#writing up filler episodes to explain them

[i-am-a-fan]

This show is so stupid (lying). Everytime i close my eyes Im just rewatching the newest season and analyzing the shit out of it.

[puppyeared]

Atla live action 😐

[velvet-vox]

Why Doll perfectly exemplifies all of the strengths and flaws of Murder Drones as a series.

From the amount of posts present on my blog about the specific individual, it is rather obvious to assume that Doll Yurikova (I'm still convinced the fandom made up this surname) is my favourite character from Murder Drones and you wouldn't be wrong.

She just simply tickles my needy scratch for weird, cool complex villainess characters.

However, eventually I also realised that she more than any other character embodies everything that makes murder drones a great show and everything that detracts the show from being genuinely amazing.

Let's start off with the good, anything I say applies to the both of them:

Doll/Murder drones are generally cool, unconventionally attractive, have great potential (this point will be elaborated upon) and are very complex in both the themes that they bring to the table and the philosophical standpoints discussed.

Coolness factor is mostly subjective, but I am sure any Murder drones fan will tell you that the sci-fi/horror/mystery/romance/comedy show about sentient cannibalistic robots who fight against eldritch atrocities with Portal 2-esque music is an absolute blast conceptually and visually. In the same way the russian robo vampire who was previously a cheerleader before deciding to commit cannibalism to avenge her dead parents has swarms of fans simping for her.

Unconventionally attractive is determined by unconventional people, said people also have rewatched the show seventeen different times.

Now, regarding the great potential, although I've also elaborated the previous points, this is one that will carry over when discussing the negatives of both the character and the show, but as for positive, you can just feel that Murder Drones is so much different from anything else you have ever watched, it truly gives me haunted Ghibli vibes in the way the story plays out. It could really be amazing. As for Doll, every time I watch her in the show up to her death I just get really sad thinking about what could have been if she had a redemption arc or just a better life in general.

Murder drones has abuse as his main theme and how it circulates into destructive chains and Doll is definitely one of the more interesting examples of said theme, being part of the abused and mauled drone designation that became an abuser herself. I say one of the more interesting examples because her story is fleshed out better than someone else's, say Tessa or Alice.

And now for the negatives, we need to bring out the big elephant in the room:

The show is only 8 episodes long and they are writing the season one finale in the same way you would write a series finale since making Murder drones costs Glitch a crap ton of money when they could just lower the animation quality and allow the story more time to breathe (mind you this is also Liam Vickers fault). I just hate the 8 episodes 20 minute long formula, it has, in my opinion, destroyed modern show telling and I honestly can't bear it any longer.

Besides that, 8 episodes of 20 minutes means that Doll's arc has to be paced quickly in order to get all the other characters (particularly the main ones) and elements to shine and that unfortunately leads to the fact that both Doll and Murder drones lack the one thing that separates Doll from being a human being and Murder Drones from being an amazing show, and that thing is (drum rolls) the tissue.

To explain, they have the (exo)skeleton, the organs, the mandibles and all the things that would make a piece of fiction feel truly human, but without the connective tissue, the skin, they both end up just short of those standards and as a result I can't confidently say that they are truly evocative individuals. Tissue of course is a metaphor for quote on quote "filler" in regards to the show and "villain at rest" moments in regards to Doll and her arc. And let's talk about the ending of said arc because of its possibility of paralleling the conclusion of the show;

You can say a lot of things about Doll's death but one thing that's impossible to deny is the impact of her death in your mind, everything about its execution is just so brutal that it leaves you a lasting feeling in your body; in a similar manner, the show could end with an absolute gut punch that remains impressed in your mind for months to come.

Want more?

[allastoredeer]

I just found some Hazbin Hotel leaks, pre-being pick up by A24 and, do you know we could have had an episode where Charlie meets all the Deadly Sins? We were absolutely robbed of a pretty good filler episodes before the big finale with heaven.

Here's link to the leaks: https://imgur.com/a/nCorcZq

In case the link doesn't work, you can also look at this tumblr post: https://www.tumblr.com/hellaverse-critical-confessions/727383242254204928/hello-the-pre-a24-leaks-anon-again-heres-link?source=share

I really hope they use some of this old concepts on the next season cause they seem quite funny and interesting. Those ideas could help flush the characters out a bit more and the worldbuilding. What do you think?

Me writing notes while reading the leaks:

OOOH HOO WE GOT SOME WONDERFUL CHARACTER INSIGHTS! Especially with Husk!

“Angel and Charlie drag Husk out to a carnival show to show him the not-so-sleazy side of life. This proves difficult with Husk being raised to know nothing but crime and no experience with innocent fun.”

Husk has no experience with innocent fun. He only knows the sleazy side of life T.T Also he has mob connections 👀That is good to know. I find that so, so interesting. It explains it grim outlook on life. Why he's hardly every smiling or having fun. I think one of the first times we actually see him smile is after fighting those shark demons with Angel Dust in "Masquerade."

Now that I'm thinking about it, he smiles a lot more after that. Or, at least from what I remember. I might need to rewatch the show (for the dozenth time, LMAO). But, that kind also goes to show how much this guy needs friends. Good relationships. Connections outside of crime, which is all he's known all his life.

I WANT HUSK TO HAVE PURE, DUMB FUN AND TO LAUGH AND SMILE AND IM SOBBING JUST THINKING ABOUT IT

Also love delving more into Vaggie too. How she's incredible responsible, but controlling. After reading through a few of the episode description about her, my personal headcanon/take is that she still has a bit of that "angels are superior" mindset in the way that when she challenges Maxine, she's quickly reminded of her own limits when she's defeated "very easily." It's like what Carmilla was saying in the show. The angels are arrogant in their fighting. They leave themselves open, they're brash, and uncoordinated because they're not used to fighting demons who can actually fight back.

As far as we've seen, all of their victims are regular demons. None of the Overlords. Well, except Carmilla that one time, and she'd taken down the Exorcists with relative ease because she knows how to fight, and she's powerful. Given that this is the first time an Exorcist has been killed, and the first time we hear about an Overlord being attacked during the Extermination, I assume not a lot of Exorcists come face to face with the Overlords.

So, this kind of brash arrogance still lingering in Vaggie, who see's a demon talking down to her and automatically challenges them to a fight, only to lose immediately. Then her falling back into her insecurities that if she's not able to protect/fight for something/someone, than she's useless (which is ANOTHER thing she's learned from her time as an Exorcist angel--if she's unable to fight for the cause, what use does she have?). It's like this double-edged sword, and I'm rahhhhhh I'm gnawing on it.

ALSO ALSO, getting not only one annual event held in Hell, but TWO! "Hells Weapons Exo," (which I like to think Vox co-hosts with Carmilla, as she is a weapons manufacturer, and Vox is the guy to go to if you're looking to sell/buy something. Also, Vox HAS to have a showmanship side of him. Like, a legitimate showy, entertainer side--which I also like to think is what brought him and Alastor together before their, uh, falling out.)

Their second event being "Challenge Day" where lower tiered demons can challenge higher tiered demons for control over souls? I interpreted this in two ways, 1) challenging a higher tiered demon for the souls they already own, or 2) challenging the person who owns your soul as a way to get it back - both of which I really like. It actually fits really well with some of the world-building I've been doing for the last few days, so I am eating it up.

ALSO THE FACT THAT THERE'S A ROYAL BALL HELD AFTER "CHALLENGE DAY." My RadioApple brain LATCHED onto that so quickly. Imagine Lucifer taking Alastor to the royal ball as his date T.T I wanna see them all dressed up fancy, and I want them to dance, and dsofslknjljblkjbj FUUUUUUCK

Thank you SO Much for sending me this! I am soaking up these lore pieces like a sponge.

It also mentions Angel and Charlie taking Husk to a carnival show, which makes me wonder if there are places like carnivals open in Pentagram City, or if it's similar to the traveling circus thing Blitz grew up in. Like, do hellborn demons who doing travelling circus/carnivals just go through all the rings, one-by-one, including the Pride Ring? That way the Sinners get to get in on it too? AH! I just love thinking about it.

Thank you thank you I am feasting so much right now.

(THIS ALSO MAKES ME SO UPSET ABOUT STUDIOS LIMITING SERIES DOWN TO 8-10 EPISODES A SEASON, WE COULD'VE GOTTEN SO MUCH CONTENT AND WORLD BUILDING IF THEY'D GIVEN VIVZIE AND HER TEAM A PROPER SEASON TO BUILD IT ALL UP AND GRRRRRRRR)

Oh, also, I just realized I didn't answer your original question about the Sins, GOD I wish we got that. I want to see Charlie interacting with all the Sins so badly. Though, I suppose with Amazon not really owning Hazbin Hotel, where all the Sin's have been showing up, I wonder if they'd be able to do an episode like at all.

I don't know. Things to think about.

But to sum up! Thank you so much for this! I know this answer kind of went on long LOL, but you have given me so much brain food and I am eternally grateful 🙏

[sophieabigail2021]

I am in a good mood so let's salt on this interview because why not

"Sébastien explains that they always plan the scenarios well in advance. For example, what happens in season 6 was already planned when season 3 was written. They've already written two pages of ideas for the Season 7 finale."

Considering these are the same people that admitted that the whole "Adrien doesn't confront his dad or know anything about his villain persona" was planned since the beginning of the goddamn show..........yeah expect the worst from them

"Thomas says they have ideas to go to a season 12 but it will all depend on the success of the series."

And then decades later when season 68 is in the work they will be like "Oh well we really need 40 more seasons to expand our ideas because they're just so many"

"Miraculous will never evolve into an adult series, it will remain a children's series. But they will always try to satisfy the fans who have been following the series for years."

Oh yes the same fans that Thomas complained for years about how they don't get his "amazing" and "masterpiece" of a show and kids understand it better (Sure Jan) to the point of having an episode about that, which wow really meta of you Asstruck /s

"Sébastian teased us that there will be a song in season 6"

If Cristina Vee isn't the one singing it y'all will hear from my lawyers

"Thomas sincerely believes that season 6 is better than season 5, which was off to a bad start because he wondered how they were going to do better than season 5."

"Buckle up because Season 3 is going to be better than Season 2" and then Season 3 turns out to be underwhelming

"Be excited for Season 4 because it will be more amazing than Season 3" and then Season 4 turns out to be a giant waste of time and potentials

"Y'all taught Season 4 was amazing, well prepare yourself for Season 5 because it's going to be a rollercoaster of emotions" and then Season 5 turns out to be the most painfully unwatchable season of a show known to man

Stuff like this doesn't make me hyped for the upcoming season, it's instead making me scared for what bullshit these writers are going to do next

Also it will be really funny and embarrassing for the writers if Season 6 turns to be worst than Season 5

"As season 6 begins a new arc, they consider it a season 1."

So more pointless and boring filler episodes got it 👍

"Sebastien says we'll appreciate season 6 even more when season 7 comes out."

Stop just........STOP!!!!

"Thomas hints that he didn't write the Shadybug and Claw noir universe to exploit it in a single special. But he remains very vague."

Bet you 10$ they will only show up in the Season 6 finally just like Lady dragon and the American heroes

"Thomas explains that there are many details in previous seasons that fans didn't understand, but which will make sense in later seasons."

Making sense has never been this show's strongest suit so why even bother

"There's a reason why Lila is a mythomaniac, and they'll tell it one day in the series. Thomas even says they've already told it in the series, but we haven't figured it out yet."

You mean her being born evil yeah we already knew that

"Thomas says that Chloe will remain an important character in the coming seasons, as she has always been in the series."

BITCH WHERE???!!!, Chloe is the biggest waste of time so what even is the point in bringing her back?????, Thomas we all know you have a deep hatred for this girl but for the love of god stop, you're just beating a dead horse that has already been dead for years just let this shit go

"They will soon be meeting to decide whether Miraculous will be made into a live-action series or not. It will be different from the series. Thomas mentions kwamis in particular, which are complicated to integrate into live action. Thomas has already written the concept. For the series to see the light of day, it will mainly be a question of budget."

OH GOD NO, I will be nice to you Hawkdaddy just please don't make a Miraculous live action series

Also raise your hand if you think Thomas made that decision to rival Zag's Miraculous Awakening movie ✋✋✋

[afraidofbee]

Thanks for your response for Mephistopheles. I get that on surface level, he seems like if you swap color pallet on Luci with Barney the Dinosaur but a bit more "stuck up, noble rich boy on first glance in Ouran High School Host Club episode" vibe. But like you, I decided to give him and others a chance and I GOT EYES STUCK ON HIM THE SAME LEVEL AS LUCI AND BARB! I have another User here that explained him better from the OG and bit of NB lore from last year, so I'll leave a link here: https://maddymoreau.tumblr.com/post/717214068185890816/mephistopheles-discussionanalysis

I've also learned more from him in the NB earlier lesson(which I cannot spoil anything between 13 and 40.) I REALLY hope that more people would give him and others like Thirteen and Raphael another chance. There SO much more underneath these characters despite barely having some screen time after the second batch. (AKA Dia, Barb, Simeon, Luke, Solo.) I hope that they'll all grow onto us and becomes Dateables in the future.

Thx for asking me, and sharing the post! Love it!

I am sorry for any spelling or grammatical mistakes, I hope I am not too difficult to understand (English isn’t my first language)

Mephistopheles is really interesting and have a good character development. In the og obey me (for me) he is like Lucifer, Barbatos and Diavolo combine but exaggerated (he’s prideful and have a similar haircut as Lucifer, he’s loyal and diligent as Barbatos, and last but not least he live a shelter life and born with a responsibility as diavolo), at first I think he will be a comic relief but obey me nightbringer prove me wrong.

All the new side characters (Mephisto, Thriteen and Raphael) deserved more time on screen indeed (and become dateables), we could know more about Mephisto in nigthbringer but the other two feel like filler characters ‘ > ‘ (all of them have my interest and attention as well)

In Solomon case I can say he grown on me so much in nightbringer. But Diavolo, Barbatos and Simeon lore or development was limited to devilgram story, I feel disappointed but I understand this two first season was to reintroduce the brothers and present the antagonist(?)

I think the side character will continue growing on more people in the future, they’re charismatic and fascinating. There is already artists and writers making wonderful art or writing about them (eg. I’m little obsessed with “Drawing Raphael Daily until he Becomes Dateable” (///￣ ᵕ ￣///) all their post are full of creativity and cuteness)

All we have left is pray to the devs have mercy and decide to explore the story of this interesting character (love the brothers but give the spotlight to the dateables (including mephisto, thrirteen and raphael) and show us Michael ૮꒰ྀི∩' ᵕ `∩꒱ྀིა)

And for my son/little brother/chihuahua I hope solmare don’t make him sad, he deserves have a happy childhood, pls.

[kingwuko]

I'm rewatching rememberances & oh my GOD people cant tell me that the writers weren't writing wu with gay coding in mind 😭 I was at the part where Mako said "i had to realize who i was without a lady in my life" and Wu was like "i know what that's like" and then everyone silently looks at him for 2 seconds? and then he hesitates and is like "only because im absolutely swimming in dames they all love me 🤭". obviously the writers couldn't explicitly have their LGBT characters confirm their identities because of nickelodeon but its so blatant and extremely possible that wu is actually gay and hits on women and talks about them constantly (even though hes really weird about it) as a way to overcompensate. and when you think about it the character he has the closest relationship to is...Mako😭

I have SO MANY FEELINGS about remembrances. Normally 'flashback episodes' are kinda just filler, bottle episodes. But something about remembrances just HITS DIFFERENT.

Mako saying "I realized I had to figure out who I was without a lady in my life." will forever replay in my brain... Wu's response to it is so fucking funny I laugh every time. "I know what that's like." says the guy who has not been shown on screen to successfully interact with a woman besides grandma Yin. Sure buddy.

Also I will never get over the fact that Wu says the words "I was born that way" like WAAAAAT. You cannot tell me the writers, who were in the process of crafting a subtle sapphic story for endgame korrasami, wrote those words without knowing the implications. CMON.

And listen Mako's entire story is about his past relationships, like BARELY touching on the larger story. He just sat down for 10 minutes explaining to Wu that he's single and he and his exes are just friends. Why Mako. why. why did you need to explain that to WU.

And the fucking. homoerotic sparring of it all. @buckybarnesss always calls it 'the intricate rituals of male touching' lmaoooo. Every time Wu gets in Mako's face, clutching his arms, close enough to kiss... I'm just like. can I reach into the screen and nudge their faces together. Just a little nudge is all it would take. Look:

The writers and animators fucking KNEW what they doing. There's no way they didn't. its such a gay episode.

and lets not forget the sapphic side of things in that episode. Asami's like "I thought you might be cold so I brought you some hot tea." To KORRA. Korra, who grew up in the FRIDGID SOUTH POLE and is also a FIREBENDER who could warm herself up easy. Gurl.

and like. even outside the queer coding in this episode, it's just delightful. the fucking little chibi popups in his flashback. Yin implying that Bohai cheated on her in scenario as convoluted as Mako's love triangle. Tu dropping the most accurate and eloquent assessment of Mako's issues in a single sentence: "it seems like you're so afraid to disappoint anyone that you end up disappointing everyone." TU. WUT. WHEN DID TU GET WISE. Tu and Wu high fiving.

In conclusion. Remembrances is top tier Wuko content. It's way more than a flashback filler episode.

[galvanizedfriend]

S5 rewriting which season five? what are you re-writing? I have questions many questions

Hi! Thanks for your ask! 😊 Also, apologies beforehand because this is me right now:

I have a toxic trait and that's wanting to rewrite the show. 🫠 I was once talking to @definedareasofuncertainty and we started talking about what TVD would've been like if The Originals had never happened, and we started imagining what season 5 of TVD would've been like in that scenario. We unearthed an interview where Julie Plec 🤢 said that the baby plot was always going to be a part of the story anyway, they just didn't know whether they'd actually get greenlighted by the network to move forward with the spin off. So then we started thinking what TVD would've been like with the magical mystery baby in it, and the S5 rewriting was born. 😂

So it's not what dream S5 would've like for me, but rather a more realistic take on what the show could've been like. Because hear me out.

When you think about it, there are certain aspects of TVD S5 that suggest that Klaus was always meant to be a part of it, which explains why S5 is so bad tbh. Everything feels so very pointless. It's the most forgettable season of TVD, and that's saying a lot, considering how bad some of the other seasons were, because the entire thing is just fillers. If you consider the idea that the Travelers abhored vampires, thought they were abominations and wanted to free the earth from them, then it would make sense for them to want to get rid of the Originals instead of just going for a bunch of teenagers who are at the very base of the supernatural food chain. And if you add in someone pregnant with a mystical anti-Christ, then it makes even more sense that the Travelers would want to obliterate Mystic Falls and everyone in it to make sure the baby wouldn't be born. The whole 'we know what's coming, this child will be the end of magic as we know it' makes much more sense with Travelers than regular witches because how would they know that? The whole concept of Travelers just make more sense to me if we put them up against the Originals. Even the Augustine society plot makes more sense with Originals thrown in. I'm sure Wes knew exactly who Klaus was and would be dying to get an introduction, not to mention the idea that they would've probably had close relations to Mikael when trying to create the ripper virus.

And it also kinda justifies the choice of Hayley as the mother figure, something that never made any sense to me. It's because she was completely expendable. She was barely an extra on the show, so it would be very easy to get rid of her. And in my head, she would definitely be dead by the end of the season. Where the witches caused her death in TO, it would've been the Travelers, except in TVD she wouldn probably not come back as a hybrid, she would've just stayed dead. She wasn't that important to the plot throughout S1 of TO, just carrying the baby around, which to me means that she was never meant to be a central point, but suddenly she had way more screen time than they'd anticipated she would get (also because Claire Holt decided to leave the show), so then they had to figure out how to write her as a lead.

Anyway, the source of all of this are the voices in my head, so take it with a grain of salt. 😂 I just think there are CLUES about the fact they did mean to write those two storylines as one at some point.

And that leads me to the fact that everything pointed towards Klaus and Caroline being together in S5. That part wasn't even subtle, S4 was a huge build up to them becoming a thing. And I think it would start with them kissing in that last scene of S4, Klaus showing up to save the day and Caroline's ass and gifting her with allowing Tyler to come back to town (I'm sure that would've been a greater discussion between them if he had stayed on the show for the final episodes prior to that, plus it would be more meaningful if Klaus was actually in town 😂 What was he going to do to stop Tyler anyway?).

So in my rewrite they'd start the season by showing the two of them had spent a hot secret summer together. Then school starts and Caroline sort of expects things to go back to normal because it's conveniente to her and how she excused herself in her guilty head, by rationalizing it all as a summer fling. She's leaving for college, where she will be rooming with her two best friends, and Tyler is expected to join them at some point even though she hasn't had any responses from him all summer, and in her mind, Klaus doesn't fit into that. There's no way to reconcile a romance with the big baddie and still lead the normal-ish life she expects to have. Klaus is obviously pissed off because he knows Caroline is in denial, and there's also the fact he's way too proud to be someone's dirty secret. Meanwhile Caroline is miserable and faced with the harsh truth she'd been denying all summer which is that she likes Klaus a lot more than she expected to but she's terrified of what everyone would think of her (and I personally think the next step in Caroline's TVD development would really be to let go of how much she tried to please everyone all the time just so they would like her. She had been on this journey since S1, of 'trying to become a better person' by shaping herself to meet other people's expectations, and it was about time she realized that she shouldn't have to change who she is in order to be liked or accepted, she shouldn't have to beg to be anyone's priority, which then leads back to Klaus and the fact he always admired her big personality, flaws and all, and the fact she gets to be 100% herself around him is a huge part of why she feels so much more at ease with him than she did with Tyler, for instance, but I digress).

While they are caught in this crossfire of sorts, him sulking in MF and her pretending not to sulk in Whitmore and having to deal with the mysterious new roommate's death and all, Elijah shows up with someone he just rescued from the hands of an angry witch mob in New Orleans: pregnant Hayley. And that's where the two plots would come together.

Obviously the whole baby thing would've been a much smaller plot within the whole of S5 than it ever was in TO, for obvious reasons. But it would be a point of contention between Klaus and Caroline and it would tie in the several different running storylines of the season at the end. I'm thinking Caroline would probably be the one trying to save Hayley and the baby from the siege of Mystic Falls at the end. And obviously, by the time we get there, with Tyler having come back and tried to kill Hayley, and revealed the secret to the whole town, etc, etc, Caroline will have come to terms with how she feels for Klaus and the two of them will be unapologetically together.

In a broader sense I also think this would offer a good chance to explore Elijah's character and his relationship with Katherine and everything she meant to him. The fact he wasn't there when she dies (and Klaus was) was just baffling to me. We see him him giving up on her in a 1 minute scene and that's it. Bringing him back to MF under these circumstances would create a much broader opportunity to explore what is his character's eternal conflict of family duty x self satisfaction, where he would realize that in order to keep the whole home situation in control, and mantain Hayley hidden and as secret, he'd have to stay away from Katherine, and then eventually she would die, and he would realize he'd once again missed a chance of being happy for the sake of his family while Klaus gives fuck all to fatherhood and all that.

I ALSO think it would've been so much fun if Caroline would invite Klaus instead of Katherine to help cure Stefan's PTSD. Klaus would have the time of his life tbh. And this is 100% my wishful thinking, but Klefan is real in my heart and it was about time the show incorporated that into its canon (although I very much doubt they'd ever do it, the cowards).

I'm so sorry for how long and rambly this is. 🥲

[inkblackorchid]

What the hell happened with Crow: an autopsy (Part 2)

Hope you didn't think I'd forgotten about this post yet. Lads, ladies, and other lovely people, here we go. I have more yelling about bird boy to do.

But first, a few disclaimers. For people who may have missed part one, yes, as the title implies, this post is part two of an attempt to analyse Crow's character throughout 5Ds' whole run. You can find part one here. Now, both for people who may not have the time/energy to read my first, huge post about this right now, let me explain what I'm about here before we start again: My analysis is not meant to deter people who like Crow from liking him. It's also not meant to convince Crow haters otherwise, even if I admittedly personally like Crow. All of this stuff is just my personal attempt at dissecting how his character was handled in the show and why that might have been. And because this is part two, and I covered the Fortune Cup and Dark Signers arc in the first post, I'll start with the pre-WRGP arc, then dig into the backstory Crow was given directly before the WRGP begins properly. Also, mind the length of this post. I'm physically incapable of writing short things.

I also feel the need to reiterate another thing before I really get into the meat of things again: If you were hoping to see any old rumours about 5Ds confirmed, this is the wrong post. In fact, thanks to the very thorough work of someone over on Reddit (another shoutout to @mbg159 here, who's the author of those posts), I know for a fact that literally all the big rumours surrounding Crow are one big pile of logistically impossible horseshit, and I think after so, so many years of people citing this nonsense, the fandom as a whole finally deserves to let these go:

No, Crow was not meant to be a dark signer, least of all the final boss of season one, and Blackwings were not the reason he got more screentime later.

No, Aki being sidelined was not the result of her irl voice actress' pregnancy.

Yes, I know these two posts are both a long read each, but I cannot begin to tell you how tired I am of these rumours. So even if you don't have time to read the stuff above, please take away this: The big 5Ds production conspiracy theories are. all. bullshit. Because, to put it in as simple terms as possible, none of them work out logistically. The events people have pretended affected the show's production in a major way all don't line up with the actual production timeline. So just can the rumours already. Please let them die. And no pitting Aki and Crow against each other on his post or because of this post, yes? I beg you, I am so tired. Ok? Ok.

All right, now we can get to the good part. In my previous post, I left off at the end of the DS arc. So, in what position is Crow at the end of the DS arc? He helped save the world by defeating Goodwin and got his very own signer mark after Rudger/Roman Goodwin's death.

And now, where is Crow at the start of the pre-WRGP arc?

(Bam. Delivery bird boy be upon ye.)

This time, Crow wastes absolutely no time coming back on screen. We see him again within the first episode of the second half of the show, and wouldn't you know it! He moved in with Yusei and Jack and the three of them have a funny, brotherly, bickering dynamic between them. Also, as a fun little add-on that is very much in line with his deeply Satellite, down to earth characterisation from the first half, Crow now works as a delivery driver to earn money for the household. That's all very nice and good.

But what is his role in the plot from here on out? Well.

First, a small note about the pre-WRGP arc. Though this arc is fun to watch because it gives us a lot of silly character interactions the show no longer found the time for once the WRGP started, the pre-WRGP arc really can't be said to bother with actual plot much. It's the known filler arc of 5Ds, and as such, Crow is not the only character who gets pretty much nothing plot-related to do during this arc. Thus, I'll only give a quick run-down of what he does get up to, just in case any of these tidbits end up showcasing a relevant aspect of Crow's character I might come back to later.

Furthermore, another thing that's pretty much obvious to everyone who's ever watched the show in its entirety but still bears mentioning: Crow gets a lot more screentime from this point on out. Technically. Why do I say "technically"? I'll get back to that further below. For now, just keep it in mind.

So, how does Bird Boy spend his time during the arc where the plot's on the back burner? To be honest, on the sidelines, mostly. Don't get me wrong, Crow's there. Most of the time. But he gets pretty much only two episodes where he's the focus, and both of those aren't exactly known for being 5Ds' most memorable episodes (even though I still like them both tbh, but I digress): For one, in episode 68, he gets to convince Bashford to move in with Martha so the depressed old man isn't spending his entire retirement living in a scrapyard.

(This episode's comedic moments are actually fairly solid. But those are just my two cents.)

And for two, in episode 85, Crow gets to bond with the boys' somewhat cranky landlady, Zora, by duelling some sense into her son, Lyndon. (Which also introduces us to a duelling tactic only Crow uses that we will later see again: Losing on purpose.)

(And here we can see Crow showing off his skills at dealing with petulant children.)

Now, do these two episodes where he gets to be relevant actually do anything for Crow? As a character? Debatable. If nothing else, they strongly reaffirm the values Crow represents which we were introduced to in the first half of the show, though. They reintroduce us to his stubbornness, to his (in comparison to Jack and Yusei) more playful nature, to his very Yusei-ish dedication to doing the right thing, to his penchant for spite, and to his strong sense of family and community and his belief that these two things shouldn't be abandoned unless you have a damned good reason for it.

You may notice that there's a sizeable gap between these two episodes. That's because those episodes are where we get the only smidgens of plot in this arc. Among them, highlights like Sherry's introduction, the first reveal of accel synchro, Aki's turbo duelling license exam, three separate story beats hinting at the machinations of the emperors of Iliaster (Luciano's little stunt with Rua and Ruka, Placido getting started on building a killer robot army, and the Jack double being unleashed onto NDC), and Bruno's introduction. So, here's the thing: Crow is technically present during most of those episodes, too, but he doesn't actually get to meaningfully interact with the plot-relevant elements. (Which is not to say he doesn't have nice moments here and there. He does get to bounce off the other characters, and, just as one example, helps Yusei and Jack upgrade Aki's duel runner, as well as help Yusei build Rua's duel board. Crucially, he doesn't get to do anything that later becomes plot-relevant, though.) Moreover, not one, but two characters who end up becoming major players in the series' finale are introduced here, which is relevant insofar as that Bruno and Sherry both end up needing a good amount of development before they can impactfully take their later roles. Now, I say this with nothing but genuine appreciation for both these characters, because I do like them, but I feel the need to point out what this means not just for Crow, but for pretty much everyone who isn't Jack or Yusei: Every minute of screentime that was dedicated to Bruno and/or Sherry was one minute less the writers could spend on the rest of the cast. This is not to say that time shouldn't have been spent on them, they needed it, especially because they were introduced so late, but it's something I do want people to keep in mind when talking about who got how much screentime and whether or not that time was well spent. (I also have a larger gripe with the definition of "screentime" in general, but more on that later.)

So when does Crow get to be relevant to the plot again, now that he's even a signer and all? Well, not until episode 94, when the WRGP arc has already started. (Note that I'm using the 5Ds episode list on wikipedia as a general guide for which arc and which season starts where. You can find it here.)

*Deep breath*

So. Episode 94.

(Pictured: One very scruffy dragon. Bird? Dragon-bird. Bird-dragon. You figure this shit out.)

That episode. The episode where Crow, who was awarded with the status of a signer during the finale of the DS arc, finally gets a dragon to match his mark. And the episode where we finally, finally, get some actual backstory for Crow that goes beyond his involvement with the Enforcers and childhood with Jack and Yusei. A backstory that's only Crow's own. Except. How do I put this politely...

This shit doesn't make a lick of sense. Neither the events in the duel between Crow and Bolger in the present resulting in Black-Winged Dragon's appearance, nor the Pearson backstory.

Now, I'm not saying this to step on anyone's toes. From a writing standpoint, I can even make a fairly reasonable guess as to why this episode/mini-arc is here, I think: As I mentioned in part one of this analysis, Crow was not only introduced very late, but also got very little backstory of his own, which set him apart from the other signers. Don't get me wrong, he did get some backstory—we know of his strong connection to Duel Monsters because he learned to read from cards, and we know of his involvement with the Enforcers/Team Satisfaction. Crucially, though, Crow doesn't really get a backstory segment that feels as unique to him as the others. Aki gets her tragic past with her parents and her powers, Jack gets his betrayal of Yusei, which also doubles as part of Yusei's backstory, who as the protagonist understandably gets the most backstory, and even the twins, though they are as always treated as one unit, get their very own segment about the time when Ruka was essentially in a coma. Meanwhile, Crow only has that one-off tear-jerker moment about learning to read from his cards and his being a part of the boys' duel gang, which, and I cannot stress this enough, is treated as more of a Yusei and Kalin/Kiryu backstory by canon than a Crow backstory. Thus, it makes perfect sense from a writing standpoint that the Pearson/Black-Winged Dragon mini-arc would be here. Crow, up until this point, has neither a backstory segment dedicated solely to him, nor a signer dragon to call his own. So, how do we solve this? Give him both in a strategic double-whammy! The math checks out. Unfortunately, the writing of said mini-arc... doesn't.

Now, look. The juicy question of whether Crow would have worked better as a non-signer or not, which I already discussed in part one aside, I personally don't hate what this backstory is trying to do. It's just that the whole Pearson-drama has some very notable, logical holes which I'll get into below. Furthermore, this is not the first time something related to Crow has some unfortunate, logical and/or chronological issues. I already brought up the infamous fridge and Rex Goodwin's rather confusing backstory in part one, both of which raise some serious questions. However, Pearson and everything surrounding him arguably blow that clean out of the water. Let's examine this more closely, shall we.

The long-overdue backstory we get for Crow begins with a mystery: Mikage and Trudge, for a reason that is never given to us, are investigating the death of Robert Pearson (whose death would have been several years ago at this point), whom Crow knew very well, and they're doing it because they found a hint that the person who killed Pearson used an illegal card, Crimson Mefist, to do it.

(Post redemption-arc Trudge actually doing his job instead of bullying random Satellite citizens. Who would have thunk.)

Thing is, here, we already encounter our first, minor problem: Pearson has never been mentioned up until this point, not even as an aside. And this issue is compounded by the fact that not only Crow seems to know him, but Trudge claims to as well, because "Satellite used to be his jurisdiction". So, a named character who's familiar to both one of our protagonists and a notable side character, and we've never seen hide nor hair of him. If we pull our heads out of the story for a second, the irl reason for how this came to be is probably pretty obvious: Pearson was never mentioned before because the writers had nowhere near as solid of a plan for Crow as they did for the other characters, which leads to him being introduced out of nowhere here because we need a backstory and a dragon for Crow and we need those now. Moving on.

The mention of Pearson having been not simply killed in a fire, like Crow previously assumed, but having been murdered through a special, illegal card immediately makes him suspicious. So, he goes to consult Bolger/Bolton, another never-before-seen character who gets introduced in service of this backstory, and who knew Pearson well. And while this guy certainly acts amiable towards Crow at first, implying that the two have a good rapport, at least, he quickly starts acting suspicious when Pearson's murder comes up. Moreover, we as the audience at this point already know Bolger's looking for Black-Winged Dragon so he can use the card essentially as collateral to save his company. And the name "Black-Winged Dragon" already leaves very little to the imagination as to whose deck this monster is supposed to fit into. But, in a small twist, we learn from Crow that this was apparently Pearson's card, and supposedly lost in the fire where said man died, to boot. Then Bolger challenges Crow to a duel, too, offering to tell the truth about Pearson's death if he loses, but demanding Black-Winged Dragon, which he believes Crow to be in possession of, if he wins. So far, so good. We've got a mystery here, and canon is not contradicting itself just yet. Until we get to the actual backstory, which shows us the time Crow spent with Pearson, that is. Before we get into that, I'd like to highlight one theme this mini-arc introduces that actually feels like it fits Crow: Legacy. Over the course of meeting Bolger again and being reminded of his time with Pearson, Crow starts thinking about whether he's taking over his former mentor's/father figure's legacy well enough.

(Crow having some Deep Thoughts TM, featuring one of Yusei's most relaxed, easygoing smiles in the entire show, probably.)

This theme, I would argue, is one of the major things this backstory introduces that really meshes well with the Crow we already had until this point. He's a community-focussed guy and absolutely a family person, if him taking care of Satellite orphans is anything to go by, so leaving behind a good legacy for the people after him (read: the kids he took care of) would absolutely be something he cares about. We see this element of legacy again in his cards during this episode, too, which canon implies he inherited from Pearson. (I'll get to THAT can of worms below.) And on paper, with the themes he's already got going, Crow being the only one to inherit his deck rather than build it all by himself would actually make sense!

However. This is where we have to get into the meat of the backstory. I'll start by listing the barebones information Crow's backstory with Pearson gives us, then going into why several aspects of it are either logistical or chronological nonsense.

So, as canon tells us, Crow met Pearson after Kiryu/Kalin was arrested, when the Enforcers/Team Satisfaction all went their separate ways. During this period, Crow had already set up shop near the original Daedalus Bridge and started out taking care of orphans, but it wasn't all smooth sailing. He was, by his own admission, "living aimlessly". Then, during a pinch, Pearson and Bolger show up, take care of some bad guys for Crow and the kids, and Crow sees a new role model in Pearson. Pearson, who rides the Blackbird, plays a Blackwing deck and owns Black-Winged Dragon. So, he joins up with Pearson, presumably learns how to work on duel runners from him, and also befriends Bolger. Then, one day, a fire breaks out at Pearson's workshop and the man in question dies, but leaves Crow his runner and his duel disk before he does so. End flashback. Because I want to tie this together nicely, we also learn later that Pearson technically left him Black-Winged Dragon, too, by sealing it in his runner. And, of course, that dragon later becomes Crow's very own signer dragon.

Several points to be dissected here. And funnily enough, Bolger's duel with Crow isn't relevant for any of them. Let's start with the big one: The timeline. I want you to remember that as far as canon is concerned, Crow is 17 during the DS arc. Moreover, it's canonically stated that Jack stole Yusei's first duel runner two years before the show's start, at which time Crow would have been 15. And their time together as the Enforcers must have been even before that, because Kiryu/Kalin was already in prison for a while at that point and Crow and Yusei don't reunite until the DS arc is basically in full swing. So, I'll make a vague estimate here and say that during the time of the Enforcers, Crow would have probably been 13-14. (Which is hilarious when you think about the fact that this gang of angry teenagers essentially took over the entire duelling underground of Satellite, but I digress.) Now we add the idea that Crow met Pearson after the Enforcers, but that he died before canon starts into the mix. That means Crow first ran into Pearson sometime around age 15, and that he then died presumably before Crow turned 17. So far, so good, that still slots into canon, even if it makes Crow pretty damn young for some things. He's even missing the personalised Blackbird duel disk he later wears during the Enforcer days, I went back to check. What he is not missing, however, are his Blackwings. And this is where canon may or may not have made an implication that, if intentional, breaks this timeline. See, during the scene where Pearson's workshop is burning down and he's already trapped under debris and has embraced death, he tosses Crow his duel disk and leaves him his runner.

(Two important screenshots, in sequence. One, Pearson with his duel disk still strapped to his arm. His deck is very obviously still in there. Two, Crow with that same duel disk, as made obvious by its distinct shape.)

What this implies is that Pearson also left Crow his deck. Which, yeah, fair enough, if I were dying in a fire I'd probably also think "fuck it, not like I'll need my cards in the afterlife". What this (and Crow's look the first time he sees Pearson's monsters) implies, though, is that Crow didn't start playing Blackwings until Pearson left him his deck. Which is factually untrue, because there is literal evidence in the show that Crow already had Blackwings during his time as part of the duel gang, before ever meeting Pearson. (The exact episode, if you want to check for yourself, is 33, where Crow summons both Bora the Spear and Blackwing Armor Master during a flashback.) However, I will concede that the show never actually states this is the case, it's just implied by what we see on screen, so perhaps the idea here was that Crow already played Blackwings before Pearson, but grew to love them even more through his mentor/father figure, and so later happily integrated the deck he inherited into his own. Crucially, canon never states this outright, either, though, so the option remains on the table. But, to give the benefit of the doubt here, the possibility that this could still slot in with canon and that it was just handled poorly is there. The same cannot be said for the Blackbird, however.

(Uh oh. So much for canon continuity.)

The above two screenshots directly contradict each other. First we have Yusei, upon reuniting with Crow in Satellite during the DS arc, casually remarking that Crow finished his duel runner. Which means that canon at this point suggests to the audience that one, Crow built this duel runner by himself, for himself, and two, that Yusei knew about it for a while already. Then there's the second screenshot, from the Pearson backstory episode, where Crow outright claims the Blackbird was left to him when Pearson died. I don't think I need to tell anyone that these two things can't be true at the same time. And again, I think this is where Crow fell victim to the writers not having a clear outline for him. At first, he was supposed to be this scrappy guy who also built a duel runner for himself, just like Yusei. But now, he's a signer, needs a backstory and a dragon, and because a theme of legacy is introduced alongside Pearson, the runner suddenly needs to be inherited, as well as (possibly) Crow's cards. Now, a crafty fanfic writer could probably reconcile the above contradiction somehow, and I know some stories that accomplished that. But the point isn't that we, as the audience/fandom could make this work, the point is that canon didn't make it work. What canon, sadly, also didn't get to work was Black-Winged Dragon.

(We meet again, bird-dragon.)

Here comes the next elephant in the room: Everyone and their mother who has watched 5Ds knows that Black-Winged Dragon was never implied to be a signer dragon up until the duel where Crow acquires it. In fact, an entirely different dragon is teased so heavily long before BWD ever shows up that it to this day is one of many people's major gripes with the show's writing.

(Why, hello, Life Stream Dragon! Fancy seeing you here.)

And yet, Black-Winged Dragon is turned into a signer dragon before Life Stream Dragon, who was teased more than sixty (!!!) episodes before BWD was ever even mentioned. Why? Simple: Because Crow became a signer and Rua/Leo didn't, because the signers all need dragons (or else the "5Ds" part kind of doesn't work), and because Life Stream Dragon thematically doesn't fit Crow.

Now, I've seen people post theories to reconcile this weird hitch in canon, hell, I've even posted an idea for how it could be reconciled myself. But, again, that isn't the point here. The point is that as far as good old, barebones canon is concerned, it isn't reconciled. Canon at first states there are five signers, suggesting that there are also five dragons. But then, the fifth dragon never shows up, and one of the signers dies, to boot. Only for canon to then teach us, oh, no, look, the signer marks can wander from one person to the next. And to add insult to injury (at least where the show's writing and internal consistency is concerned), the signer mark that was "freed up" by Roman/Rudger's death doesn't wander to Rua/Leo, who any attentive watcher would have expected to become a signer because it was heavily teased during the DS arc, but to Crow. Frankly, I'm not surprised many people were angry about this, but in case my disclaimer didn't make it clear, I don't think it's productive to pin this on Crow by claiming his cards became super popular irl. There was definitely an out-of-left-field writing choice made here, but the only answers as to "why" were left in the 5Ds' writer's room, I believe. At a guess, if you want me to throw out a non-sugarcoated theory as to why, though? They probably thought Crow would be a more interesting character for their target audience. He's a scrappy guy who sticks it to authority, he's brave, he's funny, he plays a cool deck, and most of all, unlike Rua, he never embarrasses himself in a duel on screen. Why am I highlighting that last part? Because I feel like people sometimes forget that the target audience for this show, at the time of its creation, were about twelve year-old boys. And you can feel free to contradict me on this, but most twelve year-old boys I've known and know don't want to project themselves onto a chracter who loses and gets his butt kicked a lot, and who's a bit awkward and steps in it sometimes, which is much closer to how actual twelve year-olds are—but that's exactly why they prefer the cooler characters. And Crow is the cooler character, by average twelve year-old boy logic, regardless of what the grownups of this fandom think.

So Crow gets a dragon and the writing doesn't bother explaining the how or why of it, let alone tackles any of the implications made by Black-Winged Dragon's existence as a signer dragon. (Like what does this mean for the larger worldbuilding? Does the Crimson Dragon actually have more than five servants, but chooses to only ever bestow five marks at a time? Can any "dragon" the Crimson Dragon chooses be a signer dragon, and it just so happens that the constellation of signer dragons is nearly the same as the original one in present-time 5Ds canon? Did the Crimson Dragon specifically elevate BWD to a signer dragon because it felt like it? Was BWD always supposed to be a signer dragon? Was Pearson supposed to be a signer, but died too early before the dark signer prophecy was set into motion? Am I overthinking this? (Yes.)) He also obtains his dragon in what feels like the weirdest way possible to me, because it suddenly??? Just decides to appear in his runner????? Out of nowhere??????

(Why is that here. How did it get there. Why did Pearson even put it in there. And HOW. Is it just wedged between the machinery or what???? And how on earth did Yusei, Bruno, and/or Crow never find it before this point considering how often someone tinkered on the Blackbird on screen???)

(This scenario, of course, also raises the question how the other signers even got their dragons. But like many other, interesting questions, this episode chooses not to interact with that one whatsoever.)

In short, this backstory is a bit of a mess, to say the least. For as much good as it tries to do by contextualising Crow's character and giving him something that sets him apart from the rest of the protag group, it feels like a rough draft of an episode was given the green light to be produced without any editing, judging by the contradictions and weird implications. As such, it harms Crow's character as much as it builds it, as evidenced by how much fandom backlash he still receives years later for the things that were bungled in this backstory and also in different aspects of his character writing.

Now, you may notice this post has gotten stupidly long due to just how convoluted the specific hangups of Crow's backstory are. I originally meant to cover the WRGP and even the Ark Cradle arc for Crow in this post, too, but due to how much there was to say about canon's attempt to finally make Crow a "proper" signer, I've decided that trying to force another two whole arcs in here would be a disservice to the analysis and the character, and also make this agonisingly long, so I'll close this part out here and write a part three, perhaps even a part four depending on how much material the WRGP gives me to work with.

There's one more thing I need to get back to before I finish up this part, though: The "screentime" discussion. I mentioned far above that I take issue with how some people seem to be using the word screentime, and now I can explain why. First, I want you to take a look back at the episodes I covered here, those being 65-95, essentially. Now, as anyone who usually dislikes Crow will tell you, Crow is present in most, if not all of these episodes. He's on screen. He's getting screentime, and, according to many people, hogging it, even. Okay. Now, I want you to look back up at the analysis. How many episodes did I cover where Crow actually gets something to do? As in, where he's either the focus of the plot or gets to contribute to it in a significant way? There's the old man Bashford episode. There's the Poppo Time clock episode. There's his two backstory episodes. That's four. Four episodes. If you're generous, you might add in the episode where he gets to narrate Yusei's backstory alongside Jack and the two fake Jack episodes where he gets to have an emotional moment or two with his foster-brother. If you're less generous, you'll note that none of these episodes have Crow actually interacting with the main antagonists in a meaningful way or set up anything important that pays off later. (Hell, he doesn't even get any, and I really mean, any meaningful setup interactions with Sherry, who ends up being his final-boss-level opponent during the final episodes! Aki gets more meaningful interactions with Sherry than him, not that this ever gets a payoff.) And this is why I take an issue with people claiming Crow gets so much "screentime" post DS arc. Because to me, "screentime" should be time spent letting a character act meaningfully within the story, which most of the pre-WRGP episodes aren't for Crow. He's on screen, yes, but in many episodes, it wouldn't matter one whit whether you replaced him with a nameless side character, which isn't exactly a great look for a supposed third of a protagonist trifecta. Perhaps I'm being too strict with my definition of "screentime" here, fair enough! But the claim that Crow hogs screentime already rubs the wrong way during this comparably unimportant arc, so I can't leave it alone. It feels very decidedly malicious to claim a character who during some episodes seems to only be there to provide exposition or make whatever jokes Yusei and Jack's personalities aren't suited to is stealing screentime from other characters. As for the WRGP duels and whether he's "hogging" anyone's screentime there, I'll dig into that nonsense in the next part, please be patient with me.

...Phew. Okay.

Now, before I leave you to wonder whether I'm every finishing my Crow analysis in full again, I want to attempt to do the same thing I did in part one—propose some changes that could have been made to the writing for Crow's character in order to make things slot in better with the rest of canon. With a small disclaimer, of course: These are just my suggestions as to how Crow's character could have fit into canon more smoothly and been done less of a disservice by his own backstory.

So. First, a quick-fire thing about the pre-WRGP, to get that out of the way: Crow, alongside Aki, is the only signer who didn't get his own confrontation with either Iliaster or their minions. (Yusei had Ghost, Jack had fake Jack, Rua and Ruka had Luciano.) Instead of having him confront a cranky old man in a scrapyard or Zora's son, they could have easily given him a very short side-story where he gets to experience the threat of Iliaster up close and personal, too. Hell, they could have very nicely cut the recap episode where Crow and Jack lie in the mess of Jack's terribly built coffee table and philosophise about Yusei's backstory for this, too. (As funny as their interaction about the coffee table and Jack lying on the floor with a perfectly intact coffee cup are.)

(Pictured: Two idiots (affectionate) contemplating life among the scraps of a shitty, broken coffee table.)

Then, there's the Pearson backstory, of course. So, here's the thing, I think two very different kinds of "fixes" could have worked here. Crucially, they both depend on Crow's status as a signer. I argued in part one that Crow might have worked better as a character if he hadn't actually become a signer, so I'll give both versions here. Let's go.

Option A: We try not to touch canon too much and Crow stays a signer.

How to do this? Frankly, I think what Crow's mark and Black-Winged Dragon were majorly missing was setup. The mark is the smaller offence here, since, fair enough, the idea that signer marks can wander from person to person isn't too out there for 5Ds canon. However, the lack of a dragon despite the alleged 5Ds stands out, and Life Stream Dragon's wasted setup only makes it worse. Thus, making Black-Winged Dragon make sense would have required giving him the same amount of foreshadowing as Life Stream Dragon, at the very least. And you know who could have been great for that? Sweet, ever-forgotten-by-canon Ruka. She was already shown having flashback dreams to the signer dragons' first battle against the dark signers, so who's to say she couldn't have gotten dreams about a shadowy, new dragon she's never seen before? Perhaps even dreams where she's not sure if the dragon is good or bad at first! It could have provided intrigue, it could have made the audience curious. To strengthen that, canon could have also bothered taking the question "hey why are there only four dragons now" seriously. No character in canon ever questions why there are five marks, but only four dragons. Even Rua, who was previously hopeful that he might secretly be a signer, never brings it up. If canon had bothered to actually point this mystery out, they could have used it not only to foreshadow Black-Winged Dragon, but to aid Life Stream Dragon's setup, too. What the fuck am I talking about, I hear you ask. Hear me out: Life Stream Dragon is shown way, way later down the line, long after the audience probably already accepted that it was simply never going to show up, literally bursting out of Power Tool Dragon's armour. We are not provided with an explanation as to why. Imagine if they had sprinkled in another dream Ruka could have had about the ancient past here. Imagine if they had used the opportunity to show something like, oh, during the battle, Life Stream Dragon got injured so badly they had to protect its wounded body with a suit of armour, in the hopes that it would heal. And with one original signer dragon out of commission, the Crimson Dragon sadly had to choose a replacement in between, because the Earthbound Immortals were sure to return. Bam. Black-Winged Dragon. Two signer dragons, set up simultaneously, without forcing the canon lore to do somersaults. Furthermore, to actually explain why Pearson had the dragon but wasn't a signer, they could have easily sprinkled in a flashback between him and Crow. Maybe Pearson could have mentioned how the dragon always feels like it's never really his, as a joking aside. It would have been enough for me to suspend my disbelief, you know? And then the rest of canon could have played out exactly as we know it. Crow could have confronted Bolger, could have obtained Black-Winged Dragon because maybe the dragon finally decided he was worth throwing its weight behind. The mystery behind the missing fifth dragon could have been solved, and it would have made for satisfying payoff without kneecapping Life Stream Dragon's setup or conjuring an extra dragon out of thin air. And really, stuff like the runner thing could have so easily been solved by simply picking one version (did he build it himself or inherit it?) and sticking with it. All it took was a little more care.

Option B: We assume Crow didn't actually become a signer, but try to keep his backstory intact.

Okay, this version works under the assumption that Crow, despite partaking in the final battle against Goodwin during the DS arc, didn't receive a signer mark. To make this work, I would, bluntly put, simply make it so that Black-Winged Dragon doesn't exist. Pearson can still play a powerful Blackwing monster during his flashback that Bolger wants to find and sell later, but it simply isn't that dragon. Really, Blackwings have enough to choose from there. If the backstory episodes had been placed a little later, say, during the pause in the middle of the WRGP, he could have even received something like Blackwing Full Armor Master here. (Yes, I know that card didn't exist at the time, but my point is that he could have simply received a powerup like Yusei and Jack did, instead of a completely new monster.) With this setup, they could have still added the intrigue of taking the question why there are only four signers now seriously. They could have still set up a mystery about why no one ever saw the fifth dragon outside of dreams. And it could have made Rua becoming a signer later, and in this version getting the tail mark instead of a completely new one, that much more satisfying. And Crow could have kept his "fuck destiny, I'm trying to save the world here"-attitude from the DS arc, providing a nice, amusing counterweight to our heroes chosen by an ancient Incan dragon deity. All it would have taken would have been not giving him a mark and switching out Black-Winged Dragon for something else.

So, take your pick, I guess. In the meantime, I'll try my best to work on part three faster than I did part two, lmao.

See you next time!

[tangledbea]

I feel like the main reason we didn't get Eugene's reaction to Rapunzel becoming a bird forever was because the bird episode was supposed to just be a lighthearted 'filler' type episode, it wasn't meant to be a big plot relevant episode. But it would've been interesting if there was a little arc where Rapunzel was stuck as a bird and the rest of the gang are trying to deal with that and turn her back.

No, it's literally because they wanted the focus of the episode to be Cassandra and Rapunzel's relationship. That was the A Plot. The guys and their machismo contest was the B Plot, which relegated them as secondary characters to the episode.

There were multiple times in the season where Eugene's reaction was either stifled or they deliberately got him out of the scene because his reaction couldn't be ignored otherwise. A very noteworthy case of this was in "Rapunzel and the Great Tree". We had the executive producer on our Tangled Talk podcast, and he explained that the reason why Eugene passed out and had to be removed from the fray towards the end of the episode was because they knew he would never leave Rapunzel alone in there under his own power. They had to get rid of him somehow. (Fan theories were that the Reverse Incantation had affected him more negatively than the others, because the Healing Incantation had brought him back to life. After all, he held his side right before he went down. Frankly, I find this theory more intriguing, though I can easily say that the tree squeezed him too hard which a) made his ribs hurt and b) cause him to cry out in pain, which was the catalyst for Rapunzel using the Reverse Incantation.)

Similarly, they straight up ignored his reaction in "Freebird" because it wasn't the primary focus of the episode.

"Freebird" actually wasn't "filler" at all, as it was the beginning of the emotional conflict between Rapunzel and Cassandra. Well, not the very beginning, but that was the first time Cassandra expressed frustration that Rapunzel wasn't listening to her advice. That's the thing about episodes that people often consider "filler": they think that light-hearted means it's not really plot-relevant. But plot comes from so many little things, character-driven moments, character-developing interactions. Writing off an episode as "filler" because it's not dark or heavy is doing the media a disservice.

[iwanttobeliv]

Betty, la fea: la historia continúa

Episode 1 – Reunited (but it doesn’t feel so good)

I can’t begin to explain how excited I was for this. That we would be able not only to see our beloved characters again after so very long, and most of all, that we would be able to see Betty and Armando together again.

At first, there was a lot of speculation about the series' plot – and not much information to go on.

And the problem with that is that the longer the wait, the bigger the expectations. And boy, were they big!

Ever since the wave of revivals became a thing, I’ve seen my fair share of them, and I knew that lowering my expectations would probably be for the best. I mean, adjusting it to something better than ‘Ecomoda”, but likely not as great as YSBLF.

Even though there were some very positive aspects such as how much the cast and production team seemed to love this project, or how happy they looked to get back to it, and also how much better JEA looks these days, there were other factors that I couldn’t help but think would likely be an issue.

First of all, the length of it. We all knew we wouldn’t get 335 episodes. That’s not how TV works nowadays, especially streaming services. And then, when I found out there would be only 10, I thought, oh well. At least we get to see them for 10 episodes, that’s something… Better than not all, I guess. 

But then, I didn’t realize just how much this format would affect the story. Which is a lot, something we can feel right out of the gate.

YSBLF was fundamentally what fic readers describe as slow-burn. Which can be great for character development. But that also requires a lot of fillers, subplots, and sharp writing skills so that the audience won’t just get fed up and quit the show before it’s over.

Given how the target audience of the new show was mainly fans from YSBLF, I guess they didn’t have to worry much about that. We already know and love the characters – most of all the protagonists.

But, then again, it has been over 20 years.

So, back to episode 1.

The previously on? Loved it! They did a fairly good job summarizing the main bits, though I’m not sure it would have worked alone hadn’t I watched YSBLF time and time again.

I love that they start with Betty’s voiceover. Having a special insight into what was going through her mind was such a fundamental part of the story in the first place. Through Betty’s diary, we got to know all the vulnerabilities that Betty had learned to keep inside, protected from a world that had been far too cruel to her. While with Nicolas we got to see her using humor to fend for herself, at night, in her strangely decorated room – I think all those dolls were meant to symbolize Betty’s innocence and youth and remind us that she was a young girl, and therefore lacked the experience and malice to understand where she was headed to until it was too late. But it also looked like a grandma’s room, and a very dark one, so, yeah, not great. I get it, it was a low-budget production, but did her room have to look like a place where one would find a captive? My guess is no. – Anyway it was through her precious diary that we got to hear Betty sharing her thoughts and dreams, memories and fears. So, when I heard Betty speaking, it just felt familiar and wistful. And I guess I was too distracted by that to be bothered by the wordplay they did there, trying to create a suspense that would only have worked if we hadn’t watched the promo 150 times, give or take. I never thought I would say I missed Hugo, even in YSBLF I didn’t care much for his character but he had me at the ‘Dead Poet Society’ reference.

I’m still trying to understand Betty’s wardrobe choices there, I mean, even though her ‘current’ style seems like a far cry from wearing Don Hermes’s old sweaters, this one feels like it's too much and nothing like the woman we supposedly knew.

But I digress. 

Betty shows up and we get Armando looking at her with puppy eyes and standing up for ‘su Betty’ right away, and well, I am only human and completely understand why Betty’s knees would go weak and nearly throw her into Roberto’s grave.

So yeah, Roberto is dead, something we were aware of from the promo, but what does it mean to Ecomoda? And why was Betty gone until this moment?

That’s where things start to get messy.

I can’t say I was surprised that Armando and Betty aren’t together. While I hoped they still loved each other after all this time (and I still do), a relationship lasting this long must have a solid foundation. Which they didn’t really have and we never got to see... I think they truly loved (and love) each other, but trust isn’t something easy to gain and it’s even harder to regain after it's lost. The lies, the miscommunication, the tempers, all of it would inevitably create conflict. And there’s no good story without that.

(This reminds me I really want to take a closer look at Armando and Betty as individuals, but I think I might save this for another time)

That being said, we get a bunch of info dumped on us in a very short time, and I had to watch it more than once to make sense of the whole thing. Let’s make a list:

Roberto is dead. (And so is Margarita)

Betty was gone and not by her choice, according to her. But then Armando says they are not together and that *is* her choice, so what then?

I really really like the way Armando looks at Betty when she asks him how he is. It screams familiarity with a hint of fondness (?) Oh these two…

Don Hermes shows up and I’m intrigued. He uses his famous catchphrase while dragging Betty away from Armando and when he stands next to his daughter, it makes me think he too is aware of Betty’s situation with her 'ex', and I don’t know, but whatever happened, it made him forego the sanctity of matrimony, which seems like a big thing to such a traditional man like him.

Hugo hasn’t changed a bit.

And Betty is still the clumsy, self-conscious Betty under all that fur.

There is a camera and suspense. Not my cup of tea, but ok.

Marcela seems a bit more civil around Betty, which is to be expected after so long, but still her (by now more than comprehensible) resentment seems to be alive and well.

Don Hermes mentions leaving fresh flowers to Dona Julia, but it’s such a short comment that it barely registers.

Patricia is apparently married to a mummy called Francisco Santamaria (Wasn’t there a lawyer with that name in YSBLF?) which is not particularly surprising given her life aspirations.

I guess when we have only ten episodes there’s no escape but to break the rules of “show and not tell”.

Next: A controversial topic, Mila Mendoza.

[tmf-confessions]

I HAVE TO CONFESS IT. I HAVE TO SAY IT. GOSHDARNIT I HATE LANDER WITH EVERY BONE IN MY BODY- 😭😭😭

Okay, so, may get some slander for this but Let me explain myself first- Lander is literally the least developed, most emotionless relationship in tmf.

1. Its (pretty much) useless to the plot

Literally like, they’re supposed to be “super close”, they used to be childhood best friends and now they’re lovers! But like…When do we see that ever???

Lander was basically just an excuse to give luke some screentime, and to give zander some more screentime. I know that not everything has to be necessary to the plot of tmf, but in general, when things happen, especially in such a short series (less than 15 episodes in season 1), even filler content should somehow be able to push the plot forward, right? Apparently not, because Lander literally did nothing plot wise!

You could argue that yes, it did show Zander and luke that jake was a trustworthy, but theres so many other ways that he could have done it, without the whole lander arc, which could have arguably set up both characters for more interesting arcs?

Honestly, I feel like there could have been an arc where luke accepted stacy, and zander had to learn to deal with heartbreak, and it would still push the narrative in the same direction, could have had a lot more buildup too

2. It feels like it’s just there for representation

As a queer person myself, do not get me wrong, it is WONDERFUL to have representation within media, on bigger more popular shows too! I’m eternally grateful that rosy added them in to showcase a queer relationship, however, lander honestly feels like its just that. Like its there, JUST to showcase a real relationship.

Like, they had a cute confession moment, but it was so early on in the series that it genuinely didn’t seem like something that was built up to. Sure, we got a bit of time, but how much time was that? 2 episodes of build up tops? “Lovesick luke” and “a drummers confession” was like, literally it. Nothing beforehand to build up to it, besides the whole “Zander is gay” and “zander and luke are childhood best friends” thing, but those can exist within platonic relationships too, so thats not really buildup at all

We never get to see why they’re attracted to eachother, other than “wow, they’ve been friends for a while and admire eachother, they must have crushes on eachother” like- even as a person who is VERY VERY VERY romantically attracted (think opposite of aromantic, then scale it 20x past that), its just giving “boy and girl co-star on a show and end up together at the end because you cant have 2 friends be close without them being romantic,” but made queer.

Genuinely, if theres going to be a relationship, i think that (as much as i personally am not really a shipper of it) jailey is a WONDERFUL example.

They kind of grew on eachother, and we see that attraction growing slowly, rather than being shoved in our faces or being rushed. Its a well thought out love arc, and almost perfectly encapsulates a slowly formed relationship. even in such a short show, it didn’t feel rushed.

(While rereading this, i’m really notsure how to phrase my words, so these words absolutely do not reflect my ABSOLUTE feelings on this, but this is about as close as I can get with it. I am in absolutely no way accusing rosy of being homophobic, Infact i see quite the opposite in her, she’s a wonderful ally, its just meh writing)

3. Its honestly not the best ship? (This part is my opinion purely)

Dont get me wrong, they’re not toxic by any means, (infact, they seem quite healthy!) but they 100% have some issues they need to work on. Like… does no one notice how Luke like, threatened jake if he hurt zander? Obsession issues a tad bit, perchance?/notneg

Luke kinda exists to push zander’s story arc along in the first season, so we get like, no luke character traits, which i think definitely contributes to them not being the best pairing, but overall they’re so generically “mehh” of a relationship. They’re just kinda together, to be together.

4. FINAL REASON: It was just there to push jake’s story along.

Honestly, I think this is the underlying reason here. Jake is the main character in a really short show, so if somethings not revolved around him, its gotta be quick. Lander would definitely be so much better with more development, but because its not jake centred, we basically get nothing on them. This isnt rosy’s fault by any means, shes gotta get the main story in ofc, it just sucks that that seems to cost other characters screen time and development that could have been really nice.

Overall, Rosy please make more lander stuff in season 2, I need to stop hating it cause it could genuinely be so cute 🙏

confession #810

[rcasedrawstuffs]

Rosemary HGS thoughts

So I got Crunchy Roll awhile back to watch the "Legend of Mana" anime and new eps of MHA. I figured while i was using it I would also check out that High Guardian Spice show. I have seen plenty of videos of people reviewing it and giving their thoughts so I might as well watch it.

I'm 4 episodes in and I don't hate it but its not very good. I think the biggest issue is the writing, if feels kind of aimless making every episode feel like filler, and it dosnt explain important things very well. Like I still dont really know what a "High Guardian" is

at the end of the 2nd episode they had characters give some vows about being Guardians but it felt like empty platitudes, that didnt explain any thing. Do they serve the people, royalty, do they run shops(they got a blacksmith class) or are they just adventures?

think the first episode should have just been Rose and Sage as little kids reading stories about Guardians and what they do, then it jumps to when they are heading to school, the train they are on gets attacked they try to help but fail and full High Guardians save the day

the people that attack the train could be linked to the main villains of the series too. I think by doing that you would show and tell the audience what a Guardian is while also showing what Rose and Sage could be at end of their journey

at the school they could make it part of their studies to take quests for the people in town. It could get them out of the school setting from time to time and get them to face the main villain's forces too and learn what their plans are, moving the plot forward

I dont think of my self as a writer but this is what I came up with it and I think it could have worked. I dont think the show is terrible and I dont think it deserved as much hate as it got though. Ok im done rambling

[slashingdisneypasta]

I just watch Good Day For It... I have so many thoughts!!

With how it was set up, it felt like an indie film, or one of those shows with an hour+ runtime per episode. I had to double check the that this was a on-its-own movie. I don't mean that in a bad way at all! I kinda hoped it was so we could get more story and action XD but it was just- executed sooo well! By the halfway point, I was surprised that Emily hadn't been kidnapped and Luke had to go rescue her. The movie focused on them and their relationship and her getting the answers she needed. No unnecessary drama or action needed to keep us at the edge of our seats. I absolutely love how you can see what the characters are thinking through their emotions and expressions- especially Luke!!!! And I was so so so relieved when we got that happy ending of the family reunited. No prison or death for Luke, Emily and Sarah can get all their answers and hopefully they'll be one bug happy family again ^^

Hec and Rose? Do I need to say anything?? They are the BEST supporting cast ever. Hands down. I need Rose and Reba to hang out. I need more Hec and Rose banter. I need more of Hec not just flirting with Rose and genuinely caring for her. I. Need. Them.

And of course, I can't forget the thugs you- and now I- love. First of all; Norman is my favorite. He's just.... Hooooooo fuck. I need him. I need that man. So in control? So level headed yet dangerous at the same time??? Lord have mercy (it doesn't help at all that I'm 99% sure that this is the same guy who played Foxy. WHAT IS IT WITH THAT MAN AND HIS VOICE!?)

As we can see, this is yet another case of me falling in love with the sidekick/accomplice of the one you're in love(?) With. First buck and Harper, then Big Bad and Granny. Greasy and Psycho, Otis and Baby/Rufus. And now Norman and Wayne. What other team/duo are we going to fall for next? XD

Secondly, all these guys KILLED their roles. Oh my god, they really bring a whole new level to the movie when they're on screen. The tension is so thick, you could cut it with a butter knife. They just.... Ohhh my god, I wish I watched this movie sooner so I could appreciate your writing of them more!

Thirdly... Ok the fact that Robert England's character was dealt with by smashing a plate on his head 🤣🤣🤣 I'm sorry, a plate smashing can do serious damage (especially to an old man *cough*) but- the other two got shot, but it's this toon of a man that's finished off with a dish. Please tell me I'm not the only one who found that funny XDDD

And finally.... ALL OF YOU GUYS ARE TALKING ABOUT WAYNES EGG COMMENT, BUT NONE OF YA'LL TALKING ABOUT ANY OF LYLES LINES!?!? I don't like that egg comment either, it made my skin crawl too 😅 But believe me, I would take THAT any day over what Lyle said towards Emily, "You like 'em young, eh?"//"So she's legal, now?"//*keeps touching Emily*//I'll let my new girlfriend explain."//"Your sick kid turned into this?"//"Well, I already paid for it." 🤢🤢🤢 Emily my girl I am so sorry. Lyle, I am going to throw you OUTTA THAT WINDOW MYSELF! YOU AND YOUR BOYS CAN COME CATCH THESE HANDS-

All in all, I loved this movie!!! I'm definitely gonna watch it again. And I need to re-read your 'Good day for it' content now, too XD

I could not wait to answer this Sarah. So hi, I'm reporting from the trenches bus stop XD

I'm so jazzed you watched the movie and liked it!!! YES!! I'm absolutely hyperfixated at the moment XD

Right?? I thought it was gonna take forevor to get through it when I started it but the pace was actually really good?? Nothing in it seems like boring filler- and if it is slow, it's just building up tension! XD

I'm also bummed there isn't any more ): I guess though it's a good thing, cuz Norman-Dale-and-Wayne wouldn't be in it ):): (well... maybe Wayne. I HAVE THEORIES. yes they live in the bickerman twins au.)

Yesssss, it has a happy ending and I'm so happy for it XD Happy endings are so underrated 😅😆😄 Just let them be happy!!! Let there be some optimism that they'll get it together and fix everything and everything can be forgiven and everything will be good ^^ 💛💛💛

YES ROSE AND HEC!!! OH MY GOODNESS. THEY ARE THE KINDA PROTAG/SIDE CHARACTERS I LOVE. The well-meaning banter?? The old married couple vibes spliced with the hard-to-get/trying forevor combination??? WAHH!! They're so good XDD I love how Hec is flirty but he's not creepy or threatening. Rose can say no as many times as she likes and he'll make her laugh <3 And- when he came to be Rose's back up against Wayne and Dale??? AGH I was so nervous for them both but so happy to see him come XDD

And the fact that the Sheriff is basically their son??? XDDDD I just thought I'd chuck that in.

... I TOTALLY CALLED IT!! I KNEW YOUR FAVOURITE WAS GONNA BE NORMAN XDD (and yes, that's Richard Brake which means it is absolutely Foxy XD ) I need to make more gifs of that man for you XD He is so pretty <3 And yes- s o in control. That bit where he warns Hec and Rose and Luke that t h e y don't want any trouble?? JEEZ, MAN, BE CAREFUL OF MY DAMN OVARIES, WILL YA??

I was totally about to say 'actually, miraculously my favourite is not the robert englund character this time, i like dale', but i couldn't even think it XD I am s o into Dale for some reason, but 'Dale' kept on getting autocorrected to 'Wayne' when I was drafting this responce in my head XD I obviously love Wayne 🙄😅 (he's under jim and stuart though... but, still, above ink and buckman which is saying something), and YES! YOU'RE RIGHT!! THAT IS OUR PATTERN!! Haha 🤣🤣🤣 I love that XDDD Who is next on our raydar?? 🤔🤔🤔 XD Hmmm XD

'I wish I watched this movie sooner so I could appreciate your writing of them more!' oh there will be more. dont you worry. i have so much in my head; its like when I was into Mr Snake and I kept churning out ideas for him every night XD Wayne x Reader's, Dale x Reader's, N o r m a n x readers... 👀*pointed look at you* // *cough* also Poly!Wayne x Reader x Dale x Norman.

Omg... right??? XDD I've been thinking about Wayne getting the plate, too 🤣 Its too funny. Thats a bit I really wanna gif. When I first watched I honestly I kept thinking we were gonna get a post credits scene of him getting up and brushing the plate bits off himself, chuckling. I've been spoiled by Lake Placid XD

'AND FINALLY'-- I DUNNO ABOUT EVERYONE ELSE BUT I FOR ONE WAS NOT MENTIONING THAT B E C A U S E ITS SO MUCH WORSE 🤣😭🤣😭🤣 Oh my lordddd. At least Wayne's entertaining. Lyle is pure terror. I keep fantasising about him saying horrible things like that to me and one of the others sticking up for me~~ 💛💕^^💕💛 I m u s t admit though- god is that actor good. Oh my god. My skin was crawling and I wanted to punch him. That is g o o d shit. The twisted little creature writer in me is loving it; she wants more. Like with Otis. I'm thinking oh s h i t oh shit oh shit, this writer isn't pulling any punches. I kneel. I just think its s u c h an art, to make horrible disgusting characters and thats why I get SO PUMPED when someone compliments my ability to make my characters gross XD ITS JUST??? Ughhhhhhhhhhhhh XDDD I cant even. But yes- Lyle's lines.

They're terrible XD I WILL JOIN YOU. LETS KICK HIS ASS.

I'm soooooo glad you loved the movie!! It, and Titanic, are my current hyperfixation's so its a good thing you got on board- its gonna be all over your dash and notifs for a bit XD Do you wanna be tagged for Norman content? XD

[winxrewritingsandfictions]

My AU & Headcanon

In this post, I'm going to explain many details about how I see the Winx universe. This post will be updated regularly.

A few words of introduction. 🍄

Hello there, I'm Sam. I'm 25 and I live in Paris, France. I have a degree in English literature, and most precisely as a researcher in American literature. So, yes, I love reading and writing. 🧡

Kimii used to be my user name when I was twelve. I used to have a french news account on Winx club. (does it still exist? Nope... the website shut down in 2023). So when I created my account here, I just kept it. It's a sort of identity I embraced my whole teenage years, so it made sense to keep it. It's my Winx Identity.

For the language, I write in English. I may be fluent, but I can leave some mistakes here and there. If you notice any big ones, please feel free to send me a DM. Thank you very much. It can be hard sometimes to notice them.

The Winx Club I grew up with. 🌚

The first thing I think is essential to know about my writing, is that I grew up with the only french dub existing, which is based on the original one (Rai Italy). I stick a lot to the original plot while I try to make it more conherent and consistent.

Headcanon or Canon? ☀️

I'm mostly canon at first sight. Indeed, I stick to the original plot, but I also tend to modify details, timelines, or events so it makes more sense. I like to change those details enough that the story holds more realism and maturity.

One of the major things I do when I keep the original plot is that I add the details given in the comic books. For those who didn't read them, the main storyline is similar (Bloom looking for her parents, etc...) The comics feel more like filler episodes. That's why I like to add those details to my stories. For example, Bloom has a job in Magix. It is shown in the comics but not the cartoon. This detail makes sense as we see in season 4 that the specialists exchange valuables for paper money. The same goes for Bloom, she works in order to have Magix's currency.

So consider my Winx canon as a mix of both comic books and of the cartoon.

I write a lot about Bloom & Sky, (oops ?🤗) since they are my favorite. I have many, many, MANY ideas for them. So it won't be very balanced between the pairings 😶 However, I do accept prompts and requests for pretty much every character.

Most, if not all my stories are linked. I like to build a consistent timeline. So if you happen to read all the oneshots or longer ff, you will notice some ref to older ff or oneshots I posted. On my main post, always make sure to include a set timeline so it gives you an idea of where the scenes take place. After season 4, I don't acknowledge anything. Not even the second movie (I liked it a lot but it is a huge problem in my timeline since the dubs are all over the place...)

For the stories that happen in the future, those would be more headcanon. The pairings might be canon most of the time, the plots would be so advanced that I don't think they can be considered canon. Plus, I love world-building.

Information on some characters. 🌈

Musa & Tecna: not royals in my AU. They are not introduced as such in the Rai version. Plus, I much prefer them as "normal people" as it brings even more diversity to the cartoon. I would hate to have most Winx girls being princesses... For Tecna, I want to work on her as half fairy, half android. Just like she was supposed to be.

Riven: Oh Riven.... I have a sort of affection for him. Like a soft spot for who he could be if the writing of the show had given him more time to grow. I will work on that. You have my word. Not only do I want him to have a past, but also a future. I see him doing great things.

Aisha/Layla: In the french dub, she is called Layla, but I really like Aisha because we love diversity here. Plus, Aisha has a beautiful meaning!

Sky: In my AU, he stays Brandon at the beginning and then Prince Sky later on like in the original. I plan on writing a few oneshots about what if he had been "prince Sky" from the beginning, or if he had never attended Red Foutain (I really like that one hehe).

Helia: I like the idea of Helia being a bit cold and blunt, like at the beginning of season 2. (or at least he was in French). That man did not care about anybody but Flora and I loved that. So I will work with him in that way.

Diaspro: I get that most fans tend to redeem her a lot, but I think her arc in seasons 1, 2, and 3 is brilliant. Although the path of the narrative did not allow her to grow a little bit or even explain why she behaved the way she did. So, my Diaspro is still... Well Diaspro, but I want to build her more realistically. She is an interesting character. Her being a fairy and yet being manipulative and self-centered is much more realistic. It brings a lot of dimention to the magical world. Wwhat if she was forced by conventions and traditions to be a fairy, because of her nobility ? hmmm... You will have to wait and see.

Nabu: Don't talk to me, he will live on forever on this Tumblr. While I love him, and I adore his sacrifice, I can't let go of him. He is just sleeping, Okay. Now move along. 💨

Samara and Erendor: I have read @gins-potter fanfic (go read it! ) and she made me remember one of my childhood frustration. Why in the world does Sky look nothing like his parents??! Erendor looks like... Brandon? She actually changed their appearance, which I loved. I want to keep Samara as she is, but maybe Erendor will have to suffer a rendez-vous at the hairstylist. And @gins-potter agreed to let me use her depiction of Erendor since it feats perfeclty the way I imagined him.

Domino/Sparx: I will only use Domino as it is the name I always knew. Same for Melody.

When it comes to the Winx and their life after Alfea, I have a very detailed idea of their jobs and position etc... I will either do a post abour it, or just let you guys discover more about it in the stories.

Last Update: 17/06/24.

[soildmud]

reading inky mystery

good morning y’all, it is currently 3AM right now and i have developed some very strong opinions about inky mystery that i need to projectile vomit onto the internet. this is gonna be like a book review so i have some disclaimers/warnings:

#1: this “review” is not intended for the author, TAP, or anyone directly involved with the writing of IM. this is readers-only!

#3: i will most likely say very few positive things about the fic so if you don’t want to see negative remarks about your fav fic/story, maybe don’t read this. and also if you can’t handle strong language.

#4: i have not read all of IM, and there is a reason why. i will explain later on but i don’t need anyone to try and avoid spoilers. i don’t care for this fic enough to worry about that. talk to your heart’s content, i want to hear what y’all have to say!!!!

#5: i still enjoy inky mystery and its concepts and the overall story ideas. i think it’s fun and a cool spin on the original qftim au (an au that had so much potential and such shitty execution) and love how the fic has created an entire community around it! don’t get this twisted, i got nothing against IM or TAP.

now i’m gonna put the “review” (more like a rant) under a cut so as to not take up space on people’s dashes more than i already have lol—have fun!!

with such an interesting and promising premise, inky mystery has so far been a frustrating disappointment. i started reading it a while ago (had to stop because of school) and picked up again last night, hoping to get further into the fic and reach the parts that seem to be much more compelling than the exposition. i’m only on chapter 20 and already want to just stop reading it altogether. the more i progress through this the more i think to myself, “is this fic even worth reading 2.5 million words and 335 chapters?” as i’ve come to the beginning of chapter 21, i’m starting to think it most definitely is not.

obviously the biggest criticism is the length. there is absolutely no reason for why this fic is like 3 times longer than the fucking BIBLE. twelve “books” for what? to leave us in the same spot of the plot for the fifth time in a row when the conflict could have been resolved in almost half a chapter? the over-explanation of everything and the placement of practically useless dialogue is excruciating. i don’t understand how having chapter long bits of the warner shenanigans was necessary; i get it was meant for comedy but i don’t think they should dragged any longer than like a paragraph. their dialogue gets old incredibly fast, and it’s just a hinder to the fic’s flow. and before anyone says anything—I HAVE WATCHED ANIMANIACS BEFORE. in fact, i used to be obsessed with them and watched every episode until it stopped airing in 2014. i know they’re supposed to be the way they are in the fic but Holy SHIT DUDE. SHUT THEM THE FUCK UP ALREADY.

listen. i know this was originally written in 2017, but if you’re still updating this into 2024, at this point you need to remake the whole fic and shorten it. the way the author is updating the fic with basically filler makes me feel like they care more about creating content for their readers rather than actually writing a coherent narrative. you don’t need to take down the OG fic but there has got to be a way to shorten it so it doesn’t take literally a week straight to finish the fic in one sitting.

anyways. apart from that, i need to say that the writing style is so juvenile in a way that feels aggravating. i read the most recent chapter to see if anything changed and while it certainly improved in small ways, i feel like TAP still hasn’t learned how to not make sentences like four words long and dialogue sequences that don’t make up half the chapter. i also feel like the narrative is just…holding the readers hand and explaining every little thing like they expect the reader not to have any media literacy at all. i don’t need to know explicitly that boris and bendy are tired from walking for hours, i knew that from your narration mentioning their legs aching and them getting mucky from clambering in the forest.

next, i hate the random inclusion of unnecessary characters. the way the two detectives seem to only show up when it’s convenient and how the warners were used basically like a deus ex machina is frustrating. don’t introduce so many characters with so much detail and then have them show up like twice. i don’t know how to explain this because it’s almost 4AM now and my brain is foggy but god. when those two fox characters were randomly introduced at the end of idk what chapter to have a completely useless conversation with the detectives i felt so annoyed. i don’t know if they have any real significance later on in the story (and i don’t mean that they show up to say hi later) and honestly i cannot be bothered to find out if they do, but if they don’t, that entire section of the chapter was fucking stupid. let your MAIN CHARACTERS learn information from other sources for the love of god.

in the end, i don’t know if i’ll ever finish Inky Mystery, at least not anytime soon. i had fun at the start and now i’m just annoyed and frustrated. also, to the wiki people, PLEASE MAKE CHAPTER SUMMARIES AND SHIT—IT WOULD BE A DREAM FOR THOSE OF US WHO DON’T WANT TO SIT THROUGH 2.5 MILLION WORDS FOR PLOT AND STORY!!!!

also, i am not claiming to be a better writer or have superior knowledge to TAP. i think TAP is good at writing, but has some flaws that really limit their full potential. i myself am an amateur writer with no training or anything, but i am a reader, so that’s why i’m yapping.

ALSO ALSO, i am not doing this to shit on TAP or IM or anyone who likes this story and everything. like i said, i actually like IM and really want to get into it so i can make fanart and everything, but it has been a struggle and i want to voice that because this is my blog and i use it like a virtual diary. i will continue to skim and push through IM, and will most definitely use it as a learning tool for my own au, SITP.

again, this review was made with zero malice in mind. however if anyone wants to say anything i’m 100% open to conversation, and if this reaches TAP’s screen somehow, please know i’m not trying to be a hater!!! i love your ideas and the community you’ve created, promise!!!! i’m done now cus i’m tired and need to sleep so bye to anybody who read through this beast of a post lol plus i don’t have the energy to write all i wanted to say. sorry if there’s any mistakes i’m falling asleep as i write LMAO

bye!!!!!!