#i almost never talk here and now i'm just ranting about tf. lol

[arorocanada]

Just finished Transformers Prime (haven't watched Predacons Rising yet) and I wanted to write down some thoughts in case I watch any other TF thing again (spoilers for TFP and pooossible spoilers por the movie???? For stuff that I thought was gonna happen in the series that I'm guessing happens in the movie)

BOY, the ending BLINDSIDED me.

Me: oh, yeah, I've been spoiled some stuff. If I remember right, Knock Out is gonna join the Autobots, Optimus is gonna die... I guess Smokescreen will become a Prime then?? He'll definitely do something cool, since he's been this season's little special boy. Oh, and Starscream hasn't been treacherous all this season, so I guess he'll betray Megatron somehow or at least do something horrible or pathetic.

Knock Out: [literally doesn't "join" the Autobots until the end and isn't even confirmed to do so]

Optimus: [doesn't die]

Smokescreen: [doesn't become a Prime, literally the only cool thing he does in the finale is bring out the Star Saber]

Starscream: [stays loyal to Megatron, LITERALLY HELPS HIM FIGHT PREDAKING INSTEAD OF RUNNING AWAY????? Also tries to get to Megatron when he dies and Shockwave has to hold him off (someone smarter than me make some parallels with that scene in TFOne where Elita tries to jump after Orion and Bumblebee has to stop her)]

Megatron: [gets killed by FUCKING BUMBLEBEE?????]

Bumblebee: [GETS HIS VOICE BACK IN THE COOLEST SCENE POSSIBLE????? KING SHIT??????]

I'm gonna guess most of the things I got spoiled actually happen in the movie????? I hope I can see it on Thursday.

Anyway, I had fun 👍 I won't lie, I only started watching it because I was sick and I wanted to try out Transformers. And, if I'm completely honest, I thought I would like it more. I mean, it was fine, but... not great. Just fine. The characters felt too one-dimensional most of the time (although they did have some great moments every once in a while). Like, it got the job done, but it doesn't really spark (hehe) passion in my heart, you know? Not totally fandom material for me.

I also felt like the beginning was a bit too attached to being episodic, "monster of the week" style; to me it got MUCH better when it became more serialized. ALTHOUGH they didn't drop as many storylines as I thought. Occasionally they would bring something back and I would be like "I THOUGHT THEY HAD COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN ABOUT THAT???", that was neat.

But yeah, it was entertaining and it got PRETTY COOL as it advanced, but I didn't love it as much as I expected to.

Anyway, Starscream is my absolute favorite. He wipes the floor with everyone else. My baby. My blorbo. I would kill for him. I giggle and laugh everytime he fucks up <3 Knock Out is a close second favourite tho, I didn't expect him to be SO entertaining.

Soundwave and Shockwave were amazing in theory, but like... [waves hands indecisively] idk??? It feels like Soundwave didn't get to do much despite being there the entire series. I honestly just started calling him a freeloader after the first season. Impeccable vibes every time he did something, tho, his fight with Wheeljack is probably my fave one on the entire series (along with Optimus vs Megatron and Wheeljack+Magnus vs Predaking). Also, what a gruesome ending, fuck. Wouldn't wish that to my worst enemy. Moving on, Shockwave felt like he came too late in the series, but tbf I could say that of Wheeljack (joining the main team), Ultra Magnus and even Smokescreen too. He was still cool as hell.

Unfortunately I didn't go this wild over any of the Autobots (and I genuinely think some of them don't even get to shine much despite being THE LITERAL PROTAGONISTS). I still love Ratchet, Optimus and Arcee tho.

I have a love/hate relationship with the kids. Overall I did like them, and I loved their relationship with the bots (MIKO AND BULKHEAD!!!! I WOULD DIE FOR THEM!!!! They literally have some of the best episodes), but I was also kinda relieved when they were left out of the plot (like with the Omega Lock and a big part of the third season). Dunno, I found them kinda tiring sometimes.

Anyway, like I said, it doesn't really spark enough joy to be fandom material by itself (I think I might be more into the TF comics tbh), but I do have a couple of KOSS and MegaStar ideas that I might write. Perhaps even ShockStar if Predacons Rising is juicy enough. I'll definitely watch Predacons Rising because, you know, it's the ending ENDING, but I'm not sure I'll go straight to RiD after this one. I think I'm more interested in Animated, at least because of Starscream. We'll see, we'll see.

(I also just started reading MTMTE, so if I get obsessed it'll probably be with that, lol)

[starglitterz]

hi there! let's play a game :D tag your moots, and name one special trait about them and why you love it. let's go!

hello !! this sounds SO FUN AKJSDKAJS LET'S GOOOO !!!!

i'm tagging literally all my mutuals including the ones i have never/rarely interacted with so it's super long & under the cut + sorry for the ping!

also it's organised in alphabetical order hehe

@3rdgymbros - your creativity !! AGHHH you always have such great ideas omg, i love seeing your brainrot posts on my dash, they're so inspiring and the way you write is so cool as well!! not to mention you're just all round a very nice person, wishing you a very i hope you get gorou :> HAHA

@abyssheart - GENESIS MY BELOVEDDDDD <3 i love your kindness !! you're always so sweet to me & my works, plus you always offer to hear me out if i need to rant, and that means the entire universe to me !!!!!!!!!!! rmb that i'm always here for you too darling :D also i miss the xiao theme already 😔 /j ILYYYY

@aelatus / @aelbedo - LYRAAAAAAAAAA !! omg we're kinda new moots but also kinda not (???) HAHA EITHER WAY i love your vibes !! you have this rlly calming, peaceful typa personality & aura (??? idk the word 😭) but yes ! and plus you're super friendly and nice and ur blog is so pretty omg ily and it always seems like you rlly care for me in the nicest way possible AHASJKJKS

@almondto-fu - hello sarah !!! omg we're like brand new moots but i've seen you on my friends blogs and you seem like such a nice person omg,,, i can't wait to get to know you more, i hope we get to be friends :D also is this a weird time to say i adore your writing 😭 the xiao ones actually scratch that ALL OF THEM make me go feral i need to go reblog them HAHA ALSO ALSO OMG TYSM FOR REBLOGGING EACH CYNOSURE CHAPTER THATS SO SWEET WTF ILYSM <3

@blisschi - BLISS !! you were my first ever mutual here omg, i love you & thanks for sticking around until now!! thank you for being my friend way back when i was super nervous starting this blog, and i love all your writings they make me so happy :] i love how sweet you are!! your responses to me when we're messaging & even to your anons are always so cute & cheerful omg, it's adorable !!! i hope we stay friends for ages, and i also hope you feel better soon <3

@bluexiao - BLUEEEE :D hi !!! omg first off congrats on almost 2k !!! i'm so super proud of you omg, you've worked super hard for this and you 1 million% deserve it!! i love your compassion hehe,,, which might sound weirdly specific but you've always been very nice to me whenever we interact! PLUS omg you literally offered to help me w the current genshin event which i am Struggling with 😔 HAHAHA speaking of which we need to co op tgt soon!!! i can't wait LOL and ilysm !!!!

@bookuya - BOO!!!!!!!! *cutely types out thesis on reasons why i love you* OK SO YOURE LITERALLY ONE OF MY CLOSEST MUTUALS KJASKDJASKD i love how fun you are !!!! whenever i talk to you the convo goes in all sorts of crazy directions which i absolutely love, and you're so freaking supportive too ?!??!?! not to mention ur a crazy talented writer, i stg almost all your fics are in my 'favourite' tag LMAO 😭 yES ANYWAYS the concepts for your fics + blog is also super adorable ALL THE TIMEEEE pls ‼ now give me a kiss before yumeko hybrid eats you mwah mwah <3 HAHAHA stg i couldn't pick just one trait to choose omg ilysm 🥺💖

@chaoticallychaos - LUCAAA !!! omg i love how multi-talented you are!! pls i adore it when you send me random hcs and stuff in my inbox, they're always so funny & cute like how tf are you so creative KJADSKJADS 😭 OMG not to mention your art skill ?!??!?! it's so good ?!?!? like i remember when you made the animatic of me, and the one of the modern au genshin streamers' room, they were SO COOL AKJSDKJ ily !!

@childeluv - LOVEEE I LITERALLY LOVE YOU AHAHAH <3 ok i admire your determination !! PLS THIS SOUNDS LIKE SUCH A WEIRD THING TO SAY 😭 but im talking abt like how you always accept comfort/emergency requests & write them super fast to help people who need them, youre literally like a superhero SKJDSKJ plus you have so many series ongoing at the same time yet you manage them all, which is so epic omg i stan <3

@constellarations - HIIII !! we're new moots omg and i just wanna say I LOVE YOUR CONTENT !!!! <3 your ideas are always super creative omg and reading your work always makes me smile :DDD here's to hoping we get to become closer, have a lovely day darling <333

@dilucbar - AERI AERI AERI <3333 I LOVE YOU OMGGG YOURE SO FUNNY IN YOUR REPLIES TO MY ASKS AKJSDAKJS 😭😭😭 PLUS I LOVE HOW YOURE JUST SUCH A COOL FRIENDLY PERSON you literally give me yoimiya vibes all fax no printer 🥶🥶🥶 HAHAHA omg plus your writing skill ?!?!? SHEESHHHHH 😩 AHAHA OMG I LOVE YOUR FICS i hope you feel super amazing & better asap!! proposes marriage cutely <3

@eternism - JADE MY DARLING WIFE BELOVED KISSES YOU <3 jade x quill so true <333 HAHAHA youre so nice to me !??!?!? and so chaotic too ?!?!?!?! I LOVE THAT OMG and also we're like married now no take backs HAHAKDKJSDKJ pls your blog is so fun and cute i love interacting with you so much, thank you for being my friend !! let's meet many cats and kittens together in future 😳😳😳 LMAO <333

@favoniuscodex - new mutuals !??!?!? ur blog is super cool and vibey, and i love your humour !! seeing your replies to your asks on my dash is so funny ALSJKDSK i swear 😭 also omg your fics are top tier, i hope diluc comes home for you soon (and that ppl stop asking you abt inheritance) LOL !! also pls stop with the constant xiao angst my heart can't take it /j

@ganyuslily - KNIVES !!! youre so cool omg you have such a badass vibe tbh AHAHA OKOK so i know you like flowers & their symbolism so i googled this and apparently alstroemeria symbolises friendship !! (not sure how accurate this is considering its the internet but you get what im trying to say 😭) SO YES i will now deliver a HUGEEEE bouquet of alstroemeria to you my love i hope you have an awesome day !!! also i forgot to mention i love your fics omg, plus your music taste is WONDERFUL <3

@glazelilyy / @luceyluce - LUCE THE LOML !!! omg in my head i always think of you as like kaeya simp no1 HAHAHA but anyways i love how friendly you are ! your blog is always so chaotic with all your anons causing ww3 HASKJDKJS but you manage to be on all sides at the same time and ALSO send me cute asks ?!?!? bro ur so powerful HAHAHA ily !!! and ur fics are cute asf, keep up the awesome work my love <3

@huataos - LIII i don't think you're active on here anymore T_T honestly i'm sad we didn't get to interact that much, but during the time that we did you were super fun and nice to talk to !! ily, hope you're doing well <3

@kachuuha-deactivated20210720 - cries patchi i miss you 😭 KJKJDSKJS anyways you might not see this but i love how like tranquil you and ur blog are, you have this awesome relaxing vibe which is so cool 🤩 also omg i love your creativity omg royal flush was so GALAXY BRAINED i stg, you deserve the world, i hope youre doing awesome !!

@kaeyalber1ch - HELP MIMI WE'VE NEVER INTERACTED BEFORE BUT YOU SEEM SO COOL !!!!!!!! omg your recent work abt xiao with an s/o who has a lip piercing *screams into the abyss* HAHAHA i love ur writing and hope we get to interact more !!!!!!!

@koriyue - OMG ASDKASJDK HI KITTY I CANT BELIEVE WE'RE MUTUALS KAJSDKJAS 😭😭😭 bestie i love how sweet you are to everyone on your blog omg, i've seen your replies to asks and you genuinely seem so kind !??!?! PLUS CAN I JUST SAY I LOVE YOUR GRAPHICS WTF ur so creative it blows my mind i have no choice but to stan 😌 KEEP UP THE AWESOME WORKKKK !!!

@lilikags - HELLO LILI !!!! we don't interact that often but i wanna say that ur so epic omg !! you're literally the number 1 kamisato ayato simp HAHAHA if mihoyo ever makes him a playable character we will all have you to thank for pushing the ayato agenda <3 LOL anyways ur writing is super cool and nice to read omg, i hope you have a great day !!

@love-impact - omg rosen you were one of my first mutuals here, and i wanna say tysm !!!!! i adore your humongous mind HAHASKJDKJSD as in your talent at worldbuilding !!!!! holy shoot your oc's and shambhala (did i spell that right 😭) are so creative & unique omg, plus it's so amazing to see how you structured an entire archon quest which showcased all the characters and the land, i love it & can't wait to learn more!!! (also hauteclaire x reader when???)

@mika-zuko - MIKAAAA HI !!! omg we've been mutuals for quite a bit now and i wanna say thank you for always reblogging my fics !!!! the adorable comments you leave always make my day 🥺 besides that i think we are both albedo simps hehe (albedo simps r always swag so true) HAHAHA ily & i hope we get to interact more often, you're always super nice and fun !!

@noirkkat - EZ OMG WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN 😭 genuinely not enough words in any language to express how much i love you ☹ honestly you never fail to make me smile when you send me asks, or comment on my fics, or talk to me; you're literally an angel omg there's no one thing that i love abt you specifically,,, i just love you as a whole sm, you're one of my closest mutuals on here and i'm so glad i get to call you my wife friend <3 AHAHA besides that you're also an awesome source of memes LMAOOO and ur blog is so chaotic yet also organised too ??!?! how do you even. also i want you to know that you can rant to me whenever you need, don't feel guilty abt it mmkay? ANYWAYS KISSES YOUR FACE MWAH MWAH IM TAKING YOU ON OUR HONEYMOON RN LET'S GO TO LIYUE <3

@oreoz-unfortunately - OREOZ MY BELOVED <3 literally ilysm you cant even COMPREHEND 😭 i love what a great listener you are !! whenever we're on discord you're also great at replying, we make so many hilarious hcs (like chongyun and xingqiu and FROG LMAOOO) & you help me out whenever i need help w venti characterisation HAHA plus omg you always listen to whatever im brainrotting abt and don't scold me for rambling abt it which makes me super happy :] anyways i will now proceed to hold your hand and we can move into an apartment together (apartment au so true) AHAHA ilysm !!!!!

@shiningbarbara - cassiel!!!!! i haven't interacted w you in ages omg i'm so sorry T_T i hope you're doing well my love <333 you were also one of my early mutuals here, and i remember that time we were messaging each other about vocaloid & our hobbies omg that was so fun. thank you for being such a caring person and also pls teach me your skill with makeup HAHAHA <3

@test-tube - katttt omg ilysm, i love how cool you are omg!! you're so chill even when dealing with hate anons you literally use memes against them AHAHA i love that 😭 not to mention you're so sweet and positive too !!! i love all your themes omg you're so good at making things look aesthetically pleasing 🤩 plus you just have this very nice calm vibe which i stan and wish i could have too HAHA <3

@teyvatdreams - hello dani !! we have never interacted before omg i cannot BELIEVEEE we're mutuals i love ur writing sm HSAKJDSJKD and you seem like such a cute friendly nice person, so i hope we get to be friends + interact more! ily, have a wonderful day my love !!!

@urujiako / @ohmykazuha - JIA ILYSFM AKJKJSDAS THERES NO AMOUNT TO ACCURATELY QUANTIFY HOW MUCH ILY 😭🥺 i love your positivity !! you always make me want to find the wonder in every day, and talking to you never fails to make me smile super happily AAAA ily ily ily !!! you're somehow so responsible that you can manage like 5 million blogs at one go?!??! and you make them all so pretty ??!?! omg i love that, girlboss vibes HAHAHA thank you for trusting me enough to rant to me, i may suck at giving advice but i'll always do my best to listen if you want to ramble about anything again <3 ilysm and i'm always here for you!! also here's a reminder not to overwhelm yourself, okay? >:( if not i'll have to come aggressively hug you to stop you from overworking. ily and you deserve the galaxy on a platter !!!!!!!!

@velionqs - ASUKAAAAAA MY LOVE !!! omg i love you sm, i still rmb how you sent me that xiao gif when i was on hiatus HAKJSDJKSKDJ THAT WAS SO CUTE !! thank you for being so considerate, i appreciate it loads omg <3 i love talking to you sm, and if you go on hiatus i'll miss you but please take your time !! i'll be here waiting for u to get back hehehe kisses from me to you !!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3

@xiaophobic - ATLAS MY DARLING BELOVED KISS KISS MWAH MWAH KJASDKJAS ILYSM HUGS YOU AND PROPOSES MARRIAGE CUTELY atlas x quill lovers arc is currently happening guys dw idk anyone named xiao 🙄🙄🙄 LMAOO atlas i love how thoughtful you are !!!!!!!!!! you always send me xiao (what idk who he is,,,,) hcs in my inbox which are SO CUTE like they have no right to be that adorable omg PLUS i send you diluc hcs too !!! but isok ur eloping w me frick diluc he can go drink grape juice or smth idk LMFAOOO anyways, thanks for being a literal comedian & my friend, ily!!!

@yanbub / @yanphobics / @kokomiluvr - YANNNN you are also one of my early-ish mutuals on this blog but idc how long we've been friends bc either way i love your chaotic energy !!!!!! pls every time your spam posts are SO FUNNY for no reason 😭😭😭 i haven't started tears of themis yet but i am manifesting for you to get a vyn card and for marius to go away (???? HASJDJKSD I HOPE THAT WAS RIGHT) anyways also i love ur fics sm ur like the funniest person on the planet can i marry you rn ☹☹☹ actually who cares about marriage instead can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? 'cause i could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right now. LMAOOAJKWDKJASKJD IM SO SORRY BUT I ASSOCIATE THAT SONG W YOU NOW YAN PLS HAHAHA ILYSM !!! I HOPE WE GET TO STAY FRIENDS FOR A SUPER LONG TIME AND CRY OVER FREE ENDING TOGETHER 🥺 MWAHHHHH <3

this doubles as a general mutual appreciation post which i've been meaning to make for a while hehe :] genuinely my mutuals & friends here always help make my day a lot better, you all mean so much more to me than you know and tumblr has rlly become a comfort/safe space for me bc of people like you <3 i love you all, thank you for everything - i'm so lucky i get to call you all friends, and i'm so glad i joined tumblr !!!

lots and lots and lots of love,

quill <3

[dbzebra]

actually i have something to ask that's not about ships!! i want to talk about the King Piccolo saga. i can't think of a question, but maybe just ramble about what you liked about it? i've found myself liking it more and more (i'm not at the Piccolo Jr Saga yet in my rewatch lol but soon i will be, so that's included too) than i had when i first watched it a long time ago and i've really come to appreciate how much the filler moments contribute to the overall story!!

HI!! THANK YOU! :D

gonna put this under read more cause it got long lol

Ok so I LOVE the King Piccolo saga. Its been a few years so im a little hazy on details but imma just rant for a bit. Once i get back there ill be a bit more coherent and focused lol

 Imo, its legit some of the peak in the series. ESPECIALLY in terms of art. DKP-Freeza had the best overall art imho. Anyway it starts off with such a bang i love it. Like im sad my boy Krillin dies. And then Oolong is all like “hey this piece of paper says demon on it” and it cuts to Mater Roshi and HE IS TERRIFIED. That shot of him hoding the paper practically trembling goes without saying. 

Its the first time we legit see Goku out for blood. Like this kid is pissed tf off. He anhillates Tambourine when he was running away and fucking kicks Drums skull in without a second thought! And with that scene we have one of my favorite shots in the anime, thanks to the GOAT, Masaki Sato

this dude does some of the best key animation/artwork on the anime PERIOD. its just so clean. He went up to somewhere in the Android saga (I believe the last thing he worked on was Super Android 13. And its missed later on cause the Buu Saga with this style? good lord. (We did get Studio Cockpit for Cell-Buu, but there were only like 4 eps in the series they did)

ANYWay IM getting off track sorry. its just so good. this was the first time where the Z Fighters (ik this aint Z but i still call them that lolol) are legit dying and it just feels so helpless. 

For all intents and purposes, Demon King Piccolo won. he took over the world. Crime was legal. Goku was presumed dead, Tien was MIA, Yamcha was crippled, and the Chiatozu Roshia and Krillin were confirmed dead.

OH RIGHT.

HE FUCKING. KILLS. SHENRON.

Wishes for his youth. Shenron is about to fly off and DKP is just like “nah” and MOUTH BLASTS HIM TO DEATH. 

Its just like, even if they did win, too bad the worlds still fucked and your friends are dead cause the eternal dragon is dead. (lowkey tho it makes me wonder why that was never used again.) Like later on they go all about no Kami/Piccolo = no DBs but never “what if we killed the dragon” would have been interesting on Namek imo

there were only a few times the series felt that hopeless and every time it was great.

One of the sub arcs is all about the Evil Containment Wave which is one of my favorite techniques in the whole franchise 

JUST LOOK AT IT ITS COOL AS FUCK

this move legit kills you just by using it. thats wild

And i love how King Piccolo (and even Junior in the following arc) just shits himself anyone even pulls out the rice cooker or whatever they decide to use. this dude is scarred lmao

Like this man hates martial aritsts so much he legit makes Tambourine for the sole purpose of eliminating any of them around the world so nobody could ever stand up to him again. terriying stuff if you think about it. and theres some sad scenes of seeing guys like Nam and them get slaughtered by Tambourine aka Dameon Clarke doing his Imperfect Cell voice (im a dub watcher lol)

This also introduces Yajirobe and I really like him tbh. His fight with Cymbal was great. dude legit sliced Cymbal ate him. I wish he was around more of the fights, hes tough af. (He was the savior against Vegeta but after that he became Senzu Bean delivery man lol). i mean i get hes the coward but he saved Goku more than once in this arc and hes a good guy overall. 

Also speaking of Cymbal getting eaten, since him and DKP are telepathically linked, could DKP feel him getting eaten or nah since he was already dead? 

As for the filler, this was where the anime staff really shone in the expansions. Like take the Ultra Divine Water. in the manga, Korin is just like “here lol” and Goku drinks it. In the anime theres a whole arc about the darkness. And while imo ti drags a biiit too long, the fact that they made a mini arc about him EARNING IT makes it so much better imo.

And then probably m favorite filler scene in the arc involves Tien when they were searching for Dragon Balls. (At least im pretty sure its filler) They track a dragon ball to the house of a dude Tien crippled back in his dickhead days lmao. The dude is pissed off (for good reasons) and lowkey petrified and this man Tien is beside himself with grief. Iirc he gets on his hands and knees, legit begging for forgiveness. (I think he even says something like, “if you want to break one of my bones or even kill me out of revenge, go right ahead” AND THE DUDE ACCEPTS HIS APOLOGY. its just so nce to see an actual redemption arc. Like with Piccolo its heavily implied in filler but never really explicitly shown when he turned good. With Vegeta he throws a tantrum and then hes like hmmm imma be good now. But Tien? The anime goes out of its way to show that this dude realizes his entire worldview was fucked and he feels the weight of it, all boiling up to when Shen almost kills Chiaotzu for not wanting to cheat. (Shen and Tao’s comeback in 23rd WT was a great conclusion to Tiens character arc buuut tbh i wish Tao wasnt a cyborg. YO WHAT IF GERO TURNED TAO INTO AN ANDROID AND HE WAS #19 OR SOMETHING that would be sick lmao.)

Also the filler with DKP’s origins that showed Muitaitos fight and detah and then Shen’s descent into being the prick he was in canon was really believable. 

I COULD WATCH A WHOLE SERIES ON THIS

(Also my theory on why King Piccolo legit explodes when he dies is that he basically transferred his entire being into Piccolo Jr’s egg, body and soul, so he wouldnt really have a body left. they kept going on about he was his reincarnation so it makes sense to me lol)

nd the next arc (which tbh its basically one big arc) has the best fight in the whole franchise Goku vs Piccolo Jr aka the best fucking grudge match ever lol

[lizzybeth1986]

Quick Thoughts on Lazy Writing, aka "Look Look, We Got You An Asian Woman LI, Now Give Us A Medal Just For Making Her Exist".

• Yep. This is not going to be about Chapter 15. I don't think Chapter 15 is worth a fucking QT post. It does not deserve it, this book doesn't deserve it, this team does not deserve it, I'm not giving it one.

• This chapter is basically part-resolution-of-Hana's-arc and part-sex-scene-on-the-balcony. I'll probably write about the balcony scene when I resume writing essays. But as of now...I'm going to write about Hana. At least that way she'll get the focus that she deserves, and that PB is so unwilling to give her 😡 So if you think I've whined too much about Hana Lee, my dear readers, let me tell you this: you ain't seen nothing yet. Leave now while you can if Hana-rants aren't your thing.

• Basically - since I'm not going to do the usual chapter walkthrough this QT - I'll summarize what happens. Xinghai and Lorelai insist on taking away Hana's belongings despite protests from Hana and the MC. There is a diamond option to help her retrieve her black embroidered cheongsam, which is more precious to her than anything else because it holds memories of her grandmother. Afterwards you get ready for the lantern festival and spend majority of the chapter trying to get Hana's parents to give a positive statement, and eventually figure out that Rashad is the key to this. You convince him to accept Xinghai's proposal, Lorelai and Xinghai openly support you and make a half assed apology to Hana, everyone is happy and telling each other their wishes, and the diamond option to scandalize the entire country (...or not. You can go to the bedroom instead lol) with your LI pops up. It ends with Maxwell getting excited about hosting your bachelorette in Las Vegas (somehow I have a feeling the TRR writers never read RoE Book 2).

• Yep that's it. There really is nothing worth writing about in this chapter, because they didn't bother to nail the most important part of it: and that is Hana's story.

• That's all I'm going to talk about today. Hana.

• Hana. Hana. Hana Hana. Hana Hana Hana. HanaHanaHanaHanaHanaHana.

• Did I mention Hana?

• Title: Light the Night. Which is straightforward, it's a festival dedicated to lanterns and takes place around nighttime. Though IMO the title should really have been: The Number of Fucks Given About Hana Lee By Her Own Writers Is Equal To The Number of Times Anton Severus Makes An Appearance In This Chapter

•

...I just had to slip that in somewhere since there is no way I can ever make this statement unironically IRL 😢

•

This is the first of many statements Hana's parents make about her inability to survive on her own. She is a "delicate flower" that requires watchful care and tending, and the MC is the "weed", the kind that doesn't fit in - but also the kind that is tough and resilient and can survive all manners of things, that depends on itself. Lorelai's argument is that without them, or without a partner that meets their approval, Hana will have very few skills to take care of herself (whose fault is that, I wonder!)

This is something Hana is aware of, and has been highlighting on the few occasions that the people who right her remember that she is meant to be a well-rounded character (which isn't often). She has spoken about not knowing how to live without her parents (Book 2 Chapter 2), how she doesn't know if her skills will help her in the real world (Book 3 Chapter 5), how she isn't even aware who she is (Book 2 Chapter 9). Her character arc was meant to be about learning what her parents neglected to teach her in their mad rush to make her the perfect aristocratic wife, the perfect hostess. Except that, unfortunately, these narrative threads were picked up in fits and starts: implied at and alluded to but never satisfactorily explored.

I will come back to punch holes in Lorelai's arguments (echoed by Xinghai at the festival) later.

•

On the surface this looks like a nice story? It harks back to a dress we've seen before (the black-red-gold cheongsam she'd shown us in Shanghai, alongside a dress she'd made specially for us. She also wears it when she proposes to the MC in case she's the one you declare your love to), something we know she made and is important to her, and tells us more about her youth (the dress seems to have been made when she was "of age", since those measurements perfectly fit an adult Hana) and her family in China. But I have two major problems with this:

1. How many chapters has it been since this book started? 19 chapters in Book 1, another 19 in Book 2 and 15 at present. That makes it 53 whooping chapters.

FIFTY THREE CHAPTERS AND WE LEARN ABOUT HANA'S GRANDMOTHER, SOMEONE SHE WAS IMMENSELY CLOSE TO, ONLY NOW??? IT TAKES US FIFTY THREE FUCKING CHAPTERS FOR US TO GAIN ACCESS TO THIS PIECE OF PERSONAL HISTORY????

2. The second major problem lies in the scene itself. I'll get there.

• So I'll start first with the main components of this scene:

1. The MC and Hana choose an accomplice (Maxwell/Olivia).

2. The accomplice distracts Lorelai

3. Hana distracts an attendant while the MC grabs the dress, but not before almost getting caught by another attendant. They make a run for it and find themselves in a secret hideout.

4. Hana changes into her dress and is happy. If you're marrying her, this is where she and the MC kiss. But besides this there's very little distinction between how this scene plays out if you're her friend versus if you're her fiancée.

•

The Olivia option of the Lorelai-distracting-segment is perhaps my favourite moment in the scene and the only reason it could be even remotely worth playing. Not just for Olivia herself, but also as a reminder that while Hana and Olivia have made their peace with each other and know each others' strengths, they will never actually like each other...and that's okay. Olivia reverts to her bitchy Book 1 persona, hinting at Hana's failed engagement with Lord Peter and casting her in a less favourable light, and I especially love that Hana lets her emotions take over here. There's always been a palpable tension between the two (and often Olivia is the one more open about it, while Hana usually prefers to display diplomacy instead) and this is one of the few times Hana gets to be anything other than neutral or cheerful. She doesn't like what Olivia said, and she makes it clear at least to the MC.

•

Hana Lee, Queen of Awkward Flirting xD xD

• We take a turn that almost lands us in a room where Lorelai is still talking, narrowly escape the attendant chasing us to finally find ourselves in a secret passage with a hole in the wall, from where you could easy watch the sunset.

• Hana changes into her cheongsam.

Very pretty. Lots of flowers and butterflies form the patterning of this dress.

• Now this was the point where I thought we'd learn more about this dress. Or about her grandmother. Or about her life in Shanghai. SOMETHING.

• But no. We get a brief conversation about how hurt Hana is that her mother is intent on disowning her, and the MC convincing her she is stronger than she believes herself to be. Which is nice, but it sounds like a repeat of what's been said before.

• Do you remember that one diamond scene option in The Sophomore where the MC get to to grab Natasha's Loose Pins posters so she can't sabotage Kaitlyn's band? I liked it, it was funny and I liked the thrill of the chase in that scene. And that was exactly the focus of that scene: the chase. Kaitlyn had other scenes focusing on her equation with the band, her trust issues post Gutter Kittens and how she has learned from her mistakes since TF Book 3. It made sense to have a funny, silly scene that revolved not around Kaitlyn but around that chase instead.

Well, that's exactly the focus of this scene. The chase! The fact that time was running out! The wild rush to grab that cheongsam before Hana's mother could catch her! That's exactly all this scene was meant to be and that's exactly how it was written.

But there's a huge difference here. Hana is not Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn's arc about her sexuality and about her coming out was highlighted in detail. She was given subplots that made it clear how complicated a journey it was for her and she has a canon sexuality openly addressed in the books. Hell, TF Book 2 has her scream "I'M GAY" in a crowded bar to her childhood friend Arjun!

Kaitlyn is allowed to be a well-rounded, imperfect person, who trusts the wrong people and suffers the consequences in such a way that it reflects on her self-esteem in the next few books. She had plenty of scenes exploring all these aspects of her journey, so a funny, light scene like this one works in the larger context of Kaitlyn's story.

But this scene - for Hana - was supposed to be the culmination of her entire journey. You hear that? Her entire journey! It was supposed to be the point where she made it clear to both her parents that this was who she was and this was the life she preferred to live, take it or leave it. This scene was supposed to be a watershed moment for her, and this is what it comes to? A scene where Hana isn't even the focus? Where her story, her journey isn't even the focus??

• The grandmother story irks me to no end for another reason too. It was clearly not meant to be development for Hana. If it were, there would have been more in the diamond scene itself. They would have spent the secret hideout scene on a thorough exploration of Hana and her childhood, her growing up, what this woman was like. If it really were meant as development, we wouldn't be hearing about this grandmother now at the very end.

No. That little tidbit about Hana's grandmother was bait. It's fairly obvious that most of us who love her character are literally starved for information about her compared to, say, Drake and Liam (Maxwell isn't exactly treated all that well either). So they push in this little story so that her fans can buy this scene that isn't even worth two diamonds, forget fifteen.

• So now we've got Hana's cheongsam, that she can now wear to the lantern festival (for a girl who knows how to sew, and sew beautifully, Hana has remarkably few outfits of her own) it's time for us to get ready. In some glittery beaded blue number.

Is it just me or does the art team for TRR have a thing for armbands?

• So the main problem now is to reach out to, and convince, Hana's parents before they make their final statements to the press.

• Penelope and Kiara love the festival, Olivia and Madeleine don't altogether hate it. Yay?

• Kiara is the only one among the court ladies whose wishes we hear, which is a nice touch considering she's always been the one given the least attention in the books. The lantern rituals are apparently both about letting go of things that are holding you back in your life, and making wishes for the future. Kiara is letting go of her doubts and her fears for this tour, and wishing speed in her learning of Icelandic. Hakim uses his wish to speak about work, and he's not the only one. Rashad needs help with getting a deal finalized for the Sloan firm too!

• We now move to Xinghai and try to convince him, but it only leads to a realization that Hana's parents still want to secure a match for her with the two men she'd firmly stated she had no interest in. This is nothing new, but this argument of Xinghai - also something Lorelai stated earlier - is something I want to expand on:

1. I'm incredibly familiar with the first argument. I've had a largely restrictive childhood under a very traditional Indian family dynamic (your parents are close to God so obey them), and didn't have much opportunity to mingle outside my home. As I grew older my father began to get increasingly frustrated that I was "glued to your mother's dupatta" (scarf) and not independent enough. And he said this genuinely, unironically. It never occurred to either of my parents that they'd created an environment that made it hard for me to actually make my own decisions without feeling like I was doing something wrong.

Xinghai and Lorelai are right to some extent: I mean, Hana herself on certain occasions has questioned how useful her skills are in the real world, in a Cordonia that needs her to be decisive and firm. But that didn't happen in a vacuum, did it? Both of them leave out (or in fact, don't even recognize) a significant truth about Hana's lack of independence - they were, to a large extent, responsible for it. She is dependent because they brought her up that way. Because they never gave her space to work things out on her own and the one time she demanded that space, they viewed it as an insult rather than actually give her that chance. The moment you place that much pressure and those many restrictions on a child, you've lost the right to talk about her lack of independence as if it's something that is a part of her. It isn't. You put her in that position. Tbh, it irks me that Xinghai and Lorelai genuinely don't see the irony in their statements.

What Hana had was an immensely restrictive childhood, and perhaps if she didn't have the friend circle in Cordonia that she did, she would have struggled. Her kind of upbringing doesn't allow for real world skills (something Lorelai views as a negative when she says "people wouldn't have to be resilient if they stayed in their place to begin with") and she's never been allowed to view even her own personal feelings as a good thing! This goes beyond "taking responsibility for one's past and future". She's never been allowed a responsibility that doesn't involve her being forced into matches she has had zero interest in, and that seem to have higher benefits for her family than they do for her.

All in all, Hana's skills do not fully equip her for independent living, sure, but they both overlook their own role in her eventual inability to adjust if it comes to that.

2. What Xinghai says about trust going both ways. He misses the fact that she already did. She trusted them completely and did everything they told her to, often to her own detriment. The engagement to Lord Peter? That's the perfect example of this. It wasn't her fault that the match broke: she followed through with it no matter how uninterested she was in the man, to the point where when he asked her if she really loved him she couldn't open up and tell him how she really felt. Yet she was viewed as responsible for the breaking of that match - for doing everything she was expected to do - and left Shanghai viewing herself as a failure.

She's spent years trusting them, spent most of her young life perceiving their worldview as correct and wanting to do right by them! She's gone above and beyond when it comes to trusting and respecting her parents' judgement! Even at the cost of her own happiness! There is only so much any human being can take before they realize how messed up this manner of bringing a child up is.

But guess what. None of this is actually addressed properly in the book, because we never get a real insight into Hana's upbringing and the effect it has had on his with any kind of nuance.

• After Xinghai and Lorelai tell us that what they're planning for Hana is for her own good, and imply that either Neville (the man is still around, yes) or Rashad can prove to be advantageous for her and moreso for their family and business. Hana and the MC briefly agonize over this, and if the MC correctly names the firm that Rashad wants as a client (IDK what happens if she doesn't - TBH I was sleepwalking through this chapter and wasn't interested in seeing what the alternative was this time. Sorry guys) they work on convincing him to work with Xinghai in exchange for introducing him to a contact in this firm.

• The MC first gets to choose what she will let go of, then chooses what she wishes for. Once this is done, Hana's mother makes a statement in support of the MC, having spoken to Rashad and suddenly realizing that their daughter can thrive without their handholding. Emotional family reunion. Everyone is happy. Lorelai apologizes and Xinghai reveals his wish for Hana to be happy. The end.

• There you go guys. This is how it ends. That's the conclusion of Hana's entire character arc. The culmination of a journey that lasted three whole books involving Hana fighting to create an identity for herself...ends in her parents realizing she's useful on her own after all. After all this time, after so much conflict and stress and confusion...it all boils down to her parents still seeing her more as an asset than as a daughter.

Awesome message, TRR, awesome message. Now give me a moment while I vomit.

Allow me to elaborate. She is still worthy only if she facilitates Xinghai's deal with Rashad's firm, if they manage to gain an advantage even minus her alliance with a titled man. There is no real change. Not in Hana, not in her parents, not in their relationship. This conclusion is superficial and is a horrifically weak way to end Hana's overall arc.

• To sum up the rest of the chapter before I give you a broader insight into why this chapter pissed me off so much...there is an LI diamond scene and then Maxwell announces a bachelorette party in Vegas (why aren't they doing that in Cordonia? Cordonia clearly has a gambling hub and a pretty famous casino if one were to recall RoE).

• The LI diamond scenes are quite sweet - all the LIs get to speak about family and having children - and there is a lot of sweetness and tenderness in all of them from what I've seen of the screenshots. Had this chapter not ruined this book for me, I would probably appreciate it better? In any case, I might do a four-LI-breakdown-essay of this scene once I feel up to it. I'll be doing the same for the LI scenes at the Capitol, Lythikos and Valtoria. Eventually.

• The Hana-specific scenes in this book, however...I think I'll pass. We have had just three so far: Polo Playing at Portavira, Snow Angel Making at Lythikos and Hana's Cheongsam here at Valtoria. None of these scenes possess any depth or nuance, none of them say much about Hana that hasn't already been said, each of them are pale echoes of the scenes we have seen Liam and Drake getting. If you're going to give an LI three individual scenes in 15 chapters of a book, those scenes had better be excellent, detailed and nuanced in their characterization. If you're not ready to give us that...then what's the point, team TRR??? You could have either given us more scenes with tiny but substantial tidbits, or less scenes but with bigger opportunities to know her better. But something tells me that you don't care enough about this character or your LGBTQ audience enough to actually do the work.

• And this problem isn't restricted to Book 3 alone. Hana has been subject to lazy writing since Book 2. The groundwork laid for Hana in Book 1 was really good...but that's all it was: basic groundwork. No Hana stan should have to pat you in the back for laying a good foundation for that character, not when the other two established LIs had just as solid a foundation PLUS excellent buildup in subsequent books. And no Hana stan should have to thank you now for throwing only scraps their way.

• Hana's foundations in Book 1 lay in two areas: her sexuality and her complicated relationship with her family. Hers was the classic coming-out-of-the-closet story, and it was heavily implied that she was never really given the space to view herself as anything but "straight", that she'd been pressurized into pursuing men, that the experience of falling for the MC itself was immensely confusing for her (in her first confession scene, she couldn't even articulate her feelings - that was how confusing this experience was).

But her sexuality is hardly ever directly touched upon in the books beyond that (beyond a botched Facebook response from a Pixelberry employee who dubbed her as "bi if she is pursuing you and straight if she is pursuing the Prince" like WTF - and a post from one of the writers stating that the team sees her as "bisexual...but that is something she is still figuring out". However the books never really touches on this the way they did for Kaitlyn, and they really, really should have. They should have established her sexuality in no uncertain terms within canon).

However she identifies herself, Hana's struggles would still be important and valid, and she would still have major issues coming out to herself and her family. In this recent chapter, Lorelai's issues are aired as a class issue rather than on the level of sexuality, which is contradicted by the very fact that Hana was pushed to pursue men, make herself desirable to eligible men, assumed by her parents to only have an interest in men. Not only does canon tell us very little about her parents' views on her sexuality, they don't openly voice what she identifies as!

• Book 1, in fact, is the only book they seemed to have put in some effort, but as I have maintained earlier, I refuse to give them credit for that because what you give in the first book is the foundation of the character. It can only come to life if you build on that foundation in the next book, and the next. But Book 2? Lazy writing from the start. The revelation that Liam - not Madeleine - was responsible for Hana's return came from Drake's scene, not hers. In Italy when Liam and Drake had amazing character and background building scenes, Hana was stuck with scenes that were barely about her. At the beginning of the Paris chapters, she got one of the most lackluster scenes in the entire book (the fashion runway with Penelope). I suppose there must have been some backlash because they brought out two good scenes in the Paris section - the Patisserie scene and the Library scene, only to treat her later like a persona non grata in Shanghai. SHANGHAI. HANA'S OWN HOME.

• This point is incredibly important, because Shanghai was the only place that was home to an LI. The narrative at this place should have been centered around her. The stories and love legends should have been told by her. Her background should have been receiving focus like never before but it didn't. Shanghai only lasted two chapters (as opposed to Capri's 3 and Paris' 4) and neither of those chapters gave her enough focus besides the confrontation with Xinghai. The panda reserve scene revolved around Liam. The night market scene focused on the mending of Drake and Maxwell's relationship with Hana functioning as a mere mediator. Liam was the one who got to give us the lovely dragon koi legend, not Hana who actually lived in China. Hana's only diamond scene in Shanghai focused less on her and more on the trip to NY - and she didn't even appear in the first chapter in that city!! (the writers later came up with the excuse that Hana was emotionally drained after her confrontation with her parents...except that NOBODY in the story - not even the MC - gave a flying fuck about where or how she was or why she wasn't there).

• I bring up Book 2 mainly because it's important for us to understand that what the writers have been doing with Hana isn't just restricted to this book or this post hiatus period. It's been ongoing. She's been given lazy, half-baked writing for a majority of the series, and I cannot even count the "development" she got in Book 1 because those are only building blocks. If you don't develop a character beyond that, all that's really there is a hollow shell. Hana had the promise and the potential to be a truly well-developed character, and they made a shell out of her instead.

• And it's not like the TRR team is unable to write women. Case in point: Olivia Nevrakis. Olivia's character development has been consistent and well-written throughout the entire series. Not only are her background, motivations and emotional state constantly given attention, the narrative somehow ensures she gets good development even when the focus isn't on her.

For instance, Olivia takes a definite backseat in Book 2, and she's mostly relegated to either investigation work or slowly becoming part of the MC's inner circle. She doesn't have a presence in group scenes where Liam appears, and she doesn't have a single individual scene the way she did in Books 1 and 3. Still, she is given enough material to facilitate her growing relationship with the MC (if she so chooses) and the group. As Liam's alternate LI, parallels have been consistently drawn between her and the MC especially in Book 3. Her faith and belief in Liam is constantly highlighted as unwavering, and her trust in the MC takes a while but culminates eventually in Olivia sharing an important part of her family history with her first.

Olivia's growth from a wary cactus to someone who trusts you if you reach out to her enough, wouldn't have been half as convincing if she wasn't given that kind of development. But perhaps this is because Olivia - like Liam - is so involved in the larger plot of the books, whereas Hana exists mostly outside of the main plot.

• But you know WHO isn't exactly all that central to the main plot of the series but still gets great character development? DRAKE. It started slow, with Drake's first individual diamond scene coming in as late as Chapter 7 (which IMO makes sense, since they needed the MC to warm up to him first), but he was given a solid foundation in Book 1 that was built on in Book 2, and furnished with detailing in Book 3. His diamond scenes were mostly rich in character development and the book was consistent in their focus of him as well.

In Book 3, there is a marked difference between how he is written as an LI versus as a friend. While his overall arc was frustrating to some readers, it was built up pretty well and the conclusion to it (the duel) was written in such a way that it really felt like a vindication of sorts. The duel in fact had an added significance if the MC was his fiancée, because both are commoners who are being targeted by Neville for "rising above their station". There isn't a single scene of Drake's in Book 3 that doesn't explore his character in a detailed manner, or have two diametrically different scenes highlighting his LI/non-LI status.

How does the duel act as a game changer for Drake? He tells it to us himself: the duel was not just for his honour alone, but for every commoner a noble has slighted. For his family, for his sister, for his fiancée (if he is marrying the MC) or friend. It's poignant, dramatic, powerful as a culmination of Drake's journey. The conflict resolution of an arc should end with a bang, and Drake's really did.

• Hana on the other hand is a different story altogether. No matter what her relationship is with the MC in Book 3, she is mostly relegated to "best friend" status regardless. Her initial conflicts as a fiancée seemed to indicate she feared turning into her parents (Chapters 1 and 2) and it sounded really promising, but that characterization was dropped as soon as the Unity Tour kicked off. She is depicted worrying about how she will survive and contribute to Cordonia and whether her skills really equipped her for the outside world, but it is explored only in one character scene of hers, and very very superficially.

Unlike the duel scene for Drake, Hana's conflict-resolution scene this chapter falls flat and doesn't really mark much of a change. The only difference in her relationship with her parents' is that they see her as useful minus a man by her side now. Emphasis on useful. What kind of resolution is that? Does it have a great impact? Does it have any impact?

• Hana's treatment is marginally better only when you compare it to Maxwell's, who has had just one character scene so far, and who hasn't seen much significant development since the beginning of Book 3. Even though the team has mentioned that he was meant to be an LI from the beginning, the way he was written in the beginning and the way they write him now tells me otherwise.

But they don't have that excuse for Hana. Hana WAS a confirmed LI from the beginning. She WAS part of the original lineup. Which means they should have been working as hard on her as they did Liam and Drake. What excuse does the team have for not developing her properly??

• The problem here is clear: both Drake and Olivia are centered within the narratives that focus on their stories. When the focus comes to Paris in Book 2, or Lythikos in Book 3, they are front and center. Compared to that, how is Hana going to compete? At the points that the narrative should be focusing on her, she is given garbage in place of content and story. Even when the narrative is supposed to be about her relationship with her parents and her growth outside their influence, she is the least important person. She was the least important person in Shanghai, and she's now the least important person in this chapter that was supposed to showcase how far she has come from the nervous, underconfident girl we met in Book 1. It's even more infuriating when you take into account that she was meant to be the only female LI, that they

1. never planned to give people who wanted to romance a woman in TRR more than just this option, and

2. couldn't be bothered to follow through and do a decent job of the one option they had.

• I hate calling Hana a Mary Sue, because that wasn't at all what she originally was. She was indecisive, had low self esteem, didn't always enjoy the activities and skulls she was pressurized into learning. There was at least one occasion where she spoke of getting her way by failing...and now the same character is labelled a Mary Sue.

But you know what? There's a reason why she is addressed as such. A Mary Sue is a mark of lazy writing and poor characterization, used on characters that are made to appear perfect in lieu of real development. And while Hana started out a little flawed and confused and in need of guidance, she soon turned into this Ms Perfect who was talented in everything and received praises from everyone instead of an actual insight into her character.

• Hana is at a disadvantage on her own. She is the only LI among the four who was brought up elsewhere (in China), and who wasn't from familiar ground (America)/fictional places (Cordonia) for the writers. Her issues are very culture-specific, they rise out of a context. Not many people may relate to that straightaway so it is essential that her story is handled with a lot more care and nuance. She is a woman of colour who is in the closet, brought up (as is hinted) in a family that doesn't exactly view her sexuality as normal. This is how the Hana of Book 1 was written.

Then Book 2 happened, and the writers either realised they didn't know enough to write this story convincingly, or didn't care enough to do the research. I suspect it's a mix of both. Even so, they should have done some reading up, done some homework, tried to at least center this character around her own narrative. No one is asking for a thesis on society and norms in Shanghai - they're asking for some good background, some basic research, legends and stories that she must have grown up with, if that's what it takes to do justice to this character. If you're going to create a character so unfamiliar to this world and make her a love interest, you had better put in the work that story requires.

Otherwise stop. Stop branding yourself as LGBTQ friendly when most of your female LI fans have to make do with mere scraps, stop patting yourselves on the back for including women of colour in your books when you view them as nothing but tokens.

• I'm sure Liam and Drake sound more lucrative...popular...whatever...and that factors into the way they're being writen, but when the lone female LI consistently gets the short end of the stick, what do you expect? They write Hana (and many other female LIs) in such a way that they're almost set up to fail. At least a few players I have spoken to have highlighted how they went from liking Hana in Book 1 to hardly interested in her presence in Book 2. That change didn't occur out of nowhere: when the writers themselves don't write her with any amount of conviction, how do you expect the readers NOT to lose interest?

There have been a lot of improvements made in terms of readers' demands. Whether it involved the way LI scenes were written, or Liam's initial lack of romantic interactions in Book 3, or even how Kiara's PTSD was addressed. The one thing neglected every. single. time. was Hana. And I'm saying this because I've spoken and spoken and spoken about how little Hana is given and how much more she deserves, and things still haven't changed. I highly doubt they will at this point. It's too late now. Hana's arc is largely over, and her ending makes absolutely no sense when you compare it to the way her story was initially written. Had she had the kind of focus that, say, Drake has been having, we wouldn't have this rushed mess of a conclusion for her story.

• Tldr: Hana could reached her potential as a character. She could have been interesting, imperfect, inspiring. If her writers were actually bothered. But they aren't, so those of us who do love her are left wondering if we care about her more than the people who created her (yes we do). I'm tired, fam. I give up. I think I'm done with this book, and I don't think I can ever get back to loving it the way I used to.

[themadcapmathematician]

all i know abt transformers is the shia movie and the fact that darren criss plays one in the cartoons i think? should i get into transformers is what i'm asking

Oh god this is my favorite question. I’m not sure how to answer it but its my fave. Pull up a chair. I hope you’ve got some time on your hands.

The short answer: yes. You should at least give it a try. Transformers is a 30+ year old muti-media franchise that gets rebooted almost every 3 years so it basically has something interesting to offer almost any fan. If you end up not liking it that’s cool but there’s a lot to try before you decide.

The long answer is: yes you should and here’s why and here’s a rough idea of all the options you have to sample. I’m about to go on a long rant anon so you can check it out now or later or whatever but I’m just warning you ahead of time.

The basic Transformers plot (which I’m sure you know but I’m gonna go more in depth in a minute) is that a race of giant robot aliens who can turn into vehicles and other things have been engaged in a civil war that has lasted millions of years. This is the basic plot that all tf franchises spawn from although some explore slightly different subject matters. If that doesn’t appeal to you I mean there /might/ be a few other things you might find worth sticking around for because there’s just so fucking much of it, but you’re welcome to turn back now because that’s the basic things tf has to offer: giant robot aliens, cars and planes, fighting, some drama. Those are what tf is best at, with some variation.

It has a very active and long lived fan base and each section of the fan base is interested in different stuff with some crossover. There are people who literally only care about collecting the toys, people who wont try any other series except g1, people who only like the comics, etc. Etc. You’ll probably find people who like what you do pretty readily. If you like the toys there are toy forums and blogs. If you like the cartoons there are forums and blogs made for that too. If you like the comics, same. There’s a pretty active following of the comics and cartoon series on Tumblr alone; I would try searching the #maccadam tag since most tf activity has been moved there since the bay movies came out. Id also use the tf wiki liberally because it has pm all the information you’ll need to know about the fandom and the canon lore. There’s also plenty of fan fiction on Ao3 and ff.net if you’re into that and pm anyplace that hosts fan art has tf fan art.

Now there are several series, including comics, cartoons, the Michael bay films, the cartoon movie, spin off books, and video games. I’m gonna go over my personal favorites because I like and know them best but there are more than these if you’re interested in digging deeper.

(More under the cut)

G1: there are a lot of forms of what fans refer to as Generation 1 or G1 but if you live in the US its likely they’re talking about the very first cartoon series.

Summary: the autobots and the decepticons stripped their planet of resources and went looking for a new planet to continue surviving on. They both crashlanded on earth where they lay dormant for millions of years until conveniently awakened somewhere during the 1980s, where they continue their war all over again

Why you should try it: listen its cheesy as hell and full of nonsense plotlines and animation errors but not only is it good fun but at least watching an episode or two might give you a decent grasp on what spawned this enormous franchise in the first place.

G1 movie: this movie was a game changer. Its technically right in the middle of the g1 cartoon but it works as a standalone film too. while it has many trappings of the cartoon its better animated and has a more consistent and dramatic story.

Summary: Optimus Prime and Megatron fight, OP dies (yes he fucking DIES for the very first time. thousands of 10 year olds bawl their eyes out), Megatron gets mortally wounded, and the Matrix of Leadership (aka an autobot holy item/macguffin [this is the proto-cube btw]) has to choose a new leader.

Why you should try it: decent animation, classics lines, tons of 80s rock music, and it establishes a lot of tf conventions that would be carried over to all series that come after it.

Beast Wars: haha the 90s couldn’t be left out of the transformers fun, now could it? This was one of the first all-cg cartoon series in history and while its not much to look at nowadays, it was a big step in the 90s.

Summary: the series doesn’t center on Optimus Prime and Megatron but their decendants. The war is long over but some factions are starting to clash once again. Several members of these factions do the whole “crash land on earth while fighting” thing except they wake up during times before humans and instead of taking vehicle modes, they take animal forms, thus the name.

Why you should give it a try: it establishes the idea of Sparks for the first time, it has historical significance in the cgi realm, and it has a decent storyline with interesting characters. If you can muscle through the 90s-computer-animation look it might be the show for you!

Transformers: Animated: I dont think its a secret that this is one of my favorite tf series of all times. It was the first cartoon series I ever watched of tf and it also features my favorite toy line.

Summary: Optimus Prime is much less a war hero and more of a ..janitor really. He flunked out of the academy and spends his time repairing space bridges. One time during repairs though, they stumble across the Cube and just their luck, Megatron and some nearby cons are looking for it. They portal away to earth where they, you guessed it, crashland, until they’re awoken sometime in the future and go on adventures in futuristic Detroit.

Why you should give it a try: I like tfa’s art style and story and characterisation best tbh; Optimus is younger and more unsure of himself but also more earnest, with more visible baggage. The rest of his team feel like a ragtag band of misfits (which I have a weakness for no lie lmfao) who are still trying to find their place in this conflict and the future ahead of them. Sari is also one of the more beloved human companions and the show’s take on classics characters feels fresh and interesting, and the interpretation of the autobots and decepticons themselves is surprisingly nuanced.

Transformers: Prime: remember that 90s animation? Kiss that shit good bye my friend. This cgi is some beautiful shit. More than a few fans wish tfp is the art direction the movies had taken, storyline aside.

Summary: the autobots are already on earth, staking it out and fighting a more subdued sort of conflict with the cons. One day they get some human kids involved and stumble across some conspiracy shit and it all spirals out of control from there.

Why you should give it a try: great animation and atmosphere, gorgeous character designs, a solid interpretation go the characters, and it offers a more serious take on the story over all.

Rescue Bots: I’ve noticed this show doesn’t make the list a lot which is a shame? It has a much younger audience than any of then other series but its still quality and one of my fave tf series.

Summary: the ship of four non-combatants who were left in stasis before the war detect a transmission telling autobots to go to earth, so it…goes to earth. There they wake up on some island and are told they’ve gotta start building a repatoire with the native species…but they can’t reveal that they’re sentient aliens yet.

Why you should give it a try: ok ok, most of the series are made for 7-12 year olds with the teen and adult fans sort of in mind, this show…is a show made for pre-K kids, no joke. Its a lot less…murder-y, and this is especially saying something because it came out at the same time TFP did and in fact is supposed to take place in the same universe!

BUT, but it has a consistently well-written story and characterization, it addresses stuff I never thought it would, and its a nice break from the ridiculously high stakes of the other series. Honestly Rescue Bots is great and I wish more people talked about it because its a series totally worth watching, certainly as much as any of the others.

More Than Meets the Eye comics: there are a lot of comic series but so far this is my favorite one lol

Summary: the war is over, Optimus is done with everyone’s shit and splits the matrix in half, giving one to rodimus and they other to bumblebee. And what does roddy do with his newfound matrix half? Decide he’s going on a quest of course! And who better to go with than literally every unqualified misfit the autobot and neutral factions have to offer?

Why you should give it a try: ridiculous shenanigans, horror, drama, intrigue, strong characterisation, and a killer aesthetic. Damn it may not always give me what I want but its got a lot of exactly what I’m always looking for.

There are some video games (Fall of Cybertron, War For Cybertron, Transformers: Devastation), other comic series (Robots in Disguise, G1/UK comics), and the Robots in Disguise cartoon, however I don’t have a decent enough grasp on them to describe them super well I just know they’re pretty good and have had people recommend them to me. You’re welcome to try those as well of course.

Also if you’re into toy collecting or want to get into it there’s a lot of materials you can read and such but my personal advice is pretty simple:

1) go to walmart, target, a store that sells collectibles, a convention, or a garage sale

2) buy a cheap toy that you like. Don’t spend over like $20

3) decide if that was a fun experience or not and if you like having this toy or not

If you liked it enough to keep buying, then congrats, toy collecting might be right for you! Do your research, Don’t blow too much money too quickly, take it easy, have fun.

But yeah sorry this is really long but I do hope you consider giving transformers a try since I know I love it a lot and it really has a lot to offer. I hope this wasn’t like…a crazy response. That a crazy person might give. And that I didn’t scare you away or anything XS

the key is to try some stuff and have fun and if its not your thing that’s cool too! Have a chill night anon