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neil-gaiman · 11 months

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Hi Neil!

I don't want to sound like a killjoy, but I'm concerned about David Tennant's family being involved in the second season of Good Omens (or Michael Sheen's partner Anna Lundberg in a future season three). I absolutely have nothing against them, I loved Staged just like everyone else, but this is exactly the matter for me: casting them in the series would automatically make me think about Staged or something else while I'm watching GO, and it would distract me from the plot and the magic of it. It would feel somehow like a family reunion, no matter how talented they are as actors (not to mention that there would be nepotism accusations, above all against David. I hope this won't affect the popularity rating, since season three is still hypothetical). I'm not the only one who thinks this might be an issue, from what I read on blogs here on Tumblr (and on the Internet in general) but I feel like there's a sort of tension, like people are scared to say it out loud, because some fans get the wrong idea and accuse them of hating Georgia or Anna or Ty (and that's why I'm asking this anonymously, I don't want to start a fight). I hope you get what I'm saying, it only felt fair to me to let you know whatever concerns some fans might have, and maybe even give you a perspective you weren't considering? Of course you have the last word on this, and if you think this is not a big deal, I trust your judgement.

I wish you a fantastic day! (And sorry for my English, I'm not native, I tried my best!)

Yeah. So, I find that a little creepy, not very creepy, but definitely a bit.

I thought we were lucky to get Peter Davison in Good Omens 2. (He didn't audition. We offered him the part, as I've been a fan of his since 1978, and All Creatures Great and Small. He crushes it, and is heartbreaking, funny, and still somehow the moral compass of the episode he's in.) Ty Tennant auditioned, along with a number of other actors, and got the part because he did it best. (I didn't know who his family was when we cast him. I just liked the audition tape.)

If you're hunting down family connections, David's mother-in-law, Ty's grandmother, Sandra Dickinson, is in the Audible Sandman, too, as one of the Three Witches/Fates/Eumenides etc. And she was cast in it two years before David Tennant (although probably around the same time Michael Sheen was asked to be Lucifer). (I've been a fan of Sandra's since she was Trillian in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in 1981.)

Anyway, I'm sorry you're worried about Peter and Ty's performances, although I promise you have nothing to worry about, and I'm sorry that you worry that our possibly casting Georgia and Anna in a hypothetical and not-yet actually a real thing Season 3 might make people think of Staged and make them not able to enjoy Good Omens any longer. (Had I known people were this easily shaken I wouldn't have appeared in Staged either, in case my name at the front of Good Omens shattered the fragile illusion and revealed to people that the David Tennant and Michael Sheen who play Crowley and Aziraphale are actors.)

Starting in 2017 I was the recipient of mind-mangling quantities of Tumblr abuse for casting David Tennant and Michael Sheen as Aziraphale and Crowley, which was, many people made very clear to me, the worst casting in the whole entire utter history of casting, and something that Good Omens would never recover from, because for a start neither of them looked like the versions in people's heads, and I'd also miscast them badly because everyone knew that if you had to cast Sheen and Tennant, Michael had to play Crowley and David had to put on some weight and play Aziraphale. (It wasn't until May 2019 that people stopped grumbling.) So people worrying I'm going to cast Anna and Georgia in a season that hasn't even been commissioned in parts that haven't been written just makes me smile.

I hope this helps.

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xerith-42 · 2 months

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I was wrong

It takes a lot to admit that, even more for me to admit that about MCD, but I was wrong about something in regards to this series. In a previous post I said that the worst episode of MCD was Season 2 Episode 95, because it was the culmination of the absolute failure that was Laurance's character arc. And I wasn't wrong about that, S2E95 is an objectively bad episode and I stand by it being one of the worst. But it's only one of the worst episodes of this series. Probably second or third worst.

The actual worst episode of Minecraft Diaries happens far earlier in it's run time than I anticipated. The actual episode that begins the degrading of every single main character happens within it's first season. The worst episode of Minecraft Diaries is Season 1 Episode 65, Our Fears.

For those of you who haven't watched MCD in a minute, or aren't insane like I am and recognize what happens in an episode from just a number and a thumbnail, this is the episode where Aphmau and Dante get chased into Malachi's abandoned castle and fall victim to his uncontrollable magic. A magic that shows people their greatest fears.

Now the concept of a ghost that forces the audience and the characters to come face to face with the leading characters greatest fears is a fantastic idea. I'm serious this is one of the best concepts for character work in the entire Aphverse. This is great, this can go so many good ways.

Aphmau's fear is pretty weak mostly because it shows her house on fire, nobody hurt, and Malachi comments that she's "Scared of losing the ones you love." My honest reaction to this was "She lost her house in episode 36 and didn't seem to care because her loved ones are safe. You wanna communicate that she's scared of people dying just show Zoey lying on the ground or something smh." It gets the job done, but not very well.

Dante's fear is the only one that's well done because it's an image of Gene about to rip apart the realm barrier in the Nether. This works surprisingly well despite only being one shot because it gets across Dante's connection to Gene and the Nether pretty well, setting up for the reveal later on. Dante's existence is this episode's single redeeming quality. And as much as I like the guy, he's not enough to hold up the episode after what happens next.

Now, dear viewer who presumably knows the plot of MCD because you've read this far into a post about this single episode, you know that at this point in the series Garroth has been found out by his brother and has the looming threat of the entire O'Khasis military on his mind all the damn time. Zane has already hurt members of his village in direct ways, and only didn't do more damage because he was called away for an emergency. Garroth has already failed to protect one lord, and he's nearly failed to protect another.

Laurance is a shadow knight. And even though the lore of shadow knights is still flimsy at this point, we know that they are very prone to killing lords, it's why Laurance renounced his position as head guard of Meteli and refuses to return. But that doesn't mean his desire for blood is gone. It just means it has a new target. Like say, the lord he comes to the castle in search of? That he has explicit romantic feelings for?

Again, this idea of forcing the audience and the characters to face their greatest fears is such a good idea, especially with these three, because they can all be interlinked. Aphmau fears losing her loved ones, Garroth fears failing to protect his people, and Laurance fears that he'll give into bloodlust. Are you picking up what I'm putting down? I don't know if I can make it anymore obvious where the show should have gone from here.

But, no, unfortunately Jesson wrote this series. So what could have been one of the best moments of character work in the entire series, instead became the beginning of the end for our would be love interests. I'm of course referring to how it's revealed that their actual "worst fear" is Aphmau getting with... Another guy. Not even her picking one over the other, just her holding hands with and kissing some guy that Garroth and Laurance DON'T EVEN KNOW!

And despite Laurance saying he's happy as long as he has Aphmau in his life, he starts getting enraged that another guy would have the audacity to kiss her. Even though the scene he's shown seems to be entirely consensual. And in response to this, BOTH OF THEM DECIDE TO TRY AND KILL THIS ILLUSION OF DANTE JUST FOR KISSING THE GIRL THEY LIKE!

AND THIS IS SEEN AS A GOOD THING BY THE SHOW!! Attacking this illusion breaks the barrier around the real Aphmau and Dante, and Garroth and Laurance are never punished for their actions here. Aphmau is barely concerned that her guards, the men she's willing to trust with her life, were willing to kill someone for the crime of kissing her. Hot fucking take, Aphmau maybe shouldn't trust these people after seeing that they're willing to kill a man over the crime of loving her when they want to.

And even hotter take, GARROTH AND LAURANCE WOULDN'T DO THIS! Both men have been shown to be highly protective over Aphmau, which makes sense it's literally their job to keep her safe, but that protective nature shouldn't cross over into actively interfering with her romantic life. They're fucking lucky it was just an illusion, what would have happened if Malachi used mind control? What if he was using Aphmau and Dante's bodies as puppets? What if Garroth and Laurance just killed an amateur guard whose only crime was being forced to kiss the girl they liked?

This is one of those writing decisions that truly baffles me. It was RIGHT THERE, HOW DID YOU MISS, IT (the perfect piece of character work) WAS THREE FEET IN FRONT OF YOU! The answer is that Jesson don't really care about the interesting character work, they care about tropes. They care about the main character being in a love triangle with two guys who equally suck but in different ways. They care about fans getting excited and debating over which ship is better. They care about pushing this love triangle onto viewers regardless of what makes sense for the characters involved because the writers fail to see the nuance of the characters that they fucking wrote the nuance of.

I fucking hate Episode 65. Easily the worst episode of MCD. Any episode after this when Garroth and Laurance act horrendously out of character in service of this love triangle (I'm looking at you episode 77, and episode 90, and season 2 episode 95, and season 2 episode 98), know that it started here. It started with episode 65.

Fuck this episode.

#I love being a hater #minecraft diaries #mcd #text post #aphblr #aphverse #laurance zvahl #garroth ro'meave #mcd aphmau #episode analysis #fuck episode 65 #me and my homies fucking hate episode 65 #actually despise this episode

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offside-the-lines · 3 months

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tell me who i run to (if not you) | anthony beauvillier

"The first sip is joy, the second is gladness, the third is serenity, the fourth is madness, the fifth is ecstasy." - Jack Kerouac

Summary In July of 2023, Evie looked at a list of cities in North America and rolled a die. Just like that, she packed up her life and moved to Chicago, a fresh start. The 2023-24 NHL season started well for Tito; he did not expect the call on November 28th telling him that he was being traded. To the worst team in the league. And just like that. 10 months after being ripped from his home, he had to pack up and move again. To an unfamiliar city, and to unfamiliar faces. Which is why, when Tito and Evie ran into each other, quite literally, on Christmas morning, they both latched on to a familiar face. Over the next few months, they became close friends. They didn’t talk about the nights shared in Chicago clubs. They didn’t need to. Because they're just friends. Right?

This is a completed fic split into episodes for easier reading. It was written for @bqstqnbruin as part of the Winter Fic Exchange 2k24 hosted by @wyattjohnston.

Episode 1. Blue Christmas (4.9k) Episode 2. I. Winter (4.4k) Episode 3. Pal-entine's Day (4.8k) Episode 4. Four-leaf Clover (5.5k) Episode 5. Evie's Birthday 🌶️ (5.6k) Episode 6. II. Spring (4.8k) Episode 7. Not Goodbye 🌶️🌶️ (5.4k) Episode 8. III. Summer (4.8k) Episode 9. Tito's Birthday (4.2k)

Read it in full (44.5k)

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Under the cut: author's notes, tropes, warnings & disclaimer, fun tidbits, chapter summaries

Author's Notes: This fic was written for @bqstqnbruin as part of the Winter Fic Exchange 2k24 hosted by @wyattjohnston. It got so out of control long so quickly. I genuinely had so much fun writing this, it's basically my magnum opus; if you look closely, I think you can probably see my soul in there somewhere. I would like to thank @devilssacrament, @wyattjohnston, and @forgottenflowers for being my editors, holding my hand and keeping me sane in this. Also, thanks to @swissboyhisch, and @imperatorrrrr for being a sounding board for ideas . All of your help and support has meant so much to me. You are all just the fucking best, I am sorry this has been my entire personality for the past month, I will probably return to normal soon. Probably...

Tropes: a gut-wrenching mix of angst and fluff with a happy ending, slow burn friends to lover (tbh, idiots to lovers let's be real), alternating POVs

Warnings: alcohol (one instance of alcohol poisoning by side character), mature content bordering on smut (mostly occurring in clubs/public), references to a toxic past relationship. Disclaimer: This series is set in Chicago but does not mention the name of the team based there. Only other Chicago players mentioned by name are: Nick Foligno, Jason Dickinson and Connor Bedard. Other notes: NHL players featured Mat Barzal (a heavily featured supporting character/bestie) and brief mentions of Zach Hyman and Matt Martin. Assume that Tito and Evie are always speaking in French with each other.

Face claim for Evie (if you want one, but you can imagine whoever you like): Adeline Rudolph

Fun Tidbits: Original Character (she/her) called Genevieve Gignac or Evie (pronounced eh-vee) is the oldest sibling of Tito's juniors teammate and friend Brandon Gignac. Along with their other sibling Wiliam, they grew up in Montreal. Evie had been living in Toronto for six years, before moving to Chicago in the summer before the fic starts. I did way too much research so a lot of the little facts are true. Nicknames: (ma) chouette (shoo-wet): owl (mon) chou/chouchou (shoo): in practice, honey, sugar, baby, sweetheart // by definition, my cabbage or my profiterole/cream puff (depends who you ask) Solours (soul-oars): the Québécois name for the yellow Care Bear with the smiling sun on its belly Solou’ (soul-oo): a diminutive Evie decides to use

Cook, Cook, drink your tea, But save some in the pot for me. We'll watch the tea leaves in our cup When our drink is all sipped up. Happiness or fortune great, What will our future be? -- "Afternoon Tea at Pittock Mansion" by R.Z. Berry

Episode Synopses:

Blue Christmas Evie and Tito are both starting life anew in Chicago. It's an unfamiliar city with unfamiliar faces. They're both alone on Christmas. Maybe it's fate that brings them together. Jason and Alandra Dickinson are already smelling smoke from this fire.

I. Winter Tito injures his wrist in the first game of 2024, he’s out for 6-8 weeks and then his car breaks down. He thinks maybe he’s cursed. Evie becomes a shoulder to lean on. Barzy gets suspicious.

Pal-entine’s Day Tito returns her kindness by being a shoulder Evie can lean on when she is having a hard time after all-star break. She tells him it’s anxiety about work. He brings her a box of pastries and they cuddle on the couch all day; he doesn’t realize it’s Valentine’s Day. Later, a hook-up goes very wrong.

Four-leaf Clover Tito’s been playing again, and during his first stretch of away games begins to miss home. Well, Evie’s home anyway. When he sees her in the bar, he can’t help but show it. Barzy calls him out on his lies.

Evie’s Birthday Sometimes the music moves you. Sometimes the bass pounding in your chest makes you do things you wouldn’t do. Fuck it, it’s your birthday. That’s what Evie tells herself anyway. There are gifts given, but there are also secrets kept.

II. Spring Tito tries to tell her— he does— It’s just he needs to find the right time, and something keeps coming up. Evie’s honest with herself. But does that even matter? Mat decides maybe it is his time to intervene.

Not Goodbye Evie realizes that her time is running out. To do what? She doesn’t know. But she has one last night to find out. That is until— Well. It’s too late now. Tito flies home and wonders if that will be the worst mistake of his life.

III. Summer They try to get on with their summers as if nothing is wrong, convincing no one. How long will it take them to realize they can’t keep pretending like everything’s fine? And who will finally take the leap of faith?

Tito’s Birthday Tito receives the best birthday present he has ever gotten: the girl he loves standing at his parent’s front door. It was never destiny or fate; it can only be by choice. And they’ll choose each other every time. Eventually, anyway.

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lucky-clover-gazette · 10 months

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white out is probably one of the more notable episodes of she ra bc it's just catra at her absolute worst behavior, like objectively the portal had far greater consequences but i think the cold got to her in this one bc she's such a fucking menace. "looks like you're mine now adora" "always so perfect, look at you now. you're coming back to the horde under my command" "i wonder which of your friends i'll have you annihilate first" "I'VE GOT CONTROL OVER ADORA. I'M NOT GIVING THAT UP." like when corrupted she ra throws catra at the ground like a ragdoll she deserves it, 100%, no questions asked. there isn't even a time/space anomaly making catra act up, they just put her in outpost 31 from the thing with her ex and suddenly she's the homoerotic joker.

even scorpia's briefly like "ahahah maybe i don't want to have a crush on catra after all" bc she's acting like such a freak. but also scorpia spends the entire episode trying to ask catra out, and tells adora, "you two, even when you're trying to kill each other, you can tell there's a real bond" and she is JEALOUS of that?? actually you know what this is also a catradora at their worst behavior episode too, like the way they immediately start trash talking and then ditch everyone to scrap the second they see each other is beyond unprofessional. catra's favorite number is canonically 42069 (confirmed by nate stevenson) and adora knows this by heart. if those two idiots were in the same room for five minutes while adora's on loopy mode the show would actually just end, and this episode fucking KNOWS it and refuses to give us the satisfaction. bro. scorpia telling loopy adora that catra is misunderstood and shouldn't SHE know that better than anyone else is just like. wow. ouch. rude. scorpia is actually the mvp of this episode she straight up judges adora to her FACE for abandoning catra and swears not to do the same, even though honestly she probably should, because catra fucking SUCKS in this one. scorpia reveals that "catra once used my rock-hard exoskeleton as a nail file" why?? why would you let this happen?? stop simping she's not worth it!! but scorpia is still the mvp bc at the end of the episode she just straight-up realizes that catra is out of her goddamn mind and breaks the 'controlling she ra' disk for catra's own good bc clearly something about low temps and her ex makes catra go 25% more feral than usual and it's pretty cringe. it's like when i dispose of the dead fly my cat has been antagonizing for the past twenty minutes like babygirl i don't like the person you become when you're in these conditions!! and of course OF COURSE we get literally two seconds of sober wordless communication between catra and adora that's just like ohhhh adora's gonna remember this one, you're going to be doing the dishes for the first fifteen years of your relationship once this galactic war shit wraps up and you save the universe by kissing with tongue. oh my god, what the fuck is with this show. how does this show exist. how does this episode exist. how does catra exist. they put this gay catgirl in an environment under 32 degrees farenheit for one episode and it's enough to make her say some of the most toxic, deranged dialogue in the entire series. i think soup would fix her, and also a cocktail of psychiatric medication and cognitive behavioral therapy. she sneezes like a kitten and needs a weighted blanket in the evil uber away from cringefail summit as she's mentally drafting the 'i fucked up' email to her boss. she thanks scorpia and shares the blanket with her bc she's so exhausted by her own bullshit. she ra and the princesses of power season 2 episode 5 white out is for the cold gay heartbroken bitches and it might just be one of the series' best. looks like you're mine now adora, good fucking night.

#she ra #spop #catra #catradora #i have the urge to write fic how did i not write fic of this ever

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miitarashi · 6 months

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Could u do a some headcannons about Tintin laughing, like, his sense of humour, how contagious his laugh is, what he would do if we had a contagious laugh or a weird sense of humour. Just wondering coz I was watching an episode from the series and his laugh is acctually so adorable, like bro I just wanna hug him and give him literally anything he wants ❤️

AWWW THIS IS WAY TOO CUTE TO BE IGNORED I MUST DO IT WITH ALL THE CUTENESS IN THE WORLD! (sorry got a little excited here lol)

☆Tintin laugh headcanons☆

For starters.

He and Haddock have the worst sense of humor possible.

I can't take this out of my mind-

Like,he'll laugh at dad jokes or will not undestand because he'll try to seak sense into the joke.

You know when you tell a self-deprecating jokes in front of your parents and they scold you?

Yes,he'll do it.

Not exactly scold you,but will wait until you stop laughing to ask if you're ok in a worried tone.

His normal sense of humor goes for that one joke of the chicken who crossed the road to make """funny""" comments about something. That normally is funny just for him in the most of the times he does it.

But,Tintin of course laugh at silly things too,like if you trip in front of him he'll do this little cute laugh while helping and saying for you to be careful.

It's not exactly the type with loose laugh,but definitly not the difficult one either.

This when we talk about the Tintin from the series,but Tintin from the movie is a bit different (since unfortunaly in the movie we didn't see he really laughing and this hurt me 🥲)

He probably is a bit complicated to laugh, his sense of humor mostly making puns, sarcastic or ironic comments about something.

Being more funny when he do without noticing because he's a little menace in his own way. We can easily see it when he talk with sakharin for the first time (his face when he simply say "i don't have it" is the best lol)

Now,the best for the last.

His ✨Laugh✨

He have three types. Wait,hear me out-

The one he try to hide,that little laugh cleaning the throat and looking away you know?

The second and most normal is that small laugh. Quick and polite.

The thrid. This one. This one is hard to get. It's random so something funny and random had to happen.

i headcanon that take a really good while for Haddock hear Tintin (from the movie) really laughing like,really bursting out laughing.

And just like i said,it was random. Haddock was trying to help Tintin with a hint about some old mistery and he terribly pronounced an entire sentence with so much confidence to the point of making Tintin ask him to repeat it, when he did, Tintin stared at him for a few seconds, connected the dots and broke out laughing.

Bro wasn't really expecting lol.

And his laugh is good to hear,like that heart warming type of laugh that makes you smile and wanting to hear it again as much you can you know???

He do it so less often that makes him weak when he laugh like this,he hold onto someone to keep still lol.

___________________________________________

A/N: HERE IT IS! I loved doing this one lol. i hope that when the next movie come out WE WILL BE ABLE TO HEAR HIM LAUGHING OR I'LL COMMIT WAR CRIMES- i feel robbed 🥲. Thank you for the delicious idea unknow person,love u 😌❤️

#the adventures of tintin #tintin #tintin movie #tintin x reader #captain haddock #archibald haddock #tintin 2011 #the adventures of tintin 2011 #tintin movie 2011

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lily-orchard · 4 months

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which fandom has it the worst when it comes into missing the point of the media they consume?

I can't really think of one, because I'm struggling to determine where "missing the point" ends and "ignoring the point" begins.

Actually shit, I have a scratchpad here about that somewhere.

What is media literacy? It's your ability to comprehend a work. That's all it is. It's when a work presents a theme, and that theme actually registers with you. So an example of bad media literacy is when Star Trek fans complain about newer shows "injecting politics" into Star Trek when Star Trek was always so political it bordered on straight-up communist.

But I'd go as far as to say that even that isn't their fault, because before Deep Space Nine came out and ruined Star Trek with the plague of serialization, it was always really good at balancing those really insightful episodes with episodes where Kirk punches another green alien, or Riker's beard seduces a woman, or the Doctor learns how to daydream and fantasizes about being his own self-insert fanfiction character.

Star Trek is just as goofy as it is political. So it's possible in the reality that is broadcast TV for someone to just not see those episodes. This is also true when Deep Space Nine comes around and just has less of those episodes because it's focused on chasing the trend of serialized Science Fiction about the Space Navy.

Voyager had way more of those episodes, but Voyager was the undeserved black sheep of the franchise for a long time. So it's not even that they didn't get it, they have always applauded Star Trek doing things other than being "Fully Automatic Luxury Space Communism: The Series."

And for several entries in the franchise, it was doing that. So even the best example of bad media literacy is way more complicated than Twitter would have you believe.

Fallout is probably the second best example, as it has tons of right wing fans in spite of the fact that the franchise as a whole has always been deeply critical of American jingiositic nationalism.

And yeah that's a deep paradox right there…

Until you factor in that the most popular entries in the franchise are the ones that don't do that. When you remember that, you realize it's suddenly very easy to be a right wing, jingoistic Fallout fan. You just have to not play the games that told you to your face that you're an idiot.

Which is a whole... two of them.

To give a less politically charged example, Baldur's Gate 3 has an origin character called The Dark Urge, which is a Bhaalspawn whose story is about resisting the impulses of their tainted blood. This goes hand in hand with another character, Orin the Red, which is both a second and third generation Bhaalspawn, being the daughter and granddaughter of Sarevok (no you didn't hear that wrong).

A lot of people who play Dark Urge save it for an evil murderhobo run, but I've heard many people claim they love the idea of a good-aligned Dark Urge that resists Bhaal's taint in stark contrast to their sister.

What most people who have played this game are unaware of is that this idea is literally the entire plot of the previous games. Gorion's Ward and Imoen's conflicts with their brother Sarevok, and the rest of their siblings among the Five, and how they resist Bhaal's essence and strive to do good is the entire plot of the best series of RPGs ever made.

Yes Good-Aligned Dark Urge players, this story would be compelling. I would know, because I played it twenty years ago.

And if I were a weaker human being, I could call this Bad Media Literacy, but I know better. Most people who have played Baldur's Gate 3 flat out haven't played the older games. They might vaguely know the story, but the level to which the story is about Nature versus Nurture would fly over their heads. This is partly why I often say that Baldur's Gate 3 is a better game if you haven't played the originals, because it often steals storylines and plotlines directly from the original games wholesale and repackaged them with more preservatives and lube.

I haven't found an instance of poor media literacy that has not been able to be explained away by the simple reality of personal preference or the reality that no human being can consume every last piece of art on the planet.

Most people don't have time to see everything, and honestly it isn't a crime to be dumb. What I have seen is this technical sounding term be thrown around by fandoms angry about discourse they don't like, because the worse a work is the more adversarial and abusive the fanbase is.

In the eyes of fandom, the themes of a work are self-evident of it's quality. It's impossible to both understand a work's themes and still think it isn't good. So if someone thinks their favourite thing is bad, they must not have understood it. This is an offshoot of the way fandom treat's a trope's mere presence as quality itself regardless of execution.

Fandom is full of self-protective bullshit arguments like this.

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mage-ical-character-person · 2 months

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I’ve seen a lot of people bring up the pilot outfits in this scene and stuff, but never the fact that Charlie is out here looking for injured survivors of the extermination to bandage up. Like I can’t think of any other reason she’d be wandering around in an alleyway with bandages in her pocket right after the extermination.

Is Vaggie the only one she found that day? Did Vaggie follow her as she bandaged up others whose injuries she and her peers were responsible for? It’s just really intriguing and one of those small moments that says a lot.

Also this sort of brings to mind an instance of missed opportunity. Both the pilot and the first actual episode are supposed to take place shortly after an extermination, and I wish we’d seen Charlie doing this then, too. I know there was a lot of exposition to get out of the way in both cases to introduce the series, but still. Could’ve had that happening during Chasing Rainbows, with Charlie seeing the carnage up-close and doing everything she can to help instead of singing on a balcony, never in the same shot as the tragedy she laments.

And honestly when I watched Overture and she was singing Happy Day In Hell… like is it not the single worst day of the year, with the extermination, which motivates your whole… everything? If she were actively trying to make it a Happy Day in Hell during the song and, again, helping her people in the aftermath of the extermination that would be one thing. A much better introduction to her character is the thing it would probably be.

I like her boundless optimism better when it comes from a place of knowing more than one of ignorance and naivety, which is what Happy Day in Hell sort of feels like. It almost feels out of character in that way? She’s grown up in hell, spent her whole life among the carnage and the sinners, and her hope is most impactful when it’s framed with this.

If someone who’s known nothing but literal hell can believe there’s good in everyone, that really says something, and that’s what I love about Charlie. She’s seen the worst of the worst and believes in the best in people anyway. It’s almost funny to see the sinners doubt her when she knows better than anyone that there is always good to be found. She’s a living example that, like flowers growing through cracks in the concrete, positivity can take root anywhere. Characters like Alastor (as much as I love that freak) are frankly stupid to doubt her or think of her as naive. You think you know the nature of sinners better than someone who’s spent their entire ridiculously long life in hell, actively involving herself in the lives of her people? (Unlike her father, who despite being around since the beginning is a shut-in who avoids sinners)

So this scene in Vaggie’s backstory where Charlie is shown up close and personal with the people struggling in her realm, where she’s the shining embodiment of the good in the hostile: it’s a scene that’s very important for more reasons than it initially seems.

Not only is Charlie unknowingly showing Vaggie that what the angels say about hell is wrong by being the one to show kindness and mercy after those Vaggie trusted punished her for her own act of mercy, but it’s a great moment for Charlie’s character when we don’t often see her helping hell’s general population all that directly.

Anyway who wants to bet that in the years since they met Vaggie has joined Charlie as they search for and patch up survivors in the aftermath of the extermination? Because that would be really great I think and would be a great way to show how much things have changed for Vaggie.

So that’s that. I tend to latch on to random details so sorry for that long rant thing. This show has so many good ideas that I wish we saw more of. This was supposed to just be about that one scene and I got carried away.

EDIT: whoops Overture doesn’t take place on extermination day. Point still partially stands because extermination day was recent but yeah. I forgot. Sorry

#Hazbin Hotel #charlie morningstar #vaggie #hazbin hotel vaggie #long post

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gartenofbanny · 8 months

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Andrealphus's first appearance in Unhappy Campers was probably the most mediocre introduction in all of Helluva Boss thus far. Andrealphus had no build-up aside from a single line Stolas said in The Circus.

Instead, Andrealphus has been moreso built up as a character outside of the series entirely. Tweets made by Vivziepop releasing his design and describing his role

This is one of my main issues with Andrealphus's introduction as a whole. He wasn't introduced within the series itself but on Twitter. Keep in mind that he is supposed to be a major antagonist, and usually antagonists who are major have introductions within the series. But maybe he does have an introduction within the series with dramatic effect behind it..right?

Right?

When Western Energy released 13 seconds into the episode, Andrealphus just appears.

No entrance, no in-show introduction, no explained role, just nothing. Andrealphus just appears as if he's always been in the series. This is the worst villain introduction I've seen in Helluva Boss because there was no introduction within the show.

It's like the writers had no idea how to introduce him within the show and just tweeted who he is and what his role is and called it a day. That's not how any character introduction works because they're essentially spoiling their audience. Instead of building him up within season 1, giving the audience something to theorize and talk about, eventually paying off with an appearance they just do "Hey, here's this character that will appear in a future episode! Let us explain to you who he is instead of letting you put the pieces together yourselves!"

So, I'm going to bring up one of my favorite introductions to an antagonist in fiction. You all have heard of Dragon Ball Z, right? Well, here's how one of the main antagonists, Cell, was introduced.

youtube

Words can not express how much I love this introduction, why it has a great build up, and how it's fucking terrifying. But I don't feel like explaining right now.

So now that you all watched the video or have already seen it, Lets try something different. Remove the majority of the video, immediately cut to Piccolo facing Cell with Cell already absorbed the last citizen of the city and Piccolo about to fight Cell while screaming his name. That doesn't work because two things are missing.

And that is the build-up and

ACTUAL INTRODUCTION

This is why Andrealphus's introduction into Helluva Boss is mid (if you can even call it an introduction), Andrealphus had no actual introduction within the series aside from a throwaway line a couple episodes before and no actual introduction within the series either. Andrealphus just appears in Western Energy, and the episode acts as if like the audience already knows who he is and what he does.

Newsflash, we don't. Well, we know who he is, but that information was given outside the show. Because for some REASON, Viv and Spindlehorse write their characters outside of the show.

-Insert Millie thread reference here-

Am I expecting Helluva Boss to have Dragon Ball Z's level of writing? No, it's Helluva Boss, lmao. But I did expect it to have a decent villain introduction, especially when the villain is really major. Helluva Boss has had pretty decent villain introductions and twists with Martha and Striker. Hell, in my opinion, the DHORK Agents had the best introduction thus far, but it just fumbled the bag with Andrealphus.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Andrealphus's introduction sucked and he's honestly just painfully boring as an antagonist overall, but that'll be a topic for a different essay. That's all I have for today. Thank you all for reading, and I hope you all have a great one! ❤️

#helluva boss #vivziepop critical #helluva boss critical #helluva boss criticism #vivziepop criticism #vivziepop #helluva boss critique #helluva critical #vivienne medrano #helluva boss andrealphus #andrealphus #Youtube

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skywriter97 · 2 months

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Farewell, My Friend💔😭

(PSA: Possible spoiler warnings for The Murder of Me by the Zielo Cave. Only a couple panels, but still...)

So, on Monday night, I was at work, and I checked my phone, mostly out of habit. (I don't recommend doing this, btw, it's a good way to get you written up or worse.) And I saw that I had a YouTube notification on my lock screen. So I open my phone and pull down my drop bar to have a look. And literally saw the absolute worst news.

TMOM is over from The Zielo Cave

Now for those of you that don't know: The Murder of Me, AKA TMOM, is a Sonic the Hedgehog fan comic that first debuted I think 15 or so years ago, give or take, and as much as I would love to claim that I've been a fan since the beginning, I only discovered TMOM about a year or so ago. (I have the worst luck when it comes to finding things; I'm always late to the party 🥺)

When I discovered TMOM I was in a terrible rut. I hadn't posted anything in YEARS, and the writing I had done I kept locked away in notebooks, never to see the light of day. I had no inspiration, no motivation to tell stories. It was a horrible place to be. (-10000/10 recommendation.) Then I was scrolling through Pinterest one day, and I saw a panel of this random comic.

You could probably imagine my reaction. It's so random. Then more cropped up:

My thoughts went HAYWIRE. "Why is Sonic fighting his mother? Why's he dressed like that? WHY IS HE DROWNING?? WHY ARE KNUX AND TAILS LETTING HIM DROWN??? WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING???" So I went hunting, and came across The Murder of Me by Gigi-D on DeviantArt.

I was HOOKED. The plot was so well thought out, the characterization was incredibly done, and as you can see, the art itself was BEAUTIFUL. I couldn't get enough. I flat out ignored life and read through 14 issues in one sitting. It took me all day but it was so worth it. AND THEN: I discovered the dubs on YouTube, and found that Gigi-D had decided to put together a creative team to produce the issues of The Murder of Me as episodic dubs, and I fell head over heels. The cast and editing was absolutely phenomenal, and The Murder of Me had my heart, hook, line, and sinker. What was even better was that they turned Issue 15 into an animatic episode.

Episode 15 Part 1: Purpose released on October 30th, 2022, and since then I have been anxiously awaiting the next episode by rewatching the series and all the prequels and bonus episodes I could get my mouse on. I even forced my best friend one night to binge the entire series with me, and she's not nearly as much of a Sonic fan as I am!

TMOM was more than a great watch or story for me. It was inspiration. I had an itch in my fingers that grew from writing a TMOM fanfiction that would stay hidden away into it's own complex project who's rough draft is now in production. (And could very well be released this summer if all goes well.) It was life breathed into my creativity. It was hope. For the first time in a very long time, I wanted to write. To tell a story like Gigi-D and the Zielo Cave.

And then that notification came. It was like a punch in the stomach. I was terrified and without watching it, I reacted and sent it to my best friend, wailing that once again, a story that I loved was being abandoned. That the writers were giving up. I was indignant. Screw that, I was angry and hurt.

Then I watched the video. I listened to Gigi's story, and immediately felt shamed by my own reaction. The Zielo Cave had been saying that Part Two was taking a while because of personal situations, and when Gigi revealed what had happened, that her inspiration was gone and couldn't bring herself to even sketch these characters that she loved so dearly...my heart shattered for her. While I might not really know or understand the pain of her personal situation, I do know what it is to completely lose the passion for your story. For the characters you still love, but can't bring yourself to engage with.

And while my heart of hearts aches, I know Gigi is doing the right thing. No one wants a story that it's writer is dragging their heels to share, can't bring themselves to write. God knows I've tried that, and trust me, it only hurts everyone. The writer, the fans, and the story itself. By ending TMOM here, she's protecting TMOM and its fans, and even though my heart breaks for TMOM's fate and (mostly) for her, I couldn't be more proud of her. The courage and strength it takes to walk away from such a huge part of your life in search of something more, something better?

Not only that, but honor the work and effort her team has given for Part Two and post it anyway, even though it's unfinished? To offer a written conclusion for the series for the fans that want to know what happens? I've never heard of any creator doing that, ever. All that I have seen would NEVER post any unfinished content, or unveil the unwritten plot and ending. And while I'm devastated for what that means, that TMOM is well and truly concluded and Gigi will probably NEVER return, as a fan of this series, I'm so grateful that what happens to these characters won't remain a mystery.

And to repeat what I said in the comment section of the announcement video: I pray a future that is bright and beautiful for you, and you discover what an amazing person you on this journey of healing. You're going to be magnificent because you are already an incredible person, Gigi. I can't express how important TMOM has been for me, how inspiring the story has been when I was down and unable to pursue my own creativity in my writing, and I just want to thank you for the years of dedication, passion, and love you and your team have given us through The Murder of Me. I bless all the paths you walk from this day forward, and all my love and support for you goes with you on your journeys for all the rest of your days.

The Murder of Me is over. I will always be a TMOM fan, and I will always love Gigi-D and the Zielo Cave for giving me inspiration, passion, and hope for my writing again. It's because of TMOM that The Three Sovereigns even made it to development and is now currently being written with the hope of release this summer, and The Three Sovereigns will always be a tribute to The Murder of Me and the hope this story has given me.

Thank you so much, Gigi-D, the Zielo Cave, and The Murder of Me, and fare thee well, my friend.

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heartsforjngwn · 1 year

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enhypen spending time with s/o n the dorms 🫶🫶

[ ✧.* ] . . . SPENDING TIME IN THE DORMS. ENHYPEN MEMBERS

wc: 520 | warnings: mentions of food! lmk if i should add more 🫶 | note: my first ask ackk 😭 tysm anon for this and i hope u like it 🥹💕 btw tysm to @yenlsv for helping me out with ideas for the hyung line lysm bestie 🫶

HEESEUNG — one thing about hee is he gives off comforting energy (all of them do tho) movies and cuddles are def he and s/o’s bonding. they would probably watch a super cheesy romcom or a super sad and heartbreaking movie. i feel like chocolates and ice cream will be their go-to snack during their hang outs while s/o is wearing hee’s shirt.

JAY — they will def cook or jay will attempt to teach s/o how to cook. of course, accidents are avoided given that jay is there. but when jay leaves s/o alone for a bit to go to the bathroom or something, he might come back to their dorm’s kitchen in a horrible mess.. jay gives up in teaching s/o but lets be honest, he probably loves her still the same (might be even more than before)

JAKE — i feel like its the same with hee tbh. instead of a super cheesy romcom tho, he and s/o might watch a “kids” movie. like disney binge watching or just their childhood movies. rio might be their go-to or aladdin. i feel like their snacks would be candy, preferably sour. they’ll laugh at each other’s facial reactions randomly as the movie goes because of the sour taste of the candies.

SUNGHOON — feeling like sunghoon and s/o would be binge watching a series. mean girls and legally blonde are def both of their faves. they might argue on which to watch first but they end up on deciding through rock paper scissors. honestly, chips would be their best friend during all of their binge watching life episodes. cheese dust on their fingers are their worst enemy and one of the other would probably lick their fingers while the other would wipe it in a tissue.

SUNOO — for some reason every time i think about sunoo i always think ice cream, skincare, and hair. s/o and sunoo would have a mini salon in the room and sunoo would attempt to cut s/o’s hair to curtain bangs or dora bangs while having a big bowl of ice cream on the table. after their failure of being a barber, they just end up experimenting with sunoo’s skincare because why not.

JUNGWON — you cannot convince me that jungwon and s/o wouldn’t sit together in the living room while wearing each other’s sweater, just cuddling and scrolling on their phones or something. something also tells me they would attempt to bake or cook but unlike jay, they end up in getting the cake/dish burnt. of course they wont give up and try again but like the first one.. it end up horribly wrong.

RIKI — idk bout yall but he def plays genshin. s/o would use a super op healer or buffer like bennett or kokomi and just support and watch him solo the boss with an op dps character like hu tao or ganyu. s/o and him would farm artifacts and stuff together up until their eyes cant take it. they def would fall asleep while fighting a boss and wake up in the morning with their entire team dead.

#✧.* rain’s — works #✧.* rain’s — asks #enhypen fanfiction #enhypen imagines #enhypen #enhypen au #enhypen ff #enhypen pov #kpop #jungwon imagine #heeseung imagine #jay imagine #jake imagine #sunghoon imagine #sunoo imagine #niki imagine

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ghosty-schnibibit · 9 months

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alright, so, now that i am not an incandescent ball of fury:

i was extremely disappointed with go2 and downright angry about the way it concluded. i've already read some excellent posts by other lovely people that articulate some of my grievances really well (which sadly i can't link here or the site will eat this post entirely) but i want to add my own to the pile. if you enjoyed the season then more power to you, but i very much did not.

after this post i won't be complaining about s2 again or really posting anything about it at all, positive or negative, and will probably just block the tag entirely. like i said in my much shorter vent post last night, i just want to get all of my negativity out in one go and then pretend it doesn't exist. with that out of the way:

the pacing was terrible. the plot went in circles around itself and the mystery was handled so poorly that it somehow managed to be too convoluted and too simple at the same time. we spent five entire episodes wondering what was going on only to have it resolved by an exposition dump of about five minutes. the mini-sodes ground multiple episodes to a halt and squandered the majority of the season's runtime on pointless fanservice that cheapened some of the previous season's most emotional moments, runtime that could have been better spent setting up the gabriel mystery or developing literally any of the new characters introduced. speaking of which,

the new characters were pointless. nina and maggie were given no characterization beyond being pale expies of az and crowley, and the fact that a substantial part of the b-plot revolved around them makes this even more apparent. i do not remember the name of the angel pretending to be a constable and i don't care enough about them to look it up, they had literally no plot significance whatsoever. same goes for the processing demon from the third episode. the flip with jax from being a somewhat neutral character to a big bad in a party city wig felt like a failed attempt to recapture some of what made hastur and ligur work in the previous series.

gabriel and beelzabub. their relationship was unbelievable and clashed so heavily with their previous characterizations. i called it from the first episode and dreaded its conclusion right up to the finale. they feel like an ill-thought parody of ineffable husbands pulled out of an enemies-to-lovers crackfic. every romantic moment in the last episode was insipid and cloying, and them getting a consequence free happy ending retroactively cheapened the stakes of the previous season. it honestly felt like the writers just wanted to mash their dolls together.

aziraphale's character was assassinated and crowley was basically just there to play the hits. both of them were flanderized to the moon and back, but poor aziraphale got the worst of it. all of his character development from the previous season was thrown out the window in order to give us the big angsty conclusion set-up for a third season. they were both utterly flattened and i feel so bad for michael and david, they were clearly doing the best with what they were given but what they were given was just plain bad.

most of the humor and warmth from the book and the previous season were just… gone. no narrator, only one or two comedic asides from the title cards, a total of maybe three minutes of queen music across the whole thing (and most of that a piano cover), and a whole lot of little stylistic touches that went by the wayside and left the world feeling a bit hollow. also the comedy in this season was much more reliant on a "hey, aren't the characters acting so silly right now? aren't they failing at looking/acting normal? isn't that funny?" style of humor than on the wit and subtle satire of the first.

it was nothing but set up for a third season. learning this after finishing the season did not make me feel better about any of it, but it does explain a bit why it felt like all set up and no pay off. i have zero confidence about the ship being righted in a potential s3 that we likely will not see for many years (if at all, i'm already hearing murmurs about the show getting axed).

so that's basically it. i'll reiterate that if you enjoyed this season then i have no beef with you; your opinions are your own and, while i have no desire to have a dialogue about them, i respect them. but the original good omens book was very personally meaningful to me, as was its adaptation in s1, and this poorly thought out continuation has disappointed and saddened me to the point that i feel like i don't want to engage with the fandom in its wake.

#go2 spoilers #good omens 2 critical #good omens 2 negative #i know the ship dealio is where i disagree with people the most #bc i'm seeing a lot of people who have a lot of the same critiques of the pacing and tone but like beez and gabriel together #to which i will simply say i'm sorry your otp is my notp and move along my merry way like the fandom veteran i am #and with that i shall disappear into the void again

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stuffnonsenseandotherthings · 9 months

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Crackpot Predictions - Only Friends Episode 1

Welcome to a new thing I do where I try to predict (*cough* wildly guess *cough*) what's going to happen in a show based solely on my read of the first episode. I'll try to cover all of what I think are the main story beats, record them here for posterity (and so I can either say "ha I told you so" or you can all point and laugh at me later), and hopefully by the end of the series we'll all be able to see if I'm a clairvoyant with a magic orb or, alternatively, a numpty with a glass paperweight. Some of these predictions are completely serious, others are complete crack, and some are just random thoughts that had the misfortune of wandering into my head.

With that, let's get started shall we?

The Hostel

Setting up a hostel for your graduation project? How cute!And with your best friends too? How adorable!

Too bad that hostel is absolutely Not Going To Happen. And not only is the hostel Not Going To Happen, its also going to be the site of some of the worst moments of your entire lives!

Prediction: is this is where it's all going to go down, this is where they're going to have the final argument, this is where the climax is going to happen, this is where shit hits the fan and then explodes. I mean why else would you introduce a building site if not to have all your characters have mental breakdowns symbolically in the middle of it? Scaffolding and painter's tarp is for screaming matches and for saying things you never meant to say.

Mew

Oh Mew. Soft, virginal, innocent Mew. Mew who lives in a completely different world to his friends where he wears cute pastels, gets a teen movie montage when he wakes up in the morning, gets a public confession like something out of a romance movie... Surrounded by people with impure thoughts and even worse intentions. What on earth is going to become of our sweet pastel boy?

Who am I kidding, he's going to be fine.

In fact he's probably going to be one of the few people who is fine by the end of this series, and will probably be at least partially responsible for quite a lot of other people being very fucked up (especially Top, sorry my man but you are doomed by the narrative). He's definitely doing to be hurt and he's definitely going to lose his honour student title and he's definitely going to have less friends by the end of this but he'll be fine, he's literally the only one in the friend group other than Chueam with the emotional maturity to cope with and process what's about to happen.

Prediction: He's going to lose friends (but not Chueam, she'll stick with him), his academic record is going to be messed up (but not irreparably so, he'll just have to put in extra work to repair it), and he won't have a boyfriend by the end of the series but he'll be okay, he'll be able to walk it off when it's all said and done. He may even start to get his man back (if he wants him, that is).

Ray

Poor Ray, he's a rich brat who clearly has some self-esteem issues and is whipped for his best friend. He's in for a rough ride I fear, especially seeing as he currently deals with his emotions by getting very drunk and/or lashing out.

Sand will probably be good for him (perhaps a little too good for him) in both bringing him down a peg and hopefully giving him the kind of ego boost he actually needs (no Ray you are not a burden but please stop ruining your liver) and I'm really looking forward to the development of their enemies to fwb relationship and all entails.

Unfortunately for Ray he looks like he might be a bit of a bleeding heart romantic on the inside so he's probably going to get his heart broken twice in a very short space of time; once by Mew and his new relationship and then once again by Sand and his refusal to play second fiddle and Ray is only going to realise this when it's a bit too late. Needless to say Ray will probably not be having a fun time for most of this series and of all the character he is tied as most likely to end up in hospital at some point.

Prediction: He's going to lose friends, he's going to fail his degree, he's going to get his heart broken twice and he's probably not going to be okay about it (but hopefully he'll be on the mend by the end of it all). Ray is going to start shit he can't finish and he, more than anyone else, is going to be a victim of his own actions but hopefully he's also going to be the character with the most growth. Sand might be around to scrape him off the floor at the end, but Ray is going to have to work himself out first.

Boston

Boston, what to say about Boston other than currently he seems to be trying to break the record of most men slept with in a single episode (his competition is Brian Kinney from Queer As Folk btw).

There's definitely a lot more than meets the eye when it comes to him and I look forward to unpacking all of his messy laundry when the time comes. He seems to be both incredibly confident with his life choices (good for him) and incredibly insecure about them at the same time which is fascinating and I definitely get the feeling that he has issues with Mew (to the point where I wouldn't really say they're actually friends) because of that insecurity. I genuinely wouldn't be surprised is at some point we get a lot of pent resentment spilling out from Boston about Mew because no one casually mocks someone they're genuinely okay with that many times behind their back.

Prediction: Boston wants but he doesn't quite know what. He is definitely blowing up every single friendship he has in the process of working it out and he's probably going to find himself on his own for a while too, which might actually be what he needs. That being said, if anyone decides to put forward a laurel at the end of the show though, I also think it's going to be him. I also predict no romance, but I also don't think that's what he wants or needs.

Top

Top the Top Tier player who's never not got his object of interest before. He likes casual sex, comes off as a bit of a sleaze (but at least a sleaze who respects boundaries), and is apparently looking for a new challenge now sleeping around has got boring (but not boring enough to not sleep with Boston again).

The problem for Top is that he thinks he's approaching Mew in his world and on his terms where in reality he's already dancing to the tune of Mew's fiddle and it's only going get worse. Mew's world has rules and regulations and things you just don't do (like sleeping with your boyfriend's best friend) and Top is going to find himself caught up in them. What's worse is he's probably going to find out (much too late) that he wants to be caught up in them. Top might be the big man now but he is well and truly fucked.

Prediction: Top isn't going to take his relationship with Mew 100% seriously until he realises he's already completely invested in it and at that point it's going to be too late. He's definitely going to break Mew's heart but Mew is going to break his ten times over and he's not going to recover easily from that. He might have a chance at redemption, but only once he's completely wrecked himself first.

Sand

Sand was just trying to live his life and then he threatened to pee on someone's head and it all went down hill from there.

At the moment he seems like the audience stand in: watching all the chaos and wondering what on earth is wrong with all these privileged brats (semi-affectionate). Like Mew he definitely seems to have himself together in a way that makes me think he'll come away from this pretty okay emotionally (it'll hurt but he's not allergic to emotions, he'll heal). Unlike Mew he definitely doesn't seem to completely together life-wise (i.e monetarily) though, which does make me wonder if our 3 friends (I'm not including Chueam in this, she's not a guilty party) are going to mess that up for him instead.

Prediction: Emotionally he's going to be okay (although he probably has heartbreak in the cards), in every other aspect I think he'll sustain the most damage (and therefore will be entitled to compensation). He feels the most like an innocent bystander and, as such, is definitely going to regret the day he lay eyes on the back of Ray's head. Out of all the characters, he's probably going to be the one due the most apologies all while having done very little to anyone else.

Nick

Wow well Twison changed when he went to uni, wasn't expecting that trajectory at all 😋

In all honesty I feel like I have the least to go on for Nick in terms of predictions (not that I have much to go on for anything else I've been saying). He seems to be completely gone for Boston already (oh Babe he is not a good target to fall head over tits for) and I like the idea that's floating around that Nick is already familiar with Boston somehow based off his reaction to their first meeting.

That being said, I am getting a little bit of a creep vibe from him (maybe it was the invasion of his client's privacy and subsequent masturbation scene that pinged the alarm idk) but I can't help but feel like everything Mew said he'd do if he slept with Top? Yeah Nick would actually do all those things and more. So yeah, while Boston is going to mess him up with their ambiguous relationship, it's only because Nick was pretty messed up in the first place and he'll end up messing Boston up right back with his clingy/obsessive tendencies.

Prediction: Looks like a marshmallow, is actually on fire. Things are going to go wrong for him but only because things were not right in the first place. Possibly the most likely to actually need therapy. I also wouldn't be at all surprised if he's the one to swing the bat that brings it all crashing down, in fact in this crack-pot prediction, I'm expecting him to.

The Friendship Group

Is going to be in tatters by the end of this series, I'm so sorry Chueam. (I mean is this even a prediction or am I just stating the obvious?)

Prediction: Mew and Chueam are probably still going to be friends (they seems like the closest to each other) but no one else is going to be talking. Ray might have Sand (and Chueam if he doesn't fuck up too much) but Boston going to be on his lonesome and so is Top unless they want to throw a pity party together. At the end of the show there will be a tentative reconciliation, but with the knowledge they're never going to be the same, never going to be as close as before.

TLDR + Extra Predictions

Mew: About to have the worst time of his life but he'll make it through, his pain is going to end up being other people's problem.

Ray: Poor, unfortunate soul checking in at heart-break hotel twice in the space of a few months. Most likely to get his man though.

Boston: Needs to figure out what he wants. Probably going to end up completely cut off from everyone but also most likely to extend the peace offering at the end.

Top: Fucked. (Might get a chance at redemption at the end if he's lucky)

Sand: Emotionally fine, financially screwed. Out of everyone he has to most to complain about and he doesn't even go here.

Nick: Most likely to need actual therapy.

Climax: A big argument at the hotel surrounded by the ruins of their hard work

Likely scene: All of them at Yo's bar they used to go to as friends but this time ignoring each others existence.

Likely scene 2: Boston unleashing a load of suppressed resentment towards Mew, possibly to do with their different lifestyles/world views.

Best chance at romance: Chueam

Best chance at staying friends: Chueam and Mew

Key theme: The importance of friendship

Me: happy to be proven right or wrong with these predictions and here for the wild ride regardless.

And that's it! As I said, these predictions are completely pulled from the air around a single watch of episode 1 so they're not at all serious. If I'm right yay, if I'm wrong also yay, I'm just happy to be watching, I just thought it would be fun to test how well I can predict a narrative based on very little information indeed. If anyone wants to share their own crackpot predictions I am more than happy to hear them, let's clown together.

#only friends the series #only friends #ofts #crackpot predictions #if I'm going to make predictions it will be with absolutely no information #because how else are you going to make them?#with actual information?

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the-orion-scribe · 1 year

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The Stanchurian Candidate is more messed-up than we thought

I think the majority of the fandom is unaware of or often overlooked two major plot holes for this episode, which I think are best highlighted here. If anyone were to think deeper, this episode is actually super messed-up with many out-of-character moments.

Major Plot Hole #1: Why is Stan both insistent upon brutal honesty and somehow completely unable to handle himself in front of a crowd during his mayoral campaign? Public speaking and being a showman, often to these very people, was literally Stan’s entire job description for over half his life, so he should have no reason to be that awkward and incompetent. Suddenly insisting upon brutal honesty is also completely out of character for him. (Seriously, if Stan managed to not spill anything about Ford during the Truth Teeth episode, how is he suddenly incapable of lying here?) But even this massive break in character pales in comparison to…

Major Plot Hole #2: (This one is deeper than the Bottomless Pit.) How are Dipper and Mabel just completely OK with using the mind-control tie on Stan, without even seeking his consent first? Especially given that Dipper was possessed by Bill (and, based on the events of the very next episode, definitely traumatized by the incident) not more than two weeks prior? I am positive that such an incident could be never forgotten so easily by either of the twins, but particularly by Dipper. Yet he raises no objection beyond “that’s… ethically ambiguous!”

Even when Soos was very visibly frightened after having the Tie “tested” on him, Dipper and Mabel just laughed at his pain and fear. Keep in mind that just a few episodes prior, the twins risked their lives and/or existences just to fix Soos’s issues with his birthday. I hardly think they’d be inclined to laugh at his pain and distress for any reason.

And, because I know someone will suggest it, the twins’ memories of the Sock Opera could not have been wiped by the Society of the Blind Eye, since 1) the Society was destroyed less than a week after the Sock Opera, and 2) in the Journal 3 entry corresponding to s2e11: Not What He Seems, Dipper directly references his being possessed by Bill, meaning he remembered the experience at that point (after the Society was gone), and would therefore also remember it during the events of The Stanchurian Candidate.

And also quoting from a conversation with @detectivejigsawpines, The twins literally overrode their uncle’s autonomy and took over his body without his knowing consent. And Ford should have known better, considering he was doing the same thing Bill did.

But I’m not being entirely fair. Though it pains me to say it, The Stanchurian Candidate does still have good points, despite all these faults. It is, of course, still an episode of Gravity Falls, and was, according to the credits, written by the same people as the rest of the series.

In actuality, the episode is quite good when viewed completely in a vacuum. Were this the first episode of the show that someone ever saw, they would (probably) not think it was bad. Without the greater context of Sock Opera and the personality traits the main cast has firmly established throughout the first season and a half, there would be nothing amiss about any of their actions.

In addition, the selfless love of Grunkle Stan still shines through in this episode, when he doesn't hesitate to break off his campaign speech and rescue Dipper and Mabel who are in great danger.

When viewed from that mindset, it’s alright. There are good jokes, fun moments, and the villain-of-the-week is soundly beaten in a satisfying manner. Still not the best episode in the series by a long shot, but not the worst either.

Of course, since Gravity Falls is a very story-based cartoon, you can’t consider this episode in a vacuum, which is where all the problems come from. Even the initial premise of the wacky mayoral election and why Stan wants to participate in it don’t make sense unless you understand something about Gravity Falls as a town, and Stan as a person, respectively.

Idea for a fix: My head canon has become that the majority of the episode (basically everything after they get back from the town hall) was a dream Stan had, since I think the writers may have intended for it to be an episode addressing the “stuff” Stan mentions he has been dealing with later, in “[Twins] vs the Future.” I feel this makes sense because, stylistically, the bulk of the plot appears less like a standard episode and more like the stories Stan sometimes tells throughout the series (such as those in the non-canon s2e06: Little Gift Shop of Horrors), which tend to feature exaggerated behavior and a slight sense of ‘unreality’ (compared to the baseline). Therefore, him having a vivid, all-the-negative-emotions-fueled dream that distorts his family members in somewhat disturbing ways makes a lot more sense than “and then Dipper and Mabel were randomly and - most significantly - gleefully supervillainous (and surprisingly, given their personalities, competent politicians) for one episode.”

Thoughts? Opinions? Soundly reasoned rebuttals?

(Above written with assistance from @callipraxia and @theoryofweirdness)

#gravity falls #gravity falls essays #stan pines #stanley pines #the stanchurian candidate #plot holes #dipper pines #mabel pines

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kerubimcrepin · 2 months

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Episode 51 - High-Temperature Trap (part 1)

aka, "try not to squeal like a fangirl over Atcham Crepin challenge", the liveblog.

A few episodes ago, we've seen (episode 45 - The Charming Justiciars 2, to be exact), we've seen that it was September. Now, we see it snowing.

I suppose around a year has passed since the beginning of the series.

It is interesting that, to Kerubim, the emotional toll of having to deal with Atcham and Indie, — and realizing that he's worse than Indie at making sacrifices, — is greater than the physical toll of dangerous enemies. He was fighting The Horrors.

This story, therefore, takes place around two years before the war between Bonta and Brakmar, in which Kerubim and Atcham seem to have been Jahash and Julith's seconds-in-command.

It makes me think... Is there, perhaps, a child-shaped little reason why Atcham hasn't tried to kill Kerubim for the past ten years, despite knowing where he lives?

Atcham does seem to know who Joris is, in relation to Kerubim, — even if he didn't know the fact that he was Julith's son. It'd be weird if he didn't know, considering he has a tendency to stalk Kerubim, and does know where they live. Which leads me to the next point:

This absolute nerd realized that he is an uncle now, and probably decided to wait until the kid grew up at least a little, before trying to kill Kerubim again. Because otherwise, it would be amoral and shit.

I mean, he and Kerubim are orphans. It'd be fucked if he did that to someone else, right?

Actual insane behaviour and moral compass. Very commendable, Atcham.

We have years and years of unaccounted for time, after Lou left him. What was he doing, then? This haunts me!

This all, yet again, makes me question: why did he go to that war on the movie? Boredom? Wanting to beat up Atcham?

I would like to point your attention, that at this time, before Joris, and years after Lou has left him, the house was still in pristine condition.

...He let the house turn into a garbage dump and a hazard, despite having a son. Yet another reason for me to hate Kerubim's parenting.

At least he admits that he is his own worst enemy... fsdhgjdfg. Anyway, the poster's top says "CHEZ KE(KE)", while the text at the bottom is "EN VIEB--"

The actual best line in the entire franchise.

OMG. omg. the bingus...

This reminds me of something very off-topic: a while back, I had an online friend who I introduced to Dofus and Wakfu. I made memes for various new discoveries they made in the series, and that included meme videos.

Which included, after spending weeks saying shit like "yeah there's a bingus ecaflip... he's out there, I love him." and "there's a bombshell about Kerubim's backstory :) I know something you don't." and "he's omitting something MAJOR from his stories. I won't say what ❤" me dropping this video onto them.

This describes perfectly how batshit insane Atcham's first appearance in the franchise is.

#ro liveblogs dofus #dofus #krosmoz #wakfu #ep51 #atcham crepin

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