#wtf is happening in empires s2?

[writingforfun0714]

So I wanted to wait and let the new Bad Batch trailer sink in before posting about it.

Warnings: Spoilers, some thoughts/opinions will be critical

Alright so I don’t think it’s any secret that I don’t care for the Bad Batch. Even ignoring the horrible, incredibly RACIST clone model, the writing is mid/passable at best and not even watchable for me. Most of S1 and 2 combined is the typical ‘mission of the week’ type of story where only a few Empire-focused episodes stand out. There are also instances of ableism concerning Echo in particular (CF99 are also super dismissive of him in general—going along with that whole fucking ‘superiority over regs’ thing—seriously wtf).

Most episodes were very bland and predictable. S1 had no stakes despite its finale. By Mando/ST it’s clear that something has happened to Kamino. Didn’t really need to see a 2pt ep of the city getting wiped. Plus AZI should’ve been sacrificed. Even Ahsoka learns the lesson that you can’t save everyone in S1 when she disobeys Anakin and Admiral Yularen. TBB S2 had no character development from anyone besides a little bit for Omega (and Tech—but that was always speculated by fans since S1 and he’s dead now so it doesn’t really matter). A lot of the dialogue felt…basic. I think the only thing that TBB does well is the music. It’s really amazing and beautiful along with the smooth, crisp animation/scenery. Shame they ruined it with racist clone models, racist tones with the ‘reg’ dispute in both seasons, and being ableist and dismissive towards Echo.

Which brings me to the trailer. Oh boy. First, right off the bat I noticed how similar the trailer opening is compared to the S2 trailer. I do like that Phee is back. She did take time to grow on me but I do like her character and am curious to see where they will go with her.

It’s interesting we are seeing Crosshair back with the group so soon. Personally I do believe that is Crosshair and not just someone else wearing his armor like some think. I like the idea of Omega and Crosshair escaping early on but Omega gets recaptured/separated and taken back to Tantiss.

I’m interested in Hemlock and his backstory (is his gloved hand robotic?). I wish they’d create more interesting and unique characters like Phee and Fennec Shand instead of relying on cameos of established characters/fan-favorites like Ventress. I loved Dark Disciple and I thought it was a great ending for her.

I know it’s officially said that Ventress’ story will follow Dark Disciple but I don’t see how unless they retcon her death or pull a ‘somehow she survived’. Either way that sucks. Reminder!! DAVE FELONY DIDN’T EVEN FOLLOW REBELS FOR AHSOKA. SABINE IS NOT FORCE SENSITIVE IN REBELS. DAVE RETCONS THE SHIT OUT OF EVERYTHING. I have no faith that they will remain loyal to DD. Anything that will be ‘canon’ will be mid at best because even Crosshair’s arc has been messy (which is due to the weird S1 ‘reset’ the characters go through. Like they totally should’ve appreciated ‘regs’ by the end of TBB arc in TCW S7–there was no need for that awkward food fight scene in S1).

I hate that this show has to rely on cameos to get the viewing numbers. Here is a list of every character cameo we’ve seen so far:

—Rex*

—Tarkin*

—Palpatine*

—The Lawquane Family

—The Syndullas/Chopper

—Nala Se/Lama Su*

—Cad Bane

—Bail Organa

—Riyo Chuchi

—Gungi

—Gregor

—Wolffe

—Cody

—Scorch

—Saw Gerrera

—Martez Sisters

—Kanan/Depa*

—Muchi/Rancor from RotJ

—Taun We/Halle Burtoni

—Ventress

*I consider these important/relevant cameos and am not bothered by them like the others*

What a list right? I might even be missing one. These were just off the top of my head. Some are big players, others smaller and almost not-relevant to the plot. Not counting the one’s I asterisked, it’s 15 characters. There are original characters but a lot of them, especially in S1 felt like one off, not important characters. And I hate Cid so much—glad to see she was absent in the S3 trailer. I’m really starting to love Phee and I’ve always loved Fennec Shand, and Hemlock is definitely an intriguing villain and Emerie feels like a total mystery (though the reveal was not shocking due to the similar design and accent to Omega). Like why can’t they create more characters like these? The rest just feel forgettable. And it’s clear that characters like Saw, Gungi, Scorch, Cad Bane and even the Syndulla and Lawquane families just felt like fan service. The rest kind of make sense that they’d show up but it also feels a bit like fan service.

Moving on..

I know a lot of people think that new weird dark trooper at the 1:40 mark is Tech. While I’m inclined to agree as I think the ‘Winter Soldier’ story is an obvious choice to pick, I also think that Tech is dead. I’ve changed my mind and kind of hope that Tech isn’t brought back.

I hope this is someone new. I also wouldn’t mind if it was a bounty hunter we’ve seen before. Due to the frame and stature, I could almost think of Boba due to him being older than Omega but it’s definitely more likely to be Tech than either of these choices.

It’s interesting a lot of cameo characters from S2 do not make an appearance in the trailer. Bail, Riyo, Gungi, Gregor and Cody are all absent from the trailer. Trailers usually show action shots to avoid story spoilers, but with Gungi, Gregor, and Cody all being capable fighters, I’m surprised they didn’t appear (usually stuff with politics is a story spoiler).

Overall I’m skeptical of the trailer. I don’t like Ventress being alive/in TBB being a Dark Disciple lover. There’s a lot of mystery surrounding the story of S3 so I don’t feel like I can give an accurate take on that. I hate how Omega’s longer hair looks. Curly haired Omega is adorable!! The animation (everything but the clone model) is definitely getting better. However, based on how S2 was marketed as a ‘darker story compared to S1’ and was like 80% fetch quest I’m definitely skeptical.

Those of you that made it through this post, thank you for your time and I hope I gave you something to think about. If you wanna learn more about the racism and ableism portrayed in this show, check out @unwhitewashthebadbatch for more info.

[hypnoticcastiel]

i feel very conflicted, idk why. i reblogged stuff that is very fresh and new for years during my hyper-active years. but hotd s2 is a fine wine, not an orange juice bottle. so i try to watch only 1 ep per week. and digest, fully comprehend wtf i just watched in that ep.

while an improvement compared to s1, s2 still couldn't fully convince me but the 4th ep is finally a full spectrum of the insanity during times of war. if you haven't watched the ep yet, stay away from such reblogs and spoilers. you want to enjoy the fine wine...!

the good:

larger scale warfare than what we usually get thus far

a real sense of dread in the idiotic big picture politics bc all the strategy blahblah turns into fields of blood for the low rank cannon fodder people

the family dynamics on both sides (i learned team-green and team-black) show cracks or the typical hand-of-fate circumstances that can reshape history, the real and the fictional

rhaenis what's her title is finally shining as her own commander and not just a tool or advisor to others

in a world (even on her noble rank whatever) dominated by male warriors she's not only capable but also willing to go through with a concept or what she wanted to achieve even if she personally pays the highest cost. usually the top ranking ladies and gents would not risk their lives in petty skirmish or winning a piece of land from the enemy while arrows and fire is raining down.

the bad:

the fact that dragons are a bit or very different in this fantasy world than in some other... they can only be felt sorry for. yes, even the ones of the evil empire call it what you want or those of brash arrogant kiddy emperors and none of them deserves the fatal bs their riders put them through.

Ameon or what's his name (man, i thought these names would be european style but i just hate them) is not well enough defined character yet. but we are at 2x04... so wtf do writers do with him. if they make sooo strong and skilled, he outshines all of team green and the confrontations get boring. he needs to be used with care, no joke, he + his brainless dragon tool are basically the HULK of the show.

the dragon bloodshed can only happen bc the majestic creatures are created as simple tools in this universe. why no nuances??? why not having some dragons obey and some disobey SOME orders. would'nt that make plotlines with warfare even more complex. but ok, the season has some more eps for me in store. no final judgment yet. speaking of final judgment, that imperial guard leader dude is a bag of grievances and bs and macho toxic problems. it's not that he isnt allowed to have hatred towards rhanerya but he goes beyond that and thinks he's somebody better bc he was a male 'victim' of female noble mishandling. he seems to forget that most of the men use women in westeros to much worse extent than rahaenyra ever used him for her needs.

i need a bit better colors. i dont ask for disco glitter costumes or dragon scales with neon coating shimmering in the sun, but a bit more color-life in the production.

Aemond & Rhaenys

House of the dragon Season 2 Episode 4

[rosecrunchly]

just saw the hermitcraft tumblr email, absolutely BAWLING 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[the-ferocious-kittyrose]

Rewriting Haggar/Honerva’s redemption arc

One of the many things that bothered me about VLD S8 is Honerva’s redemption arc. While I was never fully against the idea of Honerva getting a redemption arc, I just didn’t want VLD to do it because I knew that they would fuck it up if they tried. And low and behold, I was right!

But yeah, I wasn’t against the idea of her being redeemed. And I don’t mean “redeemed” as in “all is forgiven and she’s just a good guy now,” but more like a Darth Vader, “the things she did were inexcusable and she would never be able to right all her wrongs but she goes out on one good act to show that there was still good in her deep down and she at least had the potential to change.”

I know a lot of people don’t like the whole, “redemption=death” thing, which I understand, but I personally never had a problem with it.

Ok, so why didn’t Honerva’s redemption work? Well there are a few reasons but the one that baffles me the most is that, instead of trying to make her more sympathetic, season 8 seemed to go out of its way to show her being more evil and vile than ever.

And because I have nothing better to do, I’m gonna go through Honerva’s story in VLD and explain what I would change to make her redemption more believable.

(Keep in mind I am not a writer, this is just me ranting about my favorite character and how I personally would’ve written her.)

1. Realizing she’s Altean

I always thought it’s was weird that when Allura said “you’re...Altean!?” In the S2 finale, Haggar didn’t seem to react at all, she just kept attacking. It’s as if she didn’t care or already knew, which doesn’t make sense considering in the S3 finale and S8E2 it’s established that Haggar has no memory of who she was before she died. And in S4E3 she seems shocked by her Altean face (which also doesn’t make sense because her blue skin isn’t camouflage that’s just how she looks after the rift) so it seems like she didn’t know.

Wouldn’t it have made more sence if after Allura said “you’re...Altean!?” Honerva looked confused/shocked? If she became defensive and said Allura was lying/trying to insult her? There’s def anti-Altean propaganda in the empire so it would be considered an insult.

After that she starts questioning Zarkon. And when she looks into his mind, it’s out of genuine curiosity and desire to know the truth, not because, “the empire needs him” or whatever that meant.

And isn’t it a bit odd that she doesn’t seem betrayed at all when she finds out Zarkon has been keeping all this from her? She’s just like, “oh, you’re my husband? Cool.” Wtf???

2. Her past relationship with Zarkon

Okay, I love Zonerva, but if we’re being honest, Zarkon was not the best husband. He enabled the shit out of Honerva, even when it was obvious that the rift was doing serious damage to her physical and mental health. To me, it seems like Zarkon was so blinded by the power the rift gave him that he didn’t realize/ignored the negative effect it was having on Honerva. In the same way he downplayed the negative impact the rift had on the planet.

I think that should’ve been explored more. Maybe Honerva notices that she’s been acting differently and is worried somethings wrong (think S5 Kuron). And Honerva tries to tell Zarkon that she feels strange and Zarkon just brushes it off.

And later, when Alfor visits Diaibazaal years later. Things are pretty much the same except when we sees Honerva, she is very obviously pregnant and Alfor’s there when Honerva falls and goes into labor (instead of a random quintessence seizure). Alfor and many Galran doctors try their best to save her and the baby but she dies in childbirth.

Zarkon goes ballistic. He’s yelling, throwing doctors across the room, and Alfor turns to the doctor holding Lotor and tells them to get the baby to safely, fearing Zarkon will take his grief out on the baby.

Zarkon turns on Alfor, blaming him for Honerva’s death and accusing him of letting her die so that he could get his way and close the rift. He lunges Alfor and roars at him to leave.

He spends the rest of the night grieving at Honerva’s bedside, when Kova jumps on the bed and starts gnawing on her finger trying to wake her up. This is what gives him the idea to bring her back with quintessence.

3. Her current relationship with Zarkon

I think it’s pretty safe to say that they’re relationship didn’t get better after the war began. Zarkon hid her identity and her child from her for 10,000 years and essentially used her as a tool of war. It’s pretty fucked up.

I know it’s pretty well established that Zarkon treats Haggar with more respect than his other underlings, but I feel like it would be interesting to see that change overtime. We see that after Voltron comes back, Zarkon becomes very obsessed with Voltron/Black, and he and Haggar start disagreeing more and more.

Remember the moment where one of Haggar’s druids told Zarkon Haggar said he needed to rest and Zarkon hit them with his bayard and told them, “remember who your master is”? What if, instead of a random druid, it was Haggar who he hit?

I feel like that would be a good way to show Haggar and the audience just how much Zarkon’s obsession with Voltron is affecting him, and make the audience feel a tiny bit bad for her.

Then later in season 4, when Zarkon wakes up from his coma and finds out Haggar brought Lotor back to take his place he gets pissed. He puts a price on Lotor’s head and has Haggar arrested for treason. She steals a ship, escapes, and later on meets up with Lotor’s generals.

Her and Zarkon are officially broken up and her quest to reclaim her identity and get her son back begins.

4. Oriande

I never liked the concept of chosen/sacred Alteans. The idea that some Alteans are just born more powerful than others just feels iffy. My idea of Oriande is that it’s an Altean holly land, any Altean can enter it just depends on whether or not you can pass the White Lion’s trial. Passing the trial proves that your intentions are pure and and the White Lion will bless you with power.

I didn’t like how Honerva seemed to force her way into Oriande, I think it would be more effective if she had gone through normally because, at this point, her intentions were pure. She was going there to purge herself of the dark magic corrupting her and reclaim her memories so she could go get her son back.

I also like the idea that Oriande is a sorta link to the Altean after life, and you can speak with people you’ve lost. Allura gets to speak with Alfor, and Honerva speaks with her mother.

You could also have her be confronted by the spirits of the Alteans she helped destroy. Have the weight of her past actions bear down on her. An important part of any redemption arc is acknowledging the terrible shit you’ve done in the past, and that was severely lacking in Honerva’s arc.

Another interesting thing you could do is have Honerva talk to her younger self. The one that died 10,000 years ago. This kinda thing actually happened in 80s Voltron, young Haggar appearing in Haggar’s head trying to convince her to be good again.

5. Her relationship with Lotor

Now this is where the redemption arc really falls apart. I forget who, but one of the writers said after S5 that Haggar/Honerva was motivated purely by love for her son, but man did they do a bad job of showing that.

And it would’ve been so easy to fix that problem, just have her not be horrible to him. Have them have actual civil conversations, have her protect and defend him. Don’t have her reject him as a fucking baby!

Imagine if, after Zarkon destroys Lotor’s planet, instead of immediately deciding to

exile him, Zarkon says that this is the final straw and he’s going to have Lotor executed. But Haggar speaks up to defend Him. There’s actually a scene in DOTU where Zarkon tries to kill Lotor and Haggar gets on her knees and begs for him to be spared. (Though the scene was mostly played for laughs.)

she asks for mercy and justifies it by saying it would be unwise to kill his only heir. It’s a weak argument, Lotor’s a half breed and couldn’t realistically take the throne, but Zarkon does concede, he still loves her after all, and has Lotor exiled.

And Haggar isn’t spying on him because she doesn’t trust him, but because she’s concerned for him. When Lotor confronts Haggar about sending her cronies after him, she says she knows he’s hiding something. Lotor asks if she’s threatening him, thinking she’s going to rat him out, but she says no, she’s not threatening him, she’s just trying to warn him against doing anything stupid because, with Zarkon seemingly on his death bed, the empire needs Lotor’s leadership.

At this point in the story, Haggar is questioning her loyalty to Zarkon, so I feel like it would make sense for her to be silently supporting Lotor from the shadows.

Then at the Kral Zera in season 5, It was weird to me how she was helping Lotor through Kuron while also telling him he couldn’t be emperor and trying to put Sendak on the throne. I feel like it would’ve made more sense for Sendak to just show up on his own without Haggar.

Haggar wouldn’t even be at the Kral Zera, she would just watch through Kuron.

And then we get to S6 when she actually reveals to Lotor that she’s his mom. This scene was just so poorly done. She never actually apologizes to him, she’s just like “yeah I forgot you were my kid and I never loved you, but were cool now right?” I remember when I saw S8E2 and it shows her after Lotor rejects her and she looks like she’s about to cry, I was just thinking, “this would be very emotional and sad IF she had actually apologized and made it clear that she genuinely loved him.” But she didn’t and I don’t know why!

And then we get to season 8, and of course everything in S8 is bad but Honerva’s story is particularly bad. She’s supposed to be motivated by love for Lotor yet she doesn’t act like she actually cares about him at all.

She manipulates his corpse and when she sees his gross melted body, she doesn’t even react that much. When a mother sees her child’s mutilated corpse, how do you think she reacts? Screaming? Crying?? Hurling??? But no. She’s just like, “...”

And then when she goes to the alternate reality and meets baby Lotor and he rejects her, her reaction isn’t disappointment or sadness, it’s anger and entitlement. She immediately decides, “ok, fuck this kid. Let’s destroy this reality.”

It just doesn’t make sense! This is the season you’re trying to REDEEM her! Why are you going out of your way to make her so vile?

6. Her S7-S8 plan

(Keep in mind I haven’t watched S7/S8 since they came out and barely even watched S8 to begin with, so I don’t remember some things and I can’t be bothered to rewatch them.)

Okay, starting with S7, she’s not in this season at all but in “The Ruins” the druid dude says that her final order was to hunt and destroy the Blade of Marmora. I guess it makes a certain amount of sense because she saw that it was Keith who brought Lotor’s actions to light, but that whole plot was really pointless in my opinion. (Was anybody really hoping for a rematch between Keith and that one random druid?)

If you want us to forgive Honerva for her crimes, you really shouldn’t keep adding more unnecessary crimes. It’s established that there were a lot of Galra war lords vying for power and pirates looking for money, just have it be that Kolivan got kidnapped by one of them.

Then you have her season 8 plan and I’m gonna be real with y’all, I have no idea how to fix this mess.

I feel like the basics of her plan could work. She tries to get Lotor and Sincline out of the rift but when she gets him he’s a melted corpse so the plan then becomes to use sincline to go to another reality to find a living Lotor, but opening all these rifts causes problems and the paladins have to stop her.

But all the shit with manipulating the colony Alteans, killing the White Lion, desecrating Oriande, and destroying Olkarion and entire realities, it was all so unnecessary.

Personally I would cut the colony Alteans from the story all together, there are other ways for Lotor to betray the team. It was a lazy way of making Lotor 100% evil and having Honerva manipulate them is unnecessarily cruel, especially in the season you’re trying to redeem her.

Here’s a very basic outline of how I would do this plot.

If we’re going by season 8’s logic that she needs a sacrifice to bring back Sincline, I would’ve had the Galra she killed at the Kral Zera be the sacrifice, not the White Lion. She stands on the pyramid and talks about how the empire stole her life from her and she wants revenge as she absorbs their quintessence into herself and then uses that to bring back Sincline.

Then when she finds Lotor dead she takes Sincline and uses it to go to another reality where she can be with her family.

The danger comes when she opens rifts to the other realities and rift creatures start coming out and causing damage. The paladins fight them and follow her into the rift to stop whatever evil plan she may have. Because the paladins don’t know that Haggar is now Honerva and all this is just to get Lotor back. They think this is all some plan for multiverse domination or some shit.

Meanwhile Honerva has just been rejected by little Lotor and seeing Voltron show up pushes her over the edge and they fight.

But when they find out the real reason she’s doing all this they start trying to appeal to her and convince her to give up and close the rift peacefully. And similarly to how the paladins had to sacrifice the castle to close the rifts created by the fight with Lotor, Honerva has to sacrifice herself to close the rifts.

In the end, I feel like a Honerva redemption arc could’ve worked if the writers were actually competent and actually made an effort to have her be sympathetic, but In canon, her reasoning, “If I can’t indulge in the simple joys of life, why should anybody else?” just doesn’t cut it.

It’s disappointing. VLD had so much potential. I’m thinking of just rewriting the entire series from the beginning. Hopefully putting all my thoughts out into the universe will help me move on.

[moonlight-at-dawn]

Any recommendations for your followers things outside your main passions on Tumblr? (FFXV and Full Metal Panic!)

MOST OF MY RECS ARE SO OLD I CAN’T MAKE GRAPHICS FOR THEM AHHHHH

BUT HERE!!!

Video Games

Mana Khemia ~Alchemists of Al-Revis~

PS2/PSP

Robust NG+, Multiple Endings, Character Affection

Part of the Atelier series of games and my personal favorite of the lot

Cry with me over Cat Dad Sulphur

Atelier veterans can be amazed over PLAYABLE!!! PAMELA!!!! (and her SKILLS!!! SHE’S OP!!! AS!!! FUCK!!!)

Infinite Undiscovery

XBox360

Writers are Shouji Gatoh (Full Metal Panic!) and Ryo Mizuno (Record of Lodoss War)

NG+, an amazing postgame dungeon that can make you cry if you’re as attached to a certain character as I am

Canon romance is realized before the end, so you get to experience some of it in more than just a ~happily ever after~ way :3

Fantastic cast, lore, cutscenes, an interesting battle system that I personally love and can be challenging at times, especially during the obligatory “separated from the party” section of gameplay

I can’t count how many times it made me cry okay

Lunar Silver Star (Story/Harmony)

multiple systems, best bet today would be PSP -Harmony version

A fucking CLASSIC, every JRPG fan should experience it AT LEAST ONCE

Okay I’ve sadly never watched in Japanese but TOMOKAZU SEKI’S FIRST(?OR DAMN NEAR?) ROLE WAS AS KYLE OKAY, I LOVE HIM, HE’S MY FAV SEIYUU

Disclaimer: Some of the humor… has not…. aged well… I realize. There’s some slightly predatory-gay/predatory-trans tropes in, but not every character views those random NPCs that way at least??? Jessica doesn’t seem to mind the trans priestess at least?

Look, I’m one of those people that tends to love the mascot characters that everyone else calls annoying, and I WILL DEFEND NALL WITH MY LIFE, YOU WILL RESPECT HIM, GIVE HIM FISH, AND THANK HIM WHEN HE RESURRECTS YOU GODDAMMIT XD

(And hug Nall in Lunar 2, Ruby isn’t as useful as he was, but she’s cool too)

Maybe I’m a baby but again, I cry, multiple times lol

LOVE STORY OF THE CENTURY, ALEX AND LUNA ARE GREAT AHHHHHH

Atelier Series in general

I recommend Mana Khemia first and foremost, but most of the Atelier games have their own charms :3

They all tend to have some angst, yes, but are ultimately feel-good and 💖~

Not as scary as all the time limits for jobs might seem. The time is very generous as long as you aren’t screwing around until the last minute lmao so it is great for casual gaming~

AUTHORS/BOOKS (I have a fantasy bias lol)

Tamora Pierce

I started reading her books something like 20 years ago, and I still enjoy them to this day

I bias towards Tortall books, but the Circle of Magic is also amazing (and one of the main 4 from it is a lesbian POC blacksmith~)

My favorite set is the Beka Cooper trilogy. These ones were also a bit experimental in style, in that they’re written as diary entries aND SO!!!!!! GOOD!!! It PAID OFF BIG TIME, I WAS BLOWN AWAY

Mercedes Lackey

I’ve only indulged in her Valdemar/Velgarth novels so I can’t speak on her other series’ bUT

I seem to have a thing for when authors break out of their comfort zone lol because my favorite of these are the Mage Storms trilogy. This one is very broad, focusing not just on Valdemar, but the main character is actually a Karsite (the historical enemy of Valdemar), and the Empire also plays a big role and just, ahhhhhh, I love seeing more than just Valdemar and the Hawkbrothers and Shin’a’in ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Magic’s Price ;;o;;

Brandon Sanderson

I’ve only just begun to scratch the surface of his books lol

His Cosmere books all interlink so when you read outside of wherever in it you started, it’s really cool to see all the similarities and the few worldhopping characters that make appearances in multiple worlds

HIS WORLD BUILDING IS FUCKING IMPECCABLE OH MY GOD I COULD JUST STUDY HIS WORLD BUILDING TECHNIQUES FOR MONTHS IN FACT I HAVE BEEN

Really amazing and diverse cast of characters, social aspects of the ‘verse is almost never divorced from the characters, their experiences, and their story. It’s really amazing to see it all~

Magic systems involve clear rules for manipulation of existing forces. Things don’t happen just because ~magic~

Stormlight Archive is where I’ve started and I’d also highly recommend it just because I cannot stop loving this cast and revisiting it over and over and over I’ve listened to the audiobooks like 4 times and they’re all between, what, 38~52 hours long?

Even when you might not like a character at first, revisiting their story is just… HNNNNN NEWFOUND LOVE AND APPRECIATION

ELHOKAR, I’M TALKING MOSTLY ABOUT ELHOKAR

One of the spren in this world, the Cryptics, represent “the fundamental mathematics by which natural phenomena can be explained” tO GIVE AN IDEA OF HOW ROOTED IN REALITY THIS STUFF IS LOL SANDERSON GOES HARD HE DOESN’T FUCK AROUND WHEN HE BUILDS HIS WORLDS

Uhm…. That’s mostly it for my recommendations I think lol, I don’t really watch much in the way of TV….. (I’d recommend NCIS seasons 3-11 though - Ziva David is my reason for life but her leaving made it hard for me to continue and then the writers broke their fucking promise not to do her dirty while she wasn’t around and while it made for a beautiful story for DiNozzo’s departure, THEY DIDN’T HAVE TO DO THAT)

and when it comes to my taste in anime, it’s fairly easy for me to find stuff to reblog lol… so…

WELL NO, HERE

SWORD ART ONLINE

YEAH I SAID IT

It’s “cool” to hate on it but it’s not nearly so bad as people make it out to be. People just like to spread vitriol about it because it’s popular, and you know how popular shit gets treated like the fucking devil around here. Asuna’s not some damsel in distress not even when she’s a prisoner in the ALO arc, she’s always got her own agency and is always working towards her goals and freedom and victory

And wtf is this nonsense people like to say about Kirito cheating on her?????? HE DOESN’T. HE LOVES AND RESPECTS HER AND HE DOESN’T FLIRT WITH OTHER GIRLS YOU GUYS JUST DON’T HAVE A SENSE OF FUCKING HUMOR APPARENTLY CAUSE YOU THINK JOKING = FLIRTING

Anyways, great romance, I love the iconic line from BEFORE they got together when he says the whole thing about “Wouldn’t [learning something new about the one I love] mean that I get to love them even more now?” like HE’S SUCH A FUCKING CUTIE

*coughs* Don’t let the hate that spreads around about this (or anything else really) deter you from checking it. Wipe your minds of what you hear and let it stand on its own, decide for yourself how feel. Don’t go “Oh I hear they reduce Asuna to a crybaby in s2″ and then see it that way because it’s what you expect to see. This is a THING, by the way, if you get told something is great or bad for whatever reason, you’re a lot more likely to see it that way. So just, keep that in mind, and try to empty yourself of preconceived notions before looking at it, k? K. That’s my last recommendation for this post lol cause I’ve rambled on forever.

Let things stand for themselves, not on the backs of hearsay.

[astrolavas]

Voltron season 2 predictions/theories/hopes??

Tomorrow’s the Big Day™ we’ve all been waiting for so here I am, writing some of my most significant VLD s2 predictions, theories, hopes, questions etc. so that after I bingewatch the whole season in a few hours while lying in my bed and eating snacks I’ll feel proud cuz some of those happened and/or embarassed cuz those didn’t happen

Anyway, here I go:

Shiro won’t die, that’s for sure (at least not in season 2)

Galra!Keith happens? Maybe?? Or there are more hints for it, I’m callin it

If galra!Keith really happens, I doubt Keith's appearance will change tho (unless there’s like a really good reason for it but it’s unlikely)

it’d be cool tho cuz there’d be drama

eventually part-galran/part-altean Keith happens

but I know Lotor is going to be part-galran/part-altean so I’m not sure they’d do the same plot twist twice

it’d be the best explanation of all the not-fully-human!Keith hints in season 1 tho

paladins’ backstories

Where do Keith and Shiro know each other from?

Why’s Keith an orphan??? how did his life even look like before? was he in the foster care? did he know his parent(s)?

Also, what’s the deal with his dagger? did Keith get it from his parent? Is it galran??

Also, are both of his parents actually dead? or are they just like, somewhere in space?

more retrospections from the garrison and from Shiro’s times as a gladiator/in a prison

something about Lance’s family

sth about Hunk?? we know pretty much nothing about Hunk’s backstory wtf mate

beach episode?? (ya know Keith and Lance are swimming, Hunk’s cooking sth, full chill on the beach)

Klance moments pls

(I’d like to write “Klance is canon” but that’s probably asking for too much) (would be nice though)

them being good friends and space ranger partners that they are and cooperating together

What does the quintessence actually do and what is it?

does it heal and speed up regeneration?

does it somehow expand the general capacity of the body?

what’s “altean magic”? How does it work, what does it look like? what is it

Someone is captured (at first I thought it’ll be Shiro but after the s2 trailer I’m really concerned about the blue boy)

pls no

who’s actually Thace??? like what’s his deal

he’s probably in some kinda resistance tho, and tries to sabotage the galra empire

we find out sth about Matt and Sam Holt’s whereabouts

Klance moments

former paladins’ backstories

Was Alfor the yellow paladin?

What did Zarkon use to be like? was he like, fully good??

If so, why did he change? what are his motives now?

The new galran ally was probably some kinda galra soldier but ran off

What’s going on on the Earth?

How’s is Mrs. Holt holding? I mean dude, she’s pretty much lost her entire family (assuming that she already knows about Pidge’s disappearance)

What’s going on at the garrison rn?

Zarkon keeps finding Voltron because of Shiro’s galran arm

[...] Keith’s galran heritage/biology

[...] his connection to Black Lion

[...] because the new galran ally is actually a spy (I doubt it tho but who knows?)

did I mention Klance moments?

we meet Lotor, maybe? if it’s not too early for this

ponytail Keith?? (damn what a selfishness we’ve already gotten ponytail Coran and we still crave more)

some LGBT representation?

and many, many more minor things (there are just.... so many good things that could happen wow)

So yup, that’s it and I’m really hyped! feel free to add something if you wanna

[moriartysgrimmfairytales]

Post s4 feelings, and what to do with them

So, it’s been a week or so of hiatus. And I have feelings that I don’t know what to do with. So I decided to put them in a post, to maybe try and work through them. For anyone who cares, read more under the cut (fair warning, it gets long and rambly). 

I’ve been holding off on writing this post, writing about how I feel about s4, and TFP in particular. I’m still feeling a bit mindfucked, not only from the TFP, but from series 4 in its entirety. I’ve needed quite a bit of time to work through it all, mostly by talking to others and reading (both positive and negative) reactions and metas. 

During the last week, I’ve seen a lot of unreasonable negativity, and even hate, directed both at the episode and the writers. I don’t want to contribute to negativity in any way. That’s not where I’m coming from. I don’t hate this show, or TFP. I don’t feel angry at the writers, and I don’t think they owe me anything. I’m in complete understanding that this is their story and that they’re entirely entitled to take it in whatever direction they want to. I still respect Moffat and Gatiss as writers, and I’m still grateful to them for creating the only show and characters that’s been able to capture my interest to this extent. So sincerely, a big thanks to Mofftiss for making this show.

That being said, series 4, and TFP, has left me feeling bereft, wanting and a bit disillusioned. More surprisingly, I feel more than a little indifferent to it. I was, naively probably, hopeful that this series, and this episode, would finally provide me with some highly anticipated closure, wrapping up of loose threads and resolution of plotlines. It didn’t. It just didn’t give me what I needed as a viewer, and I’m a bit sad about that, for my own sake. The fact that it was loved by others, and provided them with what they needed is great. Well earned after the ride we’ve had.

What I did like about TFP and s4 So, Mofftiss decided they were going to do an “origins” story, showing us how Sherlock became the man he is when we meet him in ASiP, and his journey from a “great” man to a “good” man. That is actually one of the things I like about s4 and the episode; watching Sherlock’s progression from a “great” man to a “good” one. Getting to the stage where he’s finally able to embrace emotions as good and healthy, allowing himself to love, and have a family and friends.

I liked that in the end, it’s his ability to show emotions like compassion and love that’s key to solving the final problem. His newfound understanding of emotional context and insight into Eurus’ emotions is what makes him realize that threatening to shoot himself is the only way to get her to stop her game. The same way his own ability to show her compassion allows him to save John. I also liked that the show gave Eurus, the-villain-who-isn’t-really-a-villain, the best resolution she could get; the attention and love she obviously didn’t have as a child. And I really appreciated that Sherlock is able to give her life some sort of meaning by visiting her and playing the violin with her, now that she is ‘beyond words’.

Outside of Sherlock’s own growth, I enjoyed the new information and the insight we got into Mycroft’s character, a look behind the Iceman façade. And finally, the way the relationship between the Holmes brothers evolved, that was probably my favourite part of the episode, actually.

My problems with TFP On to the problems I have with this episode. Which are many… So while I liked the theme and the underlying message of the episode, I just can’t bring myself to appreciate and accept the wrapping it came in. No matter how much I want to. I feel that TFP kept tossing new plot points at me and didn’t allow me time to connect with the characters. It made the entire episode seem so rushed, so hectic, that most of all it just left me numb and unable to care about it the way I probably should (and I see others do).

First off, I’m not really a big fan of horror movies and dark, psychological thrillers. Which is what this episode feels like for me, most of all. I feel like we got off on the wrong foot, TFP and I. From the opening sequence and the set-up of Mycroft, complete with a scary clown and a little girl in pig tails, via the dismissal of TLD’s cliffhanger with a single sentence, to the point where Sherlock, John and Mycroft escaped an explosion unscathed - none of that even resembles any sort of reality I am willing to, or able to, accept. So already within 2 minutes I was shaking my head, frowining and going “wtf am I watching?”

See, I’ve no trouble accepting that this show is larger-than-life and that the characters’ actions and abilities are beyond real life. But I’ve still always thought of it as a form of “heightened reality”, somewhere at least close to what could happen in real life. That was part of the fascination with it, it felt “almost real.” Unfortunately, too much about this episode was too unbelievable, too fantastic, and exceeded my tolerance level for suspension of disbelief (I think maybe I used it all up when I had to accept Mary being faster than a bullet back in T6T…?).

My biggest issue when it comes to suspending dibelief, is that Eurus is made out to be something resembling a comic-book super villain. Her abilities are nearly magic and the Sherrinford facility is practically Azkaban. (The setting is another thing that made me feel disconnected from the show I know and love. I miss London!) That  being said, I know that most of the questions my brain keeps hurling at me about improbabilities and plot holes and -developments, can be answered quite simply. What’s happening is possible because Eurus wants it to happen. Because Eurus can make it happen. Because the writers decided that Eurus can do all those things. 

I’m just really struggling to feel any sort of attachment to Eurus as a character. To me, the fact that Eurus wasn’t even the lest bit foreshadowed, except for the cryptic “you know what happened to the other one” remark in HLV, made her feel like a random add-on. I couldn’t, and didn’t have time to, relate to her. In making her a full-blown psychotic, who veers between high-functioning enough to sneek out and play dress up with John and Sherlock and breaking down completely as the game comes to an end, it’s hard for me to deal with her like a real person and connect with her on any level.

I think a part of the problem is they didnt’ dedicate enough time to show me how Eurus did what she did. Mind control, manipulation and suggestion are of course real things, I don’t doubt that. But this set-up demands of me to accept that Eurus is so intelligent that she can do all of these things just by a short conversation with someone. And her abilities are so great that she has the whole facility reprogrammed, to the point where not a single person at any time is able to raise the alarm. Moreover, I’m struggling to get a grip on how exactly Eurus got those abilities? And how does a five-six year old girl become so evil that she tortures her brother and kills his best friend? That’s just too close to a horror movie to me. 

At least Jim Moriarty’s games always seemed within the realm of human abilities, because we know he spent years and years of his life building a vast criminal empire, making himself the spider at the centre of it, pulling the strings. Eurus apparently climbed out of the womb as an “incandescent, era-defining genious, beyond Newton”, because after being sent away from early childhood, I have to believe they didn’t supply her with access to an education, books, electronical gadgets etc? She’s spent all her life on an isolated prisoner island, her cell stripped, but still she appears to have endless resources. Again; I just have to accept she can use her almost magical, superhuman skills, because she can. I just wish the writers would have helped me along by showing me at least a little of how she does it, instead of just telling me she can.

The suspension of disbelief part aside, I think I would have been able to accept the secret sister scenario as plausible in this larger-than-life universe, if there had been some sort of build-up to the reveal of her existence. Honestly, I need more than a five minute set-up for the the reveal that Sherlock has a secret, forgotten, dangerous, revenge-seeking sister, who is smarter than her brothers combined. 

Since we didn’t have any hint of anything amiss until Mycroft’s cryptic “you know what happened to the other one” comment in HLV, I didn’t have any emotional connection to Eurus when she finally showed up right at the end of TLD. And show me a little more of Sherlock’s motional response to finding out his entire personality as a grown up is caused by a childhood trauma, show me a little bit of coming to terms with it before rushing off to Sherrinford. The lack of build up and reaction to the Eurus reveal makes the episode feel rushed. I think if the characters had been allowed to react and respond to the plot, the plot itself would have felt more plausible. 

Then there is the attempt to tie Eurus into Jim’s game, or him to her game. That seemed a bit forced to me. Jim was set up from episode 1 as Sherlock’s arch-nemesis (as he also is in ACD canon), and killing him off already at the end of s2 never made sense to me. I think the writers always planned for him to die in TRF, but then realized too late they should have saved it for later. So now Eurus feels like an attempt to fill in the gap he left behind. And it might even have worked, if there had been at least a few hints of a presence even bigger than Jim from the beginning. 

But there were no hints of foreshadowing. And to me, the way they retconned Eurus into Jim’s story only amounted to diminish the best baddie they ever created on this show. And the way they did it, they turned him into something of a bizarre fun house effect? I love the beach scene and his combination of power play, not having any fucks to give and amusing himself – but I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to watch those pre-recorded messages without physically cringing. (With the exception of the last one: “Holmes killing Holmes. This is where I get off.” That one works, because it’s a genuine message to Sherlock.) Those messages seemed too cartoonish, too random, and drew my attention away from what were supposed to be tense situations of life and death. The real drama came from what was going on in whatever room they were in, not from Jim’s “tick tick tick”s or “choo choo”s. They weren’t even directly linked to the tasks Eurus set. I’ll never understand why the writers felt this was a good way to go. But hey, that’s just me. 

After this episode finally laid to rest the question of whether Jim’s dead or not, it feels like his character has been continually used as a plot device for future episodes. The writers have included him to tease the audience that they may bring him back, and to use people’s interest in him, without actually having any intention of brining him back. Ever since they killed him off in s2, they’ve tried to fill in the gap with villains that Sherlock every time claims to be even worse and more scary than the last. The problem is, I don’t have any of the emotional connection to them, nothing to make them as interesting as he was? To play around with the idea that maybe he’s not dead after all, keeping him in the story in various ways, only to confirm that yes, he’s been dead for real all along…? I was confused and saddened by how they chose to solve this plotline. 

I think the retcon they chose to go with for TFP lessens Jim’s impact and importance. In some ways, I’d actually rather they’d left him out of TFP completely. I mean, they’ve even said in interviews “…it only occured to us late on that we could do that.” So it was clearly not a part of a grand plan from the beginning. And now they’ve tampered with my ability to enjoy my favourite episode. Whenever they’re on that rooftop, I’ll be thinking of the fact that in some near past, Jim’s been at Sherrinford, talking to Eurus for five minutes, recorded some weird video messages for her and set in motion a whole other game. It just somehow diminishes the effect of that scene for me. I’m gutted about that. 

I know most of the big names in the fandom feel like it’s the best thing for Jim, and for the story, that he’s dead. I partly agree, and partly don’t. Because yes, Jim was always sad, desolate and lonely, and probably didn’t intend to live to reach old age. But on a very personal note for me, I want to and need to believe that even for Jim Moriarty there are things in life that make his pain bearable, things that are valuable enough to go on. I’m of course talking about his connection with Sherlock. I want Jim Moriarty to have some human closeness in his life (I won’t go on and on, I already did that in excess in another post). If anyone thinks holding this view means I’m doing Jim Moriarty and his arc a gross injustice, or that I don’t understand him at all, go ahead. I respect other people’s right to interpret his character and his motivations the way they see fit, and I’ll allow myself to interpret him the way I do.   

Okay, moving on from Jim (oh, how I wish that was truly possible…) The murder rooms scenario, the game Eurus sets up for her brothers and John. I just can’t (not on first viewing, not on second or third) get emotionally attached to it. At no point since the girl on the plane was introduced did I ever think she would survive (and haha, clever plot twist, turned out she wasn’t even real), and to be honest I couldn’t even care much about what happend to her, no more than I could care about the three Garridebs brothers being dropped into the water.

To me, Sherlock, John and Mycroft all seem too willing to just accept the rules of the game. That just doesn’t sit right with me, given how straight from the beginning it’s clear that Eurus won’t follow the rules of her own game. For god’s sake Sherlock, didn’t you learn anything on that rooftop? Villains don’t play by the rules. And Mycroft at least, who’s very aware of Eurus’ abilities when it comes to playing mind games, should have suspected that the girl on the plane was fake. But he didn’t, and so the three of them moved through the rooms as ordered by Eurus. The problem is, I didn’t really feel too worried about the outcome. The only scenario I felt slightly emotional about, was the one with Molly. Brilliant acting by Loo. 

So by the time they get to the last room, the “Holmes killing Holmes” scenario, my brain couldn’t stop screaming at me that they should all know that they have no real reason to keep playing Eurus’ game. I kept waiting for Sherlock and Mycroft to at least try to use their “deduction thing” to figuring out a way to get all of them out of the situation alive. There was literally not a single cell in my body believing Sherlock would kill anyone in that room. That lack of emotion got in the way of fully appreciating Mycroft’s heartrendering sacrifice, his efforts to minimize Sherlock’s pain in making an impossible choice. I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t feel what I was supposed to feel by this point in the story. And the fact that it’s set on a dysmal, isolated prison island also kept it from feeling real. I missed the backdrop of London, the presence of the other characters I’ve grown to care about in this final showdown. 

Summing up, I just didn’t feel the sort of connetction to the events unfolding or even to the characters that I should have. I had trouble accepting the premise, the plot developements and the characters’ (lack of) reactions in this episode. I wish I could say otherwise, and I hope that it might change in time. 

My problem with the show after s4 To me, the foundation of the series as a whole is starting to crumble after wathcing s4. After three series where they never really resolved plotlines, they’re still doing it. They’re still not giving me any of the answers I want. I get that this is a convenient way for the the writers to move on quickly, rather than spend time on resolving problems and half-told stories from earlier. It’s just that it doesn’t really work for me as a viewer. I am too attached to stories told, characters loved to just breeze by them and move on. 

There are still plotlines left hanging up in the air, half-explained, or that are dismissed and solved in ways that feel cheap. How was the scheme on the rooftop in TRF carried out, what happened to Jim’s body, what was Mycroft’s role in what happened, the circumstances around Sherlock’s return, how did he fake his own death, the too easy resolution of how he gets off after killing someone, his ability to just shake his drug habit whenever he sees fit, the reasons behind Mary shooting Sherlock, Mary’s death, John’s cheating, the connection between Eurus and CS, Eurus’ goal in playing dress-up with Sherlock and John, and finally the whole Victor Trevor thing… I feel like I’m forced to accept that they’ll keep throwing new plotlines at me, more fantastic than the last ones, to make me forget about the ones that still aren’t resolved or don’t make sense. That leaves me more than a little bit disappointed and exhausted. The more plotlines they toss up in the air, the faster they just keep pushing forward without resolving things, the more disconnected I feel.

The difference from before s4, is that I used to firmly believed the show would eventually address the unresolved plotlines and give me some resolution. S4 and TFP finally drove home the message for me. No, the writers aren’t going to wrap up thing’s I’ve been wondering about for so long. That’s not how they want to write this show, and I’m just going to have to make do with those half-explanations (if even that) I’ve been given and move on to the new plotlines. I know the writers can’t hold my hand every step of the way and that I have to fill in some of the blanks myself. It’s just that some of the leaps I have to make to move on feel too great. Mofftiss keeps setting up complex, tense, interesting situations, and then ends up doing nothing with them. As the writers seem a lot more interested in the next big plot-twist or rug pull, my emotional attachment doesn’t pay off in the end. 

So here we are, at the end of the road. Who knows if there will be a s5? My biggest problem is that at this point I’m not even sure I care if there is a s5 anymore. I’m still struggling to reconcile myself to my post s4 feelings. I’m a little worried that what I’m feeling most of all is indiffenrence. (She says, with a straight face, after writing a thesis). But I’m wondering, if this may in fact be where I get off. In loving memory of my beloved show. My beloved Mary. My beloved Jim.  

Time will show, I guess. In either case, I’m grateful to Mofftiss for creating this show. I enjoyed the ride for as long as it lasted.  

[koalala1031]

Winter 2017 First Impression-thingy

- all of 'em are 1-episode in –

Akiba's Trip: Dropped. Too cringy. The premise is somewhat interesting but they just have to go for the generic route for the execution. I thought I'd at least enjoy it ironically but nope. The characters are cringy too, especially that Engrish-speaking bitch who's basically the worse version of Mari from Love Live Sunshine.

Masamune-kun no Revenge: Pretty much what I expected. Pretty sure the plot is the usual "from hate to love" rom-com. HOWEVER, according to my brother who already read the manga, MC-kun is basically a mix of "generic harem lead" trope and "shoujo hero" trope. Plus Hanae Natsuki's voice also adds more fun xD

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu S2: THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!! I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!!! IF YOU FOLKS HAVEN'T WATCH S1 GO FUCKING WATCH IT!!! IF YOU'RE NOT WATCHING IT WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN YOUR LIFE?!!! But seriously, given that S1 set the bar (sorta) way too high, I also have to anticipate that S2 will, albeit still brilliant, not be able to live up to S1. But it could turn out to be Empire Strikes Back-tier sequel for all I know (which might be asking too much, even for Rakugo standard ._.)

Demi-chan wa Kataritai: I came here expecting discount MonMusu, but actually it's pretty cute and fun.

Little Witch Academia: I kinda watch the web movies beforehand, so I already have some idea about the world building. But don't worry, story-wise it's not obligatory. As in the series itself, well, it's EXTREMELY well animated #SasugaTrigger. The premise is pretty Harry Potter-esque, not that special, but it's still fun anyways. Also Sucy best grill.

Hand Shakers: Okay WTF did I just watch? The plot isn't that promising, the characters aren't interesting either, but most of all, the visuals are the most unwatchable one I've seen for a while—to the point Konosuba looks like it's made by KyoAni and Berserk 2016 looks like it's made by Madhouse. Plus the fanservice is straight up cringy, and this comes from someone who enjoyed Keijo. THAT'S👏NOT👏HOW👏BOOBS👏WORK👏DAMMIT👏 Pretty much the only redeeming things about this shit is the VA lineup and (potentially) the OP song. Nevermind, I'm staying only because I wanna see how much of a trainwreck it's gonna be.

ACCA: Pretty okay I guess. Not much happened, mostly just introduction and build-up. But hey, since the manga already ended, I think a complete adaptation isn’t outside the realm of possibility.

Konosuba S2: Kazuma & co. are back with their shenanigans yaaay. Explosion ensues. That’s all I could say about the story. The animation still looks terrible, but at least it’s still more bearable than Hand Shakers. Last but not least, KAZUMASREALLYTHEBESTKONOSUBACHARACTER.

Kuzu no Honkai: Well that’s... that was kinda... *lenny face x3* But seriously, I can’t help but get interested thanks to the NTR premise.