#idk i just really enjoyed how all the women are fully fleshed out characters so i couldn't stop watching it

[batmanego]

"At worst it's shipping a serial murder with the father of his victim" yeah that's why it's FUN, they're both fucked in the head and only deserve each other! Bruce knows exactly what he's doing and the drama if/when resurrected Jason finds out has such delicious "lost focus and had a consensual workplace relationship" vibes but with EXPLOSIONS

maybe it's my bubble of fellow "lives have been wrecked by infedelity" fanfic writers but i don't know anyone who actually sees it as healthy or anything but either one-sided or big cheating-on-his-mission-for-Justice vibes. Batman doesn't deserve a healthy relationship because he's ruined his loved ones lives. So he's stuck with the creepy stalker that's obsessed with him. I know like 3 other writers w this viewpoint, not every ship is all UWU, sometimes toxic ships are fun. It's not flattening Bruce, it's adding complexity and inner turmoil, but it also assumes you're working with a view of Bruce most of the fandom doesn't share because everyone loves Batdad, idk. Just tossing in my 2 cents.

I also wrote a whole thing creating Jeannie as a fully fleshed character outside of "Mrs. Napier" so don't say it's something about erasing women, maybe on some subconscious level that I need to work on, but I do try to counter it with fleshing out other female characters. I enjoy Talia & Selina but Bruce is fundamentally a fucked up guy and he rlly only deserves a fucked up ship. Idk.

Thanks for reading this or skimming and deleting it idk im mostly shouting to the void

i went back and forth on whether or not i wanted to respond to this jokingly or seriously or even at all, considering theres So Many Other Things I Could Do With My Limited Time On This Earth, but honestly you as a person seem infuriating in a very specific, Jerking Off On The Page Never Read A Comic Donated To AO3 Harry Potter Fan-type way and im sort of diametrically opposed to you because of this so i will formulate a "brief" response.

putting it out there first and foremost: i really don't care all that much because i'm an adult and i have other fucking shit to do, but comics is an industry that i am both passionate about and want to work in, so i think i'm granted a little bit of bitching about misinterpretation of characters, considering i want to Actually Write Them For A Living at some point.

for starters i notice that you changed what i said about joker from sexual predator to serial murderer. hmmmmmm. could it be that that is a line you realize shouldn't be crossed?

that aside, the reason i bring up jason ties into why your approach (an approach shared by many) to bruce wayne is fundamentally flawed. bruce wayne is a man who had nobody, and then gradually accumulated a network of strong support systems that are more important to him than anything else. i mean that. really, from a character standpoint, bruce died in that alleyway with martha and thomas - everything from there until meeting dick was him going through the motions. living death. but dick changed things! it gave him a person to care about! it gave him responsibilities outside himself! it forced him to be a caretaker! albeit, in the early years, he wasn't a very good one, but he did try.

and we can see that attitude continued in his relationship to jason - when jason dies, bruce changes. i've talked before about how death in the family changed not just batman, but batman comics tonally and thematically, but jason's death really marked a point where bruce closed himself off from people again. all of this reinforces the fact that for bruce, he is fundamentally a man that claims to work alone while actually being surrounded by friends and family.

to bruce, compassion is key. compassion in EVERYTHING. with your family and with your criminals.

you want drama between bruce and jason? their story is already rife with it. literally just read under the red hood and you'll see, nothing there needs to change or have Drama inserted.

also, this comic is really funny and antithetical to your They Belong Together point because bruce explicitly says he fucking hates the joker so much.

and man, i dont even know where to start with this paragraph, it's just so goddamn funny. hey. you know you sound insane, right? you know that? you know you're shooting yourself in the foot? i didn't say a goddamn thing about erasing women. you said that. that's an issue you recognized in yourself. it's not one i won't say is there - i could go on for hours about the discarding of canon female love interests (canonically bisexual female love interests in the case of selina and canonically love interests who are both woc! hmmmm) out of misogyny, but i won't because it seems like you've kinda got that front covered.

and, again, cause i can't say this enough: bruce's friends and family are the most important thing to him and he will always prioritize them. he loves them.

just as an afterthought, framing bruce as "fundamentally fucked up" is kind of weird to do. i mean, i have my problems with framing any hero as "what if they were evil, actually" (the least of which being that i think it's pretty fuckin boring) but this post does a pretty good job of summing up "is bruce wayne really a good guy?" (the answer is yes)

anyway, you want to ship bruce with a sexual abuser who murdered his son and ruined his life? i can't stop you. but i do urge you to think critically about the character decisions you're making there and step outside of your fanfiction echo chamber and into the wonderful world of comics for once. if you need recommendations on where to start for good bruce characterization, i've got plenty.

ps. you want bruce to kiss one of his villains? harvey dent's right there. xoxoxo ferris

#batman meta #good morning all #dc #long post

[teawiththegods]

Going to your discussion of Hades and Zeus and mythology. It really rankles me that people turned Persephone into a #girlboss and rewrite the story so she chooses to go to the underworld. I understand for some it’s a way to justify enjoying Hades and Persephone as a couple. Even with that understanding, I still don’t like it. Guess what? You don’t have to have a rewritten, morally correct story to validate your enjoyment of something. Especially when it comes to the Theoi. Idk part of me just doesn’t really understand the struggle of that. Like why is it so difficult to take the myths the way they are, accept them, examine them yes, but still accept the myths in their entirety. Maybe it’s all the new reimaginings and popularity of LO in particular that has my feathers ruffled but. It makes me want to go deeper into privacy about worshipping Hades and Persephone. - scytheandseed

You don’t have to have a rewritten, morally correct story to validate your enjoyment of something.

I think you hit the nail on the head with that line. Personally I think this is at least one of the core problems. I’ve noticed this issue with media and storytelling in general even outside of Greek Mythology. People, especially the younger crowd, have an aversion to liking morally ambiguous or just straight up immoral characters. They often go to great lengths to either again absolve the character of their sins or put the blame on another character (sound familiar??). This is why redemption arcs are so popular nowadays. People want their favorite character to receive the Zuko treatment believing it’ll give them permission to like the character. But stories don’t work that way and neither do fully fleshed out real characters. Not everyone is deserving of a redemption arc nor do they need one. As someone who LOVES villains (esp badass women who want nothing more than to watch the world burn) I’m quite happy with them the way that they are thank you very much!

But it all def echoes back to the good vs. evil rhetoric of Christianity. It’s why a lot of people have a hard time with The Iliad. They can’t wrap their heads around the idea that there IS NO good guy or bad guy. They are all just dumb guys fighting their dumb war. (Yes, it hurts me to say but Patroclus and Hector are included 😢). But so often you see Agamemnon framed as the “evil” one and Achilles as the “good” one despite the fact that Achilles did PLENTY of awful things. ITS WAR! They all do awful things but you know only one of them was gay and pretty so clearly he’s absolved of his sins. Agamemnon, did you try being gay and pretty?? Maybe if you were gay and pretty everyone would look the other way with Iphigenia like they did with Briseis. Or how about getting a dog? Idk something about a guy with a dog makes people want to forget about all your misdeeds. Just a suggestion. Still gonna cheer when your wife murders you in the bathtub tho so maybe it doesn’t really matter 🤷🏻‍♀️

Writing all that sarcasm made me think how another issue is the romanticizing of these relationships. Like I understand it more when it comes to Achilles and Patroclus considering how lacking we🌈 are of stories about us and our love however removing or ignoring unsavory aspects of Achilles (and even Patroclus bc he WAS a participant in all of this) is a complete disservice to him as a character and the story as a whole. You have to take the bad with the good, babes. The same goes for Hades. If you’re gonna take the myth literally than you have to accept that your homeboy saw a 12 year old girl thought “yeah gotta have that”, asked Big Poppa for permission, and then took her once he got it without any care or concern for Persephone or Demeter’s feelings. That’s just the reality. I don’t make the news I just report it!

Psssst…the solution is to not take the myths literally!!

Anyway, lots babbling from me (I blame the Covid tho it’s likely not the Covid 🤣) and I didn’t even touch on the main part of your ask which is about the portrayal of Persephone. I completely agree! Honestly I’ve read soooooo many of these feminist retellings of the myths and while I understand and support the efforts, they really just all feel the same. Like every character is the same regardless of which character is being portrayed. And they all just follow the same formula and I’m just bored.

That’s honestly how I feel with ALL retellings and even media that features the gods. Bored. So damn bored.

[bumblyburg]

ted lasso finale thoughts

Need the richmond women's team spinoff NOW!!!!!!!!!!! And it better have LESBIANS i swear to god!!!!!!!

As always the strongest part of this ep was the team dynamics. Roy joining the diamond dogs. Isaac with the penalty kick!!!! The fucking dance sequence callback T^T theres no place like afc richmond <3 Them winning the match but losing the whole thing was a good balance of success vs realism. I didn't know enough about football to predict it beforehand LOL but that probably worked in my favor bc i genuinely didnt know whether they would win or lose. Rebecca and ted's friendship was heartwarming as always. I was living in fear that they'd become a couple even though i knew that wasn't what the writers were going for, so I probably need to rewatch to fully enjoy it.

Tedependent lost RIP. it would have made sense but at the same time im kinda glad they didn't, at least this season. trent was still very much a side character and i just don't think the story beats were there for tedtrent endgame. the story would have had to been constructed differently, or it would need another season. I also liked how the main focus was ted & rebecca's friendship rather than either of their romantic relationships. I love a good romance but its not what this story is about.

Thats part of the reason why the dutchman return felt cheap to me lol. Sorry rebecca im always rooting for you but i just wasn't feeling it. Another part of that is probably because Ted and Trent had a much stronger foundation and we still didn't get to see even their friendship develop as much as i would have liked. Maybe ive been spoiled by all the trent this season idk. but i was just hoping for a little more. After all, it's not lost on me that we only got one confirmed gay couple at the end (we don't even know anything about Michael!!! Ugh sorry Im a michael hater he's so boring.)

Speaking of boring, I simply do not care about ted's family. So him moving back was... not really compelling for me. like none of the kansas characters are fleshed out at all. i wish they had done something more interesting with them so i could actually get invested. There was something there with michelle dating their couples therapist, but it ended up falling flat imo. Also Michelle being a teacher is a total copout, I would have preferred if she had an unexpected job that revealed a new side to her. Give her a personality outside of being a wife/mother/caretaker please and thank you.

I did like how Royjamie was left openended!!! thats the ship i care most abt and i knew it wasnt going to *actually* happen so im satisfied with what we got. I am in the (im assuming) minority of royjamie enjoyers that is against roykeeleyjamie. This episode really hammered it in why roy and jamie are not good for keeley LOL, but the signs have been there all along. Keeley needs to be her own boss for a bit! Roy and jamie are just not at her maturity level (lovingly), and they've got some misogyny to work through.

(I need to think on it more, but I'm pretty sure that I liked the way this episode/season handled the Roy And Jamie Are Lowkey Sexist subplot. Like the whole fighting over a woman thing is soooo trite atp, and i still dont know how i feel about them physically fighting over her or whatever. but the story was realistic about how these asshole male footballers are going to have some weird views about women, while still shutting that down those views. like not even giving them the time of day. Keeley literally shoos them out without a word LMAO. So idk need to think about it more but at least keeley didnt end up with either of them).

Hey you know who DOES deserve each other.... and makes each other better people, as represented by their football training arc.... the student is the teacher and the teacher is the student etc etc…… Anyways royjamie is real TO ME!!! (And brett goldstein and phil dunster, number one royjamie warriors. phil dunster wrote royjamie smut I will never get over that)

Overall im sad to see ted lasso go. i think i need to sit with all 3 seasons a bit more before forming my full opinion, but s1 will always have my heart. Mostly because evil jamie and evil rebecca are so so fun to watch.

#The most important takeaway from this post is the bit about the lesbians. in case you couldnt tell #This is also more for me to process more than anything else lol #ted lasso s3 #ted lasso spoilers #ted lasso

[gotmymindsetonyou]

The Best and Worst Things About Each MCU Movie

These are all just my stinky opinions. You are allowed to disagree, you are allowed to agree. Most of these are jokes anyway. I’m honestly just happy you’re reading this. Minor Spoilers Ahead!

Iron Man (2008) -

Best: This movie almost perfectly sets the tone for the entire universe that has at that point yet to have been created. Looking back, you can imagine the feeling of “Where are they going to go from here?” and I think that’s one of the most important things that this movie needed to accomplish.

Worst: What the fuck is Jeff Bridges doing? What’s his endgame here? I get he’s trying to take over Stark Industries but how’s he gonna do that from inside that giant metal suit he uses to kill people inside their cars?

Incredible Hulk (2008) -

Best: Tim Roth is in it and I think that is pretty cool.

Worst: I haven’t actually seen it, but the cgi looks god awful, what the hell.

Iron Man 2 (2010) - 

Best: Sam Rockwell is so goddamn annoying in this movie and I think that’s amazing, he’s such a little stinker.

Worst: I remember basically nothing else about this movie except some guy talking about birds, idk.

Thor (2011) -

Best: It introduces Loki, probably one of the most beloved villains in the entire franchise. 

Worst: This movie is so goddamn boring and it’s my least favorite and I hate it. Don’t @ me.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) -

Best: The first good chunk of this movie is actually a really compelling character study on Steve Rogers and what makes him a good man. Seeing him basically being paraded as this propaganda figure and watching him struggle with this is one of the most compelling things about him as a person. Really wish they kept this up for the entire movie.

Worst: The red skull is really boring guys. He’s red, that’s it. Give me something else to work with man.

Marvel’s The Avengers (2012) -

Best: This movie proved that you can have a superhero team up with this many people and have it fucking work. It doesn’t matter if you hate or love this movie, you cannot deny the effects it has on the genre.

Worst: It’s shot like a bad CW show. It looks so ugly.

Iron Man 3 (2013)

Best: This one is actually my favorite of the bunch. Exploring the question of what makes Iron Man, the suit or the person, is shown really well here. I thoroughly dig it.

Worst: That scene where Harley flip flops about whether or not he really knows Tony makes me so irrationally angry.

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Best: It’s slightly better than Thor, and I actually can feel myself start to have a good time whenever Loki’s on screen.

Worst: Once again, this movie is insanely forgettable. Christopher fucking Eccleston is in this movie and I could not tell you a single thing about this character.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) - 

Best: This movie has one of the best hand-to-hand fight scenes in the entire MCU. You know the one I’m talking about. It gives me chills, I love it.

Worst: Having the government stand-in that Steve questions in the beginning of the movie actually be a front for N*zis that he can just beat up, and not an actual metaphor for the issues with the government today? You ain’t slick.

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 1 (2014) -

Best: This is the mcu movie basically anyone can enjoy. Anybody can watch this movie and find something to love about it. The characters, the messages about family and learning to be okay with feeling love, the jokes, hell, even the space setting. THE MUSIC. It’s the full package baby.

Worst: Chris Pratt has an unfortunate cameo in this one.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) -

Best: I have a couple of things. A) The party scene where we get to watch the Avengers talk and be friends with each other and act like people. B) I love James Spader no matter what he is doing.

Worst: Why is everyone quipping? Why is the robot quipping? Why would they massacre my boy like that?

Ant-man (2015) -

Best: I want Paul Rudd to marry me, best dad in the mcu.

Worst: The moment Edgar Wright left this project.

Captain America: Civil War (2016) -

Best: Introduces two great characters, Spider-man and Black Panther. These two get a lot of love when it comes to designing their characters in this movie and it makes me very happy.

Worst: It made the fandom very unhappy and I don’t like picking sides. It feels like watching your many parents get divorced for two hours.

Doctor Strange (2016) -

Best: The magic looks really fucking cool in this movie. Also, the ending with Dormammu is up there for one of my favorite endings of an mcu movie. Having Doctor Strange actually outsmart the villain instead of actually fighting him is endlessly more satisfying.

Worst: Could not tell you a thing else about this movie other than I heard Tilda Swinton plays a character that’s probably not supposed to be white.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) -

Best: Guys, I gotta come clean about something. I actually like this one better than Volume 1. I know, I know, a good majority of people do not feel this way, but I feel a lot more emotionally attached to the movie, and that’s mainly because of two characters: Yondu Udonta and Rocket Racoon. Rocket realizing that he’s an asshole but his found family still loves him gets me, man. I can’t help it. Helps that Ego is a great villain as well. Also the cinematography is some of the best in the mcu.

Worst:  No Howard the Duck.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) -

Best: I think the best thing about this movie is just the solidness of it all. No one part stands out as the best because most everything about this movie is pretty damn good. Michael Keaton will knock your socks off, go watch it.

Worst: Donald Glover is in it to tease a Miles Morales reveal, BUT NOTHING HAS HAPPENED ABOUT IT SINCE.

Thor: Ragnarok (2017) -

Best: Taika Waititi knows how to do shit right, lemme tell ya. Taking away Thor’s hammer from the beginning was probably one of the smartest choices in the movie, and this is a movie of smart choices.

Worst: Jeff Goldblum isn’t in it more.

Black Panther (2018) -

Best: Erik Killmonger is easily the best villain in a Marvel movie, and you can quote me on that. An amazing performance from Michael B. Jordan. It’s also the first Marvel movie I saw in theatres (I know, I was very late to the game)

Worst: Everett K. Ross is CIA propaganda and the last fight scene on the train tracks looks like shit.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018) - 

Best: It’s really hard to sum up exactly what my thoughts are on this movie. I think one of the movie’s best qualities is the bigness of it. This movie feels huge, there’s a lot of different stuff to love here. If you like Wakanda, there’s a whole epic battle set in Wakanda. If you’re more a fan of the space stuff, we got a whole lotta space stuff. The best part of this movie is there’s probably gonna be something that everyone can enjoy packed in here.

Worst: I also think the bigness of this movie is also one of it’s larger weaknesses. Because there’s so much stuff in this movie, not all of it is fully fleshed out. Tony Stark gets a lot to do in this movie, but Steve Rogers sort of feels sidelined at parts. There’s a perfect balance that I don’t think was quite hit.

Ant-man and The Wasp (2018) -

Best: I still really love Paul Rudd in this movie, and I think his relationship with Cassie is still really cute. World’s Greatest Grandma indeed.

Worst: This movie really had its work cut out for itself, coming off the heels of Infinity War, so it sort of falls short in that respect. I don’t want to criticize it too harshly, it is what it is, nothing insanely memorable. 

Captain Marvel (2019) - 

Best: I still think this is a pretty good movie, despite what a lot of people think. I struggle a lot with believing that I have to prove myself to others, so having Carol finally realize that she doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone was really important to me, and probably a lot of other women.

Worst: There were parts where I wasn’t as engaged, like the scenes in the Kree empire. That made some of the movie feel off to me, it’s a bit unbalanced.

Avengers: Endgame (2019) - 

Best: This movie 100% achieves what it sets out to do, and that is to be a huge cinematic event. I don’t even really see this movie as a movie, it’s more like one huge experience. My viewing had one of the most energetic crowds I’ve ever seen a movie with.

Worst: I don’t really think this movie holds up to multiple re-watches. Granted, I saw it in theatres three times. I don’t think any subsequent viewings are ever going to pack that same punch that my first viewing had, and that makes it harder to come back to. Also Steve had a totally lame ending.

Spider-man: Far From Home (2019) - 

Best: After ending on such a downer note in the last movie, this felt like a weight being lifted off my chest. Jake Gyllenhaal gives an insanely energetic performance that I absolutely adore. (Also seeing it with my dad was fun, he would nudge me every time they switched locations to tell me he’d been there)(Also when I saw it with my sibling a kid ran out of the theatre during the Mysterio mind-fuck sequence, some just can’t handle that lifestyle)

Worst: Peter Parker and MJ remind me of how perpetually single I am.

#movie review #minor spoilers #mcu #marvel #marvel review

[venusmages]

Cyberpunk 2077 non-spoiler review

Anyways here’s my writeup about my least favorite parts of 2077 for people who are interested in seeing if it’s for them. Both going to talk about content as well as gameplay. This is for PC version, too, because I know last gen consoles are suffering terribly rn and I wouldn’t recommend the game if you’re not going to be playing on PC. At least not until it’s on sale or the issues have been resolved. It really, really shouldn’t have been released on last gen consoles at all in my opinion - or at least should’ve been released on consoles LATER.

If you like Saints Row, GTA, Mass Effect, Shadowrun, or the Cyberpunk genre in general - I definitely think this is something you might want to take a peek at! I wasn’t anticipating the game until about a month or two before release - so maybe that’s why I’m having a blast - but It’s one of my favorite stories from the past decade as far as sci-fi goes. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it, and It’s really impressed me. I can’t even go into detail about all the things I LOVE because I really want folks to experience it themselves. Just know there’s a very intricately detailed world, all the characters are memorable and insanely well realized and complex, and the story is great fun. Also made me cry like 5 times. It’s become one of my FAVORITE games very quickly.

I’d also recommend Neon Arcade if you want someone who’s been covering the game for quite a while, including the technical and game industry aspect. He does well to go into some detail and even though he’s a fan, I’ve found him to be largely unbiased. I’m not going to go into industry politics here because I feel that’s up for everyone to decide on their own terms.

No spoilers, things to keep in mind, content warnings, etc. below!

CONTENT WARNINGS and issues with plot/story

this setting is dark. very dark. if you struggle stomaching things like dystopian landscapes, body horror, physical, mental and sexual abuse, corporate and gang violence, abuse of children, harsh language, and concepts that mess with the perception of reality - this game might not be for you. It’s a very mature setting, and I don’t mean that in the Adult Swim kind of way. I mean it in the ‘oh shit, it went there’ way. In my opinion I haven’t run across anything in it that was handled distastefully when it dipped into the depressing, but dark and gritty isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and I wanted to give a disclaimer.

The game’s universe in advertising and working for the lower class also exploits sex/sex work quite a bit. This is part of the lore itself because in this universe everyone’s become desensitized to sex and violence to the point that marketing embraces it and makes it ridiculous. I feel it’s very obvious that it doesn’t condone this message and is instead a commentary on consumerism - but people still might be uncomfortable seeing a lot of suggestive stuff all over the place regardless. 

Women in game are naked more often than men - even though there is nudity for both. This is likely a mix of appealing to the Gamer Boy demographic (even though the story does NOT actually), or the fact that media is way more cool with seeing naked women than seeing full frontal nudity on men. They probably had to tone some of it down to avoid going above an M rating. 

The story is amazing, but sometimes it dumps a lot onto you at once. It’s one of those sci-fi stories that you have to really be following the names, faces, and concepts continually to get it all down. There’s a lot of betrayal, background players, etc. I think by the mid-way point I’d mostly had it, but It’s pretty dense. However it’s still amazing. You might just need two playthroughs before every tiny detail clicks - because there’s a LOT of details. 

Honestly I think it would help to read up on the lore first so you’re not going ‘what’ constantly. But people have seemed to manage fine without that also! Neon Arcade has a really nice series of videos (like 2 or 3) that get you up to speed with the universe. It also helps you decide if the tone is right for you. 

I think the main story should’ve been longer, also. I don’t mind a 20 hr story, especially in a massive RPG, but It feels like they really struggled to cram as much into that time frame as possible. It skirts the edge of being nice and concise, snappy, and tight - and needing just a few more moments to take a breath and wait a second. This is helped if you do a lot of side quests.

The straight male romance option, River, is INCREDIBLY well written but he doesn’t tie into the main plot in any way whatsoever. It’s very strange and feels like they either ran out of time with him, or slapped together a romance with him at the last second. All the other romances at least know what’s going on with V’s story - meanwhile River has no idea, and you can never tell him. He’s an amazing guy though and I highly recommend his questline. He appears in ACT 2.

In general I’d say not to bother with the romances. There are only 4 total, and while the romancible characters on their own are really well written, the romances themselves are just kinda meh. One romance you don’t even meet until act 3. I don’t think they should’ve been included in the game at all, because they definitely don’t feel as fleshed out as everything else. 

CDPR also sometimes forget that women players or gay men exist. Panam and Judy have a lot more content than River and Kerry for example. I don’t think this is intentional, they just have a large fanbase of dudebros. It only shows in the romance content and the nudity thing though.

Johnny, Takemura, and Claire should’ve been romances and I will fight to the death on that. 

There are gay and trans characters in the game and their stories don’t revolve around their sexualities. It’s very Fallout: New Vegas in it’s approach to characters: IE. you’re going to love them. All of them. 

V’s gender isn’t locked to their body type or their genitals- but to to their voice. I don’t think it’s the best solution they could’ve used but given how the game is heavily voice acted I assume that was what they had to work with. 

Some of the romances are locked to both cis voices AND body types (not genitals if I recall but body shapes). That’s disappointing but I assume it was because of scripted scene issues and/or ignorance on the dev’s part considering the LGBT NPCS are so AMAZINGLY done. There’s no homophobic or transphobic language in the game - though there are gendered curse words and insults if that bothers you. 

Some characters MAY suffer from ‘bilingual people don’t talk like that’ syndrome. But it can be hard to say for sure given that translators exist in this universe and the way they operate aren’t fully described. It’s only momentarily distracting, not enough to take away from how charming the NPCs are.

The endings are really good don’t get me wrong but I want fix it fic :(. All of the endings out of like 6 (?) in the game are bittersweet. 

Both gender V’s are very good but female V’s voice acting is out of this world. If you don’t know what voice to go with/are neutral I’d highly recommend female V. Male V is charming and good but he feels much more monotone compared to female V. 

V has their own personality. To some this won’t be a detractor - but a lot of people thought they’d be making absolutely everything from the ground up. V is more of a commander shepard or geralt than a skyrim or d&d pc, if that makes sense. You can customize and influence them to a HUGE degree, some aspects of V will always be the same.

Streetkid is the most boring background - at least for it’s introduction/prologue.

GAMEPLAY/TECHNICAL

If you can run your game on ultra, don’t. It actually looks best with a mix of high and medium settings. Unless you have a beast that has ray-tracing - then by all means use ray tracing and see how absolutely insanely good it looks.

There are color blind modes for the UI, but not for some of the AI/Netrunning segments in cutscenes. Idk how much this will effect folks with colorblindness but those segments are thankfully short. 

There was an issue with braindances being an epilepsy trigger because for some reason they decided to mirror the flashing pattern after real epilepsy tests - probably because it ‘looks cool’. I don’t have epilepsy but it even hurt my eyes and gave me a headache. Massive oversight and really goddamn weird. Thankfully this was fixed.

There is no driving AI. Like at all. If you leave your car in the street the traffic is just going to pile up behind it. It’s one of the very few immersion breaking things I’ve encountered.

Sometimes when an NPC is driving with you in the car, they’ll drive on the curb and/or run into people. It’s kind of funny but can occasionally result in something weird. Feels very GTA  - but nothing excruciating. 

The camera angle feels a little too low in first person mode when driving on cars. You get used to it though. 

The police in this game feel slapped on and I hope they improve it. Right now if you commit a crime, you can never tell what will actually trigger it. And if you just run away a few blocks the police forget about it. 

Bikes are just way more fun to ride than the cars are. 

You CANNOT respec your character after you make them. Ever. it sucks. Go in with an idea ahead of time what you wanna do - it’s better than being a jack of all trades.

as of now you also CANNOT change their appearance after you exit the character creator. This, also, sucks. Make sure you REALLY like your V or you’re gonna be replaying the openings over and over like I did. 

Photomode on PC is the N key. Had to look it up. The mode itself is great though

Shooting and Mele fighting feel pretty standard. I don’t have a lot of shooter experience besides Bethesda games so anything feels better than that to me. So far I’ve enjoyed stealth and mele the best, but that’s just my own taste! The combat and driving aren’t groundbreaking by any means, but they’re still very fun. I look forward to running at people with swords or mantis blades, and zipping around the city on a motorcycle to see the sights. The story, lore, and interesting quests and characters are the real draw here.

I haven’t encountered any game breaking bugs in 80-ish hours of play time. One or two T-poses, a few overlays not loading or floating objects - but nothing terrible. Again, my experience is with Bethesda games. This is all usually fixed by either opening your inventory and closing it again, or exiting out and reloading your save. 

The C button is mapped for crouching AND skipping dialogue by default. That’s terrible. Change it in the settings to be HOLDING C skips dialogue and you’ll be gucci.

There’s apparently a crafting system. I have never been inclined to touch it. But I also play on easy like a pleb so IDK how it all scales otherwise.

The mirror reflections can be a little bit weird, at least on my end. They always end up a teeny bit grainy despite my computer being able to run everything on Ultra Max. You can still get good screens out of it though!

So many people text me to sell me cars and I want them to stop. Please. also the texting menu is abysmal. The rest is ok tho

It’s pretty clear when you’re going to go into a ‘cutscene’. all cutscenes are rendered in-engine BUT you often will be talking to other characters at a specific angle or setting. The game locks you into this usually by having you sit down. It works for me - after all we do a lot of sitting- but it IS very obvious that it’s a way for the game to get you in the frame it wants to display.

That’s all I can think of rn! If you’re interested but wanted to get a slightly better idea of whats going on, I hope this helps. I’m really enjoying it and despite my issues it’s exceeding my expectations. I’m going to be thinking about and replaying this game for quite a while. 

#cyberpunk 2077 #cyberpunk 2077 review #2077 review #cp2077 #rosetxt #txt

[lesbianologist]

so i just finished tlwgq the other day and holy fuck i don’t know what to think so i’m going to dissect it a bit because i have a lot of thoughts. and i’m saving my favourites for last. some i’m just going to share the clear.... “arch” and not the character i guess??? idk.

1. micah: love his character development and i love that they’re showing the struggle of a trans man with his mother. he seems really cool and i hope they explore his story in greater depth (i do hope that they shy away from any overt violence towards him bc i think it would be tokenizing him... idk). i don’t enjoy his story arch with josé though. i hope this isn’t a storyline of like “we’re (josé & his husband) poly/open and i didn’t want to tell you”.

2. finley: a downright fucking mess. jesus. from being awkward to downright having no moral or ethical code re: dating, hookups, partying, etc. finley genuinely has a problem with alcohol as well as how religion and family ties into being gay. i hope that she figures it out bc honestly it is really making me hate her character. the worst scene for me was when she let tessa relapse. immediately i fucking hated her. even moreso with sophie.

3. tess: so sweet. i really felt my heart break for her when her gf cheated on her with shane. also fuck shane for that. seriously. i want her to find a nice girl to be with. i like gigi. i think they’d be kinda cute together. i want to see more of her arch though re: alcohol addiction and i want to see her flourish.

4. sophie: complicated character. i like her but i don’t think she’s matched well. she doesn’t seem to fit with anyone, dani or finley included, but i didn’t like that she cheated on dani with finley. it also just.... seemed to come out of nowhere. one day they’re platonic friends, and the next they’re kissing and fucking. i don’t like it. it just also seemed wildly out of character. curious to see what happens with her, next. i want them to develop her background a bit more. flesh her character out more.

5. shane/quiara: should not be together, clearly. shane is CF, wants to remain CF, and is a prime example of someone being pressured into parenthood when they shouldn’t be. i don’t think quiara and shane even had a bit of chemistry, at all, imo. shane seemed fine with sleeping with other women (per usual) but a bit more on the mopey side. i want shane with someone like shane. i don’t like this arch so far. that being said, imo, i think shane would make a good parent and i think maybe she needs to meet someone who she has that genuine connection with and then she realizes she does want kids. something like that. idk.

6. alice/nat/gigi: not much to say about each individually. i don’t like nat. i really like gigi but that’s superficial (i think she’s really fucking hot lmao). i wanted to see more of alice on her own, but her story immediately started off with her co-parenting with nat, and she doesn’t seem fit to be it. if they want to go that route of alice being a parent, i want them to fully commit to it; more scenes with the kids, and more talks with bette about raising kids. if they aren’t, and alice is going to be CF, i want alice with someone who’s CF (don’t suggest shane, i’m not into that). imo more than anyone i think alice should be CF, i don’t see her as a parent.

7. tina: kinda hoping she’s not permanent because i have never really liked tina. she has always seemed mismatched for bette and i know people love them together but i never liked tina with bette. i know bette is deeply attached to her and probably considers tina her person, but this season proved that tina clearly does not feel the same way. tina didn’t support bette when kit died (fuck you tina) and fell for someone else (understandable but poor bette holy fuck). it just feels as if tina and bette are destined to not be together and i hope s2 finally introduces tina’s new partner and bette can move the fuck on.

8. dani: probably definitely my favourite character so far. she 100% reminds me of a young bette. hot as hell. power lesbian, top energy. i am really loving the arch of “bad girl to good girl”, the kind of villain turned superhero arch. it’s fascinating to see. i want to see more interaction and dialogue with her and her dad and i hope maybe there could be a change with his tendencies???? it’d be nice to see a dad actually try and learn.

9. dani/sophie: bad couple. little to no genuine chemistry. sophie seems overbearing and demanding. dani is very much a bette ™ type and i think internalizes everything with the exception of those who are like her (i think this is an mbti personality thing) while sophie wants excess communication and i think dani wants someone who just “gets” her without talking. i don’t see them lasting, especially after what sophie did. i have no doubt dani will find out about that, too, but probably not from sophie.

(i’m not reviewing bette because she’s bette and i love her so let’s get on to what the season appeared to be hinting at.....)

10. dani/bette: sparks galore imo. they have a genuine attraction and likeness that grows throughout the season. they share a lot in common in terms of ethical beliefs and their love for art, and they began to know each others’ coffee orders, too. it’s hard to tell if it’s reciprocated by bette yet, considering the age gap and how wrapped up in the electoral race bette was. but there are moments that i’ve noticed lingering looks that she usually only gives to someone she has sexual chemistry or compatibility with. at times i wonder if she notices that dani’s been eyeing her, metaphorically (and literally) from across the room. dani is almost always smiling at her indirectly (shane’s party, while she was on alice’s show, and almost every time she’s on stage or talking to a crowd). this was hinted at by bette’s worker, after the bigger scandel broke (bette pushing that guy) and her coworker said “this is different for you, she got to you” or something. it was a slight nod towards “i can tell you’re attracted to her”. dani doesn’t even seem to fully acknowledge it herself, expressing that it’s just admiration. but this seems to change towards the end of the season. i loved the scene where bette was watching dani from across a quiet room, alone, and she was smiling to herself. to me, it seemed more of an attraction, particularly when she decided to casually chat with dani. but i really hope they don’t use bette as a surrogate mother for dani. when bette hugged her it read fairly maternal which grossed me out with the conflicting hints of mutual attraction, particularly the line before that when bette said that they’re “far past” a professional relationship. it also conflicted with what i felt by the end of the season, when i felt more confident that bette was noticing dani and felt growing attraction to her. i noticed bette’s lingering looks more strongly at the coffee shop while dani answered her phone (bette’s eyes followed dani), and especially when dani was at bette’s house and she offered her a whiskey. fuck, even when bette raised her eyebrows when dani said “yes” and then dani saw the eyebrow raise and immediately added “please”. i genuinely thought they were going to start to drink (and they did!) together and then sleep together (didn’t, darn it. oh well.). now that the electoral race is over, i think (and hope) they’re going to find more ways to run into each other and realize that even though they’re “finished” the race, they aren’t finished with each other. i think they’re very similar, they have a unique connection (by the end of the season they know the others’ coffee orders), and they have a genuine chemistry that appears to be reciprocated on some level. it could be interesting too, seeing that we’ve only seen dani topping sophie, and knowing that bette is more of a top herself. two tops with insane chemistry? both of who have a very similar personality, interests, and moral/ethical beliefs? plus dani constantly being enough of a top to call bette on her shit and make her hold herself accountable? they’re perfect for each other. i know age gaps are controversial but they’re both adults and it could be great exposure for agr’s if dani is the one to initiate “it”. please, tlwgq gods, make #danette happen and make them endgame. i beg of you.

#personal #tlwgq #tlw gen q #the l word #the l world generation q #danette #dani x bette

[ratspberry]

many naruto thoughts head overloading

ok im only like 20 episodes into shippuden and i skipped a Lot of filler in original naruto bc i do not have the patience </3 (i will come back to the filler one day though) and while i love this anime theres so much i wish... was not written how it is

first of all sakura... i love her sm and i just wish her character was given some more care like at this point in shippuden im actually really enjoying the direction shes taken but i heard a lot of her growth is sidelined when sasuke comes back into the picture and thats my biggest issue. im sorry but if youre going to introduce a TRIO of main characters i want to see that main group equally fleshed out. first going all the way back to the beginning i wish that sakura was allowed to fight??? like we KNOW shes super smart and has powerful chakra so even when at that time she wasnt the most skilled fighter (as far as we KNOW at least. given that we barely got to see her fight who knows!) she couldve in the very least played a similar role to that of shikamaru as far as leadership and strategizing. and ok her crush on sasuke should have dissipated a lot more after the chunin exams. even though i do hate to see her spend so much time fawning over sasuke when hes not even particularly kind to her i think a crush in the beginning could still work IF the moment of her cutting her hair (“sasuke likes girls with long hair”) and her battle w ino during the chunin exams were like an eye-opening moment for her when she was like “wtf am i doing i am going to work hard as a ninja to prove that i can do this to MYSELF and MY RIVAL first” (which. ok she does get to this point later and again i love her learning chakra and getting strong as HELL during her training w tsunade but again. i want to see that REMAIN parallel to the enormous power level leaps that sasuke and naruto make. also let sakura and ino have a fun friendship rivalry that has nothing to do w sasuke) . i think it would be better if she naruto and sasuke were just friends who ALL help and motivate each other. and so when sasuke leaves sakura is STILL super fucked up over it and maybe even has a hard time trusting naruto again after he comes back? (but ofc she eventually does bc power of friendship) like IDK loss of one best friend, then almost immediately after your other best friend (who u just learned secretly is sealed w the nine tails and the akatsuki is after him just like orochimaru was after sasuke) leaves you for THREE YEARS??? kind of a salt in the wound moment! also im simply not even going to touch on all the comphet marriages in the end

next im going to talk about rock lee my friend rock lee who i adore. anyways he either should not have foregone the surgery from tsunade or died from it. HEAR ME OUT! this surgery was good in showing how powerful tsunade is as a healer but like? was it necessary? after she brought naruto back to life??? as far as lees characterization his whole thing is that he may not have special jutsu or the same prodigal abilities as his peers but he can still be as powerful or more powerful! and idk i hate when characters have serious life changing stuff done to them and not seeing it fully explored in the story. like ok so we’ve got tsunade telling lee (who cant be older than 12? 13?) theres a 50/50 chance he’ll die in the surgery to heal him. and then guy ENCOURAGES HIM, HIS FAVORITE STUDENT, to go through with the surgery so he could then go on to be a ninja and continue risking his life?????? so i thought that was pretty screwed up. which leads me to the two paths that i think would be interesting to see play out: 1. lee doesnt get the surgery, but continues to train as a ninja. his injuries still exist but lee learns to fight WITH the injuries and creates a really cool badass unique fighting style and goes on to be a great ninja like he dreamed 2. lee dies in surgery. id hate it i would and i dont WANT lee to die but it might be a fuckin wakeup call to all these adult ninjas urging kids into warfare. lee is beloved by all so it would be a good moment of pause for everyone to think like “ummm so the systems that be are kind of majorly fucked up.”

those are the two main ideas i had but heres a few misc things:

-jiraiya can be the author of as many trashy romance novels as he wants but him hitting on younger women and being like a peeping tom and UGH the way he was introduced w narutos ‘sexy jutsu’ is just. not good. take it out.

-let tsunade look her age. like the whole “she uses her chakra to make herself look young”? i dont buy it. i dont care that you just didnt feel like drawing a woman who looks over 20. you will do it anyways bc i said so.

-i dont dislike n/ruhina as much as i dislike s/susaku bc at least its clear theres a mutual respect and admiration there but hinata, like sakura, has so much more potential to be explored. idk if its looked at in filler or later in shippuden (id sure hope so) but i think her parallel to sasuke is kind of interesting? both have intimidating, extremely powerful older brothers (i know neji is technically hinatas cousin or smth but whatever older brother figures. also i know hinatas sister is also supposed to be super powerful but idk her yet) who are held in high esteem by their families and have all this pressure on their shoulders to want to surpass them? given that neji didnt um. do the things itachi did clearly its not the SAME between hinata and sasuke but i feel like examining the hyuga family dynamics would be SO interesting in comparison to sasukes arc. i didnt mind seeing hinata motivated by naruto the first few times but like. there is SO MUCH MORE THERE than JUST hinatas relationship to naruto.

-all of these kids need therapy but ESPECIALLY sasuke like the signs were there. halfway thru the bell test thing SUPER early on sasuke went into a full-fledged “i am an avenger.. i have to kill a certain someone” monologue and given the fact that everyone knows his entire clan was killed and that sasuke is likely VERY traumatized... who thought it was a good idea to let him become a ninja before addressing any of that. my god. like i love kakashi and i know he has his own devestating backstory and that hes a product of the system but why the Fuck would he let sasuke take the chunin exams. give team 7 a year more of training and getting to know each other and give sasuke some time to create bonds and maybe even open up emotionally and begin to heal and then MAYBE we can THINK ab chunin exams.

-asuma and ino apologize to choji for telling him not to eat as much challenge? did asuma not know that chojis clan uses food to replenish their chakra? it would make sense if ino didnt know but chojis teacher?? either way still p fucked, leave choji alone

-speaking of ino i want more of her character tok. why was she not included in that mission to save sasuke that shikamaru, her TEAMMATE, led?? was there an explanation for that?? i feel like her not being there was a missed opportunity for some real growth/bonding between team 10.

-speaking of the last bullet point shikamaru being like “ugh women 🙄” is tired and boring. very misogynistic “i hate my wife” facebook dad humor. cut that shit out

-orochimarus coding and his whole um. intent as a villain is just very. Hm. i dont think i like that very much but im not going to go into it bc im sure its been touched upon a million times

[quixoticnexus]

A few statements that no one has really asked about but I felt like making a post about anyway.

First off, sorry about how spotty my activity is. I wish I could say that’s something that will improve in the future, but with all likelihood, that won’t be the case. As with everyone else, this is just a hobby for me, and my attention span makes it extremely difficult to stick to stuff. Sometimes I’ll be blowing up your notifs with constant activity for like a day. And then I might drop off the face of the planet for a week or more. I’m sorry, but there’s no way to know with me.

Secondly, I’ve been thinking about messing around with my theme and stuff for a while, idk. I’ve been meaning to make the Google Doc not trash for a while, and while the theme I have now is perfectly serviceable along with being easy to read and navigate... I’m not sure if it’s exactly what I want yet. So I’ll be looking at that in the coming days / weeks as well.

Third off, just about my characters as a whole. I hope that you guys are okay with the way I’m doing things on here. The thing I worry most about is not having a fully detailed and fleshed out “Bio” for each of them, but I promise that’s entirely on purpose. It’s not that the dudes are underdeveloped, I just feel part of the fun of getting to know a character is figuring that stuff out on your own through organic interactions. Hopefully that makes things more interesting.

Also, I know that the vast majority of my muses, aside from the one, are all assholes in some shape or fashion. Xavier is super aggressive, brash, and insults people often for no reason at all. Adrian is pretty classist, vain, and selfish. Tobias is crass and skeevy, especially with women, only cares about making himself look good to fluff up his nonexistent self-worth, and honestly has one foot lodged firmly in the smelly depths of inc*l culture.

None of that is a mistake, and none of that is meant to be taken as light hearted or harmless. Their beliefs, actions, and conduct are harmful, self-destructive, and honestly pretty serious. These boys have a LOT of problems and baggage that needs unpacking before they can work on themselves and become better people. But it is possible (there is only one character I have that’s totally irredeemable, but he’s not here yet and I have no plans to add him for a while), and I hope that you guys will be willing to enjoy the journey alongside me when that time comes.

Til then, thanks for following and reading! ~Scoot

#ooc: updates #ooc: rant #mostly abt length nothing bad happens or is said #long post #ooc: just chatting

[rorykillmore]

for the ship meme - villaneve, white rose, and UM what's cursed. let's go with sara/oliver

me: aw hunter’s sending me some good options – [gets to ‘sara/oliver’, deletes the ask]

villaneve

the problematic faves!!!

honestly i don’t even really have a lot of like. “dark” ships but there is something about villaneve that i love so much. part of it is that like… i don’t think the show would work half as well if they didn’t have the hypnotic chemistry that they do every time they’re on screen together, but it’s also just that the way they’re written is… rare, i guess. more rare than it should be for female characters and for f/f ships. they’re both such fully fleshed out characters and their dynamic is so central to everything and so unflinchingly important and prioritized that like. that by itself is refreshing! y’know!

idk man, they’re so complicated and so.. tangled up in each other that i could sit here talking about them all day and i probably still wouldn’t really cover it but their connection is so. i also love that it’s so mutual

what i mean by that specifically is there are a lot of shows and ships, i feel like, where one character is just kind of… tugging the other towards darkness. villanelle definitely brings something dark out in eve, that’s a major point of the show, but it’s reciprocal in the sense that i think eve also inadvertently brings something lighter and more humanized out of villanelle. i don’t know if villanelle’s ever had anything or anyone like that in her life. there’s just a lot of… push and pull between them and their irrevocable effect on one another, and i also really appreciate that eve like. has a lot of agency and awareness and even… power in her own right in the dynamic, whereas a lot of these types of ships are written as a huge imbalance that sometimes gets pretty uncomfortable

they also play off of each other’s humor really well so one minute you’ll have this really layered, dark, complicated scene with them and the next they’re making you laugh! or sometimes it’s both at once! they’re just really fascinating and enjoyable to watch together and i like… that a ship this messy and complicated exists between two women that doesn’t just make me feel miserable about it, yknow. i’ll stop there for the sake of not turning this into an essay

white rose

i’m gonna be real, i’ve learned a lot about rwby via fandom osmosis over the years but most of the ship-related stuff i’ve seen and heard about was always like… either bumbleby or a ship related to it like blake/sun? i genuinely did not know white rose was like, a thing before you and jay started rping them

that said, i could immediately believe they were a thing because even before i knew you guys were going to ship them i could tangibly feel how much they adored each other with every interaction they had, but that’s getting into gushing territory a bit!!

anyway i started watching rwby FOR them, basically (i love noelle’s blake and brie’s yang too but i wasn’t like… rping with them as much at the time, yours and jay’s portrayals are what really sold me) and like?? i could cry?? these two love each other so much???

i feel like, while they are very different people and while that sets them at odds initially, there’s something very moving about the way they… at least in my opinion, almost kind of bleed into each other a bit over time. you know when you really love someone and you kind of start to pick up some of their traits or habits?? kinda like that. i love that… weiss grounds ruby a little bit at times and that ruby is the person who gets weiss to smile, to let lose, to find the kind of joy she didn’t really get to have a lot of growing up

they’re just. a really sweet, healthy ship and i will love them forever!!! i think a lot about that time you were having ruby describe weiss and she said “i never thought it was possible for me to love someone as much as i love yang until i met her” or something like that. fuck y’all for making me cry

(also i will never not laugh at villanelle accidentally making that ship happen on denny because that genuinely wasn’t even my intention at the time of that rp, but! no regrets!)

sara/oliver

cancelled.

that’s all.

bye.

no seriously i think everyone can agree (both inside and outside of arrow) that oliver and sara was a MISTAKE. part of me feels like it just existed because sara was kind of filling the black canary role at the time and they were like “welp, gotta pair the arrow with the canary!” while part of me does kind of appreciate the narrative effect it had on both of them but…. ehhh

i do actually really find oliver and sara’s dynamic interesting as it exists currently in the arrowverse; ie them being these really old friends who still know each other so well and have seen each other change so much and kind of being the start of all this vigilante bullshit, in a lot of ways. but i don’t think i’d ever enjoy them in a romantic sense. they were absolutely miserable together and clearly at a very very low point in their respective lives at the time and it never would have worked

#pardon me though where is my ruby/grodd ask? #mystoffelees #long post

[killianmesmalls]

In Defense/Support of KnightRook

First, this is not in response to any particular anon that has come through the inboxes of those who happen to be like-minded about this season of Once Upon a Time, but more general thoughts of why I in particular truly appreciate KnightRook, both as a unit and as individuals, and why I believe others appreciate them, sometimes more than the previous iterations of their characters. This is not to say that I do not appreciate Storybrooke Killian—he is still absolutely my favorite SB character, I still ultimately ship him with Emma, and I sincerely hope his fictional little self is happy in his fictional little life.

Below the cut are some thoughts on what I’ve personally noticed in these past thirteen episodes that helped turn me from largely ambivalent to Alice/Tilly and the-pirate-previously-known-as-Wish Hook.

Clearly, I have thoughts on Alice Jones. If you’ve come to my blog at all since I started it after 7x08, you’d know this for a fact. To be honest, she wasn’t someone I was thrilled about in the first few episodes of season 7. I believed her being Killian’s daughter as too obvious (the chess set in the hospital was so blatant it felt like too much at the time, though now I love it) and thought they were pitching her too hard to be a wild-and-crazy potential villain or just the token headcase character. However, starting a bit in 7x04 and progressing through to now, I am thrilled to have been proven wrong. I have loved the Alice character since I was little, from the original stories to the Disney cartoon to all sorts of terrible TV shows and movie offshoots. Rose, her dynamic with her fellow actors (mostly notably Colin and Bobby), and the writing of her character have endeared her to me as my now-favorite version of Alice.

Depiction of Mental Health We're in a time where there's constant overstimulation, we're never allowed to shut off, we don't know how to tune out, and then there's a culture of self-medicating, rubbing some dirt in it, and walking it off. Our media still does a poor job of showing even conditions on the “lesser” end of the mental health spectrum to the point when one show gets it right there’s a sense of shock from the community that endures those same symptoms having them finally depicted well on TV. For instance, when Randall was displayed having a panic attack in a realistic manner on This Is Us, it was worth discussing and had several articles devoted to it. There’s a celebration in someone “getting” it.

Which, considering the fact that, due to the above reasons, so many of us suffer from depression, anxiety, insomnia, addiction, etc., the lack of many of these being handled with honesty and sensitivity is both mind-blowing and sad. I believe Alice, or at least her HH counterpart Tilly, help to show another character with mental health issues in a realistic and, largely, positive light. Though we don’t know fully what she’s been diagnosed with in Hyperion Heights, and we do know some of what even she’s led to believe about her condition is made up in order to keep her under the curse, we can still see her battling with conditions not unlike anxiety or schizophrenia. In the Enchanted Forest, she is shown to “see the world in a special way,” which we have yet to get fully fleshed-out details on, and to behave in sometimes eccentric ways. While I doubt we’ll see a concrete diagnosis for anything she has, either as Alice or Tilly, I believe based on what we’ve seen we can at least takeaway that those with the above conditions can find some solace in having a character like her on their screens.

In addition to how they handle her behavior, never overly hamming it up or calling it out like she needs to be put on display, we get the reactions of others. Rogers/Killian never seems to invalidate her feelings. In the EF he says she has a special way of seeing the world. He doesn't, again, call her crazy or invalidate her feelings. In fact, just the opposite, he believes in her fears and does what he can to help. While he does brush her off as Rogers when he's focused elsewhere, he doesn't call her crazy, ask her repeatedly if she’s on her medication, or otherwise treat her with kid gloves. He uses her own terminology in HH (her "upside down" thinking) and doesn't point to her mental health as a sign of evidence that she could be guilty of anything.

Which, considering the state of mental health issues and the gun debate in this country, I feel is a topic they're handling in a very subtle way. Perhaps unintentionally, and maybe I’m reading too much into it, but when the current topics for debate are how everyone with mental health issues are a problem and how to deal with keeping them away from others or away from weapons rather than acknowledging that mental health issues, like many other things, are on a spectrum (or, I suppose, a series of them), and immediately pointing to them as evidence for why someone did something terrible instead of looking into other factors, I feel like showing the interactions between her and him in both the EF and HH are important. He knows she thinks differently from others, but in no way is that an immediate indication that she is a danger to herself and others, even when one takes into consideration the fact that her “upside down” thinking had her shooting Weaver.

Now, yes, they can add to this, expound on why he feels such a trust in her in spite of that previous incident, but just seeing someone who thinks “clearly” trusting in her enough to not immediately place blame at her feet in spite of what others would see as evidence against her is refreshing and needed in this current climate. And, yes, I feel like people are going to call me out for saying how refreshing it is to see Tilly believed to be innocent in spite of her mental illness and then for me to compare it to the gun debate vs mental health awareness when she did, in fact, shoot Rumple. However, she was asked to do that and, arguably, did it then in her more "right" mind, so there’s going to be a lot of “if” and “or” involved in any back-and-forths there. The point here is to address the well-handled aspects of her “upside down thinking” and how others can relate to it and its more realistic portrayal than other forms of entertainment have displayed previously.

Single Parent (Shock! Single Dad) Then we get to the fact that it's not really discussed in depth the fact that Killian is a single parent and had all the struggles that came with it. I could be wrong and am open hearing out if I am, but I feel like single parents aren't really handled on non-overly-dramatic TV shows often, and certainly not often showing a single father, let alone a single father with a daughter. I still recall comments to a friend of mine who was raised by her father, and all the comments he’d receive by women about how incapable he was in raising his own daughter (a then-toddler), to the point where they didn’t trust him in dressing her or bathing her.

We have an issue in a lot of cultures of pretending like men don't know how to take care of children or take care of housework, boys will be boys, and we perpetuate these stereotypes. Seeing softer, nurturing men is an absolutely needed thing. Bigger points for it being a formerly ruthless pirate because it's not like you can take the next character that comes to mind (for some reason for me), Newt Scamander in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and say "well, he's arguably on the spectrum and more effeminate." The next one to come to mind is Danny Tanner, the widower from Full House, who was teased for his “mothering” ways and even then had two other men in the house to help with his three daughters because “IDK how parent?” No, Killian is plenty traditionally masculine (guy-liner and leather pants aside), and yet has, thus far, shown himself to be perfectly capable to also be a nurturing, loving, supportive father. Completely on his own, to boot.

Killian didn't have anyone, and as much as I love the fluff of KnightRook, I also think it's important to remember how difficult it must have been for him to have raised her while isolated. He had Liam as an influence, but Liam could only parent so much. His childhood was traumatic and arguably abusive in various ways, so he couldn't use any of that to model his parenting off of, his father abandoned him, and he only had so many memories of his mother, I'm sure, considering how young he must have been when she died.

Yet, with the lack of a parenting influence, we see that Killian managed to raise a well-rounded, polite, patient, and brave little girl. Killian managed to do all this in an extremely confining environment with no doors, no bathroom, and absolutely no privacy. After all, there is only so much a curtain can do. Even with these uncomfortable truths, there is no hint of embarrassment with Alice, no strong sense of shame, and she genuinely seems to be close to him even with this occasionally uncomfortable living space. He got her dolls and wooden swords, she had all sorts of toys that could be for boys or girls, and, please, no one come at me about how she's a lesbian and he forced her to dress like that—for all you know, she enjoys dressing like that and I don’t condone dressing for a stereotype. Anything regarding her preferences is conjecture.

Yes, I know he made a mistake in choosing to duel with Ahab, but his reasons for doing so (for better or worse) have been discussed a number of times in some very well-thought-out metas, and honestly most of it is speculation. Gothel mentions it’s for his pride, Killian doesn’t deny it, but there are arguments to be made for him hearing the Dark One’s voice behind him telling him to go one way and Ahab insisting on the other, using Alice’s name against him. Also, one mistake does not a bad parent make, and it certainly doesn’t negate all he did in raising her to that point. I’m sure we’ll see more of the fallout from his decision, but honestly the punishment is cruel and unusual for the crime.

And, yet, for now there is proof he keeps trying. In spite of the threat on his heart and, arguably, his life, he continues to try to get back to Alice and to right his wrong. I’m sure we’ll see just how much he tries in upcoming episodes, hopefully the next one, but for now I’d like to believe he repeatedly attempted to fix his mistake and make it up to Alice. Again, until anything comes out, it’s all conjecture, but I do believe the foundation is there.

Additional Notes/Reasons/I Just Love Them, Okay? The dynamic between the two of them has been absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking to watch, and both Rose and Colin have brought their A-game for this season. Both as Tilly and Alice, Rose has shown a character with so much heart yet so much pain, who attempts to do the right thing and be a good person but is often unfairly robbed of the same kindnesses thanks to her awful mother and further reasons I’m sure that will be revealed later. Colin has performed an amazing (and, I’m sure for him, fun) balancing act between revisiting “Old” Hook, getting to walk in the footsteps of a new version of the character he played for the better part of five years, and getting to play a character in our world who is so dramatically different from all versions of Killian he’s been handed since season 2. Though the change of pace and storyline was initially jarring to me, I agree with Colin that (timelines aside) this has been some of the best writing I’ve seen on Once.

Witnessing Rogers struggle with various temptations and trying to be the man he wants to be, trying to find these missing pieces in his life and gain some sense of self while helping others has also been bittersweet. I have such a soft spot for this cranky, gullible sweetheart. He’s offered to help Rumple in his quest to be reunited with his wife in spite of the many reasons given to him not to fully trust his partner (Weaver has also been a breath of fresh air, but perhaps more on that another time), he’s developed friendships with Sabine (YAAASSSSSS), Henry, and Regina, all of which I am enjoying immensely.

SPEAKING of friendships, this is a Killian that has bonded with people in various ways outside of his true love. Based on how close he is to the queen of that realm, another queen (that he has a history with), and arguably a prince and maybe princess, I feel like I’d be shocked if he weren’t part of some royal court with how much he’s around. He’s being given little things like pats on the back, supportive looks, reassuring words, and it’s refreshing to see that happen. It’s nice to see them support his quest to get his daughter back and also support him as a person. Honestly, his friendships, both in the EF and in HH have been a breath of fresh air. I loved Captain Charming, I still do, but that basically started to feel like his main friendship once Smee was out of the picture (SMEE! Ugh, that might be another rant) and still, clearly, David was going to care for Emma more. It’s natural. It makes 100% sense. Still, it’s a little sad knowing that the only person in Storybrooke that would put Killian first is…. Honestly, I don’t think anyone would. Emma would rightfully put Henry first, Killian never thinks of himself, and everyone else is holding hands with everyone else while the world ends.

I just think Killian was a side character in another more prominent character’s story for so long that he occasionally became more a prop for her happy ending than his own person. I still love him. I always will appreciate so many parts of who he is and what he did, but in this season Killian seems more part of an ensemble than a side character. I suppose if we’re going to reference back to more pop culture references, and these may be poor which I’m sure someone out there is going to harp on and point out, but seasons 2-6 was like seeing Katniss with Peeta in the Hunger Games series and season 7 feels a little more like Harry Potter and its main character but stronger group adventure. In 2-6, he didn’t really have his own story, just a part in Emma’s. And that, sometimes, was fine. But along the way the writers forgot that even side characters need their own moments and nuances and to be treated as if they’re at least the main character in their own story that isn’t being told to the audience. Season 7 Killian is like part of a trio that clearly has things going on, on the side free from what otherwise may be the main story arc.

IDK guys, is there a main story arc anymore? Maybe that’s also why I like season 7 the most. There isn’t one prophecy with one savior with one goal and everyone else has to help with it. No one is hope or light or whatnot. Everyone has a part in each other’s happy ending, and it’s been amazing to see the different ways Alice and Killian play into each other’s, their own, and everyone else’s.

If anyone has further thoughts, including polite disagreements, that’s completely fine. However, due to the habit of some I’ve seen, please be sure you’ve read through the whole thing (I know it’s long) before sending an ask informing me of how I feel through your lens. Also, do not make assumptions based on anything you don’t see clearly written. Finally, if I choose not to engage with you, don’t assume it means I think you’re right and I’m hiding. I might just choose, for my own sanity, not to engage. 

#knightrook #OUAT S7 #ouat s7 meta #wish hook #killian jones #alice jones #alice/tilly #ouat positivity #but also kinda ouat critical? #mostly positive

[cheryls-blossomed]

Do you think people are overreacting about Nora and Iris’ tension? Idk for me, people are ruining my enjoyment of the show before season 5 even starts.

Not at all. The reason people are so upset about this story-line is because the writers have, due to unconscious bias, treated Iris’ emotions and vulnerabilities disrespectfully, while all the while using her as an emotional punching bag for narrative purposes. Do I think that the Nora/Iris story-line could be really good, providing both women the narrative space to deal with the emotional fallout of the tension, with a particular emphasis on fully fleshing out Iris’ vulnerabilities and allowing her to lean on characters like Joe, Barry, and Cecile? Sure. Do I trust that the writers will develop this story-line in such an effective, nuanced way? No.There is precedent for people being apprehensive and angry. Iris must be emotionally available to every character; she has to bear all negative emotions directed at her (often misdirected), when she has not done anything to deserve that. Furthermore, the writers have never shown any inclination towards developing complex, beautiful female relationships. They can’t even develop female relationships, period, whether positive or negative or both. The best dynamic they’ve managed to develop is Iris and Marlize, and while that was fascinating, the reason it developed the way it did was because Iris is Barry’s wife and strength, while Marlize was DeVoe’s wife and strength (and, unlike Barry, who raises Iris up as his greatest strength, DeVoe was ungrateful and disrespectful and horrible to Marlize). There’s also the concern that Nora’s coldness is unjustified, and that Iris will be completely iced out of the family dynamic between her husband and her daughter. Do I think all the possible horrible turns this story-line could take will come to pass? No, not at all; having said that, fans are allowed to prepare themselves for the worst, because the writers’ track record has been... dismal, to say the least. There’s also the painful reality that antis will try to use this as an oppurtunity to be gleeful over Iris’ pain, paint her as a terrible mother in the future, before we find out that the reality of the situation is something along the lines of Nora and Iris fundamentally disagreeing on how Nora can and should use her powers, rather than empathizing with what Iris is going through. If polarizing reactions from Iris’ fan base have been greatly reducing your enjoyment of the show, nonnie, my suggestion is that you visit blogs or interact with Iris fans who are still looking forward to Iris’s story-line and who are optimistic about the mother/daughter tension. Because that’s also a valid response to hearing about this story-line. And you have the right to want to enjoy the material; it’s just that none of us have the right to police the way people feel about this story-line. Let people feel the way they want to feel, and instead surround yourself with opinions that don’t get you down. That’s the best advice I can give you.

#replies #anonymous

[ch0keon1another]

Pointless book post

Got back into reading recently so heres a lil’ documentation of what i’ve read since December: 

First thing I read was the Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea

Found this series via a genius annotation on Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down (by Interpol) and thought, if Paul Banks felt inspired enough by this trilogy to base a character around one of the characters included, then it must be worth a read. Idk why I used this mammoth book (850ish pages) to get back into reading but it was worth it because it rly just brought me back to the profundity and brain-food of Books! Wonderful. 

The books are basically this completely absurd juxtaposition of seemingly unrelated events that end up interlocking together in the most beautifully smooth way; there’s never an empty line or event in these books as it all contributes into the loose plot and themes some way or another. It’s like, a psychedelic trip of sex-and-drug-writhe, politically-charged nonsense that seemed to hold resonance and make perfect sense all in one! Awesome. 

Must admit that some bits were really hard to follow, and some of the tangents felt like someone word vomiting his acid trip brain thoughts onto a page. The references were also sort of niche but perhaps that’s just because I’m not too clued-in to historical politics, philosophy writers, conspiracies, mythology etc. 

Spent some of the book wondering if it was some sort of fanatical propaganda as well, but it layered all of the crazy conspiracies with such irony and humour that it was clearly just a satirical telescope at the hardline conspiracists. Hilarious and deffo worth the read.

Next thing I read was Meet Me in the Bathroom by Lizzy Goodman:

It’s an oral history of the New York rock scene of the 2000′s. It was gifted to me by a friend who knew I was getting heavily invested in New York bands of the time (Interpol in particular).

The book’s written in interview form, (ex. ‘Name: Quote’) but it wasn’t disjointed at all, every point was actually fully fleshed out and there was a lot of great overlap and great iconic names there! Credits to the author for making it all work there because that’s a difficult feat. 

A lot of juicy insight into the dynamics and events of the time, and the whole book has a glaze of mystical, romantic New York energy that I really fed off of the whole time I was reading it - It made me want to travel, adventure, and party like crazy which is frustrating at a time like this. I also found it fuelling my creativity some days - namely part where the Tv On The Radio guys were discussing how they used to make art all day in a cluttered NYC loft and then sell it on the streets; also how they used to DIY their CD’s.

One criticism I have of the book was that it was definitely romanticising the period, and even worse romanticising the various drugs of the time period, which wasn’t the best. The book also felt like a big The Strokes circle jerk, which I expected, but damn! It was a lot. 

Next thing I read was Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk 

This is such a classic and totally up my alley. I love the way it’s written, with many repeating ideas and lines and just the right amount of foreshadowing at the plot twist towards the end that it doesn’t spoil it at all; just allows the jigsaw pieces to click smoothly in your head once it’s revealed! It’s such a perfectly nihilistic and raw book, and I really resonated with the narrator (in some ways). The inner monologues were just so sardonic and pessimistic and really entertaining to read, especially for a cynical person such as myself. It’s also really succinct, (which I enjoyed because i’m a pretty slow reader) and so many lines were so memorable; I can’t recall a single point where I was bored during it.

I had watched the movie right after finishing it and I must say that the ending hit harder than the book’s ending did, (that pixies song playing while the world falls apart is just so iconic), although the book’s cliffhanger was a lot more clever imo. Torn on which ending I prefer.

I’m currently half way through Sexus by Henry Miller, which is the first of a trilogy which I plan to finish

Despite the outdated ideology and very non-pc language, (I mean, it was written in 1949), I’m really enjoying it. I resonate with the way he describes the human experience and his uninhibited carnal expression in this book is pretty enjoyable to me - I really enjoy erotic literature okay?! However, I’m really in a moral battle over whether or not I’m behind H.M or not; for he is quite a scumbag, for lack of a better term, to women he’s involved with, in particular. Then again, I understand his complete submission and entrancement by the opposite sex - he absolutely worships women and I don’t get the impression he simply views sex or women as just some thing to bring pleasure. He’s a complex writer with a lot of layers to unpack and I am enjoying doing so, so far.

-

Books I am planning to read (ones I ordered recently!):

Lady Chatterly’s Lover by D.H Lawrence

I actually didn’t know much about this book before buying it, but my impression of it from what I read was that it was a love story with social class related themes. It was inspired by the own writer’s life and is rather explicit. 

It was banned for obscenity in the UK, not to be published openly there until 1960, and also banned in the US, Canada, Australia and Japan. So that’s all I really need to know it’s gonna be a good read ;)

Other books I got recently are as follows but I wanna save the detailed synopsis for when I finally read them;

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

Masks of the Illuminati by Robert Anton Wilson

Mysterious Skin by Scott Heim

Some of Knutt Hamsun’s stuff

#book reviews #literature

[sophygurl]

RotE feels spewage

Okay, so now that I’ve read everything currently written in the Realm of the Elderlings series (but boy howdy am I excited about the new short story coming out soon!), I’m gonna try and capture some of my overall thoughts and feels. This will be very long and undoubtedly spoilerific. 

For the record, I started the whole series about a year ago and have just raced through it all. The first thing I read was the short story Homecoming and it so fueled me with all of the mystery and magic that I started in on the first Farseer trilogy and then banged out through all of the other short stories and novels in order. 

I am happy to see there are lots of RotE fans on tumblr, but sad to see most of the posts go back months and years ago and there isn’t a lot of current discussion. Woe is the fangirl who finds a fandom later than everyone else. But I won’t let that stop me from sharing my thoughts. 

Okay so I have some new all-time favorite characters from this series. Strangely enough, Fitz is not one of them. NOT that I dislike Fitz, and I sure did enjoy reading 3 sets of trilogies from his perspective, but he’s just not a fave-fave. 

A lot of the people (and animals) around him became faves, but I have to admit to being somewhat in the minority from what I’ve seen, in vastly preferring the Rain Wilds/Bingtown stuff over the Six Duchies stuff. Again - not that I don’t love all of it, but just those were my fave bits and the stuff I personally related to more and want more of.

Most Fave Characters:

Paragon. Oh my dear mad ship, how I love you. How can my favorite character be a sentient ship made out of dragon cocoons who has literally gone insane? IDK, Robin Hobb that’s why. I am so pleased for Paragon that he got to finally be dragons, but oh how I’ll miss my crazy traumatized liveship. I hope we get to see more of his dragons in future works?

All of the Vestrits, but particularly the women. Especially Althea, Ronica, and Malta. Their character arcs were phenomenal and I’d love to read any and all side-stories of their lives and adventures between the Liveship Traders trilogy and the Fitz and the Fool trilogy, as well as anything in their futures. 

Bee! Bee Bee Bee Bee Bee. Bee Farseer. Bee the Destroyer. Bee....loved. I love her. Every single thing about her. More Bee! MORE BEE!

Thick. He was probs my favorite part of the Tawny Man trilogy and omg the picture of him as an old man with a cat in his lap teaching Bee how to make skillsongs and being happy and comfortable and cared for is just killing me. ILU Thick!

Thymara. Best part of the Rain Wilds Chronicles imo. And the bits we gleamed of her and Tats and their kid in the Fitz and the Fool trilogy made me so happy. The way her wings grew! I bet she flies all the time! Oh please please tell me more about Thymara’s life once she settled into Kelsingra! 

Nighteyes. I don’t know that I can discuss my feelings for him without sobbing, so I’ll leave it at that. 

Nettle Farseer. What an amazing arc, and getting to see her from being a baby to having her own baby. MOAR Nettle! 

Perseverance. Where is the Per fandom?! I adore this little due with my whole heart and soul. So brave, so kind, so patient, so loyal. I cry just thinking about him and how good he is. 

The Fool/Beloved/Lord Golden/Amber/whatever all else... I think I loved his Fool persona the most, but they’re all fantastic. 

Chade Fallstar. Look, I know he’s a real son of a bitch, but I love him anyway. I’m a sucker for old wizardy teacher types and prankster/trickster types and just always wanted for him to find some happiness and belonging.

Kettricken. Such a strong, sweet, fierce, stable, amazing woman. Who was so in love with Fitz and you can’t tell me otherwise! 

Ophelia - my second favorite liveship and one I think might... even?? want... to stay one??? Maybe??? We’ll see. Hopefully. Please tell us. 

Patience. Quirky mom/grandma figure who couldn’t have her own kids so protects the ones that need protecting forever in my heart! (Also Lacey, who I am certain in my heart of hearts was her lover as well as her friend and bodyguard.)

Spark/Ash. Another wonderful genderbender in the series. I hope they get to keep being both sides of themselves. 

Motley. How can you not love a crow who calls Fitz “stupid” every chance she gets and who bonds with Heeby and loves all the same characters we love? I hope Motely finally finds a good wit-bond. She deserves it. 

Every cat we ever encounter in any of the books. 

Characters I love but with some reservations:

Kennit Ludluck - I mean I hate this man, but I also love him. He was a fascinating character and his relationships with other characters were interesting, and his whole ... thing ... with Paragon was so emotional and intense. And I could have forgiven every other awful thing he ever did up until he raped Althea and then it was just - nope. Sigh. 

Dragons - particularly Tintaglia, Sintara, Mercor, Heeby,and Relpda. Dragons can be terrible, but they’re also a lot of fun.

Rapskal - loved loved loved him before he merged with the Elderling memories. Still kinda like him, but not quite as much. His relationship with Heeby is always sweet. 

Ships (as in shipping not liveships)

First a note about Molly. I always felt like Molly’s character was strangely un-fleshed out. She was just Girl who is a Friend, Young Woman who is Attractive, Woman Fitz Loves, Woman Fitz Longs For, Woman Fitz Finally Gets to be With, Woman Fitz Loses. And then from Bee’s perspective she’s Mom. But she never felt like a fully realized character to me??

So it was hard to love her, to ship her with anyone, to really understand and empathize for Fitz’s feelings for her. She was just kind of this Figure. Which is really such a shame, because Hobb has so many other wonderfully filled out female characters who are so varied and fleshed out and amazing in such different ways from one another. And then there’s just Molly. Woman Fitz Loves. For ... some reason?? 

IDK - is this a thing that other fans feel? Did I miss something that everyone else gets?

I mean, I understand that the fandom mostly ships Fitz with Beloved/Fool, but did anyone ship Fitz with Molly? Or ship her with Burrich for that matter?? 

I personally shipped Fitz the most with Kettricken, but I obvi get the Fitz/Fool thing too. I always thought when Fitz grew up into himself more, he’d realize it was for the best that Molly and Burrich had ended up together and leave it at that, and then eventually the feelings he and Kettricken obviously had for one another would have a chance to blossom. But whatever. She gets to raise Bee now, so that’s something. 

So anyway, my ships for this series:

Fitz/Ketrricken, as stated above. 

Fitz/Fool, cannot be denied.

Fitz/Nighteyes - not in a romantic or sexual way but they were true soulmates. 

Fitz/Burrich and Fitz/Chade and Fitz/Verity as son/father.

Fitz/Dutiful and and Fitz/Hap and Fitz/Per as father/son.

Fitz/Nettle and Fitz/Bee as father/daughter.

Fitz friendships - Fool, Riddle, Thick, Nosy, Smithy, Myblack, Fleeter, Motley.

Fool/Shrewd as friends or even a touch of father/son.

Fool friendships - Fitz, Prilkop, Verity, Kettricken, Nighteyes, as Amber: Althea, Brashen, Paragon, Jek. 

Chade/Shrewd as brothers.

Verity/Chivalry as brothers. 

Patience/Lacey - mirite?

Chivalry/Burrich - right?? right??!?! Come at me about it. 

Althea/Brashen - perfectly coupled. 

Malta/Reyn - especially once they’ve actually had some time to get to know one another better. (their courtship was kinda yikes in a lot of ways tho)

Etta/Kennit’s charm necklace lmao.

Nettle/Riddle - so sweet together. I’m glad she gets her happy ending, so to speak. Getting to be recognized for who she is at Buckkeep, having a job/calling she’s good at and loves, getting to marry the man she loves, having a child she gets to actually raise. All the stuff Fitz never got to have. 

Erek and Detozi! How cute are they and how adorable was the way their relationship was shown in the books? Awwwww. (I did think for the first couple books that they were both dudes so I was slightly disappointed when I figured it out, but still sweet.)

Sedric/Carson

Alise/Leftrin

Alise/Sedric as friends.

Alise/Thymara as friends.

Sintara/Mercor - can you ship dragons? I think I do. 

Fave Places:

Rain Wilds - anything to do with the Rain Wilds, Trehaug, Cassarick, Bingtown, Kelsingra, etc. Love it, want more of it. 

Withywoods. I fell in love with this quiet home and the people in it, especially as seen through Bee’s eyes, and especially once she discovers the places in the walls.

The Pirate Isles - fun stuff and I liked that we got to see a little bit about how it’s developed both as far as appearances and it’s political/trading place in the world. 

Stuff I especially want more of, questions I still have, mysteries I want solved, etc.:

I’ll honestly take anything in this world at any time, but here’s the stuff particularly weighing on me....

Magic: SO much more about magic and how it works and where it comes from. For instance, the Silver.

How is it in the dragons?

How did it get into the memory stone?

How is it related to the Skill?

How did the Farseers get access to this magic?

How do people not related to Farseers sometimes get it?

Is the Skill/Silver related to the Wit or are they totally separate things?

Do dragons have Skill and Wit? And also something else?

What, exactly are (were?) The Others.

AND WHY ARE THEY TERRIFIED OF CATS?

Speaking of cats - why can they talk to anyone regardless of Wit?

Are cats and dragons related somehow??!

And what about pecksies?! 

What about The Whites? Where does their magic come from? Is it related to all the silver/skill/dragon stuff at all? Where did they come from and how are they related to humans, Elderlings, etc?

Also what in the freaking frak IS the skill-current and how does it woooorrrrrk? 

HOW are the Vestrits all so linked to magic?!?! I keep having these theories that Ephron did something to all his kids and grandkids, maybe to protect them from the blood plague, that made them all more susceptible to things like dragon glamour and skill-healings and the like. And why did he decide to stop trading with the Rain Wilds and magical items? What did he KNOW? Am I making stuff up in my head, or is there something there? I feel like there’s something there.  

History: grand-scale and smaller more personal things I’d love to see explained more either in short stories or as characters learn more in potential future trilogies and such - like as Nettle and the coteries learn more from the skill-cubes or as the new Elderlings and dragons learn more from their artifacts and buildings. Some examples:

Chade’s life. Would ADORE a short story about his life pre-Fitz, his many adventures as Lady Thyme and other identities, his life as Lord Chade and all of the secrets he never told anyone, his various spy networks and how they worked, etc. 

How did the Servants get so corrupted? How did their unholy alliance with The Others get formed? What was Clerres before it was the White Prophet/Servant place? What were the bones and skulls from? Some creatures bigger and badder and older than dragons?? 

FITZ’s Parentage! Especially his mom! We know she was Mountain-born, we know she had an affair with Chivalry who was not one to go about having affairs like that, we know Fitz’s grandfather forced his mom to give Fitz up, but that’s literally it. How did Chivalry and his mom meet and what happened between them? Why did his mom’s family decide she couldn’t keep him? Did she have the Wit - is that how he got it?? What was little toddler Fitz’s life like?? What happened to his mom after she was forced to give him up?? Did she marry and have more kids - are their Fitz-siblings and their kids and grandkids out in the world, maybe in the Mountains?

And that time really early in the books, maybe the second one? When he encountered some people in the market from the Mountains and there was a young woman who started screaming and pointing at him and crying and was held back by the others - I mean, that was his mom yea?? Why did we never come back to that scene. I kept waiting for Fitz to remember that and link it to what little he remembered of her. Sigh. 

Stories about Dragons and Elderlings of old! Maybe some about their destruction but also just ... what their lives were actually like?? How they came about?? How they made their art and architecture and stuff?? IDK. I’m so curious about this part. 

Maybe something about King Wisdom and how he sought out the Elderlings for aid, or if the Elderlings were already gone by then how he discovered the putting-your-life-into-stone thing? Maybe some stories about skill coteries who traveled together up the skill road to make their own dragons? TELL ME HOW THE FARSEERS ARE LINKED TO THE ELDERLINGS!

The gods, too. Sa and the priesthood of Sa and how all that got started, how it got corrupted, etc. How Sa connects with El and Eda. Are they real? Are they representations of the Skill or the Skill current or???  

Chalced’s history is one I’m very curious about. Are they connected to the Servants and Others in toppling the Dragon/Elderling civilizations, or did they just hate the Stone Pillars for other reasons? How did they get to be so ... terrible? 

Future:  Some of the stories I wanna see about what comes next!

BEE!!!! Bee and Kettricken and Per and Integrity and Hap and Motley and Spark riding through the Mountains together with Fitz/Fool/Nighteyes-as-stone trailing them! How all of their lives progress, and how Hope and Promise grow up together and what their lives are like and maybe check-in with Steady and Swift on occasion and yea. 

Are Fitz and the Fool and Nighteyes happy now that they’re whole and in the Skill together? How long can they stay active and watch over Bee? 

Gosh, I’d really like to see how the folks at Withywoods continue to heal and recover. Too bad they don’t have therapists in this world...

Will Prilkop be able to take the dozen or so Whites left and build something new? Maybe use their powers for good? Will Bee ever be prompted to find and use a Catalyst or will she continue to refuse to be a White Prophet? Will another White step in her place, and if so - will it be good or bad?!?! 

Will Motley find a wit-bond? Did Fleeter ever find one?? What about Swift - we never found out if he got one did we??! More wit-bond stories! 

Chassim, the Duchess of Chalced! How is she faring? Is she able to make progressive changes to her country? Do she and Selden keep in touch??

How are the Rain Wilds and Bingtown Trader’s societies being affected by all of the changes? Same for the Pirate Isles. Are they able to adapt and prosper? Would love to see some stuff about their times both between when TRWC ends and Fitz/Fool trilogy begins and also after all the dust settles as the Liveships turn into Dragons and whatnot as well.

How are Erek and Detozi doing??

Geography: I’d love to see some complete maps of the Realm. Maybe have some stories set in or around the Spice Islands since we hear so much about them but have never been there. Will we find more Elderling ruins? Where the Whites originally came from? Are the icy glacier areas in the North covering more ancient ruins? More about this world!!

So yea that’s a lot. And that’s just what’s occurring to me right now. I feel some deep re-reads are gonna be in order. This might one of those series that I just continually find myself reading and re-reading. 

I’m dazed.

Come talk to me RotE fandom!! (my inbox is open)

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