#lance is very interesting and complex character to me

[empty-blog-for-lurking]

Ugh now i'm thinking.... what will happen when Lance, fucked up and irreversably changed, comes back to Earth? How would it feel for him to see his family and friends after everything hes been trough?

(if you can torture him then i might as well join the party)

(I am so sorry this is so late) Welcome aboard on langst train! Here we torture Lance as enrichment for both ourselves and our boy!

Ok i am going to be honest here, i dont really have much planned out for Lance as much as i had Kuron planned out. I do think that part of his spiral is because of differences grown between him and his family. Like i imagine this au taking place a few years after Allura "died" (yes it took years for Allura to like become alive, gather herself, gain back her strength, and search her way back home).

During that time Lance was with his family. And he's Happy! He finally got back to his family! He has achieved his dream! He even met his hero! So he should be happy or atleast at peace right?

Wrong! There is Allura's death he is mourning, he is dealing with trauma from war, he feels guilty and mourning Kuron's death, he feels aimless and directionless, he died, while his family is still alive i am pretty sure his home and earth is not in good shape.

And then there is his family. And at first glance it feels like everything is fine and dandy but as time goes on they realize that well things have changed, specifically they all have changed. Lance is more reserved, isolating himself, ticking all boxes of depression. Like it is still him but also practically a shell of himself. His family has changed too, they are clingier to him and each other while also being reserved themselves. But they are trying! Trying to be the people they used to be! Especially Lance who's acting like Nothing Happened at all!

All of them want to go Back To Way Things Were, but are too changed to do it. They all expect the other to be the same and that Lance returning would have fixed things except it did not. It really did not, if anything it kinda caused the drift to grow wider and wider.

While this is all going on Lance's powers are manifesting, and they start with growing sensitivity towards quintessence, mood swings, knowledge about things he shouldnt have, etc etc. And one day he just snaps and runs away, and no one has any idea where he is, and he is only found when Kuron is alive again (btw he went full fmab on his body, made the body from scratch, stole Kuron from Shiro's mind and succeeded, suck on that Elric bros) which results in his coma where he is actually in astral plane falling more into his powers and the horror and how it is changing him.

And the worst is he is both hating and loving it. To him he can finally do something, these powers can help him help others, right his wrongs, save others like he saved Kuron, so he just throws himself into learning more about it and about quintessence and actively choosing to let it change him more because than he will finally become something that needed for others since "Lance" was clearly not enough. But he also hates it because he just wants to go back to way things were, back to the way he used to be. And his powers are very affected by all this which further affect his mind so it is a downward spiral all the way down.

Also the powers are not good for him at all, or any humans for that matter. It is not exactly killing him anymore but it is not good for his sanity.

In short to answer your question, it will be bad, it will be so bad, no one in this house is coping at all, shit's hitting the roof my dude

#Girl help i went missing for 2 years and my family now has separation anxiety #lance voltron #lance serrano #lance mcclain #vld lance #lance vld #post s8 au #voltron legendary defender #voltron #vld #empty thoughts #lance is very interesting and complex character to me #I have like few traits that are must in his character #First is duality- for every trait he has he will also have a contradiction to it #Like yes he is selfless and works best as a team player but he also really wants to showoff and can be selfish #He is incredibly emotional mature and great observational skills but he can also be so 17 year old class clown about it #he is the most extroverted talkative person there is he is also so lonely #He is the most genuine guy ever he is facades over facades over #He is laidback but he is also efficient and will get shit done #The only exception is his undying loyalty he will ride and die for you #But even the ppl he cares about depends entirely on him Pidge cld eldctrocute him in s1 and he didnt even care but Keith cldnt even breathe #in his direction in s1 #And this bleeds into his wishes as well #Every wish of his that got fulfilled had a price #He is in space? He misses his family. He is in a supercool hero team like he wanted? He wonders if he's doing enough. #He is dating the girl he liked? Well it wasnt healthy for either for them #He is a tragic character in the role of a comedic character playing a hero character #his thing is that he is human in all human messiness and glory #he is adaptable and fits in every role that is needed of him but never in the role he wanted or in the way he wanted #truly an enby bi icon

[spiderdreamer-blog]

Tarzan (1999)

It's hard to define sometimes where the end of the Disney Renaissance period from the late 80s through the 90s is. After the release of The Lion King, the 2D animated features steadily made less money and critical acclaim became more mixed. There was a sea change occurring thanks to more competition from companies like DreamWorks and Warner Bros., as well as the advent of the computer. For me, the dividing line is 1999's Tarzan, mostly because it's after this point that we get to what I and others call the 2000-2004 "experimental" age with films like The Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Lilo & Stitch, and Treasure Planet. But Tarzan has much in common with those films, representing a step away from the Broadway musical traditions and into a new, intriguing arena of animation storytelling. It's genuinely one of my favorite Disney films to revisit, and I hope this review helps explain why.

The story takes Edgar Rice Burroughs' initial novel Tarzan of the Apes as a guideline more than an actual adaptation, namely ditching concerns about nobility wealth inheritance and unflattering black African caricatures (the spinoff TV series would deal with the latter in trying to be, uh, less problematic about such). We pick up with Ye Olde Dramatically Convenient Boat Wreckage in a truly commanding opening sequence set to Phil Collins' anthemic Two Worlds. Tarzan's unnamed parents land in Africa and are put in parallel to gorillas Kala (Glenn Close, at the time coming off a very different performance for Disney as live action Cruella De Vil) and Kerchak (Lance Henriksen). Tragedy strikes for both families, and where one loses his parents, another gains a son. But Tarzan (Alex D. Linz as a child, Tony Goldwyn as an adult) grows up knowing he is "different", desperate to prove himself as an ape and belong. He seems to find an equilibrium, becoming best friends with Terk (Rosie O'Donnell) and Tantor (Wayne Knight at his most nebbishy), and even managing to vanquish Sabor, but then strangers arrive. Strangers who look like him, in the form of British scientist Archimedes Porter (Nigel Hawthorne), his daughter Jane (Minnie Driver), and their guide Clayton (BRIAN BLESSED). Now things steadily grow more complicated as Tarzan wishes to learn all he can about these outsiders and himself, but what might it cost?

One of the first, most notable things about the film to me is its complexity in the writing and characterization. Looking back, the Renaissance can have a problem in terms of male leads being love interests who don't get as much focus or slightly bland focus-tested "likable". This isn't true for ALL of them; the Beast has many layers to his personality, while Simba and Quasimodo are great, imo, because they have more baggage tying them down and thus more to rise above for true heroism. Nor does it make most of them bad characters. But it was notable enough, as was the tendency for them to be overshadowed by the villains or sidekicks, for co-directors Kevin Lima/Chris Buck and writers Tab Murphy/Bob Tzudiker/Noni White to slightly...course-correct.

Ergo, Tarzan himself is very much the main focus here. There's only one major sequence that he's not really involved with, and even when he's not onscreen, the other characters are as intrigued by his contradictions as the audience. (Insert your own Poochie jokes here, though obviously it doesn't come CLOSE to that) We truly feel his anxiety about fitting in, and the lengths he goes to are intensely relatable even at their most self-damning.

The other characters, too, feel richer and more lived-in than many of the standard types. Kala is a mother figure, one who tries to make Tarzan feel like he belongs, but is deeply scared of losing him. Kerchak is possibly my favorite character in the film because of how much you have to read into his actions because he holds so much back emotionally until the very end. Even then, he comes off as a more realistic harsh father figure than a caricature, and we can always understand where he's coming from. Jane is one of the best Disney love interests, meanwhile, feeling like a modern romantic comedy heroine with a lot of drive and initiative, as well as being just genuinely nerdy, which you don't often see even today. Clayton manages a nice two-step of seeming like an obvious bad guy but playing things down the middle until he gets what he wants. Even the comic relief gets good moments, such as Professor Porter gently supporting the romance or Tantor standing up for himself at a critical juncture.

Of course, what helps here is that said characters have some of the most beautiful environments and animation backing them up in Disney history. The African jungle is depicting as a kind of painterly, hyper-real fantasy, with impossible tree shapes and vines that bloom in the sunlight. And the then-revolutionary Deep Canvas CGI process allows Tarzan to soar through them, the camera spinning and rotating with each movement. The design sensibility is "classical" Disney to a large degree, but with slightly longer faces or larger eyes to add expressiveness. The California, Parisian, and Florida animation teams all clearly busted their asses to make this come to life. And Glen Keane's work with the Paris studio on Tarzan might be the best of his legendary career in terms of the variety of movements and subtleties in expressions. So too goes the rest of the supervising animators: Ken Duncan makes Jane truly lovable and wholly distinct from the likes of his Meg or Amelia; Randy Haycock gives Clayton a macho swagger that feels entirely his own rather than feeling like a Gaston ripoff; Bruce Smith combines remarkable anatomy work and microexpressions with Kerchak; Russ Edmonds' Kala is warm and motherly while never letting you entirely forget she's a gorilla; Dave Burgess makes Porter funny with his slightly squat, short shapes; and Mike Surrey and Sergio Pablos make for an excellent duo on Terk and Tantor in terms of contrasting their size, as well as the latter giving nervous-nelly body language to such a huge character. That's harder than it looks.

The aural end is just as good. Much hay and memery has been made of Phil Collins going ridiculously hard on the storytelling songs, which I fully support. But it really is true that they add so much here and take the burden off the characters in terms of singing save for the improvisational scat number "Trashin' The Camp". I'm partial to "Strangers Like Me" in terms of the earnest yearning and connections that Tarzan makes over the course of it. And of course the various versions of "Two Worlds" are essentially the mission statement of the film, complete with absolutely bitchin' percussion. Mark Mancina's accompanying score is also excellent, sounding like a fusion between The Lion King (which he produced/arranged for both the film and Broadway show) and his action movie work on projects like Speed or Bad Boys. Particularly great is the cue that plays when Tarzan defeats Sabor and builds up to his classic yell, which milks the heroic triumph for all its worth.

The voice cast is also excellent top to bottom. Goldwyn has a deeper timbre than many Disney male leads, less of an ingenue, and this adds to the stormier emotions; we truly feel his pain on lines like "Why didn't you tell me there were creatures that look like me?" But he's not TOO grim, thankfully, and gets some good subtly funny moments such as sounding out monkey noises in a conversation that Jane only hears one half of. Close is properly maternal, of course, getting her best showings in emotional one-on-ones with both Linz and Goldwyn as they hash out their relationship. Henriksen, like the animation, wisely underplays Kerchak and lets the emotion come out through his gruff, gravel-pit voice rather than obviously signaling things. Driver is hilarious and winning as Jane, getting some of the best laughs and most sweetly tender bits of the proceedings. It's all the more impressive when you consider she played Lady Eboshi in the Princess Mononoke dub the same year, which is the utter opposite of this performance. BRIAN BLESSED doesn't do a lot of his patented BRIAN BLESSED yelling outside of some choice bits at the end, but he makes a meal of Clayton regardless as a charismatic asshole, and I like how he plays a climactic bit of manipulation in particular. Hawthorne gets a much better showing here than his previous Disney voice role as Fflewddur Flam in The Black Cauldron, daffily sweet and humorous in equal measure, while O'Donnell and Knight are familiar vocally but use that to inform their characterizations rather than distract.

I think what I like most about this movie is that it feels incredibly well-rounded. Some Disney movies from this period might have a great villain or sidekicks but a weaker protagonist in Hercules or strong protagonists/villains but a weaker supporting cast as in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. (Then you have Pocahontas, which sucks on ALL ends!) In Tarzan, everything feels of a piece, and nobody jars against the tone or mood. Combine that with the dizzying highs of the animation and truly excellent emotional beats, and you've got a real winner that stands the test of time in my eyes.

#disney animated canon #tarzan #disney's tarzan #reviews #analysis

[wealmostaneckbeard]

Critical Role Plays Lancer (hypothetical)

What if the core cast of Critical Role played the table top Mecha role playing game Lancer? Here are the CR cast members paired with the most entertaining mechs for their style of play:

Travis Willingham in a HORUS Balor

In the major D&D campaigns Travis has shown a preference for melee combatants who engage with dark unsavory powers. The Balor is a huge mech that eats other mechs using nanite swarms. Those same nanites probably contain the consciousness of freedom fighters-turned-terrorists-turned-into-a-hive mind. It's a perfect match! If the Balor is equipped with an A.I. called a Non-Human Person then there is a possibility that Travis's pilot-character could get eaten by his own mech!

Laura Bailey in a Harrison Armory Barbarossa

Laura apparently likes long-range damage dealers and typically those are very delicate and agile characters. It would be intriguing to see how she'd handle the Barbarossa. The Barbarossa is a tanky behemoth armed with the APOCALYPSE RAIL, an anti-warship weapon that requires the user to stay still in order to charge. It would be very interesting to see if the pilot that Laura creates would fire into a melee scrum and potentially kill her allies to achieve victory. She could play around with the anxiety her pilot would experience while screaming "Get Clear of the Blast! Firing!" Or she could role play as someone totally ruthless who justifies friendly fire with the fact that dead pilots can be flash-cloned and mechs can be salvaged.

Marisha Ray in an IPS-N Tortuga

Marisha Ray is from Kentucky. The Tortuga has Shotguns. The synergy is naturally there, you guys. Joking aside, the Tortuga would give Marisha a lot of role flexibility, she'd be able to defend her friends from enemy advance or she could push into the fray headfirst. If her pilot is tech-savvy, she could even engage in some cyberwarfare which the Tortuga is kind-of good at. Plus the Tortuga comes with a really boring A.I. that could act as the straight man for whatever jokes Marisha's character would come up with.

Talesin Jaffey in an SSC Mourning Cloak

Mr. Jaffey would probably go with a homebrewed mech if given the choice. Since I cannot imagine the Eldritch Mechanism he would craft, I am forced to prescribe him a Mourning Cloak. It is one of the few mechs capable of teleporting, which it doesn't do very precisely. There is a slight chance that Talesin might roll poorly while determining teleport distance, causing his pilot and mech to go... someplace else... and only reappear after the scene is over. He and the game master could have a lot of fun with that.

Liam O'Brien in a HORUS Goblin (warning: robo-codpiece, or maybe you like that kind of thing, IDK)

In tactical table top action, Liam shows a propensity for complexity. And nothing is more complex than the little Goblin which contains more electronics within it than is physically possible. The Goblin can hack allies to make their systems better, hack enemy systems to make them much worse, and even hack reality to make Things happen. Liam could reprise some of his favorite shticks like "I'm just a little guy, give me uppies," and "This goblin is named Nott and is my best friend."

Ashley Johnson in a Harrison Armory Genghis

In the first two major D&D campaigns Ashley played melee damage dealers and then branched out into a wildfire druid in the third. So a striker type mech that plays with fire would be consistent with her previous choices. Enter the Genghis, the carefree pyromaniacs choice of mechanized chassis. The mech builds up heat from weapons like it's Krakatoa flamethrower or a GMS Thermal Lance and then releases it in a blistering-blinding heat cloud. Incendiary damage continues burning victims until they douse themselves so Ashley can just set and forget. Finally I'd love to see what kind of pilot Ashley would come up with who would use a mech that's just as terrifying as the Balor.

Sam Riegel in an SSC Swallowtail (oh gods... please excuse the terrible mspaint job... hopefully this looks funny in a good way)

In D&D, Sam seems to like playing as unconventional back-line characters. He's been a tricky bard, a sneaky goblin/halfling rogue, and most recently a literal healbot with rage issues. So I think the Swallowtail would be a good fit for him. It's less of a mech and more of a high quality holographic movie studio on legs. It can make simulated stunt doubles of allies, use it's cameras to focus in such excruciating detail that invisible subjects are revealed, and even turn itself and everyone nearby invisible so they don't mess up the film shoot. Sam's pilot character could be some kind of propagandist or movie set manager who is infuriated by how messy actual warfare is.

Finally, Last but not least:

Mathew Mercer in an IPS-N Lancaster

I would be automatically fascinated by Mr. Mercer's interpretation of galactic human society in the year 5016u and the journey he would take his players on. But if he was a player then it would be interesting to see him controlling a Lancaster, the apex of mobile field repair platforms. Anything bad that can happen to a mech (damage, burning, hacked, immobilized) can be undone by the reliable Lancaster and it's limited pool of resources. I'm confident Mercer would be able to manage those resources wisely although it would be funny if he didn't. Role playing as his pilot, we'd get to see Matt do his best futuristic tow truck operator impression, which I think would be a very gratifying experience.

#critical role #lancer rpg #crossover? #sam riegel #marisha ray #ashley johnson #liam o'brien #talesin jaffe #laura bailey #travis willingham #matthew mercer #IPS-N #H0RUS #SSC #Harrison Armory #ttrpg #barbarossa #tortuga #lancaster #genghis #goblin #balor #swallowtail #mourning cloak #mech #mecha #mechs #mechas #pacific rim #au

[maddiesbookshelves]

Six Crimson Cranes (#1&2) by Elizabeth Lim (February 2023)

Shiori, the only princess of Kiata, has a secret. Forbidden magic runs through her veins. Normally she conceals it well, but on the morning of her betrothal ceremony, Shiori loses control. At first, her mistake seems like a stroke of luck, forestalling the wedding she never wanted, but it also catches the attention of Raikama, her stepmother. Raikama has dark magic of her own, and she banishes the young princess, turning her brothers into cranes, and warning Shiori that she must speak of it to no one: for with every word that escapes her lips, one of her brothers will die. Penniless, voiceless, and alone, Shiori searches for her brothers, and, on her journey, uncovers a conspiracy to overtake the throne—a conspiracy more twisted and deceitful, more cunning and complex, than even Raikama's betrayal. Only Shiori can set the kingdom to rights, but to do so she must place her trust in the very boy she fought so hard not to marry. And she must embrace the magic she's been taught all her life to contain—no matter what it costs her.

Would I recommend it to anyone? Definitely, at least for the first book. The second I'd only recommend if you're particularly excited at the idea of a sequel. But if, like me, you were kinda disappointed to know there was one, then don't read it.

Level of (dis)satisfaction based on the summary and my expectations? The first book exceeded all of my expectations and the second ran them over with a 5 tons semi and set them on fire. In a bad way. I was not pleased by that sequel.

My thoughts on it? Six Crimson Cranes was a great story with amazing worldbuilding (like Lim's other series, The Blood of Stars) and compelling characters. The romance was actually very cute and 90% of that was thanks to Takkan (Best Boi of 2k23 probably). This is also the only story where the "evil stepmother" trope was actually done well.

However. What stopped me from giving it 5 stars. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A STANDALONE. (no spoiler mini-rant)

The Dragon's Promise was an unnecessary sequel could have just, not existed with very minor chanches to the ending of SCC. As such, it was a very disappointing read that kinda tainted my experience with its prequel. I'm not sure I'll ever trust Elizabeth Lim to write duologies again.

LIGHT SPOILERS BELOW FOR SIX CRIMSON CRANES AND THE DRAGON'S PROMISE YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

30% of the sequel was useless. The whole part with the dragons served no purpose to the plot, we just met one character who is... more or less useful later on? Honestly, I felt like he was just there for fan service since he's the love interest in The Blood of Stars. Shiori, our heroine, is strung along from dangerous situation to dangerous situation, which aren't really useful and actually have the opposite effect than the one intended: I was bored and found the book too long. The villain did not mesure up so it didn't help with my boredom (I think it was another instance of fan service, which is starting to make me think that Elizabeth Lim doesn't know how innovate).

And apparently, Elizabeth Lim doesn't know how to end a series with anything other than a deus ex machina, since she did it for Unravel the Dusk and The Dragon's Promise. When I read the last 10 pages, I literally burst into laughter because of the sheer ridiculousness that came out of nowhere.

Really, Six Crimson Cranes should have been a standalone. It could have been 100% possible by changing a few details at the end, and it would have been way more satisfying than this sequel that was frankly meh in my opinion.

I have thus decided to pretend this sequel does not exist.

French version under the cut

Une magie ancestrale et interdite coule dans les veines de Shiori, la plus jeune des sept enfants de l’empereur de Kiata.

Lorsqu’elle découvre que sa belle-mère, Raikama, la Reine sans nom, possède sa propre magie noire, cette dernière lui lance un sortilège : elle transforme ses six frères en grues et l’avertit que pour chaque mot qu’elle prononcera, l’un de ses frères mourra.

Exilée et sans voix, Shiori va devoir se battre pour briser le sort et sauver son royaume d’une terrible conspiration. Pour cela, elle pourra peut... 

Est-ce que tu le conseillerais à quelqu’un ? Totalement, du moins le premier livre. Je recommanderais le deuxième à quelqu'un particulièrement heureux.se d'apprendre qu'il y a une suite. Mais si, comme pour moi, l'idée d'une suite a été décevante, alors je le recommanderais pas.

Niveau de déception/satisfaction par rapport au résumé et tes attentes ? Le premier livre a dépassé mes attentes et de loin, et le deuxième les a écrasées avec un 5 tonnes avant de leur mettre le feu. D'une manière négative. Je n'ai pas été ravie par cette suite.

Avis sans spoiler ? Six Crimson Cranes était une histoire géniale avec un excellent worldbuilding (comme l'autre série d'Elizabeth Lim, The Blood of Stars) et des personnages intérerssants. L'histoire d'amour était mignonne à 90% grâce à Takkan (Best Boi de 2k23, probablement). C'est aussi la seule histoire où le cliché de la méchante belle-mère est bien fait.

Mais. Ce qui m'a empêché de lui donner 5 étoiles. ÇA AURAIT DÛ S'ARRÊTER LÀ. (mini-rant sans spoilers)

The Dragon's Promise était une suite inutile qui aurait pu juste, ne pas exister en apportant de légères modifications à la fin de SCC. En l'état, c'était une lecture très décevante qui a un peu terni mon expérience avec son prequel. Je suis pas sûre de pouvoir refaire confiance à Elizabeth Lim pour écrire une autre duologie.

LÉGERS SPOILERS POUR SIX CRIMSON CRANES ET THE DRAGON'S PROMISE, VOUS AVEZ ÉTÉ PRÉVENU.ES.

30% de ce livre n’a servi à rien. Toute la partie avec les dragons n’a pas du tout servi à l’avancement de l’histoire, on a juste rencontré un personnage qui par la suite est… plus ou moins utile ? Honnêtement j’ai l’impression qu’il était là juste pour le fan service vu que c’est le love interest dans The Blood of Stars. Shiori, notre héroïne, se fait trimballer de situation dangereuse en situation dangereuse sans que ce soit très utile, ce qui a finit par avoir l'effet inverse de celui recherché : je me suis ennuyée et j'ai trouvé le livre trop long. Le méchant n’est pas du tout à la hauteur donc ça n'a pas aidé mon ennui (je pense que c'était encore un coup de fan service, ce qui commence à me faire penser qu'Elizabeth Lim ne sait pas se renouveler).

Et visiblement Elizabeth Lim ne sait pas finir ses séries autrement qu’avec un deus ex machina, vu qu'elle l'a fait pour Unravel the Dusk et The Dragon's Promise. Quand j’ai lu les 10 dernières pages j’ai littéralement éclaté de rire tellement c'était rudicule et inattendu.

Vraiment, Six Crimson Cranes aurait dû être un roman seul. En changeant quelques détails de la fin, ça aurait été largement faisable et beaucoup plus satisfaisant que ce deuxième tome que j’ai trouvé franchement meh.

J’ai donc décidé de prétendre que cette suite n’existe pas.

#six crimson cranes #the dragons promise #elizabeth lim #asian inspired fantasy #fairy tale retelling #books #book reviews #book recs #book recommendations #booklr

[ikatakoirl]

How To Write A Comic Relief Character That Doesn’t Suck

So. We all know the comic-relief character trope. The one who doesn’t do much but tags along because of their “loyalty” and falls on their face every now and then for us to laugh at whenever the tension gets too high. But then at the end they have their heroic moment and prove wrong everyone who ever doubted them! Only for them to go back to exactly how they were before in the resolution. Right?

NO! WRONG! THROW IT IN THE GARBAGE! In this post I’m going to give some ideas of how to add comic relief elements to a story without devaluing any of the characters! First of all, let’s start with some examples! I'll explain most of my choices throughout the post. I'm hoping I provided enough examples that everyone can recognize at least one in each category! I’ve also done my best to make direct comparisons.

Comic Relief Characters Done Poorly

Ronald Weasley (Harry Potter)

Neville Longbottom (Harry Potter)

Haymitch Abernathy (The Hunger Games)

Lance McClain (Voltron: Legendary Defender)

Loki (MCU, before the Disney+ series)

Marinette Dupain-Cheng (Miraculous Ladybug)

Luigi (Super Mario)

Goggles (Coroika)

Comic Relief Characters Done Well

Fred and George Weasley (Harry Potter)

Percy Jackson (Percy Jackson and the Olympians)

Peeta Mellark (The Hunger Games)

Sokka (Avatar: the Last Airbender)

Peter Parker/Spider-Man (MCU)

Chat Noir (Miraculous Ladybug)

Sonic the Hedgehog [depends on which show/game ofc]

Skull (Coroika)

Reki Kyan (Sk8 the Infinity)

Kai (The Hollow)

No Laughing Matter

It’s great to have a character who struggles with clumsiness or feeling incompetent! But what if you tried actually taking those concerns seriously? Instead of the divert-with-comedy-and-never-readdress approach, make your character turn angry or sensitive. (Or the best of both worlds, tsundere!) Really get into their head and explore how that incompetence is affecting them. Bonus points if they actually fail something of consequence! How do they react to this failure? Do they have people supporting them, and if so, how? And if instead the character is on the outs and constantly the butt of jokes, how does that affect their psyche? Maybe they’ll throw themselves into training or practicing to become better, but maybe all they need is a reminder of where their strengths do lie so that they can use them better to their advantage next time! I actually challange you to separate the klutz character from the comic relief character! It may be funny to watch people falling down on Reddit, but it doesn’t make for a compelling character that people will remember! I love Marinette, I really do, but I have to admit that she could be written better because she falls right into this sort of trap.

Himbos Are People, Too

Okay, okay. I know we all need to have our himbos sometimes. And that’s great! A character who’s a bit out of their element can be endearing for a lot of readers! But in order to get there, the character needs other personality traits, too! Comic relief is not a personality. It’s something you can stack onto a personality, but you need to create a whole character first, complete with hobbies and interests! Which means that, yes, you have to let your character be good at something. It doesn’t have to be the same as their interests, though! This is a great opportunity for a reminder that you can still find joy in something even if you’re not very good at it, and just because you're good at something doesn't mean it makes you happy.

And it should really be more than one thing they’re good at! Don’t write the Ron who’s only good at chess or the Lance who’s only (somewhat) good at flirting!

Tell Me What You Want

This also goes for character motivations! Each character needs to have either a clear motive or a clear lack of motive! Bonus points if it’s multiple complex but identifiable motives! Sokka is a perfect example of this! He wants to live up to the legacy of his father, find his place in the Gaang, and maybe pick up a girl (or a guy) along the way. And most importantly, he uses his humor not as a selfish way to avoid his feelings or for plot convenience but rather to lighten the mood as part of the duty he feels to keeping his sister safe and happy! His Voltron doppelgänger, Lance, has no clear motivation… ever, pretty much. He's implied to like Allura, but it's treated as more of a joke. Same with Ron, or Neville, or Luigi, or even Loki. What do they even want? You could say that Ron saw his greatest desire in the Mirror of Erised (to be recognized and respected), but does he ever take steps toward this? Does it ever even get brought up again? Or was it just meant to contrast with Harry’s greatest desire? After all, Ron ends up as some Auror as an adult but doesn’t show any regret or longing for a higher status.

(Another hint: Not dying is not a character motivation!)

However, I did give another option, which was a clear lack of motivation. We see this in Percy, Reki, and Kai at certain points, and they all express that they don’t understand exactly what they want. And that’s perfectly okay, too! I actually really love writing characters like this! That being said, this is typically a temporary thing, and you should have something in mind for the character’s endgame. I want to stress that this is actually the harder one to pull off correctly, so you can’t just use it as a cop-out.

So yeah, there’s your crash course in character creation and development! Maybe I’ll do a separate post for that in more detail!

According to my Calculations…

Yes, I know that can all feel like a lot. But it's no excuse to fall into stereotypes. Especially this one, which is often done as an Asian-American caricature. Going the other route with a conventionally unattractive, glasses-wearing, acne-having white kid is bad, too. It's cringe. It's harmful. Don't do it.

And this goes not just for the stupid-nerd caricature, but also for any other stereotype out there. This one is just the most annoying one I can think of.

The Loyal Lapdog

Another sort of random trope is justifying a bland character by claiming that their virtue is their "loyalty." If you're going to use loyalty as a personality trait, be very careful about it. You have to be committed to upholding that personality trait even if it messes with your plot. You don't want to end up like Ron, who is actually arguably one of the least loyal characters in the series, abandoning his best friends in an apocalyptic situation just because he was jealous and constantly getting in fights with Harry over things out of his control. It is good to test and even break the limits of your character’s loyalty, but if they give up at the slightest inconvenience they’re clearly not actually loyal at all. (I’m sorry I bash Ron so much. It’s not what it sounds like, I actually hate him much more than I’m letting on.)

Comedy Communism

Guess what? You can have more than one character be funny! In fact, why not make all of them funny? Even your dark, serious character can be accidentally hilarious, and Skull is a pristine example of this. And giving a brooding loner character a surprise one-liner can be a great way to mark character development as they become more comfortable in their environment.

Overall, spreading out the role of comic relief across multiple characters is just a plain good idea because it forces you to fully develop each character and makes your comedy less predictable.

Or here’s another idea: make the comic relief character the protagonist! It’s an unexpected move that Percy Jackson pulls off immaculately! It’s also another strategy to help you avoid writing flat comedic relief characters because your protagonist should be the easiest character to fully flesh out.

Don’t Ruin the Moment

Using comedy to lighten the mood can be a good thing, but it has a time and a place. I've seen so many truly moving, deeply emotional moments completely gutted by a stupid joke. It's so devastating to see a writer put in all this effort to build up to a big moment, only to ruin it. It’s up to you to decide what counts as a “big moment,” but once you decide, fully commit to it. If you really feel like it’s too much for the reader, you can use a scene break, which will provide relief to the readers with less bleeding over of the lighthearted mood into the serious part.

But it can also be hard to maintain that tension, especially if a comic relief character is involved. Having them tell a joke that falls flat can actually be a great way to further increase the tension while staying in character!

~

With that, thank you for reading! Go forth my friends and make people laugh with complex and memorable characters! And look out for my next post about How to Write a Truly Bone-Chilling Villain!

#writing #writeblr #creative writing #comic relief characters

[thestupidhelmet]

12, 17, and 27 for the weird writers ask 😊

Thank you! ♥️

12. If a genie offered you three writing wishes, what would they be?

First, the ability to pause time where no one -- including myself -- ages so I could write as much I want for as long as I want without having to give up that time with family and friends (they'd be on pause, too, as would my need to eat drink, and go to the bathroom 😂).

Second, to be free of certain fears/doubts, which aren't related to my writing ability but aspects of the writing world.

Third, that my writing helps people in one way or another.

17. Talk to me about the minutae of your current WIP. Tell me about the lore, the history, the detail, the things that won't make it into the text.

*cough* I see what you did there. 😅 Sharing any of those things about Those Who Play with Demons -- I might as well post the story. 🤣 It's so much about the lore, the history, the detail, and ALL the things that do make it into the text. They're intertwined with the present action of the story.

But I can (re)reveal a few things. Jackie's father is the mayor of Point Place, and Red Forman is his sheriff. A murder and disappearance sets off a chain of supernatural events tied directly to all the characters.

Kitty runs a boarding house while working as a nurse part-time at the hospital.

I write a heroic and complex version of Kelso again (first time since Beneath a Shattered Sky), but he's totally different than any Kelso I've written (while still in-character).

Fez plays a major role, along with the rest of the main T7S characters. It's a new take on him while still being in-character (S1-S4 Fez, pre-devolution into the perv).

Jackie and Hyde are deeply in love and together from the start.

I'm using as many characters from the show (S1-S7) in significant ways so that Point Place feels like Point Place. I dug deep into tertiary characters, so it'll be interesting to see which ones readers recognize: "Oh, that's so-and-so from 6x10!" 😁

OCs are used only when absolutely unavoidable, but I tried to connect them to the T7S characters. For instance, Lance Crawford's father plays a vital role early on.

Point Place itself is practically a character.

I made a movie-like trailer for this story, along with a ton of art, .gifs (comic art and otherwise), and have other plans for extras to go with each chapter (or specific group of chapters).

The idea for this story sparked up in 2014.

Lastly, I'm going through the many chapters I've written (though I haven't finished the first draft), and I'm organizing everything for easier revision and to help me finish this thing.

27. Who is the most stressful character you've ever written? Why?

Red. When I wrote Not Just for Show, it was the first time I wrote from Red's POV extensively. I didn't want his narrative voice to come across like Hyde's, but they have a similar emotional dynamic. So I didn't write him with Hyde's rough lyricism. Red's narrative voice is less emotionally contemplative and more matter-of-fact. I also made sure Red's lens is that of someone who fought in two wars. (And, of course, I used other techniques so Red's narrative voice would sound like Red, not Hyde.)

In my current WIP, I write from Red's POV frequently, but I'm very comfortable in it now. 😊

Ask Game

#that 70s show #that '70s show #Red Forman #Jackie x Hyde #Michael Kelso #Ask #that70sshowgoldencouple #Ask Game #TWPWD #Personalish

[give-me-stuff-to-watch]

Watching Stuff Day 2 - 7/8/2023 - Current Streak: 2

For today's movie, I watched Nimona, and it was so good that it felt criminal that I was able to watch it by just having a Netflix account. I wish this movie had a theatrical release for the sole reason that it would allow me to purchase tickets and support it more directly.

As mentioned in my previous post, I read the Nimona graphic novel when I was middle school and I decided to read again before watching the movie to refresh myself on it. The movie ended up changing most of the plot while still keeping quite a few similar story beats, so the re-read wasn't really needed. Even though it wasn't a faithful adaptation with the exact plot, it did still feel faithful to the spirit of the original comic and the purpose of its story which is why I feel that it's still a good adaptation alongside being an amazing movie on its own.

One of the major changes that I ended up really liking was how they handled Ambrosius and Ballister's relationship dynamic, they made them have more explicitly show that they have romantic feelings for eachother and even had them in a relationship. I also specifically with how it changes the scene where Ambrosius removes Ballister's arm. In the comic, Ambrosius and Ballister were more spiteful despite still having some care for each other because they had a longer period of time in the comic to develop as enemies and because Ambrosius removing Ballister's arm was due to more selfish reasons. In the comic, Ambrosius was told that if he could beat Ballister in joust, he would become the Institution's Champion. The Institution wanted to secure his victory, so they gave him a weaponized lance in order to make that happen. He didn't want to use this unfair advantage, so he was planning to use it as just a regular lance. Since he wasn't familiar with it, he lost fair and square to Ballister, and in desperation he used the weaponized lance and blew Ballister's arm off. It's still an interesting backstory for how that happened in the comic, but I prefer how the movie handled it by making it a much more complex situation. Instead of it just being black and white with Ambrosius being fully wrong, it's a lot more nuanced now. Slicing his arm off was still a bad thing to do from the audience's perspective because we know Ballister is innocent but from the perspective of everyone else, he had a dangerous weapon that just killed the queen and needed to be stopped. However, since Ambrosius had such a deep connection and relationship to Ballister, it still works at being a betrayl to Ballister since Ambrosius would've been the one most likely to trust and defend Ballister, and Ambrosius being aware of that adds to his guilt over it. It does a lot to set up conflict between the characters while still giving you reason to empathize with both of them to some degree. Also, generally since they were still in a relationship at this inciting incident for the film and still have strong feelings for eachother throughout, it adds a lot more depth and intrigue for the scenes they share together and how they end up. As individuals though, I feel like both characters were changed a lot from their comic counterparts. Ballister's change feels a bit more natural to me as we're seeing a version of him that didn't have any reason to be critical of the institution or commit more actually evil acts until he met Nimona, while he was already doing that himself for a while in the comic. Ambrosius feels very different though, he seems to be a better person in the movie, showing more guilt and struggle with his actions. This is somewhat better because it strengthens his relationship with Ballister but doesn't feel as much like the original character.

As for Nimona's character she was handled perfectly here! They kept her as a violent, chaotic, fun-loving gremlin and executed that incredibly well, no notes on that. I also really liked all of the focus given on how she doesn't want to be defined by others or feel like she has to change to be accepted. What I found to be one of the most emotional scenes in the movie was when she was flashing-back to when she was using her powers and changing herself to try and fit in with various groups of animals only to experience rejection each time, only to find someone she thought did accept her as she is, only for her to be betrayed and have that ripped away. I almost cried at that. I also like how the movie had a more uplifting and happy ending for her with her being accepted and mourned by everyone while having an ending scene that implies that she is still fully alive and going to be more directly connected to Ballister. This is more of a personal preference though, the comic ending is also really good, and in quite a few ways better critically imo, I'm just a sucker for happier endings most of the time.

A few minor nitpicks I have:

I feel like Ballister's distrust of Nimona at the end wasn't as well built up as it could've been. It was still fine, but having the comic as a comparison, where it was much more believable with how it happened makes it stand out a bit more to me.

The artstyle was quite a bit different from the original comic. I found the comic's artstyle really charming and was a little disappointed it was changed so much. However, I understand that it was the kind of style that would be difficult to adapt in 3D and the new style they went with also looks really nice on it's own. While I'm talking about how it looks visually, it was also really well and smoothly animated for the most part along with having interesting shot composition. It also had really good modeling and set design. They really knocked it out of the park with all of that.

They changed Ballister's last name to Boldheart instead of Blackheart. I don't have an issue with that , but do think it's a missed opportunity that they didn't have a line where someone who believes him to be a villain goes "Boldheart?!? More like Blackheart!" It would've been cheesy but I would've appreciated the reference.

Overall, an amazing movie on its own along with having good callbacks to the comic (stuff like the board games, "I'm a shark", and the zombie movie). A near 10/10, I'll probably rewatch it at some point in the near future and if they do a blu-ray release of it I'll probably buy that too.

#nimona #nimona netflix #nimona film #nimona 2023 #animation #3d animation #review

[emese-of-void]

Gil-Galad son of plothole

Silmarillion hyperfixation is making my brain go brr, so I decided to make a list of all the Gil-Galad dad theories I've come across, ranked by my completely subjective sense of their narrative potential. Does it make the characters more complex? Does it make everything even more tragic, or alternatively funny? Or happier for Elrond, also a significant criteria.

Son of Orodreth. The most canon version. This is fine? There could be something there with Finrod being so against having children in wartime, and Orodreth being the only one of his siblings to go against him. But personally I can't find that much to work with here.

Son of Fingon. As in with an unnamed wife. Almost sort of canon. I'm not a fan of this - reading this relationship with Maedhros as romantic makes it so much more complex and interesting, to take that away and replace it with a romantic relationship that is unconnected to his arc just doesn't work for me.

Gil Galad is Maglor/ the reincarnation of Fëanor/ is Fingon with amnesia - I've grouped these together because they don't work for me for the same reason: this is not their redemption arc. Being a heroic and great leader is not a substitute for reckoning with damage they had caused in their lives. Plus the personalities don't track, except for Fingon maybe. Star tree is something I can see Fingon naming himself if he had amnesia. I do think his sword was long, his lance was keen sounds like Maglor, so maybe it was someone he knew? Or, if Elrond was in relationship with Gil-Galad maybe he was teasing Elrond.

He is his own father, through time travel. It is pretty funny to think of Gil-Galad showing up in Valinor, trying to figure out his parentage, and eventually throwing his hands up in the air, like, do I have to do everything myself?

Son of Aegnor and Andreth. It would be nice to think that they were secretly happy, but I feel like this doesn't add very much to Gil-Galad himself.

Father of no importance - the most likely (in story) explanation for why none of the paternities really fit is that Gil-Galad is Noldo on his mother's side. I don't know enough yet to weigh in on that debate though.

The Middle Earth equivalent of a test tube baby. A magical genetic combination of Finrod, Fingon and Maedhros, as they realised succession is going to be an issue, and also had no idea yet how things were going to play out, as in which one of them it would be beneficial for an heir to be related to, so they went with all of them. There is something uncanny about Gil-Galad and all the blank spaces in his story, and him being created for a purpose instead of born would sort of play into that. It's also very sad for him, even if he was also loved and wanted by his many fathers. From scion by arraviste https://archiveofourown.org/works/19936252

Literally just some guy. Sometimes a con man, sometimes ending up as high king through a series of misunderstandings. Sometimes there is no one who wants the job, and everyone is happy for someone, anyone to step in. I like this, because I feel like in the second age there is a paradigm shift in the elves' relationship to previous structures of power and this plays into that - it's not abolishing kingships altogether, but it's sort of a step in that direction?

Galadriel - I've not actually seen this suggested, I just don't really get why. She is ambitious above all others, she is in the line of succession, she clearly thinks she could do better (and definitely could). I think maybe I just don't have a handle on her, and why she wants to rule but specifically not the Noldor. It wouldn't work thematically, either for her personally as her arc is a towards a rejection of ambition and power, or for the kingship as her rule would be carrying on the tradition of the previous kings. But logistically I feel like it would make sense for her to at least be considered?

Is Eluréd or Elurín. I kind of like this? Two boys who disappeared from all stories, and a hero who appeared from seemingly nowhere. And the tragedy isn't lost given that, well, there's only one of him.

Is Celebrían. Ok, this has the potential for some romantic comedy shenanigans in the middle of a long stretch of tragedy, and I'm all for Elrond and Celebrían having all the dorky ridicilous joy they can have. Like, maybe Elrond has feelings for both Celebrían and the great political mind of Gil-Galad he gets to know through letters. There's low stakes romantic angst and mistaken identities. Logistically though Celebrían outlived Gil-Galad, and I feel like death on a battlefield by Sauron would be hard to fake. Plus I have a general preference against Gil-Galad didn't really exist theories: there are so few elves already in that generation, don't want to lose any more. Let Elrond have both a devoted friend/ yet another father figure AND an adorable wife. Or boyfriend and wife, either way.

Gil-Galad is a fiction. No one wanted to be king and no wanted wanted to have a king. Not surprising given the mess of the last age. But sometimes diplomatic relations required a king, so they had a fictional one that different elves would impersonate as needed. Which is why his name is kingly king star tree. Someone may have come up with that on that spot. And then someone died while being Gil-Galad so the character had to be retired. I am all for this! Shenenigans AND a paradigm shift in the structures of power.

Son of Fingon and Maedhros - this is quite popular and I can see why. It would explain why Gil-Galad is the scion of kings plural. Why everyone is so certain of his claim, even though his heritage is obfuscated - being associated with Maedhros would not be a positive, but the scion of Fëanor AND Fingolfin would definitely have a strong claim. And Fingon the Valiant, who dives into danger without thinking with a harp and a prayer, Fingon who had hope, I can see him having a child in wartime even if it was not the custom of the elves. And Maedhros, oldest brother of the biggest family, I'm sure would want to have children, even if he wouldn't let himself.

There are a variety of options for baby acquisition; one of them is trans, or Maedhros is altered by Sauron, they adopt, or just acquire a baby without an explanation. (There are bound to be some orphans around in wartime.) My personal preference is for adoption, because it means Maedhros can think of Gil-Galad as Fingon's child and angst over how much of a parent he can allow himself to be, while the entire rest of the world is just like, yup this child is Maedhros' child.

I think the circumstances are different enough that it doesn't feel like a repeat of the adoption of Elrond and Elros. Maedhros is in a very different place in those two times, and they would have had very different experiences of being parented (or not, really) by him.

Same as above but Gil-Galad is a baby orc, ranked above the other options because extra cute. The Storc Brought Him, by LiveOakWithMoss and the TheLionInMyBed https://archiveofourown.org/works/11358261/chapters/25422936

Gil-Galad is Elladan - oh this has so much potential! Elladan is related to literally everyone, his relationships with the various characters has so much depth and resonance. He is both the hope of survival and a better world to come, and the inevitability of fate. Lovely stuff. The Long Road by Kaz https://archiveofourown.org/works/16522163/chapters/38701289

Son of Sauron (genetic experiment of Sauron). This is such a crack theory, I’m surprised that it ended up so high on the list, but the more I thought about it the more pieces clicked into place for me.

He would be a mix of Noldor and Maiar (specifically Sauron himself). Biological experimentation and warfare was definitely something Morgoth and Sauron were engaged in - dragons, orcs, thralls, werewolves - they definitely had the means and the inclanation.

It would have been clear for a very long time that there were going to be be a lack of good options for the next high king after Fingon. If there happened to be someone who by his looks clearly had a strong claim to the throne but had unverifiable heritage, it would at the very least be a flame to the powder keg of Noldorin succession, and at best, Sauron's creature might end up on the throne.

Sauron would have intended Gil-Galad to be a kind of antichrist figure to the Noldor; an extremely competent and charismatic leader, with a sense of (maiar) power about him, someone who started out with genuinely good intentions, someone that everyone rallied around. Until he was inevitably corrupted, betrayed all who trusted him, and delivered the Noldor into the hands of their enemy.

I can see Sauron believing that the child inheriting his nature would be sufficient for him to be inevitably corrupted.

I think this has all the hallmarks of a second age Sauron plan: it is extremely long term even by elven standards, it relies on him being perceptive about his opponents' needs and wants and exploiting it. It is cruel and aims for maximum emotional devastation.

Even the name, King Excellent the Lord of Gifts does tend to choose the labelliest of names. Here is Ereinion, gift wrapped for you.

Except things don't work out that way. Because Elrond who was heir to the entire world refused the crown of the Noldor, and stopped the cycle of violence that came with disputed successions. Because inheriting Mairon's nature doesn't inevitably lead to corruption. Because Gil-Galad made different choices.

In this context Elrond refusing the throne also means, I know what you are and I trust you anyway.

And Gil-Galad making him his herald also means, I need you close because I don't always trust myself, but I trust you. And if need be, you have the best chance of killing me.

Plus they have shared Maiar heritage they can bond over.

He could also bond with Celebrimbor over living with a messed up family heritage.

Gil-Galad canonically takes the threat of Sauron seriously early on. Because he knows what he is capable of. What he himself is capable of.

In this context his death at the hands of Sauron is a victory, of never giving in, not even at the worst. Plus, it's a whole lot more personal for both.

Annatar may have been intended as a last ditch effor to 'activate' Gil-Galad.

Maybe he didn't meet with Annatar because unlike Elrond his Maiar heritage wasn't common knowledge, though in this world he would have strong reason to suspect Annatar of being Sauron, so that's a plothole that would need to be filled

For an extra twist of the knife: Gil-Galad defying Sauron's intentions for him leads to Sauron coming up with alternate plans - so Gil-Galad feels directly responsible for Celebrimbor's fate.

And combining son of Sauron with a Maedhros/ Fingon adoption piles on the tragedy

So assuming Sauron created Gil-Galad out of a combination of himself, Maedhros and Fingon:

He would have a strong claim to the throne based on his looks, without it being clear what exactly his heritage was, as a biological child of Maedhros and Fingon would be unlikely

Maedhros is possibly the only person in this age who truly knew who Sauron was and what he was capable of and lived to tell (Beren and Luthien lived, but they went off to do their own thing). He would understand what Sauron intended when he left this child at his doorstep

Sauron counted on Maedhros not being able to kill the child despite knowing his intentions for it (definitely not if Gil was partially Fingon's). He also counted on Maedhros hating the child, as he hated Sauron and as he hated himself. This wounded upbringing would set Gil-Galad on the path Sauron intended for him. Function and cruel, very Sauron.

Except once again that is not what happens. Because Maedhros more than anyone knows what makes someone a monster. And while he would never extend himself grace, he would not consider Gil a monster just because of the circumstances of his birth.

In fact, he would be the best parent Gil could have for understanding himself, where he came from and what he can be.

And his other father would be Fingon, who had hope and courage.

This does kind of double up on the Fëanorian adoptions, but I think it's different enough from Elrond and Elros for the two to play off each other in interesting ways. For Gil Maedhros is a present if conflicted father, by the time Elrond and Elros come around he is broken and checked out. Whereas Maglor's breakdown leads him to parenthood.

It is less funny for Elrond to be a the high king's herald and yet a Fëanorian supporter if the high king is also sympathetic to them, but perhaps he isn't by that point, or perhaps he is just more diplomatic about it.

So yeah, it's not where I expected to end up, but that's my current favourite Gil-Galad theory: the antichrist of Middle Earth who wasn't. I feel like it links Elrond and Celebrimbor and Gil-Galad thematically as the new generation of elves in the second age, who all contend with complicated heritages (they're not literally the same generation, elves are weird, but thematically they feel like the same generation). The scion of Fëanor who wasn't, the king of the world who made a home instead, the antichrist who refused his destiny. None of them avoided tragedy, but they didn't repeat their ancestors mistakes, and they created a new and better world.

#silmarillion #gil galad #sauron #maedhros #fingon #elrond #tolkien

[needsmustleap]

okay posting my thoughts IMMEDIATELY after having finished the finale:

-lance reddick 💔 hope whatever's next is treating you well. killer performance

-i think the show really would have benefited from longer episodes and maybe more eps too..... they really had to rush through things imo and i wish we could have gotten more downtime with the trio to see their personalities and relationships more. and also like camp in general, when they cut back to percy training w luke it was kinda jarring, like when did they even have time for that

-i really wish they had kept the dimension of annabeth having a crush on luke & showed us their relationship more. she struggles w his betrayal throughout the whole series and the reveal in the finale just felt kinda underwhelming. also i think it's so realistic and relatable to have a crush on a guy like that lol and it just overall adds more flavour in gen but also to her dynamic w percy

-in gen i feel like the show was already foreshadowing percabeth hard and i wish they had not lol. but i was worried they would do that so i may have just read what i thought i was gonna see into it.

-this ties back to pacing/short and limited # of eps, but it's just interesting to see how they tried to take it from book to episodic tv show. the second last few eps i think didn't come off as well/weren't as satisfying as episodes. just interesting to think about the structure an ep calls for and how/where it was a bit incompatible with the story. idk

-i did really like it. the guy who plays poseidon is so hot so gotta watch black sails i guess lol. i need to rewatch to better articulate the things i liked i think. looking forward to watching the making of lol.

-minor thing but wish they had eaten the food at times lol. i know there are very good reasons why they rarely do this in shows in general but i feel it just added to the sense of detachment from the characters that i had.... like idk, eating can just be so personal lol but also they're on this long quest and strapped for cash the entire time, they should be scarfing! they were in the book! minor but it distracted me a bit. and i think also speaks to the lack of downtime/pacing etc thing. i just feel we didn't get to really know the characters well. i think all my thoughts tie back to this really.

-concluding point : it took me so long to get used to seeing them be babies lol, i guess in my mind i tend to always think of them as my age. it's been so long since i read any of the books so i guess i was closer to their age back then esp during the sequel series, so i mostly remember having known them back then i guess? was just odd, they're literal babies!! but i got used to it. looking forward to (hopefully if they get renewed i guess) seeing more of this version of them. may have to reread the books but i may be looking for something i can never get back lol

-glad we saw so much of sally, and her relationship w percy and its complexities. they really focused on parenthood lol

-hopefully if they get renewed they can do longer and more eps. idk tho you really can't trust these platforms. it's sad bc the show could've been really great if they'd had more time to work with. it was good but you can feel the crunch for time imo

-like it's a tv show.... the whole thing is getting more time w the characters (yes the entire thing of all tv shows)..... i just keep thinking, how different is this to the movie exactly. ya it's more faithful the book but what else? it's been eons since i last sawthe movie lol but idk im just thinking.

-really need to rewatch to marinate more on they did end up saying/doing

-okay good night

-wish we had gotten more grover also lol but this ties back to everything i already mentioned

#needs must say things #pjo tv show #pjo tv show spoilers

[lesbianbarbaragordon]

1 5 20 27 for the comic ask game!!!!

hiii moss so sorry i took so long. im so slow at this stuff, even though i love doing it hehe. thanks again for submitting !!!<3

Who's your favorite character and why?

Oh man I have a problem with choosing faves bc i'm just so indecisive !!! I usually analyze characters and get to appreciate their themes and personalities aka how well they are written, so it's so hard for me to dismiss others in favour of A Single One... bc i genuinely appreciate so many characters...

i usually have a character rotation in my brain honestly... this week it's bruce... last week it was barbara... damian... cass... tim... jason... helena... kate... all of these characters are so interesting to me... and they all tackle different things and have different personalities...

i think that in general, though, i tend to gravitate towards characters with interesting moral dilemmas... especially if they are complex and i get to play around with their actions and feelings.... i like to think as a hobbie, as weird as that sounds LOL

so i think that my final veredict is gonna be: jason and bruce (barbara is a close second)

5. What's your favorite comic book sibling relationship?

hmmmmm, i'd need to read more comics for this bc lately ive mostly been reading solo runs, but if i had to say any so far i think it's helena and tim (does this count? it counts)

i think the way they bounce off each other is soso funny, tim is the most unsufferable little gremlin to her and helena has to put up with it. he looks her up and annoys her but they would both take a bullet for each other. do u know what i mean? that's real young brother/older sister ism

20. If you were given a comic run for character [x], what would you write about?

Jason. I'm sorry.

I know I'd be able to write about Kate (in which case I'd write about lesbianism) or Barbara (in which case I'd write about girl rage) and even about Steph (more girl rage) but there's something so enticing to me about Jason

Because to an extent u can't *not* empathize with him during utrh, he has a point even if barely, and the way he's grown to see the world and his ideals comes from the tragedy of his death and resurrection and his subsequent feelings about it, about bruce, about himself and gotham and u need the slightest bit of compassion ontop of all the condemnation of his wrongdoings to make it right

like. there are *so* many examples where writers have resorted to demonizing him and butchering what he wants and what he says it's kind of frustrating. and i think the way forward to truly giving the jason from utrh what he needs, not what he wants is soso interesting and full of posibilities to explore

i want him to see the other side of the coin, i want him to come to terms with what the use of violence means and where that puts him, i want him to be questioned, to be faced with the consequences of what he did in utrh, to reach his own conclusions and find out what he wants isn't what will make him right again. i want him to come to terms with his own tragedy and the way he's destroyed himself to prove a point, to see how symilar he is to bruce and how that should tell him all he needs to know.

sorry. im very insane about him. anyways hope this was comprehensible hehe ^__^

27. Any comic runs you've been meaning to read?

Ooooh man, so many... soso many !!!

robin 1993 don't think i've forgotten about you !!! i rlly wanna pick this up and keep reading abt tim. he's my dearest little freak

batgirl 2000. for obvious reasons hehe

no man's land. i have faith in rucka and what he can write. @ moss u are also obsessed with this and i wanna talk abt it with u<3 so i'm rlly impatient to finally delve on it hehe, especially bc i know it's cass' first introduction ^__^

birds of prey. dinah lance and barbara gordon i will love u forever !!! im very excited to read about female superheroes bc they have a way to worm into my brain so deeply... i love female characters

batman: batman and son. ummmm i started this the other day but i have to keep going. i know all about the morrison racism... sigh... but it introduces damian my pookie nevertheless so i rlly wanted to check it out.

along the same line is resurrection of ra's al ghul and batman and robin (2009)

also some iconic stuff like bruce wayne murderer? fugitive, the man who laughs, hush, etc.

young justice (1998) for a healthy dose of tim :) also timkon. and cassie who i rlly wanna meet !!!

saga of the supersons pretty much because I think Jon is adorable and I like Damian, haven't finished it yet but i want at least to get to the end of it, even if some stuff is a little.. mediocre and uninspired

i also wanna read some stuff featuring christ kent and especially lois lane, i think she's a fantastic character and i'd love to delve deeper into her hehe

i think that's kinda everything... thanks for submitting again mwah !!! i love talking about comics (original ask game here)

#rose talks #ask game #honeyoats #had a lot of fun #imma lay down now i'm sick as hell !!!

[talenlee]

The Man In The Memer

Hmm, is that a Michael Jackson reference too spicy to use. Not sure. Well, I’m sure my better judgment will kick in before I post this. Or maybe it won’t, because what I want to talk to about today is the idea of autoconnoisseurship.

Look you get this or you get me venting anxiety about realising that not only am I not connected to the lives of my students, but that disconnect is going to only ever get wider. My brief window of time of teaching people who share the same brainworms with me is a fleeting memory of the before lockdowns.

What a word. Look at it. It gets all French in the middle there. Double ses and suchlike. I bet if you showed me a noisseur in a D&D rulebook I’d be like oh yeah of course it’s like a lance. It’s a long word, and it’s a long word made up of other words bolted together. It’s such a wonderfully complex word, like other ones I’ve introduced you to. Do you remember autoethnography? What about hyperintertextuality? It’s a word like that, and it’s a word I get from an author called Estelle Barrett, in the book Practice as Research. Great book, love it, reading it over and over again to try and make sure I understand it hasn’t scrampled my prains or anything.

Connoisseurship is the idea of being an expert, competent, critical judge of something, and particularly, in the context of that thing’s subtle distinctions. A connoisseur isn’t a fan; they’re someone who can recognise all the distinct and varied ways in elements within the space of interest are similar and different. The connoisseur appreciates deteails, appreciates nuance. The connoisseur is by practice, an expert, because without expertise, there can be no appreciative comparison. To be a connoisseur is to have context, and appreciate context, and be able to share that context.

Connoisseurship or as the ‘pronounce it aloud’ button on merriam webster asserts, connor sir ship, is therefore the practice of being a conoisseur. It’s about putting in work to understand, catalogue and recognise these nuances and their distinctions. And autoconnoisseurship is about being able to do that in the context of your own work. To look at your own work as if it is worth being catalogued, sorted, scrutinised, recognised and considered.

Barrett, by the way, is building on ideas from Michel Foucault, notorious baldy and prison-mentioner, so this isn’t like weirdo outsider ideas.

This is hard. Connoisseurship means positioning yourself as an expert, and one capable of recognising distinctions between distinct elements. When examining one’s own work, I feel like there’s a natural flexibility. If someone compares one of my games, for example, to another, similar game, I can feel the need, for the sake of conversation, to concur, even if another person bringing up another wildly different comparison might seem equally valid. Setting aside the social grace and the natural imposition of capitalism in here (if I didn’t have to convince people to pay money for my games, would I still feel the need to couch my games in terms of appealing to people?), there’s a question about what I really mean in terms of expertise. What’s nailed down about these things, how much room and flex is there in their discussion?

I am a little sensitive about my OCs and the characters I write in fiction, for example; I can see very clear delineating lines, different kinds of scenes and narratives into which they fit, the assumptions of their world. Rafe and Tideward are both orphaned children of royal parentage with a bad dad and a gift for violence, but one of them can make his problems go away by finding the right wall to burst through and the other sulks a lot. I am thrilled by knowing from my friends that Talen Boy is its own archetype, almost its own gender (indeed, having been told that ‘this girl is a Talen boy’ at least once), but that always comes with the anxiety that I am boring my friends, that I am sharing with them creative stuff that they think could be better, more or original, that this character archetype they’ve seen before is something depriving them of something new.

In the context of connnoisseurship, though, there is an element for the connoisseur that I think this blog has built in me over time; that there is, along with the assumption of expertise, the right to be heard. A connoisseur presents expertise and that expertise is itself worthwhile in its presentation. Being interested in presenting this information is reason enough to present it. By having this expertise, I demand the elevation of the subject in which I am expert.

Which is pretty cool.

That’s not all there is to it, though. There’s a little more, which is an idea from Melissa Febos (Associate Professor at the University of Iowa), of the idea of how this autoconnoisseurship imposes on ourselves a preoccupation with your perceptions of others’ perceptions. Does this read right? Is this joke tasteful? Am I making something that presents an idea I’ve heard because it’s interesting, or am I mining others’ grief for sport? Am I being kickass, or just an ass, or am I showing my ass?

There’s this phrase Febos uses that I think about a lot, which is you have to write for the reader of best faith.

The internet has geared me to be generally confrontational over the past oh god thirty years I’ve been using it. I know I’ve gotten better about that, because in my twenties I was ferocious about looking for fights. But now I think there’s a natural impulse to pre-emptively defend ideas from people who are looking for ways to criticse it. The piss on the poor website effect.

Exile the thoughts of the person who is looking to invalidate the art you are making or it will be a brittle, sad version of what you would have done if you had imagined the loving reader who is grateful and interested in what it is you are actually trying to communicate.

(Paraphrasing Febos).

Oh and part of why I wrote this was to share this idea but also to get used to writing connoisseurship a lot by hand without just googling it and copy-pasting.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

#Academia

[hollowsart]

ALRIGHT! Now that I’m basically far enough into the post-game plot for Legends, I can finally respond to this anon [under a cut for spoilers]:

Hi, I have possibly an inkling as to whom might have sent this as a means of furthering spoiling the game for me despite me not wanting to be spoiled at all.

However, if I am mistaken and you really are not who I think sent this, here’s my very honest and to the point answer, and thank you so much for being patient to see my thoughts on this whole thing!:

Volo is a cheap discount bootleg Cyrus and I will revoke his kneecap privileges.

A slightly more detailed answer to this little plot twist regarding Volo:

This plot twist I feel wasn’t really necessary?? Like.. At all. I haven’t yet completed the story and only just got to the Celestica Ruins with Volo, but MAN. I knew I didn’t like Volo from the start and now I have even more reason not to.

Cyrus is a REALLY GREAT character and villain and this plot twist is just watering down his character and putting Cynthia’s coat of paint on him, giving him a new name and saying “This is a new character!! :)”

They COULD have done something brand new, but nope. they just.. “The world is cruel and I lived through heck and back. I’m going to catch god and make a new and better world. One where there is no strife.” just rehashing Cyrus’ whole ideal but really without any real good reason. Unlike with Cyrus whose story does make you understand and feel for reasoning and ideal. Even if he’s been talking big about vague ideas and concepts just to get people to tag along, he was an actually GOOD and INTERESTING character. Very compelling character, too, that just really makes you wanna know what happened to him and where he’d gone off to in all this time since DPPt.

I’ve said it once before that Cyrus is possibly one of a handful of the most complex and fascinating characters in the whole series and it still holds true. Watering down his character and slapping a smiling Cynthia face over him and calling him “Volo” (his name may come from a latin word to mean ‘I wish’ or ‘to greatly wish for’ but it just makes me think of the word ‘Volatile’ which seems fitting for him being a “villain”), is just disappointing. Although, I suppose only in my eyes, though, that makes sense since Cynthia is also a very disappointing character, namely as a champion. Never did hold up to the expectations I had from how everyone kept talking about her battle as a champion and the struggles people had trying to battle her.... honestly... I’ve had more trouble with Lance in FR/LG and he isn’t even a champion in those games.

STILL! I’m enjoying the game and just like with Cynthia, Volo doesn’t ruin my love of this game and enjoyment of playing through the story and all. In fact, it just makes it all the more fun in a way. Getting excited to beat them in battle any chance I get to actually battle them. Makes reluctantly having to interact with them all the more bearable just to battle them and win.

I do wonder if Volo will be just as much of a pushover as Cynthia is to me in the big final battle that I have a feeling is going to be coming up eventually.

#Ghostie mumbles #pokemon spoilers #pokemon legends spoilers #ANYWAYS. back to my game to kick some bad guy butt #most of my comments in this are joking btw. #//long post

[erazonpo3]

Lost Legends

Okay so I read Lost Legends: The Rise of Flynn Rider and general thoughts? It was cute and fun, and I have gripes here and there but I can still recommend it. I don't want to compare it to WOWM because it's like apples and oranges but Lost Legends wins points for me by actually acknowledging the TTS storyline and characters, even though it's kinda brief and not quite as... entertaining.

And before I go into the in-depth spoiler review I'll jot down a few thoughts here: there's a lot to be said about tie-in media and 'canon', but where I think it becomes contentious is where two pieces contradict each other, and whether those contradictions necessitate a canonical hierarchy or cancel something out completely. And the reason I'm bringing this up is because while LL borrows TTS lore it also contradicts it? which is. ironic.

but i'll get into that. Spoilers ahead

Basic Summary of The Plot

Our story starts at the Dark Kingdom, with a short prologue. It's all stuff we already know from the series: King Edmund tries to grab the moonstone, his wife dies, Eugene gets sent away for his own safety. What's funny is that Ms Queen still doesn't get a name, but her Lady in Waiting/Handmaiden gets a name (Maeve), and it's Maeve who really drops the ball on dropping Eugene off at an orphanage instead of raising him as Prince Horace. Go girl give us nothing

And from here the LL timeline begins, as Eugene and Arnie are now twelve year olds (I think?) in an orphanage in Corona. Which is the first contradiction to 'canon' but shelve that thought for now. Eugene and Arnie are good little boys but they're getting too old to keep hanging around and the orphanage needs money for the evil Tax Man, so they decide they'll go off into the world and send some money back when they're rich off their famous adventuring. What happens instead is that The Baron's circus rolls into town (yes that Baron) and Eugene and Arnie decide to try their luck signing up for that gig.

To prove themselves to the Baron, Flynn and Lance have to perform a hazing ritual a heist. The heist is literally just to buy a key from the Weasel but it plays out as this huge dramatic thing with a guard chase which is eternally funny to me because two kids walk into a bar, buy a key and then leave, and it's treated like fucking ocean's eleven. The Stabbingtons try to betray them (those guys are here too) but Flynn and Lance outsmart them, beginning a rivalry for the ages. Also, the pub thugs are all part of the Baron's circus crew. Don't think about it too much.

Anyway, as this has all been going down, Eugene is really interested in getting to talk to this guy with a tattoo of (what we as the audience know is) the brotherhood symbol, which Eugene recognises from the note left with him as a baby. He wants to talk to this dude in the hopes he'll get a clue about who his parents are, but this dude keeps eluding him. He also hasn't had a chance to tell Lance about this yet, so when Lance finds out about it he assumes Eugene only tried to rope him into the circus so he could find his parents and ditch him. Cue an ongoing silent treatment.

Eugene eventually does talk to this guy and he learns that the Brotherhood symbol is from the Dark Kingdom but the Dark Kingdom is gone so he shouldn't bother looking for it. Bummer. And now the Baron is planning a huge heist of the reward money for the Lost Princess' return, and Eugene is getting cold feet. He's been okay with a little bit of thievery so far but this feels like too much for him, and he's not okay with pulling it off but Lance still won't talk to him.

As the plan unfolds, Lance and Eugene reconcile and then they work together to betray the Baron and return the stolen treasure that they stole back to the King and Queen. They get caught by the Baron, escape, then get caught by the guards, but it's okay because they're presented to the King and Queen and when Eugene explains that they felt really sorry about it and promise not to do it again they're let go. And so the story ends on a high note.

My Thots™

Okay so here are the thoughts

Canon Compliance?

The obvious takeaway here is that this story offers you a beautiful pie in the form of the characters you know and love and the established lore, then shoves the pie in your face with things like "Eugene already knows the Dark Kingdom and the Moonstone exist but he never brings this up" and "Eugene betrays the Baron in a very significant way but somehow they'll make up and he and Stalyan will get engaged". Which means that if the integrity of the series is important to you, you'll probably just mentally cross out Eugene knowing about the Brohood/DK/Moonstone.

And imo that's fine! My own approach to this story is a kind of general 'if it works it works, if it doesn't I'll leave it' thing to work my own headcanons around. Because there's a lot of fun things to pluck from, like a new ex-Brotherhood member and other characters that could pop up from Eugene's past and other worldbuilding details.

The Story

The story was pretty short and obviously very tailored towards a younger audience, but it still felt kind of... slow? Mostly because nothing particularly exciting is happening until the big heist and even that feels pretty underwhelming. And of course I don't expect a story like this to be particularly complex and can appreciate its simplicity, but I felt like if it had been longer there could have been more twists to keep things interesting.

For example, the Baron is set up as a character not unlike Gothel, who lavishes praise upon the boys and goes on about how they're 'family' but is obviously just manipulating them and would throw them to the wolves in a heartbeat. Eugene underestimates just how criminal the Baron is, but at no point in the story does the doubt we have in the Baron's sincerity ever amount to anything- Eugene only turns against him because he has a morality crisis, which I'll get to in a minute.

Misc. Thoughts

Okay so one thing I thought was really cute was that each chapter has a little 'quote' from a Flynnigan Rider book, and I wrote them all down so if you've read this far and want me to post those separately lemme know. Anyway I just thought it was a very cute touch.

An honourable mention goes to every time Stalyan shows up, she doesn't really do anything in the story yet still is somehow the only character holding the brain cell. Rapunzel gets an indirect cameo by Lance and Eugene stumbling upon her tower and going "Whoa that's Crazy. Anyway. " which is amazing, and Cassandra even gets a little mention by the Captain! And to answer the question nobody asked, there's a chameleon running around Corona because she's an escapee from the circus, and Pascal's mom's name is Amélie!

Characters - okay really just Eugene

Eugene/Flynn is the title character of the book and we get the story exclusively from his POV, so there isn't a lot to say about Lance. On the one hand while I can acknowledge that this is a story about Flynn, not Lance, there's a few choices that feel like a missed opportunity at best given that this book really was an opportunity to explore Lance's character in a way the series never really does.

And it feels extra egregious when the plot demands conflict between Eugene and Lance, because while the emotion between them is engaging when it's happening, at other times it just feels like a convenient way to shove Lance offscreen again. (As a side note, as contrived as the conflict is these are also two twelve year old boys so. Can't blame em too much).

Also, Eugene coming up with the name "Lance Strongbow" on Lance's behalf while he's unconscious is one of those backstory things I'm not going to be acknowledging, thank you.

The Robin Hood Dilemma

Something I touched on after reading What Once Was Mine is that Eugene's characterisation prior to the movie isn't something writers seem to really like... dealing with. And it kind of makes sense that the author received a lot of characterisation notes from Chris Sonnenburg, because little Flynn does feel very similar to the Eugene we know; only the Eugene we know is an adult man who has since grown out of his Flynn Rider persona. But the Flynn Rider persona he needed to grow out of isn't something that ought to be cast aside entirely!! Stop being cowards!!

Taking a step back, the whole premise of the book is kind of a paradox- because Eugene needs to become Flynn Rider before he can learn to embrace his authentic self, but Flynn Rider isn't hero material, he isn't a good guy, he's not the right protagonist for a story for kids. So what we get isn't Flynn Rider, it's really just Eugene trying on a new name. That works for the beginning of the story, because he is just Eugene trying on a new name, but he doesn't grow into it.

At the beginning of the story, Eugene is an orphan in a poor but still functional orphanage run by a kind old lady, and he is surrounded by nice little boys. Eugene is motivated to leave and get a job by a desire to send funds back to the orphanage, and when he joins the Baron's circus he's taken aback to learn he's among thieves. Here's where I thought: okay, this might get interesting. We might be getting a G-rated 'angel falls from heaven' story about Eugene being morally corrupted by the Baron, of learning that the world outside is tough and he needs to look out for himself first and foremost-

but no. The Baron shares his plan to steal the reward money for the Lost Princess, because all the people he's surrounded himself with are already criminals who don't give a shit, but Eugene thinks that this is going too far! What about that poor lost princess who people need an incentive to search for? (he's like, projecting about his own parent issues which is fair, but still). And so the story ends with Eugene turning on the Baron to return the money to the "right" people (aka the king and queen of a kingdom?? okay) but he takes a single golden egg for himself so he can send it to the orphanage.

Which is all sweet and nice but. He still has to become Flynn Rider, asshole extraordinaire. He still has to lose his morals to the point where he'd take an inexperienced young woman to a pub that he, in this book, recognises is a dangerous place in the hopes that he can ditch her. He still has to go and become a wanted thief and rejoin the Baron and then ditch Stalyan on their wedding night.

The reason I'm going on about this so much is that the appeal of Eugene to me is that he is this good guy who wants to be a better person for the people he loves, but that means recognising that he has behaviour he needs to change, and his development is meaningful for that. Watering him down to a righteous Robin Hood hero does him a disservice.

The Real Villain Was Capitalism All Along

I will not elaborate nor should I

#hi i do book reviews now #sorry if you came here for anything else this is who i (cringe) am

[bloo-the-dragon]

How about your boi Reala? (Idk if I spelled that right-)

You. You get me.

First impression:

Oh yeah this guy’s gonna be the bad boy jackass character of the fandom isn’t he LOL

I’m not ashamed to admit i was sold on his character even before i got into watching the full game walkthrough x’D gremlin characters are one of my biggest weaknesses, and i knew he was gonna be one of Those Types (little did i know he wouldn’t be the only one HJKSDF)

I definitely recall though i preferred his NiD design over his JoD design, like the JoD design is fine and all (i like the venice carnival theme with the persona mask) but the NiD attire fit with the clown aesthetic that has been giving me brain worms for the last year or so LOL

I was more attached to NiGHTS at first ngl but i found Reala to be a fun counterpart! I was also super happy when Reala referred to NiGHTS as his sibling because that instantly made their dynamic and potential backstory (which i was not yet fully aware of) much more interesting to me.

Impression now:

SON!!!

GREMLIN!!

ANGRY CAT!!

ALL THE ABOVE AND MORE-

I am VERY MUCH IN LOVE WITH HIS CHARACTER!!

No not in a self-ship romance way because i am ace/aro but even then i don’t mean in love with the character but i’m in love with how he is portrayed as a character, what with the backstory and everything!

Despite the fact his backstory and character is not fully explored or developed in the canon games (lookin’ at you especially JoD) the few tidbits we did get were enough to really spike my interest in learning more about Reala and NiGHTS’ shared past, and their relationship before NiGHTS’ defected. BUT ONCE AGAIN THE FANDOM PROVIDES and with that little info we did get, the fandom managed to expand on it with headcanons and other fun stuff and built Reala into a very interesting and complex character with a very heavy burden on his shoulders-

Favorite moment:

Man how do i CHOOSE-

Nah actually i gotta admit the scene in JoD with Helen falling through the portal Reala made with that ridiculous scream and Reala giggling his head off has to be my favourite because of how heckin HILARIOUS it is! x’D

But if i were to pick one also for NiD specifically, i’d say the entire boss fight with NiGHTS. :)

Idea for a story:

Ohhhhh i’ve had ideas galore for this guy HFJKDF

Specifically post-games where i’ve entertained ideas on how he and NiGHTS would slowly mend that broken bond, because even though Reala finally agreed to take his siblings side, doesn’t mean he isn’t still affected by past hurts and betrayals which would take a long time to heal.

Any ideas i have had though would all take place within the Theatre with Balan and Lance, because i love the idea the maestro brothers would play a big part in aiding in the mending of NiGHTS and Reala’s relationship. Originally i had thought on going the route with Lance working with Reala and Balan working with NiGHTS because their personalities seem to match each other-

BUT THEN! I figured it would actually be A LOT MORE INTERESTING if Balan worked with Reala and Lance worked with NiGHTS!

Balan works with Reala in helping to fix his trust issues, and help him heal from his traumas too as a result from suffering under Wizeman for so long. And the idea that Balan radiates this warming energy that just puts Reala more at ease, and makes him feel more safe and therefore more willing to open up i feel just works.

(NiGHTS on the other hand, i think would benefit from Lance’s aid because NiGHTS would have bottled up all his guilt over his defection and Lance would help him contront that guilt on how his actions had very real consequences in regards to how it affected his siblings, by bringing it out and helping NiGHTS to deal with it and overcome it)

Unpopular opinion:

Once again i had to ponder this one for a while because i don’t really think there is anything i outright disagree with a majority on. Most of what i disagree with many already are the same so it’s hard to really say xD

I guess his JoD design could count though... i’m not a big fan of it xD (aside from the persona mask) he looks more like a samurai/soldier than the jester he’s supposed to be which i guess does work in it’s own way when we consider how he’s trying to fulfil the role of general for Wizeman’s army and it’s a role he was never truly designed for, so it clearly clashes with his overall theme.

Favorite relationship:

Obviously his sibling relationship with NiGHTS and Jackle xD NiGHTS i’ve already gone into detail a bit, but Jackle also because i love the idea that after NiGHTS left Jackle was the only support Reala had left, and thats what kept him mostly stable during the events of NiD. But come the time of JoD, Jackle is no longer around (not dead but hiding from Wizeman whilst also searching for a new home for his siblings which i will mention is a hc of mine so don’t take it as being actual canon fact xD) and so he no longer has that support around to keep him grounded. But unlike NiGHTS, Reala understands why Jackle had to go into hiding and in fact even encouraged it!

Didn’t make things any easier for him though, and it would have definitely had an impact. (History always seems to repeat itself in one way or another doesn’t it)

Favorite headcanon(s):

I love the idea that NiGHTS and Reala, being twins were never truly meant to be separated which is why when NiGHTS defected it had such a devastating effect of Reala in the long term. Jackle being around in the beginning helped delay the worst of the emotional impact it had on Reala, and perhaps part of him at first thought NiGHTS would still come back, he’s always been rebellious afterall.

(Spoiler alert - he never came back)

Also i am 100% on board with the idea Reala was never truly evil. Being a nightmaren and following his natural instinct to gather ideya aside, he’s just doing what he must because he wants to please Wizeman, please his master, his creator his father-

This combined with the idea that of the two twins, NiGHTS was the favourite it really pushes on why Reala (at least in JoD) seems so intensly keen on being as loyal to Wizeman as he can, in both his dress and his actions. But i also enjoy the take that he was never truly jealous of NiGHTS being the favourite, but he wanted to be up there with his twin in daddy’s spotlight as his two most precious children. He wanted to share that with his twin, his other half, his sibling.

Really hits harder when you remember that NiGHTS eventually defected and abandoned him (the latter coming from Reala’s perspective) and instead of Wizeman’s gaze looking to Reala as the new favourite instead he see’s him as a new means to vent his frustration.

Which coincides well with the headcanon First Levels can’t be killed, not even by Wizeman himself. Gotta wonder where Reala got all those scars afterall.

#nights into dreams #nights journey of dreams #nightsposting #balan wonderworld #Reala #questions and answers #anon #I know this post is about Reala but i wanted to throw that little tidbit with NiGHTS #under the Idea for a Story section because i just wanted to clarify how Lance would help with NiGHTS #dealing with his own troubles #but yeah man Reala has SO MUCH to him it's a real shame he was so underdeveloped #in the main games #NiD can be excused tbh given it is a less story driven game #but JoD had all the opportunities to really go there with Reala and NiGHTS as characters #with their backstory and interactions #but sadly it never happened #and they did Reala a real dirty at the end of the game #not to mention his boss fights oh dear lord #who thought dodgeball was a good idea?! xD #But i digress #at least once again the fandom provides #can't ask for more than that xD

[polikszena]

I was tagged by the amazing @here-there-everyfuckenwhere to do this ask meme for Ted Lasso (Thank you for tagging me! :) ): 

My favorite female character: I love Keeley as well, but I choose Rebecca. I really like her story arc that she starts like a Disney villain but then, influenced by an overly optimistic American football coach and a model/PR-person, she rediscovers herself and becomes a boss ass bitch with an amazing wardrobe.

My favorite male character: Okay, this one is easy to answer, Trent Crimm, The Independent. He wasn’t my favourite from the beginning, but I always liked him, and then came the end of season 2 when he turned his back not only to his current workplace, but to his whole profession, a part of his identity, because he had to reveal some confidential information about someone he cared for. And I thought, now that’s interesting, and this is how it all started.

My favorite season: While I loved the tour to the dark forest in Season 2, I have to go with Season 1, mostly because of its feelgood atmosphere (Season 2 still has this, but there’s a lot more drama, too) and because it could show that kindness does go a long way, but without being too didactic.

My favorite episode: Definitely 1x03, the Trent episode, and 2x10, the funeral one, because that one made me laugh really hard, and two minutes later cry, and then in ten minutes it made me laugh and cry at the same time.

My favorite cast member: Tough question, because I love the dynamics of the whole cast, but I have to go with Jason Sudeikis from the main, because I think he is a very nice person and did an amazing job in SNL (honestly, I wouldn’t have started watching SNL sketches if it weren’t for him, and now I’m reading a 600-page long book on the history of SNL). And I have to add James Lance from the recurring cast as well, on one hand because I had no idea who he was before Ted Lasso and thanks to him now I know a fair amount of British comedy shows that had never got past the English Channel, and on the other hand because based on his interviews he seems to be a very cool person and I really like his views on comedy, acting and life in general.

My favorite ship: This might be surprising, but my favourite ships in this fandom are not the romantic ones. I like Roy and Keeley a lot (and also, the Higginses), but the ship I’m the most invested in here is platonic (at least to me). And yes, that’s Ted&Trent. I love their dynamics through the whole show, especially in 1x03 when we can see Ted winning him over by being genuinely open towards him and from “Is this a fucking joke?” we get to “I won’t gloat when it happens” and from then Trent still keeps asking uncomfortable questions, but their vibe is totally different, now there is mutual respect that only grows with time. Even so that it leads to Trent getting himself fired from The Independent, although I think the whole thing was way more complex than just that. And I totally understand why people ship them romantically, but I just don’t see them that way. I definitely think there is a huge potential for them to develop a deep and meaningful relationship, but to me it’s platonic. (Partially due to the reason that I can’t see Trent in a committed romantic/sexual relationship with anyone of any gender) I have similar feelings towards Ted and Rebecca as well, to be honest: they are on the edge of an OTP and a BROTP, but recently I tend more and more toward the latter.

A character I’d die defending: I’d go with Sassy here, because I don’t think she did anything wrong when she slept with Ted, and I absolutely love that she instantly clicked with Keeley and now they are like they were best friends for years.

A character I just can’t sympathize with: Rupert Bloody Mannion. And Jane. I don’t like her at all.

A character I grew to love: I’d say Higgins. In the first few episodes I rather felt sorry for him for being a Disney villain’s sidekick, but then it turned out that he’s one of the most down-to-earth people on Nelson Road, he’s kind and generous and he’s not afraid to be silly around his people and I think that’s great.

My anti otp: Coach Beard/Jane. A few days ago I read a very interesting meta about Beard and his relationship with Jane, and it made me understand them a little bit more, but it still makes me sad to see him in a relationship like this.

Tagging: Anyone who wants to do this either for Ted Lasso or for any other fandom (Or you can also reblog the meme from here)

#sorry long post #dash games #ted lasso #rebecca welton #trent crimm #flo sassy collins #leslie higgins #coach beard #jason sudeikis #james lance

[neokonewman]

Honestly? I think what tangled failed to do was make sure characters had good chemistry as friends. Seriously Cass and Rapunzel where like crude oil and the ocean. One single match from destruction. Season one is bottom barrel because it goes out of it's way to excuse Frederick for his shit. Season two was actually really good because Rapunzel was still herself and was making tough choices left and right. Season 3? Ohhhh boy. Season 3 was a half good half bad because while I do applaud her trying to bring her friend back into the fold? Cassandra wasn't wrong when she said "this has to stop now. This thing where you THINK you've been my friend". Cuz as far as I could tell? They were never friends. Hell even when being a slow burn villain, Varian had better friend chemistry with Rapunzel. When the show expects me to swallow "Cass and I are besties.and sisters!" whole sale? I'm not buying it.

Oooooh boy! This ask is just dripping with potential rant power. Sorry in advance for how long this answer is destinied to be!

First things first. I absolutely agree with you on how badly TTS handles chemistry amongst the main characters. Cass gets the worst of it because she is shoehorned as Rapunzel’s BFF off screen and suddenly she has equal sway on Rapunzel as Eugene? Her character can’t even be allowed to breathe most of the time because the show is obsessed with sticking her next to Rapunzel to the point that she can’t grow any further away from her. At least other show original characters like Lance and Varian have an actual introduction and a place in the world outside of Rapunzel, but even then they suffer because Rapunzel is upfront and center and there is very little wiggle room for interactions that don’t have at least have some involvement with her. It’s here where our opinions differ however.

I would make the bold claim by sayin that S1 of TTS is by far and away the best out of the three. Yes it has the glaring flaw of bias for Frederic and against Varian that makes me question whether or not it should be considered “good” but it’s much better balanced than the other two seasons that follow it. In S1 we actually get character who aren’t Rapunzel more chances to shine without her stealing the spotlight away at the last moment. In S1 we actually have an actual conflict that drives the story forward and at least pretends to care about developing the characters. Even the obnoxious bias could have still worked out in the shows favor if they were ever properly addressed in story and not swept under the rug like they were in later seasons. Heck, I would go as far as to argue that the worst parts of S1 is the fact that S2 and S3 make it worse retroactively.

S2 in my opinion is the dullest of the three, by a wide margin. With them never addressing what the mains left behind in S1 as well as taking the threat of the rocks away WAY too early, the conflict is particularly nonexistent. Not only that, but it does what I think is the worst thing a show can do during a season long journey. They never actually develop the world outside of Corona. They established that there are 6 other kingdoms in the alliance with Corona, but the most we get of any of them is the one throwaway line about them being close to the mountains of Koto in Freebird. Other than that we overstay in three separate places that end up being worthless to the plot as a whole. After spending three episodes in Vardaros right out the bat, we never return or what’s become of them afterwards. Them mains stranded on the Island is pretty dull and is only memorable to me because they had the guts of mentioning Varian again and established that Rapunzel STILL has an unhealthily delusional bias for Frederic despite of everything. The House of Yesterday’s tomorrow is just an excuse of shoehorning a bunch of magical hijink cliches that aren’t done very interesting. Heck, despite them spending a whole season getting to the Dark Kingdom, they only spend an episode and a half there and only a single night in universe. The rest of S2 is just filler that don’t even develop the characters or tell any interesting stories. Like, an enchanted forest episode even though the mid season finale takes place in another enchanted forest? A repeat of the first part of Tangled the movie with Cass replacing Eugene? Whatever the heck “Curses” was supposed to accomplish? The only thing interesting that S2 introduces is the Brotherhood, and we all know how little they are used afterwards.

I would also like to point out that at the start of S2, the mains just…. Stop developing almost entirely? Cass and Eugene never have any meaningful moments together like they do in S1, and are reduced to just taking potshots at each other to remind us that they have some sort of relationship. Lance is reduced strictly to comedic relief and in my opinion is just there to give Eugene something to do when he is removed from the plot because once again, the show is obsessed with making Rapunzel and Cass’ friendship be a thing that only matters. Hookfoot is just there to give his stand up routine about how marriage is terrible in the first episode of the season and just to exist afterwards, yet he SOMEHOW gets actual episodes focused on him while Lance suffers. Even characters properly introduced this season are cursed to never flesh out because Adira keeps pulling a vanishing act for no established reason, Hector is only gets any lines in his debut episode and never given any real focus again, and Edmund gets the same treatment as the other dads (except maybe Captain) by getting his entire character reduced to one trope later on in S3. Speaking of…

S3…. Ooooh boy S3. It’s not as boring as S2 for me, but that’s only because it’s a media equivalent of a train wreck that I couldn’t look away from. It’s like they took the two major issues of the past two seasons (the clear bias and shallow filler) and mashed them together while trying to savage it by inserting what worked in S1, (actual conflict) but completely missed the point why it worked in the first place. All pretense of caring about any other character other than Rapunzel and Cass is gone in this season. Even episodes that focus on anyone outside of Rapunzel, ends up ending with Rapunzel saving the day because she is the only one allowed to be heroic anymore.

They try to make Cass’ villain arc as complex as Varian’s but for some reason they think her blaming a literal baby for being kidnapped is enough grounds to go on a murder streak without one episode of hesitation. Lance is just there for bottom barrel dumb humor, yet the show thinks he is responsible enough to raise two kids on his own. Varian falls into the pigeon hole of just being the “kid character that hangs with the grown up mains” trope that he managed to avoid in S1 while also being just a plot device to not only give the mains access to tech, but also get shoehorned into scenes to keep the audience somewhat invested. Eugene is literal retconned in universe to be just a bland supportive boyfriend. Rapunzel, my gosh Rapunzel…. She treated is so painfully “perfect” to the point that she is completely unrelated. I’m not calling her a Mary Sue because they only ACT like she is perfect. She is still a hugely flawed human being, but the other characters just applaud her because she is “the magical, wonderous sundrop” and very little else. Also yes, Rapunzel being obsessed over Cass while playing off all the horrible actions her BFF as her being lost is the most frustrating thing ever. It’s as if she became Frederic from S1 and abandoned everyone else well being in favor of one person who doesn’t even want her attention, only worse because it’s made into a good thing. Again, S1 is made retroactively worse because of the seasons that follow it.

There is much more things wrong with S3 than S2, but honestly I find myself changing my mind a lot whether which one is objectively worse. Like making a show boring is arguably the worst thing you can do, but the choices, morals, and all around writing of S3 is just bad. Then again the writing in S2 is honestly pretty on par with S3 at times, so again, it’s a toss up.

Sorry again if this answer is a lot, but it was pretty fun at the same time. Thanks for the ask. ^^

#long post #tangled criticism #tangled discourse #negativity #negative #not tagging the main tags anymore to avoid spamming #discourse mention #also cass and rapunzel are just not sisters #not even in a sisters from another mister sense #it’s okay to just be friends with your friends #heck i would argue whether or not they should be even considered friends at all sometimes #neo muses #neo rants #neo answers #jade-rosepine