#a character whose purpose is self improvement

[barb-l]

Vaggie is my favorite character, so I want to know where all of this hate for her came from. Like…people hate Vaggie yet love Lute, for example….. wtf? How? And I’m not saying people have to like the same things I do, but I’ve seen mfs bash Vaggie for things other characters have done. Again… what? The? Fuck?

Oh hohoho

I'm in a ranting mood, so let me tell you exactly why by paraphrasing some of the hate posts I've seen classlessly left in the chaggie tag before I blocked the OP's for said posts

"Vaggie has nothing going for her character. All she is, is Charlie's girlfriend"

- not even remotely true. She has a lot going on with her character aside from being The Girlfriend. She struggles with deep self-hatred, something that doesn't necessarily revolve around Charlie, although it does affect her relationship with her(codependency). It's a huge character flaw, though not necessarily bad character writing. It's something she needs to grow from, and something we can still see unfold in the coming seasons. Although she's helping with the hotel to be a supportive girlfriend, it is also something Vaggie believes to be the right thing to do regardless of Charlie. As Rosie inferred, Vaggie saw helping with the hotel as a way to atone for her sins and to do better. Even if the person running the Hotel weren't Charlie or anyone she fell for, I believe it's something she still would have helped with given her backstory. She has connections with other characters too that can be explored more in the future. Aside from just being "Charlie's girlfriend", she is Carmilla's possible additional daughter figure, she is Alastor's biggest obstacle in gaining whatever tf from Charlie, she is Lute's rival, and finally she is Lucifer's blatant parallel.

"Being a fallen angel is the only thing carrying her character. And we barely got any build up on that."

- let's say that's true. IF that's the case, why isn't anyone spitting hate on characters like Husk whose only "thing" is being a past overlord? Even though this had less foreshadowing than Vaggie's angel secret? Even though his only purpose in the story so far is to be Angel's love interest? He may be an alcoholic, but it's barely touched upon what terrible effects that may have for him. And although having his soul owned by Alastor sucks, does he actually suffer aside from that one time Alastor threatened his life? All Alastor is making him do is man the bar(so far). He has nothing to develop from with his character either. In fact, aside from the swearing and the grumpiness, he's a pretty swell guy who doesn't seem to fit in hell. He doesnt have a flaw that the story can aim to have him improve from. All he has going for him is his romance arc with Angel, and his past as an Overlord. Which, i repeat, isn't a bad thing! But how come Vaggie would get so much hate for similar criticisms, while Husk is widely loved by majority of the fandom?

"She doesn't have any chemistry with Charlie"

- something told by someone who ships:

Ch*rl*stor - two people who have only had direct interactions in the pilot(a quick dance number), episode 5(Alastor taking advantage of Charlie's daddy issues to curry favor with her and hit Lucifer's ego), and ep 7 (Alastor taking advantage of Charlie's dejection to make a deal with Charlie). A ship involving the kindest soul in Hell and a serial killer who has no desire to change and ridicules the dream Charlie holds so dear and is so passionate about. It isn't a bad thing to crack ship. Hell I do it too, but it's such a hypocritical thing to say that a canon ship has no chemistry only to claim that two people who have barely any meaningful conversations and positive interactions objectively look more like a couple and would be a better choice to be canon. Just because you like how they look in your imagination doesn't mean canon is objectively bad.

Ch*rlie/Emily - two characters who share so much similarities they can be sisters. It is such a personal thing. I have nothing against those who ship them. It just isn't for me because of the amount of similarities they have. With the intentional parallels, I personally think Emily would be better off having a gf that resembles Vaggie. Where Chaggie has a sunshine demon X grumpy angel duo, Emily could visit hell and fall for a demon who would be her opposite.

Ch*rlie/Lucifer - it's. Incest. Cmon.

"She doesn't care about the denizens of Hell"

- Vaggie's in Hell in the first place because she spared a demon's life. She cares TOO MUCH!

"Vaggie lied to Charlie. Even Adam was more honest with her!"

- I dont even... It should be common sense why Vaggie, who had just been betrayed by ANGELS, would not trust a demon princess with her true identity. Charlie and Rosie already talked about this. Or did they have their eyes and ears closed throughout episode 7?

"She ruined Lucifer's song by reprising it. Why would she do that when it's supposed to be Charlie and Lucifer's thing?? Why would she go and use a song about familial love and change the meaning to romance??"

- musicals that reprise songs to change its initial vibe has always been a thing, first of all. Vaggie reprised Lucifer's song specifically because they have been parallels of each other for the whole show. In fact, Lucifer indirectly echoes back Vaggie's reprise, with his lyrics in The Finale mirroring Vaggie's lyrics. It's not about Vaggie "stealing Lucifer's thing", it's about these two angels who both love Charlie reminding her of that love and how much they believe in her, despite being withheld of Heaven's love and losing faith in it in the process. It's about these two forms of love withstanding Heaven's abandonment and being there for someone who wants to face Heaven head on.

This is probably one of the most ridiculous anti-Vaggie criticism I've read. It's so weird to see such an earnest act of love as something audacious. If anything, Lucifer's the one with the audacity. I love him a LOT, but he did not deserve to be forgiven just because he had a beautiful song number with his daughter. It doesn't change the fact that he neglected Charlie for ages. If anyone deserved to sing More Than Anything, it was Vaggie because she has truly shown her commitment to Charlie. But, yunno. Baby steps.

Honestly for a lot of the characters in this show, all it seems to take for the fandom to like them is to have a song number that they like. People find Vaggie's songs boring. So they find her boring. Not a lot is known or shown of characters like Vox, Velvette, Alastor, and Husk, but apparently they're better developed. Just because they have sick song numbers doesn't mean they're better developed...

[starchbean]

The Scum Villain's Self-Replicating System

Be More Chill AU of SVSSS

Instead of being a neutral entity whose purpose is to facilitate SQQ improving the narrative, the SYSTEM in this AU doesn't believe that Peerless Cucumber has the means to totally fix the shitty writing of this universe on his own.

The SYSTEM has made it its goal to make every character in PIDW-world accept a system of their own so that it can control their lives and make the world perfect.

It tries to set up SQQ as an example of what the system can do for a person--turning them from a sad, scared bully of a man into a beloved teacher who is powerful, ethereal, and catches the gaze of countless suitors.

In the characters' moments of weakness (which are often engineered by what the system tells SQQ to do) the SYSTEM will prompt SQQ to offer his special secret up to the other characters in the story as a solution to fix their sad lives. SQQ doesn't want to do it, but the system can terminate his life at any time, so he doesn't think he really has a choice.

The thing is...

In the process of turning SQQ into an ideal man that *anyone* would desire to be, and to be close to... the SYSTEM is not immune to its own propaganda. It starts falling for SQQ--the one other entity that shares its objective to fix the world. Of course, things would be better if they fixed the world together, wouldn't it? [:<

As the SYSTEM threatens to take over even the Protagonist, there's only one person who can stop it. A certain hack author who has until this tipping point tried to stay on the sidelines and out of trouble. Shang Qinghua realizes that unless he acts, his world is going to fall apart. He's gonna need a certain Northern King's help with this.

((I'd write this, but as you may know--backlog. If you write it I will kiss you on the lips))

[tokidokitokyo]

How to Improve Your Handwriting in Japanese

Learning to write in Japanese, teaching others to learn to write in Japanese, and watching Japanese people write in Japanese has taught me that it’s hard to write in Japanese. Remembering how to write the kanji in the first place is hard (especially with the ease of writing in Japanese on the computer or phone), remembering the stroke order and then figuring out how to fit the character into the space that you have - these are all difficult. And then on top of that, you don’t want these beautiful characters to look like you were bouncing up and down on a dirt road while you wrote them.

Handwriting in any language varies by person. There are people whose handwriting is sloppy in Japanese, just as in any other language. My handwriting in English isn’t perfect either, but I want my kanji to look less like shaky squiggles and more like, well, a native Japanese speaker’s characters. So I decided to break down how I go about improving my Japanese handwriting.

Practice

When you learn to write in English, you practice your letters over and over again. When you first learn kana and then kanji, it is also a good idea to write them over and over again. This helps many people to remember the characters (stroke order, spatial placement of each part of the character), and by writing the characters over and over again you will be able to write more quickly. You also won’t have to look up simple characters over and over again when you want to write a composition or a letter.

When I first started writing compositions by hand in kanji I remember looking up a character in the dictionary to check stroke order or to check how the kanji was written more often than not. This is a difficult way to write anything and takes a lot of time. Practice will help you to remember the characters and not have to stop to check your dictionary as often.

A high school friend told me that her mother would sit her down at the table every night and force her to work on her penmanship until it was what her mother deemed suitable. When we wrote our AP English essays in class, her penmanship was impeccable, although it took her much longer to write the essays than most of the other students. The result of what she considered torturous practice was amazing handwriting that made me jealous. If I had spent every night laboriously perfecting my penmanship I might also have attained that kind of handwriting - but I did not.

This is an extreme example, and I’m not saying you have to have perfect handwriting, but if improving your handwriting is something you would like to accomplish, taking the time to practice will certainly help your penmanship.

Books

There are Japanese books dedicated to this, because beautiful handwriting is desirable in all languages, but they are written in Japanese and I personally didn’t want to buy a book for this purpose.

Websites

Websites are a bit more difficult to come by because most people want to make some money off telling you their penmanship secrets. However, there are a few websites with some examples of good penmanship.

Links

Here are some online links for handwriting practice:

Chibi Musu Drill is where I look for kana practice for my toddler. They have a variety of drill print-outs that you can use to practice writing the characters correctly. This is especially helpful if you are self-studying as it helps with the shape of characters and the stroke order, and how the stroke should be finished (i.e. abrupt stop or drag and fade out to a tail). There are also tests you can print out for kanji. The site is all in Japanese.

Hiragana | Katakana | Kanji 

Seiho’s YouTube Calligraphy School - VIDEO - Only in Japanese but the videos are easy to follow since she uses a red pen to highlight where to pay attention. This is more in-depth but has helpful hints on improving your kanji balance, but you can search 字がきれいに書く方法 to get more results.

Yumefude Penji on Instagram has videos showing how to write kanji properly.

How I Practice Handwriting in Japanese

For Kana

To practice handwriting kana, I find an example of good penmanship from a website. It’s best if the example is larger, or if I can blow it up. Then I print it out with darkened font. Drill print-outs also work well as they have characters for you to trace, then space for you to practice on your own.

I put a sheet of clean paper on top of the print-out and make sure I can read the characters through the clean paper. You can also get tracing paper. Then, I trace the characters multiple times. I try to feel the flow of the character as I trace it and to note if the stroke ends abruptly (とめ), has a kink in it (はね), or if it fades out to a tail (はらい).

Lastly, I practice on my own. I use the feel of the character I traced and try to replicate it. I compare my own work to the original sample, and try to determine how to get the characters to look closer to the original sample. My character might be too skinny, too round, or have a stroke out of place. I usually only do one character at a time until I am satisfied, and then move on to the next.

For Kanji

When practicing kanji, first, I use blank paper, download genkouyoushi (Japanese composition paper), or a notebook with wider line spacing for writing practice than I would for simply writing down vocabulary or notes. You can also buy special kanji practice notebooks. I do this so that I have the space to cleanly write out kanji with more strokes, rather than having to bunch together the strokes so that I can hardly read it. This way, I can practice the strokes with more room and pay attention to how the kanji fits together.

Then, I write the character several times. I try to get a muscle memory going for the character, remembering the individual parts, the radicals, the stroke order and what the kanji means. This helps me to remember the kanji, and then to understand how the individual parts fit together.

I am careful to not copy the typewritten Japanese characters, for these are often different than the handwritten characters. Using a kanji textbook or a website where they teach handwritten kanji is the best way to learn to handwrite kanji. Some dictionary apps also show stroke order and will show the handwritten version so you can see the difference.

9 Tips for Better Handwriting

Source

1. Hold your pen properly / ぺんを正しく持つ

2. Sit with proper posture / 正しい姿勢で座る

3. Create a calm setting where you can concentrate / 落ち着いて集中できる空間を作る

4. Write using the correct stroke order / 正しい書き順で書く

     a. From the top to the bottom / 上から下へ

     b. From the left to the right / 左から右へ

5. Take care with the Stop - Wing - Sweeping Stroke / とめ・はね・はらいを丁寧に

Showing stop - wing - sweeping stroke in kanji

6. Modulate the size of the character and write slowly and carefully / 大きさにメリハリをつけながら、ゆっくり書く

7. Make sure the characters rise to the right / 右上がりになるようにする

8. Make sure the spacing between lines is equal / 線と線の間隔が等しくなるようにする

9. Write with the intention of being read by others / 人に読まれるつもりで書く

My handwriting in Japanese is far from perfect, but when I have a chance I like to hand write characters to get a better feel for them and for their meanings. I hope this guide helps you to improve your penmanship!

[cosmerelists]

What Radiant Order Non-Stormlight Characters Would Belong To

As requested by anon. :)

If non-Stormlight Archive characters had the opportunity to bond spren, what orders would each of them belong to?

(I’m a Edgedancer, by the way, per the quiz!)

1. Vin: Windrunner

As pointed out by @itmakesssenseincontext (here), Vin literally thinks The Words that make someone a Windrunner, as she vows to only use her power to protect those unable to defend themselves. So. Like. If there had been an Honorspren around, she’d be a Windrunner already.

2. Steris: Elsecaller

The Elsecaller order is about self-improvement, and it attracts people who are quote "less flamboyant" and more serious, like scholars. Their spren are logicspren. I think this order would suit Steris very well!

3. Wayne: Edgedancer

This is per WOB! I mean, I do see it. Wayne’s power is essentially Super Empathy, as he can make himself understand other people’s perspective in order to pretend that he is one of them. Plus, he literally cannot forget the man he killed, creating elaborate and unhealthy rituals to remember him forever. I guess he does have healing powers too; I dunno if that’s part of the reasoning. Per Brandon, the other Edgedancers would find Wayne “strange,” but come on. Wayne & Lift would get on like a house on fire and would possibly literally cause that.

4. Sazed: Bondsmith

This is one of those that just felt right to me immediately, and then I just had to sit and try to figure out why. I think partly it's because Sazed literally bonded two very disparate Shards together into one, which feels very Bondsmith of him. But Sazed also cared a lot about connecting people and helping people understand other cultures, so there's that as well. I suppose the other one I could see for Sazed would be Edgedancer, given that he makes it his mission to save all otherwise forgotten religions. But I'm going Bondsmith as my number one choice.

5. Shai: Lightweaver

WOB has Shai as an Edgedancer, which I found shocking. I mean...the artistry? The literally becoming other people in order to be ready for various situations? The one last-ditch personality whose entire purpose is to craft an intricate lie to hide Shai from herself??? To me, Shai is a Lightweaver through and through. But per Brandon, Shai is an Edgedancer. So I guess it depends on who knows this character better. A random person who blogs or the literal author.

6. Wax: Skybreaker

As a lawman, basically. Plus, there's the whole conversation between Miles and Wax where Miles tries to convince Wax that if the law is unjust, you have a duty to oppose the law and Wax is like, "Nuh-uh shut up." (Since that so mirrors Kal and Moash, I can understand teh Wax as Windrunner argument, but we can't have ALL the protagonists be Windrunners!)

7. Marasi: Truthwatcher

This is almost certainly just me--I so strongly headcanon Marasi as an investigative reporter that I can't even remember the truth anymore. Ironic, I guess, given the subject of this entry... If I wanted to try to justify this, I guess I'd say Marasi does have a canonical interest in discovering the truth...but yeah, I don't expect many to agree with this one!

8. Rashek: Skybreaker

Had to include this one, as it's a WOB. Not a very good one, per Sanderson, but a Skybreaker nonetheless. Let's all imagine Nale having to deal with Rashek, shall we?

9. Vivenna: Stoneward

Vivinna does feel very Windrunner to me, given her bro chemistry with Kaladin. But the Stonewards are about being where they're needed, about being dependable and good team players, about making the best of a bad situation. I think of Vivenna showing up on a whole new planet, seeing a city without leadership, and being like, "Sure, I'll take over the city guard and forge a team of incredibly loyal guards until it's time for me to move on and go to the next place I'm needed."

10. Ranette: Dustbringer

Mostly because of the tinkerer angle--dustbringers are interested in knowing how things work, plus their power is inherently destructive and so requires careful control. And Ranette, you know, makes guns 'n' stuff.

11. Bleeder: Willshaper

The Willshapers are about freedom--for themselves, and for others. They want to free those who have been unjustly imprisoned. And oh man. What Bleeder wanted was to free herself and others from Harmony's influence, from the way he could literally take her and others over. So she wanted freedom for everyone and would do anything to obtain it.

12. Kelsier: Edgedancer, Dustbringer, or Willshaper

Sorry to end on a WOB, but I'm fascinated that Sanderson can see so many possibilities for Kelsier. An Edgedancer in his desire to change the world back into a green paradise for Mare. A Dustbringer or Willshaper for self-mastery and determination. Honestly, I'm most fascinated by Willshaper, due to the comment that they believe any law is a form of oppression. That extreme form of freedom really feels like it suits Kelsier, to me.

[ashkgray]

Colonel Flagg, boy do I have a lot to say about you. A man who's so committed to the military and hanging onto that G.I. image for dear life to the point of literal self-harm. A man whose idea of masculinity is claiming you've trained yourself not to smile. A man who, for all intents and purposes, has been consumed by a system that doesn't give a fuck about him.

The reason that I liken him to Frank Burns a lot is that he's just as much of a propaganda-driven man as the former. The main difference in them lies in the fact that while Frank fails at conventional masculinity and lacks the charisma to actually have a G.I. temperament, Flagg is masculine and charismatic. He's a hunk. Which, I would go so far as to argue makes him an even worse case of a man desperate for purpose. When the war's over, Frank's going to be back to his (mal)practice and to the misery of whatever awaits him in civilian life. It's the shittiest sorry-excuse-for-a-life but it's still a Non-Military Thing He Has. Fake and miserable as it is.

But Flagg? Flagg's CIA. He's part of the damn system. He's deep into it. He, in achieving what Frank couldn't, dug a deeper hole of self-repression and denial for himself. He's barely a person anymore. He talks like a cartoon character hopped up on steroids and squints his eyes like an action movie star trying too hard.

In The Abduction of Margaret Houlihan he shows up and does fucking nothing. Yet somehow maintains this illusion of self-importance. He's silly as damn fucking hell, calling himself the wind and jumping out the damn window only to break his leg. But he genuinely doesn't realize it. And, again, unlike Frank, his self-assurance stops him from even registering it when other people point it out. Hawkeye makes fun of him and he's prissy about it but he doesn't look or feel bullied. Without, at the very least, registering the repulsion others seem to have for you ( which though sometimes evades Frank, is actually intrinsic to his character. He knows they don't like him. ), then how are you meant to improve? How are you meant to escape that trap you've shoved yourself into?

And can we take a moment to talk about his self-harm? Even if subconscious, there must be some part of him that is desperate to escape the life he's paved for himself. A reflection of the horrors he, too, sees both during the war and as a result of CIA conduct. Hurting himself for the sake of the army, the CIA and America™ might be the only way to feel worthwhile and alive at the same time. Just getting hurt, in his eyes, is losing. Doing a "mission" without sustaining any injuries? Why, that's just not noteworthy enough for him to get any attention from big strong Uncle Sam. But getting hurt on a mission? Now that's impressive. Now that's his purpose. Now that's what he should live for and, if all else fails, die for. What wonderful mixture of narcissism AND self-hatred must you have in you, Samuel, to feel that way.

I know this post is all over the place but the point of it is to say that in spite of being a complete and total beefcake, Colonel Samuel Flagg might be M*A*S*H's most pathetic character. Or at least the one who's deepest in his own shit. Unlike Frank, whose development demands an internal trigger to work, Flagg's might just be in dire need of an external one first, because internally he's been programmed to crumble.

[baguettecookie]

i don’t comment much on cookie run stories because I have a brain that is the size of a pea, but I am happy to learn that the devs did not take the cheap and easy route of absolving lily for the consequences of her actions as the fandom favorite uwu tenderqueer white woman. she has fucked up immensely (even if not intentionally) because of her lack of self esteem and self control and even though the narrative points out that she should did not do what she did on purpose (and ultimately, did it out of love) the fact she ignores what is best for everyone sometimes in pursuit of her own goals and self-fulfillment has not gone unnoticed and she will have to improve on that aspect of her character

also making her and de still linked together is (chefs kiss) so good. a win for the girlies whose favs have fucked up mental illnesses. de will forever be what white lily is capable of when she loses her capacity for love

[savvylittlecoxswain]

Have you ever seen those videos where the college grads are showing off a million stoles and cords and medals? That’s Bobby.

He was involved with the following organizations and activities per the UW yearbook his senior year:

Phi Gamma Delta aka FIJI

A social fraternity whose members attend university with the foremost goal of receiving an education, and that Phi Gamma Delta is a fraternity that promotes scholastic achievement amongst its members. Its mission statement lists five core values for its members: friendship, knowledge, service, morality, and excellence.

Oval Club

The Oval Club, formed in 1907, was an organization affiliated with the University of Washington. Its purpose was to promote student unity and cooperation, develop cultural leaders and preserve traditions of the University of Washington.

Big “W” Club (for Crew)

The Big W Club is a special organization that helps University of Washington letter-winners stay connected to their alma mater. Big W Club members retain the spirit and pride of being a Husky by taking part in exclusive gatherings and events, like hanging out at informal happy hours or reconnecting at the biannual Hall of Fame induction or team reunions. Membership is automatic when you receive your first varsity letter.

Minor “W” Club (for Fencing)

Membership in the Minor "W" Club is dependent upon participation in some University minor sport. Men who participate in wrestling, swim-ming, golf, fencing, cross-country, ice-hockey and rifle are awarded the small "Circle W."

Beta Gamma Sigma (Sr. Yr. - Treasurer)

An International Honor Society Serving Business Programs. Its mission is to encourage and honor academic achievement in the study of business and professional excellence in the practice of business. Membership in this honor society is by invitation only and is very prestigious as BGS invites only the upper 10% of the upperclassman undergraduate classes. An invitation to become a member in BGS is the highest recognition a business student anywhere in the world can receive.

Alpha Kappa Psi

A business fraternity with the goal to bring together students who share an interest in business and provide them with opportunities to learn and grow through professional development, philanthropy, social events, and more.

Rho Sigma Chi

A social fraternity that believes a principle-driven lifestyle should be paramount in an individual’s lifelong quest to achieve progressive development, and that the world has a great need for ethical leaders whose core principles were based on the possession of remarkable character. Their goal is to enhance the leadership abilities of men by refining their character through the framework of Friendship, Justice and Learning — our three guiding principles.

Varsity Boat Club (Sr. Yr. - Manager)

A platform and guide for the men and women of Washington Rowing, collectively encouraging the values of hard work, team before self, and personal improvement. All men and women participants at Washington are eligible for membership after rowing four quarters.

Not listed:

Schaller Scholarship Plaque Recipient

Awarded to crew member with the highest grades on the team. Bobby Moch won this award all three years he was on crew.

Phi Beta Kappa Key Holder

The Phi Beta Kappa is “America’s Most Prestigious Academic Honor Society.” It was founded in 1776 and aimed to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, and to induct outstanding students of arts and sciences at select American colleges and universities. Fewer than 10% of US colleges and universities have Phi Betta Kappa chapters and these chapters select less than 10% of their arts and sciences graduates to join.

[katyspersonal]

(Responding remaining asks for the ask post in a bundle)

Thank you 🥺 But hey, you only won't have more Soulsborne knowledge than me with THIS attitude!! You gotta believe in yourself! XD

_____________________

THANK YOU SO MUCH!! Also I feel like I know who you are XD

That guy, honestly.. I remember giving him some thoughts and analysis that I am still proud of even back in time before I was aware of finer details and translation errors. He felt like someone very real and full of nuances even in my "sounds like creep" era, and then first character I wrote a good analysis on! I take credit for popularising the knowledge about English localisation completely skewing him, because despite LP's document being in access for years nobody fished out THOSE details from it until me!! It took deliberate searching with the purpose of learning THE character!!!! 😎

I miss my more "unalloyed" version of Gehrman though, such a real cold dead-inside man, saved and adopted from abusive house but with the demons inside left forever, whose lack of empathy made him perfect hunter and whose sole true positive emotion in life was meeting Maria but then he took a massive L fsdhdsh I blame @fantomette22 for softening my general perception of him though by just standing there!!! You and your soft ass! GET OVER HERE-

_____________________

^ This one was sent during me typing this post! Thank you very much, this is a lot of praise.. т.т I am self-conscious about my art and feel like the only way to improve is to get a teacher, which can't be organised any time soon, but I am happy you enjoy it as it is still!

(and I am sure your personality is great as well <:3 )

_____________________

Which 'hot' takes? My takes at cooking that chicken @heraldofcrow JUST right? Well this makes sense I guess dfshhsd

fdjhshdsf okay seriously, thank you XD I am not good at dignified, intelligent way of describing my theories that sounds like telling a sad tale or a scary legend that I see some people do both in text and podcasts.. Hell, some of such posts sound like small fanfics! And I sure as hell don't want to accidentally slip into the unapproachable, humourless "let me educate you peasants" tone (it is hard to not even notice)! So the only option left for me as a wordy kind of loredigger was to unleash my inner clown!! I heard people say that adding jokes and cursed memes in the middle of sharing a theory is actually relaxing, so I am glad I am this way <:3

Also really not tryna become a "contrarian" kind of user, we do NOT have a shortage of blogs that throw a shade at the fandom trust me! But what do I do when I also have a lot to say... 🙄 Aren't we all just people who desperately try to not be Hunters until beasts come at OUR doorstep?

_____________________

This is what you see in a Petri dish you've put me in after 2 minutes:

Yes I know I used this image today already you just made it VERY hard to not do it again sdhhfsdsd Anyways, thank you!!

_____________________

Thank you! I hope you still like them!!

I'd actually say that anyone can make really unique headcanons and interpretations! My secret is actually to minimise exposure to the takes in the fandom until I've came up with my idea to offer! It helps me to jump into a metaphorical pillowfort with @val-of-the-north when a character or a question interests us and brainstorm the ideas; I do the suggestions, intuition, right questions and imagination part, whereas he does finding the most obscure gameplay consequences, finds obscure images from the furthest corners of the internet and remembers literally every detail that could help or debunk like a supercomputer! *sets the 'days since praising Val on public' counter back to 0 AGAIN fhsdhds*

THEN I hop on Tumblr and offer my idea and look what other people say (with rare exceptions about smaller things). Key word is, 'THEN'! I've met many people who were shocked when I informed them that what they assumed was canon in fact was just a popular fanon! Many people make the same mistake: they see many people doing [thing] and just assume it has to be legit then and never double check for selves! This ensures less variety of interpretations with all (designs, ships, story, portrayals and takes) which is a bit disheartening! Just remember to 1) look at the source material with clear eyes, only consulting wikis and reference videos, for example to know about questline or item you've missed 2) communicate with the fandom about a topic when you DO have your own idea already, this will me mutually enriching for both and 3) never simply take majority's word as canon! And then you will be like me! x)

You will ALSO be like me if you add Spongebob meme within a serious theory and organise dash wars with your mutuals but that's for another story fdshfhsd

[velvet-vox]

Random status update:

At first, I didn't think I had to write this post, because I don't consider myself to be important enough to other people to think that maybe letting others know what my current condition is may actually be important, because maybe some of the people who read my stuff may actually care about me a little bit, which is something I never even thought about until very recently, so here we are.

Mostly, I've been doing a bit of self reflection in this period, and have been dedicating myself to other things.

One thing that my period of self reflection brought me is the realisation that the way I'm handling my time spent on Tumblr isn't really working, at least not in the way I want it to.

More importantly, I've come to the conclusion that my own approach to analysis, despite improving exponentially in the last period of time, isn't providing me as many profits as I hoped it would give me.

You see, I realised that I have this extremely romanticised view of analysis, where analysis is this extremely cool, magical process; analysis as something that speaks to my soul and that triggers my brain chemicals; a lot of the essays that I've produced on this blog are things that were ultimately meant to serve the purpose of satisfying my weird fetish fantasies; hence why I consider The insane, untapped potential of Rebecca from Murder Drones to be my best work ever, it's the closest I've ever got to actually sound like a professional, and even then, it's not entirely an analysis, is more so a way to make other people appreciate Rebecca's potential as a character more.

Now I am currently reconfiguring my analytical process for my future projects, hoping that it makes a difference in the long run.

I've also been dealing with some pretty awful mental related issues, and these are very relevant because they all had an indirect effect on my writing, so I had to mention them.

They can't unfortunately be fixed easily, as I lack an appropriate support system in my life that can help me deal with them, so I just have to live with them until I can find a solution.

I'm actually going to stop making Murder Drones content for a while even if I'll still interact with the community from time to time, as with episode 8 around the corner it would be better if I took some time to reflect on what is gonna happen inside it.

My next project is hopefully going to be a Fethry Duck post, as I haven't really done any DuckTales analysis despite having it as one of my main blog's focuses, then it's going to be the turn of that infamous top 10 favourite female antagonists of all time, who grew up quite a lot in scale ever since I started writing it.

But of course, before any of these projects can become a reality, I'll first need to address a certain situationship with a certain old man who may or may not actually be a young adult and whose name may or may not be Jenkins.

That entire situation is my fault, and I'll have to finally close it for good as soon as the Murder Drones season finale releases.

[froppy-butterflyfan2000]

Stellaluna's personality

Ok! It is time I explains about Stellaluna the Queen of Judgement so far! Trigger warning, mentions of monster discrimination.

Stellaluna was a sweet and innocent child, whose is proud of her Queen Eclipsa and mother’s achievement in bringing peace and coexistence to the monsters and humans! She wanted to be just like them someday. Stellaluna is open-minded toward monsters.

However after she lost her parents at the nine, Moon’s aunt and the nobles took the opportunity to make Stellaluna narrow-minded, being preduices toward monsters, and receive the wand at the age of 12, they were to be her advisors and molded her into the queen they wanted, until Hekapoo, the ruler of the Lucitor Kingdom, Underworld prevents them from further corrupting her to the point of no return.

Instead of being the merciful queen that Stellaluna dreamed of as a child, she ruled with an iron fist of justice and hold her responsibility as queen dutiful. However, she hold vengeance to the one responsible for ruining her life and the death of her mother. At first, she thought it was Eclispa and her family’s fault (which was why she sent them into the abyss and have their existences erased), but in actuality it was Marco’s Monster Arm possessing Janna (which she finally avenge her parents by sending them to the abyss and be erased from existence).

The reason she learns dark magic is to bring fear to the monsters and to show that no one can get away from the crimes they done. Which was why her dark blue coloured and light blue speckled eyes are now purple.

Star’s spells don’t like Stellaluna’s current self. Especially the black cat maid that Stellaluna created using her mother’s spell, Cutie Kitten Clutter Cleaners. Which is why I drew a picture of the black cat maid (I have not name the character yet) gives Stellaluna’s cake to a different Starco kid (whose belong to an Instagrammer, hellmeeh.a) at the Citadel of Starco.

Stellaluna does have a soft spots. She love eating cupcakes and love her girlfriend, Cassandraco, Higgs’ girlfriend who’s is part-Piefolk. Plus Stellaluna will deduct the punishment for the guilty ones or someone have proven their innocent as long as there are evidences provided. She may rule with a cold heart, cold determination, and an iron-fist, she values the justice system and wants the trials to be fair and square. That is why everyone will remember Stellaluna for improving the justice system, even though it was unfairly for the monsters.

In @dangerpack/@citadelstarcosevendeadlysins’ series, The Citadel of Starco: The Saga of The Seven Deadly Sins, she wants to bring all the seven deadly criminals (children of Star and children of Marco) down and pay for their crimes.

In @darcel-luminous’ the Battle for the Multiverse, she becomes a Dark Sister with the title, Abyss Judge when Darcel took over Stellaluna’s Mewni, she help Darcel establish strict laws and regulations to promote the ethical standards in Darcel’s empire across the universe and provide Darcel her dark magic attribute spells, such as Dark Abyss: Thousand Years Punishment. Darcel is the one who teach Stellaluna not to hate monsters and not discriminate them as they have a purposes and should be treated with respect and equally while dominating over them through fear. Stellaluna is the one who persuade Darcel to use the werewolves to be a part of their army of evil, especially Sou, the Dark Sister, Snow Butterfly’s love interest (Snow belongs to the Instagrammer, Snowssvtfoe). She would persuade other Starco kids to join the dark side by offering them magic lessons and through negotiations liked she did with Galaxy Butterfly-Diaz (Instagrammer, vannythebunny42’s Starco Kid) and Ezzie (@gh0st1804/ @gh0st184’s Starco kid). Don’t worry, she will be free by Lumious Butterfly… Sadly, she will live to regret her actions: For helping Darcel on her quest to conquering other universes of the respective Starco kids, her Interdimensional Siblings (even though she was experimented on and corrupted by Darcelos’ power/Darcel’s Dark Magic), along with her cruelty toward the monsters (manipulated and corrupted by the nobles and Moon’s Aunt, Etheria). Deep down, she is no better than Darcel.

Stellaluna is close with her Interdimensional Sisters, Galaxy Butterfly-Diaz and Ezzie. Not because she saw their potential in magic in their own way (especially when Galaxy enters Light Mewberty despite no fightning experiences and lost to Darcel at first encounter), but because they taken an interest of her. Plus, I imagine them checking up on her when she is feeling so much negative emotions and dwelling on the past, and have form a special sisterly bond with.

Thanks to that bond, she will continue moving forward in life to make up for her wrongdoings and rebuilding her Queendom for the bright future of her universe. Thus, she will have a child with Cassandraco, whose would becomes a ruler that the monsters wanted and bring Mewni to an era of restoration, then later on, Stellaluna and Cassandraco’s grandchild bring an era of peace, and tranquility, something that Stellaluna could never achieve, her childhood dream.

Thanks you so much for allowing me to talk about Stellaluna, @starblossom18. I am glad there are people like you who are interested in Stellaluna.

[steakout-05]

quick post clarifying what i'm gonna do with my Crarry art and my Craig design moving forward

i just wanna make this post as short and sweet as i can as i've been struggling to find a way to write this in a coherent fashion (i'm VERY tired today, lol), especially with everything that's been going down in the fandom lately. people are not happy right now. this is a post meant to explain what i'm going to be doing with my Crarry stuff from now on, as well as how i'm gonna be using my fan design for Craig.

on the topic of my Craig x Barry art: i've been a little bit conflicted on what to do with it for a little bit, but i've mostly decided towards keeping it up on my blog for archival purposes. i don't like having to remove my art, especially when 1. it was made with the context that the (at the time) canon truth was that Barry and Craig were nothing but unrelated friends, and 2. it's still good art and it brought me a lot of joy when i first created it. i've regretted deleting art in the past and i think that i'd definitely regret deleting it now, especially if there was a threat of it becoming lost media and i didn't have the files to back it up. i care too much about my art to do that. so, it's all staying up on my blog, with the added disclaimer that it was made before August 17th 2024 and that it was obviously not supposed to portray weird incest stuff. can't do much about putting a disclaimer on it if it's already been reblogged though, so it's only gonna appear on the original post :/

on the topic of Craig himself: this is the bit i'm most excited about, but it's also the hardest bit to explain in a way that makes sense, so i'll try not to get ahead of myself here.

so, to start off with: in this post, i made some doodles showing an improved fan design i had made for Craig that portrays him as a blond nerdy guy with glasses and an injured eye. this is obviously not how Craig ended up looking like in canon and wasn't what i expected him to look like, it was something i made for myself and my own art. even so, he was practically just a skin applied to a pre-existing character whose personality had already been established. but now that the Craig i intended that design to be attached to has been revealed to be something we thought he wasn't (barry's entire freaking dad), i'm gonna do something a little different with my Craig to differentiate him from canon. i'm gonna take everything i liked about him before the reveal, retool him and his personality to better match the ideas and headcanons i had brewing in my head for him, and create a whole new canon for him to reside in. i've basically made him into a slightly divergent alternate version of canon Craig, basically. and it is incredibly self-indulgent, lol. (isn't that what being a creative is all about though..... self indulgence and insane storycrafting)

this bit might be slightly controversial, but what i'm planning with this version of Craig is that i'm gonna continue shipping Barry with him instead of Canon Craig like before. i really like the dynamic that Barry and Craig had in canon before the Dad Reveal Jumpscare Incident, with them sort of being polar opposites who would have some silly banter with each other, but also having a few similarities and shared interests that would bring them together, so that dynamic is gonna be brought over to this canon i've created for myself. it's basically gonna be a smorgasbord of everything i like about these characters with some expansions and slight changes to better fit with what i think would have been cool to see actually happen in canon. i'm likely gonna make a post about how i want to characterise my Craig later, but just know that 1. CranBarry is a thing in my little universe and 2. my Craig =/= Canon Craig and there will be a disclaimer explaining that on each fanwork i make depicting the ship from now on. i should probably give my Craig a last name so i don't have to keep calling him "my Craig" for disambiguation......

this hasn't been done out of spite or disrespect towards HB or anything at all. i'm disappointed with the change they made, and i do think it was very poorly executed, but at the end of the day, what happens in canon is not my story to write no matter how much i want to see in the series, and all i can do is sigh, shrug, pick up a pencil and start enacting the change i want to see for myself. i'm someone who believes that, while art can absolutely be criticised, it's up to the artist to decide what they want to do, and they don't have to cater to feedback if they don't want to. granted, it is a little different in Halfbrick's case because Jetpack Joyride is their product, and they are a sizable company who also makes money and business decisions and has a big audience and whatnot, but you get it right? it sucks, but like.... there's not really much you can do about it apart from write something you'd want to see.

so yeah, that's pretty much everything. i'm hoping this will go over well with everything that's happened because i really do love the gay little relationship i've given these two, i just can't continue doing it with the canon version of Craig for obvious reasons. the only problem i really see this causing is the very slight irritation that will come with possibly having to clarify this every time i post a Crarry thing. it'll probably be no biggie though, i'll just link to this post explaining everything. i sure do love coming up with incredibly convoluted solutions to simple problems looolll, it's my special talent at this point XD ahh well. if there's a bright side, it means i get to be even more self-indulgent and creative with these doofuses, and there might be some new headcanon and fanfic stuff coming later, as well as new Craig art. sucks that canon decided to fold in on itself, but i'm gonna try to ignore it for the most part.

[pectinpeeress]

Aarghhhh.... kind of a rant below, sorry about that, somethings just been bugging me...

I’ve been kind of annoyed with a lot of the Opinions I’ve seen on Kimblee as a character, especially in terms of his relationship with Riza. Because I feel like people keep trying to justify his character morally in order to justify liking him. And, first of all, a character doesn’t need to be a good person for you to like them; and secondly, it makes the characters way less interesting?!?

Like, If you look at Kimblees narrative purpose as a character, he isn’t supposed to represent a real person. Just like how the Greek gods are more similar to the element they’re meant to represent than an actual person, Kimblee is the idea of narcissism come manifest. I get that writing is subjective, but Arakawa has literally said that she based Kimblee off of Alex from A Clockwork Orange – a character whose so insufferably self-centered, he makes you wonder if he even deserves to act for himself-- so I feel like it’s fair to say that regardless of what anyone claims, the intention is for him to be an irredeemable person.

I think that what confuses a lot of people is that he has an understandable set of motivations, and people don’t understand the difference between an understandable villain and a sympathetic villain. Kimblee is not a sympathetic villain, he’s given no backstory, no noble goals, or sympathetic motivation. But he is an understandable villain. We understand his thought process, but that doesn’t mean that we can view him as a good person. Honestly, his motivation has always reminded me of alt-right accelerationism, he recognizes that the things he’s doing are bad, but he just doesn’t care.

This is why it bugs me when people claim that he and Riza had a connection, or that Riza sympathized with him. Because it ignores the narrative purpose of his character. He’s the manifestation of the hypocrisy of Amestris. The government claims violence is a necessary evil, but the system is built to reward sadism. It’s sort of like how our society claims to reward kindness, and yet the most powerful people are billionaires who exploit their workers. So when he tells Riza to look in the eyes of the people she kills, it’s impactful because she hates him. It’s her becoming disillusioned with the lies and propaganda of the military. They claim to be protecting the people of Amestris but in reality, they’re just a weapon for the government to use as it sees fit. Riza doesn’t sympathize with Kimblee, she loses her patriotism, and that is the point.

To be clear, I don’t care which characters you like, or what you ship, or whatever, but when you claim that Riza and Kimblee got along, you’re actively making her character less compelling. The narrative goes from “soldier becomes disillusioned with the military” to “woman is tempted by the ~dark side~” which like, that’s fine, there’s nothing inherently wrong with simplifying a character. My issue comes from the fact that people act like they’re improving her character or making her more interesting, and they’re not. She goes from a really interesting look into the purpose of the military and the motivations of the soldiers within it, to a poorly written YA protagonist. And for what?  A love-triangle? The aesthetic?

It just irritates me because there’s this undertone to it like they’re saving Riza from being overly dependent on a man by latching her to another man. Like, the whole point of Riza’s character is that despite being dehumanized her entire life, she is still a human with free will and agency, and their attempt to fix what they perceive as the faults of Riza’s character is to turn her into a tool used by a different man? Like, can’t she just be evil on her own? Why is she only allowed to do immoral things through the proxy of a man? It comes off as way more dehumanizing than any of the tropes they’re trying to fix, while also ignoring that she’s an intentional subversion of those tropes.

IDK, just to clarify, I really do not care about your personal taste or whatever content you make. It’s stupid to act like the mere act of liking a fictional character is indicative of a person’s actual ethics, and it’s even stupider to think that fandom discourse will have any sort of positive impact on their moral compass. What mostly bugs me is when people act like they're smarter than everyone else for liking something when it’s like??? Dude just like what you like you don’t need to lie about the narrative to justify it.

[bonesandthebees]

Chapter 22:

Wilbur blaming himself for cursing Tommy because he’s the one whose cursed and feeling guilty about it vs. Tommy blaming himself for getting curse because he told Wilbur to take of his blindfold and feeling guilty about Wilbur blaming himself and feeling like shit. (Probably also about stressing Phil and Techno out).

The resurface of Wilbur’s ‘death wise’. It’s not that he wants to die per se, it’s more that religious guilt and what he thinks he deserves + jumping to the worst conclusions any time he can. But we are in his head, everyone around him is not and therefore worried(TM).

Phil and Techno clearly being upset, but trying their hardest to not let it show because they know Wilbur and Tommy probably tried everything in their power to avoid this, so it’s not their fault and being angry at them won’t help. Also, Wilbur will (and did) that their frustrations as anger at him. (I just love their ‘parenting’ style, they are so chill whereas in other stories characters like these would get a very for plot, they are just here to be (mostly) reasonable.)

The codependency kicking in strong. Sleeping in the same room. Constantly being together and when they aren’t there’s always someone else with them, most often Phil and Techno. When one of them needs a 1 on 1 talk the other will always stay or escort the remaining member of the codependency gang. (Which is how we get Wilbur not noticing Techno is still with him at the end.)

Speaking of the end: Tommy is still the only person who knows that Wilbur used to be a street kid, so his little rant might tip Techno of to that. At which point Techno could suddenly understand why they get along so well. (At least I’m pretty sure Wilbur says that nobody cared about him on the street, I’m not going back to check).

Also, Tommy being very scared of dying even though he doesn’t really (fully) believe in the curse vs. Tommy not wanting anyone (especially Wilbur) to be worried about him (or get made at Wilbur). So he hides that he’s cursed and he’s so damn good in pretending he doesn’t feel like shit. But then the second he’s just with people who know he’s cursed, you can sort of see him unravel, because he’s still scared.

Also, Phil telling Wilbur that he’s going to need to decide if he still wants to be Pythia and soon is food for my ‘they are working together with Eret to take over and possibly using Wilbur as a gambling chip’ theory. There’s more to fuel that theory in chapter 23, so I’ll get to it.

And lastly, Phil pointing that Wilbur couldn’t have changed the vision is fuel of the ‘the Pythia can see the future, but never change it and maybe even help cause it’ theory. There’s also a bit with Tommy but I can’t remember which chapter that’s in, so I’ll put it in the next one.

-🌲

the totally not brothers are in a competition to out self-guilt each other

yeah I thought it was really interesting to show wilbur returning to that mindset even if it was just a brief moment. just showing that even though he's improved a lot, he's still got a lot of issues and some troubling mindsets that are ingrained into him which led to some very unhealthy thought patterns. he never wanted to die, but he's been made to feel like his life isn't worth much at all so if he's not serving his purpose and/or he's done something wrong, dying might be the best option

I think it helps that phil and techno are also literally worshippers of death. like of course they're worried and upset and don't want tommy to die, but they have a different view of death than most people do, which also lends itself to their more chill reaction. and like you said, they know wilbur and tommy definitely did everything they could to avoid this.

oh yeah the codependency is only gonna be kicked up higher with this whole situation. the brothers are attached at the hip and phil and techno can tell.

tommy IS scared yes!! despite worshipping death he's also an 18 year old who doesn't want to die yet. sure death isn't as scary for him as it is for most people, but he's not ready to go. tommy's actually got a really interesting internal struggle going on right now with his own religious beliefs conflicting with his fears of dying that I don't have much opportunity to show. but yeah he's got a lot of internal conflict going on with his belief in kristin right now

hmm theories theories theories :)

[nexility-sims]

hi, just stopping by to ask could you give me answers for 26, 33, 42, and 44 for leonor? please and thank you

HARD MODE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT  /   accepting ! ooh, mary, these were so good !!! thank you !!!

26. how does your character behave around children?

solid question ! leonor has the capacity to be good with children, but it's just a matter of her choosing to give them the attention and patience that requires. she's steady, reliable, and treats children like proper human beings, which i think they tend to appreciate. she's also observant and good at figuring out what other people want or need, so that can be useful. still, like i said, first step is choosing to acknowledge their existence and bother with them. she's a relatively hands-off parent with her own child, and certainly was when she was younger and most needful, so ... i think she's usually disinterested but nice or friendly around other people's children.

33. in the face of criticism, is your character defensive, self-deprecating, or willing to improve?

it's complicated, although i'll say she's never self-deprecating. leonor is someone whose natural response to criticism is defensiveness, but she's also well-accustomed to being criticized. she was raised as an heir to the crown for the first twenty years of her life, and the uspanian philosophy for preparation to rule is, in a phrase, early and intense. her sensibilities about criticism were shaped by beatriz, who was her instructor and model more than safya. leonor was a better student than her mother in some ways. anyway .... being defensive makes sense, i think, if you're someone who's deliberate and purposeful, independent and resistant to change, domineering and arrogant. yet, there's still a willingness and need to improve beneath it all. it's not from the desire to please or avoid conflict but because leonor is smart and self-serving enough to discern useful, applicable criticism from what she can ignore.

42. has your character ever had a parental figure who was not related to them?

i'm blanking ! her family is so large and, in some ways, insular that it's hard for me to come up with someone who'd both be a plausible candidate and already exist as a character ... outside of her mother and grandmother, it's her grandfather and her aunts and uncles, so ... well. this is actually such a useful question because i'm realizing i should flesh out someone who was gonna be tiny character in the spinoff series anyway. with that in mind, i'm going to say that, in theory, she must be close with the chiefs of staff to her mother and grandmother. these people have full-time jobs, which very often included making sure baby leonor was comfortable, paying attention, and having her many very serious questions answered :^)

44. how easy or difficult is it for your character to say “I love you?” Can they say it without meaning it?

it's harder for her to get there than to say it. she doesn't strike me as someone who hesitates to make her feelings known, whether out of fear or rejection or lack of confidence. telling someone you respect them, they disgust you, you hate them, you love them ... leonor likes to know where she stands, and she likes for other people to know where they stand, too. so, i feel like it's not something she would lie about or fake, either. if she doesn't feel that way, why pretend? certainly not for trivial reasons like sparing anyone's feelings or keeping the peace.

[adamwatchesmovies]

Patch Adams (1998)

While I didn't enjoy this film, that doesn't mean you won't. No matter what I say, the people involved in this project did it: they actually made a movie. That's something to be applauded. With that established...

Patch Adams is based on a true story, which is shocking. Not because a real-life doctor called Hunter “Patch” Adams existing seems impossible; because this film is so phoney, so emotionally manipulative, so misguided and manufactured not an ounce of it rings true. Obviously green-lit as a dramatic vehicle for Robin Williams, the story he’s given leaves a bad taste in your mouth despite his best efforts. It was a hit upon release and you can see why. This is exactly the kind of manipulative melodrama that would sucker indiscriminating viewers.

While self-administered in a mental institution, Hunter “Patch” Adams (Williams) finds that humou - rather than the cold, clinical attitude most doctors hold - yields the best results among the patients. After enlisting at the Medical College of Virginia, he questions the attitude his teachers hold towards the patients, raising the ire of Dean Walcott (Bob Gunton) and his roommate, Mitch (Philip Seymour Hoffman).

You can tell which scenes Robin Williams juiced up with his improv. Those moments are great and genuinely funny. The man had a warmth to him that made you believe in his character. Patch seems genuinely sweet and sympathetic. The rest of the picture is unintentionally funny when it isn’t cloying, overly sanctimonious and overbearing. I’m still shocked we didn’t get a scene of Dean Walcott slaming his fists upon a table yelling “Aaaaadams!” like the crusty dean in so many frat-centered comedies. The man’s a cartoon, a bizarro-world version of Patch who wishes every doctor could surgically remove their emotional glands to be as robotic as possible while practicing. This portrait of the medical world is an insult to doctors, who - according to this film - do not care about their patients at all.

I could criticize the film for diverging from the real story of Patch Adams but I won't. While the 47-year-old Williams is twice the age the real man was when he began his career, the casting is good. It's fine to stray from reality because movies are not real life. If you want to take liberties, however, do it to make the film more interesting. This brings us to the worst character in the film: Monica Potter as Carin, a fellow medical student. In a movie filled with stereotypes, she may be the worst; a love interest introduced where none is needed, a token female whose sole purpose is to serve the male lead. It gets downright offensive in the end but even before then, it’s kinda creepy to see Williams flirting with the then-27-year-old who tells him she’s not interested. He persists until eventually, she relents. It makes the sweet Patch seem like a creep and further undermines his character. Perpetually goofy and never seen studying (though we’re assured he’s acing his tests and brilliant at medicine), Patch steals medical supplies, bursts into patients’ rooms unannounced, invades people’s privacy and repeatedly ignores his superiors’ orders. You understand why doctors feel the need to remain emotionally distant from their patients. They're very likely to see someone in their care die. It happens in this movie. There is something to be said about being too cold but this movie takes things to such extremes that no one would ever want to be cared for by Patch.

Relying on one cliché after another and going for cheap sentiments every time is the favourite tactic of director Tom Shadyac but let’s not forget to blame screenplay writer Steve Oedekerk. Ultimately, Patch Adams is interested in giving Robin Williams a role. Everything else was an afterthought. (On DVD, June 7, 2019)

[theladysherlock]

BYE Story Time

One of my favorite Ethan moments is when he tried to filibuster the end of the world.

You have to understand, I did not expect this campaign to last so long. I made Ethan as an improv bro, frat boy adjacent bard, thinking that the campaign would fizzle out four sessions in. He was a joke character. I made him cringe on purpose. He was a super-senior who was captain of a failing improv comedy group, and he knew he was painfully un-cool. He was a deeply un-cool person in a party of awesome, powerful people and that was part of his charm.

The other important thing to understand is that throughout the entire campaign I rolled like shit. I've never had consistently dogshit rolls with any other character, just Ethan. On top of that, he had an extremely mid build-- even as a level eleven bard, his charisma score was only 16. He failed often. So often that it ended up being a running joke. As the campaign went on, I played a bit with his Insecurity about being the weakest link on the team. He had failed his senior year of college (though he was always quick to say he failed on purpose), he had no future plans or job prospects, and everything he tried to do combat-wise tended to fizzle out. Surely the others saw him as an annoying, stupid, stubborn fuck-up, and they only put up with him because he was good for a cure wounds in a pinch.

Anyway. The world was going to end.

The party had had a week to convince some demigods to vote to save the world, and we failed. 4-3, they voted to create the world anew, going far enough back in time until they had a blank enough slate to remake the world in their image. Everyone in the party was trapped, unable to use their magic or their weapons to stop whatever was about to happen.

And then, as a last-ditch effort, Ethan raised his hand and started asking questions about policy. "How far back in time would the world go? Fifty years? Would fifty years enough time to undo the damage? If not, won't you all just end up here again, voting on whether or not to start over? Shouldn't there be a solid plan in place before wiping away history all willy-nilly? Is this plan in phases? How long is the rebuilding process going to take? What happens to the other planes when you wipe this one out?"

He couldn't get out of his restraints; he's not strong enough (of course he's not, he's the weakest party member, remember?) But maybe, if he distracted the main villain long enough, one of his friends could break free. The kid whose favorite thing to do is "yes, and-" people was going to buy his friends time by coming up with as many stupid questions as possible. And maybe, if he poked enough holes, the other demigods would start to think that the plan was more trouble than it was worth.

Obviously, this didn't work. The DM had a huge, climactic fight we had to get to, and it would spoil the fun if the session devolved into me poking holes in proposed infrastructure for three hours. But the futility of his attempt makes me love it more. The only thing that Ethan can do in this moment is one of the things he's self conscious about: being a fucking nuisance. There's no "oh it turns out I'm not actually annoying" moment where he realizes at the last second that his friends loved him all along. He's weaponizing the flaws that he's insecure about! Yes, he's annoying! Yes, he's stubborn! And he's going to make that the main villain's problem for as long as possible! Fuck you!