#also I get that exploring underdeveloped friendships can be fun and all

[moonchild033]

Astro Observations -5💃

Here we go with part-5!!! My schedule is getting hectic, I managed some time to make this finally 😭😭❤💫

(These observations are based on the whole sign system, sidereal charts and all obs are subject to change with other aspects in the chart, so don't conclude anything with a single placement) ❤

1. Mercury in Capricorn/Aquarius or in Saturn ruled stars- Could've got late admissions in educational institutions or had academic gaps or breaks. This could also be true if Saturn is in Gemini/Virgo or in mercury ruled stars.😌

2. Jupiter in 10H esp in fire/air signs- They could have the tendency to change jobs frequently, mostly because their interests are diverse or they like the concept of exploring, taking a long time to settle down.😊

3. Having same ascendant in both D1 & D3- The person will be courageous, they could get benefits and significant help from siblings. Their source of motivation in life could come from their friendships, a close knit of circle who always motivates them to move forward.💫

4. Virgo mercury - Can be prone to losing money in share market, due to online frauds etc. These ppl should be careful with their money. You could even lose it carelessly, like forgetting the money purse somewhere. 🤧

5. Jupiter in 7H for Gemini ascendant - Even though Jupiter is in own house in this placement, it can give late marriage to the person if it's alone in 7H or doesn't receive any aspects from other benefic planets.😇

6. More planets in Leo house in D2- You will attain wealth by your own hardwork and independently. This placement can also make the person to start earning earlier than their peers or simply have more earnings regardless of what age they started going to a job.💃

7. More planets in Cancer house in D2- You will be blessed with extravagant lifestyle and wealth after marriage. Your partner will play a significant role in determining your wealth---you could either have a joint bank account with your partner OR after their arrival in your life, you could've experienced significant rise in your salary.🤩

8. Mars-moon conjunction in D4- The property you buy in your name could be located near water sources or you can be inclined to buy agricultural lands or at least buy a commercial plot with a countryside environment. If it's in a water sign, you would buy properties in your name near coastal cities.💙

9. Ashlesha/Jyeshta/Revati Moons- No matter how manipulative or cold they might appear due to moon in mercury star, they can fall in love easily. Even if they're slow, they're as obsessive, deep and consuming as Scorpio moons when in love. Some ppl might have had obsessive crushes or a long relationship for years during school days itself.💖

10. Mars-Sun conjunction in D4- House in your name could be placed near government owned buildings or in a colony where many government officials reside. You might construct a house in warmer places (by temperature in surrounding) than the ones you grew up in.🌡

11. Cancer Venus in a woman's chart- Female friends can get jealous of them, after wedding, even the female family members of the groom could do so. It's because of their perfect embodiment of feminine self, it can make other underdeveloped females insecure. Might not be the case for everyone, just observed this in few.💜

12. Placements and the type of house construction/aesthetics you may like & build:

(This doesn't mean you will end up building your house like this for sure, these placements should make aspects to the 4H/4H lord, 4H shouldn't be afflicted, favorable mahadasha should come and many more other aspects, so take the below ones as a fun read!)

Venus in Taurus/Libra/Pisces- Lots of interior designing & unique architecture. They want their house to be very aesthetically pleasing and appreciated by others. They have a eye for beauty.😍

Rahu in 4H- House constructed in an extravagant manner, has many rooms🤭

Mercury-saturn conjunction - Likes building staircase inside the house and basements having those spiral steps like in the horror films lol.🤫

Aries Sun - Grand entrance, the main gate or the house door will be big both in terms of height and width. They could like adding glass elements that reflect light on top of house door or any architecture near that.💅

Jupiter-Saturn conjunction - Loves unique and high class wooden sculptures and furnitures. These could be the people who would import specific type of wood to make their study table hehe.💪

Taurus/Cancer Moon- Water flowing architecture inside the house. You may also be fond of having fish tanks. This placement along with taurus or libra venus can give (for ex.) unique statues and water flowing from it or glass floors and fish maintenance below it.🤪

Leo Moons- Most probably likes having their own swimming pool in their house, especially purva phalguni moons.😻

Mars-moon conjunction - Loves doing indoor gardening. Rahu in the mix can give technological advancements in this, like having hydroponics system or any specialized type of gardening.🌱

Venus-rahu conjunction - Prefers different colored lighting settings, can even have home theatre setups. They like aesthetic light works with multiple colors and all shiny at least in one room for recreation.✨

Venus-Mars conjunction - Highlights strong security systems. They could appoint a watchman or have CCTV cameras surrounding their house. Mars in rahu's star having this conjunction, they might have advanced touch or face recognition type of security systems.😼

Let's Learn and Grow Together!💋💅

With Love-Yashi ❤⚡

Masterlist 💖

[leantailean]

I really love Toko, but i feel like its often constrained, largely due to the age gap. Like stories will often either be set in post-canon, or the characters will be aged up. Do you feel like that holds true and if yes do you feel like there's a dynamic that i'm missing. And post-canon is fun to explore, but i feel like the most interesting story telling is generally set while the war is ongoing. Conversely i feel like aging up Zuko would be fairly disruptive to his journey. Not that i think those are bad things, i'm really liking Third Time's the Charm that plays with the latter, and arranged marriage which to feels like a very natural trope for them, and obviously i love your art. They say for a reason that constraints inspire creativity. I'm just curious about your thoughts about that.

Hi! Thanks for the ask and sorry for the late reply (sickness prevented me from replying)

I have a lot to say about this, so let’s begin (it’s a loooooong answer).

Age gap is the most common argument against toko I’ve heard. And, to be honest, I find it really strange. You see, Aang and Zuko have the same age gap, and almost the same have Sokka and Toph, and nevertheless Tokka and Zukaang are quite widespread and supported ships, and no one cares for the age gap. That’s why I don’t really see why people believe that age gap as an issue in Toko.

And this argument sounds strange also because If relationship, even romantic one that are originates from friendship are starting to built it doesn’t mean they immediately become sexual. Kataang is canon and beautiful, but in reality several years should pass for them before they step into that kind of relationship. I’m even uncomfortable to think about Maiko having sexual activity in the canon, when they both are around 16.

Besides, it is difficult to imagine Zuko anything but aro/ace to me.

 Toko's relationship originates from similar life experiences and mutual support for each other. This is not a love at first sight, but a gradually developing "friends-lovers" relationship. Which, by the way, completely similar with other canonical pairs, such as kataang.

Also I think that this argument originates from extremely wrong, primitive fanon interpretation of Zuko and Toph. Usually Zuko is depicted super mature and super experienced dude (all that dadko bullshit, omg), and they prefer to see Toph as some tomboy-ish brat (here in Russia people call such girls “the guy from the next yard”), rude, not serious and childish. Nothing can be farer from the truth.

In fact, Zuko is emotionally underdeveloped, traumatised and rather infantile due to the abuse he experienced. He Is a teenager with serious anger issues and bad social skills.

Toph is, otherwise, one of the most mature gaang members. She is able to understand and listen to other people , and she never demand anything back (“Yes, thank you Toph”. Indeed it woul be very nice of Sokka and Suki to thank her for saving their lives). Despite her guarding her boundaries carefully she is always open to other people and she is in good contact with her own emotions (which is what Zuko lacks). So in their relationship, at least that the very beginning Toph would be the most mature side (although it’s fair for every possible Zuko’s partner, such as Maiko, Zukka or Zukaang).

 So I don’t think that Toko is having any problems in that sense.

On the one hand, I agree that it’s the most interesting when the relationship somehow develops during canonical events, and not in the post-canon. But in this case, this applies to absolutely any couples, except of maiko, kataang and sukka, since they are the only ones developing during the war. Any possible other relationships, such as Tokka, or Zukka, or Zukaang, can exist only in  post-canon if canonical couples break up for some reason. Again, Toko is no exception in this case.

Zuko and Toph's relationship (doesn’t matter friendly or romantic) did not get the development  they deserve in the third season. In fact, their relationship was just thrown under the bus because of the sloppy writing of the entire third season (to give Zuko one episode with each member of gaang  just to check the box, like "mission accomplished" and give almost not developing of his relationship with each of them outside of these episodes. And Toph was robbed even of this). But despite this, toko still has more then any other fanon ships (although “Boiling Rock” is definitely a very Zukka episode). We see that Toph was the first one who believed Zuko, and not just believed - she actively defended him in front of the others and made an attempt to have a chat with him herself. It is important: the fact that Zuko's relationship with Toph is radically different from any other ones with the rest of the gaang member, since she was not with them when Zuko actively hunted the Avatar, and their first close interaction was after his redemption, when he became the best version of himself. Toph has no personal negative experience with him, and Zuko does not  feel guilty towards her, and with her he doesn’t need to make up for anything, and this is very important.

Strangely enough, but, one of the most Toko moments of the show is the moment in which Zuko and Toph do not interact personally: the meeting of Iroh and Toph. She is also the first from gaang who met and even, one might say, became friends with Iroh. Iroh, who has always been Zuko's father figure is talking to Toph about real Zuko. Not about the imperialist prince cruelly pursuing the last hope of the world - the way Sokka, Katara and Aang knew him - but about just a boy only Iroh, his closes person, knew. In addition, Iroh, who knows and loves Zuko, says how much he and Toph have in common (Iroh is the first and main Toko shipper, and I will die on this hill). Narratively and dramatically, this is an amazing moment, and I will fight with anyone who says that Toko has little canonical content: any other Zuko ships can only dream about such a moment.

It is also interesting that it is with Toph that Zuko has the most sincere conversation about his guilt towards his uncle. He talked about it with Sokka and with Katara, but it was Toph who was able to tell him the right words that really comforted him and make him smile (seriously, this is the best smile Zuko has ever seen, and it happens during his conversation with Toph!)

We see that they feel extremely comfortable and open with each other, even though they barely know each other.

Toph is the only girl in the canon made Zuko to blush, just a fact. And Toph, in her turn, openly talks to Zuko her feelings for him (I'm not saying that her feelings were already romantic at that time ). "This is how I show affection" is just the best moment.

We can talk about many other canonical points that are important for toko: the similarity of characters and life experience - both Zuko and Toph are from the upper class, both grew up in abusive families and both know what it is to feel unloved by their own parents. The Blue Spirit/Blind Bandit is one of the most interesting and direct parallels of Toph and Zuko - an alter ego that they needes to get away from theirs social roles (a prince and a young lady from an aristocratic families). This is the same direct parallel as the canonical pair has: The Painted Lady/Kuzon. Just as Aang and Katara need alter egos to help others people which is the core of their characters and unites them,Toph and Zuko need alter ego in order to satisfy their own desire for freedom, which they cannot satisfy in any other way.

They are both disabled, forced to deal with the fact that people judge them by their disability and appearance, forced to prove every day what they are more than their disability. Again: neither Zuko nor Toph share such an experience with anyone else, only with each other.

So canonically, toko has a lot of support - certainly no less than any other fanon ship.

After all, they look amazing together.

Also, I just love the moment with kissing doves. Seriously, ATLA rarely show us such a perspective, why they needed to place such a scene in the same shot with Toph and Zuko as if it were foreshadowing their future relationship? God, I love it!

I really like to explore the post-canon, especially since  I don’t consider comics and LOK to be canon, although it doesn't even matter - nothing in them contradicts the idea that Toph and Zuko could be together at least at some point in their lives.

To explore  alternative universes for toko, such as the arranged marriage plot, is also a very interesting, and it would be great to talk about it another time.

Thank you for the question, I think my thoughts turned out to be a little messy, but I hope it could be interesting to you.

________

Let's talk about TOKO!

[nogoawaytism]

I was going to make a post about this anyway, but since it's Nitpick November, this will be my submission.

RWBY's characters have a problem with only interacting in pairs. I.e. Penny interacts a lot with Ruby, Pietro, and Winter, but basically has no meaningful relationship with anyone else. It's like the writers establish "hey, this pair of characters here will interact often because they're partners, this pair will interact often because they are love interests, this pair will interact because they share a story arc, etc". Which is good of course, but it's like they forget to add in those interactions with the other characters. The initial gang of RWBY/JNPR is presented as good friends in a group, but it's just harder to buy when some characters never interact in a meaningful way. Ruby and Weiss have a lot of interaction with Jaune, and Weiss interacts some with Pyrrha, but that's the gist of anything noteworthy. Ruby and Blake are not only on the same team, they're on the titular team that's been established as a sisterhood. Yet, they have almost nothing in the way of interactions until V6. I feel like the writing team has these moments where they realize that some characters and their relationships are underdeveloped, so they write in some stuff for them to fill that quota. That's actually the reason why V5 accidentally became the Freezerburn volume. (What? You mean to tell me it wasn't a freezerburn volume? Nonsense) That's also why Ruby and Blake got these sweet moments in V6 and V8. They're nice, but they fall so flat because their relationship has been so neglected to that point, it's almost pointless. That's why Blake and Jaune and Yang and Ren share these awkward little side hug things when the two groups reunite in V6. Sure, the writing team has clearly realized their mistakes in this area, but that doesn't excuse not doing this from the beginning. It's like the character bloat problem: it creates this annoying itch in my brain that can only be scratched by fan content. You have a cast that represents so many diverse personalities and backstories here, yet you rarely take the time to allow these worldviews bounce off one another. The fans are clawing at the walls, because there's just SO MUCH potential here. Yang and Nora were both abandoned by their mothers? Weiss and Pyrrha both have fame they didn't ask for? That's not even counting stuff like WEISS'S family company being stamped over Adam's motherfucking eyeball, yet Adam never considers going after any Schnee family members? How realistic.

Sure, they've been trying to fix this problem in recent volumes, but in V9 it's actually hit a peak. Because MKEK is so bad at writing romance, Yang and Blake are currently incapable of realistically interacting with other people that aren't themselves. That is such a childish way to write a romantic couple, particularly a romantic couple in the same group of friends. It's been said before, but in real life, you don't just put your other relationships on a standby when you start dating someone. (At least you shouldn't!) I read several fanfics in which Blake and Yang end up with other characters, but guess what? They still have a friendship with each other. Not only that, their friendship is written to be healthier than it is in CANON. You know, the canon where they're making out and all. I guess my point is, even when you have a character in a romantic relationship, they still have such a diverse tapestry of other relationships. Just like in real life, their chemistry with their friends are all very distinct from each other, as well as with their partner. And it's FUN. It's enjoyable reading or watching a story with a variety of relationships presented, because it reflects a beautiful aspect of life. I don't know if I've been very clear with my point, but I just don't get why CRWBY doesn't embrace this principle. It's genuinely so fun to explore and write.

[seravphs]

Five recs (but the recs are my own writing) 

Thank you to lovely @gardenofnoah and @stellamancer for tagging me! 

Halfway through this I realized I was treating it like a writing critique instead of an actual fic rec so it’s more a reflection on how I’ve developed as a writer lmao.

hard feelings — I love Rin and the potential for exploring complicated relationships and feelings through him. Out of all my works, this is the most reader centric. I always feel like I can improve on my angst, and that it’s never as emotionally crippling as I want it to be, but I enjoyed writing about a more imperfect reader in this one. I’d love to keep writing for “bad” readers, actually!

ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies — I like amnqaitynl because it’s how I became friends with Aleks but also because I think it really captures the pining of a friendship turned something more. While it’s not high stakes because it’s just a college relationship, at the same time, it’s so intense! It’s everything to you, this friendship and the potential of losing it and the potential of earning something more, if you’re willing to take a little (big) risk.

religion, like crime, is also organized — Writing mafia fic is inherently hard because I’m constantly trying to avoid the wattpad label, but I really enjoyed exploring a fraught, tense dynamic where you’re not sure if the other person has your best interests at heart because the push and pull is so fun. Playing with religion as an element has always interested me as well!

a lost love takes a long time to die — The only long fic that made it onto this list is for Nanami, which is the way it should be. When I was writing Teen Dad Gojo all the way back in 2021, I always knew I was going to write a series of (unconnected) long fics for the big three (Nanami, Gojo, and Getou.) It took me until 2023 to finish alltalttd because I was so underdeveloped as a writer that I could never manage to write more than a few lines. I think it pushed me a lot in learning how to write fight scenes, deal with major character death, create a complete world, etc. whereas in Teen Dad! Gojo I completely bullshitted it if I’m being completely honest. I also really loved the supernatural element in this! If I could do it over, I wish I could explore the ghost marriage aspect more, especially culturally.

cruel summer universe — This is a love letter to the ordinary extraordinariness of having love in your life. Even though I write it to be very sweet and happy, in the back of my mind, I’m always thinking about how it ends in tragedy for Gojo and crew, so it reminds me of this quote about how even if the love didn’t save anyone, it was there. So this is the work that’s closest to my heart because it’s about how beautiful my relationships with others are.

It’s also my coming of age requiem! While I look forward to getting older, I’m nostalgic for a life that I know is now slipping out of my hands. I’ll still have the people I love, but the shape of our relationship will inevitably change with age. It feels like growing pains, something I have to resist until I realize how good it can be for me. 

Someone commented that it feels like a hug to read, and that’s how it feels to write. Even though it flopped so badly when I first posted it to the point where I thought it didn’t make it into the tags, it ended up being the fic I connect most with others on. Cruel Summer has brought me the most beautiful and heartfelt interactions.

honorable mention: arrive through obliteration — I don’t like the smut in this and I wish I could take it out lmao but I like the atmosphere! Fight scenes are also hard for me, so I’m really glad I pushed through it. 

honorable mention: starboy — technically star boy isn’t posted yet, but while I was working on it, I realized I’ve improved a lot since Teen Dad! Gojo. One of the reasons I dislike Teen Dad! Gojo so much is because I feel like a lot of the scenes could be trimmed down where I was struggling to move the timeline along, whereas in starboy, it feels fluid and natural.

no pressure tags: @seoafin (hope you’re enjoying Japan!) @oh-katsuki (also in Japan and presumably doing better things than thinking about fic lol but in case you want to!) @mintmatcha (no pressure means no pressure but I love your writing so I’d love to know what you think are your top five are!) @andypantsx3 (on hiatus...this is not shaping up well for me lol but if you’d like to, I’m interested in what your personal top five are!) @princess-okkotsu (you’ve definitely been tagged in this before but I would love to hear your thoughts on your writing!)  And anyone who’s reading! I’m serious, I would love to hear people’s thoughts on their own work! A writer I really like does author’s notes whenever she posts a fic and reading them after I finish a fic is the best feeling. 

[galedekarios]

Would you say that Baldur's Gate III is worth buying during early access?

i am not going to show you the absurd amount of hours i have poured into the game thus far, anon, BUT as much as i want to say yes because of that, it would entirely depend on what you are looking for as an experience.

bg3 gives you a lot to enjoy, but it's by no means a finished product. there's bugs, there's underdeveloped characters, there's questlines that remain open-ended for now, there's a limited space to explore and you will run into dead ends, there's some jank, there might be changes that you like and changes that you won't like down the line as it is still developed.

larian is relatively silent about their development with the exception of streaming their panels from hell every few months or so. there is no road map. a release date is set tentatively for sometime next year.

you also have to keep in mind that you are paying the price for the full game in advance. it is 60 bucks even for early access right now.

if you are ok with that, there is a lot to enjoy, however:

you get a relatively expansive character creator with different races, classes, background, voices and, of course, various cosmetical options -- and there's still more coming.

the companions in bg3 are all very distinct and unique, most of them from what we have at the moment are well-written and fleshed out, revealing their motivations, the beginnings of their quest and the beginning of their friendship/romance paths. the voice actors across the board are amazing and, what i love most, is that they all have their own unique body language.

that attention to detail is something you find along the entirey of the early access.

i don't want to spoil plot points for you so i will only say that the early access sets up a lot of intriguing plot points that i hope we can fully follow up and explore once the game is released in its entirety.

the turn-based combat itself is fun for me and very complex, it allows for a lot of freedom to think and decide how you defeat an enemy, but the expansive dialogue options also allow you to avoid many fights if you are so inclined.

there is a lot to explore and, what's more, your exploration will be rewarded.

what also may be important is that you do not need to have played the previous games to understand or get into this one. it certainly hopes, but it's not necessary.

overall, like i said, i, personally, would whole-heartedly recommend it, but it depends on what you expect from it. there are many pros and cons to be had here.

still, i hope that helps! 🖤

ps: i found this spoiler-free before you buy vid you could watch if you're interested! it's a bit outdated, but overall still a good way to get a glimpse and perhaps make up your mind.

[army-of-mai-lovers]

Jet and Yue’s Deaths: Were They Necessary?

Two of the most common ideas I see for aus in this fandom are the Jet lives au, and the Yue lives au. I’ve written both of these myself, and I’ve seen many others write them. And while yes, fanfiction can be a great way to explore ideas that didn’t necessarily have to be explored in canon (I’m mad at bryke for a lot of things, but not including a Toph and Bumi I friendship is not one of them, even though I wrote a fic about it), it seems to me that people are mad that Yue and Jet are dead, to varying degrees. There’s a lot to talk about regarding their deaths from a sociopolitical perspective (the fact that two of the darker-skinned characters in the show are the ones that died, and all the light-skinned characters lived, is ah... an interesting choice), but I don’t want to look at it that way, at least for right now. I want to look at it as a writer, and discuss whether these deaths were a) necessary for the plot and themes of ATLA in any way whatsoever and b) whether it was necessary for them to unfold in the way that they did, or if they would have been more impactful had they occurred in a different way. 

(meta under the cut, this got really, really, really long)

Death in Children’s Media

When I first started thinking about this meta, I had this idea to compare Jet and Yue’s deaths to deaths in an animated children’s show that I found satisfying. And in theory, that was a great idea. Problem is: there aren’t very many permanent deaths in children’s animation, and the ones that do exist aren’t especially well-written. This may be an odd thing to say in what is ostensibly a piece of atla crit, but Yue’s death is probably the best written death in a piece of children’s animation that I can think of. That’s not a compliment. Rather, it’s a condemnation of the way other pieces of children’s animation featuring permanent character death have handled their storylines. 

I’ve talked about this before, but my favorite show growing up was Young Justice, and my favorite character on that show was far and away Mr. Wally West. So when he died at the end of season 2, it broke me emotionally. Shortly thereafter, Cartoon Network canceled the show, and I started getting on fan forums to mourn. Everybody on these fan forums was convinced that had Cartoon Network not canceled the show, Wally would have been brought back. And that is a narrative that I internalized for years. Eventually, the show was brought back via DC’s new streaming service, and I tuned in, waiting for Wally to also be brought back, only to discover that that wasn’t in the cards. Wally was dead. Permanently. 

So now that I know that, I can talk about why killing him off was fucking stupid. Wally’s death occurs at the end of season 2, after the main s2 conflict, the Reach, has been defeated, save for these pods that they set up all over the world to destroy Earth. Our heroes split up in teams of two to destroy the pods, and they destroy all of them, except for a secret one in Antartica. It can only be neutralized by speedsters, so Wally, Bart, and Barry team up to destroy it. It’s established in canon that Wally is slower than Bart and Barry, and it’s been played for laughs earlier in the season, but for reasons unexplained, the pod is better able to target Wally because he’s slower than Bart and Barry, and it kills him. After the emotional arc of the season has wrapped up, a literal main character dies. There’s some indication at the end of that season that his death is going to cause Artemis to spiral and become a villain, but when season 3 picks up, she’s doing the right thing, with seemingly no qualms about her position in life as a hero. In the comics, something like this happens to Wally, but then he goes into the Speed Force and becomes faster and stronger even than Barry, in which case, yes, this would have advanced the plot, but that’s probably not in the cards either. 

In summary, Wally’s death doesn’t work as a story beat, not because it made me mad, but because it doesn’t advance the plot, nor does it develop character. Only including things that advance plot or develop character is one of the golden rules of writing. Like most golden rules of writing, however, it’s not absolute. There is a lot of fun to be had in jokey little one off adventures (in atla, Sokka’s haiku competition) or in fun worldbuilding threads that add depth to your setting but don’t really come up (in atla, the existence of Whaletail Island, which is described in really juicy ways, even though the characters never go there.) But in general, when it comes to things like character death, events should happen to develop the plot or advance character. Avatar, for all of its flaws, is really well structured, and a lot of its story beats advance plot and develop character at the same time. However, the show also bears the burden of being a show directed at children, and thus needing to be appropriate for children. And as we know, Nickelodeon and bryke butted heads over this: the death scene that we see for Jet is a compromise, one that implicitly confirms his death without explicitly showing it. So bryke tasked themselves with creating a show about imperialism and war that would do those themes justice while also being appropriate for American children and palatable to their parents. 

The Themes of Avatar vs. Its Audience

So, Avatar is a show about a lone survivor of genocide stopping an imperialist patriarchal society from decimating the rest of the world. It’s also a show about found family and staying true to yourself and doing your best to improve the world. These don’t necessarily conflict with each other, and it is possible for children to understand and enjoy shows about complex themes. And in a lot of cases, bryke doesn’t hold back in showing what the costs of war against an imperialist nation are: losing loved ones, losing yourself, prison, etc. But when it comes to death, the show is incredibly hesitant. None of the main characters that we’ve spent a lot of time getting to know die (not even Iroh, even though he was old and it would have made sense and his VA died before the show was over--but that’s a topic for another day.) This makes sense. I can totally imagine a seven year-old watching Avatar as it was coming out and feeling really sad or scared if a major character died. I was six years older than that when Wally died, and it’s still sad and terrifying to me to this day. However, in a show about war, it would be unrealistic to have no one die. Bryke’s stated reason for killing off Jet is to show the costs of war. I’ve seen a lot of posts about Jet’s death that reiterate some version of this same point--that the great tragedy of his character is that he spent his life fighting the Fire Nation, only to die at the hands of his own country. Similarly, I’ve seen people argue in favor of Yue’s death by saying that it was a great tragedy, but it showed the sacrifices that must be made in a war effort. 

Yue

When we first meet Yue, she is a somewhat reserved, kind individual held back by the rigid social structures of the NWT*. She and Sokka have an immediate attraction to one another, but Yue reveals that she is engaged to Hahn. The Fire Nation invasion happens, Zhao kills Tui, and Yue gives up her life to save her people and the world, and to restore balance. Since we didn’t have a lot of time to get to know Yue, this is framed less as Yue’s sacrifice and more as Sokka’s loss. Sokka is the one who cares for Yue, Sokka is the only one of the gaang who really interacts a lot with Yue on screen, and Sokka is the one we’ve spent a whole season getting to know. While I wouldn’t go so far as to call Yue a prop character (i.e. a character who could be replaced by an object with little change to the narrative), she is certainly underdeveloped. She exists to be unambiguously likable and good, so we can root for her and Sokka, and feel Sokka’s pain when she dies. In my opinion, this is probably also why a lot of fic that features Yue depicts her as a Mary Sue--because as she is depicted in the show, she kind of is. We don’t get to see her hidden depths because she is written to die. 

In light of what we’ve established earlier in this meta, this makes sense. Killing off a fully-realized character whom the audience has really gotten to know and care about on their own terms, rather than through the eyes of another character, could be really sad and scary for the kids watching, but not killing anyone off would be an unrealistic depiction of war and imperialism. On the face of it, killing off an underdeveloped, unambiguously likable and good character, whom one of our MCs has a deep but short connection with, is the perfect compromise. 

But let’s go back to the golden rule for a second. Does Yue’s death a) advance the plot, and/or b) develop character? The answer to the first is yes: Yue’s death prompts Aang to use the Avatar State to fight off the Fire navy, which has implications for his ability to control the Avatar State that form one of the major arcs of book 2. The answer to the second? A little more ambiguous. You would think that Yue’s death would have some lasting impact on Sokka that is explored as part of his character arc in book 2, that he may be more afraid to trust, more scared of losing the people he loves, but outside of a few episodes (really, just one I can think of, “The Swamp”) it doesn’t seem to affect him that much. He even asks about Suki in a way that is clearly romantically motivated in “Avatar Day.” I don’t know about you, but if someone I loved sacrificed herself to become the moon, I don’t think I would be seeking out another romantic entanglement a few weeks after her death. Of course, everybody processes grief differently, and one could argue that Sokka has already lost important people in his life, and thus would be accustomed to moving on from that loss and not letting himself dwell on it. But to that, I’d say that moving on by throwing himself into protecting others has already shown itself to be an unhealthy coping mechanism. Remember, Sokka’s misogyny at the beginning of b1 is in part motivated by the fact that his mother died at the hands of the Fire Nation and his father left shortly thereafter to fight the Fire Nation, and he responds to those things by throwing himself into the role of being the “man” of the village and protecting the people he loves who are still with him. Like with Yue, he doesn’t allow himself to dwell on his mother’s death. This could have been the beginning of a really interesting b2 arc for Sokka, in which he throws himself into being the Avatar’s companion to get away from the grief of losing Yue, but this time, through the events of the show, he’s forced to acknowledge that this is an unhealthy coping mechanism. And maybe this is what bryke was going for with “The Swamp”, but this confines his whole process of grief to one episode, where it could have been a season-long arc that really emphasized the effect Yue’s had on his life. 

In the case of Yue, I do lean toward saying that her death was necessary for the story that they wanted to tell (although, I will never turn down a good old-fashioned Yue lives au that really gets into her dynamism as a character, those are awesome.) However, the way they wrote Sokka following Yue’s death reduced her significance. The fact that Yue seemed to have so little impact on Sokka is precisely what makes her death feel unnecessary, even if it isn’t. 

Jet

Okay. Here we go. 

If you know my blog, you know I love Jet. You know I love Jet lives aus. Perhaps you know that I’m in the process of writing a multichapter Jet fic in which he lives after Lake Laogai. So it’s reasonable to assume that, in a discussion of whether or not Jet’s death was necessary, I’m gonna be mega-biased. And yeah, that’s probably true. But up until recently, I wasn’t really all that mad about Jet dying, at least conceptually. As I said earlier, bryke says that in the case of Jet’s death, they wanted to kill a character off that people knew and would care about, so that they could further show the tragedies of war and imperialism. Okay. That is not, in and of itself, a bad idea. 

My issue lies with the execution of said idea. First of all, the framing of Jet’s original episode is so bad. Jet is part of a long line of cartoon villains who resist imperialism and other forms of oppression through violence and are punished for it. This is actually a really common sort of villain for atla/lok, as we see this play out again with Hama, Amon, and the Red Lotus. To paraphrase hbomberguy’s description of this type of villain, basically liberal white creators are saying, “yeah, oppression is bad, but have you tried writing to your Congressman about it?” With Jet, since we have so little information about the village he’s trying to flood, there are a number of different angles that would explain his actions and give them more nuance. My preferred hc is that the citizens of Gaipan are a mix of Earth civilians, Fire citizens, and FN soldiers, and that the Earth citizens refused to feed or house Jet and the other Freedom Fighters because they were orphans and, as we see in the Kyoshi Novels, Earth families stick to their own. Thus, when Jet decides to flood Gaipan, he’s focused on ridding the valley of Fire Nation, but he doesn’t really care about what happens to the Earth citizens of Gaipan because they actively wronged him when he was a kid. That’s just one interpretation, and there have been others: Gaipan was fully Fire Nation, Gaipan was both Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation but Jet decided that the benefits of flooding the valley and getting rid of the Fire Nation outweighed the costs of losing the EK families, etc, etc. There are ways to rewrite that scenario so that Jet is not framed as an unambiguously bloodthirsty monster. In the context of Jet’s death, this initial framing reduces the possible impact that his death could have. Where Yue was unambiguously good, Jet is at the very least morally gray when we see him again in the ferry. And where we are connected to Yue through Sokka, the gaang’s active hatred of Jet hinders our ability to connect with him. This isn’t impossible to overcome--the gaang hates Zuko, and yet to an extent the audience roots for him--but Jet’s lack of screentime and nuanced framing (both of which Zuko gets in all three seasons) makes overcoming his initially flawed framing really difficult. 

So how much can it really be said, that by the time we get to Jet’s death, he’s a character that we know and care about? So much about him is still unknown (what happened to the Freedom Fighters? what prompted Jet’s offscreen redemption? who knows, fam, who knows.) Moreover, most of what we see of him in Ba Sing Se is him actively opposing Zuko and Iroh. These are both characters that at the very least the show wants us to care about. At this point, we know almost everything there is to know about them, we’ve been following them and to an extent rooting for them for two seasons, and who have had nuanced and often sympathetic framing a number of times. So much of the argument I’ve seen regarding Jet centers around the fact that he was right to expose Zuko and Iroh as Firebenders, but the reason we have to have that argument in the first place is because it’s not framed in Jet’s favor. In terms of who the audience cares about more, who the audience has more of an emotional attachment towards, Zuko and Iroh win every time. Whether Jet’s actually in the right or not is irrelevant, because emotionally speaking, we’re primed to root for Zuko and Iroh. In terms of who the framing is biased towards, Jet may as well be Zhao. So when he’s taken by the Dai Li and brainwashed, the audience isn’t necessarily going to see this as a bad thing, because it means Zuko and Iroh are safe.

The only real bit of sympathetic framing Jet gets are those initial moments on the ferry, and the moments after he and the gaang meet again. So about five, ten minutes of the show, total. And then, he sacrifices himself for the gaang. And just like Yue, his death has little to no impact on the characters in the episodes following. Katara is shown crying for four frames immediately following his death, and they bring him up once in “The Southern Raiders” to call him a monster, and once in “The Ember Island Players”, a joke episode in which his death is a joke. 

So, let’s ask again. Does this a) advance the plot, and/or b) develop character? The answer to both is no. It shows that the Dai Li is super evil and cruel, which we already knew and which basically becomes irrelevant in book 3, and that is really the only plot-significant thing I can think of. As far as character, well, it could have been a really interesting moment in Katara’s development in forgiving someone who hurt her in the past, which could have foreshadowed her forgiving Zuko in b3, but considering she calls Jet a monster in TSR, that doesn’t track. There could have been something with Sokka realizing that his snap judgment of Jet in b1 was wrong, but considering that he brings up Jet to criticize Katara in TSR, that also does not track. And honestly, neither of these possible character arcs require Jet to die. What requires Jet to die is the ~themes~. 

Let’s look at this theme again, shall we? The cost of war. We already covered it with Yue, but it’s clearly something that bryke wants to return to and shed new light on. The obvious angle they’re going for is that sometimes, you don’t know who your real enemy is. Jet thought that his enemy was the Fire Nation, but in the end, he was taken down by his own countryman. Wow. So deep. Except, while it’s clear that Jet was always fighting against the Fire Nation, I never got the sense that Jet was fighting for the Earth Kingdom. After all, isn’t the whole bad thing about him in the beginning is that he wants to kill civilians, some of whom we assume to be Earth Kingdom? Why would it matter then that he got killed by an EK leader, when he didn’t seem to ever be too hot on those dudes? But okay, maybe the angle is not that he was killed by someone from the Earth Kingdom, but that he wasn’t killed by someone from the Fire Nation. Okay, but we’ve already seen him be diametrically opposed to the only living Air Nomad and people from the Water Tribes. Jet fighting with and losing to people who aren’t Fire Nation is not a new and exciting development for him. Jet has been enemies with non-FN characters for most of the show’s run at this point. There is no thematic level on which the execution of this holds any water. 

The reason I got to thinking about this, really analyzing what Jet’s death means (and doesn’t mean) for the show, was this conversation I was having with @the-hot-zone in discord dms. We were talking about book 2 and ways it could have been better, and Zone said that they thought that Jet would have been a stronger character to parallel with Zuko’s redemption than Iroh and that seeing more of the narrative from Jet’s perspective could have strengthened the show’s themes. And when it came to the question of Jet’s death, they said, “And if we are going with Jet dying, then I want it to hurt. I want it to hurt just as much as if a main character like Sokka had died. I want the viewer to see Jet's struggles, his triumphs, the facets of Jet that make him compelling and important to the show.” And all of that just hit me. Because we don’t get that, do we? Jet’s death barely leaves a mark. Jet himself barely leaves a mark. His death isn’t plot-significant, doesn’t inspire character growth in any of our MCs, and doesn’t even accomplish the thematic relevance that it claims to. So what was the point? 

Conclusion

Much as I dislike it, Yue’s death actually added something to atla. It could have added much, much more, in the hands of writers who gave more of a shit about their Brown female characters and were less intent on seeing them suffer and knocking them down a peg, but, in my opinion, it did work for what it was trying to do. Jet? Jet? Nah, fam. Jet never got the chance to really develop into a likable character because he was always put at odds with characters we already liked, and the framing skewed their way, not his. The dude never really had a chance.        

*multiple people have spoken about how the NWT as depicted in atla is not reminiscent of real life Inuit and Yupik people and culture. I am not the person to go into detail about this, but I encourage you to check out Native-run blogs for more info!

[nomattertheoceans]

Speaking of the rain... I really liked the feysand apocalyptic au and i would looove a follow up...i know u said u dont plan on updating it but maybe talk about it a little where you wanted it to go? Or like a time jump further into the future hehe

If not that's fine just thought I'd drop by❤

Ooooooh Nonnie thank you so much for this ask!!! First of all because it made me realize that I never put this fic in my masterlist, so that reminded me to add it there ^^ But also because I loved writing this AU so i’m so glad you’re interested!!!

Indeed, I don’t plan on updating it because it would require actually doing some world-building, and deciding what I want to do with the other characters apart from Rhys and Feyre. I have a lot of original projects in mind (that I also don’t mind talking about, by the way ^^), plus I also plan on finishing Staying Afloat, so I don’t think I would find the time to develop this fic the way I would like to. But it was really fun to write. I’m honestly rather happy with the way the one-shot turned out in any case! I do think it was easier to write for me because one of my most developed originals is a post apocalyptic story, so I’m more familiar with the genre, which made it easier to write than other styles.

Anyway!! I’m gonna put my thoughts under a cut because I have no idea how long it’s going to get hahaha

So the idea I had would be for the two groups (the Archeron sister on one side, Rhys, Cassian and Rhys’ little sister (who would be like, 11 or 12 at the time, also her name is Lyra because it’s what i called her in I made you a promise)) to join and travel together.

For what happens directly after the scene I published, I figured it would be Feyre convincing her sisters to follow Rhys to where his group is hiding. It would be harder to convince Nesta to follow Rhys (I figured she would finally relent because Feyre would be like “I’m going there and if you don’t come you’ll starve to death” ladjflkajlfaj just some sister shit, you know xD), but Elain would be willing to go because in this universe she’s a nurse so she wouldn’t want to imagine a little girl suffering if she could help.

Then they would reach Cassian and Lyra, and what follows would be basically Elain doing some gross medic stuff, a LOT of pain and of crying little girl x) I had this idea in my head of Feyre and Rhys talking, like, she can see he’s distraught so she tries to reassure him by saying something like “your sister is strong. She’ll make it.” and he answers like “she shouldn’t have to be that strong” you know, some classic apocalyptic stuff hahahahaha

So anyway, after this they would all head out to try and get to Velaris together, because of course they would be stronger as a group than separately (plus maybe Lyra would still need medical attention at first) and what follows would be all of them growing closer and Feysand falling in love, as well as Nesta and Feyre starting to have a better relationship, and the sisters growing close to Lyra, too, somehow in a “older sister” kind of way! And obviously, Cassian and Feyre being buddies immediately because their friendship gives me life, okay.

I honestly don’t have a lot of ideas as to what I wanted to do with characters other than Feysand apart from these largely underdeveloped ideas.

The big question I had to and didn’t solve, was whether or not it was true that Velaris was a safe haven. I like both possibilities of this, because both could create tension for the story. So it’s basically Schrödinger's plotpoint lmaoooo is Velaris just a pointless dream? Is it an actual safe haven they can hope to reach? Who knows? I certainly don’t lmao

So anyway, here below I just put all the notes I had for random scenes between Feysand (again, they were the center of the ideas I had so that’s why I have much more for them than any other characters). Those ideas are mostly in chronological order as to when it would have happened in the story. I literally copy-pasted this from my document, so it gives you a pretty clear idea of the complete mess that are my outlines in general  ( @staticpetrichor​ loves my outlines cause they make her laugh lmao they really are a true reflection of the mess going on in my mind at any given time)

They're on the road, one of them is standing guard and the other comes to see them, cliché (but cute so who cares) post-ap dialogue ensues: "you should be sleeping." "I couldn't, so I figured I'd keep you company." Then they talk quietly about their life and what they did before. Feyre tells him about how she loved painting. Maybe she thinks again about how his eyes remind her of the sky (but she doesn’t say anything because we love some good emotional unavailability lmao)

They find a small lake or a river or something and everybody goes in to bathe and have fun, Rhys looks at Feyre stripping down to her t-shirt, bra, panties, and he's like "fuck me up she's so gorgeous” ajldkfjladjlfa he’s so smitten already

This one is a weird idea but lmao I don't care, also this would be an actual problem in a post ap world sooooo I’m valid: Feyre has like the worst bra, it's really old and it's not a sports bra, it's like a classic one that doesn't really fit her anymore (she probably lost like a size because of hunger). And Rhys knows this because she's complained to him a couple of times about her back hurting (big boobs problem lmao can relate). And at one point they're in another city and he finds this sports shop and he finds a sports bar that should fit her, so he gifts it to her. And like at first she's acting as if he's being weird (like she's teasing him about staring at her breasts so much) but really she's glad. And then she's like "okay I'm gonna try it on but don't look" so she does, but then she looks up and watches him, his back turned away, and she's like overwhelmed with feelings (AS YOU ARE) so she tells him to turn around and she's showing off the sports bra, like they tease and flirt and stuff, and they almost kiss then but someone interrupts them lmao

They start having sex at some point, it's like raw and hot like "without feelings" *looks at the camera*, they convince themselves that they don't care about the other that way, and it's just physical. But really it's only because this world is so brutal and dangerous that they're both scared of caring too much and losing the other.

This goes on for a while, they grow closer without realizing it, they're always standing close together and talking at night and touching each other casually. They think they're being very subtle, but really everybody around them know what's going on lmao

Later on, they all settle in an abandoned building for a few days (because Reasons lmao it’s not important I just love this idea) and Rhys spends a lot of time alone and Feyre wonders where he is. And then like the second or third night, Feyre is still awake when Rhys comes in and he's like "follow me, I want to show you something" in a very excited voice, like his leg is fidgeting with anticipation and he looks like a little kid and Feyre smiles, she's really puzzled as to what's going on but she follows him. It turns out he found like a good mattress on their first night when he was exploring, and then he spent the next days cleaning the room and looking for pretty blankets (that one was hard and he's embarrassed that they're all so mismatched), and he lit up some candles. And he's like all embarrassed and blushing because he tells her he doesn't want to assume anything is gonna happen, he just wanted to do something nice for her. But Feyre is like "shut up" and she kisses him and then they make love in the makeshift bed and its romantic as hell. ALSO I need this quote to happen: "When I'm with you I forget to be scared."

[ten-ten31]

Dear Yuletide Writer

Dear Yuletide Writer,

Thank you so much for writing for me! :) I can't tell you just how excited I am. This is my first Yuletide and I guess I'm super nervous, but also looking forward to it. :)

Please feel free to browse my ao3 (KitKaos) and/or tumblr to get an idea of what I stan, like, read or write. I hope I can give you some broad ideas and inspirations in this letter to help you plan. Do feel free to fall back on my general likes if the prompts don't do anything for you. Or just use the prompts, whatever works best for you. Oh, and should you, dear Yuletide Santa, want to write in German and not in English, then I'm definitely okay with that. I'm fluent in both, so whichever you feel more comfortable with. If there's something missing or if you have a question, you can reach out to me via the mods.

General likes: I'm a sucker for the old friends-to-lovers or even enemies-to-lovers (with all the drama of grudginly admitting that the other party maybe isn't all that terrible and all). Things I'll never get tired of include coffeeshop AUs, spy AUs, musical AUs, found families, fake dating, pining, crossdressing, drunken shenanigans, fish-out-of-water situations, pop culture references, etc. Just about any kind of scene you can sneak in there about cooking or eating food (also characters being picky about certains foods and other characters going to some lengths to accommodate that) will make me happy, too. I do have a thing for descriptions of food and expecially impressions of taste - and if you want to make it kinky: food play. ;) I also have a bit of a hand fetish - so descriptions of hands are always welcome. If you want to do it, I probably also won't say no to someone breaking the Fourth Wall, any kind of alternate history AU, crossovers of my fandoms, or even some lovely steampunk aesthetics.

Do Not Want: rape/dubcon/noncon, watersports, scat, humiliation, A/B/O, soulmates AU, vampire/werewolf AU, second-person pov, character bashing of any kind.

*

Fandoms

Just two more thing before I go into detail: 1. The prompts below are nothing more than ideas - feel free to ignore them if you have a better one. :) 2. Not all of the characters need to be used in every prompt; pick and choose as desired.

*

Dial H for Hero (DC Comics)

- Summer Pickens, Miguel Montez

The 2019 12-issue run is just pure love! There is worldbuilding galore, relatable characters, a wonderful coming-of-age and initiation plot, interdimensional shenanigans, the question how Joe Average could get addicted to sudden superpowers, and so much fun with the concept of Superhero Secret Origins. Summer is a wonderfully strong and caring female lead and Miguel is a self-conscious little oddball.

As for prompts: Seeing more of their Metropolis adventures or Red/Yellow/Blue/Black Dial transformations would definitely be a lot of fun. Also, there's this cute boy Miguel asks out in the comics and I would love to see that first date. And what about Summer? She definitely won't be reduced to sidekick!

Feel free to include any other ((teenage) superhero) cameos you feel like. Please do not pair up Summer and Miguel romantically - although I don't have any problems with a fake relationship fic for them. ;)

Where to find it: Your trusted comicbook supplier.

Masks: A New Generation (Roleplaying Game)

- any / worldbuilding

I only just disovered Masks as an RPG, and ever since I started playing, it's probably the most fun rping I've had in a long time. I love that playbooks are not by the type of power but the type of problem each teenager faces personally. Like, how do you juggle school, first love, being different in a way no one should know about, being different maybe in a way people will immediately see, adults telling you who to be, chores, and being part of a young superhero team that wants to make a name for themselves? It's hard. And the best sessions alternate between deep emotional connections, hilarious teenage drama and great action scenes.

As for prompts: I would love me some good worldbuilding - so maybe there is a reason the Scarlet Songbird is still around? What was Halcyon City like back in the days of the Golden-Age heroes? What has changed since then? How do especially the older generations view the naming conventions going around for new heroes? Is there a code to follow? Who in Halcyon City pays for all the damage to buildings and infrastructure caused by superhero-supervillain fights? What was it like back in the olden days for the Golden Age heroes as opposed to now?  Are there cultural exchange programs with any of the alien races visiting from time to time? Give me a day in the life of an average Halcyon City citizen - they don't even have to be all that close to an epic fight or something. Just their way of coping with the daily madness of a huge city housing most of the world's superheroes. If you like something a little more character-specific: The one actual-play podcast that does it best in my opinion are the Theatre of the Mind Players with their "Future Shock" and "Past Tense" seasons of Masks. And I would love to read more about these characters. Have Sparrow and Figment finally get together. Give me a glimpse of how Horizon assembled his ersatz mom. What will Helix and Remix get up to?

Where to find it: The core rulebook is available from Magpie Games. The Theatre of the Mind Players’ Masks sessions can be found on Youtube.

Super Sons (Comics)

- Jonathan Samuel Kent, Damian Wayne

Super Sons is how I finally came to like and care for Damian Wayne - which, if you know me, is a major achievement! He is still a huge brat, don't get me wrong, but Jon's influence on him and the way he is confronted with certain issues he has... it's magical! It's wholesome! It's healing! They are both so fiercely protective of each other, and they both grow as characters from their experiences with each other.

As for prompts: So, dear Yuletide Santa, give me character growth and banter and friendship galore. I can see slumber parties at Wayne Manor or at the Kent farm. I can see them getting lost in space and time. I can see more adventures once they're at the same school. I can see a canon-divergence AU where Jon is finally admitted into the the Teen Titans at age 13 - how would that go? Or how about an Interrail Buddies AU?

If you want to write slashfic for them, I will not say no but would probably prefer to age them up a bit. I also most definitely don't mind any background appearances of any of their families.

Where to find it: Your trusted comicbook supplier.

Superman Returns (2006)

- any (Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Richard White)

I still love this movie a lot - not because it's particularly spectacular, but it treats the characters with love, it treats the legacy of the Reeve movies with love and it leaves SO MANY questions for fanfiction authors to answer. ;) I mean, I've been a Superman fan for a long time and I've discovered that I'm most comfortable with a Clark who wears a mask both as Clark Kent and as Superman, who isn't either of those two (and who is fallible). And whenever someone learns of his secret identity, they will see that he's so much more than either Clark or Superman. I know Lois is a fairly underdeveloped character in this movie, so I would love for her to be treated not just as a prize, especially since there were those years of her having to put her life back together after Supes just up and left.

As for prompts, I've always wondered about the different coping mechanisms (Lois turning bitter, Jimmy starting up daydrinking - WTF?!) and just how their day-to-day business changed without Clark and Supes there. Give me the Planet staff banding together to rescue Lois when she remembers just that second too late that there will be no superhero to save them (I also wouldn't mind any of the Bats helping out secretly, if that's up your alley). Give me Jimmy trying not to think too much and instead getting on Lois' nerves until he's rescued by Richard intervening. I am also an absolute sucker for continuation fics, so how do things settle down after what happens in the movie? I would love for some real Clark and Jimmy bonding moments, maybe even Jimmy finding out or having known all along and covered for Clark. I would love for some truce and real friendship blossoming between Clark and Richard, as they are both intelligent, compassionate, insightful men. If you want to include Jason anywhere, feel free to do that, as he makes for such a wonderful catalyst for disaster. Feel free to write gen or any canon pairings - I'm also okay with non-canon het/slash pairs (or threesomes) as long as they make sense in-universe. ;)

Where to find it: Sadly, the movie doesn’t seem to be streaming anywhere, but since it’s 14 years old now, you can buy it relatively cheap.

Young Justice (Comics)

- Tim Drake (but do feel free to have any of the other characters in the story, too)

No matter if you're into the old 1990s YJ comics, the companion comics to the cartoon show, or the new 2019/20 version of the comics - I love all of them! So much I don't even know where to begin... The snark! The lovable teenage stupidity! The friendship that goes above and beyond! My definite favourite is Tim, because he is such a bright, snarky, secretive, repressed little bird (the moment he takes off his domino mask to reveal a second one underneath? priceless)! I also love his deep friendship with the others because that's his found family. Yes, Batman is his mentor (even though Tim might understand B better than the other way round sometimes) and Dick is his older brother and idol (hero worship, anyone?), but Young Justice is where he wants to be himself and all of it.

As for prompts: Even though I did not put either Cassie or Cissie in my request as I want something Tim-centric, the dynamic with those two strong-willed girls is definitely something I would love to see explored more. Also how the dynamic with the bats is so very different than the Young Just Us dynamic. What's it like being the one without powers in a group of hormonal teenage superheroes? I also just realized that I would love to see more of Mister Sarcastic trolling the rest of the gang. Or how about: What if Tim had powers for one day? If you're into the 2019 comics, how about a 5+1 of Why Drake May Or May Not Be A Good Superhero Alias. If you want to include the rest of the gang, you're definitely more than welcome to. Tim and Kon's bickering and outright arguments in the beginning turning into such a solid friendship (or more) is something I can read about time and time again. Pretty much the same goes for Tim and Bart. Or how about some Wendy the Werewolf Stalker shenanigans? Why is having girls in your group a bad/good idea? How did Cassie's becoming the team's leader affect Tim's sense of self? Heck, if you feel like it, open up the love triangle Tim-Cassie-Kon since there's like a ton of history there. Oh, and anyway, why is Stephanie Brown never part of any of Tim's teams? Dear Yuletide Santa, do also feel free to include any of the other teens (I have a soft spot for Li'l Lobo/Slobo).

Where to find it: Your trusted comicbook supplier.

Overall, I’m sure I’ll love what you have for me, and I'm looking forward to reading it! <3

[dear-wormwoods]

I'm just curious can you list the losers club from your favorite to least favorite and explain why

Ohhh this is so hard and here’s why: Richie and Eddie are constantly rotating who is in the top spot depending on like... my mood, or what I’m thinking or writing about the most. I know that probably comes as a surprise given that most of my meta is so Eddie focused? But god I just love Richie so much. It’s a head vs. heart thing with them, honestly. A year ago I would’ve absolutely said Eddie first because I was constantly churning out meta about him, but RIGHT AT THIS MOMENT the order is:

1. Richie. Gonna go with my heart on this one - I have a big giant weakness for funny-charming characters/people, so Richie has always been like, the “if I was gonna marry one of the Losers” choice since I first read the book in high school. And Richie has so much depth, but you have to really read between the lines to find it, so his chapters are fun in that way, too. I love him for the same reasons Eddie does - his “sometimes enchanting, sometimes exhausting charm”, his ambition, his willingness to go with the flow, his devotion to his friends, his intelligence, his fascination with music and theatrics, and also the way he’s just sort of an enigma. And then obviously Bill Hader, a long-time celebrity crush, had to come along and fulfill my wildest dreams by taking the role and pouring his soul into it. Lastly, in terms of writing, I have the most fun writing Richie. I write Eddie’s POV a lot more (on the rare occasions I write fic) because it comes more naturally, but I actually get the most fulfillment from writing Richie.

2. Eddie. If my heart belongs to Richie, my brain belongs to Eddie. I have spent countless hours analyzing every god damn word in his chapters and I think about him nearly constantly. He’s always been the Loser I relate to the most, but not because of his home life or anything (my parents are actually a lot like Richie’s - my dad is hilarious and my mom is just great, but as a kid/teen they didn’t get me at all because I turned out way weirder and more annoying than they anticipated and it was a Struggle to communicate lmao). Anyway, I relate to Eddie’s personality a lot, and just how his brain works. I too am always stuck in my own head, emotional and overly self-critical, historically reluctant to take risks because it’s safer to be stagnant, will bend over backwards to take care of other people to the point of not doing anything for myself because of codependent tendencies, etc etc. Analyzing Eddie gives me a lot of intellectual fulfillment and also helps me reflect on myself. This is why I refuse to baby him and try to explore and examine his flaws and mistakes. He’s the most complex character in the story and inherently so Brave and Good. (sidenote: I hate saying really positive things right after saying that I relate to him because it feels arrogant and like I’m saying that about myself, too, which I’m definitely not. Does anyone else get like that? Like, you relate to a character and openly praise them, but then feel like a giant asshole because you inadvertently said something nice about yourself by loving on a character you relate to?)

3. Ben. I love reading Ben’s chapters so much, he’s such a well-developed character and I feel his chapters are almost on par with Eddie’s in terms of being a joy to read and having a very distinct tone. If Eddie’s the guiding light of the group, Ben is the engineer. He has this sort of deep and natural self-confidence that I love. He’s got his hobbies, his books, and he’s just chillin’. He’s very self conscious about his body, but he’s SO confident about his mind and his heart. I’ve always found it fascinating that Ben’s IT manifestations are so impersonal and very typical movie-monster type shit, and I think it’s because he really doesn’t fear much. He doesn’t need to. He knows what he’s capable of and he doesn’t stop to ruminate about it, he just fucking does it. IT can’t really touch that. Also, as Richie’s mirror, he automatically gets a high spot on the list - we stan wildly successful but deeply lonely guys who spent their youth pining in secret.

4. Mike. I know a lot of people find the Derry Interludes boring, but I really love being able to dive into Mike’s stream of consciousness journal keeping. He’s truly the lighthouse keeper, and that’s a rough fucking gig. His love of lore and history is so relatable, though. And I love his relationship with his parents, especially with Will, and it’s great to have a prominent example of positive parenting to combat against the likes of Sonia, Alvin, and Butch Bowers. Mike really loves his parents and the Losers, and he’s so smart and sensitive and GOOD, even in the face of near-constant racism and 27 years of exhausting and lonely detective work. My only wish for him is to fucking leave Derry and finally relax.

5. Bev. I really love Bev, but she’s lower on the list because I find her to be a pretty underdeveloped character in the novel. This is mostly because Stephen King truly sucks at writing women, but knowing that doesn’t stop me from just not feeling super engaged with her chapters. In theory, Bev is great - and she was/will be great in the movies, too. She’s Eddie’s mirror, so admittedly a lot of my affection for her stems from that and the joy I get from examining their parallels (particularly in terms of how IT targets them both with their sexuality and dirtiness/cleanliness).

6. Bill. I have never really been super invested in Bill. It’s just like... too glaringly obvious that he’s a self-insert for Stephen King, so he falls flat a lot of the time, for me. Sometimes I like to think that’s intentional, because we get so much of seeing Bill through the Losers’ eyes with all their idolization and projection, so the “real Bill” never really stood a chance of living up to that image. Other times all I see is a self-insert. But I do really love the way his guilt over Georgie’s death is explored and how that guilt leads him to be selfishly single-minded in his quest for vengeance. I just wish more time was spent on that in his adult chapters and less on that cringey hotel sex scene.

7. Stan. Stan is last but I certainly don’t dislike him. It’s just... I’m really sorry but I think Stan is a super overrated character. I love his scene with the Standpipe and the drowned kids, and I think his friendships with Eddie and Bev are not given enough attention, and I love Stanpat, but overall... I just don’t think about him all that much. I’m really only able to get invested in Stan if it’s in relation to Patty. They just wanted a baby and a happy life, Mike.

This turned into such a fucking ramble. Hopefully it’s what you were looking for! 😬

[takaraphoenix]

I FINALLY FINISHED Stargate: Universe.

This felt approximately as long as Stargate: SG-1. Which is not a good thing.

I did a brief thing about mid-season 1 and the sad thing is that... nothing changed. One and a half seasons more and the things I’d have to say about the show are still the same.

The characters are vastly underdeveloped and one dimensional - they are just about to shape up in the literal last three episodes of this show. They’re just starting to properly deepen them and give them more than the one dimensional stereotypes.

In the finale of season 2.

You can’t wait that long to start developing your characters! Obviously do you get canceled when all of season 1 is a snooze fest and the majority of season 2 is just the same but reheated!

The hugest problem of this show is the lack of trust and team bonding. Which happens literally in the last five minutes of this show.

Because that’s what made SG-1 and Atlantis work. The teams. The teams as family. The trust and friendship and how they relied on each other.

On here? So much distrust, so much backstabbing, so much greed for power, so many selfish motivations.

Literally the only thing about this that I genuinely like is Camile Wray, the canon lesbian, and her wife Sharon Walker. I would have honestly loved seeing those two characters on Atlantis instead - where a person from HR would have actually made a lot of sense, considering how they were working with different races within the city already. That’d have improved Atlantis a lot and on there, Camile would have gotten to be more developed and she would have gotten more than three lousy episodes with her wife, who could have just moved to Atlantis with her.

And it’s more than just the one dimensional stereotypical characters and underdeveloped relationships - there’s actually also the overdeveloped romances. So. Much. Romance.

This was half a soap opera. The love triangle with Eli, Scott and Chloe. Then Eli got his own girlfriend. And Rush got a girlfriend. And the love... it’s more than a square even... between TJ, the boss man, the boss man’s wife, Lou Diamond Phillips and then even also TJ’s newly introduced love interest. And yes, I have to also mention Camile and Sharon here to include all the romance. Also Greer and Linda then in the final fourth of the show, which was nearly a love triangle too because that one nerd was into her too.

There was so much romance. And yes I know SG-1 actually had some romantic sub-plots too, but they were few and in-between and not all the characters, all the time. This really did feel more like a soap opera.

The last issue I have with it is... there is... not enough exploration?? It’s a Stargate show. I wanna see them travel to other planets. I know you can count the planets they visited in these 40 episodes on two hands. And nearly all of those planets had no civilization and were literally just them wandering around the woods for a little bit. There was no discovery, there were no alien cultures to meet, bonds to form.

The entire structure of the show was incredibly paint-by-numbers, somehow. “We have a ship, it travels its own set course, we’re just along for the ride, stop every now and again for supplies”. The whole point of the show was never conveyed.

Both SG-1 and Atlantis set out with a specific parameter. With an actual goal to achieve. (One of the problems of SG-1, actually, because they overstayed their welcome after they achieved their goal and stuck around for two seasons of a cult.)

I’m sure this show had a point. Some grand goal the Destiny was headed for. But I... Personally, I didn’t enjoy being just like the characters, completely in the dark and along for the ride. Not that you had to give me the solution, I don’t want that either.

I just want there to be a purpose. A plot. Not just literally aimlessly drifting around space for 40 episodes, guess the ship knows where we’re going.

It kind of baffles me, because SG-1 - the first eight seasons of it anyway - is genuinely one of the best written, best executed and most fun shows I’ve ever watched. And yes, its first spin-off was already weaker in some aspects but it was still a great watch. This one however feels very much like today’s culture of “this thing is a hit we have to make a sequel to milk it for money even if it makes no sense!” and that’s just... sad.

That being said, I’d murder for them to make a new Stargate spin-off today. One that is as diverse as Atlantis and Universe (the one thing you can hand it), with maybe more than one token lesbian who gets to see her wife three times. I think that, if you’d get a genuine fan, someone who has true love for this franchise, to work on a new spin-off, it’d be amazing.

[waiting4morning]

Anthem - Thoughts on the End

Story spoilers will be clearly marked.

Overall: I enjoyed it and there seems to be plenty of post-game content (not counting the forthcoming DLCs either). If I had to give it a grade, I’d say a solid B+. Better than Destiny, in my opinion. I didn’t feel like I was going to the same places and the mechanics of flying are incredibly fun. The plot (more below) was also interesting, though not on the level of DA or ME... yet. I think it shows a lot of promise.

I don’t think BW has a new Dragon Age or even a new Mass Effect with Anthem, but I do think at the moment it is a solid mid-list game that could probably be a good background earner for them. Anthem’s characters and dialogue have that typical BW charm we’ve come to expect and even with the lack of romances, you still feel like you have some deep friendships (but I would definitely not say no to a romance DLC, especially if it featured a certain charmer named Kassian <3).

Facial animations and voice acting are incredibly top notch--they really stepped up their game here (motion capture instead of hand-animation maybe??), and the scenery is beautiful. No complaints about these aspects at all. In fact, I hope the next DA game is as beautiful.

I saw someone else say that going on missions with randos speeds up the game, and that’s an absolutely spot on observation. If you do the missions solo, you can explore a little bit, take your time with some of the objectives (depending on how many baddies are shooting at you!) and actually listen to the story that’s going on via dialogue. When playing with randos, though, there’s always at least one person that’s flying toward the next marker without pause. I always felt rushed in them. That being said, soloing missions is hard. I don’t think I’d be able to do the big ones by myself, like strongholds, but the smaller ones here and there are doable. And I think this rushed feeling contributes to a big thing about the game: it feels short. The game came out on Friday the 22nd and I’m already done here on the 25th. I didn’t spend a lot of time in freeplay but I did all the side quests (the contracts with agents in Fort Tarsis), spoke to everyone, and I still reached the end of the main storyline in a couple of days. I wonder if partly this is to highlight the ongoing story that Anthem the game hopes to create instead of a onetime event that creates a happily ever after type ending? Not sure. But part of this also feels like a big missed opportunity for one character in particular. Spoilers below cut.

The Monitor as the Big Bad was painfully underused and underdeveloped. Think of Saren from Mass Effect, think of even Loghain from Dragon Age - villains with great backstories and motivations, antagonists you cared personally about defeating. The Monitor was just a faceless bad guy. No name; no face. I wanted to know more about him and the Dominion, wanted some meaty story there that made me care about defeating him, but there wasn’t. He wanted the power of the Anthem. Why? There’s always a reason behind a lust for power--and the writers of BW with people like Saren and Loghain under their belts should have had something else there. But there doesn’t seem to be anything. There was a beautifully animated scene of the Monitor and some other Dominion guy going into Freemark, but then the bald guy gets dissolved two seconds in. What was the point of all that?

Though, even as I write this, I think I cared more about silencing the Cenotaph then defeating the Monitor. If you listen enough to the lore and talk to people, especially Marelda, you get a sense of what a tragedy the loss of Freemark was. Stopping that storm was way more impactful then stopping the Monitor.

But I’m also really invested in a future story possibly redeeming Owen? Please say that’s coming BW and the highly hinted at Urgoth thing coming. Let me have that juicy, juicy content.

[ber-bonfamille-lyons]

BDRP Resolutions

in which this is long 

Write your RPer Resolutions for 2018!

-Plot with more members, definitely! I try to expand of course and rp threads with everyone but I think I could do better and could def do bigger plots with more people.

-Complete more tasks tbh. This one is gonna be hard for me to do but idk if I could do at least one task every other month that would be an improvement over last year haha.

-Continue to work on scenery and detail etc. My weaknesses. I hope that rping more detail-oriented characters, like Charlie or even Mowgli, or exploring the lake with Andrina or the forest with Prince/Merida will help with this. Though also just being more aware of it in the day to day

-Dream Journal for Charlie/More music stuff for radio

Write at least one resolution, or “goal,” that you have as an RPer for your character(s)

Mel: This was on last year’s so that tells u something but I think it’s gonna happen-- explore her feelings for Howl! Also would love for her to do some more seedy things and i see want an apprentice!!

Ber: Explore Berlioz’s mental health more. Whether I do this through tasks/one-shots or something, Ber is kinda in this weird place where he’s blurring the line between reality/fantasy and I think that’s interesting. A lot of it has to do with things he isn’t dealing with (trauma from Taka and going down into hell). Also very specifically I want him to rp with Marie more bc Berrie is kinda underdeveloped both on my part as an rper and his part as like a mediocre brother lmao. I also like him as a supporting role in other people’s plots and I hope I can keep pushing him in those directions. And of course I’m very interested to see him and Simba repair and grow their relationship hopefully stronger than ever. <3 OH and g row a backbone tbh stand up for himself more do it ber

Kiara: Figure out her school life!! I still want to have her shadow someone sooo I think I could see her shadowing Minnie or even Jiminy since she’s sort of into health and social work. Also explore her envy of her friends with magic bc she had powers in Star wars and lowkey she still wants powers (opportunity for Feys Gold Antics here-- also feel liek there could be something interesting in Kiara v. Jake if Jake really does start getting more elitist)

Hades: BOARD STUFF. Im really excited to play Hades as a politician and like-- authority figure in town. Though he’s gotta save his own soul first lol. Also supporting Belle in hopefully going back to school. Alsoooo there are loose threads in hell that I have and would like 2 look into…

Milo: Talk with Jane about what comes next after pride u because his grant is almost up! Plot with BIANCA/BERNARD hopefully about the rescue aid society.

Nala: ONE NIGHT STAND SERIOUSLY. Let loose. Date someone bc if she fell in love work wouldnt be her focus and she’d grow a lot. Uh repair relationship with Simba?

Kiki: bring back jiji lmfao i suck. Finish her apprenticeship and unlock the trU nature of her powers and stuff mhm. Also kiss someone lol

Anita: Bring her fam in town and explore like, this clash between her old life and the new life now that she has grown so much.

Prince: ACCEPT UR FEELINGS FOR ELLA. Embrace them! Continue to train Bambi/find the fucker who shot u/be a Dad and do Dad things like idk a parent teacher conference??? Thats hilarious. Somehow I want him to become like a guest lecturer at Pride U but I’m not sure how yet. I also feel like idk Akela could draw him into becoming slightly darker after this shooting and that might be interesting so who knows, maybe he should join Akela’s morally gray magic club,

Paul: GO TO PRIDE U PLZ. Deal with the paulina plot lol. Contend with his inferiority issues that stem from the financial inequality between him and Perdy. Just rly go into their relationship and figure it out post-break up post-make up u know

Andrina: Explore the lake. Get into seedy stuff with Ursula maybe??? Continue to sleep with people thats very fun for me. FIND OUT WHO RAVEN IS. Get a cat.

Merida: I need her to make more friends bc I want her to fuck up and then ruin all those friendships ahaha. Want to have a showdown with some powerful magicks, gimme Akela and Max, all the shapeshifters!!!

Mowgli: Meet the Bonfamilles (lmao). Uhhh would lvoe to rp more with Akela i need to brainstorm how. I’d also like him to become more extreme tbh? Maybe start having night terrors or something bc of all his suppressed guilt wow just got a good idea ahha. Alsoooo maybe get a mentoooor…

Charlie: HAVE A PROPHECY ABOUT SOMEONE PPL HIT ME UP. I wanna start him on the research train when I get that in place and also maybe abuse hospital equipment (aka scan his own brain ehhe)  but also maybe save someone’s life would be cool, ok, yeah. Also hopefully grow his relationships with all hospital personnel and patients, and maybe get a  mentorship with Tibbs and/or Sweet. In fact it’d be really cooool if he could eventually help Sweet with his research like as an intern or assistant or something. And also i want to get him to an event but i need him to get a friend for that so!!! A texting buddy friend, that is a specific goal.

Write at least one resolution IN CHARACTER for your characters. What do THEY want to accomplish or change in the New Year? 

Mel: “Do something impossible.”

Ber: “Be a better brother and friend and boyfriend… be less crazy lol ahah”

Kiara: “figure out my LIFE lmao”

Hades: “Make real change in Swynlake.”

Milo: “Apply for a grant to study Atlantis...again.”

Nala: “Be my oWN love of my life. I’m a single independent woman and that’s amazing, I’m AMAZING.”

Kiki: “Restore Jiji D:”

Anita: “Direct a play again! That would be very fun. Oh, and paint more, I really do need to paint.”

Prince: “Be a good father to Bambi… make the forest a safe place again.”

Paul: “Be a good father, a good partner-- find better ways to support my kids.”

Andrina: “lol i dont DO goals bye.”

Merida: “Shoot Mor’du. Become a Prince.”

Mowgli: “... don’t make any trouble.”

Charlie: Bitch has a list.

Get phlebotomist license!!

Renew certs: CPR/AED/First Aid/Wilderness First Aid/BLS

Give up gluten! Again!

Exercise.

Go to a Swynlake Event! It will be fine no one will die!!! (!!!)

Plotting Exercise! Pick one of the resolutions/goals in #2 and plan a rough guideline to how you could accomplish it.

Mowgli explores his powers/grief

PARA 1: Has a  nightmare and accidentally sets something on fire (Akela)

PARA 2: Frightened, Mowgli confides in someone about his powers (Peach/Will)

PARA 3: Seeks help from either Howl or Ursula--depending on which one, it could litERally change the direction of the entire plot.

List of Characters I want to RP with:

I went through character by character but I would love to do more than this I am sure ahah.

Mel: Mateo, Ursula, Sophie (bc duh Howl), Akela

Ber: Irma, Sophie because they should be better friends, more Peg, JENNy bc they play piano ok!!, ANNETTE bc they totally know each other!!, tbh daisy and ber could do something with anxiety, Rita for sure, more Simon somehow i swear it

Hades: Sally, more stuff with Miguel, Jack, Shock/Samara, Al, Cruella, Simba, Oogie, maybe Dipper

Kiara: more stuff with Jake, Jiminy, Minnie/Rama maybe, Isa, Wilbur, Penny, Ollie, Jenny. Also lowkey Ursula.

Milo: more stuff with Kida, Bianca, Elena, also Goliath and Thomas (teachers!!)

Nala: MAUI. sorry look i just want maui its been a year. Also maybe some board members and stuff since she’ll be politically active? So Al, Cruella, Soleil for that (and Simba, but I rp with simba allll the time). Also Arthur, Adam.

Kiki: Mateo as well!! More young-ish people: Dipper, Maui (she’s a #bigfan), Callie.   

Anita: more stuff with Perdita. Also other artists: Pascal, Jane, Namine, Violet, maybe Art if he does art??, Peach, Peri, Duchess etc!! Hit me up please.

Prince: all the forest politics okay: Alasdair, Akela, Goliath, Shere, why are these men. Also just big Magicks in general: Ursula, Namine maybe. More fairies so Peri and Terence. Also very specifically: Theo and Thomas O’Malley. Maybe Jake tbh if he starts like patrolling the forest?

Paul: Goliath bc he’s a lit professor! Thomas bc they are bros now!!!! Maybe some other mersisters-- Aqua, Alana, Arista. Peach bc writing? Lmao. Also some lowkey shady people like Roscoe or Lock would be really great. Possibly Oogie bc he owns a casino and gambling~

Andrina: URSULA ok sorry i just want the sea witch. TBH Hiro or Tombo could be cool bc she’s into STEM stuff. Ken because I want to rp with Ken and I don’t think anyone else would get along? Ahah. Arista, Aqua and Alana. Herculessss.

Merida: Bambi bc scottish and also lowkey was involved in mother’s death!!! Maximus bc she should shoot him!! More Shere! Follow-up with Goliath tbh in class lmao would be funny. CORNY bc thye r destined to be friends. Callie!!! Oo, also more Eric.

Mowgli: Howl, Ursula, Mateo, more Peach, Jenny, Wilbur, Theo, Bambi Penny (yay orphans). Maybe a professor: Thomas, Goliath, Shere?

Charlie: so many ok. Ellie, Sweet, Shock, Jack, SALLY thats in caps bc I need it, Dipper, Boo, tbh could do some drug stuff with Roscoe, Lock and Theo. Rita bc she can be his mom, Oogie, anyone with trauma who wants charlie to relive it with them: eric, thomas, shere, lou the list can go on-- annnnd belle and callie also

[jackcowboyhero]

Tagged by @pandolfo-malatesta a million years ago and not answered until now, whoops :p

The Ultimate Newsies (1992) Tag by @a-pair-of-new-shoes

1. How did you first get introduced to the movie? A group in my freshman college dorm got together to show it for one girl’s birthday—I came in somewhere between “Carryin’ the Banner” and “Santa Fe” and MY LIFE CHANGED FOREVER :p

2. What were your first impressions of the movie? I’d been wanting to go work on a dude ranch for 4-1/2 years before seeing the movie, so to come in (like I said, right before Santa Fe) and see a character who wanted to get away and go West, I was hooked right away.  But I saw it in early October, and my friends decided that we were going as the boys for Halloween, and we made a paper as a prop that ended up being popular and continued as a subculture for all four years of school…so we went 0-60 in the space of a few weeks, and I was in way over my head before I realized what I’d gotten into.  I don’t regret it. :p

[[The rest is under a cut, because DON’T GET ME STARTED ON THIS MOVIE]] :p

3. If you could pick one favorite character from the movie, who would it be and why? Jack.  Like I said, the Western thing was the reason I first paid attention to him, but it’s been so much fun exploring who he is and how different backstories and futures could fit into his canon--I’ve been writing him for so long that he feels like a brother or something.  It’s definitely the deepest I’ve ever looked into a character!

4. If you could pick one favorite actor (as a person regardless of how you feel about their character) from the movie, who would it be and why? Christian Bale is the only one I’ve really seen in anything else, but I honestly can’t think of an actor I don’t like in Newsies.  So many child actors come across as precocious or canned, but the boys are so natural in this one—Luke Edwards did SUCH a good job as Les, which unfortunately none of the stage Les-es I’ve seen have been able to match :( I was just watching the movie commentary, and they were talking about how they focused on getting kids who hadn’t really sung or danced before and played up the rawness of it, and I love that approach.  They all did such a good job.

Also, can we just talk about all the subtlety in this movie?!  SO MUCH is said with body language (the boys, always) and facial expressions (Sarah on the roof) and little, “insignificant’ moments (the Jacobs parents when talking about David going back to school), and that’s what makes this movie so much fun to explore, and I think part of why so many people put so much time into fleshing out these side characters—there’s actual meat there, if you pay attention!

5. Favorite Newsies moment from the film? All of them. :p  Some of the scenes I watch over and over, though, are the visit to Brooklyn, the rooftop scene, and the victory scene—so many characters to analyze!

6. Favorite song/dance number and why. “Once and For All.”  It’s so intense!  It was my “TIME TO GET THIS PAPER DONE” song in college, and since this movie led to my friend and I guiding tours of a print shop, I like the printing press part :)

7. Do you ship any characters in the movie? If yes, which ones? Jack/Sarah, but with the stipulation that at the end of the movie, Jack’s not ready for a serious relationship.  He’s more interested in finding a family, and although he and Sarah are definitely attracted to each other, I think it’d take quite a bit of time for them (mostly Jack) to figure things out and become ready to settle down.  (I talked more about Jack/Sarah, and ships in general, here.)

It’s worth noting that I definitely buy Jack and Sarah NOT ending up together, though, too!  Either way, I think he learns a lot from her, in general and in terms of what relationships are and should be.

8. What are your feelings on Sarah’s character? When I first saw the movie, I thought she was weird because she was so underdeveloped, and everything I looked up at the time was against her. But as I watched the movie more, I started noticing what she did in her limited time, and how she became involved in the strike and balanced Jack out, and I love her—she’s usually one of the more challenging characters for me to write, but I have fun with it!  The biggest shift I’ve seen in the fandom from 2010 to now is that people appreciate her now, for herself, and not just in relation to whether or not she should end up with Jack.

9. What are your opinions on the Broadway musical version? First of all, I’ve got to say that I’m so glad the musical introduced a new audience to the story (many of the people I’ve made friends with online came in through the musical).  The cast is obviously so talented, and I enjoyed seeing the tour live and the filmed version (twice) in theaters.

That being said…I’m not a huge fan.

I feel like, despite all the relationships and ideas that the movie explored, it was very tight and focused—like Christian Bale said, it’s about the strike, but also about Jack and David’s relationship (whether or not you ship them, it’s about Jack finding a family through Dave, and about David gaining confidence, and both of them growing as leaders.)  But in the musical, Davey’s almost an afterthought, and despite the heartbreaking scenes with Crutchie, it’s not really focused on him, either.  There’s a ton going on, but it’s missing the intensity of the movie—some of the most intense and emotional scenes (the visit to Brooklyn, the visit to the Refuge, the scab scene) are either missing or watered-down.

And, both Katherine and Davey make fun of Jack’s dream.  Sure, they’re human, and they’re hurt, and maybe that makes them harsh—but when Jack teases Katherine for wanting to be a reporter, she ends up on the front page, following her dream and proving herself.  I’m not saying Jack has to end up in Santa Fe, but—as someone who fell in love with the movie because of its focus on dreaming and not giving up—it irritates me to see them tear down Jack’s dream with no consequence.  That’s not the kind of support I’d want in a relationship and/or friendship.

Finally, like I said above, I liked the rawness of the movie.  I know you need trained singers/dancers for a Broadway show, and I know the subtleness that movie cameras can pick up won’t work when you’re in front of a crowd, but I liked the more combat-oriented dances and how natural the movie actors seemed, compared to precocious Les-es and fancy spins on newspapers.  This isn’t a criticism so much as a personal preference :)

Overall, I think pandolfo-malatesta hit the nail on the head: “Watching the filmed version was like someone coming into my house and replacing family members with younger versions and making generally small but entirely noticeable changes to dearly-held traditions.” As a separate story, the Newsies musical is okay—but compared to the movie, it’s just Not The Same.

All that aside: stage!Medda is AMAZING.  They got rid of the vaguely cougar-ish aspects of movie!Medda, and the way they wove together Medda, Roosevelt, Pulitzer made so much more sense than in the movie, where T.R. just kind of shows up.  (Although, in defense of the real T.R., he loved his wife way too much for me to believe he and Medda were a Thing!)  I like that Pulitzer got a song (if you’re making a musical, the villain HAS to have a song!), and the songs in general are so beautifully arranged—even though I still like the movie lyrics to Carryin’ the Banner and King of New York better! :p

10. Favorite adult in the movie and why. Esther Jacobs.  She fascinates me—I want to see her mothering Jack!  I want to hear about her and Mayer!  I want to make up headcanons about her family in Poland!  (Just kidding, I’ve already done that.) :p

11. Is there anything you consider as canon in the Newsies universe, even though it might not be stated in the movie? At this point, I sometimes have to stop and try to remember what’s actually canon, because I’ve been building up the jackcowboyhero universe for so long, and reading so many other people’s headcanons and stories, that I forget what’s actually stated and what isn’t!

The biggest “general” one, though, that I see the most often in the fandom, is that Dutchy is dyslexic. I’m not sure who started that one—maybe @david-jacobs-would, whose headcanons are generally amazing?

12. What message has Newsies left with you that you love? YOU CAN’T LET ’EM BEAT YA.

Tagging: the people I’ve met through this movie, @twofoxes, @seize-the-davey, and @absinthe-terminus, but whoever else wants to should do it too!

[kasunex]

Yesterday me and @heiligelanze were bored so I made this trash complaining about P4. Don’t read if you like P4. Unless you are very chill about people hating on it. 

we talk about why p4 is not good. 

#1 - Boring characters

Yosuke: Wah wah small town is borin (why doesn't he just plan to move when he's older), also homophobic in way that suggests writers thought we were too. neck is too long. Also not closeted >:/

Yu Narukami: Stupid name, stupid design, stupid fuckin face, I hate him, no character arc or character at all, Gary Stu. Boring peice of shit. Also. Not GAY Enough >:/

Yukiko: Boring. Thinks she's trapped into being innkeeper when not at all. Never tells parents she doesn't want to or makes any attempt to change anything. Only other character trait is laughs (annoying)

Chie: Guyz I like kung fu n meat isnt that quirky, (bc apparently women don't like meat?????) also not gay or trans >:/

Kanji: Almost good. But misleads to think he is good representative media pushing artistic gay man strugling against stereotypes that gays rnt tough. Actually about gender roles but not well explored. Hinted to be bi at best. Atlus u fuckin cowards let me be gay for once >>>>>>>>>://////////////////

Rise: 2 kawaii. Gets annoying. Unwarranted, undeserved crush on main character you cant say no to. (But unlike p3 game doesn't make u with her but we will get to THAT LATER FUCKING P4G)

Naoto: Too good for game. Shoulda been trans tho. 

Teddie: Remove or kill. Annoying af. Tries to steal ur girl. Major mysognist (game is like lol) 

Mitsuo: Insulting to ugly people and to gamer fanbase

Moorako: Insulting to ugly people. Hahah who cares hes dead he was uggo lol

Hanako: Fat ppl r gross rite guys lollolollolllollolololollollololl haha she thinks she's atrratcievew lolololo fat pppl thinkin their hot lololololololo

Kashiwagi: She's old but busted except she looks 30 and treated as gross icky old woman when real teens would be like "I wanna bang dat shit on de desk"

Dojima: Ok I guess

Nanako: Emotional manipulation. doesn't die. unrealistically precious and mature. 

Adachi: Presents as awkward relatable BUT NO ACTUALLY EVIL OVER THE TOP EVIL MUHAHAHA because he couldn't just be a cool guy with a darker side, had to be ANIME CRAZY EVIL DID IT FOR THE LULZ

Namatame: Not built up enough, comes fuckiin out of nowhere

Izanami: Comes even more da faq outta nowhere (GUYS THAT GAS STATION ATTENDENT SHAKING YOUR HAND OBVS EQUALS EVIL OR PLOT SIGNIFICANT LOL) also rips off Nyx and does it shitty

Ameno-Sagiri: Comes even MORE da faq outtta nowhere and vanishes da faq outta nowhere, also irrelevant to plot and meaningless distraction

Margret: Boring af, no personality at all, Elizabeth was more fun 

Saki: Underdeveloped bitch, supposed to be so sad when dies despite not being shown for anythin but bitch also supposed to feel bad for yosuke when she dies even tho she hated him and he would have been rejected anyway seriously wtf

Marie: COMPLETELY IRREDEMABLE GARBAGE FIRE OF PANDERING TRASH. SHOEHORNED INTO PLOT WHEN COMPLETELY MEANINGLESS AND IRRELEVANT. GAME FORCES HER AS LOVE INTEREST WHEN SHE SOMEHOW MANAGES TO STEAL WORST GIRL FROM YUKIKO. ANNOYING TSUNDERE STEREOTYPE. MAKES ME WANT TO KILL SELF.

#2 - Shit plot

Boring af. Crappy tonal issues all the way thru. WAY TO SLICE OF LIFE WHO FUCKIN CARES. 

HEY IM A TRANSFER STUDENT JUST LIKE LAST GAME LOL. Everyone loves me immediately even tho im a lil bitch. 

Oh noes murder of some random chick we never met so sad ;~;

Meet Chie n Yukiko both boring af, immediately like me 

Yosuke is trash can, Mitsuo is creppy and wierd b/c gamers r uggo and uggo ppl are socially inept and suck

Bitchy girl shows up and then dies

Yosuke does1n't get dick wet (he wouldn't anyways but still) so sad 

See TV world, meet worst character in ORGINAL game (assult of bear puns)

fight dumb fuckin demon frog bc yosuke is bored (wtf is dis shit)

Chie is gay bUT NOT REALLY  

Boss of dungeon is too hard, someone went missing or something idk who cares

Meet gay but nOT REALLY

Chases u bc u judge him but NOT REALLY

Gets kidnapped, gay dungeon bUT NOT REALLY actually about gender and cuz he likes cute stuff means he's gay STUPID but actually he's not because gays r icky lol 

Campin time yaya the girls can't cook pffffft a WOMAN CANT COOK TF WOW WOW SO FUNNY A WOMAN CANT COOK WTF WHAT TEH FUCK and also HANAKO IS FAT AND That's' bad

HOMOPHOBIA TIME LOL KANJI IS GAY ARE YOSUKE AND YU SAFE IN A TENT WITH HIM? FIND OUT AT 11

Sexism next day when Yosuke is like I bought u girls sexy swimsuits and will now shame you to wear them ARENT I AN ENDEARING CHARACTER but no dicks are wet except with water (also vomit) including kanji lol abuse (also that could have seriously injured but never brought up BECAUSE ABUSE IS LOLOLOLOOLLOLLLOLLLLOLLLOLLLLLLLLOLLLL) Also game forced u/Yu to be sexist too fuck off game

Nanako is sad whatever who cares

Yosuke wants idol puss so yay idol but shes sad so we stalk guilible peepin tom who is the killer but NOT REALLY while adachi is quirky

Rise is sad that she doesnt know who she is or something fuckin idk STRIPPING TIME BOWCHICAWOWOW also teddie feels useless so everyone dies or smth

Teddie comes out of TV and is now human and annoying mother fucker, Rise is now not sad but KAWAII and Yosuke no longer wants idol puss idk but but IDOL PUSS WANTS BORING FUCKBOY YU DICK (not pandery at all, just your average sexy teen idol wants boring fuckboy)

Teacher is dead he was dick and uggo so who cares lol

Chase after uggo game lover nerd haha dungeon is nerdy game shit lol video games cause violence right guys? Didnt u know that video gamers are all ugly socially inept muderous pathetic freaks????? THATS U BTW UR UGGO INEPT MUDEROUS CREEPY LOSER FREAK LOL 

Also rise cums when you kill enemies 

Now murders are solved rite so lets have celebration!!!! Girls make omlettes but they CANT COOK LOL wasnt that so funny last time joke so nice they made it twice

Summer festival time Rise wants yu dick and Yosuke wants wet dick but teddie claims all three girls for himself and they go without protest despite not wanting to because they are STRONG FEMALE CHARACTERS WHO KNOW THEIR PLACE AND KNOW NOT TO BACKTALK THEIR MAN (isnt this game so progressive) 

PERSONA 3 REFERENCES also underage drinking bUT NOT REALLY JUST SEXUAL HARASSMENT BECAUSE LOL also teddie stalks them lol also teacher books SEX HOTEL???? How wacky

You kno how muder was solved WELL NOT REALLY WHAT A SHOCK THE GAME HAD NO PLOT FOR LIKE TWO MONTHS anyways

Naoto is strong masculine manly mc man detective but gets kidnapped and is actuallY TRANS BUT NOT REALLY IS ACTUALLY JUST GIRL AND THINKS SHES CHILDISH OR SOMETHING but NOT REALLY ACTUALLY SHE’s JUST LONELY but not really idefk. Remember kiddies being different is okay!!! uwu (so long as you ARENT ACTUALLY DIFFERENT U FREAKOZOID kill urself)

Cultrue festival Rise wants u 2 do her in school halls balls deep but game doesn't let you????? lame 0/10 

But then YOSUKE FORCES GIRLS INTO UNCOMFORTABLE beauty pagent that they cant back out of even if someone else signed them up under penalty of DEATH AND RAPE (I presume) because yosuke remains such an endearing character BUT THEN girls get revenge by forcing him into drag contest and u and kanji too even tho it was only yosuke because the GIRLS ARE SUCH AMAZING FRIENDS lol girls are objectified lol fatty thinks shes hot lolllollollooololooloololoollolololooll0lkooolloollololoololol (game designers had to stop in order to finish laughing at own jokes)

then drag contest ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww grosssssssssssssss icky teddie wins because................a dude? PASSING AS A WOMAN??????? Totes not transphobic vibes none at ALL

then HOT SPRINGS SLEEPOVER at inn because there is just SO MUCH MORE FUNNY TO BE HAD (isnt this all so relevant to plot and character??? rich narrative very necessary part of story, game would be UNSALVAGABLE without it) 

Girls are bitches and think that guys are perving because hot springs doesn't tell them when it's time for girls to go? ?????? Great fuckin service amagi inn also why would the guys perv by just casually walking in??? Why why why why why qwhyw why why anyways they throw buckets at the guys and it's HILARIOUS and not at all uncomfortable, guys run away in terror and the girls are like YEAH GIRL POWER!!! Then they find out about mistake and apologize like good friends, people and normal humans would b/c even for pervin that was extra  no just kidding LOL They actually keep it a secret becausE LOL GIRL POWER STRONG RELATABLE FEMALE CHARACTERS AMIRITE WHO HASNT ABUSED THEIR FRIENDS WITHOUT ANY FEELINGS OF REMORSE OR GUILT LOL (also nanako saw that all bad influence on child)

since the friendships are all so wholesome and not at all toxic or unhealthy the guys totally write this off and try to explain themselves to the girls. NO, actualyl, since Tedide and Yosuke are still such ENDEARING characters they instead decide to molest girls in sleep RELATABLE but uh oh they accidentally molest fatty and uggo old teacher who looks 30 and then fatty and teach are like cool let's fuck and like REAL TEENS they are grossed out at being offered sex because yuck women over 20 and fatty also why are fatty and "old" lady hangin out anyway?? Apparently if ur gross u hang out together, b/c that's how it works rite. such grea t non contrivences

Nanako is dying whatever who cares 

Namatame then kidnapps nanako or somth who cares dojima dies but NOT REALLY

then they go to heaven because nanako is sad but nobody gave a shit narukami never cared to ask or try to keep her company isn't he just so GREAT and considerate to the girl being boderline abused and neglected in his own fuckin house no who cares BUT NOW WE CARE RIGHT GUYS

Namatame is cray cray and his boss design is uggo and bullshit

Nanako dies, Yosuke advocates MURDER because he is still SO ENDEARING and player has to chose EXACT FUCKIN DIOLOGUE WITH NOT ONE MISTAKE OR EVERYTHIGN SUCKS AND ITS ALL UR FAULT also in some endings you murder because fuck you 

but then if u dont murder NANAKO WAS DEAD BUT NOT REALLY but only if u dont murder so congrats u were emotionally manipulated into killing the mentally ill b/c ur so great good job

then it turns out Namatame you know how he was cray cray well turns out he wANST REALLY CRAY he just had plot-convient-tempo-insanity-itius as the doctors call it then u talk to him and u know how he was the killer? Welll...NOT REALLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY he was actually good guy u almost killed innocent man fck u then u have three chances to guess killer and only u can and if you dont get it in three guesses you get, as the doctors call it, plot-convient-stupid-cant-think-anymore-itius and thus you run out of time and nobody in the world can guess except you and even over the next three months nobody can guess because who cares I guess lol 2 ppl r dead it turns out you know quirky relatable cop man well NOT FUCKIN REALLY he is actually crazy because he's bored and as everyone knows when youre bored you kill also he's sad that he doesn't have talent even tho he is sucessful detective???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? then god bullshit end of world or smth who cares

then everything is over also i forgot teddie disappears so sad but NOT REALLY

Christmas eve sex ( i banged rise on top of christmas cake) 

Girls can now cook character development girls learned how to cook 10/10 v progressive 

Then flash forward to three months later because fuck you and Yu is leavin because idk and the game ends BUT NOT REALLY ashkually you can get TRUE SUPER AWESOME ending if you are able to figure out that you have to go to junes for no reason except fuck you 

turns out the gas station attendent u know him? well he was super bored and he's actually a GOD WOWZERS so amazing did you know jesus was a part timer at a gas station????? NO??? That's why youre playing this sack of shit anyway humanity wants ignorance or so god says (sound familiar, Nyx??) and she almost wins BUT NOT REALLY Because yu has the power of frienship and you know that awesome scene of makoto fighting nyx? Well imagine thaT BUT SHIT b/c no buildup

for all ur xtra efforts u get teddie saying hearts are connected anime KH cliche (wasnt that so worth the extra bullshit dungeon) 

Yu is leaving SO SAD WHAT ARE YOU CRYING ABOUT P3 WUSS CAST? Your friend is dead? GTFO with those 1st world problems NARUKAMI HAS TO TAKE THE TRAIN TO SEE HIS FRIENDS THIS IS THE TRUE TRAGIC DRAMA WHAT COULD BE WORSE

THE END 0/10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

#3 - ASSULT OF THE CASH COWS

so p4 is gr8 rite m8? well no but apparentlly dumb 14yr old boys were like "omg this game half akcnowleges gays exsist so PROGRESSIVE also i can fuck mai waifu n have friends" and so p4 made a shit ton of money atlus saw dis money printin out and were like $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so dey were lyke "lets release a buncha shit”

Persona 4 The Animation: Imagine the same shitty p4 plot but with EVEN MORE HOMOPHOBIA!!!!! also racism!!!! plus MORE FAT JOKES!!!!!!!!!!! Hahahaahahahahah also the animation is piss poor shit!!! Doesn't this sound wonderful????? 

Persona 4 Arena: So Atlus was lyke yannao wat totes goes with our super serious and super "mature" jrpg seriess? Do u kno? BLAZBLUE!!!!! The over the top weeb fighting game!!! YEah son!!!!! So anyways a fighting game comes out with barely any playable characters??????? Great. Fantastic not the least bit fanficy character writing. Also, there is a plot b/c dis shit be canon. Dats right!!! Now you may be thinking "mmmm how does that work????" well the geneiuses at atlus say "B/C SHITTY P3 RETCON CHARACTER IS SAD ABOUT DESTROYING FRINEDS WHOLE TV WORLD BECOMES ARENA WERE PEOPLE HAVE TO FIGHT FRIENDS" and u may hear that and wonder?? "what deh fuck, wasn't tv world gone also when did this ever happen in p4????" to which fanboys proply accuse u of hating fighting games and behead u. 

So at this point in time, P4 is offically dead. It is dead as doornails. but atlus is lyke "Hey let's rape the corpse" and they release shitty remake on overpriced shit system nobody bought. You may be wondering "2012 didn't p4 only come out less than five years ago????" to which atlus says "shut the fuck up and give us money" hence P4 Golden

Persona 4 Golden: Added marie, inistant failure trashfire BUT WAIT!!!! THERE IS SO MUCH MORE!!!! Added events!!! 

a) Yosuke wants dick wet and will cum if he feels boobs on his back!! So Yu and Yosuke team up to get shitty dumb ugly bikes b/c they're sooooo cooool rite mitsuru? You and ur dumb motorbike p4 is the real mature game. Anyway. Then they go hit on girls and yosuke gets one!!! YAY!! BUT OH NO!!! IT'S ACTUALLY STUPID FATSO STILL THINKIN SHE'S HOT WHEN SHE'S ACTUALLY STUPID BC SHE'S FAT!!! She then sits on yosuke's bike and it breaks because lol shes fat get it get it get it get it????? Doesn't this add so much to the story??? RICH NARATIVE RIGHT GUYS?!

b) BEACH TIME!!! Because that's where the real compelling drama is!!! Anyway they go to the beach and yuckerbears kanji is in a speedo!!! Gross!! I hope yosuke doesn't catch the gay!!! Then teddie tries to molest the girls bc he's such an endearing character lol then kanji's bathing suit falls off!!!! How did this happen u may ask?? ANIME MAGIC!! So then they dress kanji in seaweed like birth of venus and girls scream and run. the end. 

c) Fireworks festival yay time ted-fiya so memorable. Yosuke wants to murder Teddie bc PORN so funny haha more fat jokes also teddie wants 2 bang nanako

d) Nanako is sad again whatever who cares

e) Halloween party!!! BUT NOT REALLY!!

f) SKIING TRIP!!!! YAY!!! P3 REFERENCES!!! YAY!!! Shiptease!!! Yay!!! Teddie steals food so Naoto advocates for his MURDER!!! YAY!! IF YOU DID MARIES SLINK YOU GET XTRA AWESOME DUNGEON!! ALSO IMPLIED RAPEY SEX IN THE SNOW BUT NOT REALLY!!! ANYWAY turns out that marie sucked up the ameno sagiri fog! What u thought it just went away on its own?? BULLSHIT!!!! Next you'll be questioning the ever so important role of NPC John Smith in creating Izanami's gas attendent disguise. Or NPC Billy Bob in giving Ameno Saigiri directions to the boss fight. RIVETING DIOLAUGE LIKE "is this like the part in movies where the bad guys lair collapses??????" WORST GIRL IS DEAD BE SAD EVERYONE ELSE IS U MONSTER!!! BUT NOT REALLY!!! INSTEAD SHIP FUEL!!!! Also marie is polite for half second, AMAZES ENTIRE CAST GREAT WRITING!!!!!!!!! dont u love it when ur friends treat u like shit? then there’s a lovely scene where the dudes perv on the girls who are sexaulized and marie attacks them. Riveting. Then they all died and we were all happy. 

g) New years eve. That is all. also new stupid persona evolutions that look stupid. 

h) Valentine's DAY!!! I bang Rise on the da beach!!! Also if u slink with marie at all she forces you to cheat!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!

i) OH, NO! Yosuke is going to have to move maybe idk wasnt he supposed to want to move??? idk shut up. anyways. to keep yosuke miserable his friends have to become a band in TWO DAYS!!!! How will they ever do that??? well guess what with zero experience the entire group becomes master musicians in TWO DAYS!!!!!!! That's right, it's that easy!!!! U 2 can become as good as Green Day in two Days!!!! not that they ever play again lol or ever bring this up again lol. Then the dudes jump into the crowd and lol the crowd dodges thme aand nothing is accomplished. 

j) New super awesome epilogue you only get if you slink marie even tho she isn’t there for 90% of it whatever the new designs suck

Anyway since the game isn't slice of life enough you can now bang rise in the movies and the hot springs also you can go out at night so exciting.

You can now force Naoto into sexy outfits against her will because isn’t it so cute when girls don’t like being objectified??? Also they molest her at the hot springs??? Also 

So yeah P4G sucks ass. But ATLUS didn't stop there!!!! OH no! Atlus then went on to make Persone Q!!! They decided this time to drag innocent bystander P3 as well!!

Persona Q: some bullshit about a dying girl causes the P3 and P4 cast to meet in a wonderful culture festival crossover!! With lovely gameplay and no regression in character!! Chie always had nothing to her past loving meat right????? Also yu can fuck the dog from p3!! isnt this so believable and not the least bit stupid or contrived? isn't it?? Isn't it???????? Not much to say its just dumb surely Atlus must be done now right?? RIGHT?? WRONG!!!!!!

 Now you see since P4G came out, OBVIOUSLY the anime needs to be partially remade! You may be asking, isn't the anime less than TWO YEARS old at this point? Why remake it? Did golden really have such a different story? No. 

P4 Golden Animation: Marie, marie, marie, marie, ten episodes of marie, never goes anywhere, confusing and boring af but look 16 yr olds in bikinis and nude and not totally shit animation so it's ok right? RIGHT? RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! P4 at this point has been raped to death all over again and the corpse is still being fucked and they won't just let it die. BUT NO!!!! Enter p4 arena ultimax!!

P4 Arena Ultimax: B/c the first was so great, they made another!! Game so nice they made it twice!! but now the dark hour from p3 is back because idk we ran out of ideas. Also junpei and koromaru and adachi great. But guess what!!!!!! AWESOME NEW CHARACTER!! His name is sho!! He is the secret son of dude from P3, how is this possible? fuck you. Anyway he is so tragic and sad he hates friendship!! awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!! :((((( But never fear!!! The p4 team will show sho the glory of frienship isnt this so interesting and original and great????

p4's violated, torn up corspe now has zero dignity left so atlus decided to reanimate the corpse with dead horse dildos and force it to dance 

P4 DAN: Dancing. Shit dancing. Nobody knows how to dance. Remember how P4 used to be about murder and accepting uncomfortable truths???? Well now its about shittily animated dances. Isn't this so great? Guess what we lean about the characters? We learn that they can't fuckin dance and watching them is cringy af. Also now the tv world is a dance stage because the tv world just does whatever the fuck we want it to. what if a characters shadow is a rapist, would they be forced to rape?? is that how atlus would make a porn game?? if we wanted to make a chess game a famous chess player who feels forced to play chess will then make u forced to play chess. .... so obivously, the P4 fandom realized that Atlus was raping their game and refused to buy it right?? RIGHT??? WRONG. They actually will castrate you with a rusty carving knife if you ever so much as imply P4 is a cash cow.

It totally is tho

[thehopedealer-88]

Flash Rant/S4 expectations:

Though TF is one of my favorite shows, this last season was not the best: The pacing of the episodes was off, the savitar reveal came way too late and people had already figured it out making it anticlimactic, Savitar was underdeveloped and more time could have been spent on him and of course EmoBarry. But there were individual things that rubbed me the wrong way, so here we go:

Star labs:I am so sick and tired of star labs. I am sick and tired of seeing the set. Why tf is 80% of every episode in star labs?!? there is an entire city to use and all we see is Star Labs. I know I wasn't the only one happy to see it get destroyed in the finale. Yes, I get it is the focal point of the show as far as locations. That’s where team flash comes together, thats where the Flash goes. BUT, its been 3 seasons. We get it. We saw it. Lets move on. Allow the characters to have lives outside of Star Labs. They deserve it. 

BARRY: LET BARRY BE GREAT. LET BARRY BE SMART. PLEASE. Barry Allen is a genius but the show has stripped so much of that away from him in order to give importance to *drum roll* STAR LABS. That’s bullshit. Show him being smarter, on his own. Let him make decisions. On his own. He doesn't need 80 people telling him things he should already know. 

What I want for Barry in S4: I want to see him using his brain. I want to see him do his job. CSI stuff. I want to see him happy and excited about being the Flash like in S1. He’s been through a lot. Let him thrive now. Let him have a stronger connection to the speed force. Let him be FASTER than everyone else. Let him be the one giving the pep talks, not receiving them. He’s learned a lot. He’s grown as a man and a hero. Lets see it. 

IRIS: Iris did more reporting in S1 and S2 than this entire last season. We never even saw the CCPN set ever again. Let her do her job. Please. In the comics, Iris is not only a brilliant reporter but her research and investigations directly help Barry in some of his work as the Flash. LETS SEE THAT. Again, in order to give Star Labs more to do, Iris has been stripped of many opportunities where her journalism could of come in handy. I may be alone in this but I feel like S3 took some agency away from her character by not allowing her to directly influence her fate by the hands of Savitar. She is not a damsel in distress and though we may know this, sometimes I feel it could of came off stronger.

What I want for Iris in S4: I want to see badass journalist Iris. I want to see her contribute more than we have seen her do in the past. It makes no sense in a city like Central City reporters are not used more in the main story lines. Use her. Also, Let her have emotions. She was preparing to die and we barely got a few scenes of her coming to terms with that. wtf. She is the leading lady of the show. Treat her like one and recognize how effective she could be. Also, I want to see her happy. Candice Patton has a great sense of humor. Allow her to bring that to the character more often. Let her be silly and fun, especially with Barry. And, give Iris a female friendship. Sometimes I feel like this show wouldn't pass the bechdel test. 

JOE: again, let Joe do his job. Yes, hes a detective and we see him doing some things. But its not enough. He should be Captain and will have more influence at CCPD. You can’t have a talented actor like Jesse L. Martin and utilize him mostly for pep talks and musical numbers. 

What I want for Joe in S4: A story line consisting of his work at CCPD. He also doesn't need to be at Star Labs so much. Lets see him do his badassary as detective. We know hes a great father. But I would like to see more about Joe outside of his kids. He deserves that much. Also keep Cecile and dont ever hurt Papa Joe. Ever. 

WALLY: He’s freaking Kid Flash and yet, he barely had any screen time in the last few episodes of the season. I hope this is because they are saving it for his bigger role in S4 but still, Wally is underdeveloped as a character and needs more focus on him as Wally and as a superhero. 

What I want for Wally in S4: Same as Barry, I want to see him thrive as the Flash but also go through growing pains. He has a lot to learn and S4 can deliver a great coming of age type of story arc for Wally as he learns to make mistakes and become a better hero.

CISCO: I love this character. And as much as I love him, I need him to back off a little bit as inventor and creator of all things team flash. Cisco has way too many jobs. Many of which as I mentioned can easily go to other characters. Now as Vibe, Cisco has other greater things to learn and develop for himself. Let him. 

What I want for Cisco in S4: Strengthen that Vibe power. Develop it, harness it. Vibe is extremely powerful. Let him get there. I want to see him work on his abilities with Gypsy and be an active hero, not just one who sits in front of a computer. He’s too useful for that. I also want to see him Happy. Give us funny, lighthearted Cisco we love. Allow him to go on a date. Flirt. Get a GF (preferably Gypsy) and overall be unstoppable. It would be great to learn more about his backstory as well, such as his family. 

KILLER FROST: Let KF be complex. The one thing this show is too afraid to do is go too dark. I get that with some characters but not with KF. She is canonically a villain. Let her be one. She’s more interesting that way.There is a way to do that without going over the edge. Right now, KF is helping the Justice League in the comic books but is still considered a villian. She has a Harley Quinn like thing going on and it works. 

What I want for KF in S4: Let her balance the line between good and bad. Let her explore her KF powers and figure out who she is. Please don’t let her be bad one episode and have her be good the next and return her to star labs. She needs to feel the full weight of her actions as KF. Show those conflicting emotions. She can be a bad guy and still have good in her. She doesn't need to be Caitlin again. Let her be a new version of KF. Develop her powers, and explore more of her backstory. There are deeper and darker things in Caitlin's history that we still dont know about. 

HARRY: Just bring back OG Wells. That’s all. 

TEAM FLASH: Lessen up the team. There are wayyyy too many characters on this show. And the more characters, the less time can be spent developing them. Tracy is cool but we dont have room for her on the team, at least not as a regular. Julian is cool but outside of being Dr. Alchemy, we don’t really need another person with the same skills as Barry as a CSI. Its just too bloated and needs to be shrunk down. 

THE VILLIANS: Speaking of Julian, I hope the show has bigger plans for him because if not, Dr. Alchemy was completely wasted. He was supposed to be an interesting character and one of Flash’s biggest foes but instead was used very little and then almost forgotten about.I hope the plan is to revisit that at some point. No more speedsters. At least not for a while. Suicide Squad, if possible would be a phenomenal additions for S4.  

Thats all. I’m sure theres more stuff but this is all I can type up. And remember, these are just MY opinions and feelings about the show and what I hope to see in S4. No matter what, TF is insanley popular, I just feel sometimes writers and showrunners take advantage of that and get kind of lazy. Unforunatley, I feel that happened this season. 

Here is hoping for the best in season 4!

[darkwarriorproject]

(we've received a few questions about these topics so we figured we'd answer in one post! you're all welcome to reblog with your own answers as well)

What do you love most about the Jak and Daxter series? // What do you think it is about this series/characters that makes people still care so much after all this time?

I find the world in the games to be really special; the world building in Jak and Daxter is a unique blend of fantastical elements (eco in particular) and sci fi. The settings feel like real, lived-in places (at least atmospherically) despite the early tech available at the time the games were made. It makes them very fun to explore, even if there's no sidequests around; particularly Haven city.

The plot of the games may be minimal, and towards the end of 3 outright silly, but the characters are fun and the stakes are high, so it's easy to get attached. I came to genuinely care about the setting, so it really didn't take much to hook me, haha.

--thane

For me, it's the balance between a really cool and expansive setting, and all the things left underdeveloped. There's other series I love but haven't got into writing for because I feel like there's not as much I can add; the Jak and Daxter series is imperfect, full of weird holes and untapped character potential, but that leaves so many places to jump in and fill the gaps, or play with alternate outcomes and events. It's a fun sandbox to play in, a distinctive and unique world with a lot of room to explore, and that's what keeps me coming back to it.

--dusk

Who are your favourite characters and why do you love them so much?

Hmm.... it's a tossup depending on my mood. I tend to immediately like the main characters the best so I of course like Jak and Daxter... but I also have a huuuge weak spot for Torn. I don't know why but whenever there's a beleaguered commander stuck behind a desk trying to do his best, they will almost always be my favourite. (See also: Samuel Vimes, Chief Bogo, Lin Bei Fong)

--thane

If I had to pick one it would be Damas; he's a good dad and a huge fucking nerd with a stupid sense of humour (see: this post) and... he doesn't wear pants (I can't explain why this is so important to me, it just is). But I really love Battle Dad characters in general; it's one of my favourite character tropes. I also like the main Duo and Sig a lot (Jak and Dax because I love deep friendship dynamics; Sig for similar dad/mentor reasons and also because he just makes me happy).

--dusk