#//you can tell i'm interested by characters who 'embody evil' but like...evil is more evil if you chose it

[warncdandwiles]

writing a villain devoid of sympathy or mercy is harder than it looks since I'm a sucker for the ones with a twinge of love within them. The movie!Arktos is one I have to stick to my guns about. Rinkus is easier because he has a legit attachment in Sierra in-movie, but movie Arktos is portrayed as 100% willing to murder his daughter, and I sprinkled in a bit more nuance to that (titbits from the musicals and other media that I could find) but writing-wise I have to be mindful not to have him come too close to an actual feeling of love.

It wouldn't be interesting if he didn't feel...something. Or at least, the awareness that he could feel something. A toxic, possessive attachment that could transform into true love if he stopped being a monster. Shallow, to not risk real love.

Because if he was truly a force of nature with no sense of morality, he'd be above deliberate cruelty, pettiness and evil. He wouldn't understand those concepts. But he does.

And if he's capable of evil, then he's capable of good. Otherwise Arktos would have no agency as a force of nature --- and he does.

[boylikeanangel]

I'm absolutely bonkers over the commentary that ofmd s2 is giving us on morality and redemption actually.

specifically what ed's conversation with hornigold after realising he's in purgatory says for the wider messaging this show has on the idea of retribution. because when he asks "who decides whether I live or die? you?" and hornigold says "no (...) this is on you" it kind of really does call into question a lot of big ideas about the stance this show is taking on what makes someone a good person, or more specifically, what makes someone worthy of being able to live, and ultimately be happy.

it's not like hornigold is some kind of arbiter or higher power with the ability to dictate ed's fate. no one sent hornigold to judge him. ed brought him here himself so they could talk it through and he could decide for himself what the answer is, whether he knows it or not. it's not about god or anything else like that choosing who gets to live and who gets to die. morals don't come into it. it's not about who deserves to live.

it's about who has the strength to try.

and for a show that deals with a cast whom the majority of are objectively bad people, that's such a fucking interesting and actually really enlightening position to take. if this was the kind of show that concerned itself too much with morals or trying to define objective goodness or badness, it'd get very stuck when trying to flesh out a fully realised development arc for its main characters, and they were very smart to not spend too much time trying to answer those questions. in fact, I'd argue that it actively rallies against the notion that only certain kinds of people are redeemable or deserve happiness.

both ed and stede have lived for most of their lives believing they are irredeemable, even that they deserve to die, but they both in turn later have to contend with the truth that they actually don't want to (stede first of all when he kills nigel, then later on faces the firing squad and literally breaks down at the sudden certainty of his death, and ed in the most recent episode). they want to live. they just have a hard time believing there's any reason why they should be able to. it's like they've been waiting for permission. but permission has nothing to do with it. no one's going to decide for you. there's no higher power that tells you an absolute "yes, you deserve another chance" or "no, you're beyond hope". you have to make that decision for yourself.

when stede is first faced with death, that's the first time we hear the question that now echoes across the entire series again and again.

"do you want to live?"

and stede is, in that moment, contending with the realisation, for the first time, that he might be a terrible person. and in that moment he doesn't know how to answer that question, because in that moment he realises he might not deserve to live. but oluwande is asking him, plain and simple, do you WANT to? and he says yes. despite everything, he wants to live. and so our story begins. a story not necessarily about redemption, but about rebirth. about choosing to live, even if you don't think you've earned the right.

and in the first three episodes of season 2, we see ed go through the same motions as he contends with everything he's done. like, hornigold is literally a manifestation of all the terrible things ed's done and the things he hates about himself! and he looked ed in the eye and told him "I don't dictate whether you get to live or die. you have to decide that for yourself. not based on what you think about yourself, or whatever you think you deserve to, but based on if you want to or not".

he's literally faced with the human embodiment of every evil, reprehensible thing he's done, and it tells him that it doesn't decide. that's not what this is about. they don't weigh up what ed's done, about where he crossed the line, about what he can and can't take back or undo, not even about what ed likes about himself, but very simply, what ed likes about living.

like, answering the question "at what point does someone become irredeemable" is an extremely difficult line to tread, and this show could have so easily slipped up whilst trying to answer that question, considering that the majority of its main cast are, yknow, thieves and murderers. ed more than any of them. and yet he's the romantic object of this season. and they make that work by not concerning themselves or anyone else with tricky moral lamentations about goodness or evil. what they ask instead is, "is any of that a reason to give up?"

dying is not a victory. dying is not even necessarily retribution. dying is the only reason things will never get better. even if you think trying to put things right and live a better life is impossible. and it might be impossible. but you will never know unless you try. you might fail but you have a 100% better chance of making things right and doing better if you choose to live than you would if you chose to die. and that's absolutely the journey ed's going on this season.

one thing in particular I'm so glad they've abandoned is that thread about ed not killing people. because it unnecessarily complicated the moral framework of the show and put a kind of expectation on ed's actions that were too hard to maintain with the direction they wanted to take his character this season. they knew it would only muddy the waters when it came to paving out his journey to something better, and I'm glad they took the time to establish that ultimately it was only something that mattered to him, not the narrative. to him it was like he could maintain some semblance of being a half decent person if he only ever killed one person. but now that's gone. he's broken the one rule he had for himself, the one thing holding him back from going off the deep end. and the question remains, can he still come back from this? can he still put things right and fight for a better life for himself? when quite literally all is lost, can you still find it again? and ultimately, the answer is going to be yes. no matter what he's done.

I don't know how much exactly if at all of this is in response to some pushback they got last season about how their main cast are, when all is said and done, pretty bad people, but either way they came out of the gate this season saying actually yeah, you're right. they are bad people. but that doesn't mean they don't deserve a chance at happiness. that's our thesis, actually. it fucking threads that needle and embroiders itself perfectly into the stede-centric narrative last season that told us reinvention was always possible and it was never too late to start afresh once you know what you want from life and it's fucking beautiful. I can't believe they took the moral ambiguity of its principle characters and turned it into the POINT. and I cannot stress this enough, it did this in THREE episodes. I love this show so so much we are so fucking back.

[cackled0g]

Can you pretty please tell some of your Ganondorf and/or Triforce hot takes 'n' theories... I'm in a big LoZ mood and wanna hear you ramble.

Why hello anon, of course I would like to speak on mein Dorf and Force theories. Incredibly long post beneath the cut.

Starting with the Triforce, I've said it before and I'll say it again, I think that the Triforce on a narrative and character level represents not the trait a character necessarily embodies the most, but the one they most desire. Take OOT Ganondorf for example. Ganondorf is certainly a powerful person--leader of the Gerudo, usurper of the Hyrule crown, general 7'5" badass. In OOT, when Link gets the Master Sword and goes into magical puberty sleep for seven years or so, he unintentionally also opens up the Sacred Realm. The Sacred Realm is like a pocket dimension created by the Golden Goddesses (creator deities) of Hyrule. It also changes depending on the pureness of heart of who enters. Wicked people see like a evil hellscape, heroic people see Hylian heaven. As per Sheik in OOT "The resting place of the sacred triangle, the Sacred Realm, is a mirror that reflects what is in the heart...the heart of one who enters it..." [1] (ignore that I'm using fan wiki as a source, i'm not booting up my 3ds and playing through OOT until I come across this dialogue.)

Anyways, so the Triforce, when whole, will grant you any wish. This happens like, several times in the series. In WW the boat king guy uses it to flood Hyrule, in LBTW Link uses it to create an entirely new Triforce to give to Lorule because they like pawned theirs off or something.

The catch is that if you touch the Triforce and you aren't pure of heart, it shatters. You get one slice of the proverbial pie, put a pin in that, and the other two pieces go run away and hide in a host body. This is the Golden Goddesses' security system, presumably in place so that any jagoff can't waltz into the Sacred Realm and wish for something stupid.

So, when Ganondorf touches the Triforce it shatters, he gets the Triforce of Power, Zelda/Sheik gets the Triforce of Wisdom, and Link gets the Triforce of Courage.

Back to that pin. Once again referencing Sheik's dialogue in OOT (Hyrule's second most popular tboy!), it can be understood that when the Triforce splits, whoever touched it gains the piece that represents the part of the Triforce that represents what they most believe in [2]. A lot of people in the fan community seem to take this to mean that you get the part of the Triforce that represents some part of your personality--Ganondorf gets Power because big, Zelda gets Wisdom because smart, and Link gets Courage because main character. I would argue that it's somewhat the opposite.

So, the most important thing to understand about the Gerudo is that they are the most downtrodden, put-upon, marginalized race in Hyrule. They have the worst land, the smallest population, and the harshest living conditions. The other Hylian races simultaneously fetishize and fear them. This is interesting to me on a meta level, because the Gerudo are really kind of an orientalist caricature in OOT (and most of their appearances honestly), but in making them that way, Nintendo kind of accidentally made them a.) way more sympathetic (at least to me) than the rich Hylian kingdom and b.) a statement about Orientalism. [3][4][5][6] They are an insular race of thieves and cutthroats who subsist off of robbing Hylians and, presumably, are doomed to eternally have dwindling numbers due to a combination of the fact that they don't trust outsiders (note: I am intentionally excluding BOTW here because I strongly dislike the characterization of the Gerudo there. Also, for the purposes of this argument, BOTW is so far forward in the timeline that it is almost entirely irrelevant to discussions about OOT on a lore level) and only have one male born every hundred years due to...reasons. It is stated in OOT that Gerudo women sometimes seek out Hylian partners, but this is never actually shown, to my knowledge. [7] The natural conclusion of this seems to me to be that either the Gerudo will eventually die out without any ability to reproduce at a rate above their death rate, or they will eventually mingle enough with the other Hylian races that all Gerudo will be more Hylian or Zora than Gerudo. (I don't even know how Gorons breed honestly.)

Back on topic, the Gerudo are eternal victims who have to steal to survive. Ganondorf is born at some point, taken in by his witch mommy/witch mommies, and becomes king because the male Gerudo is always the king. [8] You would think that a race of mostly women would be more feminist than this but this game was produced in the 90's. Anyway, Ganondorf sees the suffering of his people, and this has a profound impact upon him. From Windwaker:

"My country lay within a vast desert. When the sun rose into the sky, a burning wind punished my lands, searing the world. And when the moon climbed into the dark of night, a frigid gale pierced our homes. No matter when it came, the wind carried the same thing… Death. But the winds that blew across the green fields of Hyrule brought something other than suffering and ruin. I coveted that wind, I suppose." [9]

Now this is on a literal level, a statement about wind, but on a deeper level, this is Ganondorf's way of talking about privilege, and with privilege comes power. Hyrule is wealthy, comprised of multiple settlements when the other races generally only have one. They have a castle, they have an army, and, most importantly, they have the best land. The Gorons and the Zora are suited to their environments. The Goron don't want to have Hyrule Field, because the rocks in their mountain are just much yummier to them. The Zora don't want to live in Hyrule Castle Town, because they're wet little fish people, and they need to be in the water. The Kokiri need their forest, the Sheikah need their legacy of torturing people for the royal family, etc ad infinitum. Everyone in Hyrule has a niche to fill except the Gerudo. There is nothing about being Gerudo that makes living in the desert easier. Ganondorf and his people are suffering. They are starving. They are dying from the elements.

Ganondorf sees this, and it fundamentally changes him. From Four Swords Adventures:

"Once every 100 years, a special child is born unto my people. That child is destined to be the mighty guardian of the Gerudo and the desert. But this child, its heart grew twisted with every passing year. The child became a man who hungered for power at any price." [10]

So Ganondorf is hungry for power. More than that, Ganondorf is starving for power, Ganondorf will sacrifice anyone and anything to wet his teeth with the taste of it. He sacrifices his humanity (Gerudity?) when he takes the Triforce of Power and his body is physically changed. He sacrfices his people, and his reputation with them, up to and including his literal second-in-command [11]. He sacrifices Hyrule itself. Look at how the land itself bleeds in his presence! Hyrule is crumbling apart in his hands, and he holds onto still tighter.

[12]

And so, when he touches the Triforce, he gets only one piece, the Triforce of Power.

I think that Zelda is an interesting character in OOT. I tend to think of her as a Cassandra of sorts. Here is a child with a perception that everyone around her seems to lack. She has prophetic dreams, and seemingly out of everyone in Hyrule castle, she is the only one who can see that Ganondorf has bad intentions. [13][14] Yet, with all of the knowledge, she has no real ability to act on it. Her father, the king, holds council with Ganondorf despite her wishes. She is trapped in the castle walls, protected by guards, but also caged in by them. She knows what must be done to save Hyrule, but she it utterly unable to do anything about it. [15]

And, in the end, it's ultimately her actions that allow Ganondorf to obtain the Triforce of Power when he does. If she hadn't instructed Link on where to get the two remaining Spiritual Stones, if she hadn't given Link the Ocarina of Time, he would have never been able to open up the Temple of Time, withdraw the Master Sword from the pedestal, and open up the Sacred Realm. Thus, the Sacred Realm would never have been left open and unguarded. Now, anon, I hear you yelling at me through your screen right now. "But Dean, you beautiful big-brained badass," you say. "Ganondorf would have done that either way! Zelda may have sped things up, but Ganondorf would have gotten into the Temple of Time anyways, he had already conspired to get the Spiritual Stones in the first place!"

Oh anon, I reply. Thank you for the compliment on my amazingly juicy brain. Ganondorf couldn't have opened the Sacred Realm by himself because he would never have been able to pull the Master Sword from its pedestal. [16]

Now, to be clear, it would be blatantly ridiculous to blame Zelda for this. There is no possible way she could have known this, even with her divine knowledge. But it is, indirectly, her fault, is it not? Zelda gets the Triforce of Wisdom, as a sort of slap in the face. "Here," says fate, or the gods, presumably grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Here is the clarity that could have prevented this."

This post is getting long and I'm tired now. Send more asks if you desire more epic knowledge.

[riahlynn101]

What are your thoughts over the movie? I have some myself (and a mild mental breakdown over the Thing™), but overall, it was good. I want to talk about it with anyone, lol

Okay, so....

Spoilers below the cut:

Firstly, I loved it. You can tell how much effort they put into this movie, and it really shows. Kudos to everyone involved.

Things I liked:

Piper Rubio did amazing. No comment beyond that. Abby is one of my favorite characters now, and if anything happens to her, I'll cry.

Actually, all the kids did a wonderful job. Especially Grant Feely. He really embodied that creepy, restless spirit vibe.

Mike and Abby's sibling relationship was everything to me!

Vanessa asking Mike if he wants to dance with her (OMG).

The Springbonnie suit looked great!

Mike having a little bit of an attitude (I love him so much)!

The animatronics were cool. I like that they took the time to make them seem friendly, and almost childlike, before switching gears.

Things I didn't like:

I'm not an expert on filmmaking, so excuse me if I'm wrong here. But the pacing was all over the place. The first act of the movie was perfect, and then the second act was....fast. Like fast-fast. Based on what other people are saying, I'm 99.9% sure they cut out a lot of footage.

This one might come back to bite me in the ass later, but some plotlines felt unnecessary. I know this is FNAF and complicated is written somewhere between Freddy and Fazbear, but did we really need some side plot about an evil aunt? They didn't go anywhere with it, and we still don't know what happened to her. Did Golden Freddy K.O her? Kill her? Who knows? Because we certainly don't. We see her legs, and then she's never mentioned again.

I don't know if this is controversial, but I hate that Vanessa's an Afton. Maybe it's because I was so set on Mike being an Afton, but I really, really hate that they changed it. (I'll elaborate on that more down below).

I felt like they could have given us some more background. Some more flashbacks to the 80s. Anything.

I know I'm being overdramatic, but having the plot twist be Vanessa's an Afton kind of killed all my excitement. Which is stupid, I know, but yeah....

I mean, I'm still going to write fanfictions about the movie, and about all the ways that Mike Schmidt is actually Michael Afton.

--Sorry in advance, but I'm going to ramble--

I have a feeling that William knows Mike better than he's letting on. Of course, he did kidnap Garrett, who could have told William everything about Mike. He could have also watched the news and seen Mike with his parents, asking for Garrett to come home.

But that's not the vibe i was getting from William during the office scene. But I'll let you all decide for yourselves:

William Afton is a skilled manipulator and actor, but the expression he makes looking down at his coffee doesn't scream, "holy shit, the brother of my victim is sitting in my office." He has no reason to look concerned. Mike has no idea who he is, and he isn't even looking at William. So, why put on a show?

Also, the change in his attitude is telling. He went from cold and distant to personable in a heartbeat.

Of course, there's always the possibility that I'm totally wrong, and William is scared he's been found out. Which could be true, given that he doesn't hesitate to fuck Mike up the second he's able to.

--

In the same vein, why would William Afton-a guy known for killing/kidnapping kids around the pizzeria, or at least close to the pizzeria-drive to the middle of nowhere, pick a random kid, and kill him? I know he's crazy, but I don't buy it.

Some people are saying that Garrett is a Charlie parallel, and that Mike is Henry's son. Which could be the case, I mean, we see a mechanic in the training video that bears a striking resemblance to the actor that plays Mike's dad. I don't know if those two things are connected, but it's interesting to point out.

But, like I said, it's weird that William went out of his way to kidnap a kid for no reason. And he likely wasn't in a costume (at least I hope he wasn't, because if he was and no one saw who took Garrett, I think a kidnapped child is the least of their worries.) So, how did he convince Garrett, who was by himself for a grand total of five second, to get in the car? Maybe he offered him candy or toys? I dunno.

I might go into all the evidence/theories so far that Mike's an Afton in another post. And where they're going with Garrett's character. But yeah....

Everyone, please, feel free to share your thoughts on the movie. I would love to hear them :D!!

((Thank you for this question btw <3333))

[girlwithherheadinthestars]

tips for editing novels i wrote instead of editing

these are mainly targeted to people who find it hard to focus on editing (like yours truly) but really helps for anyone.

work section by section. i started doing this and it wasn't working because i kept reading on to the section after instead of focusing on editing the one section so what i did is copy paste the section (each should be no more than like 1000 words) onto another document and work on it there. read it over and over again until it sounds the way you want it to sound that copy paste it onto the other document and move on to the next section.

sit somewhere quiet. absolutely quiet.

no music.

turn off the wifi on your phone and on your laptop.

to get the emotion right in a scene, listen to music that embodies it. can't catch me now (olivia rodrigo) and east of eden (zella day) are what i'm listening to right now. of course, i can't write and listen to music at the same time because that's the kind of person i am but before you start writing, listen to the music and really get in the feels because emotion is what drives a story forward more than plot

i actually saw an author say this, i can't remember who, but it's good to have a song that evokes emotion so you can write the emotion properly

THESAURUSES. lifesavers. i can't come up with the perfect word to describe something because i have poor memory but the thesaurus always remembers (am i even spelling it right?)

drink water. (now. stand up. if you don't istg i'll find you.)

change the cliches. don't say it was a dark and stormy night. say it was a starless night that smothered even the smallest lamp lit in the little window of a small store at the edge of the abandoned town.

don't tell me what happened, tell me how it felt. it was not cold. her nose stung and her fingernails turned blue, she stamped her feet to keep warm, she shivered despite herself, her teeth chattering.

i think the trick is to search for every time you used the word 'was' and change it to a feeling

read aloud. do impressions. make your annoying character sound like your social studies teacher from 11th grade. have fun with it. just make sure the dialogue doesn't sound stiff and make sure the sentences flow well.

as a rule, shorter sentences flow better and are easier to understand

add more internal monologue, have your character try to reason things in their heads, don't have them just observe what's happening.

this is something i struggle with but if you have a mystery with a grand reveal in the end, keep track of what your readers know and don't know. reveal tiny clues that only fit when you finally see the full picture. be as evil with it as you want.

for motivation, reread your favorite scene (mine is the mc and love interest being adorable)

also, imagine the book being published. who would you dedicate it to? how many people would make tumblr posts analyzing it, how many people would make memes, who would the fandom ship?

finally, unrelated to editing, but if you must kill off characters, don't do it just because you want something dramatic and you need the plot to move forward, only do it for two reasons:

a) it completes the character's arc (i.e. they were afraid of death but when someone they truly loved was in danger they jumped in front of a bullet to save them)

b) they're going to come back to life later as a metaphor for phoenixes rising or something

personally, my favorite thing to do is to leave the death ambiguous. no one will know if the character really died or not (not even me)

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

what if right after Bella touched down in Forks and met her dad, she got the personality of Utena Tenjou from Revolutionary Girl Utena? How would the story change, and would Bella-Utena be able to survive the Edward yandere simulator? (You can probably tell I just binge watched revolutionary girl Utena for the second time…)

Oh boy.

Well, first, I think we have to go over how Utena would even react to this.

Utena and the Real World

One of the things I love about Utena is that we have no idea what the real world or adulthood is. It's less magical, less beautiful, presumably than Ohtori Academy but it could also be a post apocolyptic wasteland due to Anthy's decision to have the prince stop sacrificing himself for them.

We never get to see it and I love the show for that.

It's a nebulous, terrifying, place that the characters know they must reach or else perish without ever having been born.

And then, of course, there's the fact that those who leave Ohtori don't seem to be able to take much with them just as those who enter Ohtori. What I'm getting at is that memories are a fuzzy thing in the Utena universe and characters very much shrug and go along with it.

Back to the Ask

For my sanity, we'll say that Utena has not entered Ohtori yet. She has not remembered why she wanted to become a prince, she is still searching for her prince unaware of who he is, and she hasn't been pierced by the swords in Anthy's stead.

Utena finds herself waking up on a plane and getting off. She's a little confused, but not overly much so, and figures she must be traveling somewhere, likely in search of the prince who she's been wanting to meet.

In the bathroom she notices her face looks different. Everything about her is different, she's older, her eyes are now brown along with her hair, and she's shorter too.

Utena's annoyed by this but doesn't think much of it as she didn't in canon when she body swapped with Anthy. Shit happens. Probably because of whatever curry she must have had on the plane.

My point is Utena takes being 'Bella' in stride though she likely corrects Charlie to 'Utena' and gets really really really weird about having parents of any kind as she is decidedly an orphan.

Also, she wants to be a prince.

Charlie doesn't say anything to that.

At school Bella immediately clocks the Cullens as the student council people of note but would not find them to be prince candidates. While she wiffle waffled on Touga being the prince or not when she was uncertain was when he acted like what Utena thought to be a prince, gallant, chivalrous, brave, and kind. When he was an ass she paid less mind to him. Akio happened to be what was left of the prince, which helped him out, and also oozed seductive evil charisma.

The Cullens are too standoffish, too snobby, and Edward later too hostile for Utena to have interest in them. After Biology, for all Edward wouldn't notice the first time, he gets the Saionji treatment.

(Not to mention, I'm sure, that Utena actually likes Jessica Stanley as someone very reminiscent of Wakaba, good intentioned if a bit of a loud mouth who focuses on the wrong guys for sometimes the wrong reasons. Utena would be appalled that Edward acted so cold to her when Jessica was being brave.)

When Edward returns and tries to be charming...

The thing is that Edward is ultimately pulling a Touga. He would find Bella (Utena's) desire to be a prince, to meet a prince, bemusing and later irritating (as Edward is certainly not that prince and knows it). More, he would want to be the prince, not her, in which case Utena would have to be put in her place as the rose bride er damsel in distress in the relationship.

Ultimately, because of this, Utena while perhaps wavering on Edward for a little bit would staunchly reject him when all of this makes itself clear.

Now, that said, Utena is beloved by the gods.

It's unclear what, exactly, the power of Dios is and when Utena started embodying it (was it only when Anthy noticed) but there's a chance that it could be there out in the real world and could keep her alive in any surreal confrontation with Edward (presuming this still is, in some way, the Utena universe).

This means that Utena will survive against all odds only to be pulled towards Ohtori to fight for the rose bride.

[lexsnotdead]

I like Delilah so much it's not even funny

Her voice, aesthetic, attitude, backstory, how she's animated in custscenes (especially in DH2), interest in art and dark magic, evil bisexuality... everything is so cool

I always liked Brigmore witches instead of being interested in Whalers or smaller gangs

I'm SO happy that they brought Delilah back in Dishonored 2 instead of killing her off in Daud's dlcs

I still believe that she deserved different ending/better writing at times and i can talk about it for hours (I'm salty about Daud being redeemed)

But i'd better have what DH2 delivered instead of having nothing

I think your love for her has made it only worse /pos

Every week is Delilah Copperspoon week,i need to think about her at least once time from time or I'll combust!!

YEEEES YES DELILAH ENJOYERS RISE!!!! i feel you so much on this like it's been 5 or 6 years since i first played dh and let me tell you there is still no fictional woman i'm obsessed with more than delilah i want her carnally ehem

neither do i see the appeal of the whalers (at all) when the brigmore witches are right there — walking embodiment of vile freedom, united in their lust for sacrilege, while the whalers are just like. erm. mindless puppets who do stab-stab when daud tells them to? lol

delilah's story might have been executed better, ngl, but you know what. are you unsatisfied with the writing too? be delusional! go crazy! defy the reality! let me share a headcanon of my own — why do we consider delilah to be trapped in her painting??? her ultimate plot was to overwrite the state of the world, but what emily did to prevent her from doing it is basically... created an alternative reality which exists in that painting of hers? and it might as well just be a portal between two worlds, united by the void. if you view the events of her non-lethal takedown as i do, this could be such a fertile soil for other headcanons!!! for her development as a character as well. she could've become the local outsider, all-mighty yet deprived of the adoration she desires above anything else. or perhaps only a ghostly shell would remain of her former allies, leaving her unsatisfied with the lack of sincere passion in their devotion? or maybe the 'world as it should be' changed only a key moment in her life (being exiled from the dunwall tower) and turned out to be not what she expected at all? my point is — her story is not over if you don't want it to be! at least in my mind it is definitely not over ehehe

[bracketsoffear]

Characters I submitted that didn't make it in but I think should have (with explanations :])

Buried: Nugget from kindergarten. Yeah I'll admit my description in the submission wasn't all that great but anyways, this toddler one day decided to start digging a hole into the schoolyard sandbox and did not stop until eventually he dug through the bottom of the box and over time created what is lovingly known as the "Nugget cave," a big hole in the ground. Buried behavior

Dark: Charles/ Black Bart from no evil. "I command this dark abyss that lays waste to hundreds- he should fear me, I shall be the neo-lord of the night!" <- actual quote from the character. He controls what is known as the black tezcatlipoca or "black ick" that covers people and sends them into an endless sleep. Need I say more

Stranger: koko the clown from betty boop cartoons. Clown grandpa! The og spooky clown. Look up betty boop st James infirmary and you'll understand what I mean. Similarly to that, a lot of koko's animation especially in the earlier days used a lot of rotoscope (tracing over live action footage) and showed the character coming to life and interacting with the real world as a sort of eerie mimicry of real life motion. Also the character koko was based on one of the creators, Dave Fleischer's, clown persona irl

Hunt: Myron van Buren from poptropica. This one has some personal connections to it because this guy canonically hunts you for sport. Yes, in this browser game aimed at elementary school children, this man specifically states that he wants to shoot and display you in his trophy room. That fucked me up a bit as a kid. Also, the character is based on the short story "The Most Dangerous Game," which I'm pretty sure was actually featured in the tournament

End: Fran Bow Dagenhart from Fran Bow. Well, for starters, she watched her parents die in front of her. And second, after she gets her pills in the first chapter of the game she gains abilities very similar to Oliver Banks, except instead of black tendrils showing how someone will die very soon its black shadowy creatures telling the person they're following why they should off themselves

Desolation: Lilith the siren from borderlands. In the second game she gains the alias of firehawk and has powers that include wings made of fire and burning people alive. She also accidentally formed a cult of people who enthusiastically burn each other alive for her favor. Also also she watched her love interest die in front of her and directly after was used to almost destroy the planet of pandora

Corruption: phone/typegingi from dialtown. This one is probably my favorite of these. My cryptid gingi they have every disease <3, but also they embody the concept of toxic or parasitic love shown in the corruption because in the beginning of the game, they form a parasitic transactional relationship with one of the datable characters under the false pretense of love (getting a date on valentines day to pay them into the funfair so they can lay their eggs. Long story don't ask) and in a few of the endings, use the characters for their own gain while making the other's lives exponentially worse like getting Randy a job at the funfair and lifting him up only to shatter his heart and livelihood because he's complacent enough to let gingi in the funfair whenever they want, or gaining Bigfoot's trust only to sell him to the zoo for $2, or having Karen quit her job and taking her on a date to the zoo and then leaving her for a giraffe, and well Oliver, he knew what he was signing up for. My point still stands

.

[c1tyhaunts]

SHIPPING INFO // ANSWER THE FOLLOWING FOR YOUR MUSES SO PEOPLE KNOW HOW SHIPPING WORKS ON YOUR BLOG.

Tagged by: I don’t fucking remember??? But I had this in my draft for a moment so RIP? Tagging: Do it

WHAT IS YOUR OTP FOR YOUR CHARACTER(S)?

I have my favorite dynamics for my mains, due to most of my OTPs being me self-shipping my girls with whatever vibes. My favorite dynamics are the following:

AVIAN. either himbo/bimbo-energy that always drags her into stupid shit or a stick-in-the-mud who's trying to get her out of shit. bonus points if they are flirtatious and a little bit dangerous for my favorite "bad girl/good girl" combo. bonus, bonus points for that partner being a woman.

TERRAH. i enjoy her calmly bringing morally ambiguous figures to their knees because they are so, so desperately in love with her. because she deserves to be adored for being herself. bonus points if her partner is a bad/evil person to everyone except her

LILAH. therapy. jk. kinda. Lilah would prefer a smooth talker; someone she can battle wits with but can come kiss them when the sun sets. she wants a romantic to sweep her off her feet, one who's willing to love and let go as easily. she demands something temporary, indulgent. I love messy dynamics for her.

ELVIRA. ivy has two sides they enjoy: those who embody sunlight and those who embody moonlight. bonus points if she has them both. Ivy fares better in a polyamory dynamic, having two partners to balance their mercurial personality.

HOW LARGE DOES THE AGE GAP HAVE TO BE TO MAKE IT UNCOMFORTABLE?

The majority of my characters are at least 22+ and up, and I refuse to ship anything underage or if the character isn’t at a minimum of 21+. I’m flexible in terms of age gaps up to 10+ years, but I am selective. Will need heavy plotting prior to justify the reasoning. 

HOW FAR DO STEAMY MOMENTS HAVE TO GO BEFORE THEY ARE CONSIDERED NSFW?

Anything beyond a chaste kiss on the lips that de-evolves to heavy kissing and touching is when I usually start considering things NSFW. If the end goal is to fuck or get freaky, that’s NSFW. And that also depends on the characters as well, as some of them have different definitions of intimacy & sex.

ARE YOU SELECTIVE WHEN SHIPPING?

Yes, I am. I love shipping, so I try not to be too strict with it. If the characters vibe, they vibe. However, given the majority of the characters here are black women, I’m very particular about certain dynamics. These girls, no matter how hard they come off, are soft, gentle, and/or passionate in their dynamics, and I get really, really whiffy if someone comes up to me to make my girls more gruff or animalistic than they really are. I will shut that shit down fast if I even catch a whiff of an odd dynamics that hyper-masculizes my girls.

I am more explicitly strict on Jackson & Jo when it comes to shipping. Jo-hui explicitly because of her sexual trauma and Jackson for the trauma he brings to others. Also given that Jackson’s the only guy on the blog, I gotta be particular on who’s gonna have his heart. 

WHO ARE OTHER CHARACTERS YOU SHIP YOUR CHARACTER WITH?

GOD... if we wanna go by blogs... I p much ship with my friends and anyone who's interested. Special shoutouts go to:

Ramona (@lotuskissed) x Elvira

Silske (@ohshadow) x Terrah

Joaquin (@hesperid) x Lilah

Lillith (@shivasdarknight) x Avian

If y'all want to learn about my character's dirty little canon x oc ships I do on the side... that's level 2 of friendship there.

DOES ONE HAVE TO ASK TO SHIP WITH YOU?

I'd heavily prefer it. Again, I'm down if you are, but if I don't feel the dynamic, I don't wanna force it.

ARE YOU SHIP OBSESSED OR SHIP MORE-OR-LESS?

ALWAYS? I worship my ships like a religion, and if it doesn't seem like it, then let me know and I'll pull more weight!! I love my ships so much and they are so dear to my heart

ARE YOU MULTISHIP?

Yes.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SHIP IN YOUR CURRENT FANDOM?

I'll tell you about my dirty little Canon x OC ships I enjoy. I only have a handful.

Terrah x Max DeSoto (Outer Worlds) - I just love Old People finding LOVE. They are my default ship for Terrah outside of the universe, I don't care. Come @ me.

Elvira x Ghost x Soap (CoD) - this was actually a bad joke that I had with @shivasdarknight that ended up being serious.

Lilah x An RE Protagonist (Resident Evil) - ... if you guess which one, I'll have to take you out back.

FINALLY, HOW DOES ONE SHIP WITH YOU?

Literally just jump into my inbox it's really that easy.

[violetlunette]

I saw your anti-lov posts and god do they explain everything i dislike about the league.

The thing is, i like the concepts of each league member, but the way they're handled just falls completely flat.

The one i think the most about is Mr Compress. I love phantom thieves and they're my favourite character archetype (which is why i also like monoma and sad that hori caved into fan pressure to make him a joke character after his initial introduction, but thats another rant). Mr Compress, until that dabi revealed himself, NEVER hinted at the whole stealing for the greater good angle. Hell, gentle is more of a phantom thief than Compress is! It feels like it was tacked on to give him a motivation which sucks since he could have been an interesting character.

He's supposed to be a thief with morals yet i see no morals from him or the league.

Honestly its the same issue with stain. Show don't tell. We are told Stain wants to get rid of 'false' heroes and the corruption of society like we are told Mr Compress wants to reform society for the better. We see them senslessly kill people with no regard or indication that they are part of the corruption. We are told society is corrupt but never SHOWN.

We never see greedy heroes and the sole 'evil' hero was endeavour and even then he gets 'redeemed' (he's working towards it but the point is he's the only one we can point at and say 'your fucked up'). We never see the heroes be corrupt or hoard wealth or any of the sort! We don't ever see how heroes perpetuate the cycle that produces villains which makes the league unsympathetic.

This extends to bakugou as he should be the perfect cautionary tale embodying society faults and how heroes focused less on saving and more on money and fame. So many characters had the chance to be that but they get put in the right and their consequences ignored.

And even then, the league's action never addresses any systemic issues. We don't see them exposing endeavour or other heroes like them (that was all on dabi and he just wanted to hurt endeavour so not selfless at all), we don't see them exposing quirk discrimination nor do we see them HELP ANYONE! if theyre meant to be revolutionaries, they need to care for people OUTSIDE of each other! But they don't so they all end up as morally bankrupt villains who pretend to be noble.

And even then, there's a teeny tiny detail that the 'moral' members should have had a problem with.

The nomus.

Why do the other members of the league never question the nomus? I doubt none of them know the implications that a person was experimented on and turned into a puppet. Why was this not something spinner (the most 'moral' member) took an issue with? In fact, I'm surprised that wasn't a plot point for the league! Why weren't there more people who took issues with Nomus and how they were produced? It feels very strange to ignore to me. That could have easily been a reason why other villains didn't like the league! They experimented onto people! Why are the implications of the nomus so heavily ignored?

It infuriates me since the MLA are right there and are already much more complex villains who could have shaken up society and bring into question the heroes better! There's a hero in the MLA! Why couldn't there be more? Why are the league, the ones who don't have a distinct purpose nor do they do anything ASIDE from destruction the central focus? Oh right AFO and all that.

TLDR: i really don't like how the villains in the series are handled as what they say never matches with what we're told and we never see the corruption heroes perpetuate. I'm also confused on why nomus are glossed over in universe from a 'holy shit these were people' stand point and i also wish the MLA were the central antagonists rather than the league as they make more sense and can showcase hero society better.

Now sweetie, don’t hold back! Tell Looney how you really feel. (Lol, no, I love this.) And YES. Yes, to all this. There was potential, but either Hori didn’t know how to handle the villains or someone at Shounen Jump got in the way. And you brought up a good point about the Nomus. Why does no one even blink at this shit? I also love that you brought up the fact that despite the manga constantly saying that the heroes are just as bad as the villains, there is a significant slant between the two. And guess who has the higher moral ground? (hint: NOT THE TERRORISTS!!) The LOV of villains at the end of the day is just a bunch of entitled kids throwing a fit that can’t do what they want. Yes, bad stuff happened to them. No, it shouldn’t have happened. No, they didn’t deserve it. But that doesn’t justify all the terrible things they did. But I digress. The MLA is a lot more compelling as a) they’re more of a threat, b) They have a leg to stand on as they tried peaceful protests in the past but were ignored.

BUT YES!! The nomus are the most wasted and glossed over plot point! And two of them were childhood friends of two main characters! (Izuku and Aizawa.) Plus, think of the angst if AFO had been smart enough to use Nana’s corpse as a nomu! Wasted! The nomus were WASTED!!

But oh well. As said in the past, I intend to do a deeper dive when the manga is finished. But you brought up some amazing points!

[chaoticcomposition]

May I hear all about Nepenthe 👀

omg sure, I'm still working on her & need to discuss how she works with the dms, but I can give you what I have! idk how much you know about matt's exandria setting, but that's where she's from and it informs her story

if anyone ever wants more in-depth stuff that isn't art, I do have a writing sideblog where I put most of my character things, including shitposts

(warning for below the cut: there's a picture of a tarantula at the bottom)

one of the tenets of lolth is ‘it’s better to be loved than feared but you can certainly try to be both’ and she definitely tries to embody that. she trusts her community implicitly and while they may not have her best interests at heart she’s willing to be self-sacrificing if it serves a greater purpose

to bullet point it:

she’s bi, 377, 5′8″, neutral evil. I might tweak one of the existing paladin oaths b/c none of the them fit her exactly. a friend also found one called ‘oath of webs’

personality-wise she’s pretty amiable? very social, encouraging, a good team-player, enjoys card games and communal activities. she prefers to be straightforward where she can, it’s unlikely she’ll stab you in the back but rather the front. she's not the person you send to be a spy or assassin

she's from a surface culture of warriors (the many hosts of igrathad) that's a series of villages always fighting each other. the kryn dynasty (good drow) step in like "stoppit" and the many hosts don't love this, b/c they love to solve things by fighting. her parents however embrace the peace and worship the luxon (mysterious light god who's essence is broken up into beacons)

nepenthe's older sibling (she’s the 2nd oldest of 5) is sent to fight in a war for the kryn who brought them "peace" and disappears. nepenthe is furious, thinks her parents are soft-spined

children of malice (followers of lolth) latch onto this since they're sneaking around the many hosts and convince her to join their cult b/c that's what cultists do

she moves to dumaran (children of malice settlement that's a buncha tunnels) & becomes a paladin of lolth, makes some hobgoblin buddies & has a hobgoblin mentor

they discover the kryn dynasty are sending people to the underdark beneath tal'dorei (different continent) to recruit drow & search for more beacons. children of malice want in on that, but for lolth

she's sent across the world w a team to do this, they find vierna. she's a hot mess but not beyond help. she’s one of a few survivors where she lives cuz the chained oblivion is tearing them apart, lisa

they take her home, show her the way back to lolth. they fall in love, they have a baby (nepenthe carried), they're good parents! vierna proves herself ruthless & imaginative and claws her way up in status

but vierna is like a cold-blooded scientist and is like "ok you have this reservoir of lolth's blood you're guarding, why not use it." lolth's blood is what turns drow into driders in this universe. she works up an antivenom that can revert driders back into their original form but the process is taxing and painful. the person also has to want to change back

after a few initial tests the leaders are like "this is going great, and since you're so confident in it, we should use nepenthe :^)"

they do that, nepenthe is a sometimes-drider now 🕷

unfortunately with great power comes a steep price—the transformations are changing her body over time, and she might eventually succumb to wanting to be a drider all the time. lolth's blood is addicting and driders can go mad from the thirst (I'm sure there are driders who have found ways around this, but for the purpose of this story they haven't met them)

oh great now their daughter's run away b/c she's been manipulated by the archeart!! (parallel to nepenthe running away from her family hehehe) and the cult is like "omg bring her back it's v important you do" & nepenthe is like "you don't need to tell me twice"

their daughter is 66, they kind of infantilize her. they don’t realize she made the decision herself to leave

vierna’s like panic-trying to concoct a way to make sure nepenthe doesn't lose her mind. nepenthe has a strong will but she’s not infallible, especially since it’s a slow erosion

she also has a pet giant spider named cookie who stays behind in dumaran to keep vierna company and eat house intruders. she looks like this:

tl;dr she's a sometimes drider b/c her wife made an antivenom to lolth's blood but it's imperfect and she's changing over time. her fate can be pulled in one of many directions but her main goal is to find her daughter & bring her home safe

I didn’t realize I had so much but thank you for the ask and if you made it this far, hats off to you!!

[therubyreader]

My Review of American Royals by Katharine McGee

See a full list of my book reviews here

Review Word Count: 1,195

I know this is usually where I put my spoiler warning for my reviews but since I have decided that based on the nature of this book there aren't any major plot points that I want to talk about so this review will be spoiler free.

I will give this disclaimer though, if you're a die hard fan of this book then this review isn't for you. That isn't to say I'm going to drag this book through hell and back, but it honestly wasn't my cup of tea. I will be talking about the things in this book that I personally didn't like so if you don't want to see your favorite book besmirched by some random bitch on tumblr dot com then please keep scrolling.

On to the review!

American Royals gives all of us history nerds a peek into an alternate reality where George Washington became the king of the United States instead of its first president and how that would look in modern day. In this reality we also see how the peerage system works in the States and also how many monarchies in other parts of the world have survived. For example the French and Russian monarchies and the German principalities are alive and well in this book which was a very interesting touch that I enjoyed.

The book centers around the lives of the modern royals, Crown Princess Beatrice who is set to be America's first queen regnant, her younger sister Princess Samantha who is the exact opposite of Beatrice and suffers from an extreme case of middle child syndrome coupled with spare syndrome, and Samantha's twin Prince Jefferson a.k.a. Jeff (side note I think the name Jeff is gross and I agree with Daphne on calling him Jefferson) who is quite literally just there, chilling.

Now while I was intrigued with the concept of an alternate reality where the United States is a monarchy I honestly did not expect the book to go the way that it did. I know that just writing what life would be like with an American monarchy wouldn't sell and would be extremely boring, but let me tell you I didn't not expect to essentially get into a written telenovela. You get all of the classic traits of a novela, three (or maybe four, depends on how you count it) love triangles stacked on top of each other, betrayal, romance, dramatics, and then someone just randomly dying to advance the plot. What more can you want?

I say that but in reality I wasn't really a fan of it. Sure if you like soap operas and reality tv this book is for you, but I'm not really a fan of either so I honestly got to a point at the end where all of the plot points converged and it all just got so overwhelming for me that I struggled to finish the last, like 10% of the book. That being said I'm not going to keep reading this series, though I did Google if Beatrice ended up with my favorite boy Connor just because he was my favorite and I needed to know.

Speaking of characters I actually enjoyed all of them, I was just kind of annoyed with the insane amount of love triangles happening to them. I honestly didn't hate Daphne, I don't condone literally any of her actions because she was evil but I sympathized with her motives. In the words of a wise man, "cool motive, still murder," (no she didn't murder anyone btw, but that would've been a great plot point).

Though if you read my Gods of Jade and Shadow review you might expect my favorite character to be Nina, in Latina solidarity, but she might've actually been my least favorite character. Actually her and Daphne are tied in that spot. Main reason being how they're both juxtaposed in their endeavors to win over Jefferson, and I really want to tell them it is quite literally not that serious. We get some not very feminist differences between them, Nina is "not like other girls" and a normal girl while Daphne is the embodiment of femininity and has the makings of a princess. Also Jeff fully cheated on Daphne and then broke up with her over the phone the next day and then tried to get at Nina. And then he proceeded to play with both of their emotions and yet both of these girls were fighting over him? Those are some serious red flags, I'm going to need these girls to get up, they deserve better.

I did honestly like the relationship between Beatrice and Sam, you get to see how they're opposites for the same reason, if that makes sense. Beatrice is meant to be the next queen so she has to be perfect and because Sam is the spare she wants to be the opposite of Beatrice and a party girl who's impulsive and puts herself first. I genuinely enjoyed their dynamic and how they play off of one another.

I didn't like Jeff at all, which honestly he might be my least favorite character and Nina and Daphne get the spot right above him. Literally this dude contributes nothing to the plot besides being there for two girls to fight over him and have their own character growth because of him. It's not very feminism or Bechdel test of them (though they do have a conversation which might pass if I remember correctly). The author even tells us in the story that Sam and Jeff are supposed to be very close but we don't see it, there's only maybe two instances where you can see their close bond but really nothing beyond that. Also there is literally no interactions between Jeff and Beatrice despite them being siblings, and I get that part of the plot is that they're not super close with her and they haven't been since they were kids but like come on, they couldn't have had at least one conversation in the whole book.

I do feel like the book was definitely marketed more towards a teen audience which is partially what I get for being a grown ass adult (I'm only in my early 20s so like technically I'm closer in age to a 19 year old than a 30 year old) reading YA fiction. But either way even if I was still a teen I don't think I would've enjoyed the book more than I do now, partially due to me being a weird kid who liked to consume media that was action heavy rather than romance heavy, which honestly still holds true to this day. I will say the book isn't bad, it's just honestly not for me, I can appreciate the writing and imagination that comes with creating this alternate reality, which major props to author for committing to doing that. Overall rating, not for me but for someone else out of ten. Even though I said I wouldn't continue to read the series if someone has a really good pitch I'll perhaps give it a shot but you have to do some serious convincing.

[finsterhund]

Liveblog kinda I guess?

Someone recommended I watch the horror movie "Come Play" (2020) because "that's basically you" and yeah ten minutes in and this is pretty much exactly what 2010s Cayden embodiment would be. Except pure and not deranged lmaoooo.

So far this seems to be a more typical horror movie so it's more of an "eat snacks and try to guess when a jump scare is happening" experience which is usually what I watch. It's serviceable if generic. Not really bringing anything new to the table or being too interesting. I've been focusing a lot on artsy indie horror of late so it's good to change things up and go back into something knowing it's not going to completely flood my brain. It's nice to have neurodivergent kid protagonist representation that doesn't turn the kid into a source of "ooooh scary" for the sake of "disability weird and creepy" either. I kept bracing for "autism scary" but they never resorted to that.

Jealous of the cool house he lives in. This is quickly becoming a pattern.

The picture book monster designs are straight up spectres. I swear to fuck. If the little common spectres could grow up I guess. I want the in-universe book as like a hardcover or something it's cute. Can't tell if it's a ploy or if it's really a heartfelt monster friend yet. That's the fun of it. Could be either OR BOTH. I'd love to see that more in things. Where a supernatural creature is a predator with hunting instincts but it's not evil and will potentially under ideal circumstances be able to pack bond with humans who are otherwise a prey item.

Not gonna lie thinking about it now having it being central to the plot of a movie I am somewhat jealous of the availability of digital speaking devices possible with today's technology. I would have been far more articulate if I had something like that when my selective mutism was at its worst. May have made it easier for me to break into the wider world. Get more of a headstart. Saying that though the movie is quick to remind that neurotypicals can be fucking mean and stupid about accessibility tools. Not to go on and bash neurotypicals for seven hours straight but people get so fucking weird about this sort of thing. Call us unable to adapt to things but can't just roll with it when it comes to fairly cut and dry extensions of the self.

By the time I finally had an assistance device (first laptop) it was in high school and everyone learned to mind their own fucking business. I'd get chewed out by the occasional teacher but they quickly discovered I can't write for shit and that it was the only possible way I could take notes.

I'm expecting the "phone bad" plot to be stupid and drag my experience down but we will see.

I'm not liking the parents very much but how much of that is personal bias I cannot say. I may just be very stressed at the moment and projecting onto characters I know next to nothing about yet. The mom seems ok but the dad has a classic case of the "not really being there in equal measure as the mom is" that might imply worse.

Props to how you can really hear the parent's opinions and the learned ableism through the kid in Oliver's class whinging about how he gets "special treatment" for having use of a phone for accessibility. It really sounds like the sort of stuff you just know the kid is parroting from their shitty parent. The teacher could have handled it better than making it about that kid doing something to not deserve his phone as a toy. Should have instead been explaining that Oliver literally needs his for accessibility. But a lot of the time that is how these situations are mishandled by well-meaning but otherwise incorrect neurotypicals. The "clap back" at the kid who played Fortnite on his phone rather than explaining that the nonverbal kid uses his as a TOOL. and that's what's different.

The scene where the one kid from the bully's group lures Oliver with surface niceness just to get him away from prying eyes so their group can berate him is perfectly illustrated also. Because yeah they know to superficially not bully someone with disabilities, they know how to play nice, and the whole "pretending to be your friend to fuck with you" shit was very prevalent. I like how despite this being handled well it's not overly triggering like it could be.

God watching this just makes me wish we could have grown up together. This is a fictional fucking character but I know what he's going through so much and it's just not fair.

A lot of the spooky shit is interesting and isn't overdone visuals. Like the part with the papers in the car park. The camera filter scene also got me too. Because I am scared of cameras and the dark and faces. 🙃 The movie doesn't have deep psychological environmentally impressive fear building but the simple jump scares don't feel shitty either. It's basic for a horror movie but inoffensive.

Also I was right in the beginning to feel sus about the parents. They're having fights about Oliver and the mom is going on about how much she wishes she could "get rid of that part of him" so that she "wouldn't have to deal with it" as if it isn't literally a facet of who he is. The dad responds that it wouldn't be him then. The mom I swear to fuck I hate her. Shut the hell up "you have any idea what it's like for your own child to never look you in the eyes?" Bitch shut up. The kid doesn't feel comfortable with eye contact it's one little fucking thing to you but it's really significant issues for him. The mom is going on about how he apparently loves the dad but hates her. Oh I don't know autism warrior mom Karen perhaps he is able to tell and feel the way you talk and think about him? Like this? Right now? And that's why he doesn't feel comfortable or safe around you? Do you magically think he doesn't understand or feel the energy and vibes you emit about him? He's autistic, not mindless. For fucks sake. You think because he doesn't do things the way you think is the only way to do them he isn't able to at all? Gah. The dad being less present in his life is a double edged sword. Negative in that he could be there more for him but positive in the fact that when he is there he isn't a fucking bitch. Of course the kid is going to like him more. (I am taking this too personally I realize but jesus christ does this really hit at a sore spot)

"Larry" communicating with the same speech program Oliver uses is supposed to be creepy. They have him looking shocked and play suspense chords but I just think it's sweet. They're able to use the same aid and it's probably the first time Oliver has really had that sense of familiarity. I know that this is a monster and it's probably gonna try to eat him or something but so far the literal spectre ass looking demon thing has been more compassionate, respectful, considerate, and willing to be accessible to Oliver than any other major character. It's just scary and from another dimension. It feels like the monster is an allegory for having a disability that you're ostracized for.

Fucking screaming at the mom planning get togethers with the bully just because she's friends with his mom. Again, this is a common thing and it doesn't work out anywhere near as much as it should for parents to keep doing. But the mom being a fucking shit I realize she's likely never going to intentionally try to go out and find other disabled and/or neurodivergent kids to introduce Oliver to. These sorts of parents hope their kid will find "normal" friends that will make them "more normal" they already have to "suffer" "dealing with" their disabled kid they're not going to want to care for his peers too. 😔

The mom fucking going "can you try and have some fun for me?" You are literally forcing your kid to hang out with someone they don't want to, that I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt in assuming you aren't aware is bullying him. You are taking away what little autonomy he has in his life at the present. God. And the cherry on top is him leaving a situation that's uncomfortable to him (terrified his phone is possessed) and the mom of course assumes it's all about her, that he's avoiding her.

God the bully's whole friend group gets invited to the sleepover and the literal first interaction I see of the bully's mom with him is her joking about how she wants to get rid of him and load him off on Oliver's mom. Just casually joking about not wanting to be around your son to his face. That's lovely.

Christ the bully's mom asking Oliver's mom if she can say hi to him. As if he's her pet and not his own person. 😬 100% why the bully is like this.

CHRIST THE BULLY KIDS WERE LIKE "WHYS HE BEING WEIRD?" AND BEFORE THE BULLY'S MOM CAN TELL HIM OFF OLIVER'S MOM SAYS "ITS OKAY" I want Larry to kill this fuck so bad. She then goes on to explain stimming... I guess. The fact that the moms are talking about his personal developmental milestones also just right in front of him and the other kids. Man for fucks sake stop it. Can you at least make the effort to pretend to give him a level of privacy and dignity?

It's really hard at times to not want the bully kids to get got by the monster lol. Sometimes their lines make it clear they're just wildly misinformed and other times there's that level of cruelty that I still don't know where some kids get it from and other times they're behaving a bit too "adult wrote the lines" bully cliche.

Larry being described as pale when he's been depicted until this point as corpse-black threw me for a loop. Was hoping this wouldn't end up being another pasty white "rake-esque" creature. It got old fast lol

I get the feeling that if the bullies don't die they're gonna end up friends with Oliver through shared trauma. Jokes on you nobody's getting out of this neurotypical.

Yeah the "real life" Larry design is just uninspired copy of the rake. The visual effects are good but man.

I don't get why they blamed Oliver for that shit with the book though. Like they witnessed all the bulbs go and the creepy ebook and the table move on its own. What do they think he's got telekinesis or something? What happened really doesn't seem like something they'd all collectively make up the same story to blame on him. If that actually happened they'd be going on about ghosts or some shit surely? Frustrated me and I had to pause for a bit.

Have yet to see "phone bad" at all and maybe they won't do that. But the mom is a sack of shit so don't hold your breath.

God the mom thinking he did it. Yeah I'm sure your kid did all that with his mind. Of course.

Also next day at school one of the bully kids has a chew stim????? He's never shown with one before. He's only got it now that their ringleader is absent from school? Which shows I guess that they join him in picking on the more obviously neurodivergent kid to try and prevent him from targeting them as well? Sadly a realistic thing that happens also. Bully kid is clearly traumatized so I guess my joke about nobody leaving this story neurotypical is coming true to some extent. Then he confesses it wasn't Oliver but the Larry entity. The weird thing is the mom believes now too because she was in the house when it again started fucking with shit but even though it's shown to have control over the house she zeros in on the tablet. Eventually the dad finally takes Oliver and immediately he's a better parent. Brought him to his job at a toll booth car park and encourages him to participate and explains to him aspects of the job that make it accessible. Saying that you can watch cartoons when you're not dealing with customers. I feel he means well.

Find it funny that everyone's immediate first reaction to the Larry book showing up randomly is to read it. And read it aloud. Oh neat a spooky monster kids book is on this ipad. Gonna read it out loud. I've got nothing better to do.

Again, the different ways they show that the invisible entity is in the physical world and where/how it's moving is pretty cool. The cameras, the laser sight measurement tool, THE STICKY HAND. The use of the sticky hand is GOATed

This fucking speech therapist is bringing up PHYSICAL EMPATHS. Aka pseudoscience. Being like "the reason you are also experiencing this creature from Oliver's imagination is because you love him very much" which is bullshit because 1. she fucking doesn't. 2. The closest observed condition that this could even remotely be compared to is Folie à Deux. There is no fucking basis of "empaths" as having psychosomatic reactions like this in real life wtfffffff. Everyone in this movie except for the goddamn monster and kinda the dad is absent incompetent negligent or stupid to the point of infuriating ineptitude in being there for Oliver. Christ. Then this stupid fucking mom is like "oh I destroyed *that* device. As if the problem was a single thing and not idk. It did stuff in your fucking house. What is the logic of this!? They even discussed how Oliver has been using multiple screens for so and so long period of time wtffffff

Oh I fucking knew it was the bully kid's mom who was why he turned out that way. The reveal felt so validating. These poor kids. The bitch tricked her kid into thinking Oliver hated him and turned him against him. Jesus Christ. Felt so gratifying when they realized and made up. She is now the character I want to die the most. Second is Oliver's mom obviously.

The later parts of the Larry book make it clear that the monster is at the very least possessive and will kill those who get in its way but still no confirmation if it has ulterior motives to making friends. It looks like it's just really possessive and lonely. Are they trying to set it up as being evil???

The scene with the streetlights going off behind the car is sick af. God. Too bad Larry himself the real world version sucks. Got a closeup of his face and it's just not working for me as a design. Took the mom way too long to realize that this thing wasn't tied to just the one tablet. The way it talks by skipping channels to different words is a neat concept but ruins the mystery of it. Okay Larry you go and villain monologue to the mom through the TV. That's great. Finally we get to the "phone bad"-ism where "everyone's so lonely looking at their screens all the time that it literally created Larry out of their loneliness" man wtf. If you love someone who's in another continent go fuck yourself I guess. You're actually lonely. You don't have real relationship through the screen. Never mind the fact that the main character is literally only so reliant on electronics because it's his fucking accessibility device. He is using it to communicate in person. God they didn't think this through. Also this movie literally came out in 2020 I think Larry being born is small potatoes compared to the obvious alternative of everyone dying from a certain pandemic. Hmmm 😬

I was really hoping it wouldn't pull a "phone bad" but somehow it held off on doing so and then did so in a way that's somehow worse.

God the mom being like "Larry is lonely? How do you think I would feel if Larry took Oliver?" Always making it about you. Not to mention the fact that you treat him bad and talk shit about him and say that he doesn't love you as much as his father because he won't overstep his own personal boundaries for your benefit. Everything you've done and said up until this point would indicate that you'd enjoy your life better if it did just go and take Oliver.

God the mom is something else. running around like a chicken with its head cut off grabbing every screen in sight in the house and yeeting it out the door when the obvious solution is to take Oliver somewhere else. Then when I think it won't get any worse she's unscrewing all the fucking lightbulbs. Making a racket. Oliver is having a meltdown and the bitch screams at him "can't you just be normal for one second" oh I dunno. You're acting like a complete mindless stupid dumb animal right now, assuming it's because you're stressed. Maybe have some of that fucking "you love him so much empathy" the speech therapist thinks you have for once and understand that he's stressed and scared out of his mind. The irony that Oliver has handled everything better than her is obvious to seemingly everyone except her and the writer. Ugh.

Saw a blurry dark camera angle of toys on the floor and immediately went "lol Skinamarink" so my brain is broken obviously.

Oh fuck it wasn't the bully's mom who lied and manipulated the situation and ruined the friendship (???) It was Oliver's stupid fucking mom? (Honestly I think it was equal parts both of them but ymmv. I do not understand this reveal) And during this reveal she's trying to force him to look her in the eyes. And they're hiding from the monster. And poor Oliver writes that he wants it to take him because she ruined his friendship 😭 god. I just can't.

First decent thing this shitheel does is recognize that Oliver calms himself with the SpongeBob theme song and hums it to him. It came out of nowhere. Really didn't feel this character has grown enough for this moment. Doesn't feel deserved.

Yeah the clearer the shots we get of Larry the more I can see his real world design sucks. Disappointing. I must stress the practical effects that bring him to life are incredible. Great effects. Just I'm so tired of oversaturated trope of tall pale humanoid creature. He's got pretty boring designed feet and hands too like. It's like if they took all the style out of the monster designs in Little Nightmares. So you're left with mildly uncanny valley stretched out hairless man.

The mom is something else. "This thing is powered by electricity. Why do you keep saying for us to go to the field???!!" Oh I don't know 😒 truly one of life's greatest mysteries.

The mom sacrificed herself to the creature which is honestly the only way I think she could have redeemed herself. Kinda saw this coming with the "only goes away when you finish the story, give it your hand" thing. Doesn't feel at all earned. I mean yeah she gave up her life to protect him even though she did it right in front of him and further traumatized him 🙃 again, the story keeps having this issue where it will suddenly insist the whole universe revolves around Oliver's mom.

There's some pretty big storytelling inconsistency whiplash in this movie. It really had no business sympathizing with the mom so much. She literally caused every non supernatural problem and significantly worsened the supernatural ones. In the end she like... comes back as a ghost and spends time with him and definitely loves him unconditionally now. We hope. The movie wants us to think this. She has the teensiest amount of redemption and it implies more than shows that she's learned from her negligence and wrongdoing.

I did like a lot of what this movie did but god the autism mom martyr complex shit is genuinely wrong and bad. The narrative that parents of autistic children are heroes and the true "victims" of the "disease" for their insurmountably good deed of not abandoning their own children and blah blah blah is wretched. It's the mindset that makes the "charity" Autism Speaks so insidious. They don't care about autistic people. They care about the poor undeserving neurotypicals who are forced to have autism in their lives 😒

This movie could have been an absolute banger if it instead focused on Oliver dealing with this creature. Hell, I was hoping that he would bring it into the real world to stay rather than what it wanted which was the reverse and after the friendship he had with bully kid was repaired he'd introduce Larry into their newly forming friend group or some shit. Or that the creature was insidiously trying to take advantage of the situation to capture him or something. But no. We got "phones bad" because they somehow created this creature who only wants friends but is also violent and scary, and several times is shown in a comparative way to the autistic boy, and we have shitty mother redemption. God.

It really felt like there was a good story here and a lot of stuff was really good but the bad shit is impossible to ignore. The actors were all good but yeah there's some serious issues with the writing and message. Very frustrating. They didn't use the kid being autistic for horror because instead they made the monster essentially a representation of a neurodivergent child and blamed his creation on the use of the very same electronic devices that the autistic boy used to empower himself and have more autonomy. Yeesh that's a big issue.

Oliver was such a tender sweetheart literally didn't deserve any of this.

I went into this thinking "oh boy this is just run of the mill monster horror shit that has a relatable protagonist unlike the artsy horror this isn't gonna make me use my brain" but no that quickly changed.

It is worth noting that I never finished the Babadook because of all the issues I had with it. This feels like it wanted to right those wrongs but still valued neurotypical comfort and status quo over neurodivergent child acceptance.

Idk I'm probably way too hard on the mom character but just this once can we have an autistic kid being loved not in spite of his autism but including his autism? Please?

[necromancy-savant]

Ok here are my thoughts on Nona the Ninth:

- Nona is really relatable to me in some ways, like how she thinks, communicates and processes things, and how she has some challenges but is still an adult and wants to be respected as one. And she has intense "tantrums" when she gets emotionally overwhelmed. I actually like the thought that if the Earth could be embodied as a human, she would be a bit like me. - Still emotional about how much everyone loves her and honestly how respectful and kind everyone in Nona's life is to her. Presumably the people of all those other planets outside the solar system are the descendants of the trillionaires that got away and that's why John wants to conquer them, and they are lovely to Nona. I'm interested to see how the final book resolves the conflict between the Nine Houses and everywhere else and what it ends up saying, intentionally or not. - Ianthe has suddenly gotten a lot cooler. I'm not sure what it is. Did she do something with her hair? I think it's that her dialogue is so good. I just had to read most of her lines out loud. I'm still laughing about "duplicitous sluts." She's also even more pathetic now, which only makes her more appealing. Like she's not even competent at being an evil villain and I love her so much more for it.

-While reading, I was thinking about how Ianthe and Naberius are a perversion of everything the adept/cavalier relationship is supposed to be, but given that the whole thing is based on a misunderstanding and maybe not such a great thing anyway, I haven't decided yet what the implications of that are (will probably need more data from the last installment.) - Being risen in undeath as a revenant seems to have turned Gideon into kind of an asshole, but on the other hand, I think she and Nona just instinctively don't like each other and are clearly both super jealous of each other, and I'm guessing the in-universe reason is because Gideon is related to John. And she's really only mean to Nona, who is also admittedly a dick to Gideon even before she meets her, and otherwise mostly just seems hopeless and depressed. She's a lot like her father, actually: she tries to get revenge and deal out justice in the form of punishment only to find that it doesn't make her feel any better.

-Is anyone going to tell Ianthe and/or John that the princes in the tower got murdered???? - I wonder if John would take it as a compliment how attracted Harrow is to Alecto since he purposely made her to be as attractive as possible. I think he would because when I was like 14 on RuneScape, a girl told me I was hot, and I thought it was a very nice compliment since I had made my character as handsome as I could. - For that matter, I wonder if Harrow would be pleased to know that The Body thought she was pretty. - I'm kind of surprised that apparently people think John Gaius is like some evil mastermind??? I totally see him as a normal person with a lot of big feelings who is scared. I actually can imagine being angry enough at an injustice to feel like I want to destroy the solar system to erase even the memory of it, and don't think I could promise that I wouldn't if I had the ability to while also experiencing the most intense trauma and grief of my life. - I'll come back to the Biblical references, but in a few places Palamedes seemed to me to be a bit too Christlike for my personal liking. - I'm interested in how perfection in this book and in the series as a whole is presented in the literal sense of the word as something finished. Towards the ends of this novel there's a lot about love as something perfect and finite, but I think more broadly the highest aim in The Locked Tomb is to finish something. - I was also thinking today about Crux. When Gideon says she wants him to know she's the child of the emperor, it reminded me of that line from the Bible where Jesus says "whatever you did for the least of my brethren, you did for me." What strikes me is that when thus accused, Crux doesn't give a shit. He basically says, I don't care if you're literally God, to me you will always be worthless and will always be inherently inferior due to the social position you were born into. He is the exact kind of person the entire Resurrection was supposed to eliminate from the universe, and here he is 10,000 years later making John's own daughter's life hell.

-I'm so glad everyone else is just as fixated on the Barbie thing as I am.

-WHEN NONA LOSES THE WILL TO LIVE UNTIL SHE REMEMBERS ABOUT NOODLE

I still have a few questions about how certain things happen or work, and that's something that's been an issue for me with all three books so far. I don't need an in-depth explanation, just a simple how did they do that. But in short, this one was definitely my favorite so far, and I intend to immediately re-read the others to see what I can pick up on knowing what I know now. After that, I can take inventory of any questions I still have. Nona really contextualized Gideon and Harrow for me and brought them together in a way that's allowing me to tease out the big themes in the series. The recurring characters are now established enough to really have fun with them, but the new characters are also interesting, endearing, and feel real through the little details about them.

[colorfulatlas]

Cartoon posting... once again!

So today is the day lads! Villanos and Sustos Ocultos de Frankelda are FINALLY out!

watched both today, both. are so. GOOD!!!

fucking proud, pure mexican talent here!

as I do with my most recent cartoon posting reviews, this one contains SPOILERS! so If you want to watch these completely blind then do so before reading this!

For Villanos and SODF, if u don't have HBO Max or you live outside of Latin America, you can watch both of their pilots/shorts on Youtube for free! Also the first episode of Villanos is completely free 2 watch on Youtube as well. If u REALLY want 2 watch their series, either wait for American Cartoon Network to accept them and make dubs OR get a VPN, whatever fits u best

Now... time for the BEAUTIES!

Villanos (Villanous)

I waited... 3 YEARS for the series to debut on Cartoon Network, and you know what? The wait was worth it! Amidst all the hardships and well... shitty stuff going on in the studio, I really REALLY still hope everything's better now, for AnimaStudios, the animators and Alan Ituriel itself, you guys did a great job!

As for the series itself... hohoho, I'm just adnajsdnjasnjad AA

It's about this organization, directed by Black Hat, the supreme super villain and the embodiment of pure evil, all episodes are about recruiting villains with the help of Dr. Flug, Demencia and 5.0.5, who together will also fight heroes and serve lord Black Hat (so that they don't fucking die)

I really liked the writing, all the references and cameos, the heroes and the villains, and also the fact that we get juicy JUICY lore! Also what was the deal with Ms.Heed and why she was an important character, I get it now... and I REALLY like the fact that they didn't "softened" Black Hat, he's still pure evil and I FUCKING LOVE THAT (but not in that way...), and I also feel the same way with the other characters, they never changed, Demencia's craziness, wackiness and her obsession with Black Hat, Dr. Flug's reserved, more ethical personality and his silly lines (they're so good) and 5.0.5 is still a wuzzy bear yaya

Now, I'm quite curious if Dr.Flug actually liked Cecilia (Ms.Heed) before she stole his plans and became a hero, cuz it kinda seems that was the deal... and still curious about his face and Demencias and 5.0.5's origins. I'm guessing Black Hat is just the embodiment of pure evil and that's it, tho an origin story about him would be epic too.

Also if you've noticed, I haven't talked about the animation yet like I always do, and about that... that's really the main thing holding it back from becoming the fucking series of Mexican Cartoon Network. The animation is kinda wack, like it's quite nice, some scenes were wonderful! but sometimes it's incosistent, stiff or blobby, BUT that's probably just picky me, I'm guessing the series animation will eventually get better with new seasons and more episodes, but yeah, that's the only thing for me.

Overall, really good, was worth the wait, you guys did a great job, please support for it to continue pretty please :]]]

Sustos Ocultos de Frankelda (The Hidden Scares of Frankelda)

Now THIS. THIS IS WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT!

It's rare to see stop motion animation from other places other than the US but HOHOHO it didn't go behind! Sustos Ocultos de Frankelda is FUCKING AWESOME! Props to the studio behind it and oh my good I really like the concept artist behind the character design, these look so great AAAA

The series is about this ghost named Frankelda, who's trapped in a haunted house with her haunted book, in the series, she tells her spooky scary stories to the audience in hopes to escape the haunted house and for everyone in the world to know her tales and be free.

The animation in this case, the stop motion is VERY good looking and very well served! The models look so pretty and wonderful and the scares (the monsters) designs were also S tier, very very cool and spooky stuff!

As for the stories and the series themselves, they were very interested and hooked me up! I really like how the stories themselves always end up in tragedy in hopes that the kids who watch it learn whatever the lesson is, it adds to the spooky stuff, and I like how they changed it so that's more inclined on good morals and self love more that just be obedient and good for other people's benefit. I wonder if Frankelda will escape or her series will end in tragedy like her stories. Also the design change for the guy that once was Frankelda's partner (and now it's a book lmao), was great, with him just being a guy with wings would've been pretty lacking IMPO, his current design looks coolio and more like a creature than just a pretty boy with wings.

The addition of the songs (I'm guessing to buy time) were quite okay I guess? But I think thats better than elongate the story and for it to become boring if they really wanted each episode to be 14 minutes long, also add to Frankelda somehow, with the last episode singing out the intro song, it just seems that she also has a kack for music writing as well

fucking amazing, loved it, please watch it and continue supporting it, the 5 episodes were worth it, it's just AAA I LOVED IT!!

[2centsnobodyasked4]

Teresa VS Rubi

I haven't watched a telenovela since like 2007. I feel like Rebelde was the last one I saw. However, I hold on to a couple of novelas that I thought were outstanding, such as Rubi. With the years, I've come across a lot of talk about 'Teresa' and I wondered why it had the same premise as Rubi. I was slightly intrigued. I learned that the story of Teresa came first back in the day, then Rubi. On social media such as tiktok and youtube, people are always comparing both. I kept saying that obviously Rubi was better because it was the one i watched. So in order to not be THAT biased, i decided to give Teresa a shot. So i just binged the entire novela in a couple of weeks. So here are my 2 cents.

Intro:

Song: La descarada- Reyli

Song: Esa hembra es mala- Gloria Trevi

With the songs alone, I will still have to give it to Rubi's intro song. I feel like it was more seductive and more true to what the novela was going to be about. On the other hand, Teresa's theme song felt like it would be more appropriate for Rubi. Because it was sang from the point of view of the 'betrayed friend'. Although you can argue that the betrayed friend was Luisa and that it would be from her point of view, but that only happened towards the very last episodes, so it wouldn't really make sense for it to summarize the entire novela as Reyli's song did.

Furthermore, I enjoy Rubi's intro more, especially the beginning were is says 'Una obra de ..." it makes it seem fancy and like I'm in for a special treat.

The actress

Barbara Mori vs Angelique Boyer

I know I'm going to sound like a jerk by comparing their physical appearance, but I'm going to do it anyway.

Face

They are obviously both beautiful women, but in MY opinion, Barbara Mori's face is more seductive without even trying. She reminds me so much of Megan Fox. On the other hand, Angelique's face is so youthful that she has to work extra hard and make over the top gestures to act out the seductress role.

Body

Although they both have fantastic bodies, they are very different from each other. Once again, Barbara's body gives off a more sensual and natural look. Even the way she moves is a perfect embodiment of Rubi. Angelique once more has a more youthful small body, and the main thing that makes her 'hot' is her boobs, which look really fake and it doesn't play into the story since she's suppose to be poor. Rubi didn't have much of a chest, but she still managed to appear more naturally seductive. Teresa was just constantly exposing her chest to appear seductive.

Acting

Barbara Mori's acting was excellent. She made me feel like thats how she was in real life. Everything came natural to her. Angelique's acting was all over the place. She really had to OVERACT to put her point across. Everything about the novela in general was overacted actually. Angelique had to do over the top facial expressions to show when she was scheming, when she was talking down to people or when she was in love. She came out looking like a cartoon character as opposed to Barbara that made her character seem like a real person.

Story

I've already made this post way longer than i expected and there's so much more that I want to talk about out so I'm just gonna have to shoot out random points:

Evil

I feel like they were both equally evil. They both were horrible to their families, to the men they loved and to their friends. I can't really make my decision on who was worse. I will hand it to Teresa though that she worked and studied hard to have a degree and was an excellent lawyer. However, I've seen arguments that mention that she was smarter that Rubi and relied on her brains instead of her body to get ahead. But thats not true. Sure she had a degree but she didn't get far because of it at all. She did the EXACT same thing that Rubi did, got ahead with her body provoking a rich guy. Sure she played the long game but at then end she did the same thing, not just with Arturo but with Fernando as well. She seduced him, nothing to do with her brain.

Ending

Rubi's ending was EXCELLENT. It has stayed with me for a long time because we finally have a main character that didn't win at the end. She got what she deserved. She lost the man she loved, she lost all her money which is what she fought the most, she lost her beauty, and she lost her beautiful body. EVERYTHING, and it was just excellent.

Teresa's ending left me baffled. She ended up with the man she loved after everything that she did. People may argue that she changed and felt remorse for what she did, but come on. She didn't even suffer for that long. She only regretted things because she was caught and exposed, otherwise she would've never changed. Also the fact that Arturo came to her after what she did to his sister is disgusting. Sure forgive her for what she did to him, but to his innocent sister? Seriously??? I get it, that they wanted for them to have a happy ending since the actors were dating in real life, but that just makes bad story telling.

Plot

It kind of gave me the impression that Teresa was going to follow a similar plot to Rubi's in the sense that Teresa was going to stay in love with Mariano all the way til the end, and that at some point when Teresa was not going to have any more money, that Mariano would now be super rich and prestigious but would want nothing to do with her like in Rubi. Although that would've been a Rubi copy, it would've been a better route to take. Because then other elements seem pointless. Something that I do admire more from Teresa was the fact that Mariano fell in love with Aurora, because in Rubi, it felt like Alejandro, although he married Maribel, it never seemed like he truly loved her. It was more like he cared for her. So i was so ready for an awesome ending to where Teresa was trying to stop the wedding and be suffering because the love of her life no longer loves her. That would've been so satisfying to watch and Mariano's wedding would also be triumphant because he overcame his temptation....however, that didn't happen. Teresa didn't even care, so it makes the wedding kind of pointless to the story. It really felt like 3 quarters of the novela they were building it up that triumph moment, but instead it felt like they changed the direction of story to fit in the real romance between Angelique and Sebastian. To be honest, Arturo's ending should've been the same as his counterpart role in Rubi.

In Summary. I have a lot more bones to pick with Teresa, but the ones that come to mind, are probably mostly the acting, not just of Angelique but of the cast. I think many of them were new actors or something, but their acting was horrible. I can really tell who was new and who was a veteran. Having said all of this, I DID enjoy watching Teresa. I know it may seem like I'm just hating on it and like I didn't enjoy it, but I really did. The first few episodes were really boring but after a while it was hard for me to stop. In one day I would go through 10 episdoes.....bruh, those are like 10 hours a day dedicated to Teresa. It was intriguing and interesting, especially many of the elements that were different from Rubi, such as her becoming a lawyer and her ways that she helped unmask Ruben.

In conclusion though, I do see Rubi as superior. A superior actress, a superior story and superior ending. Maybe a bit is from nostalgia but I did give Teresa a fair chance. Although entertaining, it was not what I would consider a good novela.

Me das miedo Teresa.

Rubi, tan bella como malvada.