#these are major recurring characters and plotlines

[swampgallows]

how the fuck did anyone responsible for this show look at these designs and think “we'd better sabotage this with constant fart jokes and some mpreg". i have never seen a series so palpably at war with itself and the confines of what executives deem to be "for kids"

#trollhunters #trollhunters toa #tales of arcadia #i know im being a little selective with my pics here but it's not like these are one offs #these are major recurring characters and plotlines #how can this series go so fucking hard and then fall so immensely flat at the same time #just whiplash between kicking ass and ripping ass #this show made me furious #i cannot in good conscience recommend it to anyone. BUT ALSO FUCKING LOOK AT IT #utterly baffling #also i know im cheating w bellroc (from wizards/the movie) but it's too cool not to include

[apatheticlexicographer]

not to be unoriginal but seriously i'm never not thinking about the one way sign and just how gay/byler coded mike's room is in general.

like??? we only get one angle on his room, but all of the decorations except that sign are clearly tied to either his character (past or present) or the plot.

the two black and white art prints are from the basement in a previous season i believe. i haven't watched conan but from what i've heard the plot is some kind of foreshadowing for the russia plotline. pinboards are usually places to display mementos that mean a lot to you, so the couple of wills drawings that can be seen there make sense. the big tiddy dragon man is obviously a d&d thing. even the barely-visible guitar is another nod to how much mike is trying to copy eddie in this season!!!

but the one way sign??? the fuck does that represent??? it's big as hell, directly above the part of the shot you're led to focus on while watching (mike) making it easy to pick up on peripherally on a single watch, and points straight at the closet. with how deliberate literally everything else in his room is, one of the most prominent pieces of decoration being filler makes no sense.

meanwhile he has two images of very muscular male figures on his walls, one of which is dead centre of the shot and has a tiny wizard casting a fireball on it (big tiddy dragon man ilysm) AND has will's art on his corkboard despite being in a rough patch with him and just tossing el's letters away.

(side note: something about his drawings being directly next to the lamp and the recurring association of will and lamps/lights throughout the whole show, and the way the blocking places him under the light sources so frequently when he's with mike. something about his drawings being representative of mike feeling like he's lost him due to the s1 scene with the binder. something about him being mike's light even when they're so physically and emotionally distant from each other. yeah.)

and let it be said, the stranger things set designers DO NOT FUCK AROUND. there are countless instances of people noticing little pieces of set decoration that follow characters throughout the entire show, or innocuous graffiti and posters that foreshadow major story beats. one of my own personal observations from an analysis i never finished is a perfect demonstration:

a trophy in will's room in s2, and a matching one in mike's room in s1. a matching set from one of the party's science fairs, presumably.

another lamp-shaped trophy in will's s4 room...

and an exactly matching trophy from a photo shared on finn wolfhard's instagram IN DECEMBER OF 2017!!! those trophies are such a minor piece of set decoration that i couldn't even find a screencap of mike's that was clear enough to use, but it's still custom embossed. that's how hard the stranger things set design goes.

so the wealth of queercoded and will-centric imagery in mike's room??? the seemingly "random" road sign??? that's not coincidence or laziness, no matter how hard some people will argue that it's not that deep. on the contrary, it's probably substantially deeper than we'll ever know T_T

#byler #sorry this is so unfocused i just have mannny thoughts and opinions #it's an affliction #byler meta #byler analysis #stranger things analysis #stranger things meta #stranger things

[flower-boi16]

How I would fix Helluva Boss

I've been getting the passion to talk about (and criticize) this show lately, and I'm planning to make a giant post about season 2 covering each of the episodes (and my issues with each of them), so that post will come soon (though it might take awhile since I need to rewatch each episode). We all know that Helluva Boss has become kind of a mess, so how could we fix this show and make it good? With all the writing issues it has how could we fix it all?

It's actually quite simple, really. In my last post talking about this show I pointed out how it barely actually revolves around its main premise and how only 3-4 out of 15 episodes are related to it. So the way to fix Helluva Boss is to make it revolve more around its premise.

Since we're revolving the show more around its core premise, it's best to get rid of every single plotline that isn't tied to it (The stolitz stuff, Moxxie's abusive dad, Stolas' drama, Blitz trauma, his feuds with Verosika and Fizzarolli, etc), and only relove the show around the core premise. This would fix the problem of the show barely revolving around its actual premise and would also make it feel more focused since now there are fewer plotlines to focus on (one of the show's major problems is that it's waaaaay too unfocused).

Basically, just remove a majority of the show's plotlines to make it more focused on the I.M.Ps going to the human world to kill people for clients (like the actual premise). The exceptions here are the Cherub and Dhorks plotlines, since those are tied to the show's premise, they can stay, and maybe make both groups recurring antagonists that get in the way of our main characters doing their jobs.

Just make the show a fun episodic adult comedy show about a group of assassins going to the human world to kill people...ya know, like how it was advertised before Viv decided to make the show into a drama with fan fiction-level writing.

Other things would include developing some of the characters more (please for the love of god give Millie and Loona more than one or two character traits), and of course, with these changes, this would also mean that we would have to remove all the episodes that aren't tied to the show's premise...which is most of them. So we're just gonna delete every single episode EXCEPT for Murder Family, Cherub's, Truth Seekers, and Unhappy Campers. We would also need to change the ladder two episodes a bit by removing any connections they have to the plotlines we just removed, the first two can stay the same.

And...that's it really. Now we have a fun episodic dark comedy show that's more focused and wouldn't have a majority of the writing issues that the show we have right now does. In all honesty, Helluva Boss would have been better off as a semi-episodic show because I think it's clear that Viv does not know how to write a serialized show with an overarching story and character development, which is due to a combination of poor planning and incompetent writing.

Helluva Boss does not feel like it was planned at all, and if it was it was planned very poorly, and looking at the writing it clearly shows. Plotlines so far have gotten rushed and underwhelming or straight-up insulting resolutions and the show keeps throwing so many ideas at a wall it quickly becomes very unfocused. Like I said the show suffers from there being too many plotlines and the writers not knowing how to write them.

That's why I decided to gut all of the darker and more complex plotlines that weren't tied to the show's premise, because it's clear the writers don't know how to write a lot of these plotlines and again, the show has too many of them and removing them makes it far more focused. And I left the Cherubs and Dhorks plot lines because those ones actually tie into the main premise. And trying to fix every single plotline would be almost extremely hard to near impossible so it's best to just gut most of them.

Helluva Boss should have been what is initially promised to be; a fun episodic show featuring some assassins going to the human world to kill people for their clients, not this poorly written unfocused mess we have now.

TL;DR: Revolve the show more around its actual premise and gut a majority of the plotlines so it could feel more focused.

Soooo...ya, that's how I would fix Helluva Boss. See ya.

#helluva boss critical #helluva boss criticism #helluva boss critique #hazbin hotel critical #vivziepop critical #I promise some non helluva boss related posts are coming soon #I don't want this blog to become a Vivziepop critical blog... #though this won't mean this will be the last time I criticize this show lol #so...ya #bye

[looniecartooni]

So... we know Dimitri is a big part of the story. So much so that the devs will share little to no information about him (obviously not to spoil anything). We will see him in flashbacks and supposedly parts of the main game- maybe even the sequel. He is also confirmed to be an antagonist in the game. Thus- there are two possible roles (that could coexist) that this pyromaniac chimera may play.

He could be a. A recurring antagonist in every chapter either in flashback and/or the main plotline, or/and b. the final antagonist that connects the whole story together for it's grand conclusion. While every major antagonist has a rather stand-alone chapter that contribute to the overall story of Billie, we do not have enough to go on Dimitri to know whether or not he will be the one to wrap up Billie's storyline- but let's argue this further with what we do know:

Both Billie and Dimitri want to be heroes. Both almost chase acceptance by trying to be a hero. And they've ended up hurting people in the process.

Billie as we know is a bit of an outcast in her village because she has uncontrollable powers, a love/need for adventure, and because she doesn't exactly adhere to the rules and roles of the village. Reading about her dad and Aristotle inspires her to want to be a hero, but her journey will supposedly lead her to some hard truths about heroism. They've accidently hurt people and unintentionally caused issues that have hurt others and may continue to do so to fight what she believes or is told are forces of bad. Many who probably have had tragic circumstances that lead them to where they are.

Dimitri, from what little we know of him, intentionally causes harm to people so he can be the hero. This behavior grants him the positive attention a hero would get that having someone else be the hero makes it almost competitive (if I am not over reading his introduction too much).

Already we can see how Billie and Dimitri's ideologies are somewhat overlapping, yet very much clash with one another. Billie wants to follow in her dad's footsteps and learn how to be more of the person she wants to be while Dimitri is quite literally living a lie. If he is meant to be a final antithesis to Billie- we could assume that perhaps he was outcasted or berated much like Billie for not fitting in.

That would not be too far off given that he is one of the few chimera characters we have seen along with the tail that speaks his unfiltered thoughts (which he can't control!), but we've also seen many hints at chimera-like god creatures in Billie Bust Up such as one Elaine sort of prays to:

Which means Dimitri could a. be some sort of magical creature or demigod or higher and/or b. have the expectation to be some kind of heroic god or god-like creature because he looks like one. Or/and perhaps c. being a chimera and seeing how many other chimeras are praised, the power/idea of that got to his head and he now has to constantly keep up that reputation for his own ego.

No matter how you view it- whether Dimitri pretends a hero because he's afraid of being outcasted and alone, trying to live up to the expectations of people like him that are literally seen as gods, or is just fueled by his own ego- or all of the above and maybe plus some- you could relate that to or contrast it to Billie.

Billie is an outcast to her people, she has a great amount of power she has no control over, and wants to- almost feels the need to walk in her father's footsteps to get a proper grasp on her powers or prove that she's able to be one. Billie wants to have control over her life and herself, to prove her self-worth. Katie often compares her to Hercules from Disney's Hercules who doesn't want to be a burden with his strength.

We may see Dimitri's story interwoven with Billie's not just in flashbacks, but perhaps other characters as well. It's a little unclear if Dimitri and Billie will meet face to face- it's likely they will since he's integral to the plot and the possible antithesis to Billie. But we may see more of or learn more about Dimitri through other characters as well. There is still some speculation (on my end mostly) on there being a possible link between Fantoccio and Dimitri given that they are vaguely similar in color pallets and personality. And given that Fantoccio is the main antagonist before the fifth and final chapter, if Dimitri turns out to be the final boss- that may cause the need for some needed tension or controversy over how Billie takes on her possible antithesis (however that does play out-if it plays out).

Dimitri could perhaps be connected to other characters as well- perhaps being the reason why some characters have gems (except for maybe Barnaby- but that doesn't mean Barnaby hadn't tried to kill him or something at one point).

It's still very hard to tell what exactly Dimitri's role is in the main storyline of the game and only vaguely understood in flashbacks with Aristotle and Arthur. When the game comes out, it may be revealed that none of what I just speculated was true and Dimitri's just a victim of the zombie infestation or partying in Barnaby's mansion. Or perhaps was imprisoned at Claw Bay at some point or Dutch somehow managed to wrangle him to be at the hotel. Or maybe none or all of the above- who can tell?

All we truly know is Dimitri does have a big role to play. And we'll just have to wait until the game to truly find out.

#billie bust up dimitri #bbu dimitri #bbu billie #bbu theory #billie bust up #bbu #'m pretty sure I forgot or ommited a couple pieces of info- but this is what I managed to scrounge up at the top of my head #I put on concentration music to do homework and instead my brain barfed this so... #dang it autism- you give me the insight to speculate things unrelated to my studies! #Youtube

[puhpandas]

for people who are afraid of Gregory, vanessa and Freddy never showing up in a game again:

fnaf has never had the theme of protagonists only appearing in one game then moved on from before. michael was the protag for most of the early games with any other character used recurring somehow (save for jeremy I guess)

in ruin, you can see marks left from freddys fist and foot on a door, and footprints from both Vanessa and Gregory in the dust somewhere in ruins map

gregory had a major lore drop in a book theyve yet to explore

they introduced the narritave of Gregory Vanessa and Freddy being the main characters who teamed up to build MXES after becoming found family because they were all affected by the mimic

the pizzaplex will probably be used again because of all the places we didnt see in ruin. examples: the atrium, el chips/the elcade, parts and service, rockstar row, the dancecade/superstar-cade, etc

Cassie set up a possible guilt/rescue plotline for at least Gregory

help wanted 2 has a lot of pizzaplex/security breach levels so far. a lot of them resembling what could be an older pizzaplex earlier in its lifespan, meaning possible prequel/backstory

in the early early ruin builds, they used Gregory's model for scale (something small but big)

#etc etc #i just wouldnt worry about it #the theorizers talking about cassies dad being the new protag has no evidence #and is also a stupid idea #sorry not sorry #pandas.txt #pandas talks #pre help wanted 2 #theory

[theprogrockbstheorist]

Theprogrockbstheorist’s Guidelines to Conceptuality in Prog

Concept Albums:

This is probably going to be an important definition for many of the essays that I will eventually do, so I’m more writing this an a reference point for what I define as a concept album. 

A concept album is an album that is in some way, shape, or form based around an idea. That’s it. This can be as loose as a thematic or musical concept that all the songs on the album share, or as intense as a rock opera. Musical concepts aren’t limited to the composition of the songs as well: they can be as broad as “How crazy can we make the production on this album?” or “Let’s make all the songs loop into each other!”. For the purposes of my essays, I will be separating concept albums into levels: 

A non-concept album is an album that has neither a thematic concept nor a musical concept. 

A Level One Concept Album is a concept album that has either a broad thematic concept but no musical concept, or a broad musical concept without a thematic concept.  A ton of albums probably fall under this category, so a “level one concept album” doesn’t really hold much significance. 

A Level Two Concept Album is a concept album that has both a thematic concept and a musical concept. The thematic concept can be as broad as simply “urbanization” or “mental health”, but for it to be a level 2 concept album, all the songs must have a musical concept as well. This musical concept can be as simple as reoccurring melodies or chord progressions. 

A Level Three Concept Album is a rock opera, essentially. You’re moving beyond simple concepts here, and plotting out a story line and characters. These are pretty much guaranteed to have recurring musical ideas and motifs, which can signal characters like in an actual opera. 

Conceptual Songs: 

Now, of course, sometimes concepts are limited to just one song, or, if part of a larger concept album, may be focusing on one aspect of that concept. These too can have levels similar to concept albums; just the majority of the time, they are shorter (side-eyeing Thick as a Brick, which can be counted as both a concept song and album). 

These songs usually are more specific than concept album, and tend to cap out around 20 minutes due to vinyl limitations in heydays of prog. There are some notable exceptions, but those are exceptions. Here a few types of conceptual songs: 

The Suite is a song of unspecified length that tells some sort of story or has some sort of concept underlying it. For the purpose of this blog, the main difference between an epic and a suite is the length: suites can be any length, epics are going to be defined as being 15 minutes or longer or taking up an entire side of vinyl. 

The Epic is a song that is based around a concept that takes up an entire side of vinyl. The whole album is not typically based around the concepts presented in the epic, however it does take up at least one side ("Karn Evil 9" takes up all of Side B and then a bit of Side A as well). 

Both of these types of songs will follow an adjustment of the levels system presented above, because typically these songs contain both a thematic and musical concept. 

So, a Level One prog suite/epic is a song that has both a thematic message and a musical concept. This thematic message can be incredibly vague, but it needs to be present. Otherwise, it’s not really a suite nor an epic. 

A Level Two prog suite/epic is similar to the rock opera in that it has named several characters and a defined story. You won’t really see suites as I’ve defined them do this, so this is also kinda an epic-exclusive level, however “The Necromancer” by Rush clocks in under 15 minutes, and has named characters and a plotline, so this isn’t really a hard rule. 

Oh, and btw, you don’t have to agree with my definitions!! If you think I should revise any of them, let me know!/gen. I just feel this is important to get out of the way for when I enter the “Is X album a concept album?” debates. 

#prog rock #progressive rock #prog #guide #concept albums #rock music

[lieutenant-columbro]

so i was watching columbo and its wild how theres just no show like it. like usually cop or detective show focus on the precinct or their home life in between trying to figure out cases but no, columbo is just simply there and tries to figure things out and whats amazing like sometimes you can just see on the look on his face that he has figured it out but theres still like 40 minutes left of him annoying the culprit.

EXACTLY, and that's why i honestly don't believe columbo should ever be recast or rebooted or anything like that. peter falk busted his ass to build the character of columbo and he put so much of himself into it. he was notoriously meticulous about the show, to the point of perfectionism. nbc hated him for it back then, and god knows no major studio would ever allow an actor nowadays to work the way he did back then. the bottom line is simply too important. but it's obvious that all the time and effort he put in mattered!!

people still love and remember columbo half a century after it began its main series run. but what's the appeal? clumbo!! as you said, there aren't really any recurring characters (except sargeant wilson and dog my beloveds 💞💞) or overarching plotlines. people want to see that funny liddle guy do his thing!!

just by being his funky detective self he's such a joy to watch :] every one of his idiosyncrasies had so much thought and care put into them down to the smallest details, which makes columbo seem like such a natural and real character.

oughhh ok i know i didn't have to write a whole essay but i'm just being a dummy and fawning over him,,,,,,he deserves it tho😭💞

#ouuuughhhh i am thinking about him so much....especially today 😔😔 #asks #ariesnix #columbo #peter falk

[sweetcloverheart]

Clover Rants Miraculously

I think I’ve complained about this before, but MLB has a terrible habit of telling you to hate a characters instead of simply letting the dislike form naturally.

Like, take Chloe for example - it was easy to hate her in season 1 because she was being the stereotypical bully and causing Marinette (and the rest of the class and city) problems while acting in a way that earned negativity from the audience. There was no need for the show to go out of the way and make her hateable because she did that well enough on her own while making her an interesting and dynamic character. Then the season 3 finale happened, and it, along with season 4′s portrayal of her, her previous arc as a temp hero, and Thomas’s responses to (genuine and bad faith) questions about it on twitter saw a surge of Chloe defense because hell if Thomas and the writing crew were not determined to shout from the rooftops about how Chloe was the spawn of Satan with a pitchblack soul of coal and you had to think this too or else you likely ate puppies. Every scene she was in was basically the audience constantly being berated with “Hate Chloe Bourgeois or else!” signs while trying to enjoy the episode that just caused them to roll their eyes because really? The dumb blonde girl who’s entire modus operandus is “Threaten to call daddy mayor” is supposed to be seen as an utter monster who’s within the same ranks as the man who, in an alt-timeline, beat his son and then tried to brainwash him into being his magic servant to hurt his girlfriend (“Chat Blanc”)? I mean, outside of the near traincrash she caused as Queen Bee (Which they had her show remorse for, even if they didn’t handle the aftermath all that well) and her actions as Miracle Queen, Chloe is just an entitled bully with a superiority complex. Just get the girl some therapy and cut access to her credit cards and problem solved.

Felix’s entire intro episode is about how he’s such an awful conniving little brat in comparison to our beloved blonde angel Adrien - which he was, and we all loved him for it! and the fact that Thomas and co. didn’t want this just made everyone love him more out of spite. Probably helped that he absolutely seemed to revile Gabemoth and helped move along the Agreste side of the plotline by uncovering important secrets/lore Which should have been happening for our Deutagonist seeing as how this involves his father and mother but you know what let’s move on as well as him being based off the PV!Felix whom Thomas openly hated - so that just meant the fandom should definitely love him more and create thousands of AUs where he gets the Black Cat (or Butterfly) miraculous instead. (Of course, now that he’s on his way to redemption, he’s definitely going to head straight into base-breaking territory, though I feel the writers are just going to sour him on everyone if they play this the same way they did his intro)

Lila was fun to dislike and theorize about after her debut in Volpina - like, the amount of recurring villain Volpina, antihero!Lila, and Butterfly!Lila fanart I saw back then was immense. That’s how much of a splash she made. Then Thomas shuffled her off into the void and left her there for a majority of the show until “Heroes Day/Catalyst”, and when she finally got another focus episode (“Chameleon”), the entire thing spent so much time harping about what an awful and terrible liar she was and how “evil” it was to deceive everyone that people started hating her less for that and began hating the class and Bustier more for being stupid enough to fall for such obvious fibs (though in their defense, that’s more fault of the plot twisting itself into pretzel shapes so that Lila schemes can work when they really shouldn’t), and it worsened with “Ladybug” because everyone was so quick to turn on Marinette in it (and that the school apparently doesn’t have security cameras or bothered to call Lila’s mom considering her daughter was apparently assaulted on school grounds) that it just worsened the class salt the previously mentioned “Chameleon” brought upon. The final nail in the “Hate Lila or else” coffin ended up being the bible spoilers, which just made almost everyone stan her out of spite because when you have the show creators claim a lying teenage girl is more capable of greater evil than the magical emotionally manipulative terrorist, that tells me a lot of things except what you’re trying to claim.

Even Su Han, who isn’t a villain, is victim to this - he’s basically supposed to be representative of the fandom criticism of the show and Fu, who’s only purpose is to yell at Ladybug for “not doing guardianing right” before either being proven wrong (“Furious Fu” and “Ephemeral”) or admitting he’s the actual screw up (“Evolution”). Naturally, fandom responded by either making him the replacement mentor for Fu in their fics/AU that actually helps Maribug and Adrichat and proves a competent ally, or actually make him a decent opposing force.

Meanwhile, the characters they want the fandom to like are immediately hated because they’re just put off by how obvious they are about it - Poor Zoe was hyped to heaven and back, ultimately causing her to be immediately reviled by a lot of the fandom (mostly by those who were still bitter about losing out on Ally!Chloe) in her debut, and disliked even more when her temp hero episode had every character and their mother praising her on how nice she was and how she was so much better than icky Chloe. The constantly being told about how “good and pure” Emilie was despite being given nothing on her life before the Peacock miraculous and Gabriel has caused a number of people to create Evil!Emilie aus where she’s just as much of a self-centered megalomaniac as old Gabemoth. And Gabriel himself is basically the #1 hated villain not just because he’s, as stated, a magical emotionally manipulative terrorist, but also because the show is trying so hard to make him out to be this “sympathetic grey character” who “just loves his family” when he’s done nothing to show this (Hell, his actions the past 4-5 seasons basically showed the exact opposite), not to mention how inconsistent he seems to be with his goals and the lack of competence he’s shown despite apparently being so “smart and sophisticated” (Like my man, you had a time traveling miraculous and have one that can give you any superpower you want - Emilie should have been out of that magical cryocoffin and tap dancing right now)

tldr; Don’t “tell” your audience to hate a character. They can do it fine on their own.

#Miraculous Ladybug #Clover Rants Miraculously #ML Salt

[johanna-swann]

Another thing I hope RTD does is stop bringing the Daleks and Cybermen up every other episode. It kinda takes away from their scariness when the Doctor runs into them three or four times per season and yet they always escape unscathed.

Edit: I briefly scanned an episode list and I think it was only the last 2 seasons (series 12 and 13) that made it seem like they appeared so much. Mostly because the 13th series was one big storyline which was also connected to the Master's appearances in series 12 which was all connected to the Timelord-Cybermen hybrids. Plus there were a lot of specials about the Daleks.

More detailed overview under the cut, conclusion at the bottom.

RTD kept it (kinda) contained the first time around. In series 1 he used one episode to introduce the Daleks to new fans and later made them the series finale's villain.

In series 2 he brought in the Cybermen, explained their deal and then brought them back for the series finale which is when we also see the Daleks for the first and only time in series 2. Using both Cybermen and Daleks at once was a lot, but it worked here and was also pretty funny.

Series 2 spends a lot of time on this particular plot, but since it also deals with parallel universes, Mickey's story, Rose's family and her departure from the show, I don't think four episodes is too much. Especially since they're not back to back.

In series 3 they dial back a bit and the Daleks only appear in the two-part episode "Daleks in Manhattan"/"Evolution of the Daleks", the Cybermen don't appear in series 3 at all.

In series 4 the Cybermen don't appear at all again and the Daleks are only there for the series finale.

In the four last specials with RTD and David Tennant neither appear.

Interestingly enough Moffat dials it back even further. The Daleks appear only twice in series 5, once in a stand alone episode at the beginning of the series and then as (very, very) minor characters in the finale.

In series 6 there is only one episode featuring the Cybermen and it's also more of a filler episode.

Series 7 has one story centered around Daleks and Cybermen each, the Daleks appear again in the special "the Time of the Doctor".

Series 8 again has one episode about Daleks and a two-part series finale starring the Cybermen.

Series 9 begins with a two-parter about Davros, the Daleks don't appear afterwards in this season.

In the 10th series the Daleks only appear briefly, but the Cybermen are once again a big part of the two episode long series finale. The Daleks are featured in the Christmas special.

Chibnall's first series (series 11) has plenty of original ideas, the Daleks only appear in the New Year's special.

But then comes series 12. This series is shorter than what we're used to (10 episodes) and the last three are about the Cybermen. That storyline is a continuation of the first two episodes of this series though, so this plot seems even longer. The New Year's special afterwards is about Daleks.

The newest series, 13, is even shorter and all 6 episodes are about "the Flux". While neither Cybermen nor Daleks are the main villain here, they are shown in several episodes.

One of the three 2022 specials is about the Daleks, another one about the Cybermen.

Conclusion:

All in all I'd say that RTD did include both Cybermen and Daleks frequently, but knew when to stop or take a break. He was also the first showrunner of the reboot and a lot of fans didn't know either species yet, so it wasn't too repetitive.

Moffat brought back a lot of familiar elements (like the Weeping Angels and the Master), but didn't use the Daleks or Cybermen much at first. Only in his later seasons did the Cybermen become a recurring foe and the Daleks too were there for two or three episodes.

Chibnall started slow, but due to the shortened seasons and interconnected major plotlines it seems like the Cybermen were everywhere in series 12 and 13 and instead of taking a breather in between series Chibnall used the Daleks in the specials more times than not.

Worth mentioning: Both Moffat in the second half of his era and Chibnall concentrated on the Cybermen for longer storylines and kept the Dalek episodes rather contained. Even more specifically, both showrunners have had the Cybermen and the Master work together in a series finale.

It also doesn't help that it's been 18 years since the reboot took off and we've seen Daleks and Cybermen again and again and again in almost every series since then.

#daleks #cybermen #doctor who #new who #steven moffat #chris chibnall #rtd #not me writing an essay on this no ma'am

[plounce]

i do think shadowbringers has some pacing issues - i find the thancred+ryne+minfilia plotline really compelling but goddddd the metering out of emotional tension about "does thancred care if ryne lives or dies?!?" is not the greatest. ive seen comparisons in the jp/fr/en translations of thancred's dialogue that indicate that the en localization made thancred more brusque than the jp original, and i think a narrative-driven open-world game with leveling is by nature tricky to pace. but still. it is pretty apparent that thancred cares about ryne as an individual and doesn't want her to die to bring minfilia back in the crystarium before the nabaath araeng arc, but then you have to hear ryne be heartbreakingly suicidal a couple more times before that plotline fully resolves and thancred explicitly says where ryne AND the audience can hear "im glad you're you". and i do actually find the "thancred doesn't want to pressure ryne into ANY choice, he thinks he freedom to choose her life's path is the most important thing" idea really interesting and kind of sweet, but the way it's paced out arrrgghh.

also it bugs me that the WoL is the one to actually fully defeat ran'jit in a really totally nothing battle when we storm eulmore. why didn't thancred just get to kill him?! and if it wasn't thancred, why wasn't it ryne? he could have been eaten by sin eaters, or mobbed by eulmorans! it's kind of crazy that making the player character be the one to kill a major recurring villain is the least interesting & impactful choice. i also wish there was just more on ran'jit and his relationship with the minfilias + ryne in general.

shadowbringers is my fave expac, i just love its characters and events and narrative cohesion, but man some of the puzzle pieces are a tad rough around the edges hahaha. oh well. MORE FOR ME TO THINK ABOUT AND THUS POST ABOUT!

#ffxiv #ffxiv spoilers #chirps

[wherevenusholdssomeofficespace]

Part 1

Candace against the Universe is, fundamentally, a summarization of the main themes of Phineas and Ferb to reintroduce it to a new audience, however by extension it also summarizes the themes of the (franchise???) as a whole. It is a movie about an insecure girl who lashes out at her siblings in self-defense, but finds self-worth in the assurances that they find her just as special as she finds them. Her community comes together, facing peril, to rescue her both physically, and emotionally. She in-turn rescues her wider community, and takes what they gave her and pays it forward. It’s a movie about the power of love, trust and community (and communication).

 "Us against the Universe," in particular rehashes some of the important themes of the universe (franchise?). One of which is of course, family.

It’s not just that hey, all these characters have families they bring up. It’s not that they only show up to inform character quirks or to act as a plot, it’s that the characters are usually brought back again to inform additional elements. It's that their families are shown to be fundamental to their characters.

The abuse Doof suffered was what drove him to evil, the love he has for his daughter is what drove him to good. Vanessa’s feelings about her dad grew from frustration with his evil and embarrassment, to tolerance and understanding, to being able to help him to move past his past. Candace’s complicated feelings towards her brothers drives her desire to “bust” them, but their encouragement allows her to shine. Monogram and Doof’s emotional abuse of Norm and Carl respectively contrast against the overzealous affection they give to their biological children, which contrasts with the unquestionable love the Flynn-Fletcher family holds for one another.

Murphy’s Law is what makes the Murphy family the Murphy family, informing their family traditions and Melissa being Milo’s biggest defender contrasts against her reluctant dad. The Grant-Gomez family in its entirety is the focus of Hamster and Gretel, rather than the supervillain or alien plot. It was Sara’s dad that got her into Dr. Zone, and Orton Mahlson initially named Dr. Zone after his father’s career of zoning commissioner. The family conflict is what drives Vanessa and Monty’s romantic subplot (which then folds into Carl and Monty’s subplot with Major Monogram). Not every character’s family is fundamental to the show’s plotlines, but it’s certainly true of the main cast, and it’s rare to have any recurring character not have at least one shown family member, even if just for a gag.

The in depth exploration of the Flynn, Fletcher and Doofenshmirtz families leaves the absence of explanation for Candace and Phineas’s bio-father, and Ferb’s bio-mother noticeable, and highlights the unimportance it has at this time in their lives.

Now, I think a lot of shows targeting a child demographic focus on family dynamics due to the fact that that is the center of most children’s lives. But what truly sets the Dwampyverse apart in this regard is simply how. They strike a good line between siblings who genuinely get along really well, without being overly saccharine, for the most part averting the “siblings are antagonistic towards each other” without completely erasing the complicated feelings that can come from having siblings and the fact people who live together will sometimes find themselves at odds. They strike a good balance of having family be at the core of the show, without erasing the extended community outside of their family and the importance they have in one’s life. 

In part this is due to the way Phineas and Ferb works on a fundamental level. Every growing intricate webs of connection. Two seemingly disparate plotlines tied together by the fact Perry is a secret agent and that the two plotlines always intersect in a way in the climax that resolves both situations, without either side becoming aware of each other. The characters in both plots are constantly coexisting, but never fully aware of each other. It started with Perry of course, and then Vanessa and Candace meeting, and gradually the world shrinks smaller as Charlene and Linda are shown to be cooking class friends, and Linda is in a band with Vivian and Mrs. Johnson. As Jeremy teaches guitar lessons to Major Monogram and Doof. So by the time Buford becomes Doof’s apprentice for an episode, or Stacy finds out about Perry, or when Doof moves in with the Murphy’s, it's not really a surprise. This world weaves together in intricate ways. And that includes the families of our main cast.

This is less true in MML and H&G than PnF, but it's not absent there either, in the way Elliot and Sara knew each other from school, or the fact the Dakotas make Milo's shoes. How Lauren is Gretel's babysitter and enemy, or Professor Exclamation is her dad's friend and enemy.

This extensive use of family, both immediate and extended, biological, legal, and emotional is the building block on which the strong sense of community all of these shows have is built. Themes of family are easily at core of the stories set in the Phineas and Ferb universe. It’s not just about sibling dynamics, or how parents affect their kids, but more broadly how family units function and affect the individuals within and how communities can reinforce or negate that. 

#dwampyverse #pnf #phineas and ferb

[montabeau]

ok i feel like this’ll be an unpopular opinion, but here it is: i honestly wish father brown hadn’t been renewed for a tenth series.

this doesn’t mean i’m not excited for s10 — i’m actually really looking forward to the new eps, and will no doubt be as concerningly obsessed with s10 as i already am with s1–9 — but the thing is, s9 ep10 was such a perfect stopping point for the show. it was the big hundredth episode, featuring the vast majority of the recurring characters (plus monty having a physical appearance at last), nicely tying up character arcs, and ending with kembleford finally breaking out of the 1953 time loop that’s been going on since the start. it was, effectively, the end of an era.

not only this, but s10 has had so many changes to the core cast in order for it to exist (especially mrs m being replaced) that it just feels to me like a desperate attempt to cling onto something that should’ve been allowed to go out on a high note at the end of s9. and although i’m sure the new episodes and new / newly-returning characters will be great, continuing the show in this way also means there’s now more and more risk of it ending up in the all-too-familiar descent into bad writing and unnecessary plotlines that shows often end up with if they go on too long with no thought for an ending

#aiming that last bit specifically at death in paradise ngl #also as usual i am incapable of ending posts nicely #(which is kinda ironic considering the last sentence) #and i cba to proofread #a n d i am slightly sleep deprived #but anyways yeah #there’s my two cents #father brown #bbc father brown #mrs mccarthy #monty montague #s9 ep10 #s10

[thelastyetfabolousmidwestmadman]

Frank Darabont's The Walking Dead

Season 2 would be completely different. It was supposed to be more action packed with Rick killing a massive number of zombies at some point and would have more accurately adapted Miles Behind Us and Safe Behind Bars with the addition of a few original arcs in the early episodes like the conclusion of the Vatos storyline and T-Dogs infection being a major story point in the beginning. Frank wanted to get more shots in Atlanta so perhaps a couple episodes there, 3-4 episodes of the Barn, and Sophia (Madison Lintz) would live since her death was caused by Darabont's leaving along with Dale and Shane's. The Lori/Rick/Shane love triangle would become a major story arc but presumedly better written. Tyreese and Michonne would appear along with the Greene's and Shane's character would be explored throughout this season. Andrea would come under Shane's influence and Rick would also reach his first breaking point.

Season 3 would adapt the Governor arc differently then in the show taking up a full season instead of four and a half. The character would have been more like his comic counterpart and many of the shocking acts shown in the comic would seen or implied in the show.

As for the rest of the series, things get more complicated as even less is known about most of Frank Darabont's and the original cast's since the first season but there are a few major ones that I think are interesting or at least unique.

Darabont intended a eight season run with him planning to create a general outline for what he intended for the series with Robert Kirkman telling him the ending as well as future plotlines. However there were already signs that he didn't intend to entirely follow the comics, apparently intending to go on and off the comic at different points, going back and forth into canon comic material depending on Frank's own original ideas as he intended to add a couple new major plotpoints.

For starters, the Walker's wouldn't be just props, they'd be smart and fast and constantly evolving with the Walkers resorting to cannibalism when starving and eventually forming communities. Now I know that sounds stupid at first but there's no such thing as bad ideas just bad execution. The series would also have a episode per season that was a anthology, examining the lives of Walkers featured in the show before they got bit. Darabont would also push the envelope each season by adding new zombies that were particularly disturbing and grotesque to become iconic of the show. The show would have also had various celebrities cameoing as Walkers.

The Wildfire Virus, it's origin, a vaccine, a cure, and whether there is still structure of government would be a major plotpoint throughout the series, making the show a sci fi horror like the Andromeda Strain.

Dale was supposed to live until comic death and Andrea would have become the strong confident badass she is in the comic and marry Dale. She and Rick would not be a couple and Darabont implied he wanted Glenn to survive as well.

More famous actors would play iconic characters.

Merle would be a recurring threat throughout the series.

There would be homages and references to famous horror or zombie movies throughout the series.

#the walking dead #frank darabont #robert kirkman #rick grimes #lori grimes #glenn rhee #andrea twd #t dog #carol peletier #sophia peletier #shane walsh #tyreese #michonne #the governor

[themattress]

Observation: SuMo Doomed Team Rocket

A follow-up to this post.

OK, “doomed” is hyperbole and just a way to grab your attention. By and large, what I said in the previous post still holds true. Team Rocket is still in much better shape now than in the AG/DP days where their presence in every single episode wore out the characters’ welcome. However, something needs to be said about Team Rocket in the Sun & Moon anime series when compared to the following series that is known as Pokemon Journeys internationally.

In SuMo, as I have said before, Team Rocket miraculously returned to the highest quality of characterization possible for them; the same quality they had in the Original Series when their creator Takeshi Shudo was around. They were kept in a great status quo where they lived in a secret base in Alola, constructed above Bewear’s den. They were competent villains who always got rescued by Bewear upon failing rather than getting “blasted off”, while being successful legitimate business operators to fund their operations on the side. They had routine contact with Giovanni and a budding rivalry with his secretary Matori and her own special militarized Team Rocket sub-group. They got involved with interesting storylines such as conflicts with Team Skull, infiltrating the Aether Foundation, learning to master a Z Crystal, and doing their part to assist during the crisis with Necrozma. They had wonderful, fully fleshed out Pokemon companions whom they formed a tight familial bond with: Mimikyu, Mareanie, Bewear and Stufful. In general, Alola just seemed to bring out the best in them.

Unfortunately, this ended up posing a problem when taking them into Journeys. How were the writers going to be able to top all that material in SuMo? The answer ended up being...they couldn’t. Despite some unique points like their personal criminal lair and the gaccha machine that allowed them to use any number of random Pokemon, and some recurring plot threads early on like their attempt to harness the power of Dynamax and them being stalked by a Morpeko that eventually is caught by James, the more the series went on the less Team Rocket ended up appearing, and whenever they did appear their material was dictated by what was already done in the past rather than anything new. Don’t believe me? Just look:

It just ended up feeling like after over two decades, the well of inspiration had run dry for Team Rocket. In hindsight, this was evident as soon as the gaccha machine was introduced. SuMo had set such a high bar with the bond Team Rocket developed with their Pokemon that the writers found it too daunting to try reaching or surpassing it, leading to a device that allowed Team Rocket to use different Pokemon each episode and thus not develop bonds with any of them. Morpeko was the sole exception, and sure enough it ended up feeling pretty “meh” compared to the Alola Pokemon. At the end of Journeys, which was Team Rocket’s send-off as major characters alongside Ash and Pikachu, their final battle was a blend of their Nimbasa City Subway mission and Operation Tempest, both from Best Wishes, and their final plotline was an incredibly rushed and routine “the TRio splits up but gets back together” story; so routine in fact that Journeys already pulled one earlier! Atsuhiro Tomioka had no better ideas for how to bid farewell to Team Rocket beyond these reheated leftovers.

Their final appearance certainly wasn’t horrible or anything, but it was quite disappointing, especially in how marred it was by the last-minute Team Rocket break-up plot that could have been removed entirely and nothing would feel like it was missing. Team Rocket in the anime peaked as villains in Best Wishes, then as characters in Sun & Moon. There was honestly nowhere to go but down after that, and I guess we should feel grateful they were sent off before that downward spiral could progress to the point it became offensive to their legacy. Concluding their run at the end of Journeys, which used them sparingly, was the right call.

#Pokemon #Team Rocket #Pokemon Sun & Moon #Reboot #Pokemon Journeys #Opinion #Analysis #Truthbomb #They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot #They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character #Anti-Atsuhiro Tomioka

[consoledacup]

Is Layla a main character?

I can’t believe some people claim that Layla isn't a main character, when, in reality, she plays a central role in numerous major plot lines throughout the show.

I personally think that the biggest storylines are of course Spencer's life and his journey to the NFL, the dynamics within the Baker family, and the music storyline. and Layla has had a huge role in all of these narrative arcs. People may disagree that the music storyline is one of the main ones but here are my reasons why I think it is.

1. Consistency: The music storyline has been present since the first season.

2. Character Involvement: the music storyline is not just exclusive to Layla, several of the main and recurrent characters, including Coop, Patience, Preach, and Shawn, have had their own music-related storylines.

3. Bridge Between Worlds: obviously Spencer and Billie are the bridge between Crenshaw and Beverly Hills. But to me the music storyline also acts as a bridge connecting Crenshaw and Beverly Hills, since a lot of the Crenshaw characters have been part of the music storyline.

4.Vegas Fiasco: The music storyline served as the backdrop in the Vegas plotline, as Layla’s invitation to Coop’s show was the reason everyone was there.

5.Guest Stars: The presence of famous guest stars like JoJo and Shawn Stockman show how important the music storyline is.

6.Recurring guest Characters: Many recurring characters, such as JP, Clay, Carrie, Gia, Miko, and even Sky, are tied to the music storyline or Layla herself.

Layla’s status as a main character is undeniable and here are some of my reasons:

1. Baker Family Connection: Her close relationship with the Baker family, particularly as Olivia’s best friend and Jordan’s fiancé, mirrors Spencer’s bond with the Bakers, as he becomes like a son to Billy and Laura just like Layla, is best friends with Jordan and in love with Olivia.

2. Bridge Between Worlds: Layla’s involvement in the music storyline serves as a bridge between Crenshaw and Beverly Hills, for the reasons I mentioned before.

3. Central Role in Major Plot Lines: Layla has played a central role in many major plotlines, including her relationship with Spencer, the Spelivia love triangle, feud between Asher and Spencer in season 1, love triangle with Simone and Jordan, Patience’s storylines, Coop’s music storyline, etc.

4. Independent Storyline: Layla has her own storyline (music) unrelated to Spencer or football, that plays a major role in other character’s arcs demonstrating her significance in the show.

5. Guest Characters : Many of the guest characters are specifically for Layla’s storyline (JP Keating, Carrie, Gia, Sabine, Shawn Stockman, Chyna, christian).

6. Layla’s sets: Layla has sets specifically for her( music studio, previous houses, her bedroom, rehab facility).

7. Glue of Girls’ Friendships: Layla is the glue of the girls friendships. Olivia, Coop, Patience and Jaymee are all closer to Layla.

8. Crossover Involvement: Layla has been part of the storylines in both AA and AAH. She has played a role in many of the crossover episodes (even when she wasn’t in the crossover episodes she was a topic of conversation).

9. Ongoing Beverly Hills Connections: She still has connections with all of the Beverly people. In season 5 Asher and Layla had a great friendship, Layla came up with the idea of the fundraiser for Jaymee and both Asher and Jaymee asked Layla for advice regarding their relationship. Also in season 5, she had several scenes and storylines with JJ.

10. Layla is part of the core four 😉- She is the best part of Jordan’s life and his future wife. She is Olivia’s best friend and Laura’s bonus baby. And even with their history she is still Spencer’s friend.

There ya go! We love Layla Keating here.

And even if we didn't, she's still a main character.

#all american #layla keating

[olivescales3]

Happy STS!

What recurring elements (character archetypes, themes, plotlines, worldbuilding etc.) appear over and over again in your writing, across multiple WIPs?

Thanks for the question!!

Unfortunately for me (and anyone who dislikes long posts) I guess, TFLOC has a lot, and I mean a lot of elements that fit under the criteria you mentioned. Prepare yourself! lol

Character archetypes

There are tons of character archetypes in TFLOC, as one of its themes is diversity. In the original material, Legends of Chima, most (if not all) of the tribes had certain personalities and archetypes depending on their species; ravens were all greedy, eagles were all smart, wolves were all cunning and etc. However, my webcomic's characters are going to be a lot more diverse and complex.

As to not spoil parts of TFLOC, I'll just write a bullet list of the archetypes recurring in the story (although there are way more than those listed).The names were taken off this website:

The Absent Mother; Addict; Anti-Hero; Backstabbing/Bad Friend; Believer; Benevolent Ruler; Childhood Friend; Con Artist; Deformed; Empath; Genius; God/Goddess; Innocent; Non-conformist; Monk; Predator; Patriarch; Peacemaker; Puppeteer.

Themes

My favorite part. LOC by itself has lots of themes that I'm going to emphasize in my webcomic; TFLOC, in its majority, throughout all chapters, have the themes of diversity, anti-war, pacifism, anti-racism, but also trauma, nature vs nurture, human nature and greed, drugs, war, discrimination, the issues with privilege, proverty, generalization and stereotypes, and [anti-]colonialism.

Plotlines

Plotlines... Honestly, all of them are about geopolitics surrounding Chima, but also how the world affects it. How the tribes coexist, the politics of each tribe and how they clash against one another, how Chi affects Chima's society. Everything that happens in TFLOC is because of how the world, and, consequently, the society as well, are. Real life is also like that; after all, TFLOC and LOC are an allegory to human society.

Worldbuilding

Recurring elements in worldbuilding are a little complicated to summarize, because I'm trying to make Chima a living land, with its own ecosystem, tribes and culture, physics and etc. I'd say that Chi is the most important part of TFLOC and LOC's worldbuilding, due to it shaping the technology, culture, behavior, and nature of the animals who consumed it. As more sneak peeks are released, the effect of Chi in the worldbuilding is going to become more obvious.

#writing #writeblr #writing asks #tfloc #the forgotten legends of chima #writers #writers of tumblr #legends of chima #writerblr #lego legends of chima #lego chima #writerscreed #writersociety #writers on tumblr