#and he’s not only meaningful narratively

[acourtofthought]

Would you still consider it a celebration if Gwynriel’s book is next, bc it at least confirms endgame couples?

I will be very happy for Gwynriels and very relieved that it will help lessen the ship wars though I think I'll still feel disappointed.

I want Elucien to happen but I also adore Elain and Lucien as individuals so an Elucien confirmation isn't the entirety of what I want for them.

Az and Gwyn absolutely deserve a HEA and their own healing arcs but there is something to be said for the fact that right now, they are surrounded by love even without a relationship. Yes, they have their own internal struggles but they have a really strong support system, people that have their backs, that encourage them, that believe in them. Az and Gwyn both have their found families but neither Elain or Lucien do.

Elain and Lucien are regularly pushed to the side in favor of the other characters. I understand why that is, SJM has to stay on course with the narrative that they still need to find the court where they'll thrive, but in the meantime that has resulted in them being misunderstood by the others. It results in others speaking for them, the others not encouraging them or helping them find their powers. Hell, Feyre has known about Lucien's real father since ACOWAR and it's almost two years later yet she's still letting him wander around aimlessly thinking he has no place to go.

A Gwynriel book being next means we're going to have yet another book of Elain floating around the River House with no real purpose. Lucien drifting between Spring and the Human Lands while Tamlin remains depressed which means Lucien will feel the effects of that. Elain again not having the chance to have a POV on how she's feeling about the loss of her father, being made, Graysen's rejection, Az's rejection, how Nesta and Az believe she shouldn't be allowed to do anything dangerous. If a Gwynriel book takes 6-9 months, that means nearly three years will have passed from when Elain will have been forced into the Cauldron, given powers from the Cauldron that she still hasn't fully explored and hasn't been given help on training, a confirmed mating bond that remains unaccepted and unrejected, and we will have never had a single person actually ask her how she feels about any of that outside of Feyre's "you couldn't say a single word to him?"

I will be happy for Gwynriels but how can I personally be super excited when that means my two favorite characters will once again suffer for another 6-9 months without having the same support system in place that Az and Gwyn already do?

Gwyn and Az might not have romance yet but they are respected and loved by their friends and we've witnessed that on page. Meaningful moments, moments where their found family have gotten personal with them and asked them to get personal in response (though Az is kind of terrible in that area, we've seen Cassian and Rhys at least try).

Lucien has "friends" in Vassa and Jurian but we've never actually seen that connection, we're just told it's there so we have to assume it is.

And when he tried to open up to Feyre, she made fun of him.

Elain has "friends" with the wraiths but again, we're just told about it rather than witnessing moments that make us actually feel it. And yes, her sisters love her but they don't try to connect with her (Feyre only thinks of her as a pleasant companion).

And the IC, while friendly enough with Lucien, don't necessarily embrace him with any kind of true respect. There's always this underlying current of "can we trust him?", "what can he do for us?" And of course we know Az has issues with him.

The need to prove that both Elain and Lucien belong somewhere other than where they currently is starting to feel a tiny bit overdone to the point that it's a bit cruel, and while that to me would be a perfect time to end their suffering, I can only imagine what another book of that would look like.

#pro elucien #elucien #elain archeron #lucien vanserra

[let-us-cultivate-our-garden]

I swear... Belos deserved so much more....

Lowkey...I want Odalia Blight to end up with a much better husband/business partner and being a capitalist queen. (I see her getting with either Honsou/Perturabo)

Cause here's the damn thing... Alador gets too little flack for what he did... and just cause he stood up for Odalia... he really didn't do shit. Hell... It would be better for them to cut off BOTH of her parents.

TBH, it would be funny for Luis to try and "the friendship is Magic" shit on Perturabo (who would NOT listen to any of that nonsense) or Belos somehow getting somebody like Konrad Curze and uses him to hunt down Eda. Or Lorgar getting in, KILLING Belos and making thing WORSE.

I answered a similar ask about Odalia here.

Belos definitely deserved better writing because he's the main villain yet the show did a poor job of making the coven system actually oppressive and the coven scouts are just mooks that can quit their job with zero repercussions. This just makes Belos look bad as a dictator and a villain. Plus, there's his implied backstory and narrative foil with Luz that was stripped of all nuance and ends with "you're a good person because your motives are pure and not a power-hungry meanie."

As for Odalia, she didn't need to be deep but she didn't need to be so basic either. She's largely a caricature that doesn't really have anything meaningful to say about how capitalism supports oppressive regimes but the show isn't about that. So we have the abusive mom who tries to mold her daughter into her own image. Great concept, really lazy execution, especially since once Amity meets Luz, she doesn't really struggle with the expectations of her mother with the freedom her new crush provides.

As for Alador, he was implied to be on equal footing with Odalia and on the same page as her only to be retconned as a distant father who is "redeemed" once he stands up to his wife. Guess we're not going to address those years of emotional neglect. Also, Amity for some reason gets into engineering when she never really displayed an interest in that before. So instead of becoming like her mother, she turns into her dad. Great work, team.

(Also, I don't know who those other characters are you mentioned. I don't play video games).

#the owl house #toh critical #toh criticism #amity blight #odalia blight #emperor belos #philip wittebane #alador blight

[comradekatara]

i feel like the reason aang isn’t as adored and beloved as he should be is because he’s the protagonist but he’s also not an archetypal western classical hero. i don’t agree with the entirety of that “avatar aang: feminist icon” essay because i think the role of patriarchy and gender in atla is more complex than what that essay posits, but he definitely complicates the masculine ideal of heroism and generally does not conform to patriarchal notions of masculinity. which is very deliberate, especially as contrasted with sokka and zuko’s explicit struggles with the imperialist/colonial standards of an aggressive, militaristic, and chauvinistic masculinity. aang is subversive because he represents an absence of war in a world ravaged by it. through his link to a (somewhat more) peaceful and harmonious past, he represents a better possible future. as katara would say, he brings people hope.

but people don’t like that he’s not visibly edgy or tormented like zuko is (even though he’s a far more tragic character than zuko is, just fyi), that he isn’t “cool” (even though he’s literally the coolest kid ever, just fyi), that he “gets the girl” (even though if anything, she gets him) despite being twelve and bald and nice (the horror!). katara is the more classical hero of the narrative, as its narrator and its catalyst, the adventurous revolutionary who gradually learns to control and use her powers and eventually becoming a force to be reckoned with. zuko is the classical anti-hero of the narrative, his “redemption arc” constantly hailed as one of the greatest character arcs in television. so people expect katara and zuko, as very obvious narrative foils who parallel each other every step of the way, to be the obvious couple, because based on every romance narrative we’ve been inundated with throughout our lives, within our patriarchal society, they “just make sense together.”

but as much as katara is a protagonist in her own right, aang is the show. the title quite literally represents the central thematic tension of the entire narrative, the colon illustrating the implicit divide between his duties to this brave new world in desperate need of justice and balance, or his duties to his extirpated culture as the last true voice among them. aang is the central figure because this tension represents the crucial ideological battle happening across the entire show. aang is the avatar because he is the only person in the entire world whose values have not been shaped by war.

people constantly laud zuko, in particular, for being the most interesting, complex character in avatar. but i personally don’t even think that’s true. which isn’t to say that zuko isn’t fascinating in his own right, of course, but rather that he’s certainly not the only complex character this show has to offer. he just happens to monologue about his anguish constantly. but aang wasn’t raised as an imperial prince, and so he approaches the world, and his own pain, in a very different manner. the reason he immediately goes to ride giant koi on kyoshi island, mailchutes in omashu, and otherwise goofs around after learning of the shocking ramifications of his people’s genocide is because that’s how he copes with his pain. unlike zuko, who never stops talking about his aches and yearnings, aang represses his trauma and hides his tears behind a mask of upbeat cheerful goofy twelve year old antics.

until he can’t anymore. until he snaps. both katara and zuko wear their hearts on their sleeves, and that includes their rage. but aang’s rage is dangerous specifically because it represents that he has been pushed past his limits, that the conditions of this world in which he is a perpetual stranger, temporally displaced and dispossessed, are intolerable. that peaceful reconciliation is impossible. and the fact that he persists beyond that breaking point, over and over again, to firmly and resoundingly establish his ideals even as they conflict with everything he has learned about this world, a world that is not his own even as he can never return to the world he once knew, is what makes him so unique, so powerful, so beautiful.

i know that aang isn’t the typical hero, neither narratively nor aesthetically, but really, that’s the entire point. the world, our world, needs something other than what we have now. we need someone who will not succumb to the ideals of domination and victory through violence to assert themselves. we need someone who stands firm in refusing to kill the firelord, even as everyone he knows tells him otherwise. we need someone who knows that darkness cannot be vanquished through more darkness, but can only truly yield to purifying light.

and sure, aang is a child, and often acts childishly. sure, he’s not conventionally handsome and alluring. but one thing i will never understand is how that somehow negates his appeal to the masses. because even if you don’t appreciate how crucial he is to the themes of this narrative you all seem to love so much, how can you not love his adorable little face? his precious little laugh, his zest for life, the infinite well of love and kindness he holds in his heart? people who hate aang are crazy to me. because you are, quite literally, hating the world’s most precious baby boy.

#aang #katara #zuko #analysis #hot takes #sorry this one is kind of all over the place #very stream of consciousness bc it’s loving aang hours #and he’s not only meaningful narratively #but he’s also just SOOOOO CUTE #I would literally pay money to babysit him #which I think defeats the point of babysitting but whatever #he’s just. so precious 😭😭😭 #also fwiw I don’t really fw kataang either but like. it does make more narrative sense than the alternative #and if it had been executed better . well. who can say

[perdamian]

thinking about how gerard said that during the siege he went to hide with the children which was seen as a cowardly thing to do but upon seeing him interact with ylfa/pinocchio/miss muffet i have to wonder if he comforted the children in his kingdom as he did with those in his party.

i think that (especially with the fighter class) gerard is often seen as weak and afraid due to his reluctance to get involved with war but we have to acknowledge that his own childhood was spent in complete misery. he truly never had the opportunity to grow up due to his being turned into a frog and then immediate thrust into princehood, but in seeing him comfort the children he’s with shows that his true strength comes from his compassion and desire to prevent other kids from having the same experience that he did at their age

#murph didn’t even wait for brennan to finish the description of the bodies before calling out to the group that everything was okay #and then being seen by mother goose as the only other ‘real adult’ in the party #and then realizing that it’s partially his responsibility to help ylfa through her self loathing because he’s only worsened it #by referring to himself as a monster and openly wishing to be human again #idk i do hope his arc continues with his care for the kids bc it really is so meaningful to his narrative #neverafter #neverafter dimension 20 #neverafter spoilers #dimsension 20

[angelsdean]

i mean i don't know why i even bother to vote / look at certain polls. they just annoy me.

#sorry i am a deangirl but also a big destielgirl #like those are my main fixations and interests in that order #and i just. i simply do not care abt them kissing other people but also i do not need a canon same-gender kiss to confirm their sexualities #i have eyes. and a brain. i know they're both queer #thee only thing i Want is to see them together and kiss each other #so all these polls are just. infuriating to me esp the one that would trade thee confession for cas kissing some random guy #who wants that !!!!! #EYE want to see dean get told he is loved by cas bc dean deserves to hear that and bc that's more meaningful to the narrative #than cas kissing some random person would be #the other polls like whatever if destiel weren't a thing sure dean can kiss a guy but like. #i very much want destiel to be a thing #i'd rather have the show we got and live in the subtext and queercoding and get to have destiel than see them kiss random guys

[dreampearls]

oh yeah and it goes without saying the colleikillua isms exists. somehwere.

#in my beautiful mind perhaps #its the conceit of a murderer finding narrative redemption in forming meaningful connections with others #the only thing is that killuas ''redemption'' is so flippant LMAO that kid is not guilty about the murders he quits being an assassin #only out of a vague moral obligation to his friends & because he recognizes it isnt the most socially of acceptable practices. lmfao. #but yeah once again the weaponization thing against your will and fighting against a deeply embedded #indoctrination/trauma for the sake of someone they love. thing applies here #also in my mind. colleis personality is much more similar to killuas than her game iteration. #reading the webtoon with this in mind made everything click for me LOL

[lord-squiggletits]

Something I keep seeing when I speak to others about MTMTE Megatron is basically the idea that he's going on a personal journey to become a better person, that the point isn't for him to be "redeemed" but for him to get a chance to do good and die as a person he can live with again. That MTMTE presents a unique take on this because being away from Cybertron gives Megatron a chance to be a person rather than a political figure and this is how it gives him more depth as a character. Or just generally pointing out in a narrative sense that Megatron being in MTMTE limits his story options so of course his story is going to be more focused on a personal journey than on politics of him dealing with the Decepticons/Earth/etc and that just because JRO made a choice to take that path with Megatron doesn't mean that it's inherently bad.

And I'm just, mmm like I understand all of those points and acknowledge that they all contributed to the MTMTE Megatron we got. I even think that without JRO writing Megatron we wouldn't have had his lore be as fleshed out and 3D as it ended up becoming.

(Post starts out as a sort of meta analysis or at least me giving a reasoned explanation for my interpretation of the story, ends up being petty bitching in the last 1-2 paragraphs)

I just..... I just personally don't agree with the "he's becoming a better person by getting a chance to relax and experience happiness and trust after a life of trauma" as being the best choice for his character? Because the problem is that maybe if he were a random Decepticon foot soldier that would be appropriate, but he was literally the leader of the Decepticons that made them Like That and has political/cultural/societal responsibility for why things are the way they are? To be completely frank, I don't care about him going on a personal journey for self-peace, I think that he should become a better person by helping to un-fuck all the things he actually screwed up???

Like idc about the debate of whether he can be "redeemed" or if he should've been killed/imprisoned/etc at the ending. It just comes down to the fact that for me personally, I feel that since Megatron's wrongdoings were at a social level, him "being a better person" would've been better shown by him engaging with those people who he wronged instead of just going on a frigging personal journey for his legacy and self-peace???

Especially since in other series (exRID, possibly Windblade) we literally got plots like "the neutrals hate Autobots but they hate Decepticons even more" and "the Decepticons have been taken over by Galvatron and are now invading earth 2 electric boogaloo" and "yeah the Decepticons are literally living in slums because people hate them so much and won't give them any work." It just leaves me wondering why in the hell people are like, "oh Megatron got to be happy and have a chance to be a normal person." I don't want him to be normal! I want him to repay his debts to the people he actually wronged! Like if you want to cast Megatron as a hero of the people so badly (which so many of his stans do as if he actually cared about the Cons) then how do you reconcile the fact that Megatron just fucked off and left the Decepticons to suffer on Cybertron? Including some of them attacking during his trial and getting killed and Megatron is basically like "sorry, I'm not coming with you and this isn't going to work." And then Megatron complains about "toxic Decepticon loyalty" as if he didn't literally make them that way? Like I get that MTMTE Megatron is still an asshole but if you've read something besides MTMTE and know what the Decepticons are going through, it just ends up being really grating.

I just don't see Megatron as being a particularly good hero or having a particularly fulfilling story if he's completely isolated from all the bad things he did on Cybertron/the way the Decepticons are suffering until LL#25 where it's like "ah damn I'm going to trial now, well this is what I deserve so it's fine." Why could we not have seen something like Megatron trying to deradicalize the Decepticons or change their public image so they could integrate into normal Cybertron again? They were living in SLUMS and getting gunned down by Starscream's badgeless enforcers!

The best we got was the Functionist Universe but like.... I'm sorry, but JRO inventing a whole alternate universe for Megatron to save doesn't do jack shit to save or fix the people he left behind in this one. It was especially grating to read because JRO literally wrote in someone saying "you saved billions of lives from the Functionists" as if he was trying really hard to show how good Megatron is because he saved people (and also if not for Megatron existing Cybertron would be even worse and half of your faves would be enslaved or dead, also the Functionist Council was going to genocide organics too so technically they're WORSE than Megatron since they hate organics AND want to enslave their own race).

I read Barber's, JRO's, and MScott's series concurrently using the omnibus + a release order list for phase 3, and after all that I'm kind of puzzled why the fandom seems to ardently love MTMTE Megatron and think he's so well written but then also shit on Optimus for things that he did during the same points in the story? Because, and I know this is a blazing hot take, I honestly think that Optimus makes a better hero of his story than Megatron does for his, and Optimus' personal journey combines his personal and political identities into a narrative that's a lot more gruelling and questioning of his goodness than we got for Megatron in MTMTE. Which is fucking saying something considering Megatron committed crimes against sapient species and Optimus is the guy who tried to stop him from doing that and has always been pro-equal rights for all beings. But people pretty much just cherrypick things like Optimus annexing Earth or beating up Prowl and go "he's bad" and I'm like no??? IDW OP isn't a bad person or a bad character??? It's just that unlike MTMTE Megatron he's placed in a narrative that actually suits the nature of his actions and has themes that match. To the point that IMO sometimes Barber's narrative shits on Optimus excessively or paints him mainly in the most unflattering ways.

But like. It's just funny to me because Optimus spent his entire part of the story doing things like trying to stop Earth from being invaded/colonized yet again. Grappling with his identity as Prime and dealing with the fact that people literally worship him vs. the fact that his upbringing made him see the Primacy as nothing more than a facade of authority/leadership. Having people get mad at him for prioritizing politics over friendship/relationships with other people. Even getting shit on for being a cop a decent amount so people can STFU about IDW OP being "copaganda" or "not held responsible for his actions". The problems that Optimus dealt with were personal because they had to do with his self-doubt, culpability for the war as a leader of one of the armies, distance from his soldiers, etc. But all of these are also POLITICAL struggles. Because Optimus gave up on the chance to just be a normal person having personal struggles when he chose to become a LEADER, which also means that he's held to extremely high standards that he regularly fails at in the eyes of others.

That's why, to me, MTMTE Megatron falls flat in comparison and really as a "hero" or heel-face character in general? Because he also made a decision to be a leader, and IMO once you do things like become the commander of an army and start your own galactic empire, you lose the right to prioritize your personal problems and instead are obligated by the power you've chosen to wield to focus on your POLITICAL problems. If Megatron's power, influence, and crimes are of a social-political nature, then his heel-face turn arc and ways of showing that he's a better person/helping to heal what little damage he possibly can should have been shown with actions that help on a social-political LEVEL. That's why I'm not particularly impressed with his character arc and feel as if it was overhyped by other people in this fandom: sure, the extra character depth and emotion is nice, but I'm not really going to see him as extraordinary or even particularly good when the extent of him "becoming a better person" happens entirely on a random road trip to fuck-off nowhere. Especially not when the ending of LL tried to sell me a "they lived happily ever after" ending while basically leaving the freaking MUTINY as just Rodimus going "oh it's okay you're forgiven, we're all together again" and I guess everyone was fine with Megatron and wanted to spend an eternity on a ship with him just because Getaway died.

This is why I like (the concept/themes of) exRID/OP and the way Optimus' character arc was handled a lot more. Because for Optimus, the personal and the political were as one. He was held accountable for his actions towards others and the disruptive effects they had on a social level, sometimes to a ridiculous extent (the fucking "oh Megatron is an Autobot so now that makes the Autobots colonizers" plot and that stupid colonist screaming about how Optimus is "literally fascist" my beloathed). Even his very personal issues like his relationship with Zeta were still cast in a wider lens of, yeah this is a personal struggle that Orion faced, but he was still part of a Society TM and his actions were sometimes ill-informed or harmful to others. Even if I had a lot of problems with the way Optimus' story was written by Barber (plot holes, little meaningful character interaction, forced conflicts), at least the BASELINE of it was way better than Megatron's in MTMTE. Especially since Optimus' struggle was explictly about things like struggling with responsibility and how he feels he HAS to intervene in political affairs because has to save people/make up for his past mistakes. That's something that a good leader/good person actually does, so I found Optimus to be a better hero (even if his actions weren't all "good") because he was trying to be a good person by actually getting involved with Cybertron/Earth and subjecting himself to something he hates (leadership, war) and dealing with a shitload of criticism instead of just going on a fuckin "personal journey" lksdlkfsd.

Which just makes me extra salty that people hold up MTMTE Megatron as the pinnacle of Megatrons and literally the best Transformers writing evar! while turning up their nose and ignoring or outright despising IDW Optimus. Like okay. I guess since Megatron got handled with silk gloves on while Optimus got put through the wringer of being shit on by every other person in the story, it's easier for you to pretend that Megatron is a poor uwu boy who just needs friendship and love while Optimus is literally the worst bastard to ever exist. Or maybe it's just that since Optimus' story involves him sometimes fucking up, being criticized, or making things worse, that makes him morally bad. As opposed to Megatron who disrupted a lot of other characters' stories in MTMTE, had to have an entire alternate universe invented so that he could "save lives," and got to sail off on a quantum Lost Light happily ever after, so since he's happy and the story says he saved people that means he's a good hero.

#squiggposting #it started out sort of analytical but ended up bitchy #i also feel like for some reason my understanding of what a redemption arc is is different from others? #when i talk to people about it they keep saying 'well M can't make up for what he did' #and i'm like. no that's not what i mean by redemption arc #to me redemption arc literally just means 'a character goes from bad to good over the course of a story' #whether they're forgiven or if they can 'make up for it' objectively is irrelevant like #redemption arc is literally a common label used for the general trope so idk where this confusion is coming from? #also hot take when i say a character should be redeemed i'm literally not talking about wether they're forgiven or pardoned in universe #i just mean. as a reader. do i read their story arc and see them go from bad to good and progress in meaningful ways #do they do something. anything. to address or apologize or fix what they did #is there some sort of symbolic or literal sacrifice or act of service or any Good Thing even if it's only one single moment #then to me they've been redeemed in a narrative sense. it has nothing to do with whether they can literally compensate for hteir crimes #anyways. the tldr of this is that i don't hate mt/mte at all and i also don't hate idw M. i love them in fact #it's just i feel like i was severely let down by how much this fandom hyped and continues to hype mt/mte meg #(peg/gy the pirate spongebob meme voice) that's it? that's the M redemption arc? #that's just a guy going on a space road trip and being emo #mfs tried to tell me it was one of the best tf stories ever written and i'm like. yeah thanks but no #worse still ppl came out of m/tmte going 'actually M was right about everything' #and i'm like. shit take and you are spreading this nonsense everywhere including shitting on my faves w your bad takes #mfs wanna call M a hero of the ppl who at least cared about the cons when he literally left them for broke on cybertron #i don't think idw M had a good heel-face turn arc bc he didn't really like do anything meaningful in the wider scope of things #what if idw M achieved inner peace by protecting the cons and making sure they had rights post war. how about that #i mean for various reasons the story would've been more complicated than that due to editorial and company mandate bullshit #i just feel as if talking about the story narrative itself IDW M's redemption arc is far from remarkable #except for the fact that JRO dared to do it at all perhaps #(vine voice) that's my OPINION!!!!!

[captainofthetidesbreath]

god, I really have to play Dishonored + Knife of Dunwall + Brigmore Witches again

#literally just currently thinking about Daud and The Flooded District and metaphor and the concept of The Narrative and roles #and being Serkonan and not really being Part of this but also you're indelibly part of it and being removed from it all #and how everything in this district does not matter and how everything here matters more than anything #Daud as gleefully engaging in the metaphor on purpose until he is being driven mad that nobody else sees the tandem of the narrative themes #The Flooded District as both the heart (haha) of the symbolism but also so distant from the meat of the narrative and what Corvo cares abou #being so genre aware it becomes like eldritch horror to you. being so far from what matters that suddenly your actions are more meaningful #this gang of butchers in a figurative butcher's market (the former Financial District) laying on top of a former literal butcher's place #this height of metaphor that is also so removed from the narrative that anything you do here doesn't “matter” per se #against a villain who is cracking under feeling he is the only one truly WITNESSING it all and is trying to exit the narrative #and that is the one place where you can choose actual mercy—BECAUSE of these things #the first real mission in the game where your only objective is to get out. where revenge is truly optional. where mercy is real and true. #among these assassins called whalers. in a flooded financial district overrun with plague where they butchered the first leviathans. #“And yet you choose... mercy. Extraordinary.” #anyway anyway anyway

[perpetuallyfive]

I thought fully catching up to One Piece would make me feel a little less obsessed, but it's somehow made it worse. I know I'm over a quarter of a century late, but oh man do I have it bad now.

Why does a part of me want to start a reread?

#reading those first few hundred chapters that introduce characters so fast i couldn't be bothered to remember them all #only for them to become SO IMPORTANT and meaningful to me later #getting emotionally attached to the entire dumb world #something about the tenderness and care oda puts into the world building #like obviously all writers are working with original creations but the way even his minor background characters #often turn out to have a whole backstory you learn about hundreds of chapters later #is so great #supposedly he's been working on this world since he was a kid right and inventing and investing in all of these characters #and it really is the feel of someone sharing all their most beloved ocs with you #and you don't even realize that this or that character IS one of those truly beloved ones for a while #it's patience but it's also so much LOVE #letting them exist like they're real and not just devices used in the narrative #revealing them slowly over time - over the span of YEARS - instead of making them all throw aways #i guess he's kind of actually a genius #one piece

[aroacettorney]

perhaps the reason why aup ended like *that* is because it was not supposed to have a happy ending in the first place, but sayren didnt have the guts to deal with readers' backlash for when they finally kill off the main character so a half baked happy ending is what we get 😔

#for a happy ending of a story to be narratively satisfying the characters gotta actively work hard for it #this happy ending feels empty because quite frankly speaking ludger did nothing to deserve it #he has zero character developments from the beginning to the end and has always been the same #well except for his emotional state getting worse over time #bc instead of making any attempt at all to healthily address it like a mentally mature 40yo adult he let it swallow him whole #(not that im necessarily blaming him but its quite frustrating to see him remain unchanged if aup is meant to be a redemption story) #his OPness is inherent #his genius is inherent #(this is not to say he isnt hardworking / only relying on his inborn talents but the author repeatively failed the 'show dont tell' checks) #(bc it was only implied in the past and we've never truly seen it in the canon present timeline either) #his kindness is inherent #ngl dad!ludger content doesnt appeal to me as much as dad!edgeworth cuz the latter is the fruit of the character's growth and hard labor #while the former is well... its just who he is #usually i love found family content but in aup it bores my mind out bc his interactions w the students + owens are so static & predictable #it was heartwarming at the moment of adoption but later on i find it as tedious as reading generic established romantic relationships #was it because of the lack of tensions and conflicts i wonder #they all became his yes men and no one ever actively challenged his unhealthy mindset or behaviors #anyway id have been more interested if he recognized his biases/favoritism/prejudices towards some certain characters & worked to change it #but welp. that would require character growth which is too much to expect from him ig #he has learnt quite nothing from his journey and tbh aup would ironically feel more meaningful if it ended on a tragic note #ofco i got noblesse'd again 😔 #would i kill for aup to have a happy ending? yes #would i rather have a sad ending over the half baked and empty good ending we get? also yes #if it must burn then let the whole world burn. cuz at least it would be more much memorable and impactful that way #and i wouldnt have to feel this disappointed and lose all of my interests in one of my only two beloved aroace MCs in aup </2 #rant

[sleidog]

don't feel like spreading the poll of the week because theres enough negativity and pointed-ness around, however

#can't fault SOTO #not from a 'great for my characters in particular' standpoint #IBS however almost doesn't exist for my commander's story #my characters took a large backseat during all of that and simply barely interacted with it #SOTO gave me the excuse to pull the worst [figuratively speaking] character i have that's still alive and give him meaningful development #the mute-ness works for him #he's not speaking outloud about how he feels ever #in fact some of the only voice lines that we get that're bangers were detrimental for him in particular because it DOES assume carrying - #the same commander through to be wayfinder #which makes sense; but whatever #IBS did nothing for me personally beyond give me a map that i like to farm sometimes and give me even more fear of comp PVE until recently #other than LWS1 which i didn't get to experience live and IBS; my charas were present and doing things in everything else #so my choice is purely down to 'this did nothing for the development of my OCs' #which i rank kinda highly; more so than a lot of other things in a game narratively driven by the fun lil guys you make i guess

[archiephd]

man if you're voting for biden just to vote against trump, just say that. we have got to get over this harm reduction shit when what we really mean is harm reduced for us, me, mr american and literally nobody else on this bitch of an earth. if the only and most emphasized thing we do to reduce the harm our president and their platform does to the living is vote, we are reducing nothing. for anyone or ourselves, because voting alone doesn't challenge the trajectory of anything. it buys 4 more years before we have to do it all again, if that. thinking this way is what promises having to think this way again, and again, and again and again. in 2024, who american leftists vote for 1 day of the year matters little compared to what we do the other 364.

#j.txt #once again talking to me here there is a constant wailing alarm in my head like 24/7 #we aren't taught the other ways we can facilitate change on purpose #there is power in the polls but unfortunately in america it is very little compared to the power in. the union..... lol #i'm not hardcore judging scared minorities in america if they wanna vote for biden out of fear for trump this election cycle #but i am hardcore judging if it's proclaimed as the morally superior thing to do when it's just not #like at all #which is also by design! #would you like blue poison or red poison don't you love living in a country that lets you choose! #i also just hate the narrative that this is our only way out of trump's america #like if he wins it's over like people who've been organizing and agitating and fighting and being arrested won't be doing the same shit #before and after #we gotta stop seeing voting as activism let alone a meaningful challenge to facism #not that i know everything either #just. even the few history books i've opened don't hold instances of voting being the way out of a tide of facism man #we can multitask guys vote for who we think we need to but if that's all we're doing to change things um. #we will be stopping nothing and we will be here forever #these shitheads have power here in and outside of office and they will do whatever they can wherever they can do it regardless #like they tried storming the capital literally last election. like #and that's just. here in our own country #why should we expect them to act any different this go around. genuinely. i would like to be able to expect different #all that said i feel like i am going crazy every day 👍 #2024 elections

[ryo-maybe]

I’m usually too laser-focused with fuming at the purely narrative trappings of his writing style, but since the right combination of stimuli shifted the gears in my brain to finally unlock this arcane which had been tap dancing on the tip of my nose all along: damn, Urobuchi is one hell of a centrist. That’s really the core of it all, huh?

#Imagine being an Equilibrium fan but instead of learning any meaningful message from it #you only focus on the 'guns and martial arts are cool' #and proceed to make an entire career writing stories where characters die for shock value #and every single narrative ends with a stubborn attachment to a status quo that's still fundamentally the same #only with a different veneer #Nihilist centrism. He really IS the portrait of an angsty 15yo

[psalmsofpsychosis]

by gods, for all that i fucking hated the second half of season 9 and had been hating Fiona's characterization since season 5 basically, her leaving doesn't get easier even if you watch the scenes 50 fucking times

#Shameless did Fiona dirty not gonna lie #her characterization progressively getting worse through the season only hurts second to what the show made out of Lip #Ian Gallagher truly the only character to have escaped Paul Abbott's characterization relatively unscathed and staying dear and lovable #till the very last minute #but also i did start on S10 and #popular opinion: Debbie is so fucking annoying and irritating #and a whole entire sack of absolutely irrelevant and nonsensical character traits. season 1 debbie would've roasted s10 debbie on open fire #possibly not so popular opinion: Paul Abbott is actually fucking bad at writing female characters with the exception of V and V ONLY #(okay Mandy too) #and the reason Debbie is fucking abhorrent is because she's literally written as later-seasons Fiona. She's her. #they were both fucked characterizations #it's just that Fiona had a bite and entered into games from the top spot; she took control of the situations naturally #because she //had// power. And Debbie has none. so she looks desperate and try-hard. Emmy Rossum brought a bitch flavour to Fiona #that Emma Kenney just can't bring to Debbie #¯\_(ツ)_/¯ #not that i care. the entirety of Shameless cast have more or less become absolete in narrative and plot save Kev and V and Ian/Mickey #I hope Cameron Monaghan's health insurance covered for the fucked up back he got #from carrying Shameless US' only substantial and heartfelt and meaningful plotline for 12 years basically #Lip used to be wonderful. Hell; they all used to be wonderful. and by the time we get to S10 there's basically nothing left of the show #save Ian and Mickey. that's it.

[lepidopteragirl]

hm yes i love talking cq being a tricky little guy whos maybe just a little too enthusiastic about grabbing the presidency and taking down everyone in power over him during the election arc about but why do literally like a good 2/3s of the takes i see talking about it discuss how what happened in manburg made him go from a Bad character to a Good character once he saw that schlatt was Bad bc he did Bad things to lmanburg, which allowed him to have an Epiphany and become a good character (joining cwilburs side) after seeing this

#analyzing cquack in manburg without heavily centering the fact that he was abused is bad its a bad take #an exceptionally bad take even #cquackity did not deserve what happened in manburg #narratively or otherwise #like yeah sure he's not a perfect guy and he doesnt necessarily have pure intentions. fine yea cool thats great i still love him #like yeah okay you're not a cquackity main not everyone can be gorgeous sexy incredible like we are #but its not hard to talk about cquack being not a perfect person in the election arc while still acknowledging him as one of if not the #most hurt by cschlatts administration and not treat it as a fair narrative consequence smile #like i dont have to be an inniter to understand exile was fucking horrific and that would not change no matter how many houses ctommy burnt #why is it so hard 4 yall hm #oh yeah its bc those wilburians only recognize two peoples lore as actually meaningful or worth respect thats why! #tw abuse mention #discourse

[beaniebeby]

#mp4 #loz #ive posted this before but...idc... #this is the only good zelda/oot analysis video #i love how much japanese/shinto culture plays a part in oot its really beautiful and meaningful #like i get nowadays zelda has begun to lean towards a monotheistic theme with their gods (hylia instead of the goddesses) #....and the fucking devil i guess #but oot story and narrative feels like it came from heart #I Know Nintendo Is A Company fuck off!!!!!🔫🔫🔫🔫 #sometimes good stories come from companies okay!!!!!!!!!! #in conclusion.....ganondorf is a HUMAN man of agency and thats why he was scary in oot #oough....and the sages representing cornerstones of maturing and journey into adulthood....ough..my heart...