#I hate hate HATE when tragic characters die instead of getting a kind ending

[shikai-the-storyteller]

I hope q!Jaiden is happy. I hope she doesn't have to carry so much grief in her heart anymore. I hope she's living somewhere where there's an eternal sunset.

[lesbian-for-arthur-morgan]

Watching Horror Movies Together

Super Short Headcanons || Modern Au

Genre: Fluff Featuring: Arthur, John, Dutch, Javier, Charles, Sean, and Sadie Warnings: None - super casual writing

AN: I know no one requested this but I was on a horror binge last night and couldn't stop thinking about how these guys would act during a scary movie marathon so I wrote a quick thing in my notes app to post teehee~ ---> Requests are open! Check out guidelines if you have questions

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Arthur Morgan:

Is not scared at all - literally impossible to scare.

Thinks horror movies are predictable and kind of boring.

However, God forbid a dog dies in the movie because he will get up and turn it off and say that the writers went too far.

Grumbles and groans on movie nights where you choose a horror movie, but will always wrap an arm around you and insist of sharing a blanket because he just likes spending time with you and being able to hold you close.

Will tease you for your bad taste in movies but secretly loves watching them with you and finds himself getting sucked into them every now and then.

John Marston:

Is on the edge of his seat the whole time.

Claims he's watching them because he thinks they're funny, but actually really enjoys trying to figure out who the killer is and who's going to die when and where.

Jumps at every jump scare but acts like he didn't.

He needs to watch a Disney movie afterwards so he doesn't have nightmares. Will say it's for your sake and not his, though.

Man acts all big and bad, but once the music starts to get intense and there's a long hallway on the screen he is looking everywhere but at the TV so he isn't jumpscared again.

Dutch Van Der Linde:

Probably taking notes during psychological horror movies on how to be manipulative.

Says the killer is misunderstood or that their tragic backstory makes the killing justified.

He will eat all the popcorn and then get upset when it's all gone. Cue the puppy eyes while he's begging you to go make more.

Spends a good forty-five minutes talking about how you and him would survive the movie because y'all are so much smarter than the main characters and would make it out of there.

Genuinely believes he's invincible and could survive any scenario.

Javier Escuella:

HATES horror movies because they genuinely scare him.

Well, he can handle slashers but he hates paranormal movies since he believes in ghosts 100% no questions asked.

Loves making a snack buffet for the movie - popcorn, candy, cookies, sodas, fries, and the works.

Encourages you to cuddle into him and hold him whenever you get too scared since he's so big and brave.

Will end up being the one hiding his face in your shoulder and holding you like a teddy bear because he got freaked out.

Charles Smith:

Loves to analyze horror movies in -like- an artistic way.

His favorite types are historical horrors because so much thought goes into them.

He will watch silly horror with you, though, like Scream and Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, but will spend the whole movie making fun of you. Lightheartedly, of course, he's saying that those aren't real scary movies and that you're kind of a wuss.

The entire movie his arm is wrapped around you and pressing you deep into his side so that you can cuddle and be warm. It's a little too comfortable though and you end up falling asleep there more often than not.

Loves it when you do that, it makes him feel all soft and warm on the inside.

Sean MacGuire:

Makes jokes the entire time.

Literally has something to say every 2 minutes that has the both of you laughing instead of being scared.

Honestly, it's the only way he can get through the whole movie.

If you start getting sucked into the movie and he's too nervous to fully focus on the screen, he will start throwing popcorn at you to get your attention.

Halfway through the movie he will make you pause it so that he can have a mental break from all the scary stuff and gore. Totally turns into a make-out session and the movie is long forgotten.

Sadie Adler:

Absolutely nothing fazes her, she LOVES scary movies.

She knows all the behind-the-scenes info about every movie you watch too because she deep dives into interviews and essays after watching them the first time.

Her eyes are glued to the screen but will have you lay your head in her lap so she can run her fingers through your hair to soothe you when you get scared.

Makes fun of you when you react at a jump scare. When you look up at her with a frown, she'll press kisses all over your face until you can't help but smile.

She loves that she can make you feel comforted and safe when you're scared, secretly loves it even more when you try to go to bed after the movie and you're clinging to her like a koala because you're still a little spooked by the film.

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I know summer isn't even close to over yet, but I am so excited for Halloween this year, so here's a little Halloween in July (think like that Gravity Falls episode)

Hope you enjoyed <3

[raviolism9]

Ok hi I am QUITE LITERALLY coming back from the dead just to rant & post about Mischa F**king Bachinski bc I have nowhere else and I NEED somebody to talk to about this. This is my roman empire & RtC has taken over my life 😔

So for all the RtC fans, we all know Jane's story was the saddest, obviously. But nobody talks about how ACTUALLY TRAGIC MISCHA'S LIFE & DEATH WAS. Had an amazing life in Ukraine, & BAM. His mom died of uranium exposure, so she set him up for adoption, thinking she was protecting him. Instead, he was forced to move to Canada, TO A CITY NAMED AFTER THE VERY THING THAT KILLED HIS MOTHER, with some of the actually most neglectful & abusive parents known to man. They practically shoved him into their basement & only left him food there, not even interacting with him, and when he did get out, his "new parents" would weep & shoo him away like an insect.

Because of this, AND FOR GOOD REASON, he became pissed at people & with life, and was dubbed the "angriest boy in town," when in reality he just had a sh**ty life & was just acting out because of his horrible neglect. And the one thing that kept him happy in his life, his online girlfriend Talia, might've not even been real (just an fyi, I hate the catfishing theory, but unfortunately it is a very likely possibility ☹️) . The one thing that made him passionate & brought him joy & meaning in his life wasn't even guaranteed to happen or even be true.

And the worst part? When he died on the Cyclone? If Talia is real (which I HC she was), she probably thought she got ghosted by a man that would go to the ends of the earth for her. He would kill & die for this woman, and she might've never even learned what happened to him after the accident, and thought that he never loved her at all, when she was actually the only person that he truly cared about. He cared to the point where even in the afterlife, he was haunted by her projections, always chasing her but never being able to be in the image's grasp, even when it shines onto his own heart.

Not only that, but he was also forced to make a choice between never knowing what kind of a future they would've had, or risking seeing it, & either mourning after witnessing the beautiful life they could've had together, or having his heart shattered after seeing that his Talia was just a fraud from the start.

Mischa was 17. He did not deserve the life he had because holy sh*t he is genuinely one of the most depressing characters I can name after thinking about it this much. Like Jane Doe is insanely tragic yes but NO ONE TALKS ABOUT THIS 😭

(also side note, as a Slavic person, Talia (as in the song) singlehandedly has the best Ukranian rep I have ever seen in ANY modern media. Hats off to the musicians & choreographers; it's clear you did your research 👏👏👏)

[on-wednesdays-we-eat-the-rich]

So I'm having thoughts about LOTR. Specifically the ending. And the fanfiction that rewrites the ending. Bear with me.

So we all know that LOTR ends with Frodo leaving Middle Earth and going to the Undying Lands, right. And we all know that he does this because all the events of the story have had such an impact on him that they've left him quite traumatised and not really able to live life the way he used to. And we can probably all guess that this is a reflection of how Tolkien may have thought about his trauma after fighting in the First World War.

The ending makes sense considering the time the book was written, because in the 1940's and 50's, people didn't know as much about mental health and disability as they do now, and there weren't as many ways to help people manage disabilities other than institutionalising them or like. Giving them cocaine or something idk. So it's reasonable to assume that because Tolkien didn't see many ways that people could live with disabilities and be happy, he couldn't write them into LOTR and instead basically just put Frodo in Middle Earth's equivalent of Heaven and said "there you go, you're all better now".

I like this as a sort of tragic ending. I mean, you can't deny that someone being so drastically changed by an experience means they can't enjoy the things they grew up with is pretty tragic. The ending does make sense. But I kind of hate it.

I don't think it was written badly or anything, and I'm not trying to dismiss Tolkien's experiences that influenced this ending. My issue with it is that, when you look at it through a modern lens, it has vaguely ableist connotations. Specifically the idea that disabled people (Frodo) can't live full lives and be happy in the real world (Middle Earth) and can therefore only be happy when they're "cured" or when they die and go to Heaven (the Undying Lands).

Now obviously LOTR is an old book and it's important to consider the time it was created when analysing it, as you would do with any other piece of classic literature. A lot of old books have some outdated language and concepts in them, simply because that was normal back then. And until very recently, we probably wouldn't have thought the ending of LOTR was in any way problematic. And it might not have been, because it's not really the fact that Tolkien wrote that ending that's an issue; it's the fact that the way the world worked back then made it near impossible to even think about any other ending.

Since the book was written, though, there have been a lot of advancements in science and research into disabilities, and there are now much more effective ways to treat and manage them. There's medication and therapy for physical and mental issues, and there are lots of accommodations that we can and should put in place to make life easier for everyone. Back in the 1940's, Tolkien wouldn't have had these things, and therefore didn't consider them to be options when writing about what happens to Frodo at the end of the story. But now, we do have them, and it's this progress that has discredited the idea that disabled people can't be happy in the real world, and subsequently made LOTR's ending seem outdated by today's standards.

Now this is where the fanfiction comes in.

LOTR readers these days, who are aware of the progress we've made as a society and the new ways people view and treat minorities, often write fanfiction that puts things into Tolkien's universe that wouldn't have otherwise been there because of when the books were written, from openly queer characters to characters living good, happy lives with disabilities. And I think this is a good thing and it's really nice to see, especially in regards to Frodo's disability. I like seeing people work out how he might accommodate himself in the world of Middle Earth, and how the other characters would help him with that. I like that sometimes people have to get creative when figuring out how he would cope with trauma and chronic pain, because obviously Middle Earth doesn't have a lot of the things we have in the real world.

I like that we can finally give Frodo a chance to recover in a more realistic way than just sending him to the afterlife. I like that we can finally allow him to live.

A lot of Tolkien purists complain about new adaptations and fanfiction because "it's not what Tolkien wrote so he wouldn't like it". First of all, why do we still care about the opinions of a man who's been dead for over fifty years? What are you going to do, summon his ghost to haunt all the fanfic writers? Hold a seance to find out exactly what he thinks? Good luck with that.

Second of all, I honestly believe this is something he would approve of. He went on living after the First World War, but he didn't get to live with the disability accommodations we have today. And because he didn't, neither did Frodo. We can't give Tolkien the life many disabled people have now, but we can give it to his tragic hero. We can make his story a little less tragic. And if Tolkien was here now, of all the tropes we're using in LOTR fanfiction, it wouldn't surprise me if "Frodo stays in the Shire" is one he could get behind.

[mirandimoo]

once again thinking about how aki’s character is one of, if not the most tragic character i have come across in any media i have ever consumed in my life.

like guys you don’t understand, i’m not saying this from a ‘csm stan’ pov or anything i’m saying it from a literary standpoint AND as a media production major like yes objectively speaking he is the most tragic of tragic characters i have ever come across in any story. like from his childhood to his adult life it was all hell and trauma and after spending his whole life with nothing to dedicate himself to other than revenge, he finally found something worth protecting in denji and power so much so that the thing he spent his whole life chasing after suddenly didn’t matter because he had a little family now and that was enough for him. going through all of this only to then become the very thing you feared the worst and to be taken out by the hands of the person you cared for the most in the world. afterwards there’s no one to properly mourn you, aside from the one who took your life. everyone else is gone and the guy you cared so deeply for that you were willing to give up your life’s mission to protect has to now navigate the world with your blood on his hands, forever stained by the regret of not only killing you, but never even getting to say a proper goodbye. he’s had so much thrown onto him now that he doesn’t have time to properly grieve you and power. but no, for him your death is even worse than hers in retrospect. because there’s still a small glimmer of hope, no matter how faint, that some day she’ll come back. and that hope is so important to hold on tightly to, it’s enough of a reason to keep moving forward, to keep living. but you… oh you. for you there is no coming back. no second chances, no glimmer of hope for a happy ending. just pain. just death, anger, and so much pain. so instead of grieving properly and moving on, he’ll forever be stuck in this limbo of self hate, grief, and guilt that’ll end up with him just hurting himself physically and mentally over and over and over again. sort of how you acted in your own life... it’s kind of ironic is it not? that even in death all you do is hurt those you love, and not only fail to protect them, but deal them a fate even worse by actively being the reason they hurt. a fate worse than death it seems. and although when told it, you didn’t want to believe it, you honestly did die in the worst possible way imaginable.

[percy-and-rachel-events]

Perachel Bingo Week F.A.Q.

Q: What is Perachel?

A: It's the romantic relationship between Percy Jackson and Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

Q: I prefer to make fanworks of them as friends. Is that allowed?

A: Absolutely! Just make sure that Percy & Rachel's friendship is the focus of the fanwork.

Q: When is the event?

A: It's seven days long! July 28th, 2024 to August 3rd, 2024.

Q: How does a bingo week work?

A: I have provided prompts, link here. For everyday you participate, you create one work based on one of the prompts on that list! Totally up to you which ones to choose. You must use a different prompt everyday, no repeats.

Q: Do I have to participate everyday and make 7 works?

A: Absolutely not!! However many works you want to make is fine! If you just want to do one, that's great! If you want to do all 7 that's amazing!

A: ...For the one insane (/affectionate) friend who said they wanted to do all 12... you are one of a kind. Please take care and don't burn out. The point is to have fun, not to stress!

Q: What if I don't finish in time?

A: I will leave the ao3 collection open and continue reblogging fanworks on tumblr until August 10th.

Q: Where is the ao3 collection? How do I add my fanwork?

A: Its right here. To add your work to the collection, when you're about to post it to ao3, scroll to Associations -> "Post to Collections/Challenges" and type in: Perachel_Bingo2024 as shown below.

Q: I want you to reblog the works I made for this event! Why didn't you?

A: I want to reblog them! Just make sure you follow the regulations on content.

Q: What are the regulations on content?

1. The focus of the fanwork must be on Percy and Rachel. 2. No Percy Jackson or Rachel Elizabeth Dare bashing. This is a hard rule that will be enforced. If I see bashing, I will remove the works from the ao3 collection and I will not reblog it here. 3. NSFW content is allowed, however it must be appropriately tagged here and on ao3. Additionally on tumblr all nsfw content must be hidden under a "read-more" to be reblogged on his account. That is another hard rule. This event is open for all ages, and I hope to provide a safe space for everyone.

Q: What does Rachel or Percy bashing mean?

A: Bashing for this event will be defined as inventing qualities etc. to hate on the characters [Percy or Rachel] and not giving them any redeeming qualities to balance it out.

Q: Does that mean I can't write any tragic stories where they die/suffer?

A: Tragic stories and sad endings are absolutely allowed!! I just don't want Percy or Rachel to be morally demonized. As long as you steer clear of that, you're good!

Q: How do I insert a "read-more" on laptop and mobile?

A: On laptop web, when you start a new line you'll see these icons (in the pic below). Click the grey one on the far right, with the squiggly line instead the two straight horizontal lines. The "read-more" should pop up immediately!

A: On mobile, type :readmore: . No spaces, just the colons plus the letters. It won't pop up immediately; but it should show up when you save as draft, queue or post.

Q: What kind of fanworks can I make?

A: Anything! Fanfics, fanart, moodboards, poems, playlists etc. If it's made/complied by you and complies with tumblr and ao3's rules, then you can submit it!

Q: Is there a minimum or maximum wordcount for fanfics?

A: Nope! Want to challenge yourself and write a 50 word mini fic? Go for it! Your one-shot spiraled into a novella? Please share, I'd love to read it!

Q: You didn't choose the 12 most popular prompts from the poll results!

A: Nope! 4-5 prompts were already chosen, regardless of the poll! The other 7-8 were determined by the most popular poll results. That's the perk of running the event, I get to decide everything :)

Q: I have more questions that aren't answered here.

A: My inbox is open. Feel free to ask! :)

[yellowbluemoonshine]

League of Villains Redemption Discourse;

Its been a while since i’ve been talking about redemption for villains because it kinda become obvious that it will happen at the end of Bnha and all but there is still some discourse for villains, especially league of villains. That ‘Gentleman and La Brava fits redeemable’ type of villain better. That characters like ‘Twice are redeemable’ but Dabi isnt or Dabi can be saved but Shigaraki is bad blah blah blah. Like, the idea that ‘certain type of villain deserve to be saved’ while other doesnt. It is also ironic that people think characters like Shigaraki, Dabi and Toga are too far gone or they think this wasnt hinted. Well, here we go.

I would like to focus on league of villains to try to explain why i disagree with those opinions.

First of all, Shigaraki and Dabi’s redemption is hinted since the beginning.

The first time we saw Shigaraki, he was heaviely hinted that he is abuse victim and he was groomed. This his literally first introduction and story is telling you that this character is victim. And he had a conversation with Deku at the mall. Loosing his mind while saying ‘He hates Allmight because people are laughing as if there is noone he couldnt save’. And we get a little flashback form his childhood, ‘Noone saved you, didnt they?’. His entire character literally screams ‘SAVE ME. WHY NOONE SAVE ME? I HATE EVERYONE BECAUSE THEY DONT SAVE ME’.

And Overhaul arc. It is abour saving Eri who is parallel with Shigaraki, once again it is about saving Tomura in a parallel and we also seeing Shigaraki is capable of caring about other people which is a positive character development. And MVA arc is even more obvious. Not only story making his story more empathic because it is showing how tragic it is but also because we meet with Tenko who is kind kid who would help outcasts and well, Tomura even after ewvrything does the same with league. Showing that his inner kindness didnt disappear. Which is even making it more obvious.

Theme of Bnha is questioning the meaning of hero. Main character who wants to SAVE people in a fake hero society and his enemy who is entire character is about SAVE MEEEE, never really had choice because he was kidnapped by big evil, turns out still caring people and even helping them just like he used to be as kid. Its so obvious when Deku is like I WANNA SAVE PEOPLE and Shigaraki is like SAVE MEEE so yeah, well, it was always hinted that Shigaraki will be saved by Deku. Of course, he could die by being saved, we wouldnt know at first but one thing is sure that he would be saved. Shigaraki’s story didnt change. He was always redeemable and waiting to be saved. And the more story goes on, he only proved this more. Because in stories, positive character developments usually means noble death or redemption.

Btw, i dont think he will die because after everything happenned in story, there is no point of him dying. It also loose the point of being saved.

And Dabi.

This one is tricky since Dabi was mysterious character. I think two things make kinda hint that he will most likely get redemption. 1- He is heaveily hinted that he was Todoroki. He is doing what he is doing because he was failed by abusive hero. He is very similar to Earlyroki. So there is family drama there. Shouto is already tragic character in a positive story, so i dont see him ever killing his brother or something. Not to mention, if he is Todoroki, it would mean, he became villain because of his hero father so killing victim of hero, instead of saving would be very bad look. Not to mention, during the story, Dabi acts like dark cop or something. (Not to mention Frainkeinstein parallels). Despite revenge plan, he seems to care about morals, justice and even feeling remorse. What happens later, it doesnt change his story because he is parallel with Shigaraki a lot too.

 2- Save the cat moment.

A “save the cat” is a moment, very early on in the story, where we meet or see our hero do something nice that makes us like him and say, “I want to follow this person's story.” It's important to have it because you want your audience to be sympathetic or empathetic towards your protagonist.

This was mentioned by @hamliet​ and other people. The scene when Dabi decides to spare Aoyama, despite noticing him. Note; Dabi didnt know Aoyama was traitor. ‘Save the cat moment’ for a villain can be hint as a possibe future redemption for him.

And others. League of villains. I think their redemption werent necessarely hinted or it was necessary. I think for them MVA arc hinted it.

For Toga, we didnt know her full story and life until MVA arc and it turned out she is also victim of society, not just crazy villain. She is parallel with one of the main kids like Shigaraki and Dabi so assuming that ‘if Shigaraki and Dabi are gonna be saved by Deku and Shouto, Toga will be most likely be saved by Uraraka’ wouldnt be weird. Not to mention is this whole arc was about the family bond between league, that they are capable of caring other people. Same for Twice, Spinner and Mr Compress too. Because story is telling you that those people are here because society failed them and they have still humanity in them, they are not doing what they are doing because of evil but because they are victims so it wouldnt be weird to assume that whether they will get redemption or noble death, like Twice did.

‘Characters like Gentleman and La Brava are better example of redeemable villains’

No, they are not. They are not even real criminals. They never even did serious crime. I like them but they are like joke villains, they are not meant to be ‘actually’ villains. Whole point of ‘redemption’ is people who did commit serious crimes. If there is no actually wrong action, then we wouldnt need redemption at first place. I think redemption exist for characters like league.

Note; Of course, other villains can get redemption too, i am just focusing on them because they are good example to use. Especially since even characters in story told them, characters like Stain and Overhaul and even Redestro seen as ‘better person’ just because they have ‘goal’, just because they dont want destruction, like Tomura did. But in the end, Tomura proved them wrong because despite being at the lowest of low, he still showed more humanity and positive character development than them, just by treating his comprades better.

And i also dont like it when people see one league of member more redeemable than another. Especially with Twice and others. Because Twice is very obvious when it comes to showing how much he cares about others. He is obvious victim. He is not ugly victim like Tomura, Dabi and Toga. But the thing is;

Every member of League has side that makes them look irredeemable but also they have their own redeemable features.

Tomura's desire to destruction makes him look ireedemable but he is the only villain who never had a choice at life, he feel miserable with his life and he is very kind leader to his comprades.

Dabi’s distancing himself from others, using people he cares, even trying to kill his brother just for revenge against his father makes him look irredeemable but he is the only villain in league that feels remorse for killing others. He has strong sense of responsibility and he doesnt think its justified. He doesnt even plan to live long. He just wants to punish his father for his sins and thats it.

Toga’s self centered side, not caring about others without remorse makes her look irredeemable but one, she is the only one who born with serial killer quirk, with urges, like damn and second, this one is interesting. Compared to Shigaraki and Dabi, Toga never once had a grudge against people who hurted her. She never hated the society, heroes, people for calling her monster. She just accept this monster label and decide to live her life according to it.

Twice, Spinner, Compress arent different from them. Their redeemable side is how much they care about league and how much they go for their friends but they also kill many people and they dont seem to care which makes them look irreedemable too. Basically, it is pointless to separate one from another.

Also, i think it is kinda wrong to decide who ‘deserve’ redemption (i am talking about hero characters because you can always hate bad writing) because it not up to you to decide. It is up to you to do right thing by giving them a chance to rehabilate and changing or not will be theirs. Well, it is complicated.

Point of league of members isnt that they are just pitifull victims or they are just evil. The thing is they are bunch of losers. And thats what makes them beautiful.They are mentally ill victims. They need help and they need to be stopped at the same time. They lash out because they are messed up. Their violence arent justified because there is no such a thing that violence that can be justified. Violence is bad. But you can understand where it comes from. The thing about league is especially main villain trio, they are written to be metahpor for pain of abuse/society victims. Some victims never get saved, some of them make wrong choices and they messed up but some of them can still be rehabilate which is why redemption is exist. It makes sense why they get redemption because they are not bad people. And redemption isnt a bad thing either, it means taking responsibility and healing. It also fits to their characters so its good writing, well, hopefully it will written good later as well.

[cirrem]

Read "Les Miserables" for my "intro to humanities" class and it was really good so I'm going to dump about it here. it was an abridged version, so i may have missed some things. I may be incomprehensible towards the end. SUPER MAJOR SPOILERS

also trigger warnings for death, suicide, and christianity if you care about that.

first off, Jean Valjean is one of my new favorite characters in fiction. he's screwed up but in a way that makes him a better person.

The romance between Marius and Cosette was my least favorite part of the book. it dragged on, but then you look back and they only had 2 conversations before getting married but it talked about the romance for soooooooo long. I'm not Victor Hugo, but I would have definitally trimmed that down and introduced a multi-month time skip between the resolution of the barricade and the marriage.

Eponine is really stupid, and her death was completely avoidable. First: there are plenty of fish in the sea, you could have moved on so many different times. Second: don't bring the man your in love with to a death trap so you can die together, especially if he doesn't love you, and especially if you tragically sacrifice your life to save his and he ends up not dying.

If you don't like religious discussions I suggest stop reading here because I'm going to talk about the religious themes and the suicide and I know some people on tumblr will get upset if I don't preface it

Javert is a coward. He owes Jean Valjean his life, he knows that Jean is not a bad person, and he pays the debt, letting him run free. What makes him a coward is how after this impulsive decision, where he let him free only to settle his debt, he decides "if my worldview is wrong instead of changing and growing I should just kill myself" and does so.

I know he's supposed to be like "the overabusive law system" or whatever, but killing yourself because the guy who is being sent to jail for life, (because of the heinous crimes of: escaping jail, not telling people he was in jail, and stealing 1 loaf of bread to feed his sisters children) may not actually be an irredeemably horrible monster incapable of change, growth, or being someone who you shouldn't send to jail is incredibly dumb.

Now heres where religion comes in: I think Victor Hugo is intentionally contrasting the laws of man with the laws of God (in the bible, new testament). (Specifically, the beatitudes and life/teachings of Christ. For those unaware, I can give a very oversimplified summery: Be kind and merciful to others, even if they suck or you dont like them or they hate you or you hate them. (if you want to at this point bring up modern or historical actions of those claiming to follow or speak for christ when that contradict this, please move on. I am aware that people call themselves christians without following his words))

to summerize my thoughts: javert represents the "laws of man" which are fallible, and not actually just. Specifically, there is 1) only punishment for the wicked, no blessings to the righteous 2) no allowance for change as a person in judgement, once wicked always wicked. Compare this to every time a religious person does something in the book: the bishop takes mercy on valjean, and sends him away with more gifts, valjean becomes religeous, forgives javert for suspecting him, saves the life of someone who hates him, later, valjean sacrifices his life, revealing himself to secretly be a convict to save a stranger from lifetime slavery, a nun lies to protect valjean (the narrative states she never had before, she did something at cost of her own standards to save his life), valjean finds and saves cosette from the theadears and they take refuge in a nunnery, and get in only because of the man whose life he saved earlier. Finally, Valjean has the chance to kill Javert, in the revolution (Javert is tied up, and Valjean has a gun) but valjean sets him free. The book is really emphasizing the importance of mercy, even when it comes at a cost to yourself, and it would be easier to punish those you dislike. Every time someone is merciful, it turns out fine, even benificial in the long run. (and specifically the mercy as outlined by christ, as everyone that acts mercifully is explicitly religious, and it follows what he taught pretty closely imo).

Gods law of mercy, allowing and helping people to change for the better, even if they don't deserve it, is constantly shown to be superior to and more benificial to society than the harshness of man's legal system, which treats a criminal as always a criminal, and never gives to those in need.

Except, hear me out: this isn't about legal systems at all, this is about how we treat ourselves and those we care about.

We need to have mercy, both on others around us, and on ourselves. Valjean revealed the worst of his past to marius, but he wasn't that person anymore. Marius had to learn that Valjean saved his life from Thernadair! What! He is wastes away and DIES because of his shame of who he was, and his insistence that he is still as guilty as he was then. He had mercy, even for those that would chase him down, toss him into chains, and force him to work until his death, but he had none for himself, and he suffered for it. However, because of how he was kind, he was able to save and touch many lives, and drastically improved the lives of those around him.

Compare this to Javert, who rather than be kind to anyone, or himself, threw himself into the sea, never improved anyones life, and would have been killed if Valjean didn't offer to kill him (then not kill him). I know who I'll rather be, and I think thats kind of the point of the book.

anyways, if I have to write an essay on this book I think I'll be fine.

valjean and the bishop are both incredibly based characters. Eponine was more interesting than Marius and Cosette combined.

[mrfippstuff]

After all this time, I still find myself conflicted on what to think about the whole situation regarding Makima and the hybrids at the end of Part 1.

On one hand, seeing the full extent of Makima’s powers is terrifying, seeing her being able to completely override any autonomy you have, reducing you to no more than a vessel for her wills and ambitions is awful. Characters who were well-defined and strong were turned into puppets, even being dead doesn’t save you from Makima’s hold over you, and there wasn’t never a chance you could fight her once she had you, even characters who would hate her and would fight her given the chance and now nothing more than loyal dogs who happily serve her. Any presence these characters once had is gone now, they simply don’t matter anymore because they have been reduced to being simple tools for Makima’s plans. Knowing what she is capable of makes looking back on the series up until that point rather chilling because you can see just how have Makima has deeply rooted herself into conflicts and characters going on. 

Then you look a bit further into it and that deep level of absolute control takes a whole new context when you think about how all these characters just fawn over Makima. Aki, Angel, Violence and Katana Man all say that Makima saved their lives, Quanxi is draped over her, and Reze says she wants to date her, they all lover despite there being more than enough bloodshed between them and her. Makima wanted a loving, genuine relationship, but she was never capable of understanding how that worked, she made these people fall in love with her but all she could offer them in return was mind slavery. Despite knowing the full details of how exactly how Pochita’s contract with Denji worked, she never got why Pochita made that contract, she though he was being random and chaotic, like he’s “supposed” to be, but it never occurred to her that he loved Denji enough to give his life for him. There’s a heavy dog theme around Makima, and while the story tends to lean on the loyalty aspect that dogs are known for, they are also known for having complete, unconditional love for their owners, and Makima have six or seven huskies in her home.

Seeing the full extent of Makima’s power, as well as how it affects the people around her is amazing for both the fear it induces as well as the volumes it speaks about her character.

On the other hand, it’s kind of anticlimactic for the other character involved.

As I said, the characters Makima takes control over are strong and well-defined, and for the most part prior to that last arc they had rather fitting ends to their stories. If the last time we saw Reze was her dying in that alley, that would have been a tragic, yet appropriate end to her story. But she didn’t die, she came back, and under mind control in the final fights, and typically when a story does something like we expects the protagonist to have some kind of struggle to break them out of that control. But we don’t get that, instead she and Quanxi and Katana Man and the other four newly introduced hybrids are cut down like nothing, reduced to cannon fodder. They get killed, twice, and the story just moves on. Angell’s fate was left up in the air because we never saw what happened to him, until it had to be confirmed on Twitter that he died off screen!

Part 1 ended and we got no resolution with those characters, we just never saw them again, and from how different Part 2 is being with Asa, it’s within the realm of possibility that we might never see those characters again! Fujimoto has shown to be an unpredictable writer, so I don’t know what to expect from this situation.

So, while Makima having complete control over other characters does wonders for her characters, it does come at the expense of others with the potential of no resolution for them.

[tetsunabouquet]

Patterns I Notice In (Male) Reviewers of Childrens Media

You know, I've started to notice something.

I've been watching a lot of movie reviews lately, not limited to children's movies but still a lot of children's movies as obviously children's literature is my main focus as a writer.

Remember how in my post where I talked about how Ruby Gillman showed some of the wrongs in children's media today and I had a back and forth in the comment section with someone who pretty much slammed Ruby as bad but as we talked more and more they ended up being like, "It's just not my cup of tea," as I pointed out his/her core issues with the movie was just personal opinions?

These past months, I became a bit more familiar with reviewers who will just claim a movie is bad if it doesn't comes with profound philosophy and/or not their cup of tea and I actually noticed a pattern.

In regards to the people who use their real voices in YouTube videos or the authors listed in review articles, its mostly men who will downright claim a piece of fiction is terrible based on their opinion instead of wether the story is approaching subject matters in a harmful manner, etc. I barely see any women acting like 'I hated this movie, so should everyone else'.

An obvious example that comes to mind, is Monsters vs Aliens.

To me, it's not a masterpiece either and there were definitely a writing decision or two that was made poorly. However, I don't think it has earnt the label of bad or terrible whilst I've heard/seen multiple men call this movie as such.

On an entertainment level of value, does it entertain kids? Yes. As a kid I thought it was okay at its worst, good at its best moments.

Does it have a harmful message or premise? No.

Are the minor storybeats problematic or unrealistic? No. In fact, Derek breaking of their engagement not only mirrors insecure men threatened by more powerful women but it also mirrors some of the douchebags people who developped a terminal illness or disability have dated. Because of the many ship edits, I know not a lot of people actually know the story behind Arcade, the Eurovision hit by Duncan Laurence.

In ship edits, this song often gets used for tragic ships or doomed star crossed lovers, but it's actually about having wasted everything for a relationships that is not worth it and that is the key part of the song people always miss. You see, the story behind the song is this;

Duncan Laurance had a friend who was diagnosed with cancer and she had no chance for recovery. Her boyfriend, rather then being there for her in her final moments, broke up with her and she spent her final days, lovesick on her deathbed waiting for him to come back but he never did. Duncan wrote the song in her memory but also to be a cautionary tale for himself, to never become the idiot wasting their final moments on a asshole who left you to die with a broken heart!

Susan and Derek reminds me of that story, because men like Derek would have also left Susan if he found out she was terminally ill or got into an accident that left her disabled.

So the movie's storytelling isn't downright terrible by any means and the animation is also decent. But again, I've heard multiple men take a dump on this movie for being trash.

I'll admit my brain is too foggy to remember how well the other monsters were written but considering the main story rested on Susan's shoulders and that was told acceptable enough and they gave her the self-acceptance she needed, how well they are fleshed out isn't too much of a deciding factor wether its good, okay or bad when it comes to stories aimed at younger children.

How well characters outside of the protagonist are developped and how important that is to the overall story really depends on the age demographic as well as the kind of story at hand. The more characters a child is meant to empathize for and follow their direction during the story, the more difficult it is to grasp for the really young ones. Small kids prefer having one fleshed out protagonist with a weaker cast over every character having a deeply developped backstory. Flat side characters are a thing in children's media for a reason.

Shows have a somewhat unique position for their ability to flesh out the characters because they have way more time to tell the story so they can easily create a filler episode where a background character shines even if its meant for a way younger audience and it also has the option to have the characters grow and become semi-fleshed out alongside the viewer if the show gets popular enough for a long-run.

In the case of a slightly older kid demographic, this can lead to fully fleshed out masterpieces like ATLA, though not every kid show should be on their level for us not to bash the property. Brain dumb entertainment can still be a masterpiece in a kid's eyes and could lead to them becoming a long-time fan for nostalgic reasons.

What we should bash, are harmful kids shows like Cocomelon who's animation was literally proven to be too fast for a young kid's brain to follow hence the infamous Cocomelon zombie-kid and the Cocomelon tantrums became a thing, because their brain speed has adjusted to a speed faster then real life speed. Anyone who listened often to Nightcore and then went on to listen to the original version, likely encountered this effect with the original song suddenly sounding slower then you remember it- thats your brain speed having adjusted to the Nightcore version.

I couldn't believe my eyes when the far right recently turnt on Cocomelon because of there being some LGBT episode, when Cocomelon was already proven to mess up a kid's brain speed and in kids with brains that are still that lacking of development we don't know how much fucking with their brain speed will lead to in their development. I saw parents turning away from that show during the Pandemic for this very reason so I was flabbergasted so many parents on the far right still let their kids watch Cocomelon in the first place!

It's cheaply made harmful material and I was quite literally fuming with all the stupid parents saying 'God, I really have to keep in mind what type of content my kids consumne', like yeah no shit Sherlock! The fact your kids were still watching all of it after the many controversies, proved you never cared about the quality of media your kids consumne in the first place, don't pull that stupid Pikachu face! The fact LGBT content is the straw and not the actual harm this show does to children's brain development makes me want to punch someone in the face.

Can male reviewers please start targeting the actual bad children's movies and shows and not shit on movies who simply didn't managed to strike the gold of a masterpiece in storytelling and possibly animation? If someone were to force me between watching Dreamworks' Trolls franchise the entire day over and over again and just one hour of Cocomelon, I'd still pick Trolls in a heartbeat.

Because watching an okay is always more better then watching a movie/show that actually deserves the label terrible.

[kalamitykas]

Rant about BG3

MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR BG3 COMPANION STORIES

So... I finished my first playthrough and I have.... OPINIONS.

I feel that there's a pattern between the character stories of the companions depending on if they are male or female. It's subtle but I feel it's there quite strongly.

DISCLAIMER: I haven't done the evil run, so I haven't gotten to know Minthara so I won't be talking about her.

The Men

With the exception of Astarion, it feels all the male characters are in their current situation out of their free will. Gale was a dumbass and decided he wanted more tha what Mystra was offering him and messed up. Wyll might have been deceived into the pact, but he confesses that he has never regretted it. Halsin is not responsible for the curse, he only feels that way because he was there when it happened. And all the mess that happens in the grove? He left his post in the middle of a complicated situation because he was curious.

And even Astarion! True, he was turned against his will and abused by Cazador, but he still is an evil bastard. He's selfish, mean, and hates any attempt of helping others while very demanding on helping him. I know you can change him, so in this particular rant, he's kind of middle ground.

The Difference

Each female character's issues and trauma was IMPOSSED on them. Shadowheart gets kidnapped and brainwashed as a child. Lae'zel grows in an abusive regime that also brainwashes her. And Karlach is traded to hell against her will as a teenager. They didn't had any autonomy in their stories.

And then we go into the endings. I'll admit, except Karlach, you get the option to give them kinda happy endings. For Shadowheart to have a happy ending, you have to "fix her". Undo years of brainwashing, potentially sacrificing her family, her friends who she'll never see again (Nocturne is too precious for this world). Lae'zel will be put either in charge of a massive civil war that will kill thousands of her people against a living godess, or be the second in command of said war (or you can convince her to abandon her people and stay in Faerun).

And then we get to Karlach. I cried myself to sleep over Karlach's endings. They were all messed up. Turn her into something else and she stops being herself, let her die, send her back to the place she hates and abused her. Even if you and Wyll go with her (and if you do this, and you had romanced someone else, you have to leave them behind), is still sending an abuse victim right back to where she was abused.

I feel like there's a bias here, or maybe is a coincidence, or maybe I'm too angry I couldn't make all my friends have a happy ending and instead my character was left without the love of her life, never seeing Lae'zel again and escorting her best friend into hell again. Is just so.... shite.

I did research, checking other possible endings I could have gotten, and they weren't much better... It just feels that Larian wrote the female companions to be "They are hot, and have a tragic backstory and you can FIX THEM and have fun", and then just made their endings fit that.

The male companions all get to achieve what they wanted. Gale can give Mystra the crown to get healed of his own fuck up. Wyll get's to become the Blade of Avernus and hunt down the deamons that wronged him. To be a hero with his relationship with his dad restored. Halsin gets to achieve his goal and cure the curse. Astarion get's to either be free of his abusive sire and become a better person, or destroy and supplant him. And all of them can still visit and see their friends.

On the other hand? Only Shadowheart gets this. Lae'zel either abandons her people, or leaves her friends behind to engage in a terrible war. And Karlach either sacrifices herself, or leaves her city and friends behind to spend the rest of her life battling in a place she hates.

Dunno, I was loving BG3, I'm still playing it, doing new campaign as Lae'zel to get to see her story from her perspective. But this kinda put a bitter taste in my mouth. I was super invested on these characters, and it felt like a sad ending. One thing I kept thinking about was, Shadowheart gets the "Divine Favour" once per game spell.... couldn't I just use that to cure Karlach? It feels like is something that on a tabletop session would have gotten so many options to have a nicer ending, one that left all the players happy.

Maybe I'm sad I didn't get to live in a sapphic colony with my friends at the end haha.

Anyway, thanks for coming to my TEdRant.

[frostyreturns]

Frosty Ruins The Yearling

This is a movie where there isn't much to say because it's such a simple movie. However I like the simple charm of it, anything like this in the settler/pioneer time period is going to be interesting at least a little. On the other hand I'm not as much a fan of the setting as I am for some other similar stories. The marshy swampland homestead doesn't speak to me the same way as a little house on the prairie or a winter cabin in the woods.

That being said when a story is simple and wholesome it can also be boring at times. However there is one rather exciting but pretty brutal part. There is a scene where a pack of dogs fight off a bear…and there were no camera tricks, no special effects…they just literally filmed dogs fighting a bear. At first I thought maybe the animals were trained really well and none of them were actually trying to hurt each other…then I watched the bear practically suplex one of the dogs and I realized…no this is just from an era where you could just make animals fight and hurt each other on camera for the sake of the movie. Now I'm no PETAfag, I'll gladly kill and eat a bear but I don't see any sense in being needlessly cruel to animals and abusing them for entertainment in a film doesn't qualify as a legitimate reason to harm an animal. Especially when it's called the Yearling and centers around a boy taking care of an animal. So that didn't sit right with me but not in a way where it would ruin the whole movie.

I also think the anachronistic acting is kind of funny because you have an actor who is clearly not a southener saying words like Tabacci with clear dignified enunciation, and not even really attempting to speak like someone who actually had that accent..but he says the words like as though he did have the accent. It's ridiculous but again it can be looked past because most of the acting from this era was pretty bad by todays standard.

I also kind of hate the music, all these old movies from this era had that same super high pitched ambient wailing/singing where you can't hear a word of it. Part of the reason is the tinny sound quality being awful but even if it was perfect with modern audio I can't see enjoying it.

One of the problems I had plotwise is their explanation for why the mom is so cunty, I didn't buy at all. "I lost a child so I'm mean to the one I have now"…what kind of sense does that make. The man buys her a gift and she yells at him for being stupid for wasting money. Like I get the point is that it's a hard life and even minor luxuries we would view as neccessities were rare and ill advised given how close to the edge they lived…however you can make that point graciously. You can insist something is too much and that you don't need expensive gifts…and also accept them graciously instead of yelling till everyone clears the room and only admitting to yourself you appreciated it in private.

Also spoiler alert if you plan to see this now ancient movie and haven't yet. I also don't get the ending, making the kid kill his pet himself, him running away almost getting himself killed. I really didn't understand any of the characters in this, maybe it's that the characters are supposed to be that way, maybe it's that it's a story from another time and place, but I just thought all the main characters behaved kind of ridiculously. And I didn't like the message of the movie either and the obvious comparisons between the deer growing and the boy growing up. The whole message is life sucks and now you know how badly its gonna fuck you. On the one hand part of the reason it sucks is because you forced the boy to kill his own pet for no reason and then let him nearly die in the woods, that's not a life thing that's a you fucked up thing. There could have been a message about how life is difficult and part of growing up is realizing that without presenting such a bleak and tragic view of the world.

In the end I don't think this movie was for me, because by the end I was wondering why they hadn't already eaten the fucking deer, personally I think they tolerated it nearly ruining them for way too long. Just don't make the boy do it himself. Kill it take it to your neighbours and trade the meat with them so you don't kill the animal for nothing and so the boy doesn't have to eat his own pet. Trade the venison for some pork. There were so many common sense ways this could have worked out better that to blame it on life in general, even considering that theirs was a harder life...doesn't make sense.

Overall wasn't terrible C-

[fae-fucker]

Nexus: Chapter 1-3

It's time for the thrilling conclusion to Sasha Alsberg's and Lindsay Cummings literary diarrhea. Described by the illustrious Sarah J Maas (whose taste we can surely trust) as a "whirlwind, out-of-this-galaxy adventure," the queen of fae jizz has once again put egg on our collective faces and told blatant lies to uphold false narratives.

It's apparently been two years since I last left Andi to die as the new General of Arcardius. Nor was the evil queen, and Valen was the perpetual victim turned evil guy at the last moment. Dex was there, and so was Andi's crew. Dex rescued Andi and the general, but the general died after giving Andi his title for reasons as uninteresting as they are pointless.

I won't be recapping the whole thing, just read the last parts of the previous snark to get caught up. Or the whole thing, if you want xoxo

Chapter 1: Dex

Dextro Arez had never truly believed that the Godstars were tangible beings. They were soul-felt, a comforting presence inside your heart, an idea that filled your mind as if soldered on with iron and fire. Always nearby, yet as far away as the stars in the night sky.

Hoo boy. Shinsay are so very good at one-sentence K.O.s They bypass my armor and do direct psychic damage.

Dex is sitting by Andi's busted-ass body. She's been out for a week, and he's all angsty about how she has to wake up because she's the general now and is the only one who can save them all. He's then overtaken by a telegraphed wave of memories, flashing conveniently back to the climax of the first book, so we're all caught up on what's happened.

BUT THEN! Andi wakes up! And she's all angry about how Dex saved her but left HER GIRLS behind, and she gets up and tries to go and save them immediately despite having an open and gaping chest wound that starts bleeding the moment she gets up. She's so so angry you guys. And also really badass for how she wants to save her crew, whom she loves so much that she'd die for them. It's very cool and tragic and sad and uuh. Anyway.

She stabs him with a syringe full of a pain medication called "soduum" which, I mean, yeah. Soduum indeed.

The first chapter of Nexus ends like this,

“I’m sorry, Dex,” Andi said, her voice like a funeral dirge as his head hit the floor. “There is no me without them.” When she left the med bay, she was no longer Androma Racella. The Bloody Baroness stepped into the halls of the Marauder, a captain who would tear apart the skies to rescue her crew.

I do love the childlike sincerity of Shinsay being so enamored with the bad-mouth-feel name of their main character, and her shitty little title, that they keep repeating both. I also hate the way the title is deeply unoriginal while also being completely meaningless, indicating that Shinsay just chose words that sounded cool to them without thought or effort. There's a certain unearned smugness in repeating the full name and title every time Andi does anything they think is cool, because guys? You didn't do anything, but you're expecting goosebumps every time? Cmon now.

I read my own snark recently in preparation for reading Nexus (cuz there's no way I'm gonna read Zenith again lol) and I'm surprised that I never deconstructed the title of "Bloody Baroness," because it's so bad. So I'll do that now, because there's nothing else cool happening.

First of all, what does baroness mean in this world? The title existing implies the existence of peerage. Adhira has a queen, so that sort of fits, but Andi is from Arcardius, which is noted to be the most militaristic planet, ruled by a general instead of a king. So who gave her the title? Why is it baroness specifically? Does Andi hold land? Where did the title of baroness come from? Who started it and why? What did she do to earn it? We never really find out what Andi did during her criminal years, so her having a wacky title would have given us a clue as to what kind of pirate she is. Instead, we get baroness because it sounds fancy to Shinsay and is alliterative with "bloody," I guess?

As for "bloody", well, it speaks for itself, doesn't it? It's a fine enough descriptor for a space pirate, but the fact that it's followed up by "baroness" makes it sound too small for the title it's describing. The alliteration was also a mistake, IMO. It just sounds childish. Combine all this with the fact that "bloody" is something a mildly annoyed British person might say before a real curse word, it's just a bit silly.

Compare to two examples that kind of work, on the opposite ends of the spectrum that Andi occupies. We have Star Lord, from Guardians of the Galaxy. I haven't read the comics, but the title works for the guy because it's both ambiguous (in the first movie, nobody knows who he is or what he's done, because it's not a lot) and grandiose (because he's full of himself). It is a cool name, but it's clearly something an unimaginative egotist might come up with, name himself the lord of stars because they're in space, so ruling stars means he's a big deal. Nobody's calling him lord unless he convinces them first. It works because it builds his character.

Then we have The Blood Countess, one of the epithets given to Elizabeth Bathory, a real-life historical figure who was said to have killed women and girls in order to bathe in their blood and remain young forever. Notice the similarities to the Bloody Baroness. Except Bathory was given this moniker because she 1) was an actual countess and 2) killed people and had a fascination with their blood. Obviously this is a real-life person, but the title works because hey, she did do that shit, at least according to the people who gave her that name. She's a countess that likes blood? Blood Countess!

What did Andi do? Everyone calls her the Bloody Baroness, but we don't know why, and she clearly didn't give herself the name, though she embraces it because ...? She likes it, I guess. She likes to be called bloody because she loves violence, and to be associated with nobility, despite supposedly hating the upper class after they stabbed her in the back.

Y'all see what I mean?

We don't know where the title came from, so we don't get an insight into her past, and we don't know how she feels about it, aside from stuff we can assume that turns out to be contradictory anyway.

But hey, it sounds cool, right? Right? RIGHT?!

Chapter 2: Andi

Anyway, because she's got a huge hole in her chest that's gushing blood, Andi can barely get herself into the captain's seat, but she's so so so so determined to save HER GIRLS, you guys. Can you feel the female solidarity simply seeping off the page? Totally not undermined by the fact that the three girls are basically lamps who only exist to be Andi's motivation and have no character of their own in this book, essentially objectifying them in this supposedly feminist narrative.

The navigation holoscreen began to flicker before her eyes, highlighted by the swirling, shimmering clouds outside the varillium walls of the ship. The dense fog of color obscured Andi’s view of the stars, and the sight of it sent a shiver of dread down her spine. “Memory?” she asked breathlessly. The soothing female voice of the Marauder ’s control system came to life around her. “How may I assist you, Captain?” “Where exactly are we?” There was a long pause before Memory responded. “The navigation system is currently off-line. I am unable to determine our precise location at this time.” Andi stared at the dancing whorls of pink and gold mist, a sudden suspicion dawning. “Memory, what was the destination of the last hyperspace jump?” “The last coordinates entered were for a location just outside the Xintra Nebula.” Andi’s hands began to shake with rage. Her ship was inside a damned nebula. A massive pocket of space filled with gases and debris that rendered the Marauder’s tracking and navigation systems utterly useless. A place only the most skilled pilots could hope to fly through without losing their way.

A-heem heem. So, as a child, my obsession wasn't with dinosaurs, or Egypt, or animals. Mine was space. And though I couldn't tell you anything that you probably don't already know, I will say that uuh, nebulas? Do not work like that. Nebulas aren't, like, clouds or mist here on earth, they're MASSIVE. And yes, while they are filled with gases, it's not like water turning to mist, so the amount of gas molecules stretched across hundreds of light-years would make existing inside a nebula perfectly fine. The gases wouldn't even be visible to the naked eye. Like, you wouldn't be obscured by clouds or mist, and certainly not enough to scramble any science-fiction navigational tools in a world that's mastered space travel.

Also, while we're on the topic of Shinsay not knowing shit from fuck, can I say something else? Here's the map of the galaxy:

First of all, what are rogue systems? I don't know if they've ever been mentioned and I don't remember if they ever will be, so why even put them on the map? Second of all: you mean to tell me that none of these people name the stars in their star system? That they're all just "the sun" like we do here on Earth? Huh? What? Why? Third: so several of the aliens come from the same star systems? Most of these planets have been mentioned as habitable. Andi and Breck come from the same star system. How is that plausible in any sense of the word?

Third of all, what the fuck is this?

HOW IS THAT A FUCKING ASTEROID BELT? Like I don't expect authors to understand how gravity works in space, (even though it's pretty basic that these rocks would definitely be in orbit around the sun, much like the planets are) but didn't the word belt clue you in on how they look? Do you have no curiosity at all, or are you so overconfident that you can't even bother to look things up?

Also, I get that this is stylized, but this map feels really small. Combined with how Shinsay don't seem to understand how big space actually is, or how unlikely it is that so many planets and satellites in a system are not only habitable but inhabited, it leads to the whole thing feeling underwhelming, not like the great swashbuckling space opera they were clearly going for. Everything's just squished together, and the whole plot revolves around a handful of planets.

Anywhomst, Lon comes in (Lira's brother who's somehow a "universal donor") and reasons with Andi. They head back to wake up Dex, which is surprisingly easy, given that almost no time has passed and they don't even give him anything to cancel out the drug.

Dex and Lon catch Andi up on what went down once she got her ass beat by a skinny guy with a knife. Valen is Nor's half brother and their mom had fucked up space magic that mind-controlled General Cyprian back in the day. Now they're mind-controlling people into worshiping Nor, including Andi's crew. It's very dramatic but also stuff we already knew, so.

Andi squeezed Dex’s hand and nodded decisively. “So we find a way to free their minds and come up with a plan to get them out.” “And then?” Lon asked. Andi allowed an icy smile to spread across her face. “And then the Bloody Baroness will go hunting.”

Cool. This is the second time in a row that we're ending a chapter with the promise of Andi aka the Bloody Baroness doing something cool, and yet she never does. And guess what! She never will.

Spoilers.

Chapter 3: Valen

The chapter title loudly proclaims that this is three weeks later, so I'm assuming that's on top of the week Andi's been out. So like it's a month after the attack. Keep this in mind.

Valen sits in a garden in his old home and angsts about how this planet used to be his prison because his family hated him, except his half-sister Kalee, who was an angel who could do no wrong. But now thankfully he has another sister who is totally cool and awesome and gave him a new identity, as a Solis with compulsion powers.

With every moment that passed, with every new soldier that set out across Mirabel to spread the Zenith virus, more minds were added to Valen’s nexus of connections. At first, he’d felt the exact moment when each silver bullet hit its target. The bullets contained a serum that Nor’s two-headed scientist, Aclisia, had perfected back on Xen Ptera. She’d somehow replicated strands of Valen’s DNA and used them to create a virus that forever linked the minds of its victims to his own, leaving them vulnerable to his compulsions.

His DNA? They're blasting people with Valen's DNA in order to make them part of his semi-hivemind? This is like if I spit in someone's mouth and they started being able to see my OCs in their mind's eye. It doesn't make any sense, and would've worked better if it was just random space-magic, but sure, whatever, it's DNA now. I just don't understand how it works in-person, then? Because it clearly does, since that's how Klaren used it, and she didn't put her DNA into the people she controlled. It was rather the opposite, really. Bazinga etc.

Like, ok, making a virus out of his DNA is fine, but then why would that infection allow him to take control over them? Look at how it "works" in his mind:

Over time, he discovered a way to quiet the minds, to lock them away in their very own realm, so that when a new mind was added, it was simply background noise. He’d strengthened the mental boundaries around that realm, building walls around those other minds, until they were contained in an impenetrable fortress that rivaled the obsidinite prison he’d once been trapped in on Lunamere. And then, finally, there was silence. Now he need only hear the minds when he pleased. And with the help of the Zenith virus, Valen could reach them from anywhere in the galaxy. He compelled them to serve Nor, their true queen—no matter the cost.

So it's a fucking BBC Sherlock mind palace. Very clearly not science-based, so why the bullshit with making a virus? Guess it sounds more scienc-y.

On Xen Ptera, they’d shared a life together—two years spent honing Valen’s powers. And all the while, his heartless father never came looking for him. Valen had once cared about pleasing the general, but now he knew that hope had been futile. Foolish, and utterly pointless. His father had never been capable of loving him, of feeling pride in his son.

Well, you were his rape-baby. Like I hate to remind you but you were very much unwanted and unplanned and made from a forced union. I get that that's not Valen's fault, and the general shouldn't have taken it out on him, but with how much this book and the first demonizes the general and idolizes (or at least affords complexity to) Klaren, this comes off as kind of uncomfortable. You'll see how Shinsay just conviniently always forget that Klaren was an actual rapist. I guess it doesn't count if it's a woman raping men. Yes, multiple.

Valen talks to Nor through their mind link or whatever, which makes him feel better. He's avoiding Darai (Nor's evil advisor/uncle figure), because the old geezer gives him bad vibes.

As he's sitting there, his gaze drifts to a massive floating thing in the distance:

Nexus. The monstrous satellite had become Nor’s new obsession in the wake of their takeover during the Ucatoria Ball. Engineers, scientists and workers had been laboring around the clock these past few weeks, perfecting every angle and plane of the device that would amplify Valen’s compulsion ability, sending his message to every corner of the galaxy.

Ayoo, title drop! But also, what? How does that work? How are you gonna blast Valen's DNA virus through space and expect it to not only survive the process, but also reach across the galaxy? *Tim Allen AUEGH grunt*

Anyway, Nor is apparently preparing for a public announcement or some shit, and Valen thinks about the Unaffected attacks.

Yes. Time for another Nondescript Proper Noun. Get a load of this:

It was something Valen had feared from the beginning, after he’d learned that some wouldn’t be affected by his compulsion. Their numbers were slim, if Aclisia’s extensive testing of the Zenith virus was anything to judge by. For every hundred that fell to Valen’s compulsion, bowing to Nor despite their original feelings toward her, only one resisted. So despite his unease, he’d never truly thought they’d be able to fight back. But barely a week into Nor’s reign, a group of Unaffecteds had banded together and destroyed the military barracks on Tenebris that housed many of the newest recruits to the cause. Valen had felt the moment those minds beneath his compulsion had died. As if they were matches snuffed out. There one moment, gone the next. It happened again, mere days later, on Adhira. A small but organized group of Unaffecteds had emerged from the jungle sector of the terraformed planet and struck down the communication towers. Nor’s video feed, which was on a constant loop across the galaxy, had been cut off for half a day’s time.

First of all, is this some English speaker thing that I'm not getting? Some nuance I'm missing? Why the hell are they called "Unaffecteds" instead of just "Unaffected"? "A group of Unaffected" works just as fine and doesn't sound as awkward, no? Especially since Valen called them Unaffected previously. Am I wrong? Feel free to correct me but I think that this is just unecessary and weird. And yeah, it's not very original. It's giving Divergent but many years too late.

Second of all, one in a hundred in a galaxy is still a lot of people. However, probably not enough to form a resistance movement that fast and that organized in a manner of weeks. Especially considering that there's a visual difference between those that are affected and those that aren't (as we'll see later), and that most people aren't combatants, most Unaffected/s would be found out pretty quickly. I'm calling bullshit on this one.

Third, why is Nor wasting time on making videos for a galaxy that's already entirely brainwashed by her? This implies that the attack was a calculated effort to weaken her power, but aside from sending her a message, it doesn't really affect anything, does it? Are we meant to believe she's just very self-absorbed? That hasn't really been her characterization up until this point.

The Unaffecteds would fall eventually, when they ran out of steam. When they realized that the galaxy was beyond saving.

Nitpick, but for a guy who's spent an entire chapter wanking about how great and amazing his sister is, it's a very weird word choice to say that his enemies would be "saving" the galaxy from her. Is he devoted to her and her cause, or is he a mustache-twirling villain aware of his own actions? Cuz it really seems like you're going for the former.

But hey, what's one sentence in a book, right? It's not like stories are made up of words and that you should be aware of the choices you're making while writing them or anything.

Sometimes, Valen could scarcely believe what they had already accomplished; how quickly the galaxy had fallen beneath their joined hands. Having a scientist of Aclisia’s caliber on their side had been vital to their success in that regard. It had been her idea to send out the orbs full of tainted rain as soon as they’d seized control of Arcardius. A war does not always require soldiers, she’d said, showing Nor and Valen how the weapon would work. Thousands of silver droplets falling from the skies across the galaxy, unleashing the Zenith virus upon all nearby.

Hi, sorry, hi. WHAT. So you're telling me Aclisia has already figured out a way to poison the rain of the entire planet? So ... why the fuck are we bothering with the Nexus satellite? Why don't you just poison the rain on every planet? Given that Adhirans have "universal donors" and all of these different aliens are able to live in each other's atmospheres and eat each other's food, you could just poison each planet's water supply and wait until the virus infected everyone. Yes, that would leave starships and space stations, but given that we barely have mentions of those, and assuming that they still need to stop at planets to refuel and gather supplies, you'll still reach them eventually.

It's funny how Shinsay feel the need to lampshade and excuse how quickly their spaghetti plot happened by using a bunch of other extremely suspect science fiction that would've been a huge deal in any other writer's hand, but through doing that, they undermine their main plot instead. I love it. It's like the reading equivalent of one of an Escher painting. You have to untangle the layers and once you do, you still don't fucking understand anything.

Anyway, Valen falls asleep thinking about how they're totally gonna win, and doesn't notice how his nose bleeds ominously. Because the toll it takes on him to control an entire galaxy of sentient minds is, uuh, literally killing him btw. Spoilers, I guess. For the obvious.

I honestly think that Shinsay have no concept of how huge space is. I know it's hard to comprehend for most people, but y'all are writers, supposedly. Just no imagination in there at all, huh?

It would've been cool to explore how being connected to a literal galaxy full of sentient minds would probably kill you immediately due to the sheer volume of them, like a semi-eldritch hivemind tearing your brain to shreds, but instead Valen just kinda fizzles out physically like a fart in the wind, while his compulsion remains boring and organized and his mind entirely clear and his own the entire time.

Anyway, sorry for the small amount of chapters covered in this first part, I just had to go off on a billion tangents <3

[rise-my-angel]

Heart of the Great Wolf has to be my favourite Robb Stark and Jon Snow piece of writing out there. Seriously, the way you capture both of their personalities is so untouchable that it’s ruined others writing for me. I would rather reread HOTGW over and over again then find something new with a mere fraction of what you have going with your story. It’s truly so beautiful, the way you blend beauty and sorrow so wonderfully. You don’t paint one brother to be worse than the other, that it’s just simply a girl with two loves who has lost too much in her life at such a young age. You are such a gifted writer 😭🫶🏼

This is too kind seriously..thats the end of the ask..I have nothing more to say whatsoever..

Their characterizations are the ones I worry the most about, especially now that I am into a post resurrection Jon having to juggle his true character contrasted to what i think resurrection would change about who he is inside. So I appreciate it because I am constantly terrified you guys are going to think I am way off the mark with these characters. I work a lot to think about what i think would realistically play out and why, and write within those in universe consistencies.

Robb was easier I think, since most Robb x Reader x Jon fics that have a Jon endgame, tend to paint Robb in a different light in order to boost the Jon pairing.

I too was going to underplay it. When this series was first being outlined Robb was way less important. He was more an obstacle to get to the plot I wanted, but the more I outlined the more I realized how unfair it would be to do that. Robb is so important to GoT/asoiaf, people seem to forget that when Robb died, the entire country fell into what was essentially a post apocalyptic state of fear. He died and all hope was shattered for the realm, and I think it does him a disservice to not give his relationship that fair treatment. He is smart, and emotional and deeply caring of his people and cause and I wanted to rectify what I thought was an insulting love interest for him in the show. Give him a relationship with the reader, that was real.

Were Robb not to die, they'd still be together. Regardless if Jon was in the plot now or not, Robb and the reader were real and they loved each other with everything they. It's partially why I made the reader spend three years not talking about Jon. Beacuse she didn't want to risk letting him dominate her thoughts with her husband and its tragic beacuse its in chapter 11 'What Lies Beyond the Veil' when she finally has come to accept she can talk about the man she always loved normally with the man she grew to love and not feel guilt, and its the last time. I wrote that entire wedding reception from Robb's point of view beacuse I didn't want any mention of Jon to make it seem like the reader was thinking of him when she died, when no, their deaths were entirely about each other.

It's also why Jon never thought much about Robb in his pre 'What Lies Beyond the Veil' pov's beacuse I never wanted to give off the impression that his jealousy was out of malice. I never wanted it to be Jon feeling like it was him versus his brother. It was just the cards you three were dealt and as much as it burns him to be the one left in the cold he knows that no one actually chose to leave him behind, it was just how it worked out.

I just don't like fics where it's this kind of double pairing, but Robb doesn't feel like he was given a fair chance. A lot tends to feel like I'm just waiting for the Red Wedding to get to the Jon stuff that they want to do instead, when I was dreading getting to it in mine beacuse I didn't want the Robb saga to end yet. I sort of allude to this when Ned said in the first chapter,

"Just because losing Jon hurts, doesn't mean I don't think you aren't willing to love Robb."

And that's the essence of the double pairing, I hated the idea of one brother being seen as the more important relationship then the other, Robb died in chapter 11 by chapter 29 I'm still writing scenes about losing Robb, beacuse it felt disingenuous to paint one brother as the better pairing for the reader then the other. I didn't like the idea of a double pairing being about Jon versus Robb or vice versa.

Just the story of what happens, when your love finds itself equally.

[afaramir]

I love your posts about Denethor and Faramir. I'm always glad to see someone who loves both him and Faramir and gets that Denethor being this hugely impressive tragic figure makes Faramir so much better and more interesting. The relationship between them is so complex and I love it so much. The film versions make me angry as well.

oh man thank you so much...i find it kinda crazy that you're saying this to me bc im pretty sure i have a bunch of posts from your denethor tag sitting around in my drafts so i can look back at them later. many days i feel very much like an Amateur Denethor Enjoyer but i am thrilled that me just kind of being unhinged on the dash has brought you joy. and get ready bc here i go again LOL

yeah exactly what you said...denethor's tragedy informs and is informed by faramir so so so much and it's just kind of wild to me that on the tragedy enjoyers website so many people refuse to see it. on the second-best enjoyers website...the guilt-and-despair enjoyers website...the "the unimaginable has happened and i AM going to kill people and then myself" enjoyers website...i could go on! he is literally doomed by the narrative and just goes well ok fuck you i WILL die at the end but it will NOT be in the way the narrative wants me to.

it is truly the relationship of all time. faramir does love his father and yet because of the strength of his principles he is genuinely incapable of showing it in a way that denethor can understand. and denethor loves him too but after a certain point just cannot show it anymore because duty has to take precedence. he's not allowed to give faramir any quarter even in private. and YES that includes anything that would resemble a normal emotion. ngl i wouldn't be surprised if that's the only way faramir is like. LETTING him communicate with him. like i feel like the final assault on osgiliath is not the first time faramir's taken the "if you want to get me to do something you ARE going to have to order me to do it" stance. and yet denethor tries. at the end he takes trying to an unhinged level. idk it often feels like even in the general fandom insistance on one-dimensionally dickish denethor there's somehow also a lack of understanding that it IS a toxic expression of love but that doesn't make it not love. like He's Not Winning Dad Of The Year that is not what we're saying at all. we're saying is "it was born of love. it was a terrible thing yet born of love." thats all! that's why it's so tragic because it's all about love!!! augh...

ok i don't typically put quotations from my own writing in like real posts but also ive been thinking about the faramir goes to rivendell au 24/7 and i just. HAVE to pull this line bc it kind of captures exactly how i feel about the denethor-and-faramir mutual Character Honing.

Yet he [Faramir] cannot deny that each of them sharpens himself upon the whetstone of the other, and it is a debt he loathes to owe and yet cannot hope to repay.

i mean.......like are you picking up what im putting down! like! AAA! both in-narrative and out of it they are always ALWAYS making each other better (or worse. but worse in a More Interesting Way) but AT WHAT COST!!! he loves his father he would not be the man he is today without his father both in a good and bad way he HATES that these two things are true. faramir and denethor are not foils they're parallels they build each other's characters up when you put them next to each other!! faramir is who denethor wouldve couldve been without the war!! hey hang on a second is denethor who faramir would've become if he were the lord steward during the war of the ring? (this is a little reductive i think faramir's susceptibility to despair is quite different to his father's. and i wonder how long his gentleness would've prevailed / worked side by side with his duty instead of being diametrically opposed to it. but anyway. well i'll be thinking about THAT for the rest of the night. i cannot start another au i cannot i cannot i cannot). anyway you can't get one of them without getting the other and that is all...

man i always say like oh don't get me started on movie faramir and denethor and then the don't think of an elephant effect GETS me and it gets me started. last night i genuinely said like "well i won't get into it" and then three hours later it was 2am and it was so very clear that i had Gotten Into It. i had to tell our other roommate like "tell me when ur going to bed i am talking about denethor and i will be yelling." my roommate just came home and i told her about this post and then i had to explain a detail and she SET ME A THREE MINUTE TIMER bc she was like i have to go study. and that's fair

anyway i hope you are having a good night/day/whatever time it is for you. thank you for this ask it is always fun to see you pop up in my notifs whenever im denethorposting lol

[antichrists-plus-one]

little ep 3 rant

ok so I know everyone loved the ep but I really resent seeing people say that bills and franks story was meaningless in the game.

almost every character in tlou is introduced in pair to contrast or mirror Joel and Ellie in some way, and I really seem b&f as their polar opposites. while j&e are about going from hate/antagonism to love, despite wanting everything but f&b go from love to hate despite their best intentions.

in the middle of the actual apocalypse they both glimpse something in the other that makes them latch on: for bill, as selfish as he is, is the prospect of company which he craves despite himself while for Frank its the sense of security Bill’s situation can provide. they both think that they can turn their relationship in their own ideal situation, the way they would’ve tried to in the normal world. but pretty quick they figure out just how impossible it is to make those world views compatible, seeing as the only thing they won’t compromise on is the one they can’t seem to agree on.

within that fight, Frank discovers the worst of bill, which is the selfishness we’re shown as j&e in the game. he is only willing to do things if they serve him somehow, his ultimate goal is always to protect what he has. that’s why frank leaves: he realizes he won’t ever make this into what he wanted.

but by the time he does, they hate each other for not living up to expectations, for being selfish, for being naive, for letting themselves think something into existence that had no hope of surviving.

in his letter, frank is so angry he says he’d rather die than live with bill another day, despite the fact that they’ve been together a while. and when bill hears of it instead of being sad or upset, his only reaction is to I-told-him-so him.

it’s the story of two people who tried to love and tried to be happy, but found there was no space for that in the apocalypse.

their story, in conjunction with many of the others, also goes to show how rare what j&e have is. throughout the story the player is always confronted with people attempting to love each other and survive, and often missing the mark by an inch. that’s why seeing Joel and Ellie succeed is so special (then again it doesn’t last because that’s the nature of tlou, but lulling you into thinking they’re the exception is important to the story for now).

every aspect of their story reinforces something. the fact that bill did not, in fact, have the perfect life shown in the show makes it so much more bitter that he won’t give it up for Frank. all he has in a couple of blocks of an abandoned, infested city and he loves it more than the prospect of companionship. the fact that they are not in any way meant for each other, brought into something beautiful by something terrible, 1) reminds you just how horrible the pandemic was and 2) reminds you how rare it is to find someone to love earnestly.

bill being the way he is is also serves the narrative by fixing points of morality. every character is shown to be complex and parts bad parts good, and bill is one far end of that spectrum. he doesn’t share what good he has because he kind of sucks, and he only really takes care of Frank because it serves him because. well. he kind of sucks. he doesn’t go out of his way to hurt, but he doesn’t go out of his way to help either.

tldr: don’t shit on the game version of bill and frank. they were very different in what they were trying to get across but their dynamic was complex and added so much to game at large. they were tragic because tlou is, but it doesn’t make them meaningless