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system-of-a-feather · 5 months

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Honestly, real talk, I feel like people largely do not understand just how much characters within those who are maladaptive daydreamers and/or were maladaptive daydreamers literally are "parts of them" and how both healing and destructive that dynamic can be and I find that a bit visible with how people in DID communities talk about maladaptive daydreaming as a "form of plurality"

Its an absolutely different experience but that doesn't mean that the label of "plural" isn't equally suitable. Since that topic has come up on our radar like way back half a year or year ago, we honestly have been thinking about it as someone who is considered "recovered" from DID and has recovered from maladaptive daydreaming but still has a brain that functions creativity and imaginative worlds with the same semi-autonomous functions whether I like it or not

And honestly? My characters are very much not "my creation", nor are they "just my OCs" - the very way all of my character are made and at this point the only way I know how to write and make characters is by taking a part or aspect of myself (conscious or subconscious) and throwing it out there with a name and face. That part of myself engages with the world I created and develops within the narrative and impacts the world itself.

I repeat and do this for all my characters and the world that I have created serves as a hypothetical exploratory way to understand, engage with, and explore very complex topics with exaggerated and isolated parts of myself. I have never really "planned" a character of given them traits or really anything other than a basic premise of a name, MAYBE a gender, and a vague role and I let them define their own story. No real character arc planning. No real likes and dislikes. No real narrative or secret message.

The function and means of which that I "created" these OCs and the level of which I don't control the way they form and grow is extremely similar to how I "create" alters, albeit one is far more voluntary and intentional than the other and one is physically sharing my life with me and the other is sharing a mental world with me.

((Additionally I don't engage in the mental world I made for them beyond the half joke that I'm the god of the gods of that world and they dont know))

The dynamics I have with my characters is WAY WAY WAY different than my parts / alters but BOTH my characters (maladaptive daydreaming) and my alters (DID) are equally fair to call "parts of me" and "parts of a whole" in a very literal not "Oh yeah Im a writer and this character means a lot to me theyre a part of me"

With my writing partner (who does this as well) we regularly use our characters as well to explain what we are going through / how we are feeling to help facilitate real talk and venting a lot because we have a mutual understanding that while this is a story and these are our characters, both of us have "built" this world by literally giving very specific aspects of ourselves the ability to explore, grow, and learn in a world and that while some have grown SO far from who we are now, they represent an aspect and potential part of us that could have been should something have gone one way in a specifically extreme way in a specific environment.

With that in mind, I absolutely feel its fair to compare DID and MaDD "plurality" with some obvious understanding that while there are similarities they are also different (AND THATS OK).

Cause honestly? If I actually talked to my characters (like a lot of people with MaDD tend to do) I could see myself calling and feeling as though they were a system and I don't think it would be all that inaccurate and wrong. I don't have that experience as my MADD and DID are mostly entirely two seperate dissociative coping mechanisms, but I know for a fact the line between the two is a lot less clear and its just food for thought

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[SYSCOURSE AND DEBATE WILL BE BLOCKED.]

[Good faith conversation and discussion is WELCOMED and ENCOURAGED.]

[If you don't know the difference, don't add on.]

#alter: fei #alter: riku #maladaptive daydreaming #plurality #plural #conversysion #sysconversation #sys conversation #system discussions #syscourse #<- for reach because I don't think the new tags have gotten well known enough #actuallydid #dissociative identity disorder

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brookiidookiii · 4 months

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JO OMGOD JO (for the ask game thing ^^)

My first impression

she didnt really stand out that much to me but i think once i got to ep5 that was when i really started to care about her. i think i was probably 8/9 when i first watched ROTI

My impression now

yeah shes my favorite of all time. if it isnt obvious. i love her with all my heart

Favorite thing about that character

theres too much. probably her nicknames and her interactions with the characters around her. her voice actor is so good at the role too.

Least favorite thing

there is nothing wrong with her. all my pet peeves are with the writers. like how they createst the hottest beautifulest strongest smartest character ever and all they could do is joke about her looking like a man. sad day in bidens america

Favorite line/scene

'no, welcome to MY team.' she was so badass in that scene and brick is scared for his LIFE

and this ones from her skatoony episode but "i wish the boys were back. theyre easier to boss around" lol i love her

Favorite interaction that character has with another

yeah im biased but brick and jo lol. they instantly clicked and i adore their rivalry, its for sure one of my favorites... jo and lightning as well. her and anne maria are funny, loved watching her tricking anne maria into doing stuff

team dude rocks. wish we couldve had more of those 3

A character that I wish that character would interact with more

heather. if the writers werent cowards they wouldve let them fought more. esp since jo respects her and sees her as "my kind of competitor", just doesnt like her sense of style. just more of her interacting with the other girls. and also scott, they couldve had some blackmail alliance frenemy thing, idk

oh i also like duncan and jo. he thinks her nicknames are cool so i respect him a little bit more. a jo and zoey friendship wouldve been sick. jo hates girly girls, zoey hates jocks. they become besties aw yeah. i could go on and on forever about potential friendships and dynamics i have for her...

Another character from another fandom that reminds me of that character

rainbowdash. both are crazy competitive tomboys and both childhood favs of mine

A headcanon about that character

i think she has a super healthy diet. shed have one of those balance diet charts on her fridge, gotta stay in shape. but her guilty pleasure food would be nachos

A song that reminds of that character

im probably not gonna answer this question but im not good with assigning songs

An unpopular opinion about that character

THERES SO MUCH THIS FANDOM GETS WRONGG her internalized misogyny and body issues that were never touched on.... it makes me so angry. and i dont see anyone ever exploring that. maybe one day ill write something. she has so many issues that no one ever talks about and how she wants to feel pretty. people who call her a pick me are so wrong and dont even know what a pick me is.

her masculinity is my favorite thing about her but being a tomboy shouldnt come with hating on other girls for the crime of liking feminine stuff. idk i think theres something deeper. also she should never be given long hair. it feels illegal

Favorite picture

i like the way she sits. shes so cool

#ask #td jo #i have sooo many thoughts about jo and stuff for her its crazy #people just dont get her like i do

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vo-kopen · 3 months

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So in case any of y’all were interested in Zippo’s origin from my other post (seen here) here it is. I appreciate that his first appearance has a diagram of his tech, and while his spandex is a bit generic, his harness and wheels make him stand out. It is a bit weird that this PI just randomly has invented a harness, but a future story could explore why a PI is a skilled mechanic and inventor. Maybe he wanted to be an inventor but his tech was too niche or impossible to mass produce, so he was forced to use his eye for detail as a PI. There is potential for future stories here. And as a reminder, Zippo is in the public domain, so he is free to use for anyone for anything.

It’s also interesting that while Zippo is faster than any human, he’s not anywhere near the speed of a proper speedster. The Flash and Quicksilver both are so far out of his weight class it’s hilarious. But that’s not a bad thing, its an unique idea to have a speedster using 1940’s machinery to move fast, I can’t recall any other speedsters like that. The tech also stands out against his uniform; it is far from streamline. There is a sense that it is not the optimal way to move fast, but it still enough to let him foil a villain or two. Almost like a street level speedster. If a writer using him has a more typical speedster in their cast, Zippo could be used to show the limits of technology.

I also appreciate that while Zippo is violent, he did not kill his enemies. This is the Golden Age and before the comic code authority, and as you can see the Pirate is not only willing to kill but I believe he is cleaning blood off his cutlass. Zippo sparing him therefore seems like a point of contrast, the Pirate is willing to even kill his own henchmen, but Zippo does not. You could explore a code of ethics here. And from a practical point of view, this theoretically means the Pirate could show up in future stories.

The story is jingoist, what with the focus on war plants and the USO thing at the end, but this story did come out in 1943. War industry is bad, but at least they are fighting the Nazis. (Though I cannot bring myself to read issue two yet because it’s the forties and while I do not know the plot, if Imperial Japan comes up in a story I expect to be horrified. Captain America comics in the forties were very racist. Zippo seems more based in the states than Cap so it might never come up, but spies and saboteurs are still a possibility, so my anxiety fears)

Other notes, his secretary barely appears but her last name is Smith, so if a writer uses him they could incorporate that name as a play on words. Like, maybe she helps him maintain or build his gear. (again, I have not read issue two yet, she might not stick around or their dynamic might differ. Though there is no reason a retelling would have to treat the original comics as a strict bible) Either way, she is in a position that could easily be a recurring role if not a major supporting character. Shame she is such a blank slate in issue one.

As for Joe’s profession, my gut shouts ACAB, especially his use of threatening violence to get enemies to confess. That said, he is approached by Anderson because he is not a part of the system and they don’t want to cause a panic, so there is potential there for him to be written as outside and contrasted against law enforcement. Is he subtler than the law? Is he less important in the eyes of the public so they would not care as much? Would any of that plus Zippo’s smashing success cause resentment among the cops? These ideas are clearly not in the text, but it could be explored by a modern writer. And I will admit, being a PI gives him a reason to be approached by civilians to help them with their troubles, as well as an excuse to investigate in his civies. Reporter is the classic occupation to justify superhero snooping, but this is not the worst job for a superhero to have. That’s billionaire.

Anyway, tagging @thefingerfuckingfemalefury @akirakan @espanolbot2 @filipfatalattractionrblog @nitpickrider @bear-of-mirrors @geekgirl101 @renaroo @docgold13 @paulsebert @majingojira @strixobscuro and any other comic fan who might be interested in reading a quick little comic about a public domain “speedster.”

#zippo #superheroes #public domain #public domain superheroes #comics

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herrlindemann · 4 months

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Rock Sound, 2005 - Interview with Till and Schneider

Anyone who’s witnessed Rammstein’s pyrotastic live show will know they aren’t a band to do things by halves. So maybe rock sound shouldn’t be surprised by the surreal trail of events that unfolds during the press day for new album ‘Rosenrot’. Arriving in Paris with some vague instructions to head to the Place de la Bastille and find a double-decker bus, it all fells worryingly like the plot from a bad James Bond film. Luckily, any fears about being unable to follow such a cryptic lead are calmed on spotting a bright red London bus which, in case it wasn’t given away by its conspicuous geographical location, is helpfully plastered with Rammstein album artwork. Today the bus will were a dual purpose; both transporting us to a top secret interview site and acting as a pretty ingenious promotional tool, as we drive through the city past several turned heads and dropped jaws.

Onboard, journalists from various European countries are initiated into an album listening session that’s shrouded in MI5-style secrecy. After signing a contract, each writer receives a sealed and numbered personal CD player containing a preview version of ‘Rosenrot’. Suffice to say, those who dare to break the seal and peek inside do so on pain of death. Well, probably. And it doesn’t end there.

Arriving at the interview venue — a boat moored on the bank of the River Seine — it seems Rammstein are intent on having us experience as many branches of the Parisian transport system as possible. It all ensures that the press are suitably bewildered, as well as just a little excited, when the time arrives to interview bands members Till Lindemann and Christoph Schneider. Really, you wouldn’t think it could get much weirder. But it does.

Both Lindemann and Schneider appear oddly indifferent to the day’s set-up, as if they’re old hands at sending journalists into a state of confusion before meeting them. Not that frontman Till really needs to try; he’s already knocked us hacks for six by granting several rare interviews this afternoon, and in person he looks every bit as imposing as his on stage characters. Thankfully though, he’s infinitely more good-humoured, and a listen to ‘Rosenrot’ reveals his increasing skill in channelling that quality into the songs.

The band’s fifth studio album continues to develop several of the themes from ‘Reise, Reise’ — namely the exchange of strict marching rhythms for dynamic rock riffs (‘Rosenrot’, ‘Zerstören’), and a new-fund affinity for ballads (‘Feuer & Wasser, ‘Ein Lied’). Yet it also comes with a few major surprises, most noticeably ‘a party anthem about driving into a brothel’, titled ‘Te Quiero Puta’. As if diverting from their trademark sound with cartoon noises and mariachi instrumentation in this effort weren’t enough, the biggest shock comes from Till, who switches his usually foreboding vocals into Spanish to hilarious effect.

Schneider picks up the story: « Till could never find good lyrics for that song, » he recalls. « It was a bit sad because we always liked it very much music-wise. Then he came up with this Spanish, which I absolutely didn’t like, especially with all the trumpets. But sometimes you have to get used to ideas that you don’t find so cool, because they might have a little potential. »

Consequently, ‘Te Quiero Puta’ is one of the best songs Rammstein have written, not just because it shatters every preconception they’ve built up with previous albums, but also because it’s executed so well. Maybe that’s down to the fact that when Rammstein go off on a creative tangent, they aren’t driven by a need for attention, but by genuine curiosity. Indeed, while ‘Te Quiero Puta’ was inspired by a love of Spanish culture that Till developed while exploring Costa Rica, ‘Mann gegen Mann’ was born from an equally eye-opening experience.

The singer explains: « That’s a pro-homosexual song. It’s based on an experience I had when we went out in Berlin with another band that had two gay members. We went to a gay bard and I was just impressed by how fast they made contact with other men, how there was little bit of communication and then they went home together. I thought it was quite enviable, especially when you compare it to what happens between a man and a woman and all the ritualistic behavior. They just had a one-night stand and nothing more. I thought there was something poetic about that. »

There’s nothing all that unusual about Rammstein dealing in potentially controversial subject matter, as the gory inspiration for ‘Mein teil’ showed. Even so, it’s hard to escape the impression that ‘Rosenrot’ is their most experimental album to date.

According to the band, that probably has something to do with they way in which it came together. The release of ‘Rosenrot’ comes just a year after ‘Reise, Reise’, meaning a significant change to their normal working cycle.

« We’ve never released another album so quickly," says Till. « Usually there’s the album release in summer or early autumn, then we tour through autumn, winter and spring and then go into working on the next release in the autumn. But after making ‘Reise, Reise’ we had four songs left which hadn’t fitted in with the rest of the album. So we decided then that we would make another CD straight after ‘Reise, Reise’ so that we could use them. »

Although they could have released the songs as an EP, there was another obstacle to overcome. During the making of ‘Reise, Reise’, Rammstein decided they would take a six-month « creative break » when they eventually came off the road in 2005. That meant either leaving fans with a long wait before another album arrived, or working incredibly hard to extend those four songs into a full release before disappearing. With Schneider stressing that the leftover tracks were « good songs, not just B-sides », they took the latter option and began work on ‘Rosenrot’ under what he describes as « a lot of pressure due to the time constraints ».

But with both ‘Te Quiero Puta’ and ‘Mann gegen Mann’ among the new songs penned in that period, it was evidently also a positive time creatively.

« The songs are from two different periods so I think that makes the album a bit outstanding, » comments Schneider. « It’s not like the last two Rammstein albums, but it’s a good album. »

It turned out so well, in fact, that they changed their original plan to call it ‘Reise, Reise Vol. 2’ and graced it with its own title. That title continues their fascination with dark fairytales, echoing both an old story by the Brothers Grimm and a story that Till recalls about « a girl who sees a red flower on the mountainside and tells her lover. He tries to get it for her but he dies ». Nonetheless, the album as a whole also marks the end of an era for Rammstein.

« For me, this is the closing of a chapter for the band, » says Schneider. « Everybody needs a break, they need a bit of distance from this band and time to look forward and ask, ‘Where am I?’ And, ‘What do I want to do?’ We need to find other ways of being inspired. »

Consequently, there will be no tour to support the release of ‘Rosenrot’, as the sextet head their separate ways to recharge and reflect. After more than 10 years of following the same work schedule, the members of Rammstein are looking forward to spending time with family, travelling, and having the chance to recover from an exhausting promotional itinerary. They initially discovered the benefits of taking time out while making ‘Reise, Reise’ — when tensions carried over from previous album ‘Matter’ came to a head and forced them to put work on hold. As Schneider states, it’s vital to the « balance of democracy » within the band that they get away from each other now and again.

However, with this personal time now coming at the expense of a new live spectacular, are they concerned that ‘Rosenrot’ won’t get the exposure it deserves?

« Maybe that will affect something, » allows the drummer. « But we’ve been on tour for almost a year now and we’re tired. Of course our live show is a big part of our promotion, but what can you do? You can’t keep on at the same pace, running and running like a hamster on a wheel. »

A much-needed holiday? The end of an era? You might wonder if ‘Rosenrot’ is shaping up to be Rammstein’s parting shot…

« I have a good feeling, » begins Schneider. « I think Rammstein has the potential to continue. But after 11 or so years you have to be careful. It’s easy to over-do it, for it to get boring and for you not to reach your potential anymore. We’ll see. If it doesn’t happen anymore I’ll do something else. »

Thankfully, Till is more assured about future plans, insisting Rammstein will start work on another album and tour after their break. What’s more, the excited singer suggests we can expect an even greater visual extravaganza on their return — if he gets his way.

« Personally, I’d just sing two songs and then have two hours of pyro! » he laughs.

There’s no doubt it’ll be worth the wait.

#rammstein #till lindemann #christoph schneider #interview #*scans #2005 #*

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mdhwrites · 4 months

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Woah there, I think you need to take a deep breath. I'm sorry I upset you with my earlier ask. I know you're fed up of people complaining about Sasha and Marcy's parents, and maybe I should have worded my ask more carefully. I apologize if I came off as ignorant or whiny.

I think you misinterpreted what I was saying a little, though. I was never suggesting The Core and The King be 'thrown out,' only that Sasha and Marcy also got an episode or two exploring their relationships with their parents. Yes, I know The Core and The King was about more than just Aldrich's relationship with Andrias; I'm not stupid. I was simply wondering whether the narrative had unintentionally created a double standard between the girls and Andrias, and was curious to see if you had a thoughtful rebuttal to that query.

You're under no obligation to answer my questions, or anyone else's, if you don't want to. I just wanted to clarify things a little, and let you know I'm sorry for upsetting you. Take care.

Okay, so first: Knowing that it is you, and I had somewhat suspected this, helps me a bit because I can actually consider this argument having been made in good faith. That you actually do want a response and may listen to it. I'll pretty much spending the entire blog explaining why I didn't think that because refuting what you said is the easy part. I want to talk about how someone gets to an argument like this because it is...

This is an argument one only makes when backed into a corner, protecting a hypothesis they NEED to be right. It is akin to the mad scientist in a show who is going to blow up the planet in hopes of proving his hypothesis right because he's been wrong for 50 years. And that isn't an extreme because the actual argument you're making, the one that I should take seriously, requires discarding 90% of... Everything to do with Marcy and Sasha? Bare minimum Sasha. Dear god this argument reduces Sasha so you are absolutely killing what you care about for this argument.

Because narrative equality is a AWFUL shield you're using to have fancy rhetoric for a terrible argument. If you were actually meaning the argument you made before, where you brought in how they as morally better characters than Andrias and them being 14 years old mattered, you would not be arguing for Sasha and Marcy. You would be arguing that Maggie, Anne's bully, deserved an episode exploring her parents. Not her. Just her parents.

That is all it takes for me to point out how INSANE the argument you made is. That what your argument literally states is that ALL that matters here is whether or not a show had a character's parents show up. That's it. Otherwise, it is committing a grave sin against some of its cast for not doing so. That it is fundamentally flawed in its theming or narrative because it didn't literally do this for EVERY. SINGLE. CHARACTER.

That is why I say you argue that The Core and the King should not exist. Andrias by your argument is too evil a person to deserve such things such as motivations or backstory. Not when that time could be spent having Sasha and Marcy's parents show up. Are you starting to see why as an analyst and a writer, your argument pissed me off as badly as it did?

BUT.

That is not actually your argument.

Your argument is that by bringing Aldritch in and even potentially exploring his and Andrias' relationship means that Andrias got multiple levels of development and exploration beyond Sasha and Marcy. That these two kinder characters who are also just children were slighted because they didn't get that. They didn't get a full exploration of their motives, desires, etc.

Which... Means bluntly ignoring the rest of the show. You have discarded literally an entire story because these parents didn't show up. Sasha's motivations and desires are such a huge part of her and why she is the dynamic character so many fell in love with. The Third Temple is arguably the only episode with Sasha in it that is not exploring some new part of her personality, motivation, desires etc. The next closest is her introduction where they have to establish her personality. Even then, that one episode paints so many vibrant colors on early Anne that it is a HELL of a twist just by how this one bitch treats other people. Because, you know, as a 14 year old girl, friends have a fuckton of an impact on you.

Marcy's motivations are explicitly clear with the few lines we do get out of her parents and how much that clearly states that her friends matter to her as a character WAY more than her parents. She was willing to discard her parents for her friends, that is how little they matter to her. Meanwhile, we do get her personality and her fears and worries throughout S2. Even with being potentially the weakest element of the show to me, she still elevates herself above most supporting cast members in anything by the fact that she is vivid and properly realized, even if her narrative intent is more clear than with other characters in the show.

Your argument also discards Andrias though. Aldritch is NOT an impact on his son. Andrias literally spends the entire episode questioning his father (which btw, Aldritch is cold and distant, yes, but abusive? GOD NO and will people stop throwing that term around so much. I won't get into it hard here though). Aldritch's final statement to his son isn't about needing to make him proud, it's to fix how Andrias' trust in his friends cost Amphibia the peace and prosperity that Andrias grew up in. That world that actually molded him, that is far more indicative of him than his father, is now GONE in a single action by his friend who betrayed him. Who he sees as having never been his friend and that cuts him to his very core. It's why the letter from Lief beats him WAY more than Anne's fist does.

All of this, all of these character's complexities, you have thrown away for an old asshat who showed up and interacted with his son for less than four minutes. Do you see why I couldn't believe this was in good faith? Why I assumed you actually didn't a single damn about my answer? Because this is not a position you get into when you are actually wanting a discussion about something.

You only do it to keep trying to convince someone else that you're right. And that's why I like Marcy and Sasha less. Not just because of your last ask. It's because I KEEP getting asks like these. This is what? The fourth? Fifth ask I've debunked on why Sasha and Marcy's PARENTS, NOT THEM, THEIR PARENTS being out of the show was some sort of crime. It's the first time I've truly understood what people mean by "The Undertale fandom ruined Undertale for me." Because I like the whole show. I like the frogs, the newts, the toads and yes... The humans. But the humans are not literally the entire show. Marcy is available to be in the show for less than an entire season. So can we stop butchering Amphibia just because these two characters and their angst seem to be all you people care about?

So again, because I will never drop this position (and there's still so many more arguments I could make against them showing up so trust me when I say this):

Your anger about not seeing Sasha and Marcy's parents will literally never be justified.

And, just for transparency: Like with so many topics that admittedly elicit such a strong reaction out of me, there is a personal side to this. When I was nearing the end of my time with the MLP fandom, I made a weirdly high number of erotic one offs that would include a lot of titilation, nudity, etc... But no sex. It would swerve at the end because I felt like the characters' relationship and dynamic was better that way for one reason or another, usually in that wanting romance they stopped looking at the other character as just a sex object. Can you guess the comments I got on those stories? That I CONSTANTLY got on those stories? "When is chapter 2?" And at least with those, it's porn. There is a built in expectation to expect a satisfying climax from them. It still hurts like hell though as a writer to see this story you like and believe you did clever things with be entirely discarded and stomped on just because you didn't include ONE element that your readers have for whatever reason decided is the end all be all for your story to have been good or even complete. It was so bad, I still state it as a major motivating factor for me leaving the MLP fandom permanently.

So yeah, can all stop focusing on a blade of grass instead of the forest? Because requiring the parents to be there isn't even acknowledging the fucking trees.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

#amphibia #amphibia critical

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eldritch-araneae · 1 year

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Can you make a list of Bumblebee's best friend (bot) in all versions such as animated, Cyberserve or prime?🥺

Hi, I was a bit confused ( like you want me only list bots, not humans?), especially if you want only the continuities you listed or all of them? Anyway, I'll do all bc as I was thinking about the answer I got some interesting thoughts. So prepare your tea and sit comfortably ~

Generation 1

In G1 cartoon they made it seem like Bumblebee just gets along with everyone. But I can't remember if Bee had someone among bot who we could consider his best friend. This title really went to Spike exclusively and I know you said to list bots only, bear with me here.

This fits into Bumblebee's struggles, because he's weak, but humans weak too so he feel he belong with them more than his own people. And Bumblebee still friends with Spike even after the human grows up and has a family (and the fact its the only time they show passage of time like this with a human character?)! We don't see Bee a lot on later seasons so I like to assume he just hangs out with Spike's family most of the time.

It would be so dope if they actually explored the idea of human mortality and how cybertronians would handle the invertible. But it never happens in canon even in "serious" continuities. And same even in fandom spaces. I only once stumbled upon the fic where Bee gets super anxious because Spike is getting older, really long time ago. Of course I wrote a story about this, but still, I can't be the only one thinking about this. In G1 based comics it's kinda the same thing, except IDW where Bumblebee has NO FRIENDS ( nor bot or human). Like he had some pals in the past, but he lost them all. In IDW2 there is Windblade who was established as Bumblebee's bestie but they way it was written... it was very cold friendship judging by panels I saw. Not a fan. Ah yes, I didn't watched the Netflix version, so idk, but considering how writers decided to deconstruct the character for no reason I can assume he has no friends at all.

Bayverse

I can's really say anything, I watched only first and second movies and again, Bee was bonded with a human. Same with Bee-movie, I know it's not technically bayverse, but sadly, Bee has the same the design and I still can't watch the movie bc of it xD

Animated

This is very clear that Bumblebee bot bestie is Bulkhead. And if both Bumblebee and Bulkhead were written better we would have a really dope character dynamic. Tho their dynamic is fun even as it is ( Bee crawling all over Bulkhead like a spider is Halloween episode cracks me up), but sadly Bee just never develops as a character.

Prime

I can't say anything about because I didn't really watched the show. I started, didn't liked it and dropped it. The entire aligned continuity isnt really for me, so I skipped Rescue Bots and RiD15. Though, I did like "War for Cybertron" game a lot, and maybe I would watch Prime if character designs were from that game. In the game Bee didn't had any besties.

Cyberverse

Here Bumblebee has bonds with few bots. First one is Windblade and I absolutely loved it. Their relationship was amazing and warm and physically tactile, and that's how I started ship them. Then we see Hot Rod and, now deceased, Blurr and later Bumblebee bonds with Cheetor.

This show had so much potential, like the buildup in S1 was nice and well established dynamic between Bumblebee and Windblade, but then it was all thrown out the window. Windblade was sidelined entirely in S2 as Bee hands out with Hot Rod and Cheetor ( as it's the typical all boys gang no girls allowed) after all this demonstration how close those two are in S1?? Meh.

And when Cheetor sacrifices himself? Bee looks sad at this moment, and then moves on like thing happened and it didn't affect him? What is this?? Ugh.

Earthspark

Right it's too early to say, but we can already see that Bee has a very sibling-like bond with Arcee. And from the trailer it looks like Bee is good friends with Breakdown which is interesting. Maybe he was the reason why Bee picked the racer car after his VW Beetle mode? We will see~

I think it's all? There is Shattered Glass too, but I have no idea, cant say anything. I hope it was enough)

#ara talks #transformers #maccadam #bumblebee

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dungeons-are-too-cold · 2 years

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Criminal Minds and Their God Damn Plot Holes

Criminal minds would be a wildly different show if they ever actually tied up the loose ends of literally any single characters' backstory. I feel like their backstories remain so incredibly intangible throughout the whole show because most of them are just a mess of loose ends that get thrown in episodes when they are convenient and then completely ignored two episodes later. Thats not to say I don't love this show, I do, I just wonder about the universe where they actually care that Hotch was abused by his father, or actually explored Reid needing support for addiction, or what Gideon's relationship with his son Stephen was like, or literally like anything about Elle, etc. etc. I feel like y'all get the point lmao.

Derek is the most fully formed in terms of like backstory and consistency in my opinion. I think thats why he has the most consistent growth over his time on the show. You see how his father affected him, and how that informs the way that Morgan does his job in the FBI. His upbringing and his hometown are both crucial in the way he approaches cases and interacts with his coworkers. When he opens up about what he went through with Carl Buford, his entire demeanor and approach changes when he has kids on cases who went through what he went through. It also opens him up more to his team members, allowing him to be more vulnerable and intimate when offering and receiving help. Its cohesive and consistent. Its what all of the characters really deserved but I don't think they ever got.

Imagine how different Hotch's storyline would have been with Hayley and Jack if they continued to allow his father's abuse to inform his actions. You would have seen more introspection, more deliberation. He would have fought harder to stay in Jack's life. He could have wrestled with the thoughts of what it means to be a good father, considering he never had the best example. You never hear about Hotch's mom, what their relationship was like, what his mother and father's relationship was with each other. There is so much story potential there, especially considering how it relates to Gideon and his son and ex wife.

Imagine how different the story would have been if Gideon's story was explored with Stephen or his ex wife. Gideon has reconnecting with his son on the list of 25 things to do before he dies, like that is incredibly serious and it's the last thing he needed to cross off his list. Its insinuated that Gideon and his ex split due to his involvement with his job. Excuse me, so exactly what happened to Aaron? Maybe the situation could have opened a line of communication between Hotch and Gideon about family, what it means to be a father and still do this job properly, the way they both want to. Clearly Gideon would have ample wisdom to share, and the relationship between the two of them would have grown so much exploring how similar they are and how different their situations could turn out.

Instead, these points of their backstories are relegated to a few throwaway lines in a season one that the writers never revisit.

There were so many characters in the show, and so much plot to cover in each episode for the crimes to make sense and feel fully realized, that so much of the personal development of these characters got swept to the side in the early seasons. There was such little precedent for the way personal story lines were explored, so in the later seasons, you see an exaggeration of the personal stakes each character has in the crimes in order to explore their team dynamics and personal lives. I think that's where things started to get out of hand and devolve in many viewers eyes, especially in the last few seasons.

#criminal minds watch through #criminal minds #aaron hotchner #jason gideon #georgia's not so critical analysis

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horromcom · 2 years

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elaborating on earlier when i was talking abt the wasted potential barry carried im mainly talking in regards to his redemption/post-coma writing. not saying his pre-coma portrayal was perfect by any means, i still got some problems w it, but in comparison he feels leagues more well-utilized as a character

idk how to explain it but it kinda feels like the writers dont know WHAT to do w him anymore. like a barry redemption has the potential to be so complex and dynamic and could lead to soooo many fun ideas and episodes and potential plot threads and so many new angles to explore but the writers just dont do ANYTHING INTERESTING WITH IT (avgn voice) WHAT WERE THEY THINKINGGGG??

like ok 11x4 was. fine. still has some MAJOR glaring issues that make me foam at the mouth, but on its own its alright for the most part, i still revisit it a lot and if i dont think abt it too much its fun. 12x8 on the other hand was where it all falls apart for me

like i’ll never forget how excited i was for that ep thinking it was gonna tackle at least some of the cool new potential themes and ideas his character now carries like YES ITS HAPPENING WE’RE WINNING WAHOOO YIPPEEEE .. and then they completely botched it. like i cant say they didnt try, the ep did have some good ideas but the way it was all executed was sooo :/ disappointing and boring and surface-level and tbh kinda felt shoehorned in for a quick easy source of conflict and drama rather than being naturally developed over the course of his arc to the point where it almost feels like an afterthought and its all just so FRUSTRATINGGGG. (shrek image) they didnt even follow up on the events of 11x4. sucks especially bc this episode was shaping up to be one of my favs ever and then it actually aired and it was the worst night of my entire life hate and violence on planet earth. and it honestly has me extremely worried for future seasons too bc on one hand im scared his death’s gonna stick and the end of his arc will be whatevr the hell that was,, but on the other im scared he’ll come back and the writers will continue to butcher his character the way they’re doin. idk which is scarier AAAAA. like maybe they’ll surprise me maybe they’ll fix the problems i have and do something fun and new with him im trying so hard to stay optimistic. but my hopes aren’t high at all. the bar is at the earths core. yes im sooo excited for s13 yippee yay. yes im also shaking like a wet lil dog whenever i think abt how its almost here bc my poor blorbo might get massacred further

also the ‘doesnt get enough screen time’ slot that i checked off plays into the wasted potential angle too. like i think prior to the coma seasons the amount he got was fine (i def wouldnt complain if he had more but for what he got yeah it works) but post-coma i think the whole ‘once a season’ thing doesnt work anymore now that they’ve taken him in this new direction that requires more focus and care to develop. like i said abt how 12x8 felt rly rushed with barry’s whole deal feeling like it was tossed in without much forethought, i think that wouldnt have been so much of a problem if he were allowed more episodes prior to DO ANYTHING to establish his character growth and new motives/ideals and relationships/dynamics with the rest of the team and his clear struggles with recovery and how having archer back in the picture is affecting him and MY GOD. archer fx staff give him some filler episodes RAT NAO IM SO SRS and i know im yelling at clouds here bc i doubt this is something they’re gonna work on in future seasons considering they’re prob gonna stick to the 8 ep structure forever now which means less time to build on their side characters which drives me so mad and also another thing why have him apart of the team at all if ur not gonna do ANYTHINGGGG WITH HIM WHATS THE POINT THEN like if u for some reason cant feature him in too many eps then at least make up an excuse as to where he is or SOMETHING to affirm hes an established team member like the show claims like is he apart of the agency or not HELLO IS ANYONE THERE CAN ANYONE HEAR ME ITS SO DARK AND COLD IN HERE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SOMEONE HELP MEEEE

where am i going w this what am i talking abt im running on three hours of sleep here im not crazy i just want my babygirl sweet angel darling honeypie to have good writing and a meaningful well-realized arc and fun interesting relationship dynamics and character complexity/depth and actual thought and attention put into his development SO SO BAD I CANT TAKE IT ANYMORE AUUUGHH AUUAHAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA (DATS ME YELLIN)

#IF NONE OF THIS MAKES ANY GOD DAMN SENSE DONT WORRY ABT IT im half asleep. didnt even mean for this turn into a vent #someday i’ll like actually detail all the things wrong w his writing and then you’ll ALL SEE but for now yeah. this shows frustrating </3 #prayer circle for his writing to be good in s13 or im killing the hostages #👻.evp #long post #mutuals watching me go insane over this man like why don’t u barry urself in some bitches

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heroichedgehammer · 1 year

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Mod: If I may ask... What do you think of Frontier? Not sure if you played it or watched a walktrough or you decided to wait

WOO! Okay! I did play Sonic Frontiers, played it every time I had a moment for the past three/four days, and knocked it out last night. I have thoughts, and there are spoilers in them, so there's the read more below! Read on at your own peril!

TL;DR: Good change in direction, enjoyable game. Story has potential, but it's rushed. Sanded-down character interactions and lack of polish hold it back from being a homerun. Open world is extremely rewarding, but they don't always trust the player to pay attention to their surroundings or figure things out, so prepare to get repeated interruptions while exploring. Combat is easy, but feels satisfying to learn and play. If you're a Sonic fan and like open world games, pick it up. If you're not, wait for a sale.

(This is gonna be long. I used your ask as an excuse to ramble. Sorry!)

STORY

I mentioned in a previous post that this feels the most sincere that Sonic has been in a while—no memes, no forced quips, no ribbing the audience about how much they know how silly the concept of Sonic is. This, to me, feels like the beginning of a new direction for the games' tone (and if Evan Stanley's updates are anything to go by, I'm pretty sure I'm on point). Sincerity goes a long way for me even if the story is rough--I never thought that SA and SA2's stories were particularly good, but I love them because at the time, the affection and passion the creators had for their series was palpable. They thought Sonic was cool, and they wanted us to think Sonic was cool. Frontiers brought that back. It treats itself like it matters and I really like that. I felt emotional at more than one point during the game. I like how this felt like an epic; Sonic, to me, is a superhero story, and like classic superhero stories, its hopeful, confident, and big. This is the direction they took, and I like it.

But moment to moment, the word I would use is "rushed". For one, I feel like the characters don't get enough room to play off each other and show their wonderful personalities. We start a scene, they talk mostly about the plot for a bit, maybe make one small character-relevant joke, character beat or lore reference, and then shove along before the player gets bored. This is a shame; I wanted this to be the game I would point people to if I wanted to sell newcomers on these characters, but the lack of chemistry mixed with the more subtle portrayals leaves them all feeling kinda... watered down. Not terrible, definitely functional, but faint. Seriously; I wanted Knuckles and Sonic to rib each other a little more! I wanted Sonic to try to uplift Tails (I saw what you were trying to do, writers; do more of it! We can learn about the ruins later!)! I miss the more openly upbeat Amy! The bones are there. What happened?

Now, as for Sage; this is pretty on-brand for a Sonic story. The writers introduce a new character, a "heart" that, through their interactions with Sonic and co., start to change for the better throughout the story. In SA1, it was a spread around the cast for almost everyone who wasn't Sonic. In SA2, it was Shadow. In the story series, it was Shahra and Merlina. In this one, it's Sage. And I like the idea so much; I like not only the thread of this character, but her dynamic with Eggman. It's a side of him we don't see in the games. Which is why it was such a huge mistake to relegate most of it to optional memos acquired through an optional mini-game of all things. We absolutely needed to see these onscreen. Again, what happened, guys?

Saved the most... okay for last, I guess! I like the plot. Ancients are cool and interesting. Giving them a connection to Chaos was a good idea. I'd like more opportunities to care about them on a personal level. Again, they tried, but it's really rushed, so it didn't really happen for me. It's not that I was apathetic; it was functional! Just not punchy.

GAMEPLAY It's a video game, so even if the story was Shakespearian, the gameplay needs to be good. It was! I enjoyed it! The biggest problem is their lack of trust in the player's learning curve and their unwillingness to abandon the mechanics they picked up after 06.

It's a little over-tutorialized; instead of easing you into the mechanics in a natural and pleasing way, they slap you with a dozen dialogue boxes and pop-ups instead. I imagine a game where they tell the story and teach you the game at the same time a la BoTW, and I wish that was what we got.

The 2D sections in the open world should not have been there at all. Chaos Island was so painful in particular for me because every couple feet I'm enjoying running full-pelt through the wilderness only to get clotheslined by the 2.5 bat. Every time you make a classic Sonic fan play a 3D section, they're annoyed. Every time a 3D fan like me has to play a 2D section, I'm annoyed. Separate the gameplay styles! Free us all. We can play 2D Sonic later!

Speaking of that, why, oh why do they stop you to introduce the monsters literally every single time you run by them?! Can you imagine playing Breath of the Wild and getting interrupted while galloping around so they could play a cutscene with a big ugly title card reading 'LEGLESS GUARDIAN' every single time you find one?! Stop! Stop it! Let me be Sonic!

The action stages, which were the strength of the SA duo, Unleashed, Generations, etc. are unfortunately the weakest part; every time I had to go into one, I wanted it to be over. This Sonic is not mechanically built for these; he feels stiff here, when he feels great in the open world. I would've liked them to put the time they put into the former into refining the latter.

BUT--the open world. Oh, the open world is such a joy to move around in that I can still say this was a win. Being able to sprint full speed up and down hills wherever I wanted is the Sonic experience I've been dreaming of since I was five. I'm blasting alongside walls and ripping through the desert! Openly laughing as I blaze by enemies I know can't catch me! I felt like Sonic, and that was huge.

The combat does a great job with this, too; Sonic fights by overwhelming his opponents with lightning fast strikes. One of his attacks is literally running circles around them! That's incredibly cool and a really good design choice.

Boss fights are fun! I liked the open world bosses more than the end-stage bosses, but both were fun. A good cap on the new game style they're going for.

Aaand... that's it! That's all I got off the top of my head, good and bad, after my first playthrough. Overall, this feels like a game with the means, but not the time. If this does well enough, I'm hoping the next game will lean harder into this game's strengths. I'm happy to have this as the latest installment; I don't regret buying this, and if you're a Sonic fan, chances are good that you won't either.

#itsnotamy #sonic frontiers spoilers #this feels a lot like a 'first impressions' review for me so I often come back to edit it to better reflect my feelings at the time #not gonna edit out whole chunks but some parts just feel like me trying to be funny and falling on my face instead lol-

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chilewithcarnage · 2 years

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Thor & Valkyrie

for the character bingo

thor

Thor is definitely one of those Marvel characters that definitely gets mishandled too much and with what I've seen of the Love and Thunder trailer it doesnt look like he's improved. MCU Thor was at his best when he was in his debut movie and the first Avengers film. I feel like his character has only gone downhill from there. Depending on the film and the director in charge, Thor is either super serious but super boring with not much to do (Avengers Age of Ultron, Thor The Dark World, Endgame) or a himbo with the brain of a golden retriever that at times is too dumb to function (those youtube shorts, Ragnarok). I feel like only in those first two movies did the writers and directors actually treated Thor like a legit character. Yeah he was boastful and brutish, but that was the whole point of his arc in the first Thor movie. But he was also compassionate and way more competent than people think (anybody remember the whole science = magic talk he had with Jane?). I say he works better in a dynamic because usually in a movie with Thor he's only as good as the character(s) that he's paired off with. Of course there's the dynamic frenemies duo he has with Loki, he worked surprisingly well with Bruce in Ragnarok. I think he's dont dirty by MCU fans because they uncritically support the himbo Thor thing. Like himbos are cool but I think its done to death with Thor and again even though he's a whole ass god.

I say 'why do they look like that' because Thor's design gets worst from movie to movie. He looks his best when Chris Hemsworth had still had his shoulder length hair. The crew cut look isnt really Thor and that horrendous stringy wig they slap on him is just terrible. Don't even get me started on the armor in Love and Thunder...

valkyrie/brunhilde

beautiful and such cool character that had so much potential. a whole lot more about her couldve been explored/explained. like who even are the valkyrie? what were they like? what was brunhilde like with her girlfriend? can we maybe see her work through her trauma??? like a bunch of shit couldve been showcased. i still to this day havent watched endgame 1 or 2 (probs never will lowkey) but to my knowledge she’s barely in those. like taika brought in this super cool, sexy, interesting female character and then going forward the mcu kinda just does nothing with her. and of course the fans did her dirty, because as we know fandom hates black people and they hate black women especially. i personally wasnt really into the thor/valkyrie ship because honestly thor had more chemistry with bruce than her and there was definite more sexual tension energy between her and loki. but i know those aren’t the reasons why the majority (white) people in the fandom didn’t like them together. also there was a small portion of people shipping her with jane (what???). like if we want brunhilde to find love again i feel like she should be with an entirely new character. i honestly don’t think she’d be that into thor as we’ve seen her disdain for the asgardian royal family in ragnarok. and thats another reason why i guess folks in the fandom didnt like her, because she was ‘too mean’ to thor. even though taika said that brunhilde’s story is supposed to be reflective of like indigenous struggle dealing with trauma/war and being displaced from one’s homeland.

if tessa comes back to play her in future media i hope they actually do something interesting with her at the least (and hopefully she gets a black girlfriend).

#ask game #character bingo #mcu

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ordinaryschmuck · 3 years

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What I Thought About “Separate Tides” from The Owl House

Salutations, random people on the internet who most likely won’t read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

...>A-hem< F**KING CALLED IT!

I said that the earliest that The Owl House would return would be late June and early July. And some of YYYOOOUUU sons of witches doubted me by saying it would be fall or winter. Well, guess what! "Separate Tides'' has come and gone, the show is back and better than ever, and we are all happy about it! You see how it pays to be optimistic, you persistent PACK OF PESSIMISTS!

...Sorry. Got a little hot there. I'm just so happy it's BACK!

10 MONTHS! It's been nearly 10 months since this show began its hiatus, large in part because of the pandemic. It was painful. BOY, was it painful. But I can already tell that the new season is going to be well worth the wait just by this episode alone.

But beware you mangey sea dogs! Thar be spoilers ahead when discussing such a premier.

And I swear to you that it's only spoilers for "Separate Tides." I haven't seen "Escaping Expulsion" either, and I promise you will be safe from anybody ruining it for you. But maybe don't read any responses from this post. Thar may be d**ks in these waters. So let's review, shall we!

WHAT I LIKE

Mirroring Season One’s Opening Scene: First off, this is a neat callback to what is the perfect first impression of the series. That scene perfectly introduces us to the type of show The Owl House is, while this one acts as a reintroduction to the world we left for way too long.

Second, this is also a well-hidden character moment. Luz is finally living the life she dreamed of, but it isn't exactly all that she expected. It's a great showcase that despite literally running away to a fantasy world, Luz is still getting a regular dose of reality. And I still love the irony in all of that.

(Plus, King eating the bounty is just funny).

The Recap Recording: This is a smart way to recap events from the season finale. It might be weird that Luz says things that the audience already knows, but she's not talking to us. She's talking to her mom. So she's going to explain all that she can in a way for Camila to fully understand. Besides, not every fan had repeatedly watched The Owl House Season One over and over again like a bunch of frickin' lunatics...You know who you are.

Plus, as an upside, Luz gets to explain new events and concepts for how she and the rest of the Owl House are making a living. In no way does it feel like forced exposition because, again, she's trying to describe as much as she can to her mother. It's a reasonable and natural way to talk to the audience in order to catch them up while also showing what's been happening since we've last left this show.

Luz Can’t Send Texts to Her Mom: ...Well, Texts to Home, it was fun while it lasted, but the current canon has decided that you're done. I'll miss you and appreciate all that you've done for me, but, yeah, this is the end. Sorry.

Alright, now that I got my jokes out of the way, allow me to explain how this is really a heartbreaking moment. Because the fact that Luz is forever cut off from her mother, even through texts, is an idea that just twists the knife in your heart when you really sit down to think about it. Luz's little goodbye at the end of her video does nothing but makes it worse.

On the upside, we get some solid character development as Luz doesn't even hesitate to send the video to Camila, learning her lesson from "Enchanted Grom Fright" about being more honest. She finally faced her fear, even if it was a fruitless effort.

They’re Doing Odd Jobs Now: This is a smart workaround for how the Owl House residents are making money. Some fans guessed that maybe Eda had so much junk piled up that they wouldn’t worry, but this seems more of a logical direction. Even if Eda had enough garbage to sell, she’ll can and will eventually run out at some point, meaning that they will all have to take the odd jobs anyway. So I appreciate the writers used that plot point sooner rather than later, as a fun romp as bounty hunters is something you want to do early in the season instead of later on. Especially with how Dana Terrace confirmed that s**t’s gonna go down in the future.

Lilith: ...I'm still willing to hold off--What the f**k did I say his name was? *looks up past review* Frederick Ulis--Frederick Ulisinsburg!

I am willing to hold off Frederick Ulisinsburg, for now, because Lilith is...sort of on the right track. I mean, I don't like how quick she was to playfully mock Eda or rudely yell at Hooty. But I do think that there is potential for her character. She feels genuine guilt for what she's done, and there's a chance that the new season will explore that further if the writers are smart (which they are). On top of that, there's a possibility that every time Lilith tries to act cocky or full of herself, she will be treated as a proverbial punching bag because of it. Like how her poster got burned down after boasting how impressive she looks. Or how Golden Guard's poster magically sealed itself to her face when Lilith tried to throw it away. It's the latter that primarily got me cackling like a madman due to how deservingly hilarious it was.

And, well...she happily clapped like a schoolgirl! Which was adorable! I can't hate characters who have the potential to be adorable! It's not in my nature!

So, while I am a little hesitant in liking her, I think there's a chance for improvement in her character in the future that I look forward to. We just have to wait and see if the writers pull it off.

(By the way, to the person that came up with Lilith wearing a "battery low" shirt...you're a genius in visual gags/storytelling.)

Greg’s List: Have I ever mentioned that this show is funny?

Who's Greg? Why does he organize a list of perfect bounties?

I don't know, but the idea of some random person in the Boiling Isles is putting it on himself to set up a list to make bounties...I'm sorry, but that's funny to me. It's also probably for how Craig's List was made, but when you really think about it, Craig's List is a funny idea as well.

Eda Isn’t Feared Anymore: I sort of guessed that this would happen, but seeing it is a whole different level of sympathy to feel for the character. Eda's main schtick was being the most powerful witch on the Isles, and that's gone now. She's forced to adapt to this new normal, which she's quick to do, but still. Tt's got to be a rough kick to the ego now that no one even cares about who she is anymore.

It's a low moment for her character that hopefully sets up her own arc for the rest of the season.

Luz Feels Like She’s a Burden: I will demolish her with love and kindness if she even CONSIDERS talking so poorly about herself again! Because Luz is not a burden. She is a beam of light that literally brightens up the lives of nearly everyone she meets. Eda already explains how her life is better because of Luz (through a heart-tugging speech that almost got to me, by the way), but it's not just Eda.

King now has his first real friend who admires him and treats him like the king he wants to be.

Willow has become much more confident and cheerful because Luz was always in her corner.

Gus learns more about the humans he appreciates with his whole heart while also having a friend that treats him like an equal rather than a kid.

And do I even have to say ANYTHING about Amity?

The Boiling Isles wouldn't be better off without Luz. It's better because of her. And shame on this girl for thinking otherwise...even though I fully understand where she's coming from.

I'm about to get personal for a second, so strap in. Because I am a twenty-somthing-year-old who is currently living with his mom. It's as pathetic as it sounds. But it's because I'm still attending college, and she says school comes first and jobs and apartments come second. Despite that, I feel like trash for just...living here as she still takes care of me and pays for the food I can't afford. She says that I shouldn't worry about it, but I still wait for the day I can finally pay her back for everything. Not some things, but everything. And that's Luz's mentality in this episode. The overwhelming guilt she's feeling for thinking she's inconveniencing Eda's life is something that hits really hard for me. It doesn't matter if it's true, but that she believes it's true. It's a heartbreaking character arc she's forced into for this episode that also adds more to why she's one of the many characters I heavily relate to.

Lulu and Hootstipher: Whoever thought of this idea...I f**king love you.

This is similar to when Noah and Owen became friends in Total Drama World Tour. Seemingly one-sided at first, you see a cute friendship that you would have never expected, but it works! Hooty is this happy and naive character who hardly understands what's going on half the time, and Lilith is...Lilith. Their chemistry is instantly fun as their dynamic is quick to understand.

This also shines with potential for character growth, for it could give Lilith a chance to be more caring and Hooty a chance to be more than just the comic relief. If you were to tell me that this is what was going to happen when the season premiered, I would have thought you were crazy. But now, after seeing it in action, I'm genuinely excited to see where this cute friendship between these two goes.

(As long as it doesn't involve fans shipping them. Because Hooty can do better)

Luz Getting Better with Her Magic: Our little bisexual princess is growing up! And, man, is it awesome to see. Luz going from just barely knowing how to do magic to full-on using her spells like second nature just warms my heart with all the character growth it presents. Now, some people might want an explanation for how she's able to do said spells, to which I say: "Who the f**k cares?"

If you ask me, Luz's magic is one of those things that doesn't need a direct answer because it doesn't matter as much. But if you're going to be a baby about it, here's what I can offer: As far as I can tell, it's equal parts having the glyph and mentally picturing what the spell should do. It's much like how Willow draws a spell circle and can either make giant jungle vines or a patch of flowers to land on. Luz's glyphs are her own spell circles. As long as she concentrates hard enough, she can make the glyph do whatever she wants it to.

There. You have your explanation. Now let's just all appreciate the fact that Luz can now throw fireballs and make vine whips like the superpowered teenager she most likely fantasized of being. Ok? Ok.

A Pirate Losing His Head...Literally: ...And I'm gonna go ahead and add that to the list.

I mean, for f**k's sake, WE SEE BONE! He puts his head back on, but we still see the bone!

Eda in a Pirate Outfit: ...That is all.

The Golden Guard: This guy shows up for only a few minutes, and I'm already beginning to like him. He seems just as threatening as Belos while also coming across as a guy who loves his job and being a ton of fun to watch because of it. I adore villains that find that balance of being funny and terrifying. The result is a character who makes me laugh on top of making me scared of what they could do to our protagonists. So far, that's the Golden Guard in a nutshell, and I can't wait to see what the rest of the season has in store with him. Whether it involves seeing him play with food as he did with Eda and Luz in this episode or seeing him getting kicked in the crotch like a little punk like him deserves, I am all for it.

(Bonus points if it's Amity who does the crotch kicking if he ever makes an advancement on Luz)

Eda Wanting to Protect the Selkidomus: I love this. It plays into the idea that Eda cares about things being wild and free and despises how Emperor Belos would want to control everything, including the most insignificant of animals. It shows just how kind Eda really is rather than someone motivated by greed...even if she does end up filthy rich in the end.

Emperor Belos’ Brief Cameo: Yup, still terrifying!

And if it turns out that Belos can see the Scrying Potion that Lilith made...we're going to have some problems.

Much like the actual problems that I have with this episode!

(Like that transition?)

WHAT I DISLIKE

King Being Stupid: King has two different personalities in this series. Either he's a pathetic wannabe ruler who seems intelligent or an idiotic Disney comedic sidekick. That latter version of King is what we get in "Separate Tides," and I don't like it (obviously). I don't care how cute it is to see him cling onto Luz's leg and exclaim how he won't let her leave. The same character who helped Luz break into a prison to save Eda shouldn't be the same one who falls asleep when a sheet covers him like a dumbass parrot! King's at his best when he's as intelligent as the rest of the characters. And not as dumb as someone like Hooty.

Eda Being Too Nice Around Lilith: This one bothers me the most. After being cursed for thirty years and having her life ruined by the person she thought she could trust the most, Eda is still all smiley and jokey when talking to Lilith. Yeah, sorry, but I don't buy that. No one in their right mind would be that cool with a person who did all of what Lilith did. It's a major misstep that squanders what could have been a fantastic overarching story of Eda learning to forgive her sister and Lilith trying to earn it. We'll at least get Lilith's guilt, but as is, I feel Eda showing genuine anger towards her would elevate that story by a lot.

IN CONCLUSION

But that's about all the bad things I have to say about "Separate Tides." As is, it is a well-earned, solid A of a season premiere. It introduces new concepts and characters I can't wait to see more of, continues old storylines and character development instead of ignoring them, and still proves that The Owl House is as charming and funny as it always was. Maybe the rest of the season could continue to be great, or maybe things might get worse. Time can only tell. For now, all I can tell you is that "Separate Tides" is a great and fun episode that makes me excited as we set sail to this new season.

(And Scared. Mostly scared)

#the owl house #the owl house season 2 #the owl house review #luz noceda #edalyn clawthorne #lilith clawthorne #the golden guard #king of demons #toh hooty #what i thought about

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t4t-lumpygrab · 2 years

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Stuff I would change abt LSP’s character:

-[heavy sigh] her hitting on Finn when he’s not interested in not funny or cute it’s just weird, especially bc she had her 15th birthday when he was 12 so for a big part of the show she was a young adult hitting on a teenager (though I doubt the writers were paying attention to her age) so yeah. That can go. Maybe there could be a plotline when she’s younger about her having a crush on him and also wanting his attention bc she’s attention starved and idolises him as a hero. And also LSP wants to be a super feminine princess and it’s a princess’ job to be rescued by a knight right? Anyway I think LSP’s insecurities and her feelings around femininity are really interesting and should have been explored in a kinder more compelling way.

-Also just... I don’t like how she’s shamed for being a teenage girl! I don’t! Let her like makeup and boys and pop music and going to prom with her friend without it being a comedy shtick. Femininity =/= comedy. I think she should be allowed to wear dresses and have cute jewellery and have fun makeup without her self expression being a punchline.

-Also LSP’s family dynamic is really interesting to me. Like they made the choice to retcon her parents both design and personality wise from character who shouted at her and had a strained relationship with their daughter to parents who are really nice and lovely to her. And I guess it makes it more funny to think that LSP is Just Like That and it also makes it easy not to take her seriously because she’s just a spoiled brat. But also her running away from home and living in the woods for years makes so much more sense if you keep her having a bad relationship with her parents.

-Also I find it kind of annoying how LSP as a princess is never something that really happens. Like there’s a whole other dimension she’s supposed to rule over as an adult and we never learn about its politics or history or what her job would be. Like the candy kingdom and fire kingdom and wildberry kingdom all got fleshed out to varying degrees but this never happened to lumpy space.

-Also LSP’s magical powers are super super cool and she should do more stuff with them. Her being the anti elemental is epic. I want to know more abt her powers... what are their limits, what can she do exactly, is this something all lumpy people have or is she special? Are her powers related to her as a princess? There’s a lot of untapped potential here.

Anyway also LSP should be transgender. I want her... to be transgender. I have thoughts and opinions on transgender lsp.

#lsp #lumpy space princess #yeah I am charlieifying her once again

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dykedivorce · 3 years

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Hii. this is the mfs anon who has made her way to mid-s2 and here's my bi-weekly report.

The show itself is such a deeply frustrating watch. Because I get suckerpunched everytime the writers accidentally stumble upon fascinating Concepts (How the handfasting rituals reduces witches to prized mares! Do mothers ever want their daughters if they were forced to have them to continue their bloodlines? Men still having more agency over their bodies in This World??? its more likely than you think!!!)

Except they never fucking commit. Sandwiching these tiny glimpses of a more complex world with cw-tier romances, weak dialogue and terrible pacing.

But then the show gives me tally and raelle having their domestic fall hallmark movie moment in ep 6 and im like, :/ ok ill keep watching for This and all the war crime mommies :/

I love youuuuu yes yes exactly!! I've used the word 'frustrating' every single time I've talked about mfs with someone. The premise is so interesting, there are bits and pieces that are so good and full of potential and complexity, the main characters are well-rounded and their relationships with each other are compelling. And yet, somehow, the experience of watching the show feels so below all of what's good about it that you can't help but go a little ???? what tf happened here....

And yes totally agree, the approach to handfasting was one of THE most frustrating thing for me in S2, because it could have said SO much about Petra/Abigail especially, but also about most mother/daughter dynamics on the show. They could have tied that nicely with a reflexion on legacy that would have suited Abigail's arc (i.e going against expectations but still upholding her legacy by trying to emulate Jem and her power) and Adil's (is there a point upholding your ancestral values when they put the last of your line at risk of extinction?). Maybe even Tally's (dealing with Alder's legacy rather than her own, at least until 2x09-10). They could even have addressed the critic in your second message! Does every older woman have to be a Mom? kind of, when they're literally forced to be mothers! (Although the funniest failure on that front imo is trying to make Alder maternal because they clearly didn't give the memo to Lyne Renee). But they did none of that and instead introduced a huge idea, explored it not at all and dropped it indefinitely.

#please come back at least once after u finish the season bc I can't wait to hear your thoughts about the pacing in the last episode mfkdns #ask #anon

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ifbrd · 3 years

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Not Sugar-Coated, ToBecky Critique from a ToBecky Shipper

Let’s talk about Tobecky and it’s toxicity! And for once, let’s not hold back! I think what I’m gonna do for this post is focus on the dynamic they have in the show, mostly criticizing my own misogyny but calling out the fandom in general as well, as I’ve seen other’s do these same things. Later I will reblog it on the Word Up blog and continue my thoughts on the ship and how it affected Word Up.

The first thing I will say is that I am a Tobecky shipper, ever since Tobey’s first shorts when it was revealed he had a crush on WordGirl. I started watching this show as a kid, I would have been 9 or 10 when it started airing on PBS. If I were to get into this show today, however, I don’t think I would be shipping tobecky, because as an adult I can recognize its toxicity which I didn’t have the proper knowledge or understanding to do back in the day. And I think the real reason I still ship today is purely nostalgic. Though I won’t deny that their dynamic is interesting and that likely affects my shipping brain too.

As a kid, I think I shipped it because, well it seemed inevitable. It seemed like the only endgame option. How many romcoms start with a girl liking one boy, only to realize later she should be with a different guy, usually an underdog the audience is supposed to root for. How many romance stories start with the two not liking each other, ranging anywhere from minor annoyances for each other to full-blown enemies, only to later understand it was all a guise to hide their true feelings. It seemed obvious that Becky/WordGirl would end up with not Scoops, whom she had a crush on, but instead Tobey, the underdog she always was fighting or arguing with. Factor in Tobey’s crush, my very underdeveloped ability to think critically, and the fact that the writers in early seasons seemed to really take the time to focus on the potential chemistry between these two (their interactions in “Department Store Tobey” and both of them having a good time together in “Have You Seen the Remote?” etc) and it seemed there was only one boy for Becky to logically end up with.

The first time I can recall really questioning this ship, I mean really questioning it, was sometime in probably my sophomore or freshman year? Maybe my junior year? I recall my health teacher teaching us about healthy vs unhealthy relationships. In this unit, I realized several of my favorite ships across various fandoms were unhealthy but that’s a whole other topic. At one point I remember him giving his two cents about the phrase “opposites attract” when being applied to romance. He said this can be true, but only if the two are “opposites” in personality, and not “opposites” in values. If a couple’s values, their morals, don’t align, they probably aren’t going to make it. And in all honesty, I think Tobey and Becky have the worst possible combination for this.

They have very similar personalities, and while this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it can make it easier for them to encourage their negative traits instead of helping them overcome them. The traits they both share like pridefulness, attention-seeking, and being a bit obsessive, have the potential to be the traits they bring out in each other. The best counter-argument for this is the fact that Becky is willing to and would call Tobey out for everything wrong or ridiculous he does, and try to help him. But that doesn’t matter if Tobey is not willing to listen to her when she calls him out, or accept her help when she offers it and he needs it. And it’s especially worthless if he’s not willing to help her back.

Meanwhile, the biggest weakness for this ship is their opposite values. Their morals couldn’t be more apart from each other. Get these two together for long periods of time and a morality war would easily ensue. And then combined with if their similar personalities do end up bringing the worst in each other, then any relationship they could have would be disastrous.

The worst issues with their pairing all go back to Tobey. I love Tobey as a character, don’t get me wrong, but we need to be honest, and please excuse the language--Tobey is a piece of shit! He is disrespectful to everyone around him, except his mother, and that’s only because he’s scared of her He thinks he’s better than everyone else and has no issues expressing that opinion, even going as far as to try to define words for WordGirl. He goes as far as to belittle her in “Tobey or Consequences” criticizing her word choice. He has been shown on multiple occasions to lose his mind when he doesn’t get exactly what he wants and will do anything to get it, without regard for others’ property, feelings or safety. He’s manipulative as seen in “Tobey Goes Good” and “Have You Seen the Remote.” He’s unwilling to take responsibility for his actions, as demonstrated when he attacks the candy factory for making candy because he got a cavity, instead of realizing that he should have taken better care of his teeth.

And worst of all, despite what he and the audience often believe, he clearly doesn’t give a single shit about WordGirl. If he cared about her he would have acknowledged her disinterest, if he cared about her, he wouldn’t have tried to force Becky into admitting she’s WordGirl in “By Jove, You’ve Wrecked My Robot.” If he cared about her, he wouldn’t have pretended to be good or trick her into spending time with him or forced her to read poems about him. In the Halloween special he thought Violet was WordGirl just because she was wearing a WordGirl costume, failing to acknowledge that Violet is blonde and white and WordGirl is clearly not.

The episode “WordBot” makes it very clear what kind of relationship Tobey wants from WordGirl--and it’s not a relationship. It’s a dynamic where she simply showers him with never-ending adoration and does whatever he wants. Tobey cares about one person and one person only and it’s not WordGirl, it’s himself.

And I’m not even counting “Go Gadget Go” in any of this! That episode put him in such a bad light that most fans pretend it doesn’t exist because his behavior is so inexcusable. And yet even without that episode, we have plenty of toxicity coming from Tobey’s end.

I once saw someone say they hate the tobecky ship because the argument for it often is that Becky will be willing to put up with Tobey when they’re older. First of all, if that’s your argument in tobecky’s favor you need to go take a good hard look at yourself. Becky putting up with Tobey’s messed up behavior is essentially hoping she ends up in a horrible, toxic, unhealthy, relationship that would be borderline abusive if she didn’t stand against him. Secondly, while I don’t deny the existence of this argument, (I once read a fanfic where the two were married but still a hero and villain who battled regularly) I disagree with the idea that this argument is most often used to justify the ship. Instead, the most common argument to justify it is the idea that Tobey has it in him to change. This is certainly a better argument, as Tobey changing is really the only hope for this ship.

But I think it’s really easy for us, myself included, to struggle with the line between finding evidence that Tobey could change vs excusing his actions; the line between finding an explanation for his behavior vs finding an excuse for him. It’s a very easy line to accidentally cross without realizing it. And it really says something when, as discussed in another post, we are not giving other villains like Victoria--who have more of an “excuse” --the same treatment. It’s incredibly misogynistic.

I’m not going to try to argue that Tobey doesn’t have the capability to be good, of course, he does. We can see this in the cute note he leaves in Becky’s backpack in “Trustworthy Tobey” and in the very last moments in the Thanksgiving special, and of course in our favorite example, “It’s Your Party and I’ll Cry if I Want to.” I’m also not saying that Tobey’s actions and psychology aren’t the product of the environment and circumstances he faces daily. Of course having no father figure present, a single mother who is always working, and no friends is going to affect a child. What I want to question is when is Tobey responsible for his own life, choices, and actions? Maybe not now at age 10-11, but what about when he’s 13? 16? 18? 21? 40? Where do we draw that line? I also don’t want to discourage looking for the good in people and characters and thinking critically about how their past and psychology is affecting their actions. I want to encourage that in all characters, not just the boy who happens to have a crush.

And while it’s nice to speculate that Tobey will follow a better path in the future, not so much for tobecky as much as for the betterment of Tobey himself, we need to realize that it’s just speculation. We have no canon proof of where his story goes post-WordGirl. He has his moments of hope but overall this kid has a terrible track record. When it comes to others, Tobey makes terrible choices. And that’s exactly what “going good” will be--a choice--his choice.

I also want to take a moment to talk about something @fromtheplanethexagon said in this amazing post you should totally read because it’s great. They commented on how very few people when writing tobecky fanfics takes the time to explore her perspective of their feelings for each other. Where her feelings originate and why she would like him. This is something I am absolutely guilty of and will be paying attention to in the future. After reading that passage from their post I thought for a while why Becky would like Tobey, and I honestly struggled with it a bit, which shouldn’t be happening if I’m trying to write a healthy tobecky story. That’s all I’ll say on this for now because beyond this I would use Word Up as an example, so I’ll save that for later.

The older I get the more I realized how toxic this ship is. Heck, who knows what I’ll realize about it in the future when I’m even more mature. In the past I’ve tried to convince myself it’s okay I ship it because I never shipped Tobey with WordGirl, I shipped him with Becky. I know they are the same person, but Tobey doesn’t know that, and the dynamics between him and each of her egos are very different. The dynamic between Tobey and WordGirl reminds me of Gideon and Mabel from Gravity Falls. Meanwhile the one between Tobey and Becky reminds me more of the one between Jimmy and Cindy from The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron. That’s better right? Even if just a little bit? Well no, not really, because we all know darn well if Tobey fell for Becky instead of WordGirl he would treat Becky exactly the same as he treats WordGirl. He would ultimately have the same “WordBot esc” expectations. If anything he might try to treat her worse. With WordGirl there is a clear power balance, and while it’s still technically there with Becky, Tobey doesn’t know it’s still there and might try to use that to his advantage.

And to conclude I’d like to add to @fromtheplanethexagon above-mentioned post (here’s the link again, seriously, read it!). Regarding their final thoughts that it’s fine to explore the ship, and it’s fine to explore the unhealthy parts of the ship. But we need to be careful to not glorify the toxicity of the potential pairing.

#wordgirl #becky botsford #tobey mccallister #tobecky #misogyny #toxic ships #shipping #pbs kids #okay that link to the victoria ask post...i'd only look at it on mobile #i linked it to my blog and i guess my blog layout doesn't like that post the order is completely mixed up???#guess i have to find a new desktop blog theme because that can't be happening #it's very confusing

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piratemadi · 3 years

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please make your critical post of supernatural those are literally the only posts about supernatural i care about, especially since i side eye the heck out of the many people who give supernatural a pass because they ship two boring white dudes (dean and castiel) PLEASE

omg ok nobody make fun of me for posting an earnest criticism of this show i enjoy critical analysis and being a hater

i think most of why this show sucks has already been covered pretty thoroughly but these r the main things abt it that piss ME off.

the racism runs so SO deep. supernatural is supposed to be an exploration of americana thru horror (and i’ll give them that. like the idea of deconstructing america and all its fallacies thru horror is genius and in competent hands it would be absolutely incredible. but anyway) but it only really scrapes the surface of what is inherently horrific about americana! something like that is supposed to be an INTERROGATION of monstrosity and how america (and western society more broadly) creates monsters out of human beings and how white christian morals are established as the ONLY acceptable morals and how anyone who falls outside of those norms (non christian, non white, lgbt, people with substance use disorders, prisoners, the poor, indigenous people/cultures etc) are monsterized, so to speak, because of an oppressive and unloving colonial society. like u cannot have a horror narrative abt monsters attacking family values and white suburban life without invoking some very old and racist conventions! but instead of subverting that supernatural just reinforces it! it consistently fails to make any kind of real statement because the most demonized parts of society are the people who are also treated the WORST in canon! native american beliefs are stolen and turned into stupid bogeymen without the show ever featuring a native character or seriously grappling with the inherent violence of america as a colonial state, black men are consistently portrayed as angry and evil while black women are treated like shit (dean’s happy ending at the end of s5 is with a white woman he fucked one time instead of with the black woman who he was in love with??), impoverished people are mostly ignored and when they’re not theyre monsters (theres one episode centered around a poor rural family that commits murder and cannibalism. no supernatural stuff or monsters. just poor people. thats the scare).

theres this consistent fixation on preserving american suburbia, on saving “normal” (read: white middle class) people and it sets up this dynamic of like. the “real world” is the white middle class and then there’s hunters including our mains who defend that “real world” against monsters and demons, which is just Everything Else. and the writers PRETEND to struggle w the question of monsters and what makes one but they just toss it around without ever actually committing to answering that question with compassion or narrative coherency. they have multiple episodes about characters who were raised human, who want to be human, but have to be killed because of an inherent evil nature. there’s a plot in the early seasons about how one of the main characters has demonic powers, and instead of saying that doesnt make him inherently bad and he’s allowed to fully access all parts of himself without being fundamentally evil, they consistently frame intrinsically neutral traits as inherently evil specifically because they go against a christian ideal of morality! and eventually he learns to suppress these powers and that’s that!

and then it establishes christianity as the guiding principle of america, not in a way of like “american culture and history is deeply steeped in white supremacist protestantism that has led to incredibly fucked up views on god and love and morality and thats what we have to deal with as people who live here”, but in a way of like “the christian god is real and he’s a white guy who fucking hates you.” which like. Ok. they bastardize and trivialize any religions that arent christian while building the entire series on christianity. Ok. like i guess its possible to write stories about white christianity without implying that every other religion is full of shit but supernatural did not do that on any level

its also just. really poorly written. i genuinely loved the first season i thought it was really well paced and that the characters were introduced really well like the first season is a GOOD horror story in terms of family as horror and the inherent terror of americana. but the pacing and the character development started tripping up in s2. by s3 they started raising the stakes Exponentially which honestly is such a kiss of death for good fiction like every season mounting a bigger badder antagonist than the last one is the surest way to kill a story bc it means the earlier entries in that story become basically meaningless in the face of the new bad guy. u dont need to raise the stakes to write a good story! a well written story abt the horror and drama of a close knit and unhealthy family caught up in something they don’t really understand isn’t Less emotionally resonant than, like, having to stop the world from ending, because at the end of the day its Fiction and none of it matters beyond what u can make the audience really Feel. im not gonna feel sorrow if 7 billion fake little people die. i didnt cry when the death star blew up whatever planet it blew up. what DOES make me feel sorrow is a few truly well written characters whose relationships are complicated and tragic and whose motivations i can understand and whose inner lives i can imagine. raising the stakes destroys a good story and thats exactly what happened to supernatural (not that the racism and misogyny and american protestant moralizing wasn’t killing it already)

also, the misogyny makes the female characters basically impossible to watch. like not a single person on that show is a good actor (except sterling k brown love u king u were the best actor that show ever saw) but they didnt even give any of the women anything to work with. its literally so cringey to watch any woman onscreen except maybe like. bela talbot and she was treated like utter shit.

god. you know that expression dont fall in love with potential? i dont do that w people i do it w fiction. i came off black sails and the untamed and frankenstein and i watched the first couple seasons of supernatural with my friend and it was like...there was so much room for it to SAY something about monsters and how society creates them thru violence and how deeply horrific american protestantism is. like theres so many questions and concepts that it brought up that it never actually SAID something about. shithole of wasted potential. and yeah dean and castiel is stupid there i said it

#again i KNOWW everybody knows it sucks and doesnt care #im a hater!#asks

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