#cause knowing how it all ends up and watching them all actually develop the plot you know is in the works

[sharkieboi]

hi okay so i’m rewatching Starstruck and

a) being able to binge it as the Complete Experience with the Adventuring Party(s) right after each episode is very great and I like being able to revisit the story this way

b) I actually think this is my favorite season of character art in general, and in particular Sundry Sidney’s portrait is no contest my absolute favorite character art of all of D20

[prof-ramses]

Hollow Sorrows Trailer Breakdown LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOO

Obviously, if you don't want spoilers, scroll away. If you've already seen the trailer, LET'S GO!!!

So when we first see possessed Patty, she looks mostly normal, you can't even see her demon teeth through the mask yet. John and Jack probably only came in since they heard a scream and/or struggle coming from the morgue.

So we get a shot of the boys being too chaotic, something Gregor points out and what will likely cause the "bad character development" Pelo ahs mentioned.

Also, since it's 100% what Pelo would do, Costume Bob is the guy in the HF suit. Mark my words.

The scene with the hatz is really interesting to me, since Skid and Pump just annoys Roy for a moment and leave. I think this might be all we get of the hatzgang this time, similar to how Frank only had a brief Appearance in Tender Treats. If my theory that episode 7 will focus on Roy is true, this little scene will be very interesting to dissect when the full episode drops.

We actually get out first proper glimpse at a new character and I think this old man is the very last character in the line up teaser

And there's also a pretty good chance he Roy's grandfather and given the way he reacts to the boys antics here, I can definitely see him being a another reasons Roy's the way he is.

If he actually is Roy's grandpa, then @crossover-enthusiast and I's Roy discussions are going to get really fun pretty soon.

Here, Skid is clearly holding a framed photo, meaning this will almost certainly be the first time his father is brought up directly.

Also, yeah, with Pump's line about "hangover spooky month", it seems my theory about Lila in this episode was at least half right.

Yet more proof that the boys' absent parents will be more of a focus. The trailer as a whole gives me some ideas regarding the Wonder parents, but I feel they're best saved for another time.

The boys get into trouble with the cops and I have 2 theories regarding when, either Gregor tries to get them sent home before going to the hospital, but they talk their way out of it, or they actually do get sent home at the end of the episode.

John's expression here immediately makes we think that something Skid or Pump said reminded him of his daughter. Another plot thread that has yet to be directly acknowledged.

Ignacio watches Gregor lead the boys away, maybe he lives down the street from Skid and Lila to keep an eye on them for the cult?

Either way, I'm surprised his appearance won't take place in the hospital as I previously predicted.

"I will be your guide. And I know your parents would be proud of you."

There's something undeniably sinister about this line, but how sinister hinges on whether Gregor is a cultist or ex-cultist. Whatever the case may be, he definitely knows more about or sees more in the boys than he lets on.

A great title card, and thought the blood everywhere is definitely concerning, I don't think there's anything to really say here, just wanted to get a screenshot of it.

And it would appear the character I've referred to as the cat lady will have the unenviable role of a hapless victim to the episode's villain. But honestly, I'm more surprised by her being at the hospital in the first place and why that never occurred to me before.

The actual progression of Patty's possession confirms to she's possessed by something other than Moloch. And what seals it for me is, fittingly, the eyes. The white of her eyes becomes a more vivid yellow, yet her pupil snot only don't form Moloch's typical spirals, but they're a more vivid shade of baby blue, a color that has never had any significance in the series before. Moloch will mostly be trapped in Dexter before eventually possessing Gregor, I will die on this hill.

AND THE FUGGIN' RELEASE DATE!!!

Alright, that's all, only a month now. We're so back!

[anti-katsuki-lounge]

Can you make a top for the MHA fights? From your favorites to your least favorites.

You can take the coreography, narrative weight (the stakes behind and or clashing ideals) and logic behind them (by this i mean if the winner makes sense or not)

There’s a lot of fights in MHA so I’m just going to focus on my top 5 faves/least faves.

Favorites:

1. Shoto vs Izuku: if any fight could summarize the central theme of MHA it’s this one. I loved seeing Izuku break down Shoto’s walls, I loved seeing Shoto let loose and actually smile for the first time, and I loved how Izuku sacrificed a pretty easy win because he saw someone who was hurting and wanted to help them. 

2. All Might vs Nomu: This is a fight that’s just pure fun. Sure, it was a slugfest between All Might and Nomu, but it was a hype one. I liked seeing All Might find a way to defeat an opponent who seems unbeatable.

3. Hawks vs Twice: as I’ve mentioned before, this is a wonderful and heart wrenching fight. Something people don’t notice is that Hawks was actually trying to save Twice. He gave Twice numerous outs and even mentioned that he sees good in him. However, Twice’s loyalty to his friends made him refuse to go to the good side. Hawks, having been trained by the HPSC to be nothing more than a weapon, proved that he was more than that. Twice himself, someone who was constantly seen as an unstable freak, showed us that not everyone who’s bad was born bad. In the end, Hawks put down Twice because he legitimately saw no other way to end the fight.

4. Stain vs Tenya, Izuku, and Shoto: A fantastic fight that shows off Izuku’s true heroic nature and Shoto’s growth while also serving as a great teaching lesson for Tenya.

5. All Might vs AFO: A great fight to end the first set of arcs of MHA. I don’t really have much to say outside of that.

Honorable mentions go to Overhaul vs Izuku, Ejiro going into unbreakable mode for the first time, and Tamaki vs Three of the Eight Bullets.

Least favorite fights (not really going to explain them in detail cause if you’ve read my blog you’d know why I hate these fights):

1. Katsuki vs AFO: Katsuki’s plot armor breaks new grounds as he wakes up from having his arm broken and his heart blown out with no injures, gets a BS quirk awakening, and manages to defeat AFO because the villain was too stupid and didn’t get rid of rewind after he was fully healed.

2. Kacchan vs Deku 2: Katsuki gets his dick sucked for the billionth time while he beats on his victim, ignoring that Izuku was grieving All Might’s retirement too.

3. Kacchan vs Deku 1: Katsuki’s first dick sucking session begins as he’s somehow able to change fighting styles midway through combat despite having no formal training. He was also aiming to essentially torture Izuku and fired off an explosion that would’ve seriously injured, if outright not killed him. Of course, since Hori loves Katsuki, he only gets told to grow up.

4. Katsuki’s fight in the Joint Training Arc: Oh look, a failed attempt at showing that Katsuki’s developed in any meaningful way. Also, let’s watch Hori wank off his favorite again.

5. Katsuki vs Ochako: a failed attempt at displaying a pro-feminism message by Hori because it amounts to another dick sucking session for Katsuki.

Dishonorable mentions go to any fight Katsuki’s in because they’re always Katsuki dick sucking sessions, Hitoshi vs Izuku because Hitoshi’s hypocritical bitch ass was annoying to watch even when Izuku was kicking his ass, and Ochako vs Yui (this one’s cause I’m petty af and as even though I like Ochako, we Stan Yui in this house and she had a higher skill stat so I would’ve liked for her to at least put up a fight)

[yuikomorii]

Heya! In which of the boys route do you think Yui was broken/hurt the most?

I always wanted to know which would be the worst scenario (route) for like.. an avarage girl irl . I know most girls would not survive there😅 but just wanted to know your opinion which of those 6 doors you would never open. Or 13 if we count all the characters.

// Since it's an otome game, it goes without saying that there will be a lot of plot armor and that the love interests can't really harm the heroine seriously throughout the route, regardless of what she does, because the plot would go nowhere like that. Most characters are jerks but not really that hard to handle, since they were known for scaring Yui rather than letting her get genuinely hurt. However there were certain Diaboys who were very scary, as it felt like they had no feelings of remorse or empathy.

Laito:

Can’t say that his HDB route is the worst thing Rejet has ever written (because it’s definitely not) but it baffled me how he was so okay with Yui breaking like that to the point where she lost all her will to live and only wanted to be set free from him. I mean, she literally tried to commit and he was just there not even intending to stop her bleeding veins despite being the one who cut them?? It’s true that in the Vampire Ending she doesn’t turn out that bad but after all, this is just because it’s fiction.

Kanato:

He was easier to understand than Laito because at least you were able to know that he had a soft spot for sweets and Teddy. Nevertheless, it was a bit too much how he kept stabbing Yui with the fork and a few chapters later, I’m pretty sure he stabbed Yui with a knife in more places as well. Still, it’s surprising how she turned out worse in his route, considering the fact that in the afterstory she kills innocent people—

Kou:

I love Kou but he was a literal demon in MB. I really hated how he made his fans bully Yui JUST FOR FUN. It wasn’t even any sort of punishment, he merely wanted to make her suffer. Another thing I couldn’t stand was how he kept putting Yui’s life in danger, only to make her prove her love. I understand wanting to test someone but it would have been way better if he actually saved Yui after seeing her do something dangerous. That way it would have proved that he cared for her yet he continued to watch her get hurt for him over and over again, without feeling any empathy. He was sorta redeemed at the end but yeah, most of his route was big yikes, especially since you wouldn’t have expected a cheerful and friendly idol like him to be such a wicked person.

Carla:

I like the Tsukinami family's desire to preserve their lineage but sorry, I must say that I find it repulsive that a 17-year-old would be forced to become pregnant out of the blue with strangers. I understand that Yui was partially to blame for Carla's anger and subsequent dungeon scene but that moment grossed me out sooo bad. She lost her will to live but Carla literally jumped on a depressed girl and was on the verge of rap€ing her, if his Endzeit didn’t kick in. He gets gradually better throughout his route but this scene left a sore taste in my mouth.

Kino:

Look, Kino is a great villain and a lot of fun, but his LE route was trash. Kino killed a child, mistreated Yui, abducted both Yui and Ayato, planned to sell Ayato to the church for execution, manipulated Yui and tortured Ayato. The pain he caused them both was immense and although I appreciated Yui calling him out, it's so sad that she was brainwashed. While it's true that Kino can be quite cute when he wants to, their romance was so rushed and forced because they didn't give us any reason why Yui would fall for him other than manipulation when Ayato, who was seen to care more about her than for himself, was right there. I wish they developed Kino’s feelings better, given that he straight up blackmailed Yui to become his, otherwise Ayato would had been killed, therefore Yui had no other choice but accept the situation. That’s why his CL route is way better.

I only mentioned 5 instead of 6 but that’s mostly because no other character came closer to them in terms of bad scenario. The rest of them felt decent in their routes for a game called Diabolik Lovers, lol.

[lloydfrontera]

do you know how fucking mad i am at the fact that the webcomic gave us lloyd giving javier his own mana in an attempt to save his life and javier overcoming literal dimensional differences in order to be able to accept it into his body effectively foreshadowing how far he's willing to go just to be able to protect lloyd,,,, but they did it all with a fucking 'haha lloyd is ugly' joke. do you.

this could've been one of the best scenes in the entire thing. it could've been such a pivotal point for their character development. it could've been one of the most earnest moments in the story. but it's made into a joke because they just need to draw the ugliest faces possible to make a cheap joke that has been made a hundred times already. i'm not being funny i'm genuinely mad at the wasted potential lmao

the tone of the scene was changed from the webnovel so much it's almost unrecognizable. and not in a good way. like. why would you cheapen the emotional core of your own story like this. do you trust your own plot and characters so little to keep your readers engaged with the story that you feel the need to make everything in a joke. is that it. was the original story not funny enough to keep your attention so you think no one will care if you turn what's meant to be an earnest and heartwarming scene into a joke you've made hundreds of time before.

i'm not. mad. about the changes themselves (mostly). like i said this particular scene had so much potential to compliment the original story and foreshadow the ending that i'm actually upset that the tone and art made it so i can't in good faith say i like it.

they just. shot themselves in the foot by trying to make the scene funny. all the tension and emotional built up is wasted when the webcomic makes fun of itself. it cannot take itself seriously so i can't either.

like. it was going so well. i loved the built up with the scene where they talk about javier's parents and you see that they're still emotionally guarded with each other, they don't quite feel close enough to the other to call themselves friends even when we know that they care deeply for each other. i liked that they changed it so lloyd had the opportunity to save javier the way he wasn't able to in the novel. i even liked the development with lloyd's mana being so different from javier's that he struggles with accepting it, cause it was a chance to call forward to a very important event in the future.

the scene where they're reaching for each other as they realize that yes, they're friends and god help them they will save their friend no matter what?? gorgeous i loved it so much, it wasn't 'We'll be together forever, just like we've always been. Casually. As natural as breathing air.' yeah but it was perfectly okay on it's own too.

and then they do this.

like. what.

all that emotional built up, all that tension, all of it,,, for this?? this????

what's the point of making your audience feel emotionally engaged with the story if you're just gonna make the art equivalent of a fart noise. a well executed yet still completely out of place fart noise lmao

it doesn't feel funny, it just makes me feel like i wasted my time being emotionally invested in something that isn't interested in delivering. it's like watching someone setting up dominoes to topple them in a gorgeous pattern only for them to put on clown shoes and start kicking them all over the place without rhyme or reason. like yeah they're in their right but then what was the point of all that work in the first place.

and yeah maybe it's my fault for expecting something earnest and heartfelt from a webcomic that has shown multiples times that it's not interested on that but like. is it really too much to expect for an adaptation to, well, adapt the original source in a way that doesn't feel like it's making fun of it??

[twilight-deviant]

Pompous Pep Week - Day 5: Age Swap

This is over a week late, but I finished it, which is a win to me. xD

My thoughts on this universe of teen Vlad and adult Danny...

Vlad is a teenage boy constantly trying to appeal to his crush, Maddie, though she seems to have eyes for their friend Jack. The three still have a ghost portal accident like they did in college, occurring earlier in life due to more available technology in the modern age of 2004. A little less unstable as well, no ecto-acne.

Vlad, still a victim of Jack's impulsiveness, hides his emerging ghost powers as he figures them out. He does not yet have the crooked notion to use them robbing banks and getting rich.

One day, while in his ghost form, he encounters and defeats a low-level ghost. Maddie and Jack happen to observe and find it fascinating. Maddie thinks the winning ghost is strong and remarkable, worth studying further. This leads Vlad down a hole of instigating more fights with ghosts to impress her, with eventual plans to reveal his true identity. When he can't get fights going organically, he begins bribing ghosts into it or summoning them with ghost tech/magic, unmindful of all the collateral damage caused by these battles. Over time, he devolves further into wanton damage and cruelty to the losing ghosts.

Enter Danny Phantom, a (formerly retired) ghost hero who can't ignore the new influx of ghosts and what this new ghost boy is getting up to. Plot twist? Turns out he's half-ghost too... and Maddie's father. (No, obviously he's not also Jack's father. lol.) Their introduction is a battle, one which Vlad swiftly loses, causing him to transform back human. [See above art]

Danny is shocked to meet another half-ghost (and it's his daughter's friend!) and tries to take Vlad under his wing, teach him how to use his powers. Naturally, Vlad fights the implication he needs help— and fights Danny too. They become unfortunate enemies, with Danny constantly torn over the question if it's okay to hit a kid. Haha. But the boy is being evil! He at least needs a time-out.

I imagine parts of canon plot still transpire. Things like Vlad researching the Ghost Zone for ways to become more powerful but it backfiring, leading to him running to Danny for help. Danny always assists, but he rarely receives a thank you.

On a personal level, Maddie can't understand why Vlad hates her dad. Meanwhile, Danny has to watch the very apparent tragedy of Vlad having a crush on Maddie, knowing she likes Jack. He can't give advice or suggest Vlad look elsewhere for love because the teen bites his head off anytime he tries to help him. None of it will end well.

For Danny's backstory, it can't transpire along canon lines with an accident in his parents' lab. I therefore decided he received his powers through magic and the occult over science. And we can blame Sam for that. Haha. When the Satanic Panic of the 80s/90s hit, she rebelled even harder against her parents and bought every dark tome and trinket she could find. Yes, this led to her summoning a portal to the Ghost Zone, and yes, Danny was caught in a reaction when the portal destabilized.

After half-dying and becoming infused with ghostly aura, Danny worked to develop his powers and stop any ghosts who made their way into the human world. I imagine that, like a Ouija board without a goodbye, the portal is open (sometimes in various locations) until they realize to close it properly. This actually takes years for them to do. In that time, Danny likes to play that he's a hero. (Ooh, fun to imagine things like meeting Ember when she was still alive.) But eventually, they did close the portal and the need for his heroics... ended.

Eventually, he and Sam got married. They had a daughter. They got divorced. (It's complicated~) If you want to ask how they have a red-headed child, go look at Sam's parents again and discuss with me whether her hair really is naturally black. Hmm.......... Also maybe they have another, older daughter named Jazz. Hahaha.

If it's necessary to pick a day job for adult Danny, he still wanted to be an astronaut. Especially with an adjusted timeline and him being alive during the thrill of the moon landing. Unfortunately, the program required incredibly thorough medical examinations, something his half-ghost biology could never pass without serious questions. So he did the next best thing with all that training. He's an airplane pilot. Flying comes pretty easy to him, after all.

He retired from ghost hunting. But also lately there seem to be new ghosts showing up in town?

[xhdream]

MOOT GAME: " make up a trope for your moots and their biases. doesn’t need to be romantic. can be crackfic/funny/anything you want ^ㅇ(๑>◡<๑)ㅇ^ "

a/n: this is sooooo cute!!!!! thank you for sending it in <3

bee and oh seungmin - friends to lovers

♡ @xhfics

they would meet through a mutual friend and with time they’d begin to slowly develop a really special bond over many shared interests, passions and their lovely silly friend group. they’d have multiple moments where they would finish each other’s sentences and giggle like “wow, we’re the same person!” and their friends would only grin at each other cause they already know exactly what’s happening. both of them value friendship a lot so when one day they realise they have more special feelings towards each other they’d be cautious about it, however, once seungmin confesses to her, that would be the best day in both of their lives and suddenly everything would make perfect sense.

eli and junhan - college au w/ slow burn

♡ @elllisaaa

their story would feel like a best selling young adult novel with a prettily illustrated cover. eli studies literature, he’s an art major and fate brings them together when they’re both doing their own thing in the library, but one of them runs out of pens. the truth is both of them have secretly already observed the other because of their regular study sessions, but they didn’t have enough courage to go up and introduce themselves because “they look too cool…”. it wouldn’t take them long to get to know each other and soon enough they’d start meeting in the near coffee shop sharing about their lives outside of uni too. junhan would be smitten with eli’s beauty and artistic personality, she’d quickly turn into his muse!

ki and hendery - love at first sight

♡ @teasteeper

hendery would turn so animated when he meets ki for the very first time - in the best way possible! he’d be so enchanted by her beauty, her lovely personality, there’s no way he wouldn’t fall for her after he starts a conversation with her while they wait in line somewhere (he’d let her go before him). he’d confidently ask for her number and a few days later he’d ask her out on a date. he’d want to do it immediately the next day, but he’d prefer to not look like a weirdo and blow his shot. literally everyone around him will know he’s in love, because he’d be all smiles and heart eyes, but if someone asks him about it, for a while he’d be really secretive, cause he’d think it’s too good to be true. but little does he know ki is head over heels too!

bunny and beomgyu - soulmates

♡ @lunicho

they would literally meet in a way that you think would happen only in the movies. a silly accident where one of them bumps into the other and immediately falls to the ground to pick up all their stuff with multiple awkward sorry mumbles, or they get stuck in an elevator (hopefully none of them fear elevators lol), or their orders at the coffee shop get switched or something like that… but actually that was just fate doing their job cause they’re meant for each other. they both have an immaculate talent of storytelling so every time they’re with friends everyone would love listening to them talk about their experiences, but especially about the cute story of how they met that never becomes boring!

dee and jeongin - neighbours au

♡ @jeongin-lvr

they’d keep meeting in the elevator, at the front door and the grocery store across the street and every time it would get harder and harder to separate. their conversations would flow perfectly and they would not realise how time flies when they stay in the middle of the hallway, keys in hand, talking on and on about different things. till one day jeongin realises he wants to spend more time with dee and asks if she wants to come over so they can watch the movie they talked about the previous week while he cooks something delicious. of course, he ends up paying more attention to dee than the actual plot of the film.

lili and park jisung - forced proximity

♡ @kgyam4

they’d have to work together on something which will result from them just knowing each other’s faces and names because of a mutual friend, to them suddenly feeling like they’ve known each other their whole lives. maybe they were left alone with the task to pick a movie in the living room while their friends are preparing drinks and popcorn in the kitchen. they wouldn’t know when and how but from discussing different titles suddenly they’re sharing random stories about their lives and what first expressions they had of each other which makes jisung a bit flustered but more than that - intrigued and attracted to lili. he’d hope next time they see each other to be left alone with her again.

julia and theo - coworkers w/ a bet

♡ @sunnyyangie

they’d be each other’s favourite colleagues and they wouldn’t hide it - not from one another nor from the rest of the company. what they would hide is their attraction though (sometimes very poorly), until randomly out of boredom during their breaks they bet on something that would force them to communicate even more with each other, even outside of work hours. they’d have so much fun competing with each other, and when the bet is over they’d be looking for excuses to start a new challenge until taeyang decides to just shoot his shot cause julia looks just as whipped as him!

[theerurishipper]

do you think Zoe as a character is a necessary for the plot?

I lover her design but as far I can see her character doesn't seems to be necessary for the story, at all. I thought at first she'd be a challenge for Chloe to finally become better, especially after the play they did in Queen Banana. I thought with Chloe break of her friendship with Adrien that would be the time for her to slide in and try to be a sister/friend for her which will create a positive characrer development for Chloe.

But as the story progress I feel like she doesn't seems like to make impact on Chloe's life and it seems like she doesn't even interact with Chloe much, she instead hang out with Marinette and end up become another generic character added for the sake for increasing Marinette's harem and I don't know, a better bee holder who wouldn't talk back to Ladybug or demanding thing from her perhaps? Because this show has allergies toward character who challenge Marinette's morality.

I mean if the reason why they added Zoe is just for the sake for a new bee holder, I don't see a reason why they can't use Aurore or Mirriele since they already have unique model. Being from different class doesn't stop Marc to be a miraculous holder after all. If she's added for the sake of lesbian representation, we have JuleRose already. So why is she here?

Honestly? Zoe is one of the most useless characters in the show. She only really exists so that the writers can fit her into whatever role they need to progress the plot, because she doesn't have any established characterization. I do like her design, but that's really about all I can say. She's just such a non-entity to me.

Her first episode was actually quite interesting to me personally. A character who tries to hide her true self and lies in order to be accepted by her peers? Interesting stuff! I dig characters like that. Her being all nice and friendly with Marinette at first and then switching instantly to becoming mean and cruel? How intriguing! What a good way to establish a character! This could be the start of a really good character journey in which Zoe learns that she doesn't have to put on these roles to be accepted, culminating with her earning the Bee Miraculous as a fully established character!

But there was no character arc. There was no arc, no nothing she just... got over it thanks to one speech and got the Bee Miraculous in the next episode and then descended into obscurity. She could have been so much. Imagine how it could have been if we had gotten to explore her character. Like, maybe she could have caused the akuma on her first day instead of being the one to be akumatized. This could have set up everyone else disliking her while leaving Marinette wondering why she seems so different from before, and it could have started Zoe off on the path of realizing she didn't want to put on an act to please bad people and be accepted by them because she didn't want to hurt other people, actually.

Over the course of the season, maybe we could learn about what exactly happened in her old school through a proper backstory and not just an exposition dump. We could learn about why she is the way she through exploring her relationships with her father and her mother. We could have her grow through her interactions with others and her observing Marinette with her friends, and we could have watched her slowly realize that she maybe doesn't want to put on an act anymore and that she just wants to be accepted for herself. This way, we could actually get to see her act this way and understand why she is the way she is, and have her motivation be revealed in a natural and compelling manner, instead of just having it all be dumped onto us in her debut episode.

Then we could have the obligatory akuma, which lets Marinette know that there's more to Zoe after all. Maybe Marinette tries to reach out to Zoe after that. Maybe this leads to Zoe learning what real and true friendships are really like and leads to her finding people whom she can be herself with and who will accept her unconditionally. Maybe we could actually see her hanging out and bonding with everyone and actually watch the scenes with stuff like Rose and Juleka helping her dye her hair instead of it being relegated to an end-of-the-episode montage. They could have used those sneakers of hers more. Those were an interesting and compelling aspect of her character, considering the fact that she would write down the nice things people said about her on it. Maybe we could have a scene of her doing that with her new friends. And maybe after this, she gets the Bee Miraculous, and being able to help Ladybug like this inspires her to help others the way Marinette helped her, which makes her reach out to Chloe, thus letting her true self shine through completely, and this could also prompt a gradual change in Chloe.

I'm just throwing out some scenarios here and I don't claim that I'll do a better job of anything, but I really do think that the reason Zoe's character suffers is because of the abysmal pacing. They set up something interesting with her and then resolved it in one episode, which made her character dull and boring for any other time she's on screen. If they had stretched it out over the course of the season, she would have been way more interesting. As it is, she has nothing going for her.

From a writing perspective, Zoe has the most generic personality ever. She's nice and kind, just like every other character in the show. Any interesting facets to her character or any meaningful conflict she could have faced is fixed in her introductory episode and never seen again, and she herself only ever appears in the background of other episodes along with the rest of Marinette's classmates, contributing nothing of value. Her relationship with Chloe and her promise to always love her? Forgotten. Her conflict about not wanting to put on an act? Somehow, she just... got over it in one day and was always just her authentic self from then on. Like, name one character trait about Zoe that you can't say about anyone else. Even the rest of the class, obscure as they are, have more defined personalities and quirks than she does.

Zoe is literally just there, and the writers pity her sometimes, so they give her stuff to do. And you can't really say any of them don't make sense for her character, because she doesn't really have one beyond the base traits of nice and good. So you need a replacement Chat Noir? Zoe. Need representation? Zoe. There's no real reason for any of this to be her, it just happens to be her... because. Like you said, this could have been done by characters who were already here. We could have had our lesbian rep from Julerose, we could have had Nino for the Black Cat. There's nothing of value that Zoe as a character brings to any of these things, it just so happens to be her because she has nothing else going for her, and because her personality is so underdeveloped and practically non-existent that anything goes. And also Kagami would have been a better choice for both of these things no seriously this is Kagami erasure this is Kagami slander justice for Kagami.

And it really does suck, because Zoe could have been an interesting character. Her character premise was genuinely compelling. But then she just got reduced to another classmate who hangs around helping Marinette confess and to another one of Ladybug's team. All her scenes are just comparing her to Chloe and going "oh Chloe bad Zoe good." There is nothing Zoe has going on for herself. She's really just there to be a replacement for Queen Bee. And this would have been fine if the writing organically and naturally inserted her into the role by fleshing out her character and relationships with Marinette/everyone else. But she has virtually no development or character and most of her scenes are used to beat it down our skulls that Chloe is Evil and Zoe is Good, so root for Zoe, guyz!

They are so insistent on shoving the Zoe is the Good Chloe agenda down our throats that they have characters act OOC just for that. Somehow, being talked down to in front of the school doesn't make Marinette doubt Zoe in any way, shape or form. Instead, the blame is placed on Chloe for corrupting her. Andre suddenly decides to grow a spine and stop enabling his daughter, and once again Zoe is supported and praised and Chloe is condemned (I'm not saying it was wrong for Chloe to be told off, just that it coming from Andre of all people just makes it part of the problem because it's so OOC). They even had Plagg go out of his way to compliment Vesperia over Queen Bee like, five seconds after he's seen her for the first time, even though Plagg never compliments anyone so quickly or so much, not even Adrien. They had Plagg spend the whole of Deflagration kissing Zoe's feet and praising her constantly even though he would never do so while he offers to Cataclysm Chloe! He would not fucking say that.

Honestly, when it comes to others interacting with Zoe and the conversation actually being about her instead of about Marinette, it just results in more comparisons to Chloe and how Zoe is sooooooo much better than her. Even the episode focusing on Zoe and her feelings has a Chloe subplot that basically takes over the whole thing so that they can be compared.

And I am self-admittedly not a Chloe stan. I am not particularly fond of her. But I also don't like being told what to think, and I don't like how the narrative tries so hard to make us hate Chloe and like Zoe without developing either of them or letting us come to our own conclusions. Zoe isn't given anything of her own. Either she is being whatever the writers want her to be or she is being Chloe but Good or she is being Marinette's newest wingman. They could have explored so much about her. They could have fleshed out her struggles and her backstory. They could have done something with that set up in Queen Banana between Zoe and Chloe's relationship. They could have explored Zoe's new relationships (the Zoe/Lila parallels practically write themselves, as does the Adrien-Zoe friendship). They could have elaborated more on her dream of being an actress. But they didn't. They just kept comparing her to Chloe whenever anything had to do with her, and her character suffered for it.

Zoe could have been her own character in her own right, and she did not need to be bogged down by being forever labelled "Chloe's replacement," but the show didn't let her grow beyond that initial label and now it's pretty much stuck forever. Honestly, she deserved better.

Thank you for your ask!

[sheawritesstuff]

Too Much

[Huxley x Unnamed Partner]

[Angst - Hurt / No Comfort - 1143 words]

[Contains descriptions of a generally not-great relationship and feelings of inadequacy caused by said relationship - There's a little bit of a sweet twist ending, but only kinda so don't get your hopes up too high]

“I have never thought you were too much. Why would you think that, Hux?” The question was simple, but the answer was anything but. Huxley took a deep breath and prepared to explain the backstory of his deepest-rooted insecurity. 

~

“Why are you giving me this?” They turned the small gift in their hands, looking it over with a harsh stare. Huxley shifted uncomfortably as he searched for the words to explain that he just wanted to. 

“I dunno… I saw it and thought you’d like it, so I got it for you.” He smiled nervously, tugging at the hem of his shirt. They looked back and forth from the trinket to his awkward stance. 

“Well, I don’t. This,” they held it up to his face. “This is trash, Huxley. I don’t like trash.” They threw the frog on the ground, shattering it into tiny green shards. Huxley stared down at the debris, his jaw dropping open slightly. He looked back up to see his partner glaring at him. “Now clean up your mess,” they hissed. 

He almost cried right then and there, but he held it in. He didn’t need to add more fuel to the fire that was their temper. So he swept up the broken glass and threw it away without another word. They sat on his couch and watched him through the entire process, never once offering to help. Oh, and they made him apologize for wasting their time and his money.

He tried making up for it, tried telling them he loved them. The only response he earned was a mumbled, “Mhmm, you too.” But that was close enough, right?

~

And there was the time he took them to see his favorite movie. They were on their phone almost the whole time, but he tried his hardest not to notice. They watched maybe fifteen total minutes of the whole film. But as they were leaving, he casually asked what they thought of it. 

“It was fine, I guess. Don’t know why you like it so much.” They stared off into space as they talked to him, clearly ignoring his attempts at appeasement. Huxley smiled, stepping closer as they walked out of the theater so they could hear him better. He rambled about what he liked about it, the different plot points he found interesting, the character design, the development, the-

“You talk a lot,” they said, cutting him off. “I think you should work on that.” They turned to look at him for the first time since he’d picked them up that afternoon. He froze, letting them walk ahead of him. He stared for a long moment, feeling a dull ache in his chest as he watched the person who was supposed to love him show him nothing but complete disregard. 

~

The only time they ever actually seemed interested in him was in the bedroom. Their hands roamed over his skin - grabbing, touching, exploring. 

“God, I love your body,” they’d whisper. “I love how strong you are. The way your muscles flex is so fuckin’ hot.” This was the only time they ever said things like that. They never loved him, or his personality, or his humor. They loved his body. 

It felt good, though. The attention, their body against his, the kisses left along his sensitive skin. So he put up with it, hoping maybe they would change. Maybe they would be nicer if he did what they wanted. Just maybe…

After they were done, Huxley would try to be close to them, cuddle close to their warmth as they came down from the peak of pleasure. They shoved him off, scoffing as they scrambled to gather their discarded clothes. 

“You’re so fuckin’ clingy. I don’t do that shit.” 

He all but begged for just a few minutes of closeness, of actual intimacy. All he got was a hissed “I’ve gotta go” before they were popping their shoes on and practically running out the door. 

So he was left alone in a puddle of his own shame. The ebbing warmth of passion mixed with the heat of embarrassment made him uncomfortably warm in his newfound solitude. So he cleaned himself up in silence, just like every other time. 

~

A few days after one of these dalliances, they called and demanded to come over, saying they needed to talk about something. He let them in with a smile and was promptly denied a hug.

“I’m breaking up with you, Huxley,” they said coldly. “I’m done with you.” 

He stood there in his doorway, taken aback by the bluntness of it all. Whatever questions he hoped to ask died in his throat. He stared at the floor for a long moment, trying to wrap his brain around all of it. 

“Did…” his voice was quiet, just barely audible. “Did I do something wrong?” They stared at him with an expression somewhere between disbelief and disgust. They clicked their tongue and looked him up and down. 

“Yes, Huxley. You did a lot of things wrong.” Their tone was sharp, barely concealing the anger bubbling beneath the surface. They glared at him, obviously waiting for him to start groveling, begging for forgiveness, something. But he didn’t. 

“Oh, ok. Can you tell me what I did? So I can be better?” The earnest request was enough to set them off. They started pacing in circles, yelling in his general direction but never actually looking at him. 

“God, I can’t do this anymore! You’re just so-” they waved their arms around wildly, searching for the words. “You’re too much, Huxley! You’re just too much for me to deal with, and I can’t do it anymore!” They screamed, still motioning with their hands. They paused a moment when they realized what they said. They took a deep breath and glared at him. “There, I said it. Are you happy now? You’ve got your explanation, so just leave me the fuck alone, alright?” 

They stormed off, slamming his door behind them and leaving him alone for the last time. 

~ 

So that was his story. The long-awaited explanation of why his walls were built so high. He stared down at his own hands, too nervous to meet Damien’s eyes. 

“So, uh, yeah. That’s why, I guess,” Huxley mumbled. A gentle hand cupped his cheek, turning his attention back up to his lover’s face. A soft smile that actually reached his eyes was plastered across his face. 

“I have never thought you were too much, Hux,” Damien’s words were quiet and genuine. “But if I ever, and I mean ever, make you feel like that, tell me. Ok?” Huxley nodded, leaning into his touch and letting his eyes drift closed. His boyfriend pressed a kiss to his forehead and pulled him into a hug. This felt good, felt safe.

“I love you, Huxley.” 

“I love you too, Dames.” 

[amphiptere-art]

So we can all agree that the Sun and Moon fandom is dying right?

There is a quiz at the end of the post.

Me myself and many others have left. Whether it is due to the rising toxicity of the show or the fans. At this point it is simply a creative backdrop. Something you take ideas off of instead of something that you enjoy and turn into a AU. And at this point if you have it as an AU. You feel as if you need to somehow say it's separated or is only based off of the good old days.

The fact that there is a difference between the good old days and what has happened is sad. I will admit I haven't been here forever. I wasn't here since the beginning. I wasn't watching the episodes upload as I watched. But I did do my best to watch every single lore post I can find. Anything that wasn't a standard gaming episode. So I can at least say that I tried to follow the story.

And to put it slightly the story has gone sour. Characters have stopped feeling right in their actions. Underlying messages have started to get toxic. Many bad guys have gotten so characterized that them being bad guys doesn't feel right. Are good characters no matter how developed they get either regress due to plot convenience. Or have died and basically reset the storyline.

The story seems stuck. There's some gems here and there but it seems like they can't figure out the next story action. And even if they do, it gets so much hate from the fandom that it struggles to continue. It feels like they continuously reset and reset to try and find a story that the fans will enjoy. It's not working unfortunately. There have been many retcons due to this. And there has also been many splits.

And this is not even mentioning the toxicity of the fandom itself at this point. That's basically split itself in two and the other will hate the other. This happened most obviously with the Moon X Solar argument. Where you either enjoy it or you don't enjoy it. It has caused a multiple splits because of differences in morals. It's just created a hostile environment between fans.

And I'm not making this post a point fingers at the whole argument. I've researched it and I know why some people believe it's okay. Whether it's because they believe solar never really wanted to be a part of the family. Or the simple understanding that by most laws, incest between adopted family members is okay. I understand that people have reasons to like it. It doesn't mean that these reasons are shared though. It doesn't mean that the moral implications of that relationship don't affect some people. And neither side is willing to come to a mutual agreement.

This is also not bringing up the fact that the whole villain versus hero argument is starting to become even more split. Sun, Moon, Lunar, Earth, Solar are both currently on the good side. While Eclipse, Blood Moon, and a couple others are still obviously on the bad guy side. But Eclipse and Blood moon have started to become more and more relatable. People can no longer look at those characters and just imagine the villainy part. Especially when the heroes decide to mock the suffering that they did to the villains in the first place.

That is my personal scare between the fandom right now. I can't look at eclipse and not deny that Moon's actions were the reason of it. I can't look at moon and justify years of abuse. Whether it was old moon or new moon at this point. I can't stand and justify treating blood moon as a villain has tested its limit. I can't deny that blood moons actions are more so based on need than actual want. And the creators forcing that idea backfired enough that they barely have him as a character anymore.

There is a split between people who want to support moon and sun with all their actions. There is a split between people who think solar should be considered a part of the family or not. There is a lack of storylines that don't have half of the community hating upon it. There is a lack of feeling an actual tug of conflict in the stories due to the villains being so understandable. There is a hostility between the fan base because of all of these.

I put out a poll a long time ago. Asking people why they basically watched the show anymore. The general consensus was they were just watching the show because they needed to. Because they felt obligated to follow the plot wherever it went. I feel like the fan base that is following the show for their own enjoyment is slowly disappearing. And this is not talking about the amount of people that have straight out left due to all the reasons above.

Whether it is the show's fault for not being able to supply the engaging store anymore that people can enjoy. Or it is the fandom for it's toxic split between the morals of adoption incest, or the feeling that the villain shouldn't be getting as much hate as they do. The show was currently dying on both sides honestly. And the only reason many are continuing to watch the show, is the hope that it will get better, and the need to supply their AUs off of it.

How many of your friends have left because of these reasons? How many of them have had the conundrum of feeling like they need to stay because leaving feels like a betrayal to others or themselves.

How many of us are only holding because of nostalgia?

It feels like nowadays people either choose to blindly follow due to an overall support or question constantly if they should. It feels as if artists that give the show their thumbnails now, are the only people that do stuff happily with it. A conspiracy part of my brain wants to say that's only because not supporting it would mean they wouldn't have there art publicly endorsed. But that's only conspiracy and no fact.

The show has lost its splendor. As of now it's really only a character backdrop to some. A list of events and ideas that you could pull and twist to fit something kinder or better. It's like as if we're using the Sun and Moon like Robin Hood. Stripping it down to the basics just so we can share our twist of the same tale. I have heard many times from people that AUs are more enjoyable right now than actual Canon. I myself have said for multiple stories that they do not follow past backup eclipses death. Which in my opinion is when the show really started to go downhill.

I'm going to ask this question again. Because I feel as if it is important for people who read this post to see it under a newer light.

I will note. If you reblog this post just to argue that it's not dying, That solar X moon isn't incest, that characters like eclipse and blood moon should be treated as the absolute villains they are, and seeking Sun and Moon are evil is dumb. I will not respond. To be honest I will not respond to many reblogs of this. I'm simply putting this information out earnestly as my opinion. I am not here to hate on the artists. I am not here to hate on your difference in opinion. I am not here to say that the show writers are dumb or money monsters. This is my opinion. And if you wish to fight it, then you are not willing to accept differencing opinion.

[touchstoneaf]

I'm reading summaries and transcripts, and once in a while forcing myself to watch episodes of anything after season 3 of Smallville (solely so that I can rewrite them in a way that's much more coherent (and CLexy, but that goes w/o saying))... and my GOD, they are so dumb sometimes. Poor Michael. having to convincingly say shit like "your girlfriend was possessed by the ghost of a witch" with a straight face! (Side note what the actual fuck is the plot in this season? Season 4 is insane and I don't even want to talk about it.) Yes the show has always been a little goofy and has some storylines that are questionable... but they are really pushing it now.

Also one of the main strengths of the show is the chemistry between Michael and Tom, and yet they have full episodes where they don't even interact, and it's just like, *what* are you doing?! And then to top it off, each summary just gets more and more ridiculous and complicated as the seasons goes on, and I'm just like oh thank god I have simplified it in fanfiction! They are no damn witches (because let me not even get started on how witches are portrayed in most TV shows!), there are no spirits floating around trying to possess people (just because you have Kryptonite around does not mean you get to hand-wave literally anything at all. Why in the hell would a Kryptonite nodule or some dust cause ghosts to exist? It affects *living cells* with *radiation*. I don't even understand why they would make a decision like that. They really must have been desperate for stories already, and we're not even halfway through the show yet).

I'm not going to even get started on my main gripes with the show that have existed from the beginning, like turning Superman into a self-serving, abusive, selfish liar who lies, or the fact that their main "villain" was created out of victim-blaming and abuse and then everybody's just gleefully happy for Lex be treated like shit for no fucking reason whatsoever, while his Literally Evil father is turned into some kind of pseudo "good" guy. Cuz yeah, abusers should be redeemable. but their victims should end up alone and tortured and treated like shit by everybody around them. That totally makes sense. I won't get started, I really won't, because I will be here all day. Or the fact that nobody seems to have figured out that Clark is a meta at the very least, when he does all kinds of weird shit all the time. These people are smart. Chloe and Lex especially are not fucking stupid by any stretch. It just simply would not have taken them four or more years to realize that he could easily one of the mutants in town. Nobody would be shocked in the slightest; but they play it like they're just too stupid to figure it out, and it's terrible because Clark is the worst liar in the universe.

Also, somebody who's not yet Superman is not going to be fighting beings like Doomsday when they're still like 20. It's just not going to happen. I'm not even getting started on creepy stuff like how they're totally sexualizing someone who's playing a minor because she is their eye candy on the show. Lana and Kristin deserved better! The female lead who basically existed to further the two guys' storylines for like three seasons finally gets her own story... but it's about being possessed by an ancient witch or some shit? They are actually sexualizing her near death experience, like some kind of creepy PG snuff film (who actually made the decision of trying to make Lana being slowly suffocated a weird sexy vibe?! So fucking problematic I don't even know where to start). And then the male lead's other love interest is summarily killed by their cardboard cutout villain of the week with his lack of character development, simply so that she can't get in the way of Supes' future storyline, because she was literally created only to be a roadblock to his future goals, masquerading as something to keep him from actually being lonely to death. All she did wrong was to wish she could free of stigma about Mental Health... then shortly afterward, when she was essentially killed about it, he turns around and is fine again because he gets a football scholarship. What the fuck?! (Yes, I'm looking at you, Pariah).

I can't even with this show sometimes. I'm so glad I quit when I did. I tend to forget how insane and Incredibly questionable a lot of it is until I have to watch something of it in order to rewrite it. But I guess that's why there's fanfic in the first place!

[90percentstudios]

In your opinion, who is by far the worst written character you've made? Explain. (3-5 sentences)(That's a school joke btw but I do actually wanna know who you think your worst character is.)

oh my god, this is shaping up to be a bit more than 3-5 sentences but i just watched a contrapoints video and i'll never be concise again.

if a screwdriver is a good screwdriver because it manages to fit the screw, a character is a good character because they serve their purpose in the plot. a purpose like protagonist, antagonist, foil, silly buff tiger that is incredibly shallow but that's kind of the point so how can i argue that she's a failure of a character when she's literally my favorite and i would die for her? ... anyway i forget what point i was making but here are my worst written characters because they (arguably) failed to fit the screw.

cop-out answer: my first draft of cody from 2017/2018 was sooo one-dimensional. he felt like a homestuck dirk knock-off made more bearable because he wasn't condescendingly smart or serious. i couldn't develop his character because he was just so damn happy all the time. new cody is my favorite character, and therefore objectively the best written character in existence. he's got more realistic problems, genuine relationships, and is a great conduit for me to vent the problems i have with authority figures that i didn't even know i had.

real answer: the pa1 characters are pretty shallow. in their defense and the defense of those who love them, their simplicity ups the comic appeal. like brownie wants to delete herself via chocolate. is it realistic? no, but if it were i guess it'd lose silly points. the ridiculous pa universe's suspension of disbelief relies on everyone being a stupid nonsensical dog. so imo they fulfilled the purpose i had for them, which was creating a joke fantasy in which you had no choice but to make friends or die, my two favorite things at the time.

but i have a new favorite thing now, and that's making high complexity, open-ended statements about society or whatever. a better written pa1 would mean including exposition about patches' horrible home life/antisocial diagnosis, or a scene where olive and co attempt to call 9-11 like any sane dog would do, or more stuff about the contentious history between cats and dogs to explain coco's murder of the entire school.

speaking of, i think my worst written character is pa1.5 coco. she fulfilled the role of causing the apawcalypse in pa1, helped stop the apawcalypse in pa2, but somewhere in between there should've been a scene where everyone shakes and sobs over the realization that murder = bad, even if you are a funny gay halloween cat.

[irinanonyme]

⚠️Long ass XO Kitty post with spoilers⚠️

OK I need to say this: I would MUCH rather people were honest and said that they just personally prefer Kitty x Minho because of their fun dynamic instead of saying stuff like "Kitty x Yuri came out of nowhere" or "it didn't feel natural" or "it was already too late in the season"

Like... No??? It?? Wasn't??

You cannot IMAGINE the euphoria I felt when I realized that this plot is actually going somewhere. As I was watching episode 1, right off the bat I felt like Yuri's and Kitty's "meet-cute" was the most powerful.

With Dae, Kitty had asked him to take a picture of her with her family.

With Minho, he bumped into her with his bag then pretended that he doesn't speak English.

But Yuri??? her car ALMOST runs Kitty over, it STRIKES her, sweeps her off her feet then Yuri gets out in a hurry, worried, offering a ride then they actually have a genuine conversation in the car.

The first half of the season is them being "rivals" while still respecting eachother. (So the whole "enemies to lovers" argument for Kitty x Minho doesn't even work cause like, it was the same??? For Yuri and Kitty?? If not more intense because there is actual tension, not only bickering) Then learning about how their mothers were best friends and roommates adding to the "fate" factor of their relationship after their over the top meet-cute. Finally, they become friends and support eachother as best as they can and as they do, Kitty realizes that this dream she had of Yuri wasn't "just" a random dream and she actually *does* have feelings for Yuri and this. ALL of this progression just felt so organic and gradual and overall just, well-done?? And not rushed at all how some people claim it to be.

To me it just feels like this is the first time in a while (if ever, for ME personally) that the audience of a show got "straightbaited" and honestly? I loved it.

Everytime things were going well or starting to go well between Kitty and Dae I couldn't help but be worried/sad/disappointed, thinking that surely this whole development with Yuri would be dropped and they would go back to being friends but it NEVER HAPPENED. Thus far, everytime things were going good, great or even amazing with Dae, Kitty couldn't help but think back to Yuri and I felt so much relief from it everytime.

And to be clear, this isn't meant AT ALL as hatred towards Kitty x Minho or their shippers. I think their potential is very solid and Minho is really lovable BUT I just don't want Yuri to be erased from the picture by people's claims that their relationship "wouldn't make sense" or that it was rushed or any other complaint of the same type.

People say that while Kitty hasn't shown any interest in Minho (yet) Yuri hasn't shown any in Kitty either and that she's still very much in love with Juliana... now I'm just entering speculation territory here so feel free to leave if you're not interested or take this with a grain of salt but -> I almost fully believe that if (and I hope to god there is) a season two of this show, Yuri and Juliana might encounter some difficulties and break up. Now I don't want to undermine the feelings they have for eachother AT ALL, but as we've seen with this season with Kitty and Dae, the author/writers aren't afraid to end a couple that had (apparently) been going strong for 4 years. So if a 2nd season gets greenlit, although Dae is out of the picture, I bet Kitty Minho and Yuri will somehow end up in a triangle (well, in a way they kind of already ARE but you get my point.)

Realistically we really don't know that much about Yuri and Juliana's relationship beyond the fact that they were most likely eachother's first love and that their parents separated them after finding out that they're gay. I don't think it's impossible that in some way or another, their romantic relationship will end (on a good note hopefully!) To let place to the love triangle. Not that I like love triangles but well, they gotta set something up for 2nd season and this is the most safe bet atm.

On a completely unrelated note, I loved that scene on stage where Minho and Dae were looking at eachother like typical rivals in love with the same girl right out of a k-drama while their "girl" just accidentally set fire to the stage and her clothes because her mind is full of another girl jdhzhdjdhdhd. And that's also a big part of the reason why I'm rooting for KittyxYuri! I feel like a concept like this has never been done to completion. In general the girl will go right back to liking one of the guys while her "crush" towards the girl will be written off as just a short-lived attraction but here? There's still a strong possibility of it being legit.

Aaaaaa anyway this all ended up in a rambling. Sorry about that

[kalena-henden]

Destined With You Final Thoughts

THE GOOD

Rowoon - Every new role I see him in (Extraordinary You and Tomorrow), I feel like he's grown leaps and bounds as an actor. Here he got to be literally be EVERYTHING. He was an arrogant emotionless jerk, a lovesick puppy who says the cutest most ridiculously things, a serious no-nonsense professional who's great at his job, a man struggling with his feelings and choices, a devoted protective lover, gutted and sobbing over life or death circumstances, respectful patient attentive boyfriend, an impulsive and passionate lover. I know we say ALL THE EMOTIONS sometimes but he literally when through them all.

Jo Bo Ah - Hongjo was a hard character for me because she was so passive and let everyone walk all over her again and again. Her saving grace is she always stood up to Shinyu and eventually learned to stand up to those around her. I could easily be annoyed with this character if it was played by a less competent actress.

Ha Joon - I enjoyed his turn as a suave lawyer who's actually a total dork in his personal life so much so that I started watching his new 50-episode family drama, Live Your Own Life, where he's finally the male lead with his own romance. Jaekyung came as Hongjo's sage guide when she needed him and happily exited when she was settled. Honestly, not a bad arc for a SML.

Shinyu's mom, Shinyu's lawyer friend, Hongjo's Landlady, Uram and his grandfather, and Shinyu's assistant - These characters were alot of fun and added to the depth of the story. I wish we had actually gotten more development from them which would have filled out this story a bit better.

Symbolism & Magic - This show is rife with well thought out symbolism. Love all the flower/plant stuff around Hongjo (Bloom) and Shinyu (Groot) equating to a blossoming and thriving relationship. The magic is actually pretty well explained and is there if you're interested in it.

THE BAD

Dropping the Magic Halfway Through - I am EXTREMELY disappointed in a show billed as a FANTASY ROMANCE that went to painstaking care to introduce the spells and curses to be like oops! don't care if the spells worked or not but we kinda care if the big curse is real cause we want to keep Shinyu in perpetual danger. Like I have ZERO respect that the FANTASTY aspect was dropped (and no the reincarnation plotline doesn't count). I feel hoodwinked and things make even less sense now. It's basically a JJ Abrams Mystery Box level of non-sensical bulls*t which is one of the main reasons I stopped watching most Western shows. It also leaves MASSIVE holes about how and why the Gardener and Nayeon started working together as well how did they learn about and come to believe the curses would even work. It was just she's a backstabbing two-faced bully and he's an insane murderer but zilch on their motivations. I really wanted a mini-montage of the black magic curses that were so well foreshadowed. I'm unsure if this was a writing call or directing call because in Korea the directors have final edit rights, not the writers. What got left on the cutting room floor?

Hongjo's coworkers - Why were they so terrible and unfunny the entire time? They were also irrelevant to the plot. The only good thing was her boss stopping the others from bullying Hongjo. It wasted time that could have been given to the side characters l liked (see above).

Noble Idiocracy & Repetitive Danger - I'm not sure which is worse that they repeatedly put themselves in danger time after time (even when bad things kept happening to them) or they broke up or stayed apart for the other person's 'benefit'. *face palm* If it was a great story, I can forgive some of this but...

The Pacing/Editing - If they had done a big reveal of the magic and other stuff at the end that really brought things to a climax, I would be like yeah it was slow at points but look at the payoff! Instead, I'm looking back at this going, if this is the story you wanted to tell, it could use a serious overhaul in HOW it was told. Even though there was stuff I liked about this drama, I wasn't that emotionally invested.

VERDICT

I would only recommend watching this to see Rowoon act his heart out and be in a ridiculously cute and sexy romance. That's it.

I'm sad because I really loved deep diving into this show. It could have been so much more like Goblin, Doom At Your Service, or Alchemy of Souls.

[somekindofsentience]

the relevance of arcs in the DreamScape AU, or trying my best to make predictions

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR THE OMORI DREAMSCAPE AU - THIS ANALYSIS ASSUMES YOU HAVE READ UP TO THE CURRENT LATEST CHAPTER (14) PLEASE READ IT!!! ITS GOOD!!

CONTENT WARNING: MENTIONS OF SUICIDE.

READING-THIS WARNING: I'M STUPID AND MISINTERPRET THINGS SOMETIMES, ITS ALL MY ANALYSIS AND DO REMEMBER THAT IT CAN BE WRONG/BAD/STUPID SOMETIMES

*cracks knuckles*

Let's do this.

Determining the Goal of Each Arc

If a story is formatted in a particular way, typically it has a specific goal for that. You learn this back in the years of High School English, when you start to understand the point of plays being separated into acts. They have somewhat different stories, but ultimately link to the same final goal, or final climax of the story.

In DreamScape's instance, it is split into three arcs. An arc (in other contexts) typically refers to the development and eventual resolution of a particular theme or aspect - such as a character arc, which portrays character development over a period of time. I tend to use arc when referring to characters, so I'll capitalise when referring to the actual in-text arcs.

I believe that it is possible to use our understandings of the current Arcs to determine where loose ends might be tied up in Arc 3. We know for certain the ending is "bittersweet" - somewhat good, somewhat bad, not unlike the original game.

Arc 1

The first Arc provides us with the most understanding, since it's complete, but it's relatively easy to miss the goal of the Arc, considering how much is going on. We gain understanding of DreamScape as a location and a plot device, and begin to understand the characters centered around it, which is a lot to process.

The importance of the events that occur is obvious. Sunny fucks with the program, revives Mari, and causes a shit ton of problems, including seriously injuring Basil. Basil knows the truth of Mari's weird online activity, and Sunny is trying to fix the problem he made, causing more problems on the way. In the meantime, Kel and Hero wrestle a dysfunctional relationship, and Aubrey and Basil aren't on good terms.

Despite all this, the finale of the Arc is focused on Aubrey's relationship with Sunny, and it deliberately doesn't end with the creation of the Mari virus - that's the beginning. Having it as an ending would be a relatively reasonable ending for a beginning arc, so why wasn't it?

I believe the goal of the first Arc revolves around Aubrey/Kim/Kel discovering what Sunny has done, and also reader discovering the "truth" about Mari's death, as well as the way Sunny's life rotates around it. Rather than a journey of creation, it is a journey of discovery.

Mari's suicide is first directly described in Chapter 10, and so is Sunny's suicide attempt (mimicking his sister's). We also see Sunny's direct involvement in Mari's death - while her legs breaking was already mentioned, here we see Sunny curled up in the corner, sitting with Mari's dead body, when Aubrey finds him. We see Sunny mimic Mari's suicide, and we get one of the most key lines of this arc-

From this, we learn more about Sunny as a character before the events of her death, and the nature of the destruction of Aubrey and Sunny's relationship, indirectly destroying Aubrey and Basil's relationship at the same time. Similar to the original game (except actually explicit), we watch how the friendship group broke up. This is the goal of the first Arc - much like the Truth Segment of the original game, we are understanding what happened in the past.

The first Arc also introduces Kel and Hero's clashing personalities, and also introduces Kim, to act as "Aubrey's Hero" (at least for this section). Kim and Hero are third-parties who don't like and rarely interact with DreamScape, although they are later required to. I believe setting up these characters makes them more relevant later.

Arc 2

As of current writing, this Arc is incomplete, which makes it difficult to determine its main goal. However, we can look at the current state of events and determine a potential conclusion from there.

Arc 2 has us understand more about the Mari virus, and its interaction and storage of memory. It also introduces Sweetheart, as well as Hero's bargain with her, and it foreshadows/demonstrates severe destruction of DreamScape.

The sequences wherein Sunny enters Mari's memories are very reminiscent of several Truth sequences in the original game. Even the images reflect this, depicting Sunny falling through a red sea; or the hospital. It depicts a continuum of Mari's memory, which also foreshadows the destruction of the way Sunny perceives time.

Despite the horrific nature of it, we know Sunny enjoys being with Mari or acting as her, in her memories - his obsession with his sister has driven him to insane lengths to see and feel her again, punishing himself . In this way, Sunny now acts as an antagonist, where his goals are somewhat beyond reader empathisation and understanding, pivoting them to want him to get help. It may be that we rarely see Sunny as the main perspective onward, but it's perfectly possible for that to not happen as well.

It is likely the game will be immensely broken from here on, or at least somewhat changed. I also predict Sunny will break free from Sweetheart's weird little lab to cause further destruction, because it would ultimately lead to a more interesting future climax.

Considering Loose Ends for Arc 3

The Potential Ending of DreamScape (as a game): Considering the best possibility for a bittersweet ending, the destruction/abandonment of DreamScape as a game would tie up Sunny's grieving and acceptance character arc. Though Hero's focuses on the use of DreamScape to heal grief, Sunny is more relevant and requires more support. Either the virus itself will ruin the game, or Sunny will choose to leave it.

Understanding the Mari Virus: At the present moment, Sunny (and everyone else) has a very limited understanding of the virus - we understand why it is there, and somewhat understand what it can do, but nothing of its extent. Surprisingly, we also understand little about its creation. Either another character will introduce a better understanding of it and its potential, or we learn from Sunny's experience.

A Possible Sunny Final Boss Fight?: Could be an interesting avenue to go down as complete corruption threatens the game, but also threatens Sunny's safety. Aubrey has already fought Sunny before, so it's not impossible. However, that fight also didn't achieve any goals of the other parts of the main cast.

Kel and Hero's relationship: I feel absolutely confident it won't stay this way forever, and we can already see slight change. This also goes for Aubrey and Basil. Whether or not the entire friendship group is revived is debatable, and potentially unlikely, considering Sunny's apparent differences.

Kim as a Character: Putting this here because she's apparently going to get more relevant. This may be because she knows something we do not, or perhaps to understand Aubrey more.

Sweetheart and her Crew: These characters definitely know more about DreamScape than the reader, as is evident by their relevance in the second Arc, as such I believe they might be beneficial to keep around for the next Arc.

Sunny's Eviction/Expulsion Threat: While stated to be five months away, time has been slipping from Sunny's grasp recently, meaning that this is definitely going to become relevant again soon.

Sunny's Physical and Mental Wellbeing: Need I say more?

Basil and Unrequited Love: The pining is probably going to get worse from here, especially considering Sunny's current state. It is possible Basil will have an internal strife between his desire to see Sunny happy and what is best for him.

There's definitely more. It's like, insanely early. I stopped having a train of thought twenty minutes ago. But I hope you enjoyed this!

[tobi-smp]

my issue with the “c!wilbur is escaping the narrative” is in three parts

1: wilbur is not deadpool, he’s a mentally ill person. this distinction is important because the “narrative” that he needs to escape is not the plot of the dream smp, it’s his own black and white thinking that’s lead to him railroading both himself and other people into villain and hero roles.

he’s gone out of his way to make up with as many characters as possible, even characters that he never would have forgiven before his death (such as eret), but he did what he thought he was Supposed To Do for his redemption arc. he created a New narrative of what he was supposed to do and followed it to the letter.

and moreover, in doing so he apologized for things that weren’t his fault, he forgave people without having his trauma caused by them actually Acknowledged, he threatened to kill himself to try to protect tommy from dream And Meant It just months ago (he was willing to kill himself as many times as it took according to cc!wilbur).

Obviously he’s going to get away from many of the people that remind him of his past, and I’m sure that Will help with some of his negative self thinking. but tommy said it best, “the person you need to learn how to forgive is yourself.” we didn’t watch wilbur learn how to love himself, we didn’t watch wilbur learn how to see himself as a normal person, we didn’t watch wilbur forgive himself. we watched wilbur learn how to say Sorry. 

there is nothing about wilbur escaping His Own Narrative, because he’s taking that with him wherever he goes. because he’s still mentally ill and he’s still traumatized and he still hasn’t forgiven himself. he’s not Incapable of healing, he absolutely Can grow and change off screen. but that’s exactly it. his ending is that he Might heal off screen and we’ll just have to imagine it.

2: “wilbur escaped the narrative” in the context of the narrative he’s escaping from being the dream smp itself is not satisfying as an answer because it’s plainly describing the exact problem: there will be no conclusions to major story beats because this was done before his narrative was actually Over.

tubbo and wilbur’s conclusion Will Always Be that tubbo forgot the part where wilbur caused his husband to die right in front of him after tubbo deliberately didn’t forgive him because he didn’t trust wilbur and still hurt from the memory of the death He’d suffered while working under wilbur. he’ll never meet ranboo again after ranboo is revived, which means he’ll never get to apologize for taking one of ranboo’s lives, for playing a part in ranboo being trapped in limbo for like 1000 years. niki will never get to reintroduce wilbur into her life after her downspiral was connected to feeling Abandoned and wilbur will never find out that she’d had a villain arc because of him that lead to her trying to, you know, Murder His Brother. we lost out on a quackity resolution because of a Scheduling Issue.

wilbur never confronted his father for doomsday, for killing him, for dehumanizing ghostbur, for hurting his friends and family in his absence. things that were all set up and then dropped to the wayside in favor of pretending that nothing was wrong and that wilbur trusts his advice and judgement.

wilbur won’t be there when dream inevitably starts torturing tommy again, because whatever solution he made (temporary as it was always going to be) was predicated on him Being There To Be That Bargaining Chip.

none of his relationships will ever move forwards on screen again, and that’s a big problem when all of them were left off in places where they Needed to be developed to be emotionally satisfying. “wilbur escaped from the narrative,” in this context, means “wilbur’s story will never finish being told.”

he didn’t subvert the narrative, he got cancelled in the middle of production.

3: wilbur escaping the narrative, escaping from the dream smp, pushes that unstated boundary that traps the other characters in this spot.

if wilbur can literally just leave whenever that raises the question of why nobody else has ever left. why Wilbur didn’t just leave before, if there was never anything keeping them there in the first place.

the characters all stay in this location because they Have to stay for there to be a story. dream didn’t just kick the l’manbergians off the server when he didn’t like that they made a new country because doing so would mean that there’s no story.

why did vikk and lazar stay on the server to get tortured if they could just leave. why did fundy move Very Far Away on the server to self isolate if he could just leave. why did tubbo build snowchester instead of try to convince tommy and ranboo to leave the server. why does jack stay on the server when he feels completely disconnected from everybody else. why did tommy never try to escape off of the server during exile if the whole point was that he wasn’t allowed to go anywhere that’d been touched On The Server. why- why- why- why-

fundy moving Far Away means that he has a narrative reason for pulling away from the rest of the server while A: meaning he’s still technically Available for future lore if he ever wants to participate and B: He Doesn’t Make People Question The Inherent Rules Of The Narrative.

you Can come up with explanations for why x character didn’t make that choice in y situation, but there were was a flesh eating egg that made people do autocannibalism. there’s a serial killer with a revival book and the want to torture on the loose. there was enough tnt dropped on a town to match the blast of a nuclear bomb but Straight Down into the earth’s crust. there’s an evil god that intentionally torments people, up to and including in their afterlife if they die on this server.

“wilbur escaped the narrative” So Why Is There Still A Narrative?