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miss-dollette · 5 months

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I was thinking in random hcs? Maybe your thoughts about the character? something general? Nothing like nsfw stuff, 'cause it’s all what this fandom have lol

Sure, how 'bout some relationship headcanons! And some character headcanons. Basically, what I believe he would be like in a relationship. At least, the more positive side of being with him. He's a goofy guy, and people take him wayyy too seriously.

Eats food like he's in a competitive eating contest. Consumes enough to feed a small village—your grocery bill might just fund a lunar mission. Don't throw a fit, though; Mr. Riley's mission is to ensure your wallet stays plump at all times. He's a provider through and through.

Transforms into a human fortress at the mere hint of trouble. If someone dares hurt you, Mr. Riley becomes Mr. Ghost in the fraction of a second. And trust me, taking a hit from him is like receiving a love tap from a freight train, minus the love.

Navigates family gatherings like a penguin on roller skates. His military background remains a classified mystery, and his family tales are as fictional as a unicorn on vacation. American relatives? They're convinced he's the next NFL sensation, begging him to join their backyard football league. Spoiler alert: he's more of a brick wall than wide receiver.

Master of the unexpected headlock, coupled with a smirk that screams, "You wouldn't be able to get outta this if you tried your best." Yes, he's a bit of an asshole, but he's your asshole.

Enormous nerd alert. Chuckles at his own jokes. No, he's not ashamed of that.

His humor is on a level of sophistication that revolves around fart and poop jokes. He's not afraid to assert his dominance with a fart, maintaining eye contact for that extra level of charm. Try throwing a pillow his way, and he'll throw it back with the force of a thousand sun's (may have broken your glasses once).

He's British—like, sipping-tea-in-the-rain-with-the-Queen British. The epitome of Brit-ness in a world filled with brits. Probably has a secret stash of crumpets somewhere.

Experienced a growth spurt at eleven that defied the laws of gravity. Shot up from 5'1" to a towering 6'4" by the time he graduated.

His taste buds are stuck in the bland era. Thinks anything spicier than salt is equivalent to summoning fire-breathing dragons. Pepper in his food? Cue him giving you vicious side eye. Introduce any other spice, and he'll act like you're conducting a culinary assassination. Consider yourself warned—he takes his seasoning very seriously. But he'll still eat your food, with a side of milk, of course.

Love Language: Fluent in acts of service and physical touch. To unlock level 10, you'll need a lot of patience, kindness, and understanding. Once you get there, anything you request, he'll do—no complaints, just a casual acceptance of his fate, like a loyal sidekick in a superhero movie.

His commitment is so strong; he'd probably agree to build a rocket to the moon if you asked. He'd do whatever it takes to make sure you get what you want.

Always keeping a hand on the nape of your neck in crowds—part protective gesture, part GPS system. It's his way of ensuring you don't accidentally take yourself off a cliff.

I have so many more ideas.

#cod mw2 #mw2 x reader #mw2 #cod mw3 #simon ghost riley x reader #simon riley #simon ghost x reader #simon ghost riley #cod ghost #ghost mw2 #ghost x reader #mw2 headcanons

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findafight · 7 months

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I think the most insufferable part of the “Steve is the worst” refrain is that even when the change is acknowledged, they constantly make out like he’s on thin ice.

But the funniest part has to be that they write this whilst also having pretty much every new main cast member they add to show take a shine to him;

Billy just wants Steve to pay attention to him (and was bitterly disappointed that Steve was just some dude and not the raging asshole that everyone’s told him about)

Max hates teenage boys, but concludes she has found the one good one

Robin enjoys his company despite herself and becomes soul bonded to him

Eddie ends up being straight (I’m sorry) up *enchanted* by Steve, and we have a whole scene of him trying desperately to communicate this to him - of course Nancy wants you, dude! Who wouldn’t?

I know we’ve joked about Joe’s charisma, but canonically Steve’s must be *otherworldly*. Clearly the only reason Nancy didn’t let him fuck that old man was because the writers needed to make things difficult for them.

The show simultaneously trying to remind us Steve used to be a dick but is actually the most charming lad in all the land and is everybody's favourite most specialest boy. Like they try to make us remember Steve being mean but then it's also telling us he's a silly billy driving his bestie to school without questioning it and not knowing she doesn't even know how to drive. How are we supposed to think he's gonna backslide.

Lmaooo billy being disappointed Steve's not an asshole. It's no fun winning for him if it wasn't actually a competition :(

Max: no teenage boys allowed

Steve and Lucas: *exist*

Max: okay I will make an exception because they seem very nice

Dustin just consistently telling everyone he meets Steve is the coolest most badass person alive. Can you imagine the hero worship Suzie has heard?? (Suzie is also a Steve Stan and she hasn't even MET him)

Robin spends one month in close proximity to Steve and she's like well. Guess he's my best friend now!! And she was probably actively trying to not like him! And yet here we are! She liked him before they got tortured and she was probably so ticked off about how she, too, has fallen platonically for the Harrington charm. Not fair. Embarrassing.

Eddie spends less than a week around Steve and immediately joins his little cheer squad with Robin and Dustin. Like, if they wanted us to know that Steve was a dick to people for no reason in highschool Eddie would've been the person to use to demonstrate that, or the tension between who he was and who he is, but they don't! Eddie just admits he made assumptions about Steve without knowing much about him other than his rich parents and big house and popularity with girls, (saying more about himself than Steve) and then immediately jumps on the Steve bandwagon because now he can't understand why anyone who spent any amount of time with Steve wouldn't like him!

Even Nancy wasn't immune to Steve's charms in S4, and she had previously broken up with him messily! But all it took was a little bit of the town in danger and Steve trying to make sure everyone's on the same page while Looking Good for her to be Gazing Lustfully at him. That's why S2 and S3 had them separate for so long. Too long around him and she'd remember that she does find him cute and funny and brave and also hot.

Reasons Nancy stopped Steve from Fucking That Old Man: 1) writers needed them finding out info to be more of a struggle 2) they also probably didn't want a middle aged supposedly professional man sleeping with one of their teenage characters I guess 3) Nancy would have been wild with jealousy about the whole thing and stancy revival would have been much more obvious earlier, much more Nancy driven, and much funnier.

#steve harrington #stranger things #steve and eddie #steve and max #stobin #stancy #sorry anon but honestly the set up for a little stancy here i couldnt resist #findaanswers #anonasaurus

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rpmemesbyarat · 1 year

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Unsympathetic Evil Done Right

“You’re not gonna shoot a puppy, are ya Jack?!” “Yeah, in the face, why?” NOTE: NO SPOILERS! SPOILER FREE! A lot has been written about how to make nuanced, noble, and/or sympathetic villains done right. I think I’ve probably written about that too, pretty sure I have. But today I’m going to cover the equal and opposite quandary: How to make a purely evil, unsympathetic villain who knowingly delights in being evil, but not have them be one-note or boring? I think Big Jack Horner in “Puss In Boots: The Last Wish” is a really good example, and he’s from a piece of media that is recent and popular enough that most people will know who he is, he’s not some obscure reference. That said, none of this contains any spoilers for the film, so if you haven’t see it, you’re safe, read on—if you DARE! I think there are a few things that make Jack really work. Firstly, he’s fun to watch while also being scary. He’s both hilarious and threatening, hitting that incredibly difficult sweet spot of being both comedic and a legitimate threat. It’s very difficult for bad guys to be both funny AND scary, since making something funny typically takes away its power to frighten us. But when a bad guy can do both, they become really fun for the audience. You’re not rooting for them, you don’t think they’re good people, but they’re damn entertaining. And yet, we still fear for the protagonist against them. We may logically know that of course the hero will triumph, especially in a children’s movie, but we have to at least wonder HOW that will happen. Jack’s established as a threat from the start, showing a cruel personality very early AND a vast armory of magical items combined with a task force of workers to help him. Even one of the other antagonists treats him with great caution. He’s still not the most dangerous of the lot (Puss in Boots sports THREE antagonistic people or groups) but you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who didn’t find him the funniest, I bet. Part of Jack’s charm is how much fun he himself is having. He’s clearly just enjoying himself immensely up until the very end. He is ENTHUSIASTIC. He is ALL IN. Being a stoic, serious villain absolutely works better for a lot of bad guys, but these are typically for the ones who veer to the “purely scary” side, not the “scary and funny” side. Jack obviously loves what he does, and what he does happens to be being a bastard a lot. His callous disregard for the lives and wellbeing of everyone, including and especially his own men, is also played to the max for black comedy. Another part of his charm is his self-awareness; Jack very much knows he’s awful, and doesn’t try to disguise it in the slightest, nor does he lament it. There’s no scrap of shame at all, and he in fact mocks a character who thought it might be otherwise. Not only does the movie never ask you to feel sorry for him, he never does either. He does have a backstory to explain his motivations, and I like it because it does make it understandable WHY he wants what he does, it just also doesn’t make him sympathetic in the the slightest because it only serves to play up how callow and entitled that he is. You get an explanation that makes sense, but “making sense” for this character also means “emphasizing that much more what an asshole he is” Note that I do think unsympathetic characters can still have very sympathetic backstories and be done well (one of my fave baddies is like that) but that’s another topic, and not Jack. Finally, he’s not the only villain. As mentioned, there’s three antagonistic parties in this film. Of them, Jack’s the only one who could be called evil. One of the others is just doing his job/fulfilling his natural role and that threatens Puss. The other is competing with Puss & Co for the same goal, and is willing to do harm to the heroes to achieve it, but that goal really isn’t any more selfish or unsympathetic than Puss or Kitty’s own goals, and the character is very much a human being, as are her cohorts (though they’re not human, but you get what I mean!) So, Jack is a comically evil bastard who is evil through and through with no excuse, and he’s awesome and fun enough, but he’s also balanced by more nuanced villains who are really less “villains” and more “obstacles to the protagonist in some way” , one a force of nature, the other someone with a goal they can’t achieve without thwarting Puss’s goal. It is definitely hard to pull off in a movie especially because of the limited time, but I think having multiple types of villains in a single work—especially a series, like a comic book or a television show—really helps with pulling each type off that much better. The noble and sympathetic villains can play off and contrast against the complete monsters, and you don’t need to choose between one or the other. In fact, what tends to irritate me most in a series, is when ALL villains are a single type—they’re all super redeemable tragic misunderstood woobies, or they’re all 2D evil cardboard cutouts who eat babies for kicks, etc. People will debate with each other all day about which is more realistic, but I think what’s most realistic AND most interesting for a reader/viewer/consumer is a nice mixed bag of diverse villains. Diverse here meaning diverse personality, diverse motives, diverse ranks on the ‘terrible person’ scale, etc. Again, this isn’t doable in every work. But I think Big Jack type characters can still work well in a solo role as well. Good examples of this abound in the Disney Renaissance films—Scar, Ursula, Gaston, and Jafar are all the perfect combination of hilariously hammy and seriously scary that Jack taps into. This need not be limited to children’s media either, though I think it does work best there. But enjoyable “pure evil” villains in darker, more adult works can still be done, such as Freddie Krueger, some interpretations of various Batman villains, and, rather subtly, Hannibal Lector. The last one isn’t overtly bombastic, he’s not singing big musical numbers about his evil plans or cracking overt jokes every two seconds (though he comes close with his cannibilism puns in the NBC series), but he does have a wry and dry sense of humor, he’s very witty and cultured, and he’s very intelligent. He’s not funny per se, but it can be really interesting to watch him outwit others and pick them apart. While I’ve mostly focused on humor for what makes a baddy fun to watch because that’s the case with Jack Horner, it’s not the ONLY thing that can make them engaging either. Bringing up my point about “unsympathetic characters can have sympathetic backstories” from earlier too, Hannibal does have a tragic tale behind him, but it’s also undeniable he very much enjoys doing what he does for its own sake. Whether he’s truly unsympathetic or absolutely the reverse is probably more down to opinion, unlike Jack and the others, but personally for me he’s in the “just loves being a horrible person” category, and he’s still very interesting both despite and because of that! Some people will tell you that pure evil characters are automatically boring. I don’t think so. I just think most writers don’t put the effort into making them interesting and engaging to watch. And there are MANY ways to do that!

#writeblr #writing #writing tip #writing tips #Villains #writing villains #villain tips

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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 6 months

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Psycho Analysis: Yanni Yogi

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

Case 1-4, “Turnabout Goodbyes,” is sort of the grand finale of the original Ace Attorney, and it ends the overarching story in a very satisfying way. We have the culmination of Phoenix and Edgeworth’s character arcs as well as elaboration on their shared history, we get some interesting developments about the past, and it features some of the most iconic moments in the entire series, from pointing out that it almost being Christmas means it wasn’t actually Christmas yet to cross-examining an actual parrot on the witness stand. Throw in the debut of charming hick photographer Lotta Hart and Larry Butz proving himself to be a bumbling asset, and you have one of the best and strongest cases the game has to offer (though in contrast with a lot of the rest of the series, it feels a bit easy).

Of course, a good case would be absolutely nothing without a good mystery leading into an impressive villain, and this case manages to have two! The first of them is without a doubt one of the single most sympathetic killers in the series, if not the most sympathetic: Yanni Yogi. Formerly a courtroom bailiff, being implicated in the DL-6 incident led to his entire life being ruined even if he was able to walk free. And in 1-4, he decides that enough is enough and he wants to get even. How exactly is this sympathetic? Well, that’s what this analysis is for.

Motivation/Goals: To put things extremely simply, Yogi’s goal is revenge. But nothing about 1-4 is simple, so let’s take the opportunity to do something that will be unique to some of these Ace Attorney analyses: Discuss the victim, Robert Hammond.

Hammond would likely have been worthy of a Psycho Analysis on his own if he wasn’t already dead; the man was a defense attorney who only cared about winning his cases, a very dark reminder that it isn’t just the prosecutors who are amoral in this series. Hammond took on Yogi after DL-6 and forced the poor guy to play the part of an insane man so that he could get out of the murder charges levied against him by Gregory Edgeworth’s ghost. And it worked! Yogi went free! There was just one teeny tiny little issue:

Yogi’s life was fucking destroyed.

Socially he ended up as an outcast, and things got to the point where his fiancee Polly committed suicide after dealing with the backlash. What’s more, Yogi was forced to continue living out his life as a deranged man, unable to really go back to normal. And keep in mind: All of this was done to free him from the consequences of a crime he didn’t commit, a crime he was only accused of because the victim’s spirit couldn’t possibly have known the real murderer was lurking outside the elevator.

It’s genuinely hard to blame Yogi for capping Hammond, because the dude was an utter asshole who demonstrably ruined Yogi’s life. Hammond absolutely deserved what was coming to him. Now, framing Miles Edgeworth, on the other hand… That’s a lot less forgivable. Edgeworth certainly never meant Yogi any harm, and he had just as poor an understanding of the situation as both his dead father and Yogi himself. No one involved here was on the same page, and all of them were being manipulated by the real murderer as part of his master plan to get his ultimate revenge.

Performance: In the live action movie, Yogi is portrayed by Fumiyo Kohinata, and to say he kills it in the role is an understatement. I think a lot of it comes from the movie showing rather than simply telling when it comes to Yogi’s horribly tragic backstory, with him getting to act out his reactions to Hammond’s cruelty towards him as well as stumbling across his wife’s body post-suicide, but he definitely ends up as one of the strongest aspects of an already stellar adaptation.

Breakdown: Yogi actually has one of the more lowkey breakdowns in the series when it comes to sympathetic killers, almost to the point that he doesn’t really have a breakdown. One minute he’s the teetering, goofy old man:

And then one avian cross-examination later, he gives up the goat and reveals his true self:

I actually think the lack of an extreme reaction gives Yogi a unique level of dignity and really highlights how utterly tragic his circumstances were, even if he really didn’t go about things in the best way.

Best Scene: The movie actually shows Yogi finding his wife’s body, and if it didn’t hit home how absolutely miserable and tragic this poor man’s life was before, well, here you go.

Final Thoughts & Score: More than any other sympathetic killer in the series, Yogi is the one who my heart goes out to most.

Yes, he’s not as friendly and charming as Acro, and he’s definitely not anywhere near as sexy as Geiru Toneido, but if you look at the facts this guy genuinely just didn’t deserve anything that happened to him. He didn’t kill Gregory Edgeworth, but no one believed him, not even his own lawyer; said lawyer forced him to pretend to be insane, which even if it got him free ruined his reputation and caused his beloved fiancee to kill herself; he ended up being stuck pretending to be a lunatic for years to keep suspicion off of himself even though, again, he was innocent; and then he ends up being used as a pawn in a convoluted revenge scheme. His only real crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time on that fateful day.

All of this really helps make Yogi the most pitiable villain out there. He is just a sad old man forced to live as something he’s not, and who lost literally everything. And after all that, the sole victory he managed to achieve was rendered completely hollow by the fact he ended up caught, being exposed in court, and then having the truth of DL-6 brought into the light, something that would have acted as his complete vindication had he not decided to kill. In the end, all he did was ensure his parrot was going to have to be taken in by someone else and perhaps even get himself the death penalty.

Yogi gets a 9/10 from me. A lot of this really comes from the movie more than anything, not because it’s better than the game version but because it expands upon and shows what the game already told us to great effect. He’s a fantastic sympathetic killer and one of the best tragic villains of the series, and the one all others should be measured against.

#Psycho Analysis #Yanni Yogi #Ace Attorney #Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

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all-inmoderation · 1 year

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ugh one thing i dislike about under the oak tree is how riftan and maxi have like,,, no friends. like riftan is such a fucking asshole to his knights and has such a stick up his ass that i have to wonder why do these other knights follow him ??? his entire character trait is being a downright asshole to everyone but maxi and it gets tiring to read at some points bc to me, it really flattens the world.

because personally, even when i read a romance, i want the main leads to have an enriched life outside of their love interest! i always hoped to see a scene of riftan having some form of camaraderie w his knights and treating them with,,, at least a little bit of friendliness, perhaps ??? bc i want there to be a reason these knights are following riftan, other than just him being a good warrior. i know riftans general disposition is very reserved and rigid but good god how many times has he gone to war w these guys??? and yet he cant even return a modicum of the affection and respect ruth and the other knights give to him smfhhhh

and as for maxi. i have a less of a grudge w her bc of her backstory obviously but i wish the author couldve shown her finding some solace in friendship as part of her journey in healing. its beautiful that she comes to see riftan as a source of home and safety, but i also wanted to see her dynamic w ruth deepen, along with Agnes. *especially* Agnes, actually, i want Maxi to slowly but surely stop feeling insecure and threatened around her. the little nuggets of her interacting w them and the maids and other knights are so charming and heartwarming to see. I want to see Maxi LOVE the people in their house and form genuine connections with them beyond surface level.

I do think the author does a good job of that when it comes to maxi and the household staff but.. the most disappointing part and the entire reason of this post was how utterly disappointed I was with maxi going to Nornui for three years and not making any fucking FRIENDS. like BRUH. do you know how desperately i wanted to see Maxi in Nornui, thriving despite herself, socially thriving and loving magic even while she's missing riftan. Like I haven't read book 3 yet but that little sneak peak we got of the first few chapters where some of the other students treated her like shit and she only had surface level friendships with some other wizards was sO FRUSTRATING TO READDD. l

like you're telling me maxi left home for THREE YEARS and she spent that ENTIRE TIME missing riftan and keeping everyone at a distance ???? didn't she leave bc she felt suffocated by riftans obsession and she wanted to become more of her own person ??? what the hell was the point then if she made no real connections and just wasted it thinking about riftan lmfao. they'll just go back to where they started- two people who are obsessed w each other w no other companionship, except now maxi just knows how to throw magic rocks or whatever lmfao.

sigh. im being being a bit nitpicky but i just really really wanted to see maxi in nornui making really good friends and building up confidence and pride- and then i wanted her to come back to anatol and for her riftan to see her and see how she's more at ease, maybe even a little more charming, and more confident after spending time in the towers and gaining the admiration and respect of other wizards, and coming back w her own allies and supporters. people whose companionship she forged on her own instead of what was forced onto her (like her marriage). like if it had been up to me i wouldnt have even had any of the wizards at the tower be rude to maxi- i wanted her leave in the tower to be one where she found herself and who she was, beyond her marriage, beyond even her magic.

like even though maxi is shy and reserved i wanted to see her come out of her shell a little bit is that too much to ask? and i wouldve loved to see that kind of transformation in her and how riftan wouldve handled it. of course its not to say that maxi shouldve come back from nornui as an extremely confident outgoing girl with no fears, in fact i think having a significant change but then her returning to anatol and bringing up her old habits and characteristics against who she's become wouldve been so delicious to see , but alas, i dont think thats where the story goes at all.

#under the oak tree #riftan calypse #maximilian croix #maximilian calypse #riftan x maxi #utot #maxi calypse #webtoon #manta comics #ridibooks #manhwa

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motherofmonstersao3 · 11 months

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Twenty-Eighth of May. I imagine the Count specifically told the Szgany to watch for any of Jonathan's desperate fumbling at subterfuge, given how inept at it Jonathan has proven himself to be. This is, of course, a power play, but also insurance: Dracula probably doesn't want to take the risk that comes with Jonathan being so desperate to act no longer according to his own reason, and thus make himself more difficult to predict. I do appreciate, however, that the Count maintains his civility and geniality: he knows that Jonathan is firmly within his power, and will remain so, at least until his designs are fulfilled, and aside from the show of power which he does rather gently, he sees no reason to rub Jonathan's nose in it, to rub it in his face. The looming guillotine blade above his neck, now that the game is up and Jonathan knows that Dracula intends for him to die here, to become as much a part of the furniture as the sofa he's sleeping upon, is enough for the Count, and it's telling to me that he doesn't think to engage in excess sadism. He's clever, and he's also got a clear sense of honour--which, I imagine, is meant only to sharpen the fear of infiltration and miscegenation, that an outsider, a foreigner, could be so "un-savage," but as it stands...I mean... I can increasingly see how Dracula became such a sex symbol, is what I mean, even if I don't think any adaptation beyond the Castlevania anime (and the Dracula ballet) ever actually quite understood why.

Partly because, I'd imagine, they were wrapped up in this image of Dracula as this 'bad boy' type of character--that's Langella, at the very least--and not because, well, he's charming, really. For all that he's a vampire, there's still a recognisable, personable, and friendly humanity about him--a magnetism based not out of any like, wild and dark lust, but rather because he feels real even when he's being performative. Unfettered, but not in the sense of an asshole or even a Camus protagonist. More on this later, I suppose.

#dracula daily

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juniperhillpatient · 1 year

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"Jet" Re-Watch

I'll be honest, this episode is one of those that I've seen A LOT. So, it's not like there were any surprise takeaways. Jet is one of my favorite characters & "Jet" is one of my favorite episodes to re-watch. So, let's talk about Jet - the character - & why I love him. And let's also talk about why I have a love-hate relationship with his titular episode.

This is the very first episode of my re-watch where I'm going to.....ugh. criticize the narrative framing...

Look, I love a sympathetic anti-hero & that's at least part of why I love Jet - anyone who knows me knows I am drawn to morally gray characters, flawed people with good intentions, traumatized villains who see themselves as the hero - & that's a huge part of why I love Jet. But I think it's doing a disservice to critical engagement with the material to NOT acknowledge the way Jet is framed as the "scary evil Earth Kingdom rebel fighting back the "wrong" way." This episode felt very much like propaganda not to trust people who are TOO rebellious or TOO angry at their oppressors.

Remember kids, violent rebellion is never the answer even when you're being violently oppressed. Anyone who says otherwise probably wants to murder babies!

Sokka getting to be the grumpy mom of the group is always fun & I gotta feel bad for the guy. It can't be easy keeping these kids in check when they're always so eager to be reckless & don't even take him seriously or respect him! And poor Sokka was right in the end...And was way less of an asshole about it than I would've been after all the crap he took!

Jet's entrance is just so badass. I absolutely loved the Freedom Fighters coming in & immediately kicking ass & winning over both Katara & Aang. And also I'm sorry but I must say it. The Avatar fandom is so sick & twisted & wrong for everyone fighting over if Katara should be with her little brother-like friend or Zuko when Jet is RIGHT there. From the bottom of my heart, I'll never forgive the Avatar fandom for having such bad taste just LOOK AT THEM

What is this....Sad......................alright, okay, okay, I'm done.

ANYWAY!!! Katara's instant chemistry with Jet is so real & I love how she got insta-heart-eyes. I love you Simptara. Girl, can't you even tell when your episode of the week love interest is introduced anime style as a person you obviously can't trust? So fucking funny to me. Like, Katara, haven't you ever seen a single episode of television? Jet is handsome & smooth & charming & he has wheat in his mouth. Of course he's gonna break your heart baby girl, it's right there in the narrative framing.

Also, Jet is a manipulative little shit & I love him. I think a big reason Jet gets a lot of hate ASIDE from the NaRrAtIvE fRaMiNg issues is that he IS in fact very calculated & manipulative. I think it's worth noting though, that the Freedom Fighters look to him as a "good leader." Jet is clearly the kind of person that is good with people, & good at leading others as well as being mature for his age. So, he's taken on the mantle of leadership with these kids. Yes, he is manipulative & he mugs sad old Fire Nation colonizers, but like, he was given the mantle of leadership at EIGHT YEARS OLD after watching his parents die y'all. Cut him some slack for not having the soundest moral compass, jeez.

Like, what can I really say here? No, you're right guys, an eight-year-old who witnessed his village being destroyed & his parents dying & then was left to protect other orphaned kids should TOTALLY understand that #NotAllFireNationPeople are bad. Obviously, that's a reasonable expectation.

Anyway, Jet's plan to flood the village is very....interesting. I've seen it discussed endlessly whether there are ex-Fire Nation generals in that village, whether the old man Jet mugged was an ex-Fire Nation general, whether there were Earth Kingdom citizens living there or not, & well...it's all just VERY vague. The show doesn't tell us because I guess the point is that "murder is bad." Which...sure, I guess. Still would've been nice to understand more details?

A big anti-Jetara argument that I get pretty much every time I say I ship them is that he broke her heart & made her cry & also wanted to commit mass murder. To that I say.....where's your sense of drama? Jet touching Katara's face as she turns away crying, horrified by what she might've helped him accomplish is just good drama. I don't know what to tell you. Have fun shipping boring things where the characters have no complexity & only ever agree with each other I guess.....

Sokka does deserve some major props in this episode, I'll say that. He put up with pretty much constant shit from Katara & Aang both, he was right in the end about Jet's plans NOT being something Katara & Aang would like, AND he managed to warn the village about the flood. So yeah, props to Sokka.

Anyway, this "re-watch takeaway" post....ended up being.... just...me defending Jet & saying Jetara rights. Whoops. Oh well, I feel like that's a fitting takeaway for this episode :)

#jet #atla book 1 #atla re watch #jetara #i'm tagging the damn ship since i accidentally talked about it so much LOL

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slasher-male-wife · 2 years

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The Freaks: Eddie Munson x male reader part three

Ok I'm taking a break from vampire brain rot induced by my mutuals and I'm back to posting about this beautiful man. I'm being honest this is one of those times I just write something down then edit it to make it look like I knew what I was doing the entire time.

Part one Part two

Summary: You go back to Eddies trailer and end up in hellfire by the end of the night

Warnings: Strong language

After a bit of a drive you pull up at Eddies trailer, getting out of your car and meeting him at the front door. "So my uncle works the night shift so we have the place all to ourselves." He unlocks the door and leads you in. It's a small but nice place with an underlying smell of something you can't quite pick up. Cigarettes? Mildew? You can't tell. You're lead to Eddies room, a very chaotic place. Posters plastered all over the walls. Clothes and magazines all over the floor. His side table and desk are full of junk. But still if feels a bit charming and fitting for a guy like Eddie. It's like what you expected.

"So Mr. Munson I assume it's standard you bring all your dates back to your house." You tease. Eddie laughs a bit and looks back at you, taking off his leather jacket.

"This is a date now? You should've told me before Y/n I could've done something more fun with you." He teases.

"It's a joke Eddie," You look over and find what appears to be a hand made flag for corroded coffin. You smile, "I know I've only known you for a week but you don't give off the artsy type." He looks over at the flag too.

"Yeah well I dabble in it. The hellfire club helps make the shirts with me. Pretty fun times. Not too different than your fake gore stuff."

"Yeah I guess not. I know some stuff. I don't really tell people but I can use a sewing machine too, pretty good at it. I also know how to make like realistic fake fangs-"

"No way man," He cuts you off sitting on his bed, "You have to make me a pair. I can like pay you but it would be killer to have fangs."

"You're also an aspiring vampire? Good to know." Eddie rolls his eyes and your smile widens.

"Well it would be fun to have it for dnd, and scaring people around school."

"I get that," You sit next to him on his bed, " I kinda wanna scare some people off. I wish Jason would leave me the hell alone like everyone else does. Sure there's the ocasinal comment or the mean note left in my locker but he kind of goes out of his way."

"People are assholes, but hey you've got us," He says with a light punch on your arm, "and next time Jason gives you shit let me know. I can totally kick his ass." You let out a short howl of laughter.

"Eddie a toddler with no arms could kick your ass, no offense." It's his turn to laugh now.

"Oh you wanna bet? I can totally pin you down in less than a minute."

"Bull shit. Have you seen my arms?" You say giving them a playful flex, "I'm super strong and I could pin you in under a minute."

"Alright then lets see. Winner gets 10 dollars."

"Eddie I'm not gonna fight you, we're not children." He gives an exagurated sigh and pretend mopes, slumping over a bit.

"Suit yourself Y/n, I just know I could beat anyone in a fight at anytime." You roll your eyes and spot a box on his desk. The familar dnd logo is written on the side and you get up.

"Have you started a new game of dnd yet?" You ask grazing a few fingers over the box.

"Well our new campain starts soon. Are you interested in joining?" He ask. You nod looking back over at him.

"I mean I kinda am. I like that fantasy kinda shit. Always wanted to be a vampire or something."

"Vampires aren't in dnd," He says getting off his bed and walking over to the desk. He grabs the box and motions for you to follow him out of his room, "I assume you don't have a character."

"I don't," You two end up at his 'kitchen' table, you take a seat next to him and he opens the box, "Do I get to make one?"

"Of course you do," He digs around and pulls out a paper, pencil and die, "Now let's get started shall we? So you should pick a race from this list," He hands you two papers, one with a template for a character creation on it and one with more information. You look over the races for a few minutes.

"Is an elf a good choice?" You ask looking at him, getting a beautiful look at his big brown doe eyes. He nods.

"Yeah they're good for archers and warriors. So just write that down along with a name for your character." You put down elf in the proper space and hover your pencil over where your characters name goes. You print 'Y/n the great' down and Eddie laughs.

"What's so funny?" You ask genuinly.

"Well you can name him anything you want. Why not do something more fun," You look back at the paper with a small nod and erase the old name. In it's place you put 'Virrel Myers', "Myers? Like Michael Myers?" He asks.

"Yeah I'm a horror movie fan. Why not?" You see his smile grow a little wider.

"Yeah, why not? Now you need to pick a class. Because you're an elf I suggest picking a ranger or a fighter," You think for a moment before putting down ranger, "Perfect now it's time to fill in your skills," he puts a six sided die in your hand, "Roll it for each skill and put that number down," You spend the next five minutes rolling the die and adding the following number, "Perfect, now I'll help you add your modifiers." You two keep going for another 15 minutes filling in the paper and in the end you're left feeling tired. You let out a yawn and stretch your arms.

"I think I should be getting home, I'm really tired." You say checking your watch. It's around 11:30. Thank god you called your parents earlier.

"You could spend the night. My uncle doesn't get home until like 7 and I leave for school before then most of the time. I mean only if you want to you know?" You nod.

"Thank you Eddie but I think I'm gonna go back home, I don't wanna like mess anything up."

"Alright I get that," You two get up and Eddie walks you to the door, "I'll see you tomorrow Virrel." You chuckle.

"I'll see you tomorrow too Ed's." You walk back to your car and get in. Eddie doesn't shut the door until he sees you drive off. A smile still on his face. He like you Y/n. You're a real cool dude.

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x male reader #eddie munson #eddie x reader #eddie x male reader #stranger things #eddie stranger things

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poesdaughter · 2 months

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So what makes movie beetlejuice as a character, better than toon beetlejuice you think?

Oh wow it has been a HOT MINUTE since I've had a Beetlejuice question here! I'm not even hyperfixated on it anymore!

I'd still go to the premiere of Beetlejuice 2 tho. NUDGE NUDGE WINK WINK LMAO

That said, Toon Beetlejuice was extreeeeeeemely "dumbed down" (as the phrase goes-- yes it's not a great phrase but I'm blanking on a better way to describe the phenomenon at the moment) after season one. I'd even argue after a few episodes in to season one, but it's been a long time since I've watched it. If you compare the very first episode, "Critter Sitters," to basically any last season episode, you'll notice that Beetlejuice goes from being conniving and sounding fairly close to Michael Keaton, to being SUPER SHRILL AND LOUD and he loses all sense of intellect. It's... a sad trend I see in cartoons a lot. Take Spongebob for example... later seasons make Patrick and Spongebob super shrill and unintelligent... and like... Yeah Patrick was never bright, right? But he's SO so much worse.

I think movie Beetlejuice/Betelgeuse has a lot more mystique about him because we only see him for 17 minutes. He's conniving and manipulative and we can kinda see his mind constantly at work under the surface. When he's let loose he has fun and puts on a show-- he's electric. He's pure energy. And this also gives him-- dare I say it-- a weird, villainous, disgusting level of sex appeal. That's absolutely something that drew me to the character when I was truly obsessed-- he's a charming asshole.

The cartoon has some great moments and fun adventures... I like that we see more of the Netherworld and its characters; but I just don't think Beetlejuice as a character has quite the same charming asshole-ness that the movie version has! He just doesn't pack the same punch for me.

But of course YMMV and toon version is loveable in his own way (and sensitive!) and it's nice to see writers play with that side because even I think it's somewhere in the movie version, just somewhere incredibly deep. [Or not. I wrote about that sometime long ago]. When I roleplayed movie version forever ago, it was nice to dig reeeeeeeeal deep to find that side of him, and he absolutely did not like (nor want) aaaaanyone seeing that part of him haha

#beetlejuice #beetlejuice headcanon #wow it has BEEN A MINUTE #yes michael keaton was so weirdly sexy as Betel bite me lmao

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beamergirll11 · 4 months

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I’m Not Yours

Synopsis:

You and Monty have been hooking up secretly but he is still in denial about his sexuality. A party at Bryce’s you find yourself in the arms of another man. Your openly gay and your family is very influential so no one really cares but Monty sure does.

Pairing: Toxic? M Reader x Monty

Warnings: violence, beat downs, Monty being Monty

A/N: Bryce is in the fanfic not trying to glorify him

You had been out of the closet for the past two years. At first you did have some trouble but when your rich and your daddy owns parts of Crestmont people tend to bow. It was a late Saturday night at Bryce’s and of course he was throwing a party. Everyone was drinking and pretty rowdy, Despite some of the people’s disdain for Bryce they showed up because of free booze and drugs.

That night something different happened, You usually found yourself prowling on dating sites or hitting up Monty when you had that itch that needed to be scratched. However tonight you had met a handsome young man blond hair the works. He was charming and in a mere hour he had his tongue down your throat.

No one gave you shit because of who you were, Bryce on several occasions even managed to find a few guys for you to play with. You were single and ready to mingle nothing serious because you hadn’t found the right guy and hell you were young.

Your face was practically being devoured by this guy whose name you didn’t even know. However he smelt like sandalwood and he tasted like cigarettes for some reason this was intoxicating to you. When he finally let you go the look in his eyes told you what was next and you would have happily gave in if it wasn’t for Monty…

Over the guy’s shoulder you saw Monty staring at you menacingly. At that moment you knew there was no way tonight was going to go the way you wanted it to. The guy began to pull you towards Bryce’s house, Obviously ready to take you to pound town. You couldn’t help but smile knowing you were going to get what you wanted what you craved.

However your hands were forced apart by Monty and suddenly he was between you both. Once your eyes met his you sighed and with only your expressions you begged him not be an…asshole for once. This didn’t work and what made it worse was the guy thought he could take Monty on. Once the guy placed his hand on Monty’s shoulder that was it, Monty had him on the ground beating him.

Blood flew each hit purposely meeting his face, You went towards him but as Bryce rushed over he managed to tackle him with the others. As they held Monty down the guy got up on all fours spitting out teeth mixed with bright red blood. In that moment you bent over trying to comfort him but he shoved you away.

When Monty saw this he seemed to get some fucking boost like a video game character because now he was back on feet trying to get to him. You rolled your eyes irritated and made your way to some others trying to distant yourself from the situation.

After the party ended Bryce was handing out 100s to the guy you had almost been dicked down by if it wasn’t for Monty. You watched from afar with frustration as you took a drink from your rum bottle. Tonight you would most likely either needed to be driven home or you would take Bryce’s sofa or guesthouse.

As you began to take another drink you groaned as you saw Monty approach you. You began to walk away but he stopped you his voice almost pleading, “No wait…”

You wanted to walk away but for some reason Monty always got to you.

“What? Monty haven’t you done enough?”

“I don’t know why I did what I did…” he said apologetically.

“What am I to you?” You demanded to know as your brows furrowed.

“It’s complicated Y/N.”

“No it’s not…Monty you’re a fucking coward…either be who you are or leave me alone.” You snarled.

“You…you don’t mean that.” He said shaking head.

“Yes I do…I’m not yours Monty.” You said watching him as he glared at the ground.

“I know who I am…I accept myself and I don’t give a fuck who doesn’t.” You said your voice slightly cracking.

Damn you hated how he could make you emotional, Monty looked up at you sympathetically and regardless of his actions you knew he cared maybe even more than just cared.

“Don’t cry…” was all Monty could muster.

“Monty we can’t see each other anymore.” You said watching his eyes widen and his shoulders go slack.

“Don’t do this…” He pleaded.

“Then right here right now tell everyone who you are.”

“…I can’t.” He said avoiding eye contact as if he was ashamed. You sighed completely over the situation, You had feelings for Monty. However he wasn’t brave enough to be himself, Terrified of the judgement harassment he would get. His dad would most likely disown him, everyone knew his dad was a piece of shit.

“Monty…I can fuck or be with whoever I want.” You said despite feeling guilt.

Monty seemed angry but in despair at the same time, His temper threatened to make him have another outburst but somehow he held it down. With a glare he turned heel shoving past Bryce and the others. They all looked at each other confused except Bryce who knew who Monty really was.

Bryce simply shot you a look and then changed the subject for everyone. As Monty left Bryce got everyone inside to check out the arcade room being built. As you walked inside you turned slightly seeing Monty in the distance by his car giving you one last glance. You shook off the feelings as you turned back heading inside before hearing him speed off…

#13 reasons why angst #13 reasons why #13 reasons why imagine #13 reasons why fanfiction #13 reasons why Monty #montgomery de la cruz #bryce Walker #13 reasons why gay #my writing #fanfiction

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lonely-dwelling · 1 year

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Justice League 24

Today, Taylor and Spencer are discussing Justice League 24, a Forever Evil tie-in, originally released October 23rd, 2013

Taylor: What makes someone evil? The term is thrown around a lot in the media and it’s gotten to the point where it seems its meaning has become lost, just as we lose our sense of what good beer tastes like after a few or five drinks. We call certain dictators evil and the same goes for terrorists. In the stories we tell one another we talk about super villains and often these individuals are motivated by hate or revenge or the lust for power. We call these people evil and in both cases this is rightly so. But of course, considering someone evil is all a matter of perspective. One man’s terrorist is another man’s martyr; one’s hero is another’s villain. But suppose for a second we existed in a universe where this yin-yang balance didn’t exist. What would it be like? Justice League 24, a tie-in with Forever Evil, attempts to give us this answer and in doing so shows us some really deplorable characters.

In another universe a guy exactly like superman is born to some truly dickish parents. You see, his dad, Jor-Il (not Jor-El mind you), is truly a bad person and so is his wife. As their planet is about to explode they kill a bunch of people to ensure their son’s safe passage from the dying rock. In his spaceship, this would-be superman is bombarded with hateful recordings his entire trip to Earth. Naturally, this makes the baby a huge asshole and as such he turns into Ultraman, an evil version of Superman. Along with his cast of similarly evil anti-heroes, Ultraman begins an oppression of the Earth, which also sees the downfall of the Justice League. All seems lost until Black Adam makes a surprise appearance. But will he be able to overthrow this super evil Ultraman?

Normally I’m a huge fan of alternative universes and/or timelines. The Battle of the Atom taking place in the Marvel Universe is evidence enough of that. I’ve been enjoying that event greatly and it’s been a blast seeing members from various timelines interact with one another. The same is true of those goofy Star Trek episodes where they meet their evil counterparts. Sure, the plots border on shtick but it’s fun to see what an evil Benjamin Sisco would do if he had the chance the kill himself.

That being said, I was expecting great, or perhaps at least entertaining, things from this issue but I was sadly disappointed. I think the reason for this is that Ultraman is just way too unlikable to stomach, even though I suspect the very reason for his creation is so he can be hated by the reader. Writer Geoff Johns goes to great lengths to establish why Ultraman is the way he is, devoting nearly half of the issue to the origin of Ultraman. Turns out that like Superman, Ultraman was born on a dying planet to parents who wanted him to succeed. The crinkle in the story of course is that this planet is populated entirely by assholes and it just so happens that Ultraman’s dad is the biggest asshole of all. He kills some people to assure baby Ultraman’s escape and in the process tells his beloved wife to “shut up and die.” Charming guy.

Now, this part of the issue is actually pretty fun. It’s entertaining to see the antithesis of Jor-El, the benevolent and educated scientist, running amok and dooming his son to a life of evil with an escape pod full of insults. The contrast between the two fathers is sharp and for a character that populates only a few pages, the unrivaled evilness of his ways is hilarious to watch. However, any more of a character like this and he or she needs to be instilled with subsequent motivations for their evil or they run the risk of becoming entirely flat, boring, and totally unlikable.

Thus enters Ultraman in his full-grown glory and he’s so steeped in evil that it robs the character of any agency – he may have started with as a blank slate. Throughout the issue, he makes references to his own evilness and how that makes him a better person than Superman – or any other person he has the fortune of meeting. Ostensibly, the reason he gives for this is that he is a huge Darwinist. To Ultraman, “only the strong survive” and anyone who can’t beat him in a fist fight is a weakling who deserves to die. Apparently, survival of the fittest means being the strongest person around, but it’s not like scientists would have anything to say about that, or evolution itself for that matter. Can humans beat up a gorilla hand to hand? No, but we can outsmart them, and which species has become so powerful we now can eat Doritos any time we want? Right, you know the answer.

The absolute buffoonery of Ultraman’s stance is best exemplified by his bizarre decision to pick on Jimmy, a photographer at the Daily Planet.

It’s a ridiculous exchange and Ultraman’s anger at Jimmy is baseless to the point of being nonsensical. And that’s really why this issue falls flat. Ultraman is supposed to be evil, but his motivations for doing what he does are shallow at best. Just why is he such a complete and absolute void of goodness and just what does he, or his cohorts, get out of it? Normally with evil types, the reader can justify their actions in some way, but in this case there’s really no explaining it. Ultraman is 1000% evil and that thereby makes him the villainiest villain ever, but as it turns out reading about someone that terrible is pretty terrible itself.

Spencer! As you might have guessed, I wasn’t a huge fan of this issue. Did it fare any better with you? Do you think Ultraman is an intriguing character or just an ass? Can a villain be too evil for his or her own good?

Spencer: I think Ultraman could be an intriguing character, but despite all this issue tries to do with him, none of it really works.

In previous continuities, Earth-3 was a world of opposites, a world where Superman was its greatest villain, Lex Luthor its greatest hero, and evil always triumphed. It’s an interesting concept, but Geoff Johns seems to playing his version of Earth-3 as a world of absolute evil, and while that can be a lot of fun, it doesn’t necessarily make for the most compelling characters.

Of course, both of those interpretations are silly in their own way, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. As Taylor mentioned, the best portions of this issue were the scenes set on Krypton, where Jor-Il and Lora are such terrible people that they cross a line into actual comedy.

Likewise, the issue’s take on baby Kal-Il’s arrival on Earth is another comedic goldmine precisely because it’s so over the top.

On the page prior we see that Jonathan Kent is a deadbeat abusive scumbag and his wife Martha a drug addict, then we cut to this dark reprisal of the typically heartwarming meeting between the Kents and their new child, only now, of course, lil’ Kal is an evil toddler; I must be a terrible person, but I couldn’t help but to laugh when I got to this scene. I can’t get over how he just walks up onto shore and barbeques John’s arm off, speaking in complete, articulate sentences like an adult in a child’s body. In no way can I take any of this seriously, but at least it’s fun, and that sense of fun is unfortunately absent from the rest of the issue, which treats all its events with morbid seriousness.

I realize that the Syndicate’s invasion is a serious, dangerous, thoroughly unfunny situation, but uniformly treating it all with the same grim, humorless tone makes it a slog to get through, and is at odds with the entire ridiculous concept of Earth-3 anyway. Do we really need deep psychological explanations for Ultraman’s evilness when he hails from a universe where everyone’s naturally a gigantic douchebag? Not really.

If anything, Ultraman’s motivations mostly just serve to muddle the character. A common character trait of Superman’s is that he’ll try to do everything himself or throw himself into his teammate’s fights in an attempt to protect them (“Every punch I take is a punch they don’t have to!”), and that makes it even more boggling why Ultraman—who obviously lacks even a shred of Superman’s inherent kindness—keeps the rest of the Crime Syndicate around. I mean, yeah, he needs Superwoman to bear his child (ick), but Power Ring is a coward who can barely use his weapon; what possible reason could he have to allow him to live?! Why did he allow the citizens of his Earth to live—did he consider their cruelty a form of strength? That doesn’t make a ton of sense to me, at least from the version of Ultraman we’ve seen throughout this issue.

There are a few parts of this issue I legitimately, unironically enjoy, though. While it’s only hinted at, it appears that Darkseid may have been responsible for the destruction of both Krypton-3 and Earth-3, and that’s an idea that intrigues me. This issue’s other saving grace is, of course, Ivan Reis’ excellent artwork. Reis’ work is some of the most iconic in DC’s roster, and the man draws both dramatic splashes and 10 panel pages full of exposition with equal aplomb. I’m most impressed by the page where Ultraman arrives at the Daily Planet.

Genetically, Ultraman is Superman, and his uniform and powers are practically identical to Superman’s, so it’s understandable that Jimmy (or the reader) might mistake Ultraman for him, yet Reis—through posture, facial expression, and use of shadow—makes it clear that this is not Superman with only a glance, and that’s impressive.

Ultimately, though, this issue is a let down. Beyond the faults listed above, this issue’s greatest weakness—and Forever Evil’s greatest weakness in general—is simply that the Justice League isn’t around. Without good guys, the evil of the Crime Syndicate is nearly unbearable. As a group of ultimate evil who can’t even stand to be around each other, the Crime Syndicate is an interesting contrast to the fundamental goodness and camaraderie of the Justice League, but that contrast is lost when the League is nowhere to be found (and when the League can barely get along to begin with, but that’s neither here nor there).

I do think that the cover—an homage to Jim Lee’s cover from way back in Issue 1—is pretty rad though.

For a complete list of what we’re reading, head on over to our Pull List page. Whenever possible, buy your comics from your local mom and pop comic bookstore. If you want to rock digital copies, head on over to DC’s website and download issues there. There’s no need to pirate, right?

#dc #dc comix #earth 3 #earth-3 #ultraman

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elfgrove · 1 month

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So I've been audio-booking my way through the Trials of Apollo novels, and I just got to the bit in the Burning Maze novel I knew was gonna piss me off.

Yep. It pissed me off.

And the narrative voice the Trials of Apollo are written in works really well. The sniveling self-centered god who is protected by the narrative the same way Percy was through all the prior books fits. And he very much is protected by the narrative, so it takes out some of the tension because like Percy, RR isn't really going to let anything permanent happen to him. The audience knows that, and that's fine for a YA book to do.

Here's the thing.

How RR handled the Solace/Di Angelo get together made no sense. It was poorly written. You don't put a character through the absolute abusive/neglected hell he did for Nico then pair him up romantically with a character he has had zero interaction with beyond that character telling him he was exaggerating all his troubles and just being "emo" about it unless you plan to make that story arc about bad relationships where one partner constantly belittles the experiences of the other or it's gonna be about the dismissive partner learning to listen and be empathetic to lived experiences outside their own. Reading Trials of Apollo, Nico is basically a fresh slate acting as a brand new teen character as if his past experiences hadn't happened or having a boyfriend really did magically fix him into a standard goth teen. It's NOT good.

RR never handled the entire wind wipe, fake memories, and charm speak mind-controlling that littered Piper and Jason's relationship. And I like both of those characters.

You take an insecure, hormonal teen girl, put her in the middle of traumatic events, mess with her brain, give her magic mind control powers and no training about ethical use of said powers, of course she's gonna misuse them to try to ease her circumstances. It doesn't make it right, but it's understandable character behavior. What isn't right is no one ever calls her out about using mind control on her kidnapped amnesiac boyfriend or using it in situations where it's not needed just to get her way. She never develops a moral code about when it is or not okay to mind control people. In Trials of Apollo she regularly uses the mind control to steal cars from her neighbor because they don't like each other and gets the car in regular legal trouble. They're both rich assholes. She minds controls people over minor shit because she can. I am glad once Trials hit that she and Jason broke up. That it's because she realized she doesn't know who she is outside the emergency and the influence of the gods? Good. That the relationship was founded on mind manipulation could have stood to be a bigger factor, but that would require Piper an RR to examine how she uses her power too, something he's clearly not about to do.

The novels never really work through the fake memories & fake relationship part of the equation.

So you have Jason Grace who has almost as traumatic a story as Nico, but in different ways. The boy deserves some respite and a happy ending or at least a future. He got the romantic mind control form multiple sides. That's never worked through. He was kidnapped form the only home he recalled and his memories wiped. His ties to New Rome were never really properly addressed/explored. We got some tell rather than show that he felt torn between camps and chose to belong to both. We don't get his perspective on the break up with Piper or the manipulative mess that romance was. It's just Jason is (comparatively) well adjusted and does what the narrative needs the doll to do.

So in this book about Apollo, RR brings in Jason for a single book cameo, focuses entirely on Piper's side of the narrative equation, then kills Jason off dramatically. No narrative closure for him. He's killed to further Apollo's story and to traumatize Piper. It's shitty to put the character through all he's ben through and kill him off to protect a character with narrative immunity. And to follow up that death with lines about oh yes death is often unreasonable and good people die unjustly while bad people live does not sit right when you have Apollo and Percy Jackson who are never at risk of death despite having been in numerous situations that should have killed them. You don't get to play the oh no death is often unfair and not a good/reasonable story when you have 10+ books of Percy Jackson the narratively immune to all fucking consequences.

UGH. I fucking hate how RR treats characters that by all rights should have more nuanced stories or the same narrative immunity his other leads get.

#RANT #elfgrove reads percy jackson #elf sideeyes Percy the blog #elf sideeyes RR the blog #elfgrove reads trials of apollo #spoilers

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grapecaseschoices · 6 months

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put “top 5” anything in my ask and i will answer ok go

Top 5 ocs of yours? I'm so curious 👀👀

LMAO. yall so cute <3 so good for my ego and self-esteem.

I've been creating ocs since I was like 14? 15?, bb. That's a lot LMAO. And that doesn't include one off characters from shows/books that I made my own when I played panfandom games. And if I were to do a somewhat honest list [lmao bc top five is genuinely hard.] I'd have to add ocs yall don't know.

But let's see. Um. In no order.

Tai Aeothryn: I don't even remember her. Don't even ask me to say her last name, because I made that SHIT UP. Tai started from a self-insert that became more energetic and meddling and pushy and etc than me. I played her in a Dark Hunters [yes, by Sherrilyn Kenyon] group. Totally lied about my age to get in [DON'T DO THIS KIDS!] and her FC was that actress from Passions. ROFLMAO. This is so funny, because I DON'T remember a lot but so much is coming back to me. ROFLMAO. Psychic damage right now. Tai was 19. And partially Haitian. BECAUSE OF COURSE! [Even tho her FC wasn't.] She was short and mouthy and probably could've done with more fear. She was probably the prototype of a lot of my OCs. She had a few cute nicknames that I don't recall. I know one was 'the Meddler' and I think the other was 'imp'?

So, Ima admit. I very much had a HP phase. A lot of my rp time was HP. It wasn't where I started [see above] but it is where i did most of my writing/met a lot of the people I still write with. THAT. SAAAAID. One OC that ended up surviving That Time was Maxwell B. He had too many surnames, one being Bianchi. How do I solve a problem like Max? Max was charming. I don't usually like to call my characters charming because I feel it's a matter of perspective. If I can get you to feel a character I see/hope will be charming as charming, then job well done. But Max was CHARMING. I feel in an olden days, people would call Max a knave or a rapascallion, but in an 'oh, you!!' sort of way. But the thing is, the most important thing, is Max wasn't half as charming as HE believed himself to be. He was a silly guy. And he knew it. It was part of his personality but it was also on purpose. He was "lazy" and a bit of a prankster, and seemingly, didn't take a lot of thing seriously, so don't go taking him seriously. Which often lead to underestimation of his character and his values [both a matter of his fault and people not looking beyond the surface]; but he was a flirt who was very respectful of boundaries and other's relationships, he was extremely loyal, and while not entirely book smart he was very observant and intelligent. I miss Max a lot sometimes. [Max while not the prototype, he was the culmination of previous prototypes lmao. I haven't done a character like him in a minute tho. Amos and Ferryn are the closest but Amos is an asshole. And Ferryn is -- not a good person. And Max was GOOD. I also don't play either a lot, lmao.]

Andy Yasar.

Kendis [in all their variations]

I don't know who I would give the fifth spot to. There are OCs who I still roll in my head and who's dynamics and exploration still mean a lot to me [like Mason and Desiree, that I still tag. And Mason was proto-Irvin in a sense]. Others whose names I don't remember but who still gut punch me [I don't remembeer my own ocs names werw lmao. I don't remember any names]. However, I think I would have to give this to Spencer

Spencer, I've played in various forms. I loved her because she was basically my bitter, grizzled white man in a young woman's body. She had the daddy issues, the sarcasm, the dislike for socializing, the sharp brain. But she also CARED about her job and was SOFT with like the three [mostly one] people she cared about. She had scars physical and interal, but she still wanted to help people. She had a wicked sweet tooth, lmao. Lollipops were her cigarette. I kind of miss her. I want to write her somewhere but I can never quite get her to fit.

#anon #you're so sweet <3 #i did my best not asking my friends and being like which of mine do yall like best give me five #roflmao #want to give you MY perspective #my indecisive perspective #grapes chars #meet my ocs #this was really just nostalgia bouelvard #most of these characters mean nothing to yall #sorry #i probably shouldn't have added kendis and andy but like i re do them too often NOT to include them #lmao #goodness this list COULD be longer and i really appreciated the walk down memory lane #sorry for the fact they mean zero to you anon lmao #wedr #i'd link journals/moodboards but i dont want to subject people to HP stuff lmao #my fave spencer tho was before the worst of the physical injuries [she damaged her leg]#when she was fresh faced and her daddy issues were raw #but she was mor eopen /weeps #tho i do love og antisocial spencer #whew #spencer liek max have been fifty different races and ethnicities ... actually like andy before i settled on can

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gabenvrhappened · 7 months

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TvShowsOr... Red Oaks

A couple of months ago, I was scrolling through Instagram, and found a post with TV show recommendations, and it had Red Oaks on it. I made a note-to-self (in the form of a screenshot) to watch it but never came back to that promise. Until one night when I realized I had to stay days locked up at home, so it was important to find something to spend my time with. That's when I found the show again, while scrolling on Amazon Prime. “What harm can a show of only three seasons do?” I pondered.

This innovative coming-of-age summer-show tells the story of David Mayers (played by Craig Roberts): a boy from the suburbs who works at a country club. He has a simple life, but he wants to be more. He wants to become a movie director. He doesn't want a trophy wife, a beautiful baby or to stay forever teaching tennis or to become a tax person like his dad (someone who doesn’t support his dreams in the slightest). Craig must have been the name to watch when the show premiered back in 2014. I remember him being kind of a Tumblr actor with his movie choices. Here he looks adorable and funny (and kind of a Tom Holland look-alike from certain angles). Seeing him in tight small pants was a vision for the eyes (specially when butt naked). He probably liked the whole camera thing because, in real life, he became a director and now he's focused on taking pictures with a 35mm camera. I'm happy he found his passion but sad not to see him on the screen.

Alongside David, we have a lot of charming characters. Skye, portrayed by Alexandra Socha, even though an irritating, spoiled, and entitled little brat, is, undeniably, the female heart of the show. Her absence in the third season is deeply felt, but, hopefully, when she appears to conclude her arc, she does it satisfactorily. Another girl who also steals the show is — oh my, another Alexandra — Alexandra Turshen, who plays Misty. The hot girl who dates the hot (but dumb) guy. Her role grows more during the episodes, leaving that teenage rom-com stereotype behind, and I’m sure the audience feels pleasure with that. It's interesting to see the development of the romance she has with Wheeler, brilliantly funny played by Oliver Cooper. Yes, he's just another cliche of the show, as the fat (and smart) guy who likes the hot girl, smokes marijuana and makes bad decisions, but he does it so well that I only remembered how cliche he was while writing this.

From the adult characters, Herb is the perfect one. I spent my watchings hoping to see Freddie Roman again and again, since he was very old when the show was shot. Well, he died last year, but good to see that he gave us this warm character on his 85 well-lived years. But, even though we get great characters played by veterans actors, one was the baddest of the baddest. I'm in love with Paul Reiser and his Douglas Getty. That's the guy I want to be when I'm old: ruthless, smart, and a relentless business-driven man, while also being (somewhat) generous. Of course not the bad parts of being a criminal and having offshore money, but that this made him a sweet badass, it did.

I have nothing bad to say about any of the seasons, which is funny to think about because I always some remark. Since I've watched them all in a few months, things are fresh in my mind. But that's not something that can prevent me from wondering about some writing decisions. In the first season, for instance, the cocaine situation was so quickly resolved for something so harmful. It could've been used to set the tone for the second season, and it would've been extra nice if Nash had used it for his advantage (since he was needing one at that time). Speaking of Nash, it can't be just me who saw a spark between him and Skip. I really thought they would have an enemies-to-lovers plot somewhere. Maybe if the show were recent, they would have a chance. Skip could be an asshole, but he's the finest looking one. In the third season, he even has a threesome with Nash, and they also move in together… Well… I guess the script indeed had that subtone after all.

Talking about settings, the change of scene to Paris in the second season, and, more prominently, New York in the third, was pleasant to see. I mean, who says no to shows in Paris and New York, right? But that made the magic of the country club disappear, especially in that smoky third season and even with arcs of the story happening there. Still, this change of scene had to happen to give the show a better flow and it also had a positive balance on the storylines, because allowed the writers to make the characters grow and evolve further in teenagers territories.

The struggle David lives, for example, became more intense, and I could relate to it so damn well. Money or happiness. A career or your passion? The girl or the dream? The growth of his character and his dilemmas caught me more and more as the episodes went by. At least, until the very last seconds of the last one, where he showed a snobbish side of him I wasn't pleased to see. If that's a side of the real David (the director), it makes it easy to understand why his movies aren't so well-received. Fun fact: only when I finished the series did I make the connection between this character's name and the creator of the show: David Gordon Green. And the surname Mayers? Well, let's just say Green has a thing for horror movies.

If, once, I first started watching Red Oaks for its short duration, I finished the final season damning that first relief, because the third is the shortest of them all. So short that, for a moment, I thought the show wouldn't be competently wrapped, but thankfully it was. Even so, that's how I like my shows to end: in their glory. Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Younger are good examples of this (even though they lasted longer). The good thing is that I can always come back to this project and finish it just as fast as tennis courtyard swing. A show that caught my interest from the very first moment, when David's father had a heart attack at a tenis filed, and, scared to die, confessed he was still in love with an old fling, and that his wife was secretly a lesbian. Ah… the 80s.

#TvShowsOrGabeNeverHappened

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hedoughnism · 10 months

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Watched Nimona recently and Guardian’s of the Galaxy 3 today.

Nimona’s a well-done short story about being yourself and how society dehumanizes and lashes out at those who are “ different” , but done better then most, I liked that she is shown to be a fire-breather in a quiet scene at the back end of the movie, making her actions feel more subdued and her talk about loving destruction feel like bluff, I also liked the gay relationship and how the love interest stood in for his feelings of obligation to society/the civilians/the institution, It was refreshing to have a middle manager type as a big bad instead of the head of state for a change, also the way they were forced by the society that villanized them to act “ villainous” and eventually “ monstrous” felt very “real”, also it just looks very good and both lead characters are very charming and charismatic.

Guardian’s of the Galaxy 3 is the best of the trilogy but also the most conventional ( heroes rescues friend and takes down tyrannical ruler) , If I wanted nuance and the messiness and misery I would be reading nonfiction, I like fiction for optimistic escapist fantasies about found-families of heroes taking down evil empires by killing the big bad, or kinky sex. The first one had the whole asshole small time criminals team up to Save The Galaxy and learn to care about each other stick( so the cast was not that likable), the last one was just a-lot of daddy issues ( not bad, but a subject I have little desire for)and Chris Pratt at his… Chris Prattiest, and the group was still not fully, reformed yet.

Anyway the thing I really wanted to talk about was the stories depiction of Animal testing, since I saw someone on the r/askvegans subreddit a few days before asking what people thought of it. The plot involves Rocket ( the cyborg raccoon character) being severely injured and knocked unconscious by someone ( working for the organization that “ made” him) trying to kidnap him, Rocket has some sort of anti-tampering self destruction button in him, so they need the organization’s( who is run by a super powerful mad scientist trying to create a new species of perfect sapients to populate his perfect utopia), override code to do surgery, but since the mad scientist is after Rocket they end up not only taking the code but rescuing the other experiments and taking him down.

Even-though the story is critical of the animal testing, it feels too divorced from reality to be any sort of commentary on the real world issue, in the same way that say 101 Dalmatians is. People generally are against animal testing for cosmetics or sanitary items now, the large companies that continue to do so mainly do to comply with Chinese laws. It’s medical research that people defend today, as necessary and ( inaccurately) argue is done under the best conditions possible and never done frivolously ( If you want a good view into how Medical animal testing looks like in the real world from someone who was involved read They All Had Eyes) , the mad scientists actions are the sort of frivolous testing with no pretense of legitimacy the public is already against. The second part is the animals they used, just having the camera linger on a cage of sad white mice would have made it feel more relevant, the vast majority of mammals used in animal testing are mice and rats ( which don’t get the same minimum protections, and aren’t even counted, the way other tested mammals are) , instead the background animals included house cats, tapirs, box turtles, arctic foxes, kangaroos , a tapir, spider monkeys, vampire bats, pigs, pandas…, but no mice or rats. ( or of-course fish). The main side-animals in his backstory included a river otter, walrus, and domestic rabbit, but the domestic rabbit was an unimportant character with a “ sweet but stupid” personality, and was the most heavily cyborg modified animals to almost unrecognizably.

There is a comedic side plot where back at the base where the two put in charge when the main cast left are mad at each-other, and the Soviet talking dogs comments once on how she was left in space to die. That single line is a more substantial criticism of real world issues than the entire main plot.

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