#characters gaining weight as a representation of their healing >>>>>

[darkcircles4lyfe]

it's a story about hands (reprise)

Yeah, okay, today's the day.

I gave my blog that title for a reason, you know, and it has loomed over me for years because the hand motif is absolutely everywhere and you could go on about it forever.

Maybe that's something I'll never actually attempt to do, but this chapter, we reached a breaking point.

Before I continue, I need to give a big, big disclaimer: I do not have a physical disability, so I'm not able to speak about that from the standpoint of representation as a first-hand perspective. I have at least listened to enough disabled people to know that fictional characters who become amputees only to miraculously gain their limbs back is, um, a trope. Disabled people in general being "healed" is a conception we would really prefer to avoid here. Not to call people out, but I don't think we're giving enough space to acknowledge that.

I don’t feel comfortable making the judgement call about what should happen. I’m leaving that open. I also don't want to downplay people's emotional reactions. Honestly, I don't know if I can accurately define the line between acknowledging real pain vs. ableist pity. But I’d like to talk about the possibilities of what could happen. Other characters have definitely gotten permanent disabilities as a result of their hero work, or even just the side effects of their quirk. But, for better or worse, I don't think this case is really about representation. Not that Horikoshi won't do that justice. He might. What I'm saying is that's not his purpose for having Izuku lose his arms. It's meant to be symbolic, so we can explore what it means. The other thing I’m keeping in mind here is that Horikoshi is notorious for playing with our expectations, like, alllllll the time. I mean, just take a few chapters ago for a classic example. Eri appeared at the end, and we all assumed she was about to take some sort of action to save someone with her quirk. Then, immediately following, we were given an explanation for why that wouldn’t be happening. And now it’s clear he wanted to do that “fake out” not just as a silly cliffhanger prank, but specifically so we would know not to suspect that Eri could be the miraculous solution to Izuku’s loss of his arms. Rest assured, there is no easy way out of this.

The expectation at play in this particular instance is an old one. It’s very understated, but its subtext has burned so brightly, you’d be a fool not to notice it. It sits with anticipation like one half of a call and response. Man, I was so certain. Lots of people still are. I was really looking forward to printing the panel where it happened onto a t shirt and wearing it proudly. All the hand motifs in this story radiate thematically from a single moment, the one that started it all for Izuku.

It raises all kinds of questions about the act of saving, who needs saving, why, what does it mean, what are the dynamics of power, politics, honesty, exploitation, compassion, pity, disdain, sacrifice. Katsuki has dealt with many of these since he first rejected Izuku’s hand. While Izuku was the one who was convinced Katsuki would keep on rejecting him…

…Katsuki was the one who kept that moment in his mind all these years and eventually came to regret it.

Katsuki is the one yearning for that hand-hold, the one who has imbued it with so much more weight than it ever originally had. Izuku, in contrast, does not allow himself to dwell on what he wants. To illustrate this difference, we need to look at another piece of foreshadowing:

Ugh, do y'all remember when lots of folks were complaining about how there never seemed to be actual consequences for Izuku's destructive treatment of his own body? I don't blame them, I was concerned and confused about it too. There were several "fixes" along the way. Recovery Girl healed him, but left a physical reminder. Then he started training to fight with his legs… sometimes. Then he got support items. All of these were unsatisfying non-conclusions because they didn't present Izuku with a lasting enough impression to change in a meaningful way. They didn't address his core, his origin.

Of course, that all changed this chapter. Now it looks like our frustration was inflicted intentionally. With the current context in mind, all of these moments look more sinister, like this day was always gonna come because they kept putting bandaids on a deep emotional and psychological wound. The problem is pretty much spelled out for us here:

As Katsuki put it, he just doesn’t take himself into account, ya know? He doesn’t care what happens to him. And he lies about it, to keep others from worrying, to keep them safe. To keep them from returning the favor and putting themselves in harm’s way for his sake. His motivations are noble,

…but what about the little boy inside Izuku? Who saves him?

This is all about Izuku giving himself up to the point that he literally has no more to give. The thing is, I bet he saw this coming. He knew his limits and decided to keep going anyway, because his personal safety and wellbeing are not important. Now that way of thinking has come back to bite him because the fight isn’t over yet, and he’s already made his sacrifice. So now we know who will be more distraught over this. Not Izuku—Katsuki.

It’s not about Izuku becoming disabled, it’s about how Katsuki wanted to use the intertwining of their fingers to communicate that he would never let go. Never stop valuing him most. Never let himself make the mistake of rejecting him again. Never let Izuku be so reckless with his life. To say: “we are in this together.”…if only Katsuki believed he deserved to be able to say such things. To reach out his hand would have been the ultimate way to simply imply them and let Izuku be the one to decide. Then, to feel their hands clasped together would be more than either of them dared hope for, but so beautiful, so right. A moment they’ve waited their whole lives for.

Yeah. That’s what we were expecting. We’ve been so comfortable. Horikoshi gave us all the signs. He tempted and teased us over and over. BUT. You know he does this thing were he gives us a desirable, completely plausible and simple thing to look forward to, and then he snatches it away. And THEN he replaces it with something much better, something we were not expecting at all because it seemed too good to be true. That’s exactly what happened when Himiko snatched Izuku away, and we were robbed of the chance to see him and Katsuki fight together. In hindsight, though, I’m glad things went a different way because now there’s so much more depth and angst on display. Likewise, in the present moment, we may consider how, as one door closes, another opens.

As wonderfully meaningful as the hand-hold would have been, perhaps it is still too simple a resolution for Izuku, for his and Katsuki’s relationship. Tbh, it could have been done like 100 chapter ago. At this point, there’s so much more potential. There are a couple of ways it could go. If Izuku stays armless, Katsuki will be forced to use other methods to get his point across. He’ll have to do something else, or say what he means, or both. Yes, I’m talking about what you think I’m talking about. If I say it, I just might jinx it (lol), but I mean it. I’m being serious. Either way, if Izuku did get his arms back in the end, I’m sure that it wouldn’t be an easy fix. It would be hard-won against Izuku’s self-destructive mindset, and/or by Katsuki’s conviction. Again, I say this knowing it is not meant so much as a representation of disability, but as a representation of Izuku’s greatest character flaw taken to the extreme. I know this might sound harsh, like, hasn’t he been through enough? I get that, but… I’ve said it before and I say it again: Izuku is stubborn as hell.

I wish I had a resounding final note to end this on, but I kinda don’t. I’m not sure what’s best. Now we just have to wait and see what Horikoshi has in mind.

[fatphobiabusters]

Gotta say, as a fat person and a writer, one of the most healing things I've done is writing fat characters of my own and giving myself the representation I never got to have. My two favorites are: a stereotypical 80's/90's skater guy who calls everyone "dude" or "bro" and fucking loves classic rock and has fluffy bleached hair that always covers his eyes and he's kind of got Bill and Ted vibes, I'm just realizing.

And a chronically ill lesbian whose weight is viewed as super positive because it's a sign she's recovering from her most recent bout of illness and she's artsy and passionate and geeky and her girlfriend absolutely adores her soft, round face because it reminds her of the moon.

We need more fat characters who get to be more than just The Fat Guy, I don't get why people just seem to refuse to give their OCs actual human traits and instead revolve everything around their fatness and how funny or bad it is to be fat.

I'm glad to know there are people who are actively working on bettering the miniscule positive fat representation we have in media currently. I especially love when people make fat characters who are the opposite of all of the stereotypes and tropes forced on us. The athletic character being a fat person whose body has stayed fat all these years, a fat video game character who isn't forced to be a tank, the fashionista character is a fat person who grew up having to sew their own clothes and now is a sewing master with the best sense of style on this side of the Mississippi river. The fat person with an eating disorder who actually gains weight in recovery, the popular girl in school who's fat and not the bully, a love interest who isn't stick thin for once. I hope you continue to write fat characters you enjoy!

-Mod Worthy

[canmom]

Indika (title puns? sorry i got nun)

I played that game that got a bunch of hype a few months back! Created by exiled Russian devs Odd Meter and published by the absolutely on top of their game right now 11Bit Studios, it's a uniquely AESTHETIC orthodoxcore meditation on religion and nihilism that has more than a little Tarkovsky flavour. If you've seen any review of this game you probably know the score: splendid writing and blending of aesthetic registers, spaced out by rather more orthodox (ha ha) game puzzle design.

It's very much a setpiece driven game, leading you through a series of absolutely gorgeously rendered snowy, industrial environments of increasingly surreal size, all carrying a three-way dialogue between Indika (a nun who hears the voice of the devil in her ear and seems to be experiencing some kind of psychosis), Ilya (an escaped convict who's convinced God is leading him to some great purpose, if only he can heal his rotting sepisy arm) and the devil (who only Indika can hear, cutting in with sardonic commentary every so often).

So it's a story about becoming disillusioned with religion and shaking off moralism, about desperation, about ostracisation - and a very confident one at that, full of great presentation and acting choices and provocative events.

I think the interesting question with this is like, what does it gain from being a game, rather than e.g. a movie or even a play - or for that matter a 'walking simulator' game with no challenges at all? The puzzles don't really factor into it, they mostly function as a speedbump... except, of course, that running into blatant videogame puzzles adds to the sense of unreality that is given by the strangely towering architecture and giant fish and so on, acting consonant with the chiptune/EDM in the soundtrack, the 2D pixel-art flashbacks and especially the mechanical representation of Indika's faith as a pixellated point tracker which incrementally ticks up for every religious act, a device which pays off in the final scene.

So - much like NieR, it likes to play around with the imagery of previous eras of game as symbols. The benefits of being a game are then in a sense mostly aesthetic invocations - but it does make interesting use of them, e.g. a monster-chase sequence unexpectedly seguing into an argument with the devil about the different motives of humans and animals as the camera rolls to follow the defeated boss around a water wheel.

Honestly, the camerawork in this game is really something special - making all sorts of clever uses of curved lenses and striking compositions that really allow you to feel the weight of the environments. Besides the well-shot cutscenes, you can sit on benches in various places and switch through a series of striking camera angles. But equally, you get a far stronger sense of the moody setpieces when you are walking through them to figure out a path, compared to if you simply saw them in the background of an establishing shot.

There is also the matter of taking the characters and environment, which you might take for granted in a film, and drawing them into the realm of something constructed. To film a real convent covered in snow is one thing; to meticulously build snow shaders which respond to footfalls and perfectly convey the sparkling mushy texture of melting snow is perhaps a different statement, much as animated a movement and filming it conveys different emphases. Perhaps this is just the tech artist talking, but a significant part of the expression comes in walking around as Indika and observing the wind catching her wimple and the carefully designed ways she stumbles and fidgets. So yeah yeah, the medium is still the goddamn message.

Environment design and rendering seem to be real strong points for Odd Meter - sure, anyone can take the off the shelf engine features of Unreal, but it takes a lot of skill to really make it sing cohesively. Their previous game is a VR archery game called Sacralith, and while it doesn't seem to have the same artistic ambitions as Indika, I'm terribly curious to try it out now.

Definitely recommend giving this one a look. It's a pretty digestible four hours to play, so basically two movies. Which feels appropriate for this type of strongly narrative-focused game - very much for short focused games these days...

[thetisming]

bjhm is truly one of the best shows ive ever seen. it has a main character who has multiple mental illnesses due to trauma, and he is a bad person, but it has so many other characters who ALSO have multiple mental illnesses and they ARENT bad people. people do bad things but they arent bad people, theyre just people. bojack was just a person who did bad things, but the things he did started getting worse, and he didn't stop, or blame himself, he blamed alcohol or his childhood or anyone but him. he is a bad person. not because hes mentally ill, but because he does bad things and apologises and acts like it makes it better. it shows the process of healing, and that healing is possible for anyone, but some people wont heal, and some people relapse, and it shows people that DO heal and it shows weight gain from healing and it isnt NEGATIVE. it's a beautiful show that balances accurate mental illness representation, sympathetic characters, and humour. it's great. morality is not related to mental illness, it is related to the things you do, and how you act once youve done it, and what you do after. AND it shows an understanding of misogyny and rape and homophobia.

AND queer characters, theres some that are main characters with storylines but some of them just say 'my wife' and sometimes a character will react to that but sometimes it's just oh, she has a wife! AND A GENUINE AND ACCURATE REPRESENTATION OF ASEXUALITY???

[blimbo-buddy]

The best example I've seen of physically healing is TomSka.

I am happy that Tom is doing so well after all these years. He's a big man and he's so full of love and I am glad he's doing okay.

I am also doing a lot well with my body and feeling positive about it. I got a bit of a tummy and I am actually feeling less embarrassed of my weight.

Tubby and feeling positive! Woo! Depression can kiss my ass!

I feel like I remember seeing some people make jabs at TomSka for gaining weight and it fucking sucks seeing shit like that. It's important to look beyond the fictional characters who gain weight as a sign of healing and see real people who have actually gained weight as a sign of healing. Representation in fictional media is important but it's even more important - in my opinion - to see real actual human beings go through the same thing, because now it's solidified in your mind that yes, this happens, this isn't just fiction, there are many people like you and your experiences are not isolated

[barbiegirldream]

aventurine never made connections with the harmony. that was the order trying to integrate him into sunday's perfect dream world, trying to turn him into a shell of himself. you're taking the "farewell, kakavasha" scene way too literally. that was him coming face to face with the representation of his memories of home and family - all things he tried to repress due to the pain they caused and due to the way they seemed to hold him back in his new life - and properly acknowledging it. love makes up the foundation for who he is, and here he's re-accepting that fact

he's saying goodbye to dreamscape-kakavasha because he's not ready to die and reunite with his family yet, AND because he has no interest in drifting through the dreamscape forever either. the order claims pure, easy happiness, but he doesn't want that. he wants to find happiness in the imperfect real world. that was the purpose of his conversation with acheron... and that's why she reminded him to read ratio's note before leaving. to serve as a reminder that the potential for honest relationships and healing and happiness lay waiting for him if he just has the courage to leave the heavy comfort of the nihility. which he does

this was the set-up for a healing arc, not a downward spiral into further embracing the ipc's twisted ideologies. the game has ALSO set up an ipc takedown arc that would be spearheaded by characters like him, boothill, and topaz. why would he kill who he was for an organization that has NEVER had his full loyalty? he sought the power and wealth with the intention to try and rebuild his people's home and repay the individuals that helped him survive after he lost everything. he was just too late to save everyone he did this for, so he's been floundering, more than a little suicidal, and perhaps he was on the verge of losing himself. and then penacony comes along and he's forced to confront so many repressed memories and he is given some very valuable lessons from the emanator of nihility, whose words carry more weight than others because she should embody those ideals of nothing mattering... but she tells him to keep living. that the journey to the inevitable end matters far more than the end existing

he realizes too that his family, his people, and his goddess never wanted him to be their "savior." they just wanted him to live well. so that's what he intends to start trying to do. even if he'll have to navigate it weirdly for the time being due to the ipc's fancy golden chains

(also, one more thing: the stonehearts aren't radical religious followers of qlipoth. jade literally says they're all only in this rat race for their personal gain. the catchphrase "all for the amber lord" is EXTREMELY sarcastic)

Wrong they literally put the Harmony in his head that's the power Sunday's people have and Acheron tells Aventurine she sliced the brand of Harmony off him. You can't go through the story and assume everything you don't like is sarcastic or a metaphor lmao.

And I literally said IN the post IF the Stonehearts did Literally replace their hearts with their cornerstones THEN they are radical religous fanatics hiding behind the rat race. You must not like literal meanings of anything huh?

Also i added screenies and more under the cut

It was a gamble a bet every single bit of Aventurine's plan hinged on Acheron drawing her blade from the moment he set foot in Penacony. Everything else was to set him up to be standing right in front of Acheron when she did it.

Next he's drifting in Nihility he asks Acheron were we born just to die and she says I don't believe that and neither do you nor have you ever. Which is why he never Actually killed himself after realizing he couldn't help his people.

Aventurine knows the dice are stacked against them but he always takes the opportunity to role them. Acheron is only telling Aventurine the things he knows to be true. Most of what her arguments are, are based in Aventurine's own words. She knows he understands the Nihility already he is there to seek answers he doesn't really need but maybe confirmation? We'll see eventually.

Aventurine comforts who he was as a child before making his own way out of Nihility and leaving that child ans his past there. And instead of making Any moves to remain dead Aventurine makes it obvious he returned and bets with Jade that not only will he stay a stoneheart but get a promotion for his work.

Aventurine's fate is to keep gambling to live in the moment and not wait till tomorrow comes (see Trianne's we'll see you tomorrow that is Not Aventurine)

This consistency with how you take everything as little face value as possible in order to uwu Aventurine is your own Personal take on the story, but I don't have to agree or do the same.

Aventurine gave Boothill information on Oswaldo Schmidt which I think is setting up a revenge arc for Aventurine not a healing arc. And the stonehearts knew he was being ridiculously reckless and that's what they punished him on. But believe in his effectiveness beyond the risks he bring. If he's feeling less apt to dramatic suicide attempts that only benefits them

Because why the fuck would they be all in for the war on the Aeons for Qilpoth when there are a dozen other departments of the IPC that don't involve direct connection to an Emanator and Aeon. Beyond the fact that the IPC is a front for the power of Qilpoth and every asset they give THEM and credit spread is power. If you watch the stonehearts video where Aventurine's stone is fixed and it's just them "all for the amber lord" couldn't sound less sarcastic

[hungry-tum-stuff]

This is so real tbh

I recently discovered that I have OCD and ESPECIALLY when you work in the industry, I worry just about every second of every day that I’m gonna get clocked, that someone’s going to see one minute detail I ascribed to one of my characters and out me, that I am some kind of weird fiend fixated on kink and then my entire reputation will be consumed by that detail of my creative interests.

But then I remember that my creative interests are so much broader than my kink. And then I remember that people make what they love because it inspires them. Of course, there’s a place for kink art and horny novels about vampires. And sometimes I like to indulge and write something solely for that part of myself.

But the rest of the time? I’m writing about other things that inspire me. And sometimes I do include themes in my body of work that share themes with my kink: Weight gain as a form of healing, caretaking and having the strength to ask for help, fucked up monsters (I just think monsters are neat!)

But am I evil or manipulative for including these themes that I like in MY work? No! I treat my creative endeavors like a dnd campaign: The story is for everyone but there are some things only I need to know (and get to choose to share!) as a storyteller, and things I include because they’re subjects personally interesting to me. Monsters are neat, (as previously established) asking for help is still something I’m actively trying to work on as a person, and weight gain as a form of healing is simply important to depict. Because sometimes that’s just how the cookie crumbles! (For both my characters and friends experiencing the same. It’s a story that deserves to be told.)

*This is not a hot take for this crowd but I need to note that there needs to just be. Depictions of fat people in media as just People. Not a joke or a caricature, but the whole point of representation is to depict these lived experiences truthfully in order to normalize different ways of living. Because not everybody can live life thin. Not everybody wants to. That’s just not how things work. And that’s why you 🫵 my friends who have fat characters and a story in your heart, must keep writing!!!!

I’ve found that there is no line. I draw from my lived experiences and inspirations for my writing, and sometimes my interests overlap. Obviously don’t push your fetish onto people; That’s not what I’m saying here. But if people call you weird for including fat characters in your art, you should think it’s weird that they have a problem with it!!!

Uncertainty and being a self-critical comic artist with OCD and a stigmatized kink.

[paranovigilance]

The artiméans gaining weight in artimé after being starved in quill >>>>

Not only is it a perfect design choice but it makes sense character wise and it's a great representation for healing for them.

[bookwyrminspiration]

This might’ve been said before… maybe by me, but I hope not since I intend to remain anonymous. If you know who I am, no you don’t ♥️. Anyways, Tam and Linh definitely have tummies! Tummy representation!

It’s natural for fat to be stored there especially when eating more than you’re used to at first. Since they likely had a large diet change when they were first introduced… tummies! Linh’s fat has likely redistributed itself throughout her body in a healthy way, but since Tam was recently held captive by the Neverseen (where they have nasty food and he admitted to skipping some meals), he’s likely still got a tummy. And I think that’s wonderful. Consider this my annual tummy appreciation.

I've heard of Tam with a tummy before (which was also accompanied by a reminder to be mindful of one's perception and attitude towards asian men), but I haven't heard of Linh yet!

I think both are wonderful ideas, exploring more of the effects of what they've been through and additional body types, shapes, and fat distribution. As that's definitely an area Shannon lacks.

I am appreciating tummies alongside you! Good for them, tummies and fat are good for the soul. And this specific instance ties into a theme (I can't think of a better word) that I've been seeing/hearing more and more recently, which is about the portrayal and focus on gaining weight as healing. Which I think could be a very potential-filled topic/area for the song twins, and that a lot could be done with it. Their bodies not just a representation of the physical hardship they went through (but that also being addressed), but of their mental well-being.

I think the tummy appreciation (along with other changes to body type/shape/etc) would be delightful to spread beyond the song twins! We can take it even further! There are so many characters to insert our own representation using, and I love seeing when people do so :)

[kyriemrmister]

well

i've finally finished reading the crossover monkees RPF fanfiction (aka Time Prison Fic) that i liked that davy design from and um

how can a fanfiction be so unapologetically LGBT-friendly and anti-TERF and also hate women and sapphics so much?

it's also painfully obvious how much of a self-insert the fic's version of mike is (and tbh it also stinks of naruto harem fic except it's mike nesmith from the monkees instead of naruto and he's transmasc and there's more then women in the harem)

the earlier parts before mike came in were more tolerable (elaine kido is both a girlboss AND a girlfail. what a queen. i love her) but wow the monkees popping up and taking over the story ruined it.

mike literally has none of the babygirl and pathetic meow meow qualities he actually had (according to the monkees fandom on here) and is literally every poorly written alpha male OP self-insert harem smut fic lead on ffnet except he's trans, and surprise! he doesn't just like women! (props to that bit! but it's just an excuse for male and nb characters that half of the writing duo has the hots for to also get into mike's pants and be his cheerleader and do nothing otherwise like the women also do in this fic and almost any other harem fanfiction from ffnet)

there's also other Questionable Things, socks and his flanderization from genuinely good and interesting lead to 'heehoo funny meme guy', for one (i could write an entire dissertion on what the story lovingly calls the 'TFSP' oh man)

and whatever tf they did with micky dolenz (once she comes out as a woman in the fic she just becomes another cheerleader and porking object for mike and they disregard previous characterization for that. did i mention how much that half of the writing duo hates women and sapphics? because wow he sure does)

and tbh this fic also does davy dirty (he's just there for fetishization of fat people because the half of the duo who writes him has a weight gain and feederism kink and it's painfully obvious but he doesn't want to push it on mike because he doesn't want him being 'weak and helpless' or something)

peter is also done pretty dirty too tbh (literally he's just boiled down to 'hippie pacifist plantboy who puts up protective barriers and heals people', which is not a bad concept in itself, but it's executed so SO badly. like you gotta make socialist and bisexual autistic icon and avid woman respecter peter tork into a soft 'don't hurt me or i'll cry' boy to further elevate mike?)

and when a new character appears or an old character from earlier in the fic, 9/10 they're just there to be mike's cheerleader/pork mike/for mike to beat up

there's some genuinely good humor in this fic (the puns and wordplay are top notch in this fic, and they know the right time and place to slip in a meme or reference)

but wow. WOW. does the male half of the writer duo ever hate women and sapphics.

i'm currently reading the reboot of the story and tbh it also stinks of some of the same problems (mike somehow has the ability to turn straight men gay for him, which is funny, but also the ability also makes sapphics fall in love with him, a man, who isn't even close to being butch, fall in love with him too, which is kinda gross lol)

the only fun parts of the reboot of the story so far is the reimagining of the seiya and ikki rivalry as more of a bugs bunny and daffy duck situation (a very galaxy-brained but clearly not canon-compliant take on their rivalry. doesn't stop from making me love it though), women having more agency (when mike's not around lol), and the use of pizza tower as a new addition because peppino's pretty bang on characterization-wise so far and he's been frequently enjoyable as a character for the Most Part, as there's the One Misstep for the Crossover Mother of his OC Child because the whole 'don't age up children and ship them' discourse which taints the fic's version of peppino Slightly.

it's obvious the writers care a lot about representation but hm. there's a lot of woman and sapphic hate permanating this fic saga and its reboot (the reboot significantly less so but it still Stinks of it Slightly) and i think that's what ruins it.

[alexjcrowley]

Warning: Loki Spoilers and Ranting

I know Loki is a complex character, he is this loner with a painful backstory, that's just how he is and yada yada yada, but Marvel, you can't do this.

I liked this episode, I overall liked it, it was not perfect, I have my critics, but it's not bad. However, there is something that went completely out of the line and that's how Marvel is treating Loki.

In the first episode, Loki is stripped of everything: regal robes (regal status), powers, magic, his future, his free will, hope.

It's pretty bad, right? But then the serie goes on promising you, promising Loki he will gain new things on his journey.

And then Marvel stripped him of everything again, of the only two things he had gained: a friend, Mobius, and a love interest, Sylvie.

Now, I don't like Loki x Sylvie, at all, so I am kind of happy at least second season is not them two being a couple and fighting evil (I felt discomfort during their kiss, I couldn't handle an entire second season like this).

So yeah, I saw Loki destroyed emotionally, but it was kind of a relief I didn't have to watch them interact as a "couple" (putting quotes because Loki loved her, Sylvie couldn't give half a fuck about Loki, let's be honest).

But taking away Mobius was too much, because now Loki doesn't have anything.

Like before, no hope, no magic, no future, but now he also lost the two things he received "in exchange" of what he previously had.

As much as I hate Loki x Sylvie, I would have almost felt better if the stuck together, because at least Loki would have had someone, but you can't simply take everything from Loki and expect him to go on. Why? Because when they took everything from Thor he became depressed AND HE HAD EVERY RIGHT TO BE, EVEN IF MARVEL ONLY MADE FUN OF HIM FOR HIS WEIGHT. (You lost your family and your people and half of the universe in gone because you made a mistake? That's no excuse not to work out, fatso, right? Thanks, Marvel, I hope whoever wrote that gained some weight during quarantine and they are coming to terms being fat doesn't make them any more bad writers than they were before).

SO LOKI DESERVES TIME AND COMPREHENSION TOO AFTER ALL HE LIVED THROUGH, BUT I HAVE A FEELING MARVEL WON'T GIVE HIM ANY OF THE TWO, RIGHT?

Because you can't simply put a character, a person, through that amount of suffering and expect them to keep going, keep going.

I want a Loki that is actually destroyed, I want to see him explode, have a breakdown, because I am sick of just "letting him suffer, because we'll milk the cow of his hurt expressions until he dies again".

Stop it, please. You can't break him again and again and expect me to believe he stands up just like that and the progresses he made are untouched. The progresses he made in trusting people should be shattered by now, in an almost irreparable way.

And if you think I am being dramatic over just a character, I am protesting for representation of growth and what betrayal does to it. Of human psyche. Humans sometimes break, they are frail objects, you can't expect them to simply erase what bad things happened to them, you can't write a character like this. And I am sick, so sick of seeing Loki suffering because that's how you engage the viewers, hurting their feelings.

I hope we can all get a Loki who ended up with something good in his life, something happy, because he deserves it, otherwise they are just enforcing the idea a complex character in a bad place can never get better, that they are doomed because hurting them again and again is easier than trying to heal them. Hope and happiness are only for the heroes, right? The rest can suffer, it's not like pain will have a consequences anyway.

[fighterraven]

Fossil fighters representation in Smash.

Hey I'd like to share my ideas on Fossil Fighters Repentantion in Smash Starting with the Fighter, Hunter Himself.

Attributes:

With Hunter's child body, Hunter would be around the same weight as Young Link and would have the standard 2 jumps. Below average damage out put and low knock back attacks except for his specials

Gimmicks: FP, Vivisaur swap.

By pressing Down Special, Hunter will gain FP depending on how long you stand in your charging position. If you get hit at any point you will earn half FP, you will also earn half FP if you jump or shield at any point during the charge. To earn your full FP, simply hold down Special for 2 seconds. The max is 500 FP. Hunter will have a Shield Special. In this special he will be able to swap Vivisaurs and change his Special moves on the fly. Neutral Special will be represented by the AZ, the side Special will be represented by the left SZ Vivisaur and up Special will be represented by the right SZ Vivisaur. Now on to the longest part of the post.

Specials.

Hunter will have a menu system, similar to Hero. Holding down the special the button will make the Vivisaur stand there until you press the button again. The Vivisaur will stay summoned for 5 seconds. This means you can Combo into special attacks if used correctly.

Special 1: Spinax.

Spinax Fang: cost 50 FP.

Spinax shove: cost 100 FP.

Cyclone: cost: 220 FP.

Harden: Cost: 50 FP. Effect: decrease how much % Hunter receives and increases his weight by 1.2 × 

Special 2 Tricera.

Running Smash: cost: 50. Holding the button after move is executed will have Hunter ride Tricera.

Tricera uppercut: cost:  80 FP

Tricera dive bomb: cost 120 FP.

Enflame: cost 50 FP. Effect: Hunter's damage and knock back increase 1.1 ×

Special 3. Ptera.

Ptera Carry: cost 50 FP.

Prera summon: cost. 70 fp. Effect: causes opponents to instantly go near wherever Hunter is but the Opponent loses their shield for 15 seconds.

Ptera send off: cost all FP. Effect: Ptera will carry the opponent to the top of the screen for a KO. The more FP you have when you use this skill, the harder it'll be to mash out. For example if you use this skill at low FP it'll be easy to escape even at high percents and if you use it at high FP, it'll be hard to escape even at low percent. 

Special 4. Krona.

Krona Bite: cost 100: FP. Holding the special button will have Hunter Ride Krona

Snapping jaws: Cost: 200 FP. Holding down the button will cause Hunter to ride Krona 

Whirlpool: cost: 300 FP.

Law of the Jungle: cost 50 FP. Effect: Hunter will be at 100 % in exchange, Hunter's attacks will be amplified by the amount of percent you use this attack at. For example if you use this attack at zero % you get a 2 × increase to knock back and damage but use it at 50 %, Hunter will only receive a 1.5 × boost to his offenses. This skill's amplification will be increased as Hunter loses stocks, so at 0 % at one stock lost, Hunter will gain 3 × offenses and at 2 stocks lost, he will gain 4 × offenses. This move cannot be used to heal Hunter.

Special 5.  Paraloph.

Fist Jab Cost 100 FP

Dino Uppercut. Cost 150 FP

Paraloph Rush. Cost 220 fp

Special 6. Stego.

Spike tail. Cost 50 FP

Whirling Dash 100 cost FP

Wind Spines cost 150 fp.

Harden cost 50 FP.

Special 7. T-Rex. 

Tyrant's Roar cost 100 FP. AoE move

Tyrant's tail. Cost 150 FP.

Tyrant's flame. cost. 300 fp.

Special 8. Maia.

Dainty Punch. Cost 60 FP.

Null Song. Effect: increases Hunter's Shield size.

Healing song. Recovers Hunter's Percentage.

Healing Chorus. Heals all allies by 80 %

For Kirby, he will obtain whatever Vivisaur is in the "AZ" slot whenever he inhales Hunter and obtains his copy ability.

Normal moves

Jab. 2 punches and a pick swing.

F tilt.  Over head pickaxe swing.

Down Tilt. Fossil Dropping. Effect: 40 % trip.

Up Tilt. Upward pickaxe swing.

Aerials.

N Air:  Cartwheel.

F Air: Same as Cloud's only not as laggy and without the spike.

Back Air: Same as Joker.

D Air. Same as Ike's. 

Smash attacks.

F Smash: Same as Ike's 

Down Smash: Same as Mario's.

Up Smash: Same As Ike's. 

Grabs.

Hunter will have 2 grabs the standard grab and Kl33-N by holding Grab. Hunter can use Kl33-n as long as he has FP and Kl33-n can only go on stage, so no off stage grabs. And the longer Kl33n goes, the more FP he'll use. For example if your opponent is on the opposite side of Final Destination it will cost you 200 FP for Kl33-n to grab the opponent.

Pummel: Hit with bottom of pickaxe. Kl33-n will pinch the opponent.

Forward Throw. Hunter will angrily throw the opponent over head.

Down throw. Hunter will drill down his opponent.

Up throw. Hunter Will headbutt his opponent. 

Final Smash ideas.

Idea #1. Giga hammer: Hunter will pull out the control panel that Kl33-N stands in front of and Hunter will have 30 seconds to hammer his opponent. Any opponent above 60 will result in a screen K.O.

Idea #2. Giga Spinax. Hunter will charge into the opponent and summon Giga Spinax. 

Idea #3. Team attack: whenever you have 3 Vivisaurs of the same type, your AZ Vivisaur will charge into the opponent and and blast them with their team skills.

Idea #4. Frigi and Igno: Hunter will charge into the opponent and summon Frigi and Igno. Frigi will freeze the opponent and Igno will use all 3 of his attacks and fry the opponent it by Hunter throwing the opponent on Igno.

Alts.

Alts idea #1. All the Alternative outfits in the original Fossil Fighters.

Alts Idea #2.  Different Characters throughout the series. Like alt #2. Could be Dino, alt #3 Could be Dina #4 Could be Rosie, #5 Could be Nick Nack, #6  Could be Dr. Diggins, #7 Could be Saur Head, #8 Could be Holt.

Taunts.

Up Taunt: Hunter will dig up a rock. Each chance of finding a differently colored rock will be 25 % and neutral will be a 10 % chance find.

Side Taunt: Hunter will access the VMM

Down Taunt: Hunter will enter stone sleep.

Victory jingle and Victory poses[This|https://youtu.be/yaa1p6_IReA]

Victory pose #1 High fiving Spinax.

Victory pose #2. Teleporting out of the battle.

Victory pose #3. Riding the boat out of battle.

How Hunter will enter the battle field.

Depending on if there's water in the stage, he will depart of a boat, otherwise he Ptera will carry him in the battlefield.

Stage idea.

Dig Site Tour.

You will start out in the Fighter Area, and after 10 seconds you will board a platform and you will go to GreenHorn Plains and after another 10 seconds, you will go to the Knotwood Forest and so on and so forth. The last digsite is Coldfeet Glacier. The battlefield version of the stage will take place in the Fossil Stadium and the FD Version will take place on the Starship.

songs that will be used:

Digsite medley.

Fossil Fighters title theme.

A Rock version of the Level up preliminary and level up battle theme.

A heavy metal version of Bulwort's theme.

A jazz version of Rosie's theme.

Dynal encounter and Dynal theme done by a Choir.

Guhnash's theme but heavy metal.

Spirit Board.

Rosie: Conditions. The enemy will run away.

Opponent(s). Peach.

Dr. Diggins.

Opponents: Byleth.

Beth:  Conditions the enemies' will attacks will poison.

Opponent(s): Isabel.

Holt: Opponent(s): Young Link.

Nevada:  Conditions: enemy favors Foward tilts.

Enemy favors Foward Smash

Opponent(s)

 Simon/Ricter.

Mcjunker: Conditions: enemy is metal.

Opponent(s): King K. Rool.

Nick Nack: Conditions: enemy is attracted to items.

Opponents: Wario.

BB Trio: 

Opponent(s): Wario, Palutena and Duck Hunt.

Bullwort:

Opponents: Snake.

Spirit evolves.

Bullwort: (BB Boss.) 

Effect: All items gravitate to the player.

[sunflowerseraph]

HEEHEE! hits u back with the character game uhh thor or bucky :33

!!! I'll do... BOTH >:D ! It'll be long tho so I'm putting em under cuts :}

Here's the ask game btw!

Thor!

How I feel about this character: OH he's such a bi disaster. But he's trying his best. Textbook himbo. Crushed under the weight of his father's expectations of him alot of the time. Probably struggles with self worth nowadays too,with the battles and family he's lost! Also he's very much like those memes abt dudes/dads where they'll mention some horrible childhood trauma and then have some funny song playing in their head like nothin even happened.! I feel like he cares very deeply for the friendships he's made and the found family he's gained with the warriors three [rip] and the avengers! Overall? Kind himbo who respects women and forgets how smart he is sometimes.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: honestly this is such a hard question cause im sure if u presented me with like,good reasons for most people then I'd be on board. But so far one of my Main ships for Thor rn is Bruce and Thor <3 GammaHammer makes me happy :} I've seen thor n valkyrie stuff too which is like aight they're all bi4bi t4t prolly,but honestly a polycule or some shit w Bruce Val and thor would be Inch resting :} I'm not sure tho! Oh and Jane Foster I Guess but she's not rlly up there.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: OH absolutely thor and loki ! Brothers 🤍 I rewatch the thor movies the other day and seeing them fight together and hang out as kids made me so 🥺❗ yknow? I also think Thor n Darcy are a fun pair! Thor and the warriors three make me :} as well bc they're all buddies! That's his little family yknow!! Or. Was.

My unpopular opinion about this character: listen i know I just called him a himbo but he's smarter than people give him credit for I think. But also he's pretty cocky at times with his fighting ability and I feel like that's his greatest downfall. He tends to sorta think he can do everything on his own,and he doesn't rely on others until he really needs to and it ends up w him or his companions hurt :(

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.: ough I wish we could've gotten more time to see him experiencing earth stuff! In other like shows n such (like one of the animated series) its funny to see him interacting with mortals and I feel like we don't get that enough. Like sure we got the "another!" Scene and if you watched the YouTube mocumentary he obviously doesn't understand money or jobs. But it's still funny and I'd like to see him go "I don't understand what that means :D" like an optimistic puppy yknow :]

Uhmm yeh that's for thor! OK Bucky time 🤍

Bucky-

How I feel about this character: I feel like. They should do more w him in the mcu! But that's just bc im a kinnie ig but it makes me sad that he's just viewed as Steve's Sidekick when he's got a personality and works so well as Sam's partner in TFAWTS! I like the representation he can bring to the table though,regarding disability (I mean even though. He's an enhanced person but yknow.) And mental health! He also shows that your past doesn't need to define you and you CAN be free and work past old mistakes.! I feel like he's a little out of touch sometimes bc of the time shifts and mental stuff goin on,but I'm not saying it's a bad thing,its just compelling to meeee

All the people I ship romantically with this character: I USED to ship stevebucky I won't lie,but I much rather prefer SamBucky bc its just better LMAO Sam is much cooler than Steve in many regards and to me Sam is a better influence on Buckys life ig? Like. Idk how to explain it well enough but their banter is better and they compliment eachother rather than one of them taking the reigns all the time. I just like the level playing field where it still feels like Bucky can be a Sidekick but his partner at the same time rather than Just Bucky Barnes. Idk if that makes sense but !

My non-romantic OTP for this character: honestly I'm not sure? I feel like if they could both get over association's with like...almost killing eachother Bucky and Nat could be friends :] both were molded to be Weapons and have to deal with their traumas and mental health. Obviously I also wish Steve would've stuck around bc I hate that he like.LEFT his best friend and new family,but whatever.

My unpopular opinion about this character: I think bucky is sort of a dork actually. Alot of people make him very stoic and Winter Soldiery but that's. Not all he is! He's a complex person who's been used and weaponized and its annoying whenever people try to say he's a stoic person or whatever. Like no bro ur thinking abt the winter soldier. Ofc the winter solider was/is part of him and that doesn't just shut off but I think it's bs to boil him down to Killing Machine Assasinator Ooo Scary! When he was also a soldier during. Fucking Ww2! He was also like shown to be a bit of a dorky guy who liked to dance and be with chick's n shit lmao,like he mustve been a charmer. And even after,like during tfatws he's shown to still have bits of that personality. He messes around with Sam's nephews and offers help without prompting and just overall wants to live a more peaceful life while still managing to be social and humorous. ("How old are you anyways?" "106.") Anyways I think what I'm saying is ppl tend to forget to split him and tws.!

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.: this is sort of similar to the Thor thing but discovering new age shit! Like I wanna see him be bad at tech or be confused by new slang. Also wanna see him like, get annoyed at how the tech is where he's at vs. The wakandan tech. That shit probably blew his socks off and then he had to go hang w Americans and went :(?? How do i use a flip phone. The beads were so convenient in Wakanda HFNEBDB. I also wish we could've actually seen how bucky Healed in Wakanda?? Like however he was helped yknow? I'm sure they (mcu) can't like do much besides say he was Magically Cured Of Mental Illness so I guess I'm glad they left it up to whatever but. Still 😔

Anyways uhm yeah! Sorry this is so long sjdjf it prolly doesn't make much sense but 👍❤

[scarlet--wiccan]

I do feel like if the mcu version of Wanda has something to do with mutants showing up as many suspect (in a reverse m day situation I guess somehow) the twins will become mutants again—provided krakoa isn’t intentionally leading up to some kind of reveal about Wanda being made a scapegoat despite actually being a mutant (not that they should be treating her this way regardless but anti-mutant oppression is the only kind (white, cis, heterosexual) marvel writers seem to care about)

I genuinely don't pay enough attention to the movies to have an informed opinion on what's happening with Wanda, and I can't begin to guess how they're going to start incorporating X-Men properties. At this point, I don't think we know when, or even if, they plan to. Have there been any statements about it? If you want my personal opinion, I don't see the point of having the X-Men in the main MCU continuity. Like, Marvel Studios could continue making X-Men movies, but I literally have no interest in seeing Scott or whoever in the next Avengers.

I have been wondering if Wanda's representation in the current X books is leading up to some kind of turnaround. Hickman keeps trotting out this inaccurate, outdated version of the character just to, like, dump on her, and it's such a willful misinterpretation of past text, and so incongruent with her appearances elsewhere, that it reads as intentionally bad writing. It feels like a red herring, or a signal that something isn't as it seems. Either that, or he just really hates Wanda, and/or really enjoys demeaning and belittling women. Who's to say?

As much as I wish I could undo the chain of retcons that Wanda and Pietro were subjected to in 2015, I don't want it to come at the expense of the character growth they've since undergone. They've finally gotten out from under the shadow of Disassembled and HoM, but Hickman seems determined to drag them back down.

Pietro had a whole miniseries about becoming a more mature and self-actualized person, and Wanda's gained more agency and respect from her peers than she's had in decades. She's also, for the first time in decades, being written as a competent witch who fits in with the fantasy side of Marvel, and I really want it to stay that way. The character we saw in Empyre: X-Men was infantilized, short-sighted, spoken down to by a man who should be her friend and peer, and, for no clear reason, wearing a costume that's been out of date for nearly ten years. If this is what it takes for Wanda to be in an X-Men story, I don't want it, and even if it is a red herring, I don't want Hickman writing this character because he's a whole antisemitic racist!

Thinking about Wanda being used for a "reverse M-Day" just reminds me of all the different ways the situation could have been resolved while restoring at least some of her dignity. Children's Crusade was a great opportunity that would have required minimal tweaking. Hickman claims that Wanda can't "unring this bell", but she did have that power, back when she was hosting the Life Force. Unfortunately, Doom stole that power from her, and so she was forced to banish it altogether before she had a chance to really use it. With Billy's help, she could have wrested control of the Life Force long enough to cast a final spell. You could even write it so that Wanda's reunion with her children is the catalyst for the restoration-- it closes the cycle of magic by giving Wanda the chance to heal from her grief, and in turn allowing the world to heal from the damage her grief had wrought.

Only a year or two later, in AvX, something very similar happened between Wanda, Hope Summers, and the Phoenix force. Together, they were able to wrest the Phoenix Force out of a Dark Phoenix host and dispel its power, and doing so caused a proliferation of new mutants on Earth. It didn't heal everybody who'd lost their mutations before, but it was clearly meant as a resolution to everything Wanda had been through, and everything she'd done. It shouldn't still be hanging over her head like this, if the writers had chosen to do a true reversal of M-Day, it probably wouldn't be.

I don’t dislike the endings to either of these books, at least as far as Wanda is concerned, and I don’t necessarily believe that M-Day needs a perfect resolution. Tragedies have no narrative weight if they can just be just be undone. Having said that, M-Day was not a tragedy of Wanda’s making, and she has nevertheless been seen, many times, trying to make it right. We should be seeing her in this state any more. If a clear cut fix-it scenario would have put this to rest, I’d have taken, gladly.

[irinapaleolog]

With the Star Wars sequel trilogy now concluded with The Rise of Skywalker, fans everywhere now know how Rey and Kylo Ren’s story comes to a close. Those who have long shipped "Reylo" and yearned to see "Bendemption" finally saw it happen, but the film doesn't quite do the work to earn those moments, and forcing these issues highlights how profound the thematic disconnect between TROS and its predecessors. What started out as a compelling dynamic between protagonist and antagonist in the The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi was unfortunately derailed in the last act, delivering an unsatisfying conclusion to Rey and Kylo Ren's relationship.

A Knight and a Scavenger

Even before we learn exactly how they will be connected, The Force Awakens portrays Rey and Kylo as diametrically opposed. Both are introduced wearing masks, yet Rey’s lasts for barely a minute while Kylo doesn’t take his off until two thirds through. Rey is a scavenger on a backwater planet, scraping by on her own skills to survive, while Kylo is a major leader in an autocratic military organization about to achieve dominance in the galaxy, a position he secured via his connection to his grandfather, Darth Vader. Setting aside how we now know the story ends, as initially presented in TFA, Rey is from nowhere and Kylo is our heir apparent to the Skywalker name.

We understand by the midpoint of the movie that Kylo has a familial connection to all three of the Original Trilogy heroes, and yet he has inherited none of their heroism. Rey, meanwhile, has everything to gain from selling BB-8 and doesn’t, and within seconds of learning his importance to the Resistance is ready to put herself on the line for it. Rey looks to Han Solo as a potential father figure; Kylo cuts him down because he’s his actual father. Their opposing views are even literalized by the massive canyon that tears them apart after their duel in the snow. But there is something that does connect their characters in this film beyond their strength in the Force: their fascination with mythic iconography. Rey, a starry-eyed collector of Star Wars memorabilia (she lives in an AT-AT!), and Kylo, a vindictive child who prays to the burnt husk of Vader’s helmet. Both of them are children of the OT’s legacy, but one pulled to the Light, the other drawn to the Dark.

They spend all of The Force Awakens and most of The Last Jedi being enemies, and as presented on paper in all three films, there’s simply not enough build-up to sell the romance that the final film wants to go for. Not even The Rise of Skywalker fully commits to this concept, because the first half of the film is so focused on Rey’s struggle with her burgeoning Dark Side power, and her big team-up with Ben at the end is cut short because the movie also wants to get to the “all the Jedi live in you” finale, which Ben has nothing to do with. Perhaps moving towards a romance in Episode IX was always the plan, but the way it’s realized here, what’s supposed to be their heartfelt final moments together are lacking the emotional weight they needed.

A Shattered Alliance

Before we ever hear the term “Force Dyad” from Palpatine, The Last Jedi effectively communicates that Rey and Kylo are intrinsically linked just as much as they are fundamentally opposed. The connection Snoke forges between their minds through the Force gives us some of the film’s best scenes, and it’s understandable why they are drawn to each other after Rey’s journey into the Dark Side cave. After learning what might have been the worst possible answer to the driving question of her own existence, Rey lays her cards on the table. “I’ve never felt so alone.” Her emotional vulnerability is conducive to her reaching out to Kylo, a man who feels just as dejected by his origin story as she does by hers, and to mistakenly believing that she can turn him to the Light just as much as he hopes to seduce her to the Dark.

This tension (of multiple varieties) explodes in the throne room, with a lightsaber battle against the Praetorian Guards that glistens with passion and rage. The Light and the Dark, for a dazzling moment, unified in purpose. Yet when the battle ends, both of them believed they’ve won the other to their side. Rey begs for Kylo to tell the First Order to stop firing at the Resistance shuttles, and Kylo asks her to take his hand and help him rule the galaxy. Neither of them have changed. They are still opposing forces, and they once again pull apart, literally tearing the Skywalker saber in two during their struggle. Rey accepts her place as the last Jedi, while Kylo doubles down on his darkness by assuming the mantle of Supreme Leader. At the end of the film, even though they briefly united, they end with Rey closing the door on him. If anything, The Last Jedi reinforces their disparate nature rather than subverting it.

The Force connection they share is exploited further in The Rise of Skywalker, but rather than being used to explore their dynamic, it’s used more for the sake of spectacle. Consider how small moments of physical exchange in TLJ (some drops of water materializing on Kylo’s hand) are replaced with lightsaber duels happening in multiple locations. Cool? Sure. But the deeper meaning of why this bond was even established feels subdued here, particularly when Rey and Kylo destroy Vader’s helmet, not in a conscious cooperative act, but accidentally mid-battle. The thematic coherence of this aspect of their relationship feels lost in the chaos of the film’s frantic plotting and roller coaster pacing. A Broken Promise But with two major plot turns, The Rise of Skywalker tries to get Rey and Kylo back on the path towards not just reconciliation, but romance.

The first is the reveal that Rey is Palpatine’s granddaughter, which once again sends Rey into an existential crisis about her parentage, but this time saddling her with the same issue Kylo had: a grandparent on the Dark Side. Now her bloodline does matter, and it's no coincidence that Kylo is the one who reveals this information to her. After all, he is a tragic example of how the weight of an important lineage can turn someone to the Dark Side -- and now Rey is being crushed by it. While the attempt to create another mirror between the two makes sense in theory, it comes at the cost of being completely divorced from Rey’s character journey in the last two films. The shape of her own destiny she forged across the trilogy, the idea that her origins don’t need to define her capabilities, is destroyed. Becoming the Light Side’s new hero despite “having no place in this story” was powerful. Revealing that she did have a place in it all along feels like a shortcut to ensure Rey has another connection to Kylo rather than a natural evolution.

The second is Kylo’s rushed redemption arc, which makes no sense in the context it appears in. After Rey and Kylo's duel on the Death Star wreckage, a defeated Kylo gets another chance to turn to the Light with some help from the memory of his father, and this time he takes it. However, nothing that has happened to Ben in the previous movies or this one indicates that this would turn him. His opinion of his father hasn’t changed in any way since he murdered him, and his mother reaching out to him through the Force sadly falls flat given that they haven’t shared any scenes across the whole trilogy. Rey says she wanted to “take Ben’s hand” after healing him, and while that is an effective call-back to TLJ that could possibly get him to reconsider his morality, it also feels like a small piece of what should’ve been a larger arc across the movie. Instead, everything related to Ben’s turn has been shoved into this one scene. It’s not enough to communicate why, after all the horrific things he’s done, now is the moment he is redeemed.

Rather than getting us invested in an ending that felt thematically connected to the previous films or even coherent on its own terms, The Rise of Skywalker shuffles its pieces to get where it wants to go without justifying how it gets there. Ben joins Rey in her duel with Palpatine, running in with his father’s blaster, and all of his darkness is simply washed away. The idea of their connection being based on how they were representations of the Light and Dark Sides, how one came from nothing to become the last hope for the Light while the other was born from the Skywalker legacy and still turned to the Dark, is tossed aside. After such a strong first two acts, Rey and Kylo deserved a better conclusion, one that truly solidified the emotional bond these two characters were supposed to share.

Midway through TROS, Rey says “People keep telling me they know me. I’m afraid no one does.”

Maybe she was right.

[ao3feed-acotar]

A Court of Dark and Decay

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2YLKOfx

by maas_trash

Nesta Archeron has spend the last 6 months suppressing her power, her memories, and anything she and that Illyrian brute shared. Now, because of Feyre and her intervention, she is forced to travel with Cassian to the Illyrian Mountians to... to what? Get sober? Gain weight? Dig up what she has worked so hard to bury? No. Nesta would never let that happen. Let them cart her off with that bastard to the end of the world. He had stopped fighting for her the night of Solstice. She would never be a part of their perfect circle. She didn't want to be. Cassian would see that, and their little trip would end. Wouldn't it?

Words: 34234, Chapters: 11/?, Language: English

Fandoms: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas, Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas, Crescent City Series - Sarah J. Maas

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M

Characters: Cassian (ACoTaR), Nesta Archeron, Rhysand (ACoTaR), Feyre Archeron, Azriel (ACoTaR), Elain Archeron, Morrigan (ACoTaR), Devlon (ACoTaR)

Relationships: Nesta Archeron/Cassian

Additional Tags: Angst and Fluff and Smut, Slow Burn, Pain, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Mental Health Issues, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Healing, Healing Sex, Anal Sex, Oral Sex, Rough Sex, Semi-Public Sex, Post-A Court of Wings and Ruin, Post-A Court of Mist and Fury, Spoilers, Post-A Court of Frost and Starlight, Nesta is daddy, Cassian is also daddy, actually good representation, wlw, mlm, hate kink, Crying on the bathroom floor, also though sex on the bathroom floor, Makeup Sex, Mates, Mating Bond, devlon is a tool, Powerful Women, Mommy Issues, Daddy Issues, Cuddling & Snuggling, Justice, Revolution, War, my sanity is gone, yours will be too, plz read, I Love You, SIKE, Ouch, Emotionally Repressed, just like me lol, mature - Freeform, Graphic Description, Graphic Description of Corpses, Graphic Depictions of Illness, Gratuitous Smut

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2YLKOfx