#they focused more on the plot and how many problems they could create

[bisexualbaker]

Crochet Pattern for Palestine and Israel Relief

At long last, it's done!

This crochet pattern is for small cats, of a good size to make into keychains, magnets, or even hair clips! There are six PDF versions available:

- US stitch names in 12 point Atkinson Hyperlegible - US stitch names in 22 point Atkinson Hyperlegible - US stitch names in 22 point Comic Sans

- UK stitch names in 12 point Atkinson Hyperlegible - UK stitch names in 22 point Atkinson Hyperlegible - UK stitch names in 22 point Comic Sans

Between those six options, that should cover most pattern accessibility needs. If you need something else, though, let me know! I'm prepared to offer a .doc or similar file on an individual basis if you need a screenreader to access crochet patterns, and have a sheet I can use to translate things to German stitch terms (though more in-depth instructions would still be in English). The pattern is worked primarily in (US) single crochet/(UK) double crochet, with the ears in (US) double crochet/(UK) treble crochet popcorn stitches, and is bundled with similar file options of a popcorn stitch tutorial PDF (no stitch names used).

"Socchan," you say, "These cats are super cute! And you said that this pattern is for charity? How does that work exactly?"

I'm glad you asked! Simply donate a minimum of $3 or close-enough local equivalent to a related charity, then take a screencap of your receipt/proof of donation. Block out any information that could doxx you; it's nice if you trust me, but it's not impossible that my email could get hacked, and I want you to be safe! Finally, email the altered screencap to socchan (at) protonmail (dot) com.

Once I get and check the screencap, I will email you back with a link to a MediaFire folder and the password you'll need to open the PDFs. Yes, it is a bit of a pain to need a password to open these files, but this was the simplest way I could figure out how to do things without needing to upload and send a minimum of six files to every person. Download as many of the variations as you want, keep a copy of the password somewhere safe (and don't delete the email with it), and go to town!

As a bonus, if you take your donation up to at least $5 (or close-enough local equivalent), I'll throw in an additional link and password for a very cute little flower pattern!

"That sounds pretty easy," you go on to say, "but where should I donate? There are so many options to choose from!"

No problem! Here's a couple of short lists of options that can help you narrow things down:

Palestine: Palestine Children's Relief Fund - Focuses on medical aid to children in Palestine Medical Aid for Palestine - "[H]elp MAP respond to the ongoing emergency in Gaza, as well as provide medical supplies, support healthcare services and deliver long term development to healthcare in the occupied Palestinian territory and Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon." MAP reportedly has a team on the ground in Gaza, providing critical medical aid. Anera - Providing food, hygiene kits, and medical care in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. Palestine Red Crescent - More medical support in Palestine; the rest of the webpage is in Arabic, so be prepared if you want to click around at all. Basically the Palestinian Red Cross. Gaza Cemetery Project - "Al-Hamdulillah, a ​​5,500 square meters’ piece of land has been secured to create a public cemetery for the city and neighbouring areas." This area still needs a fence to protect the burial plots before it can be used.

Israel: Zaka - A group of first responders and people who identify bodies and prepare them for burial (sadly, sorely needed right now); they are in need of safety equipment, medical supplies, first aid kits, and more. Red Magen David - The Israeli/Jewish equivalent of the Red Cross; first responder medical support and similar. (This one has some pretty immediate upsetting text, so take care!) Hatzalah - Similar to Red Magen David, another first responder and emergency medical group. The Koby Mandell Foundation - Focuses on bereavement aid in Israel for people who have lost loved ones in traumatic circumstances; they've got support hotlines and can arrange for support visits, among other things. The Refuser Solidarity Network - Providing support for Israeli citizens who refuse government mandatory military service.

I think that's everything, aside from: Please Signal Boost! If I end up having to send out two hundred emails in the next couple of days, that still won't be too many.

#signal boost #crochet #crochet pattern #israel #palestine #fundraiser #gaza #if you can't give much #or if you need to take out of your entertainment budget or something #but you still want to help #this is an option for you #id in alt text #now with a fixed typo!

[ladyluscinia]

I think they were so worried about not getting a season 3 they ruined both the viewers expecting one and the viewers who would've liked it to end there. they've created an easily destroyable status quo because of course something needs to happen to get everyone back together for season 3. so it's not even a happy ending; it's so fragile, it's designed to fall apart the second that anyone learns that the show is back on. i get not wanting to bank on having a third season and wrapping it up but like. Galavant did that and did it better. WITH THE HEROES RETIRING AND THE TWO MINUTE MARRIAGE CEREMONY TO BOOT. But it gave an outline of where the plot might go from there and how the adventure will continue if it gets to. And it never got to, and season 2's ending is good because it's not /fragile/--it's not a cliffhanger, but you get the idea that they could keep going from there still. whereas this one didn't want to be a cliffhanger so much that they created the most breakable new status quo in history and if there is a season 3 it'll immediately be undone and I'll probably still watch it but like I'll /know/, y'know? They could fix everything in the first episode of season 3 and I'd still have to know that at one point, this was considered an acceptable outcome.

The thing that is driving me absolutely insane is they DID NOT HAVE TO DO THIS!

There's so many people looking at it like "well it's a shame that 2x08 clearly had to cram several episodes into one for budget reasons and it made the development weaker but that's the situation MAX put them in" and I cannot emphasize enough how much that is not true.

MAX did not break it to them after episodes 2x01 - 2x07 were written and half filmed that they would have to wrap up the whole plot in 30 minutes. Like absolute worst case scenario they had 10 eps mostly written and budget came back 20% over and they had to reduce to 8 total. More likely they knew they were getting 8 from the start.

It is absolutely nobody's fuck up except David Jenkins and his writers' room if they were unrealistic about what character beats were needed and would fit in the timeframe to reach a satisfying wrap up.

Worries about no S3 were on the table the moment it took until JUNE to get confirmation of S2. This wasn't sprung on them. If they wanted their story to have a "just in case" happy ending and then a "fully realized arc" happy ending, they should have fucking acted like it???

I was shocked when the first three episodes that dropped were so hardcore on destroying Edward's relationships and laying bare exactly how deep his issues went. It only made sense to me if they were going all in on getting a S3 and prepared to spend all of S2 focused on the implications of all that, and then the not-even two week in-universe timeline of the season reinforced my understanding that was happening.

"Shame we don't have time for our main couple to even start addressing their relationship or having moments of self-realization and sharing their issues," says guy who decided to make the first half of S2 about adding more problems on top of well established ones from S1 and the second half of S2 about throwing in a second breakup cycle instead of dealing with the fallout from the first.

Want Edward to end on a beat of feeling part of the found family? Well maybe adding a timeskip after 2x05 and then a crew chat in 2x06 where you make it clear he did an apology tour offscreen could help, but you also could have just not focused hard on him poisoning his relationship with every single one of them in the first place???

There's multiple different ways you can do Act 2 of a three act structure, and they did not have to choose one that ends on another dark cliffhanger beat or right at the open ended turning point toward growth? Like they didn't even do the one they picked in a way they could fit in their season. I feel like by the end of a struggles Act 2 both your protagonists need to have self-realized their issues and maybe had one conversation about it? Edward still wasn't talking about his guilt, and Stede wasn't talking about anything.

They aren't even at the turning point of growth and out of the backsliding / lessons learned era yet, that's why potential S3 will start on another backslide when status quo breaks and Stede starts "that's nice, dear"-ing Edward during the day and slipping out at night to vicariously listen to pirate stories or whatever (and they frame it like he's cheating).

We have two out of three seasons in a show that might only get two, and I feel like the characters have barely moved from their starting position.

Like idk maybe they are really good at coming up with character flaws - ex: Stede is repressed and bottles up his traumas until he mentally checks out / runs away - and just drawing blanks on how to believably "fix" them, but just going "well what if we just used this flaw to throw another miscommunication roadblock in their relationship?" is not getting them where they want to be.

The season was fundamentally designed against their stated goal and did not make what seem to be necessary writing concessions to the reduced screentime if they wanted their finale to land as an even plausibly happy ending. It's hollow.

And possibly not even salvageable in S3 since they aren't demonstrating the skills to salvage it.

#our flag means death #ofmd s2 #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd 2x08 #david jenkins #ask #ladyluscinia #ofmd meta #ofmd critical

[yanderes-galore]

Hello, May I request a Cod Cold War ask? Specifically for Weaver x reader who’s part of the zombies strike team? I can imagine that they’re quick to figure out things (as you need to be for the Easter eggs) yet tough as they need to be? If not, I guess can I request Bell x reader (Bell may be hard to write for since they’re a player created character but I figured you do something cool with it!)

-MsPlacedHero

Ps, Chase loved the cookie I gave to him saying it was from you!

I'll try Bell as I'm a bit more familiar with them! Happy he liked the cookie even if it was a long time ago. Hope you enjoy :) Bell is referred to as They/Them as you did not specify what kind of Bell you wanted.

This is mostly rambling and may be short but it was me giving my view on the character and their potential. I wanted to explore it a bit so there's no real plot.

Yandere! Bell Concept/Overview

Pairing: Romantic/Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Mentioned self-aware behavior but not focused, General Bell thoughts, Stalking, Brainwashing, General yandere behavior, Character death, Dubious companionship.

Bell can be both interesting yet difficult to write so I will try to keep this rather general.

Bell could be difficult since their character is primarily meant for the player to insert themselves into.

They're meant to be so the player can interact with the story and feel like a part of it.

This would be difficult to try and convey, however, it opens many different possibilities.

Bell would be like a customizable yandere.

In a story you can pick and choose how you'd want Bell to be.

Bell would work even better in a "Self-Aware" story since they'd act as a host for the player and are extremely player dependent.

Your little puppet.

A reflection of you.

Overall Bell could really have any sort of yandere personality traits due to being a blank canvas.

You could see Bell as soft or someone who follows their darling like a puppy.

Maybe you could see them as a worship yandere.

Maybe you could see them as cruel, perhaps even prior to the brainwashing?

As a result, the darling is just as customizable.

You could be a part of the CIA or know Bell prior to the brainwashing.

There's a lot of potential.

The things is, how to write Bell is you'd need to be specific.

That's why I'm mostly just looking over the character.

Honestly my favorite ideas may be the Self-Aware one and Bell with a fellow CIA agent.

The Self-Aware one is self explanatory, I mentioned it before.

But the CIA agent one could also be fun to explore.

You know you shouldn't get attached or involve yourself with Bell.

They've been brainwashed with MK-ULTRA to find out info on Perseus.

That's all, afterwards they may just be tossed away.

For now they just need to be alive until the mission is finished and over.

However, Bell appears to have some sort of adoration for you one way or another.

Maybe somewhere in their memories they seem to recall you being important to them.

It's most likely a fabricated memory to coax more information out of them, but it works.

How Bell deals with such information could vary.

They may follow you around, they may be overly protective/clingy, they could be possessive, they could be any number of things.

They don't understand why you never like being around them.

Truthfully you either don't care or don't want to be attached.

Either way, Bell would want to treat you more than a "comrade".

They either see you as a close friend they "fought alongside" or maybe even a lover.

They have no idea you and Adler just need them for information.

Bell may most likely be "gotten rid of" before they become too much of a problem for you due to their obsession.

If they are a softer and more docile yandere, it feels horrible to know Adler did them in.

If they are rougher and more intense, it may feel like a relief when they're gone.

Player created characters like Bell have potential to be interesting once you have traits decided.

Unfortunately as a result I can't really assign Bell any definitive yandere behavior for them.

They seem like a puppet, a husk, meant to follow orders due to all of the brainwashing.

Regardless... a blank slate character can still have endless potential if you have a plot to work with.

No two Bell stories would be the same, essentially.

Bell is a wild card when it comes to their darling.

Which can mean they're a dangerous yandere if you think about it.

#yandere call of duty #yandere call of duty cold war #yandere cod #yandere cod cold war #yandere cod bell

[mdhwrites]

Do you think it's a bit odd how muddy the premise of TOH is?

I can sum up the premise of other similar shows I've watched in one sentence to any hypothetical viewer going in blind. SU: A chubby boy struggles to master his own power, identity, and goodness while navigating complex family dynamics, old wounds, and sick sci-fi technomagic. Amphibia: Three girls search for each other, stretch their friendship to its limits, and find a way back home in a wacky land populated by amphibians. She-Ra: An imperialist soldier turned rebel fights to free her homeland from occupation whilst struggling with the unique bond she shares with her frenemy.... etc!

I'm just not sure what I could say for TOH. A girl runs away from home to be mentored by a wild witch? But she doesn't really get mentored, and she didn't exactly run away either (she just... didn't go home until it was too late.) A girl leaves her home dimension to enroll in a magic school - hm, but that wasn't really something she super duper cared about, it was just part of the witch gimmick for her.

What else?? A human enters a land of witches, only to discover sinister scheming from the only other human to genocide - which - he's 400-ish too, so, uh, that proves that... colonialism... um.. religion... Let's restart. A human enters witchland and discovers things are not as they seem - no, things are pretty much as they seem-

A closeted girl is thrust into a new world in which she can be herself, and catches the eye of a popular rich girl? Hey, that's not too bad, except it ignores a whole lot of other shit that went down.

How about: A girl enters a wacky land that fulfills her dream of living a fantasy to a T, including the unpleasant parts of the genre.

...Yeah, I guess that's the closest I'm getting. Anyway, what d'you think about TOH's premise? Is it clear to you?

So when I bring up that TOH has a split personality problem, this is what I'm talking about. It effectively is trying to tell three different stories, with three different tones. Any one would be good on its own. Any two would need some finesse but they had plenty of time. All three? Well, even disregarding time constraints, you would have had to be really smart in mixing all three elements in order to make something cohesive as keeping them all separate for longer would simply create the same problem as keeping them apart for a short time does.

And TOH doesn't even fucking try. The literal only element that consistently ties all three story ideas together is Luz. I'll get into it more in a second but this is part of why when you pitch the show to someone, you kind of just have to focus the entire description on Luz in one way or another. To mention any of the other elements causes you to inherently imply one is more important than the others and TOH never chose anything to prioritize.

But of course, what were the three stories trying to be told and with what tones? And I'll talk about how it handles each of them weaving into one another once I've just established a baseline for each.

Well, first we have the slice of life, comedy, coming of age story that is Luz, Eda, King and Lilith. Especially in S1, most hijinks with them are focused around blunt morality, hijinks and just dealing with a problem of the day. It is the most bluntly kid's show of any of them, adopting a lot of the tone of Amphibia. This is why we get so many B plots with King that are the same thing over and over again. It's why Lilith and Eda are on opposite sides of the law but they don't fight until the end but instead are just nice, silly sisters here for hijinks. It's also part of why Lilith is made into a joke in S2 because that is more keeping in line with the tone of this storyline than if she were to actually what happened to her seriously and mixed in with:

The second is a fantasy epic about the corruption of a world by hate and prejudice. Of one man's corrupted beliefs of religion and want for control ruining a land. It is a much darker toned story, meant to reflect the horrors of the real world and its prejudices. This is the plot of Belos and Hunter. It is also the plot that is the smallest part of TOH but should have been the most omnipresent due to how so much of it is tied strictly into the worldbuilding. A lack of world building easily makes this sort of story, like most dystopians, fall completely apart. It also is the one that requires the most adherence to it as conflicting elements makes this story feel all the weaker each time someone treats this existential threat as nothing to be worried about.

The third is the most obvious: The school drama/romance story. This one is probably the one actually trying to be the most concise due to how almost every element for a season and a half of this plot is dedicated just to the weird girl/serious girl romance. It's a classic and one I've iterated on multiple times myself as it's just a fun concept to handle.

So there you go. Three ideas that are each on their own a good story but have their own complications. Each one of these could have easily taken two seasons to properly explore and tell. With more efficient storytelling, any of them could have taken a single season or less.

But then you get the exponential problem of mixing them together. Because mind you, tonally you have a comedy slice of live, a romantic drama, and a dark epic. Those are VASTLY different genres for each tonally and in narrative intent.

The easiest combo is actually the first and second. This is actually what Amphibia is effectively. The show starts in a somewhat isolated part of the world so its lighter tone can not contrast with the darker epic that is to come, giving it a safe space for character development, relationships, etc. Then with each threat, it gets a little more serious with its tone. There's a reason Hop Pop buries the box in S1 but the confrontation about what that means isn't until S2. There's a reason why S3B of Amphibia is MARKEDLY more serious than anything that came before it. The strength of this combo is that when the darker elements show up, the contrast of what came before makes them hit all the harder and makes you care about the stakes.

So what about how TOH handles it? Well, Lilith and Eda are theoretically a blend of the two but Lilith is never treated quite seriously enough. Also, rather than it being ideological, it comes across more personal with those two and it kind of leaves Belos out of it for the entirety of the first season, especially due to how wishy washy the show is about the covens being a big deal. Then in S2, Lilith absolutely SHOULD be the connective tissue. Her and Luz share a similar anger towards Belos and the two acting on that anger is a way to show that hate in any form is destructive, playing on the grander themes of the epic side of it while bringing in The Owl Family.

Instead, Lilith is just kind of flicked away, rendering any connective tissue from S1 to just evaporate, especially as no one actually seems to have cared about Belos almost murdering Eda. Rather, Raine is the connective tissue for the two plotlines. You know, the character who never gets to meaningfully interact with Luz or King, nor actually has a role in potentially pulling Luz to different ways of learning like Lilith might have, meaning they don't interact with the mentor side either. Even in their first episode, Raine is entirely self contained away from the other two. Eda and King's closest contribution to the plot before S3 is honestly in trying to get info out of Warden Wrath and that's really it. Otherwise, they're entirely divorced from Belos, his philosophy and his machinations.

So next easiest combo: The grand epic mixed with the school setting. This is how you get things like S3 of RWBY, My Hero Academia or Harry Potter (Though HP sucks dick at it too because good old Joanne sucks both at being a good person and actually writing anything serious.) The school setting is used as a kind of safe space for drama, romance and teenage shenanigans while the dark elements allow those things to come to a fever pitch as well as a way to test the bonds made at school versus the grand threat's hate and evil. It's hard to make smooth though, if the fact that I listed two things with... questionable plot writing to put it mildly isn't indicative. It at least has been done before. Oh, Naruto pre-Shippuden could possibly also be counted as this.

And TOH mixes these two by... Hunter? That really is the closest it ever comes to mixing them. The school is easily the part that obliterates taking Belos' regime or themes seriously as it constantly, CONSTANTLY undermines the worldbuilding of the show and struggles to actually feel like a part of the grander society. None of the Hexside Squad members ever properly face what being a wild witch or ditching the coven system actually means after all. Amity literally treats it as something that will mildly disappoint her parents but isn't a big deal.

So all you really have is Sport in a Storm and Labyrinth Runners as at least those episodes are using the school setting to give Hunter a chance to make friends and become a better person, theoretically, and he's important to the epic storyline so that kind of counts. If you REALLY want to stretch it, Eclipse Lake is another point of crossover before all three plotlines are mashed together starting at Clouds on the Horizon but the only justification there is that Amity is from the school stuff, though it's closer to fitting the tone and tropes of the mentor's storytelling than that of the school's.

But that is still three... In almost 38 episodes.

The last one is easily the most awkward and the one I don't have examples for: Mixing the Mentor and School plotlines. It's actually pretty easy to see why this would be hard. Both are about teaching the main character but in different ways. I think you could claim some works have done this by having a specific teacher be the primary teacher/mentor for the main character while the school is just where that mentor is accessed.

So how does TOH mix the-

Error 404.

Huh...

I'm not over exaggerating that much. Besides Teenage Abomination, VERY WEAKLY, the two never actually mix. Eda comes to Hexside once. King interacts with the Hexside kids a couple times but always in episodes or B plots that are much closer to the silly slice of life stuff than anything trying to mix the two tones. Even when it does, you get Really Small Problems where neither story is progressed and it all feels bad. Remember the closest that Eda comes to ever being a part of fixing a school problem is in Understanding Willow where she's just a spell dispenser before then being an idiot for Gus. It doesn't make her look better or play with any of the themes. The next closest is during The First Day where she is isolated entirely in her own plot so it's not actually mixing it besides the fact that Eda is at the school.

And for all three?

Well... I think the best way to point this out is that the best example of all three plots coming together is Edric deciding to expand his knowledge of magic. He actively chooses to reject what society has told him, tries a new method endorsed by the mentor figure but does at least acknowledge that his old schooling didn't prepare him for it. It's not strong and it's still hamstringing the epic storyline because he's already practicing two types of magics and so is mostly just nervous about being any good at this but it's SOMETHING.

But otherwise? The three shall never meet. Even once Clouds on the Horizon happens, they never meet. Eda literally never spends time with the Hexside Squad, especially as a whole. King is barely a part of the mentor stuff by then and is purely in the Epic territory and he's still not interacting much with them. Even in the final episode, the Hexside members are entirely on their own while Luz, Eda and King properly take out Belos, rather than everyone trying to protect Luz or having to fight by her side.

This sequestering of characters, themes, plotlines, etc. causes the show to waste a LOT of time and never have a proper focus. You never know what the point to a scene is because what it's serving is unclear, if it's serving anything at all. The show, by the end, can still have cut Amity and Hexside out entirely and lost literally nothing except much of what made the fandom engage with the show. And a reminder: Disney SUGGESTED Hexside. Dana said yes. It wasn't forced on her.

And that fits the show's entire storytelling ethos. It never feels like it is actually focusing on a single point. Instead, individual episodes will present interesting ideas or statements that immediately conflict or need to be retconned by other episodes because nothing is properly congruent. It is all conflicting against each other because each part is acting entirely independent of the rest.

It is an ever growing leviathan but rather than bringing in more of what is around it to make it stronger, it only ever hurts itself more and more as the details that once shone on its surface are made murky and unclear by all it has piled upon it until there is nothing but a rancid sludge. Unclear, unfocused and hard to describe except in the most blunt way possible. So what is the most blunt way to describe TOH?

The only factor that gets to cross all three storylines: Luz. So the only way to describe the show is "A story of a teenage girl going into a fantasy story." What type of fantasy story? Who knows. The writers didn't seem to after all so why should we?

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

#the owl house criticism #toh critical #toh #the owl house

[andreal831]

I loved your answer about the Bennetts and it makes me curious how you feel about how the originals show handles/barley mentions them

Honestly relieved.

Let's be honest, The Originals didn't handle POC characters any better than TVD did. So I know they would have handled it just as poorly. Don't even get me started on how the show treated Marcel and Vincent or any of the many women of color they killed off for the plot.

Now in reality (if the show was real), the Bennetts would have been all over New Orleans. The show really said the Bennetts were in the Americas before Europe had even invaded and then pretended that the Bennetts didn't have ties to nearly every coven in North America. We know they were focused in Salem until they were run out and found their way to Mystic Falls. But we also know they are often not found together and we see them in so many cities, so it would make sense that they would have ties to most of the covens. Especially in a city like New Orleans that is flooded with magic. The Bennetts would have found their way there at some point.

The Mikaelsons also have a long history with the Bennetts so even if the the Bennetts hadn't already been in New Orleans, I would think the Mikaelsons would have dragged them into their drama at some point. Now I could see the Bennett witches fleeing the city as soon as the Mikaelsons landed knowing they only bring pain to witches. But if the Bennetts had been there, they likely would have prevented the Mikaelsons from settling.

There were so many times throughout The Originals that they were stumped and the audience was yelling at the characters because Bonnie already solved these problems in TVD. Now I don't compare witch powers because the show is so inconsistent with power level that I don't think it's possible, but Bonnie was a powerful witch who would have been incredibly useful. A witch whom the Mikaelsons were all very aware of.

A couple of moments where I was expecting Bonnie to get dragged in or at least mentioned:

When Hope was sent with Rebekah. They said she was cloaked by a witch but the Mikaelsons didn't have a witch in the family yet. Who would they have trusted to do it? Who would be powerful enough to make the New Orleans coven/Esther unable to track her? I could see Klaus calling Bonnie up with all kinds of threats to cloak Hope.

When Freya was in the chambre and Hayley was trying to bring them back. She mentions she had a witch but doesn't name one. This would have been an easy moment to mention the Bennetts. After all, Hayley knows Bonnie and could have tried to plead with her to help. She could have at least started there.

The most ridiculous moment is at the end when they die to kill the Hollow, like Bonnie hasn't been creating worlds to trap souls in for years. Bonnie and Freya would have been a cool team-up moment at the end to save the day.

I do think it would be hard to explain why Bonnie was willing to help them at any point, but that goes for any witch. None of them wanted to help the Mikaelsons but did so for various reasons.

TVD created this long history of Bennett witches that constantly interacted with the Original family and yet were not mentioned once throughout their show. It just made no sense.

I don't ship Bonnie with any of the Mikaelsons for many reasons but I think it would have been such a good story to see her come to New Orleans and interact with Marcel, Davina, Vincent, etc. I think they would have welcomed her in as a fellow Mikaelson-anti and I really wanted to see Bonnie with more witch friends. They could have taught each other so much.

But personally, I wanted Bonnie and Enzo to leave the MFG behind and start their own life. I could see Bonnie bringing her distant relatives together and finally creating a home for the Bennett coven. She deserved that way more than continuing to get tied up in the vampire drama.

Thanks for asking! Bonnie is one of my favorite TVD characters and I don't talk about her nearly enough.

#bonnie bennett #bennett witches #bennett coven #tvdu #the originals #tvd #the mikaelsons #the vampire diaries #metas #fandom answers #tvd anon ask #fandom asks #anon ask

[springbloggy]

I was thinking about my beautiful ask with sitcom anon earlier, and came to a realization. Every "lore show" from the 2010s follow the same structure.

Each lore show follows this structure, give or take:

Child from another world, usually a girl, finds themselves in other world that's different to them.

(In the case of Steven Universe, it's a group of grown adults going to different world)

The character makes friends in the other world and over time and others from the world they came from also come into the new world as well.

A darker, seedier thing starts to pop up, bringing up a bigger mystery. As it turns out this cheerful, happy world is darker than it first appeared.

Then a big twist happens, the unexpected villain(s) reveal themselves, or perhaps a character had a shadier past than expected. Whatever the case, things are now in dark territory, and the main character and their friends are expected to fight them.

Then rushed ending cause they didn't think farther than the mystery. Star Vs. ends with the implications every magic character died, Steven Universe ends with a whimper bland note, Amphibia ends with one of the most controversial endings in Disney history. Really the only show here that got an ending that wasn't controversial or sparked defense within the fandom in some way is Owl House.

That isn't saying that following a basic plot structure such as this is a bad thing. Many stories follow a similar plot structure to each other. Heck this exact plot structure can be seen in Deltarune, which I consider a great story. So why then do I contest this so much? Let's count the ways.

Lack of pre-planning

Most of these stories lack the proper planning to land their mysteries. Many of these shows end in weak ways. Regardless of how a person feels about the endings of these shows individually, there was a great sign all over the internet that I saw of multiple people being disappointed by how these shows ended. By focusing more on the buildup to the mystery and the dark elements and not focusing on creating a satisfying story, many of these shows probably ended up having to create an ending on the spot when the time came for the shows to end, leaving disappointed fans and waste of time.

Deltarune, a game with a similar structure, already has its ending preplanned. In fact, its the inspiration for the games entire existence. While writing around an ending is odd, it shows the extra care to make the ending work by making the characters and stories compelling enough on their own without the ending having to overshadow everything. While predicting the ending and mysteries is fun, it is not the main focus of the game's story and shouldn't be.

Similarly, early FNAF had mysteries, but the games told a clear enough story about children getting revenge over their killer that the mysteries didn't matter too much.

Even fnaf 4, being as confusing with its mysteries as it was on release, told a compelling story of a terrified boy gaining nightmares of his favorite cartoon characters and ultimately dying to one of the animatronics.

VS. modern fnaf games where the games story is built around telling as much mysteries as possible over pre planning a good story, that it leaves the games a confusing mess. The best example is the mimic, where no one can decide if Afton is possessing it somehow, if it is not possessed by Afton, but a child, if it is not possessed at all and is just mimicing Afton, etc. Problems that all could have been solved had the story been pre-planned well in advance to clear up what was happening with the Mimic as early as possible.

2. Lack of variety

Many of these shows follow the same story beats with lack of subversion or differences, many of them also seemingly star in a the same type of location, just with a different "flavor". Star Vs. is Steven Universe with magic instead of space. Amphibia is Star Vs. but with frogs. The Owl House is Amphibia but without the alternate universe stuff and also gay people. Once you see the same story so many times, it becomes bland no matter what you do to make it different.

The 80s are a decade infamous for being bland, with cheaply animated shows meant to advertise toys. Yet all these toy advertising shows manage to have more variety than any of the popular shows from the 2010s. You have a show about robots protecting Earth, a show about ponies going on magical adventures, a show about bears who come to earth to help cheer up people, a show about a boy going into his favorite video game worlds, and more. Despite having the same purpose, to sell a specific toy, they all have such different environments, meanings, and genres from each other.

While the 2010s shows all have the same purpose, to teach about kindness (at least that's the general vibes I get), yet they all have the same genres, similar settings, and similar problems. Instead of building off the mistakes of one show and improving on them with a different setting, story, and message, each show chooses to steal each other's homework. Amphibia being the most overt example, with it putting Steven Universe's anime influences on it's sleeve and making a full on super-saiyan scene.

There's a certain point where it goes from being nice homages to other work you love to being derivative.

3. Lack of critique

People want to defend these shows because they are shows that they spent good amounts of time of analysis and interest watching. I can't persuade someone to dislike these shows, as everyone has different tastes. But I find it odd these shows can't be critiqued in the same way other media has been in the last decade. People are now critiquing the amount of superhero movies, how most animated movies in the 2010s had a twist villain of some sort, how Harry Potter has the most racist subtext ever. Yet, once you even glance at Star Vs., for example, you can't say a word? It's just a strange double standard I've noticed.

Ironically the want for people to see art "as a true art form" has people not treating it as a true art form by not critiquing it.

Conclusion

I am sure with the right amount of pre-planning, following good story structure, and respect to the audience a show with this structure could provide a good story.

Owl House has a big fandom and positive reception, and while I've personally hadn't had the interest to watch, I am sure a lot of why is that the show does handle this plot structure well. The fact the ending has not been contested in the same way other show endings have been prove that in a way, it can work.

But you can't just have one plot for every show forever, you need a variety of entertainment, or else things go stale.

In the 90s, many animators got sick of the corporate 80s and began making weird, offbeat shows, like the Rugrats. The 2010s, no matter how much people don't want to admit it, are a return to 80s sentimentality, but worse. All the work people did to make animation new, exciting, and different in the 90s got undone by people making the same show 5 times.

2020s, while sparse at first glance, are so much more interesting in terms of variety. A show about a girl and her ghost friend, fish out of water with a country family in a big city, a girl must save the world from robots, all within the same network. While there's a rise in reboots and its sad there's overall less animation coming out of the big networks, I feel like the future of animation and the variety it may bring is vastly more interesting than the 2010s.

#springy thoughts #long post #my fingers hurt

[tavshortfortavern]

Isekai!Tav Plot Bunnies

Origins of Humans.

Earth being a canon place in Forgotten Realms lore as another plane birthed a lot of ideas. I thought it was really convenient for any isekai plots but now it makes me wonder of the world. Specifically humans on Earth and those in Faerun. Cuz how did that happen. In DND humans do not have clear origins or a 'creator deity'' like dwarves or elves. Storytelling-wise, this is up to the DM and writers but that means my plot bunnies could be true. Humans came from Earth. Earth could be the origins of humanity.

I did some reading and found that mages from this place called the Imaskari Empire opened portal to this 'other world' and kidnapped humans to be slaves. The places these kidnapped humans came from were described to be similar to those on earth like Egypt or Mesopotamia. The mages closed those portals and put wards to prevent future gates for a very long time (Gates from Earth to Toril used to be common thats why its called Forgotten Realms) Not forever or permanently. Just a long time. It would make sense for those wards to wane after so much time and that's how a Tav would stumble into Faerun from modern earth.

I'm inclined to think Earth is the original home as Faerun has no clue how humans came about, even humans but on our world we have plenty of creation stories and myths, a lot of which mimics the other. Granted even we can't all agree which is the one true origin but we we have them. It also makes sense for humans, who are known for traveling and being able to thrive wherever they wish (even when its not ideal or possible) to be in different worlds. They're just so short-lived they wouldn't remember ancient times.

So Tav ends up in Faerun and becomes an adventurer for a time before getting tadpoled. They keep being from another world a secret. Through the course of the adventure they learn of the wards preventing gates being opened to their world, which is an issue if they want to head back. The more they delve into this they slowly piece together ancient, ancient history and realize the truth. This might be a chance to involve earth dieties. There are so many dieties and pantheon on earth compared to Fearun. Someone pointed out how many goddesses of magic there are and it hasn't left me. So maybe earth had magic at some point of its gone now?

There might also be how different Tav's soul could be. Someone else mentioned in Faerun, souls are created by the gods so an isekai Tav soul could be different being from earth. It could come with its advantages but drawbacks. Such as resurrection and dying. But the gods on Faerun might not be able to do anything with that Tav either, escaping a lot of divine retribution if they decide to meddle and be rude. Maybe Ao doesn't want them here bc they would disrupt everything but can't do anything since they're soul is not from here and what if the earth gods have a problem? They're kinda outnumbered.

This is just me but I have fun thinking of Tav not just from earth but a more futuristic version. I'm a fan of medieval fantasy meets scifi. Being a world without magic means humanity is focused on advancing technology and it shows. A normal isekai Tav is already chaffing at the lack of modern comforts but a futuristic Tav is trying so hard not to make faces at this 'backwards' society.

Idk this has been stuck with me for a whole

#bg3 tav #plot bunnies #gonna expand more on isekai tav #since i just watched an isekai anime i got inspired

[dnalt-d2]

My Thoughts on the Purgatory Finale as a Whole

So it's been a few hours since the event ended and I think I have my thoughts sorted out for the most part

I had a lot of trouble pinning down what I thought about this for a little while, and focused more on the smaller details instead of the whole thing

And for me, the resolution to the whole thing (this event) feels kinda empty. I think a way a lot of people would put it is that it felt anticlimactic, but that's not quite how I'd word it. I liked the climax, it was tense, suspenseful, exciting, etc. But it's what came after for me that feels like the problem

And that's that this event felt like it was supposed to be a resolution. But it wasn't. Everyone went through all this, these two weeks, and the months that came before, doing everything in their power to find answers and get their eggs back, and we just don't have anything. There's no answers, we only got ONE egg, and we don't even know if he made it off the island safely. None of this feels resolute.

And I get that was probably the point. I still stand by that whatever was gonna happen here today was gonna happen no matter what, with maybe a change of which egg got saved (but considering the hard stop we got on 7 when Phil spun it, and when Tina spun the wheel by accident, it landed on 7 again, I think Dapper was always gonna be the one saved as well)

This is supposed to be one of those cliffhanger endings I guess, but I think it would've been better to end it here. At least regarding the fate of the eggs. Tell us if they lived or if they died, but don't just leave it hanging like that

Because I feel like a LOT of QSMP is spent setting things up and at this point, they've just set TOO many things up without resolving them. You can only have so many loose threads at a time, something has to be wrapped up eventually

(And yeah, I get that's just something that happens when you have this many people each creating their story and their own thread, that's just how it goes)

Now for all I know, literally every problem I had could be fixed by tomorrow, in less than twelve hours, and I'll eat my words if that happens, I'll devour them freaking whole

But we still have so many unanswered questions. I wanna have faith in the admins and writers though, and hope that this is something that was meant to be like this. Because I get the struggles of writing, and while this might have felt like a Season Finale to us, it could have just been a single plot point in the overall story, and we might not have even REACHED any Season Finale yet. We just can't know right now

So yeah, that's my thoughts on it, I'm incredibly excited to see where everything goes from here, but at this moment specifically, I'm mostly just...Thinking, still. I guess. My writer brain is still trying to figure out what this whole thing was, and I'm just drawing a blank

Guess we'll see what happens tomorrow

Let's hope we can enjoy the island

#Maybe later I'll go off on all the little things I was enjoying during this #Like Phil nearly destroying his wings to save Tubbo #Fit only managing to save Bagi because Tina told her to turn on her location so she could find her #Everyone desperately trying to reach their eggs even when the literal world was falling and crumbling around them #Lots of things to think about #Lots of things to talk about #qsmp #qsmp purgatory #qsmp bolas #qsmp soulfire #q!phil #q!philza #qsmp eggs

[trickstarbrave]

exploring elder scrolls lore is a lot like playing historian and theologian. its interesting, complex, and contradictory in ways many media tries and fails to create realism. it is told primarily through unreliable narrators, in game texts that contradict each other as much as they agree, with varying opinions and perspectives you are tasks to sort through and come to your own conclusion on often enough. sure, skyrim drops the ball sending you on infinite annoying fetch quests and plots that feel like they dont even effect the world around you and killing a god has about the same weight as getting a cool sword, but there is still some meat behind the bland surface they couldn’t quite scrape out despite their best efforts.

the problem with it i find, like most fantasy stories and epic tales, is that is male focused.

“but brave” people cry “female characters do things all the time!” this is true, we do actually have more substantial female characters in the elder scrolls who are just as important as their male counterparts. sure their male counterparts are usually not important at all, but there is equality in there. and you can be bi presumably because bethesda couldnt figure out how to code any other sexuality in the game. but what i mean by “male focused” is that most of the lore and mythos we get concerns male heroes, battles, and war. there are politics sure, but mostly things like religion and battles. the importance of textiles is never considered, different cuisines are afterthoughts, fashion is relegated mostly to armor and cheap trinkets for you to enchant. if it does not exist to further grand tales of combat, is largely ignored, and this is increasingly more and more the norm in the elder scrolls.

it isnt entirely non-existent. if you go looking you can find bits and pieces. but most things presumed to be “women’s work” are largely ignored despite making up most of daily life. weaving isn’t a skill you can learn when historically we do see people wear armor made of linen, but you can sure mine and melt down metal, something also mundane and usually boring, because blacksmithing and mining are seen as a traditionally masculine jobs. so saying “ugh no one wants to spin thread” doesn’t exactly hold up when its equally as boring to make dozens of iron ingots and iron daggers to level up smithing.

it’s also just a shame because (and this is touched upon more in older games at least) what clothes people wear can tell a lot about their culture, background, and class. it could be used for stealth, for blending in, and if you are dressed incorrectly you look like and are treated like an outsider. how food varies region by region shows what food they have available to them, what they produce, what goods are more expensive, and also can talk about background and class. riften and solitude should not be eating largely the same food just with different mead. nor should they be mostly dressed the same. these things add richness and complexity to a world that is now largely ignored because who gives a shit just pick up a weapon and fight that’s all that really matters.

skyrim in lore has sheep. of course it does, because they live in a cold climate with a limited growing season, they have devote more time for crops to feed their people and not on textile crops like you might see in warmer climates with longer growing seasons. yet you dont see any sheep, just goats. you don’t see shepherds, or hear about them. you dont see piles of wool, or women spinning thread by the fire or weaving. you don’t see them dyeing yarn or fabric or sewing clothes. even if you don’t want to make your player do it as a game mechanic you could have it be present in the world as a logical part of the setting just as you have npcs working in fields. instead clothes just magically appear in chests and other loot cabinets and are relatively worthless except to enchant despite fabric being a very expensive, labor intensive product to make. it just pops into existence anonymously, largely unimportant and uninteresting. they always say very little, and mean nothing unless you want to play dress up or enchant for a spell caster.

it’s not like the designers have never had to think about these things before. they have, at least subconsciously. fabric is still very clearly heavy and wool. it contains classic pop culture “viking” imagery (including some that are uhhhh very not historically accurate like men wearing women’s broaches), but that’s about it. why they dress like this is unanswered. how their ancestors dressed isn’t really important. how they vary from location to location is also not important, because large swaths of land obvious wear and eat the exact same thing, that’s why there is no regional food or styles of dress across all of europe /sarcasm

anyways throw a dog a fucking bone every now and then i am tired of constantly looking for lore that isnt about fighting and killing and breaking shit. what did they wear and why, how did jewelry evolve, what dyes do they have accessible to them and how rare are they, fabric weaving, gossiping, give me it back so the world feels slightly more alive. 

[csprslvt]

you and i, and her. pt.14

Chapter 13.

Summary: Reaching the beginning of the end, Ellie looks for Nora and comes back with a part of herself left behind in that hospital. Reader does her best to comfort her and finally hates Abby for what shes done to the girl she once knew.

Warnings: mentions of violence and blood. I have writers block and you can tell lol, panic attacks, hurt/comfort

Jesse had settled onto a couch, he was in bad shape. Exhausted out of breath, in wet clothes and injured. You tended to his wounds while Ellie sat on the floor with the map, a grimace on her face as she searched for answers in its many lines and figures. You could practically see the gears turning in her head, wondering where the next lead would be, where Tommy was, where Abby was. She was a force to be reckoned with. And at times like this, you could feel her pulling away from you into another world. A world created when Joel was killed, a world of pain and traumatizing sights. A world where for once, she couldn't save him. 

You wondered if you could save her from falling too deep into this revenge plot. Would the effects of it all take away Ellie, your Ellie? What would happen then?

Jesse’s concerned eyes connected with yours and the sudden eye contact brought you back. You finished patching him up and sat up, brushing off your damp clothes. 

“Thanks y/n.” he offered you a smile and you tried to return it.

“Of course, get some rest.” he nodded and walked off into another room, looking for a couch to rest on.

You took the opportunity to sit by Ellie, watching until she acknowledged you. Eventually she did look up from the map, her features softened a bit when you reached over and brushed her hair behind her ear.

“Hey babe.” she spoke softly, as if recovering from being lost in thought which was highly likely considering how focused she was a moment ago.

“Hi Els.” you called her affectionately, “Anything good?”

“Uhm well, there's a few other places they could be. There's a hospital and an aquarium.”

You knew exactly what Ellie was talking about from your time in the WLF Abby and Owen were often stationed at the aquarium while Nora was at the hospital. Now this was an actual issue, you wanted to go with Ellie but if you did, every truth would unwind the moment you were recognized. You managed to avoid it before but Nora knew you, Abby knew you. You wondered about your reputation in the WLF. If you seeked out Abby by yourself and told her you no longer could be stuck on her would that change a thing? Or would Ellie automatically see you as a traitor?

“Jesse’s in bad shape.” You brought him up, hoping to be an excuse to stay somewhere that wouldn't cause problems for you. Ellie nodded, taking the bait.

“Yea, you should… stay here with him. I want to find Abby. And I wanna do it now.”

“You're leaving right now?”

“They could be gone if I don't. I need to go.”

You took Ellie in, watching her movements, her shoulders rising and falling, her freckles, her green eyes, her auburn hair. Soaking her in as much as you could as if to take a photograph with memory. Wanting to savor the moments with her if something happened while she was out. You reached out and grabbed Ellies hand, holding it like a lifeline. 

“You come back safe.”

She smiled and leaned forward,tilting to the side and gently kissing your lips for a moment.

“I will.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.” She said, giving your hand a light squeeze before separating from you.

She was gone that night, when you settled to sleep she crawled in beside you for a few minutes, holding you and doting on you as if she wouldn't see you again. The thought of that scared you more than words could explain. But it prepared you to be alone, and for that you were a little bit grateful. When you fell asleep she kissed your cheek one last time before getting up and leaving. 

She didnt return for 10 hours. For 10 hours you sat, waiting and waiting and waiting. Until you were a familiar knock on the door.

You opened the door without hesitation.

“Ellie.” you said her name like a prayer, pulling her into your arms. She was covered in blood, dazed and shaking.

“Christ.” Jesse mumbled

“Are you okay?” you asked, she only nodded, with a lost look in her eyes.

“Is that your blood?” Jesse asked, after that you have him a look that said “Shut up” and he stopped talking. 

Ellie walked in, she was trembling and breathless, she seemed smaller as if she was an abandoned child.

“She is hiding out in this aquarium.” 

You looked at Ellie, the furrow in her eyebrows seemed almost permanent, as if she was stuck in this pained expression. She was hurting.

“Okay…” you spoke softly, as if not to scare her. Ellie didn't look at you once, she stared downwards. She was stuck in a headspace she desperately needed to be pulled out of.

“Let's get you cleaned up Els, c’mon.” You lead her to the bathroom, sitting her down and grabbing a wet washcloth. As she sat, she subconsciously rocked back and forth. She was trying to self soothe. And it wasn't working.

“Arms up, Els.” You whispered, helping her take her shirt off. The sight of her broke your heart. Bloody, bruised, scratched up. You sat behind her, facing her back, washing away every blood stain, cooling every aching, burning muscle. When she seemed to be struggling even more, you wrapped your arms around her bare body, pulling her into your chest. She gripped tightly onto your arm and leaned into you entirely. 

Then it hit you, that you hated Abby, you hated that she had indirectly and directly made Ellie into this frail, fragile girl. The same one who appeared in the early days of Joel's death, crying in her bed as you consoled her.

You kissed her shoulders, her neck and her hair softly. Only to comfort her further.

“I don't wanna lose you.” she spoke, barely audible.

The sound of her voice, shattered you inside. You were overwhelmed by the urge to love her and keep her safe. To keep this part of her and heal it.

“I’m right here. I will always be right here.” You responded,trying to alleviate her fears. Because it was true, even when she left you, you would always be right there.

You stayed there for a bit before taking off your hoodie and putting it on her, zipping her up and taking her to a couch big enough for the both of you. You grabbed a sleeping bag and used it as a blanket. This time, she was in your arms. Her body's weight resting on yours,her head on your chest while you stroked and kissed her hair. Shushing and mumbling;

“You're okay. I got you, you're okay, it's okay Ellie.” 

She fell asleep with tears in her eyes, she hid her face in your neck, but you could feel her crying. You didn't say anything after that, simply holding her through the night was what she needed, so it was exactly what you gave.

#ellie tlou2 #ellie x reader #eventual smut #fem reader #the last of us 2 #gaming #ellie williams #abby x reader #abby anderson #angst

[kurisus]

Chapter 106 thoughts

not many but I must banish the Mind Gnats so here we go

I'm still being a Hiyori and Sakura meeting truther. Maybe Hiyori is taking a little nap so she can see her in her dreams like last time :) this is fine :)

Not quite sure how to unpack whatever the hell Father is doing but I want him to die a violent death.

Anyway I did appreciate Yato calling out his inconsistent motivations here. It's true, Father has never shown interest in creating his own world but rather culling the one that exists. Has he at last accepted that Kaya is gone in this world, so he's making another to be with her?

I'm just saying, Izanami has her face if you wanna party with her some more...just saying...

It seems humans can now fully sense shinki, which is going to lead to some interesting consequences if they interact with each other. We already saw a couple of people pointing out their loved ones, and Ebisu is pulling out all the stops, so there are thousands more to come. Anyone else getting big Alive vibes from this?

I think mainly this will be used as a plot device to give Yukine and his sister some closure, once they stop melting away inside Father's orb of destruction.

re: Father and Kaya, I'm glad I was right that there wasn't really a real love there. At the most, she maybe had a crush on him that quickly evaporated once he came back. Maybe he wasn't shown to be physically abusive to her like I thought (still could have been the case though), but he saw her fear as a problem instead of talking with her. "Aren't you happy for me?" is such a classic manipulation tactic.

So, yes, at the end of everything the reveal comes that she was afraid of his cruel nature and escaped before he turned on her. And yet again, instead of self-reflecting, he decided the gods were at fault for her death. He also assumed that if she were alive, she'd certainly forgive him, and has spent a thousand years chasing that phantom.

But, to bring this back to Yato's question, I think there's a part of him that knows what Kaya truly felt, and that's why he's focused his rage onto heaven instead of solely trying to get her back. Heaven is a convenient target while he avoids the real issue, which is that he's not a very nice guy!

I'm not sure what other hopes and predictions I have for this final stretch that I haven't already stated, so I just want to request you all join me in the prayer circle that the only death is Father's. No one else is allowed to bite it. The last chapter is gonna be an epilogue party under the cherry tree. Make it happen.

#Noragami #Noragami manga #Noragami spoilers #sorry it's a bit late I've had some stuff going on but! here gnashing my teeth as always #live update

[anti-katsuki-lounge]

Couple of questions involving “The Detainment Rescue of Izuku”.

1. I have tried to find other alternatives to how this could have played out better instead of what we got in canon. And the only option I could have thought of was if instead of just vanishing on them, Izuku talked to them in person about his plan and make it clear that it was his choice and he wouldn’t falter from it, but he was open to ideas about how the others could assist. But the glaring problem would be that AFO would be in on what they were doing via Aoyama.

So I guess what I want to say is that this entire situation is garbage and ruins so many characters. If you had the choice to rewind the plot, how far back would you go to get to the part where you think the story could still be at the very least decent?

2. The Class 1-A vs Izuku had many characters come off useless, though I do want to acknowledge the few that I think were at least trying to tackle the actual issue: Todoroki, Shoji, Asui and Ojiro. I think simply relieving Izuku some burdens, even if it’s spreading out and keeping non essential villains from hurting innocents and keeping civilians safe.

But who are YOUR characters that you felt got bastardized the most? Where their actions or words are so…WTF and/or OOC?

For me:

•Sato: who the hell are you to stop someone from making SWEETS? And using ERI against him? Good lord, man!

Uraraka: I saw the back flash of everyone getting concerned for Midoriya. The entire thing. Yet that look on her face with what she said, “We were worried about you.”? I didn’t buy that for a second. That’s the face of, “FFS, We have to clean up after YOUR mess AGAIN.” Of course we see her back in character later, but still…

Kaminari: Absolute bullshit. You’re Bakugo’s lapdog, you always cater to make sure Bakugou is having fun and being with everyone when he clearly doesn’t want to. The last conversation I recall you having with Midoriya is you being jealous of possibly having sex with Camie DURING A TEST. I don’t see any resemblance of friendship between you two.

Tokoyami: I was completely expecting him to make a gothic and poetic comparison between how Midoriya currently is, and how Tokoyami was at the training camp, when Dark Shadow was going berserk. I was actually thinking Tokoyami would make a callback to that and that he wouldn’t forgive himself turning away someone suffering like he had. And what do we get? A reference to an inconsequential line from the freakin SPORTS FESTIVAL.

Yaoyorozu: Just…holy shit, this pissed me off. Look how they massacred my girl! Not only is she relying on the group of adults that, other than All Might, have pathetically supported Midoriya, and thinking they will do any good. But she also tried to knock Midoriya out chained up like he was a psychopath from Tartarus, where as a walking, murderous monster like Gigantomachia, she treats more humanely by simply creating canisters of the knockout gas and getting the heroes to get him to ingest. Just…I hated how Yaoyorozu came off as a bitch in this…and I hate using that word with her…

But I can’t be completely mad at her, she got her sources on how Midoriya is from the rat-face bastard “that knew him better than anyone else”. And he’s in a league of bullshit of his own.

Sorry that this dissolved into a rant, I just hate all of this SO much.

So for the first part, I'd rewind it to Kacchan vs Deku 1. Once Katsuki unleashes the explosion, I'll have All Might arrest him (yes, arrest, because that was excessive use of force and reckless endangerment, if not outright second degree attempted murder). With Katsuki gone, I can spend more time focusing on the other parts of MHA, such as side characters, the themes Hori failed to tackle, etc.

Second part, I honestly think everyone was bastardized for even agreeing with Katsuki, but I think Momo got it the worst because she created that freaking chair thing. Everyone else did also get extremely screwed though (except maybe Tooru because I genuinely think Hori forgot about her because I don't think she's even in any of the pages and Yuuga cause he's the traitor and all). Katsuki ends up being more insufferable but I wouldn't say he was bastardized because he was already an irredeemable shithead to begin with and this only confirms this moment. Tenya and Shoto do come out less damaged because what they say shows that they've grown due to their arcs, but they still are damaged for agreeing to Katsuki's plan.

#anti katsuki bakugou #anti bakugo katsuki #anti bakugo #anti bakugou #mha critical

[notwiselybuttoowell]

Called Infinna, the fibre is already being used by global brands including Patagonia, H&M and Inditex, which owns Zara. "It's a premium quality textile fibre, which looks and feels natural - like cotton," says Mr Alava, rubbing his own navy blue tee between his fingers. "And it is solving a major waste problem."

Around the world, an estimated 92 million tonnes of textiles waste is created each year, according to non-profit Global Fashion Agenda, and this figure is set to rise to more than 134 million tonnes by 2030, if clothing production continues along its current track.

To the untrained eye, samples of Infinited Fiber's recycled fibre resemble lambswool; soft, fluffy and cream coloured. Mr Alava explains that the product is produced through a complex, multi-step process which starts with shredding old textiles and removing synthetic materials and dyes, and ends with a new fibre, regenerated from extracted cellulose.

This finished fibre can then simply "hop into the traditional production processes" used by High Street brands, replacing cotton and synthetic fibres, to produce everything from shirts and dresses to denim jeans.

Much of the science involved in making the fibre has been around since the 1980s, says Mr Alava, but rapid technological advancements in the last few years have finally made large-scale production a more realistic possibility.

In parallel, he believes High Street brands have become more focused on "really honestly looking for changing their material usage", while millennial and Gen Z consumers are increasingly concerned about shopping sustainably. "They are different animals, different consumers, to people my age," he laughs.

The company has already attracted so much interest in its technology that it recently announced it was investing €400m (£345m; $400m) to build its first commercial-scale factory at a disused paper mill in Lapland.

The goal is to produce 30,000 tonnes of fibre a year once it's operating at full capacity in 2025. That is equivalent to the fibre needed for approximately 100 million T-shirts.

"I think the impact could be quite big, if you think about the whole textile system, what exists currently and how much textile waste that we have," argues Kirsi Niinimäki, an associate professor in fashion research at Aalto University, a few blocks away from Infinited Fiber's headquarters.

"It's a really good example of actually how we can 'close the loop'… really begin to move to a circular economy."

Infinited Fiber's growth is tied into a wider vision in Finland, which wants to become Europe's leading circular economy, with a focus on reusing and saving resources. In 2016, it became the first government in the world to create a national road map designed to help reach its goal.

Several other Finnish start-ups are looking at ways to produce new textile fibres on a big scale, while also cutting down on harmful emissions and chemicals. These include Spinnova which, from its textiles factory in Jyväskylä, central Finland, transforms cellulose from raw wood pulp into ready-to-spin fibres.

Spinnova's yarn is attracting plenty of global attention and has so far been used by brands including upmarket Finnish clothing label Marimekko, and outdoor wear firms North Face, Bergans and Adidas, which recently used it in a limited edition midlayer hoodie designed for hikers.

Elsewhere in Europe, there are a range of other companies developing technologies to create more circular yarns, including Swedish startup Renewcell, and Bright.fiber Textiles, which plans to open its first factory in the Netherlands in 2023.

But experts say there are a range of challenges facing these new fibre brands as they plot their expansions.

Ms Niinimäki underlines that the clothing manufacturing sector has, until recently, been slower than many other industries when it comes to embracing sustainability, which could set the tone for a slower transformation than companies like Spinnova and Infinited Fiber hope.

"It has been so easy to produce the way that we have been producing, and just to move towards more effective industrial manufacturing on an increasingly bigger scale," she says.

"There hasn't been a big pressure to change the already existing system." However, she is hopeful that, in the European Union at least, new rules aimed at ensuring clothing manufacturers focus on more sustainable and durable products will speed up "a change in mindsets".

Another issue is whether clothing brands will be able to pass on the additional costs of their new high-tech production techniques on to consumers, especially at a time when the cost of living is spiralling globally.

Adidas' latest limited edition hoodie produced with Spinnova fabric costs €160 (£137; $160) to buy online in Finland, at least €40 more than most of its other technical hoodies.

"Fashion is a complicated area, because even if people are saying that they are environmentally aware, they don't always act rationally," says Ms Niinimäki. "There's also this kind of emotional side when you talk about fashion consumption, and of course, the price is also linked to that."

While both Infinited Fiber and Spinnova insist their business plans look holistically at all aspects of production - for example using renewable technologies to power their factories - climate campaigners argue it is still too early to accurately estimate the net effect of these new techniques on carbon emissions.

"Pulp and other alternative fibres can provide diversity for sourcing textile materials and therefore lessen the burden caused by production of more traditional textile raw materials such as cotton," says Mai Suominen, a leading forest expert for WWF. "However it depends on the use of energy, all the processes they use and how they use waste materials."

Most importantly, she argues, simply slotting more sustainable fibres into the multibillion dollar fashion industry won't be enough to combat climate change, if we keep making and buying clothes at the current rate.

There is no sustainable development unless the overall natural resource consumption is radically decreased to a level that fits within planetary boundaries," she argues.

But within the Finnish fibres industry there is a sense of boomtown optimism that the increased use of recycled or reimagined fibres could be an important part of the jigsaw in the battle to limit climate change.

"The fast-fashion companies who have been kind of creating certain parts of the problem are highly interested in new technologies," says Infinited Fibers chief executive Petri Alva. He believes that if investment continues, the recycled fibres could become mainstream within ten to 15 years.

#textiles #fashion #fashion industry #sustainable fashion #recycled textiles #closed loop economy #artificial fibres

[mx-piggy]

Time for my weekly Futurama review! Definitely a mixed bag with this one but all-in-all I didn't hate it. Spoilers ahead!! (Also, I talk a bit about next week's episode, Zapp Gets Cancelled, at the end, because I felt like writing about that over this episode) I'm really curious to see if I'm the only one who didn't like this episode, so feel free to let me know how you felt about this episode.

So, this episode is probably my least favourite so far. It did have things that I appreciated and that made me chuckle, but as a whole I just didn't find it overly entertaining or engaging, as someone who never really found all that Covid/pandemic/lockdown/etc. very funny. If this episode had come out a couple of years ago, it might have felt less tired. I know that Covid is very much still a thing, but this episode really feels late. Probably the best thing I can say about this episode was that it didn't say anything disagreeable? Though, I'll be honest, it barely held my attention.

My main problem with this episode was that it felt really unfocused and like it didn't really know what it wanted to do beyond 'Covid episode'. The only storyline that went anywhere was Hermes', and I was really happy that Hermes got a lot of focus this episode because he's really under-utilised as a character. But, and maybe this is just me being kinda stupid, but I don't feel like it really fit with the rest of the episode? Maybe it was some kind of commentary I just didn't understand, but I just don't get why voodoo was the right cure for the virus. 'Zombie virus' just didn't feel like it fit with the explovid virus. So, the whole episode just felt kind of confusing on what it was going for (other than 'Covid episode) because the only continuous storyline that went anywhere was Hermes', which was sort of fun but at the same time it feels so out-of-place with the rest of the episode that the concept just fell flat for me. If I'm missing something, please explain it to me in the comments.

EDIT: I also really wasn’t a fan of the whole LaBarbara still cheating on Hermes thing.

EDIT: I did like parts of the Fry and Leela subplot too.

I just think having an episode centred just on a virus was kind of a tired and dull idea. I thought it was a clever idea to have the Omicronians creating division by spreading misinformation and using this to invade, but that storyline went nowhere either, and was obviously just there so they could make an Omicron joke. It could have been a cool idea for the main plot of the episode, but I knew it couldn't go anywhere because they didn't introduce it until they were fifteen minutes in.

This is probably the trickiest review I've written so far because this episode felt like a whole lot of nothing to me. There were so many plot points that just didn't connect, and I've forgotten a lot of things that happened in this episode as a result. It felt more like moments of social commentary and like they had nothing interesting to say about Covid or the pandemic era (I feel weird calling it that, but I can't think of what else to call it). I had similar frustrations with the Impossible Stream for having nothing new or interesting to say about streaming services. But, at the very least, the Impossible Stream had a relatively cohesive story, really funny jokes and an attempt at a sci-fi premise with the streaming suit thing.

I think the best thing they could have done with Rage Against the Vaccine was if they went all-in with either the Omicronian invasion story, or if they made it feel more natural to draw the 'zombie virus' conclusion. Or, they could have done a mutant-related story. Or, just something more focused that didn't make the episode feel like a series of scenes that made two years too late social commentary. Point is, I think they still could have done a 'Covid episode' with a far more interesting premise and an engaging plot, rather than 10 minutes of Hermes in New New Orleans and 12 minutes of barely connected scenes.

The closest episode this can be compared to is Cold Warriors, which I really like. The premise felt really interesting and since it came out a decade before the pandemic it wasn't trying to be topical. It was trying to be an interesting sci-fi premise, whilst also having a nice subplot. This episode fails spectacularly at delivering an interesting story, because it barely has a story.

I also think it can be compared to Related to Items You've Viewed, which was 'topical' in that it looked at Amazon, its mistreatment of its workers, and how inescapable Amazon feels in this day and age. It's not a perfect episode, but it did have a lot going for it outside of the pretty solid Amazon commentary that was delivered with far more subtlety than this episode, that being a genuinely interesting exploration of Fry, Leela and Bender's new dynamic. The episode would have been far worse if it had just been 22 minutes of Amazon jokes.

There were some things I liked in Rage Against the Vaccine. I did actually find the sight gag of everyone wearing their masks wrong kind of funny and clever. Again, I really liked Hermes' storyline because it felt far more interesting than anything else in the episode (plus, it's Hermes, c'mon). I thought it was fun to see the Merpeople of Atlanta again. And I liked the Angry Dome.

I really didn't have high hopes for this episode, but I was still pretty disappointed with it, especially since last week's episode was my favourite of the season so far.

I'm hoping Zapp Gets Cancelled will be better than Rage Against the Vaccine, and I'm hoping that this will be a 'topical' episode like Related to Items You've Viewed, where it's not just untimely, repetitive social commentary that has all the subtlety of a baseball bat to the skull. It seems like the episode will give Leela some focus, with her replacing Zapp as captain of the Nimbus. I'm praying that the plot isn't 'Leela gets borderline sexually harassed by Zapp again, so Zapp gets cancelled and Leela gets to take over his job because she was the one who got harassed by him', because I don't like the connotations of that storyline (that being women who speak out against mistreatment are invariably rewarded). Zapp's usually a really funny character even in minor roles, so I'm hoping that this episode will be strong humour-wise.

#episode: rage against the vaccine #futurama #hulurama #futurama spoilers

[project-aphelion]

07.20.2023 - A Big Change

So. Uh. It hath certainly been a while since I properly updated on Aphelion. It has also been no secret that I’ve been struggling with this wip. 

In short, I created this wip when I was a teenager and full of angst, and although I did pare down the angst in the story a lot as I grew (both physically and as a writer), there were just certain aspects ingrained into the story that were still just Too Much, and I really wasn’t liking where the story was going. And THAT meant I wasn’t having fun writing the book, which truly was the worst feeling.

So...what now? I don’t want to abandon this story! There’s still a lot I like about it, and I really want to share it with everyone! But I really needed to figure out how to fix this story, or else I’d just find myself trapped in the same hamster wheel, tumbling around in the same story issues no matter how much I tried to rearrange them.

FIRST: To identify the problem. This is something I’ve been aware of for years, and it’s that Cay’s story is much too dark and gritty. That could be fine, but...the type of stuff he goes through is giving T/he Fo/xhole C/ourt, which is a series that I did like a lot for a time, but that I’ve also come to be critical of for its...how do you put it...trauma porn? I think that’s the word. And I don’t want my story to be that, even if it is popular.

But here’s the thing: I’ve tried paring down how dark Cay’s story is. I’ve tried having the bad stuff happen off screen, or be implied instead of said. NONE of it was working. And it doesn’t get better in the planned sequels, where he basically spends all his time consumed by guilt and grief. His whole story was huge bummer to think about, let alone write. He also just adds so much complexity to the story, which could be a fine, normal thing, because twists and turns are fun, OR it could just make the story more muddy and convoluted. And I’ve been finding it’s the latter.

And, leading into the next point...

SECOND: Prioritize. What exactly is it about this story that I like? I like Rian’s story, which is an exploration of the “kid with superpowers used as a weapon” trope that I like a lot, and I like Shelby, who I’ve always liked writing because of how dry and snipey she can be. I like the odd relationship between her and Rian.

And Cay...well, I like Cay, and I like how I made his story intertwine with the rest of the plot, but he was, UNDOUBTEDLY, the one dragging everything down. It’s always his chapters that feel too convoluted, too convenient, too contrived.

And so, THIRD, the diagnosis:

I’m cutting Cay entirely out of the story.

And that’s. WILD. to think about. He was the bona fide main character. He was the character I drew the most and thought most about. There was a plot twist (several, in fact) involving him later in the story that I’ve always been excited to see readers’ reactions on, but I had to weigh my options: do I want a story that works, or do I want a reaction from readers?

I want a story that works.

So. Right now, I’m trying out a new version of the story WITHOUT CAY. That’s right. He’s gone from the story. And what I found out is that when I do this, I actually open up a lot more room for properly placed (AND paced) exposition and worldbuilding. Parts of the story are allowed to breathe. It allows the story to be more focused on the theme and character relationships.

This means that, yes, I’ll be killing so many darlings. There are still parts from Cay’s story that I really love, but if I can’t kill these darlings, then the story isn’t going to go anywhere.

Other things that will be cut are: the “magic” system (it never added anything to the plot. This is also a problem I’ve been aware of, but I never cut it because I just thought the concept was cool.); Ev and Jack; aepids (the pterosaurs they ride on).

That being said, I do plan to reuse some of these in another story that I’ve also been stuck on, sooooo we’ll see how that goes.

I’ve gotten one chapter done so far; basically I’ve repurposed parts of Cay’s chapter and turned it into Bee’s chapter. I struggled a little with it (this chapter/setting ALWAYS makes me struggle) but I managed 3k words for it!

That was a long update, so here is an excerpt or Bee and Idan scavenging.

What do YOU think? Lentils or clam chowder? Vote now in the tags.

#aphelion #aphelion edit updates #writeblr #long post

[mothymusings]

Second Entry

“In the end, a simple happiness is better than a complex disillusion.”

― Janelle Monáe, The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer

Synopsis

Memory Librarian and Other Stories is an anthology inspired by Monae’s album Dirty Computer. Each story is set in the near future, where a new government called New Dawn controls everything a person does down to their memories. Within each short story is a message of Queer, POC, and Female resistance against the rigid conformity New Dawn tries to impose.

There are five stories within the anthology, every single one could be read independently of the other, however there are references interspersed each novella. The titular story, Memory Librarian, follows Seshet as one of the high ranking officials in New Dawns order. Her job focuses on categorizing as well as monitoring the memories of her city until strange circumstances cause her to question her loyalties and even her own memories.

Nevermind follows the residents of the Pynk Hotel, a resistant group of queer women who have run away from New Dawn, dubbed Dirty Computers. However things are not as harmonious as they assume, as tensions between those who try to restrict what it means to be Pynk threaten to destroy the safe haven forever.

Timebox centers around two women who have found out that their closet has time altering powers, and the arguments on how best to use such a valuable resource as time for the benefit of the whole, or the individual.

Save Changes also deals with time, as Sisters Amber and Larry deal with being outcasts due to their mothers status as a reformed resistance leader. Gifted with a stone that their late father claims to rewind time, Larry tries to save her sister and mother from fates worse than death.

Timebox Altar(ed), the final story, is about a young child named Bug, who with their friends find and create art in a clearing with the help of Mx. Tangee, a strange woman who almost seems to have magical powers.

First Impressions

Wow! Memory Librarian blew me away with the descriptive prose and inventive stories of rebellion and love in an oppressive society. I enjoyed each story and the messages they imparted. I think my favorites were Nevermind and Save Changes, especially Save Changes with how well it mixed technology and magic together. I think for me it was definitely a fun read all the way through

The Good, The Bad, and The Fuzzy

The good has to go to the inventive worldbuilding of the setting Memory Librarian is in! Details are kept vague in terms of how New Dawn gained power, how memories are able to be used as a resource as well as what being a Torch entails. But I think that vagueness is in its favor from a narrative standpoint as the characters we meet already know all these things (Save for Bug and their friends), as well as for the reader to keep drawing you back in. It’s a nice blend of sci-fi contemporary without being set in such a heavily futuristic setting, there’s technology everywhere but it doesn’t feel like it’s the main focus or detracts from it.

The bad, I will admit I had trouble reading through some of the prose, especially in the Memory Librarian novella. I had to go back and reread many large paragraphs to try to figure out what exactly was going on. I think other than that I couldn’t really find anything else I had a problem with?

The fuzzy is more to deal with plots being abruptly cliffhangers, however I don’t find it as a fault due to the formatting but I still had moments where I would go “And then what??!!” before turning the page to be met with a new story.

Conclusion

Memory Librarian and Other Stories from Dirty Computer is an amazing anthology that talks about being different in a society that tries its hardest to stamp it out through the lenses of black queer women. Its sci-fi setting is friendly enough to those who aren’t familiar with the genre while also providing an interesting spin on the genre. I think this is a perfect read for those that enjoy evocative short stories within the same world as well as fans of Monae’s music. Listening to Dirty Computer while reading definitely helped immerse me in the world of New Dawn.

Rating

A nice 8.9/10 lamps!

Upcoming…

Next entry in this blog will be Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir!

#book review #bookblr #mothymusings #the memory librarian #janelle monae #my art #moving image #science fiction #queer books #poc books #anthology #long post