As a fellow Dovewing lover, it's frustrating how the fandom watered her down into a whiny brat who never cared about Ivypool. I mean, seriously? Not only did Dovewing care about her sister (reacting in horror when Lionblaze, her own mentor and Jayfeather are willing to potentially sacrifice Ivypool's safety by employing her as her spy instead of trying to get her out of the Dark Forest's clutches, hiding a thorn in her nest to cover for her scarring from her training).
Heck, even the scene where she tries to feed Ivypool her catch during a hunting patrol was demonized because 'she was trying to make Ivypool break the code like SHE does, as if it doesn't matter' and because she got upset when Ivypool started arguing with her! But you guys said she didn't care, right? Plus, people act like being forced into a prophecy is something you should be grateful for, as if it didn't irreparably change her close relationship with her sister? As if Lionblaze and Jayfeather didn't still keep her out of the loop (and for all the fussing they made about keeping it a secret, Lionblaze confesses his power to Cinderheart and Jayfeather doesn't even care).
Meanwhile Nightheart is angry he isn't orange and hates his mom for being exiled and the whole world has to stop for him. 🤪 And Bramblestar is simply so tortured by having an evil father, the only choice is to train with him and his evil half-brother and hide this from his wife! (But remember, it's bad when that witch Squirrelflight hides the parentage of the three from him, even when Blackstar and Leopardstar were still around after being complicit in the torture and killing of halfclan cats.) Why are these male characters sympathized with, even when they actively harm people (Nightheart forcing himself into Sunbeam's life by lying to everyone about being her mate without even asking her if she would be fine with that beforehand), Bramblestar (we all know what he does), but when Dovewing or any other female character is upset, people freak out and call them whiny brats or abusive for (checks notes) asking her partner if he loves her anymore after they argued multiple times in a book. Really makes you think! (Sorry this is so long, you just have based opinions!)
dovewing being characterized as this flighty airheaded vain popular girl stereotype in fanon is like. one of those biggest "we didnt actually read the books" things in the fandom. like theres so much fanart where shes grinning and giggling over the prophecy and shes besties with the trio and shes got preferential treatment, and then in the actual books shes basically the autistic kid no one actually likes. people really, REALLY overexaggerate that one scene where she snaps at ivypaw and brags. (and i dont wanna shit on amvs but i am forever side eying how the animation community handled dove back in the day. more than one person animated her getting murdered. normal.)
i do think its gotten better recently at least. but wow does it feel like at least one person on the writing team has a bone to pick
(also awww thank you <3 no need to be sorry i love getting stuff in my inbox)
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my german isn't even a fraction as good as it would need to be to make any kind of job of rilke but i fell down a minor rabbit hole & have been flipping thru edward snow's version of his uncollected poems as a result & it's just like. it's a hard thing to describe but you know the kind of translation where it just feels like. you aren't getting a sense of the actual arc & flow of meaning and it's not clear that the translator had one either. very these-sure-are-some-nouns-on-a-page.
like, okay, random example i just hit:
Imagining you my being burns more brightly,
my veins turn the night red.
About my heart the armed guardian
rattles with suspicion. Has your feeling
caught sight of me down through the liberated stars?
Are you coming from unopposable space
Paris, May 1913
and yes those italics are snow's own and no they are not in rilke's german text anywhere—
Dich aufdenkend wird mein Wesen erglühter,
meine Adern röten die Nacht.
An meinem Herzen der gerüstete Hüter
klirrt vor Verdacht. Wacht
dein Gefühl durch die mündigen Sterne herüber?
Gehst du aus unaufhaltsamem Raum
like i always have a vague suspicion that stephen mitchell is to rilke what keeley and sherrard are to cavafy, in the sense of producing very beautiful english versions whose allegiance is perhaps ultimately more to themselves than to their point of origin
and like, disclaimer that this is all a very uninformed discussion, i'm sure there are rilke and/or translation aficionados out there who have very well-founded, well-established opinions on these various translators but i really don't, i'm just poking at pomes like a dilettante*
but oof snow is not successfully selling me on his prefatory assertion that these were in fact remarkable poems that deserved better than to go uncollected!! are you coming from unopposable space, edward. can you perhaps go back there and workshop this jumble a little
⸻
* or possibly a dilet-oncle
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This might sound like it’s straying into RPF territory, but thoughts on each of the players’ (including Matt’s dm style) playing style (ie: how they play their characters.)
Hmmm. Tbh, I don't think I'm knowledgable enough about actual game mechanics/playstyles to provide super meaningful analysis on that front, but I do like characters and how they're created and played and grown. So. I'll cheat a little and talk a little about that?
(To avoid straying into weird territory I'll be trying to keep this as speculation-free as possible and focus on some particular character elements I've noticed and appreciate, but it'll include cast appreciation too.)
this got SO FUCKING LONG because I was having a good time. sorry. enjoy?
Ive spoken about this before, but Marisha's characters often have arcs that are deeply self contained and circle around personal growth and triumph and healing in ways I really enjoy. Her characters do tend to be very powerful, which- nice- but more often than not the biggest factor for growth- and her characters always have phenomenal growth arcs- is about overcoming internal stumbling blocks and demons, improving as a person and settling into it. Which. Spells exciting things for Laudna. 👀 I also love how much she physically embodies each of her characters. Delightful to see. Post-nap Beau, mildly delirious Beau, Laudna drunk-and-woozy-from-blood-loss, Laudna hiding behind her hair.... fantastic.
Liam's characters are so fucking full of love, and passion, in ways that wrap around and shape them, both good and bad. And like yes, fantastic and distinct explorations of grief, yes, thoughtful and nuanced portrayals of loss and trauma and upheaval. But- honestly, looking at Caleb, looking at Vax, looking at Orym. They're all just Lads With Feels, yknow? Good lads who love people so damn much, and feel things so strongly and fully, for better or for worse. He also embodies his characters so fully that you feel that fullness to your core. Method acting.
Taliesin's characters are firstly, aesthetic as hell. He also does something really neat with characters and pride and inflexible or presumptous worldviews. And alongside that, each of his characters can beautifully demonstrate points about people who speak well and charismatically and reassuringly and how that really correlates so little about how much they should be trusted. (Cad, this includes you.) There's pages and pages of analysis that can be done about each of his characters and themes about authority, and pride, and self assurance, and judgements and assumptions that feels very intentional, but his characters also feel very human with it all. There are layers there. And the characters manage to not feel overburdened with it! Masterful. And Taliesin is consistent as hell with it, even if he's not always In character like Liam might be.
Sam. Fucking Sam Riegel. Bard at heart. His characters always, always, have layers, without fail, and Sam is enough of a jokester that you can't take everything done in character as hard evidence of analysis- but you can definitely take more of it than you think. And if there's a specific detail that is slightly funny but seems almost too specific, you can rest assured it will probably rip your heart out later. (Veth hates water! haha! -ah shit-) There's a nice level of thoughtfulness there with just enough actual jokes thrown in to keep you off balance, which makes some of the analysis hell but damn if they aren't good characters.
Ashley is- first of all, extremely funny, okay, there's an element of Chaos™ that I think was present in both Yasha and Pike to an extent that is truly blossoming in Fearne, it is delightful. Her characters tend to be funny in the way of deeply absurd, unexpected statements said in completely genuine tones. And it's hilarious. It also lends itself very well to the other aspect of her characters I enjoy, which has to do with them feeling deeply genuine. It is not precisely about honesty- especially with Fearne- it is about characters who say things with a sort of earnestness, who present themselves with a levek of honesty they can't quite help, even when they're lying. Its good for a comedic streak- ("Your cat is? Vibrating?" "I lied :)") and then just as easily be completely heartwrenching. (Yasha, wrecked and angry and guilty. Fearne, quietly telling Dorian, "I'll never forget you."). She plays both sides of it so well.
I'll admit I'm less familiar with Grog, but Fjord was, admittedly, one of my favorite characters from C2 and has one of my favorite charscter arcs and growth of all time. Travis is so fucking good at blending humor and heart in his characters. Like, comedic timing and sense off the charts, instinctive slapstick, which I think can distract from how consistently thoughtful his characters can be? I dunno. But also, I'm aware some people thought Fjord was boring at the start of C2 and then I think about how fucking hilarious he was through the latter half of it- falling on his face, making a fool of himself, using healing spells for 1-2 hitpoints. And go absolutely feral thinking about how that was a reflection of his growth as a character, about how his confidence in himself and being comfortable being him and not an imitation of someone else meant he felt more confident in making a fool about himself, and how he balanced that humor so well with Fjord growing into leadership and comfort with his role as a voice of reason and- oops this became Fjord meta.
Travis has really good comedic timing but also can spin that on a dime for the most heartfelt, gentle, thoughtful conversations and it is unfair how good he is at it. We're even seeing it with Chetney already. Incredible.
and. Look. I'm sure anyone following me is unsurprised to know that I have. An extreme love for Laura Bailey characters and how they're constructed. And part of this is definitely verging on like, personal preference- I have a specific weakness for characters who are trying so fucking hard to keep it together and be Good and Kind and charming, and who might be doing it VERY convincingly but are also, in one form or another, white knuckling it and On The Edge. Characters that Smile With Teeth (but are also genuinely Trying Their Best). I DUNNO.
But I think it's a testament to Laura truly thinking things through with her characters and how they would feel and react and also fuck things up, and then 100% committing to them. Strong traits as both strengths and flaws. Vex's charm distilled to an arrow point. Jester's happiness being intentional and powerful and terrifying. Imogen being anxious and empathetic and also ruthless under pressure. Her characters are always impressive and flawed in ways that make so much sense, that line up with each other and fall into place and she commits to them fully. They'll say something or do something bad and you'll be like: OOF but also OF COURSE and like. LIKE. isn't that great.
And as a bonus, we don't get to see Matt as a player often and I think NPC building has a level of worldbuilding integrated that can't be ignired. But whenever I see him as a PC he is often-
1- having such a good time, love that for him.
2- Clearly someone so well associated with the rules and uses all of that knowledge and mastery for tomfoolery or specific purposes.
3- making such Lads™. Good bois.
im mostly thinking about Dariax, actually. Dariax was so good, and so complex while also having no more than 3 thoughts at a time. i miss u dariax. ilu.
Matt's characters are a delight, is what I'm saying.
.....
okay this got unreasonably long i think it can probably be boiled down to I Love Complex Characters Who Act Consistently With Some Level Of Characterization and everyone in the cast works so hard to ensure their characters feel fully realized and act consistently and in ways that make sense. And I love characters who act consistently. my bread and butter. and they're all good at different aspects of it but. 👌
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old mighty med interviews? What do you know about them? I must know-
hsfdffdjj…I was not actually expecting anyone to send in an ask, thank you ^_^ tbh i was mainly referring to content in mighty med interviews that I personally find interesting and less what I know about them. However some interviews raise interesting questions like how in this interview (idk if this actually counts as an interview bc they’re just being asked things about the show but it’s close enough) they play a promotional clip where kaz and oliver are playing an online game together (in a set that’s never used in the show) and jake short says that k&o really like videogames when iirc that’s not really a thing?? in the show?? other than the dance ep ofc. so maybe it was supposed to be but then it was too irrelevant to the shows premise so they gave the trait to Jordan? I don’t know if the writers even played video games considering the arcade game she plays in the first episode has her blowing up unicorns (???) but back on the interview I’m also pretty sure the set of the clip directly after is from this ad. this set is also never used in the show. the ad even uses the tagline “it’s just how they operate” even though it’s “saving the people who save people”. realistically these were probably made earlier in development, but i think it would be funny if the marketing team just straight up didn’t watch the show (haha imagine wouldn’t it be so crazy if a team working with mm didn’t watch it wouldn’t that be so silly) so the old interviews may give some insight into bts stuff! Sick! Another thing is this article (comfort read btw) which has transcribed parts of an interview w the mm cast and crew where they explain some of the thought behind skylars character and…
.. it’s just so interesting!! So much care was put into mms world and it really shines through in this interview. Also in both the video interview and the article, k&o are respectively described as the gas and the break by their actors+the shows creators and it’s just so.. OTL (<- man on his hands and knees)…. bsp even says “you can’t drive a car without both” (paraphrasing) and it’s like. ack. eek. them... this analogy was probably told to bsp+js and now we get to see the intentions with which they’re written maybe! anyway i hope I answered your ask correctly. And if not I hope it was a satisfactory or at least interesting answer ^_^
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