#at BEST it's a pacing issue

[crossdressingdeath]

Not to harp on about Rick's treatment of Percy's fatal flaw again, but I think the scene that annoys me the most in regards to this is actually the scene in MoA where he takes Annabeth on a date in Rome before she sets out on her quest.

...That might sound strange. Let me explain. The thing is, this is actually a really good example of his love for her being a flaw. Yes, yes, it's very sweet, Percabeth date, yay, but think about the circumstances. War is brewing between the camps and the Athena Parthenos is the only thing that can stop it, and even once Annabeth's freed it it's still in Rome, thousands of miles from camp, and they can't even fly it back aboard the Argo II because they need the ship to get to Greece, so they really need to get the actual getting of the statue done so they can figure out how to deal with it ASAP. More urgently, Nico only has until sundown before he dies, none of them know where in Rome he is, they have to get past the giants to free him, and Piper and Jason can't even start looking until Percy gets back to the ship. Starting to see the issue yet? Percy just walking Annabeth to the river was already selfish even if it was understandable. The two of them getting lunch and having their cute little date in Rome was wasting time that as far as they knew they did not have to waste. It's not quite sacrificing the world to save a friend, but it is Percy putting lives (although not his, which feels like a misstep here writing-wise if he's supposed to be so loyal) in danger because he can't bring himself to let Annabeth go do what she needs to. And that's good writing! It's his fatal flaw actually making an appearance! Percy's so loyal to Annabeth that he's putting Nico's life in danger just to put off saying goodbye to her, you can do something with that! It could've been really compelling!

And then Rick... doesn't do anything with that. It's treated as cute and sweet and correct. It's left at "Aw, look at the fan-favourite couple on a lunch date in Rome before they both go on dangerous quests"; the fact that while they're eating lunch and joking about Italian pizza Nico is suffocating to death and waiting helplessly for someone to rescue him is an afterthought at most. Certainly neither of them express any real guilt that they're leaving a friend who's consistently risked his neck for them to suffer so that they can get lunch. This could've come up later! Imagine Nico finding out that Percy risked finding him too late because he decided that getting lunch with his girlfriend was more important than Nico's life! Imagine Hazel, Frank and Leo finding out that while they were out risking their necks Percy was having a nice little date and holding up the search! Imagine Jason and Piper pacing the deck of the Argo II, wondering what's taking Percy so long when lives are on the line, maybe worrying that something's happened to slow him down! These characters could and should be furious about Percy making such a selfish choice in such a serious time crunch! But instead it's fine, apparently. They're all risking their necks with only hours left on the clock before Nico (reminder, Hazel's brother who she's already gotten angry at the Seven for even suggesting they not put their all into rescuing once) dies while Percy goes on a lunch date because he's decided he can't possibly say goodbye to his girlfriend yet and everyone thinks this is fine.

Which would've been enough of a problem if Percy's supposed fatal flaw of personal loyalty had been written into the story properly from the start, but... it's not. It just isn't, Percy doesn't struggle with sacrificing loved ones or letting them risk their lives any more than anyone else would. So we're left with the one instance where Percy's loyalty actively causes problems for the quest first not having any downsides for him personally and second being treated as Fine And Good Actually. I don't think I need to explain how badly this undermines personal loyalty supposedly being his fatal flaw!

[apaethy]

feel like some of the criticism on this episode is born from the current streaming format and the instant gratification from social media. if you think a show not answering every single plot point in a season means it’s never gonna be addressed then i need you to watch some tv that’s pre netflix. that’s what gets people to tune in to the next season.

and yes you will have to wait to see it, and learn how to manage expectations. most of the theories people come up with will not happen, and that's ok! the writers have proven theyre able to write compelling storylines that sometimes dont line up with the newest fanon theory. just because your fandom space thinks something had to happen/be shown in a different way does not mean it would be good for the story. this is an adaptation from a book to a tv show, a visual medium and adjustments have to be made to better convey the story and themes.

with season two we end louis’ story until this moment. the writers have said over and over he will not be relegated to the back. but every other vampire in the show will have the chance to tell their own story. daniel has barely published the first book and he's aching to write a sequel, which is obviously gonna be the vampire lestat. and i'm sure armand will also be able to tell his story, just like the others.

[climbdraws]

after further review I have concluded that HTTYD 1 is actually the best out of the trilogy, not HTTYD 2

[deoidesign]

.

[telluricdog]

kingisle whenever they need to coax older players back: HEY YOU PERSON WITH A WALLET!!! REMEMBER DRAGONSPYRE?!? REMEMBER HOW SAD THE LAST ACT MADE YOU FEEL? HERE'S SOMETHING REFERENCING DRAGONSPYRE!! ISNT THAT YOUR FAVORITE?!

[frenchgremlim1808]

i'm so mad at the missed potential of the yabusame post chapter 3, they do nothing!! i sometimes forgot that reko was even there and that is a waste, actually like 80% of the cast became npc this chapter which makes me terribly mad but i think alice and reko are the worst case (yes worst than shin even though he became just a regular npc in logic route which is the worst waste ever, but he compared to the yabusames will have his story developed you know, since nankidai completely gave up on the yabusames, especially reko). The entire reason for that is because nankidai had planed to kill them in logic route so he pretty much forgot that they didn't die in emotion route and kinda forgot which is a recurring pattern in emotion route. Which i loathe because favoritism isn't good and all the emotion route haters will use this as a point. Nankidai clearly has is more interested in some characters than others and doesnt know the fuck to do with them. i am still baffled that alice had this little screen time considering that he is THE GUY THAT """""KILLED"""" midori, ESPECIALLY IN EMOTION ROUTE. he just say random line from time to time to remind you he exist which is a crime because alice is best boy and i love him. At least reko gets some good scenes with ranmaru and like talking about nao (once tho), and like the little singing where kanna did death metal head shakes. But alice gets nothing, NOTHING. and that is all caused because in logic route nankidai planned him to die either way so both reko and alice get nothing. Why i'm mader at this that the zero screen time shin or gin have is because i know they are gonna get stuff later on, shin because he is kinda in the center of the story and gin because he is close to sara, but i don't think we are gonna get that much with the yabusames honestly and that makes me mad. The lack of screen time for the main cast is mainly caused by the terrible pacing of chapter 3-1 but with the yabusames its just no real work because nankidai didn't consider it useful since he planned to kill them either way. And the worse is that so much could have been done really god dammit. Alice lost his little sister and kanna lost her older brother, they are shown to have hanged out together, make them build a connection build on their grief, which would lead to kanna having actual positive interaction with anybody in this cast and alice to be less of a loner. For reko focus on the grief of like in a single day pretty much lose her brother, losing nao unfairly, and finding the man who ruined her life and her brother's too. I know we already have some scenes that way but make them more impactful like in chapter 2. Make her be more protective after losing so much in like a day. MAKE HER HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH ANZU PLEASE. EVERY CHARACTER DUMMIES PAIR MAKE SENSE AND ARE LOGICAL EXCEPT THE YABUSAMES AND ANZU. Oh also i think of sara finding out alone that that nao wasn't supposed to die and was brought here for no reason except raising mishima survival rate should be something that the whole cast should know actually, in general can THE WHOLE CAST be involved, this is the closest they have ever been and yet they are so distant. its a waste and i don't think it will be better because considering new characters and everything i don't think the yabusames will be relevant until the ending which sucks.

[hhhhleb]

based on this concept they got soul bond and sans can feel when smth wrong with papyrus

good thing that sans didn't see the actual injury.. grillby knew that would greatly upset sans, so that's why he pushed him away. it also could have trigger some really bad memories for Sans..so grillby did good job x2 (more thoughts in tags)

[cleopatras-library]

📔 Best Books of 2023 📔

This was the year of Ada Palmer and also some predictably awesome tumblr faves (why did I wait so long to read Fun Home?)

(also @faustandfurious has the best taste in books and I am eternally grateful that they are on tumblr because otherwise I don't think I ever would've read Terra Ignota)

[anistarrose]

After rewatching the Thanks For Watching trilogy, I actually have to double down on my controversial opinion: Hunter never having to directly face off against Belos again after Thanks to Them is actually super satisfying and cathartic in an understated, underrated way. He said everything he needed to say after the worst thing that Belos ever did to him, and from then on, he didn't know it yet but he was free. I'm so happy for him.

[atopvisenyashill]

do love how this is an asoiaf blog but i did not put either show in my top 10 this is the world we live in

[age-of-moonknight]

Ultimate End (Vol. 1/2015), #5.

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Penciler: Mark Bagley; Inker: Scott Hanna; Colorist: Justin Ponsor; Letter: Cory Petit

[senatortedcruz]

The way a Biles-Andrade-Lee podium would have gone crazy in Tokyo if things had all gone according to Keikaku (authors note: Keikaku means plan)

[101flavoursofweird]

Layton & Katia: Kindred Spirits

This moment where Layton firsts sees Katia and they have a stare-off always felt odd to me. And not just because Layton’s eyes are HUGE For the player, Katia is being introduced as a main character here, much like how Flora and Clive are in their games. But Layton’s fascination towards those two feels more understandable; Flora is disguised as a ‘mysterious girl’, different from the other villagers, and Clive is disguised as ‘Future Luke’. Both of them either seek Layton out, or call upon his help.

But what connection could Katia Anderson have to Hershel Layton? 

When they’re investigating Dropstone, Layton and Luke learn of the Andersons— a beloved founding family of the village. They hear about how Mr Anderson has fallen out with his daughter, Katia, since Sophia died. The family’s servants are very fond of Katia, so much that they all come to see her off on the train, behind her father’s back. Layton muses that Katia must be beautiful and refined. 

Moments before they board the train, Mr Anderson begs for Layton to pass on a message to Katia: Her father wishes she’d come home. Katia is his only child and she means everything to him. He’d be forever in Layton’s debt if Layton could help.

So, here, Layton could be looking at Katia with Mr Anderson’s plea in mind… But what if it’s more than that? 

I think Katia reminds Layton of his younger self.

Layton’s Miracle Mask profile describes how, as a 17-year-old, he was ‘pampered and adored by the people of Stansbury’. This changed, however, after Hershel returned from Akbadain without Randall. 

While I’m sure the residents of Stansbury didn’t all believe Layton murdered Randall,  Layton was still consumed with guilt over Randall’s death. He agreed to accompany Randall to the ruins, after all, and he couldn’t save Randall from falling in the end. When Layton returned home, his parents ‘gave him the hardest scolding of his life’ and then ‘the warmest hug’. 

Dalston notes how Angela ‘drove Layton out of town’ (though, Layton wrote in his journal about how Angela ‘never left the house’)… Whatever the case, Hershel felt so guilty that he decided to leave Stansbury to attend university in London. In the years following Randall’s ‘death’, Stansbury became a ghost town as the residents moved away…

I wonder if Layton thinks of Stansbury— over eighteen years later— when Mr Anderson confides in him about Sophia and fears for the fate of Dropstone? ‘Dropstone must never be allowed to die and wither like so many other villages…’

A rift has formed between the Anderson family, since Sophia’s death. Perhaps Mr Anderson fears this rift will affect Dropstone… (Much like how Randall’s death devastated Stanbsury…)

With Katia suddenly setting out on an adventure, against her father’s interests, it’s easy to see how Layton would be concerned too. Layton and his parents are very close, but his mother constantly worries over him— much like Mr Anderson with Katia. Layton suffered a loss as a teenager and he chose to leave his hometown— much like Katia. If you want a more recent ‘death’, Layton thought Dr Scharder had died and jumped on a train a few days later to find out why.

Both Layton and Katia are well-liked, but they’re quiet, solitary characters who keep their intentions close to the chest. When Inspector Chelmey comes to investigate Dr. Scharder’s death, Layton decides conduct ‘his own investigation’ behind Chelmey’s back. At the hotel in Folsense, Katia implores Layton to give her the Elysian Box, but Katia refuses to tell him why. Both Layton and Katia struggle to accept the help of others…

But, that doesn’t mean they will ignore other people in need! Layton’s always helping random people with mysteries or puzzles. On the road to Herzen Castle, it’s implied that Katia leaves lanterns for Layton and Luke to light the forest path. Plus, Katia is willing to guide Luke and Layton out of Herzen Castle. 

Katia is frightened when they encounter Anton and he mistakes her for Sophia. She trusts Layton enough to hide behind him.

(Huh, Layton also must have had an identity-crisis when he took on Randall’s legacy as an archaeologist, or when he learned he’d inherited his name from his older brother…)

It always bugged me how Layton interrupted Katia when she was trying to explain everything to Anton… but it is kind of understandable, if he’s worried Anton might lash out at Katia. It’s even kind of sweet, when you remember Layton is watching out for Katia, as Mr Anderson asked. Katia is missing her father and Layton is missing Flora, his adopted daughter.

When the gang escape from the castle and Anton is revealed to be an old man, he finally acknowledges Katia as his grandfather. 

The look on Katia’s face here… my heart… reminds me of THIS:

Hershel was able to find out the truth about what happened to Randall, and the truth about his birth family— just as Katia found out about her family’s history.

They’ve reunited with lost loved ones and their respective journeys are over, for now. 

[sowheresmyroom]

Ok no there is literally SO MUCH TO SAY about episodes 5 and 6 that I am just chosing to short circuit and say nothing instead besides HOLY FUCK

[chintzwife]

watching people be 'team black' or 'team green' is so incredibly annoying like this show is literally not about anything. what is this show about? 'teams'??????? guys im team 'hire a new writers room' this shit sucks

[rasticore]

remember when Mao Mao literally got confirmed for season 2 then was dead silent for like a year and was quietly cancelled because i think about it constantly