#how do u botch the redemption arc like this

[livenudebigfoot]

finally got around to it and now i'm experiencing post-ted lasso finale madness (feverishly drawing and redrawing nate's arc on a whiteboard until it's emotionally satisfying)

[wooawi]

i know the show is trying to make lila seem as terrible as possible, but i really can’t help but feel bad for her. they rly gotta stop making the “villains” (chloe, lila, felix, kagami [for a few episodes]) so sympathetic. u can’t give me a teenager who has more than the average amount of parents but still gets next to no attention from said parents and expect me to not want better for her, even if she’s made lying and manipulating people her favourite pastime.

one of her mums is a diplomat, the other works all the time (for Audrey, i think?), while the third is a news caster (not entirely sure). none r available for her and are usually out in their respect jobs. it’s how she’s able to get away with all these different identities to begin with. i’ve even accepted it as canon that her lying and narcissistic tendencies came from a lack of attention at home. i’m not saying that that’s how all people who don’t get enough attention as kids turn out, it’s just that it’s very plausible as a reason for her current personality.

but, knowing how the show plans for lila to become the next big bad that will be “worse than hawkmoth”, i have no hopes that they’ll do something substantial with her numerous identities. it’ll likely be used to make her look much worse somehow.

regardless, i’ll never stop wanting a proper backstory for her, chloe, and kagami. i like it when villains who aren’t meant to be likeable become likeable. i loved chloe’s (botched) redemption arc and how we got to know kagami as a person. i want the same for lila

[horromcom]

elaborating on earlier when i was talking abt the wasted potential barry carried im mainly talking in regards to his redemption/post-coma writing. not saying his pre-coma portrayal was perfect by any means, i still got some problems w it, but in comparison he feels leagues more well-utilized as a character

idk how to explain it but it kinda feels like the writers dont know WHAT to do w him anymore. like a barry redemption has the potential to be so complex and dynamic and could lead to soooo many fun ideas and episodes and potential plot threads and so many new angles to explore but the writers just dont do ANYTHING INTERESTING WITH IT (avgn voice) WHAT WERE THEY THINKINGGGG??

like ok 11x4 was. fine. still has some MAJOR glaring issues that make me foam at the mouth, but on its own its alright for the most part, i still revisit it a lot and if i dont think abt it too much its fun. 12x8 on the other hand was where it all falls apart for me

like i’ll never forget how excited i was for that ep thinking it was gonna tackle at least some of the cool new potential themes and ideas his character now carries like YES ITS HAPPENING WE’RE WINNING WAHOOO YIPPEEEE .. and then they completely botched it. like i cant say they didnt try, the ep did have some good ideas but the way it was all executed was sooo :/ disappointing and boring and surface-level and tbh kinda felt shoehorned in for a quick easy source of conflict and drama rather than being naturally developed over the course of his arc to the point where it almost feels like an afterthought and its all just so FRUSTRATINGGGG. (shrek image) they didnt even follow up on the events of 11x4. sucks especially bc this episode was shaping up to be one of my favs ever and then it actually aired and it was the worst night of my entire life hate and violence on planet earth. and it honestly has me extremely worried for future seasons too bc on one hand im scared his death’s gonna stick and the end of his arc will be whatevr the hell that was,, but on the other im scared he’ll come back and the writers will continue to butcher his character the way they’re doin. idk which is scarier AAAAA. like maybe they’ll surprise me maybe they’ll fix the problems i have and do something fun and new with him im trying so hard to stay optimistic. but my hopes aren’t high at all. the bar is at the earths core. yes im sooo excited for s13 yippee yay. yes im also shaking like a wet lil dog whenever i think abt how its almost here bc my poor blorbo might get massacred further

also the ‘doesnt get enough screen time’ slot that i checked off plays into the wasted potential angle too. like i think prior to the coma seasons the amount he got was fine (i def wouldnt complain if he had more but for what he got yeah it works) but post-coma i think the whole ‘once a season’ thing doesnt work anymore now that they’ve taken him in this new direction that requires more focus and care to develop. like i said abt how 12x8 felt rly rushed with barry’s whole deal feeling like it was tossed in without much forethought, i think that wouldnt have been so much of a problem if he were allowed more episodes prior to DO ANYTHING to establish his character growth and new motives/ideals and relationships/dynamics with the rest of the team and his clear struggles with recovery and how having archer back in the picture is affecting him and MY GOD. archer fx staff give him some filler episodes RAT NAO IM SO SRS and i know im yelling at clouds here bc i doubt this is something they’re gonna work on in future seasons considering they’re prob gonna stick to the 8 ep structure forever now which means less time to build on their side characters which drives me so mad and also another thing why have him apart of the team at all if ur not gonna do ANYTHINGGGG WITH HIM WHATS THE POINT THEN like if u for some reason cant feature him in too many eps then at least make up an excuse as to where he is or SOMETHING to affirm hes an established team member like the show claims like is he apart of the agency or not HELLO IS ANYONE THERE CAN ANYONE HEAR ME ITS SO DARK AND COLD IN HERE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SOMEONE HELP MEEEE

where am i going w this what am i talking abt im running on three hours of sleep here im not crazy i just want my babygirl sweet angel darling honeypie to have good writing and a meaningful well-realized arc and fun interesting relationship dynamics and character complexity/depth and actual thought and attention put into his development SO SO BAD I CANT TAKE IT ANYMORE AUUUGHH AUUAHAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA (DATS ME YELLIN)

[dabibells]

Just from reading that snippet about your bully dabi fic, it is amazing :DDD I’m so excited to know what’s next, you’re an amazing writer!!!

More for the ask game - 🍉🧼💿☘️

-🌻

AHHH THANK U! hopefully i'll finally get off my ass and finish it lol.

answers for the ask game are under the cut!

🍉 - favorite character/story trope

my favorite character tropes are either the "soft only for you" trope (because i am sad and lonely) or the "starts normal or even sweet and then hardens like a rock and kills people" trope. i love when characters have trauma that just... sets them free, i guess. they do things they could never have done without their past experiences pushing them.

story tropes? i am a fan of love in hopeless situations with hopeless endings, villain was the victim all along (bonus points of there's no redemption arc because i only enjoy depressing media), and found family. i also love when childhood friends are put in horrible situations (death games, dystopia, apocalypse, etc) just to see how they react and deal with each other.

🧼 - which character is most likely to walk around in a wal-mart/gas station decked out in armor/cosplay/hero costume

out of my many fandom experiences, the first one that came to mind was clint barton/hawkeye from marvel comics. just seems like some shit he would get dragged into. from mha? deku would be caught on a monday night at barnes n noble in full all might cosplay, sadly.

ps: i hate clint barton in the mcu. they botched his character. also, i saw a deku cosplayer in barnes n noble once.

💿 - which character is most likely to have a terrible sleep schedule?

shigaraki. he is a gamer. end of story.

☘️ - do you enjoy mostly incorporating canon or fanon details in your work?

i like trying to keep my dabi as canon as i can. i feel like fanon kinda fucks up his character if taken too far. yeah, he does have a soft spot for a few select people deep down, but i think he's also capable of unspeakable acts, some of which i don't want to say online for fear of being ~*canceled*~ and so i will keep my dabi hcs where he is a horrible person to myself.

my version of shigaraki that i hold in my little brain is nasty and hates women so i like to sometimes ignore that and make him a little less gross and think that his worst trait (besides like murder and stuff) is... having a piss kink. sigh.

[athetos]

So.... I guess a lot of c/a fans are excited to watch the whole series again, bc now they know “catra always loved adora,” so they get to interpret everything w that in mind but..... idk!!!!!! I think watching the already difficult to watch scenes are going to feel worst to me now.... I know Catra is meant to finally be able to accept/admit she loves Adora, but after all that happened.... idk!!!! What do you think, if u feel like talking about it? And thank u for reading my random venting.

oh i have a LOT of thoughts anon

(put under a read more to spare c/a fans who follow me)

I fully agree.  I’ve always felt, throughout the entire series, that Adora and Catra have loved each other, and in some ways, still do.  But, I think that it’s the knowledge that they’re endgame is what is going to really sour future rewatches for me.  I’ve always, personally, seen c/a as a toxic relationship, and I argue that even avid fans fans will acknowledge that their relationship was highly unhealthy throughout the first four seasons.  Honestly, there wasn’t much cute about it.  Even before Adora left the Horde, their relationship was strained, and I’ll definitely grant a lot of that isn’t due to inherent flaws in their relationship, but the, well, environment they’re in.  

But as episodes and seasons pass, a romantic relationship between the two gets harder and harder to stomach.  Catra tries to kill Adora multiple times.  Catra tries to force corrupted She-Ra to hurt her friends, because she wants to make her as miserable as possible.  She is implied to scar Adora for life.  She tries to end the entire world out of spite.  

“You made your choice.  Now live with it.”

That’s my favorite line in the series (along with “I choose to be brave” and “I didn’t break this, but I’m going to fix it” - all from the same two-parter), and frankly... I feel like season 5 undid all this development.  Catra lives with her choice... but only for a short period of time.  I’m all for a redemption arc for Catra, but season 5 was imo rushed and pushed a lot of it to the wayside - catra never gets to apologize to scorpia, never gets to apologize to mermista (both conveniently under mind control, hmmm, it’s almost like micah was also put under mind control because it was a convenient way to avoid catra facing those she hurt the most and to get glimmer out of action during the heart scene... but that’s another story), and entrapta and adora more or less... kind of forget all the things she’s done?  (Can you imagine how much powerful it would be if, instead of saying “i forgive you”, Entrapta said “i know” to Catra’s apology?  We understand you’re sorry and want to make amends, but we can’t forgive you yet?).  She doesn’t even talk to Glimmer about Angella iirc.

Even with a perfectly executed redemption arc, I still can’t see Adora and Catra dating right away.  I think a time skip would be needed.  To show that Catra has permanently chose to grow.  Man, I know there’s one scene people really enjoy of Catra saying along the lines of “i’m working on my aggression” and Adora being like “Awww she’s getting better!” and it frustrates me to no end, because it’s... honestly such a small step towards her redemption.  It’s Catra acknowledging she has a problem, and wants to fix it, but... that has to take time, and patience, and energy.  It’s not gonna happen in five episodes that take place right after each other.  I want to see characters not forgive Catra right away (beyond Perfuma and Frosta making comments about not trusting her).  I want her to actually earn her forgiveness.

Instead, we see a lot of Catra and  Adora’s development go out the wayside for them to get together.  There are some powerful, incredible messages this season wants to tell, but it botches the execution.  Things about wanting things for yourself, deserving to be loved, a deconstruction of sacrifices, etc... but instead I just have to wish for what could have been, since the morals focus around two growing, healing people being sucked back into a toxic relationship that won’t end well.  

To make matters worse, I feel like a lot of fans actually go out of their way to emphasize and romanticize these problematic aspects of their relationship, too.  I see a lot of memes joking about Catra being possessive, or jealous, or needy, and I see a comic circulating every now and then that shows off Adora’s scars, and how Catra kisses them better, or apologizes, and Adora is like “its okay it’s in the past.”  When... just damn it’s disappointing.  How could you possibly be in a healthy relationship with someone who tried to end the world, not out of love, but out of spite?  Just to see you in pain?  Someone who physically and emotionally scarred you, with intent to harm you?  No matter how things grow between them, I don’t think there’s anything to salvage.  Things can’t go back to the way they used to be.  They shouldn’t.  

And so, ultimately, the hardest part of rewatching the show will be knowing that all these wonderful character arcs are going to canned by the end of it all.  It’s disappointing, and while there were some great ideas in season 5, there were also a lot of really shitty writing decisions, in my honest opinion.  And as happy as I am that we got an onscreen kiss between two women main protagonists in a general audiences show, I’m just as upset that it’s between these two particular characters.  

[bloodbenderz]

Hi, {so do you know how much potential ATLA post-war fire royal family drama and restoring the honor of the fire nation has ?? Like there is so much world-building to be explored and Azula deserves an redemption arc because she is the most unique character in any media .... don't know why the creators are so unable to see her potential. Bryan and Mike are wasting so much easy bucks >:'( } also how is you day?? Are you doing good ?? Your posts always bring me joy :):)

ok im sorry im not reading all that. um but yeah i mean i do agree that azula should get to recover and make amends but not bc she’s the most unique character? she’s not all THAT unique imo but she’s very well written and it feels mean and unfair that the characterization of a 14 yr old abuse victim and child soldier was botched like that. yeah the creators r a waste of the resources they have :-) anyways thank u bestie