#i just hate wasted potential

[lovegrowsart]

it's pretty wild to me that people don't see that aang running off to save katara in CoD is his luke in empire strikes back moment, where he runs headlong into his want and attachment and he's narratively punished for doing so and not learning his lesson - aang runs after katara despite guru pathik's warning, like luke runs after leia and han from yoda on dagobah despite yoda's warning; similarly, as a result, things go to hell in ba sing se like they do on bespin - aang enters the avatar state before he's ready and gets killed, and ba sing se falls to the fire nation, luke fights vader before he's ready, loses a hand, and symbolically commits suicide after vader tells him he's luke's father.

the difference between their character arcs is that george lucas and co. actually went thru with luke's hero's journey and understood the fundamental difference between attachment and love, whereas I don't think bryke understood this difference and then dropped this from aang's arc pretty much completely and replaced it with aang digging in his heels into his want and attachment and he gets rewarded with energy bending from a lion turtle, the avatar state from a random pointy rock, and his forever girl from the self-indulgent white men that couldn't bring themselves to give their hero a compelling character arc that meant he might not have gotten everything he wanted at the end.

#the wasted potential of aang's arc gets to me so bad #the narrative and thematic set up is entirely there and they just shove it in the bin lmao #it especially irks as someone raised buddhist and dealing with writers that invoke these themes out of a fascination #with the religion and philosophy but then a complete unwillingess to actually commit to what those themes require of the character arcs #anyway sorry to say it #but zuko's arc does a better job embodying buddhist themes than aang's does in the end #despite all misappropriated aesthetics to the contrary #aang critical #but its really the writing like i LIKE aang i love his potential i hate how self indulgently he's written by the end of the show #atla critical #meta* #holly talks bs #also yes it would've been better narratively for aang katara zuko to the go the way of luke leia han #even if katara couldn't have been revealed as aang's surprise secret twin lmao #the thematic conceit of the triangle is the same in that luke and aang get over their infatuation with the first pretty girl he sees #and becomes the hero he needs to be #meanwhile hanleia and zutara are saving each other and being cool and kissing #anyway

[persona-brainrot-real]

It is once again “why didn’t they let ryuji have any empathy for yusuke” era. Nothing like a game establishing that both of them have abusive/neglectful/awful dads and then instead of ryuji trying to connect with yusuke and show him that madarame is abusing him, he just gets angry at him?? For what????? Why???? There was so much potential

#ryuji sakamoto #yusuke kitagawa #I just think!! it’s a waste!! of potential!!!! #yeah here are these two characters with difficult home lives. one has a mother he loves and can turn to. one is entirely on his own #and for some reason ryuji seems to hate yusuke for defending madarame? #I understand it could work with his character or with his experiences that he gets defensive about yusuke not listening #maybe it’s uncomfortable for him to see someone who is doing what he did before he realised his dad was a bad person #but ultimately. this is an aspect of their relationship that really should have been there #and I can’t believe atlus fumbled this opportunity. #I’ll never stop being mad about it #persona 5 #p5 #p5r #persona 5 royal

[spywhitney]

How I sleep knowing I'll never trust anyone that hates Sydney but worships Richie:

#the bear #the bear fx #sydney adamu #carmen berzatto #richie jerimovich #jk kind of #well on days I don't see or think about Sydney haters #under every damn comment section in this fandom is someone saying Sydney didn't take accountability #like I know we all have our biases but yall are really shameless about it #Sydney scored A LOT of Ws for The Beef AND The Bear #but one time she makes a mistake and justifiably walks away from a toxic work environment she's the devil #Richie worked at The Beef for years and Sydney did more for it in what less than four months than he did #on top of being a prick to Sydney in particular because she was changing things he wanted to keep the same #to the detriment of the restaurant but also everyone #and overall being unpleasant to Carmy #Nat and anyone that didn't find him funny or interesting or like his bs #pre-Forks Richie reminds me of those types of people that only listen to people that like them #and I love that because it's realistic to some ppl #I do like Richie #it just leaves a bitter taste in my mouth knowing there are people that hate Sydney #ignore her accomplishments only to raise up Richie #in the same breath when the actual show is showing you what's up #like you'd think there were different versions of the show with how these two are perceived #I get this weird need to defend Sydney when people shit on her because I wonder how often said people treat the Sydneys of the world #but that aside #In Fishes Richie mentions something about wasting potential at the beef #In Ceres it's implied he called the popo on the dealers after Sydney deescalated a situation Richie previously dealt with #in an unorthodox manner #he recognised he needed to change but still was an arsehole to the one person who was facilitating that change effectively Sydney #this show is great but people denying what they're seeing on their own screens is crazy

[iamnmbr3]

Voldemort recruiting werewolves and other nonhumans to his cause: I will give you power in a society that has shunned you and the freedom to live openly.

The Order of the Phoenix recruiting werewolves and other nonhumans to their cause: Thoughts and prayers. We support you.

#humor #i hate how jkr set up all this stuff about nonhumans being so oppressed and mistreated in the wizarding world #that they were even willing to throw their lot in with voldemort in the hope that maybe he might be slightly less bad than the current #status quo. and then just. not doing anything with it. the heroes never actually fix the injustices and convince nonhumans to join them #by showing them they are serous about building a better and more equal world. #Harry Potter #so much wasted potential #Voldemort #Tom Riddle

[rowanoftheunknown]

Okay listen it's been 4 days I'm over it but I hate that everyone is like "that's where Izzy's arc was meant to end, he accepted his death" yeah no when I developed my support system and dismantled my toxic habits and moved on from my trauma my psych took me out the back and said you're free and shot me like a lame horse

#hEs a FiCTioNaL ChaRActeR yes i KNOW i know i know just let me bitch #bro i also thought i was ready to die after i came to terms with my toxic behavior but i was 14 and i got over it #man just needed some medical attention and some sertraline wouldve fixed him right up #listen its fine im no longer mad at the finale i just hate wasted potential in characters and killing him was a fucking waste #anyone who says otherwise lacks imagination #ofmd #our flag means death #izzy hands

[mrsoftthoughts]

One day more on my goal to not acknowledge The Sun and The star as canon ( the worst part of this thing it's that is official content)

#i don't even hate it as a read #it's ok ig #but i refuse to think that this thing it's more than a fanfic ooc and with a bad planned plot #honesly this book was just wasted potential for see Nico and Will relationship since the start or them having an actual plot for them #instead this is just a try to make them a percabeth 2.0 #i like their relationship but we never get to see how they actually got together and we only got to see their dynamic with Apollo #who is not only an unreliable but also someone out of the relationship #anti tsats #nico di angelo #will solace #pjo #hoo #toa #solangelo #Mrs soft rambling

[bonebabbles]

I remember when I was reading DOTC when I was around 10, and ever since Misty died I had been waiting for the moment where Birch and Alder learned about her murder, how everyone in their lives has kept it a secret. And then it just didn't happen.

I also remember obsessively re-reading the part where Quiet Rain blows up at Clear Sky.

Birch and Alder are two characters that are just so...

I WANT to say they were forgotten about, but that word doesn't feel right for how they're constantly showing up on the screen. Clear Sky occasionally feels guilty about how he murdered their mother, but for the vast majority of the time, that's described in passive voice. So you're not reminded of just HOW cruel he was, and still very much is.

It's like they're not allowed to be characters.

Like, how does Alder feel about Clear Sky, who seemed to be acting as an adoptive father until he beat her as a child? How did Birch respond later, when Clear Sky was so busy thrashing his sister that he was threatened by a dog? How do they feel about the man who took their mother away from them?

They keep getting cited as "Good Examples Of Non-Campborn Cats," dodging around the fact they were stolen and raised by Petal. Like a lot of the other "adoptions" in the series, she quietly stops mattering to them. But even this fact... like, they're being OTHERED when they were functionally raised SkyClan.

How do they feel about THAT? That their earliest memory is SkyClan, and yet, they'll never be considered truly, fully "clanborn."

Their whole life taken from them, by Clear Sky's cruelty, their formative years spent in his violent shadow, and the narrative is just not interested in that.

#birch wc #alder wc #I see a lot of people calling this arc So Very Interesting #Begging for more of it #but like... the more I think about this arc the more I hate it. #Both reading it and the deep dissatisfaction that settles over me thinking about how much potential it wasted #All sacrificed on the altar of Sweet Brother Love or whatever was going on there #Even people who go 'oh it was so exciting' like... when. did we read the same series #the entire thing is clear sky causing problems and then no one is allowed to react violently to them #because that makes us Just As Bad #what was interesting about 3 books of the moor cats doing NOTHING as clear makes the plot happen #And another 3 books of Clear just being a bastard and everyone feels bad about hating his guts #And here's Birch and Alder who have never really been explored ever #because it would require them to fucking hate the guy who ruined their lives #it doesn't JIVE with his exoneration arc. so it cant happen

[kuroo-hitsuji]

Because i keep bullying the poor kid's dumb little pumpkin shorts

#obey me! #obey me luke #obey me simeon #I'm still working on fixing them btw i said the pumpkin shorts had wasted potential and i Meant it #also yes i made this on tiktok i keep finding good audios i just Hate posting there dbznbxjshx #Simeon #Luke #sorry little man. in the grand scheme of things they were Not the worst pants in this event sjhdjd

[elendsessor]

i may be crucified for this opinion but

one of the many reasons i think dds deserves a remake is just how little impact some of the characters have and it’s really fucking sad. unless they’re party members or antagonistic forces they don’t get nearly as much screen time as they deserve and i think that hurts them as characters???

jinana and lupa especially. i get the setting of the first game is a battle royale that turned into a cannibal battle royale so of course not everyone could live but they kinda didn’t get as much screen time as they deserved. i mean think about it they kinda just exist to introduce their tribe, interact with the embryon for a bit, disappear, reappear once or twice, then next time you see them they’ve succumbed to hunger, you beat the shit out of them, and they end up dying. what little they are given does make you like them don’t get me wrong but a lot of that rides on dialogue which, as someone who loves seeing people experience certain plot stuff of games i enjoy, i kinda noticed that it was a really mixed result. it’s either “oh no anyways” with maybe the player getting a little melancholic when they get brought up again or the player doesn’t care. considering how important their struggles and mini arcs are that’s not good??? the fact that they exist solely to develop argilla and gale is a shame since unless you like the exchanges they have their deaths don’t have that big of an impact. they do get mentions and all that in 2 yet it kinda just. makes me question it more from the standpoint of what could’ve been done with them or the giant emotional aftermath that should’ve happened. this isn’t to say they can’t die or whatever but considering the interesting conflicts dds introduces and how it already struggled to explore it as much as it could’ve, jinana and lupa really did have the potential to help remedy some of those issues.

and then there’s fred aka the smokey of dds. i still don’t know why he exists except to explain why lupa somewhat knows what a child is and to introduce the existence of tiny humans to the gang. i’m sorry i straight up forget he was a character at points.

qds fixed a lot of this yes yet i still think it’s important to point out on a game standpoint, since most people who play dds don’t end up reading qds, and i really don’t think actual important contextual stuff or major aspects of a game’s themes should be exclusive to books. it’s not as bad as something like fnaf or other mascot horrors—that shit was over a decade later—but it is a major writing issue and i don’t think the fact that the original lead writer got sick and had to leave means there wasn’t a writing decline. you can tell there was stuff that was going to be built upon only to be abandoned or underdeveloped.

it’s extra sad because this is straight up one of the best instances of world-building the series has ever had, and the whole cannibalistic character drama mixed with spiritual and buddhist + hindu themes is something so inherently interesting while also being in some ways taboo??? there’s not a lot of games out there at least not made by indie developers that get that risky since it’s not marketable, and something like that is next to nonexistent now in the mainstream market. we fuckin need games like the dds duology that challenge the status quo and goddammit if it got expanded upon and had more development for side characters that would be actually perfect.

#thinking about dds this evening #kinda wanna also express the bad writing decisions wasn’t exclusive to side characters #i’m still mad over what happened with heat he’s genuinely interesting but got demoted to a simp #and just making him a secondary antagonist in 2 was a bad move i’m sorry but that whole thing was wasted potential #gale is the only character that actually got development and stayed consistently great writing wise #that and argilla but she wasn’t really as there as she was in 1 #they made cielo white and the comedic relief which. hey at least he’s fun and you can’t hate him it’s impossible #idk i have a ton of issues with dds on a writing standpoint. i love the duology but i also kinda don’t sometimes on a game standpoint #shantien rambles #dds #ddsat #digital devil saga

[opens-up-4-nobody]

#i could add more but idk those seem like the worst. i hesitated to add karin bc her story is interesting and her actions make sense but #ya kno. for me its gotta b rin bc shes not even a character. shes a non entity. just a memory there to welcom obito into the afterlife #and i fucking hate that. but kushina comes in second for me. bc shes written as wanting to be hokage and then has to watch her husband #become hokage and then b happy abt it. that just feels mean. but. i mean. should the answer actually b sakura? #shes not even interesting as a character which is pretty bad. ok i think rin is the worst bc kishimoto forgot to make her a person #and then sakura for forgetting to give her literally anything interesting and useful to do. so much potential wasted #then kushina bc kushina is my baby girl #so so so much potential. oh god but theyre all so badly written. its an impossible question #naruto #naruto ramblings #polls

[svnflowermoon]

why can i literally not function at school like i swear i'm trying i just can't focus????

#luc posts #like i take notes but then i get bored and the doodle on the side of my page thst was meant to take 5 seconds took 10 minutes :( #and then im lost and bc im lost i get all fidgety and i keep doodling and then jts just a cycle #if i work for 20 minutes i feel like ive ran a marathon and i have to take a 40 minutes drawing/staring into the distance break #and im gonna fail maths but theres literally nothing i can do no matter what i do I can't focus for over 20 minutes at a time #and then its the end of class and i feel guilty bc oh i didnt do any work :( like i feel bad and i want to fix it but idk whats wrong so ho #can i fix it if i dont know whats wrong with meeeee #ugh #it literally makes me want to cry am i just lazy is that what it is am i literally useless why cant i work #like i was so ahead kf the average grades and i never learnt to study and now ugh i dont know how to function so i just dont #and it doesn't help that my friends are all geniuses #like they complain about their one mark away from full marks and im just like OH MY GOD if i could just focus then i coukd do so well #likr ok i guess i wont mention tjst i failed that test bc yall sre complaining about getting one mark off fukl makrs #likr fuckkkk okay i have so mucb potential why di i waste jt :((((( #i hate school so mucb #i genuinely consider dropping out sometimes like I CANT DO THIS hiw do these peiole di ut how hiw how someone tell me how to function #like these peiole getting top marks withiut eben truijgn and i tyr and i cant fishcis so i fail snd then ufh i want to die #bc its so embarassing i eas like top 10% of the class a few years ago and now i just cant function like how do these peiple do itso #someone explain ot me how oieolem focus and dony get distracted and ginish things kike ugh

[agrebel18]

OK SO

good news: on sunday, i'm probably going to see a play my friend is in to support him!!

bad news: my mom is forcing me to bring her with me, and the play is about gay people (in my friend's words) and my mom's quite homophobic :(

#aggie posts #tw queerphobia #rant in tags #my friend is also queer (and so am i obviously) but that's for another day #honestly idk what to dooooo #i only have 2 choices: not attend the play; waste a ticket and potentially disappoint my friend #or to attend the play and see my friend perform but hear my mom's gross comments and be extra critical of me and/or my friend #and then she potentially uses this against me and forces me to stop being friends with him or smth worse </3 #idk which is worse #i just hate that i'm never allowed to go alone to places; especially college; like HELLO??? I LITERALY ATTEND IT???? #and i have a Not so Good history of my parents hating my friends

[angelofverdum]

I want Maya to win Carina over. I don't want Carina to forgive her just like that. Big speech and move on.

When Maya is 100% healthy, she should invite Carina to dinner, flirt with her every time she goes to the clinic, and surprise her at the hospital with coffee.

I mean, I want to see everything that we didn't see the first time.

#I just hate to see wasted potential #any fanfiction can help them with ideas for it #station 19 #maya bishop #carina deluca #I can't stop thinking about them

[autumnalmess]

would love to hear more about "to watch a bird in flight"! :D

Now that I'm in my ridiculously late break from work (it's literally midnight I procrastinated for too long this morning), I can finally answer these!!

"to watch a bird in flight" is a canon era (eventual) enjoltaire fic, with the title coming from the first amis chapter:

This is a sweet but angsty pre-barricade fic in which Grantaire is a coward, Enjolras is capable of being terrible, and revolution waits in the wings.

It's inspired by the fact that Grantaire is a huge fucking yapper and I hadn't seen enough book-faithful blabbing in a lot of the fics I'd read. But more because I am charmed and fascinated by working out the pipeline from 'roughly repulsed, rejected' to the sudden and unfortunate realization of being in love with someone so a) male in 1830s France, and b) unlike anything one could have anticipated.

I've not said even half the things I have to say about this fic (more is in the tags) so please do comment if you're interested or have any questions!!

Have an angsty little snippet xx:

Bahorel claps a hand on his shoulder as Grantaire begins to shuffle homewards. “Good man. Now straight home, mind. Don't do anything stupid.”

As soon as the words leave his mouth, he winces, every inch of him sighs with the realization of his mistake.

Grantaire’s body goes rigid beneath his hand.

“Oh?” Grantaire mutters, facing away from him.

“Grantaire-” Bahorel begins.

Grantaire whirls around with a look of deep amusement in his eyes. His grin is almost manic, offset by a bitterness too wracked with self loathing to ignore. His limbs are quaking with the anticipation of his spiel, as if the words themselves are bubbling up within him, jostling to break the surface.

“Grantaire, you're-” Bahorel says again.

“No, dear Bahorel, you're absolutely right, the deuce! As per usual!” Grantaire cries, his voice dripping with insincerity. “So attentive of you to, to warn me against doing something stupid. Oh, as I am wont to do indeed! Bah, you know me so well!”

He is gabbling now, unable to stop himself as words spew out of him, harsher and louder with the rush of the Seine in his ears and the sympathetic grimaces of the blank faces passing him by. His hands flail wildly, desperately, in vast gestures fit for the opera. His performance is all bravado, undercut by deep hurt. Already, the guilt is rising like bile in his throat.

“Ah, alas, without you I would topple into the river! Without you I would, ah whoopsadaisy! And fall in front of every trap I see, I should be so lucky. Ever so sorry, my lord, I didn't realize you'd called for the fool! No matter, no bother, I'll just skip on over, shall I? Yes, you call for the fool, and here I am! In my red stockings and my JANGLY HAT!”

“GRANTAIRE!” Bahorel's cry silences him.

Bahorel is not an astute man by any means, nor is he concerned with the ‘how’s and the ‘why’s of the world. But he is kind. And it does not take him more than a moment to see through Grantaire's hollow little show.

His friend's wandering eyes are guilty and exhausted, and full of despair. He envelopes Grantaire in an embrace.

For a moment, Grantaire is still, then his weight shifts almost imperceptibly against Bahorel's sturdy form.

“You're not a fool,” says Bahorel carefully. “I know that's what this is really about. But I don't think that. And I'd never say what he said…I'm not even certain he meant it himself.”

He holds Grantaire at arm's length, staring him in the eyes. Grantaire shifts uncomfortably and looks at the floor.

“Go home, Grantaire. Okay? Get some sleep. Have some fucking water for God's sake. And tomorrow you can watch whilst I punch that pompous bastard in the mouth.”

He says it with an easy smile on his lips, but Grantaire does not laugh. He just sniffles, wipes his nose on his sleeve, and looks at the floor.

“I'll go home,” he mumbles.

#SAVE ME CANON ERA ENJOLTAIRE #in which Enjolras is actually disgusted by Grantaire #in which Grantaire would actually genuinely just rather die than tell Enjolras he's in love with him #in which Enjolras realises Grantaire's capabilities and is frustrated by his blatant waste of potential #in which Enjolras fleetingly meets his mathc #in which Enjolras fucking HATES slowly falling in love but can't do anything to stop it #and then has to reckon with OH GOD WHY MUST I BE IN LOVE WITH SOMEONE SO HORRENDOUSLY IMPRACTICAL #les mis #les miserables #victor hugo #enjoltaire #fanfiction

[bandtrees]

i know it’s because serirei as a ship exists in part because people just like reigen and getting someone to ship with him is a way to express that, like the reigen feelings came before the ship, and people like to make their popular favs angsty and sad... 

...but it’s SO funny to me that out of the two of them, reigen gets the “troubled mentally ill guy with baggage who’s comforted by his partner” treatment. as if serizawa isn’t the most traumatized character ever put to animation

#babbles #does this make sense #ship hate #not really? i like serirei but tagging this jic #but yea the like... typical Seme Uke dynamics people ascribe to serirei amuse me to no end #literally people only make serizawa the big burly protective comforting one cuz hes tall. ...and bc they like reigen more than him #like idk how to put it but the meowmeowification of reigen has been devastating to serirei economy #bc it just becomes 'a way to make reigen content' or 'The Reigen Ship(tm)' and not really exploring the chars on their own merits #or any interesting conflicts etc etc or anything past... Reigen And His Plus One #tldr. i like serirei but fanon serirei is so much wasted potential to me<//3 #as someone who loves serizawa but sees serirei make up like 90% of the stuff of him BOOOO #also stole some of this phrasing from fig bc we have this discussion OFTEN LMAO

[rabbitindisguise]

I'll be fine I just need to apply my healing and protection runes (gets out a roll of KT tape)

#personal #disability #science is magic we understand etc #side note I want to see more fantasy where people are annoyed about the staples of their everyday life as it relates to magic #runes as a physical marker of chronic illness treatments #a kid that is mildly allergic to the ink solution they use to apply runes with so they try to sneak off to the field trip without it #someone who hates how they clash with their complexion or someone that tries to avoid getting recognizable runes hidden while incognito #or someone who wears it as a fashion statement as a signal of wastefulness of the nobility #and scenes with complaints and irritation when they have to apply it even though they're tired and want to go to bed #there's even ship fodder: imagine the embarrassment someone could have while getting them applied by a love interest #just a lot of potential to be had there