#don't hate the character her backstory is cool

[quartings]

The original Gravity Falls pitches and pilot just dropped!!

(Link for those who want it)

For those who don't wanna look through all of it, here are some highlights I found!

Interesting changes from the pitch (What Alex Hirsch showed Disney to make them greenlight the show):

Stan’s secret was that he’s secretly protecting the townsfolk from weirdness, nothing to do with Ford. No mention of Ford in the pitch at all. Stan also wanted Dipper and Mabel to be his successors in this version.

Mabel used to be the unhygienic one instead of Dipper.

Wendy was brunette and didn’t work as the Mystery Shack cashier, instead selling veggie juice out of her van.

As such, Soos (Jesús in this version) worked the register in addition to his handyman job in this version. He was a bit less of a hard worker here, watching telenovelas on the job sometimes, but still loves his job and is extremely loyal to Stan.

Robbie was almost exactly the same, parents’ backstory and all, but there’s an interesting note that he occasionally clashed with Gideon in this version (which we never got in the final show)

Speaking of which, Gideon’s last name in this version was Garrymore instead of Gleeful.

Gideon used to personally harass and prank Stan, going out of his way to vandalize Stan’s stuff himself.

Manly Dan was always planned to be Wendy’s dad. In this version, he hates the idea that his hipster daughter prefers conserving the environment instead of chopping down forests

(For those who wanted more Wendy episodes, I’m surprised Hirsch didn’t use this as a conflict for one of them- it makes her interesting without costing any of her “coolness”)

Sheriff Blubs was originally Sheriff “Blumps”. Durland has the same name likely because Hirsch said he’s named after a real guy.

With no Ford and no Journal mentioned, episodes were originally very different-

“The President’s Cabinet/Irrational Treasure.” Instead of via the journal, Dipper and Mabel find a record of Quentin Trembley in a box buried in the yard. No Pacifica mentioned here.

“Secret Dungeon” Dipper becomes obsessed with a recalled arcade cabinet. Mabel must try and save him by finding the original high scorer.

“Thtupid Thursday” One of the many ‘Shining Twins’ episode concepts Hirsch wanted to do. Dipper and Mabel learn ‘twin telepathy’ from some creepy twins, and soon regret it.

“Periodic Mabel” Mabel invents her own element for the science fair and Dipper is jealous.

“Only the Clonely/Boyz Crazy” The exact same episode just without Candy and Grenda. Sev’ral Timez is called “ReelBoyzzz” in this version.

“Big Dipper” With surprisingly no tie to Little Dipper, Dipper asks a fortune teller to make him older so he can win Wendy over. But she makes him 22, so he and Mabel have to undo the spell.

“Sweater off Dead” Mabel buys an antique sweater and is possessed by the soul of the granny who last wore it. Stan is terrified by the spirit because she reminds him of his ex-wife Marilyn (Deep Edalyn Clawthorne lore???) so Dipper must “Swexorcize” his sister and save her.

“Teed Off/The Golf War” With no Pacifica, this was originally a Dipper vs Gideon episode- No Lilliputtians, either. Instead, the 13th hole is cursed and traps the cast in a time loop.

Now, changes from the Production Pitch (I’m guessing for when the show was already greenlit and this was a way to brief crew members on what the show would 100% be about)

Stan’s secret (likely the portal) and the journal are now set in stone.

Emphasis on continuity and character development. Nothing gets “reset” by next episode. All plot developments are permanent.

All character names and designs are locked in. Pacifica has now been added, as well as Waddles, Gompers, Lazy Susan, Candy and Grenda, and McGucket (No mention or hint at his past here)

Interesting to note is that there is still zero outright mention of Ford and Bill in this version, even though multiple episodes were seemingly in production at this point.

Manly Dan’s conflict with Wendy from the original pitch is still here. Making it even more mindblowing that we never got it in the show

Blubs and Durland are described as a little more playful instead of mean like in the original pitch.

All episode examples made it into the show with no changes this time. They are Tourist Trapped, Legend of the Gobblewonker, Fight Fighters, Boyz Crazy, and The Land Before Swine.

[katlyntheartist]

Knuckle series is out!! Any thoughts? Does it affect your Jojo and Gang au?

Spoilers for the Knuckles series people! Avert your eyes children!

First, let's talk about the things I liked:

- Sonic and Tails were great for as little screen time as they had. And Maddie trying to be patient with Knuckles while also not strangling him was great, haha. As someone who worked at a Daycare, I related to her dealing with kids like Knuckles and Maddie's facial expressions when she was grounding Knuckles were on point. Also THEY HAVE A PLAIN BED FOR TAILS AND A TRUCK BED FOR KNUCKLES AHHHHH!!!!!

-Pachacamac is a Jedi Force ghost? Alright then. I don't know much about this character outside of Sonic X but I thought that he was fine. And Christopher Lloyd does a great job as usual.

-Wade was not terrible. I like how he has some character growth through the series and at the end he isn't a master warrior/fighter. He's still a goofball but now he's thinking things through and using what he has and his current surroundings to his advantage in a fight, and isn't just hiding and waiting for Knuckles to save him. But him breaking out of the cage in episode 4 was a bit ridiculous. What was that cage made of, cardboard? He really should have broken his hand or something.

-I liked the villains but I wish that we got to see them more involved in the story, especially the buyer. Who was menacing for about five minutes and then was crushed to death like, dang 0-0

-NANA WHIPPLE AND KNUCKLES SPINOFF SHOW PLEASE!!

-Knuckles was the best part of the show. He's the strong tough warrior but with a big heart and good intentions, though a bit misguided at times. Idris did a great job, nothing new there.

And now let's get into the things I didn't like:

-The show is %70 Wade bowling story and %30 Knuckles adjusting to earth and his backstory with Pachacamac and his tribe and his connection to the master emerald and everything else that the show should have been about. The Wade sub plot takes up so much time that we don't get to explore Knuckles. I wished that we had gotten to see him learn to appreciate and call Earth his new home instead of him just accepting it at the end. It just felt so rushed.

-Episode four wasn't awful but I didn't care for it. Also you can NOT show us the Flames of Disaster from '06 and not have Silver or Blaze show up. You can't do that >:(

-Knuckles and Maddie didn't get to have a heart to heart conversation which is what I and many others thought that was what the show was building up to. Also he never gets in trouble for running way and we never cut back to seeing Maddie or Sonic and Tails realizing Knuckles is gone, or even Sonic and Tails trying to cover for Knuckles. I get that the CGI was expensive and voice actor and actor schedules might not have worked out for it to happen, but my point still stands.

-Wanda was useless and you could have cut her out and lost nothing. Don't get me wrong, the actress is good but she feels wasted here. Her character is so annoying and serves no purpose other than to be mean to Wade. And why do we have to have the "siblings who hate each other but make up at the end" cliche? I would have liked Wanda more if she was nicer to Wade from the start and if they had a fun sibling bond with each other. Also if she was able to actually use her skills as an FBI agent to at least hold her own against the gang when they attack Nanna Whipple's house. Also the dad needed to be more comedically villainous, he was too generic.

-Like I said the villains here are fine but the Buyer's whole character is to just show up, have a cool robot fight, and die. We don't get to see him be a threat to Knuckles at all, he just appears for the climax and then is offed in a snap. And the two agents were fun but a lot of their dialogue was graining.

-And that leads me to the main problem with the series. The writing. I'm aware that the writers for the main movies didn't work much on this series, except Jeff did do the first episode. Which is why it's the best one. There is no balance between the jokes and the emotional moments. The show is so focused on trying to make you laugh every five minutes that it sacrifices genuine emotional growth for the characters especially for Knuckles. You know, the whole reason for the show existing in the first place. It suffers the same problems that the live action Ton and Jerry movie had, where the main stars weren't allowed to be the main stars of their film. All of the screen time there went to the human characters who weren't interesting or just plain annoying and mean.

And the dialogue for the show teeters back and forth between actually funny/well written and being dangerously close to obnoxious. And kids shows having jokes all the time isn't a problem. Rottmnt and the Lego Movies are both kid properties that fire off a joke every minute but they knew when to cut back and let the emotional moments shine. The jokes in the Knuckles show felt more like they were pandering to four year old's then actually trying to be funny and the emotional moments felt kind of forced.

I don't want to give any of the writers or anyone who worked on this show a hard time. I can see that everyone worked hard and had fun with this. And I had fun too. There were some good moments between Knuckles and Wade and even a few jokes that got me. But the problems I listed above are just to hard for me to ignore. If you liked the Knuckles series then great for you! I'm happy you were able to have a great time! But for me it was just ok.

Not great. But not bad either. 5/10.

Now, about this affecting Jojo and Gang. I think what I'll do is have comic take place a month after the Knuckles series. And use my AU to focus on Knuckles getting accustomed to Earth and learning to call it home. Basically my AU will do what the Knuckles series didn't.

[cooplagoop]

Nobody talk shit about Lifeweaver launch. It was so much more managable having a weak hero gradually get buffed than getting jumped by an op "support" that deletes over half your team with her ult.

[ittsybittsybunny]

ATLA Live Action Series Review:

The Good

Aesthetically this show felt right. Sure sometimes the outfits didn't quite feel lived in, but I always felt like I was watching a fantasy world with decent effects and interesting design. Also, I really enjoyed the sets!

Bending: Yes some of the fights feel very quick, but the bending looks cool. It is certainly better than 10 benders lifting one big rock. I can honestly say the opening bending fight scene gave me so much hope for this show.

Kyoshi Warriors: I loved seeing them in live action, and I thought Suki's performance was great!

Omashu: I think the mashup of the mechanist made sense since that is an important character overall and I would hate to see him cut. However, both Jet & the secret tunnels felt sloppily thrown in.

Northern Water Tribe: I really loved the way it looked, and appreciated the two episodes we spent here. I think Yue gained more agency in this interpretation, and why shouldn't the moon spirit be a waterbender. Also, episode seven felt the most in tune with the original show's spirit.

Zuko: I think he was one of the most fleshed-out and best parts of the show! Dallas Liu really captured Zuko's spirit, and the scene between him and Aang in episode 6 was wonderful!

Soundtrack: Hearing the original soundtrack bits is always great, and when I first heard the ending music I was so excited.

Is the show perfect, no - but I wouldn't mind a season 2.

The Bad

Pacing: Turning 20 episodes into 8 was bound to lead to some cuts...but oftentimes times things felt too quick or disjointed. I think there were editing problems contributing to this for sure, but sometimes things skipped around too much without a clear purpose as to why. Also, why bring in plots from later seasons when you barely have enough time already?

Writing: This show definitely suffered from exposition dumping, though it did get better as time went on. I think the biggest example of this is actually opening in the past rather than the present. We do not get to learn along with Aang that the world has changed, instead, we get to learn that 100 years have passed....which doesn't hold the same tension or worldbuilding.

Clunky Dialogue: Along with exposition, clunky dialogue is another example of bad writing. I think sometimes I felt like the acting was kind of meh in the beginning, but then over time I began to realize it had far more to do with the lines characters were trying to deliver. The actors themselves are not bad, just cursed with awkward writing and lines that feel out of touch with the setting they're in.

Main Trio: I don't entirely know that I believe Katara, Sokka, and Aang are friends as opposed to 3 people stuck together to save the world. Aang feels a little too somber for a young kid running away from his responsibilities, Sokka is protective, but not exactly the heart of the team, and Katara is sort of just there until the last two episodes. Where is her struggle, her desire to learn so strong she steals from pirates? Also, while Gordon Cormier did a great job, Aang does zero waterbending on his own, is overly serious, and tells Katara not to fight. Where is his desperation to protect his friends? It feels like they all lost emotional depth.

Tension: Bringing Ozai, Azula, and Zhao out in the beginning immediately causes us to lose the realization there is an even bigger bad. Part of why Ozai is so terrifying is he is a primarily silent villain until the third season when we finally see the face of the "big bad evil guy" behind it all. Yes, they add to Zuko's backstory, but again, they are revealing the villains too early. Azula is the antagonist of season 2 and one of my favorite characters, so I hope they do more with her in the future. Finally, Zhao is supposed to be an example of the uncontrollable nature of fire unrestrained, instead, he comes off as vaguely threatening with the supposed true power being Azula.

Characterization: While all characters are bound to lose something in a shorter show, it still felt like certain characters were more mutilated than others. I am sure there are 100 different opinions on who, but I think the biggest victim was Katara.

Katara: Katara manages to go from a complete novice to a bending master in what feels like a matter of days. The journey feels short, and that makes the results feel largely unearned. Katara is one of the strongest personalities in the show, determined, kind, and fiery. In many ways, she is the unpredictability of water - equally dangerous as it is necessary to live. She is the child of a war who lost her mother, forced to grow up too soon, and even raised her older brother. Yes, Katara often gets stereotyped as the mom friend, but overall she feels underutilized in this show. We really don't see enough of her journey until the very end.

Iroh: Iroh was always comedic but most importantly wise. Even when Zuko is trying to give himself advice, he mimics Iroh. Instead, he seems to be used more as comedic relief without the underlying experience. He just doesn't feel right. Also, he kills Zhao instead of Zhao getting himself killed - which is less about Iroh and more about the writing than anything.

Ozai is weirdly a little too nice. Yes, he burned Zuko and pits his kids against each other, but he feels toned down in a show claiming to be more mature than the original cartoon.

Azula is perhaps more realistically worried about losing her status as the golden child, but she is also missing the cruelty she and her father share. I understand worrying about making your character cartoonishly evil, but the Fire Nation is currently a deeply nationalistic empire trying to control the world. Where is the deep-seated belief that they are better than other people, not just trying to bring balance to the world? There is a line between creating complexity and toning down the very real evil inherent in this plan.

Roku: I can only say what the fuck was that. He was barely there, and not the serious master to Aang's youthful exuberance.

The Ugly

Show, Don't Tell: The show's single biggest issue seems to be speeding through story parts by simply stating things. Instead of allowing the audience to discover, trusting that we are smart enough to understand, let's just blatantly say things like Zuko is the only reason the 41st division is alive to their faces. Even though in the context of the story Ozai literally already said that.... it's the division, the division for Zuko, Zuko's division.

Thematic Misunderstandings: I think this show makes several minor changes with major implications, such as airbenders actively fighting the firebenders, when airbenders are known for their pacifist nature and the lie of an Airbender fighting force is actively propaganda. Similarly, Aang very quickly accepts his role as the avatar and doesn't even run away in the beginning. Without this conflict between his desire to be a carefree child and the fact that the world needs him - the show loses a key aspect of Aang's character. Also, the obsession with downplaying the avatar state as something dangerous feels like a disservice to the tradition, connection, and strength of the avatar, which can be permanently destroyed as the trade-off for that kind of power. It's dangerous for the balance of the entire world, not just because it's powerful!

The Agni Kai: Zuko's fight against his father is one of the defining moments of Ozai's cruelty, not just because he is willing to fight his child, but because Zuko tried to do everything right. Zuko shows deference to his father, apologizes, and most importantly refuses to fight! The determination not to upset his father and still be grievously injured and banished is a hugely important theme for the fire nation and Zuko's life as a whole. He tries to do everything he is supposed to and only regains his father's acceptance after he "kills" Aang. Zuko's struggle between moral vs. social right and wrong in contrast to his family is hugely important to his character.

-----

TLDR: ATLA was a fantastical animated television show that was never afraid to show character development and flaws. When you turn 20 episodes into 8, you are bound to lose something. You hollowed out the middle, leaving the shell of important moments and events without ever wondering if all the times in between formed the true spirit of the show.

Rating: 6.5/10 It's perfectly fine and worth a watch. Not a disaster, but certainly falls flat of the original.

[ystrike1]

Kedakaki Ookami ha Bukiyou na Koi ni Oboreru - By Touko ikura (8/10)

The best part about this one is the villain, and that's really bad for a romance. The yandere is good. The princess protagonist is good. The art is good. It's so good that it loses the chance to become great.

Sheera and Leonheart are both great, smart, caring, attractive nobles. They don't have enough character flaws to be hot. Sheera is just a pretty princess and Leonheart is just another guy with red eyes.

The intrigue isn't bad but I think we can all agree the side characters are far more interesting than the main couple.

It's disappointing because the first page is such a banger. It's not the usual loveless marriage of convenience plot. Leonheart is taking over the country, by force, and he expects love from his new wife. A captured and terrified princess....but....

....that's not the actual plot...

This is the real villain. The entitled and spoiled prince Elnen. Elnen loses everything because he is obsessed with Sheera. His own father is disgusted by him. The royal family eventually abandons him. His evil scheme is born from an insane sense of entitlement...and love. Yes, this yandere villain does love the princess. He doesn't plan to abuse her. He thinks they will be the perfect couple, and yet she won't look his way.

What is the (sane) solution?

Clearly the right choice is ASSASSINATE HER FATHER AND CONVINCE HER TO HIDE IN YOUR CASTLE WITH YOU.

Sparks will surely fly when she's isolated from her friends and family!!!

Grief is the greatest aphrodisiac.

By the way Elnen isn't one of her fiancee candidates because he scared Sheera when he was a kid. His total disregard for her feelings and needs as a little girl frightened her so much. So much so that she removed him from her suitor list even after he "matured and became a good friend."

Her father's death makes her weak.

She almost agrees.

Sweet Leonheart steps in. He's been in love with her since childhood, but he's the better choice because umm...HE TOOK CONTROL OF THE COUNTRY SECONDS AFTER HER FATHER DIED. SO THE ONLY WAY FOR HER TO KEEP HER STATUS IS TO MARRY HIM. THE CONQUERING KING.

...but um he totally took over only to protect Sheera, because he noticed Elnen's vile intent. So he did that same vile thing but he's totally cool guys!!!

(Like, can the author please stop making Leonheart sound sweet and innocent??? This is a fully grown man with an army. Not some smuck.)

Leonheart manages to fend off Elnen by taking over...for a minute.

Elnen immediately uses secret letters to manipulate Sheera's mother. Who is also reeling from the death of her husband. Elnen tells her Sheera will die too, if she doesn't come hide in his super-safe castle.

Sheera screams at her mother. She cannot leave! It could cause a war. Points for some realism .

Sheera even tries to stab Leonheart, because she doesn't trust him.

He doesn't care.

It's pretty cool.

The plot is Sheera eventually realizes Leonheart isn't an evil yandere. He's a super devoted yandere. The safest kind!!!

She eventually calms down and marries him.

His yandere backstory is very lackluster and disappointing though. He fell for Sheera because um...she's a pretty princess that's it I guess.

Elnen is far more motivated, screwed up, and flawed. He's a terrible guy. Leonheart is much more reasonable....but where is the flavor???

Here is a snippet of the side story. Elnen has one ally. His beautiful assassin slave. She isn't his lover. She's more like a best friend, and she loves him unconditionally despite his big Sheera obsession.

Sheera declares she hates Elnen forever when the truth is out.

BUT.

She allows him to live. Not as a prince but as a humble man without a penny. Elnen turns over a new leaf, and a couple decades later he is in charge of a new orphanage...with that slave by his side.

Leonheart kinda felt empty and boring by the end.

Sheera is....good???

Good???

[midnight-in-town]

I love that Millie finally had her chapter, giving her more depth and backstory and it's nice that it allowed Yor to corroborate with her own childhood : every adult has scars from their childhood and they all more or less learnt to cope with them as they grew up, so it's useless to attempt a comparison about "who suffered more".

I'm also very thankful for more lore, namely on the Desmond couple : Donovan became Prime Minister only after the war started, so even if he's still sketchy as Hell, despite not being PM anymore, there might be more to what WISE intends on finding about "his" plans (it makes you think of how Garden fits into all of this, to be honest).

This chapter also gave us another look at Melinda's character. Last time we saw her was when she brought Damian home after the bus hijacking and her reaction was... complicated to understand, to say the least. Now though :

This chapter shows us a different side to her, a woman with many enemies because of who her husband is, having to juggle between what people think of her, as the former first lady, and her own convictions.

"she really seemed nothing like her husband"

I also think her friendship with Yor is genuine, for the moment at least: maybe Yor's "naivety" is refreshing compared to what Melinda's used to (ranging between people hating or sucking up to her) and that she's thankful for Anya befriending Damian (from ch88) ?

In any case, I really enjoy learning more about the Desmonds from her character and, mostly, through Yor's point of view.

Unlike Twilight, Yor's got not beef with the Desmonds and that makes her the most appropriate lens through which discovering whatever WISE is after (because don't forget WISE has its own agenda, being on Westalis' side and all).

Cool chapter !

[madnessandentropy]

Catra's Abuse of Adora Has No Excuse

I know this is an old series. I know a lot of people don't believe in talking negatively about shows that have already ended and that it doesn't matter anymore.

But it matters to me.

Because spop has framed the abuse victim in this story as the idiot and the one in the wrong, the one who should've just stayed with her abuser and never "left" her, while the abuser gets off scott free and likely continues her actions.

Victim blaming very and real and prevalent, forgiving or defending abusers in real life is very real and prevalent.

This is an important thing to call out and discuss because what you put in your creations affects reality.

Spop IS a kids show, and kids often accept what they're exposed to as the norm or as something to copy. You can't just sweep it under the rug, saying it's just a show.

So that's why I want to talk about Catra and why all the trauma in the world does not sxcuse abusing your partner, or at the very least should not frame your partner as the one in the wrong for wanting to leave you.

Okay.

Catra is a character adored and worshipped by the fandom and defended with cult-like ferocity and obsession (death threats, gaslighting, doxxing, bullying, etc).

Many of her actions are actively ignored and excused by the fans and writiers, especially the main thing about Catra:

Her blatant abuse of Adora

I can hear the cries of outrage now

"You're just homophobic! Of course you criticise the queer couple! You just hate Catra! Catra is a victim of a abuse! They're in a war! Catra said sorry! But Catra loves Adora! You don't know what abuse is!"

And then they write an essay about Catra's sad backstory

In response to this I would like to quote one of my favourite B99 characters Jake Peralta:

Or in this case:

"Cool backstory, still abuse"

I really like Catra.

She's a cool character and an excellent villain. She has a very interesting and complicated psyche, a result of growing up in the Horde. A toxic, abusive environment that gave her attachment issues and likely ptsd and other problems. She lashes out because of her trauma, she is aggressive and rude so that she isn't vulnerable, to avoid being hurt.

There are many reasons for her actions, but it does not excuse them even if the narrative does.

Expecially her actions towards Adora, the person's she supposed to have loved all this time.

As I've said in another post, most abuse in media isn't very subtle because people still don't really take subtle abuse that seriously and often blame the victims. (Which is a whole other kettle of fish)

Not subtle abuse in media often consists of the following:

•Screaming or yelling at your partner, tearing apart their self esteem or threatening them

•Gaslighting/guiltripping them*

•Hitting them or physically assaulting them in any way

•Trying to kill them

•The victim is immensely afraid of/distressed by their abuser

*Note for this: it can depend on the depiction because its either abusive and in your face or romantic and just trying to help you depending on the story and writer

It astounds me to see Catra has done every single one of this things to Adora, and both the fandom and the writers excuse it or say "it isn't abuse, actually"

I'm gonna go through each bullet point and discuss how Catra does these things, mention excuses fans make up for it and point out their errors

Let's go

•Screaming and yelling at your partner, tearing apart their self esteem and threatening them

Catra is not someone who screams her throat raw, but she does yell when she lashes out and does so often at Adora.

She's constantly insulting her intelligence, making her doubt herself, telling her nothing she does matters, calling her weak and demeaning her.

She rips into her and treats her like trash beneath her heel when they were in the fake reality.

Again, we often see Adora repeating a similar rhetoric, believing what Catra and SW say fully or sometimes starting to believe it.

DURING her confession, Catra calla Adora an idiot. While Adora is basically dying, in this crucial moment for both of them, she resorts to insulting her intelligence.

"But her feelings were so obvious and Adora didn't notice!"

Let me tell you, spop has a massive tell don't show problem. This defence could've easily been true IF the writers bothered with evem something small like Catra hesitating to harm Adora or treating her with more care when fighting than with her other enemies, or at the very least treating her kindly.

They have done none of that. Instead they had other characters (E.g Horde Prime) talk about how much she cares for Adora and how strong her emotions are for her.

Literally the only way anyone could've known Catra loved Adora is through these characters giving exposition.

Adora is not an idiot for not realising Catra loved her, because Catra's actions do not show love or even an ounce of basic respect.

Making Adora doubt her intelligence and abilities is not love. Mocking Adora the way she does is not love. Torturing Adora is not love.

Telling Adora that she was a mistake and that "none if this would've happened if you didn't come through that portal" is not love.

Nothing she does to Adora is an act of love.

And also, not being very good at deciphering or recognising emotions that are "obvious" does not make you stupid, jfc

"Catra just says those things because she's angry, she doesn't mean them!"

It doesn't matter if she's angry and doesn't mean what she said. She says it. And there's never a scene were she regrets her words.

Her anger is a reason, not an excuse. That behaviour is not okay.

•Gaslighting/guiltripping them

Catra often likes to talk about Adora abandoned her, how Adora kept leaving her alone, and the show shifts to frame this as true and paints Adora in the wrong.

In Season 5 she's asks Adora "Please, just this once, stay?" After Catra herself being the one to run away, to make Adora feel guilty for the very much correct actions she took previously.

Adora refused to return to the Horde which was committing mass genocide and destroying everything in its path and painted as the bad guy for doing this.

Adora told Catra what they were doing. Begged Catra to come with her so they could start a new life. Throughout the series she is giving Catra chance after chance and trying her best to stay with her.

Every time, Catra has been doing the leaving.

Running away, abandoning Adora in the temple, vanishing in a blast or puff of smoke when it covers her.

She does the leaving, and she convinces Adora that it is in fact Adora leaving, and that she is bad person/friend for wanting nothing to do with the Horde.

The portal reality is the worst for me.

Adora is distressed and afraid, feeling like she's losing her mind and that something is wrong with her.

Catra, fully knowing the truth, gaslights her by saying she's crazy and just seeing things. And also is insults her intelligence yet again.

Making Adora doubt her own intelligence is also a form of manipulation and gaslighting.

Blaming Adora for everything that happened in the fake reality is gaslighting.

"But Adora DID leave Catra!"

Yeah. At the beginning after learning the Horde was committing mass genocide and after Catra tazed her twice. Refusing to go back. She was fully in the right. She apologised later and tried to get Catra to join her, so they could both continue being together. But Catra left her over and over again after that.

"The portal reality made Catra happy! It helped her cope with her trauma! She was having a mental breakdown!"

Hmm let me see isn't allowing your partner to continously be distressed and afraid and gaslighting them so you can be happy idk... selfish and abusive?

Yep she was having a break down. She was still in full control of her actions, and no trauma makes that okay in any way

•Hitting them or physically assaulting them in any way

Literally something Catra has done since they were children.

I can forgive the times they were small, because they don't know better and are abused children. But from episode one before Adora even left the Fright Zone Catra was pulling her around by the hair shoving her and over all being very aggressive.

After Adora leaves the Horde Catra: tazes her, tears at her skin with claws that can cut through metal, leaves her with scars, tortures her, kicks her and so much more.

Over and over again. Without a single sign of remorse.

"They were in a war!"

Yeah. Emphasis on the "they". Adora was in that war too. She was always worried for Catra, actively holding back, trying not to hurt too badly, treating her with respect.

Catra did none of that. She didn't even bother to show the slightest remorse or hesitate one second before clawing at her back and face.

Catra, in fact, is less violent with the sort of strangers that are Bow and Glimmer. She tackles Bow to the ground and hisses at him, that's it. Adora? Tearing at her skin, kicking her in the back, grabbing her by the face, torturing her, etc

War is not an excuse

"Catra's backstory! It's how they were raised! She's a victim of abuse copying her abuser because she doesn't know any better! She's lashing out!"

Cool backstory, still abuse.

Okay. She's lashing out. Doesn't excuse it. She is still actively harming Adora, and if she really can't control herself or see the wrong in it like some people claim, then that only supports the fact she is NOT good for Adora.

•Trying to kill them

The portal.

Catra knew what was going to happen.

She knew what she was going to cause.

She looked Adora dead in the eyes and pulled the switch anyways.

She didn't care as long as Adora lost. She is willing to let Adora die in order to win.

"But Catra wanted to die too!"

Okay. That doesn't matter. That doesn't justify anything. Being suicidal does not justify attempted murder.

"But (any excuse)!"

I honest to god do not care.

Just like Adora said:

"I didn't make you pull the switch. You made your choice. Now live with it!"

There is NO conceivable way for Catra knowingly doing what she did just so Adora didn't win to be okay.

She tried to kill the woman she supposedly loved.

That is not excusable.

That is not love.

And what's worse is after Adora begins to accept that Catra will not change and that trying to be peaceful will not work. Being together again is a dream. And the show rips that away.

•The victim is immensely afraid of/distressed by their abuser

Adora is absolutely terrified of Catra, or at the very least a bit afraid of her.

Every time Catra grabs Adora by the face or pins her down, Adora's eyes are wide with fear or at the very least immense discomfort.

In Roll With It, Adora is incredibly distressed and works herself into a complete state because nobody is considering what Catra will do.

"But Adora just wants to see Catra! She's thinking about her obsessively like this, it's a sign of her feelings!"

Adora knows what Catra is capable of. She knows what will happen to them if they aren't prepared. Planning out every possible option because of what could happen is not a sign of her feelings. It's a sign that she knows Catra will show no mercy, and she does not want the mission to fail or her friends to get hurt.

While Catra isn't directly present here, this is all because of her actions. Actions that have a reason, but not an excuse.

It is not healthy or romantic for your love interest to be afraid of you.

Moving on

At the end of the portal incident, Adora stared at Catra with cold eyes that clearly said "You've crossed a line"

It is here that many critics agrees that it's a bit late for Catra to have a redemption, because this truly was above anything else she had ever done.

This was where they could have had Adora move on from Catra and begin unlearning all the negative things Catra and others have embedded in her psyche.

If they did manage to do Catra's redemption right, whether during S5 or before it, I think it would've been best for the two of them to separate. It's made clear with how being away from the Horde and Adora made Catra happier when she was in the Crimson Waste.

I don't think either of then should've been in romantic relationships at all. Horde soldiers don't even know what proper food is, they've never heard of basic things like parties and the like.

I think it would've been better for them to slowly heal in their own time, Adora being happy with her newfound friends and learning the ways of Etheria and Catra staying in the Crimson Waste or somewhere else.

Romance should've been something to come to them when they've both matured and healed, and with different people.

Spop had the perfect opportunity to show that even if an abuser has trauma it is still abuse and it is not selfish to walk away.

It doesn't how sorry they are, it doesn't matter how much they claimed to have changed.

You are not obligated to be with them.

You are not obligated to be their punching bag just so they can be happy.

But spop didn't take that opportunity.

Instead this behaviour is excused or romanticised.

And the fact that the creator says this is based off his own relationship makes me deeply concerned.

......................................

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed and that this wasn't too much of a mess! If you disagree with me, feel free to give your reasons and I will happily discuss with you. If you're just going to call me a homophobe and throw a fit and start fights, you can screw off

Tagging: @spop-romanticizes-abuse

[forevermore05]

Let's say you're one of the writer's way back when Atla was first starting. Bryke has stepped back and let the writers do their thing. What are some things you would keep or remove completely? What are things you would have done differently? What would you have liked to explore more of with the story and the characters?

OOOH good question

I would definitely be giving South Asia, Hinduism, and Buddhism their honour back but making Desi main characters not caricatures. I will pay my respects to those religions by using them properly and not discarding them when you don't truly understand their meaning. And better representation will all the cultures.

Likewise, I would make a 4th (or maybe more) book, so we can see the healing of the 4 nations and flesh out the Gaang and other characters properly. I feel like ending it on book 3 was too sudden, and I hate the comic, so I don't even recognize those, since it is so OOC.

I would make Zuatara canon through some slow burn. I would not pair Aang up with anyone, since he is too young but keep him having a crush on Katara for the Chakra arc (which stays true and respect to Hinduism) but to provide a lesson on heartbreak and moving on. Same with Toph, such a cute little baby.

I will REMOVE those nonconsenual kisses entirely. Basically out with Kataang.

I want to see more of the evil politics of the Fire Nation before Aang defeats Ozai and how Zuko deals with it. In contrast, to how Zuko handles politics being Fire Lord.

I WANT more Suki and her backstory. I also want to see her and Ty Lee fight side by side. It would be so cool.

I would actually have Zuko and Katara speak to Azula after the Agni Kai.

I would keep Sokka's sexism arc.

Not only that, but I would love to explore Yue even more and her take on the NWT

I also want to go in depth with Mai, I want to give her some depth.

Have Aang's character understand the Mahabharat scripture before making a choice. (Maybe kill Ozai)

I want to see a healing arc for Azula

I also want Uncle Iroh to face some repercussion of being an activity member of war. I love Uncle Iroh, and I want to write the consequences and him accepting humbly due to his development.

Book 4 and (leading to adulthood) head canons for the Gaang

Katara: Helps the SWT and NWT, then goes on to become ambassador for the SWT in the Fire Nation

Zuko: Fire lord

Aang: Helping all the Nations to heal

Toph: I think she would totally be the creator of the pro-bender, you cannot change my mind, I think she would also become a teacher

Suki: Girlbossing as a Kyoshi Warriors and being known as one of the best

Sokka: Become Chief of SWT and a skilled engineer

I want Katara and Zuko to find his mother together (so we can get good development)

I feel like I have more, but I will add more if I think of any.

[terramythos]

Anyway here's my breakdown of the ffxiv jobs, my opinions on playing each, and the tier rank of how good their story was

TANKS

WARRIOR - warrior is so fucking funny why did they make it able to solo heal itself and the entire party in 90% of the content in the game. Raw Intuition/Bloodwhetting is so broken in dungeons its hilarious. And then they have like 3 additional healing skills on top of that. And they kept buffing it throughout Endwalker. So it is currently the easiest to play, does the most damage (i think...?), and has the best healing of any of the Tank jobs. 2nd fave probably.

Story Tier: C, it's ok, Curious Gorge is a good name. i have like nothing to say about it it's a generic AF story

PALADIN - I used to hate PLD but I think the partial rework they got halfway through Endwalker helped it a lot. It's much less clunky now. Probably still my least favorite Tank though Hallowed Ground is fun and it's pretty close to Gunbreaker for me.

Story Tier: F, this is the worst class storyline in the entire game. It's so stupid. The writing is so bad the writers acknowledge it makes no sense at all and I'm like. Yeah, thanks, I am experiencing this shit. Perhaps write a story that makes sense next time instead of pointing that out.

DARK KNIGHT - Unfortunately this is my favorite Tank 🫡 which is rough since it has the worst survivability out of any of them. But I love how you use MP and the silly number of OGCDs. The Blackest Night is such a fun ability and it's a crime that it's not a baseline skill you get from the start. Why do they have so many DRs that only cover magic damage. I must ask.

Story Tier: S, there's a reason it's the most popular and well regarded class storyline. It's really good, also the only questline I know of that uses the quest log text as part of the narrative. Outside maybe a few of the very late Endwalker quests. And, well... same writer lmao

GUNBREAKER: I think GNB looks cool as fuck and I like that it has 2 DPS rotations. The Gnashing Fang combo is so fun. Superbolide memes are always fun. My main issue with it is a skill issue because I am just constantly misaligning its burst windows.

Story Tier: C. It has some interesting lore but I found it pretty forgettable as a story.

HEALERS

WHITE MAGE: I hated White Mage for a while but something clicked and now I totally get it. I find it fun in dungeons cause you get to Holy spam and stun lock everything. As uh. The healer. That's fun. Once you get Afflatus heals (and then Afflatus Misery) it clicks. It's fun maximizing damage and playing chicken with the tank's HP.

Story Tier: B, you get a lot of lore around the Padjal, and I think the Stormblood story where you find a padjal living in hiding with her mother is pretty good! Also it's not technically the job storyline but there's a WHM side quest to get a unicorn mount? i guess it's technically a CNJ quest but same diff. no one else gets that shit. so that's cool

SCHOLAR: probably my least favorite of the healers... it just feels super clunky. You can tell a bunch of different design philosophies went into it over the years and none of them mesh very well. They've made it so the Fairy Gauge controls literally one spell. Why have the gauge at all? It's also a huge missed opportunity that there's no tie in or interaction with the fae in Shadowbringers. I love the idea of a battle tactician healer but I think it needs a rework.

Story Tier: B+, I liked the characters and its the main way to get backstory and lore on what happened with Nym.

ASTROLOGIAN: While I think AST has a similar issue to SCH (lots of different design philosophies over the years) I find it way more fun to play. I like the card mechanic and how it interacts with the rest of the party. AST is basically the only job that has its own like. Minigame? As part of its rotation. And I know a lot of people don't like the RNG for it but personally I find it fun. I know AST is getting a redesign in Dawntrail so hope it's good.

Story Tier: C? I think? I'll be honest I don't remember it super well but I didn't find anything objectionable about it. And I like the tarot aesthetic and lore and how it's healing based on manipulating luck.

SAGE: I think SGE is tons of fun, I'm not sure if I like it or WHM more. I love all the skills SGE has for preventing damage and the gimmick where your DPS heals someone in the party. Visually the hi-tech laser shooting healer is a lot of fun. IT HAS A GAP CLOSER. The only thing i wish was it wasn't so MP negative and that it did more damage. It's a little sad its DPS output is so low compared to the other healers (even AST when you factor in how it buffs the party). Since SGE is supposed to be a healer that heals through damage it's silly its damage kinda sucks.

Story Tier: A, I loved this storyline. Both the Endwalker job stories are very self contained and interesting. While the twist is pretty obvious it's still an interesting exploration of uh. Scientific ethics. Yeah

PHYSICAL MELEE DPS

MONK: I've probably played MNK the least of the phys melee but I like the whole adaptable combo thing. Not much else to say since I have played it so little. Might bring it back out and try again. It DID have the funniest guide in the Balance discord for a while.

Story Tier: D. I think? I remember thinking it was dumb, lmao. Sorry.

DRAGOON: MAN I wished I liked DRG more. It looks so fucking cool and I like how it interacts with the dragon lore. But I find it very punishing to play. To do good damage you have to align so many different cooldowns... and snapshot your DOT correctly... and screwing one thing up just fucks your DPS output forever. Like AST I believe this is being reworked in Dawntrail so I hope it feels better to play.

Story Tier: C+. I think it starts strong since you get to meet Estinien pre-Heavensward and it melds nicely with that story. But I found it pretty directionless post-HW which is a shame.

NINJA: I remember finding this one fun. I like that there are different combos you do that have varied finishers depending on the situation. I am just... bad at remembering which combo to use to get which finisher, lol. So I haven't played it as much. NIN gets a lot of flavor other jobs don't get with their unique run and jump animations. And you get a Bunny of Shame on your head if you fuck up a combo, which is incredible.

Story Tier: A. The Rogue story is probably the most memorable of the basic class quests. Ninja just has great characters and a fun story. What is with that one guy. Karasu? If you know you know. I also like how the Rogue characters show up later in the Ninja story. That's fun.

SAMURAI: I had a similar experience to WHM here because I initially hated it then really came around once it clicked. SAM seems very complex, it has a ton of buttons and different combos. But it is actually quite intuitive once you figure out the general pattern. And it does INSANE damage. I think it's the highest DPS output in the game? I love building the combos and then doing a huge finisher for a bajillion damage. The guaranteed crits and constant OGCD weaves make me feel unstoppable. I think this is tied with RPR for me.

Story Tier: B+. I found the exiled samurai character and his journey toward redemption very compelling. I won't spoil beyond that. However it does fall apart a little in the second half. Still fun but not as good.

REAPER: I love RPR, the teleportation is a lot of fun, and I love finally unleashing the demon form and going ham on the enemy. The weapons are the coolest looking in the game. Every scythe design hits. I probably played this the most in Endwalker. My main critique is the Death's Design mechanic. I hate having to keep a stupid debuff on the target to do damage. It's like a dot but without the optimized snapshotting. If they want to keep this idea i think it would feel better to change it into something like SGE's Kardia where you apply it to one enemy to do increased damage to it without having to worry about reapplying it. not sure how they would balance this for aoe but that's not my job. But even with that caveat I still really enjoy the job.

Story Tier: A+. While it doesn't reach the highs of DRK's story it comes close. I love the badass old lady main character. Her hunting a voidsent that possessed her grandfather would be cool enough but making her a Garlean exile in hiding who grudgingly agrees to train you just adds an extra cool factor. I really enjoyed this story. As a bonus theres a lot of incidental dialogue in the post-6.0 Endwalker story if you completed the RPR story because it ties in a lot.

PHYSICAL RANGED DPS

BARD: It's a bit clunky, its got some outdated design elements, it has one of the lowest damage outputs in the game... and i LOVE IT. this was technically the first job I ever played? totally different character like 8 years ago. and i was so so bad. I think i am actually pretty good at current BRD. the animations look cool. i like that it's a class you really need to work for and optimize to eke out that last bit of damage. and boosting everyone else's damage by existing is kinda neat.

Story Tier: B. I'll be real I barely remember this but I do remember it was gay as fuck so immediately gets an extra tier for that.

MACHINIST: MCH is really funny right now because like. It's phys ranged, right. The design behind phys ranged is you have 100% uptime cause you can freely move around and not have to worry about cast timers or melee range or anything. So the trade off is that they do less damage than other classes. Endwalker MCH did not get the memo and does insane damage anyway. My controversial opinion is that it has similar burst DPS to RPR. No i will not elaborate. I'm also bad at doing good damage on MCH which is impressive since it is easy.

Story Tier: B+. Some Ishgard noble's gay son wants to build machines instead of killing dragons the good old fashioned way and has to prove himself to get taken seriously. A tale as old as time. See I haven't done this quest in like years but I still remember it. He is a memorable character. It's just not like. knockout wowza compared to the A tier stories.

DANCER: Dancer is the second easiest DPS job in the game behind SMN. So if i am sleepy it's the one I like playing. You play simon says. you do a lot of damage when you play simon says then do almost no fucking damage otherwise. I think it's the lowest direct damage in the game? for a dps i mean. You have high stakes sexual tension with a DPS of your choice via Dance Partner. I wish other DNC players knew how Dance Partner works. YOU CAN DANCE PARTNER ANOTHER DANCER. THE BUFF STACKS. BUT YOU CANNOT DANCE PARTNER THE SAME PLAYER AS ANOTHER DANCER. THOSE BUFFS DO NOT STACK. ok i'm good. anyway

Story Tier: C. there's some shit about negative emotions and purging them? in theory i think this has some interesting implications with Endwalker lore considering Dynamis and its role in the story. Very similar mechanically to what's going on with the DNC story. but i really don't think the writers made the connection so it's like pure speculation and not the actual story. It's meh. fine i guess. i did like all the flashy dancing sequences.

MAGICAL RANGED DPS

BLACK MAGE: I am so so so so so so so bad at BLM. i pull up the guide. i read the guide. it all makes perfect sense. i go into a dungeon or trial or something. somehow i always get like Zeromus or some shit. and i drop Enochian or something and everything goes to shit and i'm yelling and i'm not even like slide casting or teleporting or anything i just run around crying. then i remember i have like 10 more buttons i haven't been pressing and oh god the dot fell off. people play this? for fun? i admire it. apparently they do a ton of damage if you can play it. could not be me.

Story Tier: B? There's some voidsent and Thirteenth lore. all the black mage characters are Lalafell because it's funny i guess. OH YEAH it has like the one named male Keeper of the Moon Miqo'te NPC in the entire game and he's fun. look at this twink:

sorry i don't have anything to say about BLM i am bad at it

SUMMONER: easiest DPS job in the entire game. they redesigned it for Endwalker so it is practically a new job. i have no idea how it played before. but it is super streamlined. maybe too streamlined? it's another one to play if you want to turn your brain off. i like that at 90 you summon The Actual Primals instead of little representations of them. and i like the way your burst phase switches between Bahamut and Phoenix. it all looks very cool. they should add Leviathan as a summon in Dawntrail.

Story Tier: C.. i don't remember a single thing about this questline except you interact with Y'shtola's half sister. i think you go to Cartenau at some point. idk

RED MAGE: RDM is one of those jobs that looks really complicated when you start then you actually play it and it is just super super easy. that being said i think it's really fun. I like balancing the white and black magic gauges. Dualcast is a great gimmick and it feels cool to lob two big spells in a row at something. Dualcast Verraising a chain of dead players is so fucking funny. it's a shame that the existence of Verraise means RDM does shit damage to compensate for its utility. It and DNC just sit at the bottom with BRD barely scratching ahead of them. i think? i don't remember LOL

Story Tier: A, I really like the story and characters. I like that you have a middle-age world weary catboy (catman) as your mentor. and i like that he canonically trained Alisaie too and you chat a little about that. it's a fun story!

BLUE MAGE: what the fuck is a blue mage

Story Tier: ???

[balillee]

had to turn back to tumblr after a year of not using it to hate on the new atla adaptation

a few things

speedrunning through half of the story with the fire nation family is not a good idea, actually. lu ten was introduced far too early, and with it you delve into iroh's backstory, motivations and true character before you've even fully developed the whole 'silly old spiritual man who prefers tea and hanging out with his nephew over hunting down an 11-year old air nomad'. the lu ten funeral scene was fine as an addition, but it's not something for book 1. learning about lu ten is something we do in book 2 as it compliments the developing relationship between iroh and zuko with the fire nation as a whole. also, iroh seems a lot less cool. the show commits the grievous literary sin of always telling rather than showing, and by continuously telling us 'he's the famed general iroh, dragon of the west' you're not actually accomplishing anything. let him redirect some lightning you fucking cowards.

azula also seemed to exist for no reason. any of the correspondences to azula from zhao could have bypassed her entirely and could have gone straight to ozai or even the fire sages. she exists in season 1 purely to rush through explaining zuko and iroh far too early. the show exists as a guideline. FOLLOW THE GUIDELINE. THE GUIDELINE IS GOOD. EVERYONE KNOWS THE GUIDELINE IS GOOD. also make her fire blue. cowards

aang does not waterbend for the entire season, which means the window of opportunity for him to learn to bend the other elements before the arrival of sozin's comet is even shorter than in the original show. even the original aang, who the netflix adaptation changed because he was 'too childish and always goofing off instead of getting to the point' understood his responsibilities to learn the elements better than this new live action version - part of the reason for the gang to get to the northern water tribe was to find aang a teacher (not just katara), master pakku, because katara was not capable of teaching him at her novice waterbending level but even so they were still seen practicing together on multiple occasions.

this brings me to my next point. WHERE THE FUCK IS JEONG JEONG. aang in the original series understood the urgency of defeating the firelord before sozin's comet after speaking to roku very early on, not as late as depicted in the adaptation. currently, the gang don't even know that they're on a time crunch, and yet still the show refuses to let them take their time by going on side adventures. this leads into the episode where aang meets jeong jeong and tries to learn to firebend before he's even started earthbending at all, because he's still scared that he only has a year to master the elements. he burns katara while trying, which is the reason she learned she had the power to heal with her waterbending, we see how fucking sick jeong jeong is at firebending for the first time during the fight with zhao, and aang swears off learning firebending at all, which is one of his main points of conflict leading all the way into book 3. if we skip that whole episode, we have skipped meeting one of the members of the order of the white lotus. the show could think it's slick by omitting him to just have iroh as the white lotus' firebender, but that's possibly one of the worst changes they've made. the deserter was not a filler episode.

i know a lot of people were talking about this before the show even came out, but sokka is not sokka. in book 1, sokka is three things - funny, overconfident and sexist. in the live adaptation, he is kind of one of those three things. part of why sokka's arc is one of my personal favourites from the original show is the stark change you see from the start to the end of his story - he believes himself a leader but has no real tactical or combative experience despite telling all the fighters and warriors he meets about how impressive he is. and then at the end of the show he is a definitively strong leader, shown by leading the assault on the fire nation armada - his team being two of the show's most competent female characters, who he trusts and respects with his life. by omitting these traits from sokka's character, you remove a big part of why he's even there in the first place - his arc's beginning allows him to become the fearless leader that lead his team to defeating the fire nation army.

i also hate that aang meets monk gyatso in the spirit world. a big part of aang's conflict about running away is that there exists nobody in the world who can tell him that what happened to the air nomads was not his fault, and that there was nothing aang could do to stop it if he was there. the new adaptation decides against the inclusion of one of aang's primary internal conflicts by changing the 'running away from his responsibilities as the avatar because he's a terrified child' to 'getting some air', and then throws in meeting the spirit of monk gyatso to tell him all of these things that aang needs to learn on his own. once again, telling rather than showing.

and finally, my least favourite change - the agni kai. part of the reason why i personally think the agni kai is so significant to zuko's story is the fact that zuko intentionally refuses to fight. in the adaptation, zuko fights back against his father, and his father scars him simply because zuko hesitates. in the original series, zuko bows to his father and pleads for mercy, and refuses to fight at all, and that is when it cuts away to iroh and azula's very differing reactions to the altercation, zuko screaming in the background. the setting also irritates me, because in the original, the agni kai was a public spectacle for hundreds to see in an ominous chamber, while in the new show it looked like just a regular old family gathering in the sun. zuko's adaptation scar i also hate because it doesn't even look like a scar. it looks like a birthmark, or at best, a black eye. if you hadn't seen the original, you would only know that it's a scar because the show tells you that it's a scar. zuko's scar in the animated series is a definite physical deformation of his face, his face looks red and raw, and his eye is smaller likely due to how the tissue healed, and as the show goes on you learn that the severity of his physical scars reflect the severity of his emotional ones. the original show does a brilliant job at showing how, just through the scar and the banishment alone, that despite zuko's beliefs, his father has betrayed him time and time again.

[trillscienceofficer]

I love Soji. We were ROBBED of her. She should've been in all 3 seasons.

LITERALLY she was the protagonist of season 1 and for good reason. I thought her narrative was really impactful and a fresh take on the 'android' concept... S1 of Star Trek: Picard repeatedly asks the audience “what happens when people are treated as things? As instruments? As vanity projects? ” and, for better or worse, it's a theme that is recurring in every storyline, from the Romulan refugees to the xBs to Raffi and Rios' backstories. Soji is the fulcrum of all this, the character that it is literally at center of the story because she embodies so many of those questions. I'll never forget the dialogue in “Broken Pieces” where Soji asks Dr Jurati if she can really see her as a person; I honestly think it's one of the best scenes in all of the more recent shows. Plus, she was such a cool character and Isa Briones really brought her to life in all her complex mixture of naivety and steely determination.

Unfortunately even s1 didn't exactly know what to do with her during the finale and the rest of the show was SO eager to get rid of her that I don't even know what to say about it beyond “it sucks so bad and it's a huge waste”. More than that, I can't believe we got even more anodyne Data content (after they put him to rest in s1!) instead of anything about Soji. I don't hate Data but can you say anything about him that hasn't already been said? Couldn't have we moved on like we were all too briefly promised? Soji brought such a cool perspective on the Trek androids, one that I personally found way more interesting than the old one, and we ended up seeing nothing of it.

[factual-fantasy]

23 ASKS! :D Thanks ya'll!🎂

(Post in question)

AAAAAA THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I'M SO GLAD YOU NOTICED!! :DDD✨💖✨

Now the only cool detail that you missed/I'd like to point out about the clones is.. they don't cast a shadow.. 👀

I have a vague memory of them.. I haven't seen their characters in a while- I imagine I still like them tho :0

@unicornfpotatoesdir

Thank you! Though sorry, I don't take drawing requests. And that sounds like its intended to be in a romantic light.. I don't dabble with ships, Sorry! <:/

@neo-metalscottic

AAA THANK YOU SO MUCH!! :DD As for her growing power, I honestly don't know if it should be magical or not. Are there cookies in the game that can change size but its only due to magic?? I don't know-- I pictured it being something that she can just do and always could have. Idk if it would fit the games better if it was due to magic- I have no idea <XDD Sorry!

As for the Vegimals, I do intend to keep the original story. :0 Some strange eggs showed up in the side of the ship and boom! Out popped the Vegimals XDD

I'm sure the crew has done a lot to try and figure out what they are or where they came from. But there are some mysteries that just cannot be solved.. 😔

(Post in question)

:DD THANK YOU! I'm so glad you like her! :}}}

@sparkdrawsstuff

That's exactly what I'm trying to figure out <XDD but you're right about the found family idea! :D

So for the backstories, so far I have a few vague ideas..

Seafoam met Octo when he was like.. 10 years old..?? and Octo was like 2 or something- they grew up together as best friends and have been together their entire lives.

Now when they were teens/young adults, before they got their ship.. they worked in a local restaurant. Where they met Ellie. She was one of the cooks there. She loved to cook but she hated her job and hated her life. The only people who ever treated her with respect was Seafoam and Octo. So when they finally got their ship and were on their way to live out their pirate dream. Ellie went with them, and became their first crewmate.

Now for Louis I was thinking that he was really down on his luck when he met the crew. He had no friends, no family.. he lost his house, his job.. heck, his arm. Everything. I'm imagining him as some homeless person that the crew stumbled upon while they were passing by a fishing village of some kind. Somehow he joined the crew and became their fourth crewmate. Not sure how it happened but that's the idea-

Now the story for Blue is that when it was just the first 4 crewmates, their ship was out at sea and they hit a crazy storm. Their ship was a vessel meant for at least like 10 people, not 4. So when this storm hit there just wasn't enough hands on deck to control the ship. They needed to do this with the sails and do this over here and do that to stabilize it but they just couldn't keep up. Thankfully though its around that time that Blue was passing through and saw this ship clearly struggling against the storm. So out of the kindness of her heart she stuck with the ship and kept it balanced/afloat. Eventually guiding it to calmer waters and meeting the crew.

Seafoam was endlessly grateful for her help and thanked her. I think Blue wasn't used to people speaking so kindly to her.. so for a while she sheepishly followed the ship around and eventually just became an official member of the crew.

Now for the rest of the crew I don't really have an order in mind.. though I think Red was the most recent addition to the crew. Speaking of him- Red is Seafoam's great nephew. I haven't figured out the details but some kind of tragedy happened that took the life of him mom, and everyone else on his ship. Seafoam wasn't very connected to his sister or the family that she built. But he somehow heard about this disaster and got a hold of Red and took him aboard his crew.

There's also Pinwheel. I'm thiiiinking that they found her adrift at sea when she was like... 14..? And Seafoam really took her under his wing. He basically raised her. Her grim backstory before being lost at sea is still development-

Uhhh who else.. Oh! Cuttlefish. She was an experienced pirate from another crew that some how got stuck with Seafoam and his crew for a time. By the time she was able to leave, she decided to stick around becuase she really liked these people. I'm still working out the details-

As for Urchin, Coco, Tuna and Spidercrab though... aggghh I got nothin. I'm thinking that Coco was a stowaway..? And Tuna has clearly been through a lot. But their stories still need some time to develop 💔💔

(Also thank you for taking interest in my OCs! Its means a lot :}}} )

My good man I have done nothing but rest/sleep/hydrate/sit around for the past several weeks- 😭 If I rested anymore I'd be in a coma 💔💀

But have you considered, c h i c k e n

I don't intend to.. that just feels like a lot of work to get into- 😖

@minnesotamedic186

Oooo that sounds like a good character to take some inspiration from! :D

I'm goin through a very hard time atm but I'm doing my best!

@astaherussy (Post in question)

That is a TASTY prompt! 😋 Though I see it more likely that these things all happen separately as opposed to all at once. And I'm particularly interested in the first part of the prompt, since I haven't given Marsh much angst yet.. 👀👀

Marsh having a dream about his late wife.. and it just starts him off on the wrong foot that day. He seems more tired and gloomy than usual. But only Natquik picks up on it at first. Natquik might ask him how he's doing and Marsh says he's fine. Natquik isn't convinced but takes that as an "I don't wanna talk about it.." So he'd drop the subject.

But he could still try to do things to make Marsh feel better. Knowing that clearly he seems unwell today. Natquik would put in some extra work to help out around the swamp and pick up a lot of the tasks for Marsh. Just to give him some time to rest from what ever he's dealing with.

Later on that day, maybe at night time when Jack has already crashed for the night. Marsh could talk to Natquik and thank him for all his help. In which.. he might open up a bit. He could talk about the dream he had. "Its been years.. but it still hurts just as much as it did all that time ago." Natquik would be sympathetic. "I've lost those I love too.. it is hard to feel ok with it. I understand." They could talk, a few tears shed. But in the end Marsh feels like a weight has been lifted somewhat. It felt good to share his pain with someone..

alSO WAAAGH THANK YOU!! :DD I'm so happy to hear that you look forward to these posts! They take many hours to make sometimes <XDD

I have not, but a "happy" cartoon world corrupted with angst?? Color me interested! 👀👀

XDD Oh man, that would be spooky for sure! Though I worry about the stress that would put on his neck <XD Having to hold the weight of his entire body-

@2006-stupid-thatsme

I'm hanging in there as best I can, thank you for asking. <XD.. As for how I got into drawing, I'm not sure.. I've been drawing for as long as I can remember. I'm not sure what originally inspired me or got me started drawing. Though some of my oldest drawings are Sonic drawings, mostly Tails.. maybe that's what started it..? :0

And as for my style, that's hard to say too. I just draw what ever is easiest. Plus a lot of the shows/games/movies I like/draw are very cartoony. That's probably where my style comes from. :0

And My Little Pony? I have a lot of friends that are into it! But I myself have not watched it. Though I've heard that the story is actually a lot darker than people think.. 👀.. plus all the redesigns of the mane 6 look super fun! I've considered getting into it for sure.

Keeping up with another show though just feels like a lot of work rn.. 😔

@jesterpiecethejester (Post in question)

XD To be honest that drawing might be the brightest he can go. Any brighter and his coat would just be completely white XD

..Actually, imagining the foam and the coat kind'a fusing together and becoming this completely white fluffy coat with a long glowy cloudy train... Jester my good fellow you have given me a very good drawing idea 👀👀👀

@wdillustration

OOOO THIS MAKES ME THINK!! What kind of cookies would they be??? Of course there's the obvious "Polar bear cookie" and "Penguin cookie". But actually, like a food or a theme separate from the species of the character. What would they be??

My first thought is Tweak being a carrot cookie. <XD Kind'a plain but its a start.. Would Kwazii be a pirate stew cookie?? Or just "Pirate cat cookie"? Hmm.. would one of them be based on fish biscuits?? XDD

@chaotic-public-menace

OHHHH I SEE XDD Yeah that's a good idea! There's been a lot of times where I really want to finish a drawing and I'm excited to get it done! Buuuuut the drive kind'a dwindles and I start to slow down.. Taking a 5-10 minute break to doodle something else might be just the fix I need! :D

XD I'm not familiar with this meme unfortunately-

@manybrokenquills

XDD ITS OK!! THANK YOU!! :))))

@100percentevil

Uhg,, always a shame to see. Thank you for letting me know :(

@weirdweeb83

Such a pwebby kitty 💖💖💖

[onebadpunspoilsabunch]

Another thing I hated from those last two seasons were the villains, especially cozy glow

Bgdsafhbb

I really should stop talking about mlp. It's embarrassing 😅 I'm kind of embarrassed. I apologize to all my followers. But...

But again, 100% right.

Funny thing is, I can see a world where Chancellor Neighsay's character is written better. The problem with his character is that the terrible writers wrote him as the most stereotypical, strawman-y racist villain that I've ever seen in any piece of children's media, ever. 

If they wrote him more realistically, and actually gave the audience an explanation for why he feels that way about the other creatures...

For example, they could've showed that the reason he hated the other creatures is because of their past history with ponies:

The hippogriffs/seaponies refused to help when the Storm King attacked 

The Yaks were very picky when they came to visit for the first time

The dragons were usually very hostile towards ponies, to the point where ponies were afraid to approach them

The Changelings attacked Equestria twice

The griffins had a better relationship with ponies, but the majority of them were still very rude

Of course, the explanation for all of their behavior is the result of their environment, leadership, and upbringing. But it would still be an understandable reason.

And if they had him realistically realize the error of his ways, combined with writing him in a realistic way and giving an explanation for his mentality, then BOOM! Character fixed, problem solved :)

Now, as for Cozy Glow...

Idk what the writers were thinking when they came up with her character, but in terms of writing/character motivations she is 10,000 times worse than Neighsay. At least with him I understand what the writers were going for, and he can be more easily fixed.

But Cozy Glow…

She is a child. The same age as the CMC. Who is... inexplicable an evil sociopath who hates the other creatures, wants to get rid of magic, and... rule the world...

Absolutely no explanation given for how this child turned evil, racist, a sociopath, a master manipulator, and a megalomaniac. No backstory, no explanation. At all.

At least with Neighsay, you can logical see how he got there. But I have no idea what they were going for with Cozy Glow. 

The only thing I can figure out is this: Cozy Glow exists to prove one point that Neighsay made. He was afraid that the other creature students would use their friendship lessons and the school to secretly take over Equestria. He believed that they were sociopaths who were incapable of being changed, so instead of being improved by the school they would only learn how to better manipulate ponies. That's what sociopaths do in real life. 

But instead of it being the other creatures who did it, it was a pony. The point of Cozy Glow's character is to prove that ponies are capable of being the megalomaniac sociopaths that Neighsay thought the other creatures were. So in a way, I can see where the base concept for her character came from. 

The thing that makes it terrible is that there is absolutely no backstory or explanation given for why this child is evil, or how she got there. The writers just expected the audience to accept this incredibly bizarre, horribly written character. 

Lol, shrug

Grogar would've been a really cool villain, if he wasn't actually SPOILERS Discord in disguise the whole time.

The real Grogar does exist in their world. He could be dead, he could be alive. We don't know. But the writers lied to people, telling them that Grogar would be the final villain, hyping him up... only for it to be taken away with a terrible plot twist. That they (apparently) planned from the beginning:

But when Discord was impersonating Grogar, he was still a better villain than Cozy Glow and Neighsay. The plot twist was the real problem, not Grogar himself. 

I actually feel kinda bad for Grogar's character. They did him dirty. They did my sheep dirty :(

Anyway, my final thoughts on the season 8/9 villains:

Chancellor Neighsay: Terribly written, but can be easily fixed.

Cozy Glow: They were high on BATH SALTS or something and were watching Cats Don't Dance (or the episode of Batman the animated series with Babydoll) when they came up with her character, and didn't give a shit about anything else.

Grogar: I feel bad for my poor sheep :( You deserve better, you could've been great 🐏

[let-us-cultivate-our-garden]

I say this as a salty fan and not someone trying to be hateful (if it comes off as so please delete this ask), but I don't think Dana deserves Belos. As a villain, he's just too complicated and it sucks seeing his character kinda get ruined.

Personally, I think she does better with one note / one off villains like Tibbles, the inspector from "The First Day", the elderly ladies in the Body Swap episode, the publisher demon and the merchant demon from "Sense And Insensitivity" etc.

With those characters, you can enjoy them because they are meant to be one note, but not Belos.

Honestly, I feel that a lot of the characters remain either one-note or are reduced to one-note characters and it's not just the villains. Willow and Gus barely grow outside of being Luz's friends; they do get mini-arcs of their own but for the most part, they sorta stay in the background so they don't really stand out on their own.

Poor Amity went from a stuck-up perfectionist to Luz's Girlfriend. Once she breaks away from Odalia's influence, her characterization is reduced to just Nice and Kinda Dorky. There's none of that sarcasm or ruthlessness that she had in season 1 and if you're raised by a parent like Odalia, those kinds of attitudes and beliefs don't really go away. Amity may become nicer and more well-adjusted, but her edges have been sanded off, she's just boring.

Hunter was brash and self-confident yet once we learned more about him, his original characterization was replaced with Sad Boy Who Is Also Kinda Dorky. Now, could his cockiness been a mask this whole time? Absolutely. But we don't get much of his old personality Post Heel Turn, instead the show spends an inordinate amount of time traumatizing him and giving him barely enough time to process all that.

Lilith does better in the characterization department, but we still get Cool Aunt Lilith in the end. It seems like if you're a former Bad Guy, you get turned into a dork character to signify that you're no longer a threat and on the Good Guy Team. All of these characters had their edges sanded away and now they're nerds with interests like sci-fi/fantasy or academia.

As for Belos, I feel like the writers never had a real interest in him outside of him being the main villain. But his backstory makes him a complicated character and as we see with the above examples, the writers struggled with distinguishing their characters, let alone handling a nuanced portrayal of villainy.

Sometimes characters outgrow their creators and a character like Belos needed a crew that was actually interested in him in order to bring him to his full potential.

[mutfruit-salad]

What are the things you liked about the fallout show

Considering this is a throwaway blog with a suicide joke as the header I get the feeling this isn't being asked in good faith. But I'll indulge, cuz I honestly do wanna share some things I liked.

Max is a character I would've loved to see handled better- it makes me happy seeing him as a main character- and I wish he'd been allowed to shine more. He's a character I find consistently interesting.

Some of the humor IS funny, even if a lot of it reinforces really hostile worldviews. I did laugh often!

The gore effects are honestly really fantastic. I never thought a show would be so ready to depict the kind of gore these games have- so it's interesting to see it adapted to screen.

I love the shopkeeper and her wife in Filly. I also love the repair shop owner with the vocoder cheek. I love a lot of the miscellaneous character designs- they feel like they've got interesting backstories and you can get a feel for it just in how they present themselves and talk.

I love when the NCR raiders on the surface are allowed to be people- and I love the way their designs incorporate bits of fallout 4 and New Vegas armor- it's a cool blending of settings.

I love how weighty the power armor seems in some scenes. There's a lot of variability in how it's portrayed- but there are some scenes where it really looks good.

I love seeing the creatures that got adapted. I love Dogmeat, I love the radroaches, and I love the yao guai. Snip snip is really cool even if I find the episode he's in kind of awful.

Honest to god Norm is really fun even if he's used as a mouthpiece to advocate for the death penalty. His character is consistently charming in his snottiness.

Even Moldaver, as ridiculous as the circumstances that surround her often are, she is genuinely a really compelling villain. I love her vibes, and I'd love to see her in a different better story.

There's a lot of charm here between all the shit! I don't hate this show entirely, as I've said in other posts. Believe it or not I think this is an average show! It's fine! Like I find a lot of the thematic elements and storytelling really disgusting and counter to the themes of this series- but that's just a part of this production. It's obvious there is tremendous passion behind a lot of the show!

I would not talk so much about a show I thought was entirely bad beyond belief. I do not like it, and I think it does a tremendous amount wrong, and I think it's very often misanthropic and mean-spirited to a fault- but it's also often interesting and fun and occasionally quite engaging. It is not an entirely negative experience watching this show!

[crusherthedoctor]

Opinions That Aren't Mutually Exclusive:

"Sonic should be allowed to tell stories, and the dismissal of story in Sonic because it's a video game series is silly" and "It's still a video game series first and foremost, so the gameplay part is still the top priority, meaning anyone who doesn't like a game because they didn't like the gameplay is perfectly valid"

"Sonic is a Japanese IP, and no amount of western adaptations will change that" and "It shouldn't matter where in the world the people handling a Sonic product are from, as long as they're competent and humble"

"Alternate gameplay styles can exist in Sonic" and "You can't just do anything willy nilly, it should make sense for a Sonic game in some capacity, even if it's another character"

"Sonic's world should feel like a place that people could live in" and "It should be creative, inspiring, and not emulate the real world at the cost of everything else"

"Sonic does not think like a typical superhero, nor does he go out of his way to redeem villains if they show no remorse" and "Sonic is a compassionate person who is quick to befriend others if they're not evil or if things have mended between them"

"Sonic is the namesake character, and his influence in the world around him is key to the series" and "Other characters should be allowed to exist beyond Sonic, and not have their every decision and contribution dictated solely by Sonic's influence"

"Tails should have childlike traits" and "Tails should have agency, and not be useless or a submissive yes man"

"Tails' outburst in Lost World and his moment of weakness in Forces could have been handled better" and "The solutions fans come up with are often nonsensical and would only make things worse"

"The Master Emerald and Angel Island are important to Knuckles" and "His entire existence should not revolve around them"

"Amy's love for Sonic should not be flanderized to the levels of the mid-00's" and "Amy should not be a Strong Female Character™ who's too cool for mushiness"

"Eggman is a funny guy" and "He is also a huge piece of shit"

"Eggman doesn't do things for the evulz" and "He does things for himself, and his evil is not any lesser because of that"

"Other villains can exist" and "When two decades worth of upstagings have happened, no shit I'm going to be cautious and give every newcomer the side-eye until they're confirmed to NOT drag Eggman through the mud"

"Shadow can be aggressive if he has to" and "Shadow is never an arsehole for the sake of being an arsehole"

"Shadow's backstory is necessary to the context of what made him who he is as we know him" and "He's already confronted it and should be allowed to move on without having Maria's memory dangled in front of him at all times"

"Rouge is not in Sonic's immediate group in the same way as Tails, Amy, Cream, etc" and "Rouge is not a villain, or even that morally grey, since despite her jewel thieving tendencies, the amount of times where she's helped the heroes far outweighs the number of times where she hasn't"

"I don't think Silver is an interesting character, and he was artificially shilled at Sonic's expense in '06" and "IDW Silver is a deceitful portrayal of who Silver actually is"

"Elise was not used well" and "She did not deserve the hate she received, and is hated half the time for dumbass reasons"

"Metal Sonic's identity crisis is an intriguing idea" and "You can convey that idea without him usurping Eggman and becoming another dime-a-dozen giant monster, you can't use insanity as a handwave to throw anything at the wall to see what sticks, because the good and bad ways to establish insanity always depends on who that character is"

"Some of the IDW characters had potential" and "That potential was swiftly thrown out in favor of flanderizing them, turning them into Sally clones, or turning them into Eggman Usurper #59"

"Sonic shouldn't be infantilized as a series, like Sonic's portrayal in Prime" and "It also shouldn't be edgy for edgy's own sake, like the zombot arc in IDW"

"The games are not perfect, with some of them having much more inexcusable flaws and baffling decisions than others" and "The games are what started the franchise, and the cartoons/comics/etc would not exist without them, therefore you can't pretend the latter are the centerpiece of the franchise even if you prefer them"

"SA1 is one of my favourite games in the series" and "The direction shift from Classic to Adventure may have had understandable intentions behind it, but by making said shift so vocal instead of more graceful and seamless ala 3D Mario, ultimately it was responsible for creating one of the biggest divides in the fandom since SatAM"

"Shadow the Hedgehog is not a good game" and "But it is a funny one, so I can't hate it too much"

"Sonic '06 is over a decade old, and reviewers should stop bringing it up in every review where it's not relevant" and "It's worth remembering what '06 did wrong so that its mistakes aren't repeated, which is especially crucial in the wake of fans choosing to retcon it as an underrated masterpiece"

"No game in the series is perfect, not even your favourite one" and "Literal perfection is impossible to achieve, and would be highly subjective even if it was, the flaws shouldn't cancel out your fondness for the game"

"I respect Yuji Naka's contributions to the series" and "I don't necessarily like Yuji Naka as a person"

"SEGA of Japan have not had a flawless track record" and "It's still their IP, and SEGA of America, as well as fans and creators, need to respect that"

"I've not been that interested or impressed with Daniel Barnes' output in the series so far, and the mantra of ___ Can Do No Wrong is a dangerous slope that leads to egos like Flynn's" and "I respect Barnes' integrity that other IDW crewmembers have not shown"

"I favor adaptations that are faithful to the source material" and "I can like adaptations that do their own thing as long as it doesn't go against the core of the franchise/characters too much"

"We're on our way to the ARK" and "So I guess that means we're going too"