chapter 4 to Yuki, but underneath that facade lies a girl that is trying her best to protect those close to her after some many hardships in the past. Her relationship is Sora is just adorable and it’s crazy that after Chapter 4 and beyond, she’s the most sane person there. Yoruko may be a tsun-dried-tomato, but she’s the best tsun-dried-tomato Ive ever seen. (Can tomatoes be pink?)

4. Hibiki

Before playing the game: Oh wow, a bully character to the shy girl, again?! Oh geeeez! I can already tell I’m not gonna like her.

After playing the game: OH MY GOOOOD! IM SORRY HIBIKI SWEETIE! DID NOT DESERVE ANY OF THAT!

Getting right to it, I think Hibiki should have survived! Unlike Hiyoko who’s only character development relegated to a blink and you’ll miss it moment in the third chapter. Hibiki was trying from the end of Chapter 2 onwards, so why waste the actually, good, DEVELOPMENT?! I guess it is interesting to see a Chapter 3 with only one victim and two killers this time, but there was no need to drag Hibiki down with it. The general consensus is right, this was wasted potential. Go look up some Hibiki lives AU to ease the pain.

5. Iroha

Ahto-Bleh incarnate. Iroha seemed like the overly kind, ditzy sort of character made for comedic relief, and she is. But making her out to be one of the voids was pretty neat I suppose. It does set her up for some development to overthrow and turn her back Mikado to be with her friends and, …wait what? That, that didn’t happen…? ……GOD FUCKING DAMMIT LINUJ! So Iroha just stays this bratty, annoying, and fearful child the whole way through and learns nary a thing in the process. So I have to ask: why even bother?! Now you may be wondering, why is she high let alone top 5 if I have these issues with her. Well for one, I think she’s kind of funny with all her reactions and expressions, plus knowing the identity of one of the Voids in the group builds tension, and her drawing book has helped several times in trials. And it could just be me imagining a better character than what we actually received. Death to the author folks!

[darklyndivinely]

I finished reading the shadow and bone series and I've got thoughts and some unpopular opinions so let's go. Spoilers for the books btw.

I downloaded the books back in April 2021. I saw six of crows being recommended everywhere and wanted to read the whole of the story. I remember coming here on Tumblr to scope out the vibe of the books as well as to read some reviews perhaps. What I learned then was that people hated Malina, loved the Darkling, and hated the ending. I did try to start reading the first book back then, but got distracted.

I picked them up again a week ago after watching season 2 of the show. The majority don't like Mal, albeit Show!Mal is a bit more loved. Perhaps it was the awareness of this already widely agreed upon opinion of everyone's or maybe it was just the image of Archie Renaux in my mind, but I did not hate Mal at all. I actually really understood him. I'm not saying he's the best love interest. He's not. He's got some glaring flaws. But he cares for Alina. And he's done some mistakes. He was an absolute ass to her, but he apologized. He admitted his mistakes and tried to do better. You can't tell me that you wouldn't try to distance yourself from the person that you are in love with if you realised that that is the good thing to do. He can be shitty, and absolutely terrible at communication, and he's got some bad coping mechanisms, but he's human. I don't know why the fandom doesn't try to understand him.

Let's move on to Alina, who despite being the protagonist, isn't as loved as I had expected. Many people said that she's a Mary Sue. That she just doesn't have flaws and starts and ends the same way. I'll admit it can be a bit difficult to see it, but I thought she really grew into herself. She was more confident, cunning, outspoken, understood different people's perspectives and experiences better. And she's absolutely hilarious (I was thinking of compiling all the bits from her that made me wheeze). She isn't a total Mary Sue (maybe a bit, I'll admit that). The answer is clear when you compare her to an actual Mary Sue character like Rey Skywalker from the Star wars sequels.

Her story has a circular ending. She starts as a nobody and that's how she finishes. I'm still a bit sceptical about it. I'm with it, but I'm also not. The foreshadowing for it (the soldiers of light bit) was decent. Her losing her powers made sense, cause if she hadn't she wouldn't ever be able to be at peace again, she'd have to spend her entire life shouldering the burden of being a one of a kind grisha and a saint. But I also do not like how she's being forced to live without them when it was so integral to her well being. The loss of them has been described as the loss of a limb. And I feel deeply for her.

I really enjoy Nikolai, he's absolutely hilarious. Misha is baby. Tolya and Tamar are amazing (wtf why aren't there more fics about them????).

Moving on to The Darkling. I do not ship Darklina, but I did enjoy the connection they had for the entirety of the third book. The confidence of telling Alina his name touched me a bit. What I really enjoyed, however, was the way he isn't portrayed as a complete morally black character. He's done fucked up shit but when you look at it from his perspective you realise that all that he has been through, the pain, the heartache and the betrayals have led him to shy away from attachments. He's not redeemable, and that's fine. I don't ship him with Alina, but I can appreciate the underlying intent for his actions. He did them the only way he knew how.

Overall, I really enjoyed the books. Gonna move on to Six of Crows now. If you read all of this, I appreciate it <3

[papirouge]

Since you're talking about pedophilia can we talk about the use and sexualization of the word lolita? I hate that word SO much it's unreal but also why are there products and even brands named after that book? There's literally a clothing brand in my country geared towards tween and teen girls with that word in its name (and no, its not clothing from that japanese trend or inspired by it). Like that word literally means an attractive/seductive young girl, since in the book the pedophile protagonist nicknames his 12 year old stepdaughter that (her real name is Dolores I think), yet nobody gives a fuck. I'm starting to think radfems are right when they say people don't take pedophilia when it's against girls seriously, specially if they're tweens or older. Like somewhat recently a major's son was caught raping a 12 year old, and all his father had to say was a message to parents telling them to lock their daughters if they didnt want that happening to them :/

Also as a side note why does it seem so many radfems like lana del rey? Didnt she write songs romanticizing all of that lolita crap?? And people say "oh, but she did that when she was younger". Bro, she was literally 23, she should have known better. Perhaps i'm exaggerating but I've seen and heard so much shit in my life, I feel like little girls should be radfems n°1 priority... I know it's not all of them but still, I even saw one say lolita was one of her fav books, like it messes me up because I always found her so smart and well spoken (written?), and I don't give a fuck that that book doesn't condone pedophilia because it has done more damage than good to this world

Society will literally sexualize every single inches of female body and experience, anon 💀

Remember creeps installing snitch camera in women's restroom? ...yeah.

And radfem can be full of shit so you wouldn't think that much of them liking fucked_my_way up_to_the_top.mp3 Lana del Rey. Sip they're good take but don't forget that in the end of the day, most of them are mentally ill women with a bunch of Nigel in the closet, and coping with their not so glorious (pickme) past by harassing non rad women for not being feminist enough.

Your last sentence is so real : there's been plentiful of post explaining how lolita was critical of grooming but it shows how scrote culture can hijack and twist the message off an initially wholesome material.

And scote will ALWAYS accuse female victims before male abusers. Just today I was watching a video of a Christian channel featuring an abused women who was exploited in the porn industry, and guess what? There were so called Christians scrote downplaying her struggle and making snark comment abt her posing for nude videos... (I couldn't help but make a comment to call them out lmao - I'm the "yona" commenter lol)

[szasza-chan]

I’m really jealous of everybody who can enjoy Buddy Daddies because this anime makes me so angry.

I KNEW that nothing will happen between Rei and Kazuki but still the whole presentation is just... ARGH!

Yeah, its not a 1:1 Spy x Family copy but still try to ride that wave, don’t fool yourself! But it would be more obvious with a straight couple, so why not make this show with two dudes? Genius! In that way, they can get the queer people and fujoshis/fudanshis’ money, but they won’t make their relationships gay, so everybody can “safely” watch it. That’s just disgusting to me.

I’ve already seen people saying that they’re happy that it’s not gay, so they can enjoy and watch it. Because, you know, if it’s gay and you’re straight, its physically impossible to you to watch something. *irony* And on the other hand people are like “yeah I know they won’t gonna get together but stll ship them”. Yeah, that’s the problem. They knew that a lot of people still gonna watch it and ship the protagonists, and that’s enough for them, because they already got your money. Even though they spit you in the face.

Do I want that Rei and Kazuki have sex? Hell no, who tell you that? This is not that type of anime, so of course it’s totally okay if they have a more “kid friendly” relationship. But I still would like to see some confirmation that they’re together, or get together later. A meaningful handholding, or a romantic hug. But this never gonna happen. Is there a chance that one of the guys is bisex? Of course, but you never gonna know it because in Japan media, there are no bi people (except if they want to make a gay character “straight”, like Mikasa in Fuuka, who “was” gay for 200+ chapters, and then he fell in love with his female teacher under tho chapters and got together... yeah, fuck you Seo Kouji, you coward bastard!)

I hate when people say that Japan is some safe place, where feminism and wokeness and “gay agenda” are unknown because it’s just not true. They has a lot of feminist manga/anime (like the whole mahou shoujo genre) and they has queer anime/manga from like the ‘80/’90s. CLAMP, Ikuhara, Yoshida Akimi all had LGBTQ+ characters, few years ago we had Yuri!! on Ice and Sarazanmai, so it’s not like that Japan is no capable of making queer media. But you’re naive if you think its as easy as in the west. They’re still very conservative and it’s hard to make real, uncensored queer anime, without resriction.

Of course I don’t say that it’s absolutely bad if somebody like this anime, or you’re a bad person, if you ship Kazuki and Rei. You watch what you want to watch, and like what you want to like. As I said, I’m just jealous, because I want to like it but can’t. I’m still hoping that in the end I will look like a fool, because they get together, but I know they won’t. It’s just another fujoshi-bait anime, which is okay, I like a lot of these type of shows (like Free! or S8 Infinity), but this is just feel bad.

[alligatorjesie]

Hey there.

First off, if you dislike reylo then you kinda dislike the entire sequel trilogy, which is your right God fucking knows there is not a single Star Wars fan alive who enjoys every single Star Wars movie from start to finish myself included, but you're right fucked in the head if you honestly think reylo was not end goal of the MAIN PROTAGONIST and MAIN ANTAGONIST from the start.

This is like really hating the prequel trilogies because for some reason you went in not knowing Anakin and Padame hooked up and you personally felt like Padame and Obi Wan had better chemistry and can't process the fact Anakin and Padame being a thing is literally why the next 6 movies even fucking occur so now you take it out on the Anakin/Padame shippers since the characters they ship dominated the screen time in the movies about them.

The shippers are not the reason the prequel movies sucked balls or didn't suck balls.

The Ship Is The Point Of The Movie.

You say the reylo undid what was set up in the first movie? YOU MEAN THE REYLO THAT WAS SET UP IN THE FIRST MOVIE?

It's really not that weird how the fans were able to sus this one out by actually watching these movies start to finish without letting our focus deviate a single time then proceeding to do that a bunch more because we actually enjoyed the movies.

Also by how all of the most interesting scenes are between the main STARS of the movies, Daisy and Adam.

Like the bridal carry scene.

Or the scene where he ' interrogates ' Rey which is laughable when people call this a rape/torture scene. I don't know too many rape/tortures that end with the offender being bested then running off to his master to cry about it.

We saw what Kylo Actually Torturing someone looks like a few short minutes earlier with Poe and I hate to fucking tell you all this but this scene is not the same as that last scene with Poe and we know because at no point does Rey SCREAM IN AGONY.

Or it was that scene towards the end where instead of just yeeting Rey off the side of a fucking cliff Kylo calmly waits for her to decide after he offers to be her teacher.

I went back and counted by the way, he lets her sit there and think it over for

27 Seconds

Nearly a full fucking minute.

And don't get me started on The Last Jedi.

That movie is basically Star Wars: Episode 8: The Reylo Movie

I enjoy Finn as much as the next guy but Finn is not a MAIN character in these movies, so it's very fucking bold of you to assume the reason his character got shafted was because a small group of fans shipped 2 of the MAIN CHARACTERS together who kept SELFISHLY taking all the spotlight IN THEIR OWN MOVIE and not the fact JJ Assbrams can't write a black character without making him a joke that:

Exists in the narrative almost solely as a 'GOTCHA' marketing ploy because JJ wanted his fucking mystery boxes and trying to figure out who the main character was going to be was one of those mysteries, unfortunately for Finn.

Is forced to drink out of a filthy water bowl with an animal, for the laughs.

Is a janitor, which is also just played out for laughs because why not?

Making him go toe to toe with the big baddy in the first movie only to injure him almost instantly to the point he's out of the game the rest of the movie.

Never progresses past the stage of yelling the main characters name for reasons of, and I'm assuming here but I feel like I might be correct ever since EP9 was released and this trend weirdly continued, just not fucking know what else dialogue to give him.

... Bold.

Super bold when you consider Finn gets more screen time than Kylo in every single movie so his character development being dogshit sure as fuck ain't got dick to do with him not getting enough screen time.

Anywhoots. The reylos are not the reason Finn got a bad character arc. That's the daffiest fucking shit I've ever fucking read.

Bitch, you think the reylos wrote the new Star Wars movies?

I fucking wish. They would have ended a lot fuckin' better than how they did.

Reylo The Ship is also not the reason these movies are 'bad', the quality of a movie being such a subjective thing as it is but thinking The Ship is the reason they're bad means you didn't understand these movies From The Fucking Start.

The ship is the POINT of these movies, why the fuck else would they make the main villain blood related to every single goddamn OG character in this 9 movie epic if they had zero fucking intention of redeeming him, in this movie series about REDEEMING EVIL CHARACTERS?

YOU didn't like them because YOU obviously didn't understand them or care about the characters in them, which is fine whatever you do you boo.

There are plenty of people who did like them and understood them perfectly.

So get off our dicks about it.

I can't believe we live in the timeline where the Reylos won.

[number-1-kuaidul-fanboy]

Yugioh Characters Tier Lists

Duel Monsters:

DM either has the most amazing characters ever (Kaiba, Marik, Mai, Bakura, Joey/Jonouchi) or the most boring useless ones (Tea/Anzu, Tristan/Honda, everyone else I put in the dislike category). There’s really not much in-between. Noah and Gozaburo meanwhile are in hate because they’re OP and obnoxious. Bandit Keith meanwhile is obnoxious but a weak bitch. Overall those characters in the love category were the main ones keeping me coming back to this show.

I’ll talk a little about the characters I put under conflicted. Dartz was admittedly a decent, albeit bland villain for most of season 4. I like how he cleverly manipulated everyone into joining him. His out of nowhere redemption meanwhile is worse than Pegasus’s. By a lot. Rebecca is conflicted because she’s annoying but does cool stuff in season four. Valon is conflicted because he has an interesting backstory but I hate the way he treats Mai. Take no for an answer you dickwad.

GX:

Yes, I fucking hate that principal. Every single time something goes wrong at the school, he takes off and leaves the kids to die. Chronos is the one who’s actually there to make sure the kids aren’t fucking dying, and he gets zero credit for it! In conclusion, Chronos: good boi, principal: SCUM OF THE EARTH.

Tania is conflicted because I don’t like her in her intro episode but I do kinda like her in her minor role in season 3. Rei is the same way, only I like Rei more. I used to really not like Rei but now I kinda do. Fubuki is conflicted because I hate the way he treats his sister but he’d be really funny without that and honestly, I like his connections with Ryo and Yusuke. Fubuki vs Hell Kaiser is a great duel. Anyone vs Hell Kaiser is a great duel but you get my point.

Also, this show has the best cast of any of the Yugioh shows, I love these darlings. Judai best protag, Yubel best villain, Ryo second best villain, Manjome best rival (I relate so hard to him feeling like a failure in his family), and Johan and Yubel best love interests. I KNOW WHAT I SAID >:D

5Ds:

YUSEI YOU PRICK. I MAY NOT HAVE BEEN BORED BY LARGE CHUNKS OF THIS SHOW IF THERE WAS A PROTAGONIST WITH A PERSONALITY OUTSIDE OF “Oh I’m such a badass, I never form relationships that are in any way interesting or talk to anyone unless it’s to tell them how wrong they are for not wanting to forgive their abusers.” When he’s not pretentious, he’s boring. If any other character had been the protagonist, I might have seen this show as the masterpiece others do.

Also, this tier list left out Martha and it upsets me. She is among the handful of characters I like from this show. She’s a good mom to her three adopted children, two of whom are also great characters: Jack, the second best rival of YGO with a great character arc, and Crow, who is just the absolute sweetest. Also, Aki and Carly are the best YGO girls. Carly’s pretty much the only time the “doesn’t duel much if at all” character actually worked and it’s because she still had development, (and even a profession outside of duelling which is really rare for this series actually) it was just rooted in something that wasn’t rooted in dueling or a shallow love interest. Yes, she develops as a person because of Jack. Jack was the catalyst to her growth. But you know what? That actually went both ways, Jack grew as a person because of Carly, Carly grew as a person because of Jack. She’s wonderful and amazing and I love her.

Also, I don’t think I need to argue in Aki’s favour, but she’s fucking amazing and I relate to her narrative a lot.

Zexal:

Anna scares me. I’ll admit she had some character development in Zexal 2 but she still terrifies me. Why does a 13 year old have a flying shotgun and an inability to take ‘no’ for an answer?

Is it hypocritical that I call Anna a demon and yet like Cathy and appreciate her development in the background? Probably. BUT WHY DOES SHE HAVE A FLYING CANON?!

Besides Anna, most of my disliked Zexal characters are petty. Orbital’s there because of the Obomi romance and Tetsuo is there because of his simping for Rio. Everyone else is at least tolerable. The best characters are the aliens, especially the sexy awful bastard Vector and the sweet bean Astral. I won’t say who the other aliens are, because that would be spoiling and Zexal seems to be one of the least watched shows.

Arc V:

I love Arc V dammit. I love seeing alternate dimension versions of characters from past shows, I love that all the summoning types are in it, I love how the characters learn to use them and combine them and alter their styles based on them, I love the four counterparts thing. I admit Synchro dimension and onward have problems (and some characters got completely fucked by the narrative) but you know what this show had almost 100% of the time? CHARM AND FUN. And that’s what I watch Yugioh for :D

The one character I’m conflicted on is Reiji/Declan Akaba. He seemed cool at first and then was callous about bringing kids to war (the way he treated Layra especially disgusted me) but he does have some badass moments here and there and showed at least the slightest amount of growth by the end of the series, which is more than I can say for some.

[slugtranslation-hypmic]

Hihihi this is may be a weird question but is your opinion on the main hypmic cast?

In brief:

(Spoiler alert: It was not brief. Stuck under a cut for length)

Ichirou: He's a good kid. I wasn’t super into him at first, as main protagonists very rarely hold my interest, but I appreciate him now for the struggles he goes through and the growth he’s experienced across the series.

Jirou: Jirou is also a good kid in his own way. I didn’t know what to do with him for a while, but now I feel like I understand him too. I don’t think he quite gets what makes Ichirou be as loved as he is, nor does he really understand what makes people love him for who he is. But that’s okay. He’ll get it someday.

Saburou: If you had tasked me as a fourteen year old to create an idealized anime boy sona, I would have come up with someone shockingly similar to Saburou. I’m fond of him. He can be a bit mean at times in a very fourteen way, but deep down, he’s a good kid too. All the BBs are good kids.

Samatoki: I just can’t not make fun of him. His posturing is so ridiculous to me that I am constantly filled with the urge to clown on him. Oh, you think you’re so tough? You think you’re a big tough guy? Well, I’m just a little bastard; what are you going to do about it? But underneath the posturing, I do feel sorry for him and admire his strengths a lot. He’s a good kid too under a very funny exterior.

Juuto: I’m enjoying learning more about him from the BB/MTC+ manga, but I’m a bit surprised at how much of a dick he is even deep down. Still, he has plenty of good qualities too, and I like him in a vague sort of way. I’d throw fruit at him over a fence but wouldn’t put any malice in it.

Riou: What a delightful individual he is. The BB/MTC chapter about him really resonated with me. For a character so outwardly obsessed with the military, Riou has an incredible understanding of the weight of his actions and such a deep appreciation for every living thing. There’s a lot of his depth to his simplicity, and the level of care he exhibits towards everyone is delightful to witness. An absolute favorite among the cast.

Ramuda: Self-recognition through the other (derogatory). In all seriousness, Ramuda’s story arc and actions are great narrative tools for me to examine some things about myself and grow to try to be a better, more considerate person towards myself and others. I want to see him achieve freedom and happiness.

Gentarou: I enjoy Gentarou quite a bit, although I think he gets overshadowed by the other members of Fling Posse at times due to my sheer passion for Dice and Ramuda. He’s my favorite character to translate at the moment, which is apparently heresy among Hypmic translators. More than the sheer fun of writing his witty banter, I find him to be a very intriguing individual, and I’m excited to learn more about him. I want his happiness too.

Dice: Oh, Dice... He’s a really good kid in a way that the BBs could never be. He’s deceptively good, and he does choose to hurt other people and himself in ways that characters like Ichirou don’t. But he also finds the goodness in the oddest places, like a person finding a coin in a cracked sidewalk, and that’s delightful. His narrative is one of the most compelling for me. What a champion of a character.

Jakurai: Wow, what a good foil for Ramuda. Let me bounce narratives off of you like a mirror. I’m slowly learning to find him compelling in his own right, however. This is also a self-recognition through the other (derogatory) scenario, but there’s more of an emphasis on the derogatory part.

Hifumi: A funny little individual bearing a lot of sadness and a whole lot more courage. Like most of Matenrou, I admire him a lot, but I think that Matenrou resonates much more strongly with other people than they do for me, so I prefer to sit back and let other people appreciate them. I think he’s very brave and very fun to read/write.

Doppo: The biggest fucking mood in existence. When you move past the stereotypical aspects, you end up with another character who has a lot of deep flaws but also an incredible amount of courage. I’m excited to see where they go with him, but again, I’ll sit back and let others take the first row here.

Kuukou: Having already drafted Saburou, if you came back to me at age eighteen and asked me to make an idealized anime boy sona, you would probably have ended up with a character astonishingly like Kuukou. He brings me sheer joy. Astonishingly, I feel like Kuukou has exhibited the least growth out of any of the cast, and yet I do not mind a bit. He is the closest to the perfect man I have ever met. I would drop everything to be this dude’s homie if he existed in real life. Just a champion individual.

Juushi: Juushi’s a good kid. I’m very fond of him and like writing him, but much like Matenrou, I feel like he does a lot more for other people than he does for me. Therefore, much of how I work with him is less, “How do I enjoy this character as a reader?” and more “How do I nurture the traits about him that other people love?”

Hitoya: Hitoya strikes me as a damn good person with a lot of heart who sometimes lets his anger drive him a bit too much. He’s also utterly ridiculous, of course, but I try to write him with as much strength as possible to be present behind his words. He honestly seems like a great person to know in real life, not simply as a fictional character, as well.

Sasara: I have to clown on him to assert dominance. Joking aside, I admire the depths of his character and the growth he’s shown over the series. He can be pretty callous at times and goes to odd lengths to get what he wants, but I think he’s now starting to realize how much his actions affect other people. For a while I was really in his camp as a hardcore Sasara lover (back before he was a main cast member - I love writing quirky minor characters), but now I approach him with the idea mentioned above, ie how I can present him for other people.

Roshou: Whenever he’s around the rest of Dotsu Hon, I think he’s kind of an idiot. I mean that in the best way possible. It’s very endearing. Yet moments when he’s on his own are where I think he best shines, and I would love to see more solo material for him. He’s an incredibly good support character, and I admire his passion for his students.

Rei: I really enjoy asshole antagonists, which is why I liked Ramuda for a while before the clone story came up behind me and struck me into the ground with its mighty fists. Now Rei fills this role. I would love to learn more about him and team up with the Buster Bros to pelt him with rotten eggs in a fun bonding activity. I’m sure there is some strong backstory that will absolve him of at least some of his shittiness, but until now, I’m still not excusing his whole abandoning his children thing, not to mention the human trafficking thing he pulled with Ramuda.

Otome: I hate translating her, if only because she and Rei frequently talk about things in extremely vague terms that I have no context for. It’s hard to make her sound idiomatic in English while also not shooting myself in the foot by accidentally filling in the wrong information. But with that aside, she’s okay. I like her, I guess. Her motivations are pretty interesting.

Ichijiku: Ichijiku was written for people who are sexually attracted to women, and I’m not at all, so I 100% approach her in terms of her pull on other people. She’s fun on her own, though, and I’m impressed at her ability to walk in high heels. Her complete disrespect for everyone but Otome brings me no end of entertainment in reading and writing.

Nemu: YOU. Maybe this is some stupid toxic masculinity thing, but I always feel embarrassed speaking affectionately about male characters but not at all about female characters. Therefore Nemu gets all of my loveposting. She’s a wonderful girl! She has such a strong spirit, and I’m completely overjoyed that she’s making her own decisions and becoming her own character defined on her own terms. I want to watch her grow up big and strong. Fuck yes, baby girl! Fuck it up! I’m very proud of her.

[starboundanon]

Unleash the Luke for the ask lol

sonboy double wammy from Owl and @inky-starlight !

Time for the short king himself.

favorite thing about them

His kindness. His resilience. HIS LOOKS. Look, call me shallow, idc, 1980's Mark Hamill is the sexiest human being I have ever laid eyes on. I love Luke's character, love that he is wise despite being naïve, kind despite knowing cruelty, powerful despite experiencing weakness. He's portrayed as the typical, run-of-the-mill Straight White Male Protagonist, but subverts those expectations by rejecting violence and choosing to spare his greatest enemy. He's my favorite fictional character of all time and I will die loving him.

also his height hkjgkjgkg

least favorite thing about them

Not stoked about the way the sequels butchered his character in order to give their new protagonists the chance to relive the story Luke's story already told.

favorite line

Luke.

"Father?"

Son. Come with me.

"...Ben... Why didn't you tell me...?""

brOTP

Luke and Leia, no contest.

OTP

Vaderluke, hands down, all day, every day, every night, Monday night football, no commercial breaks, 24/7.

nOTP

Luke/Rey gives me heartburn

random headcanon

Luke will eat anything, being raised on Tatooine and knowing the importance of survival, but if given the choice will always choose fruit/veggies/bread over meat. If Mark Hamill says he's a vegetarian then he's a god damn vegetarian, darn it!

unpopular opinion

I think Luke telling little baby Grogu that he can't dedicate himself to the lifelong commitment of being a magical space monk and go on fun bounty hunting adventures with his walking tin can of a father at the same time makes complete, justifiable sense and I truly don't understand the hate he got for it.

FedExing him back to Tatooine by himself was OOC as fuck, though.

song i associate with them

"Gris part II" by The Berlinist plays in my head every time I see his face.

favorite picture of them

I would literally genuinely actually die for ✨him✨

send me a character!

[felswritingfire]

Y'all, like, hear me out, but I have been aggressively playing Pokemon Legend of Arceus, right?? I'm like half way through it, but I've fucking seen Volo, ok??? Idk the build up but I know he's the last fucker. I FEEL IT IN MY BONES.

(Ramble into spoiler territory for later parts of Legends of Arceus)

BUT ANYHOW, HEAR ME OUT:

Ingo's S/O falling into Hisui, right? They're kind-sorta teetering on the edge of being an amnesiac, but they manage to grapple enough of their memories together to still remember their Ingo- they're still missing minor pieces of their life before Hisui, but nothing that would cause them to panic and their memories are coming back a slowly, but steady, trickles.

S/O ends up filling the place of the main protagonist in the game (Akari/Rei). They name their Oshawott, that they get from Laventon, after Ingo since the little guy has such a similar attitude and face to what they remember of him. So they go through the story with Ingo Jr. As their partner.

They meet Akari and Rei who are young Galaxy Team members who end up helping S/O and slowly begin to form a found family with them as their adopted kids.

S/O ends up meeting Volo and Volo ends up taking an unhealthy interest in them, managing to wedge himself into their life, taking up more and more of their time in between filling the Pokedex and appeasing the Gaurdians. That is until they run into Warden Ingo.

The attraction is immediate and the two become attached at the hip. Whenever S/O has any sort of free time, they can be seen next to the Warden and vice versa. Ingo might not remember why he's so attached to this person, but his heart aches when they're apart.

Volo slowly begins to feel himself fall into a pit of rage- his stomach tearing itself apart as it boils with a newfound hatred towards the stupid shell of a Warden. He hates him. Hates him, hates him, hates him. He wants him gone- he wants that sad, pathetic man to stop hogging all of S/O's attention. He wants them to focus on him again; see him as the beginning and the end. he wants everything that makes them.

Ingo knows there's something wrong with the Ginkgo Merchant: he can see it in the way the man stares at S/O like they're some kind of fruit ripe for the taking. Starved and mad. Ingo curls his lip at the mear presence of this guy.

Volo doesn't miss the way Ingo actively tries to steer S/O away from him. He even got that damn Sneasler in the mix: she's begun to hiss at him, taking the quick, practiced steps of shoving you in her basket and climbing away from him, most likely towards her precious little Warden. The smile on his face turns deadly and his eyes narrow into glares.

Well, two can play that game. After S/O had dealt with Palkia and Dialga, after being kicked out by the Galaxy Team, and him so graciously helping them when sweet, precious, dear Ingo couldn't- being preoccupied with Warden business- they had come to fully trust him. And now with Kamado having you work with him to discover the secrets of the myths, with no wiggle room to negotiate. He would sit back and watch as Ingo forced himself to bite his tongue everytime he stood and bore witness to the two of them departing; Volos' hand resting low on their waist, his smile twisted with something dark as he held his gaze with the brutal one of the Warden.

Yes. Two could play this game. And Volo was gonna win.

Now he had to also bribe that damn Samurott of their's too.

Like, how fucking whack would that shit be?? Am I right??? Fucking. Yes.

[starfanatic]

Okay so this is just... wrong. It’s wrong. The question this person was asking is why Luke Skywalker isn’t as culturally popular like Anakin, Obi-Wan, Padme, etc.

For one, the main reason is this generation grew up on the prequels not the originals. This generation immediately attaches to the prequel trilogy because of this. Additionally, Luke barely has any content... ever. He had 3 movies that doesn’t have enough lightsaber battles or flashy battle scenes to hook a lot of the close minded fans in. The next 2 movies ruin his character completely. No fucking wonder Luke isn’t popular anymore.

Two, Is Luke NOT supposed to have flaws? Ah yes he must be this perfect person who never makes mistakes and always does whats right. Sounds like a Gary Stu... Disney tried that and look what happened to Rey. People HATE her including me. She’s probably the weakest protagonist in all of star wars. Most people in Luke’s position would have done the same or worse... but go off i guess.

Luke’s overpowered? OVERPOWERED? He could barely use the force in empire strikes back, lost against Vader in ESB and lost his HAND. He literally had to access the dark side to defeat Vader. He is FAR from being oVerPoWeRed. Also did we forget when he failed to save Han?

Luke IS a underdog thats the whole point. He’s a farmboy trying to topple down a empire and two sith lords who have decades of years of experience. Luke is way over his head. All of the odds are stacked AGAINST him. But ah yes Luke is a overpowered whiny farmboy who isn’t this cool, flirtatious guy so he is a bad character.

Please shut up. Some people like heroes that can actually inspire them. Absolutely no hate to Han, he’s great.

[applecherry108]

Can i ask you something about star wars? (You're like, the only person I follow on tumblr who has watched it). Why do people hate on reylo and kylo ren so much? For what i've seen it's only "m/f ships bad" mentality, but if you're willing to take the risk of talk about this on a post, I would really want to listen, because I tried to do research but I literally do Not find anything.

Always happy to talk about Star Wars. :)

So…. It’s several factors for why people hate(d) reylo.

1) like any popular ship there were some louder, more obnoxious fans that rubbed others the wrong way.

2) people liked to call kylo ren an abuser in 2015, because he’s, yknow, a villain. And he does bad things. Because of this, reylo became synonymous with r*pe/abuse apologists.

3) Star Wars is a fandom that saw twins kiss in Empire, which is traumatic for younger fans (fucking hilarious to older fans lbr), and loads of people were saying Rey and Kylo might be related, so on top of “reylo is abusive” now you had “reylo is inc*st”. (Keep in mind, this is before Last Jedi or Rise of Skywalker, so speculation was enough to start fandom wars).

4) since Rey and kylo are both white and because Rey had like, actual chemistry with Finn in Force Awakens, reylos also got called racist for not shipping Rey with Finn (didn’t matter if you were a multi-shipper, if you liked reylo, u were called racist)

5) all of these combined have left a sour taste in many fans’ mouths, to the point that now in 2021, some people might not even remember or know why they don’t like reylo. It was just peak Problematic™️ content when Problematic was at its scariest, which is the impression many casual fans were left with.

Conclusion: I mean, I like reylo. I’ve always liked reylo. And I thought other reylo shippers were generally nice people (usually older ladies like me lmfao). I’m not like, super happy how reylo actually became canon, and I think the divisive nature of Last Jedi and the….quality concerns…..of Rise certainly didn’t help public opinion of the ship, especially within fandom where it was already viewed negatively, but at the end of the day, reylo is fine. It’s whatever you wanna make of it, and tbh I think now that the Star Wars fandom has cooled off a little with distance from Rise, I think reylo is becoming more “acceptable” now.

Bonus: Why do people hate Kylo Ren? He’s a white boy. That’s….basically it. It’s tragically funny actually, because all the criticism within fandom of why kylo “sucks” are actually key points of his character. “He’s a rip-off Darth Vader!” That’s the point. “He’s trying too hard!” That’s the point. Unfortunately, many fans read this complex tumultuous character as, “uwu soft white boy just misunderstood,” and were highly critical about a possible redemption.

And also coming back to “racism,” because of Finn and Poe, some loud sections of fandom got Big Mad that anyone would like the white villain when there were excellent poc protagonists. Which like… you can like multiple characters, but I digress.

Sad note: people love to make fun of Adam Driver. Which is shitty on multiple levels. I am not here for anyone who promotes body positivity but then turns around and makes fun of “ugly” white boys because they’re an easy punching bag. Like Adam has said in multiple interviews that he got bullied for his looks growing up, and it’s just so fucking shitty that fans would perpetuate that because they don’t like his character.

Final Conclusion: I know I’ve talked about “racism” a lot here and it may sound like I’m crying about reverse racism (I’m not), I’m simply relaying the trends of the times, which was, in fandom, to lift poc characters and actors up by stepping on their white costars. Which fandom did. And it’s mostly grown out of doing so thankfully. John Boyega and Oscar Isaac are incredible actors and wonderful people, and though their potential was squandered throughout the sequel trilogy, Finn and Poe are still great characters imo. But the vitriol of 2015 left a lasting impression on many fans that remains to this day.

[babbushka]

Anyways I hate B*n S*l* because it’s like he was so keen on killing you know who and she holds out her hand really dramatically once and the he’s like “oop my deep seated mental issues are gone and I am now a savior” like huh? Baby you were hot. You were doing so well. We were all rooting for you 😩

My issue with the BS (sorry i’m too lazy to type out all the asterisks tonight lol) situation is twofold. 

The first issue I take with it, is the way it decimates Kylo’s character, and the second (and arguably more important in terms of overall impact) being the way it decimates Rey’s. 

Now, I know we don’t like to talk about Rey here on the blog, mostly because it attracts the r//ylos and that’s literally the last thing that I want, but the decision to push Kylo way off his path hurts both of the characters in completely different ways. Please allow me to explain:

(tw for mentions of abuse physical, sexual, and mental)

If we look at Kylo, and we actually examine his arc, it is clear that he was supposed to be a villain through and through. JJ and Adam have said it on multiple occasions, this was supposed to be the reverse of Vader, where we see a man reject the light at every opportunity, and continue down the path of darkness where it ultimately destroys him. And that’s exactly what he did! He was given so many chances, first with Han, then Leia, then Rey, then Luke, then Rey again, and every single time, he made the conscious decision to reject their offer of redemption, and went further into the dark. 

One of the things that is important (I think) to note, is that Kylo initially fell to the dark because he felt betrayed by those in the light. They failed him, in his mind. They allowed him to fall prey to Snoke [via Palpatine], when they knew something was wrong, and did nothing to stop it. Why would Kylo objectively want anything to do with them after that? Even if we try and play the “he turns for Rey” card -- who is Rey to him? Narratively she is a complete stranger who he tries to kill time, and time, and time and time again. 

Part of a redemption arc is the character actually wanting to change, and Kylo doesn’t! He simply doesn’t want to change, which is why narratively, it makes no sense for him to suddenly flip a switch and give his life to save another. It is objectively in opposition to what he has spent the entire 2 movies before TROS, as well as 99% of TROS itself. 

Now if we look at Rey, and we examine her arc, it is clear that she was supposed to be a protagonist in opposition to Kylo (as opposed to a narrative foil, which was Finn’s role). She was set up with the sole intention of overcoming the obstacle of Kylo’s villainy, and the villainy of the First Order as a whole. Looking at the interactions between Kylo and Rey, it is 98% violent where he is actively trying to murder her and her found family, and 2% psychologically manipulative. There is no foundation for any sort of friendship, or even acquaintanceship. He tries to kill her at every opportunity, and she tries to kill him back. JJ has confirmed that the interrogation scene is an allegory for rape.

So then why does she all of a sudden feel that it is her duty to get him to turn to the light? After he has on numerous occasions made it clear he has no interest in doing that? After he has murdered his father, put her dear friend in a coma, and violated her mind? After he has participated in the obliteration of billions of lives via Starkiller? It doesn’t make sense. And in fact, while suddenly flipping this switch in Rey’s character to be so consumed with turning Kylo back to the light (which he doesn’t not want), all it does is transform Rey into a woman with no story of her own. 

Her story is now at the service of Kylo’s, she is now there only to convince Kylo to do what she thinks is right. And what’s even worse, the writers decided to push a love interest onto her -- with the man who allegorically raped her, murdered her friends, tried to murder her, and tried to manipulate her into thinking that she was worth nothing (except to him). Instead of being a story about strength and overcoming abuse (because this is an abusive relationship), she ????? saves his life ??? and kisses him ???? Make it make sense. 

What does a redemption arc for Kylo show to audiences, ultimately and objectively? For Kylo, it means that you will never ever be free of the abuse you have suffered. You will never be able to make a life of your own, on your own terms, with your own choices. You are not your own person no matter how desperately you try. The decisions Kylo makes are heinous, but they are his decisions. This is the life that he has chosen time and time again, and a life that he feels little to no remorse or regret over. Probably the only thing he regrets is that he left anyone alive. 

For Rey, it shows audiences that men who hurt you, beat you, lie to you and manipulate you are more worthy of your time than anything else. Fixing them is more important than living your own life. Putting your life on hold for a man who actively commits violence against you is the correct and noble path to take. The decisions that Rey makes are incompatible with the actions she suffers.

It’s not only bad writing, it’s dangerous writing. And I will personally never ever be behind it. The only possible way that these two characters could have ended their journeys in a way that is both narratively fulfilling and satisfying to audiences, are by Rey killing Kylo as he is, a villain, in response to the many acts of villainy that he has committed against her and humanity. Anything else is a disservice to both characters. 

TLDR; Redemption for Kylo doesn’t make sense because #1 he doesn’t want it, and #2 he doesn’t work for it. He hasn’t earned it in any way shape or form -- in fact the only redemption we get is his own hallucination. So even within the context of the other characters, he is not seen as a redeemed person. It’s lazy and inconsistent writing. Redemption harms Rey’s character because it takes her story away from herself entirely. The narrative no longer becomes about her, it becomes more and more about Kylo, and her attempts to save or fix him when neither of those things should happen. 

It was an incredibly missed opportunity to make powerful statements about identity, independence, personal agency, and the consequences for our actions. We all know why D/LF dropped the ball so fucking hard, and for that I’ll literally never watch another piece of content from them again. 

[pridewhatpride]

I like Higurashi a lot too! Did you like Gou? I liked the opening and the animation but didn't really like Gou overall. But I know people have varied heavily on Gou so I'd love to know your thoughts. My personal favorite season od Higurashi is the first tho or Rei.

Long post alert. Putting a cut right here so people don't have to scroll if they don't care.

Personally I wasn't a fan of the style initially- it's... too pretty and neat? I did change my mind because I rewatched the Studio Deen one recently enough and... well. The polish in the animation does give off the wrong vibe, but not in a 'it's cool because it's jarring' kind of way. In a 'this shouldn't look like pretty candy in a box' way. We all know what Higurashi is. Luckily enough, they managed to make some scenes work- pretty animation oftentimes cancels out the drama because you can't distort it without making it look off (reasons why I love the art direction of Masaaki Yuasa, but that's a different topic). In general I get why people might say that it looks better than it actually is- however.

I could go on about the opening, its meaning and its visuals for like... actual ages. I'll spare you that or save it for another post.

I liked Gou a lot and it's all because of the character drama between Rika and Satoko. I know that apparently there is a strong connection with the gods of Umineko, but honestly I haven't played that (it's... long. Really long). Overall, what makes Higurashi enjoyable for me is the character tension, not the horror per se. I loved the Mion-Shion bits in the original, the big question mark that Rena was throughout the whole first season. Keiichi is there (I don't hate him, he makes the series work, but he's absolutely the least interesting one). Rika turned out to be the protagonist when I thought it would always be Keiichi Maebara... In general, it's the characters. The plot is pretty good, too, you never have a clue what is going on and sometimes nobody tells you outright- I think that's great.

People will shit on Gou and the beginning of Sotsu a lot, I can see why- to some what we had was satisfying and the sequel feels like a glorified remake. Yes. I get it. But Satoko. Try and tell me Satoko didn't come off as the most useless character, with the only nuance to her being that she has a brother and her uncle is trash. Like- that is an hyperbole- I loved the arcs that covered her backstory and her feelings towards Keiichi. But I watched Gou and I thought... hey. She isn't just a child who had bad things happen to her. She is the trickster of the story, the joker. Satoko Hojo is a cool character and I understand her motivations. It's warped and wrong, but it's so human. She doesn't want Rika to leave, as simple as that. Who would want to be left alone? After all that? There is nothing worse to me than the idea of a neverending nightmare that just keeps looping. And from Rika's perspective it's so fucking terrifying. She's been in control, always, all the time. She always knew what was up, or at least more than everyone else. And all of sudden that isn't the case anymore.

... Imagine a bad addiction- one you struggled to get out of. It's been years. You've stopped. You're happy. Then you wake up one morning and your progress is gone. You relapse. You drown in everything that the addiction was to you once more- but you can't do anything to stop, because you're not the one actively acting, you're subject to the course of events. Rika has never been a pawn, but now she is- the pawn Satoko wants so desperately to bring under her command. And she's alone. Hanyuu is gone, because Hanyuu was a mistake that was never meant to happen- Featherine is her real identity and she's the real Oyashiro. She's the one who's to be feared. The powers Rika had were nothing, they didn't mean anything at all.

I love stories of twisted love like that. Satorika isn't and will never be a healthy relationship, but it's the star of the show in Gou and Sotsu. Rika was trying to solve things, she still is. Satoko is a calculating force of chaos who is forcing the hand of fate and is backed by a goddess who will simply giggle at all the misfortune she has to cause.

It's... kinda beautiful, to me. It's all wrong, it's all desperate and absolutely sick. That's what I look for in Higurashi. The first few series were about Rika's hope in escaping Hinamizawa. Gou and Sotsu are about the desperation that comes when the carefully crafted hope born from a shared effort are torn apart by the person you trust the most.

I can see why maybe the execution isn't perfect. I can see why people would dislike it. Maybe I think about it too much. Maybe if I rewatched it I would talk about missed opportunities and bad scenes. Who knows. What I do know is that if I draw art for a series, it's because it's left a mark and has left me thinking about it. Gou reawakened my love for Higurashi and I enjoyed the hell out of it. I am going to enjoy the hell out of Sotsu, too, I think.

[dalekofchaos]

How Disney/Lucasfilm failed Finn and John Boyega

A rant about my continued frustration on how Lucasfilm/Disney failed Finn and John Boyega

John Boyega’s Finn was setup as the male lead and co-protagonist of the sequel trilogy. That’s not an opinion, that’s not a headcanon, that’s a literally fact. He was set up to be equal with Rey & Kylo’s foil and we all know why that changed.

John Boyega was cast as the male and co-protagonist of the sequel trilogy by JJ Abrams, who had to fight for John Boyega to be cast against the preferred (White) casting choices.

Originally Finn(Sam in the original treatment) was white

Majority from Okiro’s twitter thread exposing Lucasfilm’s hypocrisy when it comes to representation and black history

JJ Abrams told Finn he was the new star of Star Wars

In The Force Awakens. Finn was a Stormtrooper who defected. After witnessing the death of his friend Slip and seeing the innocents being killed, Finn made the decision to save Poe Dameron and leave The First Order. Finn only wanted to leave The FIrst Order and run away. But after meeting Poe and later Rey, Finn began to care for more than himself. Finn was mentored by Han Solo. For once, he had a father figure and a positive role model as opposed to people like Hux and Phasma. He learned to care for Rey and even love her. After Starkiller Base destroyed the Hosnian System, Finn realized running was pointless and knew he had to fight. Then Kylo Ren took Rey. Finn went to The Resistance using his time on Starkiller Base to shut down the shield generator and plant the explosives on the thermal oscillator. Finn’s main focus was rescuing Rey. After Kylo force pushes Rey into a tree, Finn faces Kylo Ren. Finn learns to overcome his fears of The First Order and faces the symbolic evil that was Kylo Ren. Although Finn does not win, he puts up a good fight and was put in a coma for daring to defy Kylo. Then they bait and switched us with Rey. I’ll let you read my rant on that.

Finn was the co-protagonist of The Force Awakens, this is evident of Finn’s actions saving everyone. Finn is the very reason why the Resistance is even alive. Finn breaks his life-long brainwashing, informs Rey and Han about the importance of BB-8 and helps out in getting BB-8 to the resistance and provides vital information that lead to the destruction of STB and gets nearly killed while helping to achieve this. If it were not for Finn saving Poe, BB-8 would’ve been scrapped for parts and Rey never would’ve left Jakku. The map would either be destroyed or be in the hands of The First Order. Starkiller Base would’ve destroyed D’Qar and Ach-To. He is the reason why Poe is still alive. He is the reason why BB-8 isn’t parts and Rey left Jakku. Because of leaving Jakku, this is the sole reason why Han and Chewie were able to find the Falcon. And he is the reason why The Resistance was able to find out about Starkiller Base’s weakness. he Helps out in sabotaging STB so that Poe, the very pilot he saved in the beginning can deliver the finishing blow to Starkiller Base and destroy it completely.

There are some missed opportunity in TFA, believe me I know as I feel JJ squandered the theme of Stormtroopers rising up against their oppressors and that crack about Finn being a janitor was so tone deaf and unnecessary. 

Don’t believe me that Finn was meant to be the co-protagonist of the Sequels? Look at the marketing?

Also. Just look at the hopeful optimism and representation FInn brought to black people.

Then the racist boycotting happened. The boycott was groups of bigots who wanted the ST to be boycotted. What was the response from Lucasfilm? Zero defense of John Boyega, but their actions were transparent when they shrunk Finn on the TFA poster for fucking China’s sake, kept him off the TLJ teaser poster, and small on the official poster

I’ll let what Rian Johnson chose to do with Finn speak for itself. John Boyega has every right to hate what Rian did with his character.

By giving into the boycott and doing their best to erase and sideline John Boyega, Lucasfilm proved they would always cater to mob law if the mob was big enough. Do I have proof of this boycott against John Boyega? Yes, I do.

Also, popular Reylo blogger Jenny Nicholson’s racism against John Boyega

Reminder that Jenny Nicholson blocked a whole fuckton of Black people who even gently criticized her about how she went after John Boyega

Did Lucasfilm after The Force Awakens try to support their Black lead in any way? No. In fact, they began to erase him harder than ever to the point Fans started a hashtag #WhereIsFinn because it was getting so bad. But Bryan Young, a Lucasfilm writer, sure loved to hate on Finn

Lucasfilm was so racist, the very concept of a Black man and a white woman getting together sent them into such a frenzy Lucasfilm had to have it removed from any EU material just to make sure they kept it nice and bigot friendly. Also it’s worth noting that Alan Dean Foster was ordered by Lucasfilm/Disney to scrap any hints of Finnrey romance from the TFA novel as he believed that was the direction of the Sequels’ romance and coincidentally they did next to nothing with and we know it was racially motivated. "I expected to see that developed further in Episode VIII [The Last Jedi]," Foster said. "And zero happened with it. And we all know why zero happened with it — and there's no need to go into it in-depth — but that's, sadly, just the way things are."

It wasn’t JJ Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan or Chris Terrio who were against Finnrey. It was Disney and Lucasfilm and RIan Johnson was more than happy to separate Rey and Finn 99% of the movie(he said and did enough things to prove that he didn’t want the two characters even near each other)

Then John spoke about his frustration with how he was treated

People have tried to twist the narrative or put words in Boyega's mouths, but his GQ interview paints the picture rather clearly. He was sidelined due to his race after The Force Awakens when The Last Jedi came around with a "reordered character hierarchy" Lucasfilm's order btw

It resulted in Rey and Kylo Ren being featured prominently in both TLJ and TROS. It also resulted in Reylo being canon. Lucasfilm killed the Sequel trilogy, cause they couldn’t bare the thought of a black man in the leading role and a interracial relationship. 

If you look at TFA, you’ll realize that Finn was built up to becoming a Jedi, Kylo’s foil and Rey’s equal. Because TLJ happened, Finn’s role was reduced to a side character and JJ could not make him as prominent as he originally wanted to. EIther studio interference or TLJ screwed everything up so bad that he had to work on it slowly and just hope that Disney + would have something for Finn.

At the start of the trilogy, we all thought people of color would have a prominent role in the new trilogy, there was a potential for the first interracial relationship in Star Wars and there was a potential for the first LGBT relationship in Star Wars. But no, it’s clear that both TLJ and TROS gave us the impression that only white people can be Jedi and only white people can have epic romances and save the galaxy, people of color can only have secondary roles. And the blink and you miss it kiss? Only white women, not two men of color who clearly love each other.

Finn’s best scenes were deleted. 

Finn and the villager. it really shows why Finn chose to leave. Finn’s reasoning for leaving the First Order had nothing to do with being against violence, but a moral confliction of not wanting to hurt defenseless people. This villager wasn’t a soldier, wasn’t trying to hurt him. She was just a woman with her baby. This wasn’t war, this was murder, and Finn refused to be a murderer.

TLJ alternate opening. Opens with Finn waking up. Small change, but it would show that Finn is still a prominent character.

BB-8 shows Finn Rey’s last moment with him. BB-8 tries to cheer Finn up, but to no avail until he shows him a recording of Rey from the end of The Force Awakens - the scene she says goodbye to an unconscious Finn and kisses him on the forehead before leaving to find Luke Skywalker.

Poe gives back his sewn up jacket to Finn. In this deleted scene, Poe fills in the gaps and tries to assuage Finn about his concerns, including Finn's mixed feelings about his relationship with the Resistance. Poe then gives back the jacket that was once his and became Finn's in The Force Awakens, showing Finn that he sewed it up. This scene doesn't necessarily push forward any plot development, but should've remained as great a moment between Finn and Poe. The two characters established a wonderful chemistry and bond in The Force Awakens, and with Finn off on Canto Bight for much of The Last Jedi, fans didn't get to see as much of their relationship as expected. It's nice to see that chemistry and bond again. Finn's question about winning is also interesting in highlighting the constant uphill battle of the Resistance. Even destroying the Starkiller Base, Rey defeating Kylo Ren, and blowing up a Dreadnought can still put the Resistance in the position of fleeing. 

The elevator scene between Finn and an old Stormtrooper friend.  A Stormtrooper voiced by Tom Hardy recognizes Finn and starts talking to him. Finn starts to draw his gun, thinking the Stormtrooper has recognized him as a traitor, but it turns out the Stormtrooper is just surprised to see that FN-2187 has become an officer. The scene may go on for a bit too long, but ultimately it should've stayed in. The scene in the elevator does a great job playing with the audience's emotions, as they're unsure whether the tension will rise to the breaking point of a fight or evolve into a humorous moment. It also shows Finn using restraint by not killing a fellow Stormtrooper, unlike the other two movies.

Phasma’s alternate and BETTER death scene. WHY WAS THIS CUT????? No seriously, WHY WAS THIS FUCKING CUT????? I will never understand why this was deleted. Finn calls her out about her betrayal of lowering the shields and when this information is revealed, the Stormtroopers near her look suspicious and it looks as if they are going to turn on her. Phasma like the ultimate survivalist she is kills them with no hesitation. Finn cuts her hand off and blasts her into the abyss, giving Phasma a more deserving and better send off. Seriously, this is way better than their actual confrontation.  What I really like about this scene is its direct connection to The Force Awakens plot point and that it acknowledges Phasma's survivalist attitude which was introduced into her novel. The Phasma novel and comic portrayed her not as a First Order loyalist, but as a ruthless warrior who did whatever it took to survive. She even went so far as hunting down and doing away with those within the First Order who had knowledge of what she did at the Starkiller Base lest the truth get out. Phasma was always about self-preservation, she wasn't about preserving the First Order, but that never comes across in The Force Awakens or The Last Jedi. It only comes across in this deleted scene where Phasma chooses to end her own Stormtroopers to save herself.

Something else that bothers me. Finn’s treatment in the expanded universe. Have you ever noticed that Poe and Kylo got all the big expanded universe material and Finn is always shoved into the background or not there at all? Even worse, every form of media portrays Finn as Poe's bumbling sidekick, which is even more apparent in TROS. They were more interested in having Poe and Finn being the Abbott and Costello of the ST instead of letting Finn going from Stormtrooper to Jedi and lead a Stormtrooper Rebellion.

In the journey to TROS, Finn is not featured in ANY of the novels or graphic novels for the Journey to TROS. When he was, he was used as Poe’s sidekick and not featured anywhere with Rey. Before the release of the movie, he is not featured whatsoever in any shape or form in marketing. We get to see him in two teasers but he says nothing. His new outfit looks awesome. Finn could’ve been used to rise as a Jedi with Rey and essentially be the Skywalkers that Rise and face Kylo and Palpatine together. If not that, Finn could’ve caused a Stormtrooper Rebellion that burns The First Order from the inside out. Instead of any of that, it Finn was given nothing for this movie. He doesn’t even get to face Kylo Ren, their rivalry as foils was completely dropped. That is sad and heartbreaking.

Seriously, there is no novelizations or comics that expand on Finn’s time in The First Order. Sure, there is Before The Awakening. But consider this. Finn was their best Stormtrooper, so good that Hux considered him Captain material.

There is so much potential with Finn in the Expanded Universe. Apply all the posts I’ve linked and more.

The Poe Dameron comics were not about Poe’s life, they were about his personality, skills, character, and the Resistance. So I ask, why can’t/couldn’t the same have been done with Finn pre TFA? A comic series exploring his character while world building the First Order.

There is so much to tell. You could start with Finn vividly remembering his family and how he was abducted and recruited for the FN Corps.

You could even show the ruthlessness of The First Order by showing initiation for the FN Corps is only granted by forcing the children to kill each other in a Hunger Games/Battle Royale to see who the strongest and who deserves to be welcomed to the First Order. This would be in separate groups of the children who are abducted to determine who gets to be put in the FN Corps. We could see Phasma returning to the room, only to see a young Finn covered in blood and dried up tears. Phasma will only say “Welcome to The First Order, FN-2187.”

Wouldn’t it be interesting to see how Finn, a brainwashed soldier broke free of his mental conditioning, learned the truth of the FO yet still tried to be a good soldier. It could flesh out his relationship with the squad he led, as well as Phasma and Hux.

It could’ve also showcased the brotherhood and friendship Finn had with  FN-2199 (“Nines”), FN-2000 (“Zeroes”), and FN-2003 (“Slip”).

The biggest thing it could do is finally show Finn’s skills as a soldier, his brains, while giving so much needed world building First Order. We could also finally show what it’s like as a FO stormtrooper from a sympathetic POV.

Through the avenue of a Finn comic series you could also flesh out Hux, Phasma, Nines, Zeroes, Slip, and even characters like Kylo and Snoke. It doesn’t have to cover spoilers, just make the one note more dimensional while giving Finn so overdue respectful content

It could end with everyone asking Finn “what was the moment you decided to leave” which then we would see the TFA deleted scene of Finn in the village 

It could end on Finn saying "I was raised to do one thing, I used to think I’ve got nothing to fight for, but now I have something worth fighting for.��

And afterwards. You could show Finn and Jannah working together to liberating the other Stormtroopers. The first person they rescue? Zeroes, FInn’s last surviving Squad Member and together they awaken and liberate their brothers and sisters and all the while Finn rises up and becomes a Jedi!

For those wondering what about Finn in TROS? I’ll let this video do all the talking

I’d also like to point out. Finnrey WAS going to happen in TROS. Here’s confirmation by Jedipaxis, the main reddit leaker, who was right about everything before the films release, confirmed that Finn’s “i never told you” line was supposed to have some payoff and it was going to end with finn and rey holding hands. could this pic have been of the alternate ending? then reshoots happened and we got the Reylo kiss

I’m convinced that John Boyega was told by the higher ups to say Finn was meant to say he was “Force Sensitive” no one who is about to die would “always want to tell you” they were force sensitive. 

Hell, even in the original Episode IX by Colin Trevorrow. Duel Of Fates. Finn was given the shaft again. For some unknown reason, Rey is paired with Poe, a character who barely interacts with Rey at all. Finn was given another sidequest to do. The only brightside for Finn is he participates in retaking Corruscant and a Stormtrooper Rebellion near the end. 

Finn, who was once held in prominence as the co-protagonist alongside Rey. Was erased from how prominent he once was and reduced to a sidecharacter due to China and fanbacklash that there was going to be a black lead in Star Wars. Disney caved in to the racist backlash and caved into China’s racist demands. 

Finn deserved to be a main character alongside Rey, while Kylo Ren is their villain. He deserved a good character development, a great arc, an interesting backstory. he had the potential to become one of the most epic star wars characters. TLJ and TROS was an insult for him and he deserved better. nobody will EVER change my mind.

Finn should’ve been a Stormtrooper turned Jedi who embraced the light, while Kylo Ren who was the Skywalker who rejected the light and embraced the dark. Rey should’ve been Luke’s daughter, while Finn is the Jedi who builds himself up from being a Stormtrooper from nowhere to Jedi and together Rey and Finn stop Kylo Ren and bring down The First Order and rebuild The Jedi!

Finn should have been a Stormtrooper turned Jedi.  It doesn’t matter that you think it tells a better story for him to not be a Jedi. “Finn being a hero who is not a Jedi is important.” Poe and Rose are great examples of ordinary heroes coming from nowhere. Rey was supposed to be a jedi related to Skywalker or Kenobi legacy while Finn was the perfect “nobody from nowhere” that becomes a Jedi. And honestly, Black kids deserved to see themselves in the Black Jedi and black kids deserved to see themselves as one of the three protagonists of the trilogy.

Finn got no last name No theme Was sidelined in the trilogy Had his scenes cut Mocked by Lucasfilm employees Racially harassed by bigots and media outlets Disney used while staying silent and then Disney has the nerve to say they “stand” with John Boyega during the BLM movement and celebrated Finn during black history month despite squandering him....

Finn deserved better, period!