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goblins-riddles-or-frocks · 4 months

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So many languages and you spoke to spit facts ✊🏻. I myself lean on he didn't plan on doing that to Genya because well if he wanted a spy to sleep with Tsar he could have also sent an adult woman .. it's not like supernaturally beautiful grisha will have difficulty in catching an old bastard's attention but once that happened he definitely could have easily gotten her out of that situation instead of the manipulative crap he pulled to turn the situation in his favour. I also think Genya was slightly ooc with regards to her apologizing to Alina and everything but when she put the bastard (as if the most heinous thing he has ever done is existing) in hie place, that was 👏🏻👏🏻. Oh wait another thing that was slightly ooc for me was everybody being so keen on eternal suffering for him because well eternal suffering is eternal and i pictured them to be more conflicted (hate him and he deserves to suffer but this is a bit much and also their compassion and gratefulness (he saved the world) colliding with their hate and betrayed feelings. Anyways.)

re: this ask (I’m assuming)

I agree, I really don’t think he planned things to go down like that with genya. but he probably thought it was advantageous! the tsar is more important than the tsaritsa anyway and like genya was already losing favor with her. for all his manipulation, I do think he was mostly just incredibly callous and was like “yeah I gave her an out and she very conveniently didn’t take it but that sets my morals at ease.” and just didn’t think about it further? I really think it’s a case of him not needing to think about it because he is secure and powerful and has lost touch with any sense of danger or vulnerability. but if he like remotely cared at all he wouldn’t let things get to that or would have her extracted immediately in a way that doesn’t seem to imply upending everything she’s ever known. (I’m putting a lot of weight on him being like “you won’t have to wear those colors or any colors” as implied like total abandonment)

idk claim you need a tailor for a super secret espionage thing! make some sort of trade. and it’s very strongly implied that the tsar isn’t exactly picky on who he’s preying on and that it’s not just genya being singled out. so it’s definitely not like that is their only possible chance for a honeypot scheme ever and otherwise all their plans will crumble.

anyway I didn’t think the apology was really ooc tbh because genya’s just working through so much and from her pov in the tailor we know she was feeling VERY guilty. so I think she would say that!

and I do get your point about the eternal suffering. but also they do kind of just… immediately resolve to save him. so genya having that sort of anger and conviction in the moment makes sense— and I don’t think it would even be that odd for her to simply want him to literally burn in hell forever, but the ending frames it super impermanently. and I feel it’s believable that zoyalai in that moment are both just too busy being relieved that it didn’t have to be either of them. so it feels more like a particular burst of feeling, then thinking about it for awhile longer and being like. sigh. guess this isn’t tenable. and I can buy that!

anyway idk a lot of RoW did just feel deeply inorganic to me. the way that characters got into situations and what plot points were going down often felt forced? but the contents of the scenes themselves didn’t feel flagrantly ooc from a character standpoint. I don’t think any character said anything they wouldn’t typically etc. I just had trouble buying that they were in those situations at all? it reads very like… fanfic of itself to me. like put that on ao3 and I would call it very good and ic fanfic but the trajectory is something I just struggle to buy at all for a definitive published story. so that’s the flavor of annoyance I generally have with it.

I was about to end it there but actually shdgd one more thing! this has been on my mind for fic reasons but it’s topical here: I do think there was an avoidance with engaging with any vestigial complicated feelings zoya or genya might have about him though, and that got frustrating. it feels in keeping with how alina runs after the fete makeout scene, on the precipice of having slept with him but not having actually made that plunge, and from that point on it’s like a switch has flipped in her feelings. she was pulled back before she could cross any too emotionally compromising lines and then after she just always has her hackles up.

leigh bardugo seems very interested in stories about manipulation and abuse but seems really uncomfortable with portraying the actual manipulation and effects of it without pulling punches or flinching away imo. she tends to keep her characters kind of aloof and removed even when it seems like they ostensibly wouldn’t be.

like we know zoya was fanatical enough in her faith in the darkling that the only thing that bothered her about novokribirsk was that her own aunt died there. personal loss was the wake up call. genya was willing to overlook it entirely, iirc she was willing to believe it was an accident? either way she’s still very much team darkling in S&S and ostensibly would have remained so if he hadn’t mutilated her for failing to stop alina from running away. he essentially throws her out. but there’s not much focus on any sense of abandonment. but yeah they’d both been hardcore drinking the koolaid! I can believe that they’d intellectually be at a point where they’re like “hate that bitch!!! hope he dies horrifically (again!)” but I just think there would be more general emotional turmoil. if nothing else I think there should just be more of a consistent vibe of like acknowledgement of a past warped perspective that they no longer hold. like the starless could have been such a good foil! zoya’s utter hatred for them does already read to me like mortification at how that basically used to be her? but I’d just like it to be explicit and unpacked more overtly! I want genya to just have more she’s working through. like would she have turned on him if he hadn’t set the nichevo’ya on her? does that question haunt her?

I personally haaaate and do not agree with the criticisms that either of them were ooc or like co-opted to be author mouthpieces in RoW when they say they hate him! first of all, I absolutely do not think leigh bardugo hates him lol. that is a character she basically broke her entire series ending to bring back from the dead, to then give him a big hero’s sacrifice ending that’s not even going to stick! because the protagonists are going to fucking save him!! it’s such an absurd choice like I would argue that the KoS duology was actually stunningly soft on him! so I want to be clear that’s not my problem here, but I just wanted it to be messier and to have room for more complexity

#grishaverse #shadow and bone #king of scars #rule of wolves #i ramble sometimes #all the bendy punctuations #a mysterious stranger has appeared #long post

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wildmelon · 3 days

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i wrote this like two months ago when i finished, but im posting it now for my own record lol.

MAJOR SPOILER WARNING FOR CRITICAL ROLE CAMPAIGN 1

scrambled critical role thoughts and opinions after finishing c1:

oh boy i cried through vax's goodbye scene in the last episode, but holy shit i fucking sobbed through his appearance in dalen's closet. how the fuck was liam so perfect at playing an altered version of vax that was still him at heart. every interaction was perfect. cannot describe how i felt when he addressed scanlan, how the fuck could he come up with such a perfect ingenious opener, i was in tears immediately.

i would not have believed you if you told me when i started that scanlan and grog would have been my favorites at the end of the campaign. (well maybe a little bc i am a confirmed travis stan but seriously i didn't anticipate the level of depth, comedy, and heart he brought to grog). grog's kevdak speech is a campaign highlight for me-- no, a 2023 highlight.

i obviously found scanlan somewhat annoying but funny if often outdated. i kind of just wrote it off as something i'd ignore but sam really made a comeback like damn, i was very happy and surprised when he apologized to pike.

scanlan leaving discourse is old news but for me personally it reminded me of myself in really dark times and the ways poor mental health can make you kinda self-centered. not mad about how any of it went down or how it was resolved, and i love how his and vex's relationship became a highlight for me after his return.

i honestly loved the super high emotional stakes of VM, felt like someone was always mad at someone else, i'm a sucker for inter-party conflict and intense emotional scenes. these guys have so much angst and i love it.

i really enjoyed the tight pacing and goal-oriented episodes. i tend to get stressed out when there's too many broad choices about what to do next in any sort of media lol. this campaign also rly showed me how much i love watching high-level play.

i don't fuck with percy??????? lmfao i don't hate him or anything, i literally can't put it any way besides idfw that man. 😭 he's an interesting character ofc and i do like his friendship with keyleth

keyleth was my fave for most of the campaign. her growth was so rewarding to watch, she made me laugh so many times, i love seeing her become a leader, just adore her and she's such a comfort character to me. bought myself a simple ring with "I have passed through fire" engraved on the inside to celebrate my didn't-kill-myself-aversary this year bc that letter was exactly what i needed to hear 😭

kiki and vax never interested me thatttt much UNTIL they became eternally star-crossed lovers jfc. that is my catnip. tbh it's interesting to me that VM is held up by some as having superior romance to TMN, but i didn't find any of VM's romance super compelling.

since it's been a couple months since i finished, i can add that vex is who i've thought most about since i finished?? i always liked her, loved the grey hunt, adored her relationship with vax, but didn't know i had strong feelings until after i'd finished watching. funny how that happens.

the mighty nein start out fucked up and end up pretty good, while vox machina start out pretty cool and then get super fucked up 😭 much as i love outcasts finding family, it was really fun to watch all these archetypal fantasy Cool Guys just go through so much emotional damage lmao.

#critical role #vox machina spoilers #cr c1 spoilers #critical role spoilers #cr spoilers #suicide ment cw #suicide mention #lush.talk

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softness-and-shattering · 2 years

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Let Me Further Break Your Heart - Gideon the Ninth Structure Analysis

Some Gideon the Ninth analysis by way of writing analysis, just for fun. No spoilers for Harrow the Ninth or Nona; for current purposes Im essentially treating Gideon as a stand-alone. Spoilers all the way through for Gideon the Ninth though. This is your enormous spoiler warning.

Intro:

Im slowly slowly getting back into writing after being very into it for a long time which was followed by a long break in which I was too disabled/tired/brain-fogged to write. So Im poking back around Writing Excuses and Im reminded of this* concept of (I think) Mary Robinette Kowal’s, that treats pacing a lot like programming.

The concept being, when you end a conflict, the timing of that resolution has to match the timing of when you introduced it. The example they use is an A-plot B-plot detective romance.

If the detective walks into the room, inspects the evidence, then notices a hot journalist also in the room, thats an A-whodunnit and a B-romance. The first conflict is the mystery, the second is the romance, therefore the romance needs to be resolved before the mystery is solved.

[requisite disclaimer that the rules exist as guides and you can always break them if it works better for your art, and that something does not have to be intentionally written a certain way for meaning to be drawn from it, within reason]

If the detective walks into the room, spots the cute detective, then examines the evidence, thats an A-romance and a B-whodunnit. That means the mystery needs to be solved before the relationship is confirmed.

And this works with as many plot/character/mystery threads as you have in a story, not just two.

Enter The Locked Tomb:

What I just discovered while pulling that quote was that my original framing was that Gideon escaping was the first conflict, and the epilogue is simply an epilogue, a teaser for the next book, and exempt from the bracketing system. But actually no, the first conflict, broadly speaking, is “Who the heck is this Lord, what the heck is this setting?”. And our final scene is finally meeting god and the promise of learning more about the world than just the Ninth and Canaan House. Huh.

So because my mind is in Locked-Tomb-Blorbo-Land, my mind immediately goes to the first line of Gideon the Ninth:

“In the Myriadic year of our Lord - the ten thousandth year of the King Undying, the kindly Prince of Death! - Gideon Nav packed her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and she escaped from the House of the Ninth.”

Simple. Harrow is the Ninth. She is literally 200 sons and daughters of her house, their entire future. She is their youngest generation, the youngest person full stop, and their heir, their leader, their Reverend Daughter.

Back to Gideon: She’s a fighter, she’s practical, and well, she’s horny, and her objective is to get away from the Ninth. We soon learn this is her 33rd attempt of her lifelong objective to leave, because she absolutely loathes this place. If she doesn’t leave there will be no escape even in death, as her body will be used to work and clean and grow wilted food.

And yet, the last we see of her in this book is sacrificing herself, a ghost of herself helping Harrow, and then she’s dead and gone. How does that solve her wanting to leave the Ninth?

I was just listening to @onefleshonepod, episode 5, “What’s With The Skulls”, wherein Kabriya and Bailey point out that by Chapter 10, when Gideon rescues Harrow from the lab with Palamedes and Camilla, she’s thinking of Harrow as “her necromancer”, and does all in her power to save Harrow, even while thinking to herself that she would delight in Harrow’s death. She’s growing attached, but she is far from ready to admit that to herself.

And in the beginning, Gideon absolutely loathes Harrow, a feeling which is mutual. She hates the Ninth, she hates its heiress, she wants nothing to do with any of them.

But the thing is, with a story hook, it can go one of a few ways in resolving satisfactorily. The hook is that Gideon wants to escape. Possible resolutions are:

1. She physically escapes and has a life with which she is content.

2. She physically escapes but never psychologically is able to leave it all behind.

3. She does not escape and is doomed to eternal misery (that would be a straight-up tragedy)

4. She does not escape, but rather becomes content or happy with the status quo.

And number 4 is exactly what happens.

And they fight together seamlessly, proudly and aggressively of the Ninth, totally in sync with each other.

The pool scene is of course the central turning point, when Gideon finally has all the information it takes to truly understand Harrow, and to forgive her. Then of course by the battle with Cytherea in the lobby, Gideon is back with the trusty two-hander that she stashed away, and we get from Harrow “I said a necromancer alone. I have you. We bring hell”, followed by: “Nav, show them what the Ninth House does”

“We do bones motherfucker!”

And then, as she is about to sacrifice herself for Harrow, believing that this course of action was the only sensible thing left to do, we get this passage:

‘She mentally found herself all of a sudden in front of the doors of Drearburgh-four years old again, and screaming-and all her fear and hate of them went away. Drearburgh was empty. There was no Crux. There were no godawful great-aunts. There were no restless corpses, no strangers in coffins, no dead parents. Instead, she was Drearburgh. She was Gideon Nav, and Nav was a Niner name. She took the whole, putrid, quiet, filth-strewn madness of the place, and she opened her doors to it. Her hands were no shaking anymore.

‘WHAM-WHAM-WHAM. The structure bowed and creaked. Big chunks were falling away now, letting in wide splotches of sunlight. She felt movement behind her, but she was faster.

‘“For the Ninth!” said Gideon.

‘And she fell forward, right on the iron spikes.’

And then as I noticed while pulling the initial quote, Harrow goes on to meet the “King Undying, the kindly Prince of Death!”, and beg for Gideon’s life back, bringing the circle full close.

She wanted to escape the Ninth, and instead she becomes the Ninth. Even more literally, as her consciousness gets scooped up and added to Harrows brain, and then (she) takes that sword and protects her girlfriend, her Reverend Daughter, her love, her house.

[pause for crying/breathing]

In meta, Gideon has fulfilled her character arc in this book, she has resolved her life’s dream/torment, there is no story left for her. After all that build up and tension and sacrifice, its quite likely we as readers would feel betrayed if god had snapped his fingers and brought her back, rendered it all meaningless. This sacrifice was a natural conclusion to her story, and further, even in her death, in Harrow’s brain as Lyctor-battery-juice, she serves the Ninth. She did not escape, she no longer wanted to, she wanted to serve.

Anyway, I just have a lot of feelings!

*with reference to this concept; a transcript of which doesnt seem to exist.

#by the way #the bracket structure thing applies to almost all writing #its why blogs and speeches and things end with referencing the intro and makes it feel all resonant and meaningful and shit #and I broke that rule kinda by not re-mentioning writing advice cause I think that would take away from the oomph #breaking the rules!!#woooo!#Im not your real dad!#gideon the ninth #gideon the ninth spoilers #the locked tomb #the locked tomb spoilers #tlt #gideon the ninth meta #the locked tomb meta #harrowhark nonagesimus #gideon nav

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pink-strawberry-kissess · 11 months

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I’ve been seeing so many people say how they’re happy Leon in RE4R now isn’t a “simp” chasing after Ada anymore compared to OGRE4. I’m so confused ?? Because from what I remember Leon literally never chases Ada at all in OGR4, Ashley was always his priority, not even when she said he needed to get the parasite out of his body, he maintains that he needs to save Ashley first. I’m guessing they’re just mad that OG4 wasn’t as outwardly/verbally pissed at Ada to their liking. I mean OG Leon at least “attempted” to question and run after her when she took the sample and the end but RE4R just let her take it no questions asked lol

i generally think that people lack a lot of media literacy, and a lot of people (primarily new leon simps)(who also have never played the games) have taken fanfiction as canon. the whole "Ada cheats on Leon" thing? no idea where that came from.

re4 Leon was actually a lot more aloof and campy. i'd even argue that people could say he was an asshole at times lol. og re4 always had ada simping for leon in separate ways so i don't know where this narrative came from. ada really do be blowing up a ship for leon and also stopping his assassination but sure..

I hate the over implied "leon puts ashley above everything else," and interprets it as romantic. saving ashley was his JOB, first and foremost. he needed to get ashley out and safely back home, and then onto the next mission.

i'd argue that leon is actually more tender with ada at times in re4r. he has a pivotal conversation with ada in the boat, and they're much more vulnerable as opposed to the virtually silent boat scene in ogre4. leon is also much more tender with the bear charm keys in the remake, perhaps feeling a bit of regret with his he let his anger cloud is emotions. the realization that ada had planned an escape route for leon is much more clear and endeared as opposed to re4 where he just kinda goes like "very cute :| "and then moves on to immediately hit on hunnigan lmao.

the other change they made was that ada DID "threaten" leon with a gun for the sample at the end of re4, but in re4r, Leon let her go without any fight. ada also doesn't point her gun at him at all. not only that she never had her finger on the trigger when they first have their initial reunion. ada never meant to threaten leon with any real means of harm.

to be honest re4 and re4r have never been the most aeon centric games. they're an in between of the relationship and always had been. it's a turning point for them, a conflict that they both have and as we know from grade school story telling (lol), we need some sort of conflict before we can get to that resolve.

#ask heart #heart answers #anon #ada wong #leon s kennedy #leon kennedy #aeon #leon x ada #leon kennedy x ada wong #resident evil #leon s kennedy x ada wong #re4r #resident evil 4 #re4make #ada x leon #ashley graham #ingrid hunnigan

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kit-mc-corny · 10 months

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id like to complain about Barry for a bit.

I came to the show late and didnt watch it as it was coming out, but have been moving thru it over the last month. I have a tendency to just stop watching shows when theres a lull or an arc i dont find interesting, and ive been fighting that urge for two seasons now bc my partner has been enjoying it. we have two episodes left and i cant wait to be done with it. so without having seen the finale, heres where im at:

firstly, its not that the bad behavior of all the main characters bothers me. i was aware from episode 1 that this was not a show about good people, or even about bad people trying to be better. and i kept watching, and really enjoyed seasons 1 and 2, bc i dont need perfect protagonists to remain invested. but. like. the premise was about a hitman getting into acting, right? ...Barry has not acted for the last 10 episodes. they just sort of abandoned that aspect of the character, which was really the only interesting thing about him. ive gone from liking him to hating him to appreciating the nuisance of his character, to literally not caring what he does anymore bc of how often the writers kept flipping the switch on him. hes no longer a reflection of how real people cope with the bad things theyve done. hes just a tool for shocking the audience.

Seasons 1 and 2 thrived on the revolving cast of antagonists, which was a fun way to demonstrate the endless cycle and escalation of violence that barry's trapped in. The absurdity of the martial arts master and his feral child was excellent and imo the high point of the show, and they were only in one or two episodes. but by season 3 and 4, the introduction and immediate execution of new characters gets incredibly stale, because we stop expecting them to matter in any way. the kid actor, the tall blond gal, albert, bong, any chechen or bolivian, they keep setting us up w characters and the impression that they will be important to the leads, and expecting us to be impacted by the subversion of this expectation. and im just...not. im bored of it.

also, I don't like timeskips, it strikes me as a bit of a cop-out that just...kills the momentum of any arc leading up to it. Like the writers put themselves in a position and decide they dont want to deal with writing their way out of it. then they can just waste a bunch of airtime on where-are-they-now exposition instead of actually resolving or elaborating on the existing conflicts or themes they were pursuing earlier. better call saul almost did it right, but even that was a boner-killer of a finale. And the way Barry skips into the future to do some kind of half-assed commentary about 'where society is going' reminds me too much of the toothless politics of parks & rec. the whole podcast Christianity homeschooling thing is pretty interesting, tho.

and finally let me jsut go ahead and say that it was incredibly unfair what they did to cristobal. the electroshock therapy scene was horrific, but the very next episode, hes fine. he never even talks about what that did to him. no, instead, we're supposed to focus on how traumatized hank is from the whole tiger incident or whatever. like, gene's son leo lost his job, and we never talk about why, or what that means for him. and then he gets shot, cool cool cool, really cool wow, so interesting. the black and brown characters are not necessarily unique in how disposable or otherwise unimportant they are, compared to secondary white characters like Katie or Annie or Kristen, but its still pretty gross how the writers seem a little more willing to subject them to violence and trauma.

#Barry #barry series finale #barry spoilers #cw violence #cw trauma #cw conversion therapy #cw shooting

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im-watchin-movies · 10 months

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The Hating Game (2021)

I love a good rom-com, I love a bad rom-com, this particular rom-com suffers from not choosing which one it wants to be.

First order of business, rom-coms are often criticized for their creepy moments that would be utterly disturbing in real life, but in the elevated reality of a film, somehow reads as romantic. There's a scene in this film that truly exemplifies this exact argument perfectly. The scene in question? The leading man receals that he has painted the wall of his bedroom the colour of the leading lady's eyes. To me, this is the biggest oh fuck he wants to wear my skin as a coat moment inaginable and I was screaming in horror over it (don't worry, my neighbors are used to this). I briefly wondered if the movie was going to take a sudden turn into horror where she slowly uncovers all the ways he's been stalking her and he actually had a lifelike robot sex doll made with her exact physical proportions, but no, she thinks it's romantic, I find it upsetti spaghetti (and no, it's not because I'm actually ace, this was weird).

The movie itself aside from that scene is generally poorly executed, from established character traits simply disappearing like the writers forgot what our lead's personality was meant to be (other than rage-filled which is actually my favourite personality in a leading woman so koodos for that at least) to the conflict of the film literally disappearing for more than a third of the runtime only to re-appear at the last moment again, as if the writers had forgotten entirely and had to scramble to wrap things up.

The romance aspects of it were too rushed for my taste, they covered all the main beats with seemingly no restraint. Having the couple passionately kiss in an elevator so quickly after introducing them seemed a little rushed for an enemies to lovers type plot. Then we see them just openly having feelings for each other and making out followed by an only one bed beat that literally went nowhere and was immediately resolved by them boinking even though they hadn't resolved literally any previous conflicts. They then inexplicably become a couple and then we have an overheard conversation that makes her think he's lying about his feelings (after he painted his creep wall mind) and more miscommunication happens and then BAM happily ever after. It comes across as a 400k word wattpad fic that's been crammed into a 102 minute box by chopping out any parts where the leads aren't absolutely going at it and calling it done.

It sounds like I really hated this movie (and I sorta did actually) but there's positives as well, for example our lead is a loser who writes Smurf fanfic, something I'm sure exists irl but is still absolutely wild to see, there's a sort of best friend character who is also a weirdo (he was totally done dirty by the plot of we're being honest). There is chemistry between the leads that I really was engaged by and generally I wasn't skeeved out until close to the end.

Overall though, I don't think it does what a rom-com should do, it's very cynical in a way, and there isn't really a grand gesture apart from the creepy wall thing, something not done for her, but for his own weird reasons (🤮). I don't think it serves when you need to sit and ugly cry over your love life with a tub of ice cream, but it's also not offensively bad either. It's really just the last twenty minutes that really broke it for me and I recognize that it could be someone else's cup of tea, so I'd say it's worth giving a shot, though I don't see it being an enduring classic by any means.

#the hating game

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elsecrytt · 2 years

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Did you catch how depending on if you chose to sleep with Asmo/Levi/Your Own Room in 70-4, you did not or did have the option to spend the night with Satan/Lucifer/Your Room in 70-19.

I, too, am furious with the game regurgitating the same pseudo-character development for Satan. I am also furious with the options offered to MC in handling volatile personalities. So many of the choices offered to MC go in direct opposition to evidence based practices proven to work in de-escalation. I hated responding in a way that I know cannot change the situation.

Negativity regarding Lesson 70; it's under a cut so anyone scrolling past or avoiding spoilers doesn't have to see.

bro the fucking option to say "let's go eat!" or "we're done talking" when satan is so obviously in the throes of a personal meltdown just fucking HAD ME,,,

literally in season 1, before we had a pact with satan, hell, before we'd even really spoken to him, we see satan and luci get into a fight and we immediately follow satan. we literally barely knew the guy at that point.

but in season 4, after possibly sleeping with him (season 2) and knowing him for years, seeing him with the boogeyman in season 3, we hear he's fought with lucifer, left THE DEVILDOM, and we literally do NOTHING for two weeks?

this is a constant problem for season 4. i didn't mind it so much in earlier, sillier episodes, but satan is having some serious issues here, and MC is so fucking distant and impersonal that it really bothers me, to the point that i'm avoiding positivity about lesson 70 because it simply is not vibing with how i'm experiencing the game rn.

like bro in season 1 we were LITERALLY telling satan he didn't have to like lucifer, he didn't have to pretend to, either, we were validating his feelings and frustrations and we seriously helped talk him through it.

we constantly did this for the characters. it wasn't real therapy by any means but it was genuinely positive emotional support. some of it was really insightful! some of it was just plain kindness! and now lesson 70 lets us just?? do this?

satan literally doesn't want to speak to lucifer, lucifer doesn't want to speak to satan, but because the plot says this arc needs to be wrapped up this scene please, we summon lucifer who spits some WILDLY GENERIC AND INSINCERE FEELING PLATITUTDES and satan is instantly "better".

like. "i need you". literally, why does satan believe lucifer when he says this? what does lucifer say? does he go "i can't handle your student council duties in addition to mine; i'd known you had a lot to do recently and i thought i was being helpful when i completed your task for you"? does he say "our family isn't complete without you"? does he say "i missed you when you were gone"?

NO! Lucifer literally just rattles off a couple lines about how Satan is capable and talented, and Satan immediately stops being angry. Like, seriously, if this was all it took, then why didn't it happen in the first place?

It's not because Satan's cooled off - he's literally just attacked Lucifer. It's not because it's Satan's "shadow persona" - that was poorly explained crap AT BEST, and completely meaningless on a realistic level. Satan might as well have just been ignoring us.

I just. I could think of so many better ways that confrontation could have gone. I can't even BEGIN to think of all the ways MC could have like... actually helped, instead of "helped" like Satan and Lucifer claim you do, afterwards. You basically just stuck Lucifer in front of Satan. It feels so, so empty to me.

I'm very tempted actually to re-write lesson 70 myself because I feel like this plotline could have gone somewhere. I totally feel you and am like, super DUPER frustrated with a lot of the "character development doesn't happen instantly/overnight!" people are repeating, because like.

Of course it doesn't happen overnight, so maybe the story can stop fucking acting like it does? Every time a satan/lucifer conflict is resolved they act like everything is fine and good and perfect and now satan has overcome his insecurity together, and it's all because of you, MC~ and it just feels utterly devoid of meaning.

It's not that it was bad or weird for Satan to be upset about this! I think this was a perfectly reasonable argument for these two characters, being who they are, to have. Lucifer's a bit arrogant and would say something thoughtless like that. Satan's sensitive and would fly off the handle. It's really not a bad setup.

But I can't fucking deal with the absolute indifference to it all. MC hearing Satan out and then just? Saying nothing? Walking away when he's clearly having a breakdown? Deciding to do some weird, ultimately useless curse crap instead of just. TALKING TO HIM?

And then Lucifer doesn't even apologize? He just compliments Satan. Calls him valuable and skilled. And Satan is immediately soothed? Like? How is this supposed to be in character for him? He gets angry all the the time?

Literally, I would have found it so much more in character if Satan had just gone, "That's a lie! If you really think I'm so talented, why didn't you leave that task for me to do myself?"

And then Lucifer... you know. Fucking explained himself. So that it didn't feel like some cheap condolence. They could have had a honest conversation about their feelings. Even just a little bit.

As it stands it simply didn't feel like we were seeing the characters that had been built up in the older seasons. Obey Me! has always struggled to have deep writing, and I give it a pass on a lot of conversations that haven't taken place, or should have been more serious (hellooo lesson 16), but this just felt like a huge let down because they used to take Satan's issues seriously, and that arc felt about as deep as a kiddie pool.

#elsey rambles #long post #obey me #satan #lucifer #lesson 70 #obey me satan #swd obey me

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codenamesazanka · 3 years

Text

I feel like I can’t stress enough how important Spinner is to the ‘My Villain Academia’ arc, and how badly I need BONES to give him the attention and care in portraying him that he deserves. BONES have been pretty faithful to the manga, they’ve followed the story and brought each scene on the page to the screen... Except for some reason not when it comes to the Villains. Maybe it’s because arguably the Villains wasn’t the focal point of the show and they weren’t what most viewers watched the show to see; fine, but that was the case in the beginning and no longer.

Shigaraki Tomura, his exploits, his character, his story *is* the manga: the Heroes and protag react mainly to him and his actions, his past and motivations is one of the main factors that caused the current central conflict, and resolving his character arc is what will probably bring the whole series - to its end or near end. Yeah, imo I argue that everything about him moves the plot along.

Unfortunately(?), I think Horikoshi-sensei realized/decided/planned this a bit too late in his pacing. He said himself during the Stain arc or so that at first, he wasn’t planning on doing villain profiles - he wanted the villains to be scary.

But for the time being, I have no intention of writing about [the villains]. I do the introductions because l personally like those sorts of behind-the-scenes things, and also because I want my readers to feel a connection to the characters. But with villains, I decided I can't have them too likable. They're supposed to be terrifying.

Often it’s what we don’t know/understand/predict/expect (and therefore can’t get a grasp on) that makes things scary/uncomfortable/dislikable. The Villains were strange, seemingly erratic and incomprehensible in their behavior and motivations, malicious without rhyme or reason. Even now, I think a lot of people still think they’re just ‘completely evil crazy psychopaths’.

Anyways, the quote from him is from Volume 7. A whole bunch of volumes later in Vol. 23, he decided nvm: “The story has evolved beyond that point, so I'm ready to start doing villain profiles.” As he said himself, the profiles are to help the readers connect with the characters, make them relatable and likable. That’s what My Villain Academia is all about in the meta sense - to demystify Shigaraki Tomura and his ragtag chaos friends, to give them depth, and to induce interest in their stories, if not sympathy. Hype them up for the rather major roles they play in this ‘final arc’ of the series.

Enter Spinner, the lizard ninja guy.

Besides his unusual looks, Spinner is really, truly nothing special. He’s got a weak quirk, he holds no title of being the strongest or smartest or whatever member of the League, he’s not related by blood or thematically to any major players in the main conflicts, and his ‘tragic’ backstory is completely mundane compared to his allies - he was bullied as a child, and so is fueled by resentment. In the events leading up to the start of the arc, Spinner is the most moral and understandable of the Villains - has a ‘good’ reason for his crimes (eradicate corrupted Heroes), has standards on who he’s willing to fight (questions attacking the police and anyone with a ‘true heroic spirit’), and wants a concrete game plan instead of aimless discord the rest of the League seems alright with.

Once the arc starts, we immediately learn the basics of his character - he’s got a heteromorph quirk that makes his appearance a humanoid gecko and it’s something he was born with that he can’t control, and yet he faces discrimination from literal KKK-type cultists who refuse to see him as human. This was more or less his life in his small, rural hometown, harsh enough that his heart had become ‘completely empty’. It’s simple, it’s relatable and an realistic analogy anyone who has faced prejudice and harassment and been hurt by it can understand.

All this is so Spinner ends up being the most normal and typical sympathetic of the League of Villains, which sets him up to be a sort of ‘gateway Villain’. It’s why he’s narrator. He doesn’t understand at all the crazy All For One shenanigans, he’s thinks Shigaraki is an incompetent weirdo, and he asks what we were all thinking: “Shigaraki Tomura, what the fuck are you doing.” Quite obviously, Spinner’s meant the audience surrogate and so he is. That being a core of the way the story of My Villain Academia is told means it needs be followed by the anime adaption.

This core sets up the rest of the arc - sets up how we will come to view Shigaraki Tomura and his backstory, alongside the rest of the League Villains, their relationships and dynamics with each other, and who they are at heart. Shigaraki’s telling of his distorted origins in Chapter 222 is horrifying as it is already; but it’s Spinner’s worried-facial-expressions reactions littered throughout the chapter that adds to it by telling us one major thing: Spinner’s an empathetic guy, because he immediately feels a kindred spirit with Shigaraki when the latter talks about the hollowness he feels. So begins the audience surrogate’s change of opinion and us readers going along with it, and also: that Shigaraki Tomura now has Spinner’s concern and attention - and is deserving of it.

Pardon the sudden heavily edited quote, but CS Lewis says,

Friendship arises...when two or more of the companions discover that they have in common...which, till that moment, each believed to be his own unique [burden]. The typical expression of opening Friendship would be something like, "What? You too? I thought I was the only one." ...And instantly they stand together in an immense solitude.

That’s almost word for word Spinner in that moment, suddenly realizing he’s no longer as alone as he thought. He’s no longer as alone, and this means perhaps neither should Shigaraki. Because established in that very chapter, too, is the hate in Shigaraki’s heart fueled by his grief and despair, the loss of his family, past, and faith in others, his misery of thinking he’ll never feel good again. Yet - there’s Spinner, willing to extend some empathy and care, the very antidote to all that Shigaraki had revealed. Because the desire for companionship (or at least the lessening of the pain of loneliness) is universal, even among villains - maybe especially among these villains - we probably love to see it. Want to see it.

On that basis - friendship borne out of empathy - Spinner puts his faith his leader, puts his trust and support, and the rest of the arc is us following the tension of whether he was right to do so. Whether Shigaraki would live up to what Spinner expects of him, whether Spinner will side with Shigaraki despite their earlier conflict. Whether they could become friends, or something like that. And once they do, the consequences of this as things spiral more and more out of control, beyond this arc - that Spinner would know Shigaraki well enough to do something crucial at the turn of a battle later, that Spinner would stick by Shigaraki’s side when he’s in danger, that Spinner is loyal enough to Shigaraki to help him as a friend should.

Through Spinner, we come to see Shigaraki, originally incomprehensible and terrifying, as someone beyond a Villain or a leader, but rather someone valued as a person, a friend, a fellow silly gamer nerd. He’s still scary, of course - just less so, with a seed of doubt of his doom that Spinner - and only Spinner, by virtue of his specific narrative and emotional role in this arc - planted in their characters and the story.

It’s because of Spinner that MVA works, by itself, and as a stepping stone towards the rest of the series. So he really needs to be everything he is, was, and more in the anime adaption please BONES oh my god please

#long post #nalslastworkingbraincell #shigaraki tomura #bnha #mha #heroaca #Spinner #Iguchi Shuuichi #my interpretation of course #but like #everything I said is right there in the text and can be convincingly argued for #so I’m right and it’s mandatory that BONES listens to me

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scorpionyx9621 · 3 years

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Do you think Jason Todd fandom is kinda toxic? Because it seems like NO MATTER what DC do, there'll always be complains. Forget the bad adaptation like Titans. Even Judd Winick cannot escape the criticism with how he potrayed Robin!Jason. They just never satisfied.

SORRY, IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO RESPOND TO THIS. I just moved from Washington D.C. to Seattle, which, for my non-American friends, that's 4442km away. And I DROVE THERE ALL BY MYSELF. And now I'm trying to find new work in a new city and trying to stay mentally healthy and positive. Life is exciting but hard and scary.

*sighs*

As someone who was a fandom elder with V*ltr*n. I've seen some of the worst when it comes to fandom behavior. I'm talking people baking food with shaving razors and trying to give them to the showrunners. I'm talking leaking major plot details and refusing to take it down unless they make their ship canon (I am looking at you, Kl*nce stans) For the most part, DC Comics has had a decades-long reputation of treating their fans like trash and not caring what they think so from what I've seen, we all just grumble and complain in our corners of the internet about how we don't like how X comic portrays Jason Todd.

The challenge with Jason Todd is that he's your clinical anti-hero, the batfamily's Draco in Leather Pants, he's a jerkass woobie, and on top of all of that, he's a Tumblr sexyman. It's a perfect storm for a very fun but frustrating character to be a fan of. It doesn't help that every writer decides to re-invent the wheel every time Jason comes up so his canon lore is confusing at best and inconsistent as a standard.

I guess starting with a general brief on who Jason is and what is uniform about him with every instance he's appeared in comics/media.

Grew up in a poor family in Gotham with a dad who was a petty-mid-level criminal, and a mother who dies of a drug overdose.

Survives on the street on his own by committing petty crimes and potentially even engaging in sexual acts to keep himself alive.

Is cornered by Batman and taken in after Dick Grayson quits/is fired

Becomes the second Robin, but is known for being the harsher, more brutal Robin.

Is killed by Joker after being tortured, but somehow comes back to life and regains senses through the Lazarus Pit

Resolves himself to be better than Batman by basically being Batman but kills people.

Where there has been a lot of conflict in the fandom is the fact that Jason Todd is not a character that is written consistently. DC Comics loves to go with the narrative that Jason was "bad from the start" and was the "bad robin" when, yes, he has trouble controlling his anger, but he also still is just as invested in seeing the best of Gotham City and trying to be a positive change for the world as any other DC Comics hero.

Where I get frustrated with the fandom is its ability to knit-pick every detail of a comic they don't like while completely disregarding everything that makes the comics great and worth it to read. My example being Urban Legends. To which most people had pretty mixed reactions to. I was critical of the comic at first but as it went along I ended up really liking it. I have a feeling DC Comics went to Chip Zdarsky and told him he had 6 issues to bring Jason back into the Bat Family, and honestly he didn't do a bad job. Did it feel rushed? Absolutely. I wish there was more development of Jason and Bruce's characters and their dynamic as a whole. However, where I see a lot of people being angry and upset with Urban Legends is that they feel Zdarsky needlessly wrote Jason as an incompetent fool who needs Bruce to save him.

Whether or not that was the intention of Zdarsky is up to debate. However, and this may be controversial, but I don't think he wrote Jason Todd out of character at all. For as fearsome, intimidating, and awesome as Red Hood is. Jason is a character who is absolutely driven by his emotions. Why do you think he donned the role of Red Hood? As a response to his anger towards The Joker for killing him, and towards Bruce for not taking action against The Joker and for seemingly replacing him so quickly after he died. Jason didn't care about being the murderous Robin Hood or for being the bloody hammer of justice against N*zi's and P*d*ph*les. He only cared originally about making The Joker and Bruce pay. It wasn't until he trained under the best assassins in the world and realized most of them were horrific criminals who trafficked children and were p*dos that Talia began to realize that the teachers that she sent Jason to train under started dying horrific and painful deaths.

The entire story of the Cheer story in Batman Urban Legends was started because it finally forced some consequences upon Jason. Tyler, aka Blue Hood's father was a drug dealer who gave his supply to his wife and kids. And when Tyler's father admitted he gave the drugs to Tyler, it immediately made him fall within the self-imposed philosophical kill-list of Jason Todd. And Jason, well, he proceeds to kill Tyler's father. When this happens, Jason is in shock. Tyler's dad fit the bill to easily and justifiably be killed by Jason. We've never seen Jason having to deal with the consequences of being a murderous vigilante on a micro-level. When Jason realizes what he's done in that he's murdered Tyler's dad, he's shocked. He tells Babs the truth. He does a rational thing because he's in shock. He doesn't know what to do, he never has had to face the consequences of his actions as Red Hood and now the gravity of befriending a child as a vigilante hero who kills people just set in when he killed the father of the same child he was just introduced to.

(Oh here's a little aside because it had to be said, Jason would not have been a good father or a good mentor to Tyler and absolutely should not have been his new Robin. Jason is a man who is in his early 20's (not saying men in their early 20's can't be good fathers at all) who is a brutal serial killer using the guise of a vigilante anti-hero to let him escape most of the law. the complications of having the man who murdered your father adopt you and make you his sidekick are way too numerous for me to explain in a long-winded already heavy Tumblr essay post. There's a reason why we don't advocate for a story where Joe Chill adopted Bruce Wayne or one where Tony Zucco took in Dick Grayson.)

The next biggest argument is that they feel that Jason is giving up his guns as a means to just be invited back into the Bat-Family. To which I will tell anyone who has that argument to go actually read Urban Legends. Already have and still have that argument? Please re-read it. Don't want to? That's okay, I will paste the images from the comic where Jason specifically says that he doesn't want to give up his weapons for Bruce and his real reasoning down below since the comic isn't exactly readily accessible.

Jason gave up the guns because he felt the gravity of what he had done and knows how it'll effect Tyler. Thankfully his mom is alive and in recovery. But Tyler doesn't have a father anymore. And Jason killed Tyler's father. It may have been in accordance to Jason's philosophy, but it was a case where it blurred the lines. Jason Todd isn't a black and white character, just very dark gray. He doesn't kill aimlessly like the Joker. If you are on Jason's list you probably have done something pretty horrific, and also just in general, being in his way or being a threat to him. Mind you, in early days of Red Hood and the Outlaws (Image below) Jason almost killed 10 innocent civilians in a town in Colorado all because they saw him kill a monster. That being said, Jason isn't aimless in his kills.

(Also can we just take a moment to appreciate Kenneth Rocafort's art? DC Comics said we need to rehabilitate Jason Todd's image and Kenneth Rocafort said hold my beer: It's so SO GOOD)

That being said, the key emphasis in the story of Cheer asides from trying to introduce Jason Todd back into the Bat Family and give an actual purpose for him being there, other than him just kind of being there ala Bowser every time he shows up for Go Kart racing, Tennis, Golf, Soccer, and the Olympic games when Mario invites him, is that Jason and Bruce ultimately both want the same thing. Jason wants to be welcomed back into the family and to be loved and appreciated. Bruce want's Jason back as his son and wants to love and protect Jason. Both of these visions are shown in the last chapter of Cheer while under the effect of the Cheer Gas. It's ultimately this love and appreciation they both have for each other that helps them overcome their challenge and win.

Jason Todd is a character who, just like Bruce, has been through so much pain and so much hate in his life. The two are meant to parallel each other. While Bruce chose to see the best in everyone, giving every rogue in his gallery the option to be helped and give them a second chance, hence why he never kills, Jason has a similar view on wanting to protect the public, but he understands that some crimes are so heinous they cannot be forgiven, or that some habitual criminals are due to stay habitual criminals, and need to be put down. But at the end of the day, the two of them both try to protect people in their own ways.

I am aware that through the writings of various DC Comics authors such as Scott Lobdell and Judd Winick, the two have had a very tumultuous relationship. And rightfully so, I am by no means saying that Scott Lobdell writing an arc where Bruce literally beats Jason to within an inch of his life in Red Hood and the Outlaws, nor Judd Winick's interpretation of Under the Red Hood where Bruce throws the Batarang at Jason's neck, slicing his throat and leaving him ambiguously for dead at the end of the comic is appropriate considering DC Comics seems to be trying everything they can to integrate Jason back into the family. That being said, a lot of these writings have shaped the narrative of Jason and Bruce's relationship and have an integral effect on the way the fandom views the two. It doesn't help that Zdarsky acknowledged Lobdell's life-beating of Jason by Bruce at the very end of Cheer by having Bruce give Jason his old outfit back as a means of mending the fence between the two of them. That does complicate a lot of things in terms of how they are viewed by the fandom and helps to cause an even greater divide between the two.

Regardless, I want to emphasize the fact that Jason Todd is a part of the family of his own accord. Yes, he's quite snarky and deadpan in almost every encounter. However, Jason is absolutely a part of the family and has been for a while of his own will. There's a great moment in Detective Comics that emphasizes this. Jason cares about his family because it is his found family. Yes, they may be warry about him and use him as a punching back and/or heckle him. At the end of the day, we're debating the family dynamics of a fictional playboy billionaire vigilante whose kleptomania took the form of adopting troubled children and turning them into vigilante heroes. Jason Todd wants a family that will love and support him. This is a key definition of his character at its most basic. This was proven during the events of Cheer and is being reenforced by DC Comics every time they get the opportunity to do so.

Now, none of this is to say that I hate Judd Winick. I do not, I don't like the fact that in all of his writings of Jason, he just writes him as a dangerous psychopath, and Winick himself admits to seeing Jason as nothing much more than a psychopath. Yet Winick is the one who the majority of the fandom clings to as the one true good writer of Jason Todd because 'Jason was competent, dangerous, smart' Listen, friends, Jason is all of that and I will never deny it. However, what I love about Jason isn't that he's dangerously smart of that writers either write him as angsty angry Tumblr sexyman bait or that they write him as an infantile man child with a gun. There's a large contention of this fandom that has an obsession with Jason Todd being this vigilante gunman who is hot and sexy and while I definitely get the appeal. It is very creepy and downright disturbing that all of you hyperfixate on his use of guns and ability to be a murderer. It is creepy and I'm not necessarily here for it.

What I love about Jason Todd is that despite all of the pain, all of the heartache, all of the betrayal, and bullying, and death, and anguish. Jason Todd is one of the most loving and supportive characters in all of DC Comics. Jason has been through so much in his life, but he still chooses to love. He still chooses to see the bright side in people. Yes, he takes a utilitarian approach and chooses to kill certain villains, but at the end of the day he wants to see a better world, and he wants to be loved. It takes so much courage and so much heart to learn to love again after one has been abused or traumatized. I would not blame Jason at all if he said fuck it and just went full solo and vigilante evil. He has every right to, but he still chooses to be with the Bat Family of his own accord. That's something that I see a lot of in myself. I have been through a lot of trauma and yet I try to be a better person myself in any way that I can. It is extremely admirable of Jason to allow love back into his heart when he really doesn't need to. He kills and he protects because he has this love of society. It may have been shaped by anger and hatred, but Jason has found his place amongst people who love him and value him. I think Ducra, from Red Hood and the Outlaws put it best in the image given below.

To end this tangent, I love Jason Todd and all of his sexy dangerousness, but it's far more than that. As much as Jason may be dangerous and snarky, he loves his family without a shadow of a doubt. I look up to Jason Todd because despite all of his pain and all of his trauma, he still choses to love. Jason Todd is a character who is someone I love because despite all of his flaws and having a very toxic fandom, he still serves as a character filled with so much heart and so much passion. I wish more writers would understand that. But for now I will live with what I have. Even though the fandom may be vocal about it's hatred for his characterization, I choose to love Jason regardless because he is a character who chooses love and acceptance regardless of his pain. Jason Todd is by no means a good person in any sense of the word. He has easily killed upwards of 100 people by now. He is a character who is flawed and complex but ultimately is one who powers forwards and finds love and heart in a place from so much pain and anguish. That is what I love about Jason Todd. After all, to quote a famous undead robot superhero, "What is grief, if not love persevering?" Jason Todd chooses to love despite all of the trauma and pain and grief. Yes, he is hardened in his exterior, but inside there is a man with a lot of love to give and someone who deserves the world in my eyes.

#Long post GOD #Jason Todd #Red Hood #Bat Family #Batman #red hood and the outlaws #RHATO #RH:O #Batman Urban Legends #Red Hood Lost Days #TW Voltron #TW Death #tw murder #TW Klance #Gotta love how i am pouring my heart out onto jason AND calling out the Voltron fandom #Regardless love Jason Todd people

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fictionadventurer · 4 years

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I like your post about the Hunger Games and agree with most of it, but I still think the love triangle was unnecessary and people are right to criticize it. Collins could have very easily written Gale as the best friend and Peeta as her main love (based on endgame choices) or vice versa I don't even care since I'm not a big shipper of either. But she did introduce the unnecessary drama that overall did not add much to the plot, and it only took away focus. So I think I understand that crit.

Once upon a time, I might have agreed with you. These are good books, important books, and we don’t need to defile this war epic by shoving in teenage-hormone love-triangle dramatics. Then I reread the series, and I was astonished at how, for the most part, the love story is inextricably intertwined with the action-adventure elements. You can’t take out the love-triangle elements without creating a very different book with a very different message. That love-triangle, far from defiling the war story, elevates it into something better.

It starts almost immediately in the first book. We see how Katniss has a deep friendship with Gale, something that could turn into romance, except that she doesn’t dare to go down that path. There’s no place for marriage, and definitely not for new children, in their broken world. She only has energy for day-to-day survival. And once Katniss goes into the Hunger Games, romance is definitely off the table. She needs to harden her heart and make no human connections with the people around her if she wants to have even the slimmest chance of making it back home to her family. In a lesser book, she’d be right–there’d be no goopy romance to distract us from the hard-bitten survival epic that the Hunger Games is supposed to be.

But then Peeta declares his love for her. Suddenly, she’s part of an epic romance on national television. She wants nothing to do with this strategy–love makes you look weak. (And doesn’t that sound a lot like people who criticize the YA love triangle?) But Haymitch counters that it makes her desirable to the audience, and suddenly the thing that had seemed so burdensome becomes necessary to her survival. She needs to play the game–and once they’re in the arena, she needs to figure out if it is a game to Peeta. Peeta has already shown himself capable of manipulating the emotions of all of Panem–is it possible that he’s manipulating her?

This is the real brilliance of the first book’s romance. It doesn’t distract from the main conflict–it is the main conflict. Like so many other teenage girls, Katniss asks herself, “Does this teenage boy like me?”, but in this case the answer is literally a matter of life and death. If he loves her, she can trust him to help her survive. If he doesn’t, he could kill her at any time.

By the time she finds out that his love is real, she has to fake romantic feelings toward him to draw in sponsors. Now she’s manipulating his emotions to survive, and she can’t hope to untangle what’s real and what’s fake in this manufactured mess of a reality show. But Peeta’s influence has shown her that love isn’t pointless in the Hunger Games–it’s the only way for them to truly fight back. She chooses love for Peeta–whether romantic or not–over her own life, and that’s the only reason that, for the first time in history, two victors manage to beat the Capitol at their own game. Katniss won not by being the best warrior, but by showing love. The love story wasn’t a distraction–it was the solution.

It’s only in Catching Fire that she has to deal with the consequences of that. She was willing to die for Peeta, but she’s not sure she wants to live with him, especially since their relationship started under such unreal circumstances. She’d much rather leave the Games–and Peeta–behind and return to the life she knew before. That life included Gale, and Katniss is, for the first time, willing to consider him as a romantic partner. If her romance with Peeta was fake, is it possible that she could have real romance with her best friend?

This is the point where the love triangle comes into full swing, and I’ll admit this is the book where it’s integrated most clumsily. It seems like Katniss is taking some unnecessary risks in pursuing a relationship with Gale, and the plot sometimes comes to a screeching halt so Katniss can think about her emotions. But even if the plot integration isn’t as smooth as it was in the first book, the thematic relevance of the love triangle is still spot-on. Katniss has to think about what she wants–cling to her old life or dive into this new post-Hunger Games world? Does love have a place in this world at war? And when we think about the question in that way, the sloppy integration of the love story into the main action plot is kind of the point. Katniss may be instigating a war, but she’s still a teenage girl. She still has emotions, but she’s being forced to hide or fake so many of them that she doesn’t know who she is, what she wants, or who she wants to be. How can she discover her identity, hold onto her humanity, in the middle of a war?

Mockingjay is where we get the answer to those questions. With Peeta imprisoned in the Capitol and the war underway, Katniss is saved from having to make an immediate decision about her romance. She echoes every romance-hating fan’s thoughts when she says:

The very notion that I’m devoting any thought to who I want presented as my lover, given our current circumstances, is demeaning.

There’s a war going on! There’s no time for love triangles! But it’s only when she’s not being forced to pursue romance with Peeta that she can really evaluate her relationship with Gale–and she’s finding that it’s not as strong as she thought. When she needs advice, she gets it from Prim, not Gale. When she needs someone who understands the trauma of killing, she goes to Finnick or Johanna. Now that Katniss and Gale don’t have the shared bond of having to care for their families–who are kept safe and fed by District 13–they’re finding that they don’t have much else in common. Katniss is mistrustful of Coin, while Gale is part of her inner circle. Katniss kills only when she has to during the war, while Gale treats weapon design as a fun challenge. This exploration of their relationship isn’t a distraction from the main plot. They’re what make the main plot mean something. This is the lens through which Katniss considers her views on violence, on war, on life, on what the point of their fight is. She and Gale literally have arguments about utilitarian principles! It’s only by exploring and then severing this leg of the love triangle that Katniss finds out who she is and what she really believes.

Collins couldn’t explore these issues in the same way if either Gale or Peeta wasn’t presented as a romantic interest. The nature of eros is desire, and the whole point of the Peeta vs. Gale question is Katniss figuring out what she wants out of life. She needs to be drawn to both of them, in the same kind of relationship, if the question and answer are to mean anything. Does Katniss want her old life, with Gale as the most important person, with his anger driving her to fight for survival by any means necessary? Or does she want a new life with Peeta, where they live for something beyond mere survival? Which man, which philosophy, does she want to devote her life to? If Peeta was the love interest and Gale was only the best friend, she could have both in her life. But you can’t resolve the trilogy’s central question by having Katniss compromise. Choosing one side means she can’t choose the other–and the only relationship that requires such an exclusive choice is a love triangle. Far from distracting from the main plot, the love triangle is what elevates it, takes it beyond a war story where the only question is how the characters will survive, and makes it into a story that tells us how the characters are going to live.

#the hunger games #suzanne collins #catching fire #mockingjay #katniss everdeen #peeta mellark #gale hawthorne #katniss/peeta #books #answered asks #this is long and rambling and i apologize but it's the best i can do #i already spent too long on it #but it does feel really good to finally have this written

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dream-launch · 2 years

Text

BL Question Tag Game

Tagged by @that-bl-bitch

I wouldn't say I've watched particularly that many BLs but I guess enough to do this game so leggo

Your All-time Favourite BL and Why?

Cherry Magic! This show is literally my serotonin generator, like it makes me giggle and smile uncontrollably and I jsut think everyone needs to watch it cause it's just adorable and tooth-rottingly sweet. Plus there's just like no angst which i kinda hate angst like I understand why it is in stories to move the story along but like cherry magic was just like nah we gonna make you think there's gonna be angst and/or conflict but then resolve it almost immediately. (Bad Buddy and 1000 stars are close seconds)

That One BL that Scarred You for Life?

Movie not a series but I watched Your Name Engraved Herein on Netflix one night on a whim and ,,,,fuck. I dunno it just like seriously fucked me up and I think about it very regularly and just kinda feel with well of sadness when I think about it. like it's just the idea of like them not being allowed happiness and like if they had have fought for a bit longer maybe it could have worked but you fully understand why they couldn't fight for it. Plus the quote "if what you give to me is the same as what you give to others then I don't want it" is on my mind at all times and that is because of this movie.

Is there any BL that made you feel very single?

Um all of them. But if I have to give a specific one then Bad Buddy cause not only are PatPran sickeningly in love but like InkPa giving me the GL rep like when can I get a hot girlfriend like Ink to feed me pancakes and teach me about cameras.

If you could change one thing from a BL which one would it be?

Okay so I didn't actually watch Don't Say No but I am aware they casually mentioned that Natsu and Anda were together at the end and I think they should have showed that on screen. Yes maybe I am biased as I'm a hopeless lesbian desperate for GL content but still.

That One BL you detest?

I haven't like watched one that I detest but I know of the plot of Tharntype and alot of the issues with it and fuck that and fuck Mame let's not romanticise rape guys.

Your Top Five

Cherry Magic,

1000 Stars,

Bad Buddy,

To My Star,

Kieta Hatsukoi / My Love Mix-up

That Trashy BL that you low-key like

I don't know if this counts but the BounPrem episode of 7 project. Cause over all 7 project was such a let down and Im still not over what they didn't to the SammyPineare episode but the BounPrem episode was definitely the best especially on rewatch cause like when first watching it and before the end credits I was about to be so mad but then they fix it with the ending which then all together it's cute.

Your Favourite Korean BL

To My star. Fucking praying season 2 is just as good liek I dunno I just really loved it it's was sweet and handled the angst well and felt very natural and real.

But also your top 3 KBLs

To My Star

Nobleman Ryu's Wedding

Tinted with you

Season 2? Which one?

KIETA HATSUKOI!!! PLS! The manga is still going and there's tons more they could do I would just really like them back. I am also of the belief that cherry magic should get a second season or even a spinoff about fujisaki getting magic but like no love interest just her embracing these new powers and vibing with them. ( I WOULD ALSO REALLY LOVE A BAD BUDDY INKPA SPINOFF BUT THAT'S A RANT FOR ANOTHER TIME)

A bunch of dramas will air soon? Which one are you most excited for?

Between Us (cause it's been ages in the making), To My Star 2 (pls be good pls be good pls be good), Secret Crush on You (GL side couple!!! The actresses of which are also gonna be the main couple in GAP The Series!)

Tag them:

@mydemonsyourangels @spookyscaryskeleton2001 @clubdertomundulligekuessten and anyone else who wants

#i guess i probably have watched more than i thought #didn't expect this to be how i spent my study period but here we are #bl dramas #cherry magic #1000 stars #bad buddy #to my star #kieta hatsukoi #nobleman ryu's wedding #tinted with you #between us #secret crush on you #gap the series #your name engraved herein #7 project #lollymine

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rachelbethhines · 3 years

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Tangled Salt Marathon - Be Very Afraid

This is the best story arc episode in season three and arguably the best written episode since The Great Tree, but it’s still season three so there are still issues with it.

Summary: When Zhan Tiri tells Cassandra she must destroy Rapunzel in order to wield the Moonstone's true power, Cassandra discovers that she can create, with fear, red rock spikes that cause fear and freeze their victims. Varian discovers the red rocks and teams up with Rapunzel to use his amber solution on them. Meanwhile, Eugene and Lance decide to throw a talent show to distract everyone from their fears.

Why Can’t Cassandra Control The Rocks?

The series never gives an actual explanation for this. She could control them just fine in Rapunzel’s Return, so what’s changed?

There is No Destiny!

There’s no prophecy, no oracle, no grand design nor master of fate to fight back against; the characters literally have no reason to do what they do. If you want destiny to be a goal then you have to establish what that destiny is first.

What does Cassandra want? How does this connect back to Gothel, Rapunzel, and the Moonstone? Why she just failing about like an idiot here? Did she not have a plan when she threw her life away for this stupid rock?

And of course Zhan Tiri is lying here, but why should Cassandra believe her? What does she gain by listening to a creepy ghost girl? This ‘destiny’ has not been established, so therefore there’s no hook nor bait for Zhan Tiri to trap her with.

Leading directly into “you should kill your bestie’ should logically put Cassandra off of Zhan Tiri’s advice for good because Zhan Tiri isn’t actually offering anything. Temptation requires the person to be, you know, tempted by what they want, but Cassandra doesn’t know what she wants so none of this makes sense.

The writing is desperately trying to make Cass sympathetic here, but all it winds up doing is making her look like a moron instead.

This Isn’t Consistent

Not only does this fail to explain why Cass could control the rocks previously but no longer can, but it’s also contradicted just a couple of episodes later with the incantation bullshit.

You need an established magic system in place in order for the character’s actions to make sense show!

This Ultimately Goes Nowhere

Ignoring how Varian should have been in season two and how translating the scroll should have led to freeing his father, which we’ve talked about previously; this subplot should have had more impact on the narrative than it actually did. Yes, Varian’s translation winds up driving the plot of Cassandra’s Revenge, but 90% of that episode winds up being utterly pointless, including the incantations themselves, so....

I Like This Sequence; Shame It Winds Up Being Undermined Later

Unlike the majority of dream sequences in this show, this nightmare has an actual point. It more firmly establishes Varian’s fears and gives the audience some insight into what happened to him back in season one. Something we were sorely lacking. It also becomes the core conflict and drive of Varian’s character development through out the episode.

Only for the episode to ignore Varian’s real issues and fail to adequately address anything. By series end this plot point will be completely forgotten. The show acts like bringing it up once and then never acknowledging it ever again just magically revolves Varian’s character arc. It doesn’t.

So How Come Quirin Isn’t Affected By the Rocks?

He’s right there next to them and he shows no reaction to them at all. You’re telling me the man who lost his home twice to these things, almost died to them, and nearly lost his only child because of them, is just not going to respond to new creepy red ones popping up?

Quirin would have a treasure trove of trauma to explore in his own right, that undoubtedly would connect back to Varian’s own issues, but we’re just going to ignore it and have Quirin off screen for the majority of the episode?

Are These New Character Models?

Are you shitting me!?

They built five new models just for a short two minute scene, one where none of the new characters are named nor given lines, only to never appear ever again!

What the fuck? Why did you waste time and money on this? What happened to all of the other background characters you already built? Did a bunch of season one models just get lost or deleted or something?

Also why are they all wearing green? Is it St. Paddy’s Day?

This Plot Point Wasn’t Established Enough Beforehand

Look, I’ll buy that there are people in Corona who still blame Varian for what happened in season one and for the Sapoiran take over. I mean they’re only getting half the story and were directly effected by his actions whether or not he intended harm to them. But we needed to see more of it beyond just this one scene.

No one was bullying him in Lost Treasure or The King and Queen of Hearts, so for all purposes he appeared to be integrated back into society, and now you’re telling me he’s not and that Rapunzel risked his well being by forcing him to interact with people who were hostile to him back in Lost Treasure?

And yeah you can’t really move Lost Treasure back any further than it already is cause that’d leave a giant hole in the wall of the throne room for over a year. Which also makes no sense either.

Or hey, maybe it’s just Feldspar being an asshole. In which case why should Varian or the audience care?

Eugene is Wasted

Look I understand that there’s only twenty five minutes to tell this story and that Eugene isn’t the focus of the episode. I also understand that the B-plot is meant to be comedic in order to relive tension from the A plot, but this wasn’t the best way to go about it.

The B plot swings too far wide in the other direction that it dilutes the tension too much. The A plot now has to work over time to keep the urgency going. I could understand it, if the show wanted start off with small fears first, but it needed to ramp up the drama as it got closer to the climax, not under cut it.

We never see Eugene freak out over anything other this this cowlick. In fact we never see him scared of anything else beyond this one scene, which undermines Rapunzel’s arc this episode as she’s suppose to be the only one bottling things in. What makes Eugene so special that he can keep a lid on it with out consequences, or are you telling me that a dumb cowlick is his only fear?

Either answer is stupid.

I Hope You Have Copies of the Map

You went through all that trouble to steal the journal for this very reason and now here you are prancing around without it like it’s not that big of deal. Way to undermined past story arcs.

It’s like the writers know that season one was their most successful season, and therefore try to make callbacks to it whenever they can, to make up for ignoring it in season two completely, but they still don’t want to actually acknowledge anything that happened during that season so they just refer to it in the laziest way possible, rendering the previous events pointless.

So Close and Yet So Far

I’m mainly posting this whole conversation so that you dear readers will have context for what I talk about next.

For you see, this scene starts out okay and it looks like we’re finally going to address the elephant in the room regarding Rapunzel’s involvement in Varian’s past trauma, only for the scene to immediately side step the issue all together and not resolve the conflict at all.

No! Don’t Interrupt; Listen!

Or at least go all the way and accept some of the blame yourself.

It may look like Rapunzel is comforting Varian here on a superficial level, but without her verballing acknowledging what she did wrong, this action just winds up taking the focus off of Varian and what he needs and places it upon Rapunzel, both narratively and physically.

So what happens is that, in universe, it comes across like she’s just consoling Varian for her own personal comfort rather than genuinely trying to help.

Why Would Varian Ever Think This?

Okay, first off this has nothing to do with what Varian was talking about previously. Why would he jump from discussing his trauma to praising Rapunzel? You know the woman who is responsible for said trauma?

Secondly, this switches the focus of the conflict off of Varian’s specific trauma and makes it about a generic “over coming fear” lesson mixed with an out of place validation issue. Which is not what’s actually needed for his character development; nor for Rapunzel’s for that matter.

Third, being the sundrop has nothing to do with Rapunzel as a person. Her being born with magical powers was an accident of fate, same as her being royalty. She’s not innately better than anybody else because of this and nobody has any narrative reason to assume otherwise. Especially since her powers are utterly disconnected from her actual personality, choices, and actions. All three of which have become unbearably unpleasant by the last season.

Finally, Varian, of all people should be the last person on earth to ever think so highly of Rapunzel. Them being friends again is already pushing believability. Him suddenly kissing her ass the same as everyone else this season is just flat out bad writing.

Varian knows better than anybody what an awful person Rapunzel is. He’s seen her at her worse. He’s seen her not live up to her hypocritical ideals. He knows the larger problems that steam from placing people in power on pedestals. As her former victim, Varian by all accounts should be the one person who can bring Rapunzel down to earth and poke holes into her ego, even while still being her friend. Especially while still being her friend. She needs that! Writing Varian as another blind Rapunzel stan is not only writing him out of character, but it also damages Rapunzel’s own development.

Also Varian hates magic. Why would he now worship someone just for having magic?

THIS AIN’T ABOUT YOU BITCH!!!

I literally yelled that at my tv screen when I first saw this scene. Those were my exact words upon the episode’s first airing. And believe it or not, I’m not one to usually scream obscenities at inanimate objects.

I understand what the writers were trying to accomplish here. They wanted Rapunzel to ease the tension by saying something funny and to make Varian laugh to distract him from his woes; thereby defusing the situation. But it doesn’t work because of season three’s tendency to make Rapunzel the most egotistical, smug, self-centered, abusive, self-righteous twat in the show.

It really boggles the mind just how unaware the writing is. Like, surely no one makes their protagonist this unlikable on accident. Clearly they meant for Rapunzel to be an ass on purpose right? They wanted Cass to have a reason to hate her so they decided to make her insufferable to the viewer in a misguided attempt to make Cass more sympathetic? Right?

Then where is the bloody comeuppance?

I genuinely thought this was all going to lead somewhere. That Rapunzel was going to learn to be a better person and I would have been fine by that. I would have applauded the show if they had turned her into an asshole intentionally so that they could teach a mature and nuanced lesson about morality.

But they didn’t, and here I am; still shaking my head in confusion over a year later.

Seriously what the fuck happened behind the scenes to cause this? How can processionals paid by the largest animation company in the world be so incompetent?

Having Trauma is Not the Same Thing as Having a Phobia

This is where Varian’s arc falls apart. Not only does the episode fail to have Rapunzel acknowledge her past wrongs for a second time, but it also completely mishandles Varian’s trauma because it equates it to being an irrational fear. One that can be overcome through pure force of will at that, same as Lance and everyone else’s fears in the episode.

Ok first off Varian’s fear isn’t irrational. He even just said so at the start of the conversation. Varian’s trauma is very real, it’s not a hypothetical unlike clown-spiders and cowlicks. Also has been given very little reassurance that it won't happen again. Varian has no reason to trust Rapunzel or anybody else in the show. They never owned up to abandoning him previously, and both he and the audience have little reason to believe that Rapunzel wouldn’t just neglect him again if it was convenient for her.

Secondly one does not simply ‘overcome’ trauma. Oh you can deal with trauma, you can manage it and learn to live with it. But it never goes away. It doesn’t magically disappear just because you ‘faced it’.

In fact confronting it head on is actually the opposite of what your suppose to do when going through something traumatic. Studies have shown that distracting your mind after a car crash or what have you actually helps with PTSD later on. And ‘dealing with it” doesn’t mean ignoring the problem out right, but rather learning how to function despite the pain.

But as the show acts like Varian’s trauma never even existed after this episode.

This Doesn’t Resolve Anything!

What does “being special” have to with fear? How does this help Varian with his trauma? Empty validation has nothing to with what we were just discussing.

Everyone gets afraid. Everyone has trauma of some sort. Are you telling me that my need for therapy some 20 years after being physically assaulted is just because I’m not special enough? Fuck you show!

Moreover, this doesn’t resolve the story arc from season one. Varian and Rapunzel’s conflict with each other has nothing to do with self esteem. It was about personal responsibility, conflicting needs, and abuse. Yes, self image and acceptance was a small factor in their motivations, but it was never the driving goal behind their decisions.

This is yet another broken narrative promise to the audience. There’s no closure to be had from this and leaves the viewer wanting, if not outright frustrated.

In order to justify this exchange fans have to ‘read between the lines’ and make shit up in order for any of this to make any sense. People who still defend season three do by doing all the heavy lifting that writers themselves should be doing.

If it’s not on screen, it doesn’t count.

If Rapunzel never apologizes on screen, then she never apologized. If Rapunzel never checked up on Varian on screen, then she neglected him outright. If Rapunzel never acknowledges her wrong doings on screen, then she’s never learned anything. The characters pretending like she has doesn’t make it so.

Why Does Cassandra Even Want a Destiny?

Yes, Zhan Tiri is lying, there is no destiny, but Zhan Tiri being a liar doesn’t absolve Cassandra of her own actions.

Cassandra herself believes in destiny and is looking for her’s, but why?

Why does she want a destiny? What is this destiny she’s after? Why does she believe such a thing exists? What does she believe it’ll gain her? Why is she willing to risk so much for such a vague goal? What does any of this have to do with the moonstone or her mother? How does this destiny connect back with her personal feud with Rapunzel?

It’s all disjointed and confused. Nothing lines up. It’s like the writers just had this dart board full of ideas for Cassandra’s villain arc, but couldn’t decide on which one to go with, so they just threw darts randomly each episode and went with whatever stuck for any given scene.

“Oh she want’s revenge for her mother during this scene, or wait no, she’s actually looking for destiny this episode?” “What destiny?” “Who knows. Now for this scene we need her to be sad because reasons...” “What reason?” “I don't care, make something up... Uuuuh, she’s sad cause she’s not a royal guard still” “But she became a guard during season one.” “Ignore that. Kids won’t remember. Now she needs to be angry and threating here” “Why?” “Because it’ll look cool.” “But why is she angry?” “Cause it looks cool Bob! Geez! Oh but she still needs to be sympathetic so give her a frowny face afterwards. Just have Zhan Tiri remind her how much she hates Rapunzel later, so as to egg her on and keep her doing stupid shit?” “But why does she hate Rapunzel?” “Do I have to think of everything BOB!!!???”

There, there’s my non-so-accurate behind the scene’s glimpse into the Tangled writer’s room when discussing Cassandra’s arc. I could be wrong. There could have been some intricate and complex plan thought out that just didn’t make it onto the screen for whatever reason, or maybe everyone involved was so far up their own ass that they just forgot to give their main villain an actual reason for being the villain. But regardless the over all effect is that Cassandra is handed the idiot ball for a whole freaken season in order to even have a conflict and that is never good writing; or rather she’s hit in the head with it repeatedly.

This Actually Goes Against Zhan Tiri’s Plan

Zhan Tiri’s short term goal is to be released from her dimensional prison and apparently she needs Cass and Raps to fight into order to do this. This was never established before hand and goes against her disciples pervious plans, but whatever. One could argue that this is just a lie in order to get them to fight later...

However, this lie jeopardizes her long term goal. She eventually wants to wield both the moonstone and the sundrop herself in order to destroy Corona, but Rapunzel is the sundrop and you can only take her power during an ellipse, supposedly, which means if Cass actually succeeds in killing Rapunzel before then, then Zhan Tiri is up a creek without a paddle. Also if Cassandra did manage to steal Raps’ power with or without an ellipse then Zhan Tiri would still be out of luck.

This was wholly unnecessary; you didn’t have to go from zero to sixty in one fell swoop. Have Zhan Tiri claim that fighting Rapunzel will award the power to the winner or something. There’s no need to bring up the ‘kill her’ option. That should logically just drive Cassandra away and puts Zhan Tiri’s plan at risk.

The series wants to act like Zhan Tiri is this master manipulator, a chess master like Zantos or Palpatine, but she couldn’t even tie their shoes. Her plans make no sense and often contradict one another. They only work because the rest of the cast are reduced to imbeciles in order for them to work.

This Plot Point Contradicts Season Two

His fear of spiders was establish early on, and I’ll accept the clown thing as there’s nothing to contradict it, but Lance has preformed numerous times before now and has never show stage fright. He’s a huge ham and back in Return of Quaid he mentioned how much loved acting and preforming and apparently been on stage before, so where does this fear of singing in public come from? Heck he sung in public just a few episodes ago in Rapunzel’s Return.

If you have to sacrifice established character into order to make your plot work then you need a new plot.

This Song is Nice; It Just Needed to Be in a Different Episode

I’m glad Lance got a solo. He deserved one and the song is good. However it breaks the tension of the climax and gives the episode tonal whiplash.

More than a song, Lance needed an actual focus episode in season three. One that was fully his. If anyone else shared it with him it needed to be Red and Angry, not Varian and Cass.

Just imagine if this song came during an episode where he had to watch the girls. Imagine if he was singing it just for them. How much more impactful would that have been?

Now imagine that we had a Rapunzel and Varian duet in it’s place here. That would have tied the episode together better and helped to further their own stories. Glenn Slater can write lyrics far better than Chris can write dialogue. I bet you a thousand to one Tangled the Series would have solved like half of it’s problems had Menken and Slater been allowed write and actual apology duet between Raps and Varian.

Such a duet was proposed during Rapunzel’s Return but it could have worked here too, and you could have placed Lance’s solo in Day of the Animals or something, just leave Rapunzel out of that episode all together.

Nothing honestly needed to be cut music wise, yet for some reason season three has less songs than the other seasons, even when counting the reprises, and they’re mostly shorter too.

That’s mismanagement right there. Plain and simple. Someone at the top didn’t know how to balance the budget or resources and didn’t know where to the throw the money at.

You Have a 70 Foot Shield Made of Magic Hair, Rapunzel

You couldn’t think to just block those rocks instead?

Giving your protagonist a big hero moment doesn’t work if they placed the person the have to save in jeopardy to begin with show.

I Do Not Care About Rapunzel Right Now, Show

Yes, she’s the main character. Yes, her feud with Cass is the main conflict of the season and kicked off the episode. That does not mean that I automatically care about her personal feelings at this moment in time.

Rapunzel has kept such a tight lid on her real feelings for the whole episode that this just comes out of nowhere. I was never waiting with baited breath for her to confess her deep dark secrets or whatever.

It’s not even an interesting reveal. It’s just “Oh, see Rapunzel’s human too. She’s gets scared just like everybody else.”. I already fucking knew that, thanks. And what she’s afraid of isn’t even that compelling either; it’s a just a rip off of the prophecy dreams she had back in season one. The same ones that had no explanation and never furthered the story, so why should I care about this one?

You have to earn the audience’s investment in your conflict. The character’s likability, as little as that may be currently, will only carry you so far, you have to establish shit first.

Varian’s conflict has been the focus of the entire episode so far, and it’s a conflict that was set all the way back in season one, so of course that is what I’m invested in seeing get resolved. Rapunzel is once again just butting in and making it all about her when it’s not actually her story.

And if you wanted it to be her story then you should have made her the actual focus to begin with and had her learn something by the end of it.

This is Poor Choice of Words, Writers

I could be generous here and pass this off as Rapunzel not fully believing in this prophecy. After all Corona’s destruction is still a hypothetical at this point and Cassandra really has left already. Since the episode is about fear, Rapunzel is of course more afraid of losing Cassandra’s friendship as it’s real tangible possibility.

More than a possibility even, Rapunzel’s been dumped. Season three is a classic break up story, right down to the poor plotting and tunnel vision, hence why it’s so gay baity.

However, this reading only carries so far. For starters this is Rapunzel’s what, fourth prophecy dream so far? Haven’t the past three already came true, so why would she think this one wouldn’t?

Secondly, all that good grace goes right out the window once it becomes clear that, yes, Cassandra is indeed a threat; a threat that Rapunzel refuses to take seriously because she cares more about her own personal validation than her kingdom.

Even as Cassandra does succeed in destroying Corona, and no doubt harms other people while at it, Rapunzel still is obsessed with ‘winning Cassandra back’. Oh and make no mistake, this is not because she actually cares about Cassandra as a person and her needs or feelings. Nope. Rapunzel just doesn’t like being dumped.

Why Does Varian Need to Shove His Feelings Aside for Rapunzel’s Bullshit?

Rapunzel’s ‘confession’ has fuck all to do with Varian’s current issues. They do not connect in any way.

Varian is dealing with real trauma, trauma that she helped cause, while Rapunzel is only dealing with a hypothetical prophecy and one very shallow, self-centered fear. There’s nothing to relate to here. Neither for Varian himself nor the audience.

Yet for some undefined reason this is what gets Varian to ignore his PTSD flashbacks? What?

This is once again break the narrative promise. I was promised closure for Varian’s story arc and instead of that the writers just brush it up under the rug.

From the outside looking in this doesn’t come across as Varian ‘overcoming’ his ‘fear’. It looks like an abuse victim using learned helplessness to placate his abusers.

And yes, for the last time Rapunzel is Varian’s abuser.

NEGLECT IS ABUSE!!!

And and even though he is no longer her ‘responsibility’, she is still neglecting him emotionally as his supposed friend.

Varian’s and Cassandra’s Stories Undermined Each Other’s

Varian stopped the rocks. Rapunzel had nothing to do with it. Zhan Tiri blaming Rapunzel for it steals agency away from both her and Cassandra.

However, if Rapunzel had used the hurt incantation to stop the rocks and Cassandra had felt it rom the other side, then you’d have something to back up Zhan Tiri’s claim and an actual point of real conflict to carry the rest of the season. Not to mention an actual tangible goal for Cassandra to work towards, survival.

Cassandra’s conflict with Rapunzel not only prevents the resolution to Varian’s arc from being satisfying, but Varian fulfilling his arc in turn winds up cutting off Cass’s story at the knees.

It didn’t have to be this way. Varian’s and Cassandra’s arcs should have complimented each other, but instead the creator decided to make them complete for screen time and relevance.

It is such an gratingly stupid and petty decision that winds up being a disservice for all the characters involved.

Cassandra’s motivation and goal should have been revealed back in season two. Varian should have been the sole focus of Rapunzel’s Return and gotten his big hero moment there along; with an actual ending to his conflict with Rapunzel that didn’t feel so lopsided and half assed. Then Rapunzel and Cassandra could have both been held accountable for their conflict in season three, instead of pretending like their shit smelled of roses the whole damn time.

Lance Got a Whole Crowd Cheering Him On For Singing a Song, Varian Just Gets One Asshole Giving Him a Single Line of Congratulations

Did I mention this show has an odd anti-Varian bias? Cause it does. For whatever reasons his own creators hate him and that’s just utterly baffling to me. Like why create a main character that you don’t like?

I look down on professional writers who treat characters they didn’t create poorly within their works, like with James Gunn and Scrappy Doo in the Scooby Doo Movie, Adric in the Doctor Who spin offs, or even the treatment of Doofus in Ducktales 2017. I don't care how much a character is liked or disliked by fandom, that shit is just tasteless and often unfunny. But at least I understand where they are coming from when they do it.

But I’ll never understand what compels a writer to sabotage their own work; one that they are getting paid to write no less. Especially when said character is super popular with their fans. And Chris knows this. He knows the ratings plummeted without Varian in season two. He knows the merch didn’t sell because there wasn’t enough Varian products. That’s why he hyped up Varian’s return a whole week before Season Three’s airing with a massive online campaign, but he wasn’t smart enough to treat the character decently afterwards?

I mean congrats, you convinced a just enough viewers to come back to season three to keep the show on the air I guess, but you left them all pissed off and have nothing to show for it to the higher ups a Disney.

And Chris wonders why he wasn’t asked back to work on new Disney princesses shows that are currently in the works.

That is Not Quirin. That is a Plank of Wood Pretending to be Quirin.

*Beep* *Boop*...*Dad Bot Is Proud. exe*

Quirin is such a pale shadow of his season one self that he might as well not exist. I genuinely don't know why the writers released from the amber so early if they weren’t actually going to use him until the season finale.

For the longest time I honestly thought that Rapunzel sucked out his soul with that decay incantation; what with that lyric about “setting the spirit free”. I genuinely thought that would be a later plot point, but nope, it’s just bad writing

Him just saying hi to son once and smiling blankly isn’t compelling and it’s isn’t fulfilling. It doesn’t actually resolve his arc. I mean he’s at least shown spending time with his son, but that’s not enough. We need to see him acknowledge past, we need to see him acknowledge his own flaws, and we need to see him being more attentive when Varian is in need. .

Season one Quirin would be trying to stop Varian from going near the red rocks, a post season one Quirin should logically go after his son to make sure he’s alright, even if he’s know longer trying to actively stop Varian like he once did.

There’s also that damn note and it’s secrets!

You know what? That’s it. That’s the problem. The focus is all wrong in season three. Episodes get pulled into to many directions trying to juggle too many characters rather than dedicating the needed time to each individual arc.

Season two’s finale should have been a three parter with Cass’s full motivation and goal laid bare before leaving.

Rapunzel’s Return should have been solely about Rapunzel and Varian’s conflict and resolving that arc fully

Either Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf or Day of the Animals should have been a Lance episode about him and the girl’s, no Rapunzel.

And this episode should have been about Quirin and Varian resolving their issues, with the Rapunzel and Cass stuff as the B plot not the stupid talent show

There, all fixed. You don't even have to cut much, just rework the focus and leave Rapunzel and Cassandra out of conflicts they have no business being in.

This Does Not Excuse Rapunzel’s Later Negligence Regarding Cassandra

Just because the red rocks was an accident doesn’t mean Cassandra should get a free pass for all the awful things she does later. Rapunzel uses this one interaction to excuse everything else Cassandra does in season three, as if she was just some poor lost baby and not a grown ass woman out to kill them.

In fact Cass showing hesitancy here actually makes her later actions even worse. This means that she fully acknowledges that what she’s about to do is wrong, but goes ahead and does anyway, even gleefully so at times. Then she has to gall to act baffled when people see her as a threat? 0.o

When fans say Cass isn’t redeemable or shouldn’t be redeemed, it’s not because he actions are so much worse than everybody else’s (even though they are), It’s because she doesn’t act like she wants to be redeemed half the time. The show doesn’t properly set up her ‘redemption’, instead it just lazily has Rapunzel yell at us how she’s ‘not lost’.

Like below for instance.

What Does Cass Need Saving From?

Cassandra is not in danger. She is the danger.

She made the conscious decision to leave taking a world endangering artifact with her, and she later makes the conscious decision to come back and be an asshole for no adequately defined reason.

She’s never shown to be in any physical danger from the rocks, the moonstone, or even Zhan Tiri herself. She apparently can take care of herself in the wild for over a year. She also has the capability of getting a job else where and just living out her life if she wanted to. Nothing is forcing her to listen to Zhan Tiri.

Heck, even her hurt arm, the one thing Rapunzel is responsible for and could potentially be a continued threat to Cass’s well being, is just completely forgotten about.

And no, mental illness and past trauma are not excuses as well. In fact it’s rather insulting to both people with mental heath problems and abusive survivors to suggest otherwise. We don't need ‘saving from ourselves’ and we aren’t automatically dangers to anybody. Nor do we get free passes if we hurt someone. A jerk who happens to have a mental illness is just a jerk who so happens to have a mental illness; coloration is not causation.

Conclusion

It’s better than Rapunzel’s Return, but this episode was still a disappointment. A small part of me whishes this was a two parter because it has so much untapped potential, but I know it’s just be wasted in Chris’s hands.

Anyways, I consider this to be the true mid-season finale of S3. Not only did the hiatus kick in after this episode, but it also clearly divides the season between the first half filler and the later Cass conflict. As such the next entry will be the mid-season recap. See ya, then.

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#anti-tangled #anti-rapunzel #anti-casandra #varian #tangled #tangled the series #rapunzel's tangled adventure

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yangsrose · 3 years

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hellooo :> i just wanted to req how nct 127 would react to their s/o being lowkey upset because they gave their hoodie to someone their s/o hates/dislikes,, hehe it’s kinda random but i saw a couple other posts abt it and i’d really like to see your take on it since i really enjoy your writings !! (unless this has been done oopsie :<) but stay safe ! sending hugs x 😚

hi!! thank you for liking my writings 🥺💞 i feel like i repeated waaay too much ahkdb but i hope you still like it!! stay safe as well! 🤗

Taeil

He literally wouldn’t understand why you reacted the way you did

Well, more like he would be extremely confused as to why you reacted in that way

He just wanted to be nice?? And the other person seemed really cold???

Once he found out why you acted that way he would probably be more forgiving and try to ask for his hoodie back

Johnny

I feel like Johnny would tease you a bit kajdbfn

Like he would just be standing there going “ooh are you jealous that they get my hoodie and you don’t?”

But then after he found out why you were so mad he would go and ask for his hoodie back

He might feel bad that he was inconsiderate to your feelings

Taeyong

Taeyong would in my opinion be the most empathetic member

Like,, having to handle all those members probably leads him to being the most understanding person

So when he realised that you were mad at his his first instinct was to resolve the conflict between the both of you by taking back his hoodie from them

He would try to apologise to them and say that he needed the hoodie back and probably would give it to you just to show that he was sorry akjdbfn

Yuta

Yuta would be the member to catch on pretty quickly I believe

I feel like he would understand that something was off and then would be able to piece two and two and realise why you were upset

He would ask for his hoodie back and then give it to you but if you refused to take it he would give you his hoodie once you got back home or all of them if you asked

Doyoung

Doyoung would also be another empathetic member

He would ask for his hoodie back and would go home as soon as he did and would give you another hoodie so that you could wear it as a sign of saying sorry

He would probably also get you food or something that you were wanting to buy as a token of him being sorry

Jaehyun

I feel like Jaehyun would probably not understand why you were so upset over the fact that he gave his hoodie to someone else

Until you made it apparent that you did not like this person, he would probably be pretty clueless

Upon finding that out, he would go up to them and ask them politely to give back his hoodie and take you out of the place that you were in

WinWin

WinWin might also be in the same predicament as Jaehyun but he would be more lost that him

WinWin would be kind of awkward at how to ask for his hoodie back but he would probably go up to them and ask them for his hoodie back because he didn’t want you to stay mad at him

He would feel really bad and would probably do a bunch of things to not make you mad at him anymore but in the end he would be extremely understanding of why you were reacting that way

Jungwoo

Jungwoo would sense that you were mad at him as soon as he gave his hoodie to them

Upon sensing that he would take you away and ask you if his suspicions were correct, and when you said yes he would ask them for his hoodie back

He would feel really bad about it and would probably take you out to your favourite restaurant to make up for it and would probably be really sweet for the rest of the day to you

Mark

Mark would be extremely awkward and would have no idea how to ask for his hoodie back akjdbfn

He would go up to them and ask for his hoodie back but then would drag you out of the room because he feels bad that he took his hoodie back after giving it to them

He would feel really bad and then would take you out somewhere and buy you something to make it up for you because he feels really bad that he made you get mad :((

Haechan

Haechan would probably be able to pick up on the fact that you were mad at him

He wouldn’t understand why but he would know that you were in fact pissed off at him

He would probably pull you away and ask you why you were so mad at him and once you did tell him he would go over and ask for his hoodie back immediately

Would apologise for giving his hoodie to them and would do stuff for you to get on your good side because he feels really bad :((

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princessofmerchants · 3 years

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what’s the firebird fairytale retelling

Image Details: "BILIBIN, Ivan [Ива́н Я́ковлевич Били́бин] (1876-1942). 🇷🇺 Ivan Tsaryevich-Grey Wolf-Firebird, 1899." by Halloween HJB is marked with CC0 1.0

Hello! The Firebird is a figure in Slavic / Russian folklore, and there are many translations and versions of a story that features this character. Many of them also feature a character named Ivan, and the famous ballet retelling of it includes the evil sorcerer Koschei as the antagonist who has captured thirteen princesses, and the Firebird helps Ivan free them by defeating Koschei.

I am not an expert on all versions, but I read a novel retelling of the story, Firebird by Mercedes Lackey, many years back and the version of the story she draws on has Ivan (in her story, called Ilya) as a maligned youngest brother of many brothers who are all bullies to him for his interactions with the Firebird, before he sets off on the adventure that brings him to the realm of Koschei.

But if I were to guess, if SJM draws from any version it will be The Firebird ballet by Stravinsky. I will grab a few quotes from that Wikipedia page that summarize the ballet's story and bold the details that map to what we know about Vassa and Koschei, from Elain's seer visions and from Vassa’s own words about Koschei in ACOWAR:

The ballet centers on the journey of its hero, Prince Ivan. While hunting in the forest, he strays into the magical realm of the evil Koschei the Immortal, whose immortality is preserved by keeping his soul in a magic egg hidden in a casket. Ivan chases and captures the Firebird and is about to kill her; she begs for her life, and he spares her. As a token of thanks, she offers him an enchanted feather that he can use to summon her should he be in dire need.

Prince Ivan then meets thirteen princesses who are under the spell of Koschei and falls in love with one of them.

Then later:

Exhausted, the creatures and Koschei then fall into a deep sleep. While they sleep, the Firebird directs Ivan to a tree stump where the casket with the egg containing Koschei's soul is hidden. Ivan destroys the egg, and with the spell broken and Koschei dead, the magical creatures that Koschei held captive are freed and the palace disappears. All of the "real" beings, including the princesses, awaken ...

I don't believe SJM will do a literal retelling but instead, similar to what she did with Beauty and the Beast and the legend of Tam Lin in ACOTAR (the first book), draw on elements from the source material but combine it with her own world building to tell us a new version. The only players I feel sure would play a role in a retelling of this in the ACOTAR universe are Lucien (Ivan/Ilya), Vassa (the Firebird), and Koschei (Koschei).

More thoughts after the break that contain ACOSF SPOILERS about my ideas for what could happen in future books, given the above lore I think SJM is drawing on.

What I would LOVE is, if Lucien goes on an adventure to Koschei's lake on the continent to face Koschei in order to free Vassa, that Elain would join him, perhaps from two motivations:

1) To offer her seer powers in aid of this mission that would track back to the wider plot conflict already set up, with the remaining human queens, Fae wanting to land grab in the human realms (e.g., Beron), the Trove, and of course, Koschei; and, 2) Perhaps, as a way to finally face her mating bond with Lucien, not necessarily to accept it immediately, but if they travel together to help the wider conflict, they could test the bond together and see if this is something they both want to choose or not (and Lucien would absolutely go for this because, even though the chance of a rejection lays at the end of the journey, he wants to figure this out as much as she does)....then cue an Elucien love story that is layered into the Firebird retelling ☺️

And yes, I just showed my Elucien cards, but this theory of how their book could go technically allows for either outcome. But whether Elain is involved as I am speculating here, or less so, I honestly believe Lucien will be the one to travel to the continent to face Koschei to free Vassa from her curse, and free the other girls Koschei has trapped in the process.

This single line in ACOSF, ch. 7, bolded at the end of the political discussion about Koschei, is SJM telling us almost as literally as she can from the middle of the narrative, that this is what is coming, and I adore SJM for putting this in there, easing my Lucien, Firebird-loving heart that my hopes for this plotline are well founded:

“Certainly.” Vassa peered at her hands, fingers flexing. “I fear what may happen if he ever gets free of the lake. If he sees this world on the cusp of disaster and knows he could strike, and strike hard, and make himself its master. As he once tried to do, long ago.”

“Those are legends that predate our courts,” Eris said.

Vassa nodded. “It is all I have gleaned from my time enslaved to him.”

Lucien stared out the window—as if he could see the lake across a sea and a continent. As if he were setting his target.

I always hoped this would be the next full length novel after Nessian's, but now I'm thinking it might be the last one because it would end with Koschei's demise, and he seems to be the big baddie for this trio of novels, of which ACOSF was the first.

Plus the Az POV bonus chapter makes me think SJM is setting us up for him being a main character in the next book, which makes me think we're finally going to get the Az / Mor situation resolved, and that they both find partners (in Gwyn and Emerie 👀 showing more ship cards, sorry not sorry!) once they talk out 500 years of tension and pain.

So the Firebird retelling may get punted one more book, which in my head means Elain's story is held off for another book as well... though Elriel shippers might see her playing a main role in an Az novel, and thus the debates continue until we know more ☺️ (she says cheerfully - no anti hate here please!).

I hope this answers your question about the Firebird fairytale and how I see it playing a role in a future book! Apologies for also weaving in my ship theories and predictions. ☺️ But IMO Lucien freeing Vassa from Koschei does not depend on any ship being endgame, and I am ready for SJM's creativity to shine as she (hopefully!) retells this story for us!

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