#i hate that this is a random dragon and not a character | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

randomnameless · 2 years

Note

I'm very dragonpilled right now and 3 Houses/Hopes refuses to scratch the itch despite arguably having one of the best takes on manaketes in series history(used loosely here ofc since not all dragons are made equal in FE). God, the Nabateans are right up my alley and yet we get crumbs. It got me thinking about Laguz vs Nabateans, seeing the dragon fam drama in Tellius be touched on, TONS more than Rhea, Seteth, Flayn, Macuil, Indech, the Relics siblings, and even Sothis.

I know this is about to sound like I'm asking "lol what's the difference between night and day" here, but I genuinely would like to know just how much better IntSys did with the dragon shifters in Tellius from a person more knowledgeable about it, and how they could've done the Nabateans much better in hindsight, especially since both games do a very interesting twist on dragons for the series. I'm thinking of watching a playthrough of Tellius to literally just FINALLY get my dragon fam/race fill instead of asking the Fodlan series to give me anything (I'M STARVING DAMMIT), and would like to hear your thoughts on what you think of the Laguz overall and how their race enhances the plot. Spoilers welcome btw.

Oh.

(ugh i forgot this in my drafts i’m so sorry!)

Let's say Tellius starts and breathes with the racial angle/card - we have two kinds of humans, beorcs who are random humans and laguz, humans who can shapeshift.

Through the course of the saga, we see Laguz. Not just here as mere place holder and infodumps, but we see the various leaders of the different tribes, we go to Castle Gallia, Ike talks and learns from all kind of Laguz around.

For the dragon Laguz living in Goldoa, their first appearance, iirc, is when Ike's boat crashes on their shores, dragons are isolationists and ask him to get the fuck out, we can't because no boat, and the situation is dire until the dragon prince, Kurthnaga, pops up and defuses the situation.

Afterwards we see Deghinsea talk to the other Laguz Kings about the plot.

But for the dragon laguz? The most important about them isn’t their scale or anything, but the familial drama associated to Goldoa’s royal line. They are not only dragons and here to give a backstory to someone - nope, they are characters with arcs.

It ultimately touches the greater plot and one of Tellius’s most destestable themes - but such is their verse, and they are fundamentally a family screwed by their world.

Sister goes to hold the hand of the worst human alive, worst human alive use the kid they got as a barganing chip, older brother goes to rescue her and ends up as a drugged and tortured being, younger brother is sheltered but lost about what is happening, and their father is enduring the loss of his two children and also the fate of the world on his moustache, until he cannot anymore. Older brother’s wife sides with worst human alive just to get a chance to see her beloved, and her own grandpa has to betray his country for her sake and her unborn kid.

Meanwhile? Rhea is a lizard in hiding because her siblings became toothpicks, but Seteth ? Doesn’t have anything to do and or reaction when the truth is revealed, or when people are trying to turn them in toothpicks again. He won’t talk to Nemesis, and player pandering forces him not to give more fucks than needed about his sister.

Like, gosh, Rajaion only appears in a cutscene (bar his, uh, alternate form) and I get more about his relationship with his siblings, dad and lover from Tellius than Seteth’s 10 supports and 2 games where he could be interacting with his siblings, but, uh, never does in a meaningful way.

And that’s not to say Seteth BaD or anything like this, really !

Just to say the lizard family from Fodlan didn’t receive even a tenth of what the Goldoan royals received, even if they have much more screentime.

Quality > Quantity.

What they could have done with Fodlan to make the dragon family act more like a family rather than the clusterfuck we had?

Well, for starters, the Nabatean AG paralogue is a step in the right direction, because they interact without using Billy as the “center of universe” prop everything must tend to.

Maybe Fodlan could have started by at least naming one (maybe not all 12) dragon who was turned in a relic.

Maybe we could have had a confirmation about Flayn’s status, as a pure blooded Nabatean or as a hybrid.

They could have given us more breadcrumbs about what it means to share “blood” with humans, and if it was something that is supposed to be common, or reserved to “very special humans”. They could have developped more about what Nabateans felt seeing their current “allies” use relics, or even their enemies engineer fake “hearts” to turn humans in grotesque abominations supposed to mirror them.

I’m not saying we should had playable Indech’n’Macuil, but at least see and interact with them more, or give more info about them, why did they escape after the WoH, did they even meet Rhea once in 1k years, etc etc. Do we know if Nabateans are still surviving outside of Fodlan (it’s implied by Petra iirc) ?

That’s why I would have wanted more War of Heroes content, I know the Nabatean civilisation is already razed but we could have had the content I wanted and expected since day 1, about Nabateans, their place in the world and how they are supposed to work/live/coexist in peace with humans (and agarthans?) - we could have had some Nabateans who thought they were superiors to humans and were tyrants, and Nabateans who wanted and worked with them on an “equal” basis or some who were just consulted as oracles or seers...

Can they still live with humans ? Did they disagree on what to do next, after the Red Canyon, did some wanted to hide until the end of the times, or some wanted to rule over humans, or some only wanted to guide them?

All those things, and we will never know.

Bear in mind, we don’t know Deghinsea’s tax policy (still his country is isolationist to an extreme degree so...), but we know he loved all of his children, we know Almedha feels like dirt because she feels like she is the catalyst for the destruction of her family and expects Ena, her sister in law, to despise her, we know Nasir’s love for his granddaughter is stronger than in loyalty to his King and his own morals...

And we see Kurthnaga trying to do the “right thing”, only to realise the “right thing” isn’t the thing we always want to do, and how he ultimately has to walk in his father’s shoes.

It’s a tight group, take one of them, and you would find bonds and links to another member of the group.

In Fodlan, if I look at Rhea’s bonds (even if I take Nopes because remember, player pandering means “alone b4 u since zanado”) I still don’t know how she feels about Indech, how he feels about her, or what is going on in the state of the world.

Fodlan really tries to sell us a story where the Nabateans aren’t that close to each other, where Indech will not give a fuck about his sister being turned in a pair of daggers and where Cichol doesn’t think it is important to warn his brothers that Supreme Leader and her friends want to erase every Nabatean from Fodlan -

Hell, again with Fodlan’s main issue (or one of its main issues) - the Nabateans cannot collectively react to an event like a second attempt at ousting them from Fodlan, or in Supreme Leader’s words, create a “Nabatean blood-less world!” because Hresvelg Tea needs to be sold.

Almedha might have hold Ashnard’s hand, Kurthnaga, Deghinsea, Nasir and Ena are quick and fast to call him an asshole. I’m sure Rajaion did too. And there’s no need to have some “maybe we could have walked with him” or some “maybe he had his reasons??” when a member of their family is/was being tortured under his care.

Compare this to Seteth’s “well i know you don’t want to kill Supreme Leader but we have to put an end to the war!” when Rhea has been in her dungeons for 5 years, when he knows she’s in Enbarr and when he knows what happened to Flayn in the span of 1 month.

Fodlan cannot develop Nabateans without making Supreme Leader look like a fool, and Supreme Leader is Fodlan’s cash cow.

That’s, I think, the main difference between Fodlan’s Nabateans and Tellius’s dragon laguz.

#androblob #i'm so sorry i sometimes start to type a reply but then I put it on hold #because i have something else to do and here we are 3 months later #laguz in general were characters not nods or background exposition #never to be touched upon as to not make someone look bad #or just nods and being around because hey look we brought back beasts you loved them before right?#That's what they did in FE13 and I hated it #The FE14 beasts were apparently living in villages and no thought or care is given about a race of shapeshifters leaving in a world with hum #humans damn #they're just like people from a random village who just happen to have fur that's all #after coming from Tellius it's a bit light #but the game didn't want to shed light on them so at least that's that #to make nabateans better in hindsight talk about them #make them interact with each other #give them that familly or close group vibe the dragons from Tellius had #i think shifters and manaketes are used to lampshade an existing situation to depict racism or the struggle to live with people who are #different #if it's just to have a unit with fur then bar the gameplay what's the point?#at least that's what bamco does and it often works #Fodlan is an exception because the one who is arguing against coexistence is the cashcow of the saga #so she can't be wrong nor be right else the game wouldn't be released #so we're left with that milquetoast piece of jelly #'tell me is it bad that i do not want to die because my ears are pointy?'

29 notes · View notes

angel-archivist · 2 years

Text

ppl will rant about ‘modern cartoon style problems’ and then show a bunch of shows with a variety of styles

#the closest you can come to comparing most shows styles are like toh and animphibia imo those shows have very similar styles #but even then thats not necessarily a bad thing???#not to mention both cartoons wrre made by the same company #and both creators or at least some animatiors on both shows seem like good enough friends that there are little easter eggs to other shows #even gravity falls cant rlly be compared stylistically #they really said: she-ra amphibia and ok ko lets be heroes have similar styles #u are wrong like how could you think you are right #n the concept that modern cartoons have become boring and uncreative is just... so false a cartoons style relies more then just on the way #they draw their characters n im also like glad 2d animation has suvived in cartoons #as i was never a fan of many cgi cartoons #BUT THOSE CARTOONS THE MODERN CGI ONES FIND WAYS OF BEING NEW AND INNOVATIVE TOO #you cant just point at children cartoons made by mostly the same company and say see its lazy now #grrr got to stop ranting abt this #i just the hate towards random cartoons is so unreasonable guys they are kids cartoons why are you so upset #su. she-ra. amphibia gf ok ko they have different styles i just.#HOW COULD YOU EVER THINK SHE-RA OR THE DRAGON PRINCE HAS THE SAM STYLE AS OKKO IM SCREAMING #retro.bullshit #it is literally midnight i am gojng to go to bed now <3

27 notes · View notes

mxanigel · 11 months

Text

no big brain takes on this account only tiny popcorn thoughts

like Fenris and Merrill must have great circulation to never complain about their toes being exposed to the elements while traversing Sundermount or the Wounded Coast

#random dragon age thoughts #my feet get cold easily and I hate it when they're damp so I can't help but admire the fortitude of these characters

4 notes · View notes

amatres · 1 year

Text

love that through the power of notes i get learn how many ppl don't want to kill their warden ever. couldn't be me, i would kill all my protags if the games would just let me and i liked the narrative reasoning

#ama mumbles #dragon age #i Will champion killing off alistair and your warden but killing hawke in the fade is boring to me #and makes no sense. yeah kill off the random civilian in favor of the grey warden i guess.#unless you want to reason it away as your inquisitor Absolutely hating hawke and taking the chance to kill them off #and still look good lol #or i guess wanting warden support so not killing off the warden so they can have a better standing? idk #now if i could have hawke be murdered by meredith? thatd be fun #granted when i first played origins i had surana convince alistair to do the ritual #but that was out of pragmatism not out of 'no i dont want to die!' once i let her sit in my head for a bit #i made a character who Wouldn't do the ritual and so :) and of course she believes shes at fault so she makes sure alistair cant #anyway im done rambling

4 notes · View notes

aroaessidhe · 1 year

Photo

2023 reads // twitter thread

Song Of Silver Flame like Night

YA wuxia/xianxia inspired fantasy

a girl in a colonised country with a mysterious seal on her arm left by her mother before she was killed

when a state magician finds her, she escapes with a boy to his school of secret traditional magic practitioners, and discover the secrets her mother left her

powerful demon gods

#Song Of Silver Flame like Night #aroaessidhe 2023 reads #with the caveat that i am clearly not the audience. i kinda hated this lol #for a few very specific reasons #i think there’s interesting concepts & worldbuilding #but i am just so burnt out on girl-and-boy-with-no-friends-and-instant-attraction-travelling-together as the centre of a story yknow #this random girl dies and then after she’s referring to her as her best friend but like….i didn’t get that from their single conversation.#it almost feels like shoved in last minute because of feedback of no other female friendships #when there’s finally another woman it’s the stereotype of a mean girl. and they are just calling each other bitches and whores….like jesus…#she is so one dimensional but also in concept she is 20x cooler than the mc sorry i’m rooting for her now #from the end seems like they’ll be forced to work together and probably become reluctant allies/friends in book 2 or something but like….#if that was intended from the beginning you have to make the initial hatred make sense in the first place #also boys getting all embarrassed by periods……it’s 2023. come on. it's not cute and endearing.#if ur looking for dragons bc of the cover. there are barely dragons. the one shows up in like the last chapter #also the audiobook narration is one of those where the normal narration is a normal voice but the dialogue is so cartoony?#like the girls have such high pitched voices.the boys have the deeper voice. except for like random side boys who have comical ones.#idk none of them sound like real people #things i did like: the magic i guess. though to be quite honest the colonisers metal based magic seemed more original and interesting asdhgf #i thought there were some interesting elements to the dudes backstory #oh another thing i disliked is theres a side character with a cleft lip and the MC brings it up EVERY TIME like like.....what.#every time she sees him shes like. ppl used to discriminate #against this and call them (a bunch of slurs) and say they're cursed but actually maybe it's just a scar. people used to call them slurs btw #. i am going to bring this up every time i look at them.

6 notes · View notes

dromaeo-sauridae · 7 months

Text

lol

#dont read these tags im being petty and annoying #but oh my fucking god i hate dnd #every time someone mentions it i have to fight the urge to roll my eyes so hard #idgaf about it being cringy or nerdy but its so fuckkiingggg annoying #maybe its cuz my ocs have been tagged as random shit from dnd so many gd times #just stfuuu!!!! shut up about it!!! holy shit!#just because my characters have horns doesnt mean theyre from fucking dnd #holy shit a dragon! DND!!!! no go fuck yourself go die!#and its not just me its most of my artist mutuals getting this too #people will just rip our shit off. not credit. or be fucking annoying about it #i hate it here i hate it

1 note · View note

pearlywritings · 11 days

Text

Argh, I hate when random ideas hit me while I am working on something already. But here it goes, since it won't leave my head until I get to it.

Quick question of your thoughts - either down below the post, or in my askbox - on the following list of characters. What animal do they have vibes of? Or would look cool, possessing some of their physical features (wings, ears, tails, scales, etc).

I am gonna write my thoughts for some of them, but you are welcome to offer your variant.

Genshin:

Diluc - owl

Neuvillette - dragon obviously

Wriothesley - wolf

Ayato

Alhaitham

Kaveh - some kind of an exotic bird

Pierro - snow leopard

Capitano

Kaeya - peacock

HSR:

Dr Ratio - owl

Sunday

Jing Yuan - lion

Blade

Gepard - gepard

Sampo

Boothill

Loucha

#genshin impact x reader #hsr x reader #diluc x reader #neuvillette x reader #wriothesley x reader #kamisato ayato x reader #alhaitham x reader #kaveh x reader #pierro x reader #il capitano x reader #kaeya x reader #dr ratio x reader #sunday x reader #jing yuan x reader #blade x reader #sampo koski x reader #gepard landau x reader #loucha x reader #boothill x reader

242 notes · View notes

pendragora · 1 month

Text

Placing Dimensions and Eye Directions Analysis for Season 2 Posters

Disclaimer: before we go forward, I want to remind everyone that I am a random person on the Internet and this is a simple interpretation that I created using my knowledge on composition, dimension plains and perspective in drawing. If you choose to add input – please, be respectful about it, it’s an open discussion; as the creator of this take, I am not going to take any insults, hate or negativity over a simple fandom post, so be warned that I will block such on sight. If you find my ideas and analysis unpleasant for your perception of the characters – please, disengage and feel free to block me as well. Let’s all be civil :))

In this post I will talk about the placing of each team individually, towards team members and then each other. Along with that, I will be analysing characters’ poses and line of sights for each of them individually since it is telling a pretty compelling story. As a reference I will be using a merged image of all posters together in one (credits to @liv-cole for the image that I saw here and @ara-meyy for showing it to me when it first appeared on Reddit)

Let’s first take a look at Team Green and their stance:

The far back is taken up by Criston Cole and then Aegon on the Iron Throne. First and foremost, the farthest in the whole plain. He does not line up with anyone in the picture and his placement makes the most sense – in the canon of next seasons, Criston will take the position the Hand, which does put him so close to Aegon with his sword at the ready. He the final line of protection for the king, however, his eyes are not directed to the side – in the direction of Team Black.

However, he is placed slightly behind Aegon and his throne. His eyes are also looking forward at the angle that makes him look beyond the banner of Team Green and, in order, is directed at Aemond, not Team Black. The sight is not the one you would describe as of certainty. I could go off about the shot being not the most pleasant, but I could also theorise that Criston’s sight is telling us about the caution with which he could potentially treat Aemond in further seasons.

Aegon’s position on the poster is slightly closer to the viewer than Cole’s but still is further than Aemond’s or Alicent’s. His figure is quite interesting and, in all honesty, contrasting to what we saw in the sneak-peek of the second season. He looks both relaxed and tensed on the throne. The general language of the way he is seated is aloof, he is not wearing his crown, but is holding it as a window into his future. He comes off as the transition period between the man we saw in the sneak-peek and the previous season. He is tensed by his duty, by the Iron Throne, but his hedonistic nature has not left him yet.

What is most interesting is his line of sight. If we look at his eyes, they are not directed at anyone at all. They go straight throne the circle of his crown and off into the distance. He is not on the same field to look at Rhaenyra or anyone else. His look is one of absence. Being the king on the Iron Throne, he is isolated from the conflict by his posing. The reasoning for it might be 1) his transition period into an active participant of war (before Blood and Cheese), 2) his present reluctance to be in this conflict that was established in previous season or 3) mostly his absence in the season after his character goes through dragon fire. Perhaps, we would see more of his struggles as the king and, if lucky, even the progression from an unwilling heir to the king that takes charge and makes decisions.

Interestingly enough, his line of sight goes beyond all of Team Green members and out the frame before it reaches Team Black members. If it is not his future he is looking at, it is like a prison cell’s window at the freedom he could have, perhaps?

Next comes Aemond, who is in the most front of the picture. What’s important to note here, his figure is the closes to the viewer and is actually on the same dimension field as Rhaenyra. He is stood between her and Aegon which makes sense since Aemond will be a driving force of the war (which also affected the number of episodes we will see him in). He is not the focus of the conflict, but he is the line of defence for his family and a force to reckon with. His hand is above the hilt of the sword, he is at the ready to draw it and, unlike Criston, his stance is not cautious but confident. He also has his lip corners up in the poster, enjoying the thrill of war, the hold of power that he has.

His line of sight is directed straight into Rhaenyra’s face, not anyone else. She is his primary concern or, perhaps, a target, because she is the main threat to his family and his brother’s ruling. Among his team, he looks like the most natural and merged into his role of protector. Note that this does not oppose Aemond and Rhaenyra, and, if it does, it is a one-sided conflict in which Aemond is involved while Rhaenyra is not an active participant.

The last in Team Green and the closest to Team Black is Alicent.

It is clear why she is stood in front of everyone in the team, but she is much further in the background. The placing of her dimension makes her stand a layer above Aegon but two layers deeper than Aemond. She looks reserved and worried, and such placing shows that she is not Rhaenyra’s main opposition. She, as was shown in the previous season, would stand in front of her kids to protect them, which places her front-line in team’s order, but it is no longer her conflict, no longer a rivalry between her and Rhaenyra. Unlike the book version, show!Alicent is not the mastermind, but a scared and devoted to her cause mother, and when the time comes for war – she gives way to her children (being placed in the background) but still shows that she is present and protective of them (being the first in line).

Her eyes are terrified and teary, looking at Rhaenyra. It shows very well her stance in the show, that her motivation was the fear for the life of her children before Rhaenyra.

Now off to the Team Black.

Since we are going from left to right, I’m going to start with Rhaenyra, who is also the representative of Team Black.

Surprisingly so, her and Alicent have similar poses, but the position translates a different message. While Alicent is one of resolve and acceptance of her position in the background, Rhaenyra’s pose is showing her leadership. She is showing herself as the queen in this poster and, it is really hard to miss, but in a way her stance reminds me of 8th season Daenerys (I personally dislike the parallels because I think Rhaenyra would be better off as a stand-alone character, but hype train is a hype train).

She stands tall, she wears her crown, she is dressed as a ruler and as a dragonrider. What is interesting, though, is that her line of sight is directed forward. Since she is on the same plain as Aemond, they both are the closest to the viewer and share dimension, she is not looking at him. She is looking forward, past him. My ideas for this are 1) she is looking at the Iron Throne in the background, not even Aegon, but the throne itself; 2) she is looking into the future, since, in Western culture, the idea of looking forward is associated with the future. Her sight shows determination and readiness for battle or her looking forward for her victory. The entirety of Rhaenyra shows here that she is the rightful heir in her own eyes and she is going to take what is hers.

The idea that her sight goes through both Aemond and Aegon and ignores them, in a way, reinforces the narrative that they are irrelevant to her, they are not the threat and, because of that, be the things the other way, she would not have them executed because they simply do not matter to her this much. It is not a battle between her and her siblings here or her and Alicent, but it is a story about her battle for the throne, as it seems.

What also caught my attention is that both Daemon and Alicent stand distant from Rhaenyra, practically within the same distance from each of her sides. It is purely my take here, but perhaps it is showing the relationship that she lost or is going to lose (given the rift that awaits her and Daemon?).

Now moving along to Daemon. Personally, I expected him to placed closer to his queen, given the establishment of their relationships, but in the poster, he is one a layer deeper into the background than she is. His overall posture of, not protectiveness towards his queen, but rather protectiveness of himself gives mixed signals as if it is not him being Rhaenyra’s shield, but her being his. Given what happens in canon between them, it might be foreshadowing.

However, what drives the point is his line of sight. He is looking up and forward, and, unfortunately, the way he is placed behind Rhaenyra makes it seem that his eyes are directed not at her, but at the crown. His general expression is not of a man that is preparing to protect his loved one, but one of a man who is scheming a way out for himself, there is a fleeting concern and calculation in the way he looks. For the sake of not hurting anyone’s feelings, it is purely my take and my reading of his character in the poster, take me as biased.

Daemon is ready to strike, but strike who?

Following figure is Rhaenys.

Rhaenys has a reserved pose and a look that is peeking at someone or something. Given the background from the show, there isn’t much to say about her in the poster. She strikes me as an unwilling participant of the war, but a participant that is going to do her bidding and show her strength. Rhaenys stands tall, truly like the Queen Who Never Was, and her stance shows that she will be a force to reckon with too, considering she is a dragonrider and a skilled one at that.

Her eyesight can indicate two things: she is looking forward, with a tilt of her head, which potentially places Alicent at her line of sight. It makes sense in a way given their confrontation in two instances in a previous episode. It feels as if she, as a mother who lost both of her children, asks her how far she is willing to go to protect who’s dear to her. It feels like in this there is a conflict of two mothers that is established: the mother that lost everything and now fights for what is left of her children (since Baela and Rhaena are indirectly pulled into the war as well) and the mother that will lose everything in the future. Alternatively, Rhaenys could be looking at Aegon and the Iron Throne, but at this point of her development as a character, that makes little to no sense.

Lastly, Corlys. Just like Aegon, he looks isolated from the conflict, but for different reasons. Initially, I had a thought that he was looking forward, and, considering that he takes place further in the background than anyone on Team Black, he could be looking at Aegon and the Iron Throne, but upon close inspection I concluded that Corlys is most likely looking outside the window. It perhaps is foreshadowing for him later on searching a way out of the conflict or out of the list of Rhaenyra’s supporters.

Now, to the parallels between the characters.

Aegon and Corlys are literally the last men standing of both their teams – both on the poster and in canon. They will be the last surviving men of their respected teams, having only Alicent outlive them both.

Daemon and Aemond being opposed only by their placement as the second from the centre of the poster – perhaps, a foreshadowing for a battle that they will clash in; Aemond is looking forward and, like in canon, anticipates the fight and goes in confidently while Daemon is looking out for himself specifically and does not acknowledge Aemond as a threat for himself.

Rhaenys and Alicent – a conflict between two mothers that already lost everything or will lose everything, the Queen Who Never Was and the Queen in Chains, both trapped in this conflict because of their children or what is left of them (grandchildren).

Aegon and Rhaenyra and the way they treat their role – Rhaenyra merging into her role as a queen and wearing her crown proudly while Aegon looks through in as if a window outside his prison.

Overall, the teams display different attitude.

Team Green looks like a well-established line of defence around Aegon: his Hand is by his side; his brother is the main force of protection and then his mother who would sacrifice herself to save him. Their placement is to protect Aegon from the threat of Team Black.

Team Black appears, to say the least, not as the protection for Rhaenyra, but people who hide behind her, which surprised me. It looks rather fickle, with Daemon and Corlys being anywhere but present to protect their queen. They also form a perfect line from the back to the centre that shows that it is not only Rhaenyra’s fight, but it is also not them fearing Team Green, but having a goal to get back the Iron Throne.

#hotd season 2 #hotd season 2 posters #hotd critical #team green #team black #rhaenyra targaryen #aegon ii targaryen #alicent hightower #daemon targaryen #aemond targaryen #corlys velaryon #criston cole #rhaenys the queen who never was #rhaenys targaryen #poster analysis #house of the dragon #hotd meta #lena goes off

182 notes · View notes

spicy-cannoli · 1 year

Text

Robin ropes Steve into playing Dungeons and Dragons with a some gay friends she made that are fine with her playing lesbian characters and don’t add homophobia for “realism”. She kept going “but Steeeve this is the only way I can express myself 🥺” until he accepted.

So he played.

Then he realised… he actually likes it? It’s an RP and Story focused campaign with less focus on the fighting aspect, and Steve falls in love with developing his Human Fighter (he’s that bitch). It’s only him and some girls who aren’t his type and he isn’t theirs. It’s the first time (not counting Carol and Robin) he’s able to hang out with girls without having attraction muddying the relationship.

There’s no sexism or homophobia or non consensual touching to PCs, because in their session zero they each discussed their no gos. Steve and Robin even managed to make it so their characters wouldn’t get in situations that reminded them of their time with the Russians.

As time goes one he keeps making characters less and less like him, and he keeps having fun. He and Robin go and play each Friday and they love it.

He befriends the girls, the DM, an out and proud punk named Rosa who Robin met at a record store. A cute cheerleader looking girl named Emma who Steve wouldn’t have guessed played such chaotic edgy characters (she was also the DM’s girlfriend). A short haired redhead band kid called Vicky Steve is SURE Robin has a crush on, and Michelle, a super funny girl who keeps playing bards that will try to sleep with ANY boss and npc.

Then Dustin finds out. He’s betrayed, he’s been asking Steve to join one of Eddie’s campaigns for years! After some guilt tripping and begging, Steve finally accepts with the condition that Robin is there, only to find out… they hate it?

It’s not that bad, but it’s fight focused and while the story is good, there’s barely any role playing, and Robin can’t have gay characters because she’s not out to them.

The world is gritty and dark and Steve just… isn’t interested. He hadn’t been exposed to characters treating women in taverns as objects before and he’s shocked to find out it bothers him?

Steve tells Dustin straight up that he didn’t like it, and their play style was boring to him and the Party is in a state of shock. Eddie understands, telling the party different people have different playing styles but the party is now offended, especially Mike who can’t believe Steve prefers this random punk girl as a DM to Eddie.

#idk I think that’d be cute #stobin #platonic stobin #steve and robin #dungeons and dragons #dnd

849 notes · View notes

absolutebl · 5 months

Text

This Week in BL - I'm All Over the Place, and so are the shows

Organized, in each category, by ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Nov 2023 Wk 5

Ongoing Series - Thai

Last Twilight (Fri YT) ep 4 of 12 - The Jasmine flirting thing was so darn cute, I can’t. I love these two so much.

The Sign (Sat YT) ep 2 of 10 - Oh it’s great. Flirting. Fighting. Fate. Murder. Eventually we’ll add fucking. A trifffecta. I could do with a bit less training but whatever. And we have learned our boys are laboring under a geis. NO SINGING. Otherwise this ep was actually pretty flipping great.

My Dear Gangster Oppa (Thurs iQIYI) ep 6 of 8 - Ooo kidnapping and the sides are suffering betrayal. Also Tew kills again. I like that they don’t shy away from the fact that he’s a killer and Guy was genuinely scared. And then Tew had to break up with Guy to protect him in Noble Sacrifice (tm). How Cdrama of him. Rough ep all round.

For Him (Thurs iQIYI) ep 1 of 10 - It’s not exactly good, but it’s better than I was expecting, and I tend to cut pulps a lot of slack out the gate. The plot is more interesting, Him is a sweetie (I like that in a seme) and our uke has both game and pluck. He’s a femme bitch, I LOVE that in a boy + we never get it femme in the lead. The acting is not great, sound all over the place, but there are no terrible sound effects, the soundtrack is okay, and our high heat came with a side of BJ + condoms, and no one has sung (yet), so I think I like it. It’s giving me Big Dragon vibes.

Linguistic moment:

Him used Him/ter for pronouns & ha. Very flirty. Nail used rao back a little bit of a challenge. (No pom and didn’t use his own name either.) Gauntlet thrown. Our baby ends up with rao/kao but I don’t think that’ll stick. Him is getting Phi out of him if it's the last thing he does.

Bake Me Please (Mon Gaga) ep 2 of 6 - The characters’ shared backstory is no surprise but I do like this show. Those little private smiles as they find family. Those lingering gazes as they find romance. Lovely. Also Shin wants to marry into Peach's family so bad, I’m reminded of Laurie in Little Women. All that said, it’s never the top of my list to watch for some reason.

Cooking Crush (Sun YT) 1 of 12 - How could I have forgotten how stunning Off is? Meanwhile… I love Gun’s character, he's so cute. But this show is a bit too comedic for me. I wish GMMTV were taking this script seriously. Sorry Neo et al I’m not sold on the sides. In general? I don’t love it. I don’t hate it either. In other news, I think I'll go make toast.

Pit Babe (Fri iQIYI) ep 3 of 14 - I love the sides and unholy amount and in general it was fine this week probably because I decided to do a trash watch.

Twins the series (Fri GaGa) ep 5 of 10 - I’m getting fatigued. Also holy random sex Batman. Where did these extra sides come from? I’m confused. Tonal pingpong going on, and not just in the shower.

Middleman’s Love (Fri YT & iQIYI ep 4 of 8 - Finally a direct confession Jade can’t avoid. Will things get a bit more serious?

Absolute Zero (Weds iQIYI) ep 10 of 12 - I don’t know why I watch this show, the acting is great, but it just makes me cry.

Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 3 of 14 eps - What a bonkers thing this is. Very kinky and also just odd. I do keep thinking about the pinks with it. Similarly, there doesn’t seem much glue holding this thing together, dried cum of course but not glue. And despite what some kinksters say, the one cannot replace the other.

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) Fake Love ep 15 of 24 - This is a weird installment. Too stalker and random blackmail for me. But not as bad as abuse and death, I guess?

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

A Breeze of Love (Korea iQIYI) eps 7-8fin - Not much of a love triangle in the end (you just found out he is actually gay and broken hearted = an opportunity not a tragedy). Meanwhile I like that the high school break up was just mr insomniac's fault. He got jealous and angry and petty. No miscommunication just an asshole kid. I did find this show a little slow, even though it was your standard length KBL. Odd that. They are very cute boyfriends tho.

All in all:

Tsundere insomniac grump reunited with his sunshine jock ex (human sleeping pill) who now hates him. Basketball is also involved. While the simplicity of a reunion plot makes this more cohesive than most KBLs, it is a tad stiff and slow, never managing to lift itself out of "pretty and pretty enjoyable" - I liked it but I don’t think I’m going to remember much about it. 8/10

VIP Only (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 3 of 10 - It has the feel of a one act, with such a limited cast and location, which reminds me of KBL. Still watching these two quietly fall in love and process affection through their own art forms is sweet. This is a very soft gentle show.

Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun (Japan Fri Gaga) - Toki, a delinquent but pure-hearted kid falls in love with his handsome phys-ed teacher, Sahara. This is very much my trope but very manga campy, which I don’t love. I’m quite torn. Toki is an idiot but a lovable one. But do I like it?

It's Airing But...

The Whisperer (Sun ????) 10 eps - Thai horror BL that ALSO involves cheating (what joy is mine). He has dimples (My Ride) but I don't think even dimples can motivate me to watch. You can tell me how this goes if you can find it.

SHADOW (Thai Gaga) 14 eps - I'm not wild about Thai horror (or horror at all) even one featuring Singto and Fluke. I'm holding off. If told it's good, I'll binge.

7 Days Before Valentine (Weds WeTV) 10 eps - Giving me Luminous Solution vibes, so I'm waiting to binge if told it's safe.

Beyond The Star (Weds iQIYI) 8 eps - House of Stars meets Boyband. I was NOT impressed with ep 1. Waiting to be told if I should bother.

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - I find this series more fun to binge, so I'm waiting until it completes its run.

In case you missed it

One Room Angel (Japan Gaga) finished. Adaptation of Harada’s manga (which I did not like) about a clerk who (nearly) dies and ends up cohabitating with an angel. I was warned that the ending would not work for me so I decided not to bother.

My Biker BL short movie from Wayu supposedly premiered Nov 27 on their YouTube Channel for Members to watch. I couldn't find anything further. The MDL description makes me think it's not for me so I bother.

Next Week Looks Like This

Short list of the December offerings.

12/9 Cherry Magic (Thai remake) YouTube 10 eps

12/9 Behind the Shadows (Korea movie) ??

12/14 Dear Kitakyushu (Thai/Japan movie) ??

12/23 Dead Friend Forever (Thai horror) iQIYI

Original 2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED). With the end of the year upon us I'll do an "announced for 2023 but never happened list" soon.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

I love these dudes so much, and make no mistake they def dudes. On point banter, my dudes. (Sign)

Yes they are cute but so far that's all this show has going for it. (Middleman's Love)

I'm a simple human, I just like seeing Off kneeing. (Cooking Crush)

(Last week)

#this week in bl #bl updates #A Breeze of Love reviewed #bl review #a breeze of love #korean bl #Last Twilight #Thai BL #My Dear Gangster Oppa #for him the series #gmmtv #cooking crush #offgun #off jumpol #Pit Babe the series #middleman's love #the sign the series

209 notes · View notes

lnkedmyheart · 1 year

Text

This one is in response to @fizzytastic asking

"I would LOVE to know what you mean regarding the light novels."

Dazai in the light novels has been down BAD since the day he met Chuuya.

I know the whole "must be because I love you" can be viewed as a joke but my man actually "whispered with a look of regret" at being shot down.

He also proceeded to cheat during the game by tampering with the machine to ensure Chuuya would lose the bet and become his dog. He was also stated as being in awe of Chuuya's fighting ability, repeatedly refering to him as "incredible". Dazai also flat out admits to wanting to try out living because "Chuuya convinced" him.

He is even described as having forgotten how to breathe watching Chuuya fight.

Moving on to the events of Stormbringer, Dazai spends too long exposing his obsession with Chuuya, telling the big bad that he spends all his "days and nights thinking about ways to annoy Chuuya".

He further proceeds to insist that Chuuya is human because of how strongly he hates Chuuya and due to a specific word it can be viewed as him saying Chuuya would hate him less if he wasnt human as was stated in the stage play of the same.

Furthermore at the end of Stormbringer he offers to come up with a new plan to give Chuuya an out if he needs one when he has to use corruption as a last resort. And he fully intends on coming up with a new plan within 2 minutes.

In general Dazai does a lot of staring at Chuuya throughout the light novels. On a lighter note Dazai jokes about wanting Chuuya as his personal maid at one point and demands that Chuuya let Dazai look inside his head and know everything there is to know about him.

But then we move onto the dragon head conflict as mentioned in Dead Apple where after making light of an executive's death and getting punched in the face by Chuuya, Dazai is so shaken up by Chuuya implying he's inhuman, he actually pulls strings to try and bring the conflict to an end. He also stops corruption by touching his cheek and pulls Chuuya's head into his lap while he is unconscious after his fight with Shibusawa. The following is from the manga.

Now everyone knows about the whole Snow White and Prince reference but in the light novel its clarified that Chuuya's ability was not affected by the fog and Dazai knew this but he still forces his head down. Even more telling is that Dazai cradles Chuuya's face for no real reason because Corruption had already been nullified when Chuuya made skin to skin contact when punching him in the face.

And of course that was how their expressions are drawn in the manga panel

Then we move to the present day and you have Dazai saying this to Sigma about Chuuya

But then his comment about Gide has him claim the exact same behaviour is romantic in his messed up troll brain

Basically Dazai has a history of staring at Chuuya in awe since 15, "jokingly" confessed at 15 and then got somewhat upset about the rejection, cheated to be able to keep Chuuya as his, repeatedly makes remarks that imply he is vaguely obsessed with him at 16, tends to let Chuuya rest his head in his lap post corruption, has nullified him twice that we have seen by touching his cheek (as per the movie and once as per the ln). Is actively affected by how Chuuya views him (which was shocking to me).

Aside from that he has also talked about Chuuya to the ADA off screen because Yosano knew about Chuuya and his ability (though this could just be a random update about the membera of the mafia to watch out for during meetings) and I heard he talked about Chuuya to Oda in The Day I Picked Up Dazai ln.

This is not counting any of the seriously insane amount of wan content because I dont view it as canon or atleast entirely canon but there Dazai admits to keeping 27 journals detailing things about Chuuya and its an exaggeration of the canon fact that Dazai prides himself in being a Chuuya Nakahara Encyclopedia. It also plays with how close they both actually are with several character refering to them as besties, Chuuya being forced to admit he doesnt actually hate Dazai.

(Oh and this is not even considering just how much Dazai touches Chuuya, like in the manga there is a part where Dazai keeps tugging at Chuuya's hair and refusing to let go while complaining about how much he doesnt want to touch him. Just let go dude...)

So yea, I would not be surprised if Dazai has his vows prepared by the time the last pre defection ln drops. Ofcourse this is mostly a lighthearted joke about Dazai being down bad but in all seriousness, Dazai genuinely cared about and still cares about Chuuya and its made extremely obvious throughout the novels. Its actually worth noting that it was actually Chuuya who seemed to be more vitriolic towards him until the end of Stormbringer where Dazai actually gives Chuuya a choice and shows open concern for Chuuya's needs. Hell Dazai was also the one insisting on Chuuya's autonomy, while he keeps insisting Chuuya is his dog, he hates the idea of people using him like a tool, its why he always gives Chuuya a choice. Chuuya always actively chooses to go rescue Dazai in Dazai's plans of getting kidnapped. Chuuya can always go, "nah, I dont wanna use corruption" but he doesnt because he knows since the events of stormbringer that Dazai will always give him a choice even if corruption seems like a last resort.

Chuuya has good reason for trusting Dazai. Its cause Dazai has in fact proven to him that he can trust him. Its why he went in to fight a dragon despite being told Dazai was possibly already dead.

(And yea I know the current arc would have people go "lol he tried to drown Chuuya, he clearly doesnt care" and you know what? That's so dumb. Dazai tried to drown Chuuya, yes. But we dont actually know what is happening with this arc rn and what he is doing or if Chuuya is in any way involved in whatever he is doing. Dazai said all those things and there was no need for him to say that but the fact that he even remembered several moments they shared, yea no, he was clearly affected by it. Maybe I am wrong and Asagiri decided to yeet out all of Dazai's characterization we saw with his behaviour towards Chuuya in 2 entire novels of his past but IDK I think I'm gonna wait till this arc ends and everything unfolds before making a conclusion about how Dazai is such an asshole he tried to drown his partner.)

Seriously, vows are like the least they could do at this point.

#soukoku #ah my ramblings #i just really really love the light novels #i am mostly joking about the romance of it all #mostly #but Dazai cares about Chuuya and idk I think this is such an important aspect of Dazai's character #like even if you dont lile the ship its really not fair to ignore how much Dazai genuinely cared for Chuuya #not because it supports the ship but because it shows that Dazai despite his claims of being a monster was ridiculously human #he saw this boy he was fasicnated by and he said- I need to keep him as my friend #and proceeded to do it in the most unsocialized troll brained clown way #i love this boy so much #someone hug him please #dont get me wrong I dont think dazai and chuuya's relationship was super healthy but it wasnt as toxic as people make it seem either #yes Dazai desperately needed Oda and Ango but Chuuya was also and is still an important part of his life #long post #i am not going back to chexk for writing errors. I'm sleepy.

870 notes · View notes

olessan · 29 days

Text

Disappointed that DD2 has no canonical male romance options? HELP FIX IT!

In Dragon's Dogma 2 you can choose almost any NPC to be your beloved/romance option, like in the first game. You can literally pick anyone, including random road guards, to shower gifts upon and raise their affinity.

However. Only two NPCs are canonical romances.

Ulrika and Wilhelmina, both human women, have unique romance quests and scenes that conclude intimately (without any platonic option). Those are the only NPCs in the entire game that have them.

No hate on the girls, they're among my arisen's best buds, but having them be the only two with fully fledged romance arcs in the entire game is a bit absurd.

Pre-release marketing highlighted Ulra, Wil, as well as Guard-Captain Brant, Prince Sven (who tbf seems pretty young), elven siblings Glyndwr and Doirieann, and Empress Nadinia of Battahl and her Guard-captain Menella (who I assumed were a couple). Any of those characters should also have had unique scenes like Wil and Ulra, but they don't. That effectively makes Ulra/Wil the canonical options.

None of the npcs care about the arisen's gender. The main issue is that there are no male options with equivalent romance quest. There's nothing but crumbs for the guy enjoyers, which is somehow a step back from the first game where there was at least Julian.

There are three dudes who would have been strong candidates according to their plot importance:

Brant is the arisen's first and most important ally in Vernworth,

Sven could have been DD2's Aelinore (young noble in need of help) and could've caused loads of plot drama,

and Glyndwr is your introduction to the elf culture through his curiosity.

Do they get unique quests beyond their initial ones? Nope.

Anyway, we can potentially influence some getting added officially instead of as mods:

Capcom has released a player feedback survey.

The survey has questions on what you like, dislike, and would like to see in future content updates. It runs until April 21 and may well influence the future additions to the game.

I laid it on thick about them adding more quests and romance quests, and also about a Bitterblack Isle-type expansion.The more people that bring it up these issues the better.

Go forth, arisen <3

#Dragon's Dogma #Dragon's Dogma 2 #DragonsDogma #Dragon'sDogma #Dragons Dogma #DD2 #DD 2 #DDII #DD II #DD #DDDA #DD:DA #Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen #Dragon's Dogma: Dark arisen #dd:2 #dragon's dogma ii #pawn share #dragon's dogma II #dd1

108 notes · View notes

heraldofcrow · 11 months

Text

Ok, so Crest’s new video on the internal data names for Dark Souls 2 is out and wow. This game. Wtf.

—

First off, this name makes perfect sense for Shanalotte, aka the “I’m part dragon because of experiments” girl that is somehow the game’s firekeeper but also…not? She’s really interesting to me when in comparison to the other Souls bonfire maidens, and there’s this odd bit of story separation with her. She seems really independent of us in little ways, and maybe her motives with wanting us to link the fire are tied strictly to her own personal beliefs, not just because it’s her duty. Also, it seems like her name could be more accurately translated to “Dragon Priestess” which is…even more fascinating. Her mystery will never not engage me.

Pate is Patches. Dark Souls 2 always had Patches and we all knew it. Even if he doesn’t have the same VA, we just know the archetype is there. Even his “mild-mannered” and silver-tongued persuasion is accurate to the general character. Personally, I think it’s pretty funny that they still found a way to insert the conniving bastard into this game.

He’s apparently just Ornstein….which is obvious, but admittedly it’s confusing as hell. In my eyes, this is Ornstein mid-journey and on his way to find NK. We get to fight him in-game for fun, but in the “time is convoluted” world of Dark Souls, that never actually happened. Ornstein went on his way just fine. Alternative interpretations are always welcome though.

SEA SOLAIRE!! LUCATIEL IS THE SOLAIRE OF DS2 AND WE ALL KNEW IT!! This honestly makes me emotional, because she really did get us all in the feels the way Solaire did, and the theme of slow decay/hollowing and the desperation to stop it is so poignant for both characters. They’re uniquely written too, which I appreciate because even though it’s the same archetype, Lucatiel and Solaire both stand out as individuals as well. My beautiful and sad blorbos </3

Ok, so Creighton and Benhart are/were apparently father and son…which is kinda cool? It’s too bad the final game didn’t cement any connection besides their crest sigils, but I’d still accept it as canon, personally.

She’s just like me fr

Lucatiel’s older brother! This is the first time I’ve seen him unmasked and it’s kinda sad. He was just a normal lad.

Agdayne is a Jojo reference, guys. It’s true. Darklurker is his stand 💀

(In all seriousness, I wonder what the actual connection here was? It’s fascinating).

And finally, to absolutely nobody’s surprise! I hate this so much lmaoooo. I also can’t get it out of my head now that Dark Souls 2 is full of random Star Wars references and that’s what gives it such a unique and alien vibe compared to the other games 💀 (I mean, even the Desert Sorceresses look a bit like Leia’s slave getup in Return of the Jedi skdjdksks).

—

Anyway, this was bizarre and as usual, I can see the verge, or the vague image of how complex DS2 was originally meant to be. There’s just so much going on here, but it doesn’t seem like they put the time into really finishing it. I still love this game, flaws and all, but I do wish they would have…actually finished it.

#this is gonna plague my brain for hours now #i really do love ds2 but it needs fixing in a lot of spots #dark souls #dark souls 2 #emerald herald #lucatiel of mirrah #patches dark souls #creighton the wanderer #benhart of jugo #covetous demon #grave warden agdayne #dragonslayer ornstein #crestfallen #CrowNotes

451 notes · View notes

ravenalla · 1 year

Text

Okay I swear this will be my last rant post before the next episode airs but I have to get it off my chest cause I keep seeing the argument made that people disappointed Din gave the darksaber away are forgetting the lack of plot in the previous seasons, which I very heavily disagree.

I can’t speak for everyone, but at least for me when I’m saying I’m disappointed Din did not become Manda’lor I am not saying I hated the adventure of the week side quest format they had. That’s what I liked best about the show! It was great in season 1 feeling like Din was just the random guy off on his own adventure with this baby he found, I would have loved for it to have kept that small space western feel. Season 3 becoming this big interconnected universe with a corrupted New Republic plot connecting to the sequels is what I was most worried about just because I personally don’t like that direction. The more they’ve tried to go the Andor route and make this show about the Galatic politics, the worst it’s become imo (we literally have two white dudes writing a plot point about droids liking being underclass and serving the soft democratic people that is ruled with the help of a former Nazi, but ohh it’s okay it’s Jack Black and he’s funny and the Space Nazi and the Space Nazi doctor are really sorry for what they did, look the New Republic is just as bad as the fascist imperials 🥺🥺)

What some people are not getting is that the darksaber is ALL. DIN. HAD. LEFT. There was no driving force or goal for him after episode 2, they reunited him with his child in a spin-off show, they have him redeem himself fairly easily without any emotional impact, and now they took away the opportunity to do one last interesting thing with him. Din does not have his own actions or thoughts throughout most of the season, and when he does it’s just retracing the character development they already gave him in previous seasons (i.e. the whole droid fiasco). He’s a plot device, meant to further Bo-Katan’s character and help her with her goals or have him in danger so she can save him. It was okay if Din did not become Manda’lor, but they can’t just make him having the darksaber out to be a huge deal, show him trying to learn how to train with it, and give it up so stupidly through a loophole just so Bo-Katan can lead again when she has done nothing to actually earn it or apologize for the way she disrespected Din’s entire culture again and again. She was a terrorist who has done a 180 into suddenly being an honorable character just because of a few action scenes, no introspection or interesting conflict between her and the covert about their differences, nothing about her actually thinking about her past mistakes, just the covert being there to look like dumbasses who settled on a dangerous planet where their children get eaten so Bo can lead missions, look a million times more competent in comparison, and suddenly be the one who deserves to lead.

There doesn’t have to be a big plot each episode, but it’s not being executed well like it was in the first two seasons. The goal was getting Grogu to a Jedi, and we were given the interesting side adventures on that journey. Din needs to find somewhere he can lay low, he goes to Sorgan and becomes tempted by a domestic life. Din needs credits, he takes a job with some old acquaintances and sees what kind of slimy person he could have been. Din needs to find other mandos to help him find a Jedi, he runs into a small town desperate for help with a Krayt Dragon and showcases his pride in being a Mandalorian but his respect for other cultures and his willingness to do the right thing. He travels to a planet ruled by an former Imperialist because the Jedi he was searching for was there and helps her to save a town both for their sake and his need to give his son the best life he can have. See the pattern? They were side adventures, but they weren’t a random hodgepodge of ideas, they fit the story and the tone, giving us interesting side characters and helping to develop our main characters. Din showed his leadership, his growing kindness, his frustrations, his annoyances, his fears, Grogu becomes more adventurous, vocal, and attached to who he’s starting to see as a father figure. They both aren’t talkative characters, but they had feelings and personalities we saw. They had moments between them that wasn’t just exposition for the plot or a push towards an action scene, it showed their lives and values, their relationships. Little moments like Din being happy to hear Grogu’s name, Cobb sharing his story and why he valued the armor, Omera talking with Din about his life and wondering if he could stay, Frog Lady wanting to get her eggs safely to her husband and Din comedically trying to make that happen. The story was driven by these characters decisions and their personalities.

Season 3, on the other hand, has taken away all the life of these side adventures in its goal to tie in a larger Star Wars narrative that connects to other shows. They are not character driven anymore, and instead the characters are being twisted and molded to do and say stuff that’ll get us from point A to point B instead of the other way around. The point of Din breaking his creed is not to see what that would mean for his identity or how he wants to live with Grogu by his side, the point is to take him to Mandalore so that he can ultimately get trapped and fall down a hole so Bo-Katan can see the Mythosaur. The point of Bo-Katan’s crew leaving her and her staying in a random castle for no reason doing nothing all day isn’t for her to recognize her past failings or show us what their relationship was like and what it meant to her, it’s to have an easy offscreen explanation so that she can come to the covert without anything challenging in the way. The point of Din’s coverts staying on a monster-infested planet where Paz’s son is kidnapped isn’t because it makes sense they’d be there or that Paz suddenly even has a son we’ve never seen before, it’s so they can put in CGI monsters they thought were cool and have Bo save the day so they can have a flimsy reason she does need to be leader again. The point of spending time with the covert and having random pirates attacking Nevarro wasn’t to develop the other mandalorians as actual characters, it was to have them accept Bo easily so that she can “walk both worlds” and give Carl Weather’s character more screentime. And so much more.

Things are happening, but it doesn’t matter whether they make sense or fit the characters anymore, because all the side quest are focused on is bending over backwards trying to make you believe this Bo deserves the darksaber narrative. Before that it wasn’t like the Covert was planning to take back Mandalore, Din wasn’t planning to take back Mandalore, Bo didn’t tell anybody what she saw so there was no real stakes for anybody. Nobody in the main plot has had any purpose as more than side characters besides her. Din may have been the main character, but the people he met on his journey didn’t just do stuff to contribute to his own character or finding a Jedi. Omera had her own goals, Cobb had his own goals, Fennec had her own goals, Boba had his own goals, and they all still worked well with the narrative without diminishing each other, Din developed on the way by learning from the other characters and them him. What the fuck does Din want this season? Paz? The Armorer? The answer is whatever will make it easiest for the plot to retake Mandalore and have Bo be the Manda’lor for these writers, despite it being shown previously they have no reason to care or like Bo-Katan.

Like, some character moments are there. Bo is changing. I’m not saying that’s not happening at all. But it’s being done in a way that is sabotaging every other aspect of the show to force this plot that they wanted, the sidequest are feeling duller because they aren’t for these characters to have fun adventures we get emotionally invested in that simultaneously furthers the actual main characters goal, it’s let’s just have a CGI dragon, let’s have Lizzo and Jack Black guest star, let’s have Zeb from Rebels be in there for no reason. Unless again you count Bo as the main character, but like honestly she’s not even having natural character development. She went from being an antagonistic ex-terrorist to suddenly being kind and charitable with hardly any buildup or insight into her feelings. It doesn’t feel organic. I know she lost everything, but they still made it seem like she blamed Din for it only to have her rescue him once and completely abandon that hostility. The best we really have gotten is Grogu remembering his past while with the armorer and setting up his future as a Mandalorian, but even that feels cheapened when the armor he was given isn’t even talked about with the person who he shares the symbol with him that signifies their relationship, making me think it’s just another merchandise decision.

We wanted Din to learn to rule because, even if we did have to say goodbye to the adventure of the week type format, it would have been in service of his character evolving into something he doesn’t think he deserves or is good at. It would have been the next step in his journey, accumulating everything he has learned, the growth he went through using both diplomacy and his skills as a fighter time and time again. Instead, they chose to really quickly ditch any of the conflicts he had so they could have him free to do this instead. If they had waited one more season, this could have possibly been done well imo. Din’s arcs could have been brought to a meaningful and satisfying conclusion, and then you could have made him and Bo-Katan become co-leads. It wouldn’t have mattered as much then if they decided to focus a little more on her. But instead they essentially abandoned Din’s story they’ve spent two seasons creating to go ahead and tell her own.

The side quest aren’t what people are complaining about. It’s that they have no meaning for our characters other than having everybody circling around Bo most of the time or creating some big connection to the sequel triology and setting up the Star Wats MCU, which wasn’t the style of writing this show did. I don’t care how many ways people want to argue against it, Din is not the main character in this season, which is not what they have been selling us all year, and he doesn’t even have any engaging story or arc as a side character either. That is the problem, and that is why these side quest and the lack of an actual plot do not work.

#the mandalorian #the mandalorian spoilers #the mandalorian season 3 #mando critical #rant #din djarin #bo katan kryze #grogu #hope this made sense

485 notes · View notes