#plus if there was any way to reveal a character was going to betray the cast im glad it was cause he was making a tiktok 💀💀 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

carlyraejepsans · 4 months

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Yknow, despite how it is impossible by all Ingame options, I wonder how a neutral route with *ONLY* Sans (and Asgore ig) killed would look? Would he count enough as a boss monster (NOT a Boss Monster) to push it from a Queen Toriel ending to an Empress Undyne ending? How would Alphys react (She lost one of her closest friends, but she still has MTT and Undyne around.)? How would Papyrus react (Would he go full angst mode and try close away his heart? Would he become even more of a people pleaser, trying to make sure he doesn't repeat whatever mistake he made with you again? Would he go into denial mode, trying to find Flowey to set things right with him either finding him or not based on what Frisk choses after the FloweyX fight? So many choises), especially with how he seems to Know Something he doesn't let on. I'd imagine that (provided it's a Queen Toriel Ending) Undyne wouldn't be thar affected, sad that Papyrus lost a brother rather than sad that Sans died (she never is close with Sans. She doesn't hate him, but she doesn't know him as more than "Papyrus weird brother" and "My sentry that works the ABSOLUTE bare minimum needed"). I don't think mettaton would appear or be affected, leaving the call pretty limited. So we have Papyrus and Maybe Undyne, with Papyrus probably being... kinda miffed that everything is going along the same, as if Everything hasn't changed. Bonus points if it's Post Dates, leaving a pretty aimless Undyne moving into Sans room, trying to fill a void that she never can. It isn't some threat she can suplex or teach to cook, it's the world being unfair.

(This also would give a pretty Unique Undyne state, being halfway between her "I don't like that you had to kill Asgore, but it's what you had to do" mindset and her more common "You betrayed me in such a soul crushing way it'll affect how I love forever" mindset in most Neutral Endings. I can imagine her actually trying to rationalise it, because the human only killed Asgore (sucks but she Gets It), and... Sans. The easiest enemy, one too weak to make it into the guard, and almost too weak to be a Sentry (Sans would have no reason to reveal Blasters, and his magic would barely scratch the TRUE HERO of the Underground when Karma is factored in. All she would see is surprisingly complex patterns that don't deal even a tenth of her hp). So surely, they had a reason, right? Why else would they do it?)

Forgive any bad writing it's literally 2 AM rn where I am

can't not confess I've thought about it too, but it IS really hard to extend as a concept because there's just... really no way for sans to die outside of the NM run. and I don't mean logistically, i mean character-wise he is so defined by his survival. by his Being There as everything falls apart. the final girl last man standing in the story. so the whole concept immediately falls apart.

undyne wouldn't personally grieve him, seeing as they didn't really know each other, but she WOULD still feel his death on her conscience as she does with every other monster killed in neutral runs. plus, there's her friendship with papyrus to emotionally aggravate things.

papyrus would definitely go into denial. he would be annoyed about him vanishing all of a sudden, then it'd turn to worry, then as his worries become more and more plausible, he'd shut out all rational thought about the subject and pretend everything is alright. i like the idea of him reaching out to flowey, but he'd try to explain his plan while also comtradicting himself all the time in order to never say outloud "sans is dead. we need to fix this"

betrayed undyne... yeah this is where it falls apart again, since you'd have to reason why sans would die (or even instigate a fight at all) in the final corridor during what has so far been a flawless pacifist run.

buuut pushing past the visceral resistance to the concept. i can easily see a scene where the betrayal pushes her to lose it and seek revenge like it does in normal neutral runs, and her looking to papyrus for training help/human destroying plans. and just... meeting a Wall of denial. that would be a harrowing talk. something people don't mention enough is that papyrus sees himself as sans' caretaker as much if not even more than sans does towards him. a world where sans is dead is a world where he failed his brother. it would devastate him. so he clings to anything not to think about it/delude himself. and here comes undyne ready to shatter that fragile hope. it would be a horrible moment between them

but yeah. everything aside, sans would straight up just not die lol.

#answered asks #undertale #sans #papyrus #undyne

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em-dash-press · 10 months

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Everything Writers Should Know About Chekhov's Gun

We’ve all heard someone mention the idea of Chekhov’s gun. Sometimes it’s not even related to a weapon. “Oh, the protagonist just left an email open on their computer. That’ll be a Chekhov’s gun later.”

What is this literary tool and what does it mean? This is everything you need to know, plus a few tips to help you use it in a story.

It Started With a Playwright

Anton Chekhov was a playwright who created plays in Russia in the late 1800s. People loved his work because he didn’t use recycled plot formulas. Instead, he always knew how to surprise those who watched his plays.

In one of his letters, he famously wrote, “If in the first act, you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don't put it there.”

It was a lesson in wielding tension as a storytelling device and it’s lasted through creative writing classes to this day.

Remember Your Most Important Details

One of the points Chekhov makes comes back to the idea of promising your viewers or readers that everything they learn is essential to your plot. Every character, scene change, and object affects how your story plays out.

Sleuth readers will try to solve your plot like a puzzle while they read. Others will want the enjoyment of getting surprised by clever writing.

The lesson is simple and important—ensure that your plot always has a purpose, no matter which page or scene you’re writing. If it’s worth your reader’s time, it will be vital to your story.

Create Effective Tension

A forgotten, loaded gun adds tension because it’s a threat. Chekhov’s advice is universal, so many readers will literally expect it to fire at some point later in your story. Readers who have never heard this advice will only recognize the essential threat that is a weapon ready to fire. Either way, they’ll become concerned for their favorite characters and get anxious to continue reading.

You can do this with objects or story elements that aren’t guns. Character A might learn that Character B betrayed them, but they don’t reveal that right away. Tension builds as your reader waits to see how far the betrayal will go and how Character A gets revenge or breaks the news.

Let tension linger. There’s a specific strength in controlling your plot’s tension. It gives readers moments to breathe or anxiously turn the page, which makes their experience much more enjoyable.

Use It as an Escape Pod

We’ve all written ourselves into a corner at some point. Instead of throwing the entire story away, that’s a great moment to return to any of your plot’s Chekhov’s guns.

Your character might remember that thing they learned earlier in the story and use it to jumpstart a change in their life. Maybe they grab hold of a Chekhov’s gun meant for another character and use it for themselves.

It depends on where you’re stuck, what you’re writing and which type of writer’s block you might be dealing with. Going back to something that added tension to your plot and giving it purpose could help propel your story to its conclusion in a way that makes readers think you’re a mastermind.

-----

Keep your plot promises. If something adds tension, it has to either fulfill its purpose or get solved before it can. Readers will trust that you know what you’re doing on the way to an epic conclusion, which is why Chekhov’s gun is a fundamental plot device any writer should know how to use.

#chekhov's gun #plot devices #plot device #plot development #writeblr #writers of tumblr #creative writing #writing community #writing inspiration #writing tips #writing advice #writing resources #writing #writing help

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untilwedont · 1 year

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A Heart-Wrenching Betrayal

Pairings: Ethan Landry x Male!Reader

Summary: The reveals of the ghostface's leave M/N heartbroken because the one person he trusted the most betrayed him.

Genre; Angst

Warning: Mentions of blood, character death, a dead virgin, spoilers from movie

Part 1

After being in the hospital for a few days, it was finally time. Finally time to end the ghostface killings once and for all. A plan was made to lure in the ghostfaces in a secure area and, "execute them." Tara said looking up from the phone at the group.

The group agreed on a plan and now all you hoped was for the plan to work out. To finally avenge your friend Anika, and all the other people he killed.

The group made their way towards the subway, you and ethan staying behind a little bit to talk. "You know, I can't wait for this to be all over. It'll feel so good to finally be able to relax without worrying about getting stabbed every time I close my eyes." You spoke to ethan, hand in his.

"Same. But I can't wait to finally relax with you." He smiled while looking at you. You couldn't help but smile back, kissing his cheek in the process of walking. There was something about Ethan that made you fall deeper for him every time you looked at him. Maybe it was his charming smile, or his geeky personality, but you felt like you could trust him with your whole world. Like he'd never to anything bad to purposely hurt you.

Once you guys made it to the subway, you noticed that it was crowded. Very crowded. You were somewhat relieved since you knew the chances of ghostface getting you were very slim, but at the same time you were bit of a claustrophobic person. The group made their way towards the bus, but in the process your hand accidentally slipped out of Ethan's and now he was no where to be seen. "Ethan?" You called out, hoping to get an answer, but to no avail.

You sighed, getting on the bus with the other four. Wait... four? Mindy was also missing too. But, the second the door's began to close, she appeared. But it was too late and the subway was about to takeoff. Chad tried keeping the door open it forced itself shut. "Great, now Mindy and Ethan are gonna be a few minutes behind us." You said, irritated that the group was split up.

"Don't worry, they can just catch the next one. They won't be that far behind us, maybe like 5 minutes at most." Said sam, holding onto the pole to keep her from falling. "Uh.. guys.." Tara said, a slight look of anxiousness on her face. You looked at what she was facing it, seeing all of the ghostface costumes on the train. "Great, anyone of these fuckers could be him." You said, sitting down at an open seat.

"I doubt he'd try to attack in such a crowded space. Plus, he probably doesn't know we're here." Chad said reassuringly. "Hope so.." you mumbled.

Finally the tenth stop was reached and you were now leaving the train. You finally met up with Kirby, who told the group that everything was set up. "Where are Mindy and Ethan?" Kirby asked sam. "Oh, they're five minutes behind us." She responded back, Kirby nodding her head. But before anything else could happen, Sam looked at Danny. "Not you."

Danny looked confused, "What?" he asked. "Don't trust anyone, remember? We don't know you, not really..." She responded back. Danny was stunned for a second, "You know me" he said. "You aren't Woodsboro, I'm sorry." She said, hoping Danny would understand, In which he did. "It's okay, I get it. Stay safe okay." He pulled Sam into a hug. "Wait- But I'm not Woodsboro.." You said, slightly confused that Sam didn't stop you either. "You're an exception, now let's go."

Once you guys made it down to the shrine, Sam asked if anyone had any weapons on them. Kirby pulled out her gun, "Okay I'm an exception. I work for the FBI." She said trying to defend herself. Sam shrugged, "Okay well I'm gonna go call Mindy and ask if her and Ethan are almost here." Sam said, leaving the rest of the group. Kirby, Tara, and Chad also departed, leaving you alone.

Since you knew no one in the shrine was the killer, you felt safe to walk around and explore. You walked around and took out your phone, messaging Ethan to see if he was almost at the shrine. A minute passed and he didn't respond, "Maybe he just has bad service?" You thought to yourself, trying to remove any thought that he may have gotten hurt.

//Time skip to Chad getting hurt b/c I cannot have this story being hella long 😭 //

Chad was about to smash a jar onto ghostface's head but he was quickly stopped after getting stabbed in the hip. Tara screamed, trying to get to Chad, but you and Sam stopped her from going. The other ghostface got up from the ground and began stabbing Chad repeatedly. "NO!" Tara screamed, trying to get out of your guys' grasp. "Leave... g-go.." Chad weakly said, blood spilling out of his mouth.

//time skip to ghostface reveals yayy//

"Watch out-" Kirby yelled, but was quickly cut off after being shot multiple times by officer Bailey. Your eyes widened when Kirby dropped to the floor. You were even more shocked when one of the ghostfaces came up behind Bailey. A second after, the second ghostface came up behind him. "W-what the fuck..?" You spoke, but it was almost a whisper. "You..?" Tara asked in shocked. "Ehh, of course me. Frankly I expected more from the three of you, especially you two after what you did to us." He spoke, more focused on Tara and Sam. "What do you mean us?" Tara asked confused.

Then, one of the ghostfaces unmasked themselves. You felt your heart break into a million pieces. It was as if your world completely came tumbling down. You felt sick to your stomach when the first ghostface revealed their identity. "Ethan..?" You weakly spoke and you felt a pit in your stomach as you swallowed the lump in your throat. "Ta-da" Officer bailey said. "Surprise babe. You know, Mindy was right. It was easy to juke the roommate lottery." Ethan chuckled.

"Ethan, what the fuck?... I thought- you knew-.." You couldn't get any words out of you. It dawned on you that Ethan knew Anika would die and he didn't do anything to stop it. "What? You really thought I loved you, M/N? I mean, I only got close to you because you were friends with Sam and Tara before I met you." No, you couldn't believe it. Was what he was saying really true? Did he really never love you?

"But what about..- no.. fuck you, Ethan.." You gave your whole world to Ethan just for him to stomp on it and say 'fuck you'. I guess that's what you get for trusting the dorky ones. "God and you know what? If felt so fucking good to kill Chad!" He laughed out loud.

"But if it's you two, then that just leaves... Mindy?" Sam questioned, fearing her good friend was behind the killings. The last ghostface revealed themselves. "Quinn?!" You spoke in a shocked tone. "Hey roomies, didn't see that one coming, did you?" She asked, clearly proud of herself. "No because you died!" Tara yelled. "Kinda didn't though.. It was a good way to get off the suspect list. Stab Mindy, stab Gale Weathers." You were in utter shocked. You still couldn't comprehend that your boyfriend & friend were the ghostfaces.. and officer bailey.

"I mean, it was just a little fake blood, a prosthetic.. you'd be surprised with what a grieving father can get away with." Officer Bailey said, proceeding to walk toward the small group.

// Time skip to after the explanation of Richie and after they climb the ladder cuz no one cares and b/c this fic is already hella long omg //

You walked behind the rail, trying your best to not slip. Tara and Sam had made it across and u were a little behind. But of course with your amazing luck you accidentally slipped. Tara and Sam managed to grab your arm before your fell. "Oh fuck, oh fuck!" You screamed, holding onto them for dear life. Ethan hadn't made it any easier because he tried grabbing and cutting you from below. "You know I've always wanted to stick something in you, M/N!" He yelled while laughing. "Fuck you!' You shouted back at him. "Fuck you!" He said back, even louder.

"Shit, I'm slipping! I don't think I can hold on!" You exclaimed. The blood on your guys' hand made it hard to hold on. "Let me go." You said, already knowing you may fall anyways. "No way, M/N! We aren't letting go!" Sam yelled back. "You have to let me go, Sam!" Sam and Tara heard footsteps from beside Sam and saw Quinn. "Shit.." Tara mumbled. Luckily you had a plan.

You looked at Sam and then the knife she had on her. She nodded and gave you the knife before Tara and Sam let you go. You fell onto the floor. "Got ya, babe!" Ethan exclaimed, swinging his knife into your leg. You screamed out in pain but quickly grabbed onto Ethan, swinging your knife into the side of his neck. He screamed before pleading for forgiviness.

"W-w-ait, pl-e-ase b..babe. I-Lo-ve.. you.." He weakly said, hoping you'd let him go. "Rot in hell you virgin bitch." And with that, you took the knife out him before slicing his throat. You pushed his body onto the ground, watching him struggle to survive before his movements soon came to a stop.

There was a part of you that still loved Ethan. That still wishes things could have been right with him. He broke your heart, yet there was still some guilt you had when you killed him. When you looked at him and saw the man you once loved before now dead on the ground, it hurt to see.

"Ethan Landry, though you broke my heart, I'll never stop loving you. I'll miss you forever."

#x male reader #male!reader #male reader #malereader #scream x male reader #ethan landry x male reader #gay #jack champion x male reader #ethan landry #jack champion #ethan landry imagine #jack champion imagine #ethan landry x reader #scream x reader #jack champion x reader

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carma-tjol · 7 months

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man i’m trying really hard to be happy about opm but the way they did tatsumaki a few chapters ago left a sour taste in my mouth that i can’t seem to get rid of. i cannot believe what they did to her design i STILL feel betrayed it’s ridiculous

i’ve already bitched about this on twitter a while back but i’ve been feeling upset about it the past couple days so i’m gonna complain again.

pictures of the old way she was drawn vs the new way plus my rambling dialogue on the way fanservice changed in opm under the cut

(old tatsu on the left new on the right)

she looks more like a kid now and yet is simultaneously more sexualized at the same time. it is STRANGE i don’t like it

i think when i read these chapters i suffered the whole time but was in denial about it like “ITS NOT THAT BAD…” until i saw pic #2 and finally said “it is… it really is that bad.”

i’m not even someone who’s super annoyed by fanservice (i mean obviously i’m an opm fan). and i can usually ignore it easily…

as long as it doesn’t fall into 3 categories

1. involves sexual assault/it’s disrespectful

2. the fanservice is just the boring male protag getting boobs shoved in his face

3. sacrifices having a good design for the sake of being “sexy”

the crimes against #3 are straight up egregious.

tatsumaki used to have an extremely solid design. her dress had a lot of emphasis on the iconic tendrils and it complimented her well. her hair was very curly which matched the tornado theme and was an overall joy to look at. her eyes were sharp and cold which also felt iconic for her character and it reflected the harshness of her personality. her freaky eyes were always one of my favorite parts of her design.

In the new design, her dress has been shrunk to try to reveal as much as possible. it doesn’t match the flow of the legs like the old way used to and just feels awkward. the tendrils are translucent too which again. messes with the dress. her hair isn’t as curly anymore it lacks the DRAMA the old hair has. the eyes are too soft now, and it doesn’t feel intentional. i can already hear someone going “oh well the eyes are like that to show she’s enjoying herself.” except the eyes haven’t been changed slightly, they’re changed completely. they look exactly like the eyes of any other character.

I’m giving proportions a whole section to itself lol. they’ve widened her hips, somehow shrunk her already small torso even MORE, and gave her a bobble head, and more emphasis on boobs. looking at her, especially in pic 2, it feels like you just gave a hentai artist a pen and told them to draw tatsu. there’s zero regard for her original design and proportions it’s just skimpy clothes slapped onto an unrecognizable face and body. i mentioned this earlier but they babyifyed her face and made her act more “childish” than she already kind of did while sexualizing her more it’s extremely uncomfortable.

#1… the disrespect…

sexual assault isn’t really in opm for fanservice… yet… (i do not trust murata to not draw some non consensual boob groping at this point) but the disrespect, the objectification and complete lack of regard for the characters is palpable

i don’t read one punch man for the fan service and i never have. the reason why i’ve gotten this far without getting pissed off is that i felt like the fanservice, while excessive, wasn’t totally disrespectful. it felt like the characters were like that, not 100% for the audience, but because they were comfortable with it too. i don’t know how to describe it but nothing about tatsu’s design now says “i dressed myself like this, i feel good, i’m going outside now”

she feels less like a character and more like an object to be placed in situations she wouldn’t be comfortable with and react in ways she wouldn’t typically react, stripping her of her personality to be more “ideal” exclusively with the audience in mind and robbing her of what made her unique in the process.

#2 ehhhh not as applicable

(#2 mentioned because i already wrote about 1 and 3 so leaving it out is awkward.)

saitama truly does not give a fuck lol. he doesn’t even feel like a middleman for the audience he’s just there. the fanservice feels more viewer based than self insert/projection based. that’s the only box opm isn’t currently ticking. saitama hasn’t had his personality revoked for the sake of the audience (YET. again i trust no one anymore)

final thoughts

every time i see the recent chapters and the art style just i think about her and just feel this sadness and sense of betrayal. i don’t think i would’ve had a problem with the psychic sisters arc if the tone and execution were more like the webcomic (rare words from me lol. i love the webcomic but celebrate the manga for its differences) and if tatsumaki was still drawn like an adult. I MISS HERRRR

i even get a little upset seeing fubuki now too. i don’t know if i would’ve if it weren’t for how tatsumaki has been demolished but i look at her and see how she’s posed and how her dress has somehow gotten tighter and feel sad none the less.

anyways i could continue but i actually need to move on with my day and i don’t feel like drafting this to expand on later since it’s just a rant lol. sorry for any grammar or spelling errors i wrote this at 7am after staying up the night before working on a quiz with heavy writing that i didn’t realize would take SIX HOURS. thanks for reading. hope i’m not alone here.

#opm #one punch man #tatsumaki #meta #opm meta #it’s a lot of complaining. don’t read it if you’ll take it too seriously.#input is appreciated but this is just a cobbled together opinion piece i’m not looking for heavy debate #aka annoying redditors who eat this shit up stay away

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myaoiboy · 3 months

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Hi I saw that you answered an ask* the other day and I wanted to know if you continued with your analysis or if you could continue. I was really interested and curious to know more about it. I really wanted to know what you had to say, seriously, I could read a bible of Death Stranding reviews!

*https://www.tumblr.com/myaoiboy/739740134244794368/death-stranding-gender-talk-you-say-count-me-in?source=share

Hi! I totally can keep talking about Death Stranding forever (I know it's a very divisive game but imo on the whole the writing is like a well-oiled machine in ways that MGS just barely started to scrape askdjfh)

For the most part I haven't talked a *ton* about it at length because the series is just getting started and I feel weird making assertions that are likely to be fully subverted within a year or two. MGS has like. well, now, 25 years of shit going on. Sequels, prequels, fanon, etc., that Death Stranding...hasn't really had time to grow into yet.

I also tend to intentionally only post for dead series because the fandoms tend to be chiller lmao

Plus the fact that I got into DS right around the time that DS2 was announced, so I'm sitting here twiddling my thumbs knowing that there's about to be more content and context that I just don't have access to yet. I already feel like there's a lot more to be learned about the first game, just from the latest trailer drop.

Honestly I think the thing that really gets me with DS is that despite the borderline insanity of the setting, to me, there's a lot of dramatic irony and meta knowledge that makes DS pretty easy to follow compared to, like, any single MGS game. Maybe I'm just the exact target audience that the writing was intended for, but most of the big reveals felt less like a sucker punch and more of a dramatic swell.

Some reasons for this (please be gentle i am taking cutscene SCs from youtube videos, they're gonna look like shit):

First of all, this is basically frame 1 of being formally introduced to Amelie, we see...this lens flare. Look familiar?

...how about now?

We are introduced to her instantly with a sign of danger. A pretty one, but a sign of danger nonetheless. The fact that it's an inverted rainbow is important! It shows up around timefall because of chiral air disturbance. We don't know that yet in-game, but if you know about how light works you know that there's something Wrong(tm) about this.

A regular lens flare shouldn't be causing an inverted rainbow if it's causing one at all. I think in this cutscene Amelie's presence is causing that inverted rainbow. Throughout the game, people come up with various theories of their own to excuse her connection to the beach. Little do they know at the time how right they are...

She's also heavily backlit, which hides her features in an unsettling manner. In fact, I really can't think of anyone else that this happens to throughout the game (if anyone knows of another example PLEASE let me know!!!)

She gets pretty damn close before that rainbow disappears, but this is where I very quickly lost my initial trust in her (as the player).

I jokingly called called this her "Fox News reporter look," but it's very much constructed in a way that made me suspicious.

Let's talk about that red dress.

I've said it before, I'll say it again: Kojima fucking LOVES using color language, especially red, blue, and gold. It's been super obvious and explicit since like 2012.

The fact that we meet her wearing a red dress is not a coincidence!!! It's a great big flashing warning sign! It says "hey, this person is going to betray you! Do Not Fucking Trust!!!"

Compare Amelie's name card to Paz's from Peace Walker:

The art styles are different, but there are a couple of main throughlines. Namely, both have an emphasis on the color red, both are young (looking) women who are lying about their identities in order to ask the main character a favor. Characters vouch for them, from trusted advisors, to the main character himself in DS. And then they try to bring about armageddon.

Basically what I'm saying is that they're both the embodiment of white woman tears a wolf in sheep's clothing, if the sheep's clothing was still dripping in blood. We (characters, and maybe the players) believe that she's on our side because we want to believe she's on our side, and because other people that we ostensibly trust tell us she's on our side, while the extremely dissonant narrative and imagery of the scene are SHAKING US BY THE SHOULDERS TELLING US TO SNAP OUT OF IT.

Add to that the fact that we kind of vaguely, through that intro cutscene post-central knot explosion, know that the beach is connected to dying somehow, and that amelie seems to be on it, doing very stereotypical little girl in horror things there, like singing nursery rhymes slowly while walking into the ocean.

So we've basically been told that Amelie is Not Good, but we have to spend the game piecing together what kind of Not Good she is. The first hint is (surprise!) also in this cutscene!

I don't recall off the top of my head if I knew at the time how heavily egyptian mythology plays into DS, but I do remember this cutscene giving me a bad gut feeling about the concept of the West.

Very few Big Concepts in these games (the West, strand(s/ing), patriotism/nationalism, etc) are only symbolic of one thing. That's also true across the board in basically all art, but I feel the need to point that out in public posts because I don't want someone to eg, think that I say something means one thing, and then back that up, and then people think that means it can't mean something else! It can (and often does) mean both! and sometimes that additional meaning is super important!

Anyways, Die Hardman refers to Amelie going West. We don't really use that phrasing much, so it stuck out to me as euphemistic. Especially since we saw her after we died, and there's so much euphemism going on from the bridges team anyways. I mean, cufflinks "symbolize our connection?" Girl, you locked me to my bed with them. You drain my blood with them to turn into weapons. Call 'em what they are.

You'll even notice in the same cutscene that Amelie says "we made it to Edge Knot City" and Sam replies with "all the way to the Pacific?" Not "all the way to the west coast," or even a single question about why she was on the/his beach.

If you know anything about egyptian mythology, you might know that west is considered the direction of death and the underworld. ancient egyptians buried dead people on the west side of the nile river. Osiris, god of death and mummification, and king of the underworld, is referred to as "foremost of the westerners" among his epithets.

So the vibe that I got instantly was "Amelie is already dead, she led her team to die, and they are basically sending Sam on a suicide mission" though I didn't realize exactly how I was right at the time.

The other big thing I recall setting off my alarm bells as the game went on was the fact that nobody you meet has ever met Amelie in person. It's a very slow reveal, especially since most people seem to see online meeting and in person meeting to be mostly the same, and we're told that she set out with bridges one. That she went west. Turns out that...also wasn't literal.

I don't remember exactly when I started wondering if *sam* had ever even met her outside of the beach, but I do remember thinking that there was something off. For a little bit my guess was that she was entirely fictional, some sort of AI (pretty influenced by all the "dead person brought back by AI/hypno bullshit ngl), or maybe that Higgs could somehow disguise himself in the Beach in ways i didn't understand yet.

But I didn't feel *worse* for being able to figure things out ahead of time, I felt clever that I could piece together all the little hints and have a good idea of what was going on. It made death stranding feel more like a coherent sci fi narrative rather than a cheesy action story that's expected to follow certain strict genre conventions.

Not that I'm saying mgs or action in general are bad, but rather that imo Death Stranding feels...more mature and confident in some ways (and also isn't bogged down by 20 years of previous work. which. i don't even like my own shit from a year ago half the time, i cannot imagine having to write within the constraints you created TWO DECADES prior kjhksjfh). Maybe it's that it feels like less of a genre subversion and has more genre utilization? dunno. Now I'm thinking too much like an english major lkajshdf

But yeah anybody who wants to talk about anything totally feel free. Or if you want to give me prompts to write about. I will always be willing to talk about things for way too long on the internet. I just don't always reply quickly because I start rambling....Like This.

#oops this got long #death stranding #samantha america “amelie” strand #amelie ds #analysis or something #anon ask

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rogue205 · 1 year

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Unpopular Opinion Rant

I’m still in my Teen Wolf phase and re-watching the show.

Holy. Hell. I can’t stand Scott. I hate how much of a hypocritical, seeing in straight black and white with no grey, thinks-he’s-got-the-moral-high-ground, self-serving, egotistical prick he really is. He constantly whines about being a werewolf but happily uses his new abilities to become better at lacrosse, increase his popularity, and basically betray Stiles’ friendship because he got better than him. Maybe it’s just me but I really don’t see anywhere in his attitude that warrants him being labeled a “True Alpha”. I guess it’s all about “willpower and strength of character” but the show implies that one only achieves this level by being good and Scott is not as good and right as he thinks he is.

Also what gets me a lot is the ending of both season one and season two. (3-6 don’t exist for me, especially the whole Jackson/Ethan thing. Seriously? Ethan? No. Why not Danny or anyone else?! I also hated the whole turning Jackson into a Kanima/Wolf hybrid. He is NOT a damn hybrid! Once he completed his transformation at the end of Season 2, he became a WEREWOLF!!!)

First, yes, I get that the writers wanted to depict Peter as a psychotic bad guy but maaaaaaaybe don’t have him go through a hugely traumatic event where he saw near his entire family burn to death, something he himself also barely survived. He also went feral because of broken pack bonds and the fact that his new Alpha just abandoned him to die. So all that, and the “morally superior good guys” decide the only way to stop him was to set him on fire. Again. Explain to me how that makes them better? Because they pretty much set a burn trauma survivor on fire again and didn’t care.

Second, I hate Scott’s actions regarding Gerard Argent and the fact that he forced Derek to bite the bastard against his will. Sure, he had a plan but did he actually tell it to anybody? Hmmmm. It seems he does that a lot. Scott also didn’t seem to give a damn that Gerard had all but tortured Stiles, a person who was supposed to be his best friend but who cares about that as long as Scott gets what he wants and people do what he wants. That last part was never mentioned in the show anyway so I guess... 🤷‍♀️.

I know Scott was also one of the few who wanted to save Jackson as opposed to killing him, but let us not forget Peter helped to save him too, even if it is unclear here whether he had an ulterior motive for it. (It’s really too bad that Colton Haynes left after this season because I am completely convinced that Jackson would have been revealed as Peter’s son given all the buildup thus far. But it’s very likely that the writers would have eventually reduced Jackson to a prop to hold up Scott as well eventually so maybe Colton actually did himself a favour.)

Back to Peter, I know many will disagree with me on this, but I like him. Peter is what one would call a “chaotic neutral” and Ian Bohen’s acting is just so incredible, he makes it very hard to hate this guy even when he’s being a snarky smartass. (Or is that he’s so good that he makes you hate the character like you’re supposed to? In that case, he failed with me). Yes, he killed his niece, but it’s also heavily implied that he wasn’t all there mentally during that part because of all the trauma, the psychological damage of being trapped in his body for six years, and the fact that Laura abandoned him, as mentioned before plus wasn’t Jennifer manipulating him? Do NOT even get me started on how unbelievable the whole “Peter willingly working with Kate” thing is. Seriously, if season one was any indication, he should’ve immediately tried to kill her again once he realized she was still alive.

Another thing that irks me is Derek and the pack’s constant need to hold everything over Peter’s head when it was actually Derek who gave Kate everything she needed to wipe out his family. But Derek gets all the slack for that instead. I don’t hate Derek at all but come on!

This leads me to my final point of the rant and that is the writers reducing the Hales to props to try and keep Scott credible as an Alpha and nothing more, even dismantling the Hale pack entirely at one point. Yes, Derek does it to save Cora but they officially wiped out a powerful, centuries old werewolf pack just like that. Only way I’ll get over this is if they eventually give the Hales a spin-off much like the Originals from the Vampire Diaries. I mean more young Peter? Hell yes!!!! Young Derek? Sure, I’m game! Actually showing Talia as a fleshed out character? 🙋‍♀️ Me!!! Also it may get me to like Laura as it would take her beyond this one-dimensional person that we know now. Who knows.

#anti scott mccall #Peter Hale #derek hale #teen wolf discourse #teen wolf #dont try and preach scotts virtues at me #if he has any #you will not change my mind #and i tagged this ANTI SCOTT anyway soooooo #My ranting #my opinion #i also really like Peter's character #dont bother attacking me for that too #your comment will be ignored and deleted #unless you can be civil #i still may not respond #my thoughts are above

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midnightrings · 5 months

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So, I watched the latest episode and I have a lot of thoughts about it. Tbh, I feel like this should’ve been 2 episodes instead. I really loved Hawk and Tim’s dynamic here, plus I needed more 80s scenes and Markus/Frankie. But anyway … what I was thinking about most is where the show will take it from here.

I was really curious to see how the show manages to show Hawk and Tim in the 60s without revealing anything about the ’57 stuff yet. And I was also hoping they’d show some hints to what might have happened, but … I feel like there were basically no hints at all? At least nothing obvious. I only watched the episode once, so maybe I’ve missed something, but if I didn’t know that they met again in ’57, I don’t think I would’ve assumed that much happened between episode 5 and 6. I mean, Hawk and Tim definitely didn’t talk like people that haven’t seen each other in over 10 years, but it doesn’t seem as if anything drastic happened.

I’ve been wondering for a while now if maybe Tim doesn’t know yet about whatever Hawk did in ’57, and won’t learn about it until some time before the 80s scenes. Mostly because this could explain how their relationship (kind of) continues into the 60s and 70s. Tim does appear to be way more wary of Hawk in this episode than before, but Hawk also doesn’t really seem to show remorse or anything that could hint at him doing something horrible to Tim. It even seems like he wants to get back together with him. So maybe, there isn’t any actual ‘betrayal’ on Hawk’s part.

I haven’t really kept up with any behind the scenes stuff, so I don’t know if there’s anything mentioning that Hawk will betray Tim in ’57. The only reason I thought something awful will happen is because of the storyline in the book, and the fact that the ’57 scenes won’t happen until the last episode. But at this point, I honestly find it difficult to believe that Hawk did something unforgivable to Tim. Though he is a complicated and troubled characters, so maybe he still did – I guess we will see.

I’ve also wondered whether the letter Tim wrote to Hawk might come into play at some later point. I mean, I do hope that Hawk learns about it, but maybe the letter will be overall more important to the storyline. I don’t think that it has to be important – it already functioned as a bridge between this episode and the ending of the last one, and was used to let Lucy know about Tim. But maybe the letter also had some impact on whatever happened in ’57.

I’m not really sure when the flashbacks in this episodes are set. I don’t think there was any mention of the year? (But please correct me if I’m wrong) Considering Jackson is probably like 12/13 in this episode, I guess the flashbacks happened some time before ’57. So maybe Hawk not reading the letter will have some consequences. I don’t think those have to be heavy consequences either. Tim believes that Hawk has read the letter – so if Hawk continues to disrupt his life, despite Tim telling him repeatedly that he needs to leave him alone, I can see how Tim might start feeling resentment towards Hawk. So there might not be an actual betrayal on Hawk's part, but their relationship in the 80s is just the cumulative result of Hawk's actions throughout the years.

Another thing I’ve been thinking about is what might happen to Jackson, and how it might impact Hawk and Tim’s relationship. I’m going to assume that he will probably die in the next episode. And judging by what we learned about him in this episode, I think it’ll either be suicide or a drug overdose. And maybe, Hawk will be away with Tim when this happens.

Considering that Lucy (rightfully) called out Hawk for putting his family in danger, and the constant conflict between his family and Tim in the 80s, I can definitely see him not being there for his family when his son dies. Jackson directly talked about how Hawk’s lies (or his parent’s lies in general) affect him negatively, and if Hawk loses his son while he’s with Tim, he will definitely feel responsible for his son’s death, and as a result of his guilt, might decide to cut all ties with Tim. I guess we will see next episode.

Honestly, I love how there’s only 2 episodes left and I still don’t know what direction this show will take. I really thought there would be a clearer picture after this episode, but if anything, I just ended up with even more theories lmao

#fellow travelers #ft spoilers #meta

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darkpoisonouslove · 8 months

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Initially I wasn’t sold on Valtor and Griffin but reading your post on lovers to enemies and how it applies to them opened my eyes to the possibilities. Thank you so much

Thank you, anon! I am so happy every time someone tells me I've opened their eyes to Griffin x Valtor because, honestly, the levels of potential with them are just epic! I think the writers threw in their partnership to give Valtor a motive for taking over CT and the whole thing was extremely poorly thought out but it still has so many directions it could go! I have been thinking about this a lot in the last few days so I'm going to go ahead and ramble about it!

First of all, the whole betrayal business was glossed over in a truly mind-boggling way. In order to have a betrayal of any sort, that means that there was trust to be betrayed, which instantly adds a side to Valtor that we don't get to see on the show. He is definitely very far from trusting the Trix if he feels the need to manipulate them in a divide-and-conquer fashion the whole time. And examining this in detail leads to a very fun observation. Either he actually trusted her, in which case he totally allowed her to play him for a fool and he would absolutely despise that, or he trusted in his own ability to keep her by his side, in which case his charisma failed him to the result of completely shattering his ego. His total lack of reaction to the betrayal (he simply imprisoned her and proceeded to do nothing to hurt her afterwards) fails to take either of those into account and wastes a perfect opportunity to explore his psyche through his partnership with the Trix. They literally combine the humiliation of being betrayed by Griffin with the memories of being under the thumb of the Ancestral Witches. A perfect setup to show us a more vulnerable side to Valtor to flesh him out.

Speaking of the Trix, the reveal that Griffin used to work for the Ancestral Witches makes the entirety of season 1 plain stupid. I don't believe for a second that she would not have connected the dots and figured out the Trix are their descendants. Which presents us with intriguing opportunities of building up her character and possibly the world. Why did she work with the Ancestral Witches? What was her motive in keeping the Trix' identity a secret? Was she trying to protect them because she knew the way the Ancestral Witches would warp and exploit anyone they could get their claws into and she sees too much of her younger self in them? Was she trying to keep an eye on them? Was she hoping to somehow use their potential as witches to her benefit (suggested by 1x08)? Was it some mix of those? Instant layers added to the character, plus we could have learned why Griffin worked for the Ancestral Witches, what her role was in the scheme of things and how they operated.

Which leads me to another gripe with the writing - they made Griffin too nice post 1x17. Until then they characterized her as a villain (or at least as intensely antagonistic) only to turn right around and take most of the bite out of her. They completely fail to strike a balance with her, which leads to the generic, contrived and contradictory motive we're given for her betrayal and the absolute lack of motive for her working with Valtor in the first place. I'm sorry but I'm not buying the idea that she would suddenly chicken out of the quest for world domination. And yes, Valtor is the one that puts it like that (in 4kids at least, I think he said something about "having a change of heart" in RAI) but the whole thing is still vague and weak as far as motivations go. You don't go serve one of the greatest evils only to decide that actually, no, you're not cool with bringing about the apocalypse after all midway through bringing it about. Was she misguided? Angry and indignant about something (*cough* all the witchphobia going on in the Magic Dimension *cough*)? Ready to fuck shit up but failing to account for the fact that she'd fall in love with Faragonda? What? What happened?

To go on from there, she really could have used a somewhat more consistent characterization where she would do anything for the people she cares about - and by season 3 that includes Faragonda's fairies and Saladin's Specialists alongside her witches - at the cost of fucking over everyone else. Like I said in the previous ask, it would have made perfect sense to see ruthlessness and cunning from her but this time used against Valtor as opposed to for his cause like she did when she was his partner. It would have made the whole thing more believable and fixed the inconsistencies with the writing for her personality.

And lastly, going off of my mentions of witchphobia, this show really takes every opportunity to imply that witches are evil no matter how hard they try to pretend that they are sending the exact opposite message. So how come Griffin was not only allowed to join the Company of Light after her partnership with Valtor, but also became headmistress of CT? Trying to answer that in any capacity could have added a little something to the Winx world to make it a place of forgiveness and second chances (instead of the biased hellhole it appears to be - at least if you're a witch). Griffin being the only witch in the Company poses the question of how she got along with the other members, how they even came to accept her among their ranks and how close she was with all of them. Not only that, it would have added to the conflict between her and Valtor since she left him and then went on to join his enemies, basically implying that they are superior whether in a moral respect or where power and political influence were concerned. How much about his methods did she reveal to them and how valuable of an asset was she to the Company with her knowledge and her magic? How did it feel for both of them to fight against the other and lose (since Valtor claims they were unstoppable together - a much different assessment than that of his partnership with the Trix; they are his puppets on strings while Griffin he seems to have treated as an equal)?

Come on! There is a ton to do with these characters, a ton to explore about their stories, their psyches and the world around them! The script would have improved significantly if they'd even scratched the surface of any of these things.

#winx club #griffin x valtor #winx griffin #winx valtor #ask #anon #meta #winx meta

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nebulouscoffee · 4 months

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10, 15, 35, 43 for the Trek ask game?

Thank youuuu and sorry for the late answer! Love these questions <3

10. Which alien pet would you most want for your own?

Honestly I have always been very charmed by Worf's childhood pet domesticated targ (portrayed by Russian wild boar Emmy-Lou😂) - but I would happily adopt a Bajoran hara cat, Cardassian vole, or that cute lizard who climbs over Jadzia on the jungle planet

Anyway look at this lil guy!!!

15. Top 3 favorite alien crewmembers?

Oooh, this is tough. Am I choosing my favs overall, or based on how much I like their alien-ness specifically? If it's the former, then Kira, B'Elanna, and Dax - if it's the latter, then Odo, Worf, and Saru (Discovery). (Deanna and Kes leaving you out Hurt Me but they didn't write you alien enough for the latter list!! Still top 5 favs though <3)

35. A minor character you wish had become a main character?

Okay let's talk about the long-form arc potential both Seska and Suder had. Literally my favourite thing about the Suder episodes is the questions about restorative justice they raise- is there any point in locking a man up after he's sincerely reformed and no longer dangerous? Is it possible to be? Is it fair to the victim's loved ones to give him the right to roam around like nothing happened? What sort of thing could count as "reparations" in Voyager's situation? What if they really had been stranded with him for 75 years? Would he ever have been able to move on from what he did? What sort of hobbies might he take up in his new life? What would it take to win Janeway's trust? Would the victim's friends ever forgive him? Would he rather disembark the ship and start anew somewhere, or remain with his own people? Would he have been able to make new friends? Are you reading this string of questions in Jonathan Frakes's voice too? Would our main characters all have been able to get past his actions? Would it cause disagreements? How would his relationship with Tuvok have progressed? What issues would their getting back to Earth early raise for him? ... Aaaaand then the show decided to give us none of that😂 (well. except for Jonathan Frakes in a brief cameo that is :D) As for Seska I really don't know what they were thinking with her lol. She starts off as such a promising villain- literally the "reveal" in 'State of Flux' gives me chills! And you can actually understand her actions, her unexpected attachments to Chakotay and the crew. Instead of the whole pregnancy subplot (which made no sense) I would've loved to have seen her grow increasingly afraid she'd made a mistake in teaming up with the Kazon, and try to defect back to Voyager - the questions that would raise would be similar to Suder's, though in this case a bit more personal for characters like Chakotay and B'Elanna. Is she for real? Is she just doing this to trick them again? How do the Bajoran crew members feel about this? What would it take for her to win back people's trust? Say she does something messed up again, does she get a third chance? Would she make friends with Seven of Nine; someone she never personally betrayed who is also seeking redemption for past actions? Society if we'd gotten her as a regular character all the way till S7 - like an actually great redemption arc, where she ends up on good terms with a lot of them by the end (sort of like what they did with Garak on DS9) - ahhh the possibilities!!!

43. Order of shows from most to least favorite?

This is hard😅 okay I'm going to tier rank them that's easier!

Fav tier: DS9 (It's the best <3) Second tier: TNG (I can't not put it here this show literally changed my life) & VOY (has wonderful characters and has also become very important to me) Third tier: TOS movies (love them), Discovery (I have developed a nostalgia for it by now. Plus Michael is blorbo!) Fourth tier: TOS, SNW, Enterprise, Lower Decks (shows I've enjoyed but only really seen once so far) and I guess the AOS movies lol (imo 'Beyond' is the best one) Fifth tier: Picard (if it was just the first season it would've been higher! I actually liked that one) & the TNG movies (ugh) (I am yet to see TAS and Prodigy)

#thanks again for the ask friend <3 #nothing like tier ranking the Starred Trek shows to distract you from feeling sick :)#(nothing serious everyone's just been a bit ill due to water contaminations lol)#also yes. I am aware that we never actually got to see a hara cat on screen #but it is a cat! so #it stands to reason I would like one :)#ask game

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despairing-disaster · 1 year

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Hi! First of all, I just found your blog, and I LOVE it! The theories are honestly so well though out! I really need to ask your opinion on something that I've been yo-yoing myself

I've seen some people say that David going to be the antagonist. Yeah, he was acting pretty antagonistic in the first trial (granted everyone was pointing fingers at Teruko), but something about him still trying to mask his suspicions with a 'nice facade' was lowkey irritating to see. Plus, Teruko is a protagonist, but isolated herself from the rest of the group, being pessimistic and cynical. David (at least his facade) is a direct foil to that, being optimistic and wanting the best for everyone. It also raises lots of suspicion that David was the one that wrote the note to Xander to kill Teruko, since Xander trusted him off the bat. I feel like it will come back at a later point in the story, and for that, David would (most likely) need to live for the shock of the reveal

Along with all these factors, my own theory is that David is also the mastermind. It just.......seem obvious. He's already established to be two-faced, he was grilling Teruko during the trial, even when other people were swayed that she was innocent, and his alibi for the first trial just seems......off to me? Like......he was in the laundry room for a really long time. And, if that was true, Min should've saw him. Of course, she didn't outright say "Oh, he was there/not there" but it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth

David seems way too interesting of a character to die so early. And even if he does, there is still a possibility that isn't the full end of learning more about him. I also seen theories of a 'protag switch' with him and Teruko (he does have an ahoge), but I'm still not sure what will happen with his character at this point. They carved out so many direction David's character can go, but there really is no 'set in stone' theory I can make of it

Hmmm... I have a lot of thoughts on this and I'm trying to articulate them, but I'm not sure how I should do it and I also keep getting distracted by some new feature tumblr added that is unhelpful and distracting as per company standard. I also revised this draft like 5 times (and by revised I mean completely deleted and rewrote)

First and foremost, a lot of what I'm gonna say is probably gonna come across as harsh or dismissive and this not in any way related to you OP, but I'm honestly just kinda tired of hearing about David from the rest of the fandom. I actually do like him as a character, I just think he's mischaracterized by a majority of the fandom as a worse person than he likely is. Maybe I'm gonna eat my words in the future, but those are my thoughts for now.

That being said, he's not gonna be the rival. Full stop. I keep my mind open on a lot of things but I'm honestly pretty insistent on this one. I personally think David's behavior in the first trial has everything to do with his relationship with Xander as well and nothing to do with anything else. I feel like the thing people miss with both of them-- especially with one being regarded by fandom as noble and heroic but tragically forced to kill and the other as a shady, bullshitting master manipulator-- is that they both idolized each other for an ideal they each betrayed. Xander saw David as someone worth admiring for his ability to inspire and rouse others into action as a result of his talent and David saw Xander as someone worth admiring for his authenticity and compassion for others. However, David doesn't seem like he can practice what he preaches and Xander obviously went against his morals, but David didn't want to believe it. He wanted to think Xander wasn't someone like him who couldn't live up to the standards he preached, but he ultimately didn't die a hero, he died a murderer (and a failed one at that). That's why he defended him so hard in the trial. He's not so much fake and two faced in my mind as he is someone who wants to believe that things will turn out for the better with just a good attitude and some elbow grease but is struggling against a world where that's not always the case. He was staunchly in denial about who Xander was as much as Xander was willing to ignore anything anybody else had to say on David. Even before it was revealed he had a family history of depression, a lot of the ways he was described as well as his generally low, exhausted energy when he's not putting on a front stood out to me and I definitely factored a possible mental health condition into a lot of my thoughts on him right from the get go.

That being said, I did find the laundry room thing suspicious. Idk. It just seems weird to me that something like that would get brought up and then just dropped when the rest of the trial was pretty thorough. It could be a nod to a certain events in one of the canon games, but beyond that, I don't suspect David as the mastermind any more than anyone else. There just isn't enough for me to go off of as of now and when it comes to big judgements like these, I tend to just stick to waiting and seeing.

Honestly, at the end of the day, David just isn't a character I have a lot of thoughts on. I feel like fandom has really picked up a specific idea of what David is and most of my thoughts are in disagreement. Is he a two-faced liar? I guess, but I would be too if my job was selling people lies motivational speaking. Was he unjust in hounding Teruko in the first trial? A little, but if he really believed Xander was as good of a person as he thought he was, why wouldn't he? What motive would Xander have to kill in his mind? I think the only thing here I really agree on is that he's going to live for a bit (imo, at least up to chapter 3 if not longer) to better explore the depths of his character. I do have some other thoughts, but nothing I can expand upon or really cohesively tie together with what I've said so far, so I think I'm gonna just leave it at this.

#danganronpa despair time #from the ask box

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maroonghoul · 1 year

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Horror Movies I Just Watched: Mar 2023

Another short list this month:

Planet Terror: If these aren’t the grossest zombies I have ever seen, they’re the grossest I’ve seen in a long while.

Once again, the fictional end of the world is caused by the US military dabbling in something without any proper precaution. Didn’t really care for the running gag with the mad scientist being castration obsessed. Not sure if that’s bro-humor or homophobia. Bruce Willis’s cameo as technically the main villain was kinda funny. if only for how they enjoyed making it obvious how detached he was from the rest of the cast. And of course, Tarantino shows up just to die, but not before deserving every nasty bit of it. Really surreal they’re part of a stolen plot point from 28 Days Later of all things. If you’ve seen it, you probably know the one.

The rest of the cast work well enough. Marley Shelton’s doctor remains likable even as she goes off the deep end and her eye shadow runs (wait, did I say even? I meant especially), while Josh Brolin seems to channel his Thanos performance ten years earlier and even creepier. And what happens to their kid; child death in horror movies can be a stand out moment whenever it shows up if not handled recklessly. This isn’t reckless, but it certainly seals the deal on what kind of movie this is with it’s dose of dark comedy.

I know Rose McGowan’s gun leg is THE image of the movie, but I’ve been used to seeing it even before watching the movie, I was more affected by everything else.

I should’ve know just how bloody all this was really going to get the second Tom Savini showed up. Then again, with him here and Rodriguez directing, calling this movie From Dusk Til Dawn’s grimier dumber brother seems appropriate. That reminds me, I need to rewatch that in the near future.

Scream VI: *SPOILERS!*

I felt like the previous one took a few more risks than this one, but I actually enjoyed this one more.

A part of me DID watch to relish the New York setting here, but Ghostface was always the type to be in costume when he’s in your house rather then around any sort of landmark. He would’ve been caught almost immediately.

Yes, the opening is a great first for the franchise. In hindsight, paired with the reveal of our actual killers, it felt like a callback to Mrs. Loomis betraying Mickey back in Scream II. Personal revenge taking priority over insipid fame-seeking meta commentary.

Speaking of our actual main killers, Is this the first one since III where the motives are actually personal? And the first since II it’s someone taking revenge for family? It helps that there being THREE of them and they’re family kinda gives it a Texas Chainsaw vibe for me. And pretty cool that the climax is a literal blood feud between two families. (Though I’m confused, are the Villains the Bailey’s or the Kirsh’s?)

Although that ends up being part of what I mean about there being less risks. With three killers, that means even less victims that aren’t just essentially extras which was about half the deaths this time (The bodega people plus Gale’s new companion), so the only new person who was expendable ‘til then was Anika. As for the core four, they’re actually less expendable now then the previous four have been (Randy died in only his second appearance and Dewey...) . Chad couldn’t really die no matter how many stabs because he’s new final boy Himbo. It wouldn’t been way too mean to kill Mindy, the black queer member, especially right after killing her girlfriend right in front of her. We literally just got Kirby back. The internet might’ve explode if it was definitive this time. Sam’s the new main character, who also makes a more compelling case of sticking around this time, (and hoping Scream vii doesn’t spin it’s wheels on her). Tara might be the strongest case, especially with how Jenna Ortega’s fame is skyrocketing so she could get too busy for more of these. But yeah, combining that with her sub plot of pseudo self destruction might not have paired well. I almost felt Gale was saved in reshoots, people repeating she was in a coma. I get it, but man, she would’ve went out strong.

I guess, pay disputes with Neve Campbell aside, maybe it is time for some legacy characters to step back for now. Just do something to have less characters with plot armor.

Okay, Let me end this section on a positive note. One of my favorite bits was actually in the opening. Tony Revolori’s character becoming a killer AND getting killed because he doesn’t understand Giallo films was rather amusing to me, but I guess only because I know enough about horror movies to at least know what a Giallo is. Up to that, can we just say that was the actual big intentional gag of this whole franchise, am I right? All the characters talk about scary movies and most of the villains are trying to create a real life scary movie. Though the movies they’re referencing and trying to copy are Slashers films, the plots of the Scream movies always felt like they had more in common with Giallos, like the ones made by Bava and Argento decades before slashers. Slashers don’t have human, vulnerable schemers all that often, but Giallo do. The invincible killer that gets away with everything until the next killing spree were around in 70s horror movies (Michael, Billy, Leatherface, etc.), but they didn’t start being considered cool until Jason showed up a movie late in 1981. The eighties. A decade where psychopathic straight men seem to run everything. But we’re not in the eighties anymore, and as much as we can learn from it, we also need to leave it behind. Even though too many people prove to not get the memo, the joke is still on them at the end. Six times now in this case.

It’s crazy how the first and second time Ghostface was actually cheer worthy are in this movie, at the very beginning and the very end (Unless III had some moments, it’s been a while). While the end is gratifying with Sam weaponizing her own horrific family legacy against those who’s chickens have come home to roost, a slight evolution on Richie’s fate from the previous movie. I’ll still remember this entitled, pretentious asswipe getting done in by someone actually trained and experienced in killing (either the cop father of one of the kids he’s trained) beating him at his own game before he even got started, with a pre mortem one liner that would seem contradictory, but fits in how when you’re on the receiving end of the knife “Who give a f--- about movies?!”

Inferno (1980) Speaking of NYC-set horror films and Argento. This is a loose sequel to the original Suspiria. While it’s been a long time since I saw that one, I think I liked it more then this one. Suzy came into the plot because of a personal pursuit then got curious about the weird and horrific events around her. Mark in this movie, cared the least about who the Mother of Shadows is, yet he’s the sole survivor. Was that commentary about leaving well enough alone on such things? Usually you don’t punish any characters for trying to be smart in a horror movie unless movie is made before 1960.

At least the kills were up to snuff. Failed decapitation by window and getting chewed on by rats before getting stabbed by a possessed(?) food cart vendor were highlights. Really hated how the guy drowns some cats before doing it. What was even the point of that? Not like Tenebrarum had any pet cats.

Skeleton costume at the end was cute though. Not even going to bother with the third trilogy in this sorta Trilogy. I heard it was even worse.

I’m likely going to have a longer list of movies to talk about next month. Until then...

#planet terror #scream vi #inferno 1980

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periwinkle--daydreams · 1 month

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A week late, but I finally beat Elden Ring! Main storyline, Mohg, Malenia, Placidusax... basically everything that matters! I plan on replaying it in about a month as a new character so I can finish certain sidequests I never activated or accidentally left unfinished and prepare for the DLC, but until then? Have some scattered thoughts about the endgame/bonus areas!

(NOTE: This is actually a month late, and my thoughts and feelings on certain parts of this post have changed, but I'm posting them as-is for the sake of prosperity since I genuinely meant to post this at the original date. I just have a bad attention span/tendency to get sidetracked by other projects, ha ha)

I dreaded burning Melina because I was expecting it to be agonizing, painful, and depressing to watch. It was still depressing, yet she seemed to go peacefully meaning that once she was dead and gone, I couldn't help but feel... relieved, oddly enough. I really wish we got to see more of her because even after looking at the Frenzied Flame ending where she's revealed to potentially have some sort of connection to that queen the Godskins followed, I still feel like I practically understand nothing about her aside from the fact that she's a mysterious little enigma wrapped up in a riddle.

I knew what to expect since I went there super early via the Four Belfries, but Farum Azula is one of my favorite dungeons. It's hauntingly beautiful, the enemies are challenging in just the right way, the connection to the dragons, all the weird fuckery surrounding the Placidusax fight (as well as the reveal that he's a goddamn PREHISTORIC ELDEN LORD), and the way it culminates in a fight against best boy Gurranq/Maliketh...

The Godskin Duo can burn in hell. Seriously, fuck that boss. I gave it an honest try but after the thirteenth death and runback past those annoying knight enemies guarding the way, I said fuck it and used Sleep Pots. Absolutely no shame, no regret, and I'll gladly do it again upon replaying.

What are the Godskins even doing there, anyway? Aesthetically they actually fit in pretty well with the crumbling, ethereal architecture, but they stick out like a sore thumb among the beastmen, dragons, and knights that I assume are meant to back up Maliketh in protecting Destined Death. Were they trying to skin him and/or Placidusax, or did they want Destined Death back to empower their Black Flame magic?

Maliketh was a stupidly hard boss who broke me over his knee before Tiche and I were lucky enough to catch him in an easy to manage pattern, yet I didn't get angry the way I did fighting the Fire Giant or Malenia. Overwhelming as his crackhead acrobatics may be and how easily you can die after eating one of his Destined Death blasts, his moveset still feels very learnable and manageable: I was just getting impatient and trying to plow through the game since I wanted to get it over with at that point. Plus, he's just plain cool. :^y

Also... Jesus Christ, poor guy. There's something gutting about the way he sounds genuinely shocked and betrayed by you coming after him at the start of his boss fight. Sorry, man! I don't want this any more than you do... ;_;

A part of me wishes that the Ashen Capital was a proper dungeon instead of a big, empty wasteland... but at the same time, I REALLY wasn't in the mood to explore another, so maybe it's okay that it exists as a glorified boss rush chamber. And speaking of...

I knew Gideon would betray me, but I was surprised by his reasons for doing so. I figured he was biding his time to find the perfect moment to strike like a snake in the grass, but he was just... broken. Genuinely distraught by whatever the hell it was that he saw. He wasn't by any definition a good person (The Albinauric Village and Latenna say hi, as does Nepheli), but I couldn't help but feel a bit sad when all was said and done. He was surprisingly easy, which is sad because the gimmick of him having a bigger spell pool based on how much information you relayed back to him was really cool and inspired.

Godfrey kicked ass, and honestly? If he and Hoarah Loux had seperate health bars and Serosh did more than just spectate during the Godfrey phase, I wouldn't mind if he was the final boss. Even as an Astrologer getting help from Nepheli (who I think is supposed to be his daughter? Weird that she had nothing to say about fighting him) it felt like a true contest of champions: a contender to the throne vs THE original Elden Lord (in the Age of the Erdtree, anyway). A "mere" Tarnished of no reknown vs THE great granddaddy of all Tarnished: the consort of a God and a one-man genocide machine who ate Fire Giants for breakfast. An honorable duel that devolves into a horrifying, brutal cage match once the kid gloves (and spirit lion) come off and he starts pulling out suplexes, choke slams, and all sorts of other crazy moves that made me feel like we briefly crossed over with the WWE and Fist of the North Star. And despite being, at his core, an insane berserker whose bloodlust made him incapable of being a proper lord without Serosh to keep him in check, he was still man enough to congratulate me for a battle well-fought. Seriously, what a cool fight.

Also, him cradling Morgott's corpse at the start of the fight and the muted sadness (accompanied by Serosh's furious howling, which I'm certain is supposed to represent how he REALLY feels) he showed really makes me wish we got to see more of his relationship with both his Omen kids. It'd be heartbreaking to see him react to how deeply into depravity that Mohg has fallen, for example.

And speaking of Mohg? A surprisingly easy boss (granted, a friend warned me to pick up the tear that helps deal with his NIHIL countdown), yet one of the coolest in terms of aesthetics, music, fighting style... but good god, he's an evil bastard. I love him, don't get me wrong, but man: between the kidnapping and heavily implied rape of Miquella, the corruption of Albinaurics he was trying to save, the destruction of the Haligtree (doesn't seem to be intentional but I don't think it's a stretch to say that he gives zero fucks lol), he's one of the best contenders for the game's most evil villain.

Fellow superboss Malenia however was brutally, punishingly hard. And what's weird is that overall, she's honestly pretty unremarkable as a boss. Fast and relentless, yes. But her attacks are for the most part, very learnable. She staggers really easily and if you've got a powerful summon like Tiche or one of the Banished Knights helping you out, she'll spend at least half the fight knocked flat on her ass. And even her Goddess of Rot form looks scarier than it actually is since the above still apply... except for her butterfly clones. I still don't have the dodge timing down for that one. However...

Malenia's still stupidly hard because she's propped up by a really stupid gimmick and one obscenely overpowered move. The health drain on every single one of her attacks, even if you block them, is ridiculous and something that I feel is a huge source of "Fake Difficulty" as TV Tropes calls it. Likewise, Waterfowl Dance (or as I like to call it, the Anime Bullshit Attack) is just such an insanely overpowered attack that I'm surprised it avoided the cutting-room floor and made it into the game as-is without any patches to make it at least a tiny bit more reasonable. I eventually got the timing down (Pull a Joseph Joestar and run away from the initial flurry of slashes, roll into the follow up attacks and away from the finisher) and pulled off two perfect dodges during my winning attempt, but damn.

I assume the Scarlet Rot's messing with her mind considering what happened to Radahn, but it was weird that Malenia went from 0-to-100 rambling about the toll that the Rot has taken on her to declaring that you must die. Ditto for not being able to tell her that you know where Miquella is and that you either killed Mohg or want her help in taking him down. Apparently there's a LOT of scrapped material involving her, Miquella, and her boss fight, and that honestly makes a lot of sense considering that in her unused dialogue, she seems to only attack you if you actively attack her since she seems to have been conceptualized as a character that you could befriend.

The Haligtree was a great (if tough) dungeon and the Brace was just as breathtaking as the Royal Capital... but good god, the trip there sucked ass. The Concentrated Snowfield and that little evergaol town crawling with Albinauric archers/INVISIBLE BLACK KNIFE ASSASSINS were genuinely sadistic game design. The Snowfield especially what with its insanely overtuned enemies and snowstorm-induced fog. Not looking forward to doing that one again, to put it lightly.

Back to the endgame: the final boss. Oh BOY. On one hand, Radagon was a great fight and while not as manly and brutal as Godfrey? It was still an intense, dramatic, atmospheric showdown worthy of the Second Elden Lord/God herself. Radagon's overwhelmingly powerful, dangerous at range and up close, and while I thought it was a shame that you didn't get any insight to his personality? His cold silence and machine-like efficiency actually made him intimidating in a way that Godfrey/Hoarah Loux wasn't. While you can't afford to make many mistakes, he was definitely a worthy final boss...

And then a certain eldritch sea slug came right the hell out of nowhere and soiled it. SOILED IT. I guess it's meant to be the Elden Ring's true form... maybe? I'm still not really sure what that fight was about, other than that it sucked major dick. When it isn't constantly running away from you, you're having to run away every time it puts on a major light show leading to a real slog of a fight that made me think to myself "Can I fight the boss now, mommy? Please? Now? How about now? Can I attack- oh, not yet? Ah." Having to fight Radagon again every time you died to this thing also sucked not because he himself sucked, but because he's tough enough to a major drain on your flasks and leave you in a position where you can't afford to make too many mistakes when this stupid thing rears its ugly head.

For what it's worth, the atmosphere was really nice and the idea of fighting a weird alien thing in a forest of Erdtrees representing the Greater Will itself as your final trial was good in theory. But in practice. Painful. Just painful. I like to imagine that Gideon saw this boss fight and that's what turned him into such a defeatist. He was trying to spare us from an awful final boss...

And to cap things off... I feel like I understand Marika a whole lot less after beating the game than I did going in. I legitimately cannot tell what she was trying to accomplish, or if she had any genuine redeeming qualities since intentionally or not, she comes across as sort of an unstable sociopath. And Radagon as well as her relationship with him just make her even more of an enigma. I dunno, maybe I'm just dumb, but she's genuinely hard for me to read.

#hydrox rambles #hydrox plays elden ring #elden ring #elden ring spoilers

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celticbarb · 11 months

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Book: The Highlander & The Counterfeit Queen

Author: Heather McCollum

Series:The Queen’s Highlanders, Book 3

Publisher: Dragonblade

Print Length: 250

Overall Rating: 5/5 Stars

Blog Rating: 5/5 Saltire Flags

1574 AD

This book centers on another Cranfield daughter trying to clear their family name even though their mum was a traitor. This time it is Cordelia’s turn though she is also known as Cordy. Her majesty Queen Elizabeth wants her to switch places with her for two days as she goes on a special top secret journey to visit her cousin Mary Queen of Scots. Only a few chosen know of this secret expedition as the Queen never leaves her realm!

The reason Cordy was chosen is that she is one of the Queens ladies and needs to prove her loyalty for her mothers betrayal to the Queen. Furthermore Cordy looks like a younger, more beautiful version of the Queen. The Cranfield family name would be cleared, the family estate reinstated, Cordy would be allowed to leave court and go to Scotland to live with her sister Lucy. Of course this does not go without a hitch, as she gets abducted by a braw highlander named Marcus Ruthven, although he uses a fake surname who is a French spy! He thinks he has the real Queen and will be in big trouble if they find out she is the Queen’s doppelganger!

For Marcus, this is his family's only way of income since his drunk father also ruined his family name in Scotland. Marcus's other issue is he has carnal feelings for this English Queen although he had never seen her before. He questioned why she looked so young, her teeth were so white and skin seemed to have none of the reported smallpox scars? He just put it all aside knowing he could not make a romantic gesture to a royal Queen. However when he finds out the truth he is almost relieved he can act out on his romantic feelings!

Now Marcus works as a French spy for the King of Scotland to rescue the Queen and bring her to Scotland! This is so she will be thankful to King James and she will name him her heir. In addition, if the French do get their hands on Cordy she would be dead as soon as she reached the french soil of the evil de Medici dowager Queen! The problem is the French dowager Queen Catherine de Merci wants her people to abduct Queen Elizabeth and ship her to France and force her to marry a French Nobleman. Of course the French endorse the catholic religion and Queen Elizabeth is a protestant. So religion is one of the top reasons for wanting this kind of power and Elizabeth is the most powerful Queen of her time!

On top of this there are more secrets that have not been revealed to Cordy to protect his family which she feels is the ultimate betrayal! Plus she worries the Queen will think she sided with Marcus as the ultimate betrayal. Will the Queen or the French execute Cordy? Does Cordy feel betrayed by the man who owns her heart? Will Marcus be tried and convicted as a spy? Will the French finally realize all the duplicity they have gotten from Marcus? Will the French abduct Cordy and bring her to France only to realize they have a doppelganger in disguise? Do Cordy and Marcus have any type of future? Will Cordy ever see her sister again? Read and find out the answers to the many questions in this exhilarating book.

My go to author, Heather Mccollum has done it again writing another story that swept me away! This book is filled with betrayal, loyalty, self worth, duplicity, political intrigue, plotting, double crossing, espionage, passion and love and so much more! A story they will keep you on your toes with true historical icons of our history and fictional characters you can’t help but love! I personally loved the lute groupies as these secondary characters definitely made me laugh! This is sadly the third and last book in this wonderful “The Queen’s Highlanders” series. I cant wait to see what she releases next with her Dragonblade publishers.

The Queen’s Highlanders Series

1.The Highlander & The Queen’s Sacrifice

2.The Highlander & the Lady of Misrule

3.The Highlander & the Counterfeit Queen

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy and an advance reader copy from Dragonblade publishers. I voluntarily agreed to do a fair review and blog through netgalley. All thoughts, ideas and words are my own.

Buy Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Highlander-Counterfeit-Queen-Queens-Highlanders-ebook/dp/B0BZJ73F5L

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-highlander-the-counterfeit-queen-heather-mccollum/1142214035?ean=9781960184610

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musclesandhammering · 3 years

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Every Single Issue I Have With S*lki (It’s Not Just The Selfcest)

Here goes. I threatened to post this a few days ago and never did, but I just saw a s*lki stan Twitter account claim that Loki caring about Sylvie more than the whole multiverse was a Good And Romantic thing and it pushed me over the fucking edge, so now you all have to read this. I’ve divided it into categories cause there’s just THAT much.

OOC Bullshit

• First and foremost, no amount of mental gymnastics you do will ever make me believe that this specific Loki- the one that just invaded New York, that just came off a year of Thanos Torture, that just got done being influenced by the sceptre, that was literally in the middle of a crisis already, and then on top of that went through all the trauma of Ep 1- would even be worried about a romantic relationship. That would be the furthest thing from his mind. Go back and watch how he acted in Avengers- you think that guy would abandon his previous mission to become a snivelling simp for a girl he’d just met 3 days prior? Yeah, there’s no universe in which that makes sense.

• “It’s very in character for Loki to fall in love with himself lololol-“ NO, it’s literally not. Out of all the characters in the mcu, I don’t think I can think of anyone that genuinely hates themselves more than Loki. He even referred to all his other male variants as “monsters” and said meeting them was “a nightmare” in this series. He’s got so much self-loathing, plus the fact that he genuinely thinks himself to be an evil backstabbing scourge- so there’s no evidence at all suggesting that he would ever develop a fondness for, or even be inclined to trust, another version of himself, after only knowing them for 3 days.

• Building on that, the whole concept of Loki falling in love with a version of himself just feeds into the annoying ass misconception that he’s a narcissist. No matter which way you stack it, he’s not. If you’re referring to NPD, he doesn’t fit the criteria, and if you’re saying “narcissist” just as a slang term meaning “selfish and arrogant”, that still doesn’t accurately describe him. But when creators like Waldron and Herron do things like having him fall in love with himself, it makes it so much easier for casual viewers to think that he is.

Shitty LGBT Rep

• It’s kinda sus that Loki’s are allegedly genderfluid and yet the only female-presenting variant we see (and apparently the only female-presenting variant there is, cause the male Loki’s all seemed unfamiliar with the concept) is treated as some kind of mind-bogglingly special paradox. Also very sus that, out of all the Loki variants, the one our Loki falls in love with just so happens to be the only female one. What a coincidence.

• The fact that the creators of the show went around bragging about Loki’s bisexuality and Marvel purposefully (lbr) allowed stories about Loki possibly having a male love interest to circulate, specifically enticing queer viewers to watch the show (you know, the definition of queerbaiting), and then instead of having a male love interest (Loki was the first queer main character, so it was the perfect opportunity) they gave us *gestures to this dumpster fire* this… it’s just a middle finger to LGBT fans. The fact that they would rather have this relationship with all its myriad of problems than have a gay relationship is just……. Very telling.

• While him being with a woman obviously doesn’t refute his bisexuality, the fact that they showed/talked about him being interested in 3 different women (flight attendant, Sylvie, Sif) and never even hinted at him being attracted to a man, definitely makes it seem like they were trying to cover up his bisexuality to smooth things over with the more homophobic viewers. You know? It’s like “I know you’re pissed that we sorta confirmed Loki as bi, so we promise we’ll never mention it again! Or even hint at it! As a matter of fact, we’ll give him lots of female lovies and make him seem as straight as possible! That’ll take your mind off of that horrible crumb of queer rep, right? Please please please keep giving us your money!!!”

• Aside from all the other issues, at its core, the biggest reason why I think I’m so irritated with s*lki is that it took one of the most interesting, complex, and diverse characters in cinema atm and squished him into a tired ass unnecessary heteronormative subplot…. Like literally every. single. other. protagonist. ever. Loki is such a unique character, and it’s so so so incredibly disappointing that they stuck him into that same boring cookie cutter romance that happens to every other character in every other movie I’ve ever seen. It’s a disservice, and it’s honestly just not compelling or entertaining at all.

Thematic Issues Galore

• His arc didn’t need a romance. With anyone. It was unnecessary and it didn’t make sense plot-wise. In fact, one of the reasons he was my fav prior to this was because he was the only big-name mcu character whose story wasn’t muddied-up by a romance that didn’t need to be there. So much for that.

• He wasn’t emotionally ready for a romantic relationship with anyone. Hell, just a genuine friendship would’ve been pushing it for him at this point. He was in such a bad state that any relationship he got into would’ve been toxic and unhealthy for both him and the other person, and it doesn’t make sense why the writers would want to put him in one when there were so many cons and essentially no pros (other than “Uwu aren’t they cute together”).

• Sylvie’s character in general was unnecessary and Loki’s character was robbed just by her being there. The whole show became about her post-Ep 2. They spent most of the time giving her backstory, building her up, telling us how awesome she is, trying to convince us to like her, etc when what they really needed to be doing was building Loki up- cause I gotta say, if I had to describe TVA!Loki in a few words, they would be Flat, Boring, and Weak.

• The romance overtakes the plot. They spend time portraying their supposed connection that could’ve been spent adding depth and complexity to literally any of the characters. They make the big Nexus Event them giving each other googly eyes on Lamentis when it could’ve been so many other way more profound things that speak to the fundamental nature of Loki’s. They have the climax of the finale be “oh no she betrayed him to kill He Who Remains” when it could’ve been something way more compelling (Loki having a moral crisis over whether or not to kill HWR, Loki contemplating the state of the multiverse and weighing the pros and cons of freedom vs order, Loki looking into some What If situations and getting emotional about what could’ve been regarding his family, Loki realising the gravity of HWR’s offer and finally coming to terms with how important he is to the universal cycle, etc etc). The entire plot suffered in favour of a romance that half of us didn’t even want.

• It essentially reduced all of Loki’s potential character growth down to “He did it for his crush.” He seemed to at least have some motivations of his own in Ep 1-2 (feeble as they were) but after Sylvie showed up in Ep 3, literally every action he took was just him being a simp for her. Why did he lie in the interrogation? To try to protect Sylvie. Why did he fight the minutemen and Timekeepers? To survive kinda, but mostly cause it was important to Sylvie. Why did he get pruned? Cause he got distracted trying to confess his crush to Sylvie. Why did he try to get out of The Void? Cause he thought Sylvie needed him. Why did he stay in The Void? Cause Sylvie was staying. Why did he try to enchant Alioth? Cause Sylvie told him to. Why did the multiverse get cracked open, leading to an infinite number of Kangs waging war on all of existence? Cause Loki didn’t wanna hurt Sylvie in their fight at the Citadel and then get distracted by her kissing him. It’s uninteresting and honestly pretty embarrassing.

• Throughout their “relationship arc” the writers do their absolute damndest to convince us that we should like Sylvie more than Loki. And you know what? It’s the most hypocritical shit I’ve ever seen. They preach and preach about how Sylvie’s life has been so difficult/we should feel bad for her/she had it so bad/poor poor sylvie/she had it SO much worse than pampered prince Loki…. But then they never even touch on any of Loki’s trauma of hardships (the ones that have been ignored for literally 3 movies now). They frame Sylvie as a good person and a Freedom Fighter after she spent literal decades/centuries mass-murdering brainwashed TVA agents and showing exactly zero remorse for it….. but then they make it their mission to constantly remind us that Loki is a terrible person and constantly put him in situations where he’s forced to acknowledge his wrongdoings/show remorse/admit to how “evil” he is for being a mass murderer for like 2 years. They show him on-screen having a wider range of powers than her, and perpetuate his whole shtick of being a “master manipulator” or whatever….. But then they make Sylvie “the brawn” more competent, intelligent, and physically capable than him. Tell me how it’s a good thing for a ship to be so narratively biased toward one character.

Missed Opportunities

• If they absolutely had to have a romance subplot, then they could’ve paired Loki with one of the characters that have already been established OR one of the characters that were a big part of the whole TVA storyline anyway. It would’ve been so interesting if they’d revealed that Loki had a history with some of the players from previous films (Sif and Fandral both come to mind). It also would’ve been really interesting if they’d given Loki a love interest that actually had some allegiance to the TVA as a whole (Mobius maybe, but not necessarily. It also could’ve been Renslayer or B-15). Hell, imo it would’ve been cool if they’d followed through with that “See you again someday” line that he said to the flight attendant in Ep 1. ALL of these characters have way more chemistry with him than Sylvie, and they were also already relevant to the plot without wasting half the show to give background info on them.

• If they absolutely had to have a hetero-presenting love story involving an enchantress-type figure, then there’s a whole Enchantress (Amora) that was actually Loki’s love interest in the comics. Plus, fans have been screaming for Amora to appear in the mcu for years. Plus, Tom literally pitched an Amora/Loki storyline way back in 2012-13. Also, Lorelei (another enchantress) is also one of Loki’s love interests in the comics, and she already exists in the mcu (she was on Agents of SHIELD). There were several different established characters for them to choose from. Creating a whole knew amalgamation of a character and going with the “she’s a Loki variant” storyline was just completely unnecessary and made no sense.

• They completely robbed us of a Chaos Twins dynamic. Had they handled Sylvie better and not forced her and Loki to smooch, the two of them could’ve had a really really complex and interesting sibling relationship. Loki could’ve stepped into Thor’s shoes and sort of used that new role to gain some self importance, and Sylvie could’ve finally had somebody to look out for her/teach her magic/be there for her. It would’ve been very aesthetically pleasing, the vibes would’ve been out of this world, it would’ve been way more profound than this bs, and frankly it would’ve been much more entertaining to watch.

• Loki’s relationship (read: obsession) with Sylvie completely overshadows all Loki’s other relationships in the show. Loki and Mobius were literally the focal point of the series in Ep 1-2, but after Sylvie showed up in Ep 3, they barely had any interactions with each other, and Mobius pretty much faded to the background entirely. Loki had the beginnings of a pretty interesting antagonistic relationship with Renslayer (with her wanting him pruned, then arguing with Mobius that he couldn’t be trusted), but after Sylvie showed up the dynamic shifted to focus on the history between her and Ravonna. Loki and B-15 started off very badly and openly disliked each other throughout Ep 1-2, and then in the end of Ep 2, Loki showed a little bit of concern for her when she was possessed, hinting that they might be inching toward a reconciliation- especially considering how obvious it was that Loki was gonna uncover the TVA’s sins eventually. There was so much potential for him to be the one to give her her memories back and convince her to change sides, but no, of course that honor went to Sylvie. In fact, after Sylvie showed up, Loki and B-15 never even spoke to each other again.

Various S*lki Fails

• If they were trying to convince us that this affection was mutual, they completely failed. There’s nothing I’ve seen that even hints at Sylvie feeling the same way about Loki that he does about her. At most, I’d say she has a slight endearment to him. She finds him likeable and she’s grudgingly fond of him, but she definitely isn’t in love with the guy. Maybe she thinks he’s cute and hopes that he gets out of this mess alright, but her mission obviously comes before him- whereas, it’s been confirmed multiple times that Loki cares about her above anything else. She doesn’t trust him, she looks at him like he’s an incompetent fool half the time, she shows little to no reaction during most of his confession moments, and she kissed him as a means to distract him so that she could get him out of her way. Look, all I’m saying is, when you get into a relationship where one of you is way more invested than the other, it never ends well.

• This goes without saying for a lot of us, but the selfcest is just straight up odd and cringey. If you’re cool with that sort of thing, fine! People can ship what they want! But don’t pretend it’s not at least a little bit uncomfortable. Yes, I know they’re not technically siblings so it’s not technically incest, and they’re also not technically the exact same person, but they’re similar enough that it makes things weird. And yes I know selfcest can’t happen in real life, so there’s no way to judge it morally, but neither can most of the other stuff that happens in these shows/movies (the Snap, Loki destroying jotunheim, superhero with powers being held accountable, mind control) and yet we still find ways to judge their morality, because they all mirror real-world events. (The snap= genocide; Loki destroying Jotunheim= bombing other countries; superhero accountability= weapons accountability; mind control= grooming and coercion). And lbr the closest real-world mirror to two versions of the same person (who may or may not share DNA, family, backgrounds, physical and emotion characteristics) being romantically involved with one another is incest. And you can be ok with that if you want- that’s your prerogative- but don’t get pissy just cause a lot of us are squicked out by it.

• The whole mirror metaphor (learning self love via each other) thing just fell completely flat. First of all, having Loki learn to love himself by looking at someone who mirrors him did not, in any way shape or form, require them to be romantically involved. But they were. Of course. Secondly, the creators have contradicted themselves so many times on whether Loki and Sylvie are the same or not, that it doesn’t even really register to the viewer that the mirroring thing was what they were going for. Finally, Loki and Sylvie are shown to have so little in common- and to have only the most bare minimum of similarities personality-wise- that it doesn’t even make sense that Loki would “learn to love himself through loving her��. Like? They’re nothing alike. So how would he make the connection that he himself is actually pretty cool, based on her alone? There’s virtually nothing in her that reflects him.

• I know the objective of the entire show was to convince us of how awesome and unique Sylvie is, but honestly her relationship with Loki just did the opposite. A hallmark of a Mary Sue is having her constantly upstage the male lead, and then having him instantly fall madly in love with her anyway. And that’s.. exactly what happened here. Everything they’re doing to try to force her character to be more stan-able is really just forcing her to look more like their self-insert OC. Which is exactly what she is. It would’ve been so much more satisfying if she didn’t have to try so hard to look cool, if they didn’t have to try so hard to make her backstory tear-inducing, if they didn’t have to turn our protagonist into a snivelling simp just to prove how incredible she supposedly is. Very much #GirlBoss energy and we all know how performative and cheap that is.

• The entire thing was too rushed, there was too little build-up, and it was nowhere near believable. As stated above, it’s ridiculously unlikely that Loki would canonically even be interested in Sylvie, and this show did nothing to explain why he was. He just suddenly was. There was nothing they showed us as viewers that would justify a guy as closed-off and preoccupied as Loki falling head-over-heels for a girl he just met. Their was no explanation, no big revelation, no reasoning, it just… kinda happened. And I’m also severely skeptical of any love story that has the characters go in this deep after only 3 45-minute episodes of exposition.

I’m sure there’s other stuff, so if anyone thinks of anything, let me know and I’ll be more than happy to add it. Tagging @janetsnakehole02 @raifenlf @natures-marvel and @brightredsunset800 for expressing interest. This is all your faults.

#antisylki #loki meta #kinda #loki series critical #loki series negativity #anti loki x sylvie #anti loki series #anti sylvie #frosty bby #loki deserved better #I don’t even like TVA!Loki tho so I guess it doesn’t matter with him lmao #tva loki #loki laufeyson

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bvccy · 2 years

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Forbidden thoughts | 1. Daydreams of affection

— PAIRING: soft!dark!Bucky Barnes x female!Reader

— SYNOPSIS: For one of his last missions to make amends, Bucky tracks down the daughter of a man he killed when he was the Winter Soldier. He follows her from a distance at first, then slowly gets to know her. Affection turns to love which turns to lust which turns into something darker. Bucky tells himself he’s stalking her with good intentions, but he knows that isn’t true anymore.

— CHAPTER NOTES: Here we go, babes! Setting up the scene with angst and fluff. Also introducing the new little country, and a few other characters we'll see a bit more of later. It will still be a while before our hero and heroine actually meet. Our Bucky is a sad boy who needs some love :(

— WORDCOUNT: 2.5K

⸻ [MASTERLIST] [AO3] [PLAYLIST]

The sky was deceptively clear every day, a uniform slate grey that betrayed nothing, carrying the indifferent scent of dust and dampness of a continental climate. Illusions seemed to form in the uncertain mists it made, shadows and colours that mixed among themselves, lights hidden in the fog, and every hour seemed the same until night fell and everything was black until tomorrow. It wasn't the best of conditions to track someone, but he'd been through worse.

She was part of his list of amends, that's why he ended up approaching her — he never would have otherwise. Unassailably aloof underneath that shy façade, mortiferous blend of pride and modesty — Bucky wouldn't even know where to begin with her. He went halfway around the world to find this young woman, secured around seven thousand dollar's worth of funds for a three-month stay plus expenses, came without his weapons and didn't even travel incognito but, complaints aside, it was a welcome break from the mess back home; no dumpster fires in the streets, trash everywhere, drunk vagrants sleeping in the open; no sight of his old streets or longing looks at his childhood home — now expensive way beyond his means — nor calls for favours from old friends who got in trouble. It was just like old times: just him and his mission, and a new unknown terrain.

This far off country named Cathonia, formed in valleys cut by rivers and kept safe by its obscurity, was locked between a dip in Italy's mountains and the edge of Switzerland. The local people, there since prehistoric times, merged mostly peacefully with the Roman colonies that formed along the routes of trade and war out of the peninsula. They still bore signs of the Imperium, as if it had never died: massive buildings in white stone with sharp pediment over the windows, alcoves hiding busts or statues of ancient statesmen, or poets, or philosophers, dated in old Roman numerals and none more recent than the 1800s. Their flag of black and red and white stripes arranged on the horizontal fluttered high above the doorways.

Smaller residential places, tiny villas all iron gates and crawling ivy, looked out of place against the modern cars outside. Marble urns lined the roads, white flowers flowing out, while heavy oaks and sycamores and elms grew wildly all around, their branches hanging tiredly toward the ground to form green domes above the narrow streets and pathways. Men and women walked arm-in-arm, and children played outside with balls and bikes and all sort of self-made toys, like wood-carved horses or dolls sewn out of tablecloths.

Bucky watched all of these things curiously during the ride from the airport — he'd found a cab driver and they managed to communicate between one's broken Italian and the other's. He was in the capital city, Ixum, but it looked more like a ghost town than any other place he'd ever seen. A river ran beside it, bearing the same name, but he only caught a brief glimpse when the car crossed a bridge.

He had a room booked at a hotel called Morfran, the building squat and cracked around the edges with the paint worn out in places, pallid grey chipping away to reveal the blood-red brick beneath. The stairs squeaked and the shower pipes shuddered, but it was warm and dry, and so cheap he thought he stepped back in the 40s for a minute.

After a couple of days, as he got to know his target, he requested to change rooms. Bucky's new 2nd-floor suite had a broad balcony that faced the nearby park she favoured on her evening walks, and this early in the autumn, the sun did not yet set too late. He watched her from a distance for a while, prowling around her usual haunts and keeping track of patterns, habits, a way to catch her someplace that felt natural — just to talk, of course.

And so a new glum afternoon found Bucky standing at the balcony, sipping his bitter coffee more out of a desire to just hold something. His hands were more unsteady lately, perhaps because he was so close to finishing his list — she was the last one on it that was still accessible, not dead or in a jail or gone insane — or perhaps it was the weight of his debt to her that did it. Can't have been easy, losing her father when she was 10 years old.

He seemed a quiet man, tall and wiry with a sunken pallid face and deep grey eyes, and although he worked in journalism, that wasn't what got him into trouble. It was his hobby of birdwatching that had him out that evening, camera at the ready in the worst place, at the worst time, to catch the Soldier stepping out of the forest under the echo of the sound of gunshots. In the end, he wasn't very brave, but neither did he beg.

The wind sounded the same as it did years back, and there was the same scent of wet pines on the air, and a shiver ran through his body as it, too, remembered. The nausea he felt, already a steady companion, was drowned out by another sip of coffee.

Bucky wasn't even sure whether he should follow her home yet, he still had a bit of reading to do on the girl's background, but he already had most of what he needed. She had studied abroad and worked now for some artsy publication, lived alone on the outskirts of the city, and took her evening walks in the nearby park almost every day.

In spite of the monsters his mind produced, within only a few days he'd started to feel at home in this strange place. He had an old mattress that creaked under his weight, a television set that seemed as old as him, wooden desk in aged shades of brown, threadbare carpet in dark colours, and a tiny little bathroom in porcelain and brass. And in this land of strangers, Bucky found he could be anyone: a mystery man on a business trip, the odd tourist, a novelist, a detective on a case, a criminal on the run.

He'd even made friends with another guest at the Morfran. Mr Eugene Daimon was a portly Englishman who stopped there to see a nephew on his way to a health resort — he was going there to take the waters and some mud baths that, he said, worked wonders for arthritis.

"You may not need it now," he spoke as he loaded a plate with sausages and eggs that morning, "but when you get older, you'll see…"

"Past a certain point, everything hurts, right?" said Bucky, smiling at the man who was about half his real age.

"That's right."

When asked what he was doing there, he didn't have the heart to lie.

"I'm looking for someone."

"Are you a policeman?" Mr Daimon asked with suspicion as he sipped his tea, grey whiskers going in first.

"Not exactly…"

"You're not some scummy journalist, are you?"

"Oh, no," he laughed, cheeks aching with the unusual strain of it.

"In that case, James, whatever you are, I hope you find her."

"How did you know it's a she?"

"You just confirmed it, haven't you?" chuckled Mr Daimon.

Hours later, down below, the girl snuggled in her coat and tried to read a book. She kept getting distracted by her thoughts and looking up, seeing people walk their dogs around the park, or children with their parents, before she started reading the same page over and over again.

Bucky's eyes didn't leave her figure: tracing a lock of hair curled around her coat collar, the dip of the waist as she leaned sideways on the bench, the stretch of one calf in its creamy stocking as she sat cross-legged, then back up to the fingers curled around the book as if it were the edges of a cliff. Then upward still toward her lips set firmly in a line and pale with tiredness, and those eyes that were reading without moving — pretending, dreaming, thinking — looking liquid as if her soul could drip out at any moment; lazy remnants of eyeshadow were smudged around the corners, rubbed a little during the day, wetted by a few involuntary tears.

If he hadn't tracked her down for his mission, she could fade into the background, a silent part of the scenery, painted in shades of red and white and black and brown, cold and damp and trembling like the autumn all around her. He wondered what it would be like to know her, really know her… He could sit by her side, talk about his day, listen to her talking about hers, and look down to see how nicely her hand fit in his.

In his daydreams, they would be neither here nor back in New York City. In an in-between world of their own, he could take her to places where nobody else went, hold her in his arms and let her lean against him, his heart racing at just the feeling — just the thought — of what the angles of her body felt like through both their autumn coats. He could bring her flowers — white roses first, then move to pink and red — and watch her smile, and blush, and bite her fleshy lower lip as she looked up at him.

She'd take him to the cinema and he would take her dancing, her fingers interlinked with his, little nails like claws digging in at every twirl, and by the end he'd have her laughing, giggling into his chest, her own heart beating away right next to his as he held her close.

Bucky's stomach was in knots by the time the girl went home, feeling full and fluttery, but he went to dinner anyway. Mr Daimon was already there, sitting with a tall thin lady with a golden mane, and though Bucky waved politely and tried to keep on walking, he could not escape his new friend's beckoning.

"We just got here, haven't even ordered yet. You don't know each other, do you?"

"I don't think so," the lady said.

Bucky gripped the back of the empty third seat as he waited to be introduced.

"This is Mrs Lucile Aster, a good friend."

"Only sometimes," she said, smiling with an acid air.

"My dear, this is Mr James Barnes."

"How do you do," he nodded, and finally sat down.

"You look oddly familiar…" the woman spoke as she took a closer glance at him.

"I guess that's likely, maybe we've seen each other around the lobby," said Bucky as he tucked the metal hand between his knees.

Mrs Aster had a full round face, but there was something famished in her eyes. The accent placed her somewhere in the south of France.

"So what was that about only being friends sometimes?" Bucky asked, hoping to distract the two.

"We're professional rivals," Mrs Aster chuckled. "I hate him occasionally, but he's too fun to not speak to."

"Nicest thing she's said about me in five years," Eugene mumbled.

They chatted and laughed a little over dinner, but something about the conversation struck Bucky like a memory from a dream: endless, repeating, distant. He went back to his room as if sleepwalking and let the desk lamp on his bedside table burn into the night as he stayed awake and tried to find a way out through this fog.

A darkness so thick it felt material fell over his room and by his side that single golden light, a little sylph, shone while his thoughts circled and were pulled toward the girl again. It was easy to pretend that she was by his side, laying there, just out of reach, curled up with her back to him, and any minute now he'd start to feel her body heat. He wanted to lay on his side and wrap his arm around her, but knowing he would not find her there and to protect himself from disappointment, Bucky instead closed his eyes and pictured it: arm curling around her waist to pull her close, face buried in her hair and smelling the perfume, and maybe then she'd turn around and hold him in her arms and fall asleep with her tired face resting right against his chest.

He couldn't tell when it was he fell asleep. It was deep in the night because the moon had almost set outside, stars shining in the cloudless sky, and with heavy limbs, Bucky stretched toward the table and finally turned the light off. He was alone, the small part of him that was awake knew as much, but at the back of his mind, she was there — as a desire, if nothing else. She'd sigh when his motions woke her up, and he would pet her head, apologise, and tuck them both back in. It was too dark to see, and she was far away, but Bucky knew she'd smile.

The morning sun woke him up next morning. Around the edges of his mind floated the remnants of a few dreams, but they soon slipped from his grasp. His eyes adjusted to the light but he neither moved nor stretched, he just lay there listening, feeling the bed, his body, the soft sheets tangled around his legs, the air coming from the open window. The metal arm was a bit warm from where he'd laid on it. Bucky gradually remembered what he was thinking of last night, and in the clarity of day, a sense of guilt washed over him.

"You're losing it, old man," he grumbled, suddenly angry with himself.

She was just a young woman he hadn't even met yet, why was he imagining a life with her? If she knew this nutcase was watching her almost every day, and now was soothing his lonely nights with lurid dreams of her, what would she even think…?

"Occupational hazard," Bucky sighed as he turned his head toward the balcony.

After all, it wasn't his fault he could imagine what she felt like, what her perfume was, how soft her body would feel after a good night's sleep…

He would love to kiss her in the morning, just chastely on the cheek. Her lashes, soft like bird fluff, would leave a shadow on her skin, and her lips would look a little swollen maybe… He turned around and threw a leg over the duvet the way he'd curl it over her, to pull her closer. He hoped his girl would like to cuddle, like to rub herself up into him until he felt her whole body from the chest down to his legs, felt her curled up fists pressed into his ribs, the warm breath of her nose fanning on his neck, her moan as his hands travelled from her waist to her lower back and drew circles on her skin.

With a troubled sigh and growl, Bucky turned and heaved himself out of bed. He didn't, shouldn't want to have these thoughts about her. The metal hand came up to rub down his heated face, but it couldn't wipe the shame away.

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