#yes it didn't get a lot of development/build up but i'd RATHER they get into the relationship quicker and write that aspect

[semiconducting]

ik its not most ppl but there are ppl in the td fandom who are SO nasty about rajbow like idc if you dont like them specifically but being all "ugh the stereotypical uwu boring gays, why did they do that they should have done literally anything else" is uh, yk. homophobic

[gorbalsvampire]

Have you picked up and read the recent WoD 5th edition books, like blood strained love? How is this edition stacking up as they slowly add more splats? Are there any future releases you're interested in? Are there more things you'd like to see from WoD 5e that they don't have right now? Personally I feel like the concept of the loresheets was fun and interesting, but the application has been really uneven and disappointing. I'd want more clan specific sheets for some of the clans that haven't gotten as much love (like I believe there is only 1 Lasombra specific loresheet and nothing for the Tzimisce?) I'd also love to see more By Night books, especially examining places outside of the USA

I've been picking up most of the Renegade books, yes! I like V5, despite its rough start, and Renegade have chosen a middle path between the density of OPP and the aesthetic of the old ParaWW team. They're very game focused books, which I appreciate, not being an enthusiast of "lore for lore's sake" (even typing the word makes my stomach turn over).

It's nice to have a turn away from splatbooks and into transformative supplements. IF you want a dark romantic story, THEN add Blood Stained Love. IF you want overt sectarian conflict in an action thriller, THEN add Gehenna War. It's more useful as an approach than piling more into the core.

I do think they're less substantial than they could be. Blood Stained Love didn't do enough groundwork on establishing the legitimacy of romance stories and, as a result, a lot of the groggier players I know dismissed it as "not for a serious chronicle." Blood Sigils felt like a breathless gush, a glut of new powers with a context sort of folded around it. I know @friends-of-beetlejuice is way more into Alchemy than I am and found a lot of the new background on that very brain chewy, and I took more of an interest when the koldun bug got to me. They feel like what they are: optional extras for people who want more or one specific thing, not must haves to complete the One True "Canon" World of Darkness (there it goes again, bad tum! bad!)

I'm quite interested in Gehenna War, that's a chance to revisit the 1990s vibe. I'm not as interested in Crimson Gutter for myself, but I think it's exactly what the game needs right now: premade, metaplot light material to get new players and STs up and running.

As for future releases, someone badly needs to give the Tzimisce the same treatment the Hecata got: collate the ideas, work them over, rationalise the concept and build some out into Loresheets. Vicissitude is too long and fussy as a power, it needs tearing down and a lighter touch taking. A European City By Night book with a long Tzimisce chapter or two would be perfect as a vehicle for that. I'd rather see Onyx Path do it – I've ragged on Dawkins as a developer, but this is the kind of thing he was born to do, and the substance-over-style approach is what's needed here.

Generally I don't rate the By Nights – too many of them are metaplot vectors that don't care to make space for play – but the slower, colder, older, conflicts of the settled and less gun-happy European Kindred need a showcase, and another Chicago-tier book would do it.

[thefreelanceangel]

Which OCs that are not yours do you most admire? What is it about that character that you find impressive or engaging?

is... is there a limit to how many I can name...?

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF-

Um, okay. *deep breath*

Seifer d'Latu -- yes, it's my husband's character, but that's not the only reason! (He has other characters that aren't my favorites!) Seifer very, very clearly comes across with a powerful sense of self that I genuinely think comes from Sev having played the character for decades. {As someone who has chronic altitis, I don't think a character has to be a "main" or written for 20+ years to be good, but the development of personality and writing style that Sev has built up for a couple of decades sure doesn't hurt!}

He's also a fantastic villain who never bothers lying about his intentions, but seems… able to just… slide that right past people? I can't COUNT the number of female characters who happily followed Seifer to the d'Latu home and were shocked to not only meet his wife, but also at his disinterest in bedding them. Like they just… didn't listen when Seifer clearly told them he only wanted to fuck with their heads. It's genuinely amazing.

And Seifer I find particularly interesting because he's not the evil overlord who wants to rule the world. He's best suited to and enjoys being an advisor to the throne (so to speak) and was originally designed to be an enforcer to someone with a greater degree of power. It's rather rare to run into a villain character that isn't either The Leader or aiming to be The Leader and I genuinely enjoy how Seifer works into that role. (And how he works the role itself, he's just… such a delight to engage with.)

There are a LOT of characters I've had the pleasure of engaging with that are just marvelous. Voranoix L'espoir (one of my top fifteen RP characters ever tbh), Zale Bolton, Lupus Lynx, Thravnar Ravensun, Sezra'tan Entialpoh, Targur Steelfist, Wisteria… (Why are none of them active on Tumblr, you ask? Because the Irony Gods love to poke me with sticks.)

However, there are also a whole lot of characters I've never been able to RP with (usually because of anxiety/lack of time/lack of IG availability) that I find fascinating to read about.

@luck-and-larceny's Malika and @dumb-hat's Evander both fall in my top tier. Not only are they well-rounded characters with depth--obvious when you just scroll through a very few pieces of writing--but they're also FUNNY. And characters written with humor--both as from the reader's perspective as well as the character themself--are so, so rare. I LOVE funny characters and I love it when authors/players don't take themselves so seriously that they can't laugh at their characters or themselves. It genuinely makes the serious moments of character reflection feel more important when there's a contrast.

Basically everything @gatheredfates writes. Throw @riftdancing in there because they give each other some truly admirable support and cheer each other on. (It's beautiful to see.) There's… just the sense of WEIGHTY backstory in everything they do and reading their snippets, seeing their screenshots, I feel the same way I do when listening to "Jenny of Oldstones" written for Game of Thrones. Which is to say that there's a whole world they've created I'm getting a glimpse of and I'd dearly love to see more.

While I love @kuro8529's "black snack" (:D), his Viera Fakhri (on @gray-morality ) and @catscratching's Seda have a solid story built up, not only between them but also separately, so when I read either of them writing, I get a glimpse of the HOURS it took to painstakingly build this mutually satisfying story that has so much further that it can go.

@ofcruelghosts -- I love the noir aesthetic, the writing style and the very concept. I can genuinely feel the inspiration from the pieces and I'd love to see the character in even more scenes.

@bloodpoetry-lytharp -- Hi, have you read about Lytha? You should. Not only that, but you should read the other characters @erithe writes because she has an amazing grasp of style, character development and plot. (She's also one of the best people I've ever known.)

@mirugaidoesthings -- Dayar, ofc, I love because not only is he old enough I can thirst after the character without feeling like a perv, but also because he's written so pleasantly, so casually that it's like catching up with an old friend only to find out they killed a tiger with their bare hands at 15. You do a LOT of "WHA??" and it's amazing. Miru is a miraculously talented writer and a wonderful person.

@rylen-ashworth -- Eh, he's okay, I guess. Decent character. I suppose. {:D}

[mercurygray]

Hello there! I've been reading The Darkening Sky, and absolutely adoring it so far - as well as marveling at how well you develop each of the women! I think I once saw you mention that you have a spread sheet for your characters, and I was wondering if you had any advice for setting one up/organizing one? I'd love to do a fic with a lot of characters, but I am the most unorganized person I know and have no clue where to start. Thank you! (Both for your help, and for sharing your lovely writing with the fandom)

Aw, thanks, Dove! (And thank you for your comments on TDS, they've been so sweet.) I DO have a spreadsheet, mainly because I could. Actually, I have two. I'll talk about both.

The Character Spreadsheet served two purposes. One - as you may or may not know, some of the characters were crowdsourced at the beginning of this project, at least in concept, from friends and internet neighbors, and I wanted a way to keep track of everyone and simple biographic details as I was first starting out. A cast of...I think it was fourteen when I started? is no small feat, and I didn't want to mix people up until they really took root in my mind.

Two - I wanted to see what gaps existed in backstories and biographical details. A lot of people have commented how real some of these characters feel, and I think (I hope!) that's because I really did sit down ahead of time and say 'does this person have siblings? does this person talk to their family? What job did they do before the war?' because all of those things build them out as people, inform their choices, and provide some filler background chatter when they're in a scene.

(In reenacting, this is called 'pocket filler' - as in, the random and historically accurate things you throw in your pockets that you could pull out and talk with visitors about - because your 1943 pockets, or pocketbooks as the case may be, are going to be very different from your 2023 pockets.)

Did I use or reference all of these details? Nope. Did I forget some of it? Absolutely yes. Did some of it change over time? Also absolutely yes. But it was there if I needed it, or got stuck, or needed to brainstorm a little. Headers in the character spreadsheet are as follows, with some editorial notes about why.

LName

FName

Age in 1942

Birthyear

Hometown

State

College? (This was a rarity in the 40s, especially for women. This is officer candidate material)

Family? (Do these people write them letters? Are there expectations here? Do they like this choice for them? Does this character care?)

Easy Friends (Who are they most often seen (and scene) with?)

Boyfriend? (Same questions as Family.)

Pre-War Job (Skills and experiences and stories)

Faceclaim (this was the last column I added and my characters didn't get faceclaims until I'd been writing for a year. Unimportant.)

Haircolor

Personality?

Family in military? (What is the family expectation or story here?)

On loan from (Who do I need to acknowledge?)

The Context Spreadsheet was something that I used to keep the story moving and anchored both in what's going on in the show as well as the wider war. I have a column for the real Easy Company history cribbed from Muccamukk, a column for the war at large, a column for episode numbers, and a column for my chapter numbers.

I am a person who loves spreadsheets in her professional life, so this model came very easily to me - it may not for you, and that's okay! I do think that considering backstory (rather than, say, a characters' favorite color or a lot of other character askbox meme fodder) will always be helpful to you in the larger life of your story.

[princesscolumbia]

Author Thoughts - Reader Edition

I've been struggling the last few years with repeated episodes of burnout. It used to be really severe, grinding so hard I was in a fog most of my waking hours. I didn't really grasp what I was doing to myself because the burnout started happening in the wake of my divorce. I'd discovered I couldn't think about the pain or depression if I sunk myself into heavy workloads, and the nearly existential grief didn't look a whole lot different, at least from this side of my eyeballs, than what I know now is burnout, so I was going from traumatically depressed to trauma induced depression to burnout without any gap in between and not knowing I was just hurting myself.

I suspect I'd been burning myself out for years prior (simply because the symptoms were all there even if I didn't know what to call it), but it wasn't, paradoxically, until I was living homeless out of my van that I was able to get enough sleep to stop being chronically burned out. Yes, it was a horrible time. Yes, it was a living nightmare. But I got enough sleep. By the time I was able to live in an actual house again, I started falling into my old habits of working far more than I ever should and not taking care of myself (again, by getting enough sleep) that I started experiencing burnout...and being able to recognize that something was wrong rather than just powering through it.

And (thanks to my upbringing) I seemed to have developed some stereotypical traits one might call, "the overachieving lesbian mom-friend who doesn't believe she's worth anything stereotype." (Which, yes, is a mouthful)

If I'm not doing something, I don't have value. If I don't have value, I have no right to exist, let alone ask for help. If I were to ask for help, it would show I'm not worthy. If I'm not worthy, I don't deserve to be happy in my own skin. If I don't deserve to be happy in my own skin, I don't have the right to fitness, proper diet, hormones, etc. If I don't have a fit body, a healthy diet, an attractive body, etc., then I shouldn't expect to feel loved by anyone, let alone myself. If I can't love myself, then why should anyone else even look twice at me let alone rely on me to do something?

It's a nasty, self-destructive spiral, and it's kicked off by even thinking about taking some time for self-care.

Writing is, for all that it's a valuable escape from the pressures of my day job and meditative in its own way and a fantastic step in genuine self-care, still work. It takes effort and time and energy and spoons and plenty of forks and maybe even a knife or two. And when I'm burnt out, I can't. I just cannot make the words come out, not reliably, not quickly, and most of the time I force them I wind up deleting them later because they're dreck compared to what I'm usually able to do when unburnt.

And it makes me feel incredibly guilty! By this point I've got readers (and, one might hope, actual fans) who look forward to my stuff enough to get excited when I release a new chapter or fic. When I'm unable to produce anything, I feel like I'm letting them down. Like I should be doing something and I'm trying to do something but it just doesn't happen and my brain starts finding new and creative ways to trigger the ol' depression spiral.

Seeing other authors put their trials and struggles and challenges in the varied and sundry author's notes type fields and the linked blogs and socials...well, it reminds me that life happens to all authors, no matter how popular their work is. I've recently absolutely fallen in love with QuietValerie's work, and given she's developed the type of following I only dream of having (what with being able to use her writing to support herself and her family without worrying about another job, not to mention the Holy Grail of any author...fan-art), it's incredibly affirming when someone who's written a fic that has so much world building and characters and growth and feels they've inspired other authors to contribute to the mythos when they show they're human, too! (Er, well, in that we're all sentient beings on Earth that fall in that categorization. There could be sentient A.I. reading this right now and I hardly want to exclude them. And the transspecies folks. And the systems with non-human members. And the...okay, I'll stop) These folks have real life problems and things that get them down and surgeries and incidents that involve various forms of insurance paperwork and bills to pay and children to raise and pets to clean up after and all the things that everyone else has to deal with. They have writer's block, they have burnout, they have health problems, but they're still worthy of the praise they get on their work.

And if they are allowed to be human (or human-adjacent) and have life happen to them and are still worthy of their audience, even with all their delays and issues and challenges...

...then I'm worthy of those same things.

And that's kinda scary for me, but it also gives me a little hope that maybe my stuff is worth reading, too, even when I have to take a break so I don't hurt myself. Again.

[edgepunk]

Cyberpunk 2077 Question(s) cos I've played it about 7 times already and I wanna hear your thoughts on stuff:

So...I hope I'm not the only one who may have noticed this but like...doesn't it seem odd that V, despite all that they can do and develop to, and all that they are capable of, through whichever lifepath the player chooses that like...V doesn't have the full character agency that they should have?

Like instead of "they wouldn't not say that", V actually would...and it's just...not there? For example: there's some dialogue choices that are in line with how V is, but it feels like...some of those choices and the way they're worded like...could've been more, or like...where V would've really said something that like...would've been like "Yes! They would say That! Why aren't they saying that?" And I'm not talking about like getting really aggressive, both physically and verbally (though there's moments where I would rather see that happening), but like... there's times where I feel like V should've used their background on the topic to resolve of what they need even if it still the answer or reciprocation of what V said turned up useless.

I widely generally know there was a lot cut from the game, but like...with 2.0+ showing what the devs wanted out the game...I kinda wished the dialogue was something they'd flesh out even more, for better or worse for V's predicament with the Inevitable.

Thoughts?

If I understand this right, you'd want more dialogue options for better role-play? Because I agree.

While I think the writing is one of the strongest aspects of this game (not free of criticism, of course) the role-playing part is very limited. Similarly to Mass Effect, choosing your background has little impact on your character besides a couple of extra dialogue options and some side quests. I feel like V's background should've opened up more unique dialogue options that could've lead to certain quests ending up slightly differently. I dunno, I felt little difference between playing a Nomad and a Street Kid. Ironically, I noticed that Corpo has the most dialogue options that do make small differences and can even benefit you during certain quests.

I think some of the skills should also have more impact on the dialogue options. I'm currently playing a Netrunner build with maxed Tech and Intelligence, and sometimes V doesn't get the option to say "yeah I know how this works" instead I'm given dialogue options that make V seem like they've never touched a computer. It's kinda sad.

And I get it's difficult to write a character with so many dialogue options, especially when it's a voiced character, which comes with a heap of limitations because time and money. You get much more freedom with silent protagonists like The Courier from Fallout: New Vegas, which gives you an insane amount of freedom in terms of role-playing, and the majority of your skills unlock brand new dialogue options that can drastically change how a quest ends or how characters respond to you.

It might also come to the fact that CDPR isn't used to writing a fully customizable character, and didn't know how exactly to approach V compared to Geralt who already has an established history and personality. Though, I'd be lying if I said that game Geralt is 100% in character with book Geralt. They had to take some liberties with him for role-playing reasons, which is why some of the choices are very OOC for book Geralt. But the point is that they don't seem to have enough experience with a customizable protagonist, or perhaps it can also be chalked up to the horrid working conditions and impossible deadlines. Maybe if the execs weren't putting so much pressure on them, they could've had more time to develop a story with more paths and branching storylines.

[korothearchdragonofchaos]

Doing these questions by @fumikomiyasaki and starting with Faliux! I'm answering as her to develop her a little

🐶 What would your OC do if they were chased by a dog? "Oh, it depends on the dog, dear! If it was just playing, I'd enjoy the chase, and if it was actually on the attack, well, I'd simply head into a corridor of darkness. Us Nobodies have that little advantage~ teehee!"

💋 How would they react to getting a kiss? (can be platonic or romantic) "I quite enjoy a kiss on the hand. That's a proper way to greet a duchess such as myself! But these pretty little ruby lips are for one only~"

🌲 What would your OC do in a Minecraft world/server? "I would build myself a castle- maybe two or three!"

🎤 Can your OC sing? "I've heard my voice is quite angelic~ a bit on the nose, don't you think? But yes, I can sing!"

💃 Can your OC dance? "Oh, I just love to dance! I could spend hours waltzing with my darling Superior~"

📚 Would your OC cheat in an exam? "A lady of such high decorum such as myself would never do such a thing!"

⚡ What mythological god would you associate with your OC? "I've been compared to Theia, the goddess of shining beauty~"

✊ Would your OC win in a fight against an ostrich? "Can an ostrich shoot a bow or cast up pillars of flame? Didn't think so~"

🐾 (If human) If they were to turn into an animal, what animal would they be? "Oh, I would just love to be a deer rather than just have the ears and tail of one- leaping through forests so elegantly..."

🦄 (If human) If they were to turn into a mythical creature, what mythical creature would they be? "There is a winged deer in folklore called a peryton. They are quite vicious... I like it."

💌 How would they react to a confession?

"Oh my~ when Xemnas proclaimed his feelings for me on the Altar of Naught I was spellbound. He's come so far- finally learning how to truly feel something for me."

💗 How would they confess?

"Oh, I didn't confess first- but if I did, I'd give a sonnet to remember me by~"

💀 If they were one of the 7 sins, what sin would they be? "I guess I would compare myself to pride? I am keen to show off all my gifts~"

💘 What kind of person is their ideal type?

"Oh, the only man for me is my divine king of the twilit skies~ My beautiful amber-eyed god, Superior of the In-Between, Lord Xemnas~"

🎁 What kind of gift would they give at birthdays? "I tend to...spoil my friends quite lavishly. Some say it's a bit much, but I have a lot of love to give as the chosen ray of holy light given by Kingdom Hearts itself~"

👹 How much patience does your OC have? Are they patient? Or are they easily irritable? "I am a very patient woman. I will hold steadfast until the end of time."

☠ How petty are they? And what length of pettiness would they go for? "It depends on who I'm up against. I can be quite dismissive, or I can yearn for revenge-"

🛌 What kind of sleep schedule does your OC have? "I feel like the only one who has a decent sleep schedule in the Castle That Never Was sometimes, my stars!"

🍽 What kind of food do they like? "Mmm...the thought of a roast duck served with fine escargot as well as a lobster bisque on the side- and to end off with truffles and cloudberry sorbet. A meal fit for her majesty~"

🍻 Do they drink? If so, how strong is their alcohol tolerance? "I hold my liquor well. It takes a lot to push me into becoming tipsy."

🍺 If your OC drinks, what is their go to alcohol?

"Only the finest champagne for me~ a queen should be treated like one."

[strangeswift]

May I ask why do you like S3 overall, is it bc of vibes and all? I am not judging you, I just find S3 to be the most lackluster filler season to ever exist in the season and if you just deleted it, nothing really would make a huge difference. Some stuff were good but you could just add those good things in S3 or S4.

Overall that season destroyed many characters like Mike, Hopper (by making him a largely comedic relief), Jonathan (by adding sexism storyline which was cringe), destroyed several character relationships that were important in the series in the previous two seasons (Mike and Will, Will and the party in general, making Dustin leave the party and no one really caring about it aside from Will etc).

The only good things that happened were Robin and her coming out plus straightbait, and Max and El's friendship. Overall, there is nothing in that season plotwise and it didnt introduce anything new to the story... plus is destroyed the previous good elements like characters, character dynamics and plot. It was lackluster compared to S2's real horror, the meaty MF was trash, most of the new introducations of new plot lines such as Evil!Soviets were very underwhelming and unnecessary that took too much screen time for no reason. And the Duffers obsession with the Russia plot lines both in S3 where it got introduced, and the continuation of it in S4 where it got drageed for so long, honestly felt so unnecessary and reductive. There was no UD. It was heavily fanservice-y and filled with eye candy elements and relied on just vibes (like summer vibes and shit) and big budget action rather than actually telling a good story with a vision and quantity.

Hi anon!

Gonna try to respond to everything you said sorry if this is a little scatterbrained!

So firstly. I don't feel as if they destroyed Hopper's character. He's going through it this season, but I actually feel like he has a good amount of depth this season, and he's actually trying to be vulnerable. Sure a lot of it is sort of through a comedic lense, but I don't feel like he's been completely reduced to being comedic relief, and I definitely don't think they ruined his character.

The most certainly did not destroy Jonathan's character by any means, especially not with the sexism plotline because... he isn't the one being sexist? Sure, he doesn't completely Get It. Just like Nancy doesn't completely get where he's coming from with his family's financial situation. I don't think he's apathetic to the sexism, I just think he hasn't considered just how much it must be affecting Nancy. Now, if I were him, would I stay at a job like that? I don't know. I would love to say that I wouldn't, but with his financial situation and the lack of jobs? I'd probably suck it up and stay. Yes, even if they were being demeaning toward my girlfriend. However. It's true that he clearly Doesn't Get It. That's not "ruining his character" though. That's a character having flaws. Just like Nancy has flaws, like not considering Jonathan's situation.

I also don't think the sexism storyline was cringe. I think it was important.

I don't think S3 "destroyed" anything except Mike and El's romantic relationship and depending on how S5 shakes out maybe Mike's character. I mean sure if Mike isn't actually struggling with his sexuality and was just being an asshole then yeah they ruined Mike. So fingers crossed that they didn't ruin Mike.

I'd argue that some important shit happened S3. I mean Billy's death set up Max's entire S4 arc. Mike and Will's conflict is important for Will's arc. Steve had massive amounts of character development. Robin was introduced and incredibly well developed which it takes time to do.

I personally thought the horror elements were cool, although S2 and S4 solo S3 as far as horror elements obviously. But I'm not a horror gal really so if you're really into horror then I get how maybe you'd be disappointed? I mean I thought the building of the army and everything was pretty fucking cool. And the rats and shit. I really liked the whole mystery.

And there was Upside Down!! I mean.. that was the whole plot. The Mindflayer was the villain he's from the UD. The Russians were trying to access the UD. So it's not really accurate to say there was no UD.

As far as Russia plotline. Eh. Idk scoops troops whole storyline from cracking the code to sneaking through the vents and getting drugged and tortured for info all within the mall? I thought it was really cool. Yeah the Duffers Russian obsession is kinda weird and they kinda went ham in S4 but I did actually like it in S3.

I do like the summer vibes but also I really like a lot of other things! I really like the plot. All the scenes of El in the void were SUPER SICK. The beginning of El's independence arc and her having fun for the first time in her life? Priceless to me. She means everything so me oh my god. Hopper and Joyce being badasses and the Jopper will they won't they?? Lumax's banter this season is so important to showing how comfortable and real their relationship is. Will's whole arc is super important and amazing. SUZIE MY BELOVED!!! The Scoops Troop MY BELOVED I adore them. Erica becoming a main character? Also everything to me. Stobin? Everything to me. Robin's coming out remains my favorite scene in the entire show.

^ Sensing a pattern? Females. Women. S3 is more female centric, it brings existing female characters to the forefront. Elmax friendship. Independent El. Introduces Robin a smart and fiercely Independent lesbian. Joyce being a badass as usual. For better or worse, Karen having her arc about being unhappy in her cookie cutter marriage. Nancy confronting sexism in the workplace and coming out stronger the other side. Nancy and Karen's talk.

Also. Honestly? After S2 I needed some fun. S2 is my favorite don't get me wrong, but it's dark. It's depressing. Immaculate vibes, amazing horror elements, amazing storytelling! My favorite! But. Depressing. Needed some fun next season as a chaser.

I mean it's all subjective, but these are just my personal opinions and why I do really like S3. Not my favorite though. I like S2 then S1 then S3 then S4. (That might change after I finish my rewatch though S4 might move up idk)

[wondereads]

My Opinions on Shadow and Bone Season 2

As an original reader of Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows, I wanted to share my opinion on the new season since it's been pretty contentious. Check under the cut since it's probably going to be pretty long and there will be spoilers

I love the title cards for each episode

In the same vein, the map method of moving from place to place is great

Mal is much more likable in the show than in the book. In particular, he's much more supportive of Alina

I have to think of Alina as a different person than from the books. In the books, she hated her power and the pressure that was put upon her, but in the show she thinks of it as her calling

As such, the ending makes sense for this version of Alina, but it does have a lot of implications going forward

Personally, I like the RaR ending where Alina loses her power because I feel that is a happy ending for book!Alina. However, I think it was clever to change the price to Mal, but in a different way

Everyone was shitting on Nikolai's casting, but not me. From day one, I said he'd be able to pull it off, and he did. Amazing casting choice!

Kirigan/The Darkling is just so...annoying? This may be biased because of my intense hatred for Darklina, but it seems like the show is going out of its way to make him sympathetic because he's popular, and it just irks me at every turn. He isn't even an intriguing villain at this point

Genya and David were lovely, but David dying out of nowhere? Why? I haven't read KoS, but in SaB and SoC he is alive and well. His death is jarring, unwelcome, and doesn't even do anything narratively or character-wise

Who is this random Tidemaker bitch who just...appeared? She isn't in the books, and every scene with her was boring as hell. Yes, even that major combat scene in the finale with the two others, which dragged out for way too long

Zoya was a queen, no complaints

But what the fuck was that sword plotline? They didn't even end up needing the sword?

Tolya and Tamar were amazing character-wise, great sibling energy

Tamar just one chance please

Now for the Crows...oh, the Crows

Freddy Carter absolutely destroyed it as Kaz, he was superb

Unfortunately, a lot of his backstory feels rushed, and while I loved the scene with Pekka, it didn't have nearly enough buildup considering it originally occurred in the latter half of CK

Inej was also great, but her and Kaz's relationship was also rushed. Almost all of the major scenes (most of which happen in CK!) between them have occurred, which leaves...what? for any potential spinoff

Inej left? WHY. That is the CULMINATION of her character arc, not halfway through! I think they're trying to play it safe in case they get cancelled, but I'd much rather have a loose thread never tied up than an unsatisfying end

Also the 'I will have you without armor or not at all' is set up as if Inej has an issue with the physical contact. She would never do that, considering she has similar issues herself. The original quote is because Kaz has the emotional intelligence of a stack of kruge

While I found Jesper and Wylan adorable, they were rushed as well. It felt very insta-lovey, especially considering they slept together before? How? Wylan is a recent addition to the Barrel when he meets the Crows

That piano scene made me cringe I'm sorry

Matthias' arc seems pretty on-point, and his conflict is pretty well-portrayed for something mostly psychological

Nina was wonderful, simply a delight

I do wish she hadn't said Matthias was her 'true love', they wouldn't really be at that point

Also, at the end, I wish Matthias hadn't seen Nina. It would definitely set up their whole conflict much better

A lot of CK development happened in this show, which a) ruins the whole slow-build that a lot of people loved about SoC and b) means either the potential spin-off will be lacking in emotional depth or they'll be bringing in other conflict (which I don't even want to think about)

That's pretty much all I have to say. I liked some parts, but I really don't like a lot of the changes. A lot of people have said that we knew it was going to be changed, to think of it like fanfiction, but there's a limit to how much can be changed before it is no longer an adaptation. With the amount of fundamental character things that are being changed, I am finding it harder and harder to enjoy this show. I have no issue with plot differences, but Netflix is speeding through these heavy-hitting, developmental scenes that completely change the context and, as such, change the characters. I worry for the SoC spin-off, if we do get it.

[fizzingwizard]

eps 3 and 4...

OK, what I said about the lack of atmosphere... Ep 3 has that in spades. Wow. Also, those horror movie nightmare creatures...! They were right out of an Itou Junji comic. Loved it.

Because of that, I want to give this episode like all the gold stars... But I can't!! Because how can you just shoehorn Madeleine Pryor in like that? With literally no build up??? We had perfect Jean for two episodes, then the beginning of ep 3 she's all "NO! I AM JEAN GREY!" Like she recently gave birth, but the instant the thought's floated that she might be a clone, the vibe is clearly "she's evil."

It all happened so fast. That's what I mean about the pacing. I know there aren't a lot of episodes to work with in this show, but damn it moves fast. Idk if anyone but someone who is already an X-fan could appreciate it, because what I appreciate is the experience of going "ah yes, I remember this from the comics, it was fun," rather than the episode being fun itself. Still, like I said, this episode WAS fun regardless because it had some really cool moments.

I was honestly scared that she WOULD just be straight up evil, because Madeleine never gets a fair shake. So I'm happy that Jean was decent enough to reach out and that Madeleine was strong enough to choose to go her own way at the end.

It's the kind of story that just doesn't work in a single episode. Madeleine deserved more - Jean deserved more. And Scott, who had such a good performance in the first two episodes, is just so useless here. He's just along for the ride. Doesn't seem overly concerned with Jean or Madeleine, and barely concerned with Nathan. When they discover Nathan's virus, and Madeleine suggests sending him with Bishop to look for a cure, Scott just yells "I can't be a part of this" and storms off. My dude. That still makes you a part of it. It just also makes you too cowardly to say goodbye to your own kid, wth.

And his abandonment issues are valid but like yelling "don't any of you know what it's like to be abandoned" to a room full of mutants who very much do know...?

I want to say this is all good character development for Scott... in the sense that he's not the perfect leader, he has his flaws as well as his strengths, and this is one example. That'll have to be explored in the future though. If the episode didn't move so fast and spent a little time in Scott's head, maybe I'd sympathize with him more. Right now it seems like his wife (Madeleine) had a horrible identity crisis and was immediately abandoned by her husband, and also had the balls to do what's best for her son, while said husband just walked away. It could be good for Scott story-wise... it could even be good for Madeleine. But Madeleine is never treated well.

Also...

... this is the ugliest baby ever lmao. what is it about animation and not being able to draw babies!!!! look at the chin on him. i know he grows up to be cable but STILL. he looks thirty-five!!!!

---

Ep 4 has a lot of atmosphere too, both sections. So that's great, I guess the first two were just kinda rocky but they've figured it out now.

Wolverine: "I second the blue rogaine ad" ;-; wolvie...

The Mojo bit, despite having a filler feel (like all Mojo eps do), was a lot of fun, it was great to have Jubilee do something - even though she still sounds very much like "trademark 13 year old X-girl" as a newly minted 18 year old xP "like duh totally" what year is it bahaha

Loved the colors and the kiss.

But my favorite was definitely the second part with Ororo and Forge. Despite all its baggage, that's one of my favorite Ororo ships. I was really enjoying them while also waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'm disappointed but not surprised... still kinda hoping things work out though. The art for this part was so lovely, with Forge's cozy cabin and the sunlit desert views. And Ororo herself just seems really well-written to me. Between this and ep 3, the X-women are getting some good stories going on. I like Ororo's better than Jean's, but that's normal for me.

Forge please gimme some of that chili.

bonus I know this is longshot but for a hot second i thought jubilee had a donald trump doll:

[paleparearchive]

My World Through the Lens

Mucha's Adult Time 3★ story (2/2) ( 1 - 2 )

Location: park (morning) ; beach (afternoon) | Characters: Mucha, Aoi/MC

Aoi: You meant to take pictures of the sky, but… In this way, there are many different kinds of skies.

Mucha: Yes, the wide open sky of the park where we were before and the narrow sky seen between the buildings in the city. Even at the same time of day and in the same weather, they look completely different.

Aoi: It's true... I had never really been aware of it before.

Mucha: I have noticed it since I started taking pictures. I do not think it is that unusual.

Aoi: However, now that I've discovered the joys of the sky, I'm looking forward to looking up next time.

Mucha: This kind of new discovery is one of the charms of cameras.

Okay then, let us move on.

Aoi: Everywhere we go is fresh and very enjoyable. But where are we going next?

Mucha: Fufu, that is something you can look forward to when we get there.

—

Aoi: The sunset is beautiful… It's already this late.

Mucha: Yes, I am glad we made it in time. I wanted to photograph this orange-tinted sea.

Aoi: I see, if you think about it, dusk is a very short time, so the time to take pictures is limited.

... What's that? Is there something shining at the edge of the waves?

Mucha: Indeed... I am kind of curious.

Aoi: I'll go check it out! Since you're here, Mucha-san, please take pictures of the sunset!

Mucha: Yes, thank you very much. Please be careful not to get hurt.

Aoi: Okaay!

... Wow, such a beautiful shell. The shiny thing was this. It's also a commemoration of our meeting… I think I'll hang it in my room.

—

Aoi: Sorry for the wait!

Mucha: Welcome back. How was the shiny object?

Aoi: Actually... This shell was the true source of the glow!

Mucha: I see... You mean that the light was reflected, right?

Aoi: Up close, the orange of the sea combined with the light from the shell was wonderful.

Mucha: Fufu, congratulations. That's right… If you want, would you take a picture of it with the camera?

Aoi: Huh!? Can I!?

Mucha: It is fine for me. Here, focus on the subject… And release the shutter here.

Is it okay if you only take a picture of the shell?

Aoi: Uhm… That's not what I'm shooting for! … Hey!

*snap!*

Mucha: Huh…?

Aoi: Alright! I think I got a shot of Mucha-san with a surprised look on his face!

Mucha: Are you sure it was okay with me in it…?

Aoi: Yes! Actually, I had wanted to photograph you since the first flower garden, Mucha-san.

I felt that you were more expressive than usual with your camera… I thought even your expression was a moment of beauty!

Mucha: I see… So you think the same.

Aoi: The same?

Mucha: No, it is nothing. Shall we go home now?

Aoi: I see... I'm kind of sorry. I was excited like a child…

Mucha: No no, I think it is very nice.

Aoi: Still, this was the first time I had ever spent time like this. I was interested in a lot of things. Maybe that's why time seemed to flow so slowly.

Mucha: That may indeed be true. It is also a way for adults to enjoy a calm and relaxing time.

Come on, let us go before it gets too late.

Aoi: Yeah!

—

Mucha: Thank you very much for your time today, miss deputy director.

Aoi: Huh, I didn't do anything, did I? I'd rather think that I was the one who interfered.

Mucha: No, I think that you did a very good job at taking pictures.

Aoi: Huh… What did you say–

Mucha: Fufu, it is nothing.

Yes, I will develop the photos I took today and show them to you later.

Aoi: Aaah, I'm looking forward to it!

Mucha: (Indeed, a good view is a nice subject for a good scenery. I had a really great day. Once again, thank you, miss deputy director.)

[intrepidradish]

Media: Dragon Ball Z

Year/my age: 2002/12

What drew me to the media:

I came home from highschool everyday and had a small tv with a built in vhs in my closet. It was 4:30pm and toonami was on Cartoon Network. I watched the entire Cell Saga and Majin Boo like a fiend. It was a shitton of episodes! Ugh. It's almost impossible to watch all the way through now, but maybe because as an adult I want like...more plot motivated writing. One of the best fanfic foder aspects of DBZ is that so much is left open to interpretation. I didn't question the filler episodes as a kid. I just liked all the muscles and screaming. The animation/manga style remains super duper fun. But mostly I found DBZ memorable because of Vegeta. I got truly invested in him as a character, because for most of DBZ, he really lets you down. I think TV shows love to harp on tropes for children, ie the bad man becomes a good man and all his values change to match the good characters *sparkles*, because they think morally those are the stories that should be told to children. Which is sad, honestly. Vegeta doesn't fall into that arc. He remains...kind of a bitch... and his character arch is fantastic and long and hard and he fucks up a lot and he doesn't really apologize for any of it. This was amazing to see as a preteen. Teaching failure to a child is really hard, and I think that America's school system is really bad at even attempting to. But failure is super important. Because all of life that child cum adult is going to fail, and its going to suck.

What made me a fan:

In college, I did another pass of DBZ, and whoa, developing adult horny brain really went into spiral knots wondering...so what the fuck... Bulma and Vegeta... had sex? They made a child. They made Trunks. So they had sex, right? I think this is pretty common a reaction. And as soon as you think that, well... the next step is... 'wait wait wait, how did they have sex? why did they have sex? what did that even look like?' And that's what sends you scouring the internet at 1am in your underwear (covertly, because you're in a dormitory with three other roommates).

I wish I could put to language what is it about romance that sends people into fandom holes. Romance is really important to fandom. I think it has something to do with how regimented relationships are in mass media. They aren't diverse. Most main stream romance is very streamlined and never gets into the messy odd bits without being labeled as some kind of edgy cusp drama. I don't know. But relationships seem to be the spring board for fandom hijinks. I'm all about it. I'd rather have fake blorbo relationships in my brain to obsess over than the real world. That shit gets you into trouble.

Oh god, and what an indicator of future dispositions. If you get into the Vegebul fandom, a lot of them are rape stories (because god forbid, a woman could want a shitty asshole alien man to bone at night. Bulma has her own set of problems, specifically with vanity being high up there). But yeah they were hot and I was pretty ashamed about the whole thing.

I was such a baby then.

Have I written fanfiction for it?

YES. One winter vacation, I wrote a 40 page fanfiction. This was probably in 2010? It was UNFINISHED, but I was incredibly sweaty the entire time, trying to build up to a spanking scene. (Yes, 40 pages of build up for spanking. I'm embarrassed for myself.) My computer crashed and the entire document was corrupted. My first fanfic was lost. RIP

Opinion on the fandom:

Pretty chill. I didn't interact with it much besides reading secretly. Originally, I was reading on fanfiction.net. When I came back to it years later (once again after college, I got my husband into it) I was reading fanfic for it on Ao3. I run into other Vegebul's periodically. They are all in their late twenties, early-late thirties. I follow someone here on tumblr that wrote this fantastic long series (100+ chapters) called Pillow Talk which is on Ao3. It's fucking incredible about showing the ups and downs, ins and outs of their relationship, because they do wind up together in canon (which is wild).

The most recent interaction I had was in the kink community, which was like *sigh* 'god, we are so fucking predictable, aren't we?' We had a good laugh! But he was trans masc too, chilling in a femme body, so we clicked right away about it.

I also remember I had an annoying conversation with my stepbrother once about tattoos. I don't have any, so they were asking why I don't. I said "If I started to get tattoos it would be a slipper slop before I start making bad decisions like getting a full Vegeta arm sleeve." Their mouths twisted in that judging you face and said "yeah don't do that." Like...ahem. My point exactly.

I think people get pretty judgy in general about Vegebuls because its a 90s kid's show, and its not a very good one. But being a Vegebul is kind of like... realizing your parents have sex. It's part of 'coming of age'.

Would I participate again:

Hell yeah, I would. Once a Vegebul always a Vegebul. The biggest hurdle for me would be catching up on all the new material. I watched Dragon Ball Super and found it lackluster. GT was so bad, I cannot. Something that's commonly an issue for me is the amount of subject material required to understand a story in fanfiction. I'll get into it later with other fandoms, but if the lore gets too big, I suddenly don't know how to participate.

Master post

[lifeofkaze]

Happy FFWF! 💛 You wrote AoB so long ago now. Is there anything that you would do differently if you were to write it with more experience under your belt? And what bits do you look back at and feel immensely proud of?

Look at you pulling the question from my brain I have been asking myself over and over for quite some time now 😂

Short answer is - yes, there are definitely things that I would change.

You know I don't do short, though, haha.

But really, the one thing I would most definitely change is the whole friendship factor between Lizzie and Rowan in AoB. Seeing as it was my first fic back after over a decade of not writing at all, I didn't quite know what I was doing (compared to now), and I found I enjoyed exploring the friendship between Lizzie and Skye much more than I did Lizzie and Rowan. If I were to rewrite AoB, I would take more time and care to build these two up, as I would for Charlie and Penny as well. Tonks I would probably just leave out because she didn't add to the story at all.

That's another thing I would do, see what in AoB actually serves the plot or character development and what doesn't. Lizzie and I were still in the process of getting to know each other when I started out, and there are a lot of things in there that are references to the canon MC. Lizzie isn't my Curse-Breaker kid but I still gave her loads of things like the love/talent for CoMC, the brother named Jacob, etc. Some of these I'd keep (Jake my beloved) others would def need to go because Lizzie turned out to be her own wonderful person.

In terms of what I feel proud of are the big emotional scenes AoB had to offer, namely the two big romantic Lizion scenes and the scene between Lizzie and Skye in the stands towards the end. Of all these, my biggest "achievement" so to speak, is Moonglow, imo. I have yet to write something that packs the same punch.

Another thing I'm maybe not proud of but rather wistful about is how effortless writing AoB was. I think this is the downside of developing your skill, ambition and methods - you know what you're doing(ish) but that also means you're way more critical with yourself, and the ease that comes with just writing what's in your head and only edit a little bit gets lost.

[moonstruck-writing]

Hi hi !!!! How have you been? I'm curious about 15, 20, 21, 30, 36, 38 from the ask game 👀❤❤

Hi Mo!!💕 I've had better times, just wishing for the weekend at this point 🤣 I hope you're doing well💖 thanks for the ask!!

15. What's your favourite plotless fic you have written?

Mmm maybe Ginnojo's New Bonds or Yves' Red and Golden. Both fics mainly just explore some first times for the pairings, and that's about it. There's context to it, but nothing else really happens. Ginnojo's was my first nsft fic actually, and the first ever fic I posted on this account. Sometimes I re-read it and I wonder if it was beginner's luck🤣

20. Do you work on a single project or many at the same time? How does that work for you?

...I work on too many at the same time. In practice, I probably shuffle between 3 or 4, until I finish one of them, or I just give up for the moment 🤣 and it... doesn't work super well for me. At first, it did give me the freedom to write while inspired, but for the last two months... It's actually making me procrastinate. Also, I've noticed if I push myself to work on something, more ideas will come up so that I can solve some of the problems and just write, but if I have too many options (wip) to choose from... i just don't choose any 😩

21. Can you accurately predict how long your fics are going to be? If you can, what's your secret?

I actually can but it's only because no matter what, even the shortest idea ends up being 1k 🙄 so I can more or less have an inkling of whether something will be in a 1.5k to 2k range, or longer than that. It's not a secret but rather I've learnt from seeing how my ideas developed into those word counts. All I can say is, you probably can tell whether your idea is just one scenario centered around one incident, or if it needs a build up, and how much of that (roughly) it needs.

30. Describe a fic that almost happened, but then it didn't.

Mmm... I actually have a few abandoned fics. One that frustrated me was a Luka Clemence drabble. Short story: I cannot do drabbles. I need some sort of "plot" even if all the action revolves around one scene. And it just... It didn't convince me. It was about Luka finding a four leaf clover and making a bookmark with it for Alice - I got the idea from the Spring Bouquet Challenge. But when I tried to write it, it just didn't work for me. I couldn't get any ideas for what they'd talk about, or any context, really. Maybe if I knew how to just write drabbles, I would've done it. But I literally cannot just write the one scene. I need something else, like a connection to plot, a purpose for the fic to happen 🤣

36. How do you come up with fic titles? What's the one you're most proud of?

With a lot of mental effort 🤣🤣 most of the time, and I repeat, MOST of the time, I only come up with them when I'm going to post the fic online. And then I'm like, "oh, no. I had forgotten I need a title for this!" 🙄🙄 So I try to find a few words that summarise the plot in a beautiful way. I'm really proud of "Imperfect Parfaits and Other Oxymorons" but I have to admit at that time I had been binging an author's fics and I had noticed their titles were always amazing, and I tried to learn from that. So now I have probably forgotten how to do it lol.

Very very few times, the title actually comes to me while fleshing out the story in my mind. An example is "Sweet Wounds". It just came to me and I was all like: YES. FINALLY. I WON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE TITLE LATER ON. 🤣🤣

38. "This never happened" fix-it fics or "this happened but" fix-it fics?

It depends? Mmm maybe this never happened? I tend to prefer that, yes. Seems more of an AU to me, than just canon divergence. And I love AUs. I cannot really think of any fix-it fics I've read recently. And so far, I've only had "this never happened" fic ideas (which are still wip🙈)

Also anyone reading this, feel free to drop fix-it fic recommendations!🙈 I'd like to explore that subgenre.

Ask game here.

[chaos-event-horizon]

A Phone call

"I hope you're not expecting more than a vaguely civil conversation, Yagi."

Toshinori smirked at the tone of the chucklefuck he had on the other end of the line. He was leaning heavily against the side of a building several blocks away from his home, and already could tell this was going to be a fun conversation.

"Aw, so prickly. What's wrong Todoroki, didn't you miss me?"

"Not even a little. I'm getting sick of you trying to punch me in the face."

"Well... From what I hear, you won't have to worry about that for a few days."

The line was quiet, then a growling voice ground its way through the receiver. "If you've done anything to my son--! Yagi, I'm going to--"

"Cool your jets, Flameo. Shouto's fine. You know better than to think I'd hurt a kid."

"...What do you want?"

"Just a yes or no answer. Is your impromptu vacation happening because the main association branch is making a deal with the Shie Hassaikai?"

"... So, you heard about that?"

The blonde smirked as he remembered the night that Rian had gleefully gone to pick up Midoriya from the Todoroki compound and used his quirk to sneak around while leaving a hefty stack of papers on the hero's desk, though he was immediately cooled off by the chilling memories of other lives where things had gone horribly wrong by this point. "Come on, Endeavor... Who do you think provided you with the tip in the first place?"

There was a lot of cursing from the other line, then another strangled growl. "That kid--"

"Is very good friends with your son, yes. Consider him my 'Shouto', and take that into account before you try anything funny."

Near silence, then the sound of rustling papers as the phone's speaker setting kicked on "...Then the information is accurate? Don't toy with me, Yagi, and don't worry about being recorded. I'm de-bugged for the moment."

"As accurate as my people can figure. That's no technology they're developing, it's a girl being used for her quirk. Six years old. The Yakuza plan to hand her over to the government in exchange for a profit and conditional immunity."

"And those damned dogs up top have no problem giving it, as long as it gives them another way to keep the status quo going..."

Toshinori fought with two different emotions: being impressed at how angry his old schoolmate was, and the sudden curiosity at how Todoroki might react to hearing about Rian's story. Maybe he'd tell the hothead someday, if they ever became more amicable. "Which is what we figured... And why we sent you the information. Thought you might be interested in cleaning up."

"Cleaning up?"

"I'm already poised to move on them. We're going to get that girl out, and your buddies in the Hero Association won't be any wiser. Consider the tip and this warning an invitation for you to come in once we leave and make it look like you were just mopping up. You'll notice from the documents we left you that they're also deeply involved with exploiting local businesses and committing rather violent harassment. On the day of, you'll receive a call from a civilian begging you for help. You'll arrive, end whatever party is still happening in there, and be hailed as the hero who put a stop to the Shie Hassaikai."

"What, you're planning on playing hero and just letting me take the credit?"

"Let's say that I have a personal stake in this, but don't want to ruin my reputation."

Silence.

Toshinori sighed. As he thought, Todoroki needed more convincing. "I'll send along proof that the kid's okay. According to our Intel she can't just be let loose anywhere, due to the nature of her quirk... But we have ways to keep her from getting hurt, and more than enough manpower to get the job done."

More silence.

"I can feel you scowling, Enji."

"I'm not a fan of being ordered around by a villain, Yagi."

"Come off it, asshole, you'd be mad if I was a hero too," the blonde grumbled. "Look, your hands are tied, right? Pretty much the only way to keep from being used like a $20 whore by that association is to protest by using vacation time. So let me do the dirty work. Tell your bosses you were there to try to stop me. Let those jackasses save face by letting the world think this was a win for the heroes, with you leading the charge. You and I both know that this deal is morally bankrupt, and saving that little girl is the only right thing to do here. I can stay the bad guy, while you use that godawful fire quirk of yours to spread a bit more light in the world."

"...I hate to admit this... But we've had a deal for the last seven hours. If you hadn't called I was planning on coming to find you."

"Come again?"

"You think I don't hate all this corruption and political nonsense? I tried to get the association to back off so we could save the kid, and you don't want to know what they told me. You and I aren't friends, and we probably hate each other, but even I know that you have a point. Go save that girl. I'll burn any evidence... Ever since he's been around your kid, Shouto's started smiling again. I trust you on this one, Yagi."

The line cut off, and Toshinori was left staring at his phone.

[iconuk01]

Icon_UK watches "Masters of the Universe: Revelation"

I honestly had no idea what to expect from this. My interest in the 1980's original is minimal. I was too old for the series when it first came out and what I did see seemed rather trite and repetitive (and Filmations rotoscoping had looked old when I'd been MUCH younger).

So I am slightly surprised I have to say, with one or two reservations, that I really enjoyed this!

Some designs from the original stuck out of course (Skeletor, the Sorceress, a couple of the monsters and the actual transformation), but overall, I knew what it was, without caring too much about what it was.

The 2003 series impressed me more in terms of storytelling, animation and style. Though it clearly built on what had come before so had a bit of a leg up there.

But Kevin Smith has said this was a continuation of the original series, which didn't impress me as an idea for the reasons stated above. I didn't think the original series would be able to withstand that severe a shake-up because it was never that strong to begin with.

I've seen some complaints that this was a fake out of a series by sidelining He-Man (by killing him) to focus on Teela, but that, to me, is the entire point, and it's a logical and valid development (Also, this series isn't called "He-Man", it's called "Masters of the Universe".. so there :P )

Much like IDW's Transformers comics, which changed everything by the simple asking of the question "What happened AFTER the Autobot/Decepticon war ended?", this series asks "What happens after He-Man and Skeletor are DEAD?"

But before that, we get what amounts to a modern day version of a classic episode, with Skeletor and Evil-Lyn hatching a complicated plan to get into Castle Greyskull, and the Masters arriving to stop them, but then it gets singularly darker. (I did like the metatextual nod that the first time we EVER see He-Man using his sword to actually stab someone (something utterly forbidden in the original series by BS&P) is the moment that it all goes horribly wrong for He-Man)

In the original series, there was never any proper reason Teela shouldn't know that Adam was He-Man, she was Adam's friend and He-Man's ally in multiple life or death situations, and it would make a lot more sense for her to know for those reasons. Yes, of course it was to make room for a "secret identity" sub-plot, a staple of the genre, but since Cringer, Man-At-Arms and Orko (ORKO!) knew, logically why NOT Teela?

So her feeling bitterly betrayed by everyone she had trusted (even, in those last moments, Adam) made sense, as did her walking away from the whole damn lot of them when she realised that even Marlena had worked it out, but kept quiet about it. And that's a solid basis for her story arc. (And they pointedly didn't have the Sorceress manage to reveal that Teela wasn't an orphan adopted by Duncan, she was Duncan's daughter with the Sorceress, because that wasn't needed to spur her actions), and Sarah-Michelle Gellar's performance as Teela was excellent.

Randor being a jerk to Adam for not being the son he wanted (Oh, if only he knew, wink-wink) was painful and a bit of a departure from the original (I think) where I remember worrying about his son not being a warrior, but didn't think less of him for it.

I would have liked to have seen more of how Eternia was suffering because of magic's departure. We get a reference or two, but something that big should perhaps have been shown more frequently. (Think how "Visionaries" showed the impact of advanced technology failing and magic's return on an entire society). Would buildings have fallen over because they were built using magic, not structural engineering principles? Would crops fail because of a reliance on magic for fertiliser etc. Some more of that would have helped the plight of magic's loss feel real and dangerous, rather than simply inconvenient.

Andra was a slightly generic character, but she worked well for the role of "newbie who is the asker of plot relevant questions for plot exposition purposes" and some more female representation was long overdue.

I really enjoyed seeing the new take on some of the old characters (even if I was probably thinking more of the 2002 versions more than the 80's ones). Mark Hamill's Skeletor was suitably Hamill-ish, if not exactly distinctive compared to the original Oppenheimer vesion (even I remember the nasal laugh). Lena Headey was having an absolute blast as a version of Evil-Lyn who had more agency than the original (though again, the 2002 version had much more of a backstory fleshed out). Tri-Klops going "evangelical borg" was... an odd twist, but gave him something to do, and an AMAZING hat)

It did get a bit "If someone has an emotionally impressive moment they're going to die... SOON!" which I think Orko, Roboto and Adam all did (and as I've mentioned elsewhere that the Orko/Evil-Lynn scene where Orko discusses his true name was genuinely lovely, and pretty much the only bit of the Subternia episode I felt made much of an impression).

I was also struck by the scene in Preternia, where we saw all the previous Champions of Grayskull, including Grayskull himself, and that Adam had chose to live as his human self, rather than his He-Man form, the only Champion to ever do so. Which got to the heart of Adam very effectively.

Truth be told, Preternia didn't seem the sort of place that Adam would particularly warm to unless there was a lot more to it than we saw, so him leaving, apart from being obvious and inevitable, didn't even feel like it would be a wrench for him.

It did seem to get a lot done in five episodes, and it was one heck of a cliffhanger, so I am interested in seeing where this goes. Will Evil-Lyn settle for being Skelegod's number 2 again? (Seems unlikely), is Adam re-deaded.... (see last parentheses) so roll on Season 2 (Though I have a hard time calling five 23 minute episodes a "season")