#He's written to be traumatized and shows a lot of traits of being on the spectrum

[jasontoddenthusiastt]

‘The point is not “is bftc good Jason characterization”’

Actually the point can be anything that the op of the post wants it to be. Oh you mean that is not your point. Um …. Cool. Nobody asked.

[cloverpatches]

I've been reminded of this whole thing a lot lately and I kind of wanted to bring up my thoughts, just in case maybe it helps someone rethink stuff but

I keep seeing that when people go about redesigning/"redeeming" a character, one thing they often remove is like. symptoms of neurodiversity?

Such as removing a character's trauma related sensory and relation issues entirely, or having them suddenly being more socially aware without anyone actually understanding why they might not have understood a situation in the first place.

Nothing against redesigns n rewrites or trying to write redemption arcs! I just don't think traits of neurodiversity in specific are something to be fixed or treated as something to be removed just because the artist finds them unfitting.

Not every neurodivergent character is going to be pleasant. It doesn't need to be fixed.

[lord-squiggletits]

IDW Megatron and Optimus weren't friends before the war. Here's why that makes their ship dynamic more interesting.

One comment I've heard among people comparing IDW1 MegOP to other continuities of MegOP is (paraphrased) that since they weren't friends before the war, there isn't as much material to ship them with/they don't have an established dynamic/they don't have ~*history*~ that makes them be the bitter exes we all know and love them to be.

In this meta post, I'm going to contend that the IDW1 MegOP lack of friendship before the war is actually a benefit to their dynamic in this continuity, not a negative. Although they didn't get a lot of time together before the war in terms of quantity, the quality of their interactions and the weight it gave their future rivalry is due to the tragic nature of their relationship: They saw a glimpse of each other at their best in their youth, but like a tragic myth of old, circumstances conspired to keep them apart, traumatize them, and turn them into people who couldn't trust or reconcile with each other.

The IDW MegOP's first meeting is like a fated encounter, almost as if it was destined to happen. The way that one single brush can change the entire course of history.

I like to call this a "love at first sight" moment because, although they're not in love, it has this sort of storybook magical quality to it where this one single moment has a lot of weight. This one moment where they saw each other at their best and could have a positive interaction.

When I say that they met each other "at their best" here, I'm referring to Megatron's pacifistic essays and poetry that represent his pure revolutionary spirit and care for Cybertron, and Orion's trait of showing kindness and encouraging individual freedom despite his position of authority. The way that their first encounter was so brief and unassuming makes us, the readers, yearn for more. Doesn't Megatron's silent glance behind him in that final panel make you wonder what he's thinking? They only had that one brief talk at the rodion police station but it went on to ricohet the rest of their lives. Orion started thinking about the corruption of the system due to Megatron's writing. Megatron looked back at Orion with curiosity/lingering feeling after he was escorted out of the station. Even Megatron being put on Messatine was indirectly due to Orion, since Orion delivered that speech on his behalf.

It's almost like literal chemistry, where two particles bumping into each other once can cause a chain reaction of other particles bumping and bumping and bumping until suddenly those two particles are back together.

It's a sort of magical real life scenario where you meet a stranger just once but something they did or said to you makes you remember it and think about it for a long time afterwards. except in this case the MegOPs are (un?)lucky enough to meet again. And they start a war.

I also really like that Megatron and Orion/Optimus spent most of their pre-war backstory apart from each other, because I feel like it makes them stronger characters individually instead of making all of their most important moments be about each other. This is more of a comment on fandom than canon, but many romantic stories fall into a pitfall of a relationship where the two people obsessed with each other: their romance is the most important relationship they have; the entire plot revolves around whether they're happy or upset with each other, it can even make their relationship seem unhealthy and like they have no meaningful relationships outside of their romance. In terms of MOP in other continuities, I feel that putting too much emphasis on their friendship kind of cheapens the worldbuilding and political conflict. True, it's nice when the personal and political intersect in the MegOP's lives, but sometimes I feel (especially in fanon) that the "they were friends but then they disagreed and now they're not friends" concept sometimes ends up being written as if this one simple friendship conflict was the basis of a whole war.

The benefit of IDW1 MegOP is that because they spend their pre-war time apart from each other, they develop separately as people and end up transforming into someone different from their "love at first sight" moment. I like that Orion had relationships with people like Shockwave, Roller, and Zeta, and Megatron had his student/teacher relationship with Terminus and the whole arena thing happening.

Both Megatron and Orion went through traumatizing events during this time period that changed their worldviews for the worse and made them more cynical. Megatron suffered an attempted brainwashing, losing his mentor, his first killing, then being stuck in the arena. Orion went through the loss of Shockwave to a fate worse than death, then the disappearance of his best friend Roller, then worked for Zeta and began to doubt in his ideals/goodness as a leader. In that time between the MegOP's first encounter and their ensuing encounters in a military conflict, they came back as very different people than the first glimpse they got of each other.

Since they only had that ONE first glimpse they had of each other, then met again only to be disappointed by each other's fall from grace (in each others' eyes), this sets up a lot of angst. They wonder if that first glimpse of each other was really true or if it was a lie. Should they trust in those "good" versions of each other they saw so long ago? Do those people even exist? Are they or were they ever worth believing in? Does that man I saw still exist or did I just WANT to see something good in him? That man ruined my life and I hate him for fighting against me, he's a hypocrite. I thought that man was a good person, but he's betrayed the hopes I had by becoming a violent criminal warlord/working for the evil government I thought he opposed.

It sort of has the vibes of a "love at first sight" story gone wrong where their first encounter was kind (I like to imagine Megatron was touched or at least curious about Orion, a cop, telling him to keep writing and be vocal) but then they descended into their worst selves. They only had that one small glimpse of each other at their best but now they're in a scenario where they can only be enemies.

The longing and disappointment is more obvious on Orion's part about Megatron, because Orion got this shining glimpse of Megatron at his best and most passionate, only to encounter Megatron again and all those good parts have been buried to leave only his worst. Megatron's POV about OP isn't really shown, but I feel like it could be interesting to write headcanons about it. How did Megatron feel about Orion making that speech on his behalf? Getting moved to Messatine because Orion made him so public, and all the bad things that happened there?

Yes, their first encounter was brief and they didn't really have a personal relationship before the war. But that brief encounter changed the trajectory of their entire lives. When you combine that with the fact that they saw each other as their "ideal selves", it creates that valid obsession between Megatron and Optimus. It is kind of unhealthy LMAO, because they do kind of become obsessed with each other based on an incomplete view of the other as a person. But then the war happens and they keep having personal and professional encounters that would give them opportunities to meet (such as in diplomacy meetings like Tyrest's peace negotiations and other political things that come with war). And those repeated meetings would only cause them to get to know each other better. Then you get into more mythical/legend-like story dynamics where Megatron and OP have to learn how the other thinks tactically, and their tactical knowledge becomes so intimate they start understanding how the other thinks and it's very dramatic lol. The typical our-enmity-is-so-deep-it-could-be-love enemies to lovers fare.

TLDR:

Circumstances outside of their control drove them apart, made them into different people, and kept them from becoming friends. It makes IDW MegOP feel legendary or mythical, like some sort of epic Greek tragedy of two people who were always 🤏 this close to being friends. There's longing there, and tragedy, imagining what might have been if they'd only been able to talk again, or if they had somehow been able to influence each other before they went down the bad path (violence and crime for Megatron, following Zeta and becoming Prime for Orion/Optimus). But despite that, their natural chemistry perseveres, and they talk to/about each other in a way that shows they still think of each other even when apart.

[nalyra-dreaming]

Hi, I'm the Anon that wrote to you a while ago desperately seeking assurance about the drop. Want to thank you again for your insights and patience. You are a gift to this fandom. I'm sorry to bother you again but this episode crushed my heart completely.

The added context ended up being the same out of character BS which did nothing to allay my fears over the direction of Lestat's character. And I felt the writer having him "break script" during the trial to make sure that viewers understood that "this asshole is the real Lestat who intentionally dropped his partner from the stratosphere for the crime of defending his daughter but wait he feels really bad about it but also don't forget he's still Domestic Abuser POS" seemed like an insidious choice. The decision to make that drop real and the vile speech about "wanting to break Louis" (wtf) is a total betrayal of who Lestat fundamentally is and for me was kind of an event horizon (because no matter what, that *isn't* Lestat in any universe) It's been 2 years of this and I'm so exhausted. 

Sadly, I'm not nearly as excited for Season 3 as I was before this episode. I no longer feel like I can trust these writers to write Lestat with care and do TVL justice- especially after they inexplicably endowed their version of Louis with several of canon Lestat's character traits and story beats( literally why?)- or anything that comes after. How can you tell Lestat's painful self loathing storylines in QotD and TotBT when you've already written him as the exact kind of shallow violent inherently evil brute that Akasha tried to groom him into believing he was? What would be the point? No one would believe him.

Right now, for me the only bright spot of show!Lestat, is Sam, who is truly doing the lord's work. Much like the character he is playing, he is mesmerizing as an actor and so full of light even as he's playing the part of a monster. He's so brilliant, constantly making lemonade out of lemons and trying valiantly to infuse this evil ooc shell of Lestat with the spirit of the canon character.

And maybe I'm a brat, but we've waited long enough. I want the real Lestat de Lioncourt: the eternally optimistic, impulsive, naive to a fault, enduring, brash, impatient, irreverent, airheaded, sometimes unstable, ridiculous,  traumatized, vicious, obstinate, wicked,  cocky, narcissistic, short tempered, endlessly forgiving, capricious ,vampire to the core, Brat Prince- full of too much love for everything and everyone, who can be an absolute pain in the ass, who is the emperor of really bad impulsive decisions, who is stupidly honest about the terrible things he's done but tries to downplay the terrible things done to him, who finds revenge boring, who would never ever maliciously hurt Louis or Claudia, who tries so hard to be a good father more than once, who fears that he is an evil thing because he thinks his innate light seems to hurt everyone he loves; and that innate light and goodness is so in conflict with the existence he was raped into but he decides "Fuck it. I'm gonna just be the best vampire I can be". And I really really want to see Sam play *that* Lestat.

Of course I completely understand that everything we are seeing is still not the full story and that we are deep in the middle of Armand's Wattpad fanfic. But with the choices made in this episode, I just don't see how we can *ever* have *that* Lestat- (even if or when next week, Armand's story falls apart spectacularly) and unfortunately no spoilers I've seen about the finale give me comfort or hope. It's all too much and it just hurts my heart and my head. I want off this ride. I'm so so tired 😢

Hmmm :)

While I... understand you, I don't quite agree, and... I think I would just like to redirect you to this interview with Sam here, which really lays a lot of it out:

And... it also confirms a lot of what I have been pointing out before, and what has been hinted at.

So. While I get where you are coming from I still think "Lestat" is in very good hands... we haven't had his POV yet. But we will.

And after that... we can judge.

[distort-opia]

Hey what's up. Huge fan of your blog and like your thoughts. I gotta lot of respect for your analysis, your writing, and how you work with the material for batman in general. You've mentioned a couple times or atleast hinted at possible diagnosis for Bruce and Joker, and while I do subscribe to the idea that due to the nature of comics, thier respective mental health issues are more symbolic than literal, I do, however, find it interesting and fun to try to identify them, especially since writers seem keen to slap stuff onto them on a whim. Also, I'm a psych graduate, but unlike you I'm getting my PhD in Communication research but I still work in neuro and psych spaces. Anyway this is my long winded way of asking if you have a general set of conditions that the two have. I personally think that they both have CPTSD and both display traits from both ASPD and BPD but to differing extents. Additionally, for Joker dissociative amnesia is a given, however like most things it's doesn't fit most descriptions for it.

Thank you for the kinds words, I'm glad you like my blog! And hey, another Psych graduate... somehow I know of at least 5 of us in this fandom, it's quite funny.

Indeed, it's tough to ascribe any kind of diagnosis to comic book characters, both because of how inconsistent characterization can be and because of how bad DC's approach to mental health has been. For Joker it's especially difficult, because "insanity" has been written as almost his superpower. Oooh he's so random and crazy! No one can understand his twisted mind! But well, I agree it's still interesting to try and parse the sheer knot of trauma these two characters are tangled in.

For Bruce, CPTSD (Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) is almost a given, since it's not just that he suffers from PTSD as a consequence of his parents' death, but that he also re-traumatizes himself pretty much every day, by being Batman. And even leaving that aside, there's such a long list of traumatic events Bruce has experienced since then, including almost committing murder or the death of his Robins on multiple occasions. Though I don't know if he matches the ASPD (antisocial personality disorder) criteria that well. Sure, by being Batman he fails to conform to social norms, uses violence and lies to people and does things worthy of arrest-- but it's by no means impulsive, or a consequence of an incapacity to control his actions. Bruce is much too capable of planning in advance, that's his whole schtick. And he's not doing these things with a selfish purpose, to benefit himself; he does them to help others. As to BPD (borderline personality disorder), I do see it more, though not to a large degree as I do for Joker. Bruce is terrified of abandonment, he's got unstable relationships, but that speaks to me more towards him having a disorganized type of attachment and not full blown BPD. When it comes to personality disorders, Bruce is much more on axis A-- closest to schizoid, I'd say (prefers to be alone, appears cold/disinterested in human interaction, limited expression of emotion, seems not to enjoy many activities, trouble with social cues, disinterest in the pursuit of sexual relations). With a dash of C when it comes to obsessive-compulsive traits (overly focused on details, order and rules, needs to be in control at all times, ignores personal relationships for work/the Mission/the Vow, cannot throw things away, rigid and stubborn, inflexible over values or morality).

However, I think a lot of this could also be due to him being on the autistic spectrum. His troubles with social cues, his inflexibility and need for order and categorization... and how successful he is at "masking", which is pretty much what the Bruce Wayne persona is. Besides, the thing is, Bruce is empathetic (though it's complicated). Individuals on the autistic spectrum tend to display intact or even excessive emotional empathy and lower cognitive empathy, with research showing that this can be overwhelming; they might have trouble regulating how much they empathize (potentially due to less self-other distinction) and thus end up avoiding it (like avoiding eye contact, for example). Look at Bruce's Family alone: so many of the people he took in were people he strongly related to, one way or another... this isn't something someone with ASPD would do, for instance.

Meanwhile, Joker's definitely much more on axis B. CPTSD for sure, as well as BPD, ASPD... I'd agree there's a lot of ground for both of the latter, including potentally NPD (narcissistic personality disorder). Joker is suffering through the consequences of trauma too, and he is impulsive, grandiose, reckless, uses violence, deceives and cons people, has an unstable sense of self, etc. Hell, I'd say he has traits that fit histrionic personality disorder too. His need for attention, overly dramatic behavior... I mean, the man nearly got himself killed in Devil's Advocate because he was enjoying the attention he was getting from Gotham so much. And if Bruce is potentially more on the autistic spectrum, Joker's on the psychopathy one, which -- again -- could account for many of the traits described above. I mean, just the first result Google puts out is incredibly fitting (glibness/superficial charm, grandiose sense of self-worth, need for stimulation/proneness to boredom, pathological lying, conning/manipulative, lack of remorse or guilt, shallow affect/reduced emotional responses, callous/lack of empathy). Coupled with ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) traits out the wazoo, which was an official diagnosis we got in comics for him. Although personally, I think Joker isn't a primary psychopath, but a secondary one. As in, while there's surely a genetic component, childhood trauma is what tipped the scales and led to him displaying these traits. I also definitely agree with the dissociative amnesia, though I'd group it together with the CPTSD, and also tie it to the unstable sense of self characteristic of BPD.

Got a bit too long, but yeah! To differing degrees, one could argue for a multitude of disorders... we haven't even touched depression (though I think Bruce and Joker are more likely to be diagnosed with recurrent major depressive disorder; they have episodes of depression, but don't always display the symptoms). Sorry for how long this took, but hope you found this interesting, Anon. And God, best of luck with that PhD, I hope it's going well!

[the-unconquered-queen]

With Blades 2 coming to an end, I just wanna get it off my chest that I'm really not a fan of how they wrote Nia for a great part of this one, particularly vis-à-vis the way they wrote MC. I know I've been saying some stuff along those lines for ages now, but it hasn't left my mind so now I'm gonna actually get into it.

For starters, I think a lot of the issue with Nia's writing was captured pretty well in the tags of this post, particularly on point 2. Like I've said, Nia unfortunately falls into the category of a Mary Sue in that every "flaw" she's given just serves to elevate her to perfection. Hell, even when corrupted—when a person is supposed to be in their most volatile state—the worst she does is be snarky that first chapter (she is aggressive toward MC at one point before this, but it's neither acknowledged nor repeated later). After that, she is entirely normal, just not as much of a pushover, and while I much preferred shadow!Nia, I do think that this really undermines the whole gravity of corruption and b2's emphasis on shadow-light balance, since shadow!Nia comes off as quite balanced already, especially compared to other corrupted characters we've seen.

But here's the thing, that post that got me thinking is months old, and we have gotten more story since then, and what I have noticed is that Nia does, in fact, have one real flaw in canon, but it's the one flaw she's absolutely not meant to have: Nia in canon can at times come off as self-absorbed. She either makes things about herself or doesn't stop people from doing this, and there are multiple examples of it. There is the instance in Riverbend when MC is taking a moment to finally try to process Kade's capture (which, following their own capture, they never got the chance to process) and Nia derails the conversation and makes it about her own grief and is comforted by MC and Mal. Another example is the moment on Gerhard's ship when she vents about the pressure she's been under and lets MC comfort her without at any point considering that MC might have been under similar pressure.

And don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with a character putting themselves first. But when the book doesn't waste a single chance to tell us that Nia's character is the complete opposite and that she is chronically incapable of not being considerate 25/8, it's quite contradictory. I mean, you can even call out Ethan Ramsey, PB's golden boy, on making things about himself at some point in OH, but because, unlike Ethan, Nia is written for you to consider her super sweet and wholesome and perfect, the Blades MC actually contributes to this by performing mental gymnastics to turn something around to be about Nia.

Which brings me to my final point: Blades 2 pushed MC to the side to revolve around Nia, but MC is exactly the person they meant for Nia to be, by virtue of the dissonance between showing and telling. They tell you that Nia is selfless because she always puts everyone else first. Well, I can and did name examples showing the contrary, meanwhile, MC is the one who was been through the most traumatic ordeal and is constantly checking in on everyone else without expecting and without receiving much of the same courtesy in return, even apologizing to Nia because she was "carrying all that weight on her own", never mind that MC always has the weight of the world on their shoulders. They tell you that Nia is the heart of the party, but they both told and showed us that everything fell apart without MC.

Even some of Nia's most defining character traits, MC has in similar measure. Nia sees the best in everyone? MC can be the #1 believer in Aerin's redemption after all the shit he pulled. Nia is trusting to the point of naivete? MC literally trusted Valax while she outright told them at every turn she would turn on them at the first opportunity, and was genuinely hurt by the betrayal. Miss me with MC calling Nia "our better self".

Every trait that they've gone out of their way to tell you Nia has they've shown twofold in MC, which is why it's so exasperating to me that they reduced MC to the conduct through which other characters' (particularly Nia's) stories get told while their own is an afterthought. I am by no means saying that two people can't have similar traits or that two people can't be good people at the same time, but there is something about praising these traits in Nia when, based on these, MC should be held to a similar standard. Instead, they relegated MC (main. character.) to a supporting character in Nia's story, elevating every trait that MC possesses only in Nia while ignoring them in MC to the point that many scenes felt frustrating to play.

[cyberdragoninfinity]

I'm gonna apologise in advance for how dark this is, but looking at your recent Placidodumping from the tag force games... i feel like he's geniunely suicidal, and even if not exactly suicidal then he has no concept of self-worth.

Like, he's way too happy to die. Being willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of the future is dark enough. But the fact that he's saying he will be able to rest? That he's expecting you to be happy to die too? Yeah, that's the darkest part.

Placido's literally come from hell, but he's not even trying to save himself. He's not just acceptant of his fate, he's welcoming it, and it makes me wonder just how much he's been through. His despair, is it entirely from the memories he's been created from? Or is it from something else? *coughcoughashittyoldmancoughcough* Thinking of the Jakob part in tag force, how he straight up killed Placido and Lester, how he spoke about them, I feel like it wouldn't be too far fetched to assume he's said these things to Placido's face (and let's not forget how Zone spoke to Placido-and only Placido- in duel links)

Perhaps Placido's real despair wasn't the inherited trauma from Aporia.

Maybe it was the way he was treated by the only people around him. One of his duel links lines is "it's so sad when you have no one to love" and yet the other Iliaster members are right there, as family. And yet, he didn't get love from them.

Maybe he could have been saved if someone did love him. Maybe then he would have had something to live for.

(Apologies for the mini essay in here it was supposed to be a few sentences and then suddenly I've written an essay)

OH YEAH NO FOR SURE we are definitely WELL past the point of Primoplacido Yugioh 5D's having a true sense of self-worth in any emotional or psychologically 'human' way, but I think when analyzing that (and his behavior that could definitely be labeled some form of suicidal) it's important to approach it less from a "oh what [abuse/traumatic event/negative feedback] has he personally been through to cause this" and more from a "what are the circumstances of Primo's creation and how does that effect him." The former is still an important element of course, but it's a bit of a disservice to his character to attempt to 100% separate him from Aporia when dissecting what's going on with him; one really can't exist without the other! (i.e. Primo was only brought into being via Aporia's memories and suffering, and Aporia as we see him in-show only can be brought into being when the emperors fuse....the cyclical infinite nature of these characters runs very very deep hehehe)

imo it's not an either/or situation with Primo's despair--I think his completely fucked sense of self worth stems from the trauma he's inherited by being a piece of Aporia AND the bullshit he deals with from his peers currently AND, also, the inescapable fact that Primo was Created To Act Under a Specific Set of Parameters. more after the cut, lots of analyzing this miserable Swordbot9000, apologies for the Epic of Gilgacidomesh

Primo is not human. IM NOT SAYING THAT TO BE MEAN TO HIM OR ANYTHING he's just Literally Not a Flesh and Blood Human Being; he's a machine created from a dead man's memories and emotions by Just Some Guy who thinks he's god, and due to this Primo has deemed himself Above humankind--better than them, more capable than them. Sometime I need to go off more on my Emperors analysis discussing the fact that theyre basically Mechanical Angels, BUT FOR NOW I think a very core trait of Primo's is the fact he doesn't see himself as human, and he takes great pride in that. He's less come from hell himself, I'd say, and more or less come forth from Someone Else's Hell and Now He Has to Live With That. And also he is completely, almost desperately devoted to his God. If anything, he sees himself as a tool blessed by god Himself, with a great power he will use to enact justice upon this wretched timeline.

He sees saving the future as a very important task he needs to complete (and he DESPERATELY wants to be the one to complete it himself, more on that in a moment,) and I think that in part is why he's so excited about "finally being able to rest" and welcoming his fate--it means that he has completed what he was made to accomplish, the way a computer would complete a process, and why would he ever want to "save" himself from savoring that experience? (reminds me of how in TF6 lester is like "why would I want to run away?" re: trying to escape the Ark Cradle crashing into the city--it's not just a Primo thing, this sort of lack of self preservation!) (Also considering primo's track record of failed plans, no wonder he would be Especially obsessed with completing the Circuit and getting the cream of the crop "glorious honor" of dying in Z-one's name in God's Very Citadel and preventing the catastrophic future. That IS his will to live; he doesn't know how to have another one 😬) Dying in the process of the Ark Cradle crashing onto New Domino isn't seen as a 'sacrifice' for these guys I don't think; it's seen as an inevitable conclusion to what they were brought into existence for.

(Also, while we never really get complete confirmation on this, I do think Z-one also Definitely programmed the Emperors to worship him, to act with such dedication to the cause, to work ceaselessly towards their goals despite years (centuries?) of failures, and not stop, not give up. And I think that, alongside the fact they're effectively gijinkas of the most traumatic moments of Aporia's life, robots built from misery, quite literally Embodiments of Despair, that's not just flavor text. It's what powers them. And it explains a Lot of why they act the way they do, especially with regards to something like Primo's 'suicidal' behavior. In fact, I don't even think they would see this way of thinking as "suicidal," even, since that implies being alive in the first place, and the emperors…um. don't see themselves as 'alive!!!' :,) kind of fucked up to think about!!!!!)

OK SORRY FOR THAT TANGENT IT'S JUST SOMETHING I THINK A LOT ABOUT WITH THESE GUYS the inherent discussion of humanity when it comes to a robot. anyway, re: the way Primo's peers treat him, yeah i don't think that's helping much !!! Primo seeks approval like he'll die without it, he's an android copy of how much it Sucks To Be 19; like I said above, he desperately wants to be the one to complete the Circuit, to save the future, in the dub he basically states he wants to be God's Favorite, so course that brings him into conflict with Jakob (the implied actual Favorite,) of course Z-one apparently REPEATEDLY not giving a shit about him is doing damage to his psyche.

He gets clowned on and demeaned by effectively all of his coworkers (including and especially these other pieces of himself) (good GOD), no one even seems to LIKE HIM. LIKE. AT ALL, of course he wants to feel important to someone!! he probably (definitely) thinks if he can complete the Circuit he'll win favor with God, get the respect and attention he craves. I've talked before about how I feel like Z-one condemned his dead friends to the same loneliness he's become cursed with, and you REALLY see that with the Emperors and Primo especially. Aporia got split into threes and all three of 'em somehow ended up even lonelier than they would have been as one body--Primo is SUCH A MISERABLY LONELY GUY. HE DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO INTERACT WITH PEOPLE LIKE A NORMAL PERSON BECAUSE HE WASNT PROGRAMMED TO BE A NORMAL PERSON.

sure yeah his chronically unpleasant to be around attitude doesn't help, but in the Tag Force games you see these repeated little moments where you can tell he enjoys your company, he's Excited to spend time with you. I get the impression half of him thinking you should be happy to die too is just that he's so excited to share what he considers the ultimate culmination of what he was created to do with you (if TF5 is considered 'canon' in TF6 he might even be under the idea youre also an android--but that's a kettle of fish for a different time, primo's TF5 route is also insane). This isn't suicide to him! This is saving potentially billions of people! This is something really important to him, and he wants to share it with you!! Our hard work will pay off and we can rest!! This is the highest holy honor you can have!!!!! Aren't you excited???

I just wouldn't say his continued agonies are Solely hinged on what's happening to him currently, nor are they what are driving him to this supposed lack of something to live for (again, since ridding the world of Momentum IS his something to live and persevere for, since that's what he was made to do.) I'd argue they're definitely external factors exasperating an internal problem built into his very code, though, and it just makes Primo's situation all the more harrowing to think about. He has got so much shit going on with him and none of it is good. "I feed off my own despair" OK COOL BUT THAT'S NOT A GOOD THING, DUDE. BEING A MACHINE POWERED BY YOUR OWN MISERY AND ANGER IS NOT SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF. He was literally Built to Harbor Someone Else's Agony. If you keep dropping straws on a camel who was born with a back already covered in 'em, of course it's only gonna get worse, regardless of how much the camel thinks suffering makes him stronger and above humanity!!!

I do agree, though, that things maybe would have gone so much differently if someone outwardly, properly expressed love and affection to this poor guy. If someone told him he mattered in a way beyond his programming and divine mission. That taunt in Duel Links, the way he actually says it, it comes off as almost this snarling scornful jeer, but he looks so sopping wet sad saying it.

He is the embodiment of "losing those who you love" and you have to wonder how that manifests with him, despite the fact that, like... he doesn't Know Eurea. he didnt even know she existed until Z-one put him back together and told him the truth of what he is. I wonder if Primo feels the itch to inflict that same pain of losing your closest love on other people (a trait Aporia also Very Much Has.) Or if he's written himself off as unlovable entirely (😢)... or if 'disgusting humans' are just beneath his sky high standards. And, yeah, you really do have to wonder why he doesn't class the rest of Iliaster as someone to love, why he gets along so poorly with the other Emperors in the first place. Did Z-one also program them to not fucking get along with each other??? Was this also some 6D chess bullshit to actually hinder their progress even more??? Is this indicative of just how bad Aporia's mental state was/is????? CAN WE KNOW!!!

this is all just theorizing and guesswork at the end of the day, but it's a lot to think about, and i love ruminating on it. I personally think Primo's fixation on having no one to love stems from a combination of things, and the fact some of it is coming from these vague feelings of agony baked into him from when Aporia lost Eurea is, like, GOD. MAN. I also think at least a little of it may be just that Primo thinks he doesnt 'deserve' anyone to love properly, and also that the Emperors are so divorced from humanity in their eyes that to "love" one another, or to see each other as 'family', is absurd and a waste of time (though if they actually fully believe that, who knows--it definitely seems like Primo cares quite a bit about Lester. wahhh ;;; ) Like. They're literally this post. In the Tag Force games Primo always acts kind of jumpy and almost shy when youre nice to him??!? HE DOESNT KNOW THAT ONE. AND IT'S SO SAD.

WOW. OK. THIS GOT AWAY FROM ME A BIT. APOLOGIES!! tl;dr: yeah Primo's sense of self-worth is complete dogshit, the ghost of Aporia's suffering over a woman Primo has never met or known haunts his circuitboards in a way that can't be ignored, and that plus the fact he gets treated with disdain by his closest cohorts (which may be due to their God's 'divine' decisions) are definitely exasperating his issues and behavior. BUT, that being said, that's actually probably the least of why he's shown to be so excited to die, and the actual reasons that seem to be at play are a lot more horrifying! :D Primo largely sees himself as a means to end rather than as a person (he is a beautiful machine, a half motorcycle agent of justice and punishment, and far mightier and above miserable humans like Yusei Fudo,) and THAT'S largely because he was programmed by his creator to see himself that way. He is a computer built to complete a task and shut itself down. He was made to serve his God at the request of His long dead best friend for the good of a future he isn't meant to actually see.

i dont really have a conclusion, but I think a lot about this post with regards to the Three Pure Nobles.

Maybe Primo could have grown beyond his programming, if he'd been exposed more properly to love and kindness. and i hope you want more for him too. im going to bed and going to think about this until i fall asleep. ok bye

[alittlefrenchtree]

Let me start by saying that I love the movie as it is and I think Matthew did a great job and did everything he could especially with the guidelines that he couldn't make more than two hours 🙏🏻 BUT, I miss the depth of Alex's character so much. I know that in the film, not having his parents divorced like in the book automatically takes away a part like his abandonment issues, and the conversations with Henry during the holidays while his parents were fighting, how he had only looked for Henry to talk to and tell him about how he had discovered that his father had left when he was a kid ❤️‍🩹 but I miss seeing his anxiety, his efforts since childhood to always be right, always better and the fear of being too much, of always doing something wrong and how he lowers his defenses only with Henry. I understand that it was impossible to put all this in the film but sometimes I feel that unlike Henry's character, Alex's character is less understood, is considered more superficial when he has a world inside him too and in my opinion too much of him was left out of the film ☹️ But I love how Taylor, despite everything, gave so many hints about the character and his anxiety with his body language, even though it wasn't totally addressed in the film. I don't think anyone understood Alex like him ❤️

I’m a bit behind with the asks so if you’ve send me things in the past couple of days, I’m (probably) not ignoring you and will answer at some point 💜

Yeah, movie!Alex not having divorced parents has made a lot of the character’s depths more subtle than they are in the book.

We can see most of the traits you’ve talked about through certain details and through Taylor’s acting. His little glimpses of anxiety. The (good) Texas memo he wrote without anyone asking for it. And how much he fights for people to actually read it. The precise knowledge he has on his mom’s career. How affected he is by being forced to step back. How eager he is to be used by his mom to work for his mom in Texas. It’s not exactly book!Alex but it’s something they could write around in a sequel, if they wanted. If they write Alex trying to marry Henry while he’s still in the royal family, there is a lot of potentiel anxiety, efforts to be always right and better (and fear of failing to please) to write about. I’m not sure they would go that way though? Movie!Alex feels very much boy next door, easy to be around and to love and I’m not sure how much they would want to... complicate(?) that. It’s something I actually liked about him (not knowing book!Alex beforehand) even if I would be happy to see him written with more depths as well.

That being said, they should really have add Alex’s immediate reaction to the leak. Show that outing someone like Henry (who were hiding) isn’t the only problem of the whole thing. That the invasion of Alex’s privacy was equally traumatizing, even if he had nothing to "hide" and was mentally ok(ish) in his life. More to play with for the fanfic writers, I guess 🤷🏻‍♀️

[radicalfemimist]

Why is it that the two recently-released live action adaptations of kids media both decided not just to water down the character (yikes) but also to remove anything “offensive” or “triggering”?

Gabe Ugliano is supposed to be an upsetting character, and then— as far as his portrayal goes, he’s just kinda unlikeable instead of despicable. It wasn’t like he was written as abusive for no reason. It’s not narratively satisfying to see a character get his comeuppance if he’s really only been mildly unlikeable.

Like yes, it’d be upsetting to see. Sometimes, media has parts that are upsetting. It’s supposed to. You can’t write a meaningful story if you’re tiptoeing over upsetting people. It’d be hard to watch, but also, a lot of people like seeing media they can relate to even if it’s an ugly situation. They can find comfort in it.

Don’t even get me started on Annabeth— I think the direction they took the character was a bad choice, because people were already upset at their choice of actress and now the way they chose to write Annabeth for the live-action is going to reflect badly on her, which isn’t fair. Why would they do that?

And the live action ATLA… I guess when they heard Katara was a waterbender they thought that meant they had to water her down until she’s an empty slate. I just finished the second episode, and already they’ve taken out anything and everything interesting about Katara.

My sister and I couldn’t stop laughing in the first episode when Gran Gran was explaining to Aang that his people were dead. She sounded like she was going on a villain monologue, which was… certainly a choice. “Everyone knows the airbenders are dead. But you… you don’t know that, do you? Fucking idiot.”

Surely there’s a better way to explain to this 12-year-old that all his people are dead, hmm? That everyone he ever knew is gone?

It’s an especially weird choice that they seem to both want to show the darker sides of the war— opening on the Air Nomad genocide, and showing Katara seeing her mom’s murder— but erase the fact that the Southern water tribe didn’t have any waterbending scrolls, because their culture was stolen and destroyed. For what? So they could make Katara a natural prodigy, and erase the fact that it didn’t come easy to her? That she worked for it, had to fight Pakku to even teach her?

It was, uh, also an interesting choice to decide that without the presence of sexism and Sokka’s sexist attitude, that the solo trait Suki is allowed to have is… horny? Suki and Sokka can be straight up lustful, but Katara and Aang can’t even have a meaningful platonic/and or budding crush bond.

I think the actors did really good, though— Sokka’s actor especially, but that could also just be that the script and director wouldn’t let anyone else use their acting capabilities. I think Zuko’s actor could easily nail the role if they let him— he even kinda sounds like Zuko. But for some reason instead of an angry, traumatized teenage boy they decided that this Zuko— this Zuko is a wet cat, instead of an angry wet cat.

This Zuko is like, getting bullied for being gay. He writes poetry and listens to MCR. He’s kinda just whiny instead of shouty.

It’s kinda like they decided— actually, completely like they decided, that they had to make the characters more likeable by removing all of their flaws.

Sokka isn’t sexist. Aang didn’t actually run away (not that he was wrong for that), Katara isn’t allowed to have a personality the same way she wasn’t allowed to exist, courtesy of Mattel.

Iroh is also… really helpful to Zuko’s quest. It kinda seem like he was somewhat sabotaging it in the original show, but in this one he’s straight up guiding him right to the Avatar. He’s helpful.

And again— a lot of these changes, and the cheesy dialogue, is going to end up reflecting badly on the actors when it should be on the writers + directors.

I understand changing things up a little. I do not understand changing things that didn’t need to be changed— are you so short on time that you can’t keep the reason they’re going to the North Pole as literally the most obvious reason— because Aang needs to learn waterbending and so does Katara? Now it just seems like the characters aren’t smart enough to think of that.

I guess they did make it so that Aang only found out he was the Avatar like 3 hours before all the airbenders were killed, so no one told him what order he was supposed to learn them in. They didn’t even tell him how they knew it was him, with the toys and all. No time for that, but time to work in Kyoshi’s backstory real quick and write in Suki’s mom.

You would think they would’ve erred on the side of caution and tried to stick to the original script a little more, given that ATLA already has a famously bad live action movie, and PJO has two. The stakes were already high. Slightly better than terrible is not the ideal outcome of an adaption.

[supraventriculart]

Long essay about John Marston I wrote stoned off my ass.

In Red Dead Redemption 1. Playing as John dosent make you feel any bigger or inherently better than the NPCs around you. I think this lines up with John as a person.

A genius part of John Marston is the fact that he is nothing special. This sounds like a diss but hear me out.

John is by all accounts a man on a mission. He is downright dismissive of having a viewpoint on most anything. The only thing important to him is exactly what he's doing.

A Determined Man is basically the only thing you could really title him. Besides badass.

He does not give a fuck. He dosent want fame, wealth, or anything like that. And has no ego.

He's very wise in that he's so thought out that he sees the bad in every facet of what he's presented. He dismisses concepts like hope, faith, morality, government, revolution, and war.

He only lives in reality and makes his own conclusions. He sees how pointless being anything but John Marston really is.

So that said, playing him does not feel any different.

John is not a gunslinger, bounty hunter, outlaw, legend, hero, villain, or anything.

He's just a man on a mission.

We ourselves see the bullshit in anything that gets preached to John as we're also just a player with a mission. Just as invested in getting our bounty as John is.

So playing as him. You really don't feel like an action hero or superhuman or anything.

You feel like John Marston.

Someone with a lot of experience with a gun, a long life of adventure and life experience to think on, a few big scars to show he's walked up to the edge of death and spit in it, a cynical outlook and confident in himself

He's completely badass. But not because he's got magic powers (deadeye I guess, but that's just a video game simulation of his many many years spent in gunfights basically trivializing combat for him he's so good), not because he's an honorable hero who's done good in the world, not because he's gods chosen one, and not because he's so good looking.

But because he's just a guy, who's lived a very rocky traumatic life with a lot of experiences, who's hard childhood forced him into a life of endless killing, and who's awful circumstances lead to him getting mauled by wolves and permanently engraved with his past.

Yes, having a crazy scar, being an ex big time outlaw, being insanely proficient with a rifle, having a rough voice, a constant snarl, being armed to the teeth at all times, and having great sarcastic lines do all make a character badass.

But he's not badass just to be badass. He dosent just have those things because it's convenient for the plot, he has them because he just happened to be unlucky enough to be born unto trouble and put on a path to do awful things and see awful things.

John Marston is just a man. Who happens to have lived a life with so much turmoil that it gave him the traits of a movie star badass. Everything about him is real as fuck. Hes not better than anyone else, he's not lesser than anyone else, he's a human. He's in an awful time of his life. And his past experiences of that have given him the skills to go through another one.

So playing John. You feel just like John. Rockstar totally fucking perfected that in this game.

Walking around you're not bigger than any other NPC. You're an average height male with just enough muscle to show a life of physical labor. Which was much common back then.

You are armed to the teeth, you are wearing black bounty hunter gloves, you do have the scar, the rough voice, and the confident walk.

But as a person it just dosent affect that at all.

John still excuses himself when he bumps into people, says howdy to people, he's a little anxious maybe but makes sense for a guy like him.

He talks like a person. He dosent speak like his dialogue was purposefully written better than any other characters, he's a bit wiser than most cause we're seeing it from his point of view, he's very good at threatening people because I mean just look at him and hear his voice, and he's not afraid to kill a man at any minute cause he's horrifyingly desensitized to it, and he dosent talk in some authoritative or hero like tone over others.

He justs a guy existing normally.

And so you don't feel like anything more than a guy in a world, who happens to be extremely good at killing people. And who happens to be a really likeable person despite all he's done. He really is just a guy. And his badassery dosent stem from just being badass for the sake of it needing a badass protagonist. He's badass because of who he is. Not what he is.

John Marston best girl. RDR1 is my favorite game ever.

I will do a part 2 about Arthur. I was very high writing this and have not proofread it at all before posting so have fun with that.

"People don't forget. Nothing gets forgiven."

"We die alone, but we live amongst men."

"I'm many things, most of them bad. But a man of political principals? No."

- John Marston

[moonlightdancer26]

Can I ask why you love the Marauders and not James? I’m a Marauders skeptic myself (all four), just curious as to why James over the others.

Hey

I do bash the Marauders, a lot, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate their characters. I already love all of them (besides James obvs), but I don’t think they’re above all criticism. The difference between James and Sirius, Remus, and Peter, is that they’re actual characters. They aren’t just plot devices with 0.2 seconds of screen-time and no compelling backstories. I answered an ask about James (and Severus), a pretty funny one if I do say so myself, and I think this part explains my feelings on Jim-Jam perfectly:

I’m not asking you. Not really. I mean, you might consider it hypocritical if you don’t actually understand what made James’s character completely dilapidated for me.

James is, an awful character. Awful as in morally? Maybe, but I’ve loved worse characters before. Awful as in his character is awfully-written? Yes. Even if Severus was worse than James as a person, I would still love him and hate James. You know why? Because Severus’s character is interesting, because Severus’s character is relevant, because his character is genuinely enjoyable to read. James is none of those things (at least to me).

Not only is James a shitty person whose scenes all show him in an exceedingly unpleasant light, but he isn’t even a well-written character. I literally love Voldemort and Bellatrix for god’s sake. Are they undoubtedly worse than James? Obviously. But they’re interesting characters with compelling origin stories/backstories and, in my eyes, that “makes up for” their shittiness. I also love James’s best friend (all of them actually), Sirius, I think he sucks as a person but his character is complicated and brilliantly-written—that’s why I’m capable of “looking past” his awfulness. James has nothing to make up for it; he’s not funny, he’s not enjoyable, he’s quite frankly just as intriguing as watching paint dry, and he was dead a decade before the series even began. He’s practically just a plot device—he’s known as “Harry Potter’s dad,” “Sirius and Remus’s best friend,” “Snape’s bully,” but we never actually get to see his character being explored. He served no purpose in the story besides giving both Severus and Harry traumatic backstories.

The other Marauders are interesting and loveable enough for me to “look past” their shittiness. Other than being intriguing and complicated, each of them have traits that I enjoy: Remus is my babygirl and I would die for him kind-hearted and cares for Harry, Sirius is immensely loyal and would go to great lengths to protect Harry, Peter has a lot of potential for a brilliant character despite little of what we know of him and he’s such a slay for betraying Furry-Prongs. They’re humorous, not one-dimensional, and I always want to know more about them whenever they’re on screen. I don’t feel that way about James and I never will.

So I guess that sums it up lol. Hope my answer managed to explain it well.

[romani-ranch]

I’ve kept quiet on this for too long, I need to break my silence.

Untagged spoilers for all of death note ahead because I don’t want the death note fans to find me.

Death note is one of the worst fucking anime I’ve ever seen in my life and the fact that it has the following it does is insane to me. What am I missing? Light and L’s cat and mouse game and gotchas are only interaction like 50% of the time, and the other 50% of the quirky overanalysis just feels like Rick and Morty levels of the show pretending to be smart because it couldn’t think of anything actually intelligent to do. The Yotsuba arc fucking sucks. I genuinely lost so much interest in the show for the duration of that arc, and the big payoff at the end with light getting the death note back did 100% not feel worth the amount of time that was spent dicking around with rich assholes.

Light is insufferable as a character, which isn’t a problem, because he’s a villain, and an incredibly flawed one, which is completely fine. What I’m not fine with is that the show doesn’t seem to acknowledge many of his flaws as flaws. He treats every woman he interacts with like garbage. Either they’re just a pawn in a greater scheme, or someone who’s so pitifully stupid that they’re below him in every way, someone not even worth considering a threat, barely even a person. Which, again, is fine. I don’t think characters having flaws makes them unlikeable, especially villains. But, the show never ever ever acknowledges Light’s misogyny as a negative trait. He is never punished for underestimating or using women, no woman ever gets one over on him. In fact, I think the only person that hates women more than Light, is the author.

Please refer to every single female character in the show with speaking lines in more than one episode. Naomi, Light’s sister, Light’s mom, Misa, Kiyomi, Wedy, Rem. Every single woman in this show, by the end of this show, has met some godawful fate, and is either dead in a horrific way, or traumatized permanently. Conversely, while a lot of men die in this show, often in gruesome ways, there are plenty of male characters that get off Scott free. Near and the SPK, the entire Kira task force, with the obvious exception of the dead ones. I think there’s enough men in this show with okay endings that this criticism is earned.

In general, I found the final arc very unsatisfying as a whole. Mello and Near just showing the fuck up really was not cool. I didn’t care for either of them at all really. At least with L, he had an established dynamic with light built up over the entire series. Some new cunt showing up and trying to be him is just. Less cool? Misa bowing out of the story to go be Light’s tradwife while he cheats on her is an especially low point in this show as well.

Am I being mean and petty for the sake of being mean and petty? I mean, yeah for like, sure. I’m kind of being a dick but like. What is the appeal of this show? As a detective show, the mindgames and tricks and gotchas are very often, genuinely less interesting than your average Columbo episode, despite taking nearly twice as long to set up. As a drama, the show’s misogyny issues really hold it back, as do the more questionable and off the wall story beats. As a yaoi show, which I know it is to a large part of its audience, look, I like toxic romance. I actually enjoy incredibly unhealthy couples when written well, and I don’t mind reaching for my pairings. There’s nothing here. Like. Yeah, they have their moments, and I understand why people make L and Light fuck but like. Come the fuck on. This pairing is white bread with nothing on it they’re not even that cool. I don’t like men, so maybe I can’t talk here but like. They’re not even that hot??? The fuck are you people on about?

Every sensible person I know dropped the show after L died and honestly, I wish I had done the same. I just. I don’t get it. How the fuck does this show come so highly rated? How did you make a detective thriller unironically worse than Danganronpa? Answer quickly.

[erithel]

A good example of how much this fandom shifted in its opinion of lance and how not invested the fandom is in him as a character is by comparing any lance-centric and keith-centric character posts.

If someone posts about lance, just about his character or reactions to scenario and looking for introspection, the post will get 1 or 3 notes/likes/metric. It will inevitably have someone bring up keith and how he would react to the situation and make mention of klance or shipping.

If someone makes a keith character post about his reactions/pov and looking for introspection, that post will get a crazy amount of notes, no one will bring up lance or klance cause rightfully it’s not about that.

This is the same with art pieces. Same artist can draw the boys at separate times but if keith isn’t in the lance art piece it’ll never be noticed.

There’s just a sad shift in fandom thinking Keith is worth more in value and can stand alone if he wants to but Lance’s character isn’t worth as much unless he’s in the ship or Keith is included. And with post season 8 and him dating allura, they think all his bad traits outweigh his good so there’s no value in giving him the time and care.

It really fostered this environment where Lance’s positive canon traits or distinguishing canon scenes are just overlooked and ignored. Or worst, they’re given away to other characters. I guarantee you that if you asked klancers about lance and the blade of mamora they will have no idea that he canonly led them on a mission and protected them from slander and scorn. And people still react to Lance dying for allura that one time as brand new information they never heard of, or it isn’t as important as Keith almost dying for the team because he did it for Allura. Or they take his and keith’s dynamic or him being the comforter to his teammates and gave it to James Griffin or Hunk.

The way the fandom dismisses his issues is already frustrating(having seen things like Lance has no problems or cause to feel bad or to dissect) evident enough but when klancers tie his worth to keith like they do with any of the other characters, the state of the fandom just makes me sad. He’s not a character unless he does something for Keith otherwise he can easily be replaced by any other character, who people also don’t invest time into, but isn’t as “mean” to poor Keith.

Don’t get me wrong I love Keith a lot. He’s one of my favorite boys of all time. But it’s hard to deny the way the klance fandom currently treats him and lance is exactly like how the showrunners do.

So I was thinking about this while reading this post, and initially I was gonna say that I guess this just didn't enter my social media sphere because I mainly post comics, so I don't see the difference in likes for individual art pieces etc.

BUT

Then I started thinking about some of the comments I've gotten on my ongoing comic GONE, and it...kindof fits.

I got a couple comments directed at Keith that were in the vein of "just go hug your man, get over yourself," but they soon switched into those same comments directed at Lance.

And basically the whole comic is meant to showcase how traumatic it would be to almost lose someone you love, and how Lance wouldn't just be able to bounce back from it. It is meant to show that Lance's anger and grief and guilt are all emotions to be taken seriously. That those are valid things to feel, and that it's not just immediately going to be okay.

And I can't even tell you how many comments I got directed at Lance that were basically pushing him to just be okay already. To just get over it. Telling him "what's your problem? Keith's alive and that's all that matters, right?"

(The whole thing basically turned into a study of how people react to physical trauma vs mental trauma, but that's a whoooole different rant subject).

I think the part I'm having the hardest time comprehending is how it has come up several times that Lance is being written as an [insert character here] type. And I just...???

I love Keith, too, don't get me wrong, but Lance is so much more fun to write and to draw because he can have all the emotions, and they are all strong. And imo he had the most potential for growth and character development out of the whole team - which means that they gave us hints of all that in canon, even if they didn't follow through.

So actually, you know what? I'm just gonna link my friend's fic here, because if you haven't read it already and want some seriously well written Lance validation that makes total sense, you should read this fic: Pitch Black. (you should read it anyway)

[steveharrington]

Oh yeah I mean. Barb vs Chrissy is very distinct Barb is treated like a normal character introduced fairly naturally over the course of two (?) episodes, I don’t think we even learned her last name until season 2 with her parents (which makes sense. I don’t say my last name often in conversations). Meanwhile season 4 is like. Here’s Chrissy. Cunningham. She’s a brand new character! Here’s everything about her from her interests to her family to her dickish bf to her traumas. Here’s a fun middle school anecdote that doesn’t make sense with the timeline we’ve already established. Then she dies after existing for like, 30 minutes of screen time (most of which she wasn’t in). NONE of that felt natural. And the only characters who had any real reason to care were Jason and to a much lesser extent eddie (maybe max at a stretch. But neither of them really knew her. Her major role in the season was to cause problems for the gang by turning Jason into a secondary antagonist) who were ALSO introduced at the beginning of the season and dead by the end so she’ll basically have no lasting impact on the show. She could show up as a vecna vision and most of the characters would have very little idea who she is

They might try to wring some out bc she was kind of well-received (obviously the duffers rely on fan feedback in the worst way. Kali I will avenge you) but it won’t be earned AT ALL.

Chrissy managed to have a developed personality but ultimately I think she kind of failed the sexy lamp test. Like if Eddie had allegedly stolen and broken Jason’s prized possession the story wouldn’t have changed much she existed SOLELY to die (which is why I think too many people are like. Giving credit for how Chrissy was vs Barb. Barb was an actual minor character Chrissy was a list of traits tortured and killed for real reason, though gender plays a heavy role in how both were written and received. )

hmmm i don’t really agree :/ personally i don’t think chrissy was poorly written/introduced into the show at all, esp within the context of the season. all the things you listed that feel unnatural for us to know about her (her interests, her family, her boyfriend, her traumas) have an inherent place in the story because they matter when unraveling the mystery of vecna. we know about chrissy’s trauma from her mother and her ed because that’s what vecna takes advantage of. it’s showing us this to establish that he targets people who are already struggling with an internal conflict and plays on their fears/traumas. the exact same thing happens to fred! we meet him as fred benson, editor on the newspaper who likes nancy and has this traumatic past involving a car accident for which he feels a lot of guilt. it’s just the way new characters who will soon be vecna’d are introduced this season because it gives context to why they’re vecna’d. if anything, i think chrissy and fred were treated wayyyy better than patrick in terms of humanizing them and giving their trauma screentime. patrick is the Only vecna victim to not have his trauma delved into and explored beyond other characters talking about it.

as for stuff like learning about her relationship with jason and her little backstory with eddie….idk i think that was also fairly well executed and not unlike other character introductions we’ve seen? stranger things loveeees to have two characters recount a past shared experience from long long ago. mike and will at the park, joyce and hopper under the bleachers, jonathan and will as kids playing with legos, robin and steve in click’s class, etc etc so i don’t think chrissy and eddie reminiscing about middle school to find some common ground during an awkward meet-up is that out of place. i know there’s some conjecture about how old chrissy is supposed to be and if that would line up with her and eddie being in middle school at the same time and tbh i don’t know Much about it but she’s wearing an ‘86 necklace which i assumed was her graduating year, making her a senior and eddie two years older than her which isn’t that much of a stretch for them to have been in middle school at the same time

i don’t think chrissy could be replaced with an object to evoke the same reaction out of jason. really if i’m being honest i think jason is almost sympathetic for an st villain (i say almost because the whole spiral into puritanism and the tackling of erica just got. weird.) like……..he is under the very justified impression that eddie killed someone. a body was found in eddie’s house. the body of his girlfriend! i know jason is a shitty guy and very much douche who doesn’t respect women coded, but there’s really nothing in canon that explicitly suggests that he didn’t actually love chrissy. i’ve seen people be like “well he thought she would never do drugs, he didn’t really know her!!” yall eddie was also surprised by her doing drugs. it was clearly her first time buying drugs. no wonder jason wouldn’t think she would do that BUT i digress.

i think st does have trouble writing women sometimes, but i personally think those problems manifest mostly with nancy. i’m not trying to be a duffers apologist but i really didn’t find issue with chrissy’s introduction and characterization and death, mostly because she’s treated the exact same way as fred, a man, and treated better than patrick, a black man

[thus-spoke-lo]

while we’re on the topic of law’s personality… i’ve always wanted to know, what’s your process for characterizing him? how do you decide on his actions and dialogue while keeping him in character? are there any specific traits and mannerisms you feel define him best?

i’ve been struggling writing him… i try to keep him laid back and reserved and distant. but this stuff about nerdy law? y’all’re onto something

hii! this turned into a bit of an essay, so i'm sticking it below a cut:

I am by no means an expert on Law, but here's what my process is, hope any of this makes sense lol:

For traits and mannerisms, I think his subtle expressions are important--like, he doesn't raise his eyebrows, it's a slight quirk of his eyebrow. Lots of half-smiles, smirks, and gazing with half-lidded eyes. I also assume even in his personal life, he speaks in language that is simple/direct, maybe even coming across as formal/clinical--I try not to make anything he says overcomplicated or too coated in metaphor.

Also, I think a trait I try to keep in mind is that he is, ultimately, kind. Even when he's being obsessive with reader in PM, he still perceives what he's doing as kindness.

I joke about my "needy Law agenda" but a lot of how i write him is based on seeing him as needy/desperate--he wants affection and physical touch and romantic connection, he's just too traumatized to trust, and too awkward and cautious express it, so he either becomes cold/distant or a little too obsessive. That neediness/desperation also comes across for me in his action beats--describing how he's moving closer to/touching reader without being overt, the way he glances as reader with hunger/yearning, body language that shows him as intimidating, even if his words aren't.

Nerdy Law I think works even better with all of the above, because once he can move past those trauma responses, you can show him opening up to reader with weird/nerdy shit without having to specifically state he trusts reader now

This isn't advice so much as just a kind of an observation: the characters I feel most confident writing for (and the ones I've written the most for) are from animes where I have watched the English dub at least once--it makes it easier for me to 'hear' the dialogue in my head and think, like--would Zoro say this? How would Sanji sound saying this? etc. It's easier for me with Law in this regard too because I've heard a lot of Matt Mercer's other work and I watch Critical Role.

[shoheiakagi]

ooooo I'll jump on the nana crossover idea! What are your thoughts about it?

Okay first, taste!!!!

And to be honest, I find Nana soooooooooo much better written than a lot of the popular animangas like naruto. I love how the female characters are fleshed out and have actual flaws, the relationship dynamics, the reality of how toxic some relationships can be, and the dialogue?? *chef’s kiss* Like seriously, the plot may not be adventurous or mysterious, but the characters are so interesting? And don’t get me started on the heartbreak!! Nana x Hachi is my overall favorite ship, but I do like Nana x Ren and I’m still not digesting that Nobu x Hachi breakup 😭😭😭😭

And again, I really love how flawed the female characters are! My problem with female characters in most animes, including the new anime out rn, is that a lot of female characters are very one dimensional. Like before it used to be the damsel in distress/love interest trope, and now its characters whose only trait is being a ‘badass’ yet they’re still getting their asses kicked in major fights and get saved by the male hero. So an anime like Nana, where the female characters are filled with depth AND are the main characters, is so refreshing, especially for someone who doesn’t really read shoujo that much either.

Like for example, a character like Nana is pretty popular in other medias cause theyre usually that tough, cold female character, with a secret heart of gold. The mysterious types who always have their guards up until the end and their character flaw tends to be “traumatized or grew up in a terrible environment so now she’s all introverted and snarky to most people” (like raven from teen titans and artemis from young justice. love them, but kinda tired of how most ppl think all well written female characters must be written like them). But what makes Nana unique for me is that she’s selfish, insecure, and controlling.

Same with hachi. Another character trope popular in manga. The sweet, naive girly girl who tends to be the one dimensional primary love interest/damsel in distress for the main hero (orihime from bleach and hinata from naruto). While Hachi is very naive and is prone to falling in love very quick (more like the idea of falling in love), I love how she isn’t written to be 100% all sweet and sugar and nice girl who’s saving herself for marriage with her one true love (that one guy she likes in high school). She’s shallow, self-centered, and emotionally dependent on her love interests, junko, and nana.

Bonus points to womanhood being a main theme here, especially with two female characters who are the opposites of each other in their personality, fashion, background, etc.

I love to think about one of the homra guys, maybe someone like chitose, gets everyone hooked on nana lol. Like he probably overheard a lot of his f*ck buddies and random girls on the streets keep talking about some nana show, so he looks it up and at first loses interest when he realizes its shoujo, but then gets a little curious and wants to know what the hype is (and he lowkey finds the girls hot). So he brings it up to the other guys when they’re all chilling in the bar one day and obviously a lot of them are like, “fuck no, we’re not watching that girly shit” but then totsuka gets interested and he manages to get everyone to sit around the tv and watch the show lol (except for anna since totsuka did some research and found out that there are implied sexual scenes and mature topics). At first, the guys are annoyed at being forced to watch the show (a good chunk of them glaring at Chitose for bringing the topic up), but then suddenly they’re all incredibly invested by like ep 3. A lot of the boys probably talk about which Nana is better or more of their type at first, but then they all probably start shipping the two Nanas and god damn just f*cking kiss her already!!! Not gonna lie tho, I do think some of them are gonna hate on Hachi for leaving Nobu :/ They’re definitely going to sympathize with Nobu, but I just know some of them (Chitose) are probably gonna be like ‘thats what happens when you’re a simp’ 🙄 Overall, I do think most of them will be extremely sad/depressed once they reach the end of the show, not realizing how much this show and its characters impacted them lol