#and how he fumbled all of it

[randomfoggytiger]

Chris Carter's S9 MSR Victories/Failures

I want to give CC his due in regards to RST:

Mulder and Scully's relationship was defined by the "will they, won't they" question until Millennium. The final nail in the coffin was Mulder and Scully's happy family at the end of S8. Questions resolved, end of story. After that, their relationship needed to be redefined; and so Chris Carter did, and completely correctly, too. The question changed to "what WON'T they do for each other?", and it seemed to fit their actions in S9.

All the ridiculous and out of character nonsense of S9 (I don't consider it canon for many reasons, but I digress) aside, Scully did everything for Mulder and Mulder did everything for her. They lose everything but gain each other, stronger than ever.

So how did Chris Carter mess everything up so badly?

Back to S9.

CC dropped the ball he was already barely juggling: Scully insists Mulder go on the run to protect his life-- at the cost of Mulder's characterization. Scully insists on giving up her son to keep him safe-- at the cost of her characterization. There is no way those decisions would have been made with their combined histories and Scully's recent traumatic birth experience. Mulder let her out of his sight ONCE and she was tracked across states by alien Super Soldiers who almost took their son but decided not to. And while reassured their son wasn't wanted at the end of Existence, there's no rolling back everything they both went through with that whole (stupid) ordeal.

And then the REAL problems happened: the series continued.

And Scully lost her faith in Mulder. For no reason.

Scully would NEVER have left Mulder over the IWTB incident, especially after the S9 finale when they were shattered but stronger together.

And then she still left him because of his depression before the Revival? No how, no way. Even Mulder's subconscious knew she would never leave him to wallow in his apathy and self-pity (as shown in Amor Fati's dream sequence, during that gray area of "have they dated yet because my interpretation of canon says yes but nothing's officially on screen yet.") Faith in Mulder is the one thing that Scully would never lose; even when she thought he'd gone crazy countless times before, she would always hold his hand and try to walk him back-- protecting him even from himself.

So, to recap: CC resolved the MSR question (DD's departure forcing his hand aside), set up new steps and questions for their relationship, and seemed to be on the up-and-up-ish. And then he kept going, rambled, dropped the ball, and pointed fingers.

#txf #x-files #the x files #meta #CC #UST #RST #MSR #S8 #S9 #Mulder #Scully #what CC did well #and how he fumbled all of it #IWTB #Revival #break up #Chris Carter's S9 MSR VIctories/Failures

[hughmanbean]

Space Lady

When Bruce gets lost in time he sees a common sight between each jump.

A woman in a dress of nebulae, stars studded around her neck, hair a soft silver.

He asks who she is, and she does nothing.

He asks who she is, and she smiles mischievously.

He asks what she's doing. "Watching" is all he gets.

He asks what the purpose of this is, and she looks at him like he's stupid.

He tries to move around, but seems to loop back around. She looks amused at his attempts.

After Vanishing Point, during his last jump, he asks her if she knew what was going to happen.

"Aren't you the world's greatest detective? I'm sure if you put your mind to it, you'll figure it out. Now off you go."

---

It's been 2 years since Damian had been dropped into the family. Even after, Bruce felt like he was being watched sometimes.

He gets a visitor at the door, and standing there is the Lady.

"How have you been, Bruce? Doing well I hope. Be a dear and let me in, would you?"

#dp x dc #dp x dc prompt #dpxdc #dp x dc crossover #dcxdp #dc x dp #Danny is Space. #He is using a form that DC universe can handle which apparently is Big Space Lady #Clockwork told him to Keep Watch during Bruce's time shenanigans just in case. #Danny is Cackling watching Bruce fumble through time #He continued to watch DC after that #Got a little attached. Just a little. #They're his little guys! So adorable! So tiny! #He likes acting Like This with Bruce to mess with him #He's still a gremlin at heart no matter how elegant or refined he looks #They're all his little blorbos #bruce wayne

[jasontoddenthusiastt]

Honorary appreciation post for this mentally exhausted sweetheart.

#i am utterly in love #beautiful traumatized fictional man #my beloved #he’s the bestest boy #he’s full of heart #so many more expectations he feels he has to live up to because he’s just too young for all of this #he’s being pulled in all directions #but he is TRYING his best #they fumbled so hard with this movie #it was supposed to be about him but the entire thing was another propaganda piece #about how he’s going down the wrong path by straying from Batman’s morals #a decade of no animated Jason content since utrh there’s so much more they should’ve done with him #not counting yj cuz he barely made an appearance #jason todd #dc #death in the family (2020) #ditf #my post #stills #favs

[clownprince]

how sick and twisted would i have to be to miss that lunatic?

batman: arkham city – end game #1 // batman: arkham city – harley quinn's revenge // batman: arkham city – end game #2-6 // batman: arkham knight – the riddler's gambit // batman: arkham knight #0 // batman: arkham knight

#uhh this should be in rough chronological order #lmk if i missed anything #sorry the arkham knight 0 images are crunchy i couldn't find high quality panels anywhere </3 #also it may be worth noting some writers portrayed it as like. batman isn't affected by his death and is just glad he's gone #which in all honestly is a massive oversimplification. but that's just the nature of having multiple writers #anyway. hallucination/ghost!joker is such a neat idea and i will forever be pissed at how badly they fumbled that concept in ak #it's alright though i'm working on a fic to fix their fuckups 🫡 #batjokes #arkhamverse #batman arkham knight #compilation

[ellaphnt]

I think Shuro was aware Falin didn’t feel the same way. But she helped him vocalize his feelings for the first time, and so he wanted to offer the same courtesy. Let her answer him herself, when she was ready. That’s why he waited for her. I’m guessing their final discussion on this WAS when they both felt like talking about it. And if not, it’s because enough time has passed plus they were running out of time (Shuro leaving). In the end, he wasn’t surprised at the rejection, just, satisfied at its natural conclusion. They can both step away from this as individuals who chose their own path.

And through the story, ofc he still hopes! It’d be weirder if he didn’t. But like, when the response to a proposal is “I need time to think,” the answer is obviously “I don’t feel the same way,” whether she accepted or not. Part of the hope could be naivety, but I think he was readying himself for whatever answer she gave. A+ btw for handling the rejection with such grace. And for Falin who was so gentle, and have given her future some thought. Neither are as passive as they used to be. They both grew so much.

Side tangent, Shuro likely sees him and Falin as very similar people, both with issues telling people no, both struggling to become their own person. And she was weird too! (in the bug liking way)! He was always too scared to express himself. He probably looked up to her a lot as the kind of person he would like to be. That’s probably why he fell in love, but more importantly, I think that’s why he had faith that Falin would get back to him about the proposal. She needed time to think, but he knew she could come through and vocalize her thoughts. He learned from her, after all.

#not saying they were perfect btw #shuro tunnel visioned hard when he stopped taking care of himself #hes never liked anyone this much #ofc he’s going to fumble #this all goes back to how shuro symbolizes hope in the story #someone said that about the bell and I ran with it #just a hopeful guy #maybe a bit naive #but he learned it from the toudens #delicious in dungeon #dungeon meshi #shuro #toshiro nakamoto

[jade-of-mourning]

sorry sometimes i think about mako and my heart hurts so much. this kid raised himself and his brother on the streets in homelessness and utter poverty from eight through fifteen, promptly after seeing the violent death of his mother and father. he turned to the triple threats because they couldn't survive as a pair of wretched kids without any adult support, and the environment forced him to turn into the exact character that killed his parents in a terrible twist of irony. and after sheer-fucking-luck hits and they aren't homeless anymore, their livelihood wavers on the outcome of what's a literally game to everyone but them; and after things are finally starting to look up and their team is going places and things just might be okay, his gradually stabilizing world unceremoniously expands and everything goes to shit.

and the city that chewed him up and spat him back out, ruined him as a child and took away his ability to stay afloat in a true sense of normalcy as an adult — when it's on the verge of destruction and falling to pieces before his eyes, he gives himself to save it with the full expectation to die. he went from the kid who didn't and couldn't care about anything outside of himself and his brother, to finding redemption for his younger self in his police work despite its injustice against him, to willingly sacrificing himself to a world that had never loved him.

he's a desperate people pleaser, socially and emotionally stunted for the adult he had to be as a kid, unable to navigate interpersonal relationships easily yet still trying his damned hardest. he's intensely and entirely devoted to the things that matter to him and for so long it was only him, bolin, and ensuring their survival — yet by the end, that devotion has expanded to protecting the rest of the world. he starts out entirely self-reliant and ends in trusting the people he cares about to know their own needs, to be able to take care of themselves, to be okay without him despite having spent so much of his life defined by his role in others' well-being.

just. what the fuck i'm such a big fan of this fictional guy and i'm unashamed about it at this point. also let him cry please (if you won't i'll do it i'll let him cry)

#lychee's brain trash #mako lok #mako tlok #sorry for the shitpost i don't do a lot of those i realize #how tf did this guy not had a massive break down in canon at any point #nd like;; he never shows resentment for the unfairness of it all #he doesn't ever use his past to excuse any of his choices/actions that are influenced by it #which is pretty intrinsically linked to his relationship fumbles #he just quietly holds himself accountable and probably mildly despises himself haha #as much as i don't care for the love triangle it really does make complete sense in accordance to his backstory #anyway this is just a roundabout way of me expressing my salt at people writing him off as a malicious asshole lol #i literally cannot articulate the intense complex things his conjured up existence makes me feel #this does not even scratch the surface there is SO MUCH #i need to actually write the fifty fics that exist to my brain otherwise all these thoughts will never see the sun #trust that one day the avatar!mako au will emerge from my drafts;;; #and. you know. that one shot i've had in wip for the past 2.5 years #and the four other oneshots that will probably never be converted into actual words

[whizzinpast]

Maturing is realizing how many levels of fucked up IvanTill is and still writing fanfic in which they relearn who they are and through their self-discovery find each other halfway.

#never ever forget that ivan’s emotional intelligence is dogshit #and that he is legitimately fumbling with his attraction to till because he has no guide except a healthy lesbian relationship #which cannot be applied to his situation at all #alien stage #alnst #alnst till #alnst ivan #ivantill #ivantill doesn’t start from a foundation of childhood romance #regardless of how one-sided it is #the foundation is CRUMBLING AND NONEXISTENT #they literally have to start over from scratch #whizz talks

[better-call-mau1]

#credit to @jedimandalorian for that close-up screencap of Ezra #it’s a perfect shot honestly 🤣 #that’s his body language while saying something he and Sabine both know to be hilariously untrue???? #you know when they saw each other in the WBW Ezra should have asked Palpatine for tips on how to tell a convincing lie #golden opportunity right there! #but instead he did…this #that’s the Watsonian angle #but here’s the Doylistic take on all this: are we SUPPOSED to believe that Ezra means that????????? #is Dave trying to gaslight us because we all saw that crush back in S1 #and you’ve gotta pull off some incredible mental gymnastics to fool yourself into thinking Ezra’s fumble with Alrich… #…doesn’t mean he’s still crushing #(although it’s way more than a juvenile crush at that point) #anyway I guess we’re gonna find out what nasty tricks Cowboy Man has up his sleeve #sabezra #ezra bridger #sabine wren #kanan jarrus #ahsoka spoilers #ahsoka series #sabezra memes

[aquickstart]

idk i think the beauty of saltburn is also in that its a mirror. so many people see what's looking back at them and we all have different demons and themes we pay attention to. oliver is a girlboss and a mastermind and the plotting was deliberate. oliver is lost and confused and every single plot was a failure. he regrets what he'd done and convinces himself of the opposite. he lies about regretting what he'd done to evoke sympathy. he hated farleigh and he kicked him out. he recognized farleigh for what he is to the cattons and humiliated him. he knows himself and others well. he has no idea what to do and how to be. lots of people get lost at saltburn

#saltburn #idk i think its so beautiful and poetic that its sort of like. all of it is there in some way #personally i think he was lost he fumbled and the whole story is him rewriting the memory of everything for himself #cause you know how you actually dont remember the events & you remeber the last time you recalled them #so with every iteration and remembering unfortunately you stray further from the real #i think thats what his story is #but anyway! i love him. i love him. i AM in love w him #mine #saltburn journaling #oliver quick

[hajihiko]

I’m not any of the anons from before but as a fellow kazuichi fan I’d personally love to hear you talk about why you like him if you feel like it! personally I was first drawn to his character design, I just thought he looked cool, and then the second he opened his mouth and revealed himself as a loser, I loved him like ten times more lol. I know some people think he’s ‘creepy’ but I feel like he keeps enough a distance from Sonia that he’s just a guy with a crush, and also his “don’t you ever just wanna take girls apart and see how their bones work” line lives in my head rent free

Ok well. Sorry dude (genuinely) but I dont think I think of him the way a lotta ppl do. Heres my take sorry if it ruins it

First of all, do I LIKE his character? No. I like what could become of it if handled well, in the future (same with Akane and Sonia and... a lotta characters tbh).

I dont want to gloss over that he was really not cool with Sonia. I DON'T think it was like, a simple silly crush like any other dude would have, I think he WAS inappropriate about it and (most likely completely unbeknownst to him) enforcing things that she genuinely could not stand. He was insecure and took it out on others as well as himself.

These are all character flaws. Every single character has them (some more than others). Fuyuhiko was genuinely a dick (as I have said many times, having anger issues isnt an excuse for the way he talks sometimes), Hiyoko is a bully, Ibuki is insensitive when se gets caught up, Impostor is condescending sometimes, etc. Kazuichi isnt the only one to be a jackass sometimes and t deny it is to deny his character, just as much as reducing him to only that is oversimplifying it.

What I like about Kazuichi is: the design.

(Ok jk but I do enjoy the design a lot)

I like the teenage insecurity. He thinks he wants to be a chick magnet, but gets scared when girls show an interest in him. His ideal woman is basically a barbie doll. He's a little too eager to see his boy bestie naked. He was so excited for a class retreat because he's never had one before. He was so desperate to be cool and tough and not a nerd that he drastically (and no doubt painfully, ow, TEETH) changed his appearance to conform to his Ideal Self, but could not actually change his personality.

He's basically a teenage boy, warts and acne at all, trying so hard to be The That Guy but spectacularly failing. He's actually somewhat of a genius (and the Death Trap stuff hints to him having a lot of repressed turmoil which honestly so true, teenagers whose only outlet is fantasizing about the gory demise of their tormentors, SO TRUE) but he can't SEE that because he wants to be some kind of cool punk frat bro dude. He's so busy living up to some idealized version of himself that he fumbles who he actually is, which if he just took a moment, would be a pretty cool dude. Basically, did you ever discover a cool band and tried to model your entire personality after what you thought those vibes would be? That, but sad.

So yeah, I think he's great at comedic beats, and also has a lot of heart underneath it, but has never been in a place where he can just accept that and let it shine. His last words were basically "here I am, don't forget me!" which like, man, isnt that just relatable teenagerism?

#I dont like how many ppl excuse his behaviour towards Sonia like. It wasnt malicious but it was really insensitive. As a reader who doent- #-know his inner mechanisms it was uncomfortable (you can hc him whatever u want but I'm speaking from just memory no hc). #He made a lot of awkward fumbles and missteps as did a lot of the characters. But to me hes just such a teenage dude #With all the insecurities and sexuality crisis and trying to impress in an environment where he has a chance to (as opposed to.. home.) #not an art #Sorry anon I disagree with you. But u did prompt me to actually talk about this so thanks!

[i-wanna-die-like-now]

Ghost King Danny AU where he meets the past OFA holders in the ghost zone and gets to know them personally, they're the ones that ask him to go to the future to help with some long awaited fight, to ensure that another person didn't die by AFOs hands. Clockwork reluctantly agrees and that's why he is there.

#i see the ghost zone as a place without time just full of past and future ghosts #i want to juse see danny fumbling because he knows all mights secret and he knows all about afo but cant explain how #would be fun to make them see him as the traitor because he knows so much and is secretive about hos quirk and life #aizawa shouta #is just done with his shit and then they bring in #naomasa tsukauchi #his quirk not understanding most of dannys answers #is your name danny fenton? why is that only half true? what is your quirk? thats a complete lie but its on line with what hes shown of it #could throw in #danny not being able to age so when they ask his age its a lie #danny phantom #danny phantom fandom #danny fenton #bnha #my hero academia #dp x bnha

[comradekatara]

I definately see your point in regards to the politics of The Promise and the Korra side of things at large. On another topic, though, how could Mako have been improved upon as a character because I always thought he was the least interesting character in all of the Avatar universe? Maybe instead of just making him a bookkeeper make him a full on former Triad member?

awww no i kind of love mako tbh. my bland little saltine cracker. i think we need to make room in our hearts for more dull autistic utterly swagless men whose idea of a good time is simply doing the daily crossword while eating plain cornflakes (no milk). but real talk mako’s character definitely had room for improvement. not because he’s boring, but because all the actually interesting aspects of his character were largely relegated to subtext, and he was instead given boring ass subplots like “stupid love triangle,” “being a cop,” “having to babysit an annoying twink,” etc. so it’s not that his backstory needs improvement, but rather that if those largely subtextual elements of his character were actually teased out and explored in meaningful ways, he would’ve been much more interesting to watch, because his purpose in the story would actually have some fucking thematic depth.

in a better show, mako’s backstory, arc, and general narrative presence would’ve served to illustrate how the neoliberal economy of republic city detrimentally affects the socioeconomically disadvantaged. in the ba sing se arc, bolin sees the lower ring and is like “eww gross POVERTY!!!! no wonder dad left.” like my guy you were living on the street as a child forced to exploit your labor for gutter scraps. why is poverty all of a sudden an issue to you (you can claim he’s just in deep denial and/or quite literally an idiot, but still. lmfao). in a superior show, mako and bolin’s presence would implicitly prompt the viewer to ask, why does the presence of a nuclear family structure necessitate security, and why does its absence collapse any sort of social safety net? why were mako and bolin forced to live on the streets once they were orphaned? how does living in abject poverty in one’s formative years psychologically affect their relationship to wealth, power, security, and success? (mako and bolin only tangentially cover some of these questions in their arcs, most notably in mako’s decision to date asami over korra, and in bolin’s obtuse quest for fame.) furthermore, what parallels versus juxtapositions can be drawn from asami’s own complex experiences navigating wealth, paternal abuse, and systems of control as they directly pertain to the beneficiaries of these capitalist structures? in what ways can asami and mako&bolin bridge these gaps across opposite ends of the class hierarchy, and in what ways are these chasms fundamentally untraversable?

i feel like the main failing of lok was that it actually presented some really interesting concepts, but it seemed like most of it was purely by accident and the show had no actual interest in focalizing or even addressing the compelling subtext hidden between bland and/or frustrating scenes oversaturated with obnoxious characters. like mako and asami are ostensibly main characters, but we never actually get satisfying meat to chew on regarding their inner lives and characters arcs, despite them being two of the most compelling characters in the show just based off of premise and lingering subtextual allusions to more interesting themes than were actually addressed in the show itself. so like asami, who i adore mostly for what remains unspoken (her abusive relationship to her father, her ethical contentions with her own capital, her latent homoerotic feelings for korra, etc.), mako is also compelling me for reasons largely unaddressed outside of the occasional “oh well you’re traumatized from all that time you spent taking care of your brother who is only somewhat younger than you as a small child and selling yourself to criminal organizations to have enough to eat week by week, which probably informs your decisions somewhat now that you are technically an adult (he’s like. 18???? also???) so that’s cool i guess. but also what the fuck you’re so sick and twisted for being attracted to two gorgeous powerful women at the same time, you should go to JAIL!!!!!” and then they do. actually send him to jail. -_-

#mysticarcadehologram-blog #asks #lok crit #sometimes i remember how poorly written this show was despite all its potential and im just like wtf all over again #like both on a dialogue and structural basis. scene by scene season by season. this was a mess 😭 #but mako is my silly little guy i love him <3333333 #mako #bolin #asami #i don’t even rly address bolin outside of his proximity to mako bc besides the pilot where he is charming and cute and has a brain. #bolin does not interest me at all bc i cannot stand the dumb comic relief archetype #ppl just hate mako bc he fumbled two of the gorgeoust bitches in the world #but like. you’d fumble them too. be honest

[casualavocados]

me when p'aof makes a series that's good:

#i know its only been 2 eps and this is a subject he could easily fumble #but this is still the best thing thats come out of gmm this year since mlc #last twilight #it has his signature all right! #the shots the atmosphere the way everyone is so human and everything is so lived in #he just Gets It i dont know how he does it but thank god #backaof noppharnach

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

thinking abt kenny and his anti-neet agenda

#it’s soooo funny how he was constantly like. Fuck Tengen In Particular #but it’s also such an interesting aspect of his character it floors me all the time …. #the fact that what he hates more than anything is. the kind of person who gives up without trying. that learned helplessness #he hates tengen because they hid themselves away for all their centuries of living. chose to look away from the world of curses #while kenjaku has lived in that world for thousands of years now and continues to interact with it… and the people in it….. #and it’s also so obvious when you remember the characters kenjaku is most positive towards in the manga. he likes takaba. he likes yuki. #yuji too….. #all people who refuse to give up even when they’ve been knocked down a hundred times #yuki who uses her last strenght to create a fucking black hole… takaba who vows to make kenjaku laugh even after losing faith in himself #and yuji who never stops coming back from the dead. from the brink of insanity. yuji who tries again and again and again #i think kenjaku loves human resilience more than anything #hhhh. he really is my favorite…… gege ill never forgive u for fumbling him pls remember that . #ari noises ✩

[mickedy]

on the topic of fan media i like. Handplates by zarla is legitimately my Favorite fan work from anything ever and possibly one of my favorite things ever written. ive read through it dozens and dozens of times and it encapsulates so many of Undertale's talking points and core themes so well. a light inside your soul thats still shining in the cold. im with you in the dark and all of that

#legitimately changed how i look at storytelling and character development. changed my life for a little bit #and That being said. Gaster's entire character was not handled all that incredibly well. #zarlas character biases shine through her writing. For better and for worse. the child torturer is not as brooding and alluring as youthink #idk if he should have gotten the happy ending that he did. definitely fumbled the ball there

[sukibenders]

One of Rhaenyra's biggest opps (in HOTD) really was her own father. Because how are you going to proclaim your daughter as heir, only to then marry her best friend and have four kids, three sons, in an environment that is against women already as is but even more so with one sitting on the Iron Throne? And then, not only, do you not prepare her for anything political but scold her publicly, which isn't good for her image, and just....hardly do anything to aid her until you're on your last leg? And yet there are still fans saying he was a "great dad" and that he "did all he could". HA, I THINK NOT!

#rhaenyra targeryan #viserys targaryen #anti viserys i targaryen #hotd #house of the dragon #like he set her up so bad and it's quite sad really #like i do believe rhae fumbled on her own and was kind of not helping her case #but viserys played a role in this too #and he's just all around not a good person #he sets rhae up from the jump by not actively submitting that he chose her as his heir #and constantly leaving her second guessing as well as putting alicent in a tough spot bc why have more kids? #why put her or any other poor mother through the possibility of raising children only for them to be killed so his heir can remain? #and like even if rhae didn't want to kill her siblings (which i think is very debatable but in hotd terms might have given daemon) they #still would have been in a stick situation #don't even get me started on how he sucks at keeping peace bc he literally makes his own family resent one another #by being a shitty dad and husband. like sir you are not helping anything