#they're so smart and have so many cool ideas about the narrative

[ministarfruit]

day 7: come back soon ♡

(femslashfeb prompt list)

#minifemslashfeb2024 #vtuber #hololive #holomyth #iname #ninomae ina'nis #amelia watson #clawing at the window #CAN'T BELIEVE I NEVER POSTED INAME #THAT CHANGES TODAY #they're so sweet. gawd. they're so sweet #I'm always inspired by people who make iname art #they're so smart and have so many cool ideas about the narrative #can't believe it took me until day 7 to draw amelia watson #I love her so much did you know this #I hope I will be more confident in drawing ina too...

[comicaurora]

If you were to actually write a tournament arc (be it in Aurora or a future story) fashioned in your own preferences and ideas, what would it be like?

Oh boy. That's an interesting challenge, because there are so many factors to the Tournament Arc that I just don't like on principle-

Foregone conclusion. If the tournament is centered on a final battle with the Super Scary Big Bad, as they so often are, the heroes are just killing time before they get there, and at least one of the heroes is guaranteed to get to the final round. If the stakes of the tournament are too high, the conclusion is set in stone from the outset. If the heroes are being forced to participate for hostage or supervillain reasons, their victory becomes narratively assured. If the heroes aren't being forced to participate by narrative necessity, then the whole thing becomes an even bigger waste of time.

Formulaic. There's only so much you can mix up a tournament format - environmental hazards, minigames, ring-out rules - and without that, it's just a linear series of fights. Can give the heroes a chance to show off their unique movesets, but narratively they're just ticking up a progress bar before they can get to the end.

Fuckton of characters. Tournament needs meat for the grinder, let's make several dozen characters to throw at the heroes of which maybe five will be memorable enough to recur later. Better make sure they all have interesting gimmicks too - otherwise the formulaic fights will become even more formulaic!

None of these are particularly enticing for me, so in order to construct a tournament arc I actually liked, we'd need to find some way around them:

To avoid a foregone conclusion, the tournament stakes can't be a simple boolean value with "heroes win" and "heroes lose" tied inextricably to things like "heroes save hostage" or "villain destroys entire world." The easiest way to do that is to remove "the heroes" as a single unified participant. It's not a question of whether good will triumph over evil, it's a question of which characters will win and under what circumstances? Part of the reason I liked the tournament arc in MHA more than most is the actual overarching victory was basically irrelevant and our protagonist got eliminated in the quarterfinals, because it was actually all about character development inspired by that fight. So splitting the heroes up, letting them work independently and making their opponents something other than a monolithic antagonistic force would probably help to reduce that issue.

Some tournament arcs also make things more interesting by having a single loss not categorically eliminate a character from the running - the Dark Tournament arc of YYH was pretty good about this, despite being way too long, since it meant protagonists could actually lose fights without being kicked out of the arc entirely, which was a very smart way to keep the tension going, since only a few fights became foregone "either the heroes win this one or they die" situations.

The problem of fights being formulaic can also be addressed here, although I think the more relevant way to fix that is to simply make sure the tournament doesn't drag on for too long. Like, three to five fights is probably the max number we can really focus on. But we can also dodge the formulaic-ness accusations by making sure the fights have more going on than just "which action figure gets mashed harder." This is where most tournament arcs solve things by making a lot of unique gimmick characters with weird powers (so the heroes can't just smack em around the same way every time) and by giving the heroes either handicaps or new abilities/powerups they're still figuring out. This makes the choreography more interesting, and honestly even a really boring plot can be significantly brightened up by extremely cool fight choreography. "They fight and [character] wins" is a single line in the screenplay that can translate into something very spectacular in the execution. But this is, again, something they did in the YYH Dark Tournament arc, and that was still way too much tournament arc, so I think plotline fatigue is a problem that can't entirely be solved by finding new spices to pepper onto the same bracket structure.

You can, of course, also add emotional stakes like "this character's self-worth is tied in with their victory" or "this character is being manipulated by someone else" or "this character is having a personal crisis and handling it poorly" or even something really basic like "the other people in this tournament think we suck, let's prove them wrong."

The "fuckton of characters" problem isn't intrinsically an issue, because it can also be an opportunity to create and introduce a lot of very interesting secondary characters, but it does unfortunately lock them into an extremely artificially constraining plotline. The problem with a tournament arc is it is literally the same subplot template over and over again until the finale inevitably breaks the format. It's an extremely rigid scenario to lock a character-driven story into, and no matter how individually rad parts of the fights are, the overarching structure is repetitive and it limits the characters' ability to shine. Ultimately, no matter how neat or complicated a new character is, they only exist in the arc to be defeated and then get out of the way of the plot. They can have cool stories when they show up later, but in the bounds of the tournament arc they're just more obstacles.

On paper a tournament arc should be a fantastic way to elaborate on a character. The number one recipe for cool character moments is putting that bitch in a Situation and seeing how they handle it, and "a bunch of different fights with different enemies with different powers and different rules" sounds like an ideal Situation Gauntlet. But practically speaking they're all the same! Outside a tournament arc, the stakes of a fight can be anything and the victory condition can be anything. The heroes can bypass the fight, talk down the antagonist, plan a heist, turn the bad guys against each other, organize a prison break, hide and be sneaky - they can find allies, negotiate with political leaders, get captured or rescued, protect someone from pursuit, navigate a hostile and unfamiliar environment, outwit a super-persistent predator, join an underground resistance movement, run off for an angsty solo arc - but within the confines of a tournament, no matter how wacky that tournament might be, everything boils down to a fight with a clear-cut victory and defeat condition. The space of characterization carved out by this format is very, very narrow, so I think legitimately the only tournament arc I would uncritically enjoy is a short one.

#asks #writing stuff

[primal-con]

Mkay my brain is working a bit better today so thoughts on Mirage! Namely his inclusion in the movie instead of Jazz and his change in personality

Rise of the Beasts spoilers below the cut✌️

Now like a lot of folks, when I first saw the trailer I was insanely pumped because I thought Mirage was Jazz. I think we all kinda saw the silver Porsche and lost our minds, and of course, I'm still bummed that we didn't get Jazz because I love him dearly and miss him more than words can express. But! Having seen the movie and had time to chew it over, here're my thoughts on Mirage's character in RotB.

So a lot of initial thoughts regarding the choice to include Mirage, and a very different Mirage at that, rather than Jazz, were of course very valid. But I think ultimately while I would've loved for Jazz to have been there, I understand why they didn't go with him. Cause tbh if everything about the movie had been the same except they called Mirage Jazz, I wouldn't have been happy.

While yes, on the surface RotB Mirage seems really similar to G1 Jazz, they're actually really different in the ways that count. Jazz is bright, sociable, charismatic, and more in tune with Earth culture than most bots. RotB Mirage is also a lot of those things! But the key difference is that for Jazz, that personality is a facade. He's an incredibly grim, ruthless person who's seen a lot and is capable of a lot of terrible things, and he uses that trustworthy persona to mask that and make people more comfortable around him.

Mirage comes off as much more genuine in his naivete. He seems legitimately young, impulsive, and vying for adventure. He does things cause they sound fun, not because he thinks it's a smart idea in the long run. The sad things hiding underneath his bright personality don't come from brutal experience and calculated manipulation, they come from a genuine loneliness and desire to explore the world around him. In a lot of ways he plays a similar role to Bumblebee in most other TF media, the naive young optimist who wants to see the best in people and be a hero. Which narratively makes sense considering Bee was out of commission for most of the movie. He's not necessarily stupid, he's just not wise, and that comes from a lack of experience compared to his so-called "hardass" peers. He sees the other bots as boring and overly serious which contributes to his desire to keep Noah on the team. He wants Someone who he can relate to, someone who's a little closer to him personality-wise, and he doesn't feel like his older and more grim teammates can fill that role.

Which I think also contributes to his likability! Because like I said, Mirage is so genuine. He doesn't usually think things through so everything he says is so honest and unfiltered. I love Jazz because of his complexity and how compelling that facade is to his character, but I ended up loving Mirage because he doesn't feel the need for a mask at all.

I think generally the choice to change Mirage's personality from his G1 characterization was because the writers didn't want too many serious characters? At least that's how it felt watching the movie. I mean even Bumblebee comes off as older and more mature than Mirage. And Transformers is very fond of its goofy, unserious kid-appeal characters who are closest to the token humans. I'm cool with it mainly because big changes between generations are pretty common and this wouldn't be the first or even the wildest change of pace from one appearance to the next. As for why Mirage and not another character, who really knows. Probably the fact that he hasn't had much of an established personality in any of his rare TV appearances. And using a known name is usually easier than making a whole new character, just fan-attachment-wise.

Anyways, sum total thoughts: I liked him! And the movie's enjoyable if you don't go taking it too seriously, though that could be said about most things. It's also better with a friend! It's no ground-breaking cinema, it's an action franchise movie and exactly what you'd expect from one. But the characters have chemistry and personality and that's usually what matters to me. So yeah, all nitpicks aside it's a net positive from me!

#rise of the beasts #transformers #maccadam #rotb mirage #rotating Mirage's goofy ass in my head

[grigori77]

Critical Role, Campaign 3 Episode 84

Taliesin makes a Bane "Ooooooohhh ..." sound and derails Matt's opening.

Wait, no ad? Oh wait ... they're doing a Speed style Sam advert ... keep reading, Riegel! We don't want to blow up! No! Don't do it, Marisha! You're still so young! It's not worth it!

I jest ... XD

Oh dear ... Marisha has almost been derailed as well after THAT ...

Laura: "We have merch!" She said that in the cutest way possible and I loved it. :3

Guess we'll just have to IMAGINE the Yasha based awesomeness ...

I really CANNOT get enough of those animated titles ... so good ...

Okay, here we go, back to Ruidus ...

So who is THIS then? They seem very cute ...

Friends of the Imperium? Yes? No? Good or bad ... hmmm ... Detect Thoughts? Smart ...

I think he might be getting confused ... hmmm ... Fearne, that seems like a very weird tangent you're going on ... oh, so there IS something going on with his chest? Hmmmm ...

Wait ... is this gonna be like one of those creepy Shadow parasites in Babylon 5?

Dono? Awwww ... "Don't know?" Oh good grief ...

Druidcraft flower ... wait, does he actually KNOW what that actually is?

Whoa ... extra arms? Oh, no ... oh, it's a PET? Some kind of strange Fay creature ... Kaniey? Okay ...

Pate? Oh dear ...

Dreamers? Huh?

Laudna produces her Jrusar theatre card for identification ... oh boy ...

So the Dreamers are just people from Exandria. Okay, makes sense. Cytaa? Hmmmm ... Bormodos. Oh, a symbiotic relationship? Intriguing.

They learned Common through THEIR dreams? Oh, so THEY dream the dreams of Exsandrians ... strange ... also beautiful ...

NSFW ... yeah ... O.O

Capital city? Kreviris? Okay ... centre of the Imperium? Hmmm ...

Entrapment? No ... don't put THAT idea in his head ... Chetney: "Are you a narc?" Oof ...

Wuukors and avadons ... so THOSE are the beasties ...

A dozen Imperium in the town ... on high alert ... pushing them to work harder lately ... yup ...

Elder Barthie? Sounds like the right choice ...

The Weave Mind? Masters of the Imperium ... connects them to THE ONE WHO SLEEPS ... yeah, that would be Predathos ...

Rezora is the town? Got it.

Turning back into clouds ... he's impressed. Cute ... and now he's EXCITED about what he's about? Oh boy ...

Following Dono through the town ... simple place, but it seems quite pleasant and homely too ...

Ah ... military types ... hmmm ... these would be the BAD GUYS, then ...

Know Your Enemy ... go Orym! So these guys are tough, but nothing SUPER major, at least ...

Wow ... Dono is a REALLY bad actor ...

A-ha ... here we go ... smoother than expected, at least ... and they're IN.

Oh, so is the Elder ALREADY onto them? Interesting ... oh, he seems quite sweet, actually ... oh yeah, he clearly knows what's going on ...

Oh boy ... Elder Barthie is basically Jeff Goldblum ... cute ... I love it ... XD

Oh gods, the head ... oh no, Chetney stop that ...

Ah ... yes, tea. This is clearly going to be ... SPECIAL tea ... O.O

He's 300? Okay ...

Oh, so they're a bit like Tolkien's dwarves, then? Cool.

Recent shake-ups? Hmmmmm ... here we go ... the arrival of the Dreamers has become a major disturbance ... interesting ...

Big fat LORE DUMP ...

The Beating Heart, the Dream Keeper ... Predathos by any other names ...

Orym starts growing Druidcraft flowers ... meanwhile Laudna pulls out her ball bearings ... hmmmm ... not sure where THAT'S gonna go ...

The Dominion? Tectus? Hmmmm ...

"Bonobos?" Oh dear ... do not mention the sex monkeys, that can ONLY end in ridiculousness ...

FCG: "We've asked you so many questions! We have a few more!"

Pastries? Oh boy ... here we go ... Chu? Awwwwwwwwww ... :3

Oh man, it TALKS?!!! Fantastic ... and it's SASSY too ...

Laura's dirty mind gets her in trouble, narratively ... XD

Chu calls Chetney "the bushy rat-man" and Ashton loves it.

Chu is a flat Earther ... oh boy ... FCG immediately approves ... clearly Matt is pandering ...

"Worm territory"? Oh dear ...

Willmaster Edmuda? Hmmmm ... apparently she's a nasty piece of work ... lovely ...

Ah, the Volition, yeah ... so they ARE a kind of resistance effort. Great. That's the ticket. Oh, and Bertie has a friend among them? Zhesh? Cool ...

The Treshi ball is still dark ... phew ...

Minor Illusion ... have they seen Ludinus or Otohan? From a distance, apparently ... but not lately ... now Ira ... not him, then. Okay ...

Something of Zhesh's? Oh, are they going to Scry on her? That might work.

Ah yes ... the Flares ... goodie ... the "Beat" of the Heart of the One Who Sleeps ... hmmmm ...

So Imogen wonders if these Flares might help Predathos gain control of the Ruidusborn ... potentially a danger to her and Fearne, then ... hmmmm ... Best watch out for that ...

Laudna: "Do you .. babies?" Oof ... O.O

Matt (As Barthie): "If I could ..." Half the group, together, singing: "TURN BACK TIME!!!" Matt is broken for a few moments ... XD

Good point, IS THERE somewhere to sleep? There's a kind of cellar in this abode. Okay, then.

Working out the next move ...

THERE IS Moon wood! Yay! But not a lot of it ... hmmmmm ... not good for Chetney, then ...

Imogen considers trying a Sending to Zhesh ... hmmmm ...

Someone's coming? On the far side of the village ... causing a bit of a hubbub ... is it a potential problem?

They send Dono to check it out ... okay ...

Imogen reaches out to Zhesh ... she's very subtle about it ... and it DOESN'T cause interference! That's interesting ... she gets a very non-committal answer, but at least she's definitely here.

Imogen mists up to accompany Barthie outside to "see what the commotion is" ... oh wait, someone's already here ...

Crap ... there's a Reiloran at the door. Somebody IMPORTANT, looks like ...

The Willmaster? Shit!

And it's time for a break? NOW?!!! Crap ... WHILE Imogen is transforming, too ... O.O

And we're back ... and proper PANICKING already! AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

Are they visible? Are they rolling for Stealth? Crap ... Matt makes them do it ANYWAY ... it's s bit of a mess, looks like ...

Oh yeah, they're pretty much RUMBLED already ...

FCG just tries to bluff ... and casts Fast Friends? Oh fuck ...

Roll Initiative? Of course it is ... AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

Battlemap! Sweet! Cue Sam plugging Wizzkids!

Oh gods ... I have, like, THE WORST feeling about this ... this is probably going to go HORRIBLY ...

TWO MORE ROUNDS before Imogen can even HOPE to turn back to solid? Balls ...

So, do the run or do they FIGHT?!!!

Orym goes under rhe table then pulls Bait and Switch with the Elder, then just HOLDS ready ...

Laudna casts Hex on the Willmaster, then ... Marisha exclaims "SHIT!!!" several times ... then casts Fireball on her AND the Shrikes?! Oh dear fucking gods ... it's at FOURTH Level? Fuck ... 32 Fireball damage each, with 3 extra on the Willmaster ... ouch ...

Wow ... that causes SO MUCH chaos right out the gate ...

Holy fuck, most of the Vanguard just BREAK on the spot ... XD .. and now Laudna just literally EXALTED one of 'em ...

Shit, so that kid just UPGRADED on the spot and casts Telekinesis on her ... lifting her up OFF THE GROUND!!! Crap!

Chetney casts Blood Curse of Binding on the Willmaster ... which doesn't take! Balls... so he produces and activates Turmoil and casts Shatter on her instead, which she SPECTACULARLY fails to resist, inflicting 30 points of Thunder Damage on her AND others behind her ... oof ...

Ashton immediately RAGES!!! Goes monochrome, so increased gravity as he turns into a MINI BLACK HOLE!!! The Shrike that hrkd its action tries to attack him ... oh, this is going to be VERY interesting ... barely TWO points of damage ... so he casts a Teleportation Pad right under him to punt him right into the animal pen! "FUCK OFF!!!" Then attacks the knewly Exalted one and lands some more serious damage.

The Willmaster is IMMEDIATELY dragged towards Ashton, meanwhile instantly takes psychic control of EVERYONE in the village. Oof ... Jagged Dart? Oh hell ... tosses it at Ashton ... DEFINITELY hits ... 22 points of Force Damage! Argh ...

Fearne cats Charm Person on the Willmaster ... who FAILS to resist! Immediately beckons her back inside the hut, and IT WORKS?!!! Or maybe not? Deception check ... which Ashley completely tanks ... balls ... but at least she thinks SHE'S an ally ...

FCG shoots his grapple at the Willmaster ... 15? It hits? Wow ... damn it, one of the locals just JUMPS IN FRONT OF HER to take it instead! Crap ... so he just ducks up half the damage himself in sympathy ... but they're still hurt! Owwwww ... alive but VERY hurt ...

Orym casts Hex on the Willmaster before attacking for NON LETHAL damage! Nice ... oh, he is BATTERING her hard ... even WITH the Meat Shield? Hmmmm ... two get knocked out in the process ... great ... Action Surge to try and Grapple her head! Thanks to Silvery Barbs from Laudna IT WORKS!!! Sweet! Then an elbow to the face lands more Hex damage! Nice ... she's starting to look ROUGH ...

Sam's flask: "REMINDER! Come up Sith flask idea ..." Oh boy ...

Now Orym's taking attacks ... some of it REALLY HURTS ... then two of them just PHASE out of Ashton's sight ... hmmm ...

Laudna casts Mirror Image on herself ... she's stuck hanging in the air, so unleashes a Ray of Frost on the Willmaster ... half speed now! Nice ... plus 15 Frost damage! ALSO nice ...

The new Exalted pulls Laudna out into the open, then hits her with Blight! Oof ... 33 points of Necrotic damage! Ouch ...

2 of them fire crossbows at Laudna, first misses, second hits! 9 points of piercing damage ... she crit fails her concentration, so she loses her Mirror Image.

Chetney wolfs out snd HEADBUTTS the Willmaster ... instead renders another innocent unconscious ... no more Meat Shield means next hit GETS THROUGH, so 9 points of damage! Phew ...

Ashton charges the Willmaster, Raging Recklessly, hits her with the hammer. 24 to hit! Boom! 22 points of damage and HE GETS THE HDYWTDT!!! POW!!! The Willmaster flues 15 feet and is DOWN!!! Orym rides her doen and lands on top.

Everyone INSTANTLY snaps out of the trance ... so they see the chaos and just SCATTER.

The Shrikes just pause and take a beat to check out their opponents.

Fearne casts Scorching Ray on the fleeing foes and one of yhe Shrikes, takes out the runner, inflicts 9 damage on the Shrike. Then she bamfs out Mister.

Imogen is now entirely MIST. She is now ENTIRELY INCAPABLE of any violence ...

FCG casts Calm Emotions on EVERYBODY he can ... BOTH the Shrikes fail to shake it off. He immediately tells them both to CHILL OUT ... which they do! Crazy ... this is good for a WHOLE MINUTE!!!

Orym turns to the Exalted and flings the Hex at him. Goading Attack! First hit misses, second hits! 19 damage and HE gets the HDYWTDT so the kid is KNOCKED THE FUCK OUT!!! Now he rushes one of the Shrikes and holds an attack, ready for next round ...

The Shrikes are now trying to run off with the unconscious Willmaster ... great ... Orym gets an attack of Opportunity, trips one and puts him on the floor ... Calm Emotions is GONE and now they're focused on him for next turn.

Laudna chucks some Eldritch Blasts at the Shrikes, first misses, other 2 HIT!!! 15 and 14 points altogether, and she just MERCS the first one on the spot! Oof ... HDYWTDT indeed ... he's just pancaked ... she attacks the other one, but all three shots miss him ... nuts ...

The beasts stampede out of their pen and folk ate now getting caught and trampled! Oof ...

Chetney just throws himself in their path and saves one local, then goes for the remaining Shrike and attacks him with Turmoil while he's still prone. Wow ... he just CRITS the poor bastard ... HDYWTDT!!! He just opens the guy RIGHT UP!!! Oof ...

Just the few runners left ... Ashton gets in front of the stampede instead and grabs some of the locals, pulls them out of the path of the herd.

Fearne casts Scorching Ray on the runners, Crits one and hits the other two. 10 on the Crit, then 9 each on the others. Oh dear ... yeah, one of them just gull blown COMBUSTS on the spot ...

Imogen floats up to check out what's going on beyond their immediate battlefield. It's just chaos, but more are coming.

FCG casts Stone Shape and creates a ramp over him and the local he's protecting sk they herd doesn't trample them.

Orym uses Seedling to grapple the remaining runner and knocks him out of the spot.

Everybody scatters out of yhe path of the stampede. Meanwhile Chetney just SUPLEXES one of them down snd starts EATING IT ALIVE on the spot ... dear gods ...

Looks like that's it ... time to clean up while they have a chance. Hiding bodies as quickly as they can ...

And that's it for the night ... phew ... that was chaos, but thank fuck it turned out all right ...

#critical role #crit role campaign 3 #campaign 3 spoilers #crit role spoilers #campaign 3 episode 84 #matt mercer #marisha ray #laudna #travis willingham #chetney pock o'pea #laura bailey #imogen temult #liam o'brien #orym of the air ashari #ashley johnson #fearne calloway #taliesin jaffe #ashton greymoore #sam riegel #fresh cut grass

[phantom-of-the-501st]

TBB Ep 10 Thoughts

Spoilers for TBB Season 2

Today on The Bad Batch, child slavery!

Let's get into it.

The way Wrecker stares at the part that fell off the speeder for a second and then falls back. 🤣

The timing of that cracked me up.

They're gonna try and fit all 4 of them on one speeder???

GONKY IS HOW THEY FIND THE MARAUDER?!

Omega being a smart bean. 🥰

Honestly, the amount of Gonky in this episode makes me so happy!!!

Excuse me, but Mokko is not the metal-handed guy that I wanted to see.

ALL OF THEM BALANCED ON THE SPEEDER HAHAHAHA

"That's our defective power droid"

Fuck yeah it is!

Don't mess with Gonky. The dads will come after you. 😠

Wrecker activated Intimidation Mode ™️

Okay, yeah, cool, we're all just gonna abseil down a chimney, sure.

That seems totally safe. 😐

"Plenty of time". Omega's so one of them omg. 😭 She's grown so much. 🥲

That brief slow-mo when Hunter falls forward. 😍

Than animation this season is so good!!!

Ngl, them all sticking their faces over the chimney stresses me out.

Smooth take-down from Hunter, there!

Mokko is a dick. 😡

I'VE JUST REALISED THAT THIS IS WHAT JENNIFER'S CRYPTIC TWEET WAS

Omega's head poking out from the oversized coat! 🤣🥰

Bitch, you did not just press that button. YOU DID NOT JUST PRESS THAT BUTTON!

Omega giving Benni her ration even though The Batch don't have much food. 😭

Wrecker hanging upside from the ship is one of my new favourite things.

Okay, I understand why Benni did what he did. I'm still pissed though. 😤

All the stuff about kids not being able to just be kids in this galaxy is so sad. 😭

Sorry, did Mokko really expect his "let's make the Batch work in the mines for a decade" plan was gonna work???

Although, he does say something about if they survive that long, so best bet is he was just gonna leave them to die.

Like I said. He's a dick.

ALSO THREATENING TO THROW OMEGA OF THE PLATFORM?! HOW DARE YOU SIR!

He's actually lying to the kids and keeping the ipsium for himself? How surprising (note strong sarcasm).🤨

OMEGA THROWING HERSELF OFF WITH THE DROID BECAUSE SHE KNOWS HUNTER WILL CATCH HER 😭

That scene might be my favourite of the episode. Especially with the altered Bad Batch theme over the top.

Ngl, the fight with Mokko was underwhelming.

The guy literally fell over a railing by himself. 😭

Although he was also a pathetic dickhead so a pathetic end is kind of what he deserves.

WRECKER HUGGING GONKY!!! 🥰

Even though they were all in competition with one another, when it comes down to it, the kids actually do all care about each other. That's sweet.

Wrecker is reunited with Lula! 🥲

TECH AND OMEGA THIS SEASON ARE GIVING ME SO MANY FEELS!!!

Was hoping the Echo and Crosshair convo would carry on this episode but oh well.

Also, we never saw Tech and Wrecker apologise to each other. 🥲

Overall feeling about this episode is that I think it might be one of my least favourites of the season. I didn't dislike it but with how good the others have been, this episode didn't stand out a whole lot to me.

There were specific moments that I absolutely love though! Wholesome Batch moments just hit me right in the feels. 🥲

And Wrecker's "I'm working on it" reminded me of Echo in Season 1. 😭 I still miss that man.

Weirdly, I don't feel like I have much to say about this episode right now. There's some more stuff delving into the idea of kids not being able to just be kids in this galaxy, so I'm happy they're continuing on that narrative. I maybe would've liked to have seen a little bit more from the other miners? I don't know.

Normally when I watch an episode, one or two particular things sticks out to me as something I want to talk about more but I didn't really get that much from this episode. Think I may just have to sit on it for a few days and see what comes to mind.

Still liked the episode, but I definitely think that the first half of this two-parter was much stronger. Very excited to see what Metamorphosis is going to be about though! My hope is to see Echo and Rex again, but that's more wishful thinking than me believing it's actually going to happen. 😅

Edit: This was supposedly a breather episode, so that may explain why it fell a little flat for me. I think I got really hooked up in the more high-stakes episodes and that swayed my judgement on this one. 🤔

#star wars #the bad batch season 2 #the bad batch season 2 spoilers #tbb spoilers #the bad batch spoilers #the bad batch #hunter #omega #wrecker #tech

[needlesandnilbogs]

arada and/or overse for the ask game!

Arada

First impression: Oh, hey, a lesbian couple! And this one has a name that sounds a little like my friend!

Impression now: Okay but what's going around in her head. She's competent and kind and she's learning how to lead and everything and she's also smart and probably autistic and the narrative doesn't even say anything it's just normal! (She is everything I want to grow up to be, let's be clear)

Favorite moment: We don't get to see that bunkroom scene in Network Effect, but it spins around my head constantly. Onscreen in the actual books I also really like every little moment in Network Effect where it's clear she knows what she's doing when it comes to leadership.

Idea for a story: … I should just paste my entire list of ideas here. It is easier to list the story ideas that don't involve Arada than the ones that do. But specifically: my February goal that's not close to being met is to finish a fic that's just her pov of network effect (current title when I talk about it is "arada pov of network effect" but I have a different working title for it)

Unpopular opinion: SHE DESERVED BETTER IN SYSTEM COLLAPSE. We do not see anything of her and we didn't see anything that even alluded to her leadership in Network Effect. I am very extremely mad about this still and think she should have gotten to go with SecUnit instead of Ratthi.

Favorite relationship: The obvious one when you look at what I write is her relationship with Overse and the infinite ways it can manifest and change depending on how they're changing, but the one I'm really enjoying exploring right now is her relationship with Mensah -- we don't see anything special here, unless you count the line from ASR where it's Mensah and Arada overriding everyone talking to mb about feelings, but I'm really enjoying the space that gives for her to be learning about leadership from Mensah but also knowing when not to take advice. Also I like figuring out how Ratthi fits into Arada and Overse's relationship as best friend but also third wheel.

Favorite headcanon: I really really love the idea that she and Overse are both transfemme demiromantic asexual lesbians and their relationship is non-normative for Preservation. In any universe where they have kids, she's also definitely got three teenage kids for whom she shares responsibility with Ratthi and Overse but she's the primary person to deal with Kid Things. Also also autistic Arada is something I basically don't think about as headcanon anymore because there's serious textual support for it but I guess that counts and it influences how I write her.

Overse

First impression: Aww, lesbians, I love them already (see above)

Impression now: She's the sensible one everywhere but she cares so much and she's doing her best to be supportive all the time and also she's got so much going on we don't see so tell me more about her.

Favorite moment: In Network Effect where she stops in the hall and reminds Arada to be like a bulkhead. Why that metaphor? I must know!

Idea for a story: Oh, so many things. I really want to know what she does for a living, though, so I want to see her growing up and trying six quadrillion different things before she ended up with a large set of vaguely related skills that's somehow perfect for survey work.

Unpopular opinion: also deserved better in System Collapse. See above rant about how Arada deserved better, they both did. They should get to be the ones doing fun stuff sometimes it doesn't always have to be Ratthi!

Favorite relationship: With Arada, but I also think it would be really cool if she was close friends with Pin-Lee, if something about them being the only two without a doctorate meant they ever had moments where they were like. Do my friends understand common sense (or other things where they could both Get Each Other that way). basically I think she and arada should both have more friendship onscreen with the rest of presaux.

Favorite headcanon: Why does she have weapons training in ASR? I have overanalyzed that implication to heck and back and decided the answer is that she grew up in an area of Preservation known for aggressive fauna that think humans are yummy so to go do camping things or anything she had to get medical and weapons training at a young age.

Bonus headcanon for both of them is that if a modern human who isn't very up to date on gender or sexuality met them they would look like a stereotypical femme/butch relationship. Because Arada has short hair and wears basically the same outfit every day while Overse has really long hair and likes to dress up and whatever and then if you look at their hobbies Arada spins and crochets and sews and cooks and can paint so many fancy nail designs and whatever and Overse is over in the corner of their home taking apart the third chair in two days with a hammer and building things and sticking her hands in guts and gore and basically the two of them are out here breaking every stereotype ever by being actual human beings but in this specific way they're exact opposites by earth standards just not in the expected way.

#fandom #murderbot

[altschmerzes]

ARTEMIS FOUL????? I NEVER WATCHED IT BUT I DO REMEMBER THAT THEY MARKETED THE SHIT OUT OF THAT MOVIE AT MY LOCAL THEATRE AND I HAD NO IDEA WHY BECAUSE ALL I HEARD ABOUT IT WERE BAD THINGS 💀 ALSO I AM VERY POLITELY ASKING FOR THE FOUR PARAGRAPH LAMENT AND ANALYSIS, I THINK IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO HEAR FROM SOMEONE WHO KNOWS THE BOOKS WELL

OKAY CRACKS KNUCKLES LETS GO-

anon. i am so happy you never experienced this. it was so bad. it was so fucking bad. to quote the wikipedia page "The film received negative reviews from critics, who criticized the film's plot, dialogue, characters, visual effects, and changes made to the source material." which is fucking hysterical because as you can see, that is in fact..... all of it. the whole movie. that is all of the things about the movie! and boy was this prescient of the experience i was about to have.

so, without further ado, here is my rant as an Artemis Fowl Lover Of Many Many Years on what was insanely, profoundly, hideously wrong with that movie. under a cut for the wellbeing of my dash bc this is uhhhhh a LOT more than four paragraphs i'm so sorry. i still have so much more i could say but. i'll leave it at this. which is already a lot.

THE OPENING & PLOT

literally right from the very opening it was just..... bad. it was very bad. it started with this news blitz of like, clips of reporters talking about some mysterious big drama, and it was the. weirdest possible tone. to start this story from? it was weird and bad. every character's introduction was weird and bad. butler's actor was wearing fucking irradiated blue contact lenses for some fucking reason. artemis was surfing. what is going on here.

so here are some wild choices they made: artemis's mom? dead. artemis's dad? PRESENT AND ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN HIS LIFE. he is a leather jacket wearing, affectionate, involved Cool Dad who just has to go on a lot of work trips. friends, those of you who read these books will remember that the situation is that artemis's father has been gone for like Two Years, and artemis's mother is......... basically comatose in her room. she is very much not doing any parenting. this is the specific collection of factors that lets the whole plot happen, because it leaves artemis without any supervision or parenting, and also just enough like. cover for the plot to allow this to keep happening, because artemis iirc goes to great lengths to cover up his mom's like. catatonia.

i didn't watch most of the movie. i watched less than nineteen minutes of it. so i can't say much about the plot, but this setup of like........... COOL STUNTS and mulch diggums being interviewed by the human-ass police and artemis's dad teaching him about the faeries because they're Bonding (???????) and there's a basement of faerie artifacts in fowl manor it just. i don't. why would you do this.

ARTEMIS HIMSELF

oh my gd. they massacred my boy- like. okay. listen. i was listening to a wonderful podcast - it's called the shrieking shack, i highly recommend it, and it's a podcast by and for, quote "lapsed h/arry pott/er fans" and the hosts are great, it's well edited, it's a wonderful, hilarious read. in one episode i was just listening to, artemis fowl came up! the host liz was saying that she was just generally fed up with and burnt out on the 'boy genius' genre as a whole, which is fair. i respect that and i vibe with it. however, she didn't recall anything from the actual books themselves, which became clear, because her cohost, xeecee, sort of cut in to correct that like. actually, these books were a pretty effective and highly specific deconstruction of the Cool Boy Genius Genre.

artemis is smart as all hell, that's true. he's incredibly smart. however, he's also a smug, irritating, irresponsible little shit who makes bad choices, and the narrative and other characters are not easy on him for this. he's not supposed to. he's not cool, or smooth, or admirable, or whatever. he's just... a shitty baby with no supervision, entirely too much money, yes too smart for his own good, but making bad decisions and seeing consequences for those decisions and having to grapple with like. the way those bad decisions have consequences for other people too. and the movie....... un-subverted that. they ruined it entirely, because actually yes, in that film we are directly supposed to think artemis is Really Cool! we're introduced to him SURFING for fuck's sake. artemis fowl. introduced to us SURFING.

and then there's like......... the introduction, the first couple of MINUTES of this movie. like within the first three or so minutes. they torpedoed any chance i would have at taking this seriously as an adaptation of artemis fowl.

and so what really struck me very quickly as Extremely Wrong is that - and this is something that as an adult particularly reflecting on this makes me profoundly fucking sad - but he's too..... happy. in the first several minutes. he's happy. he's having fun. he's relaxed, he's a kid. that's not........ he's not like that in the books. he's not happy. he's not running around grinning because golly gee gosh does he love being in the outdoors in ireland!!!!! he's severe, and intense, and focused and we see him smug, and self-satisfied, and proud, and like. excited in an intellectual, aha what a clue kind of way, but he is not happy. and he specifically isn't relaxed and like- bouncy-happy the way he is in the first several minutes here. this movie so thoroughly misses the mark that it misses one of the most acute pieces of like. pathos? in these books? which is that artemis himself is a really fucking tragic character. like yeah, he's a shitty baby and he sucks, but that's 1. the point, and 2. he is a Child who didn't have a chance in hell of actually being one.

i think we get to see him like. shed that a bit, later on, and actually have some moments where he is happy. but it's so like........... it takes a longass time and it's extremely hard-won, from a reader's perspective. when we see him crack and act like a kid, it's huge. it's extremely emotionally affecting. so to have his introduction not only involve SURFING but artemis grinning and bouncing around and doing sick skateboard trips..... no. that's not...... no. at this point the protagonist is unrecognizable, and why are you doing an adaptation. just make a different movie.

BUTLER

in his introductory sequence, the narrative says he is never to be called The Butler, even though his last name IS butler, and "you could call him 'dom' or 'domovoi'" which...... lmfao. fuck off. you could resoundingly NOT call him that, that was in fact a major plot point. twice. this really, really fucking bothered me, because like..... that is specifically a character thing that i really really liked from the books, the whole thing about butler's first name. and the thing they did with artemis's parents, with his mom being dead and his dad just sort of Being Here As An Active Presence like. completely undermined the whole...... thing, with artemis and butler. butler was his father figure, but neither of them could really..... they were both kept at arm's length from this for a very long time, because butler was employed by the fowl family and artemis is like. so fucking emotionally repressed that he is practically made of stone. like...

one of the reasons that butler was a character i was always pretty fascinated by as an adult who like, pretty seriously failed artemis but also couldn't really have done any better because of the specific combination of factors that landed both of them where they were in life. and the emotional core of their relationship was something i was obsessed with as a kid who was just getting super into Found Family As A Trope. and the whole thing where like....... one of THE major cracks we see in artemis's persona, the biggest CONSEQUENCES that he sees is when he makes a mistake, he gets outplayed, and butler is fatally shot. he's devastated, he's terrified, and it's his fault. someone he loved - whether or not he could contextualize it like that - was going to die and it was his fault. and that scene of him dealing with this, and making this plan to save him and needing to move butler to the restaurant freezer and being too small to move him effectively was like.... man that hit so hard. and none of that hits without this deliberate distance that's represented by the fact that not only does artemis not refer to butler by his first name, he does not fucking know what it is.

and then in this movie the first line that artemis says to butler addresses him directly as "dom" and i- no. i think i actually said "fuck off" out loud. because come on.

THE UH. CASTING CHOICES. THEY MADE. HOO BOY.

so i didn't get to meet either of them in the movie and this was for the best, but boy did they ever make some casting choices with root and holly.

i love dame judi dench, i love the THOUGHT of her playing root, but like.......... of all the characters you could genderbend, literally pick any of them but that one. any of them. at all. personally? i think it'd be fucking great to make mulch a woman, or trouble kelp. i personally, for my own enjoyment, would fucking LOVE to see a Cool Butch Lady Trouble Kelp. bruh. PLEASE. but........ root?????? genderbending that character specifically undermines the entire Deal with him and holly. because the fact that root was a kinda shitty older man who had to pull his head out of his ass was THE POINT. but uh. not like they got into that i guess, given what i heard they did with holly. who, speaking of-

and casting a kid to play holly? no. no. fuck off. she is a grown-ass adult woman. i'm not even gonna get into this. it's so bad. why the fuck would you do that. that's probably what actually got me to bail because i thought i'd like, hallucinated that or something but my buddy confirmed that no, she was played by A CHILD. good lord. no.

#gav gab #gav answers #AUGH. I FEEL INSANE.

[appendingfic]

And I just wanted to add onto Prey 2022 thoughts: I am so, so impressed. So many teenagers in film struggle to hit that balance between "written like an adult" vs "constantly infantilised by the narrative".

I love how they portrayed Naru as a smart, determined teenager - she's skilled and talented, she has great ideas, and she also has not great ideas! And they're realistic not-great ideas that a teenager would have in that context, like "nobody takes me seriously because I'm a teenager so I have to go shoot a bear" which of course bites her in the ass.

I love the maturity arc - in the beginning, she was hunting big things to show everyone who awesome and strong she is. She ends the movie with a different motivation, greeting her tribe not with "look, I did it" but with "it's dangerous here, we have to move". She grows as a hunter when she quits taking unnecessary risks because it'll look cool and starts getting serious about taking down threats to her people.

I love love love her arc.

Wow, yeah, that's a great take on prey. I love how the exposition was so pared down so that details like this could come through.

[blackbutlerfandomnerddomain]

I havent asked about Dylan x Rashad x Adel in a minute (i dont know if you have a ship name for em) so I have a sfw alphabet ask about them!

Can you do S, R, N and maybe M for these bois?

You have no idea how much I wanted to write them~!!

S ~ Security

Dylan - He's protective but not to the point he would go crazy on them. At least not until emotions get hurt He's smart as hell so he would use his brain more than muscles at the start but if it gets worst he calls in Bruin and the Ray twins to act out for him He, however, has mixed feelings on being protected. He didn't really have anyone all his childhood after the divorce so but having someone care for him and protect him is a special feeling

Rashad - He's protective for sure but for many different reasons. He's a tough cookie who already seen both sides of lots of narratives of a story and know how certain people would react harmfully to his lovers so he's on edge and knows what to do. He uses his advantages of being rich very rarely due to just the feeling of it so he uses more his own physical strength and speed above others as his way of protection. Doesn't like being protected. He feels weak when it happened. But there are some days he feels nice when seeing Adel and Dylan rip someone a new one.

Adel - Do they like protecting? DO THEY LIKE PROTECTING!? This baby is a hunter child you think they won't enjoy the feeling of being protective of their partners??? They're a sweet protector instead of full blown "I'm gonna stab if you look at my love doves-" but more "What you said about them? Here comes a boot to the face-" Them being protected is a favorite cause two beautiful partners using brains and whatever psychical means they have honoring them from a phobe is yes

R ~ Remember

Dylan - For Dylan his favorite memory of this relationship was most likely their first real hang-out together. It was at the beach and Rashad took Kalim's magic carpet for a fly above the water and in the sky, and while Dylan's iffy about heights like Azul he really liked that carpet ride with them beside him watching everything disappear from view in the clouds. It was just a moment he felt like he was free and belong.

Rashad - It was actually the moment he realizes he liked them both. He was being Tiger during a moment when Octavinelle and the Hunt family visiting the Scalding Sands and he saved the two from a misunderstanding with delinquents. After getting them to safety both were like "That was so cool!" and it somehow led to them talking about Rashad and how amazing Rashad is. He just listened and dropped them off before quickly changing back to Rashad and meeting up with them. And just walking down the halls with the setting sun shining a light across the edge on them while they talk about their day to him, he slowly began to realize he doesn't want to lose them more than he assumed

Adel - Okay, they have a list. But if they must narrow it down it most likely has to be during their birthday where they spent the whole day hunting and ax throwing and just basically have a fun day with their brother and two best friends/partners

N ~ Night

Dylan - He starts his nightly routine taking a nice relaxing bath or shower, preferably a bath since water makes him turn into his merform no matter what and so it gives him freedom, while doing so he does some special facial stuff and washes his hair two times cause it gets knotted easily. After that he goes and changes into his nice warm freshly cleaned pjs and meditates with some of his favorite crystals, it helps him be more at peace and relaxed for the day to come.

Rashad - He does his nightly routine with getting everything ready for tomorrow, like homework done on one area and certain things ready, and does a small yoga work out before he hopes into the shower/bath where he does a special care routine and then his hair where he double conditions and rubs some hair oil in his scalp and deep roots cause his hair is damn special. After the wash up he comes out and changes into his pajamas where he drinks some night time tea while listening to some music until his hair is completely dry and that's when he goes to bed.

Adel - They don't do nightly routines much, just used to follow others like Rook and then Neige (part of Neige's dorm) for nightly routines to get the feel around. But they do have some things that are original and worked on being timed. They would do a small jog around the neighborhood or the campus and then take a complete shower and hops into bed early. But one some nights they do eat a small snack before bed.

M ~ Morning

Dylan - He wakes up rather early since childhood and starts doing any homework he has left to do while he makes a cup of coffee. After that he gets in the bath and takes a small bathe/soak before getting dressed and helps whomever if up at that time to make early morning food before he gets ready for classes

Rashad - He wakes up after a few more minutes pass Dylan would and get a warm shower ready, then he changes into clean clothes as he eats breakfast and then brush his teeth. After that he would grab a book and read while he walks around campus and even swings by a shop in town to get a freshly brewed coffee and small waffle at a cafe before swinging back and goes to classes

Adel - Adel wakes up earlier than most to do two or three laps around campus and then jog across town to get into Sam's shop for a deal of eggs and paper and stuff. After that they would go back to RSA and make campfire eggs and do last minute homework/write a letter for Rook or Dylan and Rashad as they eat and drink coffee they picked up in town. And after that they go back into their dorm room and take a shower and get dressed ready for the day

#cute ask #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland oc #twst dylan #twst rashad #twst adel #this needs a ship name #sfw alphabet

[scorpionyx9621]

When someone asks me if there ever is going to be a good Red Hood comic where he's just as capable and deadly as everyone dreams he can be.

I get that everyone yearns for a capable and deadly Red Hood. Everyone fawns over the Jason Todd who brought Gotham's crime scene to its knees in the matter of like a week in Under the Red Hood. I'm not here to say wanting that kind of comic is wrong because it isn't, I'm just saying Jason Todd has changed as a character. He's not the same character he was when he was brought back to life back in 2005.

If I wanted to stan a criminal mastermind who rules Gotham's underworld and strikes fear in the heart of criminals I'd just be a Joker kinnie. I'm being 100% serious. Why should I or anyone even bother with Jason Todd who by the definition of what everyone likes about him so much when I can get all of the same things from The Joker minus the daddy issues.

What? Don't believe me? Let's compare shall we?

Both Jason Todd and Joker are murderers

Both use guns

Both use other various weapons to kill people

Both have pretty sizable criminal followings

Both are obsessed with Batman

Both have come back from the dead

Both came from bad home lives (supposedly with Joker we aren't certain because they re-write his canon more than they do Jason's)

Both have their canons re-written by DC just about every new comic they're in.

Both have beared the title Red Hood

Both have a unique hair coloration/pattern

Both get enjoyment out of hurting/torturing people.

Both have used crowbars as weapons

Both have tried on numerous occasions to hurt not only Batman but a multitude of Robins.

Both have engaged in elaborate plots to try to get Batman to notice/fight them. Multiple times.

Both are considered capable killers who are very smart.

I can keep going. I really can. It's not hard to compare these two. Literally the only things separating Jason Todd from The Joker at this point are the fact that Jason is a conventionally attractive 6-foot tall, muscular white man and that Jason has in recent comics turned around and accepted his spot as a member of the Bat Family*.

It really goes to show that, maybe, just maybe, writers like Judd Winnick intentionally made Jason Todd take on the mantle of The Red Hood, Joker's original persona as a villain, and gave him a literal grocery list of similarities as a means to emphasize his villain-like behavior to serve as an in-between for Batman and The Joker. And this isn't even an original idea. Many times comics have made the comparison between Jason and The Joker. Three Jokers, DC Comics Truth and Justice, Death of The Family, just to name a few.

So again, you ask, since you went through all the lengths to compare the two, why don't you just go off in your corner and be a Joker kinnie? Well my friend, it's simple. I don't like the Joker. He's so oversaturated in the DC comics market and DC seems to have finally figured at least that part out. Jason Todd is an anti-hero who teeters between Knight in Sour Armor and Jerkass Woobie at best and falls into shades of Moral Sociopathy at worst (particularly under Winnick's penmanship) But Jason Todd is not The Joker. It's outright blasphemy to compare the two in most circles, but Jason Todd is a very compelling, albeit underdeveloped character.

It doesn't help that we have basically a decade of development for Jason Todd under Sc*tt L*bd*ll that we as a fandom have collectively decided to disregard. And rightfully so. Mostly because RHATO and RH:O was a discombobulated mess of a story with a lot of very cool and neat ideas that were in no way practical or truly even relevant to Jason Todd. L*bd*ll tried to make Jason into this self-insert of a 'bad boy seeking redemption' which really had no narrative follow-through because one issue you'll have Bruce and Jason chilling on top of a hill stop Gotham eating cheeseburgers discussing how Bruce trusts Jason with Bizarro more than he does with Lex Luthor. And then not 10 issues later Bruce is literally beating Jason to within an inch of his life. Jason even regarded how he thought Bruce didn't even hit the Joker that hard.

All of this is to say that we really don't have a truly good narrative for Jason that isn't him literally cosplaying as The Joker and causing chaos in Gotham in Under the Red Hood, a freshly out of the dip Jason Todd thrown into the world after being dead for who knows how long training to become the world's deadliest assassin all whilst killing countless people and sleeping with Talia,

We've been gyped of a good Red Hood narrative for going on two decades now. And truth be told I don't know if we're ever going to get a good story for Jason Todd on par with Dick Grayson and Nightwing. They've fumbled the ball with his initial characterization in his first redemption under L*bd*ll that I don't know if we'll ever get a truly satisfying narrative for Red Hood as an anti-hero. For now he's literally just a murderer who Bruce let's come with him on investigations and stuff who badmouths him at best to a 'regretable' punching bag at worse.

When you compare Jason to characters like say Frank Castle as The Punisher, whom despite being co-oped by the American alt-right, is a much more compelling character with a better narrative because Frank Castle knows what he is, and he isn't trying to be a hero like Jason.

With say Harley Quinn, we've had about a decades-worth of comics showing us Harley realizing that Joker has been abusing her. We've gotten to watch Harley try and fail many times at trying to turn her life around and do the right thing. To now after years of trying to and succeeding in doing the right thing, Harley Quinn is now a member of the Bat Family (in like some weird-off in the corner way)

This long-winded post can be finalized by saying I don't get why everyone is so obsessed with wanting Jason Todd who is 'deadly and competent'. If I wanted foil to Batman who is all deadly and a criminal mastermind I'd just follow The Joker. To me saying you only liked Jason from Under the Red Hood and think every subsequent title he's appeared in is OOC is like saying you like a cover-band of Journey better than Journey because you don't like Journey.

Jason Todd is a very compelling, interesting, and likeable character despite DC Comics bombing literally every title he's been in since 2010. He's a great character who is as fascinating as he is lovable. He needs a serious re-branding because while he is a great and complex character, DC needs to show us and not tell us how he's growing. However at the end of the day no one is going to be entirely happy with how he's portrayed and that's fine. You aren't wrong for wanting the Jason Todd of y'old. That's just not my cuppa tea. I just want a good, 4-part story by Wayne Family Adventures of Bruce and Jason finally beginning to work through their 800lbs of USDA prime-grade beef between the two of them in that fun cartoonish aesthetic because man, Bruce and Jason in WFA are both so pretty.. also WFA is the only comic that seemingly 70-80% of the fandom is at least okay with because it's kitschy and tumblr-baity but at least Bruce isn't hitting his freaking kids.

#jason todd #red hood #batman #bruce wayne #wayne family adventures #under the red hood #red hood and the outlaws #red hood outlaw #the joker #red hood lost days #rant #I just want a good Jason story but i know it'll never happen ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[itsclydebitches]

"I believe it was in a RWBY Rewind where they stated that silver eyes have those additional notches, a detail also seen in Maria’s flashback." - Ah, yes, another thing that’s important to the lore of RWBY that’s ISN’T EXPLAINED IN THE SHOW ITSELF. GOD DAMN IT! You know what? I’m glad. I’m glad they’re doing this, because I know to never fucking do this when I’m writing a story.

As is often the case, it's a potentially easy fix that would help other aspects of the story along the way. Namely, Ruby's lack of interest in her own super-powered ability. Give us just a single scene where she asks Ozpin about her eyes and, during that conversation, raises the concern that others like Mercury have this ability too. Cue a single line about how, no, they're gray eyes and here's the difference. The thing about writing smart, compelling characters is that they should usually be hitting on the same questions your audience is (minus what the audience knows through their omniscient perspective, or a bias/motivation that's influencing the character, etc. That's why so many fans jumped to, "Ruby never asked because she's traumatized and can't handle being different right now." The creation of these headcanons highlight how much the audience expects explanations to exist for these questionable decisions... but RT doesn't provide them). I don't blame RT for making the mistake in the first place. If I remember the RWBY Rewind correctly, they freely admitted that putting gray eyes in a silver eye story was kinda a bad call and from Volume 2 on (I believe) implemented a new design choice to help distinguish them. Those notches don't appear until later.

So it's an understandable mistake to make when writing as you go and RT definitely took one step to help smooth it over... they just left it purely as a meta explanation, not an in-universe one. Which, on its own is far from the end of the world, but decisions like this became exacerbated over the years, leading to moments like Ironwood's semblance being explained off-screen too (while getting an example of it wrong in the process...) So much of early RWBY is easy to shrug off because sure, they're figuring the show out, haven't thought out every detail yet, that's alright. But instead of working to integrate those ideas once they did know what's happening — have the group ask about silver eyes, about the gods, let Ironwood use his semblance on screen, etc. — RT went hard in the opposite direction of leaving even more outside of the narrative proper. Obviously I can't speak to their actual thought process here, but it feels like a case where they got the wrong message from that original benefit of the doubt. Rather than going "Okay, our fandom was forgiving in the early years, but now that we have a better handle on this tale we'll put in that work" they went, "Oh, everyone is okay with information not being in the main text? Cool. Stick it in a side novel, or a video game, or an interview. If someone really wants to be sure of something they can pay for a Cameo about it. That's all easier than finding ways to naturally integrate it into the main story."

Honestly, as someone getting more into Lord of the Rings atm, it's a fascinating look at the difference between a master craftsman wielding additional information and newer writers wielding it. Tolkien (generally speaking) allows his supplementary material to enrich an already solid world. I have questions while reading the Hobbit/LotR, but they're questions born of additional curiosity, not confusion. RT really struggles to determine what information would simple enrich a world and what's actually necessary for the viewer to follow along, or for the characters to not look like they're completely indifferent to what's going on around them.

#rwde #rwby #mymetas

[stars-in-a-jam-jar]

I realized while I was doing my taxes last night that Horikoshi really wanted Midoriya to be like. So super smart you guys. It's like. A partial inversion of the usual 'Pure of heart, dumb of ass' shonen protag archetype, like. He's pure of heart.... AND super smart! Like that's so super cool you guys! And that is a fun thing to add to the genre. However Horikoshi did not account for one crucial detail: You can't shortcut how smart a character is forever.

When we meet Izuku, we're speedrunning the finer details of his character just like we're speedrunning Everything Else in My Hero Academia. The shortcut to signal that Izuku is smart is to say 'He fills entire notebooks with notes about heroes and chases down fights just to break them down and analyze them, and he has some of the highest grades in his class' and that fit with the breakneck pace everything was going at and was enough for the first like. Two and a half arcs about. But every time there's an opportunity for Izuku to problem solve using his brain, the solutions are never particularly complex and require One (1) step of thought. New power break he gotdamn bones? Pick the smallest bones to break until we can reach a better solution. Oh wait I can channel the literal bone shattering power partially??? Fr???? AND I can use my legs????? Wild, I was just copying what my dad was doing. Cornered in an alley with a deranged murder-man? Uhhh, send my location to Literally Every Classmate and stall until someone who can better handle this arrives. Alone trying to defend a child and about to be crushed to death? Uhhhhhhh, no thoughts, only that limit break thing humans are capable of when shit gets Dire. Classmates wanna launch a daring rescue of the class porcupine? Well I Guess I'm Going With Them, we can figure out details on the way. And literally an important lynchpin that gets most narrative focus of the plan they collaboratively come up with On The Spot has nothing to do with Int and processing based problem solving, it is a moment of emotional intelligence on Midoriya's part where he looks Kirishima dead in the eye and says 'Bakugo hates accepting help, but he obviously likes you more than he hates looking vulnerable, so we need you to be the one to reach out.' And like-- Nobody Else would have thought to do that, it's such a great character moment for Izuku to be so Aware of others' relationships and emotional states to the point of anticipating a potential roadblock that Only He with his knowledge of his classmates who he actively pays close attention to would clock. It's still not a showcase of how smart he is, which is supposed to be one of his defining character traits.

I could keep going but I think you get the idea.

What ended up happening when Horikoshi wrote Izuku dealing with new conflicts in the straightforward, simple way that he does is that instead of writing a character who is really intelligent and a high level problem solver, Horikoshi just went: Okay uh, what do smart people do? They like... take a lot of notes? And... remember things real good-- they're Very Organized. And they get really good grades! Then just made a character who does Smart People Things, but who in reality simply has a special interest that leans real hard into the setting Horikoshi created and who also happens to get good grades through methods we are never privy to. His using the knowledge of his special interest that he has memorized through years and years of etching the details into his brain does not tell us he has a firm grasp on cause and effect and how to actively apply information. It tells us he simply contains a lot of raw information.

There is a reason so many neurodivergent people are like 'Oh, obviously Izuku is neurodivergent' and it's because he shows So Many Signs of being exactly that! Ignoring all the social tells Izuku mirrors throughout BNHA, he's so clearly got 'Future Burnt Out Gifted Kid' written on a sticky note over his forehead from chapter 1 and even has a moment in story where he fully burns himself out!! Like, I had completely unchecked and undiagnosed ADHD until after graduating high school and I got good grades like 88% of my life to that point. Not because I'm particularly intelligent and organized! I found it trivial to retain the raw information long enough to repeat it back and get the grade I needed, and I really really really love literature and analysis so any English class I took was a walk in the amusement park. I was told constantly how Smart I was, but I wasn't actually exercising intelligence and processing beyond my timed writes for English, which I regularly had a 50/50 chance of being below the bar on. All I was doing that made people say 'you're smart' is passively accumulating all these signifiers that I was smart. In that same way, Izuku having his special interest lie in something that his setting celebrates and is irrevocably steeped in does not make him particularly smart! It means he has passively accumulated a shitton of raw information that could potentially service him which he never uses because Horikoshi only ever writes Izuku's solutions to be 'He takes in all the information in front of him and maybe a flashback or two to figure a thing out and it works' and not 'He goes through various steps and rolodexes through all the information at his disposal to come to an informed solution'.

Despite him being introduced as this socially awkward nerdy teen with a high GPA and negative friend count, most of Izuku's defining moments have been his moments of exhibiting his social awareness and exercises of empathy and charisma. He sees Bakugo in the clutches of the sludge villain and sees someone who needs help before he sees someone who has repeatedly and regularly wronged him for as long as he can remember. He's running purely on the drive to save someone when he leaps twenty stories and punches a giant robot. He intuitively understands better than most people around him the importance of being a positive and grounding presence for the people they're helping, even if he needs to be reminded of it when other shit's going down. He is so happy and excited seeing Shinsou in their practice course and fully ignores the 'I'm not here to make friends' talk because he knows the social landscape enough to know Shinsou would be a welcome addition to the hero course. His classmates go to him when he's in the throes of self destructive isolationist burnout because he made their lives better for being with them by paying attention to them and taking an active part in their group, something he was brutally disallowed from doing for years and years and years up to this point. He doesn't slowly gain the emotional skills and aptitude that he needs, he quickly reclaims and makes unconscious use of those pieces of himself that nobody gave him the opportunity to use once he's put into a better environment.

Izuku's strengths have nothing to do with the giant encyclopedia of raw knowledge he has rattling around in his skull like an intimidatingly overstuffed filing cabinet, or his relatively average adaptability. His strengths lie in his ability to look at Shigaraki and connect on an intuitive emotional level that -fully separate from how much a destructive force Shigaraki is and all the things he has razed to the ground and must answer for- in the shadow of All For One, in the context of how faithfully the League follows him, in the face of knowing he no longer or never got the opportunity to have so much of what Izuku wouldn't be able to do without: this is another kid that needs saving.

He actively chooses to take on such a complex emotional gauntlet to try and reconcile his need to right all the evil Shigaraki has visited upon the world with his need to save and reclaim and preserve what he recognizes as a lonely, damaged kid that other people either allowed or encouraged into becoming such a monster. This is, from a clinically objective standpoint, a very stupid decision, as he is putting Way Too Much Of Himself on the line over what should be a very clear cut 'He has passed the moral event horizon, just put him down' situation. Hence why I adore Izuku so much because he says 'Fuck that. That's the simple solution. I'm going to bring him down no matter what, I can choose to attempt and pull forward any salvageable pieces of what he'd look like if he'd become the better version of himself.'

TLDR: I love Izuku so much and he is Such a force of personality and Pure Gumption, but He Is So Stupid, He Is Not Smart, anyone who tells you Izuku is smart shares or is below his Int stat like 85% of the time.

#my hero academia #izuku midoriya #long post #nd headcanons

[mellometal]

It seems like Dhar Mann has fucked up AGAIN. I'm pissed. He really thought that it would be cool to make ANOTHER video about ASD to spread the ableist, misinformed, harmful narrative that "autism isn't a disability, it's a different ability". LET'S TALK ABOUT IT.

To sum up the video, an autistic man who uses a device to communicate with people gets hired at this restaurant. The boss says to the guy who brought in said autistic man that having a disabled person working at his restaurant would "make things worse". The guy tries to stand up for the autistic man by saying that he's smart and stuff, but doesn't bother to call out the boss being completely ableist.

The boss then tells the autistic man to not touch anything and to stay out of the way, which is underestimating what he's capable of. When the two cooks in the kitchen ask a genuine question about who their new coworker is and why he uses a communication device to speak, the boss doesn't introduce him to the cooks and says that he's "nobody".

Pretty much the ONLY person who bothered to do anything remotely positive with the autistic man (that was shown) was the pastry chef. She was teaching him how to decorate a cake, was very patient with him, and gave him praise along the way. She was interested in getting to know him. She wasn't mean to him or anything. She stood up for him when the boss was being an ableist bag of dicks. He even threatened to fire this guy, who did nothing wrong, just for being autistic and the boss had no idea how to help accommodate his employee in any way. He ended up discriminating his employee for being autistic. (Which he could get sued for in the United States, if this happened in real life. Disabled people are a protected class in the workplace under Equal Employment Opportunity, or EEO. Dhar Mann, this includes autistic people.)

Hell, even the autistic man stood up to the boss. He went into how nobody wanted to hang out with him and stuff when he was growing up, that he had to be hidden away from other people, and nobody bothered to give him a chance because he's autistic and uses a communication device to speak. He's good with people. He pretty much told his boss to stop being an ableist piece of shit.

When the cooks and the pastry chef all say that their new coworker fixed the fryer and decorated the cake, the boss then changes his tune. Happy ending, Whoop-dee-fuckin-doo.

First off, how does being nonverbal affect a person's intelligence in any way? How does a communication device affect a person's intelligence? Let me tell you, none of these things affect a person's intelligence whatsoever. To think that they would is misinformed at best, and ableist at worst.

There are people who genuinely don't know about all the different types of communication that people use, and that's okay! I'm not mad at anyone who doesn't know about different types of communication besides oral speech, writing, and sign language. (I've worked with and interacted with a few people who use some of these different forms of communication.)

Some people use a communication device like a tablet for Text-to-Speech (that was shown in the video). I worked with someone throughout school who used a communication device.

Some people use basic mands (expressive language) and/or basic statements. An example of that would be a person saying, "Me, walk." to mean they're going on a walk. Sometimes they'll make a gesture to show they're going on a walk when they do this. I work with someone who mainly uses this form of communication.

Some use books or wear something like a belt with pictures held on with velcro that they can take out and put back in their books or belt. I've worked with someone in school who mainly used this form of communication.

Alright, now that's out of the way....onto my response. I'm happy that I saved screenshots of my comments because I think Dhar Mann deleted them! (Edit: Scratch that, I commented these on Dhar Mann's other account for his behind the scenes shit instead of his main.) I might get blocked, but it'll be worth it. I have multiple accounts, so I'm not going down easy. He really can't handle being told that his narrative is wrong. (I've been wrong many times before, so this ain't about that "holier-than-thou" shit. I try my best to fix things, learn, and improve. I mean, it hurts sometimes, but I at least try to improve myself.)

This video hit home. I had to hide being autistic from my employer because I was afraid of being rejected for a job opportunity because of it and I was afraid of dealing with ableist people like these men shown above.

While I'm fortunate to be able to hold down a job, there are many autistic people who can't hold down a job or can't work at all. This shit doesn't help.

(For anyone who needs a description for my comments....I am calling out Dhar Mann for his blatant ableism and his fans in the comments for eating up this ableist, misinformed, harmful narrative and about the performative activism quite a few people on IG are about. It's way too long for me to go into extreme detail.)

(ETA: Yes, autistic nonbinary people exist. I didn't intentionally forget y'all in my comments! I love y'all! /p I wrote it while I was quite heated, plus the sleep deprivation didn't help.)

The YouTuber I mentioned, for anyone who wants to know, is TheMysteriousMrEnter. He's an autistic creator who makes commentaries about cartoons (just animations in general), he has talked about his issues with @utism $p3aks, and a lot of other things. He's even talked about his own cyber harassment and how he had stalkers on a few occasions. Honestly, I can relate to him on a few things, mainly because I've been harassed on the internet and have had stalkers online. Plus the love for cartoons and anime. If you're into cartoon commentaries, check him out. He's underrated. (Also....some ace representation for all my ace people here.)

Dhar Mann's a real piece of human garbage! The fact that he still has supporters is sickening. Again, I feel bad for all the actors in his videos. They deserve better.

#mello speaks #dhar mann #dhar mann is a piece of human garbage #please stop supporting dhar mann #dhar mann will live to regret his decision to make these fucked up cringe videos #dhar mann will live to regret his decision uwu #dhar mann is a cringe ass nae-nae baby #being autistic isn't a bad thing #autism isn't a different ability stop fucking saying it is #autism spectrum disorder #light it up red #light it up gold #autism self advocacy network #autistic women and non binary people network #tw ableism #long post #dhar mann makes me so angry oh my GOD #this probably won't be the last post made about him #tw dhar mann

[struggle-but-its-all-ocean-floor]

I don't get it - what's wrong with the BB interview? Even you've addressed how PTD wasn't that great yet still raced to #1. They could change their rules but to what exactly? It's a popularity chart. If the same people are streaming the same song over and over - is that not precisely what manipulating the charts is? I mean, we're smart and found a great loop hole but how is this great for the boys? Making them think they're more popular than they actually are? PTD was weak, man and I love them??

I'm really glad you asked me this question because I wanted a chance to talk about what I did find insightful about the article. To be honest, when I started reading the article I thought "They're right", but the more I read it the more the lack of professionalism and the clear agenda it had bothered me.

First of all, talking about chart manipulation isn't a bad thing. But paying a group to be on the cover of your magazine and mentioning their achievements only to question them isn't the right way to do it. You think they'd do this with anyone else? Had it been Dua Lipa, the article would've been about her artistry and achievements in the industry, and she would've been portrayed in a positive light. Did BB even treat BTS as artists? To me they were only treated as an interesting phenomenon.

BB could've done an exposé on BTS and chart manipulation, but not like this. It's a bit rich for BB to question BTS only. Instead of opening a discussion about the merit of the charts and the ways the industry circumvents BB's guidelines, the article points fingers only at BTS, implying that, in contrast with Dua or Olivia, BTS are cheating the charts. BB essentially avoids taking responsibility for its own methods and its influence in the industry by saying BTS are the only ones compromising the legitimacy of the charts and their value. It's an easy way to make BB look good and BTS look bad - the charts and the US industry aren't the problem, BTS and the Korean music industry are. Throughout the whole article, the way they talked about the "fascinating" case of HYBE and BTS's success felt more like an insult than a compliment, or even an objective analysis. Anything related to Kpop or Korea was more or less used against BTS.

Second of all, the way they discussed chart manipulation was deeply flawed. They didn't lie about Army's strategies nor were they wrong to question the ethics of mass buying, but they should've done their research first. Quoting twitter users, alluding to "experts", admitting they didn't know exactly how Army operated, etc. is really bad journalism. They want to expose BTS for chart manipulation without proper evidence? The language they used conveyed ambiguity and uncertainty too. They never explicitly stated things, it was all hearsay. What kind of journalism is this?

But, again, even if they had done their research, targeting BTS without likewise exposing other artists on the charts is having a clear bias.

The article was also very interested in HYBE. This is another interesting topic, sure, but HYBE isn't BTS. If they wanted to write about HYBE they should've done so in another article. And it's telling that they talked about HYBE almost exclusively in an unflattering light. What they said wasn't false: for example, they questioned the company's longevity and worth due to their undeniable dependence on BTS - I agree with that, but what about HYBE's success story? BB aren't anticapitalism. They are pro-money hungry companies, and HYBE is certainly smart when it comes to money. Were it any other company, BB would've been all over that. But with HYBE they mention Army, and how HYBE exploited the fan-artist relationship, as the reason behind the label's success only to make HYBE and Army look bad. Artists profit from their fans, but usually no one talks about it; it's bad form. We talk about how cool and iconic Beyoncé is, not the amount of money she made, directly or indirectly, from her fans - or rather, the money she makes from her fans is legit and not worth questioning, unlike the money BTS make from Army. (As an aside, had Beyoncé been on their cover, do you think BB would've questioned the legitimacy of her feminism/activism due to the money she earned from a clothing line made at sweatshops employing mostly woc?...)

I agree that the relationship between BTS and Army is interesting, but streaming is only the tip of an iceberg that BB didn't bother to uncover.

To me, it's clear they had an agenda. The way they spoke about BTS's diplomatic passports, HYBE, Army, the charts, etc. - all of it had a negative connotation and contributed to the narrative of BTS being shady or puppets, or whatever. It was more of the "dark side" of Kpop. Why does no one talk about the dark side of American pop?

Also, like I mentioned, the article tackled too many topics. If you want to talk about HYBE, write an article about HYBE - the company's executives were quoted more than most of the members; it doesn't make sense. And if you want to talk about chart manipulation, that's a separate topic that shouldn't be the main focus of a magazine Army is expected to buy. Who, if not Army, is expected to buy the 7 different editions for each member? Army is supposed to buy an article slamming them and BTS?

There is a time and a place to discuss these things. Most of what was said was legitimate, but the authors twisted the truth to fit their narrative when they refused to do actual research on the topic, quoted fans of artists competing with BTS on the charts, and refused to look at chart manipulation as a whole and how other artists are attempting it as well (they even pointed out that other artists' fans try to do what Army does but less successfully - which is why they are... what, more innocent than Army?...).

Another thing that was unprofessional was the fact that BTS were rarely quoted directly. On the last part of the article, regarding the English singles, I can't even form an opinion on what was said due to the ambiguous, even manipulative way, the section was written. They quote an executive on how BTS compromised with the company and make it seem like BTS were unwilling to release English tracks (which fits their narrative), but they don't quote the members themselves. In the initial article I read they noted that RM remembered the situation differently and quote him saying "There was no alternative", which made it seem like RM was never in conflict with HYBE. But now the article states "RM wasn’t fond of the idea, though he acknowledges it was a crucial way to keep buzz alive during the pandemic. “There was no alternative,” he says.", and now it seems like RM opposed Dynamite at first, contradicting the initial article. This correction only corroborates with BB's narrative. But what about the members that were allegedly in favor of the single? And why is Jin only quoted to share the struggles of recording the song? Why was nothing positive said about Dynamite when we know for a fact they must've said it? It simply wasn't interesting to BB. The members were only quoted when they had something juicy to say, and we were never offered much context or told what question they were replying to, what tone they used or how it fit the real time conversation BTS were having with each other and with the interviewers.

Essentially, although the writers didn't lie about most things, the article was biased, ambiguous, unprofessional and lacking in direction. It was like three insufficiently researched and prejudiced articles in one.

Also, while PTD wasn't that great, there are many not so great songs that make it to n.1 on BB. Being great has nothing to do with your results in the chart. Many artists make songs no one really likes yet we're forced to listen to them on the radio anyway. Fans streaming like it's their job and bulk buying songs isn't right, but at the very least you can say that it is their choice, and it reflects the fans love for their artist even if it doesn't always reflect their love for the song. A lot of American artists have it easy and top the charts with generic songs that the GP listens to without even meaning to - they're just shoved down our throats by their labels. That's chart manipulation too, isn't it? What is BB supposed to represent? Popularity? If so, maybe BTS don't deserve the top spot, but maybe those artists who do only get that number 1 because their labels know how to put them up there. If more artists had the same treatment that artists like Dua Lipa get, then maybe the n. 1 song would be different. Isn't that chart manipulation as well?

#ask #bts #billboard #I hope I expressed myself correctly #this is a long post but whatever #thanks for the ask #sorry for any typos