#no one was really wrong in this subplot imo
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The older I get, the more I like Daisy. When I was a kid first reading the series, I was so mad at her for getting between Cloudtail and Brightheart like a typical shipper and thought she was annoying but like...she's just a chick who only falls for men who are taken or just want to hook up. She's annoying, but only in the sense that like, your girlfriend who can't catch a break on dating sites is. You love her to death, but damn if you don't want her to finally find someone who treats her right after like 100 terrible dates.
#warrior cats#the fact that the nicest guy to her turned out to be married in a verse that doesn't make it super clear is...really heartbreaking actually#without wedding rings or anything it's not like she would've had any way of knowing so she really thought she had a chance#cloudtail just inherited firestar's obliviousness brightheart was still massively traumatized and daisy thought she'd finally found the one#no one was really wrong in this subplot imo#my post
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Chapter 12 Progress [08/APR]
Hey gang, I've started posting updates on my Patreon now that I'm actually making some damn progress on this chapter, so I figured to cross-post the latest update here as well. These are usually for members only but it's been sooo long, the ones I'm posting in April are all going to be for free 🙏🏼
This progress report focuses on a specific section of what I'm working on regarding CH12 and, more specifically, Kham.
About Kham
This one is turning out to be a bigger branching route than I expected. For those not in the know, I described in my dev sneak peek from last month how the opening scene of CH12 will involve the Crown dealing (or not dealing?) with Kham. It will be a bit of a culmination of all the choices you've made regarding Kham so far: did you inform her of the assassins in CH5, did you decide to trust her/were you honest with her in CH6, and did you choose to ask her to mediate for you in CH10?
Particularly that last decision will lead to the biggest difference in scenery: if you asked for Kham's help, you will get a scene at the palace involving her and the peri trader. If you decided not to ask her, however, the story will instead see you investigating the peri trader personally.
Initially, these were both two very clear branching paths with two very clear-cut consequences, but I decided it made more sense to offer additional variation. Choosing not to ask for her help with the peri trader will NOT lock you out of being able to ally with her... but the circumstances of it will be quite different compared to a player who has trusted Kham from the start and asked for her help.
You can, of course, decide not to ally with her on either branch as well, if you don't think she can be trusted. In which case, you should be prepared to make an enemy out of her: there's no fence-sitting on this one, and there won't be any chances to make an ally of her later on in the story. Similarly, if she turns out to be untrustworthy, and you make an ally out of her now, there won't be any takebacksies later... so you might end up stabbed in the back.
This is your one and only shot, so choose wisely.
About D and X
I'm currently working on the branch of the Crown dealing with the peri trader without Kham's involvement, and it's a pretty fun variation. There are some undercover detective vibes going on, and it's nice to write a scene set in the city as opposed to the palace for some variety. Though I've also dabbled in the route with Kham's help, and the Crown really flexes their royal authority in that one. Can go no wrong with either option in terms of entertainment, imo!
What's also been fun to explore further is how the main LI's subplot is starting to affect things in the story. I do have to note that for the branching sequence with the Kham choice, there's a bit of a spotlight on D and X since those two were gone for a whole chapter, so they get to spend some special time with the Crown in the first half of CH12. But R and A will be back for the rest of it!
I'll give you some D and X route crumbs this week since I've been chipping away at that one first, and hopefully I'll also have some on R and A next time:
For people who aren't on D's route, they'll get to find out something special about D that D romancers became privy to in CH11. It doesn't change much for the Crown on those routes, just some D lore you may enjoy and an opportunity to grow your friendship further.
As for D romancers, you all may or may not get a potentially devastating sequence depending on how your Crown handled their little court scene in CH11. If you managed to protect D, then all the better, but if you couldn't stamp out the court's protests... well, let's just say your Crown is going to have to be the one to inform D of any bad news.
Plus there's that damned letter to worry about. I'm sure that won't become any kind of problem at all.
For people who aren't on X's route, things are peachy! Honestly, all of the drama that happens for X romancers is not a big deal for everyone else, since X's romance with the Crown is the thing that causes them to act out. X friendship players are coasting in that regard, you just enjoy seeing X get to be their usual menace self.
For people who are romancing X, people on their low route might start noticing something different about them. Their actions in the high and low romances will be the exact same, but the vibes on the low route will be off, to say the least. You can still recover to a high route! But it will require having to pierce through that mask X is so fond of wearing...
High romancers: kick back, relax, and enjoy your upcoming romance content guilt-free LMAO
That was it for this week!! I wish I could give you an estimated release window, but I've been wrestling with this chapter, and I'm frankly deeply afraid I won't be able to finish it before summer rolls in 💀
Please keep your local struggling writer in your thoughts and prayers, and as always thank you for your patience and support 🙏🏼
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If they do a sequel movie a realistic plot imo would be the group going on vacation together. I think they could all get plots out of that and make a more group-dynamic focused movie like the original show was. And like super basic romcom trope heavy because I lack creativity. And they could have the different subplots be:
-Chase: Trying to find a way to propose to Zoey but things keep going wrong (I think we could get so many funny Micheal/Logan/Chase moments out of this and then trying to help him)
-Micheal: I think him being in his trying to get a gf era could be funny like him trying (and probably failing) with a bunch of different girls at the resort but then he ends up finding someone like super unexpected😭
-Quinn: Selfishly I want her in her pregnant era and trying to find a way to tell Logan but also nervous bc they’re both so busy and now they’re going to have a kid. Also, just random funny quinnventions please!! And her being herself like interacting with the dangerous animals/insects bc she’s not scared while everyone else is kinda thing😭
Logan: Goes hand in hand with Quinn’s plot and we get a super cute scene with him reassuring her and being husband goals 😭❤️ (while simultaneously trying to sneak away with her from the group and getting overly annoyed when he fails bc someone pulls one of them away). Also, I think if Logan’s dad passes away him trying to live up to his dad and start handling the company/be more responsible (like anthony bridgerton core) which plays into why Quinn is nervous about the baby (they’re both busy). Also, I require one scene of some random person attempting to flirt with Quinn and Logan being one drink away from knocking them out for that (like a my wife type of scene)
Zoey: She’s trying to get her friends together or something to spend time with them. OR she got like a job offer to be running a reality show production in some distant place and wants to have a fun vacation with her friends before she has to move + being nervous to tell chase about it?? idk i really don’t care for their subplot
Anyways just how I think it could realistically go for a sequel movie that will be more nostalgic/similar to the original show. You could have funny sitcom tropes like them being lost/stuck on a boat and that’s when all the secrets come out (quinn pregnant, chase wanting to propose, zoey’s job, etc) and they all get mad at eachother but they’re stuck together.
Also, a funny plot could be they run into Lola while they’re there and as sad as it is I think they lost touch with her bc like why wasn’t she at quogan’s wedding so like her reconnecting with everyone or something idk I want her back though!!
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GWitch 23 thoughts
Sorry for the wait on this, I had to rewatch a few times to really drink in everything that was going on. I didn't have the best knee-jerk reaction initially ( I enjoyed it ofc but was a bit ambivalent about some things) and wanted to give it a fair shake.
First up, seeing Suletta zip around like the ace pilot she is was quite rewarding and fun! Now all those auto-pilot rumors can be laid to rest. However, the circumstances weren't the best and it broke my heart she was gasping for air the entire time. I had no doubt she'd live but it's still miserable to witness that
Ah Lauda. Your tomfoolery knows no bounds. We knew this was coming after the last ep, but it's still a bit frustrating. On a technical narrative level, it works since we're seeing two sets of siblings confront their simmering tension with one another. On a personal level, I wasn't very amused. I first saw this at 4 in the morning and had no patience for Lauda lmao. But rewatching it a few times gave me a deeper appreciation for what's going on. He's really intent on scapegoating Mio for everything wrong in his life. Fitting for her role as the Rose Bride and Lauda's demonized witch
This little aside from Chuchu is so suspicious tbh. Considering Mio's failure at piloting, this seems to imply either she does not have a permet implant of any sort or a flat intolerance. I have a sneaking suspicion it'll become a factor in the next episode.
Mio staring wistfully at Cool-san/etc memento of Suletta will always grab me by the throat. Girl wants to wife up Suletta so bad. And really, who could blame her?
Schwarzette is so pretty and cool. Unfairly so. Like, why did you make that thing so unique and cool? For dipstick Lauda?? Who is that pink permet for and why does it look like Utena??? ANSWER ME OKOUCHI
That's nice of Delling to rise from his sickbed to try and negotiate with the SAL. Unfortunately, this would be for naught because they're here to purge and replace. Not make nice. It was the thought that counts, I suppose.
Speaking of, the debut of a solar ray blindsided me. I mean, yeah it's Gundam, but I kinda thought we were skipping the big death ray lmao. After sitting on it, I think I know where it's headed. Totally on brand for SAL too in hindsight. They like to act removed, but they're just as entrenched as Benerit in the skeevy corpo politics. Allying with Ochs and now Peil cements it
Check the link above to see my Utena related thoughts on this moment btw. It might be the highlight of the episode beyond the Prospera confrontation. Stunned they finally stopped playing coy and seemingly confirm Notrette is indeed a GUND entity residing in pseudo hell, and likely a GWitch newtype like Eri
This was very sweet and I enjoy it more on a rewatch but I also understand why I and so many people had a gut-deep aversion to this subplot. The issue is entirely investment based imo, and tbh I just don't care that much about the Jeturk family dynamics. At best, I don't mind them. Guel is a bro but Lauda is SO exhausting on multiple levels. His misogyny and gross negligence of Petra in favor of revenge doesn't help.
If something came of this other than Lauda/Guel sibling closure, I'd consider it fulfilling. But if you lack investment in the conflict, it's going to feel limp or frustrating in comparison to the siblings you want to see. So while I appreciate the parallel with Suletta/Eri and the continuing subtext of witch coded Mio, that's it for me. But hey, it serves a purpose. A tragic cycle was broken after all, thanks to love and MVP Felsi!
The one big gripe I have after consideration is this man's continued existence. Kenanji doesn't deserve to play buddy buddy with the cast. He's a dirty space cop who bullies children and murdered Nadim, now he's joking with 5lan? The hell. I get the theme of the show is forgiveness and not perpetuating the cycle of revenge but... really? KENANJI gets to be happy but Norea/Sophie don't? Sigh
It was so dirty of Eri to use Suletta's love for Mio against her. She knows Suletta would panic over their mother possibly 'gaining two'. It's crafty and unrepentant, but Suletta holds fast. Her faith in Mio is greater than her idle fears
Mio scolding Prospera over her favoritism was great. We love a fiancé willing to take a stand against her shit in-laws. Speaking of, looks like Mio has fully embraced becoming a Mercury one day. 'All of us will be family' YEAH YOU WILL so suck it up Prospera. The holidays are gonna be so awkward
Btw love Mio was shouting at her while having an emotional breakthrough deciphering her mother's QZ riddle. This moment was excellent and easily superceded my minor gripes. UGH when will you reveal Notrette's whole deal GWitch? We're waiting
Such a bittersweet moment. We know from the Blessing and Cradle Planet that Eri loves her sister but it may not have been until this moment that Suletta understands her feelings. Now, I don't think she's 'dead' tbh. Or deader anyway. I suspect it's a false flag to hook you until the finale. It would be quite anti-climactic if she passed without a proper goodbye. I'm still holding out on a Tempest end where Prospera voluntarily sets her free.
The next Sunday will be our last. Hard to believe tbh. Feels like just yesterday we set out on this spectacular journey. Que sera sera! I'll see y'all in the finale~
#Wish Eri had the endcard tbh but oh well#maybe they're saving it for the end#g witch#g witch spoilers#suletta mercury#miorine rembran#gundam witch from mercury#sulemio#prospera mercury#ericht samaya#guel jeturk#lauda neill#g witch episode 23
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Now that I've seen all the scenes related to the Gur children, I have to agree that the way it's handled leaves a really bad taste in my mouth.
He's SO flippant about having abducted children from a marginalized people. If I'm being honest, I don't think the Gur subplot is necessary at all - there's literally no reason for this game to include such violent anti-Romani racism - but we AT LEAST should be able to confront him about it. Instead, he just brushes it off like "yeah haha. I did abduct children I guess. Oopsie!" and that's it. Now, compare that with how he feels about Sebastian, one of his first victims. Don't get me wrong, I understand why Sebastian would be a sore spot for Astarion, but when you put the Sebastian scene next to the children one, it makes the latter feel particularly egregious in its disregard for the seriousness of the subject matter. The fact that we can't confront him about how fucked up his behavior is indicates to me that Larian didn't seem to think it was worth following up on either.
Tbh I'm less interested in what this says about Astarion as a character and more interested in what it says about Larian as a studio and what their values and priorities are. The way Astarion's story is written makes it pretty clear that they don't understand the heaviness with which such violently racist acts should be treated if they're going to include them (again, it's not fucking necessary!!!). The only moment where I feel like the evil of Astarion's actions is treated appropriately is when Ulma tells him that he can't ever make up for what he's done despite having a second chance. I'm glad they included that, but it's not enough.
I still like Astarion a lot, I find him compelling for a lot of reasons, but this aspect of his story is not handled appropriately at all imo.
EDIT: I also want to make it clear that I know Astarion absolutely sucks ass and is a shitty person and I don't want him to be a good person nor do I need the narrative to condemn him for his actions!!! But shit like this affects real people and it should be approached with a lot of care that I feel the game lacks.
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OK, why the hell was I not aware of Doom Patrol until like literally 2 days ago??
I'm on episode 7 now and it's so good???
The general premise is quite familiar to any lover of superhero stuff. Basically due to some circumstances several people somehow attain unusual powers and are gathered in the huge-ass house (the energy bills must be insane) by a mysterious Chief. And then weird shit starts happening.
I think in regards to general set-up it's a bit similar to Umbrella Academy, but in smaller details and characterizations it's a completely different thing.
The characters? - They are actually good people. Flawed, yeah, definitely, some of them did pretty messed up stuff in the past, but they're constantly trying to do better, be better. Deeply human, despite their supernatural abilities. I know that complete irredeemable assholes are quite popular with the public nowadays, but for me personally I like characters that have kindness in them, someone I could actually root for, and with at least some semblance of a moral compass.
The dynamic? Great! Everyone there is with their distinct quirks and loads of trauma, somehow culminating into a messed up but highly entertaining to watch found family. Also, at least for now - no romance within the group! Yey! Praise the gods, honestly, because you've no idea how annoyed I would be otherwise (a lot of media is ruined forever by adding a completely unnecessary romance subplots imo. Hollywood can't grasp the concept of love like 99% of the time). But with the way it's going and what kind of dynamic people there have with each other, any romance between them seems highly unlikely.
Humor? Oh yes! I'm too lazy to look for specific quotes, but because the characters are so different from each other, from their personalities and experiences to time periods, their interactions and reactions to the same events are hilarious.
The meta from The Narrator aka Mr Nobody is also top tear. I quite like meta things in media in general, and it's not easy to do it well, but here it's executed just right. The interesting thing about this running commentary on the events happening is that despite the seemingly omniscient perspective it's clear that The Narrator is biased and you can't really take his every word and opinion as absolute reality.
Also, one thing that I personally appreciate - even though there is a fair amount of graphic violence and gore, it's actually manageable and not crossing the "violence just for the shock value" line. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy some on-screen dismemberment every once in a while, but not when it starts to get gross. No way near the level of the Boys (please don't kill me, I like their memes).
Overall, this particular mix of scifi and magic, tragedy, comedy, heartfelt moments and good plot managed to resonate with my brain's wavelength. So here we go. Enjoy
My favorite flavor of absolute bonkers happening all the time
#ghost's tales from the abyss#I learned about this show's existence when I was searching for dead boy detectives' release date#because hello#ghosts and investigations are my two favourite things#and then I discovered that those characters are featured in 3rd? season of Doom Patrol#And I clicked on the ep.1 out of curiosity#doom patrol#also brandon fraser is in this?
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I remembered you said you didn't like cyril with lysithea as a pairing, but which is worse, lysithea or hilda?
?
I don't think one is worse than the other but if you want my opinion on Cyril ships...
Uh... Hilda?
Wins this by a landslide?
The entire "Goneril House had slaves" subplot might have evaporated from the Fodlan devs, FEH remembered it lol
Sure, Hilda might not have been the one who had a slave, being it was her great Uncle Gildas or someone else... And it's kind of heartwarming to see her warm up to Cyril despite his Almyran origins because of all of his hardwork...
And yet, it makes me very uncomfortable, because you basically have someone, a young Noble Lady, whose house enslaves people, who basically tells a former slave from her own House, that she values him because he works so hard :/
Even if Uncle Gildas was the one who "hired" Cyril, it's, imo, pretty disturbing.
I much prefer an ending and resolution of Hilda's bias against Almyrans through Claude (where the slavery issue of House Goneril can be properly adressed) than... have Uncle Gildas attend to his former slave's wedding with his niece, hell, will new Almyran children be hired to attend to their needs or what?
All jokes aside, even if Cyril had been a slave to another house, I still think there's something really disturbing on how Cyril doesn't mean doing her tasks/chores because she's lazy - sure, Hilda has self confidence issues, but between doing something and being afraid of being judged for doing them well, and letting a former child slave do them for you.... I think one option is still way more preferable than the other.
Even if Hilda is not the kind of person (at least in FE16 lol) to enforce her role as... someone with a higher status than him, (something Cyril believes Claude would, and Claude's "stop being so cold to me don't you know who I am?" really sounds wrong) given Cyril's history with House Goneril, Hilda's lack of commitment to this particular issue when it's brought to her (blame Fodlan's writing I guess, or she really dgaf?)...
Yep, Hilda by a landslide.
As for Lys...
Blame it on CF being my first route, and Nopes slaughtering the Deers, but Lys is now the kind of person who can and will sell her friends, country and family to the person who ruined them, if it means she might have a better chance at life.
I think this mindset is completely... at odds with Cyril, who feels so grateful and indebted to Rhea that he is willing to offer his life (and to die for her) and even so, he feels like it will never be enough to repay her.
I don't have any Cyril ships - I much prefer him in a relationship (platonic, familial, whatever) where he can finally have friends and start living little by little, with people who finally care for him.
Even if he was completely shafted in Nopes, I got the feeling he and Rhea talked more, and maybe Rhea might, off-screen because Nopes, tell him to live his life without feeling tied to her? Given how she obviously angsts not once but twice about him dying for her sake in AG (when they run away from GM and when Cyril has an exploration dialogue explaining he cannot fight with Barney and pals because Rhea'd be upset if he died!) they might become closer and have the convo they have in FE16 (off-screen because Rhea cannot be on screen when it's not about Billy!) and ask him to stop living to repay a perceived debt, but live for himself now.
#anon#replies#cyril stuff#let the ship wars begin lol#with all the discourse FE16 had#I'm not surprised there was no place for shipping discourse
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episode that you love?
im only on season four but i've got a couple of faves so far:
1x21 'three stories': it's practically law that i have to include this. absolute classic of an episode. i love the format, i love the backstory we get, and i especially love the med students!! they were fun and i hope they come back at some point. probably not but im still holding out hope. teacher!house was great to see too, and the deep-dive into his backstory is so delightfully painful and heart-wrenching,,, oughgh
2x07 'hunting': very fun episode!! "what, because you're a closet case?" absolutely killed me the first time i watched it. get their asses lmao. also we get to see steve mcqueen (my beloved <3) and cameron on meth - fun times!
2x15 'clueless' and 2x16 'safe': mainly for the hilson roommates subplot tbf, but the cases were interesting too! these eps also had a lot of funny moments, like wilson sawing through house's cane and the whole tick debacle lmao
3x02 'cane & able': where do i start with this one. first of all the awful cgi hallucinations were fucking hilarious, i was so fucking confused tho. like the whole time i was just going helllo???? aliens????? great stuff. the rest case itself was really fun too!! and this is the one where we get the infamous "i was worried that your wings would melt" speech. oughghgh top tier content right there.
3x04 'lines in the sand': controversial take right here. this is the infamous autism episode. the way they handled it was. well. it was 2006. so. the case itself was interesting too, but the main highlight for me is the autistic house moments <3 and look. i KNOW wilson says house doesn't actually have autism. but MASKING EXISTS, WILSON!! you can pry this headcanon out of my cold dead hands. i support autism rights but i also support autism wrongs or however the meme goes. more people should get to be autistic and jerks i think <3 (saying all this as a guy who most likely has autism btw. i havent got an official diagnosis but uhhhh yeah it's Likely.)
3x07 'son of coma guy': hilson road trip! plus coma guy ig. but mainly hilson road trip :) i love them.
4x02 'the right stuff': i love love love the whole gameshow-esque thing house starts. we get to see some great characters (amber! kutner! dobson my beloved!!!!), and it's just all round a bit of fun. love it.
4x05 'mirror mirror': another fun one!! the mirror syndrome guy gives us a lot of fun insights into the applicant's personalities, i thought that was a really fun way of showing it rather than have a million expositions about each of them lol. also the banter was fun this episode, especially between house, wilson and cuddy. also we find out that wilson is more dominant than house and that kutner's a masochist. great fuel for fic writers. fun!
4x12 'don't ever change': ohohhoo i love this one. the case was alright but the best bit abt it imo was the house, wilson and amber dynamic. i love this trio so fucking much you don't understand,,, i honestly think we should've got poly wilson/amber/house. just think abt it... house and amber friendly rivalry... teaming up to bully wilson... and also amber and wilson bullying house together... would it be a little dysfunctional? yes. but that's to be expected in this show lmao. idk why this turned into a pitch for these three i just love them very very much <3
4x13 'no more mr. nice guy': again for the wilson/amber/house dynamic. this one is very fun i love their custody dispute over wilson, and the dog analogy was very funny to me. and cuddy making house and amber do coma patient duty lmao. AND bisexual thirteen!! love her <3
i haven't actually gotten to the last couple episodes of s4 yet because uhhhh Bad Things Happen and i am delaying the inevitable. send help. but i am sure they are very good and will probably make this list once i get around to watching them!
honourable mentions include 2x13 'skin deep' (purely for the scene where house is in the mri machine and wilson pretends to be god lol), 3x22 'resignation' (for the wilson on amphetamines scene. "i'm not on antidepressants, i'm on speeeeeeeed!" gets me every fucking time) and 4x01 'alone' (house and wilson prank war!!!)
soooo yeah those are my favourites :) and i'm sure there'll be a lot more once i finish the rest of the show but like i said i am Procrastinating lmao
thanks for the ask my friend!
#ash talks#asks#house md#'i've got a couple of faves' he says. proceeds to list about a dozen.#in my defense i cannot be normal about anything ever#i literally spent like. 4 hours going through the house wiki looking at every episode i've watched to decide whether or not it should make-#-this list lmao#a very well spent 4 hours if u ask me tho :)#also does anyone know what the house/amber/wilson ship name is. this is vital information i Need To Know
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Season 1 of Owl House: complete. And it was fine. It was ok. It was 19 episodes of mostly wasted potential. But that's ok (I guess).
I really liked the 2nd to last episode, which is unfortunate in a way because it made me question even harder why the previous 17 episodes had been so bleh. It really feels like the creators were focusing on all the wrong aspects during this first season. This is gonna get long soooo....
The best example I can think of for how the team wasted time was by them needing to show us repeatedly that Willow gets bullied. Like, I understood that from the 3rd episode. I didn't need to be shown and have entire episodes about how Willow gets bullied. The subplot between Amity and Willow's past also felt unnecessary (Amity saying "I can't be friends with them. They're mean!" did make me go into an actual fit of hysterics though. God forbid Amity just be a nasty, feral demon child). I think one of the benefits of this being a Disney channel Y7 show is that viewers can pick up on little stereotypes and tropes to make inferences about character archetypes and such and get a feel for the characters without needing to be shown or told (and don't tell me kids can't do that. Children are not stupid). Which isn't to say that means they should have removed ALL backstory. It just means IMO that the back stories they focused on really didn't add to the greater story and instead seemed to exist as a way to purge Amity of any wrongdoing.
I didn't mind Lilith's role in the season, but I found her motivations to be muddy and the timeline didn't seem to make much sense. I also found it hard to believe she was forgiven that easily for what she had done. I don't hate Lilith, and I 100% see what they were going for, but I think it needed a bit more time on the writing table/it needed to be mentioned earlier.
Like, instead of Eda learning Lilith is the reason she's cursed, get mad at her, then forgive her in the course of like one week (being generous), have Eda have learned about it years ago. Have Eda be festering in her anger for what her sister did while also missing her terribly. Have Lilith be trying to fix it the only way she knows how to (I'm blatantly ignoring the pain sharing spell because it's dumb). And have them finally make up at the end when the one thing Eda was convinced Lilith would never do - betray the Emperor - is exactly what she does and it's only then they can fix their relationship.
Speaking of the Emperor: I'm into that funky dude. I liked his little chair (both of them!). I liked that he had a cool room. LOVED the beating heart over him. Liked the thought of him dealing with elementary school children in his house. He seems threatening? He has a cool blue eye. Willing to do public executions. All good things IMO. My only complaint is that he was such a non-entity for every other episode this season.
I think it would have been really cool to drop little hints about him throughout the earlier episodes, but because we see the world through the eyes of Luz it gets brushed off/not addressed. For example, statues of him in the background, or the book King was reading in the finale on a table during the library episode. Just anything so when he does finally appear it means something lmao.
These thoughts are very disjointed and I'm sorry if they don't make sense. But I also feel like that's the best way to summarize my feelings towards The Owl House season 1. It was disjointed. It was sloppy. It went off on unnecessary tangents. It had plots that seemed interesting and then made no sense or got dropped.
I still love Amity even though she is already starting to be a shell of her former self. I like Belos even though I know he turns out to be one big nothing burger. But even still, I'm tentatively positive Season 2 will be more solid.
#personal#the owl house criticism#the owl house#i never know how to tag these#but anyways this is a rambling mess of thoughts good luck navigating it#as always justice for amity#she deserves better
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The Golden Enclaves (The Scholomance Book 3) - Spoilers
I've just finished The Scholomance series by Naomi Novik and I need to write my thoughs because I have some opinions XD These are just my thoughs as 20+yo freshly after finishing the series in one go (+listening/reading some opinions on-line). Also english is not my first language so I hope my message won't be lost in traslation.
El is unreliable narrator but she's a great character imo. Yes, she's ulikable, stubborn, 17yo brooding edgelord full of trauma BUT (for me at least) she's an believable on top of all of that. What I mean by that is I can believe that this is what a 17yo girl would sound/think/akt like. That doesn't mean her actions are always right but who doesn't make mistakes (especially when they're a teenager) ? But despite all the trauma she's endured during her stay at the Scholomance as well as before that and loads of self-loathing she's always been a good kid at heart to whom the world/fate has been really unfair. I love her journey throughout the series I truly do even though this journey is just beggining, but that's what's amazing about this character because now evry reader can have their own headcannons about her future. And that's what makes El Higgins one of my favourite characters of all time and makes me love this character!
Orion on the other hand had been made dirty imo. I'm sorry I really wanted to like him but he literally has ZERO personality he's just a depressed mawmouth shaped like a boy who wants to hunt mals and be next to El... It's sad because his whole story is genuinely tragic yet I felt next to nothing while reading it (only after finishing the golden enclaves I've started to think about everything he'd been through...). Also kinda unrelated but WHAT is Orion now? Like is he human enough to idk... get old? Or will he remain a 17yo till the end of Scholomance? On that note if he'll get old like a normal human being then what will happed to Scholomance once he passes away? (I don't expect to ever recive an answer to any of those questions but I am curious about it).
So... what do I think about Orion x El relationship? Well I think it was good for them while they're in Scholomance and (of course) it was crutial for the plot progression. But do I think this has a future? Absolutely not. For the first two book I was authentically rooting for them. They were good for each other and helped each other grow and mature, but reading The Golden Enclaves I couldn't help but play this tiktok sound (the one that goes: "He is not 'the love of your life'! He's literally just a guy. Just hit him with your car!") in my head for most of the Orion-related parts. And while what happened between Orion and El was genuine and beautiful and was working pretty well for the time being but they're teenagers in their first realtionship (that was formed in confined space where death was waiting for them litterally behind every corner and for what they knew they could die in the next 5 minutes, and lets not forget the social structure of small comunity of Scholomance - and while you can find some analogies beteween that to the outer world, they're not the same) and I don't think it'll survive past the point of when their frontal lobe will be fully developed... But I do think they'll remind good friends after that. That's just my opinion!
And that's I'm SO glad that the Liesel x El subplot happened! Some people say it came out of nowhere just to get representation points but I disagree with that sentiment... Don't det me wrong - I didn't saw it comming until the scene in London enclave, but when it happened it cliked for me and everything from The Last Graduate till the end of The Golden Enclaves started making sense... (?) My interpretation of the situation is that El DID notice Liesel in Scholomance and WAS atracted to her (considering that El's our narrator and we only see her version of reality, everything we learn about the world is El's understanging and observations of it - we only know things she considered important enough to describe to the reader AND she considered Liesel to be worthy of describing her multiple times to this degree that we KNOW that during New Year's cleaning El was looking at Liesel's boobs and wasn't complaining about it (she was complaining that Orion wasn't doing the same thing) maybe a the time she wasn't considering herself being attracted to the same sex - it might be because she wasn't quite experienced with social interactions and it was all new to her.. I mean newer than to 'normal' 17yo who's just begining their dating life). The biggest tell for me that El was attracted to Liesel was her reaction when she figured out what Liesel was proposing to her in London. What I also like in golden enclaves is the character development of Liesel herself. Watchin how this prideful, cunning, inteligent and fierce girl starts to care (even deeply) for El and how this relationship catalyzes her own process of healing from all the trauma.
And don't let me get started on thie whole "cheating" discourse... The first time El and Leisel get intimate is when we are sure Orion has been eaten by maw-mouth and the only reason for El to go back to Scholomance is to kill said maw-mouth so Orion along others victims to can die peacefully instead of suffering in eternity. So she's grieving and everyone grieves differently and it's not our place to judge that. The second time on the plane is slightly more complicated but also I wouldn't say it was cheating (I wouldn't even say that El and Orion were dating again at that time... it was more of will-they-wont-they-situationship where Orion specifically asked El to kill him if his mother won't heal him - and we all knew she wouldn't), it was a shitty move tho... Let's remember we're talking about deeply traumatized and mentally fucked-up kids (ok... young adults). I don't condone what El did in that moment but I also try to remember the context of these decisions and I refuse to judge her by my standards (+ I highly doubt that after all of this El never mention to Orion what happened between her and Liesel, just because she didn't do it right away after the events from the book doesn't mean they wouldn't have talked about this - it's just that hiding this information from Orion doesn't sit right with my interpretation of El's character).
El's just a teenage girl who's going through her first love but it doesn't mean she's gonig to close herself from the world just for this boy she met in school (in contrast to her own mother who's the archetype of mourning widow). I just really want to hope that in the case things wouldn't work out between her and Orion it wouldn't be the end of the world for her.
I'd like to believe that what these kids started was a revolution at the core of the rotten magic society and the whole system build on death and suffering, and that the change will come (after some probably long and painful process but IT WILL COME - that's my headcannon and I don't accept any other outcome for my own mental wellbeing XD). But also alongside of the changing/rebuilding world these kids need to heal/grow/change themseves. They've been through some serious shit and need to redefine who they are and find their own place in the new reality. I'd love to read about older versions of our heroes (because I'm 100% sure they won't be the same kids we left at the end of the last book) but I also don't think we'll ever come back to this world to see what happened next with our beloved misfits but I really hope the future will bring more fanfictions, headcannons and other fan-media that will keep this world alive and will allow us to dive in this world once more!
All to all I loved the series! It's not ideal (in many aspects) but overall I've really enjoyed it & sincerely recommend reading it and to shape your own opinion on the matter! Please keep in mind that it's only my interpretation of the series which is based on translation of the books and my personal life experiences and if you disagree with me you are more than welcome to express it (I'd love to see other perspectives) but please don't send hate! Lots of love <3
#golden enclaves spoilers#el higgins#galadriel higgins#Liesel Mueller#orion lake#the golden enclaves#the scholomance#el x orion#el x liesel
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Hi again! Weird question, but if you could rewrite HTTYD: THW, what would you change?
Ohhh that's a really good question. This answer might get a little long, sorry about that <3
There was a lot that bugged me with this movie. To keep this a little simpler, I'm not going to include the characters from the shows because they seem to be trying to keep those separate so that people who only watch the movies don't feel lost, but you can imagine that all of the characters from the shows (particularly characters like Heather and Dagur would be featured prominently)
Things I would do differently;
Maybe mention something offhand to explain away the lack of support from the outcasts, berserkers, defenders of the wing and wing maidens in the event that they aren't included
Hiccup wouldn't have let the village get that overcrowded. Seeing as we see him relocating dragons to different islands all the time across the course of rob, dob, and rtte, I don't think that he would have let it get this bad.
Astrid and the rest of the gang would have more of an active role in the plot. Astrid was really reduced to being Hiccup's inspiration and very little more than that this movie which bothered me. In the last two movies, though admittedly trivial, Astrid and the other riders have had something to do in the plot. (Specifically in the 2nd movie, getting caught by Drago, turning Eret to their side etc.)
Maybe they're trying to take out some of the other leaders that are working alongside Grimmel to weaken him
Snotlout would be totally different. He would retain the maturity that he had gained through the course of rtte. They don't even have to cut him having a stupid romantic subplot in this movie just keep the Ruffnut thing going and scrap the Valka/Eret love triangle thing completely.
Ruffnut wouldn't be that stupid, she would have led Grimmel somewhere else, or have known Grimmel would have been following her and sent him on a wild goose chase or something. We see her being much smarter in rtte, and even without the rtte thing I refuse to believe that after everything they've been through she's still that dumb.
I wouldn't have reduced every character down to one joke. Fishlegs' character is about more than the stupid baby, Snotlout isn't obsessed with Valka, Tuff isn't obsessed with his beard and Hicstrid's relationship etc. We've seen these characters be funny in several situations in rtte. They have the chemistry to make funnier, more diverse jokes
Instead of making the conflict that Hiccup and the gang just straight up don't know how to work together (because we've seen in both the movies and the shows that by now, they absolutely know how to work together) I would make it them trying to balance their new positions in the tribe and how they were struggling to work together in the light of the fact that they are newly all at the head of the tribe, and this a new kind of responsibility
Maybe they're all overwhelmed enough that they aren't focused so much on working as a team but on convincing Hiccup that their ideas are the right way to tackle the Grimmel situation altogether, which causes more problems in the long run until they reach the end and start doing their jobs and working together like the well-oiled machine they are
I feel like that would make the 'you guys are the best i've got' line more impactful. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE that part, but that is heavily influenced by the fact that I actually like the characters and have seen them actually being friends and being competent in the shows. (and lets be honest, what movie only fans actually like the gang? The movies didn't make them feel like a group of friends or competent characters without the context of the show imo)
But seeing them competent and struggling to work together before finally coming together might make that line hit harder
Toothless would not be so willing to leave Hiccup (his best friend for SIX YEARS) for a female dragon he met six minutes ago
He would want to go to her, he might even go with her to the hidden world after Hiccup gives him the ability to fly on his own, but he would want to return.
the light fury would look cooler
Maybe Grimmel would follow Toothless to the Hidden World and start attacking it. Maybe he captures the light fury. Toothless, panicked comes back, and Hiccup and the gang have to take the fight to Grimmel at the Hidden World. Grimmel dies, but they realize that people will always find the dragons no matter what they do and that they're stronger together
For that to work ^^^ then maybe we have Hiccup beginning to think that they brought this on the dragons and maybe the right thing to do before the final fight at the Hidden World.
You know how we had a fake-out happy ending where it looked like maybe Toothless and the light fury would be able to stay before Grimmel comes? It's like that, but we think Hiccup might be preparing to say goodbye to Toothless
This is really scattered and messy, and I don't know how clear any of this is, but that's what came to mind. I really hope that answers your question! If anyone has anything to add or to say about my critiques I'd love to hear it.
Thank you so much for all of your asks, every time I get one it legitimately makes my day it's just so exciting. Thank you so much <3333
#ask#thank you <3#how to train your dragon the hidden world#how to train your dragon thw#how to train your dragon 3#httyd the hidden world#httyd thw#httyd 3#how to train your dragon#httyd#httyd 3 salt#httyd thw salt#httyd salt#httyd 3 rewrite#hiccup#astrid#snotlout#fishlegs#ruffnut#tuffnut#toothless#hiccup & toothless#httyd gang#rtte gang#rosie's httyd brainrot
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I think the main thing that fucks me about wwdits is that if they kept *one* of their big plot points they had for each character and *actually* worked that it'd be perfectly fine.
Nandor and Guillermo's relationship being defined by both of them wanting what the other has that they cannot obtain, forever, permanently, in diametric opposites with the sexual tension inherent to a LITERAL master/servant relationship that gets turned on its head is a GOOD fucking idea, and I don't even like the couple or ship it. Nadja's harebrained idea and asshole behavior devolving into her project being ruined in front of her could have been a GOOD arc and arguably still can be if they deal with it in this season, and I still don't remember why they turned her into someone that's really into starting a nightclub for ??? reasons after fully establishing that she's the most competent member of the house except I guess to give her something to fail at. The child Colin Robinson thing was wildly interesting for both lore (if there is even is lore, but I digress) and character reasons (they reacted so strangely to it!) and I didn't even like his face. The fact that Guillermo stayed behind for the kid, or to pilfer coin, and Nandor becoming openly shittier as a person, or getting really into trying to be different, or trying to be his own self, or Lazlo deciding to be better, or the DESCENDANT OF VAN HELSING TRYING TO BECOME A VAMPIRE, every energy vampire plot imo, the baron, were all good subplots by themselves, but half of them don't work together and they honestly didn't manage to wrong out a lot of humor out of it.
As it stands right now Lazlo is the only one who's been consistent without needing to be flanderized or have major character elements forgotten about to where it's practically a soft retcon and I don't even know how long that's going to last. And he's changed! He's actively a nicer person! I'm not looking forward to any arc he could have! I *don't want him to change now*! Fuck!
#wwdits#me#text#also the random ass lore they put in as for plotlines is so bad now#like theres “its canon because its funny” and then theres “we need an exscuse”#they didnt even need to really retcon anything#they could have hinted at rhe post death episode that they were just bullshitting themselves bc come on#theres no way not discussing dead ppl again is a ruie#thats bullshit#come on#i dont like the way theyve gone with the whole vampires-nor-knowing#-how-normal-people-live-anymkre-thing#theres old fashioned and then this.#like man#just.#blah#id quit watching but my mom likes the shoe#lol#rant
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hi i really like your in-depth comic read-throughs! i was perusing one of your NTT posts and if you don't mind an anon about this, i wanted to say i found your reaction to the arranged/political marriage subplot really interesting. i feel like i had the completely opposite view on the conflict: this was a time where i entirely sided with nightwing over kory because i couldn't see how nightwing could accept kory going back to do the bidding of the parents who had abused her so much and even sold her into slavery as a child. tbh maybe i'm biased because i'm not white american and i come from a culture where arranged marriages are still extreeemely common today, but it's impossible for me to not view it as intrinsically archaic and abusive system that's used to treat women and children as vessels and assets :/ so i was really mad at any implication in the comic that it's just a cultural difference that nightwing should've gotten over. especially because kory was the princess of the whole planet, so any kids she'd have either with her arranged match (or honestly even with nightwing) would undoubtedly be called back to serve the planet and be forced to fight in the gazillion wars that tamaran seems to have - after all, tamaran's royal family seems to have no issue calling kory back when they need her even after selling her into slavery :/ and i felt really gross watching kory and karras have sexy times (xD) for their wedding night or whatever even when she and nightwing still loved each other it was so...bleh. i think this was one of the many times where the 2003 cartoon had a way superior version of a plotline over NTT, i was happy when they explicitly made starfire's arranged match a really ugly alien thing because even though it was on-the-nose, it really showed you that what was happening was completely wrong and not just a cultural difference that people should accept (which is an excuse that a lot of people use to justify abusive treatment in different cultures imo). but also i think wolfman might not have treated the concept of arranged marriages with the gravitas it deserved, being a white american himself, so that's why i feel more strongly about this since it's so personal (and i think a lot of MENA/south asian women would agree) - and tamaranean culture kinda makes me really uncomfortable anyway with how it's emphasized to be extremely "war-like," and violent or whatever. if it really was supposed to be a nuanced conflict and not just "kory is repeatedly pulled into doing the bidding of her evil abusive family" then wolfman should've made tamaran far more sympathetic imo. sorry for all this text, i'm not trying to change your opinion or anything - it's more like i'm one of those fans sending in mail to DC's "letter to the editor" columns :D
I'm guessing this letter to the editor is in resposne to this post? (link) Specifically this bit?
Dick acts selfishly, and does not understand Kory’s situation with her planet (the complex political situation, doesn’t like her having tamaranean morals even though she doesn’t kill people on earth, her just saying she would be OK with it is something he hates) and generally focuses on himself when he apologizes rather than on her,
Which I did sound kind of 'it's just a cultural difference' thing, but that really wasn't my intention, especially since earlier in the post I mentioned that she was forced into the position. His problem is the fact that he doesn't seem sympathetic at all to her being forced in this situation.
(like specifically these panels):
None of that interacts with Kory being in an impossible situation or her parents being abusive. Dick's just treating it like she personally betrayed him.
Anyway, so like... I agree that kory being pushed into an arranged marriage is awful but I don't see how dick being the biggest jerk ever about it is helpful? Like I don't think I ever said the arranged marriage is a good thing (and... I don't think the plot of the TV show was an improvement for reasons I'll get into soon) but if your gf is being treated badly by her family treating her badly yourself and telling her her culture is savage (after dick himself has acted wary of kory herself and said she's too bloodthirsty, so the judgment clearly is of her herself and not the practice of arranged marriage) is not gonna help. It would just make her feel like you don't understand and she can't be open with you. Like how is Kory supposed to separate Dick's judgmental-ness of she herself as a person and Tamaranean from his feelings towards her arranged marriage? She already canonically felt as if she was being asked to hold herself back and could not be herself.
So I'm saying... I totally get why you don't like the arranged marriage and why it has bad real world context. I'm just also saying that dicks actions are still terrible boyfriend material, he seems more worried about her being non-monogamous from his perspective than her being forced under the thumb of her parents who signed her up for abuse. Like, we see a scene where he compares a woman who's husband wants to kill her because she cheated on him to him and Kory. That doesn't strike me as "Dick understands this practice is abusive". it strikes me as "Dick views this as cheating and blames Kory for her parents putting her in this position".
Getting into the toon: i think that making the arranged husband an ugly alien just correlates beauty to goodness and it seems as if the general idea is not "its awful she's being forced to marry someone she doesn't love", but " oh no she has to marry an ugly thing". Like, going into the issue with arranged marriage: it's the forcing the marriage itself, not the 'the person might be ugly'. If I recall correctly for the toon (It's been a while since I watched) Kory also still was going to go through with it, before her friends revealed that the invasion fleet was a scheme, so it's not really she got a chance by the writers to actually say no or have agency herself, it was just her friends vs blackfire.
WRT Your assessment of Wolfman: I definitely do think he wasn't intending to portray it as a terrible thing, since many people besides Dick seemed chill with it (and like I said earlier - a lot of Dick's complaints seemed to be that he viewed it as her betraying him, not 'she's going back to people who hurt her and ruining her own happiness'. IIRC he said something about her parents like. Once. But his general angst, especially once the marriage goes through, is about the non-monogamy). I think Woflman was playing it up for cheap drama, rather than treating it with the appropriate gravitas, as you said. (and in general, yes, Wolfman does stereotype the Tamaraneans a lot).
I think the plotline could really have benefited from having people besides Dick and Joey there. I think Donna could talk some sense to Kory without lashing out at her like Dick did, and Kory might feel more supported.
Anyway TL;DR: Sorry if it was unclear, I'm not saying my analysis of the arc in a pro-arranged marriage thing. (I didn't realize I had to clarify that was something I was against). I still think that Dick acts like the world's least helpful, worst boyfriend in the arc, and due to the previous way he treated Kory, it's not really read as something to help her or as him understanding why it would hurt her to be in this position. He mostly seems to be focused on how it hurts him, especially once the arc's over.
Thanks for sharing your perspective, though! It was interesting to read and food for thought and definitely made me think to be more clear in what I'm critiquing
#answer#anon#ask#dc comics#the new teen titans#arranged marriage cw#liek fictional but also mentioning real world context
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I think its time to make a confession that I’ve been bottling up for a while now. I know that this might get me permanently exiled from the Adventure Time community but I just need to say it. And I’m sorry if I betray anyone with this opinion.
I didn’t like Obsidian.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good episode, I love the music and the flashbacks, and its still better imo than Wizard City (but to be fair that is not a high bar.) but it just didn’t really click with me for a few reasons. Before any of you get mad at me, let me make myself clear, I love Bubblegum and Marceline’s relationship. It’s one of my favorite couples in any series period. But thats precisely one of the reasons that Obsidian underwhelmed me so much. Episodes like Varmints, Sky Witch, and the Stakes arc established them as a badass duo who worked as a team. But during Obsidian, Marceline does most of the heavy lifting while Bubblegum just makes a lot of the problems worse. And I know that was a main plotpoint for the climax of the episode, but it just didn’t sit right with me to see Bubblegum so uncharacteristically inept. The team dynamic between them I had grown to really enjoy just didn’t feel like it was there.
Now this on its own wouldn’t make me not like the episode. It wouldn’t make it a favorite of mine, but I wouldn’t outright dislike it. Even at their worst Bubblegum and Marceline are still a fantastic couple and a joy to watch…
But then we have the glass kingdom.
Hooooooooo boy.
Ok I grew up with Steven Universe so I love Michaela Dietz and I mean no disrespect to her when I say this but GOD IS GLASSBOY ANNOYING.
Ok thats a bit of an overstatement, he has his moments, but unlike Y5 in BMO, he just feels kind of intrusive. And again, I get it, thats a main point of his arc, but I just never really GOT why he needed to be there. I get that theres a whole subplot but I would have enjoyed it a LOT more if Marceline and PB were the sole main characters. Heck maybe even throw a few more Simon moments in there. He just doesn’t really add much to the episode as a whole except an annoying third protagonist who really only exists to further his own subplot rather than the episode plot as a whole. (There were a lot of other ways Marceline and PB could have gotten to the glass kingdom.)
And then theres the subplot itself. I’ve come to have certain expectations for an Adventure Time plot. Call me entitled, but past the midpoint of the series it handled some pretty heavy topics with a lot of nuance, and thats part of why I loved it so much. It wasn’t afraid to talk about certain subjects that other shows tend to shy away from. And Bubblegum and Marceline were two of the most complex characters, so I had high expectations for Obsidian. And their arc, despite my problems mentioned above, delivered it well. The climax with them in the volcano and Marceline using the makeshift guitar to sing a heartfelt song that touched both PB and Larvo was genuinely beautiful and kept the episode from being a complete dud for me. But glassboy’s arc boils down to “Don’t make fun of people who are different than you are.” The second the royal advisors started making fun of him for his crack, I knew EXACTLY, what was going to end up happening. And wouldn’t you know it, by the end of the episode, everyone including the advisors reveal that they all had cracks this entire time because everyone is different and we should all learn to accept that…To quote John Mulaney, just because you’re right, doesn’t mean you’re interesting. This is a topic that any NUMBER of shows could have handled, and even then Adventure Time usually adds a bit of a twist or some nuance to even the most basic lessons, but the entire arc was just so cliche. The royal advisors talk exactly like they crawled out of a stock health class video about bullying. I may sound like a bit of an entitled asshat but am I wrong for feeling a little bit patronized?
So yeah I didn’t really like Obsidian. I’m not gonna make a sarcastic remark mocking people who would disagree I openly encourage you all to tear me asunder. There’s a non zero chance I will become the next Rick and Morty copypasta. I’m still learning about this stuff and if I missed some deeper meanings please let me know. And no matter what, always remember, I still liked this episode way more than Wizard City. That was barely anything for me.
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Personally don't think Rebels did anything well with the Inquisitors. I still don't feel like I know anything about the ones in Rebels. I would say JFO was the only one that did anything substantial with them, well at least one of them, and as well as the Dark Lord of the Sith comic the Inquisitors appeared in.
IMO the inquisitors served the role they needed to serve in Rebels, which is introduce them as empire-era antagonists in the new canon. And while they are "static" villains for the most part, generally there was more than enough subplots and character arcs going on in Rebels that I don't necessarily think they needed to be extremely fleshed out and deep characters. Obi-Wan Kenobi, in comparison, is a more stripped-down show that is relying on a very small cast and simple story.
Though personally, I feel the Grand Inquisitor was a really good straightforward villain in s1, and his cameo in s2 was the cherry on top. Will agree that the other inquisitors are just regular villains in rebels, but again I cut slack because Rebels was introducing the inquisitorius for the first time in canon, and because Rebels had plenty other things going for it.
Also, my issue with Obi-Wan Kenobi is that the non-Reva inquisitors are equally as "whatever" as the "whatever" inquisitors in Rebels, the Grand Inquisitor is objectively less cool than he was in Rebels, and while I hope to proven wrong, I feel like Reva will probably end up with a similar backstory and fate as Trilla in JFO. That, or her backstory will be criminally underexplored and not used to its full thematic potential. So then I ask—why did they just retread old ground?
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I'm having a rough time with uni and getting a job so I need a bit of cheering. Could you please recommend me some of your favourites HR books? Something to calm me down. Thank you so much ❤️
Aww, dude, I'm sorry. I've been there. It's such a tough transitional time, and I'm actually helping my little sister in a similar spot. I'm confident y'all will get to where you need to be, but it's a struggle for a little while and I want to validate your feelings there.
I also am so so down to offer some comfort reads!
What I Did for a Duke by Julie Anne Long. JAL is a really good comfort read author to me because her books are funny and a bit light, while at the same time offering a lot of passion. This one has a hero who's around 39/40 and a heroine who's 20, and he's out there to get revenge on her brother (who cucked him) by deflowering her. But she's fully aware of his plan and is actually kind of using his attentions to try to make this guy she's into jealous. It's got some angst, but it's sexy and very romantic.
After Dark with the Duke by Julie Anne Long. My other favorite JAL! Another age gap book, 42-year-old stern duke is staying at the same boarding house as this 25-year-old scandalous opera singer. He hurts her feelings so to make it up to her he offers to teach her Italian, and then.... shit gets oN.
Fifth Avenue Rebels series by Joanna Shupe. Best read in order, imo, because the first three books are all good to great and lead up to this intense crescendo with the final book.
The Heiress Hunt--House party, childhood friends reunite and he's super jealous because she's about to get engaged to a hot duke.
The Lady Gets Lucky--Shy heroine, rake hero, she asks him to help her with sex lessons so that she's less of a wallflower. He's trying to prove that he's a Business Bitch. It's very hot and fun.
The Bride Goes Rogue--Hero and heroine were betrothed by their fathers and she realizes he has no intention of following through, and they sort of break up? But directly after that they hook up at a masquerade sex part, and they enter into this love/hate thing.
The Duke Gets Even--Hero and heroine are in a long-term enemies to lovers deal (he's the aforementioned hot duke) and start hooking up on the low, but he needs to marry for money and she's a scandalous lady rogue who refuses to settle down. All time favorite!
A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean. My favorite MacLean, childhood friends who were separated reunite when he (now a Bad Man) forces the heroine to marry him so he can get his inheritance back. One Good Earl Deserves A Lover follows this and is one of the best dirty talk books ever, with a nerdy heroine and a hero she asks to corrupt her--and he's like ONLY VERBALLY.
Of course, Dreaming of You is my favorite Kleypas, and a total classic--intrepid writer heroine saves the life of a rough gambling club owner and forces him to let her shadow him as she researches her next book. It's got a lot of angst, but it's also so funny and romantic.
Grace Callaway writes a funny, hot historical, though I will say they have mystery subplots which can get a bit dark. I would recommend trying her Charlie's Angels retelling series, starting with Olivia and the Masked Duke (young heroine realizes she wants to get with her older man friend who sees her as a little sister after she spies on him spanking a woman).
Alexis Hall writes gorgeous, funny queer historical romances that hit deep themes but are so fucking funny. If you're in the mood for less angst, ready Something Wonderful (m/m roadtrip romance) and Something Spectacular (nonbinary/nobinary like... historical celebrity romance?). If you're down for more angst, try A Lady for a Duke (friends to lovers with a trans heroine).
Vivienne Lorret writes comforting, funny, emotional historicals--I'd recommend The Wrong Marquess (light enemies to lovers with the hero falling for his little sister's friend; there's a scene where he is so obsessed with her that after she stops eating a bowl of ice cream he finishes it and has to hold back from licking the bowl, I die), How to Steal A Scoundrel's Heart (heroine agrees to be a rogue's mistress for four months, he's all "I'll feel nothing" and feels everything), and Never Seduce a Duke (fucking WILD, nerdy hero becomes obsessed with this heroine because he thinks she's trying to steal from him, he chases her over like three countries and then they separate.... but after they reunite a couple years later, it looks like he left something behind without realizing itttt).
If you're down for some old school medievals (these have some light dubcon and dated references to the Ottoman Empire that aren't super heavy, but are present) I'd recommend Elizabeth Lowell's Untamed (hero and heroine in an arranged marriage, he wants a son real bad but women of her line shall only bear sons if they are in love, it's insane) and Forbidden (direct follow up, the sub-villain of the previous book shows up in another land with amnesia and the heroine charged with caring for him feels pain if she touches anyone but himmmm). They're fucking wild but they totally transport you to another state of mind, trust me. I did like the last book, Enchanted, as well--but rape is a heavy part of the plot and the heroine is very traumatized by that (she was not raped by the hero, but she and the hero are in an arranged marriage and she refuses to tell him why she abhors his touch).
The Dragon and The Pearl by Jeannie Lin is an amazing enemies to lovers villain as hero book with a warlord who takes the former emperor's concubine hostage in order to get information out of her... and falls in love.
Lorraine Heath, I'll always recommend--some of her books can be a bit heavier, but if you want something zany that will take your mind away from everything, there's always Gorilla Twins, aka The Earl Takes All, the one where the hero pretends to be his dead identical twin so that the heroine (his dead brother's pregnant wife) doesn't miscarry. Waking Up with the Duke is my absolute favorite of hers, the one where the hero's best friend asks him to get the heroine pregnant because the best friend is impotent (hero's fault).
Maiden Lane can be a bit intense, but I think Thief of Shadows is an angsty if ultimately uplifting book--the one where Winter Makepeace runs around like Zorro fighting crime and saving kids and falls in love with a widow. He's a virgin, she is NOT. Does deal with infertility.
Of course, Tessa Dare's books are so funny and sexy. Spindle Cove is a total comfort series for me, especially A Week to Be Wicked.
The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles is a lovely m/m historical that has an amazing setting, some found family vibes, and great funny, heartfelt dynamic between the heroes.
Indigo is my favorite Beverly Jenkins book so far--it does deal heavily with themes of slavery, as the heroine was enslaved as a child and works with the Underground Railroad now. But it's a super well-written, emotional, "rake falls hard and CANNOT get up" romance.
Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller is a historical set in Vienna that's funny, hot, emotional, and has a good little mystery subplot. Heroine is running a hotel, hero is a virgin spy, he saves her life a ton while some mysterious person tries to kill her.
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