#this is a recurring problem but i probably feel more bad about this than i usually would cuz it's past 9 + i have periods soon

[epicfranb]

Other people's AUs are so cool i wish i felt my AUs are cool instead of being passionate about them for two (2) days then waiting to polish them before i post them but get burnt out on them after a week and end up only using it as another fancy context to daydream about ethubs in. My life is miserable

#this is a recurring problem but i probably feel more bad about this than i usually would cuz it's past 9 + i have periods soon #so my hormones are making me feel shit again LoL 🤪 #life updates

[weebsinstash]

something that I think would be, truly one of the worst things about the yandere Batfamily really truly is their power to make any and every problem you've ever had completely go away in no time at all

it can be such an awful feeling to see that you struggled in vain with something that was nothing at all to someone else. You could have significant issues that have followed you all your life and have had traumatic impacting effects on you and these people could come in and sweep that all away. Student loans you've been paying off for years, if not a fraction of your lifespan, still burying you in debt? We are talking fucking decimal points on the scale of Bruce Wayne's wealth. That bad leg from an old work injury? Let's grab you one of the best doctors in Gotham, if not the entire world, fuck, we may even get you a doctor or medicine that isn't even human-made! Y'all want a magic leg? We know this chick who can speak backwards, you want a magically healed leg?

Crippling loneliness? Eternal sunshine and objectively best Robin Dick Grayson is here to brighten your entire world since he knows what it can feel like to be hurting and alone and he's literally like the heart and soul of the entire manor besides Alfred

Chronic pain, an undiagnosed disability, or maybe you're not confident in your fitness? Jason has extensive knowledge of injury recovery, physical therapy, and overall knowledge about human biology and musculature and how everything correlates

Family issues? Daddy issues? Let Resident Troubled Kid Expert Alfred Pennyworth be your new grandpa. He's dealt with more than one temperamental snappy individual, and he'll use his patience, experience, and wit to wear down all your stress and hostility. It's hard to keep being cruel to someone who's nothing but kind to you, and he has plenty of patience and delicious baked treats to hold out until you give in

Honestly just the fact most of them are so fucking young would get under my skin. You could be approaching your 30s and be sitting here at the Wayne family dinner table as their weird sister/mom/girlfriend/whatever and being all "I've just always had these struggles my entire life, I dont know what's wrong with me, I feel like I can't control how I act or feel and I hate it" and someone like Tim who depending on the source material and where you are on the timeline is a literal teenager with extensive knowledge of criminals and psychology is just over here, "oh, that? You have chronic childhood trauma, recurring resurfacing conflict related ptsd, severe abandonment issues, emotional regulation problems that are probably biological, and also you probably have autism, and there's nothing wrong with any of that :)" and then he turns to Bruce and starts talking about how his school is taking a trip abroad to Greece while you sit there processing that everyone around the table has extensively psychologically evaluated you and you probably have your own file on the Batcomputer (you do. It's excessive.)

It's just. The psychology of having all these problems you've struggled with be wiped away by someone else like it's nothing and how, that can result in making someone feel all the more worthless and helpless. Oh, Bruce was able to just make all your problems disappear? Clearly YOU weren't trying hard enough. Tim is able to suss out what's wrong with you? Well YOU'RE the dysfunctional idiot who was born wrong, and YOU were the one choosing the wrong doctors. You're watching all these young teenagers or young adults be vigilantes and travel the world and learn multiple languages and you're like. Normal guy Steve from the grocery store. You know? They take control of your life and make you feel like a side character in it, because everything you do is now attached to them, and all of them and all of their adventures are so... spectacular

And really, someone with a meaner heart, and maybe someone more blunt like, say, Damian, could perhaps come in and make some comment, "see? This is why you needed our assistance in caring for you" and what are you gonna do, NOT act like they basically fixed your entire life in less than a year's time, with the one objection of kidnapping and imprisonment? You're just over here, "um yeah, actually, I'm an adult and I can take care of myself, you don't need to TAKE CARE OF ME???" meanwhile Bruce and Alfred are exchanging knowing looks while you speak as if the old butler hadn't needed to help you call your doctor and other important urgent matters because being on the phone with strangers gave you such intense anxiety. Ok yes sure honey you are a lovely functional adult and your brain is big and beautiful and perfect 🥰 now shut up about going to live back home on your own, go play Xbox with your new brothers or go bake something with Grandpa while the world's greatest detective sits down in the Batcave using the Batcomputer to track down and "have a friendly chat" with that one childhood teacher that gave you that one really specific trauma-

#yandere batfam #yandere x reader #yandere batfamily #yandere stuff #sinprompts

[your-nanas-house]

An idea: Tommy has one of his recurring nightmares and YN decides to help him sleep by giving him a blowjob

Dunno who this anon is but I love this kind of ideas so much!! 🙇🏼‍♀️ So thank youuuu 🤗

Just another nightmare

◇ Pairing: Thomas Shelby x wife!Reader

◇ Warnings: smut, handjob, choking, Tommy is a whore here and a sub... so bit ooc!Thomas, nightmare and PTSD and bad writing.

◇ Summary: Tommy wakes up from a nightmare and Y/n helps him calm down.

◇ Note: Sorry for the mistakes and the English.

"Tommy... Tommy—" her soft tired voice called as her hand shook him awake, bringing him back to reality and out of Morpheus's arms so to escape one of his reccuring nightmares.

Thomas never really talked about them with Y/n, preferring to just ignore them or ponder in silence while lighting a cigarette, instead of wasting her time by keeping her up with past crude memories... even though she offered her ear him each time.

"I'm okay" his low voice grumbled out in a dismissing tone, his body still sweating probably in state of shock as it trembled softly, joined by his fast heartbeat.

He wasn't okay, not at all... his mind was playing twisted games on him again and the past was heavier than usual during the night.

And she knew... but there wasn't much she could do if he didn't allow her to enter his mind to try, so to understand the problem better. The young woman kind of lost her patience, adopting a different approach when something like that happened when she was around.

The questioning and the oral support wasn't accepted from Thomas usually... he searched a more physical one even when there was a bit of hesitation at the beginning. But that night... it didn't seem like he would have calmed down with just some cuddles.

Reason because Y/n decided to try with a different physical and oral help.

So her tender hand traveled from his sweaty chest down to his abs and lower before sneaking inside his underwear, earning a shaky breath from Tommy.

The poor man was still a bit under shock, his body sweating cold, his heart hammering against his chest as his jaw remained clenched. Y/n could see his muscles since the moon reflected its light on them in a lovely way, allowing her to start a path of wet kisses from there.

Her beautiful eyes remained closed as her hand lazily pulled slightly down the fabric so to ease the access. Feeling his pre-cum leak on her warm skin when she accidentally brushed his angry red tip.

"Shhhh, everything is okay, love. You are here... in bed with your wife" the young woman started as she pumped his now hard lenght, using her spit to lubricate the action

"At your house in Birmingham... safe and sound... it's just you and me, honey" she purred softly out attempting to calm him down while her hand kept working. Her free one slowly moved Tommy's sweaty palm towards her so that she could place a kiss on his knuckles before sneaking it in the neckline of her nightgown.

As if by reflex, his rough hand grabbed her left breast, kneading it flesh while he felt her heartbeat against his skin.

Her tactic was working, his body was reacting at her touch and his mind was turning off, letting lust take over him... making his heart still beat fast but not due to fear or adrenaline caused by something awful but because of her small hands working his cock.

The feeling was getting intense and Thomas' eyes shot open as he slowly approached his orgasm, his muscles tensed and his back slightly arched while his hand moved away the blanket so that his icy stare could watch his wife work her magic.

The man could see his dick throbbing thanks to the attention and the familiar pre-orgasm feeling was getting more and more noticable. He could feel her soft fingers giving some attention to his balls as well before black dots formed in his view, making him roll his eyes and arch his back even more.

A whoring moan escaped his lips while he shot his seed, dirtying her hand and the sheets. He never came that hard before.

He could hear a whistle in his ear that covered the background noises in the room but not the breathless and impressed curse that left his wife's mouth.

Thomas was about to say something when she shifted, now wide awake, shutting him with her warm tongue which began to clean up the mess he did.

"You should react at my touch like this more often, love" the young woman commented smugly, gagging when he thrusted up his hips with a fake annoyed expression, so that his cock would have shut her up and removed that shit eating grin off her face.

#thomas shelby x reader #thomas shelby fanfic #thomas x reader #thomas shelby #tommy shelby fic #tommy shelby x reader #tommy shelby fanfic #tommy shelby imagine #tommy shelby smut #tommy shelby #tommy shelby x y/n #tommy shelby x you #thomas shelby x you #thomas shelby x y/n #peaky blinders smut

[vroomvroomwee]

I don't want to be that person, but Jack/The Doctor is probably one of the most underrated ships ever.

And I mean that in the sense that The Doctor regularly professes how lonely it is to be a timelord, how "humans wither and die", how they can't get too attached to them because it would only lead to pain and heartbreak. Well, guess who's immortal...

They constantly destroy themself every time something bad happens to a companion. In the fourth season, he nearly lost his mind because of it and refused to take a new companion. Well, guess who can't die...

Not to mention how deep their trust issues run and how they have problems opening up to people. Well, guess who spent a whole-ass motherfucking YEAR in an intergalactic, highly guarded prison, probably the most secure in the entire universe, to get the Doctor out. Jack didn't even spare a thought about it. He immediately ran the moment he heard she needed help.

One more thing that's a recurring concern for the Doctor is how well a new companion might accept and get used to their new face after a regeneration (think Rose at the start of s2). So far, we've seen Jack not blink an eye with three different regenerations. No. It's more than that. Jack was not only entirely unfazed, but he fell utterly and deeply in love with each and every one of them.

Also, not to mention the shared trauma from their time together on the Valiant (shared trauma wohoo). As well as the fact that Jack is smart, experienced, quick, strong, understands technology and science, overall a perfect companion to travel the stars with.

And last but not least, Jack is completely unquestionably, unequivocally, and madly IN LOVE with them. Loyalty, respect, adoration, affection, attraction, reverence, love. He feels all of it.

It all just FITS. I genuinely and wholeheartedly agree that the Doctor would have been happier if they hadn't left him at the end of s1.

#people always talk about how the doctor was cold towards martha #but no one ever talks about how dismissive he was towards jack #perhaps because were conditionally taught that male attraction always must end in dissapointment #meanwhile heterosexual couples are a “missed opportunity” #a bit of homophobia #nevermind how internalised it is #(also i know the doctor is technically not cis or straight but you get my point) #doctor who #doctorwho #the doctor #jack harkness #captain jack harkness #the doctor x jack harkness #dw #nuwho #newwho #torchwood

[my-jokes-are-my-armour]

His home is them

I loved this season that we see Jaskier part of the found family. Weird uncle Jaskier 😊. But there is a point that seems recurrent in S3, but that roots in S1 and S2 : Jaskier doesn't have a house and doesn't seem to want one. He never speaks about his family, only places to go.

The wandering bard

The Book!Jaskier (lets give him his english name for practical reason - Dandelion) is a travelling bard also but he seems to enjoy city's comfort way more than Netflix one. Like, Jaskier is at ease in cities with all the comfort he wants and so, but way more adaptive to all kind of fields. Also in his design, he feels more like a wandering bard.

Dandelion is more like Valdo kind of wandering bard in his appearance, with bright colors. He adapts surprisingly well to tougher moments and places, but to the court environment also. Jaskier can do that too (S1) but to the point where we find him in S3, like not anymore. He barely remembers how to act in front of a prince.

When we see Valdo, we can see glimpse of the former Jaskier pursuing fame, in his sofisticated outfits in S1, yet even the Jaskier back then was not afraid of not been clean all the time. By the end of the mountain episode, he had durt on his face and his outfit, and didn't seem to bother much. What mattered to him was his friend.

But after the mountain, Jaskier turns into a more adventurous person on his own. And the contrast with Valdo is more visible.

Valdo has a rich doublet, very clean clothes and hairdo. Everything is for parade. Jaskier has rich clothes too and some jewellery but he is more in a kind of free style and his trousers and boots have clearly seen many roads. His outfit is now more practical.

No fixed home

This is something that come across several times in S3 (vol 1 to date).

First Vespula throws him out of her home. Before the reconciliation. Still it's her place. A recurring one, as Geralt knows where to find him. On a side note, I guess Vespula is one of his muses, as she throw his music sheet out of the window. So he is probably composing at her place.

But then, still with Vespula, she jokes giving him bad titles for other countries because he is having affairs everywhere. So he is still wandering the Continent, even with her as an anchor.

When Radovid proposes him to become Redania's royal bard, he laughs. "No, a staid life at court is not for me". Later when he chooses to accept the proposal in exchange of Rience death, he grins while saying that he could maybe settle there.

But why does he say he could stay at one place ? It's clearly not for Radovid at this point. He is intrigued but has not fallen for him yet. The answer is : if Redania welcomes his found family then this is where he belongs 😭.

The found family is his home

Since S1, being with Geralt seems his natural habitat. As long as he is with him, he seems thriving. Also Geralt is a wandering man himself, a hard life for a soft boy but going everywhere, anywhere, is kind of his thing, innit ?

Sleeping outside, no problem. Washing in a lake, no problem. Going to the hunts, or near, no problem. As long as he is with Geralt...

We also see him trying to bound with Geralt's world, the dwarves, the others witchers... But it doesn't work at first.

In S2, we see him opening his heart to Yennefer. They are still frennemis but there is respect and acceptance, deep down. And she learns that he is a true friend.

This season, we see him earning respect from Yarpen Zigrin, like he has become strong enough to run into battles and help those who need. He is no warrior but he has a knight heart.

But most of all, we see how he has bounded with Ciri. The last member of the found family. He can't protect her like Geralt or Yennefer, with magic and swords. But he protects the last glimpses of true childhood she has left. He doesn't cary the gloom accompanying her destiny. He sees her like she is without any judgment over her capabilities and powers. She is just a little girl who needs her laugh and ray of sunshine. And he gives that to her without restrictions.

His home is where his White Wolf goes. His home is where his mama Witch need his shoulder. His home is when he can make his pocket sized Princess giggle and smile.

#jaskier #geralt #yennefer #ciri #valdo marx #the found family #geraskier #yennskier #tws3 #tws3 spoilers #spoilers #my potato edits

[writing-with-gore]

Writing A Story Part 1: What Are Themes In A Novel? 

Hello! Today We’ll be talking about themes in storytelling, and what that means for our novel, book, or hell, even fanfic!

I used to think that a book ‘theme’ was unnecessary, since, yknow, the plot is there to do the theme's job.

But now? I realize that a theme is there for the plot to happen. If the theme wasn’t there, it would be like the writing’s genre was missing. So, themes are very important!

What Are Themes?

A theme is the main idea that a story tries to convey to its readers.  It can be the message, or a moral that a story is pushing to its readers. The theme is the underlying message in everything that happens. If you can immediately tell who the bad guy and the good guy are, then the story is probably about Good VS Evil. 

So, themes can be both simple and complex, and it is not uncommon for a story to have more than one theme. It’s okay for your theme to be complicated.

However, it is important that the theme is not confusing. 

Here are some examples you can use in your novel!

1- Forbidden Love:

Forbidden love happens when two people are in love, but shouldn’t be.

Maybe it’s the parents? Maybe it’s society? Class structure, rules, or maybe personal biases? 

Forbidden love can be used in royalty settings, or in a story about homophobia within society. 

EXAMPLE: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

2- Coming of age

I’m sure we’re all familiar with this, but let me explain it for anyone who hasn’t heard this term before: 

This is the most universal experience. The coming-of-age literary theme centers around a character who is growing up in some manner. Sometimes, they’re literally growing from a child into an adult.

Other times, they are an adult and are simply stepping into another stage of their life or passing a milestone. This common theme explores self-discovery, change, and growth, and leads to a character’s inner metamorphosis.

A coming-of-age story always shows how the protagonist overcomes internal conflict, so you should be careful to pay attention to the characters’ personal development is critical when writing about this literary theme.

EXAMPLE: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

3- Righteous Justice

In stories about justice, there is a main character who is entirely driven by getting the justice they think they deserve.

Maybe some sort of revenge? Maybe fixing a problem in the system they live in?

In the righteous justice theme, most readers should agree that the character in question is in the right and feel a sense of satisfaction when (if) the character gets what they want.

If you write this theme right, then your readers should feel sympathy for the main character.

EXAMPLE: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

4- Corruption

The corruption theme shows how an external influence changes a character throughout a story and serves as a warning to the reader that they, too, could become corrupted if they’re not self-aware.

EXAMPLE: Lord of the Flies by William Golding

5- Family dynamics

Family themes in literature often challenge readers to look beyond blood and to analyze what the true meaning of family is. For the trope lovers out there, consider this as something resembling found family.

Characters may lose their biological family in some manner and then discover a new one, either with another literal blood family or with a group of friends.

A character’s biological family may also become threatened in whatever way.

Whatever the case may be, a family unit is always an important part of the story and pushes the plot points and conflict foreword.

Interpersonal relationships and character development should be at the forefront for these types of stories with these recurring themes.

In the family dynamics theme, the story examines how family members interact with one another, and how those dynamics are capable of driving a plot.

EXAMPLE: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

6- The power of family

The power of the family theme is always positive. 

These stories show how family is a powerful force that can help a character overcome challenges, both internal and external. 

There are many challenges in a Power Of Family theme. However, by the end of the book the conflict has been dealt with and the main message is that with the power of family, anything can be overcome. 

EXAMPLE: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 

Gore's note: I absolutely love this book. I read it when I was nine and I’ve been obsessed ever since!

Hey! I hope you enjoyed today's topic and that it was helpful to you. If you did, then please leave a reply and tell me your thoughts!

Reblogs and Likes would also be very appreciated <3

#writing #writing advice #themes #themes in writing #how to write #how to write a novel #how to write a book #fanfiction #ao3 #writing tips #writer #writerblr #writing stuff #writing problems #writing is hard

[mattzerella-sticks]

Now that all three episodes are done... I've got some thoughts about the main mystery of Soldier Boy.

First off, not only will they be tackling the toxic masculinity at the core of Soldier Boy's personality (and I think we'll be seeing other characters grappling with it like Billy, Hughie, Homelander, etc.) but with him I also think we're getting into the beginning of the systemic brutality supes introduced by patrolling the streets to stop crime - a reference to the systemic brutality that persists in the real world, especially against minorities; which the show has hinted at in earlier seasons and progressively ramped up with every new season.

I mean it's at the heart of Marvin's issue with Soldier Boy - the very reason his family fell apart was because of him in ways we don't know yet. It dealt with the lawsuit, yes, but I can't remember what the lawsuit was about if they ever mentioned it. Just that it was against Vought. I had a feeling there was going to be something between Marvin and Soldier Boy, like they had a conflict wholly different from the main beef between the boys and the supes. Mainly from social media, it seemed like they were doing more together and had a closer bond than a few of the others. Hell, a source of the conflict might be Soldier Boy siding with the Boys against Vought - which rubs Marvin the wrong way because of the pain Soldier Boy caused his family, and others through his negligent and excessive actions.

And not to scapegoat him because what Soldier Boy did was inexcusable, but a way they will probably try and frame it within the story, as touched upon in interviews with Jensen, is his excessiveness in the battlefield is unresolved trauma from the war. I think this is clear when we see Soldier Boy going in on that guy with his shield and, even though we know they're toast, Soilder Boy hammers away. I think he sets himself on autopilot and goes at it until the episode runs its course. It worked during the war. The only problem is super heroics isn't war. Vought never should have sent him out in cities. Though Soldier Boy is still at fault here for not wanting to retire, which I think will tie in to both Homelander and Billy's arcs surmised by Homelander perfectly of people trying to make them retire, but they don't want to.

Soldier Boy didn't think there was anything wrong with him. And, given his prejudices we know he has due to Jensen telling us he's the most cancellable man on Earth, he probably didn't see anything wrong with the collateral damage he caused nor the people who were hurt in the crossfire or, like the man Blue Falcon killed, were mistakenly accused of wrongdoing.

Which I think is also why brutality by supes (which, at this point I'll say is supposed to reflect police brutality) will be a major conflict within A-Train's season storyline and explains why he is doing a Kendall Jenner-esque Pepsi commercial in his new suit. It also ties into recurring themes of corporations creating inauthenticity when pursuing real social issues through a capitalistic lens. It's also refreshing to see the supe lens turned inwards because for all of season 1 and most of season 2, with supes in the military whatnot, we got the metaphor of the supes being a representation of the American aggression overseas and how easily killing indiscriminately can be covered up when you are fighting an 'enemy', when you have the resources to cover your ass and "make sure nothing ever changes". But we also know Vought and the government do it here, too. We were introduced to it. And it was the major driving force of both Hughie and Billy's arcs in the first season. However this season we're getting a look at truly how pervasive this issue is, spanning decades and throughout the superhero community. So it makes sense that Hughie turned to a scorched Earth strategy because in this world the bad guy, Edgar, really has thought ten steps ahead on EVERYTHING.

Like, the Victoria reveal alone showed him how far down the line he's been planning what I think was his ultimate end goal from before Homelander - which was to get rid of supes once and for all.

He pushed to have supes in the military because he knew how disastrous it would be. He had someone on the inside pushing his second interest, which was to make sure supes never get in the military. His company perfects the V24 formula after rigorous testing and, like Bob Singer said, makes bank for the rest of his life off a government contract. I bet he came up with this plan after dealing with the ultimate diva superhero - Soldier Boy himself.

Which is why I think he might join with the Boys against Vought. Because he took down Soldier Boy.

I think bringing them down to Nicaragua was just an excuse to have the Russians 'kill' Soldier Boy and Vought would ferry him away so he can't bother anyone ever again. I think they did it - Edgar did it - because after all these years Soldier Boy started becoming too wildly than even they could control. Which is why he's so calm when dealing with Homelander, because he must have something to take care of him with. I mean, sure, Victoria would probably blow him to ashes. But also something else. This man does not go into anything without ten back-up plans.

However even the most prepared man can be caught off guard, and it's usually when whoever he's up against makes a choice against their nature, or one that is too risky. He's so safe and logical, he thinks everyone - at the end of the day - will make the same choices. He didn't expect Billy to finally show mercy on a supe, and give up any chance of being with his wife. He didn't expect Homelander to blow up like that at his birthday celebration. He didn't expect Stormfront's nazi past to ever see the light of day.

So I think them freeing Soldier Boy will be an ace up their sleeve in the fight against Vought, even if he goes back to work for the very same company. At least it might unsettle Edgar enough he'll be distracted. It might have him on edge if it's revealed he had a part to play in Soldier Boy's disappearance.

There's more I could say but don't see how I can make it tie-in so I'll snippet it in this paragraph. Soldier Boy's past being tied with Black Noir's in a way I hope we get from Black Noir's pov because I'm sure Soldier Boy had something to do with why he ended up scarred, even if it was Noir being in the wrong place wrong time. Marvin and Monique's divorce and the fact that her new beau might be drinking the kool-aid from Homelander. MORE OF FRENCHIE'S BACKSTORY (he's a little Dean-coded, too, no?) Kimiko working towards pushing past the trauma that keeps her from speaking, and what that means for the musical finale. How we're peeling back the layers on Soldier Boy and Vought's past before even meeting him in person, and what that means for the solid gold dancers bts photo that was shared (was it in the present or in the past?) How Marvin's shirt had NWA on it and, as Laz said, Marvin's shirts hint at plot points in the episode and I think the plot point was Fuck the Police.

I think I'll wrap this up and say Soldier Boy really adds an extra and much needed angle that the Boys were missing. I think this season we've seen Hughie and Billy go through their arcs and now they're in the free fall between arcs where they don't know what to do or who they are. I think we are going to see major developments with Marvin, Frenchie, and Kimiko (which I am EXCITED for). I think that Edgar is right, and that there shouldn't be any more superhero teams because it just leads to mess after mess. And even though that's how it might end, Homelander won't go down without a fight and will make good on his promise of scorched earth.

I still think (and hope) we get some gay Soldier Boy. Villainous dicks can still suck some dick lol.

Also it'd be very funny if Crimson Countess really fell into the trap of loving someone who wasn't into her (even though that might still be the case, I would personally prefer it being because he likes men more than women; but will also accept him saying she's gotten too old for him with a side of him being in a three-way with another man). Plus it would mirror the situation between Deep and Cassandra perfectly.

There's still more that will be revealed throughout the season, but these three episodes really laid the groundwork for everything I'm betting the show will tackle in the rest of the season.

#the boys #the boys s3 #the boys s3 spoilers #soldier boy #hughie campbell #billy butcher #homelander #marvin t. milk #mother's milk #kimiko #frenchie the boys #starlight the boys #a-train the boys #the deep the boys #black noir #the boys s3 review #grace mallory #i don't think maeve will be featured that much in this season unless she and billy have a moment #only because of the characters she doesnt have a story that others arent already doing #she's helping to take down homelander but she's in the shadows for now #this went on longet than i thought lol

[a-student-out-of-time]

Chapter 3: The Worst of the Worst

Hello, everyone. Mod Bubbles here.

I have been asked by some friends of mine, following a few long rants about my least favorite element of this series: Chapter 3. Some of you may already know that these tend to be the weakest elements of any DR game, but it goes beyond just that.

I’m here to explain to you all why every Chapter 3 I’ve seen- DR1, SDR2, V3, DRA and SDRA2- is the worst. I’m also going to be ranking them, starting from the least bad, and explaining why, on every conceivable level, they don’t work.

First off, let me just start off by saying that, if you like these characters or sections of their respective games, more power to you. I am not judging you, I’m not attacking you and I’m glad you could get more enjoyment out of them than I did. This is simply me explaining why I don’t think they work, but why some work better than others. All of this is just my opinion.

Some of this will be me criticizing them for their objective writing problems, some of it will be personal taste reasons, but perhaps you’ll be interested in what I have to say. Without further ado, let’s get into it:

Least bad- SDR2 Chapter 3

Those of you who know who my favorite character is may be surprised to see this one as the least bad. To be clear, it’s still bad, but I think it’s probably the least bad out of them all. 

The recurring problem with Chapter 3 is that every single one involves some degree of plot contrivance and character assassination. Someone inevitably gets turned into a parody of themselves or something stupid happens to make the plot possible. You have to take it with the territory when ranking them, as they all suffer from this problem.

 The plot contrivance this time around is that of the Despair Disease, which causes anyone infected with it to radically shift personalities- Akane turns into a coward, Ibuki is gullible and Nagito is a liar and he almost fucking died to his disease. This is already ridiculous, but we could accept it as part of foreshadowing that they’re in a virtual world. But then it goes one step further.

MIkan takes it upon herself to help everyone who’s gotten sick, and in turn, she also contracts it. She doesn’t shift personalities, but inexplicably remembers everything about her past as an Ultimate Despair. Thus begins the character assassinations- literally and figuratively- of Mikan and Hiyoko.

As sad as it is to see Ibuki go, it at least serves the narrative, the trope being “Shoo out the clowns” for when things get serious. Her death is thematically appropriate, while Hiyoko is...barely an afterthought. Yeah, Mikan doesn’t even kill her for revenge, she’s literally just in the wrong place at the wrong time and just fucking dies.

As you may know, originally Fuyuhiko was supposed to die here, but the writers realized that it would’ve made Peko’s sacrifice pointless, so quickly rewrote it so that Hiyoko would die instead, a move that feels as cobbled-together as it sounds, especially with the lack of effort in finding her murder weapon. And all of those goes without saying, but it turns Mikan into a deranged lunatic, so why is this one the least bad?

Because, out of all the Chapter 3′s, this one is the most relevant to the story. While I don’t like the path they take with it, Mikan’s transformation is ultimately effective foreshadowing for the truth about Class 77 and why they’re in the simulation, as well as the horrifying levels of their devotion to Junko.

And unlike the others, Mikan wasn’t trying to escape. She was trying to carry on with the mission of resurrecting Junko and wanted to inflict despair on the others along the way. What makes this still a bad chapter is a single question: if the Despair Disease can make someone remember their past, why not use that as a way to make everyone remember?

The goal of the Ultimate Despairs in getting into the Neo World Program was to provide bodies for the Junko AI, so why not have them all remember and commit mass suicide? No handwave is given as to why they can’t, but either way, this one is at least the most relevant to the story. Let’s move on.

Bad- DRA Chapter 3

Again, this one is still bad, but it at least has a more sympathetic motivation. The culprit for this case, Kinji Uehara, is the Ultimate Priest and had a close bond with a large group of orphans under the care of the church. A pretty noble guy...who’s being exploited by the Mastermind to become a mole and to kill if there’s no murder, or else the kids get it.

Now, this is not a new development. We saw this with Sakura in DR1, but while she was noble enough to take her own life instead of sacrificing her dojo or her friends, Kinji unfortunately cracked under the pressure and chose to murder.

What makes this one worse that SDR2′s is how cruel Kinji’s actions are. See, Kinji is not a true Despair. Like I said, he’s just this game’s mole and has to feed info to the Mastermind, but in doing so, he’s trying to save a group of children he believes are in danger. That’s a questionable situation, but paints him in a sympathetic light.

But he loses sympathy points for the nature of the murders he commits: the deaths of Kanata and Kakeru. Not only are the two of them some of the nicest people in the cast, but the ways that he murders them are absolutely horrific- slitting Kakeru’s throat enough that he bleeds out, then electrocuting Kanata so badly that her internal organs were burned to a crisp.

Now, he’d explained that he targeted Kanata because she was always in the infirmary and thus she’d be an easy target. However, why did she need to die in such a needlessly cruel way? Why not give her an overdose of some kind of drug? Why did he feel the need to murder her with a giant blade at first, then place her into a situation that would guarantee an absolutely cruel and horrifying death? And after he’d already killed Kakeru?

What pushes it over the edge for me is the fact that Kinji had already fatally wounded Kakeru, and the man gave Kinji a dying request that he spare Kanata. What did Kinji have to say about it? That it was already too late. I’m sorry, but no. It was not too late. He went out of his way to continue with the murder plot he’d decided on because of the Sunk Cost Fallacy and doubled the body count for the sake of...I have no idea. Tradition?

Either way, he denied Kakeru his dying wish and still killed Kanata, despite already guaranteeing that he did as he was tasked to and killed someone.

And then he goes further and tries to attack both Rei and Tsurugi, just because they were out of their rooms at the time, and add them to the frame-up. Yet all this kind of thing does is leave more evidence for who the killer is every time it happens.

All of that is so utterly cruel and sadistic that it feels wildly out of character for someone like Kinji to do, even if he was under a lot of pressure at the time. It’s a worse level of character assassination, but one mitigated slightly by the fact that he does apologize and show genuine remorse by the end.

And I do have sympathy for him after it turns out the kids he was trying to save were dead all along. As horrific as his actions were, he at least had a noble ultimate goal...and that goal was ripped away from him long before he even realized. It’s tragic, cruel and unfair.

The same cannot be said for our next entry.

Very Bad- DR1 Chapter 3

This one is pretty infamous among the fandom and for good reason. Celeste engineers a complicated and frankly ridiculous plan that involves tricking Hifumi into killing Taka, creating the Robo-Justice suit to frame Hagakure and then killing Hifumi herself. All to claim the huge amount of reward money Monokuma had offered and live out her Goth Fantasy Life.

 What sets it here is that the character assassination goes from unnecessary cruelty to outright stupidity. Celeste puts together this frankly ridiculous and elaborate plan, which would be bad enough given that she should be smarter than this, but it goes further. She does so much to push the narrative of the situation that it becomes blindingly obvious who the culprit is even before the first murder.

The Robo-Justice concept is just silly, and maybe that was the point, to be so shocking and baffling that it distracted everyone from all the other details, but Hina quickly points out that the suit is impossible to really move in. That immediately rules it out as even a red herring and turns it into more of a distraction.

Beyond that though, once again, another death is basically an afterthought. Because Taka and Hifumi are fighting over Alter Ego, she uses that as leverage to get Hifumi to help her, so he kills Taka and then she kills him, and Taka’s role in this chapter is so minimal that I can barely remember if he had any lines. And this was after the emotional gut-punch of Chapter 2, when he lost Mondo. Which leads to the other big problem with Chapter 3: sudden character development death syndrome, or SCDDS.

Likewise, this plan, like all Chapter 3′s, was far more elaborate and nonsensical than it needed to be, with so many moving parts and so many factors Celeste had to actively try and control that it became very obvious this was a conspiracy and thus no surprise that it was her.

Really, if she wanted to take advantage of their fight, why not kill one and frame the other? It would’ve been so much simpler, had less moving parts and been far more believable. She instead went with complexity over brevity and set a horrible standard the games could not break away from.

And why did she do it? She says it was to gain the money and live in a castle with vampire butlers. Nothing noble, just something flat-out selfish and stupid, if you take her words at face value. But if you don’t, there’s a lot of room to interpret what she says and she seems to show some degree of remorse or at least regret for what happened.

I hope you enjoyed that, because there’s no regret in the last two.

Terrible- V3 Chapter 3

And here’s a Chapter 3 so bad, it’s become a meme. I’ll admit, I was actually ready to name this one my favorite Chapter 3 of the series when I first saw it. I was impressed that they’d finally broken away from the formula and had to solve a single murder, in this case Angie in the locked art room. There was so much to explore there.

And then Tenko died and I realized this series really cannot break its own formula. Cue my disappointed sigh.

All of the same problems I had with the previous entry are here, but they’ve been ramped up to 11. Korekiyo pushes so hard to do the séance in a specific room, it’s hard not to suspect he’s up to something. Tenko’s sudden emotional speech to Himiko could not have telegraphed her death harder if the pinwheel ribbon tied to her head were replaced with a set of red flags. But now onto the murder plot itself.

“Haha seesaw effect funny yada yada,” let’s get to the real meat of the issue here. Kiyo purposefully arranged for a set of rooms to become traps that he could use during the séance he’d been pushing for, but he did so right outside the room Angie was doing her own creepy rituals in. And when she came in looking for a candle, he clubbed her with a piece of wood, carried her back to her room, murdered her and locked the room behind him.

Do you know what this means? If he hadn’t killed Tenko, Kiyo would’ve won. I’m serious, there was no way the group would’ve been able to fully pinpoint that he was the one who managed to kill Angie and he would’ve not only been able to escape, but guaranteed everyone else would’ve died.

And he reveals his goal by the end was to kill a bunch of girls to send to his dead sister. The obvious conclusion to draw is that he believed that he had to kill a girl during a séance, but since he shanked Angie with the gold katana and sent he believes he sent her to be with his sister at the end of the trial, that means he doesn’t believe that a séance is necessary.

Which ultimately means he went through with the infamous seesaw trap purely because he’d spent so much time setting it up and he didn’t want it to go to waste. That is the only explanation for why he didn’t just call it quits with Angie and let the rest of the trial play out.

And all of that is without even getting into the really grotesque rationale behind his actions: his sister, whom he was apparently in an incestuous relationship with and whose spirit he believes lives on inside of him. His sister was very sick and thus never really had any friends, and it’s likely Kiyo was the only constant presence in her life. There are also very uncomfortable implications that she may have abused him as well, pressuring him to live the life that she wanted, and none of it is really addressed.

And so, when she died, Kiyo was left alone and believed he could send her 100 friends in the afterlife. Thus, he’d gone around killing at least 90 women, given that he says he was close to his goal, before ending up in the Killing Game. While he’s disappointed, he’s satisfied he at least got close and creepily promised to watch over everyone like a ghost.

Really, it’s how shockingly dumb Kiyo’s actions are that bring this one down so far, although the incestuous serial killer angle really doesn’t help. Speaking of which, there really is no reason for it beyond Tsumugi wanting to live out her fantasies.

But as bad as this one is, it still manages to avoid being the worst of them all.

What the fuck?- SDRA2 Chapter 3

How do you get worse than V3's Chapter 3? You try to emulate it.

That’s no exaggeration. LINUJ has stated that his ideas for this chapter of SDRA2 changed after he saw V3′s, which gave him the inspiration for this part of the game. And while I know plenty of people really enjoyed this one, even considering it the best, I have to disagree completely.

Not only is this the worst Chapter 3 out of them all, this is honestly one of the worst pieces of media in anything Danganronpa-related that I’ve ever seen. I mean that genuinely, not out of anger, but out of disgust and disappointment.

First of all, this trial is too long. I can accept that trials would need to go on for a while in these circumstances, but six hours? SIX HOURS?! And most of that time is spent with Kanade arguing with Syobai over small, petty details.

Second, perhaps the worst in terms of sheer, unmitigated plot contrivances. There is so much that goes on here that can only be explained with either heavy-handed exposition or handwaves of “Fuck you, she’s smart” or “fuck you, I’m lucky.” What do I mean by that? The biggest is the crux of why this trial famously has two blackeneds.

When Kanade and Hibiki (in her puppet state) murder Setsuka, they stab her with such synchronized timing, milliseconds apart, that Monocrow can’t even decide which happened first. And this was never addressed or shown at any point beforehand, just vaguely referenced here and there.

This is different from something like Nagito relying on his luck in Chapter 5. Nagito’s luck had been established countless times by then and he used it to his advantage to make Chiaki the blackened, with his goal being to kill the others and allow her to go free. If there had been similar scenes with Kanade and Hibiki demonstrating their synchronization, even just one or two, I would’ve been more willing to believe it.

Likewise, another element of Kanade’s murder plot is that she’s apparently good at throwing. I’m a bit more lenient toward this one, as I recall there might’ve been a scene where she was throwing darts and Hibiki was like “She’s the best at darts!” It’s not much, but it’s better. 

My issue is that these are cases of tell, don’t show. You can’t expect me to believe a detail about character that hadn’t been demonstrated until that point simply because I’m informed and not shown how it works. Nagito’s luck at least has rules, while the synchronicity with the twins seems even more ridiculous by comparison.

That then brings us to the murderess herself, Kanade, who manages to be both a ridiculous genius and completely incompetent at the same time. She describes herself as a perfectionist and makes sure to think about every detail of her plan beforehand, from timetables to which handbooks they need, every shot she needs to make, every tool they need, etc.

And yet she leaves behind a bottle of antibiotics. One that proves to be a crucial piece of evidence in incriminating her. If she were really meticulous, she could’ve taken stock of everything she’d brought her medical kit beforehand and then checked to see if she had it all before they left. But she didn’t, and it’s even acknowledged that it was a stupid mistake.

Add to that the pins that they needed that also got them incriminated. Where did they come from? The bags Hibiki stuffed into her shirt to pad her chest and make herself look like Kanade, which contained Setsuka’s disembodied hands. Which...yeah, let’s get this out of the way too.

This chapter also relies far, far too much on shock value. Setsuka’s death is absolutely horrifying and works in the moment, but things like Kanade’s reveal of being a serial killer, while foreshadowed decently, are only really effective on a first viewing. The more you think about it, the less it actually makes sense and the more it hurts both her image and the logic of her plot.

And I’m going to be genuine about this: this chapter is also guilty of serial killer glorification. It doesn’t matter if it frames her in a negative light or paints it as horrific, this was LINUJ trying to make her as shocking and horrific as possible, but also making her into a genius who gets everything she wants at the expense of all the people she’d hurt. The narration goes out of its way to refer to Kanade as a genius multiple times. And the fact that she was the second most popular character in a poll really shows what I’m talking about.

To be clear, I don’t like how much focus Genocider Syo gets in the canon games, especially with how they’re played for comic relief more than anything. However, the difference is that Toko actually has a character that grows and develops beyond Syo, Syo doesn’t actually kill any of the main characters (still highly questionable but given how desperate the Tragedy is, I can accept that) and it’s made pretty clear in UDG that even she has some humanity in her. Syo has a sense of decency and compassion, shared with Toko, that grants her some humanity. That is not the case with Kanade, who is a monster through and through.

Toko and Syo are capable of unconditional love toward Byakuya, one that I can be certain would not turn murderous or cruel, even if Byakuya is not the kind of guy to go for. Kanade, by contrast, is not capable of unconditional love; she’s an incestuous, manipulative, stalking, psychopathic control-freak.

Additionally, Kanade’s death isn’t true justice, it’s her getting to die with a smile on her face knowing that she ruined countless lives and has her sister die with her too. Which then brings me to my biggest point of contention and the conclusion of the objective section of this analysis. I will now start shouting, so prepare yourself.

Fuck this chapter and what it did to Hibiki. She was the biggest victim in all of this, even worse than Setsuka. At least Setsuka wasn’t aware of what was happening and died before she was chopped into pieces. Meanwhile, Hibiki not only learns that she’s partially responsible for it, she gets next to no sympathy from the rest of the cast for what happened, then learns her serial killer sister has been killing and torturing people her whole life to isolate her. And then gets to learn Kanade killed their parents before being dragged off to their double execution, screaming for help the whole time.

And this was after a ton of character growth and development I was far more interested in and impressed with. When I saw this chapter play out, I didn’t see a tragedy with her or an engaging villain, I saw a frustrating shock-baity twist that left me disgusted, confused and annoyed. Two great characters died to glorify another shitty repetition of the serial killer plot beat, and somehow Kanade is the one who gets all the attention and all the popularity.

And let’s get something clear here: Kanade, this amazing mega super genius who killed 60 people and never got caught? She left crucial evidence behind, evidence that she brought herself and didn’t bother to fully clean up. Do you know who didn’t accidentally leave evidence behind in his first ever murder? Leon. He was smart enough to use a lint roller to clean up any traces of his hair and threw his bloody shirt in the furnace. He only got caught because Sayaka wrote his name where she couldn’t see it and the shirt arm burned off in a way he couldn’t control.

Let me repeat that: IN HIS FIRST EVER MURDER, FREAKING LEON WAS SMARTER AND MORE CAREFUL THAN KANADE, A *SERIAL KILLER.*

Even Kirumi’s situation, where she lost a piece of her glove that proved vital in incriminating her, she lost it in the pool at a time she couldn’t get to it. That was bad luck. With Kanade, it was sheer incompetence.

I wouldn’t be making such a big deal about this if it wasn’t one of the key pieces of evidence that got her found out. And to make matters worse, she was actually planning on framing Iroha. Iroha. A girl whose only real method of attack is crying and pushing someone off a balcony. Did she seriously think anyone would buy that she not only killed Setsuka, but dismembered her and set her body up in a weird way?

Not that it matters, since her attempt at framing Iroha- knocking her out with spiked coffee- failed because she doesn’t even like coffee. This girl is not as meticulous or careful as she thinks she is.

And no, I’m not going to say that all of this is retroactively justified by Sora having Divine Luck and that’s why all of this happened. That reveal coming at the end does not justify any of this by any means. Please do not use “Fuck you, I’m lucky” in place of “Fuck you, I’m smart.” Nagito playing Russian Roulette with 5 bullets and winning is not the same as Kanade being incompetent and Sora having a gut feeling that it’s not over yet.

If you want to showcase a character being clever, you show them getting around difficult situations or fooling someone within the confines of established rules. You don’t just let them get away with whatever’s convenient for the moment.

But do you want to know what the worst aspect of this Chapter 3 is? I could maybe overlook all the other details- all of them- if this weren’t the case.

It’s how completely irrelevant this chapter is in the greater story.

Say what you will about the others, at least they feel like they’re part of a larger narrative- DR1′s was another motive, SDR2′s was as well and foreshadowed the Ultimate Despair twist, V3 was part of a reality show and was written by a creep with an incest fetish, and even DRA’s felt more in line with the story. But SDRA2′s? It feels like a completely separate story shoved in the middle of the existing one.

Kanade has no connection to the Voids or Mikado, not to Utsuro, not to the Despairs, not to any outside groups, not to Hope’s Peak, not even the Tragedy itself plays any role in her character. All she wants is to control Hibiki, and she only did all this because she was losing that control.

When you peel away all the shock value, Kanade is ultimately, like every serial killer out there, a painfully flat and boring character with shitty motivations to be a shitty human being. Her entire personality revolves around her creepy obsession with Hibiki; there is nothing deeper there, and LINUJ has even said that Kanade would’ve killed herself if Hibiki died. I don’t find someone like that very appealing nor interesting.

I don’t think I would mind all of this as much if she didn’t feel so completely disconnected from everything else in SDRA2, but she is and it is very apparent when you actually look at the story as a whole. Not even Mikado knew she was a serial killer and brought her in just because she had a vague connection to Tsurugi.

And what happens after the reveal of his girl who’s committed 60 murders? Who brutally butchered their friend, burned her letter and dragged another off to a horrible, unfair end with her and got everything she really wanted? Not much.

I can name about three things: Hibiki’s puppet state foreshadowing Yuki’s transformation, the implication that more time had passed than they’d realized and her burning Setsuka’s note. The latter is the only piece of the story that actually feels like it connects this chapter to the others. But after Kanade and Hibiki are gone, they’re barely even mentioned and it’s clear how little impact they had.

There’s also Iroha being revealed as a Void at the end of the Chapter, but that has nothing to do with Kanade and it really could’ve been placed anywhere, or even just left out entirely. Again, I question what the purpose of its inclusion is, especially since Chapter 4 could’ve done it much better. 

Now, one could argue that the relevance of this scene has more to do with themes about trust and sowing mistrust among the group. However, I feel that that’s more of an overarching narrative of any DR story, and one that Chapter 4 does substantially better with its exploration of Nikei as a major player, especially in the wake of Setsuka helping him, and us knowing Iroha is a void and wanting her to admit it so the group can work together.

The problem with this argument is that, for the most part, the concrete events of Chapter 3 are not followed-up on or carry over in a significant way like the reveal of the Voids or the virtual world. Kanade being a serial killer, in and of itself, feels largely like a tacked-on addition to the story, since, you know, it is.

What this means is that this is the only chapter 3 where you can skip it and miss basically nothing. Think about that: 1/6th of SDRA2- a full 16%- is completely irrelevant to the overarching story, all for the sake of emulating the worst part of V3. Granted, I don’t know how much better LINUJ’s original plan would’ve been, but I have my doubts it could be worse.

Ultimately, that’s why I find this chapter 3 to be the worst of them all: all the existing issues, but with the addition of too much shock value, serial killer glorification, Hibiki’s absolutely horrific SCDDS for the sake of a double execution, and just the fact that you can skip this entire chapter and miss nothing vital. I can’t even say that last part about any of the others, and that is unforgivable.

To anyone who genuinely wants to write anything DR-related, all I ask is that we retire the tropes of Chapter 3. Maybe then we can have some that are genuinely good.

#mod talks #a student out of time #danganronpa #danganronpa thh #dr1 #sdr2 #Super Danganronpa 2 #v3 #new danganronpa v3 #danganronpa v3 #dra #danganronpa another #sdra2 #Super Daganronpa Another 2 #chapter 3 #it's always chapter 3 #Mikan Tsumiki #kinji uehara #celestia ludenberg #korekiyo shinguji #kanade otonokoji #danganronpa spoilers

[tea-earl-grey]

just finished Disco s4 and thought i'd do a little review thing:

overall i really enjoyed it, especially the concept/running plot which felt genuinely new and exciting. normally i resent when an entire season of a franchise show like Star Trek is about Saving the Galaxy or whatever because it's horribly overdone at this point but i really didn't mind this season because the plot was so rooted in communication and character rather than pew pew space battles (which i'm resigned to the fact that modern scifi is always going to have far too many space battles for my liking. sigh.)

i loved the general theme of connection and communication (and solving problems through talking/therapy!!) but there were definitely a few moments that were a bit heavyhanded for my tastes.

i do really love the general Burn era worldbuilding. i have some things i would probably do differently if i was the writer but rebuilding a broken Federation is just such a good setting for a show like Discovery. i like it

minor and maybe controversial opinion but i vastly prefer the s4 uniforms to the s1-3 uniforms. i get that the blue jumpsuits are more similar to what actual astronauts/military wear but alas i love colorcoding characters by department and the bright colors add a pop to a lot of the shots that was missing before.

seeing Michael as Captain gave me so much joy and she! has! earned! it! i love seeing her emotional growth from s1 to here and her being able to lead and express herself and..... gah i love her!

Zora!!!!!!!! i love her. i can't believe it took Star Trek this long to give us sentient spaceships.

i'm glad Tilly was out finding herself and discovering her own path but :( i miss her. the scenes she got with Michael this season were a delight though.

i literally don't care how cliched the queer found family is with Stamets & Culber & Adira & Gray, i love them dearly and specifically mentioning their queerness just. makes me really happy.

the Saru/T'Rina relationship was an absolute highlight. i'm not huge into shipping but all of disco's relationships are so nice and casual and laidback that it feels like such a breath of fresh air and all of the Saru/T'Rina scenes had me uwuing.

and all of the Michael & Saru scenes also had me uwuing... i just adore how their friendship has evolved since s1 and they're such a good team. even if it doesn't really make sense with ranks, i dearly hope Saru keeps being Michael's XO in s5 because they just make so much sense together

on the subject of relationships – i really like how conflict was introduced in Michael and Book's relationship and how that conflict was the driving force of the season without it ever feeling petty or like either one of them are toxic. Book is clearly making Bad Decisions but those decisions are entirely informed by trauma and experience and he never has a moment where he's entirely a villain, he's just trying to protect people in a misguided way after being manipulated by Tarka (who. also

.... i will admit even though i adore Michael and Book together, there a few moments where Michael and Rillak were talking that made me think 'huh what if?'. sorry not sorry. i just have a thing for political enemies becoming temporary allies becoming friends. lol maybe i'm more of a shipper than i thought. either way, i definitely loved the political aspects of Michael's role this season and i thought President Rillak was a good addition to the season.

as for some of the negatives....

i do like all of the main and recurring characters and i also like Discovery's experiments with having the main characters not be the bridge crew but also i'm just not convinced it works and i think for a hyper-serialized show, Discovery just has too many characters. i would love for the recurring characters like Detmer and Owo and Bryce, etc, etc, to get more of a character and the writers are obviously trying but because of the format it just feels like character traits are randomly peppered in rather than organically built into the story which a) led to some weird moments and dialogue and b) resulted in some of the main characters (like Stamets and Adira) being a bit underused this season.

very related to ^ that. because of the amount of characters on the bridge, there ended up being a ton of really awkward reaction shots where something dramatic happens and we slow down to get a close up of like. ten different characters. like i am glad these actors are getting fair coverage and all of that but at some point the way it was shot just felt a little ridiculous and overdramatic.

this is also very much out of the show's control but i feel like you could really feel the ways covid limited the show (so much greenscreen, limited background performers, characters conveniently standing 6 feet apart for whole scenes). i think they recovered decently and it doesn't affect my enjoyment that much but it definitely stands out.

and finally, i won't go on about this too much because people have unfairly criticized Disco to hell and back for this, but there was just a bit too much Therapy Talk for my liking. and to be clear, i don't mean too much Actual Therapy. i really respect the show for portraying therapy and trauma recovery in depth and just having cool main characters go to therapy because it's good and healthy is Very Cool. but i do think there are definitely scenes (particularly in the beginning of the show) that has dialogue fall into Therapy Talk where all the characters go around in a circle and coherently state their thoughts and emotions and then resolve their conflict. it just gave the impression that the scripts were rushed and the writers didn't have time to add nuance into the dialogue (very possibly related to pandemic stresses and the bad writing room practices that are hopefully being faded out after the WGA strike). it would have been fine in a scene or two but nearly every episode had one scene or line that made me want to rewrite it. it wasn't enough that it ruined the season for me at all (it's probably my second favorite Disco season after s3) but imo it made the season just good and not great.

i rated all the episodes (because i love nothing if not spreadsheets to track my fandom thoughts) and overall the season had an average rating of 8.17 out of 10. in comparison – s1 was 8.06, s2 was 7.92, and s3 was an 8.26. my favorite episode was Kobayashi Maru (9.4) and my least favorite was All is Possible (6.9).

anyways, i'm very excited for s5!!!

#the more i watch of discovery the more i do really like it #it'll never be My Trek but everyone's emotional journeys are just very good and satisfying #and the characters are all wonderful despite some of my problems with the plotting and dialogue #discovery #star trek discovery #my posts #speaking of discovery #i just remembered i have a have typed up meta about (mirror)Georgiou and (mirror)Michael from s3 that i really need to finish #i simply love her (Michael Burnham) #long post

[shieldfoss]

C++ for those who asked

Long Post Is Long, so there's a readmore here

I have never programmed before and I want to start with C++

You are possibly an idiot, but go ahead. You'll want Microsoft Visual Studio Community Edition as your programming environment. Once that is installed (During install, remember to ask for the C++ component), start your actual learning at: LearnCpp.

I have programmed before and I have reason to learn C++

Start at "A Tour of C++" by Bjarne Stroustrup, out in third edition as of September 2022.

I would recommend watching Louis Brandy's talk "Curiously Recurring Bugs at Facebook" which doesn't teach you C++ but rather reveals something about what kind of language C++ is, lets you check the Vibe.

And what's next?

Probably still good to read through LearnCpp.

Scott Meyers wrote some good books:

Effective C++ 3rd Edition

Effective STL

More Effective C++

Effective Modern C++

Read in that order. "Effective Modern C++" expands and does not replace "Effective C++"

You should also familiarize yourself with the existence of the Core Guidelines - you're probably not going to sit down and read them end-to-end (...yet) but it's good to know they exist.

Do you know other good books

Yes but... good for what? It's hard to give generic advice here - what are you getting into?

Do you know other good conference talks?

Well define "good" right? But I have a bunch that are interesting, does that count?

Kate Gregory is good at everything:

Simplicity, Not Just For Beginners - General coding principles rather than C++

What Do We Mean When We Say Nothing At All? - What are the defaults, and are they good? (No)

Naming is Hard: Let's Do Better

Other talks

Carl Cook: "When a Microsecond is an Eternity: High Performance Trading Systems in C++"

I want to learn Template Metaprogramming

No you don't

Yes I do

No you don't. You maybe want to solve some kinds of problems that are, from a performance perspective, best solved with template metaprogramming, but you don't "want to learn template metaprogramming" because you are not a fool.

If you have TMP problems I feel bad for you son, I got 99 problems but untestable, undebuggable compile-time conditional code generation ain't one.

Still, if you insist: "Back to Basics: Templates in C++" by Nicolai Josuttis gets you template programming, which lays down the foundation for metaprogramming. You go where I will not follow.

I need to leave for a job interview, post will be expanded later.

[blueopinions49]

[HP] Hermione Granger ESTJ 1w2 so/sp

Zodiac: Virgo (September 19,1979)

MBTI

ESTJ (Te-Si-Ne-Fi)

Dominant and Auxiliary Functions (Te-Si)

Te (Extroverted Thinking)

While ISTJ is also a common typing for her Hermione I believe her Te is her dominant function and what always comes first to her in mind when problem solving. Hermione Si is strong and arguably her most notable function however when it comes to problem solving Hermione’s first question is logical and factually correct the it is (at least in her mind). Not what methodical process she will take. We can see how she is able to spot efficient and “Objective logic”. However I want to also bring forward the argument that she might be an INTP and I don't think there Is a character  who is more anti Ti than Hermione herself. In the books we see how easily she is frustrated when things aren't laid in an efficient manner losing her temper. 

Si (Introverted Sensing)

As I said earlier Si is Hermiones most notable function. She finds comfort in meticulous processes and likes extreme precision. She prefers to stick to the rules and not rush herself into bad situations. We can see how her Si is constantly at odds with Harry and Ron’s Se. She finds herself criticizing their lack of carefulness and how they prefer a in the moment learning style compared to her more careful and meticulous ways. 

Tertiary and Inferior Functions (Ne-Fi)

Ne (Extroverted Intuition) 

Hermione’s Ne is something that gets ignored quite allot sadly. Im not gonna lie her Ne isn't as strong as other ESTJ’s Like Sokka or Mary Saotome but it isn't non existent either. Hermione starts at 11 and I believe allot of people ignore how much growing there is between 11-18. Anyways Hermione starts the series with very little interest in Ne as a functions she seems very uninterested in multiple perspectives and different ideas that she can't find Te-Si in however in the devil snare trap we can see how Hermione goes to stress to Ne. She starts panicking and thinking of multiple possibilities and solutions to her problems. And this becomes quite a recurring thing in the saga. When Luna love good gets introduced we can see how Lunas Ne conflicts allot with Hermiones due to her aux Si she seems to synthesizes those Ne possibilities through her Si. We can also see how she becomes more open to finding multiple routes of understanding when she debates with Ron. 

Fi (Introverted Feeling) 

Hermione has probably one the best Fi’s for a Te dom in all of media. There isn't allot of healthy te doms in media who have a very good understanding of how their emotions work while prioritizing efficiency. And Hermione is one of those who break the mold. She has a very good understanding of her emotions and values and always find a way to understand others emotional state. 

Enneagram: 1w2 so/sp

I don't think there is any debate about Hermiones enneagram. it's very sealer she is a self preservation 1w2. She likes structure and order; she likes to stick to rules and enjoyment in being moral. And as for why w2 over w9 its because hermiones need to help in social environments. In the movies Hermione can sometimes look like sp type 3 since her need for rules and morality isn't as explored as in the books. 

#mbti #zodiac #zodic signs #ennegram #mbti personality types #personality types #16 personalities #enneagram #mbti estj #estj #estj personality #hermione granger #emma watson #virgo #virgo zodiac sign #type 1 problems #1w2 #enneagram 1 #enneagram 1w2 #harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban #harry potter and the chamber of secrets #harry potter books #harry potter and the order of the phoenix #harry potter and the goblet of fire #harry potter and the philosopher's stone #harry potter #harry potter analysis #Harry Potter mbti #Harry Potter zodiac

[altschmerzes]

Thoughts on the new episode???????? There were SO many jamie feels tonight

LET'S GOOOOO okay it's Thoughts Hour here at chez gav altschmerzes [cracks knuckes]

there SURE WERE and once again we get a disorganized bullet point mess of My ThoughtsTM

first off, i did indeed enjoy it in cosymode once more and this will be a recurring ritual. cannot recommend it more highly. cosymode my beloved. really enhances the experience even if it does mean i get Imprisoned By A Creature as soon as the episode ends (climbed on by my cat)

we still don't know what zava's first name is. it is still distracting me.

COLIN'S BF (!!!!!!!!) SEEMS SWEET I LIKE HIM A LOT

oh my gd all the stuff with colin in this episode was absolutely brutal. i have a..... Hard Time with narratives around being closeted just on a personal emotional level but overall i'm like, invested as hell and i love that they went this direction with him. BOY it'll be interesting to see how they handle it going forward. juxtaposing the two moments he has with isaac in this episode, the "haha that's a little gay" comment that obviously hit hard and then that sincere like, checking on him, you're gonna be alright, thing later was like. damn. damn, damn. that hit.

also - when shandy said that thing about saying something shocking in an interview i was like oh no oh boy oh no Oh Boy- colin, honey-

something is. Up. with shandy. i don't know what or how it's gonna manifest but. something is up there and idk what. there's the same sort of tense feeling to her scenes as there are with keeley's company scenes. something's on the horizon.....

also i have to believe that trent isn't going to out colin, for the record. i just don't think he's gonna do that. i have reasons, but i don't think i even really need reasons, i think it's just..... i don't think it's particularly likely even.

speaking of zava, when i said last week that i was either gonna be riveted or i was gonna want this guy outta my face right now? IT IS BOTH, IT TURNS OUT. i do not like him. i think he's bad news and i think he's like, bad news in a very insidious way. i feel like...... it was fine in this episode - again, this is a comedy, i am aware of the genre and what it encompasses - but if this like. everyone's sycophantic adoration of him stretches on much longer it's gonna grate on me real bad. this was probably the episode where i had the most acute awareness that i was Watching A Comedy than any other episode, i had to do more like, averting my eyes and trying not to fast forward in this ep than in any of the previous ones. which is fully a me thing! this a me problem! i am not a comedy guy and i am watching a comedy. but oh my gd.

getting to see sam's restaurant coming together was so, so fucking good. he was so excited and happy and i'm so thrilled to see that all start to pay off. he's so proud of what he's done here and he SHOULD be. ugh i just love to see sam successful and thriving and everyone is so happy for him [sobs into my hands] isaac being like no. you do not understand. it is the best. was so funny and very sweet. i loved it, augh.

AND THE JAMIE OF IT ALL. oh my gd. he was having a bad one this whole episode and i kind of loved it because we know me, we're realistic about who i am as a person. i love characters having a bad time sldfks as long as we're gonna do something with it. and BOY DID WE.

boy they really did get me with like. the bit in zava's first match where he tells jamie to get open and he'll find him i did have a MOMENT where i was like okay maybe he's just kind of eccentric but overall fine, maybe i was wrong and he just grates on my nerves a bit. but WHOOF. nope. so he was just fucking with jamie orrrr because. yipes!

and man the timing of seeing zava call jamie over and say something to him being when ted's almost panic attack starts is like. [shrieks into my hands] he's already amped up about henry and then he sees this interaction happening and doesn't know what's going on and it's like. jamie just told him he's got concerns about this guy and now he might be messing with him and it clearly set ted off. aaaaAAAUGH.

i'm just. so proud of jamie tbh. he isn't throwing a fit, he's celebrating these wins, he very maturely and reasonably expressed his concerns which i think he's right about - i think roy thinks he's right too, based on his face during that scene. i was really gratified for that like, i was being a hypocrite thing at the end bc it made it clear that like, this isn't the show making a 'haha see he doesn't even realize that's exactly what HE is, he's still the same....' joke. his discomfort with zava isn't just played off and i really enjoyed that.

THE WHOLE THING WITH ROY. LIKE- every time he noticed jamie was having a hard time this episode he like. seemed to be making a note of it? he didn't snort and shake his head or smirk or whatever, at least not more than once-ish, he like. noticed, made a note, and seemed worried about it. and then at the end he not only went over to check on jamie at the restaurant he offered to work with him directly? without being prompted? i could shriek.

everything about that conversation made me lose my mind. jamie's earrings were FANTASTIC. the like- 'you thought i was the best' 'you still could be' [screams into my hands] 'only if you fucking mean it' i.e. the same thing roy said to phoebe's team, and the VERY PAINSTAKINGLY SINCERE 'i do mean it' i could've CRIED.

as i said to a friend earlier, their dynamic is a rich tapestry of things that make me fully insane

(to have a bit of a gripe - we got a couple of That's A Bit Much moments in this episode too. ted agreeing that yeah, fragile little bitch is pretty much what he meant, was weird and out of step. and then roy smacking the utensil or whatever out of jamie's hand which clearly startled him at minimum at the end of the episode was like... hoo boy. we're doing this i guess. it's not the type of thing i'd like, zoom in and harp on if it weren't for everything i already talked about in the previous episode. just like. again. i keep coming back to this phrase but It's A Bit Much. i was worried i might lose steam for my 3x02 tag after the new ep but nah, i am still amped up for it.)

(oh another gripe real quick - ho boy so dr jacob is just like, the shittiest therapist, eh? like, that whole thing is. Ethically Fucked Up. i absolutely hate whenever a show is like hey this person is now dating their former therapist, it feels weird and gross every time and i already had a really bad opinion of this guy's ethics and approach to practice just based on like. we know that michelle already had a therapeutic relationship with him before she and ted started seeing him for couples' therapy which is a Big No. and maybe i'm biased here because my parents knew a therapist for several years that they ended up dragging my sister and i to see with them when we were in high school and it went really fucking badly in a way directly related to them having an established relationship with that provider but uh. bad news bears. red flags. field of red flags.)

(someone do something about jane. speaking of red flags. WOW.)

(red flags again! the psychic thing. what are they implying with the matchbook, that the psychic was RIGHT? whoooooof. that's all i'll say on that.)

#gav gab #gav answers #sdlfksdf thank you for asking bestie....... #i both love and hate expressing my thoughts and opinions #i love love love it it's my favourite but also my brain is then like #YOURE WRONG AND EVERYONE HATES YOU NOW #ted lasso spoilers

[electricbluebutterflies]

Kabby + laughing during sex

Haven't done 4x01/4x02 grayspace in AGES and this is fun. Vaguely PG13-ish and also on ao3.

They waited twenty-odd years for this.

Abby is not disappointed by any means, let her make that opinion very clear. Surprised, slightly, but not-

Of course the sex is good. Given their past dynamics, she’s known it would be since the first time she ever thought about it. The comfort level, on the other hand, is much better than her expectations.

Blame it on the fact that in this world they’re in now, no one else gets her on that level. Marcus is the last person left who got an up-close view of every major thing she’s ever done whether it made logical sense or not, a constant recurring presence in her life even before respective career paths made them each other’s problem on a more structured and formal level, and on some level that’s always been reassuring. No matter what else happened, she knew he’d always be there in the background questioning her judgement and saying things she’s sure sounded a little more tactful in his mind and-

They changed, a few months ago. Everything changed and somehow nothing changed.

She’s known this would happen, in some form, for most of her life. She can’t say for certain that he was the first person she noticed that way, back when she was very young and thoughts about how two people could enjoy each other were new to her, but the timing was close and that became another constant in her life, even once he became difficult, even when she was married and… the occasional daydream about someone else does not count as infidelity, let her justify that, the fact that she wouldn’t have done anything under those circumstances does not-

Everything changed. Again and again. Somehow, she thinks, somehow it was always meant to lead to this.

There’s something decidedly comforting about having a body next to her that she has known in other contexts. Her daydreams may not have become reality until an hour ago, but she’d had more than enough valid reasons to see different parts of his skin over the years and especially these past few months, different injuries to tend and an understanding that she would be respectful and-

So was he, she reminds herself. So was he, those weeks when movement was uncomfortable for her. No delusions about protecting her modesty, but nothing beyond what could be explained by circumstances either, nothing inappropriate or-

Things change. People change. Will that ever feel normal, or will she always be distracted by that past?

She shifts position to look at him now, to run her fingers over his skin and map what she knows. She’s tended every new scar except for one, and it was just as well she wasn’t in proximity when that seemed like a good idea, and-

“What are you thinking right now?”

So many things, she would say if she wanted to talk. Something about cosmic inevitability, how long she’s waited and how certain she was of the ending but never the details, something-

Instead of any of that, instead of anything too intense for their current condition, Abby laughs. The body does what will, and-

“I didn’t think we’d happen like this.”

Marcus gives her one of those looks, in a past life a warning sign that he was about to say something intended to set her off and make her the bad person but in this one… she’s not as sure of him as she used to be, and the unpredictability has had positive results but at the same time-

“That was… decidedly less aggressive than-“

“I’m too tired for aggressive right now. Maybe later, but-“

“That wasn’t a complaint.”

She’s known, on some subconscious instinctive level, that the daydreams have been some kind of mutual for… as long as she’s had them if not longer, probably. The absolute inevitability of it all, so comforting and overwhelming at once, all of their eras and evolutions and this is the one where they finally-

“You sure about that?”

He doesn’t respond immediately, and there’s something warm about it, the averted eye contact and the mutual shock and they have both had a long few weeks and maybe-

“Aggressive will be fun. So was whatever that was.”

No wonder his various entanglements have never lasted long, she’s tempted to say. No sense of what’s appropriate in aftermath, absolutely no-

Maybe it’s different because it’s her, because she actually means something, because she suspects she’s the only person who ever has. She would never go as far as to assume unrequited love – there’s a nice ten or fifteen year stretch in there where she knew damn well he did not have that emotional depth, and its recent redevelopment is still weird – but something adjacent to it maybe, some kind of guiding light, some kind of-

“Fun,” she repeats, and such a small word shouldn’t taste bitter. “Is that all we are?”

“Too early to call.”

“Wrong answer.” She shifts position so he can see more of her, how good she looks in this state and… she hasn’t had to think about how she might be seen in nearly two years, and before that her marriage was always so easy like this new dynamic will never be, if they are something it won’t calm either of them any further and-

But they have to be something, she thinks. She’s never wanted casual from anyone. To be minimized like that would be-

“For once can you just… not immediately compartmentalize?”

“Who are you and what did you do with my lifelong nemesis,” she laughs, leaning in to take a kiss. “Those words just sound wrong in your voice.”

“I’m trying. Mostly for you.”

She never asked for that. They’ve had that fight, repeatedly, in the past few months the only reason they’ve gone at each other, and… somewhere along the line she accepted that while she’d more or less ended up with slightly more blame for his attempts at becoming an actually decent person than any of the abundance of other contributing factors to that midlife crisis, she wasn’t the goal of it. How their dynamic has developed in that time has been real and without ulterior motives, and that’s so damn strange coming from him but still-

As much as it still feels just a little wrong to admit it, she trusts him. Even when they were at their worst, she still did, but more so now, more so-

“I’m not your morality pet,” she murmurs. “Don’t forget that.”

“You’re not,” he replies, getting an arm around her back and pulling her a little closer. “You’re much more…”

They don’t talk for a while. They’re better that way.

#ebf writes fic #kabby #queue

[lonelywretchjervistetch]

My DCCU Interlude: The Legion of Super-Heroes (Part Six)

Part VI: Starting the Story AKA The Pilot

So, with the set up of the last five goddamn essays done...now what? You probably won't be terribly surprised to hear that I'm not a writer by trade. A rambler, kinda, but not really a writer. But I'm also an avid watcher of television, especially superhero series. So, I have a general idea of what I'd like to see in this series. Not sure still whether it'd be animated or live-action, but I'm aiming for hour-long episodes (dependent upon streaming or ad-time) either way.

This post will be a basic layout of plots for a first season of this show, with the plan to set up a second season as well. As for what I'm using as a sort of basis, well...that's tricky. This is a series with a large ensemble cast, dramatic character-based storylines, and a literal universe of worldbuilding, meaning it should feel like a lived-in universe that the audience can get invested in. So, when I was thinking about the most beloved and successful television series of the past decade or so, I landed upon two answers. Two...extremely controversial answers.

Man, oh MAN, is The Flash the biggest disappointment of my life.

Look...The Flash was a really bad show...for the last 4 seasons. Seasons 4 and 5 were not horrible (not amazing, but not horrible), season 3 was pretty decent, and the first 2 seasons were honestly quite good! It has a large supporting cast, great antagonists, recurring dramatic storylines (for better or for worse; looking at you, Iris-Barry romance), and it was a superhero show based on a DC Comics character! So, good, right? Well, the first seasons are definitely good models to base this Legion series off of...but the series as a whole is a big fat warning sign, especially writing and plot-wise.

It's pretty obvious that the series creators didn't have a great plan for 9 seasons of this series, and even the first three seasons are more repetitive than you'd expect or want. I could talk about the massive wasted opportunities of this series for a LONG time (and I will, don't worry; might devote an essay to it, honestly), but it had a lot of problems. Also...yeah, the budget for this Legion series has to be higher, whether it be animated or live-action. I want the world to feel real and lived in, not to not be fueled by crossovers for that sensation.

And sure, there are much better superhero shows to use as a basis here, especially during the renaissance we're currently in. Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, WandaVision, Loki, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, and She-Hulk are some of the recent best. And hey, let's not discount DC completely, either. Doom Patrol is pretty fantastic as comic-book adaptations go, as is Peacemaker, and I haven't really watched Titans past season 1, but I hear it got better as the series went on. Oh, and Stargirl and Superman and Lois! But using the Flash as a basis is...personal.

That said, I do think The Flash also works as a basis because of the wackier nature of the source material. For the messiness of the series, it's never been afraid to go to some crazy places, adapting storylines and characters from the comics with little hesitation...and sometimes little accuracy, but that's a different story as well (lookin' at you, Zoom). But OK, that's one inspiration. What's the other?

Game of Thrones' first season is, genuinely, some of the best television I've ever watched. The wide scope of that series, both dramatically and story-wise, is a great model for a Legion series. With the first season so eloquently showing the fall of House Stark from grace, foreshadowing the rise of Daenerys, and the various struggles within two battling houses. It combined political intrigue with medieval fantasy, and did so masterfully. It gave us memorable characters and storylines, which generated a faithful fanbase for a reason. Seriously, it was amazing television.

But both GoT and The Flash had their myriad issues, especially when it came to sticking the landing. Honestly, the former lasted as long as it did because it at least had the books to go off of. But once that material ran out, the series suffered heavily until the end. The Flash, on the other hand, took from its source material a lot, but never really had a good endgame in mind, and completely lost its focus by the end of the series.

So, looking at both series, the main lessons they have to give are:

Strong protagonists (e.g. Barry Allen or the Starks, Lannisters, and Danaerys)

Strong and memorable supporting cast (e.g. Team Flash, or...shit, so goddamn many)

Threatening and memorable antagonists (e.g. the excellent and unmatched Eobard Thawne, or...well, the Lannisters again, to be honest)

Character-based storylines (for protagonists, support, and antagonists alike)

An actual plan (The Flash had one until season 3, and GoT had one until the books ran out and they had to make shit up...badly)

I originally elaborated on this more, but this is all pretty basic stuff, when you think about it. I'm not exactly breaking ground here. I'm just pointing out where these shows succeeded or failed, and how.

So, with all of that said, it's time to talk about this prospective Legion series, huh? I'll be breaking it down by storyline, which are centered around the protagonist or protagonists involved. I've covered these guys in previous posts, as well as touching upon their storylines, so check those out for more information on individual characterization. OK, let's do this!

Prologue: Plans Unfold

On a dark planet, in some forgotten corner of the galaxy, a dark cult meets within stone catacombs. An obsidian spire stretches towards the depths of space, surrounded by a large and perfectly circular arena, in which the cult gathers. Runes cover the chamber, written in a language thought abandoned long ago. This is, of course, the home of the Dark Circle, the underground antagonists for the season. The robed cultists gather in this ancient place to foment their coming plans.

While the true nature and history of this place will be revealed by the end of the season, the seemingly ancient surroundings immediately set it up as a part of the endgame. Four of the cultists, egged on by the triumvirate of leaders, are sent out into the universe at large to seed their plans, as well as the season's conflict. They enter the obelisk, which acts as a beacon for Zeta Beams, which the Circle can aim and control. They send their emissaries to the next location: Luna, in 3038 CE.

Episode 1.01: Debut

The Moon, in this universe and timeline, is a large mining colony. It's here that one of the cultists arrives, to make their way incognito onto Earth, which will act as the true staging grounds for their plan. Their contact on Earth is a nomadic gang leader and criminal contact known as Cadis Thar-Ok, who will be a major player in this story. Also looking for Thar-Ok, and also on Luna, is Garth Ranzz, a farm boy from Winath here to search for his brother Mekt Ranzz, who was a part of Thar-Ok's gang when they wandered through Winath not too long ago. While the cultist heads towards Knighton, a neostate known for its (literally) underground criminal empire, Garth heads to Metropolis, the City of Hope. Here, he hopes to speak with the Science Police, and to find clues to his brother's location.

Also on this shuttle is a traveler attempting to escape her homeworld, and possibly find a temporary new one. This is Imra Ardeen, an outcast from the Moons of Saturn, specifically Titan. Escaping persecution from her people, and recruitment by the Titanian cult known as the Espers, Imra is attempting to remain hidden. In fact, she is dressed similarly to our cultists, but in brighter colored red robes, rather than the dark robes shed by the cultist. Wearing a circlet meant to mask and suppress her abilities, she is sleeping on the shuttle, and doesn't sense the danger of the cultist. However, she hopes to arrive in Metropolis to answer questions about herself by seeking out the Temple of Mars there.

A quick note about our passengers, in terms of casting. After some thought, Garth is remaining ginger and Caucasian, rather than the darker skin of the current comics. The reason for this is twofold. Firstly, there are way too many Black electrokinetics. Check out my second essay in this series for more about that, but it's ridiculous. Honestly, it's basically a stereotype at this point, and I'd rather not contribute to that. Secondly, though, there's a weird Ginger erasure happening in media, specifically when it comes to racebending characters. And while I'm very much an advocate for racebending, but even I have to admit that this is...really weird. So, yeah, let's keep one iconically Ginger character in this series, shall we?

But what about Imra? She's canonically a Caucasian blonde, but there's no canon reason for this choice. Honestly, as far as I'm concerned, Imra could be any race, and I actually sort of like the idea of a dark-skinned Imra with blonde hair. I tinkered with this idea previously, but I'm actually sort-of digging it now. Especially because...well, name a Black female true telepath in media. No cybernetic enhancement, no magic, just telepathy as a primary and innate power. Go on. I dare you. You can't. Now, that's a trend I'd be down to buck.

We'll get to our third member in a second, but I'll spoil now that I'm thinking AAPI for him. That's flexible, though, so throw whatever image you want in your personal headcanons. Now, back to the story!

Once the shuttle arrives, Imra and Garth depart, and we see their initial reactions to this beautiful and futuristic city. Imra is mostly nonplussed, but Garth is very much into it, before quickly being overwhelmed. We then change to our third major focus: Rokk Krinn, a citizen of Braal and locally notable athlete, here to speak with the United Planets on behalf of his impoverished world. He meets Marla Latham, assistant to his sponsor, R.J. Brande. Marla goes over details of Rokk's stay, then offers to take him to meet Brande, who's currently in his favorite place: the Hall of Heroes.

The Hall of Heroes , a relocated and restored Hall of Justice, is an attempt to revitalize one of the older districts in the city, specifically located next to the historic Steelworks building, which has fallen into disuse in recent centuries. The Hall was moved from Washington D.C., after a historical event known only as Godfall nearly destroyed it and the rest of the city. Housing a massive amount of historical artifacts, the Hall has been expanded upon and restored over the years, until becoming the predominant collection of artifacts from the First Age of Heroes.

As a major feature of the city, Garth and Imra are also headed here. Garth's journey led him to the Science Police, but he stopped at the museum after being turned away from the busy station. Imra, on the other hand, went towards the Temple of Mars, only to find that they had no solid connection with the one she sought, the legendary J'onn Jonzz. Instead, she came to the Hall of Heroes to find more information on him, so that she may herself be helped. And, of course, there's one more person headed here.

In Darkham, the crown city of Knighton, the cultist has found Cadis Thar-Ok, who contacts one of his men in Metropolis to assassinate R.J. Brande for the Dark Circle. The purpose of this is to eliminate a driving force for planets to join the United Planets, which increases order in the universe. Braal's membership is tenuous at best, hence Rokk's visit here. Were Brande or, even better, a Braalian celebrity to be assassinated, this would foment chaos in the UP, and further the goals of the Dark Circle.

As planned, Thar-Ok's assassin makes their way to the Hall, following Rokk and Marla inside. Here, the DC fanboys are fed with artifacts that we haven't seen yet in this fledgling DC Cinematic Universe, as well as hints of battles to come in future projects. It's one of those Easter egg-filled scenes that fans love to dissect for all they're worth. We also get a view of the museum through the eyes of our main characters, which gives us insight into their desires and characters.

Garth, for example, is focused on finding his brother, and meting out any needed justice (or vengeance) against Thar-Ok and his crew. His focus is, therefore, on crime-fighting, so he heads towards a controversial wing of the Hall: Batman's. Now most of the artifacts about the Dark Knight are actually in Knighton, which includes the place once known as Gotham City. Here, though, the Hall focuses on Batman's role as associated with the Justice League. As such, this is a slightly more sanitized version of the character, more akin to Bronze than Modern. Garth, therefore, is interested in the legend of the character, moreso than some of his darker realities. He doesn't want to be Batman. He does want to fight crime of the same caliber, however.

Imra, for her part, goes to the area devoted to Martian Manhunter, as well as the other Martian visitors and heroes that have visited Earth. We can get a look at Miss Martian here, as well as possibly even Jemm, Son of Saturn. However, unsurprisingly, this exhibit is somewhat sparse as well. Mars has reclaimed much of this exhibitry, and other pieces are found in other exhibits or museums. So here, Imra doesn't quite find the answers she's seeking. However, as she's realizing this, she also gets a sense that something is wrong. This drives her to head towards the most popular exhibit. Which, of course, focuses on...

Understand me. No hero is revered more in the 31st century than Superman. Period. There cannot be any doubt about this. The legacy of Superman has lived beyond the ages. However, because of this, there are a lot of misunderstandings about him as a person, outside of being a hero. Put it this way. You know Hercules, right? His labors, his history, that one little time he murdered his wife, you know? But, like...what was his favorite color? Favorite food? Was he a morning person, or a night owl? Do you really know anything about him personally? Hell, what was his actual name? Yeah, I see you nerds with your hands up in the front of the room. To the rest of you, though...did you know his name isn't Hercules? Or Heracles? It's Alcides. But people tend to forget that fact.

What I'm saying is, that while the knowledge that Superman was Clark Kent is technically public knowledge...nobody gives a single shit about the person he was. And so, this exhibit is to all the flash, pomp, and circumstance that is Superman's deeds and legends. We see his villains, his greatest fights, his triumphs. But what Rokk and Brande see, as they walk around this portion of the Hall, is the hope and love and inspiration he gives to everyone that sees him. And that is what brings them together. Superman is the centerpiece of this portion of the franchise, and we should see some of the stuff that he's going to get up to in the future of this DC Cinematic Universe.

Brande and Rokk meet, they have a conversation about Superman and the Hall, as well as the personal strife they've seen and suffered. It's the beginnings of an important conversation, but both are continually distracted by their surroundings. As they have their talk, Garth and Imra walk into the exhibit, sort of in the background. Maybe Garth's reaction to Superman (which should be notably in awe) is noticed by Brande as a part of their conversation. Imra should come here sensing something wrong, but pause in the visage of this figure of legend. Yeah, I'm hamming it the hell up, that's the point.

But of course, in the background, we should see the assassin enter, ready to take Brande out from the shadows. The dark thoughts and influence he's exuding start to overwhelm Imra, which gets the attention of a nearby Garth. She points out what's going on, just as the assassin is readying a weapon. Garth, acting on instinct, fires of a wild lightning bolt at the guy as he sees the weapon. This loud and bright burst of energy gets the attention of the entire Hall, causing them to panic. The Science Police are called, while Brande and Rokk are also made aware of the situation. Hectic action sequence takes place, and Rokk uses his better-honed abilities to disarm the assassin. Imra, unable to hold back her power at this point, uses it to paralyze the assassin as they flee, in an impressive-if-terrifying feat. An extremely haphazard, if effective, display, from all three.

The Science Police take their sweet time to show up, and question the trio in their actions, as well as speaking with Brande and Marla. We meet two members of the police in particular: Gigi Cusimano and Director Ryna Norg. The former is impressed by the action of this trio, while Norg is not a fan of vigilante justice. A common problem in a post-Justice League world, this is a major sticking point for her, so she acts to suppress it as best as possible. In fact, she's about to arrest Garth for damaging the museum, before Brande steps in.

I should stress, by the way, that Ryna is meant to come off as a hard-ass, but also as a great cop and decent person. A bit harder than someone like Commissioner Gordon, but with the same dedication to her job. While she'll be an antagonist, she's not a malicious one. After this misunderstanding, Garth tries to get her ear about his brother, only for her to brush him off and tell him to go through official channels. Not encouraging. When he insists, although he's already on her bad side, Norg agrees to get his info and send an officer to speak with him later. As for where he's staying, he has no answer to that...until Brande steps in and offers to put up him and Imra. Both accept.

Now, at this point, the episode is coming to a close. Other stuff has filled in this episode to extend it to the appropriate amount of time, whether that's flashbacks or extra scenes that I, as a non-writer, haven't come up with. But, at the end, as the trio are settling in and introducing themselves to each other, Brande begins to come up with an idea. And from this, we cut to our final scene.

Typical Science Police interrogation, where we get to see the inside of headquarters. Officers Ryna and the reptilian Howkun try to get information out of him, but he reveals nothing. His role was, of course, as a gun-for-hire that knows nothing about the larger operation. He only knows that he was sent money by someone who wanted Brande eliminated, but has no more information to give. After a while interviewing him, the two officers exit the room and report to a watching Ryna Norg.

Suddenly, the criminal starts to scream, as if being attacked by someone. And before the Police can gas the room or otherwise intervene, the man explodes into body parts, as if sliced apart cleanly by an unseen knife. The officers intervene, but too late to catch anyone. They quickly spread out on Ryna's orders, and the police station is locked down. As this happens, the body parts lie abandoned in the room, with the prisoners head on the table.

Said head then begins to look around, and his body parts start to move.

This man is hapless criminal Cory Belkin, AKA...nothing, actually. You may recognize a character like this from James Gunn's fun and crazy movie The Suicide Squad. In the film, he's known as "The Detachable Kid", or TDK, and he's meant to be a version of another character from Legion lore. Only problem it, he's about 1000 years too early. So, I'm changing two things. One, this is a racial ability for this alien species, from a planet I'm calling Zerpitz. And two, they have the ability to completely separate parts of their bodies, rather than just their limbs. Problem is, it'll take a bit for Cory to come back together.

Either way, Cory takes his time to escape from the poorly secured room, with the help of a device hidden within the vents by one of Thar-Ok's criminal allies. By the time the officers return, his body is gone. With an untraceable weapon and no criminal, the secrets of this crime will remain unsolved by the Science Police. Their first L of the series.

Oh, and yes, this person is absolutely related to Arm-Fall-Off-Boy, for anyone who was wondering. He'll show up later on.

As the cops scramble to figure out the next move, the body parts of Cory Belkin also scramble out of the station. While it takes a while, Cory manages to pull himself together (maybe sans a digit or three), and makes it to Knighton. He reconvenes there with Thar-Ok, who's flanked by other members of his gang. There are, in fact, multiple powered people in this group, many of whom are young, and all of whom faithfully serve Thar-Ok. He congratulates Cory on getting away from the Science Police, but also recognizes that it's only a matter of time before they figure out something's up. Which means that Cory is now a liability. And so, Thar-Ok sends Cory away with cheers at his back, and certain death at his front. A Dark Circle member follows him through the shadows of Darkham, and actually kills Cory Belkin.

Thar-Ok recieves a message that the ugly deed is done, and that a new mission will come soon. We also get confirmation that Thar-Ok, because he can't help himself, used his connections to commit a few robberies in NuMetropolis while the police were on lockdown from Cory's escape. He's somewhat intelligent, he's very brutal, and he knows how to take advantage of a situation. Thar-Ok is our first major boss for the season's first arc.

Well, that's the pilot! I really wanted to devote one full essay to this story launching point, but that won't be the case for the rest! As this essay series moves forward, I'll be putting episodes into bundles, summarizing overall story beats and storylines, as well as establishing characters and their development, if any. And, of course, I'm only covering the first season of this proposed series. After that? Eh, I have other essay series to finally write.

Next post, I'll be putting up the first major arc, in which the Legion is officially established, the other core members are introduced, and the first scuffles with Thar-Ok and his gang lead to the introduction of the next threat: the assassins. See you then!

Next: Birth of the Legion (1.02 - 1.05)

Index: Legion of Super-Heroes

#dc comics #dc #dc cinematic universe #dc universe #james gunn #my dc cinematic universe #my dccu #my dcu #dccu #tv show ideas #losh #legion of super-heroes #legion of superheroes #legion of super heroes #cosmic boy #rokk krinn #lightning lad #garth ranzz #saturn girl #imra ardeen

[arrancxr]

You hate the Shinigami side for the most part, yes? Are there any that you hate in particular?

Oooooh, this is a good question! owo

From a story standpoint, most of my dislike for the Shinigami side is directed at the system more than the individual people, honestly. I feel like a LOT of their problems are tied to how their society operates, not the people caught up in it. Most of them, especially the ones who aren't at the very top of the ranks, seem pretty decent! However, from the way they approach the conflict with Hollows to the way they treat the people in their own realm, they're awful.

Turning to a meta standpoint, I would have liked the Shinigami a lot better, I think, if they hadn't been cast as the ultimate good guys. It's not fair to expect anything too deep from a shounen manga, I know, but probably the number one thing that bothers me about the Shinigami side is that they're given an author-granted privilege to do whatever they please and still be the designated "good".

Like, Szayel and Mayuri are pretty equal in terms of moral atrocities and general nastiness. And yet while Szayel's sadistic mad science is portrayed as disturbing and evil, to the point where the horrific death he gets is treated like something he deserved, Mayuri... pretty much gets off scot-free. He's a Captain with active permission from the ruling government to more or less do whatever he wants, the people around him (who are supposed to be the good guys!!) never do much more than complain about the creepy shit he pulls, and the main manga ends with him still doing exactly what he wants, with no more punishment than a brief wound to his ego from losing Nemu.

And that's where it irks me. Shinigami are allowed, if not encouraged to be as cruel as they please when dealing with Hollows. We see them do things every bit as awful as the Arrancars' actions, but the narrative insists that, by the sole virtue of being Shinigami, it's somehow acceptable when they do it. The moment when Zommari questions the Shinigami's right to kill Hollows could have been interesting! It could have opened up a whole discussion about the fairness of the Shinigami system, both to the Hollows they're killing and the souls in the Rukongai they're (supposedly) protecting!

Instead, Byakuya shoots down the moral question with no further answer than "because I'm right," and it never comes up again. There's a recurring theme of Shinigami characters being narratively protected from any wrongdoing... when it's done to anyone else.

When Shinigami (or human, by protagonist extension) characters get hurt, it's a bad thing, and the perpetrator is immediately and inherently a villain. When other characters (most notably, Hollows) get hurt, so long as it was a Shinigami that did it, the action is almost always justified somehow, or at least reduced in "badness". The only real exception is when assigned "villain" characters are involved, and even then, that doesn't always make much of a difference.

For example— the Visored are the results of Aizen's inhumane experiments. They suffer for it, for a while, but in the end, they're accepted into the main cast as important characters and "good guys", and it's widely accepted that what Aizen did to them was fucked up and cruel. And yet, Wonderweiss, who's also a result of Aizen's experiments (and is debatably much worse off from them), is shown none of the same mercy. He's relevant for as long as it takes him to be a living fire extinguisher, and with the sentiment of "I can slaughter you without hesitation," is killed and forgotten.

I could go on for much longer here, but I think I've made my point... >.> Though, since you asked about specific Shinigami I dislike, I'll point out a few of those too.

Mayuri — Where do I even start? I'd probably like him a lot better if he didn't get away with so much (I do tend to enjoy awful anime men...), but his utter lack of consequences for anything, ever, just really puts me off. Since he gets a narrative pass for pretty much everything, he's not fun at all! >:(

Kenpachi — Similar to Mayuri, I'd probably be more fond of him if he was written differently. I'm generally a fan of overpowered characters (when they're well-written), but Kenpachi seems to exist solely to be Kubo's Ass Pull vessel whenever he writes himself into a corner and doesn't know how else to kill off whichever nonsensically impossible to beat villain he's set up this time.

Yamamoto — He's pretty much the face of what's wrong with the entire Shinigami system. On top of that, the "wise, ancient leader who's stuck in his ways and far too strict" trope doesn't appeal to me much. I just don't see anything to like about him...

Byakuya — Tbh, his fight with Zommari made me really not like him. His type of character can work, but the fact that Byakuya single-handedly shut down the most promising moment of maybe putting some actual thought into the Shinigami vs Hollows situation ruined him for me forever.

Those are the ones that I actively dislike the most! There are more who are on my ick list because they're just plain boring, but that's a different matter altogether.

#Meta

[inventors-fair]

Artistic Renditions - Artist’s Alley Runners-Up

The Forever Hour by @abzanhero

I’m glad you included that reminder text, because some player would definitely start some arguments about that. Thankfully, “until end of turn” stuff happens in cleanup, so there’s no real rules weirdness to skipping end steps (no more so than skipping upkeep steps), but it’s definitely a unique effect that feels at home on this card. The second ability should be an “if” since it’s a replacement effect, but that nitpick aside, it is such a cool ability. What better way to make players feel like they’re caught in a time loop than to have permanents constantly recurring themselves? Thanks to the two-turn delay, though, it’s still worth it to remove nasty threats to give yourself some breathing room. I don’t know if that flavor text was a reference or if you came up with it yourself, but either way, it really makes everything click in place. It’s a card I would readily toss into many of my decks.

Awaken the Ancients by @i-am-the-one-who-wololoes

I... cannot believe this effect hasn’t been done already. It’s so perfect! The main probably with most land animation spells is that you gotta tap lands to cast the spell, and a tapped land is a land that can’t attack. But CONVOKE! It fixes all those problems, assuming you have a big enough board. You tap the creatures instead of the lands, which would normally leave you with no board state, but oops all your lands swing in for massive damage because you didn’t have to tap any of them for mana! It’s a beautiful thing, and it works so well. Interestingly, I think you’ve used this art for a previous submission, long ago, which is pretty funny. Anyways, the one critique I have of this is that it may be a bit too good for what it is- convoke cards are typically more expensive than their regular counterparts, and turning your entire board of lands into 5/5s is no joke. I think it could be made more expensive, or if you wanted to push for a more interesting, fragile design, it could make the lands into 5/1s. Anyways, still a fantastic card.

Mind Break by @izzet-always-r-versus-u

We don’t really see many targeted Windfalls nowadays (or Windfalls at all, really), but this is a really solid take on one. It punishes the player for being greedy in more ways than one- if they were drawing a lot, they take a bunch of damage, and if they had all their good cards in hand, oops, not anymore! This is also a hilarious way to kill a player who has a hand bigger than their library. I do think you could have slotted in some very neat flavor text to really bring this one home. Also, I know it probably shouldn’t be an instant, because blah blah blah instant speed discard is bad, but... I kinda want it to be? I think it would be very fun, though it would stop someone’s turn in their tracks, so maybe too nasty. Anyways, love the card, love the art, well done.

That’s that, folks! Congrats to all who submitted! Commentary might take a little while this week cause I’m being pulled in a few different directions, but arrive it shall. Until next time!

~judge @naban-dean-of-irritation

#mtg #magic the gathering #custom Magic card #Inventor's Fair #artists alley #runners-up #commentary