#rather than the development of its characters

[karlastarion]

I'm so curious about Kagha, because she's so different from Halsin. She and Halsin are both wood elves, and I get the sense that Kagha is probably not ~young~ but she's not nearly as old as Halsin. When you deal with the Shadow Druids, she's very quick to defer to him and treat him like a teacher she's disappointed. He probably mentored her, if he's chosen her as his second in command - though, I would bet it's in more of a general thing in the way that the First Druid is everyone's mentor, rather than the clearly more direct and specific mentorship he has with Nettie as a healer.

Canonically, Halsin isn't an exceptionally good leader. He's not bad at it, and he has good instincts. He correctly surmises that after the dust-up with Kagha and the tieflings, the Emerald Grove needs an outsider to step in and lead without being tied to any particular grudges or politics. That's savvy enough that I think Halsin was a good First Druid, he just wasn't especially good or great at it and clearly didn't like the position. At worst, I think he let some situations fester because of his focus on the Shadow Curse.

But I'm not ready to say that he didn't realize Kagha was a proverbial snake in the grass ~the whole time~, because I don't think she was. I think she was genuinely and recently radicalized by the Shadow Druids. I think she probably had something of an edge before, maybe she was a hardass or had a mean streak or something. Regardless of how I feel about the quality of the Shadow Druid subplot (which is that I think its pacing is meh and Kagha's face-turn is way too fast and kind of shitty), I think it speaks to the fact that her care for the Grove is genuine. That perhaps Halsin's failure with her wasn't in not realizing she was A Bad Person Actually, but in not tending to her insecurities or noticing that she might be feeling isolated, if she was so effectively shaken by the Shadow Druids' fearmongering.

The recent wave of IRL cults should have taught us all by now that everyone is susceptible to cult tactics if they're sufficiently scared and alone, and BG3 is a game riddled with various cults. You don't have to already be a bad person, or a stupid or weak person, to fall for them. And I think Kagha's story is way less interesting if you just think she's an evil power hungry shrew too stupid to keep herself from being radicalized.

She clearly has a nasty streak, but her apologies and regrets also sound sincere, if you manage to hear them. Even when she isn't "redeemed", she accepts her punishments, even if she does so bitterly and not believing she was wrong. And I have to wonder just how much of that mean streak is self-defensive rather than inherent in her, how much of it is that she struggles to admit failure and learn from it. Or how much is her modeling Halsin's level of single-minded commitment, picking a methodology or an action and throwing all of her weight behind it, even when it may no longer be working.

I wish characters like Kagha got nearly as much love and fandom development and benefit of the doubt as someone like Ketheric. I think she has a ton of potential for that, and way fewer crimes to her name than other fandom favorites who just happen to also be, you know. Men.

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #kagha #halsin #bg3 spoilers #bog post #tbh i get more fond of kagha in every playthrough #also i wonder how much of kagha being so high strung #is BECAUSE halsin was obsessed with the shadow curse #i wonder how much of his responsibility as first druid #were already being performed by kagha #saddled with the tasks but not the responsibility #not the ability to make new decisions #THAT will certainly make someone feel unbalanced and insecure #i like the idea that he chose her because of their differences in temperament perhaps #but how much of that was savvy decision-making #and how much of it was saddling her with extra burdens #to make up for halsin's preoccupation and distraction

[eclairjoycon]

im quite sad its become a trend in the fire emblem fanbase to hate three houses for being too popular. ive been into this series since i was a kid and i think its awesome wonderful and amazing that a game in the series was able to take off to such success and new heights and im so happy for the series

(also yknow. all the sales means we're going to get like. way more fire emblem games. whats the issue)

like i dunno whenever i try to bring up three houses in a fire emblem space im usually just met with responses of "oh that game is So overrated" "uugh its so slow the monastery is just padding until you get to a battle" "engage is so underrated and miles better than it" "the storys not even that good, people are just convincing themselves it is" blah blah blah

i know they wanna sound different but they just sound rude and kind of boring honestly

i get peoples main reason for hating 3h: its popular, super popular, different, and a lot of people only play it and no other fe games

but like..... i want to put that into perspective:

the nintendo switch is one of the best selling video game consoles of all time. there are literally millions upon millions of people who only have a nintendo switch and no other console, letalone a 3ds or a gameboy advance. many people who only play three houses literally just have a switch

the only other fire emblem game on switch is engage (which i love!!), an anniversary game celebrating the series thats intentionally parallel to three houses by being lighthearted and silly. while it is amazing, most people love three houses for its character and stories, they dont Want something like engage cause its the total opposite of three houses.

actually, i believe in an interview nintendo confirmed 3h and engage were developed at the same time and intended to be parallels

and now a lot of arguments i hear

"just get a 3ds" thats a Lot Of Money. i mean i love awakening with all my heart its such a fantastic amazing game. but that is like. a big investment. thats a reallyyy big investment

"just emulate it" not everyone has a computer, and outside of tumblr (and twitter, the most popular place for piracy) many feel uncomfortable pirating something. and if they dont have a computer, not many people wanna risk downloading potentially suspicious stuff on their phone

"just mod your 3ds" combines the above issues. you need a computer for that. and a proper sd card. and, you know, a 3ds. its actually really expensive to mod your 3ds memes aside. a lot of people love three houses as a fun fantasy story they can get into, they dont wanna make all these leaps and jumps to try the other games

"just watch a playthrough" is a LOT better argument!! and i agree and i do that! ive been watching a path of radiance longplay lately its awesome! but this brings me to my next point

acting like someone isnt a "true fan" of the series because they havent played every game... is such an insult to the series, and its games

in fact, if you think like that, you honestly just view these games as content rather than games honestly??? i mean. is one game just not enough?? people cant just enjoy one video game???

fire emblem games are long and have a Lot of stuff in them. im personally very slow at playing games so i can take a month or so to beat a game, and a lot of others do too! life has a lot of stuff to do, games to many are more of a distraction or fun hobby

and that takes me back to my point. expecting someone to literally just grind and clear through a whole checklist of Really Long SRPGS is like. dumb! honestly!

like. you have somehow taken the fun act of "playing a video game" and turned it into literal work. why would you do that.

like most of the people that made three houses so well selling are just... grown ups who have a nintendo switch and wanted a fun fantasy story driven rpg. why do they have to bend over backwards and spend all their money to play like 10 other video games to appease some angry person on the internet trying to convince themself that 3h is bad

idk, i think its dumb and im disappointed in the fire emblem fanbase that hating three houses has become a trend. i think we should appreciate that our series is able to soar to such heights and that we are bound to get a lot more fire emblem in the future. i love the series and want whats best for it so this makes me so happy

oh and also, yknow, three houses is literally fantastic. like one of the best games on switch and one of my all time favorite games. i mean i like awakening more but i dont really care if someone hasnt played awakening. live your life have fun its not that deep yknow??

also. come on. we have like, the concerningly angry fanbase of a certain nintendo fighting game that is mad nintendo put nintendo characters in the game (but fine with a disney character and like 20 square enix characters) breathing down our neck constantly. we already got enough drama why do we have to fight amidst ourselves????????

#fire emblem #fire emblem three houses #fe3h

[don1t1red]

I know that this is a very unpopular opinion but hear me out!

I think not enough people consider Corvo as an unreliable narrator. We see the story from his point of view and all we know about Jessamine Kaldwin comes from his perspective. So, to think on that, do we really know how good Jessamine was as the Empress? 

I know that she is usually portrayed as a good person if not a saint but what if it wasn't that way? A lot of people in the streets are indifferent towards her image, if not hostile; the situation with Delilah; how both Geoff Curnow and Corvo are treated because of their nationality; two hatters recalling how greatly Corvo dealt with workers uprising under her command  – a lot of things are a tell-tale signs that something is not quite right. 

And at this point I have to clarify that I'm not saying things like "boo no I hate Jessamine". No, it's actually quite the opposite, I love her character. But the way it is usually portrayed seems to be so dull and static. Let her not be a saint. 

Let her be manipulative. Let her tell Corvo that "he is not like other serkonans, he is sooo special and that's why he is where he is and not somewhere deep in the silver mine", while being (just as any nobility in Gristol) not very welcome to any outlanders. 

Let her be power-hungry and afraid to lose this power. Remember a bonecharm in her hidden room in the Tower? Who knows how it ended up here! Maybe she knew (or felt) that Delilah was coming, capable of overpowering and taking everything from her. Maybe Jessamine was so afraid to lose her posh life that she was ready to use some kind of a black magic! 

Let her be disloyal. Obviously, she and Corvo developed some kind of codependency. But along with that, she was the Empress so who could stop her from having an affair or two? And Corvo was just the safest option, with a way less unnecessary risks and questions. 

Let her be an imperfect person. 

Obviously, Jessamine could be easily born a perfect ruler and a perfect loving woman for her chosen one and her daughter. But maybe she had to learn it the hard way. 

Maybe she changed along with Corvo. Maybe the plague was a critical point for her character, maybe those months without Corvo made her rethink a lot of things. 

And isn't it tragic, finally understanding and becoming the Empress everyone wants to see in you, just to be killed the other day, because all those changes have been seen as a weakness? Have nothing but faith in your closest one, faith that these people will be more wise than she was? 

Give her some development, give her some motion! She could easily  be a saint, static point.  But in my opinion, she deserves to be not perfect but in constant motion. Trying and learning, understanding and making mistakes. She was too young when she became the Empress, she was a part of gristolian nobility, not so kind to anyone but themselves, she literally had no prerequisites to become a good person. And yet somehow she did. 

It's always so easy to be a "saint" from the very beginning. And it's always so hard to learn how to become one.

#dishonored #jessamine kaldwin #imo all women deserve to be evil #(as a treat) #and esp disho women #ngl i kinda feel as a great part of Emily criticism could be applied to Jess as well #which doesnt make either of them a bad character #just as a fact #oh and also - while im still there - its not a bad thing to write Dauds development as a reaction to her death #but i feel like it was rather a reaction to the *changes* that her death triggered #i understand that she is a “woman in the refrigerator” trope in canon but we all are better than this #so again imo but it would be better to concentrate Dauds character growth aroud those changes and leave this poor woman alone #i really want to write a separate post about him rn lol #anyway thanks for coming to my ted talk #dt (stands for doni talks)

[journen]

Done for the “Kiss it better” prompt for the @codywankissbingo. Full bingo card under the cut!

This is my first fill. I was thinking about an au where Cody somehow survived everything and is maybe a part of the resistance people on Jabiim? Him and Obi-Wan reunite after the events of episode 3. It is tense at first seeing eachother again after so long, but Cody helps with his recovery from Vader burning him. 🥺

#just let these two have a happy ending please #codywan #obi wan kenobi #commander cody #codywan kiss bingo 2022 #lol literally a year ago i would have rather died than share a drawing like this i did lol #anxiety 😌 #and fear of people judging me harshly HAHAHAHHA #but ive gone through character development #i still am always nervous but you guys are the sweetest so thank you as always!!! #i hope its not too bad i dont draw kiss stuff often at all lolll #star wars #star wars art #star wars fan art #codywan art #sw obi wan kenobi #sw commander cody #my art #art #journen #darth vader #burns #alternate universe #au

[pelcrow]

Joaquin "Jack" Navarro is a lone wolf, cyborg, and quantum physicist with an infamous talent for time-fuckery.

In the 1970s, Jack and Maggie---his wife and research partner---spearheaded the exploration of spacetime manipulation, producing a pseudo-physical albeit unstable manifestation of time. Their ambitions created disastrous consequences, ones that deteriorated Jack's mind to a state of agonizing pain and madness while also garnering transcendental abilities. He lashed out at his family, becoming more like a rabid animal than a man.

His madness was contained by the very rift he created until he fell into the hands of a powerful coalition that seized the opportunity to transform him into a literal killing machine, giving him cybernetic enhancements in order to pursue their own desires of spacetime manipulation and to strike down any opposition. Here, Jack became a violent, remorseless, teleoperated executioner.

After years of this, Jack broke away from servitude when his cybernetic receiver decayed, and he isolated himself on a distant planet where he was able to start putting together memories he had lost in the madness and trauma.

He still carries a cold and violent demeanor, a raging pessimist and bitter man with a penchant for self destruction. He has no idea what he wants, teetering between wanting to restore what was lost and wanting to remain in isolation, knowing he is at the mercy of the unstable time he created.

#sketches #my ocs #original character #oc art #reference sheet #it was so hard to write this dkgjkjdfkjg #i figured i'd start off my proper oc introductions with the oc i've put a stupid amount of time into #and the one that i was struggling with the most to share any info about #he means a lot to me!!!! i love him #there's a lot of stuff about time in his story but it's not about time travel #its obv sci-fi heavy but it's also not a significant part of the story does that makes any sense at all askdjgkjdf #maybe significant is not the right word hrmmm i guess i mean his story is more about his emotional development rather than like.... #him being a cyborg with magical powers #im so scatterbrained rn rip #styx - j #i'll work on better tags for everybody but in the meantime..... here is my boy

[quarks-pussy]

Mirror Kira is something that can actually be so personal

#in a number of ways tbh like defo in a gay way and in terms of clone fucker rights and in terms of evil girlbossing etc etc but most of all #most of the mirror characters (to me) feel like au versions of the prime characters and obviously they ARE but they're still very much atta #attached to the prime characters y'know what i mean? like maybe not everyone but most mirror characters do feel like they basically are wha #the prime characters could've been if their lives had been different and like it's not completely out of the question for mirror kira but s #she still feels so... herself. like she's not defined by prime kira on any level. most mirror characters feel very defined by their prime c #counterparts and mirror kira... she's different. she is literally herself and no similarities will change that. she does not exist as an ex #extension of prime kira she is her own separate character. mirror kira could literally exist in the prime universe without even having to b #connected to prime kira by anything other than name and face. file off her serial numbers and you're golden & have a new and extremely comp #compelling villain. she is separate she's herself and nobody else. all the other mirror characters feel like twisted versions of the prime #characters who took a different path at some point. if there's any way to apply this to mirror kira that point would be her birth. like she #genuinely feels like they took a look at the circumstances on bajor in the mirror verse and thought about how a bajoran might grow up there #and THEN they made that bajoran kira. like i'm not saying she's nothing like prime kira but she just feels so much more developed tbh as if #they genuinely wrote out her whole life rather than just its present state y'know. it's great! i adore her #anyway #mirror kira nerys #mirrorverse #star trek deep space nine #ds9 #yes most of the meat of this post is in the tags lmao idek why #original posts fresh from quark's pussy

[ashinaisshin]

it is done! i love this game...

#personal #armored core vi #3rd fromsoft plat ayy #yamamura pls gib dlc..... #ac6 became a strong contender for my favorite fs game ajkfsk #at least it's definitely the one that got into my head the most #the characters really grow on you despite having no faces #and the emotional bonds you develop tie directly to the major theme of finding purpose and having to make the sacrifices accordingly #and the combat... getting s ranks really made me see the depth of the mechanics and its so much fun #i was literally never big on customization/build variety in games but i very much enjoy them in ac6 #in ac6 the customization feels more like an integral part of the gameplay rather than a feature of the gameplay(?) if that makes sense #finished most of my playthroughs with a mid-lightweight build and did most s ranks with steel haze (very light) lol #wanna try learning how to play with heavy builds next...

[see-arcane]

Mina's incredible (and underrated) detective prowess would be very useful I bet. Put her on the helm Integra, Van Helsing praised her brains as being above everyone's including himself for a reason.

I honestly can't guess what the chemistry between Integra and Mina would be. Integra doesn't really click with me as a classically heroic character, for all that she does focus on saving humanity from the undead via Alucard and her forces, being the Boss Lady etc etc. She's miles away from being as insidious as an Amanda Waller, but...

The hotel. The fucking hotel will never leave me.

Yes, the order went directly against 'soldiers of the enemy,' but those soldiers had been lied to about who and what they were charging into. Which was obvious even without being a fly on the wall to know their higher-ups had fed them some BS to march them into death and win their own power grab from Millennium. She didn't tell Alucard to 'make it quick' or even just to 'neutralize.' She told him to search and destroy. Folding to Alucard's egging and negging to seem like a Worthy War Commander in the grand scheme~ of the plot

She's not heartless, exactly, but she is arctic and surprisingly quick to breeze past the loss of lives that aren't under her direct care/command. While she might respect Mina's abilities and investigative skills--I wouldn't be surprised if Mina could intuit Millennium's endgame well before the climax could happen--Integra inherited none of her ancestor's warm regard, supposing Abraham van Hel(l)sing had any of the original's tenderness in him (50/50 considering this takes place in aggro horror territory). We can't even say if this universe's Mina played any big role in cornering Dracula; she might just have been a targeted damsel.

All that said, I think Integra would see Mina as another time-displaced bleeding heart with a few useful skills, same as Jonathan. Someone to be an ally at best, a liability at worst. So I don't see her handing over any reins or offering to be co-girlbosses any time soon :c

#Integra is a good character #but not my favorite #Hirano let her look cool a lot and stand imposingly and smoke cigars #she got to shoot a few bad guys including the Major himself! #but the lion's share of development and interesting actions were all Alucard's and occasionally Seras' #I think the story kind of fumbled a lot of her potential to be more than Boss Lady who has cooler/more powerful people do stuff AROUND her #rather than let her really do anything herself without somebody else being the driving muscle/energy #Mina by contrast is ACTIVE #even working within the constraints of being a young woman in the Victorian era #she is hauling ass and making connections and paving the road to victory against Dracula himself #all while having a massively open heart that takes in so many people #like the rest of the original Drac Attack Pack it isn't just the loss of Lucy that drives them #she and Jonathan and Van Helsing and the Suitors all lock down on Thwarting Dracula #because if they just sit back and do nothing then He Wins and Humanity Loses--they became the OG Vampire Hunter Gang out of necessity #and goodwill #whereas Integra kind of just inherits Hellsing and its mission with the same vibe as someone inheriting Dad's job #maybe if we'd gotten scenes where it shows how she's handling the toll of running things; the sacrifices made in blood and its effects #I'd see more chemistry in potentia between her and someone as dynamic as Mina #but as it stands #I think Mina would just be another new accessory #anyway #integra hellsing #mina harker #dracula #hellsing

[xboxseries]

eris has been my favorite character for 10. fucking years and i genuinely know more about her than the people writing her. she really might as well be my oc at this point man

#like this does. nothing for her character development. #nothing touching eris in the past 3 years has done anything for her LOL #first they made her The Mom Therapist Character which is nothing. its nothing coming from someone who is that fucked in the head #its genuinely just Misogyny wrapped up in a But Look! She Looks Weird! bundle #and now theyre backtracking and just. making her a hive. the thing she literally hates the most in the world. that killed all her friends #even tho she already 'mastered' hive magic gotta make her the thing that ruined her life! with no further commentary. this is good writing . #mhm mhm sure it sure is lol #also they erased every relationship she had with a woman. ikora eriana mara. in favor of. drifter #and as one of the people who STARTED drifteris it was fine. until they hired a drifteris fanfic writerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr #straight woman that erased a characters existing relationships with other women in favor of her being a self insert. lol #whatever. shes a weird fucking dyke. shes a weird dyke and shed rather ignore your existence and kill bugs than play therapist for you. fuck

[muzzleroars]

Cyrus was wrong for his methods and for depriving people of choice, but was he really wrong about much else? Life is painful. Most days you’re unhappy pretty much every second you’re awake, trying to enjoy yourself is a waste of time because you feel just as bad the second it’s over, and anything that does make you numb for more than an hour hurts your health. Emotions are important to make sure we survive and care for our young, but is it worth it? If Cyrus offered everyone the choice to join his perfect world, I think a lot of people would take it.

this is why i genuinely connected with cyrus in many ways tbh, because i saw the worst of my depression reflected in a character with desperation i could understand. in those times, all you want is safety, you want things to just stop, and your emotions get so bad you think, in fact, it would be better to trade both happiness and pain away. and when you're grieved (as i believe cyrus is), it brings out this constant, awful anticipation where you're always waiting for the other shoe to drop. something terrible happened, and something terrible will happen again because now you've lost your sense of safety. it's wild how much that eats you up inside, and that's what i saw in cyrus - this guy is only in his 20s and he's just barely hanging on because he's been so badly hurt, he feels so alienated from his own emotions AND no one's ever been able to connect well with him (nor him connect with others) and like. OOF did i get that!!! at the end of the day, cyrus's motivation was literally just to see no more pain. he was done with all the hurt inflicted on both humans and pokemon, and i think you're right in saying many probably would actually see it his way because we've been hurt too, we've been in so much pain and so isolated that we understand this in a way some other people can't.

BUT i do just want to say i totally understand where you're coming from anon and i know life is hard, especially right now. my mental health has been suffering, i've been feeling my depression more and more, but i want you to know you're not alone in what you feel. honestly i'm so grateful we have characters like cyrus to connect with because it shows, through media, that someone else gets it - i've said over and over i'm a sucker for happy endings, which is why i'm so happy he got that in pokespe. cyrus has so much love in him (so much gratitude at being proven wrong!!! like!!!) and when it was recognized by shaymin, it hit me so hard i wanted to cry!! he gets to live, to take care of his team (his friends, really) and he gets the ending he actually deserved because there isn't truly evil in cyrus imo, just pain and desperation. so i want to hope we can be happy too, that life will get better, and i think that's absolutely true no matter how hard it can be to believe at times. i hope you can take good care of yourself anon <3

#SORRY if i got sappy but i know how you feel #that's why cyrus is one of my favorite characters like. #his whole internal struggle hits hard #and im really glad he gets development in extended media #bc he's a very interesting villain and its clear he could easily be redeemed #like it's hard to describe but im glad so many narratives connected to him acknowledge his pain #rather than demonizing him for that pain like so many other pieces of media seem to do with similar characters #cake answers #cyrus

[detectivenyx]

it's a little weird to see the website that usually goes 'FUCK CORPORATIONS PIRATE AND STEAL FROM THEM FOREVER', when faced with two games utilising AI media generators, completely ignore the one that's not attached to any property in any way except perhaps Bram Stoker's Dracula that actively advertises its usage of AI as a central game mechanic, while tearing into the one that looks like something a large and hostile gaming corporation put out primarily because of that surface level similarity and only using the fact another game of theirs uses AI image generators

#'yeah steal from the corpos!!!!' [someone makes a game that looks like pokemon] 'NOOOO NOT THEM!!!!!!!!!!!' #i don't fucking like ai and it can drown forever but two games come out and one actively advertises its usage of AI as a mechanic #and it goes completely ignored in terms of controversy in favour of Defend Nintendo #i mean it's obvious the nintendo angle game is palworld and there's valid criticism to be made for the game. #but it's also weird because this was also the website that bitched (rightfully) about bg3 not having any fat customisation options #palworld uh. for everything in the discourse: it allows you to make a fat character! #but i haven't seen anyone on this website mention that not even in a 'shame this game was developed by pricks because this' way #the other game is suck up btw #and like. honestly. if you're going to use parasitic game tech you might as well make the parasite a central game mechanic #rather than use it to skimp out on paying artists writers and voice actors #but nooo the fuck corpos website only ever saying 'fuck corpos' for show? repeating shit they saw on twitter while making fun of it? #that could NEVER happen. #- nyx (they/she)

[lachonk]

If you've ever wanted to read a manga that was essentially Dune yaoi, I recommend Silver Diamond

#tbh its got really solid worldbuilding and a lot of clever wordplay #but it doesnt translate easily so the t/n are really helpful #i first read official translations and they dumbed it down a lot #whatever. also theres a lot of weird characters and little to no character development so #i recommend if youre ok w focusing on the story and fantasy rather than characters

[reisakumaproducer]

I love Isagi’s character in Blue Lock. I love how he isn’t your stereotypical genki protag but he still lights up when he talks with other characters. He inspires others not by his personality or words but by his actions. He’s the one who takes the opportunity to develop his weapon or skills on his own and challenges himself when doing so by seeking tougher opponents. I love how you can see his skills develop with each soccer game. There’s only 12 episodes of the anime and I already feel as though he has such great potential to be an amazing character

#blue lock #you can tell I dont watch popular shounen bc maybe its more commoj to see protags train their abilities these days rather than immediately #master them off screen #I like how isagi’s development is continuous throughout each soccer matcg #you can genuinely see him improve!!! #isagi yoichi #there isnt like another side character that is kickstarting his development for him and his training for his abilities isn’t like #aside from bachira obviously but I mean it in like a character/mentor relationship #I see bachira and isagi as equals #in before the manga proves me wrong

[lolly-dolli]

Pointlessly-edgy post-puella magi grimdark magical girl anime that confuses victimising its main characters in an attempt for forced audience bonding via sympathy with genuine genre de/reconstruction

Call that shit the commadokafication of feminine suffering

#there are good ones but a lot of them are just sufferporn and I will never not be bitter having watched the holy trinity #(utena princess tutu and madoka) #yuyuyu would have been great if it weren't for the fanservice blatantly detracting from its themes. like that power system is #excellent body horror metaphor for the harm the male gaze and societal expectation of noble silent sacrifice #of one's own needs and wants does to AFAB and feminine-alligned people #you could have done what utena did in THAT EPISODE and make the audience uncomfortably realize they are passively viewing these things from #the position of power as an added sort of horror without sexualizing the suffering but nah. #jiggle physics on a middle schooler in the prequel without comment #and like. granted its not a lot but it just comes off as tone-deaf #when you had one of the most badass diagetic transformation scenes I've ever seen in episode 1 and #a disabled magical girl whose weapon serves as visual character development in disguise and works WITH her disability #rather than treating it as a setback #im fine with fanservice but here it just. DOESN'T FIT and they're like. middle/high schoolers man :/ #i could be remembering stuff wrong and there's a lot I DO LIKE there but just. certain parts come off lazy/not as well thought out as other