#also i do need to say: i kind of dislike a lot of arc one?? but it does it's job
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Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💗
number one: HI HELLO I LOVE YOU FOR THIS /platonic
number two: i.... have not written five fics that would be applicable for this (oops)
that said:
[it was futile]
"This isn't real. It... it was just a nightmare. A lucid dream of a doomed timeline, crafted of guilt and subconcious. To wake up, perhaps he needed to give in, let the creeping fog wash over him...
After all, there was no point in fighting the inevitable."
Several months after the invasion in New York, Leo wakes up surrounded by a nightmare he thought he had escaped -- and he's not alone. Delirious, scared, and confused, the only thing he wants is to find his way home.
But things are never that simple.
aka: a (reverse?) future crossover fic that features angst, hurt/comfort, my fucked up reimagining of the apocalypse timeline, and a lot of details that might become plot-relevant later (ahahaha... dw abt it)
this fic is very much a slow-burn. i have a lot planned, so i spend a lot of time weaving in details/foreshadowing that won't pay off for a while. as it stands, we're around 50,000 words in and i'm just about to get into the main plot. so.... yeah haha (really want to get the next chapter out this sunday/monday, but we shall see haha.)
(i am so bad at hyping up my own writing, so i hope my commenters do not mind me using some of their reviews):
frequent commenters my beloved <3
(this is not the entirety of this review btw -- if you want to read the entire comment, you can do so here. mild spoilers (nothing that would matter), but it goes very in-depth about what you can expect from my style haha.
credit to @shadowbends, you are so cool, and every time i need motivation, i just reread this comment.)
#i do have a side project in the works but my main focus has just been this one fic lmao#i'm not a slow writer per se but i am a very thorough one#so i can only focus on one big concept at a time#but i also need a break sometimes so i have smaller side stuff I'll work on#usually that's just silly prompts n' stuff#but usagi yojimbo has taken me by the throat so i *have* to write something relating to it#even if it is leoichi haha#rottmnt#asks#fic recs#self rec#iwf#it was futile#also i do need to say: i kind of dislike a lot of arc one?? but it does it's job#idk ive looked at it/reread it _a lot_ to make sure i'm remembering all my details/not forgetting anything important#bc there is... a lot in here haha#long post#tw long post#confessionals#i love love love talking about the meta aspect of my writing#if i were not trying ro be all secretive and pretentious i would just tell everybody everything down to the smallest detail#but alas i have the whole “mystery/enigma” aspect going on here#shout out to my commenters i love you (mwah <3)#undescribed
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1. Why do you like or dislike this character? - Percy and/or Keyleth?
I like both of them, so:
I like Percy for the surface reasons of intelligence and witty comebacks and the general Taliesin Jaffe Arrogant Guy Is Confidently Wrong About Many Things reasons, but more specifically I like how incredibly aware he is of social structures and doesn't dismiss them as stupid or fake or meaningless just because he is aware how much artifice is involved. I love how much he validates Vex in this, as someone who's been on the other side of that social divide most of her life and who knows she "shouldn't" care but does, deeply. It would be so easy for him to say "look, titles are stupid and fake, I should know, I have one," but instead he says "no, I see what this means to you, because yes it's all an accident of birth and yes it is kind of stupid and fake, but it's also the reason why you lived rough for your teens and early 20s, and you are not silly for wanting this security." I also think he's a great exploration of guilt and of someone who has a lot of complicated feelings from the gods but does value their counsel; we don't get a lot of characters with that sort of nuance. His scene with the Raven Queen remains a standout for me and for all he can be melodramatic and obnoxious at times, he is also like 25, traumatized, and should be at the club. I think the question he answers (why would someone invent the gun) is an interesting one, and I think the way that his story ends up with the obvious inevitable happening and yet he still finds happiness is unexpected and wonderful to see.
I like Keyleth for a lot of reasons people will probably be annoyed about, which is...she is annoying. Annoying women: may we know them, may we be them, and may we raise them. Anyway, I think her terror of doing the wrong thing at the cost of doing anything sets up a fantastic arc for someone who is expected to become a leader. I admire how she knows she's not the most eloquent and is scared of her responsibilities but does not back down from speaking up when she disagrees with the party. I like how she's perhaps the only example of lifespan angst that is actually portrayed as making a lot of sense, especially since she is also extremely young (probably shouldn't be at the club given the bar crawling results. She should be at ZooLights and have like, one cider.) I think in general her fears are incredibly real and make sense for the character and shape her, and that's not something you see portrayed with this amount of depth very often. I stuck with the VM-era portrayal of Percy but I will say I especially love how Keyleth is portrayed in Campaign 3, because Percy hasn't changed a ton in adulthood, merely mellowed out a little, but Keyleth very much has as she's grown in confidence, as she was only at the beginning of that during the Campaign. I think her relationship with Vax is incredibly good for both of them; her sense of belonging to a place and his ability to support. I do like that she gets angry, especially after so much time being insecure, but I feel much has been made of her anger and I don't have a ton to add there, and also while I like that she is angry and expresses it, there are other characters I gravitate to for that specifically. Also I have incredible respect for her having to take on a much bigger magical burden than expected; I have said this before but my longest-running character was in a campaign where the player playing sorcerer switched to ranger, and the cleric left, leaving me as the only full caster and primary healer (though thankfully we got a baller paladin shortly after). The fact that Keyleth had to, and could, be whatever the party needed mechanically was a godsend. I know VM died a lot but they would have died like 20 times more without her and Scanlan and especially without her.
#answered#essayofthoughts#cr tag#*bad percy fan voice* i don't actually care about his mechanics very much. i mean big damage is fun and i love an action surge#but i have never been able to give a damn about dps
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How are we feeling at the book finale? Because outside of the Sunbeam girlboss moment telling Berryheart just how bad of a family she was AND maybe possibly foreshadowing her rejecting Nightheart, I think we miiiight get some more Dark Forest cats than planned before :D (also I may be wrong but- didn't Podlight have children? Would he even be eligible as Medicine Cat in BB?)
Podlight's totally eligible in BB! He has no canon children and I didn't give him any. In BB there's also an interesting quirk in that Podlight is notoriously Mistystar's... not EXACTLY a good-for-nothing grandson, but a bit of a "fratboy" working through daddy issues. Is is extra funny for this cat to be a villain lmao.
Also: Better Bones RiverClan Family Tree
Anyway... my thoughts on the spoiler thread's ending. Mostly negative, unfortunately. I am really hoping that a lot of this is misrepresentation.
I've enjoyed every book of ASC that's come out so far, but if this thread is accurate, this is going to be the first one that I actively dislike. It sounds like there was a serious nosedive in quality.
ON THE ENDING; Park Cats, and The Berryheart Gathering.
Park Cats.
It is profoundly frustrating to me that we had TWO traveling books in this arc. Do they not know by now that traveling books are widely detested for a reason??
Frostpaw and Nightheart were AWAY FROM THE CONFLICT for most of this book, what the fuck?
The plot barely advanced at all. There's been one major conflict in this entire arc, the invasion of RiverClan, and we are 4/6ths of the way through without any other major battles. This is boring.
Riverstar is a major character through this bullshit, now with a magical perfect connection to Frostpaw through plot convenience so he can give her tutorial tips, because GOD FORBID we have a more grounded story for once. I'm so sick of DOTC fanservice. Was a super edition not enough?!
And speaking of Riverstar's Home, they pretty clearly ripped a lot of inspiration out of it. Frostpaw and Nightheart go on a journey with random human-related shenanigans before finding a cardboard cutout of a culture
I'm not gonna lie guys. I do not like the Park Cats. I HAVE TO SAY; It's a step in the right direction
They are not demonized. They are treated as good and legitimate. They are seen as having wisdom and living peacefully.
This is Good. This is Fine.
(im still kind of mad they needed riverstar to come save them back in riverstar's home, like every non-clan culture does apparently, but HOKAY fine ok it's fine)
.....butt.
They're boring. guys, they have one thing that is unique to them, and it's meditation. They live in perfect peace and harmony. there's nothing there.
It's easy to be a perfect, peaceful society if you have no conflict ever.
IF THE SPOILER THREAD IS ACCURATE, we don't see them address strife, how they DO handle disputes, what DOES happen when a cat engages in "criminality," or even really see what their spiritual beliefs are besides "meditating"
And that's why the idea of Frostpaw taking away a good lesson from living with them strikes me as so hollow. WHAT is she taking from them? JUST vague, quiet meditation?? Why couldn't Riverstar just magically teach her that?
It also bothers me that this culture is exactly the same as it was in Riverstar's Home. It's in stasis. Nothing has changed, nothing has grown, they haven't picked up new customs. They don't even seem to have their own history besides remembering that Riverstar showed up generations ago.
It's not a culture, it's a plot device.
I swear, I'm really trying to like them, but RH left this really sour taste in my mouth and them showing up again in this book has only made me more frustrated.
I AM happy that we're going to maybe start trying to address the violence of Clan Culture, but it is coming in the middle of a book where nothing fucking happens, and they're starting to fumble the bag on the xenophobic radicalization that I'd been praising in the past few books
And by that, I'm referring to...
Berryheart's Gathering
through the books so far, I've been praising the slow rise of tension coming from the radicalized members of ShadowClan.
I think the way that Berryheart and her little Concern Club had been slowly escalating in their bigotry and violence was (and remains) unironically fantastic.
We had started off with it just being a group to "discuss the issues," which evolved into active bullying and harassment, progressed into attempted murder, and we left off on the idea that Berryheart's Hate Group was planning something with RiverClan's murder party.
And we are reaching a turning point in that arc, the payoff of a long and well-laid escalation, with...
normal democracy.
berryheart and her supporters approach puddleshine reasonably with their concerns and intent to call for a vote to depose tigerheartstar. doing the thing the fucking code addition was made for
This comes AFTER Sunbeam has a Girlboss Moment telling off Berryheart for being a bad mom in front of the whole gathering and everyone claps, mind you, so this is clearly supposed to be the narrative's big "oooo consequences for Berryheart" moment
So anyway Berryheart brings up that they want tigerHeartstar deposed, and then Puddleshine's like "haHA THIS WAS A ROUSE"
"Actually I only told you i agree to point out how this code addition can be exploited over a disagreement with ONE issue!!!!1"
i just...
im......
would Brokenstar training babies be One Issue? Would Bramblefake being a bully to his entire clan be One Issue? Would Leopardstar allowing Tigerstar to take over RiverClan be One Issue?
One Issue....
And MIND YOU I'm Pro-tigerHeartstar, actually, but the WHOLE fucking point of the rule is that you can depose someone who is not acting in the best interest of the Clans. Fym ONE ISSUE??
IT'S A BIG ASS ISSUE!
So anyway Berryheart is embarrassed in front of everyone, tigerHeartstar tells the group, "You're going to support me or get out of my Clan"
All of her supporters fall in line, but Berryheart chooses exile.
So Berryheart and her group isn't punished for the hate crimes, it didn't lead to anyone getting actually hurt, this faction of cats just settled back down and Berryheart alone was exiled for political opposition to occupation.
not the hate crimes
GOTTA STRESS
The hate crimes did not cause lasting damage, the radicalized group did not cause any violence at this gathering
Berryheart is exiled for political opposition to occupation.
The consequence she faces for the hate crimes was simply not having her son Spireclaw back her up because she caused trouble for Fringewhisker. Like it's on the same level as being a bad in-law and not ATTEMPTED MURDER BASED ON BIGOTRY
And tigerHeartstar, jesus christ
His consistent trait has been becoming unreasonable WHEN HIS FAMILY IS THREATENED. WHY are we tossing this out the window now?
I REALLY REALLY hope that the spoiler thread is misrepresentation, and tigerHeartstar didn't ACTUALLY exile her but said something like, "this is what we're doing. don't like it, leave. you don't have the votes"
SO FOR NOW; I'm going to reserve judgement on what the writers are doing with tigerHeartstar.
This seems like the exact sort of thing that may be worded in an inaccurate way
But that said,
I'm beside myself with disappointment in this turn of events. Why is this about legitimate political proceedings? Why did they make the CULMINATION of this arc about bigoted violence and radicalization a legitimate, peaceful attempt to use the process THEY JUST ADDED, FOR THIS EXACT PURPOSE?
Anyway, then it ends on a cliffhanger
Podlight claims to be the new medcat, pointed out as just being a political maneuver, to appoint Splashtail as the new leader.
Frostpaw watches on in shock and thinks about how bad it is that a murderer is now in charge of RiverClan, and how no one would believe her if she told them all now
I sure hope the next book contains something worth reading. like a fight or something. in the battle cat series. in the arc where theyre trying to say something about violence.
#ASC Spoilers#Thunder Spoilers#there was also sunbeam stuff. she was the highlight of this book just. btw#her stuff is good but it's not the main conflict#and I think the plot is a lot more important#ugh#disappointing.#I'll fix it. but still
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here we go again
yet again, I speculate about the character who is only mentioned within Fallout 4- here’s what Cutler as a companion would look like if he survived the mutant hive.
You can find him working with Danse in Cambridge Police Station, and accompanies both of you to Arc-Jet and the Prydwen.
It would be that you get a choice who you want to take as a companion, but for BOS missions you can take em both and have a whole wall of power armour to protect you :)
Equipped with T-60b power armour with Knight paint- but you can command him out of it (gasp) Wields a laser rifle, but in major battles has a Gatling laser. Can take less damage than eg. Danse or Curie but can also access terminals up to the Expert level. Gifts you scrap that can be sold for a decent amount of caps or repurposed for materials.
Perk: Brothers in Arms
15% more damage while travelling with any companion that is neutral or allied with the BOS/ Minutemen
important- Blind Betrayal
you can take him along with you for BB and he has a lot of unique dialogue. Will absolutely hate both agreeing to executing and killing Danse- there’s a hard level speech check to make him stay after carrying out Maxson’s orders, being removed as a companion if you fail. If Danse ends up dead and Cutler stays with you, he’ll have a vendetta not for the BOS but for Maxson, and will confide in you his desire to see the man dead. If you bring him to the Prydwen, he'll approach Arthur, verbally berate him and drive a switchblade into his throat. This makes him (but not you) enemies with the faction; you’ll also notice he wears Danse‘s holotags after the mission.
supportive of Danse despite him being a synth, if anything caring more to protect him from their enemies. Remains allied with the Brotherhood if he lives, but more timid/ less of a personality with them
likes:
Kind decisions, being generous
anything in favour of the brotherhood/ Minutemen (loves)
Not using violence when applicable
aiding Danse (loves)
sarcastic dialogue choices
hacking unowned terminals
dislikes:
Being kind towards supermutants (hates)
helping the Institute (hates)
unjust cruel action (have a reason next time)
Being harsh in dialogue
lockpicking
pro-institute choices
neutral on synths, ghouls, the Railroad etc. isn't as extremist with the Brotherhood’s views as most soldiers, and believes more in Lyons' core beliefs than Maxson's.
Keeps the best interests of Commonwealth civilians at heart, will not show prejudice to most and is kind/ trusting in manner. Him and Danse have banter while travelling/ in settlements together, and possibly non-romanceable because why not, let's have a couple where one isn't dead.
some dialogue for an idea:
talking to settlers
Knight Cutler: Yeah. We'll sort a relay line out soon, don't you worry. It's our duty as the Brotherhood of Steel to protect.
about BB
Knight Cutler: What the fuck have you done, Knight? Is this- is this some kind of sick joke? You put a bullet in his head when he needed you most, and now you won't even pay your damn respects... consider our partnership over. What you've done... it's despicable, to say the least. Why couldn't you let me pull the trigger? Perhaps it would've done him more good to see the face of someone who cared before...
to MacCready
Knight Cutler: MacCready! Long time, no see- how's Duncan doing these days?
MacCready: Much better thanks to this one's help (gestures to sole). Take care of yourself out there, Cutler. Wouldn't want to see a good guy like you blown to bits.
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If you won some sort of lottery contest and DC allowed you to write a comic run for any character, any topic, no limits, what would your comic be like?
What kinda plot and characters would you want to etch into official DC canon? (Or would you prefer to write an elseworlds kinda thing?)
-redhoodinternaldialectical from the "main" blog
Sorry it took a while to answer this, I got pretty carried away! Jason is my favorite character and the character I know most about, so of course I'd write about him. This is going to be pretty long winded and fanfic-y, hope you don’t mind!
First things first I’m making both UTRH and Lost Days mostly canon again. Jason was a crime lord who did Mean Crime Lord Things for a while and that’s what I’ve decided everyone is referring to when they gesture vaguely to his villainous past.
I’m also bringing back the original “big boob” backstory where Jason makes Bruce laugh on the anniversary of his parents’ death. Catherine was an opioid addict due to illness, Willis was the person who taught Jason about cars (and thus how to jack tires) and Faye Gunn is no longer Jason’s grandma. (I really disliked Ma Gunn’s “redemption” in RHATO.) Just in case, I’m also reiterating Sheila’s role in Jason’s death.
Here’s a few lines I came up with for the Todds:
Jason keeps the letters Willis sent him from prison - the ones Ma Gunn hid- in the same picture frame that holds his Robin graduation photo with Bruce. He loved and resented Willis in equal parts, but mostly he regrets not having gotten more time. It’s all the same with fathers.
Catherine is curled up in bed, her expression is half a grimace. She asks Jason, who is reading a picture-book by her side, to get her ‘medicine’ for her. Jason doesn’t know how else to help her feel better so… that’s exactly what he does. In a moment, he returns with a small heart shaped box and a cup of microwaved soup.
If I can imply in some way that Catherine is in denial about the possibility of her dying I’d like to do that too.
I’m also doing a total overhaul of the All-Caste.
Essence is getting proper Tibetan braids, Ducra is going to wear a khampa chuba instead of her current old coat, and the Acres-of-All are getting reimagined as a towering Ziggurat with all the murals, pillars, curtains, and ornate trim befitting a monastery! The All-caste of memory will be bright and fantastical, but the ruins of the present will be dark and spooky.
Some references for what I'm talking about.
I’m also reframing the “Absolute Evil” part of the All-blades’ description to be an epithet for the Untitled. The sword is not literally judging Goodness and Evilness anymore; now they cut through negative psychic energy Jujutsu Kaisen style. I don’t think I need to spell out a justification for Jason being able to summon them whenever, but for any sticklers I’ll just say it’s because Jason- like the Untitled- has a lot of bad feelings and trace amounts of Dionesium in his system (among assorted other chemicals.)
Since Lost Days is being brought back that means instead of spending an entire 3 years with the All-Caste, Jason only spent a few weeks with them during his world-wide training arc. Ostensibly because a little magic would give him an edge over Batman. Ducra wouldn’t normally just give away powerful magic weapons to any chump with a free weekend, and she knew Jason was dangerous, but since the All-Blades are so specific and the ritual to attain them nigh-unsurvivable she saw an opportunity to use Jason. Sure she's one of the Good Guys, but she's not called a conniving old witch for nothing hoohoo!
Now a few plot ideas for a vague overall mini-arc.
First, Jason goes to ugly lengths to protect or prevent consequences from finding one of his family. Maybe someone threatens their secret identity…? The ‘opponent’ should be someone innocent and/or noble but not easily bought or fought. Maybe Vicki Vale, another Hero, or some kind of wealthy heir. The point is to cast doubt on if Jason’s return to the Bats is really so unquestionably redeeming. Jason has pretty much chosen to betray his morals for them after all.
Then, Jason chooses not to kill a villain who shortly afterwards victimizes more people and skips town before he can get caught. Basically a rehash of Diplomat’s Son except the Garzonas figure gets away. It’s technically a win for Batman- his presence kept Gotham safe after all. But it doesn’t feel like a win, especially not to Jason.
And finally, Jason frames himself for various murders committed by victims against their abusers. Maybe kick the story off with one of Ma Gunn’s boys killing her and telling the cops it was Red Hood in a desperate bid to avoid jail.
Obviously Jason can’t be allowed to do this long-term. It’s a bad precedent to set, an obstruction of justice, etc… Jason hasn’t broken The Big Rule though, and Bruce can only act so sanctimonious when those same complaints could be are made about him as well. There’s no way this ends any other way than Batman running Red Hood out of Gotham again and they both know it, but neither deviates from the path set before them.
One or two “monster of the week” issues where Jason fights various assassins and bounty hunters sent by his more influential enemies might be good- one should occur right after the above story. A consequence for his “return to form” so to speak. Batfamily fans may appreciate a scene where Bruce says something indicating that he ran Jason out for his own safety as well as Gotham’s. Batman may be able to hide in Bruce Wayne’s skin during the day but Jason’s only identity is that of Red Hood, and at times that makes him vulnerable in a way other heroes aren’t. This + some panels contrasting the generic mercenary look of Jason’s guns and equipment with the Bats’ spandex future-tech will be great for showing how separate Jason is from the Bats.
Now while Jason’s out of Gotham again there’s this detail in one of RHATO’s flashbacks that I want to expand on- that being how he used to be able to summon a lot more All-blades.
Red Hood Outlaw 34
“I had a lot of soul back then” - implying that he has a lot less soul now…!?
Jason’s been through a lot, in life sure but also more recently. Fight scenes where the All-blades take the form of daggers would not only be cool and evocative of the wavy dagger Talia gifted him way back when, they’d be good visual sign of his declining emotional state.
Later on as his soul ‘shrinks’ further, I’d give him a pair of mystical guns through which he can channel his All-blades into bullets. If it’s another gift from Talia I’m thinking dark brass revolvers with paisley filigree and a red Endless Knot charm hanging from each handle. If they’re from Essence or S’aru I’m thinking black lacquer and silver cloud-patterned ornamentation, with red coral embedded on either side of the gun. Beautiful Bayonetta-style guns with glowing red veins and a cowboy flair!
antique guns which inspired me
As for what he’s using the All-blades (All-bullets?) for, I think it’d be fun to have Jason exorcising some ghosts. He can solve various murder mysteries, figure out why this place or that person is haunted, and get into fights with horrific otherworldly creatures. Jason is an interesting character to do this premise with because he might just determine that some some spirits should get their revenge, and act on behalf of a ghost rather than erasing it.
I’m not sure whether I’d want to have Essence join him or not… On one hand it only makes sense that Jason would help Isabel and Essence find a way to free themselves from the Blood Blade, and that goal would provide his character with some direction. Then again, Essence/Isabel could be cool as antagonists. Jason might see some ghosts as valid but Essence probably wouldn’t see any merit in appeasing manifestations of lingering resentment. She’s similar to him in that she also turned her back on her family, but she’s different in that she did it because she believed so wholeheartedly in their cause. She’s old and sort of a Jedi, but she’s hot-blooded and she’ll never not be Ducra’s daughter in the same way it seems Jason can never escape Batman’s shadow. I bet she has some real juicy sunk-cost fallacy type thinking too, that’d be fun to dig into.
Anyways I think this is a pretty good set-up to explore the politics/morality of forgiveness. What makes the difference between an injustice and a hatchet that ought to be buried? When is forgiveness empowering and when is it coerced? Who is it that must forgive? Justice vs Revenge, that whole kind of thing.
Other than the supernatural stuff I want Jason working with Talia, and I’m reintroducing Sasha to the post-52 continuity. Duela is getting nixed.
I don’t really have any specific plot ideas for Talia, but I would like to establish Jason as one of her associates. With Lost Days back they have basis for an actual relationship again. They’re not always on the same side but Jason can sometimes do tasks for Talia (outside the purview of Ra’s and the LOA), and Talia can occasionally support Jason with various social power-play type moves.
An instance of Jason getting into a fight with one of the Bats because he’s doing a favor for Talia would be great! I wouldn't write Talia as an evil evil bad horrible dragon lady, so it shouldn’t be a huge blow to Jason’s status as a Good Guy. Also I like the idea of Jason and Talia’s relationship mostly being inferred through their actions supporting one another, rather than directly showing much ‘on-screen’ interaction between them.
Also it’ll be interesting to go into Bruce, Dick, and Damian’s reaction to finding out that they’re not the only ones Jason is loyal to. Bruce thinking Talia was a bad influence on Jason (like fanon), silently frustrated because what he really wants is for Jason to be a full Bat-Believer (like the good old days…). Dick being fine with Jason never falling fully in-line with Bruce, provided that at the end of the day his loyalty belonged to his family.
-brief topical detour to talk about Sasha-
The new timeline of events is that Jason and Sasha met as fellow patients while Jason was in his Vague Villain era. They escaped the hospital building together (Sasha in her bloody dress, and Jason naked save for his skimpy hospital gown dhoti) and having no one else they stuck together. They got close but at some point Sasha lost her memories, giving her a chance at a fresh start. This was around the same time Jason “redeemed” himself and so just like Max Dawkins, ‘Numbers’, and Gabby Christiensen -Sasha became another person from Jason’s past that he didn’t let himself have a relationship with.
Sasha was just old enough that she didn’t have to be sent into foster care, so with some help from Wayne Foundations she got her GED and her feet underneath her. Now… she goes to work, goes to her physical therapy appointments, fights with her mother over the phone, and yes- sometimes she goes to the club.
The new Sasha still has spiky red hair but her face looks entirely normal save for a subtle scar tracing around her jawline and chin- the edges of where her mask used to sit. She wears dark makeup and even darker clothes. She’s prone to false memories and dissociation. She’s lost most of her ability to feel pain. She can’t watch certain shows she used to love anymore because they trigger her. She never returned to Russia. She doesn’t have many friends.
Since this is comics, her reintroduction will come by way of a dramatic fight. Sasha will regain her memories one day and show up out of the blue to fight Jason, angry and heartbroken that he abandoned her. He tries to explain himself but she just says look what they did to my face, referring to the facial reconstructive surgery she was given while amnesiac. She’ll be difficult to fight, not only because being a partial Dollotron gives her enhanced strength but also because she’s being reckless and the longer they fight the more strain and damage her body accrues.
After Jason apologizes and they reconcile (they will both cry) Sasha can become a recurring side character that Jason visits, keeping him grounded and up to date with Gotham. I think it'd be cute for her to bid him farewell by saying she’ll hold the city hostage until he comes back. (Is Sasha going to become Jason’s love interest? No. If I give Jason a love interest it’s going to be Numbers.)
--Going back to the previous topic, I want Sasha’s return to be part of this greater arc of Jason addressing his "shrinking soul" problem. My brain is a little fried now so I’m not exactly sure how but she is related. I think she ought to be.
Jason wants Bruce to be right. He would like for his problem to be fixed by going home and saying sorry. But at the end of my run I want him to face the reality that it’s not about that.
...Perhaps it should be about Jason 'abandoning' Gotham? I don’t really want the final thesis of my run to imply that Jason’s soul would just be fixed if he killed Rogues though, and Jason always came back whenever a big disaster was happening so it doesn't quite fit anyways… Jason does believe in the value of “pure” heroes it’s just not what he’s supposed to be. Whatever his problem's “about” , it ought to prompt Jason to stop taking Bruce’s shit. I'm saying the man is literally breaking Jason's spirit.
I’m sympathetic to Bruce but I wouldn’t write him as a nice father. I would also have scene where a younger Bat accuses Jason of being overdramatic despite 'not even having it the worst’. I don't know who 'has it the worst' but I want to make a statement that you don't need to win the pain-race to be fed up.
Ah anyways, now my brain is really fried. I hope this post was coherent all the way through, I neglected to edit and organize my thoughts as much towards the end. Thank you for asking me such a great question, I had a lot of fun thinking about it! :D
#me rambling so much#i have been holding onto this too long#I did kind of pull and UTRH part 2 electric boogaloo with Sasha didn’t I#except I characterized her as more like fanon/movie Jason#I fixed some of the typos now#oh god I forgot to mention:#I want to have a repeated motif of timekeeping sounds#beeping alarms ticking clocks beating drums#also I want Jason to show off his knowledge of bombs and poisons#Jason’s always making antidotes to shoot people with that ought to be explored#ahhhh the ideas won’t stop coming#jason todd#scarlet sasha#essence dc#headcanons#red hood#put a pin on it#📌
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thoughts on Astarion and asexuality
by a certified asexual ✌
yes, Astarion confirmed during Act II that he's only ever used sex as a tool (for as long as he's been a vampire anyway, which we learn later has been more than 80% of his life so far), either for his master because he was forced to or (more recently) for himself - to seek protection and trust, from you. he literally compares it to something disgusting to force himself through. but does that mean he's asexual?
yes, he talks about sex feeling "tainted" to him after he used it so much to lure Cazador's victims (and apparently, not just because it usually worked, but because he had to..? he doesn't specify, but lbr i wouldn't put it past the bastard to make it a rule of some kind, especially if he picked up on Astarion disliking it), but he also talks about being less disgusted by (quote) "beautiful" people (though he also conceded that in the sum of it all, that barely even mattered).
and he jokes about it being "almost [...] a challenge" to not have sex for a while (though it's unclear whether he thinks the player wouldn't be able to hold out, since it's supposed to be on his (Astarion's) terms?), and by the end of the romance arc, you can choose to have sex with him again and he'll enjoy it. all in all, it mostly really sounds like he's deeply traumatized (i mean duh, but yk, also sexually traumatized) and just needs a while to work through that (if you don't give him that time he'll go through with it once more but then break up with you, fyi)) and not like he actually doesn't enjoy sex, never has never will.
i know he was not written as asexual.
[ and yes i also know that asexuality doesn't mean having no desire for / feeling disgusted by sex, i know. but the day ace rep is portrayed any differently in media is still ages away, so i'm working with "character intentionally written as ace = character written as not enjoying sex" here. ]
But.
is it so wrong to feel elated at the thought that he could be? to interpret him that way? especially when he says "I don't think I want you to think of me in terms of sex. I don't know if I want anyone to." (and says the second part so softly, eyes downcast, utterly devoid of theatrics or feigned nonchalance - almost like he's surprising himself with that thought, and voicing it openly). I felt that so much. upon you inquiring further, he snaps almost defensively that he wants to be seen as a person, which i know, i know, easily works back into the trauma narrative of him not being seen as a living (well yk) being that has feelings. it clearly doesn't necessarily mean he dislikes being seen as a sexual being, just that he's more than that and is sick and tired of being reduced to it.
but something still jumped in me at that line. 'please don't look at me and think of sex' is a frequent thought in my mind, and looking at me and thinking of seduction is a joke and a half - i don't dress it behave it or talk it, ever. but nonetheless, the... fear, almost? is still there. (and maybe the very reason i take care not to send any contradictory signals, but that's a topic for a whole 'nother post - this isn't about me).
i just. do i think Astarion was intentionally written as asexual? no. do i think he should be, and that there's something wrong with seeing him or preferring him as allo? absolutely not either! but i believe just as much that it's valid to read him or prefer him as ace. and yk, obv everything is valid, canon is your sandbox and your headcanons are your own - but in this case, it's really, really close to being in the text. he resonates with a lot of us, one way or another, and i think that's beautiful.
#asexuality#ace things#baldur's gate#baldur's gate 3#astarion#astarion ancunin#*takes a deep breath and posts this*#i'm sorry this got a bit ramble-y but i do hope i got my meaning across ok#i love this game so much and i love him so much and every single interpretation that comes from a place of love is equally valid#this is just me talking my own personal feelings out#everyone who's read this far and/or wants to Yell @ me about him / this game / anything related do not hesitate to DM me btw!!#i have feelings for days (literally)
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atla live action thoughts: episodes 7 & 8
SPOILERS AHEAD
tw: opinions
things i liked:
i keep forgetting to say this but i love the stylization of the opening credits it looks so elegant
northern water tribe looks beautiful. the spirit oasis is stunning, this show almost never fails to deliver on visuals
i fucking KNEW they were going to end the season with azula producing lightning for the first time and it looks great i won't lie. can't wait for her blue fire
the pakku v katara fight is not bad actually, though it obviously doesn't hold a candle to the original. glad they kept the ice discs moment in because that was iconic and it does have a nice set-up of her learning it from the earthbenders
i do like that they allow aang to interact with different avatars and that they all give him different perspectives. it highlights the differences in their personalities and how the role of the avatar had to be adapted to the times they lived in
i can't remember exactly what it was but aang's line about how this isn't his world or his time went hard
"i underestimated zhao" "funny i figured that out as i was swimming away from the burning wreckage of my boat" i live for sassy zuko
good decision to take out pakku only deciding to teach katara because she was kanna's granddaughter. that reeked of exceptionalism and never sat right with me, so i appreciate that she at least proves herself and also that she includes the other women in the tribe when pushing him to let them fight
yugoda getting to yell at pakku for being a misogynistic idiot is exactly what she deserves, you tell him queen
KOIZILLA!!
seeing the fall of omashu to azula was an addition that made a lot of sense, and sets up the return to omashu episode in the next season nicely
things i disliked:
yue's wig was atrocious. can't believe i'm saying this but the shyamalan movie did it better. amber midthunder deserved so much better
the misogyny arc was a godforsaken mess. the northern water tribe is still sexist... but no one seems to be sexist except for pakku?? chief arnook seems to be grooming yue to take over as chief, the other male waterbenders are impressed by katara and respect her right away, yue seems to have a lot of autonomy, hahn is respectful and kind, and then pakku himself changes his mind on women fighting pretty much within one day. so what was the point of including it at all?
this show has completely nuked katara's rage. she would not be calmly announcing that she's fighting pakku as though it was a calculated decision because it very much wasn't! it was her sense of righteousness and outrage over injustice taking over and it hurts me deeply that they removed that because it's so important to who she is! i needed to see a LOT more power and fury in her in this scene but instead it felt extremely lukewarm
KATARA AND AANG NEVER. FUCKING. LEARN. WATERBENDING. for a show that marketed itself so heavily with the tagline "master your element" there isn't a lot of mastering going on here?? i'm sorry i don't buy at ALL that katara would be able to become a master with One waterbending scroll and watching some earthbenders. i know she's a prodigy but no one can be THAT prodigious. and it really makes her fight with zuko and subsequently being called master katara fall flat because i don't think i've been shown enough to justify that
also hate that my girl got knocked out halfway through the zutara fight because of the moon wtaf let her kick zuko's ass
a moment of silence for "aren't you a big girl now" and "you rise with the moon, i rise with the sun" you will always be famous
despite knowing the avatar needs to learn waterbending, pakku and arnook just?? walk away?? when they find out he hasn't??? SOMEONE TEACH THIS POOR BOY AN ELEMENT OTHER THAN AIR. ANY ELEMENT, I'M BEGGING
real quick, who had "momo saves a random little girl from falling rock only to be nearly killed and saved by yue and sokka in the spirit oasis" on their live action bingo? no one, that's who, BECAUSE THAT'S FUCKING BONKERS. people are dying all around them but sokka and yue decide this is the time to fuck off to save a lemur?? please be so fr
iroh telling zuko to remember his breath of fire when this show has not once established (at least, iirc) that power in firebending comes from the breath is... something. heavily dislike how little focus was given to the intricacies of learning bending in this series
HATE that they removed zhao dying because of koizilla and gave it to iroh instead. that was such a great moment of karmic justice for zhao and really highlighted how he brought about his own downfall through his pride and arrogance. i know they tried to show zuko's compassion by having him spare zhao and walk away (as a callback to the agni kai i'm guessing) but zuko risking himself to save the life of the man who tried to kill him in the original just hit SO much harder.
the pacing of the north pole arc in general was FAR too rushed. at least in the original animation we got the sense that they'd spent weeks there, but in the show it feels like it's been a couple of days MAX. there had to be much more time to build up the threat of the fire nation and the yue/sokka relationship
the sense of time passing was a problem i anticipated the show would have from the start because 8 episodes just feels shorter than 20, but i wish they'd at least done some montages or something to make it seem like time was passing between episodes. as it is, it felt like every episode picked up right after the previous and so the whole season felt like it happened within a week or two. which is a shame because it weakens the epic scale of their journey in having to cross the entire world
overall rating: 6/10. unfortunately i think these episodes were the weakest of the series both in quality of writing and entertainment value, but still fun to watch for the most part
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A few reasons I like and dislike the the new Percy Jackson show (and why I think the musical is better) - initial reaction
To start, I think this new PJO show is a million times better than that dumpster fire of a movie (though I love logan lerman <3). I like that it is quite faithful to the overall arcs and major plot lines of the book. I love the diversity and high caliber of actors (though I def have some Viria-art inspired character images in my head that are god-tier). I love some of the characterizations/portrayals, especially when it comes to making the character more complex (I really appreciate TV Sally for being a real person with complex emotion, though of course book Sally is my fav). And I love that it's so high budget and hgihly-anticipated (great marketing) that it is bringing this beloved story to a greater audience, especially the younger generation and older generation (as parents/grandparents) than those of us who grew up with the series.
I can boil down all of my dislikes of this show into one overarching but very essential part of the show: I don't like that it is a drama. The characters are way too serious and too every-other-moment-we-need-an-instense-heart-to-heart. What I think this show should have been is a comedy adventure with drama/melodrama sprinkled in. In the books, it's all about the banter. And the TV show does some good one-liners, but it's always so serious. I think the best part of the book is that the characters can stay light-hearted and fun despite the horrors and terrors they face. In the show, the gods spoon feed the trio most of the answers, so when they do have a good realization (SPOILER: e.g. Kronos being the orchestrating force) it kind of comes out of nowhere. TV Annabeth is so serious (I know in the first book she is her most serious, but not to this degree) and a lot of the moments when she has time to use her smarts are gone or approached differently. Percy, too. He's not just self-sacrificing (which they really lean into in the show) but he's also incredibly smart and silly. In the books he's kind of a surface-level himbo with great critical thinking, but in the show he's kind of left in the dark and doesn't get opportunities to make his own plans (also, he doesn't seem to know how to control his power (by the 7th episode); whereas in the book he def did at this point. Then there are just dumb changes to make the show more "serious" like not mentioning that cell phones attract monsters or that monsters just smell demigods and not have a 6th sense for them. I'm finding that by trying to change these small details to make it something more exciting or interesting, it's distancing us existing fans by not letting us relate to the small details that really don't matter. For the cellphones, they still use Iris messages rather than getting a payphone or something, so that's kind of a plot hole in the show that is answered by the book.
Anyways, those are my main takeaways. Now, when I say "the musical" I refer to The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical by Joe Tracz and Rick Rokicki which first premiered in 2014 but got revamped and redebued in 2017 (which is when it came into my life). I got to see it live in Toronto in 2019 with my middle school best friend, but have been an avid listener of the soundtrack since 2017 (the day it came out on streaming platforms).
The musical in my eyes is a nearly-perfect adaptation of the book. It's soo funny - def the action comedy I'm after, but does have the meaningful emotional moments (ballads, which are essential in musicals). The show itself if the full package; however, even just listening to the soundtrack gives you the whole gist. Here's a link to hte soundtrack on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFwX6FWeUFQ&list=PL0hK1fYMaqXbtZ0Fhm48TYcLJl7ikNX7Q&ab_channel=TheLightningThief%3AOriginalCastAlbum
Anyways, I want to hear more thoughts and pls tell me what you think of the show (and the musical!!)
#hoo#pjo#percy jackson#annabeth chase#the lightning thief#the lightning thief musical#percy jackson musical#grover underwood#pjo tv series#pjo tv show#pjofandom#sally jackson#review
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"Pet": Pretty Woman, But Gay
So I read the Captive Prince series way back in like, 2016, and read the first few short stories and never read the fourth one because I wasn't a fan of the character it would focus on. And then through a weird set of circumstances I found myself reading this short story this past week, and it might be one of my favorite short stories ever.
I'm posting under a cut because the series is very adult, and the short story and series itself contain triggering content.
Ancel is definitely a favorite character of all time now, which is impressive especially since I hated him. But that's kind of what CS Pacat does well--she writes unlikable characters who are indeed truly flawed and not just soft babies inside, and then makes you like them by showing their development without completely changing who they are as characters. It was the main strength of the original Captive Prince trilogy, after all--Laurent's development still remains one of my favorite character arcs of all time.
So really, I don't know why I was shocked at what she did with Ancel. Especially because the whole reason I hated Ancel was the same incident that made me dislike Laurent: a scene in which Laurent uses Ancel to sexually assaults Damen. And I still do think that particular scene is the biggest flaw in the series, because it's kind of glossed over in a lot of ways. Admittedly, that's still the biggest flaw of "Pet" as a story, too: that the story frames Ancel's low moral point as what he does to Erasmus, which is portrayed as an escalation of what he does to Damen, when I'd argue it's the opposite.
Yet, seeing things from Ancel's perspective--how desperate he is to matter, how he genuinely has only ever been used and so doesn't understand why other slaves wouldn't even try to perform and enjoy the meager scraps of joy they get in life--changed my perspective on him. Not on the incident, but on him.
Ancel's a brilliantly written unreliable narrator, too. As confident and vain as he seems, he's all too aware that he doesn't matter in the court. As much as he hates Damen and Erasmus for the former's refusal and the latter's inability to play the role, it's really self-hatred projected onto them. We see bits and pieces of this seeping through in his conversations with Berenger, such as him telling Berenger in a moment of delight:
"I'd even sleep with you. I might even enjoy it for once." He stopped.
"High praise," Berenger said dryly.
Ancel doesn't enjoy a lot of his life. But he'd never admit it, because he lacks control over pretty much every aspect of his life and so seeks to keep control over his thoughts by lying to himself. And yet, paradoxically, he's still one of the few people at court who is usually honest with others.
All of this is why Berenger is such a great love interest for Ancel. Berenger prizes honesty, but also freedom. He buys Ancel but refuses to sleep with him because he knows Ancel doesn't really want to, no matter what sweet nothings Ancel whispers in his ear. He respects Ancel's autonomy in ways no one else ever has, and he sees him as a person first and foremost.
Normally stoic "good guys" aren't super interesting as love interests for me. I like angsty tortured souls, Byronic bastards. But Berenger works perfectly in the story, and is no less interesting as a character than Ancel. To be fair, part of this is because everyone in Vere is insane and debauched and there needs to be one normal one there, and that's Berenger. Yet there's intrigue, too: why Berenger bid so highly to buy Ancel in the first place is never directly stated, but what he does say is that Ancel:
You took on every councilor in that room and won.
It wasn't the physical performance, but Ancel himself, his psychological performance. It serves as a metaphor for the overarching plot of the Captive Prince series, wherein the lowly and those who have everything against them end up taking on far more powerful individuals and systems and winning.
Which makes the last line of the story all the more fitting:
But if he wins?
Ancel may not be a pure-hearted individual, but all along he's showing Berenger that it is possible for those who have less to win, and to be loved and give love. He gives Berenger hope for the future, for the coming coup. And as we all know, Laurent does win, and I can only presume Ancel and Berenger live happily ever after.
My second complaint about the series is that the ending is too abrupt even if the ending line is perfect because that's my complaint about the trilogy too.
#captive prince#berencel#ancel#berenger#cs pacat#hamliet reviews#captive prince meta#captive prince pet
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So this post has me thinking. Because though the post and a lot of the comments talk about fic, this kind of scene-breaking PSA-feeling scene is something I run across in a fair amount of the M/M erotica/romance I read as well. (By which I mean a lot of indie/selfpub stuff, for clarification purposes) (don’t rec me ‘good m/m books’. my tbr is so long. my kindle is so full. im drowning. my god.)
In those, the ones that repeat are the ‘hey we’re both on PrEP!’ conversation, and the ‘when did you last get tested?’ conversation. The testing conversation also shows up sometimes in M/F that I read, and the one in there that also shows up is fairly naturally the birth control conversation. And first off—none of these are bad to have. None of them are automatically ruiners of good stories, or things you should cut!
What they often are is copy-paste scenes. They’re jarring when they happen because they aren’t written properly in character, and they take you out of the story and damage your connection to the narrative and to the characters. This is, in fact, he would not fucking say that time. This is not a problem of ‘including consent and safe sex is boring in smut’ (a whole other conversation). This is a problem of character voice and also bad dialogue.
Listen, I live here, on the internet. Bad smut is a time-honoured tradition here, and bad dialogue is at its wretched best in bad smut. I have an entire post in the works about writing good sexy dialogue—it’s hard! It’s hard to do!
(sidenote, this is why a lot of smut dialogue prompt lists make me cringe, because the dialogue is either poor, or so generic as to make lines that could be sexy in the right mouth sound poor.)
But the reason these consent-PSA scenes don’t work, and jar readers, is because you are putting words in your characters mouth that you want to say—for whatever reason; you think showing consent is important, you want to be clear about the consent given in the fic, whatever—but you are not saying them how your blorbo would say them.
I have an ongoing D/s romance series. Tens of thousands of words now. Twenty-four main fics, two unposted-yet novels, and a handful of side stories. The main relationship is a Master/sub relationship. They do a lot of kinky shit, and I can count on one hand how many times the couple sit down and talk about consent and they have never, not once, had a conversation on-page that uses the word consent.
What? Why! Space, why do you, person who is very passionate about proper consent and communication in BDSM play, not have any consent discussions in this BDSM fic?
Because those dialogues aren’t what the story needs. When it does, I include them in ways that are relevant to the scene and written in character, not as some obligatory cut-and-paste “do you consent?” “yes I do!” PSA. There is one exchange in fic 2 where the nature of the relationship is established. For the other six fics in that arc, I don’t have them sit down and negotiate scenes. It’s implied by a few lines that they talked about likes/dislikes off-page and then it’s back to the fun kinky shit.
And the thing is, they would say that. They would talk about boundaries and limits, and I could write an in-character conversation about that very easily. I didn’t, because that’s not the point of the story; the focus is on hot sex and emotional pining, and having a three-paragraph discussion about consent between them would get in the way of that.
(obedience readers i know at this point you’d read those two talking about the fucking weather but do not undermine my point here XD)
Listen, I’m just some guy. I take my writing seriously in that I want to be good at it, and I know a lot of people—especially in fic—are just having fun with it. That’s fine! Do what’s fun! But if you want to get better at writing porn, you can do that. I believe in you. You can have your enthusiastic consent and you can do it in character, in scene, and you can make it feel so natural no-one even notices you’re doing it because they’re too busy going ‘holy shit this is hot!’
This is kind of a rant but I just. am very passionate about good dialogue in smut. and about character voice. and i’m tired of reading the exact same PrEP-status conversation in my m/m novels. yes i get it author. you researched gay sex safety. im so proud of you. can we get back to the mediocre porn now.
#space has thoughts#writing#writeblr#smut writing#fanfiction#writing advice#(kinda)#please i just need everyone to get better at writing sexy dialogue#feel free to have a conversation with me about this but don't be a dick#pre-emptively: if you come on this post spouting anti/purity police bullshit you're getting blocked
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I remember you saying earlier (on twitter,not here) that the autobots were kind of boring,since they only fit into a few archetypes. I’ve kind of been thinking about that, and I thought they may also have been boring because of another thing: these few personality types means no one really bounces off eachother, and it doesn’t lead up to any interesting conflict.
This may only apply to G1,or I may just be talking nonsense, but compare them to the decepticons. The decepticons have a lot of different personalities , so they contrast against eachother and a lot of the times,disagree with eachother,creating conflict. However, with the autobots, the similar personality problem can come when no sort of conflict,even ones between certain characters,exists, and everyone has no sort of unique opinions towards eachother. And conflict,you know,makes up a lot for a story and characters.
A lot of people don’t care much about the autobot moments a lot, however you don’t really need to scour the internet to see videos and people posting about Megatron arguing with Starscream or skywarp getting clowned by rumble and frenzy, if you know what I mean.
hey!! wow, it is always surprising when people remember stuff I said lol
I’m admittedly just not really a big autobot fan (if I get the opportunity to write the autobots they’d be very messy) but I totally agree with you here—people seem to like the autobots, conceptually, for very different reasons than people like the Decepticons, and it factors into an interesting dichotomy between how different people view characters as a literary device.
while it isn’t a rule by any means, I’ve noticed there are a lot of people who love certain autobots, but specifically like them in isolation. the idea of the character is more important than anything they’ve actually done. pretty much every autobot that exists has a fan, but they could have little, if any, screen presence. this isn’t bad, of course! in many cases, it’s extremely novel and sweet. that being said, I’ve noticed that even the most prominent autobots have this happen—Optimus Prime is more of a symbol than a character, and that separation is a source of comfort.
This also happens with Decepticons, but I’d argue it’s to a lesser extent? They tend to have much more defined and consistent character relationships, arcs, and themes. The decepticons who are viewed in isolation most frequently would probably be Soundwave and Autobot Megatron, which is interesting (I am honestly not a fan of the modern characterizations of either of these, but I totally understand why people are!), in that their interactions, story purposes, and even personalities are flattened to separate them from the underlying narrative. People love the idea of Soundwave, but fail to give it a personality.
Once again, I don’t think any of this is bad! Moreover, isolating characters from the existing narrative and putting them in different places according to where they might better suit a story is a very good thing, actually. I’ve never agreed with the pushback for iterative/adaptive media altering existing characters’ traits or personalities to suit their thematic purpose, because I think it takes away the agency and undermines the vision of the artist. obviously you can dislike certain characterizations (I do that often) but blaming a deviation from the norm is extremely reductive. Trying to stick to an idealized checklist of how a character ought to act instead of recognizing them as a reactive, dynamic story device is how you end up with flat, unchanging characters and a boring story.
To tie that back to what I like about the decepticons, I think the fact that they are so messy is their strength—they aren’t all just different skins on the same archetype, they’re unique thematic elements which adapt and serve a function in the story. You can make them physically and even archetypally unrecognizable, but as long as you utilize them as elements in the story and afford them the conflict and complexity they deserve, it’s much more difficult to go wrong.
thanks for reading, and thank you for the question!! I hope this all makes sense—I wiped myself out last night and I’m still recovering, so I apologize if this was incoherent lol
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i'm suffering under the curse rn BUT. i am 3 episodes in to The Magnus Protocol and so far my thoughts are that it seems pretty good! on the one hand i should probably do my best to separate tmagp from tma but at the same time, i mean, the only reason i'm listening to tmagp is bc of prior attachment to tma, so it's interesting to me to contrast and compare them (though in all fairness it's been a while since i listened to tma).
the new cases are definitely cool so far in terms of allowing for more formats, i wonder if we're gonna get any future explanation for their eloquent presentation like we did in tma since idk if there's any hints so far at what the whole worldbuilding deal is with that so far in tmagp.
i will say that- do to the different formatting and immediate bigger cast who gets more focus and whatnot- tmagp feels more 'TV' in a certain way. which isn't a pejorative statement and i actually really dislike it when ppl assume something being 'TV' means it's low quality or shallow, lol. tmagp is a good example of something feeling 'TV' but it's a notable difference and is casting my mind back to the discourse/discussion about a tma tv adaptation and what that would look like back when archive 81 got one. i imagine it'd feel a lot more tmagp inspired.
cast is cool so far! i admire alice's actress for being able to pull of the extremely tumblrific dialogue (which i know is on purpose but was also VERY off-putting to me at first- it's the kind of thing that i love when written but spoken aloud in a fictional setting sometimes raises my hairs for some reason). i already love gwen, she's defs gonna be the toxic woman i get attached to and then regret it (assuming i listen to more episodes which i hope i do? i'm not great at it but i do like finishing things, my brain is just pulled into all directions rn if that wasn't already apparent). Colin you're great, i can't wait to watch you break down. Sam you're great too in a way that your personality rn makes me very excited for your potential future corruption arc (obligatory reminder i'm only 3 eps in and just making educated guesses based on what jonny and co did for tma, though i do acknowledge that there's a lot more fingers in the proverbial protocol pie rn)
in general i'm curious about the direction of the show, namely how they're gonna make it tragic in a way that's different to tma? bc i always maintain that the beauty of tma is the slowburn, and how everything happens so slowly that by the time you realise what path we're on, it's too late to stop any of it, and the more you learn about these people and this world, the more you realise it was always going to end like this, even if it didn't have to.
it's a tough feat to pull off and the inherently different structure of tmagp makes me wonder if they're gonna have to pivot what kind of tragedy this is. it's probably apparent right now to anyone who's properly caught up but as for me? i'm curious and cautiously interested. idk if i'm ever really gonna get involved with the fandom like i did with tma (bc that was a mostly great but also wild and formative experience for me and in general i'm bad at being multifandom no matter how much i wish i could be bc it would make my life sooo much easier. but unfortunately the shape of my autism (title of my new movie and/or hit single /j) does not allow for it with any ease. only struggle)
anyway i have an essay on political cinema to write so i really need to close this window lmao. will perhaps consider some kind of liveblog or sequel post to this as my listening progresses
#ramblings of a lunatic#not maintagging bc really only my tma mutuals (who are the real ones btw for sticking with me through my many pivots) r the ones-#-who'd be interested in my thoughts on this potentially lol#in general i was VERY sceptical of rq making a sequel to any of their productions let alone magnus#bc mag just didn't seem like the kind of series that would do well with one#but the spin-off/au angle does a lot of heavy lifting for this i think#like i think the magnus institute mystery would still be interesting- even if it wouldn't hit the same- if mag didn't exist...#...and it was just protocol#ANYWAY i desperatley need to write#if only a hundred words or so lol i do have plany off time (<- devil talking help me)
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Hi, don't know if you remember me but you recently rbed my post about how Siegfried reuniting w his daughters was a rushed scene and I wanted to hear your opinions on the matter? Sorry if it's overstepping but im just curious haha.
Have a nice day!
AH HI!!! right yes i did thank you for reminding me!!!! i have very strong opinions on the matter so ill be happy to share.
(for people who haven't seen the og post, here it is)
THE SHORT VERSION: i agree with you completely and am Extremely Angry at mihoyo because EVERYONE is mischaracterized in that scene. or rather, in the entirety of moon arc, but that's something for another post.
THE LONG VERSION:
I Am So Fucking Mad.
so first of all, im probs gonna focus on bianka a lot in this because im unbelievably obsessed with her. and goddamn was that scene so bad. and also repeat a lot of things you Already Said.
to begin. it's very rushed!!!!!! this scene in its Base Format is inherently flawed simply because... bianka would not reveal her origin that early. like obviously at that point she was already being written very ooc [LIKE EVERYONE ELSE IN THE ARC. SERIOUSLY. IM SO ANGRY ABOUT THAT] but arrrghgh. at least before this scene they at least pretended to preserve bianka's. how do i call it. General Cautiousness?
this is something that clearly means a lot to her and is shown before trying to figure out how to break the news in a gentle way. she is simply not a person who would say [in a very strangely spoken way] "oh im your daughter by the way". She Would Not. this is a woman who would awkwardly try to hang out with these two for a solid 2 months as she feels out how to Tell Them. while obviously, during moon arc she had already spent enough time with the rest of the main cast to Chill Out a bit, she's still just!! kind of emotionally and socially awkward!!! but in a completely different way than showcased in moon arc. does that make sense
also bianka does not speak like that istg if mhy doesn't learn the difference between a character that is Kind Of Serious and a character that sounds like they use a thesaurus for most their sentences-
but kiana and siegfried aren't safe from this either!!!!!! as you said. they departed on Not Great terms and have been separated for years. while they act as if its been maybe a couple of days. its very disappointing for me personally to see the complete lack of regard for the fact that yes, they do care about each other and this reunion is a very happy one, but still!! their bond was. a rocky one.
plus, there's a giant difference between a preteen and, at that point, an adult woman so. siegfried is not meeting the same person he lost. kiana has changed, and due to her experiences- probably even abnormally so, so they NEED to rebuild their relationship simply because even IF before their separation there was no conflict, it would change the fact its been far too long to treat each other as if they have never been apart.
AND the fact that kiana especially was so... unbothered? by the fact that DURANDAL IS HER SISTER. like. do i even have to elaborate. kiana kaslana, world's #1 identity crisis haver, someone who idolized, hated, and respected bianka [in that order], was just like. okay 💗 yay 💗? sighs so deeply. look at how they massacred my girls
theres much more i could say but i dont quite know how to put most of my dislike of this scene into words so like. arrggh. it was personally very very frustrating to me because, as i said, i am a big fan of both kiana's and bianka's. identity, and especially family heritage, is an extremely important part of both of their characters and it was physically painful for me to see a scene i looked forward to A Lot be dismissed like this.
which, unfortunately, is true for most of the moon arc, since it was the worst offender for characterization [or rather, lack thereof] in the entire game, with basically everyone being reduced to a mildly philosophical much so devoid of personality i probably couldn't tell their lines apart if presented with a couple. but alas.
at least salt snow holy city arc was amazing
#I HOPE THIS MAKES SENSE. I HAVE STRONG OPINIONS ABOUT THIS AND AM VERY MAD. sighs.#asks#biankaposting#eh sure ill put it in the main tags. look at my takes boy#honkai impact 3rd#hi3rd#bianka ataegina#kiana kaslana#siegfried kaslana
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The Perils Of A Set Up Episode
If you take even a basic writing lesson (and I'm talking super basic, like watching a YouTube video), you will probably learn two things: Show don't tell, and set up and payoff.
This is fairly decent writing advice, and though its universality is debatable, it can prove helpful. The issue I want to highlight, is that set up isn't always the most enthralling of things to watch or read. This isn't a fault, and there are a ton of ways that you can make set up interesting. It's also essential, in my opinion, to at least foreshadow elements of your story.
But why am I talking about this? Because the subject of this post is Hooty's Moving Hassle, the sixth episode of the Owl House, and this episode is entirely setup. As such, this post is going to try and analyse all of the things that this episode sets up, and some of the pitfalls that the episode falls into.
Let me explain.
SPOILERS AHEAD
One criticism of the Owl House that I have heard a lot, has been that the show starts slow, and that season one takes a while to find its feet. I don't necessarily agree that this is a fault, sometimes something needs time to gear up to a meaningful conclusion. Anime is famous for taking its time (One Piece is 1097 chapters long at the time of writing this), and the Owl House is plainly inspired by the genre, so I'm not holding this element of the show as a failure, just a difference in taste between audience members, which is perfectly fine.
That being said, pacing is difficult, and I am not blind to the fact that not everything can be a slam dunk. While Once Upon A Swap is the poster child for this part of the Owl House, Hooty's Moving Hassle is where I see it most obviously.
The problem isn't that this episode is bad, I want to make that clear. I do not dislike this episode. The problem is that this episode is entirely set up for other elements to come later on. This episode needed to happen, and this is a pretty good execution of that need, but that fundamental premise of making other stuff more digestible and interesting waters down this episode's memorability, in my opinion. (This is just my opinion; you don't have to defend your honour for liking this episode)
In any case, this episode is actually really well written for what it does. As in, this sets up a lot of things very efficiently, and I'm going to try and delve into some of these.
I'm going to start by just listing some of the ideas that this episode introduces.
The owl beast limits Eda's magic, and the curse is getting worse. What could this mean?
Tibbles' rivalry with Eda. You could say this is set up and payoff all in one place for this arc, but in my opinion, this just sets up later storylines with Tibbles.
The Night Market is a place where you can get weird stuff. What kind of weird stuff? Maybe weird stuff that could curse someone, I don't know.
It's also mentioned off handedly that Tibbles can just call the emperor's coven, which would mean that they know about this illegal market, and don't do anything about it. Why? What is their angle?
The moon has magical significance that brings things to life and revolves around friendship. This is kind of the Collector's whole deal in season three.
These goofballs. Tom steals the show here, but that's not the point. The point is that this is why the Owl Beast is kept a secret. If these guys want to sell a house demon to a restaurant, what might they do to Eda?
Willow and Amity used to be friends. This is why their relationship is so strained. Although I want to point out how this is said.
"When Amity got her magical powers, and I didn't..."
Willow then immediately shows how good she is at plant magic. So it's either Amity doesn't like magic that isn't her perceived normal, which has been disputed when she learns about the glyphs, or there is something else going on here.
More hints about Amity's whole deal. She lives in a manour, and she is starting to show some more sympathetic qualities towards Willow, even half-heartedly standing up for her. She doesn't actually help, and that's the point. She is willing to be "nice" but she isn't willing to back out of her societal status. One is important, but the other is more important to her at the present moment.
And finally, Hexes Hold'em. And it is this that I would like to dwell upon, because it is a neat little metaphor for the rest of the series. First up, what do we know about this game? It's addictive, and it doesn't make sense. You get called back to it because you think you will win. This isn't a sly point here, I'm not guffawing and saying that "oh the series draws you in with promises of greatness and doesn't give you it" because that ain't true. What I'm saying here is that this is Belos' whole plan.
You get drawn in with promises of greatness, the deck is stacked against you, but that's what will make it so sweet when you win, right? But you don't win, because there is a wild card in play. Even when you think you are winning, one card can turn the tables.
And that's also what Luz does. Luz is the wild card in the series, the spanner out of left field that Belos cannot predict. The question of the series is which wild card will prove victorious? And the answer is neither of them. The answer is the collector. Luz and Belos turn out to be the players, and the Collector themself is this wild element. Whoever controls the collector controls the game.
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#rants#literary analysis#literature analysis#what's so special about...?#the owl house#toh willow#toh#toh luz#luz noceda#owl house#the owl house willow#the owl house amity#eda the owl lady#the owl lady
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Now that the semi-finals polls ended, would you like to share your opinion on Kakashi's character? :)
Pie splat deserved
I think it’s obvious that I take in the story broadly through a Sasuke lens and so the biggest reason I hate Kakashi is because of the way he treats Sasuke. There are other reason sprinkled throughout but that’s why I mainly dislike him.
However firstly, I think it’s obvious based on the group of characters I’ve made clear are some of my favourites, but I’m very anti-Konoha and don’t like bootlickers. So that immediately makes me criticize Kakashi and knocks some respect I could have for him off.
Anyways, Kakashi is incapable of treating team 7, most specifically Sasuke but it does affect all of them, normally because he cannot stop projecting team Minato onto his team, and that heavily affects the ways that he interacts and treats his team. He obviously projects himself onto Sasuke and as a result treats him really weirdly imo due to his own self loathing. He teaches Sasuke (a severely traumatized child) the chidori in an attempt to alleviate his own guilt from creating the jutsu that killed his best friend. I really don’t see much, if any, reason that Kakashi did this outside of his own selfishness and he most certainly didn’t think it through in the context of Sasuke. Again, because he views Sasuke as a reflection of himself rather than being his own unique person. He then goes on to literally tie Sasuke to a tree and scorn him for using the chidori (and may I add— while I’m aware Sasuke asked for the fight against Naruto, Sasuke only raised the chidori in defence when Naruto raised his rasengan) and seeking revenge against Itachi (y’know, the man that killed his entire clan, manipulated him, and tortured him by making him watch Itachi killing his family for 72 hours straight), then he LEFT HIM THERE TIED UP TO THE TREE. Not to mention he once again reflects himself onto Sasuke by saying he personally didn’t seek revenge and chose to move on. They are not in the same situation. At all. Sorry but that just rubs on me very unpleasantly.
A lot of my distaste was actually from him in Shippuuden though because his treatment and attitude towards Sasuke just gets worse. When Sakura tries to go to kill Sasuke and he shows up he decides that getting Sakura and getting out isn’t the right thing to do, but decides it’s his turn to try to kill him….. Ehem….. Alright….. Claims that Sasuke has turned to some kind of dark side but claims Obito to still be a hero of Konoha later on….. What a man. Still on the topic of Sakura trying to kill Sasuke, he criticizes Sasuke not once, but twice (later on during a war…. There are bigger things to focus on here) about how crazy and messed up it was for Sasuke to attack Sakura…. When he didn’t just attack her, he acted in self defence after she tried to kill him. But does Kakashi critique Sakura outside of saying she knows she wouldn’t be able to beat Sasuke? No, he doesn’t.
With Sakura on the mind, literally during war arc (once again, more important things to focus on here) he tells Sasuke that Sakura suffers from loving him and that no one needs a reason to love someone, just to hate someone. This is such disgusting behaviour to me as he once again is discarding Sasukes feelings and what Sasuke has stated he wants. Sasuke had literally just told Kakashi how he feels but Kakashi does not care about what Sasuke desires. But it doesn’t matter to Kakashi because to him Sasuke is a reflection of himself and since Kakashi doesn’t view it that way Sasuke isn’t allowed to. It’s a really gross sentiment.
The whole thing of how Kakashi treated Tobi revealing the truth of the Uchiha genocide and the way he reacted to it is also incredibly upsetting. And that revelation still didn’t change the way Kakashi viewed Sasuke at all. He still felt it was right to try to immediately kill Sasuke rather than… Approach him in a similar way to Naruto. But whatever, I don’t feel like getting much into this whole thing though.
There’s other random things, he’s hypocritical within his view of Sasuke’s revenge, I find him overrated as a “powerful fighter”, I personally find him having the sharingan uncomfortable and undeserved, he did not show care for Sakura in the way he did to the other two in classic, bootlicker Hokage, ect., but I’m not going to delve into anything else because I don’t feel like it lol.
All in all I don’t care about people that do like Kakashi, but it annoys be that he’s so often portrayed as someone that he isn’t. I know there’s some good to Kakashi, I find his back story rather interesting as well, he has handled some things well, but the negatives heavily outweigh the positives for me. To Kakashi lovers that decided to read this, you are valid and it’s okay to like him. I just don’t.
#full thoughts under the cut#don’t start shit on this if you read it and get upset that’s all on you#it’s all under the cut AND it’s tagged properly#please make the right decision for yourself if you want to read this or not#i’m also not going to read over this so excuse any typos or messiness#anti kakashi#asks#anon#id in alt text
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About what you said in your last BB post, I wonder if it's true that Snake will kill Doll. I have read many comments wishing for that, especially on Twitter, and readers commenting a lot of hate towards Doll, saying that Doll was always okay with kidnapping children, and even now she's hurting children, so she deserves to die again, but Doll wasn't really evil, she was a kind girl :( I just can't accept Yana brought her back only to gain the fandom's hate and to be killed by Snake. I think her condition as a bizarre doll is making her to act like that. That's why I would like to know your opinion, since you seem to be one of the few people who doesn't hate Doll, do you think Snake will really kill Doll?
Hello! Thanks for your ask ♡
I didn't know about this hate towards Doll in the fandom (as I don't spend much time in social media nowadays, especially Twitter), but I wouldn't be surprised, fandom is biased lol.
Regarding my opinion, I think I already answered it in another post, so maybe I'm just repeating more of the same, I don't know, but here we go
I agree Doll used to be a kind girl in the circus arc, she always took care of the new ones, and she protected OCiel thinking he was a kid needing her help. She also was the most conflicted about the whole child abduction thing, and was very hesitant to hurt people as we saw in BoC. Doll had an innate kindness.
HOWEVER, first we have to learn to separate that Doll from this new Doll. Doll is now an advanced bizarre doll, and those dolls seem to be desperate for blood (as we saw with Layla), they can't feel physical pain, and seem to lack empathy for the lives of other humans because they have no souls.
So you got an idea.
It is understandable if readers dislike BD!Doll, but I disagree with those comments about her being always evil, because she wasn't.
Also, is Doll really evil now? And this question goes for all the bizarre dolls. It's not like Doll gave her consent to be brought back as a monster, as she called herself. And it's not like she is the mastermind behind the horrors of the orphanage, there is an organization behind it and if Doll is important is as a test subject, she is a simple puppet, a doll. And yes, it was stated in this post before, that it's probably that bizarre dolls are programmed with their "yearning for the future" and cannot escape from that. This arc could give us more insight about how dolls function regarding that topic.
Now, let's talk about Snake.
Snake's position is a very difficult one. Snake clearly loves Doll, she was a part of his family and it was hinted in the last cover that she saved him in a similar way Ciel did with Finny, and now he has her corpse telling him that Ciel killed her, and that the people he is currently friends with killed his first family... it's heartbreaking. On the other hand, there are innocent children being used as a material for the "Stars", and that must be stopped.
About the "Snake will kill Doll theory", I don't think that would actually happen, I mean it's still a possibility, but even if Doll goes completely mad and start attacking them so Snake would have no option, he would still resent o!Ciel for being forced to do that. I think things will be resolved differently.
Sorry for the late response and again thanks for the ask!
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