#having a love interest does not make a bad character

[warrioreowynofrohan]

There have been some really good conversations between Brandon Sanderson and fans on Reddit about Wind and Truth, amd I haven’t seen much duscussion of them here so I though I’d post sone of the bits I found most interesting. One of the things I like best about Brandon is that he tends to engage thoughtfully with criticism (in contrast with his Reddit fans, who can be dismissive of it).

This part is about some of the complaints from fans about WAT feeling too “real-world” and not fantasy-like enough in its language (introduction of real-world swear worlds, the “therapist” joke, amd some of the other jokes).

One Reddit commentor writes:

Brandon has been having quips since the beginning of his time as an author though. I feel like people that compare everything to the MCU are the actual brain poisoned people, not the various authors that now get this insane critique lobbed at them (because it's not just Brandon dealing with it).

Brandon responds:

I wouldn't call people brain poisoned for this.

Warning: long dissection next.

I'd say that this type of humor (which is very much a Gen X style) was overplayed by the people in charge of Star Wars and the MCU, using the humor in bad ways, which has made the entire humor style feel less sincere than it once did.

When it worked, the goal was to humanize characters and make the world seem more real, more "every day life." That was the goal of, for example, Buffy itself--to take fantastic, out-of-this world situations reserved for action stars, and put normal people in those situations. The quips, then, didn't break the fourth wall, but helped make people seem real.

"Puny God" is a good example. It undercuts not the audience, but the arrogance of Loki, while also earning a laugh because we think, "Yeah, that's what would actually happen." It gives a pressure valve and makes things feel real.

But when Poe makes a your mom joke at the start of a Star Wars film, it does the opposite. We don't need the tension relief, and it doesn't feel like a character acting real--it feels like "insert undercut the moment joke A here." See the entire film Love and Thunder.

I think what's happening here, personally, is that readers want sincerity from their stories--there's this growing sense in cinema that we can't take anything seriously, because otherwise we'll be nerds, and only NERDS would like this unironically. So everything has to be ironic and making fun of itself. They long for, say, the sincerity of the LOTR films. (Which still had these moments, usually with Gimli and Legolas, but underplayed them.) Stories that say, "We're not ashamed of the drama, power, and beauty of a fantasy/sf story that takes itself seriously.” Andor and Dune are beloved for these very reasons. EDIT: I also should mention that Deadpool, somehow, manages to be both at once. You have the undercut moments, like when Deadpool trips and falls at the end of the extended fight against all the other deadpools. Yet it doesn't shy away from being sincere at the climax--shockingly sincere. So it kind of uses this humor in reverse; instead of the occasional jolt of humor, it uses a ton of humor, so it can have the occasional jolt of sincerity. Really an interesting storytelling style that absolutely should not work, and wouldn't, without the exact right people in charge. Again, Love and Thunder tried this, and I think largely failed.)

Anyway, I feel that audiences are associating this humor with insincerity more and more, so they're rightly sensitive to them.

(Note to u/kuroinferuno: they did complain about Therapist. I kept it, because at the end of the day, I get to keep a joke now and then that makes me smile, even if I know some won't laugh. Remember, in my books, I try to have a variety of different kinds of humor, because what some people cringe at, others laugh at--and vice versa. I loved that Kaladin, here at this moment of climax, was still baffled by Hoid. And, as I said, this is a genre of humor from my youth that is still powerful for me. From "Boring conversation anyway" to "He's adopted," lines like this really work for me if not overused. But I can see that the current environment of storytelling has made them stand out more, and feel more "hand of the author" than they once were, which in turn kicks people out. Which is something you really want to avoid as an author. At the end of the day, I'd have kept that one, but I'd probably have been a little more careful about other modern language uses so that I could keep the ones I really love, without kicking people out so often.)

I think it’s a solid analysis of when and where quippiness does and doesn’t work, and the problems with how it’s been used as a default for too long and as a substitute for sincerity.

Brandon’s post prior to this one was also very interesting to me, because it got into some of the things that I noticed in Wind and Truth – specifically, how the jumps between character POVs were much more frequent (very few chapters were sole-POV, in contrast to previous books) and seemingly unnecessary (we’d have, say, an Adolin-Kaladin chapter and the a Kaladin-Adolin one, both cutting to a different POV in the middle of what was going on, instead of one Adolin chapter followed by one Kaladin chapter.

Brandon comments on the reason for this:

The goal here was to give a sense of disquietude to WaT by breaking the formula in uncomfortable ways--leading to a sense of uncertainty while reading the book, a sense that something was off, that the average reader (which may not include the people of this subreddit) wouldn't pick up on directly except for a sense of something being "out of tune" as they read.

…The pacing is strange by intention. Instead of an opening action sequence as is common in Stormlight books, there's this disquieting sense of things breaking apart--Kaladin saying goodbye, Shallan and Adolin splitting, Dalinar and Navani being torn away from their kingdom. Instead of fast, slow, fast (as is the general pacing of a stormlight book) it is slow for a distressing amount of time, then jerky--jumping between viewpoints faster than Stormlight books generally do, with far more leaning on a variety of viewpoint characters than previous books have had.

As it goes, there's the uncomfortable sense that none of this is going to get fixed. That it's going to stay this way, despite this being a climactic book. The sense of stress to the book shouldn't simply be "Kaladin is away" it should be all of these things, together, leading to the uncomfortable conclusion that you're not seeing a series wrap up...but a series unravel.

Now, I don't say this to detract from anyone's criticisms of the book--just as explanation for what I was doing. The goal is a symphony going further and further out of tune until you realize, "Wait. This isn't going to correct. It's going to stay that way."

It’s really good to know that Sanderson was doing this intentionally, that the book was supposed to feel jerky. A deliberate stylistic decision (whether or not I enjoy it) is a very different thing from a writing problem the author is unaware of.

Sanderson also talks about the balance in writing for an online fandom who will predict polot developments way ahead of time, while also writing for readers for readers that aren’t part of those lore-amd-plot-analysis-heavy forums. And in retrospect it feels like Sanderson was trying really hard to not blindside the not-online people with the ending – the disquieting pacing and the crumbling chapter-heading art both serving to signal that this isn’t going to be a happy ending. Given that Sanderson’s books, including all 4 previous installments in the Stormlight Archive, tend to lead ypu to the edge of disaster before averting it, I get why he wanted to somewhat telegraph that that wasn’t happening this time around.

But honestly, the most surprising thing to me in the comment was that Sanderson has watched (and liked!) Deadpool and Wolverine. 🤣

[feroshgirlsims]

Monstrous Beginnings Navigation Post

Once they were monsters. Will the drama of mortality be enough? Or will the call of the otherworldly be too much to resist?

2024 | 18+ | PARANORMAL ROMANCE

Stripped of their memories and tossed into an alternate universe, four gods and monsters make their way as graduate students. But when a mysterious fae shows up, things get out of hand. Between exams, love connections, and family drama, will they be forced to embrace their (monstrous) destiny? Dive into this origin story novella for five characters from The Save File Chronicles.

Starring: Akira Kibo, Alice Martin, Miko Ojo, Vladislaus Straud, William Redding

OPENING CREDITS

CHAPTER LIST

Prologue: The Space Between Universes

An excerpt from “The Afterlife for Gods and Monsters” tells us what happens to godlike creatures when one world ends, and another one begins. 

Chapter 1: Bad Dreams are for the Birds

Four graduate students try to go on with their day after having the strangest nightmares. But what happens when the things in their dreams continue to haunt them?

Chapter 2: Happenstance

Alice and Miko try to grab pictures of the (definitely not creepy) Secret Society while Vlad and William play a game of Lairs and Llamas.

Chapter 3: Wolves is Watching

Jacques Villareal gets some interesting news about two Britechester students and sends Akira Kibo to investigate.

Chapter 4: What Not to Wear

Vlad spends the week burying bodies and worrying about what to wear on his date.

Chapter 5: The Devil is in the Details

Akira spends his first day of being a stalker glamouring the sims of Britechester U. The Devil reminds him to stay away from Vladislaus Straud.

Chapter 6: Dating for Weirdos

Vlad and Alice have their first date and both try to hide how incredibly deranged and neurotic they are.

Chapter 7: Lies, Damned Lies, and Ghostly Interrogations

Akira interrogates the ghost of Kiki Perkins with limited success. Later, he has a fight with his sister, Titania. 

Chapter 8: Conspiracies of the Nether Regions

Miko ignores her UTI at her own peril and has a run-in with her fellow TA, Emmett, who always seems to show up at exactly the right moment.

Chapter 9: Prologue for a New After-Life

An undying fae named Akira Kibo enters the afterlife via a loophole. 

Chapter 10: You Can’t Go Home

Akira dreams of the fae realm. In the waking world, he tries to resist temptation in the form of Alice Martin and Vladislaus Straud.

Chapter 11: Flesh of My Flesh

Vlad worries that he’s hallucinating Akira and has a full breakdown before following the advice of his grandfather and getting a boss. 

Mid-Season Catch-up Post: Click here if you want to get a quick summary of the first 11 chapters so you can start with Chapter 12.

Chapter 12: 50 Shades of Enchantment

Alice does some research with her new assistant, Vlad, and discovers the joy of being in charge. Meanwhile, Miko starts work at an apothecary shop in Glimmerbrook.

Chapter 13: If You Give a Fae a Cookie

Akira visits his longtime father figure, Diego Lobo, blows things up with his co-worker/fuckbuddy and takes Alice on a date that she doesn’t realize is a date.

Chapter 14: A Little Stab-Cute

Akira decides to take Diego’s advice and risk it all for love by letting Vladislaus stab him. For romance.

Chapter 15: Brain Drain

Jacques sends Akira on a job with Cora, who promptly lies to him. He digs around in her brain for information about the Order of Enchantment. She sends him into an ambush. 

Chapter 16: Payback’s a Dragon 

Akira battles Rygho the Life Taker and it goes about as well as you would expect. Time and the Universe stop by to check on his progress, and Vladislaus agrees to a date.

Chapter 17: Dating for Weirdos, Take #2

Akira goes after his fate and discovers that a relationship with Vlad and Alice fulfills his brat-kink but also puts them all in danger. 

[This GORGEOUS template is by @pxltown. Simmers are so creative!]

[inkdetect]

I appreciate your explanation however I’m still confused as to why they would represent Ivan and Till’s relationship as Ivan forcing Till with Till trying to get away if Till did like him back? I do agree that it’s interesting they’re facing each other with their mouths aligned (smth to do with words?) but eyes not aligned (can’t see eye to eye) in the “intro” to that scene rather than Till just ignoring Ivan entirely

Idk most perception I’m seeing of that scene is negative even from other people who ship Ivantill so it’s really hard for me to wrap my head around it since it’s meant to represent their relationship overall

Hello! I'm doing alright, just getting hit by the AO3 curse. I hope you're doing okay too!

Thanks a lot for asking, you're really making my day, and YESS this is an amazing question! I was wondering if you wouldn't mind me explaining two different points- but I promise it'll explain your question, in a way.

First thing we could start with:

-> Ivan's perfect mask and his self-deprivation

Now, let us start by stating that Ivan is the king of performances. He's an excellent student, a 'submissive pet', a fan's favorite, he was made and forced to keep a smile on his face and stay put as 'practice'. He's practically perfect at moulding himself for others' expectations.

He's more of a trophy than a human, a pet, or more like a dog. He says it himself, in his song 'nowhere', which is pretty interesting to dissect when it comes to learning about Ivan's character and personality- somebody has mentioned that Vivinos herself confirmed that Ivan's personality is the worst out of the entire cast (not necessarily bad or evil!).

His mask is a perfect structure, it's his flaw, weakness and it's a factor that enables the miscommunication between him and till. He can barely be honest with himself, let alone with the muse of his obsession.

I mentioned this in my first analysis- how Ivan often goes from being violent to very affectionate, and why that confuses and freaks the hell out of till.

-> Ivan only does that because he doesn't know how to express his emotions, and that was implied in some comics where he pisses off others just for the sake of it, and as a form of love (or entertainment).

There's also the fact that he was raised in the slums and never knew what affection felt like. So he doesn't know how to express it sincerely.

He's self-sabotaging, self-loathing, and thinks of his love as something parasitic, greedy and selfish.

He still loves till. Because as mizi said- ''I know my love was different from yours, but it was love too.''

He still wishes for till's freedom and happiness, he still wanted him to live, he still wanted him. But he can't try to explain that to Till when they're on limited time. Not when Till hopes for a different kind of healing that Ivan can't provide, and vise-versa.

Alien Stage is about love. Its sin, its effects, its toxicity, its mercy. All relationships are painted in a good and bad light, they all have their flaws, so none of them are really supposed to be perceived positively. It's a bunch of worst case scenarios to show that despite it all, there's still a glimmer of hope for all.

So for those who need to hear this: I'm pretty sure that all ships have to be understood- it's a moral lesson, not dolls for us to meddle and play with, they're not just 'fan service material'.

As I said in the other Ivantill analysis, I fully believe that their relationship is more unrealized than unrequited, because it's a two-way rejection.

-> So why does Till look like he's being forced? Why does he look so distressed?

After all, we know that till wears his heart on his sleeve, he's a very emotional character, that, we know of.

-> Let us not forget that Till is an abuse victim, we saw many instances where he was being exploited, abused, trained and was beaten within an inch of his life. So he doesn't react well to either affection (for instance, mizi's light) or violence.

Though, It's interesting how Till lets Ivan in his personal space without much struggle.

-> He's scared, confused and never fully understood Ivan. So when Ivan, with all of his self hatred and fear, tries to show Till his love and give it to him, and doesn't give him the chance to even understand as he shoves it down, and Till who is startled and simply just wishes to see eye to eye, finally collapse and meet, the heart shatters under Ivan's trembling jaw and tears and Till's struggle.

But Ivan can't love someone properly if he doesn't love himself. And Till can't love him if he isn't ready to come front. Ivan literally took his love confession to the grave.

It's why they're tragic, if they had enough time, if they were willing to try, they would have. They could have.

And for those who need to hear it again: simply calling their relationship ''sexual assault'', instead of trying to analyze and understand how they both gravitate towards each other yet stilled ruin another, doesn't make you a genius.

You don't classify things in black and white boxes.

Relationships are complex.

The characters are complex.

That still doesn't make them bad, or negative.

They're on an alien planet and it's been confirmed that they ALL know that they're going to die, obviously that's going to screw them a bit up.

I hope that this was a good explanation? Honestly I've just explained previous points again and extended them to a conclusion.

It's also hot as hell, I believe that I could manage to cook an egg on the pavement outside. But if there's anything that 's still blurred or unclear, feel free to ask! Thank you for the ask!

[love-takes-work]

So, I've seen alot of predictions/wish lists for LOTS, thuss far but one character(s) seems to be always left out of the the discussion.

Of course that being the Rutile Twins, which it DOES make sense since they were the least developed members of the crew, but it really sucks since they were one of my favs.

Is there anything in particular that you would like to see from them or what do you think their role is gonna be?

I personally see them as the groups moral compass (not that the rest are bad people or anything like that). They seem to be the most proactive when it comes to helping people in need like when they first helped Steven and Lars and later they were the first to refuse Lars offer to escape to Earh and leave him behind.

I've noticed they get left out when it comes to loving on the Off Colors Crew! But honestly, we spent so little time with all of them that each was boiled down to a specific trait that defined them. And what's interesting is each is summed up by a SPEECH PATTERN. Padparadscha speaks late. Fluorite speaks slowly. Rhodonite speaks through anxiety and fear. And the Rutile twins . . . repeat each other's phrases in slightly different voices.

Unlike the Fusions they hang out with, the Rutile twins are always together but aren't a Fusion. But we've never seen them in disagreement, EVER. I would love to see some of the dynamic I've sometimes seen in coverage of conjoined twins: what makes the twins different? ARE they two people? (I think they are, but it hasn't been expressly discussed.)

Do they have separate preferences sometimes? Do they fight? What happens if they disagree on something fundamental? Have they ever come up with individual names? Is one more positive, pessimistic, or brave than the other? Do they bargain? Is one more often the idea person? Does either twin ever have conversations with others without the participation of their twin? I would love some development to show how they are different. Or--is it more that they aren't different? They're described as having "one Gem" in the show. Could it be that--unlike with human conjoined twins--they're more like one Gem with two heads who DO think alike and in coordination? I think it's more likely that they're really supposed to be like two people with a conjoined body, but since Gems are defined identity-wise by their Gemstone and they technically have ONE, who knows?

The Rutile Twins are also pilots, which should mean they have good reflexes and spatial reasoning, and their defining personality characteristic is their fearlessness. They are badasses without being braggarts about it, which would make them very good for leadership if they weren't following someone who's more aggressive about it (Lars). They don't seem to be physically strong and their intelligence hasn't really been touched on, but it seems like they are dependable, quick-thinking, and very brave. They're compassionate and willing to take chances to protect and guide others. I'd love to see more of this in the show, as well as an expansion of how this manifests when the plot gives them more complex goals.

I'd also be interested to know whether the Off Colors have had any discussions as a group about what made them Off Color to begin with. The Rutile Twins and Padparadscha did not have any choice in the matter; they "came out wrong," essentially. Rhodonite and Fluorite, as Fusions, do not have any say over their existence, but a choice to live as a Fusion motivated their components, and I could see some divide being discussed between those whose decision to embody love made them Off Color and those whose bodies/minds don't match the ideal. Who one loves isn't a choice, of course, but what one does in terms of the relationship can be seen as a choice and an action.

And though I know this was rearranged for the show, but I'd be interested to know whether Flint and Chert were originally part of the group's past at any point. They were scrapped Off Color ideas when the Crew decided to slim the group down to the members we saw in the final, but these two were used in a brief scene in Future when Yellow was fixing their physical forms. I'd love to know if they ever lived with the present Off Colors only to later get shattered, or whether the canon is now written such that they never were part of the group. If they were ever around, I'd love to know how the rest of the group saw them. And whether any of the individual members of Fluorite's Fusion started off as individual Off Colors with their own relationships with the other members before they joined that polycule.

I hope they get the original voice actors for everyone back, and I am especially appreciative of the Rutile Twins' different voices. I made a post a long time ago about how their music reminds me of baoding balls.

[linkons-most-wanted]

While my friend and I were talking about Sylus and MCs' moral (and legal) leanings, it came up that while Sylus isn't necessarily 'good' by the standard definition, he certainly is honorable, and then it devolved into what 'honor' is for someone like Sylus. It's interesting how that works out for both his job (mostly illegal and morally grey) and his relationship with MC. Your thoughts?

(We'd rejoice if there's going to be a meta about this 😇)

Oooh yes I love this question! And it's your lucky day, 'cause this one got long! 🤣 here we go...

Subjective morals

I have sort of a funny relationship with the term "morally grey" because a lot of the time, in my personal morals, I interpret their actions as morally good but technically illegal. 🤣 A lot of laws are actually pretty cruel and unfair, and that's part of what can make morally grey characters so appealing. I think it is morally right to subvert and break laws that are unjust. (But not everybody does.)

For example, consider safe injection site programs. These provide fresh needles and safe areas to addicts in order to reduce the chances of them ODing, contracting disease, or otherwise dying. A lot of people "morally" believe these sites are bad because they "encourage" drug use. In reality, these sites make people more likely to quit because they're able to get the rest of their life stabilized and then access addiction resources.

If your morals say that helping people recover is most important, safe injection sites are morally good! If your morals say that all "crimes" must be "punished", then you'll think they're morally bad.

Morals get messy and morally grey characters point a big blinking arrow at this.

Honor among thieves.

"Honor among thieves" is a beloved trope because it allows us to feel safe (this person DOES have boundaries, there ARE lines they won't cross) at the same time as getting to see them break rules (which feels thrilling and freeing).

Society tends to condition femmes and women into compliance even far beyond the law, to the point that even saying something "rude" feels forbidden. (I put "rude" in quotes because often, something as simple as stating that you don't want to do something is considered "rude".)

I am not nice

Which leads to a second key aspect of the morally grey archetype, which is that while they may be compassionate they are not nice. They get to tell people to fuck off. They get to assert themselves. They get to do/be a lot of the things that society does not allow women to do/be.

One of my fave dark romance authors (Nenia Campbell) talks about how liberating compliments and kindness from "mean" men can be, because you know they're not just doing it to be nice or avoid hurting your feelings. You can believe them because you know they wouldn't say it unless they thought it.

This hints at how here's a fundamental honestly to moral grayness. Everybody wants something they "shouldn't", but only some people are honest about it. This is an explicit theme in Sylus's content, especially in Beyond Cloudfall when he and MC talk about how following their true desires makes them the only two of their kind.

Boundaries

Anyway, what honor ultimately comes back to is boundaries. What are the lines you won't cross? When a character crosses lines others don't (such as being unhesitating in killing people who threaten them) the lines they don't cross are given even more weight and meaning. It's a really interesting way to bring extra attention to those boundaries.

I feel like it's worth mentioning Ned Stark in Game of Thrones as a contrast. Here's a character that is fully committed to a certain code of honor, and it ends up fucking over his whole family. Honor can't magically protect you, and morally grey characters know that.

In fact, it can be really refreshing to see a morally grey character refuse to cross a line even when they know it's going to hurt them. It makes those lines seem way more important.

We see this from Sylus when he agrees to leave MC alone in Razor's Dance. He's willing to kill, but he's not willing to force his presence on someone who genuinely doesn't want it. That screams loud and clear to the audience, "what you want REALLY matters. it is ACTUALLY very important."

Ego and motivation

We hear from Sylus repeatedly, "violence must be used strategically." It's a little tongue in cheek at times, but ultimately he holds to it. He doesn't cut someone down at the slightest insult--but he also doesn't hesitate if they're threatening someone he cares about.

He also specifically says--and consistently demonstrates--that he doesn't like picking on the weak. There's no challenge in that, no interest. It proves nothing. So there's no point, unless you're sadistic. (And not that Sylus doesn't have a sadistic streak, he'd just rather explore that in a much more fun way. 😏)

I think we see a lot of his honor in things like Radiant Brilliance, where he craves a fair challenge. He's willing to set aside parts of his power and lose because it's interesting. It makes him stronger in more ways. He doesn't over-rely on any one skill--he's interested in getting better at whatever he can get better at.

What goodness remains?

For me, what these juxtapositions point at is that people are fundamentally cooperative, and that the "true" villains are the ones that repeatedly betray this cooperation. (Ever, capitalist ghouls, etc.) Even a crime family naturally values things like trust, mutual support, loyalty, togetherness. You can have extremely toxic families, for sure, but a lot of fictional crime families are actually pretty wholesome.

We can look at Luke and Kieran and see that Sylus's actions towards them are very caring, even if he's stoic about it. It's a refreshing contrast to many "good" people who make lots of promises but then don't follow through on them. (Consider the popular politician who's secretly taking bribes and cheating on his wife.)

It's interesting to ask, why NOT kill anyone who looks at you funny? Well, it'd kind of suck. Life is made fuller by our bonds and our friendships. Even when you're doing whatever it takes to survive in a cruel world, what's the point if you don't have people you can trust? Morally grey characters point us towards those questions.

They also point at choice. This person isn't kind to me because they know it will look bad if they aren't. They don't care what it looks like. (Sylus carrying MC through the mall 🥹) They are doing it because they want to.

If you're someone who does a lot out of obligation, it's easy to fear that others are only kind to you out of obligation. Morally grey characters subvert this fear.

Autonomy as sacred

Sylus does what he wants--which includes both ignoring laws that he thinks are dumb, and also pursuing meaningful, deep relationships. Humans contain both great selfishness and great selflessness. To get a little Jungian about it, we could see Sylus as a character who represents the "shadow" or "id"--all the desires that the "Ego" (which is calibrated by society, how we were raised, etc) deem dangerous and not-allowed. This is all but explicit in his characterization.

The thing is, the desires of the id aren't actually inherently bad. Take wanting attention, for example. "Oh you're just doing X for attention." Well, attention is a fundamental human need. Babies understand that if they're not getting attention, their lives are literally at risk. That can stick with us for a long time. Morally grey characters invite us to ask, is that really bad? Is that really something we should be avoiding?

Obviously, killing anyone who gets in your way doesn't make sense in the real world--the N109 zone is specifically set up to offer this exaggerated environment where the stakes are life and death.

But I can say from experience, just saying "no" to something you feel obligated to do can feel as bad as murder. (And I was literally raised to believe that it IS--the whole thing that "all sins are equal" is often used to shame people for completely normal and even healthy reactions!)

So part of what is so refreshing about Sylus's willingness to murder under certain circumstances is it symbolically represents the freedom of living boldly--of being honest about what you do and don't want, of exercising your autonomy.

And what a romance tells is us that doing these things can bring you closer to the people who matter, even if other people shun you. Our nervous systems deeply fear shunning because it's not so long ago that being shunned likely meant starving to death. And that's why found family is SO important to these stories.

Cruelty and mercy

I think for Sylus, the most explicit he gets in talking about his honor code is when he shares bits of his thoughts on cruelty and mercy. A quick death can be merciful--and, as he and Sorceress MC not in Beyond Cloudfall, the best way to make someone suffer is to keep them alive.

As I type this, I have the app open and Sylus just said his bit about how humans are fascinating because their capacity for cruelty far surpasses that of animals.

When animals fight to survive, they aren't cruel. They don't take extra joy in the suffering of others. A cat may play with its food, but it's because it doesn't really understand what it's doing.

Sylus is often compared to a wild animal--powerful, primal, but not cruel. Interestingly, when he offers in Beyond Cloudfall to raise the dead for Sorceress MC, we learn that he could have done this for his own satisfaction. He could have raised and then tormented the people who trapped him in the abyss. But he didn't. They were dead, and therefore not a threat, and therefore not worth spending energy on.

Humans, with our capacity for self-awareness and complex social dynamics, are able to be truly cruel--to inflict suffering for suffering's sake. Even this I don't think is "evil" in and of itself (there are no thought crimes) when someone is aware of the impulse and channels it in a way that it doesn't do harm to others (such as through kink).

So, while I think it would be perhaps missing the point to say that Sylus never has cruel desires, his actions are never cruel.

In conclusion

So, this ended up kind of being about honor, kind of not! 🤣 I think that's because focusing too much on an honor-code sort of misses the point of these characters--which is to break away from black-and-white definitions of right and wrong. We could imagine Sylus admitting that he's overreacted at times. He might not lose sleep over it, but he'd likely be more patient the next time, because ultimately he still cares about building trust with the people important to him.

Morally grey characters challenge strictly held beliefs about "right" and "wrong", inviting us into greater nuance. Maybe it depends on the context of the crime. Maybe it WAS a mistake but there's redemption. Maybe fiction is a way to let yourself want the "bad" thing without doing it IRL and dealing with the consequences, adding another meta layer to everything. (Sylus and blowing up buildings, lmao.)

Maybe protecting your family is more important than following unjust laws. Maybe honesty is more important than being liked by other people. Maybe it's better to make a mistake and then apologize than to suffocate yourself pursuing perfection. Maybe we don't have to be selfless all the time--maybe generosity and greed can exist in balance and tension with each other.

Maybe moral goodness is a lot less important than closeness, connection, trust, self-honesty, growth, loyalty, forgiveness, acceptance, and love.

[summers-art]

What's up with doomed ships?

I've noticed a very clear trend in the ships I enjoy the most and so... it got me thinking, why? What is it about these "toxic doomed yaoi/yuri/whatever" ships that makes them so compelling to me?

At first I thought, well maybe I just like the angst because I think it's fun to torture the characters lol, like is it just the same fascination from watching a car crash? Iunno, but angst is popular for a reason, drama in stories is entertainment so of course lots of people find it fun to write or read about

That's one reason, but what else? It could very well also be my acespec ass that has been sniffing at the aromantic label lately going "Hell yea, love loses!!!" as a way to explore that possibility and label in a fun way. Like damn, I kind of just finished my Metamy fic with (SPOILERS) our mc Amy being loved and reassured by her friends instead of getting together with her love interest in the end. Bittersweet sure, but still a happy ending in my book. Shout out to the aros

Though, when writing that story, I think that one thing realized that I really love about doomed ships is that even if they don't end up together at the end of the story is that their relationship still mattered. Deltarune is so fresh in my brain right now (hi Spamtenna) and so like, the idea of knowing the ending being doomed but you still go through the story and have to believe that the choices you make along the way still have to matter

So what if two characters doesn't end up together, or break up, or maybe were never really together in the first place? Does it make everything null and void? Regardless of the end-game, they have left their prints on each other and even if they're not in each other's life anymore they're not the same people after meeting each other. It's about their impact on each other, highlighting not only the influence a character may have on their own life but also on others. It's to highlight the relationship, the meeting between two individuals and however short or long they last, those meetings matter

Sometimes they can help each other discover new things, unearth hidden sides or indulging in a parts of themselves that the other decided to highlight. For the better or really, really for the worse. But I never really like to get stuck in the morality or punishment side of those narratives. It's not about characters being good or bad or doing good or bad things to each other. Good or bad, it could be both, or neither, or a secret third thing. But that whatever happen between them mattered

For however long they were in each other's life, they mattered to each other... and well, I think that's what makes it matter to me too

[meganlpie]

I Can't Marry You

Based on this request:  Do you think I could request one where the reader is engaged to Boromir but she and Faramir are in love? Denethor doesn’t care and expects Boromir to marry her. Angsty with whatever ending you choose??

Here you are, lovely! I apologize for the wait. Familiar Characters are NOT mine! They belong to Tolkien.

Warnings: Angst. Mentions of death.

Pairings: Faramir x fem!reader

Boromir and his brother froze, spoons halfway to their lips. Almost in unison, the two brothers turned their heads to gape at their father. “Forgive me, Father,” Boromir replies as soon as he regains his wits, “I must have misheard. Surely you do not mean that I am betrothed?” Denethor smiled at his eldest. “I do. To Lady Y/N, of course.” Boromir let his eyes flick to Faramir for a moment. He’d always thought, if a marriage was arranged between you and one of Denethor’s sons, it would be Faramir. 

The brothers had known you since childhood. The three of you did everything possible together. As you grew up, Boromir, the eldest of the three of you, never showed interest in marriage and never felt more for you than brotherly love. Faramir, on the other hand, was a completely different story. Everyone who was ever in the same room as you and Faramir could tell he was hopelessly in love with you from the time he knew what a romantic love was. He was utterly smitten with you. 

“Father, perhaps we should reconsider. After all, there has been no talk of courtship or the like with Lady Y/N. It is possible that she is hoping for a proposal from another.” Boromir tried to keep his gaze off Faramir. If Denethor suspected Faramir’s feelings, he absolutely would push for this wedding even harder. For some reason, the Steward of Gondor did not want his younger son to be happy.

“Then she hopes in vain. It has been decided,” Denethor stated with no room for argument. Boromir tried anyway. “Father, I am meant to depart for Rivendell in a fortnight. Surely that isn’t enough time to plan and host a wedding.” Denethor’s brow rose. “Then you will wed when you return. I cannot imagine why you are fighting me on this, my son. Lady Y/N is a lovely young lady and will make a fine wife.”

From the corner of his eye, Boromir saw his brother rise from the table. Denethor paid no mind, as per usual, but Boromir turned to face Faramir. Faramir offered a weak smile. “I’ve lost my appetite.” With that, he left the dining hall. Boromir knew he was most likely heading to find you so he remained where he was for now. 

For the next few minutes, Boromir did his best to convince his father that the marriage was a bad idea. Denethor wouldn’t budge. The man refused to hear any of Boromir’s arguments. By the time Boromir left the dining hall himself, he was beyond frustrated. He made his way down the corridors, asking guards if they had seen Faramir. It wasn’t until the fifth or sixth guard that he finally was able to locate his younger brother.

When Boromir found Faramir, it was as he’d suspected. He was with you. Boromir didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but hearing your voice so broken made him pause. He hardly ever heard you upset. “I knew I’d have to m-marry one day, but this is just cruel, Faramir.”

“My brother is not cruel, my love,” came Faramir’s calm voice and you sniffled. “I know he isn’t. He is more of a brother to me than anything else. It is your father who is cruel! Surely he must know how we feel and yet he does this! The man has no heart! I don’t want to marry Boromir. I only want to marry you.” Boromir watched as Faramir held you close, resting his cheek upon your head. It was that moment that made Boromir decide to reveal himself. 

“And marry him, you shall.” You let out a little yelp of surprise and Boromir fought back a laugh at how much you sounded like a small dog. Faramir groaned when your head hit his face, causing you to apologize. Boromir chuckled at that. The two of you were good together. Anyone could see it. Well anyone except Denethor. 

Once the chaos of the moment died down, you turned to Boromir again. “What do you mean I will marry Faramir? Our fathers have already decided.” Boromir sighed and nodded. “They have, However, I am due to leave for Rivendell in a fortnight. I will come up with a plan by the time I return. I see the love you have for my brother. I can’t marry you knowing how unhappy you both would be.”

You exchanged a glance with Faramir as smiles came to both your faces. Without warning, you launched yourself at Boromir and hugged him. “Thank you,” you said, tears threatening to fall yet again. Boromir laughed as he pulled away to kiss your forehead. “Do not thank me. It is the least I could do to ensure the happiness of my brother and the woman I will happily call my sister-in-law. For now, we must play along with Father’s demands.”

*time skip Your POV*

Boromir left a fortnight later. A little while after that, Faramir received a message that Boromir would be away even longer as he was now going on a quest to save Middle Earth. As impatient as you were to marry, you knew that Boromir would be true to his word and would have a plan to break your betrothal when he returned. You never expected the circumstances of that plan would be so heartbreaking.

You held Faramir as he broke down. He’d been the one to find his brother floating lifelessly down the river. He had been the one to pull the boat carrying Boromir to shore. He held his brother as sobs wracked his body and you held him. It broke you to see your love this way, but at the same time, you understood. You were close to collapsing yourself. This wasn’t how you were supposed to get out of the marriage. Once Faramir was calm, the two of you made your way to Denethor to share the sad news. 

For many moons after that, there was an air of tension and despair in Gondor. Denethor refused to speak to Faramir unless it was to yell or criticize him. You avoided Denethor as much as possible as well. He expected you to be absolutely crushed by Boromir’s death and you were, but not in the way a woman should be for her betrothed. You were far more worried about Faramir. 

Faramir began pulling away from you. He rarely spoke to anyone unless necessary but he really seemed to be avoiding you. The love of your life no longer met with you in secret. No longer let his fingers linger against yours. He hardly looked you in the eye. Eventually, you had enough and confronted him. You’d wish you hadn’t. 

You managed to catch him coming back late at night. He looked at you like a frightened animal for a moment as you let your feelings be known. Tears fell as you talked to him. He refused to meet your gaze until you finished, gasping out sobs. He hugged you briefly then pulled away. He muttered something. “What was that?” you asked tearfully.

“I can’t marry you,” he said a little bit louder. You swore your heart stopped. “W-What? You can’t mean that.” He nodded. “I do. With Boromir d-dead, I have new duties. I cannot go against my father’s wishes and marry my dead brother’s betrothed.” Your breathing picked up. “You’re serious?” He told you he was. “How could you do this? Since when have you ever cared about your duties? We were prepared to run away, Faramir.”

“I am so sorry, Y/N. I love you, truly I do. But I-I-” You held up a hand to stop him. “Don’t. Just don’t. I understand. I really do. Even now, you seek your father’s approval and validation. I realize I can never come before that.” You reached up and cupped his cheek. “I hope you’re happy with your choice.” Faramir gently grabbed your wrist and pressed a kiss to your palm. “I hope you find someone worthy of you,” he whispered. You scoffed and pulled your hand away.

“You were worthy of me.” You turned away and left the courtyard. Tears rolled down your cheeks and you didn’t notice Faramir watching you walk away, his own heart sinking to his feet.

(a/n: I hope you like it!)

Forever Tags: @fizzyxcustard @brewthespirit-blog @supernatural4life2022 @esoltis280 @aikibriarrose @stories-by-shanna-p @lady-of-lies @dark-angel-is-back @motleymoose @asgards-princess-of-mischief

Tolkien Tags: @jotink78 @thealbersclan @legolaslovely @evyiione @justcallmecinammon @wingedlandwasteland

[multiheadcanons]

250 FOLLOWER SPECIAL: AUTHOR’S PICKS BY MERCENARY

scout: scouts paragraph in mercs and hands is still one of what i would call my best descriptive paragraphs to date. and it was almost the switch flip in my brain that made me go yeah… yeah i see how people can find scout hot. he’s not my particular type, but when i start having to describe scout’s physical attributes i do start blushing a little. he can be cute, as a treat! he’s like the guy all my friends think is hot and i nod along. i don’t want to look in fear that i will agree.

soldier: sometimes i do feel like i write soldier very… flat. but soldier definitely shone heads and tails above the other mercs in the mercs and praise post. it was so on the mark for soldier as a character, while effective in the execution of the prompt, it was just lovely to write! and he’s absolutely lovely in it. i felt the crush begin as i wrote that post. love that funky stupid ass american. he’s so unbelievably stupid. i wish i was better at being more creatively idiotic. i have to do jane doe more justice.

pyro: all of the fluffy pieces with pyro make me feral because i’m so desperately touch starved that i throw it all on them and make them the touch starved one. past that, pyro’s paragraph in flirt with the mercs was so tasty and funny to write! it’s an arguably more dynamic way to write pyro, without going immediately to finding their dynamic via violence. pyro is cool! pyro is a generally affable and almost adjusted person. and i think that came through best on that post.

demo: god, i love tavish. which is why i hate that he is still the mercenary that i have the least confident hold on. however, i think that’s what has made demo so fun to write! as i continue to explore tavish as a character, the more i slowly continue to get a hold on him. but my favorite iteration for our belemoman is any of the romantic posts. flirting, go on a date, mercs with a crush, the funny sex number, any of the romantic posts are so yummy. they were yummy to write, and they’re so yummy to go back and read.

heavy: i loved putting heavy in the crossover posts. the lake post, the reality show posts, every single one of those, particularly with heavy, is such a treat to write! it’s really allowed me to open the door for him to get to be funnier, and lighter, and just the fuzzy-feeling-causing do-it-all man he is to me. and while i do enjoy writing heavy in more serious moments (i LOVE writing serious heavy, that is equally as yummy as writing funny heavy), the lighter moments are so enjoyable to write and put him in. he deserves a break sometimes!

engineer: it’s so off color, but engineer’s paragraph in thieving ass mercs is so good… so good. i’d let him rob me blind. there’s just something about the way i executed it that i really like! suave, professional, though i wouldn’t say this is engineer at his moral best, it is definitely engineer at his best, if you know what i mean. and i didn’t personally write it, but cycs was still so right, and i am still so obsessed with mercs weaponizing their environment. that man commits vehicular manslaughter. i see it so clearly in my mind. ever since cycs said it there’s been a drabble in the works. who knows when it’ll be finished.

medic: all of them. except for mercs in the heat; i butchered the grammar and have no interest in going back through to try to fix it because to me the actual execution of that paragraph was so bad i can’t even go touch it. so it just looks like that. its not the worst, but i’ve done the doctor better, so it’s the worst out of the bunch. i go back and reread my posts because i like remembering all the situations i put this guy in. but the medic-centric fics are my favorite to write, and they’re my favorites to go back and reread. i don’t know if that’s obvious. there is one fic/drabble amongst the posts. it is untitled. that, i would have to say, is my magnum opus. i go cry to that one regularly. it makes me want to throw up. it makes me want to message robin and apologize.

sniper: i think mercs in the city is truly one of the best characterizations i have done for sniper and i don’t think i’ve achieved anything close to it with him since. sniper’s bit in mercs in the city is just perfect, and one of my all time favorites to go back and reread. it’s cute, it’s humorous, it’s charming, and it just makes mick look like a right treat! it was a wonderful way to both push him out of his comfort zone and push me out of mine. i still find i struggle writing him sometimes, but not nearly as much as i did when i started. he’s just the most guy ever!

spy: a silly little moment with the sniper and the spy is hands down my favorite characterization of spy that i personally have written. i feel like i almost can’t give spy the space to shine in the full lineup of the mercs. it’s almost the point of his character, to me. his influence is in his absence. so when i can aggressively pare down who he’s interacting with, and focus more on the relationships he fosters one on one, it is so much easier to allow him to take center stage. and allow myself to write spy almost the way i write medic! i find it fun to explore spy and all of his facets, being the suave conman, being the stupid fucking idiot, being the evil mastermind always forty steps ahead, being APH france but with a balaclava on, i truly find myself enjoying writing about spy! but i have to give him the space to shine. and he’ll never take the medic’s space in my heart, so he also ends up getting the most aggressive edits in his paragraphs.

[tornrose24]

A couple of reasons why I liked going through Vaughn’s route in Date Everything-

-He’s not one of the more super attractive dateables and has some degree of being realistic (short, chubby, has visible body hair that isn’t on the chest). And he’s also not dressed attractively, but I think that’s partly because… well, you could say he’s trapped within his own trap.

-His pop up intro is hilarious. I don’t know if Dana Snyder improvised his line, but I think it’s funny he’s all ‘yeah, date me or whatever the ****’ like he doesn’t care. (Though in hindsight, I think he was aware he probably had little to no chance at finding any love connections compared to the others and just didn’t bother with trying to make an impression.)

-he has self esteem issues, and is aware he’s not one of the ‘fancy’ dateables.

-but most of those self-esteem issues come from being unable to fulfill his purpose as a mouse trap. No rats means no work, and it frusterates him a lot.

-And that made him a bit relateable for me, and not just as the in-game version of me. I worked hard for a specific degree but was only able to use it to its full potential for two years and it does feel like I’m not exactly fulfilling that purpose I thought I had at times. I also don't like feeling purpose-less.

-But I liked that he offered to attack the AI LOL

-Him being caught off guard if you tell him he’s cute was adorable.

-I didn’t look up how to romance him. I decided to try to use my gut instinct and ended up being right in following it. I think because I had a good sense of what kind of character he was and what would work best.

-which required actually thinking if he would want a plushie rat or a dead rat. I went with the plushie because I thought it would be more useful in attracting real rodents and hoped that I made the right choice.

-And I was genuinely surprised that he actually liked the plushie and thought it was cute. And it never occured to me that he could trap the plushie as many times as he wanted.

-The whole ‘weirdoes stick together’ thing LOL. But yeah, I have my own reasons for being weird too. (Also, I found out later that being too nice to Vaughn can get on his bad side, so I made the right call in picking the weirdo option.)

-Vaughn going through a range of emotions if you tell him you love him/want to date him.

-Dana Snyder’s acting when Vaughn is flustered is gold.

-I was NOT expecting him to go in for a kiss. I was blushing over that.

-Also, I was happy to learn that he leaves the crawlspace. I think having someone to hear him out and help him encourages Vaughn to be out in the open and be willing to interact with others.

Overall, I think Vaughn was a worthy addition to the line of characters Dana Snyder has voiced (Master Shake, Scratch, etc.). I liked that he was given the chance to be in this game and get to voice a character who is similar to those other characters, but that he also got to be one of many love interests this time around. Which is nice because I don’t think Dana has ever gotten to voice a romantic lead/a character that does get a genuine love interest and doesn’t get a lot of serious roles.

[avatarofthearchives]

I'm super curious about how people's opinions on TMA character's changed on a second listen because I had a lot of shifting opinions on my second watch.

A big one is in regards to Jon. The second time I listened to TMA I genuinely had to force myself to be more critical of him because I loved his character too much on the first watch. I was in full "I could fix him." Yeah? Well I could accept him as he is," mode. Which...is not great for character analysis.

That's why was interesting to rewatch the series with Jon being The Archivist in mind. It was a lot easier to see the million times Jon was given the choice not to push the plot further and decided against it. Which was fascinating from a fan perspective because it made me realize how often I didn't clock Jon's mistakes because I wanted the plot to develop just as bad as he did.

I think when you're watching the series for the first time it's almost a natural instinct to think "No, Georgie, you don't get it. Stop telling him to leave it alone because I want to know what's going on with the weird circus." And then that's why a second listen is so fun because when you know how everything end's up it's easier to go "Oh. Yeah. Georgie's right. Jon really should have backed off his investigating as much as he could after Leitner and his lack of willingness do so does contribute to the events of Season 5."

And that's not to say I don't like Jon after a second listen. If anything I like him more now because I think he's a fantastically written stand in for the audience and their feelings towards the plot, but I can also say that about other character's BECAUSE I was more critical of Jon on a second watch.

I liked Tim, Melanie, and Georgie so much more on a second listen. Tim and Georgie SO valid 90% of the time, and Melanie lashes out in the wrong place a lot, but I still think rewatching her interactions with Jon knowing how everything was going to turn out gave me a lot more context towards her feelings. Because like...Yeah, Jon was pretty hostile to her from the moment they met, and the one time they have a positive interaction, it ends with Melanie thinking that Jon was gaslighting her over Sasha. It makes way more sense why she's so on guard with him throughout the entire series when you're reading their interactions with the hindsight that they never really fully get along.

Anyways. This was a lot of talking to say "TMA is a really good series."

[clueless-fan-critic]

KPOP Demon Hunters: Watched by a Late 20s Japanese Man

This Sony Animations film is a diamond in the rough for its interesting premise, captivating music, and super fun characters. It's a great movie if you want a taste of KPOP culture or haven't gotten sucked into the vortex that is KPOP.

The movie follows the latest line of three woman named Huntr/x as a KPOP girl group using their music to form the mystical Honmoon and protect humanity from demons. Now they must take on rival boy band Saja Boys while fighting more and more demons under the command of the demon king Gwi-Ma. Now let's get into this new movie for a fun rollercoaster adventure.

Who are Huntr/x?

Huntr/x consists of three different but talented Korean women: lead singer Rumi, voiced by Arden Cho, dancer Mira, voiced by May Hong, and rapper Zoey, voiced by Ji-young Yoo. Each character has a distinct trait that makes them stand out yet blend perfectly together.

I love that these characters are allowed to be real and flawed. They do a lot of anime-type goofy comedy that make them more relatable, thus much more interesting to watch. Huntr/x definitely don't have everything together, they're not flawless, unstoppable women. Instead, they're regular people with shame and fears who happen to be famous KPOP stars/demon hunters. But still people.

Don't get me wrong, writing female characters as strong isn't bad. I wish there were more. But there's this tendency to make them Mary Sues who don't make mistakes or are flawlessly powerful without real effort. Like it's more about the message than the person. The main characters have the freedom to be real characters without the baggage of having too much to say.

Jinu and the Saja Boys

Jinu and the Saja Boys are the main antagonists of the movie along side the demon king Gwi-Ma. They become a boy band to take away fans from Huntr/x and weaken the Honmoon. They're the typical KPOP boy band that blew up into popularity out of nowhere much like in real life. The only fleshed out member is Jinu while the others are more stand-in characters with no character moments.

Jinu is a 400-year old demon who took a deal from Gwi-Ma to raise him out of poverty but abandoning his family. He wants to get rid of his shame by forgetting and being free. Upon meeting Rumi, Kinu begins a slow but strong connection to her as they discuss their shame and self-loating. This connection leads him to sacrifice himself for Rumi and help her defeat Gwi-Ma.

Honestly, Jinu is more or less a typical male romanic interest for Rumi. But he does give Rumi the push to understand the humanity behind his demonic self and making peace with her own demons.

Themes

The struggles with shame and self-loathing play a major role in the film. The main characters have their own insecurities, flaws, and sins. Rumi's demonic patterns, Jinu's choice to abandon his family, Mira as a problem child, and Zoey's sense of identity. The way Gwi-Ma uses these feelings as a method of control makes him very dangerous to people at their most vulnerable. Making them believe he's the only hope they have left and being willing to hold onto that no matter the consequences.

Rumi's struggles with hiding her demonic heritage and finding connections with Jinu can be interpreted as people struggling with a lot of things. Mental health, sexuality, gender identity, and so on. Rumi's confrontation with Selene feels heartbreakingly real in how loved ones try to change something about their significant others that don't fit into their beliefs despite how they would "love" them. It is only after when being seen at her most vulnerable and lowest is that she can finally be free to truly express herself and find true connection with her friends.

Music and Animation

The strongest element in the movie is the music. But combining it with the Spiderverse-inspired animation makes it a spectacle to watch in full. All of the music so good, but my favorite songs are "How it's Done" and "Your Idol."

The opening fight/musical scene surrounding "How It's Done" perfectly captures Huntr/x in their element of fighting demons and performing on stage. High energy and powerful while showcasing the main characters.

"Your Idol" is the best villain song I've heard in a while. The Saja Boys' demonic appearances and usage of sinister colors make it look like a music video straight out of hell. It perfectly captures the intent of taking people's souls with evil glee and swagger.

When you really get into this movie, you begin to see connections that seem totally random but so obvious at the start when you really think about it.

My Little Pony Connections

Okay, it's not the first movie to have a musical finale/showdown, but it's hard to ignore the similarities with one particular movie. My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks is the closest to the movie. They both have protagonists with music-based magical powers that fight a rival band as the main villains while overcoming personal issues in which the characters grow stronger.

Why Watch it?

The movie doesn't just appeal to KPOP fans, but also those who ever felt ashamed about things in their lives they can't control and learning to move forward without forgetting it or finding quick fixes. The music, animation, and characters are great without feeling superficial or those projects just done for a "cash grab." If anything, this may open a whole new door for people who've never heard of KPOP to get on the bandwagon. Hopefully, we get some news on a sequel that brings it harder. Or not. I think fantastic without the unnecessary sequels or spinoffs.

[naomistars3]

Art by: Vivinos on Youtube

A rant post mostly about Mizi

I'm genuinely so sad at this video but it was so well done, The visuals, the ART from how different it was compared to Round 1, not even mentioning the symbolism???

One thing I also like about it Is that it shows that Love can hurt that you can love someone while hurting them or doing something bad and that it is still love cause compared to alot of media or atleast the fandom version of medias tend to say that a character doesn't like another character or even care about them because they hurt said other character, like Jinx and Sikko from Arcane.

The ending of the characters was so bittersweet for me expect maybe Till (Which hell yeah his alive!). Luka is still an 'object' or celebrity of the Alien and based on the Luka is Back billboard he either die and they made a clone of him or they had to 'fix' his face cause I'm like 90% percent sure bro got burned but either way he is forced to still sing.

Mizi being known as the witch cause of love thing made me have flashbacks to Madoka Magica. I do hate people who call Mizi 'Manipulative' or suddenly bad , though I do not think I have a full understanding of her character the comic that was released before hand to me didn't seem to make her bad (She also seems to believe she is as bad as Luka who in her viewpoint is someone who doesn’t deserve pity),

she just played into the role of what everyone around her thought which I guess is Manipulative but still who hasnt played the role of someone else to pleased other people whether its family, friends or randos on the street?

Mizi love for Sua is interesting cause she sees her as Her god, Her universe but wants to break her/have some sense of control because of her backstory with the way her owner Shine treated her (When everyone though that shine was a good owner—I do think compared to other owners she was but again Mizi is still a pet, I also think that maybe Shine or her other creatures family may have been the one to kill mizi mom and adopt Mizi out of pity). Mizi pretended to be oblivious to Sua plan of dying for Sua sake because she knew if Mizi died Sua wouldn't be able to handle it.

The scene where after she seems to beg Isaac to save Till then switching to her running into the room where Sua practiced her Death is what I guess is her mind acceptance on finally protecting someone she cares about or perhaps it's a scene that shows what actually happened during when she finds out about Sua planing her death cause Mizi seems to be a very unreliable narrator especially in the comic mentioned earlier with Mizi sorta painting herself as the one who Manipulatied the odds and acted innocent just for her survival no matter the cost and she says alot of things (mostly her feelings) that contradict the things shown. Like how she wasn't desperate for Sua then showing her being very desperate for Sua or the fight that happens between the two in the video that seems to be about the whole planned Sacrifice.

Mizi seems to be alive and is wanted as far as the billboard show but her crash out destroyed Alien Stage to the point there is a museum about the whole thing with children that have the DNA of the Main Cast.

Till is alive, People saying that the person at the end is Till's mom are delusional (Till's mom has a mole under her eye and has been dead), After Round 7 to Weige and Karma there's only like a few minutes that passed between then so Till being Alive is completely possible and there's a whole scene with Mizi hearing his heartbeat. At the end Till seems to have joined the Rebels or kinda does his own form of rebelling. I think Till is now mute because of the scars around his neck and the fact he uses drawing to communicate with the kids. Then at the end where he is smiling at the kid with the DNA of the two people he loved like AHHH. Anyway Till unlike the rest of cast lived with his mom (not counting Mizi cause she watched her mom die) before being separated and is the most human character or atleast different from the other main cast members which is also shown in the differences in the songs that were posted separately from the Channel.

Anyway I loved the video and seem like a suitable ending(?) even though it is bittersweet was low key expecting an ending that does a Revolution that puts a stop to the comtest like in the Hunger Games but this seems more plausible.

P.s I wrote this with 0 hours of sleep and it's 5am where I'm from sooo anything that is wrong blame it on that.

Ty for reading this rant and yes I didn't mention Ivan or Hyuna because I need sleep

[yanderes-galore]

Can you write yandere concept for Error Sans? ^^

Ngl... I feel him and Nightmare are pretty bad when it comes to their obsessions.

Yandere! Error Sans Concept

Pairing: Dubious

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Manipulation, Sadism, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Being a puppet, Restraints, Implied kidnapping, Dubious companionship.

Alright, here's the thing with Error....

He's a Sans devoted to destruction of AUs too different from canon due to his corruption.

He hates being touched and is said to be incapable of love or compassion.

Which means... I'd classify his reasons for his obsession as dubious.

Not romantic... but not quite platonic.

He isn't nice to you.

Especially if you're an anomaly.

Due to this I think he's in a weird situation as a yandere.

Error seems like he'd do a lot of watching you from a distance.

He has no need for intimacy or companionship.

If anything he seems like a yandere who likes control or to toy with you.

It's said he likes to play with puppets... and if we take his strings into consideration... You can see where this is going, right?

He's described as selfish and playful.

Which means I can see him taking interest in you just to toy with you.

I think he's similar to Nightmare with the whole idea of getting pleasure from your pain.

Except... I'd argue Error is more dangerous.

Nightmare at least knows he's better off not giving into slaughter since he feeds off negativity.

Error? He just enjoys destruction.

Which would DEFINITELY mean destroying your AU if you had one... or tracking you throughout others if you didn't belong to one yourself like Dream, Nightmare, Ink or CORE Frisk.

I also imagine he's... persistent.

Error gets emotional when things don't go his way.

So I imagine most of your encounters include Error chasing you, progressively getting more pissed when you slip from his grasp.

It's not easy to escape Error without help though....

I imagine Ink would have to swoop in to help, he seems like the one best equipped to deal with Error.

Which, of course, sends Error into a fit.

It would definitely be an issue for Error if Ink was helping you escape to other universes.

He doesn't need that damn creation obsessed freak taking his newest fixation.

When Error does get his hands on you at times... He's quick to restrain you.

Before you know it, glitching strings snatch around you like snakes.

Error doesn't waste time when he has you, often tying your wrists and ankles... perhaps even your neck to make you his puppet.

Again, he likes to keep his distance.

He finds you to be entertainment for him to use to his benefit.

He isn't one to touch, he simply likes to... admire your discomfort.

Sure, if you're an anomaly he sees you as an abomination still...

Yet for some reason he enjoys you.

Except... it's not really enjoyment derived from compassion or love like most yanderes.

For Error, it's a sadistic type of joy... He likes the idea of you being scared since you can't predict him.

He could kill you... In fact, he kills those around you for interrupting his fun.

The blood just adds to your fear... and he finds that even more amusing.

He may "emulate" care, but it's fake.

He feels nothing but sadism towards you, like you're a little toy or experiment.

When he can't have you... Error has outbursts.

Whenever Ink helps you out, you can usually hear the glitchy roar of Error soon after.

To cope it would not surprise me if Error made a puppet out of you.

While he's tracking you he usually plays with the puppet, using his strings to toy with it while he searches.

It oddly relaxes him...?

Due to Error's character, this is really all I got?

You're a puppet he wishes to possess and use for his own enjoyment.

He's extremely frustrated when Ink or someone else tries to help you.

Even CORE Frisk would have trouble helping you due to how close Error is to you.

He never takes his gaze off you... tracking your every move....

Once he has you, you worry what he'll do.

Will he really just use you to perform acts of entertainment for him?

What happens afterwards?

Does he just kill you? Does he just not get bored of you?

Regardless of what happens... It's obvious he isn't going to let you go.

He's a destructive force that can't be destroyed...

If he catches you... you better put on one hell of a show for him.

Best you perform your best until someone can help you.

You're his favorite puppet after all... Better live up to the part.

[iloveanokyai]

my sotr rant :D

unlike a lot of ppl in this tag i actually really liked this book to a degree. i don’t think it’s as bad as people make it seem and noticed the ppl that are most angry are movie shippers. however there were several things that felt iffy to me abt the writing in sotr.

#1) it definitely felt like this book was specifically made to be adapted to film (not in a “omg it’s so good it’s needs to be a movie way” but a “wtf is even happening in any of the action scenes, i can’t comprehend this without visuals” way). which isn’t necessarily bad but kinda sucks if you just want to enjoy a book.

#2) i feel like there was in fact fan service which felt lazy and almost cringe. ppl make the excuse that it’s “a small district” so everyone knows everyone but like… really mags AND wiress just happen to be your mentors. mags makes sense but wiress was pushing it and was unnecessary. should’ve been someone unknown and even more ridiculous when you realize chaff (his victor best friend is missing entirely from the book). but ofc effie walks into the story because *checks notes* her sister is in haymitch’s prep team and conveniently something goes wrong. i feel like she just included effie so her fans wouldn’t riot.

#3) also even though effie was always nice what happened to her morally gray remarks like calling the tributes savages seen in the first book—instead she just defends the capitol after the games (which is still and but like) i feel like sc made her more like the movie effie rather than the book accurate one. (kinda felt like she tried to make her more likable which actually made me like her less).

#4) i love haydove idgaf what yall sheep say. however my main critique is that sc portrays haymitch as someone who can’t think for himself at times (specifically with maysilee). “what can i say? i can’t let you see my necklace becuz my gf hates you” what happened to thinking for yourself ? but also why do i feel like lenore dove wouldn’t give af if maysilee sees it ? other than that they’re cute to me idk and their height difference & kisses will eat on screen

#5) rly… the big secret maysilee has on lenore dove is that she grafitees walls in twelve ??? the girl who was arrested 2x by the age of 12 because she hated the games regardless of who it targeted and would do anything to stand up against them ? the one who does a whole speech abt keeping the sun from rising? i’d rather her just have maysilee say that she was secretly cheating on haymitch with her (#maydove #lesbianrealness) atleast it’d be more believable. like that was so anticlimactic ??? she’s a known rebel that’s why the peacekeepers harass her-

#6) sorry most of the side characters fell flat to me. i didn’t see enough of wellie to care i was just like damn silka beat the shit out of her and she was too young ( the movie will destroy me but i didn’t care in the book if im being real). wyatt also seemed like a waste, like sc didn’t know what to do with him (even silka & panache were more interesting). only main tributes i cared abt were haymitch, ampert, maysilee, louella, and those two.

[thesoulbound]

I have so many thoughts and opinions on Ian McKinley from Final Destination 3 that I have to put them somewhere! So here is a long, messy I-wouldn't-even-call-it-an-essay-because-wtf-is-this, but something along those lines!

I shall put it under a cut because yeaaaah, it's a rant .... lool

He's a character I feel like everyone either gets wrong or misremember from watching the movie years ago. There's nothing wrong with not liking the character; opinions are a thing, after all. But I do feel like defending him.

He's very clearly a character you either love or hate, and if you hate him, I've seen so many wonder how anyone can like him. Like, why is that even a question? Have you seen all the villains out there and the love they get and they do things so many times worse than Ian!

Okay, so like, first off. Liking a character doesn't mean you think they're flawless and perfect or excuse everything they do. No, it means finding the character interesting, the actor does a great job, and there are so many "what ifs" and "why did they do that?" They might even be the type of characters that if they were real, you wouldn't necessarily like them, but since it's fiction and entertainment—give it to me! Just the type of character I end up thinking about once the movie is done. The type of character you remember. The type of character that, if the movie had allowed it, could have been so much deeper.

Do you have to be reminded what a perfect character is? A Mary Sue. Perfection is boring, okay? No one is perfect. There's a middle ground, of course. There has to be something redeemable about a character usually for me to like them.

Nothing annoys me more in this franchise than when people call him a villain. He's even listed as a villain on certain pages. Like, wtf, man? This is the reason why I feel like people remember the character wrong from seeing the movie a long, long time ago or simply do not get the character at all. Hell, even I thought he was creepy as a kid, you know? But perception and time change things!

Like, up until him killing the pigeon, he's not even that bad? He looks like he (and Erin) genuinely tries to comfort Wendy with statistics before the rollercoaster because he's not laughing or mocking when they move on. He doesn't seem to understand what's wrong with what he says. For other people, me included, however, it's like, Yeah... statistics isn't going to help now, bro.

Same thing at the Ashes' funeral. He speaks out of place, but rather than being rude and disrespectful of the popular girls, he's actually speaking kindly of them.

"Equal... in death's eyes? All of us? How can you say that? Dude, think it through: Charlie Manson, made it to 70, Osama, still kicking. Pimps, vice presidents, walking around, all the atrocities they've committed, they're alive and well. These two girls, never done shit to anybody, they don't get to make it to 18. Where's the fucking equality in that?"

I love the little moments of breaking stereotypes in this movie, even if they're just tiny moments. Like the popular, usual mean girls, the Ashes aren't even mean. They're sweet and even try to include Wendy despite her not being in their friend group. Ian, the goth and outsider—the opposite end of the popularity ranking—doesn't talk shit about them. He says they didn't deserve to die so young because they never hurt anybody. That's not what most would have expected him to say when he opened his mouth. His voice even breaks when he says, "...they don't get to make it to 18." Yet haters tend to point out he's so mean for disrupting a funeral!

Which, yeah, don't do that. But to me it again shows when it comes to social etiquette, he's not very good at it. I've seen people suggest he might be on the spectrum or something, but I'm not going to go into that. I do not have enough knowledge to do that, and some do even try to use that as an excuse for things he does later.

Now, the scene most people hate, and I don't really blame people for disliking him after this, I just think it's sad. Ian killing a pigeon at work at the request of his boss. That in itself is not the red flag you might think it is. That has happened at my job too. A bird got into the store, and we had to get it out because of pests and shit, and we were a store that sold food. I didn't do anything, but my boss ended up having to kill it. The difference was that my boss didn't enjoy doing it. It was something he had to do. Ian does show enjoyment in killing the bird, and THAT is literally serial killer 101 dude. That's a massive red flag! I've seen people excuse this, but no. I don't care. This is such a red flag! I'm awkward af too, and I can smile like a crazy person when i'm on the verge of losing my mind because i'm stressed out. But I would NEVER laugh at killing an animal. If I saw that, I'd tell him to get some damn help, man.

I hate that moment too. It feels like they reached the end of the movie and went, "Oh, wait. It feels like Ian just lost his mind out of nowhere! We need to show him being a little cray-cray earlier on!" which, uhm, no, you don't. A young man witnessing his girlfriend die so brutally is plenty enough reason for someone to have a mental breakdown, buddy.

Another thing people tend to hate him for is him "trying to kill Wendy" and "Blaming Wendy." Which, with the first one, no, he didn't. Second one, yes. He is so wrong for blaming Wendy when she was just trying to help you and literally saved your ass when you were being a cocky little butthole. Like I said, while I love the character, he's very flawed. That's what makes him a fun character for me.

But NO he IS NOT what's going to kill Wendy in the end! People keep getting this wrong to this day! And I get why, because Wendy was wrong too, and the movie doesn't explain it. But it's so annoying. Wendy's photo shows just her with Jason and her shirt saying McKinley. They're in a town called McKinley. Their school is called Mckinley. The movie points out that Ian's last name is Mckinley! That's why the misunderstanding happens!

To put it simply, Ian is not going to kill Wendy because he's supposed to be dead. Death isn't letting people skip for funsies. Death is skipped because someone intervenes. If Wendy didn't save Ian, he'd die at the warehouse, probably with his girlfriend. Meaning he was never supposed to be at the tricentennial at the end. Wendy's shirt indicates to the cherry picker (even has the same shape as her shirt) that kills Ian because he gets in the way for her. So stop saying buuhuu he was going to kill Wendy. If he was, why is this his reaction to him realizing that's what she thinks?

If he's there to kill her, why is he surprised? He doesn't even have a weapon, and why, yeah, you can kill without weapons, but are you telling me this small fella' gonna kill Wendy with his bare hands with both Julie and Kevin right there with a lot of people around? Nonsense.

He's literally out of his mind with grief. He's had a full-on mental breakdown. He doesn't even know why he's there. He's literally yelling about what they have to do to stop this thing. He thinks he can't die! You can't look at this scene and tell me yaaah that guy's totally stable.

It doesn't excuse him stalking and blaming Wendy at all. No one is excusing that. But people who like him understand why he lost his mind, which haters seem to gloss over.

In regard to him refusing to believe anything Wendy says, sure it's annoying, but that's literally the reaction of 90% of the characters in the Final Destination movies. Ideally, they would believe them. That'd be very helpful. Personally, as someone who is a skeptic by nature, if someone came up to me and said we're gonna die one by one, I'd be skeptical too. I wouldn't be as dismissive and rude as Ian and Erin, but it is what it is. They are far from the only ones who don't believe the main characters. It's practically the pattern in these movies, including the new one.

And you know why?

Because "Seeing is believing."

Ian says so himself at the end. It's too late at this point. He's just sad. He's hurting. Obviously he doesn't move away from the falling cherry picker even though he has time because he doesn't care to. Just because he thinks he's skipped. Just because he thinks he can't die doesn't mean he wants to live. The same way when people ask if you're fine when you feel like shit, yet you tell them yeah. You're good. Or you're overworked and underpaid and feel like you're about to collapse in on yourself, yet all you can do is put a smile on your face.

And that's why I love the character. For a side character in an otherwise rather superficial franchise—that could have had a lot more depth—at least he leaves me thinking about him after the movie is over. Whether you love or hate him, you're still talking about him. You remember him lol.

If there's one thing people always bring up on why they love Final Destination 3, it's because they think the acting is overall better than in other movies in the series. Which is the same for me. I think Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Wendy, Kris Lemche as Ian, and Ryan Merriman as Kevin are wonderful.

How many moments in these movies do the characters either not react much at all or just react with the good ole' "shock gasp scream" when someone dies? Which is fine, but you gotta mix it up a bit. Everyone's just fine and dandy watching all these brutal deaths? Well, nah, there are some moments strewn in here and there where some characters react more realistically, but I do think Erin's death is on its own level. Ian, who's been cocky and cool most of the movie, is crying and screaming and then obviously has a full-on mental breakdown. Even Wendy and Kevin are crying despite not having been close to the couple.

Got a little sidetracked there, but what I'm saying is a great actor can make a stereotypical flat character on paper be a good one. Kris Lemche is an overall extremely underrated and overlooked actor, but also in this series. When people brag about the actors, it's usually only Mary that is pointed out, which is fair, she's the lead and she's great, but so are the rest.

*grumble grumble* he's not a villain!

The end.

[sokkastyles]

No, we cannot take the Promise as a stepping stone to Katara deciding that her life should focus on romance, because the comic doesn't spend any time developing her that way. They just have it be her main focus because they aren't interested in developing her. There is a difference between showing a character making decisions about her life and writing her as mainly support for a love interest.

You also have not yet addressed the inherent misogyny in pretending that a female character just "happened' to decide that everything in her life should revolve around her man. You still don't seem to understand that characters' choices do not exist in a vacuum, and when this was pointed out to you, called it "nonsense" and insisted that it was "close-minded" to interpret a piece of media based on text evidence instead of "well, there's just no way of knowing, it COULD have happened!"

Also, when Katara does get actual characterization in the Promise, she seems to be in disagreement with Aang and unhappy in her relationship. We're shown her upset at being ignored while Aang shows off to his fan club. We're shown her disagreeing with him about the colonies. We're shown her almost breaking up with him over his belief that people of other nations should not be together. But none of those things change her relationship with him and the end result is always "Katara accepts whatever Aang wants" because she's not being developed as an actual character making her own decisions about her relationship. We certainly don't see her decide to prioritize Aang, we're just told repeatedly by the narrative that she should. We're also never shown Aang meeting Katara halfway when she disagrees with him, especially when it's about their relationship. It's always Katara just passively agreeing with what Aang wants, with no reason why she would do that other than that the narrative expects it of her now that they're together.

And, again, if you don't see how that's a problem because of how it is just another piece of a pattern of female characters being written as accessories for male characters, then you have no business whatsoever calling other people close-minded.

It's not even the focus on romance that's new, because Katara in the original show is pretty romance obsessed, like many fourteen year old girls. It's not even the focus on Aang that's different. It's that she has no other goals or ambitions or even feelings, and when she does, the narrative portrays that as bad. That's not character development. It's narrative misogyny.

Nothing in ATLA ever indicated that Katara carried trauma from being involved in the war.

Katara involved herself in the war when she CHOSE to help Aang. She was the one who wanted to learn combative waterbending. She likes fighting, she likes sharpening her skills and overcoming her opponents. She is no different from Toph in that way.

The only wound that needed to be healed was her mother's death. And that was resolved. I would maintain that Katara fighting HELPED heal that wound because that trauma came from being helpless to save her mother. She had the power to do something about her mother's killer, she had the power to choose when she couldn't.

I think it's you who doesn't understand Katara. Her being the only one stripped of her power by the narrative is not okay because having power was something she fought for

that's where the speculation comes from. was it her power that was stripped or did she choose to not engage as an active member on the world stage? we just don't know because we don't have all the content for it

i have a difficult time understanding those who say "the character did not make that choice, the writer did" yes but the character is born from the writers. the writers create a character with a set of values, a personality, hopes, fears, desires which are complex and not compartmentalized. compartmentalizing characters is the same as compartmentalizing people. it doesn't work.

"katara doesn't make choices, the writers do" but then i will see the same argument of how katara made choices to fight, as you mentioned and there is nothing saying, well actually katara did not make the choice to fight to take her power back, that was actually the writer doing that. it contradicts. so, katara only chooses the things we like that she chooses but the things we do not like her choosing are not her choices but the writers?

when a character is created everything that makes them who they are is woven into the story which is the story of their life. i am not following the writer's story, i am following (insert character's) story

the micro-nonsense of well, this was the writer's action, not katara's and then in the same vein it is also said, well, katara chose to fight, chose to be a part of the war

by your logic and many others, she didn't. the writer chose for her to be in the war. so, either character's have agency or they don't

the writer looks at a character and guides them, they put an obstacle in front of the character and based on an entire range of complex issues that make up that character, then makes that decision and the world they exist in! that is critical, katara cannot control the world she exists in

by your logic, if the writer stripped katara of her power then it was not katara who earned her power

it's not katara's story, it's bryke who hunted down her mother's killer. katara didn't do it. bryke dressed up as katara, right? there is nothing separating bryke from katara. they are one in the same... right?

this is the fundamental, age old philosophy: the artist vs the art. can the artist be separated from their art and to what degree? how much can the artists be separate from their art?

there is no singular answer, it is a matter of perspective and opinion which is not based in scientific fact it is a subjective experience

interpreting peoples lives, interpreting the missing parts of a characters life, people in history that did not exist in the modern era, it cannot be entirely objective

human existence is mostly a subjective experience and so is the creations of an artist and the interpretations of that said art, and that includes characters from stories