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ittsybittsybunny · 2 months

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ATLA Live Action Series Review:

The Good

Aesthetically this show felt right. Sure sometimes the outfits didn't quite feel lived in, but I always felt like I was watching a fantasy world with decent effects and interesting design. Also, I really enjoyed the sets!

Bending: Yes some of the fights feel very quick, but the bending looks cool. It is certainly better than 10 benders lifting one big rock. I can honestly say the opening bending fight scene gave me so much hope for this show.

Kyoshi Warriors: I loved seeing them in live action, and I thought Suki's performance was great!

Omashu: I think the mashup of the mechanist made sense since that is an important character overall and I would hate to see him cut. However, both Jet & the secret tunnels felt sloppily thrown in.

Northern Water Tribe: I really loved the way it looked, and appreciated the two episodes we spent here. I think Yue gained more agency in this interpretation, and why shouldn't the moon spirit be a waterbender. Also, episode seven felt the most in tune with the original show's spirit.

Zuko: I think he was one of the most fleshed-out and best parts of the show! Dallas Liu really captured Zuko's spirit, and the scene between him and Aang in episode 6 was wonderful!

Soundtrack: Hearing the original soundtrack bits is always great, and when I first heard the ending music I was so excited.

Is the show perfect, no - but I wouldn't mind a season 2.

The Bad

Pacing: Turning 20 episodes into 8 was bound to lead to some cuts...but oftentimes times things felt too quick or disjointed. I think there were editing problems contributing to this for sure, but sometimes things skipped around too much without a clear purpose as to why. Also, why bring in plots from later seasons when you barely have enough time already?

Writing: This show definitely suffered from exposition dumping, though it did get better as time went on. I think the biggest example of this is actually opening in the past rather than the present. We do not get to learn along with Aang that the world has changed, instead, we get to learn that 100 years have passed....which doesn't hold the same tension or worldbuilding.

Clunky Dialogue: Along with exposition, clunky dialogue is another example of bad writing. I think sometimes I felt like the acting was kind of meh in the beginning, but then over time I began to realize it had far more to do with the lines characters were trying to deliver. The actors themselves are not bad, just cursed with awkward writing and lines that feel out of touch with the setting they're in.

Main Trio: I don't entirely know that I believe Katara, Sokka, and Aang are friends as opposed to 3 people stuck together to save the world. Aang feels a little too somber for a young kid running away from his responsibilities, Sokka is protective, but not exactly the heart of the team, and Katara is sort of just there until the last two episodes. Where is her struggle, her desire to learn so strong she steals from pirates? Also, while Gordon Cormier did a great job, Aang does zero waterbending on his own, is overly serious, and tells Katara not to fight. Where is his desperation to protect his friends? It feels like they all lost emotional depth.

Tension: Bringing Ozai, Azula, and Zhao out in the beginning immediately causes us to lose the realization there is an even bigger bad. Part of why Ozai is so terrifying is he is a primarily silent villain until the third season when we finally see the face of the "big bad evil guy" behind it all. Yes, they add to Zuko's backstory, but again, they are revealing the villains too early. Azula is the antagonist of season 2 and one of my favorite characters, so I hope they do more with her in the future. Finally, Zhao is supposed to be an example of the uncontrollable nature of fire unrestrained, instead, he comes off as vaguely threatening with the supposed true power being Azula.

Characterization: While all characters are bound to lose something in a shorter show, it still felt like certain characters were more mutilated than others. I am sure there are 100 different opinions on who, but I think the biggest victim was Katara.

Katara: Katara manages to go from a complete novice to a bending master in what feels like a matter of days. The journey feels short, and that makes the results feel largely unearned. Katara is one of the strongest personalities in the show, determined, kind, and fiery. In many ways, she is the unpredictability of water - equally dangerous as it is necessary to live. She is the child of a war who lost her mother, forced to grow up too soon, and even raised her older brother. Yes, Katara often gets stereotyped as the mom friend, but overall she feels underutilized in this show. We really don't see enough of her journey until the very end.

Iroh: Iroh was always comedic but most importantly wise. Even when Zuko is trying to give himself advice, he mimics Iroh. Instead, he seems to be used more as comedic relief without the underlying experience. He just doesn't feel right. Also, he kills Zhao instead of Zhao getting himself killed - which is less about Iroh and more about the writing than anything.

Ozai is weirdly a little too nice. Yes, he burned Zuko and pits his kids against each other, but he feels toned down in a show claiming to be more mature than the original cartoon.

Azula is perhaps more realistically worried about losing her status as the golden child, but she is also missing the cruelty she and her father share. I understand worrying about making your character cartoonishly evil, but the Fire Nation is currently a deeply nationalistic empire trying to control the world. Where is the deep-seated belief that they are better than other people, not just trying to bring balance to the world? There is a line between creating complexity and toning down the very real evil inherent in this plan.

Roku: I can only say what the fuck was that. He was barely there, and not the serious master to Aang's youthful exuberance.

The Ugly

Show, Don't Tell: The show's single biggest issue seems to be speeding through story parts by simply stating things. Instead of allowing the audience to discover, trusting that we are smart enough to understand, let's just blatantly say things like Zuko is the only reason the 41st division is alive to their faces. Even though in the context of the story Ozai literally already said that.... it's the division, the division for Zuko, Zuko's division.

Thematic Misunderstandings: I think this show makes several minor changes with major implications, such as airbenders actively fighting the firebenders, when airbenders are known for their pacifist nature and the lie of an Airbender fighting force is actively propaganda. Similarly, Aang very quickly accepts his role as the avatar and doesn't even run away in the beginning. Without this conflict between his desire to be a carefree child and the fact that the world needs him - the show loses a key aspect of Aang's character. Also, the obsession with downplaying the avatar state as something dangerous feels like a disservice to the tradition, connection, and strength of the avatar, which can be permanently destroyed as the trade-off for that kind of power. It's dangerous for the balance of the entire world, not just because it's powerful!

The Agni Kai: Zuko's fight against his father is one of the defining moments of Ozai's cruelty, not just because he is willing to fight his child, but because Zuko tried to do everything right. Zuko shows deference to his father, apologizes, and most importantly refuses to fight! The determination not to upset his father and still be grievously injured and banished is a hugely important theme for the fire nation and Zuko's life as a whole. He tries to do everything he is supposed to and only regains his father's acceptance after he "kills" Aang. Zuko's struggle between moral vs. social right and wrong in contrast to his family is hugely important to his character.

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TLDR: ATLA was a fantastical animated television show that was never afraid to show character development and flaws. When you turn 20 episodes into 8, you are bound to lose something. You hollowed out the middle, leaving the shell of important moments and events without ever wondering if all the times in between formed the true spirit of the show.

Rating: 6.5/10 It's perfectly fine and worth a watch. Not a disaster, but certainly falls flat of the original.

#atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar the last airbender tv #atla tv #spoilers #natla #i loved it i hated it i mostly sat through it #i would like a season 2 though #aang #katara #sokka #zuko #iroh #uncle iroh #azula #ozai

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faelapis · 5 months

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alright! we got one whole person interested, so here's my hot take:

the first "how to train your dragon" movie is WAY better than httyd 2.

i know everyone loves like, the cool warrior mom design, the romance and the "epic animation moments" in 2... but can we for a moment be honest and say the whole "hiccup becoming a leader / which dragon is the Good Alpha" plot was dumb as hell? also, the villain sucked?

the original httyd is pretty good about keeping the structural problem grounded in real societal fears. namely, fear of the unknown and of beasts. it makes sense for any ol' village dealing with such a problem. it was intelligently designed around a solid premise.

httyd 2 is like. actually, dragon taming is a big thing, even outside berk. and theres a Scary Foreign Man dragon tamer who is bad and just wants power. it's okay to other him. being a good guy is about being a protector instead of an evil, power-hungry guy... which hiccup never was anyway... so no real growth there. just be good instead of bad. wow. what a theme. very thought-provoking.

people act like httyd 3 being bad came out of nowhere, but httyd 2 was the original sin to me. it totally dropped the societal themes in favor of generic good vs evil fights and "worldbuilding" - despite having no more interesting stories to tell.

it also kind of ruined hiccup for the sake of developing him. like. his whole thing is that he can't fight, so he has to find other ways to contribute to society. he's the anti-macho hero. which ends up being important in convincing the village that dragons can be peaceful. he's empathetic to the other, because he's been othered.

meanwhile in httyd 2, hiccup's like. Cool Warrior Man, who needs to step up and be the hero king when his dad dies. he can fight just fine, because he has a cool dragon to fight with. so he's just like any warrior, but one who fights with weapons instead of brute strength. aka most fictional warriors who arent just "the heavy."

the first movie isn't beyond criticism, obviously. the animation was a little meh compared to httyd 2 - i get why visually its seen as an upgrade. plus, httyd 1 also did the thing of having like a last minute evil dragon to defeat... but that wasn't the point. the POINT was the village and its fears. the POINT was overcoming that.

whenever people list why they love httyd 2 and consider it superior, its like... lists of details. like, look at the upgraded character designs, the cool flying scenes, the affection between hiccup and astrid, or the clever way hiccup's prosthetic leg is designed.

but these are film *details*, not fundamentals.

if you told me the sequel to httyd was going to have a much more generic story, ignore the themes of the original and makes its deliberately lanky and weak protagonist into Handsome Hero Warrior Boy, i'd be like. that sounds kinda bad. but the Animation Details (tm) i guessssss

i know hiccup is still "himself" in 2 to some extent, btw. he's an inventor, he's intelligent, and he initially tries to talk to the villain. but none of that ends up mattering. its arguably looked down on by the movie, which really, really wants him to step up to be the warrior king like his dad. aka a generic Hero Strongman.

i'm not totally against evolving the themes of a work to fit new conflicts, btw. sequels should generally be different from the first movie. that's fine. that's expected.

but while the new conflict in httyd 2 IS born out of the results of the previous movie, that evolution feels very literal, not thematic.

namely, the evolution is "more people have dragons now." it builds the conflict from there. its based on worldbuilding, not on theme.

i don't think a very interesting evolution.

it kinda went from, in httyd 1: "the theme is fear of the unknown. how prejudice/ignorance manifests, educating oneself through compassion, the dangers of worshipping violent masculinity, and the importance of questioning what you're taught by society."

to, in httyd 2: "the theme is dragons. who has them? what they want with them? how can the Good Guy humans protect dragons from the Bad Guys? also, being a Good Leader means being a strong Hero Man who protects his friends," without asking any deeper questions related to the themes of the first movie.

and i'm like. guys. guys.

the theme shouldn't just be "dragons."

the theme of the first movie was NOT just "dragons." the first movie could've been about people being afraid of unicorns. or large birds. or unusually intelligent bears. it was not just about literal dragons, it was about societal fears and trying to overcome our base gut instincts.

i think this is what really plagues httyd 3: it builds on the themes of the second movie, not the first.

httyd 3 asks further questions that only really revolve around the literal relationship between humans and dragons. it does not understand any broader themes of what that relationship represents.

it clearly thinks its very intelligent for asking "what do the dragons themselves want?", but that question is not respected enough to be explored in any thematically coherent way.

the only real weight its given is the argument that there will always be "bad humans" out there, and so, dragons are safer in the wild. which sure is... an argument. but its a very "othering the problem" kind of argument.

it acts like its caring about the agency of dragons, but its not really. dragons were not actually portrayed as "oppressed" in berk society after the first movie, nor lacking agency. they were only at risk of "bad individuals", to which that solution is stupid. the racialized bad guy in httyd 2 didn't steal all his dragons from berk. he caught and subjugated them, mostly from the wild.

all while looking like... this, by the way. i feel like we don't talk about that enough. all the good guys are white nordics, while the only man of color is scary, domineering and cruel. in a series of movies that was once about having empathy for the other.

MAYBE if berk had been really oppressive towards dragons in httyd 2, we could've had a theme. maybe if they treated them like a dangerous commodity that must be tightly controlled despite their nominal acceptance and inclusion, we could've had a thematically tight 3-movie arc about like fear and oppression or whatever.

but that would require, yknow... making the movies be about broad societal problems, instead of just evil individuals. and only the first movie cares about making any real societal critique.

also, the solution in httyd 3 would've still sucked. these movies, in terms of writing, really decrease in maturity from 1, down to 2, to the plummeting depths of 3.

there is no relationship of oppression that is solved by completely segregating society and going our separate ways (httyd 3). just like there is no oppression that is solved just by defeating bad individuals (httyd 2). we have to learn to coexist as equals, to educate ourselves and be compassionate to the other. even if we're afraid.

that's the dream only the first movie kept in its heart.

#httyd #how to train your dragon #httyd 2 #httyd 3 #how to train your dragon 2 #how to train your dragon 3 #long post /#media analysis #media criticism #writing #ask to tag /#racism /

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littlexscarletxwitch · 9 months

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Hi!!!!! I hope you’re doing well!! I really like the way you write, I was hoping to request a fic with either Wanda or Natasha, or both if you vibe with it, and F! avenger reader with a whole bunch of pining. Maybe they go on a mission and one of them runs into like a sex pollen/ aphrodisiac that really makes them crave their crush and enhances preexisting feelings for that person. You can totally ignore this if you’re not comfortable with the idea, I appreciate you either way!!

── ༊*·˚⋆ 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲

paring: wandanat x fem!avenger!reader

tag(s): nsfw, smut with no plot, sex pollen, insatiable r (or at least I tried), wanda and nat doing whatever r needs

warning(s): MDNI, +18 ONLY read at your own risk, explicit smut, wlw sex, vaginal fingering (r receiving), mouth riding (r receiving) thigh riding (r receiving), tit sucking, slight blood kink (?), kinda dom!reader, grammatical errors, unedited

word count: 2.2k

note: Half way through writing this fic I was like "Wait, is this supposed to be smut. I mean it's sex pollen so it has to right?" and I'm still not sure but I just went with it lol. AAAAH, my first wandanat fic, I'm so excited you guys. I really hope you guys like it. It was quite a challenge writing a threesome and some parts I feel like they are bad but meh. Just go with it. Thank you, nonnie, for this request. I appreciate you just as much. I hope you like it. I'm not a native english speaker, so please let me know about any sort of mistake. Love y'all <3

requests are open! + check my rules + masterlist <3

The moment the intoxicating honey-like scent filled your lungs you felt as if your whole body shivered.

Your eyes clouded for a few seconds, your body losing balance as your legs trembled. The whole room felt like it was spinning and your thoughts were getting louder and louder. Images of red hair, tangled limbs and short black nails rushing through your mind.

“Y/n, everything okay?” you heard Steve’s voice through your earpiece, snapping you out of your thoughts.

“You have been silent for quite a while now, detka,” you heard Wanda say.

“You’re still alive, right Y/n?” Nastasha joked.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. All clear, let’s head back,” you said, trying to ignore the way your body was starting to feel different in every conceivable way possible.

As you made your way back to the quinjet you felt your heart rate increasing, you blamed it on the adrenaline of the mission, the nerves of getting out in the field once again and decided not to think too much about it, pushing everything back deep inside of your mind.

“Okay, good job everyone!” Steve congratulated all of you. “Fortunately for us, this Hydra base was empty, but it’s not always going to be like that…” he kept on going with his speech but you weren’t listening anymore.

You took a seat, feeling as if your legs would give out on you any second. It felt as if someone was hammering your poor brain, you felt your skin on fire and you felt a sinking feeling in your stomach. You felt as if your senses magnified and you felt everything ten times stronger, no matter how hard you tried to stop feeling anything at all.

“Y/n, you okay?” Clint said while placing a hand on your shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m just tired,” you said as you gently shrugged off his hand off your burning skin, not wanting him to notice it.

Okay,” he said, sitting next to you, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.

You did the same, in hopes that getting some rest will make it all go away. As you drifted off to sleep, two pairs of eyes were watching your every move. Taking down mental notes of your body language, something they would usually do. But this time they could clearly tell that something was off with you.

“Something is up with her,” the redhead mumbled, squinting her eyes at you.

“Something’s definitely wrong,” the brunette concluded.

“Can you like, check on her?”

“You want me to go through her mind?!” Wanda hissed in disbelief.

“Oh, come on. Don’t act so innocent now, Wan,” the brunette's eyes opened wide in realisation, of course Natasha knew about that. “I know you do it all the time, it’s like your little hobby, isn’t it?” the redhead teased her.

“No, I do not. Those things are private,” Wanda scoffed.

“It’s okay, I’m judging. I mean I think I would also do it if I could,” she had a grin plastered on her face.

“It’s not funny, Nat,” she rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, right. Just do it,” Natasha nudged her.

“Okay, okay,” the brunette mumbled some Russian curses and a second later her eyes were turning red.

“What do you see?”

“I’m not sure,” she said, getting lost in your mind. “Everything’s a blur.”

“What do you mean ‘a blur’? It can’t be right.”

“I’m just telling you what I’m seeing, Tasha,” her brows furrowed as she tried to concentrate even more.

There had to be something that could tell the both of them what was wrong with you. You barely talked to them when you got in the quinjet, that was so not like you. You were always trailing behind them, that was one thing they liked about you. Wherever they went, you followed them like a lost puppy.

They also found it cute that even though everyone was aware you had a thing for the two of them, you never dared to do anything about it. So the two of them would tease you, making you flustered, loving the way your cheeks would go crimson red. They liked you, they really did, that was why Wanda and Natasha were so eager to know what was wrong with you. So they could make you feel better.

“Wait a second…”

“What? What is it? Tell me.”

“I think she’s in pain, but she’s not physically hurt. No, this is deeper, quite strange really. Oh, Nat, I think she’s—”

“Okay, everyone you are free for the rest of the day. See you all at dinner. First round is on me,” Steve said, as the quinjet landed. His loud voice woke you up in the process and distracted Wanda.

You groaned in annoyance, sleeping did nothing for you, everything felt ten times louder and you felt like tearing your skin off your body.

You got up quickly and made your way to your bedroom, closing the door behind you.

“The fuck’s wrong with me?” you mumbled to yourself.

You felt your tummy sinking, a fire starting in your lower area. You closed your eyes as the pain became unbearable. But closing your eyes only made it worse somehow. Your mind was filled with thoughts of them, their hands, their lips, their kisses, their scents.

“Fuck,” it came out as a moan.

The only thing you could think about was Natasha and Wanda. And that was when it hit you. You needed them, you always had, but this time you needed them or you felt like you could actually die. They will know what to do, they could help you.

“Detka!” you heard someone banging on your door.

You gasped in relief at the perfect timing.

“Y/n, we know you are not okay. Just let us inside,” the redhead shouted through your door.

Once you open the door, they realise how bad this whole thing was for you. With just one look at you they could tell you were a mess. Your breath was uneven, your cheeks were as red as ever and a thin layer of sweet covered your whole body.

“I, I—,” you tried, but your voice simply wasn’t cooperating.

“We know, baby. We know,” Wanda cooed, as Natasha closed and locked the door behind her.

“This is bad, you shouldn’t be here…”

“It’s okay, malyshaka. We are here to help you.”

“I don’t think I can control myself…”

“We don’t want you to,” the redhead said as she stood behind you.

You could feel her hot breath on your neck sending shivers down your spine.

“It hurts,” you almost cried. “I need it to stop… I need you… Make it stop,” you said breathlessly.

And that’s all it took for Wanda to connect her lips with yours and for Natasha to kiss your neck. You swear you could come undone just by the feeling of their lips but it wasn’t nearly enough. Moans escaped from your mouth repeatedly, gasping for air.

Somehow the three of you made it to your bed, Wanda’s lips never leaving yours and Natasha firming her grip on your waist. Soon enough the three of you were stripped out of your clothes, and your eyes rolled to the back of your skull as soon as you made skin to skin contact with them.

“Fuck,” the word rolled out off your togue onto Wanda’s lips the moment your exposed core touched her thigh.

You felt a wave of pleasure washing over you, clouding all your senses and just focusing on the overwhelming feeling. Your head fell back as it hit Natasha’s stomach and she seized the moment in order to finally have a taste of your lips.

As Natasha took care of your lips, trailing her rough hands all over your torso, you started rocking your hips, Wanda’s thigh hitting the right spots on your core. It soon all became too much and you started riding her thigh at a much faster pace, knowing you were closer to your relief.

The coil inside you finally snapped, a wave of immense pleasure washed over you as you cursed over and over again, their names slipping out of your lips. You were a sweety horny little mess, you had a first taste of them and now you needed more. It was a hunger that was yet to be satisfied.

As you catched your breath, you got up from Wanda’s lap and gently pushed Natasha over the bed.

“What are you—?” she raised a brow at you, confused at your behaviour.

They have studied you before and they knew for a fact that you were no leader, you were a follower. You were also a people pleaser, everybody’s needs coming before your own. So you taking the lead in this situation got her off guard.

“Shut up,” you mumbled, before getting on top of her, straddling her head with your thighs.

Without a warning you let your weight fall on top of her, her lips getting immediate access to your cunt. Natasha wasn’t able to resist you, she started licking, sucking, biting, getting moans and whimpers out of your pretty lips.

Her hands found your thighs and gently squeezed, her nails digging into your flesh. You felt Wanda getting behind you, rocking herself onto Natasha’s abdomen. She kissed your neck, leaving love bites all over your sensitive skin.

The room was filled with your moans and whimpers as Wanda and Natasha took care of you. You didn't care how loud you were being, you felt in cloud 9 with the two Russians hitting all the right places.

Your head fell back on Wanda’s shoulder, her hands trailing up your body pinching and massaging your nipples. All while Natasha worked her tongue in and out of you, her nose hitting your clit making your eyes rolled to the back of your head.

You felt your second orgasm getting closer, you knew you wouldn’t be able to last long if they kept on working their magic on you.

“Shit, don’t stop,” you gasped.

Natasha moaned in your cunt as she felt your hips rocking even faster, and wanting to help you out, she did her best work on you. Wanda didn’t trail behind and she kept on teasing your breast and sucking on your skin.

“I’m— I’m—,” a loud moan cut you off as you came undone on Natasha’s lips.

She helped you ride out your high, getting as much of your juice as she could. She moaned at the taste of you, her eyes rolling to the back of her skull getting confirmation you were as sweet as she had always imagined. The moan she let out sent a shiver up your spine, making you squirm.

“How are you, malyshka?” Wanda whispered in your ear, as she helped you get off of Nat.

You throw yourself at her, feeling the fire inside of you starting back again, as your lips seek for hers. You kissed her roughly, biting her lower lip so hard that some blood came out. You tasted her blood on your tongue as you licked the small wound you had caused her.

“I’m sorry,” you mumbled on her lips, breathless.

“It’s okay,” she whispered on your lips.

You didn’t mean to be rough with her, but it was out of your control. The fire inside you was too strong to keep it under control.

“I want your fingers… I need your fingers,” you said, reaching for her hand and putting two of her fingers inside of your mouth.

Wanda moaned at the sight before her, she swore she was soaking wet. But right now it wasn't about her, it was all about helping you. Poor Y/n, suffering like a bitch in heat.

Once you were done sucking, you guided them to your aching cunt, letting her take care of you. Even though you had already come two times, you were still as wet and as needy. She easily pushed two fingers inside of you, her eyes closing at how warm you felt.

“She’s so tight, Nat.”

“Really? I guess we’ll have to work on that,” you heard the redhead chuckling, but you were lost in your pleaser. Through your hooded eyes you watched them kiss each other, making you even hotter and wetter. Wanda knew you needed this really bad, so being the lady she was, she quickly picked up her pace. She felt you clenched around her fingers and that only made her thrust her fingers even faster.

Natahsa loved the scene unfolding before her eyes but wanting to take part, she got closer to Wanda, her lips reaching out for the brunette’s breasts, sucking her nipples.

“Shit,” she gasped at the feeling, her finger stopping for half a second.

“Wanda…” you moaned out annoyingly, making Natasha chuckle.

“So– sorry,” she breathed out, getting back to her work.

Your hands travelled up or body, pinching and massaging your own breast, as you watched the redhead sucking violently Wanda’s nipples. Getting whimpers out of the two of you.

“Wan, I’m close,” you whispered.

“We got you, moya lyubov.”

The moment the pet name reached your ears you felt the wave of pleasure washing over you, coming for the third time.

“Fuck!” you manage to say, short of breath.

You felt the fire inside you finally being put out as Wanda’s fingers helped you ride out your high.

“You finally had enough?” Natasha joked.

“Maybe,” you shuddered, still trying to recover from the activity.

“Well, you better have, it’s our turn now.”

You playfully rolled your eyes at her, a small smile forming on your lips.

Likes, comments and reblogs are appreciated! <3

-M

#wandanat x reader #wandanat x fem reader #wandanat x you #wandanat x y/n #wandanat smut #wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff x fem reader #wanda maximoff x you #wanda maximoff x y/n #wanda maximoff smut #natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff x fem reader #natasha romanoff x you #natasha romanoff x y/n #natasha romanoff smut #wanda maximoff x reader x natasha #wanda maximoff x reader x natasha romanoff smut #littlexscarletxwitch's fic #requests by lovely anons ‘๑’

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zaenaris · 4 months

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Anime-only adaptations I really enjoyed

I really loved how the anime staff pour their love in the flashback and in the parts where the characters are described the most (bc, in the end, TR is a story driven by characters, not plot), so yeah, kudos for the kokonui, kakuiza and Kisaki centric parts that were not in thee manga and that were added as a ponderate choice by the anime team.

In chronological order

When Takemichi calls him with his nickname "Kaku-chan", Kakucho hesitates before killing him, while in the manga (ch.134) when Izana orders him to kill Takemichi, he just does it with no mercy. The result is the same, but in the anime we saw Kakucho's struggle

The parts about Koko and Inupi, their past and their fight (2x21 or ep.8 of the 2nd coure of S2). It is a very emotional and crude part also in the manga, but in the anime, thanks to some changes/adaptations/voice acting and music, manages to be even more emotional and impactful, while remaining faithful to the manga. That's how an adaptation should be done

First of all, the kiss

while, story-wise, it's clear the kiss is not fanservice, but an important moment to understand their past and their complicated relationship, no one can deny the anime kiss looks even more passionate than the manga version

Among the people that approached Koko in the manga for money reasons, only Izana and Taiju were mentioned (ch.159), meanwhile in the manga, besides them, were added also Madarame Shion - an anime only addition-

and the Haitani Brothers, as a nod to Wakui's birthday art for Koko

I already talked about it here and partially here but, in short, I like how the anime underlines even better that Koko considers himself unredeemable and incapable of detach his own identity to make money illegally

and honestly, peak adaptation: the transition to younger Koko to Tenjiku!Koko saying the same line, to make us understand that Koko still feels incredibly guilty about the past...

... and the fact both Inupi and Koko cry in this scene, a moment that there wasn't in the manga and that was an incredibly beautiful and touching addition

but while manga!Koko -ch.159- at this point is just resigned and "colder" in his decision to stay with Tenjiku, just like also manga!Inupi already calmed down, anime!Inupi is both fed up with the situation but willing to makes things right and very determined..

while anime!Koko is destroyed, he doesn't even stand up when Inupi punches him (I already talked about it here)

the little addition of Kakucho in the flashback when Shinichiro goes to say hi to Izana to take him out with him. Izana's favourite people "interacting" was nice (too bad the animation quality was a little meh in this episode, but I understand we can't have peak quality all the time)

Kakucho with Izana when he finds again Karen by chance and she tells his she's not his biological mother and he's not related to any of the Sano. It the manga Izana was alone, adding Kakucho was nice because the situation is still terrible, Izana sees his whole world collapsing on himself, but at least he has Kakucho

last one, Kisaki's "I wanted to be like you" that humanizes him a little. In the manga his death was quick and brutal. We can understands, reading the manga, he had this superiority/inferiority complex towards Takemichi, but the anime explains it more clearly (I talked a bit about it here )

Maybe there's something else that was an anime-only adaptation that made sense, even improved the already existent narration, but I probably don't remember it. These are the ones that imho, are the most important both for the characters and the narration.

I love how Liden Film followed faithfully the story but added "more heart" to it, that's what a good adaptation should do

#tokyo revengers #kisaki tetta #kokonoi hajime #inui seishu #izana kurokawa #kakucho hitto #kakuiza #kokonui #inukoko #sano shinichiro #zae talks about tr #anime manga comparison #zaenaris #haitani brothers #haitani rindou #haitani ran #hanagaki takemichi

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carnivalcarriondiscarded · 2 months

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What’s up with the ties between Sally & Eddie?

There are quite a few - to the point where I’m starting to suspect that they may be foils, or at least inherently tied together in the story.

First let's bring things back to the clocks. The “day” side has an obvious resemblance to Sally, like how the “night” side resembles Eddie. There’s not really much I can say here since we don’t know much more yet, and who knows if this has changed behind the scenes. But just think about that, the rarity of the color purple, night vs day, and the “monster”. Keep it in your head, I think it may be important.

Also the fact that Eddie is the only one with a watch, but Sally’s face has an incredibly similar face on her door.

Obviously Sally has some sort of beef with Eddie, despite him being nothing but friendly and (to our knowledge) being undeserving of it. One thought I entertained was “maybe Sally is dismissive of him because he’s a worker,” but that holds zero water when you consider how perfectly friendly Sally was with Howdy (karen Sally debunked <3). The second thought I had was “maybe Sally senses the queer in Eddie and it intimidates her” - which would make sense if Sally is a lesbian like I suspect. Internalized homophobia, anyone? This holds up if Eddie is going to turn out to be - not open about himself, but comfortable in his skin in a way that, say, Frank isn’t. Which I have a feeling that will be the case, which would likely make Sally put on airs even more so than usual.

Anyone else seeing a continuous trend of (social) masks and performances unfolding in the Neighborhood? I sure am.

But let’s talk about why I think they might be foils. They balance each other out in an interesting way, despite their only solid similarity being that Both will work/perform no matter the weather. They have a lot of closely related differences:

Eddie has been mentioned (and implied within the story so far) to have a deeper well of knowledge than he lets on, but acts humble about it. Sally has been mentioned (and implied) to know less than she portrays, but acts like a bit of a know-it-all - she pretends to know things that she doesn’t.

Eddie’s role is about helping others at his own expense, while Sally’s is using others to reach fame.

Eddie strives to connect with his Neighbors and is all about accuracy/precision. Sally is in her own little world and has proved to be more than willing to improvise / not think things through before acting.

Eddie is slow to anger, and Sally is easily irritated.

Selfless vs Selfish.

Night vs Day.

And to put them in the Johari Window - i believe that Sally resides in the Blind Spot (known to others, not known to self), and Eddie resides in either the Facade (not known to others, known to self) OR the Unknown (not known to others, not known to self). Personally I’m starting to believe that Eddie may reside in both.

It’s far too early to draw any real conclusions, and theorizing on all of this is difficult. I feel as though - as usual - we have puzzle pieces but no frame of reference for the way they fit together, what picture they build. And who knows, tomorrow’s update may shred this to ribbons, but I doubt it.

One thought I had was that they’re in cahoots about something - it doesn’t have to be something malicious or some sort of secret plot, it could simply be something they both know and are trying to keep quiet about. Eddie is trying to connect with Sally since they have this in common, but Sally is actively putting distance between them to preserve their secret / plausible deniability. Do I actually believe this? Meh. I’m just throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks.

So current base thoughts: Sally is dismissive of Eddie either because he intimidates/scares her on an internalized level, or she’s actively trying to put distance between them for a currently unknown reason. There’s probably a secret third option I haven’t even considered!

#she's just so fascinatingly dismissive of him in a way she isn't with anyone else #she exclusively calls him 'mailman' she brushes him off when he tries to talk about her halloween costume-#i bet if anyone else has so much as Mentioned the word 'pedrolino' sally would be on them abt it #much like how barnaby had to Escape a convo w/ her bc she was that passionate #so what is it with eddie... why does she feel so strongly about him in such a negative way...#ITS KEEPING ME UP AT NIGHT <3 #there is so much to unpack there i feel but i dont have the right scissors yet...#homebogging #welcome home speculation #wh speculation #man i feel so bad for eddie #he's trying to be friendly!!! he's trying to be her friend so hard!!! MAN.#i suspect that if eddie snaps in some way (he probably will) it will likely be in relation to sally #bc no one else treats him that way. like. even like... howdy keeps up an amicable pretense #but sally is straight up out here treating him like a pack mule named 'mailman' and brushing him off with obvious disinterest/frustration #LIKE DAMN. GIRL. WHAT DID HE DO TO DESERVE THIS #i love it. its fascinating. i cant wait to see how that unfolds

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o-uncle-newt · 3 months

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A guide to John Finnemore (in particular his Double Acts) for the Good Omens S2 lovers, haters, and everyone in between (I promise, there's something for all of you!)

Found this in my drafts recently and honestly, I feel this is evergreen, so here y'all go:

As I mentioned semi-facetiously in my previous post, I don't care whether you loved or hated Good Omens S2- you're probably sleeping on John Finnemore. He's a super talented writer and while he's collaborated with other writers like Mitchell and Webb and Armando Iannucci before, I still think his best stuff is his solo stuff.

But where to start? Behold! I shall now recommend a different Double Act (that is, a different episode of his radio series of excellent half-hour two-hander comedies) for every kind of person who has reacted in literally any kind of way to Good Omens.

If you love stories about two people working on opposite sides in a conflict who over time break down each other's defenses to become valued friends despite the continued conflict between their sides, with some queer undertones: Unquestionably you want S2 E4, Penguin Diplomacy

If you loved Good Omens S2 because it's quiet, gentle, and romantic: S1 E6, Hot Desk

If you like quiet, gentle and romantic in principle but wish there was a bit more plot structure: Still Hot Desk

If you like quiet, gentle and romantic but watched Good Omens S2 and were like "this is quiet, gentle and romantic?!?!": DEFINITELY still Hot Desk

If you hate quiet, gentle and romantic and want something darker and more cynical: S1 E3, Red Handed

If you were meh on S2 but did find yourself enjoying the Job minisode: FREE ROLL! You can choose any Double Act at random and will probably enjoy it.

If you loved Good Omens S2 because you love characters who give off vibes of being dim yet helpful: Well, really you want to meet Arthur in Cabin Pressure, but from Double Acts you'll do great with S2 E5, Here's What We Do, and in a very different way S2 E2, Mercy Dash

If you loved Good Omens S2 because lesbians: S2 E3, The Rebel Alliance

If you like lesbians in theory but wish that Good Omens S2 had maybe sketched out theirs a bit more: Still try Rebel Alliance

If you were annoyed by the minisodes because there wasn't enough old-timey dialogue in the olden-day bits: S1 E4, The Goliath Window

If you like the Victorian minisode because you like the era: check out S2 E1, The Queen's Speech, which literally has Queen Victoria in it

If you think that Crowley making gentle fun of Aziraphale's magic tricks is entertaining: try S2 E6, The Wroxton Box

If you like relationship dynamics where one half is trying/pretending to be cool and the other one has absolutely no interest in it and likes the first half just how they are: try Here's What We Do

If you enjoy the whole corporate-nonsense aspect of Good Omens: give S1 E2, WYSINNWYG a whirl

If you think that one of the main flaws of S2 was that it didn't have Mr Young in it anymore: S1 E1, A Flock of Tigers

If you like Good Omens because you like fandom and fanfic: S1 E5, English for Pony Lovers

And, if you love the idea of a cliffhanger but also want the satisfaction of knowing there's an amazing ending coming: Wait on Double Acts and just listen to Cabin Pressure. And when you get to the end of Yverdon-les-Bains, before you move on to Zurich just take a moment to remember all of us who nearly died for two years waiting for the finale.

Anyway, happy listening!

#john finnemore #john finnemore's double acts #double acts #jfda #cabin pressure #good omens #good omens 2 #good omens s2 #good omens series 2 #if anyone is wondering #my personal favorites are #penguin diplomacy #hot desk #and #goliath window #and i've mentioned many times that i have a soft spot for #here's what we do #both because i think it's super sweet and fun #and because i'm 99% sure that jf got the idea for a central plot point from dorothy sayers's superlative novel gaudy night

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maxiemumdamage · 25 days

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So this turned into basically all of my immediate reactions, I will say more in depth when I have time which may not be until June:

It’s occurring to me now how devastating even thinking he lost Weiss must’ve been for Whitley.

Sooo Winter handling her grief VERY well, honestly I am a little worried for her

TEAM CFVY FUCK YEAH COCO AND CO

Oh yeah, the refugees from Atlas would’ve just drawn a ton of Grimm towards Vacuo. I’m sure that was great for relations with a country that already colonized them and was now a massive burden on the economy.

Like Oscar straight up used the world Colonization we are NOT hiding it

People flinching at Nora’s scars noooooo

Oscar saying he wishes he could borrow Ruby’s certainty when we KNOW she’s never certain and just tries to put on a brave face

Even just in outline Shade academy is SO cool

Ren just immediately peeking up at the sight of Nora made me so happy, and seeing him visibly bury his emotions for the sake of supporting her (because he can see she’s doing the same) made me much sadder

Mercury tries so hard to act all scary and evil but he clearly looks miserable with Tyrian

“No Place for Royalty” is the Crown coming back? I thought for sure that the novel plots would be self contained!

I realized after a minute that MEH was Marrow, Elm, and Harriet, but I LAUGHED MY ASS OFF when I first saw that label

(Also Qrow being grouped with the Happy Huntresses…?)

PETER PORT BACK AGAIN??? DR. OOBLECK???

I guess if Salem is going North to South it makes sense to trample Vale all over again on the way from Atlas to Vacuo, but also, HAVEN’T THEY BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH????

Qrow and Willow recovering alcoholics together!

Marrow and Fiona’s uncle!

I loved Qrow’s little speech about how small kindnesses are often all it takes to restore your faith. Even when you can’t make a huge difference, doing something good, however small, will end up helping someone.

Also he’s still wearing Clover’s pin!

Robyn and Qrow friendship HECK YES

The Ruby mural!!!! The quiet little faith in her! The ironclad belief she has made a difference!

I didn’t think the portal was Ruby and co at first, I thought it Raven showing up while Qrow was brooding alone and it made me laugh

But Raven did show up, which then made me feel confused

I realize the idea was one unified kingdom against Salem but uh. Mistral is still fine isn't it?

THIS WILL BE THE DAY MY BELOVED

They even added concept art!

Real question: how did the Ruby muralist know what her boots look like? She was only visible from waist up in the broadcast!

#rwby #rwby9 #rwby10 #max.txt #rwby after the fall #rwby before the dawn #nora valkyrie #ruby rose #qrow branwen

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celaenaeiln · 6 months

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Always always a pleasure to meet another Scott lobdell hater I cannot stand how he’s shaped jasons popular characterisation

I know right?!

He's honestly a trashcan of the worst traits of humanity and it rankles me that it's him that created the popular characterizations of Jason, Roy, and Kori. He did a way better job with Bizarro and Artemis on his second run but the 2011 Red Hood and Outlaws is incredibly unbearable to read.

The way he has Roy treating Kory like a douche and the way Kori gets beaten so easily and how she acts sends invisible slime down my skin. That's not even going into how Jason talks about Kori (introducing her by bra size?!). Furthermore Jason's interactions with Bruce felt shallow and meaningless. Like they were fighting just to turn Bruce into a villain because they disagreed on how to handle villains. They would talk without talking if that makes sense. The plot went nowhere and everyone's characterization in general was surface level. You never felt anything for anyone except hate. The only person you would like is Jason and that's because Lobdell pulled out every angst stop he could think of. Even making up stuff that completely goes against who Jason was in order to make it more interesting. Also having a character who's built around fighting objectification of women and saving the common people go and abandon that to chase after some supernatural creature for fun was pretty disgusting. I don't understand this sudden dropkicking of his roots and motivations.

Genuinely don't believe a word that's said in the entire comic. 2016 felt much better but it's still written by a racist, classist, and sexist and it's still meh in terms of story. But even then there are parts in the comic where I hate the way Jason's written. It's like Lobdell has hit a learning plateau but with the bar set too low.

I don't know why this comic is so sought after when he did such a terrible job. Sometimes I feel like the worse a comic writer does, the more popular the comic is.

#thanks for the ask!#cl japanesevenom asks #scott lobdell #jason todd

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scoobydoodean · 22 days

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I saw (I think through you) something about Lucifer not letting cas die after the swan song battle but just exploding him and keeping him near

I ALSO keep thinking about how the empty says nobody has pull there, nobody has the ability to bring back anyone from there (except jack on accident)

This implies to me that chuck never let cas truly die at all because he was brought back several times

I think it makes some sense because chuck was supposedly watching the Winchester's closely and would've known what would happen if cas was truly gone and he couldn't let that happen (yet)

It's interesting that cas dies finally only after chuck abandoned the world (not watching his favorite show, feeling no obligation to help) and I can't help but wonder if Dean asking for Chucks help made him so mad (it was rude and didn't appeal to chuck like he would've needed, Sam would've done a better job asking for help because he can suck up) that he flung cas into the empty.

What are your thoughts?

I don't remember reading a post like that, so it must have been someone else—but that's interesting! Chuck's alleged lack of power in The Empty vs. Castiel's resurrections is definitely another one of those tricky little bits introduced in the Dabb run that's difficult to make sense of. I mean to be real I think the guy is a fuck up of a showrunner with ineffective communication with his writing team who therefore ends up creating continuity errors and dropped plots left and right... but I think when reviewing the previous seasons through the lens that Dabb's run requires, Chuck kind of keeping Cas in his back pocket and not allowing him to drop into The Empty is still genuinely sensible (unless you want to theorize something like "The Prestige" is going on and... meh). The speed of Cas's resurrections in 5.01 and 5.22 show God was paying very close attention to Cas and that at that time, he wanted Cas around, doing exactly what he was doing—helping defy the narrative.

We see in 5.22 that despite what happens not fulfilling what God had prophesied, Chuck is pleased with the outcome. Some may take this as a sign that he intended things to go exactly how it went, but I don't think that's true. I think Chuck was just genuinely entertained by Dean and Cas leaping out of his writing at that time. Leaping out of causality is something Dean and Cas do together in 4.18, 4.22, and 5.22.

In 4.18, Dean pleads with Cas to help him save Sam, even though Cas thinks what's going to happen is fate and can't be subverted. Cas doesn't personally act, but he gives Dean the idea that Dean then executes, leading Chuck to say "What are you doing here? I didn't write this."

In 4.22, Dean pleads with Cas again. They again fight about the inescapability of destiny. This time, it's Dean's pleading but Cas's actions—flying Dean out of the green room (somewhere Dean is incapable of escaping from on his own). Chuck says when they pop into his house, "Wait. T-t-this isn't supposed to happen" and then "Yeah, but you guys aren't supposed to be there. You're not in this story".

In 5.22, after Lucifer takes Sam over (something that was foretold to happen in Detroit), Cas and Bobby despair, but Dean refuses to give up and calls Chuck, who says, "Oh, uh, Dean. Uh, wow. I, uh, I didn't know that you'd call." Then Dean goes to Stull Cemetery alone. However, the moment that Michael begins to walk up on Dean and says, "You little maggot. You are no longer a part of this story!" Guess who suddenly appears with a holy oil Molotov cocktail?

So these moments where they defy "fate" (i.e., prophecy foretold to the archangels) seem to require Dean and Cas working together in order to be pulled off, and Chuck likes this. Viewing through the Dabb lens—it excites him maybe for the first time in years. So he keeps Cas around. He resurrects Cas twice. He doesn't mind "losing"—he wants more of these things he can't anticipate to occur.

But at some point, Chuck snaps, and he isn't enjoying his creations having free will anymore. At a certain point, he turns on Castiel, because by season 15, he's complaining about Cas the exact way Naomi did in season 8: Cas is the angel with a crack in his chassis who never does what he's told. Chuck also isn't enjoying Dean's defiance anymore, but is still (as Lilith tells us) "creepily obsessed" with Dean.

The thing is, if my theory about the devil baby brainwashing is correct, then Chuck begins to sow his Moriah finale in season 12, which means Dean's prayer probably isn't what makes Chuck mad. Something has to happen between season 11 and season 12 that acts as the catalyst for Chuck to begin his most psychologically complicated, painstakingly crafted attack on Dean's mental state ever. What my brain is currently theorizing, is that the catalyst for Chuck snapping and finally trying to force Dean to act out his fratricide fantasies once and for all... is Amara.

Chuck didn't want Amara standing in his way and didn't want to share authority, so he locked her away, but then she got out and there was nothing Chuck could do about it. He lost control. That's... one theory I am thinking of anyway. (It's possible I've been watching too much true crime).

Now—Chuck had lost control before (during the first apocalypse) but never to a degree that was life threatening for him. Team free will can do things Chuck doesn't anticipate, utilizing free will... but Amara is his equal and can literally kill him. What's more—who saved his ass from Amara? Dean—and of all things—with the power of love—with his pesky, bleeding heart—the number one thing that always seems to stand in the way of the repeated fratricide plot! Dean gets Chuck and Amara to make nice, and then they go away together, but... Amara isn't that interested in Chuck. He begins to annoy her. This is another way that Chuck loses control—control of how his equally powerful sister perceives him (This is something that's also sent Sam over the edge in the past, and Chuck&Amara and Sam&Dean are mirrors).

So Chuck loses control in this major way, and in his desperation to reassert control in the aftermath, because he can't control his sister, he focuses on trying to control his "toys". He doesn't want them defying his writing anymore. It enrages instead of entertains now. So he begins this plot, and a major component of that plot needs to be separating Dean and Cas, either through death or through emotional distance or both, because 1) his experience is that they defy his writing together, and 2) it will hurt and isolate Dean.

#mail #and cas is my best friend #chuck #12.23 #13.01 #no one can control you but you #spn and causality #amara

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crosbyce · 3 months

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#rebootkairi

I can't say this enough, but Kingdom Hearts really needs to reboot Kairi. Current story has sidelined and mistreated her so badly she's become nothing but "damsel-in-distress" and "useless pink girl" in public eyes. With me being a big Kairi fan, I cannot help but feel skeptical about her future. I'm a firm believer that Nomura will do nothing to develop her character arc and make her a good heroine. Because he never intended to. He hates her and he doesn't want to do anything with her ever again. He's the embodiment of Xehanort and his job is to utterly ruin Kairi.

With Western games emphasizing powers of female lead characters and their cultural impacts, I think Disney needs to wipe the slate clean and reboot Kairi as a whole. She's technically a Disney princess, after all, and Disney itself is dry of a good princess character lately. In the new rebooted universe, Kairi should be a main character, remaining faithful to her origin but being treated as a character, not a plot point. Her troubling background with darkness would give her reasons to fight back and prevent dark entities and masters from taking over worlds.

Now what to do with Sora and Riku? Honestly, I don't care. The two had their fair share of spotlight. They can be put aside to bring fresh characters or other less known KH characters as part of rebooting. I used to emphasize Sokai, but now I'm more on "meh". Because Sora would not make a good boyfriend based on what happened. If I sound like an angry toxic feminist, I'm NOT. I just hate soriku cringe clowns. They act as if Sora and Riku are only KH characters, forcing their shipping in most toxic ways. They, along with incompetent writing, made me absolutely despise KH lately. With more games, even Nintendo's Peach game, emphasizing more on female character development, what they did to Kairi is just an embarrassment. It's better off burnt to the ground and started all over.

#kairi #kh kairi #kingdom hearts kairi #kh #kingdom hearts #rebootkairi #kingdom hearts 2 #kingdom hearts 3 #did i tell you i really dont like soriku?

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mdhwrites · 6 months

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The Owl House's Problem with Genre

So this is more a general lesson of: You are supposed to set your expectations for something by the genre set forth by it. If you're consuming a tragedy, you need to understand that fundamental flaws in who a character is are going to doom the entire cast. That doom is inevitable for them by who they are as people. However, if a RomCom tries to pull the same trick for angst and sadness, that's when you get the Third Act Breakup in both its good and infuriating incarnates because, well, it's two genres about joy more than pain.

So what does this have to do with The Owl House? Well, it's something that I struggle with as a writer myself because I can blend genres some and that makes it hard to entirely quantify what genre a work is in. TOH has a problem where the genre will often shift between various episodes.

Like let's look at the first episode. Pretty firmly, that is a comedy adventure. It's got some fun jokes tying into the problem, the action is silly and the powers are a bit goofy to play up the comedy even as they're in danger and the show is telling a lot of jokes pretty rapidly.

Jump over just two episodes though and you have the first episode with a comedy B plot. Sure, Eda and King are having a comedy adventure of sorts but Luz? That one is magical slice of life. It's somewhat comedic but calling it an adventure feels a bit like a stretch. Yes there's a fight eventually but it's much more about the societal issue presented and making friends with some cute banter that you'd expect from a light hearted show. The fight is barely a fight and is over quickly so it just... comes across as something you'd see in any magical school show. Not necessarily bad but not in the genre TOH claims to be. Covention is very similar where there's not actually any real adventure element as it just does some world building until its fight scene mostly. Even then, besides a quip, the fight itself isn't funny.

And mind you, SOME genre blending is actually a good thing. A comedy knowing when to slow down for a serious moment is good. Times for a party to breathe in town can lead to great chances for sides of characters you otherwise wouldn't see. There's a genuine back and forth to be had there.

But it shouldn't ALWAYS be contrasting like that, especially with your main character. Luz actually has VERY little to do with the comedy side of the show. Almost always, there's a moment or two in an episode but the majority of the comedy is either through comic relief characters or explicitly through the B plots. She does just enough comedy to get her character across (which is part of why it fades from her so much in S2B) but no more. Sometimes, she's even gone from the adventure elements too because Luz is too caught up in romance or drama or slice of life stuff to even be put in peril, or isn't until the very end. Like Hunting Palisman has a couple cute jokes but it's mostly a serious affair... except for giving Hunter shit. Otherwise, the show honestly treats Luz mostly seriously. She isn't funny to me as much as she is cute when it comes to how she's trying to express herself which is fine for an adventure, much more questionable for something specifically branded as a COMEDY adventure.

But if it's not the greatest comedy, what genre fits TOH? Was it just listed wrong? Well, pretty much EVERY genre falls into this sort of problem with TOH. It's not a great slice of life because it's not inventive enough to make many of these situations interesting. It's most archtypical episodes are considered some of its worst. It's not a great adventure because the action is pretty meh most of the time and there is zero threat to the main characters so there's no tension. No threat/tension means it's also not good horror. It spends a LOT of time on romance but all of its romances are bland and samey and when they are together as a couple, they often struggle to do anymore than fluff. As a drama, there's never any consequences to anything so the angst feels hollow as it just makes an episode feel bad then moves on. And finally, as a fantasy show, its magic is really basic, kind of boring and there's nothing unique to its world or rules that don't make it feel like it's not just the modern world with more teeth and that's not great fantasy.

The best stories know what they aren't as much they know what they are. Genre blending is a good thing but there's a point at which you're just a composite sludge. Master at nothing, impressive at little.

And there is no genre TOH impresses with.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

#the owl house criticism #toh critical

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stardusted-queerness · 1 year

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Writing Resources

I've been writing all my life, and I've been saving resources I use over the past couple of years. I'm gonna post them all here, so that others can use them because some of these are rather obscure.

Resource: Character Profile Desc: a 20 page PDF file that helps you better flesh out your character. PDF is editable directly. Very useful for any type of character.

Resource: Character Sheet Desc: a very long character sheet hosted on DeviantArt. I'm not sure if it's still being updated, but it is VERY extensive and covers everything from the basics to pet peeves. Best used for the main cast.

Resource: Name Generator Desc: a site that hosts a number of name generators. You add a few variables, and it gives you a list of names. Has everything from a "quick name" generator to a "plot generator". Very useful for a variety of things (not just writing).

Resource: Worldbuilding Prompts Desc: a site with writing prompts. Pretty good for getting the basis of your world

Resource: World Anvil Desc: a site to house all of your worldbuilding. Basically acts like a wiki, but for worlds. Has a premium version, but the free version works just fine (but you're limited to 2 worlds and ~175 articles for each world). Can be used for any type of writing: creative, screenplay, even ttrpgs like DnD.

Resource: Inkarnate Desc: Map-making site. Pretty cool, and has assets that allow creation of dungeon maps, world maps, and even scene maps. The free version is a bit meh on the assets, while the pro version ($5/month or $25/year) is a lot better. Additionally, the free version limits you to 10 maps, while with the pro version, you can create ~1,500 maps. If you use pro and then cancel your subscription, any maps that you created while using pro will be locked. You will not be able to edit them. I learned this the hard way.

Resource: Gallery of Faces Desc: pretty much like the "thispersondoesnotexist" site, just under a different name. AI-generated human photos. Can edit the settings to include a specific age group, a specific sex, etc. Really good for people who aren't good artists and need/like having a visual of their character.

Resource: Fantasy Calendars Desc: Allows you to make a completely new calendar. You can choose the names of the months, weekdays, everything. It's an absolutely wonderful tool and really helps if you don't want to use a modern calendar. This is the calendar I made myself. It's just an example of what you can do.

Resource: Word Combiner Desc: a tool to combine up to 4 words together. Shows just about any and every possibility. Found this useful when trying to make a name or a language.

Resource: Fantasy Language Generator Desc: another generator, but for languages instead. There's a few variables you can mess with, and it'll generate counterparts to the 30,000 most commonly used words in English. You can save the language as a file and load it on the site at a later time. Completely free.

Resource: Word Counter Desc: Just a word-counting site. Useful if you frequent Discord & use bots like WriterBot or Sprinto (writing sprint bots), as you only have 2 minutes after the sprint ends to submit word count.

Resource: Worldbuilding Checklist :) Desc: a very extensive worldbuilding checklist. Covers everything from races to the economy to the current fashion trends. Really awesome resource.

All of these have proven to be really useful to me, so I wanted to share these. I just hope these are useful to others ^_^

#writerblr #resources #useful #writing #writing resources #character sheet #writers on tumblr #writers #write #helpful #i really hope these help someone else

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crazy-loca-blog · 18 days

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OK, so... readings of the last two weeks... given the fact that things don't look good for Choices, now it honestly feels like I'm trying to finish all my pending books before the app says farewell, so in the next few weeks I may revisit some old classics I never got to read when they were released, so I don't think I'll be posting about them.

Again, these are opinions no one asked for but I need to vent and of course, I'm leaving them under the cut just to avoid any potential spoilers for non-VIP players.

I started reading Hot Shot and I'm low key loving it? Yes, we have this annoying hockey superstar that has some serious anger management issues and that many people hate. But I can't help being a sucker for slow burns and secret romances, and that's the path I'm following here. I decided not to play the diamond scenes where the MC and the LI kiss and wait until the story forces that kiss. That led to having a book with a lot of sexual tension between both characters and I live for it! I also like there are also lots of interaction with secondary characters. But what has really caught my attention is how the LI seems to understand the fact our MC constantly needs to prove herself to achieve her own professional goals and how he's willing to restrain from doing very public things in order to not damage that part of her life. Overall, it's been a fun read (but I think it has to do more with the path I've followed than with the actual story) but I don't see it having a second book.

Guarded is the second book I started reading. Meh. Five minutes into the book and the MC and the LI are already attracted to each other, that killed my mood since the very first moment. My guess is they took that forgotten plot from Red Carpet Diaries where our MC had a stalker and developed that idea (maybe you don't remember, but that storyline in RCD led to nowhere), then added an undercovered bodyguard who acts as our "fake boyfriend" and that's it. So far, we've only had cameos by Cassandra Leigh and Chris Winters, when they could have used so many characters from the app! Disappointing, to say the least. Unless something really mindblowing happens (I doubt it, it's been 16 chapters already), this will probably be a forgettable book.

Last, but not least, I binge-read The Cursed Heart 2 in three days, it was my book for the weekend. I wasn't convinced about the idea of having a second book here because in my opinion the first one wrapped up the story really well, but I enjoyed the change of pace of the second book. The writers went straight from a book that's absolutely mislabeled in the sm*t category to a fantasy/adventure story and delivered a nice reading, adding a few plot twists I didn't expect. I don't know who the team behind this series is, but once again, the finale was very well executed, and again, the writers did an awesome job at not leaving any unanswered questions (well, there was maybe one thing I would've liked to know that wasn't covered, but it doesn't affect the plot at all). Good plot job in an app where plot doesn't seem to matter anymore.

#playchoices #choices stories you play #hot shot #guarded #red carpet diaries #the cursed heart

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strangestcase · 8 months

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Not sure if you've ever made a post like this/someone has already asked this and you've answered but I was wondering if you had a list of J&H adaptions (of any kind and as well as other fans making things that are just online stuff rather than big professional things) that you really like and think people should get into if they haven't really explored or even know of just yet? I'm curious because I've only branched out a little bit and got some stuff that was fairly. Meh.

I have made a few posts about the matter but! I’ll gladly repeat myself.

the trick with finding good J&H adaptations is to forget about 1:1 plot accuracy and instead focus on theme accuracy. You’ll be pleasantly surprised to discover a lot of adaptations (including crossovers and pastiches) understand the book and what it’s getting at.

Here’s my personal list of recommendations:

-MazM Jekyll and Hyde: a Korean visual novel that adapts the book to a T. The main timeline (chapters 1-8) are free to play, but chapters 9-10 and a few other tidbits are very cheap. Since it’s styled like an RPG, you can talk to NPCs that will give you some insight in the historical and cultural context of the novella. It has a spin-off game called Hyde and Seek in which Hyde is one of the antagonists, if you’re interested.

-Le Testament du Docteur Cordelier aka The Doctor’s Horrible Experiment: originally released as a TV movie in 1959 but later released in cinemas, this Jean Renoir production tightly follows the book plot with very small changes. The biggest change is that the story is set in 1950s Paris rather than 1880s England, with all the characters having different names. It has a budget of five dollars and a shoestring but it’s very well written and well acted, with a professional mime playing Jekyll and Hyde. My friend @nemeyuko has a copy with English subtitles. WARNING: there is a rape scene near the end.

-I, Monster: a 1971 Amicus production (basically a knockoff Hammer movie) with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing as the leads. Some character’s names and events are changed, but the plot is very much recognizable as a Jekyll and Hyde adaptation. The setting is also changed to the Edwardian period. This adaptation focuses on the psychological element of the story, including overt references to Freud and modern psychoanalysis, and putting the spotlight on Jekyll’s addiction to the serum.

-The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: 2003 Norrington movie that has almost nothing to do with the comics it was adapting from, but it’s considered more enjoyable by most people since it isn’t as dark and gritty. I specially recommend the movie for its take on Jekyll/Hyde, since it doesn’t shy away from the addiction angle. Hyde is entirely done with practical effects. The movie novelization is available in the Internet Archive, and it has a bit more focus on Hyde.

-Jekyll and Hyde at the Old Vic: a dance adaptation that reimagines Jekyll as a dorky botanist in 1950s England. It doesn’t have any dialogue and it’s mostly about an angsty love story but I really liked it (basically imagine Jekyll and Hyde meets Little Shop Of Horrors, and I’m not exaggerating!). It was available for free on YouTube a while ago but it’s been taken down- if anybody has any recordings let me know!

I have a rather lengthy list of adaptations I’m watching on YouTube, a lot of which I haven’t even started yet (and a lot of which aren’t particularly worthwhile) but here’s a little documentary and a couple of funny sketches.

#jekyll and hyde #the strange case of dr jekyll and mr hyde #dr jekyll and mr hyde

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