#he wasn't in the season 4 sets either and he was still a major character

[anishenanigans]

Quick reminder to the LMK fandom that the sets very rarely line up with what happens in the show!! They are very separate things most of the time. I know it's fun to piece together theories based on the scraps of info we got, but there's no use jumping to conclusions and worrying because [insert character here] doesn't have a minifig in this wave.

#Ik a few ppl have been concerned about Macaque because he's not in any of the sets. but like. #he wasn't in the season 4 sets either and he was still a major character #and considering the foreshadowing in The Emperor's Wrath it's reasonable to assume he's gonna be in the season lol #a lot of characters don't even have a set counterpart!! eg scorpion queen and the goldfish demon and kui mulang #Monkie kid

[darkpoisonouslove]

3, 6, 19 and 21 for Valtor and 2, 4 and 25 for Daphne from the character ask game? 🙏

Thanks for the questions!

Valtor:

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

How overpowered he is. This is literally the crux of pretty much every issue with him. I'm going to take them one at a time.

First off, it is ridiculously easy for him to just get what he wants. He barely encounters any obstacles at all, especially when the Winx aren't there to fight him. This creates inconsistencies with the backstory. If it is this easy for him to steal magic and he's so powerful, it is hardly believable that he wasn't doing this before he was imprisoned or that if he was doing it, the Company were able to limit the damage he'd do (especially since the leftover Company members seem so powerless against him in the present when they should be even stronger as fighters after the 17 years they've had to acquire wisdom, experience and to develop their magical abilities further; make it make sense!). And not just that. The idea that he can just waltz into both CT and Alfea, take over the first and dispose of the head of the latter, not to mention what he did on every other world he set foot on, erases any kind of stakes from the story. It implies that he cannot be stopped by the authorities. So why is he hiding then instead of taking over the world since nothing has given us the indication that there is a force that could stop him? Leaving that issue aside, he just succeeds too easily, which makes everyone else look like weak, incompetent morons and doesn't help him either. Most of the places he robs of their magic were hardly protected at all when making him struggle a little but still succeed and outsmart his enemies would have done much more to highlight his power and cunning. They just go about building him up as a threat in the wrong way.

Secondly, he starts to unravel so badly from 3x18 onwards. The minute they introduced the Agador Box, it was game over for him and his credibility as a villain. This might seem to go against the idea that he's overpowered as the Box seemed to be a plot device demonstrating that he, too, is limited. But the truth is that nothing they'd shown before has given us any indication that power could ever become too much for him. The Box doesn't make sense when his goal was always to collect power and he himself never gave any indication that he was getting overloaded in order to foreshadow his need for it. The truth is that they needed a way for Winx to defeat him after they went overboard with his abilities and the Box was pretty much it. All his spells go in, then with the help of some fairy dust all his spells go out. Boom! Problem solved. By a cheap plot to get rid of the virtually invincible villain they created. If they'd set some limits from the start, this literally never would have been an issue. I'd actually argue that it makes way more sense for him to come with preexisting limits installed by the Ancestral Witches. After all, they wouldn't want their creation somehow amassing enough power to overthrow them and possibly kill them. It would have given him something to overcome and been a much more organic way to keep him at a power level that wouldn't require them to turn him into a pathetic wet cat for the Winx to be able to defeat him.

And lastly, I think his invulnerability contributes the most to people misinterpreting him. I have seen Valtor stans swearing up and down that he is composure personified and so in control of himself, which just... isn't true. Valtor is calm and collected for the majority of the season not because that is who he is as a character but because there is nothing that can oppose him and truly stand in his way. Think about any instance when something doesn't go like he wants it to, be it mind-controlled Ediltrude and Zarathustra telling him Griffin is trying to escape in 3x11, the Winx and their teachers failing his plan to kill Bloom in 3x14 or the Trix laughing at him in 3x25. His instant reaction is violent anger (less so in 3x11 but super evident in both of the other examples). Really, his composure is proportionally tied to his excessive power that no one else can challenge. And in those last episodes when it becomes clear his power is not going to be enough, he's not unraveled completely yet because he's exploiting everyone else's emotional weaknesses such as siccing the Trix on Bloom in 3x22 under guise of letting them fix their mistake from 3x20 and lying to Bloom he's absorbed her parents into his body in 3x23 to save his skin. He still believes that he can win because he's holding the better hand but once his spells are scattered in 3x25 and he loses the Trix as his minions, he goes completely off the rails. That is to say that his power is a crutch and limiting it from the start could have afforded more opportunities to explore his character, make him more interesting and compelling if he has to struggle and isn't allowed to keep his composure this much.

6. What's something you have in common with this character?

Being obsessed with Griffin

Too many things for comfort. Definitely the pride that easily crosses into arrogance. Recently someone told me that they've noticed I can act quite arrogant and I was like "We know but hey!" I'm pretty sure that it's not in the grand proportions in which it is with Valtor though so... at least I have that going for me. 😅

19. How about a relationship they have in canon that you don't like?

Well, that's easy. I HATE what they did with him and the Trix. Okay, he wants to keep them under his thumb by making them bicker with each other but a) that shouldn't have worked after the previous season and what happened with Darkar and b) why would he feel the need to manipulate them when it's never indicated that they can be a threat to him? I am a firm believer that they should have leaned way more into the fact that the Trix are descendants of the Ancestral Witches. They could have mostly kept his strategy of divide and conquer but with the added bonus that he is implied to be mega uncomfortable in the Trix' presence because of how much they remind him of the Ancestral Witches. That would have done wonders for his character and saved that particular subplot. His discomfort with the Trix would perfectly foreshadow his confrontation with the Ancestral Witches in 3x26 and could give us context of why Valtor is amassing so much magic (to ensure he'll never be under his mothers' thumb again). It'd give more depth to his character and make him feel more real when there is a negative situation he's desperate to avoid.

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

My favorite thing is to have him be wrong about something/have someone else (usually Griffin) get the upper hand on him, lol. I think you can easily infer why from all my ranting in the first question so I'm not going to rehash that whole thing again here. I'll just add that it's really satisfying to watch someone wipe his smug look off his face. 10/10 would recommend at every possible opportunity. (Quick note: the way his defeat was handled on the show wasn't even cathartic because they had already torn him down so much since 3x18 through the script itself that Winx didn't really get to crush him in a satisfying way, especially considering how personal he made things for them during the season.)

I don't like having to write his speech patterns because I am always second guessing whether he sounds the way he's supposed to. He does have a more formal way of speaking and I have to remind myself of that constantly. It's a struggle to keep his dialogue in character and I am not a fan of that. But like everything, it gets easier the more you practice it.

Daphne:

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

That's so tough considering how badly canon treats her. I'm still unclear on whether her being the previous Keeper of the Dragon Fire is just one dub's version or canon all around. While to me that's always been canon, I'm gonna be very controversial with my unpopular opinion - my favorite thing about her is that she was resurrected. Yes, season 6 could have hardly treated her worse and yes, they probably brought her back for Bloom's sake, not her own but I am happy regardless because it pisses people off Daphne deserves to be more than just the ghost that died for Bloom's sake. Her season 6 storyline may suck but it is the first time that the show has treated her as her own character rather than as a prop for Bloom's story and I support that idea. I really wish people would think about that instead of insisting that Daphne stay dead just because the show dropped the ball with the execution of her revival.

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

Oh, ouchie, that's a tough question. It may be because of my long-standing obsession that's currently been kicked into motion again but the first thing that popped into my head was The Hunger Games. There is just a great similarity between Daphne and Katniss both going above and beyond to protect their little sisters. And thinking about this a little more in-depth, that would actually do Daphne a very big favor because it will allow her story and feelings to be explored like they never were on the show. If she were the main character just like Katniss is, she doesn't have to be sidelined for the sake of focusing on Bloom. Daphne will be the center of the story which will allow us to witness her journey and more of her character. She would still be defined by her sacrifice for Bloom (so her character won't be warped beyond recognition) but she won't have to be contained and limited by it. She can have her own story and be the main player in it, have her trauma explored because that is one of the central things The Hunger Games focuses on.

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

Oh, it's impossible to remember what my first impression was because it's been about 20 years since then. But I am positive that I always loved Daphne! However, now I am able to appreciate the nuances to her character and all the potential that she has. She's definitely one of my faves and deserved so much better!

#winx club #winx valtor #winx daphne #ask #solisvia #winx meta #meta

[frazzledsoul]

I think it's interesting that in season 4 we get one (1) appearance from Dean at the beginning of the season (the episode where he gets married) and although it's clearly not a good idea and he's moping over Rory, he pretty much drops out of the narrative completely and we don't see him again for ten episodes. There's a lot going on in Stars Hollow at that time: Lorelai and Sookie are getting the inn put together, Lane starts working for Luke and has a falling out with her mother, Sookie gives birth, there's the Festival of Living Art, Luke and Lorelai "break the bells", and of course Liz and Jess show up at the Firelight Festival and cause a lot of drama. Rory's social life at Yale is somewhat pitiful so she comes home pretty much every weekend yet she has zero interaction with Dean and Lindsey and they are not involved in anything at all that happens, even the major town events.

I mention this because Rory is drawn back into Dean's orbit in the episode after Jess drops his love bomb and runs in a major way and their relationship continues to get more and more inappropriate in the last third of the season. Dean sells Rory his sob story of how Lindsay is pushing him to work (even though we later see that she's trying pretty hard to be the stay-at-home wife he wanted and make him happy). Rory chastises Dean for dropping out of college, seemingly oblivious to the fact that his goals were never the same as hers were and wanting them to be the same isn't going to erase their incompatibility. And of course, while this is all going on Luke's ill-advised marriage is also unraveling as he and Lorelai become closer. Given the previous example Lorelai set for her by hooking up with Christopher while he was with Sherry and then making out with Max while she was still technically dating Twilight Dad as well as the separation of the grandparents, it was fairly easy for Rory to conclude that this marriage business really doesn't matter and to look to Dean for comfort and and affirmation as she reminisces about the relationship she thinks she remembers.

And you know what goes away around this time, too? Any of her half-hearted attempts to socialize at Yale or to get something started romantically. She tried being independent and it sucked, so she interprets Dean's possessiveness and desire to limit her interactions with Jess as affection (which is all kind of messed up in itself, but that's another issue). Jess's second love bomb sends her further down that path where she's willing to do just about anything to feel safe again, because she never was allowed to process that break-up and Jess is too messed up at the time to offer her much of an explanation because he doesn't have the language for that either yet.

I still have a lot of trouble processing how Rory suddenly becomes convinced that she wants to relive the halcyon days of a relationship where Dean was often very unhappy with her and that ended because she fell in love with someone she found more intellectually compatible. Even though she is doing some pretty messed up rationalization leading up to her deflowering, she literally goes from "maybe you and Lindsay should go away together" to "Oh, I always knew this would happen! Let me play you this atrocious song to commemorate the occasion!" in two minutes (and we all know the sex took even less time). She backs off pretty soon afterwards and doesn't seem to mourn (and only seems to date Dean out of pity) but the whole thing is still so improbable, even all these years later. I still don't think she ever wanted a relationship, but she got drawn into the idea that losing her virginity in this way was something that wasn't as threatening as dealing with her feelings for her other ex.

(You know what would be even less threatening? Just boinking Marty and leaving your high school boyfriends alone. Just saying).

So was this character arc planned, or could we have gotten rid of Dean after his wedding? I honestly think it's the latter. He could have disappeared after the wedding and we'd have a completely different storyline. Probably a better one.

#frazzled rambles #rory gilmore #gilmore girls

[nicascurls]

Strangeness and Charm - Part Two

Word Count: 1.6K

Summary: Season 1 AU where Andy and Kyle arrive at Charles Lee Ray’s old house before Tiffany leaves with Junior and Nica and ultimately save them. Set in 2017, two weeks after Cult since that's when the show was originally mentioned to be set and in my opinion, makes the most sense.

Notes: I really enjoyed writing this part, exploring Devon's character a bit as well as his friendship with Junior. I feel like it was so neglected in the show, for people that had been friends since they were little kids they barely interacted.

Tags: @streets-in-paradise @losersclubisms @silvershewolf247 @cornerofhell

About 15 minutes had passed before they considered themselves out of the woods. At this point, Kyle had hung up the phone with the decision that she would pick up Jake and Lexy before meeting the boys and Nica at the Wheeler's house.

Devon was spending the majority of the journey nervously glancing in the rear view mirror, looking between Junior and the unconscious woman that had captured him. 

He felt lost, before he had always felt fairly confident when it came to his understanding. With all of his criminal knowledge from doing his podcast, he at least felt that he could understand what was going on to an extent. But now he was looking at his childhood friend who's now killed his own father and had been tasked with killing him not an hour before, and a woman accused of butchering her whole family and possessed by the same serial killer behind all of this. 

He didn't blame Nica in the slightest, he had read enough about her case recently for his podcast and now knowing everything he does about Chucky… Well, if he felt lost he can't imagine the confusion Nica must have felt when she came to the surface.

"Devon?" The sound of his name broke through his thoughts and he turned to Andy.

"Yeah?"

"Are you feeling OK?"

"Yeah, fine. Just thinking"

"Junior, what about you" 

"I'm alright, Nica's still out. I think she will be for a while, Tiffany injected her with something."

"Of course she did." Andy mumbled bitterly. As if whatever shit she had been given by Dr Foley for 4 and a half years wasn't enough. At this point, he couldn't blame Nica if she had killed him herself. "Do either of you have any idea what it was?"

Both boys shook their heads in response before Devon spoke up, "It was strong though, whatever it was. She was out instantly."

"Should I check her pulse or something?" Junior offered.

"Uh, yeah. That's a good idea, just be careful. We don't know if it will be her or Chucky when she does wake up." Andy warned as they pulled up to the Wheeler's.

The two boys entered the house first, still keeping a distance from the other but not willing to let the other out of their sight. Junior wasn't necessarily afraid, he knew Devon wouldn't hurt someone unless it was the only option but he knew after the events of today that he'd probably lost all trust.

"So, um." Devon started, trying desperately to break the silence somehow.

"My dad’s not here if that's what you're worried about. Chucky got rid of him."

"Ah, okay." He let another beat of silence pass before asking the question that had been burning in his mind since seeing him in that house. "Why did you do it? I mean, what did Chucky say-"

"It wasn't what Chucky said! My dad, he called my mom a quitter. Said that was why she killed herself." 

"Oh shit, I'm sorry. I didn't know things were that bad with him. Why didn't you say something?"

"When Devon? You, Jake, Lexy. You all just went off and didn't tell me about any of this shit! When was I supposed to say something?"

"I know," Devon started quietly, "for the record, I wanted to tell you but, but then anyone who found out about him just got killed and I guess we thought it was safer for you not to know. I know that's not a good enough reason but I seriously am sorry and I know Jake and Lexy are too."

"Thanks. I probably owe you more of an apology, I mean you had lost your mom as well and I was an asshole."

"It's okay, but Junior. I think you need to know that Jake was right, it wasn't a suicide. Chucky killed your mom." Devon watched as Junior began to ball his fists and then quickly added, "but we're gonna get him, okay? We all will and we'll make him pay."

Junior calmed a little at that.

"Yeah," he responded through gritted teeth, "We will"

"But without hurting Nica, deal?" Junior took another deep breath, "Yeah, deal."

With that the boys turned to see Andy entering the house with Nica before heading towards the couch in the living room.

"Wait, there's a sofa bed in my dad's study. She'll be more comfortable there. I mean, she hit the floor pretty hard when Tiffany slapped her." Junior explained, leading the way.

The study was just like every other room in the house, hopelessly neat. Not a single thing out of place whilst simultaneously being littered with Logan's trophies. The boys moved to open up the sofa bed at the back of the room before Junior realised that some of the trophies were in the way.

"Oh for fuck sake." Junior mumbled under his breath before whacking them out of his way with all the force he could muster.

"Jesus kid!" Andy cried as he ducked out of the way of a flying trophy with Nica.

"What?!" He responded returning to help Devon finish the sofa bed before looking up. "Ah right, sorry."

"Here, it's done" Devon intervenes as the boys clear a path for Andy. He made his way past the boys as he gently placed Nica down, hesitating a second before removing the cargo boots he assumed Chucky chose for her.

"I'll go and get some more blankets," Junior announced as he left the room whilst Devon crouched down and began to pick up the now broken trophies from the floor.

"Hey, Devon."

"Yeah?"

"Do you know if that is from where she fell?" Andy asks as Devon walks around to look at the large bruise Andy is pointing to on the left side of Nica's head.

"Uh no. I don't think so. I'm pretty sure she had it when I found her." Andy turned to look at him with an intrigued expression.

"How did you end up at that house?"

"I went to investigate, I knew it was Charles Lee Ray's old house so I guess I thought there would be some answers there and then I heard Nica."

"Huh?"

"Yeah she was tied to a chair, I'm guessing by Tiffany but it turned out it was Chucky pretending to be her so once Chucky was untied he knocked me out."

"Shit, okay. So we've gotta be really cautious" Andy responds, before Junior bursts back into the room balancing an armful of blankets. "Hey I wasn't sure how many so I just got all of them." 

"I'm pretty sure she only needed one, Junior. It's Hakensack, not Antarctica."

Andy let out a small chuckle at the boys' antics, keeping one eye on Nica's sleeping form for any signs of movement. He knew there had to be something he could do, if she's still in there as well as Chucky there had to be a way to get him out again and he was determined to find it.

"Wait. You're not gonna shoot her are you?!" Devon panicked, as both boys watched Andy reload the gun in his hand.

"No!" With that question, a wave of guilt washed over Andy as he remembered what happened a few weeks before. He had tried to tell himself that it hadn't mattered, that little would have changed if that shot had hit her. Well Chucky. Nica was gone, dead. That's what he believed, he had been too late and one of the only people in the world who would understand what he had experienced, the woman he had spent 4 and a half years trying to help, was gone. But that wasn't true, and as much as he wanted that fact to help, make him feel less alone and it did. He still could not get rid of the horrible feeling of guilt that was eating away at him, knowing he took a shot that would have killed her.

"It's just a precaution," he explained "to keep Chucky under control if it is him when she wakes up. If nothing else it should make him hesitate long enough for us to get the upper hand."

With that the sound of the door opening made its way through the house, followed by the sound of Kyle calling for Andy.

The boys quickly got up and ran to meet Lexy and Jake. Andy remained sat, listening to the tearful reunions, he couldn't risk leaving Nica knowing that it could be Chucky in control. 

"How's she doing?" Kyle asks and Andy turns to see her in the doorway, the four teens behind her.

"Alright, we've gotta be cautious though, apparently Chucky does a pretty good job at pretending to be her so the main giveaway will be if she moves her legs."

"Wait, that's Nica?" Lexy questioned.

"Yeah, why?"

"I don't know, I guess I thought she was gonna be old."

"Lexy!" Junior responded.

"Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean it like that. Anyway, we brought food with us, we figured everyone would be pretty hungry"

"Yeah we weren't sure what pizzas everyone liked so we got quite a few." Jake chimed in.

The group ended up camping out in the study eating their fill of pizza, something that Junior absolutely loved, as the sun began to rise. The kids were now absorbed in their own conversation, catching each other up and forming what they considered to be a foolproof plan whilst simultaneously keeping an eye on Nica.

Meanwhile, both Andy and Kyle had been dozing off for a few hours, the days of pursuit finally catching up to them. It was approaching 8am and sunlight was streaming through the window behind the foster siblings when the kids heard a soft whimper come from the sofa bed. Devon quickly moved over to the adults, "Andy, Kyle! It looks like Nica is waking up."

#chucky #chucky 2021 #child's play #chucky syfy #andy barclay #nica pierce #kyle simpson #junior wheeler #devon evans #jake wheeler #lexy cross #tiffany valentine #charles lee ray #chucky fanfiction #Strangeness and Charm

[eggbertith]

Season 4 wasn't great. I've LOVED every other season but for this one the characters were off, the jokes fell flat (if I hear one more fart joke I stg) and the huge time skip wasn't great either.

The whole season feels like they could have condensed it down to 2 episodes but they decided to add a million characters and plot lines that didn't matter.

Idk. It looks like they overworked the batter and the fluffy pancake we were promised is now flatter than a witch's tit.

I mean, still technically a pancake. So I'm not mad, just disappointed.

disclaimer: i LOVE the dragon prince, i loved seasons 1-3 and i enjoyed season 4. here's the deal, season 4 is a fun season and i enjoyed watching it. i do think, however, that the writing got a mediocre a little too often for it to be worth the 3-year wait. if you disagree with me, i am more than open to hear thoughts and counterarguments. seriously. i think discussion is healthy and it's something i actually really enjoy because i like talking. also, i'm way too tired to have people yelling at me/to yell at other people with a different opinion than me...i am a college student and i am already dying so please, be respectful. i am not trying to actively insult anyone who liked season 4 and i am also not vehemently hating on the show [criticisim != hate] i'm more than happy for the people who enjoyed the season and i really do like to hear thoughts. with that out of the way, hello anon, here's a wall of unorganized text that attempts to convey my feelings overall

since i am an actual child, i laughed at the jokes but that's beside the point. i get where people are coming from when they say they were poorly timed and/or didn't land well

but on the topic of jokes, season 4 had me laughing at a lot of things i....shouldn't have been laughing at. and honestly, it makes me feel like an asshole lol but i'm sorry some of the more emotional or intense scenes are just really goofy with the way they were executed and yes, if someone wants me to, i can go in depth with this, but for the purpose of this ask (especially since it wasn't focused on the humor in the first place) i won't give my thoughts here

i'm going to be very blunt: tdp has kind of backed itself into a corner if there isn't a twist or some sort of major consequence for rayla leaving. if rayla leaves for 2 years and nothing comes from it other than relationship drama, that's a bit yikes. i'm not saying that everything should have been resolved this season, but the show doesn't even try to tell the audience that something bigger may be happening. if there IS a bigger consequence, the show doesn't properly hint at it/set it up, and THATS where the issue is. when it gives us nearly nothing to speculate off of, we have no idea where her character or the story is going. <- this is not a catalyst for mystery, it's frustrating because everyone (especially rayla) feels out of character and for what

also, this is a nitpick, but callum letting rayla go after viren in episode 9 was not earned.

anyways, the season had to reintroduce us to the characters that we haven't seen for 3 years, and it has to inform everyone about the 2-year time skip. the time skip, in my opinion, was not done well. time skips are used to grow up the characters and introduce new characters, environments, and potential plot points for the rest of the story that is being told. the dragon prince does not do this very well. yes, there are new characters, but they aren't even necessarily relevant for the rest of the story, so it feels like wasted time. the candle woman and the n'than dude show up and then drop off of the face of the earth never to be seen again. terry is fine, but i do think it's a bit odd to give claudia, someone who has gone off the deep end, a really goofy and lighthearted boyfriend (he's just there to keep her morality in check a little bit, i.e. giving rayla the coins). i think overall, a lot of things happen in season 4, but it feels like a very small portion of said things actually set up for the future.

i've been avoiding bringing this up, mostly because i'm lazy and i don't want to find exact quotes from the show, but i'll bite. the writing for seasons 1-3 felt authentic and natural. the writing in season 4 felt so on-the-nose, shallow, and almost preachy.

"i was impressed with your vision for using the dragon queen's visit as a catalyst for growing trust and peace across the continent"

"they might be at first. but it will change when they meet her"

^ ezran says this and yup, that's enough on that topic, no need to explore it further. i think the writing overall was just so lackluster and forced compared to previous seasons. again, i could elaborate on this but i've gone on for long enough in this post so if someone wants me to just ask...might take a really long time for me to respond though getting my thoughts in order takes forever.

#the dragon prince #onions #putting under the cut bc i know some people just want to see positivity and i get that

[unrealwasteland]

Roosmav fic recs part 4: Favorite AUs

See my previous fic rec lists here.

This list is pretty short, and I know that there are more AU fics in the fandom besides those I have listed here. The fics on this list had to meet the following criteria: 1. the setting is either completely different from the movies, or it's a major canon divergence, and 2. it's a type of AU that I personally like. :D I guess what I'm trying to say is that these recs are, as always, reflecting my personal tastes and not meant to put other writers or works down.

no snow in december (because we're in space) by Lake 1.5k, G, no archive warnings apply space au, christmas fic, fluff

Christmas morning with the ship's crew.

Even though this is a short fic, I really fell in love with the worldbuilding in this. (For anyone looking at this post after Christmas: I definitely think that this is worth reading even outside the holiday season!)

Coffee Corner by Brenda 4.5k, T, no archive warnings apply coffee shop au, fluff and humor

"Wow." Bradley's future husband frowns — very attractively — as he grabs an apron and puts it on, deftly tying it in the back. "Wow?" "Shit, did I say...sorry." Bradley wants to sink right into the ground. "I'm not...you're real, right?" Because Bradley's pretty sure he's still asleep and having the best dream of his life.

The 'fluff and humor' tag is on point – this is a really fun read, and I love smitten idiot Bradley.

I can't promise you anything, but I can tell you I'll never leave by othersideofthis 6.5k, T, no archive warnings apply western au

“Didn’t think you’d show your face around here again,” is the first thing Pete says when Rooster turns up at the ranch. Not “hello,” not “how you doing.” Not “don’t you know it’s been 15 years and I’ve thought about you every day.” No.

Did I make this list just so I get a reason to rec this fic? Maybe. I love western AUs and this is Top Tier writing. Perfect example of how to include canon elements in an AU setting.

Linear Flight by Fuddlewuddle 6.5k, E, no archive warnings apply pre-tgm canon divergence, shifter au

Bradley comes across an injured Peregrine Falcon a couple of hours after he's told that Mav has gone MIA. Caring for the bird, he slowly realises a few home truths he'd never fully understood before. Though the Peregrine Falcon ends up being more than he initially thought. And perhaps Mav wasn't as missing as everyone assumed he was.

This is really soft and sweet. Mav as a peregrine falcon is just perfect, and I really love the classic hurt/comfort trope where physical healing mirrors the characters' emotional state.

out of the blue by Lake 7k, E, no archive warnings apply merman Mav, soulmates, (bottom Mav)

When Bradley's soulmark appeared, his grandmother cursed Maverick to the ocean to keep them apart. Years later: reunion!!

I enjoy a good mermaid AU, and this one is so lovely. Great worldbuilding and smut, so it's no surprise that I love this fic.

#all of these are 'no archive warnings apply' fics but you should still check the tags etc etc #roosmav #top gun maverick #fic rec #rsmv recs

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

So, I’ve decided to change up this blog’s theme a bit. I haven’t changed anything since I first created it, almost exactly three years ago – I believe this blog’s was born on August 11, 2020. At that point, I’d watched all of a few major panel shows and sitcoms, was in the process of watching more, and had my initial list of other stuff I wanted to see. And was running out people in real life who would speak to me because I kept telling them about British people they did not care about, so I figured I had to start putting some of it on the internet.

 I went to Tumblr because it’s the only social media site on the internet that isn’t bullshit. Reddit – does what it does well, parts of it are good for specific discussions, but it doesn’t let you set up an account and just post whatever you want, you have to find the correct subreddit. Twitter – can you imagine me in 240 characters, or whatever it is now? Facebook – I already had an account there, everyone I know in real life is on there, they were spamming it at the time with conspiracy theories because I was quickly learning that it turns out everyone I had chosen to surround myself with in life is terrible! Every social media site besides those ones – that’s where the influencers live, isn’t it? I don’t want to go where the influencers live.

So I created a Tumblr account. Tumblr asked me a few questions of the bat, and I thought about them for around one minute each – enough so each answer would mean something, but I was mostly just going with my initial instincts.

It asked me what I wanted my cover photo to be, and I went with my favourite season of my favourite panel show - simple.

It asked me for a profile picture, and I thought, what do I want to represent me? What part of Britcom, for this Britcom blog, captures the essence of how I’d like to be seen? And then I thought: Jo Brand. But not just any Jo Brand. Those pictures of Jo Brand that the Daily Mail and similar publications used when they were trying to smear her after she made that Nigel Farage milkshake joke in 2019. I want people to look at the internet representation of me, and see the version of Jo Brand from those papers, where they thought she looked bad and threatening and she had a cup in her hand as though she’d just poured her drink on a racist and was wishing she had something stronger. That’s what I want to be.

It asked me for a username, and this wasn't even an RIP tribute thing, because Sean Lock was still alive then. I just thought about what was a Britcom panel show moment funny enough to seem worth using as a name, and the first thing I’d thought of was Sean Lock on 8 Out of 10 Cats saying he wants to tell the meerkats it’s fine. So that’s what I am now. And that one I won’t change – I like that name, and I have to have some consistency, I think of this as my “Tell the Meerkats it’s Fine” blog, so if I changed it then it would become a completely different blog, and I don’t want that.

It asked me for a blog title, and I immediately thought of James Acaster’s comment on one of my favourite episodes of Catsdown. Possibly my very favourite episode, actually. I thought it was funny, and fitting, for a blog where I’ll be writing about people who can be called legends, in various ways and with varying degrees of irony. I don't see that one changing any time soon either, because it fits perfectly.

So the names remain, but I’ve decide it’s time for new pictures. It’s been a while. The focus of this blog has changed a bit. It’s still a Britcom blog, and Taskmaster season 4 is still my favourite season of my favourite panel show, and I still have great respect for the version of Jo Brand that the Daily Mail tried to smear because she made a joke about wanting to maim a racist. But in the last year, I’ve found myself more into stand-up and podcasts than panel shows and sitcoms, which is where this blog started.

(Also I chose those pictures before I read some of the stuff Jo Brand has said about TERFs – not that she is one, if she were a TERF I would not have kept my profile picture after learning that, she’s just sounded slightly more “well, we should listen to both sides” about the issue than I’d like, ideally, in a person whom I designate as the face that will represent me on the internet. Also I chose those pictures before learning that Noel Fielding might have slept with a teenager quite a few years ago, but not enough years ago so that he was also a teenager, and it’s entirely possible that the tabloids made all that up, I hope they made it all up, the point is that the hilarious panel show things I liked don’t seem quite as perfectly clean as they did a few years ago.)

So, I have updated my blog to reflect changing times, in my comedy-related interests. And I realize this is quite a change, because I’ve had multiple people tell me over the last few years that they picture me as looking like Jo Brand, because Jo Brand is the avatar next to all my posts. I do enjoy that, and I apologize to all those people who think I am Jo Brand that you are now going to have to adjust to seeing something else when you look at my blog.

I asked myself, who would I choose now, out of all the people in comedy, to represent me? Not someone I think I actually am like – I would never be arrogant enough to make such a claim. But someone who represents enough of the things I think are perfect so I would want them to be my face on the internet, feel no hesitation about having their face on all my posts? And there was no question, really.

If anyone reading this blog must have an image of me in their heads, I would like that image to be Josie Long, wearing a feminist t-shirt (it says “No More Page Three” on it), at The Stand comedy club in Edinburgh, doing some of her early pro-socialism material for a Stewart Lee TV show in 2013. I can't think of much that's better than that.

I also thought about a new cover image – what is the most significant Britcom thing to me these days, for this Britcom blog? Of course there are many things, that are central to my current interests, and it’s hard to find just one image that summarizes enough of them. But I know what comes the closest to that.

Five comedians on stage: Daniel Kitson, Adam Hills, David O’Doherty, Demetri Martin, John Oliver. I have seen/heard all stand-up comedy DVDs/CDs/any other official releases by all of those people, as well as quite a few things that were not officially released. Heard a few hundred hours of John Oliver on the original run of The Bugle, and that’s a huge thing that’s shaped my current comedy interests. I’ve become rather disillusioned with Adam Hills lately, but I did watch several hundred episodes of The Last Leg, and it had some very good stuff in its glory days. All five of David O’Doherty’s albums are saved on my phone, because I’ve heard them all all the way through before but I enjoy going back and jumping around and re-listening to them. Demetri Martin’s out there giving me one comedian I can reference to my North American friends, and they’ll have heard of him (I mean, John Oliver too, but my favourite John Oliver things are British or at least Transatlantic things that people don’t know here, while if I talk about the Demetri Martin things I like, I’m talking about the same stand-up recordings people here know). And Daniel Kitson took over my life some time ago and that has not come close to abating.

We’re coming up on the twenty-year anniversary of this, by the way. It happened on August 26, 2003 (if you want some useless information that lives in my brain, that was also Nish Kumar’s eighteenth birthday). I should have some sort of party for the twenty-year mark. I’ll rip some stuffed cows in half and sing some Eminem songs wrong.

I’ve come to refer to this incident as Cowgate, which I thought was a clever name. Employs the common thing where you use the suffix “-gate” to mean “scandal”, because I don’t know what the fuck was going on there but I don’t think it was right with God. Also, it took place in the recently rebuilt Gilded Balloon, after the original Gilded Balloon burned down, because it was in the Cowgate neighbourhood of Edinburgh, and there was a fire in Cowgate.

Someone who knows I'm sufficiently interested in that video to have created my own nickname for it, but for some reason still speaks to me anyway, very helpfully took a picture for me at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, of a sign in the Cowgate neighbourhood. I’d been thinking of updating my blog’s pictures anyway, and this seemed like the perfect time to do it. Take a screenshot of that video and label it with the picture of the Cowgate sign–combining pictures from two different Edinburgh Festivals, twenty years apart – and there you go, that’s the comedy I like. It’s Kitson. It’s O’Doherty. It’s Oliver when he was British. It’s Hills before he was tight with the monarchy. It’s Chocolate Milk Gang. It’s cool yet inexplicable shit from old Edinburgh Festivals. It’s 00s-era comedy history. It’s a collection of things that followed from so much earlier stuff that I respect, and paved the way for so much later stuff that I respect. It’s been keeping me awake at night for like a year now with questions about the fuck they were doing. It’s all the comedy things I’m most interested in these days.

Apologies for the shit image quality, but it really is the best I could do. The original video is in much worse quality than this. I put some time into catching a screenshot at the exact moment when the spotlight shone in the right place, so you could see what was happening a little bit. I then ran it through two different image enhancers to get it as clear as this. So that's as good as it's getting.

For anyone who for some reason can't recognize these comedians in dim light and terrible image quality with faces out of sight and it was twenty years ago - that's Adam Hills holding the mic and rapping at them. John Oliver in red, wielding a pipe like a video game character. David O'Doherty in green, appearing to recoil in fear of John Oliver's power. Kitson with no fear of John Oliver or his weapon or the cow, jumping in there next to Adam Hills. And Demitri Martin in white, looking like a mechanic working on a car for most of this video.

[danwhobrowses]

Cobra Kai Season 4 Review

I mean, how could I not binge it?

5 hours later and I'm fresh off of Cobra Kai's 4th Season, the Battle for the Soul of the Valley

Silver's back! Danny and Johnny are teaming up! Hawk has redeemed himself! How would we follow this up? Well, I found out and now I will review it

Spoilers for Season 4, Watch it first, Read this second, No Mercy!

So, I liked it, definitely liked it, buuuuuuut I also found myself only liking it. The season is still a strong season with implications into going into a fifth, but I did have my qualms about it which I will start with.

What Wasn't Great

It takes a while to gather pace After a very exciting set of episodes last season, the hype was on for this fourth season to kick off, but the first few scenes did kinda derail that momentum. It took about 3 episodes for Terry Silver to actually get back into Cobra Kai and properly push the story's major conflict along. So one of the early criticisms I do have is that it starts a bit slowly, we could've trimmed a bit of the fat.

Daniel and Johnny still don't get along Now we did expect growing pains, but after a point we did kinda hope that when Johnny learned Miyagi-Do and Daniel learned 'Eagle Fang' the rift will have ended. Instead after a kinda cheap draw to a fight Johnny trained all day for but Daniel only trained a few hours for they decided to ignore the kids and train separately. I mean they had a common goal and a common enemy, they could've put aside their differences a lot earlier in the story. I understand that the narrative wanted it to be more them shooting themselves in the foot, but it kinda felt like a dumb call, equally because only Sam decided to just train for both schools, which the other kids probably should've done as well given that they had a whole truce written up and remain friends with each other.

The last thing Sam needed was Aggression Samantha LaRusso continues to sadly be one of my least favourite characters. After having a whole season of her acting out and getting aggressive out of fear towards the girl she had beaten up twice, it kinda felt contrived that the story made her Johnny's crossover project. Her added aggression did not help her character either, only serving to paint Tory in a more sympathetic light, I didn't want to root for her and her behaviour only served to vindicate Daniel over Johnny's teaching (which we will get to in a bit). If anyone would've profited from the aggression in my mind it would've been Demitri, but we kinda dropped the ball on that one for the sake of drama.

Aisha only gets a cameo!? During Samantha's character arc though we get to see Aisha return, it's just a shame that it only lasts a pep talk. Because as she says, Johnny's teachings worked for her, and after establishing a female tournament in the All Valley there was definitely the platform to reinsert her into the cast - given how the season had only 2 women in the whole karate war at that point. With Stingray's return and additional use to the plot, we could've benefited having Aisha there, also as a bridge for Tory and Sam, since she was friends with both.

Forced and Out-of-Character Drama Of course some tensions made sense, and the teenage drama is a key part of it, but the show has done the Miguel/Sam/Robby/Tory love quadrangle for the fourth time in a row now, we have to pull the other one with it, the whole pre-tournament drama between Miguel and Sam felt forced. Kenny being confronted by Eli and the younger Miyagi/Eagle Fangs also felt a tad off, having been on that side you'd expect sympathy from the young newcomer, like how Eli did tell him to get out of Cobra Kai, it did feel odd at the drive-in movie that they kinda cornered him for no real reason other than to push tribalism.

Eli's character arc is rushed at the end Eli did engage in a really good character arc, the problem I have though is that before the tournament there was a session where he doesn't do much between returning to karate and entering the tournament. It probably would've helped to show him learning more of Miyagi-Do's style, and explaining why he didn't go back to Eagle Fang because Miguel is also his close friend, it would've also helped to serve the build to his and Eli's confrontation in the tournament.

It just barely hits second gear I said earlier that I liked it, but only liked it, and that's mainly because I was waiting for it to hit a new level, but it barely did that. While the gear it was on was still a good gear to be on, I didn't feel the same excited energy I got last season where confrontations felt like they were seconds from exploding. It probably didn't help that we had to work around the rules of the All Valley, limiting the room for the massive brawls of past seasons, but it did feel like it could've kicked off a bit more.

Sympathy for Kreese!? I did not expect us to try and humanize Kreese again, especially with actual effort to make him sympathetic and not manipulative. I can see the idea of shifting Silver as the big bad, but John Kreese is the Sith Lord here, he's the Palpatine, so having him crumble a little from seeing Johnny in pain and then telling Tory to do things her own way, especially off the back of his prior manipulations and intimidation didn't quite feel right. If we wanted to move Kreese out of scope for a while then we could've had him arrested without the whole Silver confrontation. Silver is great, especially as a maniac, but Kreese is THE Big Bad of this franchise.

Daniel gets the shine while Johnny sits in the shade, again! Unfortunately one of my main worries with Cobra Kai continues to stay prevalent in the show and it's that Daniel remains golden. This is mostly in a karate sense at least, because the season ends and we don't at all challenge that Daniel is a flawed teacher, or that his way isn't the best way. Eli wins the men's tournament under his banner, even though it's the aggression and confidence grown from Johnny's style that wins it for him, Miyagi-Do is the runner up group of the All Valley - even though Johnny would be much more about the flashy moves and weapons skills than Daniel would be - it's Daniel always dishing the life lessons and being the 'Apollo', even though this is meant to be Johnny's side of the story. I also dislike that they drew, it made sense narratively but I'm tired of pretending that Daniel is superior to Johnny in karate and teaching, while dancing around Silver's reminder that he does indeed have that innate aggression and hotheadedness without really having to confront it.

Meanwhile Johnny does take way too many Ls in this show, his side of the argument feels weaker in that he's jealous of Daniel and annoyed that Miguel is turning passive while Daniel worries that Sam can't control her temper and is acting more aggressive (which is more valid), he loses to Terry Silver in single combat even after showing that he can fight Miyagi's style, he has a rift with Miguel because he drunkenly talks about wanting to reconnect with his son, and ends the show having to give up his dojo, his only source of income, his ex-students he helped train from the start are champions who want nothing to do with him, and now he feels like he has failed Miguel by trying to push him too hard, it's a heavy contrast from Daniel who comes off a lot rosier and still treated like his karate is unproblematic and unable to produce bad eggs - it's always Johnny or Cobra Kai's aggression that is the problem - even though he's the reason for their latest rift. Johnny should struggle yes, but it falls flat when Daniel gets to have all the glory while Johnny deals with the baggage.

The Agreement is not Honored! This was an annoying point to end on as well. I can understand that we needed to push the story along somehow without nullifying Cobra Kai's win, but it feels wrong for Daniel to up and say 'I'm not gonna honour this bet we lost' when calling on Chozen to help. In a way he's doing the same thing Kreese did in Karate Kid 3 and calling on a fellow practitioner who has the franchise of his karate (since Chozen inherited Sato's dojos that teach the Miyagi style). It's very uncharacteristic of Daniel too, and not very paragon of him, especially since there are three different outs we could've had in the fact that: the All Valley rules were changed, Silver bribed the ref, and combined Eagle Fang/Miyagi-Do should have enough points to match or beat Cobra Kai. It was a weak way of keeping the dojo wars going, and hopefully it's something I hope can be cleared up next season.

What was Great

The fanservice is still the right mix Cobra Kai's strong suit has been finding that sweet spot between nostalgia and moving forwards, so luckily it's good to see that hasn't gone. We did pull back a bit more on the nostalgia, focusing more on the actions of the past movies rather than the quotes, we can still feel the energy of the Karate Kid legacy, but it's also good to know that we have a time and place for it.

Amanda helps turn Tory Amanda LaRusso has been sitting mostly on the sidelines for the series, being the supportive role for much of the series. But seeing her step out has worked to benefit both her and Tory's characters, sympathizing with the troubled girl and at least trying to make steps towards giving Tory a second chance. Paired with the cruel and excessive behaviour of Sam and it does push the audience to being more sympathetic towards Tory, which opens the door to her showing signs of a face turn too.

Robby steps into his father's shoes The introduction of Kenny Payne is an interesting new part of the story, being Robby's protege as he helped him defend himself from bullying using the training he learned. It bears similarity to how Miyagi took Daniel under his wing and how Johnny took Miguel under his, more the latter given its conclusion, Robby having his Season 1 moment where he saw how the excessive nature of Cobra Kai can corrupt and change people in a negative way. It was a good parallel to use, and one that allows Robby to better understand his father and his warnings about Cobra Kai itself, which like Tory can lead to his eventual face turn.

Anthony is a Character Now! Anthony LaRusso was a nothing character from the start, exuding youngest child energy of getting away with anything and being spoiled, his absence in Season 2 wasn't really missed. But Season 4 has actually put some effort into making him a character, and an interesting one at that. Making Daniel confront both his neglectful parenting and the fact that his son has turned into a bully was a very interesting take, one that makes Daniel have to embrace the stricter and aggressive approach that Johnny is more known for.

What's interesting for Anthony though is that while he is definitely a bully, he's not exactly a Johnny type, if anything he's more like Bobby was: a bully with a conscience succumbing to peer pressure. He's talked big game and been pushed by his friends to antagonize Kenny, acting impulsively and jealously while masking that they actually share interests and could've been friends. Now he also has to reap what he sows, with Kenny now becoming the bully and him the bullied, which can lead to more development for both characters.

New Blood in the Pack While we are definitely not done with our OG or our Cobra Kai cast, we've also began to add new faces to the cast. Debate team/New Eagle, Devon definitely has potential as a female Johnny-like character, as does Moon's flexible ex Piper - though we may have to worry if she's a little masochistic. Kenny is a good addition, while I was expecting his brother to show this season we did make a story out of it. Outside of Karate we also have Anthony and Kenny's joint love interest who one will expect will sow conflict in later seasons, as will Tory's money-hungry aunt. It would help if the show provided more focus on the side characters that aren't Eli, Demitri and Anthony but these additions felt a lot more natural and set up to play a role later on.

The Correct Tournament Calls I did have my concerns with the All Valley rule changes, especially since we had little female cast members doing Karate, but they did just about make it work by being both a meta commentary and providing a solid conclusion to it all. Miguel pulling his back on the penultimate episode was definitely a shocking moment and a great cliffhanger, but him not returning and forfeitting the match was a unique call to allow Eli and Robby to take the final (to tell you the truth when I was mulling over how I thought the season would go I actually had Robby beating Miguel in the semis and fighting Eli in the finals so it kinda lined up well for my thinking). While Sam and Tory was always going to be the women's endgame fight - because they're the longest standing female karate fighters - but I'm glad that we finally gave Tory her W, a win that was kinda overdue since I felt that she should've won during the school fight. The way Tory won was cool too, wanting to do it the right way and also extending an olive branch to Sam, which made Silver bribing the ref sting even more.

Eli's redemption In spite of his absence, Eli/Hawk's road to redeeming himself felt much more earned this season than it did last season with his instant face turn. Building bridges again, not acting out aggressively, and 'finding his center' with the help of Demitri, it all built up to a cathartic moment when Moon motivated him to demolish Kyler. While the Miguel fight definitely didn't go the way anyone wanted, his finals battle with Robby was just excellently done, building the tension and the suspense of who could win (though it was kinda telegraphed with the announcer's saying that Cobra Kai only needed to win once). Growing respect between both rivals, Eli's arc reached a peak with his victory that felt really earned, finding a proper balance with his character - it would've worked better at least if he acknowledged Johnny during the tournament for his role in helping give him the confidence that helped him win.

I'd also like to point out that Eli is the more perfect example of how blending Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang could work. While Sam was more aggressive in her style, Eli found a perfected balance to show the profits of the hybrid style.

The Madness of Terry Silver Everyone was curious just how the ponytailed maniac that was Terry Silver was gonna gel into Cobra Kai as Kreese's second. While there was uncertainty at time, Silver definitely grew into the role the more unhinged he became. It was interesting that there was friction between the two also, and while I wasn't all too for him turning on Kreese the way they did, we got to see the contrasts that made both villains stand out in the movies. While Kreese can be manipulative, he was always subtle with it and intimidating, meanwhile Silver is purely cerebral, exuding the mad energy to fit the 80s universe wormhole Cobra Kai fits in. With him taking the helm as the main villain, we will likely see much more chaos from him, and possibly even Mike Barnes the Bad Boy of Karate also make a return.

The Story will Continue While this wasn't the best of seasons for me, I was happy to learn that Season 5 will be coming in late 2022. The loose ends on this season was a positive sign that we would be going in interesting directions with Silver's Cobra Kai against Daniel and the returning Chozen, all the while Johnny goes to Mexico City to find Miguel - who wants to 'learn where he came from' by meeting his birth father, who doesn't know he exists. This can of course cause conflict between Miguel and Johnny but also send them on their own kind of 'Okinawa Adventure'. What this means for the Dojo wars is unclear, since it seems that Johnny is gonna probably honour the agreement while Daniel isn't, what this means for the Eagle Fang lot I'm not sure, and how Johnny's excursion will affect Robby too.

We will likely see more of the younger breed's drama take over but I would still like to see a negative example of Miyagi-Do, and of course Daniel properly break bread with Johnny and find the balance necessary, saying they're 'set in their own ways' feels a bit off because Johnny's way is different to his old way. Perhaps though Johnny needs to be the Apollo in this one, it is supposed to be more his show than Daniel's after all, but there are positive signs for Season 5 (and hopefully a conclusive Season 6).

But overall, Season 4 was a well-balanced story that worked more in the favour of the villains being humanized rather than the heroes putting aside their differences. It had some weak spots for sure and didn't quite reach the same heights as Season 3 but it still pulled off some excellent choreography and continues to enrich the Karate Kid universe

#cobra kai season 4 #cobra kai #johnny lawrence #daniel larusso #john kreese #robby keene #tory nichols #samantha larusso #miguel diaz #eli moskowitz #hawk #demitri cobra kai #kenny payne #anthony larusso #terry silver #cobra kai spoilers #amanda larusso

[sunfoxfic]

As much as I really want Jess and Fei to interact djsbdh I really hope they don't completely change the story too much (just clumsily phrasing here sorry). Like now, the season 4 ending is SUCH an important phase in the story and I just hope adding a whole new character doesn't ruin everything? Because there's already alya. And other characters who can fit the role as well and just adding someone new to the main team just seems kind of risky (I completely trust the writers though. But I still have so many concerns xjsbxj)

The thing is, every time there's been a major happening this season where people are like "I'm just worried that the writers are going to treat it poorly," they haven't. I was super worried that Kuro Neko was going to either present Ladrien as the "ideal" configuration at Ladynoir's expense, or the opposite, ruin Ladrien for the sake of reuniting Ladynoir. And they didn't do either of those things! They handled it in a unique, in character way that maintained the integrity of every relationship.

People were worried that sentiAdrien or sentiFelix would be used to deny someone their personhood, and so far, they haven't done that; they've clearly been going in the direction of exploring the fear of someone who's afraid of losing their personhood, which isn't really a great way to set up taking that personhood away.

People were worried that Rena would replace Chat. People were worried that Su-Han would make Marinette less important. People were worried that Chat Noir wasn't going to be at all present during the season because the writers had forgotten about him.

None of that happened.

I get being worried, because most of the time, there's a lot of things that could go wrong. But they almost never take the story the exact direction that people are expecting, and I've never seen them completely screw everything up. A stumble here and there, but the worst mistakes often come from the most beloved episodes.

People are excited that Ladynoir is back on track, and I get that. But I don't think having other heroes to help them out is going to mess anything up. In fact, here's the thing: Adrien knows who all of the international heroes are, which he can't say of the Parisian heroes, and unlike the Parisian heroes, the international heroes don't have to listen to Ladybug. This is a chance for their partnership to be restored and rebalanced if they handle it properly, because everyone will be on equal footing as a team; no one is beholden to another person.

Personally, I doubt they'll add the characters to the main team the entire season; I already said I think they'll start off next season with a 2-parter, and that would be a great time to call in backup temporarily.

And the original article that I was citing absolutely could have been misquoted or otherwise wrong, I'm not denying that. It could have grouped in the Rio special with S5 even though that won't be accurate.

For now, I'm just done with assuming that whatever the show does, it'll handle it poorly. I'm really excited to see what's coming in S5, and I would like to predict it by making All The Theories, even ones that conflict.

#asks answered #anonymous #ml s5 #ml s5 spoilers #ml spoilers #strike back spoilers

[flightfoot]

Is it bad if I'm hoping for a confrontation between lb and cn in a full blown shouting contest or cn pull a glaciator eps-like attitude toward lb? Many artist and author I've seen tend to geared toward cn anger/disappoinment diffuse instantly the moment lb shout out her frustration by using the "you don't understand I'm stressed!!" Argument and cn instantly goes "aww I'm sorry I was wrong" because I don't think he was wrong to feel disappointed and angry when he found out rf is out there without his knowledge. Sry English isn't my first language hope that make senses enough?

No, I totally get it! Especially since, yeah, I DON'T think Chat would be wrong to be angry or disappointed with LB, with what he found out in Rocketear especially. Ladybug's actions are understandable in context and she's not having the best time either, but that doesn't invalidate Chat's frustrations. I don't think he needs to apologize for feeling lied to, distrusted, manipulated, unneeded, or unwanted based on all the things he's found out he's not in the loop about, and only found out because of outside reasons, like Ladybug telling her identity to someone else, and letting Rena and Carapace know each other's identities.

Now, he actually appears to be taking all that extremely well so far. He was fine with Ladybug telling her identity to someone else as soon as she explained and made it clear that she wasn't going to just leave with no notice permanently. This IS consistent with his character, and is why I'm not too off-put with Chat Noir seemingly getting over his anger within less than a minute of blowing up, even apologizing for lashing out - while I think he has the right to be seriously upset, he probably WOULD appear to be over it as soon as he shouted out the problem. We saw that in Glaciator in fact, with him making some snippy comments to Ladybug about not going to the rooftop date he set up, getting slammed by Glaciator when he attempted to take him on alone, then apologizing and going with Ladybug's plan, all within the span of about a minute.

Adrien just doesn't hold onto anger or frustration very long, and he's terrified of driving people away from him - especially Ladybug. So even when he's really upset with her, he does his best not to express it or to keep it to a minimum so he doesn't alienate her. Something that's gotten worse in season 4, with how closely he's concealing his growing frustration from her, even when asked about it, when in previous seasons he'd let her see that he was hurt.

Personally, I want Chat to be able to really let Ladybug know exactly how hurt and frustrated he's been, what his perspective on all this is. I don't really want their partnership to be strained, at least on any sort of long-term basis, nor do I want Marinette to be too badly hurt - she didn't mean to cause Chat any sort of pain, and a lot of it stems from bad circumstances and erroneous assumptions, especially with Chat Blanc throw into the mix. I don't think she "deserves to suffer", if that makes sense.

But I still want some catharsis, something akin to what we got with the NY special, with Chat giving up the ring and Marinette being devastated as a result, because as bad as things were, as stressed and anxious and angry as she was, she'd NEVER want to be without him. Him actually giving up the ring has been done before so maybe not that specifically, but something else major that turns the anger Chat has and the... shock, maybe? that Ladybug would have into something more like sorrow, and cause them to reaffirm how much they mean to each other.

#ask #miraculous ladybug #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #ladynoir #lovesquare #ml analysis

[wheredemdokis]

[tastebreaker review] Law School (no spoilers)

Sometimes, I wish I could have a shrine for all the cerebral media that I consumed, because it definitely is my favourite archetype. Death Note was a masterpiece that I hungrily binged in one day - similarly with Psycho Pass (though I haven't watched the second season due to most of the reviews I have read). This extend well into non-anime media for me - State of Play (with Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams) remains one of my favourite movies, Inception and, well, honestly anything by Christopher Nolan, and I have recently began watching The Matrix as well.

And so, the thirst for real mystery and brain games was quenched when I started watching Law School, with Kim Myung-min, Kim Beom and Ryu Hye-young, directed by Kim Suk-yoon. Needless to say, throughout the whole trip, I was hooked, counting down days until the next episode came... but towards the end - an unpopular opinion - I was actually quite disappointed.

And so, before you start your cross-examination, allow me to present my findings first.

- How did I start watching this?

My friend and I were looking around for something to binge on Netflix and forget about COVID-19. This series popped up, and the moment I read the title, my sapiosexual senses were tingled.

- And how was it?

Very good!... until the ending came. ;w;

- Genres & overarching themes?

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Psychological

Overarching themes: murder mystery, law vs justice, intelligence (as in, the characters are all really smart hahah)

- Plot: 4/5

It could have been a high four, near five if it wasn't for the ending, frankly. The first episode started out with Professor Seo Byung-ju of Hankuk Law School dead, and the spotlight shines on Professor Yang Jong-hoon (the man in the poster above), the first suspect. But was it really him? From then, the mystery unfolds as our favourite study group (who shall be very well elaborated on later in this review) launches itself into investigation for true justice.

The series started out extremely strong in my opinion, with its first few episodes filled with twists and sub-plots that were waiting to get wrapped up. Every episode just leaves you gripping on the sides of your seat in suspense. It really makes you doubt every single person that appeared on-screen and watch out for anything that happens - the show uses the Chekhov's Gun trope really well. As the knots become unravelled, we gain more depth into the characters. However, as we near the end - about two-three episodes for me - the show started to lose its thrust, falling into a comfortable stereotype that made things rather frustrating.

One of the major advantages of Law School, in my opinion, is its ability to twist and turn everything. It prompts the viewers to realize that when the case is really examined in a whole different angle, with more and more evidence coming to light, everything changes. The use of different suspects' stories being told in each episode is a pleasure to watch - the viewers feel like an omniscient judge, overseeing the motives and evidence to draw out a conclusion for themselves on who might be the murderer. The series prompts the viewers to think, which is a trend I really like. It's also interesting to question why characters do certain things they do. Professor Yang Jong-hoon (my favourite character!), for example, is a very... chaotic (haha) character, who keeps on surprising people with his actions - yet, his actions are all elaborate executions of his strategy, a whole plan that he has concocted which accounted for multiple steps ahead, thanks to his extremely sharp vision of what could happen. Thus, it is extremely satisfying when everything falls into place as Yangcrates (a nickname he earned due to his Socratic teaching) explains everything that led up to a particular tense moment where the truth was unveiled.

Yet... this very trope had its downfall near the end. The murderer was so heavily shadowed on in the beginning that the viewers would have expected the murderer to be someone else completely unexpected, a mastermind that pulled the strings behind all the proceedings. Yet, the murderer and the mastermind behind the murder were someone so... I dare say, unimpressive. I mean, this particular 'mastermind' behind the murder fell into so many traps! The murderer was definitely my major disappointment - the villain was a weak character, an unsatisfying antagonist that the intelligent heroes, once having figured who he/she is, didn't even break a sweat to bring to light. The last, final twist that was supposed to be the most glamorous of them all, completely knocking the viewers off their feet, fell completely flat.

Secondly, whilst having a lot of sub-plots still remains a favourite trope of mine as I'd expect everything to wrap up nicely near the end... well, it didn't. Whilst most sub-plots were hastily answered, there was one particular sub-plot which was just left completely unaddressed (for those who have watched it, it's about J****s), and unless they're hinting at a second season where this would be further elaborated on, this was a dead-end sub-plot, a plot with no elaboration or continuation whatsoever.

Overall, the plot was breathtaking in the beginning. It lost momentum very near the end, and wrapped everything up with an anticlimactic last episode.

- Characters: 4.7/5

Definitely the strongest set of characters I've seen in a Korean drama, frankly. All characters were so well utilised, each having their own quirks and flaws which were delightful to watch. Everyone was so, so intelligent, that they honestly were the main fuel to the series, our main stars.

Allow me to first start off with my favourite character, Professor Yang Jong-hoon. Stoic, yet with an extremely savage side that he does not hesitate to show to anyone of any ranks or social standings, Yangcrates carefully plots everything, always thinks, questions, and then thinks even more. Intelligence-wise, this man is most definitely the smartest on-screen persona I've seen in the Korean drama franchise - able to see miles ahead and figure out all the answers down to their root, he is someone that definitely earns all the respect he has, from both his students and viewers alike. Personality-wise, this man is equally interesting as he is smart. With a cold exterior, Yangcrates does not take any bullshit (cue a particularly funny water spitting scene), and does not hold back harsh words to point it out. Yet, underneath this cold exterior is a burning desire to find the absolute truth, which would in turn bring justice to ones who have been wronged (refer to a particular lecture-like speech he made in episode 10), and a passion for teaching his students. He secretly cares for his students a lot, and expresses it in his own way.

Next, our favourite study group - a group of capable, enticing individuals. Firstly, we have Han Joon-hwi, a complex character that always pursues justice and fairness. His intelligence shines through with the way he, firstly, is able to take advantage of his sharp understanding of law into the case, and his careful processing of the evidence he gathers during investigation. Whilst he always keeps a cold head when needed, he has an equally warm heart, genuinely caring for wronged and innocent people. His expressions were all extremely raw and did not feel fake at all - really, props to his actor. More on this later.

Then, we have the two girls - Kang Sol A and Kang Sol B. Don't be fooled by their names - they are very much polar opposites. Whilst Kang Sol A is excitable and wears her heart on her sleeve (sometimes a bit too much), Kang Sol B always keeps a cool head, sometimes taking it to the extreme. I do admit that if I had to pick out of the two, though I love both of them very, very much, I'd probably lean a bit more towards Kang Sol A - even though she definitely gets on my nerves sometimes because of her overload of emotions that could be disruptive, she has her frequent bouts of creativity and "a-ha!" moments that display her underrated intelligence (I'm always soft for underdogs that are underestimated by everyone, only to turn the table on them later). She is also an extremely loyal friend and a very generous individual that isn't afraid to place herself in danger just to help others - overall, a very warm person. Kang Sol B, on the other hand - perhaps due to her family environment - does not really taking other people's emotions into consideration, though I really, really admire her for her intelligence, her ability to always keep a calm head (making her the blue counterpart to Kang Sol A's red), as well as her straightforwardness which has proven many times to be necessary to push the case forward. She does have a soft spot, though - a very adorable one at that. These two make an extremely adorable pair of friends.

My favourite student of the study group must be Seo Ji-ho. I'd say he's a less intimidating version of Kang Sol B hahah - cool and composed, Ji-ho is a reliable member who always pursues logic and reason first. He is also driven to achieve his goal and, like Joon-hwi, utilizes his deep understanding about law very well to solve his own case, his sub-plot. Though his sub-plot eventually was wrapped up as an open ending, it was a nice sub-plot to watch. Not to mention his dynamic with Joon-hwi is very adorable as well - the two really balance each other out.

Other students also have their own quirks and flaws, but for the sake of this review's length, I won't elaborate them as much - but I will say they are all a delight to watch, adding their own personal elements to the overall study group. I will definitely miss this set of characters so, so much. ;-;

- Acting: 4.4/5

Frankly, perhaps because of some K-drama series I have watched, I had a problem with acting in some K-drama series - the actors and actresses did not feel genuine, and they either overacted, pushing their expressions to the extreme, or underacted, simply being way too... stiff (some of my personal favourite actors and actresses so far are Kim Seon-ho, whose theatrical experiences probably really helped with his very natural acting, Jo Jung-seok, and Kim Hye-yoon, an actress who impressed me with both of her most popular series - hope to see her versatility shine through with more diverse roles though). This series, however, is a definite favourite of mine in terms of acting. Firstly, Kim Myung-min is a veteran actor that deserves so much respect - he basically morphed into Yangcrates. I absolutely loved the way he delivered his dialogues - very long ones! - without even so much as taking a breath in between - it was smooth and the flow was excellent.

Kim Beom also became one of my favourite actors after this series - the way he handled his role was so good, his expressions, actions, everything. I noticed that he's very good with his eyes, if that's the right way to put it - he is very good at displaying emotions with them, all emotions ranging from sadness to adoration (towards a particular someone *wink*). It's a top-notch skill, really, and I'm glad to have seen him on-screen. Similarly, Ryu Hye-young impressed me so, so much that I shall add her to my list of favourite actresses as well - I can't spoil, but she is really able at... altering her vibes, yes. She seems to have studied her character really carefully too, being able to bring all Sol A's quirks to real life. Other actors and actresses were amazing, but for me, these three definitely shone.

- Doki moments?

Ah. Definitely some between Sol A and Joon-hwi, as a lot of other people have commented. From the way they tease each other to the way he cares about her every little thing, the way he stares at her, the way his whole demeanor just changes around her and the way she unknowingly influences him so much - they do balance each other out really well, Joonhwi being the cool to Sol A's warm. I do find myself thinking Sol B and Ji-ho would be rather compatible as well (also, them being study rivals in high school? My rivals-to-lovers side is ready).

- Enjoyment: 4/5

Again, could have been higher if it wasn't for the ending! But yes, overall, a whole trip worth embarking on.

- Overall: 4.2/5

Really, could have been higher... but yes, still an excellent show. I just hope they could have had more episodes to really wrap everything up nicely and maybe throw us one final, absolutely ground-breaking twist.

- Watch it or neh?

Yes, please do watch it! And let me know how it goes, too. ;3

#jtbc law school #law school kdrama #kdrama review #kdrama recommendations #kang sol a #han joon hwi #solhwi #kim beom #ryu hye young #yangcrates #kim myung min #kdrama #kdramanetwork #mystery thriller #crime thriller #psychological #mystery series #school life

[appleciders]

personally, im also deep in the station 19 muck but like you i wish i wasn't. randomly watched it because pandemic and maya bishop is just so compelling, even with all the bad writing i still love her sm. is there anything you would want to see for season 4? your hair cut fic was so good and i cant stop thinking about how much better the season would have been had it ended like that instead.

first off, sorry to both of us for being here! but i guess let’s take escapism where can get it, hey. second, thank you so much for reading the fic!! i’m super honored you liked it <33

as for what i would want for s4...whew. a lot, lmao. i’ll put in under a cut to save my poor non-s19 followers.

mostly, i want them to please slow down the pacing. let story arcs breathe and build and develop. last season was so rushed—ryan’s death and rigo’s death and pruitt’s death all crammed in, andy and sullivan having a shotgun wedding out of nowhere, maya and carina fastforwarding to i love yous with only 30 second scenes and not a real date to be seen, vic hardly getting to process ripley—i could go on. it’s cheap and messy storytelling. cut it out. 

i also really want them to let relationships do the same. i want to see the friendships that were so strained last season to grow again. show me andy, maya, and vic being friends and supporting each other!! for the love of god!! (show me andy and maya being friends, period. for the whole season. the whole goddamn season. no drama between them, only supporting each other through outside drama. if i have to see another season where these ‘best friends’ are at each other’s throats half the time, i swear to god.) 

show me more team-as-family! a) i eat that shit up, and b) that’s supposed to be the underlying theme and premise of the show. show them laughing and goofing off together, show them holding each other up when things get tough, show them teasing each other to hell and back while they cook together in the beanery. invest in that again.

for the romances....develop that shit. honestly, i really hope andy and sullivan either break up or really do the fucking work to fix their relationship, because as-is, it’s a hot mess. and not a hot mess i particularly care to watch. i liked them fine in season 2, but the sullivan arc in s3 (which...not to out myself as having watched chicago fire, but which is a blatant rip-off of severide’s s1 arc in cf) puts him in a place where he’s not really ready for a relationship. and with the amount of shit they put andy through, she’s not, either. i know it’s impossible on a drama, but i would really like andy to be single this season? idk, i’m tired.

maya and carina better not be all sunshine and rainbows. they need to do the work! they need to show the work! after that rushed-ass ‘forgive me’ scene (where carina was...pressured into forgiving maya like the day after she cheated on her??? and that was framed as a good thing?? make it make sense), they deserve to show them actually navigating that broken trust and rebuilding something real. and as someone who doesn’t watch grey’s, i really don’t know carina very well? 90% of her scenes were her supporting maya through her ongoing breakdown (though a  totally understandable breakdown! not criticizing maya for having trauma), so i’d like to see more of a balance of support in the relationship and more development of her as an individual apart from maya. she’ll be sticking around, and that will be much more interesting if she bonds with other members of the team.

dean and vic...look, my hands-down #1 wish for season 4 is that they treat vic hughes well, with respect, with screentime, and with a good arc. she’s the absolute best. and as much as i love dean miller (hint: a lot), he needs to start guzzling his respecting vic juice if the writers are gonna try to set up anything. personally, i’d really like to see them move past it? awkward crushes between friends happen. putting myself in dean’s shoes, living with one of my best friends who i’m also secretly crushing on, watching her play with my baby...it’d be a lot too!! but that doesn’t excuse being a dick, so i’d really like to see them take some time apart, and then start their friendship back up on a foundation of honesty and communication. because they’re so good, guys.

individual character notes!!!

well. i want every person at this goddamn station to go to therapy. they won’t, but i want them to.

andy needs to go to serious grief counseling after season 3. compounded by what’s bound to be a shitstorm from the discovery that her mother is alive? please. in regards to the whole mother arc, i really don’t want it her disappearance to have been like...gang-related. i’ve seen that posited as a theory, and that’s just a whole bundle of stereotypes we don’t need to get into. i also want the mom reveal to be the main revelation that takes up the majority of her arc the first half of the season, just to have time to process it. the captain’s race took up all of season 1—you can give this twist time to marinate properly.  

vic hughes, my moon, my stars! i really loved the snippets of vic’s backstory that they gave us in s3. as someone who lost a family member to early-onset alzheimer’s in november, 3x09 was...oof. a lot. i love how they committed to fleshing out her past and her backstory more and i love the emotional depth barrett doss always brings to the screen. for season 4, i’d love to see vic get to process ripley and jackson properly. (and here i repeat my forever adage for female characters lol: let them be single for a hot sec.) i want her to move in with maya, because i think that dynamic is so fun and ripe for exploration, and then i’d love to see her digging in to her issues and getting help—going back to the firefighter group, actually talking, spending time with her found family. (sidenote: would love to see her help out with some like youth community theatre classes on her days off? developing connections with kids who have gone through losses, supporting them and in turn realizing the support she needs herself...tell me vic singing with kids wouldn’t be the cutest shit). anyway, i just rly want her to get a good storyline. but i’m not a screenwriter so like...hope they come up with one!

i’ve already written much more than i’m sure you wanted, so i’m going to condense the boys into one paragraph lol. i want jack gibson to heal himself and stop sleeping with taken women! his new found family is super sweet, so i really hope he gets to keep it throughout s4. i want travis montgomery to get only good and happy things, and the same goes for warren. actually, i’d love to see warren step into his new role as team Older Person a bit more? i think that would be a really fun and heartwarming dynamic to play with all the other characters. dean i think i already touched on, but i’d love him to take a breath, apologize to vic and explain, and lean on the rest of his found family. he’s gonna be such a good dad and i’m excited to see more of that.

finally: maya. oh, maya. she needs therapy. you can’t have a character say she’s been dealing with suicidal ideation and anxiety for nearly 20 years and just...magically make it all better. she deserves to get to unpack all the shit with her dad, and all the ways that’s impacted her. on some level, i kinda wish she’d not stayed as captain—i love her scenes so much when she’s allowed to be just chilling on the same level as her team. since that’s not the case, finding a right balance of her as captain and her as friend is gonna be super important. i want her to open up to her friends and lean on them. i’d love for mason to come back, too? i think her trying to heal herself, establish herself as a team member and leader, and rebuild her relationships with her brother as well as her found family and girlfriend would be more than enough material for an arc. it won’t always go great! this stuff isn’t an easy fix! but that’s why it’d be worth writing. plus, so many members of the team have shitty relationships with their parents that even though they won’t understand what maya went through, there’s some really fertile ground for compassion and cathartic ‘fuck our dads’ ball-busting i’d love to see seeded. bonus father’s day episode where literally none of them are happy and they decide to like...go play laser tag or something.

anyway, i’m sure that’s more than you wanted!! but thank you for the q lmao apparently i had a lot to say

#station 19 #maya bishop #vic hughes #andy herrera #like...everybody else lmao #yes i have homework due in 10 minutes i haven't started! #yes i decided to think about this instead! #what of it #....whoops #Anonymous

[scifinal]

DW s12e03 "Orphan 55" or The Importance of Not Conveying a Message

I swear this is not a Doctor Who fan blog - there's simply no denying that what DW has become as of now is a major and highly influential sci-fi franchise, and there's also no denying that last week I, regrettably, dedicated two days of my life to binging its, as of now, most recent season (and to think I could've been re-watching series D of Blake's 7 instead!), which, in turn, led me to doing what I've had in mind for quite some time now – creating this blog (and returning to tumblr, which I wasn't planning on doing). I wrote my review on the season's finale just yesterday, but there are plenty more things in this season that, I feel, need to be touched upon.

So, here I am, doing just that.

Part One: The Idea

Now, I ask you to imagine a story. Imagine a story in which a neglectful mother leaves her child and, as years go by, gets so overwhelmed with guilt she decides to give said child a gift hoping that maybe, just maybe, this gift will make up for that horrible thing she did years ago. The mother wants to give her child a literal world as a gift. So she picks a planet that nobody will ever claim, an orphan planet, and tries to raise money to afford terraforming it. She becomes a mother to an orphan planet in an attempt to become a mother to her orphan child.

This sounds like a beautiful story. It is a beautiful story.

Part Two: The Science

Doctor Who, which started out as an educational show for schoolkids, is, as of now, at heart, a space opera. There is nothing inherently bad in space operas: these are merely a subgenre of science fiction that focuses on relationships between its characters and social issues, with little to no regard or often at the expense of the "sci" in "sci-fi". Space operas can be beautiful. "Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed", one of my favourite stories by Ray Bradbury, and one of my favourite short stories period is a space opera. "The Stainless Steel Rat" series by Harry Harrison is a space opera. "Ensign Flandry" by Poul Anderson is a space opera. I love them all.

The surprisingly hard thing with writing space operas is that you have to be careful with science. What I mean by that is that a writer behind a space opera project has to be careful with inventing his technobabble in case he faces a necessity of explaining something. The writer has to be careful and make his technobabble so illegible yet science-y that his audience has no choice but to roll with it, regardless of whether they have the faintest idea what the words the writer has used mean or not. The space opera technobabble has to sound science-y but otherwise has no business using scientific terms that might happen to make some sense to an audience member that happens to be slightly more educated than average and thus more perceptive of your nonsense (bonus points if what the writer has created is not as good as they themselves think it is and that slightly more educated audience member has already gotten so tired of The Work that they unintentionally begin to catch more factual mistakes than they would had the author not oversuspended their disbelief), because at that point...

...Science Says "Hello, I'm Still Here!" (Part Three)

The third episode of the twelfth season of Doctor Who gave its seemingly made-up term "orphan planet" a very clear definition: a previously habitable world that, through processes which may vary in nature, has become unable of supporting sentient, if any at all, life. Here's an excerpt from the Doctor Who fan wiki:

Again, a fairly clear definition.

Except...

"Orphan planet" is an actual scientific term. There are many synonymous terms used to describe it, but, basically, an orphan planet is a planet that doesn't belong to a star system and travels on its own. Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia (I do realise that it isn't a reliable source, but in this case this actually is a correct definition):

And this isn't a rare term, either. In fact, the concept of a rogue, or orphan, planet is fairly common in science fiction – a strange cold, inhospitable world, incapable of supporting life, travelling through the vast cosmos all on its own, fearsome and unpredictable.

Now, why the difference between two definitions of an otherwise well-known occurrence?

Because the story I asked you to imagine in the beginning of this post wasn't enough.

Part Four: The Need for Relevance

There's no arguing that, in some way or another, every piece of media captures the time its creator lives in through the lense of their worldview. It might be obvious in things like clothing, technology, or societal constructs they, the author, perceive as normal or abnormal. There is no arguing that every piece of media ages, and no arguing that most media produced for mass audiences has to be relevant. And science fiction set in the future, surprisingly enough for some, is not an exception; more than that, it may even age worse than other genres as technology develops beyond what creators of science fiction of the past could possibly imagine.

One way of compensating that aging is creating an ever-relevant story. The reason the original trilogy of Star Wars still stands despite its dated effects and tech is not only that it's set in an alien world, but also that it tells a fairly simple story that is bound to be relatable for years to come: it's a journey a hero sets on to right the wrongs. The reason the original Star Trek is good after all these years despite its dated, er, everything technical is that its themes are relatable, its morals are clear, its characters – well-defined. Blake's 7 is wonderful (I mean, this is the third or fourth time I'm mentioning this fairly little-known show in two posts, it should be clear that I love it) not only because of its cheesy British-TV-sci-fi-show-shoestring-budget effects, late-70s-future-fashion outfits charm and well-done models, but because of its clear idea that's bound to last for ages: there will always be an oppressor, there will always be the oppressed, there will always be those who resist the existing regime.

But creating a story with a long-lasting theme is not the only way to being appreciated. We live in an era of information, and we live in an era of that information being at our fingertips, and we also live in an era in which, as always, people want to make profit. Fast profit.

And a much easier way of making profit is not making a story that will last forever, but a relevant story, a story with which its intended audience will resonate right now and not over a prolonged period of time.

This is the time for us to again return to the story I asked you to imagine in the beginning. That story is timeless. Its themes will last as long as there are orphans in the world, and as long as there are neglectful parents, and as long as guilt exists. It's a good story.

But people want more profit than a story that is merely good can make. People want a good story that is also currently relevant.

And so they add a currently relevant theme to it.

Part 4: Additions Have Got to Be Made

There's nothing inherently wrong with adding a new theme to your already existing storyline: it may lead to exploring new depths you didn't expect would open up. The problem arises when said theme is nothing but pandering and is there only to admit the existence of something so the audience can say "I know about this thing that they've mentioned", as if that gives them a figurative gold star, and get back to their business, satisfied that some story they connected with acknowledged a problem that they feel something about. This is pandering.

Now, what does this have to do with the two different definitions of one term and that story?

Part Five: Here's What I Think Is the Problem

I don't think that at the early stages of writing the screenplay for "Orphan 55" DW's definition of the term "orphan planet" was all that different from what an orphan planet actually is. On the contrary, I think the person who first pitched the story did have in mind actual interstellar objects – otherwise they would've devised a new term for uninhabitable planets; besides, almost everything in the episode makes sense without an orphan planet being a once inhabitable world. I also believe that this change was thrown in towards the end of writing the actual script, because then it would probably be written in a way that allows the idea of their version of an orphan planet to be more developed. So why did they, in my opinion, even add that?

You guessed it. Pandering. My best guess is that the higher-ups wanted to throw something "hip" into the story, to add something "relevant", because they wanted a bigger resonance and thus a more profitable episode. And what could be more relevant that the fact that we, the humanity, have kind of screwed our planet up and now everybody's talking about this?

This is the reason they've changed the definition of a pre-existing term. It's not that they wanted to make a statement: they wanted to make money. It's not that they wanted to raise awareness: they wanted to raise their profits. The message wasn't intended as a warning directed towards people who may not know or do not care about the subject: it was a corporation pandering towards those who already agree with it.

It hurts me to write this; I genuinely want to believe this isn't the case. I genuinely want to believe that the addition was made by some well-meaning script editor – but I can't. We live in a world in which corporations can and do use important messages as a means to profit off of people's beliefs. The optimistic option just isn't that probable.

And in the End...

Imagine a flower. Imagine a tender flower on a small flowerbed; a beautiful flower, carefully tended to, lovingly grown, a flower that will bloom for a long time. And next to it, a bigger, more colourful one, a flower that grabs your attention, but only for a short moment – and for no other reason that its life is so short. The big flower will wither, and it will wither soon, and the small one will go unnoticed simply because it's not as bright, and not as big... but it is beautiful when you notice it, and it will bring a smile to your face when you notice it again.

That story about a mother, her child, and a planet was a good story, but its theme about being an orphan wasn't what grabbed the viewer's attention: it was the blunt message about saving our habitat, and it distracted from the actual plot and its own underlying theme.

Your story is your flowerbed. A bright and resonating theme will live on for only as long as it stays popular, for as long as the public is interested in it, and the second that interest is lost, your flowerbed of a story dies with it. If that was your intent – you did well. But if you tend to your garden for the future generations to see, don't make it about here and now, make it about everywhere. Make it about always. Make it so the bright and eye-catching, and short-lived isn't what people know your garden for.

#doctor who #doctor who review #thirteenth doctor #critique #review #spilled thoughts #long reads #long post #sci fi #sci fi review